When fifteen year old Jaxen Green looks at his reflection in the mirror, only one word comes to mind. Odd. His hair is a normal black color and his face is pretty normal as well. His eyes, however, are the oddities. The left one being silver and the right one blue. One color from each parent.

With a sigh, he looks away from his reflection and moves away from the bathroom sink. He enters his room (which is actually an understatement, considering it the size of a large apartment) and moves to the closet. His parents only got him the best of everything. They actually built a facility on their property, for his private schooling. He was taught by professors and had the best equipment at his disposal. He may be a rich kid, but at least he isn't a stupid rich kid. His parent's made sure of that.

As you may have already guessed, Jaxen is a "rich kid." His parent's both being heads of their respective industries (he's still surprised they never merged the companies), and also being leaders of their respective gyms in their hometowns. Of course this also meant that they were almost never home, but they had contingencies.

Jaxen enters the mansion's kitchen, now wearing a long sleeved blue hooded jacket, with white stripes on the sleeves, over a black shirt with black cargo pants and armor-toed boots."Hey, Gloria." He greets, taking a seat on one of the luxurious looking chairs surrounding the dining table.

'Good morning, Master Jaxen' comes the telepathic reply form the Pokemon preparing his breakfast, even though he could cook himself. A black humanoid standing at about four feet in height with thin arms and legs, two buns on either side of its head, with two white bows on each bun and two bows along its body, which flares out at the bottom to form a skirt shape. It has a purple face, with red lips and blue eyes. The pokemon is a gothirita, and one of his parents contingencies.

Seeing as they couldn't be there to take care of him all the time, they to some of their most loyal pokemon do it. His dad using his lucario, Cylad, and his mum using her flygon, Avarice. But as both were still gym pokemon and had to leave the house from time to time, his aunt decided to pitch in as well. She comes to visit him when she can, but she has her responsibilities as well, so she trained Gloria to take care of in their stead. Even though she is a battle pokemon as well.

The gothirita drops a plate of syrup covered pancakes in front of him, using telekinesis. "Could you please stop calling me that? Just Jaxen is fine" He requests,even though he knows she would neither answer him nor agree. Skewering three pancakes on his fork, Jaxen takes a bite, and moans at the taste. He always found it odd that gloria was a better cook than him, since she doesn't eat most of the things she cooks. He's actually never seen her eating, at least not in his presence.

Jaxen glances at the gothirita, standing with hands clasped in front of her, at his side. She usually doesn't 'talk' much outside of the usual greetings and the very few questions he asks that she actually answers. She's always been extremely professional, even around his parent's pokemon, when ever they're present. He would think she didn't like him, if he didn't that were not the case.

So, with a shrug, Jaxen returns back to his breakfast. He has a long day ahead of him, best to keep his energy up. He idly wonders what his first pokemon would be. His parents told him they picked one out, but never said what it was. 'I'm gonna find out today anyway.' he thinks stuffing his mouth with more pancakes.. He again moans at the taste, missing gloria roll her eyes.

The chirping of the bird pokemon signal the start of my day. They're not the best of alarms, but they get the job done, even though they never seem to wake up mother. With a nearly silent yawn, I sit up and move from my white furred pillow and towards the entrance of our cave den. I breathe in the fresh early morning air, and scan the area for predators of intruders. Seeing none, I glance at mother to ensure she is still sleeping, and weigh the pros and cons of running away to explore the forest before she wakes up.

I would be found of course. I've never been successfully able to hide from mother, but she seems to be able mask her signature from my feel. Still, I barely ever get out without super vision and I'm pretty sure I could take on anyone who might attack me. Mother made sure of that after she found me four months ago.

When I woke up in that lab the second time, the gold eyed man and the lazy woman were gone. Soon after, the other humans me a forested area they called 'the fields', where a houndoom tried to eat me for lunch. The only reason I'm still alive is because mother decided to take pity on the 'fresh meat.' She isn't my real mum, obviously, but as payment for saving my life and teaching me how to actually fight, she 'requested' I refer to her as 'mum or 'mother', whichever I was more comfortable with. Honestly I think she's just using me as means to get over the fact that she doesn't have any children of her own. But I didn't complain, seeing as I didn't have a mother myself... and it wouldn't have been very wise to say that to her face at the time.

Deciding to just go with it, I jump of the cliff and land, somewhat, gracefully, on the grassy floor. The clearing is silent, as usual. No one ever really tries to get close to mother's territory and if I remember mother's (short and one-sided) fight with the houndoom correctly, I can understand why. Suppressing a shudder, I stealthily make my way to the nearby stream, checking my reflection as I take a drink. Red eyes peer back at me, along with yellow furred body, black fore limbs and a extra set of massive black jaws sticking of the back of my skull. Mum says I'm a mawile, but I've never seen another.

Expanding my senses, I listen for mother's light breaths to ensure she's still asleep, give the area one last check and begin moving into the forest. I heard from some of the pokemon (before mother killed them for food) that the fields are divided into regions. 'I wonder if I can find another one before I'm caught' I muse to myself as I enter the forest, just as some pokemon begin emerging from their nests and burrows.

From the darkness of the cave, a white figure watches as the mawile cautiously walks into a forest. With a sigh, it flops back down unto its belly and mutters "children" in a decidedly feminine voice. She doesn't move to get her daughter for two reasons. One, very few pokemon would actually try to hurt her and very few pokemon actually could. She made sure of that personally through training and more than a little intimidation. The second reason is that the kid's supposed to be getting a trainer today. She never really got over her dislike for any and all forms containment, so it might be a bit problematic for both parties since pokeballs are a no go.

Hopefully, she might get a reasonable trainer who wouldn't pressure her to stay in the pokeball...'Or she might just snap and kill her trainer' the figure muses with a smirk. She could only hope the brat got a decent rookie and not some snot-nosed wannabe champion. The latter tended to die very early in their careers.

The property belonging to Jaxen's family is very large. So large in fact that was commissioned by the pokemon league to serve as a preserve of sorts. It is home to several dozen species of pokemon. Jaxen is quite familiar with all of them and on good terms with more than a few. The property basically consists of a seven mile long stretch of land with forests, plains and some lakes here and there. I makes the walk to the gates a serious fucking hassle, but he reminds himself it's for the pokemon...

It doesn't always work.

'Are you alright, Master Jaxen' Gloria asks, as said person is currently on his hands and knees, heaving in air as if he's going to drown. She already knows what the problem is, but it would be more polite to ask first before using her abilities on him.'I could simply teleport you to the gates if you would like?' she offers

Jaxen takes a deep breath and jumps back to his feet. "Nope, I'm good." he replies. "I'm gonna face much harder things than this on my journey, so it'd be better to start getting used to it now." With that, he resumes walking, gloria falling into step beside him. Jaxen grins" Don't worry, I'll be fine. Just three more miles to go." he tries to sound encouraging. It didn't help much.

'Three point seven actually' Gloria supplies. That didn't help much either.

Eventually, they reach the looming gates, and equally looming walls, of the compound. And once there, Jaxen finds a pleasant surprise waiting for him. An extremely beautiful woman, with waist-length auburn hair, with bangs that frames her face, brilliant cerulean eyes and a rather... appealing figure. She wears an elegant blue and white dress, and carries herself like royalty. He lunges at her.

"Mum!" he exclaims, barreling full-speed into the woman's mid-section. She doesn't even grunt, only taking a step back and laying a hand gently on her son's head. He continues to hug her and she doesn't stop him. They haven't seen in about five months after all.

'Good day,Mistress Gale' Gloria greets, getting a smile and a small nod in reply. She watches them both for a few moments, before 'speaking up' again. 'Should I remove him?' she asks, eyes on the boy still clinging to his mother.'We have a schedule to keep after all.'

Gale shakes her head.'No need' she mentally replies, before gently removing son's arms from around her torso. "Jaxen,"she begins softly "I know you are happy to see me, but I still need to get back to work. So let us finish this as quickly as possible. Alright?" Jaxen nods in reply, and steps out of the gates and enter the awaiting limo. Gale turns to the gothirita. "Please lock up the meet us there after you have made the proper provisions for food for the pokemon"The psychic-type simply teleports away, to do her assignment. Gale simply enters the vehicle, which begins moving as soon as she does so.

"So mum,"Jaxen begins, breaking the relative silence in the limo." Are you going to tell me what my starter is now?" He asks hopefully. Every rime he asks, his parents would tell him no. Maybe today would be different, since he's gonna find out anyway.

"No" Guess not.

"You will find out what we have gotten for you when we reach the lab." Gale continues. "Though,"she adds, knowing her son would cling to any chance for information he could get. She wasn't disappointed as Jaxen gave her his full attention."I can tell you that it is about four months old." Making him deflate like that was almost as amusing as doing it to his father. They are very similar in that regard.

"So what? A new born?" Jaxen asks, a bit disappointed. "I was kinda hoping for something... more." He leans back in his chair, arms crossed."I'm asking for something like an Ursaring as my starter, but you and dad are gym leaders. Couldn't you get me something me that's, I don't know... not a new born?" He pauses. "Where is dad anyway?"

Gale giggles at her son's words." Well, to answer your first question," she begins" Yes. Your father and I could arrange for a truly magnificent starter for you, but it would make no difference in the long run." She pauses, looking to make sure he was paying attention. He was. "Let me ask you this, Jaxen. If you were to give a new trainer an Ursaring, and a veteran trainer an Ursaring, who would win?"

Jaxen didn't even need to ponder the question." The veteran" he replies, knowing he already lost the argument.

"Why?" his mother asks with a smile.

"Because the veteran is simply that, a veteran." He answers. "A newbie trainer will more often than not be unable to command that that Ursaring in battle to the fullest of its capabilities. While the more experienced trainer will be able maximize his Pokemon's ability to the fullest, since they have a stronger bond and have been in many more battles than the former."

His mother nods in approval."The same can be said about your want for a 'better' starter." she continues, even though she knows she doesn't have to. "You can have that excellent starter and do well in battles for the first few weeks until you are, as your father would say, curb stomped by a stronger trainer later on. Whatever you can do with a pokemon, there will usually be someone out there who can do it better. Trust me, I know." Gale follows her son's lead and leans back in her chair, although with much more refinement." So, your father and I got you something more... practical." Then she frowns. "As for your father... he probably won't make it in time to see you off, he's meeting an old friend of ours. I will be joining him later today."

"I see." Jaxen says, a little disappointed. Then he grins "Could I have another hint about my starter as compensation?" he asks hopefully.

"No."

Never hurt to be optimistic.

Okay, this is extremely weird. I've been out for about two hours and mother has yet to come get. Not only that, but most of the pokemon either ignore me or just outright avoid me. The second is not really surprising, considering who my mother is, and actually helped me get breakfast. I still had yet to find another region of the fields by the time the sun had fully risen, and I began to wonder about the truth to the rumor. In retrospect, I should have planned ahead and asked mother if she knew anything. Granted, she would have been suspicious, but it would have been better than just wondering blindly around the forest. Luckily, I could still find the cave den by scent, so I wasn't totally lost.

Just as I decide to go back however, I am met with an obstacle. A really big and ugly one. A reptilian biped, with an armored body, jet black everywhere but the plates of silver-colored armor on its head, back, elbows and armor on its head has four holes on, two on each side,with horns protruding from the two in front. Its forehead plating extends past its upper jaw in a small point. It has blue slitted eyes, and two holes on the tip of its upper jaw, presumably for breathing. On the rim of its mouth are several pointed protrusions, like fangs, and the nape of its neck and back have silver armor sections. It has wide, blunt spikes on its shoulders, gray-silver bands on its arms and leg, three claws on each hand and food and thick long armored black tail extends from its backside.

It was totally intimidating to be honest, but I wasn't gonna admit that. Unfortunately, as my mind tried to come up with a means of escape from this thing that was obviously here to eat me, if that look in its eye is anything to go by, my mouth moved on its own and uttered the first thing that came to mind.

"You're really big and ugly aren't you?"

I had to resist the urge to face palm, just I wouldn't take my eyes of the pokemon. Oddly enough, it didn't look affected by the insult, probably because it was already planning on eating me anyway. I had to wonder though, how did I not hear the foot falls of something that big coming towards me. At this point, it doesn't matter, as I only have two options available to me. Fight or run

Mother trained me to be able to fight most pokemon in the forest. This thing is clearly not under the banner of most pokemon. So, I do the more sensible thing and bolt in the opposite direction, already trying to locate the cave d-

A massive tail slams into the ground where I was just standing, forming a spider web crack. Somehow the thing caught up to me. Now I now I'm not the fastest, but something that big shouldn't be this fast. I have no time to ponder as I attacks me again, with speed that belies it's size, though I note that I didn't hear foot falls this time either.

Left with no other option, I fight back.

As the armored pokemon prepares to attack once more, I spring forward, a move that mother taught me, and land a blow to its abdomen area. It staggers back, but more out of surprise than anything. I take full advantage and coat both my arms in electricity. Springing forward, I land an uppercut to the pokemon's armored jaw, but there was no give whatsoever and it swats me away like a fly. I hit a tree and slide to the ground. Forcing myself to my feet as its thunderous footsteps approa... I can hear its footsteps now? And why does it seem slower?

As it readies another attack, I spring forward once more and land another blow to its torso. But like with my uppercut, this time, there is no give. It's as if the thing suddenly increased in weight. Is that what happened? Maybe it can control its weight somehow. That would explain why I couldn't hear its footsteps before, and why the effectiveness of my attacks suddenly reduced. Great now it's too heavy for most of my attacks to have an effect...

Deciding to change tactics, I roll to the side just as a glowing claw impacts the ground where I was just standing. I ignore the way the very earth shatters at the impact and instead jump back to increase the distance between us. Then, I prepare to lunge. The pokemon turns to face me in time to see a coating of steel appear on my head, just before I spring forward a fast as my legs can launch me. Normally, this attack would hit with enough force to shatter bones, if the pokemon mother had me practice on were anything to go by.

This time however, I collide with the pokemon with resounding CLANG and manage to push it back about three or four feet. But other than it being slightly winded, the attack didn't do any reasonable damage. Well crap...

Jumping back from the pokemon, I watch as it tries to refill its lungs. It watches with the same hunger as it did when I first saw. The same hunger I see in mother when she goes on the hunt. I ready myself. Since I can't escape, I might as well fight. It wouldn't be nice if I dishonored my mother by simply giving up and letting the thing kill me. Speaking of her, I wonder if she's still asleep. Taking a moment to expand my sense and try to feel for mother's signature. I can't find it. My eyes widen... a few second later, the other pokemon's eyes widen as well.

"It just had to be an Aggron." A white furred pokemon says in a feminine voice, emerging from the forest behind me. Hope fills me. Quadruped with three black claws on each foot, a black face with a sickle-shaped horn extending from the side of the head surrounded by a mane of white hair, a black scythe-like tail, black spikes jutting out from its elbows and heels, and a feline with red white-slitted eyes.

"Daughter of mine," the absol continues "we are going to have a long talk after this" she says, glancing at the me, and I look away sheepishly, before she turns her full attention to the aggron. The thing actually looks weary. "As for you," she begins in a cold voice, slitted-eyes narrowing. "For attempting to eat my daughter," she pauses and her eyes turn cold. "you will die."

To my surprise the aggron actually turns tail and runs. Mother simply takes a breath, the lets loose a small fast moving ball of flame. It explodes in a fire star, but doesn't lose any speed and slams in the aggron before it can even take its third step. The steel-type cries in pain as the flames melt its armor and sear its flesh, but it manages to stay on its feet and continue running. However, I notice that its footsteps begin to get lighter as it starts to pick up speed. I consider telling mother, but quickly decide against it.

Mother never needed my help.

My point is proven when she twists her head to the side, and then lets loose a single blade of sharpened wind from her horn. The attack covers the distance between them in less than two seconds, and sinks into the exposed flesh of the aggron. Blood spurts like a geyser, and this time, it loses its footing.

Mother is not done yet ,however.

Before it falls to the ground, her horn still in the same position from the previous attack, mother prepares another. Her horn begins humming with power, and glows with a red outline. With another powerful flick of her head, another wind blade, sharper and much faster than the one before it, is let loose.

Like before, this one slices into the steel-types exposed flesh. But unlike the last one, it slices through completely and burst out from the other side. The force of its exit actually setting the aggron upright again. It remains like that for a moment, before collapsing on its front with a loud crash. Blood pooling under its body as it empty eyes stare up into the sky.

Any joy I may have felt at that moment vanished when mother turned to glare at me. It was not the same glare she sent her enemies, no this one was softer. Didn't make it any less frightening though. Oh well, at least it couldn't really get any worse.

At the front door of the very same laboratory where a certain mawile was being scolded by her 'mother', a certain dual eyed newbie trainer sneezes.

"Are you alright, Jaxen?" Gale mother asks with mild concern. When he shakes his head, she returns her attention to the front doors and begins doing some things with the console on the wall beside them. As she does this, jaxen looks across the fields of the lab. It's not as big as their property, not by a long shot, but it still houses a lot of exotic pokemon.

The lab itself is somewhat intimidating at this distance. It looms over them, covering them in its shadow. It;s about three storeys, made mostly of inter-locked bricks. At each of the four corners of the building is a stone pillar and it is topped with a convex blue roof. Directly underneath the roof are glass panels, windows, that line the bottom edge of the roof. On both sides of the building are rows upon rows of solar panels, all of which provide the facility with power.

He can spot a few pidgey and starly playing in the air, some rattata and patrat having a scuffle in the fields and... "HOLY CRAP IS THAT A DRAGONITE?!" He exclaims before he can stop himself. It's not really his fault though. Dragonite are extremely rare in the wild and the known one are crazy strong. It's actually always been a dream of his catch one... or at least face one in battle...

Jaxen's train of thought is interrupted when he realizes that nearly all the pokemon around his are watching him aptly, his having cut through the relative silence of the clearing like a scyhter through butter. For a moment, all their eyes go blank, then they return back to whatever it was they were doing before. Jaxen breathes a sigh of relief, turning to the psychic-type beside him. "Thanks for the save, Gloria."

The Gothirita simply nods in reply, eyes locked on the dragonite that resisted her psychic control. They stare at each other for a moment, before the dragonite seems to lose interest or something and rises to its feet and lumbers off towards the labs lake. Gloria then turns to Jaxen. 'Remember to control your impulses whilst on your journey.' she scolds'It would be most unwise to do what you just did in an untamed area, like eterna forest.' Jaxen laugh sheepishly at that, making a mental note to train his psychic-type to do whatever it is gloria just. If he ever catches one.

A mechanical whirring draws his attention back to the doors. His mother doesn't even wait for the doors to fully open and steps inside when they wide enough for her to enter without resistance. Jaxen follows immediately after and gloria simply teleports in.

A woman intercepts them before they get into the lab proper, still in the hallway leading to it. She wears a green top and a black thigh-length skirt, all under a white lab coat. She has green eyes, under a pair of black-rimmed glasses and an extremely dull shade of blonde hair. The woman looks at him and mutters two words "Heterochromia Iridum" Jaxen makes a mental note to find out what that means later on.

"Lucinda" his mother says calmly, but those who know her well enough would notice the impatience. "We are on a bit of a tight schedule."

The scientist woman nods, turning to Jaxen. "Hello. My name is Lucinda Ryner. Head Scientist and Researcher at the Victorica city Pokemon Laboratory." she extends a hand for him to take. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Jaxen shakes the hand offered to him with a smile."Jaxen Green. Looking finally to get my starter today."

Lucinda smiles at the boy's greeting. "Cheeky. Let's see if you're still like that after a few months." Before jaxen can say anything, she turns on her heel and walks off, into the lab. "Come on then" she calls without stopping or turning around. "Your starter awaits."

Jaxen glances at his mother who gestures for him to follow, so he does just that. 'Good luck, my son.' His mother's voice echoes in his head, and turns just in time to see her and Gloria teleport away. He smiles sadly 'At least she said goodbye this time' he thinks to himself, before recomposing himself and following after the professor. It wouldn't do to freeze up now.

I patiently, but reluctantly, allow mother to carry me to the human outpost in our region of the fields, which I found actually was divided into regions. She informed me that was to be given to a trainer today and I can't say I never saw this coming. It was somewhat obvious from the way was treated when I first awoke and the word of the gold-eyed man.

"Sleep well, kid. There's so much of the world for you to see."

That made it pretty glaringly obvious. I just did not expect it to be so soon. I've only been alive for about four months, so I thought it would be another eight at least till they called me out. Guess it wasn't to be.

Mother and I enter the outpost/infirmary, just as a pair of humans do. I immediately recognize the woman as the one from the day when I awoke and I freeze up. I turn to the male expecting to see the gold-eyed man. And for a second, I do. Though it becomes clear it is not him because of two things. One his eyes are not golden, but they are dual colored. Two he doesn't have the same feel as the man. Similar, but not the same. They do seem remarkably alike though. If this was going to be my trainer, I decided I would give him a chance.

I was proven correct when he walked up to me, either oblivious to or not caring about the absol holding me in her jaws. "Hi." he greets casually and I decide to test him. Raising my hands, still dangling from mother's maw, I perform some gestures of the human form of communication known as sign language. It was surprisingly easy for me to pick up and mother just passed it off as me having an extremely sharp mind

[Hello to you too] I sign in reply, and feel a sense of satisfaction when his eyes widen in comprehension. [Do you understand me?] I ask, already knowing the answer. Communication between human and pokemon is usually achieved from a bond toughened throughout the journey. This just made things much easier for both of us.

The boy nods." I do, and that's amazing." He said with a grin. "Hey, do you mind if I pick a name for you?" he asks "Or do you already have one?"

I shake my head, no, and the boy nods.

"How'bout destiny then?" he asks hopefully. "I thought about for a while and decided to go with destiny for a girl and fate for a boy. There's actually a funny story behind that." He chuckles, then pauses. "You are a girl right?" he asks cautiously "I just assumed-"

I silence him with a glare and he immediately goes pale, thinking he offended me. This one was gonna be fun to mess with. I break out into a grin and he sighs in relief. [Destiny is fine ] I sign, before smirking [Gotcha by the way.] He grins with me.

"So a prankster, Huh?" he says, grin widening "This might be more fun than I'd hoped."

Mother lowers me down and walk over to my trainer. He picks me up, seems to consider me a moment, then places my arms around his shoulders. "Are you comfortable back there?" he asks, as I use his back pack as a chair. It's not that inconvenient, so I shrug. "Okay then. My name's Jaxen by the way. Jaxen Green. Let's be good to each other okay?"

I nod [Pleased to meet you, Jaxen] I sign in reply. [I hope you don't disappoint me as a trainer.] I realize that some could have taken that as an insult, but the human didn't seem to mind. Taking it as a challenge instead.

"Good to see you both getting along" the woman says and I honestly forgot she was there. Must be because she's smothering her presence. "Jaxen, I'm going to assume your father already gave you your Cross Transceiver." It wasn't a question, but he nodded any way. "Good, now pay attention. Both of you." At this point, she let some of her presence leak out and we both stiffened. Though I don't think Jaxen knew why he did.

I paid rapt attention to Professor Lucinda and whatever it was she was about to tell us. When the absol the brought in destiny in moves to stand by her side however, he becomes a bit wary.

"This is a lesson that will help you throughout your journey, so pay utmost attention." She commands, and Jaxen gulps, standing a little straighter for reasons unknown to him. "The most important thing you have to know as a novice trainer is..." Jaxen found himself listening intently to the professor's words,which means he unfortunately didn't notice the smirk that appeared on the absol's face. Destiny did however, and she didn't like it one bit. When Lucinda smirked however, Jaxen suddenly found himself hyper aware and on guard.

"... How to run."

"... Eh?"

"As such, you must always be in top form. Today, my Absol assistant will be helping with that." Jaxen warily turns to the Absol, who gives him a very toothy grin... Then it finally clicks in his head what the professor meant, and his eyes widen.

"OH SHI-!" And that was how Jaxen Green and his partner Destiny found themselves being chased by an Absol on the first day of the Journey.