I do not own Pokémon
Pokémon rights belong strictly to the owners

Author note: This story takes place while Ash is in the Sinnoh Region.

I finally got to my house and it looked like Ash had beaten me there. I guess it didn't take long for Brock, Dawn and his mom to fall asleep.

"It's about time you showed up." Ash teased.

"Hey, Professor Oak was working late on his latest project." I told him. I could never keep up with Professor Oak's projects and that's because he has a lot of them.

"Come on, let's go inside." Ash said. I used my key and opened the door. Ash and his Pikachu followed me inside. I shut the door behind me. "Alright, so where's this attic?"

"This way, follow me." I said. I grabbed the flash light I used the last time I was here and lead the way towards rooms. The string to grab the ladder was hanging down. I handed Ash the flashlight and grabbed the latter string. I pulled the ladder down and made sure it was sturdy enough for Ash and I to climb on. I climbed up first and Ash followed behind me. Once up there, I turned the overhead light on by pulling the string down. The attic was small; very few boxes were put up here for storage. I think most of them were my mom's stuff, seeing as she left a lot when she left.

"Alright, so we need to start looking under the floor, right?" Ash asked. I grabbed the letter and opened it.

"It just says Check the attic under the floor." I read. "There must be a loose floor board or something. Squirtle jumped off my shoulder and Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder. Ash, our Pokémon and I searched the floor, hoping to find a loose floor board that hid an envelope. I was just hoping we didn't have to move boxes.

"Pika. Pikachu." Ash and I turned and saw that Pikachu had found a loose floor board.

"Good job Pikachu." I said with a smile, walking over where Pikachu was. I moved the floor board and grabbed the flash light. I used the light to see under the floor and that's when I saw the envelope. I grabbed the envelope and smiled as I showed it to Ash. We put the floor board back where it was and sat down. I took a deep breath before opening the letter.

"Arianna,

It is time to start your journey to other regions. I know it will be tough, but I know you can handle it. You may not have much time for gym battles at the moment, but you may compete against a few during this journey. I am sending you to the Johto Region where you will find the clue at Sunflora Lodge. There is a very nice couple there; Marcello and Sophia, who have you're next clue. They are friends of your grandparents. Sunflora Lodge was also where your mother and I met.

Knowing this, you must be prepared for a long journey a head of you. I trust that you will be able to handle everything this journey has to offer, and I wish you luck and always know, I will always be with you.

Love, Dad.

I had read the letter out loud so Ash, Squirtle and Pikachu could hear it, but I was starting to regret it. It took some deep breaths to keep myself from crying, but I was able to hold back the tears. I looked at Ash and he looked at me.

"Looks like I'm going to the Johto Region." I smiled slightly.

"Good thing you have the current and updated Pokégear." Ash stated. "And I've been to Sunflora Lodge, it's really nice there and Sophia and Marcello were nice." Little did Ash know, I was in the Johto Region once before with my dad. That's where I caught Swellow.

"Glad to know." I stated. "We'd better head back before someone notices that we are gone." I said, trying to hold back a yawn. "Besides, I'm tired and it's been a long day." Ash and I grabbed our Pokémon and headed down the attic stairs. I shut the attic by pushing the stairs up and we headed out of the house.

"Bye Ari, I'll see you tomorrow." Ash said.

"Yeah, bye Ash." I said. The two of us went in the opposite direction, Ash heading back home and I was heading back to Professor Oak's. Now that I know what I had to do, it was time to pack some things and get ready to go.

After breakfast the following morning, I was in my room gathering items that would come in handy for my trip. I had gotten a map of the Johto Region on my Pokégear. I'm kind of glad that my dad got me the newest, updated, Pokégear for my birthday. It has maps of all the regions and I can use my Pokégear to also call people, so it will defiantly come in handy. I had made a list of items I thought were important to the travel, which was mostly what Tracey had told me. I had a decent size traveling backpack on my bed which was also able to hold my sleeping bag on top. I hadn't put anything in the bag yet, but most of it was on my bed. Squirtle, Eevee and Vulpix were sitting at the front of the bed, watching me go back and forth making sure that I had everything. There was a knock at my door, but I ignored it because I was too focused on getting ready. My plan was to leave after my dad's funeral tomorrow.

"Ari?" I turned when Ash said my name.

"Hey Ash." I said, turning back to face my bed.

"Packing?"

"Yeah." I said without looking at him. "Just trying to get prepared before I head off to the Johto Region."

"Good idea." Ash stated. "Well, Dawn, Brock and I are heading toward Pewter City, so I won't be around much."

"Alright," I said, turning to face Ash. "Anything you recommend that I bring with me on my journey? And don't say Pokémon."

"Looks like you got most of the essential items, but don't forget about food. There are only so many things you can eat without cooking it."

"Thanks Ash." I smiled. "Have fun in Pewter City." Ash nodded and left me to continue my packing. I wrote down on my list to pick up a few things to use for cooking before I started to pack my bag. It was a medium size bag and it was made for traveling by food, so I could put a lot of stuff in the bag. I wrapped a second blanket and a small pillow with my sleeping bag and made sure it was secure.

"I heard you were heading off on an adventure." I heard a familiar voice say behind me. "I just didn't know you were leaving today." I turned around and smiled.

"Well, Gary, if you must know, I'm not leaving today." I told him. "I'm leaving after my father's funeral tomorrow." I set a jacket down. "What are you doing here?"

"Granddad called me and told me what happened." Gary said. "I'm here for the funeral." I nodded slowly and continued to pack. "Arianna, is everything alright?"

"Of course, Gary, why wouldn't everything be alright?" I asked sarcastically, putting the rest of the important items in my bag. "It's not like anything happened recently that would upset me."

"Hey, calm down Arianna." Gary said, walking towards me. "I'm just worried about you."

"I'm tired of people asking me if I'm ok or if I'm alright." I told Gary. "Why would I be ok? Why would I be alright? My dad is dead and it's all because Team Rocket couldn't mind their own business about my dad's prize Pokémon." I sat on the bed and Gary sat down next to me. "But I'm ok, no need to worry about me."

"I always worry about you Arianna. You're family."

"So, when did you talk to Professor Oak?"

"Two days ago." Gary said. "Granddad called during lunch and told me what happened. I came as quick as I could."

~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~

"Hey Grandpa, how is everything in Pallet Town." Gary asked Professor Oak over video chat. Gary and Professor Oak tried to talk to each other frequently to see how everything was going.

"Not good." Professor Oak said slowly. Gary looked at Professor Oak.

"Grandpa, what's wrong?" Gary asked quickly, knowing something was wrong.

"Your cousin Jasen died this morning, Gary." Professor Oak said slowly. Jasen was Professor Oak's nephew, so Jasen's death was hitting him pretty hard as well. Gary's eyes grew wide at the news.

"What about Arianna?" Gary asked quickly.

"She'll be staying with me." Professor Oak told Gary. "I was wondering if there way anyway you can come to Pallet Town for Jasen's funeral." Professor Oak stated. "I would understand if you can't make it."

"Don't worry Grandpa, I'll be there as soon as I can." Gary said. "When is the funeral?"

"Friday," Professor Oak told him. "I'm glad you can make it Gary, it would mean so much to Arianna."

"I'm going to pack and head off. I'll see you soon Grandpa."

"See you soon Gary."

~~~~~~End of Flashback~~~~~~

Ok, so its a twist to Pokémon. It's weird, but I am enjoying writing this story.

Review and let me know what you think!

Don't expect another chapter after this for awhile. I want to try to stay a head of the chapters while am a head. HAHA. I'm kinda stuck where i'm at, but it's not bad. Plus i don't have much time to write during the day. I also got a job. Life's a little busy.

Also, if you like Scooby Doo, Power Rangers or Ghost Whisperer (Start with New Comer), please check out my page. Please let your friends know about me!

if you haven't looked on my profile resently for Author Notes, I'm sad to say, my computer is in the shop. It has been for awhile. So until then, all stories are on hold. And i'm only able to update this story because I've had this chapter ready before my computer had issues