Book 1: Setting off
Summary: Meet Celeste, a young girl who adores her eevee. One day, tired of her old life, she decides to become a pokémon trainer, even though she's a bit clueless about most things pokémon trainers do. With a heart full of determination, she sets out on an adventure to find her way in the world.
Chapter 1 - Vermilion Sunset
"Vermilion city, the port of exquisite sunsets," Celeste read the sign out loud while looking at the metropolis extending from the port. There were tall buildings dotting the horizon, a few warehouses to the side and a lonely bus stop where a queue was slowly forming. "I don't know about that. The view from here doesn't seem all that exquisite," the girl muttered, bringing her index finger to her chin.
Her eyes trailed down to the small eevee, yawning by her side, and she let out a quiet chuckle. "Shouldn't you be more excited, Aria? This is our big adventure."
The eevee twitched her ears and barked at her trainer, not particularly thrilled about signs or sunsets. Her lush brown fur slowly rattled on the wind as she looked around, looking for something more entertaining.
"You are right," Celeste said, extending her arm to her side. "This marina is pretty boring, but I hear there are tons of cool restaurants in town. Plus a beach! Just outside Vermilion, towards Route 6. It's not supposed to be super good, and it might be a little polluted. But a beach is a beach, right? We can enjoy the last few days of summer."
Aria snorted and rolled her eyes, letting out a long, sarcastic "Ve," as she did so.
Celeste grinned. "Okay, maybe we skip the beach. What about lunch and then some exploring?" She pointed at the sign, not taking her eyes out of her pokémon. "I also want to see if the sunset is really that good… maybe if—"
"Eevee!" the pokémon barked reproachfully. Was Aria actually… being responsible? That was new.
"What happened to enjoying the journey?" Celeste laughed. "But fine, let's keep on track. We can have lunch after we go to the Pokémon Centre."
Aria let out a puff of air as she nodded. Then, the eevee looked around and smirked. She gently tackled Celeste's leg and let out a smug bark as she started to sprint towards the bus stop.
"Oh, you are not beating me to it!" the girl yelled, trying to keep up with her pokémon. With every step, her heart beating a little faster.
This was it.
The beginning of their journey. Once she got to the centre, the girl's life was going to change forever.
Once she got to the centre, Celeste was going to be a real, proper, pokemon trainer.
—*—*—
"You are not a registered trainer…" Nurse Joy said, her voice accompanied by the quick clicking sounds of the keyboard she was typing in. Her face, pale with the blue light from the computer, looked amused.
Celeste looked at her feet and felt small.
In the large lobby of the Pokémon Centre, trainers of all ages and from all walks of life were going about their business. A girl was clutching a rattata to her chest and crying to a chansey. An older boy was excitedly showing what looked like a gym badge to a group of friends. Two men were sitting close together on a sofa as they watched their nidoran nuzzle one another.
"Of course I'm a trainer," Celeste muttered, bringing her eyes up to the nurse's. She suddenly missed her parents sorting things out for her…
She shook her head.
No, she didn't miss her parents. She didn't need them. Celeste wasn't a small kid anymore. She could be independent and sort things out by herself.
Determined, the girl picked up the eevee on her feet and lifted her up towards the nurse. "Look, I have a pokémon," she said, also gesturing to the small plastic document that she had placed on the table. "And I'm allowed to train pokémon. It says so on my license."
The nurse, glancing over to Celeste again, let out a tired breath. "I can see you have a pokémon," Joy replied, turning to the computer again. "But your records say ownership and travelling rights. No training or catching… That unfortunately means no pokémon centre benefits."
The nurse's gaze lingered a little too long on Celeste, making the girl feel uncomfortable.
"I didn't have problems in Alola…" she said sheepishly.
"I doubt that." The nurse kept staring at her.
"I even captured a pokémon there… sort of," Celeste tried again, picking up a premier ball from her pocket.
"Travelling is not training," the nurse insisted, not taking her eyes off the girl. "And in your previous… occupation… I don't think you stayed in centres often, did you?"
Celeste felt her face burn. She was hoping no one in Kanto would recognise her… She fumbled around with her premier ball, trying to figure out what to say next. She felt her stomach somersault and her heart accelerate.
"Hey, don't worry about that," the nurse said in a reassuring tone. "It says here your license was first issued in Galar, by a Professor Magnolia. I don't have permission to change your records from here since it's international, but it's easy enough. This professor can give you catching and training benefits… once you have that, you can get pokéballs of your own and use the facilities here for free.."
"… P-professor Magnolia can?" Celeste said slowly and unsure.
"It shouldn't be a problem for her. If she has access to your records, and believe you are fit to be a trainer, she can do that in a heartbeat. You just have to call her."
Celeste bit her lip.
It was day one, and she already needed to call a friend of her parents and ask for favours.
So much for independence.
—*—*—
Celeste sat in front of the video phone for a few minutes, watching her bright hazel eyes in the screen's reflection. When she finally gathered the courage to call, the phone barely rang once before an elder woman picked up. Her hair was neatly tucked into a hair-net on the back of her head, and her lab coat was of a spotless white.
"H-hey professor," Celeste greeted the elder woman and her eevee happily chipped in, jumping on her trainer's lap.
From behind the pair of glasses, delicately placed on the edge of her nose, the woman's greying green eyes gazed softly at the girl.
"Celeste?" professor Magnolia answered, with hints of surprise in her tone. "And little Aria too… I'm glad to see she is looking healthy."
"S-sorry to disturb you, professor… ah… I hope it is not too early there…"
"Not at all, my dear." The professor reassured the girl with a warm smile. "Now, where have you and that crazy family of yours ended up this time?"
"They were in Alola when I… uh… left…" Celeste answered, feeling her cheeks getting redder than a slugma's.
The elder tilted her head and narrowed her eyes with suspicion. Celeste could see Magnolia adjusting her glasses and studying the girl's surroundings more attentively.
"… you left?" the professor asked, with her worried expression highlighting the lines on her face. "To where?"
"Kanto. I'm at a pokémon centre in Vermilion city," Celeste answered at once. Barely stopping for a breath, she continued, afraid she'd get stuck if she stopped talking. "I'm… I've decided to become a trainer, professor. A very strong one that can win battles and get badges and all that… I… uh… left to start my journey."
For what felt a ridiculous long time Magnolia stared at the girl in an uncomfortable silence.
Not sure what else to say, Celeste averted her eyes and reached out for her premier ball. "Me, Aria and Powder," the girl quietly said as she gazed at the white pokéball. "We can do this."
The girl looked into the professor's eyes again. Hoping to find understanding in there.
"I see…" Magnolia hesitated. "I have to ask… did you…"
"Run away from my parents?" Celeste cut in, shaking her head. "I left with their blessing… sort of. They even bought me a ticket here."
"Sort of?"
"Mom thinks I'll give up in a day," Celeste complained. "Dad said he hopes I can have my fun for a week before coming back to my senses…"
Magnolia frowned and then sighed. "Didn't you enjoy travelling the world with them?"
"I did… I mean, I do," Celeste answered while scratching Aria below the ear. The little eevee happily tilted her head in response to her trainer's touch. "It's just… That is their life, you know? Not mine."
The professor gave out a small smile as she looked at the eevee. "How long has it been since you two have been together? A year?"
The eevee barked, making Celeste chuckle. "A little more than that. It was spring when we first met."
Magnolia leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. "That is right… I remember I was quite surprised. When you turned twelve, you didn't want me to give you a pokémon, but a few months later, you showed up with that mischievous little eevee."
The girl and the eevee exchanged a meaningful look before turning back to the professor. "I needed to find the right partner for me."
Magnolia nodded. "I suppose everything has its time and place…" Her eyes briefly rested on Celeste's premier ball before she continued. "Have you thought this through?"
"Yeah," Celeste lied. She knew she felt strongly about going on this journey. Her brain, however, was filled with doubt. "I can't find my path if I'm following mom and dad's."
Magnolia nodded, trying to maintain the serious facade, but she let a hint of pride slip through a glint in her eyes. "I suppose you didn't call me just to relay the latest news, did you?"
"Not really…" Celeste answered, embarrassed again. "I… need my training licence to be updated…"
The professor nodded once more.
"I'll update it for you, but I want you to go visit professor Oak in Pallet town before you do anything else," Magnolia demanded.
"Professor Oak?"
"A good colleague of mine," she explained, "It will be good for you to meet him. Kanto is very far away, and you don't know anyone in there. It's important to have some support."
Celeste beamed up at the positive response. "Don't worry, I'll go find him right away. Absolutely nothing will distract me from that!"
—*—*—
Celeste's legs swung back and forth as she sat on the edge of the seawall, with Aria curled up in her lap. She watched a herd of lapras in the distance and smiled, taking it as a good sign. Lapras, after all, are hardly ever seen so close to big cities.
"It would be cool to travel the seas in a lapras," the girl thought to herself. They were strong and yet gentle, and most of all, helpful. If she had one, she wouldn't need to wait two days for a boat.
Yeah. Two whole days.
Apparently, this professor Oak lived in the middle of nowhere, and the quickest way to get to his town was by taking a ferry.
A ferry that only left once a week.
Looking at the skies, Celeste considered her options. She had already gone shopping for supplies for her journey, so she figured they could either go sightseeing, checking out the beach or the restaurants. Yet, the cloudy, greyish sunset made her feel like this city was going to be… lacklustre?
The girl sighed and peered at the three big paper bags by her side. Celeste had bought some food, both for her and her two pokémon, as well as potions, antidotes and all that stuff that proper trainers buy, including pokéballs. She also had a map now, and a sightseeing guide of the region, as well as some state-of-the-art camping gear and more suitable travel clothes.
"Do you think I overdid it?" Celeste asked her pokémon, who simply scoffed at her. Those things would never fit in her bag…
The girl carefully ran her fingers through Aria's soft, lush fur, deciding she'd worry about it later. The point of going on a journey was learning and growing. She'd figure it out, eventually.
"Hey Aria," Celeste said softly, but with pride. "We survived our first day."
The eevee cutely tilted her head and nuzzled the girl's arm. For a moment, the (now properly registered) trainer looked at her pokémon, who opened her mouth wide and stuck her tongue out.
Celeste rolled her eyes. "Here am I, wanting to have a heartfelt conversation, but all you want to do is eat."
"Veeee," the eevee complained and her trainer simply giggled. In one of her bags there were some rice cakes that the two could share before getting back to the centre.
Without a care in the world, Celeste extended her arm towards the bag closest to her. Before she could reach it, however, there was a loud thumping sound.
"Chop!" she heard something scream. Then, before she could even react, there was another thump, this time accompanied by a searing pain in her hand.
Celeste folded her arm closer and her eyes immediately darted to the creature that had used a Karate Chop on her. It was small, grey and running away with her stuff.
"Hey!" The girl jumped up, feeling a shock run from her hand all the way up her arm as she did so. She shook her head, trying to ignore the pain, and looked around for help. "Someone stop that machop!"
Notes: The story is finally starting! Will Celeste get her shopping bags back? And what is the Pokémon in the premier ball? Stay tuned. Hahaha.
Update 19/01: Edited some of the text for better flow
Update 10/06/2023: Updated for better narrative flow. Added more description to the city, but otherwise nothing in the story changed.