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gizmo5225 · 8 years

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A Whole New World: Chp. 1

In the Artait region, where Pokemon from every region abound, journeys are known to be one of the most difficult in the Pokemon world - in part due to the gym leaders’ levels, and in part due to the strange variety of types in the gyms. Contests and battles are a constant in every city and town, and a new event - Air Racing - has become the dream of thousands of kids. But at the top of it all is one woman... and now, at the bottom, is a girl and her Pokemon.

Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…

Lisa Camary opened the door to her daughter’s bedroom, the dark blue walls alight with sunshine, but her daughter’s queen bed was hidden in the shadows, her daughter’s mop of dark brown hair hidden beneath a duvet with a bubble pattern on it. Out in the back yard, she could hear the mornings sounds of Pidgey chirping as her own Vaporeon leapt around, sending soft bubbles up to work as a second alarm clock for the lump on the bed. The white curtains rustled in the breeze as a flock of the bird pokemon swept by. The girl curled up on the bed groaned in time with the Houndour laying on her bed. Both rolled over, the Houndour snuffling as its paws covered its eyes.

“Illa, it’s time to wake up. Remember what day it is? You’re going to be late!” Lisa shouted, bubbles drifting in the window slowly. Knowing the strength of the mysterious floating objects, she grabbed the Flygon-shaped letter opener on the wooden desk by the window. As it drifted over her daughter’s head, she stabbed it, sending freezing droplets raining down on the dozing form and waking her quickly.

“MOM!” Illa shouted, shaking her head and blowing water out of her mouth as she sat up. The Houndour rolled off the bed to escape the same fate as Illa stumbled out of bed. “What are you doing?”

“Waking you up, obviously,” Lisa answered, drying the letter opener on her shirt and replacing it on the desk. “Did you really forget what day it is? March 14?”

Her mess of brown hair billowing out like a halo, Illa leaped from her bed, startling her Houndour out the darkwood door. “AH! Is it really that day already? I thought that was next week!” She began frantically pulling clothes out of her closet - first a royal blue short-sleeve dress, quickly dismissed as too ��winter-y’ by her mother. Then she pulled out a long skirt with green, white and black stripes, again quickly tossed out for being ‘terrible for walking’ by Illa. Then she pulled out a black, loose, partially-sheer shirt, and she grinned. “I’ve got it!”

Piling the discarded clothes in the corner of her closet, the purple-eyed girl began tearing her drawers open in a frenzy, digging for a few articles: Black shorts, a black top, a red sweater, and finally the boots her mother hated with a passion because they were knee-high. Too ‘risque’ for a 14-year old, she said. But running downstairs, with a set of silver bangles on one wrist and her dark hair shiny in a bun on her head, Lisa couldn’t deny her little girl was growing up. Behind her, the Houndour who had been by her side her entire life trotted down behind her, nose twitching at the scent of bacon in the kitchen and the crackling of grease. Out back, the Venasaur her mother had raised from an egg lumbered about, herding a small group of Bulbasaur, raised to be sent for new trainers to the Kanto region. Around her neck, a small stone she received at age 5 glittered, red and black swirling inside a pale orange stone.

“Don’t eat too fast,” her mother chided gently, throwing a piece of bacon to the Houndour. “You’ll get sick.”

“I’ll be fine, mom!” She said around a mouthful, then gulped down her last bite and snagged her messenger bag off the couch. Her faithful Pokemon lunged out the door behind her, and out the kitchen window, her mother watched as her little girl took off down the path towards her future.

She just hoped she’d make it alright.

+++++

Ten minutes later, Illa was dragging her feet up the hill to Professor ’s lab. In the tall trees to her left, stretching into the forest along Route 701, She could hear Butterfree quietly chittering and the low buzz of Beedrill. A Pidgeot soared slowly overhead, a rider on its back, and Illa thought about one of the biggest events in the Artait region: Air Races. In the Dash - on short tracks, normally straight ahead or with only a few turns - Pidgeot and Braviary were favored; in the races requiring more skill, a wider variety could be found, from Dragon-Type Pokemon like Dragonite and Salamence to normal Flying-type pokemon like Altaria and Staraptor. The most famous racer went by a codename, though: Resonance. His Noivern reigned as Champion in almost every event, only defeated in Dash by the Champion herself, a young woman named Eliza, and her Talonflame. But every competition, he got closer.

Returning her thoughts to her aching feet and the short distance she had left, she clapped her hands and pushed on, watching for the numerous other Pokemon. In a pasture to her right, a few Heracross battled, horns ringing against each other like steel swords in story books. Over her head, a few Spritzee drifted from the forest across, whistling softly as they landed on the fence. A herd of Tauros and Miltank grazed peacefully. As she got closer, she could hear sounds from the lab itself: the roar of the Professor’s Charizard, the neighs and whinnies of Rapidash and Ponyta out back as a short-distance message service, and - her favorite - the rumbling footsteps of a Metagross.

Illa ran the last few steps before knocking loudly on the large door, calling out to the open window, “Hey, Prof! It’s Illa!”

A ragged assistant answered the door, smiling at her with a Castform floating by his head. “Hello there. You must be a new trainer! Come on in. There’s actually another young lad here, a bit younger than you…”

She followed the man deeper inside, looking at all the Pokemon around her. Artait was one of the most diverse regions in the world; Professor Walnut often hosted other scientists, as it was simple to compare Pokemon from region to region. They stopped in an atrium with tall, leafy trees growing in it, small Pokemon skittering in the branches quietly. To the right, a small kitchen was preparing food for the lunch rush; a few researchers were already seated, munching on something while they looked over documents or did calculations. Down near the doors into the fields, a woman sat across from a figure with dark hair. As they approached, the person turned, and Illa blinked when golden eyes met hers.

“Ah, Illa!” She said, jumping to her feet. Her white lab coat fluttered around her brown shorts, settling neatly over her green shirt as she nodded. Her brown hair was tied back, leaving spiky bangs hanging over her right eye, and her olive green eyes sparkled with excitement. “Good to see you again. I don’t believe you’ve met Garrett?”

The black-haired boy stood, and Illa looked up. His hair hung shaggily over his ears, and his nose twitched as he frowned. “You’re old,” he said, straightening his black jacket.

“So?” Illa said, frowning. “I’ve been learning breeding theory.”

Professor Walnut smiled, gesturing toward the brunette. “Illa’s mom actually breeds some of the starter Pokemon for other regions. The Champion actually has a Venasaur bred by her mother!”

Garrett turned toward her. “Seriously? Eliza does?”

Illa nodded. “She’s from Pallet Town, in the Kanto region. Supposedly, she’s-”

“Not supposedly!” He snapped, turning to her. “I once saw a documentary on the Elite Four and the Champ. She showed all the badges, from each region! First Kanto, then Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos - she even beat the Battle Frontier, and conquered Mount Silver!”

Illa raised an eyebrow. “She’s done all that, and she’s only twenty?” She asked, skeptical as to the whole idea. “I doubt anyone can be that good.”

“She is! Just you wait!” He shouted, swiping an arm across his body. “Eliza’s the most powerful trainer there is. Supposedly, she even battled Blue, the ex-Kanto champion, and beat him! She has to be strong!” His eyes suddenly lit up, and he curled his hand into a fist. “And I’ll be the first to beat her since she became Champion!”

“Slow down there, kiddo,” the professor said. “C’mon. We need to get you a Pokemon before you go vowing to beat the Champ.” She whistled, and a Spearow fluttered onto her shoulder. “What are you thinking?”

Illa smiled, looking down at her Houndour, settled by her feet. “I’ve got Houndour, so I’m set!”

Garrett, looked at the Spearow, then looked up. “What about that one?” He asked, pointing at the ceiling.

The ceiling of the atrium had stained glass set into it; a twisted form was depicted, but Illa could tell what it was, along with the red and blue shape below it.

“Are you crazy?” She scoffed. “Rayquaza, Groudon, and Kyogre are legendary Pokemon from Hoenn legends. You don’t just use them as a starter Pokemon. They’d probably vaporize you.”

“So what? I’ll bet I could control them!” He said, his fists shaking. “I’ll… I’ll even bet I could catch one.”

Illa frowned as the professor spoke up. “Garrett, get that notion out of your head now. The chances of seeing legendary Pokemon is low enough as is, but actually defeating one, much less catching it, has never been done before. According to science, it’s just not possible.”

As he took a deep breath, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans, Illa got the feeling she was lucky to already have a starter Pokemon.

“Axew.”

Professor Walnut raised an eyebrow. “Are you absolutely sure?” She asked, pulling out a whistle. “Once you decide, it cannot be changed.”

“I’m sure!” He said, nodding. “Axew. That’s my final choice.”

Placing the whistle in her mouth, the professor blew four short sequences of notes, and as they listened, the note was repeated by numerous Pokemon; soon, a small green shape was scurrying along the floor, followed by another haggard-looking young researcher. Illa almost smiled, then she saw what followed.

“H-how many... are there?” She asked.

“Probably about 15 of them,” the brunette woman answered, shrugging, as a Luxray climbed out from under her table. “We’re in the middle of a study on Dragon-Type Pokemon, so we have a lot of young Dragon-types. Also got a group of Dratini in the pool now.”

Garrett’s eyes, however, were darting around the herd of Axew, looking over each of them, before he suddenly stepped forward into the mass. At his feet was a single Axew, smaller than the rest, with big eyes a shade darker than the others. He crouched down as it sniffed him. “This little guy… He’s different.”

Placing a hand on the Pokemon’s head, he nodded. “This guy.”

“Then by all means, please. Rachel, do you have a ball?” She asked, nodding at the assistant. The dark-haired girl produced a Pokeball from a pocket in her lab coat. Garrett took the ball, swallowing, and pointed it at the Axew. “Won’t you come with me?”

The Axew looked at him, then leaped up, headbutting the ball and disappearing in a red flash of light. The other Axew were herded away by a couple of researchers and the Luxray, though it quickly returned to Professor Walnut’s side. Garrett released the Axew from its Pokeball again, and it climbed up to sit on his shoulder, tiny claws clinging to his jacket.

“Just a few more things,” she said, gesturing to two boxes on the table. “Each box contains six Pokeballs, a badge case, a Trainer ID, and a Pokedex. The Pokedex AI has been named Lillian, and you can’t get much better than her, if you ask me. Besides that… Feel free to call, if you have problems,” she finished, nodding. “Come home and visit, and be strong. Don’t be afraid to push yourself, but don’t go too far. And remember: there’s a time and place for everything!”

They each placed the contents of a box in their bags. Garrett slung his over his shoulder, his new partner settling on his left shoulder, and nodded curtly before turning towards the door.

“Hey, Garrett!”

The dark-haired boy turned, and watched as she caught up. “What?”

“What’s your biggest dream?” Illa asked, smiling.

He shrugged. “Probably… To be a champion Air Racer.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Then why start with Axew? Why not a good Flying-Type?”

“Because,” he said, taking a breath, “You face your weaknesses first.Then you build your strength.”

Illa was about to ask another question, but already, the dark-haired boy had taken off, running down the hill with control she envied. By her side, Houndour sneezed, and she giggled before nodding determinedly.

“Here we go, Houndour!” She shouted, grinning madly as she, too, took off down the hill.

The fact was, they were probably going to be rivals; few people started journeys in the Artait region because it was hard, so they were few and far between. The gyms were odd types - She needed to beat an Electric-Type user first, and she had no idea where to start. But whatever happened, she was ready.

She would chase her dream, and she would catch it.

{~*~}

Out on Route 701, Houndour trotted by Illa’s side as she jogged down the trail. Ahead, tall grass weaved across the trail, and she could see small shapes moving: the stiff fur of Zigzagoon, the chitters of Rattata, even the flutters of some grounded Flying-Type Pokemon. Off to her right, in the trees, a herd of Deerling grazed quietly, but ran off as she approached; above her head, a Pidgeotto took off, soaring out of sight.

Illa smiled as, ahead of her, a Zigzagoon shook dirt out of its fur, humming softly. Houndour bounded ahead of her and she shouted, “Houndour, use Ember!”

A burst of fiery pellets erupted from its mouth, but the Zigzagoon dodged quickly, running in an unpredictable pattern before them. Paws dancing, Houndour growled, and Illa shouted, “Houndour, use Bite!”

The Zigzagoon dodged his first attempt, then cried out as Houndour caught its tail. Whipping its head, the Fire-Type the smaller Pokemon into the air, and Illa pulled out a Pokeball when it didn't get up immediately.

“Go, Pokeball!”

The Zigzagoon disappeared in a red flag of light; watching tensely, Houndour growled softly until the ball settled with a small ringing sound. Illa picked up the ball and yelled joyfully, “Yes! First Pokemon caught!”

By the time she reached Apush City, she also had a Taillow, a Pidgey, and a Rattata; after talking to Nurse Joy at the Pokemon Center, she held the balls in her hand and grinned, looking down at her wiggling Houndour. The Pokemon’s butt was shaking with the force of his wagging tail.

“Just think, Houndour,” she whispered. “These could be who we face the Elite Four with!”

Then, from a back room, Garrett emerged. She turned and blinked at the sight of his dishevelled hair and half-open eyes, and his coat flung over his arm. He seemed as shocked to see her, when he finally noticed her. The boy’s Axew bounded past him, and immediately Houndour growled, leaping at the smaller Pokemon, who promptly scurried up Garrett’s shoulder. Nurse Joy, following him out with a Chansey, grinned. “Oh, are you two rivals? You should battle!”

Simultaneously, they spoke.

“Aw, heck no.”

#Pokemon #New region #fanfiction #kind of #Houndour #Axew #New professor named after a tree #Enjoy

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