Danny prepares to leave his home on an island to begin his Pokemon journey. He battles a wild Marill with his Charmander. Danny's grandfather reminds him to care for his Pokemon. That evening, Danny boards a ferry captained by Aidan to travel to Pallet Town overnight. Danny tries to sleep in the ferry's small cabin as it cuts through the waves, thinking about making his father proud by becoming a great Pokemon trainer.

1. Chapter 2 - And So It Begins (part 1 of 2)
“Charmander, Ember!”
The glowing morning sun slowly rose over my back, bringing a gleaming light to the beautiful sand and
sea. Its glittering, golden rays of heat warmed me from the cool coast breeze which hit my face. Its
rainbow colours, shades of red, orange and yellow shone brightly down onto the sea that gently lapped
against the golden soft sand beneath my toes. The warmth around me grew further, as three swirling
orange and red orbs shot from Charmander, and slammed into the wild Pokemon further down the
beach. It curled into a ball, and rolled slowly into the sea, before leaping out again. As its spherical
turquoise body landed in the sand, it chirped “Mar-Mar-Marill”, before looking rather angry.
It curled into a ball again, tucking its springy tail into it, and began to roll quickly across the sand, spraying
the warm sand into the air. As it floated down softly, the golden sand caught the light of the sun, and
shimmered, and swayed softly in the coastal breeze. “Charmander, jump over it!” I roared, seeing the
attack as easy to dodge. The Marill kept rolling, but as Charmander leapt over it, it unrolled, and her long
tail swung round, slamming into Charmanders chest. Charmander flew down into the sand, and rolled
slowly. The tip of his toes gently broke into the calm surface of the azure water, and he leapt up quickly,
shrieking. I laughed, as Charmander shivered.
He quickly turned around to face Marill, with flames once again shooting from his mouth. Marill quickly
dived into the sea, as the flames sizzled across the surface of the clear azure water, and steam quickly
floated upwards, blown away in the coastal breeze. “Danny!” A shout came from over my shoulder, and
echoed across the quiet beach. I looked over my right shoulder, and squinted. The harsh morning sunlight
exploded into my eyes, and made them water. I quickly cupped my hands over my eyebrows, and looked
down across the beach. I smiled as my eyes made out a familiar figure.
He waved, his fragile hand swaying in the morning air. The remaining few strands of wispy silver hair
across his head fluttered softly in the coastal breeze, and the wind teased his white polo shirt, and his
dark trousers. His pace quickened as he saw me turn around, and eventually, he stood next to me. “How
many battles have you two had this week?” he asked.
“A few Grandad, why?” I replied. The orange sun began to glint across his dark black oval sunglasses, and
he turned his head to the sea, letting the sea spray wash over him. “Just remember, Pokemon aren’t tools
for fighting Danny, you’ve got to care for them” he explained.
“I know Grandad, we were just training” I replied.
“I know practice makes perfect, but be careful not to push him too far, I only gave him to you three days
ago, and you two seem inseparable!” He smiled. Charmander leapt into my arms, and smiled up at Blaine.
His smile revealed his four pure white fangs, and his rosy pink tongue, which wagged slowly. His claws
scratched affectionately against my arms. “Don’t worry Grandad, Charmander and I are a team” I smiled,
as I tickled my Pokemon’s cream stomach, to his enjoyment. “I’m glad to hear that. Anyway, I’ll see you
later” he grinned, as he turned to walk back across the beach.
I smiled, and put Charmander down again. Both of our eyes scanned the sand for the Marill we had been
battling, but to no avail. “Oh well, you still did brilliantly Charmander” I smiled, as his tale flame grew
larger with pride. “Danny!” Grandad shouted again. I groaned, looking back over my shoulder.
“Yeah?” I roared back.
“Don’t forget, you’re catching the ferry to Pallet Town tonight!” He screamed.
“How could I forget that!” I replied.
“Just make sure you’re packed and ready!”
“I already am,” I lied.

2. Chapter 2 - And So It Begins (part 2 of 2)
As the sun went down and twilight arrived, the sky darkened. The lights of the few houses glimmered and
twinkled behind me; the stars began to light up the increasingly indigo sky and the sounds of dozens of
Pokemon calling out through the night accompanied Charmander and I. The soft lapping of water behind
me, against the beach came again and again, almost in unison with my footsteps.
“Danny, is that you?”
“Yeah, yeah it’s me.”
The shout came from an old friend of our family, a gritty sailor, Captain Aidan Marius. The navy night hid
the weathering across his rough face, and his scraggy black hair blew softly in the breeze. He scratched at
his stubble, showing the tattoo across his arm. Tribal scars of black ink, coming together to create the
head of a lion. He smiled “Good to see you Danny,”
“Same to you Aidan.”
“You got everything you need?” He asked, sounding like Grandad just before I’d left. I nodded in reply,
knowing I had more than enough things stuffed into the backpack over my shoulder, that felt like it
weighed more than a couple of Snorlax. “Good, I’ll take your bag off of you, it looks heavy” He smiled, and
he groaned as he slung it over his shoulder. “God, it is heavy!”
I stepped from the dark damp wooden jetty, onto Aidan’s boat. The thick, sharp black stripe across the
sides of the boat was the same shad as Aidan’s hair, and even flicked at the end - as his rough ‘hairstyle’
did. The slender rounded edges curved together at the front of the boat, where the body met. Where the
two sides came together, so did a golden cursive lettering. As leaned over the edge, and followed the
letters around to form the word ‘Oceanrunner’, I jerked back with the power of the boat. Aidan quickly
pulled back on the engine, and ‘Oceanrunner’ roared into life.
The waves parted in front of us, and the white wakes split down across the ocean, bobbing along, causing
the Wingull and Pelipper that rested on the surface to rise and fall, before they squawked and flew off into
the dark. We quickly passed over a wave, sending the boat flying into the air, and I roared in excitement.
“Wooohoo! Yeah!” The wind rushed through my hair, and roared into my face. I shouted at Aidan, but my
voice was drowned by the roar of the engine, and I decided not to bother. Instead, I hung on tight to the
edge, and dipped my finger into the water.
It was ice cold, and I shivered when the temperature hit me. I looked across the ocean in front of us, and
sighed as the sea breeze slapped across my face. I looked down into the dark blue, and was able to make
out the shadows and shapes of a few Pokemon. Tentacool slowly bobbed just beneath the surface, while
the huge shadow of Gyarados snaked through the water, deeper down in the cold. I jumped quickly as
something brushed past my finger, but when I looked back, whatever it was had gone. Suddenly, I was
thrown forward and nearly over the front of the boat, as Aidan cut the engine. “Aidan?” I said, looking
back over my shoulder. “I was just thinking, why don’t you head into the cabin and try get some sleep? It’ll
be a few hours before we arrive in Pallet Town” He asked. He was right. It would be the early hours of the
morning by the time we arrived at the mainland. “Yeah, I suppose I will” I replied, stumbling into the cabin
as the engine roared again.
I swore loudly as I thumped my head against the low ceiling, and looked around. It was a small space, with
a hammock, a radio, and some small cupboards. My bag was on the floor, and I quickly unzipped it, pulled
out the first jumper I could, and rolled it up to use it as a pillow. I slumped back in the hammock, and
looked up at the pale, peeling ceiling. I felt every rise and fall of the boat, as we flew across the tops of the
waves, and I tossed and turned like the water around me. After a few minutes of trying to get comfortably
to sleep, I gave up. I closed my eyes, and let anticipation fill my head.

3. I knew that once the Sun rose tomorrow, I’d officially be leaving on my journey to become the best. ‘Dad
had always been a great trainer, then again, I suppose it helped being the son of one of the Kanto Gym
Leaders’. I missed him, badly. He’d always been there to support me through Trainer School, and would
always help me when I was down. I remembered what Grandad said.
“There’s nothing we can do son, we’ve just got to live our lives.”
I opened my eyes, and stared back up at the ceiling. I felt I was being watched, and I sat up, thinking Aidan
had been watching over me. The door to the cabin was shut, and he was still steering the boat. It was then
I realised. “Watch over me Dad” I smiled, “I’ll make you proud.”