*Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. However I made up Crystal, Blaze, and Ember.

- this is a story I wrote awhile back and found while going through stuff. I don't plan on continuing it unless I get some really good reviews.

-this story takes place after the first episode of the Johto series.

The alarm went off, Crystal jumped out of bed and turned it off. She ran downstairs. Today she would begin her pokémon journey. No need to start on an empty stomach! As she poured cereal her mom came downstairs.

"Crystal, you're up early! It's only seven. The laboratory doesn't open until ten." Crystal nodded.

"I know mom, I just want to be ready. I was thinking about taking a walk before going." She sat at the table to eat. Mrs. Facet frowned.

"Well, you're not In a rush so can you get me the newspaper?" Crystal pushed back from the table.

"Yes, mom." She slunk to the front door, leave it to mom to spoil her excitement. The paper had a startling headline: Pokémon Theft Attempt at Elm Laboratory. The article said that some members of Team Rocket had attempted to steal a totodile from Professor Elm's laboratory yesterday! That had to be the one she was picking up later! The totodile had been rescued by Officer Jenny and three pokémon trainers that had been passing by.

"Hmmmm... some kids from Kanto. Maybe I'll see them in the Johto League. I sure owe them one!"

"Crystal, did you get lost?!" Crystal sighed and ran in the house. "What took you so long?"

"Take a look at the headline. I think I'll head over as soon as I'm packed, gotta make sure totodile is ok." She flew up to her room. She grabbed her backpack and poke gear. As she reached the door her mom came up behind her.

"I really wish you wouldn't do this Crystal. Ever since Linda became a pokémon trainer I'd hoped you would decide to stay here instead."

"Mo-om, you already made me wait four years. I would've gone when I was ten if you hadn't stopped me."

"Fine, just take care of yourself."

"I will! Bye!" Crystal ran out the door.

"Wait, Crystal!" She turned. Her mom walked to the garage and opened the door. Inside was a silver bike. "I think you could use this."

"Wow! Thanks mom!" She biked toward the Elm laboratory. Professor Elm was already there.

"Hello Crystal, I figured after you read the paper you'd come. Don't worry, your totodile is fine."

"Thank goodness! I was really worried. What do I need to do?" Professor Elm went to a shelf and picked up a poke ball and pokedex.

"Here's your totodile and your pokedex. Professor Oak asked me to give you this, it records all pokémon you see and catch. Use it to gather information." Crystal looked at her pokedex, this was just as important as raising and training pokémon. She opened her poke ball.

"Come on out, Totodile!" A small blue alligator like pokémon appeared.

"Toto-dile." He came up to Crystal and held out his claw, they shook.

"You and I are gonna be a great team! Together we'll fight in the Johto League!" Professor Elm nodded approvingly.

"I can tell that you two will be an unstoppable team, you're off to a great start!" Crystal smiled at Totodile, who winked at her. She looked up.

"Oh, Professor. Who were the trainers that saved Totodile? I owe them!" Professor Elm pushed some keys on her pokedex.

"This also records trainers in the Johto League, here. Ash Ketchum, and his friends Misty and Brock."

"If I meet them in the Johto League I'll have to thank them."

"Yes, you'd better get started." Crystal nodded.

"Return Totodile, on second thought. Why don't you stay out?"

"Toto!"

"Bye Professor Elm! Thanks!" The two ran out the door.

"Goodbye, good luck!"

Totodile hopped into Crystal's backpack, she laughed.

"You ready Totodile?"

"Dile!"

"Ok! Johto League, here we come!" They started out of New Bark Town. After a few hours Crystal stopped. "Hmmm..." She checked her poke gear. "I'd say it's lunch-time!"

"Totodile!" As they sat to eat a Pidgey flew down and landed near them. Crystal jumped up, whipping out her pokedex.

"Pidgey, the tiny bird pokémon. A common site in forests and woods. It flaps its wings at ground level to kick up blinding sand."

"This one's mine! Go Totodile!" Totodile ran out to face the Pidgey. It started flapping its wings. "Look out! It's using sand attack. Totodile, use water gun!" The stream of water rammed the Pidgey into a tree, rendering her unconscious. Crystal pulled out a poke ball. "Poke ball, go!" It captured the Pidgey, wobbling for a few seconds then it stopped. "Yes! Totodile, we did it!" She picked up the poke ball. "Welcome to the team, Wind Racer." Totodile danced around happily, then paused. Staring out into the woods. "What's wrong Totodile?" A small figure rose.

"Sentret!" It squeaked. The Sentret hopped forward towards them.

"Wow! Two pokémon at once! This is great!" As the Sentret came nearer though she realized that it didn't look too good. Totodile walked up to it.

"Toto-toto-dile?"

"Sen-tret. Sen." The Sentret moaned.

"What's wrong with the Sentret, Totodile?" Totodile took Crystal's pokedex. "Hey!" He pushed one button.

"Toto." A picture of Weedle appeared.

"Dile." The poisonous warning appeared. Totodile looked up at Crystal. The Sentret had been poisoned by a Weedle!

"We've got to get you to a pokémon center!" Crystal scoped up the Sentret, placing her gently into her backpack. "I'll have to put you in your poke ball for now Totodile, return." She put the poke ball away and jumped on her bike. As she sped down the path she saw a person ahead of her. She hit the brakes and was thrown off her bike. "Owww!" She groaned as she sat up. The guy she nearly hit ran over to her.

"Are you ok?"

"Think so, but this Sentret needs help more than I do. It's a good thing she didn't get hurt worse!"

"What do you mean?"

"I found this Sentret hurt, she was poisoned by a weedle!"

"You're bike's pretty messed up, there's a pokémon center and a bike shop in Cherry Grove. My name's Blaze. What's yours?"

"I'm Crystal. How far is it to Cherry Grove?" Blaze pulled out two poke balls.

"A day if you're walking, but I've got a better idea. Go Rapidash, Ponyta!" Two fire horse pokémon appeared. Blaze jumped onto the back of the larger one. "Come on."

"You expect me to ride?" The Ponyta walked over to Crystal.

"Don't worry, she won't burn you as long as you trust her. We've got to get going!"

"Ohh...kay." Crystal jumped on Ponyta's back. "Let's get this pokémon some help!" The fire pokémon and trainers raced off. Cherry Grove came up over the horizon.

"There it is, Cherry Grove. The pokémon center is just in the town." Crystal nodded, she headed down into the town. There was a small subdivision outside the town, past it she could see the roof of the pokémon center. As she reached the entrance she jumped off the Ponyta, leaving her with Blaze. She ran inside and up to the desk..



"Is something wrong?" Nurse Joy asked with concern. "You look exhausted."

"Yes...but...this Sentret...found her in the woods...poisoned." Crystal handed the Sentret to her.

"Ok." She pushed a button on the desk "Chansey, I need a care unit ready for a poisoned Sentret." A Chansey came out.

"Chan-sey!" She took the Sentret into a med room. Nurse Joy turned to Crystal.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine. Is she your Sentret?" Crystal shook her head.

"No, my Totodile and I found her in the woods. We realized she was poisoned and brought her here." Nurse Joy smiled.

"You did the right thing." Blaze came dragging in, his hair was singed.

"Jeeze Crystal, what did you do to my Ponyta? She was really spooked, let loose a fire blast before I could calm her down!"

"Sorry. Thanks for letting me ride, now that Sentret will be treated."

"No problem, I'd heard rumors that Team Rocket was in the area so I thought I'd check it out." Crystal frowned.

"Why do you want to find Team Rocket?" Blaze frowned.

"They're always after rare pokémon, bullying around beginner trainers and stealing. I wanted to help get rid of them. When I heard about them trying to steal a pokémon from Professor Elm's lab… that got me as mad as a tauros!"

"I was really worried, I don't know what I'd have done if they'd succeeded. I wouldn't have been able to become a trainer!" Blaze's eyes widened.

"You mean that was your totodile they nearly stole! But that means this is just your first day as a pokémon trainer!"

"Yeah, don't rub it in ok?" Crystal groaned with a pained expression. "I'm lucky I get to be a trainer at all, if my mom had got her way…"

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that! It's just you seem a little old to be a beginner. You can't be just ten."

"No, my mom made me wait four years, now I'm fourteen and just beginning. I guess that's pretty pathetic. I won't stand a chance against another trainer my age." She sighed. "All I've got is my nearly stolen totodile and a pidgey."

"Hey, I've seen plenty of trainers your age that've trained since they were ten that don't care one bit about an injured pokémon unless it's theirs. You're off to a good start."

"Off to a good start?! The day before I get my first pokémon it nearly gets stolen by the infamous Team Rocket, then I find an injured pokémon in the woods that I try to get to the pokémon center and wreck my bike! You call that a good start!?!?!?" Blaze shook his head and looked out the window. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"Ok, you've got me there, but some trainers get off to what you would consider a great start. No stolen or injured pokémon, just smooth sailing. This doesn't happen with all trainers mind you, but some are heartless. They use their pokémon like a convict uses a gun, just to hurt others, and when they're no longer of any use, they get abandoned. Those type of trainers make up Team Rocket's ranks, they start out seeming fine, then they join a group of spineless creatures like them. That's why I hate Team Rocket so much, they care nothing for their own, only themselves. Selfish spineless cowards that use brute force and fear to their advantage. I've seen more victims than anyone would ever want to, people whose pokémon where stolen or worse, by them. Parents finding out that their children have become delinquents and crime lords. There's more to a person than meets the eye. You can usually tell what a person's like by he way they treat pokémon and what kind of pokémon they have and how they behave. When I first met you this morning you didn't care a thing about the fact that you were in pain, all you thought about was that sentret, so you see, you're off to a great start."

"Uh, thanks… I think." She wanted to know how he knew so much about Team Rocket and why he'd seen so many victims but it was obvious he didn't like to talk about it. "What are you going to do, since the Rocket's left?" He shook his head.

"I don't know, it seems like I always arrive too late, even with my rapidash. If only I could find out where their base was…" He looked up, Nurse Joy was coming towards them.

"Sentret will be just fine. She just needs some rest and she'll be all yours Crystal." Crystal was shocked.

"You want me to keep her?"

"Yes, this little sentret could use some training, and I couldn't think of anyone more capable to train her than the person who rescued her." Blaze nodded. As they headed to the room where sentret was resting his poke gear began to ring.

"Excuse me." He muttered to Nurse Joy and Crystal as he went to a corner. Sentret greeted Crystal happily.

"You sure recovered fast!" She laughed as she pulled out a poke ball. As she prepared to leave Blaze walked up to Nurse Joy.

"Sorry to come and run, but I have to leave. Crystal, I'd suggest you stay here for a few days until…" His voice wandered off and he left the center. Crystal frowned.

"That was weird. He was nice and all but who does he think he is to tell me to stay here?"

"I don't know but you should stay here for the night, until then you can our the city."

"Sounds like a plan!"