Chapter 1 - Iced Coffee


Logan groaned as he stood up from the seat on the bullet train. He collected his bag from the overhead compartment and then woke up Mightyena. The two of them groggily exited the train, walked down a flight of stairs, and fed their tickets to the ticketing machine, allowing them to walk into Goldenrod Station.

It was early morning, and the sun was starting to rise. Logan had expected the ride to last a little while longer, but the three hours passed by quickly, and he struggled to get any sleep on the train. His ears felt heavy, as constantly ascending and descending through the mountains seemingly blocked them. He felt as though he were underwater.

He stood in the wide station and looked around aimlessly. Others were starting their morning commute, and he knew the station would be packed in moments.

"We have two options," he said to Mightyena, who wasn't nearly as sleepy as his trainer. "We can find a Pokémon Center and get some sleep till we meet with Goodshow. Or, we can get some coffee and doughnuts and simply power through until it's time."

Mightyena's eyes became big, and he let out an excited bark. His tongue dangled from his mouth, and drool dripped to the marble floor, giving Logan his answer.

"I shouldn't have even brought it up. I don't even drink coffee."

It didn't take the two long to find a small doughnut shop, which Logan was sure would have coffee. In Unova, Logan would tell the cashier what doughnuts he wanted, and they would give them to him in a small bag or box. However, in Johto, he was given a selection of doughnuts behind glass that he'd select himself and put on a small tray. It made him self-conscious of just how many doughnuts he would be eating. He made sure to pick a few Pokémon-designed doughnuts for Mightyena, and then he brought the tray to the cashier.

"Coffee please," he mumbled.

"Hot or iced?" the young boy behind the counter asked.

In Logan's head, he had only ever envisioned hot coffee, but with it being the end of summer and the air still warm, he figured he could get adventurous.

"Iced."

"What kind of coffee?"

The cashier gestured to a menu, which had what looked like hundreds of different kinds of coffee. Logan's eyes widened as the anxiety of choice came over him.

"Uh, whatever you recommend."

With his iced latte and roughly a dozen doughnuts on his tray, he walked to a small booth in the corner of the cafe, put his bag down, and then slumped into the seat. He handed over a doughnut to Mightyena and then put his head back and closed his eyes. He waited momentarily before stretching out his arms and then eyed the coffee. It would be his first time drinking it. He pulled out the straw and put it in the lid, using the straw to stir the ice around. And then, he took his first sip.

He paused and then scrunched up his nose while he pulled back. "It's not terrible."

He continued drinking the coffee and munching on his share of doughnuts while he organized through his bag. He wasn't quite sure what kind of journey he was going to get himself into. He just knew that it would be roughly a year long. It would entail a lot of training, but for the first time since he left his home roughly four prior, he wanted to just enjoy sightseeing.

"Maybe I overpacked," he muttered as he pulled out his Poké Ball pack. He was an avid collector of Poké Balls, and so he had dozens of different styles. But the ball that intrigued him the most was his newly acquired Master Ball. He grabbed it and held it between his fingers before pressing the button to enlarge it. He wasn't sure what he'd try to catch with it, or if he'd even use it. The ball took away the excitement of catching a new Pokémon. He organized his bag, placing the Poké Ball pack in the front pocket. If he did come across a Pokémon that he absolutely wanted to catch without fail, then he wanted the Master Ball to be within seconds reach.

He and Mightyena finished their doughnuts, and the cashier offered Logan free refills of his coffee. To his surprise, he enjoyed it a lot more than he had expected, and he abused the refills to the fullest.

And when the time came, he left Goldenrod Station and checked the map on his Pokédex to find where he needed to go.

Goldenrod was a large city, similar to Saffron. Logan wasn't sure what he was getting into, and he was grateful that he had the map. The buildings in Goldenrod weren't as bright or fancy as those in Saffron, but there were just as many of them. Plenty of shops lined the streets, and Logan couldn't walk five feet without seeing some kind of new food that interested him.

His map led him to a large conference building that was seemingly empty. He had to double-check to make sure it was the right place. He was expecting it to be a formal Pokémon League building, but it wasn't. He took the elevator to the fifth floor, and upon exiting into the hallway, he felt the emptiness of everything, a great contrast to the streets of Goldenrod. He couldn't help but feel that it was haunted.

Mightyena followed close behind as they walked down the hallway and to the conference room. He turned the handle and opened the door, finding a massive room filled with one large table surrounded by dozens of chairs. He flicked on the light and then took a seat in one of the middle chairs. He checked the time on his Pokédex and then sighed. He was roughly thirty minutes early. He had always made an effort to show up early when he could, which meant that he spent a lot of his time waiting.

He sat back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling, unsure of how to pass the time. The past few weeks had been such a blur, and he got to where he was so quick. He wasn't expecting to be sitting in a conference room in Goldenrod City. He believed that he'd be back home in Nuvema, starting a career as a lab assistant for his aunt Juniper.

But, here he was.

He smiled as the thought of the girl with the brown eyes and the energetic Torchic came to the front of his mind. He leaned forward in his chair and opened his bag once again. He grabbed a small blue journal with the words Healing in Hoenn written neatly on the front, but before he could open it, the door creaked open.

Logan was expecting the stout Mr. Goodshow to come through, but that was not the case. Instead, a girl with black hair and a thin face entered the room. She wore a black leather jacket over a purple shirt and jean short shorts. Logan's eyes widened when he realized who she was, and she did the same when she looked down at him.

"Luna?!"

"Logan?!"

"What are you doing here?!" they yelled at the same time.

Logan stood up and grinned. "Did you win the Silver Conference?"

Luna cocked her head. "I'm guessing that you won the Indigo Conference. How interesting."

"Congrats," Logan said while holding his hand out.

Luna looked at his hand momentarily. She was slow, but she eventually took his hand and then shook it firmly.

"You too. I guess we have a lot of catching up to do." Luna left a seat between them and sat down. "How was your time in Kanto?"

"It was one of the most challenging years I've ever experienced!" Logan said with a wide grin. "I barely made it to the Indigo League. And you? How is Johto?"

"Johto is lovely," she said. "I cleared most of the gyms within a month, and then I spent the rest of my time training and traveling. There are so many things to see here."

They were quiet for a few seconds. They had not been friendly with one another in a couple of years, and now that they were alone, they weren't quite sure what to say. But, they had so many questions for one another.

"So, how's that girl-" Luna started, but before she could finish, the door opened once again.

Mr. Goodshow walked through, dressed as casual as ever. He stroked his beard and observed the two.

"Good! You're both here, so you may have already gotten acquainted!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, we're very acquainted," Luna muttered.

"Yes! I know! Both of you are well studied! It only makes sense that you'd know other strong trainers! I'm sure you have a catalog or something," he said as he put his backpack down and pulled out a few notebooks.

Logan once had a catalog, and he'd study strong trainers from around the world. But when he became a trainer himself, it became too much of a bother. And Luna's memory was almost photographic. She wouldn't need to keep a catalog.

However, that wasn't why they knew each other, and they didn't have the energy to try to explain it to Goodshow. They were surprised that the man who ran the biggest league in the world didn't know about their history.

"Anyways, I'm here to give you the details of your upcoming challenge! Your league battles were intense, but they'll be nothing compared to what is coming. The Elite Four is a group of the strongest trainers in Kanto and Johto. You'll be given a few months to prepare for each battle. I know that it's not either one of your styles, necessarily. But it's probably best to focus on using teams with an advantage. They're used to fighting against disadvantages," he explained. "Whatever you do, the biggest mistake you can make would be to underestimate them or go in with a cocky mindset."

They nodded.

He opened his first notebook to reveal the first Elite Four Member. He was a large man with bulging muscles. He didn't wear a shirt nor socks or shoes, but Logan believed that if he had a body like the man, he'd have no reason to wear a shirt either.

"This is Siba. He specializes in Fighting-type Pokémon. However, he doesn't limit himself to only Fighting-types. He's the oldest and longest-lasting member of the current Elite Four," Mr. Goodshow explained. "Since he has joined, he has a record of ten wins and six losses."

"Not the best record," Luna said with a grin.

"The next member is Koga, a Poison-type master," Mr. Goodshow said while turning the page in his notebook, revealing a middle-aged man dressed in a dark purple ninja outfit. "He's the former Gym Leader of Fuchsia City and has been an Elite Four member for two years now. He holds a record of two wins and two losses."

"This Elite Four isn't really coming off as very strong, eh?" Luna exclaimed. She shrugged and looked at Logan, who peered down at the notebook.

"Well, Koga's losses both come from the next two Elite Four members," Mr. Goodshow said as he flipped the page once again.

Both of the last two members were on either page, and their information was scarce. They were much younger than Siba and Koga, appearing to either be in their late teens or early twenties.

"Itsuki, a Psychic-type user, and Karen, who specializes in Dark-type Pokémon. They won the Silver and Indigo Conferences respectively a few years ago, but they waited until recently to do their challenges. They both cleaned house with the other members of the Elite Four, and they took their places just recently. You both have the unfortunate task of being the first to challenge them. However, you're both strong, so I wouldn't be totally surprised if you won," Mr. Goodshow said with a grin.

Logan did recognize these two trainers, as they had participated in Pokémon leagues before he ever got his Tepig. He knew that they were strong, and he could only imagine how much stronger they would have gotten through intense training.

"So, here is the order in which you'll be battling the Elite Four. Logan, you will battle Itsuki, Koga, Siba, and then Karen. Luna, you will battle Siba, Karen, Itsuki, and then Koga. You will have roughly two to three months to prepare for each battle. If you manage to defeat all four of them, then you'll have a shot at the champion. No matter the results of each battle, you will still be allowed to battle every member of the Elite Four," Mr. Goodshow explained.

"It'd be embarrassing to lose but still continue challenging though, right?" Luna said. "I just won't lose."

Itsuki is up first, which means that I'll be going up against Psychic-type Pokémon. It seems like such a difficult first challenge, but we can get through it, Logan thought.

"You can feel free to travel around either Johto or Kanto during the waiting time. We'll contact you, and the Elite Four will come to your area. Depending on where you're located at the time, your match might be in front of a crowd or on a private battlefield. Both you and your opponent won't know until it's time," Mr. Goodshow explained.

"How will you contact us?" Logan asked.

"We have partnered with Professor Oak, and he has given us his newest Pokédex. This dex can use the same features as the Xtransceivers that you can find in Unova, so we can call you," he explained.

Logan wondered if it could make long-distance phone calls.

Mr. Goodshow pulled two Pokédex, one black and one white, from a foam case. He handed the black one to Logan, who marveled at it. Luna simply put it into her backpack without a second thought.

"That's all of the information that I have to give you. I will give each one of you one of these notebooks so that you can study the Pokémon that the Elite Four will use. They will come in handy, I promise."

Luna grinned and put her hands on her hip. "Another year of travel. What do you say to another year together, Logan?"

Logan's eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. He was left speechless.

"I'm just kidding, you dolt," she muttered before taking one of Mr. Goodshow's notebooks. "You'd just slow me down. Anyways, I'm going to Kanto to spend some time in Saffron."

"I about had a heart attack," Logan said, some of his Driftveil twang returning. His eyes then widened again as he felt Luna wrap her arms around him. She pulled him close and hugged him as tightly as she could. Before he could hug back, she let go and then made for the door.

But then, she stopped. "When this is all over, we're going to have to battle for the title of Champion. Don't let me down."

Logan nodded. "I won't. Do your best!"

Mr. Goodshow couldn't help but smile as Luna left the room. "I didn't realize she was so friendly!"

Logan picked up his notebook before putting it in his backpack alongside his others.

"Me neither."


AUTHOR'S NOTES:

So, this is going to be a shorter story than usual. It will span the course of a year, but it's only going to be between 10-15 chapters. It depends on if Logan can defeat the entire Elite Four or not.

Not sure how I feel about this chapter. I'm still shaking off a lot of fanfiction rust, and I kind of forgot how to write Logan. I might come back to rework this a bit.

Next chapter, we will jump forward a bit, and we'll start Logan's battle with (Itsuki) Will.

REVIEWS:

The Imprisoned of Hell - "Nice see you back. First to review and I got to say I can't wait to see how this story plays out." - Hopefully, you won't have to wait too long!

pokestets23 - "The man, the myth, the legened...Mr. Stephenson! This is going to be epic." - I hope I can make it epic! We'll see!

wisdom-jewel - "This would be interesting to read. I wish you the best of luck with this story." - I need as much luck as I can get!

CrescentApple - "Dang, I forgot all about this. Shortest chapter. But it's understandable. Not much else to say, but I'm patiently waiting for Logan's Journey" - I always make the first entry real short!

Besprizornye - "Please let me repeat what others have said before me and say that it is good to see you back! I am excited to see the next chapter of Logan's story unfold, and I especially am intrigued by the format that you are hinting at for his Elite Four challenge, namely spacing it out over the longer period of time of one year. I expect that you will fill the spaces in-between the battles with your trademark style of characterization that has helped me to enjoy your work so much." - I'm gonna try! But, I also want to make sure that most things I put this have a purpose. There will be short chapters/breaks between battles, but I don't want to waste too much time. Ultimately, this is gonna be a boss rush story. Haha