Hoenn, Oldale Town, Neo's POV

Finally, today I was getting my starter Pokémon. Finally, I would leave my studies behind and start focusing on my Trainer career.

Should I feel happy or excited like the others? Well, I really wasn't feeling like that.

In fact, I was more worried and agitated than normal. I had too many doubts and unanswered questions that kept me from enjoying the moment.

Last night, I was able to finally decide what Pokémon I was going to pick.

At the beginning, I was inclined to pick an Abra, but seeing that I had so many other options, I decided not to choose this Pokémon. I was trying to avoid copying my mother's steps. It was somewhat ironic that I was worrying about this matter, knowing that I had already disrespected mother's orders.

Starting my journey in Hoenn and knowing that my best friend would end up being my main rival, today I would choose Ralts as my starter.

Despite not being that interested in Pokémon battles, I was betting that Colt wasn't going to leave me alone until we had a serious match.

That was my "big brother". A guy that loved challenging people while aiming to surpass his father and become the best dragon specialist.

I finally decided to get up from my bed. I had been sitting on it for a long time. Probably for more than five hours.

Last night I wasn't able to sleep. Maybe, I was able to close my eyes and rest for a couple of hours, but my brain kept me awake, thinking about one million random topics.

Looking in the mirror, I noticed that had huge dark circles under my red eyes. My pale skin wasn't really helping either.

"I look awful." I said to myself. Anyways, I really didn't care about that type of stuff.

If I was back in Kanto, then I would actually need to be worried about my appearance.

My reputation was already bad, but if people were to see me like this, I would probably be accused of consuming drugs or spending the night with my mobster friends.

That was how bad my social life was back in Kanto. Being Giovanni's grandson granted me these types of perks; being feared and hated by feats that weren't mine.

Stopping those unwanted thoughts, I focused on the main issue. I still needed to get ready to visit my school in Rustboro one last time.

The fact that I could finally tie my unruly long hair was probably the one thing that was making me truly happy. My purplish hair grew faster than an Arcanine's mane and keeping it short was almost impossible for me, so I gave up on trying to tame it.

The fact that I had to keep it untied during school was a pain for me. Apparently, ponytails were something that only girls could wear, according to the school's rules.

Didn't make sense. If they had a hair like mine, I bet their opinion would change in seconds.

Colt also agreed with this. Normally he would joke about how girly I looked, trying to get a reaction from me. I would always ended up teasing him about how he looked like a villain while using his amazing cape.

My father would always laugh at my situation as well. He kept telling me to get a Pokémon like his Weavile.

Then, he would always tell me his old stories of when he was training in the wild and had to ask his Weavile to cut his hair with its sharp claws.

This story was really awkward for me. I would always picture my father swinging from vine to vine and living like a wild animal instead of running his company in his fancy suit.

Shaking off this mental image of my father, I quickly dressed my white jeans and picked out my black jersey jacket from inside my closet.

From inside the box that I received yesterday, I removed my belt (made specifically to hold Poké Balls) and a purple Xtransceiver.

Beneath all the essentials for my journey, there was a small plastic bag that I hadn't seen last night. Inside the bag were a purple scarf and a small handwritten letter.

Opening it carefully, I started reading it, "Hello, Neo. Knowing that your journey will soon start, your grandmother decided to send you something as a good luck charm. I made it purple, noticing that you weren't a redhead like us. In fact, you look like a perfect mixture of your parents. Your red eyes show how serious and mature you are, but I also heard that you inherited the rebellious personality of your father. I hope that one day you can forgive your grandparents and I'll be waiting for your visit. With love, Ariana."

Well, that was unexpected. After reading this I froze for a couple of seconds, not knowing how to react. What was I supposed to feel after reading this? Happy, maybe angered or disgusted? But I only managed to smile softly.

I didn't know why, but I felt like it was the right thing to do. It wasn't a happy smile. In fact I think it was more like a sad one, a mixture of good and bad feelings.

"I've already forgiven you. Maybe I'll visit you one day." I thought to myself, while putting the letter on my desk.

I wrapped the scarf around my neck - it was a gift, after all. I couldn't possibly be rude and just throw it aside, right?

Noticing that the next bus would leave soon, I grabbed my messenger bag and headed down stairs in a rush, quickly saying goodbye to my aunt.

Just before leaving, I shouted saying that I would still come home at least for today. I knew that I had to train and get to know Ralts first.

Oliver's POV

Sighing in annoyance, I decided to off the TV. "I've already seen this movie," I mumbled to myself as I looked out the window.

The sky looked beautiful from up here, but how could a trip take this long?

I was getting seriously bored. I had lost sense of the time that had passed since I entered this airplane.

Checking the silver watch that my grandfather gave me, I noticed that only a couple of hours had passed since I left Kalos.

According to the flight ticket, the trip to Hoenn would take at least three more hours.

For a second my attention focused on the image embedded on my watch.

A green serpent, the ruler of the skies, Rayquaza. "If I get lucky I might see one in Hoenn," I thought to myself, hoping that my journey would pay off.

Unfortunately for me, I would probably end my career without being able to find any legendary Pokémon.

No one has been able find Pokémon like Rayquaza, ever since the disasters that occurred decades ago.

All the legendary Pokémon became myths. People say that they left Earth because there were people here fool enough to try and use them for their own gain.

Critics also blamed the League for letting the villainous teams do as they pleased, back in the past. On multiple occasions they used the Legendaries' powers to cause destruction.

Believers said that the Gods had left Earth. They now lived on their own dimensions.

This theory was actually plausible. Everyone knew that Giratina lived on its own dimension.

This was a good way to explain their disappearance. They were the most powerful beings, after all. If they were the supposed creators of all life as we knew it, something like creating another dimensions would be easy for them.

Anyway, I was dying to get there. I heard that there were some amazing Mega Evolutions in Hoenn and some rare Pokémon, which I had never seen in my two-year journey in Kalos.

For me, being able to learn more about this type of evolution would help me a lot in my competitive battling research. This region would be helpful in my quest for completing my Pokédex, too.

Hopefully this time I would do better in the League's conference. I was able to reach the finals in Kalos, but I lost and it was pretty unpleasant.

My Pokémon were swept away by that trainer wearing a red cap. If Red wasn't missing, along with some other known trainers, I would say that it was him who battled against me that day.

Well, at least I was able to take down half of his team, and I had learned my lesson since then. Back in that tournament I was overconfident in my skills and when battling a stronger trainer I froze.

That battle made me realize that I still needed to work to achieve my dreams.

All of those reasons made me decide to make a journey through Hoenn.

Trying to find a comfortable position for my numb legs, I took out my music player and pressed play. Adjusting my blue and black headphones, I tried to relax and get some sleep.

It felt like this long trip was just about to start.

Hoenn, Rustboro City, Erina's POV

Two days after my arrival in Rustboro City, I was now sitting peacefully on a bench, near a small park enjoying a mystery book that I had just bought.

Near me, leaning against a tree, was my Zangoose, Fang, who was enjoying the rays of sun of his home region.

Choosing Hoenn seemed to be a good option and Fang seemed to agree. That was why we ended up here.

However, this region might be too peaceful for the goal I was trying to achieve.

I wanted to become a private investigator, along with my childhood friend Bei, who also started a journey this same year. We decided to train individually, promising each other to meet again once he got stronger.

Unlike my family, who always showed interest in scientific professions, I felt attracted to the mysteries behind crimes. Since I was young, I knew that this was the right path to follow.

Despite knowing what I wanted to become, I was still not sure how to achieve it. I could have enlisted in the Police Academy and aim to become a detective, working directly for the League.

But I immediately rejected this option, seeing that I would need to go through some intensive training as a police officer before starting to work as a detective.

Helping people and solving crimes with my partner Fang was a dream that I hoped one day to achieve.

Suddenly, from the corner of my eye, I noticed two ladies coming in my direction. They seemed somewhat agitated and they were whispering to each other.

Closing my book, I immediately focused my attention on the two women, trying to hear what they were saying.

As soon as they were a couple of meters away, I was able to hear some parts of their conversation. "Have you heard about the robberies that happened in Route 116?" The other woman shook her head and her friend continued, "Apparently, there were two cases of people falling asleep and losing all their valuables. The robber is attacking people who travel alone."

The two friends continued walking, passing through me as they kept up their conversation.

This was strange. I was sure that I read all the recent newspapers and there was no mention of those two thefts.

Was the local police hiding information to the citizens? Perhaps the rumors about the League hiding things and turning a blind eye to crime were true.

Picking up my bag, I went to Fang and said, "You heard that, buddy? We got a case to solve!" The Zangoose opened his eyes lazily and started smirking at me.

It was show time for us. Helping Fang get up, we left the park and went straight towards the eastern part of Rustboro City.

Colt's POV

One week has passed since that disaster at the Indigo Plateau Conference.

Right now I was on a ship headed to Littleroot Town.

After failing to win my first League Conference, I decided to travel throughout Hoenn before heading home to face the fury of my mother.

I was finally going to see Neo as well. I hadn't talked to him for a long time now.

Deep down, I was feeling ashamed for not contacting him more frequently, but my journey had kept me busy. Besides, right now my pride kept me from calling him.

Knowing that guy, I bet that he had studied my battle a couple of times to see where I had failed.

I knew he wasn't going to judge or criticize me, but I also knew he wouldn't express his opinion unless I asked him to. He was always quiet and moderated in everything he did.

Deep down, I was still feeling ashamed for knowing that he saw me fail like that.

Since I was young, he would always come to my fighting classes to watch and learn more about Pokémon. It wasn't like he was there because he enjoyed the battles.

In fact, I always thought that he was doing it because he enjoyed analyzing the other students, almost like he was trying to guess what they were thinking.

That was how I met him back in Vermilion. He was the lonely guy, who was always daydreaming or stuck on his own thoughts.

Suddenly, a loud I heard a loud noise, coming from outside my cabin. Exiting my room and looking towards the horizon, I noticed that we had almost reached the port.

Checking my blue Xtransceiver and noticing that I finally had a signal, I decided to call Neo.

After a few seconds of beeping, he answered the call. A hologram image of him popped up and I started to hear some background noises.

"You finally called," he said with his serious expression, but knowing him I took it as a joke.

"Yeah, buddy, I'm sorry!" I apologized, trying to make sure that he wouldn't resent me, despite knowing that he wasn't the type of guy who cared about things like this. "Where are you right now? I hear a motor sound but the image is too dark." I asked him, trying to figure out what he was up to.

"I'm on the bus right now. I'm going to pick my starter in Rustboro City."

I nodded. Now that weird background noise made sense. "It's been a year already hmm?" I asked, feeling kind of nostalgic, remembering the day that I had started my journey. He simply nodded. I was expecting him to be happier, knowing that he was starting his journey, but oh well, I guess this was his normal attitude.

"Where are you? I can hear seagulls. Are you on a boat to Johto?"

Hearing this I gave him a nervous smirk and showed where I was, pointing my Xtransceiver towards the port. "Ooh! That's the Littleroot Town harbor. I can assume that you're trying to run away from your mother, right?" He asked me, cracking an ironic smile.

"Yes, that's right! And I bet that from now on you'll be hiding from yours as well."

He nodded before adding, "I bet she already knows." Hearing this I could only sympathize with him.

His mother was always strict about his education and back in Kanto, she would never let him near a psychic Pokémon. That was like torture for the poor guy, knowing that he inherited that passion from the same person who was holding him back.

"So you'll be in Rustboro... Hmm maybe we can meet there? I'll use Gyarados to get there and we'll meet before I start my journey. Sound good?"

He started to touch his screen and after checking the time said, "I'll probably be ready in one hour." I nodded, knowing that it would probably take me half an hour to get there.

Hearing the sound of the engine stop, Neo got up, started walking and said, "I'm going into the school now. Bye."

"Okay bro, see you in an hour." I hung up the call and started chuckling to myself.

"He hasn't changed at all." I thought. Neo was still awkward and awfully serious when interacting with people.

Removing Gyarados's Poké Ball from my belt, I whispered to it, "Girl, I'm going to need your help in a few minutes. Behave, okay?" I knew that as soon as I would call her out she would want to snuggle and wrap me in her strong hugs.

For those who said that Gyarados were intimidating and had destructive power, especially when enraged, I couldn't deny it.

However, my blue serpent was the most affectionate and docile Pokémon that I had. Of course, only outside of battles.

I sighed, preparing to get my back crushed in a few minutes.

The boat started to slow down. "I'm finally here!" I shouted enthusiastically. I really needed a new start and knowing that this region had some amazing dragon species made me feel excited.

Hoenn, Rustboro City, Neo's POV

Finally entering my school, I headed towards the classroom that my teacher had indicated yesterday, stepping in and taking a seat silently.

Looking around, I noticed that there weren't that many people inside the classroom. Around ten others teenagers were patiently waited to pick their starter.

The system ordered the fresh graduates by their score and the students with the best grades would get their starter first. It was a matter of days. After being called, the new trainers had one week to pick their starter. If they ended up not appearing, they would have to take their exams again next year.

Of course, this was only to maintain a certain level of order and to make sure that requests wouldn't overload the trading system.

Scoring 525 in my exams, I barely made it into this first day. There were some amazing grades in this school, especially of those who wanted to become doctors or obtain stronger Pokémon.

After waiting a few minutes, it was finally my turn. I heard my name being called and rushed towards my teachers.

Seated in front of a wood desk there was my archeology teacher, Roxanne, and Wally, our battling mentor.

The brown haired woman was wearing a formal blue dress with a red tie. Comparing her appearance to the different pictures of her on the school halls, it was evident that the woman's sense of style hadn't changed that much.

She was one of the founders of the school.

Wally, the best friend and rival of Brendan and May, the well-known trio of Hoenn, was now in charge of teaching our students some basics about battling.

After retiring from Pokémon battling, Wally decided to dedicate his career in studying the Mega Evolutions while aiming to complete the Pokédex.

I envied the man with the scruffy green hair. He had this powerful Gallade that could Mega Evolve. A powerful psychic Pokémon.

In fact, right now the famous trainer was wearing his Mega Necklace.

It seemed to be made of wood and it was shaped to look like his Gallade's head. I got lost in my thoughts, maybe staring too long for his Mega Stone.

Finally looking away from the paperwork, Roxanne glanced at me and said, "Hello, Neodymium."

I almost choked hearing my teacher calling me this. It wasn't the first time that this happened, and she seemed to like teasing me about my name's origin. "Very funny, Teacher. It's Neo," I corrected her.

She started chuckling. "I'm sorry, Neo, as a rock type lover I couldn't hold in the joke. So, are you ready to pick your Pokémon?" the brown haired woman said, trying to compose herself.

"Don't tease him too much. His name was probably chosen by his godfather, Ethan. Our group was always using nicknames based on precious stones, metals or even colors." Wally explained, gentle as ever.

At least someone understood my situation.

Despite looking calm and collected, I noticed that Wally's expression change when he mentioned Ethan's name and their old group. It was evident for me that he also felt responsible for not knowing what happened to them.

Trying to maintain his cool, Wally kept using the PC in front of him before finally speakin again, "Do you want to see the Pokémon available for you?" He said, pointing at his monitor.

Looking at it, I quickly deduced that it was a software connected to the Day Care system.

Nowadays, there were a great number of Pokémon Breeders who focused on raising and mating selected species, with the goal of obtaining improvements on future generations of Pokémon, such as specific moves, natures or a rare coloration.

Due to this, the Box system started to get full. The Pokémon Day Cares all around the world started to get full of unwanted Pokémon that needed to be dispatched somewhere else.

Not finding a good way to dispose of this problem, the League decided to hand the unwanted Pokémon, left in the Day Cares, to new trainers.

A couple of years after, this new ranking and starter system was created, correcting the flaws found by the critics.

Finally breaking my line of thought, I nodded and said, "No. I'll choose a Ralts."

Stopping what he was doing, Wally chuckled hearing my answer. "Very good choice. Ahh! I still remember when I first caught my Ralts. Good times."

With a nostalgic glint on his eyes, my old mentor started to fill the online data that was needed to order my starter.

"Are you sure you want to choose a Ralts, Neo? It's one of the weakest Pokémon on its first stage. We had some trouble with people wanting refunds... I'm just trying to warn you," Roxanne said, trying to warn me gently that they wouldn't be responsible for my mistakes.

I bowed politely. "Thank you for your concern Ms. Roxanne, but this is my choice. I know that Ralts will become a strong psychic type when it evolves. I'll just need to train seriously."

"I like your attitude. Too bad I'm not Rustboro Gym leader anymore. I would like to battle with you." Roxanne said, seeming happy to see that I was ready to face any type of adversity.

"Your request is almost complete. There is a good amount of Ralts available for starters. Lucky you." Wally commented. "Do you have a gender preference?"

I thought about his question before answering. "Yes, I do. I'd prefer a female Ralts. I don't want to force a male Ralts to evolve into Gardevoir just because it's more convenient for me."

I thought this was the best option to take. Yes, I was being egoistic, but at least I wouldn't need to force my Pokémon to choose between two forms of evolutions. I really wanted Ralts to keep its fairy type. I needed something to counter Colt's dragons.

Wally nodded in agreement with what I said. "Yeah, that's very admirable. Luckily for me, Gallade and I were able to agree on his evolution form." Finally finishing his work on the PC, Wally got up and said, "It's done. The Poké Ball has probably arrived. Follow me."

I tailed Wally into a room fully equipped with various electronic devices, where a lonely Poké Ball sat glowing in one of the trading machines. "It's your Pokémon. Go ahead."

As ordered, I went and picked up my Pokémon. I was dying to meet Ralts, but unfortunately that would have to wait until I left the school.

No Pokémon were allowed to roam freely inside school perimeters. Annoying rules.

Attaching the Poké Ball to my belt, I was about to bid farewell to Wally when he handed me a small paper card. "Take my number. If your father finds out about the others let me know, please." The grown man almost begged, making me feel uncomfortable.

I knew he was probably suffering for not knowing anything about Brendan and May. They were among the trainers who disappeared. Wally was always quiet and did stuff on his own terms back in the day, according to what my father told me, so I was betting that they weren't really that close.

"I'll tell you if something comes up, Wally. Goodbye. Tell Ms. Roxanne that one day I'll be taking that challenge she proposed."

Waving back at the green haired man, I dashed towards the exit. Enough of studies and books for now.

In this moment I just wanted to meet my starter and catch up with my friend.

Kanto, Saffron City, Normal POV

Seated in front of his desk, Silver was checking a huge amount of paperwork.

The red haired man, in his late thirties, had a tired look on his face. However, the caffeine was keeping him awake.

There was no time for him to rest. Not now. Not until he found out what happened.

"Those damned freaks with their revolutionary ideas!" He cursed through his teeth, folding a paper and throwing it against the nearest wall in despair.

Suddenly, someone opened his office door, without asking for permission, and rushed towards him.

The one who did so was a green haired man, dressed formally in a black suit.

"Bad news again, Proton?" Silver assumed, looking at his employee's agitated expression. Holding his head with his palms, Silver tried to stay calm and rational, waiting impatiently to receive the bad news.

"Depends on how you see it, Boss. Our radar detected some type of energy similar to that one, years ago..." The man said vaguely, trying not to bring bad memories. He knew how Silver reacted when talking about this topic.

Picking up the pages that Proton brought with him, Silver analyzed the satellite images quickly and noticed that there were some space-time rifts phenomena appearing above Hoenn.

"This must be their doing! They are still after the Legendary Pokémon." This news seemed to wake him, somehow. His red eyes glowed with hope. This was his chance to find an answer.

Maybe he would be able to bring them back.

"Send a team to investigate the site!" Silver ordered. Proton nodded and started to walk towards the exit.

Just before leaving, his employee said, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, sir. The young Boss has started his journey today and chose a psychic type. He already appeared on our data as a trainer. I'll send someone to check his safety."

Silver chuckled and said, "His mother will scold him so badly, once she sees him. And haven't I told you to stop calling us Boss?"

The green haired smiled in a goofy way, saying that it was already a habit to treat Silver that way.

When Proton was released from prison, Silver decided to give him a chance to redeem himself. Since then, Proton had sworn his loyalty to Silver and his new boss came to replace the old mentors that he once followed in Team Rocket.

Despite small and slow changes, there were always traits that would remain the same.