Chapter 1: A new land, a new journey

"Groudon! Fire blast!"

"Kyogre! Ice beam!"

"No! Groudon!"

"The winner and Kyra region champion-Derek!"

Okay, that didn't really happen, I was actually dreaming at the moment. At least, until…

BRRING!

"AHH!"

…the alarm clock woke me up. I sat up, turned off the alarm clock and went back to sleep.

"Derek! How much longer are you gonna sleep? Do you know what day it is?"

"Uhh…New Year?" I replied.

"Today's the day you start your journey! Honestly, you are just like your father and brother…"

I got up out of bed and got dressed up (but not before I tripped over trying to put on my pants). I then got downstairs, where my mom and dad were. My mom has rather orange-reddish hair, and she has blue eyes. She's also a good person to have friends with. My dad, though, has sandy-blonde hair and golden eyes. What to describe about my dad…well, he's the opposite of my mom. Or at least, he USED to be the opposite. My mom told me ever since she met him, he's been slowly getting more kind and friendly (but I still think some of his former self is still with him).

"Morning, son." Dad said.

"Hey, dad." I replied.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, Derek. Professor Shir wanted to meet you." Mom said.

"Really? Okay." I want out of the house and off to the Professor's house.

Oh, wait, I forgot, intro. My name's Derek and this is the Kyra region. It's a pretty average place and it's a bit nice here. Here in Origi town, this is where trainers in the Kyra region start their journeys. And today, that's when I'LL start my journey. Anyway, I made my way in the laboratory, where I also meet my best friend, Zack Shir. He's my best buddy in the whole Pokemon world. He's trusting, and he is…well, a bit of a genius (runs in the family, huh?), and he always dreams of capturing a Raikou. However, he has an electric Pokemon already, a little mouse known as Pikachu.

He was 8 years old when he had that thing as a Pichu. It was given to him on his birthday for a pet, and the person who gave it to him is none other than Marie Shir. Marie is Zack's little sister, and she can be pretty nice at times. And she also loves dragon Pokemon and she adores Lance (how fitting, isn't it?).

"Hey, Derek! How's it going?" He said.

"I'm okay." I replied.

"Welcome Derek," Professor Shir said. "You're starting your journey, huh?"

"Yep," I replied. "So, when do I get my Pokemon?"

"Whoa, slow down. First, I want to give you something. It's a Pokedex, it records data of every Pokemon you meet and catch," He said, giving the Pokedex. "Second, I want to give you some Pokeballs. They're useful for catching Pokemon," He then gave me at least 5 Pokeballs. "Third, do you know what we do in the Kyra region?"

"Uhh…can you give me a hint?"

"I'll explain," Zack said. "Here, we use battle associates. We use battle associates to only help out our other Pokemon in battle, not fight with them. Your battle associate is your first Pokemon, and you can only fight with it until you catch your first Pokemon. In other words, you can have up to 7 Pokemon with you. Also, you can keep you battle associate out of its ball if you want. Seriously, we already were taught that a long time ago."

"Guess I just forgot."

"One more thing," The Professor mentioned. "Your father told me he has a Pokemon already for you, so you should get going."

"Alright, see ya!" As I made my way towards my house, I noticed that only my mom was there outside, holding an Eevee and a strange device.

"Hey, where's dad?" I asked.

"Your father received an E-mail telling him to go to the Johto region, so he left," Mom said. "Anyway, I have something for you. It's your first Pokemon," She said as she held out the Eevee.

"Cool, I have an Eevee," I said, holding the Eevee.

"Oh, and your father told me to give you this." She held out the strange device in her hand. "It's a PDA, or Pokemon Digital Assistant. You can use it for E-mails and it even has a map of the Kyra region and a strategy memo to help you out in your battles."

"Weird, but useful." I said as I took the PDA.

"Derek, I hope you do good in your journey."

"Don't worry, mom, I will."

Just before she went in the house, she stopped and went back to me.

"I forgot one more thing," Mom said.

"Come on," I groaned. "How much longer do I have to wait?"

"Calm down, it's only one more thing," My mom said as she held out a letter. "On the way, I need you to send it to Professor Rais in Enigma town, but don't open it. Okay?"

"Sure, mom," I said as I took the letter.

When I began toleave Origi town, a familiar voice called me.

"Hey, Derek!" It was Zack, coming up to me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Why don't we go together? I mean, think it: we'll journey side-by-side as pals, finding all sorts of Pokemon and battling many trainers along the way."

"Sure, we can do that." I replied.

"Alright, so when's the next town?"

I checked the map on the PDA.

"Bright town. It even has a gym there," I said. "There's also a Pokemon Center on the way," I added as I looked at the map.

"Bright town it is! Let's get going!" Zack said.

On the way, it seemed as if I had some good luck today, as Ifound a wild Treecko.

"This has got to be my lucky day," I said. "Go Eevee!"

"Vee!" Eevee said as it went into battle.

In the end, I caught Treecko and we moved on with our journey, hoping to get my next badge.

Note: For all those who played Pokemon Colosseum and/or Pokemon XD: Yes, the PDA is back, and so is Eevee. Also, see if the stuff I described for Derek's parents ring a bell; i'll be putting more hints later in the story.

Also, you may have noticed that I put a new way to battle for the story. Don't worry if this battle associate thing is hard to understand, i'll clear it up for you in each battle.

And for people who are wondering what the letter is about: It may have to do with the Shadow Pokemon business, maybe not. And i'll also give you details on this Professor Rais character is when that part comes. Anyway, please give a review for the story so far; i'm all ears.