Spliced (PG 13/T)

Spliced… the re-written version

Here is another fic by me. It's influenced by a combination of my very first fic; all of my other fan-fics and FR/LG, but it's technically in its own right as a fan-fiction and involves various game characters. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: This fan-fiction, "Spliced", is solely mine. It contains some mild language, violence and mortal peril, but nothing too bad. Pokémon is © Game Freak and Nintendo, 1995-2007. All other characters are © Saphira_Thorn.

A/N: I'd like to thank Marmalade, my new friend, for providing a description of a science lab and to Maze for suggesting the much needed change of title.

==Spliced==

Table of Contents:

Volume 1: The Path of a Chosen

Book 1: The Beginning

Prologue (This Post)
Chapter 1: Preparing for the Adventure
Chapter 2: A New Leader and Concerns
Chapter 3: The Viridian Forest
Chapter 4: The First Badge
Chapter 5: Mt. Moon and Beyond
Chapter 6: Cerulean City – Chaos and the Second Badge (part 1: Misty. Part 2: Teamwork)
Chapter 7: Kingpin's Departure
Chapter 8: Arrival in Vermillion
Chapter 9: Trainer Vs TR – Who will win?
Chapter 10: An Unexpected Teleportation

(The below is coming soon…)

Volume 2: The Mind's Mystical Powers

Book 2: Separated

PM List:
Shiny Mightyena
Lord Darkrai
4th Gen Matt
Alakazam17
Angel Bunny
Zet

*****

Prologue:

Spring, 2007…

If one was to step down the stairs without knowing what was held down below, all they would see, to their great horror, was a row of narrow tubes lined up against all four sides of the large underground area. The tubes spawned from the ground to near the ceiling, their contents inside would seem like nothing but dark, lifeless objects huddled in the clear water to minimize their size. Several bubbles would float up from time to time from the oxygen tanks installed down below, and at the very back of the cave, a large monitor attached to the rugged stone would flicker every once in a while with long streams of coded characters running one after the other.

If one was to know what the area really held, however, they would take four certain steps to the left and flick on the switch hidden behind a panel of stone, watching the lights hung down from the ceiling light up to illuminate the environment below. Sterile equipment, glistening white in the bright light of the room, would lead up to the many laptops sitting innocently on the countertops, their screens black as they hummed in sleep. Thick wires attached to the backs of them would slither over the tabletops to the cylinders against the walls where many Pokémon rested, floating in their drugged sleep, before separating to join up with the main screen at the back of the room.

Beside at least five black, thin computer screens rested a silver platter of tools that lay beside each other one by one, as clean as the day they were made, the metal almost having a malevolent feel to them as they glinted off their reflections under the lamps. Several cabinets stood tight against each other, one either side of the large screen that served as the main database, each handle locked tightly with its other by small, golden lockets.

Deep in an underground facility, experiments were being conducted and Pokémon were being cloned. Due to the processes involved, they gave off lots of gamma radiation (Gamma was at the far end of the electromagnetic wave spectrum – it was an even longer wave than ultraviolet). Because they gave off Gamma radiation, these facilities had to be deep underground. The cloning was normally done at level seven and the average depth was around five thousand, six hundred metres. Professor Robert Jones, the head scientist, was currently working on cloning a Meowth. The process had been successful so far.

He waited for a few minutes and smiled faintly to himself when a Meowth – exactly as he had imagined it – appeared in the cloning tank beside him. The tiny cat with pale tan fur and a gold trinket on its brow slept serenely. Its small front legs and huge coffee coloured hind paws were curled underneath it in a foetal position. The cloning tanks themselves were circular glass tubes and connecting the Pokémon to the tanks were thin, flexible wires. Each cloning tank – there appeared to be several dozen – had a screen in front of them that displayed vital statistics in bar graphs and pie charts. Percentages flashed across the screen, slowly rising.

Stopping work to have a well needed break, he strolled over to have a look at the work of his colleagues'. In one tank, that looked exactly the same as the one which the cloned Meowth lay sleeping in, was a sound asleep Growlithe. The small, orange dog also lay in a foetal position. A mane of white hair covered the top of its head, while below its chin was a large beard of the same fur. Black stripes covered its body, giving it a feline look, but the fluffy white tail was stripe-less.

Adjusting his glasses, Robert spoke to his colleague. "How is the progress of the Growlithe clone?"

"It's going well, sir," the junior scientist replied, trembling from a little excitement. "Its vital statistics are slow to rise, which is worrying. Other than that, everything is going according to plan."

"Very good," the head scientist answered back, placing a hand on his colleague's shoulder. Dressed in a white laboratory coat and black boots, with the traditional glasses that scientists wore, he had a look of power about him. "It doesn't really matter that its statistics are rising a bit too slowly, as it will reach one hundred percent sooner or later."

Turning away from the junior scientist, he faced the other cloning tanks and observed the rest of the scientists working on the other cloned Pokémon. "As you definitely know, thanks to a very generous offer from an unknown source, we all decided unanimously to create cloned Pokémon. In saying that, we lost a couple of clones in the very beginning; but, we'll learn from our mistakes and will continue to improve."

An hour later, the scientists had finished their work on the cloned Pokémon. Taking in each of the experiments' features didn't take long, and Professor Robert Jones nodded slowly. "This Treecko," he began, "what's the progress report on it?"

The Treecko was a small sea green reptilian being. It happened to be gifted at ascending trees in no time at all, and its hands and feet had suction pads on them. An outstandingly thick and cumbersome tail, more or less the length of its body, grew from its rear.

"It was one of the last to reach one hundred percent, sir," another scientist answered.

"I see," he replied.

"Sir," the junior scientist started off. "How will we know how strong these Pokémon are?"

"I'm not sure, Blake," Robert responded. "But I hope we find out soon enough."

*****

Later, the ageing Professor Oak was having a conversation with an aide who had just come back from a secret mission. The Professor was old, and the aide young, but Oak still insisted that he was young-spirited.

Oak's greying hair was trimmed neatly, as it came down just short of his ears; whereas the aide's long brown hair came down to his shoulders and he also had the beginning of a goatee. Both Oak and the aide wore long white lab coats, but Oak's fell down to his black boots; the aide's stopped in between the knee and the ankle. The assistant also wore a short-sleeved grey v-neck jumper over a blue business shirt.

"How was everything? Were you able to smuggle a few of them away, Mike?" Professor Oak asked quietly, his voice a bit hoarse.

"It went perfectly," Mike the aide answered. "And yes, I have got a few of them with me. But being a double-crosser isn't easy. If they find out, we're history."

Mike paused and drew four gleaming, red and white Pokéballs from his pocket. "The majority of them were Kanto-based creatures, but there were others – from Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh – who weren't native."

"Are these specimens ready for battle?" the researcher questioned, his grey eyes appearing to glint for a moment.

The Aide looked at his mentor and nodded silently. He handed the four spheres over to Professor Oak, who placed them in the small dome. Mike looked away briefly, thinking of the scientists he had deceived, but was jerked out of his reverie by an expectant Professor.

"Did you not hear me? I asked which ones they were," the researcher repeated.

"…" Mike hesitated, wondering what to say, but then decided not to answer.

"Thank you for your time," Professor Oak replied, with a genuine smile on his face.

That was actually quite clever. You have me intrigued (bookmarks fiction.) I do have one issue though. At least twice in the first chapter, I noticed that you typed 'foetal' position. Did you not mean 'fetal'?

Thank you for the review, jeffback. As for your concern, I did not mean 'fetal'. 'Foetal' is, I believe, how we Australians spell it. Thanks again.

OK, one review, coming up...

so, my opinion? lessee...

An intriguing start. The lab was described excellently.

The only problems were near the end when you referred to the aide as Aide Mike. Mike the aide would have worked a lot better, imho... and the pokemon Mike stole. I'd be suspicious if three starter pokemon mysteriously vanished from my lab and would suspect and target trainers who have them in their possession. This part wasn't really a problem, it just came to mind that unless Oak and Mike deliberately wanted to place the newbie trainers at risk, they should have been less open about which pokemon they lift from the cloning labs of the enemy.

Other than that, i guess this passes muster. Keep it up.

L@er!

Thanks for the review, SM. I fixed up the part with Mike. I will think of something more appropriate for his answer to Oak's question. In the mean time, chapter 1 will be posted on Saturday.

Chapter 1: Preparing for the Adventure

Autumn, six months later…

The town of Pallet was relatively small in comparison to the other cities and townships in Kanto. Most of the houses were built from wood, with the exception of a row of brick houses on the eastern boundary of town which belonged to the families with too much money. The sun rose steadily in the sky, lighting up and warming the town as a small breeze wafted along, drying clothes which were hanging on various clotheslines and rustling leaves on trees.

Professor Oak was one of the most highly regarded Pokémon researchers in the world. He had won the Kanto region's Indigo League – a tournament held every five years at the furthest point north-west in Kanto – twice and has dedicated his life to the study of Pokémon, their habitats, lifestyles and interactions with their trainers. Since he was always known as the most renowned Pokémon expert in the entire world, the citizens of Pallet Town had always considered it an honour that he has continued to work in his home. Visitors felt that Professor Oak's Pokémon laboratory was the only real attraction in the town. It wasn't so much a tourist attraction, but more a place where interesting Pokémon events and discoveries occurred.

Pallet Town was hardly ever bustling except when the newest Pokémon trainers graduated from school – the Pokémon Trainers' Academy – usually at the age of ten. The school taught traditional classes such as maths, science, history, reading, and so on, as well as courses involving studies of Pokémon, which ranged from raising, training, breeding and battling of Pokémon. Their journeys would usually start by travelling north to Viridian City, as it was the closest city to Pallet, and the only city accessible by going on foot. Nothing but deep forest lay to the east and west, and the south was a large stretch of water where Cinnabar Island resided.

As the sun rose even higher, shouting was heard from within a house on the eastern boundary of town.

"Josephine! If you don't get out of bed right now and come downstairs, then Eevee will have to go up there and wake you up!!" Shouted a forty-one year old woman, with pale red hair and hazel eyes which burned with fiery impatience. She wore a bright red sleeveless top and blue three-quarter pants. This was Fiona Harris, mother of a Pokémon trainer-to-be. She was a very kind and caring person, but she didn't want her daughter to miss out on one of the most important days of her life.

The red haired woman was also an inventor who worked for Silph Co. in Saffron City. She had been designing a device for years that allowed trainers to understand what their Pokémon were saying, but it was only this year that she had perfected it and wanted her daughter and her daughter's friends to test it out, as this was her first real success.

"Oh well! Eevee, if you don't mind, could you please wake her up so that she's not late for her big adventure?" Fiona asked the creature standing next to her, who happened to be the family pet. The Pokémon was small and fox-like in appearance; his tiny body was brown in colour, with creamy coloured neck fur and his face wore a hardened, serious expression. Two long, rabbit-like ears, which emanated from the top of his head, twitched periodically as he listened to the human's request.

<No problem. In fact, I would have done it myself even if you hadn't asked,> replied Eevee. He swiftly sprang up the wooden staircase, bounding down the long hallway, and hurled his small body against a door at the end of the hall. He glanced up at it, rushed inside and grumbled to himself, because even after making that entire racket to come to the girl's room, she still hadn't woken up.

Josephine Harris was born into a rich family as the third child of four. Unlike other children from wealthy families, she wasn't overly spoiled. As with all of the other children in Pallet, she studied at the Pokémon Trainers' Academy. However, instead of beginning her journey at the age of ten – which was the required legal age – she chose to hang around Professor Oak's lab for four years, studying about the different types of Pokémon and learning more which would, in the end, help her a lot in her upcoming journey.

Three walls of her room were made of brick – which had been painted a light green colour – and were completely devoid of anything, with the exception of a wooden framed unicorn picture on the wall opposite her bed and a painting of a girl feeding some ducks in the country on the right-hand side wall. On the third were posters of her favourite Pokémon. The last wall consisted of a security grill protected sliding door.

It was behind the sliding door that an oddly shaped grey table was positioned with the girl's laptop and story writing material on it. She had only one laptop – a HP Compaq nx9005; but she badly wanted the internet on it, so she wouldn't have to keep going down to the local library. A reasonable sized TV and DVD/VCR combo (the combo of which was currently kaput and needed to be looked at) rested near the Canon Pixma ip4200 printer she owned, with two Nintendo DS consoles – with a Pokémon Diamond and Pearl game in each – sitting on top of a spare old-styled school desk.

<Forgive me for this, Ho-oh, but I've got a lazy girl who won't even get off her behind. Bloody hell, Josephine, wake up!>

Seeing that he got no reaction, Eevee's eyes narrowed and an evil sort of smirk appeared on his face, as he said, <Bugger you, kid, I'll wake you up myself.>

After saying that, the Pokémon jumped onto the girl's bed and tore off the covers with his paws. He then placed his fluffy brown tail in front of the girl's nose and proceeded to tickle the olfactory. Moments later, a loud sneeze ripped through the air, as Josephine sat up and wondered what sort of pollen had drifted through her open window.

Seeing the brown coloured fox sitting on her bed with his tail curled around his body, she asked, "Why did you do that?" seemingly appearing to forget that today she was to leave Pallet to begin her journey.

<We have to get downstairs and you need to get ready for your journey. Remember?> The fox-like Pokémon gently reminded the girl.

"You make it sound like the Pokémon Trainers' Academy. But I know that this journey is going to be a lot better. Okay, let's go," Josephine answered, smiling at the family pet.

She moved Eevee off her and jumped out bed, as she headed towards her ensuite. The red haired girl opened the door, closing it upon entering and then turned on the water.

*****

After showering herself, Josephine proceeded to dry off her thin frame of medium height and build. She then rubbed the moisture out of her hair, allowing the wet strands to fall to her shoulders, and then dried and brushed it until it was in a suitable enough position for her to wrap a hair tie around it, creating a pony-tail look.

She went over to her closet and removed two hangers; one of which held a sky-blue sleeveless top, with the other holding a bright red miniskirt. She dressed herself, before slipping her feet into a pair of brown Blunderstone boots, and casually placed her black sun-glasses over her hazel coloured eyes. She had been born with black hair, which had gradually lightened to brown, but she had coloured it red when she was ten, and had kept it like that ever since.

Placing her digital watch on the wrist of her left arm, she headed down the hall.

Josephine put her right hand on the railing as she descended the stairs, admiring the wall to wall maroon coloured carpet. Heading into the reasonably large kitchen and preparing herself a bowl of cereal, she spotted her mother relaxing on the cyan coloured sofa. Eating the cereal as fast as she could without making herself sick, she then checked to ensure that her yellow backpack was packed. Finding out that everything was in there, she placed the breakfast bowl in the sink, ran some water in it and headed to the door.

"Honey, wait," the voices of Josephine's parents spoke up. The girl's mother rose from the sofa as her father wheeled himself into the room. The masculine toned voice had come from Charles, Fiona's husband. Charles had been an Indigo League Champion at the age of twenty, but after having an accident in the Safari Zone at twenty-three, he ended up in a wheelchair, as a paraplegic.

Saying goodbye was going to be difficult and sad.

"Yeah?" The teen turned and looked at her parents as tears started to form in her eyes.

"It's good to see that you are finally ready. Professor Oak rang and said he wants you to meet him at his lab," Fiona told her, relieved to see that her second oldest living child was finally setting off.

Josephine stood there with a puzzled look on her face, wondering what the researcher needed to give her, but then it clicked. "Of course! My Pokémon, Pokédex and Pokéballs… how could I forget…?" Josephine mentally slapped herself for forgetting such a simple thing.

As she was about to run to the lab, she remembered that this would be the last time she saw her parents before she left. She turned around and looked at them. "Mum, Dad… this is goodbye for now. I'll miss you."

Her father stared desperately at her, while her mother placed a hand on her shoulder and answered, "Yes, we'll miss you too. You have grown up incredibly fast Josephine, and we can't stop you from doing what you want to do."

"Alright, I'll see you later guys."

"Goodbye dear, and know that whatever happens, I'll always think of you as a Pokémon Master, because you went and attempted to accomplish your dream," Fiona said, as she smiled at her daughter. Charles manoeuvred his wheelchair backwards, determined to talk to Fiona in private once Josephine had left.

Just before Josephine set off, she gave her mother one last farewell hug…

… Which resulted in the tears flowing freely.

Wiping away the tears, Josephine started walking towards the research facility that was run by Professor Oak.

After trudging along for about ten minutes, she finally arrived at the location of the building. The lab's foundations were on top of a hill that was accessible by a long stairway, which took one to the entrance of the lab. It was a two-story ivory edifice that had a maroon roof which, from the top, allowed one to view the landscape as far as the eye could see.

There was a lake to the east of the hill and to the south was an untamed forest with no paths. The forest was cut short by an open range, which was met in the north by rocks and boulders. There were Pokémon scattered all over the landscape.

Josephine rang the doorbell and waited, because she knew that Professor Oak wouldn't be able to rush to answer the door. The wooden door opened a few minutes later.

"Ah, Josephine! Come to collect your Pokémon, Pokédex and Pokéballs, have you?" Professor Oak questioned.

"Yes, Professor," she replied.

"Right this way, then," he answered, as he turned and led the red haired girl into the lab. The first thing that was seen when entering was an array of bookshelves that were stacked against the wall, stretching from one corner of the room to the other.

To the right were small computers that blinked with all sorts of dazzling lights, with the monitors scrolling down with data that she could only guess was the research that Professor Oak and his assistants had compiled.

In the middle, between the computers, was a rather large door. It was used to go out to care for or to study the Pokémon which were kept at the lab.

To the left was a very large storage room in which the Pokéballs that contained the Pokémon were kept. One could only guess how many were amassed there.

At the top of the staircase to the right of the Pokéball storage room, the upper level was desolate except for three bookshelves that were lined up against the left wall; an enormous computer that took up the entire southern wall and finally, a small dome which was the place were the Pokéballs were kept.

"Professor, there you are! We have everyone here, sir," one of Oak's aides appeared when they entered the large room which contained the small dome.

"Very good, John. Any news of the others?"

"Rachel Savina has already been and gone, collecting her Pokémon, Pokédex and Pokéballs along the way. You already know about Paul's hasty departure, and the third trainer refused to mention his name as he collected his items." John answered.

Like Josephine, Rachel and Paul, the unknown trainer had chosen not to begin his journey at the age of ten – something which the Indigo League was starting to disapprove of and could only enforce the legal starting age through the region's police force.

"Good. Now, Josephine, I have a few important things to give you. They are your Pokémon, Pokédex and Pokéballs."

Taking a deep breath and trying not to become too hyper, Josephine asked, "Can... can I look at it? Properly, I mean?"

Picking up the last remaining red and white sphere, Professor Oak issued a command. "Go, Shinx!"

Emerging from the Pokéball was a creature covered in blue fuzz called Shinx. Her stout feline body and short azure fur shivered from the wind which was coming from the open windows, while her tail and ears glowed bright yellow; useful in dark places, but hardly noticeable once they were outside. Hissing, the Shinx leaned down on her front legs, her yellow bands gleaming in the sunlight.

Then, the researcher handed her a large red electronic device, which looked like a calculator and five small balls. The Professor allowed Josephine the time to register her partner's data into her Pokédex.

"Shinx, the Flash Pokémon – a Pokémon of the Electric type. Shinx's forelegs have a muscle-based system of generating electricity. Their bodies shine if endangered," the device reported in a monotonous voice.

"Let me explain what I handed to you before," Professor Oak began, just as the newbie trainer recalled her starter.

"The large red device which you hold in your hands is what I call a Pokédex. A lot of research by my colleagues' and I was done and we were finally able to release a small hand-held device which contains information about each and every Pokémon. It gives information about any wild Pokémon, including its type and special attacks."

He then pointed to the five small balls.

"These are crucial to capturing Pokémon, so please pay close attention. Once you weakened a wild Pokémon, you can trap it in one of these Pokéballs. Be absolutely sure that your opponent is weak enough before using one of these. If you fail to capture a Pokémon with the same ball five times, it will break. Also, note that you can only carry around six Pokémon with you at any given time. Once you're out of Pokéballs, you can buy more in the Pokémon Marts. You can even purchase Potions for your Pokémon if you're really far from a Pokémon Centre."

"How much do these items cost?" Josephine asked.

"About two hundred Pokédollars for each sphere… and I think the Potions are a little dearer," the researcher answered.

"I'll keep that in mind," the fourteen year old red haired answered. "I won't let you down, Professor. I've never been more ready for anything else."

"Very good…" he replied.

The teen walked back through the building and out the front door, waving goodbye to Professor Oak as she did so. She then looked up as she began to walk along Route One. The sun was now in plain view, almost blinding from where she was standing. The grass was glimmering as the dew dropped from each blade.

The day was just beginning, as was Josephine's Pokémon journey. She had her first Pokémon, and already knew where she was to go next – Viridian City. The teen, now with determination in her hazel coloured eyes, continued to look at the sky. She then looked down at the orb which contained her partner.

"Shinx, you are my key to becoming one of the best," Josephine murmured, smiling proudly.

Chapter 2: A New Leader and Concerns

~Flashback~

With Giovanni Walker well and truly out of the picture, due to his permanent retirement, it was only natural for the Team Rocket Admins to go looking for a replacement leader.

However, it seemed as though the organization's prisoners knew of what had occurred and thus caused a riot. The prisoner who was leading the riot soon got hauled before Team Rocket Admin Ross and was ordered to explain himself.

"My name's Rowan Harris," was all the prisoner said.

Having studied Rowan's Pokémon extensively, it wasn't long before the Rocket Admins unanimously voted for him to be their new leader. Some, who weren't aware of Giovanni's exit, questioned why Team Rocket allowed a prisoner – and a former trainer at that – to become their new leader. It was now, more than ever before, that Team Rocket wanted to dominate both Kanto and Johto.

Little did they know that their plans would hit a brick wall…

~End Flashback~

*****

Charles turned his wheelchair around so that it faced Fiona. "Let us hope that she does not make the same mistakes as her brother," he stated, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

Fiona placed a hand on her husband's shoulder. Rowan had been a trainer before his younger sister had and, unfortunately for him, had become involved with evil people. He hadn't been heard from since. She wanted to believe that Josephine would not get mixed up in that sort of stuff, but couldn't be sure.

"How long has big brother been gone now, mummy?" Natalie asked in a high-pitched voice, as she ran into the room. The nine year old red haired Nat – as Josephine called her – was the youngest Harris and often wore a purple short-sleeved polo shirt and a red skirt. Being only nine, she was too young to receive a starter Pokémon at the moment, but would be able to start her journey next year.

"Too long," Charles cut in.

"We last heard from Rowan when he was fourteen. That was exactly three years ago," Fiona answered.

*****

Josephine

As I walked down the path, I noticed something burrow to the surface in the field next to me. I immediately took out my Pokédex and hoped it was a Pokémon for me to capture. In a flat, electronic voice, the Pokédex recorded the Pokémon's information.

"Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokémon – a Pokémon of the Ground type. To protect itself from attackers, Sandshrew curls up into a ball. It lives in arid regions with minimal rainfall."

At the mention of its name, the small, and scaly yellow rodent, similar to an armadillo in shape, turned its head and looked at me. The petite snout, underside and inner ears were white-ish, when compared to the proper scales, and a small tail curled inwards towards its back. Rather distressed black eyes looked at me.

I sent out my Shinx, whom I had nicknamed Riley. "We can capture Sandshrew, Riley. Use Bite!"

The small blue and yellow cat Pokémon lunged at Sandshrew with her teeth bared, but by that time, the shrew had already curled up into a tight ball and the tough scales repelled the attack. It showed no intention of uncurling afterwards.

"I guess I'll have to use a Pokéball," I said loudly, in order for the Sandshrew to hear me, and then took out a red and white sphere. I paused, waiting for a reaction, but when there were none, I threw the ball at the shrew Pokémon. The sphere hit the Sandshrew, opened around the middle and the shrew was transformed into red energy before being drawn into the Pokéball in a beam of red light.

First the ball was still, and then the button glowed red as the sphere started twitching from side to side. Slowly, the ball slowed down as the red light on the button was fading… The sphere suddenly twitched sharply, its two halves separating again as I disappointedly watched the Sandshrew materialize on the ground. The shrew Pokémon growled unsurely, realizing that just curling up and waiting wasn't the best choice.

"Now Riley! Tackle!" I commanded, pointing at the Sandshrew. The female Shinx charged, sending the shrew stumbling backwards and crying out in pain.

"Use Bite again!" Another order came from my mouth. Taking advantage of the Ground type's shock from the previous attack, Riley rushed forward again and clamped her fangs firmly onto the shrew's arm. By this time, the yellow scaled creature was breathing heavily and his attempt to push the feline away from him was basically useless.

"Pokéball, go!" I threw the ball at Sandshrew again, and it opened, drawing the shrew Pokémon inside. Both Riley and I waited with bated breath as the ball moved from side to side in the grass.

Ping!

Sandshrew was caught!

I went over, picked up the Pokéball and attached it to my Pokébelt, letting my partner stay out for a while longer.

"Hmm, his name will be Sandy," I told Riley, as they walked on the dirt path, the black and blue feline Pokémon trotting by my side.

<Greetings Sandy,> Riley sniffed a salutation before momentarily stopping to lick a ruffled, matted lock of fur back into place.

<…> Nothing but silence in response came from within the red and white orb. Eventually, there was a short answer… <Hi.>

<I can understand it if you didn't want to be caught,> the female Shinx meowed. <But… you're a Pokémon, and that's what happens to the wild ones.>

<… I know,> answered the clipped tone of the male Sandshrew. <And others… sometimes aren't so lucky.>

Sensing that something was bothering the sandy coloured shrew, Riley questioned him. <What happened to you?>

<I don't wanna talk to you about it!> he snapped in response and, from that moment on, stayed resolutely silent.

*****

Shortly after her successful capture of Sandshrew, Josephine was merely looking around the grassy path to see if there was anything else worthwhile catching… when a Pokémon caught her eye.

The Pokémon was standing in plain view. It was a tall bipedal feline; the majority of its fur was white and its tail was dark purple in colour. While staring at her, with its purple eyes boring into hers, its tail swished about behind it, as if it was determining what to do next.

Josephine shivered.

Her eyes were watering and she couldn't continue eye contact. She had to blink… so she did.

When the girl glanced for a second time, it had disappeared. What had it been? She didn't have a great deal of time to reflect on that, as she wanted to carry on with her journey.

*****

A young male Houndoom stood obediently inside the Saffron City Gym. Lex was a sleek and graceful beast. His legs were slender and lithe, and a long, whip-like black tail thrashed behind him. Curved, devilish horns slid back from his head, and his tapering muzzle lifted eagerly to scent the air. Upon seeing the target, he growled at a human standing behind him. <She's here. Is Magepup ready?>

A tall but thin figure sporting long brown hair came forward. Wearing orange pants and a black tank top with two orange octagons imprinted on it, he had a concerned look on his face. Resting in his arms was a small, white dog, whimpering pitifully, with her small, thin tail curled beneath her body. Her white fur was thick, while on each of her tiny legs were four black stripes. Her fluffy, furry ears drooped slightly, and her once bright sky-blue eyes reflected her sadness.

"It's okay little one," the man attempted to calm the pup down. Shaking his head, he looked at the Houndoom. "It's no use, Lex. She won't stop trembling."

<Put her down then, Kevin,> the Dark and Fire type Pokémon replied. As Kevin placed the frightened pup on the ground, Lex gently nosed her and tilted his head to one side questioningly.

The pup instinctively understood what the Houndoom was asking her, and replied with a small, sob-filled growl.

That was all it took for Lex to immediately understand what the problem was, and so he reported back to Kevin. <She's trembling like this because she's lost her parents. They were killed by the legendary Dogs.>

Hearing rustling noises that suspiciously sounded like footsteps, Lex and Kevin waited in plain view of the Gym Leader. The figure took a step into the dim light that somehow hung in the room with no lights or windows, revealing a beautiful girl in her late teens. Her black hair, as straight as a Scyther's claw, matched her black dress perfectly, but over her dress she wore a red trench coat identical to that of her junior trainers', so none looking at her could make the connection between hair and dress.

The teen breathed in sharply when she saw them and asked them who they were. Kevin replied with honesty. "I'm the leader of a group of rebels who fight against evil and tyranny."

He gently took the pup from Lex's side and showed it to the teen. "My Houndoom and I found this pup lying beside the motionless bodies of two Cerberus-sized dogs. Please take her and train her to her full potential." Kevin then drew a breath in sharply, waiting for the teenage Gym Leader to reply and, at the same time, not knowing what her response would be.

"Why are you handing me this Pokémon? It doesn't look as though it's native to Kanto," Sabrina questioned conceitedly.

"… Ah, Lex discovered that she's from a region, that's relatively unknown to humans, called Beklan. I thought she would recover and mature quickly in your care," Kevin answered haltingly.

"I hope you are… ready, my friend, for a new psychic companion." There was an extended silence as Sabrina spoke psychically to her Kadabra.

<I'm ready, all right,> a mysterious voice came from within the red and white orb. <The time for vengeance… is now.>

"Too true. Those Rocket scum will pay for what they did to my mother. Very well; since both you and I accept this new Pokémon, I shall inform him of our decision."

"Kadabra has accepted her and so do I," Sabrina stated.

Sabrina, deep down, was a really distant and detached sort of person. Even towards her family and friends, she acted in a cold manner. But she had agreed to take care of Magepup, so she pulled a Pokéball off her Pokébelt and gently touched the scared creature with it. The sphere opened at the middle; a red light came from it, turned her into energy and drew her back into the ball, finally closing with a small snapping noise.

"I'll call her Voya," Sabrina murmured quietly.

*****

On Faraway Island, in the region of Hoenn, Mewtwo was speaking telepathically to Mew.

<I have seen the one called Josephine,> the male Legendary began. <You've made a wise choice, Mew. When will you be choosing her?>

A small, pink cat-like creature floated in the air gently, not letting the winds around her affect her trajectory. Her blue eyes were bright, showing some happiness and a bit of playfulness as well, and her long, pink tail flowed around her, seemingly full of its natural excitement. The small arms and large feet were full of life, and the rather large head moved around as she looked at her surroundings.

<After she's beaten Misty of Cerulean,> Mew answered. <And you? When will you choose the boy?>

<Before the Vermillion Gym challenge,> the tall whitish-purple super-clone replied. <I'm a bit concerned about the other girl. What if Articuno fails to deliver?>

<Articuno will do as she promised. You worry too much,> Mew said, before falling into a fit of giggling.

*****

Later that evening, Josephine was nearing Viridian City. She was happy because she didn't have much for supplies at the moment. She sighed when she saw the city and its lights. When she arrived at the Pokémon Centre, she found that the place was empty, as the Viridian City Gym had been closed for a month, so finding a room was easy. As soon as her partners were healed, due to her letting the two of them out – which was when Sandy went and attacked Riley for what she had said earlier, she was about to retire to her room, A343, when two strangers walked up to her.

"Hello," the man said. "I'm Lance Blackthorn and this is my colleague, Lorelei Winters," Lance motioned at the woman.

"Hi," Josephine replied nervously. "I'm Josephine Harris from Pallet Town."

Lorelei nodded briskly. "We know," she answered. "Your friend's been waiting here since this morning, and we arrived here not long after that."

A tall girl walked forward, her long purple hair flowing behind her. She looked relaxed and supple in her outfit – a bright red zip-up skin-tight jumper and navy blue shorts. Her huge socks perfectly matched her jumper, while her white sporty shoes were marked with a solitary crimson streak.

"Hi Josephine, I'm Rachel Savina," the purple haired girl introduced herself.

"Hi," Josephine replied.

Sitting to the left of Rachel's feet was a small lizard-like quadruped with a large bulb on her back, about half the size of her body. The face was flat and had several markings on her forehead, as well as two triangular ears and a pair of crimson eyes. When her mouth opened slightly, fangs could be seen. The body was mostly spotted with those markings, but the two front legs were more marked than the back ones.

"We'll talk with the two of you more in the morning," Lance said.

"We have an important issue to discuss," Lorelei added.

"Okay," Josephine and Rachel said in unison. The girls were both tired and, as Lance and Lorelei left the Pokémon Centre, decided to retire to their rooms. Luckily, the rooms were next to each other. Saying good night to one another at the entrance to their rooms, they simply got changed, got into bed and pulled up the sheets. When they eventually went to sleep, they dreamt of their journeys and all of the adventures they and their Pokémon would have…

This is a very interesting fiction, it's well detailed and well written. It got me intruge since the prologue and I'm hoping for you to continue up-dating this. When ever you do, remember to send me a notice, I would love to continue reading your work. ^^

Sank you for the review, Angel Bunny. Chapter 3 will be posted early next week. I'd really like it if more PC members reviewed, please.

A very interesting and original storyline. I found nothing wrong with either it nor your writing style that hasn't aleady been pointed out.
I look forward to more.

Thank you kindly for the review, Aceupthesleeve. Note that since I didn't post yesterday, due to a problem on the computer I was on, there will be a double post surprise today. Here's Chapter 3...

Chapter 3: The Viridian Forest

A solitary Pokémon, dog-like in shape, of about one foot five inches height wise, lay outside the Saffron City Pokémon Centre that night. It was Magepup, or, for the creature was indeed female, Voya. Voya remained silent as she thought, looking somewhat regretful that she hadn't told Sabrina or her Kadabra she was leaving for a little while.

She looked up slowly, not really focusing on anything, but then did a double take. Standing there in front of her, looking eerily unreal, were two pure grey canines. Each the size of the mythical Cerberus, they had three heads, with four black stripes on each thick, and well muscled leg. Both had softened expressions on their deceptively fierce faces.

Knowing that some people were walking around, Voya wondered why the humans couldn't see her parents, and then realized that as they were walking through them, the humans couldn't see them at all.

<Little one,> the male began, <we've been looking for you.>

Voya ran over to her parents, whining happily, her sky-blue eyes shining brightly once again. It was so good to be able to see her parents; having watched them die had traumatized her and she still didn't have enough courage to talk to her trainer, Sabrina, but she was determined that that would change.

But even in death, the dominant personality of the female Mageberus showed as her outline shone an eerie blue. Voya skidded to a halt, tears welling up in her eyes, as she instinctively displayed submissive behaviour by curling her short white tail underneath her body.

<Stay where you are,> her telepathic voice snapped. <We can not be touched by physical beings.>

Voya's father looked at his mate and quietly said, <You don't need to be so harsh. We can manage a little bit of contact, even though it'll be a shock to her.>

She paused, thinking for a brief moment, and then sighed, adding, <You're right, it was wrong of me to be harsh to our daughter.>

Addressing Voya, she asked her how she felt being a human trained Pokémon.

Voya answered that she thought it was unusual, but she believed she would get used to it. She saw her father indicate with his head for her to come over to them. Her mother lowered one of her three heads to sniff her, while the male gently placed a large forepaw on her tiny body and pulled her in close. As her parents shed tears that would never fall to the ground, Voya wept openly. This time it was not sadness which gripped her… but happiness.

However, Voya quickly realized the words she knew she had to say next pained her. Gulping nervously, she decided to get it over and done with, feeling sadder than before.

<I will miss you,> she said, as a tear ran through the thick white fur of her face. The weight of this truth hung around her neck like a steel anvil.

The female did what she was so truly afraid to do, and nuzzled her offspring, hoping against hope that the Magepup wouldn't react badly to the shock of being touched by a ghost. It didn't seem to affect Voya, though, because of her secondary Ghost typing and her mother breathed a sigh of relief. Both of the adults caught their daughter's eyes and held her gaze firmly. <We will miss you too,> they said in unison.

Seeing that the sun was starting to peek over the horizon, the male said, <We must go now because ghosts can't stand the sunlight. Know that we will be with you wherever you go.>

They faded until all that remained were their sky-blue eyes, and then even they disappeared. Voya hurried back into the Saffron Gym, her meeting with her parents giving her strength and hope, just as one of Sabrina's junior trainers started coming to. The small white pup scurried into Sabrina's room before the trainer woke up and wondered why she wasn't in her sleeping spot.

*****

Josephine awoke to find Riley jumping up and down on the bed. It seemed clear to the teenager that the kitten wanted to proceed with the journey, despite waking her trainer up.

"Settle down, Riley," Josephine mumbled. She sat up and rubbed her hazel coloured eyes to try and properly come to. Her red hair was matted down, evidence that she had had a rough night sleeping. She glared at the kitten, who simply stared back at her.

<It's been raining outside,> Riley announced, before shaking the wetness off her paws one at a time.

"Riley! No!" the red haired teen hissed, but she'd spoken too late. Already the once clean sheets were now stained with mud and water. "What would the cleaners think?" she wondered, before realizing something. "Riley…" she began. "If it's been raining, why did you go outside?"

The female Shinx purred contentedly as she rubbed against her trainer's arm. <I went outside before it started. I was caught off-guard by how heavy it was while trying to back to safety,> the Kanto-born, Sinnoh-based feline explained.

"Not now, Riley," the girl gently pushed Riley away from her, as she recalled Sandy to his Pokéball. "I don't know what caused Sandy to turn aggro yesterday, but I don't want either of you getting into any trouble today, ya hear me?" She directed her commanding question both at the female Shinx, who was still unrestrained by her orb, and the male Sandshrew who had woken up a few minutes earlier, but was now contained in his red and white sphere.

<I understand,> Riley answered.

At first there was silence from the Ground type, but after a period of time he replied. <Your wish will be done.> Aiming his thoughts at the Electric type, the shrew added, <You wanna question me, that's fine. But don't push your luck as far as what you did yesterday… otherwise, there'll be no holding back from me.>

Getting up slowly, she made her way to the bathroom and started getting ready for the journey ahead of her.

After about twenty-five minutes, Josephine was still in the bathroom and Rachel was starting to become annoyed. The lavender haired teen rapped on the door and yelled at her friend to hurry up.

"Huh?" the girl responded. "What time is it? I'm still brushing my hair."

Outside, Rachel grimaced while groaning inwardly. "It's about seven AM. Just hurry up, will you? Lance and Lorelei are here."

*****

The tall fourteen year old boy, known as Michael Wilcox, with a red cap on his light brown hair leaned against a moss-covered tree. His cap covered his dark brown eyes and his face shone with a serious demeanour. Over his black t-shirt was a red sleeveless vest. Turning his face away from what little light there was in the Forest, he closed his eyes and became motionless.

~Flashback~

It had been night-time, seven PM to be exact, but to him the night seemed darker than normal… in fact, it was pitch black. He remembered seeing a cat-like figure levitating in the room, with its glowing cyan eyes. A three-fingered paw-like hand reached out towards his father, placed its fingers together and slowly drained his father of life by choking the air out of him.

He'd been only twelve at the time, and the event had traumatized him badly.

~End Flashback~

*****

"We need to talk to you about an important issue," Lorelei began. "Lance, you can start off." The Ice type Pokémon Mistress of the Elite Four was a young woman, wearing a black shirt and short lilac sarong. She had burgundy hair that was fashioned so that it extended out to the sides of her cranium instead of curving traditionally down, and she had on a pair of black wide-rimmed spectacles.

Lance grimaced; being the more mature one, he had decided to let Josephine and Rachel have their breakfast in peace. But what does Lorelei do? She goes and disturbs them. He couldn't do anything about their annoyed expressions, but they would just have to put up with him talking.

"Well," Lance hesitated, gathering his thoughts. He was a tall man, aged approximately in his early thirties, and was currently sitting in the Viridian City Pokémon Centre. He had short red spiky hair. He looked comfortable in his outfit – a black cape with a red underside and black boots with red trimmings. His suit was mostly black with red sleeves, a red torso area and a wide black belt. "Are you the two of you aware that you're both possible candidates for being chosen by this region's Legendary Pokémon?"

"Legendary Pokémon?" Josephine had heard the term thrown around a lot and even used it herself, but the specifics of the legendary Pokémon were lost to her. She had learnt about the great Sun God Pokémon, Ho-oh, in school and its lunar counterpart, Lugia, but she knew as well as everybody else that they were just myths.

"They are powerful Pokémon that command all others to bow before them," Lance explained.

Josephine shook her head solemnly. "That's quite unfair of them."

"No," Lance stopped her. "You don't understand; they are the rightful leaders of the Pokémon."

"Because they have existed for so long these Pokémon have become more powerful than you can possibly imagine," Lorelei took over explaining the disturbing details of the Legendary Pokémon, surprising Josephine with her wealth of knowledge regarding the world of Pokémon. "Nobody knows where they came from, although the Legendary Pokémon are rumoured to have existed since the dawn of time, so obviously their origins remain unknown if that's our best guess."

"There is one thing we know for sure about the day two Legendary Pokémon choose their humans," Lance explained gravely. "Do you know which two I'm talking about?"

In unison, Josephine and Rachel shook their heads and wondered which two legendaries Lance might be talking about.

"Mew and Mewtwo are their names," Lance answered. "The day they choose their humans is a very sad day because, in the end, it results in one of their deaths. Lorelei can explain that better."

"Their deaths? Why?" Josephine wondered. "Ah, it looks like Lorelei is going to explain."

Lorelei began in a crisp and clear tone. "Since Lance had already started explaining, I'll just finish off. Because the legendary and human are linked, if the legendary were to die, the human dies as well."

Rachel's eyes grew wide with shock. She hadn't been paying full attention, but this newest piece of information caught her interest. "Really? Man, that would have a pretty devastating impact on the family."

"Indeed," a third voice broke in. The man standing there was a tall, enigmatic individual with neat black hair. Dressed formally in a black suit, he had a smirk on his clean-cut face. In an intimidating voice with a distinct Italian accent, he proceeded to address the group, informing them of his current situation.

"Why?" Lance looked fascinated.

Staring directly at the Dragon Master, Giovanni answered, "It came to the point where I had had enough and permanently retired from Team Rocket. I have heard rumours, though, that they've found a new leader… so I can only give both of the trainers here my deepest wishes and warm regards that they soundly beat whoever the new leader is."

"Thanks, Mr … um?" the two teens replied, wondering how to address the stranger.

"Walker. Giovanni Walker," the ex-Team Rocket leader answered.

"Thanks, Mr. Walker."

"I'm going," Rachel said, getting up out of her seat and walking out of the building. Due to her impatience, the lavender haired teen was itching to really begin her journey, so she got up and left. But at the same time, she was now much more aware of the things happening around her.

*****

"The first Gym is in Pewter City, which is north of here, through the Viridian Forest. But for now, we need to be heading back to the Indigo Plateau. Farewell."

When Lance, Lorelei and Giovanni had finished talking to Josephine, the two Elite Four members and ex-Team Rocket leader bid farewell to the girl and let her get ready for the journey ahead.

After buying some Pokéballs, Potions and Antidotes, the red haired teen left the store and headed for the entrance to the Viridian Forest.

As Josephine and the female Shinx approached the entrance gate, the feline questioned her trainer as to why she and Sandshrew had been given the nicknames of 'Riley' and 'Sandy'. Josephine replied that a character from a television show she often watched was called Riley and she'd nicknamed Sandshrew 'Sandy' because of his sandy coloured skin.

"We better go in," Josephine said as confidently as she could. As the teen and her partner entered the Forest, they were amazed at all of the plant life there. There were trees as far as the eye could see, bushes were everywhere and flowers could be seen on the ground wherever one walked. "This is amazing…" Josephine was staring at all of the plant life.

<Yeah,> the female Shinx answered back. "My mistress is right. This IS amazing…"

They continued on until they noticed a young boy up ahead. He was wearing a large hat and had a net with him. He was spraying bug spray on himself and he seemed to need it, since he was wearing a white short-sleeved t-shirt and baggy green shorts. As they approached, he turned around, saw them and ran over to greet them.

"Geez… too many Bug Pokémon," he laughed and then sighed.

"My name's Dustin, I am a Bug Catcher. Do you want to battle?" As he directed those words at Josephine, he seemed eager.

"I just caught a Caterpie," he grinned. Dustin took the red and white Pokéball off his belt and started tossing it up and down.

"I'm Josephine Harris from Pallet Town," Josephine introduced herself and then she informed her starter it was her turn to battle.

"Obviously I was told to battle, but where's my opponent?" the female Shinx wondered.

"Let's go, Caterpie!" Dustin raised the sphere, clicked the centre button, and a worm larger than the usual size appeared in a flash of light. The green Pokémon had two large black eyes and a segmented body. The underside, feet, mouth and tail were yellowish, and there were yellow circles framing its body. A pink antenna ending in two tips was on the top of its head and it looked strong as it aggressively showed off.

"I'll get its Pokédex entry," Josephine said, taking out the red coloured device. "How experienced is it?" the girl cooed, wanting so much to pick the little caterpillar up and pat it.

"Caterpie, the Worm Pokémon – a Pokémon of the Bug type. It releases a stench from its red antenna to repel enemies. Caterpie grows by molting repeatedly," the device reported.

"I was lucky to catch it; it's quite experienced! And it hasn't evolved into Metapod either. Now, Caterpie! String Shot!" Dustin called out. Caterpie quickly listened and started shooting silk out of its mouth.

"Ohh, but it must be close. Anyway, enough chatter. Riley, use Tackle!" Josephine instructed her Pokémon, but the female Shinx just sat there, a look of reluctance on her face. The feline was unwilling to harm her opponent as it was smaller than her.

"I will NOT harm that Caterpie, unless I'm absolutely forced to," Riley thought, looking pointedly at her trainer.

The silk quickly covered the female Shinx's face. The lion-cub still sat in one place.

"This is a great chance! Let's go Caterpie – a Tackle this time!"

Like the first time, Caterpie was quick to listen and rushed straight at Riley. Thanks to her stubbornness, Riley was hit.

"That hurt a bit," the female Shinx grunted.

"Riley, COME on! You're pure Electric, for crying out loud – Electric types are meant to be fast. Do something! Otherwise, you're going to lose!"

"Hehe, you should call an attack. Riley is just sitting there trembling. Don't you know how to be a real trainer?" Dustin said with a smirk. "Alright Caterpie, use Tackle one more time!"

Caterpie rushed at Riley once more, but it missed. Tackle didn't have a one hundred percent accuracy rate.

"THAT does it! THAT Bug Catcher will pay for what he just said!" the female Shinx mentally yelled.

Galvanized into action by the Bug Catcher's scornful words against her trainer, Riley scratched the gooey silk off her face and lunged at Caterpie, biting it around the neck area. A thin line of blood trickled down the green exoskeleton.

"Well done, Riley. Now we're getting somewhere. Use Thunder Fang!"

"It doesn't matter now. I'll easily win this. Caterpie, use String Shot!"

Riley had been determined not to attack, but now she had no choice. No Bug Catcher was going to insult her mistress and get away with it. Her teeth tingled with pent-up electricity as she charged at the worm Pokémon and bit it once more.

"Damn it! It's a critical hit! Return, Caterpie!" Dustin sighed, unhappy with his loss. He touched his Pokémon lightly with the Pokéball and it was drawn back into the sphere as red energy.

"Your Shinx is pretty good. Here's the money you won," Dustin tried to sound happy as he handed Josephine three hundred and fifty Pokédollars for beating him. "I hope to see you again one day, when we're both stronger."

"Me too," Josephine replied, as she shook Dustin's hand and went off deeper into the Forest, with Riley following her. "It's amazing that I won that battle…" she thought.

"You know something? He was right – you are getting stronger Riley, as far as speed is concerned anyway."

Riley replied, <I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult, but thanks, I think...>

Just then, they heard a scream deep in the Forest.

"What was that?" Josephine asked her Pokémon, who had jumped at the noise.

<It sounds like a Pokémon in pain,> Riley said in a serious tone that she'd never used before.

There was another scream.

<Follow me Josephine. I know where it is coming from.>

Josephine followed Riley into a clearing, where a light fuchsia coloured creature covered in indigo spots with a small horn on its head was being whipped by a man dressed completely in black spandex with a big red 'R' on his shirt.

"Get up you useless Nidoran!" the man shouted at the Pokémon. "You're as pathetic as the female version that that other kid took from me!"

"Hey, what are you doing to that poor Pokémon?" Josephine ran towards the man. "Stop it!"

<What right do you have to beat an innocent Pokémon?!> Riley yelled.

"Huh, a kid? You better go and play somewhere else kid, because if you want to save this Pokémon, you'll have to defeat me in battle."

The man enlarged a Pokéball. "Get going before I get serious."

"Yeah right. Riley, let's show this guy why he shouldn't mistreat Pokémon!"

Riley ran towards the man to attack him, but he released the Pokéball right before Riley reached him, which temporarily blinded Riley.

The next thing Riley knew, she was being tightly squeezed all around her body by a purple snake, with a yellow stripe over the start of its neck and a yellow underside. On several points of its body, there were black rings that showed where the skin had been removed. A rattle was positioned at the tip of the tail, while the snake's thin black eyes stared at its surroundings.

"… This… isn't… good… stupid me… I… fell… for… it…"

"That's right Ekans; squeeze her until she suffocates." Ekans continued to squeeze Riley, who was now starting to cough up blood.

"Riley, direct your Thunder Fang attack in Ekans' body!" Josephine yelled as Riley coughed up a bit more blood.

Pausing to take a breath before attacking, the feline struggled to get a better position. The familiar pulsing, electrical energy was soon coursing through the reptilian form, which hurt the snake slightly, making it loosen its hold.

"Take that!"

"Now scratch it!" Riley scratched at Ekans's scaly body until she forced it to slither back to its master.

"No! Go back and squeeze it again Ekans – don't let a Shinx clone stop you."

"Riley, don't let it squeeze you – Bite it repeatedly!" Josephine commanded.

As the snake Pokémon was about to squeeze her, Riley ruthlessly clawed and bit at Ekans' body, eventually fainting it.

"Ekans, return."

Making a great deal of effort to stand strong, without visibly shaking from the first signs of fatigue, wasn't easy for Riley. "I don't particularly want to faint right now…"

The man recalled Ekans and ran off, but not before shouting, "You haven't seen the last of me or Team Rocket, kid, you can be sure of that!"

Josephine watched the man run off before paying attention to the hurt Pokémon that the man had been beating. She wanted to be sure that she wasn't going to be hit by a surprise attack.

She pulled out her Pokédex and found out that this Pokémon was the male version of Nidoran. She thought she'd get its Pokédex entry.

"Nidoran, the Poison Pin Pokémon – a Pokémon of the Poison type. It scans its surroundings by raising its ears out of the grass. Nidoran's toxic horn is for protection."

"Hold on Nidoran; I'm going to get some Potion out of my bag," Josephine said, as she pulled out a Potion. "Considering your wounds, this will hurt a fair bit, so be ready."

Nidoran nodded its head, while Josephine sprayed the Potion. It hurt a lot, but Nidoran didn't complain, as it was glad that there was a nice human to come along and help it.

"There you go – all better." Josephine said happily as she finished spraying. "I hope you can find a good home Nidoran. Good bye."

Josephine walked further into the Forest with Nidoran staring after her.

"I wonder who or what Team Rocket is. I also wonder who helped the other Nidoran," Josephine thought out loud.

<Those are good questions Josephine, but I see some Pokémon up ahead as well as a few trainers, so how about a few battles before you think too hard.> Riley said, jumping in anticipation.

"You're just a battle happy Pokémon, aren't you Riley?" Josephine laughed. "Alright, let's go."

After about two hours of battling, Josephine and Riley were exhausted. They had battled quite a few Bug Catchers and captured a lot of Bug Pokémon. Caterpie, Metapod, Weedle and Kakuna were new additions to the team. The friends had travelled through the majority of the Viridian Forest and were nearing the end when suddenly...

"AARRGGHH!!!"

The scream had startled both Josephine and Riley.

<What was that?> Riley said, turning her head in about every direction it could go.

"AARRGGHH!!!"

<There it is again. I think it came from this direction!>

Josephine and Riley ran until they saw three Bug Catchers being pecked and clawed by a medium sized bird. Josephine took out her Pokédex and it said "Pidgeotto, the Bird Pokémon – a Pokémon of the Normal and Flying types. Pidgeotto flies over its wide territory in search of prey, downing it with its highly developed claws."

Pidgeotto's body was larger than that of her pre-evolved form, the feathered crest was not only a shade of red but it was longer as well, and the tail was now red and yellow. The wingspan had also increased, with the bird using that to her advantage in striking the terrified Bug Catchers, and the look in her eyes was quite fierce.

"Riley, we have to help them. Go!"

Riley went towards the bird and released a Thunder Fang attack at it, but it didn't have much effect due to Riley's exhaustion. It did get Pidgeotto's attention, though, and it turned to face its attacker. It sent a huge gust of wind towards Riley and she was knocked out the instant it hit her.

"Riley, NO!" Josephine screamed.

Just then, a purple blur ran past Josephine and tackled the Pidgeotto. It was the Nidoran that the female trainer had helped out earlier.

"Why are you here? Did you follow me all this way?" Josephine asked, incredulous at the Poison Pokémon's behaviour.

<Yeah, I did. I wanted to repay you for what you did.> Nidoran told her, smiling. <I will repay the favour by battling for you.>

"Does this mean you want to be on my team?" Josephine was surprised.

<Yes. The first thing you could do is yell out an attack, because the Pidgeotto is back.> Nidoran said, as the Pidgeotto came back looking very angry.

"Oh, right. Nidoran, use Horn Attack!" Nidoran ran into the Pidgeotto, but Pidgeotto held its ground. It sent Gust after Gust at Nidoran, nearly defeating him. "Nidoran, your wounds haven't fully healed – you should stop."

<No way – I'm not going to let a bird beat me!> Nidoran said proudly. <Besides, I don't want to disappoint my trainer in my first battle.>

Nidoran ran as fast as it could, as Pidgeotto was sending another Gust; it hit Nidoran, but he still fought on and he knocked Pidgeotto back. Then he started an array of Double Kicks and eventually felled Pidgeotto.

<Now get it before it gets back up!>

"Right, go Pokéball!" Josephine threw a Pokéball at Pidgeotto and it hit the target.

The Pidgeotto was drawn into the red and white orb with a flare of red energy, and the sphere settled on terra firma. It wobbled for a few seconds, but it seemed like hours. Finally, the ball clicked shut, emitting a low tone confirming the capture.

"Alright, I caught Pidgeotto! Well, I think that she was a real tough one, so I will call her Duchess." Josephine ran over to Nidoran and congratulated him, after recalling Riley to her containment device. "You were amazing; I don't think I would have been able to catch her without you."

<Thanks, I'm glad I could help.> Nidoran said exhaustedly.

"The exit is only fifty feet away, so I think I will be able to get to Pewter City and deposit the Pokémon I don't need to use."

Josephine then noticed a sad look on the Nidoran's face. "By the way, I think I will call you Kingpin."

<You mean…> Nidoran began, a hopeful expression on his face.

"Yeah, you're a part of my main team now, just like Riley, Sandy and Duchess." Josephine said with a smile. "It's an unusual name, I know, but you certainly did your best. Welcome to the team."

Kingpin jumped onto Josephine's right shoulder and smiled happily.

"Are you ready to go to Pewter City and help me win my first Gym battle?" Josephine asked.

Kingpin nodded.

"Well, let's go." Josephine said, as she walked out with Kingpin, knowing that this was going to be an amazing journey.

Chapter 4: The First Badge

"This place sure is... grey," Josephine said as she entered Pewter City.

"That's why it's known as the Stone City," a voice said from behind Josephine.

Josephine turned to see a girl, who appeared to be around her age, patting a Growlithe. The small, orange dog, stood beside her on all fours, growling angrily. A mane of white hair covered the top of its head, while below its chin was a large beard of the same fur. Black stripes covered its body, giving it a feline look, but the fluffy white tail was stripe-less. Its small ears drooped slightly, and its tongue was currently dry, indicating its tiredness.

The Growlithe trainer stood proudly, her long blonde hair with red foils in it flowing behind her. A red skin-tight short-sleeved top and a pair of slim-fitting grey denim three-quarter pants was her outfit. Her huge socks, almost like leg-warmers, perfectly matched her shirt, while her white sporty shoes were accented with a solitary crimson streak.

"I'm Serena Stone, sister of the Pewter Gym Leader, Brock Stone. This is my partner, Growlithe; I call him Pyren."

"Wow... he's an impressive Pokémon," Josephine said. "Could you please tell me where the Pewter City Gym is?"

"It's in the northern part of town, but I recommend that you heal your Pokémon first at the Pokémon Centre, seeing as how you just got out of the Viridian Forest. The Pokémon Centre is just ahead if you follow this path," the girl pointed down the dirt road.

"Thanks for the information, Serena." Josephine answered.

Josephine walked towards the Pokémon Centre. Josephine arrived at the Centre and went up to the Nurse to heal her Pokémon and she noticed that the Nurse looked very familiar.

"Nurse Joy, you remember me. It's me, Josephine!"

"I'm sorry; I don't believe I've seen you before," the Nurse said, looking at Josephine.

"You were at the Pokémon Centre in Viridian City..." Josephine said, wondering why she couldn't remember her.

"Ohh, you must mean my cousin. She is the Nurse in Viridian," she said happily. "There is a Nurse at every Pokémon Centre in the region. We're all identical and we're all named Joy."

"Oh, okay..." Josephine said, imagining all the Joys out there.

Just then, a tall woman with blue hair, in a dark blue police officer's uniform, walked up to Nurse Joy.

"Hello Officer Jenny; what brings you here?" Joy asked the policewoman.

"My department is trying to find Team Rocket. They've been stealing Pokémon from trainers," Officer Jenny said.

"Did you say Team Rocket?" Josephine asked.

Both women turned their attention to Josephine.

"I battled one of them in the Viridian Forest."

"You did?" Jenny became curious then. "Tell me, what did he/she look like, what Pokémon did they use..."

As soon as Josephine had given a description of the man she had battled and the name of the Pokémon she had seen in his possession, she informed the officer that there was the possibility the man had other Pokémon, but she hadn't seen them.

Officer Jenny left, saying, "Thank you for helping me; your answers will bring us closer to capturing Team Rocket."

"No problem Officer Jenny," Josephine said, and with that, Jenny left.

Nurse Joy brought Josephine her Pokémon, and Josephine thanked her. She bowed and Josephine left to do some business with the PC in the corner. She deposited all of her Pokémon except for Riley (Shinx), Sandy (Sandshrew), Kingpin (Nidoran) and Duchess (Pidgeotto). She then exited the Pokémon Centre and went to the Gym.

*****

Pewter City, Serena's home, wasn't beautiful by any standard, being dwarfed by Celadon's tranquillity, and the fast paced metropolis of Saffron. Originally a mining community, Pewter's buildings were old and constructed primarily of wood and simple materials that made the town look makeshift.

The surly, almost backwater vibe that was instilled in the atmosphere of the city was only a vibe.

A little further down the road was the Pewter City Gym. It was a large building, like all Pokémon Gyms, built specifically for housing the most intense Pokémon battles. Like every other building in Pewter, the Gym was constructed from badly cut stones that were probably quarried from the Pewter mines.

Having already seen the splendour of the Gym, she rushed inside, racing up the steps that led to the Gym's spectator stands. As she climbed, she heard chanting, which usually meant a Pokémon battle was about to begin.

"I am Josephine Harris from Pallet Town and I challenge the Gym Leader here!" Josephine said, in a strong voice (or as strong as she could get, considering that this was her first Gym battle and she was nervous).

"Another one from Pallet, huh? I just had one this morning," said a voice from the shadows. "Beat me pretty good too..."

"WHAT?! You battled another trainer from Pallet?!" Josephine yelled. "Was his name Paul?!"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact it was," the leader stepped out of the shadows. A teen stood on the opposite side of the arena. He wore baggy green trousers and a brown t-shirt that covered his tanned torso. The teenager's perpetual squint hid the dark eyes that matched his spiky brown hair. With the crowd filling the dark stands above at his back, he raised a muscular arm and smiled, as he released his Pokémon.

"Paul is one step ahead of me, but that won't last for long," Josephine muttered. "Anyway, will you accept my challenge?!"

"I do accept your challenge. Instead of the standard three vs. three, let's make it a two on two. I forgot to introduce myself. The name's Brock – I'm Pewter's Gym Leader," Brock said as he enlarged a Pokéball. "Go Geodude!"

A small, round rock-shaped creature burst out of the red and white sphere, somehow hovering above the ground. The nose-less face was staring valiantly ahead, with both muscular arms having their fists closed. Punching the rocky floor in an attempt to intimidate, a deep, extended cry of "Dude…" was heard.

"Go Kingpin!" As Josephine threw the Pokéball towards the centre of the arena with precise aim, the red and white sphere hit the ground and parted, separating the two different shades of colours. An extremely bright flare of light was emitted from that parting in the ball. As the light from this flare faded, a shadow of the Pokémon could vaguely be seen. As the final particles of light disappeared, the full figure of the Poison type could be seen.

"Kingpin, Horn Attack!"

Kingpin charged towards Geodude.

"Geodude, Defence Curl!"

Geodude rolled up into a ball right before Nidoran struck. The attack didn't even faze Geodude, while Kingpin was favouring his horn.

"Now, Rock Throw!"

"Dodge it, Kingpin!"

Kingpin dodged it with ease. Geodude continued attacking. Again Kingpin dodged every one of them.

Brock saw that this was going to be a defensive battle, so he decided to end it. "This isn't going anywhere. Geodude, get close to Nidoran and use Explosion!"

Geodude hovered over to where Kingpin was and basking itself in a bright white light before triggering a massive explosion of light and smoke, the deafening sound and force of the explosion engulfing the entire Gym. When the smoke and debris cleared, no Pokémon was left standing.

"Kingpin!!" was all Josephine could say when she saw both Pokémon on the ground, fainted.

"Oh man… what am I gonna do? Kingpin's gone… and the only Pokémon who can effectively attack is Riley. What good is Riley against a Rock type…? I'm gonna get creamed…" Josephine almost panicked.

"I guess this is a tie, Josephine." Brock said as both trainers returned their Pokémon. "The next one will decide the battle. Go, Omanyte!"

The creature that emerged from the red and white sphere was one from Kanto's past. A small spiral-shaped white shell rested on the Pokémon's blue body. Below its two large eyes was a mass of writhing tentacles, and hidden underneath two of the front appendages was a beak-like mouth.

The red haired girl took out her Pokédex and pressed the scan button. "Omanyte, the Spiral Pokémon – a Pokémon of the Rock and Water types. Omanyte was resurrected from a fossil using modern science. It swam in ancient seas."

"Well Riley, this opponent is a Pokémon from when Kanto was newly formed, so I hope you can take him down!"

With that, Josephine sent the female Shinx out and she looked ready for anything.

"I'm sure that you can beat him if you put your mind to it," Josephine said this mainly to reassure herself.

Riley stepped up to face the spiral Pokémon. For a moment, there was nothing but silence, then… "Omanyte, Tackle it!" Brock yelled.

Omanyte rushed towards the feline but, at the last second, Riley only just dodged it due to her agile reflexes.

"Phew, that was a close call," Josephine thought, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Try your Thunder Fang attack on it, Riley!" she yelled, thankful that her partner hadn't been hit.

The dual Rock and Water type was still in close proximity, due to being a slow mover, so the female Shinx seized the opportunity. She bit the tentacled section of Omanyte and electricity coursed through the fossil Pokémon's body, which led to a grimace been seen on Brock's face.

"My brother won't be happy about that move!" Serena thought, looking at his face.

The teenaged Gym Leader knew he would have to up the ante if he wanted to win this battle. "Rollout!"

With these words, it became Josephine's turn to look concerned. If Omanyte were to hit Shinx with Rollout, especially after taking the time to use Defence Curl without anyone noticing, a fact that caused Josephine to rub her forehead in frustration, Shinx would be felled like a sackful of Meowth.

Omanyte began to roll around the giant area, slowly at first, but faster and faster as he skimmed across the smooth bedrock that made up the Gym floor. Shinx could only stand uncertainly and wait for him to make his move, which would undoubtedly be an attack. Rocks exploded beneath Omanyte as he circled the stadium in an effort to gain enough momentum to launch himself towards the feline and hit Shinx directly. It was only a matter of time until Josephine would have to deal with the onslaught that was Omanyte's Rollout and the Pallet trainer knew that.

The entire crowd watched the circling Rock and Water Pokémon with hushed silence; they were anxious to know what this promising young trainer would do to counter Omanyte's attack.

"Shinx," Josephine began, uncertainty in her voice. "Thunder Fang."

Serena shook her head at Josephine's command.

"Thunder Fang would slow Omanyte's roll, but she had waited too long to use the technique; for at his current speed, Omanyte could launch his attack whenever he wanted and losing the momentum that Shinx's electric-based attack would rob him of didn't change that fact," she reasoned.

As Serena predicted, Omanyte tore through the attack and lined himself up against Shinx.

Seeing the opportunity Omanyte presented to him, Brock acted without hesitation. "Now!"

At the sound of his master's voice, Omanyte dashed forward, spinning dangerously close to Shinx at an angle that left the cute lion-cub with nowhere to go. The entire crowd joined Josephine in gasping when Omanyte struck Shinx, knocking her backwards to the hard stadium floor.

Shinx struggled to get moving after she recovered from the initial shock of being knocked between rock and rock. The black and blue feline looked desperate to get out of her current situation, aware of the ever-present Omanyte who was lining up for another Rollout attack. Since he had successfully hit with the first attack, his speed had increased even more, so hitting Shinx again would most likely result in a knockout. Both parties knew this and both were frantic to protect their interests.

It was pure luck that Josephine protected her interests more thoroughly, as Shinx somehow managed to get herself away from the rocks, narrowly avoiding Omanyte's attack, but avoiding it nonetheless. With his rhythm ruined, Omanyte had to begin again, so he made one quick circle of the room, while Shinx fought for breath.

It was then a bright white glow overtook Riley.

Josephine watched in amazement as her Pokémon started to glow! Could it be that all of the hard work finally paid off, and she was being rewarded? She could only stare as the light became brighter, and her friend grew in size.

Riley's body had elongated into something more streamlined. The blazing light faded enough for Josephine to see. Standing roughly at a human teenager's knee, the bigger feline had slightly larger rounded ears and she now had two yellow bands on each of her front legs. The blue spike of fur that had been on top of Shinx's head was now a more pronounced black mane, her yellow eyes were half closed from tiredness and she had traded in her cute and cuddly look for a more serious one.

Wordlessly, the girl took out her Pokédex and tapped the scan button. "Luxio, the Spark Pokémon – a Pokémon of the Electric type. Luxio rests its forelegs on others to communicate with rhythmic electric pulses from its claws."

"WHOA! Like… WOW! Riley finally evolved!" Josephine felt as though she were on a sugar high, and wanted to dance, but she became serious. She was, after all, still in a battle.

"No way… she evolved…" Brock was surprised, as was Omanyte. But neither was more surprised than Josephine. She checked her Pokédex for a second time to discover that this was Riley's first evolution.

"Riley, use your Thunder Fang attack again!"

"Omanyte, watch out!" Brock warned his Pokémon. Omanyte tried to avoid the clone, but it was no use. Riley was much faster and stronger, as Omanyte was about to find out. She went up to Omanyte and, with her teeth crackling with electricity, bit his tentacled blue body. In a matter of seconds, Omanyte fell on his side, defeated.

Prompted into announcing the victory by the crowd's clapping, Jerry, the match official, stepped forward. "Omanyte is unable to continue. Shinx… uh, I mean Luxio… is the victor."

"I can't believe it – you won Josephine," Brock said, amazed that a Luxio had defeated his Pokémon, Omanyte.

It took a minute before Josephine realized what had happened. "WE DID IT! WE WON OUR FIRST GYM BATTLE!" Josephine released her other Pokémon, Kingpin, Sandy and Duchess. Sandy and Duchess stayed where they were while Kingpin ran over to Josephine. After a little celebration, Josephine stopped and asked Sandy and Duchess to come over and celebrate the victory.

Duchess flew over to her trainer, while Sandy looked up, gave Josephine the 'thumbs up' and said, <You've earned my respect, Josephine.>

Josephine smiled at her Pokémon, knowing that their friendship was growing.

And from his pocket, Brock produced a small badge of carefully cut rock. It was grey, almost silver, and octagonal in shape. Although plain, it meant a lot to Josephine.

Josephine accepted it, too happy to express herself. "Well Brock, it was a pleasure to battle you, but I really must be going."

Josephine left and went to the Pewter City Museum.

Later that night, Josephine was in her room at the Pokémon Centre with all her Pokémon healed and sleeping, except for Riley. She and Josephine were talking about the battle, as well as the Museum they saw afterwards.

<I can't believe that some Pokémon came from outer space!> Riley said, recalling one feature from the space exhibit.

"I'm more interested in the ancient Pokémon," Josephine said, remembering the bones she saw at the glass display. "I wonder if I'll ever see one…?"

<Maybe in your dreams, Josephine.> Riley yawned, but Josephine could tell that she was making fun of her.

"You evolved today, Riley, and your personality hasn't changed much from when you were Shinx." Josephine said, also yawning.

<Let's argue in the morning – I battled a tough one today, and it's taken a lot out of me.> Riley said, yawning longer this time and finally put her head at the end of the bed.

As trainer and partner Pokémon settled down for the night, the female Luxio's mind drifted almost unwillingly to a memory that had floated up to her relaxing mind, hidden beneath a layer of what had previously happened and the possible outcomes of what could.

~Flashback~

She had been sleeping with her pride, which consisted of two alpha Luxray (one male and the other female), about nine Luxio and seven Shinx… and she was one of them. The night passed without anything major happening. It was the next day, however, that would turn out to be the most traumatic.

Her Luxray parents had just brought down a Staraptor and were ripping it to pieces, when an armoured truck pulled up alongside the hungry pride. Two men dressed in long white robes stepped out of the vehicle; one scanned the Shinx cubs, while the other aimed his rifle at the two Luxray.

"Rob, here," the first one said, picking one of the Shinx cubs up. "It's a female, she'll do just fine. Well, we got what we came for… let's go."

"Sure thing, Dave," the second man answered, returning his weapon to a neutral position and getting back into the truck.

As Dave clambered back in, he became aware of the Shinx cub meowing pitifully. He was unaware, however, that the female cub was communicating with her parents.

<Mother, Father… help me!> was what the cry said.

As the armoured truck sped away, the haunting, calling roar of her mother was to be the last thing she'd hear in regards to her pride ever again… at least, until she returned.

Summoning all of her energy, she managed a pathetic sounding roar, but it was one that said thus: <I will return one day, that much I can promise.>

~End Flashback~

"Yeah, good night Riley, and thanks for helping me win my first badge." Josephine said with a smile, before falling asleep. Not knowing though, that she would need it because of the perils that her path would present to her. As she slept, an entire gang of men and women could be seen near Pewter City's edge, running towards a mountain known as Mt. Moon…

Beware... the review cometh.

Well, there wasn't much to complain about on the grammar aspect, so you get a plus there... however, your other areas (description, plot) leave a bit to be required. Let's case study with chapter 1:

First, the one paragraph plot recap:

So we have Josephine, a fourteen year old trainer who after four years of intensive mental training is allegedly ready to face the world of Pokémon. She goes to the remarkable Professor Oak's residence after a teary farewell and finds that she's the last trainer to get her starter, which somehow nobody seemed to want. Josephine, after receiving her pokedex and pokeballs, looks to the promise of a new day and heads down the road to her first destination: Viridian City.

Sound alright to you? No problem, hunh? Well, this is where the Bottom Five will prove you wrong...

Seeing that he got no reaction, Eevee's eyes narrowed and an evil sort of smirk appeared on his face, as he said, <Bugger you, kid, I'll wake you up myself.>

Click to expand...

Eevee's statement here, although humourous, seemed off to me. Especially the second half. So who was helping Eevee wake up Josephine earlier? The phrase Bugger you is usually followed in this case by something like "you asked for this/it" or "Arceus is my witness, I'm so not to blame for what comes next."

Eevee's personality is also a little too volatile for my liking. One second he's this otherworldly mischief maker, the next he's something of an older brother figure/best friend/ eternal confidant? Something seems broken in Eevee's psyche to me, and while that's not a bad thing for a fic character *kofflavenderkoffkoff*, if unexplained, you'll just weird people out.

#5: Psychotic Eevees are a growing girl's best friend?

We pause our rant/review for a typographical correction:

as she headed towards her en suite

Click to expand...

"It's good to see that you are finally ready. Professor Oak rang and said he wants you to meet him at his lab," Fiona told her, relieved to see that her second oldest living child was finally setting off.

Her father stared desperately at her, while her mother placed a hand on her shoulder and answered, "Yes, we'll miss you too. You have grown up incredibly fast Josephine, and we can't stop you from doing what you want to do."

Click to expand...

Yes, yes they can...

OK, Josephine is a fourteen year girl. In most parts of the world, you're considered an adult by age 18. Even in the UK, where youth are considered of working age when they turn sixteen, this seems a little too off. Josephine seems lazy/not a morning person, forgetful (just look at the paragraph two paragraphs before the second one) and generally someone I wouldn't put too much money on for successful rough it sessions.

#4: The epitome of perfect parents?

"Ah, Josephine! Come to collect your Pokémon, Pokédex and Pokéballs, have you?" Professor Oak questioned.

Click to expand...

OK, this made me laugh my WTF laugh... Professor Oak, foremost Pokémon expert, source of many a champion, a league champion himself...twice, may I add... and he had to ask? I mean, what else do newbie trainers see you for this time of year? Brownie sales? The question is, I'm sorry, a tad retarded coming from Oak, of all people...

#3: This is the famous Professor Oak?!

"The large red device which you hold in your hands is what I call a Pokédex. A lot of research by my colleagues' and I was done and we were finally able to release a small hand-held device which contains information about each and every Pokémon. It gives information about any wild Pokémon, including its type and special attacks."

He then pointed to the five small balls.

"These are crucial to capturing Pokémon, so please pay close attention. Once you weakened a wild Pokémon, you can trap it in one of these Pokéballs. Be absolutely sure that your opponent is weak enough before using one of these. If you fail to capture a Pokémon with the same ball five times, it will break. Also, note that you can only carry around six Pokémon with you at any given time. Once you're out of Pokéballs, you can buy more in the Pokémon Marts. You can even purchase Potions for your Pokémon if you're really far from a Pokémon Centre."

"How much do these items cost?" Josephine asked.

"About two hundred Pokédollars for each sphere… and I think the Potions are a little dearer," the researcher answered.

"I'll keep that in mind," the fourteen year old red haired answered. "I won't let you down, Professor. I've never been more ready for anything else."

Click to expand...

So that leaves Oak's entire speech completely redundant... Josephine, according to you spent four extra years learning this stuff, was it really expedient to lecture her again? And if not, what could take her four long years to learn? Is she either stupid, or does the age limit extension actually have evidence for its enforcement in her existence?

#2: The Pokémon League's smartest move... EVER.

"Shinx, you are my key to becoming one of the best," Josephine murmured, smiling proudly.

Click to expand...

I'll bet Ash Ketchum says just about the same thing every day to his adorable Pika-rat... and where is he? A no-name, top-four placer at best, twelve year old 'veteran' trainer and lightning rod. OK, I'm just messin' with ya here, it's not really a problem, but the Electric starter phenomenon was ruined by Ash Ketchum and the presently abominable Pokémon animé and it's going to take some work to redeem the type. Good luck, Saphira.

#1: Electric types ftl?

OK, so let's recap:
#5: Psychotic Eevees are a growing girl's best friend.
#4: Forget 10... 14 is the new 18...
#3: This is the famous Professor Oak?!
#2: The Pokémon League's smartest move... EVER.
And #1: Electric type starters ftl?

And that's just chapter one... sorry, mate... guess i've been watching too much WTFP... but seriously, at least 80% of these points are illogical at best... and there were more:

*OK , pokemon's a game in this world too?

In the game, you have the protagonist owning a snes, gamecube and even a wii over the generations... but two DSs? with Diamond and Pearl? sounds way fishy to me... and even if they did exist, how can she not know what all the pokemon she's faced are? even if she took four years to study pokemon, and phail at it, the game should have at least given her a tip off, or did she not play them as much?

*Why a convict? TR, you are slipping...
*How should Lorelei and Lance know that much about two rookie trainers anyways? Is there no privacy in the world anymore?

I talked about this during our PM chats... just watch how much detail you let on, kay?

*How'd that Grunt recognize Riley as a clone anyways?

OK, so TR are into cloning, we get it. But don't you think that recognizing a rookie trainer holding one of your experiments would warrant a different approach? Particularly for a team with no morals or inhibition?

*OK, Riley knows what?!

Thunder Fang is an attack learned by Shinx in the games at level 33. Even Bite, which is learned at level 13 seems a little too incredible for a rookie trainer to reach after one battle with a sandshrew that she caught, not defeated. To add to the incredulity, Shinx naturally don't even learn Thundershock. At all. Being a physically offensive pokemon (no, i don't meant they're ugly... they favour physical attacks) and all puts your description of thunder fang as loosing electricity from her teeth as a projectile attack in serious dispute. To sum it all up: so far three of Shinx's moves don't look like they even belong and thus i can not see where the heck any one of them came from...

*Spliced, the Vogue of the Pokemon World...

Every single person's description was like looking at a fashion catalogue to me... bland and stringy. So you could think of no way to incorporate actions or the interaction of the environment (light, wind, sound) with anybody's attire or appearance? And shed some light on a definite personality for your characters, okai?

*Brock really should have been more worried when Omanyte faced Shinx...

OK, Electric types phail against Rock types... any old game veteran would know that. But Water types phail against electric types. You do the math and you have a decent chance for Riley to kick some shell in that match. Josephine should not have been that worried during the match.

Furthermore, she had Sandy and Duchess to at least try to make things difficult for Brock. Sandy could have tried for rollout himself (your pokemon are learning a rather ludicrous moveset so i'm putting nothing beneath them) and since Duchess is so tough, a rock type should not be beneath her level, especially as pidgeotto logically shouldn't be lover than level 16, which is way higher than anything brock's produced in the games (except GSC)

So you need some logical reviewing of your work and those plot holes need to be taken care of. Pronto.

Hey, the cynicism isn't totally mine... but the points are.

L@er!

Closed on author's request.