Chapter 1
Call me Red. Even though my name is actually Redmond James Evans, son of Marilyn Evans and Richard James. I am currently sixteen years old and am writing in this Journal from the inside of a moving van. After two failed homes, my mother has decided we should live somewhere safe. Apparently, Kalos is the place.
Time eventually passed and so, I feel the vehicle coming to a stop. I'll write more later on. For now, let's just see what comes out of this.
…...
"Are you alright, honey? I'm sorry you had to go in the back of the van, I really am! But you know I have my back issues!"- Marilyn quickly excused herself, receiving a dismissing wave of hand from her son.
"It's ok, mom. Really."
"Great! Come on, don't you want to see our new home? The moving Machoke and Vigoroths will take care of the boxes! Hurry!"
The tall teenager followed his excited, dark-brown haired mother into the regular-sized house, passing by their pet Rhyhorn, who was currently settling by the single tree that formed their garden.
It was a nice house. The first floor was made up of a kitchen, a living room and a bathroom, all relatively modern when it came to decoration.
"See? I'm going to cook so many new dishes now with that kitchen!"
"Yes. That's great, mom."
"I know, right? But that's not all, let's go upstairs for a bit."
The second and last floor wasn't something particularly different to the teenager. Again, his mother had given particular interest to a single bedroom – his. It was equiped with a large LCD screen and a brand new Nintendo Wii for him to spend his time. Both mere bribes, since Marilyn already knew his plans wouldn't let him be around for long.
The room was completed with a wardrobe, a mirror, a desk and a bed, which Red sat on as he finished the house tour. A single glance let him know that his mother's bedroom was literally as large as their kitchen. So thoughtful, as always.
But it just didn't feel like home. Hell, after so many years, so many changes, nothing really felt like home anyway. But this felt worse. As if it didn't fit in.
"Isn't it amazing?"
"I guess."
"Oh, don't be such a fun-kill. I'll even make you your favorite dinner: A nice, big, rare steak, if you promise to cheer up."
"Alright, alright, I'll do my best."- he replied as he heard the promise of meat. He always had had an addiction for that sort of thing.
Suddenly, a loud groan called for their attention. A Machoke had entered and was signalling to them as if there was a problem.
Red quickly followed the pokemon down the stairs to see him pointing at the door. Someone had come to visit.
Without a word, the teenager walked up to the entrance of his new home and opened it.
In front of him stood two teenage girls. One of them had brown hair tied in a very specific hairstyle, and dark green eyes. She was small, and looked excited. She wore a pink t-shirt, mini denim shorts and pink boots.
The second one had long, light-brown hair and gray eyes. She was wearing a hat and a pair of glasses, accompanied by a black top, a red mini-skirt, black sneakers and black thigh-high stockings.
"Hello?"- Red greeted, confused about the situation. The smaller girl gave off a slight giggle and quickly extended her right hand.
"Hi! You just moved in, right? I'm Shauna! I'm your neighbour! Pleased to meet you!"- she greeted him, shaking his hand as he reluctantly gave it.
"And I'm Serena. I'm also your neighbour. It's a pleasure to meet you."- the second one followed the same ritual as Redmond regained his composure.
"Call me Red."- were his only words. Shauna giggled and nodded, content, while Serena blushed. She had obviously taken an instant liking to the jeans, dark sneakers and red hoodie-wearing, brown -haired and eyed boy.
"So, Red, as a way to start things on the right foot, what do you say to coming with us on a very special day of our lives tomorrow? We promise there's a surprise in it for you!"- Shauna invited him. He pondered. Don't be such a fun-kill. His mom's voice resonated inside his head.
"Sure, but I'm going to ask you a favor after that, alright?"- he replied. The two girls seemed puzzled at his response, but simply nodded, and he gave off one of his rare, faint smiles, that instantly melted Serena's heart.
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow, then. Come pick me up."
They shook hands again and he closed the door. That was enough social interaction for the day for him. He never had been the type of guy that loved being around people. It was quite the opposite, really.
"So? Who was it, honey?"- his mother asked from inside the kitchen.
"A couple of girls. I've got plans for tomorrow. Happy now?"- he responded. She always was so excited when he actually went out with "friends". Especially if they were girl friends.
With effect, she squealed in happiness, quickly hurrying over and giving him one of her death grip hugs.
"OH MY GOD, MY LITTLE BOY JUST MOVED AND ALREADY IS GOING ON A DATE WITH TWO BEAUTIFUL GIRLS! I'M GOING TO MAKE DESSERT JUST TO CELEBRATE!"- she declared, rushing to the kitchen again and getting to work. Red couldn't find it in him to tell her it wasn't a date.
…...
A few hours, three rare, bloody steaks and two slices of chocolate cake later, Red sat by his desk, trying to clear his head.
Kalos was known for being one of the most unforgiving leagues to trainers. Any and all who slacked off between one gym leader to another were in for a nasty surprise. Pokemon Masters who wanted to raze through the gyms and the Elite Four had to keep their team at a constant, steady pace of improvement.
None of this was news to Red, but it certainly was different. When he was in Kanto, all he had to do was match the types of each gym and simply move forward. Just like Hoenn, too.
He didn't know how to get a Pokemon and get started, and he certainly couldn't ask his mom for the Fletchling or the Rhyhorn she already possessed. They were like children to her.
I could always ask Shauna and Serena after tomorrow's big surprise. He thought to himself as someone walked into his room.
"So, honey, what do you think of this new place? What are you planning to do here?"- she asked. He sighed in response.
"Kalos seems good, but you already know that what I'm going to do won't allow for much sight-seeing. We've talked about this."
She flinched before sadness made itself noticeable in her face, as she bowed her head. Red sighed again and gently pushed it up again by the chin, giving her a warm smile.
"I promise I'll be fine. It's the Pokemon League, any kid does it these days. I have to fly out of the next some day, right?"
She was tearing up, but Red didn't blame her. She had the right to do so.
"Yeah, because the first two times went so well and safely! Kanto and Hoenn didn't work with your Pokemon quest, why would Kalos? Just please, find something else to do! A new dream! Please!"- she begged him. He smiled at her.
"You know I can't do that, mom. I've got my reasons. I promise this time everything will go well."
She looked up at him, worry in her eyes.
"You mean it?"
"Yes. I promise nothing like Giovanni or Archie will happen again."
…...
The Next Day
Sudden light, dry mouth and the smell of bacon where the factors that led Red to believe it was morning.
"Red, honey! Take a quick shower and come down! Breakfast time!"- his mother's voice called out from the lower floor.
He swung his legs aside so his feet could touch the cold floor, and made his way to the bathroom. The faster he followed his morning routine, the faster he'd eat, and the faster he'd get to the so-called "surprise".
With effect, his shower and teeth brushing took just about ten minutes, followed by throwing his red hoodie, jeans and sneakers on and walking down the stairs.
"I made your favorite breakfast so you can start your journey! Bacon and eggs! What do you think?"- his mother greeted him as he kissed her cheek before sitting down.
"Looks delicious. Thanks mom."
He devoured the meal, downing it with orange juice before digging in again. He had started two journeys before, and he knew that a full stomach was a must for the first day.
Ding-Dong.
"I'll get it."- Red quickly said, getting up and rushing to the door.
"Hey, Red!"- Shauna greeted him with her natural, big smile as he opened the entrance to his home.
"Ready to go?"- Serena followed. Red nodded as he reached for his backpack.
"See you later mom."
"See you Red! Good luck on your date!"
As he closed the door, the two girls eyed him curiously. He simply shrugged and started walking.
"Don't even ask."
…...
They led him out of Vaniville Town, walking through Route 1's pathway and into Aquacorde.
Right by the entrance, there was this small esplanade with a couple of chairs and tables for people to sit and talk while drinking and eating from the nearby caffes.
"Over here!"- a voice called out, and they all turned their heads to see two young teenage boys sitting by one of the tables.
The one who called out was an overweight, white, dark-haired boy with a black t-shirt that had a blue vanillite on the front, and orange shorts, accompanied with white sneakers.
The other one was a short, skinny boy with ginger hair and gray eyes. He wore a grayish-green t-shirt, dark pants and green sneakers. He also carried a green backpack that was currently lying on his lap.
"Alright, Red, the boy in the black t-shirt is Tierno. Watch out, he's got mad skills at dancing, so don't challenge him in that area."- Shauna introduced her friend, receiving an approving nod and a laugh from Tierno.
"And that is Trevor. Never challenge him in anything intelectual. It's a waste of time, really. He always wins."- Serena finished, pointing at Tierno who gave a polite smile.
"Boys, this is Red. The new guy in town, the one I talked to you about yesterday! He just finished moving in!"
"Wow, Red, Serena was spot on on her description of you. Tall, red-wearing and cool-looking! Though, I think she exaggerated a bit! Anyway, I'm Tierno. Cool to meet you!"- the overweight boy said with a smile on his face, shaking Red's hand.
"Hehe, forgive my friend. He's feeling electric today. I'm Trevor, it's a pleasure to meet you."- Trevor followed, shaking the boy's hand as well.
"How couldn't I? We got our very own first Pokemon today! It was awesome!"
"Speaking of which, where are ours?"- Shauna asked, making Tierno chuckle happily as Trevor removed two Pokeballs from his backpack.
"Here they are, directly from Professor Sycamore. Go ahead and choose."- he said as the two girls giggled with excitement.
"You first, Serena, I mean, you are the one who got us in contact with the Professor in the first place, so you deserve it."- Shauna said, making Serena hug her in thanks.
"Thank you, Shauna, but it's just so hard to choose between them."- Serena admitted.
"Well, Calem already came by earlier and took Chespin, so you only have Froakie and Fennekin to choose from."- Trevor declared.
"Calem?"- Red asked, making himself heard for the first time in the whole conversation. Tierno quickly came to the rescue.
"Oh, Calem is another friend of ours. He's really inpatient though, so he's probably already fighting the first Gym Leader."
"Ok, I've decided, I'll take Froakie."- Serena declared, taking a pokeball and kissing it gently.
"In that case, I'll have Fennekin. Yay!"- Shauna followed.
The duo nodded to each other and threw their pokeballs, conjuring the two creatures that immediately jumped at them, being caught in a hug. Red smirked as he remembered the first Pokemon he ever received.
"Congratulations on getting your first Pokemon. Treasure this moment like no other. There will be more like this one, but you never know when it's all going to end. I made the mistake of not doing so, and I regret it to this day."- he advised, leaning against a nearby wall, confusing the two girls on the spot.
"Anyway, if that's all, I think I've got to go. Have to get things ready for something..."- Red finished, turning and heading for his home again.
"Wait, Red! Just a second. Come back!"- Shauna called out as he turned again with an inquiring eye. Serena proceeded to explain.
"Professor Sycamore wanted five young people for an experiment he was working on. He'd give each of them Pokemon so they could aid him. He recruited me, Shauna, Trevor, Tierno and Calem. But you came yesterday, and since you seemed nice, me and Shauna quickly decided to ask Professor Sycamore if you could join in."
As she spoke, she ruffled through her bag, as if searching for something.
"He seemed really excited, especially after I told him you came from Kanto, and said he'd immediately send me another Pokemon. He said that he'd send one from your region, so you have something from home."
She finally managed to take the Pokeball out of her handbag, quickly presenting it to Red, inviting him to take it.
"Wait, Red, you're from Kanto? That's awesome! Tell me, what do you guys dance there?"- Tierno quickly asked. Red chuckled, but gave no answer.
"Here. This way you can start your journey with us, and we can all go together."
Red himself was dumbfounded, together with the rest except Shauna. Apparently, she was in on the plan too. Well, at least now I don't have to search for Pokemon elsewhere.
"Thank you. Really, thank you. Now I can finally start fulfilling my goal."- he took the red ball and threw it to the skies, seeing it open and sending out a beam of light.
The beam struck the ground, and quickly turned into a small creature with long ears, a big fluffy tail, white, large fur around the neck and brown fur on the rest of the body.
Hehehe, try to steal this one from me, will you, Blue, you bastard!
"An Eevee. Beautiful!"- Shauna exclaimed as the creature ran towards Red, jumped, hugged him and then stood on his left shoulder, cuddling with its new master.
"Nice. Thank you again."- the boy said, making Serena blush, but quickly regather her composure.
"You can thank me by having our first Pokemon battle together. Right here. Right now. Froakie versus Eevee. The battle that defines the beginning of our journey."
Red sneered and shrugged his shoulders as Eevee jumped down, readying himself. It had understood what was coming, and was excited for the first battle he would face with master.
"Alright, you two. But hurry up. I want to battle as well!"- Shauna declared.
" Can you guys see if your Pokemon can dance a little to inspire me?"- Tierno followed. Trevor facepalmed.
"Are you both ready?"
"Yes."- they answered at the same time.
"Begin!"
Serena quickly took out a Pokedex, and used it to scan her Froakie. It was obvious she had no experience whatsoever, and Red had to capitalize on that.
"According to the Pokedex, my Froakie knows Bubble, Pound and Growl. Do you want me to tell you which attacks Eevee knows, Red?"- she offered. He chuckled in response.
"No need. I've had plenty of experience with these little devils."- he replied. Blue, all of those battles will finally be good for something.
"Alright, your loss. Froakie, Pound him!"- Serena ordered, and with effect, the blue frog jumped at Eevee, ready to strike.
"Eevee, dodge it."
The furred creature jumped to the side, easily avoiding the frog's strike, a small, confident smirk on its nuzzle.
"Now, Quick Attack."- Red ordered, as Eevee blurred.
"Huh?"- Serena expressed her confusion as Eevee's figure flickered from one place to another, each time getting closer to her Pokemon and each time faster before finally crashing into Froakie, sending it flying a few meters.
"Froak!"- the poor creature squealed as it hit the ground. Serena winced.
"Come on, Froakie, get up. I believe in you!"- she begged, and with effort, her Pokemon rose, eyeing the smirking Eevee carefully. It was obvious that the creature itself knew it was being commanded by someone who knew what they were doing.
"Let's finish this, we've got more to do, Eevee. Use Double Team."
The Eevee's smirk grew bigger as clones of itself kept appearing, surrounding the blue frog. The ten of them were more than enough to confuse Froakie.
"Now, Quick Attack!"
"Froakie, try to protect yourself!"- the girl ordered, but it was useless. The poor, tired, hurt amphibian could not stand up or even begin to try and block or evade the attacks of ten individual Eevees. Even though nine of them couldn't actually hit him, it wasn't like he could actually tell which was the real one.
Two quick blows and a rush from the left side later, Froakie was sent flying against the wall and fell, unconscious.
"Awh, Froakie...come back."- Serena ordered as the frog turned back into a light beam and went inside the Pokeball.
"Damn, Red, you're unforgiving in battle. But I guess it's for the best. It'll make us stronger. Anyway, it's my turn! Go, Fennekin!"- Shauna stepped in, throwing her own Pokeball. Eevee eyed Red with worry.
"Dont' worry, pal. We can take them. Easily."
Apparently, Red's words had their effect, since the creature regained its confident smile, and faced the fiery fox that stood in front of him.
"Fennekin, use Ember!"- Shauna ordered. It was clear she had studied the Pokedex herself while Red and Serena battled.
"Eevee, duck!"
Red's Pokemon managed to avoid the small flare by a few milimetres, just barely not having his fur burned.
"Forget about using that Double Team stuff, Red! That won't work on Fennekin!"- Shauna declared as Red simply shrugged.
"If that's the case...Eevee, Sand-Attack!"
Eevee spun and sweeped the ground with his tail, sending a cloud of sand into Fennekin's unsuspecting eyes, blinding him.
"Fennekin, Tackle him!"- the girl commanded. The fox did try to follow her orders, but ended up tackling Eevee's right side, missing him completely.
"What?"
"Do you think you could aim well if you had sand in your eyes?"- Red asked, and Shauna immediately realized what he meant.
"Eevee, finish the poor thing off with Swift."
"Swift?"- Serena asked. Trevor made a worried face.
"You'll see soon."
With effect, Eevee readied itself, and after taking a deep breath, he spat out numerous horizontal stars, which went flying towards Fennekin, each one striking it like a flying rock.
The impacts were more than enough to send it flying back into Shauna's arms, unconscious.
"Awh...come back, Fennekin. At least you tried..."- the girl weeped, pulling it back into the Pokeball. Everybody was now eyeing Red, who was petting Eevee, who was now on his shoulder again.
Jesus, how could he know so much about Eevee's attacks? Hell, the two just met each other, how could they work so well together? Trevor, tortured his own mind for answers, but he found none.
"Anyway, good battles, you two. It was a pleasure to meet everybody, but now I've got to go. Things to do, places to go. I'm sure we'll meet each other later."
"Wait, Red, don't you want your Pokedex?"- Tierno called out.
The boy didn't bother to answer, as he rose an old, beat-up red device, that Trevor recognized as the Kanto Pokedex.
"The Kanto version? But what good will that do here?"- he asked.
"Good old Professor Oak is quite intelligent. He made it so that each time I went to a different region, the Pokedex would log into the National Pokedex System, and download any information it can. That basically means I can go anywhere and just use this one."
And with that, he walked away from Aquacorde Town, leaving them dumbfounded.
…...
A heartwarming goodbye to his mother, a quick walk through route 2 and a couple of trainer battles later, Red was entering Santalune Forest.
It was a dark, humid place with several patches of grass here and there where multiple bug-type Pokemon lived, accompanied by the Pansages, Panpours and Pansears that had chosen the forest as home, and the Pikachus who found out that the place would never run out of berries.
It wasn't a very big forest, but it had several turns and, added to the multiple battles with the random Caterpies and Weedles, and the battles he had with Youngster Joey and Lasses Anna and Lise made it so that he would only get close to leaving an hour later.
Thank God this is almost over. So tired of having Metapods jumping at me. It's gotten to the point where Eevee doesn't even improve anymore with these battles. Well, at least it serves for us to bond a bit. I've got to remember to buy him those Eevee cookies they used to sell. Blue's Eevee seemed to love them. Red thought to himself, bored out of his mind. He had become a Pokemon Trainer for the third time now, and no real challenge had been provided. Even the battles with Shauna and Serena had been more interesting than this.
"You. Please stop."- a voice called out, snapping him out of his trance. He looked to the side to see a young teenage girl walk out of the shadows.
She was a lolita in every way. The girl wore a thigh-high black dress with white buttons and two white stripes on them, under an open black corset which was attached to it by a strange collar that went around the shoulders. She wore black leggings that covered her legs entirely, black boots with a white line, a white ribbon that decorated her black, weirdly-stylized hair and black arm warmers.
Red didn't know why, but he thought she was cute.
"I saw you on Tv a couple of times. Something regarding the Team Rocket and Team Aqua incidents. But you quickly vanished. And now I see you in Aquacorde , Vaniville and now here. You're mysterious."- she spoke. He shrugged as Eevee now sat on his head.
"Your point?"
"Let's battle. I want to see for myself what you're worth."
Red shrugged again as Eevee hopped off of him, landing on the ground and preparing itself, immediately understand what was going on.
The lolita took a Pokeball out of nowhere and threw it, having a Growlithe appear. The creature spewed fire out of its mouth in excitement.
"I'll have you know, I watched both of your battles with those two girls. Your experience with Pokemon battling alone will not be enough to win, for I am experienced myself."
"We'll see. Eevee, Quick Attack!"- he ordered, and his Pokemon immediately blurred as the lolita let out a sneer.
"Not good enough. Growlithe, Roar!"
Her own Pokemon took in some air before screaming it out, creating a roar that knocked the blurring Eevee away, sending him a few metres into the air before falling down again.
"Ember."
Growlithe shot out a small flare of fire that was aimed to precisely hit the spot where Eevee would land.
"You underestimate us. Swift."
Eevee spit a few dozens of stars, keeping himself airborn long enough for the Ember to pass. But that wasn't all, since the few battles it had had with its Trainer before let him know exactly what Red was thinking.
He flipped mid-air and spat one last star that went flying towards Growlithe before gracefully landing.
"Double Team and Quick Attack."
Again, Eevee multiplied, creating many doppelgangers before having every single one blur and appear at different locations, speeding to Growlithe, who was having a hard time deciding which was the real one.
Then, out of nowhere, the Swift star made itself known again, hitting Growlithe's paws and flipping him off the ground with the power of a flying stone, before disappearing.
As the poor creature twisted and turned in the air while falling, a single Eevee dashed for the hit, ready to crash into Growlithe.
"Bite."- the lolita commanded, and at the very last second, Growlithe's eye sparkled as he twisted his body and closed his fangs around Eevee's right anterior leg with tenacity.
Eevee almost immediately squealed as they fell to the ground, Growlithe still keeping the hold on his leg.
"Eevee, quick, Swift again!"- Red ordered as his Pokemon spat out a cluster of the stars again, forcing Growlithe to jump away in order to avoid them. But even then, avoiding twenty-five stone-solid stars at point blank is a quite formidable task.
One Growlithe could not manage.
Two stars managed to strike him and send him flying back to the lolita girl's side, still standing. But obviously, he was quite roughed up, just like Eevee. One more hit would decide the match.
"Eevee, it's time to finish this. We've had enough fun."- Red declared, making the Pokemon smirk with confidence.
"Arrogance will be your defeat. Growlithe, Flame Wheel!"- at her command, Growlithe began spinning rapidly, releasing fire and creating quite literally a wheel of flames before launching itself into Eevee at high speeds.
The Pokemon went a long way without response, and even though time was being cut short, Eevee knew it'd all be alright. It was his Trainer who was commanding him, after all.
"Now, Eevee, Protect!"
At his order, Eevee created a quite amateur shield in front of his nozzle, but it was more than enough, since Growlithe crashed into it and was flipped into the air as response, losing control of the flames which then dissipated.
"Finish it off with Hidden Power!"- Red ordered, and a cluster of odd, small, solid balls began forming and shining around Eevee. The Lolita panicked.
"What? NO! Growlithe, Bite!"
The poor creature tried to follow her master's command, but it was too late. One of the balls nailed its open lower jaw, another its left temple, and a considerable ammount of the rest just did a number on its body before finally disappearing.
The tired and beaten up Growlithe fell to the ground, next to its Trainer, unconscious.
"*sigh* Come back, Growlithe."- the lolita commanded, and her Pokemon quickly transformed into a beam of energy that went inside the Pokeball she was holding.
She immediately hid it again and walked towards Red, handing him a bunch of Pokedollars as Eevee again rested on his shoulder.
"It was a good battle, but you were the best out of both of us. I admit it. Normally, this would make us rivals, but I am not looking for that at the moment. At the moment, I'm looking for answers, for change and for what makes life good. So I wonder if you'd be open-minded about a deal?"- she spoke. As response, he merely rose his right eyebrow in curiosity.
"My dream is to become a Gym Leader. Or maybe even an Elite Four of some region. I don't know who you are, but if you are the one responsible for the dismantling of the entire Rocket and Aqua Teams and for Kyogre's suppression, I'd wager you'd be the best one to follow and learn from. And maybe even become something else in the future."
"But, I do understand that having someone else with you on a League Journey can possibly slow you down, and I don't want you to look at me as such a hindrance. Therefore, I would agree to do pretty much anything you'd like me to. Train your Pokemon here and there while you focus on a specific one, make you breakfast or lunch or anything else, really. I'd do it. Do we have a deal? Company and Training for Loyalty and Servitude?"
She looked nervous, praying to the heavens that he'd accept it. She kept her composure, but inside she knew that if he accepted, she'd have the opportunity to walk along a future legend. Finally, Red sighed.
"Sure, but I have three conditions, er..."- he replied, trying to figure out what to call her.
"Marley. The name's Marley."
"Marley. My name is not important, but you may call me Red. I have three conditions. First, I insist on heavy discipline in training. I train alongside my Pokemon for at least five hours each day, not counting the times when I actually fight another Trainer. You may or may not participate in this activity, but regardless, don't disturb it. Second, you must obey any order I give you without hesitation. I promise not to give any that would put your decency at risk. Are we clear so far?"
"Yes, what is the third?"
"Never get in my way. EVER. Understand?"- he replied. She gulped but quickly nodded, making him sigh in relief and pick up his backpack.
"Great. Buckle up, Marley. We haven't even begun the journey."
(And that's Chapter 1 for you, folks! I hope you enjoyed reading it more than I did writing it! (Even though I loved writing it.) Any question or suggestion you may have, I beg that you write it either in Review or Pm. Don't keep it to yourself. Yours could be the one that completely turns my fic around. Anyway, as always, Favorite/Follow and Review, and have a wonderfull time. See ya!)