On the Road to Pallet Town

As Alexa and Bryce sat around a campfire located in Viridian Forest, the new companions roasted marshmallows over an open flame. While Alexa's team of six remained in their balls, the younger trainer excitedly had his Bulbasaur at his side and newly caught Weedle in his lap.

"Thank you so much for helping me catch my first Pokemon, Miss Alexa!" Bryce said. "I can't wait to catch even more Pokemon for my team!"

"No problem!" Alexa said, smacking her lips, chewing on a sticky, roasted marshmallow. "Thank you for the sweets!"

"It's crazy how much I've learned from you in a single day," Bryce said. "I feel like everything I've learned at the Academy is a sham compared to what I've seen you do!"

"Well, in school they'll teach you the basics that you need to know. But not everything on the road is gonna be in your textbooks."

"I found that out!" Bryce said, before eating his marshmallow off his roasting stick.

"So you said before you were from Viridian City, right?" Alexa questioned. "What does the situation look like with the Gym Leader there? Is it still vacant?"

"Sure is! They've spent years trying to find a replacement, but it's hard for the town to find a suitable fit! Ever since the world learned that the Team Rocket Leader was in control of it, people have been doubting the Pokemon League's credibility when it comes to putting people up for the spot."

"Well I hope they put someone in that seat soon," Alexa said, crossing her arms, and leaning back into the log she sat in front of. "I'd hate to have another Gym Badge handed out to me like the Cascade Badge was."

"You battling Brock really inspired me, though!" Bryce said, staring at the girl across the campfire. "I was almost ready to return home and call it on my trainer journey!"

"Bulba!" The boy's starter said, agreeing with its trainer.

"Because of you… I think I want to travel the world!" The boy said with wonder in his eyes.

"Well that's awesome!" Alexa said. "I recommend you start with your home region first! It's what I'm doing."

"Miss Alexa," Bryce said as a thought came into his mind. "Do you think… you could become my mentor?" The boy said, before falling onto his hands and knees before her.

"A mentor?!" She said with shock, followed by a nervous laugh. "I don't know if I'm cut out for teaching!"

"But I've learned so much from you already! And you wouldn't even have to teach me! Just let me watch your battles so I can grow! And maybe let me travel with you! I'll keep on bringing the snacks!"

"Well… If there's one thing I've learned from passing through Mount Moon, it's that the road is pretty lonely when you're by yourself. Even if you have your Pokemon with you… Alright, you've convinced me!" The teen said, as the boy stared up in awe.

"Thank you, Miss Alexa!" The boy said. "I promise, I won't get in the way of your quest for the badges! All I wanna do is meet and learn from your Pokemon!"

"Well, since my next stop is in Cinnabar Island, I'll have to pass through my hometown anyways. So how about this? Let's head to Pallet Town together! We can go visit Gary, and I can show off my entire roster to you!"

"That sounds awesome!" Bryce cheered. "I bet they're all super strong!"

"If I'm gonna challenge Blaine on Cinnabar Island, I'll probably have to switch out a few of my teammates," Alexa said, putting a hand on her chin. "Grovyle generally has a tougher time dealing with Fire Types. But I think I can find some Pokemon who can."

"So you have Grovyle, Abra and Electivire? But who else do you have on hand?" Bryce asked.

"Well, I'll show ya!" Alexa said, pulling five Pokeballs off her belt. Tossing them into the air, she exclaimed: "Come on out everyone!" Emerging from their Pokeballs were the aforementioned Grovylve, Abra, and Electivire, along with two other Pokemon that Bryce had not seen Alexa use. Marveling at the Pokemon before him, he pulled out his Pokedex to become more familiar with them.

"Hitmonlee. The Kicking Pokemon. This amazing Pokemon has an awesome sense of balance. It can kick in succession from any position. When kicking, the sole of its foot turns as hard as a diamond on impact and destroys its enemy." The robotic voice of the device said from Bryce's gloved hand.

"That's amazing!" Bryce said, looking at the brown-skinned, springy legged Pokemon before him.

"Hitmonlee here was given to me by the Karate Master at the Saffron City Fighting Dojo!" Alexa said, motioning to the Pokemon, who performed several kicks while standing in place. "He's a seasoned veteran, but he has sure taught my team a thing or two about its physical style."

"And I've never seen that Pokemon before!" Bryce said, pointing the Pokemon Encyclopedia to a seated, black and red feline Pokemon who had a serious look on its face. With crossed arms while sporting a grimace, the Pokemon snarled at the boy and his two Pokemon, making them jolt backwards a bit.

"Pokedex Data Unavailable," The device stated, as this was not a Pokemon native to the Kanto Region.

"This is my Incineroar," Alexa said, before pulling out a red Pokedex of her own. "Allow me. Incineroar. The Heel Pokemon. A tough as nails Pokemon with a heart of gold. It's Dark-Typing may give it some evil tendencies in the ring, but outside of that it's a true warrior who strives for greatness!" Alexa's Pokemon gave a low growl at this remark, however deep down it knew that everything its trainer had said was true.

"That's some 'Dex Entry!" The boy responded.

"Well, it's actually all my words," Alexa said, closing her device. "For my 14th Birthday, after I got my first Pokemon, Gary Oak gave me this Pokedex so I could fill it out with my own entries. At first, I wanted to catch all of the Pokemon out there," She stated, gazing up into the starry night sky. "But now, I use this as a way to write heartfelt messages about all my team members. Whether or not they're actually on the road with me."

"So… if you don't mind me asking," Bryce started. "Are one of these guys your first Pokemon?"

Alexa's eyes widened, as her hand drifted to the sixth Pokeball on her belt. 'Why didn't I throw him out? Am I… scared to do it?' The five team members outside of their balls took notice of Alexa, with her hand hovering over her final Pokeball. Waiting with anticipation, Alexa's hand soon moved away from the orb, making them all lose their cheery demeanors. "I'm sorry, Bryce… it's just that I don't think I can do it."

"Well why not?" Bryce asked. "Is it- a mean Pokemon?"

"Not at all," Alexa said in a defeated tone of voice. "He's the sweetest. But... I messed up really bad in a really serious battle… and he paid the price because of it. I just can't bring myself to let him out of his ball anymore…"

Bryce sat silently, hearing the girl's words. Suddenly, her actions at the Pewter City Gym became much clearer to him. She carried a sorrow with her linked to this Pokemon… but perhaps this sorrow was rooted much deeper within herself. "Does this have something to do with Team Rocket?" He quietly said.

Alexa simply shook her head yes. "If we're going to travel on the road together, I think I better share with you why I despise Team Rocket so badly…"


-7 Years Ago-

-Sinnoh Region, Eterna Forest-

In the dark forest, an eight year old Alexa's heart was pounding out of her chest. One moment, she was in her childhood home, joyously surrounded by her mother and father. Then, her dad exited the home to collect the mail. As she sat at the dining room table with her mother, a gunshot could be heard ringing from their front yard, causing her mother to rise up from her seat and rush to the window. Her eyes widened, seeing two men in Team Rocket uniforms standing at the end of their driveway with pistols in their hands. Laying face down in the grass was the body of Alexa's father. Slowly backing away from the window, Alexa's mother let out a scream.

"Mommy? What was that?" The young girl asked.

"Alexa, you have to run," Her mother said, grabbing her shoulders, looking into her green eyes. "Go! Out the back door!"

"But why?" The eight year old said, entering a panic. "What's going on?"

"I don't have time to tell you!" Her mother said. "But some bad people are here to hurt us! I need you to run away!"

"What!? The girl exclaimed. "I can't leave you!"

"It's the only way you'll be safe, sweetie," Her mother said, rushing the girl to the back door of their home. "I'll keep them away. You just run until you find help!"

Suddenly a banging sound came from their front door. Suddenly, it was kicked open as the two men in black uniforms barged in. "Knock knock." One of the men said, entering their quaint home. "Anybody home?"

Shoving her daughter through the back doorway, she spun back around to confront the men in her home. As Alexa dashed into the Eterna Forest, located behind her home, her heart began pounding as she heard another gunshot fired from inside her home.

"Well what do you know," A Rocket Grunt said, pushing open the back door and entering the backyard. "We had a witness."

"I guess we ought to deal with that," His cohort said, as they made their way into the Eterna Forest as well.

Running in a Western direction, Alexa fell forwards onto her hands as tears welled in her eyes. Scraping her knees and dirtying her blue dress, she quickly rose back up to her feet to continue running. However, she had been going for miles, and the voices of the Rocket Grunts yelling for her were growing ever closer. The girl's luck would soon run out, as she found herself before a massive cliffside, with no means of scaling it.

Dropping to her knees, while her emotions were in a heightened state, she dropped to her knees and let out a scream as a blue pulse of energy exited her body, expanding in an outwards direction. "Somebody help!"

Suddenly, her pursuers appeared from the brush behind her. "So we finally found ya." The grunt on the left said, brandishing a silver pistol. "And I thought for a second you were gonna get away."

"Why are you doing this?" The girl pleaded.

"Look ya brat," One of the Grunts said with an evil look. "You saw nothing, ya hear."

"But I can't," The 8 year old Alexa said. "You killed my mommy and daddy!"

"That's because your Pa was an undercover cop!" He shouted. "We had one goal in coming here! Make the Rocket Infiltrator pay, and take out any witnesses!"

However, after the Rocket Grunt had uttered that sentence, a massive pointed rock jutted out from the ground below, striking him in the chest, knocking him to the ground. Bloodying his face, he dropped to the forest floor, prompting his partner's once confident look to shift to that of fear.

"What the Hell!" The remaining Grunt roared, spinning around the area. Soon enough, another jagged rock emerged from the ground below, striking him as well. With the two Rocket Grunts incapacitated for the time being, Alexa backed up against the rocky cliffside, just as a trainer in a blue robe and his Pokemon emerged. At his side was a Donphan, with its body rolling across the clearing; the Pokemon who's Stone Edge had saved the girl. And seated atop his left shoulder in a crouch was a... Meowth?

"Who are you?" The crying girl exclaimed. "Please don't hurt me!" However, deep down she was thankful that he had come to her rescue.

"It's okay," The hooded teenager said, kneeling down in front of her. Her rescuer had a calming presence about him, as his blue eyes glinted from under his hood. "I'm going to get you out of here, but you're going to have to trust me." The girl nodded her head as the hooded teen lifted her up and set her on his Donphan's back. "What's your name?"

"My name's Alexa," She said, still partially afraid of her rescuer.

"Well Alexa, this is my friend Donphan. And he's going to help us get you out of here." Suddenly, the Rocket Grunts behind them began to stir, getting back up onto shaky feet. The hooded trainer sensed their presence, making the hairs on his neck stand up. As he pulled out a new Pokeball from deep within his blue robes, his mission was to protect the girl. "Go Sceptile!" The hooded teenager said, throwing out the Grass Type Hoenn Starter. The pair shared a nod with each other, not speaking any words. While the Donphan ran on all fours with Alexa on its back, with the hooded trainer running at their side, the young girl glanced back witnessing two green blades elongate from the Hoenn Pokemon's forearms. With its two targets locked in its sights, it made a dash towards the men.

"Hey! Eyes forward," Her rescuer said, catching the girl's attention, making her look away from the scene going on behind them. "You said your name was Alexa?"

"Mhm," The girl said with a nod.

"Well it's nice to meet you, Alexa," The hooded trainer said, finally using one hand to lower his hood, now that they were far enough away from the Rockets. "My name is Ash Ketchum. And I'm an Aura Guardian."

"Y-you saved me."

"Well, of course I did. I was nearby and felt you calling out to me."


A tear ran down Alexa's cheek as these old memories came into her mind. "He was only 16 years old… and to me, he was a hero. I met his Team of super powerful Pokemon…" She said as the image of a talking Meowth, a Donphan, a Sceptile, a Lucario, a Blaziken and a Charizard entered her mind. "And I learned what the Aura Guardians of Legend were like. That was the day that I met my brother, Ash Ketchum."

"Ash Ketchum…" Bryce said, lost in thought, as he was currently the Champion of Kanto; but also the savior of the girl who sat before him. "So… he took you into his family."

"That's right," Alexa said with a soft smile. "We went back to Pallet Town and I met his mother, Delia. And she's the kindest person on the whole planet! She took me in, treated me as her own… and loves me. And she barely knew anything about me. Since I didn't have anywhere to go, she adopted me. And raised me."

"She sounds amazing," Bryce said at the thought of the motherly figure.

"Together, we got to visit Ash, his friends and his Pokemon while they were living on Mount Silver. I grew up surrounded by some of the strongest Pokemon in the world… and yet I was hesitant to leave for my Pokemon journey when I hit 10 years old. I just couldn't make myself leave the woman who took me in."

"So, what made you start when you were 14?"

"Well… it was Ash again," Alexa said, looking up to the night sky once more. "At the time, he was only 21 and was entered into the Indigo All-Stars Tournament, and really started making a name for himself as a Pokemon Master in front of a crowd. I got to see the Pokemon I grew up around really show off their true skills. And I wanted a piece of that with my own team… but I would come to learn so much more!"

"Wow," Bryce said in almost a whisper.

"When I turned 14, Ash gave me my first Pokemon. But it was also a gift… from my birth mother. Other than memories, he's the last thing I have from her… So that's why I don't bring him out much. Because when he got hurt in the Final Battle against Giovanni… Well, I just couldn't forgive myself for something so precious to me get hurt."

Suddenly, it all made sense. "I'm… so sorry," Bryce said, glancing over to the Bulbasaur at his side, along with the Weedle curled up in his lap. "I'm sorry for prying so much at the Pewter City Gym… when it was really none of my business."

"It's alright," The girl said, now at ease, sharing her emotional baggage with another. "I don't feel so 'on edge' any more."

"I always find that it helps when you share your feelings!" Bryce said cheerily.

"Bulba-saur!"

"Weeee-dle!"

Alexa chuckled at the two Pokemon, nestled up against her young pupil. "May I ask you another question, Miss Alexa?"

"Go for it, kid," She said with a smile.

"You said how at first, you just wanted to get stronger… but you found something more. What was it exactly?"

"Well… I became an Aura Guardian."


Who wants to take a trip to Pallet Town? Get ready to meet the rest of Alexa's Pokemon!