Hello! Welcome to this OC journey fic through Hoenn. This is a journey fic, so it's going to be a long one, with drama and slight romance. And warning, there are LGBT main and side characters, so if you're not comfortable with that, please stop here and proceed to other, many amazing fics. And of course, the usual I don't own Pokemon disclaimer.


'BA BA BA BA' I tapped the red button on my phone with a groan. I rolled over in bed, tugging Oreo the stuffed Houndour closer to me as I prepared to play the dangerous game of continuing my sleep without snoozing.

'Cara! You'd better be awake. You're going to be late for your exams!' Mum burst through the door.

'Oh my God, it's the last day of exams! I'm finally going to become a Pokemon trainer!' I bolted out of my bed with a sudden burst of energy.

'Cara.' Mum said, with all the exasperation of being a parent who had sent 2 kids off on their journey. 'You know you still have to wait for graduation which is in 2 weeks. After that, you have to register with the Pokemon League to get a license to become a Pokemon trainer. And what about your first Pokemon? Have you thought of one yet? You know your father and I cannot spare much for you to get one of those expensi–' Mum's tirade was broken when I stepped out of the toilet

'Mum! You're being naggy again! Besides, I saved up some money already!' I hurriedly rushed back to my room to change. I grabbed my bag and two slices of bread. 'Okay bye Mum, bye Dad!'

As I left the house, I saw Mum shaking her head, probably wondering what the rush was.

'It's a miracle if that girl had brushed her teeth properly! She came out of the toilet so fast.' Mum said, probably to Dad.

'Come on Pam, you're probably like that on your last day of exams too.' Dad replied, chuckling while sipping his coffee.

'Yeah yeah Simon, YOU are the dirty one not me.' Mum retorted.

I rolled my eyes and head to school. My dream since young was always to become a Pokemon trainer. In history class, we learnt that that a few hundred years ago, kids as young as 10 set out on adventures, catching and training Pokemon. Since those years, laws had been set and the trainers can only start their journey after graduating high school (Soon! Last exam today!) and getting an approved license from the Pokemon League. I supposed this has got to do with the high death toll from all those years ago. Really, I cannot fathom kids who were not out of elementary school hiking and surviving the harsh conditions. My school's hiking trips and Pokemon training classes were definitely not for kids. That was another reason why trainers can only get their license after graduation – school has prepared them for survival in the wild; and if trainers decided that Pokemon training is not for them, at least they have a certificate to fall back on and survive as accountants or data entry or other boring jobs.

Not for me though, I was going to be the best Pokemon trainer ever. I will be Champion, not like my brother, Benjamin, who is currently pursuing his PhD in Ecology of Rock Types. Or like my sister, Ariel, who has long graduated and is a Pokemon Researcher working under the esteemed Professor Hawthorn. Bo-ring. Besides, Pokemon training has gotten lucrative. It is legal to win money from Pokemon battles including Gym challenges. In normal Pokemon battles between trainers, the loser will have to pay a sum of money that was decided before the battle while in Gym Battles, the prize money increases as you advance through the challenges. In recent years, the Pokemon League has decided to increase the pay for Champions, Elites, Gym leaders and such, on top of all money they win from matches. They, along with normal Pokemon trainers, can take on missions for the Pokemon Leagues or by other rich businessmen (There's a whole app for that). Pokemon Leagues needs qualified trainers to deal with Pokemon related incidents, so they created the Hoenn Emergency Ace Response Trainers (HEARTs). A mission is posted on the app and the trainers can choose to respond, earning some cash along the way. Those missions can be as simple as finding a missing Skitty (probably posted by some rich old man) or more dangerous ones such as stopping an Onix rampage. The more badges you have, the more exciting your job and therefore the higher your pay, or so they say. So, really, the better the Trainer, the richer (usually) they are. And come on, isn't money everything?

'Hey Cara, wait up!' A familiar voice drifted over as I was about to enter school. I smiled, accepting the tackle from a dark-haired girl with a laugh. Marina and I have been best friends since preschool and were equally excited to begin our Pokemon adventures. We made a pact to travel together until we win our first badge. Then we will go our separate ways to become rivals. However, unlike me, she already has a starter Pokemon. Her family runs a farm just outside the city and one of her parent's Ampharos recently gave birth to a litter of Mareeps. One of them particularly liked Mari and she named it Jupiter, after the Roman god of lightning. It kind of stuck and thereafter her parents decided to gift it to her as her starter. I was incredibly jealous, as Mareeps were not found in the wild in Hoenn. Apart from some invasive species, most Pokemons not native to Hoenn has to be brought over from other regions and hence most of them fetch a high price. Having a son of a powerful Ampharos as a starter is extremely lucky. Mareeps in particular has trouble surviving in Hoenn due to the hot climate. Mari's parents' farm has all sort of high-tech stuff to keep the Mareeps cool. 'So, have you thought about which starter you want? Or are you going to buy one of the three from the lab? They are cheaper there you know.' Mari started going on about the 3 starter Pokemons every trainer can get from the lab if they wish – Mudkip, Treecko and Torchic.

Having no desire to think about my starter, or lack thereof, I cut in. 'Hey, are you excited for the field trip after exams to Meteor Falls?' Our school had organized an optional 2 days 1 night field trip to Meteors Falls, the famous cave which housed the waterfall where legends state that it was the site of a meteor shower centuries ago. It was supposed to be a last trip for the graduating kids to camp out in a theoretically controlled environment before setting off on their journey to become Pokemon trainers. Mari and I both signed up immediately, relishing the idea of relaxing after the exams on a field trip.

'Of course! I hope we get to meet some rare Pokemons, though we are not allowed to catch any.' Mari sighed wistfully, before moving towards the exam hall. 'Come on, let's get this over and done with. Can you imagine? Our last exams ever!'

After the exam, Mari and I walked out of the exam hall bleary eyed, but nonetheless excited for the trip. The bus journey to Rustboro City was uneventful and the group of soon to be graduates made it to Meteor Falls on foot in good time, considering the fact that there were about 40 or so of us. The sky was turning a beautiful pink as we settled down at the clearing near the cave entrance.

'Okay, settle down guys!' The teacher-in-charge clapped her hands twice for attention. 'We will camp here for the night, and then explore the caves properly tomorrow morning. Feel free to do a little exploring if you would like, but don't wander off too far! Set up your tents first. Don't provoke any wild Pokemon and don't you dare catch any Pokemons! No matter how cute they are. I don't care if they give you puppy eyes. Save that for when you kids are back with a Pokemon trainer's license'

Years of training in school had everyone setting up their tents in a blink of an eye, some of them had even started setting up campfire and packets of instant noodles and canned sausages were taken out. Mari and I was sharing their tent with Kelly and Kelsie Sherwill, twins from another class. I started the fire with the twins while Mari rummaged through her bag for the ingredients. Mari suddenly stopped halfway through her foraging and looked up with a guilty expression.

'Marina Chang Jiayu! Did you forget the instant noodles again?' I demanded

'Nope!' Mari's initial grin turned into a sheepish smile. 'I forgot the sausages and luncheon meat.'

'Ha! Told you, Mari would forget.' Kelsie nudged Kelly with a smile. 'Here, we brought it! Miltank sausages!'

'OMG you're my savior!' Mari squealed and tackled Kelsie with a hug, to which Kelsie playfully pushed away.

'Man, was looking forward to eating those Tauros luncheon meat from your farm.' Kelly commented. I privately agreed. I've ate them quite a few times before, and man were they delicious. Besides, Tauros were not found easily in Hoenn, Mari's family was one of the biggest exporter of Tauros and Mareep meat in the whole of Hoenn region, and even to other regions.

Nightfall slowly crept up on us. Soon, conversations turn into a lull as some of the students started getting sleepy. Fewer marshmallows were being tossed at each other and more mess tins were being washed at the nearby streams. After cleaning, Mari, wide awake and alert, nudged me, just as I was enjoying my food coma.

'Let's go explore the caves! Come on!' Mari suggested. The twins perked up at this, grabbed their backpacks and were ready to go in an instant.

I groaned at their enthusiasm and followed them, grumbling all the way. 'Guys, isn't this supposed to be a relaxing trip after exams?'

Everyone ignored me and nimbly weaved through the gaggle of students preparing to sleep, making their way into the caves. We stayed on the well-worn path, but we noticed many Pokemon peering out at them from the trees and bushes beside us.

'Look at that Swablu! It's so pretty!' Kelsie exclaimed. True enough, a small blue bird, likely a baby, with white cottony wings poked its head out of the foliage. 'Maybe I should get that as a starter instead'

'Nah, come on until it evolves into Altaria, it's pretty much useless. And Altaria is going to be hard to train, being a dragon and all.' Kelly's comment made Kelsie pout.

I rolled my eyes; it seemed that all the conversations were about starters now. But Kelly made a pretty good point. Dragons were notoriously hard to train. They were stubborn and prideful; coupled with the fact that they can eat trainers and pretty much everything in sight, most trainers shy away from owning a dragon. Having a dragon speaks volume about the trainer though; most Pokemon trainers with dragons were looked up to with much awe. I was determined to get one on my team. After all, how hard could it be to train a dragon? I've watched all three movies.

At the entrance of the cave, Mari was frantically digging through her backpack again. Sighing, I took out my own flashlight. With the twins laughing and a flustered Mari muttering that she swore she put her flashlight inside her bag that morning, we entered the cave. The main section of the cave was pretty well lit, proving that we did not need a flashlight at all. Dim lamps lined each side of the tunnel. Overhead hung Zubats and occasionally a Golbat while our foot crunch on Zubat droppings. The stench was out of the world, to be honest. It went pretty uneventfully except when a baby Zubat lost its grip on its mother and drop on Mari's head, prompting her to jump in surprise. Luckily, she did not shriek or else the entire caves' worth of Zubat would be on us. Kelly calmly plucked off the Zubat who is now clinging onto Mari's head and it flapped back to its mother. Coming to a Zubat-free section where the tunnel split into three, we decided to take a break and sit down.

'I think we should head back soon, we've been walking for quite a while.' Kelly commented

'Yeah, I think we are pretty deep into the caves already, we should head back before we get lost.' Kelsie nodded her agreement. 'Besides, it's pretty boring. Nothing here except Zubats, Golbats and their shit.'

I shrugged. I was ready to be back in our tent and sleeping bags, away from the offending smell assaulting my nose. The caves probably do not have much airflow, hence trapping the smell inside the stuffy caves. The four of us stood up, readying ourselves for another long walk back to their camp, when an explosion rocked the caves. Chaos ensued. The ground rumbled beneath my feet. I stared at the others in shock, ears ringing, only to find the same expression staring back at me. Mari tugged at my hand, turning into the direction where we came from. Our cries of 'Run!' were lost in the screeching of the Zubats fleeing from the caves. We sprinted best as they could through the caves with Zubats' flapping wings smacking our faces, bodies and generally everywhere. Seeing the entrance ahead, we all sped up, eager to be away from the unstable ground, debris raining from the ceiling and the sharp beats of Zubat wings. Just as I was about to reach the entrance, the ground beneath me gave way. I lost my balance, sliding and gripping at rocks, trying to slow my descent. At that moment, the cave seemed to stabilize, the ground had stopped shaking yet I was still tumbling down deeper into the caves. After what seemed like forever, I finally came to a stop with an 'oomph'.

'Cara!' Mari and the twins' collective voice were faint, but the panic in their voices was clear. I could make out what seem to be a faint light coming from the top, most likely from their phones, but majority of the light was lost in the vast darkness. The power seemed to have gone out in the explosion, and there were no lamps in this section of the cave anyway. I stood up and winced; a bruised ankle that will surely be sore tomorrow. But I had no other major injury except for scrapes and cuts.

'I'm ok! But this is going to be a bitch to get out of.' I called as loud as I possibly can.

'Stay there! We'll get Ms. Morgan!' Came the muffled response.