HEY GUYS! I'M A NEW WRITER AND AS MUCH AS I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO WRITE ONE OF THESE STORIES, I'VE NEVER HAD TIME OR IDEAS. BUT I CAME UP WITH THIS! IT'S PROBABLY DIFFERENT FROM ANYTHING ELSE YOU'VE READ AND I HOPE IT INTRIGUES AND INTERESTS YOU. NOW, I'LL PROVIDE YOU WITH A BACKGROUND TO MY STORY SO YOU DON'T GET LOST WHEN YOU START READING.

Keep in mind that this is an AU Story. (Alternate Universe) So that means most of the places are the same, but everything else is of my choosing.

First of all, there are no Pokeballs. Now, this will make what you know of Pokemon very different. Instead of Pokeballs, every young child goes into what is called a Destiny Cave. These caves are magical places that give every person pendants (or gems) filled with the essence of a Pokemon. The Pokemon can be called upon just like with a Pokeball however. Every child usually receives two or three but there have been cases of just one or even four. So that is the only way for a person to have Pokemon. Wild Pokemon cannot be caught or tamed. They are simply there like most wild animals. They can however be killed for food or for their furs and other parts.

Every person receives their Pokemon at the young age of 6. So, on the last day of every month, any child who turned 6 that month will get to go into their local Destiny Cave.

Now the leveling system and tournaments are drastically different as well. There are no gyms or badges. Instead, Region wide tournaments are held. So everyone in the region is put into a points system that tracks all wins and losses. At the end of every battle season, a large tournament like Indigo Plateau or Ever Grande City is held to determine the region's strongest fighters. The top four usually go on to compete in the world tournament while being sponsored by their region.

The leveling system is also something different. All Pokemon are ranked between Beginner and World Class. Every person all has identical ranking depending on their track record and official status. However, for the people, there are a few tiers above World Class. They are Blue, Red, Silver, and Gold Ranked. Only those who have a 1000:1 win ratio or better can even be considered being put into anywhere above World Class.

Now here are the levels for each 'Tier'.

Beginner: 1-10 / Intermediate: 11-30 / Advanced: 31-45

Professional: 46-60 / Ace: 61-80 / Elite: 81-90

Master: 91-100 / Champion: 100-Legend Ranked

World Class: Legend Ranked - Color Ranked

So, in my story, there will be two main characters that start their journeys in different places but end up journeying together eventually. There names are Jake and Sara. Jake starts in the Kanto Region and Sara starts in Sinnoh. So without further ado, I'll let you start reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, but I do own all my ideas.

Story Start

It was a bright, sunny day. It was perfect for young Jake. He was celebrating his 6th birthday and he would also be getting his pendants today. He felt he was ready for anything because he had been studying up on Pokemon for the past year ever since he started to learn how to read longer books. He thought he knew everything about the vast content of Pokemon.

The weather was terrible and the bed was just too comfortable. Sara didn't want to get up even though it was her 6th birthday. She knew she would get her pendants today, but that didn't stop the bed from providing her warmth and comfort. She laid her head back down and fell asleep again.

It looked up to the sky. It knew what would happen today. It had willingly chosen to let what will happen proceed. But it knew what would happen would not happen without consequences and challenges. It sighed, wondering if it made the right choice. Then it dozed off, lost in thought.

LATER THAT DAY

JAKE

Jake was jumping off the walls and couldn't wait much longer to go into the Destiny Cave. He and a few others had turned 6 this month and he was lucky he didn't have his birthday a day later. He really wanted to know what he would be getting for his Pokemon. He hope he would get lucky enough to get something like a Torchic or Treecko. But he didn't set his hopes very high.

Soon enough, the boy that was in there for the past 20 minutes came out sulking. He was holding two pendants, one a light gray and the other a greenish purple. But now it was Jake's turn. His parents guided him to the entrance and without a word said, they let him into the cave.

SARA

Sara had a blanket wrapped around her because it was chilly out. She and 5 others had been waiting for the first girl to come out of the cave for 15 minutes now. She had lost herself thinking of what she could get. Her grandparents and parents had both gotten fighting and water types. It seemed to run in the family. She wondered if she could possibly get anything different.

As she was thinking to herself, someone had come up to tap her on the shoulder. She was startled, but soon understood that it was her turn. Her grandpa was there with her today, so she stood up with him and went to the entrance. Before she stepped in, she hugged her grandpa. Once again, without words, she stepped into the cave.

THE DESTINY CAVE

Jake was a bundle of joy. Sara was feeling uneasy. As they made their way down the seemingly endless path, their atmospheres changed. They started to understand that their lives would change dramatically after today. Jake seemed to calm down and Sara had become more relaxed. They knew what laid ahead and they were ready. Soon enough, they neared the end of the path and they both stared ahead at a room entrance.

JAKE

Jake had become tense, he felt power emanating in the room in front of him. He knew however that he couldn't stand their forever. He entered the room and almost passed out from the change in pressure. It was harder to breathe and even move his own body. However, he trooped on.

As he neared the pedestals the pendants were on, he noticed that a fourth one hung from a small hole in the ceiling above the others. One was a dark purple, the second one was just brown and looked like a rock, the third was plain green, but the fourth looked really unique. It had a bright gold edging and was a sparkling green that reminded him of the sky. It also had a deep purple chain unlike the others that had no chains for him to be able to put on. He got lost staring at it. Hesitantly, he reached out to grab it. All the power it was radiating stopped once he took it, but it soon returned when he put the necklace on. He was dumbfounded, but he would figure it out later. He grabbed the other three and started to head back out the cave.

The walk back out was short. As he walked out the entrance, he was asked how many he got and what colors they were. As the next kid headed in, he started to say he had gotten four, but was stopped by chuckling and his parents telling him to tell the truth. He was about to protest but realized they couldn't see the fourth one because it was hidden under his shirt. He pulled it out and everyone stopped what they were saying or stopped laughing. He looked at him curiously or some even glared at him. He explained how he found it and the older people gasped and started to talk in hushed tones.

The older people mentioned are known as the Elders. They are a group of successfully retired researchers and trainers that are tasked with guiding each group of kids every month in the trial to get their pendants.

Once they stopped, they asked him to wait on the fourth, but to release all his other Pokemon so they could record them and start his trainer profile. He released each one and was surprised at what he saw. He held out the purple one in front of him first and he saw a big blob of gas with a face. It cackled weirdly and started flying around Jake's head. Then it disappeared and reappeared under a nearby tree before cackling again. It kind of scared him, but not as much as it excited him. He got his very own ghost and he was ecstatic about it. The second one he released, the plain green one, was a little disappointing to him. He had gotten a walking acorn. It chirped happily but otherwise showed very little sign of being lively. He released his third one and almost immediately fell back from shock. It was a good thing they were out on a big field of grass and not in town or else he would've been in big trouble. He had gotten a gigantic rock snake. It looked to be at least 20 feet at the moment but he had a feeling it would get a lot bigger in the years to come. It stretched a bit before coiling itself around the group as best it could. Some people laughed at its antics. Other were just staring at it suspiciously. Jake however, laughed with joy. He had met a new family to call his own.

The Elders however, had told him to recall his Pokemon for the moment and then a few had split away from the others and asked him to follow them. Once they were a safer distance from the others, they released their own partners. A Metagross, Salamence, Flygon, and Alakazam had appeared next to their respective people. With everyone watching from a distance, the 4 Elders with him asked him to release his final Pokemon. They said to Jake that they brought out their own partners as a safety measures in case his 4th was hostile. With a little hesitation, he brought up his final pendant and released his mystery Pokemon. He almost fainted when he saw what came out. The Elders and their Pokemon had readied themselves however. It was a baby Rayquaza. It wasn't anything like what was described in the books. It wasn't 50 feet, but instead a mere 8 feet at the most. It was a baby and didn't seem dangerous at all at the moment. It gave a small growl and when it saw Jake, it flew over and curled around his feet and legs. Jake laughed a bit and started to pet Rayquaza. The Elders seemed dumbfounded. THey didn't understand how one of the most feared creatures in history was curled up in front of them sleeping peacefully next to a 6 year old boy.

Jake just smiled and released his other three partners. They all seemed surprised at the new Pokemon, but soon accepted him. Onix, the rock snake, tried to coil around the group again but fell asleep in a short time. Ghastly, the ghost, had just wandered around going up to everyone and trying to make them laugh. Seedot, the walking acorn, had gone up Jake and Rayquaza and had found a sport to lay against them and join in taking a nap. So, without anything else to do, the Elders had gone back to watch and help the rest of the kids. Jake had fallen asleep next to the rest of his Pokemon and his parents had gone over to watch over all of them.

SARA

Sara felt a little scared before she stepped into the room. She knew something powerful was waiting for her. Without wasting anymore time, she stepped into the room. Almost immediately, she was overwhelmed. She was on her hands and knees and struggling to breathe. She almost passed out, but the power dimmed significantly. She could suddenly move again and it didn't hurt as much to breathe. She took shaky and doubtful steps towards her pendants. When she reached the pedestals, she saw two only sitting on their platforms. However, another was sticking out of the wall behind the other two. The one sticking out looked way more powerful than the others. The two on the pedestals were a bright yellow and a pink color. Each one seemed a little dull, but the one sticking out of the wall was different. The red a bright white outlining and a pitch black filling and the very center was a blood red sharp oval. It was connected to a ring that seemed to be made out of a metallic obsidian. She nervously took it and once she did, the power almost vanished. Once she put it on though, the power returned almost in full force but she barely felt affected other than a small headache. She took her other two pendants and made her way out of the cave,

Once she was out, she was greeted by her grandpa who was in tears. He told Sara that she had been in there for almost two hours. She seemed shocked and when he asked what happened, she gave him the full story. When she was done, her grandpa seemed worried for her and a little nervous. The Elders had heard the story too and asked her to release her two Pokemon that were on the pedestals. The first one she released was the bright yellow pendant. What came out was a electric puppy. It looked around happy before spotting Sara. When it saw her, it started yipping and sparking and charged her. She freaked out a little but started giggling when the little puppy started running around her in circles. Her second release, the pink colored one, was an egg. Its whole body, besides the feet and legs, was made of an egg. It started crying a little, but once Sara rushed over to pick it up, the egg stopped. It looked at her happy and started giggling.

The Elders then released multiple strong looking Pokemon such as Dragonite, Charizard, Tangrowth, and even a Hydreigon. They told her back up when she released her final Pokemon. They didn't want her to get hurt, but also said they wouldn't hurt the Pokemon unless it attacked first. So she released it. At first, everyone looked terrified. One of the Elders told an Alakazam to put up a barrier around the mysterious Pokemon. The Pokemon, Darkrai, had looked very confused when the barrier went up. It started to get scared and molding into its shadow and whimpering. Sara heard it and ran straight through the barrier, surprising everyone. She hugged it before it could go all the way into its own shadow. Darkrai looked surprised, but it instantly got happier. It squealed with joy but started to look at all the strong looking Pokemon with worry. She noticed and glanced at the Elders who, in turn, recalled their own Pokemon. Darkrai became more calm and returned from its shadow. It stood at the same height as her, about 3 and half feet tall. She walked over to the Elders and they started to laugh. They told her that she would have a very interesting future. She looked at them curiously before turning back to Darkrai to watch it explore its surroundings. She giggled and just sat down with her Pokemon to get to know them.

4 YEARS LATER

JAKE

Jake and his Pokemon had gone to live out in the woods next to the town after discovering that his Pokemon wouldn't be welcome in the town itself because of how big two of them were. That was almost 4 years ago and just over a year ago he had finished building his own treehouse. His parents were in support of him going out to live on his own and had been supporting him with advice, supplies and even telling him how to train his Pokemon to help them get had offered to help him build his house but he declined, saying he wanted to do at least one thing completely on his own. Well, not completely, because he had his Pokemon to help him build it.

Over the past 4 years, he had gotten his Ghastly and Seedot to evolve. He was so ecstatic about it that he just had to spread the word and soon the whole town had known after constantly being told by Jake whenever he had went into town. He now had a Haunter, Nuzleaf, Onix, who had grown to almost 30 feet when he was measured a few weeks ago, and his Rayquaza who had also grown. It was now almost 15 feet which is almost doubled from 4 years ago.

He had also started to train all of them so when he started his journey, he would have an advantage over all the other beginners. If he had to judge his Pokemon for skill level right now, he would say that they were high beginner or low intermediate levels. But Rayquaza would probably be high intermediate because he is a legendary Pokemon so he is naturally stronger.

Jake didn't want to wait another 6 years to start his journey so whenever he got the chance, he would challenge anyone or anything that came near his house. He often got beaten but it didn't matter to him because he knew he had to start somewhere and more often than not, anyone who beat him was really nice and gave him tips and praise. However, he never used Rayquaza for fear of greed of other people.

SARA

Sara had been abandoned. When people met or saw Darkrai, they got scared. Her grandpa offered to take her in, but she declined because she didn't want him to be scared also. Her parents had left her because they couldn't stand being in close proximity of it. So she has been living alone in her parents house for the past four years almost. Everyone in her small town had shut her out of their lives. But a few months ago, she had found a few books about a place known as Newmoon Island. It was a place sacred to Darkrai and only a Darkrai could lead the way there.

Ever since finding those books, she learned as much about the place as possible. She even found out that it's easier to train there given the many different environments. She had been packing for the past few days and even went to the local library to take a few books on training her Pokemon. She went through the effort to take as many different kinds of training books as possible and the books that would have been too big to take, she took home to read and take a lot of notes on.

Right now, she standing at the edge of the pier in Canalave City looking out into the sea with Darkrai. She had gotten a sailboat using the money she had gotten from selling all her stuff and the house. She also had plenty of rations and plenty of berries to grow at the island if there wasn't anything there already. She released her Luxio and Togepi, who she picked up right away, and walked over to her boat. She learned how to drive a boat for the past few months once she discovered Newmoon Island and was confident in her abilities.

As she boarded, an older man approached her. He told her to be careful and that her journey would be a long one. Sara thanked him and then she suddenly had to rub her eyes. When she looked again, she saw that he was gone. She thought nothing of it for the time. She turned her attention back to the boat and preparing to leave. She figured she would come back in six years when she was of legal age to start her journey. And then she set off to find her new home.

HEY AGAIN PEOPLE! TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF MY STORY! LEAVE A REVIEW OR EVEN FEEL FREE TO PM ME YOUR THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS. ALSO, IF YOU WANNA SUBMIT AN OC FOR A TRAVEL COMPANION FOR EITHER CHARACTER, PM ME THOSE!

I'll need the following things for an OC

Name / Gender

Who will they travel with?

Which two Pokemon will they have? Or if you could convince me on a third, I might accept it.

Personality

OTHERWISE, I HOPE YOU ALL CAN WAIT ANOTHER WEEK FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER IF I EVER GET AROUND TO WRITING IT. I'VE BEEN EXTREMELY BUSY LATELY WITH SCHOOL, BUT I REALLY DO WANT TO MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF THIS STORY. THAT'S ALL I CAN THINK OF TO WRITE FOR NOW, BUT I'LL START WORKING ON CHAPTER TWO RIGHT NOW. HAVE A NICE DAY!