Bri Juffer did not walk.
No, she bounced.
She leaped over every inch of Route 38, face stretched in a grin and endless energy bubbling up in her veins. Grabbing leaves and tossing them around, darting to the trees to grab flowers growing by their trunks.
There she was, at the ripe old age of 10 years and four days.
More specifically, on her first day of her pokemon journey!
Just earlier that day, she had run down to the Professor's lab! Oh, how her mom had been all worried and threw in a bit more money to buy food and boring stuff like that, but that wasn't the important part.
She had a pokemon!
Waking up and eating had taken her about four minutes flat before she was sprinting to the lab to pick. Mom had kind of trotted behind her with a half-asleep look on her face and coffee in her hand, but by the time they arrived she had perked up.
The Professor had given a little speech, but then he had taken her to the table.
She had been dreaming about the table for years now, had drawn it so many times that she could probably do it with her eyes closed. Her mom had even taken her in one day to watch how the Professor did everything, and she had seen the table in person.
It had been exactly like she had dreamed about. Three pokeballs on the top with little elemental stickers neatly on top. One fire, one water, one grass.
But there was only one problem.
Cyndaquil - the pokemon she had finally decided to get only about a month ago - was already gone, picked up by someone that had gotten it yesterday, apparently.
But no matter!
Because the second she had tossed out the water pokeball, there had been an awesome totodile that had snapped his jaws at her and then purred into her hand when she offered him a berry.
And now he was hers!
She patted the pokeball on her waist. Totodile was absolutely amazing and no one could take him. He had tried to waddle next to her, but he was a little too slow and got a bit tired. So he wanted to go back in his pokeball.
But that was okay. Totodile was awesome! He only knew two moves right now - Scratch and Leer. Nothing elemental yet, and only one attack.
But she would teach him and then the pair of them would take the world by storm!
The Professor had also given her some other supplies. Five pokeballs that she attached to her pokebelt alongside Totodile's. They were awesome, and she couldn't wait to capture more pokemon!
Also, a pokedex. That was interesting. She had already scanned Totodile.
Totodile: the Big Jaw pokemon. Their jaws are enormous and are very strong, and so even when they are being playful it can still hurt very much! Trainers, make sure to teach your totodile not to use its teeth on any part of your body.
Totodile would bite his way to victory, and they'd cream every other pokemon in their path!
But that was also a problem. So far, she hadn't seen any other pokemon. Which was bad, as she wanted at least another pokemon to attack the gym in her city. And any chance to train Totodile was perfect! He only had one attack move, Scratch - and that move wouldn't work on the ghost-types of Ecruteak City. She really wanted that Fog Badge!
But not a weedle or a pidgey or a caterpie. Nothing.
And her watch said that it was nearly 1 pm.
"Aw, shucks," she grumbled, popping Totodile's pokeball off of her belt. It came easily and swelled to full size as soon as she pressed the button.
She lobbed it forward, and the second it hit the ground it split open. White mist spilled out and then there he was. Only about up to her knees, but covered in strong blue scales with a tiny tail and big claws.
"Totodile!" She squeaked, dropping to her knees and grabbing the empty pokeball. He looked up at her with sleepy red eyes, blinking. Yawning, he showed off his rows of dagger-like teeth.
"Dile?" He murmured.
"Okay. Totodile, it's lunchtime-" he instantly perked up, looking excited "-but then we're going to find you a pokemon, okay? Someone to fight! You want to learn Water Gun, right?"
He nodded happily, before opening his mouth, snapping his jaws.
She laughed. "Fine, you big lump!' Shrugging off her bag, she opened it up. Digging past the several sets of clothes, she finally found a plump sack. She pulled it out.
Totodile started to wave his tail.
"Here you go!" She scattered a handful of the light brown pellets inside on the ground. With one chomp of his jaws, he had gotten nearly half of them. In another few seconds, they were gone. He looked up at her with sad, sad eyes.
She tutted. "No, Mom said only one handful for lunch!" He still looked up at her, red eyes glimmering.
Bri crumbled. "Okay, fine." He perked up, but she raised a hand. "But only if we find a pokemon that can defeat! You need to get really strong!"
He turned his nose up and sniffed along the ground for more pellets. She laughed.
Then she paused. "Do you hear that?"
Totodile shook his head.
But there was something, though it was that loud. The low hum of voices not far off to the left. What pokemon could it be?
She hurriedly pulled her bag closed and shoved it back on, Totodile blinking up at her. Taking a single step forward, she stopped. They weren't supposed to go off of the path…
But how else would they find a pokemon? "Come on, Totodile! Adventure awaits!"
"Toto!" He agreed, waddling after her.
They only went a few feet before she dropped low to the ground. "Stay down. We can't them it see us," she whispered to him. Totodile nodded and bent over.
Crouching behind a bush, she peered around to see what was in the clearing.
Oh gosh.
How did she get herself into this mess?
Bri crouched lower into the brush, bristles clawing up and down her arms. Her feet were curled underneath her thighs, hands pressed against the ground. There were trees towering all around, hiding her even more.
But that didn't hide the three people in the clearing in front of her.
They were wearing some grey clothing: hoodies and sweatpants. No symbols or anything on them, and they all were wearing large hoods that cast shadows over their faces. She couldn't see what they looked like. One girl, two boys, each one holding several pokeballs.
"Don't let 'em get away!" One barked, snapping his fingers and taking a few threatening step forward.
A pidgeot shrieked from on the ground next to him, brown feathers glinting gold in the light. It shuffled forward and snapped at empty air, talons the size of Bri's head gripping a fallen tree.
The stantler next to it bucked furiously.
There were ten of them, with silky brown pelts and gleaming white antlers. But they didn't seem to be here of their own free will. They were corralled together in the tiny clearing by pokemon.
A houndoom, charmeleon, raticate, nidoking, and even more. Each growled and clawed the air as a stantler got too near. All of them were huge and powerful and strong. Nothing like Totodile.
The stantlers themselves were wild and terrified, bucking and tossing their enormous antlers. Each was tensed for a fight, and others were fighting. One roared a challenge and tried a Take Down on the pidgeot. It barely reacted other than flying up a few feet to miss it. The other pokemon just moved out of the way or just let it wash over them with only a little damage.
"Oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh-" Bri tried to wiggle backward but Totodile hissed out a little "Toto!" and she stayed.
They were going to save a bunch of stantlers. From poachers. With tons of really strong pokemon.
Oh my gosh what was she doing-
"Okay!" The girl thundered, holding up two pokeballs. "Get ready - FIRE!"
They all launched their pokeballs into the midst of stantlers, and just like that, they started to disappear. Pokeballs thumped against antlers and bodies and hooves until there were ten pokeballs on the ground, quivering lightly.
Four stantlers immediately burst out again, but new pokeballs were thrown and they disappeared again.
Until all but one had been caught.
The one stantler bellowed its name, low and furious. It bucked, wildly kicking away the pokeball that sailed toward it. It charged for the charmeleon, antlers lowered and deadly.
"Geez! Ember!' One man barked, and the charmeleon immediately responded, spitting out a wave of tiny coals. They peppered the stantler's side, forcing it to turn. But it didn't flinch with pain, turning to run toward the center of the clearing.
The woman yelped and finished grabbing the rest of the pokeballs before sprinting away. She dumped them on the ground and turned back around.
"You idiot! We can't hurt those antlers - that's the only reason we're capturing these guys!"
"I know, I know," the man grumbled. "But it's not allowed to hurt my charmeleon."
The woman pinched the bridge of her nose and scowled. "Okay. So, keep throwing pokeballs at it. Eventually, it'll get tired and get captured."
"Sure thing." He mock saluted her and picked up another ball.
Bri sucked in a deep breath, ignoring the furious poking Totodile was attacking her with. The pokeballs full of the captured stantlers were only a few feet in front of her.
"Totodile." He instantly turned to her. "Stay here. I'll be right back."
And then she slowly pushed the branches out of her way. Creeping forward, still under the cover of the leaves. She didn't even dare to breathe.
A stick appeared under her foot. She froze, carefully shuffling away from it. Leaches rustled above her head.
But the stantler was nearly beat, panting heavily and trying to pat away another round of pokeballs. It couldn't last much longer.
Speeding forward the last few steps, she was there. Quickly, she shot her arms forward and grabbed the stantlers.
But it was too late.
"Hey! Who the hell are you?" Someone barked.
And with a yelp she spun around, arms full of stolen stantler pokeballs, to face the army of pokemon controlled by some very angry poachers.
At least until the stantler bodychecked the woman out of the way.
Bri gaped.
It kicked one man and headbutted the other. Their pokemon growled but the stantler paid them no heed, turning to face Bri.
It started to charge.
Oh, she was so dead.
Hey, guys! Frost here!
I've wanted to write a Pokemon fanfiction for a really long time, but my SYOC idea kinda flopped. Apparently, I can only do Maximum Ride ones of those. Oops.
But hey! Here's Bri Juffer with Totodile and a charging stantler! That couldn't go wrong at all, could it?
I hoped you guys like this, and there should be more to come. I've got a lot planned out, but I want to ask you guys something.
I need a rival!
They need to be pretty strong but have started only a day before Bri. Maybe they could have been the one to take the cyndaquil - that would be sad.
But yeah. Just a neat lil' rival who she could battle with every like five-ten chapters! Just to test each other! Make sure to give them Johto pokemon, though! Male or female, it doesn't matter to me. Just make sure to add what pokemon they have, and I could choose what pokemon they will catch or you can. Your choice in this matter! I just really do need a personality, please!
I also might want a traveling companion, though maybe not. It's up to you!
Anyway! Please read and review!
Frost OUT!