….and good luck.

Red shot awake with a deep gasp, fiercely shaking in place. He took a moment to reorient himself. He was in his room, on his bed. Everything was still in the right place. His TV was still mounted on the wall, the NES he got for his birthday a few years ago still hooked up to it. His desk held his laptop and various books about Pokemon-related topics. Everything was still where it was the night before. He took a deep breath and laid back down.

What was that? He had a dream last night, one so vivid and intense that he felt like he never slept in the first place. And yet, he couldn't remember any of it, the only memory being the fact that it definitely happened, and those last few words that he managed to remember.

He took a moment, and sighed loudly to himself. Normally, he wasn't a superstitious person, but he couldn't just ignore this. As he began his morning wake up routine, he just couldn't shake the feeling that whatever he had dreamt about was important.

He looked at himself in the mirror. His black hair and brown eyes stared right back at him. Upon closer inspection one would find a scar under his eye, faded to the point that you wouldn't see it unless you specifically looked for it. He had gotten it when he was much younger, when he had gotten into a fight with Blue.

But these things were not what held his attention currently. No, he was much more interested in what was missing from his face. His acne, blemishes, and the other standard stuff teenagers would get was completely gone. His face was clear of any imperfections, save for his scar.

He certainly didn't mind the sudden change in appearance, getting the medicines needed for all of that stuff was expensive enough as it was. No, what bothered him was how it had happened. What changes had his body undertaken during the night?

Could it possibly be related to the dream he couldn't remember?

...That was just a stupid question, of course it was. Whatever had happened was obviously important enough that it had wiped his memories of the event, and changed him physically. He looked away and finished his routine in the bathroom.

After getting dressed, he decided to worry about other things. Like how today was going to be the beginning of his journey through Kanto. He had finally saved up enough money to leave Pallet Town and explore the world. The Professor would be having his annual starter giveaway for new trainers across the region, and If he wanted a chance at getting one of the rare ones, he had to leave now.

Taking one last look in the mirror, he donned his lucky cap and headed downstairs. As per usual, his mother was on the couch watching the morning news. She took a second to glance at him, then turned back to the screen. After a moment, she said" Right. All boys leave home someday. It said so on TV..."

Red shook his head at her unsurprisingly uncaring words and left the house. His mother hadn't been the same ever since his father vanished when he was younger. She didn't take any true interest in any of his activities, usually leaving him to his own devices. He looked up at the sky for a moment, and started walking.

The Professor's Lab and ranch was a short walk away from his home. He had visited on occasion, mostly when he was with his friend Blue. After all, he was Oak's grandson. This also meant he got special treatment. He likely already picked one of the rare starters, and was just waiting for him to show up so he could shove it in his face. Whatever. As long as he got the starter he wanted before some brat beat him to it, he would be happy.

Walking up the steps to the entrance to the lab the door was opened by none other than the professor himself. He was obviously excited to see himself get his own chance to travel the world. The professor was a good man, and while he had only spoken with him on occasion, he trusted him.

"Red! So good to finally see you show for a starter giveaway. Of course I already knew you would be very early, so I made sure to be ready."

Red stepped inside and glanced at the clock. It was early. Earlier than he usually woke up, but the reason for it was definitely warranted. Following Oak deeper into the lab, he looked around at all the different machines that were here. Even though it wasn't his first time here, it was always interesting to see all the high tech gear that someone like Professor Oak got to work with.

His eyes were drawn to the table at the back of the room. Three Pokeballs laid on it, seemingly waiting to be taken. Those things really should be better protected. If he wanted to, he could've swiped them all and ran without anyone noticing.

But he wasn't like that. He would never stoop to a criminal's level. He had made it this far, and he was going to rise above it. He wanted to be the best trainer in the world.

Oak had already been talking to him, but he mostly shut his monologue out. He had seen some of his past giveaways before, and everything usually kept the same order. If that was the case, then he knew which one held his partner.

Ignoring Oak completely, he stepped forward and took hold of the Pokeball on the left. Without even opening it, he could feel the warmth of the creature living inside. Excited, he tossed it into the air and released the Charmander inside. It looked almost confused as to where it was for a moment, before settling its eyes on him.

Red bent over to get eye level with the lizard. This was actually happening. He would finally make a new friend, and together they would leave this boring town and conquer the region. He matched his gaze, putting his full attention on the Charmander. It stared back, turning it into a staring contest that rivaled the longest one Red has held before.

And he knew he would win. Slowly, but surely, the Charmander couldn't hold its gaze longer than his own. It blinked a few times, before once again facing the trainer. It seemed to respect Red's confidence, and with a determined glint in its eyes and a wicked looking grin, jumped into Reds arms.

Standing up with his new partner in his hands, he looked back to Oak, who wore a wide grin on his face.

"I've never seen a Charmander treat anyone with that kind of respect before. It's an especially prideful one for its species. For you to be able to connect with it, just like that...I'm sure both of you will become a great team."

He gave the professor a hum in agreement before looking back at the rascal in his hands. It had taken to climbing onto the top on his hat, though it wasn't doing a very good job. He turned to leave but Oak once again stopped him.

He looked at the professor, who had his hand extended out towards him with a Pokedex. These things were expensive to get one's hands on. He couldn't afford something like this, so he shook his head at him. The professor's next words shocked him.

"Red, take it. It's a gift from me. You don't owe me anything."

He took it from his hand, visibly moved. These things cost a small fortune, he never imagined himself actually owning one. "...I," he tried to squeeze out some form of thanks, but no words were forthcoming.

"You know, it's a rare thing to hear your voice. You hardly speak, and when you do, everyone else stops to listen. I hope you realize that I want to help you succeed. I've seen the way you live. Have some faith Red."

He looked at the device in his hand, then back at the professor. For a split second, he could've sworn his eyes were a different color than usual, but he decided it was nothing. He nodded his head in appreciation, shook the professors hand, and walked out the door, only to be stopped by another familiar face.

Blue was standing in the doorway, with his starter already at his side. Behind him, he could see a sizable line forming. Blue motioned for him to follow, and he walked with him outside, past the line of other new trainers.

"Charmander huh? I figured you'd get that one, so I decided to get Squirtle."

He smiled back at him and they kept walking. Blue talked nonstop about his excitement about finally beginning his adventure, while Red could only nod along with his exclamations. They walked for a bit, before Blue asked the question.

"Wanna have a battle?"

Red couldn't help but chuckle a little bit at the proposition. They both ran to one of the many public battlefields, before each sending out their partners. He already knew he was likely going to lose. Gary just had much more experience than him about this kind of stuff.

"I'll let you have the first move."

He was going to regret that.

"Charmander, scratch!"

The lizard darted forward on his little legs, claws slightly glowing, and swiped at the opponent a few times. Some of them missed, and the ones that landed seemed to do nothing against the turtle's thick shell. Charmander broke off from his attack, backing up to gain some distance.

No such luck existed. The moment he took a step back, the Squirtle exploded into action and it tried to tackle the lizard. It tried to dodge, but it wasn't fast enough and took a glancing blow for its troubles. It tries to counterattack with another scratch. This one actually managed to do some damage to the Squirtle, as it backed off and shook his head for a moment.

Red was not idle in this exchange. Once he saw the Squirtle back off, he knew his target. The shell was too tough for Charmander's weak scratch attack to dent, meaning he had to aim for the exposed parts of its body. He looked over at Blue, who seemingly looked uncaring.

He knew better than to let his façade get to him. Blue was good, but he had been around him for awhile. He could tell by the way he was tapping his foot that he was nervous. He could beat him. He stole a glance towards the sides, where a small group had formed to watch the rare starters have their first fight.

"Charmander, wait for it to get close, then aim for the head or limbs!"

He barked a "char" in confirmation, and waited. After a moment, the Squirtle went on the offensive again, trying to tackle it with its whole body. He was ready this time, sidestepping the charge and landing a few hits on its legs. Once again, it turned to attack, and this time he took a direct hit. Knocked on his back, he could see his trainer wince.

That wouldn't do. The Charmander had let this battle go on long enough. He got back to his feet and charged the turtle, who was currently looking at his wounded leg. He went in to knock it out with one final blow, but it was still much faster than him, and hid in its shell to tank the attack. He couldn't get inside the shell and land a solid hit, and then the shell seemingly exploded before the world went black.

Red sighed. The little lizard had taken a beating, likely more in pride than anything else. He would have to learn, and get better at battling with practice. He returned it to its Pokeball, and shook hands with Blue.

"Good try. Maybe next time you'll be even half as good as me! I gotta go, smell ya later."

He watched as Blue ran off and he shook his head. He knew Blue would never admit defeat to him unless he totally crushed him in a battle. The crowd had mostly dispersed, save for a couple of lingering folks. He turned away and walked home.

Stepping back into his house, he noticed that his mother wasn't actually there. There was a note on the table from her, saying that she ran to the store. Apparently, Blue's sister swung by earlier to give him a map. That was also on the table, and he promptly rolled it up and put it in his bag. Luckily, he found some spare potions in the closet, and he got to work reviving his comrade.

In the meantime, he reflected on the day so far. First, his extremely strange morning, which still felt fresh in his mind while he was home. His partner, and the professor's gift were in front of him as he treated the young lizard. He could've won the battle, had it not charged in so recklessly. It was okay though, you didn't just naturally become one of the world's best trainers. It took time.

The Charmander woke up soon afterwards, and it looked at him bearing a large frown. It obviously wasn't happy with its earlier performance. He had to cheer it up. Once again, he got on his knees so he could look his partner in the eyes. The Charmander slowly looked at him, still upset.

"It's okay. We're going to win next time. You did great."

The Charmander reached out to him, and once again he picked up the lizard. He walked up to his room and set his bag down, and laid the Charmander on his bed, taking care to keep it from going up in flames. Standing up, he got to work packing things he would need for his trip. Extra clothes, his bathroom supplies, a first aid kit, and after a quick trip to the kitchen, some boxed and canned food for on the go travel. Of course, he also grabbed the necessary supplies to cook said food.

He threw in his personal survival kit, which consisted of a compass, compact shovel, rope, hatchet, and a survival knife, along with some other goodies. Next he took the tent that he had, and after checking to make sure all pieces were accounted for, zipped it up and strapped it to the top of his increasingly full bag.

He then moved to get the last thing on his list. He opened his laptop to check for any mail, and was surprised to see that he had some. He paused wondering who it could be, and opened it. No sender or subject was labelled, and the only words on the screen were…..

'Good luck'

There was an attachment to the file, which he tried to open. It was a package of some sort, prompting him to go into a frenzy looking through his closet for the object receiver that would let him actually get whatever was being sent. After a moment he found it, and plugged it into the computer.

Seconds later, the items started to form. He had an old model, so he had to wait for each one to go through individually. Soon though, he had 5 empty Pokeballs on his desk.

What the hell was going on? Who sent these? He tried to rack his head for answers he knew wouldn't come. Obviously, something important was happening, and he was being supplied because of it. After a moment, he threw the laptop, receiver, and Pokeballs into his bag as well.

He took another once-over of himself. He still looked the same as this morning; his face as clean as it ever had been. He proceeded to search the whole house for any other surprises, while his partner followed around confused. After finding nothing, he decided it was time to go.

His mother still wasn't back yet from her trip, not that she would've really cared if he was still here or not. She was constantly stuck to the TV nowadays. He felt disappointed for a moment, before shaking himself out of it. He had better things, no, better friends to worry about.

Quickly writing a note saying that he would call if he got the chance, he was ready. His partner had successfully climbed up his head, and was currently standing on his hat while striking a pose. He was very proud of himself. He gave him a little head pat, and walked out the door to whatever adventures laid before him.

~0~

Back in his Lab, the Professor was busy packing his things for his flight later. He still had plenty of paperwork to do, of course, but he had faith that his assistants could handle a portion of it. It wasn't as if he was leaving the place forever. It was just a simple vacation.

Granted, he would still be doing work in Johto as well. His new talkshow would be premiering soon, and he would be quite busy helping Professor Elm in his lab.

But that was all trivial work for him. What he was looking forward to was a break. He had been working hard, too hard recently, and he hadn't even realized it. Only after his assistant pointed out that his sleep schedule was suffering did he realize he needed to relax.

After asking around a bit, one of his old friends offered a solution. Mr. Pokemon had a cabin in Johto that was relatively close to Elm's Lab. He was out on some business, and had offered for Oak to stay there for however long that he needed.

Finished with his bags, he turned around as he heard the phone ring. Seeing who it was, he answered the phone.

"Professor Elm?"

"Oak, it's a disaster here! I need some help, when are you going to get here?"

Samuel Oak did not like that tone of voice. "Tell me what happened?"

He listened intently, and his frown grew bigger as Elm spoke. "I'll be over as fast as I can."

Hanging up the phone, he looked at his bags, which had been full of his work, and made a decision.

"Nancy, cancel my flight." He told his assistant.

"Why?"

He turned towards her with a neutral expression and said, "I don't have time to wait for my flight in the evening." He threw a Pokeball into the air and watched as his longtime partner Dragonite materialized.

"I'll be flying there myself."

~0~

A.N. Hello reader! This is my first serious attempt at writing a full story here on FF, and I hope to see this project through till the end. I don't have a set upload schedule, but the first few chapters are basically ready to go up, save for some minor proofreading. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it. Next chapter will be up soon.