"I would tell you that you shouldn't have done that yesterday..." Professor Oak had a serious look on his face, "but I have to take some of the blame for encouraging it."

"I'm sorry, Professor." Megan held her head in shame, but she secretly couldn't stop being happy.

Her new Poliwag chirped and wiggled in her arms. The professor sat with his stern glare for a few minutes, trying to figure out what to do. Ellen tried to eavesdrop as often as she could as she organized files in the next room of the lab. Oak slowly knelt down and took a long look at the gleeful Pokemon being held by the eager Megan.

"You know..." He closed his eyes and spoke softly, "Since it means that much to you..."

Megan's face beamed, "I did it!"

Without even waiting for Professor Oak to finish his sentence, Megan dashed into the next room, bouncing around and chanting Ellen's name with happiness. Ellen backed up a bit and gave Megan a feint smile.

"Aren't you happy for me?" Megan calmed down.

Ellen's soft smile faded and she turned away from Megan, "Of course."

But her voice didn't sound happy. Megan's excitement drained as she slowly stepped to Ellen's side to see exactly what type of face it was that she was hiding. Even Poliwag stopped squeaking to check up on Ellen. Maybe she was embarassed? What could it be? Why was her face red -- and why were tears coming her eyes?

The only sound was the light click of Megan's shoe on the tiled floor as she took a nervous step toward her friend.

"Ellen...?"

"Nobody..." She managed to choke out, "Nobody's left..."

- - -

"Do you miss your friend Joe already?" Megan's mom asked as Megan slowly trudded down the stairs for breakfast.

Megan grunted, "Joe wasn't my friend. He always called us stupid little kids."

"But I always saw you playing together." Her mom handed her some strange eggs on a plate.

Megan pushed the food around on her plate without eating it, "He was probably just playing with Marcus."

Megan's mom sighed as Megan angrily left the table without excusing herself and barged out the front door. Everytime she was reminded of Marcus, she got very upset. Joe leaving on a Pokemon journey didn't bother her, but Marcus's parents moving away surely did. Now she had no idea how to talk to him... or how to keep the promise they made.

As the door swung open, Megan was about to stomp down the doorsteps, but a crying girl interrupted her rage.

"Alex!" Megan walked up to her, "What's wrong? Did you get hurt?"

"My parents were talking to Marcus's parents about their new jobs..." Alex struggled to speak through her crying, "And now..."

Megan's body froze as the realization of Alex's meaning struck her.

"I'm sorry!" Alex screamed and ran back home.

- - -

Megan looked down at Poliwag and then up at Ellen's face. It was almost too much for her to stand just looking at her. Her heart burned with each painful pounding as she continued to watch the tears stream from her best friend's eyes. She couldn't take it anymore. She ran.

I'm sorry, Ellen. Megan thought, hoping Ellen could hear, as she sprinted towards her home, holding back her own tears, But I have to do this. I'll come back soon -- with Marcus and Alex, too. We can all raise our Pokemon together. Just like we promised.

The next day, Megan tried to pack up her things without thinking about Ellen. What kinds of things do you take on a Pokemon journey? She packed a few changes of clothes, some snacks, all of her money, and Poliwag's Pokeball. She really couldn't think of anything else that she needed, but then one last thing struck her. She had to shuffle through her drawers to finally find it, but it was still there in perfect shape.

She pulled the small, golden locket out of the drawer and pressed the button on the side. With a loud snap, the cover on the front jerked open and her father's smiling face shown brightly through the glass. This picture was the only way she knew her father. Her mother never talked about him much, and Megan was always too afraid to ask about him. She really wished that she could've learned more before her mother died.

Even though it was sad, Megan smiled and closed the locket, placing it into her bag. Poliwag bounced with excitement on Megan's plush bed. She won't be sleeping in that bed anymore -- from now on she'll be lodging at Pokemon Centers and camping out. Slowly the new trainer walked out of her house, her happy Pokemon hopping right behind her. This was the last time she'll go through that door, too. She never thought starting a Pokemon journey would be so upsetting.

"Well, Poliwag, here we go." Megan sighed, "All we have to do is get the Pokedex from Oak and we're off. Hopefully we don't run into Ellen. I just don't think I'd want to leave if I had to say goodbye to her..."

The little Pokemon didn't have a clue what she was talking about, but was happy nonetheless. The two young adventurers made their way across the bleak town of Pallet for the last visit to Professor Oak's lab. When they arrived, Megan nervously tapped her knuckles on the big white door. The knob clattered and the door slowly creaked open to reveal Ellen greeting the girl and her Pokemon.

"Ellen..." Megan didn't know what to do; she felt like she could start crying any second.

Ellen smiled softly like always, "Don't worry. I've realized that this is what you need to do. I'll just wait for you to come back."

The burden of guilt liften from Megan's shoulders and her eyes watered with relief. She leapt forward and smothered Ellen in an extatic embrace. Ellen laughed nervously and wriggled free of her grasp, "Now go get your Pokedex."

Megan giggled and skipped away to the back of the lab where Oak was sitting in his office awaiting her arrival. Megan proudly accepted the small red Pokedex that he handed her.

"Remember, to keep your Pokemon healthy, you should only keep up to six with you at once. Too many Pokemon will become unhappy and restless. If you get more than six, story the extras via Bill's PC. This is very easy to do, and you can find out about this system at any Pokemon Center. Also, if you catch a species of Pokemon that isn't listed in the Pokedex, send it to me by PC immediately so I can observe and study it."

Megan gave the man a slaute, "Of course!"

"And remember to always take good care of your Pokemon. Always keep them happy and treat them with love."

"I don't think she'll have any problem doing that, Mr. Oak." Ellen stepped into the office from behind Megan.

Megan turned to Ellen and smiled, then to Poliwag, "You ready?"

Poliwag chirped and gave an agreeing hop, and the two were off. The same gray buildings passed by them for the last time, and the final one to pass was Daisy's house. Finally, Megan reached the tall grass at the north side of town.

"Well, I guess it's time for me to give you a name, little guy," Megan knelt down to her Poliwag, "I can't just keep calling you 'little guy,' since you're not even a guy. What do you think about Polly?"

The Pokemon bounced with joy in the grass while Megan laughed, "Well, Polly, let's go! Once we step into this grass here -- we're on a Pokemon journey!"

Polly seemed more excited than Megan as she ran in circles around her new trainer. Megan guessed that Pokemon get excited after being named and accepted by their trainers. It was a big event for the both of them, so without any more to say, the two stepped their first foot into the tall grass. Megan was now on a Pokemon journey.