At the airport terminal in New Bark Town, Kamon had met up with his family. "Uncle Norman, I've had this strange dream. I saw some man through a window."
Norman then told him, "Oh, you did. Don't worry about it. It's probably just a bad dream."
"Yeah, you're right."
Kamon, with boarding pass in hand, showed the pass to the security agent. He also showed the agent his driver's license to prove his identity.
After reaching the inspection section, he pulled off his shoes, took his wallet out of his pocket, took his MacBook out of its case, and put them in trays. After passing the security gate, he retrieved his contents. "Well, I'm through."
---
Tabitha entered the kitchen. "Hey, Uncle Surge! Found somebody to pay for college. And I've even checked 'em out. That Maxie guy – I called him on the phone. He was real nice to me and Courtney."
"Come on, tell me more!" Surge demanded.
"Well, our job's gonna be about preserving the land environment or something like that..."
---
"Well, Granny, Tabitha and I found a good job at the info center." Courtney was eating salad that she made herself. "It's all part of the college plan. I could work in the culinary field, or maybe I could be an environmentalist. After all, it involves things like protecting land from pollution and cleaning up trash."
"You're a really dedicated lady. You'll really be a changed woman. I like it!"
---
Kamon, Duncan, and Crystal sat together on the plane. Kamon had the window seat, and could see the sun falling. "Just a matter of time before we leave Johto."
Duncan sighed. "We'll really miss our cousins."
Crystal then said in relief, "But at least Team Rocket never had a branch in Hoenn."
Kamon pulled down the lap desk, and put his MacBook on it, pressing the power switch. Dong...
After it loaded and the Dock and menu bar appeared, Kamon turned off the wireless feature, knowing that airlines wouldn't allow wireless communication. "No Internet for now."
The flight attendant announced, "Tohjoan Airlines Flight 613, non-stop to Hoenn. Please turn off all electronic devices for now..."
Kamon shut down the MacBook, and sucked on a life-saver.
A few seconds later, the plane began to move. Four minutes later, it rose to the air.
After reaching twenty-thousand feet, the flight attendant announced, "We have reached twenty-thousand feet. Please feel free to turn on any non-radiating electronics."
Kamon powered on the MacBook. He hoped that Axel would be fine in his PokeBall, which was in with much of the furniture.
Duncan looked around the plane. There were very few people he recognized.
But one person he did recognize was Jasmine Masonuge, the Gym Leader of Olivine City. "Hi, Jasmine!"
"Well, it's the Mineral Triad. It's been a year since I last saw you." Jasmine could remember meeting Duncan, and later Crystal and Kamon, a year ago. "How are things? Amphy's doing a lot better now." She also could remember how Team Rocket poisoned the Ampharos that maintained the lighthouse. It was in much better health now.
"We're doing just fine," Crystal said. "Are you going to Hoenn as well?"
"I'm visiting a relative. She's a Gym Leader there."
"Well, that's nice to know," Duncan praised. "Silver's just not very talkative, but I'm sure he's just not used to moving to another place."
"No, Gold, I've never gone on a plane," explained Kamon. "Just the Magnet Train. Before Goldenrod, I've lived in Viridian City my entire life."
Kamon then stared down the window. There was very little to see, save for the full moon and many stars. Below was the sea, mostly covered in clouds. It looked as if there was an endless sky beneath there.
And the altitude, too. He was twenty-thousand something feet above the ground. He was never this high before. He seemed to feel weightless. He put on headphones and tuned to iTunes, playing calm music, and shut the MacBook, putting the computer into sleep mode. Then, after a few minutes, he fell into a deep sleep, hoping not to have any bad dreams. He was unsure of what to do for now.
---
Brendan Birch awoke from bed. This was the last day of school, and he would be a sophomore in high school next year.
As he did every day, Brendan rummaged his drawers for clean clothes, headed to the bathroom, and took his daily shower, washing everywhere on his body.
Brendan felt awkward about maturing from a boy into a man. He was turning fifteen in August 17. Inside, he was changing rapidly. But on the outside, he didn't look very different. A bit taller, yes, and some facial hair, but his facial structure remained the same.
Brendan feared change, as he had grown so used to the way he was before.
He left the shower, put on the clean clothes, placed his dirty clothes down the laundry chute, and brushed his hair and teeth. Then, he shaved the stubble that was beginning to grow around his face.
Brendan then headed to the kitchen, pulled out a box of frosted mini-wheats, and poured it in a bowl with Rice Dream milk.
"Good morning, Brendan." greeted his father, Seth Birch, a professor of Pokemon in Hoenn.
"Hey, dad. Just two more final exams, and I'm back here for the summer. Those are History and Science." Brendan then placed a spoon containing rice milk and mini-wheats into his mouth.
---
"Ready, Brendan?" asked Bridgette Syntheprove, Brendan's para-educator, after entering his history class.
"Yeah, Mrs. Syntheprove. I'm going to get through these exams."
Upon finishing his exam, Brendan interpreted everything he learned in that class. He would definitely need it for events happening today. Those who forgot history were doomed to repeat it. So he had to make sure his history was as accurate as possible.
Brendan then took his Science exam. The meteorology, geology, and atmosphere were faintly familiar to him, and he had studied for the exam. The units of measure and degrees were confusing for him, though, and it took some time to get himself out of the entanglements.
"Whew! That's about it for this year. Guess there's nothing left for me to now." Brendan said to himself. "Hey, I'm sure I'll find something to do for the summer."
"On your computer?"
"Yes. Or swimming in the pool."
"Well, it's been a great year together, and I'll see you again next year." Bridgette was ready for round two. Brendan didn't seem so sure.
---
Brendan waited at the parking lot. A familiar car drove in, which Brendan ran to. "Hey, Rose, I'm done with exams."
"Why, that's good." Rose was Brendan's older sister. The two seemed to mirror Daisy and Kevin Oak of Kanto.
They drove back home.
---
Brendan got onto his computer, and read the news. "'Devon Corp. Creates Machine to Allow Seeing of Invisible Pokemon'. Wait, didn't Silph Co. of Saffron City beat them to it?"
Another article had the title "'Former Viridian Gym Leader Still Missing'. Didn't he disappear two years ago?"
And a third article read "'New Hoennian Gym Leader'. Hey! He's moving here today."
---
Kamon, Duncan, and Crystal drove in Kamon's car from Littleroot Harbor towards the town. Axel was out of his PokeBall, and looked around. The trees were completely unfamiliar. Some of the wild Pokemon were kinds that he had never seen before.
Kamon didn't have any dreams in the plane, strangely. At least that nightmare didn't happen again.
Crystal held a Togepi named Spike in her arms. Spike had grown so attached to Crystal since he hatched. Unfortunately, he hatched at a time of emergency, so he had to snap into action with Axel to stop Team Rocket. Now that the deed was done, he lived a happy life as a pet.
---
Brendan could hear cars and trucks entering the neighborhood toward the two houses between his. "Hmm. Must be the new neighbors." He wasn't at all interested for now.
---
May Stelldox, Kamon's cousin, hopped out of her father's van. "Here we are everyone!"
"Yeah, this is Littleroot Town." Kamon checked his driving directions Norman gave him, and verified that this was the place.
"Our new home," Crystal said in amazement. "It seems like an easy place to live."
"We're next door to Professor Birch's house." Duncan saw the Birchs' home between the Stelldoxes and Caliducts.
The Birches exit their house to greet the new neighbors. "Hello, everyone! Welcome to Hoenn!"
Brendan waved hello. They seemed to be nice people. "Hi, there, my name's Brendan."
"Great to see you, Brendan Birch!" exclaimed May. "You're the same age as me! I'm May Stelldox. My dad's the new Gym Leader of Petalburg City."
"I'm turning fifteen in August. And I've got a pet Mudkip. I call him Deep-Six, because he likes diving in the deep end of our pool with me."
"Oh, I could do that," said Crystal. "I took swimming lessons this year, and now I can do the basics. Oh, and I'm Crystal Caliduct."
"I still can't, though," said Duncan. "May not be that important, anyway. And my name's Duncan Caliduct, but you can call me Gold."
"I'm May's cousin, Kamon Stelldox. My dad was a Gym Leader too, before he disappeared. His name's Giovanni. Call me Silver." Kamon had met a boy who had similar traits to him. Both liked computers and their pet Pokemon. "It'll take a while for us to get unpacked, but we'll find something to do."
Brendan petted Axel. "That's a nice Persian. Those Pokemon don't live around here natively. What's its name?"
"His name's Axel," answered Kamon. "I've had him for as long as I can remember."
"Hey, isn't that a Togepi?" Brendan noticed Spike in Crystal's arms.
"Well, yes. I got him since he was just an egg. His name's Spike."
"Toge, Toge!" cried out Spike cheerfully.
"Now that's a rare Pokemon who also doesn't live in Hoenn," Brendan said in wonder. "I've got a Mudkip named Deep-Six... wait, I already told you that."
---
"Here we are, Oldale Town." Brendan led Kamon, May, Duncan, and Crystal to Oldale Town. There weren't any visible houses. Instead, there were stores around. "We go here for groceries and eating out. It's actually a small shopping district."
"Good to see how a shopping district is next to home," said Crystal.
"Yeah," agreed Duncan. "From New Bark to Cherrygrove, it was rather far away. This is much closer!"
"I'm glad to see how it's not so large. Goldenrod was hell." Kamon saw that Oldale was like Viridian City. Everything was within walking distance. He probably wouldn't need his car if he had to go here.
"Dad usually goes to the Pokemon Center when Deep-Six gets sick, and the Pokemart for her food and treats," explained Brendan. "Littleroot doesn't have those establishments, since it's zoned for homes, so it and Oldale act as if they were a single town."
---
"You're leaving Kanto?" Agatha shook her head. "Nah, your probation won't let you do that."
"Then I'll wait a week. It'll expire, and Tabitha and I can leave then." Courtney was well aware of probation, and it was almost done. Maxie was told about this, and promised to wait until expiration.
---
"Yeah, dude. We're outta here next week. Courtney and I just need our probation to expire."
"Right-o! You're not going to leave Kanto yet." Surge reminded Tabitha about probation, and that the young man could not leave until it expired, which was just a week. "But once you're free, you can get out of my hair!"
"Totally!"
---
"And here's Route 103. Dad and I usually go here. We found Deep-Six in the lake a year ago." Brendan remembered fishing at the lake.
Something heavy pulled at the fish-line. Brendan pulled away the fishing pole, trying to get what was down there. And out of the water came a young Mudkip.
"Dad! I found a Mudkip! Could we keep it?"
"Yeah, that's where I got Deep-Six."
Kamon stared down at the lake, seeing himself in the reflection.
Something told him that he had something that he had to do. Shutting down Team Rocket was one thing, but the mystery regarding his father was left unsolved. He sighed. There wasn't any way that his father could possibly be at Hoenn. Then again, he could be anywhere.
Kamon was determined to find his father. And this time, nobody would impede his adventure. Nobody to come after him this time. "I've got to keep on moving."
---
"Keep on moving?" Crystal blurted out, flustered. "Silver, you remember what happened last time." The three went into Kamon's unpacked house that night.
"Come on, Brendan and May could help us," explained Kamon. "Dad's likely somewhere in Hoenn. Or maybe somebody around this land knows where he is!"
"I don't think they'd be interested," Duncan replied.
"Guess we're on our own again." Kamon then tried to look on the bright side. "Hey, at least Team Rocket's no longer around."
---
"May, you seem to be a nice person. I'm sure it wouldn't be a bad idea for you to be friends with Brendan. What do you say?" Professor Birch asked.
"Um, I'm sorry, but he doesn't seem interested."
"Oh, don't be like that," Birch said. "You should really talk to Brendan."
"Well, all right. I'm sure he'll listen to me!"
---
Kamon had detectors attached to his forehead. He was about to take a sleep test.
"Now, Kamon, this will be perfectly harmless," said Norman. "We should find out what is shown in your dreams exactly as you view them."
"All right, then, maybe the dreams are related to my dad. Good night, Uncle Norman."
"Good-night, Kamon."
Kamon then shut his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
---
"Well, I've... always wanted to travel through Hoenn," Brendan admitted. "But I'm sure I'd need a lot of help through."
"I could be your partner. We'll be good friends!" May exclaimed.
"All right, then, I'm sure Deep-Six would like to see the many wonders of the world." Brendan was also sure that his father wanted him to go on a Hoenn adventure. But where to start? "Let's start by searching for Pokemon to catch in Route 101. We could do that tomorrow morning."
---
Kamon awoke from bed. He had the same dream from last night. Seeing the projector, it showed the man he saw. "Hey! Come on in here!"
---
Brendan and May stared at a raccoon with zigzag fur patterns. "That's a Zigzagoon. I think Deep-Six can fight it," May whispered.
"Then I'm all for it! Come on, Deep-Six, let's bring in another pet!" But as Brendan called out the blue mudpuppy, Zigzagoon became frightened and ran away. "Oh, man... I gotta be quieter next time."
---
Norman and Gloria saw the image of the man Kamon saw in his dream. Kamon printed out the image. "We should try to find out who this person is. Then again, it probably is just a dream. I'm overreacting and letting my imagination get the best of me!"
"No, Kamon, it's likely a memory," Norman insisted. "Look at these other images."
Images of Kamon's old house in Viridian City appeared. Kamon walked out of the room, deluding himself from such a big deal over a dream.
Gloria saw the image of the house. "Maybe something significant happened there."
Kamon walked out of the house, trying to erase the memory from his head. "It's no big deal. But I want to find my dad... No! I can't erase it!"
---
Brendan called out Deep-Six, who defended Brendan. Poochyena lunged at the Mudkip, but the mudpuppy and Brendan dodged.
Deep-Six reared up to ram into Poochyena. Before the dog could strike, the Mudkip struck it.
Poochyena then bit into Deep-Six. The Mudkip screeched in pain, struggling to get the dog off of him, until he rammed into a tree – Poochyena head-first. Leaves glided down to the ground from the shock.
May handed a PokeBall to Brendan. "Now's your chance to catch Poochyena!"
"All right, then, here goes nothing..." Brendan tosses the red-and-white capsule at the dazed Poochyena. The ball shook three times, and then clicked. "I did it! I caught it!"
Deep-Six hopped toward Brendan, a bite-sized mark on his fin.
"Ouch..." May saw that the Mudkip was hurt. "You'll need some healing."
---
Professor Birch was surprised to hear the news. "Wow! You caught a Poochyena?"
"Yeah, with May and Deep-Six's help." Brendan held the PokeBall containing the dog. "I think we can travel Hoenn now!"
"That would be nice. I've got something for you, May," said Birch. He handed her a PokeBall.
May quickly opened the ball. Out came a baby chicken with red and orange feathers. "Isn't this a Torchic? This is very nice! I'll call her Barbecue!"
"Well, you can start your trip through Hoenn next week. But while you're at it, I have this Pokedex. Your neighbors gave it to me, but I think you should have it, Brendan."
Brendan received the electronic encyclopedia. "Wow. There's a lot of info on almost two-hundred fifty Pokemon!"
"Before your neighbors got that 'dex, their relatives received it," explained Birch. "You look like the next person!"
"Thanks, Dad! I love you!" Brendan yelled out happily as he and May ran out of the house. "Just a week and we're off to see the world."