Zorua Illusion is the one who helped me write this chapter. Thank you. Someday this story will be finished and I'll have another author to thank for it. Please read and review.

XXX

Luc smiled as he once again started on the First Route. He turned back to glance at his hometown one last time before he headed off.

Homesick already? Charmander asked him.

I'm going to miss mom and dad, Luc replied.

Nodding his acceptance, the two walked forward, the ankle high grass clearly grating against the 2' tall Pokémon. Luc picked him up after Charmander got his foot tangled in some weeds when he was looking back to ensure his tail wasn't lighting anything on fire.
A distressed look had appeared on Charmander's face when Luc lifted him. Settling the fire type into his arms, Luc mentally reassured him. It's okay to need help.

Charmander rubbed his head against Luc's arm. Thanks.

The two continued on their way, alert for sounds that could indicate wild Pokémon. Luc knew that one of the purposes of the Pokedex was to help the professors in various regions study Pokémon by having a central database of information. The weight of the machine in his pocket was a comforting one, letting him know that if he ran across a Pokémon he was unfamiliar with, the device would help him out.

He identified Pidgey when a flock of them flew overhead, but didn't bother with trying to capture one. If one attacked them, then he might give it a try, but because they were just minding their own business he didn't interrupt them. Rattatta was next, a lone female gathering berries from a "tree". Luc wasn't quite sure why they were called berry trees; they were about half of his height when fully grown and were probably closer to bushes than anything, but trees they were called.

Luc knew that he should probably expand beyond the two Pokémon he currently had in his party, or battle something to get some amount of experience, but he couldn't bring himself to have Charmander attack any of the peaceful Pokémon. He'd find the rest of his team later.

As he wandered down the First Route, Luc wondered if he should try to seek out a human companion. When his father told him stories of his adventures, he always talked about Brock and Misty, his mother, and how they helped him and how they met. Luc thought it would be a good idea to see if he could find someone who would help him on his journey while he helped them on theirs.
He shrugged, deciding that if it was going to happen it would, but right now, he should focus on just getting to the next town where the first gym was- Viridian City. Luckily, the First Route was not a long one – at least, not as long as the others, which could take up to a week to traverse on foot- and he knew he should be able to get to the Pokémon Center by nightfall.

His good luck held: he was able to get into Viridian City by nightfall as he planned, getting a room in the Pokémon Center as per his parents' recommendation.

' Tomorrow,' he thought, ' is the real beginning of my Pokémon adventure. Just like mom and dad's!'

How correct he was, unknowing of the dangers that lurked in shadows…

[]

The next morning, Luc woke up to find Charmander staring at him. Luc glanced at the clock and had to do a double take.

It's already 11:30?! I didn't mean to sleep in so late!

It's okay, Charmander said, You were pretty excited since I've met you. You were probably really tired.

Luc expressed his thanks in a smile. He picked up the lizard like Pokémon and asked Do we want to challenge the Gym right away or train for a bit?

Worst we can do is lose and come back, Charmander agreed.

Luc felt a little guilty that he didn't bring Target along, but Target wasn't interested in traveling the region, so Luc left him at home.
Luc nodded and took his Pokémon downstairs to eat. Afterwards, they went and headed towards the large building that was the Viridian City Gym.

They never made it inside.

As they approached the door, a young male who appeared to be just a little bit older than Luc himself.

"Please don't," he nearly begged Luc.

Luc and the Pokémon started, surprised by the boy they hadn't seen before. Luc tilted his head once the sentence registered: a universal signal for "why?".

"It's too dangerous in there. There's something wrong about the Gym now… I can't explain it in detail, but please believe me when I say it's too dangerous to go in there right now."

He looked so heartfelt and desperate that Luc believed him.

I believe him too, Charmander said.

Luc nodded, much to the relief of the boy.

"Thank you. You're the first person to believe me," he said gratefully. "Hey, did you train for this?"

Luc shook his head.

"Ah, one of the 'I'm gonna see what it's like first' types?" the boy asked knowingly.

Luc nodded, remembering Professor Oak's advice on telling people about his ability. Besides, it wasn't a complete lie.

"You'll need to train for the next one… I know a place. Do you want to see it?"

Luc shrugged and nodded. He trusted this kid, at least a little.

"Follow me!" The stranger lead him past a few buildings and into another area of the forest nearby. Luc didn't know about this path near Viridian City and he suspected that not many others did either.

As he lead Luc through the path, the boy turned and said "You can call me Troy, by the way. It had just occurred to me that I never gave my name or asked for yours."

Luc mimed looking for something, then made a motion like a river.

"Looking for… water? … Oh! Charades? Not a big fan of talking then, are you? Uh… Wade? River? Um… Lake?"

Luc shook his hand in a "kind of" motion quickly before securing Charmander once again.

"Oh! Luke?"

Luc nodded before once again removing his hand to make a "c" out of his fingers.

"L-U-C?" Troy guessed.

Luc gave a thumbs up before once again holding up Charmander. He gestured at his party before looking at Troy curiously.

"Who do I have?" Troy looked ahead and grinned. "You'll find out shortly."

The path ended suddenly, leaving Luc a little disoriented as the bushes and shrubs melted away into a field with a large building that could pass as a Gym in the center.

Luc would've gazed in awe, but Troy lead him straight up to the door which he opened.

Inside was large enough for three medium-sized Pokémon battlefields, one of which was currently not being used.

"This is a Secret Gym. Apparently, there's at least one in every region. The hard part is finding them; most people never even hear about these. Unlike most Gyms, this one is purely for training. The best part? You train against other trainers, so you can get actual, real experience in battling against others as opposed to wild Pokémon, who are usually just looking to run away." Troy grinned.

"Hey Troy! Wanna battle? Hey, who's the newbie?" A girl who was about a year older than Troy asked.

"This is Luc, L-U-C. And sure, I need to show him the ropes!" Troy turned back to Luc smiling.

Luc felt the excitement from his two Pokémon at the prospect of watching a Trainer battle. Luc smiled back, following the two as they walked towards the unoccupied field and taking a seat far enough away to where stray attacks wouldn't be an issue but close enough to see.

"This is a Single Three versus Three battle! The challenger starts! Begin!" Another boy had popped over to be the referee.

"Let's go Jolteon!" A yellow foxlike critter emerged from the light of the Pokeball. Luc used his Pokedex on Jolteon to register it in the device.

"Come on out Ivysaur!"

An odd choice, but not a bad one, Charmander said, grass is strong against electric for whatever reason.

"Your move," the girl grinned.

"I believe he said 'challenger'. It wasn't me who walked up to you!" Troy laughed.

The girl shrugged. "Waste not, want not! Alright Jolteon, let's start this with a Quick Attack!"

A blur leapt towards Ivysaur. Troy shouted "Left, Ivysaur!", but the Seed Pokémon was too slow to avoid the quick tackle. Ivysaur was able to shake it off, however, and followed Troy's command.

"Point blank! Use Sleep Powder!"

"Move it or lose it, Jolteon!"

A few wisps of powder from Ivysaur's bulb landed on Jolteon, making it drowsy but still standing.

Jolteon sure is quick!

Charmander nodded. I heard that speed is Jolteon's best stat… but Ivysaur looks tough. It's going to take a lot of hits to send him packing. A slight tremble came with the observation.

"Let's try it, Jolteon! Thundershock!"

A little wisp of electricity speed towards Ivysaur, but this time the green Pokémon had enough time to obey the command to dodge.
"Ivysaur! Use Razor leaf!" A multitude of leaves were thrown at Jolteon. The Lightning Pokémon was able to dodge a few of them, but there were just too many.

Not a lot of damage, but he's got a grasp, Luc noted.

She looks worried. This wasn't what she thought he was going to do, Charmander pointed out.

The other Trainer composed herself quickly. "Jolteon! Use Quick Attack to burst through, then use Thunder Fang!"

Jolteon started the action, but Troy was prepared.

"Ivysaur! Let 'em get close, but use Sleep Powder before they can use Thunder Fang!"

The Seed Pokémon did just that, sending Jolteon into a deep sleep.

"Good job Ivysaur! Now use Take Down!"

Jolteon fainted this time around, but Ivysaur was damaged by the recoil.

"Jolteon is unable to battle! Ivysaur wins the first round!" the announcer crowed.

"You did great, Jolteon! Return!" A red beam encased Jolteon, returning it to its Pokeball.

"Nicely done, Jolteon! Go get them, Sandslash!"

The yellow and brown Pokémon came out and cried its name, obviously happy to have a chance of helping their Trainer.

Odd choice. Then again, my dad used his Pikachu against a Piloswine and won.

How does that work? Charmander asked.

He never got a reply, as Sandslash leapt into action after a command had been issued that the three had missed in their conversation.

Ivysaur winced as the claws came in contact.

"A critical hit!" the referee announced.

That's going to cost them, Charmander said.

"Try Sleep Powder!"

"Use Rapid Spin to get around it, then use Magnitude!"

It was a lucky strike- Magnitude dealt enough damage to make Ivysaur faint.

"Ivysaur is unable to battle! Sandslash wins Round Two!" the announcer cut in.

Troy returned Ivysaur to its Pokeball. "Great job," he whispered at the device. "Go, Scyther!"

Ooh, that's a good choice. Magnitude won't have any effect now! Luc said.

Just hope Sandslash doesn't use Roll Out, else Scyther might be out in a turn or two, Charmender explained.

"Scyther! Use False Swipe!"

Interesting choice, Charmander commented.

The move hit, dealing some damage to Sandslash, but not enough to keep it from obeying the retaliation command of "Use Crush Claw!"

Scyther, however, was nearly as fast as Jolteon and was able to nimbly move out of the way before following Troy's command: "Pursuit!"

The move knocked out Sandslash. The referee called "Sandslash is unable to battle! Round Three goes to Scyther!"

The girl recalled Sandslash, thanking it for its efforts, and sent out Poliwhirl.

Troy chose to recall Scyther, sending out Diglett in its stead.

Interesting type match up. Isn't water super effective against ground? Charmander asked.

This battle's been full of surprises. What's one more?

"Use Bubble Beam Poliwhirl!"

"It's not going to be that easy! Dig to get away, Diglett, and use Astonish!"

The digging had disoriented the Poliwhirl, allowing Diglett an opening. The loud noises it made combined with the surprise of it popping out of the ground startled Poliwhirl and gave a large opening- large enough for another attack.

"Use Mud-Bomb!"

That didn't help much HP wise, Charmander commented.

But now it can't see until the mud gets out of its eyes, Luc pointed out.

"Listen for it! Try Body Slam!"

Unfortunately, listening wasn't Poliwhirl's strong point and the attack missed by a long shot.

"Dig to move around, Diglett! Use Bulldoze!" The attack hit, dizzying Poliwhirl and making it move slower than before.

"Try getting it when it pops up next to you with Bubble Beam!"

"Dodge it, then use Sucker Punch!"

Despite the ineffectiveness of the Ground-type moves against Poliwhirl, it fell after Diglett landed its last attack.

"Poliwhirl is unable to battle! Diglett wins Round Four, and Troy wins the battle! Good match, everyone!" The referee disappeared somewhere, but Luc didn't pay much head. He was walking up to congratulate Troy, but didn't want to interrupt the conversation the girl had started with him.

Another kid came up and said "Hey, newbie. Wanna battle?"

Luc nodded and followed the boy to another ring that had apparently opened up. Another kid joined to be referee.

Can I try? Charmander asked.
Luc set the Pokémon on the ground, allowing him to take his place about ten paces in front of his trainer.

"Show 'em what you're made of, Geodude!"

"This is a one on one battle! The battle ends when either side's Pokémon is unable to continue. The challenger has the first move.

Begin!"

"Rock Throw!"

Dodge it, Charmander! Luc made a hand motion to go with his command. Charmander had turned his head enough to see the motion and moved right, as indicated. Try Ember!

The Geodude twitched as the embers hit it, but not much else.

"Magnitude!"

Even if he wanted to, Charmander couldn't dodge. The move was super effective and Charmander fainted.

"Charmander is unable to battle. Geodude and Joel win!"

Luc ran out to get Charmander. Sorry.

Charmander curled into Luc a bit.

"How many badges do you have, kid?" the person who challenged Luc demanded.

Luc shook his head, gently rubbing his fingers over Charmander.

"It's not a surprise a weakling like you has none. Jeez, what did you even come out here for?"

"Hey! Don't call him weak!" Troy's voice was a welcome interruption. "Just because he's not strong yet doesn't give you the right to make fun of him! Besides, they usually have friends in higher places. Like me. Get back on the field, we're doing this now."

"Aw, another badgeless trainer want to help his friend?" Joel used a baby voice to talk to Troy, who somehow managed not to explode.

"For your information, Joel, I have two badges and have heard a lot about you. None of it good. Now get to your side."

The referee from Troy's match came back.

"Alright, this is a single one on one battle that will end when one side is unable to continue. The challenger starts. Begin!"

"Come on, Geodude!"

"Go, Ivysaur!"

"The challenger begins," Joel smirked. Troy did not show a reaction, but instead simply said "Ivysaur, Sleep Powder."

"Dodge it, Geodude!"

"Mirror it, Ivysaur!"

The power landed on Geodude, making the Rock Pokémon yawn before falling asleep.

"Get up Geodude!"

"Ivysaur. Point blank Razor Leaf."

The Geodude didn't stand a chance.

"Geodude is unable to battle. Ivysaur and Troy win!" the referee disappeared after his announcement finished.

"Leave, Joel."

The other kid hissed but recalled his Pokémon and stormed away.

Luc gave a watery smile to Troy.

"He's always been a jerk. Sorry I wasn't there to help you out. Here." A yellow, rhombus gem was removed from Troy's pocket and placed on Charmander's forehead. Slowly, the Flame Pokémon opened his eyes and looked at Luc before giving him his version of a grin.

Luc smiled and rubbed Charmander's belly.

"Let's get him to Nurse Joy, she'll heal him up. And then you can come back and get stronger against people who aren't jerks," Troy offered.

Luc nodded, accepting the proposition, but a question came to him. He pointed at Troy, then at himself.

"Do you want me to travel with you?"

Luc nodded. He could use all the help he could get, and Troy seemed knowledgable. Besides, his dad met Brock on his journey, and now they're best friends! Maybe he and Troy could end up like that.

"Sure. Quiet ones can't travel alone. Who's going to see you kick butt then?" Troy grinned.

Luc smiled. It was the start of something great; he just knew it.

Ivysaur: the Seed Pokémon. There is a plant bulb on its back. When it absorbs nutrients, the bulb is said to blossom into a large flower.

Jolteon: the Lightning Pokémon. Every hair on its body starts to stand sharply on end if it becomes charged with electricity.

Sandslash: the Mouse Pokémon. If it digs at an incredible pace, it may snap off the tips of its spikes and claws. They grow back in a day.

Scyther: the Mantis Pokémon. It tears and shreds prey with its wickedly sharp scythes. It very rarely spreads its wings to fly.

Poliwrath: the Tadpole Pokémon. It can live in or out of water. When out of water, it constantly sweats to keep its body slimy.

Diglett: the Mole Pokémon. It lives about one yard underground where it feeds on plant roots. Sometimes it appears aboveground.

Geodude: the Rock Pokémon. It's found in fields and mountains. Mistaking them for boulders, peopke often step or trip on them.