Pokemon: Next Generation

Chapter 1: Route 42

Chapter 1: Route 42 

"I'm bored," I whined. We'd been sitting on Route 42 all morning long, taking a break from traveling. Our journey around Johto was just for fun- well, except for Anthony. He was going around collecting all the gym badges with his Pokemon from Unova. We were just meeting up since he was pretty close to entering the Johto Pokemon League, then we were going to Sinnoh altogether. He only had two more badges to go before we headed to the Pokemon League to watch him enter. 

"And what do you propose we do about it?" Anthony grunted as he shifted his weight. He was leaning against his Serperior, Rapier, who looked almost as intimidating as my own partner, Zuko the Typhlosion. 

"I don't know." I flopped back down against Zuko's furry back. He snorted, smoke coming out of his nostrils in tiny plumes. 

"I'm still full from our brunch," Amanda announced from on top of Bella, absentmindedly rubbing her stomach as she laid against her Meganium's back, the two of them sunbathing. Bella's large pink petals soaked in the rays and she stayed motionless, smiling contently. 

"Hey!" I yelled as I got dowsed with water from the pond next to me. Zuko hissed and retreated farther away from the edge. "Watch where you're aiming." 

"Sorry!" Daniel grinned in apology along with his Feraligatr, Crikey, who had just done a huge cannon ball. Daniel shook his head like a Growlithe, his dark brown hair flinging droplets of water which fell back into the pond. I rung out my hair and Zuko cautiously approached our resting place, accepting Crikey's apology as well. He licked the water off my cheek and I smiled, giving him a hug. 

"I've got it." Daniel stepped out of the pond and grabbed a towel to dry off. "Let's have a race." 

"What kind of race?" Amanda sat up in interest, squinting when the sun hit her eyes. Bella raised her head from the ground and quirked it to the side in curiosity. 

"One in the sky." Daniel was hurrying to put his shirt back on. He grabbed his backpack, shuffling through it until he found a Poke Ball, which he threw in the air. "Come on out, Smoky!" 

A great orange beast stood proudly on the grass next to Daniel. His Charizard smiled at Crikey- they get along brilliantly since they both shared Daniel's optimism and teasing nature. 

"You know, that does sound like a lot of fun," Anthony sounded startled into saying. "Fortis and I haven't flown together in weeks." 

Anthony also retrieved his bag, fished out a Poke Ball. His Braviary let out a battle cry as it appeared in the sky, circling the field before landing in front of Anthony who patted his friend. 

"This will be fun." I smiled, pulling a Poke Ball out of my hip bag. "Cloud, we're going to win!" 

My Pidgeot came out and stood beside Zuko and me, cooing softly. His tan and creamed colored body and wings looked strong and powerful. "We are totally going to own this race." 

"Alright, Fenrir, let's show them what we've got!" Amanda called, tossing her own Poke Ball up high. Her Flygon burst out, zooming around, gracing the sky with his agile presence. I gaped, forgetting how beautifully graceful her Flygon could be. That is, when he wasn't super distracted. 

Fenrir skidded to a halt, pulling up a bit of grass and dirt. Amanda giggled and cuddled his head against her body. 

"Ok, so where are we flying to?" Anthony continued to run his hand through Fortis's feathers. 

"How about Mahogany Town? We're not far from it," Daniel suggested. "Besides, Anthony has to battle Artica and get his next badge there."  

Artica was Pryce's granddaughter who'd taken over the Gym years ago. She was absolutely ruthless, just like Pryce, and still used Ice types to continue his legacy.  

"Sounds good to me. How about you, Emma?" Amanda turned to face me. 

"Doesn't matter where we go, we're kicking your butts," I announced teasingly. Zuko backed me up, standing on two legs to look more intimidating and smirking the whole while. 

"Don't count your Pokemon before they're caught," Anthony chided. I rolled my eyes. 

We packed all of our stuff up and let our first partners back into their Poke Balls since they were all too big to ride on the backs of our flying types. Then Anthony, Amanda, and I took out our flying saddles that we'd all had made in various regions to make flying for longer periods of time easier, especially if our Pokemon were going to perform ariel maneuvers. I'd gotten mine from Falkner, the first Gym Leader I battled in Johto. Amanda had hers made by Winona, the flying type Gym Leader of Hoenn. Skyla from the Unova Pokemon League had given a saddle to Anthony after seeing his Braviary in battle. The saddles strapped on around our Pokemon's bellies and around their wings. Daniel claimed that riding bareback was more fun and exhilarating, but I'm sure his butt was super sore by the end of any ride on the back of his Charizard whose super tough skin looked in the need of a couple gallons of lotion.  

"How do you even ride bareback?" Anthony mumbled under his breath as he adjusted Fortis's saddle, tightening the straps. 

Daniel heard him and grinned. "Easy. I just trust in my Pokemon. He's never thrown me off before. Right, Smoky?" 

Smoky roared happily. Daniel beamed at him. 

Pretty soon all our saddles were prepared. Our Pokemon flexed their wings, testing the saddle's response to their movements. 

"Prepared for launch?" Daniel asked me. 

"You got it," I said, my eyes narrowing in concentration as Cloud lowered to the ground for me to climb onto his back. I'd made sure to grab my goggles so my eyes didn't dry out from the wind blowing on my face. I looked over at all my friends who had their own pairs tightly glued to their faces to the point where it looked like their eyes wanted to pop out of their sockets. I chuckled. We looked like such nerds.  

"Ok- here are the rules. First one to Mahogany Town wins. This means the first person to touch down right in front of the Pokemon Center. You're not allowed to attack any of your opponents. You're also not allowed to use any attacks that will boost your speed. It's just a flying race. Any questions?" Amanda asked from on top of Fenrir who sneezed, shaking his head. 

We all shook our heads and shifted our weight, getting ready. 

"On you mark," Anthony began. I clutched my saddle in front of me- there were handles so I wouldn't pull out any of Cloud's feathers. "Get set. Go!"

First chapteeeeeer! How do you guys like it so far? I know not much has happened yet, but your opinions would be appreciated. Vote, comment, and/or follow if you like my story.

Pokemon Question of the Chapter: What's your favorite Pokemon town/city and why? 

Have an awesome day/night/morning/lovely steak dinner/ fill in the blank!

-Flips