~ Chapter 2 ~

"I knew from the moment that the Fearow landed in my front yard to take us to Sandgem Town, that I would not be coming back.

Something in my heart already knew that I would end up going on my own Pokémon adventure with Lyss and Jeremy.

I didn't want to go. I didn't want to leave my grandmother alone. And perhaps I feared failure, and of leaving behind the comfortable life I had in Twinleaf Town.

But despite myself, I was already deciding which starter Pokémon I would choose. I laughed about that later, knowing full well I had no real idea why Professor Rowan wanted to see me, and that it could just very well be to see how the Starly was doing. But somehow, the feeling in my gut told me otherwise, and I'm glad I listened."

Sam stepped off the Fearow after it touched down in front of a large laboratory. He and his friends had arrived in Sandgem Town, with the injured Starly cradled safely in a sling that hung from Sam's neck. It was still fast asleep, feeling the flight from Twinleaf to Sandgem.

Jeremy and Alyssandra ran towards the front door, eager to see what they had been called there for.

"I hope we get starter Pokémon! This could be our chance to finally go on a Pokémon Adventure like we've always dreamed!" Alyssandra fawned over the idea.

"I wonder which Pokémon to choose," Jeremy pondered aloud.

Sam sighed. He knew that even if he turned down his chance at an adventure today, there was no stopping Alyssandra and Jeremy from accepting the challenge. He had held them back for too long, and he knew it was time to stop being so selfish.

Sam quickly slipped a roll of Poké-Yen into the money pouch on the Fearow's neck while his two friends were busy contemplating their possible futures.

"There," he whispered to the Fearow, "That should cover the flight and a generous tip."

The Fearow smiled, and with a loud caw, flew off to what Sam could only guess was its next fare.

Sam watched as the Fearow flew off, and then turned towards his friends, who were now arguing over who would be the better trainer.

Sam had never told them that his family owned several Pokémon Ranches, or that he was secretly rich. Nor that he received a large sum of money each month as a partial owner of these ranches. This was why Sam was paying for the Fearow in secret. Sam never wanted his friends to find out, because he didn't want them treating him differently; Twinleaf wasn't exactly known for its millionaires.

Sam let out a laugh as he approached his friends; in an attempt to pretend he was paying attention to their squabble. "Come on," he said with a smile, "Let's go inside."

Sam walked up to the large wooden door, and gave it a light, yet resonating knock. After waiting for a few minutes, a man in a lab coat and thick, heavily taped glasses opened the door.

"Y-yes?" asked the man nervously. "H-how may I h-help you a-all?"

"We're here to see Professor Rowan," said Sam.

"Yeah," added Jeremy, "He met our friend Sam here by the lake a few hours ago, and they saved that Starly, see?"

"He told us to come to his lab this afternoon," added Alyssandra as the man in the lab coat examined the Starly.

"Oh! Y-yes! The Professor m-mentioned you'd be c-coming by!" exclaimed the assistant. He adjusted his glasses and opened the door. "C-come in, please, Professor R-Rowan will b-be r-right with you."

He led the group into the laboratory, then quickly ran off somewhere down a nearby hallway, presumably to get the Professor.

As the three waited for Professor Rowan and the other man to return, they noticed the magnificence and wonder that was a Pokémon laboratory. It was filled with all sorts of machines and devices with blinking lights. All of them gave off similar humming or whirring sounds, and sometimes the occasional beep.

Over to the side of one wall was a long table that spanned the entire laboratory and had all sorts of vials, pipes and beakers filled with strange and mysterious fluid.

"I wonder what all of this stuff is," asked Alyssandra as she examined a beaker filled with a blue, gelatinous fluid. "Do you think its Pokémon DNA?"

"Who knows," said Jeremy as he examined a large graphing machine. "Probably. I mean it is a Pokémon Lab after all, best you don't touch it though."

Alyssandra nodded. "You're probably right…" she said as she carefully placed the beaker back down on the worktable. "Knowing me, I'd probably trip and fall with it."

"What does this machine do?" asked Sam as he joined Jeremy by the graphing device.

Sam examined the paper that was continuously coming from one side of it, displaying a connected line that seemed to go up and down according to whatever it was reading; it looked like a lie detector test, or a seismograph, whatever it was though, it was cool to watch.

"It measures the electricity produced by an Electric Pokémon," said a deep, gruff voice. "I've got it hooked up to a Magnemite in the next room. It's for a project I'm working on."

The group whirled around, and saw Professor Rowan standing there, his assistant behind him.

"Pascal told me you were here," he said with a small smile. "I apologize for the wait; I was working on something in my study."

Sam assumed Pascal was the stuttering assistant, as he was the only other person standing in the lab.

"It's all right, Professor," said Alyssandra with a smile. She and the others walked over to Pascal and Professor Rowan.

"Oh, Professor! These are my friends, Alyssandra and Jeremy," said Sam quickly. "I hope you don't mind that they came along."

Professor Rowan gave a knowing look. "No, not at all! In fact, it's better that they did," he responded brightly. "Now! Shall we get down to why I called you here?"

The group nodded.

"Excellent! First, may I see the Starly?" asked the Professor.

Sam walked over to a nearby table—one of the few cleared ones—and removed the sling and placed it on the table's surface. As he placed the Starly on the table, it woke up, and smiled up at Sam.

Professor Rowan picked up the Starly, very gently and began to examine it with care. He checked the injured wing, as well as the rest of the Pokémon for any signs of pain or anything unusual.

"Ah," said Professor Rowan, still intently studying the Pokémon, "It looks like it's almost back to full strength. That's excellent. You've taken great care of this Starly, Sam. I see your grandmother still maintains her herb garden as well, there's evidence of herbal medicine here. Very good."

"How did you know—?" started Sam.

Profession Rowan chuckled. "I am an old friend of your grandfather's, remember?"

"Wow, really?!" asked Alyssandra in amazement. "That's so cool! How did you two first meet?"

Professor Rowan smiled as he remembered. "It was many years ago. I was ten years old, starting out my journey as a Pokémon Trainer. I had just received my first Pokémon as a birthday gift from my father.

"On my way to Sandgem Town, I met a young boy about my age; his name was Aurelio Giovinazzo. Instantly I challenged him to a battle, but of course I lost. He had much more experience than me, even then—mind you, your grandfather was an exceptional trainer, and I only beat him a handful of times in all the years we knew each other.

"Anyway, after losing the battle, we introduced ourselves. I learned that he was from far away, another region, but he had come here to go on a Pokémon Adventure. Well, as you can imagine, seeing this young boy all alone in a strange country, I invited him along with me. Together we travelled all over the Sinnoh Region, even entered the Sinnoh League together.

"We spent the next four years travelling together, going to each of the four regions, Hoenn, Kanto, Sinnoh and Johto. We never got to the Unova Region, as it hadn't contacted the other regions yet. Even after all those years, when your grandfather finally came back and settled in Twinleaf Town with your grandmother and you, he and I remained great friends."

"Wait, you knew me when I was a child?" asked Sam confused.

"Oh yes, I came to visit a few times when you were very young," said the Professor. He stroked his moustache as he remembered. "You probably don't remember; you were so young. In fact, we met at your grandfather's funeral a few years ago, but I'm sure you were too busy with the goings on to remember me. No matter, it is very nice to see how much you've grown."

Sam's head spun slightly, all this new information; it was just too much to handle all at once. Trying to keep a handle on his consciousness and remain polite, Sam tried to ask one question at a time, starting with. "What region did my grandfather come from?"

Sam had never asked about his family or their origins, all he knew was they were foreigners from another region, but he was never told which one. His grandparents had moved from there to Twinleaf Town after Sam was born. He knew the Ranch came from the Accardi side of the family, and they were originally from Kanto and spread about the Pokémon world, but the Giovinazzo side was always a mystery. Sam figured now was a good time to start getting some answers, especially after everything he had just heard.

After a quick pause for thought, the Professor finally answered. "You know I'm never quite sure. He never did mention specifically," started Professor Rowan as he fed the Starly a bit of Pokémon food that he pulled from his pocket. "He stayed with me or at a Pokémon Centre between journeys, so he never had any family here with him. Although, we once stayed with two of his cousins and some of their friends when we were in the Hoenn Region, and they lived in Slateport City, so I assumed he came from there. Never met anyone else in his family though."

Sam nodded, he knew the Professor was either holding something back, or didn't know the whole story. After all these years Sam wasn't surprised that some of the details were fuzzy, and so he didn't press the subject further.

"So, why did you call us here Professor?" asked Jeremy, noticing Sam's inner thought and slight unease at the topic at hand.

The Professor turned to Jeremy and smiled. "Ah, yes. Let's get to the fun now." Professor Rowan walked over to Pascal and patted the young man on the shoulder. "Go into my office and get the 'package', please Pascal."

Pascal nodded and ran back off down the hallway.

"After I met you down at Lake Verity this morning Sam, I knew you had talent as a Pokémon Trainer," said the old Professor. "I saw the way you battled, and it was not unlike your grandfather. You took command of a Starly, a strange Pokémon and a wild one at that, and used it to fight off that Glameow. I was very impressed."

Pascal returned, holding in his hands, a tray with six semi-spherical indents in it. Three of the indents were filled with Poké Balls.

Sam knew exactly where this was going. "You want to give me my own Pokémon…" he said slowly. "No, I'm sorry I can't, I mean I appreciate it and all, I really do—I love Pokémon! I would love nothing more than to go out on an adventure, but I have my grandmother here to think about. I can't leave her all alone—"

Professor Rowan smiled. "When your grandfather died, I made him a promise. I promised that I would not let your talent go to waste. Unfortunately, every time I tried to call your grandmother to see if you had changed your mind, she told me you were dead set against leaving. But when I saw you this morning, I knew I had to try one last time. It was even more perfect that you brought your friends along with you; you know a Pokémon adventure is always better when done with friends."

"But my grandmother—" started Sam again.

Professor Rowan smiled, and patted Sam on the shoulder "Will be just fine without you," he said, finishing Sam's sentence. "I will visit her often, and so will your friends' parents, I'm sure. Besides, I know how proud she would be to see you as a Pokémon Trainer, as great as your grandfather."

Sam wanted to argue back. He wanted to keep fighting,. He wanted to turn him down, but the offer Professor Rowan made was too enticing. To be like his grandfather; a great trainer, someone the family would be proud of.

Sam sighed. "I suppose…may we see the Pokémon you have?"

Professor Rowan beamed. "Of course. Pascal, please let them out."

Pascal nodded, and picked up each of the Poké Balls, tossing each of them each in succession. Each of the Poké Balls released their respective Pokémon, and Professor Rowan turned back towards the three friends.

"You may all choose a Pokémon," he said. "It will be better for you all to go on the trip together. Friends are important while travelling. And don't worry if some of you choose the same one, I have more in the fields out back."

Sam looked at each of the Pokémon, examining each in succession. He knew them, Chimchar, the Chimp Pokémon, a Fire type. Next was Turtwig, the Tiny Leaf Pokémon; it was a Grass type. And finally came Piplup, the Penguin Pokémon, and a Water type.

Sam looked over the three Pokémon; trying to see which one he "connected" with. His grandfather had always told him that the way a trainer should choose their first Pokémon is through connection. According to him, trainers connect with the Pokémon meant for them in a certain way, a specific, non-descript connection, and this connection determines how compatible a Pokémon and trainer are together.

Sam started with Chimchar. He looked at the Fire Pokémon, picked it up and played with it a bit. But Sam felt nothing and he put Chimchar back down. Sam looked at the Turtwig, and the Pokémon seemed happy to greet him, jumping into Sam's arms, and snuggling up against his chest. Sam smiled and patted the Pokémon but did not feel any connection to it. It was not until the Piplup that Sam felt something, like a sort of jolt, almost like a surge of electricity running up his spine.

The Piplup looked at Sam with puzzlement.

Sam smiled back. "This is the one. I choose Piplup."

The Piplup looked up at Sam, not understanding that Sam was now it's trainer.

Professor Rowan smiled. "An excellent choice! I'm sure that you two will be perfect for each other. Piplup is a strong Pokémon, I've seen it in action myself; very dedicated. Pascal, if you would please."

Pascal nodded. "H-here is the Poké Ball, s-sir," said Pascal to Sam. He handed Sam over the empty Poké Ball of the Piplup.

Sam picked up the Poké Ball, and a feeling of power ran through his body, with a grin, Sam pointed the Poké Ball at Piplup. "Piplup, return!" he said, and a beam of red light shot out and retracted the Piplup back into the Poké Ball. Sam looked at the Poké Ball in his hand and swore he could almost feel the Piplup moving around inside; it seemed to be sleeping now from what Sam could tell.

"All right, Alyssandra, Jeremy, you two are next," said Professor Rowan as he turned towards Sam's friends.

Alyssandra rushed towards Professor Rowan and in no time at all, chose her Pokémon. "I want an adorable little Piplup! They're so cute! And I've seen what a fully-grown Empoleon can do! I'd have the cutest and the strongest Pokémon out there!"

Professor Rowan smiled. "Again, an excellent choice. Pascal could you go and get one of the Piplup from the field?"

Pascal nodded and rushed out of the door in a flash.

Sam looked over at Jeremy, he had not chosen his Pokémon yet, nor did he seem too interested in the other two that remained.

"Professor Rowan," started Jeremy. "Would it be all right if I did something a little unorthodox?"

Professor Rowan raised an eyebrow in interest. "What do you mean?"

Jeremy looked over at Sam and Alyssandra, and then back at Professor Rowan. "I would like to go out into the wild and get a Pokémon of my own to start with; one that I catch by myself. I would like to use one of your Pokémon here, and perhaps borrow a Poké Ball if that's okay?"

Professor Rowan smiled. "That is a wonderful idea," he exclaimed. "To bond with your first Pokémon by catching it yourself is not unheard of by any means, even if it is a rare option. You may borrow my Luxio, and here is an empty Poké Ball."

Jeremy took the two Poké Balls from the Professor happily. "Thank you very much, Professor. I'll make them count. I'll be back in a bit, all right guys?"

Sam and Alyssandra nodded, and Jeremy walked out of the door and dashed towards Route 201. Sam and Alyssandra then returned their attention to Professor Rowan, who cleared his throat to speak.

"Now as for the both of you," he started. "You have both chosen Starter Pokémon, albeit the same one. They will be different to train than whatever Jeremy brings back, as these Pokémon have been bred for the sake of training. As I'm sure you know, all Pokémon are unique, but such is the same with wild and captive Pokémon. Wild Pokémon are more rugged, and a bit stronger, as they grow up to endure the harsh conditions of the wild, while captive Pokémon take a bit longer to strengthen up to battling conditions due to their safe upbringing. Do you have the patience to raise these Pokémon?"

Sam and Alyssandra nodded. "We do," they replied in unison.

"I'm going to take care of this Piplup with my life," decalred Sam. "And together, we're going to enter the Pokémon League, and challenge the Elite Four."

Alyssandra looked over at Sam. "You never told me that's what you aspired to do," she said.

Sam shrugged. "It's always been a dream of mine. I think I've just been brushing it off because I didn't want to leave home. You planning on taking on the League as well?"

"Well to be honest I find all that Gym Battle stuff to be a bit tedious," Alyssandra said. "I believe Pokémon can get just as strong without having to battle Gym Leaders."

"So, you intend to take another path aside from a Pokémon Trainer?" asked Professor Rowan.

Alyssandra nodded. "I think I'll be a Pokémon Coordinator. It takes a lot of skill and grace, but it's so much fun. I've seen my friend Niya do it before; she even won the Sinnoh Grand Festival a few years back! I bet I could do the same."

Professor Rowan smiled. "I'm sure you could with the right amount of work and effort."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Niya? How's she doing? I haven't heard from her in a long time. Does she still have that killer Roserade?"

Alyssandra nodded. "She's doing well! She's been busy travelling as a Pokémon Coordinator the last few years. And that Roserade was just trying to give you a hug."

Sam smiled. "A very thorny hug!" exclaimed Sam. "But I'm glad. It was her dream to do that, and I'm glad she followed it. I hope we get to see her when we travel, it's been too long."

"How do you expect to fight the Elite Four if you can't even handle love from a Roserade?" Alyssandra teased. "Maybe we can stop by and see her in Hearthome City?" asked Alyssandra. "She's been home taking some time off lately, and I'm sure she'd love to see us again. So would her Roserade, I'm sure."

Sam rolled his eyes.

Professor Rowan chuckled. "You two argue like a couple. Have you been dating long?"

Sam and Alyssandra blushed and quickly turned away from each other.

"No, no, Professor!" said Alyssandra nervously playing with her hair. "You have it all wrong, we're just friends!"

Professor Rowan frowned slightly. "Oh, I see. Very well then, if you say so."

Suddenly, the door reopened, and in walked Pascal with a Piplup in his hands, and Jeremy, with a proud look on his face. Pascal walked over to Alyssandra and handed her over the Piplup, as well as its Poké Ball.

"H-here is your P-Piplup, miss," said Pascal in his normal stuttering tone.

Alyssandra looked at her Piplup and hugged it close to her. "You're so cute!" she said. "And you're going to be so strong once we start training!"

The Piplup cried out enthusiastically.

"Are you ready to win the Sinnoh Grand Festival?" asked Alyssandra with a passion.

Piplup returned an equally excited response.

"I think it's time for our two Piplup to meet," said Sam. He held up his Poké Ball and then raised it perpendicular to the ground.

"Go, Piplup! Come out and say hi!" he said as Piplup shot from a red beam that escaped the Poké Ball. Sam's Piplup jumped up and down happily cheering its name as he was released, then looked up at Alyssandra's Piplup that was still in her arms.

The two Piplup didn't waste a second getting to know each other. They were immediately friendly and amicable. Even Professor Rowan was surprised, as the two Pokémon hadn't spent much time together in the field.

"Hey! They're getting along great!" said Alyssandra.

"I'm sure they'll be good friends," added Professor Rowan. "Pokémon of the same species usually share a special bond."

Everyone then turned his or her attention to Jeremy as he burst through the front door suddenly. Everyone was eager to see what he had brought back as a starter.

As Jeremy returned Luxio to Professor Rowan, Sam asked: "So, what did you catch? Show us!"

Jeremy smiled as if he had just won the lottery, and then grabbed a Poké Ball from his jacket pocket and tossed it up in the air. As it landed back in his hand, a red beam shot out, released a Pikachu onto the ground of the Pokémon lab.

Sam and Alyssandra's Piplup jumped towards the Pikachu with intent to greet it, but the Pikachu ran back towards Jeremy, and crawled up his body to rest on his shoulder. From up there, he released a bit of electricity from its red cheeks and glared down at the two Piplup.

"It doesn't seem too friendly," said Sam, as he got ready to protect his Piplup.

"It's a little shy around others the first time," said Jeremy in response. "Practically attacked me after I first caught it. It will be fine with a little adjusting time though."

"Not all Pokémon get along with their Trainers at first," Professor Rowan said with a nod. "Especially wild Pokémon. They take a little longer to bond with than captive Pokémon."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Jeremy as he massaged what looked like a Pokémon bite on his arm.

"So," said Alyssandra. "What do we do now? Do we just start our adventure?"

"I think we should at least go back home to say goodbye to our families," interjected Sam quickly, thinking of his grandmother. "Plus, we don't have any supplies or anything else with us. We should pack."

"But we've come all this way," said Jeremy. "To go back and forth would detract from our travel time. We can get stuff sent to us from home at the Transfer Station in the Pokémon Centre, and we call home from there too."

"Jeremy's right," said Alyssandra. "It may not be goodbye in person, but it's better than nothing. Besides, if we go back now, it's going to be harder to say goodbye. Remember what you told me when we first met, Sam: no regrets."

Sam smiled, and paused for a second, staring into space. "All right, fine," he said. "We'll stay at the Pokémon Centre tonight, and we can call home and send for our stuff while we're there."

"All right. What about the Starly?" asked Jeremy, who looked over at the Starly from before, who had now gone back to sleeping.

"I'll keep it here overnight and monitor it to make sure it stays on the healing path," replied Professor Rowan. "It should be okay to fly by morning, at which point I'll send it on its way."

Sam nodded. As long as the Starly was with someone who Sam could trust, he would be able to rest easy.

"And while we're settling these affairs now," continued Professor Rowan. "I would like to invite you all over for dinner. I may not be able to offer you rooms to stay in, but I can at least offer you a meal before your journey. Which reminds me, can one of you cook?"

Sam nodded. "We all can," he answered.

Professor Rowan nodded. "Good, then you'll also need to stock up on food as well, because home-cooked meals from the Pokémon Centre won't always be available. You'll need to cook out and camp out many nights, so get a tent and a portable cooking set to eat with."

The group nodded. "All right, I'll make sure my mother sends them over too," said Jeremy. "Well! Shall we get going?"

Alyssandra and Sam nodded, then turned to their Pokémon. They seemed ecstatic at the idea of travelling around the Sinnoh Region.

Jeremy then turned to his Pikachu, who at first, looked wary of the thought, but quickly warmed up to the idea of travel.

"Then it's settled," said Sam, the sense of adventure and great destiny filling him. "We start our Pokémon Journey. Together."