The peaceful atmosphere didn't last long once the girls left Pallet Town. Bree seemed naturally competitive, and was challenging Sophie to see who could catch a Pokémon first.

"I'm not getting into a silly contest with you," Sophie sniffed, irritably.

"Fine," Bree said, smirking as she backed away. "I've already won, then."

"Hey!" Sophie cried, as Bree ran off into the long grass beside the road. She soon followed, leaving Jade alone with the bags. Shaking her head, but with a smile on her face, Jade carried their belongings to a nearby tree and settled down underneath it to wait.

Finally alone, she pulled the Poké ball from her pocket and examined it. She'd often had dreams about being a trainer, and this felt exactly like she'd imagined it would. Gently, she held the ball out in front of her, hand shaking a little as she leaned her arm on her bent knees, and pressed the button on the front. the ball snapped open with a click, beaming white light that formed into a shape on the ground. And there, standing quietly before her, was the little fire lizard she had chosen for her starter Pokémon.

He was a little bigger than she'd pictured, with his tail flame flickering in the breeze. He regarded her with a quiet, blank stare that seemed to give no hint of emotion. She slowly placed the ball on the ground, and held out her fingers, just a little, in a gesture of welcoming. At first the Pokémon just stared at her but, after a little while, he shuffled closer. She couldn't help but laugh, as she could tell he was trying to look proud and strong. He tilted his head slightly in confusion.

"It's alright, Charmander," Jade said, her voice light. "I've never had a Pokémon before, and you've never had a trainer before. There's no need to be nervous. We'll figure it out together."

"Char?" The Charmander seemed intrigued and, after a little more hesitation, it came closer and sniffed her fingers.

"See?" Jade smiled. "I'm not so scary."

The Charmander still gazed at her with some confusion, but it seemed to relax a little more. When she asked if it was a boy or girl he indicated he was male, and she called him Charmer.

"That is, if you don't mind having a name?" she added, suggestively.

"Chaaaar," he replied, nodding in an encouraging way, before walking closer to Jade and prodding her. "Char char?" he asked.

"I don't speak Charmander," Jade laughed. "But are you asking me about my name?"

"Chaaaar!" Charmer grinned that she understood.

""I'm Jade," she replied. "Jade Marie Avalon, from Johto. But I was born in Pallet Town. Do you know what those are?"

Charmer shook his head, and he sat next to Jade as she explained about the two regions. She told him about her parents, and the travelling ranch they ran back home. He was fascinated, all the while relaxing in her presence.

Soon after, the other two came back. It was easy to see from their faces they'd been unsuccessful. Jade, however, was surrounded by a flock of Pidgey, and one was even eating seed from her hand.

When the others flew away, this one stayed close, and Jade held out a Poké ball and
tried a capture. The ball drew the Pidgey inside, wiggled a few times, and then clicked into place. Sophie and Bree were stunned, not only at how she'd handled the wild Pokémon, but also how comfortable her Charmander looked sitting next to her. When he saw them coming he shuffled behind her, but she reached back and stroked him reassuringly.

"It's okay, Charmer," she said, soothingly. "They're my friends, they're going to travel with us. This is Sophie, and this is Bree. Guys, this is Charmer."

"How did you do that?" Sophie asked, her eyes wide.

"Do what?" Jade replied, puzzled.

"Your Pokémon looks so comfortable," Bree complained. "Mine looks so grumpy, and it didn't want to fight."

"Mine sulked," Sophie laughed. "You're so good with them, though. How do you know what to do."

Jade blushed. This was the first time they'd really paid her so much attention. "Well," she began. "I'm from Johto, though I was born in Kanto. My parents look after a lot of Pokémon, so I'm used to them."

"You never told us you were from Johto!" Bree gasped. "What's it like?"

"So far, not that different," Jade replied, thoughtfully.

"We've been so silly," Sophie said, frowning. "Just because you're quieter than we are, we assumed you wouldn't be stronger."

"This isn't strength," Jade replied. "Not like the kind you guys argue over."

"There's different ways to be strong," Sophie said, smiling as Charmer slowly inched his way back around to examine them. "We've not taken the time, like you have, to get to know our Pokémon. It's no wonder that Pidgey was drawn to you."

"Pell," Jade said. "She's called Pell."

"How can you tell she's a girl?" Bree asked.

"She told me," Jade replied. "I asked her, same as I asked Charmer. I talked to her before I captured her, and she wanted to stay."

"You can understand what they say?" Bree cried, even more aghast.

Jade laughed. "There's more than one way to communicate, Bree. If there's something they want to tell you they make sure you understand."

"Lets give Jade some more time with Charmer and get to know our own Pokémon a bit better," Sophie said. She walked away a little with her Squirtle's ball and released him on the grass, before sitting down and trying to talk to him. Bree looked a little worried, but she walked away to do the same.

Jade watched for a while, before remembering the Pokédex Professor Oak had given her. She explained to Charmer that using it wouldn't hurt him before she scanned his information.

"Charmander, the lizard Pokémon. The fire on the tip of its tail is a measure of its life. If healthy, its tail burns intensely."

In response to this, Charmer flicked his tail back and forth. He watched, curiously, as Jade scanned her friends' Pokémon one at a time.

"Squirtle, the tiny turtle Pokémon. It shelters itself in its shell, then strikes back with spouts of water at every opportunity.

"Bulbasaur, the seed Pokémon. For some time after its birth, it grows by gaining nourishment from the seed on its back."

"Chaaaar," Charmer crooned, fascinated at the Pokédex. Then he tugged at jade's pocket, encouraging her to do Pell next.

"Alright, I'm getting to that," Jade laughed, as she released Pell onto the ground beside her. The little Pidgey watched, calmly, as the device was pointed at her.

"Pidgey, the tiny bird Pokémon. It is docile, and prefers to avoid conflict. If disturbed, however, it can ferociously strike back."

"Docile... that's like gentle, right?" said Jade. "Well, you seem quite gentle, but I bet you COULD fight back if you wanted, like the Pokédex said."

The Pidgey bobbed its head and chirped loudly, before taking flight and landing on Jade's shoulder, rubbing her head into her trainer's cheek. Sophie came over at that moment, carrying Squirtle in her arms. It was wearing Sophie's sunglasses and grinning cheekily.

"I called him Bubbles," Sophie smiled. "He's a bit giddy. he keeps rooting through my bag."

"Bulbasaur's still not very keen on me," sighed Bree. The grass Pokémon followed her over, sulkily.

"I'm sure he'll come around," Sophie said, reassuringly. "Come on, we need to keep going if we've any chance of getting to Viridian City.

"We won't get there before dark I don't think," Bree said, biting her lip.

"So we'll cover as much ground as we can before camping out," Sophie replied, taking hold of Bree's bag and running off down the road with it, much to Bree's protests. They kept walking until the light began to fail, before settling down in their sleeping bags by a makeshift campfire Charmer helped start.

"You know what I miss," said Bree dreamily as they settled down. "I miss lemonade. I love lemonade!"

"Yea, especially on a warm day," gushed Sophie. "But it'd go flat with all the walking we're doing, and it tastes better cold."

"It's too warm to keep drinks cool," complained Bree. "Even the water in my flask didn't stay cool."

"I like fresh lemonade," said Jade. "My Mum used to make it when we found a lemon tree, she'd add lots of sugar and make it really sweet."

"I've never had freshly made lemonade before," said Bree. "I bet it's nice."

"It's lovely," Jade smiled. "We should make some one day."

"That'd be awesome," said Sophie, who was rummaging around in her bag. She pulled out a small, rectangular device with a flip-lid. Jade's eyes widened.

"Oh, my parents have something like that!"

"What is it?" asked Bree.

"It's a miniature computer," explained Sophie. "It connects to the internet. I have a diary online that I want to keep up with, to record my Pokémon journey. That way, my Mum can read it without me having to keep calling her."

"That's clever," said Jade, her voice tinged with awe.

"Don't you need batteries for it?" asked Bree.

"It has quite a long lifespan; I just need to remember to charge it at Pokémon Centers. If I stayed on it for hours, it would run out, but I only need to use it for a few minutes each night to update my diary."

"Can other people read it?" asked Jade.

"Of course," Sophie laughed. "Take a look."

She flipped the computer around, and showed them a screen with a Poké ball-themed web page. At the top right was a picture of her, smiling and holding a Poké ball. The first diary entry explained how she was getting ready for a Pokémon journey, and wanted to record it so that she could look back and see how far she'd traveled. It also meant other people could read what she was doing, and see what it was really like to go on a Pokémon journey.

"Wow, that's such a cool idea," said Jade. "I've never written a diary before."

"I used to read a lot when I was at home," explained Sophie. "There wasn't much else to do, and it helped pass the time. But most of what I read was made up stories about Pokémon, or factual books about their abilities. I didn't see much about trainers and their journeys. So I'm writing about mine."

"What are you going to write about tonight?" asked Jade.

"Well, I'm going to say how I got to Professor Oak's lab, and picked a Squirtle which I called Bubbles. I'm going to say I haven't caught any Pokémon yet, but I am travelling with two new friends I made. Do you guys mind me using your first names in my diary?"

"No, of course not," said Jade, beaming. "I think it's fantastic, I'd love to be in your story."

Bree had been quiet for a few minutes. Finally, she asked, "are... you going to tell the internet about the fight we had?"

"Don't be silly," Sophie frowned. "We didn't really fall out, and even if we had that's not a nice thing to do. I'd never tell everyone something like that."

"Then yes, you can write about me," said Bree, smiling. "Maybe some of my family will read it."

"I'll write down the address for you both," said Sophie. "Then you can tell your family, if they want to read it. I can tell how many people go on the page, so I'll know if we're getting lots of attention."

"Do you have a camera?" asked Bree. "You could put photos up of all of us, and the Pokémon we catch. It'll be fun."

"That's a great idea," said Sophie. "We can do that tomorrow, when it's light."

The next morning, the three girls played with Sophie's camera, taking lots of photos to upload to her diary. She made a page that read "about my friends", and let the two girls decide what the page should say about them and their Pokémon. Then she made another page about her own Pokémon, and wrote some nice lines about Bubbles, which made him feel so embarrassed that he hid inside his shell.

Finally, she made a page for all the photographs they'd taken. Some were of the three starter Pokémon, some were of each trainer with their own Pokémon, and some were of the three girls. For once, Bree and Sophie were getting on really well, and Jade wondered if that's how sisters were with one another; fighting one minute and friends the next.

Sophie also took a picture of Jade with Pell on her shoulder, and wrote a whole diary post about how she'd been the first one to catch a Pokémon out of all three of them. This embarrassed Jade, but made her very happy. She'd already decided to tell them about it as soon as she next contacted them, and now they could see her and her Pokémon properly.

The group soon set off; keen to get to Viridian City as they didn't have much food left between them. By the time they reached the outskirts of the City, it was almost lunch time, and they were getting very hungry.

"The Pokémon Center is near the middle of the city," Officer Jenny explained, when they asked for directions. "Here you are, have a map of the area. You can find the Pokémon Center if you go through this way."

"Thank you, Officer," said Sophie, politely. They followed the map, and arrived at the Center just over an hour later.

The three girls tucked into a decent lunch while Nurse Joy checked over their Pokémon. She called them to the desk when she was done, and smiled warmly at them.

"I must admit, I'm surprised," she said. "I don't remember the last time I saw so many new trainers come through my door without a scratch on their Pokémon. They're usually so irresponsible, and get into all sorts of mischief! But you three are being really sensible, it's refreshing to see."

Bree giggled, while Sophie tried to hold a mature conversation with Nurse Joy. Jade just smiled. She didn't feel sensible, or reckless. She was just enjoying every day, and couldn't wait for the next one.

Across the road from the Pokémon Center, an older girl was leaning against a wall, intently licking an ice cream. She was purposefully ignoring the stares she'd attracted from a group of boys at a nearby table, but only to entice them more. She wasn't too tall for her age, but had flowing hair and a stunning complexion. Flicking her hair seductively in the warm sunlight, she closed her eyes and tilted her head upwards, allowing the guys to check her out more openly.

Just as a few of her admirers were debating whether to walk over and strike up a conversation she was approached by a young lad of a similar age. Disappointed, her new fan club turned away, assuming he was her boyfriend. Of course, a girl that pretty had to already be taken.

The girl sighed with exasperation at her new companion as he leaned against the wall next to her.

"You should have taken your time," she said, opening one eye and regarding him, dryly. "I was enjoying the sunshine."

"Enjoying the attention, more like," he replied, glancing towards the table of boys who were now ignoring them again. "You forget how well I know you, Helen."

She stamped her foot dramatically and glared, all pretense of the seductress lost. "You make me sound like a tart," she hissed. "I think about work too, and about Pokémon."

"Never said you didn't," the guy cooed, with a smirk on his face.

Helen sighed, and closed her eyes again, tossing the now-melting ice cream in a nearby bin. She'd only eaten it for the way it looked, and now there was no point in finishing it.

"So what did the boss have to say?" she asked.

"Not a lot really," said the guy, looking deflated. "I was hoping he'd have a mission for us by now, but he said since we've only been actively on the field for a few days he doesn't want to drop us in over our heads."

"Hmm," Helen mused, thoughtfully. "Makes sense, I suppose. When do you think we'll be trusted with something bigger Troy?" She regarded her companion fully for a moment. He was a striking lad, tall and athletic with clear blue eyes and shaggy brown hair he kept fairly short. But to her mind, all she saw was the same boy who'd taken charge of her years before when she'd ran away from home. He was like a brother to her and, while she'd always be grateful for all he'd done, she was determined never to show him how indebted she felt to him. After all, to her that was a sign of weakness and she wouldn't entertain it.

Troy was sighing, eyes scanning the distance. "I don't know, but I hope it's soon," he was saying. "We didn't go through all that training to eat ice cream. Maybe we should use our initiative and think of something for ourselves to do first."

"So what do we do?" asked Helen.

It took Troy so long to answer, as he thought about their options, that Helen wished she'd kept her ice cream. Maybe she could have attracted the attention of her admirers again.

"What we need to do..." he said, finally. "What we need is a plan. We need to draw attention to ourselves within the organisation, but in a small way."

"I'm an expert at getting attention," said Helen, flashing a cheeky smile.

"I've noticed," said Troy, dryly but not unkindly. "Oh, that was something he mentioned as well. He's setting us up with a liaison, to save us having to contact him directly. Maybe that's where we'll get our instructions from, actually. I didn't think of that."

"What's a lee-aye-zon?" asked Helen, pronouncing the word slowly and carefully.

"It's someone who acts as a go between, so we don't have to report to him directly," said Troy. "He's busy with other projects at the moment. Rumour has it he's looking to set up solid branches in other regions too; not just Kanto. There's already a pretty strong presence in Johto, and the Sevii Islands, not to mention a few field agents in other areas but nothing significant yet."

"Looks like things are taking off for the team," said Helen.

"Good thing we joined when we did," agreed Troy.

"Team Rocket," said Helen dreamily. "We've got the uniforms; we've got our Pokémon; now we only need one more thing to make it perfect."

"What's that?" asked Troy.

"We need to practice our motto!"