Eric and Elizabeth the Gardevoir

Chapter 1 - Into the Woods

July 27th 20XX

It's been a little over a month since I moved to Littleroot with my family from Lilycove. It certainly was a nice change of pace as I had always loved the outdoors and I was obsessed with the adventurous tales my uncle told me of his time as a Pokemon trainer roaming the lands of Hoenn. We didn't move just because of the scenery, my parents weren't nearly that spontaneous. My father applied for a job at professor Brich's research center, feeling that he had outshone the others working in Lilycove. He had always dreamed of working beside professor Birch ever since he started working at the Lilycove research center twelve years ago. My father wasn't the only one who had appreciated this change in scenery. I remember it like it was yesterday when he burst through the door and announced that we would be moving to Littleroot. I ran straight up to him to embrace my old man. My mother wasn't home at the time so he and I decided to throw a surprise party to celebrate the good news. She was squealing along with us as soon as she found out.

I doubt either of them was as happy about it as I was. I grew so tired of living in the big city that I often fantasized about sneaking away, past the city borders and into the woods. The only greenery Lilycove offered was the small park in the middle of the city. It was nice for a park, but I had walked my boots ragged there. Parks are nice and all, but once you've memorized every trimmed hedge and every well-worn wishing fountain they had, they kind of lose their appeal. That's why I was so overjoyed to finally get out of the city and into the countryside.

In the past month, I felt more alive than in the past sixteen years I had been on this earth combined. At first, I was worried I wouldn't be able to make friends here. I was always a little...off compared to my peers in Lilycove. The small handful of friends I managed to make there were only sticking around because they were also weird. All those irrational fears were shattered the moment we pulled up to our new house. Our new neighbors were already waiting for us with welcome presents. Who would've thought that the best present out of all of them would be the two kids who stood in front of them with a twinkle in their eyes?

Brendan, May, and I became inseparable! I was older than them by a year, but I was always the one chasing after them whenever they went into the vast forest that surrounded Littleroot. We got into all sorts of mischief within the first week of meeting them. I couldn't have asked for better friends. The more I learned about them the closer we got. Since they were both six, all they wanted was to become Pokemon trainers. Their obsession soon became my own and we went out every day, looking for trouble and Pokemon. Three weeks ago, they gave me an offer that I could not refuse. Turns out professor Birch was not only the lead Pokemon researcher of Hoenn but also had the authority to fast-track, someone, through trainer school. I busted my ass for twenty-one days straight waiting for this day to come, and I wasn't going to miss a second of it.

Or so I thought.

"Eriiiic! Wake up!" Came the muffled shout from outside, followed by a loud thud against my window.

I turned over, pulling the pillow over my head to stifle the annoying sounds of people trying to wake me up. The voice rang out again, but this time in synch with a higher one. This time it was followed by several loud thuds as the two early birds relentlessly pelted my window with pebbles they scooped up from around our backyard.

"Alright, I'm up! I'm up!" I tossed the pillow at the wall in frustration and sat up.

I looked around my room through blurry, tired eyes. Another series of pebbles against my window snapped my head in its direction. At this point, those two managed to annoy me enough to get up and walk to my window.

"WHAT?!" I shouted to Brendan and May.

I was met with another volley of pebbles, this time hitting me directly in the face.