Heart of Gold

Hey there! So I started writing this Heartgold fanfic forever ago, based off of my playthrough of the game, but I stopped writing it because I felt like it wasn't any good and kind of lost motivation for it. Here's what I've written so far, if anyone wants me to, I'll try to go back and finish it. (Writing it might be a little slow though, school and drawing keep me pretty busy.) I'm open to productive criticism, but also keep in mind I wrote this years ago, so it's not my best work. I hope you enjoy my writing



Heart of Gold

Chapter 1- Anakin
I woke up to find the bright, blinding sun shining on my face. I wanted to tell it to go away and let me sleep, but the position of the sun in the sky meant I had overslept already, so with a groan I pulled myself out of bed, yawning loudly. I turned on my PC to find my friend Lyra had left me a message. It didn't say much, just these three words:

"Adventure! Can't wait!"

I couldn't help but laugh. I wonder what sort of trouble she's getting herself into today, I thought to myself. It was always something different. One day she'd be helping Professor Elm with some sort of experiment and 'accidentally' take the wrong route, another day she'd be riding a legendary Pokémon through the town... She definitely made living in this little, usually peaceful town quite fun. In fact, if she wasn't here, New Bark Town might be one of the most boring towns in the region. I chuckled to myself as I thought about all the crazy tricks she's played on me and the unusual adventures we've had without even leaving the town. Of course, Lyra wasn't here all the time. Sometimes she would leave for a few days to train her Marill or run an errand for the professor. One time she took a trip to another region and came back with all sorts of neat Pokémon that aren't found here in Johto. I always loved listening to her stories about her little adventures, and often wished I could go with her, traveling places I'd never been and discovering Pokémon I'd never seen before. I got a sort of sad feeling, that sort of feeling you get when you want to pursue your dreams but everyone's holding you back.

"Anakin!" My mother's voice broke my thoughts. I looked in the direction of the voice to find my mom standing there in the doorway. "You're not even dressed yet? It's almost noon! Put on some clothes and come downstairs, alright?" I nodded and watched her leave the room, closing the door behind her. I did as she asked, lazily putting on my usual outfit and sticking my hat on backwards to hide my hopelessly messy hair. I rushed downstairs, tripping over the last few steps and falling flat on my face. Mom just giggled as I scrambled to my feet. "Still just as clumsy as always." She said to me, shaking her head slightly. Things like this tend to happen to me. I've never payed much attention to reality. My mind has always seemed to be somewhere else, likely off on one of Lyra's adventures. Maybe that's why I don't talk to people very much.

"Hey Anakin," said my mom, "I was talking to the professor this morning, he said he wanted to see you in his lab when you woke up. Think you could head over?" I didn't see why not. In fact, the idea that the professor wanted to see me got me excited. Perhaps he had some sort of task for me. Maybe this was a chance to have my own adventure. I was about to head out the door when my mother called, "Wait, I almost forgot!" I stopped and turned around to get a pile of stuff dumped into my arms. "Don't forget your stuff." Said Mom. "You can't go anywhere without your trainer card, and you'll need your PokeGear to call me in case something happens." I was pretty sure I didn't need to bring my bag with me just to go next door, but I didn't complain. I stuck my PokeGear and trainer card inside my bag and slung it onto my back. Waving goodbye I walked out the door, and as soon as I had closed it behind me, I felt something soft and squishy bump into my leg. I looked down to see little Marill sitting on the ground, rubbing his nose where he had crashed into me. I couldn't help but chuckle at the cute, chubby little Pokémon. I bent down and pat him on the head as I asked,

"Where's Lyra? Off hiding somewhere?" Suddenly, as if to answer my question, Lyra came skipping up to me.

"There you are, Marill!" She said to her Pokémon before turning to me and asking, "Have you talked to the professor yet, Anakin? I've heard he's got a surprise for you."

"Well, actually, I was just heading there now."

"Ooh, can I come with you? Pretty please?"

"Of course you can." I told her, rolling my eyes in jest.

"Great! Come on!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the lab, which was literally right next to my house. Marill came bouncing behind us, his bobbly tail wagging behind him. When we got to the door of the lab, Lyra pushed me inside, sending me tumbling right into the professor.

"Ah! There you are, Anakin!" Exclaimed Professor Elm, somewhat flustered but mostly unphased by the fact that I had just rammed into him. "finally decided to get up, did you?" I could feel my face get a little red. It was true I had a record of being late to things because I always slept in too long. Lyra lauged at me, as usual.

"Well, then! Now that you're finally here, I have a task for you, Anakin!" Said the professor, in his usual cheery tone. "You know about the bond between Pokémon and people, right?"

"Of course he does!" Said Lyra, without allowing me to answer.

"Excellent!" Responded the Professor. "So, you know that when a trainer retrieves a Pokémon-"

"They get attached to eachother. Just like Lyra and Marill." I had heard this so many times before, and it got annoying being told how wonderful it is to have a Pokémon when you've never had one in your life. If the professor noticed my annoyed tone, he payed no attention to it as he continued,

"I'm experimenting with this trainer-Pokémon bond to see whether or not keeping your Pokémon outside of its Pokéball will make it more friendly. In order to test my theory, I'm going to give you a Pokémon!" I stared at the professor in disbelief.

"What?"

"You heard me right, Anakin. I have three Pokémon here, and soon one of them will be yours." I felt like I could explode with happiness. I had wanted a Pokémon my whole life, and now I was finally getting one! I tried not to show how excited I was, but I'm sure it was obvious either way.

"So, when do I get to pick?" I asked. The professor chuckled as he said,

"Right now, of course! Come with me!" I did as he asked, following him to a big machine that looked almost like a giant incubator containing three Pokeballs. "See these Pokeballs?" Asked Elm, " Inside them are a chikorita, a totodile, and a cyndaquil. When you've decided which one you want, go ahead and take it out of its ball." He opened the big machine so that I could take out the Pokeballs. I sat pondering which one to pick for quite some time. Fire, grass or water? Each one has its own ups and downs. All three of them are so cute! Why did he have to pick such adorable Pokémon? That just makes it harder to decide! How 'bout chikorita? No, cyndaquil! Then what about.... Heck, I'm taking cyndaquil. Finally I took the adorable little cyndaquil out of its ball and watched it yawn and rub its squinty eyes with its paw.

"Cyndaquil, huh?" Said the professor. "I guess you like fire type?" I shrugged my shoulders. Really I picked cyndaquil 'cuz of the cuteness factor, but I guess fire really is pretty cool. "So," said Elm, "Are you gonna give it a nickname?" I hadn't thought of this idea before. Marill didn't have a nickname, and I didn't exactly see other trainers often. They don't tend to come to New Bark Town, except to see the professor. I stared directly at my new cyndaquil's face, trying to think of a good name. Finally one came to me.

"Petrie!"

"Petrie?"

"Yes. His name's Petrie."

"..Well... That's a nice name, I guess..." The professor's face said he didn't approve of the name, but he didn't complain. It wasn't his choice, after all. "Petrie it is!" He said reluctantly, glancing at Lyra as if to say, "Is this kid for real?" Despite the professor's disapproval, I was rather pleased with the name. It had just randomly popped in my head, and I thought it fit Petrie quite nicely. The cute, squinty-eyed Pokémon looked up at me curiously, and I couldn't help but smile at the little guy. I knelt down and gave him a gentle pat, taking off my hat and putting it on his little head.

"Quill...?" Petrie looked so confused. He seemed to have no idea what was going on.

"I'm your new trainer." I told him. Calling myself a trainer gave me a certain joy. I picked up Petrie's little paw, playing with his tiny claws that weren't very visible. Petrie suddenly jerked his head up, touching my nose with his. I pulled my head back in shock as Professor Elm chuckled in the background.

"I think your Pokémon likes you." He said. I let out a little giggle that sounded quite a bit girlier than I would have liked.

"I like you too, Petrie." I told my Pokémon, picking him up gently and hugging him. At that moment, I must have been the happiest trainer in the world.





Chapter 2- The Adventure Begins
I walked out of the professor's lab, carrying the cute, chubby Petrie in my arms. The cyndaquil sat shaking his head back and forth and calling out happily. He looked kind of derpy, but that just made him cuter. Lyra walked next to me, unable to stop giggling at Petrie's strange behavior. Marill seemed to think the happy little cyndaquil was quite strange, and he always kept a safe distance from him. Being given Petrie must have sparked my curiosity, as I had a sudden urge to learn more about Pokémon and how to train them. I asked Lyra question after question, since she knew much more about Pokémon than I did. Suddenly I realized something I hadn't noticed before- there was a strange boy staring through the window of Elm's lab. He looked about my age, though a little taller. There was something about him that bothered me, besides the fact that he was acting like a stalker. He seemed almost menacing, his long red hair going down to his shoulders, his piercing, hawk-like eyes gleaming viciously. He seemed determined, and I had a feeling he meant trouble. Suddenly he realized I was watching him, and his attention moved away from the window and towards me instead.

"What are you looking at, you pest?" He growled, and it seemed as though he were trying to scare me off. It didn't work, though. He just got me more curious and worried about the safety of the lab.

"Oh nothing," I replied, testing his reaction, "I was just thinking about what a pretty girl you'd make. Too bad the look doesn't suit you."

"Like you're one to talk, Pokémon hugger." He mumbled at me, and suddenly I felt angry. What's wrong with hugging my Pokémon? Isn't that a good thing? I got the feeling he would be a terrible trainer. Heck, if I were his Pokémon, I'd probably hop out of my Pokéball and run away. After beating him up first, of course.

"I bet Petrie and I could whip you in a battle. Isn't that right, Petrie?" My Pokémon seemed to agree. The boy just scoffed.

"You really think you could fight with that thing?" He said snootily, "It looks completely useless. I'd be surprised if you knocked out a level one caterpie with squinty eyes there." Petrie let out what sounded like some sort of battle cry, curling his paws into fists as if to say, "Bring it on, big guy!"

"You tell him, Petrie!" I said, encouraging the runt. "Burn that pretty face of his right off!" Petrie squermed out of my grasp and charged at the jerk, but the poor thing just made a fool of himself as his tackle missed and he fell flat on his face. I slapped my forehead with my hand, feeling like a complete idiot. When I looked down at Petrie, he was doing the same thing. The strange boy laughed at the two of us and said,

"You really are hopeless, aren't you? Sad excuse of a trainer. Come fight me again when I become the Elite Four Champion. It'll be satisfying to knock the guts out of you two." I felt my face turn red from a combination of anger and embarrassment. One thing was for sure, I was NOT gonna let this jerk become Elite Four Champion.

"Come on petrie," I said, "he's not worth our time." I wanted more than anything at that moment to beat the heck out of that guy, but now wasn't the time. We'd come back for him when we were a bit stronger, and then he would pay for calling me a 'sad excuse of a trainer' and bashing the most amazing Pokémon I could wish for. I followed Lyra out to the route where she taught me how to battle, but my mind was still on the strange boy. I couldn't get him out of my head. Not even Petrie could cheer me up with his ridiculous behavior and adorableness.

"You alright, Anakin?" Asked Lyra. I did my best to smile at her.

"It's no big deal," I told her, "just a little aggrivated." I didn't need to tell her any more. After all these years, she could practically read my mind.

"Don't worry about that kid," She said, "he's probably just some local trainer trying to get Professor Elm to give him one of those Pokémon, and you know the professor wouldn't give them to a jerk who doesn't deserve it." I knew she was right, but I had a bad feeling. Suddenly the boy wasn't as big a thought in my mind as the professor turned up out of nowhere calling,

"Anakin! I have a job for you!" I stared at him in confusion and bewilderment. "There's a friend of mine that people call Mr. Pokémon," Continued Elm, "and he just sent me an email saying he had an egg for me to take a look at. He's always been fascinated with eggs. It's likely there's nothing special about it, but he seemed pretty excited about this one. You think you can go pick it up and bring it to my lab? It would be a great opportunity for you to train your... Uh... Petrie. Of course, you'd have to ask your mom first." I wanted to just skip the asking part and go straight to the adventure, but I didn't want my mom to worry, so I ran back home to ask.

"Hey mom, can I ask you something?" I said, barging into the house. Mom just stared at me for a minute, apparently surprised by the fact that I was panting and wouldn't stop fidgetting with excitement. Lyra walked in casually as if returning to her own home and called,

"Hey, Anakin~! You forgot Petrie~!" She was holding the Pokémon in her hands, his little feet dangling. He looked quite comfortable there, and when I tried to take him back he growled at me as if I was taking him from his trainer. It made me kind of sad, but I let him stay there.

"...Oh, a cyndaquil!" Mom said finally, "Did Professor Elm give that to you?" I nodded my head proudly. "What a cute little Pokémon~!" I smiled in agreement before I said,

"The professor has a job for me. I have to go out of town for it, but I have my own Pokémon now, so I'll be safe. Can I go? PLEASE?!" I felt like she would say no, seeing as she's never even let me go out to the route before and the place I was going was past Cherrygrove City. She sat there thinking, and I had the feeling I wasn't going anywhere. To my surprise, Mom answered,

"Alright. It's about time you left town, anyway. I can't keep you here forever." She had that sad look on her face that usually meant, "Why do you have to grow up so fast?" I gave her a big hug, barely able to conceal my excitement. I thanked her a dozen times before I finally left, Lyra following close behind me. "Call me when you're on your way home!" Mom called before I closed the door. I let out a content sigh as I looked up at the sky, daydreaming about all the adventures me and Petrie would have together. I didn't move until Lyra tackled me, pulling me out of my dreams. We walked together to the route, where the professor was still standing, leaning against a nearby tree. The professor gave me his number and said,

"Call me if you have any trouble." Then he lied down in the shadow of the tree's branches, quickly falling asleep. Lyra giggled.

"He snores pretty loud, doesn't he?" She noted, then turned to look at me as she said, "Here, these should come in handy. Sorry it's not very many, but you should have enough for now." She handed me five empty Pokeballs. I smiled as I thought about what kind of Pokémon I might find.

"Thanks Lyra," I said, "I'll be sure to put them to good use." She gave me a friendly hug and said goodbye, then knelt down next to Petrie and ruffled his fur. Petrie didn't seem to want to part from Lyra. Whenever she took her hand away Petrie whined, shoving his head back into her palm. Eventually I had to pick him up and restrain him as Lyra waved and headed back to town.

"Qui, quill!" Called Petrie, as if he was telling Lyra to come back.

"Don't be silly, Petrie." I told him, patting his head gently. "We'll see her again soon. Mr. Pokémon's house can't be that far." I set down the silly cyndaquil and set off, my Pokémon following close at my heels. I walked slowly, savoring every moment. For the first time in my life, I was free!





Chapter 3- Mr. Pokémon
My heart was pounding with excitement. I felt like I was in a whole new world. This was so much different than staying cooped up in the town. I was free to do what I wanted to! No longer did I have my mom at my side telling me what I can and can't do. I breathed in the cool afternoon air, stepping into the tall grass that grew all around the route. Suddenly I felt something on my foot. I looked down to see a little Pokémon nibbling on my shoe- it was a fluffy sentret.

"Awww," I said, "What a cute little thing! Let's catch it, Petrie! It can be part of our team!" Both of the Pokémon looked excited to battle.

"QUILL!" Cried Petrie as if making a cute battle cry.

"Petrie, use Tackle!" I commanded, and he did as I told him to, knocking the poor sentret back a few feet. It didn't seem to mind that much, although I could tell Petrie had hurt it. The wild Pokémon then sprang up on its tail and charged at Petrie, scratching at him with its claws. Petrie looked a bit stunned at first, as if he wasn't sure what had just happened. It was probably just because this was his first battle and he had never been attacked before, but I couldn't help but find his confusion a bit amusing. It didn't take him long to snap out of it though, and soon he was charging at the sentret again, hitting it with a hard blow. The Pokémon was knocked back again, but this time it didn't look too happy when it got up. Its HP must have gone down. I watched it throw one more attack at Petrie, but he dodged out of the way, causing the sentret to trip and fall face-first on the ground. Petrie was about to attack from behind when I said,

"Hold on, Petrie. I've got it from here." I threw a Pokéball at the fuzzy thing, and it was caught instantly.

"QUILLY!" Exclaimed Petrie in triumph. I have to admit, I felt pretty triumphant myself.

"Good job, Petrie! We got it!" I said, reaching down to give my Pokémon a high-five. We had just caught our first Pokémon! I was glad Lyra had given me those Pokeballs. I couldn't have caught Fuzzy without them.

I continued on my way, meeting all kinds of new people. Petrie liked saying hi to all the girls we passed, and they all smiled back at him, some of them petting his soft head. Everyone seemed to love Petrie, and I couldn't blame them. He was so cute, trotting along behind me. It wasn't long before we ran into another Pokémon- a pidgey. This one didn't seem to like the idea of a fight, and used Sand Attack more than anything. It wasn't too hard to catch her. She seemed pretty willing to be caught, and didn't even mind that I gave her such a silly, unimaginative name. Of course, I thought the name Feathers suited her quite well, but I couldn't deny it would sound ridiculous if anyone else used it. By the time I got to Cherrygrove City, I had four Pokémon in my party- Petrie, Feathers, Fuzzy, and another sentret I named Fluffy. I guess it's a good thing Pokémon don't really care what you name them.

The city was huge! Or, at least, it felt huge compared to what I was used to. Buildings lined the paved roads, which were crowded with people. The scent of sweet flowers filled the air, putting me in an almost relaxed mood, despite the excitement that was growing inside me. I had barely taken a step into the city when an old man ran at me at high speed.

"Hello there, son!" I jumped back in surprise.

"Wh- who the heck are you?!" The old man chuckled.

"You're a new trainer, aren't you?"

"Um-"

"I can tell. Ha ha, I remember when I was a rookie like you! Let me give you a little tour." With that he dashed off, leaving me behind where I stood, too shocked to move. The man was quite a while away by the time he realized I wasn't following him. He zipped back, nearly crashing into me before he came to an abrupt stop. "Oh right, I forgot." He said, "You don't have the running shoes, do you?" I gave him a weird look, which obviously showed I had no clue what he was talking about. The old man seemed to find this amusing. "Haha!" He laughed, "I'll try not to go too fast. Just try to keep up!" Then he dashed off again, only sligthly slower. Once he got a fair distance away he stopped and waited for me, being sure not to leave me in the dust. "This is the store," He said, stopping in front of a blue building that was obviously some kind of store. I didn't really listen to what the old man had to say, since everything you need to know about a store is pretty obvious. Then he ran off again, startling me once more. I attempted to keep up with him, and when he stopped again I nearly crashed into him. The rest of his little tour worked the same way, as he would stop abruptly in front of something, rattle off random information on it, then dash off to the next thing. He seemed quite eccentric, and it didn't help that he was running faster than should be physically possible for his short, wobbly legs to move. Eventually he led me to a little house and announced, "This is my house!" He looked quite proud of the little building, although I didn't find it very impressive. "You can stop by here whenever you'd like. Don't even bother to knock! If you ever forget where anything is, come to me and I'll help you find your way. Well, I guess this is the end of our tour! Good luck, young trainer." He shook my hand really hard and went to walk into his house, then looked back at me and exclaimed, "Hold on, I almost forgot!" He took off his shoes and handed them to me saying, "Take these running shoes, they'll help you on your journeys." Hesitantly I took the shoes out of his hands and nearly dropped them when he said, "They're still warm!" I glared at him and instantly he burst out laughing. "I'm just kidding, these are brand-new." Relieved, I checked the tag and found out they were just the right size! I looked up to thank the old man, but he had already slipped into his house without me noticing. I looked down at Petrie, who gave me a confused look as if to ask, "What was that all about?" Patting my Pokémon gently on the head, I said, "come on, Petrie. Let's stop by the Pokecenter before we head out. You could use some rest."

"Quil." He seemed to agree with me.

"Sir? Wake up!" I opened my eyes to find a pink-haired nurse staring right at me. "Morning!" I blinked at her confusedly, obviously half-asleep. She giggled and said, "Your Pokémon are ready for you." I looked around at my surroundings and realized I had fallen asleep on a small sofa in the lobby of the pokecenter. I got up lazily and stretched my arms. Another nurse came into the room with her arms full of Pokeballs- one for each of my Pokémon.

"Here you go!" She said, handing them to me, "Take good care of them!" I let Petrie out of his Pokéball (who instantly tackle-hugged me) and stuck the rest in my bag, then waved to the nurses and left (after tearing Petrie off of one of them).

It didn't take me long to wake up all the way. By the time we left the borders of the town I was my normal hyper self again. I ran down the road, testing out my new running shoes. Petrie hopped along behind me, struggling to keep up with his tiny legs. Suddenly a youngster stepped in front of me and I slid to a stop, nearly crashing into him.

"You can't go any farther until you witness the power of my awesome Rattatta!" He exclaimed, trying to look impressive. I looked down at him, trying to guess at his height. "What's wrong?" He asked mockingly, "Are you scared? Don't worry. Losing isn't that big a deal. You just have to pay me and heal your wimpy Pokémon that were no match for my super cool Pokémon." Petrie started growling angrily and was about to bite a hole in the kid's leg when I caught him.

"Take it easy, Petrie," I said, "He's just trying to show off. Let's settle this in a Pokémon match." The youngster started chuckling, apparently much too sure of himself.

"Prepare for defeat! Go, Rattatta!" The youngster threw his Pokéball, releasing the purple rat Pokémon.

"You got this, Petrie!" I said to my own Pokémon, sending him out on the battlefield.

"Rattatta, use tackle!" The youngster's Pokémon charged at Petrie, landing a blow that made him stagger but didn't do too much damage. The Rattatta backed up, waiting for its next order. "Rattatta, use-"

"Get him, Petrie!" My Pokémon let out a battle cry as he pounded the rat, leaving him scratched and bruised. The youngster stood silent, apparently stunned at the ammount of damage Petrie inflicted on his Pokémon. I could have just won the match then and went on my way, but I let the youngster get himself together and take his next move.

"S-scratch!" Petrie tried to dodge but was skimmed by the Rattatta's sharp claws. He retalliated by tackling the rat, knocking him hard against a tree. The match was over.

The youngster stood stunned for a few seconds, then ran to his unconscious Pokémon and picked him up gently.

"W...We weren't strong enough."

"sorry about that." I apologized, feeling kind of bad for leaving his Pokémon a mess.

"No, it's my fault," He responded, "I haven't trained him enough. Maybe he needs to learn new moves. Hey, why don't we exchange numbers? When we get stronger, I'll call you and we can battle again!"

"Um...Sure!" I wasn't used to random people asking for my number, but I figured it would be nice to have a battle every now and then. The young boy pulled out his PokeGear excitedly and we gave each other our numbers.

"Thanks a lot!" He said, "I promise we'll get stronger, and maybe we'll beat you one day!" I gave him a reassuring smile and asked,

"Do you want me to help you take your rattatta to the Pokémon Center?"

"No thanks," He answered, "my Pokémon is my own responsibility. See you around!"

"Yeah!" I waved goodbye and went on my way, feeling important after my first victory against another trainer. I met more youngsters on the road, all of them carrying their own rattatta and certain that they would defeat me and Petrie. We beat all of them without a problem, making both of us feel strong and confident. Before long, we had made it to Mr.Pokémon's house! In a burst of excitement, I dashed to the small house, stopping at the door to let Petrie catch up with me. "This is it, Petrie!" I told him, opening the door an stepping inside. There wasn't much to look at; just a small bookshelf and a table, where an old man was sitting messing with a basket. I decided that must be him, so I went over to talk to him, suddenly nervous. "Umm... Excuse me..." The old man turned around, and the moment he saw me his face lit up as if I was his grandson who was visiting him for the first time in years.

"Hello, young man!" He exclaimed, "It's so nice to have a visitor!" Suddenly I realized this must not be Mr.Pokémon, and he confirmed my suspicion when he explained, "A lot of people come here thinking this is Mr.Pokémon's house, but you came to see me, right?" Not wanting to hurt the old man's feelings, I replied,

"Uh... Yeah, that's right!" The old man's smile just got brighter as he responded,

"What a kind-hearted boy! Here, let me give you a gift. I think you'll find it useful." He handed me the basket that he had been fiddling with, and I reluctantly took it. "It's an apricorn box," He explained, "You can collect apricorns in it, like the one growing outside of my house. Apricorn trees sprout every day, so be sure to collect them as much as you can!" I didn't see the benefit in collecting nuts, but I gave the apricorn man a polite nod and thanked him for the gift. He tried to start up a conversation with me, obviously desperate for some company, but I told him I had to be on my way and promised to come back and visit again. My spirits were slightly crushed by the whole situation, but I didn't let a silly mistake ruin my day. I investigated the small tree next to the old man's house, and found a blue apricorn in its branches.

"Look Petrie," I said, "that's what the old man was talking about." Petrie let out an excited call and tried to shake the tree with his tiny paws. I chuckled and helped him shake it until the apricorn fell out of the tree, hitting my head with a 'thunk' and falling onto the ground. "ow!" I rubbed my sore head while Petrie laughed at me and picked up the apricorn. He handed it to me happily and I put it in the basket, which I then shoved in my bag and promptly forgot about. "Ok Petrie, let's go! To Mr.Pokémon's house!" I pointed energetically in the direction we were headed and marched off, Petrie walking along next to me, a cheery hop in his step. We walked down a narrow path full of tall grass and saw another house not far off. "Do you think that's Mr.Pokémon's house?" I asked Petrie. He seemed pretty confident it was, but I wasn't quite sure. When we got to the house, I opened the door a crack and peeked inside. It was bigger than the house I had thought was Mr.Pokémon's house before, and the walls were lined with bookshelves and cases. I opened the door a little wider, sticking one foot inside. Two men were talking at the table, each of them holding a fancy little teacup that didn't look like it came from Johto. One of them saw me standing in the doorway and set down his teacup, giving me a friendly smile. The other man looked in the direction the first was looking, and when he saw me both men stood up almost in unison, as if they had planned it that way.

"Welcome to my house." The first man said, walking towards me and shaking my hand. "My name is Mr.Pokémon. Professor Elm sent you, correct?" He would have seemed menacingly professional if he wasn't beaming with excitement and wearing an odd, miss-matched outfit. I nodded my head, and Mr.Pokémon signaled to the other man as he said,

"I'd like to introduce you to someone. This is Professor Oak, from Pallet Town in the Kanto region." Professor Oak smiled and shook my hand, the same way Mr.Pokémon had.

"I'm very pleased to meet you, young trainer. Professor Elm has told me very much about you. Anakin, is it?" I couldn't respond. Everyone in Johto knew who Professor Oak was, but I had never seen him in person. To think that the famous creator of the Pokédex wanted to meet me was too good to be true! "I wish I could get to know you a little better," Oak spoke up, "but unfortunately I have a very busy schedule and can't stay for very long. Professor Elm assured me that you're a very trustable fellow, so I decided I would give you a special task. You know about the Pokédex, don't you?"

"Yes, sir." I managed to answer.

"good. Now, as you probably know, the Pokédex hold data about every Pokémon that we know about. Of course, we can't say it holds data for every single Pokémon, because we are continuously discovering new Pokémon. In fact, we don't even know everything about many of the Pokémon we have already discovered. I am currently doing research on these different Pokémon, and as part of my research, I would like you to fill up a Pokédex by catching one of every Pokémon that we currently know about."

"You're gonna give me a Pokédex? For real?"

"Only if you help me with my research."

"Of course! I'd love to help! I'm gonna become the best Pokémon trainer ever, and catch them all!" I couldn't contain my excitement. Professor Oak, the most famous Pokémon Professor in the world, was entrusting me to help with his research! Not only that, but he was asking me to do something I was planning on doing anyway- catching every Pokémon that's ever been discovered! "You can count on me, Professor!" I assured him, ready to sprint out the door and start working right away.

"Alright, here's your Pokédex. Take good care of it." He handed me a shiny red box that wasn't much bigger than my PokeGear. I took it carefully out of his hands, treating it like a sacred object. I looked gratefully up at the professor, who said, "I'm counting on you, Anakin." Then he gave Mr.Pokémon a little nod and walked out the door. When I had finished fan-girling over my encounter with Professor Oak, Mr.Pokémon called me back to his attention. He pulled a large Pokémon egg out of one of the cases against the wall and showed it to me.

"This is the egg I was telling Professor Elm about. I'm always fascinated by eggs, but I've never seen one like this before. It must belong to a very rare type of Pokémon. Can I trust you to bring it safely back to the Professor?"

"Yes, sir!" I solluted him as if he was some kind of officer, and surprisingly he solluted back, being careful not to drop the egg in his hands. He transferred it to my arms with every bit of care, as if he was handing me a baby. "You can count on me, Mr.Pokémon," I assured him, "your precious egg is safe in my hands." He gave me a confident smile and sent me on my way, carrying the large egg in my arms. Petrie, who had been waiting outside, stared at the egg curiously the whole way. "I wonder what's inside it," I told him, "wouldn't it be cool if the Professor let us keep it? Then we could hatch it on our own and whatever's inside it could be part of our team. I bet it's something super rare."

"Quil, quil!" Petrie seemed to be just as excited as I was.