Chapter Text
We are about to embark upon the story of a ten-year-old boy from the Hoenn region’s Littleroot Town… Yes, I am going on this journey with you, so bear with me. I can be a bit snarky at times.
The first thing that was seen when the screen turned on was a fresh, little pond, surrounded by a group of young and healthy plants. A tiny little raindrop then slid its way from a leaf, into the pond, as more raindrops began to accompany it. Each of these drops of rain created a ripple within the crystal-clear water, as a soothing jingle began to play in the background. The camera then slowly shifted upward, revealing the image of a Legendary Pokemon!
“Want your water to look as fresh as this pond?” the television advertiser asked. “Try our Suicune-Sweet Water Purifier!" The screen then revealed a small, turquoise appliance, decorated with the image of a Suicune, an elegant, blue Pokemon. This mammalian Pokemon had a thick, purple mane flowing behind its head, and was well-known for its ability to purify dirty water with a single touch. “It’s not just any kind of sweet. It’s Suicune-Sweet!”
Unfortunately for the advertiser, this product was not Suicune-Sweet enough to grab Sawyer’s attention. The product had already been around for two years, and this green-haired, vest-sporting ten-year-old had many other things on his mind. One of those things included getting ready for his upcoming Pokemon journey. Another was setting the time on his clock, so he could wake up at the right time to receive his starter Pokemon.
Just a couple years prior to this moment, Sawyer had never thought he would be spending so much time preparing for a Pokemon journey, let alone a journey at all. For as long as Sawyer could remember, he had lived alone with his mother Aurora, who dreaded the idea of traveling a long distance due to her fear of airplanes. His father Jasper on the other hand, rode on airplanes quite regularly, as part of his job as a Pokemon researcher. He studied the alternate forms of various Pokemon and why they alternate between these forms. The only problem was that each of the specific Pokemon he studied were either native the regions of Sinnoh or Unova, none that were native to Hoenn. This meant that he only got to visit Sawyer and Aurora a few times a year. Traveling had not been a big desire of Sawyer’s due to his lack of knowledge of what was out there in the world, and especially due to Aurora’s strong disliking toward it. That was, until his ninth birthday.
Just as Sawyer began thinking back to his ninth birthday, the commercial break came to an end. “Welcome back to our final round battle of the Champion League, between the one and only Champion, Wallace, and this year’s Hoenn League Championships winner, Steven!” the announcer proclaimed.
The mention of Steven’s name immediately grabbed Sawyer’s undivided attention. “Yes! This is it!” he squealed, beginning to lose his balance on the ladder he had been standing on. “Woah!” Realizing he was about to fall backwards, he quickly began swinging his arms, hoping he would straighten up. But it was too late. Sawyer tumbled backwards, though he landed safely on his bed.
“Is everything okay, Sawyer?” Aurora cried, calling out to her son from downstairs.
“Yeah, don’t worry. Everything’s fine,” Sawyer assured her. In fact, even after that shock, he was more than fine. This was the moment he had been waiting for since the week of his ninth birthday, when Jasper had taken Sawyer on his first ever plane ride to see the Hoenn League Championships. Not only was the thrill of traveling to Ever Grande City a big part of what made that birthday so incredible, but he also got to witness a Pokemon battle for the very first time in his life. Seeing the amount of skill and strategy put into each of the battles he watched, Sawyer was quite intrigued. What intrigued him the most however was when he got to watch Steven Stone battling alongside his unstoppable Metagross. Not only was this team remarkably strong, but they also had the ability to Mega Evolve. Through this phenomenon, and through the use of two special stones, a trainer could allow their Pokemon to transform, temporarily giving them a massive boost in power. Mega Evolution was also one of the focuses of Jasper’s research. Sawyer was absolutely astounded when he got to see this live from the bleachers, so much so that he insisted on watching every single one of Steven Stone’s League battles. Just as Sawyer had expected, Steven ended up winning the whole competition. He had now made his way to the final round of the Champion League after multiple fierce battles, all of which Sawyer had watched on television. It was now down to the wire, and the outcome was anyone’s guess!
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer said. “We are now down to our final Champion League battle, between Wallace’s Milotic, and Steven’s Mega Metagross! The outcome of this battle will decide if Wallace remains the Champion of Hoenn, or if Steven takes his place!”
“Now, Milotic! Use Hydro Pump!” Wallace commanded.
“Miloooo!” Wallace’s cream-colored, serpentine Pokemon lifted its head, and summoned blue orb of energy. A powerful blast of water then came firing from that orb toward Metagross.
“Metagross! Use Protect!” Steven ordered.
“Meta!” Steven’s silver-colored, robotic Pokemon roared, as it surrounded itself in a turquoise energy barrier. The blast of water then bounced off the barrier, leaving Metagross completely unharmed. The blast did however create a colossal smoke cloud, engulfing both Milotic and Metagross.
“By using Protect, Metagross shields itself completely from one of Milotic’s strongest moves! What will Steven do now?” The announcer asked.
“Metagross! Use Flash Cannon!” Steven shouted.
“Meta!” Within the smoke cloud, Metagross fired a powerful beam of grey energy that successfully struck its opponent.
“In the midst of that smoke cloud, Metagross launches a red-hot Flash Cannon! Could this be it for Milotic?” the announcer asked.
The camera then zoomed in on Wallace’s Pokemon, who was laying unconscious on the battlefield. “Milotic is unable to battle! Metagross is the winner! Which means Steven wins the match!”
“And there you have it!” the announcer declared. “Mossdeep City’s very own Steven Stone has now earned the prestigious title of Hoenn Champion! Let’s give this brilliantly gifted young trainer a huge round of applause!”
Sawyer could not believe his eyes. Only one week before the day he was to officially become a Pokemon Trainer, he got to see the trainer who inspired him to do so in the first place defeat the Champion. It was truly a one-of-a-kind experiencing getting to watch the trainer he looked up to before he was famous, earning the highest title a Pokemon Trainer could receive. After watching that battle, Sawyer’s ultimate goal became clear to him. His goal was to win all eight Hoenn Gym Badges, so he could compete in the Hoenn League Championships. After winning the Hoenn League, he would then compete in the Champion League, and challenge Steven to an official League Battle. While he knew it was going to be a long road, nothing was going to stop him from trying. He was assured that with enough experience and determination, he and his Pokemon would one day be able to reach Steven’s level.
The following week, Sawyer had arrived just in time to Professor Birch’s lab to receive his starter Pokemon. As soon as Sawyer walked through the door, the bearded professor greeted him with a friendly smile. “Ah, you must be Sawyer,” he said. “I take it you’re here to choose your first Pokemon, is that right?”
“That’s right.” Sawyer said, nodding his head while shaking with excitement.
“Then you’ve come to the right place. Let me introduce you to these three starter Pokemon. Come on out!” The professor shouted, throwing three red and white capsules up into the air. Each of the Poke Balls then popped open, as three small Pokemon emerged from them in a brilliant flash of blue light. They each landed gently on the counter that the professor was standing behind, as they looked over at Sawyer with much excitement. “These are your three choices. Treecko, a Grass-Type, Torchic, a Fire-Type, and finally Mudkip, a Water-Type.” On the left side of the counter stood a light-green, reptilian Pokemon, the middle an orange and yellow, feathery Pokemon, and on the right side, a blue, quadruped Pokemon. Each one of the young Pokemon gazed up toward the ten-year-old boy with glistening eyes. “Have you decided which one you will pick?” Professor Birch asked.
“You bet!” Sawyer replied confidently, as he walked up toward the left side of the counter, where the green, reptilian Pokemon was standing. “Treecko, I choose you. My name’s Sawyer. I want to learn as much as I possibly can about Pokemon by going on a Gym Battle journey, and then one day, challenge the Champion Steven Stone to an official League battle! What do you say we work toward that goal together?”
Treecko’s eyes began to widen, as a big smile spread across its face. “Treecko!” The Pokemon cried, raising its fist up into the air.
“Well, it seems Treecko is just as eager to go on this journey as you are, Sawyer,” Professor Birch remarked, pleased from seeing Treecko’s greatly enthused reaction. “Oh yeah. Before you go, I’d like you to take these Poke Balls.” In the Professor’s right hand was a collection of Poke Balls, though they were shrunk to the size of his finger tips rather than the usual size of his palm. He then held out a sixth Poke Ball in his left hand. “And this here is Treecko’s Poke Ball,” he stated.
“Thanks very much, Professor!” Sawyer cheered, taking the Poke Balls and putting them all into one of the pockets on his shorts.
“You be sure to take good care of Treecko, okay?” the professor said.
Sawyer nodded with a confident smile on his face, before turning toward his new Pokemon. “Alright, Treecko, you ready to go?” he asked.
“Treecko!” Treecko cried joyously, raising its fist into the air once more. Just looking at those two together, Professor Birch could easily tell that Sawyer and Treecko were going make a great team. There may have been a long road ahead of them, but one thing was for certain. No matter what lay ahead of Sawyer and Treecko, they planned to pursue each and every challenge with everything they had.