The Adventure Begins
The boys find Beck standing outside the Pokemon Center, her Cyndaquil curled into a ball at her feet, sleeping. She is facing the sky, a faraway look in her eyes, her hands in her pockets as she leans against the building. They approach.
"Sorry it took so long," Ethan starts, "but Barry here thought it'd be cute to get in a fight with some poor old lady."
"Woah woah woah," Barry defends. "That was no 'poor old lady.' That was an evil old hag."
"Did you have to call her smelly to her face?"
"She's the one with the poison breath trying to hog all the antidotes because the liquid 'looks pretty.' She doesn't even have a Pokemon!"
"What are we gonna do with him, huh Beck," Ehtan asks, shaking his head at Barry. "Beck?"
"Hmm?" Beck looks back at the now obviously concerned boys. "When did you guys get here?"
The boys look at each other, then Barry speaks. "Uh, did something happen to you? Why are you here anyway?"
"Yeah," Ethan says. "Weren't you going to wait by the entrance to route 29?"
"Let's just go. C'mon Cyndaquil." Beck walks slightly ahead of the group, but when they make it to the route, she lets the boys take the lead. Though they had previously taken turns with the wild Pokemon that appeared, Beck asks more than once to be skipped. The first time, Barry eagerly obliges with a "more for me" attitude, but by the third time, he insists she battles.
"What's wrong with you?" Barry demands.
"Nothing."
"Then why are you two battling like that?" Beck's previously unrelenting offensive strategy is now extremely defensive. She has become more cautious than Ethan had been. Still, much to Barry's chagrin, she denies that anything has changed. "Seriously, Beck, what-
"Let's drop it for now, okay," Ethan offers, attempting to keep the peace. "We can talk about it when we make it to town."
New Bark Town: Elm's Laboratory
Just outside of the laboratory stand a congregation of police officers. One of them is talking to an aide of Professor Elm. As the trio approach, they can hear the aide giving her testimony.
"There was a n-noise…" she says between sobs. "The window was shattered, glass everywhere!" She waves her arms out as she speaks. "We all went to look. Oh why didn't one of us stay with them!" The aide breaks down, falling to her knees as the officer taking her testimony looks around frantically for someone to help him console her.
"Stay with them? Who's them?" Ethan thinks aloud.
"The Pokemon," Beck answers as she tries to walk into the lab.
"Hold on, kid." One of the officers blocks her path. "This is a crime scene. You kids can't enter."
"We're friends of the professor," Ethan says. "He asked for us. Can you tell us what happened here?"
"Oh, yeah. Elm did say there were some trainers on their way here. I guess it wouldn't hurt." He straightens his cap. "Well, it looks like the perpetrator came in through a broken window. By the time everyone ran outside and around the building, he had made off with two Pokemon. Might have taken more if he thought he had time. One of the aides got a glimpse of him. They say he had long red hair and looked pretty young." He shakes his head. "First Team Rocket and now this. What kind of scum steals Pokemon?"
"Hey," Barry whispers to Beck, "didn't you see someone looking into the side window this morning?"
"His name is Silver," Beck says to the officer. "I fought him outside of Cherrygrove City on our way back here. He had Treecko and Totodile."
The officer flips through his notebook. "Yup, those are the Pokemon that were reported missing. Any idea where he might be now?"
"We didn't fight that long ago."
"So, if we leave now we might be able to catch him. Everyone," he calls out to the other officers, "we're going to Cherrygrove."
Inside, Professor Elm paces back and forth, muttering to himself. At the sound of approaching footsteps on the linoleum floor, the professor jumps.
"Chill out, professor! It's just us." Barry says.
"Oh, it's you three. I can't tell you how happy I am to see you all. There was, um, well. You saw the police outside, I'm sure."
"We know about the robbery, professor. We're sorry we couldn't stop the guy."
"How would you have done that? It's not like you knew what he was going to do."
Beck scratches the back of her neck, but before she can speak, Barry steps forward.
"I saw him staring into the window," Barry says.
"And he told me about it," Ethan adds, "but I didn't think it was a big deal."
"Oh, boys, it's alright. It's not your fault. The only person to blame is that robber. But enough of that. What did Mr. Pokemon have?"
"He gave us each an egg for some reason," Ethan says, holding up the egg he was given.
"And Professor Oak gave us a Pokedex, which is WAY better than a babysitting gig," Barry asserts.
"Hatching the egg could be fun," Ethan offers.
"You would think that, wouldn't you?" Barry rolls his eyes.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means, you're a wuss."
"Help me out, Beck. Hatching the egg could be cool, right?"
"No way she wants to play Mother Hen! She wants to find new Pokemon! Right, Beck?" Both boys turn to Beck. "Beck?"
Beck is looking at the floor, hands in her pocket. Cyndaquil nuzzles her leg, but it is as if she does not notice. Then, she perks up, reaches into Ethan's bag -which they had agreed to store the eggs in- and places her egg, the one with hot pink spots dotting it, onto the table. "Bye."
"What? Wait!" Elm calls, but Beck ignores him and continues walking, Cyndaquil following behind. "Oh no. I feared this might happen."
"What do you mean, Professor," Ethan asks.
"Er…well," the Professor looks away.
New Bark Town: Grandma's House
"Oh, you're home. I'm so glad to see you. Let me see your new Pokemon."
"Cyndaquil, meet Grandma. Grandma, Cyndaquil." Beck begins walking upstairs as her grandmother and Cyndaquil get acquainted.
"Oh, wait dear. I want you to tell me about your little adventure. Did you have fun?"
Beck stops halfway up the stairs and looks back to see Cyndaquil nestled in her grandmother's lap and her grandmother looking up at her with a smile. She sighs. "I'm tired. I'll tell you about it later." She continues up the stairs.
In her room, she can see that her grandmother had started unpacking for her. Her Kyogre duvet has been spread out over her twin bed, her cubchoo pillows placed neatly at the head of the bed. Posters displaying champions from around the world with their Pokemon lined the walls: Diantha and her Gardevoir with a shimmering rainbow background, Lance and his dragonite in the foreground of a fiery backdrop, Iris and her Haxurus posing in a glittering cave, and more. She frowns at the site of all the ribbons her sister won in a glass case on her bookshelf among the many books she sent. At the top of the bookcase are three gym badge cases, open to display badges from Unova, -her birthplace- Alola, and Kalos. The one from Kalos was missing three badges. She looks toward her desk, and her frown deepens. Among the Pokemon plushies, Unova themed journals and laptop, and pictures of her family, sits Vivillon, cozied up to the picture of her sister.
"Why are you in my room? Go to grandma's room or something." Beck is met with a silent stare from the Vivillon. "Fine. Stay there then." Beck faceplants into her pillows. In a moment, she feels the blanket slightly sink next to her. She turns her head to see the picture of her sister. Vivillon perches on the headboard. Beck sits with her legs crossed and holds the picture in her hands. "Y'know I hate you, don't you?" Vivillon bites Beck. "Ow!" Vivillon sits across from Beck as she rubs her arm. "That means you hate me too, right?" Vivillon is silent. Beck goes back to staring at the photo. Moments pass, and there is a knock at the door. "Come in." Beck expects to see her grandmother at the door but is instead greeted by Barry.
"Woah. Your room is awesome! Is that Vex? Hey, Vex!" The Vivillon screeches. "Woah, you're cranky. Guess that makes sense given…" Barry looks over at Beck. "What's that?"
"What are you doing here, Barry?"
Barry walks closer. "Checking on you. Ethan said we should give you some space, but I think that's stupid. I think you're trying to ditch us on purpose so you can give up."
"Excuse me?"
"This is about that red-head, isn't it? Liver?
"Silver."
"Whatever. It's 'cause he beat you, right? But it's about your big sis, too."
"Shut up, Barry. And get out of my room."
"What happened, Beck? What's he got to do with your sister?"
"Don't mention her, Barry. I mean it!" Beck gets out of bed, hands balled into tight fists.
"You shouldn't be up here brooding! Look up there!" Barry points toward the gym badges. "Those are hers, right? I bet she didn't sit on her butt just because she lost a fight." Vex flies to stand beside Barry. "See, Vex knows your sister. And she agrees with me. You can't just stay up here moping."
Beck steps forward. "Shut up!"
"What happened out there? You're not acting right."
"How would you know," Beck explodes. "You don't even know me! We just met today!"
"But I saw you battle! You were fierce and confident, and you were having fun! So what changed? What did he say to you?"
"He said I'd die. That Team Rocket would get me just like…" Beck's shoulder's drop, all the fight draining from her. "He said I was too weak to be out there."
Barry watches Beck quietly. Moments pass. He stuffs his hands in his pockets and looks around the room. He sees the posters covering every inch of the walls, the books on all things Pokemon stuffed inside the bookcase and stacked on the shelves, the plushies and figurines, the makeshift trainer card on the desk. He makes his way to the desk, picking up that trainer card. "You make this?" Beck nods slightly. "By yourself?" Beck nods again. "Number One Trainer, huh? Sounds like you had big dreams."
"Put it down, Barry," Beck attempts to grab the card, but Barry holds it over her head. "This is stupid, Barry." She jumps for it, but he moves away. "Barry, seriously?" He moves away from her.
"You don't need it. This is for Beck," he says, a grin forming on his face.
"Do you practice being annoying, or does it come naturally?"
"It's a gift. And I'm gonna take this with me, and find Beck."
"I'm Beck."
"Nope. You're a quitter. Beck's a winner, the Number One Trainer! Says so on her ID."
Beck takes another swipe at her ID, but Barry dodges and then runs out of the room.
"Is he serious," Beck asks, exasperated. She dashes after him all the way out the front door, Cyndaquil hopping out of her grandmother's lap to follow them.
Vex remains in the bedroom, watching from the window. From above, she can see Barry turn to Beck, finger pointing directly at her. His loud voice is muffled by the glass, but the way his Chimchar runs ahead of him, fists clenched, makes it obvious what's going on. Beck looks up at the sky in frustration before yelling something that makes Cyndaquil spring into action.
Chimchar dashes at Cyndaquil, its arm cocked back for a Scratch, barely missing Cyndaquil. Quickly, it shifts position, bringing up its left hand for another Scratch, hitting Cyndaquil right in its snout. Barry fist pumps and yells another command, but Cyndaquil recovers swiftly from the attack and lunges forward with a Pound. Chimchar is knocked on its back, and Beck gives a command. Vex's view becomes skewed by a cloud of black. Smokescreen. When the smoke clears, Chimchar is unconscious, and Cyndaquil is standing victorious.
"Ha! Take that, Barry!" Beck kneels on the ground, giggling as Cyndaquil runs into her arms.
"You did good, Ember," Barry says as he scoops up his Pokemon, a little smile on his face.
"What is going on here?" Ethan says as he approaches the trainers, his Mudkip scampering behind him.
"Beck's coming back to the lab to pick up her Pokedex!" Barry asserts.
"What? No, I'm n-
"A pokedex? That sounds exciting!" Beck's grandmother stands on the porch. Vex perches on the wooden rails of the front porch.
"You're coming back," Ethan asks. "Really?"
Beck looks down as Cyndaquil, his little tail wagging. "Do you want to go?" Cyndaquil coos in affirmation. "Ugh. You guys win. I'm coming."
"I knew you weren't a quitter!" Barry heads back to Elm's lab. "Now, come on, guys. Ember needs to heal up."
"Wait," Beck calls. "My card."
"You'll get this back if you actually become the Number 1 Trainer, but don't think I'm just gonna give it to you." He turns to Beck, pointing his finger at her. "Next time, I'm gonna beat you!"
"Yeah, right," Beck says, chasing down Barry.
Route 29
"Nice one," Ethan says as Beck's new edition, Turtwig, took out a Rattata. Since the criminal had taken two Pokemon for himself, Elm thought it best that the trio had extra help on the road. Besides, he had said, it would be easier to look after them with help from friends like you three.
"Absorb comes in handy," Beck says. "Being able to heal and attack means I won't need as many potions."
"That didn't stop you from overstocking," Barry says, folding his arms. "Like, how can you even carry that bag?"
Beck adjusts the yellow straps of her Pikachu backpack and rolls her shoulders, the weight causing strain on her. "Gotta stay prepared."
"Maybe Vex will carry it for you," Barry jokes.
Vex flies ahead in response. Beck would have preferred the bug stayed in her pokeball, but after the third time Vex dodged the red beam and used Gust to knock the Pokeball from Beck's hand, Beck decided to allow Vex to fly along.
"Did you think of a name for your Tepig, Berry," Ethan asks.
"Bebop! He's gonna be a little rockstar superhero! And Beck's Turtwig can be a ninja turtle that fights alongside him, beating up the likes of Team Rocket and conquering the gyms! Ember is the lead singer, and we can have Cyndaquil as the manager."
"Wouldn't we be the managers," Beck asks, patting Turtwig's head to congratulate her for a job well done.
"Nah. That's boring stuff."
"I bet my Snivy would be a good manager," Ethan says, and Snivy toots its nose in the air in agreement.
"Beck and I are gonna ditch you guys ASAP. We're warriors. You guys are just kinda…here."
"Hey!"
The trio laugh as they continue to train their Pokemon together, Beck's confidence growing with every win. Before they enter Cherrygrove City, Ethan suggests a three-way battle using only their starters. Given that he was a water type while Beck and Barry had fire types, it was no surprise that he had the advantage, not that Barry minded.
"You're going down!" Barry bellowed confidently.
Beck had thought the obvious strategy was to focus on Mudkip and then Ember and Cyndaquil would have a rematch, but Ethan saw that coming, playing on Barry's ego and causing him to have Ember try to fight both Cyndaquil and Mudkip at once. And after Ember was taken down having taken down pretty significant damage on the other two Pokemon, one well-timed Water Gun put Cyndaquil out of commission.
Cherrygrove City
Leaving the Pokemon Center, the trio decide to split up for a while in order to have a competition. They sent in the grass by the lake in a circle, Ethan's map in the center and their Pokemon playing along the shore. Mudkip and Snivy are swimming just off the shore while Vex, Cyndaquil, Ember, and Bebop chase each other.
"Alright," Barry says, leaning over the map and pointing at a city. "That's our first target, Violet City gym."
"That's Falkner, right," Beck asks, adjusting her white and gold cap to keep the sun out of her eyes.
"That's right," Ethan says. "He has flying type Pokemon. He's pretty strong."
"Eh," Barry says. "I bet I'll blow right through that gym."
"Like you blew our fight earlier," Ethan teases.
"Shut up," Barry says, pointing at Ethan. "Next time, my team's gonna mop the floor with you."
Ethan chuckles. "Sure, Barry. Now, do we want to meet up before or after we've beaten the gym."
"Before," Beck says. "We can test our growth before challenging the gym. Losers have to train more before the gym."
"What about the Pokedex," Ethan asks, pulling out the device. "We should see who can gain the most entries.
"I don't want to catch Pokemon I won't see anymore just to fill up the Dex, though. Just think how lonely they'll be," Barry gestures to the playing Pokemon. "So, how do we help Professor Oak without that."
"Well," Beck says, "We can get the entries just by encountering the Pokemon. Mine shows Rattata and Pidgey even though I didn't catch them."
"Plus," Ethan adds, "The Pokemon in the PC all play with each other, so they're not lonely. But we don't have to catch them. We can have the gym badges as the main goal and entries as side quests."
"Sounds good to me," Barry says. "I'll breeze through the gyms, beat the League Champion, and then make a card of my own. It'll say, 'Number 1 Trainer: Barry!' and everyone's gonna know my name."
"Speaking of trainer cards," Beck says, folding the map and handing it back to Ethan. "When are you gonna give mine back?"
"I can't give it back now," Barry says. "This competition needs a prize!"
"You can't use her card as a prize," Ethan says as he puts the map away.
"Well, if she beats the Champion first, she won't have to worry about it."
"Barry…"
"Don't worry," Beck says, standing up and wiping the dirt from her jean shorts. "I'll win." With a grin, she walks away from the boys and collects her Pokemon. "See you guys in Violet City," and she races off to the next route.