Chapter One
"Follow Your Own Dreams."
"Hey, it's a Pidgey! Let's go, Penny!" Hoshi excitedly yelled.
A Meowth shot out of a pokeball.
"Scratch Attack now! she yelled.
Penny scratched at the Pidgey.
The Pidgey used Sand Attack. Penny's accuracy fell.
"Use Scratch Attack, again!" she yelled.
Penny scratched at Pidgey, but missed.
The Pidgey used Sand Attack. The attack missed.
"Use your Growl Attack!" she called out to Penny.
Penny Growled at the Pidgey. The Pidgey's Attack decreased.
Pidgey used Gust Attack and left Penny staggering.
"Penny! Pull yourself together! Use Scratch Attack again!" she yelled.
Penny Scratched at the Pidgey again. The blow knocked Pidgey off its feet and left it dazed.
Hoshi threw a pokeball at Pidgey and it was transported into the pokeball. She watched as the pokeball shook for a few seconds, then stopped.
"All right! We finally got a Pidgey!" she yelled in triumph. "With the Rattata that I caught two weeks ago while on vacation, that makes three pokemon," she said.
"Meowth," Penny replied, purring.
"That was a great fight, Penny," Hoshi said, smiling.
"Meowth," Penny said, half closing her eyes and laying down on the ground to rest.
Hoshi laughed. "Penny, you look like you're sleeping," she said.
Penny just looked at her.
Hoshi Kitamura had dreamed of being a pokemon master for the last four years ever since she was ten. Her parents had given her Penny several years ago. She didn't tell her parents the way that she felt because she knew that they wouldn't understand. Even though they were a little on the strict side, she still cared about them. She liked pokemon but her favorites were Clefairy, Ponyta, Eevee, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Meowth, Abra, Charmander, Sandshrew, and Vulpix.
Hey Penny. Since it's such a nice day, let's just sit here for awhile and enjoy the sunshine and the nice weather," Hoshi said, sitting down under a tree.
Penny meowed in agreement.
Hoshi laughed again.
They started watching the clouds slowly drift though the sky, looking for shapes in the clouds. Both of them were lost in their daydreams.
"Vermillion City sure is a nice place to live," she told Penny as they watched the clouds.
"Meowth," Penny said.
A couple of hours later.
Hoshi happened to glance at her watch. The time was 6:30 PM.
"Oh no, we've to get on home. I've just missed supper time at home. Now I'm going to have to eat a cold meal. My parents have this rule that you be on time for meals or you have to eat it cold. Cheese pizza and breadsticks were on the menu for tonight. Bah! I don't like cold cheese pizza and breadsticks," she said to Penny, as she made a face at the thought of cold pizza and breadsticks. "Penny, return," she said.
Penny was recalled.
Hoshi took off running for home. She reached her house about fifteen minutes later, and went in the door. Her parents were in the living room relaxing as they read the newspaper.
Her parents put the paper down.
"Well look who finally decided to show up," her dad said.
"This is the fourth time this week that you've been late for supper," her mom said.
"You know the rule. Be on time for meals or eat them cold," her dad reminded her.
"I know, I know," Hoshi said as she went into the kitchen to eat cold pizza and breadsticks. She grimaced at the plate of cold food in front of her.
Half an hour later.
"Ok, Hoshi. Where have you been?" her mom asked.
"Well, I.... Uh," Hoshi said.
"There can only be one explanation for this," her dad said.
What is it?" Hoshi asked.
"You don't mean...." her mom said.
"Hoshi's been running around with the wrong crowd," her dad replied.
"The wrong crowd?" her mom asked.
"That crowd is nothing but trouble," her dad said.
"Maybe we should send Hoshi to the Academy in Harper City," her mom said.
'Oh no, not the Harper City idea again!' Hoshi groaned to herself, thinking back to the time when she had asked for a pokemon poster for her seventh or eighth birthday. Her parents bought her that stupid board game about knowledge and not the poster that she really wanted. She hid her disappointment over not getting a pokemon poster that day. Later that day when her parents weren't looking, she stuffed the board game in the very back of her closet. It was probably still there, unopened. 'How can I make them see what I want?' Hoshi asked herself.
"Now just a minute," Hoshi said, picking up her open backpack. As she shifted her backpack in her arms, three pokeballs fell out.
"Hoshi, what is the meaning of this?" her dad asked.
"I want to be a pokemon trainer," Hoshi said as she picked up her pokeballs.
"Absolutely not. That's out of the question," her mom exclaimed.
"I'm not your little schoolar! I want to be a pokemon trainer, not a schoolar!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"But just think of the interesting things that you can learn by going to Harper City," her dad said.
"Listen to me!" Hoshi said. "All my my life, you've been pushing me to be what you want me to be!" she exclaimed, starting to get mad.
"Hoshi. Don't talk to us like that," her mom said.
"I don't care! I don't want to go the Academy in Harper City! I've never been there and I have no interest in going there, either! It sounds like a dull and boring place to me!" she shouted at her parents.
"Hoshi...." her dad started to say.
"What about what I want? Don't destroy my dreams. You've.... you've forgotten what it's like to a kid! You don't understand me!" she shouted at her parents as the tears started rolling down her face. She fled to her room where she slammed the door and flopped down on her bed crying. After awhile, she fell asleep.
"Hoshi!" her mom called after her as Hoshi ran out of the room. But Hoshi didn't answer. Her parents exchanged worried looks as Hoshi ran to her room.
A few days later in the same field as before.
Hoshi was walking through the field toward town with Penny in her arms when she saw a bunch of girls heading her way.
"Where are you going with that stupid looking hairball?" one girl, who looked to be about eleven and seemed to be the leader of the group, exclaimed with a sneer on her face.
"Is that a dust mop or something?" another girl said.
Penny jumped out of Hoshi's arms and got into a fighting stance. Her fur was all puffed out.
"That is like so NOT cute!" another girl exclaimed.
"That dumb furball of yours looks really pathetic," the first girl said.
All of the bullies burst out laughing at their own pathetic jokes.
Hoshi started to get angry at the rude comments the bullies were making about Penny. She picked up Penny and started to walk away from them.
"Hey you! Nobody walks away from me, Ericka, while I'm talking to them!" the eleven year old shouted in a rude voice.
"My name is Hoshi and I don't appreciate being called, hey you," Hoshi said.
Unknown to any of them, Mr. Martin, a friend of the Kitamura family and his Pidgeot, were watching the upcoming battle from behind some nearby bushes where they had been sitting at. He and his Pidgeot had been out for a walk when they saw the bullies approach Hoshi. They happened to overhear the conversation between Hoshi and the bullies.
But neither Hoshi nor the bullies noticed Mr. Martin and his Pidgeot.
Penny could take it no more. She leaped out of Hoshi's arms with her claws out at Ericka. Her claws sunk into Ericka's left shoulder.
Ericka shook her off.
"Ouch!" she yelled. "You're both going to pay for that!" Ericka continued, with an evil smile on her face. She took out a pokeball. "Grimer, I choose you! Pokeball, go!" she called out. A large Grimer took form.
"Grimer," it said.
"Come on, Hoshi. Stand up to them. Don't let them push you around. I know you can do it," Mr. Martin whispered to himself.
"And your Grimer is picture perfect? Looks like a giant wad of chewed gum, not a pokemon, to me," Hoshi said.
Ericka's mouth dropped open.
"Close your mouth, Ericka. You look like you're catching Venonats," one of her companions said, laughing.
Ericka turned to her friend with an angry look in her eyes. "You shut that stinking cake hole of yours! If and when, I want your opinions, I'll ask you for them!" she screamed at her friend. Ericka turned back to Hoshi and said "Heh, Grimer may not be pretty, but he sure can fight,"
Hoshi was just about to choose Pidgey to fight when Meowth leaped to battle with Grimer.
"No Penny. Let Pidgey fight. Pidgey can handle this," she told Meowth.
Penny turned around and gave her a look of fierce determination that said "Let me fight. I can handle this,"
"Ok, Penny. Go for it," Hoshi said.
"Grimer, Disable Attack now!' Ericka yelled.
Meowth's Growl Attack was disabled.
"Scratch Attack, Meowth!" Hoshi yelled.
Penny Scratched at Grimer.
"Pound Attack, Grimer!" Ericka yelled.
Grimer pounded Meowth.
Penny meowed in pain but seemed determined to finish the fight.
"Use your Scratch Attack, Penny!" Hoshi yelled.
Penny leapt at Grimer with her claws out.
"Tackle it, Grimer!" Ericka called.
Grimer counter-attacked, tackling Penny in mid air.
Penny flew through the air and fell to the ground, bruised and battered.
"Oh no. Not Penny. I sure hope you have other pokemon, Hoshi," Mr Martin said to himself, as his Pidgeot watched the battle.
"Penny! No!" Hoshi screamed out as she saw Meowth trying to get up to fight again in spite of her injuries. She took out another pokeball and said "I choose you, Pidgey!'
Pidgey flew out of the pokeball.
"Pidgey!" it squawked.
"Sand Attack, Pidgey!" Hoshi yelled.
Pidgey flapped its wings and sent a cloud of sand blowing into Grimer's face.
"Ugh! I can't see!" Ericka, who happened to be behind Grimer, exclaimed, coughing. "Tackle it, Grimer!" she yelled.
But Grimer just stood there rubbing its eyes, which were full of sand.
"What's wrong with you, Grimer?! I said tackle it, not just stand there like an idiot!" Ericka screamed at Grimer.
"Gust Attack!" Hoshi shouted.
Pidgey created a blast of wind which sent Grimer reeling back toward Ericka.
Ericka just stood there in surprise as she pondered about her loss. Grimer was laying at her feet.
"Return, Pidgey!" Hoshi yelled.
Pidgey was recalled.
"You should treat your pokemon better. A happy pokemon will fight better then an unhappy pokemon," Hoshi told Ericka.
"Alright, Hoshi! You did it. You taught those bullies a lesson. I knew you could do it!" Mr. Martin said as he cheered to himself for Hoshi's victory.
Mr Martin's Pidgeot quietly cawed to itself in happiness at the end of the battle.
Hoshi picked up Penny and started running for the Pokemon Center.
"Hang in there, Penny. You can make it." she said, scared. "I can't lose you, Penny. Not now," she said, worried about Penny.
As she ran off, she could hear Ericka yelling more insults about Penny, but she ignored them.
She reached the Center several minutes later.
"Hi. Can you heal my pokemon?" she asked the nurse behind the counter in the waiting room.
"Oh my. That Meowth looks pretty battered. You got it here just in time," the nurse said as she took Hoshi's pokemon to be healed.
Hoshi sat down and read a magazine while she waited.
Half an hour passed.
The nurse came out with Hoshi's pokemon.
"Your pokemon are going to be fine. Just let Meowth rest for awhile and it will be as good as new," the nurse said.
Mean while.
"Hoshi's late for supper again," her dad said.
"She must be off playing around with her pokemon and wasting time again," her mom replied.
Suddenly, they heard a car pull up outside. A car door slammed.
They went outside to see who it was.
It was Hoshi and Mr. Martin.
"Thanks for the lift, Mr Martin," Hoshi said.
"You're welcome, Hoshi," Mr. Martin said.
"What's going on?" Hoshi's mom said.
"Where have you been?" her dad asked.
"That was a magnificent fight, Hoshi," Mr Martin said.
"Thanks, Mr Martin," Hoshi said.
"Fighting? You were fighting?" her dad exclaimed.
"I can take care of myself," Hoshi said.
"Now just a minute, Mr Kitamura." Mr Martin said. "You should have seen that battle. Hoshi has the makings of a good pokemon trainer if she keeps practing," Mr Martin continued.
Hoshi and Mr. Martin filled them in on her battle.
"I'm fourteen years old and I'm already four years behind on my pokemon training," Hoshi said to her parents.
Hoshi and her parents looked at each other.
"Hoshi's right," her mom said.
"We're sorry, Hoshi. We never should have tried to make you into something that you're not," her dad said.
"We were very wrong to try to make you be what we wanted you to be. We'll try to do a better job of listening to you," her mom said.
"You were right. We had forgotten what it was like to be kids." her parents told her. "We were once pokemon trainers but we got sidetracked before we finished," they continued.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you a couple days ago," Hoshi said.
"You don't have to go to Harper City. If you want to be a pokemon trainer, then go right ahead," her dad told her.
"You mean it? I can be a pokemon trainer?" Hoshi asked in disbelief.
"Sure Hoshi. Reach for the stars if that's what you want," her mom said with a smile.
"You can go see Professor Oak in Pallet Town," her dad said.
"Professor Oak? The pokemon expect?" Hoshi asked.
"The one and only," her mom said.
"But Pallet Town is so far away. How will I get there?" Hoshi asked.
"I'll be glad to lend you my Pidgeot to take you to Pallet Town, Hoshi," Mr Martin said.
"Great! I'm ready to leave!" Hoshi exclaimed.
"Hold on there, buckaroo. It's kind of late for flying to Pallet Town. You can leave in the morning," her mom replied.
Early next morning outside of the Kitamura house.
Things were still kind of tense between Hoshi and her parents as they saw her off on her journey.
"Good luck on your journey, Hoshi," her dad said.
"Do you have everything that you need, Hoshi?" her mom asked.
"Sure do. It's all in my backpack along with my three pokemon," Hoshi replied.
"Show them you stuff, Hoshi," Mr. Martin told her.
"I'll be back someday," she told them.
"Of course you will. You'll have to win a Badge from the leader of the Vermillion City Gym if you want to be a pokemon master," her parents said.
"Time's awasting, Hoshi," Mr Martin said, releasing his Pidgeot.
Hoshi bade everyone one last good-bye before she got on the Pidgeot.
The Pidgeot flapped its mighty wings and took off for Pallet Town.
'Here we go,' Hoshi thought to herself as the Pidgeot rose into the air.
Meanwhile, Ericka had seen Hoshi leave. She was very angry about her loss. "Nobody makes a fool out of me and gets away with it!" Ericka screamed, kicking at pebbles on the ground. She got on a stolen Rhyhorn and followed after Hoshi. Soon, Vermillion City was out of sight.
To Be Continued