Chapter 3

Lyra sat on the ground and rolled up her sleeves. Her shoulders were bruised. Just great, she thought angrily. Even worse, the clouds that covered the sky sent rain pouring down on her and the ground below her turned to mud.

She got up and looked at her clothes. They were soaked and muddy. This was turning out to be a great birthday. The rain poured on and on as she slowly made her way to the lab.

Professor Elm sat at a desk, working furiously. "Ah, Lyra," he greeted. "Why are you so dirty?"

"Some jerk pushed me into the mud. He was staring into your window, but I didn't know what for, and I was trying to be friendly, and…and…"

"Looking through my window?" The Professor didn't seem surprised to know someone was out there staring at him through a window. She nodded. "Not him again," he groaned.

"Again? He's been here before?"

"Yes. He's just a nuisance, overall. Come here and I'll get Cyndaquil to help warm you up." She followed him over to a machine that held the three Poke' Balls. He picked up the one that had a fire symbol on it and let the Pokemon out.

"I'm guessing you came for a Pokemon, am I right?"

"Yes!"

"Then I guess you can pick now since you're already here. There's Totodile, the water Pokemon. He has great attack power. This is Chikorita, the grass Pokemon. She's got great defense. And here is Cyndaquil, the fire Pokemon. He has great special attack and defense. Take all the time you need to choose. This choice will determine the kind of trainer you will become."

Lyra stared at the two Poke' Balls and then at the small Pokemon that was sitting in her lap. She got up and picked up the

two remaining Poke' Balls and let the Pokemon out. Instantly, the Chikorita tackled the Totdile. That's one Pokemon out, she thought as the two Pokemon wrestled on the floor. That Totodile doesn't look very friendly, she decided as the blue Pokemon threw Chikorita at a wall.

"I guess that means that you're the right Pokemon for me," she said, picking up Cyndaquil. Professor Elm smiled.

"I think that's a good choice for you." The front door swung open the minute he finished the sentence and a short haired girl came in.

"I'm ready for my Pokemon, Professor Elm. And make it quick!" she snapped.

"You're real gentle," murmered Lyra under her breathe.

"Well, Marie, There are two left. You can choose from those two." She stormed over to the two remaining Pokemon.

"You call these Pokemon? They're hideous! I want that one!" she said pointing at Cyndaquil. "Hand it over!"

"Marie, that's Lyra's Pokemon. If you'd have come earlier, then you could have gotten it.

Marie snorted, "Fine. I'll take the stupid Chikorita. From now on your name is Rose, got it? Let's go." And she raced out of the lab.

"Wow…" was all Lyra could say. She'd never seen anyone so hasty in her life.

"That's Marie. She moved to Cherrygrove City a year ago and had to leave her father and her brother, Barry, who live in the Sinnoh Region. She certainly is much like Barry."

"You know him?"

He came to visit their mom a while ago, when I was on that trip. We became fairly good friends. But anyway, one of the best ways to bond with a Pokemon is to give it a nickname. So, what will it be?"

She looked down at the-no her-Cyndaquil. "Ace," she declared. "I've always liked that name.

"Well, all that is settled. In the morning, I want you to come over and do an errand for me."

"Why not now?"

"Have you looked at the time?" he said, pointing at the clock. "It's late. You should go home and get a good rest before you head out on your adventure." Lyra nodded and began to walk home.

Above her, the clouds began to part and in the starry sky, she could just faintly make out a large white creature soaring across it. She'd never seen anything like it, but for some odd reason, she knew its name. Lugia.

Lyra awoke with the sun shining through her curtains. Wait, it was a week day. She was going to be late for school! She raced down the stairs, changing her clothes in the process until she realized that this was the day she'd be heading out on her journey.

She ran back upstairs, pulling out her new outfit, and slipped it on. She poked at Ace, who was still asleep on a makeshift bed made out blankets. The small Pokemon shot up and looked around, determined to help his trainer.

"No silly," she laughed. "It's time to go." She picked him up in her arms and carried him downstairs. Her mother had left, probably for work, before she'd gotten up. A note was set on the counter in the kitchen along with her bag and some potions. The note read:

I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye in person, so goodbye. I registered each other on our Poke' Gear. You can use those potions for when your Pokemon get weak. Have fun!

Mom

She stuffed everything she needed into the correct pockets of her bag add stepped out of the door. The sunshine was bright, and large, white clouds drifted near the sun, but never over lapping it.

It was the perfect day to start her adventure.

"Lyra!" came Professor Elm's voice. "I need you to do something for me!"

"What is it?"

"I have a friend who doesn't live to far away from here named Mr. Pokemon. He said he made a great discovery last night. It's most likely just an egg, but I want to be sure. Can you go and visit him for me?"

"Where does he live?"

"On Route 30."

"Okay! Thanks for everything Professor Elm!" And with that, she bounded of towards Route 29.

By the time she'd reached Cherrygrove City, Ace was taking out almost every wild Pokemon that came across their path in one hit. He was turning out to be a great Pokemon. The moment she stepped into Cherrygrove City, an odd man ran up to her.

"You're a new Pokemon trainer, right?" he asked. She nodded. "Then come on. I'll show you around town. Here is the Pokemon Center, a place to heal your Pokemon. Here is the Poke' Mart, where you can buy things for your journey. This is the sea. You can't cross it yet though. And here is my house. As a reward for listening to me, you can have my running shoes. Go on, take them. They're nice and warm."

"Um, is there something wrong with you?"

"I got you! Trust me, they're a new pair."

"Thanks," she muttered, slipping them onto her feet. "Alright, Ace, let's get going. I'm sure Route 30 is up ahead." She followed the path to Mr. Pokemon's house only to find herself being stopped by a man.

"You! How could you miss my house? Aren't you looking for Mr. Pokemon?"

"Are you Mr. Pokemon?"

"Um, no. But anyone looking for him always comes to my house instead. How come you didn't?"

She shrugged. "I guess I just knew it wasn't his house."

"You know what? I kind of like you. Come here and I'll give you an important item." She walked up to him and he stuck a metal box in her hand. "That's an Apricorn Case. See that tree over there? See how there's something green sticking out? That's an Apricorn. Though not all of them are green. There can be green, blue, red yellow, white, and black."

"Thanks!" she called as she ran back in the direction of Mr. Pokemon's house. Finally, she found it; a large red house. She stepped through the door and whispered, "Mr. Pokemon?"

No one answered. Instead, she could hear a conversation. "That is why I need to get these Poke' Dexes to trainers. There are two other regions that will need a Poke' Dex. But if I can't finish the Johto one, there is no way I'll even be able to start on the others."

"I understand what you mean Professor Oak. It's just, no one that has come by seems worthy of one."

"Then just pass them out! I don't care! I just want them gone!"

"Um, what's a Poke' Dex?" asked Lyra coming in, Ace at her heels.

"It's basically a Pokemon Dictionary," said the one in a lab coat, probably Professor Oak, narrowing his eyes. "Why do you care?"

"Well, Professor…Elm…uh," she stammered, watching Oak's eyes burn into her skin."

"You know Professor Elm?" said the other man. "He must have sent you here!" He raced over and shook her hand vigorously. "I'm Mr. Pokemon and this is my friend-"

"Acquaintance," Professor Oak snapped.

"Professor Oak," Mr. Pokemon finished. "Oh, what a cute little Cyndaquil! You must be a trainer! That's even better! Take this to Professor Elm for me," he said handing a small Pokemon egg to her. "Good luck!"

Lyra started to walk out the door after putting the egg in her bag when Professor Oak called out, "Wait! What is your name?"

"Lyra."

"Well, Lyra, today is your lucky day. Mr. Pokemon wanted to give this to you," he said putting a small red thing in her hand. "It's the latest model of the Poke' Dex."

"Wait! Professor! This is a complete stranger! Why are you giving away such valuable items away?"

"Because, I can tell there is something different about her. I need you to fill every slot in that and show it to me, got that? Here, have my Poke' Gear number. Now go! You're wasting time that you could be using on filling that out!"

He shoved her out the door. She then ran with all her might wanting to get home as soon as possible. She stuck her Poke' Dex in her bag and picked up Ace, who was struggling to keep up with her. Finally, she got to Cherrygrove City when Professor Elm called her on her Poke' Gear.

"Lyra! It's a disaster! Come here right now!" His voice sounded urgent, making her run even faster. Then, out of nowhere, a giant puff of dust came up in her way. Now what? She groaned. And then, the fog cleared to reveal a Totodile next to a familiar boy with long red hair.

"You!"