A new beginning

"Give it to me!"

The voice was quite loud, and the blond boy, who had been until now sound asleep in his bedroom, could not quite ignore it.

"Hmm?"

"Wake up big brother, and give it to me!"

The voice was quite insistent, and the boy concluded with a sigh that it was time to start the day.

"And good morning to you too, Bonnie," he said with a yawn. "What can I do for you on this fine d… whoof!"

A perfectly thrown pillow cut him off momentarily.

"Get up," ordered the blond girl identified as Bonnie. Cute, with long twisted hair and blue eyes, she bore a strong resemblance to the blond boy. Except she was obviously wide awake and ready for the day. The boy noted that she was wearing a new outfit, probably a birthday present from their father: green sneakers, black capri pants, a brown and white tunic, and a dark green shoulder bag. A mousy pokemon with a long tail perched on her shoulder, and it seemed quite insistent too.

"Fine," said the boy with a smile. "Here it is. Catch!"

From under his pillow, he retrieved the pokeball he had hidden there the night before, and threw it at his sister. She caught it reflexively, then beamed, and the boy's smile grew in return.

"Happy birthday Bonnie. So how does it feel to be ten years old?"

"Thank you Clemont! It's great to be ten! I've been waiting sooo long, I thought this day would never come. Ever since we came back from our last journey together I've been learning and training and I'm sooo ready to start my own trip with my own pokemon. You're ready too, Dedenne, aren't you?"

The little pokemon on her shoulder emphatically agreed with a happy cry of its own: "Dedenne!"

"I still don't really know why you were so intent on having Dedenne's pokeball though," their father said as he emerged from the kitchen. "I don't think I've ever seen him return to it."

"It's the principle of the thing Dad," Bonnie replied. "Now Dedenne REALLY is my partner."

Meyer shrugged.

"If it makes you feel better, then I guess it's fine. So, did you decide which pokemon you will choose at Professor Sycamore's lab?" He asked. "You have been very quiet about that."

Clemont, just coming out of his room, waited with interest for Bonnie's answer. He had not been able to get his normally talkative sister to even breach the subject either, and he was quite curious.

"Well," she said, flopping down at the breakfast table and starting on the pancakes Meyer had prepared as a special treat, "I thought about it quite a lot. I mean, chespin, fennekin and froakie are all super cute, so from the beginning I thought it would be very hard to choose. But the more I thought about it, the more I felt like I knew them too well already. I mean, I play with your chespin every day, and whenever I think of fennekin and froakie I remember Serena and Ash and all the fun we used to have. And that's fine, as far as it goes. But I don't want my trip to be a repeat of our previous one. I want to start something new. So I've decided to not ask Professor Sycamore for a starter pokemon. I'll catch new friends along the way, I'm sure. Anyway, I already have a partner, my dedenne. So there!"

"Ah, too bad," their father replied with a smile. "Professor Sycamore and I had a side bet on which starter you would choose. Now we've both lost."

"Oh," said Bonnie. "And which did you say?"

"Well, Professor Sycamore had you down for a chespin, like your brother, and I said no way. Me, I thought you'd get a fennekin, like your friend Serena. Plus, with your character, a fire pokemon would suit you well!"

His daughter glowered at him as the joke registered. But then she turned to Clemont.

"What about you, big brother?"

"Oh, I know you never do anything like everyone else, so I was pretty sure you wouldn't go for any of the starters. It's not like it's mandatory anyway. Still, I agree with Dad, you should definitely get a fire pokemon at some point!"

Bonnie ignored the last barb and smiled at him.

"See," she said to their father, "My big brother knows me better than anyone!"

"Of that I have no doubt. So, young lady, where do you want to go? Not that I'm very happy to see you trailing off on your own, but I know a losing battle when I see one."

"I hope I'll meet many new friends, so I won't be alone all the time Dad, I'm sure. But as to where… well, I'm not sure yet," Bonnie admitted sheepishly.

"Don't you want to enter the Kalos league?" Clemont asked, surprised. "I always thought you would follow in Ash's footsteps. I think you'd be better suited for pokemon battles than pokemon performances. Though that's your choice obviously."

"I don't know, ok?" Bonnie replied, frustrated.

"Well, there is no rule that says you have to have a plan before you start," Meyer pointed out.

"Yeah, look at Serena, she did not know what she wanted at the beginning, and see where she is now!"

The siblings exchanged pleasured smiles while thinking about their old friend. Her journey to Hoenn had been an extended one, but she had been back for some time now. Clemont and Bonnie had welcomed her at the airport, and the reunion had been full of laughter and new stories.

Serena had many adventures in Hoenn, and gained a lot of experience. She had participated in several contests and found them close enough to her beloved showcases that she had a lot of fun with them. After one or two false starts, due to a flawed understanding of all the differences between contests and showcases, she had done well. Very well, indeed. Having arrived in Hoenn just before a Grand Festival, she had not had time to gain any ribbons before, but she was in the public during the contest, and it gave her the motivation to be in the next one. Which she had, winning her five ribbons with time to spare. And much to her surprise, winning the Grand Festival as well!

She had kept her friends in Kalos updated of course, and even done some more Pokevision videos, in answer to all the people who had watched her in the Master Class and who wanted to know how she was doing. But Bonnie and Clemont did not have all the stories, and Serena wound up spending several days in Lumiose City, just spending time with her friends. Her pokemon were happy to reunite with Clemont's pokemon as well. Pancham and Chespin got into a few fights for old times' sake, and Bunnelby and Sylveon danced together. Serena's braixen had finally refused to evolve into a delphox for some reason, so Serena had secured an everstone for her. Clemont suspected it had to do with the fact that Aria (and her own delphox) was still Kalos Queen, and Serena was not.

And there were a few new faces as well. Serena had caught a swablu in Hoenn and evolved it into a graceful altaria. According to her, her altaria had been quite instrumental in her victory at the Grand Festival. Bonnie had been quite excited about the fluffy blue bird, and it was a good thing that Altaria was not the least bit shy, the way she had run to her for a good hug! And Clemont had found a stray elektrike wandering in the street not far from the Prism Tower. He could not leave the electric pokemon, which seemed distinctly undernourished, alone, and Elektrike had found a place at the Lumiose gym. She was now a happy puppy, and Clemont dreamed of evolving her and exploring mega-evolution with her.

Serena had been gone for a few weeks now. She had decided to finally accept Palermo's offer to act as her mentor, at least until the next Master Class. She very much wanted a rematch with Aria! Being Hoenn's Top Coordinator had been a great surprise and a source of deep satisfaction, but her first love was still showcases. And, Bonnie thought with a smirk but did not say, given how thick her brother still was in some ways, Serena's return to Kalos has nothing at all to do with the fact that ASH will be back in Kalos in a few months, no no no… In some ways, Serena was still entirely predictable. Well, Bonnie amended, IF he returns this time. You never knew with Ash.

"Anyway," Clemont was continuing, "Just take your time, and you will find what you want to do."

"You know," their father said, "I was teasing you earlier with the fire pokemon, but you could go to the Fireworks. That's next week in Santalune, this year, and I know you really liked it the last time."

"Hey," Bonnie said, perking right up, "That's a great idea! I should have thought of that myself. Thanks Dad!"

The Kalos Fireworks were a very popular yearly event where fire pokemon put on spectacular performances. The displays took place in the evening, shortly after dark, and the entire area was only illuminated by the fire pokemon themselves, to enhance the atmosphere. The Fireworks were organized every year in a different city in Kalos, and had taken place in Lumiose City the previous year, much to Bonnie's delight.

"It's decided then, we'll set out for Santalune today. What do you think Dedenne? It will be fun, won't it?"

"De-dedenne!" squeaked the pokemon happily.

END OF CHAPTER 1

This is my first try at publishing stories, so we will see how it goes. I am planning on doing an extended story at this point, but I am not sure how often I will be able to publish new chapters. Bonnie is going to be the main character of the story, but she won't be the only one, and there will be many familiar characters as well. I still don't know where Bonnie will end up, she is a strong-willed girl and I am sure she will surprise me several times before the end.

Many thanks to my reviewers for taking the time to help me improve my writing!