Ah, finally! Something outside of Naruto! Somebody “suggested” in a revew to one of my stories that, if I like Pokemon so much, why shouldn’t I write a fanfiction on it? I don’t know if they were being sarcastic or something but I took that to heart and thought about it…for a couple days…then about…a week…And I thought of this! A journey through the Pokemon second era, the era of Gold, Silver and Crystal through the eyes of a trainer!

As a pointless note, I own almost all the Pokemon versions, and I found Crystal to be the best one. (At least I did until my data died in summer of 2007, and all my kickass Pokemon died) After said event, now, (late June, 2008) FireRed is my best version and I hope my data on this game will not delete itself.

Well, this is your average New-Trainer-Wants-To-Be-The-Master story. That’s how it is in each game, each episode of the show and the games and everything else it has. That’s how this story will go, too.

And, naturally, this story will be full of OCs. So if you’ve played Gold, Silver, or Crystal you should know the basic storyline.

POKEMON BELONGS TO SATOSHI TAJIRI

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“Get up.”

I heard someone talking to me. Why? Didn’t I just get in bed a second ago? It couldn’t be morning already! No way! I pulled the covers back over my head, moaning with disagreement to the speaker.

“Get up, you retard!”

I recognized the voice…my sister, Tanya. Augh! Just because she was a college student at an Ivy-league-ish university she thought she could screw with me…I was too tired to offer her a reply. But since I was now half-awake, I could barely make out her skinny outline through my thin blanket. I didn’t see any light…it must’ve been really early for there to be no light…or maybe my curtain was closed.

“Dammit, girl, get up!”

“Geez, fine, I’m getting up!”

I shoved the blanket over myself, hoping it would hit Tanya in her face. She whapped it away with a wave of her hand and started ranting about setting my clock. I tried to listen, I really did, but Tanya can never hold a conversation very well…a reason why boys like her so much.

Tanya, my sister…19 years old, a student at Pokemon Breeding University in Cherrygrove City, the next town over, where she’s supposed to be learning how to be a breeder. With her straight A’s she should be able to. She was a tall, skinny girl with deep brown eyes and long, thick blonde hair with a naturally bouncy flair that made her look halfway like a model. A look I wouldn't mind having myself, but didn’t have. She was usually a good person and I like her and respect her but, being my sister, I had to fight with her every now and then and this would probably be the start of one of those such fights.

“…get you one of those at the old shop on 5th street, the alarm is as loud as an air-raid siren…by the way, do you know why I’m here, talking to you about clocks and alarms?”

I rubbed my eyes hard with my knuckles and stretched. “No…”

“It’s 8:57 in the morning, Elizabeth.”

I stood up and glanced around my room for weird things, a habit of mine. Everything looked the same. Twin bed with forest green covers and two white pillows, dark green curtains over a square window right above the headboard of the bed, dark-colored posters of my favorite hard-rocking metal band, SteelHeart, all over the walls, my closet with a dart board on the door, my cherry wood dresser and nightstand and white plush carpet. My room. I liked it.

“8:57…” I muttered. “So what, it’s Sunday…I thought I could sleep in today.”

“Idiot!” Tanya snapped, placing her hands on her wide hips. “Professor Elm wanted to see you today, remember? He asked you that ages ago!”

“Which is why I don’t remember it…” I yawned, but stopped all of a sudden, my mouth wide open. “Crap!”

I jumped onto my bed, startling my big sister into a surprised, girly yelp, and slammed my fingers onto the calendar right on the wall next to my bed, easy to access from a comfortable “sleeping” position.

April 8th. Visit Professor Elm. 9:00 AM ... do NOT miss!

“Crap!” I said again. In a flash, I was ripping open my dresser drawer and heaving out a random set of jeans and a baby blue tee. My sister shrugged and left the room, whistling some tune or other. I got all my clothes on as fast as I could and rushed downstairs.

I nearly stepped on our family pet, Eevee, as I dashed through the kitchen. Tanya and my mom were both at the table, eating breakfast, and I could hear the weather report on the TV in the next room, but paid it no mind. “Have fun at the lab, dear!” Mom called after me. I turned swiftly and called back, “I will, don’t worry!” Then I was out the door in a flash, before Tanya could offer a remark on how I would screw up something scientific in the lab.

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April 8th, 9:03

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Hi. My name’s Elizabeth Krane. But please, call me Liz. I’m 15 years old, and my birthday is March 20th, which is the first day of spring, you know! I’m 5’6 last time I checked, and a brunette. My hair is a little past my shoulders, really light brown. I wish it were darker. I have blue eyes, and my mom says they’re "very deep ocean-blue". I wish they were a different color. Let’s see, what else? I’m a little bit of a tomboy, but not too terribly much.

I have crushed on 3 guys in my life, I like shopping--not usually for clothes, mind you--and I love the color pink, which I guess adds of girliness but I can’t help it! At least I’m not afraid of bugs, though! Hell, I like them! Be quiet. I can like bugs if I want... You know one time I kissed a wild Caterpie?

Uh...I was on my way to Professor Elm’s lab. I didn’t have time to ask my mom to drive me, so I just ran all the way. It wasn’t like it was far, a half mile from my house at the most, but running a half mile 30 seconds after getting up early isn’t the best thing to do. I’m a pretty good athlete girl, so I didn’t get sweaty or anything like that.

I was close to the lab by now, I knew. I could see the big, white building coming closer and closer to me. I smiled. Only a few minutes off course, but that could be dealt with!

I slowed down my pace when I walked through the open gates, panting, just a bit, though. I pushed my hair back, just to keep the frizz down a little, then proceeded to walk up the path to the lab.

‘Wasn’t too bad,’ I thought. ‘I guess I owe you one, Tanya. I would’ve messed this up if you hadn’t woken me. Now what can I do to thank you? Buy you a new set of earphones for your MP3, or give you a couple of my fries next time we go to McDonald’s? Hey…what’s he doing?’

I turned my head to look. A tall boy about my age with long, red hair was peeking in the window of the Elm Laboratory. From what I could hear, he was…laughing?

I moved off the path and walked slowly towards him, trying to listen to what he was saying. “Finally! So this is the famed Elm, is it? Ha! Balding, skinny, practically a twig…couldn’t be easier!”

“What couldn’t?” I asked. He jerked his head toward me and made a surprised face. “Wha? Get lost! Move it, I’m busy!” I stared in silent confusion for a minute, then turned away and walked back toward the front doors.

“And stay away!” He shouted back to me. I scowled and clenched my fists. ‘Some people are so damn rude!’ I growled in my head. I looked up and the huge inside of the lab. It was a two story building, not including the basement. The floor was polished tile, everywhere, and every little gadget, device and computer monitor looked spotlessly sanitarily clean. I said hi to Mr. Aide, as I call him, Professor Elm’s only co-worker in this place. The other residents were all Pokemon, but there were more than plenty of those guys around here.

After giving a morning pet to Mr. Aide's favorite Sandshrew, I opened the door to Professor Elm’s (really huge) private study. It was a big room, big enough for a herd of Ponyta to stand in, at least, with many counters and tables, all filled up with little laptops and papers and stacked documents. Two Butterfree twins fluttered around the air conditioning vents above my head. Professor Elm stood by his desk, punching some numbers into a calculator while staring at one of the Butterfree, which now rested on his arm.

“Hi, Professor,” I greeted.

“Oh, Liz, hello!” He smiled, though kept his eyes on the Butterfree. “I was just getting in some records for this Butterfree. She just laid eggs and I wanted to make sure she was doing alright, not suffered any post-pregnancy effects.”

“Free! Free-ee!”

“Oh, alright, now fly off, little one!”

The Butterfree flapped it’s big wings twice and flew up to meet the other one, both making happy sounds. Elm turned to me, smiling. “There was something very serious I wanted to talk to you about. I’ve discussed it with Tanya and your mother at least a dozen times. They’re both on their way here right now.”

I looked at him, confused. “No, they’re not. I ran over here really fast since I, uh, slept in a little.” He nodded with kind understanding. “I saw them in the kitchen, eating breakfast, didn’t look like they were going anywhere.”

“Guess again!” I turned swiftly and looked. Tanya and my mother had entered through the front door of Professor Elm’s private study. Tanya had Eevee in her arms. “…Why are you here?” I asked them. My mom smiled her famous, bright smile. I couldn’t help but smile back. Can’t really help but love my mom!

“We’ve been having this idea for awhile now.” Tanya smirked, letting Eevee down so he could run to me and rub his body on my legs in a catty motion. I looked back to Elm, whose smile could have lit up a dead cave, teamed with my mom’s.

“Do you want to be a trainer?”

I stared, dumbstruck, at my mom, who had asked that question. “I…I…I never gave it much thought…I wanted to someday evolve little Eevee into something else, but…”

“Do you, or don’t you?” Tanya asked quickly. “Because if you say yes, we’ve arranged a dream set for you.” My mom nudged Tanya suggestively, and Tanya shrugged, tossing back her beautiful, pale blonde mane of hair. I smiled and blurted out, as truthfully as I could without sending a message,

“Yes. I…I guess that would be kind of cool.”

“God, just say yes, Liz!” Tanya smirked again. I smiled again and sighed, then said simply, “Yes.”

“Good!” Elm said, joining our “conversation.” “Tanya, on her days off from breeding class, has been all over Johto.” Elm explained. I glanced strangely at my older sister, who just shrugged. She usually wasn’t one to travel if she didn’t have to. “She caught these three special Pokemon, for you and I.”

Elm moved away from his desk to reveal three Pokeballs.

“They are Cyndaquil, Chikorita, and Totodile. Very rare, I would professionally say.” Elm tapped each ball as he spoke the names. “Your mother has talked to me a lot about arrangements, and we think it would be good for you to leave New Bark, with one of these three Pokemon, and go your own way.” I stared, wide-eyed as they continued.

“It’ll be hard for me for a couple days, and Tanya will have to deal with me crying,” my mom said, “But I know that you’ll be fine…you’ll have fun, gain knowledge…and have your own team.” She put her hand on her cheek and blushed. “I remember my old team…oh, I loved my little old Dewgong so much…and Nidorina was the sweetest thing in the world! I almost regret releasing them all." She gained a more serious look and walked up to me.

“I’d like my daughter to have that experience. Battling through challenges, taking down other trainers with your own Pokemon, braving the fierce world all on your own…oh, I know you will love it, Liz…all new trainers do!”

I almost broke into tears as she finished. I nodded. “Yeah…I think I would like that! Elm, can I really have one of these to keep, forever?” Professor Elm nodded. “Pick one out, and it’s yours for life.”

I turned to the three Pokeballs. I knew what each of those Pokemon looked like. Any kid above the age of 8 knew their Pokemon like ABC’s…not usually in order, though. Immediately I knew which one I wanted, without thought, and almost without concern.

“Totodile.” I said. “I want the Totodile.”

Elm picked up the middle Pokeball and put it in my hand slowly. “That Totodile is yours forever.”

Immediately, the Pokeball opened, surprising all of us. The white lightning-like matter that all balls contain morphed into a small, brightly-scaled Totodile. It looked around the room until it’s little black gaze settled on me.

For a few seconds, we just stared at each other, and then, with a huge jump, it leapt up to me and landed right in my arms, crying out joyfully. Elm and Tanya laughed and my mother giggled.

“It likes you already, Liz!”

“Toto-toto-toto-toto-toto-toto-toto-Totodile!”

“It likes to talk, you notice.” Elm stated. “Actually, it’s a female Totodile. You can tell by the size. She’s a little on the small side.”

“She’s only level 5, by the way.” Tanya piped in. “I didn’t want you to get a big head start by getting a high-level Pokemon, sis, so I got three, young, inexperienced Pokemon. But that means they’ll like you more, you know. If I got a level 40 Totodile, it’d be too stuck-up to listen to a new trainer, thinking it was too good for you or something. So this is better.”

“She’s right.” My mom agreed. “Most of the wild Pokemon around here aren’t higher than level 8 or 9 anyway.”

I smiled down at my new Totodile. She smiled back up and waved her arms around, “totototo-ing” away like no tomorrow and squeezing my arm with her tiny blue claws. Eevee looked up at her and mewed quietly. I patted Eevee’s head, letting him know that he was still my favorite little guy.

“Don’t think of planning anything too big for yourself,” Tanya told me. “Because you’re leaving on your little journey tomorrow afternoon. No backing out now, got it?”

“Yeah, yeah,” I waved my hand at her. “But you can’t talk to me like that anymore, sis. I’m a trainer now!”

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April 8th, 6:39 PM

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Tyranitar gave a loud and echoing roar of victory, standing with his arms thrown out and his tail thrashing on the dusty battle ground. The challenger’s level 54 Pidgeot lay, defeated, at my level 68 Tyranitar’s heavy feet.

“Taylor Vann’s Pidgeot is unable to continue the fight. Crystal Ravir is the winner!”

The skinny blonde boy at the end of my arena opened his great ball and commanded Pidgeot to return. The great bird became a mass of red matter for a few seconds, then said matter flew into the center of the great ball. He was frowning. I heard him sigh, then turn away and walk down the path to the door leading out of my personal arena and upstairs to the famous Goldenrod Stadium.

“It was a decent match,” I called after him. “Your Pidgeot was fast. Tyranitar missed him.” He stopped for a second and gave me a gratifying nod, then turned back and opened the door. I heard him mumble, "Oh, yeah...I won't tell the paparazzi about your Pokemon. I'd go to jail, I know." He paused then, letting me take that in I guess, and was gone for good.

I sighed, ignoring the slightly guilty feeling. But I didn't want to tell him how slow and easy to hit his Pidgeot had been.

Tyranitar turned back to me, growling low and smiling a toothy smile. I walked down the stairs and off the platform of the indoor battle room to meet him as he rambled up to me. I raised my hand to pet the three rock-hard crests on the back of his head. I had to stand on my tiptoes to reach them; that Pokemon was so damn tall! Tyranitar rumbled a thanks for a small massage. “Nice job boy." I told him. "I don't know if it was much of a challenge to you, but you did a good job with that finishing Ice Beam."

“Ty, Tyranitarrr.” He showed me his fangs again, his way of smiling. I smiled at him in return, so proud to be his trainer and his greatest friend.

My cell phone rang right then. Tyranitar growled in annoyance but moved away to give me room, laying down a few meters away to nap.

“Yeah?”

“It’s me.”

The voice told me everything. An internet friend I'd known since practically before puberty. “Hey, Tanya.”

I stood up and sat down against Tyranitar’s back, using him as a couch of the rocky, hard sort.

“My sister becomes a trainer tomorrow." Tanya said excitedly. "Remember me telling you about Liz? 15? Brunette, like yourself, Ms. High and Mighty, once kissed a Caterpie she found in the backyard? She picked out a Totodile as her first. Caught it myself, way out somewhere in Kanto. Maybe Johto. I don't remember. I think she’s got some guts on her. Maybe she’ll meet you someday.”

“Maybe.” I answered. “But it's doubtful.” I rubbed Tyranitar’s neck with my hand. “You think she's good enough to get all 8 Johto badges and beat the Elite Four and stand up to me, the Champion of the whole Country?”

“Well somebody is over-proud.”

“Just a smidge.”

“Well, that’s really all I was going to say.” Tanya, being herself, and not very good at talking about an intelligent subject, just couldn’t hold a good conversation as long as she could hold a bad one. “Got any words of advice for a new trainer?”

“Let me think for a sec." I said.“...Tell her just to do what she has to do, and enjoy it.” I hope that sounded good and not too fortune-cookie.

“I will. Talk to you later.”

Tanya hung up after that. I clapped my phone shut and stuck it in the pocket of my jeans. Tyranitar rumbled in his sleep and his tail twitched. I took a comb out of my other pocket and ripped the hair-band out of my high ponytail. I swished my long mane of dark brown hair and combed out the ever-present and cursable tangles. I hear Tyranitar rumble-chuckling as the brush ripped painfully through them.

Once that horrific experience was done with, I tied my dark hair back into it’s high ponytail near the top of my head, leaving some bangs hanging out front, partially covering my dark, grey eyes. This was the look I always had, the one the media recognized me by and used to find me in a crowd. (Curse the media.) I stood up and stretched.

I then returned Tyranitar quietly into his ultra ball to rest. I clipped his ball onto my belt, joining my other five. I started towards the door that would lead up the stairs, out of my secret, private battling area and into the famous Goldenrod Pokemon Stadium, where the National Goldenrod Pokemon Tournament was being held.

For some reason, I don’t know why, I had felt like entering this year, causing a huge pulse in the press and popular magazines, and sprouting rumors of new Pokemon that I might have acquired. Well I did acquire a new one over the last winter. After training vigorously with much labor and battling and terrible trips to the Pokemon Center at the treacherous Mt. Silver, I had acquired…Tyranitar!

He was my pride and joy, my love and life. And now my pride, joy, love and life would join into my team. Now I had a complete party, and I felt complete inside. It just didn’t seem right if you were out without your six favorite Pokemon friends with you.

I couldn't help but smirk. And now I had a complete party to kick ass in the tournament. And now that everyone in the world knew I was competing, everyone would come to see what my new Pokemon was. So far, only that annoying kid Taylor, whose Pidgeot I had just battled, knew, but he wouldn’t go blabbing. I had told him that if I won, he would swear to never tell the media or anyone what Pokemon he'd fought. And if he did tell, he'd be put in prison for the rest of the year. (This was the idea of my agents.)

He wouldn’t go blabbing at all, anyway. Because he knew that Crystal Ravir would dominate the Goldenrod Tournament!

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Really long for a first chapter...of a Pokemon story, that is. Usually they're so much shorter than what I've made here. It is now 2 in the morning and I should post this and get some sleep.

Liz's Pokemon will be loosely based off my Silver version. Crystal's Pokemon will be mostly based off my (now dead and gone) Crystal version and (now alive and well) FireRed version. And some of everyone's Pokemon will come from imagination and random plot bunnies of course.

Ta…Storm