It should be noted that I said 'OC versions of Black and White' because I'm giving them names and personalities that are probably not their own. That's all.

Bianca had, for reasons unknown to me, rushed ahead of Cheren and myself after we received our Pokédexes. The two of us nearly had to sprint to catch up. Luckily, she'd stopped at the beginning of the pathway that was Route 1.

I stopped when we reached her, my hands on my knees, panting heavily. "Why did…you…just…leave us…Bianca?"

"Sorry!" she apologised slightly shrilly. "I was just really excited! Sorry!"

Cheren crossed his arms. "You already said that."

She blushed. "Sorry."

"Will you stop apologising?" I teased, having regained some of my strength.

She turned even redder and looked as if she was going to apologise again, but thought better of it.

"One question, though. Why did you stop here?"

"I figured that, since we're all going on this journey together, we should start together," Bianca replied to Cheren, who'd asked the question.

I looked at her. "Sounds cool."

Cheren smiled. "Let's do it."

We lined up, Bianca in the middle, Cheren and I on either side of her. She suddenly gripped our hands tightly. I smiled as I saw Cheren straighten out of the corner of my eye.

"Okay!" Bianca shouted. "Together!"
We started to count down. "Three…two…one!"

With that, we lifted one leg and took a step onto Route 1.

"Yay!" Bianca squealed, letting go of our hands. "Our Pokémon journey has officially begun!"

"Bianca, we've taken one step," Cheren chided her.

She flushed again. I laughed.

"Right," Cheren said then, digging into his ever-present backpack and pulling out a town map. "The next stop is… Accumula Town."

Bianca's eyes shone, a lot like they had when Professor Juniper had given her a Pokédex.

I was the one to roll my eyes this time, since Cheren's were fixated on his map.

That turned out to be a problem as he tripped over a Patrat. He landed flat on his stomach, managing to avoid his glasses being shattered by the impact. The Patrat, meanwhile, chittered at him angrily.

Bianca giggled as she helped him up. Cheren rubbed his jaw slightly.

"Next time, look out for wild Pokémon, buddy," I grinned.

He glared at me.

**POKÉMON**

Accumula Town was a bit of a shock to the system. Sure, it wasn't that big of a place (not compared to Castelia City, anyway) but it was still way bigger than Nuvema Town.

"Cool!" Bianca exclaimed.

"It's really not that amazing," Cheren played it down.

I shook off my own amazement and nodded. "Cheren's right. There are places that are a lot better than this."

At my feet, Tepig grunted happily as it ran about.

"Hey, Mason," Cheren said, pointing. "Check that out."

"Check what out?" I asked, following his finger. Then I spotted it.

A large group of the townsfolk had gathered nearby, and a smaller group of strangely-dressed people was standing on a raised platform. Most of them wore a uniform that was sky-blue and white, with a badge with a stylised 'P' on the chest. The badge on the uniforms was also placed around them as banners.

There was an odd one out, however. This man was tall, and wore a billowing brown robe that was covered in designs that resembled an eye. He had a white and red eye patch over his right eye, and his face was lined. His hair was a faded green colour.

"Who the heck are these guys?" I murmured to Cheren and Bianca.

"No idea," Cheren replied.

Bianca didn't reply. She was too fixated on the weird people.

The brown-robed man stepped forward. "People of Accumula Town," he called in a rich voice. "I am Ghetsis, one of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma. I am here to speak to you today about Pokémon liberation."

There were murmurs of surprise from the crowd. The man known as Ghetsis started to wander around the platform, his hands behind his back. "We have often been told that humans and Pokémon work together…that we need each other. But, is this truly the case? Is this nothing more than what we humans tell ourselves? Is the truth that we humans enslave Pokémon for our own selfish needs?"

Another, angrier, murmur came from the crowd. Cheren and I glanced at each other briefly before looking back at Ghetsis.

"It is Team Plasma's intent to free Pokémon from the tyrannical control of many humans. It is my fervent hope that you will take my words to heart. Consider what I have said today. With this, I leave you, and thank you for your time." He made a signal to his fellows, who picked up the banners and filed around him, forming an honour guard. Without another sound, they left the town, taking the only road out.

The crowd immediately dispersed, leaving only Cheren, Bianca, myself, and a tall man with green hair.

"That was weird," Bianca said.

"You said it," I replied.

Tepig gave a grunt at my feet, sounding a bit like a fusion of confusion and excitement.

The green-haired man that was nearby darted his head towards us. His hair was long, tied into a ponytail, under a plain grey cap. He wore a white top, and a necklace shaped like a planet hung from his neck. His pants were plain brown cargo pants, and he had a weird-looking cube clipped to his belt. Somehow, something seemed really…off about him. I found myself shuddering as he walked up to us.

"Your Pokémon…" he marvelled in a velvet voice. "Just now, it was saying…"

Cheren eyed him. "Excuse me? Pokémon can't talk. Everybody knows that."

"That's not true," the weird guy denied, not taking his eyes off Tepig. "I hear them everywhere I go. And this Tepig just said something…odd. It said it trusted you completely." He looked at me. "Are you its Trainer?"

"Yeah…" I replied cautiously. "My name's Mason."

He smiled, a strangely eerie sight. "I am called N, and I would very much like to hear more of what your Pokémon has to say." He drew out a Pokéball, touching the button to expand it.

I smiled slightly. "Don't mind if we do. You ready, Tepig?"

Tepig gave a determined grunt, shooting cinders from its snout.

"Go, Purrloin!" N shouted, throwing his Pokéball. The ball opened, and a Purrloin leapt out, growling at Tepig.

"Purrloin, Scratch!" N commanded.

Purrloin came at Tepig, its claws glowing slightly.

"Tepig, dodge and use Tackle!" I shouted.

Tepig, being far faster than I'd thought, dodged Purrloin's attack with ease and slammed into it with speed. Purrloin tumbled slightly as it landed heavily on the stone.

"Wow…" Bianca marvelled. "Mason's a natural, isn't he?"

"Sure looks like it," Cheren agreed.

"Now, Tepig, Ember!"

Tepig reared back and shot more cinders from its snout, aiming them at Purrloin. Purrloin didn't see the attack coming, and didn't dodge. The cinders slammed into Purrloin, which again fell onto the ground. It didn't get up.

N grunted contentedly and produced his Pokéball. "Purrloin, return." A red light beamed from the ball and the exhausted Purrloin went back into it. Without another word, he pocketed it and looked me dead in the eye. "You are strong, Mason. I have a feeling that I'll be seeing you again." He suddenly turned and walked out of town.

"That was…weird," Bianca murmured.

I chuckled. "Just a little."

**POKÉMON**

I took a quick trip to the Pokémon Centre to heal Tepig and buy some Potions, which Bianca and Cheren did too. Now we were in a small forest just outside Accumula Town, one that was filled with Lillipups, Patrats and Purrloins.

There was a rustling from a nearby bush.

"What was that?" Bianca squealed, clinging to Cheren's arm. He calmly disengaged her from his limb.

"It's probably just a curious Pokémon," he placated her.

"Speaking of Pokémon…" I added, stopping dead in my tracks.

A Lillipup was blocking the path, growling at me and Tepig.

"Sounds like this little guy wants a battle," I smiled. "Let's give him one."

Tepig grunted determinedly and adopted a ready stance.

The Lillipup came in quickly, its teeth bared.

"It's using Bite!" Bianca shouted.

"Tepig, Ember!"

My Pokémon obliged, shooting balls of fire at the wild Lillipup. The attack hit heavily, and the Lillipup howled slightly as it fell.

I drew one of the Pokéballs that Professor Juniper had given us along with the Pokédex, throwing it at the wild Pokémon. It landed softly on the Lillipup's head, and it turned into red light as it entered the ball. It shuddered three times in an agonising moment, before letting off a small chime to proclaim that the Pokémon had been caught.

I grinned at Bianca and Cheren as I picked up the Pokéball and my new Pokémon. There was another rustling, this time from a nearby tree.

Bianca looked up at the tree. "Was that a Pidove or something?"

Cheren's brow furrowed. "I don't know."

"Who cares?" I shrugged it off. "I caught a Lillipup. Right now, that's all that matters."

The rustling became louder, and was accompanied by a girl's scream. Before I knew it, I was lying on my back on the forest floor, peering up at the pretty girl who had, quite literally, fallen from the sky and into my life.

PLEASE REVIEW. I know I sound desperate, but PLEASE!