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Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. Pokémon is the property of Game Freak and Nintendo and all of those awesome people who invented it.

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The day was breaking as four figures appeared on the horizon, the tall grass bending around their bodies as they came closer to the small sign that stood on the right side of the path. While the wood was old and rotten, the lime green paint that seemed to glow with its own light was fresh and new. The figures squinted as the sun rose over the treeline to the west. The letters were clear, even with the glare of the sun. They had finally reached Viridian City. Past the sign, the path that resulted from years of light footsteps compounding the dirt together widened and turned to stone. As they approached the town, a woman looked out her window and saw them. One was a tall boy wearing a pair of jeans and a dark brown t-shirt. His face was marred by a nasty bruise on the left side. The second tallest of the approaching figures was a girl with short auburn hair, wearing khaki pants that reached down to her knees and a blue top. Alongside the two were two Pokémon, a Charmander and a Bulbasaur. The woman smiled, seeing that although they looked older than normal, they were obviously starting trainers. She sipped a cup of tea and smiled, remembering when she, too, walked the same road with her love.

The night had ended late for them, but the morning had started early. Mitchell was still rubbing his eyes to try and wake up, since he was not used to only getting a couple of hours of sleep. Joanna had enough energy for the two of them, though, and the Pokémon were as active as ever. Charmander was carrying one of Mitchell's socks again and grabbing handfuls of berries whenever they passed by a bush that grew them. While Joanna didn't think it was a good idea to let the lizard just eat whatever was growing, she observed him completely ignoring certain berry bushes. Mitchell said that he knew what he was doing, though the boy himself wasn't sure either. Having no other way to explain it, he let the Pokémon do what he wanted for food.

The morning had been so much different than the night before. The cold winds were something they never would have even considered possible near Pallet Town had they not experienced them for themselves. Yet, they woke to a mild temperature and mid-level humidity, the frozen dirt turned soft underneath them. None of them ever remembered falling asleep, and from the awkward positions they assumed that it had happened while they were standing or running. Joanna insisted on changing out of her pajamas upon waking, and didn't mind doing it in front of Mitchell, since he was still asleep anyway. She woke him up shortly after with a light tap to his side. He retracted as if he were ticklish in that spot, so she did it again. He was. His hand shot over to his side and he covered it up.

"What time is it?" he mumbled, his face resting on the dirt.

"It's eight, come on,"

"Sleeping now. Gimme an hour," he said.

"No, get up. Viridian City is right there, I can see it," she told him. Charmander's Poké Ball popped off of Mitchell's belt and opened, the Pokémon scratching his head with his foot. Joanna stepped over the sleeping boy and tickled him again, on the other side.

"Fine, up, up," he said, pushing himself out of the dirt and up onto his knees. She was now dressed in clothing more suitable for travel, while Mitchell was still in his dirty, stained shirt and sweatpants. His bag was still on his back and he thought it might be a good idea to change like she had. He unzipped his bag, trying in vain to rub the sleep from his eyes and pulled out a pair of jeans and a new shirt. Joanna pretended to not pay attention and watched Charmander pluck berries from the bush nearby. Mitchell changed shirts quickly, not wanting her to see the bruise that seemed to have enlarged as time passed. They started down the road soon after, spotting the Viridian sign and the woman watching them approach. Joanna asked Mitchell if he thought that the woman was waiting for them to get close enough to match them to a police photo or something. She turned around with her tea and walked away before she would have been able to discern the identifying characteristics of the two, so they both agreed that for now, they were safe.

The town was beginning to show the first signs of morning life. Front doors were opening and the citizens were trickling out, making their way to coffee shops and workplaces. A police officer on a motorbike waved at Mitchell and Joanna as they approached with their Pokémon close behind. It seemed that they hadn't yet been told to watch for the two teens. Both suspected that it wouldn't last long, so they wanted to get through Viridian City as quickly as possible. The red-roofed Pokémon Center, part Pokémon hospital and part trainer inn, sat between two similarly sized buildings. The Pokémart, nearly identical to the Center but with a blue roof, was also visible upon entering the town. Both teens readjusted their backpack straps as they walked on, coming up to the Center's automatic sliding door and walking through.

"Good morning!" the high-pitched voice of the nurse called out to the two as they entered. Joanna returned the greeting, while Mitchell gave a half-hearted wave and walked for the door on his left. Through the glass he could see a set of lockers, but more importantly, beds. His mind begged for a comfortable mattress and a full night's sleep, just a little bit of relief after his crazy night in Pallet. Expecting the door to slide open in front of him, he kept walking until the glass stopped him. Joanna giggled and the nurse pointed to the small slot next to it.

"Trainers need to put their Pokédexes in that slot to get in. It's there because homeless people used to use up the trainer beds instead of going to their shelters. Not that we've got something against the homeless, but this is specifically a place for trainers," the nurse explained. Mitchell slid his Pokédex into the opening and it beeped. There was an automated whirring sound and an audible click before the door slid open.

"Welcome, Mitchell Direnetti," the door said with a computerized female voice. Inside, the walls were painted a dark navy color and completely lacking windows. The left wall was completely covered from ceiling to floor with medium-sized green lockers, while the others were lined with twin-size beds. Mitchell saw two trainers sleeping, both young boys. Neither could be older than twelve, but they had such innocent looks on their faces. They looked nothing like Mitchell had at that age. He would be restless under the blankets, whimpering, waking up every few minutes to make sure his father wasn't standing over him with the belt. They had been lucky enough to start their journeys with warm, heartfelt goodbyes. Their moms worried about their little babies, but not like Amber Direnetti worried.

Mitchell wanted to call and let her know that he was okay, but if the police were at his house when he called, they might've been able to trace the call to Viridian City.

Almost as if on cue, he felt his phone start vibrating in his back pocket. He didn't remember ever switching the ring style from silent and thought about just ignoring the call, like he had every other call from last night. After the third buzz, he reached for it and flipped it open. The number on the screen was unfamiliar, but he pressed the green button anyway and put the phone to his ear, waiting for a greeting.

"Mitch?" the voice on the other end asked after a second or two of silence.

"Kenny?" Mitchell said incredulously, receiving an enthusiastic yes in response.

"Man, I called you, like, eight times! Why haven't you answered your phone?"

"What number is this?"

"My hospital room," Kenneth replied.

"Are you alright?"

"Can't feel a thing. Morphine's funny that way. I think they dug the bullet out last night when I got in, but I was unconscious. I don't even remember when the ambulance showed up, but they keep telling me that I was answering questions and stuff. They reviewed it with me this morning, and I flat out lied about what you were doing,

"Oh, and I'm gonna be fine, they said. Oak called and told me I got the job. Is this line secure?"

Mitchell didn't think about it, but he assumed it was.

"It is unless they tapped that phone,"

"I think the hospital wouldn't let the police do it. Some kind of violation of patient privacy protocol … something. Oak told me what you're doing now, too. Someone broke into his lab last night, did you hear about it? Police say it was you, but Oak insists that it was a girl with a gun. Maybe it was that Joanna girl that went missing last night?"

"Broke in?"

"Yeah, stole something. The police didn't specify, only that it was an armed robbery, and Oak didn't talk about it to me.

"Where are the police looking now?" Mitchell asked, glancing around for a television so that he could monitor how far the reports were spreading.

"Uh … they think you're still in Pallet. They've got officers at your house and my house and the Joanna girl's house looking for you. You aren't still in town, are you?"

"Nope,"

"Good. Keep going; don't stop in one place for too long unless you get over to East Kanto. I don't think they'll look for you there if Oak can keep quiet about you joining the League. If you want to talk to your mom then I can call her and ask her to come visit me or something, or you can call her on your Pokédex since the police won't know the number. If the police answer though, don't talk, just hang up. Don't give them enough time to trace it; it takes like a minute or something. But if police get hold of that number, they'll be able to pin Oak for misleading the authority figures,"

"There's a phone in the Pokédex?" Mitchell asked. One of the sleeping trainers stirred.

"Yes, and the League tracks your progress when you use it for ID at places. Pokémon Centers, Pokémarts, Gym Battles, your storage system, any of that. Police aren't normally allowed access to League databases but if they find your number they'll ask for a report from the League. They'll be able to follow your every move, so keep that number secret, alright?"

"Got it. Thanks for calling," Mitchell responded.

"Talk to you when I get out of here," said Kenneth, and he started to pull the receiver away from his ear when he heard Mitchell tell him to wait.

"One more question,"

"Yeah?"

"Edward?"

There was an unnerving silence as Mitchell waited for an answer. The boys were awakening and rubbing their eyes, trying not to stare into the lights above them that changed intensity to match the lighting conditions outside at different times per day. They glanced over to their end tables to see if their Poké Balls had been returned to them during the night. The small white and red objects were protected by small, transparent domes that opened when the owner's Pokédex was inserted in the slot below. Mitchell started wondering if he would ever receive an answer, and finally, one came.

"They found him," Kenneth said.

"Is he?"

"I'm sorry,"

Mitchell faltered.

"Don't be. How did it…you know, what happened?"

"He crashed a car. It was dark and he was driving through the forest and hit a tree. He got halfway through the windshield,"

"Thanks for calling. I'll see you," Mitchell said, and hung up. He stared at the phone's screen until the backlight went out a minute later. Why didn't he feel sadness? Shouldn't he have at least felt a little bit of remorse for acting in such a way that indirectly led to his father's death? What would Mom think if he didn't shed a single tear for their loss?

One of the trainers stood up and yawned, stretching his arms up high into the air. He looked like he had overslept big time, based on the hurry he seemed to be in as he shoved his Poké Balls into his backpack after inserting his Pokédex into the end table. His friend rolled over onto his stomach and buried his face into the pillow after being told to get up. Mitchell walked over to a locker near the far wall and pulled it open.

"Get up, Danny," Mitchell heard the trainer tell his drowsy companion, "I want to be in Pewter City by sundown, and we've gotta go through the forest to get there,"

He walked over to the locker next to Mitchell and opened it, grabbing the small things he had put in there: a belt, a keychain, and his cap. The older boy shoved his backpack into the locker and closed it, turning to the right to survey each bed and decide which one looked the most comfortable. The young trainer looked up at Mitchell and saw his bruise.

"Holy crap, dude, what did you do?" he asked.

"Long story," Mitchell replied. The boy followed him over to his chosen bed, the one that the air vent blew on. He could never sleep when it was too hot.

"Did you lose?" the boy asked.

"No,"

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I won. Loser is a lot worse off," he said coldly, surprising even himself. The boy did not know what he was talking about at all.

"I don't believe you,"

Mitchell sat down and kicked his shoes off, wanting the boy to go away before he put his head on the pillow. His expression showed that he was obviously annoyed with the trainer.

"You're twelve. What do I care what you think?"

"Almost thirteen,"

"Okay, look. I'm tired. Last night I got attacked by my dad, my best friend got shot, my mom got beaten, and I almost got shot and raped. I've got too much on my mind to give a fuck what a twelve year old thinks, so just shut your damn mouth and let me sleep, or I'll go get a needle from the nurse and stitch it up for you!" Mitchell nearly roared at the trainer. He backed away, clearly shocked, his friend Danny sliding his head up under the pillow and mashing it to his ears so that he couldn't hear the argument. The trainer walked over and pushed Danny off of his bed. The sleeping boy rolled underneath the bed and put his head on his arm for a pillow.

"You're freaking impossible, Danny," the other boy said. Danny mumbled something back, likely an insult, but the meaning was indiscernible. Mitchell put his head down on his pillow and heard the door into the room slide open. He looked up and saw Charmander and Bulbasaur bounding in through the door, followed by Joanna. She had a cup in her hand and the faint smell of coffee floated up into Mitchell's nostrils. He hated the smell and knew that with it in the room, there was no way he'd be able to sleep. In her other hand, she held Mitchell's Pokédex, which he had absentmindedly left in the door slot.

"No, you can't go back to sleep, we're already awake," Joanna told him. He responded by pulling the blanket up to his neck and putting his head underneath the pillow.

"Here, drink this," she said, holding the cup out for Mitchell to take.

"I don't drink coffee," came the muffled response from underneath the pillow.

"It's not coffee. The nurse made it, and she said it helps bruises. We'll need to hide yours if we don't want people recognizing us,"

"Gimme that," he said, knocking the pillow aside and emerging from his warm, dark world to take that cup. It looked just like coffee, and when he took a sip, he realized that it tasted exactly like coffee.

"What is this?" he asked, taking another sip.

"Coffee,"

"I knew it," Mitchell said, "It's got a weird aftertaste,"

"That's an Awakening tablet,"

Almost instantly, Mitchell felt alert. The bed was no longer as appealing as it had been just seconds before. He stood up and sipped a little bit more, wishing the cup was a little bit bigger. His mother loved coffee, but both Edward and Mitchell hated it. Because of that, Amber never got to drink it. The strange, tart flavoring of the Awakening tablet forced Mitchell to enjoy the coffee, and he was fine with it if it meant that he would have one less similarity between him and Edward. He looked over at the two boys, who were petting Charmander and Bulbasaur.

"Hey," Mitchell said, and both looked up. He locked eyes with the one he had snapped at earlier.

"Sorry about … well, sorry. But I didn't lose,"

"No, I shouldn't have … well, yeah, thanks," the boy said, walking over and extending his hand.

"Eric,"

"I'm Mitch,"

Other greetings followed, and once they were all acquainted, Mitchell went to retrieve his stuff from the locker. Now that he was awake, he wanted to go out and start being a trainer. His hand fell on the one empty Poké Ball he had, the one Joanna had given him back in Pallet Town. No, he couldn't use it on just any Pokémon. It had to be a special one.

"So, are you going to try and get your badges?" Eric asked Mitchell. Mitchell looked at Charmander, as if to ask if the Pokémon wanted to, and Charmander gave him a thumbs-up.

"Yeah, I am,"

"I think I am too," Joanna said, and Bulbasaur nodded. Eric raised an eyebrow.

"Is Charmander all you have, Mitchell?" he asked, and Mitchell nodded.

"You won't get past the Pewter City Gym with just Charmander. I don't doubt your abilities or anything, but you've got a major type disadvantage. If you've got a fishing rod, you could head south to Pallet Town and try to catch a Staryu, or you can check the lakes around here for Psyduck," Eric explained. Both of the teens were surprised at the young boy's knowledge of the locations different Pokémon could be found.

"I don't have a fishing rod," Mitchell said.

"Well, you could head west to Route 2 and try to find a Mankey, but they're pretty elusive. I've been trying to find one for three days but I got nothing. We decided to just move on. I'm sure I'll do fine with my party,"

"Thanks for the advice," Joanna said, and then she turned to Mitchell. "I think we should get going then, try and find you a Mankey,"

She reached into her pack and dug out a small bag, which contained a supply of Poké Balls from back in Pallet Town. She grabbed the five most easily accessible ones and held them out for Mitchell. He looked up and asked where she had gotten all of them.

"Employee discount. I had nothing else to buy, and I figured someday I'd be doing this Pokémon journey thing. Might as well prepare, right?"

All six of them left the Pokémon Center as a group, but once they reached a fork in the road, Eric and Danny took the north one, and the others went west. In the distance, Mitchell saw a fenced-in area of tall grass near a large natural rock formation. He set his eyes on it and kept walking.

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Author Notes: It took so long because I despise having to type up what I physically write down on paper. Most of the time, what I end up writing is very small and mashed together, since the paper I used was unlined, and I have to sit there and strain to figure out where I left off. And it isn't like I could just prop it up and type it, since the print is too small! Anyway, now that we're past this part, we'll get into the first couple of catches that Mitch and Jo make. Also, we see a familiar face return in the next chapter. Read and review, people!

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