Chapter One
The Journey Begins
by Havoc

"When you have completed ninety-five percent of your journey, you are only halfway there."
-Japanese proverb

------

"Sir, you can't keep letting her out like this. You have to remember, she's unbounded. If some other trainer runs across her, there's no mechanism that will keep a poké ball from capturing her."

"I understand. I'll try not to let it happen again. She's not being malicious, she's just curious."

Aurelia watched the conversation between the two people from her seat on the living room couch, guilt and indignation fighting for dominance among her feelings. She felt indignant that the Slateport City police officer was lecturing the man about letting her get captured, as though she would be foolish enough to allow something like that happen. On the other hand, she did feel a little guilty that she had put herself in the situation to make it all happen. What made it worse, at least to her, was that the man pleading her case had known nothing of where she was going to be.

And, like he had said, she was only curious. Aurelia knew that she couldn't go to school, even though she would be four years old next month. She was practically an adult for a Zangoose, for goodness' sake, and at least as mature as all of those human teenagers at Slateport High School. After all, why shouldn't she be allowed to go to school? But, of course, pokémon couldn't go to human schools. Even if Aurelia was technically only half pokémon.

"Just make sure it doesn't happen again," the officer repeated. She looked over at Aurelia. "You stay home and stay out of trouble, young lady. I don't want to see you hanging around the school unaccompanied again."

Aurelia looked down at the floor. "Yes, ma'am," she mumbled. The police officer nodded, unfazed by the fact that Aurelia had responded in human speech. Most people who had heard of Aurelia knew that she was a little different from other Zangoose. But, of course, none of them knew just how different she was.

For all outward appearances, Aurelia looked like any other Zangoose, save for a few minor details. She had the characteristic white fur with red zigzags that her species possessed, and she was of the same basic body type. The main differences were in her height, as she was about six inches taller than the typical Zangoose, and in her eyes. They were very human-like, and not at all like the eyes of a Zangoose, which would normally be red with a vertical black pupil. Aurelia's eyes, in contrast, were white with a brilliant green iris and a black, circular pupil.

And then there was the big difference, the one that explained all of the other differences, but it was one that almost nobody outside of her immediate family knew about. While the human who was now shaking the hand of the Slateport police officer as she prepared to leave was publicly known as Edwin, her owner, his real relationship to her was much different. Edwin was her father.

Her father turned to Aurelia after the police officer departed, his expression stern. "Lia," he said, using the nickname that had been given to her when she was about six months old, and had been unable to pronounce her full name correctly. "What have I told you about wandering around town by yourself? There are laws regarding pokémon in town, you know. We might not like them, but there are consequences when you break them, you know that."

"Yes, Daddy," Aurelia said softly. She couldn't meet his eyes. She hated disappointing her father, even though she thought it was a little unfair.

Growing up had always been hard for Aurelia, especially since she didn't know much about how she had come about. She knew, for example, that she had been born in Veilstone City, in the Sinnoh region. She also knew that shortly after her birth, something had happened that made her family move to Slateport City in Hoenn, where her father had originally been from. But she didn't know what that something had been, because neither her father or mother had told her no matter how many questions she had asked. And, probably like anyone else who knew what she really was, including her parents, she had no idea how she could have been born to a Zangoose and a human. Her father had surmised that it was a fluke in her mother's genetics that made it possible, and Aurelia supposed that it was probably the best explanation.

Aurelia had also felt isolation that made her childhood especially difficult. Because of her Zangoose physiology, she grew into young adulthood very quickly. By the time most human children were just learning how to distinguish between their mother and father, she had learned how to talk. When a human child born the same time as her would be potty-training, she was mature enough to carry on a complicated conversation with an adult. The net effect had been that she had been unable to make very many friends. When she had turned three years old, she had been on the mental and physical level of a fifteen-year-old human. Most children who she had encountered thought of her as a cuddly animal to play with, and she was certainly happy to do that because she happened to like children very much, but the bad side of it was that nearly every human on her maturity level looked at her as just another pokémon without even giving her a chance. Making friends with pokémon wasn't very successful, either. Aurelia was discouraged by how simple they were, and they bored her for the most part. Her father's pokémon were alright, because she had grown up around them, but any other pokémon just didn't really understand her. It sounded bad to say it, but Aurelia knew she was smarter than them, and while she didn't really look down on them, it made it hard to be on their level. In short, Aurelia just didn't fit in with anybody.

That was what made her desperate to leave home, to get away from Slateport City in the hopes that she could have a more interesting life elsewhere. She loved her family very much, but she felt stifled at home.

"What were you thinking?" her father asked her, dragging her out of her thoughts. Aurelia tried to come up with a response, and as she was figuring out how to answer her father's question, her mother came into the room.

"What is happening?"

Aurelia's father turned to her mother. "Lia was up at the school again," he said to her. "A police officer just brought her home, Val."

Aurelia's mother, Valene, sighed heavily. Valene, or Val, as she was called by everyone who knew her, was a much more normal-looking Zangoose than her daughter. She possessed none of the human characteristics of Aurelia, save that she could also speak like a human, having been taught the language by Edwin. Once upon a time, Val had been famous around the world as a show pokémon, and Edwin had been her Coordinator. Aurelia actually admired her mother for her former career, and had a desire to follow in her footsteps somewhat.

Her mother was also very pregnant right now, with her second child. Aurelia's parents had found out a few months after Aurelia's third birthday, and everyone was excited about it, especially Aurelia. She was looking forward to having a baby brother or sister, because it would mean she would have someone at home who was like her.

"Lia, know you can't do that," Val said, speaking in her oddly broken form of English. "How many times Val tell you?"

"I wasn't trying to be bad," Aurelia protested, starting to feel very persecuted. She finally looked up at her parents, trying her hardest not to cry. "I just wanted to have a look. I was trying to see Eric..." She saw a flash of sympathy go across both of her parents' faces when she said that.

Aurelia only had one real friend in the world apart from her family, and he was a human boy named Eric. Currently, Eric was a senior at Slateport High School, and would be graduating at the end of the spring semester, which was in three days. That was why Aurelia had snuck through town to go to the high school. She knew that Eric might be going off to college after he graduated, and if that happened then she would lose contact with her only friend.

"Lia, I get it," Edwin said, sitting down beside his daughter. "I know how lonely you feel here. There's nobody like you in this city. Hell, for all we know, there's nobody like you in the entire world." He put an arm around Aurelia's shoulder. "But when you do things like this, it really scares your mother and I. You're my daughter, but you're still a pokémon, and someone might try to capture you if they see you out there."

"I know...," Aurelia conceded, feeling defeated. "But it's not fair. I don't get to do anything."

"Val know it not fair," her mother said, sitting on her other side and pulling her into a hug. "But way things are."

Sighing, Aurelia relaxed a little in her mother's arms, retreating into her own mind once more. Her imagination was one of the only escapes she had from the real world, which seemed so oppressive to her. For a moment, she could see herself in another time and place, in the sort of thing that she really wanted to do. Aurelia's dream was to become a world-class Pokémon Coordinator, just like her father had been. And she wanted to be something that had never been done before: a self-Coordinator.

Aurelia had learned everything about Pokémon Contests from her mother, through all of the stories that she had been told while growing up. Her mother had taught her how to dance, how to groom herself to look immaculate, and most of all how to utilize her natural attack abilities to create spectacular visual displays. All of this had been unintentional, of course. Valene had never explicitly given her daughter lessons on how to be a show pokémon. Aurelia had merely gleaned information from her stories, and then put it all together on her own. She was sure that, given the chance, she could be just as good as, if not better than, her mother had been.

Aurelia drew away from her mother presently, and stood up. "I'm going to my room," she announced, and began walking that way.

Her parents watched her go. "Val feel sorry for Lia...," Val said, a note of sadness for her daughter in her voice.

"Yeah," Edwin said, scooting over next to her. He planted a kiss on his mate's cheek, and stroked her swollen belly. "She'll feel better in a few hours, once she's gotten over being picked up by the police. I'm sure she's just embarrassed about it."

"Maybe."

------

Once she was in her room, Aurelia felt a little better. Rightly so, she felt more at home there than anywhere else. All of her favorite things were in her room, and she liked to spend a lot of time in there when she wasn't doing anything else. Aurelia's room was done up in pink, as it was her favorite color. Everything was pink, her sheets, her walls, her furniture...everything. Of all the things that were in her room, two were the most dear to Aurelia. The first was her collection of books. Aurelia loved to read. When she was eight months old, her father had sat her down with some picture books and begun to teach her how to read. Aurelia had quickly outgrown the picture books and moved on to harder things, like youth fiction and elementary school textbooks, teaching herself how to write in the process. By the time she was two years old, Aurelia had progressed to adult novels and high school textbooks. The young Zangoose had devoured the information contained within the textbooks, and though she might not know enough to get into college, she certainly knew enough to be reasonably secure in her own intelligence.

The other thing that Aurelia treasured was her mirror. Hung on one wall of her room, opposite from her bed, was a full-length mirror. Sometimes, Aurelia would spend up to an hour looking at herself in the mirror. It was not that Aurelia was stuck-up, quite the opposite actually, but like all young women she worried about her appearance. It was made all the more difficult by the fact that although the human side of her DNA worked on her to make her look slightly different from other Zangoose, she still evaluated her appearance in Zangoose terms.

Aurelia stood in front of her mirror now, turning from side to side and examining her body. She knew she wasn't the best-looking Zangoose in the world, her mother, of course, being much more beautiful than herself in her eyes, but she thought she was, if not attractive, then at least acceptable. At just under five feet tall, she was a little taller than her mother, so she had that going for her. Her physique was a little more human, owing to her father, and she had just a hint of a curve to her hips rather than the strict pear shape that most Zangoose possessed. Aurelia brought her hands up to her head and stroked her ears, brushing down a few errant hairs on them. Her long ears gave her excellent hearing, but they were kind of bothersome when she walked under low-hanging tree branches. She frequently had to comb briars out of her ear fur.

Turning her back to the mirror, she examined her rear. She thought she could stand to lose a few pounds, but she otherwise liked her appearance from behind. Aurelia thought she had a pleasantly plump behind, although she was basing her assumption on her own imagination only. Nobody had ever even gotten close to hitting on her, so she had no way to know if it was pleasing to others or not. She flicked her tail, a nice, long, bushy white thing that was absolute hell to keep tangle-free. Aurelia turned back around for the final point of her self-inspection: her bust. She had much smaller breasts than her mother, although that wasn't saying much for a Zangoose. No female of her species had particularly large breasts when compared to a human woman. In human terms, Aurelia would have been an A cup, whereas her mother fell into the low/middle B range.

All in all, she thought she was alright-looking, but she would've liked to look more like her mother. After all, a Zangoose that looked like her didn't have many prospects for mates. She wasn't really very attracted to normal Zangoose anyway, but when they also weren't attracted to her, well, it was like a slap in the face.

Sighing, Aurelia flopped down on her bed, looking up at the ceiling. If nothing else happened today, she would probably spend most of the evening in her room, except for dinnertime. And then, tomorrow, she would probably go right back out again and look for something to do in the morning. Despite her parents' frequent admonitions that she should remain close to home, Aurelia still liked to explore outside. She had a thorough knowledge of Slateport City, the seaside in the south of the town, and the forests to the north of town. Once, she had even made it as far as the bicycle path running north to Mauville City, and that was nearly a mile and a half past the city limits. That had been a bit too adventurous even for her, though, and she had run home as fast as her legs could carry her when it started to get dark. Her mother had been waiting by the front door for her to return, and she had received her worst punishment ever for that little journey.

Oh, if only there was a way I could get out of here, Aurelia thought to herself, putting her hands behind her head and closing her eyes. I'm sure that if I didn't have to worry about getting captured, I could make a name for myself out there. That would be so wonderful...To finally be able to do what I want to do for a change...

------

A sharp rap on her bedroom door sounded, and Aurelia was jolted awake, nearly rolling off of the edge of her bed in startled surprise. She regained her balance, blinking rapidly to get the sleep out of her eyes, and sat up straight on her bed. Her little excursion earlier in the afternoon had tired her out, and she must have fallen asleep in the middle of daydreaming about the future she desired. Smoothing down her tail, which had bushed out in her fright, she glanced out of her bedroom window. The sky was just starting to show traces of orange, which heralded the approaching evening.

The knock at her door came again. *Aurelia,* her mother called through the door, speaking in pokémon language, which was more comfortable for her. *Eric is here to see you.*

*Oh!* Aurelia said, responding in the same language. She slid off of her bed, and went to her mirror, making sure that she wasn't too disheveled. Must look her best in front of her friend, after all. *Tell him I'll be there in a minute.*

Her mother's footsteps moved away from her door, and faded down the hall. Aurelia checked herself over in the mirror, grabbing a brush from her bedside table to smooth out a few ruffled patches of fur. She always looked a little scruffy when she got out of bed, especially since she wore her fur a little longer than her mother did. The younger Zangoose liked the way that her fur felt when it was an inch or two longer than normal; it was very fluffy and soft.

Five minutes had actually passed, rather than one, when she opened her bedroom door and walked down the hall to the living room. Eric was waiting there, talking to her mother while her father was in the kitchen, getting started on preparing dinner.

Eric was an eighteen-year-old human, and he had sort of a goofy appearance that led one to believe that he was the kind of guy who joked around a lot and took very little about life seriously. His ears were a little larger than normal, but not overly so, and he was quite a bit taller than Aurelia; he stood almost six feet tall. When he and Aurelia walked beside each other, he quite literally dwarfed her. He had dark brown hair, blue eyes, and a friendly, but rather sardonic, smile. Sometimes, people had trouble telling if he was truly smiling or if he was just humoring them.

His appearance did not match his actual personality one bit, however, and everyone who truly knew Eric was aware of this. Eric did have a good sense of humor, but he also took his studies and his life seriously. He generally knew what he wanted to do, how to do it, and what to do with the results. In fact, Aurelia was the more adventurous of the two, and she often had to push Eric into doing something that she thought would be fun, but that he did not always think was a good idea. But he was a true friend and a caring person, and he always stuck with her if they got into trouble. They lived in the same neighborhood, in fact Eric's house was just a few blocks down from where her parents' house stood, but Eric lived with just his mother. His father had divorced her when Eric had been in elementary school, and now lived many miles away in Sunyshore City, in Sinnoh.

"Hey," Eric said to Aurelia when he saw her. He stood up as Aurelia came over to him, and ruffled her head like he always did. She laughed and gave him a friendly hug. The image was a rather humorous one, since the top of her head barely reached the bottom of his chest, not counting her ears.

"Hey, back," Aurelia said, taking a step back from him.

"I, uh, saw you at school today," Eric said, smirking. He scratched the side of his head. "I also saw when the lady cop came and hauled you off. People were asking each other what that was all about. I said it must have been some stray pokémon who was looking for its master."

Aurelia ignored the glare that her mother was sending her way, and rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed. "Yeah...," she said, a blush showing through white fur on her cheeks. "I was just, you know, having a look around, and I guess I hung around in one spot for too long." She took her hand away from her head, and plucked a little piece of fuzz from her arm. "So, did you want to go for a walk or something?"

Eric shrugged. "Sure," he said amiably. "I have a few more exams I need to study for later, but I still have a bunch of free time now that it's almost over. Where to? The beach?"

"Sounds great!" Aurelia said. Belatedly, she looked at her mother, to see if it was okay for her to go. She had quite forgotten that her mother was probably still a bit mad at her.

Val rolled her eyes once, and hissed a little. "Lia can go," she said, sounding reluctant. "But you back before dark."

Aurelia nodded, giving her mother a little hug, and then she and Eric started for the door. Before they got out, her father leaned around the dividing wall between the living room and the kitchen, and called to her.

"Lia, you stick close to Eric, alright?" Edwin warned her. He pointed a wooden spoon at her as though it were a lecturer's pointer. "I don't want the police bringing you back home again, understand?"

------

The walk through town was rather uneventful, which was a change from when Aurelia usually walked through town. Of course, those times she was unaccompanied, and an apparently wild Zangoose strolling down the main thoroughfare tended to draw attention. When she was with Eric, everyone just assumed that she belonged to him, and nobody paid them a bit of mind. They arrived at the harbor as the sun had just touched the horizon and made their way along the docks to the beach area, which was deserted this late in the afternoon.

"Your dad sure is protective," Eric said, taking a seat on one of the lounge chairs that was laid out along the beach. Though there were few people who knew that Edwin was Aurelia's father, Eric was one who did. Aurelia had told him, knowing that he would keep it a secret. Her parents had been horrified when they'd found out that she'd done that, but they had come to trust Eric with the information. Aurelia's father had even confided in her that it was a relief for someone nearby to know.

"I know," Aurelia said, sighing. She sat down on the chair nearest Eric's and looked out at the sea, and the sunset that was making the waves sparkle. "I wish he and Mom weren't so fussy about me."

"They just care about you, that's all," Eric said reasonably. "My mom gets the same way about me."

"I guess so," Aurelia conceded, drawing her knees up to her chin and putting her arms around her legs.

The pair were quiet for a bit, listening to the waves and the calls of a flock of Wingulls which were flying around above them, hoping that the two beachgoers had come with a loaf of stale bread for them to peck at.

Aurelia broke the silence after a bit. "So, you're graduating in a few days," she said. "All done with high school, right?" She hoped that she was doing a good job of hiding the dread that she was feeling inside. Aurelia didn't want Eric to go away after he graduated, but she was sure that he had ambitions, and that probably meant that he was going to be leaving, if not now, then eventually.

"Yep," Eric said, brushing at his brown hair with one hand as an ocean breeze swept over them. "About time, too. I've been waiting for this for years."

The Zangoose's heart sank. "Going away to college, then?" she asked, her voice forlorn.

Eric looked over at her, surprise evident in his expression. "College?" he said, sounding shocked. "No way!"

"What?"

"Are you kidding?" Eric asked, sounding as though he wanted to laugh. "I'm not going to college. This is my big chance! I'm going off to become a Pokémon Trainer."

The leap that Aurelia's heart had made quickly turned back into a spiraling nosedive. "Oh," she said, her tail flopping. "A Pokémon Trainer."

"You bet," her human friend said enthusiastically, not noticing the change in Aurelia's demeanor.

"But...I thought your mother told you that she didn't want you to do that," Aurelia said. She thought back to everything that she knew about Eric's mother, everything that Eric had told her about her. "Didn't she say that she forbade you to become a Pokémon Trainer?"

Eric waved a hand at her. "That was before," he said. "I kept pestering her about it, and she finally agreed that as long as I took a visit to Rustboro University and had a look around, I could make my own decision when I graduate from high school. So, I did, and I decided that I still want to be a trainer."

Aurelia felt even worse than when she thought Eric was going to be going off to college. At least then he would have visited home every once in a while, and she would be able to see him then. If he was going to become a Pokémon Trainer, on the other hand, he would always be away.

"It's going to be great," Eric said, pressing on in his excitement. "I'll get to travel the whole world! Not just Rustboro City, but Verdanturf and Littleroot, too. Mauville, Dewford, Fallarbor...all the cities in Hoenn! And of course I'll get to go to all the big cities in the other regions, too. Viridian City, Goldenrod City, Hearthome...Lia?" Eric stopped his litany of the major locations in the world, looking at his Zangoose friend curiously. "What's up? You okay?"

Aurelia had a look of intense concentration on her face, not paying attention to what Eric was saying. A flash of inspiration had just come over her, and her mind was racing furiously as she thought about it with all her might. Eric was going to be a Pokémon Trainer, and he would be traveling the world. Aurelia wanted to be a Pokémon Coordinator, and she had a friend who was going to be a Pokémon Trainer and would be traveling the world. She, Aurelia...and he, Eric...Could it...Would it even be possible?

"Lia," Eric pressed, shaking her shoulder. "It's starting to get dark, and your mom said-"

"Eric!" Aurelia suddenly shouted, whipping her head around to look at him. All of her fur was standing on end, and her ears were standing straight up on her head, so excited she was. "An idea, an idea! I have a wonderful idea!"

Eric looked completely taken aback by the intensity with which she was looking at him. "Er...an idea?" he asked. "What is it?"

"Okay, it might seem crazy," Aurelia said. She was fighting to contain herself, sure that this was the answer to all of her prayers, concerns, and frustrations. "But hear me out..."

------

Dinner was on the table, and Edwin and Val were looking at the clock, waiting for their daughter to come home. In about five minutes, she was going to be late, and neither of them really had any desire to punish her yet again. It seemed to do no good, and only made them all mad at each other for a few hours when it happened. So they both waited and prayed that she would be back in time, so that punishment would not be necessary.

The door opened, and human and Zangoose both breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm back!" Aurelia called from the front door. She walked into the dining area, Eric trailing a few steps behind her. "Sorry I'm late...We lost track of time!"

"You're fine," her father said. He looked at Eric. "Hey, Eric. Staying for dinner?"

"Uh, sure," Eric said. "If it's not an imposition."

Val smiled. "Eric is welcome to stay." She got up and brought place settings over for Eric, making him a spot at the table. Everyone sat down, and while dinner was going on the conversation remained light and casual. Aurelia and Eric kept looking at each other during the meal, each silently bidding the other to say something, but neither of them particularly eager to speak about what they had planned to. Like most conspiracies, when the time came to clue in other people on the plans, the actors were reluctant to do so, no matter how much the plans meant to them.

Finally, all of the food had been eaten, and there was no longer any convenient excuse to delay. Besides that, Aurelia could tell that her parents knew that something was up, and it was just a matter of who prompted whom to speak first. She elected herself to be the one to broach the subject, and looked down the table at her parents.

"Mom, Daddy," she began, trying to calm her nerves by playing with her tail underneath the table. "There's something Eric and I need to talk to you about." Eric cleared his throat awkwardly and didn't seem to be able to decide where he should be looking.

Edwin and Val looked at each other. "What is it?" Edwin said, his expression neutral. Val looked a little more apprehensive than her mate. She had always had a bit of a sixth sense when it came to her daughter, and so she knew when something that she might not like was going to happen. Aurelia knew that this was going to be one of those times.

"Well, Eric told me that he's going to be a Pokémon Trainer after he graduates from high school this week," Aurelia explained, deciding that the best approach would be to just go straight into it.

"Is that so?" her father asked, looking at Eric. "Congratulations, Eric. That sounds like a fine choice. I never regretted that decision, that's for sure."

"Thanks," Eric said, and Aurelia thanked her lucky stars that he managed to smile. His awkward expression had been adding to the tension of the situation.

"But what that have to do with Lia?" Val asked, staring at her daughter. Aurelia marveled at how her mother seemed to know exactly what was going on, no matter what Aurelia said or did.

Aurelia took a deep breath. "You guys know that I've never really liked it here at home," she said. "I mean, I love you," she hastened to add, "but I'm not happy here. I can't do anything, and I know that as long as I'm stuck here I'll never get to do what I really want to do.

"So...This is hard to say...So, since Eric will be leaving the city to travel around the world, I thought that..." Here she looked down at her lap, preparing herself for the storm. "I could be his first pokémon, and go with him." She closed her eyes.

"No!" both of her parents shouted at the same time.

"You're not old enough for that kind of thing!" her father said, standing up.

"Lia cannot be an owned pokémon!" Val objected, her head turning rapidly between Eric and her daughter. "Val won't have that for her child!"

Aurelia felt a flash of indignation. "I'm almost four!" she said shrilly. "I'm an adult, and I can make my own decisions!"

"It's not like I'd own Lia, really," Eric added, speaking up in Aurelia's defense. "I mean, yeah, officially, I would. But I wouldn't be like an owner to her. For one thing, she'd kill me if I tried, and for another thing, I wouldn't do that to a friend like her."

Edwin ignored Eric, pounding his hand on the table. "Aurelia, this is not a matter to be questioned!" he asserted, making his voice firm. "You can't-"

Aurelia stood up as well, spitting her father with a harsh glare. "Don't tell me what I can and can't do!" she insisted, her voice becoming angry. "You've been telling me that my whole life! It's always 'you can't do this' or 'you mustn't do that!' It's always been about what you want for me. Well, what about what I want for me?"

Val also rose from her seat. "Val and Edwin talk with Lia," she said, bringing herself back down to a calm level. "Eric will wait here." She took her daughter's arm and gently but forcefully led her from the dining area into the living room, motioning her mate to follow. When they were in there, and Eric couldn't hear what they were saying, they all sat down. Aurelia was looking at her parents apprehensively, but she tried to calm herself down.

"Now," Val said. "Why does Lia want this?"

Aurelia was surprised at her mother's sudden composure. When the idea of going with Eric had first occurred to her, she had expected her mother to be the most against it, but it looked as though she was willing to be reasonable.

She thought for a moment of how best to phrase her reasoning. "It's like I said before," the younger Zangoose said. "I don't feel right here at home. I don't fit in with the humans, or with any other pokémon...I don't even fit in all that well with your or Daddy." Aurelia saw her father open his mouth to say something, but her mother squeezed his arm, and he closed his mouth again. "Whenever I try to do something, I'm held back by some silly law, or by you, or by my own discomfort here. I hate how everyone tells me I can't do anything. If I go with Eric, then maybe I can have the chance to do what I want to do, for a change."

"And what exactly is it that you want to do?" Edwin asked.

Aurelia looked at her father. "I...want to be a Pokémon Coordinator, Daddy. Like you used to be." Both of her parents looked surprised by her answer, and she continued explaining. "But I also want to be a show pokémon, like Mom used to be. Maybe you think it sounds silly, but I want to be a self-Coordinator.

"If I can go with Eric, and be his first pokémon, then I can do it. Eric and I can work together. I can fight for him, and be a part of his team, and he can help me train for Pokémon Contests. When we get into a contest, Eric can stand on the sidelines and act like he's giving me commands, but I can really be the one doing all of the work." She was getting more excited as she talked about it. "Don't you see? It can really, really work! And I can finally do the one thing I've always dreamed about!

"Besides..." She looked down a little. "Eric is my only friend. If he goes away, I'll be all alone again." Her ears lowered flat against her head just thinking about that idea. "I want to go with him so I won't lose him as a friend."

Her parents looked at each other. Aurelia held her breath.

"You're really serious about this?" her father asked, his face still looking reluctant. "This isn't just something you've decided on impulse, is it? You're really, truly serious?"

"Yes, Daddy," Aurelia said. Her ears raised in tentative excitement.

Her mother was the next to speak up. "Eric agreed to this?" Val inquired. "Lia is not keeping things from him?"

Aurelia shook her head. "Eric knows everything," she affirmed. "We came up with the whole plan together, while we were out earlier. A lot of it was his idea, but I came up with the basic idea."

Val and Edwin took each other's hand, and then turned and hugged each other. Val tried to keep from crying, but she wasn't entirely successful. A few tears managed to make their way out of her eyes, soaking into her mate's shirt. Edwin stroked her head, trying to soothe her, at the same time feeling similar emotions coursing through his head. His little girl, who they had worked so hard to protect since the awful event that forced them to move to Hoenn, wanted to leave their protection and strike out on her own. True, she would have her friend with her to help her, but it wasn't the same as being able to watch over her himself. He didn't want to let her go, but he also recognized that if she was going to be happy she would have to be allowed to finally make her own decisions.

Edwin let go of Val, and straightened up, turning his attention back to his daughter, who was looking at him expectantly. "Alright, Aurelia," he said, his voice slightly hoarse. "If this is really what you want, and you're serious about it...then I guess your mother and I have no choice but to let you go."

Aurelia could not hold back the triumphant whoop of joy that erupted from her lips, and she jumped up from her seat. "Thank you, thank you!" she cried, hugging both of her parents tightly. She almost couldn't believe that they had said yes, and she was full of excitement, happiness, and gratitude. Giving them both her happiest smile, she practically ran out of the living room, bursting into the dining room to give Eric the good news.

Watching her hurry away to her friend, Edwin and Val couldn't help but also feel happy for their daughter. While they probably would never stop worrying about her, the fact that she had asserted her own will and convinced them to let her go made them proud. They felt certain that, no matter what happened after this, she would give them yet more cause to be proud.

------

The next several days were spent preparing for Aurelia's departure. Edwin went out to various stores in Slateport City, purchasing things that her daughter would need. He picked up a traveling tent and sleeping bag for her, knowing that trainers were lucky to be able to find an actual building to sleep in at night, and that Aurelia and Eric would be sleeping outside a lot. At home, Aurelia helped her mother pack up things from her room that she wanted to take with her. Unfortunately, she would not be able to take her mirror with her, and most of her books would have to remain at home, too. But she could take some of them, and so she picked out her absolute favorites and stored them in a backpack to carry with her other things.

Eric graduated on the day set aside for it, along with the rest of his class, and managed to break the top thirty of a class of three hundred. Aurelia, of course, was not able to attend his graduation ceremony, but she was invited to the party held at his house afterward. Eric's mother, a frumpy little woman who was never more than ten feet away from him during the celebration, couldn't stop crying and wailing over "her poor little baby, going off all alone into the world." Aurelia thought she was making a big deal out of nothing, as though Eric was a helpless little mouse who couldn't take care of himself. Eric's father did not show up, but he did make a phone call that Eric put on speaker phone. The man on the other end of the line congratulated his son for doing so well in school, and encouraged him in his decision to become a Pokémon Trainer. Aurelia decided that she rather liked his father, a lot more than his mother, at least.

Aurelia went to bed the night of Eric's graduation party feeling much too excited to sleep. Tomorrow was the day that she and Eric had chosen to begin their travels. Twice before she settled in for the night, she slid out of bed and rechecked her bag, making sure that everything was in its proper place. Her books were packed in the bottom, followed by the collapsible tent and a first aid kit. She had an all-weather coat that her father had insisted on buying for her, even though Aurelia thought she would look pretty ridiculous wearing clothes like a human. Nestled on top of all of that was something that her mother had given her: a fashion case. The box was full of all sorts of accessories that pokémon wore during Pokémon Contests, and it had been her mother's when she was a show pokémon. Set on top of her bag, rolled up tight and secured by a pair of buckled straps, was her sleeping bag. Everything that she would need for her journey was in the bag except for food. Eric would be carrying that, since he was stronger than her and could carry more weight.

When Aurelia finally fell asleep, it was past midnight, and she was too tired to be excited anymore. As she drifted off, her head was full of thoughts of what things would be like on the road, and the kinds of things that she and Eric would get up to.

------

Early in the morning, Aurelia woke up and fairly leaped out of bed. She snatched up her bag from the floor of her bedroom and carried out into the living room. Her parents were already up and about, and had prepared her a big breakfast that would give her tons of energy for the day. She was so anxious to get going that she could barely eat, but she forced it down for her parents, who insisted that she would need it.

When the doorbell rang, Aurelia flew out of the dining room to the front door. "Good morning, Eric!" she said cheerfully, as she opened the door to her human friend.

"Someone's excited," Eric said. He burst out laughing when he saw that Aurelia was wagging her tail furiously, like a puppy who was waiting for a treat from its owner.

"So?" Aurelia pressed him. "Did you get it? Did you get it?"

Eric nodded, grinning, and reached into the large backpack he was carrying for his wallet. From it, he extracted a stiff card and showed it to Aurelia. The card was deep blue and had Eric's picture on it, along with his name, home address, and identification number. Emblazoned across the top of the card in goldenrod lettering were the words "Trainer Card."

"I was first in line this morning," Eric said proudly. "I'm a no-kidding trainer, now."

Edwin came to the door. "So, I guess you two will be off then," he said.

"Just as soon as we get a little formality taken care of," Eric agreed.

Aurelia's father looked reluctant, but of course it had to be done. If Eric didn't do what he had to do, then it might turn out very badly for Aurelia. He waved Eric inside, and they all went into the living room. Val came in after them, and clutched her mate's hand, not really wanting to watch this but feeling that she had to.

"Lia, stand in the middle of the room," Eric said. "I'll make this as quick as possible, but you have to help me, alright?"

Aurelia stood in the middle of the living room, a worried expression on her face. "Do we really have to do this part?" she asked. "I mean...Is it really necessary?"

"It's more for your safety than anything else," Eric cautioned her. He didn't really want to do this, either, but he wouldn't be able to live with himself if something happened to Aurelia because he didn't do it. "Just relax, let it happen, and it will be over before you know it."

"O-Okay...," Aurelia gulped. Her green eyes were trembling a little, and her tail had gone bushy, but she stood her ground. The Zangoose watched as Eric pulled a poké ball from his bag and pressed the button in the center to bring it to full size. He hesitated for a moment, and then tossed the ball gently at his friend.

There was a flash of light as Aurelia felt the ball connect with right shoulder, and then her mind began to fight the instincts that tried to run wild in her head. Trapped, you're trapped! Get out, get out, get out! No, calm down. This is supposed to happen, it will be okay. Closed in, can't get out, want to get out, need to get out! It's going to be alright. Eric isn't going to keep me in here. What if he does? It's so dark in here...Break free, do whatever you can to break free! FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT! No, I have to be-

And then, just like that, the turmoil that she was feeling was over, and Aurelia realized that the capture mechanism inside the poké ball must have finished its sequence. Officially, she was now an owned pokémon, and the ball registered her as its proper occupant. Just as quickly, darkness receded and light returned to her, and she perceived that she was back in the living room. Eric was bending down in front of her, picking up what was now her poké ball from the floor.

"Okay," Eric said. "That's it. It's done."

Aurelia felt weak in the knees, but she remained on her feet through willpower. "I don't ever want to do that again," she said, letting her tail droop.

"Don't worry," Eric said. He returned the ball to its standby size, and then slipped it into a small pocket on the side of his bag. "It's going to stay in here unless there's a real emergency. No way I'd ever put you in there unless I really, really had to."

"Good." Finally ready to go, Aurelia turned to her parents, feeling an air of hopeful sadness. "I guess this it..."

Val pulled her daughter into a tight hug. "If L-Lia ever needs V-Val," she said, not bothering to fight back tears, "then call. Val w-will do anything to come."

"I know, Mom," Aurelia said. She squeezed her mother tightly, nuzzling the top of her head affectionately. "I'll call as often as I can, to let you know how we're doing."

"Good luck," Edwin said, taking over the hug from his mate. He stroked his daughter's shoulder, reluctant to let go.

"Thank you, Daddy." Aurelia gave her father a kiss on the cheek, and then everyone sensed it was time for them to leave, or someone might change their mind. Aurelia shouldered her bag, and stepped over to Eric. "Good-bye, Mom. Good-bye, Daddy."

She and Eric walked to the front door, and then they were gone.

Val sniffed loudly, and buried her face against her mate's chest. "Val hope Lia not get hurt," she sobbed.

"Shh...It'll be alright," Edwin whispered. He tipped Val's face up, bending down to give her a loving kiss, the kind of kiss that he gave her only when they were alone. "Aurelia is a strong girl, and Eric is a good friend. They'll be fine." He reached down and patted the Zangoose's belly. "Besides, you'll have another one to take care of soon enough."

Val managed a watery laugh. "Edwin always know what to say," she purred fondly.

------

When they were a little ways away from her house, Aurelia was finally able to talk again. "So," she said, stepping in front of Eric and walking backwards. "Where are we going first?"

"Well," Eric said, reaching out and swatting her playfully on the forehead, "I was thinking we'd head down to the waterfront, and catch a ferry up to Petalburg City." He chuckled as Aurelia rubbed her forehead where he'd swatted it, and then yelped as she swiped one of her claws at his forearm in retaliation. "Hey, that stings! Anyway, after that, we can trek up to Rustboro City, which is where the first Pokémon Gym is. And from there, it's a straight shot through the Rusturf Tunnel to Verdanturf Town, and that's where you can register for Pokémon Contests." Eric kicked a rock to the side of the road. "Simple, no?"

Aurelia grinned, and returned to her original position beside Eric. "Sounds like a plan," she agreed. "Let's go!"

As they reached the exit of their neighborhood, they turned south, and side by side they began the walk to the waterfront. The sky was clear, the air was warm, and a light breeze was blowing from the sea, carrying the scent of salt.

Perfect day to begin a journey.

------

"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware."
-Martin Buber