Son of Arceus

Our first battle!

__Emmaly and Riolu stayed close together as they made their way to the docks. There was the ferry waiting patiently for people to board it. Emmaly saw the ticket booth and walked over to it nervously. It already felt like something was about to go wrong.
__"Good morning, ma'am," greeted the man in the booth. "What can I do for you today?"
__Emmaly was already pulling out her wallet. "Am I able to buy a ticket?"
__The man looked at her skeptically. "How old are you?"
__That's what Emmaly was afraid of. "Thirteen, but that's not an issue, is it? Kids younger than me used to ride ferries by themselves all the time."
__"Yeah, but those kids were registered trainers," the man pointed out. He then looked down at her Riolu. "All minors have to present their trainer's ID in order to use transportation services."
__"About that..." Emmaly was now embarrassed. She didn't think to do enough research before setting out. There wasn't a single Pokémon Research Lab on this island. There was no way she'd be able to register and come back.
__"This is no problem at all." Emmaly turned around and saw an old lady walking up to her. She instinctively took a few steps to the side as the old lady walked up to the booth. "She's with me."
__The man put on a smile for the old lady. "Ah, Ms. Ella. That's good then. So, two tickets?"
__"Three!" Riolu pouted.
__Emmaly had to pick him up and rub his head. "Pokémon go in for free."
__That made Riolu flatten his ears. "Oh..."
__Ella took the two tickets from the booth and handed one to Emmaly. "Kindly walk me to the boat?"
__"Of course, Ate." Emmaly helped Ella board the ferry. She watched her stand by the railing and went to stood next to her. "Salamat, Ate. You didn't call my parents, did you?"
__The old woman shook her head. "You're wanting to look for your kuyas, right?"
__Emmaly nodded slowly.
__"I've known your entire family since your parents first got married and moved into the neighborhood," Ella said happily. I know your brothers didn't go to Paldea, and I know your parents are hiding something."
__Emmaly held onto the rail when the boat started moving. Riolu had gotten scared and went to hug her legs while he shook.
__"I hope you realize how dangerous your journey just might be," Ella continued. "For whatever reason those two disappeared, it's bad enough to scare your parents into being silent. Even before they got together, your parents were never afraid of anyone, and they even fought when they had to."
__Emmaly had been nodding along to what Ella was saying. She did remember Ben telling stories he heard from their lolo and lola about how their parents used to be quite the rowdy bunch. At least a few things were starting to line up.
__"Ate?" Emmaly pulled out the piece of paper she got from the safe and showed her the picture. "Have you ever seen this symbol? My parents had hidden it in our bunker."
__Ella had examined the picture for quite a bit before she shook her head. "I'm sorry. I don't know what that is."
__Emmaly tried to hide her disappointment as she went to put the paper back in her bag. "That's okay, Ate. Hopefully, someone from the mainland can help me."
__"You think that symbol has something to do with your kuyas?"
__Emmaly nodded. "Why else would mom and dad hide it? I'm gonna find the people behind this symbol and figure out what happened."
__"Will you be able to do that on your own?"
__"Of course not, but I'm not alone." Emmaly then knelt down and picked Riolu up while they nuzzled each other. "I have my tough little sweet pea with me."
__Riolu was giggling happily while his tail wagged back and forth.
__Ella was smiling softly as she turned to look at the ocean in front of them. "It'll be quite the long trip to the mainland. Let's find somewhere to sit in the meantime. I'm too old to be standing like this."
__Emmaly followed after Ella promptly to a bench attached to the wall and sat down next to her. She was happy to have someone familiar at the start of this uneasy adventure, at least.

__After a few hours, the ferry finally docked at the mainland. Emmaly had to help Ella walk down the ramp while Riolu followed closely after. This was when Emmaly realized she didn't know what Ella was doing here.
__"I forget to ask, Ate. What brings you to Pallet Town?"
__"Oh, I'm heading out to Pewter City for the rest of the summer," Ella tried to say excitedly. I have grandchildren there."
__Emmaly remembered that Ella loved her family to death. It was admirable to her. She decided to take a few steps back before she bowed her head. "Thank you for helping me get here, Ate. Don't let me keep you."
__Ella smiled and looked down at little Riolu. "Now, little one, you take good care of Emmaly. All right?"
__Riolu brought up his hand and saluted to her. "Yes, Ate!"
__Emmaly and Riolu waved goodbye to Ella as they watched the old woman walk away. Emmaly then got a good look at her surroundings before speaking. "All right, first thing's first: I need to register as a trainer. That way, we'll have no issue for buying tickets again. We were lucky Ate Ella was there."
__Riolu had a smug look on his face. "Your inadequate studying skills were showing again."
__Emmaly groaned as she glared at Riolu. "Hey! I still passed all my quizes and tests! I just hate having to read any large paragraphs that don't deal with pokémon. Speaking of which..."
__Emmaly looked around at all the people and pokémon around her. There were so many different kinds of pokémon here! She had never been able to see any other kind of pokémon up close like this. She had to stop herself from running around and trying to play with all of them. That didn't stop Riolu, though. The little pokémon ran for an umbreon and immediately started hoping up and down while asking so many questions.
__"Hi! I'm Riolu! Are you a dark type? Are you really strong? Does it hurt walking on your hands? Is that lady your mama? Can you talk to her? Oh! You have red eyes! Cool!"
__The umbreon looked really uncomfortable as she started to shyly hide behind her trainer's legs.
__"What's the matter, Umbry?" The brunet haired lady turned and asked her umbreon. She then saw Riolu and gasped. "Oh my! Is that a real Riolu!?"
__Her shouting caused everyone nearby to stop and look. They were all looking at Riolu while gasping and muttering in excitement. Riolu looked really nervous now as people started to crowd around. This made Emmaly panic as she ran over to pick up Riolu before she made a mad dash to who knows where.
__"Riolu!" Emmaly grumbled. "You shouldn't leave my side like that and talk to strangers!"
__"Sorry, Mama! I just never seen another pokémon before!"
__Emmaly saw a park in the distance and started to slow down. "Well, next time let me verify if someone's trustworthy before you talk to their pokémon."
__That made Riolu huff. "I'm the one that can read other people's aura, but fine. I'll be more careful."
__The park was really quiet and nearly empty. Besides a few pokémon in the grass and in the trees, there was one old man sitting in the park, and he was surrounded by most of these pokémon. Emmaly was able to recognize caterpie, weedle, pidgey, rattata, and spearow. This old man was like a magnet for them with how attention hungry they all were. Despite being curious in all the pokémon, Emmaly decided to leave the old man be and keep walking. Her footsteps in the gravel were loud, though, so the old man turned to look at them.
__"Hello there, young lady," he greeted rather loudly. "I don't believe I've ever see you around here before. You new?"
__Emmaly froze and hugged her riolu tightly before she nodded reluctantly. "Well... I'm from Kanto, but my island is pretty far from the mainland."
__The old man's eyes immediately landed on Riolu. "Oh, I see you got yourself a partner. Are you a trainer?"
__Emmaly shook her head shamefully. "No, I... I'm trying to register..."
__"Is that so? Give me one moment." The old man struggled to stand back up before he motioned her to follow. "My grandson is the head professor of our Pokémon Research Lab here. I can take you there."
__Emmaly felt weird about following a strange man she didn't know, but all the pokémon here seemed to like him enough. So, against her better judgement, she followed the old man at a reasonable distance.
__"That riolu you have there," The old man began again. "I must say, you're very lucky to have one. Why, I believe the last time I saw a riolu up close was the one owned by one of my own registered trainers. Sometime after it evolved into a lucario, it helped him win the World Coronation Series many years back."
__Emmaly wasn't sure how she was supposed to react since she never liked engaging with new people. "O-oh... is that so?"
__The old man sighed. "Seems just like yesterday he was just a boy who was late to nab his first pokémon. That really takes me back."
__"Mmhm..." Emmaly just felt awkward and nervous.
__"How did you get that one?" the old man asked.
__Emmaly tightened her grip on her pokémon. "Um... my kuyas... brothers brought an egg back home for my fifth birthday. I'm not sure how they got it, but it was in the Sinnoh region."
__"They must have been quite lucky."
__"Yeah..."
__"Ah, here we are!"
__Emmaly looked up at the large research laboratory. She had seen old pictures of this lab in particular, but they were much smaller than it was now. "Wow..."
__"My old lab," the old man rasped. "Well, come on then. I'll show you to my grandson."
__Emmaly quickly followed him inside the lab. She felt nervous as she gazed around at all the people wearing white coats. There were all kinds of pokémon in here, too. Some were being analyzed while others were running around while playing. The old man walked over to a grown man with brown spiky hair, who was accompanied by a large blastoise. The man turned to the old man and smiled. "Hey there, gramps!"
__"Gary," the old man started. He then gestured his hand to Emmaly and Riolu. "This young lady would like to register to become a trainer... what was your name?"
__Emmaly straightened up. "U-uh! I'm Emmaly!"
__Gary turned to Emmaly with his arms crossed. "Hey there, Emmaly. You wish to be a pokémon trainer? I see you already have a partner."
__Emmaly felt extremely nervous. "Yes... there are no pokémon where I'm from, so I couldn't register there."
__Gary looked like he understood. "Ah, okay then. We can get you started no problem. You'll just have to pay an inconvenience fee since usually this is done by appointment."
__"Right, no problem."
__Emmaly followed Gary, his blastoise, and the old man into an office area where she gave him all her information to put on her card. She then had to take a quick photo before she had to pay the fee. Luckily, it wasn't too expensive. After about seven minutes, Gary handed Emmaly her new ID card.
__"And there you are. Now just hand me your Rotom Phone and I can download the pokédex app for you."
__Emmaly stayed silent and unmoving.
__Gary had retracted his hand immediately and chuckled awkwardly. "Oh, right... wait right here." The professor stood up and quickly walked out of the room. After several minutes, he came back with a new Rotom Phone and began tapping his fingers all over the screen. "You can set everything up on your own time, but this way you can access any kind of information on any pokémon or environment while you're on the road."
__Emmaly slowly took the Rotom Phone from Gary and stared at it in confusion. "Is there really a rotom in this phone?"
__"Yes, just make sure you always charge it when it reaches low battery so the rotom is well nourished," Gary somehow said nonchalantly. "And with that, you're free to start on your journey."
__"Hold on, Gary," the old man interrupted. "Give this gal a starter."
__Gary leaned back in shock. "Come on, gramps! She's already got a partner. She should be able to catch her own pokémon no problem."
__This made Emmaly raise her hand shyly. "Um... Riolu and I have never battled before. In fact, Riolu only learned his first damage-based attack weeks ago. He knows two others that and I can't remember what they are. Also, I don't have any pokéballs."
__Gary crossed his arms and sighed. "Well, we'll be able to supply you with some pokéballs and potions to start with. As for battling..." He stopped to ponder for a bit before he smiled in defeat. "All right, tell you what? I'll give a starter of your choice. In exchange, you need to battle the trainer coming for my next appointment. He's a skilled trainer already, but he's buying a pokémon from here. All the pokémon we raise here have plenty of battle experience, so you should be able to learn from them."
__Emmaly wasn't quite so sure. She never intended on catching other pokémon to begin with. She figured all she would need was Riolu, but then she looked down at her Riolu and frowned. If it came to a battle, she didn't just want to throw him in like that. He should have someone to teach him and grow alongside him. Perhaps this would do the both of them good. She sighed reluctantly and nodded. "Okay, sure. I'd love to."
__"Wonderful!" the old man cheered as he clapped his hands together. He then started walking away. "This way then!"
__This annoyed Gary as he led Emmaly out of the office. "Gramps! This isn't your lab anymore!"
__Emmaly followed everyone into a room with a large table in the middle. There were a total of three pokéballs resting on velvet pillows with labels in front of them. Gary had to quickly move behind the table before his grandfather could beat him to it. "The other trainer will be arriving soon. But even though he's buying one of these, he wanted to choose at random. So, it should be no issue to go ahead and take your pick."
__Emmaly read all the three labels in front of her: Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur. Emmaly already knew about the Kanto starters and loved all three of them. She wished she could take them all, but she had to settle for one. She took a few minutes to think about her decision. She wanted to make sure she could pick a good partner not only for herself, but for Riolu as well. She set her Riolu on the table and watched him closely. He was gazing around at all three pokéballs before he pointed to the one in the middle with the charmander inside.
__"I can sense that one's aura," he said confidently. "He has a calm, but strong personality."
__Emmaly nodded and picked up the middle pokéball. She let herself feel the weight in her hand before she made her decision. "This one. I think Riolu and I will get along with him just fine."
__"Good choice," Gary nodded. "I had a rival who had a charmander. He brought it to his first Pokémon League as a charizard, but it led him to losing a battle because he decided to sleep out of bounds. That charizard was very powerful nonetheless. My blastoise always enjoyed battling with it."
__"Go ahead and meet him," the old man insisted.
__"Oh!" Emmaly was almost panicking as she pushed the button and released the charmander. The orange pokémon was already standing while it started yawning. It looked up at Emmaly and immediately started yapping.
__"Char! Char, char!" It seemed really happy, but Emmaly wasn't sure.
__Riolu went to stand next to Charmander and started talking with him. "Hi there! I'm Riolu, and that's my mama! We're gonna be great friends and play all the time!"
__The charmander turned to Riolu and began hopping up and down with him excitedly. This filled Emmaly with relief. She was already loving her new partner.
__"Hey! I'm not late, am I?"
__Emmaly and Riolu turned around and saw a boy running in. The boy had orange spiky hair and green eyes. There looked to be a small scratch across his nose. He had a small pokémon sitting on top of his head, which happened to be an emolga. Both were wearing matching lightning bolt accessories. The boy was immediately looking at Emmaly. That made her uncomfortable.
__"You're here just in time," Gary had answered. "Though we did have an unexpected visit, so I'm afraid we only have two pokémon left for you to choose."
__"That's fine." They boy was not taking his eyes off of Emmaly. She thought about walking away when the boy suddenly held out his hand to her while wearing a huge grin. "Sup? I'm Maxx. Who're you?"