Author's Note: So, FINALLY, Chapter 2 is up. This feels as prologue-ish as the last one, but next chapter will be more focused as I will turn this into one character's POV per chapter sort of thing. It shall be noted that I am open to taking some OCs, if anyone's interested.

Chapter 2

As We Set Off

"I am re-evaluating my life choices", Jadis muttered as she threw away a sewaddle that had crept into her sleeping bag during the night. The tiny, yellow rodent (apparently a female 'pichu', according to a random passerby) whom she had taken to calling "Quinn" leapt onto it and started to eat it alive with great leisure. It was pretty amusing to watch, since the two pokémon were practically the same size. Quinn eventually got tired of the bug's wailing and punched it. Jadis recognised Quinn's attack as Thunder Punch and raised her eyebrows in slight surprise. "You're a well-bred one, aren't you? I don't think you're supposed to have that move, otherwise. Seems a bit powerful for a baby pokémon like you."

Quinn shrugged absently as she tore into the sewaddle's insides. Then she flinched as if she remembered something and dug out some intestines from the bug's body. She dropped them politely by Jadis' hands and looked up at her expectantly. Jadis considered it for a second, then she remembered that she was not entirely insane just yet and shook her head. "No thanks, but thank you, I guess."

While Quinn ate up the rest of the sewaddle, Jadis slithered out of her sleeping bag and looked at her watch. Five AM. Yep, she was definitely re-evaluating her life choices. She groaned, tied her auburn hair into a ponytail, mashed her sleeping bag into its bag and tied it onto her backpack. When she was done, she got to her feet and started walking towards Striaton City. Quinn noticed it a little late and had to run on her stubby little legs to catch up. Then she had to walk fast to keep up, which was tiring for such a young and small pokémon. She didn't complain though, which was nice.

They shared a quiet walk through the misty Route 2, until they spotted a figure of a younger human being ahead. Jadis decided they should just keep moving, so Quinn followed her without question. The younger human being, who turned out to be a girl around the age of fifteen with a woobat perched on her shoulder, stared at her for a long time, long enough to make one uncomfortable.

"I only have one pokémon", Jadis said, and the girl instantly stopped staring, heaving a disappointed sigh. It had been decided by the Champion from the six regions that trainers out in the wild may only challenge each other if they have more than three pokémon and could only use two (or three, depending on whether you have a full team or not) of them in battle. This was to make sure trainers wouldn't have to run around in the wild without any pokémon to protect them from wild ones. The law had been made to prevent trainers from dying as much as they had been on lately, much like the law that you had to be at leasst fifteen to become a trainer.

Quinn frowned at the girl's woobat, seeming puzzled by it. The woobat noticed her staring at it and stuck out its tongue mockingly.

And that was how Jadis learned that her pichu had a quick temper.

She managed to grab the yellow rodent by the tail just in time to prevent her from leaping onto the woobat, who now let out short shriek-snorts that sounded like horrendous cackling. Quinn was all the more enraged by this and started hissing and spitting at it until Jadis grabbed her scruff. Then she went limp and looked scared and guilty.

"Calm down", Jadis told her grimly. "If you had attacked, I would've lost half my money. Not to mention, I can't get into more trouble with the law. Do you understand?"

Her pichu bobbed its head shakily. In return, Jadis gave her a little nod and put her back down on the ground. "Good. Then let's get going. I still have to get a pokéball for you, you know."

i...i

Mirra packed her things enthusiastically and Kegan watched with great interest. He had tried helping, but he just accidentally set things on fire so he and Mirra both agreed that he didn't have to help.

When she was finally done, she recalled Kegan into his pokéball and ran downstairs to try to say good bye to her father. Once she reached the kitchen where he usually was, sitting by the window, she stopped running and resorted to walking quietly. "Dad?"

"Yes, Mirra?" he replied, not tearing his eyes away from the windows.

... At least he acknowledged her.

"I'm leaving now", Mirra said carefully, placing her hand on his. "I'm going to become a pokémon trainer now, like you!"

"Don't you need to be graduated from school to become a trainer?" her dad questioned.

"I have graduated, dad", Mirra replied, sighing internally. "I did yesterday. Remember...?"

"Oh, right."

He forgot. Or maybe he didn't even hear her when she announced it the former day.

"Yeah... well, then, I'll be off", Mirra continued, letting go of his hand. There was a moment she thought of hugging him, but she had tried it so many times and each time he had never hugged her back. "I'll come visit some day when I get a pokémon that can fly."

"Mhm..."

"I... I love you."

No answer.

Mirra quickly ran out the door and slammed it shut behind her.

'Why did I say that?' she thought angrily and kicked a small stone that dared be in her way when she was in a bad mood. 'Seriously, why. I don't even know if that's true, anymore, either. I just... wanted to see if he'd react to that, at least. But nope. Nothing. Don't know why I'm even surprised anymore.'

She glanced at Pete's house, pondering on whether she should say goodbye to him too, but decided not to. She didn't want to be angry and sad around Pete. 'I'll just call him later', she decided, walking straight towards Route 2 while releasing Kegan out of his pokéball.

"Are we going now?" he asked, trotting aside her to keep up.

"Yep!" his trainer replied, forcing a grin. "We're gonna be awesome and eat junk food Pete would never allow us to eat, and we don't have any junk food yet!"

"So, we're just going to be awesome right now?"

"Damn right!"

AN: So, that's the second chapter for you. Thus far we have some kind of trouble with the law and apparently family issues. Chapter 3 will hopefully be out soon enough.