My Pokémon Anime Journey | BOOK ONE: KANTO

Prologue

Eventually, the day came when Sunni couldn't fail to realise how exceptional her daughter Ari was.
A member of the International Police, Sunni lived a double life. She spent a lot of time at her simple home in Pallet Town, watching Ari's obsession with Pokémon grow and spending precious hours with her daughter. Yet, inevitably, work would catch up again, and Sunni would have to leave Ari under the care of neighbors before spending weeks chasing some new threat, potentially Regions away from Kanto. Sunni loved Ari, and hated spending time apart from her - but not even her daughter could motivate Sunni to give up her thrilling and dangerous line of work.

One evening, when Ari was seven, Sunni set her glass of lemonade down, switched the television off, and prepared to go to bed. A rich twilight was visible through the window; it relaxed Sunni after a long day of paperwork. The single mother switched off the lights, then walked to Ari's room, intending to wish her daughter goodnight.
But Ari wasn't there.
All of the Pokémon memorabilia was untouched. It was clear to Sunni that there had been no kind of struggle. The only part of the bedroom that had been disturbed were the carelessly kicked away bedsheets.
A chilly breeze rattled Sunni - it had come through the open window above the foot of the bed.
The child's footsteps barely visible outside confirmed it - for reasons completely unknown to Sunni, her daughter had climbed out the window.

"Ari!" Sunni shouted, running outside without even bothering to lock the door behind her. Ari's footprints were still fresh, and seemed to lead into the small woodland behind their house.
For a moment, Sunni considered asking a neighbor for help with the search - perhaps Professor Oak, who had always taken an interest in Ari, or her friend Delia. But Sunni didn't want to ruin anybody's evening by starting a panic, and she preferred to solve her problems for herself.
Sunni drew a Poké Ball from her pocket, summoning her Fearow. The Beak Pokémon flapped its powerful wings and fixed his Trainer with a steely gaze.
"Fearow, find Ari," Sunni ordered. Fearow flew off over the trees while Sunni followed Ari's trail, trying to convince herself that, given her daughter's age and unruly nature, she was making a fuss over nothing.

After a few minutes, Fearow returned, descending to rest in front of Sunni.
"You've found her?" Sunni said.
Fearow confirmed this with a squawk.
"Then take me to her. Come on!"
Sunni ran after Fearow, but then her partner came to a sudden stop. Sunni almost ran off the edge of the ravine. It was a sharp drop, though not particialarly large, but at the bottom was Ari's unmistakable silhouette, crouched by the side of a river. Sunni was momentarily perplexed. Her daughter didn't appear to have fallen, so how had she gotten down there?

Sunni grabbed hold of Fearow and had her Pokémon lower her down. Now she was closer, Sunni could see what Ari was leaning over. It was unconcious Eevee, its fur soaking wet, as if Ari had pulled it out of the river.
"Ari!" Sunni yelled. She didn't know if she was relieved that Ari was unharmed, or angry with her daughter for running away.
Ari looked up, her hazel eyes brimful with a playful light. "Hi, mama!"
Sunni's heart wouldn't stop racing. "Ari, what are you doing here?"
Ari's smiled faded as she gestured towards Eevee. "I had a bad dream. About Eevee. So I came to rescue it."
A dream? Ari had seen this Eevee drown... in a dream?
That was a bit too much for Sunni to process. "How did you manage to get down here?"
"I climbed down," Ari explained, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "Look, mama. Eevee needs help. She's hurt."
As Sunni looked into Ari's pleading eyes, she realised just how much Ari shared with her father, even outisde of the dark hair and tanned skin. He, too, had possessed an almost supernatural level of empathy towards Pokémon - which Sunni began to realise might have been an inheritable trait.
Sunni scooped up the injured Eevee. The little Pokémon's eyelids fluttered open and came to rest wearily on a concerned Ari.
Sunni knew what she needed to do.

Professor Oak wasn't thrilled at being disturbed at that time, but when Sunni explained the circumstances, he was willing to help. He quickly hooked Eevee up to a healing machine in his lab.
Ari pressed her face against the glass between her and Eevee. "Is she going to be ok?"
"She will be," Professor Oak assured the girl. "She's very lucky to have a brave girl like you looking out for her."
"You'll take good care of her as well, won't you?" Ari said.
Oak smiled. "For as long as I need to."
Sunni placed a comforting hand on Ari's shoulder. Her daughter still looked troubled. "What is it, Ari?"
"I was thinking, mama."
"About what?"
"About how... I want Eevee to be my first Pokémon!" Ari declared. "When I turn ten! You can keep her until then, can't you, Professor?"
Oak couldn't deny the request of an adorable young girl, especially not one who spoke with such conviction.
Ari danced around the lab, thrilled to bits.
Regarding her daughter fondly, Sunni couldn't help but think it was brilliant idea. Ari was going to need a friend - especially if the recent whispers, about that mysterious Team Rocket, were true, because if they were, Sunni was bound to have her hands full.
But she couldn't let that bother her. All Sunni could do was take each day as it came.
Even as the days turned into years.