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The sun shone brightly overhead in the small town of Cabo Poco and a flock of Wattrel could be heard squawking over the ocean to the south. As the residents of this tiny coastal town went about their day, an acute observer might notice two new faces making their way to their new home.
"Isn't this city beautiful Julie!" The older of the two commented. She was a thin, attractive woman in her late thirties with light brown hair worn in a loose ponytail over her right shoulder and her pet Skwovet was on her left shoulder.
"Sure. Whatever you say Mom." The younger of the two replied unenthusiastically. Julie was a 17 year old girl with long black hair. From a simple glance, one could tell she was quite athletic, her exposed arms and legs displaying toned muscle and the pair of well-worn hiking boots suggesting her love of the outdoors. As she walked with her mother down the street, she squinted to shield her eyes from the bright sun wishing she had worn her hat rather than packing it with the rest of her belongings.
"Come on dear! This place feels so peaceful! After everything that happened with Team Galactic and... your father, I feel like Paldea will be a great place for both of us to make a fresh start."
A wave of sadness swept over Julie as she remembered her father who had passed away in one of Team Galactic's attacks. "He just had to be fishing when that Galactic Bomb went off..."
"You know how much he loved fishing on Lake Valor." She said, remembering a different time when they had gone out on the lake as a family. "He loved it almost as much as he loved us."
Julie smiled begrudgingly as her mother hugged her in front of a small group of people. Like most teenagers, she didn't like the public display of affection from her mother but considering both their grief, Julie allowed it.
After walking a few more minutes, the two women finally arrived at their new home. It was a rather fancy looking two story house with a small courtyard and an incredible view of the ocean.
"Damn Mom! You really went all out choosing the house didn't you?" Julie commented as she gazed upon the house for the first time, amazed at how beautiful it was.
"Language dear." Her mother chided as she opened the gate and they walked inside. Julie rolled her eyes at the language comment as she continued. "It was a little expensive but it has a large kitchen. It's always been a dream of mine to open a beachside cafe."
"And I suppose I'll be helping out as well?" Her daughter asked, figuring that would make the most sense.
"That's completely up to you dear. I would love the help but you're free to pursue anything you'd like here." Her mother said as they entered the house, Skwovet skittering away to explore the new home. "I hear there's a small school in Mesagoza if you want to go to a proper school or I hear the Pokemon Professor is always looking for research assistants for his work."
"I'll give it some thought." She replied heading toward the stairs across from the entrance. "Which room is mine?" Julie asked.
"Upstairs first door on the right." Her mother said. "Most of your clothes should already be in the closet and dresser. So there shouldn't be too much left to unpack."
"Thanks. I guess I'll finish unpacking then." She said as she ascended the stairs, "Just call if you need me for anything."
"Of course dear. Same goes for you." Her mother replied, looking on with concern at how Julie would adjust to all the changes.
Julie entered her room and closed the door behind her, letting out a sigh as she tried to process everything that had happened. The move to Paldea had been quite sudden and even though Team Galactic had been disbanded and Sinnoh was safe once again, Julie's mother had still insisted on the move. Walking over to a box in the corner of the room, Julie started putting away the contents. There were a few books on Pokemon training and outdoor survival that she placed onto a bookshelf before pulling out some keepsakes and photos to decorate the room. Once she was through, there were only two items remaining: a picture she had taken with her father at a Galar Pokemon League match and a souvenir baseball cap her father had gotten her at the same match.
"I still miss you dad. Every day." She said, holding the picture to her chest as a fresh wave of grief came over her. As Julie took a moment to deal with her grief, a knock could be heard from the door followed by murmuring between her mother and an unknown person.
"Julie! Why don't you come down and greet our new neighbors?" Her mother called.
"Coming Mom!" She replied, placing the picture of her father on a nightstand and putting on the baseball cap before heading downstairs.
Standing in the doorway with Julie's mother were two women. The first was taller and looked to be around her mother's age wearing a brown blouse and floral patterned skirt while the second was younger, around Julie's age. The younger girl was wearing a gray collared blouse with violet shorts over a pair of black tights. She wore her black hair in a high ponytail and had a single green highlight over her left eye.
"These are our new neighbors! This is Alicia and her daughter Nemona." She said, gesturing to each of them. "Nemona is your age Julie and she just finished competing in the Paldean Pokemon League."
"I made it all the way to the top 16 before getting taken out." Nemona added, proud of her accomplishment. "I don't suppose you're a Pokemon trainer as well? I would love a new battling partner!" She said, her eyes glimmering at the chance to test her skills against someone new with foreign Pokemon.
"That's pretty impressive but no. I'm not a trainer." Julie replied, a little wary of how eager Nemona was to challenge her immediately after meeting.
"Why not? You must have some interest if you're wearing a Gordon Jeffries cap."
Julie's eyes widened, surprised that Nemona recognized the trainer cap she was wearing. "You know Gordon Jeffries?"
"Of course! Any battler worth anything knows the iconic number 24 of the Galar Pokemon League!" She replied excitedly, as their mothers began chatting amongst themselves. "You don't win the Galar League title four times without earning a few fans along the way."
"Yeah! He revolutionized battling with his use of Volt Switch and U-Turn! Trainers could never tell what Pokemon they would be facing at any given time, casting doubt on decisions and giving him the advantage." Julie replied, her previous wariness melting away as she excitedly discussed her battling icon.
"A lot of trainers still use that tactic, though it doesn't seem to compare to the Number 24 in his prime." Nemona said, "But that brings me back to my previous question, you clearly have some interest in battling so why haven't you tried becoming a trainer?"
"Well, we just moved here from Sinnoh where Team Galactic was at large until recently." She explained, "It wouldn't have been safe to journey on my own with Team Galactic about. That plus my dad passing, it just didn't make sense. I suppose I just missed my chance is all."
"Nonsense! It's never too late to start a journey of your own!" A new voice declared from behind Nemona, startling both girls.
"Director Clavell! I completely forgot you were stopping by today!" Nemona's mother said as the girls turned to face the new arrival. He was an older man with completely white, messy hair and a small goatee under his chin. He was wearing a pristine violet jacket adorned with six premier balls and in his hand was a small leather satchel. "I hope you didn't have too much trouble finding us."
"Not at all. In a small town like this, everyone knows everyone. A couple questions to the right people and I tracked you here no problem."
"Let me introduce you!" Nemona's mother said, walking to Clavell's side. "This is Director Clavell, an old friend of mine and head of the Pokemon school in Mesagoza." She started, "And these are Sara and Julie, our new neighbors from the Sinnoh region."
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance." He said, bowing slightly in respect.
"Wait! If you're here, does that mean you have what I asked for?" Nemona asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet excitedly.
"Yes Nemona. As a favor to an old friend, I'm allowing you to choose a new starter Pokemon." He said, opening his satchel to reveal three new Pokeballs inside.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you Mom!" Nemona said, rushing over and wrapping her mother in a tight hug. "I knew you would come through for me!"
"But wait. I'm confused. I thought Nemona was already a Pokemon trainer and why is the director of a Pokemon school giving away starter Pokemon? Isn't that the job of the region's professor?" Julie asked, perplexed at the events unfolding in front of her.
"I am already a trainer, but after losing in the League tournament I wanted a fresh start." Nemona explained, answering Julie's first question. "I figured choosing a new starter Pokemon and traveling the region again would be a great way to catch new Pokemon and learn new ways of battling."
"As for why I have these Pokemon instead of Professor Turo, he has been conducting top secret research inside the Great Crater of Paldea." Clavell said, "This makes him unreachable for large periods of time. So, in order to make up for his absence, the Pokemon League appointed me to fill in with managing his research assistants and other day to day tasks."
"I guess that makes sense. It still seems a little strange though." Julie said, finding the explanation plausible for the moment.
"Oh! I just had a great idea! Julie should get a Pokemon too!" Nemona said, not even considering if Clavell was willing to give another away.
"Wait. What?!" Julie replied, shocked at the suggestion.
"Come on neighbor! You seem like you know the basics. Why don't you choose a Pokemon and have a little battle with me?"
"Watching battles on tv and doing it in real life are two entirely different things!" She replied defensively. "And you're a top 16 battler! You would beat me in a minute flat!"
"Anything can happen during a Pokemon battle." Clavell spoke up, sensing a teachable moment. "Under the right circumstances, even the mightiest of trainers can be beaten by a rookie."
"Well... But I..."
"Why don't you give it a try dear?" Her mother said encouragingly. "You might even find it fun."
"O-Ok then." She said, a bit surprised that her mother had agreed, "Only if it's ok with Mr. Clavell though!"
"Of course it is! Like I said, it's practically my job to give Pokemon away to new trainers." He said with a chuckle.
"I'll even let you have first pick of the starters to make our battle more fair." Nemona added.
"Wonderful! Now I suppose it's time to introduce you to your prospective partners!" Clavell declared. He took a few steps outside of the house before tossing the three Pokeballs from his satchel into the air in quick succession.
The first Pokemon to appear was a small green cat. It let out a cute meow before moving to an especially sunny part of the lawn. The second to appear was a small red crocodile with a single large tooth in its mouth. As it landed on the ground, it looked around at its surroundings before smiling, clapping its hands and letting a small plume of fire escape its mouth into the air. And the final Pokemon to appear was a small white duckling with a full head of teal hair. It flapped its wings furiously to slow its descent to the ground. Once it was safely on the ground, it spat a small amount of water into its wings and immediately went about fixing its hair.
"Wow! They're all so cute!" Julie's mother commented as she watched the Pokemon roam about the yard.
"Your choices are Sprigatito, a grass type, Fuecoco, a fire type, or Quaxly, a water type." Clavell said, pointing to each one to show Julie which was which.
"So, which one are you going to choose?" Nemona asked, her eyes practically glittering in excitement.
"Let's see..." Julie said, taking one last look over her choices. Each one was unique and had their own charm but one had caught the young girl's eye more than the other two. "I've decided. I choose-"
AN: Hello everyone and welcome to Violet Retuned! I just finished the main story of Pokemon Violet a couple weeks ago (yes I know. I played super slow) and I was incredibly disappointed with how things played out. I felt like there was so much wasted potential and with a few tweaks, a great story could have been made. I know I'm not the greatest writer in the world but I thought I'd try my hand at creating a Pokemon Adventures type story and make Paldea a region to remember.
Now onto the changes. Just a few minor things this chapter since it was basically a prologue.
1: The protagonist: A lot of little changes were made to the female character. First, I chose the female protagonist for this story because I used the male character in my playthrough and I could not get over how nerdy he looked. Second, I bumped her age up to a teenager due to the usual Pokemon fan complaints that 10 year olds shouldn't be traveling the world alone like that (which I agree with). Third, I know her canon name is Juliana but Julie is shorter and easier for me to type.
2: A smaller school in Mesagoza: I know it was only a single line but I thought I should reinforce that I plan to greatly reduce the role of the school in this story. I wasn't a big fan of the school setting and am going to try to create a more classic atmosphere (a la Kanto, Johto etc.)
3: The cliffhanger: Not a change but I thought it would be a fun spot to end the chapter. I already have Julie's starter in mind but feel free to leave a review with who you think her starter should be.
I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time!