After having a good rest, I got out of bed in time for the announcement, [Dear passengers, the S.S. Fast will be arriving at Slateport City in thirty minutes. Please make sure you have all your belongings with you before leaving the ship in a few moments.]

I was excited to finally have my first step in the Hoenn region. I looked at Surfer, who was still sleeping soundly in the bed. I tried to stay quiet while packing my things to prevent waking my starter up.

After a while, another announcement was made, [Dear passengers, the S.S. Fast has arrived in Slateport City. All passengers can now leave the ship. Please make sure you didn't leave your personal belongings behind in your rooms. Thank you for boarding S.S. Fast and hope you enjoyed our service.]

Surfer woke up upon hearing the loud announcement. I grinned, "Surfer, you're awake. Let's get out of this ship and explore around the Hoenn region!" I returned him to his Pokéball and headed out of my room. Cassie and Disc were already outside waiting for me.

"Let's get out of here, you two." I said. They both nodded, determined to start their adventure. We got out of S.S. Fast, and was immediately dumbfounded by the scenery in front of us.

Wow... So this is Slateport City.

Slateport City

The port where people and Pokémon cross paths with nature.

Slateport is a city developed near the sea. We enjoyed the cool sea breeze and looked around the crowded area.

"Hm, we need to head towards Littleroot Town next. That is where trainers usually start off. I wonder how we should get there, though." Disc said.

"The best way to reach there is by taking another boat. Around this place is all ocean." Cassie answered.

"How can we get a boat, though...?" I asked. We were all unsure on what to do at that moment.

Suddenly, a man with sailor clothes appeared right in front of us, slightly startling us. He said in a British accent, "New trainers wanting to head towards Littleroot? Fear no more, help is right here! Captain Blake at your service!"

"You can take us to Littleroot? How wonderful!" Cassie exclaimed, but realization also dawned on her, "B-But, we don't have much money..."

Captain Blake still remained his happy expression. "I don't need any money! All I wanted is to help new trainers with their needs! I'll take you all to Littleroot."

"Really? Thank you so much!" Our mood was lightened up again. We were grateful of his help. He also made me believe that not every Hoennian was like that trainer, Harry Waves.

We followed Captain Blake and saw a decently sized ship. "This is my trusty ship! Hope it's good for y'all!" We all nodded in response and got into the ship.

"Aight mateys! Let's sail our way to Littleroot!"

The journey to Littleroot was fine, I just wished that he didn't travel that fast. We were on the verge of being seasick from that trip. Luckily, the trip was short and we reached Littleroot in just a few minutes.

"Alright, we have reached Littleroot!" Captain Blake said as we went out of the ship, "I'm supposed you mateys know what to do from here, so farewell, you all!" We thanked him before he sailed off back towards the sea.

Littleroot Town

A town that can't be shaded any hue.

"Now that we're here, we should visit Prof. Birch in Littleroot. Maybe we can learn something from him." We all agreed to Disc's idea, and after locating where the Pokémon Lab was, we found ourselves in front of the lab in no time. Full of excitement, we entered the lab.

We were greeted by a man who had normal height, wearing a white jacket and black shorts, "Ah, new trainers, I assume? Here to choose your starter Pokémon?"

"We actually got our starter Pokémon just recently. We are new trainers from Kanto. I'm Lows, and this is Cassie and Disc. It's nice to meet you, Prof. Birch." I explained.

"Oh, new trainers from Kanto! That's a rare sight." He looked at us, "Have that old friend of mine, Prof. Oak gotten you guys any Pokédex?"

Sudden realization dawned on us, "No, actually." Guess the duffle bag didn't have everything we needed, after all.

"Oh, that forgetful old friend of mine!" Prof. Birch scratched the back of his head, "Don't worry, this job's on me! I'll give you all a Pokédex." Saying that, he went over to a table, grabbed three Pokédex and handed them to us, "When you scan a Pokémon from the Hoenn and Kanto region, the Pokédex entry of that Pokémon will be registered. It's pretty convenient!"

"Thanks, Prof. Birch." We politely thanked him. I immediately tried out the Pokédex by scanning Surfer. A robotic voice appeared from the Pokédex, [Squirtle, the Water Pokémon. When it retracts its long neck into its shell, it squirts out water with vigorous force.]

I did the same for my friends' starters. [Charmander, the Lizard Pokémon. From the time it is born, a flame burns at the tip of its tail. Its life would end if the flame were to go out. Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokémon. There is a plant seed on its back right from the day this Pokémon is born. The seed slowly grows larger.]

This is a good way to know more about our Pokémon. It'll definitely be useful for our adventures.

Before we left, Cassie was curious about something, "Professor, your outfit doesn't seem like a lab outfit. Why are you dressed like that?"

"I dressed like that because I always love to learn about Pokémon on the field rather than studying in the lab. It's more fun for me this way because you never know what discoveries you'll have every day." We all agreed with his reasoning.

With that, we thanked Prof. Birch once again and left the Pokémon Lab. Then, we walked towards the route just near Littleroot, Route 101.

"We should explore around the route for any new Pokémon before getting to Oldale Town. Who knows, maybe we'll even find some Pokémon willing to join our teams." We all agreed to Disc and walked around the grass. We were able to have some wild encounters, which our Pokémon were able to handle easily. Unfortunately, no Pokémon showed interest in joining our team. We did manage to register a few Pokédex entries, though.

When we were about to call it a day and head towards Oldale Town, we heard shouts near us. I recognized the familiar voice, and walked closer to the voice and found Harry once again. Some luck we have here...

The sight I saw next easily got me boiling with anger. He was kicking a Pokémon away while rudely insulting the Pokémon, "Stop getting near me! No matter how many times you beg, I won't accept a weak Pokémon like you to my team!"

The Pokémon, who was upset from hearing the trainer's insult, started walking away. The Pokémon had brown fur covering its body in a zig-zag pattern. I scanned the Pokémon with my Pokédex, [Zigzagoon, the Tiny Raccoon Pokémon. A Pokémon with abundant curiosity. It shows an interest in everything, so it always zigs and zags.]

His insults towards Zigzagoon triggered my emotions. It reminded me of some unpleasant experiences when I was younger. I shook the negative thoughts away and walked towards Zigzagoon. Harry noticed me and groaned.

"It's not funny to insult anyone like that, Harry. It hurts them more than you think." I told the arrogant trainer.

"I'm just stating the truth. If this Pokémon can't take the truth, it would just search for new trainers and disturb them the way it disturbed me with that false hope it has." Harry had no signs of regret or sympathy in his voice.

I was on the verge of screaming, but I held back, "There's no such thing as weak Pokémon, only irresponsible trainers. I understand if you want to have better options for yourself, but you still shouldn't insult any Pokémon like that. They didn't deserve it."

Upon hearing me defending for it, the Zigzagoon slowly turned towards me, a surprised but happy expression on its face.

Harry's face was red in anger, "Who do you think you are to give me advice? Only weaklings would train a Zigzagoon!"

"Oh, is that so?" I shook my head and walked towards Zigzagoon. I crouched in front of Zigzagoon and said, "I'm sorry, Harry. It seems like I'm the weakling you're talking about."

I took out a Pokéball and asked, "Zigzagoon, wanna join my team? I think you would fit well in my team."

Zigzagoon's eyes sparkled at my invitation. Assuming that it was more than willing to join, I threw a Pokéball at the Normal type. The Pokéball shook three times, and Zigzagoon was caught in succession.

Welcome to the team, Zigzagoon.

I sent out Zigzagoon and said, "Let's call you Ziggs from now on." The male Tiny Raccoon Pokémon nodded, loving his new nickname. Surfer also welcomed Ziggs to the team, happy to finally have a friend for this journey.

Harry however, had a smirk on his face, "Have fun training this weak Zigzagoon. Just when I thought you couldn't have gotten worse than your performance at S.S. Fast."

"That's enough, Harry," Disc stepped into the conversation, "Lows, it's not worth wasting time on him. Let's head to Oldale Town."

I nodded, and us three left the route and reached Oldale Town.

Oldale Town

Where things start off scarce.

It was a small town but it had everything a town needed: PokéCentre, PokéMart, and a few small houses for the residents.

Disc suddenly suggested before we explored further, "I think we should separate our ways after a little while." We were shocked by what he said, but he quickly explained, "That way, we could obtain unique experiences to share with each other when we meet again. It'd be boring if we all have the same experiences, right?"

"Yeah, but it's going to feel lonely travelling without you two." Cassie said.

"Don't worry, this isn't like we won't see each other again. We can always call each other when we're in trouble." Disc replied.

Though we worried about the potential problems that we would face when we started travelling alone, we still agreed that we should separate our ways and learn from there.

We continued looking around Oldale. I noticed a crowd in a certain area of the town. Curiosity hit me as I suggested, "Let's check out what's happening over there."

They nodded, and we started walking towards where the commotion was. The crowd was located outside of a building. There was a poster on the wall which had details for the event...

"Learn with Brendan: Starting Off as a Trainer?" I read out the name of the event happening soon.

"Brendan? That's the Champion of the Hoenn region! No wonder why that many trainers are excited for this event." Cassie said.

"It seems like there will also be gifts for attending the event as well." Disc looked further into the poster.

"Maybe we should join too! It'd be interesting." I suggested. They seemed to be interested as well. After a long queue, we managed to enter the hall and registered for the event.

When it was time for the event, there were already several trainers at the venue, waiting for the Hoenn Champion to show up. We found good seats for ourselves and sat down.

The host showed up on stage, "Thank you all for joining the event, 'Learn with Brendan: Starting Off as a Trainer'! I'm your host, Fred. Now, may we welcome the star of the show, the one and only Hoenn Champion, Brendan! Let's welcome him with a round of applause!"

We did as the host instructed, some even cheered in excitement. A teenage boy with a bandana slowly walked towards the middle of the stage and waved his hands to the audience politely.

He started off by telling us one of his early experiences, "I remembered when I first started my journey, I had no idea what I was doing. However, a friend of mine helped me out. She might not be the best battler, but she always loved her Pokémon. I was influenced by her and did the same. Believe me when I said that if you treat your Pokémon with love and care, they will aid you in your endeavors. Whether it be battling, coordinating, and even something else, the main point is, love is crucial to bond with your Pokémon and even hone your skills as a trainer."

He continued by talking about useful tips and tricks for trainers that are starting off. We wrote them down in our notebooks. Finally, the event was near its end.

"Alright, that's it for today! Thank you for listening. I assume that I'll see most of you here in the Ever Grande League. I wish you all good luck, and I'll make sure to give you all a lesson for trying to mess with my Champion title." He joked, resulting in chuckles from the audience.

Fred took over as Brendan finished, "Thanks to Brendan for his useful advice! To thank everyone for participating in this event, secret gifts will be given out for everyone here. It is... brand new Pokétalk for each and every one of you!" Everyone had different reactions upon hearing this, most being positive.

"Pokétalk is a device recently created by the company, Devon Co.. It allows you to communicate with your Pokémon easily. Pokémon cries will be translated into human language. With this, you can definitely strengthen the bond between you and your Pokémon since you can understand them better!"

An item that allows you to communicate with Pokémon... Wow, technology is amazing.

"Please head to the doorway of the hall to get a Pokétalk before leaving, there's enough stock for everyone here! This marks the end of the event today. Thank you so much for being here! Farewell!"

Trainers started to get out of their seats and hurriedly ran to the doorway to get their secret gifts. We got out of our seats slowly and walked towards the doorway, knowing that we would be ensured a Pokétalk either way.

By the time we reached the doorway, there were still a decent amount of Pokétalk on the table. We walked towards the worker, who handed the Pokétalk to us. We gladly received them and thanked the worker.

We got out of the hall, and it was time for us to part our ways.

"Remember, when you all have any problems, just call me on the Pokégear." Disc smiled.

"Me too! I'm excited to see you all again soon. Maybe we can even have a battle!" Cassie exclaimed.

"I'll miss you all." I said, knowing that the separation was unavoidable. We bid farewell to each other and parted ways.

However, I knew that it would not be the last time we meet in our journey in Hoenn.

We'll see each other again very soon.

I promise.

Lows' Pokémon Team:

Surfer (Squirtle, Male) Jolly Nature, moves: Tackle, Growl

Ziggs (Zigzagoon, Male) Naive Nature, moves: Tackle