The Incredible Journey of Mei

Disclaimers: I don't own Pokémon. Everything belongs to Gamefreak and those other companies that developed the AMAZING game.

Chapter One: A Big, Green Hat

Mei's POV

Aspertia City is beautiful in the spring time. The trees turn a lovely green color, and flowers grow in the meadows along Route 19. It was in this time of year that I received my first Pokémon.

My name is Mei. Aspertia City is my home. Considering its small size, it is really more of a town than a city. It is small but not the smallest place in the region. We have a wonderful Pokémon Center and a gym that doesn't exactly have a gym leader. My best friend lives down the street from me, and I can walk to his house whenever I felt like it.

Perhaps I should tell you about my best friend. His name is Hugh. He has dark blue hair that looks similar to a Quilfish. Of course, I would never say that out loud to him – he'd be offended. His red eyes are narrower than most people's. He always wears a red and white jacket that could zip all the way up to his chin.

I've wanted a Pokémon starting from the moment my mom explained to me what they were. I've also been warned not to go in the Tall Grass without having my own Pokémon to protect me. That would explain why I have never gone out to Route 19; there are patches of Tall Grass blocking the way to Floccesy Town.

After 15 years of waiting and hoping and disappointment, I finally got a chance to become a trainer…

3rd Person POV

Mei pressed her ear to her front door and strained to hear the conversation going on behind it. Her mom had gone out for a walk on that nice spring day and now Mei could hear her talking to someone on the front porch. Nurse Joy? Hugh's mom? A long lost friend from high school? It didn't seem likely judging from their very strange topic of conversation.

"A Pokedex?" her mom's voice asked whoever she was talking to. "For my child?" Her voice was filled with disbelief and excitement.

A Pokedex? I've heard of a Pokedex! Mei squished her ear against the door, trying to hear the answer to the question Mom had just asked. All she heard was a small, muffled voice followed by statics. Mom must be talking on the Xtranciever.

There was the sound of footsteps and Mei quickly backed away from the door and ran into her room as Mom entered the house. Mei flopped down on her bed and picked up a book to make it seem that she was in her room like a good young lady, not eavesdropping on her mom's talk with someone.

"Mei!" Mom called from the living room. "I want to tell you something exciting! Mei!"

"Coming!" Mei shouted and slid off her bed. She ran around a corner and saw Mom looking very jittery and hyper. "Yeah, Mom?" Mei asked innocently.

Mom took a deep breath. "Do you know the famous Pokémon Professor called Professor Juniper?"

"Of, course, Mom!" Mei shrieked. "I watch her on the TV all the time and she has a blog on the Internet that I always read."

A smile brightened up Mom's face. "Well, she's actually an old friend of mine. I just got a call from her and-"

"YOU got a call from PROF. JUNIPER?!" Mei cried out, interrupting her mother. "That was Professor Juniper you were talking to a few seconds ago? Why didn't you let me talk to her?" Mei whined. She would have very much liked to meet a famous person…

"Let me finish." Mom wagged a finger at her daughter. "And what did I say about interrupting people?"

"Uhh…don't?" Mei guessed. They probably had the No-Interruption Talk when Mei was five and Mei had just about forgotten everything Mom had told her during that talk. The basic idea is to just not interrupt because it's rude. Mei apologized and said, "Please go on."

Mom smiled. "Now, do you know what a Pokedex is?"

Mei blinked. "Yes, Professor Juniper talks about it on her talk shows like it's the device that would save mankind."

Mom's grin grew bigger. Mei could tell she was proud that her daughter knew so much. "Do you want a Pokémon?"

Mei stared blankly at her. "What do you think, Mom? I ask for a Pokémon for my birthday and Christmas every year!"

"Now that that is over with," Mom winked at her. "Last question: Do you want a Pokedex?"

Something was happening, Mei knew it. Either Mom had just won the lottery, or she was planning on giving Mei a Pokedex. Mei thought it's going to be the second one. For what other reason would Mom be so excited for? "Yes, I want a Pokedex," Mei answered firmly.

"I knew you would!" Mom squealed.

"So why did you ask me?"

"Professor Juniper wanted to make absolutely sure that you're up for this amazing opportunity!" Mom replied cheerfully. "A girl called Bianca has come to Aspertia to give you a Pokémon, Mei! She's the Professor's assistant. Professor Juniper said to just simply look for a big, green hat!"

"A big, green hat?" Mei repeated. That won't be hard to find since people in Aspertia City tend to be kind of boring… "Okay, then!" She smiled and began to march out the door.

"Oh, wait! Mei!" Mom shouted after her. "I have to give you your Xtranciever and bag!" She caught her before she slammed the door. "Here." She gave her an Xtranciever and a new, large pink and white bag that had many compartments in it. Inside the bag was a cute pink visor with a Pokeball icon on it.

Mei stuffed it in her bag and put the visor on. "Bye, Mom!" she called as she stepped out the door.

The weather was slightly humid and Mei was thankful for the gentle breeze. She walked around her mailbox and came to the main road…err sidewalk. She glanced around for the big green hat Mom had told me to look for. She did not find it. Instead, she found a boy with the dark-blue, Quilfish shaped hair standing by his house, talking to his little sister. Hugh.

Hugh noticed Mei watching them. "Hi, Mei!" He and his little sister came over to Mei. "Where are you going?"

Mei smiled proudly and answered. "I'm going to get a Pokémon!"

"Really?!" he shouted a bit too loudly. The people around them gave the trio curious looks. Hugh ignored them. "From who?"

"A girl called Bianca," Mei said. "She is Professor Juniper's assistant. My mom told me to look for a big green hat!"

The little girl by Hugh's side was his sister. She was small and very sweet in Mei's opinion. Her Pokémon was once stolen by some evil people long ago, and Mei felt so sorry for her. The small child grasped the sleeve of Hugh's jacket and spoke in a timid, quiet voice. "Mei… If you get a Pokémon, please take good care of it, okay?"

Mei smiled and bent down to ruffle her brown hair that was in a Ponyta tail. "I'll treat my Pokémon as kindly as you treat yours, okay?"

The small girl nodded and shrank back behind Hugh.

Hugh gave Mei a nervous smile. "This may sound kind of pushy and sudden but can I come with you? I need to take care of something and I need someone with good instincts to help me!"

"I have good instincts?" Mei asked thoughtfully. "No one's ever told me that before… Thank you, Hugh!"

A warm blush crept along Hugh's face. "Uh… you're um…welcome." He did a good job of hiding his burning face and Mei did not notice his blush. Hugh turned to his little sister. "You go home, okay?"

"Okay!" the little girl said. "Bye, Big Brother! Bye Mei!" Then she turned around and skipped back to her house.

"Later, Kiddo!" Mei called after her.

"Alriiight!" Hugh said when his sister was gone. "Let's go look for Bianca and her big, green hat! I have my Pokemon with me so if anyone tries to hurt us, Tepig will protect us!" He took out a Pokeball and spun it like a basketball on his pointer finger. "I'll follow you!"

Mei nodded and they headed into town.

"Do you think Bianca's up there?" Mei asked Hugh. They stared up at the stairs that led to the lookout platform. They've been looking for quite a while now. "She might be enjoying the view."

"Yeah…Let's go!" Hugh shouted and he took off up the stairs.

Mei ran after him. They practically flew up the steps, taking three at a time. Hugh was the first to get to the top. He looked around and noticed a girl leaning on the railing of the observation deck. Mei made it to the top at that moment and saw her too.

"It's soooooooooo pretty!" the girl cooed dramatically. She wore an orange parka and a big green hat covered her short blonde hair. She looked out to the beautiful scenery that lay before her. Steep hills covered the landscape and large trees grew. A glittering lake was at the center of the landscape. The lake reflected a vast mountain range in the distance and the cerulean sky was dotted with little puffs of clouds that moved in the direction of the wind.

"Is that Bianca?" Hugh whispered to Mei, glancing at the blonde girl. "She looks a bit young to be Professor Juniper's assistant."

"She has the big, green hat…" Mei mused. She approached the girl and tapped her shoulder. "Excuse me, are you-"

"Aaaaaaah!" the girl shrieked. She jumped and spun around. Her glasses had fallen all the way down her nose. She quickly adjusted it and calmed herself. "Oh… hello there! Are you Mei?"

"I am." Mei nodded. "Are you Bianca?"

"Yes, I am Professor Juniper's assistant. It's so nice to meet you!" She held out her hand to Mei who shook it. "And who is that young man over there?" Bianca motioned to Hugh.

"That's my friend, Hugh," Mei answered. "He just came along to help me find you."

"He is most attractive," Bianca commented thoughtfully.

Mei almost choked on her own spit. Bianca thinks Hugh is attractive? That made things kind of awkward… Mei glanced at Hugh and wondered if he heard Bianca's remark. "So…" Mei said slowly. "May I have a Pokémon?"

"Oh! Yes!" Bianca reached into her jacket and pulled out a small glass cylinder. "The Pokémon you can choose from are right in here!" She pressed a little red button on the side of the cylinder and the container opened, spilling a cloud of steam. In the cylinder were three polished pokeballs.

Mei peered through the top of a pokeball and found a cute blue and white Pokémon staring back at her. It had freckles and large oval shaped eyes that glittered and shined black diamonds. A shell was attached to its stomach. Mei looked up at Bianca. "What Pokémon is this?" she asked pointing at the Pokémon.

"That's Oshawatt!" Bianca replied. "He's a water type. I once had an Oshawott but it's a Samurott now…" She pointed to the pokeball beside Oshawott's. "Tepig is in that pokeball. He's a fire type. My friend, Cheren, had a Tepig but it evolved into Emboar a long time ago. That last one is Snivy." Bianca pointed to the last Pokémon. She's a grass type. Two years ago, Cheren, I, and… our other friend set out on a journey. The other friend got Snivy. Choose wisely, Mei. Whichever one you pick will be your partner for life."

That's deep. Mei looked down at her three choices.I'm definitely not choosing Tepig since I know Hugh has one. If I pick Oshawott, I'll have a type advantage against Hugh…Mei almost told Bianca to give her the Oshawott but then she noticed the Snivy staring at her. She turned her attention to it. Bianca had said that the Snivy was a she.

Snivy stared at Mei. Mei wasn't sure if she was imagining it but she thought she saw the Snivy's eyes watering. Is Snivy crying? The Pokémon looked at Mei in desperate hope. "Sssssniiii…"she hissed quietly. Mei's eyes began to water as she watched the poor little Pokémon. She turned to Bianca. "Please give me Snivy."

"Good choice! This Snivy is rare too! There aren't that many female Snivys." Bianca took the pokeball from the cylinder and handed it to Mei. "Would you like to give Snivy a nickname?"

Mei shook her head. "I'm not big on nicknames."

"That's fine too. Why don't you summon Snivy from the pokeball?" Bianca suggested. "I need to make sure you too get along."

Mei threw the pokeball high into the air. It spun and popped open in midair. There was a bright flash and the light soon materialized into the snake-like Pokémon. "Sniiiiiii!"

Mei squealed at how cute her Pokémon was. She bent down to Snivy's level and held out her hand. "Hi, Snivy! I'm Mei. We're going to be partners!"

Snivy had stopped crying and was staring at Mei's hand. Then she looked up at her new trainer. "Vee!" Snivy happily shook one of Mei's fingers with her short arms.

Mei scooped up her Snivy and held it in her arms. "We're going to have so much fun, Snivy!"

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Bianca cried. She dug around in her parka and produced a red and gray device with the pokeball logo. "This is your Pokedex. Do you know how it works?"

Mei nodded eagerly. "I read about it on Professor Juniper's blog."

"Here you go, then!" Bianca gave her the Pokedex. "You can use that to check Snivy's stats too!"

Mei powered up her new toy and pointed it at Snivy.

Snivy-the Grass Snake Pokémon

Gender-female Level- 5 Nature- bashful

Height: 2' 0" Weight: 17.9 lb.

Being exposed to bright sunlight can make its movement swifter. It uses vines more adeptly than its hands.

Mei stared at the Pokedex in wonder. "It's even cooler than I imagined!" she squealed excitedly. "Okay, Snivy, we're going to battle Hugh and show him how strong you are." She put Snivy back down onto the ground and they marched proudly to Hugh who was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

"What took you so long?" he asked Mei when they got to him. Then he noticed Mei's new Pokedex dangling from her bag. "What is that?"

"It's my Pokedex! Bianca gave it to me." she told him. "It collects information on the Pokémon I encounter. Isn't that cool?"

Hugh was quiet for a moment. Then he ran to Bianca and started to beg for a Pokedex too.

Mei's jaw dropped all the way to the ground as she watched her friend desperately plea for a Pokedex. It was quite immature, she thought, but Hugh wasn't exactly the gentleman type either, so Mei decided not to scold him about harassing Bianca.

Bianca looked down at Hugh with pity. "Well… I do happen to have another Pokedex on me…" She dug around in her bag and took out a Pokedex similar to Mei's. "Here you go!" she said cheerfully.

Mei rolled her eyes when Hugh came back, very pleased with his new toy. "Let's battle now, Hugh!"

"Alriiiiiight!" Hugh took out Tepig's pokeball and prepared to throw it.

Mei gave Snivy a short pep talk before she had her first battle. "Snivy, be strong out there and we'll beat Hugh and his little Tepig. I know we just met but let's trust each other, okay? We're going to be partners from now on."

Snivy nodded but she didn't seem to be listening to Mei. The grass-type was glancing at Hugh every few seconds and twiddling her fingers (do Snivy have fingers?).

Mei frowned and waved her hand in front of Snivy's face. "Snivy? What are you staring at? Hello?"

Hugh walked up to Mei and Snivy, wondering what was going on. "Why's Snivy staring at me?" he asked Mei when Snivy was looking up at him with googly eyes.

"I don't know…" Mei scratched the top of her head. "Maybe she's just curious about who you are…"

Hugh bent down to Snivy's level and held his hand out to Snivy. "Hey, Snivy. I'm Hugh. Nice to meet you!"

Instead of sniffing Hugh's hand like a normal Pokémon, Snivy's face grew pink. She turned away from him and played with her tail nervously. "Sssssss… sni…." she cooed bashfully.

Mei's eye twitched. "Snivy is… blushing!"

"Isn't that her nature? Bashful?" Hugh asked.

Mei shook her head. "Yes, but she wasn't this shy when I met her. She was actually quite eager. But now…" She glanced at Snivy who was still shying away from Hugh and blushing redder. "I think she likes you!"

Hugh almost stumbled back. "W-what?!" He looked at the bashful Snivy. "I hope you don't mean… like-like…"

"I do mean like-like…" Mei answered.

Snivy had somehow mustered up the courage to stop shying away and actually look Hugh in the eye for once. "Sniiiiii!" she purred and tugged on the male trainer's shoes playfully. "Viiiiii!"

Hugh slowly stepped away from Snivy. "I'm not going to date a Pokémon!"

Snivy, realizing that she had been rejected, began to sob. Her bottom lip quivered and tears poured from her large amber colored eyes. "Snnnniiiiii!" she cried.

"Aaaaw!" Mei picked up Snivy and cradled the Pokémon in her arms. "Look what you've done!" She shot Hugh a glare and went back to trying to calm Snivy down. "Don't cry, little Snivy… It'll be okay…I promise… shhhhh."

Snivy cried harder, practically brawling her eyes out in agony. "Sss-sss- viiii…" She rubbed her eyes with her hands and buried her face in Mei's chest. "V-viiiiiiii!"

"You should apologize to her, Hugh," Mei suggested. She held Snivy out to Hugh. "Go on, say you're sorry."

Hugh looked down at Snivy and almost felt guilty for rejecting the Pokémon…almost, but not quite… He sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I'm sorry that I was hateful…" he apologized to Snivy.

Snivy didn't seem to be satisfied with the apology and still wouldn't stop crying.

"Try again," Mei ordered Hugh firmly. She shoved Snivy in Hugh's face.

Snivy looked up at Hugh with Lilipup eyes and sniffled slightly. "Sniiiiiiiii…"

Hugh sighed in annoyance and tried again, attempting to sound more sincere. "Look, Snivy… I'm a person, you're a Pokémon. You should go look for one of your own kind to be with. And I'm sorry that you like me and I don't like you back. We can be just friends if you want…" He held his hand out to Snivy invitingly.

Snivy suddenly wiggled out of Mei's hold and landed on Hugh's hand. Before the male trainer could react, Snivy had climbed up his arm and made herself comfortable on his shoulder. "Sni! Vy!" Snivy cuddled into Hugh's neck and sighed. "Ssssss…"

Hugh jumped, knocking Snivy off balance. He quickly shoved the Pokémon away in disgust. "I take it back; I don't want to be friends! Leave me ALONE!"

"Don't shout at Snivy!" Mei scooped up Snivy who had fallen off of Hugh's shoulder and landed face down on the ground. Mei shot Hugh a venomous look. "Snivy is just a little one. She doesn't know that she is a Pokémon and that you're not! And besides, I think you should be flattered that a Pokémon as cute as Snivy happens to be in love with you."

Hugh stared at Mei like she just fell out of the sky. "I should be flattered?! What are you saying?" He didn't wait for Mei to answer before stomping away toward the Route 19 Gate, probably to avoid being embarrassed further.

"Humph! Nice attitude," Mei snorted as she watched Hugh disappear into the Route 19 Gate. She looked down at Snivy. "It's okay, little guy. You'll find someone else. There's plenty of Pokémon for us to see once we get out to Route 19. I promise!"

"Eh-hem…"

Mei turned around and saw that Bianca was still standing there. She must have watched the big Snivy-in-love-with-Hugh phenomenon.

"That was interesting," Bianca concluded. "I must tell Professor Juniper as soon as possible. But first…" She motioned for Mei to follow her. "I have to show you the Pokémon Center and Poke-Mart. Come with me."

Mei shrugged and followed Bianca back into town.

A/N: How is this? Good? Bad? Normal? Annoying? Entertaining? Horrible? Brilliant? Tell me your thoughts, people! I highly appreciate it if you review. It gives me motivation. Negative comments are fine, just don't be mean. Positive comments are always welcome too, of course! Bye now!

~ThePeacockFeather