Chapter 1: The Journey Begins

New Bark Town, 2 years ago

I woke up to a loud banging on my door. Dazed from staying up all night, I rolled the covers off and stumbled to my bedroom door. I opened it to find my friend Tyson standing there, breathing heavily.

"Huh? What are you doing here?" I asked. "Do you know how early it is? My parents would kill me."

"You have to come see this! It's unbelievable!" Tyson exclaimed. "Outside, pronto!"

Despite my protests, Tyson dragged me outside to the crisp air of New Bark Town. A rather large crowd of people and Pokémon alike had gathered in the center of the town.

What's going on…? I thought to myself.

I shoved my way into the crowd to find a strange creature laying there. It looked exhausted and very hurt.

"What is that?!" I shouted, amazed and surprised.

"I don't know," Professor Elm said as he observed the strange creature. "I think it's a Pokémon, but I've never seen one like this before."

I looked at the questionable Pokémon once more. It was a very sleek creature, red and white in color. It had a red triangle wrapped on its forehead, and it had a blue triangle on its chest. Something about this creature made me feel uneasy, yet I couldn't help feeling sorry for it.

"What are you going to do, Professor?" I asked curiously. "We can't just leave it here."

"I know. That's why I'm taking it to my lab," Professor Elm explained. "I'm going to nurse this Pokémon back to good health and do a little research. We could learn something from it."

I nodded. Professor Elm and I picked up the Pokémon, it being surprisingly light for its size, and hauled it to his lab.

New Bark Town, Present Day

I lay there on my back, on my favorite hill, underneath my favorite tree. The afternoon breeze felt amazing, and I was just about to doze off when a pair of hands covered my eyes.

Heh…she's still trying that bit, eh? I thought to myself. You are too predictable.

"I wonder who that could be…" I said sarcastically, playing along with her little joke. I immediately felt the hands change shape, and the auburn-haired girl changed to a dragon-like creature.

"Gotcha!" I shouted, spinning around and jumping at her. However, Latias was still too fast, and I landed face-first in the dirt. I heard Latias laugh.

"Think that's funny, huh?" I said, recovering quickly. Latias flew off, and I ran after her.

Yep, just another ordinary day in New Bark Town.

Ever since that night, two years back, the strange Pokémon and I had become best friends. Professor Elm had managed to find out the Pokémon was called Latias, and that she was an incredibly rare Pokémon. We had also found out that Latias could change her appearance to look like that of a human girl so she could hide her true identity. We played this bit for a long time, and it eventually became a regular part of life in our quiet town.

"Never catch me this time, human!" Latias taunted.

"Yeah, you'd better run!" I shouted after her.

At least one good thing came out of our little game: I could run faster than anyone in town. It also led to the belief that if the zombie apocalypse happened, I'd be a survivor.

I eventually caught up to Latias, but then she cocked her eyebrow and blasted off, sending out a sonic boom that threw me into the ditch. I stood up, wiping the sweat off of my forehead, and ran off after her again.

Never give up was pretty much my main principle. My father had taught it to me as he was teaching me how to win a Pokémon battle. Of course, I always lost, but I always came closer to beating him than any other trainer in New Bark Town.

I caught up to Latias once again, but before she got the chance to blast off again, I jumped onto her back and latched on tight.

"Hey! No hijacking! This flight is restricted!" she protested.

"Then I guess you'll have to kick me off, if you can," I replied.

Latias glared and began twisting, turning, and rolling all over the air in an attempt to throw me off of her back, to no avail. I had gotten pretty good at holding onto her neck once I'd gotten close enough to grab on.

"Give up, Roku! You'll never prevail!" Latias declared.

"Yeah, that's not happening anytime soon!" I shouted back.

Latias shrugged her shoulders and said, "OK, you asked for it!"

Latias rolled onto her back and slowly inched towards the ground. I already knew what she was about to do, and I winced at the thought. Let's just say it's…quite a drag.

"Give up!" Latias said once more.

"Not until the fat Jigglypuff sings!" I retorted. Latias inched even closer to the ground.

"If you don't get off, we're both gonna get hurt! Now concede!" Latias warned me.

"Then do it," I said.

A few minutes later, Latias and I were both getting yelled at by Professor Elm and my mother alike as the town nurse worked on our scrapes and bruises.

"What were you thinking?!" my mother screamed. "Both of you could've gotten killed!"

"Sorry, Mom…" I groaned.

"You too, Latias! Apologize to Roku's mother!" Professor Elm demanded.

"Sorry, Mrs. Kimura…" Latias said sadly.

We both got lectured for about 10 more minutes, then it was decided that it was all an accident, and we were let off with just a slap on the wrist. Latias and I went back up to the hill and lay there, looking up at the evening sun.

After a few more minutes, I broke the silence.

"Latias…What's it like out there?" I asked.

"Mmm…depends on where you want to go," Latias responded. "Kanto's pretty great, but Johto has something that the entire world can't compare to. I guess that's why I chose to stay here."

"And what's that?" I asked, turning to face her.

Latias turned to me and said, "This place has no malicious feeling. It's a truly peaceful place, and I love it here."

Latias moved slightly closer to me. "And it also has a human who can understand me."

That was definitely a mystery. For as long as I can remember, I've been able to talk to Pokémon. I was able to understand their feelings, tell what they wanted most of all. And from what I can see from Latias' point of view, she only missed one thing. And that was her brother.

Professor Elm had also uncovered that there was a Pokémon that looked a lot like Latias, called Latios. Supposedly, they were brother and sister, and were inseparable. It remained a mystery as to where Latios was, and why they weren't together when we found Latias. I've tried my best to dig into Latias' mind and find out why they were separated, but she kept kicking me out. Eventually, I gave up.

"Don't you ever wonder where your brother could be?" I asked.

Latias looked back at the setting sun. I then saw a tear slide down her face.

"Every day…"

Later that night…

Latias woke up to the sound of feet hitting the dirt. She transformed into her human form and walked outside to see what was going on.

What in the world…? She thought to herself.

A group of strange people dressed in silver and black uniforms were slinking about in the shadows. Latias could see a few of them carrying Poke Balls.

Trainers…she thought. But…something about them is different…

Latias then felt an enormous wave of hatred fall over her. It was then that she knew who they were.

These were the people who had captured her brother.

Latias held back the urge to go out there and send them flying, and backed into her makeshift den. Professor Elm and Roku had hollowed out a small hill so that Latias would have a place to sleep. They were always so kind to me…but I never figured this would help me in the long run…she thought.

Snap! Latias had backed up a little too far and, being in her human form, had stepped on a stray twig.

Uh, oh.

"There she is! Get her!"

Latias gave up on the hiding act and turned back into her Pokémon form, launching out of her den and using Dragon Breath to blast them back far enough to allow room to escape.

"Don't let her escape!" said the bigger one, who Latias assumed was the leader. "Go, Dragonite!"

The bigger one lobbed a Poke Ball out, and it exploded, revealing the massive Dragon-type Pokémon.

"Shoot her down! Hyper Beam!"

Dragonite took a deep breath and unleashed a giant pink energy beam from his mouth. Latias dodged it nimbly, however, and kept flying away.

"Grr…" he growled. "Oh, well. She can't escape our clutches for long." The man turned to the rest of his group. "We'll retreat for now! Head back to the base!"

I woke up to a crisp smell going through the air. The smell of smoke.

What's going on…? I thought to myself.

My curiosity got the better of me, and I walked outside. A massive scorch mark, followed by an even bigger scorch mark was in the center of town. It looked as if a big battle had taken place in the middle of the night. But, if that was the deal, how come no one had heard it?

"Professor Elm!" I shouted, running up to him. "What happened here?!"

"I'm not exactly certain," the Professor said, examining the marks. "But it looks like a Dragon Breath attack, followed by a Hyper Beam."

Right…I thought. Hence the scorch marks.

As far as I knew, only Dragon-type Pokémon (and certain others) could learn Dragon Breath. And the only one I knew who actually had that move was Latias.

Speaking of which…I thought to myself. "Latias! Where are you?"

I waited for Latias to ring in with her opinion, but I neither heard nor saw nothing.

"Latias?!" I shouted again. "If this is a game, you can come out now!"

Still no reply. Where could she have gone?

I ran over to Latias' den in hopes that I would find her there, passed out under a pile of straw, but once I got there and dug around, there was no sign of her.

Something fishy was going on, and I was determined to find out what happened. I stormed out towards Route 29, the grasslands near New Bark Town.

"Roku! Where are you off to?" my mother yelled.

"I'm going to look for her," I said, determination in my voice.

"No, you're not!" Mom shouted, grabbing my collar and pulling me back. "It's dangerous out there! Wild Pokémon could attack you!"

"I'm willing to take that risk," I replied defiantly. "Latias is my friend. She could be hurt somewhere!"

"Well, Kyoko," Professor Elm said like he had an idea. "Roku is old enough to go out on his own. I think this calls for a journey."

I looked at Professor Elm. "What are you talking about?"

But before I could ask anything else, the professor had run off to his lab. He came back a few seconds later, holding a plastic card, a watch-like device, and a Poke Ball.

"First, your Trainer Card," he explained. "This shows that you're a certified Pokémon Trainer." He handed the card to me along with the watch.

"That is your P*DA, or Pokémon Digital Assistant," he continued. "This is truly a Trainer's best friend. You can keep track of your PC account, as well as funds, and it even has a Map function and a Phone."

Then, Professor Elm handed me the Poke Ball.

"This is a rare Pokémon I recently caught," he explained. "Your mother told me what your favorite Pokémon was, and I managed to find one while I was out in the field. We were saving it for your next birthday, but I think you deserve it."

I tossed the Poke Ball up in the air and released the Pokémon within. As it formed into being, I gasped.

"Th-that's an Eevee!" I shouted, barely containing my excitement. "Where did you get this?!"

"Out near Ecruteak City," Professor Elm replied. "Took me a while to find it, let alone catch it…"

I looked at my new Pokémon. Then it struck me: this Eevee looks different from others that I've seen. Instead of a brownish color, this Eevee was a light silver color.

"What's up with this Eevee?" I asked the professor. "It's not brown like the others."

"I've been wondering that myself," Professor Elm said, cocking his head. "I can't really figure it out…" Then, his eyes lit up. "But I know someone who can."

Professor Elm pulled up a map on my P*DA. "I have an acquaintance called Mr. Pokémon who lives out near Cherrygrove City, the next town over. He's always finding new things and raving about his discoveries."

"OK, so you're suggesting that I go see him?" I asked.

"Yes!" he exclaimed. "If anyone can give you the reason for that Eevee's color, it'd be him." Professor Elm focused the map on Route 30. "Mr. Pokémon lives somewhere around here. Just head straight up from Cherrygrove, and you should find him."

"Ok," I said, my heart pounding. I'll admit, I was pretty scared. I'd seen what the wild Pokémon out on Route 29 can do. They were pretty vicious.

"Are you sure Eevee will be OK?" I asked worriedly. "I mean, what if…"

Then it hit me: is Eevee a boy or a girl? Was there even any way to find out?

"Is Eevee a guy or a girl?" I asked, totally changing the subject.

"Can't you talk to Pokémon?" Elm asked.

Oh, yeah, right. I thought to myself, slapping myself in the forehead.

"Eevee, are you a guy or a girl?" I asked.

"What do you think, smart one?" she replied.

Great…a sassy nature. "Hey, I just asked. No need to be a smart alec."

"Eevee should follow your orders," Elm assured me. "As far as I know, her abilities include Growl, Tail Whip, Tackle, and Sand Attack."

"What about her Ability?" I asked, wanting to get technical.

"It's really uncommon for Eevee," Elm explained. "It's called Anticipation. She can sense whether the opponent has a potentially fatal move in their arsenal."

"Shouldn't we get going?" Eevee barked. "I hate it when he talks nerd."

I rolled my eyes and said, "Fine. Let's head out."

I made my way to the grassland area, or in other words, Route 29.

"Be careful!" I heard my mom shout. "Remember, if things get too rough, you can always come home!"

I waved goodbye and took my first steps outside of New Bark Town.

Author's note: My name's Strato Abyss, and this is going to be my first published fanfic. I figured I'd start a journey through my native region of Johto, and add a few twists along the way. First of which is the shiny Eevee. I know, a little too rare for a starter Pokémon, but that's actually what I began with when I started my Gold version 11 years ago.

Second is the adaption of the Pokémon Digital Assistant from Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon xD: Gale of Darkness. I figured I'd use something that I think is even better than the Pokegear and add a few extra bells and whistles to it.

Third is the Legend Keepers, but I'm not giving out any other info about them for the sake of preserving the storyline. You'll just have to read on to find out.

Also, this story will be taking place from two different points-of-view. Both Roku and Latias will be playing the story through their eyes.

I hope those of you who see this keep checking for new chapters, and I hope you enjoy it. I won't promise any quick updates, though, because I can only write this thing during school hours.

That's it for me. Strato Abyss signing out.