Tavi sat at the kitchen table as Clair went on about how irresponsible he was. At first he had argued back and tried to defend his actions but quickly learned it was a futile effort and so he was sitting there weathering the storm. He had come downstairs around mid morning to his father and sister waiting for him. Clash's pokeball weighed reassuringly on his hip and there was nothing more he wanted to do then to release his pokemon and get started on their journey. Thinking about his journey brought up some questions. Indigo League rules say he would need to either start at Pallet or New Bark Town. Traditionally trainers would just set off from their hometown and make their own way. But due to some areas having more aggressive and powerful pokemon than others the league had stepped in. Since the pokemon populations around each of the two "starter towns" as they had been dubbed, were relatively young it made it a safer place for budding trainers to begin their journey. Lance had brought it into place when he was made champion. It was a very popular decision and the other regions had quickly adopted a similar policy. Most home towns would supply a starter pokemon to a new trainer, this was seen as an investment on the town's part. If trainers went out and gathered a strong team before settling back home it would make the town a safer place to live in the long run. The professor's also provided starter pokemon to trainers if their town had not given them one and they passed the necessary tests. Tavi had not made up his mind on which town he wanted to start in yet.

"Gangsters Tavi! Gangsters! Do you have any idea what you have gotten yourself into!" Tavi's attention snapped back at those words.

"What do you mean gangsters?" He cut in. Clair looked at him like he was a complete idiot.

"Did you not even realise who it was you and your pokemon picked a fight with? It was Team Rocket…" Tavi stared at her blankly. "The mob? Professional pokemon thieves? Do any of these ring any bells?" She asked, exasperated at this blank expression. Tavi dimly remembered something from the news about pokemon thieves.

"Well so what, I bet they get into battles with people all the time?" Tavi said.

"They do," Clair snapped, "but there are not many people out there who manage to shut down a massive operation with a half feral pokemon in their first five minutes as a pokemon trainer." She looked over at their dad who had been sitting there silent this whole time. "Can you explain it to him, I can't seem to get through his thick skull" Clair sighed. Frowning at her insult to her brother, Tavi's dad cleared his throat.

"What your sister is trying to say is that people take notice of that kind of thing. Word has already got out in the town, It will probably end up on the news at some point and they will likely blur the truth to get a better story, Team Rocket won't appreciate it."

"I still don't understand the big deal" Tavi said, getting a bit frustrated. "All we did was take out one Rattata, Dragonair took out the other pokemon"

"Look at it this way. When word gets out that one new trainer brought down a Team Rocket operation, what do you think will happen to their reputation?" Tavi shrugged, his father continued "from what we know about team Rocket they make most of their money stealing relatively weak and newly caught Pokémon to sell on the black market. Next time they go to mug a trainer the trainer might remember the story and try their luck fighting back. Before, Team Rocket probably got most of their Pokemon without a fight. Getting by on intimidation alone. From now on Team Rocket will find it increasingly difficult to intimidate new trainers and that is a problem for them since selling stolen pokemon is a massive money maker. They will be doing anything they can to get back their reputation and the easiest way to do that is to get back at the trainer who bested them."

Tavi sat up finally clocking on that he had essentially painted a target on his own back."What should I do?" He asked his dad, panic seeping into his voice. Seeing that Tavi finally understood the magnitude of the situation he placed a calming hand on shoulder. "You are going to have to keep a low profile for the time being until things die down a bit. It would be a good idea for you to get out of Johto and maybe go over to Kanto and focus on building your team." His dad said. "I spoke with professor Oak in Pallet town, he said he would send over his Alakazam to teleport you over today." His father said reassuringly."Focus on your pokemon and getting some badges and you should be fine." Clair said "from the league reports I have seen Team Rocket are more bark than bite. Recruiting from trainers who have no skill so once you get a few badges on your belt you will be strong enough to not have to worry about them."

Tavi nodded, slightly reassured by the plan, he could lay low and focus on his team. "Did you get any more pokemon from the tunnel?" he asked Clair.

She shook her head sighing in frustration, "The tunnel led to an exit on the side of Mount Silver. There were no tracks that we could see. The league is sending trackers and have fliers sweeping the area.' she said her tone making it seem like it would probably be a dead end. "We will be questioning the two Rockets that were captured but based on the pokemon they have they must be just grunt level members at best. I'm not hopeful we will find out anything else."

"Forget about Team Rocket" his father cut in "go on your journey and focus on getting strong. Also Oak mentioned that he might have a job for you"

xx

Tavi adjusted the straps on his rucksack as he stood in front of the Blackthorn pokemon centre. This was the pick up point for his teleport and he awkwardly stood here with his dad and Titus. Clair had to get back to sorting out the paperwork from yesterday and see to the transport of the rockets to the Plateau. After messing up his hair she had given him a small box telling him to open it later. There was a steady stream of people walking down the street, Titus was a normal sight in the town so only people from out of town reacted to his presence. Some would greet his dad and a few who had heard the story and clapped Tavi on the shoulder saying he was a true son of the clan. While hearing that gave him a little spark of pride, Tavi cringed at these comments. Thinking about how close he had come to being Ekins chow.

"Tavi" a voice rang out from down the street. Tavi's head whipped around to see Charlie running over to him, a half closed backpack hanging off one arm. "Though you had gone without me" he said, panting as he stopped in front of Tavi.

"Weren't you going to start in New Bark Town?" Tavi asked.

"WE were going to start in New Bark town." Charlie responded emphasising the we. "You changed the plan, not me. Besides, someone has to be around to get you out of trouble" Tavi's dad snorted at that. "Na, I'm sticking with you Tav. After last night we are in this together" he said, punching Tavi on the shoulder. Smiling at his friend Tavi was slightly relieved. He had not relished the idea of going on his journey alone especially with him having to look over his shoulder for Team Rocket.

"What did you call the Deino?" He asked, nodding towards Charlie's hip which had the pokeball on it. Charlie grinned at the mention of his starter.

"I picked a badass name! It is called Shadow!" He said eagerly.

"Original, a dark type called Shadow" Tavi laughed.

"Let me guess you called your Jangmo-o something unique like Clash?" he shot back. At Tavi's silence he let out a massive laugh "did you actually? Are you going to get a Haxorus next and call it Chop" Charlie laughed.

"No, a Flapple called Crunch" Tavi laughed back. As both boys stood there laughing there was a flash of white light and a tall pokemon appeared in front of them. Tavi jumped at the sudden appearance. Looking up at the humanoid pokemon it was covered in a yellow gold fur with brown plates protecting vital parts of its body. Its head was oddly shaped with horn-like ears and a long nose which had an impressive moustache protruding from underneath. In its hands were two spoons, Tavi remembered reading that they were its psychic focuses and enabled it to channel its raw psychic power. The Alakazam looked down at Tavi, its intelligent eyes piercing right through him.

"Um hi there" Tavi said shifting under the pokemons scrutiny "I'll just be one second and we can go" the Alakazam nodded silently. Tavi turned to his dad, not entirely sure what to say. His father placed his hand on Tavi's shoulder.

"I'll give you the words my father gave me when I left on my journey." He fixed Tavi with a strong look "No matter how strong your pokemon are, the most powerful weapon you have is your mind" he said, pointing at Tavi's head "listen to others but trust your heart first. You have a good head on your shoulders when you decide to use it so follow your instincts. Remember your actions reflect on the clan, people will hold you to a high standard because of where you come from. Use that expectation to push yourself but don't overextend" he stood up and ruffled Tavi's hair. "He also gave some advice on women but I'll save that for later" he said with a chuckle.

Tavi smiled at his dad, adjusted his rucksack again and placed his hand on Clashes' pokeball. His father wrapped him up in a big hug, his strong arms crushing Tavi. He stood back holding Tavi at arms length "Your mother would be so proud to see you go" a dull ache throbbed in Tavi's chest at the mention of his mother, but he smiled at his dad anyway.

"I'll let you know when we get to Viridian." Tavi said before turning to the Alakazam and nodding. The pokemon briefly closed its eyes, there was a flash of blue light and Tavi was plunged into darkness. It felt like he was being crushed on all sides, sudden vertigo hit Tavi and he felt a churning sensation in his stomach. Tavi tried to draw in breath but there the pressure on his chest was too much. As suddenly as it started it stopped, dropping to all fours as he was released from the phantom pressure, gasping Tavi spluttered up his breakfast. Charlie was not doing much better next to him.

"That sucked" Charlie said, wiping his mouth. Blinking at the sudden bright light Tavi stood up and looked around at where they were now. The first thing he noticed was how humid it was. He was used to the cold mountain air of Blackthorn but it was much warmer wherever he was now.

A large white barn-like building stood in front of him. It had a tall windmill sprouting from the top and was surrounded by massive fenced in fields, Tavi could make out a large amount of pokemon grazing in the sun. The Alakazam gestured towards the door before nodding to them both and teleporting away. Wiping the vomit from his mouth Tavi pushed open the door and the boys stepped into the entryway. They nearly collided with a scrawny young man with black glasses and messy red hair wearing a lab coat. His lab coat was a bit singed and he had the smell of smoke and burnt hair around him. Blinking in surprise at the two boys he looked them up and down.

"Are you here to register with the professor?" He asked, studying the boys. A small Magnimite hovered over his shoulder looking at Tavi curiously.

"Yeah we are" Tavi responded, the scientist pointed through the door behind him.

"Through there, he is with someone but won't mind you butting in" he said turning to move past them.

"Are you okay?" Tavi asked, gesturing to the man's coat. Looking down at his appearance he smiled.

"Yes thank you, just got done feeding the growlithe pups and some of them have found their fire" he looked at his watch and frowned. "Now if you will excuse me I have some bulbasaur to water," And with that he hurried off, the Magnemite spun around in a circle and zipped after him a moment later.

Tavi made his way through the door and found himself in a large laboratory. It was a mixture of organised and messy, as though someone had stopped half way through tidying it up. Shelves of files made up half the room with a desk and computer at the far end. The walls were littered with certificates of achievement and photos of a man with grey hair posing with various pokemon.

"That's a lot of degrees, do you think he's compensating for something?" Charlie chortled. Ignoring his friend Tavi assumed the man in the photos was Professor Oak and walked through the lab to where he could hear voices coming from an office at the back. Walking up to the partially closed door he knocked.

"Come in" a kindly voice called out from the office. Tavi pushed into the room followed by Charlie, where he could see the same man in the photos sitting behind the desk. He was not alone, there was a second man sitting in the chair opposite, the stranger looked around the same age as his dad and had messy grey hair with glasses pushed up on his head, he was also wearing a labcoat.

"You must be Tavi" Oak said, drawing Tavi's eyes back to him he stood up and held out his hand. Tavi walked over nodding, shaking the man's hand and smiling.

"It's good to meet you Professor" Tavi gestured to Charlie "this is my friend Charlie we are setting off together. Thank you for the teleport over here"

Oak gestured for the boys to sit in the unoccupied chairs.

"Nothing to thank my boy, when your father explained what happened I was happy to help" he gestured towards the man in the chair. "This is a friend and former pupil of mine professor Willow" Oak said "Tavi is the son of Brian Blackthorn."

The other man's eyebrows rose at that and he held out his hand to Tavi.

"Another dragon has left the nest then?" He said "are you going to be a dragon type specialist like the rest of the clan?"

Tavi was not sure what to make of the man's tone, it was innocent enough but he got the feeling he was mocking him.

"Master. I'm going to be a Dragon type master" Tavi responded resolutely, shaking the man's hand. Willow seemed to properly look at Tavi, his gaze sharpening on the boy.

"Will you now?" he mused as he sat back in his chair. Not entirely sure what to make of the man, Tavi turned to professor Oak.

"My dad said that you might have a job that you need help with," Tavi said.

"Yes!" Oak jumped out of his seat going over to a cabinet he unlocked with a key from his pocket. He pulled out a small red metal device returning to his desk and placed it in front of Tavi. "This is a pokedex. It's a device of my own invention, with the help of other professors across the world. It is a portable encyclopaedia that contains all of the information that I, and other professors, have gathered about pokemon." Tavi's eyes bulged at the device, his mind going to what a game changer for pokemon trainers this would be. The wealth of knowledge in the pokedex must be worth thousands, even millions. "All you need to do is scan a pokemon with the device's camera and it will bring up all available information on that Pokémon. If the Pokémon is registered to the owner of the pokedex it will also tell you information on its health and the moves it knows." Oak continued.

"This must be worth a fortune," Tavi said incredulously. Oak nodded approvingly at Tavi's response.

"I can see you understand the magnitude of the device, I have opened the design and the files to the public. The league is working on mass producing them as we speak, every trainer in Kanto and Johto will get one by the end of the year. And other regions are not far behind, as more trainers use it, it will update its information on Pokémon automatically making new findings and new discoveries accessible to everyone" He sat back down in his chair and pushed the device over to Tavi. Picking up the pokedex Tavi marvelled at it. Having that much information at your fingertips would enable trainers to make strategies for any encounter. It would revolutionise training, most older trainers would only get to champion status after years of travel and learning about pokemon. The knowledge they gained was guarded jealously by each trainer. It would give them an edge over other trainers and it made the gap between champions and regular trainers vast. If you had a device that told you out of hand all the info you needed to know about a pokemon then it would let new trainers go toe to toe with veterans. But most importantly it would save lives.

"My focus of study is human and pokemon relationships." Oak said, bringing Tavi back to the conversation. "It is widely accepted as fact that humans have a massive impact on the development of pokemon." Tavi nodded along, training a pokemon allowed it to get much stronger than it would have on its own in the wild."However" Oak went on "I think pokemon have just as much of an impact on us as we do on them. Since you are planning on being a dragon type specialist you provide me with a unique opportunity to study that dynamic relationship from day one, dragon types are quite a rare specialisation so I'm very interested to see your relationship develop with your pokemon." He smiled at Tavi "You would be registered as a pokemon researcher. It would give you some more perks within the database such as a location tracker for local pokemon sightings. You would also get discounts on pokemart products and priority care at pokecenters." Tavi's mind raced at the offer, dragon types being so rare, having a location tracker would be an incredible help to him. Although most dragon types were spread out across the different regions you did very rarely come across the offspring from released pokemon and if they could fly there was a chance they could end up anywhere. Being able to save money on pokemon products would be very nice and when you add on priority healing Tavi could not think of many down sides so far.

"So what would I need to do for you?" Tavi asked.

"I would need weekly reports on your progress, it would just consist of a scan and general notes of the status of each pokemon" Oak explained. "You can write and upload them directly onto the Pokédex, I always advise trainers to do this anyway as a means of tracking their pokemons development."

Tavi thought over the offer however he did not hesitate for long, "Deal" he said quite pleased that his dad had pointed him in Oaks direction.

"Spended, I'll get you set up with your licence and the researcher status." "While I only have need of one researcher I do have another device that you can as well Charlie." Taking the device from Tavi, Oak plugged it into a slot next to his PC. Typing away at his keyboard he asked Tavi to look into a camera while he took a picture and to confirm his name, age and his starter pokemon.

"Tavi Blackthorn, 14 and a Jangmo-o nicknamed Clash" Willow who had been sitting in silence perked up at that.

"A Jangmo-o starter, may we see it?" He asked Tavi. Nodding and slightly relieved to have an excuse to release Clash, Tavi detached the pokeball from his belt, enlarged it and pressed the release. There was a flash of light as Clash coalesced on the floor between Tavi and Oaks desk. The pokemon stretched out and let out a big yawn looking around its surroundings curiously. He froze when he spotted the two strangers peering at him and his neck scales stood on end as he hissed at the humans, seeing that he was ready to pounce Tavi rushed to his feet, his chair crashing to the floor behind him.

"Clash no!" Tavi said, forcing as much authority into his tone as he could. He should have realised that this would be the dragon's reaction to seeing other humans. Other than Tavi, his interactions with them had probably only been with the rockets. He was not sure if it was his shout or the bang of the chair hitting the ground but Clash snapped out of his rage and turned to Tavi, blinking up at him.

"These are friends" Tavi said forcefully, not breaking eye contact with the Jangmo-o.

Clash seemed to understand him and turned back to look at the two men who were sitting there silently watching the Pokémon and trainer interact. With a snort he padded over to Tavi.

"Sorry about that" Tavi said nervously as he righted his chair and sat back down "he has not met many humans before, and the others he had met were not too nice".

"How long have you had him?" Willow asked Tavi.

"Umm a few hours" Tavi said. Willow's eyes went wide at that.

"And you were able to break him out of going into a rage?" He asked incredulously. "I think you found a good one here Oak" he whistled. He turned his attention back to the Jangmo-o "What a beautiful example of the breed." Willow said "he has fantastic colouring on his scales. From the looks of those claws he is going to be a big Kommo-o one day" Willow continued to study Clash who was not sure what to make of the man.

Oak passed the pokedex back over to Tavi

"Why don't you test out the scan feature on your pokemon." As he went over the same questions with Charlie, Tavi opened the device pressing the icon in the shape of a camera he aimed it at Clash.

A picture of a Jangmo-o appeared on the screen and a robotic voice emitted from the pokedex. "Jangmo-o the dragon type Pokémon, known to have the pride of a warrior, although it remains humble about its capabilities. In its pursuit to become stronger, it never neglects its training. This Jangmo-o is male and knows the moves Leer, Tackle, protect and Dragon tail. It also has the egg move counter." Tavi looked in wonder at the device.

"It appears you have quite the little warrior there Tavi" Oak said.

Tavi looked out into the lush undergrowth In front of them. They had said their goodbyes to Oak and Willow and were keen to get started. Oak had given them both a belt pouch for the pokedex and assured Tavi he had made the device shockproof, waterproof, frostproof and a whole host of other proofs so it was very durable. The chirp of flying pokemon echoed through the trees and the buzz of bug pokemon going about their day droned in the background. In hindsight it was a stroke of luck to start his journey from Pallet. The forest and fields were regularly patrolled by rangers and most of the wild pokemon would be relatively young and not much of a challenge for him and Clash. With that though he turned to the small dragon who was standing next to him.

The Jangmo-o turned and regarded Tavi, kneeling down Tavi scratched behind his big scale causing the dragon type to purr in contentment "we will be moving through this forest to the next town, I will need you to be on alert for any wild pokemon." The Jangmo-o cocked its head at Tavi and nodded.

Charlie stood there fidgeting with his pokeball.

"Why don't you release it? Tavi said, nodding towards the ball. "It will be safer if we have the scent of two dragons around us." Charlie nodded and pressed the release button.

"Come on out Shadow '' he said as his Deino appeared on the ground in a flash of light. The dark dragon type sniffed the air, its head waving back and forth. Tavi remembered reading that a Deino was completely blind and relied on sound and smell to figure out what was going on around it. While it orientated itself Charlie got out some poketreats. It's head snapped around clearly catching the scent and the dragon scrambled over to Charlie.

"Wait a sec there Shadow" he said, shaking the bag. It pulled up hearing its trainer's voice, its stubby tail wagging in excitement. Charlie took out a treat throwing it on the floor in front of the dragon who scooped it up. "You can get treats if you do as I say." Normally bribery was not the best idea for a Pokémon, they were pretty smart creatures and you wanted them to follow your commands without expecting a treat each time. However Deinos were a different case, due to their blindness hunting was difficult making them perpetually hungry. They tended to sink their teeth into things first and ask questions later. It also meant the fastest way to their heart was through their stomach. The blue and black dragon grunted in what appeared to be acceptance and padded over to Charlie's side. "We are going to be travelling with two friends, Tavi and his Jangmo-o Clash. They are friends, okay Shadow?" Charlie said slowly making sure it understood. Clash slowly moved over to Shadow sniffing and grunting a greeting. The Deino cracked a dim looking smile and launched itself at clash in excitement. Clash tried to scramble out of the way but was sent sprawling by the over eager dark dragon type. Tavi and Charlie stood back letting the two sort it out between them. Growing up in Blackthorn the two knew that dragon types would need to sort out a pecking order and it was a bad idea to get between them. Clash sprang up and issued a low growl of warning at the Deino nipping its neck, making it quickly back up. It seemed like there would not be too much of a power struggle here and Shadow was not looking to be the leader but was just happy to have a friend and was a bit overzealous in its greeting.

Happy that it would no longer be an issue Charlie took out his pokedex and scanned his starter. The dex issued some information on the Deino and the breed's temperament also noting that it was female and knew the moves, Focus Energy, Tackle and had the egg move Belch, at that Tavi laughed.

"Your Pokémon can burp so bad it's poisonous" Tavi said, Charlie cracked up with him.

"That is going to be so awesome to use in a battle! Can you imagine launching a poisonous Belch in some poor pokemons face!" Charlie laughed. Both Pokémon returned to their trainers' side as the boy's laughter subsided.

"We should get a move on I guess, '' Tavi said to both Charlie and Clash.

With a clang of his scales Clash turned and prowled into the forest. Moving surprisingly stealthy for a pokemon that is renowned for echoing across mountains. Tavi hurried after his pokemon making sure to keep him in sight.

They quickly settled into a rhythm walking through the woods, the path was relatively flat so it made the going easy. Tavi revelled in the feeling of freedom, finally being on his journey with a pokemon at his side, facing the wilds of the world. Admittedly they had only been travelling for just over two hours and other than the odd caterpie scuttling up the tree at the sight of them and sound of flying types rustling in the treetops the journey so far had been relatively uneventful.

After a few more hours of hiking they decided to stop for lunch, Tavi took out a sandwich that his dad had made him. He had half of his canteen of water left but had some purification tablets so getting drinking water should not be an issue as long as he could find a running water source.

He took out some food for Clash, placing it on the floor for him. They both dug in with gusto. After Tavi wiped away the last crumbs of his sandwich he got out the pokedex bringing up Clashes page. He saw how the dragon had handled itself the previous night but that was after it was half drugged and nearly exhausted from the jail break. He wanted to see what the little reptile could do when he was fresh. Clash had finished his food and sat back looking at Tavi seeing if he had any more. Tavi snorted at the begging eyes from his Pokémon so threw a bit more out for him.

He got Clash to demonstrate each of the moves. Calling out each one, Clash quickly demonstrated what he could do. Tavi nodded in approval, Clash seemed eager to please, he remembered what the dex said about Jangmo-o never neglecting its training."when we stop tonight we can start putting together a training schedule for you" Clair and his dad had drilled into him the importance of training you pokemon outside of battles. While battles were invaluable for a pokemons development, it is important to hone their abilities as much as possible. Most new trainers made the mistake of thinking battling was all there was to pokemon training and would only be able to get 3 or so badges before not being able to progress. As a trainer Tavi had a responsibility to help his team grow as powerful as they could be.

After lunch they continued on the path through the trees. A few pokemon picked a fight with them, mostly Rattata or Sentret, looking to prove themselves to any potential mates by challenging the pair. Clash and Shadow managed them without much problem, although Shadow would tend to change in a headlong tackle the moment Charlie sent her in. Clash listened to Tavi's commands and overall seemed to be a keen battler. As the day wore on Tavi was worried at first that Clashes' little legs would not be able to keep up with him but the Jangmo-o was in his element. The little dragon was constantly sniffing around burrowing head first into bushes. He seemed to be full of energy and enjoyed prowling into thickets to scare pidgey into flight. Shadow on the other hand had to be returned after a while, her legs not able to keep up the pace.

After a few solid hours of walking Tavi noticed the sun was starting to get long in the sky. He guessed they had about an hour of light left. They made their way off the trail to find somewhere to bed down for the night. Not far from the trail's edge was a clearing that had clearly been used before by travelling trainers. With a sigh Tavi shrugged off his pack surveying the cleaning. Soft green grass carpeted the meadow and here was a ring of stones with a small mound of ash in the middle.

"I'm shattered'' Charlie announced to the clearing dropping his pack on the floor.

The boys quickly gathered up some sticks and fallen branches before rolling out their mats and sleeping bags.

Charlie released Shadow who joined Clash in sniffing around the clearing. Tavi set to starting a fire, taking out his flint and steel from his pack he sparked them to some cotton balls from his firefighting kit which caught quickly. As he gently fed the fire small twigs to grow the flame he thought back to when his dad would take him and Charlie camping in the woods around town. Soon they had a merry little fire popping away. Tavi sat back basking in the warmth, as he had worked the sun had gone down and a chill had settled in with the night. Tavi set a pot to boil on the fire and once it was bubbling away added his and Charlie's boil in the bag meals to it. It did not take long for their meals to be ready and both boys dug in with gusto. Both having worked up huge appetites during the day. As they ate, Clash and Shadow disappeared into the woods and returned with a dead Rattata in each of their jaws. They settled down next to each of their trainers and devoured their meals. Once they were both done with their respective meals Tavi talked Clash through the notes that he had been making.

"I want to focus on endurance training with you to start with" he started "as you are a close range fighter we need to make sure you can dodge as well as possible, eventually we will look at some ranged attacks to help with closing the gap."

He got Clash to do some sprint training and would have him spring to the left or right at Tavi's command. The idea was to get Clash used to responding instantly and without hesitation. By the end of their session Clashes head was drooping and his tongue was hanging out of his jaw. Although tired, the Jangmo-o seemed to be very pleased with their training.

Tavi pulled his sleeping bag and mat closer to the fire and crawled in, it had been a long day of walking and he was shattered. Clash came over and settled down next to Tavi, his back pressed against his trainer.

"Wake me if you hear anything" he told the Jangmo-o, looking over Charlie and shadow were already passed out, the Deino was splayed out on her back with her feet sticking up in the air and her tongue lolling out her mouth.

Clash nodded at Tavi before curling up.

Tavi lay back listening to the noise of the forest, he could hear the chitter of Zubat and the odd hoot of a Noctowl hunting in the night. The fire and the scent of Clash should keep any wild pokemon away, closing his eyes he quickly drifted off to sleep.

Tavi rose with the sun the next day and was not ready for how sore his body felt. His first night under the stars had not been the most comfortable. He had not checked the ground below his mat well enough as he had a rock sticking into his back for most of the night. Stretching with a groan, both boys packed up the camp in silence, too tired to talk. Eating a quick breakfast which consisted of a power bar they set out.

The day settled into much the same as yesterday as they followed the route towards Veridian. Tavi's soreness slowly left his body as they walked, his muscles warming up with movement. They had still not run into any trainers and Tavi was keen to have his first battle. They walked for a few hours until the path they were on left the trees and emerged onto a large lake which ballooned out in front of them. The path followed around the lake for a little while before going back into the forest. As they made their way towards the lake Tavi could see someone sitting on a rock with a fishing rod in hand. She looked to be around the same age as them with bright blonde hair that was a bit damp she had clearly just been for a swim. She noticed Tavi walking down the path and stood up.

"I've claimed this spot sorry" she said rather rudely, Tavi raised his hands

"We are just passing through, don't worry" he was a bit taken aback by the girl's tone. Realising that she might have come across as a bit rude she smiled weakly at Tavi.

"Sorry. There have been a bunch of newby trainers coming through here trying to fish without knowing how and scaring all the pokemon away." She said moodily "I have been trying to catch a new pokemon for two days now!" She huffed.

Tavi saw a few pokeballs attached to her belt.

"Are you a trainer then?" He asked the girl nodding towards her belt.

"Yeah the name is Jodie I'm a water specialist"

"This is Charlie and I'm Tavi" he said lamely not sure if he could call himself a dragon specialist yet as he had only one dragon so far. "What kind of pokemon are in the lake?" He asked to fill the silence. Jodie's eyes gleamed and he had evidently asked the right question.

"Loads, I have seen some Magikarp, Poliwag, Horsea and I saw a squirtle, that's the pokemon I'm trying to hook but the feisty little things just keep slipping away".

At hearing Horsea Tavi's ears pricked up, a water type that became a dragon would be a fantastic early addition to the team.

Jodie looked down at Clash only just noticing the dragon.

"Is that a Jangmo-o?" She asked excitedly "it's so cute!" Clash looked slightly affronted at being called cute.

"This is my buddy Clash" Tavi said he suddenly had an idea and nodding at the pokeballs on her hip. "Why don't we have a battle? If you win we will leave you in peace. But If I win, you help me learn to fish?" he asked.

Jodie studied him for a moment.

"How many badges do you have?" She asked, eyeing the one ball on Tavi's belt.

"None yet, we just set out yesterday" he explained.

She thought about it for a second before flashing him a smile.

"I like a bet, you're on, my Staryu Constie is still pretty new at battling so it would probably be an even match."

"Constie?" Tavi asked confused by the name.

"yeah Constie like Constellation" Jodie said like she was talking to an idiot, jumping over from the rocks she took some steps away from from Tavi. The shore of the lake was quite sandy without much vegetation, it would make a good arena. She picked a pokeball from her belt and tossed it out, releasing a well looked after Staryu. The golden star shaped pokemon flexed his five appendages, its gem core flashing red.

Tavi nodded to Clash who moved forward to stand in front of him shaking his scales in challenge to the water pokemon. Charlie backed up quickly wishing Tavi luck.

"This will be a one on one battle" Jodie yelled out. "Winner is the last pokemon standing or if either trainer forfeits." She stated.

"Begin! Constie water gun" she yelled out, pointing a finger at Clash. The Staryu's gem flashed red and a jet of water shot out instantly.

"Dodge and leer" Tavi yelled in response, Clash sprung to the side dodging the water gun. Tavi was glad for the drills they had done the night before as Clash responded quickly to his command. Fixing his eyes in the Staryu they flashed intimidating the star shaped pokemon. "Follow up with a tackle" his Jangmo-o burst into motion keen to close the distance and take advantage of how the leer momentarily froze the Staryu.

"Rapid spin" Jodie yelled out just as Clash got halfway to her pokemon. Trying to shake off the effects of leer the Staryu spun quickly on the spot before launching itself at the Jangmo-o.

Although the Staryu was slower off the mark thanks to the leer, it still spun towards Clash at speed, there was no way he could dodge.

"Counter" he yelled out just as the Staryu struck Clash. The Jangmo-o took the hit with a grunt focusing the energy of the blow to travel down to the tip of its tail which he brought around in a brutal hit to the Staryu, launching it to land in the dust.

"Get up Constie, you can shake that off." The Staryu jumped back up, shaking off the hit it span again. "Keep your distance," Jodie said cautiously. Keeping out of range was frustrating as it recovered from their initial exchange, Clash did not have any ranged attacks so he was just waiting for the water type to get close.

"Keep it in your sights" Tavi said to Clash as he tracked the Staryu, his eyes never leaving his mark.

The star shaped Pokémon spun through the air, its movement erratic.

"Swift, now!" Jodie called out, white stars shot out from the pokemon zipping towards Clash. He tried to dodge out of the way but was hit by the projectiles crying out as he stumbled back. "Good job now water gun" the star shaped pokemon quickly followed up with a powerful jet of water hitting the already staggered dragon type knocking Clash into his back. "Finish this with rapid spin" Jodie yelled out, her Staryu shot off in a flash, pinwheeling towards the downed Clash.

"Protect" Tavi yelled desperately, hoping Clash would respond in time. Staryu was a blur as it hurtled towards Tavi's dragon, it was mere inches away from Clash when it smacked into an invisible barrier stopping with a hard splat. Relief flooded through Tavi and Jodie's jaw dropped.

"Dragon tail" Tavi quickly yelled out Clash reacted instantly and spun on his heels a turquoise aura covering the gold scale at the end of his tail as it smashed into the Staryu. The water type was sent sprawling. "Tackle!" Tavi yelled, seeing his chance to win this. Clash sprang at the Staryu a sheen of energy coating him as he connected with the dazed pokemon, there was a loud crunch as its gem cracked and the pokemon was thrown at Jodie's feet unconscious.

"We did it!" Tavi yelled, running forward to Clash sweeping him into a hug Clash looked . Jodie returned her Staryu, looking slightly shocked at the sudden finish. Putting Clash back on the ground Tavi walked over to Jodie, holding out his hand.

"That was a fun battle!" He said enthusiastically, shaking his hand Jodie smiled at his big grin.

"A deals a deal I'll teach you how to fish"

They spent the next hour going over the basics, how to bait an area before casting in, what kind of pokemon prefer the shallows to the deeper areas of the take. Which one's like live bait to kibble. Jodie clearly knew her stuff and Tavi had an endless supply of questions that she was happy to answer. Charlie had gotten bored quickly and had wandered off to do some training with Shadow..

"If I wanted to catch a Horsea, what would be best set up?" Tavi asked.

"Live bait, small hook and middle of the lake" Jodie listed. "You are in luck, they normally are found in deep oceans but come up rivers to lakes like this to have their cute babies this time of year". Setting up the rod as per her instructions Tavi cast right into the middle of the lake. It had taken him a few tries to get casting right but he managed to make this one first try.

"Great, now set the rod down and we wait" Jodie instructed.

It turned out they did not have to wait long after a few minutes the end of the rod started to twitch. Quickly grabbing it Tavi reeled in playing a game of tug with the pokemon on the end of the line. Whatever it was it was strong and Tavi worked up a sweat bringing it in. Clash stood ready to the side revitalised from a potion Tavi had given him after the battle.

"Keep going, you are doing well" Jodie said approvingly at Tavi. After what felt like hours, Tavi gave a final heave and there was a big splash as a pokemon was launched out of the water.

"Oh wow" Jodie said in awe, on the end of the line was a beautiful vivid blue Horsea. It landed on the path right next to Clash utterly bewildered. Horsea were one of the few water pokemon that had the ability to levitate when out of water. They could not fly by any means but they were able to float slightly off the ground. It was a versatile advantage when it came to battling.

Wasting no time, Tavi commanded Clash to tackle the Horsea before it could catch its bearings. The water type was sent tumbling, but quickly recovered and sent a jet of water at Clash in retaliation. Clash dodged to the side and ran in again.

"Dragon tail" Tavi commanded, Clash responded instantly and brought his tail around smashing it into the Horsea. Already tired from the battling with Tavi on the fishing rod it turned out that was all that was needed and the water type was knocked out from the hit. Tavi threw a pokeball at the downed pokemon, reducing it to red matter which was quickly vacuumed into the ball. The pokeball fell to the floor where it started to twitch as the pokemon tried to break free. Tavi held his breath staring intently at the pokeball. It shook a few more times before it locked with a click signalling a successful capture.

Tavi jumped for joy at his first caught pokemon. It would take a lot of work to turn a Horsea into a Kingdra but would be worth it. Picking up the ball Tavi shrunk it down and attached it to his belt a huge grin plastered across his face.

"That Horsea looked to be a juvenile, it must have recently hatched in the lake" Jodie said as Tavi packed up his things. She advised him on how to care for a pokemon like Horsea and what its diet should consist of. He took it all in and thanked Jodie for all of her help.

"I'll leave you to catch your Squirtle in peace," he said with a smile.

"It was good to meet you Tavi, you look after that Horsea". With a final wave Tavi shrugged on his backpack and made his way to where Charlie had said he was going to train. He decided to return Clash to his pokeball to give the Jangmo-o a little rest. The sight of the two pokeballs on his belt made him grin.

He got to the trees and could hear yelling, it sounded like Charlie was having a battle, Tavi rushed into the tree line and was greeted to the sight of Shadow launching herself at a jet black bird.

"Tackle Shadow! Bring that bird down" The bird had a wicked looking hooked beak and some very sharp talons, its jet black feathers littered the ground showing that Charlie's Deino had already gotten a few hits in. Tavi took out his Dex and scanned the bird as it tumbled along the ground. The device informed him it was a Murkrow, a dark/flying type. Tavi stood back and watched as Charlie got Shadow to tackle the Murkrow again. The bird was not given a chance to recover as the dragon charged it with a brutal tackle sending it unmoving to the ground.

"Yes!" Charlie yelled out as he quickly threw a pokeball at the downed bird. The ball fell to the floor where it shook back and forth twice before locking shut. "Way to go Shadow, you were amazing" Charlie gushed at his starter who preened under the praise. "Looks like we got a new member of the team!" He noticed Tavi watching him and rushed over, scooping up the ball. "Did you see that Tav I caught a pokemon! the thing just came out of nowhere and started taunting shadow trying to chase it but she managed to bite it's wing when it got too close" he said excitedly.

Tavi smiled at his friend's eager tone.

"You are not the only one with a new Pokémon" he said smugly. Charlie's eyes grew wide at that.

"No way she actually helped you get a Pokémon, what did you get?"

"A Horsea" Tavi told him holding up the pokeball "a Murkrow is an awesome Pokémon" he said nodding down to the ball in Charlie's hands. "So does this mean you are going to be a dark type specialist?" He asked.

"Yeah maybe, I'll see how it takes to me first, but it does sound cool doesn't it? All broody and mysterious I'm sure the chicks will dig it" Tavi rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Let's get moving. I want to get to a pokemon centre to get the Horsea looked at before I let it out."

The hours on the road flew by, they ran into some other trainers who each challenged them to a battle, Clash was able to defeat each one successfully and Shadow was pretty successful as well. The battles netted the boys some extra cash. Despite the delays they still made good time on the road.

Tavi guessed there was about an hour of sunlight left. He had checked the map and could see that they were close to Viridian. They decided to push on and see if they could get to the city before nightfall. His feet ached and his back was throbbing from lugging his rucksack around. Clash was plodding along next to Tav having stayed out after their last battle with a girl and her Hoothoot. Charlie has returned Shadow as her head has started to droop down as they walked. The trees were starting to thin out, giving way to fields of crops. A river ran alongside the trail, the odd Magikarp would jump out of the water causing a splash, some Poliwags were plodding around on the far bank settling into their nests for the night. Suddenly Clash froze, his head cocked to one side, listening intently. Tavi stopped as well, his ears straining to pick up what had set Clash on edge. He didn't have to wait long as a fast rhythmic pounding could be heard along the road up ahead. Clash moved to stand in front of Tavi, wanting to be between him and the potential threat.

A man dressed in the indigo's green rangers uniform came thundering round the bend on the back of a magnificent black and white striped pokemon. Sparks flashed up where its hooves struck the ground. Tavi pointed his Dex at the pokemon and was told it was a Zebstrika, an electric type. At the sight of the two boys the ranger pulled on his reins slowing his mount down. Once it had come to a skidding stop a few metres from them the ranger slid off patting the pokemons neck and walked over to them.

"Hey there trainers, I'm going to need to see some identification"

Tavi navigated to the page with his licence on the dex, and passed it over to the ranger, Charlie did the same.

"Is there a problem?" He asked hesitantly.

The ranger studied the page ignoring tavi's question.

"Set out yesterday did you?" He asked looking at the date of issue on their pokedexs.

"Yeah we left professor Oak's laboratory yesterday morning." Charlie replied. The ranger glanced at the screen and back to Tavi before handing back the pokedex.

"Did you pay the toll at Pallet?" The man asked.

"What toll?" Tavi asked in confusion

"The Pallet Veridian toll" he sighed as Tavis' clueless look. "as there are so many newbie trainers that come from Pallet there is a toll to pay for the rangers to do extra patrols on the road, you are lucky I ran into you if you had got to Viridian without paying they would have given you a fine"

"How much is it?" Tavi asked, worried that they might have gotten into trouble

"Normally it's one-hundred and fifty bucks but since you are new I'll do it for one hundred, just keep it between us alright? I don't want to be getting in trouble"

The boys handed over a hundred each to the ranger in relief that they had run into the man. It was pretty much all the money they had made from battles already gone. He would need to work hard to get that back.

"Thanks for letting us know," he said to the ranger.

He gave Tavi a big smile, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Don't you worry young man, you are not far from Viridian, it's just a few more miles up the road. Make sure to go directly to the pokemon centre. There have been reports of pokemon thieves in the area, some kid had his starter taken last night" mind racing Tavi took back his pokedex. Could it be team rocket? He had only been with Clash for a few days but already could not stomach the thought of someone taking him. His fathers warning rang clear in his mind.

"We'll make sure to head straight there, thanks for the warning" the ranger nodded before jumping back onto his mount once again. With a crack of thunder they were rushing down the road.

They hurried their pace, keen to make it to the pokemon centre as soon as possible. Quickly reaching the outskirts town the size of the city astounded them both. Viridian had started as a small pit stop for trainers who were heading to the indigo plateau, and through the years had grown to a bustling city. The amount of people was a bit staggering for them both, having grown up in the isolated mountain town of Blackthorn it was a lot to take in. He returned Clash as the streets started to get more busy with people and pokemon out enjoying the spring evening. Following signs for the pokemon centre they walked for around 20 minutes through the city until he spotted the dome roof and orange sign.

Pushing through the doors to the lobby Tavi made his way to the counter passing a few trainers that had clearly been on the road as well. Pressing the button on the desk he waited for the nurse to come out. A few moments later a nurse emerged from the back and smiled at Tavi.

"How can I help you young man?" She asked cheerily.

"Can we have a room please?" Tavi said, handing over his pokedex with the league licence page open.

"Oh you have one of the fancy new camera things" the nurse said taking the device from Tavi. "We just got the plug socket installed last week" she pressed his pokedex into a socket and Tavi's face appeared on the screen. Typing on the computer she finished up and passed him his dex back with a key.

"You are all checked into room 3. We are not that full so you can have a room each, if you hurry you can still get some hot food from the canteen before it closes." She said with a smile.

Tavi took both items pocketing them and took out his two pokeballs.

"Thank you nurse, could you also take a look at my pokemon? I caught the Horsea today and my Jangmo-o could do with a look over"

"We will have them both in ship shape in no time. You go get a bite to eat and they will be waiting for you when you are done." Tavi quickly dropped his bag to the room, it was a spartan but clean room with a single bed and desk. There was a perch for flying types at the end of the bed and a large water tank along the wall.

After scoffing a quick dinner at the canteen he went back to the lobby, their pokemon were still being processed so Tavi pulled up his Dex to send a message to his dad and Clair letting him know they had made it to Viridian and that he caught a Horsea. He also said thanks for letting him know about the toll, and he nearly got fined on his second day as a trainer. That done he pulled up the details on Horsea, looking at the generic information on the page. He had a few ideas on what they could work on with his newest addition. Frustratingly enough the way to evolve a Seadra into a Kingdra was a closely guarded secret. There appeared to be a few trainers out there with a Kingdra so he knew it was not impossible. He would just have to cross that bridge when he got to it. He was interrupted from his musing by a speaking crackling to life near him making him jump.

"Trainer Tavi, your pokemon are ready for collection" the nurse called over to him. Charlie's would take a little longer since Tavi had priority healing. Getting up he told Charlie he was going to get his pokemon and go to his room for the night. Charlie was gently snoozing on the lobby couch and just waved him away., Tavi went over to the desk, thanking the nurse he went to his room where he released Clash. He lifted up the pokeball holding the Horsea enlarging it.

"I'm going to release the Horsea into the tank, be ready in case he decides to attack." Clash nodded at Tavi and bristled his scales.

Tavi pressed the release button, aiming the ball towards the tank. There was a white flash as the Horsea took shape in the water of the tank. The azure pokemon looked around in confusion clearly wondering how it ended up in a glass box. Tavi got to study it properly this time. The pokemon had deep red eyes with three spike-like fins jutting out from each side of its head. Its mouth was tubular shaped and its sleek body was covered in brilliant blue scales. The pokemons ridged belly had creamy white plates to protect its organs. The Horseas tail curled underneath it ready to propel it through the water. Tavi met its red eyes. He had thought about what to say and decided his best bet was to just lay all of his cards on the table.

"Hi Horsea my name is Tavi and this is Clash." The water type's eyes flashed to Clash before darting back to Tavi. "I captured you, I'm going to be a dragon type master and I want you to come on our journey with us." He gestured to Clash and himself. "I promise to help you get stronger I want to be a dragon type master" The pokemons eyes lit up at the mention of dragon type. Tavi nodded at it seeing it made the connection, "I will help you become a Kingdra" it regarded Tavi as if measuring him up. After a few moments he gurgled in the direction of Clash. The Jangmo-o snorted at the water type before nodding back. The Horsea looked into Tavi's eyes assessing him once more before it nodded and swam around excitedly in a circle. Tavi grinned at the little pokemon "welcome to the team" the Horsea plopped out of the tank zooming around the room clearly excited that it had been caught. Tavi laughed at the bewildered look on Clashes face as the blue blur zipped around the room. Tavi sat on the bed watching as the Horsea finally stopped in his excitement and hovered in front of Clash. There was clearly an exchange going on and Tavi did not want to interrupt. The Horsea glanced over at Tavi before slowly hovering over to him.

"I'm glad you are happy to be part of the team" he said to the Horsea as he took out his pokedex and pointed it at the water type. The robotic voice emitted from the device, Horsea the water type Pokémon, they tend to live in deep bodies of water, most commonly oceans. If they are attacked in the wild a Horsea will produce a cloud of ink to blind and confuse its foes. This Horsea is male and knows the moves: Leer, water gun, smokescreen and twister. It also has the egg move aurora beam.

Tavi regarded the blue Pokémon, mulling over what the Dex said, he was impressed by the moves, it was a versatile little pokemon. "I guess you need a name." Tavi mused. He thought through a few options like Rapid and Torrent before discarding those. The Horsea got bored of Tavi sitting there mumbling to himself so he went zipping off to explore the room and water tank. Clash came over to Tavi sitting down next to him as their new hyperactive friend made himself at home. Tavi watched the Pokémom zoom around the room, one day he would be a mighty Kingdra the power he could pull to the battlefield would be immense he would need a name to reflect that. Thinking back to the legends that the village elder Kaburagi had told all of the Blackthorn children growing up there was one that stood out. "Horsea I think I have a name for you" Tavi said flagging the pokemon down. He was thinking about a particular story of a river guardian that guarded a secluded valley, it was a water pokemon of such power that it was said it could flood the entire valley on a whim.

"What do you think about the name Hebo?" After explaining the origins of the name he watched the pokemon to see how he would react to the suggestion. The Horsea floated there for a moment before spinning in a circle and shooting a jet of water into the air which landed on Tavi's head. Bursting into laughter Tavi shook his now wet hair. "So you like it?" The Horsea nodded in affirmative. Happy with his name and sure that he has explored every inch of the room, Hebo plopped into his tank sinking to the bottom. Tavi quickly hopped into the shower and once clean jumped into bed. There was a slight bubbling coming from the tank as Hebo fell asleep and Clash hopped up on the end of the bed, he spun around a few times before settling in. Tavi lay there still not entirely convinced this was all real. Two days ago he was on the edge of having to wait for another year before he got his first pokemon. Now he was on his journey and had not one but two pokemon. He knew he wanted to be a Dragon type master but was not sure what would be the best route to get there. One thing that was a given, he would need badges. No one would take him seriously until he had a full set of eight. He would start in Kanto but he knew that his last badge would be won from Clair. Although Johto and Kanto had separate elite fours they were all part of the same league and Lance was the champion of both. Eight badges from either region would be good enough to get into the pokemon conference. Tavi let out a big yawn the day quickly catching up with him. Tomorrow he would need to get ready for his first major challenge, Viridian forest.