Disclaimer: Do not own anything. Will buy rights to Mareep though, if selling.

Prologue Editted: 30/7/10

Prologue

A Boy and His Venonat

"This just in- the Pokemon League has announced that, in the light of recent events, Pokemon training will be put on hold. The events of last Friday has provoked new questions on the quality of pokemon trainers as well as the amount of risks that can or cannot be controlled by the League. As things stand now, the Pokemon League may soon be forced to cancel the annual tournaments, which prove the biggest draw for pokemon trainers; who begin training at age ten to attain the title of "Pokemon Master"-"

"Turn off the TV, Budew," the man said, drinking the last drop of tea in his cup. "I've heard all I needed to hear."

A girl nodded, getting up from her place by the Houndour. She hesitated a bit- drawn in by the bright images flashing across the screen- images of Pokemon battles, she heard, and of flames and cries of both pokemon and trainers- before her father repeated her name and she complied.

It was the first time she had seen such brutality, and it was the first thing she ever associated to pokemon battles.

My name is Budew Eldridge (don't you dare crack a joke about it; it was Mom's idea), Mareep herder extraordinaire, tenth in class from the bottom up in the Violet City Combined School. And I was nine years old when the Pokemon League announced that they would be closing down, two years following the revelation that pokemon training wasn't all that it was cracked up to be.

I didn't really care at the time- unlike most kids my age, I didn't really want to leave the family farm to journey across the world. I had my sights set on something else- like photography, or writing, or maybe setting up a hotel in the middle of Ilex Forest or something... Something where I didn't have to train wild creatures to fight each other for personal glory on national television.

But given the events of the past few years, it really wasn't a surprise when the announcement came. And to tell you the truth, I was glad when it did. My fellow classmates, less so. Many of them had been setting their sights on challenging the Pokemon League sometime in the future, gaining the title of Champion, and travelling all across the world.

Me? I was happy to just stay at home with the Mareep.

See, it's not like I hate pokemon or anything like it. It's just that pokemon training was always a shady business- what with random criminal organizations springing up around them; the number of fatalities everytime a pokemon got too hard to control; the amount of money spent to hush it all up so that parents would feel 'safe' when they sent their ten year old out into the wilderness alone... And then there was that, but it was scarcely the only reason, despite what others believed.

Would you say I was afraid of pokemon? Probably. Anyone would be afraid if you lived in a world where creatues carrying far more power than yourself were allowed to roam freely, capable of mass destruction if they had any organization or strategy. It wasn't that we humans didn't know that either, but it was more like an after-thought: Pokemons had, for centuries, served humanity without hesitation. It was only the past few years that called that into question; and even then, most people thought it was simply a phase, something to be outgrown of.

It didn't stop my classmates from becoming pokemon trainers. Far from it- in fact, they seemed even more eager, more energized, as if the deadline- the end of this year's League Tournamenet- was the end of the world. So, early that spring, they set off from Violet with their Bellsprouts and their Gastlys, fully intent on winning this year's championship before returning to their dull, normal lives.

And me? I was still in the family farm, taking care of the Mareep during my term break.

Little did I know that fate would force me away from home and into the dark wilderness that I was so intent on avoiding.

It was about three months since the first trainer from Violet won his badge from Falkner that year; when most ten-year olds were already well on their way to Goldenrod and their third badge. There had been sporadic attacks by pokemon, but nothing serious. It was then when 'it' happened.

I was on holiday, so Dad had decided it was time for me to tend to the Mareep. And let me tell you, there is nothing more stressful than taking care of a bunch of Mareep. If you leave them alone, they'll just stare at each other's faces and graze on grass. However, scare them even a tiniest bit, and suddenly you're surrounded by piles of electrically-charged frightened balls of fluff. Poke them, and you get the same reaction. And Mareep scare very easily- a stray Hoothoot call; a flash of stray lighting; heck, even an ambling Wooper freaks the whole lot of them out.

Luckily, they were utterly terrified of Dad's Houndour, Delilah, so I basically stood around counting their little tails and hoping they didn't accidentally summon a thunderstorm when I wasn't looking while she took care of everything. I liked it better that way- Delilah and I never got along well, but she was Dad's trusted compatriot, and even if I was a tiny little bit scared of her, I knew she knew what she was doing. Or at least, she put a very good act of it.

But then, even she could not predict what was about to happen this fine day.

It started out simple enough: Delilah and I were sitting on a cliff overlooking the route while the Mareep grazed their silly fluffy heads away. And then suddenly, in a blur of purple, brown, and green, the world turned into chaos.

The Mareep (and myself) were caught by surprise when this kid suddenly hurtled up the path, a Venonat clinging tightly onto his hat, and a pack of Rattata in hot pursuit at his heels. The Mareep, being Mareep, started maa-ing and shooting thundershocks everywhere. And me, being me, was caught totally off-guard as Delilah knocked me over to avoid being fried to a crisp from the panicked flock.

"Go away!" the boy was yelling at the furious little rodents, completely oblivious to the fact that he was charging headfirst into a thunderstorm.

"Na-nat! Venovenoveno!" the Venonat shrieked, trying to get his attention, only to get hit by a thundershock in response.

"Gnat!" The kid doubled back, narrowly avoiding being zapped by the Mareep, scooped the dazed little bug in his arms and then made a complete about-turn in mid-run when he realized that he was still being pursued by angry Rattatas.

"Thundershock!" He doubled back yet again when he realized he was being attacked by a herd of panicked Mareep.

Wait, I thought. Weren't trainers supposed to be fighting pokemon with their own pokemon?

Delilah growled in either frustration or amusement. She took a moment to watch the boy run in circles between the Rattatas and the Mareep and then glanced at me in askance. Just because we didn't get along well didn't mean that she was a disobedient Houndour, and she made that perfectly clear.

"Go ahead," I coughed, getting back to my feet. "Fry them."

Delilah howled, then dashed into the fray. And then more chaos exploded.

"Wild Houndour! Wait, they're not even supposed to appear in this area!"

"Nat nat veno naaa~!"

I watched in a mixture of confusion and amusement as Delilah let loose an ember attack, scattering the Rattatas in one smooth hit while scaring the Mareep into submission. Then, Delilah rounded up on the remaining Rattatas who were either too silly or brave to flee.

She howled and charged, easily knocking aside one rodent after another, before letting loose another wisp of sizzling flame that- while leaving no lasting damage- gave the remaining Rattatas a face-full of scorching flame and soot.

They fled after that. Even the wild pokemon in the area knew that it was better to not fight Dad's particularly ornery and sadistic Houndour.

It took me a while to calm the Mareep and assure them that no, Delilah was not about to eat/roast/tear them apart- which boiled down to making soothing noises at the bewildered fluffballs- while the Houndour watched on lazily, making growls which sounded a lot like deep-throated laughter, and a bit while longer to calm the boy and his Venonat down and apologize for torching his hat.

"S-so, that's not a wild Houndour, right?" the boy asked timidly, clutching his Venonat to his chest.

"No," I deadpanned. "That's Delilah. She's in charge of the Mareep."

He leaned forward. "They're not wild, are they?"

"What? No!" I puffed myself up as much as I could in an effort to look intimidating. "They belong to my Dad and me. You can't take them. You weren't thinking of taking them, were you?"

"Ah, no," the boy said sheepishly. "It's just, Gnat and I were in Violet and I heard that the gym leader uses Flying types, so we realized we were at a disadvantage and so we decided to train but then we got attacked by this bunch of angry Rattatas and I think Gnat did something that angered them and then -"

"Nat nat. Veno!"

"I see." I took a minute to glance over the boy and his Venonat- both of them looked like they had been through hell and back- and then sighed in defeat, extending out my hand- Dad always told me to be good to everybody, trainers or not. And to be fair, it wasn't like I hated trainers- the majority of them were interesting, if somewhat stubborn people. Delilah watched me cruiously. "I'm Budew- Dew, for short. Me and my dad live nearby. Why don't you come with us? It's a long way back to Violet or the Pokemon Center from here, and your pokemon doesn't look capable of taking much more."

The boy frowned, then glanced at his Venonat. After a minor consultation- he was paranoid we might mug him; Venonat was perfectly fine with it (I heard a hot bath being disputed)- he spun to face me and took my hand enthusiastically with a grin that stretched from ear to ear.

It was amazing how quickly his attitude changed from apprehensive to eager.

"I'm Warren Brightly," he said, quite brightly, "And this is Gnat. We're on a mission to stop the Pokemon League from closing down!"

I tried to smile, but failed badly. Of all the people I had to meet, it had to be one of those that had it in their heads that they could change the League's decision. They were a growing number, these kids, as if they expected the League would listen to anything they had to say. And the one in front of me right now had to be the clumsiest, cherriest, most incapable trainer I had ever seen in my life.

I felt a headache coming in. Delilah snorted at my feet in amusement, and the Mareep were still too scared to be moved.

If I had to pinpoint the moment it all began, it would have to be right then, right when I met Warren Brightly. I had no clue that a series of events was already unfolding, and we, the ignorant players, would be drawn into a web of deceit, anger, and betrayal. I didn't think that, in the months that followed, I would experience intense joy and fear, escape from situations I barely understood, or travel around the world with strange creatures who would trust me with their life, forging friendships I would treasure forever. I had no idea that our one meeting would call the fate of the world into balance.

I didn't know that, back then, I had unwittingly made a choice which had set my path for the rest of my life.