Red had not slept. Body riddled with excitement, he couldn't get himself to calm down enough to sleep. Eventually he got up and began reviewing his research notes in an effort to do something more productive. His mom would have been pissed if she found out but Red couldn't bring himself to feel guilty. He was too excited.

/

"Come on Yellow!" The girl came out, running down the small stairs in front of the house. "Alright alright. I'm here."

She was wearing a yellow romper overalls with a white blouse underneath. She wore white sneakers on her feet. She had cut her hair to shoulder length which took Red by surprise–she was really serious about growing it out–but he mentally shrugged it off, it would get in the way. A small side ponytail was made with a pretty yellow ribbon and her usual bucket hat was nowhere to be seen.

Yellow posed. "What do you think?"

"It looks fine but are you sure about the white?"

It wasn't very sensible to wearing that much white when they would spend a lot of their time in the forest.

Yellow rolled her eyes. "Of course I'm not gonna wear this the whole journey. It's only because Blue challenged me." Red managed not to rolled his eyes but did release a small sigh. Of course it was that.

"And I have very suitable clothing in my backpack." She shook the straps of the black backpack on her back. Yellow then surveyed him.

"You dressed up too."

Red looked down at his outfit consisting of a black shirt, a red and white jacket, black shoes and fingerless gloves topped with a red and white cap. He raised an eyebrow at her. "This is dressing up?"

Yellow shrugged. "By your standards." She turned and started walking. "Anyway, let's go. Blue will throw a fit if we're late."

Red looked back at his outfit in confusion before sighing and following her.

Once the lab came into sight. They saw their friend leaning on the frame of the open door. His expression lit up when he saw them.

"Oi guys!" Blue waved them over. Yellow put her arms on her hips as she surveyed his plain blue shirt and black pants. "You didn't even try, did you?"

"Whatever do you mean? This is quite a distinguished look." Blue said with a smirk.

"Quite practical too." Red added on. Yellow glared at him and he held up his hands in surrender with a slightly amused look. "Sorry."

She let go of her mild annoyance to check out the other trainers. "There's less people than I thought."

"Most of them didn't pass the test." Blue eyed them disinterestedly and shrugged. "Even though you only need fifty percent to do it."

Yellow shook her head in disappointment.

"Welcome new trainers! As a professor, it is an honor to entrust you with your first Pokémon—a partner—that will share your triumphs and trials, your victories and losses and your achievements and deprivations. May Arecus watch over all of you as you head off into a journey of mystery." He surveyed the room. "Each and every one of you have worked hard to be where you are now and while I, as your teacher, would give you advice-" He threw up his hands with a laugh. "I have nothing left to say! You're the authority now. Your own tale as adults are about to unfold and I wish you well."

The trainers clapped as the man fins sighed his speech. "Now-" He turned around. "Follow me if you wish to receive your first Pokémon."

The trainers followed eagerly.

/

Red was dazed the whole time the gifting was happening. He had only came to reality when Professor Oak cupped his hand to place a pokeball in it. "I think this one would fit you nicely." He had said. Red walked to the back so others could go and receive their Pokémon. He rolled the ball in his palm, the motion done a hundred times before but still feeling excitement as this time it was his.

"So which one did you choose?" Yellow asked. Red restrained the smirk that was pulling on his face. He alone–minus his mom–knew what was in this pokeball as they all decided to keep their choices a secret.

He pressed the button on the pokeball and it released his starter.

The bipedal salamander looked up at him with big ocean blue eyes and Red kneeled to it. "Nice to meet you Charmander."

He heard Yellow's name get called in the background and felt her saying she'll be back before walking away but he didn't remove his gaze from Charmander. He check its mental state.

Charmander obviously understood what was going on–they were raised for this after all–but the Pokémon was also filled with a sense of wariness and deep longing. Red felt his lips twitch in what could be identified as amusement. "You're wary. That's good."

The Charmander seemed even more surprised. "I'm not gonna hurt you. I just wanna work with you. You scratch my back, I scratch your sort of thing. We're going to travel." He nodded towards the exit. "I assure you that the world's way more beautiful outside of the lab." He shrugged,"Though if you don't wanna go with me, I get that. Seeing the world outside is not that much of a bargain for battling for me."

Charmander glanced at the exit with a deep longing. Red knew that he couldn't force Charmander to listen to him or he could risk it attacking him, which tended to happen to a lot of new trainers. But no one said anything about negotiating with it. Of course, if Red gave him up, Charmander would still get to see the outside the lab as it would be given to another trainer, but Charmander didn't need to know that.

"You work for me and I let out of your pokeball as much as you want." He extended his hand. "Deal?"

Charmander glanced at the exit again. It seemed to get even more hesitant as it thought but Red was willing to wait it out. He finally smiled when the starter shook his hand. "I have a feeling we'll get along great."

"Leave it to you to make a deal with your Pokémon." Blue came up to him with a Squirtle by his side. Red turned to him. He smiled lightly,"I figured you'd choose Squirtle."

Blue gave a small grin. "It's the picture perfect combination of offense and defense. Which right-minded battler wouldn't want it?"

"Bulbasaur's really cute though." Yellow walked up to them carrying Bulbasaur in her arms. Red felt Charmander's longing rekindled but towards a different target and his interest was sparked. Was this Pokémon never held when it was a child? He might check its memories later.

"A Bulbasaur. As expected." Blue pointed to Red with a grin. "We betted on it."

"Oh?" Yellow looked to Red. "What did you think I was gonna pick?"

"Charmander. For the same reason you picked Bulbasaur." Yellow tilted her head, seemingly in confusion. "But Bulbasaur is cuter than Charmander though?" She questioned as if it was obvious.

Before Red could even process the stated question, Professor Oak called all the trainers to form a line for their Pokédex and pokeballs. Once they all received their supplies, Professor Oak gave another short speech, wishing them luck on their travels before sending them away.

The trio found their parents waiting outside for them as planned. Red's mother, Delia, immediately began to dote on Red and Charmander, the fire type inching away from her a bit while Yellow was tugged into a teary hug by her mother. Blue was content to stand back and watch when Yellow's father drew him into a hug.

"Be careful out there kid." He ruffled his head which made Blue bit back a sigh, cause while he did spend a lot of time on it, he appreciated them too much. "And don't let Yellow give you guys too much trouble." The man continued on. "I know she can be a handful."

That caught Yellow's attention. "Dad!" She shouted offended.

Blue smiled at her father. "Don't worry Mr. Fiore. Me and Red can handle her. We'll take good care of her. Promise."

The man smiled at him before reclaiming his spot by his wife. The two women also withdrew from their hug, each with teary smiles.

"Take care of each other." Delia said.

Red and Yellow nodded while Blue answered. "Of course, Ms. Ketchum."

Yellow's mother, Leaf, smiled shakily at them. "You kids should probably get going. You don't wanna get left behind."

Red looked to the sky. "Yeah, we're wasting daylight."

It felt hard to turn their backs to their parents and just a little bit awkward. Still, they did it. Even with the harsh crying behind them, they didn't turn back and began their journey.

/

Half an hour later, they're far from any houses and most of their sights were surrounded by tall trees and greenery. Every once in a while, they would hear the call of a Pidgey or the scuffle of a Ratata.

"It's almost creepy to hear but not see them." Yellow commented.

"It's even creepier for me. It's very unpleasant to hear Bug Pokémon thoughts." Red said. He was stretching his mental awareness over the area surrounding them just in case they had to prepare for an attack. It came with its downsides.

"What do they say?"

"That's the thing, it's just mindless chatter. But it's so loud." He complained lightly.

Yellow winced. "Sorry."

Red waved his hand dismissively. "It's okay. Helps me get used to it."

"Does this mean that Bug Type Pokémon rely more on instincts than actual intelligence?" Blue asked.

"No actually." He frowned. "There was a Weedle experiment in 2015 that tried to figure out if they solely relied on instinct for behavior. Many of the Beedrills behaved just like the stereotypes state, aggressive and cruel towards anything invading what was their territory no matter how stronger their opponent were. However, some of the others attempted to negotiate."

"They can do that?" Yellow frowned. Blue also seemed intrigued.

"The scientists were also surprised. Bug Types had never showed this kind of behavior before. It showed that they were capable of communicating with humans but just...didn't?" Red's voice was unsure at the end. "I'm not sure why they would do that."

"Maybe to play dumb?" Yellow presented her idea.

Red hummed as he considered the fact. It could be true. "They had done it before. It was only fifteen years before that experiment that we discovered Weedle had a third evolution."

Yellow's eyes widened. "Really?"

Red nodded. "It was during the famine we had from 2000 to 2001. A hoard of Beedrills attacked Vermillion City."

"That sounds rough." Blue had little interest in history but it was funny to him how the Weedle line had them fooled.

Red snorted lightly. "For the Beedrills maybe, Lt. Surge didn't give an inch." He sighed, almost longingly. "That's why I want to study the origins of Pokémon. Who knows what other secrets they're hiding?"

Blue chuckled. "The way you talk about researching make it almost seem interesting to me!" His laughter quietened down. "If I hadn't already gotten my hands full with becoming Champion, I'd shoot for Pokémon Professor too."

Yellow released a muffled snort. "You?"

Blue glared at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Yellow gave him a snide look,"I mean, you aren't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed."

"Grades have nothing to do with the real world." Blue defended himself. "As long as you know what you're doing."

"Who said I was talking about school? Even outside of it you're a bit-Ah!" Yellow shouted when she was suddenly attacked by Blue.

Red rolled his eyes as he could only imagine the tussle going on behind him. Blue seemed to be pulling on her ear from Yellow's complaints.

"Hey my hair! It took me hours to do that!" Unsurprisingly that was Blue. Red heard Yellow scoffed at the boy. "It looked exactly the same as every other day!" That's not exactly wrong...

Their argument faded into the background of Red's mind as he spread his mental awareness once more.

"Hm?" He made a curious sound.

"What is it?" Yellow questioned.

"A group of Pokémon is a little ways ahead of us." As Blue and Yellow tensed up he shook his head. "Not much just five of them." He calmed their worries.

"Ok then." Blue rested his hand on his pokeball. "If they decide to attack us we'll be ready."

Red gave his own smile and felt the warmth of Charmander's pokeball.

/

"So, it's not impossible?"

"Of course not." Red asserted. "If an Empoleon wanted to swim all the way across the seas and come to Kanto, who could stop it? A lot of Pokémon already do it too."

Yellow shrugged. "I don't know. If Pokémon go where they wished then why don't they visit the other regions?"

"Probably cause that's where they feel the most comfortable." He raised an inquiring brow at her. "You didn't like Kanto the first time you moved here did you?"

Yellow lips pursed in petulance but she didn't lie when she answered. "...no. But still..."

"Why are you so insistent on this anyway? It's not like they would be in danger if they didn't travel." Blue said.

Yellow folded her arms. Red smiled knowingly but didn't say anything, he rather not win her annoyance.

Blue himself didn't know such restraint. "It's about Aipom isn't it?" Blue voice raised in amusement with the realization. "You're still upset about that Aipom incident!"

"It wasn't an incident!" Yellow defended. "You sure?" Blue's expression became smug. "Lulu."

"Hey!" Red sighed as Yellow delved into another rant.

The Aipom incident happened in March when their class received a special lesson on Hoenn native Pokémon. The teacher brought an Aipom, a Mudkip, a Plusle and a Minun for them to observe. Yellow had tried making friends with Aipom but the monkey pulled pranks on her. At the end of the class, she had glued leaves on her skin, a messy hair from being electrocuted by Plusle and mud on her clothes after being sprayed by Mudkip. All at the fault of Aipom.

The children teased her and called her Lulu, a cartoon character that was known for being dumb who constantly failed to make friends with Pokémon. One kid made a comment about how Yellow would never be able to make friends with an Aipom which became the fuel for her obsession with catching it.

"It's a stupid cartoon anyway!" Yellow shouted and Red had to agree. Despite the fact that it was made to teach children that Pokémon were dangerous, the effect was lost since Lulu never actually died or sustained any visual or mental injury from her encounters. Red wondered how it even got approved as it just romanticized the existence of Pokémon.

"Ok, ok, fine." Blue gave in. "But I still really don't know why you have to prove anything though. You make friends with all other Pokémon just fine. It was just that one and even Red said it held no animosity towards you."

"That's the point. It's just Aipom alone. And I don't know why-"

The grass by Red rustled and everyone froze. Blue smirked. "Seems like we found them."

They all had there hands on their pokeball, ready to call on their Pokémon if necessary. When something shot at them, they all evaded the tackle. It was a Rattata.

Four more of the purple rat Pokémon came out of the bushes and chittered threateningly at them.

Blue grinned and threw his pokeball in the air. "Squirtle, time for your first battle!" Red and Yellow followed his example.

Charmander came out blinking in confusion at the Rattata but when they growl at him, he seemed to get the memo. Red found it strangely fascinating how Charmander's claws seemed to get sharper and how its tail flame grew. Though he had no time to admire. The Ratatas attacked.

"Squirtle, Withdraw!" The water types limbs and head retreated into its shell. The two Rattatas that attacked it got dazed from hitting the hard shell. Squirtle itself was pushed backwards but came out of its shell, unharmed.

"Now Water Gun!"

Red paid no attention to the Pokémon that flew past in front of him. "Charmander, Ember!"

Charmander spat spews of fire at the two Rattatas who dodged in opposite directions and came to the sides of Charmander. Red recognized it from one of the many battle strategy books he read. A pincer attack.

Still, Red smiled victoriously as they charged at the fire type. "Charmander, jump!"

Charmander's legs tensed for a second before it leaped into the air. From above, it looked down as the Rattatas collided. "Now use Ember!"

Charmander headed his call immediately, not even giving a response before firing at the common rats. They fell to the floor, knocked out with burnt fur.

As Charmander landed, Red bent down to it. "Great job out there. You did amazing." Charmander covered his eyes but from the insistent wagging of his tail, Red figured he was happy. He rubbed its head and it peeked out of its fingers. "Keep up the good work." Red gave one of his rare bright smiles.

He stood up and looked towards his friends who had finished their battles. Yellow was looking over Bulbasaur while Blue caught one of the Rattata. "Are you guys not catching one?" Blue asked.

"I want to spend the first day with Bulbasaur alone." Yellow said. They both looked to Red who shrugged. He had not told them of Charmander's issues with his self esteem.

"I kind of want to focus on Charmander alone for some time. I might catch a Pokémon once we reach Viridian." He explained.

Yellow and Blue seemed mildly shocked but accepted the explanation. Charmander however, was clearly shocked and actually gaped at him. Red ignored it. "Okay, everybody ready?"

"Yup."

"Good to go."

They continued on for about two hours before reaching a small clearing surrounded by trees. It had enough cover to protect them from any sudden rain while also not causing them to get in any trouble. Figuring it was comfortable enough to sleep in, they made to set up camp there.

Blue went to look for more branches to fuel the fire while Yellow set up their sleeping bags. Red began to arrange a small dinner after being assigned to food duty as he was the one to have the most successes at making a tasty meal.

Everyone looked even more tired as the day came to an end and even though Red wouldn't admit it, he was also exhausted. After having not slept a wink since yesterday morning and having to use his psychic powers constantly for hours, he was spent. So he went simple for dinner, choosing to make use of some of the unhatched Exeggcute eggs, canned Pidgey meat and some instant rice to make fried rice.

"That smells good." Yellow said as she took a seat by the fire, making sure not to get too close. She was in her night clothes and her face shined a little with bug repellent cream.

A rustle from their left had their breaths halting while their Pokémon tensed. They calmed down when the saw Blue, Rattata and Squirtle emerge. His hands were full of branches and Yellow rushed to help him. Red mentally lifted a few as support while he began preparing the Pokémon food.

Charmander's raw mix of chopped Pidgey and Magikarp meat was boiled first for sanitary reasons. Pokémon's bodies normally break down the germs but Charmander's natural fumes could interfere with the process so Red didn't want to risk it.

Bulbasaur were mostly herbivores, only eating a bug or so every once in a while so it had a dinner of mixed vegetables.

Next, Squirtle was an omnivore, but mostly leaned towards meat. And as such, Red had used some of their Magikarp meat and mixed vegetables to create a blend for Squirtle.

Lastly, Rattata ate almost anything but it was better off getting more nutrients to help it develop so Red prepared a some Magikarp meat for it. Blue had probably already made a note to get some nuts for Rattata to chew on for its teeth to not grow too much so Red didn't feel the need to remind him.

Once Blue had too changed into his night clothes after wiping himself down, they gathered around to eat. They all ate silently watching the fire. After eating, they burnt their foam plates and plastic utensils.

"Who's gonna take first watch?" Yellow asked.

The trio had come up with a system to make sure they were not caught unaware in case of a Pokémon attack. One person would watch out for attacks while the other two slept.

"I can go first." Red offered. Yellow immediately shook her head. "No, you didn't sleep last night."

Red's eye furrowed. Yellow hadn't slept over his house yesterday. "How-?"

"Plus, you spent hours overusing your psychic power. You're going last." Blue's tone alone said that there was no argument. He turned to Yellow. "You're going second." Before she could protest he held up a hand. "We would need you if one of us ever got hurt and you will need your energy to help us."

He stood up. "I'll take first shift."

Red and Yellow nodded wordlessly. Blue may go along with their ideas most of the time, but there was no use fighting him when he got like this.

They went into their sleeping bags obediently while Blue stayed by the fire. "Charmander." Red called the small fire type softly. He patted the space next to him. "Come here."

The starter seemed surprised but rose from where it was curled up and made it way over to him slowly on all fours. Red waited patiently and soon Charmander curled up beside his shoulder. When Red made to put the blanket to cover it, the Charmander got up with a shout, holding its tail. Red chuckled. "It's okay." He put the blanket to Charmander's tail flame. "It takes a lot of heat for this blanket to get caught on fire."

It was his father's. He too had a Charizard, his mother had revealed when he told her his starter choice, and had to deal with being careful of its flame. But after these blankets were made, trainers had an easier time.

It was made of fiberglass so it could certainly get caught on fire, but only if it was hit with strong heat from a fire type's attack as their throat is where the most dangerous chemicals are stored, but since the Char line's tail has lighter gases, it would be no problem. In fact, if Charmander was unhealthy enough, he could touch the flame with his bare hands for a few seconds.

Charmander laid down but still watched warily when the blanket cover his tail. When he saw it was not burning, he calmed down.

"Good night guys."

"Mm."

"Good night."

Red and Charmander both looked up from the Pokédex as an alarm went off. Yellow's arm reached out of her sleeping bag to turn it off before trying to go back to sleep. Blue hadn't even twitched at the sound of the alarm so there was no hope for him either.

Red sighed at the two of them. He looked to Bulbasaur who was the only one to arise. "Can you help me out please?"

Bulbasaur blinked at him confusedly at first, obviously disoriented but then seemed to come to awareness and extended its vines to both Blue and Yellow before whipping them.

"Ow!" Yellow yelled cried out at the same time as Blue cursed. "Shit!"

Red got up and placed his Pokédex in its spot on his trainer belt. "Get up and get ready. We're trying to cover more ground today remember?"

"No I don't." Blue groaned simultaneously as Yellow squinted at him. "I don't want to."

Red picked up the bowl of Chesto Berries and walked over to offer it to them. They each took one out. "Red...how do you burn berries?" Blue asked, looking mildly concerned. Red rolled his eyes with a small smile. "I didn't burn them. I just had Charmander lightly roast them." He put the bowl on the ground so Bulbasaur and Squirtle also had access to the fruits.

"It helps increase the caffeine-like stimulants and remove drowsiness. Everyone is eating some before we leave." He said.

Yellow winced as she bit into one. "These are so dry."

Red nodded. "They are supposed to be. It's only worst because they were heated. Drink some water with it." He walked up to the leftover collected wood and started arranging them into two different cooking campfires. "I'll get started on breakfast. You two take care of the dirty clothes and get ready."

Even after he told them what to do, they had sat on their sleeping bags staring off into space. Red let them, knowing that they heard but was just, according to Yellow on many occasions, gathering energy for the day.

By the time they moved, Red was finished arranging the wood and had readied most of the ingredients. They were having Pidgey sandwiches and herbal tea.

He had Charmander light the fire before putting on the pan of oil and pot of water. While those were heating up he cut up the bread(they only carried one pack as it could get moldy after a few days), opened two cans of crushed Pidgey meat(they had seven cans left) and prepared some lettuce and tomatoes Yellow had carried.

He started to fry the meat he shaped into patties when Yellow walked up to him in her daily clothes. They were different from yesterday as she said they would be. She was wearing a yellow tank top with long white sleeves, a jeans short with folded edges, long white socks and yellow shoes with white highlights. Yellow bows kept two small pigtails at the side of her head protruding only just slightly from the rest of her let down hair.

"That's better." He said turning back to the patties to check if they needed to be flipped.

"Thanks." Yellow replied. That was as good as any compliment you'd get from Red. "Blue said to tell you he went to go train."

Red took the water off the other fire and poured it gently into the cups. The teabags started to do their work. "The clothes are finished washing?"

Red couldn't see Yellow with his back turned but he imagined her nodding. "Mmhm. Squirtle was a huge help."

As Red went back to the fires, boiling another pot of water, Yellow walked up to the table. "You need some help?"

"Yeah." Red nodded over to the unopened cans of meat of mixed vegetables. "Can you share the Pokémon's food please? And bring the crushed Pidgey and Magikarp meat over. Charmander's need to be boiled first."

Yellow obeyed his requests silently. By the time they were finished, Blue was walking back into the clearing carrying Squirtle and Rattata.

"How'd training go?" Yellow asked. Blue grinned. "Great. Started to work on their reaction speed. Of course it'd take a few days before I see improvements but they listen well so far." He placed them on the ground before smirking at Red. "Looks like I got a head start huh?"

"Nope." Red said simply. "I got training in with Charmander on my shift." He started plating the sandwiches. "Started evasive maneuvers and strength training. I'm also planning to teach it my attack code."

"You finished it?" Blue asked in surprise. Red couldn't help but grin. Blue was originally betting that he couldn't finish it before they reached Pewter. "Yeah."

An attack code was a system of short sounds or words that translated into attack strategies for a Pokémon. It was something that was rarely used after the end of World War 1 after realized Pokémon could actually learn to understand the human language. Red found them interesting and had started to develop his own two years ago.

Blue turned to Yellow, sitting at his seat. "How about you tiny? Are you gonna start training today?"

Yellow gave him an offended look as she too took a seat. "Of course. I'm planning on battling and catching a Pokémon first to get a proper assessment of Bulbasaur's skill and a training partner."

Red nodded. "And your plan to change the laws of Kanto?"

Yellow frowned at her sandwich. "I think I'm gonna have to go with journalism."

"You sure?" Blue asked with a raised eyebrow. "We know how much you hate it."

And Yellow did hate it. Her mother was always ready for the juicy gossip as a journalist and spent most of her time in Yellow's early years writing and gathering evidence. And even though she had put down her pen after Yellow turned seven, choosing to focus more on her child seeing that she was growing up, the girl still held a silent grudge towards the profession.

Not only did it steal her mother but it caused meaningless fights too. Whether it be rumors, accusations or conspiracy theories, the people were always fighting.

Yellow hated it. She hated it even more to realize that it was want she needed. She needed a way to anger the people and let them doubt their country, to make them recognize the flaws in their system. And journalism would do that for her.

She nodded. "I hate it...but..." She looked at them. "I'll do it." She took a bite of her sandwich. "It's not like I'm doing anything to reach big dreams like you guys anyway."

"You literally want to overthrow our government. Do you not find that a big dream?"

Yellow shrugged. "Not really because it's not a dream for me. It's just something someone has to do and I'm the one doing it. I won't get any excitement from doing it like how you guys do battling or researching." She explained.

Red nodded lightly. "That makes sense. Since you've always said that changing Kanto is your goal, I thought it was your dream."

Yellow shook her head. "Not at all." She smiled. "I'll find it soon though."