Chapter 2

Todays the day I have been looking forward to. It's here. It's finally here. My pokemon licence has arrived at last in a cardboard box containing the starting equipment all new trainers are issued when they begin their journey. My hands are shaking as I can barely contain my excitement, opening the box and nether can my partner as he happily jumps around me while my parents move anything he can break safely out of the way. The day has finally arrived. The day I leave home and start my journey.

Opening the box, the first thing I spot is the Pokedex that's standard issue for trainers. It comes with a range of features including information on pokemon, a video communication system, and it also serves as a form of ID. Setting the device aside along with the instructions on how to set up, I move onto the next object I can find, five red and white Pokeball's ready to be filled with new friends. I set them down next to my Pokedex and quickly find my ribbon container, which I am sure will be filled with ribbons quickly once I make my competition debut but before I can picture the ribbons inside I notice something else in the box.

Sitting on top of the guild book which is also standard issue for all trainers is another small box which looks like it is used to store any badges someone taking the Gym Challenge earned. This must be some mistake, and I find myself shuddering at the thought of finding Laura at my door asking for her badge case that was mistakenly delivered to me. I look to the front door expecting t see her there already and release the breath I didn't realise I was holding seeing no one waiting to be let inside. Setting it aside, for now, I pick up the letter that came with the parcel.

It's pretty standard and useful information letting me know the schedule for contests and for some reason the cut of date for completing the Gym Challenge for anyone wanting to enter the Pokemon League. They must have sent that by mistake too. I kind of what to see Laura's face when she notices how much stuff she is missing from her parcel. They really messed up as I also find the rules for gym battles and the location of each gym. It is starting to look like someone thought that everyone who lives in a small village like Springrun all lives together because I seem to have everything someone would need to compete in the Gym Challenge. Laura is probably going to be here any minute now demanding her stuff.

Reading the final page of the letter is encouraging. It helps ease my nerves of leaving home for the first time as the chairman of the Pokemon Community who oversees all contests, and the Gym Challenge writes a short letter to new all applicants congratulating them on beginning their journey and wishing us luck but… something isn't right here.

"We were all surprised to find that someone applied for both the Gym Challenge and for the opportunity to take part in Pokémon Contest and we are happy to let you know that we hereby great you permission to do both. We wish you look and look forward to seeing great things from you."

This can't be right. There's no way I applied for both. This must be some kind of mistake. I quickly grab the copy of my application that they sent me with the letter and reread everything, hoping that they made some kind of mistake but no… they are right. I don't know how it happened, but I can see it clearly that I ticked the boxes for both the Gym Challenge and the Pokémon Contest. How didn't I notice? As my partner bumps my leg, I can start to form a theory. He must have distracted me. Shaking my head, I guess I will just have to sort this out when I make it to the city. Not everyone completes the Gym Challenge, so I am sure they won't mind me dropping out.

Right, it's decided as soon as I get to Oakenford, I will drop out of the Gym Challenge and focus on getting ready for my first contest. Oakenford is the capital and where the Pokemon Community have their headquarters so it should be easy to drop out, especially since Oakenford is the nearest city to Springrun. I just need to head to the Pokemon Community Tower or PCT for short where the Pokemon Community is based as soon as I reach the city.

I jump at the tap on my shoulder and look up to see my father looking down at me with a smile on his lips.

"We are so proud of you Lisa," He says, rubbing the top of my head forcing me to duck out of his reach before he messes up my hair.

"We know you are going to make us proud," My mother chimes in making me smile despite my mind still racing from trying to figure out how to drop out of the Gym Challenge. "I remember when I first set out on my own adventure when I was your age." My mother is in a world of her own with her eyes closed and a smile on her face as she remembers her childhood of fun and adventure. "I met so many interesting people and pokemon and when I first met your father and he…"

"There's no need to tell her that," My father interrupts coving mums mouth with his hands as a blush quickly starts to colours his cheeks. "Don't listen to you mothers stories about me okay they are mostly he imagination," He says, turning to me. "Especially the ones about how we first met."

"But you were so cute trying to…" Mother continues after freeing her mouth, but my fathers puppy dog eyes pleading for her to be quiet wins her over, and she drops the subject. I hear a sigh of relief leave dads lips as my mother looks at me again. "Since you will be leaving tomorrow for your journey I will make your favourite meal for dinner tonight." I smell already smelling a tasting the dish making my mouth water. "Just remember to go to bed early tonight and make sure you have everything you need packed. It's a long walk Oakenford so you will need snacks, water and maybe a repel as well. You will also need a sleeping bag and…"

"She's got it, dear," My hero of a father rescues me from the long lectures my mother is famous for. She means well but tends to go overboard. I know she is just worried about me leaving home. "Let us just let her back. I think I have some camping gear she can use somewhere."

Mum is a fantastic cook. I'm really going to miss her homemade meals when I set out tomorrow morning. Her food is just so impossibly good with the food just melting in your mouth, tasting divine and every mouthful flooding your tastes buds with the most incredibly delicious flavours. I really wish I had my mothers talent for cooking or could bring her with me on this journey so I could continue to eat like that. Looking down at my partner curled up fast asleep next to my bed, I know he will miss it too, and the treats my mother makes for him are the highlight of his day. Probably the only way I can avoid him getting too upset is by rationing the bag of treats mum gave me for the trip. I can only pray he doesn't find and eat them all in one go like he has done in the passed.

Smiling at the memory of my greedy partner, I roll onto my back and look up at the ceiling. This is really happening. It still doesn't seem real to me, but tomorrow morning I will set out on my pokemon adventure with the goal of winning the Grand Festival. Part of me still doesn't believe it is really happening and that when I wake up, it will all have turned out to be a dream. To be honest, I'm still not sure what to feel about all this. Fear of leaving home and heading out on my own, the excitement of being able to go and exploring the world and nervousness about whether I am ready or not all make their presence known to me meaning sleep is impossible to find at the moment. But this is real, tomorrow morning I really will leave home.

I close my eyes, hoping to get at least a few hours of sleep before I begin my long walk to Oakenford in the morning. I don't want to be tired tomorrow, and I know I must be exhausted right now as I see something pink float by my bedroom window. I really must be tired as know I am seeing things that aren't really there.

"We'll miss you," I feel my mothers tears, I want to comfort her, reassure her that I will be fine but the vice grip she calls a hug is making it difficult to breath let alone talk. "Remember to call us every night and be sure to change and wash your clothes every day. Don't talk to strangers and try not to go after any dangerous pokemon."

"I think she understands," Father tells her freeing me from my mother's death grip allowing air to reach my burning lungs. "Be safe out there."

"I will," I promise with a smile as I try not to cry. This is a happy day, the start of my journey I don't want to ruin the moment with my tears.

"Phanpy!" Phanpy jumps up, giving his own good by look excited and like he can't wait to get going. I am glad I have him by my side as I know I can trust him wholeheartedly.

"With a pokemon like Phanpy looking out for her we have nothing to worry about," Dad assures my mother as he happily strokes my partner.

"Remember to call," Mother repeats, and with another promise to do so, I finally step out of my front door for the last time in who knows how long.

It won't be forever. I have to tell myself that or the strength to leave for this journey will leave me. I will come home one day and with a bunch of stories to tell and my victory in the Grand Festival to be proud about. I smile as I walk picture the happy looks on my parent's faces when I return home victorious. I have to win now for them.

"Phanpy…" My partner walks beside me for once instead of running on ahead, looking more nervous then I am about leaving home.

"We will be fine," I assure him with a smile. "We have each other out there."

"Phanpy!" With a jump and cry, he is back to his old self, but thankfully he doesn't run off causing one last bit of trouble for the village before we leave Springrun for the foreseeable future.

As we walk side by side down the dirt road, I notice the farmers and farmhands watching us go and can't help but feel like they are glad to see us go knowing my partner want be playing or terrorising as they call it the herds of farm pokemon. A few smile and nod their heads as we pass, and one elderly couple wishes us luck on our journey, but there is no big send-off for us like some villages have just a few goodbyes before we walk out of the village leaving behind people who will miss us and I am sure a few who won't. I bet those who won't miss us will be happy to see my partner running through their fields again when we return though.

The road outside of Springrun is just like the roads inside the village and are just grassless dirt marking the well-used path. I heard that at one point there were plans to pave the road linking Springrun to Oakenford, but with how little importance the route is to the region the plans were cancelled so now we have to sidestep muddle puddles from recent rain and do our best to avoid them getting too dirty on the first leg of our journey. Not that my partner seems to care about those things as he happily rolls around in the puddles changing his colour from blue to brown not worrying about how messy he gets. He's going to be a nightmare tonight when I have to struggle to bath him. I can't help but smile, though. What are people in the big city going to think when they see me walk into town with my muddy partner in tow?

"Phanpy…"

All of a sudden, my partner stops in his tracks and stares off into the distance. I stop as well following his gazes, but I fail to spot what has Phanpy's attention until I notice movement. The group of trees where my partner's eyes are fixed shows no signs of life until a small creature shoots out of the branches. The small bird shoots towards us, and at first, I was worried it might attack, but instead, it ignores us and flies off towards Springrun.

"It's just a Pidgey," I assure him with a smile as I watch the small bird pokemon fly freely through the sky. It must be nice to be able to fly like that. "Come on, let's get going."

"Phanpy!" my partner yells in conformation before he starts running through and rolling around in muddy puddles again. What am I going to do with him? I smile as I pick up the pace to keep up with my energetic partner.

In the end, we settle on a quick walk for a pace, and I was told before I left it takes five hours on foot to reach Oakenford from the village, but at the pace, we are going I think we can make it in four. Being partners with such an energetic pokemon has worked wonders for me giving me plenty of stamina, and a body used to long fast walks. This part of my journey is nothing. The real trouble won't begin until I reach Oakenford and have to resign from the Gym Challenge. What am I going to say to them? "Hey, guys I filled out the form incorrectly and only onto to comet in competitions," I'm pretty sure it will be embarrassing to admit to the mistake, but I doubt it would be a problem to just drop out of the Gym Challenge like that.

We stop by a small stream roughly two hours into our journey for a quick break and so I can try and get Phanpy cleaned up as we have now left the dirt road behind to the paved stone beneath my feet. I guess they did at least pave some of the road between the capital and my small village before they gave up. Unfortunately for me, my partner's idea of washing is very different from my own. Well I use a cloth to try and wipe away the mud and filth Phany thinks I am playing and is continuously using is trunk to spray me with water and soak me to my bones. At least in this weather, my clothes will dry soon, and the cold water does feel nice on a hot day like today, so I guess I can't be upset with him.

"Phanpy!" My partner slams his trunk down onto the water, soaking us both. It surprised me at first how much a ground type pokemon like Phanpy liked playing in the water but after my dad showed me a video of a group of Phanpy's and Donphan's showing each other at the banks of a river became easier to accept. However, I still think my partner enjoys the water more then what's normal for his kind. "Phanpy!"

"Are you sure?" He's challenging me now, I can see it in his eyes, the dare to splash him back. "Just remember you asked for this."

"Phanpy!" My partner excitedly yelps as he jumps out of the way of the splash of water I sent his way before splashing me back. "Phanpy! Phanpy!"

"Is that all you got?" I ask splashing him again.

"Phanpy!" My partner's cry is the only warning I get before he shoots water out of his nose at me, hitting me squarely in the face and knocking me over. Before I can recover, my pater climbs onto my chest squirting me once more with the water from his trunk.

"Okay, okay you win partner," I giggle gently pushing him off of me so I can get up out of the water. "No, come on, let's dry off." I can see him about to splash me again, but I cut him off. "Unless you don't want a treat, in that case, you can stay and play in the water for as long as you want."

"Phanpy!" My partner quickly runs out of the water and waits for me, where I left my bag. His trunk is already sniffing around for his treats.

"I'll get them!" I call out, running over to him, hoping to stop my partner before he has a chance to throw all of the contents of my bag all over the place. "Just what a minute you little glutton."

"Was your Phanpy just using Water Gun?"

I jump at the question surprised to hear someone else is here and nearly spilling the contents of my bag all of the place myself. I turn to face the source of the question finding a boy who looks close to my age but half my size with short blonde hair and a pair of shiny blue eyes flicking between myself and my partner hidden behind a pair of big glasses. He's holding a Pokedex in one hand while is mouth hangs open. I guess seeing how much my partner likes water is just as much as a shock to everyone else as it was for me.

"Oh no, he wasn't," I answer his question after I recovered enough from the surprise of him suddenly appearing. "He just likes to spray people with water from his trunk."

"I should have known," He lets out a light laugh. "I thought I was seeing things for a moment, but I guess it was just normal for a Phanpy."

"I'm not sure it is normal for a Phanya to like water as much as he does," I tell him feeling my partner headbutting my leg running out of patience as he waits for his treats. I bend over and feed him some as I continue to speak. "I sware sometimes it's like he was a water pokemon in his previous life." I smile as I feed my partner his treats. "And other times I wonder if he is the reincarnation of a Snorlax."

"Yeah, I heard Phanpy's eat a lot," He replies as we both watch my partner greedily eat his treats. "Do you mind if I join you my pokemon could use a drink and a break from our training?"

"Go ahead," I nod. "Although my partner may annoy them in his attempts to play."

"I'm sure it will be fine," He smiles before throwing two Pokeball's out.

Two pokemon appear with one appearing tiny compared to the other. The larger of the two is one I recognise as we a few in Springrun. It's a Mareep, and they are highly valued back in the village being our source of electricity and another source of wool other than from what we get from our Wooloo. I have never worked with them, but te adults always warn Phanpy and me about why it will be a bad thing if my partner tried to play with them. The other pokemon I have seen in Springrun Frest, but I have to bring up my Pokedex to identify it. The pokemon in question is a small flying type called a Fletchling, and these friendly Pokémon send signals to one another with beautiful chirps and tail-feather movements according to my Pokedex.

Unfortunately, as soon as my partner notices the other two pokemon, he forgets all the warnings of the farmers back in the village and runs towards the Mareep. The other pokemon doesn't seem interested in playing. Sparks start to appear in the Mareep's woolly coat as it expands to double its size and my partner skids to a halt getting the message to leave the other pokemon alone. Fortunately for Phanpy, the Fletchling is more playful, and the two quickly make up a game where the tiny bird pokemon dives down and up while my partner tries to catch it. The Mareep quickly calms down now that it's left alone and wanders over to the river for a drink while I watch my partner play with the other trainer in silence.

"I'm Josh, Josh Cole," The other trainer introduces himself a moment later extending his hand towards me.

"It's nice to meet you," I smile taking his hand. "I'm Lisa Mayflower."

"You're…" He drops my hand the moment he hears my name and stares at me in disbelief. "You're the one. The person everyone has been talking about."