This is a story set in the game world.

I would like to thank avrilkesha92 for the inspiration for this.

Many thanks to An Unknown girl from Johto for betareading this.

I do not own any aspect of Pokémon.

Chapter 1: Errand Girl

Gold woke up, yawning widely. She looked around her room, still drowsy. What was I doing?

She got out of bed and looked around for clothes. Her room tended to be messy, and as a direct result, her clothes were usually hard to find. Looking under the bed, she noticed a box. Oh. That's what I was doing.

Gold was fourteen. She had dark black hair and gray eyes. She was generally thought to be a tomboy, although she resented this label.

She loved being a girl. Her body just wouldn't get with the program.

She pulled out the box and opened it up. The world of Pokémon was incredibly dangerous. Corrupt people were everywhere. Rapists, murderers, thieves… Pokémon made it too easy to commit evil.

Professor Elm said that he had a job for her yesterday. This would involve walking out into the world. The world was very dangerous for a girl… so Gold had a great idea. She would use her body's form to her advantage.

She would become a boy.

She pulled on black shorts, a black undershirt and a red sweater that were in the box. Picking up a gold and black hat, she placed it backwards on her head. Hefting a gray backpack filled with manga, she walked down the stairs to the first floor.

Her mom noticed her and turned from the TV. "Good morning, sleepyhead. I swear, you could sleep through an earthquake. Crystal was just here looking for you, and you were asleep. Something about a job for Professor Elm? Wait… Gold, what are you wearing?"

Gold shrugged. "Clothes."

Her mom nodded. "Of course. But why those clothes? You look like a boy."

Gold laughed. "Really, mom? That's good."

Her mom looked confused, but dropped the subject. "Anyways, you left your Trainer Card sitting around again." She handed it over. "My daughter, the tornado. Only you could leave your stuff in so many places."

Gold smiled. "Don't worry about it, mom. Anyways, Elm said he had an errand for me, so I might not be back for awhile."

"Okay. Make sure to say bye to your sister."

Gold turned to the stairs and yelled. "Bye, Lyra!"

Lyra's voice was heard from upstairs. "Bye, Gold! See you later alligator!"

Gold frowned and walked out the door. Not that she didn't love her sister, but Lyra was very annoying sometimes.

She shivered as she headed towards the lab. New Bark Town was very cold, what with the constant wind. She passed a woman who was raking leaves. "I like your bag!"

Gold smiled. "Thanks!" she said in a high, cheerful voice.

The woman frowned and turned away. Gold cursed herself. That was such a girly reaction. I need to do better if my disguise is to work.

Heading to the door, she stopped. A red-haired boy was peering through the lab window. Sneaking carefully behind him, she tapped his shoulder. "What are you doing?"

The boy stirred. "Don't touch me. What are you looking at?"

He pushed her. Gold's eyes glinted with fury.

Now, the entire town knows not to make Gold angry. She was relentless and unstoppable. She would crush you before you could even say sorry.

She grabbed the boy's shirt and lifted him off the ground. "You wanna take that back?"

The boy calmly reached around and grabbed the meat of her hand, forcing her to drop him. He then twisted her arm around her back and led her away. When he let her go, he walked back to the window and continued to peer inside.

She rubbed her arm. "Jerk," she muttered, pushing the door open.

Walking forwards, she spotted the professor. "Hey, Professor Elm, there's a strange boy…"

He interrupted her. "I'm sorry. Do I know you?"

Gold nodded. "It's me, Professor. It's Gold."

The professor blinked. "Oh, hi, Gold! I've been waiting for you!"

Gold was about to tell him about the red-haired boy, but Professor Elm interrupted again. "I have something I want you to do. I have this friend… really, more of an acquaintance, who (somewhat arrogantly, I suppose) calls himself Mr. Pokémon. He keeps finding odd things here and there. He's e-mailed me to say that he found something important… it's probably just another Pokémon egg. I don't really have time for it, so I want you to go get it.

"To this end, I'm going to give you a Pokémon."

Gold perked up. "Really, a Pokémon? You'd trust me with that kind of power?"

Professor Elm shrugged. "Of course. I've known you since you were three. Although, I think I missed this cross-dressing phase."

Gold laughed. "This is just for when I'm out of town. You know, bandits and rapists and all."

Elm's eyes brightened with understanding. "Oh. Anyways, I'm going to give you a Pokémon, but I'm not going to give you a Pokéball for it."

Gold frowned. "Why not?"

The professor looked guilty. "Well… I had an idea about Pokémon just walking around with their trainers, and I thought it would be good to… experiment."

Gold was incredulous. "Really. You're going to use me for an experiment?"

Elm nodded. "Just once!"

The black-haired girl shrugged. "Okay. Might as well get it over with."

Professor Elm gestured to three Pokéballs that had screens over them. The screens depicted the Pokémon inside of them. "Totodile, Cyndaquil, and Chikorita. Just choose one. Once you release it, it's yours."

Gold nodded and thought about it. I don't have all that much to base my decision on. Just how they look. She examined the Totodile's image. Ugh. No thought in that gaze at all. Probably just a dumb bodyguard.

She checked the green one, Chikorita. It's cute. Its grin shows that it could be friendly. However, it wouldn't protect me, from the looks of it. It'd probably get knocked out on the first punch.

The final one, however, attracted her gaze. Look at the spirit of this one. Fire billowing out of its back, and a serious yet devious look. I like it! She reached over and pressed the button. Cyndaquil popped out. It shot flames out, burning a small shelf behind it. Gold was impressed. It's so intimidating. I love it!

Professor Elm grinned. "Nice choice. Do you want to give it a nickname?"

Gold thought about it. "So… Cyndaquil. Hmm…" Her mom's voice echoed in her head. My daughter, the tornado.

Gold laughed. Fire plus tornado? "How about Firestorm?"

The Cyndquil nodded, obviously pleased. "Firestorm it is!"

Gold walked back to the professor with the Fire Mouse Pokémon following along. Elm studied them. "So… is walking with him okay? How does it feel?"

Gold gave him an odd look. "Professor, I just walked five feet. I won't know anything about this experiment of yours until I accomplish your little task."

Professor Elm nodded. "Oh, then do go on. Mr. Pokémon's house is past Cherrygrove City. North of it, to be specific."

Gold turned on her heel and was stopped by a lab assistant. "Gold, these might help." He handed her a box full of Potions.

Gold frowned. "What the heck am I supposed to do with these?"

The assistant smiled a really creepy smile. "If your Pokémon gets injured, these will heal him."

Gold nodded and stepped out the door, unnerved.

Right outside, Gold met Crystal, her childhood friend. Crystal waved. "Gold!"

Gold smiled. At least someone recognized her. "Hey, Crys!"

Crystal noticed the small Pokémon walking beside her friend. "A Cyndaquil?"

Gold nodded. "Yeah. His name's Firestorm. What are you doing here?"

Crystal pointed at the lab. "The professor said he had a job for me."

Gold laughed. "You too, huh? He's got me going to some guy's place to get 'something important.' He gave me Firestorm, so… he might give you a Pokémon, too!"

Crystal smiled. "That'd be cool. So… you're going? Hey… your mom wanted you. I checked in, looking for you, and she said she had something for you."

Gold walked past her. "Okay, Crys. I might not see you again for awhile. Bye!"

Crystal waved goodbye, walking into the lab.

Gold's mom pet Firestorm on his head. "Cute!"

Gold sighed as Firestorm gave his trainer a "help me" look. "Don't worry, buddy. She'll stop eventually."

Her mom looked up and held out a watch-like device. "Your Pokégear came back from the repair shop. Why don't you take better care of it this time, okay?"

Gold flushed with embarrassment as she remembered how she broke it. "Don't worry, mom. I will."

Her mom pointed at the phone button. "I already put my number on it. Remember to call me sometimes!"

Gold walked past the lab again. The red-haired boy was still there. Gold's eyes narrowed. One day, she would pound that boy to a pulp.

Professor Elm ran out. "Hey, Gold! I almost forgot. Here's my number!"

Gold nodded. "I'll give you a call when I get that whatever-it-is."

Gold grimaced as she walked through the tall grass. Ouch! Thorns! She wished there was an easier way to get through this mess.

All of a sudden, a squirrely thing—a Sentret—bounced at her. She shrieked and yelled, "Firestorm! Attack it!"

She didn't expect Firestorm to tackle the small Scout Pokémon. The Sentret scratched back, but Firestorm headbutted the wild Pokémon into submission.

Another Sentret jumped at Firestorm from behind. Not willing to see the Cyndaquil get hurt, Gold ran at it and kicked it. The small furry Pokémon reminded Gold of those scary stuffed creatures that Lyra liked to keep in her room.

The Sentret went flying into a tree, where it fainted.

Gold panted. "You alright, buddy?"

Firestorm nodded. Gold looked around. "I should've known that not all Pokémon belonged to people. I'll have to be more careful."

Gold twitched as she stepped out of the grass. If even one more Pidgey attacked her, she was going to scream.

She sighed with delight as she stepped into what looked like a nice town. It had many flowers everywhere and smelled a lot like perfume. "Ah, Cherrygrove City…"

The next instant, an old man ran into her. "Hello, boy! Help a fellow out! I can reward you pretty well!"

Gold wasn't sure how to react. "Um… uh…"

The old man grabbed her arm and pulled her to a house. "My poor Meowth is stuck up there."

Gold was incredulous. Really? This was something that she only thought happened on TV: a Meowth stuck on a roof. She turned to Firestorm. "Leer."

The Fire Mouse Pokémon gave the Meowth a look of malicious intent.

The Meowth yowled and jumped down, scared. "You saved him!"

Gold resisted the urge to yell. "Yes… I did."

The old man thrust a pair of sneakers into her arms. "Your reward! Running Shoes!"

Gold frowned. "Running Shoes? I have sneakers. I can run perfectly fine already."

The old man gave her a sly look. "Trust me, young man, you haven't run until you've run in Running Shoes."

Gold understood what the old man told her now. The Running Shoes must've been special, because they made it so easy to run. Looking at her Pokégear map, she muttered to herself. "Route 30… Mr. Pokémon's house must be up ahead."

She ran to a narrow opening in two hunks of rock. There were two trainers blocking the way, battling. One boy yelled out, "Go, Rattata! Tackle!"

The Rattata jumped forwards and did almost no damage to its opponents' Pidgey. Gold tapped the boy's shoulder. "Um, excuse me, you're blocking-"

The boy made a grand gesture. "What? This is a big battle! Go away!"

Gold looked at the 'big battle.' It looked like two kids having a tiny fight. Gold harrumphed. People treated her a lot worse as a boy. With that red-haired guy pushing her and this little boy yelling at her… well, she supposed that the alternative could be worse.

Following the path the other direction, she found that she could continue north. "Well, Firestorm, it seems that it was a waste of time talking to that guy."

Firestorm snorted smoke. Gold grinned. "Maybe when they're done, you can destroy his Rattata. It'd show him!"

She walked into a clearing with a single house. "Mr. Pokémon's house! No more wild Pidgey or Caterpie! Hmm… Firestorm, what do you suppose we'll do after this little errand?"

The Cyndaquil tilted his head and Gold walked inside.

The moment she stepped through the door, a man ran towards her. "You must be Gold! Elm sent me an e-mail that you'd be coming!" He ran to a shelf and pulled out an egg. "I wanted him to look at this rarity: a Pokémon egg!"

Gold pointed at him. "You're Mr. Pokémon?"

The man nodded. "Yeah. That's me."

Gold pointed at the egg. "So. Egg."

Mr. Pokémon smiled. "I know a guy in Ecruteak… Anyways, I thought Elm might be able to figure out what's inside it. He's good with evolution."

Gold didn't understand what he meant by 'evolution' and she didn't see the connection between it and the egg. "Okay…" She took the egg.

A gray-haired man showed up out of nowhere. His face was serious. A large scar ran down his cheek. "Hello, Gold. My name is Professor Oak. I'm a Pokémon researcher and a colleague of Professor Elm." He shook hands with her. "I was just visiting Mr. Pokémon. He has… many interesting items."

Gold didn't ask for clarification. She really didn't want to know. "Alright. Nice to meet you."

Professor Oak kneeled down and examined Firestorm. "Ah. A rare Pokémon… how fascinating. He seems to like you. An odd thing that doesn't happen often. Most Pokémon aren't friends with their trainers… to most, Pokémon are a means to an end. You remind me of him…"

Gold blinked. "Who?"

Professor Oak pulled out a small red box. "Gold, I have a request to make of you. It's not often that I find such a dependable young man. This is a Pokédex."

Gold swallowed, still uncomfortable with her guise. "And what is a Pokédex?"

Professor Oak traced the scar on his cheek with a finger. "It's a high-tech encyclopedia that automatically records data on the Pokémon that you see. My goal for the rest of my life is to see it completed. I would like you to do it for me."

Gold gulped. "You're trusting me… with your life goal?"

Professor Oak glowered. "Don't let me down, boy." He solemnly left.

Gold breathed quickly in and out. "He's rather scary."

Mr. Pokémon grinned. "A Pokédex! After so long, he hands out another?"

"What do you mean?" Gold asked.

Mr. Pokémon sat back in a chair. "A Pokédex is an incredibly rare item. Only a handful of people worldwide have them, and Professor Oak doesn't make many of them. You're holding one of less than ten Pokédexes."

Gold looked down in shock. I'll have to be careful with this…

As she left the house, her Pokégear rang. "Hello?"

It was Professor Elm. "G-Gold? It's me…" He sounded shaken.

Gold raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"It's… there was… just get back here, right away!" He hung up.

Gold stared at the phone. "What the heck?"

The trip through Cherrygrove was uneventful until…

The red-haired boy showed up.

Gold glared. "What are you doing here?"

The boy pointed at Firestorm. "That's the Pokémon you got from the lab. What a waste. It's much too good for a weakling like you."

Gold's temper rose. "Oh yeah?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah. You're pathetic. I too have a good Pokémon, so why don't I show you what I mean?"

Gold blinked. A battle? So soon? Okay. I've been expecting something like this ever since I left home. "Ready, Firestorm?"

Firestorm showed his teeth to him. The boy sent out a Totodile.

Gold frowned. That Totodile looked familiar.

With mounting rage, she pointed at it. "Firestorm, attack!"

The Cyndaquil rammed the Big Jaw Pokémon, who scratched Firestorm back. Gold suddenly smiled. That's the same tactic those Sentret used! Immediately confident, she shouted, "Firestorm, Leer!"

Firestorm gave the Totodile a look of such disdain that it flinched. It turned to hide, but Firestorm rammed it again.

The boy frowned. "You're doing okay… for someone weak."

Gold grinned. "Weak? Let me show you our strength!"

Firestorm ripped Totodile apart.

The boy seemed momentarily shocked, then angry. "…Do you want to know who I am? I'm going to be the world's greatest trainer."

Gold laughed. "You? You couldn't even beat me! And I am… what did you call me? Oh yeah, a weakling!"

The boy flinched at her words, then recovered. He shoved Gold aside and walked past her. As he was doing so, Gold reached into his pocket and stole his Trainer Card. "Silver, huh?"

Silver turned around and grabbed it from her. "Don't steal people's stuff, weakling!" Shoving her again, he strode into Cherrygrove.

What a jerk! I better get to Elm… something is suspicious about that guy's Totodile.

Professor Elm looked agitated, and there was a cop nearby. "Professor, what's going on?" Although she asked, Gold already knew in her heart what happened.

The cop looked her up and down. "Who are you? Someone stole a Pokémon… wait… Rule Number 1: Whoever did it will come back to the site! You must be the thief!" He grabbed her.

Gold pulled away. What? I've never heard of something more ridiculous! No wonder crime is everywhere; the cops are morons!

She slapped the officer's hand away. "No! Was the Pokémon a Totodile?"

Elm nodded. "Yes."

Gold recounted her battle with Silver, and the cop was nodding by the end of it. "Did you happen to get his name?"

What does that have to do with anything? "Silver. It was Silver."

The cop stood up, drinking some coffee. "Okay. I must search for this red-haired, uh… individual? Yeah! Individual."

He walked out, and Professor Elm shook his head in disgust. "I'm no longer surprised that there's so much crime. He was less than worthless."

Gold agreed. "Yeah. Anyways, I got the item."

She pulled out the egg, and Professor Elm leaned in close. "Okay. If you don't mind, I'll take it and study it. Only a little bit, though. I have other things to do…"

Gold shrugged. "Okay. By the way, I met someone else who said that he was a colleague of yours."

Elm raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"

Gold pulled out the Pokédex. "Professor Oak. He gave me this thing."

Elm jumped back. "A… a Pokédex? It's… real? That's… amazing! Professor Oak is very good at identifying stupendous trainers! If he gave you that, his most valuable invention… he must think much of you!"

Gold blushed. "You… you really think so?"

The professor nodded. "Absolutely! And because of this… why don't you take the Gym Challenge?"

Gold frowned. "Gym Challenge?"

Elm hesitated. "There are eight extremely powerful trainers around the region of Johto. They call themselves 'Gym Leaders.' They're… they're mostly crime bosses, and they've collectively issued a challenge to all trainers. The police are powerless to take them on, but… once in a while, a trainer beats one. There used to be eleven, but three have been defeated by various people. Their stranglehold over Johto is great, but I think you'll be able to make a difference."

Gold's eyes widened. "Is crime really that big of a thing? I walked out there, and several people were rude, but I didn't notice anything that bad."

Professor Elm shuddered. "You've never been to the big cities, then. The more inland you get… the worse it gets."

Gold thought about it. Crime is prevalent everywhere. It's the reason I'm wearing this disguise in the first place. If I defeat these people, will the crime go away? Will people be able to walk without hindrance? She made a decision. "I'll do just that. I'll take them all down."

Professor Elm paused. "Violet City is the closest place with a Gym. I would suggest starting there. Challenging every Gym will take a long time, so be sure to say goodbye to your mom. I'm sure she'll want to see you one last time."

Her mom took it remarkably well. "Okay. Go out and get them. Maybe you'll use some of that tornado power to do some good."

Gold laughed and hugged her mom. "Try not to worry too much, okay? I know it'll be dangerous, but I'm going to win. I just know it."

Lyra ran down the stairs and joined the hug, holding a teddy bear. "Yay! Family!"

Gold winced, but smiled. She supposed she would miss her little sister, too. "Goodbye, mom. Goodbye, Lyra."

She walked out the door.

Well, that was interesting. I don't normally do this kind of story, but that's alright.