Pokemon Fanfiction: The journey of a lifetime.

[SargentToughie]

This is actually a story I've been writing for a little while on Fanfiction.net before deciding to bring it over to Elliquy, it's an Action/Adventure/Romance story, so I'm really trying to get some diversity in the styles of writing. This is actually my first real attempt at writing romance in any story, so I'd appreciate any feedback that you readers may have for me. Well, that's it for now, read and enjoy.

Chapter 1

The fog seemed to part in his mind, as though he was opening his eyes on a scene that parted the blackness. Where there was only nothingness a few moments ago, a lone figure stood in a white coat. His silver hair indicated that he was aging, and was refusing the use of hair color recovery products. He held a book in his hand and looked up at the viewer, a bit of a proud smile on his face.
"Hello there, and welcome to the world of Pokemon, my name is Professor Evergreen, and I will be your guide through this world."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small sphere, the top half was red and the bottom half was white. After pushing down on the button in the center, the tiny ball grew in size to fit perfectly in the palm of his hand. The professor held out the ball in front of him and released the creature that was inside, seconds later, a Growlithe sat faithfully at his side. The professor looked down at the red dog, then back up at the viewer, continuing to speak.
"This is a Pokemon, we work together, play together, and sometimes even fight together. But despite our bonds with these creatures, there's still a lot that we don't know about them... Tell me now, what is your name?"

A response came quickly, as the viewer of this scene looked jealously at the Growlithe, wishing that he had a comrade like that.
"My name is Leon, I'm 18 years old."

Professor Evergreen's eyes drifted upward, as he seemed to think about that name for a moment.
"Oh yes, Leon... You live in New Falls Town, don't you?"

Leon made a nodding motion without responding, after a few moments to gather his words, Professor Evergreen continued to speak.
"Leon, you're about to begin a wondrous journey, full of amazing sights, friendship, and danger. I'm sure that you will learn a lot about yourself, and the world, while on this journey. Now go. Head out into the work of Pokemon..."

Professor Evergreen's voice seemed to fade out, as it was being overpowered by a sharp and extremely annoying ringing noise. At first Leon was simply confused by this sudden noise, but after a few seconds his gut wrenched in his stomach as he realized what that noise was.

It was his alarm clock.

Leon rolled over in his bed towards that damned clock, bringing his arm over and hammering the snooze button on the side. The alarm clock had the brutal role as a martyr, it was forced into the unpleasant job of waking people from their sleep in order for them to begin a productive day. Alarm clocks always took a great deal of abuse, and Leon never stopped to think about what a cruel duty that the alarm clock was given. After all, the only time of the day that he ever addressed the clock's existence was the half an hour of his day where he was busy hating it for waking him. Leon couldn't stand his alarm clock, as it had interrupted a rather pleasant dream.

Leon had dreamed that he was on his way out of New Falls Town, that he would be going on a journey across the world as a Pokemon trainer. Being a trainer was something that he had dreamed about ever since he was a young child, watching the Pokemon League on the television, the battles against the Elite 4 always captivated Leon's imagination, and he had spent many summer days outside pretending that he was one of the mighty contenders on the TV. He would be where everybody would be able to see him, a proud and confident warrior who was reaching for the stars. Oddly though, these fantasies carried over into his older years... to a degree. As he got older, Leon would often wish that he had some way of escaping his life at New Falls. This small town in the corner of the continent was all that Leon had ever known, and he ached to get out and see the rest of the world.

Leon was in his final year of school, rubbing his eyes as memories about his day to day life started to flood back into his mind, causing his dream to fall to the back of his thoughts. As he remembered what was happening today, Leon bolted from bed and ran to the dresser, trying to prepare for school as quickly as was possible. Part of him was extremely excited, but another part of him feared for what could happen. He was worried about the possible end results.
"My finals are today!"

Preparing for school in record time, Leon bolted down the stairs and came extremely close to tripping and falling. The brown haired young man came to the end of the stairs ungracefully and came to a stop in front of his mother, who's attention was focused on the ruckus that Leon caused by his near trip. She was a brunette, like Leon was, though unlike Leon's pair of deep blue eyes, hers were rather bright and green. She appeared to be a woman in her mid thirties, though Leon never knew exactly how old she was. Her arms were currently crossed and her eyes were sharp, the classic scolding stature for mothers.
"Leon, you better take those steps slower next time, you're going to break your neck on those old planks one of these days!"

Her words were rather uninspired, but that didn't stop her from getting her point across. Leon simply nodded and move past her towards the door.
"I won't be in so much of a hurry after today, after all, I'll be graduated!"

Leon's mother, simply shook her head, shouting after him as he made his way out the door.
"I'll remember you said that for the next time that you come bearing down those stairs like a bat out of hell!"

30 minutes later

Being in such a hurry to get to school hadn't done Leon a whole lot of good. After all, his classroom was right across town and there were only 3 other people in class with him. It was a sorry excuse for a graduating class, but at least the tiny class size allowed Leon an education that was better then most city schools, and also gave him a real bond with his classmates. Of course, that doesn't entirely mean that they were the good types of bonds. Sitting at his desk, Leon glanced over at Hans and Boyle, two of his classmates who had been the closest of friends ever since 6th grade. They were chuckling to themselves about something or other, but eventually Boyle's voice started to rise.
"Technology really is amazing! I read in a magazine that they even have bikes that fold up and fit inside a backpack."

Hans shook his head, laughing a bit and toying with his glasses.
"That's just silly! What kind of magazine did you read this out of, exactly?"

Boyle seemed to get a little bit worked up over this, leaning forward on the table. Leon always got a bit of a kick out of watching those two bicker.
"What's so silly about it! We have pokeballs that can be shrunk down to fit in our pockets! So why not a bike that fits in a backpack?"

Leon's attention was taken off the two boy's fighting when a young woman's voice spoke to him from behind.
"Hans and Boyle are at it again? Are those two even really friends?"

Leon turned around in his chair to see Amy, the only teenage girl that lived in New Falls. She was rather pretty to begin with, but because she was the only one in her age group, the other young men in town were constantly competing to impress her. Leon had given up on getting her affections years ago. He didn't really have any traits that he considered redeeming enough to warrant her favor. As a result, he ended up placing himself in her "friend zone". Of course, he didn't mind at all, and she was actually a rather smart and fun person to have as a friend, once Leon discarded the possibility of a relationship with her.
"Of course they are, I thought you'd know the drill by now, Amy."

Amy broke out into a grin, clearly excited about today.
"Oh trust me, I know the drill... So Leon, you ready to graduate?"

Leon smiled back, feeling his spirits pick up a little bit from her excitement.
"Are you serious? Of course I am! So, you going back to live with your dad in Giana City this summer?"

Amy nodded, Leon had known for a while that her parents divorced when she was at a young age, living an entire continent apart. She spent most of the year here at New Falls, with her mother.
"Sure am. What are you going to do, Leon?"
"I hear that Professor Evergreen in Crawshore Town is looking for a field assistant. I'm going to see if the position's still open when I graduate."

Amy nodded to him, finishing the conversation as she saw their teacher, Amy's mother, prepare to enter the room.
"That sounds exciting. I hope you're able to get it."
"Yeah... me too..."

three hours later

Leon was sitting at his desk, his heart hammering at several miles a minute. He was sure that he did well on his finals, but he had a disgusting habit of second-guessing himself at nearly every turn. Back when he was taking his tests, he felt good about it. But now that he was sitting around, waiting for the results, the anticipation was killing him. What if he failed? What if he didn't retain the materiel as well as he thought he did? Or what if he rushed? What if he went for what appeared to be the right answer, only to be tricked into getting it wrong? The more he sat on it, the more time he had to think about it, the more panicked he got over rather or not he actually passed his finals. When Amy's mother came back with the papers, Leon had to resist the urge to throw up. In his mind he had managed to convince himself that he had failed, he dreaded seeing his papers, he watched as each painstaking second ticked by, bringing him closer and closer to his fate. One by one the papers came by, and when Leon's finals landed on his desk face down, he prepared for the worst.

Amy's mom had an annoying habit of giving papers back face-down, Leon never understood it. Resisting the urge to close his eyes, he flipped the papers over one by one, his eyes locking immediately onto each one's respective grade.

86
94
90
88

Leon almost had to resist the urge to laugh, he second guessed his own intelligence and abilities so damn often that he downplayed his own capabilities to dangerous levels. It was a frustrating habit that he kept as well hidden as possible. Heaven forbid anybody else find out what goes through Leon's mind on a daily basis. With his own disaster story for the day wrapping up, Leon looked around the room to see how his other classmates had done. Hans and Boyle were fighting over which one had the better average, and Amy had done only slightly better then Leon. Since it was such a small class, they didn't have a very large graduation, only enough to get each person their diploma, which had to be approved by a larger school system since the class only had 4 people, and wrap it up. That was fine with Leon though, he didn't really care for anything overly flashy or dramatic.

When he got home, Leon's mother made a fantastic dinner for him, to celebrate his graduation. Despite the fact that it seemed rather informal and small, the fact remained that Leon was officially done with his high school education. She smiled widely at him, looking at his diploma with more pride then he did when he first got it.
"I'm so very proud of you, Leon."

Leon's face turned a little red from embarrassment, he had never been very good at receiving praise.
"Uh... thanks..."

the following day

Leon had spent the last hour making his way to Crawshore Town, which was slightly larger then New Falls Town. Because Leon was traveling without any Pokemon, he had to take the long road around. If he had had Pokemon with him, he would have been able to cut through the tall grass and be there in half the time. Crawshore town was an hour's walk north of New falls Town, and was about as far as Leon had ever gone before. He had come to Crawshore Town several times in the past when he felt like he had to be around more people, get away from home for a day. As he came across the larger town, Leon sighed in relief and breathed in the sea air. Crawshore Town was right by the sea. A dock near the edge of town allowed travel by sea to the northern half of the Orenn continent, which was several times easier then having to go through the mountain range that cut the continent in half.

Leon made his way to the large building near the center of town, which was Professor Evergreen's lab. Stepping inside, Leon was a bit surprised by the large lab equipment and complex looking machines that littered the walls of the lab. Leon had never been inside the lab before, but he had imagined that it was a bit simpler then this. Stepping up to the help desk, Leon spoke to the receptionist, a woman who appeared to be in her mid twenties. She smiled at him and spoke in a welcoming voice.
"Welcome to the lab of the famous Pokemon Professor Evergreen, may I help you?"
"err... Yes, is Professor Evergreen still looking for a field assistant?"

The receptionist rose from her chair, grabbing a few papers as she did.
"Of course, come right this way."

Leon followed the receptionist as she led him to the back part of the lab, which showed even more complicated machinery then it did in the first room. The figure of a familiar silver haired man was glued to a computer screen, muttering silently to himself when the receptionist and Leon walked up. The young woman tapped him on the shoulder, attempting to get his attention.
"Excuse me, Professor. This young man is here about your job offer."

Professor Evergreen turned around towards Leon, a bit of a surprised look on his face.
"Oh really? I'm surprised that somebody came looking for the job so quickly, is this him?"

The receptionist took a step backward, nodding to him.
"Yes."

Professor Evergreen leaned in towards Leon, staring directly into his eyes for several seconds. Leon couldn't help but feel extremely uncomfortable for that time, it felt like Professor Evergreen was staring right into his very soul.
"... You're hired."

Leon's eyes widened in surprise, he had to back up a little bit. He couldn't believe what he just heard.
"J-just like that! You don't want to... like... interview me or anything like that?"

Professor Evergreen turned his chair back around and went back to focusing on his computer.
"No, I don't... Just be here tomorrow at 8 and we'll get you started."

Leon blinked a few times, confused by this.
"er... alright"

Leon left the back room with the receptionist right behind him, she spoke up as soon as they were out of earshot.
"Professor Evergreen may seem a little bit odd, but he is has an unnatural ability to judge a person's character."
"I could tell that something about him was a bit... off..."
"The professor's not one for formalities, that's for sure"

Leon laughed a little bit, heading towards the door with his head facing back towards the receptionist.
"No kidding, I'll be back tomorrow then."

Once Leon was out of the lab, he let out a bit of a sigh and rested against the wall. He couldn't help but wonder if he'd end up getting used to how unusual Professor Evergreen seemed in real life. There was no question that his life was about to get a bit more interesting, to say the least. After spending a few more hours in Crawshore Town, Leon headed back home. He had to get ready for his new job that he was going to start tomorrow.

the next day

Leon's eyes snapped open, his heart skipping a beat when he turned his head towards his alarm clock and saw what time it was. It took an hour to get from New Falls to Crawshore, and it was currently 7:45. Leon flew out of bed and found the most comfortable outfit that he could find, since Professor Evergreen hadn't said anything about a dress code the day prior. Flying down the stairs again, Leon came dangerously close to taking a fall once more. It was like a scene from the day before as his mother shouted after him about being more careful on the way out the door.
"So much for you not being in a hurry anymore, Leon! You're going to snap your neck one of these days!"

Leon ran almost the entire way to Crawshore Town, and was completely and totally drained by the time he got to Professor Evergreen's lab. He pushed open the door, his face as red as a strawberry and gasping for air at 8:30. He saw the same receptionist from the day before behind her desk, somewhat amused by his sudden appearance.
"The professor already headed out into the field to begin his research, you better get going."

Leon leaned against the door, speaking in between gasps of air.
"Wh- where... is he... is he at?"
"He's out on Route 286, he said something about going into the Crawshore Forest today."
"Th- thanks"

As fast as he had arrived, Leon was out again, running as fast as he could towards Crawshore Forest. Crawshore forest was just to the north of the town with the same name, slightly off the path of Route 286, which would eventually lead travelers to some of the larger cities of the continent. Leon had never been past Crawshore Town, so he didn't know the name of the cities right off the top of his head. The forest was extremely cluttered with trees and bushes, which made for rough traveling. It wasn't even really worth the trip, as the forest eventually lead out into a small beach just before the sea. The only part of Crawshore Forest that had been cleared out was the first few acres, which was an attempt at a tourist attraction before the entire project was axed. As such, it was rarely ever visited.

Leon made his way into the forest, seeing Professor Evergreen writing down some notes by a few plants. He turned towards Leon with an odd look on his face. It wasn't one of anger, or frustration. More a smirk of amusement at the flustered young man.
"Well, look who finally decided to show up."

Leon walked over to the Professor, resting his hands on his knees and panting.
"Sorry sir, I- I-"

Professor Evergreen cut him off, chuckling a little bit.
"No need to explain yourself, I was young once too... Here, take a look at this."

The professor opened a nearby case, revealing three pokeballs inside of them.
"I assume you know what these are?"

Leon's eyes widened in surprise at the sight.
"Of- Of course."
"Each one of these contains a rare Pokemon inside, I want you to take one of these Pokeballs and stay here with me while I do my research. Should any wild Pokemon appear around here, I want you to fight them off."

Leon looked over at the Professor, undeniably stunned by what he was hearing. He had never fought alongside a Pokemon before, and Professor Evergreen was expecting him to fight?
"P-professor Evergreen, are you serious about this?"
"Quite, go ahead and make your selection."

Leon knelt down and looked at the Pokeballs, over the top of each one, a picture was taped of the Pokemon contained in the ball. After picking the one that he preferred the most, Leon clutched the ball in his hand and nodded. It felt amazing to him, actually holding a pokeball, being in possession of a Pokemon. It was the first time in his life when he had even laid his hand on a Pokeball, it felt like he was starting to take his first step towards being a trainer.

Over the next half an hour, Professor Evergreen went about his research, but Leon was still absorbed with the creature that was in the palm of his hand. The novelty of it simply didn't want to wear off. He felt an incredible sense of pride, like he was finally moving towards what he had wanted for all of his life. He knew that the little guy was on loan, and still belonged to Professor Evergreen, but it felt nice, being in possession of a Pokemon. Leon was snapped back to reality though, as he suddenly heard some rustling ring out from the nearby bushes. Stepping slowly towards the source of the rustling, Leon was startled to see an injured Abra suddenly get knocked into the clearing, smacking against the ground.

Leon gasped in surprise, and Professor Evergreen turned towards the injured Pokemon with a startled look.
"What the..."

Before Leon had time to act, three Rattata suddenly sprang from the clearing and began to pummel the Abra with tackles. The Abra, unable to defend itself, simply fell victim to the attacks and fell backward. Professor Evergreen spoke to Leon in a hurried voice.
"That Abra must have accidentally entered a Rattata's pack, Rattata have a tendency to be extremely territorial"

Leon turned to the Professor, somewhat surprised to hear that.
"Couldn't it just teleport away?"
"Perhaps it's too tired to teleport, or maybe the Rattata got a jump on it... but does that really matter? Leon, use your Pokemon to protect that Abra!"

Leon nodded, clutching the pokeball by his side tightly.
"You got it..."

Leon took in a deep breath, and found himself extremely nervous. What if he messed up? What if both his Pokemon and the wild Abra got badly hurt because he was unable to give commands properly? What if Professor Evergreen changed his mind about having Leon work as his assistant? All of these fears flooded into his head at once, threatening to cause him to break down. After gently biting his lip, Leon forced these fears out of his mind, holding the pokeball out in front of him and tossing it towards the Rattata.
"Alright then, let's do this!"

The ball opened, allowing a small red Lizard to emerge from the ball. It stood on it's hind legs, and a small fire came from it's tail.
"Charmander!"

Leon narrowed his eyes, slightly anxious as he saw that the Rattata focused their attention on the Charmander instead of the Abra.
"Okay Charmander, let's heat things up with ember!"

Nothing happened, Charmander looked back at Leon, somewhat confused by his order.
"... Er... Ember, you know, the attack where you breathe fire from your mouth and..."

Professor Evergreen cut in, stopping Leon's statement.
"He doesn't know ember yet!"

Leon's face turned a bit red from embarrassment
"oh... Charmander! Watch out!"

The Rattata were on the attack, all three of them charging towards a dumbfounded Charmander, however, something rather unexpected happened before the attacks landed.
"Bulbasaur! Vine whip those Rattata!"

Vines came from the side, beating back the Rattata and protecting Leon's Charmander. A boy about Leon's age stepped by his side, smiling lightly as his small Bulbasaur joined the Charmander. He had pitch black hair, a small amount of which fell to about eye length.
"You must be the Professor's new assistant."

Leon nodded, pleasantly surprised by his sudden appearance.
"Who are you?"
"Name's Issac, I used to work with the Professor myself... Doesn't really matter right now though, does it? C'mon, let's beat these little rats down!"

Leon nodded, feeling a bit more confident now that he had somebody to lend him a hand. Thinking carefully, he gave a command that he was sure Charmander could follow.
"Charmander! Keep the pressure on them with Scratch!"

The Charmander nodded, running forward and clawing one of the Rattata, causing it to fall backwards. Before either Issac or Leon had a chance to give their next order, the bushes rustled violently as three more Rattata suddenly jumped out to aid their brethren. Leon groaned, wondering if Charmander and Bulbasaur would be able to hold off six Rattata between just the two of them. Sure, the duo had the advantage of strength, but the Rattata had the power of numbers. Professor Evergreen suddenly tossed Leon another Pokeball, because Leon was focused on the Rattata, he had to turn at the last second and ungracefully grab the ball as it soared towards him. This pokeball had a slightly different feeling then the one that held Charmander in it.
"Leon, this is getting a bit too dangerous for Abra, capture it in that ball to keep it safe!"

Leon didn't stop to think about why the Professor couldn't do this himself, or why Issac wasn't able to. Instead, he simply turned towards the Abra and prepared to toss the pokeball. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two of the Rattata head for the Abra, but Issac ordered Bulbasaur to perform another vine whip to keep them away. With his mind clear of worries, he tossed the pokeball, which landed against the Abra's head with an audible smack. The Abra turned into a red bolt and entered the ball, which started to shake violently. During this time, Leon returned his attention to the fight and ordered Charmander to scratch at the nearest Rattata. That was the moment when Leon realized just how powerful Issac's Bulbasaur was.

Sure, Leon and his Charmander were fighting back admirably well, against a single Rattata. But Issac's Bulbasaur was doing a majority of the work. The Bulbasaur had the obvious advantage of range, but it was also more powerful and was better trained then the Charmander was. Add onto that the fact that Issac was clearly a more experienced trainer then Leon, and there was no way to deny that Issac was pulling an overwhelming majority of the fight onto his shoulders. Leon heard a click behind him, indicating that the Abra was captured within the confines of the ball, which rolled it's way over to Leon's foot on it's own while he focused on commanding his Charmander.

Leon became more comfortable with commanding in the battle as it went on, knowing that Issac was doing an admirable job of holding the Rattata's back. After a lengthy battle, the Rattata decided that they had enough, there was no more reason for them to fight once Abra was off the field, and they were struggling in a loosing battle against a Charmander and a powerhouse of a Bulbasaur. Once they were gone, Leon turned to Issac with his hand outstretched.
"Thanks for the hand, Issac... It would have been messy if you hadn't shown up"

Issac shook his hand, smiling back.
"No problem, glad I could help out."

Issac held his ball out, and Bulbasaur turned into a red bolt as he returned to the ball.
"Well, it's about time I got out of here... Maybe I'll see you again sometime Leon."

Issac turned and walked away, leaving Leon confused about his words.
"where is he going?"

Professor Evergreen walked up to Leon, picking up the pokeball that contained Abra, which remained by Leon's foot.
"It's just as I suspected, Leon, you have a natural ability for training Pokemon."

Leon turned to the Professor, both alarmed and surprised.
"E-Excuse me? I have a... natural ability?"

Evergreen nodded while Charmander waddled it's way up to Leon's side.
"Yes, take a look. You've only just started training and Charmander already likes you."

Leon instinctively looked down and locked eyes with the Charmander, who smiled and held it's arm upward as a sort of victory pump.
"Char!"

Evergreen smiled and chuckled lightly.
"See? I get the feeling that you could befriend any kind of Pokemon very easily."

Leon smiled uneasily at this revelation. He never before imagined that he could have some kind of... gift for Pokemon training.
"Uh... thanks?"

Evergreen chuckled a little bit more, heading for the entrance of the woods.
"I think we're done here. Come with me, Leon. Let's go back to the lab."

fifteen minutes later

Leon's eyes shot wide open.
"YOU WANT ME TO WHAT?"

Evergreen flinched from the overreaction, shaking his head and repeating himself.
"First off, I'm letting you keep Charmander, think of it as my gift to you... Second, I recall asking you to travel the world in my stead."

Leon started to shake his head, not believing what he was hearing.
"T-travel the world? Why?"

Evergreen reached into a nearby drawer, pulling out a red device. It looked somewhat like a small book, with a flip open cover.
"This is a Pokedex, it automatically records data on any Pokemon that you see. Think of it as a sort of an... electronic encyclopedia"

Leon's breathing started to pick up, to think that this was actually happening... He had the chance to leave home, go on that journey he always craved.
"You're... you're serious about this..."
"Dead serious. Think about it overnight, if you don't want to go, I won't force you."

Leon nodded, the question already answered in his mind.

Later that night

Leon ate dinner in silence, wondering how he could possibly tell his mother that he would be leaving on a cross-continental journey. He didn't realize how hard it would be to say until he got home. Sure, she got frustrated at him in the mornings when he ran down the stairs too fast, but that's because that's what mothers do. A small lump appeared in his throat, Leon wasn't going to pass up this chance to broaden his horizons, but it wouldn't be easy for him to say. Once all the dishes were done, Leon walked into the living room, where his mother was enjoying a bit of TV. He could tell just by looking at her that she knew something wasn't right. Taking in a deep breath, Leon spoke.
"Mom... I've... I've got something to say..."

His mother turned to him with a bit of a smile.
"I could tell that much, what is it, Leon?"

Leon sat down, telling her everything that had happened today. About how he had been given a Pokemon by professor Evergreen, about his battle in the forest, and about Evergreen's request to send him out into the world. His mom simply sat in silence, listening without saying a word. As he finished, Leon spoke three words that summarized his opinion on the matter.
"I'm leaving... Mom"

His mom simply nodded, getting slightly choked up as she spoke.
"Leon... I- I always knew this day would come... Don't worry, I don't plan on talking you out of it..."
"Mom..."
"J-Just promise me you'll take care of yourself out there, after all... you're my son, you're my only, dear son."
"I promise..."

Leon never was good at sentimental things like this, he struggled with coming up with the right words. It pulled at his heart strings, knowing that he was only saying a few words when his mother was basically saying goodbye to him. Sighing as he stood up, Leon shook his head a little bit, allowing his mother to be alone with her thoughts.
"I'll... I'll see you in the morning, Mom."

Leon went upstairs and tried to get some sleep, he fell into his bed silently and shut his eyes. Yet the sleep wouldn't come, he had too many thoughts running through his head to even consider the idea of sleeping. What would his mother say to him tomorrow? What sort of adventure lay ahead for him? Leon couldn't get his mind off the future. Eventually, he managed to force all of those thoughts from his mind and fell into a reluctant sleep.

the following morning

Leon walked down the stairs very slowly this morning. He wanted to vividly remember each second of this walk. It would be the first steps he took towards his new adventure, towards all sorts of sights and experiences that he couldn't even begin to imagine right now. His mom was waiting for him by the door, with a few things resting by her feet. The first thing she held up was a trainer card. These little things were awesome. Not only was it a convenient place to see a trainer's name, face, and trainer ID number, but it also acted as a quick transition debit card. It even showed how much was on the card right on its face! Talk about ultra-convenient. There were also eight spots right on the bottom for the eight gym badges, something that Leon would make use of on his trip.

Leon gasped in shock when he saw the total on the card, looking up at his mom.
"M-mom! Are you sure it's alright for me to take this?"

His mom simply nodded with a chuckle.
"I've saving up ever since you were little, for when you were old enough to head out on your own... this is your money now, Leon... Use it wisely"

Leon broke into a wide smile, hugging her.
"You're the best."

Leon's mom pulled away, reaching on the counter and handing Leon a rolled up parcel.
"Oh yeah, I talked to your friend Amy last night and told her you were leaving, she wanted me to give you this."

Leon unfolded the parcel and smiled in delight, it was a map of the entire region, complete with the names of all the towns and cities, as well as each landmark and a small amount of information on each location. The map was modern, easy to read, and up to date in every meaning of the word. His mom chuckled a little bit, speaking in a slightly teasing tone.
"Amy must be rather fond of you, to get you something so nice."

Leon's face turned a bit red, he looked away.
"Aw geez, we've been through this before, Mom..."
"I know... I know..."

Leon rolled the map back up and stuck it in his pocket, the map jutted out and looked rather stupid, but there was nothing that Leon could do about that. Turning to his mother, Leon smiled in excitement.
"well mom... I'm off"

Leon's mother smiled back, no doubt hiding a mixture of pride and sadness as her child took his first steps out on his own.
"Come back soon, okay. I'd love to hear all about your adventures."
"I promise, I will."

Leon turned and headed out of New Falls, not turning back until he was well on the road.

When he was back in Crawshore Town, Leon immediately headed for the convenience store. Using some of the money that his mother had saved for him, he bought the best adventuring gear that he could. All of it was made out of extremely sturdy yet surprisingly comfortable fabric. He also got a pair of comfortable shoes, a jacket for the colder regions, and a backpack that was designed with Trainer convenience in mind. Once he was completely outfitted, he made his way back to Professor Evergreen's lab, where yet another surprise was lying in wait for him.

As he approached the door, he looked to the side to see a stunningly beautiful girl his age. Her hair was blonde, and fell to about her shoulder-blades. She had a pair of very pale brown eyes, and her smile looked extremely sweet. All in all, she was a very slender girl, the look she had was more of a classic beautiful type, rather then the standard for attractive. She looked like the kind of girl that one would like to marry, rather then a fun girlfriend. She stepped up to Leon, smiling sweetly.
"Excuse me sir, are you Mr. Leon?"

Leon's face turned several different shades of red, he nodded.
"Er, yes. that's me."

Her smile didn't fade a bit, she offered Leon her hand to shake.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Leon, I'm Nina... Nina Evergreen"

Leon took her hand in his, giving it a gentle shake.
"It's nice to meet you Nina... wait, did you say Evergreen?"
"That's right, the professor is my uncle."

Inside the lab, professor Evergreen turned to the two teenagers, a hint of a humored look in his features.
"Ah Leon, I see you've already met Nina... And Judging from the clothes, I suppose you've decided to go on this journey?"

Leon stepped forward, taking the Pokedex from the counter and holding it out in front of him. It was an extremely light device, and seemed to fit very well in the palm of his hand. After taking a moment to gauge the Pokedex, Leon looked up at Professor Evergreen with a serious nod.
"Yes, I'll gather as much Pokemon data as I can."

Professor Evergreen carried on like he was expecting that answer.
"Good, now there's a few things we have to clear up... First off."

He pulled a pokeball from the counter, handing it to Leon.
"remember this little guy? It's the Abra you caught yesterday. Think of it as a little bonus for going on this journey for me."

Leon paused in surprise, his hand accepting the pokeball while his mind thought of words to resist it.
"But you've already given me Charmander."
"And? You captured the Abra fair and square, he's yours."
"T-thank you, Professor."

Professor Evergreen returned to his desk, not taking his eyes off Leon.
"Secondly, what do you know about the Pokemon League challenge?"

Leon's eyes lit up at the mere mention of it.
"What don't I know about it! Trainers travel all across the continent to gather eight gym badges, those that get all eight then test their mettle against the brutal victory road. Then, the ones that make it to the other side go through the brutal gauntlet of expert trainers known as the elite 4, all for just a chance at challenging the champion!"

Professor Evergreen seemed rather pleased by Leon's knowledge on the subject.
"It may not be a bad idea for you to take part in the League, Leon. Since you're already going all across the continent, it would be a good experience for you, to gauge how much you've grown on your trip."

Leon seemed to spark with excitement, this would be a dream come true for him.
"Oh trust me, you don't have to tell me twice!"

Professor Evergreen sighed, looking between the silent Nina and the over excited Leon.
"Calm down, calm down... I've got one last thing to ask of you... Nina here, she's going to be taking part in the super contests, so she'll also be going around the entire continent... Leon, would you mind traveling together with her?"

Leon was shocked, he honestly couldn't move.
"P-professor?"

Nina suddenly spoke up, explaining a bit to him about the professor's request.
"Truth be told Leon, I'm a bit nervous... I've never been on a trip like this before, I'd feel a lot safer if I was with somebody. I-I know I'm still a stranger to you but..."

Leon shook his head, since Nina was trailing off he supposed that he could jump in.
"D-don't worry about it, the more the merrier, right?"

Nina's eyes seemed to dance a tiny bit, showing her relief at his agreement to travel with her.
"Thank you, Leon."

Professor Evergreen cut back in, speaking to both teenagers.
"well, now that we're all in agreement on that, you two should prepare swiftly and be on your way. I suggest you head up route 286 until you reach Melody City, the city of music. The first gym on your list should be in that city if memory serves me correctly."

half an hour later

Leon and Nina stood in front of route 286. Leon hadn't been very far down this route, and when he had been here, he was in a hurry. The two of them had spent the last half an hour purchasing supplies and getting ready for the journey that laid ahead of them. Leon turned to Nina with a bit of an embarrassed smile, he certainly hadn't planned on sharing the trip with a girl like her.
"Well, Nina... here's to the road ahead."

Nina smiled in excitement.
"To the journey of a lifetime."

[Mr. Vyce]

I'm liking this story, DemonWing01, being a Pokemon fan myself, and I'm looking forward to where you're going with this story.

[Anithinum]

*blinks and scoots closer* I really enjoyed reading that, total fan of Pokemon, and I would like more :P