Josh strode past the sign marking the beginning of Route 1 with gusto. Of course, he had tried to avoid having to say goodbye to his parents, but there was no avoiding his own house on the way to Route 1. Josh had been caught trying to sneak his way into the tall grass a dozen times this year alone, only to be scolded by his parents, his brother, and sometimes even Professor Oak. Josh's mother cried when he hugged her, and his father shook his hand; exactly as they had done when Josh's brother left on his own journey three years ago.

Seeing his brother go off onto the adventure Josh had been dreaming about since he was four years old sparked something in him. What could have been written off as a hobby now became an obsession. Josh stayed up late watching videos of all his favorite Trainers and their battles. He snuck battle encyclopedias into school and read them underneath the desk during class. He quizzed himself on type advantages, berries, vitamins; anything that could help him and his future Pokemon. He felt the need to make himself the best Trainer in the world before he ever got his hands on a real Pokemon.

Any Trainer who wanted to call themselves a Champion would have to challenge and defeat the eight Gym Leaders of the Kanto Region. After that, they would have to make it through Victory Road to reach the Indigo Plateau. After that, they would compete in the tournament against seven other Trainers. And after that, they had to challenge and defeat the Elite Four; four Trainers hand-picked by the Champion and said to be even stronger than the Gym Leaders — although it was hard to imagine such a thing being possible. And after that, finally, they would have to challenge and defeat the Champion. The Champion. Even the word held a special weight in Josh's mind.

He had hardly believed the apparent 180 Oak had done when he suddenly suggested that he simply give Josh a Pokemon so he could start a proper journey. He had pestered his parents relentlessly for weeks before they finally agreed, on the condition he promise to stay in touch — a phone call every Friday, no excuses. Josh didn't even haggle. Nothing could bring his mood down after he got them to agree. And helping Professor Oak with his project was a small price to pay.

Route 1 was little more than a winding path with a few fields of long grass scattered about, but Josh had dreamed about trekking through it for as long as he could remember. Josh adjusted the baseball hat on his head, and took his first step into the long grass, which reached up to his stomach, thinking of his brother. Did Jake encounter his first wild Pokemon here?

A squeak from Josh's left broke his thoughts. Josh turned to face the noise, watching the grass in front of him rustle as the Pokemon approached, squeaking all the while. The grass finally parted as the Pokemon jumped out, a blur of purple fur and bright, white fangs — a Rattata.

Josh reached into the side pocket of his backpack and pulled out his Poke Ball, threw it into the air, and watched his Bulbasaur emerge from the white light.

"Pan, use Tackle!" he called out.

Pan ran forward and charged the Rattata, hitting it dead- center in its face and pushing it back. The Rattata turned around, wagging its curled tail back and forth. Pan looked back towards Josh, confused. Josh hesitated, was it trying to run away?

Suddenly, the Rattata turned back around and tackled Pan, hitting his side and knocking him over.

A Tail Whip, he realized. The endless hours he had spent watching Trainers use the most powerful kinds of moves with their fully-evolved Pokemon hadn't prepared him for that. He was almost insulted he had been fooled by such a simple trick.

"Get up, Pan!" Josh said.

Pan rolled onto his feet and faced the Rattata. "Now use Vine Whip!"

A single vine emerged from Pan's bulb, it stretched high into the air, curled back, and then flashed forward towards the Rattata, striking its face with a snap. The Rattata cried out and stumbled. Josh immediately reached inside his bag again — only to realize it was empty. Josh looked up from his bag, just in time to see the tail of the Ratatta disappear into the grass.

Josh dropped his backpack on the ground. Pan walked to it, sniffed it, and then looked up at his Trainer.

"I forgot the Poke Balls."

#

Josh stood in the tall grass on Route 1, holding a Poke Ball in his hand, scanning the area for any movement. Pan stood at attention in front of him. It was still early in the day, but four more Pokemon had been added to the Pokedex last he checked — Caterpie, Weedle, and both species of Nidoran. Could Ryan already have a full team of six Pokemon?

A shadow crossed Josh's face followed by a flutter of wings from above. Josh looked up to see the silhouette of the Pokemon approaching, blocking out the Sun as it grew bigger. Josh ducked as the Pokemon flew over him, grazing the top of his head. Josh looked up as the Pokemon flapped its wings, climbing higher into the sky. Josh could finally see it now that the Sun was out of his eyes — a Pidgey.

Pan ran between Josh and the Pidgey, vines curled at his bulb at the ready.

"Pan, use Vine Whip!"

Pan's vine lashed out, catching the Pidgey in the center of its chest and sending it tumbling downward. The Pidgey caught itself at the last second, breaking its fall with its wings and hovering just above the ground. The Pidgey flapped its wings even harder, kicking up grass, leaves, and dirt.

Josh shielded his eyes from the debris with his arm. Josh felt his baseball hat fly off of his head. Only once he lowered his arm did he manage to see the Pidgey send a blast of wind down towards Pan, flattening the grass he was standing on.

"Hit him with another Vine Whip!"

Pan shook off the pain from the Gust attack and readied his vines again, curling one backward before sending it flying forward like a whip, catching the Pidgey in the chest and sending it tumbling into the ground.

Josh looked down at his hand, still holding one of the Poke Balls he had bought at the store a day before had gone to the Professor's lab. He pushed the center button of the Ball with his other hand and watched as it expanded in his hand, almost too big to be held with a single hand. Josh looked up; the Pidgey was now on its feet, shaking its head to shrug off the last blow.

"Use Tackle!"

The Pidgey almost reacted in time — it chirped as it spread its wings and flapped them desperately to get off the ground, but Pan was too quick for it. Pan charged forward and jumped into the Pidgey, ramming his head into the center of its chest again, knocking the wind out of it and sending it back down into the ground.

Josh perked up as it did, he took a step forward with his left foot, brought his right arm back just behind his head, and threw the Poke Ball forward as he had practiced so many times before. For years, Josh, Ryan, and Ash had used rubber balls, baseballs — anything they thought might help improve their throwing arms. By the time Professor Oak had first offered to let them have their own Poke Balls with actual Pokemon inside them, they could have thrown them across the lab and out the window without any fear of hitting something breakable, had they been allowed to.

The Poke Ball hit the Pidgey as it lay on the ground, bouncing off and opening automatically. A red beam of light emerged from the Poke Ball, connecting with Pidgey and expanding until it engulfed the entire body of the Flying-type Pokemon. The mass of red light that was Pidgey's body shrunk and lost its form as it began to recede into the Poke Ball, the Poke Ball itself snapping shut once the red light was fully inside.

Josh watched without blinking as the Poke Ball lay on the ground, shaking violently once, twice, three times — and finally was still as the Poke Ball made an audible click.

Josh approached the Ball cautiously, with Pan following close behind. Josh picked up the Poke Ball — it seemed to weigh more than when he had first thrown it. Josh held the Poke Ball high in the sky, a wide grin spreading across his face.

A rumble coming from Josh's bag interrupted his private celebration. Josh unslung his bag and dug through it, until finally finding his Pokedex, vibrating every few seconds. Josh opened the Pokedex, which had the words "NEW ENTRY" written across the right side screen.

Josh read the information that had just been added; how Pidgeys generally try to avoid fighting, their keen sense of direction, their habitat. Normally, if Josh had wanted to know any of these things he would have asked Professor Oak, but instead he was standing in the tall grass far from home learning all about the Pokemon he had just caught.

Josh stowed his Pokedex and brought out the Poke Ball again, opening it with both hands and allowing the Pidgey to emerge in a mass of white light.

The Pidgey materialized from the white light, facing away from Josh. It turned to face Josh, tilting its head and chirping quietly.

"I'll call you Hermes," Josh said, still smiling.

Hermes flapped his wings while standing in place and squawked.

#

Josh stood at the foot of the steps of the Pokemon League Reception Gate, staring up at the building. It was a tradition at the start of every championship for the eight competitors to walk up the steps together and through the reception itself. Josh had watched it every year on TV, but the building looked much different in person. Its designs itself was simple, a dark brown foundation, beige concrete walls, and opaque glass sliding doors. Even so, Josh found himself craning his neck to look up at the top of the building, with the words "INDIGO PLATEAU" plastered across the top of the gate in bold letters. Josh shivered at the sight of it. How many trainers had entered those doors, to battle the best in the region? How many had walked out the same doors, defeated?

Josh clenched his fists and began marching up the steps. Only once he was nearing the top did he notice the two guards flanking the doors, dressed in a deep purple uniform with black buttons. They had wide brim hats bearing the league insignia on them. "Um, hi," Josh said.

The guard on the right glanced at Josh without turning his head.

"It's a little early for registration," he said.

"I'm not here to register," Josh said, "I was just wondering if I could look inside?"

"No can do."

Josh nodded and looked at the doors. Even up close, they were impossible to see through.

"Where you from, kid?"

Josh looked up, the guard was looking at him now. "Pallet Town."

The guard nodded. "That's the tiny town off Route 1, right?"

"Yeah."

The guard turned to his partner.

"How long has it been since someone from Pallet Town got in, 10 years?"

The other guard shook his head.

"Longer," the other guard said.

The guard looked back down to Josh and tipped his hat up, allowing the sunlight to reveal his face.

"Tell you what, kid, come back here before the end of the year with all eight Gym Badges, and I'll be happy to let you in myself. I'll be able to say you're the first Trainer from Pallet Town I've seen make it to the Indigo Plateau."

#

Josh had only made it about halfway down the stairs before he saw a familiar looking silhouette standing at the bottom, waiting for him. The sun was in his eyes, and only then did Josh realize he had never bothered to grab his hat after Hermes had blown it off his head. But even with the sun in his eyes, Josh knew who was standing there waiting for him.

The tips of his spiky brown hair seemed thinner and tapered because of the sunlight, almost looking like horns. His head was tilted up, and a big grin was plastered across his face. There were only a select few people who could give off such a look of condescension without even trying, but Ryan Oak was one of them.

"They're not letting anyone in," Josh said as he reached the bottom of the steps.

"Psh, I know that," Ryan said, "I just knew you would still try anyway."

"Then why are you here?"

Ryan reached in his pockets with both hands and brought out two Poke Balls.

"I've already caught one," he said, "what about you?" Josh reached into his bag, enjoying the surprise on

Ryan's face as he did it, and pulled out his own two Poke Balls.

"I caught this one today," Josh said, holding the Poke Ball out for Ryan to see.

"Well," Ryan said, "how about a battle? Now that Gramps isn't around to interrupt."

"You're on!"

The two walked to a clearing away from the road and stood opposite each other. Josh saw Ryan wind his arm back for a throw and did the same. The two threw their Poke Balls into the air and they opened almost simultaneously.

Hermes emerged first, chirping loudly and flying down in front of Josh, at the ready. A Spearow emerged from Ryan's Poke Ball, squawking and flapping its wings incessantly. She did not land in front of its Trainer as Hermes did, but instead began circling over Ryan's head.

"So you caught a Flying-type too?" Ryan said, "That's good. Looks like my rival has the same strategy as me. All right, Cybele, use Peck!"

The Spearow broke from her path above Ryan and flew high into the air, then dove towards Hermes. Hermes chirped and took off from the ground, narrowly avoiding Cybele's beak. Hermes flew up while keeping its head trained on the Spearow, which had veered off at the last second to avoid hitting the ground.

"Hermes, use Gust!"

Hermes flapped its wings even more vigorously, sending a blast of wind towards Ryan's Spearow, but she dodged, diving under it and flying back up towards Pidgey with another Peck attack.

"Get low to the ground, Hermes!"

"Keep after him, Cybele!" Ryan said.

Hermes dropped to the ground, forcing Spearow to turn and start diving itself. Hermes turned sharply and hovered just above the ground, waiting for its next command.

"Now use Sand Attack!"

Hermes flapped his wings, sending a blast of grass, twigs, and dirt directly at Cybele. The Spearow flew into it without hesitating, and Josh barely made out the sound of Ryan laughing before the Spearow emerged from the cloud of debris and struck Hermes with its beak, sending him tumbling into the ground.

"That's just pathetic, Josh!" Ryan said, "Did you really think that was going to work?"

Then he remembered. Josh smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand — Keen Eye! A Sand Attack would never stop a Spearow from landing an attack.

"Finish it off, Cybele, use Peck!"

The Spearow turned and began another dive, speeding towards Hermes, who was still on the ground.

"Get up, Hermes, use Gust!"

Hermes sprang up and flapped its wings without leaving the ground, the blast of wind was too close for Spearow to avoid this time, and it was knocked out of the sky.

"Now use Tackle!" Josh said.

Hermes flew at Spearow while staying just a few inches off the ground, and hit Spearow just before hitting the ground, sending it flying backward towards Ryan.

"Get up, Cybele, another Peck and we finish this!" Ryan said.

"Use Tackle, Hermes!"

The two Flying-type Pokémon flew at each other, colliding head-on and ricocheting. The Spearow fell back into the ground, hard; Hermes was able to catch itself and hover just off the ground before crashing into it.

Ryan held up his Poke Ball and recalled his defeated Spearow.

"You did great, Hermes!" Josh said, "Hey, Ryan, looks like you lost."

"Psh," Ryan scoffed, "all you did was beat my Spearow. This battle's not over."

Ryan stowed Cybele's Poke Ball in his pocket and pulled out the other one, threw it up, and watched as Vulcan emerged from it.

"This one is weak, Vulcan," Ryan said, "we just gotta finish it off quick."

Vulcan growled, the flame on the tip of its tailed burning brightly.

"Hermes, use Gust!"

"Dodge it, Vulcan, get in close!"

Hermes flew up and began to launch blasts of wind at Vulcan, but Vulcan got down on all fours and zig-zagged between them without much effort, closing the distance with each Gust that missed him.

"Get away from him, Hermes, fly higher!"

Hermes began to flap his wings to get more air, but Josh could see it moving sluggishly.

"Take it down, use Scratch!" Ryan said.

Vulcan jumped and swiped Hermes' legs with its claw, knocking it off balance and sending Hermes into the ground.

"Now use Ember!"

Vulcan climbed on top of Hermes and launched fire from its mouth directly into Hermes's face.

The smell of burnt feathers made Josh scrunch up his nose and frown. He could see Hermes was dazed.

"You did good, Hermes," he said, recalling Hermes into his Poke Ball.

Josh brought out his last Poke Ball.

Type isn't everything, he reminded himself.

"Let's go, Pan!" Josh said as he threw out the Poke Ball. Pan emerged from his Poke Ball, vines at the ready. "Vulcan, use Ember!" Ryan said.

Vulcan launched a tongue of flame at Pan, which arced through the air.

"Dodge it, and use Vine Whip!"

Pan side-stepped, allowing the Ember to land on the grass where Pan had just been standing. Then Pan lashed a vine towards Vulcan.

"Use Ember on the vine, quick!"

Vulcan tracked the vine hurtling towards him with his nose and spat another tongue of flame just as it was about to hit him. Pan screeched and withdrew his vine, shaking it violently to quench the flames on it.

"Nice!" Ryan said, "Now get in close, just like last time." Vulcan began rushing to Pan on all fours.

"Keep him away from you, Pan," Josh said, "Use Vine Whip."

Pan launched his other vine at Vulcan, this time aiming low and catching Vulcan's front legs, tripping it and sending it tumbling forward.

"Keep going, Ember!"

Vulcan rolled over to get back on its feet, dodging Pan's second vine as it slammed down onto the ground, and launched another Ember. The fire hit Pan in the face, sending it rearing backward in pain.

"Now use Scratch!"

Vulcan leaped forward and slashed Pan across its exposed belly with its claw, knocking the Grass-type backward.

"Get out of there, Pan!" Josh said.

Pan sprang off his back by pushing his vines into the ground, sending himself flying away from Vulcan. But Vulcan stood still and watched as Pan fall back towards the ground, launching another Ember just as Pan landed, and hitting it again.

Pan screeched and its knees buckled, then went limp as it fell over, defeated.

Josh felt a lump in his throat. He withdrew Pan as he listened to Ryan cheer. He stared at the Poke Ball in his hand, pursed his lips and resisted the urge to scream, and finally pushed the button in the center to shrink it down and put it away.

Josh looked up to see Ryan standing there, holding his hands up in an exaggerated shrug as if to say I guess I'm just that good.

"Not bad, I guess," Ryan said, "But next time, how about you try to make it more of a challenge?"

And with that, Ryan turned on his heel and walked off, holding up his fist triumphantly.