Chapter 1

The sun rose over the mountain ranges in the Canopus Region. Dew droplets slid off the leaves of the trees inside Big Horn Forest, sparkling in the wake of the rising sun. Parent Pokémon watched as their children bathed in the warming waters of the Araxie River. The sun reflected off of the white waters of Blanche Lake. Many people woke up and walked out of their homes, preparing to go to their jobs.

It was October 10th, the day that most Pokémon Trainers wait for their whole life. When it turns October 10th of the year of the trainer's seventeenth birthday, they are given their Pokémon License. This, of course, was not implemented until a few years ago when it was ruled that leaving your home at the age of ten was too young, especially in the Canopus Region.

Not many trainers came from the Canopus Region due to the fact that it was so hard to get through. Most trainers would start off across the ocean in Kanto or some region close to it. The Canopus had a mix of most Pokémon from around the world, and there was no true starting point. It is a well known fact that, throughout the Canopus Region, one can run into something from a wild Rattata to a wild Metagross. Even on the same route.

Professor Poplar, the nephew to the famous Professor Andrew Poplar from Skyvale City, would give out five Pokémon to exceptional students from his small academy. Their adventures would now begin, whether they wanted to collect Pokémon, take on the league, become a Pokémon Coordinator, or just wanted to travel. This was their chance to travel their world.

In the northern part of Skyvale City, sat a big, three story house. It stood next to the Skyvale gym, which towered over it. Many dragon-gargoyles filled the gates, giving an intimidating look to the house.

Inside the house lived a family of five: the city's Gym Leader, his wife, their youngest daughter, and two boys that were twins. Soon enough, the twins would embark on their own journey together, taking on one of the most threatening regions in the entire world, the Canopus Region.

A loud buzzer went off in rhythm inside the twin's bedroom. The time was now 8:30, and their meeting with Professor Poplar was drawing near. Kade reached from the top bunk and pushed the button on the alarm clock. He ran his hand through his messy, dark blonde hair and sat up in his bed. He looked down to see his brother, Zero, still sound asleep. He turned on the bed and let himself fall onto his feet on the soft white carpet. He only wore his red pajamas to bed, letting his muscular body breathe.

Pushing onto Zero, Kade tried waking his brother. He also rubbed his own eyes in an attempt to force himself awake. Zero lifted his arm and pushed Kade away from him. He had always been the one who could sleep for thirteen hours straight. He tucked himself back under the blankets, only his lengthy black and brown hair sticking out.

"C'mon, Zero… Today is the day, if you forgot. We have to be at Poplar's in only two hours," Kade said in a quieted tone. His voice was so rough that it was almost muffled.

Zero shifted slightly, giving Kade hope that he would actually get up. But he only pulled one of his many pillows closer to him and smacked his lips together. There was no way that Kade could get him up now.

Kade just shook it off and decided that it would be best if he shaved his prickly cheeks then came back. He stumbled off to the bathroom to do his business. Once he turned on the shower, he could hear his mom downstairs, probably making a breakfast that would be burnt to a crisp. That is why he wished Zero would get up. He would make something decent. They never bothered to tell their mom how bad she was though. It would hurt her feelings.

After Kade was done showering, combing his hair, shaving and brushing his teeth. He wrapped his towel around his waist and walked back into his bedroom. He stepped over the controllers for their game system and made his way over to his dresser. Zero was still sleeping. It was probably because they stayed up late playing the latest basketball game. Then again, you could never tell with Zero.

Kade pulled on a nice pair of blue jeans and his black, short-sleeved compression shirt. He grabbed his red jacket that lay by the door and zipped it up, making sure not to hide his necklace with the classic Poké Ball design on it.

He reached for the doorknob before an idea came to mind. He could totally mess with Zero. He normally would not do it, but this was their special day, and they only had an hour and a half to get to Poplar's lab. Kade snuck his hand under Zero's pillow where he hid all of his personal belongings, like his ancient Game Boy or his remote to his loud stereo. Kade placed one of Zero's speaker directly above Zero's head and stepped back. He plugged his ears and pushed the button. A loud, shrieking noise came out of the speaker. Normal people, like Kade and anybody at school, hated the type of music that came out. A deep growling voice with loud, grungy guitars burst from it. Normally, a person would shoot up and dart around frantically, looking for a way to turn it off, but Zero was different. He sat up slowly and looked at the speaker. He opened one eye and cocked his head back, staring at Kade.

"Really?" Zero asked, finally flipping his plethora of blankets and pillows off of him. He wore a grey tank top to bed along with his dark blue pajamas. He stood up and bit this thumb. He was much skinnier than Kade, because he never worked out.

Kade pushed a button, stopping the music. He threw the remote at Zero, who caught it half-heartedly. He placed it on Kade's dresser. It did not matter; they would be leaving soon anyways.

"Mom's making breakfast," Kade said. At the sound of this, Zero made a face. "You best be quick. We have only a little bit till we gotta be at Poplar's."

Zero nodded. He walked over to his dresser and fiddled through his stuff. He always dressed in the bathroom, not proud of his body like Kade was. It was not a smug proud, but the kind that one could feel good about. Zero was too skinny for his own right, and he did not like it. Zero worked his way into the bathroom to do his business as Kade went downstairs.

Downstairs, their mother, Caralyn Smithon, took notice of the loud clumping noises coming from the staircase.

"Kade, is that you? I'd be surprised if it was Zero," she yelled curiously. Zero had taken a lot of his traits from her. She was lanky with straight black hair that fell at the shoulders. Birth to twins and an eventual daughter definitely put a toll on her skinny body.

Kade popped his head around the corner and smiled. "Hey, mom!" He ran around the corner and kissed her on the forehead before taking a seat at on the kitchen stools that sat at the countertop.

"Have you got your damn brother up? You'd think with how important this day is, he'd be up early!" she said, seemingly stressed out. It was not like her to be like this. She loved Zero and how he never got into any kind of trouble. Better asleep then behind bars.

"Yeah. He's in the shower. He should be out anytime now," Kade explained.

Caralyn sighed and placed a piece of what looked like burnt toast and bacon on his plate. He took a bite of the bacon and rolled his eyes. He held the toast under the counter, attempting to feed it to the family's Herdier. Even he looked at it like Kade was crazy. But human food was human food.

After faking his love for the breakfast and powering through the bacon, Kade had convinced his mom to leave and go get dressed. Zero walked downstairs and sniffed the air. He wore a black dress shirt over a blue short-sleeve, baggy pants with two blue over all straps hanging from the belt loops. Kade rushed over to Zero and held out two pieces of bread.

"C'mon, dude. Hook me up!" Kade pleaded. He whispered so that their mom could not hear them.

Zero grabbed the bread and nodded. "Ya know toast is really easy to do, right?" He walked over to the counter and popped the toast into the toaster. He spun the dial on it so it would not burn and walked over to the pans. In only a few minutes, he was remaking a breakfast that had gone horribly wrong.

A skipping noise clapped through the house. Kade peered over into the hallway, and Zero ignored it. Their sister, fully dressed and perky, skipped into the kitchen and took a seat at her usual spot, right next to Kade.

"Watcha makin'?" she asked Zero, trying to look up. She was fourteen and would one day go on her own journey.

Zero placed the different assortment of breakfast items on five different plates. He placed one plate in the microwave and set the rest on the counter. He usually did not answer people with his words, tried to keep it simple by answering with actions. He took a seat and began to eat along with his two siblings.

"Are you pumped to start your journey!" their sister asked. Her two brown pigtails moved while her head darted around, looking at the two boys.

Kade grinned and finished a piece of bacon. "Hell yeah! We're gonna kill it!" He raised his hand, asking for Zero to give him a high five. Zero did so, cracking his first smile of the day. "Do you have confidence in your older brother, Annabell?"

Annabell shrugged. "It is probably better for you two to have confidence going in. Everyone knows how hard the league has been on people."

"But you're looking at the top students of the academy!" Kade responded, pointing his thumb at his chest.

Annabell shook her head. Then she pointed at Zero. "I'm actually looking at you! Zero is on this side."

Zero stifled a laugh.

"You're a brat, Anna," Kade snapped.

Her eyes widened. "Don't call me Anna!"

Zero nodded. "Yeah, she likes Bell so much better…"

"Shut up, Zero!" Anna squeaked.

Their mom came out from the hallway, fastening and earring. She stopped and took a look at the plates of food.

"I didn't make that much," she stated. "And why only four?"

Zero glanced up. "Dad's is in the microwave."

Their dad was the city's Gym Leader. It was not common to have a gym and a lab in the same city. Canopus had this distinction. Not only did Skyvale have a Pokémon Gym, but it was also the most powerful gym throughout the entire region.

"Why is it in the microwave?" their mom asked. "It should be out here with the rest!"

Zero finished a bite of bacon. He lifted his glass of MooMoo Milk to his lips. "Is he here?" He then took a gulp of his drink. That was the question that everyone had always asked themselves throughout the household, but never said it out loud. Their dad was always busy, and when he was home, kind words were never exchanged. Kade and Annabell stared at Zero, then their mom. She sighed and stuck her fork into her food.

The four sat in silence, chewing into the food that Zero had made. It would probably have been Annabell's last good meal for awhile, so she enjoyed it as much as possible. After they were done, the twins grabbed their bags, Kade's being a messenger bag, and Zero's a one-strap backpack. The four climbed into the family van, and Kade got one last look at his dad's gym. It would be a long time till he would see it again. The engine hummed slightly, and it began to hover a few inches over the ground. The car took off steadily until a body was thrown in front of the car. Everyone looked to see their father, Mitch Smithon, and the strongest Gym Leader in all of Canopus.

Caralyn rolled down the window and gave him a one-armed hug.

"Hey, we're about to leave!" she said. Even though she was overjoyed that he had made an appearance, she knew they did not need to be late.

Kade took a lot after their father. His dad was bald, but once had blonde hair. He had a big busy beard and a gut. He was a tall man, standing at six foot six inches. And over all of his bigness, was a nice suit without the jacket, showing that he wore a white dress shirt and pants that were held up by straps.

He stared into the vehicle, his eyes darting around his twins. Zero braced himself for verbal abuse, and Kade crossed his fingers for something positive. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"Good advice," the twins mumbled in unison.

"You better come back winners," he started. "And y'all be careful! I don't want to ever receive a phone call that one of you was killed! Stick together and take care of each other!" Mitch had a deep, rough voice; a combination of his sons.

Zero looked down, while Kade tried to maintain eye-contact. "But I'm serious. Be careful…" For the first time, their dad looked concerned for the two. He did not look stern. He did not look angry. He looked worried for some reason.

Their parents kissed, and mom had started the engine again. They were finally off to Professor Poplar's lab.

The lab was a busy looking building with people in white lab coats running around. Acres of land behind and around the lab were full of a wide assortment of Pokémon, probably Pokémon from trainers that started with Professor Poplar. The other trainers that did not get their Pokémon from Professor Poplar got their Pokémon from the Skyvale Gym, just like every other city or town with a gym. Any town that did not have a gym would have a small school with a person designated to hand out Pokémon to beginning trainers.

"It's weird how we have been to this place many of times for research, but today feels different," Kade said.

"Well, every other day we know we would be home for dinner, but today we won't be," Zero commented. The two smiled. It was now hitting them that they would not be coming back.

"Boy's," Caralyn said, "It is time." They opened the doors and walked into the lab. The lab had machines everywhere and they beeped and buzzed continuously.

"Hello boys," a rather lanky man with glasses greeted. The man's glasses were tilted, and he constantly pushed them up. His hair was a darker red shade and it looked as if it had not been combed for days. His lab coat was stained, but he did not seem to care.

"Hi, Professor!" The boys greeted in unison. They looked at each other. They hated doing that.

The Professor held out his hand, forgetting he was holding stacks of paper, and dropped them all over the floor. "Shoot!" He bent down to pick them up. The boys helped him as best they could. He often slapped their hands, because they were going to pick up the wrong paper.

Once all the papers were back in his hands, he said, "If you two would come back to the Evaluation Room." He motioned for the boys to step forward. "They will be out momentarily with their brand new Pokémon." The twin's mom smiled faintly and held Annabell's hand.

The boys walked into a room with one long table with five Poké Balls laying across it. Each one was spaced out perfectly from the other. The boys saw two girls and one other boy that they recognized from the academy.

The boy glared at Zero with a sucker twisting in his mouth. He had broad intimidating shoulders covered by a dark green jacket and a light green undershirt. He was similar to Kade in build, but easily a little more athletic. He had short spiked blond hair and light brown eyes. He wore black skinny jeans that made Kade question his choice in clothing. "This is Braiden Trent Cortland as you all know," the Professor introduced. He looked over the four trainers cockily.

"Sup chumps?" He snickered. Zero rolled his eyes and turned away from the bully. Braiden looked over to the dark dressed girl and winked.

The girl had short pitch black hair that was longer on one side to cover her left eye. She had dark make-up on to compliment her gray emotionless eyes; the same emotionless eyes that Zero had. She wore a purple hoodie with black skinny jeans and converses.

"Leave me alone," she snarled. She threw her hood over her head and blocked out the world.

"Victoria Darkwell," Poplar said, motioning towards her.

"Come on, Vicky. You know I'm cute."

"Well then," the Professor sighed. "Lastly, this is Thea Light." The twins smiled at her. The three were pretty much best friends since they lived in Neoma Town when they were all younger. She had black hair that was short in the back but lengthy in the front. She wore a purple tank top with a black under armor under it and blue short shorts that were fastened by two studded belts. Under the shorts, she wore two black tights.

"Okay, now that all of you are acquainted, it is the time you all have waited for," Professor Poplar explained. He moved behind the table with the five Poké Balls. "In the Canopus Region, trainers are able to receive their first Pokémon on October 10th of their seventeenth year. I take in the highest scorers from each town's evaluation test given when you are twelve. I then take the top 50 scorers and give them scholarships to study under my wing for five years. On May of your seventeenth year, if you remember, you took another test. The test was the Official Pokémon Training License Test. You five passed with the top five scores in my academy, so you have the privilege to receive handpicked starters from me." The Professor smiled.

"Let's get this show on the road," Braiden rushed.

"This is a privilege is not to be taken for granted. Other trainer simply receive a Poké Ball and go out and wish for the best," the Professor lectured once more. "Now, let's start with the ladies." He pushed the release button on each Poké Ball and after a bright flash of light, five Pokémon stood in front of the trainers. In other regions, three Pokémon were given out, usually a grass water and fire-type. This region's starters were modeled after the Elite Four's typing.

"Victoria, you can have first choice," Thea offered. Victoria looked at the five Pokémon and turned to a floating ball of gas with a mischievous face. She pointed at the Pokémon.

"You picked Gastly, a dual Poison and Ghost-type," the Professor explained. He gave the Poké Ball to Victoria. The Poké Ball succumbed Gastly. The Poké Ball was redesigned many years ago. It was red on top and white on bottom. The button had a glowing yellow ring around it with another bigger ring surrounding that one. There were small triangular indents on the top and bottom that began to glow as soon as Gastly was entrapped. The glass on the Poké Ball turned into a ghost-like purple. Victoria stepped back and waited quietly until she could leave.

"Let's see," Thea thought aloud. A purple furred monkey Pokémon with a extra hand on the tip of its tail jumped on her shoulder and wrapped its tail around her waist. "I think I'll go with this one," she giggled.

"That is Aipom, the Normal type of this selection." The Professor handed the Poké Ball to Thea and she stepped back, letting the Aipom remain on her shoulders.

"I think I should go first," Braiden suggested rudely. He stepped forward and picked up a Poké Ball without hesitation. "I choose you." A bipedal fox looking Pokémon with mostly blue fur looked up at him deeply. Braiden recalled the Pokémon into the Poké Ball.

"That was Riolu, the Fighting type," the Professor said. "Now it's time for the twins."

Kade and Zero looked at each other. Zero motioned for Kade to go ahead, and he took the chance. The last two Pokémon stared at him. One was a quadruped fox-looking Pokémon with a poof of fur that resembled a flame. Its fur was black except for the tip of the poof. The last Pokémon was standing on two legs that made it look like it was wearing a dress. It had a green helmet with one red horn coming out from the front and one from the back. The Pokémon looked up at Kade, revealing its eyes to him. They seemed timid, but powerful.

"I'm choosing this one," Kade smiled. The Pokémon walked over to his leg and stood beside its trainer. Kade took the Poké Ball and recalled his first Pokémon.

"Ralts, the Psychic type."

"I guess this Zorua is mine," Zero grinned. Zorua smiled and ran to Zero.

"Well, you have made your decisions," Professor Poplar said. "Here are the latest versions of the PokéDex." He handed five handheld devices to the trainers.

"These are touch screen!" Thea shrieked. "So cool!" It was not anything spectacular. Touch screens have taken over almost every technological device for years now. Victoria looked hers over and shoved it in her front pocket.

"Challenging the Canopus Region is very brave and daring. I have full belief in every single one of you and wish you luck on whatever path you may take. Be careful and remember everything you have been taught," the Professor lectured, releasing the trainers into trainerhood.

They all walked out of the room, holding onto their Poké Balls. Kade and Zero met with Annabell and their mother. Annabell squealed at the sight of Zorua.

"It's so cute!" she said, kneeling down and petting Zorua's tuft.

Caralyn turned to Kade and patted him on the shoulder. "What did you get?"

Kade opened his mouth, but was interrupted by a familiar, annoying voice.

"Hey, boy! Let's have ourselves a battle, and show these pathetic losers what real trainers look like," Braiden said, pursing his lips together and nodding his head.

"I guess you can find out now," Kade said with a smile.

"Oh! A battle sounds fun!" Thea cheered. She grabbed Zero's arm and pulled on him. "You wanna have a battle?"

"I best get my battle first!" Braiden snapped.

Professor had a big enough yard for them to test out their Pokémon. Kade, Caralyn, Annabell, and Braiden all sat on one of the benches. They had flipped a coin to decide who would be battling first, and the decision upset Braiden.

Zero and Thea stood at opposite sides of the yard, trying to emulate a battlefield, and Victoria reluctantly played referee.

"This battle will be… You know… Let's just get on with it," she said harshly. She tossed a square device into the air, which burst open and sent down holograms onto the ground, making a fake chalk line for the battlefield.

Aipom jumped off of Thea's shoulder and danced onto the field. Zorua walked slowly to his side of the field and struck a fighting pose.

"Aipom, let's start with Agility then DoubleSlap!" Thea ordered. She had already checked her Pokédex for all the information on Aipom.

Aipom dashed forward at an unmatchable speed. She twisted around and smacked her tail into Zorua's face. Before Zorua could fall, she twisted and smacked again.

Zero drew out his Pokédex and scanned over Zorua for any attack that could help. "Sucker Punch!"

Before Aipom could lift her tail to slap again, Zorua drew back and flung his body into Aipom. Aipom slid across the field and stood back up, surprised at the strength from Zorua.

"Now Leer," Zero said quietly.

Zorua's eyes flashed, and Aipom was taken back slightly. She looked scared and was no longer confident that she could win it.

"Don't let that scare you! Scratch!" Thea called, breaking Aipom from the attack.

Aipom lunged into the air and brought her hand onto Zorua, scratching him in the eye. She then used her tail and uppercut Zorua lightly.

"Sucker Punch one more time!"

Zorua mustered up all the energy that he had left and lunged forward before Aipom could hit again. The Pokémon's bodies smacked together, and they both fell to the ground.

Victoria looked over the two and sighed. "Both Pokémon are unable to continue…"

Thea ran out onto the field and grabbed ahold of Aipom. "You did awesome for your first battle!" She rocked Aipom in her arms like one would do with a small child.

Zero pet Zorua. He gave him a nudge on the cheek. "Next time, buddy. I'm sorry that I wasn't prepared for her attacks."

"Zorua," he cooed.

"Alright! It's our turn, Kade!" Braiden said, jolting up from his seat. He looked over to the ref's box, where Victoria stood no longer. "Wait, what?"

Zero and Thea met up with the small group. "She wandered off to go do her own thing. You know her, she won't stay in one place," Zero said. "I'll ref for you."

Braiden looked disgusted at the idea but with went it anyways.

The two trainers found their boxes on the fake battlefield. Both drew out their balls and released Riolu and Ralts.

"Quick Attack!" Braiden said, wasting no time. Both trainers had checked their Pokémon's stats over the course of the last battle, not wanting to make Zero's mistake.

Kade pointed out onto the field. "Shadow Sneak!"

Ralts disappeared and suddenly reappeared before Riolu. He smashed his shoulder into Riolu throwing the Pokémon to the side. Riolu pushed himself back up and growled.

"Quick Attack one more time!"

Riolu looked back at his trainer like he was crazy but shook it off. He dove forward and slammed his body into Ralts. Ralts fell back but stood back up as fast as he could.

Kade nodded and closed his eyes, trying to remember what attacks Ralts knew. "Okay! Confusion!"

Ralts lifted his hands into the air and a purple aura surrounded Riolu. Riolu began to panic but was dropped lightly. Ralts lowered his arm and looked winded.

"It looks like Ralts doesn't know Confusion yet! Pathetic!" Braiden taunted. Kade shrugged it off and already had his next attack prepared.

"Shadow Sneak!"

"Eh! What? Foresight!" Braiden screamed.

Ralts began his attack, and seconds before Ralts reappeared Riolu's eyes flashed red. Ralts appeared and slammed his body into Riolu. Riolu fell back but regained his composure.

"We can end this one with Shadow Sneak one more time!" Kade yelled. If he could not use Confusion, he would use Shadow Sneak until he won.

The attack began, but Braiden was ready. He knew that he already had this won.

"Quick Attack!"

As Ralts seemingly hid himself, Riolu darted forward. Ralts was surprised when Riolu smashed his body into him, sending Ralts flying into the air and back onto the hard ground.

Zero stared in shock while his brother's Pokémon lay limp on the ground.

"Announce it, dumbass!" Braiden snapped. "I've clearly won this!"

"You won! Blah, blah!" Zero snapped. He ran out onto the field, and the fake shake faded.

Kade ran onto the field and gave his Ralts a hug. "You were awesome, Ralts! We'll have to work on Confusion though!"

Braiden huffed. He could not believe that his victory was going uncelebrated. He walked away, hoping that they would go chasing after him.

"Next time, Ralts!" Annabell said happily.

Caralyn put her hand on Kade's shoulder. "There is no shame in your first loss…"

Kade smiled and stood up. The family exchanged hugs.

"I'm going to get going now," Thea announced. She hugged the twins then waved as she ran away.

The twins turned toward Route 1 and the rest of the Canopus Region. Their journey would now really begin.

Since there are two authors, we are doing two author notes. JB/N is JohtoBlue and PS/N is Me:)

JB/N- Thanks for checking us out guys! What do you think, so far? Hot right?
Q1) Is there any Pokemon you'd like to see Braiden end up with? We'll be doing votes for him later.

PS/N- Hi:) All you readers, remember that both me and JohtoBlue have more journey stories for you to check out. We would appreciate if any of you would read those as well. Hope you liked this chapter!

Q2: What do you think about twins taking on the league together?