A ray of sunlight had hit the beautiful wooden house with the green roof.

Light filtered through the mint-colored curtains of the upstairs bedroom, and the two siblings who slept there stretched their arms.

They looked around: there was their beloved computer, the television, the console with video games. There was a small ornamental plant and the carpet on which as children they indulged in endless construction games. That day, their fifteenth birthday, they would've started a new life, greeting the comforts and habits that had accompanied them up to that point.

The two twins went down the stairs and found their mother intent on cooking them a hearty breakfast.

"Good morning!" Olivia, the siblings' mother, a woman with gathered black hair and a sunny, welcoming smile, greeted them.

She was wearing her classic white apron with red and yellow diamonds, a constant since they were children.

"What's for breakfast?" Bettie, the girl, asked.

"Maple syrup pancakes." Olivia answered, putting the ingredients used to cook in the pantry.

"My favorites!" Scottie, the boy, exclaimed.

Their mom giggled and went to breakfast with them. While they ate, she eyed her children carefully: they had grown so much...

Bettie had her hair cut in a bob, in a color halfway between purple and blue, and her eyes were the color of cornflowers.

She was dressed in a black technical bodysuit and she adorned it with a nice white t-shirt and blue shorts. At her feet she wore her favorite sports shoes, blue with yellow lightning bolts.

Her twin brother had eyes and hair of the same color; his hair was short and combed with a tuft towards the left temple. He wore a white sports t-shirt and black knee-length shorts, as well as comfortable white, green and black tennis shoes.

New Bark Town was a quiet village, a crossroads between the Kanto and Johto regions.

The energy needs were met by wind turbines, and the economy of the small town was helped by the comings and goings of young Trainers to Professor Elm's laboratory and by tourists who passed by on excursions to the Tohjo Falls.

Just as they were leaving the house to fetch their first Pokémon, Olivia's Pokégear rang, and she promptly replied:

"Hello, Mom?"

It was Ethan's voice, Olivia's eldest son, a sixteen-year-old boy who had begun his journey as a Trainer the year before.

"Hi honey, where are you?" the woman asked him in a cheerful voice.

"I'm at Ula'ula Beach. I'll take a few days off before facing the Elite Four."

"That's fine. Do you feel ready?"

"Yes, I just want to tan a little more."

"Agree. We'll talk again tonight."

"Okay, Mom. Hear ya later!"

Once hung up, Scottie and Bettie burst into gritted giggles:

"How long will Ethan's rest days be?" Bettie said.

"Maybe two or three weeks!" Scottie sneered.

They both knew that their older brother was a first-rate lazy man, and that comforts attracted him far more than an adventurous life in woods and mountain trails.

"Come on guys, trust him!" their mother tried to mediate, even if not very convinced.

"Come on, ma! Alola's Elite Four are on Mount Lanakila, at an altitude of 3,500 meters. It's an inaccessible, cold, uncomfortable place. For our brother it's torture."

"Maybe you are right..."

Ethan had short black hair and gray eyes. He looked a lot like Olivia, but while the woman was always ready to roll up her sleeves, the young man loved to sit on his back and enjoy his life by moving as little as possible. It was already a miracle that he had become Trainer and had come this far from home.


"Hello guys!"

It was Kris' voice, a twelve-year-old girl who had decided to go on an adventure with them.

She had turquoise pigtails and blue eyes, and she was mature for her age, and very responsible.

"Which Pokémon would you like to choose?" she asked her childhood friends.

"I would like Totodile. I really appreciate Pokémon that are cute but can be ferocious at the right moment." Bettie answered.

"I would take Chikorita. Unlike my sister, I prefer more peaceful Pokémon, that convey serenity." Scottie said.

"You leave me Cyndaquil then. So be it! That little guy will be my first travel companion!" Kris yelled, and she ran to the laboratory door.

Once inside, the new would-be Trainers were greeted by Lyra and her Marill. She was fourteen years old and was another childhood friend, daughter of an assistant to Professor Elm.

She too combed her brown hair into pigtails, so much so that she and Kris were nicknamed the "tail sisters", and went around researching the various Pokémon of the Johto region.

"Professor, are you ready?"

"Yes, sure. Come here, guys."

Professor Elm was finishing fixing a medical machine.

"Welcome. I hope this is the first step towards a glorious journey, where you will perhaps discover more things than the ones I know. Indeed, I wish you this!"

Professor Elm was jovial, with his tousled hair, a beard of few days and a coat with pockets full of notes, feathers, and freshly brushed Pokémon hair.

From the first Pokéball, the man brought out a small light green Pokémon, similar to a herbivorous dinosaur.

"This is Chikorita. It's a male and very docile. Anyone who wants to train him has to be patient and sweet."

From the second Ball, Elm brought out a Pokémon with an elongated snout and narrowed eyes.

"This is Cyndaquil. It's a female and she doesn't like being the center of attention. Whoever wants to train her must literally try to get her out of her shell!"

From the third Ball, Elm brought out a blue crocodile.

"This is Totodile. It's a male and loves to bite everything he finds. Buy him some soft toys!"


Scottie walked over to Chikorita, who sniffed his hand and let himself be stroked.

Bettie remedied a bite from Totodile, which tore her skin and required the use of gauze and hydrogen peroxide. She had already regretted having chosen him, but by now Kris had Cyndaquil in her arms, who was snoring blissfully.

Scottie had nicknamed his Pokémon "Mint", while Kris had called hers "Brandy".

"What about yours, Bettie?"

The girl had a face that was one kilometer long.

"I didn't give him a nickname."

Scottie didn't expect it.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't like his behavior."

"Bettie, he doesn't know you. I don't think he bit you on purpose."

"Yes, he did!"

"Did he tell you?"

It wasn't an ironic question from Scottie. He and his sister were born with extraordinary powers, which they hadn't revealed to anyone that wasn't in their family. Scottie could read the thoughts of Pokémon, while Bettie could have a conversation with them.

"I told him to apologize. He showed me his tongue, adding that he won't. I hope to catch other Pokémon."

"Bettie, come on, don't be like that. Maybe this Pokémon has been traumatized in the past, that's why he behaves like this."

"Oh, yeah? Then try to touch him." she challenged her twin.

She pulled Totodile out of the Ball, and Scottie grabbed his tail just before he bit him. Bettie told him to stop.

"Hmm... I don't see anything strange in his memories, it seems to me that he had a peaceful childhood."

"See?" muttered Bettie, withdrawing him, "... It's simply a Pokémon unsuitable for humans."


The group, made up of Kris, Scottie and Bettie set off towards Cherrygrove City, and while the first two were satisfied, the third had left New Bark Town with a bitter sense of disillusionment and a bandaged hand.