Pokemon: No Limits

Chapter 1

Early the next morning...

Standing on a tall pile of gravel, and placing his hands on his hips, backpack on his shoulders, Travis took in a deep breath of the fresh, moist air. On each side of him grew sky-scraping evergreen trees with moss and dew covering the length of the trunks. Down the slope of gravel was a little, hardly traveled, path, sprouting grass on each side.

The clean air soothed Travis as he walked down the trail, and with each stride he took, new fresh smells rushed up toward his nose, filling him with a new sense of adventure. He came to, what seemed to be, a clearing with towering blades of grass. Taking a few steps to his left, he came to face a large pond, maybe twenty feet wide. The surface rippled as Poliwags sprung from the water to catch small insects floating above the pond. Their blue bodies shimmered in the new sunlight when they broke the surface.

"Wow," the young man exclaimed. "I've walked this trail a million times, watch these Poliwags grow into Poliwhirls, Poliwraths, and even Politoeds, but today... It's like in seeing this all for the first time, like I have new eyes! I'm fully ready to experience the beauty of this world!"

Turning away from the pond, Travis marched on, past the clearing and towards another wooded area. Travis' eyebrows raised as if a lightbulb had appeared above his head and illuminated.

I should send Taylor a text, let him know I'm halfway there... He thought. He lifted his arm and typed away on his PokéGear. The message sent with a "whoop" noise coming from the device's speaker.

The rest of the walk was easy and calm, and Travis came to the trail head where Taylor was standing. Taylor's thick rimmed glasses stood out against his dirty blond hair, but made his crystal eyes seem even more flashy. He also sported a hiking backpack and his electric blue PokéGear on his wrist, looking like a proper Pokémon Trainer.

"Finally," he poked fun at his friend, "did you fall into the Poliwag Pond?"

"Oh, shut up," Travis glared.

Taylor spun around, staring at their old high school, "Well there it is, all big and glorious, just waiting for us to enter it, one last time."

The building was tall and sported a totem pole-esque symbol above the entryway. Matching the colors of the symbol, red and black accent stripes worked their way around the brim of the sandy complexion of the walls. As the pair approached the doors, one swung open and Professor Sitka stepped into the sunshine.

"Boys! Hurry up, I've got plenty to do!" She called across the parking lot. The professor's long black hair was pulled into two intricate braids and place over her shoulders. Her jaw was rather square, but her cheeks were round. They pushed up beneath her eyes which made them look kind, but wise.

Sitka disappeared into the building with the boys trailing closely behind. The professor lead them down a long hallway and into her classroom, then turned to the pair, leaning on a large round machine.

"Taylor, Travis, today is the day that you've chosen to leave home on a potentially long, perilous journey. It will be tough, grueling even, and remember this; you can go home anytime you please. You're not sent on this journey forever, the choice is yours. That being said, if you'd like to turn around and walk home now, I would suggest it. Forget your journey, adventure, potential for fame and fortune. Just go ho-"

"Get real Professor," Taylor's expression turned from excited to confused.

"Yeah, Prof! What was that?"

"Boys, boys, I was testing you. Good answers both of you, now come, give me your wrists."

The two reached out with their bare wrists, but the Professor swatted them away and grabbed at the PokeGear on their arms. With a light "KER-CHUNK" a PokeBall icon appeared in the center of each of the PokeGear's screens.

IN PROGRESS