[Pokémon] Violet Horizons [JOURNEYFIC]

[Hello! I'm a bit new to this, and this is just for fun, so don't expect frequent updates. This takes place about fifteen years after the events of ORAS, but as with every fanfiction out there, stuff goes down. All feedback is appreciated!]


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LITTLEROOT TOWN


After a long, hot walk through Littleroot Town, Violet finally arrived at the Pokémon research facility. Although it was only one story upward, there was a steep, barren cliff a couple yards left from the door, guarded by meter-tall glass panels inside steel frames—the rest of the laboratory's lower floors, about six or seven of them, jutted out from the mountainous face into the sprawling forest below, the edges of Petalburg Woods. The canopy of the scenery in front of her, although mostly verdant shades of green dotted with the occasional pine tree, was interwoven with the pastel pinks and yellows of mid-spring flowers in bloom. Most of the redwood balconies on the building's various floors were decorated by bird feeders for flocks of Taillow that inhabited the natural landscape, among their various overgrown greenery. The balconies were practically bursting with hanging flowerpots, geraniums, and wild vines crawling over the railings. The Taillows' stunning navy and strawberry plumage gave the prim, ivy-laden building a nice pop of color, however chaotic. Facing the forest, timidly keeping a bit of distance from the glass, Violet wished she could already be down there, running with the wild Zigzagoon.

"Oh, it's you! Hey!"

Violet flinched, then turned around to see a young man facing her from a moderate distance. He was tall, and had ruffled, ash brown hair peeking out from an oversized, floppy, white beanie with a black and orange Poké Ball rim. His shirt was athletic, a high-necked t-shirt matching the palette of his hat with markings reaching up from its bottom resembling pi, probably unintentionally. A clean, white lab coat, the buttons undone, fell to the bottom of his baggy, grey cargo pants that were stuffed with pens and folded papers, and he wore worn white and lime sneakers. A slick Mega Band circled his wrist. Haphazardly thrown on was a utility belt around his waist that six Poké Balls and a notepad were clipped to. A muscled, battle-scarred Swellow beat her hefty wings just above him, and a Camerupt sluggishly trotted besides him. "I'm technically Professor Birch, but since my dad's not retired yet, everyone still calls me Brendan-" the Camerupt yawned loudly, interrupting him. "Anyway, he's out doing fieldwork, against his better judgment, so if it's not too much of a hassle, can you come with me to Route 101?"

"That's fine! I don't really have anywhere to be right now, so I can go. I was actually wondering, what kind of Pokémon does Professor Birch have for the new trainers?"

"And that's classified information," Brendan replied, a smirk tugging at his lips. "All jokes aside, though, even I'm not sure. I've seen him give trainers literally whatever he happens to have on him at the time. He's not the most organized person, if you know what I mean. I remember one time he was attacked by a Wingull, and this trainer, May, I think her name was, rescued him with one of the Pokémon in his bag, a Phanpy. He just told her she could have it, and now it's her ace at the Petalburg Gym. Oh, and by the way, what's even your name?"

At that point, they had already started to walk, and were on the dwindling dirt path that branched from another leading to Route 101, and near it, a one-lane road. Brendan's Camerupt, sleepy, leaned on Violet, and she struggled to keep the boy's pace as the weight of the Fire-type slowed her down. Warm, almost hot, tangled fur suffocated her leg. Instead of shoving it, she scratched it under its ear. Of course she couldn't resist petting it. Violet cursed herself under her breath. "I'm Violet. It's really nice to meet you! And, I mean, I'm glad it worked out for May, I'm kinda hoping it's not like that for me," she admitted, smiling and letting out a brief, breathy laugh.

"I kinda hope so, too. And, well, regarding your other question, I think he told me he just wanted be a professor when no one else did. The old researcher, I forget her name, was getting pretty desperate for an apprentice, so she took him under her wing. I'm just glad he's not desperate like she was. Oh, that reminds me! Have you met René?" While he talked, his silvery cobalt eyes flitted around the sparse trees, tracking the common Bug-types, mostly Beautiflies and Dustoxes.

"I don't think I have. So, what about her?" Violet giggled. Up ahead was the main pathway, flanked by crumbling brick walls no taller than her waist. On one of its taller spires, a rusted bronze plaque hung from the almost-rubble, reading "Littleroot Town: A town that can't be shaded any hue."

"She's the second of my dad's apprentices, but she's, like, a decade younger than I am, fifteen. I was wondering because dad wants her to take a lap around Hoenn, y'know, get to know it better, but she doesn't want to do it alone, not very social and all that junk. I've kinda been scouting new trainers to go with her, because Arceus forbid dad goes, and I need to stay behind to keep an eye on the old coot. If you're up to it, maybe..?" This time, Brendan's gaze was trained on her.

If this wasn't pressure, Violet didn't know what was. Brendan was reassuring, yes, but that made it all the worse for her—she was, honestly, a sucker for that kind of thing. Doing nice things to repay nice or even decent people. She looked down at Camerupt by her side, and felt her ears heating up. "Okay. Whatever I can do to help! I'm not really experienced myself, so I could use a friend, too. I mean, we'll both be new, so we can explore the region together, but that'll be fun..!" Camerupt snorted, and glanced over to find her fingernails dug into its skin. "Sorry!"

Brendan tilted his head up, fixed on the puffy cumulus clouds in the pale azure sky. Violet did so, as well, just thankful he wasn't looking down at her... and that's when he let out a snort, bursting into laughter. "You- Arceus, Violet, you're too much! I'm sorry, too, it's just—you know." He reached a hand up, entangling it in the wispy hair untucked from his beanie. "We're almost there. You want to run, or no?"

Smiling sheepishly, Violet responded in a rush, for once all too certain about her answer. His long legs and her short stature did not make good running buddies. "No, thank you, I think I'll walk."

However, from up ahead, Brendan's Swellow belted out a caw sounding like an alarm, or a cry for help. Apparently, at some point it had gotten bored and decided to explore. A short distance away from him was what Violet perceived to be a girl, mostly indistinguishable save for her shoulder-length, white-blonde hair and dark pants. She could tell that she was wearing a blouse, but couldn't quite make out what the pink designs on its upper half were supposed to be. Brendan clenched his teeth. "Oh, geez, what now? Also, Violet, I'm overwriting your decision. We are definitely running." He nodded at her, and she slowly nodded back, more of a subtle jerk of the head.

Violet started first, pushing off the path for a head start with her new, mint high tops, fresh from the shoe store to commemorate the occasion—her finally pursuing her passion for Pokémon coordinating, that is. Many a time had she been out in the backyard, dressed in a nice enough outfit and practicing with her mom's Mareep and Quilava, and most often with her dad's lithe, agile Espeon, her fur the color of a lavender. She vividly remembered being seven and pleading him to let her take the Espeon, Mia, with her. Now, she wished she could replicate the feline's speed or use her psychic abilities to make her faster, maybe even just catch up to Brendan. If someone ahead was in trouble, she needed to be able to help. If it was just another of her worrying quirks, so be it.

They were near the girl now, and Brendan skidded to a stop, panting, as Violet did when she arrived beside him. "René," he choked out when his breath had returned. Brendan pointed to Violet. "Violet. What's up with... erm, dad, now?" He glanced down at the army green duffel bag by her side, a discarded Ultra Ball rolling out, then back at her.

"Nothing good." She answered swiftly, pushing up her oblong, tortoiseshell-patterned glasses. Letting out a sigh, she continued. "He decided to go out and do some fieldwork again, taking the new Pokémon with him, and then he got himself into a mess. There's a pack of stray Poochyena attacking him. His two Pokémon have it mostly under control, being vastly more tactical then the wild ones, but they're not perfect, and there's not that many of them, while there are more Poochyena. At some point, he lost the starters, too."

Brendan shook his head. "Ack. You've got Zara fighting, too, right?" As if to confirm on his own, he moved his head, peering around her, but the evergreen trees in front of Route 101 prevented him from assessing the situation himself. "Zara should be able to handle one or two at a time with her ranged attacks, but I worry more for dad's Pokémon. He only ever beat half the gyms in Hoenn, he's too scatterbrained to form any strategies."

"I agree completely. Yes, Zara is out. When I left, she had climbed up a tree on my orders, and should be assisting with Confuse Ray, Disable, and Spite. I'm worried, though, I've only had her for a couple months, and I obviously couldn't train her too much in that time." René cleared her throat, trying to maintain a level of professionalism, but failing, clearly anxious at the thought of something happening to this Zara of hers. It sounded like a Ghost-type at work, but then again, why would a ghost have to climb a tree?

Instead of responding, Violet just nodded at them both, feeling the familiar blush creep up her neck. Navy eyes shining, she faced René, whose peridot ones glimmered. Although it might've been an overreaction, she hadn't been there to know the situation was that awful for the past couple minutes, Violet had no idea what it was like to own a Pokémon. She couldn't judge. "We should-" René's voice cracked, and she did her best to conceal it. "We should go help them. I know you're probably a new trainer, but Brendan, you have a full team of six." She laughed bittersweetly. "It's my first time having a Pokémon wrapped up in the professor's emergency."

"It- It'll be okay!" Violet breathed. "We can make it in time, and if it's not going well, then Brendan can send in his Pokémon and, well, I'd hate to, but I could kick a Poochyena or something! Don't give up—Zara will be okay!" To her outburst, both her acquaintances nodded. Violet hoped that she could see that it was all adrenaline, that this wasn't what she'd be on the daily if they traveled together, but that was impossible. René didn't even know the plan yet. "Right!" Brendan announced.

Brendan and René ran ahead while Violet lagged behind, snatching up the empty Ultra Ball in case it was needed. She sprinted to catch up to them. By the time she stopped running, the Poké Ball clutched to her chest, she was a bit dizzy, but she was shocked and exasperated concurrently at what she saw. Violet blinked a couple times, wiping the sweat on her hairline but only succeeding in smudging it in her now-flattened bangs.

Professor Birch, two-sizes-too-small lab coat trailing out behind him, was being chased mercilessly by a Poochyena, the runt of the litter with a tiny frame, a dull, wiry coat, and a folded ear. Scraps of paper floated in the wind, relics of what was once a notebook, while the spine was clamped tightly in the savage hyena Pokémon's jaw. Its piercing topaz eyes gleamed maliciously. "Brendan! Brendan!" the middle-aged man called when he spotted his son, "Help me, help me, help me! You've got Anemone, right? And Esme?" He yelped as the rest of the pack took notice of him.

"Yeah, dad, I do!" Brendan returned, as if yelling to let him know dinner was ready. "Anemone! Go take care of him! Esme, everyone else, fight off the Poochyena!"

The Swellow, who she assumed to be Anemone, spread her wingtips to the farthest span, revealing a long, pink scar reaching from her left wingtip to her breast. She bore it with pride, taking to the skies and then swooping, all the while flourishing her cut. A few seconds before she reached the Poochyena, her wings glowed a blinding powder blue before her sharpened quills sliced deep into its matted, grey pelt. An intense stream of crimson glinted where the impact lay. The gash was deep, too deep for a complete recovery—the Swellow realized this, and winced, flattening her chest feathers to display her wound once again to the bleeding Poochyena. It acknowledged her with a howl, not even attempting to crunch a wing in between its powerful jaws, and retreated. Strange, Violet thought; Poochyena, though they were pack animals, were distinguished by their undaunted pride.

From Brendan's utility belt, a series of three Pokémon erupted, one after the next, and each releasing in a burst of golden sparks. Only one didn't come out. His Camerupt, Esme, lead, as a Breloom with an unusually large toadstool on its head, a Sableye, its (fraternal) twins ruby and sapphire, and a Chimecho, going limp as the wind twisted it into battle, followed.

Violet, watching his Pokémon so courageously march into battle, was awestruck. However, she couldn't forget René and her companion. She whipped her head around, mouse brown bun almost falling out of its canary scrunchy, to her for guidance. René noticed this and pointed to a gnarled oak tree not far from where they were standing, where a scarlet-furred Vulpix was clinging to one of the upper branches, a rogue Poochyena clawing at the tree's bark. Zara hissed and delivered a nasty Ember. Face scorched but unwilling to give up, it shot a Sand Attack up into the tree, blurring Zara's vision.

"We- René- let's go! Your Pokémon is in trouble!" Violet stammered. She bit her bottom lip. René responded with a terrified nod, so she took that as permission to grab her trembling hand in her own. Before she could start running, it was René who pushed off the ground, kicking grass up behind her, and Violet did her best to keep up. Zara's beady cocoa eyes widened at the sight of them. They lightened to a mysterious purple, then flashed to white and faded. The Poochyena's jaws were suddenly locked shut. No matter how it wiggled or whimpered, its mouth was entirely motionless.

"Your Pokémon is so powerful already!" commented Violet. René couldn't help but to laugh at the starstruck girl. Without a Pokémon of her own yet, she gawked like everyone else. She looked around for any fallen stick she could hit the immobilized Poochyena with, any weapon, when she saw a spherical blush and apricot object with a cobalt center, partially hidden by the thinnish undergrowth. Next to it was another object of the same shape, but in bright, wavy ocean shades. René followed her gaze and gasped. "Poké Balls! Violet, use them!"

"Ah, which one?" Violet panicked, scooping up both instinctively.

"It doesn't matter!"

"Okay, okay!" She released the Pokémon from the pink ball, the aquamarine ball falling out of her arms, and stepped back, ready to let René tell her what moves it probably knew. From the pastel capsule emerged a Pokémon that was, at first glance, slow, squat, and short-legged, with a body covered in aquatic cerulean skin. It bore resemblance to an axolotl, and had spikes coming from the orange circles on its chubby cheeks. There was a fin on its head and one protruding from the creature's lighter belly, acting as a tail. It had tiny, button eyes.

"That's a Mudkip! It should know... u-um, Water Gun and Tackle!" suggested René.

"Alright! Mudkip, Water Gun on that Poochyena!"

Mudkip, threatened by the Poochyena, obliged. "Kip!" Its throat saturated to a dark cornflower, making a gurgling noise as water generated inside from the glands in its throat. Bubbles crackled and popped inside it. With the luxury of time, this Water Gun would be stronger than usual. A water jet with all the force of a firehose slammed into the rowdy canine's side. The Poochyena was knocked off its paws, thrown onto the grass entire feet away from where it began, and an ugly bruise formed on its side. Its eyelids drifted shut—the canine was asleep, knocked out from the impact. The danger was gone. Zara gracefully leapt down from its perch into René's arms. A resonating purr rumbled in its throat when she scratched the cream triangle on its forehead. The battle behind them had calmed, too, with the pack retreating into their home among the trees.

Violet, breathless, turned her gaze to the Pokémon she'd borrowed to help fend off the wild ones. A dorky smile came over her face. "Great job, Mudkip!"

Mudkip flushed the color of a cherry, smiling back. "Kip! Mudkip!" The voice came out as a soft, low-pitched trill, a bit scratchy from its sore throat. Its tail fin wagged. In response, Violet crouched down and held out her hand, palm facing the sky. Gingerly, she inched closer while René watched discreetly and rubbed her Vulpix. Mudkip slowly crawled forward. It lifted one of its stumpy legs, reached it out. Violet's fingers twitched. In the short window of time after that, it scrambled from Violet's hand, up her bony arm, and to her shoulder. "Mudki-i-ip!" it proudly belted out.

René smirked. "I think it's safe to say she likes you! Really, Mudkip is pretty social, so it's not like she hates everyone else, but from my personal experience, she's not all that nice," she rambled. Violet scratched Mudkip's chin in response, twisting her wrist to an almost painful angle to reach her, when Brendan's Breloom from before walked over to the pair. The Breloom pointed to where Brendan struggled under the weight of his dad, whose arm was slung over his shoulder. Professor Birch's chestnut hair and beard were both frizzy on top of his reddened, sweat-stained face. "Loom-bre-loom."

"Oh! Oh Arceus, Professor, are you okay?" Violet, careful not to imbalance Mudkip, stood up and felt the Pokémon's grip on her shoulder tighten. René straightened and moved next to her, so close Zara's tails brushed her arm.

"Yeah, I'll- yeah, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," Birch panted, sinking down farther on Brendan's shoulders. Brendan quickly whispered something into his ear, eyebrows arched angrily, and he stood up. He muttered a few words to himself. Then, brushing the clods of mud off his lab coat, he cleared his throat. "So, Violet, yeah? Sorry, I'm saying yeah a lot... you're here for your starter, y- okay. Well, it looks to me like you've found a partner already!" He brightened, and grinned. "You wanna give that Mudkip a nickname, there?"

Violet's eyes widened in delight, sparkling. She turned her head to Mudkip. The Mud Fish was imitating her face, but it was just as authentic. Her mind raced to find something fitting—should she go classic, like Hydro or Riptide? Name it after something she liked, or a family member? A gemstone, Sapphire or Lapis? Maybe she should go with a human name, like Addie or Hope? With so many options, all she could think to do was use a mishmash of letters that she'd probably regret later. R... then a vowel, maybe E... what else? M was the thirteenth letter of the alphabet, so that worked. R-e-m... I! "Remi! Her name will be Remi!"

"Remi?" Professor Birch tilted his head. He chuckled. "Whatever works, I guess! It's better than another Aqua."

Brendan shot up, causing his dad to almost topple over. "René, I almost forgot! You know how dad's been pestering you to go on a journey, for like, forever?"

Birch shot him a glare when he said 'pestering,' and René said yes.

"Well, we have a volunteer to go with you! I asked Violet on the way here. You okay with that? I know you've been wanting to go, too, even if you'll never admit it. Zara needs it, too—we can't have her living her life around this mess!" He pointed to Professor Birch. "Nah, it'd be best for both of you to go."

René was surprised for a second, but then recovered mostly, an awkward expression of happiness and shock on display. "That's amazing! So, when can we get going?"

"Pretty much whenever. You want to say bye to Littleroot or anyone in it, go for it, there's no restrictions. Just make sure to call back and fill us in every once in a while."

Violet grabbed René's hand and squealed. The girl blushed and giggled, and Remi and Zara even joined in, the Mudkip wagging its tail like a dog and Zara letting out one of her more excited yawns. While Brendan and his dad looked on at them, sighing with weird looks on their faces, the girls started their adventure across Hoenn right where everyone did; on the threshold of Route 101.