Private/Closed PokéSync: Role Play Thread

[kyuukestu]

Sophian Island was the largest island in the Oblivia Region, and it held the region's largest town—Aqua Resort. Despite its name, Aqua Resort lacked all the fanciful amenities of a high-class resort and was more akin to a bucolic nature resort, nestled between the Silver Falls—the town's main source of fresh water—and the Sorbet Mountains, treacherous and icy cliffs whose snowmelt would flood the island's main canals during the summer. It was during these summers that the town really lived up to its name.

It's rivers and canals filled to the point of bursting and the glimmering deluge of water would flood the Sophian Road, the only land-based path in or out of the town. Until the water flows receded, Aqua Resort really was a resort on the water; with travel characterized by rafts and canoes or by riding. Nowadays, the latter was commonplace as residents of Oblivia frequently bonded flying-type or water-type pokemon to help them travel around the region. They were otherwise isolated from the rest of the world and even the rest of the region as they possessed no large harbors with which to accept ships and no airfields to home planes.

Because of that, new faces were a rarity in Oblivia and one new face stuck out like a sore, blue thumb; in part because he was very sore from his lengthy flight and very blue in his dapper uniform. Behind him stood a powerfully built Staraptor nearly twice the size it would've been a decade earlier, which allowed it to peek over the man's shoulder with ease. This was his bond-partner and his preferred method of travel. The Predator Pokemon's generous downy feathers were not only supremely comfortable to sit on, but it's Intimidate helped deter wild Pokemon from interrupting his journey. A single glare from it could scatter a harassing flock of spearow and while not as powerful as Braviary, Staraptor could carry loads over long distances.

All these reasons made Staraptor the bird of choice for his deliveries; and, the decision proved wise, as Oblivia’s bird-flocks had been aggressive even before the events in years past.

The delivery man landed in Sophia square, beside the town’s gushing, center-piece fountain. Strapped to his Staraptor was a satchel, within which he carried his cargo. This was his last stop for the day, and he marveled at the town’s pastel blues and reds; laid into the brickwork roads in concentric circles. He looked around and noted the colorful tapestries—woven rugs—that decorated each house.

He smacked his lips together in realization and he pulled out his package. The envelope was stamped with a rather unique pattern beside which was the given address: Aqua Resort, Sophian Island, Obliva Region. The address had told him the region, island and town that his package was to be delivered to but had strangely lacked the address of the house. Now the man realized, as he matched that uniquely patterned postage stamp to one of the tapestries hung on the houses, that it was the address.

His destination was a two-story house but he hesitated to step forward and ring the doorbell, on account of the life-sized tapestry of a Vespiquen which hung over the door. The beehive Pokemon wasn't all that intimidating by itself, but whoever had woven it into being had taken care to ensure its mandibles were as grotesque and disturbingly accurate as possible.

The man gulped. This was going to be one of those houses. A half-decade of experience had lent the man a peculiar talent; a sixth sense—that some would call common sense—towards the residents of the homes he visited; and, many a times it had saved him from almost certain doom.

Ding Dong!

...

No answer.

Ding Dong!

...

The man frowned. Despite his misgivings, he was employed to one of the most elite postal services in the Pokeworld, and neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night would stay this courier from the swift completion of his appointed round.

He hadn't flown all the way to Oblivia just to slink back with his package undelivered.

Once more, he reached for the doorbell.

Ding Don—Crash!

The man cringed in abject horror as something—sounding like glass—shattered.

"LOOK OUT!"

Startled by the sudden shout, the man jumped backward. And by Arceus' pointy golden toes it was a good thing he had. No sooner than he'd moved to the side, had his Staraptor covered him with its massive wings, awash with a steely glow as it used Steel Wing to knock aside an object that had fallen from the second story window.

CRASSSSHHH!

Another deafening crash drew his attention back to the house.

thud...thud...thud..thud..thud.thud.thudthudthudthud...

Heavy footsteps, distant and scattered at first, grew rapid. The door slammed open. The delivery man staggered backward. Staring him dead in the eyes was a young girl, a walking disaster. Make-up was smeared across her face, mascara and eye-liner smudged and tear-stricken.

"Uhhh..." The man was at a loss for words and as his eyes and mind wandered, they were both drawn to the object that had fallen seconds before. It was a razor; plunged blade-first into the nearby grass.

He turned back to the girl in disbelief, his eyes shifting with wariness.

"My hand slipped."

"Uh..."

"I wasn't trying to kill you, I swear!"

"Uh..."

"It was an accident!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Sign here please."

~~~~~~~~​

Meletē grinned and ripped apart the newly arrived package. She had broken no less than three vials of nail polish and one hand-mirror in her efforts to get this package just a second sooner; but she hardly cared. It was here!

"My trainer card!"

She inspected the laminated ID upon which was a photo of her naked face—they hadn't been allowed to wear heavy make-up or accessories that would obscure their face—and her trainer ID number, a seven-digit sequence that acted as a primary key, connecting her to the United Pokemon League's data-bases and certifying that she was now an officially registered trainer.

The eager teen licked her lips. She barely stopped herself from squealing with excitement. It would've been very immature to do so and trainers were anything but immature. Soon she would be registered in the Bronze League, the beginner's competition designed pit new trainer's against each other and nature itself, force them to wield every ounce of their wit and to push their talent to its limits; soon she'd be up there too, among the ranks of the famed and fortunate, and there was nothing that could possibly stop her. Nothing except the pungent taste of her make-up which was now all over her tongue.

She choked.

"Hyuck—"

~~~~~~~~​

Meletē returned to her room with a lot less enthusiasm. She plopped herself onto her bed and swiped her Poketch from her nightstand. Her fingers flew over across the screen as she accessed the United League's trainer app and punched in her trainer ID number.

She spent a few minutes setting up her profile, including changing her Profile picture to a cute—err, dark and ominous Misdrevous.

The forum designated for new Bronze rank trainers was already abuzz with activity. She skipped through the notification that presented her with the rules of the Bronze League—everyone and their sister knew the rules—and immediately navigated towards one section of the page. It was a bright and stylized logo decorated with eggs and and berries—Project Pokemon.

Meletē's heart made every effort to beat its way out of her chest; without further ado, she began to browse the list of available Pokemon.

It was time to find a partner.


@Hecotoro @=Nightshade= @Mango137 @DarkHydraT @Gamingfan @Retro Master @Clite of Dragonbow @RenzFlintrock @ThePlayfulFox @silverwind2020 @Schrift @Pinch @Alternate_Mystery @sSoul @Godjacob @Tortles @Grand Master Koop @MegaAbsol

Discussion Thread: https://pokecharms.com/threads/pokesync-discussion-thread.25402/

 

[Hecotoro]

"Dude wake up, you got a package."

A rust voice interrupted Ron's dreams about playing with the Rolling Stones. He groaned while he turned face up on his bed and placed his hand over his eyes, to ease the process of his eyes opening. He slowly adjusted to the light in the poorly lit room, yet the few sun rays that sneaked in were enough to bother Ron's sensitive and a bit hangover eyes. The figure of his roommate slowly adjusted. He was in his mid 20's, long wavy blonde hair and poorly grown beard. Ron sighed loudly as he saw the package in his roomies hands, he had forgotten today was the day.

"What time is it?"

"12:30 dude. I think this might be your League package thing, you really going to do it?"

Ron sat up and looked around, he had thrown his boots and shirt on the chair he used as a closet. He rubbed the back of his head as he adjusted himself to be sitting on the side of the bed and taking the package from his roomie. He looked at the package and then placed it on his pillow.

"You're not going to open it?" Ron's roommate asked while he placed his hands on his waist and showed concerned for the unopened package.

"In a bit."

Ron got up and walked over to his bathroom, turning the cold water on over the sink and splashing his face. He looked at himself in the mirror, clearly looking like he was going to audition for The Walking Dead. He washes his teeth quickly, just to get rid of any bad smell. smeared deodorant on and walked back to his room. His roommate was already sitting on his bed opening the package that didn't belong to him. This didn't seem to bother Ron though as he made his way to the kitchen, taking a can of his favorite energy drink and popping it open. He walked back to his room to pickup his phone, which was inches away from having being squashed by the blonde man having an epic battle with the box in his hands.

Ron checked the notifications, having more than fifty messages, most of them from one of his sisters, a few from his mom, some from Sussy, the vocalist of his band and to his surprise, one from his dad. Most of them were asking if he had been accepted into the league and to see his trainer card, except for Sussy who was requesting he replied back as soon as possible to have a serious talk.

"Did Sussy contact you?" Ron's roomie asked as he finally opened the box and began looking through it.

"Yup. She seems mad."

"Well you did punch her boyfriend last night."

"That dude is a jerk, nobody likes him."

"Um, Sussy does."

"She's just dating every edgy rocker wannabe she meets ever since we started to become popular."

"Or maybe she is trying to replace you since you decide to leave on this Pokemon League stuff when you two were finally dating. Did you see the new drummer by the way? Ozzy wants his look back dude, am I right?"

Ron smirked as he took the package away from his roomie. "Whatever, give me that."

He reached in and pulled out his trainer card, which had an image of him looking annoyed, with the right side of his upper lip moved up showing his right fang. He shook his head while his roomie took the card and laughed out loud at his picture. Ron shot a glare at his roomie, before growling under his breath and yanking away the trainer card. He reached inside and pulled out a smaller box, which inside held a small golden pin in the shape of a tower. Leave it to his dad to slip in something like that. It was a tradition the Tower family had, every time you officially became a trainer, you earned the right to ear the family pin. On the back of the pin would be their first name, in this case it said Ron. He placed the pin on black string and hung on his chest like a necklace.

"Hey man, regarding the rent..." The blonde young man stood up and stretched his back inward, showing his beer belly.

"I got you, don't worry." Ron walked over to a small drawer and took out a small bundle of cash, which he tossed to his roomie. "I saved up enough to cover three months of rent. It's all yours. I will have my mother send someone to send my stuff back to my parent's house. So you can rent my room out right away if you want." He picked also took out a shirt and put it on. "I'll be leaving as soon as we're told where the competition is going to be."

He pushed his roomie out of the way to sit down on the bed and began entering his information on the United League's app. His roomie stopped counting money to look at the screen and pointed at a few of the trainers already registered.

"Oh that one is cute." He pointed at a different one. "She looks more my type though."

Ron chuckled and switched the page to start his registration. Soon he was at the part where he had to choose his first Pokemon. He rubbed his face to try and be more awake and focus on the decision and not on his roommate who kept saying "That one would be cool." To every Pokemon he saw available. Ron kept going through the list until his roomie pointed at one.

"That little one is just like you!" He laughed loudly.

"How so?"

"Look, it says: easily annoyed or frustrated, hardly gets along with others. Has a very serious personality. However, it is very loyal and kind hearted."

Ron looked at the Pokemon on the screen, it was a little Cyndaquil.

"Oh it's a female, you have terrible luck with girls man, probably not your best choice." His roomie tried to scroll the screen but Ron stopped him.

For some reason he related to the fire type, not to mention fire Pokemon were the favorites of one of his sisters, he could already see her face when he showed up with a powerful fire type next to him. He smiled at the fantasy as he selected the Cyndaquil, his roomie nodding as if he agreed with the decision. Ron suddenly began to feel the hangover sweep away as he imagined how powerful he could become along his new Pokemon. The thought sent a rush of adrenaline through him, allowing him to get up, take a shower, change into new clothes and boots and bolting out the door towards the Pokemon Center.

"What a day." The blonde guy said as he sat on his couch and opened a bottle of beer. "Let's see what crazy adventures Richard and Mordelius will get into today." He chuckled as he turned the TV on.

 

[Tortles]

"No Lumi don't touch that!" Aurora said as she chased after her very young igglybuff as she bounced towards a bunch of sealed cardboard boxes

The tiny pink Pokémon turned to Aurora and smiles before heading out the open front door of the log cabin and began to bounce around in the snow, while 2 of the 3 moving men dodge her as they carried heavy boxes and furniture to a large Van, where the third waits in the back to help lift up the boxes into the van

Aurora heads back into the house "Grammie, they're almost done packing up you ready?"

"Two ticks snow angel, Just putting the last of my clothes in my suitcase." An older woman's voice called back from a room in the back up

Aurora headed into the bedroom which is completely bare barring one suitcase a small pile of clothes on the floor, in front of the suitcase sits an elderly woman wearing a fuzzy pink turtle neck jumper and her sleeves rolled up revealing her slightly wrinkly arms she has her white hair tied up in a messy bun held together by a pencil "You know if I'd had known how much hassle moving was going to be I would've happily stayed in this cabin, instead moving back into the centre of Snowpoint city."

"Come on Gram, you know it's gonna be so much easier for you in the city while i'm on my journey. Betsy and Pauline's Apartments are only down the hall for you, and it also means no more hour long bus rides into the city when you've got to do your groceries." Aurora smiled

"That's a simple way of telling me I'm getting older." She chuckles "But you're right of course, the way I'm aging I wouldn't survive out here on my own. Perks of being an old bat." she laughed

"And just think the bingo hall is only 2 minutes a way." Aurora smirked

"If we were both 10 years younger I'd have you across my knee Snow Angel." she laughed as she finished packing up and goes to stand, Aurora quickly moved to help her Grandmother and began to drag the suitcase out for her Grandmother

As the pair walked one of the moving men picked up the final box and made his way out "All ready ladies." he nodded and made his way out as did the two ladies.

Igglybuff began to squeal with excitement as the post man was walking up a long snowy path "Ah Miss Aurora, caught you just before you were leaving. Think this is what you're waiting for." he smiled and handed her a letter and starts another trek down another snowy path

"Thanks Hank!" she called after him and began to tear open the letter to find her as she, her Grandmother and Igglybuff made their way to a small purple car. The Removal truck finished packing up and began to drive off and Aurora's Grandmother did the same

Aurora inspected her new trainer card with a smile and pulled out her phone to check her app and look at all the details, Igglybuff bounced from the back seat on to Aurora's lap "Once we get Grammie all moved in Lumi, my adventure begins." Igglybuff cried out happily with one little "Iggly!"

 

[YoKaiKingEnmaDaiyou]

It was night time, and it was a storm. The far off stomping of a rampaging giant Tyranitar got closer and closer.

"Dom, Kyra, listen to me! Run as fast as you cant to Chicole village!" Father yelled, putting on his hat.

"Dad, please don't go!" Kyra pleaded.

"Listen, I may be nothing but a bird keeper, but a wood cutter, but I won't just sit here and let everyone be crushed. Please listen to your Dad this once and RUN!" he yelled, pushing Dom and Kyra out into the stormy night.

Kyra, who was gripping onto Doms hand as hard as she could, ran away as fast as she could. Dom was confused. He didn't know what the noise was. All the commotion. He was only 7 years old.

"Oh Arceus, please give my loyal Farfetch'd the strength of a thousand Pidgeots!" Father yelled as he ran headfirst into the fight.

Dom looked back as he and his sister fled into the night, and watched as his father charged at the giant silhouette. The stomps got louder and louder, and then it came. The giant yellow sun. It appeared at the head of the pokemon, and just like that... BOOM! It shot out its fiery light. There was a moment of complete silence. It was almost like time froze for a moment. The impact finally landed. A dust cloud the size of Mt. Cornet appeared over the Vien Forest. The explosion of the impact sent Dom and Kyra flying, even though they were so far. Dom flew and watched as the ground came faster and faster.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" Dom yelled as he sat up in his bed.

It was the same nightmare. The same nightmare reliving the beginning of the end. He sat for a moment, trying to calm his breathing. Again and again that moment played in his mind over and over, forever etched into the front of his mind on repeat like a chatot with a talkative trainer. Then and overwhelming wave of sickness took over Doms body, causing him to run to the bathroom as fast as he could.

"Hey Dom, you ok?" Kyra knocked at the door.

"Im fine!" Dom yelled, still trying to bring himself together.

"Did you have that dream again?" Kyra asked.

"I said IM FINE!" Dom said.

He could hear his sister walk away. He looked at himself in the mirror, something he hadn't done in forever. The bags under his eyes were darker than they had ever been, and his hair grew at least 3 inches since he last checked. It had been white ever since that day, the day he lost everything. He even had a bit of stubble. He took a deep breath, and leaned over on the sink.

What day is it even? he thought.

He brushed his teeth, and then splashed some water on his face. He walked back out to his room. There was a pair of Blue overalls and a black shirt. The standard wear for a birdkeeper. Kyra must have gotten it out for him. He tossed the clothes on and put on his gloves, and walked downstairs. Kyra was preparing breakfast. At first, neither of them said anything. It was silent for a while, until a noise was heard outside. Fwoosh. Fwoosh. Fwoosh. It got closer and closer. Both siblings froze up, trying their best to not make a noise. Then there was a knock. They were both still petrified. A few minutes passed, and then something was slipped into their mail slot. Then they heard whatever it was outside fly away. Both sighed and sank a little in their place.

What a world this has become. Dom thought to himself.

Kyra put the bowl of oatmeal on the table.

"I also made some sweet poffins if you would like one" she said.

"Yes please." he said.

Kyra got up to get the envelope that had been delivered, and sat for a moment to read it.

"What is this!?" She suddenly burst out.

"What is what?" Dom said sarcastically.

"Congratulations Bronze Trainer Dom, You were one of the few people selected by the United Pokemon League to be offically recognized as a trainer, your pin is 2891204, please log on to the offical United Pokemon League website to select your official first partner pokemon." Kyra read out loud.

Dom had forgotten about his registration in the UPL completely, he had kept it a secret from his sister.

"Look its not what you-" He was cut off.

"These things took our father away from us! Now you want to work with them??" Kyra yelled.

"Kyra list-"

"Im not gonna listen. Why would you do this! I already lost dad, I cant lose you too!" She said, starting to tear up.

"Kyra please-"

"Dont. I don't wanna hear it! How could you-" Kyra was cut off.

"Kyra! Do you think I want to do this? Do you think I WANT a pokemon? Im tired of hiding in the shadows, fearing that one of these things will come back! Ill fight back, ill be the one to wipe every one of these pokemon off the planet! I cant do that without my own pokemon first!" Dom yelled.

"Oh yeah? What happens when the last pokemon left is YOUR pokemon?!" Kyra said.

"What is that supposed to mean? All pokemon are the same. Mindless power hungry creatures. You of all people should trust the fact that I will NEVER befriend a pokemon." Dom said.

They both were silent.

"Whatever, give me that I'm leaving." Dom said, taking his trainer card and walking out.

He walked out of the still healing vien forest. It was quite calm out today. There weren't many pokemon left in residential areas after all the top rangers got together and ran them out.

Well. I don't have a computer at home, looks like ill have to go to the Ranger Base in Vientown. He thought to himself.

It wasnt a very long walk, he arrived after a short half hour walk. He walked into the Ranger Base and was greeted by Ranger Barlow.

"Hey Barlow." Dom said.

"Hey whats up Dom! Still as gloomy as ever I see?" Barlow said.

"And you're still as happy." Dom replied.

Barlow let out a chuckle, "So what can I help you with today?" he asked.

"Let me use your computer." Dom said.

"For?" Barlow egged on.

"None of your business." Dom said, walking behind the desk and opening up a browser.

He sat down and logged in, trying to do it fast before Barlow could see. As he logged into the website, it opened up a page full of a list of pokemon. He scrolled and scrolled through, looking for a pokemon with potential. He needed something to take down that Tyranitar, as soon as he could. And then he saw it.

Hmmmm. Its got pretty good potential, so ill choose- Doms thought was interrupted.

"C'mon let me see!" Barlow said pushing Dom over.

Just as that happened, Dom clicked. It was too late.

"You picked, Gligar, The Fly Scorpion Pokemon! Would you like to see Status?" the digital voice said.

Both Dom and Barlow were silent.

"Oops." Barlow whispered.

Dom let out a sigh, "Well, might as well check it out." he said.

Dom and Barlow looked at the screen. "This Gligar has been returned to UPL headquarters multiple times. Often trainers send it back because they say its too soft and friendly. Its preferred flavor is, spicy foods, and it doesnt like being inside its pokeball. Multiple trainers have walked into UPL headquarters with Gligar latched onto their head. The pokemon will be arriving at Vientown Ranger Base in approximately 2 hours." it read.

"Well great. Hopefully I can return it too." Dom said to himself. He sat back in the Ranger Base, waiting for the Pokemon to arrive.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Somewhere out in the wilderness of Sinnoh stood a modest looking house. A middle aged woman sat on the steps of the front entrance typing away on her laptop when her attention was drawn to a Pelipper flying towards her. The water bird pokemon held a package in its mouth, something the woman knew what it probably contained. "Ah its finally here, I'm sure Joan is going to be excited to receive this." She said to herself as the Pelipper landed next to her.

After signing on the form and collecting the package, the woman saw the flying Pokemon off before heading into her house. "Joan! A package for you just arrived!" Her calls were met with silence. A man in his early 40s stepped out from behind a corner. "If you're looking for our daughter, she went out to the forest with Snover after saying she was bored and she wanted to go collect some honey from a honey tree they found yesterday."

"Now of all times? She knows that her trainer card was going to arrive today."

"You should know that's not enough to keep her in the house when she gets food on her mind."

The woman sighed. "I really thought she'd be more excited at becoming an official Pokemon trainer. I hope she doesn't get into any trouble."

The man let out a chuckle. "Not get into any trouble? Are we talking about the same daughter?"

The woman replied to the laugh with a glare before letting out a sigh. "I suppose you're right, I should have expected this. I hope she gets back soon, she needs to get ready for her journey."

----------​

Deep inside the forest behind the house, a young girl and a Snover ran through the woods chased by a flock of Combee. The two runaways, each holding a jar full of honey, ducked and weaved around the group's attacks. "Jeez, they never looked like they had any problems with the other forest Pokemon taking honey from their tree, why such an aggressive response when we try to harvest some?" Joan said out loud while avoiding a Struggle Bug. Her Pokemon responded to the comment with a shrug. "Well, its not like getting chased like this is out of the ordinary. Let's shake them." The girl stated, to which Snover replied with a nod.

Running another small distance, the duo arrived at a steep drop in the terrain. A tall tree grew from the ground bellow, two ropes tied to its branch parallel to the drop. "Jump now!" At Joan's command, the duo jumped in unison, grabbing on to their respective vine and sliding down to the lower elevation. Turning around after landing, Joan looked the the Combee flock filing down towards them. "Alright Snover, slow them down and freeze them up with Icy Wind and Powder Snow." Holding up both arms after throwing his jar to his trainer, Snover shot an icy light blue wind from one and a similar wind filled with snow chunks with the other straight at the flock of tiny bee Pokemon as they flew down the steep slope.

Not expecting the winds, the group of Combee fell victim to the attack, many of them falling to the cold blast. "Alright, now let's get out of here. Use Mist." At her his trainer's order, Snover created a mist to cover their track as the trainer and pokemon duo made their escape. "Lucky we only ran into some weak drones and not the queen bee right Snover?" Joan commented with a blank face as Snover chirped in agreement. With their encounter over, the duo then made their way back home where a very special package waited for Joan's return.

 

[RenzFlintrock]

Noah was sitting on his bed, trying to keep himself occupied. For the last several days, he had been waiting anxiously for his Trainer ID card to arrive, and every time he heard someone walk by outside he had rushed to the door in the hopes that he could receive the package. After all, his parents didn't really want him to be participating in the Bronze League, and as much as he loved them he didn't want them interfering at all now that he had their (grudging) permission. He was honestly a little afraid they would change their minds and keep him from going after all, which was exactly why he wanted to be officially in the program as soon as possible.

Since he had little else to do, and needed to keep his mind busy, he decided to look through the list of items recommended for Bronze League participants for the umpteenth time that week. He knew the list pretty well at that point, and he already had almost everything he was going to bring packed up. The only exceptions were a couple of shirts that he wanted to use in the next couple of days and then wash before leaving. It didn't hurt to review, though, since the site also had some tips on money management when getting started.

He was scrolling idly through the page when he heard the doorbell ring. He instantly leapt up and ran for the door, not even bothering to close his device or the door to his bedroom in his haste. He hurried to the door and flung it open, just in time to see the mailman walking away. In small metallic mailbox that hung on the wall next to the door were several letters. He darted his hand into the box and quickly fished out the contents. He shuffled through quickly, gave a quiet hop of excitement, and then ran back inside; but only long enough to throw all but one of the letters on the nearest surface and then bolt out, slamming the door behind him.

If his trainer ID was here, his friend and neighbor Avery's card had quite possibly arrived as well, or would be there by the time he got over to her apartment. He'd rather open the letter over there than holed up in his own room. He wanted someone to appreciate this moment besides just himself, and his parents certainly weren't going to do that.

Thus, Noah headed over to the Carpenter family's front door and knocked. Taking a step back and settled to wait for an answer, all the while fidgeting at the envelope in his hands. He wanted to open it right that moment, but he made himself be patient. It was only a minute or two longer (he hoped) after all, and he had been waiting for days for it to arrive. Still, once he actually had his card in hand he could set up his Profile on United League and pick his starter.

As he waited, he found himself reviewing the picking strategy he had come up with. He knew that Dragon types tended to be really strong and that their trainers often made it pretty far. Take Lance and Cynthia for example, both had Dragon types as their Ace. And for the moment, picking a dragon of his own seemed like a good option. However, he was open to other options if he thought they would work better for him, and everything was subject to availability, really. Only once he got to take a look at The Pokemon Project would he really get to see his best options.

 

[Alternate_Mystery]

Somewhere around Fortree City, a light crash ended up waking a fairly mature female, being Ivory, which had belonged to her mother's Breloom. It held a package in its hands and bounced about her small bedroom eagerly, making small thumps in the floor before the girl finally sat up.

"Urghh.....oh, morning....you couldn't have been just a bit quieter...wait, what's that package for?"

Sighing a bit from what could only class as annoyance, the Breloom walked over to Ivory and placed the package in front of her on the bed. After she rubbed her eyes and got a better look at it, realization came flooding back like a Hydro Pump.

"Oh, the United League! I totally forgot about that, heheh....OK Jet, go tell mom I got the package and also tell her I said thanks for picking it up in my place. I have a journey to prepare for!"

The Breloom, Jet, made a small salute before exiting the room much calmer then it had entered, and Ivory got out of bed and observed her new Trainer ID. It was simple, and not too flashy. Just the kind of style she liked in stuff. After quickly changing into a dull pink sweatshirt, some faded turquoise jeans and mint green sneakers, she felt good to figure out a starter for this journey. Sure, her mom had this Breloom, and her brother, who wasn't competing at all, already had a Tailow from one of his friend's dads, leaving her as the only Pokemon-less person in the house, potentially city.

After opening up her PokéNav and logging into the United League app, which felt oddly satisfying, the 17-year old began to browse through the network for a Pokemon that caught her eye, and a lot of them did. There were Pokemon familiar to Hoenn, like Torchics and Zigzagoons, but also more exotic ones like Sandshrew and Tympole. It actually got to the point where Ivory was worried she wouldn't be able to find a partner because they all seemed so interesting, until something caught her eye.

A Treecko. It was male, but that didn't matter. This Wood Gecko Pokemon seemed to have all Ivory needed in a new partner, so she happily decided on that, even starting to think of nicknames as early as right after she had selected it, but she ultimately decided against it and would wait for this Treecko to arrive before nicknaming it. But for now, packing was all that seemed to matter. This journey would take Ivory who knows where, so she had to pick this wisely. So she went off to have breakfast and discuss with her family what would be best.

 

[Pinch]

It was the crack of dawn in Icirrus City, and Kenzo was already up, hurriedly hurtling things into his backpack. He only had so long before his Dad woke up, so he had to move fast, as today was the day Kenzo would finally become a Pokemon Trainer. His father had always been disapproving of this of course, as such it's why he's getting ready so early in the morning in order to keep his secret. Kenzo finished packing and hurried out of the house, leaving the note he'd written last night that denoted he wouldn't be returning until he'd at least completed the Bronze League on his bedroom door.

Icirrus City was a relatively large city, not as small as Mistralton but definitely not as large as Castelia or Opelucid. It had a nice charm to it though, and that, Kenzo had always been a fan of. Now however, he found himself in the middle of the city at the crack of dawn heading to the Pokemon Center to pick up his Trainer ID, which had been left there by the league at his request. He hurried there as fast as he could, half out of excitement and the other half out of fear that his Dad might've woken up already and is looking for him. That wouldn't be an issue once he got his ID though, so he just had to get there.

Kenzo reached the Pokemon Center in a matter of minutes after leaving his house, quickly moving to the front desk to pick up his package from Nurse Joy. He ripped open the package as soon as he got his hands on it and pulled out his brand new Trainer ID, signifying that he was now an official trainer of the Bronze League. He held it in his hands for a second, admiring it and beaming at the fact that this was finally happening, before pulling out his X-Transceiver and registering his Pokemon, which he'd picked out months in advance.
"You have selected Gligar, the Fly Scorpion Pokemon. Are you sure about this decision?" A small pop-up appeared.
What kind of question was that? Of course he was sure! He hit the green "yes" button on his X-Transceiver, confirming his choice. Now he just had to stay put in this Pokemon Center until his Gligar arrived and the league called him to the opening ceremony.

 

[Mango137]

About six months prior
Acacia had been born on the darkest day. No, not the catastrophic event that turned the world upside down, but the literal darkest day: December 21st, the winter solstice. Throughout his life Acacia met many people in his life with different interpretations of what his birthday meant. Some said it was a bad omen meaning that he was a child of darkness and some of the more extreme conspiracy theorists would blame the catastrophic events of the following years on the boy. Others thought it meant he was blessed to be of great importance, with the date symbolizing the rebirth of the sun and the coming of the light amidst the darkest of times.

Acacia never listened to any of that. Blessings and curses, destiny and prophecy, any sort of speculation was just white noise to the boy. He was a firm believer in the present and the only thing that mattered was the next step forward. That being said, if there was any time he would buy into the hearsay about his birthday it was today as it felt especially cursed.

It was hard to be content on his birthday this year. Acacia’s stupid birthday just had to come a few weeks after the Bronze League began, so while his peers were off starting their adventures, he was stuck at home poking at a questionable cake Blaine baked over a game of chess.

“You know you could at least pretend to enjoy yourself.” Blaine grumbled as he took his rook and captured threatened Acacia’s bishop.

“Sorry... it’s great and all, but... you know.” The boy mumbled and moved his bishop to safety.

“Yeah yeah, I know. You’re getting sick of hanging out with this old man.” Blaine took his rook and captured Acacia’s now exposed queen. “But I mean are you such a crybaby that your head isn’t clear enough to see that obvious trap.”

Acacia let out a sigh at the taunts, completely impartial to the loss of his second most important piece. See, to understand Acacia you must first understand the effects of mental illnesses on the boy. He was far from the poster child that is always sad or constantly worrying, in fact, if you met him you’d never guess he had the trifecta of depression, anxiety, and ADD. You’d probably just think he seemed bored, and you wouldn’t be wrong. Depression kept him from being saddened or bothered by the little things, and his anxiety and ADD allowed him to simulate almost every possible outcome of a situation in mere seconds and completely take the element of surprise out of life. That was why he couldn’t careless about losing a menial chess piece even if it was his queen and it was also why he had seen every sequence of moves and chose the one to optimize his chance of winning.

“Checkmate.” Acacia spoke with no enthusiasm as he moved his knight into place now that the rook had taken the bait and moved out of a threatening position. “Thanks for the cake, I think I’m just gonna go nap for a bit.” And on that note he took the staircase down to his bedroom, leaving an awe stricken Blaine starring at the board.

As he laid in bed, Acacia couldn’t help but ponder the reason why he was so bothered about having to wait just a half year longer to start his journey. Perhaps it really was that he was getting sick of staying with Blaine.... no that wasn’t it. Blaine had provided him with an amazing education, living situation, and mentor figure. There was no reason Acacia shouldn’t had been perfectly content with what he had, so what was bothering him so much? Well, the truth was as simple as boredom creating a sense of being unfulfilled.

His whole life Acacia had always had what others wished they had: the newest rotom phone in a shiny edition, the captain role on two varsity sports, the best grades despite never showing up to class; he truly had it all and yet he was never content. That all changed when Blaine showed up to Slateport City. A genius who had accomplished more in his life than Acacia likely ever would and had reached some of the highest ranks in Pokémon battling. It was intriguing to say the least, to meet someone so far out of his league, so unobtainable, someone who made Acacia feel like all of his personal successes were meaningless. That was when Acacia realized the paradox of his existence, he could never be content when comfortable and would only ever feel satisfied when he was chasing some unobtainable goal. He could only be content in a state of discontent.

He had begged Blaine to take him back to Cinnabar as an apprentice, and to his surprise, the gym leader actually agreed. It would turn out to be one of the best decisions of Acacia’s life, but after a few years of challenging himself everyday and learning more than he ever thought possible, Acacia eventually caught up with himself and had settled into a state of contentment. He was beating Blaine in chess on a regular basis and he was no longer being talked to like a student but as a peer. He had achieved his goal and that destroyed his sense of happiness. Blaine knew it too. Just like himself, the boy would never be satisfied unless he was throwing himself into a new challenge.

Knock knock. A gently rapping at Acacia’s door snapped him out of his thoughts. “Who is it?” He asked out of reflex, though he was already sure of the answer.

“Tis some visitor.” Blaine replied, purposely sounding a bit dramatic as he quoted one of he and Acacia’s favorite pieces of literature. “Only this and nothing more.”

The boy couldn’t help but smirk as he hopped out of his bed and continued on the poem while walking towards the door. “Sir, or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore; but the fact is I was napping, when so gently you came rapping, and so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, that I scarce was sure I heard you.” Then he flung the door open with great gusto too see Blaine’s face and asked “Lenore?”

“No you fool, it’s me Blaine.” He retorted in a deadpan tone, thus ending the joke and allowing the two to share a chuckle. “That was pretty good though, the only mistake was it’s ‘and so gently you came rapping’ not ‘when so gently you came rapping’ but you’ll get there some day.”

Damnit. Acacia kicked himself internally over the slip-up, though he made sure to keep up the appearance that he was unbothered. “Oh well, I’m not quite old and sad enough to perfectly memorize The Raven just yet.” He joked while eying the strange black case Blaine was carrying that kind of resembled an incubator.

“Trust me, with a smart-ass like you it won’t take long for you to get there.” Blaine got the last jab in as he set down the incubator on Acacia’s desk, opening it up to reveal an white egg with golden markings that looked like flames. “I know you’re bummed about the Bronze League, but hopefully this’ll cheer you up. You’re still seventeen so you can still get a Pokémon whether or not you’re in the league.”

Acacia’s eyes lit up. My own Pokémon! He’d been waiting for this moment ever since he was a baby. Everyone these days seemed so disillusioned about becoming a trainer with all the newfound dangers, but that only made Acacia even more eager. He obsessed over the egg, theorizing what it could possibly contain. Well it’s obviously a fire type, but which one. Ponyta kinda has that color scheme but I’ve seen a ponyta egg before and it doesn’t look like this. Maybe a Scorbunny or a Larvesta.... but neither of those have golden flames. After a few moments of pondering, Acacia decided he was clueless and figured it best to just ask. “What kind of egg is this?”

“A Growlithe.”

“A Growlithe?”

“Yep.”

“Wha- how?”

Blaine couldn’t help but take a moment to laugh at the wide-eyed Acacia. Even though he was now a fully educated almost adult, Acacia would still revert to his seven year old state when his curiosity peaked. “Well you see, this isn’t just any Growlithe egg. This is my newest project. It might take a bit more energy at first but if you strengthen your bond with it enough it has the potential to rival even legendary Pokémon.”

“Wow.... a Growlithe.” Acacia repeated once more in awe, not really caring about Blaine’s explanation but just completely absorbed by the notion that he was about to have his own Pokémon.

“Yeah, your own Growlithe. I got a feeling this egg won’t take long to hatch with you around so take this, it’ll let you form a bond as soon as it does.” Blaine held out a shining white premier ball with a red secondary coloring.

There was some sort of magnetism emanating from the egg, Acacia couldn’t really explain it but it felt like a part of himself was in that egg. Subconsciously, he took the ball in hand and brought it towards the egg, and just as the egg drew in Acacia, it seemed Acacia beckoned the egg.

As his hand neared the egg it began to pulse, faster and faster like two highly compatible elements were getting closer to reacting with one another, and just as Acacia pressed the premier ball against the egg, its shell cracked and gave way, allowing the pokeball to absorb the Growlithe before it had ever seen the world.

Forming a bond was amazing, like Acacia had just filled in a missing part of himself. The Growlithe’s energy that had been absorbed by the pokeball resonated with Acacia’s own energy and they began to form into one and it felt like Acacia was able to see visions of the two energies interacting.

Acacia’s energy, provided the kindling, a testament to his plethora of potential that remained untapped as nothing more than scraps of wood without a spark to ignite them. Growlithe was that spark, a torch thrown into the fire. He would be the means to unlock Acacia’s potential. It started as just a gentle fire, but their flames could never be satisfied as it engulfed the kindle and turned into a raging wildfire that sent blasts of hot wind in every direction.

Throughout all this, Acacia seemed completely oblivious to the fact that his body was beginning to overheat from the stress of the bond. But as Growlithe’s fire consumed him, Acacia wasn’t in pain, no, he was alive. And just before he would pass unconscious, he was given a moment of clarity, a tranquility amongst the flames.
Like hot wind from a fire we’ll never stop chasing the top. Windie... that’s a good name. And as Acacia’s real body unconsciously fell backwards onto the floor and Blaine rushed to call an ambulance, the peaceful smile remained unwavering on his face.

Present

“Dang it Windie, you beat me again.” Acacia gasped as the puppy pokemon pranced around in front of him, gloating once again as the victor of their routine morning run up and down Cinnabar’s volcano hiking path. “Can you believe it’s been six months already? Time flies when you’re busy.” He asked Windie as he pet the tuft of fur on his head.

He wasn’t wrong though, the past six months had been busy for the duo. After initially being unable to handle the amount of energy it required to form a bond with his special Growlithe, Acacia resolved to train his energy reserves in preparation for the upcoming Bronze League. Every day since his short stint at the hospital, Acacia trained relentlessly. He was like an actor getting in shape for a role, or rather an athlete who had to refine their physique after being drafted into the pros.

Their mornings consisted of the aforementioned mountain jog, followed by a workout that varied from day to day in a cycle consisting of back, bi, tri, legs, and chest, and at the end of the day Windie and Acacia were forced to use whatever remaining energy they had to battle Blaine until they could physically go no longer. Both trainer and Pokémon had reached their peak fitness level, with Acacia bringing his body fat percent down to just 7% and also enhancing his muscular and cardiovascular strength and endurance. Beyond just fitness, bonding helped lesson the effect of a lot of psychological problems Acacia had just months before.

Yes, he was initially disappointed he couldn’t start his journey as early as he would’ve liked, but he was determined to make the best of it and came out of the experience a new and enhanced version of himself.

“I got a something for you.” Blaine said as he walked outside to greet the two with a huge grin on his face. “I guess it’s finally official.”

“Sweet, thanks!” Acacia chimed as Blaine handed him a small package that he quickly tore open to reveal his official trainer ID. He did little more than smirk before shoving it in his pocket. “We’ve gotta finish up our training first, then we can get registered. Can’t let ourselves start slaking before we even begin, right buddy?” Windie yipped in agreement, causing his trainer to smile. “Good, let’s get going.” He spoke through his grin and headed off to the gym with Windie following close behind.

 

[DarkHydraT]

"Be careful! Those books are ancient!"

"I know, I know. It's going to be fine Hawes, I'd never dare to harm the books here." Ezio said to the man holding the ladder still as he put a particular thick book back on the shelf. "Look at that, stored safely where it belongs. You can breathe again, nothing was torn or bent." He grinned as he descened down the ladder, Hawes letting out a sigh of relief. "I get that you don't want them to be damaged, but a little faith in me wouldn't be misplaced. I've been here for five years, the days of dropping vases are behind me."

"Don't remind me, I still have nightmares of that." Hawes sighed dramatically before Ezio slapped him on his back and let out a laugh, much to the dismay of the older man. Pushing back his glasses, Lenora's husband turned to face the apprentice. Whilst it was true that Ezio was capable of handling the tasks handed to him and he had a lot of interest in ancient history, he could not quite understand why his wife decided to choose him out of all people. After all, he had been caught stealing small items before. To his pleasant surprise though, the museum artefacts was spared from the pockets of the teenager. The first couple of months were tense, but after a while Ezio had proven himself to be trustworthy.

As Ezio tested the gym puzzle, Hawes brought in a package for the boy. "Ezio, there's a package for you." The boy turned around in confusion. "A package? Ah, right. That's probably the Trainer ID I requested, it has arrived sooner than I expected though." He was about to grab the package, but it was kept away from him as Hawes shook his head.

"Eager as always, yet you haven't informed us at all. It is saddening to see. What about your dad? Did he know about this?"

Ezio chuckled at the distress that Hawes showed, he was so easy to mess with. "You're the only one who didn't know, dad and Lenora are in on this. In fact, they're waiting on us in the gym leader room. Come on, let's go." Pulling the book lever, the bookshelf moved across the floor and revealed a hidden staircase. The duo descended down the steps and were greeted with a grinning Lenora and an emotional father. It was clear that the man was conflicted with feelings of pride that his son got a trainer ID and feelings of sorrow that he was going to leave him.

After exchanging pleasantries, the group watched as Ezio got his ID. The picture was a simple headshot without his trusty fedora, as he wanted to be recognizable without it. Looking at the code on his ID, the boy punched it in to get a starter. There were so many different choices, and all of them seemed appealing. Rhyhorn, Sandile, Sandshrew, even an Onix were all available. Ground and Rock types always drew his attention, there were even fossils available! He was so incredibly tempted to instantly click on the Tirtouga available, but he refrained from doing so to fully check the page. That's when his eye fell on what looked like the saddest excuse of a serpentine Pokémon he had ever seen. It had a hood or a clump of dirt on its neck, it was hard to see. Something about this miserable appearance was appealing to him, and Ezio began reading the description of the Pokémon called Silicobra. It apparently was a troublemaker when awake, which was not often as it often just napped in its Pokéball or whatever surface was available to it.

"A Silicobra? Not the prettiest or coolest Pokémon around, is it?" Hawes asked before Ezio clicked on the approval button.

"Perhaps, but I like it and I am the one who is travelling with them in the first place. It'll be delivered to the Pokémon Center, so that's where I'll be waiting."

"Not so fast, young man. You are not going anywhere without these." Lenora gave the boy a C-Gear and an X-transceiver before speaking up again. "This way we can contact you and you can keep us updated. Don't you lose them though, they were expensive."

Letting his dad put his signature fedora on his head, Ezio grinned and pulled the adults into a group hug before heading off to the Pokémon center to wait for his starter. It was a new start, what would await him? He always watched carefully when Lenora or one of the aides fought, but he had yet to get a proper battle in.

 

[=Nightshade=]

Near the coast of Kalos, a rather eccentric-looking girl was furiously scribbling down notes in barely-legible handwriting while reading about the structures of different Pokémon and how the Pokeviruses had afflicted each type. She had been at it since approximately 8 PM the previous night and hadn’t slept at all. This was not an uncommon occurrence for Paige, who often pulled all-nighters because, “What use are the 24 hours in a day if you waste nine of them sleeping?” She was so engrossed in her research that she almost missed the doorbell.... the third time it was rung.

“Oops,” she muttered, dog-earing the page of her book. She took the stairs two at a time before throwing the door open. Her mother was out and her brother was at his lab, so Paige was the only one in the house. “Sorry..... hello, what is it?”

“A package for a... Paige Thurio?” The person at the door was a disgruntled-looking man with a Flabebe perched on his shoulder.

“That’s me,” Paige said. This must be the trainer ID she had applied for a while back. “Do you need me to sign something?” The man handed her a clipboard, which she signed with a neat flourish that defied all logic when compared with her usual handwriting. “Thanks!” she called with a grin as she closed the door behind the delivery guy. She sighed, leaning against the door, and unwrapped a lollipop that was in her pocket. Absentmindedly, she stuck it in her mouth and took the package to the table to open it.

Paige tore the box open and paused for just a moment to look down at the ID inside before taking her Rotom phone out of her other pocket. She logged into the United League’s site, first looking for the Pokémon Project tab. From what she had learned, there were a select few Pokémon that had interested her the most with abilities that would aid in her research — the majority of them psychic types. It wasn’t long before her scrolling came across a Solosis, one of her top picks. She adjusted her glasses as she bit the lollipop in two, selecting the Pokémon and confirming. This should be interesting, Paige thought to herself with a small smile as she clicked over to the Forums tab. Bronze League, here I come!

 

[Retro Master]

“So have you decided on what starter you want yet, Acer?”

Asking the question was Natalie, a rather comely brunette no older than seventeen walking hand in hand with her boyfriend, Jerome. The blonde had some beads of sweat dripping from his head due to having just come from a game of pickup basketball. Strolling beside them was none other than the black-haired boy who the question had been directed at. Acer sauntered down the streets of Lumiose alongside them with a hand in his pocket. He was a bit tired from the game they just played and had other stuff on his mind. It took a short moment for him to respond and he ran a hand through his hair before giving a suitable answer.

“I’m still unsure. Might just go for a random one to be honest.”

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Jerome burst into a chuckle and smacked Acer behind the shoulder. “You’re a dumbass if you do that bro!” Jerome exclaimed, throwing a playful jab at his good friend. As far as they knew, no one had ever chosen a random Pokémon and made it far. Every competent trainer usually picked the starter of their choice from the Pokémon Project or elsewhere. Picking a random Pokémon was, frankly, unwise. However, that wasn’t enough to affect the confidence of his friend, who was quite amused himself.

“Nah. Just watch me. One way or another, I’ll be the strongest.” Acer boldly claimed, surprising no one. It didn’t matter what Pokémon he had, Acer felt he had the drive to become strong. Of course, the couple believed in him, but still liked to mess with him. “Yeah, until you get destroyed by like Siebold.” Jerome’s girlfriend shot back playfully as she tried to hold back her own laughter. Siebold, though he was a member of the elite four Kalos, was considered to be the weakest of the bunch. Of course, Acer just chuckled at the thought of him falling to the famous chef. “No way I’m losing to a cook. You’d never see my face in Kalos again if I did. Just like that one guy who won the conference a while back.”

It wasn’t too long ago when a previous Conference Winner faced the Kalos elite four and lost to Siebold. The guy literally vanished the next day and no one heard from him since. To be fair, he shouldn’t have made it that far in the first place. His opponent in the semifinals just happened to choke against a Slowbro with a Breloom. The collective disbelief of the crowd in the stadium when the opponent used leech seed instead of an attack while Slowbro had used rest was a sight to remember. They must’ve been too concerned about Slowbro waking up that they forgot to attack the Pokémon while it slept. It was no wonder a majority of trainers failed to get past the elite four after winning the conference. The elite four was just on a whole other level.

“Damn. Not being able to see you again would suck though. You’re always welcome to hide out at my place if you like man. My parents don’t really mind who I bring over. Like they’re even letting Nat come on our vacation tomorrow too.” Jerome would be going on a summer vacation tomorrow to Kanto with his family and they were letting Natalie come along as well. This was why they were saying their farewells today rather than next week.

“Yeah I know. As long as it’s quiet at night next time, then I won’t mind staying over. At least then I can get some sleep.” Acer replied to the offer with a bit of mirth in his voice. For a moment, Jerome was a bit confused by what Acer was referring to before chuckling briefly, with Natalie having a more noticeable blush on her face for some reason. The girl soon paused underneath the fading sunlight, causing the two boys to stop as well. “Looks like we’re at my place already. That was fast.” She commented before looking at Acer. “I’m gonna miss you.” Natalie said with a more somber tone as she gave Acer a quick hug, which he returned. “I mean I’ll still be here till next week training with my starter, but yeah, same. Take care of Jerome too on that vacation. He’ll be a lost Rockruff without you.” Natalie giggled in agreement before they separated, giving her boyfriend room to say his goodbye.

Of course, Jerome wasn’t going to let that joke slide even if this was his last time seeing Acer. “A Rockruff? More like a Lycanroc.” Whatever form he was referring to was unknown, but when he continued to talk, his tone was a bit quieter than before. “You know, I heard Celeste was pretty hurt after you two talked. I knew you wanted to become a trainer, but I honestly didn’t think you were that dedicated.” Acer shifted his eyes away from Jerome when he mentioned that girl. He pondered his thoughts before looking back at the blonde. “It was tough, but I already decided this is what I want to do. This is just more important to me.” Hearing that statement caused Jerome a mirthful expression to form on his face. “Cold as always, but that’s cool. If this is what you want, then I’ll support you know matter what. It’s been a pleasure my man.” With that, Jerome and Acer did one last handshake before a quick hug of their own before the couple began to walk off as a flock of Fletchling flew overhead.

Looking up at the brilliantly red and orange sky, Acer could see the glowing sun slowly dipping below the horizon after he bid farewell to two of his many friends he might not see for a while. Soon enough, the fleeting colors of dusk would fade away. Then darkness would fill the sky, only combated by the bright lights of Lumiose City throughout the night. Then a new dawn would begin along with a new journey for himself. This feeling was something he never experienced before. He felt anxious and excited at the same time. The boy didn’t wait much longer to head back to his place. Fortunately, his home was only a short walk away. A few minutes later, Acer had finally arrived near his house and it was there where he found someone else making their way there.

“Oh. Hello there. I’m from the Kalos Postal Service. Do you happen to be Acer Voland?”

Acer stood frozen for a moment, wondering if the thing he had been waiting on for so long was finally here. “Um, yeah. That’s me. What’s up?” He replied, casually greeting the mailman.

“Well, what a perfect coincidence. I have a package here for you. Just sign this please.” Without hesitation, Acer swiftly signed whatever he needed to sign before receiving the package. Once the mailman departed, the boy stared intently at the package. This was it. Not wasting another second, Acer unlocked the door and was met with a cool breeze as he stepped inside of his home. Once Acer shut the door and removed his shoes, he headed for the stairs, but not before a brief interaction with his sister. The usually charming Pokémon Performer was laying on her back lazily on the sofa in the living room, seemingly texting someone.

“You’re home early today, Alyssa. What color are those highlights? White? Grey?” If it wasn’t for her newly dyed hair, Acer might not have noticed her.

“Well, look who’s finally home.” Glancing up at him from her phone, the clean-limbed girl greeted, ignoring his question with a snicker. “Today is probably one of the last times I’ll get to spend dinner with my baby brother for a while. Of course I’ll be here.”

“I’m literally like only one year younger than you!” Acer was quick to remind Alyssa of that since she always liked to bring that up.

“That doesn’t matter. You’re still my little brother. Now come here!” The girl stood up, revealing the rest of her clothing. The clothing was just a white t-shirt with a floral design on it and baby blue shorts. She quickly moved to block his access to the stairs before coming towards him with her arms outstretched and a smug look on her face. Fearing for what he knew she was going to do, Acer moved to the other side of the sofa. Of course, she moved to that angle of escape instead. For the next few moments they moved back and forth on opposite ends of the sofa before Alyssa pulled out a pokeball.

“Hey! That’s cheating!” Shouted Acer, as he took a step back from the sofa.

“Pfffffft! What are you gonna do? Tell on me? Get him Sylvie!” Alyssa taunted her little brother a bit before calling out her beloved Pokémon. A blinding white erupted from pokeball before an Eevee made its appearance on the sofa. This Pokémon has been Alyssa’s starter for about a year now. Alyssa had trained it quite well so it wasn’t a danger to anyone in the house. Well, to everyone but him. If only he had a Pokémon to defend himself with. “Use Baby-Doll Eyes, Sylvie!” Alyssa commanded the little Pokémon. It ran across the sofa to reach him on the opposite end before staring into his eyes. Fortunately, this wasn’t the first time Sylvie had used this on him. Acer was prepared, or at least he thought so.

“Like I’d fall for this… again. Her eyes are pretty cute…”

Once those last words came out of his mouth, Acer knew he had screwed up. It was too late to react once his sister suddenly grabbed him from behind and trapped him between her and the sofa. Acer struggled but could not escape in time. Soon he felt it. A sharp sensation on his right cheek. Alyssa was pinching his cheek and pulling it.

“You weirdo! You’re a weirdo!” Acer yelled as he continued to struggle. With Sylvie on guard, there wasn’t much he could do to her unfortunately. Not that he actually wanted to harm his sister.

“I’m just fucking pinching your cheek. You’re the one making this weird.” Once Alyssa said that, the girl released her grasp and backed up, freeing the scarred boy. As soon as she did, the boy gathered himself and scurried up the stairs. Of course, that was a mistake as Sylvie took it as a game of tag and hopped off the sofa before chasing him. Alyssa just laughed as he managed to scramble up the stairs and into his room before Sylvie could catch him. Once he had slammed the door shut, she remembered to tell him something. “Oh! Mom and Dad are coming later with dinner by the way! Now come back here Sylvie. You scared him off again.” The girl shouted before calling for her Pokémon. Acer stood with his back to the door until the scratching sounds were gone.

“Why is my family fucking insane?”

The boy let out a sigh before heading over to his PC. As it turned on, the Acer finally opened up the package. A smirk grew on his face once he saw his Trainer ID. The first thing he saw was the picture of his face before noticing the seven-digit trainer ID number. With this number, he was now an officially certified trainer. He’d have to put the number to memory later, as trainers would be using it a lot to access nearly all the systems for the United League. First off, however, he needed to choose his starter. Once he logged on to his PC and signed into the website, he located the section where new trainers could select the starter. It was a well decorated logo with the title “Pokémon Project”. Once opened, there were over 100 pages of Pokémon to choose from. Of course, there were filters to narrow down the choice. Unfortunately, none of those filters included Hidden Abilities. It was a bit annoying, since he would’ve liked a Protean Froakie as his starter, but it appeared he’d have to go for it during his journey. Clicking directly to the last page, Acer found himself looking at the random selection. It seemed like they really didn’t want anyone to get to this point. Acer pondered his thoughts for a moment before moving the mouse to click on it.

“Well, fuck it.”

Once Acer clicked on it, a warning notification popped up. It said something like once they confirm this choice, they cannot return the Pokémon for at least a month. By then, the upcoming Bronze League would’ve started, so that wasn’t really an option. After clicking next, another notification popped up. It was a consent form with a place for him to electronically sign. There were a few more of these warning and consent forms, leaving Acer to wonder if this was just for the random selection. Once he accepted the last agreement, a pop up showed up, signifying that his selection had been confirmed and a message had been sent to his profile inbox. Acer navigated to the page and opened the message. It told him the exact time and place his random Pokémon would be arriving. The location was at a nearby Pokémon Center, so he could make a quick run to it later. Unfortunately, he’d have to wait until it came to know which Pokémon it was. After updating his profile, Acer began to scour the site before something major caught his sight.

“How did I forget about the Finals?!”

The Finals for the current Bronze League Conference was today. It was about to start, in fact. He’d been so preoccupied that he had nearly forgotten about the time it started. Acer hurriedly turned on the TV in his room and found the channel where the finals were taking place. The match had just started, with a Salamence and Bewear taking the field against each other. While Acer watched, he decided he could check out the forums as well and locate some potential trainers. They would be doing teams of four. The best teams were usually the varied ones, with trainers carrying different professions that played well off each other, which in turn increased their efficiency. Acer wanted at least one battler on his team to have at least someone to hone his skills with. Besides that, he’d be down with anyone unless they were going to hold him back. Once Acer was on the forums for Bronze rank trainers, he looked around for a thread that interested him.

 

[sSoul]

Currently, Robert was busy taking a stroll, returning to his humble abode in Celadon City after sauntering through the gold lined streets of Saffron. On his way back he took the time to really admire his surroundings such as the lush grass on the right side of the road and the underground tunnel on the left. The teenager was grateful that the rangers were around to make sure that the Pokémon lurking in the grass were nothing above the threat level of the run-of-the-mill Ratatta or Pidgey. After giving a friendly wave to the pair of rangers patrolling the grassy expanse, Robert had entered the City of Rainbow Dreams in full. There were plenty of sights to see and Robert intended to see one of them before arriving home, despite living in there for all of his life. His destination was the Celadon Department Store, not to buy something, but also to check on a friend of his. After taking a couple minutes to reach the shop, Robert confidently opened the door and wended his way over to the receptionist.

"Oh, hey Rob. What'll it be today?" The girl at the desk had a nametag deeming her name as Patricia. She greeted her old friend as she was lackadaisically reading a magazine.

"Well for starters, I'd like a little eye contact and maybe a smile," Robert joked at his friend, a habit that he had picked up when he noticed how downtrodden she usually was.

"Very funny..." Although she tried to keep her tone uninterested, it was clear that she was stifling a chuckle in her delivery. This didn't go unnoticed by Robert, as he cracked a little smile when it happened, "Is this what you were after?" She put down her magazine so she could stare at Robert while delivering a small grin.

"I knew you had it in you Trish. You just had to let it out," Robert let out a chuckle as he congratulated the store worker for her accomplishment, allowing Patricia to let out the chuckle that she was keeping inside, "Anyways, I just wanted to check on you, I'll be going now." As he turned to leave, he flashed a peace sign towards his old buddy, who simply chuckled, gave a little wave, and returned to reading her magazine. Now that he was finished there, he decided that it was finally time to check in with his folks. As he walked home, he passed the Celadon Gym, letting out a snicker when he remembered that Erika had tinted windows installed to address the complaints that her gym trainers were getting about old men staring at them. It didn't take long for the adolescent to open the door and refamiliarize himself with his home. Out of every house in the City, his was one of the larger ones, if only because of the extended background devoted to the breeding grounds of his parent's business.

"Oh look, the dummyhead's back," Robert's pre-teen sister, Marie, yelled sarcastically before checking her Pokégear for any updates on her account.

"Sure did, ya gremlin," The teenaged brother retorted towards the 13-year-old as he walked towards the dining room table and stared at the collection of letters, "Any of these for me?" To his dismay, Marie could only offer a shrug in response. Thankfully, Robert's dad had come back from the breeding yard to answer his question.

"There's one for you, pretty sure it was the one you were looking for," His dad chimed in nonchalantly as he prepared a cup of coffee for himself. Eventually, the adolescent finally found the letter and tore it open without hesitation. Inside was the thing he'd been waiting for the better part of the week: his Trainer Card.

"Yes! Finally..." Robert pumped his fist in enthusiasm as he looked at his card. The picture they got of him was okay, not the best but he's had worse pictures throughout the years. As he put the card in his pocket, his dad walked over to give him something.

"Here's a present for you. Consider it my endorsement of your beginning as a trainer," In his hands was an egg laying in an incubator, causing Rob to gaze at it in fascination, "We had a client that really wanted a shiny Bulbasaur, so we had a bunch of excess eggs. Figured that once you get your Trainer Card, you could get one for yourself." Robert took the incubator gleefully before giving his dad a one armed hug. After that exchange, he went upstairs to his room to reflect on today's events.

I'm finally becoming a trainer. Wow...

He took the card from his pocket and gave it one last look, eventually noticing that he had to sign up for something on a website. Unfortunately, Robert had make an account for this, but it was a minor inconvenience if anything. Once he was signed up, he spent his time familiarizing himself with how the Bronze League worked and any teams that he could join, clicking on a variety of forums to that end.

 

[YoKaiKingEnmaDaiyou]

An hour and a half had already passed as Dom and Barlow were waiting, when suddenly the telephone went off.

Ring Ring Ring, Ring Ring Ring, Telephone, Telephone! Ring Ring Ring, Ring Ring Ring, Tele-

"Hello?" Barlow answered.

"It's peril cliffs! Make sure to warn any civilians to stay away!" it was Keith, "Theres a giant Tyranitar in the area. We are waiting for it to return to the deeper parts of the cliffs!"

Dom froze. He knew what he had to do. It was time to get revenge for his father and his farfetch'd. It was only a matter of time until Barlow had to leave on official ranger business, Dom was waiting for his Gligar to finally arrive. Surely it would arrive soon. Suddenly, in the pokeball transporter on the desk started to whir to life, and bright ball formed. It suddenly stopped glowing, and the brilliant red and white ball sat still for a moment, then suddenly the gligar burst out.

"Gli-Gligar!!" It yelled happily gliding around the room.

It slowly started to get lower and lower, until it hit the ground and started rolling on the ground. It stopped right at Doms feet, looking up at him.

"Gli?" It looked up in curiosity.

"Look i'm returning you to the UPL as soon as I can so you might as well get back into the pokeball." Dom said, looking away.

Gligar sadly walked over to the pokeball and let itself back in. Dom scoffed at it, grabbed its pokeball, and started for Peril Cliffs. Dom walked through Vientown and saw that Grandma Peka was having issues carrying her bags. She was the oldest person in Vientown, and she needed so much help since her Husband died back when the virus first started.

"Ah, Let me help you!" Dom said, running up to her.

"Ohh thank you Dominic. So very nice of you, you take after our father so much." She said as Dom carried some of her bags.

Dom chuckled at the compliment, but didnt respond. He carried her bags and helped her put them all away in her house, but she stopped him before he could leave.

"Hold on a minute, I was going to go down to the beach, theyre frying up some wild caught Staravia and Starly, as well as some magikarp, would you like to come down?" she asked.

"Ah, no thank yo-"

"Don't worry. Ever since the rangers chaced that Tyranitar into the depths of Peril Cliffs, more and more people have started to become less angry with pokemon. So theres no need to worry, you can bring your little friend too." She said with a smile.

"How did you know?" Dom asked.

"I know many things.... but if I wanted to hide that I had a Pokemon id shrink the pokeball before I put it in my pocket." she laughed.

Dom quickly shrunk the pokeball in embarrassment and followed her to the beach. Dom happily put some wings on his plate and walked over to a bench. Suddenly, there were two hands over his eyes.

"Guess whoooo?" said a familiar voice.

"Hello, Marce." Dom said, turning around.

Behind him, Marce, Kamil, and Momo all stood behind him with a smile. They had all been friends since childhood, but Dom distanced himself after the accident. They all sat down at the bench near Dom.

"So, I heard you got a pokemon." Kamil said.

Dom recoiled at the question.

"Don't worry, everyone already knows. You know Old Lady Peka can't keep a secret to save her life." Momo said.

"Yeah, I do." Dom said, continuing eating.

"Well, don't be so gloom about it." Marce said.

"Yeah." Dom said looking down.

Suddenly, Gligar popped out of its pokeball. Dom tried to cover it, but it was already too late. At first, everyone was a bit startled. Gligar looked around and saw the Starly wings. It looked in confusion, and then started eating them. At first Dom was a bit angry, but then Marce started petting it. It was nothing like that day. Dom scoffed.

"I have to go." Dom said, recalling Gligar to its pokeball.

"Wait!" Kamil yelled.

Dom didn't stop.

"I'll do it. I'll beat that Tyranitar." Dom said, tightly clutching the pokeball.

Once he got through Pueltown and up through Union Road, Dom noticed the 2 rangers standing guard. Instead of going the normal way, Dom snuck by them by climbing a tree and hopping from branch to branch as quietly as he could. Thankfully with his prior training as a bird keeper, he was able to sneak past. Once he got far enough, he began walking. He was determined to take down this Tyranitar, even if it meant sacrificing Gligar. Suddenly, the crazed yells of a staravia rang through the cliffs. Dom ran around the corner and saw it. There it was, the Tyranitar had caught a handful of Staravia, and ate all of them at once.

"Get out here Gligar!" Dom said, letting it out.

It looked up at the Tyranitar and back at him, and then back at the Tyranitar. It didnt even seem to notice the two of them.

"I'll show you. ILL SHOW YOUU!!" Dom yelled, "GLIGAR USE SAND ATTACK!"

Gligar panicked but listened to its trainer, launching sand directly at the Tyranitar. That definitely got its attention.

"TYRANITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" It screeched in pain.

The ground rumbled as the Tyranitar charged at Dom, ignoring the Gligar. Dom started to have a flashback. He could see it, the rain, everything. He froze in that moment as the Tyranitar charged at him. Dom snapped out of it and started to run, but it was too late. The Tyranitar closed in on Dom, slashing at his head, leaving two huge scars above his right eye. He tried to keep running but he couldn't see anything. Then he felt two claws push him away. For a moment, he could see. He saw gligar pushing him away,and being caught in the Tyranitar's giant hands.

"Gligar!" It yelled in pain.

In that moment. Something in Doms heart changed. It was like, him and Gligar were connected.

"Gligar! Use Poison Sting!" Dom roared.

Just then, Dom suddenly sent a huge portion of his energy to Gligar, who was seconds away from being swallowed. It was poked in the tongue, and it threw Gligar away in pain. Dom wiped the blood out of his eyes and was hit in the stomach by the thrown Gligar. As it was roaring in pain, Dom noticed something. A Larvitar, trying to help its parent. Dom finally understood. As he backed away in fear, he threw a pecha berry in the opposite direction, and ran out of there as fast as he could.

__________________________________

Dom woke up in the ranger base, he felt something wrapped tightly around his head, it was a bit cloudy in his head. Then he remembered. Dom burst out into the lobby where everyone was sitting watching the Final match of the January Bronze League.

"Gligar!" Dom yelled, voice full of worry.

Just then, something landed on the back of his head and latched itself on. He looked behind him and it was Gligar, who was also bandaged up. In that moment, he was full of relief, more relief than he had ever been in the last 10 years. He learned that he had been found by the patrolling rangers after hearing a commotion in the peril cliffs. They found Dom and Gligar passed out on the trail, and they brought him back and bandaged up. In that moment, Dom and Gligar had built a bond that could never be broken. Full of trust, Dom was finally ready to fight in the Bronze League. It was only weeks time before the Bronze League finally started.

 

[Hecotoro]

The noise of the famous Radio Tower city was specially annoying to the young punk, who was walking under the afternoon sun while wearing sunglasses, trying to have the light bother him the least possible. He crossed the busy street towards the Pokemon Center, where some trainers were already bonding with their first Pokemon. He walked inside, feeling the cool air on his skin made the headache ease a bit as he removed his sunglasses and hanged them from his the collar of his shirt. He looked around for Nurse Joy, until he saw her standing by a table handing out plastic see through boxes with names and numbers written on them to trainers. Inside each box was a Pokeball, probably containing the starter of each trainer.

Ron blew air out and began walking towards the nurse, trying to avoid bumping into anyone who had already bonded as they seemed pretty dizzy, expected from new trainers. The punk rock looking guy finally reached the nurse who greeted him a sweet smile.

"Good afternoon, welcome to the Pokemon Center, are you here to pickup your Pokemon?"

Ron nodded in response.

"Great! May I please see your trainer ID?" She held out her hand while Ron gently placed his ID card on it. "Thank you!"

Nurse Joy carefully looked through the options available until she saw one that matched the information on the ID card. She picked up the small plastic box and handed it over to Ron, with the ID card on the top. He took the small box and thanked the nurse before walking over to a nearby table and setting down on top of it. Once he placed his hand on that Pokeball he would bond with the Pokemon inside. He took a deep breath as he opened the squared container and reached inside. As soon as he placed his hand on the shiny red and white Pokeball, he felt a flow of energy coming from his chest, down his heart and towards the Pokeball, while at the same time feeling annoyed and bothered by the fact that the bond was happening. Terrible day to be hangover Ron thought to himself as he began to feel a headache. He picked up the Pokeball and saw the small Cyndaquil curled up and moving as if having some sort of dream.

"Time for us to meet." Ron pointed the Pokeball at the table and a burst of white light emerged as the Cyndaquil came out.

The small small fire mouse Pokemon shook her head and looked around until her eyes set on the punk looking back at her. She sniffed the air and yawned before sitting down. Ron yawned and took a sit before the fire type and looked back at her, squinting his eyes as he fought the headache and tried to focus on the Pokemon. He didn't know what to say to his new partner, what could he say? He looked like a mess and the energy being consumed probably made things worse.

"So, I got you something." Ron said as he pulled out a black bandanna from one of the pockets in his jean vest. "I figured it would look cool cuz I'm wearing black also."

He held up the bandanna while the Cyndaquil just looked back at him without moving. Ron sighed, part of him wanted to think the Pokemon didn't like him, but he could feel it was more curiosity. The fact that he now had mixed feelings, his and the Pokemon's, made him wonder if she was feeling the same.

"Is that your Pokemon?" A woman's voice sounded behind Ron.

Ron and Cyndaquil both turned their attention to a woman who was approaching both of them. She had dark blue short hair down to her shoulders, a sweet looking face with black lipstick and was wearing a black shirt and blue jeans. She smiled at Ron as she took her sit at the same table as he. The drummer quickly felt his Cyndaquil beginning to get annoyed, the same feeling he got when strangers walked up to him and interrupted whatever he was doing. He nodded towards the girl and smirked.

"Yup, this is she." He leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table, as if to show her not to get too close.

"Its cute." The girl replied with a serious tone.

"SHE is cute."

"That's what I said."

"What do you want Sussy?"

"Can't I come over and say goodbye?" She leaned towards him with a small smile on her lips.

Ron laughed out loud as he leaned back. "I bet your boyfriend would be upset if he knew where you were."

Sussy turned her eyes towards the waiting room and nodded. There was a young man with a mushroom like haircut sitting down. He had a purple eye and was holding his right rib, he seemed to be in pain.

"We're waiting on a follow up from his doctor since a certain someone...." She looked back at Ron. "... thought it would be a good idea to get into a fight with him."

Ron chuckled, remembering the astonished face of the man he had punched the night before. However Sussy didn't seem to think the same as she stood up and crossed her arms.

"Sorry." Ron held up his hands. "We cool?"

Sussy shook her head. "No! You're leaving us for this!" She pointed at the Cyndaquil. "We are finally getting loyal fans, our last few performances sold out! We are finally going somewhere and you decided to do what? Go get killed in a mountain?"

The fire mouse seemed uncomfortable by the way Sussy had began raising her voice, to the point she stood up, ignited the fire on her back and let out an angry cry at the the blue haired girl. Sussy, shocked, stumbled backwards, almost falling down. Ron burst into laughter as he reached over and picked up his Pokemon.

"Sorry, the band was fun, I admit I will miss you guys, but staying cooped up in this city is not something I want." Ron once again set his Pokemon down on the table and took off his vest, handing it over to Sussy. "I won't be needing this anymore, can't walk around with the logo of a band I no longer play in."

Sussy snatched the vest away and looked at Ron with teary eyes. "We had a great future ahead of us." She said before storming off towards the guy in the waiting room. Ron watched her leave before looking back at the fire mouse, who was now attempting to put the black bandanna on. He smiled as he placed it around her neck and picked her up.

"We're going to get along just fine..." He thought for a moment and then smirked. "You were pretty fierce just a few moments ago. Furia, I like that name. Furia and Ron versus the world. I like how that sounds."

Ron sat back down on the chair, starting to feel a bit tired. He exhaled loudly and walked out of the Pokemon Center, letting his Pokemon follow him so they could start getting used to the bond.

"Feeling curious?" Ron looked around and then placed his sunglasses on. "I felt like that the first time I arrived here also. Let's walk until we get tired, maybe grab a drink or two on the way."

Furia looked up and nodded as the two slowly began to make their way down the streets of Goldenrod.

 

[Alternate_Mystery]

Quietly walking into her home's lounge, Ivory found the rest of her family in there doing some pretty generic stuff. Her mom was preparing some extra food, most likely for her journey, while her brother was watching the Grand Festival finale on TV. Ivory gasped when she remembered it was on today, so she sat down next to her brother after grabbing some buttered toast from Jet and focused on the screen. An Alolan Ninetales was pulling off some fancy tricks with what could only be Aurora Veil, much to the opposing Mineshao:s frustration. Slightly turning to face her brother, Ivory started to have a conversation with him.

"Hey, un, Zeph? Mind if I ask you some stuff?"

" ...huh? Oh, sure sis. This about that league you're joining. Bet you wanna be up there one day, with everybody watching you perform your heart out, right?"

"Yep...sure do...but besides from clothes, food, a map and all that stuff, what should I seven bring with me?"

"I dunno...you DO only have a hikers backpack to work with here. Can't really help on that department."

"Oh...ok...and for the other question, you do know Squeek has, uh,done his business on you? Again?"

Zeph looked up and, much to his surprisingly level of calmness, his Tailow had done just that, leaving a white streak in his hair, but had flew off to avoid being scolded. A clever idea, sure, even though the male would never punish his partner for such a natural act. As he went to go wash it off, Ivory began imagining one of these Coordinators locked in battle was her.

Her moves would be fast paced yet beautifully arranged, her Pokemon would keep a steady rate going to minimize the risk of her fainting, and the best part would be listening to the roaring crowd. And she'd have well over 3 months to do it (as far as she could recall) so the odds were looking pretty steady. A small buzz on her PokéNav snapped her back to attention, so she stood up and went for the door.

"OK mom, I think my Pokemon is gonna be at the Centre soon, mind if I go down a bit early?"

"That's your own decision, Iv. From today, you're totally independent on this journey. But make sure to bring the little thing back for us to see!"

"OK, OK, I will. I'll see you then!"

With the opening of her front door, Ivory felt refreshed. Sooner or later she would meet her new Treecko pal and be a true aspiring Coordinator. Taking a few precautions while heading down a custom ramp made for her brother when he accidentally got both of his legs broken while fending off a wild , infected and ravenous Swellow, Ivory reached the bottom with a gentle sigh and began to walk over to the nearest Pokemon Centre, eager to meet her new partner.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

Dolan stood next to a large podium holding a sack of sand in one hand and about to grab a gold statue off the podium while simultaneously placing the sack in its place. This failed when the podium began to shake. A door on the roof opened to which an onix creeped out and began to slither towards Guy. Guy ran down the hallway, avoiding the poison stings that were shooting out the holes in the walls then outside where everything turned white.

That's right. He woke up, and his bonsly named Goju, was curled up next to him.

"*Snore* Bonsly, bonlsy, bonsly, bonsly, bonsly..." Goju went.
"Your really power sleeping there buddy..." Guy commented.
"*Snore* Bonsly, bonlsy, bonsly, bonsly, bonsly..." Goju went once more.

Guy got up, and looked out the window. It was still morning. Just an average day. Nothing too special. Goju slowly opened his eyes, and began to look over at Guy, "Booooooon" Goju yawned before walking over to greet him.

"Bonsly! Bonsly!(Translation: I'm hungry! Let's eat!)" Goju cheered.
"You wanna go outside?" Guy asked.
"Bonsly bon!(Translation: NO! I said I'm hungry!)" Goju said shaking his head.
"Let's go eat!" Guy said.
"Bonsly bonsly!(Translation: You shoulda said that in the first place!)"

The two headed downstairs. His mom was reading her lame old book again. It was her favorite after all. His dad walked over and kissed his mom on the cheek. Guy walked into the bathroom, uninterested in listening to what they had to say to each other. Guy stared himself in the mirror while Goju tried to make menacing poses, only to look adorable trying. Guy heard his parents through the thin walls, they were giggling. Though Guy didn't care to ask what for.

They stopped as soon as guy walked out of the bathroom, "Hey champ! How's... Life?" Hariet said.
"Really? How's life? We were in the same house yesterday" Ford said laughing.
Hariet elbowed Ford, "Errr... What your mother meant to say was... How's... how'd you sleep?" Ford said.
"Fine. Where's breakfast" Guy said.
"Breakfast?" Hariet responded confused.
"Breakfa-" Ford was interrupted.
"Yes, breakfast! Of course. We we're just t-talking about that!" Hariet said nudging Ford.
"Y-yeah! You want sausage?" Ford asked.
"How about bacon or scrambled eggs?" Hariet said.
"I was hoping for oran berry muffins, but that sounds good" Guy said.

Hariet ran to the kitchen to start cooking. Her mismagius hovered over the couch sleeping. Ford's Rhyperior sat outside leaning against a large boulder, looking up at the clouds. Ford looked over at Guy with a stern look.

"I know you haven't been keeping up with your studies" Ford said in a stern tone.
"S-sure I have" Guy said.
"Tell me, what happened in Galar, in 1215?" Ford asked.
"Uuugh... I heard mom call for breakfast" Guy said.
"Breakfast will be done in a few minutes!" Hariet said.
Ford gave Guy an even more serious look.
"Today is my adventure day remember! I gotta get my trainer card" Guy said.

Guy should have got his trainer card a week ago, but had procrastinated getting it. Even though the location was just a block away. The family ate breakfast, and Guy left without too much procrastination. Goju sat on Guy's shoulder as they headed towards their next destination. To pick up his trainer card.

"Your here! and late..." The lady said.
"Yep! and proud of it!" Guy said cheerfully.

The two stood there awkwardly exchanging eye contact. The woman was clearly baffled by his blatant laziness.

"Weeeell... Atleast your honest about it. Arceus knows your gonna need help" The woman said.
"What?" Guy asked.
"Kid... This job doesn't pay me enou- I mean... Enjoy your journey!" She said in a chipper voice.
"Thanks!" Guy said.


He headed outside and looked at Goju, "So where to next?! Stay here in Sinnoh? Go to Kanto?!" Guy said.
"Bonsly!(Translation: I don't know what that is!)" Goju cheered.
"Orre!" Guy yelled.
"Bonsly!(Translation: Can I eat that?")
"How about Hoenn!" Guy yelled.
"Oh my arceus, how about shut the distortion world up!" Some random dude yelled.
"Well damn" Guy said.

Wanting to play a prank on the man, Guy remembered how in one of his favorite movies, the protagonist swung his whip, and it wrapped around the antagonist's wrist. Guy thought that would be funny, but rather than hit and miss or wrap around his wrist, it slapped the man across the hand causing him to drop his coffee. The man howled in pain. Guy wasted no time in hiding behind a dumpster near an alleyway. Its a good thing there weren't any witnesses.

Guy stood in the alleyway nervously before deciding it was best not to stick around for much longer. He went down the other side of the alley way to avoid confronting the hurt man. Guy was still pumped about his adventure. He could either stay in Sinnoh or take a boat or a plane to another region. The question was, which would he do? Will Guy stay in Sinnoh, or leave the region to visit another region as he begins his epic adventure? Fiiind out neeext time on pokémon Sync...

 

[Tortles]

It had been several days since Aurora and her Grandmother had moved into, their new Apartment. Aurora had to spend the last day finishing unpacking on her own as a result of her Grandmother being tired after moving heavy boxes around.

Igglybuff followed her Grandmother everywhere and helped her out with any little thing she needed. The baby pokémon may have been small but she doted on Aurora's Grandmother, almost as if she were thanking her for looking after her and being there the day her egg finally hatched.

Aurora had packed her small yellow bag and put on her winter coat "Grammie, i'm going out! My Pokémon from the league is at the Pokémon centre, want me to get you anything while I'm out?"

The elderly lady called back "Oh no, I'm alright dear, me and Lumi are about to sit down for lunch anyway. You go meet that new partner of yours!"

Upon hearing that Aurora zipped up her jacket and headed out the door, she smiled at her new neighbours who were her Grandmothers old friends and then she headed out into the snowy Sinnoh city.

As she walked she looked over the details of her pokémon on her phone one last time, she had such a hard time picking and even at one point considered taking Lumi with her instead. But she knew her Grandmother needed a companion, someone to keep her company while she was away.

Aurora didn't have to walk far to get to the Pokémon centre, she stepped inside and headed to the main desk where she was Greeted by a Chansey who had been carefully pushing a cart full of Pokéballs back into the main reception area for trainers who had been waiting to collect. Nurse Joy shortly followed and smiled at Aurora, the pair had met many times before given her Grandmother's and her parents previous line of work. She didn't even ask what Aurora wanted she simply opened a draw a passed a package to Aurora and nodded before heading off with Chansey to another room.

Aurora moved to a quiet corner and unwrapped her package, and there was her Poké ball. Aurora didn't wait a second, she pressed the button and in a few seconds her new partner was in front of her.

"Chikorita?" The small green Pokémon tilted it's head at Aurora before smiling and leapt into it's new trainers arms

Aurora beamed with happiness at her new friend "Me and you Chikorita, we're gonna get far I know it!"

Aurora and Chikorita sat with each other for a few minutes before they rushed out of the Pokémon centre to go show Aurora's Grandmother, before setting out on her bronze league adventure.

 

[MegaAbsol]

“Awright, looks like the sun’s lettin’ out. I’ll be awn my way then, pappy,” Mari slung her bag only her shoulder, slightly swaying from the weight of it before she got a grip and stood strong and steady. “Jessie, Maple, see you birds lat’r then, awight?” She nodded with a smile at the two girls nearly reduced to tears, standing at the forefront of the crowd that had come to bid her farewell. “You’ll send word, won’tchu?” Mari grinned toothily at them; none of them knew how to read or write well, except the town elder who had taught them what little he could in the lack of a formal education. “Even better, sugar. If I have my druthers, well I just might could get y’all a regular postal service. May even get those fancy signal to’ors. Get us one of those new telefoons,” She pulled them close into a rough hug as the two broke into wet giggles. The clan elder watched this fondly, waiting his turn to say his goodbyes. “Pappy,” Mari whispered, holding back tears as she let her girlfriends go and walked into his waiting arms; finally letting the tears fall that she couldn’t shed in her friends’ arms. “There, now, Maribelle. You be good, yeah? You hear me? You be safe and happy and you come back any time you need, yeah?”

“Y- yeah… I’ll watch my own. I’ll come back, promise,” She sniffled, wiping her face in his shirt before pulling away, putting on a stoic smile again. She turned to meet more of her friends, elbowing her best pal Hunter in the ribs as he came closer. “Aye, so she says, but watch wh’n she gets to the mainland and forgets about us awl,” He guffawed, much to Mari’s offence. “Aw, push off, ya brat. I ain’t forget you guys, I won’t!” She corrected herself hastily as the elder glared at her worsening slang. “Ye, ye, so you say until you find some better cheeks and bevs down there, yeah?” Hunter leaned closer with a grin, and Mari grabbed him by the collar threateningly. “Ya want me to knock some sense in that dense skull?” He backed up at that, hands raised in surrender. “Naw, naw, damn little bird, ya better nawt be makin’ frends like that down there. They might not be takin’ too kindly to this behavoor,” Mari was the most vicious of fighters among them all, able to take down the tallest of the boys when grappling. Height and weight advantage didn’t stand a chance before her sheer ferocity and force of will. Hunter had once been able to hold her in a bind for a few seconds, and that crowning achievement had earned the insufferable boy a place in her books.

“Shut up, Hunter. Mari, come,” One of the women stepped closer, the closest to a maternal figure that Mari had. The elder woman was especially fond of the pugnacious little child and the village were amused to no end at her antics. She had once gotten a boy stuck in a pot, somehow, and everybody remembered to laugh at the boy running around blindly around the village before someone came to his rescue. Of course, once he turned around to blame his accuser, the girl had slyly snuck off to hide until his anger tided over. Mari gratefully walked into her open embrace, feeling moistness well up in her eyes again but she kept them tightly shut, savouring the warmth of the hug for the last time in hopefully many a day.

“Come, Mari, time to leave if you want to make it before nightfall.” The elder had graciously offered to escort her down to the nearest town, a half day’s hike at their brisk pace. It meant the elder was out of commission for a full day, an offer that was more than generous by their little community’s standards. As she turned to leave, she heard Hunter call out one last time, as though in mocking, “Maribelle Glory Everleigh! We ain’t forget you so you better ain’t forget us! Ain’t matter if you busier than a moth in a mitten, you better ain’t forget us!” which was met with a series of goodbye calls from the village, and a few sobs from Jessie. “Jacket,” Mari called up with a smile at the towering Aggron.

“Aye, he’s been hankering for a walk anyway. And he’d have been madder than a wet hen if he didn’t get to walk you down,” The elder smiled briefly as Jacket rumbled in pleasure. They had taken to briefly chaining the Aggron in the early days after the Darkest Day, fearful of the strength he had shown when fighting off the titans. But the docile Aggron had slowly won over their trust, and while most other children wouldn’t wander near the giant Steel type idly chewing on a rock, Mari was adamant in not letting him have a meal alone and was always sneaking away to him. Thus there was really no other child the elder would have trusted with Jacket than her. Really though, she was always pushing her limits… he rubbed his temples in silent stress as she lightly clambered up the towering pokemon, hands and feet agile and sure, and the weight of the backpack nearly non-existent as she finally settled into a deep groove in his shoulders. “Hehe, onwards~” She called, excitedly kicking her feet in the air, elated at being able to feel his deep heavy breaths and his solid, strong heartbeats for the last time.

The walk down was brisk, the elder travelling surefootedly down the steep mountainside while Jacket rumbled on, taking the rear. He may appear slow as they slowly shambled down the path, but both of them knew that none reacted faster than him when it came to avoiding a stumble, a misstep, a fall. Mari continued rocking herself in her seat, animatedly chatting to any who would care to listen. How she hoped the world would be, what she expected out of the challenge, her starter pokemon, what she would do first, who would come to deliver her package. The elder listened for the most part with a smile, occasionally asking a question or two. “Look at you, Maribelle. You started out no bigger than knee-high to a Kricketot, and now you’re goin’ to be the finest trainer this side of Route 13,” He chuckled appreciatively, eliciting a few giggles from the girl.

“Aye! Jus’ wish one o’ tha girls would’ve come with. Wouldn’ have been quite as lonely,” She smiled sadly, feeling Jacket rumble in response. She patted him hard, knowing he wouldn’t feel it through his metallic armour, and only the loud clanks in the air could convey her appreciation to him. “You’ll be alright, Mari. Remember, you’re Glory’s child after all. Honestly I’m not surprised you’re the one raring to go among us all,” His tone dropped to a thoughtful muse at the end, though Mari could hear the smile in his voice still. “Aw, pappy! Jus’ you wait’n’see! I’ll make some frends and speed through faster’n two shakes of a Wooloo’s tail! Y’all hardly notice I was gawn before I get back!” She laughed heartily, and the elder joined in with a few fond chuckles.

---

“Alright now, watch yourself down there, yeah? And keep yourself in check, you brat you. You’d make a preacher cuss!” The elder patted Mari’s head, and let go with a rough ruffle of her hair. “Well well then they’ll have somethin’ to take notice of, yea?” She grinned, but paused when she saw the older man’s face grow concerned.

“No, really, Mari. People can be… wary of the ones they don’t know. Not everyone is as welcoming as, well, us. They might not want to help you if they don’t know you. And don’t go about making a ruckus. Look, Mari,” He paused, reaching out to put his hand under her chin and pull her face back towards him, only to be met with an unconvinced teenager. “Listen to me, Mari. We’ve managed all these years and we’ll manage a bit more, yeah? Don’t go about taking it all on yourself. Just… have fun and be careful, yeah?” The girl frowned, letting out a slow exhale, as they walked slowly into town. Jacket was left behind out of eyesight, but Mari could still feel his comforting warm aura from afar. She hoped he could sense her too.

Just as she opened her mouth to comment on what the elder had said, a not-so-quite whisper floated to her ears. “Ugh, these country bozos. They’re like bad weather… a pain when they come down and a relief when they go back up…” Anger blazing in her heart, she whirled around, quivering. “Hey! What’s yar problem, huh? Ya got somethin’ to say?!” She roared, rage channelling her voice across the lanes. The woman who had taken no special care to keep her voice lowered looked taken aback, before quickly gathering her effects and shooting a knowing glance at her companion, scurried back indoors.

“Mari, enough,” The elder growled, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her back. The girl was surprised by the violent jolt of energy she felt, and not for the first time she was reminded that despite his age, this man had singlehandedly taken care of an entire village, children included, by himself, in a dangerous territory teeming with powerful wildlife. It was easy to forget under the elder’s smiling visage, but now anger marred his gentle features, and Mari stopped struggling, wilting under his fierce gaze.

“Silence, do you really see yourself going anywhere if you pick a fight with every person who badmouths you?” He rumbled in a furious whisper.

“But she-“

“I know what she said!” His whisper rose to a loud remark.

The two regarded each other silently, as the man struggled to control himself, and lowered his voice again. “I’m sorry to have yelled at you. I know what she said. An’ fact of the matter is we need this town’s support and connections to survive. Without them, yes, without them all, you wouldn’t have been leaving for this journey. So hold your tongue, bird, before you ruin everything that has led to this and more.”

Mari looked like she had more to say, but she swallowed hard, nodded and turned her eyes down again. The two stood there in silence for a bit, as the girl toed the dust, dwarfed by her large backpack.

“Come, you better not tarry. Your package must be here.” With a sweep of his hand, the elder diffused the situation and turned to walk away. Mari glanced aside, eyes half lidded, and followed after him in silent contemplation. She had been prepared, of course. She had been prepared to face some ridicule, some stigma, some sneers and some condescending glances. But she hadn’t prepared for the cruelty of men, the gossip of women, the subtle mind games of half-truths and whole lies of society and the delicate song and dance of diplomacy.

---

An hour later saw Mari sitting at a bench next to the post office, swinging her legs and humming to herself as she watched the world go by. She had to bid farewell to the Elder or he wouldn’t have made it home by nightfall – and night fell very quick this high up. The girl clutched her backpack to herself like a Komala clinging to a piece of wood – it was rather unwieldy, and weighed as much as the girl herself, but she didn’t really notice the weight. She was practicing dialects to herself while keeping her ears perked to the sounds around her.

“Hi, nice to meet’cha. No, you fool! Nice to… meeeet… you… My… my name- my name is Maribelle. Mari- Marie- Marieeebelle…”

She mumbled away to herself as her eyes idly followed the people around her. Women in skirts and men in suspenders loitered past, either engrossed in work or shooting her curious – and scornful – glances. Her hands were busy, fingers drifting and going over and over the name that was carefully stitched onto her backpack by one of the village women. It said ‘Maribelle Glory Everleigh’ and the memory of the bumps under her fingers was etched into her mind like braille. She couldn’t read too well, and would occasionally glance at the post office to see if the letters made any more sense than they did five minutes ago. No, they really didn’t. But now she’d recognize the symbols for post office, at least.

Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair, ruffling the tousled locks, and rested her chin on the bag, once again idly watching people as she savoured the last of the sun rays, dipping behind the mountain peaks now. Pappy and Jacket must be back home by now… or close to atleast… hope they got by safely… Mari yawned widely, eliciting a few disgusted glances from the passerbys and a few murmurs about no decorum, but the girl was feeling especially apathetic and paid them no mind. It was something she would have to hear often… or change… She pursed her lips, running her nails lightly along the bag’s sturdy fabric out of boredom. The package had been delayed, no small surprise in a town as distant as this, but there was still plenty to see.

Hmm… if nothing else… I can stay the night and get back tomorrow morning… if the package isn’t here today… She mused, resting her head on her palm, smushing her eye closed with her cheek. She let out another yawn, before perking up suddenly. Was that the flap of wings? Her eyes wandered to the skies, where just above the solitary electricity tower descended a gigantic Staraptor, it’s sleek black wings flashing in the scant sunlight. The measured but powerful flapping knocked a few feathers loose, one drifting close enough for Mari to snatch out of the sky. Unable to tear away her admiring eyes from the spectacle, she marveled at the beauty of the well-kept Predator pokemon while her hands caressed the feather, feeling how the pokemon might have on a close up. Starly and Staravia were common everywhere, even the farthest reaches of the region like this, but the final evolution was rare, as it was rumored to leave its flock after evolution due to its aggressive tendencies. Predator birds had a tendency to hunt down prey larger than itself, but the pokemon before it made her wonder what prey could outgrow the massive falcon.

She watched as the pokemon landed heavily in the town clearing, attracting more attention from the residents of the sleepy little town. It allowed her to get a better look at the powerful pokemon, rippling with muscle and strength. Hmm, yes, she could feel it, the strength it emanated. It felt similar to Jacket, but somehow so different. She supposed they were as different as… the sky and the earth. She allowed herself an amused huff and watched, wondering what such a well behaved Staraptor was doing here. It showed no signs of aggression and landed very carefully, making sure not to hurt anybody or anything. So engrossed was she in observation that she nearly missed the man slipping off the bird’s back.

He stood out just as much as the large bird did in the dull light. Where the massive pokemon dominated the area with strength and sheer presence, the man was dressed extremely eye-catchingly, in a… very bright blue. Mari had to blink a couple of times and then quickly avert her wide-eyed gaze. While she certainly wasn’t the only one staring at him with her mouth open, a strange sense of awkwardness and self-awareness had washed over her. Something had said ‘this is a man well-traveled, this is a man not native to this tiny little backyard in beyond,’ at the back of her head.

Keeping her eyes trained on the ground, she heard the man walk away from the Staraptor – ah, his bonded partner? A very fine choice for travel indeed. Not many would challenge a Staraptor’s flight, and the robust bird was well suited for long distances, even at night, she bet. She watched with some wistful longing at the large bird, who had begun preening but she noticed it kept a watchful eye over its human. Its eyes sifted over warily around town, and it seemed to glance upwards often, as though expecting something to fall. Rain? It wasn’t quite the right season for it. And in this agrarian little hub, rain in this weather… the crops would never survive the cold.

She followed the man’s path into the post office, taking note of the bag slung over his shoulder. Was he a delivery man? Or had he come to take something? Maybe he was the one expecting? Maybe he was sent from the League to…. I don’t know, check whether all is in working order. Mari had never seen a postman in person, it was usually the adults who headed down the mountain to pick up any special deliveries, like the time where Cecil’s medicine had finally arrived after a fortnight of burning fever. He recovered well, but for a time he was lethargic and subdued, as though the illness had taken something out of him. The other children had had to tiptoe around the quiet child, and Kayla had volunteered to keep watch by his bedside. The two had grown close and were now the talk of the town with their upcoming bethrothal. The memory made her smile, remembering the older children of her family, and her heart ached to see them again, even though it had been less than a day since she’d last spoken to-

“Maribelle? Is there a Maribelle Everleigh here?”

---

Mari jumped to her feet, slinging her bag back onto her shoulders as she scurried closer to the door. The man in blue was just beginning to exit the office again, and she moved to avoid him and enter when she saw him hold a package in his hands with a familiar name on it. He called out again "Maribelle? Maribelle Everleigh, you have a package for-“

“Yes! That’s me!”

The man looked taken aback, stepping away as though recoiling from surprise, as the girl excitedly spoke up beside him. Kids these days, so exciteable. But he supposed it was just the regular response to starting your journey; she certainly wasn’t the first one today.

“Er, Ah mean, yes, that- that’s me, Maribelle. Maribelle Glory Everleigh,” She swallowed hard, reining in her excitement and stepped back, slipping her arms through both straps of the bag. The carefully crafted sentence with perfect local dialect had slipped off in her excitement, and her thick accent had made itself comfortable again, but she had no time to kick herself for it. Was this it? Was it for her? Was it from the League?

“Ah, yes. Sign here please.” The curt request saw the girl practically snatch the clipboard from him and scrawl on the loose, messy ‘Mari’ that passed for a signature from the illiterate girl, and practically trembling from excitement, she accepted the carefully wrapped package from his hands.

“Right,” He glanced down at the details on the notepad, peeling it away to reveal a second page behind that she hadn’t noticed. It was full of tiny text, and just seeing it made her feel dizzy, so she focused on ripping apart the paper wrappings. “It says here that you applied for financial aid, so there should be 5,000 pokedollars inside. I shall stay and verify,” He mumbled, signing off on a declaration form while eyeing the girl’s messy signature, “Your tickets should arrive in a few days after selection, but please expect delays as the weather is frequently… bad…”

He trailed off as both their gazes dropped to what Mari was holding in her hand uncertainly. “…Can I… help you?” The man ventured, hovering closer while reflecting that while she was no make-up laden teenager, she certainly seemed to have problems of her own. “Er, well, see, sir,” Mari blushed deeply, holding the device awry in her hands, fingers crookedly gripping it as though she wasn’t really sure if it was meant to be touched in the first place. “Well, ah, ya the money’s all there, but, eh, what’s this thingamajig?” She held up the pale blue rectangular device, the shiny side towards the man, reflecting his astonished face.

“That’s… your Rotom phone. League sanctioned.”

“Oh! Ohhh a foon! Aye I hear’ of em! Wowee, real pretty, yeah? How’s it work?” She grinned up at his baffled face, and he rubbed his temple in disbelief, exchanging glances with his Staraptor. Today was going to be a long day.

---

 

[ThePlayfulFox]

Avery sat at the table with her parents, eating some cereal. "I hope it comes in today," she stated after she swallowed a mouthful of food. She had applied for the bronze league as soon as she turned seventeen. She had not been so excited for something since she was a little girl going to her first Pokecampers camp.

Her mom gave her a warm smile. "I'm sure you will. Have you decided what you're going to do yet? I know you're in the Bronze League, but that includes a lot of paths. Which one are you going down?"

Avery shrugged. "I haven't decided fully. I guess everything?" She took another bite of her cereal.

Her parents glanced at each other worriedly. "We- thought you had a more concrete idea of what you were doing." Her dad shook his head worriedly. "Just tell me you aren't planning to do something stupid around Pokemon."

Avery looked at her dad. "Of course I'm not! I just want to try all the paths!" Avery finished her cereal.

Her parents looked at each other and her father sighed. "Well then dear, just be careful."

Avery nodded and put her bowl and spoon in the dishwasher and went to sit on the couch next to Buster, her dad's Growlithe. Petting the dog-like Pokemon, she used one hand to pick up the laptop within the living room and streamed the Grand Conference for the Bronze League. Things were looking exciting. One called thier Bewear to use Ice Punch on the Salamence. Avery watched the laptop screen in awe, petting Buster still. She was extremely excited. If everything went correctly, then she would be standing where those two were standing in about half a year.

After a good while, there was a ring of the doorbell. Avery's mom took it, the teen not really caring if her parents got it first. After all, they supported her on this. "Avery! There's two things for you!"

Avery sat up, much more alert of her surroundings. She moved the laptop and ran over to her mom, hoping one of them came from the official league. Her mother handed her something from the Pokecampers first. She knew due to the green seal with a Sawsbuck on it. She was about to tear it open when there was a knock on the door. Her mom handed her the other package before setting the rest of the mail on the counter and answering the door. "Oh! Noah! Come on in, dear." She smiled at the young man. "Let me guess, you're here to see Avery?" Avery grabbed the package and was about to open it when she saw Noah at the door.

***​

Hilda had one foot on the fence that separated her and an angry Tauros with a young man on its back. The man was laughing as the Tauros bucked and rammed the reinforced fence. "Be careful, Harvy!" She hollered to him, smiling. The man gave her a nod, keeping his mouth closed. She glanced down at the stopwatch in her hand. "Eight seconds!"

Her brother leapt off the raging bull, which charged at him. Harvy slipped through the holes in the fence, narrowly escaping implement. He threw his brown hat in the air and gave a whoop as he jumped. "Well, then, Hilda. Now that ya know that it is possible to survive a Tauros, will ya give it a try."

Hilda's mind transported ten years earlier, a Stoutland eating. Not the typical food. She could tell by the sound. It was wrong, but nine year old her had no idea what it was exactly. She moved closer and closer until she noticed it was her mother. She gave an audible gasp and covered her mouth, shaking her head. The Stoutland ignored her, continuing to eat her mother. A gunshot rang across the room and the Stoutland soon fell dead. Her father stood there, rifle in hand. Young Hilda ran to her dad, crying.

Hilda returned to the present, holding her hands in front of her, refusing the offer. "I'm good, Harvy. I really don't wanna be ridin' one like that."

Harvy shrugged. "Alright then. Just know I'm the best on the ranch at it though." He gave her a smug look and crossed his arms. Hilda playfully pushed him, causing her brother to go off balance and nearly fall. She laughed. Harvy entered a mock angry position, balling up his fists after straightening his hat. "Ya think that's funny, you motherless Gogoat? Huh?"

Hilda's smile grew wider, preparing to run from her older brother. He lunged and she bolted, racing to the stables where the Rapidash and Mudstale were at. She flew over the empty fields, climbing and then jumping the fences that was to keep the Pokemon in them. A Herdier ran after her, barking. Really? You're sending Loyd after me before I even get to the stables? Hilda pressed on, reaching the stables and mounting a Rapidash, riding bareback. She had not a lot of control, but this Rapidash was very well-mannered. Hilda was pretty sure she wouldn't buck her or throw her. She used the lead like reigns, flicking them and leading her out of the stables.

Hilda rode the Rapidash to the outer property, looking over a stream in a forest. Harvy had his own Rapidash. "So, you're going to be leaving soon?" Hilda nodded. Harvy sighed. "Well, I'm gonna stay here. I like it 'ere."

Hilda smiled. "I like it here too, but-" She sighed. "I-I- we're only here for a little while. I need to do this, if I'm ever going to fully get rid of-well." She held Felix's Pokeball in front of her. She bonded to him two years ago, and since then she had tried getting closer to the dog-like Pokemon. "Mother... Missy... the rampage... I still cannot get it out of my head. Why can't I get over it?" Her hand fell to the side as she looked away.

Harvy placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey. You're fine. You seriously don't have to-"

"Harvy, this is the best way to get over it," she interjected. She looked up at the sky, judging the position of the sun. "We probably need to get back." Hilda remounted the Rapidash.

Harvy smiled. "If it makes you feel better, you're a lot better now."

"Harvy, drop it."

Her brother frowned and sighed. "Fine. I just don't want to lose you too." Hilda didn't answer.

The two returned to the stable, a large muscular man inside. "Out takin' the Rapidash again, eh?" The two siblings looked at thier father guiltily. Next to him was a Liligant and a Stoutland. Hilda clenched her teeth at the dog-like Pokemon, trying to hide her fear of him. "Well, y'all need to get back to work. Harvy, you get a'goin'. Hilda, I want to talk to you."

Harvy gave her a look and mouthed 'good luck' before disappearing out of the stable. Hilda gulped. "Yes sir?"

"A letter came for you today. From the UPL. Are you certain you want to go?"

Hilda gulped and nodded, her father rubbing his stubble with his large hands. "Well then, flower, I'll give this to you then." He handed her the letter, and she opened it.

There was silence between the two for a second. "I- I was accepted."

Her dad gave a faint sad smile. "I guess you were." He knelt down to meet her eyes. "I was planning on giving you this on your next birthday, but I'm a'givin' this to you now." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small orb. With a press of a button, it expanded. It was a Pokeball. However, it was not a traditional one.

The Pokeball's top half was various shades of pink, creating the illusion that is was a very round rose. The bottom was green and pulled the same trick, being like leaves of the rose. The button and ring was white.

"I commissioned this for your mother. She-she was amazin'. This used to be Princess's Pokeball." He glanced back at the Liligant, his voice becoming strained. "I- she was beautiful. She loved coordinatin', especially with Princess." He teared up. "I want you to have it. It ain't able to catch Pokemon anymore, not without the technology they force us to put in our Pokeballs nowadays. But I think you're gonna need a reminder of home." He handed it to her. Hilda teared up as well and hugged her father, the two hugging for a good while. "Now, I suggest ya get ter work. Don't want the sun to set and nothin' be done." He tilted his hat and the father and daughter went off to work until they were done for the day.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Guy Jonah...~

Guy headed to the city gates. The city ferry was nearby, yet Guy didn't quite wanna leave Sinnoh at the moment.
"Let's head to Jubilife, Goju!" Guy cheered.
"Bonsy! Bonsy!(Translation: Sounds great!) Goju cheered.
guy cracked his whip in the air before leaving Canalave City.
"Will you stop cracking that damn thing! Stupid! Your really not that cool, and the whip is so old school dude. Get a gun" A male voice said.
"Craig, you wouldn't understand" Guy said turning around.
"Bang bang! Dead before you can even lift your whip. Guns are way better, bro" Craig said pointing a finger gun at Guy.
Guy chuckled and got ready to swing his whip.
"Cut it out man! You hit me, and I will jump down there and kick your ass bro! I did it last time!" Craig said.
"You gave me a black eye last time, jerk!" Guy yelled.
"M-me?! You hit me with a whip you punk!! How the heck is that fair?!?!" Craig snapped.
"Sloooow?" A slowking standing next to Craig, let out a yawn.
"Bonsly bon!" Goju cheered when he saw the slowpoke.
"Slow" The slowpoke cheered back.
Both Guy and Craig grinned at each other,
"Your leaving Canalave City to go on an adventure, right? Me too. I'm going to Alola. Palm trees, beaches, beach babes, surfing, island challenges. It's gonna be a blast! Bet you wish you could come" Craig said chuckling.
"Who cares! I'm gonna have the best adventure. Your just gonna look like a burnt krabby" guy said.
"I bet twenty bucks you give up and go back home!" Craig said.
The two continued this for a while. Eventually they split ways. Craig was gonna take a boat to Alola. Guy wasn't about to get on the same boat, cementing his reason to head to Jubilife City.

~Route 218...~

As Guy headed to route 218. There was a fisherman sitting at the docks with all sorts of hooks, lures, weights, bobbles, and tools for fishing. By his side, sat all sorts of plastic containers. Inside those plastic containers were all sorts of bait. From spam, to cereal, to bug products. He had it all. This man was prepared. "Great day for fishing ain't it? Hu ha!" The man cheered.

Guy smiled back, It sure it!" Guy said. The man tilted his hat, and tossed his line into the water. Guy walked down the docks. There was one trainer surfing across the water to get to the other side, but Guy didn't have any pokémon that could surf on water. Plus going on the docks was so much more practical. Guy continued to the other side of the water. It was a nice day. Fish were jumping out of the water, birds were flying by, and there were even pokémon climbing from tree to tree. From the smell of the water to the to the cool breeze blowing wind through his hair, it was a pretty nice day thus far.

"I challenge you to a pokémon battle!" A boy yelled.
Without acknowledging the boy, Guy continued walking.
"Hey you. Stop! I said I challenge you, stop ignoring me!!" He yelled.
"I'm sorry, you mean me?" Guy said.
"Ugh... ugh! Uuugh. Do you see anyone else I'm looking at. You can fight with your bonsly or whatever" The boy said.
"you mean Goju, wait, no. Arceus no!!!" Guy hollered.
Guy cracked his whip on the ground.
"Okay, okay! Oh my distortion world... I'll find someone else to challenge" The boy said.
"Bonsy bonsy!" Goju cheered.

A now contempt Guy headed down his path, once more heading to Jubilife City. He'd be there soon enough. He still needed to figure out what he was gonna do when he got there, but one step at a time I guess. Luckily for him, he had all the time in the world to decide where he would like to head next.

 

[Schrift]

Tomino jerked himself awake in his small single bed. The crash of metal and wood had woken him up from his sleep. Man he just couldn't seem to sleep, that mix of excitement and worry had kept him up ever since he applied to be a trainer. On one hand this had led to him working for hours on end every night ; it also let him create many things in the forge. Tomino's room seemed like a bomb explosion aftermath as he got out of bed. Pieces of metal, paper plains, mountains of clothes and a fallen shelf, scattered his room. He groaned a bit as he looked at the fallen shelf that had woken him. Crap, now I've got to look for my figures again. Screw it, I'll do it after work, he sighed internally. Tomino shuffled over to his wooden blinds as he peeped outside, only to be blinded by the morning sun. "Crap, I'm late", he groaned as he rubbed his eyes. Tomino made his way around to the kitchen, still in his boxers, as he made himself a simple sandwich. After his glorious piece of bread was eaten, he began to get ready to start deliveries.

Tomingo got around to the forge, finding his mother half asleep infront of her workbench. Tomino being the child he is, strolled over and tapped her on the shoulder. Well that was a mistake, as his mother jumped awake. For a split second she balanced her chair as it swung on its rear legs before she inevitably fell on Tomino. The pair landed on the floor with a dull thud. "Normally when people sleep, you try not to be so violent waking them up", his mother giggled on the floor. "What do you mean? It was a simple tap!", he shot back as he got off the floor and rubbed his head. He helped up his mother off the floor, as he dusted off her shoulders. His mother stood at least half a foot shorter than him, with her red hair tied up into a bun. She had the common Saiken traits, from the green eyes to the face dirtied with ash. "Make sure to get back before sun down, alright? And try not to annoy any pokemon, stay safe", she smiled, as she cupped his cheek in her hand. Tomino smiled slightly as he began to leave for the wooden basket with multiple metal crafts, from figures to fences to horse shoes. His father was off today, off to go visit his sister. This just left Tomino with his mother. Tomino picked up his bike and left to go deliver the goods.


Meanwhile
While Saiken was gone to go do his deliveries, the delivery man had arrived infront of the Saiken family household. He looked up at the small house, the cobblestone walls and the wooden roof. The banners that had the family crest on it stood outside the pathway leading to the house. The man had taken almost an hour to climb up the side of the mountain to get to this point. It seemed his skinny legs weren't made for this sort of trecking ; his partnered gogoat was having no issues going up the mountain. He rapped on the front door once, no response. He tried again, no response. "I walked up a mountain to deliver this", he grumbled as he stood infront of the house. You see, normally delivery man would've just left the package here and gone home. But not this guy. No, he was determined to give this into the hands of Tomino. He had no idea that Tomino was out or that his mother was in the forge, which was a slight distance away from the house. His wait was starting to grow, going from one hour to two hours. Then from two hours to three. It seemed like Tomino would never return at this rate. The delivery man was starting to get agitated. He had already returned Gogoat into his pokeball in the first hour. The man had spent around a total of six hours of waiting before he noticed a red haired boy walking up the hill.

Tomino had returned from his deliveries. He had just finished off the last figure to a child almost half way across Hoenn. He stumbled up the cliff as he was preparing to just collapse into bed, though he came face to face with the delivery man. "Who's the parcel for", he mumbled as he stumbled up to the guy. "....are you Tomino Saiken?", he asked, as he looked down at Tomino. "Yea-", Tomino couldn't even finish his response as he had the parcel shoved into his chest. "GOOD DAY!", he shouted outloud, as his voice echoed throughout the mountain. Tomino took the parcel into his hands and walked into the house. He made sure to double lock the door, as he peeped out the peephole in the door. It seemed the man was now having some sort of mental breakdown as he jumped up and down in, like a vigoroth stubbing its toe. For now Tomino tried to ignore him, realising that this was probably on him for making the guy wait for six hours while standing.

Tomino took the box to his room, placing it on his bed as he began to tidy up the place. After half an hour of cleaning and fixing his shelf, the room seemed somewhat less messy. He sat on his bed, opening up his parcel. He looked down at the trainer card at the bottom of the box. "Woah, I've got my trainer card!", he grinned as he lifted up the card in the air. He inspected it closely, looking at the picture of him with a half ass smile.This was one of the rare times that Tomino had showed any sort of emotion. He looked down at the card, then at the numbers.He was quick to grab his Poketch from his work desk as he began to punch the numbers into the United League's trainer app. He spent some time on his profile, though he was quick to finish as he familiarised himself with the rules. Then he came to the moment he was hoping for, picking a partner. He began to scroll through the list of pokemon.

Man it was harder than he thought, there was so many pokemon he wanted to choose. It was starting to get slightly difficult. Tomino left his room to go get a bowl of cereal, though as he returned from his little snacking he stepped directly on one of his figures. He let out a small yelp as he hopped around. Good thing this wasn't one of his sharper figures. He lifted up the little Aron and examined it. This gave him an idea. He returned to his Poketh as he began to search for his new partner.

 

[RenzFlintrock]

Noah's eyes shot up from the letter in his hands when the door in front of him opened. It was Avery's mother who answered, inviting him in with a smile. He responded with a wide grin of his own, and then stepped inside as he had been invited to. "Thank you, Mrs. Carpenter! Yeah, I was looking for Avery. Uh, did the postman-" He cut himself of as he spotted Avery and the package in her hands. "Nevermind!" His smile widened and he gave a fist pump with his free hand. "Hey, you got one too! Awesome! I waited to open mine until I got here."

As he spoke, he walked over to her, and also began picking at the package in his hands. After a few seconds of fiddling with it, he was able to pick a small flap loose from the adhesives that bound it. From there, everything else unraveled with comparative ease. He plucked out the small card that meant so much, and after a quick pre-emptive inspection tucked the loose bits of paper from the packaging into his pocket to throw away later. He didn't notice the one loose scrap that slipped from his pocket and fluttered down to the floor, his attention was focused on the card. It held a picture of himself, his hair styled more neatly than usual and a slightly awkward smile on his face, as well as his information, and most importantly, his Trainer Number.

The boy stared at it, slightly in awe. And for a good reason: after dreaming of being a Pokemon Trainer practically his whole life, after watching endless battles and memorizing strategies, and after fighting for years what felt like a losing battle against his parents for their permission to get a Pokemon, this little bit of plastic covered in letters and numbers was the key. With this, he could finally go on a journey and engage in fierce battles, discover new places and make friends with all kinds of Pokemon. He could finally do what he had always wanted, all thanks to this proof of registration resting in his hands.

With a grin, he held it out so that anyone who might be looking could see, whether that was Avery, her mother, or even Buster. With his other hand, he reached into his pocket to pull out his cellphone. It wasn't much, just for simple calling, texting, a few apps and internet access. But the latter was just what he needed, now.

He typed in the code to unlock the phone and swiped the screen open, and then pressed the icon for the United League's app. He had downloaded it several weeks in advance, but there wasn't much he could do on it until he had an account... which wouldn't take long to get now. Holding the ID card between his ring and pinky fingers, he waited for the application to launch. Once it had, he quickly typed in a username and decided on a passcode. There were a few more steps, of course, but they didn't take very long, and soon his account was fully functioning. He nearly went straight to the forums now that his account was ready, but instead tucked his phone back in his pocket and turned to look at Avery. "Do you want to look at the starter options together?" He queried, with the smile still on his face.

 

[JadeStar]

Akane rested her head on her desk, finally falling asleep after a long night of trying to overcome her lack of inspiration to draw. She had managed to doodle a Pikachu flying with a bundle of balloons tied around its waist. She loved the little adorable Pokemon and dreamed of having her own, which is why she had finally applied for a chance to get one. She had been so excited thinking about her journey until the night before when she figured out she couldn't think of something to draw! Finally though, when the sun was beginning to rise she had drifted off into a dream about talking cupcakes who ignores her because they were playing Minecraft, that made her upset because she loved cupcakes.

Knock knock!

Akane lifted her head suddenly, cleaning the drool from the side of her mouth and looking down at the ruined drawing of a Pikachu. She looked around trying to figure out what had awoken her.

Knock Knock!

Akane was sure now that someone was at the door. She quickly rushed downstairs, jumping over the couch and pulling the door open, fixing her hair in the process.

"Are you Ms. Akane Ito?" The mailman asked while holding out an envelope.

"Of course I am." Akane took the package and signed the form quickly. "Thank you!" She closed the door without waiting for a response.

Inside Akane threw herself on the couch and the couch and started to open the envelope.

"Who was that?" Akane's mom asked while she entered the room.

She was an older looking version of her daughter, with longer red hair but the same peaceful expression on her face.

"This!" Akane pulled out her trainer card and held up so her mom could see it. "How is it? How is my profile picture?"

Her mom took the card and examined it. "Well, you used the right lense, the light is perfect, but you could have smiled more."

"Mom!" Akane reached out and yanked the card away to look at it herself. "I had to look serious, this is serious. I want people who hire me in the future to see I am a professional."

Her mom smiled and patted her on the head while walking away to the kitchen. She began to pour water in a kettle then placed it over a small fire on the stove. Both daughter and mother always began their day with a cup of tea and some biscuits. They were always quiet during the process, even on such an exciting day for Akane.

"I'm going to get a Pichu, the first one I see." Akane said while sitting across her mother at the kitchen table.

She had already registered and was looking through the list of Pokemon she could choose from. She thought they were all cute, but they weren't as amazing as Pikachu. Specially the ones she had seen at the Vermillion GYM. Her Pichu was going to be even more amazing and help her capture pictures of even more amazing Pokemon!

"Found it!" Akane called out as she selected the picture of a Pichu. "It's a girl also, I can't wait to meet her."

"She looks adorable." Her mother leaned over the table to get a closer look. "You should call her Michi."

"Why?" Akane didn't looked happy with the suggestion. "I was thinking about Cupcake."

Her mother shrugged and sat back down before drinking some more tea. She always gave Akane some sort of advice and when her daughter didn't seem interested in taking it, she would shrug and pretend she didn't care. But Akane knew better and so the little Pichu had already been named Michi before she even arrived.

"I'm going to go pack!" Akane stood up with a burst of energy, something rarely seen on her except for that special day, and ran up stairs.

"Don't forget to shower!" Her mother called out after her.

Akane rolled her eyes as she placed her new Rotom phone and trainer card on her desk over her drooled drawing of a balloon flying Pikachu.

 

[Alternate_Mystery]

After walking down her home's ramp, Ivory had began her short walk to the Pokemon Centre. It wasn't too far, so she had nothing to complain about there. I mean, she had enough stamina in her from living in the treetops all her life. She was also surprisingly calm for her situation, especially since she was about to meet her first Pokemon that would begin to form her perfect Contest team.

With the glass doors sliding open as she entered, a Chansey walked over to her and lead her to a small box of Pokéballs, grabbing one with her name written on it and handing it to her. Well, after Ivory had shown her Trainer ID of course. This Chansey must have been pretty skeptical, but that was fine. Now knowing this was the same Treecko she had requested earlier today, the young girl walked outside, sat down, and clicked the small button on the ball.

From a light blue beam of light, the little Wood Gecko emerged. Its tail was a bit chipped and it looked at Ivory with distrust in his eyes, but she didn't mind that. Extending a small hand to it, Ivory attempted to ease it's nerves about having a new partner. Softly and grudgingly, the Treecko placed his hand in Ivory's and the female just...held it for a few moments. You know, just to say that she wasn't gonna hurt him.

While this was happening, new nickname ideas came softly flowing into the 17-year olds head. It seemed untrustworthy, maybe Thorn? No, too generic. It's chipped tail gave him some spunk, so perhaps Chip? That sounded wrong too. But a small, muscle like tense in said tail got Ivory to settle on a name. After gently clicking her tongue to gain his attention, Ivory made her choice.

"Hey bud....I'm gonna call you Flex...okay?"

Seeming rather satisfied with that idea, the newly named Flex nodded with a slight chirp, going along with it happily. It made Ivory smile as she carefully picked up Flex while standing up, finding a bit of a predicament with this situation. She'd have to open the door, but she didn't want to risk hurting her barely formed bond with Flex, so she just stood there awkwardly and hoped for something to happen. Maybe her mom got the door? Would that dumb Tailow of her brother's help out?

Actually, it was neither of them. Because the small Wood Gecko stretched his arm out and pushed the door open for her, making Ivory sigh in relief and pat his head with her finger while walking inside, pretty excited to show her mother and brother the new ally she had made for this journey of a lifetime.

 

[Godjacob]

The sun seemed to shine bright in the early hours of the morning, not an uncommon site on Melemele Island but still one to be grateful for even in these more trying times. While the way in which people and Pokemon interacted had changed considerably since....that incident, the spirit of Alola remained as strong as ever. Something that seemed to reflect in the light that still shinned on the islands even to this day and it allowed for the passions of those to hold strong even as the world had changed around them.

"Mnnnnnn.....man, it is way too early..."​

This, in its own way, was reflected in a young trainer to be. A yawn escaped the room of one Allison Morrison, better know by those close to her as "Ally." The Hau'oli City native stretched in her colorful pink & black pajamas, but once the daze of the early wake up had faded a large smile crossed her lips. Today was the day, the one she had on her mind everyday for the last two years; no, the one she had dreamed of since she had been a child. Today was the true beginning of her own Pokemon Adventure, and while the state of the world had made that more daunting than it had been in generations past that had done nothing to belittle her own excitement.

"Alright, today the world shall see the debut of the next big Poke sta....aaaaahh!"​

She had attempted to dramatically pose on her bed before stepping off, but her foot had been caught on the covers so her attempts resulted in her having planted her face firmly on her bedroom floor. A minor groan escaped her lips, but thankfully she had managed to avoid anyone catching her embarrassing fall as she dusted herself off and prepared to change for the big day.

"Ally! Breakfast is ready!" A voice called out, an older woman's voice which had been none other than her mother, as Ally had just finished adjusting her hair in the bathroom mirror before she grinned and made her way down the stairs. Ally of course had already packed her bag the night before, much as her parents had their concerns about this entire ordeal they tried their best to support their daughter and helped her prepare for what was to come.

"Pack it for to go, I gotta get to the Pokemon Center quick!" Ally said as she worked to slip on her shoes as she seemed to be in a bit of a hurray as her mother seemed to understand; already having worked to put the toast and scrambled eggs into a carry bag which she passed to Ally who took it and a bottled water with a smile. "Thanks mom, you are the best~!"

"Now remember what we talked about! Once you get your ID and know your partner, come right back here and we head over to Iki Town for the ceremony. Understand?" Ally's mother stressed though her daughter already had been by the door but had stopped and gave a knowing nod to her mother; course, it had been her right to worry but Ally of course knew what she was supposed to do and simply smiled her way.

"Of course mom, you don't need to worry." Ally said back, and with that she raced out and headed into town eager to get to the Pokemon Center fast as her legs could carry her, though after she had left her mother let out a sigh just as an older man walked in newspaper in hand as he placed the other hand on her shoulder.

"You knew this day was coming, we have to do our part and support her." Ally's father remined, as Ally's mother seemed to nod as she understood the truth to that, but still...

"I know, just when she says not to worry, that's when I worry the most..."
​

Inside the heart of Hau'oli City, Ally had already moved from her home and raced down the sidewalk at an ever frantic pace; naturally she had been an active girl most of her life and had developed a credible running speed though that had not done much to make her a peaceful presence as she nearly rammed into one pedestrian which only a timely jump on Ally's part had prevented.

"S-sorry!"

"Watch where you are go...ah forget it..."

Ally sheepishly advanced on, and eventually made it inside, and thankfully the path to the Nurse Joy behind the desk had been clear as she dashed almost leaving a cloud at her feet before she had come to a stop and took a moment to catch her breath as she tried to get her urgent request across.

"I-I....*pant*....I came...*Pant*...is there a...*Pant*....is there a...*Pant*...sorry..." Ally said, as she quickly reached into her bag to take a big sip of her water as the nurse looked on with a bit of sheepish concern before Ally caught her breath and worked to properly outline why she had come here. "My name is Allison Morrison, i-is there a package for me here?"

"Oh yes of course! But one moment please." The Nurse said with a smile as Ally sighed in relief as she moved to the back and Ally waited for the package she had anticipated to be brought to her. Soon, she'd get her own Trainer ID and then...then she'd have to make one of her biggest decisions, who would be her partner from here on out.

What had been in truth a minute or so felt like an eternity to the young would-be trainer, but soon enough Nurse Joy with a Chansey by her side emerged carrying a packaged marked for herself as Ally had taken it and expressed her gratitude before she worked to cautiously open it. Sure enough, she was soon face to face with her own literal reflection as a laminated ID card greeted her face to face as she clutched it with shaky hands.

It was here, it had been in her hands. Ally struggled to catch her breath but she worked to calm herself down. This was just step one, a big step, but she had to make use of this now. Quickly she activated her Poketch and scanned her Trainer ID through it once he had logged into the United League's trainer app. Everything on it from profile picture to other stuff was cosmetic goods she could edit later, she first focused on the most important feature.

Project Pokemon.​

Ally had felt the sweat drip, this would allow her to select her partner Pokemon which was no small choice, she had thought over what she'd like over and over again but always seemed to flip flop on what she wanted. As she scanned the seemingly endless items, she wondered just what egg nay what partner was right for her, till her eyes soon came across something that just seemed to light a spark within her.

That, was Pichu.​

 

[DarkHydraT]

Ezio waited in the Pokécenter for his Pokémon to arrive when Nurse Joy spoke to him. "You are Ezio Farello right? Your Pokémon just arrived. It is advised to be careful when bonding with your Pokémon, as it can be quite taxing on the body."
It was unnerving info, but Ezio was confident in his physical condition. Besides, what was the worst that could happen? Grabbing the Pokéball, he expected to maybe feel a sharp sting as if he cut himself on the page of a book. What he didn't expect was the sudden drain of energy, causing him to stumble and forcing him to sit down as to avoid injuries.

Nurse Joy was not kidding when he said that the bonding was impactful, this was exhaustion unlike any that he had felt before. Ezio opened his mouth to make a comment, but quickly closed it as he felt his breakfast rise up. The bile was awful to swallow down, but he was not going to vomit all over the floor. That was just bad manners. Eventually the nausea died down to a bearable level and he could talk without trying to hack his guts out.

"If you feel steady enough, feel free to use the PCs that we have at our disposal to meet other trainers. If you feel like you need to throw up, the toilets are right there." Nurse Joy pointed to some stalls to the left of Ezio who wiped his lips as he got up.

"Thanks, Nurse Joy. I believe I'll be okay for now." The Ruin Maniac smiled before stumbling and finding his feet again. Sitting down at the nearest PC, he logged in on the UPL site and went to the forums. Making a new forum called 'New trainer looking for traveling friends', he wrote the opening post and waited for reactions. Surely someone out there was also looking for friends and lived in Unova, right?

 

[Godjacob]

Ally took a deep breath, she had though this over long and hard, but the second she had seen the Pichu she knew that was what her heart wanted, and so she'd make her selection. Course, it wasn't so simple, as there was a couple options for the Pichu, as with a few Pokemon on the selection, one that designated if it was from one region or another. Naturally, Ally selected a Pichu native to the Alola region as she figured for her partner to be among the home town breed would just add a personal touch to things.

The brief loading after she made her selection caused nerves to bundle once more, she had no idea why. Guess she just worried that even if it seemed she hit the right button she somehow messed up, but that worry faded quickly as it seemed to process her selection which caused a sigh of relief to escape her lips. A notification that read "Your Pokemon shall arrive shortly to your nearest Pokemon Center" showed as Ally had lacked the ability to hide her excitement. But given this would take an unknown amount of time, Ally decided to pass it as she worked to update her account.

Ally worked to adjust the rest of her profile on her Poketch. She had to make it presentable if she was gonna be seen as viable for performances once she had began to pursue her career passion. As such, she made sure to select the best photo of herself, in one of her more stylish outfits if she had to toot her own horn; sky blue dress with white diamonds that sparkled in the light complimented by polished white heels. She had a pair of sapphire earrings on display, and seemed to fashion some red lipstick for the shot and she figured that was as good a profile pic as possible so she entered it. She then worked to enter her contact information, her personal number and then that of her father as an emergency contact while she filled out a full bio.

"Miss Morrison, I have something for you~"​

 

[ThAtGuY101]

~Guy Jonah...~

As Guy continued on his way to Jubilife City, another man walked past the young trainer from earlier.

"I challenge you to a pokemon battle! I hope you have pokemon!" The boy yelled.
"Okay..." the man said.
The boy sent out his pachirisu.
The man looked at the pachirisu for a moment before sending out his nidoking.
"Oh Arceus no. Dear Arceus noooooo!" The boy's voice faded into the background as Guy continued walking down his merry path.

"Do you see those buildings? We're almost there!" Guy said.
"Bon! Bonsly!" Goju cheered.
An older gentleman waved at Guy as he walked by. This was definitely where he wanted to be. At least for now that is. Guy was relatively fickle and changed his mind a lot so randomly deciding to travel to Hoenn or Kanto for no reason wouldn't be outta the question. The suspense...

Moving on, Guy continued to walk down the sideways. Big towers to his right, and across the street. Flashing lights, and tons of people. He was stopped when he bumped into a large well dressed man. The man turned.
"Aren't you in a hurry? Have you heard of Pokétech Co.?" The man said.
"Errr, yeah... You guys got tv commercials! They make those cool gadgets and stuff"
"Amazing! If you can guess these riddles correct, I'll give you a free coupon for a poketech watch!" The man said.
"For real?!" Guy said.
"For real" The man said.
"No... For real, for real?!" Guy said in disbelief.
"Yep! For real, for real... Riddle me this... What berry helps deal with paralysis?" The man said.
" Pech-... Cheri berry!" Guy said.
"Correct! Next question, what pokémon does pichu evolve into?" The man asked again.
"Raich- Pikachu!" Guy said.
"That was a close one... but... Correct! Final question... What stone does one evolve a growlithe with?" The man asked once more.
"Easy! Heat ro- I mean fire stone! Final answer!" Guy said.
"You are..." The man paused.
"..." Guy.
"..." The man.
"..." Guy.
"Correct! Here's your coupon. The building is right over there" The man concluded.
"How cool is thaaaaaat?!" Guy said.
"Very" The man said.
"Bon!" Goju cheered.

Guy headed over to the building. The glass doors slid open as Guy approached. A cool breeze slapped him across the face as the door opened. They had the air conditioner on, and it was nice and cool inside. Guy went to the front desk, "Good morning!" The woman said. Dolan smiled before walking over to her.

"Uuugh... I got a coupon" Guy said holding out the coupon.
"A coupon...? Ah yes... Give me a second" The woman smiled before pressing a button.
"Hello... Can you send one of our pokétech watches down. Oh wait, I didn't ask you what color you wanted... What color do you like?" The woman asked.
"Gimme yellow please! Yellow please, miss..." Guy said.

The woman nodded then spoke to the intercom asking to receive a yellow one. Guy stood there looking around when a man with a a lab coat and thick glasses held a box in his hand walked over. He looked at the woman, then looked at Guy. "You must be the trainer, coupon, huh? I see you met with our president then... Take good care of it" the man said.

"Thanks!" Guy said opening the box. He obviously wasted no time putting it on. Holding his hand in the air showing off his watch. It fell off his wrist. Everyone's hearts dropped at the same time when this happened. Guy nervously juggled it around. He forgot to fasten the watch. This time he fastened it before holding his hand in the air, "Nice!" Guy cheered.

"Please don't do that again" the man in the lab coat said.
"Yes...What he said..." The lady said trying to maintain her smile.
"My bad" Guy said.
"bonsly?(Translation: What is it?)" Goju muttered.

 

[Retro Master]

“I guess I don’t have to worry about going anywhere now.”

While scrolling through the forums, Acer had found some posts on a few threads where people mentioned they had received their Pokémon without having to leave the comfort of their own home. This information led Acer to go back to his profile page and find the Pokémon section. Then he was able to locate the section that had the information on his current request. There had been an option to have the starter be sent directly to his house. Fortunately, the Pokémon hadn’t been sent to the center yet, so the option was still available. Considering the finals of the conference were still going on and that it would be time for dinner soon, Acer figured it might just be best to have the Pokémon be delivered directly to him. It was a shame since he enjoyed seeing the sights of the city at night. The dazzling lights of the Lumiose City gym most certainly lit up the night sky by now.

After clicking the option to have the pokemon sent to his house, Acer leaned back in his seat and turned to face his TV. The battle between the Salamence and Bewear was quite fierce. Though the Salamence had been damaged by a super effective ice punch, it still firmly withstood its ground. The red-winged Pokémon erupted into a deafening roar, louder than even the thunderous crowd of thousands screaming their lungs out. Acer could see the ground beneath the mighty blue dragon quivering underneath its fearsome power. As the earth violently shook, cracks soon spread like a wildfire while a bluish aura began to form around Salamence.

On the other hand, Bewear leapt into the air, the earth shattering due to its force. One of its arms began to glow a shade of orange, presumably for a fighting type attack. The Salamence saw this and burst upwards into the sky, with the blue aura around it having been shaped into the silhouette of a dragon. Once Salamence came close, Bewear brought its arm down to meet its opponent square in the face. The clash between Salamence’s dragon rush and Bewear’s hammer arm created a loud boom. A large shockwave followed and hats flew off the heads of many spectators as they watched in awe. Everyone in that jam packed stadium was blown away by what they were watching and wanted to see which Pokémon would come out on top.

However, it wasn’t only the Pokémon taking place in this battle. No. Downwards on the field were both of the trainers. Both of them panting, as they watched on. While the moment may seem a bit much, with the stakes so high and the overwhelming stress on their bodies, there was something Acer was certain of. Their spirited cries to their Pokémon. The shouting of strategies and yelling of commands. Questioning if their Pokémon were okay and if they could continue. Those little grins when their partners let them know they could still fight. That’s right. They were enjoying this battle too.

“Acer! ACER! Food is ready! I even told you to be ready!”

A loud banging on his room door and the shouting of his sister interrupted the intense focus he had on the battle. It was only then did Acer realize he had been standing up. The teen had only been watching the battle on TV, yet he was still so enthralled by it. Soon enough, Acer would be standing on that battlefield. He could only wonder what that moment would feel like. Would he experience that same thrill? Of course, standing there just thinking about it was a waste of time when he could go experience it himself. Acer glanced at the battle on TV one last time before swiftly exiting his room. He hurried down the stairs, hopping off the last step, before turning to the kitchen where the rest of his family awaited him. Well, everyone besides his sister.

“Hey Mom, Dad. The food smells great. Also, what the hell? Alyssa was telling me to come down and she’s not even here.”

Acer greeted his parents and commented on the mouthwatering aroma of the food before noticing his sister was missing from the table. Why was Alyssa yelling at him when she wasn’t even coming down herself? It annoyed him a bit. Of course, his parents weren’t bothered by her tardiness in the slightest. They even had an excuse ready for her.

“Language and leave your sister alone. She’s a busy woman now. Becoming Kalos Queen and aiming to change this imperfect world is a tall task after all.”

Hearing the last part of the explanation from his mother caused Acer to mentally roll his eyes. He was grateful she hadn’t gone on a whole tangent on how corrupt the world was or something. Those were the type of people his parents were. All they needed to hear was one thing about the current state of the Pokémon world for them to go off on a lecture on the beliefs of infamous organization leaders like Cyrus or Lysandre and why their ideals should be followed. Apparently the world would be better off if Pokémon and the people that sided with them were wiped off the face of the planet. That’s what they tried drilling into his head ever since he was in child. They wanted him to work towards those goals. As a little boy, Acer might have wanted to make his parents happy and achieve those questionable things, but now that he was older, there were other things he had his mind on. Like competing in the United League. Whether or not Acer agreed with them now was irrelevant since their ideas were just unrealistic.

“Sorry! I was getting some stuff figured out for next week’s showcase. I need to get that Pokévision uploaded too.”

Down came Alyssa, apologizing for her tardiness before she took the seat to his left at the dinner table. Acer hadn’t noticed before, due to her wild antics, but she definitely looked tired now that he had a chance to take a closer look. To anyone else, Alyssa probably looked perfect, but as her brother, Acer could notice the small things even if he didn’t get to see her all that often. It was true that she was always quite busy. Alyssa was usually away from home, doing showcases and making Pokévision videos. He had seen her videos featured in the Best 10 Pokévisions multiple times in the past year and that couldn’t be a fluke. She even had a pretty decent following to the point where he was noticed in public as Alyssa’s brother at times. It was annoying but weirdly cool being the sibling of someone popular at the same time. Of course, flipping the script on her would be even better.

“What are you looking at? If this is about earlier, there was nothing else to it. We’re blood related, so don’t even think about anything else you weirdo. Have some boundaries.” Alyssa had caught his lengthy gaze and seemed to misinterpret it in a completely wrong way. Of course, Acer was quick to deny and correct her assumptions. “Ew, no! Never as long as I live! I was just thinking being called ‘Acer’s sister’ has a nice ring to it. Like when I win the conference in a few months.”

Both of their parents chuckled as they heard the banter between the two siblings and confidence their son had. It seemed Acer already believed winning the conference was a certainty. While the confidence was applaudable, it could come back to bite him. That would certainly be terrible. A horrible outcome for the ideas they had in mind at least. It hadn’t escaped them that their children didn’t seem as invested into the ideals they had been taught all their lives. At the very least, Alyssa was making good progress towards becoming Kalos Queen and they could use that platform given to them by the potential stardom of their daughter for their own purpose.

“Wow. That hurts. You hate me that much?!” Alyssa pretended to act hurt by covering her face and making some fake sobbing noises. Acer just sat there, confused about what he should’ve said, before she ended the charade with a grin. “Just kidding! Also, I don’t even remember who won the last conference, so you’re still gonna be irrelevant even if you do win. You know what, ‘Alyssa’s irrelevant brother’ actually has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

The performer snickered after telling him her suggestion. Of course, Acer just scoffed at the notion of being called irrelevant after winning the conference. After all, he remembered most of, if not all, the past victors. He’d know the current bronze one in just a matter of time as well. The TV in the living room was on and, fortunately, Acer had a good angle on it from where he was sitting. Seeing as the sibling bickering seemed to stop momentarily, their mother took the time to speak up.

“We really do want you to make it far in the United League, Acer. Winning the conference is a good step in the right direction too. However, I think it would be wise if your main priority was to focus on rising up the ranks as fast as possible. As your sister alluded to, being the conference winner in the Bronze League won’t give you much recognition. If you really want to become known as a strong trainer, you need to aim for the Master league and above. Being the first to do that in your class of trainers will certainly go a long way. We also know you might not as strongly believe in our beliefs, but please be sure to keep them in mind during your travels. This world is cruel and merciless. Pokémon will attack you on a whim. The only thing you have to keep them under control is your synchronization bond, and even then, they’re just using your energy to fuel themselves. You might not believe us now, but there will come a time when this world will face a great calamity. Then a choice will have to be made. Do not forget these ideals we have taught you and strive for the creation of a new, perfect world. That is your purpose. Everything else, such as this League is only meant to distract you and everyone from enacting change. Do not be fooled by that trickery, please…”

The woman’s voice shook before his father grabbed her trembling fist to calm her down. His mother had gotten a bit too passionate about her beliefs once again. Acer, meanwhile, had just been watching and listening with a bored expression on his face as he continued eating. All the teen did was nod in agreement to show that he was listening. In his peripheral vision, he could see the ongoing fight between the two finalists. His parents called it fake, but the bond between those trainers and Pokémon seemed more realistic than anything she had said. Of course, Acer knew it wasn’t over yet. Any moment now, his father would continue where his mother left off. They were like fanatics and wouldn’t stop until their point was made very clear. Once Acer met the gaze of his father, he knew it was time for the lecture to continue.

“To bounce off your mother, Pokémon and people cannot coexist forever. Not like this. There will come a time when those monsters will try to become the dominant species. In fact, we can say they’re already on that path. Ever since that virus has spread, Pokémon have grown more powerful and dangerous. Just creating a bond with them can drain us of our lives if we’re not careful. The League likes to hide behind their master trainers and hide the hundreds of deaths that do happen weekly. Pokémon will continue to get stronger, but what about us? What will happen when another anomaly occurs and a legendary Pokémon appears that not even those so-called legends can defeat? I’ll tell you what will happen. It will be a calmality. Imagine us humans being wiped out in droves by those Pokémon, living our lives in fear as we try to hide for as long as we can before meeting our inevitable demise. This planet can not sustain both of us. We have to look out for our own species and preserve the resources for our future generations. Remember that son. As you go on your journey, you will see this world for what it really is. Then you can follow the path you were always meant to take.”

It made no sense how the world could be described as so cruel, but be so beautiful at the same time. That was Acer’s takeaway from what was said. Everything they said could be right, but what about everything else? To be fair, Acer personally hadn’t experienced much yet, but he was certain the world had so much more to offer than just sorrow and despair. He was literally watching something that displayed one of the many heights of Pokémon and human partnership. While the Conference, for example, certainly distracted many from other issues, the positive impact the League had was unfathomable. At least, he thought so. Finishing up his plate, Acer looked back at his mother, who had managed to recollect herself before looking directly at him.

“Like your father was saying, please take care of yourself on these travels. Find a good team of people you can trust and work with to achieve your goals. You may even form lifelong bonds with them, so make sure to have their backs. Make sure to take good care of your Pokémon as well. They won’t hesitate to harm you if you don’t. Of course, do take some protection as well. I don’t want any-”

When his mother mentioned protection, Acer was genuinely confused and interrupted her right there. “Wait, what?” He didn’t know what exactly they were referring to and his guesses on what they were implying weren’t helping. So he did what any confused person did and asked for some clarification.

“Protection? For me? From my Pokémon?”

Acer questioned before looking at his sister, wondering if Alyssa had told them anything. The young woman instead was just shaking her head. She seemed to be disappointed and amused at the same time somehow. The teenager looked back at his parents for answers and they seemed a bit unsure themselves. “Yes?” His father answered first, looking at his mother for confirmation. “No?” Then his mother denied while looking at her husband quizzically. “Wait. Both?” The man asked, sounding a bit more certain of himself, but still a bit puzzled. Fortunately, his mother decided to settle things once and for all with her next response.

“Both? Okay, both. Pokémon are very dangerous creatures. I also know how you boys are these days. Remember that story I showed you where that one boy got with a Gard-”

Before his mother could finish that sentence, Acer was blessed by some knocking on their front door. “Well, would you look at that? Seems like my starter is finally here!” Without much hesitation, Acer hopped off his seat and went straight to the front door, escaping whatever dark hole that conversation was about to enter. Alyssa, on the other hand, had tried covering her mouth to hide her amusement and now looked like she was struggling to breathe. She could always count on her delusional family for quality entertainment.

“You better hope that’s not a Ralts!”

Alyssa shouted, trying to hold back her laughter. Acer knew she was prepared to make so many jokes if the Pokémon he got was a Ralts. He honestly hoped it wasn’t a Ralts just for that reason. Fortunately, the odds of that happening were extremely slow. Acer believed in his chances and opened the door. Once he did, Acer stood face to face with the delivery man. In their hand was one red pokeball. His starter.

 

[kyuukestu]

Her first Pokemon. Her first Synchro Bond. Her partner... this was the moment. Her decision here would follow her for the rest of her career—the rest of her life; it was, without exaggeration, the single greatest choice she had to make or would ever make. A deliberate choice made after careful deliberation. Deliberation that had not begun here, but rather, it had been on her mind for years. With all the Pokemon in the world to choose from is was almost impossible to narrow her selection down to just one; the most Meletē had been able to do was narrow the range with a list of criteria.

First, her partner had to fit her gothic style. The dark of her ensemble: from dyed locks fringed red to glossy toenails painted black, were more than a fashion statement. They were that too, of course; her gothic fashion had grown on her in recent years. And so she wanted her first pokemon to at look the part of a goth or at least, it couldn't be anything too cute and innocuous. That immediately eliminated a preponderance of choices: mostly fairy types, grass types, and normal types. The most obvious types that would fit her criteria were ghost, dark, poison, and bug types; but, that led her to the second criterion on her list.

The Synchronization Bond was a remarkably intimate process, one that bound trainer and pokemon with something that went beyond the confines of the Pokeball. It was a telepathic link that would lay bare their innermost thoughts and desires. This wouldn't always be the case, she had read that trainers could learn to obstruct the telepathic link, but that was a feat that would require practice and practice required time. This meant that her first bond would be special, very special. Her first bond would be an entity given the opportunity glance into the very depths of her being; an unobstructed view at her deepest thoughts and innermost feelings. Her first bond would be someone, something that would understand her better than she understood herself; and likewise, she would understand it on a level unlike any other. The thought itself was disconcerting. She couldn't imagine being so naked...so vulnerable, in front of a creature she'd just met. Fortunately, she wouldn't need to imagine it. She would experience in, at most, hours. That said, if she was going to reveal her truest self to something and then have them living in her head for at least a few weeks, then she wanted to ensure their disposition was agreeable. This was where ghost, dark, poison, and bug pokemon failed.

Ghost and Dark types were notorious for their twisted natures. They overflowed with tendencies both sadistic and malicious and many delighted in tormenting humans. They fed on negative emotions: hatred, fear, sorrow, despair. It might've been unfair to judge so many species of Pokemon prematurely, but the first bond was too important. She couldn't risk it. She didn't want any eldritch creatures occupying her mind, Meletē was very clear on that. She treated Poison types with similar suspicion and bug-types were...Ew. She wasn't ready to be inside the head of a bug just yet.

With prime choices like Mismagius, Gengar, and Weavile out of the question, she needed to look elsewhere. Her last two criteria weren't necessary but they were highly desirable: power and musical talent. The first was obvious. A powerful pokemon went without saying, strength was what all top trainers strove for. An innately powerful pokemon would have an easier time reaching the top and so it would obviously make a good choice. However, power wasn't necessary. Well...it was better to say that that power didn't have to come from her first partner. A team was composed of more than a single powerful pokemon, there would always be other teammates to support her. Power was a bonus, but even it would pale in comparison to her most desired trait—a pokemon that could appreciate music.

As something of a musician herself, Meletē wanted an immediate commonality of interests. If she could relate to her Pokemon over a shared passion then they would get along swimmingly! There was no shortage of musical pokemon: Kricketune, Altaria, Primarina, Lapras—she'd even heard there was a mythical Pokemon in Unova who loved music more than any other. They would all be wonderful choices as Kricketot, Swablu and Popplio—Lapras wouldn't be allowed as a starter—but regardless of which she picked, she'd have to sacrifice something. Primarina would be powerful, musical, and agreeable, but the mermaid-like pokemon didn't exactly fit next to the gothic trainer. Kricketot would be musical and it's sickle-like fore-arms made it...fitting enough, but it was neither powerful nor agreeable. And Altaria...it was just Primarina version two point oh.

Meletē sighed and struck the umpteenth pokemon from her list. She didn't want to settle for any less than the best she could possible get, but the combination of power, style, agreeability, and music was an odd one. She imaged most other trainers hardly had such whimsical reasons for choosing their first partner. It had been an hour or three since she'd started sifting through the list of pokemon provided and Meletē was beginning to feel the strain. Her eyes had began dry with her extended screen time, but she pushed onward. She had almost reached the end of the list anyway. The next pokemon she had to look at would be the last of the 700s in the pokedex; there were less than a hundred pokemon left for her to look over.

Entry number 782 Jangmo-o, the Scaley Pokemon. It expresses its feelings by smacking its scales; Metallic sounds echo through the tall mountains where Jangmo-o lives. While Jangmo-o trains diligently and remains humble, it has the pride of a warrior. It employs the scale on its forehead for both attack and defense, so it never shows its back to its foe. Many Trainers take this behavior as proof of this Pokémon's valiant nature. Jangmo-o lives and trains with others of its kind in harsh areas that are far away from other Pokémon and people. The scales on its body make a metallic sound when struck and are used to express emotion, communicate with others of its kind, and intimidate opponents. The signature moves of Jangmo-o and its evolutions are Clanging Scales and Clangorous Soul.

"Ohhhh~" Meletē marveled at the evolutionary line of the Scaly Pokemon and the gears in her mind begun to turn.

The Oblivian tabbed into Jangmo-o's page entry, revealing an expanded article about the Pokemon and its evolutionary line. Jangmo-o was a dragon Pokemon and gained the fighting type upon evolution. It was a unique type combination, the only of its kinds in the known world. More importantly though, the Jangmo-o line were categorized as pseudo-legendary pokemon. A powerful species with relatively slow growth-rates but immense potential later down the line.

Power? Check!

Despite a preference for physical attacks, the Scaly line's signature moves were all categorized in the attack-dex as sound-based moves. It's Pokedex entry had also stated that the species communicated through various metallic pitches produced by striking their scales. Didn't that mean the Scaly line were...Cymbal Pokemon?

Music? Check!

Jangmo-o were said to be diligent, valiant and humble. A paragon combination of personality traits by any conceivable metic. Nothing but positive personalities, she could be at ease letting such a creature invade the depths of her soul.

Agreeability? Check!

Finally, she inspected the creature's appearance. The staple image showed a Jangmo-o mid-stride, its eyes half-lidded with lofty self-assurance. It's scales were thick in the center and tapered of as they neared the edges, becoming sharp discs. The creature was reputed to both attack and defend with these scales, so their sturdiness was unquestionable. It's dark body and grey overcoat were also pleasing to the eye, not too bright and not too tacky. She quickly tabbed over to the page on Kommo-o to ensure the pokemon wouldn't change drastically throughout its evolution. While the fully-matured dragon was a far-cry from its infantile counter-part, none of its changes were displeasing.

Style? Check!

This wasn't just her bond-mate, it was her soul-mate!

Meletē immediately searched the Pokemon Project's databanks for her selected species. When she confirmed that they were indeed available, she heaved with relief. Browsing through the Jangmo-o available, Meletē's eyes fell on a single...different Jangmo-o. Paler than the rest of its species, with scales that seemed just a bit smoother and just a bit sharper. Maybe it was just her imagination. The little creature that would've hardly risen past her knee carried itself with a palpable air of defiance, evident even through the digital photograph.

"She's perfect!" Squeals and giggles were interspaced by fits of motion as Meletē rolled up and down her bed, kicking off pillows and stuffed animals. "Jangmo-o, I choose you!"

As she confirmed her selection, Meletē also noticed that a notification had been sent out to all Bronze Rank Trainers. She tabbed into it immediately...

...

United Pokemon League Announcement

Congratulations on your first step into the world of Pokemon Trainers! Almost every child dreams at one point to begin their own journey with pokemon, but these journeys can be perilous and rife with danger. The Bronze League serves to ensure that anyone with the ambition to snatch fame from the jaws of danger actually has the competency to satisfy those ambitions. This announcement serves to introduce you to the Bronze League and a few of its conditions:

1. Trainers must sign a warranty that outlines the dangerous nature of the Bronze League; although we, the UPL, have done out best to regulate these dangers, you could end up dead at any time; this warrantee serves to inform the trainer of these risk and obtain their knowing consent to this life-threatening competition. It also voids the UPL of responsibility if you, the Trainer, die for any reason other than the UPL's negligence.
2. The Bronze League can be hosted in any region in the world and the UPL will provide all trainers with the necessary travelling arrangements to make it to the host region. The host region will be decided through the use of a poll, a link to which can be found below. Vote results will be hidden, but feel free to express your ideas in the accompanying thread.
3. The UPL will need to stay in close contact with the trainers and will regularly send you pertinent information. As such, the UPL will provide free upgrades to any registered trainer's Poke-Gadget: Poketch, Pokegear, X-transceiver etc. If the trainer does not possess one, the UPL will provide one. The UPL will be updated your gear to a special Rotom or Porygon Variant responsible for moderating and regulating the trainers. The Pokemon in these phones are under the purview of the UPL's operators and will be responsible for being the UPL's liaison with trainers in the field.
4. Functionalities of Rotom/Porygon enhanced Pokemon-Gadgets:
   1. Normal Smart-phone functions
   2. Pokédex
   3. Apps
   4. Tracks trainer's location at all times (this is mandatory and cannot be turned off.)
   5. Emergency Alert System — if for any reason the Poke-Gadget's battery dies or is removed, or the trainer's GPS malfunctions, an emergency alert will immediately be sent to the nearest Ranger or Police Station with the trainer's last recorded location.
   6. Poke Gadget acts as an online Banking assistant. Because Trainer-Related Transactions must be done using an authorized license (which is your Trainer Card) an associated bank account has been generated for each trainer which contains their starter funds, $5,000. Transactions must be done by first scanning their trainer card and then scanning the Poke-Gadget which is encoded and encrypted.
5. Poke-Gadgets will be reclaimed by the League at the end of the Bronze League. Trainers will be required to purchase their own personal devices once they reach Silver. It's recommended that every trainer catch either a Porygon or a Rotom once they reach Silver-Rank as some future transactions will require a registered Rotom or Porygon Device.
6. Bronze-Rank accounts are locked from transactions with higher ranked accounts, this is to ensure they complete the Bronze League on only their own merit or the merit of their peers.
7. Restrictions are lifted upon ascension to Silver Rank.
8. Mobile PCs can be purchased once the trainer reaches Silver-Rank
9. The Pokemon HOME application can be used to manage a trainer's Pokemon once it has been installed on their Rotom or Porygon Device and connected to their personal PC. Pokemon Related transactions can be done through these devices, including, but not limited to: placing Pokemon in PC, changing party pokemon, etc.
10. Pokemon will be be digitized/transformed into streams of energy and transferred to another location wirelessly, much like during a trade.
11. Pokemon in PC are stored in a dormant state; this minimizes their energy consumption. Trainers can only sustain 6 active Pokemon at a time without vast resources or stores of Pokemon food.
12. At Silver Rank Trainers can purchase designated zones which their Pokemon can reside and feed of the berries/herbs planted there (Oran Berries, Sitrus Berries, and Energy Herbs). These will be enough to sustain those Pokemon under the condition that they're not using moves regularly. This farm can only sustain 30 Pokemon excluding the Trainer's active 6. This will allow a trainer to comfortable own up to 36 Pokemon.
13. At Gold-Rank Trainers can purchase a larger territory, usually in an uninhabited area: an island, mountain, etc. with which they can manage to allow as many pokemon as they own to roam. No one has ever managed to catch enough pokemon to eat an island barren, the League suggests you don't try to be the first.

 

[=Nightshade=]

“Thanks!” Paige took the Pokeball offered by the young woman at the counter of her local Pokémon center. She had studied about the bonding process and was aware of the toll it may take on her body, nodding in agreement with the warnings given by Nurse Joy as she firmly planted a hand on the counter to steady herself.

Within a few seconds, feelings of intense dizziness began to wash over her, and she stumbled over to a chair, putting her head between her knees to ease the symptoms and avoid passing out. By the time the dizziness had subsided, a raging headache had taken its place, along with a desire to sleep and puke, not necessarily in that order. Paige threw the lollipop stick in the trash as she focused on her breathing and not on feeling sick.

Within a few minutes, most side effects of the bonding had subsided, besides the headache and fatigue. Paige lifted the Pokeball to her eye level to see the Solosis inside. She could check the UPL website later; for now, she reveled in having her own Pokémon for the first time. She walked unsteadily outside the center before releasing the Solosis.

The cell-like Pokémon hovered in the air in front of Paige, blinking curiously. Paige looked right back. The girl slowly reached out a hesitant hand as if to pet the Pokémon, but before she could touch it, the Solosis propelled itself into her hand, squealing its name. Paige could feel its unbridled excitement through their newly formed telepathic link. She smiled brightly and laughed for a bit before holding the Solosis out at arm’s length. It let out a questioning murmur. “We gotta get you a name, hmm?” Paige asked to no one in particular. “Solosis... Duosion... Reuniclus... what do you think about Niku?” The Solosis made a humming noise that sounded like it could be approval. “You like that? Okay, then, Niku it is!”

 

[Hecotoro]

Ron sat down on a bench, leaning forward and placing his head between his hands. He slowly brushed his hair backwards before looking down at his Cyndaquil. The young Furia was sitting down next to his left leg, looking at the people passing by in front of them. Ron could feel her curiosity, it was hard to believe they were already so connected. He knew the bond was something special, but he wasn't expecting it to be like this. He could feel how she disliked basically every stranger she saw, very similar to how he felt about them the first time he arrived in Goldenrod.

"Don't worry they won't mess with us." Ron said quietly.

Furia didn't seem to actually believe him, as she seemed ready to attack anyone who got to close. That was when Ron noticed a similar feeling among both of them, hunger. They had just taken a short walk down to a small park and Ron was already feeling drained from the bond. He looked around, trying to remember any good local restaurants nearby. His eye was caught by a sign that read 'All You Can Eat Boneless!'. It seemed the perfect place for him and Furia to try and get some energy, before Ron passes out on the park, something that was not new to him. The punk rock drummer stood up, stretched his arms upward, which caused him to see black spots for a few seconds and then began walking towards the local food business.

Once inside he order two rounds of boneless, one for him and one for his new partner, and of course a beer for himself. Furia seemed very interested in everything going on around her, at very annoyed by a baby that was crying a few tables over. She seemed upset to be in such a crowded place until the food arrived. The fire mouse didn't think twice before she starting picking up boneless with her small paws and placing them in her mouth. Ron chuckled as he felt relieved she liked them and began eating also. He took the opportunity to check out his new Rotom Phone, with the latest Rotom Phone software, available in different colors and for only 9,999$, now available in Wal-Mart! He noticed the new notification from the UPL.

"Are we finally going to know where we're going?" Ron asked himself as he cleaned his hands so he could start using the app. "It feels like choosing the region is one of the first things the league should do so they can be prepared to receive the wave of new trainers. Not actually let them vote AND THEN send them there. Besides, why would a bunch of hormone powered teenagers know which region would be best if we're all new to being trainers?"

As he complained to himself, he began reading the announcement that had just arrived. There wasn't actually anything new that he didn't already know, just the fact that they could start the discussion on which region they would like to participate in. Annoyed by the fact he had to vote, he began posting on the thread that followed the announcement:

If you ask me, they should just send us to the best region suited for new trainers. But since we have to actually vote on it, I would say Johto, not just because I am already here, but because they have really good beer and boneless. Not to mention the Pokeathlon is here, a great place to get into great physical condition, which is something we all are going to need. By the way, the name is Ron, I just quit my band to go on this adventure, I play the drums. So if anyone is looking for a team with good music or someone willing to train everyday to get stronger, let me know and we can team up.

Ron sighed and looked up at Furia, who had her mouth smeared with Buffalo sauce and her plate now empty. Ron ordered two more rounds of boneless and some water for the poor fire type who was eating too fast. The spicy food and the beer began to heal Ron's hangover, but he still felt his energy being taken up by the Cyndaquil. However, feeling how comfortable Furia was, he didn't mind sharing his energy with her and was beginning to feel eager to begin their journey.

 

[Pinch]

Kenzo had been sitting in the Pokemon Center lounge for quite some time awaiting the arrival of his Pokemon, when he all of a sudden received a notification from the UPL on his X-Transceiver. He read the rather lengthy announcement, slightly disappointed it wasn't about his Gligar, when he came across the link to the regional voting forum.

"I guess this is where we choose what region we'll be competing in..." he said aloud to himself.

He clicked on the link, taking him to the forum. Now was the time to decide the region he'd spend the next three months travelling across. He contemplated for a while, going over each eligible regions pros and cons. He didn't particularly like the atmosphere in Kanto or Galar. Hoenn and Alola were too tropical, which wouldn't be an issue if it wasn't summer. That left just Sinnoh, Johto and Unova, all equally good choices. After some further deliberation, Kenzo made his choice, and he delivered his opinion to the forum in a rather formal manner.

Hello everyone, my name is Kenzo Astro, and I believe Unova to be the best choice. Not only is it fairly easy to find your way around, but there are plenty of urban areas to provide shelter from the many dangers we may encounter while we’re on our journey. We also have the Pokèmon World Tournament, alongside plenty of other smaller tournaments here held semi-frequently in most cities, which could be great for testing our skills and preparing for upcoming gym battles or contests. To any of you out there yet to make your choice, I ask that you at least consider the Unova region.

Not too long after sending his message, Kenzo was called to the front desk of the Pokemon Center, meaning his Pokemon had most likely arrived. He quickly sprung up from the chair he’d been seated in and hurried over to where his Partner Pokémon awaited him.

 

[ThAtGuY101]

Guy looked down at his watch and chuckled to himself. He continued chuckling to himself which made Goju start laughing. The two were laughing like it was nobody's business. Guy was gonna go on an adventure, and one of the best things he could do now is be a little prepared in case the event of combat. Some routes were more dangerous than others. Yet even those routes can pose a risk to ones safety should a pokémon there become aggressive.

Guy's next destination was the trainer's school. By no means was Guy an aspiring pokemon trainer, but he appreciated them allowing guest walk-ins. Guy took this opportunity to brush up on type strengths, weaknesses, and possible immunities. Guy wondered how well Goju would fare in combat. He looked at goju blankly. Goju turned and let out a cheer.

"Let's go inside! " Guy said.
"Bon!(Translation: okay)"

A teacher standing in front of the class glanced at Guy, "Hello, I'll be with you in a moment" The woman said. She turned and looked at a young girl "See, you got it correct, how difficult was that?" The woman said calmly.
"Th-thankyou" the girl said before continuing to write in her notebook.
The woman smiled before walking over to Guy, "You must be a guest. Feel free to come touch up on basic pokemon tips and guides. Though please be considerate of those studying or working as they need concentration" The woman said before walking back to her desk.

Guy walked over to two of the people who were talking. A boy and a girl. They had their pokemon out too. A starly and a bidoof. Guy walked over to them, "Hi, are you guests here as well?" Guy asked.
"Huh? Oh, right. You come here to catch on basic battle tips?... Oh right. I'm George" The boy said.
"I'm Kate, are you a pokemon trainer?" Kate asked.
"I'm a paleontologist, but I guess kinda? I'm Guy by the way. This is Goju" Guy said.
"This adorable little starly here is hermie!" George said.
"Starly starly!(translation: Hello to you too!) Hermie cheered.
"This is Godfrey" Kate said.
"Bidoof!(Translation: Hello!)" Godfrey cheered.
"Bon!" Bonsley!(Translation: Hello! both of you!)" Goju cheered.
"You study dinosaurs then?" George asked.
"Yyyyep! and I was also curious about catching up on some tips. Never know when a wild pokemon attacks or something" Guy said.
"Hoe about a mach battle. You face one of our pokemon in a training battle. We can give you tips and probably go easy on you too. Promise" Kate said.
"I'm not sure..." Guy said.
"If any pokémon get hurt, we can heal them. Sound good?" George said.
"What do you think, Goju?" Guy said.
"Bonsly booon!" Goju cheered before hopping down taking a fighting stance.
"Looks like he's ready! I'll go first! Show me what you two got!" Kate said.

~After the training battles...~

"Goju did pretty decent. A little rough around the edges, but not bad for someone who doesn't battle" George said.
"Maybe even good enough to take on the gym leader!" Kate said.
"Eeehh... Not really, but its decent" George said.
"Thanks!" Guy said.

They spoke for a little while longer, Guy and Goju eventually left contempt with what they learned there today. He headed to the pokécenter. In order too begin his journey he would need to stop there first. He spoke to the nurse who informed him, he'd need a poképhone. Guy was given a porygon phone. He looked through his notifications ,and one was from the UPL. "Pick a region, huh?" Guy muttered.

I don't really wanna leave Sinnoh, I'm already here... I'd love to visit Mt. Coronet, or Celestic Town. I doubt they'd let strangers in the Snowpoint Temple, but I hear there's a Cave where Ruin Maniacs go just south of Veilstone City! Sinnoh holds so much lore and stuff worth investigating. I could also see myself going to Kalos or Johto. Though if I had the choice I'd choose Sinnoh still. Not to mention Sinnoh has been the place many league challengers, coordinators, and many people come to participate in the many contests and tournaments. Sinnoh is also home to the Battle resort, an amazing place for those looking to relax and really enjoy their time.

Guy grinned before signing the agreement, "Pokemon adventure, here we goo!" Guy cheered. He put the porygon phone in his pocket and smiled at Goju.

"Bruh... How cool is that?!" Guy said.
"Booonsly!" Goju wasn't sure why Guy was happy, but Goju was equally happy too now.
Guy spoke with Nurse Joy a few minutes before walking outside the pokémon center.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Following their ordeal in the forest, Joan and Snover arrived back at their house and entered through the backdoor. After setting foot inside, they made their way to the living room where they found Joan's parents. "Hey mom and dad, we got some honey." Joan declared as she and Snover held up their jars. "Oh good, you can set then down on the kitchen counter." Her dad replied.

Seeing that their daughter had returned home safely, Joan's mother took out the package that had arrived for her. "Welcome back Joan. A package arrived for you a while ago, I was going to give it to you right away but then I learned you went out." Hearing about this, the girl tried to remember if she ordered anything before remembering what day it was. "Ah, my trainer card arrived?" She asked which her mother replied with a smile and a nod. Joan handed he jar of honey to Snover before walking up to collect her package. "Thanks for taking this for me mom." Her expression still blank.

"I thought you'd be more excited for this."

"Hmm? I am excited."

Joan's mother sighed. "Of course, well you should go prepare for you journey."

"I will, thanks again mom." Joan replied before walking off towards her room, Snover following after dropping off the jars of honey in the kitchen.

----------
​

Up in her room, Joan sat at the desk with her laptop open and the package on her lap. "I wonder, if all I'm receiving is my trainer card why did they send such a bulky package?" She asked herself as she opened her parcel. Her question was soon answered as she found that alongside her trainer card was a brand new Rotom Phone already set up and ready for use. Wondering what this was about, the new trainer opened the UPL's website on her laptop and read the announcement that had just been posted. "Ah I see, so that's what this phone is for." Reading the segment on death warranty, Joan didn't pay it much mind as the dangers of pokemon was very familiar to her. She then turned her attention to the next part. "Voting for the region the Bronze League will be hosted in, huh." She took a moment to consider her choices. "Which region would I want to go to. Hmm." She turned towards Snover who had been munching on one of the berries he grows on his body. "Hey Snover, how does Alola sound? I bet a tropical place like that will have a lot of good food to eat." Hearing this proposition, Snover was a bit unsure he wanted to travel through a region with a climate as warm as Alola. However, the idea that it might offer good food swayed him to agree with Joan. "Don't worry, I'm sure we can find a way to keep you cool." With her mind set, the young woman voted for Alola as her choice on the poll.

With her vote cast, Joan found her way to the forums where she found a few comments arguing why their choice is the best for the league. Thinking it might be fun to join the conversation, Joan also wrote a comment on it.

I think Alola is pretty cool.

 

[Alternate_Mystery]

After a few minutes of introducing Flex to her family, Ivory felt a little bit off. Well, she did know that bonding was a bit of a painful experience, so she wasn't scared by the sudden pain and just walked back to her bedroom with the little Wood Gecko in tow. Seeing a freshly packed bag on her bed made the female sigh in relief, and then a little announcement popped up in her PokéNav so Ivory gave it a lookover.

The rules were straightforward enough for any new Trainer her age to understand, although the chance of her and other people dying unnerved her a lot. Still, Ivory would have clicked off if it wasn't for noticing a small regional vote for where this Bronze League would be held. After thinking it over, Ivory had three locations in mind: Unova, Alola and Kalos.

Sure, the three of them were good locations that her family knew well of, but after a bit more thinking she came to a conclusion. Slightly stretching her fingers out to minimize the chance of spelling errors (she likes to think that), she voted for her region of choice and added her reply to the forum.

OK, hey there. The name is Ivory, but you can just call me.Ivory if you're in a a hurry. Anyways, I'm gonna be voting for Unova here because despite me living in Hoenn, it holds a special place in my heart for being a showstopping region.
I would have picked, like, Kalos or Alola, but an entire section of the region being covered in snow AND having to take constant boat rides to be from point A to point B? Eh, no thanks. Feel free to come at me all you'd like, but I'm still voting Unova. It's got the PWT, it's got Pokestar Studios, it even has a well made mix of land and seas. OK, thanks for coming to me Teddiursa talk..

 

[sSoul]

As Robert found himself scrolling through the forums, one of them in particular caught his eye. When he clicked on it, he gathered that people were discussing which region they would want the Bronze League to take place in while giving all necessary reasons or prerequisites. The conversation at hand allowed the new trainer to think about where he would like to begin his Pokémon journey.

The obvious answer for me would be Kanto. I mean, it's where I live, why leave to another region when I can just force everyone to come here? But I don't wanna stay here forever. Sure there are worse regions to live in, but its not healthy to just stay in one place for the rest of your life. There's plenty of options though...

Since no one was forcing him to post a message, Rob took the time to contemplate about the question at hand. Fortunately, there were regions that he could safely eliminate from the line of consideration. Well, not regions and more a single region. That region would be Johto, Kanto's little brother. In Rob's mind, not only was Johto a little too similar to its neighbor, but there wasn't much that it brought to the table that he was really interested in anyway. Still, there were about 6 other regions in the world that he could choose. After much contemplation, Robert finally found an answer that he was comfortable with.

Hey, my name is Robert Dean. I'm not too big on nicknames, but if you must, you can call me Rob. To be totally transparent, I don't really have a very strong preference on where we hold the league. Only place I'm really against is Kanto, and that's because I already live there. Its a fine region and I love living there, but this is my chance to travel the world. I dunno about y'all, but I'm not going to let that kind of opportunity pass me by just because it's convenient to stay where I'm at. If I had to choose a region, I suppose I would go with Sinnoh. I just feel like it offers the widest array of new experiences for me, though Alola would be a close second, in all honesty.

Now that he had gotten his word out, he decided that he'd call Patricia to hear her opinion about new regions, but before he could, he noticed that the incubator began to make a monotonous noise similar to a microwave and that the egg inside was beginning to glow.

"Hey Dad!" Robert yelled down the stairs, hoping his father was still inside, "My egg's hatching!" Fortunately for the adolescent, his dad was downstairs and, in response to his son's call, rushing upstairs with a Premier Ball in hand.

"I'm sorry son, I should've given you this earlier," The professional breeder handed his son the commemorative Pokéball, "Gah! how could I've been so careless?" As the father facepalmed, his son went to check on the egg, where the Bulbasaur seemed to be on the verge of emerging into the world properly. Robert didn't hesitate to press the button on the incubator to open the door, allowing the newborn grass type to crawl outside without difficulty. Yet, when the Seed Pokémon finally had the room to walk out, it refused.

"Hey buddy..." Robert inched towards the infant with Pokéball in hand. Once he was close enough, he kneeled down to the Pokémon's eye level and recalled how his dad would bond with newborns with the intent of imitating that process. He kept his voice low and calming, making sure to not alarm the young Bulbasaur "You can trust me, okay? Its a lot to take in...the world, I mean. You could call it scary and I wouldn't blame you for a second. But, as long as I'm here with you, I promise I'll reduce the scariness as much as possible. Sound good?" As he finished his little speech, Rob held out the Premier Ball as an invitation to the infantile Pokémon. Although he was weary at first, the Bulbasaur soon crawled over to the ball and placed it's front left leg on the button, allowing himself to be captured by the ball. As the Seed Pokémon entered the encapsulating device, Robert felt a surge of pain start from the arm with the Premier Ball and wash throughout his body. After the pang of pain disappeared, he was able to see the world through the eyes of his Pokémon. He re-discovered the brightness of the sun glistening through the windows, the steady hum of the ceiling fan and the gentle smell of coffee beans using the eyes of his partner. Soon enough, a baseline connection was established between Trainer and Pokémon: the bond had been successful. Releasing the young grass type from the Premier Ball, the adolescent trainer thought of a name to call his new companion.

"I'm thinking...Floru. It's like the word Flora(meaning plant life and grass) but without the a since I'm pretty sure you're a growing boy," Rob gently chuckled while explaining his choice of nickname and reasoning behind it to his new Bulbasaur, "So, what do you think of it?" To his surprise, the Bulbasaur seemed to respond positively to the suggestion, which was enough of a sign for Robert.

"It's nice to meet you Floru, my name is Robert," The new trainer picked up his Bulbasaur proudly and held him in his arms, "I think we're gonna get along just fine."

 

[YoKaiKingEnmaDaiyou]

It seemed like Doms wound would never heal. It had only been 3 days, but Dom would've at least not needed a bandage after that long. Although he had been avoiding her, Dom would eventually need to talk to Kyra, she could definitely help with her ointments and special Oran Berry Based Bandages. He just didnt want Kyra to be angry with his newfound relationship with Gligar. It was the Synchro Bond that was causing him to heal slower than usual. Before he never had a pokemon to provide with energy.

"Dom, wake up! If you're gonna stay here you could at least help run errands!" Elaine, the Vientown Ranger base mechanic yelled.

Dom woke up still in the Ranger Base. He had been staying there in his attempt to avoid Kyra, but it was seeming more and more tedious to stay there. He still got up, carrying Gligar on his head. He looked at himself in the mirror. Barlow taught him how to shave on his first day there, and he had done a pretty good job for his first time. He had also trimmed his hair a bit, and his face was looking brighter already. He got ready, and walked out into the lobby.

"Yo Elaine, what do you need?" Dom asked.

"Well, first I need you to help clean up the new Vientown Plaza, make sure the fountain is clean, and then when youre done with that, come back. By then Crawford should be back from patrol. I need both you and him to run up to the Ranger Union and bring them my research on the use of Geronimos on wild pokemon." Elaine said.

"Werent Geronimos used by team dim sun to make pokemon go crazy?" Dom asked.

"Yes, but ive been trying to incorperate vatonage energy into Geronimo machines to see if it can have an effect on their personality, maybe to make them less ravenous." Elaine said.

"Oh yeah, that could be pretty helpful. Ill be back after I check up on the plaza." Dom said, walking out. The new plaza wasnt that far, but it would still take a while for Dom to get there, so he opened up the UPL app on his Rotom Phone and saw the discourse about what region it could possibly be in and all the introductions.

Yo, My name is Dominic, but call me Dom please. I see everyone is talking about regions, but I personally hope we get to go to Johto. I have family there, in Azalea town. My dad used to help his older brother chop down wood with their pair of Farfetch'd, so it would be nice to see my uncle after all those years. Its not even that far from here in Almia, just a quick jump through Sinnoh and youre basically there!

Dom walked into the square and helped around for the next hour or so, and walked back to the ranger base.

"Yo, im ba-"

Dom saw Elaine and Crawford, but also one more person. Kyra. The three of them had attended Ranger School together all those years ago, but Kyra had to quit her dreams of becoming a ranger so early into her career to take care of Dom. It was about to get awkward.

"H-hey Kyra." Dom said.

Kyra ignored him.

"Uh... welll I guess we should get going right Crawford?" Dom chuckled.

"Well... Kyra is coming with us, that is until we get to your house in Vien Forest." Crawford said.

And just like that, Dom, Crawford, and Kyra were on their way. It was silent.

"So... Kyra.. hows it-"

"Dom, save it. I don't want to talk right now." Kyra said.

"Look. I know some pokemon may seem evil. But they really arent." Dom said.

"See! THIS is why I didnt want you going on a journey! They've poisoned your mind!!!" Kyra yelled.

"Kyra. You need to open your mind a bit." Dom said.

"Wasn't it YOU who said you would wipe every pokemon off the planet!?" Kyra yelled.

"That was before I got a chance to meet one! Im sure if you had been there, if you had seen what I saw you would understand!" Dom yelled back.

"I was there! I was there when that giant tyranitar trampled over our lives, our Farfetch'd, our FATHER!" Kyra snapped, "What do you even actually know about pokemon?! They're a disease on this world!"

"They have just as much of a right to live as we do! Do you shed a tear for the bird pokemon we eat every day? What about their baby pokemon waiting in their nest waiting!? Do you have any sympathy for them? Pokemon arent just animals. Pokemon are beings beyond our imagination. They can manifest rocks out of thin air for arceus sake!" Dom yelled.

They had stopped walking a while ago. Gligar and Crawford waited in silence until the two would stop bickering.

"If you can't understand the blight pokemon are on this world, you have NO right to call me your sister!" Kyra yelled, running off to their house.

"Kyra-"

"Just shut up! I can't stand to look at you anymore. Not with that monster lurking over your head!" Kyra yelled from far away.

"Im gonna make sure she gets home safe, wait here Dom." Crawford said, running after her.

Maybe it was just late in the day. Maybe Dom was just tired. But he fell to the ground. It was like his heart stopped beating. What was wrong? What was going on? His body was having a physical reaction to the words he had just heard. NO right to call me your sister. Monster over your head. NO sister. Monster. Blight on this world. NO sister. I cant look at you anymore. No sister. No father. No one. No one. Just then, Gligar headbutted Dom as hard as it could. It was something it picked up while watching wild Buizel use Headbutt on trees while on patrol with Barlow a day ago.

"Ow what was that for!" Dom said, holding his head in pain.

"Gli! Gligar gar Gligar!" It said.

Dom couldnt understand what it was saying, but he felt it. It was telling him to snap out of it. Just then, a wild Starly charged at the two, but they jumped out of the way.

"Ah, so that it! Lets give it a go, Gligar!" Dom said.

Gligar prepared itself for battle. It wasn't like the first time. This time both Dom and Gligar were working in unison. The sychro bond had been formed and it was a strong one.

"Alright Gligar, lets take it down! Use headbutt!" Dom commanded.

He had gotten used to the headache from the sync bond, but the commands still took their toll. Gligar jumped from tree to tree and then glided straight down at it from above. Thankfully it hit, and the starly took some major damage. It wasnt going down easy though, and it charged at the Gligar with tackle.

"Lets finish this quickly! Use its momentum against it, Poison Sting!" Dom commanded.

The starly couldnt stop itself, and ran straight into the flurry of poison stings. It fainted, but Dom didnt have any pokeballs yet, so the starly was able to get away.

"Good job Gligar!" Dom said happily.

"Gligar!!" It said proudly.

"Hey whats going on!" Crawford yelled, running back.

"Oh, not much. We just beat our first starly though!" Dom said happily.

"Oh! The newly hatched ones? Those wouldn't be much of a challenge anyways, they just hatched recently." Crawford said.

"Oh..." Dom sighed.

He was still happy he won, but if thats the power of a newly hatched wild starly, what wouldve happened if he didnt get away from that Tyranitar... Dom decided not to think about it. Now all that was left was to get to the Ranger Union!

 

[silverwind2020]

WEDGEHURST, GALAR

17 Year-Old Ryder Daisuke looked through his window, his Scorbunny on his head doing the same. "Is it here yet?!" He said, his Scorbunny squealing. "No, Ryder, it isn't. Be patient!" His father said. Ryder drooped down. "We NEED it, though!" Said Ryder. Just as he said that, the doorbell rang. "Oh god, that MUST be it!" Ryder said, running towards the door. He opened it, seeing a box, and a delivery person flying away on their Bird Pokemon. He would take it in the house, and run upstairs. "GONNA GO CHECK THIS OUT BYEEEEEE-" He said to his dad while running up, his Scorbunny following him up. His father chuckled. "He's gonna go somewhere far, isn't he?" His dad said.

Ryder would, for comedic purposes, 'Yeet' himself onto his futon, and put on the TV. He would go ahead and turn on his Xtransceiver he recently got for fun. He opened the box, and took out his Trainer ID. He then entered in his ID, and made his profile picture: A Gigantamax Pyro Ball. He'd then notice a...well...notice, which talked about where they were going to start their adventure. "Aw, heck yeah! Now to think." Ryder thought, and suddenly figured something out. "How about...Kalos!" He said with enthusiam, his Scorbunny leaping in the air and letting out an adorable "Hibanny!"