Day 1

Ally left the lab with her new pokeball in hand and made her way east, towards the first route. Cherry Grove was the nearest town to New Bark, and the nearest place that would be selling any Trainer items. New Bark had never set up a market dedicated to pokemon items, despite it being not only the starting place for new trainers but also the last town before the great expanse of the harsh wilderness that led the best of the regions trainers to the Elite Four.

Perhaps, Ally thought wryly, if I don't make it as a trainer I'll open a pokemart here. She shook her head at herself and continued to walk down the streets. She had already made her farewells to her disapproving parents and envious little brother, so there was no need for her to stop on her way by the small two story house. She did study it as she passed though, wondering when the next time she would see it would be.The tall window peering between the oak branches and to the street below belonged to her brother, away at study group for the day. Her parents room was in the back, peering over a yard that they shared with their neighbors. Her small attic room had stained glass windows, a sailboat on the front window and the absol constellation on the back. She waved merrily to the sailboat and kept walking.

The edge of town was always a rather abrupt thing, even when you knew it was coming. Towns didn't sprawl in Johto, not like other places in the world. They just ended. Her foot stepped off the well maintained cobble streets of New Bark and onto the dirt road of route 29. A grin spread across her face.

The sun was high in the sky by the time she stopped for a break. There had been no sign of any wild pokemon so far, but then the route between Cherry Grove and New Bark was known for being rather peaceful.She sat on a log a few feet off the route and pulled a bagel from her pack, taking a bite and inspecting her new partner's pokeball. It was typical, she knew, for trainers to leave their pokemon in their balls unless they needed them, but that seemed odd to Ally. Why not have them out with you?

She shrugged, then pressed the little button. A flash of red, then a small tan and teal creature materialized in front of her. It blinked up at her, then glanced around. It was male, and looked rather young. Ally cocked her head at it.

"Hey there little guy." He looked back at her. She grinned. "I'm Ally. Would you like a name?" She didn't really wait for a response. Pokemon were intelligent, especially the psychics and longer lived species, but this was a young one. It couldn't be smarter than a toddler. "I think I'll name you Dante. That sound good?"

The cyndaquil tilted his head and let out a soft 'quill?'

"You and I are going to be going on a grand adventure together buddy." She continued, grinning at Dante. "We're gunna explore the world, become great champions, and find out everything there is to find out! How about it?"

His head tilted to the other side. Ally sighed. "Well, to start off I suppose we'll just make it to Cherry Grove." She stood and gestured to Dante. "Alright, let's go. If I have to walk, you've got to as well. We can keep each other company."

They set camp up that night just outside of Cherry Grove. The nights were warm and sleeping under the stars seemed like an adventurous and romantic thing to do. Dante, it turned out, did not yet know any fire moves so she had him flare up his back so she could catch some sticks to start their campfire. They hadn't seen many pokemon that day, at least not close enough to challenge, but they were both exhausted regardless. Ally fell asleep with a smile on her face, Dante curled up beside her in the sleeping bag.

Ally woke in night. The fire had died down to embers, barely glowing in the dark. Nearby she heard something rustling. Her eyes met Dante's. All she could see of him was the starlight glinting off his eyes. "Tackle?" She breathed at him. It sounded like something was going through her backpack. He slowly blinked at her, then crept out of the bag.

His back flared suddenly, tiny flames erupting from his bristly fur and casting weak light on their campsite. Ally blinked, eyes watering, and grinned at a stunned rattata. Dante immediately charged into action, tackling the little pokemon and knocking it away from Ally's pack. She grinned and whooped. The rattata scurried back a few steps, barring its incisors at Dante and uttering a low growl. Dante paused, seeming to wilt a bit.

"Go on Dante, use another tackle on it! You're much stronger than this guy." Ally called. She leaned forward, still tangled in her sleeping bag.

Dante squared his shoulders and charged the rattata again, this time knocking it off its feet and slamming it to the ground. It let out a squeak and scampered away, clearly beaten. Ally grinned at Dante, who was panting and clearly a bit winded.

"That was great Dante!" She reached over and pulled him into a hug, scooping him up and kissing his head. He luckily had the foresight to quench his flames before they could burn her.

"We're gunna make the best team!"