The airplane touched down smoothly on the warm soil of Pallet Town. As the doors opened, the scent of forest, sea, and adventure swept into the cabin.
Skylar stepped out with Gardevoir gracefully following behind, her gaze scanning the landscape with serene calm.
His heart beat with quiet anticipation. This was the beginning—not of training, not of preparation—but of his journey as a real Pokémon Trainer.
Waiting at the bottom of the stairway, as promised, was Gary Oak.
"Well, well," he smirked, arms crossed. "Didn't think you'd actually grow taller."
Skylar grinned. "Didn't think you'd wait."
"Yeah, well, Grandpa said you earned this moment. And he wouldn't shut up about your 'gift.' Come on."
The Oak Laboratory hadn't changed since Skylar last visited it at twelve—but now, everything felt different. More alive. More connected.
As they entered, Professor Oak stood at the center of the lab with a wide, glowing smile.
"Skylar! Look at you, already radiating aura like a true guardian. And… Gardevoir! My, how you've matured."
Skylar bowed respectfully. "It's good to see you again, Professor."
Oak's expression turned soft and serious.
"Three years ago, I gave you a sealed letter. Today, I give you what it promised."
He walked toward a sealed containment pod at the far side of the lab, tapping in a long security code.
With a hiss of compressed air, the container opened.
Inside was a single Poké Ball, marked with a custom insignia: a flame wrapped in dragon wings.
"This…" Oak said with pride, "is the child of two of my strongest partners. My old Charizard, and my Dragonite—both former champions in their day."
"It's a special Charmander. And more than that… it's shiny."
Skylar's eyes widened.
"A… shiny Charmander? From your Charizard and Dragonite?"
"Raised from the egg with care," Oak said. "Its flames burn white-hot. It carries both power and potential. I wanted to give it to someone I believed would understand the weight of legacy."
With reverence, Skylar accepted the Poké Ball.
"Thank you. I won't waste this."
Oak nodded. "I know you won't."
In the late afternoon, Skylar stood at the edge of Route 1, the rolling grasslands stretching before him.
At his side: Gardevoir, calm as ever.And now—Charmander, stepping out of his Poké Ball for the first time.
Its orange skin shimmered silver-gold, flames dancing in white and blue.The little dragon looked up at Skylar, curious, confident… and proud.
Skylar knelt beside him.
"We'll climb together. All the way."
Charmander responded with a proud "Char!"
That night, elsewhere in Kanto…In the basement of an abandoned city tower, far from any map, figures gathered in silence.
Black coats. Blank expressions. Eyes hidden behind reflective lenses.
Holograms flickered across the walls—images of Trainers from different regions. Young. Talented. Glowing with potential.
Among them: Skylar. Cynthia. Red. Serena. Blue. Goh. Many more.
A symbol pulsed in the center of the room: a black spiral fractured by a blade of glass.
The only word spoken:
"Shadow will rise."
A voice—smooth, calm, inhumanly precise—echoed in the chamber.
"We do not hunt the weak. We shape the future by removing what we cannot control."
"Track the gifted. Study them. And if they stray too far…"
The lights dimmed.
"Eliminate them."
Back in Pallet Town, under a starlit sky, Skylar lay awake in his bed, unaware of the eyes already watching from afar.
Gardevoir stood guard by the window, her eyes glowing faintly in the dark.
Charmander curled up at the foot of the bed, fire flickering quietly.
The journey had begun.
And in the shadows, the world had begun to shift.