Chapter One
Come What May

The heat of the sun shone onto Littleroot town, lighting the red and blue flowers nestled within the lush green grass. May pushed the tufts of hair sprouting from her bandana from her eyes. Professor Birch's Pokémon laboratory stood in front of her. She could just make out the silver machinery and rows of books through the automatic doors.

She stood up, stepped towards the entrance- then sat back down on the bench. She was excited. How could she not be? She was fourteen years old, finally able to become a Pokémon Trainer! But… she couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't quite ready. She was going to travel the world, meet new people, see new places, maybe even try battling a few gyms, but was that really what she wanted? As the daughter of a gym leader, the world expected her to follow in his footsteps… She looked around. She had decided to start her journey in Littleroot, the smallest town in Hoenn, to escape that shadow. Did she really want to leap right back into it?

She jumped from the bench, pushing herself into the lab before she could talk herself out of it. Those problems could wait. First, she had to actually receive a Pokémon. Though the lab was filled with computer monitors and scientific equipment, it wasn't filled with the Professor. The only person she saw in the room was a brown haired boy wearing a green and white hat.

He turned as she entered. "Hi," he said, "You're May?"

She stared at him. "Uh- Yes. How did you know?"

The boy picked a notepad from the table with 'Ancient Pokémon of Hoenn' scrawled onto a sticky label on the cover and flicked through it. "I'm Brendan Birch," he said, "My dad told me you were coming. He's out on route 101." He threw the notepad down. "Do you want me to take you to him?"

May smiled. "No," she said, "I think I can find him by myself."

Brendan nodded. "All right. See you." May waved and left the lab. She had heard that Professor Birch spent a lot of time working in the field. Hopefully, he wouldn't be too deep in some investigation. She didn't want to disturb him, but she also wanted to start her journey as soon as possible.

She was jolted from her thoughts when a child—he couldn't have been more than five years old—ran into her. He looked up at her with terror filled eyes. "H-Help!" he cried, "The Professor- there's a Pokémon attacking him!"

"What?" May studied the road ahead of her, searching for any sign of Professor Birch. A faint barking emerged from the distance. "Wait here." she said.

She ran through the wooden gate that separated the route from the town. A large man wearing a beard and a flowing lab coat who could only have been the Professor was cowering behind a small greyish Pokémon which snapped and barked at him. A Poochyena.

"Hello?" he shouted, "Y-You over there! Help me!"

May froze, unsure of what to do. She wanted to help the Professor, but- "How?" she asked.

"There are three Pokémon in that bag there! Choose one, it doesn't matter which!"

She fumbled with the bag, trying to open it with as much haste as she could. She grabbed one of the Poké Balls and threw it towards Professor Birch. A white light spilled from it and formed itself into a small orange Pokémon with round blue eyes and a yellow crest on its head. It hopped around, pecking at the grass. May smiled. It was cute. She almost felt bad asking it to battle.

"Okay!" she shouted, "Use Peck!" The Pokémon leapt forward, thrusting its beak into the Poochyena's back. It yelped and spun around, focusing it's teeth on May's Pokémon. What did she do now? Fight back? "E-Ember!" she yelled. The Pokémon jumped back from the snapping jaws and launched a flurry of cinders in Poochyena's direction. It howled and fled into the grass, it's coat smouldering. May cheered. "Yeah! Well done- uh-"

"Torchic." Professor Birch said, "And you did very well too. I guess that's to be expected from Norman's girl."

May's smile faded slightly. "Right."

"Come along to my lab," he said. "We can sort your new partner out there." May's grin returned.

"You mean I can keep it?" The Professor laughed.

"Of course! You really saved me! It's the least I could do for you. Now, follow me!"

Back at the Pokémon lab, Professor Birch was fiddling was a small machine on his desk. May watched over his shoulder. It was a red handheld device with a screen in its centre. He held it up to her. "Smile!" The device flashed and a photo of her appeared on its screen. He passed it to her. "You can fill your details in here." A keyboard popped up below the photo. May began tapping in her name.

"What is it?" she asked.

"This device is called a Pokédex. It records data on the Pokémon you find on your journey and also serves as your ID." May submitted her details and the screen faded to black. After a moment or two, the blue light returned along with the message 'Welcome, May, to the world of Pokémon!' The screen split into three segments: Pokédex, news and Trainer ID.

"There you are!" Professor Birch said, "With that Pokédex, your journey can begin. He handed her a Poké Ball. "This contains the Torchic you used earlier."

She held it in front of herself. This ball contained her very first Pokémon. The Pokémon who would accompany her on her journey. She pressed the button and it sprung open. The white light formed into the shape of Torchic. May scooped it up into her arms. She grinned, feeling the flamelike warmth of it's feathers against her chest.

"So," she said, "It's you and me, Torchic. We're gonna make a great combination!" She pressed the Poké Ball against Torchic's head. It disappeared in a flash of red light. "Thank you, Professor." May said. Birch didn't answer. "Professor?" she repeated.

She looked around. Professor Birch was stood at the far side of the room, saying something to Brendan. The look on his face told May that they were talking about something serious. He passed Brendan a yellow ball that seemed to be made of stone. He held it as if it was an impact explosive. What was so important about it? He placed it in his bag and glanced over at May. She turned away. She felt that she had witnessed something she wasn't supposed to see.

"Uh- Well." The Professor said. "Shouldn't you be off, May?"

She nodded and stepped out, keen to escape the awkward silence that filled the air. The comfortable warmth of the sun over Route 101 soon melted her concerns, however. She smiled.

Her adventure was finally beginning.