Chapter One

My childhood home was in a small village called Greenvale, a sleepy little place where not much happened. There was no Pokemon Gym - nor were we close to any places which did have Gyms - so the Pokemon trainers who passed through occasionally tended to be those who'd taken a wrong turn as they travelled the Edo League circuit. Either that or they were among those trainers who choose not to collect Gym Badges and simply travel from place to place, battling their Pokemon along the way.

There was a small Poke Mart, run by a kindly old couple called Mr and Mrs Briggs. But there was no Pokemon Centre, the nearest one being in Meadowlea Town which was just over five miles away, so, if someone from Greenvale had a Pokemon which needed help, they had to either take it to Meadowlea or have the local healer take care of it. And the local healer just happened to be my mum; she'd started a Pokemon journey when she was a girl, but soon found that battling Pokemon wasn't for her. So she became a Pokemon healer instead, settled in Greenvale, married my dad and dedicated her life to looking after sick and injured Pokemon. Of course, she and my dad found time to have me somewhere down the line.

For the most part, I was content with my life. I'd listen to the stories told by passing Pokemon trainers, but the idea of becoming a trainer myself never crossed my mind. Until the day I found an injured Deerling . . .

It was a warm day in spring and I was gathering berries for my mum to use in her home-made remedies. Some Pokemon healers use herbal remedies, but these tend to be bitter and the Pokemon dislike the taste. But my mum's remedies were berry-based; she said they tasted nicer than the herbal remedies and she had even considered getting hold of a Shuckle so that she could produce Berry Juice. Anyway, I was gathering berries when I heard a noise in the bushes and decided to have a closer look. I saw a pretty deer-like Pokemon with a yellow flower behind her right ear, her hide as pink as spring blossoms.

A Deerling. But that wasn't all - I could clearly see a cut on her left foreleg, one which was clearly causing her pain. I could not tell what had caused the injury, but I knew it had to be treated; if it wasn't, it could get infected. First, though, I had to gain her trust.

Crouching down and moving as slowly as I could, I reached towards the Deerling. "It's all right," I told her soothingly. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to take you somewhere you can have that cut on your leg seen to."

"Deerling?" The little pink deer sounded apprehensive and I found myself wondering if it had been a human who caused her injury. If that was what had happened, I would have to be gentle with her to avoid stressing her out. The last thing I wanted with her leg in its current state was for her to bolt and go running off into the trees. So I gently stroked her, whispering soothing words as she crouched there, unsure what to make of me but seeming to sense that I meant her no harm.

Finally, she was relaxed enough for me to pick her up. I hoisted her onto my shoulders, picked up my basket of berries and headed for home. It wasn't easy carrying a Pokemon this way, but there was no other option since I had no Poke Balls with me and I needed one hand free to carry my basket. Still, Deerling appeared to trust me and this wasn't the first time I had done something like this. Sometimes, when I was out collecting berries, I would come across injured Pokemon which I would take home for my mum to treat. When they were better, we released them back into the wild; I saw some of them occasionally and they always seemed grateful to me for helping them. I imagined the same thing would happen with Deerling, not guessing how close we were to become.

"Juanita, what's up?" My mum was sitting outside our little cottage, her Persian lounging on the lawn. The cream-coloured cat had once been the Meowth which had been her first Pokemon, the Pokemon with which she had started her journey when she was a girl. Unlike other regions, Edo doesn't have an official set of starter Pokemon, comprising one Grass Type, one Fire Type and one Water Type; here, new trainers can pick from a wide selection of Pokemon. All at their first evolutionary stages, of course. In fact, most of the trainers here already have Pokemon when they start out and only visit their local professor to get their licences.

Anyway, it was obvious that my mum had seen the Deerling I was carrying, not that it was hard to miss the fact that I had a pink deer draped across my shoulder. So I quickly explained what had happened, how the Deerling had injured her leg, how I hoped my mum could heal the wound. My mum answered without hesitation; you can't afford to hesitate when you're dealing with ahurt Pokemon. "Bring her inside," she told me. "I'll fetch my medicine bag."

My mum generally treated the Pokemon that were brought to us on the kitchen table - after it had been covered with a sheet, of course. Larger Pokemon such as Charizard or Beartic were treated on the floor, but Deerling was small enough to go on the table. So, before too long, she was lying on the table as my mum examined her leg; she winced slightly as her cut was touched, so I gave her a reassuring stroke.

"Shh, it's OK. My mum's just going to give you something for your bad leg. You'll be fully fit in no time."

"Deer," she said, looking at me with her large eyes, eyes which were full of love and trust. I stroked her again, then waited as my mum went through a bag of her home-made remedies.

I'd seen my mum treat injured Pokemon many times before, but I never grew tired of watching her at work, mainly because no two cases were the same. She might be splinting a Pidgey's broken wing one day, rekindling a Charmander's flame the next. Here's what she did for Deerling. First the wound was cleaned - Deerling squealed in discomfort during this procedure - then dressed with a white bandage. Afterwards, my mum gave her some mashed-up Oran Berries, saying they would help her to regain her health.

"There. All done," my mum said once she was through playing doctor to Deerling.

When my dad got home from work later that evening, my mum him all about it. Deerling was sleeping on the hearthrug and I was kneeling beside her, listening as my parents talked to each other.

"Do you know what happened to her, Roberta?" my dad asked at one point.

My mum shook her head. "Not precisely, but I'm guessing she had a fight with another Pokemon. It was Juanita who found her. Carl . . ." My mum paused, then continued. ". . . I've been thinking. Juanita's old enough to start training Pokemon, so maybe she could take care of Deerling. At least until the injury heels. After that . . . well, it's up to Juanita."

My dad said he could see no reason why I shouldn't be responsible for Deerling; after all, as my mum said, I was old enough to start training Pokemon. Some other kids my age had left on Pokemon journeys already, but the idea of doing so myself had never crossed my mind. However, it did cross my mind a few days later, after I had a run-in with Nicole.

Nicole, I should explain at this point, was a girl who lived two doors down from us. She was my age, with long black hair, green eyes - and a major attitude. She thought she was somehow better than everyone else because her dad had been a famous Pokemon Master in his youth and she was absolutely convinced she was going to follow in his footsteps one day. Appropriately enough, she already had a head start where Pokemon were concerned; her dad had given her an Absol for Christmas the year before.

Anyway, I was sitting in the garden with Deerling, whose leg was now much better, when Nicole strolled up, trying but failing to look casual. "Hey, Neet!" she called, using the nickname she knew I hated. "I didn't know you had a Pokemon. What is it? A Deerling?" She clicked her tongue in mock disapproval. "I bet it's never battled either. Now, my Absol's been in . . ." But she got no further before Deerling leapt to her feet. "Oh, so the little pipsqueak wants to battle me? Very well - I could use some practice before I start my Pokemon journey."

With that, Nicole pulled a red-and-white Poke Ball out of her jacket pocket and threw it. "Absol, do your stuff!" she shouted, as her Pokemon materialised in a flash of light. The Absol towered over my little Deerling, but I knew I couldn't back out of a Pokemon battle, especially against Nicole; she would only accuse me of "wimping out". So, even though Deerling had never battled against a trainer before, I had to at least try. I turned to Deerling.

"Don't worry about trying to win," I told her. "Just do your best and . . ."

I was cut off by Nicole's teasing voice. "Oh, Neet! Since I'm in a generous mood today, I'm gonna let you make the first move. Not that it'll affect the outcome, of course."

"We'll see about that!" I retorted, with more bravado than I felt. This was my first time in a Pokemon battle and it was going to be against a girl who'd already battled several times. Nonetheless, I had to try. "Deerling, Tackle!" I called, recalling when I saw another Deerling use that move in a televised Pokemon battle.

"Is that the best you can do?" Nicole asked, as Deerling galloped towards her Absol, ready to slam her body into the Dark Type Pokemon. "Absol! Dodge it and use Quick Attack!"

Seconds before Deerling made contact with her opponent, Absol leapt to one side, causing her Tackle to miss. Then, while she was still trying to work out what to do next, he struck, moving so fast that he appeared to be a blue-and-white blur. The next thing I knew, he'd knocked Deerling to the ground and stood over her, ready to attack her with the scythe-like blade on his head. Absols often use their headblades in battle, particularly rival males trying to impress a female. But it seemed Nicole's Absol liked to use his blade against any Pokemon, regardless of species or gender.

I had to think fast; I could not afford to lose my first battle so easily. "Deerling, get up!" I urged, praying that she would be able to, that I would not have to face the humiliation of having to concede. For one thing, I knew Nicole would never let me forget it.

Luckily, Deerling was soon on her feet and ready to face her opponent again. I was beginning to regret letting myself be goaded into a battle I had little hope of winning, but I couldn't back out now. So I quickly tried to think of another Attack a Deerling could do. "Deerling! Sand Attack!" I ordered finally, hoping having sand in his eyes might at least slow Nicole's Absol down.

Deerling began to whip up a small sandstorm, which she then directed at Absol. It hit home, getting in his eyes and putting him temporarily out of action while his vision cleared; this prompted Nicole to utter several words which I won't repeat. While she was swearing, I had Deerling use another Tackle Attack; this time, it hit home and Absol was the one who ended up on the ground. However, he soon regained his feet.

As I'd expected, I ended up losing that battle; Absol got Deerling with an Ice Beam, leaving her frozen solid. Nicole smirked triumphantly as she recalled her Pokemon. "Well, Neet, what d'you think of that? My Absol's pretty good - and he'll be even better once I've been on my Pokemon journey. Talking of which, I'll be starting out tomorrow. See ya!"

And, with that, she walked away. I watched her go, thinking of how insufferable she would be if she returned to Greenvale with several Gym Badges to show for her efforts. She was bad enough now! There was only one thing I could do.

I must make my own Pokemon journey.

I raised the subject with my parents that evening. They did not object, having said all along that it was up to me to decide if and when I wanted to make a Pokemon journey, but they did seem surprised by the suddenness of my decision. Only yesterday, I had been perfectly happy to stay in Greenvale and help my mum heal injured Pokemon. "This doesn't have anything to do with Nicole, does it?" asked my dad.

I looked at Deerling, now thawed out and, thanks to my mum's Aspear Berry tonic for frozen Pokemon, none the worse for wear. "Partly," I admitted. "But I also think Deerling's got potential. She did well for her first battle and, once she's got a bit more experience . . ." I left the sentence unfinished and reached down to stroke my pretty little deer.

My parents eventually agreed that I could begin my journey - the day after tomorrow. I tried to argue, saying this would only put Nicole even further ahead of me, but they told me one day shouldn't make too much difference. "Besides," my dad added, "you'll need to prepare. There's more to making a Pokemon journey than just leaving home with a Pokemon. For one thing, you'll have to stock up on supplies at the Poke Mart."

He was right, I realised. We seldom bothered with conventional Pokemon medicine, preferring to use my mum's homemade remedies. But the bottles used to store them were bulky, besides which they could get broken while I was on the road. Pokemon medicines bought from the Poke Mart on the other hand, came in small packages which could easily fit into a backpack and were unbreakable. In addition, I would also need a supply of Poke Balls and those don't grow on trees. I had heard of Apricorns, a special kind of nut which comes in seven colours and can be used to craft different kinds of Poke Ball depending on what colour Apricorn is used. However, they only grow in the Johto region.

In the end, I agreed to delay my journey by a day and spend tomorrow getting ready.

The next day, I headed over to the Poke Mart armed with a shopping list of all the things a Pokemon trainer needs on the road. My mum had made out that list the previous night, based on her own brief time as a trainer. I'd read it through before I set out and knew it contained the following items:

Potions
Antidotes
Paralyze Heal
Burn Heal
Ice Heal
Poke Balls (pack of six)

In other words, everything a rookie Pokemon trainer needs to get started. I walked into the Mart and made my way over to the counter, where Mrs Briggs stood ready to serve me. "Can I help you?" she asked, smiling at me. Even now, I can still see her standing there, a kindly old lady in a dark blue dress, her grey hair pulled back in a bun.

"Yes," I replied, pulling out the list my mum had given me. "I'd like a pack of Potions, please, and some basic healing items. Antidotes, Paralyze Heal, Burn Heal and Ice Heal. Oh, and a pack of six Poke Balls," I added, as Mrs Briggs turned round to get the items I had requested. Seconds later, she placed two packets on the counter, one of which contained the basic healing items I had asked for, while the other contained six Potions. Then, she turned around again and picked up a packet of six red-and-white Poke Balls from another shelf. "Are you starting a Pokemon journey soon?" she asked, placing the Balls on the counter with the rest of the items.

I nodded, prompting Mrs Briggs to start reminiscing about her days as a trainer and the Pokemon she'd raised; she started with a Psyduck. She might have carried on talking all day had I not reminded her of my presence. "Oh, sorry," she said, turning to her cash register and starting to ring up my total. She told me how much I owed her and I counted out my money, placing it on the counter. Then, I left, carrying the items I had just bought in a small bag.

"Good luck on your journey," Mrs Briggs said as I headed out of the Poke Mart. The shop bell tinkled as I closed the door behind me.

At home, I approached Deerling as she grazed in our small paddock, calling to her. She trotted over to me and allowed me to stroke her as I explained that I would shortly be leaving here to go on a Pokemon journey.

"Deerling?" she said, looking at me out of her dark eyes. I knew she was asking me if I was going to go away and leave her. I'd only known her for a few days, but we'd already formed a close bond, enough for me to understand (or at least get the gist of) what she was saying. I've since learned that such an understanding is common among trainers and their Pokemon, particular the trainer's first Pokemon.

"I'm taking you with me," I told her, taking out on of the Poke Balls I'd bought earlier. I pointed the Ball towards her and pressed the button on the front, watching as she was drawn into its core. The red-and-white sphere vibrated in my hands for a moment, before pinging shut with Deerling inside. Of course, the fact that she already trusted me made getting her into the Ball fairly straightforward, but I knew wild Pokemon would be another matter. I would have to weaken them before I could catch them.

In the meantime, I put Deerling's Poke Ball into my pocket and headed inside to continue getting ready for tomorrow.