Twinleaf Town wasn't exactly the biggest place in Sinnoh. To be more specific, it was one of the smallest.

Mira came to realise this as she hopped from one leg to the other, waiting for her forest-green haired travelling companion to get out of the door.

"Hey, wait up!" Cheryl called after her, "at this rate, I'll be the one following you rather than the other way around! This dress is hard to run in, you know!"

Mira couldn't help but grin.

Cheryl finally got out of her own home.

"My," she informed Mira, "you're an enthusiastic person. There's only one other person I know who could even try to beat out how happy you are right now."

Mira shrugged and laughed with the sheer excitement.

"And speak of the devil," Cheryl told her, "that person is right over there. If you want, you can say hi to him. He's one of the neighbours."

Cheryl gestured to a boy who looked to be about ten, running out of his own house like Mira had just done seconds ago. The boy had slightly tousled blond hair, and wore an orange-and-white striped shirt with sleeves that extended to his wrists. Around his left wrist was a bright orange device of some kind, mimicking a watch. His neck was surrounded by a soft, green scarf. His jeans were simple. He held a bag strap on his shoulder, with the brown bag hanging by his waist.

"Ok," Mira told her, "Mira is going over to say hello. He seems nice enough!"

Cheryl lingered by her door while Mira sped over to the boy.

"Hello!" Mira called to him.

The boy, who had been close to the town exit, paused and looked back at the young girl.

"Mira came to say hello! Mira is a friend of Cheryl's!"

"Umm..." the boy replied, "hi, I guess!"

Mira finally caught up to his location. "So, what is your name?"

"Barry," the boy replied.

"Barry is a nice name!" Mira told him.

The boy laughed a little awkwardly. "Thanks. So, why are you here today?"

"Mira is going on an adventure to see all of Sinnoh! Mira is going to collect eight Gym Badges and be crowned champion!"

"Aw, lucky!" Barry told her, "my mum won't even let me try to capture a Pokemon. I was planning on going out to try and reach Sandgem Town, where the famous Professor Rowan lives, to see if I could finally obtain one."

"Well..." Mira said, "Mira wishes Barry good luck in his goal!"

Barry grinned. "Good luck in yours too."

And there he turned back towards the town exit, and continued to the next route to try and succeed in his mission.

Mira turned back to see Cheryl walking up behind her.

"You two seem to get on very well," she said to Mira, "I bet that if you encounter each other in future, you might become even closer as friends. Anyway, it's about time we started off on this adventure, don't you think?"

Mira nodded. "Mira agrees with Cheryl. Mira wants to see Sinnoh with her own eyes, in an adventure with her new best friend!"

Cheryl smiled brightly, and together the two of them took the first step of one of the biggest and most important journeys Sinnoh had ever witnessed.

"So," Cheryl explained, "the route we are standing on right now is Route 201. If we follow the path to our right, we will be taking half a day's walk to Sandgem Town. If we turn left, we will be taking a few hour's walk to Lake Verity. Which way do you want to go first?"

Mira looked from the left to the right, carefully thinking over her choice.

It didn't take her long to decide.

"Mira wants to see the lake! Mira has heard that Sinnoh lakes are beautiful, but she hasn't seen a Sinnoh lake before, so Mira is going to go left."

"I'll do what you do," Cheryl replied to her, as they both began walking forward.

But just as they turned the corner, they became witness to a small commotion going on.

"I'm sorry, sir!" Barry said hurriedly, "but I do love Pokemon! Really!"

A man with a white moustache and similar-coloured hair looked down at him. "Hmm... let's see... you tried to run into the tall grass because you wanted to ask me for Pokemon... should I? Hmm... very well then! I will entrust you with your own Pokemon! But you'll have to promise not to endanger yourself anymore."

Barry looked up at the man, his shaken look completely replaced with a beaming smile. "Yes! I promise, Professor Rowan!"

The man whom Barry had called Professor Rowan chuckled at the young boy. "Very well. Dawn? Lucas? My suitcase?"

The two young teenagers who had been standing beside Professor Rowan nodded. The boy placed down a suitcase in front of Barry and undid the clips holding the lid and bottom together.

As he opened the suitcase, Mira could spot three Poke balls settled in the silky fabric that lined the suitcase, each one with a small tag attached to it.

"Feel free to take your pick of which Pokemon you want as your starter," the boy told Barry, before standing up and returning to his previous position.

Barry was stunned. He hadn't thought he was going to be this lucky in a long time.

At that moment, he looked around and spotted Mira and Cheryl quietly observing the situation.

"Hey!" Barry called out to them, "look at how lucky I've got!"

Then an idea struck him. "Hang on... why don't you two take the Pokemon I don't choose? That'd give them a nice home! Would you allow it, Professor Rowan?"

The Professor looked at Mira and Cheryl. "Well, I don't see why not. Come over here, girls. You can select a Pokemon too."

Cheryl grinned, while Mira squealed with pure excitement. Both of them rushed over to where Barry was kneeling down, looking at what Pokemon they could choose from.

"So," Barry explained, "we have the Grass-type Turtwig... the Fire-type Chimchar... and the Water-type Piplup..."

Mira knelt down beside him. "Why don't you bring them out of their Poke balls? Mira thinks it would be best if she saw what each Pokemon looked like before she decides."

Barry nodded. "That seems like a good idea. I'll let these two out, while you let that one out."

Mira picked up the one he gestured to, and released the button on the Poke ball. Then she threw it up into the air, while crying out, "Go! Turtwig!"

"Go, Chimchar!" Barry called out, "Go, Piplup!"

There, in front of the two girls, Barry, the Professor and his assistants, stood three Pokemon.

The Grass-type Pokemon, Turtwig, was pretty cute. It had a derpy expression on its face, and its feet were coloured yellow. The rest of its main body was light green, save for the brown shell on its back. What really made it cute, though, was the small twig-shaped protrusion coming from its head, which had two leaves stuck to it that mimicked a bow of some sort.

The Fire-type Pokemon, Chimchar, was equally adorable. It had wide eyes and a cute little smile, while its body was coloured various shades of orange - a lighter orange for its face, hands and stomach, and a darker orange everywhere else. A small fire burned from its lower back.

The Water-type Pokemon, Piplup, had just as many cute features as the others. Its eyes were unbearably cute. The back of its head was dark blue, and feathers of a similar colour extended down its back, almost mimicking a superhero cape. The rest of its body was light blue, and it walked on two yellow flipper-like feet.

The first out of the three kids to make their choice was Cheryl.

"That Turtwig is sooooo cute!" She rushed over to it and picked it up. The Turtwig cried out in approval.

Mira was next.

"Look at the Chimchar! It looks adorable! And its fire is awesome!"

Mira picked it up, careful to avoid its flames. The Chimchar gave a small hug in return.

"Well, I guess I get Piplup then!" Barry said happily, "I was thinking about choosing this one anyway, so I guess it worked out for all of us!"

The Piplup chirped with happiness.

As Mira hugged her newly-obtained Chimchar, she looked up at Professor Rowan and his assistants.

All three of them were smiling.

"Well," Professor Rowan told them, "it all worked out fine in the end. Lucas, could you pick up my case for me? It would be greatly helpful."

Lucas nodded, closed the suitcase and picked it up.

As Professor Rowan walked in the direction of Sandgem Town with his assistants, he turned his head back towards Mira, Cheryl and Barry kneeling on the ground. "I hope all three of you strive to become the best you can ever be!"

"We promise, Professor Rowan!" All three of them called back.

"Wow," Barry said with delight, "I've finally gotten my own Pokemon! You know what this means?"

Both Mira and Cheryl shrugged, too happy to be bothered to think of an answer.

"Battle!" Barry exclaimed.

Mira looked up at him. "Yes! Let's have a go battling each other's Pokemon to see how strong they are! Mira approves of this idea!"

"I think it sounds nice," Cheryl told them, "but I don't think it'd be that fair if Mira used her Abra in this battle, since Barry only has one Pokemon while Mira has two. I, too, have a second Pokemon, but I'd rather not battle."

Mira turned to Cheryl, a look of faint confusion on her face. "But why? Don't you want to see how strong Turtwig is?"

"I do," she explained, "but only once I've bought more potions. I don't enjoy having battles unless I know I'll have enough healing items to make sure my Pokemon are fine after, and I currently don't have any with me. It's a strange reason, I know, but I can't stop myself from disliking it. Feel free to battle all you want. I'll cheer from the side."

Barry shrugged. "It makes sense. So, Mira are you ready? Remember to not use your Abra."

Mira nodded. "Ready."

"Go!" Both of them shouted at the same time.

"Chimchar!"

"Piplup!"

Since both Pokemon were already out of their Poke balls, all they really had to do was stand in front of their trainers menacingly.

Or rather, it would be menacingly, if they weren't so darn cute.

"Ok, Piplup!" Barry commanded his Pokemon, "use Pound!"

Piplup didn't hesitate to rush over to Mira's Chimchar and attempt to pound it to the ground with its wings.

"Chimchar!" Mira said, "dodge it!"

Chimchar tried to leap away. It avoided the worst, but as it wasn't quite as agile as the Piplup, it got struck on its right leg, bringing it down.

Mira panicked. "Try to Scratch the Piplup to get it away from you!"

"Use another Pound!" Barry called from a couple of metres away.

Piplup attempted to attack Chimchar again, but Chimchar raked the Piplup's wing with a set of claws.

Piplup cried out, rushing back to avoid more harm.

"Now, Chimchar, use Leer!" Mira told her fiery friend, with more focus on the battle than she had at the beginning.

Chimchar obeyed, and thundered towards the Piplup, before glaring at it with a piercing stare.

Piplup slowly began to tremble with fear.

Barry began to get a little flustered. "Try intimidating Chimchar in return with a Growl!"

Piplup tried to growl at Chimchar, but it was so nervous that it only came out as a mere whimper.

"All right!" Mira called out, "finish it off with another Scratch, Chimchar!"

Chimchar raised its claws up in the air, making a faint glint in the sun, before bringing down its claws right across Piplup.

Piplup stumbled for a moment, before collapsing.

"Piplup is unable to battle," Cheryl said from where she was sitting, "Mira wins!"

Barry called the fainted Piplup back into its Poke ball.

"Well done, Chimchar!" Mira called out to it, "now time return to your Poke ball."

Chimchar nodded, and allowed itself to go back into its own Poke ball.

Barry sighed. "I'm pretty bummed that I lost, but that was a good battle, Mira!"

Mira nodded. "Mira agrees that the battle was very fun! Mira wants to declare you her rival!"

Barry paused, and looked at her. "Seriously? You want me to be your rival in battling?"

"Yes! Mira thinks you could be a strong trainer in future, and Mira wants a strong rival!"

"Well..." Barry said, "I don't think I'd have any reason to turn that request down! I am now your rival!"

"Woo!" Was all Mira said in response to that.

Cheryl stood up and wandered towards them. "So, I think it's time we continue on. Me and Mira were going to go to Lake Verity. Do you want to come, Barry?"

Barry shook his head. "Nah, I think I'm gonna go to Sandgem Town first. I've seen Lake Verity enough times already. I guess I'll see you guys around, then!"

And there, the two girls and Barry separated from each other, to head their own ways.

After meeting a neighbour of Cheryl's named Barry and leaving Sandgem Town, the two girls found themselves confronted with Sinnoh's famous Pokemon professor, Professor Rowan, and a choice between three Pokemon as a new friend! While Cheryl chose the derpy Turtwig, Mira picked the fiery Chimchar and Barry went for the enthusiastic Piplup. Soon after a battle between Mira's Chimchar and Barry's Piplup ensued, which resulted in a win for Mira. Afterwards the two girls bid Barry farewell as they began walking to Lake Verity... who knows what will happen next? The journey continues!

Hello, dear reader! Considering this is the debut of Tano Platinum, I decided it was best to showcase a little more action to new readers by releasing part 2 shortly after part 1. I don't really have much else to say now, except thanks for reading!