Hello everyone, and welcome to the world of Pokémon! It is here where legends roam the land, and even the smallest of us can become heroes. It is in this world that our story takes place, specifically in the attic room of a small house at the southernmost point of the smallest town in the Sinnoh region, where a young girl is whiling away the minutes before she absolutely must take the first step on her grand adventure…

Chapter One: An Altered Beginning!

Twinleaf Town, September 13th, Morning

"…From the hustle and bustle of Jubilife City, to the weighty ambiance of Celestic Town, to the mix of industry and history enveloping cities like Canalave and Eterna. Even the wonders of nature are protected and nurtured, from Eterna Forest and Pastoria's Great Marsh, to the beautiful Floaroma Town.

"And who could forget the Pokémon? There are many species that call Sinnoh exclusively their home. Catch a rare Pokémon to gain an edge in battles back home, or to take the Contest Hall by storm! Book a trip to Sinnoh today! Sponsored by the Sinnoh Board of Tourism."

Click!

The girl set the remote on the floor, having finally run out of reasons to put off going downstairs. Standing up, she began to dress for the weather: a light sweater and slim jacket over her top, tall boots for the occasional snowdrift, white gloves for inclement weather, and her favorite white hat and matching scarf to complete the look. Slinging her bag on her shoulder, she steeled herself for what was the biggest milestone in every girl's life: her first Pokémon. What kind of Pokémon will it be? Will it listen to me? Will I be a good Trainer for it? Shaking her head, she dispelled her doubts for the time being, feeling a bright smile stretch across her face as excitement welled up in their stead. "This is it! Today's the day I officially become a Pokémon Trainer!"

"Hey!"She held back a shriek of surprise, not hearing anyone come up. A blonde boy about her age in an orange-and-white striped jacket and a brown shoulder bag leapt into her attic room, ignoring the ladder up completely. "What am I, chopped liver? Last time I checked, Dawn, we're both getting Pokémon today- oh, hey!" He zipped over and inspected her Bag. "Is that a Wonder Bag?! How'd you get your hands on one of those?"

"Barry, please! Personal space." Best friend or not, she wanted to keep her personal space personal, at least so soon after she'd woken up.

"Whoops, sorry! Uh… Where was I?" He scratched his head a bit, trying to get back on topic. "Oh, right, right! We're going to go see Prof. Rowan and get some Pokémon."

"Right! So, uh, where do we go? Sandgem Town?" It could be very dangerous trying to get there on foot, what with the road between being perpetually overgrown, but if they could find someone with a Pokémon that could Fly…

Barry shook his head. "The others said that his mobile Lab would be parked right outside of town! Let's go right now! I'll be waiting outside." He raced to the ladder, then turned around to say, "Oh, and hurry, will ya? If you're late, I'm fining you ¥10 million!" With that, he departed, ignoring the ladder per usual.

Dawn couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief for his parting. Barry was her best friend—really, her only friend, if she was pushed to think about it—and they did practically everything together, but she really did prefer to do things at her own, more sedate pace, not have to race to keep up with his hyperactive nature. Walking around, she patted her small trophy case displaying a green belt and a silver medal, shut down her PC, and finally climbed down the ladder to the lower levels of her house, passing her mom's room and guest room before reaching and descending the stairs.

Upon reaching the landing, she was met with a "Dawn!"

"Eek!" Bam! "Ow!"

"Oops, sorry honey! I didn't mean to frighten you!" Johanna Berlitz pulled her daughter back up and helped smooth out her outfit.

"I wasn't frightened, Mom, just… startled," Dawn pouted.

"Well sorry for startling you, then. Come on, chin up kiddo! It's your big day; you're finally getting a Pokémon! Barry already left, but I'm sure you can still catch him if you hurry." Oh Mom, if you only knew, Dawn thought to herself; knowing Barry, he was already halfway there by now. "You'll wanna hurry now, dear," she continued, not quite pushing her favorite teenager to the door, "the Professor's not going to be there all day. So off you go!" Scooting her out, she waved her off, only succeeding in causing a bead of sweat to form on Dawn's forehead.

"Huh? What's all of this about!? It's not like I'm going to be late for a flight or anything. Besides, I still have-" she ducked back in and glanced at the clock "—15 MINUTES?!" She dived out the door and raced north, yelling, "Oh my crease, oooh my crease!" all the while.

Johanna watched her run out of sight with a wave and a smile. "Go, Dawn, go!" she only half-jokingly called out, thinking to herself, Huh. Everything else aside, I don't think I've ever seen her run before. Glad to see there's something that can light a fire under her.

"OhmicreaseOmicreaseOoohmicrease! It's so over! I'm so dead! I've ruined everything! Why am I like this!?" Dawn was running as fast as she could for the town entrance, ignoring the stitch that was stabbing at her side as best she could. I can't believe I put it off as long as I did! What was I thinking!? And why do I live so far away from the entrance?! Where is the benefit in that?!

Okay, Dawn, just keep going. One foot in front of the other. You can do this. You've earned this. You've stayed home for a year after you earned your Trainer's license so you could finish school. You held yourself AND Barry back from trying to brave Route 201 when you heard a rumor that Professor Rowan himself was catching Pokémon there for research. You ignored weeks of taunting from "peers" who got a Pokémon as soon as they got their license and left on their journey with dreams of being the next Champion, and you didn't say a word back when most of them came back a month later without a single Gym Badge. Heck, you and Barry were the ones who beat that swarm of Rattata off from the grade school last month even before Barry's dad could! You will NOT miss this!

She wasn't beating herself up solely because she would've waited as long as she had for nothing, though. In fact, she would've left as soon as she graduated back in June, if not for Barry bringing a rumor to light that at first seemed too good to be true: Professor Rowan of Sandgem Town was setting up an experiment requiring a number of new Trainers, and he was looking at the newest batch in Twinleaf for them! Sensible as she was, Dawn dismissed the tidbit of news out of hand, along with most of the students, much to Barry's frustration (but then, given his typical impatience, it wasn't really outside the norm). That topic was more or less forgotten until after graduation, when the official announcement was made: the Professor had recently come into possession of a number of exceedingly rare Pokémon, and wanted to pick from a similarly new crop of Trainers to raise them for his study. As even a Slowpoke could guess, everybody lost their mind upon hearing the news, and it wasn't hard to see why. As a Pokémon Professor, Rowan had to have come across a myriad of rare and powerful Pokémon in his studies, and they had the chance to train one for themselves!

Of course, these Pokémon couldn't just be given away like bead necklaces at the summer festival. No, Rowan, along with some aides, would personally test the attributes of each applicant to see of they would have what it took—what exactly was "what it took" was a question none of them could fully answer, but they would cross that bridge when they came to it. There were over twenty applicants, and only six Pokémon; chances were already slim as it was. And they'll be zero if I don't get there in time!

Jumping over a Machop laying down cables, she dashed through a busy work area in the middle of a house repair; the Rattata swarm chewed its way through several buildings. Mollifying the several workers who called after her with a quick bow and apology, she vaulted over a barricade and continued on her way, the tree line marking the beginning of Route 201 quickly coming into view. She let out a whoop at the sight and ran the home stretch was a grin, only stopping when she reached the site. It was a temporary plaza setup, complete with two cafeteria tables with umbrellas (and a single wooden chair), a chrome trailer with a window on the side, and Dawn's fellow applicants all standing in a line, with the exception of Barry, who was apparently in an altercation with an increasingly harried-looking woman in a lab coat and red glasses.

"All I'm saying is that you can't start the test just yet!" he said, a hint of desperation coloring his words.

"And I'm saying is that the test starts when it starts, and it starts in less than a minute." The woman's tone was calm, but brisk, and brooked no more argument. Barry seemed to pick up on this, and looked visibly deflated as he got back in line. Her expression softened at the sight, but her words, though gentler, were still firm: "I'm sorry, but if your friend isn't here by noon, then she's out. There's nothing I can do about it."

"I'M HERE!"

Dawn's shout instantly snapped Barry out of his funk, and he and a few others let out a cheer. She got into line triumphantly, breathing hard but feeling reinvigorated. The murmurs that sprang up in her wake were silenced by a small but insistent ahem from the woman. Sweeping her gaze across the row of adolescents, she nodded and said, "Okay, so it appears that all of the applicants are now present, but just to be sure, I'm going to perform a roll call." She flipped through her clipboard until she found what was presumably the sign-up sheet and, raising it to the light, began to rattle off names:

"Acosta, Heather."

"Here!"

"Andes, Rocky."

"Here!"

"Ashur, Cyan."

"Present."

"Berlitz, Dawn."

"Present."

"Cedric, Barry."

"Present!"

"Elaine, Marisol Sophia Umbra."

"That's me!"

"Gold, Malcolm."

"Present."

"Gray, Johnson."

A sigh, then, "Here."

"Harlow, Vance."

"Yeah!"

And on it went, until she finished with "Zabini, Blaise" ("That's not even his real name! It's Dylan! That's gotta be grounds for disqualification!" Barry muttered loudly, inciting giggles from the nearest teens and a glare from Zabini). "Okay, it seems that everyone is here, so without further ado, let's get started, shall we?" The woman straightened her glasses, and continued in a more official manner, "Welcome, Trainers, and thank you for coming today. My name is Roseanne, and I am one of Professor Rowan's aides and your test coordinator. As you know, you are all vying for one of six unique Pokémon to raise for the Professor's project. This process will have two parts: Part one will be a multiple-choice and written examination, similar to the one taken for your Trainer's license. Part two will be an interview to see if you have not only the required knowledge, but also the preferred abilities and qualities for optimal results. Please sit twelve to a table, and I will return with the tests shortly."

She entered the trailer, leaving the gaggle of new Trainers to scramble for seats next to their friends. Dawn, naturally, gravitated towards Barry, who was talking to Dan, one of their fellow students from the town dojo, and was saving a seat for her on his other side. "There's gotta be something else to it, though," he was saying, as she sat down and pulled out a few pens, keeping one for herself while giving the other to Barry. "Thanks," he said automatically, still embroiled in his conversation. She left him to it, instead observing the debate quietly. "It can't just be the licensure exam all over again, even if it would be harder."

Dan shook his head, stringy ponytail swinging with the motion. "Well, what else could it be? Seriously, the oldest one here is fifteen, and that's only because he started school late. They won't bring out anything we can't've seen before, so as long as we kept ourselves sharp on that front, this should be doable."

That does make sense, Dawn thought reluctantly; she wasn't the biggest fan of the boastful and self-important Dan. Even so, she had to agree with him. The Trainers in attendance were completely green, and had no knowledge of advanced battle techniques and strategies; to set a test asking after those before them would be completely unfair, not to mention pointless. The trailer door opened again, conversation ceasing, and out walked Roseanne with a stack of test booklets. She made her way over to the tables, dropping half of the booklets off at their table, and the other half at the second. "Does everybody have an exam? If so, we can begin." She pulled out an egg timer, wound it up, and set it on the nearest table. "You have forty minutes. You may now start."

The sounds of pens scribbling and pages turning filled the air. Dawn filled out the required information on the front and turned to the next page, where a single, handwritten question filled the page: Do you love Pokémon? The area took on a confused atmosphere, signaling that she was not the only recipient. "Um… Ms. Roseanne?" Marisol asked. Dawn resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the sound of her voice; the two never saw eye to eye over anything, as much because of Marisol's snobbishness and tendency to brown nose teachers as Dawn's natural reluctance to socializing. Paired with a long-held academic rivalry, the girls had a healthy dislike of each other.

"Hm?" Roseanne had sat on the wooden chair, and was seemingly playing with her almost absurdly large phone. "Oh, yes, yes, answer all the questions as best you are able, and no talking."

"O-okay," Marisol said, and sat down with a troubled expression. The scratching of pens started up again, but trailed off almost immediately after, and a definite aura of bewilderment permeated the area. Dawn, already having a good idea of its source, wrote in her "Yes" and turned the page. Sure enough, the next question read, in the same elaborate penmanship, no less, Let me ask again: do you love Pokémon?

What kind of test is this? Frustrated, she wrote in big, bold letters, Yes, I do love Pokémon. Turning the page, she saw only one word: Good. She could only stare in incredulity at the impossibly esoteric "exam". Having to restrain herself to keep from tearing the malign booklet to shreds, she instead turned the page, blocking out the dark mutters from the others, as well as the sharp, "No talking!" from Roseanne that instantly silenced them. This time, a full sentence greeted her: Then we can begin. Foreboding stabbing at her, she swallowed, rolled out a crick in her neck, and turned the next page, where Hell awaited her.

Chapter Two: A Shocking Development!

Bri-ri-ri-ri-ri-riiiiiing! "All right, everyone, time's up! Close your exams and stack them in the middle of your table so I can collect them," Roseanne chirped, oblivious to the Trainers' fatigue. Dawn slid her booklet to the middle of the table, where an ashen Dan stacked it on top of the others, and lay her head on her arms. It's over, it's finally over. From the first real question, she knew it was going to be a nightmare: How many unique spot patterns can Spinda have? Considering she had no idea what a Spinda was, she could only make a wild guess of "twelve" before moving to the next question: Explain the best method of parasitic mushroom removal from the Pokémon Parasect. It went on and on: the main tenets of the Torterra Planet Theory; the average temperature of a Houndoom's Flamethrower; an explanation of the symbiotic relationship between Starly and Gliscor; the probability of an oddly colored (shiny) female Combee being encountered, etc. She groaned, her head pounding just thinking about it. "I don't think I got a single question right."

"You're telling me!" Barry said beside her, looking pointedly at Dan, who was pointedly ignoring him, instead choosing to hand Roseanne the booklets. "That test asked for all sorts of stuff we couldn't have seen before. We DEFINITELY didn't have any questions like those on the Trainer exam." Having vented for the most part, he then turned to Dawn, who made the effort to turn her head towards him, though she didn't raise it. "But seriously," he continued, "why were the questions so hard? They asked for Trainers that didn't even start out yet; why give questions they knew we couldn't answer?"

"Barry, if I knew that, would I be like this?" Dawn was sitting in the closest approximation to a fetal position the table would allow.

"...No."

"Well there you go. Let's just hope they'll tell us what they were thinking when they start eliminating. How about we just try to recover in the meantime?" Roseanne chose that moment to reappear, putting the kibosh on Dawn's proposition. "Okay Trainers, we have the results of your exam," she said, waving her clipboard. Dawn blanched. So soon? Just what were they expecting? She jumped in her seat as Roseanne continued, "I suppose I can get this out of the way now: Cyan Ashur, you have scored 0 points… by way of not answering a single question."

Cyan stood up, face set. "I will not participate in a pointless test, Ms. Roseanne," he said, his deep voice polite, if not fully devoid of their collective frustration. "To have this set out before us is unfair to the extreme."

Roseanne's face was unreadable. "Well, I'm not the one you want to tell this to. If you wish to explain your reasoning in full, Professor Rowan is inside." Cyan made for the trailer without another word, face still stoic, but paler than before. "Well, well, how unusual," she continued, returning everyone's attention to the exams. "It seems that everyone failed spectacularly, with no one scoring above even 15%… except for one person." She looked up from her clipboard, the reflection of the sunlight obscuring her eyes. "Will Marisol Sophia Umbra Elaine please stand up?" The Trainers all turned to Marisol, whose hastily constructed expression of nervousness did nothing to hide the smugness rolling off of her in waves. "Well Miss Marisol, it seems you've scored a solid eighty out of a possible one hundred points. Well done." Marisol's face lit up in glee, while the rest of the Trainers were left to salvage their egos as best they could, three of her friends giving her especially venomous glares.

Dawn's got it the worst, though; Marisol nearly always outperformed her in school, snatching the top spot with a point or two to spare, leaving her with the second place position more times than she cared to remember. In fact, the only thing Dawn managed to decisively beat her in wasn't even a school course: it was karate class. Marisol, though a rare talent at nearly everything she did, never made it past yellow belt at Kickin' Rick's; last year's sparring match between her and Dawn was enough to make her quit in a hissy fit of frustration. Anytime she was ready to lose hope in the wake of a discouraging defeat, Dawn liked to hold the memory of her palm striking Marisol in the face close to her heart. She liked to think it gave her strength. But that was then, and this was now, and now, Dawn was rubbing her temples in a futile attempt to lessen the impact of a fast approaching migraine.

"Thank you, Ms. Roseanne," Marisol said sweetly, giving a small curtsy. "I've always been fascinated by this sort of work, but this sort of thing almost never comes up in school, so I'd just spend time in the library alone reading up on it. Imagine my surprise when it showed up here!" She tittered, sending a sharp pain into Dawn's head. Laying her head back down, she moaned, "Hate… her…"

"Yeah, join the club," Vance said, his hangdog expression saying it all.

"Is she beating you in all your classes, too?" She fortunately only had to share half her school day with the other girl. She guessed Vance also had the pleasure of dealing with her.

Vance snorted and shook his head briskly, his short, dirty-blonde hair flying. "Sure, but I don't care about that. I care about the fact that she's a saccharine, insincere snob that somehow has most of the boys in our year wrapped around her little finger, including your hyperactive puppy." Vance didn't like Barry all that much, mainly because Barry had a habit of crashing into him at the worst possible time.

"Would you stop calling him that?"

"Why? You can't say it doesn't fit: he follows you everywhere, jumps at the chance of helping you with any task, and always gets the two of you into trouble."

"Look, I can go on for hours about how you're wrong, but it looks like Marisol's finally winding down," Dawn huffed.

Indeed, Marisol had come up from yet another bow, and was facing an impassive Roseanne, who said, "Once again, well done… at least, I would say that, if not for-" she pulled out her phone and turned its screen toward her "-this fascinating video from the camera we set up in the umbrellas." Everyone in attendance watched with rapt attention as the video played, showing Marisol checking her phone under the table, writing in an answer, and whispering to her friends under her breath, who then wrote in their answers. Roseanne continued, steamrolling over Marisol's stuttered excuses: "It's a shame really: we had heard a lot about you, all of it good. I certainly didn't think I had to explain that checking online for answers wasn't allowed. As it is, I'm afraid you are disqualified, along with your friends." Said friends, Heather, Vanessa, and Mindy, all began speaking at once:

"But our scores weren't higher than anyone else's!"

"She fed us bogus answers, though!"

"I waited three months for this!"

"Be that as it may," Roseanne said, pushing her glasses up, "rules are rules. Good day." Marisol let out a cry of frustration, making everyone jump. "Well what did you expect me to do, huh? You gave us a test that you'd have to be insane to expect us to be prepared for! What was even the point?!"

"I'm not one to presume the Professor's motives. Even so, I can say with confidence that cheating is not one of them. So again: good day, ladies."

With a final growl of anger, Marisol stormed off alone, the others having left shortly before. Roseanne clapped once, snapping everyone's attention back to her. "Focus everyone, we don't have all day. Now, Professor Rowan assigned the pass/fail mark at eight points, so all tests at eight points and above will be called now: Rocky Andes with nine, Dawn Berlitz with eleven, Barry Cedric with eight, Johnson Gray with fourteen, Vance Harlow with ten, Dan Hibiki with eight, Rain Long with eight, Jessica Slifer with thirteen, Ryan Vent with eleven, and Hannah Wells with ten. You nine, please step inside the trailer and sit in the provided space. I am sorry to say that no one else made it past the cutoff point. You may all go home and, as consolation, you will each receive three Great Balls by mail, courtesy of the Sandgem Research Lab."

As the crushed hopefuls left, a few in tears, Dawn, Barry and the rest crowded into the trailer, were a number of folding chairs greeted them. Sitting, they waited for further instructions, to nervous to converse. Finally, Roseanne came into the room. "Professor Rowan is ready for the interviews. Now, he says that he will see you two at a time, so make your decision quickly, everyone, and I'll be back in a minute." She dipped back, leaving a flurry of conversation in her wake. Dawn, of course, stood by Barry. Dan, Rocky, Ryan and Jessica all kind of globbed up to deliberate in a crowd. Rain and Hannah were content to pair up by the window, and the loners Vance and Johnson leaned against opposite walls, indifferent. Soon, Roseanne's voice called out, "Okay, I'm back." Dipping back into the room, she took note of the established pairs, thought for a moment, and declared, "Rain and Hannah, you two are first, followed by Barry and Dawn, Ryan and Rocky, Dan and Vance, and finally Johnson and Jessica. Rain and Hannah, follow me to the Professor's office." The three walked out, leaving the others sitting around for roughly ten minutes. Dawn, personally, strained to hear anything from the other room, while Jessica, Dan, and Rocky continued their conversation. Eventually, Roseanne returned, alone. "Where are Rain and Hannah?" Rocky asked, befuddled.

"They left by the other door," she replied simply.

"So… did they pass? Are they getting a Pokémon?" This was Jessica Slifer, sharp green eyes wide like a hunting cat's.

"I cannot reveal that," Roseanne said, not missing a beat despite Jessica's almost predatory expression. "You'll simply have to wait and see. Now, Barry and Dawn, you're up. Please follow me."

Barry and Dawn sat in front of a small metal table piled high with research papers, scientific journals, and other documents of the like, behind which sat Professor Rowan himself. He was an older man of around sixty, with bright white hair and intimidating mustache. He wore a dark gray trench coat over a white shirt, gray tie, and blue vest. His gray eyes were set in a stern face, and his voice was deep and gruff when he greeted them. All things considered, the duo was sufficiently subdued by his sense of presence.

The three were in a sort of stare-off: the professor peered over his steepled fingers at the Trainers, while the Trainers did their best to meet his gaze unflinchingly. After about thirty seconds of this, he broke eye contact, instead pulling out a file from one of the many stacks of papers on the table. Flicking it open, he began to skim through it. "So, Barry, Dawn, it says here that you two headed off a Rattata swarm that attacked the town back in August. Explain to me what happened, exactly; I was off in Eterna Forest at the time, and what information I garnered of the incident after the fact is rather muddled, so a firsthand account would be of great help." Dawn and Barry seemed to switch attributes at that moment; Dawn began to tremble with a newfound energy, while Barry seemed to overload and froze completely, too excited to move. They both had the same thought: This is our chance! We'll get a Pokémon for sure! Of course, there was another element in there, though they both did their best to ignore it: fear. They then began speaking at once; the whole of this dialogue is much too confusing to actually put down in its entirety, what with the two talking over each other, minor contradictions to make themselves seem more heroic—or at least less childish—throughout the event, and general messy storytelling, with revisions and add-ons rampant as each teen remembered one crucial point after another well after said event happened in their retelling. As it is, the full story shall be imparted to you, reader, by another medium: a flashback. It takes place one month ago next week, in a place called Kickin' Rick's Rockin' Karate Dojo. There, some time after the advancement exam for the afternoon session's students, and the last few students were packing up for home…

Twinleaf Town, August 9th, Afternoon

"The only thing a black belt means," Dan said, putting on his shoes, "is that you've mastered the basics. It's not like you can go toe to toe with Dasher just because you've got a piece of cloth around your waist." Dasher was Sensei Rick's Hitmonlee. Old, grouchy, yet nimble and very powerful, he often assisted Rick in the training of his pupils while he was dealing with back office work. Said pupils, of course, were terrified of rousing his (easily roused) ire, due to the hefty Rolling Kick he would dole out to anyone who did just that.

"'Course not," Barry said defensively. "Rick explained the dans on the first day, remember? There's always gonna be more to learn, like with Pokémon, ya know?"

Blaise scoffed. "What would you even know about Pokémon, Barry? You've never even had one."

"Neither have you, Dylan, so knock it off." Dawn was getting tired of breaking up the frequent playground arguments that sprung up every few minutes, and simply wanted to shut down the main source of the drama.

"It's BLAISE! Jeez, people, it's been a month now since I've changed it. How long is it going to be before you guys get it?"

"Well, it's August now, so… never," Dan snarked.

Blaise groaned in irritation. "Whatever. And to answer your question, my mom owns two Pokémon, but since she isn't a very good Trainer, she has me do it. So I'm much more qualified than this loser."

Barry swelled his thin chest in anger. "Who're you callin' a loser?"

Blaise looked at him with a show of mock innocence. "Oh, sorry, let me make it more clear." He got up from the ground and stood toe to toe from the incensed Barry. "I said 'You are a loser', pal. Hope that helps."

"You wanna go, let's go!" Barry was positively irate at this point, his manic energy barely allowing him to settle into a stance. The boy formerly known as Dylan shifted into his own seamlessly, a smirk curling his lip. Vance's bark of laughter cut through the air, alerting the students to their until then silent classmate. "So what, Dylan, this was your plan? To get Barry all riled up and try to beat him like that? You aren't getting a blue belt either way, so how about you skip the inevitable humiliation and go straight to training for real?"

"I don't need your "advice", Harlow. Honestly, I'd have thought that you would be the one to go after this chump-"

"Who's the chump here?!"

"-Considering that Rick passed over his own son for advancement in favor of the neighbor kid," Blaise finished, ignoring Barry's outburst completely.

Vance's next laugh actually had a hint of mirth in it, to the listeners' surprise; he was usually overwhelmingly dour. "Believe me, the old man knows how good I am; certainly better than Cedric over here." Barry didn't say anything; several sparring matches over the last few months had cemented that assertion as fact. "He just expects better from me than from the rest of you." He rolled up his mat, put it in the bin and headed for the door, slipping his shoes on at the entrance. "Anyway, I'm going home. Too much salt in the air for my taste. Later." He exited, leaving Barry and Blaise standing awkwardly. With a small cough, Blaise grabbed his duffel bag and likewise made for the exit, only to jump aside as a younger kid of about ten raced in.

"Rattata swarm!" he yelled, panic-stricken. "There are hordes of 'em in town, chewing though buildings and power lines! Everybody's gotta evacuate!" The group began to panic themselves; Rattata were a huge source of trouble, like many of the Pokémon that emigrated from Kanto in the past year, but they usually limited their excursions to swarming alleyway dumpsters and the sewers. An attack like this, with buildings reportedly being ruined, was completely out of the blue.

"Oi! What's all this here?" The group's commotion had piqued the interest of the titular Kickin' Rick, who looked, as always, as if he had just woken up. The aging Rocker massaged his neck with one hand while he continued: "So? Don't leave me hangin', guppies, what's all the ruckus about? And who're you?" he asked, pointing at the new kid with his free hand. "You aren't one of my students. At least, not one I recall."

The boy stared at Rick in silence. It wasn't especially odd; Rick's rather eccentric appearance often did that to those meeting him for the first time: all pleather boots, pants, and vest typical of a Rocker, along with a typical lack of a shirt, exposing his chest hair and beer gut; Long, graying blonde hair traveling halfway down his back; prominent sideburns and a long nose and chin gave his face a pointed appearance very much the opposite of his son's rather blunt features. Electric blue eyes, big, eerily denture-like teeth, and a cauliflower ear completed the bizarre look. "Well, he's useless," Rick declared after a minute. "Anyone else wan-"

"Oh, uh, sir!" the boy said, snapping out of it. "My name's Travis, but there's an issue, sir! There are Rattata attacking this part of town! Everyone needs to evacuate now!"

Rick started. "This part of town? The hospital's here!" He raced out the door, and said, "You five get to safety while I check the situation there!" before darting off. Wasting no time, the kids filed out of the Dojo and made their way north, watchful of their surroundings all the while. Then, scant yards away from Route 201, Travis cried out in horror, "Oh no! I forgot about the school! They're still holding cram school there right now! I gotta-"

"Hold up, kid!" Barry said before he ran off. "It's too dangerous! Just get to safety; we'll handle it!" The others piped up:

"I'm not going near those things!"

"Not on your life!"

"It'd be better if an adult handled it. Or at least, you know, a Trainer."

"Well, we don't have either of those things, Dawn!" he retorted, ignoring Dan and Blaise's objections. "Look, I'm going to the grade school! You guys follow if you want!" He zipped off, and was out of sight within moments. Dawn cursed, but followed dutifully, her sense of loyalty not allowing anything less. While they were still within earshot, she heard Dan leading Travis off to safety. She put off any thoughts of what was ahead of her in an attempt to strengthen her resolve. This lasted until she actually caught Barry at the grade school. From what she could see of him, he was pale, and standing stock-still. Walking up to him, she said, "Barry, why'd you stop? Is something wro…" her voice trailed off, as she took in the same sight Barry had: the Rattata had completely swarmed the school.

Dozens of the creatures were chewing their way through the walls, and from the shrieks coming from the low building, several of them had already found their way inside. Most worrying of all, however, was the Pokémon that stood between them and the school, glaring the two of them down: a big, scarred, yellow-toothed Raticate. On one level, Dawn concluded that this was the most likely the cause of this attack; while Rattata were normally extremely meek Pokémon, Raticate could be vicious when they had the mind to be, and could rile Rattata into a frenzy. If a number of Raticate evolved into being around the same time, they would eventually try to drive each other from their previously shared territory, leading to the loose packs of Raticate and their Rattata sacking Twinleaf Town. On another level, however, Dawn was thinking, Oh, great Gods above, why ME?!

Clearly, it was far too late to tell everyone to evacuate, and seeing as they had no real means of driving the Rattata off—or of fighting their increasingly twitchy Raticate leader—the duo were well and truly useless in the situation at hand. A muttered, "Darn it, Barry, just move!" alerted Dawn to her friend's struggle: he was… Afraid? She immediately shook her head, and then froze as the Raticate's head twitched toward her. No, she thought to herself, it couldn't be. Since when is Barry ever afraid of anything? Whatever flaws anyone would point out about Barry, cowardice was not one of them. If anything, Dawn was the scared one; Barry always had to pull her along for one adventure or another, from testing out Jessica Slifer's parachute design (that little excursion ended with a broken arm), to trying out some worryingly purple Qwilfish sushi with Barry and his dad, Palmer, who brought it on his last visit (that resulted in a trip to the hospital. But Dawn could at least admit that it wasn't half bad regardless). For Barry's boundless positivity to finally run dry, for him to be afraid, was terrifying to her.

The Raticate had finally had enough of the two trespassers on its new territory. With a Screech, it barreled toward them fangs gnashing, in an attempt to drive them off. It worked, with Dawn and Barry breaking for the trees to the east, with the Raticate in hot pursuit. Barry made it first, leaping and grabbing onto a low branch, scrambling into a safe position before pulling Dawn up with adrenaline-fueled strength. After circling the tree a few times, the Raticate, satisfied with the pair's reaction, returned to the school building with a parting hiss.

After a few minutes, Dawn asked, "What are we supposed to do, Barry? We can't get near that place again without that Raticate showing up. We're too late to warn everyone in the school, and we don't have any Pokémon to fight the Rattata off…" She sighed miserably. "This was a mistake, Barry. We should have told a Trainer about this."

Barry was silent for a while, brow furrowed, until suddenly, he slammed his fist against the tree's trunk. "You're right, Dawn, we did make a mistake: we ran away from that Raticate when we should've stood our ground." He glared at the Raticate as it slipped into the besieged school, even as Dawn stared at him.

"Barry, that thing's a fully evolved adult Pokémon," she besought. "We can't just chase it off by waving a stick at it." But the manic gleam was returning to his eye.

"Or can we?" he asked, as much to himself as to her. Pulling off a few leafy arms about half an inch thick off of the branch the were sitting on, he passed one to Dawn, who took it only to carefully set it down. "Barry," she said again, a bit of steel in her voice this time, "this isn't going to work. That Raticate is still watching us." And indeed it was: lounging behind the window, it glared at the tree they found shelter in, daring them to come down. "Listen to me, Barry: we can't do anything here. We need to make for the edge of town where everyone evacuated to, so we can find someone who can actually do something. Just, don't do what you're planning and come with me? Please?"

For a moment, Barry seemed to shrink a little, the bluster draining away from him. Dawn felt a rush of relief, even as her heart ached for exposing his vulnerability in such a way. And then he dropped.

"Barry!" she shouted, even as he made his way to the school. Dropping down as well, she raced toward him, as several Rattata broke away from the walls and attacked. To his credit, he managed to knock one of them away preemptively before the rest swarmed past his guard, Tackling and nipping him hard enough to draw blood. "Ow! Get off me, you pests!" he said frantically, shaking them off and striking one of them hard enough to send it flying. It bounced as it landed, finally coming to a stop some ten feet away, where it jumped back up and made for him again, only to be smacked away by Dawn's branch. This time, it scurried away into the forest, and Dawn made her way to Barry, beating off the Rattata as she went. Standing shoulder to shoulder with him, she eyed the Mouse Pokémons' steadily increasing numbers. "Think we can take 'em?"

"I don't think, I know."

"Then let's do it."

The Rattata rushed them but, being as weak as they were, were turned aside, but not without imparting a few scratches and bruises on the pair. The minutes stretched on as the pattern emerged: the Rattata crushed against them, the teens batted them away with only minor injury, and a few more would trickle out of the school to replace however many deserted. Occasionally a lucky Rattata managed to evade their guard and score a Tackle in a particularly vital spot, but it was beaten back all the same, with the unafflicted holding off the swarm solo until the other was sufficiently recovered. All the same, the injuries piled up on both sides, but when the sunset began in earnest, its soft orange light illuminated only the two would-be heroes, battered, bruised, and sore, but triumphant.

They collapsed on the ground, ecstatic past their fatigue. "Did we… get 'em all?" Barry gasped. Dawn lifted her head to check. The last of them had just slinked its way out of the school and was trundling toward them. "Nope, one more: the Raticate."

Barry groaned as he stood up. "Sure, because Arceus forbid we get bored. You ready, Dawn?"

She clambered to her feet as well, holding her branch in front of her like a sword. "Yep." Together, they rushed the approaching Pokémon, who met their charge undaunted.

The difference between the Raticate and its lesser brethren was clear from the moment they clashed: Raticate, unaffected by Barry first swing, snapped his branch in two with a contemptuous Hyper Fang before swatting him away with a whack of its tail. It then set itself upon him, aiming for his face and managing to sink its fangs into his arm. Barry piercing cry shocked Dawn into action, her branch beating at the Raticate wildly. Releasing Barry's bleeding arm, Raticate let out a Screech, the pain making her lower her guard. It then leapt at Dawn, bringing her down easily and slamming her into the dirt. Pushing her branch against its neck, she managed to keep its head, and thus its powerful jaws, outside of biting range. Letting off for a moment and backing off, Raticate appeared to be catching its breath. Dawn shot back up to her feet and got ready. Raticate growled, and began to glow a bright yellow. After a moment, the glow blinked out, leaving Raticate's eyes glittering fiercely. It rushed her again, fangs clicking together in anticipation. Dawn jabbed her branch at it, even as she backed away, but Raticate simply used Hyper Fang after Hyper Fang, biting off piece after piece and spitting them out, eventually leaving Dawn holding a pathetically small nub of wood. Throwing it at Raticate, who dodged it easily, she broke for the shaky, but still standing Barry, who wordlessly handed her one half of his broken branch.

The two sides stood off: two injured children, one whose arm was dripping blood at a worrying rate, and an as yet uninjured Raticate, whose dark look was summarily ignored. Raticate charged again, making for Barry again, who gestured to it with a closed fist. When Raticate was only a few feet away, Barry revealed his gambit: with a cry of "Pocket Sand!" he flung his hand out, launching sand directly into Raticate's eyes. With a shriek of agony, it dropped back, rubbing at its eyes. "Now!" Barry said, rushing the Raticate, Dawn following suit. The tide turned; far from being the utter beating Raticate gave them earlier, they nonetheless were driving it back. Raticate was still just as fierce an opponent as before Barry's impromptu Sand Attack, and in fact was even more vicious, breaking though Dawn's guard at last and biting down on her exposed calf, fangs sinking down to the bone. She screamed as she fell, Raticate still clamping down on the bone in an attempt to break it, ignoring Barry's frantic swings… until he jammed the broken end of the branch into its eye.

It released Dawn's leg with a Screech, a spray of crimson flying from its fangs, and ran off. Barry threw aside the stick and went to her, taking off his shirt and wrapping it around her wound, pressing tightly. "Dawn! DAWN! Look at me! You're gonna be all right, okay? Just hold on!"

Dawn was shaking from shock, her eyes dull and listless and her skin pale. Still, she pressed the wound with him, forcing herself to breath deeply. A sudden Screech alerted them to Raticate, who was glowing with a harsh blue light. It flung its paws forward, and the aura coalesced into an energy ball that flew toward them. Barry dived, shielding her as best he could from the imminent impact, when-

DOOM!

A blaze of blue light illuminated the area, and died out completely. Barry opened his eyes and turned to see a large, orange Pokémon standing in front of them, its paw smoking. Nearby, smoke was rising from a newly created crater. Barry peeked around the Pokémon in time to see the Raticate stagger and fall to the ground in a dead faint. He looked up at the Pokémon, a Dragonite's, face, and gasped. "Chomper?! Then that means…" A Poké Ball flew over his head and hit the Raticate, converting its form to energy and sucking it in. After a few wobbles and a click, it disappeared in a flash of light. A blonde man in a green coat ran over to them. "D-daddy?!" And indeed it was.

Palmer took one look at the dire situation and pulled out another Poké Ball. With a call of "Slowking!" the device opened, releasing the Royal Pokémon. "Slowking, use Heal Pulse!" he ordered the Pokémon, who complied immediately, kneeling beside Dawn and sending a flash of bright pink light into her wound with a wave of its arms, sealing the wound instantly. It then did the same for Barry's arm. Finished, it stood beside Palmer, who was scouting the area for any more signs of enemies. "Seemed to be the only one here," he muttered to himself. "Still, that Final Gambit was well outside the norm for a Raticate. Its father must've been a Primeape. That has to be proof. These can't be a random occurrence gone wrong…"

Suddenly remembering the children behind him, he turned on his heel to face them. "Kids! Are you alright?"

"Yes, Mr. Cedric, we're fine!" Dawn said automatically, standing up and gingerly putting weight on her newly healed leg, which held with barely a flash of pain.

"Dad, what are you doing here? How'd you know where to find us?" Barry asked, still gobsmacked by the sudden appearance of his father.

"Chomper and I were already coming over when we saw an explosion near the hospital. When I landed there, Rick had already dealt with everything there, but he explained that there were a bunch of Rattata led by Raticate chewing through the town. I went to Route 201 to see you all, but a little boy told me you had went to evacuate the people in the school. We arrived in time to stop that Raticate's Final Gambit, but it was a close call. What were you kids thinking?! You were lucky it was only the Raticate; how did you expect to deal with a horde of Rattata along with it? I know kids are reckless, but this has to take the cake!"

"But dad, there were Rattata here, and we fought them all off!" Barry said before Palmer could continue. "And everyone in the school is safe because of that… or, y'know, safer than they would've been." They all jumped at the sound of the schoolhouse door opening, and watched as a host of schoolkids and their teacher exited the building. Though some bore the marks of first aid, they were all more or less healthy. They crowded around the trio, thanking them and otherwise confirming Barry's account. Palmer, getting over his surprise quickly, said, "Come on, let's get you all to the Route. There'll be tents set up by now, so nobody worry. Just follow me." Everyone made their way to the Town entrance, where Barry's and Dawn's mothers were waiting. Hugs were given, tears were shed, and stories were accounted (with the more serious injuries left out, for obvious reasons).

The next month passed in a blur, with injuries treated, repairs made, trauma counselors met with, and a fear of Raticate instilled and subsequently challenged, though not by any means conquered. The two became local legends of a sort for a while, with the attention petering off around a few days before Professor Rowan's selection process, which we will return to…

Now

To Professor Rowan's credit, he fully understood the teens' account of the event. Nodding seriously, he said, "Hmph! Thank you for telling me this. I did not hear about this Rick individual; perhaps I should seek him out for his side of the story. As it is, I commend you for your bravery." The pair's faces lit up, only for worry to strike when he said to himself, "Though I fear such bravery which is born of recklessness. Their world would surely change if they were to meat Pokémon… Is it right of me to put Trainers such as these on that path…?" He met their gaze again. "You two. At the beginning of the exam, you answered a question which I shall ask in person: do you truly love Pokémon?" On paper, it seemed odd, almost silly, but when voiced by Rowan, the question had a certain weight, an almost solemn quality to it.

"Yes," Dawn said immediately.

"Me, too!" Barry said. "I love Pokémon, too!"

Professor Rowan was silent for a moment, and said, "I will ask you once again. You two. You truly love Pokémon, do you?"

"Oh, come on, not this again!" Barry yelled, drawing a sharp gasp from Dawn and causing Rowan's eyebrows to shoot straight up. "You can ask a hundred times! The answer will never change! We'll both answer a hundred times, we love Pokémon! Right, Dawn?"

"Y-yeah!" Barry's conviction, though almost certainly ruinous, was also inspiring. Professor Rowan, however, remain impassive.

"…A pair of reckless kids who foolishly try to fight off a horde of Rattata without Pokémon of their own…? It worries me what people like that would attempt with Pokémon."

Oh no.

"…Uh… Well, I, uh…" Barry looked at the rug as if a suitable answer was hidden it its pattern. Finally, he burst out, "Well, then forget about me, but give a Pokémon to my friend here! I mean, it was me who went to the school in the first place, Dawn was just looking out for me!"

While Dawn reeled from the weight of Barry's plea, Rowan gave a grunt that sounded suspiciously like approval. "That is quite big of you, young man! Very well, then! I will entrust you two with Pokémon!" The teens froze, but only for a moment, their shouts and whoops of glee bubbling up soon enough. After a while, they calmed down enough to bow and thank the Professor formally.

"Think nothing of it," the Professor said, "and I do so apologize for putting you through that exam. However, I needed to test more than your knowledge of Pokémon. I also needed to test your sincerity, as well as your integrity and fortitude." He made for the door, but stopped and faced them again. "Ah, there is another thing: you must promise me that you will never recklessly endanger yourselves again." The two agreed wholeheartedly, earning them a nod. "Now then, simply follow Roseanne to the other door." Roseanne, right on cue, opened the door and motioned toward them. They rose, bowed once again, and left with her.

Clearly, I can't leave well enough alone, because I'm back with the THREEdux chapters, condensed into a length more indicative of how I typically handle chapter lengths now.