We were finally reaching Hoenn. The ship was nearing land and Jason and I watched as the dock grew closer and closer.
"I can't wait to see Hoenn." Jason said. "And catch new Pokemon, and of course compete in the Hoenn League!"
"Let's see which one of us gets two Pokemon League championships first!" I challenged.
Jason looked out at the ocean. "It's going to feel strange with just the two of us traveling together. We haven't done that since Kanto when we first left Pallet Town and it lasted until we met Michelle in Cerulean City."
"We'll meet someone new to travel with before long." I replied.
"How do you know?"
"My dad went to Hoenn on his own, but met May right away. So I think it's fate that it'll happen to us, too."
Jason nodded his head in agreement. "You might be right. I wouldn't mind traveling in a group of three again."
The ship finally docked in Littleroot Town and as we made our way off of it, Jason spoke.
"We should stop by the lab and see Professor Birch. After all, he knows my dad."
I agreed and we made our way through the town.
As we reached the lab, Jason knocked on the door.
"Hello," Professor Birch greeted, opening it.
He was a bigger man in his mid-fifties with grey hair and a beard, noticeably older than when my dad had first met him. He wore a blue tee with beige cargo shorts and a white lab coat over it, and sandals on his feet.
"I'm Adam Ketchum, the son of Master Ketchum."
"And I'm Jason Oak, son of Professor Gary Oak."
"Oh, yes. I know your fathers. Please come in."
He stepped aside and allowed us to enter the lab.
"This is my assistant, Joshua." Professor Birch said, motioning to a man who stood by a bookshelf.
"Hello,"
Joshua was a middle-aged man with green hair with a few grey streaks and bangs, purple eyes, and thin metal glasses on his face. He wore a yellow turtleneck with jeans and a lab coat over it.
"Jason, do you plan on following in your father's footsteps and become a Pokemon Professor?" Professor Birch asked.
"I'm not exactly sure at the moment. I have to admit that the subject does interest me, though." Jason responded.
A knock on the door interrupted any further conversation.
"That must be the new trainers I've been expecting today."
Professor Birch excused himself and went to answer the door. When he returned, two girls were with him. Both looked younger than myself and Jason. The older one had mint green hair and the younger one had brown hair. As I glanced at the brown-haired girl, I couldn't help but feel like she looked familiar to me, but I knew that I hadn't met her before.
The brown-haired girl's eyes then widened as she saw me.
"Are you Master Ketchum's son?" she questioned.
"Yes…why?" I replied, confused.
"I knew it! My sister and I are May's daughters! Has your dad ever mentioned her or our dad, Drew?"
"Yes, I've heard about your parents. I'm happy that I'm meeting the kids of my dad's friends."
Friendships can carry over through generations and I hoped that this could be the start of one for us.
"I'm Adam Ketchum. I"m twelve years old and one day, I'm going to be the Pokemon Master."
"Jason Oak, twelve years old, and aiming to become Pokemon Master, too."
"I'm April Hayden. I'm eleven and I'm following in my parents' footsteps to become a Top Coordinator." the girl with mint green hair said.
"I'm Megan Hayden. I'm ten and I'm also planning to become a Top Coordinator." the brown-haired girl said.
"You look almost exactly like your dad, Adam. You even have a Pikachu on your shoulder!" Megan cried. "And Jason, judging by your last name, you're Professor Gary Oak's son, right?"
"I am,"
"That's amazing! I'm glad to have met both of you!"
Megan then turned her attention to Professor Birch.
"We're here to get our first Pokemon today, Professor."
"Yes, your mother called ahead to let me know, so I've been expecting you." he replied.
He then released Treecko, Torchic, and Mudkip from their Pokeballs.
"I'm picking first." April announced. She stepped forward and looked at the three Hoenn starters.
"I choose Treecko."
"Great choice." said the professor.
Megan then stepped forward and said, "I'm going to go with Torchic."
Mudkip looked down sadly, clearly feeling left out, and said its name sadly.
"Professor, could I take Mudkip with me?" I asked.
"Of course. I can always getting more starting Pokemon."
I had also chosen Mudkip because I knew that Mudkip would evolve into Marshtomp and then Swampert, who were partly Ground types, making them immune to electricity, which Water Pokemon were usually weak against. A Pokemon strong against something they're usually weak against would be a huge boost in battles!
We then all returned our new Pokemon and left the lab. Professor Birch gave the girls their Pokedexes and Pokeballs and he spoke to Jason and I.
"In order to register for the Hoenn League, you need to head to the nearest Pokemon Center, which is in Oldale Town. It's about a day away, if you walk."
"Would you like to travel with us, just like how my dad and your mom traveled together?" I asked, inviting the girls to join us on our Hoenn journey.
"I'm in!" Megan cried.
"Thanks, but no thanks." April replied.
Jason and I were confused to hear that.
"We both want to be coordinators, so we'll obviously be competing against one another in contests, so we're going to be rivals. Therefore, we've decided it'll be a sibling rivalry." Megan explained.
"We both agreed to travel separately to make it more fair, so we wouldn't be able to see each other train or know what Pokemon we catch. Plus, I waited until I was eleven to start my journey, so that we could travel at the same time." April finished.
Jason and I nodded our heads in understanding.
"Well, I'll see you all in Petalburg City, since that's where the first contest is." said April.
With a goodbye to Professor Birch and one final goodbye to us and her sister, April headed off. We then said goodbye to Professor Birch and headed off towards Oldale Town.
After walking in silence for a few minutes, I decided to break it. After all, we would be spending a lot of months together as we traveled, so we might as well get to know each other sooner, rather than later.
"So Megan, do you have any other siblings?" I asked.
"No, but my mom is four months pregnant. So I'll have either a brother or sister soon! My mom refuses to tell me and April if it's a boy or a girl, since she wants it to be a surprise for us. But at least this way, she won't be lonely with the two of us gone."
Wow, May's gonna have another child? I thought.
"How do you feel about having a younger sibling?"
"Oh, it feels great. I can't wait! I personally hope my mom has a boy, since I already have a sister. I can't wait to have my little sibling here, so that I can help them grow. Do you two have any siblings?"
"No, but we grew up together, so we're as close as brothers. It's very different from how our dads were while growing up." I replied.
"Yeah, Adam's parents are like my second family. Same for my family to Adam." Jason added.
"We were inspired by our dads to become trainers. Who inspired you?" I asked.
"My mom did. And my dad inspired April. We both want to become coordinators like them. I mean, I'm wearing a top that's identical to the orange one that my mom wore when she visited your mom and dad the Sinnoh region for the Wallace Cup, but mine is yellow.
"April teases me and picks on me a lot, as most older siblings do, but it almost mirrors the way that our dad used to pick on our mom when they were younger. So I guess we took after one of our parents a little too much."
"I understand. I took after my dad more than my mom."
"Same for me. I'm more like my dad than my mom." Jason said.
"But it's nothing to be ashamed of, it just proves how close you are to your parents, how much you love them, and how big of an influence they've had on your life." I reassured her.
Megan smiled. "That makes me feel better. I'm glad that I'm more like my mom, anyways. I heard how my dad acted and I'm glad that I'm not like that. I'm more fun and adventurous."
After a pause, Megan said, "My mom had an ulterior motive when she first began traveling with your dad. The only reason why she started her journey was to travel, explore, and see new places. Plus, she wasn't comfortable with Pokemon or being around them and she didn't know how to battle. So when she realized that she would have to deal with Pokemon that might be dangerous, she knew that she would need someone by her side who knew how to battle and who could protect her. Your dad was that kind of person, so that's why she chose to travel with him. He was just in the right place at the right time."
"Oh, wow! Well, even if your mom had came clean and told the truth to my dad, I'm sure that he still would've traveled with her. That's just the kind of person that my dad was, and still is. And even if she hadn't become a trainer or coordinator, and just wanted to travel and see new places like she initially wanted, my dad still would have let her stay, since he enjoyed her company. He told me so himself." I said.
"That still would've been a better reason to travel with him than what reasons Iris and Serena had." Jason added, and I agreed with him.
"Judging by the stories that my dad has told me about his journeys and the way he talks about May, it's clear that he was closer to her than any other girl, besides my mom. This further proves my point that my dad would've let May come with him, even if she didn't want to be a trainer or coordinator." I concluded.
A moment passed before I poked a joke towards Megan. "Are you better prepared than your mom was for her journey?"
Megan laughed and nodded her head. "Yes. It took my mom a while to figure out what her goal was, but she made sure that I was ready for whatever goal I wanted to achieve. My mom is very proud that I'm choosing to follow in her footsteps as a coordinator. Plus, she taught April and I how to make easy meals while on the road, so you boys can leave the cooking to me!
"Although my ultimate goal is to become a Top Coordinator, I still share my mom's sense of adventure and exploration. I'm excited to see new places and discover new things during my travels. And Adam, if you're anything like your dad, I know that this journey will definitely not be boring!"
So far, I was getting good vibes from Megan, based on how our conversations had been going. She seemed very much like her mom and because of that, I could see why my dad had been so close to May. I hoped that I could become that close with Megan. She seemed full of energy and curiosity. I could tell that there wouldn't be any dull moments on this journey, as long as she was around!
"Megan, even though you're confident in your goal, you're still just starting out and I've been to two regions already. Therefore, I'm willing to help you out however I can, just like how my dad helped your mom. We can even train together." I offered.
Megan smiled. "Thank you, Adam. I really appreciate that. I can see that you two are going to be great friends and mentors to me!"
"So Megan, what about your dad, Drew?" Jason asked, since we had been mostly talking about May.
A frown came over her face. She didn't speak, but I could sense a strange feeling coming from her. It was a feeling that was the same as the one I'd felt in Kanto when Amber had been hesitant to talk about her past, regarding her family. Megan was hiding something! My Aura was sensing her hesitance.
I hadn't told anyone, but since my Aura had played such a big part in helping me out on my journeys, I was going to work on learning how to control my Aura throughout this journey and learn how to put it to different uses. My Aura was a part of me and it was time that I learned how to get it under control, especially if I ended up in a situation where it could save my life or others.
Megan finally spoke after a short pause. "I don't really want to talk about my dad because my mom's recently suspected that he's being unfaithful in their marriage."
I could still sense that there was more to it than that. Something was still being kept a secret, but I wasn't going to push her. It was clear that she was uncomfortable talking about the subject. Plus, we would be heading to Petalburg City soon anyway, so I could just ask May herself.
I could only hope that maybe May had witnessed Drew with one of his close female friends and had only heard bits and pieces of the conversation and had gotten the wrong idea. I hoped for the sake of their family and the new child to come that Drew wasn't being unfaithful and that the whole ordeal was one big misunderstanding.
I'd even heard the stories about Drew, how he gave roses to May, and then the confession of how he had liked her for years. It had been after a Grand Festival that he and May had competed in. Like usual, he presented May a rose, but said that instead of Beautifly, it was for May herself and that he had liked her for a while and wanted to know if she would be his girlfriend. The rest was history.
I really hoped for the Hayden family's sake that there was a misunderstanding. I was sure that Drew had changed his ways from his younger days, based on the stories I'd heard.
The conversation then took a more pleasant turn and lasted for the whole time that we spent walking towards Oldale Town.
We arrived in town, just as the sun was beginning to set. Walking into the Pokemon Center, we went to the front desk where Nurse Joy was. Jason and I handed her our Pokedexes and asked to register for the Hoenn League.
"You're all set. Anything else that I can help you with?" she asked, as she handed our Pokedexes back.
"We need a room for the night." I told her.
"Here you are. Enjoy your stay and have a good night." she said, handing the key over.
We thanked her and headed to the cafeteria to eat supper and afterwards, we went to our room to go to sleep. We were all exhausted from the day's journey.
Megan went into the bathroom first to change. When she walked out, she was in a pair of red short shorts and a white tee and was running her hairbrush through her hair, which was now out of its ponytail and falling past her shoulders.
Jason then changed into a black t-shirt and green shorts. My pajamas consisted of a white t-shirt and dark blue shorts.
"I had a good first day with you both." Megan said, as I turned off the lights.
"Same here, Megan." I replied.
"I can tell that I'm going to enjoy the journey, being with you boys, and I hope that we can all become good friends."
"We'd like that, too. This is gonna be a journey to remember."
We then all said goodnight and we soon all fell into a peaceful sleep.
Author's Note: Adam and Jason have begun their Hoenn journey and have met Megan and April, who are the daughters of May and Drew. Both girls want to follow in their parents' footsteps and become coordinators.
Megan has joined the boys on their journey and they've seemed to hit it off, right from the start! Megan has chosen Torchic as her first Pokemon, just like her mom did. April chose Treecko. And Mudkip, not wanting to be left out, was taken by Adam.
Adam also hopes to learn more about his Aura on this journey, too.
But is what Megan said about her dad true? Is he being unfaithful to May, especially now, when she's pregnant?
Find out as they meet a new Pokemon, some old and new friends, and Megan competes in her first contest in the next chapter of Pokemon NG!