"N-nngh... What the...?" My surroundings were unfamiliar, or rather, I couldn't tell what I was looking at or where I should rest my gaze. White. It's nothing but white as far as the eye can see. Am I dreaming?

Before I could answer my own question, in front of me a quadrupedal figure appeared before me, one that I could instantly recognize. If the lack of surroundings didn't clue me in on the situation, this thing did. It was all silence until now, my ears weren't ready for the sudden booming of the voice that filled them, as this figure before me spoke.

"My name is Arceus, I stand before you because I called for your help." My dreams are rather normal, more boring than anything, but I've never had such a strange and ominous dream as this one before now. Least of all, why a Pokémon? If any God should have appeared before me, why is He a Pokémon? To begin with, they don't even exist. Arceus continued anyway as I thought to myself.

"You're right, this is as much of a surprise to me as it might be to you, for someone from a completely different dimension to respond to my call, but that is no matter at this point." With that decided, I nod and sit on the, err, ground? Whatever I was standing on, and lend my ears again.

"As we have little time, I must continue the conversation like you know everything I'm about to say. I have received a premonition about a great calamity that will befall the Pokémon world at the hands of criminal organizations worldwide, and it starts with Team Plasma in the Unova region. My plan is to send a human with this knowledge to gain the strength to stand up to Team Plasma before they can carry out their destructive plans and reach the interest of crime leaders the world over, and only you can help me, as the one who answered the call."

I look down at my feet and take in what it said, before raising my head again with my thoughts gathered.

"What am I supposed to do? And will you help me?" I ask. It might be a little cheat-y to ask for Divine assistance, but in fairness my only experience with Pokémon is the video games, and those are nothing but pixels on a display.

Arceus shakes its head. "It's rather simple; collect the eight gym badges across Unova's eight Pokémon Gyms and become the Champion. Team Plasma will think twice about going up against a Pokémon trainer strong enough to achieve that title." I nod along. Of course, that would be pretty much the most common goal among any Pokémon trainer, at least in the games.

"As for assistance, the most I can do is give you these items." Suddenly, within my hands are some charms, one is shaped like a blue star, while the other had a round shape that flattened at the bottom, and was teal.

"With the Shiny Charm, and the Catching Charm, you should have an easier time catching the desired party of Pokémon. And so, with that out of the way... Wait, what was your name?" It asked. Kind of late to the question, but I answer anyway.

"My name... It's Victor." As I finished, it nodded and begun to glow a bright white, the intense light filling my vision as everything faded black before me.


I hear the faint sound of an alarm beeping, as I sit up in my bed. Wait, this bed doesn't feel like my own, that's weird. Rubbing my head, it felt like I had a light headache, as I leave the warm covers to the sight of an unfamiliar room. There are hardly any decorations to speak of save for a lone poster above a desk showing the image of three Pokémon I knew: Snivy, Tepig and Oshawott. They were the Starter Pokémon you can receive, typically by the region's Professor, in this case that would be Professor Juniper.

Besides the poster, there was also a purple gift box on the desk beneath it, which I assumed to be for me, that was neatly wrapped with a green bow. Wasting no time, I get out of bed and notice that I had some clothes on my desk I assume were prepared for me by someone, perhaps my mom? The outfit consisted of a pair of dark grey jeans, a black t-shirt, a blue jacket of a navy hue at the bottom, and a light blue at the top, with white lining the inner edges of the zipper. Besides that, there were also red shoes by the desk that were lined with white at the bottoms, as well as a cap laying on a black bag with a black brim, and a red and white halves mimicking the appearance of a Poké Ball, which was represented above the brim in black. Also besides the clothes were the items I was given by Arceus.

"Wait a second, so none of that was a dream? And I really have waken up in another world, and the Pokémon world no less?" I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask myself, but figured that could wait for a better time, before getting out of bed proper.

Getting dressed, I note that the cap in particular feels pretty comfortable, whoever made it must be skilled.

Before I could ask myself what the box contained, a person I recognized visually walked into my room, although I can't really say I'd ever met him before, not like this, mostly because he too were fictional, however this all felt too real to be anything but fiction.

"Good morning." The boy said, he seemed to be Cheren guessing from his calculating gaze behind round, oval-shaped glasses, which he pushed up the bridge of his nose.

"Hi Cheren, that box over there, that contains Pokémon right?" I ask, hopefully it wasn't a strange question since I was already familiar with how this would all play out, but he didn't seem to mind the question.

"That's right, Professor Juniper sent a box here for you, Bianca and I to open and receive our Starter Pokémon." He explained, as I looked back at the box, before noticing that Bianca wasn't here yet.

Nearly a minute passes, as Cheren taps his foot impatiently. "Where is that Bianca anyway? I know she doesn't have much of a sense of time, but this is ridiculous." And almost as if on cue, she suddenly ran into the room and right into Cheren, who landed on my bed mostly unharmed.

"Sorry I'm la-ate!" Bianca sang out, as the flighty girl with blond hair and a striking green hat rubbed the back of her neck.

"Speaking of, you're late again Bianca." Cheren chastised her while getting out of the bed, as she gave him an apologetic look.

"My bad!" She apologized playfully, as she dashed right past him and stood directly in front of the gift box.

"Today is the day the three of us receive Pokémon, like we promised so long ago." Cheren said, pushing his glasses up as the glare hid his eyes, Bianca nodding with him. Seeing them like this made me realize all the more just how much they seem like polar opposites, it's a little funny in a weird way.

"Alright, well let's get our Pokémon now!" Bianca almost felt as if she were hyperactive. "Since she sent the box here, you can get the first pick." Cheren decided, while Bianca nodded quickly.

Approaching the box, I notice a note attached to the bow, and remove it to read it aloud. "I've brought three Pokémon, one for you and one for each of your friends. Please settle your choices politely. Enjoy your Pokémon! -Professor Juniper" I continue and unwrap the box after putting the note down, removing the top and taking out three Poké Balls from it, which were shrunken and placed on a tray. Three stickers were placed beneath the spaces for each Poké Ball, representing the Type of the Pokémon contained within. According to the stickers, the left ball contains the Grass type Starter, the middle has the Fire type Starter, and the right ball is occupied by the Water type Starter. I already know exactly which Pokémon I want to care for, and I can make a guess as to who Bianca and Cheren will take as a result.

I grab the rightmost ball, and suddenly I'm hit with the sensation of holding the device. I'd always wondered how a Poké Ball would feel to hold it, but feeling it in my hand here and now is surprisingly exactly how I expected it. It feels like it's made from a particularly sturdy metal, strong enough for me not to worry too much about the delicate design of the technology behind it. I waste no time in pressing the button in the middle, as the ball expanded to its normal size and noticeably changed weight, when suddenly a red beam of light appeared from the button, along with the Pokémon who materialized in a red light at the end of the beam.

The Pokémon that sat in front of me was Oshawott, a bipedal Pokémon that had an appearance similar to that of a sea-otter. Its head is white and round, with triangle-shaped ears on the sides that were a dark blue, as well as having two trios of dots on its cheeks that resembled freckles, with a dark-orange nose and a proud smile sitting beneath. Its body was a light blue, while the fur became bubble-shaped at its neck, it also stood on two stubby feet coloured the same as its ears and tail, which was short and flat, almost appearing rudder-like. On its belly was a yellow seashell.

"Oshawott!" It said. Despite my best efforts, I crack a big smile at the sight of the Pokémon. Seeing such a creature in the flesh, and hearing its cry, was an experience I would never forget, and things like this were normal in the Pokémon world even though they were once not real to me. If this is a dream, it would be a very cruel act to rip me away from it now.

"Wow, it's Oshawott! Alright, now it's my turn! This one's mine, and this one's Cheren's!" Bianca exclaimed, quickly snatching away the ball containing the Fire type Pokémon Tepig, as Cheren sighed in annoyance as he grabbed Snivy's ball soon after.

"You're just as impatient as ever, it's a good thing I wanted Snivy from the start." I feel like he let more annoyance slip out there than intended, but Bianca didn't seem to care as she revealed the form of Tepig next.

Like before, the short figure of the Pokémon grew from the red beam, something I'd have to get used to seeing from here on, as it cried its name. The Pokémon was pig-like with a mostly orange body, while its nose was orange with a yellow stripe running from its snout to its forehead. The upper portion of its head was a dark brown colour, as was the band that covered its lower back and rear. It also had a cute, curly tail with a ruddy red sphere.

"Aww, you're such a cutie-pie!" She cooed, to which the Pokémon smiled and hopped up into her arms, as she gleefully caught it.

"With that out of the way, now it's your turn." Cheren said, tossing the ball after pressing the button, as Snivy appeared from it at his feet. It seemed to have an attitude, something I was rather familiar with from the Pokémon anime. Appearance-wise, it looked sort of reptilian, with its body being almost totally green save for the cream colour on its underside. A yellow stripe ran down its back to its tail, with markings of the same colour surrounding its eye area. On its shoulders were yellow protrusions that somewhat resemble leaves. At the end of its tail was a wide three-pronged leaf.

"Sniv." It crossed its small arms and eyed Cheren for a while, before closing its eyes and nodding.

"I think Snivy accepts you as its trainer." I say, to which Bianca agreed with a "Yeah!"

"Hey, I just got an amazing idea. Let's battle!" Bianca said, turning to me with a blinding smile. Her brightness is something I would also have to get used to.

"Honestly, even though they're weak Pokémon, you can't just have a battle indoors, that's just common sense." Cheren shook his head disapprovingly, as Bianca shrugged.

"C'mon Cheren, it's as you said, they're weak! Besides, a Pokémon battle is just what they need to toughen up! Whaddya say Victor?" She turned to me, as even Cheren glanced my way, his eyes almost pleading my disagreement.

I scratch my cheek, although Cheren was right, Bianca's words held some truth, after shooting an apologetic look at Cheren I nod and turn to Bianca, whose smile seemed to grow in anticipation.

"You're right Bianca, it should be fine as long as we don't mess up my room too much." My explanation isn't exactly unwarranted, as all I really had in here was a lone poster and empty desk, as well as what seemed to be a Wii console in the corner of the room. Understandably, Cheren sighed as he looked to the side, while Bianca let Tepig back on the ground who gave Oshawott a competitive cry.

"Alright! Prepare to lose to my Tepig!" Bianca declared, as I smile. I wasn't sure if she knew about type effectiveness, though it's unlikely that these Pokémon have any special moves besides the usual Tackle-likes and stat drop moves.

As Tepig stands in front of Bianca, smoke puffed from its nose, meanwhile my own Oshawott brandished its scalchop.

"Use Tail Whip!" I flinch as Bianca gets the first move, turns out her impatience allows her to get the better of her opponents. Tepig responds in kind and dashes in front of Oshawott to wag its tail in its face, as a blue aura swept my Pokémon in a downward motion, signifying its Defense dropping. I shake my head as I prepare a counterattack, but Bianca gets the better of me once more.

"Use Tackle!" Tepig rushes towards Oshawott with speed that it doesn't look like it should have, and crashes into my Pokémon with its entire body, though Oshawott doesn't appear too scratched up, perhaps because its pride won't allow it to show any signs of pain? I shake my head and clear away that thought for now though, as I make my own move next.

"You use Tackle too!" Oshawott shook off the pain and carried out the command, hitting Tepig with a full body tackle, though it wasn't nearly as strong as it was since its Defense hadn't dropped, it seemed like it did more than Tepig's would have without the Tail Whip it used, which was an interesting sign.

Tepig was launched into the wall from the force, somehow not causing much damage, as it promptly got up and shook its body, raring to get off another Tackle, which Bianca noticed and responded in kind with another attack command, though I'm prepared this time.

"Block the attack with your scalchop!" Thankfully, and surprisingly, Oshawott seemed to get what I meant, as it removed the seashell on its chest and held it up, somehow the thing absorbed some of the strength of the move, but it was knocked away in the process.

"Counterattack with Tackle!" Thinking quickly, Oshawott dove for its seashell and grabbed it, tossing it at Tepig's leg a moment later in some sort of attempt to immobilize it, seemingly succeeding as it gave Oshawott that extra bit of time to hurl itself into the pig-like Pokémon. The force of the attack was enough, as Tepig was now lying on the ground with swirls replacing its eyes.

"Wow, that was a-mazing! You're gonna be a great trainer someday, I just know it!" Bianca praised me as she returned her Pokémon, though I could tell there was some hurt hidden in her voice, but as I was about to respond Cheren suddenly challenged me as well.

"It would be unfair if I couldn't join in the fun." Vines grew from somewhere on Snivy, though I couldn't tell, as it gave a smirk. I was a little worried, since my Pokémon was exhausted, but Bianca stepped up.

"Before we let the battle start, let me heal your Pokémon!" She said, as I gratefully nod, Oshawott let itself get picked up by Bianca who pulled a Potion from out of her bag and sprayed it over some of Oshawott's injuries.

"OK, give it your all Oshawott!" She cheered, as Oshawott held its paw up and nodded.

Back to my position, Snivy stands before Oshawott, the victor of the previous battle. As I expected, Oshawott didn't seem to gain enough experience to increase in level, however... Something doesn't feel right about that, as if this world didn't actually run on the logic of the gam-

"Tackle." Snivy quickly propelled itself towards Oshawott, who wasn't expecting the attack, which I wasn't either as it snapped me out of my thoughts. My Pokémon rolled into the wall behind me from the force of the blow, but it gets up immediately after and shakes its head.

"Nice one, now use Tail Whip!" Oshawott slid on its seashell towards Snivy, before wagging its tail in front of it to lower its defense in the same way Tepig had lowered Oshawott's in the previous fight. Snivy doesn't seem too phased by the move, which Cheren seemed to mimic as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"My journey to become a powerful trainer begins here, with my first victory. Use Tackle!" Snivy launched its body towards Oshawott once more, but with such a limited strategy at this point my choices for counterattack are similarly limited, though Oshawott had its scalchop to aid its options.

"Block with your scalchop and use Tackle!" Oshawott was as quick as Snivy, taking its seashell and holding it up to absorb the shock of the attack like in Tepig's battle. If Cheren had other moves, he'd surely be able to react accordingly, but it's unlikely he'll get to secure his victory today, as Oshawott parried Snivy's full-body attack by pulling its arm and slamming it into the floor. A harsh move, but it was more than enough, as Bianca called the match.

"Wha... V-victory goes to Victor! Wow!" That 'Wow!' seemed gratuitous, but I'm too bashful to say anything, as a glare was cast on Cheren's glasses. I'm worried he won't take the defeat well, fortunately a smile crossed his lips as he clapped.

"Well done, you squarely beat me. I look forward to future matches, rival!" He grinned and held out his hand, it's a little awkward how formal he's being right now, and Bianca seemed to notice as well.

"Hey, why the formalities? Anyway, I'm definitely going to be right, you'll make sure of that of course." She said to me with a chuckle, as I turn to nod at her. Cheren seemed to be chuckling as well, I couldn't help but join in, and soon we were all laughing.

After we stopped, Cheren and Bianca left my room and waited in the living room as I got my bag and charms, before following them. In the living room with them was a motherly-looking woman. She had blue eyes and brown hair, which was tied into a ponytail resting downwards. She had a plain light blue shirt and wore a long skirt that was a shade darker than her shirt. Tied around her waist was a light-yellow apron with a faint stain on it, probably from cooking a meal.

"We're sorry for messing up your son's room, we can clean it up!" Bianca profusely bowed apologetically, with Cheren rubbing the back of his neck. My mom (apparently) simply sighed.

"It's quite alright, I've never met a mess I couldn't clean. You don't worry about a thing and leave it to me. Anyway, after Victor has breakfast I think you three should see the professor and thank her for your new Pokémon." She suggested, as I walk up to the group and stand next to Cheren.

"Good idea! Victor, Cheren and I will meet with you outside soon!" Bianca said, as the two of them left the house.

I quickly ate pancakes my Mom cooked for me before thanking her and leaving the house next. A dirt path led from my house to a larger path, which ran in a line across to a distant building that had a wind turbine nearby, where my friends were standing.

Before we could leave, Cheren coughed. "I let my parents know I'll be away on a journey, I think you should tell your parents you'll be leaving too Bianca." She froze in place though, seems like that might be a bad idea.

"Uh, y-yeah, sounds like a plan... I'll meet you and Victor at the lab." She hurriedly left for her own home, which wasn't too far away from mine.

Close to half an hour passes as we finally see Bianca running towards us. I guess it makes sense that the buildings in the town would be more spaced out than what I'm used to in the games, but the walk there didn't take any longer than eighteen minutes, which surprised me a bit.

"Sorry for... making you two... wait... Hooh!" She said between breaths, as she knelt forward with her hands on her knees while trying to catch her breath. After she recovered from running, we all enter the lab. The room was mostly white with a desk and chair against a wall to my left, and there didn't seem to be anything else of note, at least to me.

At the sound of the door opening, the professor turns her head towards us and smiles. If I remember right, the professor was a woman named Aurea Juniper, who wore a long light-blue lab coat that was worn over a white shirt and a green skirt. She had brown hair that had a puff of sorts at the top.

"Ah, welcome! I take it you settled the matter in a civil manner?" Professor Juniper asks, as I nod.

"Welcome to my lab! Now, as for why you're here, I wanted to ask something of you three." I look at Bianca, who looked at me a little confused, and then turned to Cheren, who turned my way and nodded.

"What is it?" Bianca asked first, as the professor turned to pick something up.

"Well, you see, I'd like to ask you three to help me study Pokémon using these devices called-"

Cheren spoke up to finish her sentence. "The Pokédex, they're used to record the data of Pokémon we capture, right?"

Professor Juniper seemed to be taken aback, probably because he cut her off mid-sentence.

"That's right Cheren, however please allow me to explain from the beginning for everyone's sake." Cheren stepped back and nodded rather sheepishly.

"Although I've documented a lot of Pokémon, it's a tall order for me to do on my own, so I'd like to ask you three to assist me on this undertaking. Will you record information on Pokémon for me with these Pokédexes?" She asked. Of course, there was only one answer that could be given, and almost as if we timed it the three of us all agreed at once.

"Yes!"

"Yes."

"OK... I mean, yes!"

A smile grew on her face, it seemed like we gave a good answer. She turned to a nearby desk to retrieve the machines, handing them to each of use. Cheren's was silver, Bianca's was pink, while mine was blue. The Pokédex itself was a small device with one screen, and another behind it that would slide upwards when turned on.

"Good answer! Alright, before we do anything else from here, would you like to nickname your Pokémon?" She asked, as I nod first.

Releasing Oshawott, I kneel down to its level. "Hey Oshawott, do you want a nickname?" I ask. It nods almost immediately, before I put my index finger on my chin in thought. After about a minute, I come up with one that might be good.

"How about Jet?" It shakes its head with a frown, before I chuckle. "I guess not, huh. Well... how does Shelly sound?" I wasn't sure of its gender, as I didn't have a Pokédex to check, but it seems satisfied with the nickname. I'll have to confirm it later, but for now I'll have to guess it's female, as "Shelly" is rather feminine a name I think.

"Excellent choice, and what about you two?" Juniper turned to Cheren, who shook his head, and then Bianca.

"Uh, I'll come up with one later!" Juniper nodded, before speaking again.

"Alright, so before we go further, you'll each need a Trainer Card. Lucky for you, your mothers registered Trainer Cards for you each, they're pieces of vital information as a trainer, and contain stuff like your Trainer ID and even photo identification." She explained, as she handed us each our cards. On mine, there was a picture of a boy that resembled a younger me, I guess my mom chose the least embarrassing family photo of me she could find.

"OK, with those in hand, I'll teach you guys how to catch Pokémon on Route 1, and then we'll all go to Accumula Town to learn some more stuff about being a Pokémon Trainer." She explained, as we each nodded.

Bianca poked my arm to get my attention, as she turned to me and Cheren.

"This is kind of exciting, I mean, we're real Pokémon Trainers now!" She said with a big smile, which I returned with my own smile.

"That's right, this is a milestone we all share." Cheren added, to which I nodded.

"Let's make the best of the opportunity and fulfill Professor Juniper's wish." I finish, with Bianca and Cheren agreeing.

Professor Juniper spoke up again as we turn to her. "So, we'll be off soon, I hope you three have said your goodbyes to your parents by now, if so, then let's be on our way." Leaving the lab, we follow her soon after. Bianca seemed to wince a little when the professor made mention of parents, but I still kind of feel like she isn't ready for that discussion.

Now being late into the afternoon, thick white clouds slowly strolled across the sky as one covered the sun for a few minutes, providing brief relief from the early summer heat. The walk took about twelve minutes, as I occasionally take a peek at my Xtransceiver.

"Alright, when you encounter a Pokémon..." As she started, a short brown Pokémon with weird looking eyes and a cream coloured stomach appeared in front of her. "You release your Pokémon and damage the target! Minccino, use Tackle!" A small silver chinchilla-like Pokémon with a cute, fluffy tail emerged from a Poké Ball, before it ran into the opposing Pokémon to deal damage.

"Once you deal some damage, it's time to throw a Poké Ball!" She pulled a ball out of her bag, and tossed it at the Pokémon who was lying flat on its back. The Pokémon was sucked into the ball in red energy, before shrinking and disappearing into it. The ball fell shortly after, and begun to wobble side-to-side for a few seconds, wobbling three times until it made a clicking sound.

"That click signifies the capture was a success! And that is how you catch a Pokémon." She finished, as the ball disappeared into the air.

"Woah! I think I get it! But, why did the ball disappear?" Bianca spoke up first, of course I could guess what the reason is, and Cheren was sure to know, the professor was eager to answer the question of a newbie as she turned to her.

"When you capture a Pokémon while you already have a party of six, the Poké Ball is sent to a storage box in a PC, which you can see at any Pokémon Center, which I'll explain later." She nodded and appeared to mentally record that info.

"Here, I have five Poké Balls for each of you, be sure to catch some Pokémon and get in some battles before heading to Accumula Town." She said, handing us each the items as she said, before continuing to the next town.

"She forgot to mention that there are more ways than damaging the target to make it easier to catch. Well, we better get some Pokémon so we can continue with the explanations." Cheren piped up, however Bianca held her arm out in front of him.

"Hold it, I have a fun idea!" She started, as Cheren spoke up.

"We don't have the time, I suspect the professor is already waiting for us." He responds.

"Will you just listen for a second? What I'm thinking is that we should catch lots of Pokémon! And the one with the most wins!" She explained, as Cheren put his hand on his chin.

"I think that idea sounds good. In fact, it'd fill pages in our Pokédex, so we'd be hitting two Pidove with one Smack Down!" I add, as Bianca chuckles at the analogy.

"Well said. Let's give it a shot." Splitting up, I find myself in a patch of grass looking left and right, until my eyes land on a small brown Pokémon with tan fur on its stomach and face. A black band wraps around its face, over its eyes which are mostly red with singular yellow rings and black pupils in the middle. It'd look cute if it weren't for its eyes.

I immediately throw a Poké Ball at the unsuspecting creature, who is struck with the ball and sucked inside moments after. The ball lands on the ground, and begins shaking. Of course, that shaking brings a lot of anxiousness in me when I don't take the appropriate actions to ensure capture, however it would seem this time that it's a success, as the ball clicks.

"Alright, I caught Patrat!" Taking out my Pokédex, the half with the top screen slides upwards as three pictures of the Pokémon appear, each at different angles.

"Patrat, the Scout Pokémon, a Normal type. As cautious as they are, they have difficulty noticing a foe from behind."

Satisfied, I put the machine away and minimize its Poké Ball to fit onto my belt. I know there's at least one more Pokémon I can capture on this route, but I dunno if it'll show up.

Somehow, as if on cue, a Lillipup appears from a nearby bush. Not wanting to take any chances, I send out Oshawott to begin a battle with the puppy-like Pokémon.

"Use Tackle!" Oshawott quickly threw itself at the opponent, who was caught blindsided by the sudden attack and couldn't react, as it was knocked away and on its side. Taking this chance, I throw a Poké Ball towards it as it sails in the air with a slight whistle. As it hits the damaged Pokémon, who is absorbed in a red light, the ball shakes mid-air, which clearly meant that I got pretty lucky and got a Critical Capture.

Falling to the ground, the ball shakes only once before clicking, signifying a successful capture. I once again take out my Pokédex to see its data updated.

"Lillipup, the Puppy Pokémon, a Normal type. It is very brave, however it knows when it can't win and flees as necessary." It said, as I once again put it away.

After a few minutes, I finally reach the outskirts of Accumula Town with Bianca and Cheren, as we compared our sums of the capturing.

"So I caught a Lillipup!" Bianca revealed, as Cheren nodded.

"And I caught a Patrat." He said, holding the ball up.

"Somehow, I ended up catching both Patrat and Lillipup." I shrug, as Bianca looks at me with eyes sparkling in awe.

"Wow! You're even good at scouting out Pokémon!" She exclaimed, as we each put our Poké Balls away and enter the town.

"Indeed, at this pace our Pokédexes will be full in no time." Cheren added, as I gave a nod.

"Let's make the professor proud!" With the two nodding, we make our way to the Pokémon Center. The walk there doesn't take long, as the path is relatively straightforward, and the town isn't particularly big, it couldn't be much bigger than Nuvema Town. Though, once we make it to the front of the building, Cheren quickly walks left and stops.

"I have healing items on hand, and I studied a lot, so I'll be going ahead. Tell the professor that I've already left for the next city." Cheren says, turning to Bianca and I.

"O-Oh, alright then." Bianca responds, slightly flabbergasted. Of course, suddenly claiming you already know enough to go ahead without us would be a surprise, but I shake my head and nod.

"Sure, just don't jump too many steps ahead of me, I wouldn't want to be weaker than my rival." I say, as he smirks, with a smile placed on Bianca's face at our exchange.

"Of course." Turning, he leaves along the road to the north, as I enter the Pokémon Center to see the professor standing by the receptionist desk. Bianca follows close by, and stands beside me as she takes in the building, sighing contented I can assume. I don't blame her, for some reason I suddenly feel relief as I enter the cool building and feel the relaxing atmosphere.

"Hello Bianca, Victor. Err, where's Cheren?" Bianca seemed to wince slightly for some reason, though I step forward and respond in place of her.

"Turns out he studied on the Pokémon Center and stuff and went ahead of us." I explain. Seemed like it was good enough, as the professor only nods.

"Alright, well, I'll just have to give you two the tour instead. First up is the front desk." She says, as Bianca and I approach the receptionist.

Standing behind the counter was a woman who had pink hair tied into two rings? With a pink uniform that had a white apron tied around her waist, as far as I could tell anyway, I can only see the top half of her outfit from behind the circular counter..

"Welcome to the Pokémon Center, would you like me to heal your Pokémon?" She asked warmly, as I feel the corner of my lip raising.

"Y-yes, thank you." I manage to respond, as I handed her my Poké Balls, which she placed on a tray and set it on a machine.

"OK, your Pokémon will be healed momentarily." As she finished speaking, the Poké Balls suddenly glowed yellow for a few seconds, before a familiar chime sounded.

Turning to me with the tray, she bowed. "Your Pokémon are fully healed." I take my Poké Balls back, as Bianca looks in awe at the machine. Understandable, really, technology in the Pokémon world is all kinds of incredible.

"Take care out there!" After that was done, Bianca went through the process next, which was a lot shorter as she had one less Poké Ball.

"With that finished, next up is the PC Box." Professor Juniper explained, as she stood next to the machine.

"You can use the PC to digitally store items and even Pokémon in a large database, also, when you have a full party of six Pokémon and catch any your Pokédex will ask you three things: If you'd like to send it to a PC Box, if you'd like to replace it with a member of your party, or if you'd like to review a summary of the caught Pokémon."

As she explained, the monitor turned on and showed a few options, including 'SOMEONE's PC' and 'Help'.

"Excuse me professor, who is 'Someone'?" Bianca asked, to which she smiled.

"That's a very good question Bianca, and I'd love to explain more, but for now let's just ignore that. I'm sure this "someone" will be a person you'll meet some day, however, for now let's continue." Bianca shrugged, as we moved along to another counter.

"This is the Poké Mart, every Pokémon Center has one where you can stock up on supplies every aspiring trainer needs, such as Potions and Antidotes. With that, my basic explanations are complete, though feel free to call me if you want to learn more about anything." She finished, leaving the Pokémon Center and us to stock up before we head out.

"Ooh, what are you going to do, Victor? I should buy Potions before I head out." Bianca said as she put her finger on her chin in thought.

"I think I should buy some supplies too, Mom did leave some money for me to spend." After getting three Potions and two of each Antidotes and Paralyze Heals, I head out of the building at the same time as Bianca, and turn to her.

"Hey uh, there's something I wanted to ask of you and Cheren, but he left before I could even bring it up, so I'll have to ask you alone. Do you want to travel together?" Bianca looks at me before looking at the ground.

"Well, I did want this journey to sort of be a journey of self-discovery... But to be honest with you, I didn't really want to do it on my own, so I'd love to!" She replied with a smile, as I release a bated breath. I know that Bianca would have split up too originally, but I wanted to see if I could change that aspect and it was a success.

"Great! Well, let's head out to Route 2!" With a friend by my side, we make our way to the town exit, however something feels wrong, like I had missed an event of some sort. Shaking my head, I decide to release Shelly to walk with her.

"Osha?" She says, looking up at me.

"Oh, I see!" Bianca says as she releases Tepig.

"That's right, I wanted to walk with you through Route 2 until the next Pokémon Center." I explain to Shelly, who gives me a happy chirp. Tepig gives Bianca a similar reaction as she tells it the same thing.

The walk to the next city begins, as I take out my Town Map from my bag and open it to see where we're on our way.

"Seems like Striaton City is located just north of here, and if I want to challenge gyms then that might be the best place to do it." Bianca nods at my reasoning, as Shelly looks up at me with a determined expression.

"After you do your gym battle, I wanted to give one a go myself, just to see if it's right for me." She asks, to which I nod.

"I don't see why not. Either way, there'll still be a lot to do in Striaton City, such as studying at the Pokémon Trainers' School and learning more there." I say, still looking at the map as I review the places of interest found there.

The walk was mostly quiet until my stomach growled loudly. Seems like it's lunch time.

Bianca snort-laughed at the noise before opening her green bag to retrieve a granola bar from it.

"H-here you go, a snack for now. I don't have anything for cooking, but once we get to Striaton City we should pick up some stuff for food." I take the granola bar thankfully and unwrap it, before nodding.

"Thanks Bianca, I feel better about not doing this alone, mostly because I kind of suck at cooking." I admit with a mouthful of the snack.

"OK, well just leave cooking to me! My mom taught me everything I know, which may not be that much, but is probably more than you know." She said confidently, as I shrug.

"Well, I'll just have to be the judge of that." I respond, as she laughs lightly.

The afternoon sun was no longer hanging high in the sky now, but nightfall shouldn't be for quite a few hours, but it's not likely we'll arrive at the city before then. Just then, Shelly ran ahead and took the lead, lifting her head up confidently with an "Osha!". Bianca and I chuckle at her antics, until Tepig ran ahead and walked right next to the Water type as it held its nose up in the same way. Turns out her Tepig is pretty competitive.

Shelly responded by walking forwards a bit to regain the lead, as Tepig blew smoke from its nose and walked further ahead to get a lead as well, this continued for a few minutes until they were much further ahead than the two of us.

"I guess we should catch up, huh." I say as Bianca sighs. When we make it to Tepig and Shelly, it seems like they started fighting, which is fine with their current strength, hopefully this doesn't become a regular thing though, although it's possible that their personalities will remain after evolving, and thus their competitiveness will rise with their strength.

"Knock it off Tepig, Victor and I aren't even having an official battle!" Tepig ignores her however, as smoke blows from its nose while it charges at Shelly for a Tackle, but she dodges gracefully and lands on her foot, before spinning and tossing her scalchop at Tepig, who didn't anticipate the object.

"OK come on, we aren't getting any closer to Striaton City with this goofing around." My pleas fall on deaf ears unfortunately, as Shelly rears her head back and sprays a weak jet of water towards Tepig, which catches everybody by surprise.

"O-oh my gosh, Shelly learned Water Gun!" Bianca pointed out with wide eyes, which were as wide as my own. It turns out that Shelly was itching to learn a new move, and must have begun fighting Tepig in an attempt to learn one. The attack seemed to be enough to do the job, as Tepig was lying in the newly formed mud with swirly eyes.

"Uh oh!" Bianca quickly returned her tired Pokémon to its Poké Ball, as Shelly hit its scalchop on its chest triumphantly.

"Shelly I'm happy you learned a new move, but we could have found and fought wild Pokémon instead." I approach Shelly, whose demeanor shifted to shame.

"I-It's fine! Tepig can tough it out until Striaton City! Actually, I'm also glad you could learn a new move Shelly!" Bianca says, successfully cheering up my Pokémon. After Shelly walked up to me, I returned her and continued walking with Bianca. Unexpected progress is better than no progress I suppose, but I hope Tepig can forgive Shelly.

Seems like it's getting a little late now, as the evening sun hung low in the sky. It was still somewhat windy, but I'd hope that if we don't make it to the city we wouldn't be spending the night outside, for Bianca's sake, I'm not sure if she doesn't like roughing it out.

"It's getting kind of late isn't it Victor? I don't really mind sleeping outside, but I only have a sleeping bag." I guess that answers my question.

"If it turns out that way, then it'll be fine, we still have granola bars to hold ourselves over until we can eat something proper at the next city." She nods and turns her head. Well, until she noticed what I said.

"H-hey, I have more than granola bars right now!" She replied, as I smirk.

"Oh, really now? Like what?" At this, she deflated a little and poked her index fingers together.

"U-uh... I have these." She pulls out three muffins. I think one of them was supposed to be for Cheren? My smirk shifts to a genuine smile as I take one.

"Did your mom make these for the three of us?" I ask, to which she nods slowly.

"Actually, I made them myself, unfortunately I couldn't hand the other one to Cheren in time, but I think we should save one for him until then." She responds, before taking a bite into her muffin.

I follow suit, taking a bite into the baked good, which makes my lips curl into a smile at the sweetness of it. It tasted vaguely like some kind of berry, but I wasn't sure what.

"Wow, this is pretty good! It's pretty sweet though, what's that from?" I ask, to which Bianca looks at me bashfully.

"Th-thank you, to be honest, that's the first time I baked something seriously. As for the taste, that comes from Pecha Berries, which are a little difficult to come by naturally in the Unova region." She explains. That would make the most sense, as Pecha Berries are rather sweet among berries in the Pokémon world, but I admit I'd like to try raw berries at some point in the future.

After eating the muffins, I realize that the sun is starting to set, before Bianca and I pick up the pace a bit. I don't think we'll make it there in time though, the city isn't within sight yet, and it stills seems pretty dark ahead.

"Well, I guess we're roughing it out." I say defeatedly. Bianca took off her bag and retrieved a rolled up sleeping bag from it, which did not look like it should have fit.

"What? Aren't you gonna take out your sleeping bag too?" She asked, as I nod. Though, as surprising as that was, it was even more surprising being the one experiencing it, as I opened my backpack and took out my own sleeping bag. I guess larger things can be easily stored? I don't know the limits of that though, but it may have something to do with my ability to lift the object in question. Now isn't the time for questions however, as the two of us locate a nearby tree stump to set up a little camp nearby.

"I'll make a small firepit, while you should retrieve firewood." Bianca instructed, as she begun placing rocks into a circular formation and placing a small mound of dark sand in the middle. While she's busy, I start by looking in the nearby forest. It didn't rain recently, so I guess most wood should work? Whatever's combustible, but I've never learned any survival skills before.

Later, I placed the stack of thick sticks and stray pieces of wood in the middle of the pit, as Bianca called out Tepig.

"...Oh, wait a second, I don't think Tepig knows any Fire type moves. Can you try an Ember?" She asked Tepig hopefully, as it nodded and faced the wood. Pulling its head back, it releases a big puff of smoke from its nose before rolling away and hitting her feet.

"T-try one more time, please!" Bianca asked once more, as Tepig shook its head and tried again. This time, I could faintly see a glow as the tiniest ember I've ever seen fluttered lazily towards the pile of sticks, before setting the tip of a branch alight, though only slightly.

"There!" Quickly, I cup my hands around the small blaze and blow on it to get it going. After about a minute of this, it finally grows and eventually spreads to the nearby branches in said pile, as the warm glow surrounds our small campsite.

"G-good job Victor! Now is a good time for sleep, don't you think?" She asked, rolling out her sleeping bag on the flat part of the ground, as I do the same with my sleeping bag nearby, though I'm careful not to place it too close to the firepit, or to Bianca.

I pull out the journal my Mom packed for me from my bag and begin writing in it, recounting the events of the day.

Having captured two new Pokémon, I figured I'd go over their information later today, perhaps when we enter the next Pokémon Center. The plan from here is, once I enter Striaton City, I'll visit the Pokémon Trainers' School to gain more information with Bianca.

After I finish writing, I put away the journal and lie on my left side and close my eyes. I have a big day tomorrow, as long as I can make it to the school and find out where the gym is. All of a sudden, Shelly comes out of her Poké Ball and stands by my head, before lying on the ground next to me, perhaps she wanted to sleep next to me instead of inside the Poké Ball.


Thanks for reading the first chapter of my new story! I wanted to give writing an isekai a go, and I figured I'd write one about Pokémon. I have big plans for this adventure, so I hope you stick with me until the end!

Next Time: Hitting the Striaton Gym!