Reno sat at the computer, in a small room, with three others. Nervously wondering if he had messed anything up, second guessing some of his answers. If he had to retake this test, he would have to save up all over again. One of the others in the room said he was on his eighth attempt. He had tried seven years in a row, and here he was again, giving it another go. Honestly, Reno respected the 38 year old boy's tenacity.

Taking a deep breath, Reno submitted his test...

He then stood up and left the room, as instructed before the exam began. Outside the door, down the end of a long hall, he could see the front desk. That was where he signed in. It was also where he would be getting his test results. It was only twenty yards away to be honest, but it might has well been a mile. The muffled sound of his footsteps down the empty hallway sounded so loud to his ears.

The green haired lady at the desk smiled up at him, "Reno Kelly, right?"


"That's me." Reno answered, attempting to return her smile.

"Right." She beamed back. "Well, let's see." The smile fell off her face, followed by a long silence that lasted a life time. "I've never..." She stammered. "I've never seen a perfect score before."

It took a second for the lady's statement to register. Then it hit him. He'd passed! All these years of studying paid off! He passed!

The smile returned to woman's face, even wider than before, truly genuine. "Please, please. Go through that door right there." She motioned toward a glass sliding door. It led out to the zoo part of this lab. "You'll find the professor out there. I think he's in the field sector, taking care of a newly transferred Pansage. I'll let him know your on your way. I'm sure he'll be excited to meet you."

"Thank you." Reno answered, still in partial shock. He didn't know if he wanted to scream out in joy, laugh, or pass out. They were all equally valid options. Instead, he waved goodbye to the beautiful green haired woman, and went to the doors. They opened automatically as he approached. A Pidgeot flew past his head, just as he walked through the door. He'd never been that close to a Pidgeot before. In the wild, they usually kept their distance.

Reno continued walking down the rock path. To his right there was a large lake, with different Water Pokemon jumping out of the water and diving back inside. To his left, more Pokemon hid inside of some thick trees, leaping from treetop to treetop and popping in and out of the bushes. As he continued, he saw many more different types of environments: from jagged boulders and soft sand, to a second lake that was frozen over somehow.

The one thing he didn't see, while walking down the path, was the professor. Then, finally, he came across a grassland environment. It must have been the field sector that the assistant was talking about, because at the top of a hill, the professor stood, holding a Chatot on his arm. He seemed to be having a conversation with the little bird. Reno didn't know what he should do: interrupt the Professor's conversation or wait for him to finish.


He didn't have to wait long, as the Professor suddenly turned and looked down the hill at him. He moved his arm and the Chatot flew toward Reno, landing right in front of the boy. "Come on up." the Pokemon chirped "Come on up, new trainer!"

The Chatot then flew back up the hill, returning to the professor's outstretched hand. As Reno walked up the hill, the professor took out a Pokeball and withdrew the Chatot. Once Reno made it to the top, the Professor held out his hand to shake, "I'm Professor Poplar, and you must be Reno, the boy with the perfect score!"

Reno rubbed the back of his head with one hand and shook the professor's hand with the other. "Yeah, I made a few fifty-fifty guesses though, so some of it was luck."

Professor Poplar laughed. "Modest. That's an admirable trait." As soon as he was done laughing he reached inside of his lab coat and pulled out three Pokeballs, still in their shrunken size. "Anywho, this is what you came here for right, your first Pokemon?"

Reno shook his head up and down, trying to contain his excitement to a normal level.

"Well, as I'm sure you know, you will be choosing from three Pokemon. These are Association approved Pokemon that are specifically bred to be starter Pokemon that form lasting attachments to their trainer. And here in Knoxville, these are your choices!" With a flourish of his arm, the three Pokeballs flew out of his hand, grew in size, then emitted a red beam of light. Out of this light three Pokemon emerged. "First, you have Bulbasaur, a popular choice. This Bulbasaur is a happy little lady. I've never seen her without a smile. Next, you have Fennekin, adored by many. This Fennekin is a calm and quiet one. It's really hard to tell what she's thinking. And finally, we have a rambunctious little Totodile. This little boy likes to live this life out loud. He bit me once, but he didn't mean to, we were just playing. He felt bad about it for hours... So, with all that said, what do you think?"

Reno looked at the three Pokemon with a heavy heart. He knew this was one of the most important decisions he would ever make. After an entire minute of silence, he bent down in front of the Fennekin. "Hey there." He said, sure to speak softly. "You wanna go on an adventure?"

Renu walked out of the Lab and onto the street. Mid afternoon sun was still shining, the streets were bustling with people, and in his vest pocket, he was holding his first ever Pokemon, Fennekin, inside her Pokeball. It was overwhelming. He could go anywhere in the world now. He could do anything he wanted, but he honestly hadn't planned this far ahead. So he pulled out his phone and called home. His mother would be at work around this time of day, but his dad should be home.

To his surprise, it was his mom that answered. "So... how did it go!?" That was just like her, straight to the point.

"I passed." Renu answered calmly, but the smile on his face betrayed his voice, not that the video on his phone was turned on.

That didn't matter though. His mom could hear the excitement he was trying to contain. "Bryan!" She yelled, calling out to Renu's dad. "Renu passed his trainer exam!"

Mr. Kelly's voice was clear, if a little quiet, since he wasn't the one holding the phone. "Tell him to come back home. I wanna see his starter Pokemon. Which one did he pick?"

Renu answered before his mom had time to relay the message. "I picked Fennekin, the fox Pokemon." Then, before the conversation could continue, he added, "Put me on speaker mom."

After a round of congratulations, Renu had to ask the question that was on his mind. "Mom, why are you home? Shouldn't you be at work?"

Mr. Kelly answered for her, "Your mom took the day off, so she would be home when you called with the good news."

Mrs. Kelly picked up where he left off. "And then the factory will be on shut down till the 4th, for New Years." Renu had almost forgot about New Years. 2100 was just around the corner, and he was now a trainer! This century would be the best century of his life!

Renu finished up the conversation as he walked back to his hover bike that was parked on the corner of the block, at a hover bike rack. Minutes later, he was back on the road (or above the road technically).

At this rate, he would be home in time for dinner.

"Excuse me, miss," a store clerk began. "Can I help you find something? You've been looking for quite a while."

Myra looked up from her stooped position, a bit of pink flushing her cheeks. Rows of scented candles lined the aisle surrounding her. She put a handful of small votive candles back on the shelf and stood to greet the clerk.

"Uhh, I don't suppose you've seen a Litwick around these parts?" Myra asked with a sheepish smile, brushing a few strands of peach-colored hair out of her eyes. "She came here last time she wandered off."

The clerk frowned slightly.

"Sorry, I don't believe I have."

"Oh, I might've seen it!" a customer interjected. "I saw a little white thing walking on a roof on Main Street. It was too far away to really know if it was a Litwick, though."

Myra let out a small gasp, feeling the best thrill of hope she'd had all afternoon.

"Oh, thank you!" Myra gushed at the random customer. "You're such a dear. Perry, let's go."

Hearing his name, the Bulbasaur paused his painstaking inspection of candles. He used his vines to place a discounted gingerbread-scented candle back on the highest shelf and followed his trainer out the door.

"We oughtta go back there after we find Flicker," Myra rambled, talking more to calm her nerves than for an actual purpose. "I've never seen a sugarplum candle before. You reckon the real thing smells like that?"

Perry didn't respond. The grass-type was already scanning the roofs and sniffing the air, laser-focused on the task at hand.

Myra and Perry entered Myra's hovercar, Perry sticking his head out the rolled-down window. The girl felt a little anxious about leaving Perry out of his Pokeball for so long. What if somebody saw them and ratted her out to her family? But right now, the lost Litwick was a bigger problem. Risky as it was, Myra needed another pair of eyes to help her. Myra began hovering toward Main Street, riding low and slow to keep an eye out for Flicker.

Meanwhile...

At some point, Flicker's hiding spot began to make a soft whirring sound. Then it began to rise up into the air. Flicker peeked out of the hoverbike's satchel just in time for it to speed forward. The Litwick realized what was happening and put on a mischievous grin. Looks like she was going for a ride!

After a couple minutes, Flicker decided to find out who her kindly chauffeur was. She climbed out of the bag and was immediately nearly knocked off by the wind rushing past the bike. Flicker held on for dear life, eyes wide, flame spurting diagonally from the top of her head. Usually she scared other people, but this time SHE was the one scared..... what a thrill! Flicker giggled, the sound barely covered by the motor and wind.

Soon, the hoverbike slowed, perhaps nearing an intersection. Flicker gathered her bearings and noticed a young black-haired boy driving the bike. With an impish smile, the Litwick silently maneuvered around the hoverbike's frame. She landed right behind Reno with the biggest THUMP her six-pound body could muster and let out a chilling shriek.

@Balthazar007

Reno had made it to the city's edge, and was stopping to plot a course home. That's when he heard it.

The shriek was barely audible over the sound of traffic behind him and through his helmet, but it was just enough. Reno turned around and saw the little Litwick.

"What in the world? Where did you come from little one?"

Flicker sagged a little in disappointment. She was hoping for a bit more of a reaction... not entirely aware that inciting a big reaction on a moving hoverbike would be a pretty poor choice.

In response to the boy's question, Flicker looked around. And kept looking, spinning around in a circle. She had not the slightest clue where she was. The Litwick shrugged. She looked a bit nervous for a second, but soon she put on a smiling face again and tried to climb around Reno to reach the handlebar.

@Balthazar007

Reno smiled as the tiny candle Pokemon jumped her way onto this handlebars.

"Okay," He said, still smiling. "So you're lost, and you want to ride up front. Got you." He then paused to think, to think about his next move.

"I got it! You must have gotten on my bike last time I was stopped, back at the Lab. I bet your trainer is waiting for your there, assuming you have a trainer already."

With a destination picked out, Reno turned around and zoomed off, back toward the Pokemon Lab. He half hoped that he wouldn't find a trainer there waiting. Maybe this was a wild Litwick that he could catch for himself... Somehow, he knew that wouldn't be the case.

Flicker grinned as the hoverbike sped forward. It was a much smoother ride now with a better handhold, and a driver aware of her presence.

As the hoverbike slowed for traffic, the Litwick spotted a small yellow hovercar cruising low. Could it be Myra's? With no warning, Flicker hopped off Reno's hoverbike. Fortunately, the ghost-type had some ability to hover, and she floated down slowly for a soft landing. Unfortunately, Flicker was way off on her estimation of speed and timing, and the yellow car was already long gone by the time Flicker passed its level.

Flicker landed next to a big bare tree. She grumbled in frustration and began stomping back toward the main road. Just three steps later, she walked right into a wall of taut yarn or something. The Litwick struggled to pull against the sticky wall for a second. Then, with a little focus, she was able to phase through the object and rematerialize on the other side, pulling at a couple strands of thread that still stuck to her wax.

Though she escaped the web, just the brief struggle was enough to alert the Pokemon waiting nearby. Flicker cried out as a Pokemon pounced on her and struck her with a Poison Sting. The Litwick feigned fainting for a second, just enough to catch the attacker off guard. Then she squirmed around and screeched at the attacker, flame flaring. The Astonish caused the wild Pokemon to flinch just long enough for Flicker to scramble out of its eight-legged grasp. Flicker glanced at the tree to see two wild Spinarak regrouping to attack.

@Balthazar007

Litwick jumped off the front of Reno's bike before he had a chance to stop her. 'Shit.' he thought to himself. He didn't know why she jumped, but he couldn't just leave the little Pokemon behind. It obviously had a knack for getting lost.

So he began his decent. Luckily he didn't have that far down left to go, as they were almost back at the Pokemon Lab already. Once he could turn around he did, headed back toward where Litwick had jumped. When he got to the area where she should have landed, he couldn't see her. Surely she was in the area, but finding her would be difficult; she was just SO tiny.

That's when he heard a screeching noise, that sounded a lot like the noise the Litwick had made to get his attention when he met her. 'That can't be good.' he thought, and zoomed straight toward the sound.

He found Litwick in no time. She wasn't far away. If she were an average sized Pokemon, he probably would have seen her first. In any case, he was here now, and just in time it seemed. Litwick was facing off against two mean looking Spinarak.

"You sure know how to find trouble don't you?" Reno said, as he got off his hoverbike and took off his helmet. The Spinarak seemed momentarily stunned by the new arrival, but this didn't last long.

It was, however, just long enough for him to pull out Fennekin's Pokeball and summon her into battle. "Litwick, if you know any Fire type moves yet, now would be the time to use one. Together, we can scare these spiders away." He then turned his attention to his own Pokemon. "Fennekin, use ember on the left Spinarak!"

This wasn't how he pictured his first Pokemon battle, but it was now or never. He hadn't had any time to practice with his Fennekin, but if his studies were right, she should know Ember by the time she was ready to go off with a trainer. Fortunately, he was correct. The tip of Fennekin's tail caught fire with a small flame. She then swung it, and sent the little bit of fire straight at her target!

@Zanavy

Flicker stood rigid, stunned by the fast sequence of events. She looked vaguely toward Reno as he spoke and then numbly glanced around the battlefield.

"Flicker!" a voice called out. "Use Ember... on the left... one, too!"

Myra arrived at the scene, stooping forward to pant after the jog. Perry had managed to catch a glimpse of a Litwick as it floated behind the hovercar. Myra was able to park and reach the battle site not long after Reno - though Perry the Bulbasaur was still working toward reaching the scene with his stubby legs.

The Litwick snapped out of her daze at the sound of her trainer's command. A mischievous smile came to the ghost-type's face as its flame burned large and bright. Then part of the flame burst up and sailed toward the left Spinarak.

After her attack, Flicker spared a moment to give her trainer a sunny smile. The gesture was met with an irked eyebrow raise. Myra straightened up and gave the other young trainer a brief nod. Any further explanation may have to wait a minute.

@Balthazar007

The Spinarak on the left to a direct hit from both fire attacks. The damage knocked the little bug pokemon off it's webbing and onto the grass bellow. Seeing this, the other Spinarak lowered himself down to check on his friend (or sibling?). The Pokemon on the ground didn't faint, but it definitely looked scared. They both looked a little spooked in fact. Bug Pokemon really didn't like fire. And so, the two Pokemon ran away, as fast as they could.

Reno considered, for all of two seconds, trying to catch one of the Spinarak. Somehow it didn't feel right however. They seemed perfectly content with one another, and besides he could easily find another Spinarak, if he wanted. They were indigenous to forests in this area.

Then a thought hit him, and he turned to the new arrival. "Hey there, thanks for the help. I assume you're this Litwick's trainer?"

Reno listened to Myra's answer, then continued with what was on his mind, "Nice to meet you, but I think we need to get out of here, before those Spinarak come back with Ariados parents or something. How about we regroup at the Pokemon Lab? It's not far."

@Zanavy

Flicker started to chase after the Spinarak as they fled.

"Flicker!" Myra reprimanded. "Let 'em go. And stop wandering off, you're gonna get yourself seriously hurt one day!"

Flicker froze, flame shrinking low at the trainer's biting voice. Then little bits of molten wax began to well up in the Pokemon's eyes. Myra let out a long sigh as she knelt down to pat the crying ghost-type.

"Yeah, I'm its trainer," Myra addressed Reno. "And I'm not trying to be mean," she sighed at Flicker, "I'm just trying to keep you safe." Myra returned the Litwick to its pokeball, along with a winded Bulbasaur who recently made it to the area. Myra stood up to meet Reno with a sheepish smile.

"Sorry for the trouble," the young trainer continued. "She's not always this ornery, just getting restless 'round here. Anyway, thanks for helping out my Litwick. Oh - where are my manners? I'm Myra."

Myra agreed to meet at the Pokemon Lab. Then there was that awkward situation when two people say goodbye, only to continue walking together through the parking lot. There was a bit of distance for both trainers to walk the same direction before they reached their respective vehicles.

"I see ya picked Fennekin," Myra chatted to break the silence. "They're a starter Pokemon in my neck of the woods, too. Do ya have any more Pokemon?"

@Balthazar007

"I see ya picked Fennekin," Myra chatted to break the silence. "They're a starter Pokemon in my neck of the woods, too. Do ya have any more Pokemon?"

Reno was relieved when Myra broke the silence. He was thinking of something to say too, but luckily she beat him to it. He answered her question right away. "No, I literally became a trainer an hour ago. That was my first Pokemon battle."

Up ahead, Reno could see his bike in the parking lot. Myra's car was there too... not that he knew that yet. "I was actually headed back to my parents house for the new year when your Litwick hitched a ride. You spending New Year's with family too?"

@Zanavy

Alexandra Herrera

Morrison, CO
December 29th, 2099

That morning...

Bzzt... Bzzt... Bzzt...

The phone's buzzing resonated against the surface of Alex's nightstand, rattling ever so slightly as the case bounced against the hard laminate. Eyes already half open, the young woman rolled wistfully onto her side, where she met the telling gaze of the bedside clock. She rubbed her eyes gently, and confirmed that the '6:00' was for real.

Bzzt... Bzzt... Bzzt...

Her gaze fell then to her vibrating phone, which seemed to grow increasingly insistent with each consecutive ring. Curiosity overcoming her half awake mind, Alex reached for the device. "Of course," she yawned. "Professor de la Rosa" read clearly across the top of the screen. She couldn't have been surprised even if she tried; the Professor was the only person (other than, perhaps, her parents) who would be trying to reach her so early in the morning. It was rare, of course, that this did happen; Alex knew it had to be something urgent.

Her finger swept quickly across the screen in a single motion with it pressing against her ear. "Good morning Professor," she said, sleepily.

"Wait, what?" as usual for an early morning call,, the Professor was beside herself with excitement. "Yeah. I can get in early today. Is it an emergency?

"Important, but not an emergency. Got it. I'll be in at around ten... OK. Yes. I'll see you then. Bye."

She ended the call, dropping the phone back onto her nightstand, and rolled spread eagle onto her back. She heaved a deep sigh, which intertwined with a pump of laughter. How de la Rosa had so much energy so early was beyond her. It was comical, in its own way.

With a shrug, and no further thought on it, Alex pulled herself out of bed; the sooner she could meet with the Professor, the better, and she wasn't the quickest when it came to getting ready.



Dressed and packed for a day's work, Alex descended to the foyer of her apartment. Taking a quick hit out of a pen-sized vaporizer from her chest pocket, she set out the door, curious of de la Rosa's plan for the day.

Puget Sound, WA, United States

Nathan sat in the sand, overlooking the scenic beauty of the ocean through his binoculars. A thick fog hung over the dark water and the earthy scent of rain filled the air. The shopkeeper in Seattle had given him directions to this exact spot, but so far he had little luck. Then finally, he saw what he came for, as he took notice of a small pod of wailmer splashing about in the water near a small peninsula.

"Alright! Come on guys," Nathan shouted as he took off running. Grover woke up to see his trainer and Jet running through the sand and swiftly joined them. The trio ran down the length of the beach to the narrow, forested penninsula. Nathan put his finger to his lips, for his pokemon to be quiet, and he got on his hands and knees. He crawled over the moss, dirt and dead pine needles to reach the edge, overlooking the water. He was within a few metres of the nearest wailmer. It was smaller than he expected, but fairly cute and a brand new pokemon to him nonetheless. He pulled off his backpack and fumbled through it before finding his pokedex, which he used to register the whale pokemon into his catalogue. Between his time as a ranger and his time since on the road, he'd managed to close out the Pacific Northwest section of his pokedex.

As Nathan moved back to the beach, it was time to charter their new course. He pulled out a crinkled map of North America and laid it on his backpack like a table. He pulled out a black marker and drew a large check over the areas of British Columbia, Washington and Oregon.

"Where to next?" Nathan asked his pokemon as he observed his map, "We could head up north and knock out Alaska and the Yukon before winter."

"Turtwig." Grover said in protest.

"I know you don't like the cold but we gotta do it at some point. How about... California?"

"Buizel!" Jet said in agreement.

"We could follow the Rockies south and eventually work our way out east. I hear New Orleans is famous for it's ghost types, what an adventure that would be... alright it's decided. Let's get back on the road!"

"Buizel." Nathan looked down and saw he was covered in dirt from crawling. "Alright, one quick swim to clean up first."

--