"Before you go, I have a request for you two." Professor Oak moved over to another table. "On the desk there is my invention, the Pokédex! It automatically records data on Pokémon you've seen or caught. It's a high-tech encyclopedia!

"Lydia and Kyle. Take these with you." He handed each of us a Pokédex. Mine was blue, accented with purple highlights. "You can't get detailed data on Pokémon by just seeing them. You must catch them to obtain complete data. So, here are some tools for catching wild Pokémon." Professor Oak placed five Poké balls in my hands, forcing me to attempt to balance them in my arms because I did not have a bag. "When a wild Pokémon appears, it's fair game. Just throw a Poké ball at it and try to catch it! This won't always work, however. A healthy Pokémon can escape. You have to be lucky!

"To make a complete guide on all the Pokémon in the world... That was my dream! But I'm too old. I can't get the job done. So, I want you two to fulfill my dream for me. Get moving, you two! This is a great undertaking in Pokémon history! Different people find different Pokémon." Geeze, Professor Oak can monologue.

"Thank you," Kyle and I said simultaneously. We looked at each other, a sly glint in his eye showing as he smirked. Mom led the way back, ah and I trailing behind. Just as he turned to take the fork in the road and start his adventure, Mom spun, asking, "Would you and Bulbasaur like to have lunch before you go?"

"I would enjoy that," he answered. Contentedly, he continued following. When we reached the front porch, hr froze. "You live here?"

"Yeah," I replied. "What's wrong?" The house was not disgusting, rotting, or even remotely dirty. It was quite quaint. There was no reason for him to be rude.

"Red lived here!" He was in awe. Red? The letter and the pictures on the wall flashed to my mind. Oh. Him.

"So? He's my brother." I could not understand his fascination with my older sibling. I t was probably because he went missing. Mom came back outside, keeping both of us from commenting.

"What're you waiting for?" she rhetorically wondered. "Lunch isn't going to eat itself." I have no clue how someone could be hungry if he or she had brunch less than thirty minutes ago, but Maddelina was. She hopped out of my hands just as George popped out of his Poké ball, unbidden. The two scrambled inside at the sounds of my protest against their speediness. Kyle brought out Bulbasaur, he joining everyone else inside after me.

Somehow, the table was longer; it doubled in size. A place was set for everyone, including me. I quietly excused myself from the food, but stayed at the table for the conversation. Mainly, Kyle and Mom held it with my occasional input.

"It's so cool that you're Red's mom," Kyle exclaimed. "Was it obvious that he would become a great trainer?"

"He would've drowned twice, had Poli not evolved both times. He was rather clumsy and a bit impatient, so no; it wasn't that obvious to me." The answer seemed practiced to me.

"And you stayed out of the public eye! I mean, I didn't even know Red had a sister. I knew his dad wasn't in this Region, but I didn't know of Lydia," he relayed ecstatically.

"Yeah," Mom trailed off. A clock chimed, signaling the hour change to one o'clock. By that time, all of us finished eating. Kyle almost asked a follow-up question, but he froze.

"Is it really that late?" he pondered. "Thank you, Ms. Ketchum, for having me, and for lunch too. I have to get going now, if I want to reach Viridian City and have time to train Bulbasaur to take on Brock by nightfall. See you around, Lydia." He grabbed his yellow bag, whistled to his Pokémon to follow, and stepped into the town, continuing his first leg of his journey.

Mom and Mr. Mime cleaned up the table. I tried to help, but she shooed me to the living room, turning the television on to a program called "Gym Leaders of Kanto."

"Most trainers challenge the rock-type user first because he is not the most challenging leader. Studies taken in the past year show that the other Gym Leaders in Kanto have a lesser percentage of challenger wins than Brock. In a recent interview, Pokémon Gym Leader Brock said that he already knows about the other Gym Leaders' strengths. He also acknowledged that rock types have many weaknesses, yet he still prefers them over any other type! That shows dedication. Challengers who defeat Brock win the Boulderbadge. Traded Pokémon up to level 20 will obey their trainers unquestioningly and Pokémon will be able to use the move Flash outside of battle. The first checkpoint of the Indigo League requires trainers to show this badge, so we recommend new trainers go after this first," it narrated, moving on to a redheaded girl in a bathing suit. I zoned out to my own thoughts, not noticing Mom sit on the couch with me. She saw the program prior to muting it for me.

"Lydia," she started, placing a hand on my shoulder, "You can ask me anything."

I glanced at her, shifting from my hunched state. Asked I, "What are Gym Leaders?"

"Well..." she lost herself in thought, wondering where to begin. "Pokémon Trainers who wish to become Masters challenge places called 'gyms' to see how strong they are. Many Trainers are in the gym, and a Pokémon Trainer has to defeat the strongest one, the Gym Leader, in order to say that he or she is the strongest and to win the badge.

"There are eight gyms in Kanto, subsequently, eight badges. Get all eight badges, and you can challenge the four strongest Trainers of the Region to a battle, in our case, the League Brains of the Indigo Plateau. After the challenger defeats them, only one person is left, the Champion. The battles are tough; very few people ever gain all eight badges. Even less are able to triumph over the Elite Four. Red said he'd do that before you arrived."

I was silent, reviewing this information. The first gym was a rock-type. Rocks are weak to water-, grass-, and fighting-types. I could win the first badge easily, I thought before I shook my head. Daddy wanted me to stay safe. Venturing into the unknown is not safe. The thought lingered, though. "What happened to Red?"

"Three weeks ago, he went on his journey. He said he would mail me each day, and he did, for two weeks. Last I heard, he was in Celadon City. Blue, Oak's grandson, couldn't find him. We even contacted Erika, but he hadn't challenged her yet."

I was silent as this information sank in my mind. Suddenly, something clicked in my head. She said "before you arrived." Professor Oak also mentioned me being a month early. "Was I," I stumbled mentally as I spoke, "Was I supposed to be here? I mean - was I expected? Not now, but later, soon."

She looked away. The silence that followed was thick enough that a knife would have difficulty cutting through it. Maddelina hopped into my arms, trying to nap away an afternoon feast. After a while, my mother nodded. George clamored onto the couch.

"Why?" I questioned. "I was in no danger there." Everything could have been perfect, peaceful. Sure, Daddy said the Government was corrupt, but he would have protected me.

"That's where you're wrong. There will be an uprising when more people know of what lies outside their country. The Government would be the first place they would attack," she said sadly. "He was going to send you here after your schooling ended. He said he would tell you about us then. I'm sorry, honey." She wiped a hand across my face. Only then did I realize I was crying.

"What we need you to do," she continued, holding my face, "Is go on a journey. On that journey, you will become stronger. You'll be strong enough to protect yourself. Stronger than you'd be here. Safer too. Eventually, those people will find out you aren't with your father. Keep moving and you'll be safe. Find Red if you can. Okay?" The tears silently streaming down her face made every word seem weightier. I nodded as she pulled me into a hug and we squished Maddelina between us. I cried. It felt good to cry, not having done it in a while.

The Pokémon, however, squirmed about in the tight embrace until Mom pulled away with the excuse of having to clean something. I turned the volume back on, and the program continued with a Gym Leader called, "Lieutenant Surge."

"7 foot tall veteran of the war, Lt. Surge is a user of electric types..."

The day progressed from there with five more Gym Leaders, the eighteen Pokémon types - three I was not familiar with (Fairy, Ghost, and Dragon) - with their strengths and weaknesses (for three-and-a-half hours), and an hour-long continuation of a series on the different myths of each Region, in this case, Johto's Ho-oh and Lugia. Right as six o'clock rolled around, the doorbell rang. Mom answered it, brought a box inside, and ushered me to the table. We ate in silence, not because we had nothing to say, but because we did not need to speak. My mind was preoccupied with the gyms along the journey.

Once the single-course meal concluded, I was sent to my room to make sure my new clothes fit right. One long-sleeved, blue v-neck, a deep mauve mini-skirt, two navy blue, knee-high socks, and a pair of black tennis shoes later, I spun in the mirror. Blue and purple must be the fashion trend right now, I thought. Placing a matching purple hat on my head and a gray bag on my shoulder, I marched downstairs. Mom gasped when I stepped into the living room. She fiddled with my hair and clipped a belt around my waist for carrying my party Pokémon. Finished, she stepped back, fanned her eyes to keep tears from falling, and took a picture of me, the flash causing temporary blindness.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "It's perfect! Now go get changed." Softly smiling at her eccentricity, I grabbed my pajamas and stepped into the shower. It was not even close to eight when I got out. To pass the time, the five of us watched television 'til some time after ten.

Sleep deserted me that night due to a building of anxiety. Maddelina and George caught their Zz's easily, the former on my pillow and the latter at the foot of my bed. My mind wandered. Kyle freaked when I mentioned Red. Best not to do that in the future. Eventually, my consciousness shifted. The visions that plagued me as I fraughtfully dreamed held me through the night in a waking slumber.

Can I get a review? Anyone wondering why I haven't updated in a while to all of my stories, it's because it rained at least three times a day for the past month. -Z