I do not own Pokémon.

This story was requested by the core of justice. Testing the waters with this one.

(*)

Pierre sat with his legs crossed, the heavy, leather bound book open in his lap as he tried to read it. After a few minutes he sighed pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can't they update these things to read like modern books? Seriously, if you're going to translate the language why keep the old timey speaking?"

Charizard snorted from his spot in the yard and Pierre noted the smirk he wore.

"Are you mocking me?"

The answering aghast look only confirmed that yes, Charizard was mocking him.

"If you're displeased with the reading, perhaps you'd like to go out and try searching again," someone suggested. He turned and came face to face with Professor Oak.

"I've tried by foot once, and all I got was this lousy Charizard," he joked. Charizard spat a small flame in irritation, but Pierre knew he wouldn't truly hurt him.

"That reminds me Pierre, you'll need to keep that Charizard away from here," the Professor said sternly.

"What? Why?"

The Professor rolled his eyes and began counting the points. "First, he's scaring the other Pokémon. Second, he keeps picking fights with the other Pokémon. Third, he attacked one of my old Pokémon from my travelling days."

"They were looking at him funny," he said defensively.

"They were not looking at him funny, he was itching for a fight," the Professor stated calmly. "He risked serious injury doing that."

"But he's fine now," Pierre said, "and your Arcanine won anyway. Easily."

Charizard huffed and rolled over to face away from them. The loss he'd suffered then still stung.

"Why don't you travel around some more? You'd get some air, your Pokémon would get a chance to battle again…"

"And we might miss something," Pierre said, dropping his humorous tone. "You have the best resources around, but we still might have missed something important that we'll only find here."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Oak handed him a letter. "This was sent to my lab, but it was addressed to you."

"People think I live here now?" he asked, taking the letter. "Maybe we should get out more."

The Professor smirked and walked around him, his destination probably the pond. Pierre laid the book down and sighed, uncrossing his legs and stretching out on the porch. Taking note of the letter, he sighed and opened it, figuring that if he was going to stop studying it may as well be to further his goal.

Dear Pierre,

It may please you to know that recently your presence and your studies have been brought to my attention by Professor Oak. While I hold no love for overly ambitious Trainers I am interested to know what you've learnt about your regions legends. I have therefore decided to travel to your region and share my information with you. In preparation for this event, kindly await my arrival in Pallet Town. I will be gifting you with something I believe will be very useful, but in return I would like access to whatever information you have on the Sinnoh myths.

Regards,

Cynthia

Cynthia, he thought, letting the letter fall. I keep seeing stuff about Sinnoh in the texts, but I've got no idea who Cynthia is.

"Rai?"

He looked to the door and saw Raichu there, bleary eyed from having just woken up. He smiled and asked, "Hey pal, you have a good nap?"

Raichu nodded and walked over, standing next to his Trainer. When he finally stood next to him he flopped on top of him, huffing.

"What's up Raichu?"

Raichu whined and huffed, a look of exhaustion on his face. Wait, no, not exhaustion.

"Are you bored?" A whine was his only answer. "I thought you'd appreciate the vacation."

Raichu nodded, but the bored look on his face, and Charizard's behavior over the last few weeks, cemented that his Pokémon were getting bored

"Well then," he said teasingly, "it may please you to know thatwe're expecting a guest."

Charizard rolled over again at this and Raichu lifted his head, the both of them now peering at him with interest.

"No idea who that is," he admitted, lifting Raichu off him and standing up. "But I need to get some things ready for her arrival."

(*)

Cynthia stepped out of the cab, dragging her case out as she got her first real look at Professor Oak's lab. It was a huge building with a large field out back, but she wondered if the man himself spent all of his time there.

"Thanks," she told the driver and watched him leave. Facing the building again she made her way to the front door, but just as she reached for the doorknob she felt something prod at her mind. Frowning, she shut the presence out and felt its surprise at being rejected.

Now cautious, she removed Pokéball from her pocket and tossed it. One bright flash later and her Roserade stood next to her and crooned in displeasure.

"I know I promised you a vacation, but I felt a Psychic-type try to read me," she said and Roserade growled. "Let's go in and see what happens."

Roserade nodded and waited as she knocked, the sound echoing behind the door. "Professor Oak, it's me! Pierre should have told you I was coming?"

She faintly heard something fall on the other side of the door and then footsteps running towards it. The door was yanked open and she saw an old man wearing brown slacks, a red shirt and a lab coat.

"Hello Cynthia, I'm Professor Samuel Oak," he said, extending his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." She shook his hand before motioning to Roserade. "This is my Roserade. We were hoping to meet this Pierre sometime today."

The Professor stared intently at Roserade until Cynthia's words registered. "Ah yes, Pierre. He should be around back. I'll take you there."

With that he turned and started walking, Cynthia and Roserade trailing behind. Cynthia tried to focus on her task, but kept getting distracted by the countless book shelves she could see dotted around the lab. There was so much research here she wondered how it was all kept safe.

"Professor," she began, "if you don't mind my asking you're one of the foremost researchers on Pokémon in the world, so why haven't I seen any security?"

The Professor shot her a glance and slowed his pace. "Well, I used to be a prominent Trainer myself, and I've still got my old Pokémon, even if we don't train as hard. It's actually why I chose Pallet Town, since it didn't have a Gym Leader."

Cynthia nodded in understanding as they stopped at a large wooden door. The Professor opened the door and Cynthia gaped. She'd seen the field from outside of course, but seeing it up close was breathtaking, with a huge forest, wide fields and a huge pond. Running through all of this were Pokémon of all shapes and sizes, but she could only recognize a few of them. She looked to her side and saw that Roserade was just as dumbstruck as she was.

"Yes, it is an impressive sight," the Professor acknowledged, snapping Cynthia out of her reverie, "but for now let's find Pierre. He's been raving about finding Mew for the past week, so if all you do is shut him up about it that would be much appreciated."

Cynthia nodded, still taking in the sight of all the Pokémon. As they walked through the fields, occasionally calling for Pierre, she couldn't help but feel a slight thrill at every new Pokémon she saw. A Champion I may be, but I'm still a Trainer, she thought, catching sight of something large eared, purple and spiky. "What is that?"

The Professor glanced at where she was pointing and smiled softly. "That's a Nidoran, a male one. They aren't native to Sinnoh?"

Cynthia shook her head, smiling when the Nidoran found a smaller, blue and less spiky Nidoran she assumed to be a female. "I've never seen them up close before."

"Be sure you don't get too close," the Professor warned, "they tend to secrete venom if they feel threatened."

Cynthia nodded absentmindedly, not really paying attention. As they walked she encountered other Pokémon she'd never seen before and wondered at a two-headed one the Professor told her was a Doduo. Just then a yell echoed from the trees and they turned to see a tall, lanky boy and a winged, orange Fire-type chasing a small, purple Pokémon with a curled tail.

"Get back here dammit! You and I aren't done yet you little bastard!" The orange Pokémon roared and put on a burst of speed, but the smaller Pokémon darted around a boulder, the orange one's head slamming into solid rock.

"Charizard!" exclaimed the boy. He dropped down next to the orange Pokémon and sent a glare at the purple one scurrying away. "Don't think this is over!"

The strange purple Pokémon only ran faster, as if the boy could do something to it even from a distance. He groaned and sat down next to his Pokémon (Charizard, he'd called it) and shook it slightly in an attempt to wake it.

"Pierre!" the Professor called and the boys head snapped up. Noticing the Professor and the person with him he waved at them and began muttering something into the Charizard's ear.

"That's Pierre?" she asked, Roserade looking just as doubtful as she felt.

"There's a word for him, but it escapes me," the Professor noted. "Fairly smart, lanky, tall… I said something good this morning."

"Socially inept," Pierre said, his Charizard beside him.

"Yes, that's it!" The professor exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "Thank you Pierre."

"Don't mention it," he muttered wryly, sizing Cynthia up. "Who's this supposed to be?"

"This Pierre is-"

"Cynthia," she cut the Professor off. "A pleasure to meet you, I'm sure."

Pierre and Charizard both stared in shock at her and she returned their stares, her gaze frosty. Finally he coughed and mareepishly rubbed the back off his head. "I just totally stuck my foot in my mouth there didn't I?"

"Yes, you did." Indicating her Roserade she said, "This is one of my Pokémon, Roserade. We've come from Sinnoh to request your aid."

He held up a hand. "Before you ask, can we go inside? I haven't had lunch yet." Under his breath he muttered, "Lousy Rattata."

"That sounds good." Cynthia nodded. "I'll meet you inside."

With that she turned on her heel and headed back to the lab, still trying and failing to understand what she'd just witnessed.

That's the guy who wants to catch a Legendary Pokémon? she thought dubiously. It hardly matters. All I need is for him to point me to the best spots for research. If nothing else, I can use him as extra muscle.

(*)

"Let's get down to business," Cynthia said coldly, her Pokémon munching happily at the snacks they'd been given.

Pierre nodded, his eyes once again drawn to the strange Pokémon she'd released into the Professors training field. She'd asked to have their meeting here after Pierre had said he planned on eating with his Pokémon. Honestly, he'd hoped to show her how strong he was by the state of his Pokémon, but she'd stunned him by releasing her own Pokémon, introducing them and then calmly handing them some snacks.

Spiritomb, Lucario, Togekiss, Milotic, he noted. Oh, and a Garchomp. The Dragon/Ground-type was the only one he felt unsure of.

"Are you listening to me?" Cynthia asked pointedly.

Pierre's eyes snapped back to her and nodded hurriedly. "Yeah, I was listening."

"What did I say?"

He was caught. "Okay, I wasn't listening. Could you repeat that?"

She sighed and started over. "I came here to see if this region or any others had any information I didn't have on our legends. This idea came to me when murals of Ho-oh and Lugia were found in an excavation in Sinnoh, and the idea that other regions may hold the information I need has led me here, the region with the oldest and most stable Pokémon League." She took a sip of her juice before she continued. "Another factor was Professor Oak, and a Trainer who was looking for Mew and had made no effort to hide his actions."

Pierre blushed. "I was a kid! And should I have hid what I was doing?"

"Yes," she said bluntly, "that's exactly what you do when your goal is to find and capture a mythical, powerful Pokémon whose existence you can barely prove."

"I can prove it!" he blurted, wincing when she fixed him with a glare. "When I was a kid, I was at CinnabarIsland with my dad. We went hiking and I wandered off and got caught in a mudslide. I thought for sure I was dead, but then…" He paused to calm himself. "But then I was in the air. Something was carrying me, and I watched it stop the mudslide with its powers. I didn't know what it was back then, but later I learned that it was Mew. Of course no one believed me, not really, but they didn't have to." His face hardened. "I know what I saw. I need to find that Mew."

Cynthia was silent for a while and for a second Pierre thought he'd said something wrong, but then she spoke.

"Your story is…interesting," she said finally. "And nobody thought to look up whether Mew was still there?"

Pierre shook his head. "The mudslide and what caused it was everybody's main concern. Nobody wanted to focus on a myth with a real danger close by. My dad and I, we left soon after."

"I see," Cynthia said mysteriously. She finished her juice before focusing on Pierre again. "Your research hasn't extended past the region?"

"It never had a reason to. Most of the stories about Mew either started here or are about Mew being here. There's never been any reason to go further."

"Then let me tell you a few things," Cynthia stated, her tone brooking no argument as she stood. "First, there are other regions with their own stories, and these could bring you closer to Mew than Kanto alone ever could. Second, even if you faced Mew there is no guarantee it would just go with you. Third, I need a guide and/or backup as I go through Kanto. I've decided to go with you."

Pierre struggled to keep up, her words rushing by so fast he barely heard them. When he finally processed everything she'd said he stared back at her. "So, what happens now?"

"Now we finish our lunch and go tell your parents about my request. You can ask them how they feel about it, but I expect they'll let you go. Afterwards we can begin our trek through your region, heading to the most favored research spots, until I feel I've gathered everything I need from here. Also while we're traveling I will help you train for when you finally meet Mew."

Pierre grinned easily and stood up. "No offence lady, but I think I'm strong enough to not have to worry about it."

Cynthia quirked an eyebrow. "Is that right? Care to demonstrate?"

"Sure," Pierre said, relaxing. "What did you have in mind?"

"My weakest against your strongest," she suggested. "And if you get past that, then my strongest against yours, but that seems unlikely."

Pierre bristled at that."Alright then. Charizard, you're up."

The large fire type stood up and flared his wings, roaring upwards and releasing small and Pierre walked to their side of the field and stood watching their opponent. Cynthia merely turned to her Pokémon and began looking them over, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. When she decided which one was alright she quirked a finger at it and it hopped forward to face Charizard.

So she's making Charizard battle Spiritomb?he thought. A Ghost-type is nothing to us!

"Charizard, use Shadow Claw!"

Charizard lunged forward and Pierre grinned, feeling Charizard's excitement. When he was only a few centimeters away she Cynthia spoke.

"Sucker Punch."

In a split second the rock under the Spiritomb swung forward and knocked Charizard sideways, the Fire-type flying past it. Pierre stood stunned but quickly regained his composure.

"Use Flamethrower!"

"Shadow Sneak."

Charizard turned and fired a stream of fire, but the Spiritomb appeared behind it and easily knocked it down again. Pierre watched, horrified, as his partner's face was slammed into the ground, the fire abruptly cut off.

Charizard's doesn't take hits well, he worried. "Charizard, use Dragon Claw!"

"Feint," Cynthia said, sounding bored.

The Spiritomb ducked around the glowing, green swipe and smacked Charizard in the face again. This time he growled and tried to snap at it, but it used Feint again and drove it away. Pierre gritted his teeth in frustration, the pressure mounting.

"Charizard, use Flare Blitz!"

"Use Ominous Wind."

Pierre could only watch as the powerful attack slammed into Charizard, sending him tumbling. He saw the swirls in Charizard's eyes and recalled him, turning his shocked gaze to Cynthia.

"How did you do that?" he asked, feeling humiliated.

"I'm stronger than you, and even if I wasn't neither you nor your Charizard have any skill. All you battle with is overwhelming power, and that can cost you a match."

Pierre nodded and walked over to stand before Cynthia. Kneeling, he said, "Then, if your offer still stands, I'd be overjoyed to have you as my teacher."

Cynthia nodded and smiled down at him. "Yes, the offer still stands. You can get up now."

Pierre stood and smiled at Cynthia, the thought of finding Mew exciting him. "I'll get Charizard checked out and then we'll head to my home Sensei."

Cynthia blushed slightly and said, "Please don't call me Sensei."

"Yes Master."

"Not Master either!"

(*)

Pierre sat opposite his parents in their living room, Cynthia sipping from one of the juice boxes as they absorbed the information she'd dropped on them.

"So you want to take my son out and help him find Mew, just because?" his mother asked.

"It's mostly selfish. He's traveled around before, he knows the best research institutes and libraries, so I'm using him to make my search easier."

Pierre's father nodded thoughtfully. "I don't see any problem with it, especially if you're offering to teach him, but Pierre," he looked his son in the eyes, "is this really what you want? I thought you'd given up."

Pierre nodded. "While it's true that most of my leads have yielded nothing, and all I have are stories, I feel as if this may open up new avenues for me. Plus, if Master can help me to become stronger, I will better be able to handle those who'd stand in my way."

His parents shared a look and his mother stood up. "We need to discuss this in private."

They left for the kitchen and Pierre sighed, his heart constricting painfully in his chest.

"Could you pass me one of those cookies please?"

He handed the cookies over and watched as Cynthia took two before putting the plate back on the table. When he kept staring at her she glanced at him sharply.

"What is it?"

"You're too strong to be just interested in the legends," he noted, "and you carry yourself with way too much confidence to just be some teen with a hobby. In fact, the only other person I've seen who even remotely acts like you is my dad."

She nodded and finished a cookie. "Yes, you're right. Anything else?"

"My dad says he used to be a strong Trainer in Kalos," Pierre said. "I remember because I grew up listening to his stories."

"Your point?"

"Are you some kind of Gym Leader?" he asked, feeling stupid.

"Close. Truthfully, I'm considered one of the elite Trainers in Sinnoh."

Before he could probe further his parents came back into the room, looking more relaxed than when they left.

"We've reached an agreement," his father stated.

"You can continue your search," his mother continued, "if you can promise us that you will seriously consider a professional career once you get back."

"I can do that," Pierre agreed quickly. "No problem."

"And you have to take our calls every night," his mother added."If you don't take our calls we'll assume you're doing something more important unless Cynthia says otherwise."

"I understand."

His father turned to Cynthia. "You on the other hand are explicitly using my son here, so you're also responsible for his wellbeing. Just watch out if he has a marker."

Pierre winced as Cynthia nodded curtly. Placing her glass on the table she stood and gave his parents a small bow.

"I thank you for having me over." She faced him. "Please meet me at Professor Oak's ranch tomorrow at nine o'clock. I need time to arrange something."

With that she left, an air of cool grace around her. Pierre's mother watched her leave with one eyebrow quirked.

"She certainly doesn't mince words does she?"

His father shrugged. "I doubt it." He grew thoughtful. "I wonder if I should battle her with my old team?"

"Oh please, dad, don't start," Pierre groaned.

"No, I'm serious, we could use the exercise. Plus you said she was pretty strong, it might be fun."

"Dear no," his mother said. "Remember what happened when you and Professor Oak battled?"

His father blushed. "We helped do the repairs. There weren't any problems."

"We had to help the Professor rebuild his training ground," Pierre noted.

"You make that sound like a bad thing."

His mother rolled her eyes. "I'm going to go give your old team a checkup. You are going to get started on dinner," she said, pointing to Pierre before facing his father, "and you are going to do some cleaning up around the field."

"Fine, fine," his father said, holding his hands up in surrender. "I'll battle her tomorrow."

He dashed off before his wife could retort and she shook her head.

Pierre stood. "I'm going to go make soup," he said and left for the kitchen.

(*)

Lucien slumped in his seat, his eyes drifting shut.

"Um, sir?"

He cracked his eye open and shifted to regard the stewardess and the strained smile she wore. "Yes?"

"The gentleman behind you has requested you return your Buneary. He says she bumped into him."

Lucien sat up straighter and looked the stewardess in the eye. "I understand. However, my Buneary is adjusting to a new sleep schedule. I would appreciate it if he was a little more patient." He knew he sounded condescending, he just didn't care.

"Listen kid-" the man behind him started.

Lucien turned in his seat and glared. "I'm listening.Sir."

The man sat stunned, surprised at the venom in his voice. "I-if you're not going to return the thing couldn't you keep it under control or something?"

Lucien smiled, anger settling in his gut. "Sir, we've been on this 15 hour flight for 14 hours now. For the vast majority of those hours your children have screamed, pooped, thrown things, kicked my spine out of shape and back into shape, and generally made any sort of rest impossible." He stopped smiling then and saw the discomfort in the man's face. "I would be ever so grateful if you'd show a little more…empathy."

The now chastened parent stammered out an apology and the red-faced stewardess left, muttering something about fetching him a drink. He ignored them both and looked forward again, his gaze shifting to the brown and tan ball of fluff that was staring wide-eyed at him.

"What?"

She jumped a little and he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Let me guess, I sounded like my mother?" A hesitant nod was his answer. "I'm sorry, we're just not getting enough sleep these days. The jet lag will be murder when we get to Kanto."

Buneary looked at him thoughtfully before she seemed to make up her mind. She crawled onto his lap and pulled his arms around her as she gave him her best cute face. He smiled down at her warmly, letting himself relax for the first time in days.

"I can't believe we're meeting an ex-Champion," he said wistfully, his voice a whisper. "And he has a son. I wonder what he's like."

He realized he was talking to himself when a soft snore came from the Pokémon in his lap and he sighed, settling in his chair for the final hour.

(*)

And that's the end of the first chapter. Again this was a request, so if you want me to keep this going you'll probably need to tell me. Also, while I won't ask for reviews on Johto Story, I'll ask for reviews for this one. Just not right now.

I'll take a fic, and read it!