Twilit Music
By Pegasus

Part 1
    "We bring you live to the fortieth annual Cobalt League Pokemon Championship! This 
competition, better known as the CLPC, features trainers who have traveled the land and 
assembled a powerful team of Pokemon whom they wish to compete with against other 
trainers.
    "First up are the preliminary battles. We bring you to the ice field to witness the battle 
between Sally Jones of Sage Village and Percy Mendel of Iolite City."
    The screen's view panned to a spacious battlefield covered in a thick layer of ice. Sally 
Jones was a teenage girl with short, sandy brown hair. Her opponent, Percy Mendel, was 
a tall, lanky boy with black hair that was just long enough to pull back in a ponytail. The 
referee stepped by the field.
    "This will be a three-on-three battle," he announced. "Let the battle begin!"
    Sally Jones called out a Buito. It looked like a bright green mosquito, complete with 
gossamer wings that had a tinge of green. Its legs had strange barbs on them and it had 
large bat ears, and a sword-like proboscis. It hovered three feet above the ground. Buito 
was the evolved form of Squiba, a very odd bug/blood type Pokemon.
    Percy Mendel called forth a snake-like Pokemon. It was cerulean with an off-white 
stomach and two pearls right at its neck. It had two wing-like ears on its head. It was a 
Dragonair.
    "Buito, Casanova!" Sally commanded. The Buito launched itself at the Dragonair and 
stuck the tip of its proboscis inside the Dragonair's neck. Just as Dragonair was launching 
a counterattack (Twister), the screen turned black due to the fact that my older sister, 
Brenda, had switched it off.
    "Hey!" I protested.
    "Tay, you should get to bed. It's already ten thirty," Brenda said, tapping her watch.
    "So?" I said, brushing an auburn lock out of my face.
    Brenda rolled her eyes. "Look, if you can't sleep, at least get yourself packed. And if 
you still can't sleep after packing, then watch something constructive. Like a 
documentary. I know you liked the one on Squiba that was airing on PTV a few weeks 
back."
    I scowled. "Okay, okay," I conceded. "I'll pack. But I still want to see that battle."
    "To each his own, I guess," Brenda replied, then swept out of my room.
    My name is Taylor Ann Selver. And I was way too excited to sleep; tomorrow I would 
be able to choose my first Pokemon and go on a journey through the Iv Ba'halde region.
    I sighed and began stuffing some clothes and other needed supplies in my backpack, 
including about ten years' worth of savings, which totaled about $3,000. I had a lot of 
relatives; at least half of that was birthday money.
    I was still too excited to go to sleep; I turned my TV back on and started watching the 
battle again. Sally Jones was on her second Pokemon, a Pidgeot. It looked like a huge 
bird and it was the final evolution of Pidgey. Percy Mendel had just moved on to his third 
Pokemon, a Fearow, which also looked like a huge bird. In the end, Pidgeot won, and 
Sally Jones moved on to the semifinals, while Percy Mendel left for Snacia City.
    I watched the rest of the preliminary battles, then switched to a battle documentary; the 
semifinals wouldn't be held for another day. Of course, I'd miss it, since I'd be on the 
road, but… it would be worth it.
    I didn't sleep the rest of the night. When my alarm clock rang, I was already showered, 
and had changed into blue jeans, black sneakers, a black T-shirt, and black biker gloves; I 
had also tamed my auburn locks with a bandana. Finally, I shouldered my pack and 
headed downstairs, where I wolfed down a quick breakfast and waved good-bye to 
Brenda. I ran through the still streets of Sage Village, to Professor Quiarde's Pokemon 
Laboratory.
    I rapped on the door. A tall, lanky man opened the door. He had a thatch of copper hair 
and very tanned skin. He smiled when he saw me. "Hello. Taylor Selver, is it?"
    I smiled back. "Yeah."
    He stepped back from the door. "I'm Professor Quiarde. Have you decided which 
Pokemon you want yet?"
    I entered the lab. "Yeah. I want…." Here I paused, and quickly reviewed the available 
Pokemon.
    First, there was Karveaal. It was a grass and ghost type Pokemon. It looked like a 
green ball of light with two evil-looking red eyes and surrounded by gray gas. It evolved 
into Kiahafaal, and then into Magdesiarde.
    Then, there was the water and rock type, Corvalla. It looked like a floating rock 
covered in water. It evolved into Cifaal, and then into Laviar.
    The last was the one that I really wanted. It was a fire type called Yirviel. It looked like 
a horse covered with fire; it could carry a rider and not burn them if it wanted. Its evolved 
form was Uial. It looked a bit like a slightly larger version of Yirviel, only with black 
flames covering its body and a horn. The most evolved form, Piagelas, looked like a Uial 
with wings. It was slightly larger than a Uial and was also a fire and dragon type.
    "Yirviel," I finished. Quiarde smiled and went to a table covered with a glass dome. 
On it were three Pokeballs; one had an emerald as a button; one had a sapphire as a 
button; and one had a cobalt as a button.
    Quiarde touched a button; the glass dome slid away. He picked up the Pokeball with 
the cobalt and handed it to me, then grabbed five regular Pokeballs from his desk along 
with a black, folding device.
    "Here are some Pokeballs and a Pokedex," he said, handing them to me. "Just point the 
Pokedex at a Pokemon and it will tell you whatever it knows. You can also ask it about 
any Pokemon you know about. It has information on all known Pokemon, including ones 
from the Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn regions."
    I thanked Professor Quiarde and exited the lab, then proceeded down the path, 
skipping on every other step. I finally had a Pokemon!
    My journey had begun.

Author's Note: Ugh…. I hate the ending. No, I despise it. But it didn't turn out too 
badly… Ah, well. It's basically like most everything you see around: a trainer goes on a 
Pokemon Journey. I've added a new region and some new Pokemon, though; more will 
be introduced in Part 2.