Off The Beaten Route

by Cloud Link Zero

Rookie trainer Eric Kisaki finds himself in an interesting position. Unable to get his starter until after the League Conference ends, he tries to go a different route in hopes that he can stand alongside his rivals who have their head start. Except his route comes with conditions, ones that will test him in ways he never thought in order to become the best that ever was in Johto.

Pokemon: Off the Beaten Routes

Chapter 1: The price of 4th place

In the wide and wild world of Pokemon, there was unwritten rules among the many and varied trainers of pokemon that had them fiercely compete against one another from the moment they entered trainers school to the moment they graduate. In every region, three lucky trainers were given the chance to obtain the region's 'elemental' starter pokemon from the Professor who oversaw it. In Kanto, this was Professor Oak while in Johto it was Professor Elm and so on and so forth. The chance to obtain said pokemon, however, came to the top 3 graduates of the Trainer's school for that year when the Pokemon League Circuit begins.

It was said that getting fourth place was basically the most heartbreaking thing in the world because they were stuck in a limbo. On the many Pokemon League technicalities and rules that were set up to protect trainers, one was that a regional Professor must take on a certain number of trainers as a sponsor, granting them access to the Pokedex, a hi-tech encyclopedia that categorized and broke down all information about any pokemon that is scanned and also access to allow any pokemon outside of the allowed main team of six to be homed in their lab to help further the professor's field of study.

To get fourth place was to obtain a sponsorship, but to lose out on a starter...until the off season of the Pokemon League. Which meant they could not get a starter if their parents did not provide them with one or if they could not befriend one of their own that could be officially registered within a trainers badge level which determined what they could safely train until after the League ended.

Once the Pokemon League ended, then access to the Gym Circuit was shut down for half a year and being able to travel on trainer routes was basically forbidden so the native pokemon could live in peace and rebuild their territories unimpeded. So they not only had to see their rivals advance farther than they could, but also was not even allowed to do anything with their starter for what was essentially a year.

That was the life that Eric Kisaki found himself looking at when his waterlogged eyes kept going over his trainer school graduation results over and over again in trembling hands.

'Dear Mr. Kisaki,

We are pleased to announce that between your written scores and practical scores, you have placed fourth in your class of twenty. Your sponsorship with Professor Elm has been approved and your request for the starter pokemon Cyndaquil has also been approved. You will receive your starter on the 1st of August after the current Pokemon League circuit has ended.

We wish you the best of luck in your endeavors and hope that you will find your way to being the best that you can be.

Sincerely,

The Cherrygrove Trainer Academy of the Elite'

Blood, sweat and tears of years of studying and thinking of all possible ways to start on his journey were dashed in an instant. He knew he was screwed the moment he got the practical side of the test.

All students were given five mock battles to participate in against five random other students with a random pokemon assigned to each. All were equal in level to ensure fairness, but type match-ups were a pain in the butt to overcome at best, horrendously exhausting at worst.

His very first battle was a Caterpie against a Pidgey. While he did his best, the bug pokemon just did not have the stamina to turn things around.

The next two, a Sandshrew against an Ekans and a Mankey against a Weedle were easier.

Then came the fourth battle where he found himself stuck with a Pidgey against a Mareep. A very one sided battle once against he couldn't overcome with just strategy when all rookie level pokemon that were breeder trained did not have the stamina to overcome their type weakness.

He won his final battle, but he already knew that he lost the chance at the top three with Ethan Gold, Kris Crystal and Lyra Heart all only losing one of their five battles. By then he had prayed that he would not have gotten fourth or fifth place so at least he could ask his parents to get him a starter approved Mareep from his cousin who owned a farm in the Johto countryside. Yet it was not to be.

To wait and be left behind while his peers kept reaching greater and greater heights or the ones who had been lucky enough to find their starter in other ways...he did not want to cosign himself to that special brand of hell.

There was only one thing that he could do after he finished having a good cry, with family thinking they were tears of joy over tears of misery since he had wanted to have the starter pokemon Cyndaquil from when he could understand what pokemon were.

What he had to do was beg, plead and cajole Professor Elm into giving him some way out of it. He knew that there had to be something, anything that all that would allow him to get in time to train and not start off from square one while everyone else was at square nine or more. The man was known to be both meek and a pushover, so surely he would spill something if he just kept needling him in the right way to get him to spill the beans.

That was why right then and there after he placed the paper on the table, he went to his room and grabbed his things. A Silph Co. approved storage grade travelers backpack, his Pokegear, all of the supplies he had scrapped and earned through endless chores and good grades earning him Pokedollars to spend on food for himself and his future pokemon and medicine. Along with spare clothes of course.

The moment he was finished he went out the door from his humble family abode in New Bark Town and went through the ten minute walk to Professor Elm's lab. He didn't stop by to say hello to his neighbors, his rivals nor did he stop to look at the recently sold house of his friend Brendan Maple, who couldn't make it to the final exam due to moving to the Hoenn region on short notice. Eric had a goal in mind and he was not going to stop until he accomplished it.

When he reached the doors separating him from the lab, he knocked firmly but quickly several times. He stepped back and waited a few minutes until the door opened, revealing a lanky and slightly hunched over lab assistant who was nose deep in a tablet.

"Can I help you?" he asked, barely taking his eyes off the screen to look at him.

"Hello, I'm one of the trainers who got the sponsorship for the Elm lab. I was wondering if I could speak to Professor Elm for a few moments?" Eric asked, keeping his eye from twitching at how he was barely a blip on the man's radar of caring about doing his job.

"Hmm...the Professor should be in his office right now as we just finished our lunch period. He should be able to see you if you're quick about it. Just head up the stairs and it's the room all the way at the end." The assistant told him as he flicked his finger on the screen of the tablet to continue reading whatever it was on hand.

Now Eric's eye and lips were twitching at the blatant dismissal he was getting. "Thank. You." he said between gritted teeth as he walked in and closed the door behind him. He already knew the lab's layout as all trainers were required to get a speech from the regional Professor via livestream or for those that lived in the same town, a direct walkabout.

The actual lab itself was only on the first floor as that was where the equipment was located and it allowed easy access to the enclosures in what would be considered the very large 'backyard' of the lab's range. The second floor where he was heading contained all of the lab assistants and Professor Elm's personal offices. The third floor was the library slash computer room and the final floor was the dormitory for those that wanted to live on-site.

Thankfully it was a very simple building and rushing up the stairs, Eric quickly strode over to the door at the very end of the long hallway, which was partially open as the lab assistant had said they just were finishing up their lunches. Sure enough when he peeked his head inside he saw Professor Elm himself munching on the ends of a sandwich that was barely touched while looking at his computer screen for something. Though the older man quickly noticed him and put the food down.

"Ah, Mr. Kisaki. Congratulations on earning the sponsorship and the right to get the starter you wanted. Did you have any questions you wanted to ask? You seem ready to get going even though your starter will be given in a few months." He asked in a kindly manner.

Pushover as he was considered, Professor Elm was a kind and gentle soul. A taller man pushing at six feet in height, he was much younger than his mentor Professor Oak from Pallet Town in the Kanto region with his slightly spiked up light brown hair only just beginning to recede on his hairline. He was also very lanky and people noted that just like Professor Oak and all other regional professors, he wore the exact same outfit every day. White lab coat, blue button up shirt, light green slacks and brown shoes were the ones that Elm chose.

The man was not a trainer in the slightest, but his knowledge and drive on pokemon evolution was second to none. Though his actual specialty was considered to be in pokemon breeding and how various egg groups, shapes and sizes occurred.

Taking in a deep breath and letting it out, Eric looked at the Professor in the eyes. "Professor Elm, I know that I'm technically not allowed to get my starter to train until after the League ends. However, even after that I'm not even allowed to train until the new circuit begins half a year after that on the established routes. By then I'll be leagues behind Ethan, Kris, Lyra and all the other trainers who got a non-lab starter. Please, PLEASE, I don't want to get left behind like that. If there is something, ANYTHING I can do to be able to train and be with my pokemon starter a little sooner I'll do it. I just don't want to be forgotten by everyone else while they keep climbing to newer heights!" He shouted before going into a formal bow at an almost ninety degree angle.

He couldn't see the Professor's reaction, but he imagined that he must've felt awkward with that request since he didn't get a reply for a few minutes until the Professor cleared his throat.

"Stand up, please. I do understand why you're asking this, but what you are asking is something that requires me to go against the rules that allowed me to be the regional professor of the Johto region." Elm told him, not unkindly.

Eric's hand closed into a fist as he looked down at his feet. He hoped that by practically begging at the man's feet he'd fold, but one teenager's plea would definitely not change decades of red tape or the man's own employment status suddenly being in jeopardy.

"To be honest, there's a reason why you wouldn't be able to get your starter until several months from now." Elm continued, causing Eric's eyes to snap back up to him as the older man walked to the side of his room where a storage locker was located that was closed with both a heavy looking lock that would require a key and a more sophisticated device that would require a password or more to open.

He went through the process of inserting a key to unlock the pad portion and then typed in a password on the console on the side which opened up the locker.

Much to Eric's surprise, warmth was radiating from it but he quickly realized why when he looked inside. In sealed containers there were six eggs. Two of them looked like the backs of a Cyndaquil which would very obviously explain what they would hatch into. There were also two of the water starter pokemon Totodile. Only one had the green on it to show it would be a Chikorita while the final one was pure white with red and blue rectangular or square like shapes going across it.

"I am only allowed to hatch three starter pokemon per on and off League Circuit. Mr. Pokemon, who lives a little ways from Cherrygrove, provides me with the eggs that will become a starter for the next trainer in line who earned it." Elm explained as he tapped the containers that had the eggs in them.

"Though admittedly this newest batch of eggs are a little different. One of the Cyndaquil eggs actually came from the Sinnoh region. Apparently Mr. Pokemon found the leftover remains of what appeared to be a group of Typhlosion that lived on Mt. Coronet and saw the egg had been left behind. The last one he got from a trainer in Sinnoh. He wouldn't give me her name but did say it was a she. Anyways, he said that so long as I found a trainer worthy I'd be surprised by what came out."

"Would egg's from a starter pokemon from one region being found in another be that different?" Eric asked, truthfully not knowing much about how the egg system worked, just knowing that certain pokemon could breed with one another and make one.

"That's the beauty and mystery of it. We just won't know." Elm said with a passionate tone behind his voice as he was going into his true calling as a Professor.

"Now then. This is why you wouldn't be allowed to go for so long. Not only does it need to hatch, it needs time to be raised. While all pokemon hatched from an egg are docile and battle ready, they still need to get used to being out of their shell." Elm continued his explanation.

"Oh...so there's literally nothing I can do." Eric interrupted as he looked down at his feet once more.

"Now, now. In the Johto region, there's nothing you can do. That doesn't mean that you're out of options. After all, you're sponsored by my lab. Which means that you're technically in legal terms a research assistant." Elm stated with a sly look on his face.

"Y-yeah, but I thought that was just to use the pokedex for scanning the various pokemon in the Johto region?"

Elm shook his head. "Not so. We can technically ask you to go beyond your scope as a pokemon trainer if you should so accept. As it is, this off season I was going to go to each and every different region to catch up with my fellow colleagues and obtain some research material from all of them. However...my wife insisted that I take her and my son on vacation." The older man admitted with an embarrassed flush on his face.

"So...you want me to play errand boy? I still won't have any pokemon though to protect myself." Eric pointed out.

"Not so. So long as you follow a set of very strict instructions, I can allow you to hatch your starter egg early. However, you still will not be allowed to actually go anywhere until the off season." Elm stated, for once looking very serious.

"The Johto and Kanto Leagues are a little different from the rest of the world. They all have their League Circuits at different times of the year. Our off season is the on or middle or close to end for the others. While you are getting the research material from my colleagues, you will be allowed to battle, catch and train no badge approved pokemon. Which means more or less first stage or no stage pokemon only. They must remain at that stage until the Johto League circuit starts back up, by which then you can

.freely use whatever you catch to go through the Gym's. The reason why this is so strict is due to the fact that trainers who graduated from an academy must complete their first League circuit in their home region before they go to another region to do theirs. Your friend Brendan was dropped out of Cherrygrove Academy for that reason. His father was accepted as a Gym Leader in the Hoenn Region where the rules are a lot more lax on things like that."

Elm stopped for a moment to take in a small breath from his lengthy explanation. "This means that you still cannot, under any circumstances, go for a badge in any other region. To do so could mean revoking your trainer status in Johto and me dropping your sponsorship, which will leave you high and dry and in a lot of legal trouble. However, the experience you'll get from being in other regions and catching pokemon from them will most assuredly allow you to keep up with your peers, even if by the end of the circuit they'll have had their main teams fully raised when they try for their second go around. Does that make sense now?"

Eric was only fourteen years old, so a lot of the more technical aspects went right over his head, but he did understand the gist of what was being said. Don't be stupid, catch only what you can catch with your starter which would be rookie pokemon like itself and don't over train or over raise them or else he'd be on the hook for a lot of stupid traditional reasons.

"Is it ok to say that I really, REALLY hate that we're run by traditions from older generations?" The younger man finally said.

"Yes, the Blackthorn clan has had far too much sway and say for far too long, but we can't do anything about that." Elm actually agreed.

"I still hate that I can't do much, but having at least something is better than nothing. I'll help out with getting your research material." Eric said with a sigh of slight disappointment that he still couldn't start alongside the others.

"Don't worry too much about it. You'll get your leg up in different ways. I'll let you raise the other egg Mr. Pokemon gave me since you'll be waiting for several months and I'll let you decide if you want the Sinnoh Cyndaquil egg or the Johto one." Elm offered with a light smile on his face.

"Well, if I'm gonna be visiting Sinnoh at some point then the Sinnoh egg. Maybe if I'm lucky we might run into a Cyndaquil from the same group?" It was a nice thought anyways, even if the chances were slim to none as it were.

Professor Elm nodded at his choice. "Glad to see you're thinking ahead." He said in approval as he took out the two eggs. "The Cyndaquil one was already close to hatching so we'll take it to the back. Our little secret. The other egg was apparently more recent so it'll probably hatch in a few weeks to a month or two."

With each holding onto one egg case, they walked down the stairwell and instead of turning to head back towards the lab, Professor Elm fished a key out of his pocket and used it at a door that was next to it. As it was early afternoon, the sun was shining brightly and it caused Eric to close his eyes for a moment, but when he opened them he was surprised to see how lively the back of the lab truly was.

The Johto region had a long and not so cheery history, but behind it were plenty of trainers who every year retired or who let their pokemon retire in peace at the Pokemon lab to be cared for or observed. The young teen could see Meganium meandering about with a few Bellosom's and in a nearby pond a Croconaw and a Kingdra were poking their heads above water for a bit before diving back down to its depths.

He also saw some Fearow and a Pidgeot racing against each other in the skies as well before Professor Elm politely coughed to gain his attention and got an embarrassed flush out of him before they went towards a more open and grassy area.

Once they were in relative peace, Professor Elm tapped a button on the container the egg was in and it opened up. "The device the egg was in is called a stasis chamber. For pokemon eggs that need to be safely transported or if they need to wait a bit before the hatching phase, they're placed in these where they are safely kept in something akin to a pokeball, where everything that happened to their body is kept in that singular moment in time. By opening it, we've released the stasis." he explained as the egg began to quiver and shake back and forth.

"Woah, you weren't kidding when you said it was ready to hatch." Eric noted as he kept a grip on the red, white and blue egg that was in its own stasis chamber.

The egg kept shaking back and forth as cracks slowly began to form across the shell. More and more began to form across the entire egg before finally, it burst open and in Elm's hands, was a Cyndaquil.

Though it looked a little different from the one that was normally seen by Johto trainers. "Professor, do Cyndaquil from Sinnoh have a reddish-brown fur color normally?" Eric asked.

The professor looked just as confused as he was. "Well, I do know that some pokemon have a secondary color to them. For example, there were multiple reports in the far past of Ponyta with blue flames that galloped across many various regions. Though this is the first time I've personally seen one on a Cyndaquil. How fascinating." He admitted.

Though there was a definite spark in his eyes from how this related to pokemon breeding and there was absolutely no doubt in the trainers mind that if he hadn't picked this one to be his starter, the baby would be researched and spoiled to the distortion world and back.

As it was, apparently the professor had been holding the egg backwards, as the Cyndaquil found itself staring up at him rather than the older man. The trainer felt a tug on his heartstrings as he was looking at the very pokemon he spent years dreaming about as he carefully set down the other pokemon egg and held out his arms wide.

"Hey there buddy. My name's Eric Kisaki. I...well you're just born, so we're not going to train or anything yet, but I'm your trainer. I want you to travel with me so that you can be the best you can be and to help me be the best I can be. Would you like to do that?" he asked in a slow and gentle tone of voice.

The small fire mouse pokemon looked at him tentatively, as if truly mulling over his words. According to Professor Elm's own research, baby pokemon were much smarter than everyone assumed they were at first glance and could easily understand simple communications with humans and more complex ones with other pokemon.

Eventually, it wiggled its way out of Elm's grasp and trotted over on all fours to him, climbing up his lap and placing its forearms on his chest in a gesture of a hug. The trainer could feel the tears once again dripping down his face as he hugged it back, grateful that it was kind enough to pick him.

All the while, Professor Elm smiled at the scene of a trainer and pokemon bonding. It had been rough in the two sister regions of Kanto and Johto over the last few years. Due to the increased attacks of Team Rocket, it was decided that the age a trainer would be allowed to go on a journey increased from ten to fourteen. There were just far too many that perished, were tortured, beaten up or taken advantage of to not do something considered drastic.

Many younger trainers of that year pushed back hard, being denied their dream due to an age increase, but many more parents found themselves relived that they wouldn't be given the bad news that their child was in the hospital or far worse. Once the grumbling ceased, the mass public saw that it was far more effective to let teenagers, who were more mature and could learn just a little bit more than they would in just five years at public schooling, be pokemon trainers that could handle themselves in a dangerous environment far better.

While children bonded far more easily with pokemon, teenagers would have a better time wrangling them in once they evolved past a certain point or if they came across a very dangerous pokemon, could handle themselves better in a crisis situation. They would not freeze or hesitate in the way a child might seven times out of ten because they better understood what they were signing up for once they became trainers.

That came about four years ago. The young man in front of Elm was the first generation after the new age limit came to be to be pokemon trainers that should have been trainers years ago. He knew exactly why he had come over today and he was not the first nor the last trainer that would try to wrangle their way out of the dreaded fourth place curse. He was, however, the first to actually take him up on the offer of being a research assistant and working his way around the legal loophole that presented itself.

All the rest over the years just either waited, did something stupid to ruin their sponsorship or decided to rough it out on their own by getting a different starter. They just did not have the patience or understanding that came with time. The very best trainers knew their limits and worked hard to overcome them but never by taking the easy way out.

In this manner, the young Kisaki would be able to form a very effective team, so long as he thought ahead about what to capture and making sure it stayed within the rules. Of course there were always exceptions, such as capturing a dangerous pokemon because it started to chase and threaten, but forms would need to be filled in those cases to make sure it was necessary and no other way out was seen.

While in more tamed regions like Hoenn and Sinnoh this wouldn't be an issue, there were others like Kalos, Alola and Paldea that had more open spaces where dangerous pokemon freely roamed alongside the more tamer variants. It was inevitable that sometimes things would go wrong for just being in the right place at the wrong time.

Being limited to just no badge rookie pokemon would make that challenge all that much harder. Yet he had faith the young man would see it through so long as he focused on just making sure he got done what he needed to. Being in each region for only a few weeks at a time meant that six months would pass in the blink of an eye and where he would go had to be very strictly timed and limited. He guessed that would be enough time to catch two, maybe three pokemon max.

For now, he would let trainer and pokemon bond for awhile as he stood up and brushed some of the grass that he sat on off of his pants. "I'll leave you two alone for a bit after I register our friend here really quick." he said as he reached into his lab pocket and pulled out an older but still functional pokedex model.

"Cyndaquil, the Fire Mouse Pokemon. Cyndaquil protects itself by flaring up the flames on its back. The flames are vigorous if the Pokemon is angry. However, if it is tired, the flames sputter fitfully with incomplete combustion." It stated when the camera eye locked onto the newly born being.

"This Cyndaquil is a Male and knows the moves Tackle, Leer and Extrasensory. It is of a Modest Nature and its ability is Blaze."

Both trainer and professor were once again surprised at what was found out about the little creature. "Considering Mount Coronet is a rather dangerous place, I imagine one of its parents might have cross-bred with a different pokemon to obtain that since Typhlosion don't normally have access to psychic abilities." Elm theorized before his stomach grumbled, reminding him that despite it being afternoon, he left his lunch in his office, almost completely untouched over what happened.

Hopefully his wife didn't drop by or else she would be cross at him for missing a meal again. "I'll get back to my office now and update your file. Along with finishing my lunch."

This left the trainer and pokemon to look at one another before the creature yawned cutely and curled up to get more sleep. Eric had read up on the habits of the Cyndaquil line and knew that they often stayed burrowed and asleep save to hunt and answer the call to nature since it was only just starting to build its fire type energies in its body.

In this case, his little friend being newly born had almost no fire type energy to keep him awake longer than probably a few hours at a time and coming out of his egg probably took most of his current energy. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a blue and white pokeball with two red lines running diagonally on the top side. It was a Great Ball and it was a gift from his parents for getting so high a score on his final exam.

"This is a pokeball Cyndaquil. If I use this, then you will really become my pokemon in a legal human way. It means that nobody can take you so long as I follow the rules. It will keep you safe from the weather, mean pokemon and people and other things, so don't fight it ok?" He whispered to the slumbering pokemon. To his surprise, the pokemon gave him a nod and he tapped the Great Ball against him. Immediately, it opened up and a red beam came out from it and engulfed the baby pokemon and took it inside of it. Normally, if a wild pokemon was hit with it they would struggle against the energy, trying to break free of it. In this case, since his Cyndaquil was willing, there was no struggle at all. It just beeped once, signaling the capture.

With that, he clipped the pokeball to his belt, the internal stasis on it allowing his starter to slumber peacefully while he grabbed the egg capsule with the other egg and walked back towards the lab. He was careful to keep a tight hold of the capsule while he passed by the other pokemon on the way back in. As he was seen with Elm, they were not hostile towards him, but at the same time he was still a stranger to them and he didn't want to have to make a break for it in case one of them got curious about the capsule and egg.

Once back in the lab, the same assistant that barely acknowledged his existence earlier passed by him and took a look at the capsule. "I see. So you'll be looking after the egg then. Come by when it hatches." He said, before once again going back to his tablet and causing the trainer to sigh in irritation.

"Well, it's not what I came here for, but I'm gonna make the most of it like I said I would. Damn those traditionalists." He muttered. Still, going to a new region ever couple of weeks...it sounded exciting at least! Though he would probably need to pack several different layers of clothing for the weather in them.

Before the move, Brendan told him that it would be pretty humid and warm in the Hoenn region and that he wasn't all that thrilled since Johto was much more moderate in comparison. From his geography books he knew that Sinnoh often got lots of snow and was considered a fairly cold place in some areas. Unova and Kalos had a little bit of everything while Alola was extremely warm and humid being a tropical destination vacation for many. On the opposite end, Galar was a pretty wet and overcast region in most places while Paldea had a lot of landmass for all possible biospheres.

So he'd probably need a few light and airy clothes and a few heavier ones for that occasion. Not only that, but he'd probably need to get at least a few cans of pokemon chow for every kind of type out there. Even if he could only catch no badge pokemon, there was still at least one of each type out there.

Before he knew it, his feet had instinctively carried him right back to his house. Once he entered his home, he knew that at least now he had time to prepare and for once, he didn't feel so bad about it.

Six months later

"It's now time for the Final Match of the Silver League Conference! We've seen a lot of up and coming rookies shine and veterans show why they are still be feared on the major Gym Circuit. Yet there can only be one best of the best and their names are -"

The TV was turned off and the sole human occupant watching the channel let out a sigh, to which his two pokemon, one of each side of him, gave a small look of concern. When he noticed, he gave both of them a light smile and gently patted both of their heads which earned him a coo of affection.

Six months...six months had passed since Eric Kisaki took ownership of the reddish brown colored Cyndaquil and almost four months had passed since the second egg Professor Elm had given him had hatched. The moment it did he had rushed over to the lab where the man himself immediately scanned it with his pokedex.

It told them that the pokemon was a Togepi, known as the 'Spike Ball' pokemon. It was usually seen as a lucky omen and was said to bring luck to anybody that was kind to it. That Togepi's gender was female and it was born with the moves Growl, Pound and apparently Future Sight. Just like his Cyndaquil, one of its parents was a powerful psychic to have passed on that kind of inner energy to its offspring. Like his starter, she was of a modest nature, so both had been mercifully easy to care for.

While Ethan, Kris and Lyra had all gone on their journey's on time and with their chosen starters, he was still held back, making it a rather awkward goodbye from them as he chose to help his newly hatched starter learn to harness its own energy and practice its moves under the careful guidance of Professor Elm.

The man, despite his often gentle disposition, could be quite the taskmaster when he put his mind to it. Constant checkups, making sure he didn't push the pokemon farther than they should be and also making sure they got the right type of food were often the topics he found himself getting lectured on for weeks on end. Doubly so once Togepi came about.

Now, both of them were certified to be battle and trainer ready and today was the day that he was going to get his assignment list from Elm. It was also the last day of the Silver Conference Final which he had been watching on TV for the last few days, but none of the trainers from New Bark had gotten there. Lyra was knocked out in the Quarterfinals by some guy named Nando from Sinnoh, Kris got taken down by a girl named Leaf from Pallet Town which was in neighboring Kanto and Ethan was brought low in the Semi-Finals by another kid from Pallet Town. He had not actually seen that battle since he knew Ethan had picked the other Cyndaquil from the lab so he didn't want to make his own look bad if he was disappointed about not being there to go Typhlosion versus Typhlosion.

Still, it was the two Pallet trainers in the finals so regardless, Kanto would be coming out on top and they'd get a chance to battle the Elite Four. If they passed that hurdle, they'd go up against the Champion himself, Lance. If they by a combination of luck, determination and skill managed to defeat Lance, they'd be sworn in as the new Champion by Proxy.

It was another rule change from a few years back. Nobody wanted an experienced veteran champion overthrown by a child and then that same child was put into a position of leadership and power that they truly had no idea what to do with it. So instead, they were given the title of Proxy Champion, where if they continued to win in other Leagues to a certain point, then once they reached of age the original Champion of their home League would step down and allow them to take their place. It would show that their replacement had the smarts, determination and willpower to continue succeeding in their place.

Something like that was still a far off dream for him though. Stretching his body for a moment, he got up off the couch. "Alright. With our own journey about to start, I think it's time to give you both names. Calling you Cyndaquil and Togepi for as long as you are one might get confusing if there are any others in the area at the time I'm calling you while we are on the road, so having a proper names might help with that." He told his two pokemon before turning to his Cyndaquil.

"You're first since you came first to be fair." He said while patting Togepi's head to make sure she didn't feel too bad about not being picked to go first since she was the girl.

"You're a fire type so let's try some fire type names first. Sol?" He asked.

Cyndaquil tilted his head before shaking it, indicating no.

"Blaze, Inferno, Vulcan?"

Each time a name came a negative response came from it, causing Eric to think for a moment.

"Well, Professor Elm said you came from Mount Coronet, so maybe something more on the spiritual side?" He said aloud to himself.

Taking out his Pokegear, he used the part of it that connected to the internet to look up names that might be a bit more respectful towards the spiritualistic side of things.

"Moyo? This is an older variant name meaning Spirit." He tried next.

Cyndaquil looked a little more into it, but then slowly shook his head no.

Eric went through a few more names that came up on his search engine before randomly picking one.

"How about...Hania? Apparently in Alola this is one of several names that come off as 'Spirit Warrior'."

That one got his pokemon's full attention. He mulled over it a lot longer than the other two names, but eventually this one earned a nod of approval.

"Alright, Hania it is!" he said, making a mental note of it in his head as he turned over to Togepi.

"For you. Since you always bring luck and happiness to a lot of people, let's try some names centered around that. Gloria?" He said, thinking about the name one of his cousins had.

The tiny, egg shaped creature shook her head no.

"Kiara, Rani, Tira?" He tried next. The first two got a no, but the last one got her clapping her little hands in approval.

"Alright, Tira it is! Apparently this name came from a region between Orre and Galar and it means both lucky and charm." He explained before returning both pokemon to their pokeballs. Hania to his Great Ball and Tira got a Heal Ball since it was more feminine in appearance and she got attached to it when his mom had placed a spare one down on the table when she came home from work one day from the Pokemart and said someone had dropped it but forgot to come back to get it before closing time, so it technically went to whoever wanted it.

With the newly named pokemon safely clipped to his trainer approved magnetic belt clip he grabbed his now fully up to date backpack and went out of the house, moving along to Professor Elm's lab. Normally he would have went straight inside but to his surprise he saw that the man was actually outside with the fully evolved Psychic type pokemon known as Alakazam. It was slightly humanoid in appearance in that it had two skinny legs with large feet and two equally skinny arms with also large hands along with a very long mustache on its face, but it was covered in what looked to be more like an exoskeleton of yellow and brown and in its hands were its famous or infamous depending on who you spoke to, silver spoons that acted as a medium for their abilities.

He knew that the Pokemon League and trainers who had raised or captured them used them to teleport across long distances where using a Flying type pokemon might take too long. It was just a guess, but he imagined that Elm was about to do something for the League before his vacation or he just got finished.

"Oh Eric! Glad to see you're right on time. This is one of the Pokemon League's teleportation squad. He told me his name is Ali. For the first part of your sponsored apprenticeship, I was going to have you head to Kanto but the closest way cuts through Mount Silver, which is far too dangerous even with the relatively safe patrolled waters. So I will have Ali here drop us off at the Cerise Lab in Vermillion City. An old friend of mine wanted me to stop by and it's a good drop off spot for you since you'll also need to head to Professor Oak's lab after we're done there." Elm explained.

Well, at least it'll be somewhat familiar metaphorical waters he would be dipping into.

"Oh, by the way Professor. Before I came both of my Pokemon agreed to having nicknames. Cyndaquil now will go by Hania and Togepi decided to go with Tira." Eric said with a small smile on his face as the two pokeballs on his belt wiggled. While the pokemon were still in stasis they could still somewhat hear what was going on outside.

"I'm sure both are strong names that will resonate well with them." Elm told him as Ali patiently hovered next to them. Psychic types were more often than not cool and collected or arrogant and obnoxious when in the pursuit of knowledge and would usually be seen meditating to deepen their connection to the world around them.

"Alright. Sorry about holding you up Ali. I'm ready to go." Eric told the pokemon, who opened an eye at him and nodded.

'It is quite alright, New-Trainer. I am not in any rush.' Was the response that came from inside of Eric's own head, causing him to blink in surprise.

"Right, Psychic Type. Forgot that telepathy is super simple for them." He muttered before Ali crossed his arms together and focused. The two silver spoons seemed to gleam in the early morning light before all three were enveloped in a bright white light and in seconds, they were gone.

Cerise Laboratory

Vermillion City

It was a bright and sunny morning in the coastal city of Vermillion. A herd of Wingull, migrating from the Hoenn region, squeaked and cawed as they flew about the coastline, looking for any weak and easy water type pokemon to scoop up for an easy meal. While closer to the city line, Pikachu were seen milling about near power stations and a Machop had to go over to shoo them away.

The sounds of bustling life could be heard from all around and that was the sounds that immediately wracked Eric's brain as his body caught up with the rest of him from the teleport, making him immediately dizzy and nauseous as he hunched over and placed one hand on his head and the other on his stomach.

"Oh yes, if you're not used to it the first time packs quite the metaphorical punch. Thankfully that does go away in time." Elm promised him as they were in front of a much more older, yet more upkept, building than what was seen back in Johto. It almost looked like an old noble mansion of a sort.

"Professor Cerise was just recently instated as a Professor and chose this spot as the lab due to the fact that it's out of the way of the main city, but not so far away that you can't hear the sounds going around so the Gym Leader, Lieutenant Surge, can come and request assistance if needed." He explained while the trainer managed to find his center and right himself.

"I heard it's pretty lively there compared to my own."

"No offense, I really don't like that one lab assistant of yours that always has his nose stuck in a tablet." Eric finally let out in a light grumble.

"Nathan is definitely more into his research than anything else so you'll have to forgive him for that. He wants to get his own degree and certificate so he can start up a lab back in his home region of Orre. It's his dream to bring some stability back to that area." Elm explained gently, causing the trainer to look down in shame from his complaint.

"Oh. I'm sorry then about complaining about him." He apologized.

"He won't care too much. He knows he comes off as prickly and standoffish." Elm stated, making him feel a little better as the two walked inside the lab with Ali going back to meditating by the entrance.

The moment they stepped inside, it was like the word 'controlled chaos' seem to come to life in front of them.

While he was not a pokemon expert, Eric could definitely see the Kanto starters Charmander, Bulbasaur and Squirtle running about with one male lab assistant desperately trying to catch them as they hopped and jumped to avoid his attempts to grab them. They could also hear the sounds of multiple cries from what seemed to be the same pokemon coming from further inside, no doubt where the main research unit would be.

They carefully walked past the playful trio and went further into the hallways until they came across a large pair of double doors. Opening them, they came straight into what was indeed the main unit of the lab, which seemed to be a repurposed ballroom or large dining room type area.

All the trainer could see was that it was definitely new in the sense that a lot of the equipment, while properly set up, did not look like it naturally belonged there yet. The lighting also needed some work as it was spread out a little sporadically. Next to the main power unit, which was a large device that took up the main part of the back of the room, three people with maroon hair were looking at it with some curiosity. The tallest one, a male and probably the Professor of the lab due to his white lab coat, was knocking on the device while the other two, both women but one dressed in a more casual outfit and the other in a school uniform looked on with a worried expression.

"Professor Cerise, is everything going ok over there?" Elm called out.

All three turned to look at them and Eric found himself looking at the older two, but when he turned to the youngest his face flushed red and looked away.

He was not good with girls, doubly so for pretty ones and the younger girl was absolutely the daughter of the older one due to the same hairstyle, but she had long legs, nice hips and her school uniform displayed a bust that was no doubt growing with puberty since they were already pushing against the material.

Kris and Lyra often teased him for fun as well, making his ability to handle women even worse and both Ethan and Brendan often had to cover for him when their teasing got too far.

"Oh Professor Elm, my apologies! We have a Gengar that lives here and he decided to try and play a prank on us and go into the power unit. Caused the lights to flicker on and off several times. It interrupted my wife and daughter's work and we came to see if we could coax him out." The other Professor explained.

"Hello Elm. It's good to see you again." The professor's wife greeted with a polite bow.

"Hello to you as well Talia. As for you Chloe, you're definitely growing up to be quite the young woman." Elm returned the greeting while also complimenting the younger Cerise.

"Thank you Professor. Is that your assistant?" Chloe asked, her soft voice reaching Eric's ears and causing even them to turn a light shade of red as he refused to look in their direction.

Elm looked behind him and a grin seemed to grow on his face from his new assistant's reaction. "Oh yes. This is Eric, he scored fourth on the exam last Circuit and he's helping me out with getting the research notes the other Professor's promised while I take a vacation with my wife and son. This is my only personal stop as I wanted to congratulate you on your successful opening. Though it seems he's a little shy and smitten with your daughter there." he both explained and teased.

Eric's hand came up to cover his face in pure embarrassment.

"Hah, well he'll have some stiff competition since Chloe's had to fend off the boys in her class with a stick and our family Yamper. Who seems to be quite enjoying familiarizing itself with the scent of your assistant I see." Professor Cerise replied with a light laugh.

That caught the trainers attention as he looked down. A small, yellow and pudgy looking dog like pokemon was currently indeed sniffing at his shoes and jeans. It had small ears, big eyes and its tail looked like a lightning bolt.

"Yamp!" It barked as its tail wagged in happiness.

"Awww, he likes you." Talia cooed as he leaned down to pat the pokemon, who not only took it in stride but seemed to rub its head back against his hand to signal that it wanted more.

As he was doing this, the lights flickered on and off once more, causing everyone to look back at the power unit. Sure enough as Professor Cerise had stated, a Gengar had poked its head out at the commotion and was frowning at not getting any attention.

"So that's your ghost eh? Well, Lance let me borrow Ali for this trip. Do you want me to call him in?" Elm asked.

"Oh no, Ali is far too powerful and Gengar is just being playful." The eldest Cerise politely rejected the offer. "Gengar, we have guests over so please let us do our work in peace for a bit. I'll play with you tonight if you'd like."

The Gengar seemed to like that offer and gave a thumbs up before floating out of the device completely and vanishing through the ceiling.

"With that out of the way, let me grab those notes for you. Talia, can you take Elm's assistant and Chloe to the kitchen for some snacks while we talk?"

"Of course. Please, follow me." Talia gave a smile to her husband before waving for Eric and Chloe to follow her as she walked to a door on the side of the room and went through it.

Chloe followed behind her mother, while Yamper seemed to realize that petting time was over and trotted after its owners.

Eric quickly scrambled after them, going through the doors and seeing the mother and daughter duo turning a corner and lightly jogging to catch up to them.

"Ah, there you are. As Elm said, my name is Talia and this is my daughter Chloe. I apologize for the teasing but it was too cute to ignore." She greeted and apologized.

"Hello. Sorry about my parents." Chloe greeted him as well with the light bow and an apology.

"It's fine. I probably deserved that since I got embarrassed so easily." Eric took the apology in stride. "My name is Eric Kisaki and it's nice to meet you both."

He offered both of them a handshake which they took.

"Why don't you let your pokemon out for a bit while you're here? This is a safe haven for the pokemon around Vermillion so you shouldn't need to worry about them." Talia offered.

"That's a good idea. They're both very young so it's probably better to let them out more." He agreed as he unclipped the two pokeballs.

"All right then. Come out on Hania, Tira." He said as he pressed on the middle button of the pokeball. With a bright flash of red energy, the Cyndaquil and Togepi both gave a small cry at being released.

"Oh you're so cute!" Chloe squealed and gushed as she immediately scooped Togepi up and nuzzled her cheek with a finger.

"I know and your Cyndaquil is just darling! I've never seen this coloring on one before." Talia agreed as she had picked him up and was petting his head.

Both were a little startled by this a first but eventually returned the affection with nuzzles of their own.

"Cyndaquil is Hania and Togepi is Tira. Hania came from the Sinnoh region so we're thinking that might be why he is that color. His colony or pack, whichever it goes by, were on Mount Coronet according to Mr. Pokemon who had found his egg." Eric explained.

"I see! Well I'm definitely going to take a picture to use as reference for something later on. I'm an illustrator you see and something like this is a chance I can't pass up easily. She said as she tapped something on her back. To his surprise, a much more advance Pokegear like device hovered in front of them, nearly making the trainer jump back in surprise.

"What's that?" He asked.

"This is a Rotom Phone. One of my husband's friends in the Galar region gave us their most advanced cell phones and told us that a certain pokemon named Rotom could inhabit them and make them more animated and able to act independently in case someone is in danger. With the help of Professor Kukui in Alola we got several on hand. I imagine that my husband will give both you and Professor Elm one as well. They're just too handy to go without!" Talia explained as the phone seemingly grew arms and a face to wave at him.

"Greetings, bzzt! I'm a Rotom! Ms. Cerise, you wanted to take a photo?" It asked.

"Oh yes please! Mr. Kisaki, get between us and pick up Yamper so we all have a pokemon to be holding up." Talia instructed.

"Uhhh…." Eric was taken aback by how quickly she was spitting out instructions but quickly grabbed the electric pokemon and was sandwiched between Chloe and Talia. His face once again turned scarlet as both were close to him and he could feel their...assets...pressing up against his arms as they gave bright big smiles.

"Say cheese, bzzzt!" The Rotom phone told them.

"Cheese!" "C-c-cheese…" Came two excited voices and one nervous one as it snapped the photo. It showed two excited woman next to a flustered male, all three holding up smiling pokemon.

Talia and Chloe both giggled at how the picture turned out. "No offense Mr. Kisaki but it seems like you're really not used to a lot of people are you?" The older of the two asked.

"S-sorry. This is just kind of going by really quick." Eric apologized as he put Yamper back down.

"It's fine dear, don't worry. My husband and I actually have an idea that might help you while you're out traveling. Let's get those snacks and see if him and Professor Elm are done with their discussion."

Going to the fridge, Talia put Hania down and pulled out a pitcher of lemonade while Chloe got plastic cups and plates from a nearby drawer with one hand, the other still keeping a firm grip on Tira. The older Cerise placed the lemonade down on a counter where Chloe immediately began to pour it into the cups while she went to a nearby cabinet and opened it, pulling out a tightly sealed plastic wrap plate of brownies.

"I made these earlier today. They were originally meant for an after dinner dessert but exceptions can be made!" She said when both Eric and Chloe looked at the brownies with clear hunger on their face for the chocolate treat.

With a hum and spring in her step, the older woman walked out with trainer and daughter right behind her and pokemon dutifully following along. Once they were back in the lab, they saw Professor Cerise and Elm talking with the latter holding onto a folder of documents and two Rotom phones hovering around them.

They took notice of everyone coming back but kept to their conversation until everything was put down on a nearby table, clear of any sensitive research equipment or material. "Thank you dear. I was telling Professor Elm about Rotom phones and the Rotom operated Pokedex that Alola, Galar and Paldea have begun to adapt." The eldest Cerise explained.

"Ah yes. Eric, Professor Cerise was kind enough to both update the Pokedex I was going to give you to a more widely recognized international variant and offer us a Rotom phone. Unlike a normal Rotom, the phones and pokedex variants are strictly non-combative because they've bonded with an electronic device that will not produce enough electricity for it to actually use in battle, unlike the other devices it could inhabit." Professor Elm continued off from where Cerise ended.

Looking at his Pokegear, he knew that the Johto variant was, while top of the line there far, far outdated in the wide open world. He felt bad for having to already put it to the side for the up and coming technology, but that device could actually save his life out on the field. So he gave it a sad little smile and put it away as the Rotom phone hovered over to him. Unlike the others which all had an orange looking case, his was blue and white, probably to differentiate it in case they decided to try and play a prank as ghost types often tended to do.

"Chloe dear, you might want to sit down for this conversation since this will involve you as well." Professor Cerise advised. The teenage girl gave a curious look but did as asked, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to her mother while Eric sat across from them next to Elm.

"We had been talking to Professor Elm about this for awhile, but as you probably heard, Eric here will be going to every region across the next six months, picking up research material for Professor Elm and running a general errand or two for the other Professors. Your mother and I thought that it might be a good idea if you go with him." He continued, getting the girl to nearly spit out her brownie that she had been munching on in surprise.

"W-what? Why would you want me to do that?" She asked.

Talia spoke up at the protest. "Dear, we know that since you've been ten that you have been very cagey and distant when it comes to talking about dreams or setting a goal for your future. We are and always will be ok with you needing time, but just drifting between school and home isn't doing you any favors." She explained.

"But...I…" Chloe tried to protest, but bit her lip when she could not find anything to truly argue about.

"That's why we wanted you to go with Mr. Kisaki. Every region has something a little different. You might not find your calling with Pokemon training or being a lab assistant like your friend Goh, but instead you might find something in one of those other regions you could aspire and find passion in. Coordinating, Festivals, Cooking or what have you, there's a specialty waiting for you to see. Because he's only there for a few weeks at a time, there is little danger to yourself but plenty of opportunities to find that direction you seem to be lacking." Talia continued, placing a hand on top of her daughters own.

"Professor Elm, is that true?" Eric whispered as Chloe seemed to shrink in on herself more.

"Yes, Chloe has become a little bit more distant from others in her classes at school lately and its become a constant thing that any time a career choice comes up, she tries to find a way to not answer or leave the conversation. They're worried and rightly so. On my own end, I thought that having a traveling companion might make the road a little less lonely for yourself and your pokemon. They're young, so they need to socialize a lot and having even one other person to talk to makes a difference." Elm whispered back.

Looking back at Chloe, her hands curled up into fists. "Are you two upset at me or something? Because I keep not knowing what I want to be? Is that why you want to send me away?" She asked, her mental fears and paranoia clouding the reasoning behind what her mother said.

"No, no sweetheart. Not that, never that. We want you to just find something to make your life a little more happy is all." Professor Cerise stepped in and wrapped his arms around his daughter in a tight hug.

"Couldn't I find that here then?" She said, her voice breaking up with nearly every word.

"There isn't much here for you to try that you already haven't been told about. I know you don't want to be stuck as 'Professor Cerise's daughter' at school, with others thinking that you have to be a researcher just like I am. At the same time, competitive battling doesn't interest you. So we were hoping that by visiting the other regions to see what they have, you might bring back something with you that you can share with us and we can help you with. The first step though, has to come from you." Talia told her in a lowered whisper.

The young teen quivered and shook, the tears that came down her face from her paranoia slowly beginning to cease as she looked at Eric. "Mr. Kisaki, I...I'm not a battler. I don't really like pokemon fighting. Are...are you ok with that?" She asked, her voice hiccuping as Tira cooed and tried to soothe her. Hania and Yamper joined in as well, each one hugging a leg of hers.

Eric gave a quick glance to Professor Elm, who shook his head in a way that meant, 'This is something you have to do', before looking back at Chloe.

Taking in a deep breath, he let it out after a few seconds so that he would be able to speak truly, from both his mind and his heart.

"I don't mind that you are not a trainer or that you might not be good in pokemon battles or even that you don't want to watch them. The only thing I ask is that accidents can always happen, so in that event if you have a pokemon with you, I would ask that you at least know what you have to help defend yourself. I can do my best with what little I know, but for the most part we should be sticking to safer routes. I just want to make sure that you'll be ok if I have to step to the side for something." he told her.

It was a reasonable thing to ask for all the adults in the room, but the sole teenager continued to shiver and shake in place. "Yamper doesn't know how to really battle though. He's our families pet." She explained.

At this, Eric gave her a small smile. "It's ok. I'll help you catch something that you can learn to help protect yourself. Like I said, I doubt we will run into anything too major, but I would rather all of us be safe than sorry, that's all." he said as he got up from his chair and walked over to her, offering his hand.

With that gesture, Chloe finally stopped shaking and her parents let her go so she could make her decision on her own. It took her a few minutes before she took in a deep breath and let it out.

"Until...until we catch a pokemon for me, can I at least use one of yours to help me?" She asked, still holding onto Tira.

"Sure. I know Tira has taken a liking to you and she's good luck. I imagine she'll be a huge comfort for you out in the wilds." Eric promised her.

She was still uncertain and still shaking, but eventually Chloe slowly reached out to his hand and gripped it softly.

At this, Eric's small smile turned into a full blown grin.

"Welcome aboard, partner."

End of Chapter 1

A/N: Another idea hitting me that I wanted to write down. I actually did this in 4 days roughly, from very late Wednesday Night until late Sunday morning in the AM as of this writing.

I had a lot, a LOT of inspiration from other fanfics on this. Traveler, When the Moon Rises, any kind of realistic aspect to the life of a trainer that doesn't just always give handouts helped to bring this to life.

As you can see, the history on this fanfic is very different from canon, but for this first chapter I'll at least explain a bit of background.

Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green happened. However, Red and Leaf did not stop Team Rocket. Giovanni was exposed, but he just went to ground like in the anime instead of disbanding after a personal loss to Red.

This takes place in what would be the halfway point of Heart Gold/Soul Silver, but without Giovanni disbanding Team Rocket, there's no Silver finding his own path. Instead, Kris from the original Gold/Silver/Crystal game takes the Totodile to Ethan's Typhlosion and Lyra's Chikorita.

The KanJoh unified League here is extremely traditionalist and somewhat isolationist. They accept newcomers from all regions, but they do not like to adapt new technology in very quickly, leaving them somewhat behind on the times.

The traditionalist aspect is what lead to our protagonist here. If Professor's have more than one set of starters, but only three can be given out at a time, what happens to the rest that wanted one?

The answer, they gotta wait for it. A lot of ten year olds don't like to be told that they have to wait half a year to get their pokemon and then a full year to actually be able to go on a journey with it.

This lead to a lot of accidents and a lot of tragedy connecting to Team Rocket, leading to some heavy handed rule changes on several aspects, but the curse of being fourth to sixth on a Trainer School exam still stayed.

So Red and Leaf are 14, as are Ethan, Kris, Lyra, Eric and Chloe here. Goh won't actually be in this fic as I will fully admit, I don't like him. I don't like how he treated his starter, I don't like that pokemon practically threw themselves at him that he did not deserve to capture and I don't like that he captured legendaries like they were candy while Ash got jack squat in that department.

Still, Mr. Kisaki here is now stuck between a rock and a hard place. Unlike ten year old him, the fourteen year old him thought he could be slick and failed, pretty badly. However, he got over his bruised pride and decided to go for the other way out: legality loopholes.

Though his entire journey will be metaphorically with a ball and chain attached to his leg with the strict rules that he has to follow, I think that giving a few weeks into every other region will build up something unique, different and not seen before.

Every region will have their respective protagonists at some point in their series, save Black/White 2 which is a sequel. Every region has a different start and end point for their League, so some he might go just when they're starting while others will already be midway or even towards the endgame of their own journey.

All the while he has to remember that while he's a trainer in name, it's just that. In name only. He's legally recognized as a lab assistant for Professor Elm, so he has to act like it.

As for his Cyndaquil, Hania...I've pretty much dropped enough hints about that one for you guys to put two and two together.

There will be other shiny pokemon that he captures due to Elm's research being in pokemon breeding and evolution. It actually and legitimately falls into his purview as a Professor in his area of research.

In actuality, I just like the color blue. So any pokemon he catches that can have a blue variant, you can bet your ass he'll probably get the shiny version.

As for Chloe here, she grew on me a lot, unlike Goh. She went from unsure and indecisive to a confident girl. Here, on the other hand, she had four extra years of pressure and assumptions taking its obvious toll on her mental health and driving her down a spiral that our MC will have to pull her out of.

There will be others that travel with these two temporarily or fully across their adventure and hopefully you will be excited to see those picks as well.

Another thing, I have lost a lot of family this year. Three members across just 5 months. It's been a long and painful recover process. Along with work, I've had a lot of mental burdens on me. The healing has begun, but it will never truly end.

So please, I implore those of you that are still close with your family, tell them that you love them and that you care about them, as you never know when they'll be gone and you'll find yourself regretting not being able to say anything.

With that, I will see you in chapter 2, hopefully sometime soon.

Trainer: Eric Kisaki

Pokemon: Hania (Cyndaquil), Tira (Togepi)

Civilian: Chloe Cerise

Pokemon: None currently, Yamper belongs to family.

Oh! Pokemon belongs to Gamefreak and Nintendo. I only own Eric Kisaki, the MC.