You'll Always Be My Best Friend (Karousel/Savvy)

"Hello! Welcome to the world of Pokemon! My name is Oak." Rose watched the T.V. screen with a bored expression on her face. She absent-mindedly braided a strand of her dark brown hair. Her dark brown eyes blinked sleepily as she regarded the screen. Earlier that day, she had recieved this strange tape in the mail, offering her a "once-in-a-lifetime opertunity". Supposedly, it had been sent to only a select few around the Hoenn region. The man talking to the camera was Professor Oak, one of the world's leading experts on pokemon. She was instantly intrigued. She had had the opportunity to hear a lecture from Professor Oak once and she thought he was brilliant. He'd always been a sort of hero for her.

"People call me the Pokemon Prof. This world is inhabited by creatures that we call Pokemon. People and Pokemon live together by supporting each other. Some people play with Pokemon, some battle with them. We don't know everything about pokemon yet, though. There are still many mysteries to solve. That is why you have been contacted, promising young adults. Inside the package you recieved, you should have found a hand-held device." Rose pulled out the device he had mentioned, suddenly currious. "This is called a Pokedex. It will collect data on any pokemon that you encounter. That information will be sent directly and soley to my personal computer." Rose rasied her eyebrows. Impressive. "You have recieved this gift because I myself am retiring from field work. It will be your job to travel Honen in search of new information on our valued partners."

Rose was about to jump out of her seat, now. This was getting good.

"Of course, I could never send you out unprotected, so anyone who responds to this tape within ten days will recieve a complementary pokemon, hand caught and trained by me."

Rose's mouth dropped open. She was going to get a pokemon? For free!? She could hardly believe it. She had almost given up on being a trainer, since her mother had insisted that she finish school instead of traveling the world.

"Your pokemon partner choices are as follows."

A screen popped up that had pictures of several pokemon. Rose scanned it eagerly, her head still buzzing from the excitement of it all. She recognized each of the pokemon from her biology class. There was Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Treecko, Turtwig, Snivy, Charmander, Cyndaquil, Torchic, Chimchar, Tepig, Squirtle, Totodile, Mudkip, Piplup, Oshawott, Pikachu, Mareep, Electrike, Shinx, and Blitzle.

Please send your choice along with your confirmation sheet - signed by a parent or guardian for those of you younger than 18 - to 100 Pallet Town. I hope to hear from you soon."

It took her a moment to decide on which pokemon she wanted. After all, she loved almost every single one of the 649 known species! Finally though, she made her decision. Charmander. She had always been fond of the little lizard pokemon. Or, more specifically, the sleek and majestic Charizard that it could eventually become.

Rose jumped to her desk, wrote a quick note on a piece of paper, and addressed and sealed the envelope. She would have to wait until morning to mail it, meaning she would probably not be able to sleep for the anticipation.

Rose's eyes snapped open, and she once again glanced at her Jigglypuff alarm clock. 4:48 in the morning. Had it really only been ten minutes since she last looked? Sighing, she decided to abandon the idea of any more sleep, and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She slipped her bare feet into her slippers and shuffled to the window. She threw back the plain beige curtains to reveal a beautiful view of the ocean. The sun was just barely beginning to peek over the horizon, casting a dull pink haze over the city. Rose smiled. She really would miss this place.

She went into the kitchen and set a pot of water on the stove to boil. Her parents were probably still in bed. They would be surprised to see Rose up and breakfast prepared, since she usually slept in well past daybreak. While she waited for the water to heat, she went back into her room and grabbed her clothes for the day. She had already packed a few outfits in her dark brown backpack, but she had saved her favorite to wear today.

She pulled her pine green shirt over her head. Like most of her blouses, it was made from bamboo and hemp which made it light and comfortable in almost any weather. She slipped on her faded blue jean shorts and brown hiking boots. They weren't her most fashionable shoes, but they were the most comfortable and most durable. She ran a brush quickly through her short hair before running back into the kitchen to check on the water.

It had reached a rolling boil so she took it off the heat and turned off the burner. She set out three place settings, preparing a cup of tea for each. The rest of the water she used to prepare oatmeal. Her parents shuffled in just as she finished, blinking in surprise to find the table all ready for them. The three exchanged pleasantries and sat down to eat. She had briefly told them about her plans to travel last night, but now she got into more detail. Her mother wasn't happy; she had always wanted her youngest child to become a teacher there in Mossdeep. Her father was on her side however, and her mother eventually agreed, albeit a bit begrudgingly.

After what seemed like ages, Rose slung her backpack over her shoulders, waved goodbye to her parents, and set out towards the ship that would take her to Kanto.

Rose climbed aboard the small vessel, turning around to wave good-bye to her parents, who had gathered with a few of her neighbors on the shore. She felt a wave of sadness wash over her. She had always wanted to leave Mossdeep; this had been her plan from the beginning. She had never imagined that it would be so hard, though. She took a deep breath to steady herself, and turned away from her friends and family as the ship set sail. She stopped briefly by the captain's quarters to thank him again for taking her. His ship was meant more for fishing than traveling, but he had been kind enough to offer her the service. After a brief chat with the captain, she climbed back up to the deck. A cool spray of water hit her face, and she looked over the railing to see a pod of wailmer swimming in the wake of the ship.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, leaning over to get a better look. They were so big! She had seen them before, of course, but they never got very close to shore. Her heart began to race as she realized just what she was doing, and what it would mean for the rest of her life. She was going to be a Pokemon Trainer. She had to keep herself from squealing with joy and frightening the wailmer. In just a matter of hours she would have her own pokemon, as long as everything went as planned. It almost seemed too good to be true.

Rose was beginning to feel a bit sun-burnt, spending so much time on deck, and went into the bridge to have another chat with the captain.

"Do you think it will be much longer?" she asked, her nerves making it difficult to sit still.

"Should be getting close now, miss," he responded, checking some instruments that had no meaning for Rose. "Pallet Town doesn't have a port now, mind you, so we'll have to drop anchor a little ways out and row ashore." Rose nodded.

A few hours later, they did just that.

Rose stepped off the small row-boat and took a deep breath of the crisp Kanto air. She could hardly believe it: she was actually in a new region! The town was smaller than she had expected, but it seemed to be buzzing with activity. People seemed to be gathering by a large building to the north, so she headed in that direction. Were all of these people here to claim pokemon as well? She felt a knot forming in her chest. She hopped that there would be enough to go around.

After a few hours on the bullet train, Sarina emerged from the station with all her belongings in tow. She stepped out of the doorway and a little to the left before dropping said belongings on the ground to pull a map out of her pack. She promptly opened her guide to this new and mysterious world, eyes still ablaze with determination.

As she perused through the locations on the map with her eyes, her confidence started to waver. Pallet Town was so far away from Saffron City! How would she ever find her way there, all by her lonesome?

"Oh, woe is me! Pallet Town is so, so very far from here!" She whined, tightening her hold on the map.


"Hey, um...miss?"

She blinked, confused as a voice penetrated through the barriers of her concentration. She lowered her map to spy an average looking fellow, about her age, give or take a few years. She gave him a once over, and was about to raise her map to block her view once more until he continued.

"Hey, um, I kinda noticed that you have a lot of stuff...and you seem to need some help, right?" The young man cleared his throat, "Well, I can't ignore a fair lady in need, so...I'd like to help you."

She was about to protest, but he continued on.

"You see, I trained under the legendary Falkner in Johto for awhile, so I know my way around the clouds, if you know what I mean," He flashed her a grin, trying to sell his service, "I can you to Pallet Town, no problem."

Sarina was about to hoist up her belongings from the ground and high-tail it, but stopped mid-lift at the mention of Pallet Town.

"You could fly me and my treasures to Pallet Town? Truly?" Sarina gushed, and ventured closer to the average-Joe, "Oh my, I would much appreciate such a service! How much would it cost me?"

"Aw, nothing at all for someone as pretty as yourself," he picked two Pokeballs from his belt, "I'll take my Fearow, and you, milady, will be flying on the best of the best----my Skarmory."

Sarina loaded the birds with her packs, and soon lifted off and headed to Pallet Town.

An hour later, Sarina Rosette of Goldenrod City had arrived in Pallet Town.

Rose fiddled with a loose string on her bag, trying to gather up the courage to venture into the large group of young trainers-to-be. She had guessed that the professor would have sent the invitation to many people, but actually seeing the number of responses was unnerving. She took a deep breath. If she didn't get in there soon, there really might run out. She didn't want to loose her best chance of getting a pokemon because she was too worried to grab the opportunity! Just as she was about to take a step into the throng, the shadow of two large bird pokemon passed overhead. She looked up, shading her eyes against the sun with one hand. She recognized the pokemon right away; her medical studies had made her very familiar with all but the most rare of pokemon.

The Skarmory and Fearow landed in an empty area near by, and she was able to see the two people that were riding them. She felt a stab of jealousy as she imagined the thrill of soaring through the skies with a partner like that. She shook her head and refocused on the door to the lab. Once she had her Charmander, it wouldn't be long until she was flying over the regions as well.

"E-excuse me," she said, trying to push her way into the mob of people. She had picked exactly the wrong spot to try and push through however, as one brauny youth pushed her back, making her land back out of the group. She stood up, rubbing her sore bottom. Well, that was rude! she thought irritably. She would have to find another approach if she didn't want to be last in line.