Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, only the characters of my story.

The second Lukas opened his eyes, the light had immediately started making him blind. He shut them quickly, not wanting to further the damage. Slowly, he opened his eyes again, and sat himself up on…. a bed?

The boy examined his surroundings. White walls made up the room, with pristine white tile floor. There was a window off to his left, sunlight blazing through, which he assumed was what caused his momentary discomfort. His bed was made up of comfy yet thin sheets, and his bed had strange railings to it. Only when he noticed he was in a white and blue gown did he realize: he was in a hospital.

As his brain started working overtime, Lukas noticed a small sound off to his right. There, sleeping on nothing but a chair, was Teresa. It was clearly evident she had been crying, which surprised the boy greatly. Did she really care for him that much, even though they had barely met?

On her lap was Shamrock, who was snuggled up closely against her torso. And on the chair next to the girl, was Maya. The Fox Pokemon had clearly fallen asleep scared and terrified, from which Lukas immediately took pity. He leaned over to the best of his ability, picked her up off the chair, and set the Pokemon on his lap. Almost immediately Maya started snuggling up to the boy, which was just plain adorable.

As his companions slept, Lukas started talking to himself. "So how did I get here…" he whispered. "I must have been found and taken here by Paramedics or something. Then someone would have had to contact the Professor or Teresa… in order for them to be here now." he concluded. "I should probably wait for everyone to wake up… they probably need some sleep because of the night I gave them…" he said.

Lukas was starting to feel guilty. He had caused so much pain and suffering. He could have gotten up, and gotten the authorities to help him. Instead, he just cried and wallowed in how the world sucks, not even thinking of how others might feel. He was such a jerk-

"...Fenn?"

The boy looked down at his legs, to see Maya looking at him with tears of joy. For a few seconds it was a staring contest, until Maya broke the spell between them and let out a loud cry of joy, before leaping into Lukas' arms. "Wha…?" Teresa mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Once she noticed what was happening, she practically leaped out of her chair (disturbing a very confused Shamrock) and hugged the boy, starting a new stream of tears. "I… th-thought I wasn't g-g-gonna see you again…" she stuttered, taking small breaks in between words for sniffs. He did his best to hug the emotional girl back, but was still confused as to why she was so attached despite just meeting him only a few days ago. He thought he should probably ask later.

"So… what happened when I was out?" Lukas asked. "How did you find me?" Teresa sighed. "Let me start from the beginning…"

Teresa was having to be forcibly restrained by the Professor. "Please calm down!" he said, while the girl continued to struggle. "If we go after them, we might end up getting hurt, and how would we be any use to Lukas then?" Teresa stopped struggling, breathing heavily. "F-Fine... " she mumbled, tears starting to slip down her cheeks. "What do you suggest then?" Sycamore released her, while Maya and Shamrock tried to comfort the girl. He thought for a moment, and then started speaking. "We should first get the Police to help us out. We'll tell them what he looks like, and then start looking around the lab area.." he said.

The Police, leaded by Officer Jenny, were more than willing to help. They got several search parties on the case, and they searched for hours. It was only after the sun had long set that everyone was willing to throw in the towel for the night, and continue searching tomorrow. Except for Teresa. "NO!" she screamed at the Police "I will NOT stop looking until-"

A high-pitched inhuman screech filled the air, deflating all tension and anger and replacing it with fear. The police, the Professor and Teresa looked around in all directions. "What… was that?" someone had finally asked. "Professor, do you know?" asked Officer Jenny. Sycamore shook his head. "I have never heard it in my life before. I can only hope it doesn't have to do with Lukas." he said.

The sound rang out again, this time from a nearby tree. The Police threw out their Pokeballs, revealing Arcanine and Growlithe. Everyone tensed as the tree rustled, and a shape dropped out of it with speed so quickly it was almost impossible to track with the human eye. One millisecond it was on a branch, the next on the ground… in front of Teresa. Its blue-eyed gaze tore into Teresa's, giving off the feeling that the creature knew her. It was the size of a Houndoom, standing with a sharp posture on four legs. It's fur rippled in the wind, with its tail flicking behind it menacingly. It was completely still on the street for what felt like hours.

Suddenly, the Pokemon screeched, and took off towards a nearby alley. Before it entered, it looked back, as if waiting for something. After a few seconds, it clicked in Teresa's head. "It wants us to follow it." she said. Sycamore looked at her with concern. "Are you sure? I don't want you or any of us getting hurt…" he said reluctantly. The girl nodded, renewed determination like a fire in her eyes. "Absolutely." she said.

They followed the Pokemon through many twists and turns, and sometimes they lost it entirely due to the darkness and the creature's speed. Eventually, they ended up in a trash-covered filthy alleyway. Teresa looked around for the Pokemon, but it was nowhere to be seen.

Her gaze wandered to the side of the alley, and she noticed a pair of shoes in the faint light the moon was giving. She rushed over, and the face wearing the shoes was revealed. "Lukas…" she started, tears spilling out again. Relief filled her, and she passed out as exhaustion caught up with her.

"Later I woke up, and Sycamore explained the situation." Teresa finished, still crying. "He had brought Shamrock and Maya, and the doctors said you might be in a coma, and you may be in it for years, and-" At that point, Lukas didn't care anymore about why this girl was so concerned. No one had ever shown this level of devotion and compassion towards him, not even his parents. All he cared about was growing a pair and returning it. So he did. He hugged her with all his might, completely cutting off anything she had been about to say. She just continued to cry into his shoulder, while their Pokemon just cuddled them for comfort. In that moment, all was good.

The moment didn't last long, however, because several nurses suddenly came in, Wigglytuffs at their side. The next few minutes were spent checking Lukas' vitals, blood levels, nutrition, etc. When they were done, a professional looking doctor (He was white. Typical. People wouldn't take him all that seriously if he wasn't.) came in to inform Lukas of his injuries. "Greetings, Mr…?" he asked for the boy's last name.

"Jain."

"Yes, thank you. Mr Jain, you appear to have suffered two fractured ribs, a fractured leg, some minor brain damage, internal bruising, and numerous large gashes and bruises on your skin. I can only assume a Pokemon did this?"

"Y-Yea…. I think it was called a Mightyena…"

"Hm… that would be a Pokemon capable of such ferocious attack. Do you know who ordered the Mightyena? Or did it have an trainer?"

"It was one of many Pokemon that stood with a group of thugs… they wore long black and red coats, and bandanas."

"...do you know of Team Tenebre?" Lukas shook his head, confused. The doctor sighed. "Team Tenebre is a organization running amok around the region, and forcefully took over Allearth Village, making it their base of operations. They believe that there is too much life in the world, and seek to cause some sort of global catastrophe that will severely cut down the world's human and Pokemon population." Both children's eyes widened, as the implications of that were terrifying.

"Worse, we have another team causing havoc here." the doctor continued. "Team Lavie is dedicated to not just preserving the population, but expanding it. While their goal does sound good, that could be another catastrophe in of itself. If the population of both people and Pokemon grow too much, we could have another global crisis: overpopulation. Food shortages, resource shortages, environmental problems if we try to solve the problem by making way for more civilization. That would simply do what Team Tenebre has been trying to do all along. It doesn't help that they are breaking the law to accomplish their goals, and claiming Snowbelle City as their own."

Lukas was in deep thought. It must have been Team Tenebre who attacked him, looking for someone named Seamus. He was about to expand on this thought when the doctor spoke again. "The two teams have been fighting their battles across the region, causing civilian casualties and property damage. Since Lumiose is in the center of the region, most of the conflicts have been here. But we do have someone on our side!" the Doctor said with a proud posture and a large smile, instantly lighting the mood of the room. "They are called the Kalosian Protection Front, or just they KPF. They are working to help stop these meaningless attacks and the teams who caused them! I'm proud to say I'm actually a member!" he beamed.

Suddenly, an air of realization crossed his face. "I've never actually introduced myself, have I?" he asked sheepishly. Lukas sweatdropped. "Afraid not, Mr…?" The man regained his composure quickly before continuing, smile regained. "I'm Dr. Coyle, one of the top doctors at Lumiose Hospital and the Head of the KPF's Scientific/Medical Branch." he smiled genuinely. "We've set up a base in Couriway Town. Peacefully, of course. We intend to use the train station there to be transported all across the region quickly and efficiently, so we may combat the threats."

Lukas nodded quietly, processing and storing the information. While he was doing that, Teresa spoke up. "Dr. Coyle, when will Lukas be able to be released?" she asked. The doctor whistled quickly, and a Wigglytuff with a clipboard came in, cheering happily. "Tuff!" it cried, giving the clipboard to Coyle. He patted the Balloon Pokemon on it's head, smiling. "Thank you Helga. I'll give you a Pokepuff when I'm done in here." Seeing it as an acceptable response, Helga skipped out the door. Not very successfully though, seeing its leg size.

Coyle skipped over a few pages on the clipboard, searching for something. Finally, he stopped at a page, skimmed over whatever was on it, and spoke again. "Seeing as your injuries could have been much worse, Mr. Jain, and you have a few friends here waiting for you, you're being released later today a crutch, as long as you take it easy on whatever physical activity you may have planned. And from the looks of it, you just started your League Challenge. So try to keep a relatively slow pace for the next couple weeks." Lukas nodded, eager to have the good news.

The doctor started to leave, but stopped briefly, turning back around. "When we found you, the clothes you were wearing were incredibly torn up and bloodstained, so there was no chance you would ever wear that outfit again. We disposed of them in the dumpster out back. We also noticed that you had no trainer bag upon you. We assumed it was stolen." Coyle sighed, but then smiled. "We gotta stick together in these times. So consider it a gift." he said, reaching into his pocket, and tossed a small box to him. Before Lukas could look up to ask what it was, the doctor had already walked out the door.

The box was cube shaped, and not all that large, just fitting into the palms of his hands. The boy opened the lid, and was shocked heavily upon seeing several stacks of thousand Pokedollar bills. Teresa was equally stunned. "That's probably close to 300,000…" she said quietly. The duo looked at each other and grinned. "This may just become one of the best days of my life, despite a bad start." he said, a massive grin slowly stretching across his face. Teresa had one mimicking it, perhaps even identical. "There might even be some left for me, once you have everything you need/want."

Lukas chuckled. "I still need to save some money for the road, so don't get to confident in that possibility." The girl pouted at this, making him laugh all the harder.

The happiness that had once filled the boy was gone now, replaced by annoyance, as he realized how horrible a crutch was. It made his armpits incredibly sore from pressure, and he had to partially limp. Not to mention he couldn't run with it.

Now he was just a cripple, complaining quietly to himself as Teresa, Maya and Shamrock walking beside him. The girl was examining a map on her Pokedex of the city, trying to find a good place to start shopping. Eventually, she snapped out of her concentration to speak. "There's a Trainer Supplies Store not far from here. We should be able to get you some Trainer clothes there, along with Pokeballs, Various Medicines, and some food for both us and our Pokemon." Lukas nodded at that. They may need other things, but the store would most likely supply anything they would need.

It was a very gruesome (at least for him) hour later that all of the supplies shopping was finished, and stored away in Lukas' new Trainer Bag. Now all he needed was some clothes. The store's section on Trainer Clothing was quite large, with a variety of styles and colors. He quickly found a jacket that appealed to him. It was mostly green, but had a black stripe on each sleeve, two stripes running down the back, and a large stripe running down the middle on the front. The boy slipped it on over the white tee given by the hospital, and glanced over at Teresa, looking for approval. She just chuckled, smiling. "It looks good Lukas. I wouldn't let you put on anything that looked horrible."

After getting a pair of solid black pants and a pair of running shoes (he didn't want a hat, as Maya liked laying in his hair), he handed whatever money he could over to Teresa. "Here's what's left. Buy whatever you wish." he said. Her smile was infectious as she ran off towards the clothing section. It didn't take long before she came back with a blue blouse and a black skirt, which she seemed quite happy with. Lukas didn't care too much about the fabrics and designs which she proceeded to batter him with, as clothes were clothes. As long as they fit, they looked okay and they were comfy he would wear it.

Eventually, the duo exited the store. "So…." asked Lukas. "What now?" Teresa thought for a moment. "Well, you did mention a certain Pokemon League challenge." she pointed out. The boy's eyes instantly lit up. "Oh yea! I want… no, NEED to start immediately. Can you pull up a map on your Pokedex?" he asked. Teresa tapped a few buttons on the device, and a holographic map appeared above the device.

The map contained and labelled all of the cities, routes, and places of interest with incredible detail. You could also tap on the name of whatever place you were interested in and information would pop up. Lastly, there were several options for finding a certain place closest to the Dex's location.

Teresa was about to click on the option to search for the nearest Pokemon Gym, but stopped. "Lukas…" she started. "Shouldn't you at least catch some more Pokemon first? You only have one, and it's unlikely to have too much battle experience." The boy considered that for a second, then wilted slightly. "Yea… you're right… how about pulling up information for surrounding paths and routes?"

There were five ways to exit the city. The north exit led to Route 14, and was a swampy wet mess of a route, not recommended to starting trainers. The northwest exit led to Route 13; a windy rocky desert full of ground and rock types. Again, not recommended to starting trainers. Route 16 was the same, as it led to a cold area, which was what Lukas was trying to AVOID. That left him with two options. One, Route 5, which led to Camphrier Town, and had plains and a bamboo forest. Or two, Route 4, which had rocky cliffs and forests, and led to Santalune City, that had a gym. It wasn't a hard choice, even with one extra point.

As the two headed off towards the direction of the gate, Lukas felt something was off. As though he was being watched. He glanced behind him, and could of sworn he saw a flash of yellow from one of the trees on the side of the street. The boy stopped for a second, observing everything. Nothing reappeared. He dismissed it mentally as his mind playing tricks on him, and let his paranoia slip from his mind.

Route 4 was beautiful. The way the sunlight shone through the leaves, spotting the ground with a green pigment. The way the Pidgeys, Tailows and Starlys chirped, making a forest-wide chorus. The way the baby Pokemon played happily with each other, regardless of species, while their parents looked on in happiness, but with a watchful eye. This was what made the forest so incredibly pretty. At least to Lukas.

Teresa was also looking on in delight at the forest, while Shamrock padded along merrily beside her. Of course, Maya was awestruck with Lukas on said boy's head. The Fox Pokemon had only ever seen the inside of a terrarium, sometimes the city. She had NEVER been in an open forest. She immediately liked it a lot better, as it felt more natural. Glancing around, her eyes landed on a twig. She had never seen one before; or at least not one straight from the tree. Maya felt drawn to it, and realized that she remembered why her kind liked them from Lukas' dex. She hopped down off of the boy (snapping him out of his trance) and dashed towards it. Before she decided to eat it, she wanted to sniff it carefully just in case. After the Pokemon's nose declared it okay, she took it in her mouth and had a bite.

The taste was incredible. It was gritty and hard, sure, but thank Arceus above for twigs! She quickly demolished the rest of it, much to the amusement of the group. Once Maya was finished, Lukas picked her up once again to set her in her favorite spot.

"We'll find some good ones as we go along." he said, to which Maya let out a happy bark.

It was several minutes later that something rustled in the bushes off to their left. The Fox Pokemon quickly hopped off they boy's head and got into a battle stance, ready to take on whatever was about to hop out. A second later, a strange Pokemon appeared. It was mainly blue and black, with a four-pointed yellow star on its tail. Teresa quickly pulled out her dex and scanned the creature.

"Shinx, the Flash Pokemon. Native to Southern Kumaziwe, Eastern Najava, and within the last few decades has been imported into Sinnoh. An Electric type. The extension and contraction of it's muscles generates electricity. When in danger, it uses this electricity to make it's fur glow and dazzle, and then escapes when it's foe is blinded. This Shinx is male, knows the moves Tackle, Leer, Charge, and Spark, and it's ability is Intimidate."

As Teresa pocketed the dex, more rustling came from the bushes, giving way to a human figure. He was clearly a bit older than either of them, seeing as he was a good few inches taller than the duo. He wore a plain white tee, going just past his waist, with a very sleek black trench coat over it (why he decided not to use the sleeves was beyond the boy). He had grey and black joggers pants, black running shoes with the occasional blue stripe, and a black baseball cap with a large blue "T" on it.

"Here you are Shinx, I was wondering where you had gone off to." the boy said, kneeling down to pet the Flash Pokemon. When Shinx's gaze remained on the group, he turned his gaze at them, suddenly realizing they were there. He stood up to meet them, his face calm and collected. "Greetings, you two." he said somewhat quietly, and in a very laid back manner. "I'm James. Shinx here seems to have taken an interest, as it suddenly ran off into the forest until it ended up here. It clearly wants to battle the both of you, but I'd like to at least learn your names first."

"I'm Lukas." he said. "And this is my friend Teresa. I don't know why Shinx would want to battle us, though. We literally just got our Pokemon a day ago, and this would be our first battle." he said.

James scrunched his brows. "That's odd… Shinx is never wrong when it comes to a good trainer…" he looked at the Flash Pokemon in confusion. It remained focused and calm, certain in it's decision. The boy shrugged. "Well, I might as well. Got nothing to lose, as this will be one of my first battles in the region, and I'm trying to get Shinx stronger anyway." A confident but not degrading smirk appeared on James' face. "So give me all you got."

At this note, Maya rushed forward eagerly, and prepared herself into a battle stance. Shinx did the same. "I guess that makes me the ref." Teresa said, walking between the two. "Now if I remember enough from those old battle videos… okay, this will be a one versus one match between James and Lukas. James, the challenger, can attack first."

She stood back, allowing the two a stare down. Their Pokemon were equally as focused. James broke the silence very quickly, thrusting his arm forward. "Shinx, use Tackle!" The Flash Pokemon rushed forward at a very quick pace, not giving Lukas any time to react as it slammed into Maya. The Fox Pokemon let out a cry of pain, but got back up onto her feet quickly, waiting for an order. "Maya, Ember!" the boy shouted. Maya responded by puffing up her cheeks, her ears no longer radiating heat, as it was all going into her mouth, as it blasted a condensed, but small blast of flame at Shinx.

"Dodge it!" Shinx leapt out of the way, the Ember missing it entirely. "Now, use Charge." It then started concentrating, sparks emitting from its fur. Lukas recognized the move, and had no intention of letting him finish. "Quick! Use Scratch!"

Maya ran forward, clawing at Shinx mercilessly. Several cuts appeared on the Flash Pokemon's forehead, giving it enough pain so that it stopped the move.

"Now, leap over it and use Ember!" Maya ran towards the Pokemon once again, but jumping over it and sending another condensed blast of flame crashing into it's back. A scorch mark quickly formed on its spine, making it hard for Shinx to rise again. As the Fire Type landed behind it, James smirked. "Whip around and use Leer!" As it was turning, the Flash Pokemon intensified it's gaze into a slightly creepy stare. She was quickly unnerved, giving Shinx an opening. It charged forth in a Tackle commanded by it's trainer, knocking her onto her back and skidding across the dirt.

Lukas started worrying for Maya. "Are you okay to keep fighting?" he asked her. Slowly and shakily, her body rose from the ground. The boy made a mental note to reward her for this later. "Good job, Maya!" he said. As the Fox Pokemon delighted in his praise, an idea formed in his head, and he whispered to his starter. "Charge up an Ember, but don't stop charging it. When I give the signal, release. Try to make it look like you're running out of energy, and can't charge it." She nodded, and began taking heat into her cheeks. To her credit, the strain on her face was very believable, and she took fake gasps of air.

James smirked, a cocky smile on his face. "Well, it may have gotten up, but it can't charge a move. You did very well for your first battle, but it's time to finish this. Shinx, get up close and use Spark." The Flash pokemon charged forward, electricity crackling in it's fur. Just as it got within a foot's range, Lukas spoke. "NOW!" With a loud bark, a massive ball of flame soared out of Maya's mouth, impacting with Shinx's entire body. It quickly stopped running to collapse to the ground, covered in soot and burns.

There was complete silence on the path for a little bit, before Teresa remembered she had a job to do. "Sh-Shinx is unable to battle! That means the winner is Lukas!" Her words snapped Lukas out of his trance, the excitement of winning finally registering in his brain. His face took on an emotion that would normally only be expressed by an overly giddy child. He jumped up in the air, whooping and chanting to himself, while Teresa just sweatdropped, bemused. (Maya had fallen asleep after unleashing the attack, and was snoring quietly through the boy's shouts.)

James was in utter shock. He'd tournament after tournament back home, and he was an incredibly experienced trainer. He came here to try something new, with only a few low-caliber Pokemon to accompany him. Despite this experience, he was beaten (quite ingeniously if he did say so himself) on one of his first battles by a rookie. Either James was out of practice, or this newbie had a talent for battling unknown until now.

He smiled. Lukas, he thought that was the trainer's name… he was going places. However, with most trainers, he was likely going to take the standard trainer route: the League Challenge. Pity. One can get stronger without that money-making scheme used by the League. They made the organization, attracting young kids who don't know any better to leave their parents when they aren't even teens yet and don't have common sense, to participate in a big competition that only makes you known to the public as "the best." And they get people to watch it! For hundreds of dollars a ticket at that! Plus, the "leaving your parents" part has the kids leaving for almost an entire year, without adult supervision. Innocent children have died trying to take on the challenge, but everyone blames the kid's misfortune or their stupidity, not the League for incentivising them in the first place.

Despicable.

Nevertheless, James walked up and gave the customary handshake to the boy. "That was a very well-fought battle. Who knows, maybe I'll see you again. Oh, and good luck on the League Challenge. Try not die by a Scolipede or Aggron or somethin." And with that, he left the duo alone.

Lukas bent down, applying a potion to Maya's wounds. She hissed slightly at that, but toughed it out. She received some scratches underneath her chin for her efforts, making it worth the pain to the Fox Pokemon. Teresa meanwhile started to set up a temporary camp so they could eat lunch, which everyone was immensely happy with.

Nothing could get anyone's mood down today.

The eyes watched. Slowly and carefully. This trainer was so incredibly interesting to it. They had even won his first conflict. They had so much potential, and the eyes' owner knew it. It had looked into his mind, he saw the struggles he faced, forced upon by his own kind just for looking different. Some humans were truly horrible.

Not this one, though.

It would have to keep watch for a little while longer yet.

A/N (PLEASE READ): MERRY (close enough) CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! As you've seen, we introduced James: the first OC to be entered, created by Sikahdik. Thank you for entering that, by the way! Now, I wanted to let the reader know a few things. One, I am contemplating adding Fakemon to the story, but I wanted to get everyone's opinions first. Please let me know anyway you wish. Secondly, anyone wanting to take a gander at… well, let's call it Eyes for the time being. Anyway, if you can guess what Pokemon Eyes is, FREE INTERNET COOKIES! :3 Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll see you next time!

-TRN