Chapter 3: Route 101

Disclaimer: Sigh, alright, I get it, I don't own Pokémon. No need to rub it in.


That next morning, Sapphire's mother, Rebecca Rockwell, woke up with a smile on her face. She was in Hoenn, the move finally done. She hoped her daughter had slept well. She knew that Sapphire had been unhappy about the move, but her mother was sure that soon enough Sapphire would fall in love with Hoenn.

Speaking of Sapphire, she needed to wake her daughter up. They had plenty of work to do to get the house into working order. So without a care in the world, she ascended the stairs, ready to start the first day in their new house.

She knocked on Sapphire's door, listening for any noise or movement in response. Hearing none she opened the door, noticing that Sapphire wasn't in her room. Maybe she was taking a shower? But there wasn't a tiny bit of noise, and the door to the bathroom was wide open.

"Sapphire, where are you?" Rebecca asked. No answer. Spying something on her daughter's desk, she walked into the room.

The first thing on the desk was the unopened letter from her husband. The second was a new piece of paper, a note scrawled on it in pen.

Mom, I'm leaving. Don't try and stop me; you can't catch me, and you can't change my mind. I hope you don't hate me too much, but if you do, know that the feeling's mutual. And tell that pathetic excuse of a father that I hate him too.

PS: Don't worry for my safety. I've got my Sneasel, Shade with me. That's right, I actually have a Pokemon, know how to win a battle with him, and have actually survived being on my own before. No thanks to you, you're way too overprotective.

PPSS: Goodbye forever!

By the time she had finished reading the note, Rebecca had fainted.


"Mom's probably found my note by now." Sapphire muttered as she and Shade hiked through the dense forest. "We need to pick up the pace."

"Snea, snea sneasel!" Shade agreed as the dark weasel scampered over another rock. It was about to continue when it suddenly stopped, looking into the underbrush. Sapphire frowned, also stilling in her motions. Something was coming, something that sounded very, very big. Trainer and Pokemon tensed, waiting for the arrival of whatever it was.

A few moments later, a Mudkip stumbled out of the bushes, collapsing on the ground. Sapphire gasped and hurried to its side, digging out one of her Potions from the bag.

"Shade, make sure no one comes near us." She ordered as she began to treat the blue Pokemon's wounds. Shade nodded before it adopted a defensive position, growling threats at the sky. Sapphire worked quickly, her mind racing. She had read a lot about Hoenn - not because she was interested in living here, but because she was planning to escape. One of the books she had read briefly mentioned starter Pokemon. She couldn't recall the names of the Grass and Fire type starters, but this one was obviously a Mudkip. She had learned two important things from that article; that she thought that the little blue Pokemon was ridiculously adorable, and that they were exceedingly rare in the wild.

The Mudkip had fallen asleep while she finished the treatment. She couldn't just leave it there alone, so she grabbed one of her Pokeballs. Touching the ball to the Pokemon caused it to disappear inside in a burst of red light. She felt the ball tremble slightly in her hands a few times before a mechanic click was heard. Sapphire shrugged before shrinking it down and putting it in her pocket. At least she wasn't stealing it from anybody. Her Pokeball wouldn't have worked if this Mudkip already had a trainer.

She resolved to wait for it to wake up before asking it if it wanted to go on her journey with her. She was sure that a Mudkip would be a useful partner, especially in Johto.


It was much later when Sapphire stopped for her lunch. As she and Shade ate, she called out her new friend. The little blue Pokemon appeared in a flash of white light, sleepily gazing at its surroundings. He jumped when Sapphire placed a few berries in front of it.

"C'mon, eat up." She said, trying smile kindly. "You need to keep your strength up if you want to get better."

Mudkip looked at her hesitantly. He was scared of this new girl, who reminded him so much of that woman named Shelly that had broken into his home the night before. But this girl was a lot younger, and had a kind but determined smile.

Plus she was feeding him. That was always a bonus. Mudkip tentatively took a bite of the yellow fruit in front of him, surprised to find that he liked the taste.

"My name's Sapphire." Sapphire said to the little Pokemon. "The Sneasel is my partner, Shade. We're traveling together. So, I take it you don't have a trainer?"

Mudkip shook his head before scarfing down the last berry. He then looked around for more, disappointed to find that there were none. Sapphire laughed, her smile shifting to an apologetic one.

"Sorry." She said. "That's all I have right now. You'll have to wait for supper."

Mudkip sighed before sitting down, regarding the human with a curious look.

"So, I kind of caught you-" Mudkip's jaw dropped, causing Sapphire to rush through to finish her sentence. "-but if you don't want to travel around with me, that's fine. I can release you right now."

Mudkip cocked its head to the side, studying the girl curiously. On one hand, this girl reminded him of that scary woman, Shelly. But on the other hand, he was supposed to be given to new a trainer and, as far as he could tell, she had to be pretty new - at least in Hoenn, anyway - for her to be this close to Littleroot Town.

And she had food with her. In Mudkip's book, a person that fed him was a wonderful person indeed.

That, more than anything else, helped cement his decision. The Mudkip nodded once, a bright smile on his face.

Sapphire returned the smile with one of her own. She was relieved and; if she was being honest; quite happy that she had a new friend.

"Alright then." She said. "You need a nickname. Hm…" She trailed off, lost in thought while Mudkip looked at her expectantly. "How about...Swampy?"

Mudkip, or Swampy as he was now known, grinned. He liked this name, and he was beginning to like the mysterious Sapphire that was traveling with a Sneasel and gave him food. Sapphire's smile grew a bit wider, before she stood up and held out her Pokeball.

"Okay then." She said. "Let's hit the road. Swampy, return!"

A red laser shot out of the ball and sucked Swampy back into the device. Sapphire grinned as she shrank the Pokeball down and put it in her pocket, resolving to buy a belt or wrist bands to store her Pokeball on when she reached Oldale Town. With that, she quickly picked up from lunch, called Shade to her side, and set off down the path. She still had a day's walk to Oldale Town. Hopefully nothing more eventful would happen.


I can't help it, I'm a sucker for Mudkips. Those Pokémon are too adorable for their own good, but I don't care, they're cute and if they were real I'd totally travel around with one. What do you guys think of the story so far? Let me know by leaving constructive criticism, compliments, and comments in a review. Flames will be put out by flocks of Pelippers using Brine.