Chapter 1

Like my dad, I barely slept the night before I set out on my Pokemon journey. Unlike my dad, who'd overslept the next morning and almost missed getting any Pokemon at all, I woke up at 6:30am. That had worked out for him- he only got Pikachu because all the regular starters were already gone- but I wanted to make sure I got first pick. It was hard to get out of bed- usually, I was awake in time to turn the alarm off before it even went off, but this time, its annoying screech startled me out of the strange dream I'd been having. What had the dream been about? I tried to remember as I made my bed, but it was gone. It felt like it was right there at the edge of my mind, but the more I thought about it, the further away it seemed. Funny, because the one thing I did remember about the dream was how vivid and real it had felt. I still had a feeling like I'd been somewhere far away.

But it was just a dream; I had more important things to think about. Like, how long would it be before I slept in my bed again? The thought just made my stomach feel queasy, but I tried to ignore it. After all, my dad hadn't been nervous or worried when he'd started his journey; he'd just been excited about the adventure ahead of him. I should try to be more like that.

I dressed in the outfit I'd planned days ago- my blue jumper over a white T-shirt and black leggings- then brushed my hair and clipped my bangs to the left with two silver clips. When I was finished getting ready, I headed downstairs and into the kitchen, where my mom was making me a special breakfast.

"Good morning, Satsumi!" she said when she saw me. "Are you ready for your big day?"

"Yeah!" I replied, trying to match her too-cheerful tone.

Soon, we were sitting down with plates of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. I still felt a little sick at my stomach, but I forced myself to clean my plate. My mom would only worry if she knew I had no appetite, so I couldn't let her see- especially not when she was trying so hard to make me happy.

Later, riding to Pallet Town in the backseat of my Aunt Sakura's red convertible, I regretted eating so much. Watching the passing scenery only made me feel sicker, so I leaned back in my seat, closed my eyes, and swallowed hard to fight the nausea. There was nothing to see, anyway, except grass, grass, and more grass.

"You're pretty quiet back there, Satsumi," Aunt Sakura called over the wind, "you ok?"

I opened my eyes and saw her adjusting her rearview mirror to look at me.

"Yeah!" I called back. "I was just, um, thinking about what starter Pokemon I want!"

"Huh?" My mom said. "I thought you'd already decided?"

Oops. I'd forgotten that I'd told her.

"Oh yeah, I did!" I said. "But I want to be sure it's the right choice!"

My mom smiled warmly.

"Ok!" she said. "But don't over-think it! At times like this, it's best to go with your gut!"

That sounded exactly like something my dad would say.

"Ok!" I said.

Then we were quiet again. Ahead of us, I saw a girl with a green ponytail and a boy with brunette hair walking along the side of the road. I turned around to look at them as we passed. The girl waved excitedly, and I hurried to wave back, but I wasn't sure if she saw me.

An hour later, we were in Pallet Town. Another ten minutes, and we were driving through Professor Ookido's gate and up the driveway to the Pokemon lab and ranch. The last time I'd been here was with my dad, to help Professor Ookido and his assistant, Kenji, replace a section of fence that had rotted. (Well, ok, my dad had helped, I mostly just held boards in place and handed everyone nails.) I remembered my dad talking about how this was the second time he'd helped replace this fence, and then Professor Ookido reminding him that it was his fault it'd been broken in the first place, since it was his Tauros that had stampeded through it. Had that really only been a month ago? It felt like longer, but that part of the fence still looked brand new, its spotless white paint standing out against the older, dirtier parts? It seemed strange that my life had changed so much in such a short time.

As we got out of the car, the lab door opened, and Professor Ookido, his grandfather, and Kenji came out waving and calling "hello"s. My grandmother followed, but she rushed ahead of them down the walkway and scooped me up in her arms.

"Oh, Satsumi, I'm so happy for you, Sweetie!" she gushed.

I hugged her back. After a few seconds, she released me, but kept her hands on my shoulders and held me at arm's length.

"Look how grown up you are!" she exclaimed. "Time goes by so fast..."

"You saw me just last month, Grandma," I said, smiling up at her.

She laughed and said, "Oh, I know. I just can't believe this day is already here; it makes me feel so old!"

She was smiling, but there were tears in her eyes, and I wondered if she was thinking about the day my dad left on his journey. Grandpa Ookido put a hand on her shoulder and said, "You'll never be old, Hanako, as long as you stay young at heart!"

"Yeah, he's the real old-timer around here," said Professor Ookido, pointing at his grandfather.

Grandpa Ookido crossed his arms and nodded and said, "That's right, so you'd better show me some respect!"

Kenji slapped Professor Ookido on the back and added, "Yeah, Shigeru, show some respect!"

I tried to laugh along with them, but all I could do was smile. No one mentioned my dad's absence- they didn't have to- I could feel it, like the hum in my ears in perfect silence. So could everyone else, I thought. Their joking felt fake, like they were trying too hard to pretend everything was normal. My eyes kept drifting to the spot beside my mom where my dad should've been standing. My mom wasn't laughing, either, but we both smiled bigger when our eyes met.

All right, all right," Professor Ookido finally said. "Satsumi's here to get a Pokemon, not stand around listening to us old-timers talk." Then he looked at me and asked, "You ready, Short Stuff?"

I nodded, and we started up the path to the lab. Professor Ookido put his hand on my back and slowed down; I matched his steps so I wouldn't get ahead of him. But we started lagging behind. The others turned and waited for us when they reached the door, and then he stopped completely. I looked up at him, waiting for him to explain, but all he did was rub the back of his head and say, "Um."

Everyone stared at us for a second, and then Kenji smacked his forehead and said, "Oh, no, I was supposed to clean the lab before the new trainers got here! I totally forgot!"

"Kenji!" Professor Ookido exclaimed in an annoyed tone. "You were supposed to do that yesterday!"

"I know, I'm sorry," Kenji said. "Man, now I'll never finish in time!"

"Don't worry, I can help," Grandpa Ookido offered.

"Me, too!" said my aunt Sakura.

"We'll all help," my mom said.

Kenji opened the door and led everyone inside. I started to follow, but Professor Ookido held me back.

"Can I talk to you for a minute, Short Stuff?" he asked.

I nodded, but his serious tone was making me nervous. Was there bad news about my dad? But my mom would've been the one to tell me something like that. Keeping his hand on my back, he got down on one knee so we were eye-to-eye.

"I just wanted to tell you I'm so sorry for what happened," Professor Ookido said. "It's ok if you're mad at me, I understand."

I shook my head hard.

"No! I'm not!" I said. "It's not your fault, you didn't know what would happen!"

That was true; it wouldn't be fair for me to be angry at him.

Professor Ookido smiled and said, "Ok, I'm relieved to hear that. But I just wanted you to know that." He paused, then said, "You know, Satsumi, you're a really brave kid for starting your journey at a time like this. Your dad would be- your dad will be so proud of you when he finds out."

There were so many questions I wanted to ask. Why had he sent my dad to the ziggurat in the first place? What was going on there? But my throat was so tight that I couldn't get any words out. That was ok, though; Professor Ookido probably wouldn't give me any answers, anyway. Worse, he might figure out what I was planning and try to stop me, or tell my mom. So I turned around and hurried up the path before he could see me cry. The path looked blurry and far away through the tears in my eyes. Professor Ookido was wrong- I wasn't brave, I was terrified. Already, I could feel anxiety buzzing through my body. What would he say if he knew how much I wanted to forget the whole thing and just go home? But I couldn't do that, I couldn't give up on my dad so easily. So I kept putting one foot in front of the other until I reached the door.

Professor Ookido held it open for me, then led me through the lobby and down the hall to a room I'd never been in before. It was really plain, with white walls and a gray tile floor, but the right wall was lined with floor-to-ceiling shelves containing Pokeballs. In the center of the room, there was a metal table with four more, and I guessed that these were the starters. All the surfaces looked clean and shiny. The room wasn't exactly small, but it was crowded with everyone inside. No one was doing any cleaning.

"Finished up in here?" Professor Ookido asked as we entered the room.

"Yeah," my mom said, "but we didn't really do much. It was clean to begin with."

Kenji smiled and shrugged and said, "Shigeru's just kind of a neat-freak."

"Hey, good research begins with a clean lab!" Professor Ookido said, smiling back at him. "You should really know that by now."

He and I moved to the middle of the room, and everyone stepped back to make room for us.

"Now, Satsumi," he said, "You're the first trainer here, so you get first pick. Which Pokemon do you choose?"

My heart pounded with excitement- this was it. I took a deep breath and said, "Eevee. I want Eevee."

"Good choice!" Professor Ookido replied.

Everyone clapped as he picked up the left-most Pokeball and handed it to me. I curled my fingers around it, the metal cool against my skin, and stared at its shiny red and white surface. I'd handled plenty of Pokeballs before, but this one was different, this one was mine. My first Pokemon. How many times had I imagined this moment? Now that it was finally here, it almost didn't feel real.

"You know," Professor Ookido said, "it was my idea to make Eevee a starter Pokemon."

Everyone laughed at that, but I felt a squeeze at my heart; this was usually where my dad said, "What are you talking about, Shigeru? You know it was my idea!" They'd been arguing about it for years, and it had become kind of a joke between them. Actually, the idea probably belonged to all the trainers who kept requesting Eevee, but it was a good one no matter who thought of it. Eevee was a normal type, so it specialized in basic physical attacks, which every beginning trainer needed to learn. It didn't have any advantages in battle, but it didn't have many disadvantages, either. Plus, Eevee had lots of different evolutionary paths, each with a different type, so new trainers could take their time figuring out which type they worked best with. I'd decided on Eevee a long time ago.

"Why don't we head outside so Satsumi can release her new Pokemon?" Grandpa Ookido suggested. "It's really too crowded in here."

So we headed outside, down the walkway, and through the gate to the road. Everyone stood behind me and watched as I threw the Pokeball and called, "Eevee, come out!" (Actually, I was so nervous that I just kind of mumbled it.) The ball hit the ground and split open, releasing a flash of white light that began to take the shape of a small, four-legged Pokemon with long ears. The light faded, and there sat Eevee, exactly as I'd imagined- brown fur, fluffy tan collar, black eyes. I wondered, would I be able to tell it apart from all the other Eevees in the world once I got to know it better?

"Eevee!" Eevee chirped, jumping to its feet.

I crouched to the ground and held out my hand to it.

"H-hi, Eevee," I said, "My name is Satsumi; I'm your new trainer!"

Eevee trotted over to me and sniffed my outstretched fingers. Slowly, I reached out and patted its head, and it happily said its name in response. Eevee's fur was so soft and warm. I smiled, really smiled, for the first time in days- meeting Eevee was almost enough to make me forget how upset and worried I'd been feeling.

"Aw, so cute!" my aunt Sakura squealed. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"This one's a boy," Professor Ookido replied.

"It looks like you two are going to get along just fine," my mom said.

That made me think of my dad, how Pikachu hadn't wanted anything to do with him when they'd first met. Eevee watched me curiously as I picked up the Pokeball and stood.

"Return for now, Eevee," I said.

A white beam of light shot out of the ball and hit Eevee, turning him back into light and pulling him inside. I'd let him back out later, but now it was time to say good-bye to my family, and I didn't want him to see me looking sad so soon after we'd met.

I inhaled deeply, tried to swallow the lump in my throat, and turned around.

"Well, Satsumi, this is it!" Professor Ookido said. "Good luck out there!"

"She won't need it!" Grandpa Ookido added, then looked and me and said, "But you know who to call if you ever need advice."

"And be sure to tell us about all the new Pokemon you meet!" Kenji said.

"I will," I replied. "Thank you all!"

My aunt Sakura hugged me and said, "I love you, Sweetie." She released me, tucked her hair behind her ear, and added, "You sure you don't, like, want a ride back to Viridian? I'd be happy to take you."

I shook my head and said, "Thank you, Aunt Sakura, but I just got my first Pokemon; I want to start my journey now."

That was true, but there was another reason- I wasn't ready to leave for Nirakar. I wanted to start looking for my dad as soon as possible, but I still couldn't believe I was going to a foreign country all by myself. How was that even possible? I'd never been away from home on my own, except to visit my grandmother or aunts. I needed to take this slow, get used to journeying on my own, before I took the train to Saffron City and boarded my plane.

"Ok, I understand," Aunt Sakura said. She winked at me and added, "You're, like, going to do great, I know it!"

"Of course she will," my grandmother agreed, "it runs in the family."

She pulled me into her arms and held me tight.

"I love you so much, Satsumi," she said to me, "and I'm so proud of you. I know your dad would be, too, if he were here." She stood back, wiped away a tear, and added, "Do your best out there. But be careful, ok?"

I nodded and replied, "I will, I promise."

And then it was time for the hardest part of all- saying good-bye to my mom. She knelt down beside me and put her hand on my cheek.

"Oh, Satsumi..." she began.

"Mom..." I said, the breath catching in my throat.

And that was it, I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. My mom wiped them away as they rolled down my cheeks.

"Don't cry, now!" she said with a sad smile, "or I'll start, too!"

But even through my blurred vision, I could see there were already tears in her eyes.

"Mom, I'm really going to-" I started.

But I choked up and couldn't finish the sentence. I wanted to tell her how much I was going to miss her, and how sorry I was. It seemed like my mom was always getting left behind! When she and my dad were kids, they'd traveled for years together, but then she'd had to go home and take care of the family gym while my dad went off and had more adventures. Now he was gone again, and I was leaving her, too? It wasn't fair! Especially when she'd given up so much for me. My mom had been a member of the Elite Four, the strongest water-type trainer in the whole country, until I was born too early. Both my parents had stayed by my side constantly during the first couple of years, to make sure I was going to be ok, but it was harder for her. Pokemon League Champion wasn't a job; my dad didn't have to make appearances. But when my mom couldn't fulfill her duties as an Elite Four member, she'd had to retire. And this was what she got for it? If I was doing the right thing, why did I feel so terrible?

"I'm really going to miss you, too, Satsumi," my mom said. She took my face in her hands and held my gaze. "But I don't want to hold you back. I want you to go on your journey and meet new people and have new experiences."

"But you'll be... you'll be..." I started.

"I'll be fine," she answered. "I'm going to stay with your grandma, and Kenji and Shigeru and Grandpa Ookido are all right here."

"And I'll visit, like, all the time," my aunt Sakura chimed in.

"See?" my mom said. "I'll have lots of company! So don't worry about me, ok?"

I nodded again and said, "Ok," but I didn't really mean it. Of course I was going to worry about her.

We hugged each other tight, and I felt her warmth around me one last time.

"I love you so much, Satsumi," she said softly in my ear.

"I love you, too, Mom," I replied, not even trying to hold back my sobs anymore.

What was I going to do without her? I'd never been away from her for more than a few days. We let go of each other, and she tucked my hair behind my ear like she always did.

"You're going to be fine," my mom said through her tears. "Better than fine! Just be careful, ok? And you know you can come home any time you need to."

"I know," I replied.

"I'll let you know as soon as we hear something from your dad," she added.

I nodded and wiped away tears.

"Ok, then," my mom said after a moment. "I guess this is good-bye."

"Yeah. Good... Good-bye," I said.

The words came out so soft and squeaky that I could barely hear myself, but my mom seemed to understand. She stood, kissed my forehead, and took two steps back from me. And with that, I turned and took the first steps of my Pokemon journey.