Chapter 1: Jump Start

"Meeeya!" a Skitty meowed, sticking her front paws up against the glass of a bedroom window. She had a black collar around her neck with a little yellow ball attached to the front of it that jingled softly as the Skitty looked about, obviously fixated on some noise in the distance.

"What's the matter Skitty?" a girl asked. She was sitting on the bed, brushing out her long, dark brown hair which was accented with a hint of red that could only be seen when the sunlight shined upon it. The Skitty hopped down from the chair she was standing on and raced out of the room. The girl sighed and set the brush down, wondering what had suddenly gotten into her Skitty. She slipped her feet into a pair of black cowboy boots decorated with white hearts and tucked her white skinny jeans inside before walking over to her closet to pull out a tight black t-shirt and a matching cowboy hat. Then she walked out of the room to see what Skitty was up to.

"Meeeya! Meeya!" the Skitty cried, scratching at the door in the kitchen.

"Hold your horses, Skitty, I'm coming," the girl said and opened the door. Skitty immediately raced out of the house and into the front yard. The girl yawned and went back inside because it was too cold. She grabbed an apple from the bowl on the counter, took a seat at the table, and opened a Pokémon Coordinator magazine. Her name was Lyla and she was eighteen years old. She had been friends with Skitty for years but never really had much motivation to go on a journey. Her mother had owned a flower store there in Lavaridge Town and Lyla felt that the need to help out with it was far greater than the need to go on some Pokémon adventure. Then when her mother passed away, the desire completely died along with her. Now she lived alone with Skitty and life was pretty boring.

"MYA!" Skitty exclaimed from the front yard. Lyla sighed, setting the magazine down, and went out to see what all the fuss was about. Skitty's tail was flickering all over the place and she meowed happily once her friend joined in her the front yard.

"Okay, Skitty, I'm here. What's up?" Lyla asked. Skitty grinned and took off so Lyla chased after her. Pretty soon she began to hear a beautiful melody being played on an acoustic guitar and a voice singing along with it. There was a boy sitting outside of the Pokémon Center playing the guitar and Skitty jumped right into his lap.

"Well hello there," he said, stroking her on the head before he noticed Lyla walking up. He repeated, "Well, hello there."

"Hi," she said shyly and picked up Skitty from his lap. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," he said and brushed his hair from his face. It was kind of long and it was such a dark brown that it was pretty much black. In the front, it fell to just above his hazel eyes and it almost touched his shoulders in the back. He set his guitar down and looked up at Lyla. When he did, she noticed that he had a small beauty mark on his left cheek and she thought it was kind of cute.

"Are you a trainer?" he asked.

"No, actually. I live here."

"Aw what a shame. I'm a traveler myself. I've got a couple Pokémon traveling with me but we're a little lonely sometimes. Have you ever considered it?"

"What? Traveling?"

"Yeah, it's an amazing experience! You should at least try it. You've got a Pokémon!"

"It's too late to start now…besides, we don't know anything. We'd get lost or injured or something…"

"Well, you wouldn't be alone…"

"Is that invitation?"

"Maybe."

"But I don't even know your name!" she murmured with a shy smile.

"It's Aiden," he replied with a slight grin.

"Well, Aiden. I'm Lyla and I thank you for the invitation but I really don't think that would be good for me and Skitty right now and," Lyla began but Skitty interrupted with a sound of dissatisfaction. "But…Maybe we'll sleep on it. How long are you in town for?"

"I was heading out tonight, but I can wait until morning. We're pretty tired anyway. You can find me at the hotel around the block over by Flannery's gym."

"Yeah, I know where it is. It was nice meeting you Aiden. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, that would be nice," he said, lifting his guitar over his shoulder. He gave her one last smile and walked off in the direction of the hotel. Lyla stared at him until he was out of sight.

"Skitty…" she trailed off.

"Mya?"

"Why did you do that?" she asked softly, bending down to pet the Skitty who purred and brushed up against her leg. "I guess you were drawn by the music, huh?" The little Pokémon purred again.

"Yeah, it was pretty…Let's go home now."

She carried Skitty back to the house and set her down on the kitchen table inside. Skitty meowed and Lyla could tell that she was hungry, so she opened up a can of Pokémon food and set it down on the table for Skitty to eat.

"Mrrraaa," Skitty purred.

"Is it good, sweetie?" Lyla asked, stroking Skitty across the ears. They sat in silence for what seemed like hours while Lyla thought. "Hey…"

"Myeh?" Skitty meowed, looking up at Lyla.

"Do you think we should go? With Aiden?"

Skitty meowed happily and jumped into Lyla's arms. Lyla smiled but added;

"You know it wouldn't be very wise to go off into the wilderness with some boy we just met."

Skitty frowned and hopped back onto the table to finish her food. Lyla really did want to go but she had never left Lavaridge Town before so she was a little scared. She sighed and made a sudden declaration.

"Okay. Even if we don't go with Aiden, I guess it's probably time to start the adventure we should have started years ago."

Skitty cheered and Lyla smiled before suggesting that they go to the PokéMart to pick up what they needed. Skitty nodded and the two headed out.

When they got there, they noticed a girl about Lyla's age who was gathering up all sorts of Pokémon supplies. She had her arms full of medicine, Pokéballs, food, water, and various camping supplies. Without even saying a word, Lyla could tell that the girl was definitely a very bubbly person, judging by the wide smile on her face which appeared to be everlasting. She had straight blond hair that fell slightly below her shoulders and curled a little at the ends. Her blouse was cerulean-colored, like her eyes, and had a v-shaped neck. She was also wearing dark blue jean capris with black and white running shoes, and there was a pendant around her neck with some sort of purple stone.

"That gym sure does bring a lot of trainers here to Lavaridge," Lyla thought to herself and proceeded to a rack of medicines. She grabbed a bottle off the shelf and stared at it blankly.

"It's an antidote," the trainer noted. "You use it when you or your Pokémon gets poisoned by another Pokémon."

"Thanks," Lyla said sweetly but under her breath muttered, "I already knew that though, I'm not stupid…"

"Are you a new trainer?"

"Uh…Sort of I guess…"

"My name's Eziray! I could help you out if you want!"

"Well I met someone this morning and he was kind of going to walk me through this I guess."

"Hahaha! Why do I get the feeling that I know who you're talking about? He's got a guitar, right?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Oh that's Aiden! We're traveling together!"

"T-together? But I don't understand…He told me he was lonely…"

"Aww, what a shameless flirt! He likes you then. It sounds like he wants you to join us! I agree. The more, the merrier right?"

"Well…are you his girlfriend?"

"Haha no! I'm his best friend!"

"Oh, sorry!"

"Don't worry about it! Hey, I'll tell you what. I'll get together a little starter kit for you. Let's see, you'll need Pokéballs aaaand…" Eziray trailed off as she began gathering things with a free hand and tossing them to Lyla.

"Thanks but, I don't have the money for all this," Lyla said, laughing awkwardly and trying not to drop all the stuff she was now holding.

"Don't worry about it, I've got it!" Eziray exclaimed as she paid the storekeeper for both her items and Lyla's. "So are you ready to hit the road?"

"What, are you crazy? I didn't even decide to go until about fifteen minutes ago! You can't expect me to be ready yet!"

"Oh nonsense! You'll be ready in no time!" Eziray exclaimed, handing Lyla a couple plastic bags filled with supplies and taking her by the hand.

"You sure are…enthusiastic!" Lyla exclaimed as Eziray pulled her out of the store by her hand.

"Yeah, I get that a lot. HEY AIDEN! I HAVE A SURPRISE FOR YOU!" Eziray exclaimed. Aiden was standing outside, looking over a map and glanced up at the two girls with a smile.

"Hello again," he said.

"Hi," Lyla said and Skitty popped her head out of Lyla's white shoulder bag.

"Mya!" Skitty exclaimed.

"Aw, what a cute Pokémon!" Eziray observed. Lyla smiled and stroked the Pokémon's forehead. Then Eziray looked back at Aiden and continued, "She's gonna come with us! But she's not ready yet, so I was thinking we head back to her place and let her get ready! Then hit the road! So let's go, guys!"

Eziray linked arms with the two so that she was in the middle and began walking away from the PokéMart.

"Hey, uh, I live the other way," Lyla said with a giggle. Eziray gasped and pulled them around to go the opposite direction.

"What a strange girl," Lyla thought to herself.

The three trainers and Skitty made it back to Lyla's house and Lyla ran upstairs to pack some clothes and such while the others waited for her downstairs. Lyla gathered a few outfits and packed them away in her white bag along with all the supplies that Eziray had bought for her, a photograph of her mother, her PokéNav, and a few other things she thought she'd need. When she came back downstairs, there was a Pokémon standing on the couch and Skitty was meowing nervously because even she wasn't allowed on the couch.

"Would someone like to tell me why there is a Charmander standing on my sofa?" Lyla asked, poking it in the belly.

"This is Charo! He's my partner!" Eziray exclaimed. Charo growled and shot some embers into the air before promptly falling backwards and burning a hole in the sofa with the end of its tail. Lyla twitched but then thought for a moment.

"Wait, a Charmader? Just where exactly are you guys from? Charmander aren't native here," Lyla said with slight confusion.

"We're from Kanto, but we've already been all over that region so we decided to see what's in Hoenn. We were supposed to go visit Professor Birch, but Eziray wanted to see Mt. Chimney first, so…here we are," Aiden said with a small grin and a large sigh.

"Kanto? That's pretty far. So, did you challenge the Pokémon League?" Lyla asked with a cocked head. Aiden opened his mouth to say something, but Eziray butted in.

"I did, but I didn't get too far into the tournament. And as for Aiden, well…he's more of the entertainer, navigator, voice of reason-type guy…" Eziray explained.

"Nice description," he said with a sigh. "So what are your dreams?"

"Mine?" Lyla asked. "Well…I really don't know…"

Eziray's face lit up and she began to ramble: "Most people decide to become a coordinator or challenge the Pokémon League. But you could become a professor, a collector, a breeder, a ranger, a stylist, a scientist, an archeologist, a doctor, a nurse, a –"

"Yes, Ez. And the list goes on," Aiden said, a little fed up with Eziray's babblings.

"Like I said," Lyla said with a smile. "I'm really not sure what I'll do…"

Once outside, Eziray proposed that they should head up Mt. Chimney because trainers gathered around the summit. She mentioned that it would be good practice for Lyla and then asked if Lyla had ever battled before. Skitty looked up at her trainer and frowned and Lyla shook her head 'no.' Eziray laughed and insisted that it was nothing to be ashamed of and began walking east, declaring that she would be back for Flannery later. Aiden sighed and followed after her and Lyla looked down at Skitty who was standing at her feet.

"Ready to go, Skitty?"

"MYA!"

Lyla smiled and looked over her shoulder, giving Lavaridge Town one last look before following after her new friends. After they exited the town, they weren't walking for but fifteen minutes before bits of ash began sprinkling down over them. It was from Mt. Chimney which was actually volcano.

"It's the first time I've left Lavaridge and you're going to make me climb a mountain?" Lyla whined.

"Who said anything about climbing? Eziray, I think it's about time we introduce her to the crew. Espeon, come on out!" Aiden exclaimed, throwing a Pokéball into the air. The Pokémon popped out and Skitty brushed up against it, purring.

"You've already met Charo, so now you can meet Baby! I named her that because I hatched her from an egg myself," Eziray added, throwing up a Pokéball. Charo stepped aside as a Dratini popped out of the ball. Skitty bounced over and brushed up against these two as well.

"Nice to meet you all," Lyla said, bending forward and putting her hands on her knees.

"Thank you! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well. What is your name?" a voice asked. Lyla gasped and noticed the Espeon staring at her with a cocked head as if she was awaiting a response.

"Oh yeah, some Psychic Pokémon have the ability to communicate telepathically with humans. I'm assuming Espeon said something to you that she didn't want to share with the rest of us. Don't be scared," Aiden said with a laugh.

"L-Lyla…" Lyla trailed off, still a bit shocked that she was communicating with a Pokémon in English.

"What a pretty name you have," the Espeon said before scratching at the dirt with one of her paws. Lyla smiled as Eziray called back her two Pokémon.

"Call Skitty back and put your hand on Espeon's body like this," Aiden said, placing one hand on Espeon's shoulder. Eziray placed one hand on Espeon's back and they both looked at Lyla who was very confused but managed to tell them that Skitty didn't have a Pokéball. The two trainers shrugged and told Skitty to just hop onto Lyla's shoulder, so she did and then Lyla placed a hand on Espeon's forehead.

"Teleport!" Eziray exclaimed. Before Lyla could blink, she suddenly found herself at the top of the summit. She looked around, absolutely dumbfounded.

"Hey Espeon, how 'bout waiting for me to call the shots, hm?" Aiden asked with a grin, roughing up the fur on her head.

"Sorry Aiden, my mistake!" Espeon said happily as he petted her.

"Alright…now let's find a trainer…" Eziray trailed off and noticed a boy sitting on a rock, eating his lunch. "HEY YOU!"

"Come on, Eziray, let the poor kid eat!" Aiden called as she ran up to the boy.

"Lyla, come over here!" she called back. The boy looked up at them.

"Yes?"

"Are you a trainer?"

"Yes…"

"Would you do me a favor and battle me and my friend in a double battle? She's a beginner so I think it would be better for me to walk her through everything!"

The boy grinned and nodded and Lyla glanced at them with a concerned frown upon her face. Eziray assured her that it would be alright and the three trainers positioned themselves with a large gap in between the random trainer and the two girls. Skitty bounced out in front of Lyla, Eziray sent out Charo, and the boy sent out a Zigzagoon and a Poochyena.

"Alright, this is a one-on-one double battle with no substitutions. That means each side will have two Pokémon each. If a Pokémon falls, you can't send out another one and you also can't switch out a Pokémon with a different one at any time. The first side to knock out both of the other side's Pokémon will be victorious. Are both sides ready?" Aiden asked, taking the role of the referee.

"Ready!" the three trainers declared and Aiden instructed them to begin.

"You go first, Lyla," Eziray whispered. Lyla nodded.

"Skitty, use DoubleSlap!"

Skitty scampered forward and slapped the Poochyena across the face with the end of her tail then swung around and hit the Zigzagoon in the face with the other and pulled it off another three times before the Poochyena countered with Tackle. She was knocked back to her spot next to Charo.

"Are you okay, Skitty?" Lyla asked, bending down next to Skitty.

"Mya…" Skitty whined with slight discomfort.

"She's fine," Eziray assured. "Charo, use Flamethrower!"

Charo opened his mouth and shot a large blast of fire into Poochyena's face. The Poochyena stumbled backwards and fell to the ground almost immediately. Lyla was in shock as the boy returned the fallen Poochyena. Eziray noticed her alarmed expression and smiled.

"I defeated all the gym leaders in Kanto! So yeah, I'm strong! Right, Charo?"

"Char!"

"Okay, Zigzagoon, use Headbut!" the boy called out, nervously. The Zigzagoon charged forward towards Skitty who braced herself.

"Protect Skitty, Charo! Use Flamethrower!"

Charo shot a blast of flames into Zigzagoon's face causing it to stumble back but it managed to stay standing so Eziray ordered Charo to finish it off with Metal Claw. Charo nodded and sprinted forward, claws glowing brightly. He slashed at the Zigzagoon as he ran by and then paused once he was passed it. As the glowing of his claws faded, the Zigzagoon fell.

"Meh, you guys are out of my league," the boy said, calling back his fallen Pokémon. "I just can't believe it's over so quickly."

"You did great for your first battle!" Eziray praised.

"Thanks, but I didn't do anything," Lyla pointed out.

"Aw, it's okay. At least now you know what to do! Oh hey, do you need some medicine for Zigzagoon and Poochyena?" Eziray asked as she turned to their opponent.

"Nah, I'm fine. I was gonna head back to Lavaridge anyway. I'll just go to the Pokémon Center there. Thanks though."

Surprisingly enough, there weren't any other trainers there that day. Aiden suggested that they try to find a wild Pokémon so he could demonstrate how they were caught. Lyla agreed so everyone kept their eyes peeled but two hours rolled by and they still didn't have any luck. They decided to take a break for a moment and sat down to rest.

"Hey I think I see some Tailow up there," Eziray said, looking up into the sky.

"I don't even see what you're talking about but if you think Charo could hit em from here, no one's stopping you guys," Aiden said. Eziray scanned the sky for a few more minutes and frowned, claiming that they could no longer be seen.

"Meh?" Skitty said, perking her ears. She lifted her head and looked around. She noticed a little red and orange Pokémon pecking at the ground and scampering around. It was definitely a Fire-type and it resembled a baby chick. Skitty meowed and the other trainers looked at.

"What's that?" Eziray asked, holding up some red device.

"No data available," the machine said and Eziray frowned, putting the machine back into her pocket. It obviously needed an upgrade because it couldn't offer any information on this region's Pokémon.

"It's one of the starter Pokémon offered by Professor Birch here in Hoenn," Lyla said. "Is that a Pokédex?"

"Yep," Eziray replied, suddenly very excited because they had found one of the Hoenn starter Pokémon. Lyla had never seen a Pokédex before and promised herself that she would ask Eziray if she could see it later. Aiden stood up and Eziray whined that she wanted to catch the Pokémon. He reminded her that she already had two Pokémon with her while he and Lyla only had one each. Then he added that she already had a Fire Pokémon and it would be more strategic to have a variety of types for the Pokémon League. She sighed and told him he was right.

"Tor?" the Torchic said, looking up at the three approaching trainers.

"Alright, the first thing you wanna do when catching a Pokémon is weaken it. They'll put up less of a fight when you throw a Pokéball. So watch this. Espeon, use Swift!"

"Understood," Espeon said as her tail lit up. She swung it and a flurry of yellow, star-shaped discs was released from it that pummeled the wild Torchic. The Torchic immediately sat down and began to cry.

"Awww," Aiden said, scratching his head.

"He says, 'I was just trying to find something to eat. I don't understand why you're attacking me. You big bullies!'" Espeon informed.

"A translator, how convenient," Lyla said.

"Yeah, but once you've bonded with a Pokémon, you don't really need a translator anymore," Eziray said. "You just naturally understand them…"

"I know what you mean. I'm always able to sense how Skitty feels," Lyla murmured softly.

"There, there," Aiden said, taking a knee beside the Torchic and stroking its head. "I was just trying to show my friend how to catch a Pokémon. I don't know much about the Pokémon in this region so I had no idea you were still a baby…"

Torchic looked up at him angrily and Espeon clarified:

"'I'm not a baby!'"

"Alright, Alright. I'm sorry! Will this make you feel better?" Aiden asked as he held out a handful of Pokémon food. The Torchic ceased crying immediately and its face lit up as devoured the food from Aiden's hand. Then it stood up and looked pretty pumped.

"He says thank you and would like to battle you now," Espeon said.

"Alright, then let's try this again. Espeon, use Swift!"

Espeon fired another flurry of stars at the Torchic who countered the attack with Ember; the two attacks canceled each other out as the round bits of fire collided with the stars. Almost instantly, Torchic fired another round of Ember.

"Use Quick Attack to dodge it!"

Espeon zipped out of the way of the attack and proceeded forward, colliding into the Torchic. The Torchic shook itself and stood, beak glowing brightly and ran forward to use Peck. Espeon let it get very close and then her eyes began to glow bright blue. The Torchic was stopped dead in its tracks as he became outlined in blue and was thrown back by some unseen force.

"Woah, what was that?" Lyla asked.

"Psychic," Espeon replied. Aiden took out an empty Pokéball from his pocket and tossed it at the fallen Torchic. The center of the ball glowed red as it rocked back and forth and when the rocking ceased, so did the glowing in the center.

"Got it!" Aiden exclaimed, picking up the ball. "But it won't always be that easy."

He sent the Torchic back out of its Pokéball and suggested that all the Pokémon get acquainted with it and Skitty as well. So the trainers and Pokémon pretty much spent the rest of the day bonding together. They decided to stay there for the night and teleport over to Littleroot Town the next day to visit Professor Birch. Aiden explained that as they were leaving Kanto, Professor Oak had asked them to stop by Professor Birch's lab for something. He didn't tell them why, but they promised to go anyway and they had been fooling around ever since they arrived in Hoenn, so it was time to make that stop.

"Wasn't it nice of Eziray to buy us this tent, Skitty?" Lyla whispered that night after everyone else had fallen asleep.

"Mya!" Skitty exclaimed quietly.

"I'm really, really excited right now. I thought I was going to be scared but I'm not. These people are really cool and I'm glad we became friends with them. I wonder what lies ahead of us. To be honest, I'm not really sure we will be able to handle gym battles and the Pokémon League. I know we just need practice, but I'm not really sure I want pursue that. I mean we can try it, but I've kinda been reading up on something that seems pretty interesting. You know those Pokémon Contests we would watch on TV from time-to-time? Would you ever want to compete in one?" Her eyes shone with excitement as she continued, "Because I really want to become Contest Coordinator. It looks like a lot of fun! I already have some really good ideas and plus then I wouldn't have to compete against Eziray in the Pokémon League. I mean what if I won and she didn't? I wouldn't want to take her dream away…I'm sure she wouldn't take it personally but I just think it's better this way…So if you agree with me, then I think I've made up my mind. Skitty?"

Skitty had already fallen asleep. Lyla smiled and stroked her fur as Skitty purred softly.

"Then it's decided."

Author Notes:

Personally, I think this is going to turn out better than my last fanfiction. I already really like it. Please tell me what you think in a review because I really want some feedback! The only character I based off anyone was Eziray; she's based off my new beta/best friend. Lyla is somewhat similar to me, but not exactly. For the most part, this fanfiction is true to the anime rather than the game. This means that Pokémon will know more than four moves, there will be cities/towns/landmarks that aren't in the games, etc. However, I use both the games and the anime as references when I'm writing so I guess it would be a slight mixture of both. So that about sums it up for now, read and review please!