Borisu, ProbablyNobody: Thanks for the catch! I honestly didn't notice when I was proofreading.

SirBabs: I hope you keep enjoying it. The story will slow down for the next chapters tbh, but it was necessary with all the info I wanted to cram in.

Guppy72: Thank you!

It was incredibly, but perhaps predictably, hard for a nine-year-old girl with nothing to her name but a pair of pokemon and the clothes on her to get a job, I'll let you know.

Survival was easy compared to it. I always looked a couple of years older than I really was, so passing for an underdeveloped fresh trainer wasn't that hard. A couple of unofficial battles and I got enough money to eat, thanks to King and Blaze. When I got enough, I bought a ticket for the next boat leaving the region, not even caring where it took me.

It turned out to be fucking Alola.

It was nice, for a while, but then people started questioning my lack of a pokedex and I was forced to leave again and again until I found a job in Paniola Ranch on Akala Island, north of Paniola Town.

It was the biggest pokemon breeder, farm, day-care, and producer of the region, so they always needed extra help. They were wary of hiring a nine-year-old, of course, but after a sob story about how 'my parents and brother died and I just had to get away, and I'm really good at taking care of pokemon, I just need enough money to sustain myself until I turn 13 and I don't even need vacations pretty please' they reluctantly hired little ol' me.

Of course, my sob story would've been worthless if I really wasn't good at taking care of pokemon. Like, really, really good. Once-in-a-generation, once-in-a-century good.

I wish I could say that it was all thanks to my genius and intrinsic understanding of the creatures, but that would be lying. You see, remember my birthmark-turned cell phone-turned birthmark? Well, without my parents and Jason there to catch me, I tried materializing it again. It was, indeed, my cell phone, but things about it had changed from what I remembered.

For one, instead of having no signal, as would be logical, my network had miraculously changed to 'Pokenet'. My apps had similarly changed. When there were equivalent apps on this world they were replaced, but if there weren't any, they were deleted.

So, while I no longer had the 'Twitch' or 'Facebook' apps, the 'Youtube' had been replaced by 'PokeVid'. Which was what you might expect. A website dedicated exclusively to videos of everything pokemon related.

Now, while this is interesting and all, what really blew my mind were the series of apps I was working on.

Remember when I said that my only escapes on my previous life were videogames and coding? Well, pokemon was my all-time favourite. I started playing the games with Emerald and Fire Red because only then could I manage to get money to buy them second-hand, and even then they were a few years old, but it was what started me on my life-long love for the games.

When I grew up and starting getting into the competitive scene, I had to study a lot of gameplay mechanics like favourable natures, correct IV's, adequate EV distribution, versatile move-set, compatible item distribution, synergic team-building, and others.

It was a lot for a first timer. So, what did I do? I made apps about it. Little encyclopaedias of pokemon knowledge that I could use. I took the databases of Serebii, Bublapedia, and Pokemondb and arranged them into one app with a user-friendly interface that could tell me which moves could each pokemon learn, where to find them, what items do, where they can be found or bought, maps of whole regions, and anything a hardcore pokemon player could possibly need.

Still, that left the competitive side of things pending. I never really liked stealing strategies; a big part of what made me like the games so much was the freedom I had to experiment and find the perfect combination of factors so that my team could shine. What I did like, though, was predicting what my opponents would do, and that often ended up aligning itself to the current meta. And what of all places had almost all of the metagame builds? Well, Smogon, of course. Still, while Smogon's content was probably the most complete competitive database regarding pokemon in the world, its interface was an insult to any coder worth their salt. So, what did I do? I made a Smogon app. It was beautiful, and my last work. I even left the bases for when I would inevitably need to update it when the new games came out, but that never happened.

Still, all of that was on my phone when it apparently travelled through space, probably time, and definitely dimensions.

And, as I previously said, my phone adapted its contents to what was available in this world. The result? My cell phone was the Holy Grail for anything pokemon related. Need to find an item? My phone can do it. Track a specific pokemon? It can tell you where to go. Know the behavioural patterns, likes, dislikes, triggers, and basically everything you would need to take care of pokemon? Here it is.

Best part, the competitive strategies app that I made now included the best ways to train any specific pokemon to its full potential. Well, any one of the 807 pokemon in its database. There could be plenty more in this world, but so far, I hadn't seen or heard of any.

You might wonder why the last part is so special, but it is huge. Like, REALLY huge.

You probably don't understand the importance of training guides for different pokemon species and how well guarded they are in this world. You could find decent guides for the more common pokemon in the world, with pidgey being at the top of that list, but that was all they were, decent. Dedicated specialists on the pidgey line, flying specialist clans, and maybe even the Pokemon League had methods that were exponentially better for the pidgey to develop.

As an example, most of the world categorized trainers and their pokemon based on the level on which they could compete. Rookie trainers would be those that had yet to get a single badge. Novice trainers had between 1-2 badges. Adept ones had gained 3-5 badges. Advanced trainers had 6 or 7. Once you got all 8 badges for one region, you reached the elite level. The next levels cannot be defined easily, but are Ace, Leader, and Champion. At the ace level you are expected to beat any elite trainer easily. Like, 3 on 1 easily. The Leader level was where all the Gym Leaders and Elite 4 were. Leagues above their peers. Still, the leader level was widely diverse on terms of power. The weakest gym leader would most likely be absolutely creamed when facing the fourth member of the elite 4 but be able to have a good battle with the second weakest. It was wide in range like that. Champion level, though, was crazy. It was not only the level of the champion of any region, but their strongest pokemon. Good examples could be Lance's Dragonite, Cynthia's Garchomp, Wallace's Milotic, and Diantha's Gardevoir. Pokemon that could take on multiple league level pokemon at the same time and win. Usually, the champion of a league has only one Champion level pokemon, if any. There were some insane trainers in the Pokemon World League's history that a champion had 2 or 3, and one recorded instance of a madman that had 7 champion level pokemon, but most champions had only one. To reach that level, you couldn't just depend on luck, you had to have, or develop, training methods suitable for your pokemon to reach that level.

So, with this information, let us see the training process for each category of trainers using the same pokemon as a base. Rookie trainers will find it almost impossible to have a pidgey reach the advanced level. When a novice trainer caught a pidgey and trained it, it could reach the advanced level in about 3 years. Adept trainers take about a year and a half. Advanced trainers can make it reach their level in about 6 months, which is already impressive. Elite levels take 2 months, while Ace trainers will have it done in less than a month. Leader level trainers will take two weeks, while a Champion level trainer with a Champion level method that suits that particular pokemon will take anywhere between 1 and 2 weeks for the pidgey to reach advanced level. Of course, this is assuming they have other pokemon on their team that match their strength. Just having the method is not enough, you need to have pokemon already at that level for it to grow up so quickly. And the Kicker, the trained pidgeys, even if they all are advanced in strength, are not equal. The novice's pidgey can beat the rookie's, the adept's the novice's, and so on. A champion's advanced level pidgey can absolutely stomp a novice's pidgey. Even if the difference in training time is of about 3 years. And this was a pidgey, a pokemon which everyone and their grandma can find out how to raise. For the more uncommon or downright scarce species of pokemon like the regional starters? That could take up to 10 times as long if you don't have the corresponding training method.

In short, I had in my possession a manual to train any pokemon I wanted to its full potential. Why full potential and not leader or even champion level? Well, here's why.

Pokemon, no matter how much they train, have a limit. As an example, farfetch'd is a very weak pokemon for a fully evolved form, and can, at most, reach the middling elite level. Never will it peak the elite category, and no matter how much it trains it will never reach ace level. In fact, reaching the middle of elite level is already a stretch, and realistically, it can at most reach the high levels of advanced. And that is for a determined, smart, and committed trainer with a suitable training method. Most of the leaders of this species in the wild only reach the beginning stages of advanced.

With the training guide I have on farfetch'd, I can make it reach, with a lot of effort and perseverance, the middle of the elite tier. Now take an arcanine as an example. A surprisingly small amount of people realises this, because few have accurate graphic charts detailing the inborn attributes of any pokemon, but arcanine is one of the most powerful obtainable and useful pokemon there are. If you discount the legendaries, mythics, and pseudo-legendaries, arcanine is the strongest in regard to its potential. While both archeops and slaking are above it, they both have abilities that hinder them while arcanine doesn't. Now, with the training manual I have on arcanine, making Blaze a champion level pokemon is only a matter of time. King can reach it too, but it will take more effort.

And I had the methods for any pokemon I could want. Any pokemon. You might not understand because the videogames never addressed this, but being strong in this world is important, very much so. If you are a trainer, your income, status, and even survival depend on how strong you are. A guide for a pokemon to reach advanced level? Valuable but affordable after a few years into your journey. Elite level? Really, really, obscenely expensive, and that is if you found a seller. Ace level? Those are either clan secrets or methods a trainer developed that will usually be taken to the grave. Leader level? Champion level? A guide for any pokemon you can think of to reach its full potential? I was sitting on what was, probably, the most valuable thing in the world. Which is why I kept it very quiet and discreet.

That is why I, at the tender age of 10, became the go-to expert in the ranch when any other employee was having trouble of any kind. And this was also why I accumulated a good amount of money and garnered a good reputation in breeding circles.

Elizabeth and Gerald, the owners of the Ranch, even gave me a room on their house so that I could be on call at any time. When I turned 11, they had kind of unofficially adopted me. Their daughter, Amanda, even called me sister sometimes, depending on her mood.

I spent a good 3 years of my life here, and now, at 13-years-old, I'm having the last day of work on the farm before I leave on my journey. Usually it wouldn't be so dramatic, but…

"Why do you want to go to HOENN?! I mean, Its soooo far away! Why can't you take your journey here on the islands?" Amanda whined while scratching Blaze under his snout. And looking at his lopsided tongue, he seemed to be enjoying it.

"Amanda, we already talked about this. There are no gyms in Alola, so I can't compete here. To train to beat the Kahunas without a gym circuit would be really difficult." I tried to placate my pseudo sister. She had been devastated a couple of months ago when I announced that I would leave Alola to start my journey and hadn't really gotten over it. "And I'm going to Hoenn because the climate is similar to Alola, which I have gotten used to. Also, it's not that big, so I could probably complete my circuit and then explore it in a couple of years, three tops. And finally, Hoenn has a lot of pokemon I want to get on my team."

"But you can buy them! We can order them from Hoenn, and you can train them here while you do your journey. You just have to wait two years until I am 13 and can go on my own journey. We could travel other regions together!"

"Yes, but training here would be harder. I want to complete the gym circuit, Amanda. Alola has no gyms. Now please stop, I've made up my mind." I said with finality and whistled to Blaze for him to follow me. I had just finished my duties for today, the last day of work in the Ranch.

I really would be sad to leave, Liz and Gerry had only treated me like a daughter and even Amanda can be sweet when she is not so obnoxious.

"Why don't you go to Sinnoh? Its way closer than Hoenn, so you could visit more often. Liv? Liv?" I had gone still at the suggestion, and she was starting to get worried.

"I won't be setting foot on Sinnoh for years if I have my say in it. And stop it, I've decided." I said firmly and maybe not so gently.

"…But I will miss you." She said with a pout. I sighed and looked at her eyes.

"I will miss you too, kiddo. But this is something I have to do. I will visit after I finish my conference. It should be just before you set on your journey. If your folks tell me you have been good, maybe I'll give you a pokemon I catch on my journey, yeah? Besides, I will call often and send pictures, so it's not like we won't have any contact." I smiled and placed my hand on top of her head.

"I guess…" She mumbled but dropped it anyway.

By now we were reaching the house. I had already packed my things and was set and ready to leave. The boat leaving to Hoenn set sail tomorrow at 9:00 am and would take about a month to get there.

It sounded like a lot, but it really wasn't. The time was long, true, but the distance really wasn't that big. The main problem when traveling this world were wild pokemon, especially on the ocean. If a rampaging gyarados decided the ship you were in looked like an eyesore, it would be over for you. This is why the ship employed various trainers to scout the routes, the threats, and defend itself on the case of an attack. Still, all of these took time, and so the two-week trip doubled to a month.

As we entered the house, a nice dinner was ready for us. This was routine by now, and if the food was a little more plenty and looked more expensive, nobody said it out loud. We had already said our goodbyes and were fine with it.

When we had finished all the food, Liz and Gerry shared a look, and she nodded. Clearing his throat, he started.

"So, already packed up?"

"Yup. Everything I need is already on my bag and the rest is boxed. You can keep it in the shed, though it's not as if I have a lot of stuff." I mumbled while cleaning the dishes.

And wasn't that a surprise. I should've thought it obvious. If we can store a 15-meter-tall and 50 meter long blue whale on a ball that fits in the palm of a hand, it really wasn't much of a stretch to think the same technology applied to backpacks and stuff. Still, when mom bought Tina one that had 10 times the capacity of a regular one for her journey, I was incredibly surprised. I myself had bought a pretty black and red one that fit 20 times as much. It was expensive, but I would need it if I camped as much as I thought I would. That and anything to one-up my stupid sister. Bitch has been moving up in the world and I don't like it. Not one bit.

"Well, that's nice. Already know what you are doing when you get there? Do you have a hotel or something?" Liz asked. She worried for everyone in the farm, even when we all worried about her.

"Well, first I have to register myself as a trainer under the Hoenn league. My transfer has already been accepted, but I need to anyway for formalities. If we arrive on time, I will be a week early for the starter standardised tests, which will take about a week. Another week to calculate the results, and I will hopefully pick up my Hoenn starter on Petalburg's Pokemon Centre. After that, if all goes to plan, it will be two weeks until the Hoenn circuit starts officially, and by that time I will already be at Rustboro. After that I can finally start my journey." I told them all. I had thought about everything.

While my original goal was to just explore the world and train King to the limit, now I had to carry a legacy other that my own. Jason wanted to be the champion, and I had the means to make it possible. It would be an insult to his memory if I settled for any less. King and Blaze were already excellent starting points, and the pokemon I would add to my team would be too. Like I said, already planned everything.

"I still don't get why you want to get a Hoenn starter. We can give you three! I mean, they would be the Alolan ones, but they are not weaker than any other regional starters! Mom said so!" Amanda declared childishly, while his parents and I smiled indulgently.

"It has to do with the prestige of owning a Hoenn starter in Hoenn, Amanda. It means I would be a league sponsored trainer, and that would give me status in and of itself. Besides, Blaze and King will get very big when they evolve, so they would not fit inside buildings and the like, so I need a small pokemon that is also strong enough to handle any situations thrown its way. Of the final stage of the alolan starters only decidueye is small enough for that, but his combat style relies more on ambushes than reactive fighting. A sceptile or a blaziken would be perfect for that role, apart from being crazy strong in trained properly." I explained while washing the dishes. It wasn't my turn to do it today, but I was leaving tomorrow morning anyway.

"Urgh, you think too much, Liv. Just choose the pokemon that you like the most." She said with a pout.

"I'm doing both, kiddo. I like both of those pokemon and they fill a vacant role on my team, so why wouldn't I try to get my hands on one of them?"

"Speaking of…" Gerry said while searching for something on a drawer. "I know Hoenn is lacking on certain types of pokemon, which are already uncommon by themselves." He said as he fished out a pokeball and smiled at me. Liz was also smiling, and Amanda was watching it with awe and envy. She knew where this was going, and so did I. "Besides, I have caught you staring at this one's folks quite a few times already. And I agree with you, it would make an excellent addition to any team." He smiled.

"Please, Gerard, you really don't have to. I have King and Blaze to protect me on the trip there, and I can catch anything else I need. I don't want to be a burden." I tried to reject him as politely as possible, even if I really wanted that particular pokemon, if it was what I thought it was. It would be an excellent addition to my team, and Gerry was right. That typing was rare in Hoenn.

"Bah, this is no burden. It's a tradition. You may have two pokemon already, but even if its unofficial, you have become a member of this family, and it would be unbecoming of us to send you to your journey without a starter from us." He smiled and tossed me the pokeball, which I caught on instinct, my eyes a little red. "Besides, Hoenn really does have very few in regard to ice and fairy types. Only two lines for each. The glalie and walrein lines for ice and the gardevoir and mawile lines for fairy, not much variety at all." He smiled and took a white stone from his pockets. He gave it to me, and I took it reverently. The vulpix I could maybe accept, but that thing was expensive.

"I- err, I mean, I don't…" really expensive. And I wasn't supposed to know what it was.

"Take it, liv. We talked about this and decided this is the least we can do to pay you for all the help you gave us with the ranch these years."

"That was my job! I mean…" Still, I was interrupted.

"No, your job was one thing. You went above and beyond what was expected of you. Take it." He placed the ice stone in my hands and smiled. "Now, I don't know how you knew of this, but we know you know. It's okay, you would have found out eventually, just be discreet about it." He smiled and left the dining room with his wife, Amanda and I left behind gawking at an evolutionary stone.

This was it. The moment of truth. The very beginning of my vow to Jason. To be the best that we could ever become. To be the version of me that mom, dad, and him would be proud of. It all started once I took one step in the boat. I breathed in deeply and turned around to face my surrogate family. Even Amanda had woken up early to bid me goodbye. I smiled at everyone and they smiled at me.

"Well, we know you'll do great things. You are a natural when it comes to pokemon. Look at Luna, just a night with you and already can't seem to stay away from you." Gerry said with a smile. It was true, too.

I had named my alolan vulpix Luna. It meant moon in Spanish, a language in my old world. I wasn't fluent in it, but I could hold a basic conversation. And really, what other name was as fitting for her than moon. Her typing was perfect for it, too. And when she became a ninetales, she would be a beautiful sight to behold. An ephemeral beauty, shining like a full moon.

Currently, she was by my side, reaching slightly above my knee. Blaze was on my other side, watching people go by with excitement, while King was standing in front of me, ready for anything that could happen. After I got her last night, I re-read everything my database had on his species, just to be safe. I found some things, like where they like to be scratched and petted (really, my cell-phone became so obscene during the transmigration it really included things like this), and she liked it a lot. Adding to the fact that she was pretty young, and I had plenty of experience in pokemon handling, it was like she had been by my side for years.

On another note, I need to get another male pokemon for my team. Between myself, Blaze, and Luna, King is going to go crazy without any other male to commiserate with. Or at least that was what I thought his reaction to Luna last night meant.

I wordlessly returned all my three pokemon to their pokeballs and said my goodbyes. It was a teary affair, but it was what it was. The start of my journey, the moment I had been waiting for since I first saw Tina with her drifloon, and even more since that day when I lost part of myself. It all lead to this moment, right here, right now.

I gave my ticket to the sailor checking them and showed him my application to transfer. I then boarded and felt like I was already to a good start. After all, I hadn't really started yet and King, Blaze, and Luna were already with me.

A good start indeed.

NAME: Olive

AGE: 13

CLASS: Rookie Trainer

TEAM:

King: Nidoran[m]

Blaze: Growlithe[f]

Luna: Alolan Vulpix[f]

Yo folks! Thanks for reading. The story is just starting, and Olive's team is already decent. Seriously tho, at this rate she's gonna end up with at least 30 mons, which would be a pain in the ass to write properly. Ugh. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Please ask me anything you want, or just leave good wishes. And remember:

-Reviews are love, favourites are life.-