Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

Hello and welcome to the first chapter of Pokémon Journey: Livvi's Johto Scrapbook!

This side-story in the Pokémon Journey series follows Livvi Weston's adventures as she travels to the Johto region. This isn't, however, what I would consider a 'full story' – as the name suggests, this story will cover the major events to come and will skip over some parts of the journey if there are no captures, evolutions, gym battles etc.

If this is the first Pokémon Journey story you've come across, I suggest reading this in tandem with Pokémon Journey: Hoenn, though you'd also benefit from having read Pokémon Journey: Kanto and Pokémon Journey: Sevii Islands as well.

Anyway, on with the show, I guess!

Upload Date: 20th February 2017

Chapter 1: Pursuit

New Bark Town, Johto

2:39pm, 25th March 2006

"Excuse me, Miss?" the receptionist called to the only occupant of the trainer lounge in the New Bark Town pokémon centre. "There's a call for you."

"Thanks." The girl, around thirteen years old, jumped up from one of the sofas and walked back over towards the lobby. Her squirtle followed after her.

The receptionist shuddered slightly as a cold draught blew in, but the girl didn't seem affected in the slightest, despite her rather brave choice to wear a navy-blue tank top and a black, plaited skirt. There wasn't even a trace of discomfort in her mischievous brown eyes. Her long, chestnut hair flowed out behind her as she walked.

"I'll put you through to this console here." The receptionist gestured to one of the videophones on the left-hand side of the lobby before heading back towards the desk.

The girl thanked him again and walked over to the videophone. There was a short delay as the receptionist transferred the call.

"Hello?" A woman in her late thirties appeared on the screen. "Tessa?"

"I'm here, Mum!" Tessa Weston replied cheerfully. "I was planning on calling you later to tell you I reached Johto anyway."

Tessa's squirtle, Lallo, jumped up onto her shoulder and waved merrily to Tessa's mother, Holly.

"Glad to see you're doing okay as well, Lallo!" Holly smiled at him. "Please continue taking care of Tessa for me!"

"So, what did you call me for?" Tessa asked as the squirtle nodded. "You don't need to worry about me."

"Don't worry!" Holly laughed. "I'm not too worried about you!" Her face turned slightly more serious. "Actually, I wanted to let you know that Livvi has set off for the Johto region as well."

"She has?" Tessa smiled knowingly. "Honestly! She needs to stop being so clingy!"

"Better not say that to her face!" Holly grinned. "She didn't seem like she was in a good mood when she left!"

"How long ago did she set off?"

"Four days ago. She'll probably reach New Bark Town the day after tomorrow."

"I'd better get moving then!" Tessa sighed. "I can't face being challenged to a battle straight away." She paused for a second. "Hang on, did they change their plans then?"

"Huh? Who?"

"You know: Livvi, James and Richard! I thought James was talking about them going to the Hoenn region…"

"Oh, James and Richard are still going to the Hoenn region," Holly explained. "Livvi said that she would end up relying too much on them if they came with her."

"Do they know that she's coming here?"

"She told them just before she left. They were disappointed, but they understood."

"So, my little sister is adventuring all on her own then?" Tessa grinned. "In that case, I know why you called me. Sorry, but I don't feel like babysitting her!"

"That's not what I'm asking," Holly replied with a sigh. "It's enough to know that you'll be able to react if she gets into trouble. I'm just asking that you don't get too far ahead of her."

"That depends on how slow she is!" Tessa laughed. "But I can do that. I've registered for the Johto League and I'm planning on leaving New Bark Town later today. I'll check back with you every time I reach a new town so you can tell me where Livvi is. Maybe I'll even pay her a visit from time to time!"

"Thanks, Tessa!" Holly smiled in relief. "Anyway, I won't keep you. Enjoy your journey!"

"Thanks, Mum! Bye!" Tessa called as Holly cut the line. She stepped away from the videophone and gave a gesture of thanks to the receptionist. As she returned to the trainers' lounge, she glanced out the window. It was starting to get cloudy – she should probably get moving soon so that she wasn't caught out by the rain.

"I guess this journey's going to be more interesting than I thought!" She smiled to herself.

Route 27, Kanto-Johto border

1:45pm, 27th March 2006

It was raining. Really raining.

Sure, the sky had been a little overcast at the start of the day, but there was no way anyone could have predicted that this much rain would suddenly start pouring down incessantly. The ground was soggy and saturated, the mud paths slippy and unstable, even the wildlife was sheltering from it.

Yet Livvi Weston was trudging slowly along one of many paths winding through the hills and mountains that separated the Kanto and Johto regions. She was wearing an anorak, the hood tightly pulled over her head, but it had been of little help in the torrential downpour. She was cold, she was wet. It was not an experience she was keen to repeat any time soon.

Fortunately, one of the people in the village she'd passed about an hour ago had told her that she was finally getting close to New Bark Town. She must have crossed over the border at some point earlier in the day. That, if nothing else, made her feel glad that she'd decided to continue moving today, rather than seeking shelter somewhere along the route.

Still, if she wasn't careful, then all the time she'd saved by travelling today would go to waste once she arrived. Her backpack was soaked through, with it all of her spare clothes and various other important items she needed for her travels. If the pokémon centre in New Bark Town didn't have a tumble dryer, then it was going to be a long wait for everything to dry out.

She let out a sigh and shuddered as she continued walking.

As the road turned a corner and emerged from one of the many narrow mountain passes, she suddenly caught sight of a town nestled among the trees by the sea. It was far larger than the villages Livvi had come across that day – she dared to hope that she was looking down at New Bark Town. Thankfully, her hope was rewarded as she spotted a road sign emerging from the downpour.

'New Bark Town.'

"Finally!" Livvi gasped, her voice filled with relief. She could practically feel the warmth of the pokémon centre already!

Just to be sure, she pulled out the large map of the Johto region she'd bought before setting off. Buying one that was water-resistant had been a good call too. She quickly scanned the map and found the dot marked 'New Bark Town'. Charting her progress from the last time she checked… yep, that was almost certainly New Bark Town.

"Alright, let's go!" Livvi cheered herself on as she folded away the map and resumed walking down towards the town.

She'd finally made it to the Johto region!

New Bark Town, Johto

2:03pm, 27th March 2006

"Your pokémon are all in good health – there's nothing to worry about." The nurse smiled as she passed Livvi's six poké balls back to her.

"Thanks." Livvi took the balls carefully. She hadn't been that worried since her pokémon had scarcely battled since departing Viridian City, but there was always the chance that they could get injured or pick up infections and the like while they were out of their poké balls. There was no harm in being careful.

While her pokémon had been getting a check-up, she'd booked a room and taken a much-needed shower. Now that she was warm again and in some dry clothes that she'd borrowed from the pokémon centre, she felt much more relaxed. There was something innately comforting about changing into dry clothes and lounging around indoors after being out in the rain.

Of course, she couldn't quite relax yet. She still had something else that she needed to do first.

"Excuse me." She moved along the counter to speak to the receptionist.

"Yes, how can I help?"

"I was wondering if it's possible to register for the Johto League here…"

"Sure, I can register you." The receptionist nodded, tapping some keys on his computer. "Can I have your trainer card, please?"

"Here." Livvi handed it to him. She stepped back slightly as he started copying details from it. As she waited, she was suddenly struck by how nervous she felt. She'd travelled through Kanto and the Sevii Islands before alongside her friends and fellow pokémon trainers, James Burton and Richard Winter, but she'd never actually taken the gym challenge before – only watched from the side lines as both her friends in turn had taken a shot at it.

"Weston, was it?" the receptionist suddenly asked her, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Th-That's right!" She nodded, worried that there might be a problem.

"Here." The receptionist placed a letter on the counter. "This was left here for you a couple of days ago." Quickly swiping her trainer card, he placed that on top of the letter. "You're all registered. Do you already have a badge case?"

"No, I don't," Livvi replied.

"I'll give you this then." The receptionist added a plain, grey case with the words 'Johto Pokémon League 2006' emblazoned on the front to the small pile on the counter. "Good luck in your gym battles."

"Thanks." Livvi scooped up the items, returning her trainer card to her pocket, alongside the badge case. She turned her attention to the letter. Her heart sank as she recognised the handwriting.

Tessa.

She immediately turned the lid of the envelope away from her and held it at arm's length while she opened it. She shouldn't need these kinds of precautions, but, with Tessa, you could never be too careful.

Fortunately, the letter opened without incident. Livvi let out a sigh of relief before noticing that the receptionist was giving her a funny look. Turning bright red, she wrenched her arms back in and turned her back on the reception desk. Pulling out the piece of paper within, she unfolded it and started to read:

Hey, Livvi!

If you're reading this, then I guess you managed to find your way to New Bark Town all by yourself. Well done – I'm very proud of you! I'm sure you're feeling pretty lonely without James and Richard around, so I'll hang around to keep you company every now and again. It's the least I can do for my little sister, right?

Anyway, I need to get going now – those gym badges aren't going to win themselves. Lallo's looking forward to seeing you again too!

Love you!

Tessa

"Grrr!" Livvi fumed, scrunching up the letter and tossing it into the bin in the corner of the lobby. The whole reason she'd reluctantly decided to travel alone instead of with James and Richard was to force herself to face her weaknesses and grow stronger. Anyway, she wasn't going to be lonely – she had her pokémon with her, after all!

Despite thinking that, she wondered how James and Richard were getting on with their preparation for their own journey to the Hoenn region. If memory served, they weren't heading out until a few days from now, but they'd need to be getting ready now if they wanted to leave on time. Would they be alright without her there to oversee organising everything? Were they going to be able to find their way across the Hoenn region without her map skills?

Letting out a sigh, she decided to head back up to room to see how her clothes were drying. There was no use worrying about James and Richard. Instead, she needed to think more about what she was going to do, how she was going to get strong enough to take on the gyms and, eventually, beat Tessa.

Once back in her room, she decided to let her pokémon out of their poké balls. As they all looked around the room, blinking and taking in their surroundings, Livvi started speaking to them.

"So, we've finally arrived in the Johto region and I've registered for the Johto League. We're going to have to do a lot of training if we want to catch up to Tessa and beat all of the gyms here, but I know that you guys can do it!"

The pokémon let out a brief cheer in response. Livvi smiled as she looked between them.

Barru, a bulbasaur, was her first pokémon. Though he only timidly joined in the cheering, the cheerful smile on his face showed how enthusiastic he was about what lay ahead. The bulb on his back wobbled slightly as he cheered.

Dorru, the first pokémon she'd ever caught, was also grinning. The mischievous nidorina was evidently eager for the opportunity to get back at Tessa's nidorina at some point in the future.

Cylune, a venomoth, trilled excitedly as he hovered in place. Livvi was half-expecting him to suddenly start flying around the room. He took great pride in his own power – that pride had been dented many times during Livvi's attempts to defeat Tessa. He was clearly happy at the prospect of improving himself further.

Evoro was the loudest and most excited of the bunch. The happy-go-lucky eevee was hardly ever in low spirits. Perhaps he thought the whole gym challenge was little more than a game. Such was his enthusiasm that Livvi could hardly get angry at him for 'not taking things seriously'.

Salea was calmer than the others, but gave Livvi a reassuring smile as she looked at her. The blissey was one of her toughest pokémon. She knew that Livvi would be counting on her in the early battles to get into the Johto League.

Though he cheered alongside the others, there was something different about Tavro, a hypno and the most recent addition to Livvi's team. Though he respected the enthusiasm of his team mates, he clearly seemed sceptical of their chances of success.

Livvi let out a sigh. That was hardly surprising, given Tavro's background. He had once trained under Markus, one of the strongest gym leaders in the Sevii Islands, before formally joining Livvi's team. Used to a tougher training regime and leadership skills far above what Livvi currently possessed, he often decided his own strategy when in battle. He didn't trust her to lead him to victory.

"Tavro," she began. "I'm not going to force you to listen to my commands – you know that I'm not that kind of person after all these months, right?"

The hypno nodded, fixing her with a piercing stare.

"Me and the others, we're going to win eight gym badges here in Johto and go to the Johto League. I'm going to train far harder than before and become much stronger. I hope that I'll be able to prove myself to you soon!"

The hypno slowly nodded. He didn't dislike Livvi (he'd chosen to return to her instead of staying with Markus, after all), so he wanted to see her grow stronger. Livvi got the impression that he was hoping that they could work together soon as well.

"I wonder what I should do now," she mused, turning to look out at the rain pouring down outside. Her team had done plenty of training on the way here and none of them would particularly welcome the prospect of going out in this weather. Except Barru, possibly.

Regardless, Livvi herself was feeling pretty worn out after the long walk through the rain to get her. There was no point in overdoing things – that would just leave her weaker in the long run. With the weather being what it was, she didn't exactly like the idea of being her journey to the next town either. Perhaps that was a sign that she should kick back and relax for the rest of the day.

"I guess we can take it easy just for today!" She grinned back at her team, who were clearly relieved by her decision.

10:12am, 28th March 2006

A bright, dry morning to mark the official start of her new journey. The wind just cool enough to be refreshing rather than uncomfortable, the sun shining gently without feeling too oppressive. That was ideal travelling weather.

Unfortunately, it wasn't one of those mornings.

Livvi let out a sigh as she gazed out of the pokémon centre's entrance at the rain, which had continued pouring incessantly through the night and into the morning. She'd managed to get all her clothes dry again as well!

Still, she had to get going. If she let the weather stand in her way, then she'd never catch up to Tessa. Taking a deep breath, she stepped outside, shuddering as the cold rain struck her. Not pausing, she started walking to the west, in the direction of Route 29. Since she was going to get soaked either way, there was no point standing still.

As she walked, she pulled out her town map. Easily finding her position, she tracked the course of Route 29, her finger coming to rest of a place called 'Cherrygrove City'. That would be her next destination.

"Ugh," she groaned as she realised that she wasn't going to make there in a single day. The thought of having to set up her tent in the pouring rain didn't fill her with joy. Still, there was always the chance that the weather would improve at some point later on in the day. The ground would still soaked, sure, but at least there was less chance of the inside of her tent getting wet.

"Well, I guess I'll deal with that when it comes to it!" Livvi reassured herself. She reached the outskirts of New Bark Town and, casting a brief glance back the way she'd come, stepped out onto the path that lay ahead of her.

Despite the unpleasantness of the rain and the discomfort of the cold, a sense of optimism and enthusiasm rose within her. Even if today wasn't going to be the greatest, she still had a lot to look forward to. Though there was scarcely anyone outside at the moment, she was sure that she'd meet plenty of new and interesting people in the coming months. And the fact that even wild pokémon seemed to be wisely sheltering from the rain didn't bother her.

Her new journey had begun, and she wasn't going to let a bit of rain stop her from enjoying that.

So, Livvi's journey through the Johto region begins and she's got a lot of work ahead of her if she's going to be finally succeed in beating Tessa.

Pokémon Journey: Livvi's Johto Scrapbook will have a somewhat unusual upload schedule compared to a normal Pokémon Journey story. I actually have two variants of the upload schedule which I've made a poll for deciding between.

The first is 'Chronological', under which Johto Scrapbook chapters will be uploaded as close to Hoenn chapters occurring on the same in-story date (for example, Chapter 2 of Johto Scrapbook occurs on 4th-5th April 2006, which corresponds to the dates Chapter 4 of Hoenn occurs on, so the former would be uploaded in the same week as the latter). The advantage with this is that it creates more of a connection between the two stories, as well as meaning that Johto Scrapbook, due to an imbalance in the timeline, would finish much sooner and leave me free to focus solely on Hoenn in the second half of its run. This is also somewhat of a disadvantage as well, since it means you'll only be able to follow Livvi's adventures for about half of the overall run. At the same time, it means I'll have to produce multi chapters in a short space of time during the early stages of the run.

The other option is 'Even Spread', under which Johto Scrapbook chapters will be spread out across the entire length of Hoenn's run. The advantage to this is that it gives me more time to work on each chapter and means that Johto Scrapbook will be uploaded in tandem with Hoenn throughout the run. The downside is slightly longer waits between Johto Scrapbook chapters, the fact that the dates will be woefully out-of-sync by the later stages of Hoenn and that I will have my attention divided between the two stories through the duration of the run.

I don't have a personal preference for which upload schedule Johto Scrapbook uses, which is why I'd like you to let me know what you think on the poll.

Anyway, after that overly-long explanation, I'll finish by inviting you to let me know what you thought of this chapter. As usual, I welcome any feedback you have for me.

Until next time!

Team Listings:

Livvi Weston:

Active:

Barru (Bulbasaur): male, timid, highly persistent, likes sweet food, grass-poison type, Overgrow ability, knows Tackle, Sludge Bomb, Solar Beam and Leech Seed.

Dorru (Nidorina): female, quiet, mischievous, likes dry food, poison type, Rivalry ability, knows Fury Swipes, Double Kick, Poison Sting and Crunch.

Cylune (Venomoth): male, modest, proud of its power, likes dry food, poison-bug type, Shield Dust ability, knows Stun Spore, Psychic, Poison Powder and Silver Wind.

Evoro (Eevee): male, jolly, alert to sounds, likes sweet food, normal type, Adaptability ability, knows Bite, Double Team, Take Down and Quick Attack.

Salea (Blissey): female, gentle, somewhat vain, likes bitter food, normal type, Natural Cure ability, knows Softboiled, Psychic (in progress), Double Slap and Egg Bomb.

Tavro (Hypno): male, quirky, loves to eat, eats anything, psychic type, Forewarn ability, knows Psychic, Hypnosis, Future Sight and Headbutt.