A few notes before I get on with the story. This was created merely for the purposes of my own enjoyment, and that of others. No attempt to make monetary earnings has been made, so Nintendo, and all of the other guys with the big, nasty lawyers with the silk ties and matching hankies can sue me for all I'm worth—which isn't much, trust me.

This story, despite the title "A Brand New Chapter," will, indeed, have several chapters. More will be posted as they are written

A note to those who have read "A Future Shining Bright": For now, that story has been moved to the backburner. I will eventually get back to it, but for now, I am going to be working on this fic, which personally, I find more interesting. Just wait a while, and I hope you don't lose interest in it.

Also, a warning: This story DOES contain shounen ai. For those not familiar with the term, it is Japanese for "Boy's love." Meaning, that this story depicts certain male characters from the Pokémon series showing feelings of love for other male characters. If you cannot handle such topics, this is NOT a story for you. Please select another story for your reading pleasures. However, if you are open-minded and have no objections to a relationship between two boys, go right ahead and read.

I am going to be using the Japanese names of characters, cities, and Pokémon for this particular story. Mainly for the reason that the dub does a fairly poor job, and I HATE Shigeru's American voice. If you find something you don't know, look it up on a good information site.

One more thing before I start. I know I am throwing the new episodes out of whack, but this will take place after the "Rivalry Revival" episode, just as Shigeru is leaving for the Johto territories.

~~

It was a stunning day outside. The sun shone down on all of the things earth had to offer. A collection of various birds was chirping away their different songs, that when put together seemed to form a soothing, natural melody. It was a day of treasures able to be enjoyed just by stepping outside a door. Nature lovers usually went nuts on these days, trying to snap pictures of the beautiful surroundings.

One of the many people enjoying the sights was the person who had been repeatedly called the Pride of Masara Town. Ookido Shigeru was walking towards the west along a seldom-used path carved through the woods near the place of his birth. He was on his way to the Johto territories to continue his training, to become even stronger than he already was.

Which, some would say, to be an almost impossible task. Not an hour before, he had completely destroyed his life-long best friend, and four-year rival, Satoshi, in a Pokémon battle. Satoshi had been the one to issue the challenge. Also the one to start bragging about winning the Orange League and placing higher in the Indigo League. But the tournament held at Indigo Plateau had happened such a long time ago.

Shigeru's Ivui had extremely little trouble disbanding Satoshi's Pikachu. When the match ended, barely after it had started, Pikachu was a dirtied, wrangled mess of yellow fur, while Ivui had not even begun to breathe hard. Shigeru was surprised by how easily he had won. He had figured Satoshi as a much stronger trainer, for how well he had done in the League. But it seemed as if nothing had changed since they were nine years old.

They had both gotten very into Pokémon when they were young children. Shigeru had spent a lot of his time researching information about them, while Satoshi preferred to watch battles hosted on TV.

Even to this day, when new information about Pokémon was to be found, Shigeru went out of his way to find it and add it to his collection of knowledge. There was very little that any human knew about the wondrous creatures known as Pokémon that Shigeru himself did not know. He would most likely follow in his grandfather's footsteps when he was no longer able to fully train Pokémon on his own.

But Satoshi, for some reason, seemed unable to grow up. He was still the same innocent boy he had been when they had left Masara Town for the first time, when Professor Ookido had given out four Pokémon to beginning trainers. That had been several years ago. And yet, Satoshi had not changed one bit. He was a good trainer, true enough, but he relied mostly on pure strength, and very little strategy. And he knew, by comparison to Shigeru, nearly nothing about Pokémon. Shigeru half expected that Satoshi still pulled out his Pokédex to identify every Pokémon the younger boy came across.

But, that was now all going to be left far behind him. As soon as the battle was over, Shigeru had told Satoshi what a good job he had done. Complimented that he and Pikachu were a terrific team. Which was all true. And afterwards, he had said goodbye, turned, and headed for the forest he was now walking through, on his way to Wakaba Town to sign up for the Johto League. A Pokémon League erected in the western territories just a few years ago, but it was already the size of the Indigo League stationed in Kanto.

It would be an excellent test of his abilities. Also, he had much to learn, now. While he had been training—in a place only he knew—almost one hundred new species had been identified. He had a duty to himself, and to others, to catch and learn about as many of these as he could. And, he was looking forward to it. He loved being a trainer, he was positive that one day, he would be the master he had always dreamed of.

But he knew that such a thing was far off. He had too much to learn, and too far to go, to think of master status yet. Maybe that's one reason why Satoshi seemed to have fallen so hard behind . . . he was aiming his goals too high for him to meet.

Stop it, Shigeru, he scolded himself, Satoshi is back home, and what happens with him now is for him to think about. You have to think about your own goals, not those of the person who has sworn to show you he's better then you are. It made sense, and put his mind on ease for a while. The arrogant smirk he was so used to wearing took a lot less effort.

"Sayonara, Masara Town," he said to himself, as the small crunching of pine needles under his uniquely styled boots echoed his words in a final goodbye to the place where he was born.

~~

By the time night had fallen, Shigeru was a registered trainer in the Johto Pokémon League. But his work for the day was far from over. He had stayed, despite the setting sun, only long enough to seek out Nurse Joi and have his name entered into the systems. He wasn't tired, so there was no point in resting.

He was already on his way to Yoshino City, the quickest route to Kikyou City and the Gym that was housed there.

What caught his attention, was that he was not the only person out. Far from it, in fact. There were several people walking along the large path, and some of them were even engaged in battles. Judging from the intensity of some of them, these trainers were fairly good. Good, maybe, but no where near my standard, he thought to himself. Even in his head, his overactive ego seemed to plague him.

He obviously wasn't as popular here as he was back home. A boy, only about twelve years old, walked up to him and asked for a battle. Far be it from Shigeru to refuse. But, there was no need to be rude to this child. "Sure. How does one on one sound to you?"

"Alright! Let's battle!" The path was empty for now, so there was no need to move, except back from each other to allow room for the match.

Shigeru had already decided to take it easy, for he could tell by his eagerness the other trainer must still be rather new. He would use the only non-evolved Pokémon he was carrying with him at the time. "Ivui, I choose you!" he called out, as he plucked the red and white sphere from his belt and launched it into the space that had been cleared between the two.

With a flash of crimson light, the small, fox-like Pokémon materialized from the energy field in which the PokéBall contained it. It was already in a battle stance, but Shigeru could see the fact that it was extremely happy. The joy-filled "Vui" that escaped the small monster's mouth confirmed it.

The nameless boy didn't seem deterred in the least. He probably thought that since his opponent was a cute, fluffy Ivui that he had nothing to worry about. This boy, like Satoshi, had much to learn. "Magumarashi, go!"

A nice choice, under any other circumstances, Shigeru thought, just as the lithe form of the good-sized, fiery porcupine. And it did, for all the world, seem like a porcupine with fire instead of sharp quills.

Shigeru saw no point in wasting any time. "Ivui, Tackle it!" Normally, Magumarashi are among the fastest Pokémon, but Ivui was simply too experienced in comparison. It had smashed into the fire-type before it could move.

The other trainer was shocked, but he had obviously been through more than just a few battles. "Magumarashi, Ember!" The fire along the creature's back flared high, sending a spray of blazing tufts of flame flying in all directions. But, again, it was useless. Ivui jumped this way and that, avoiding the hot spots with seemingly little effort.

"Ivui, give it your Quick Attack!" The brown and white Pokémon kicked the ground hard with its hind feet, sending it flying through the air, a trail of white light extending behind it. Shigeru could tell before it even hit that this match was over. When Ivui's head connected with the Magumarashi's flank, the force was enough to send the weaker Pokémon flying backwards. Luckily, its trainer was able to catch it.

"Th-that was amazing! You're an awesome trainer!" the kid marveled. Despite the fact he knew the kid didn't have a chance, he was still proud he had won. Every battle made his Pokémon that much stronger.

"You did good, kid. Now get your Pokémon to a center." The other kid, still with the same look he would give his favorite movie star, nodded and stumbled away in the direction of the city. Shigeru couldn't help but smile a bit. "Come here, Ivui," he said quietly and he knelt down. Once the small creature was within reach, he extended his hand and patted it lovingly on the head. "You did a great job, buddy."

"Vui!" was what he got in return, along with the most joyful expression he had ever seen. It made him feel good inside, to know that Ivui cared so much for him, and that he was happy. But then, the strangest thing in the world began to happen. Under the touch of his fingers, Ivui's fur had begun to glow in the almost blinding bright light that always accompanied evolution.

That's not possible! There's not an evolution stone anywhere near here! Although, even without the aid of an Evolution Stone, Ivui was certainly evolving. Behind the glow, Shigeru could see Ivui's body elongating, growing sleeker. The already long ears grew a tad longer, but slimmed up and rounded out. The fluffy tail seemed to take the same shape as the ears, although a bit longer. Once the light subsided, Gary noted that Ivui's fur had grown so black, that it disappeared into the night. The only way to tell he was there at all was because of the golden rings that seemed to be glowing with an inner light source. That, and the bright, crimson eyes, which were centered by blue irises with black pupils.

Shigeru was speechless. He had never seen anything like this. But it was obviously an evolved form of Ivui. Since he had gotten a new Pokédex from his grandfather before leaving, he decided to test it out.

"Burakki, the Moonlight Pokémon. Ivui will only evolve into Burakki under the influence of the rays of the moon and extreme happiness."

Whoa. Ivui was so happy, that it evolved naturally, without the aid of a stone. And that Shigeru so happy, that a tear rolled down his cheek. And then with a laugh bordering on hysterical, he plucked up the heavier, though not-too-heavy Burakki and hugged it.

"I can't believe you evolved! Oh, my God, I didn't think something like this could happen!" Burakki was as happy as Shigeru was about it. A collection of licks was given, which just caused the boy to laugh more. He knew the little celebration wouldn't last too long. The fact that Ivui had evolved only meant that it would be trained in a different way. In a way suited to a Pokémon of the Evil element, which he could already tell Burakki was.

But, for now, he needed to be happy.

~~

Try as he might, Satoshi could not find sleep on this night. Maybe he had to do with the fact that he was home again, back in the soft, familiar bed. It certainly wasn't something he was used to. No, he had grown used to sleeping in a sleeping bag, out in the middle of a field. Or else in the cot-like bunk beds offered by Pokémon Centers.

But something in the back of his mind, an annoying little pinging thought, told him that it had to do with a lot more than just the softness of his bed. After all of his bragging, all of his big talk, and, on top of it, all of his hard work, Shigeru had still managed to beat him in their first Pokémon battle. Worst yet, he beat Pikachu, which was Satoshi's strongest Pokémon outside of the hot-tempered Lizardon.

At least Shigeru hadn't made fun of him, this time. In fact, he had even told Satoshi how good a job he had done. And his tone of voice had made him able to believe the words. Shigeru really did think he was doing a good job. Of that, Satoshi was certain.

That helped a bit. But nowhere near enough to allow him to go to sleep.

Maybe it had been something he had eaten . . . and on that night, he had eaten plenty. His mother had insisted on throwing a farewell party when she found out Satoshi had planned to make his way to the western territories of Johto. Takeshi had prepared the meal, and it was a large one. More foods than he had seen in one place for a very long time.

But no, that ping in the back of his mind would not allow him to settle on that as an option. Takeshi was too good of a chef to let something like that happen. So what could possibly be keeping him up? The last time this had happened was the night before the Pokémon League competition. And nothing like that was happening.

Maybe it had something to do with the reason why he was going to Johto. Takeshi, Kasumi, Professor Ookido, and his mother only had been given a half-truth. It was true he was going to become a better trainer and to collect new Pokémon. But he had one other reason. The only real reason he had decided to go there, instead of just staying in Kanto to train.

Shigeru had gone to train in Johto. Professor Ookido had told him this. Satoshi was positive that if Shigeru was going to participate in the Johto League, he would be able to as well. So he was going to follow suit.

He couldn't really say it aloud, but he really wished Kasumi and Takeshi would stay behind. He was old enough to take care of himself, and they felt more like parents than friends at times. But if he told them how he felt about it, all he would do is hurt their feelings, and they would bombard him with reasons why they should come. And he knew he would give in. He was too soft hearted for his own good at times.

They were good friends most of the time. And he wasn't a total idiot—he knew that Kasumi wanted to be a lot more than friends with him. He had suspected it from the start, and Takeshi had confirmed it for him the week he had earned his Green Badge. The memory of the day he had earned the Green Badge brought a small smile to his lips.

That day was the first in a long time that he and Shigeru's old friendship had shone through. Shigeru had even saved his life, when Rocketto Dan's Nyase had been about to blow up the podium he had been standing on during the battle. Shigeru had tackled Nyase, causing him to drop the controller. That left a good feeling inside. But it was nothing when placed next to how he felt when Shigeru had woken up in his arms and looked up at him. There was something in his eyes then that had left a burning sensation inside of Satoshi ever since.

He had to find Shigeru again. He didn't know why, but it had to be done. It would be easier without Takeshi and Kasumi. Especially without Kasumi. If that crazy girl ever got the feeling that he may not belong to her, there was no telling what she would do. And he had more than one memory of being hit with a mallet to remind him just how much of a wallop that the girl packed.

He'd certainly have to find a way to get rid of them before she could come to such a conclusion. It was for her good, as much as for his own. He liked Kasumi, but he had no desire to be anything more than a friend to her. Besides, he wanted to prove that he could handle things for himself. Kasumi and Takeshi had always been there, helping him out and giving him advice, but, frankly, he was sick of it. He wanted to do his own work. And, soon, he would find a way to do it.

That bit of information finally put his mind to rest. With a last look down at Pikachu, who was sleeping soundly at the foot of his bed, he closed his eyes, and was allowed to cross the border into sleep.

~~

Well, that's it for part one. It's mainly just a mood-setting segment. And, for those that might not believe, Shigeru's Ivui DOES evolve into a Burakki (As seen in episode 173). I believe I will write the next chapter before this is posted, so you should already have access to it as soon as this is done. Please review, so I can know what you think!

Note: I know the section barely mentions any shounen ai, but the warning is for the entire story. I do not want a person to begin liking this story, only to be shocked by the obvious male x male implications later on. So, for those that may have felt safe so far, be warned: starting with the next chapter, shounen ai will be a major factor in the plot.