The Sinnoh region is marked by two things. It's temperate climate, and it's devotion to the ancient mythology surrounding the creation of the region.

In the last several years, the winds have begun to stagnate due to an unknown cause. Despite the changes wrought by this abrupt disturbance, life goes on. In Sinnoh, Strange occurrences are merely par for the course.

Nearly a decade ago, a group known as Team Galactic harassed the citizenry of Sinnoh. Lead by their leader Cyrus, they engineered a nefarious plot that culminated atop the peak of Mount Coronet, the heart of Sinnoh. After Cyrus's apparent defeat at the hands of a International Secret Agent by the name of Looker, leadership of the group fell to the second-in-command, Commander Saturn.

Under his leadership, Team Galactic began to correct it's course. Shifting from essentially a gang of thugs to the premier energy company in the region, the re branded Galactic Corporation has grown to be model example of corporate excellence.

Even so, others, who remain distrustful of the organization, and who long for earlier times, before the influences of urbanization and industrialization, have found solace and comfort in a rising new following. A devout faith has begun to spread it's word through out the continent, gaining many followers.

But our story does not begin with the Galactics or this new order. It begins instead in the quiet town of Sandgem, the home of the laboratory of the famed Professor Rowan.

It is here that a new generation of trainers will begin their journey!

---

A small crowd of children and teens wait impatiently outside of the largest building in Sandgem Town.

Inside. an assistant flutters about, nervously, from window to window. "Ah ah...Professor! They're here! ...There's more than we were expecting, too!"

"Ahem. Do we have enough PokeDexes for them?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"Then by all means, see them in."

---

The doors open, and the collective group outside enters the lab.

As they do, they see shelves and shelves of books, all related to Pokemon in some fashion. There are also several computers scattered about, each screen showing some obscure bit of information on Pokemon. Truly, this is the laboratory of the most prominent authority on Pokemon in the entire Sinnoh region.

An elderly looking man, with a bushy white mustache, and sharp, stern looking eyes watches them as they enter. In his hands is a heavy-looking briefcase.


"Welcome, children. I am, as you are no doubt aware, Professor Rowan."

"If you are here, then I am to understand that you all are seeking to begin your journey as Pokemon Trainers? Ah, but I see everyone of you has already has a Pokemon to call your own. Indeed, though perhaps you may not realize it, your journey has already begun."

He leads them over to a large desk. Laying on top of it are well over two dozen small devices, in four colors: red, blue, green, and yellow.

"These are called PokeDexes. They have stored within them a wealth of information on the Pokemon you will encounter here in the Sinnoh region, painstakingly collected by assistants of mine. Think of them as encyclopedias on Pokemon! I invite you all to take one, for they will be of great assistance on your travels. They will also serve as identification, for only trainers that show great potential are entrusted with PokeDexes."

He lifts the heavy briefcase in his hands, and sets it down on the table, opening it. Inside the briefcase rest six Poke Balls.

"Additionally, I have here the Pokemon traditionally given to beginning trainers here in the Sinnoh region, Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup. Two of each, one male, one female. I must say, I was surprised by the number of you, and unfortunately, there will not be enough for everyone to have one. I leave the matter of deciding who shall receive one to you, though, if you wish to settle the matter through Pokemon Battling, I would ask that you exit the lab first!" He says, the somewhat jovial comment conflicting terribly with the stern look on his face.

"The choice...is yours."

"Oh wow! There really are a lot of people here, huh Dora?" the girl in yellow and black says. "All three of the Pokémon are neat, huh?"

He walked into town much too early in the morning. Oreburgh wasn't that long of a trek from where he began, only an hour, but he was starting to sweat already anyway. It'd get worse when the sun rose, as he was weak against it. He didn't excersise anymore, and had grown weak; a scrawny teenager carrying two bags, one of which looked too heavy for him. That was part of the reason he did so in the first place. His muscles could use some work, he thought, though showing up to where he was going for the reason he was going all sweaty and smelly was a bad idea. It wasn't so bad, though. After all, Professor Rowan wouldn't be awake at four in the morning, the time it was now, and a time he could have been there by if he'd been in a real hurry. The truth is, he left too early. Time had become bothersome for him; he could no longer place it with the ease that normal people could. It frequently escaped him if he didn't focus on keeping track as he was doing now. It was just as well. He had to allow time lost from not simply flying--which was a bad idea for multiple reasons at this point, and for battling wild nocturnal pokemon and the occasional nocturnal trainer--though as long as he avoided eye contact, the latter were no big deal. If nothing time-consuming happened between here and Sandgem, or in the worst case scenario, here and Jubilife, then he could just shower at the pokemon center. No big deal.

He stopped in the pokemon center to catch his breath and get a quick drink of water, and then walked out of town much too early in the morning. One down, one to go, and it wasn't far away either. The worst half of the trip was over. Jubilife was next.

He estimated one and a half hours as a reasonable time for the pokemon professor to at least wake up; Waking up at seven in the morning was normal for most people, and Rowan likely had to be ready at six. Trainers probably wouldn't show up until eight or so, though the really eager ones would be there sooner. He'd get there at 5:30, probably when Rowan would be waking up. This posed a problem. He'd need sleep soon, and falling asleep at Rowan's doorstep would be embarrassing, though it was an option. No, he'd get his nice clothes dirty. Actually, now that he thought of it, any time spent working with pokemon was bound to get one dirty anyway, so it really didn't matter that much. Still, it wasn't good to look frumpy for this. He couldn't imagine Rowan looking frumpy, but he’d heard he was eccentric and informal, and had only met him once. Of course, all this was assuming he was right about what time it was. Time was really only a factor for her, and she could get her pokemon as soon as the door opened. He didn't need to be awake for it, but he wanted to see her off anyway.

She rode into town on the back of her best friend. Her loyal steed carried her between his back, and two bags consisting of both their belongings. They had left early that morning, when it was still dark and normal, sensible people were in their asleep in their beds. She was excited, and wanted to have first pick of pokemon from Professor Rowan's lab. She felt guilty about bringing him along, but he insisted on being there to see her off--they had already said goodbye to both their respective pairs of parents. Had she been awake now, she would have felt like a mooch, not carrying her own things or even herself, but he was going there anyway, and was awake day and night alike, for a few hours at a time. Besides, he felt he needed the exercise, and he was right. He was a scrawny guy who could barely lift his own weight--though he was capable of impressive feats of strength in a pinch, a trait that applies to all human beings. And he was carrying both their belongings. And her. She was hard to see while she was squished between his back and the bags, though, so onlookers wouldn't notice, at least at first. A double-take was needed to see the sleeping girl. She'd tried to stay awake during the trip, but she was far too sleepy. She was, after all, an ordinary little girl with an almost-ordinary bedtime. So she'd fallen asleep on his back, which he totally expected. The fact that she was drooling on his back wasn't expected, but it wasn't entirely surprising either. Soon they'd get to Sandgem, and then he'd get a room and let her sleep in an actual bed until Rowan was ready.

She rode out of town on the back of her best friend. They were making good time; they had encountered few enemies, and those few were easily dealt with. The super repel was still doing its job. Being attacked by wild pokemon in his overburdened state was troublesome. It was the trainers he had to watch out for, though a trainer battle was still preferable to a wild pokemon battle. It was hard for him to be stealthy with everything he was carrying, so a few battles were to be expected. At the moment, he was calculating how to evade the other trainers on Route 202. He had almost considered the possibility that just battling them would be faster--he was a veteran trainer, after all--when he found his opportunity and went for it. As his luck would have it, she, being asleep, and thus completely unaware of her surroundings, broke wind loudly enough and at just the right time to give away his position and be embarrassing. He, knowing when he was caught and being for the most part a gentleman when it came to his best human friend, accepted responsibility to protect her dignity from the other trainers at the expense of his own. They probably didn't even see her anyway. Like battling, this was not exactly new for him either, though it wasn't always by choice. He decided not to tell her about this; there was no reason to unless he wanted to embarrass her. He'd known for a long time that she was no sleeping beauty. Just a bit older, and she'd start snoring, too. Perhaps if she had a more ordinary bedtime. Being a pokemon trainer was just going to aggravate that further. He hoped she wouldn't start sleepwalking. It was a silly thought, but it worried him nonetheless.

Incidentally, he was correct about battling being the faster option. These trainers were fresh, and they probably had the same idea she had about being the first to Professor Rowan's lab. They accused him of cheating as they grudgingly handed over their winnings. Well, if things didn't work out, he could always be a permanent trainer and just invent as a hobby. He didn't like that, but it was a fact of life. He also didn't like picking on weaker trainers, but they literally did ask for it. It wasn't his fault he'd decided to supervise his young friend on her way.

He should have just flown. She was scared of Honchkrow, but if she were asleep she wouldn’t know. Then again, the last thing he needed was her freaking out in midair. And his scrawny muscles needed work. Being a pokemon trainer was good for that, but he’d quit that a while ago and resigned himself to battling passing trainers for money only when he needed it. He always wondered if that was the right call, quitting being a trainer right in the middle of the adventure. On one hand, he felt tinkering was his calling, but on the other, he could always fall back on pokemon training. Doing both wasn’t so bad.

He walked into town, weary, sleepy, and very grateful for the invention of item balls. Shrinking a pokemon down to size for easy transport and comfort was controversial with the occasional bleeding heart, crazy nut, and Humans Against Pokemon Persecution all Year--who usually filled one of the previous two conditions anyway—but storing items in balls that negated both size and weight as a factor when travelling? Now *that* was the work of a genius. He wished he knew which came first, the item ball, or the pokeball. But that wasn’t important now. He’d reached his destination. 5:30. Right on schedule. That was new. He wouldn’t have time for what he’d come for, but he could watch her select her pokemon.

She rode into town on the back of her best human friend, and woke up in an unfamiliar place. She always was a morning person, sort of. She checked the sky and looked at him. Her big brother. Except not. Just the back of his head and the smell of his armpits. Well, she’d probably smell too, if she walked that far. She understood and was grateful, and was sleepy, so she stayed on his shoulders and poked his head.

“Morning, sunshine.”
“Hee hee. Morning. How was the trip?”
“Uneventful. How was your sleep?”
“I’m still a little tired… I was excited, so I couldn’t sleep well… And it’s not exactly restful sleeping on your back all night.”
“Heh. Sorry, but that’s what you get. Beggars can’t be choosers.”
“It’s 5:35. Are you going to be okay?”
“Worry about yourself. You think the lab’s open?”
“If it is, are you gonna greet the professor smelling like *that*?”
“Hey. This is *man* smell. Working with pokemon all day, I’m sure the professor understands the physical exertion required. He’s smelt worse. Besides, there’s not enough time…”
“Yeah, I know. You konk out at six sharp, or else you pay for it drastically because you’re crazy awesome and stuff. I prefer flexibility.” She wrinkled her nose. “I think you got some of your man smell on me. Am I gonna turn into a man?”
“We aren’t vampires.”
“Nah, otherwise you’d be sparkling right now.”
“Hey now!”

The two laughed.

“Okay, but seriously. At least wipe yourself off and use my deodorant.” She reached into her bag and handed him her deodorant, then did a handstand on his shoulders and dismounted onto the ground while she waited for him to clean himself a bit. It was a girly deodorant that would surely emasculate him if worn—not that that was difficult.

“You’re not even old enough to *need* this yet.”
“It never hurts to be prepared!”
“You should have gone with the scentless ones. These girly deodorants alert pokemon to your presence.”
“I’m pretty sure pokemon will smell me no matter what I wear. Now quit stalling. You’re the one that said there wasn’t enough time!”
“I don’t wanna smell like a girl!”
“Well, I smell like a man because of you, so there!”
“You don’t smell like me”
“Quit stalling!”

He never could refuse her. He was kind of a pushover that way. Still, it helped that she was usually right. After deodorizing himself, the two headed to the lab to see if it was open at this early hour.

It wasn't.

"Well, poo."

They left, cleaned up, and came back later.

***

Later, when the doors opened, the two entered together.

"Don't worry, I'm not here for a pokemon. Just her. Hey, Professor! Remember me?"
"Hmm... Machu, I choose you! Who should we choose?"
"Pichu! Piiichu!"
"Chimchar? I think so too!"
"...Of course you'd pick that one..."

"Boy oh boy!" exclaims a young boy, tanned, with black hair and a pencil tucked behind one ear. A wide-brimmed hat hangs off his head. "I ain't gonna stand in nobody's way. Me 'n' Cap'n Howdy are gonna take the League with Pokemon we catch ourselves."

The boy thumbed his Pokebelt. "Shoot, those are some mighty fine Pokemon, though."

He walks over to the Pokedexes and picks up a blue one.

"Heh. Miles'll do for me, thanks."

The ronin' just relaxed, a bokken strapped on his back with his messenger bag laying beside him on the floor, his Cubone simply leaning on it's bone club.

"You guys can fight over the freebies."

One of the more strange ooking trainers, dressed in a white karate gi with blue trim, politely pushes forward and tries to get ahold of one of the turtwig's.

"Oh shoot! Everyone's picking already? Maybe we should, too!"

Alexis looks at the starters. "Maybe a Piplup?"

A young teenage girl looked at the devices on the desk with a wide eyed amazement. Her hands grasped the straps to her backpack on her back as she looked up at the red head standing beside her. A light melodic bell chimed from the bell around her neck as she smiled at the girl.

Kimiko, the red head sighed as she raised her hand above the crowd around them. "Professor! We're free to pick a Pokedex of our own though right? We don't have to wait for others?"

Jasper glanced around at everyone starting to fuss over the starter pokemon Rowan was offering. But him, he knew what he wanted.

"Opal, c'mon..." he said, grabbing his twin sister by the hand.

"But brother, I think I see the embodiment of Yggdrasil!"

Nevertheless, the two worked their way through the crowd...

...to the pokedexes.

"Aaaand... blue," he said, picking one out.

"Well if you get one, then I get one too," Opal challenged, grabbing up a yellow one.

The two then turned around to see how much was much fuss going on over the starters yet.

One of the older trainers there, a rather unruly looking young man elbows his way through the crowd to stand in front of the table that the pokedexes rested on. Soaring over the crowd, a Murkow comes to land on the punk kid's head.
"'Ey, Professor, tha differen' colors do anyting, or are dey just fer show?" he asks, looking up from the table. It seems that he's not interested in the Pokemon, which is good for the younger children, on supposes.

The ronin finally moves- suddenly by the pokedexes himself, taking a blue one. His Cubone looks up at the nearby murkrow with some... disdain.

"Personal preference, I'd assume." Just as quickly, he's stepped back- to where he can get a good look at everyone there.

Among the crowd of children and folk rushing for a Pokedex, a red one is quickly snatched up by a formidable girl dressed in blue and orange, wearing a vest over her torso and a flower in her hair.

Coral looked aside. The Chimchar were gone already? It put a bad taste in her mouth. Nonetheless, she already knows what else to pick. "I know exactly what to do with you," she says, reaching for one of the Pokeballs containing Piplup.

"Brother! Brother, we have your weak electronic devices... Yggdrasil is calling to me!"

"I... suppose. C'mon, Opal. Let's get you an actually sanctioned starter this time."

The two worked their way back, trying to claim one of the Turtwigs.

"Of course. Take whichever PokeDex you wish." He says, nodding at them.

"There are some...aesthetic differences to the different colors, but the information in each is the same."

A teenage boy with bright orange hair grins as he looks around at all the chaos.

"Ooooh, look at the legs on THAT one,"" He thinks, scoping out a blond haired girl. "And that girl with the blue hair is pretty cute too...Oooh, a brunette! ...She looks pretty mean, though...

He doesn't appear to be that interested in the PokeDexes OR the starter Pokemon.

His pet Pokemon, a small Budew, sighs.

"Man, don' knock Kir. He's a bad-ass bird."
Taking a green pokedex from the table, the punk moves over to stand near the ronin.
"I bet me an' Kir can take on you an' yer Cubone any time."

"Mmm, and I bet you'd be very excited about it."

He simply chuckles, leaning against the wall.

Ishia gave a broad smile as she squirmed through the crowd and reached for a blue Pokedex on the table. A strained rattly noise came from the bell again around her neck.

Kimiko on the other hand took a deep breath and forced her way through the crowd to grab both a red one and the green one Ishia was reaching for. "There, all happy now? This is what we came all the way here for right?" She asked as they stepped away from the crowd.

Ishia smiled and nodded as a melodic sound echoed again. "Well that's good then, maybe we can finally get heading home. I promised your mother we wouldn't waste time." Kimiko said again as she ushered the girl to the door.

The young girl dug in her heals as she fought to stay just a little bit longer. "Your not going to make this easy for me are you?"

The young girl shook her head as she looked around at all the different people and Pokemon.

"I suppose I could tell your mother there was a rather long line." She sighed.

"Hmm... which color... Machu, what do you think?"
"Piichuuu..."
"If it helps any, I got blue."
"Yours is black."
"I painted it."
"Then... I guess I'll choose red!"

Alexis looks up at the other girl going for Piplup.

"Do you mind which one you want? I'd pick the boy, myself..."

When Kyosuke reached out for the ball, he grabs... a soft hand? Coming from the other direction!

It's... a girl wearing a Viking helmet?

"Who... Tyr? Tyr, is that you?"

"...W-what? No, miss. I'm afraid you have me confused with someone else." Kyosuke replied, thinking fast.

"Er, I kinda wanted the male turtwig."

Coral glances aside, noting the girl in yellow and black. "I don't care," she replies. She looks over the Pokeball. "I chose this one. It's the female, so I guess it's your lucky day."

She pockets the new Pokeball, cracking open her Pokedex to skim over the new information, and then puts it away, too.

Leon went over and grabbed a yellow pokedex, and thanked the professor, before heading over to the pokeball holding piplup.

"I believe I'll be taking Piplup, you two, if you don't mind."

"You can't fool me! This is no mere chance meeting between the Goddess of War and Beauty and the God of Single Combat! I would recognize your aura anywhere!"

"Opal, Opal... Please don't do this again... He seems like a nice guy."

"Tyr is an awesome guy!"

...

"But this one is Yggdrasil," she continued, pointing to the ball that happened to contain the female Turtwig.

"Huh? You want the other Piplup too?" Alexis pouts. "But there's only one left..."

Kyosuke stares at Opal, before taking the male turtwig pokeball.

"Sorry about the trouble, miss..." Kyosuke started, but trailed off, addressing the other trainer next to Opal who he hadn't yet learned the name of.

Leo, smiled at the girl. "Sorry."

Jasper's eye twitched.

"M... Miss? I- I'm sorry, sir, you seem to be... slightly confused. I am a man." Jasper said, hesitantly.

"A MAN!" Opal shouts, punching the air.

"And... you are?"

"Eeeeeyyyy.... Wait, what?"
The Murkrow on the punk's head start's squawking in what appears to be laughter. Whether this is at his partner's confusion and surprise, or at the ronin, one can not tell. It's probably directed at the punk, though.
"Ey, shaddup, Kir!"

Coral brushes a strand of hair from her eye and looks Leon over long and hard.

"Are you blind? You're too late to get one of these," she growls. "Walk away while you still can."

"Okay, my mistake, your sister is a strange.

...She is your sister, ri-" Kyosuke started to say, cutting himself off as he shook his head.

"Ugh, so many days of travel and I'm already forgetting my manners. I'm Kyosuke, Kyosuke Kitamura from Veilstone city." The martial artist explained, extending his hand for a handsake.

"Now... which chimchar?"
"Piiichuu..."
"Hmm... why not pick the boy?"
"Why?"
"Eh... no reason..."
"Pii pi chu pi pii piIIChu?!"
(You're just trying to set me up, aren't you?!)
"Hmm... you don't agree with me?"
"Chuuuu... pii pi-chuU..."
(Well... it's not that...)
"Machu doesn't like that idea!"
"Think about it, though. If you get two females, what happens if you run into a male pokemon with attract? You'd be at a huge disadvantage."
"Well, that's true..."
"Chu chuu pii pichupi? Pii pichu..."
(You were thinking tactically? I'm sorry...)
"Then... I guess the boy would be better. I'll take him!"

Aurora picked the chimchar.

"Now... I just need to think of a name..."
"You don't need to rush with that. Names can be tricky business."
"Hmm... a name..."

Terrin just chuckles.

"Relax. Terrin, by the way... Terrin Okada. This here's Miles."

The Cubone bows, sort of. In that he bows, but it's not exactly a smooth motion, being difficult for him.

Coral reenters the lab, repocketing the Pokeball for her Starly, Hurricane. She passively walks back to Alexis.

"I believe this is yours," she says, handing over the Pokeball with the male Piplup and turning away without another look.

"Heh. I'm Samuel Grey, though most folks call me Sam. This featherbrain up here is Kir. Still, how 'bout it? There's a Pokecenter around here somewhere, I'm sure."
Seems like Sam was intent on getting a battle with Terrin.

Street Punk Sam wants to be your Rival!

"A... pleasure," Jasper says, no longer caustically.

As he reaches out for the handshake, Opal grabs the two hands and shakes them as well.

"Though," Jasper said as an aside, finally letting go of Opal's hand, and moving slightly away from her to Kyosuke so she wouldn't hear him, "I would appreciate it for you to not insult my sister."

"I'd rather not, sorry. As is, a battle here would be fruitless and call too much attention."

He shrugs, Miles returning to a position of resting on the bone he carried everywhere. "Later, however, is an entirely different story."

Ronin Terrin might just accept!

"Oh, sorry. The God of Single Combat may be the best at what he does, but for everything else, he bumbles profusely." Kyosuke said, ending the shake, taking the male turtwig pokeball and heading for the pokedex table.

"Ohh... thanks..." Alexis says, smiling.