FIFTEEN YEARS LATER...

"Go, Charmander!"

A Charmander was released from his Pokéball. His trainer was Taria Ketchum, a young girl of sixteen. Her long, black hair complemented her light brown skin. She wore a lavender dress, blue stockings, and black heels. The duo was going up against a wild Pidgey.

"Use your Ember!" Charmander shot out red-orange flames from its mouth. Pidgey dodged at the last minute and used Quick Attack.

"It's coming!" Taria smirked. "Get ready..." Charmander poised himself as Pidgey flew towards him. "Use Slash now!"

Charmander sharpened his claws and slashed at Pidgey. Pidgey screeched piercingly.

"Perfect! Now, Charmander, finish it off with..."

Just then, Pidgey screeched even louder. All of a sudden, four more Pidgey flew out of a nearby tree. All of the Pidgey started glowing and flew high into the sky.

Taria looked up into the sky and saw a huge blinding light.

"Wait a minute. Are they using..."

There was complete silence until a deafening slash sound was heard. The massive beaming light, shaped like a bird, flew at high speed towards Taria and Charmander.

"Oh no...they're using Sky Attack!"

As the Pidgey came closer, a red aura surrounded both Taria and Charmander. Taria's light blue eyes became deep crimson, and Charmander's flame grew to massive proportions.

Taria screamed out in anger, "BLOW THEM OUT OF THE SKY! SACRED FIRE!!"

Charmander shot out flames of every color imaginable from its mouth and flame. There were sharp screeches from the Pidgey as they were enveloped by the flame. Soon, Charmander's flame died down and Taria returned to normal as the aura disappeared. The Pidgey were nowhere to be seen, but feathers were flying everywhere.

Taria looked around in confusion. "What...what happened? Oh, Charmander!"

Charmander was lying on the ground, panting. Taria ran over to him. "It'll be all right. Just rest."

He was returned to the Pokéball.

Taria surveyed the damage around her. Ten trees in front of her were burned, and feathers were still flying everywhere.

"Did Charmander...did Charmander do all this? Or did it happen again..." Just then, her cellphone rang.

"Hello. Oh, the upgrade is complete? Okay, I'll be at the lab in about 30 minutes." Taria hang up and left.

-----

"I'm here!"

Taria entered the lab. A woman was sitting at a computer. She had long, brown hair and was wearing a lab coat.

"Hello, Professor Oak? I'm here for the Pokédex. Can I put Charmander to the Recovery Machine? We sort of trained too much."

"Oh, hello, Taria. Yes, you can put Charmander in. Here's your Pokédex. As you can see, I've made a complete upgrade. It can even identify unidentified Pokémon."

Taria put the Pokéball into the Recovery Machine, and then looked at her Pokédex. It was a sleek black and red. "It doesn't even look the same. Thank you, Professor."

Professor Oak smiled. "I do what I can. Taria, I have to ask you something. Are you planning on entering the World Pokémon League this year?"

"Yes. Is there anything I need to know?"

"Plenty. The Pokémon League has a new set of rules from this year on, everything from the Pokémon you have to have to tournament rules to qualifying and beyond."

"Why?"

"My little brother Gary was designated President of the World Pokémon League Committee three years ago. He says that he wants to show the world that Pokémon Training isn't just fun and games and that not anybody can be a Pokémon Trainer."

"Sounds like something Gary would say. Do you know any of the rules?"

"Of course. I know most of the new rules. But you may need to sit down, this will take a while."

"There are that many new rules?"

"Yes. Here are some of them. The number of badges to qualify for the World Pokémon League has increased to 15."

"Fifteen?"

"Yes. Gary says that a successful Pokémon Trainer has to learn to take on many specialized Trainers and that this is the way to do it. There is also a rule that states that in each region, there are four badges you MUST earn to qualify for the Pokémon League. And earning these badges will sometimes be twice, maybe even three times as hard to obtain as the others."

"Hmm...this is interesting. Well, at least Gary's creative."

"There is also a new rule that states that a Trainer must have at least 40 different Pokémon to qualify for the Pokémon League."

"What? Why did he do that?"

"He says that Pokémon Trainers will have an advantage by having so many different Pokémon to choose from."

"But what about my cousin, Ash? He didn't have that many Pokémon when he became a Master. "

"True. In my opinion, I believe that it doesn't matter how many Pokémon you have, it's how you train them. But those are the rules Gary enforced."

"I believe that too, but if I have to catch and train all those Pokémon to qualify, then I will."

"I'm glad you've taken these new rules well. Well, Taria, those are the only rules I know of. But there is one other rule out there that Gary says will make Pokémon Training and Battling the most competitive and dangerous sport in the world. I forgot what it was, but I do know that the rule was once enforced a long time ago, but was removed because so many Trainers and Pokémon were getting seriously hurt or killed."

"The rule was that dangerous? And Gary's just going to put it back into the rulebook?"

"Yes. He says that Pokémon Trainers have gotten weak and soft since the days when he and Ash were rivals. With these rules, he hopes that Pokémon Training and Battling will become the glory of the world once again."

"Hmm...this is a lot to accomplish in two years' time. I guess I'll get Charmander and get going, then. Thank you, Professor Oak, for all you've done."

"As I said before, I do what I can. Call me if you run into the new Pokémon I've been hearing about."

"Okay. I'll be sure to." Taria waved as she left.

As Taria left the lab, she took three Pokéballs off her belt. "This is really going to be a challenge. I just hope my Pokémon are up to it." Taria put the Pokéballs back on her belt. "I should be getting home. I guess I'll leave tomorrow."

"You'll have to battle me first, Taria!"

"Huh?"

A boy flew off a tree branch and landed in front of Taria. He was wearing all blue. Everything was blue except his tanned skin. Even his hair was sky blue. He stood three inches shorter than Taria's tall 5'10''.

"I said that you have...to...battle....whoa...nice..." The boy stared at Taria's breasts, like he was in a trance.

Taria blushed, and then punched the boy in the face. "Damn it, Blue! You're such a pervert!"

The boy got out of his trance and held his cheek, where he got hit. "Damn, you hit hard! Anyway, I want to try out the Squirtle I got today by beating you in a battle! And the name is Don, not Blue!"

"Whatever. Why should I battle a womanizing punk like you anyway, DON?"

"Come on, Taria. You know you won't back down a challenge, and I know you won't back down a challenge. So I challenge you to a battle!"

"All right, then. I'll battle you. Just to put you in your place, Blue."

"Don!"

Next Time: A Trainer's Journey Begins Part II

Thanks dragonwave for reviewing.

A/N:

In case you haven't played the games or read the Pokémon Special Manga, the "Professor" is Daisy Oak, Samuel Oak's granddaughter and Gary Oak's older sister.

And here's a hint....if you've read Pokémon Special, then you should have an idea of what Pokémon League rule made battling so dangerous and, in this story, was removed from the rules. And even if you don't, all the answers will be revealed one of these chapters.

If you want to know a little bit more about the characters, check out my bio.

That's all until next time.

Please R&R!