Disclaimer: Any characters or plot affiliated with Pokemon is not mine. However, Kelsey, Ella and Ian are mine. Any other original trainers are the property of their creators. Please do not use without permission.

Sorry for the break between updates, real life got a little complicated. Updates may be scarce for a while, with exams and summatives coming up, plus the rugby season.

Welcome
Chapter 3

"So, what are you saying?" Kelsey tone was confused as she looked on at the pleasant white haired man. Gary rolled his eyes beside her as he continued to juggle pokeballs with a bored look on his face. Turning to give him a quick glare she tried to wrap her mind around everything she had learned in the past couple of hours.

Professor Oak gave the two girls what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "You're not the only people to be thrown into this world. There have been cases reported throughout the regions of children dropping from the sky. It's really quite amazing. I'd be very interested to find out how Team Rocket did it. Creating controlled inter-dimensional portals... Can you imagine the possibilities?"

When he was greeted by three blank stares he was reminded once again that he was dealing with three teenagers. Rebecca looked up nervously, fiddling with her necklace. "Are you saying you don't know how to get us home?" The look in the girls' eyes was a little desperate.

"I'm sorry," it was the only thing the professor could think to say. "The technology is unknown to us. Only Team Rocket has the key, and we have very little hope of getting it from them." Gary's snort broke his line of speech. He glared at his grandson. "As individuals, they aren't invincible, but to take them out as a whole would be near impossible."

Kelsey felt her spirits drop at the words. As much as she might have dreamed of this happening, she didn't actually expect it to. It hurt to think that her family was at home and they had no idea where she was, or what had happened to her. It was downright depressing.

Her silent musings were interrupted by Rebecca's soft-spoken words, "So, what are we supposed to do?" Her eyes beseeched the professor. The seventeen year old was feeling just as lost as Kelsey and was looking for something to find hope in.

At that comment, Professor Oak visibly perked up, a bright smile covering his features. "Of course there's something that you can do!" He quickly pushed up from his seat and moved over to a near by filling cabinet. Beginning to rifle through he continued speaking. "The children we've found so far have all decided on this course of action. I assure you, it isn't the worst thing that could happen! Here, can I assume you two know what these are?"

As he finished, he emerged from the drawer, carrying a small device in each hand. Their red covers were shiny and new and they looked more expensive than anything Kelsey had ever owned in her life. As she noticed the reflective sensor in the upper left corner Kelsey slowly realized what the machines must be.

A small gasp escaped from Rachel and Kelsey knew she had come to the same conclusion. "A pokedex." The words came out in an awed kind of gasp. Professor Oak smiled indulgingly at the two teenage girls before handing one to each.

"Your pokedex." He corrected softly. He then quickly turned and returned to the desk. On the top, unnoticed by the girls, were three small spheres. One by one, the professor enlarged each and placed it in the middle of the wood surface. When he finished, he began speaking once again. "Inside each of these pokeballs is a starter Pokemon. A Charmander." He pointed to the one on the far right. "A Squirtle." He pointed to the one on the far left. "And a Bulbasaur." He pointed to the middle Pokemon. "You may each choose one to start you out on your journey as Pokemon trainers."

Her old sadness forgotten, Kelsey spent a smile stretch her face. The thought of having a Pokemon of her own and of being an actual trainer made her heart light with giddiness. Her fingers itched to pick up one of the balls but she was frozen with indecision. Rachel seemed to be in much the same condition.

Professor Oak seemed to notice their hesitation and motioned them forward with his hand, "Go on. There's no wrong choice." Kelsey and Rachel both began to move forward slowly before stopping in front of the desk. Each one's hand settled on a ball, and both of them heaved a sigh of relief. Kelsey had been half afraid they would choose the same Pokemon.

She felt the cool metal underneath her palm and marvelled at the smoothness of it. Gripping her hand more securely, she lifted it from the table. Kelsey was surprised by the weight, it was heavier than what she had suspected. She followed the thin crease around its middle with her other hand finally coming to the button. Her finger twitched over it.

Gary was looking quizzically at the two of them. "You know, I thought you girls would choose differently." When he was met with confused looks, he elaborated, pointing at Kelsey, "I thought you would choose fire, because of all the red." He motioned to her clothes.

Kelsey frowned; she really wasn't wearing that much red. Looking down, she took in her red stripped shoes, up her blue jeans and on to her red 'I am Canadian' t-shirt. She simply shrugged, not really following Gary's logic. The younger Oak once again rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Are you going to let them out?"

Kelsey looked down at the red and white sphere, wanting dearly to do what Gary had suggested. Clenching her teeth, she looked up and gave him a tight smile, "How exactly do I do that?" Her face reddened as a sweat drop appeared on Gary's forehead.

Gary walked over to her and held up her pokeball. "You see this button here?" He pointed to the raised circle, "Press it." He tossed the ball into the air and Kelsey just barely managed to catch it without fumbling. Looking down at it, she prepared to press the button when a flash from beside her interrupted her.

"Charmander!" The voice was childish and weird to Kelsey's ears as she turned around to see Rachel kneeling on the floor in front of a somewhat familiar orange fire lizard. Rachel reached out a hand and ran it across Charmander's head, feeling the soft fur there. With an almost purr like sound from the Pokemon, she smiled.

Kelsey turned away from the meeting and concentrated on her own pokeball. Pointing it in front of her and tapped the button softly with her index finger. The ball seemed to burst open in her hand and a light flashed in front of her. When it cleared, she looked down at the small Pokemon in front of her.

"Bulbasaur!" The guttural cry brought another smile to Kelsey's lips. She followed Rachel's suit and dropped down to her knees. Reaching out, she hesitantly touched the seed on it's back. The texture surprised her as she felt the petal like softness with a hard uninterrupted shell underneath.

The small green plant like thing nudged against her hand. She looked down into the slightly unreal red eyes of her new Bulbasaur. "Hi, Bulbasaur." She began, her voice soft, "I'm Kelsey. I guess I'm your trainer."

"So, does this mean we get to enter the Indigo League?" Rachel's excited question shocked Kelsey out of the private world she had been sharing with Bulbasaur. She looked up in time to see Professor Oak shake his head.

"No, I'm afraid not." He answered truthfully, "With Team Rocket after you, it would be much to dangerous. All the new trainers from your world our going to the Twilight Islands, to compete in the Twilight League."

"The Twilight League?" the simultaneous question came from both girls. Kelsey knew she had never heard of that league from any of the Pokemon products in her world.

"Yes, the Twilight League," Professor Oak affirmed, "There are 6 Gym's among the group of around 12 islands. I've been told it's quite challenging."

Rachel and Kelsey shared an overwhelmed look with each other. Kelsey was left wondering what exactly she had gotten herself into. When she felt Bulbasaur nudge against her leg, she decided that it wasn't all bad.

"Okay, good luck girls," Professor Oak called out to the forms on the path, "and stay safe!" The two girls were decked out in everything a pokemon trainer could want, all courtesy to the Pallet Town Laboratories. They had felt a little guilty but the professor had brushed it off.

"Don't screw up!" Gary's confidence in them was astounding; it left warmth in their hearts. As they headed south down the road, and hiked their packs higher on their backs, Kelsey couldn't help but wonder when they would get to the port. Gary had told them it would only take around a half a day.

For several minutes, the two girls let their feet pad quietly along, listening to the natural sounds around them. Kelsey let the noise wash over her and tried to place each of them. The shrill cry of Pidgeys above them and the rustling of Ratatas in the tall grass to the side.

Rachel's voice cut through her peaceful reflection quietly, "We'll be okay. This should be fun. Maybe we'll even meet some other people." The voiced thoughts were quiet, and Kelsey could almost believe the other girl was talking to herself.

"Yea," she agreed easily, "There's nothing to worry about except catching pokemon and winning gym badges." The girls shared a smile and it was hard to believe at that point that they had only known each other a day.

The path stretched on and on, and the girls walked it at a leisurely pace. They stopped when they needed to, but that wasn't often right now. It was nearly two hours later that they experienced a major interruption to their schedule.

The crashing from the forest was sudden and abrupt and Kelsey found herself stumbling in surprise. Before she knew it, she was on the ground, looking up in shock. Rachel seemed concerned as she looked at the blonde girl and Kelsey gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Sorry, clumsy."

A second bout of crashing caught the girls' attention. Kelsey rose to her feet slowly at they watched the shaking bushes in curiosity. All the same, it caught them both off-guard when a figure quickly shot out into the open, running at full speed. It was only a second later that he collided with the blonde trainer and sent her to the ground for the second time in minutes

For several moments, the pile on the ground was a churning pit of yelps and pained grunts, as well as uncontrolled swearing. The two of them finally managed to untangle themselves and Kelsey stood staring at the stranger in annoyance.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kelsey's voice swelled in anger, "You can't just go running people over like that!" She flicked a strand of dusty blonde hair out of her eyes and glared at her assailant. There was a tinge of red on her cheeks.

The teenage boy standing in front of her wasn't that much taller than Kelsey. He had the kind of hair that wasn't quite brown, but wasn't quite blonde either, and was currently mussed from his little nature trip. The green eyes that locked with her were hard and unsympathetic.

"You shouldn't have been in my way." Was his only reply. Kelsey controlled the red haze that was fighting to descend over her eyes and noticed that he had something tucked under his arm. Kelsey squinted, but she couldn't figure out what it was; it was securely wrapped in a blanket.

When the boy noticed her gaze, he quickly brought his package closer to him and intensified his glare. Kelsey met it head on; she wasn't going to let him intimidate her. The two of them could have continued with this if it hadn't been for an interruption from Rachel, who had been watching on the sidelines.

"What were you doing running through the forest like that anyway?" Rachel's voice was somewhat hesitant. She didn't want this guy to react the wrong way; he looked kind of unstable. At the girl's words, his eyes flashed at little and slanted over towards her.

"None of your business," he replied testily, "Now, I'm just going to get out of here, and we're going to forget..." He trailed off as more noise exploded from the forest. In a quick motion that Kelsey didn't even see, he grabbed her arm and pulled her behind a large rock away from the noise.

Rachel saw this and watched bewildered. After a second she shrugged, and followed suit by hiding herself behind another of the large boulders. They crouched there, uncomfortable on the dirt and gravel, for several minutes. Kelsey was almost ready to get up and walk away when she heard voices nearby.

"I'm sure that little brat went this way." The voice was female and out of breath, but oddly familiar to Kelsey. She was sure she had heard it before. She sat there, still crouched, trying to figure out whom it was that was talking.

"Man, for someone so small looking, he sure is fast." A man's tone followed, also familiar to the teenage girl. "We've got to find him though, the boss will kill us if we don't." He sounded kind of nervous at that. Kelsey scrunched her nose in confusion, what were they talking about?

"I know." The female replied, "It would be bad enough if we let another kid go, after those two girls earlier, but he had the egg. Those other-worldly kids may be his current pet project, but that's his obsession." She sighed and her foot thudded against the ground.

"Well, then we better keep looking." Was the male reply, "Think he could have headed out there, down that hill?" His voice was inquisitive and she could hear him start walking, towards their hiding spots. With a bad feeling in her stomach, Kelsey turned to look behind her, noticing for the first time that that side of the road had slanted downwards into some kind of valley. Turning back, she shot a look at her companion.

He had a look of slight panic on his face as he clutched his package to his chest. Kelsey's mind quickly pieced things together. Whatever he was holding must be the egg they had been talking about, probably a Pokemon egg. He must have stolen it from them. Plus, those people knew about the kids from the real world, kids like Kelsey. And their boss ran that project...

Team Rocket. It clicked inside Kelsey's brain. Those voices sounded so familiar because those people were Ian and Ella, the two agents Gary had scared away from her and Rachel earlier. Her eyes widened as she thought of how angry they'd be if they found them.

The footsteps crunched across the path lightly, getting closer and closer. Kelsey sent a desperate look across to Rachel, who looked like she had come to the same conclusion. She quickly made some random hand signals, hoping Rachel would do something, anything, to get Ian and Ella away from them.

If not, in a few seconds, they would be standing right over Kelsey and the mystery boy. Rachel spared an alarmed look around her before grabbing the first thing she saw, a medium sized pebble. Grasping it in her now sweaty palm, she spared a nervous glance over her rock, wound up, and let loose.

The pebble flew across the path, luckily unnoticed by the two Team Rocket agents, and landed noisily several feet into the forest. The noise was pretty abrupt, and Ian and Ella spun around to face it. It was several seconds before either of them spoke. The hiding teens held their breath.

"Damn it!" Ella cried in frustration, "He must have double back! Come on, Ian, we can still catch up to them." The two set off running, trampling through the underbrush into the forest. After several minutes of tense peace, the teens deemed it safe to stand up.

All three of them breathed a collective sigh of relief. Kelsey turned towards Rachel and smiled, "That was amazing." The statement was simple with a lot of conviction behind it. Rachel felt a small blush coming on.

"Yeah," said the boy quietly, "Thanks." He readjusted the egg in his arms and stuck out his hand to Kelsey, "I'm Chet." Kelsey looked at the hand in relative surprise before sticking out her own and shaking.

"I'm Kelsey."

"And I'm Rachel. Now do you mind telling us why Team Rocket's after you?" she asked. She looked slightly energized from their little experience. "There after us because we're from another world. You?"

Chet gave her a bewildered look before managing to answer, "Me too. Plus, I stole this egg." He seemed uncomfortable talking, but continued, "I didn't think they were going to treat it that well, so..." He looked around, searching for an easy way to get out of there.

"So, I'm guessing they don't like you that much right now." Kelsey's response wasn't actually a question, "Then you're in the same boat as us. Maybe, you'd want to come travel with us?"

Chet shifted nervously on the spot. On one hand, they had helped him out against Team Rocket. But, he didn't know anything about them other than the fact that they weren't from this world. Rachel seemed to notice his problem.

"Well, you're going this way, aren't you?" Chet nodded. "So are we. You might as well come along for now." Chet shrugged, he supposed that was non-committal enough. Kelsey smiled and started walking down the road, the other two following her.

About a minute later, she turned and looked at him. "So, do you have any Pokemon? I have a Bulbasaur, and Rachel..."