Chapter 1: A Cold Start

Anyone who said Sinnoh wasn't a religious country was a liar.

Religion dominated every aspect of the country. The breathtaking temples, mountains, and lakes that drew in tourists? All considered sacred to at least one denomination. The pokemon? Staples in every myth and sermon. The laws? Written entirely off of church doctrine, with city-states having some freedom based on their own denomination.

Sinnoh wasn't like other countries that had a handful of radicals amidst an unbelieving populace. Kanto had the Triumvirate who worshipped the Stormbringers: Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Johto had the Church of the Phoenix. Hoenn supposedly had Titans of land, sea, and sky, though their existence was never proven.

No, Sinnoh was different. Sinnoh was home to Arceus, the one who shaped the world. It was home to Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina, the ancient beings of time, space, and chaos. It was home to the Lake Trio who shaped the minds, hearts, and souls of humanity. It was home to Darkrai and Cresselia, the twins who had dominion of dreams. Heatran who formed volcanoes and Shaymin who kept nature pure.

It had been four hundred years since any of them were seen, but the Church of Arceus - and its different sects - all preached as if they still held some sort of power over the world.

Daniel forced back a sigh as he quietly left his seat and made his way out of the assembly hall. He wasn't sure he could take many more variations of "knowledge is power". He knew that his father wouldn't be happy with him later but he couldn't find it to care. A sharp, wintry gust of wind met him as he exited the temple.

He pulled his jacket tighter around himself to fend off the cold, even though he knew it wouldn't help. Snowpoint snowed ten months of the year. The other two months only managed to get slightly warmer than freezing. The people who lived here just got used to the cold. The few tourists who dared venture this far north always seemed shocked by the relentless snow. They never stayed long. The only people who stayed were those who came for school.

Snowpoint was home to Sinnoh's largest and most acclaimed university. Anyone who wanted a higher education came to Snowpoint University. At least, those smart enough to get in. Snowpoint was chosen to be the home of the college because it was the closest city to the last known resting place of Uxie, the patron god of knowledge. Everything in Sinnoh came back to religion.

It wasn't that Daniel hated religion or was an unbeliever. He believed wholeheartedly that Arceus created the world. It was just frustrating that Snowpoint revered Uxie to such a high extent when he didn't want to pursue a life of education and research.

"Dan, you know your father isn't going to be pleased with you leaving early."

Daniel turned to find his mother behind him. She was tall in comparison to the other women of Snowpoint, standing a few inches shy of six feet. But she also wasn't from here. She followed his father north when he took a job at the university.

"Yeah, I know. Just couldn't take much more of it," he sighed, leaning against the stonewall leading into the church. "I know it's all feeding Dad's dream of me of going to school and I just can't do that. I want to see the world. I wish there was a god of exploration or competition or something so he would understand."

"You know he accepts it, even if he doesn't like it. You are in training and survival classes."

"And it's a week until I'm finished with that and he still-" Daniel was cut off by a flood of people exiting the temple. His father towards the front of the pack.

As expected, his father wasn't happy with him, and made his displeasure known as the three walked slowly through the snow back home. Their house was a modest, two story home with three bedrooms. It sat within easy walking distance from both the church and the university, a blessing considering the constant snow. Snowpoint's historic district and city center was about half an hour east.

"I know you want to be a trainer, Dan, but can't you see that the pursuit of knowledge is the greatest calling of mankind? You could study pokemon and discover something that changes the world. You could work in a lab and do fieldwork and explore the world that way."

Daniel had heard this argument before. In fact, this was the most convincing of all his father's arguments as it did play into his desire to be around pokemon and to explore. It did not, however, quench his thirst for competition. Not many things did this far north as there weren't many sports that were played due to the weather. The two common ones were basketball, which Daniel could care less about, and volleyball, which Daniel was good at but not good enough to make a living off of. Additionally, the Sinnoh League restricted pokemon ownership to people over twenty outside of a handful of extremely docile species like lillipup and skitty.

"Dad, we've had this discussion a dozen times in the last month. That's not me. I want to compete. I want to travel and train. I don't want to be told where to go by a professor. Maybe one day that will change, but until then, I'm going to be a trainer." Daniel's father gave a frustrated huff but let the matter drop.

Daniel was thankful that his father's only real disagreement was one about callings. He had heard stories of people whose parents feared for their safety to the point of locking them in rooms and putting tracking software on their phones. He would probably run away with only the clothes on his back if that was the case. At least his parents respected his desires even if they disagreed.

Really, for as much pressure he felt from his father to go to school rather than become a trainer, he knew that his parents were supportive. Though the Church of Uxie taught that the pursuit of knowledge was the highest of all callings, they would never sanction forcing people into that life. That, at least, was a central tenet of the Church of Arceus, of which all religion in the region stemmed from and held to. Every man was free to choose his own calling. His calling happened to be becoming a trainer.

The following week was slower than Daniel imagined it would be. Combining exams with the excitement of receiving his trainer's license and pokedex was a pretty harsh combination. The training and survival program was a state funded and state mandated program for anyone who wanted a trainer's license.

For the first couple centuries of the league's existence, kids could become trainers at the age of ten. It was changed to fifteen and then finally to twenty around seventy years ago in order to better prepare people for the physical and mental demands of traveling in a world full of dangerous creatures. In addition to the age limit, the league also required every aspiring trainer to complete a two year survival course after graduating from high school. With these implementations, the death rate of first year trainers dropped dramatically.

The class wasn't terribly difficult. It covered basic survival skills such as starting a fire, pitching a tent, basic first aid and navigating. They had live trials where the group would camp a short distance from the city. There they were taught to hunt and forage. All of the skills taught, Daniel was glad he learned under a controlled environment rather than alone in the wild. As much as he felt like he would have managed fine, he wasn't so arrogant to completely disregard the wealth of knowledge he was handed.

Still, the week passed with little fanfare. He passed all the exams and got his pokedex which would also act as his trainer's license. The handheld device was the most important piece of equipment a trainer could have, barring the pokeball. It contained a live database of all known pokemon across every region. It provided his credentials as a trainer. It acted as a smartphone, and dozens of other applications.

There was no graduation ceremony for the handful of people in the class. Despite leaving high school in a class of over two hundred people, the survival class was only a meager five, one of which was older than Daniel because he went to college before changing his mind on what he wanted to do.

For whatever reason, no one in the class was particularly close. Daniel knew that all four planned to leave Snowpoint upon catching their first pokemon. He was planning to stay and train at the gym until he felt he could challenge Leader Andri for the badge. Daniel didn't see the purpose to leave a city without getting the badge. His classmates felt like the gym would be easier to challenge later with a more diverse team.

With no ceremony and no particular bond with his classmates, Daniel settled for a night of volleyball to celebrate before heading home. Tomorrow he would need to go into town to buy pokeballs and other supplies to go catch his first pokemon. He could stop by the Trainer's Outpost and buy a pokemon, but that didn't feel right to him.

A trainer's starter was special. People talked about them as if they were sacred, and in a way they were. A starter was your first companion, your first teammate. Trainers always said that losing your starter hurt worse than any other pokemon. There was a belief - backed up by numerous stories - that trainers who released or traded their starters would suddenly have incredibly bad luck. A starter was special, and Daniel wasn't going to treat his any less.

To his surprise, his parents were waiting for him when he returned home. They typically went to bed on the earlier side and he was getting home late after a night of volleyball. They called him into the living room where they were watching reality television.

"Dan," his father started after he muted the television, "are you sure this is what you want?" His voice had sounded resigned.

"Yes, I am," Daniel didn't let his voice waiver despite the lump in his throat.

"You could still go to college. Your scores are good enough that you could get in even after two years."

"No Dad. This is what I want. I want to be a trainer and challenge the League."

There was an extended moment of silence before his dad let out a heavy sign and stood up. He left the room and returned a minute later with a cardboard box. He handed the box to Daniel before returning to his seat. "Even if we don't think this is the best option, your mother and I aren't going to let you go unprepared."

Daniel opened the box as his father continued, "There is a luxury ball for your starter as well as a dozen poke balls to get you started. We got a few storage capsules already and tomorrow you and I can go get all the camping and traveling gear you need."

"Dad, Mom, thank you." There was no hiding the shakiness in his voice this time. Verbal support and well wishes he expected, but not this. He had saved up money from smaller jobs and different volleyball tournaments for years in order to finance the start of his journey. Now, all of that was being provided. "Thank you so much. I-I know you guys aren't thrilled but-"

His mother "ohh'd" as she pulled him into a hug, which hid the fact that he wasn't able to finish speaking. Thankfully his parents understood his gratitude despite the words going unspoken.

The next day Daniel and his father went to the trainer outpost to shop. Having already been given balls and storage containers, Daniel skipped that section of the store and moved onto things needed for camping. They got a tent rated for every season with a rain and wind tarp. Along with the tent, they got a sleeping bag and mat. They also picked up a couple tools like a hatchet, rope, fishing rod, and hunting knife. Daniel also used his own money to pick up a hunting bow with about three dozen collapsible arrows and a sturdy, hickory walking stick.

Next they moved on to get clothes, picking up multiple outfits that were durable enough for extensive travel and harsh elements. With that they picked up about two months worth of preservable food for traveling. Daniel's dad made sure he got plenty of potions and repels as well as some other medicine for emergency use. Finally, they picked up a couple bags of generic pokemon kibble that would be good for whatever pokemon Daniel caught until a more custom diet was figured out.

"You don't want to look at the pokemon they have, do you, son?" his father asked as they were checking out.

"No. My starter deserves more respect than that."

His dad chuckled and patted him on the back proudly. "Thanks, Dad. Really."

His first foray into the wild was rather unsuccessful. Pokemon were scarce amidst the constant snow, though it was summer which meant only the occasional flurries. The pokemon he did see traces of were either not ones he wanted to catch - rattata, hoothoot, or snom - or were much stronger than he was capable of catching just by himself - snover. He went out during the day though to avoid sneasel. The dark-ice type were known for being vicious and almost impossible for rookie trainers to handle.

Daniel knew that there were migrating colonies of machop and meditite that passed through this far north. Swinub and piloswine roamed the foothills of the mountains to the north. Cubchoo and teddiursa, along with their much more dangerous parents, lived in the wooded areas along with deerling. Any of those would have been a wonderful starter, though he never saw any on his first trip out to the open route.

The trend continued for the next few days venturing out onto Route 217. Daniel avoided going out during night to avoid sneasel and he kept away from the forest to avoid mother bears and tried his luck on the open route. He never saw anything warranting his attention outside of a vanillite which promptly floated away before he could react. The only upside, was he was getting better with a bow as he would practice on any smaller pokemon he saw. After the second day, he stopped bringing lunch with him so he could get used to hunting for food.

The following week, he decided to go north of Snowpoint to the foothills to search for swinub instead. The pigs were plentiful, but they were always under the watchful eye of older piloswine. Daniel never got close enough for the piloswine to become defensive, but he did get a couple warning snorts.

He ventured into a small cave one day intent on finding an aron or snorunt, but he was swarmed by bats before he fled.

The week after he tried the forests surrounding Route 217, willing to risk bears for a chance at a deerling or a lost cub. He did find some hoofprints, but lost the trail at a large river running through the forest. He came across numerous bug pokemon, none of which interested him at all.

At the end of the third week, he was starting to get frustrated. The Snowpoint summer was nearly half gone. That meant machop and meditite would be gone soon as they couldn't take the harsh winter. It meant less daylight to venture out of the city.

"I'm going to the lake tomorrow," he announced to his parents over the dinner table. The sound of chewing and silverware clinking against plates stopped.

"Is that wise?" his mother asked.

It was a valid question. Lake Acuity was considered sacred to the Church of Uxie as it was the final known resting place of Uxie. As such, there was a constant, though small, stream of tourists and clergymen who visited the lake each day over the summer and stricter regulations enforced by rangers. Because it was sacred, trainer battles were not allowed to occur within a quarter mile of the lake to keep the peace. In addition, trainers were discouraged from catching pokemon at the lake. The rangers didn't really enforce that outside of trainers causing a lot of chaos in trying to catch a pokemon.

"No," Daniel admitted reluctantly. "But I only have a month of summer left and haven't been able to get close to anything. If I start now, then maybe I can gain the trust of a spheal or piplup in a couple weeks without ever putting myself in danger."

His idea was relatively simple and safe. By spending time near a group of peaceful seal or penguin pokemon, there was a chance Daniel could befriend one to raise as his starter. Empoleon and walrein were both known for their bulk, though they lacked speed. Befriending a wild pokemon would cause a lot less commotion and allow him to fly under the rangers' radar.

As an added bonus, the lake could draw out some pokemon he had been hunting for the past few weeks with little success. So as long as he could hang out in a relatively uncrowded area of the lake, then he might be able to catch something with little trouble.

His parents didn't have much of an argument and with a more vigilant ranger force watching over the lake, it was safer than what Daniel had been doing. So, he set out the next morning just before sunrise to make the hour long trek to the lakefront.

He arrived long before any tourists, though there were a couple rangers milling around the outpost between the route and the lakefront. They nodded at him but let him pass without question. The lake itself was pristine. It would be small enough to see the other side if it weren't for the island that sat in the middle. It was the last known resting place of Uxie, and the only spot that was actually off limits. The water glittered in the early morning sun and he heard pidove and starly chirping from the trees.

Across the lake, Daniel saw a large group of spheal and piplup playing on the shore under the supervision of a handful of their evolved forms. Luckily, he didn't see any empoleon or walrein though, which might have ruined his plans. Prinplup and sealeo were close enough to their playful previous evolution to still let people around as opposed to the final forms. Plan in place, Daniel started making his way towards the group, snow crunching with each step.

About halfway to the group, four or five mounds of snow pushed up in front of him traveling towards a snowdrift a couple yards away. Right before reaching the mound of snow, multiple pokemon, looking like balls of ice, jumped out of the ground and dove into the drift. One poked its icy head from the snow and looked at him.

The small shrew had dark blue eyes in contrast to its almost crystalline shell. It was a sandshrew. The ice-type variant was originally discovered in Alola and was colloquially referred to as Alolan sandshrew, though they were naturally found in any snowy area.

The sandshrew grunted at him and slid out of the snowdrift to Daniel's feet. It came up to about his knee, though it looked hunched over even when standing. It sniffed at his shoes before trying to take a bite of one. Daniel took a step back. Startled, the little pokemon jumped and chirped at him rapidly. "Well you're a feisty one, aren't ya?" he chuckled as he knelt down to get closer to the sandshrew. It blew a couple snowflakes at him in response.

Sandshrew, and their evolution, were incredibly weak to both fighting and fire type attacks, which were common in league matches. They also had a great typing against the top tier dragons, fairies, and psychics. They were rare at this elevation, preferring to live at the tops of mountains, which is why Daniel never considered one as an option.

"Do you want to come with me, little guy?" The pokemon didn't understand him and instead lightly headbutted his knee. The sandshrew's head was freezing cold, even through his clothes, and hard as a rock. Daniel winced slightly but didn't move from his position. Slowly, he pulled out a couple pieces of kibble from his breast pocket and held them out for the shrew. It sniffed at the food before picking one up between its stubby hands and eating.

When it finished the first piece of kibble, it promptly ate the other few pieces before trying to stick its snout in the pocket Daniel had procured the food from. Daniel laughed and pushed the sandshrew away, surprised at how heavy the shrew was. "If you want more, you have to come with me," he pulled the luxury ball of the bandolier and held it in front of the pokemon.

Pokemon were, in general, smart. Trained pokemon were smarter due to the technology implemented into the pokeball to help push down base instincts and provided a starting point for understanding human language. Wild pokemon, however, seemed to have a distinct knowledge and understanding of what a pokeball meant, even if it had never seen a human before. It was an odd phenomenon that researchers had been trying to figure out for about a decade, though nothing conclusive had been discovered.

So when Daniel held out the pokeball, the sandshrew knew, at a base level, what Daniel was asking for. He pulled out a couple more pieces of kibble as a bribe, though he kept the food between him and the ball. The sandshrew looked between the ball, the food, and Daniel multiple times, clearly thinking the decision over.

The sandshrew tried to duck under the luxury ball to get to the food but Daniel pulled the food to his chest. It then knocked the ball out of his hand to get to the kibble but he grabbed the ball and stood up to keep the determined shrew from the food. The pokemon glared at him before blasting him with a gust of freezing snow. When that didn't work, it headbutted him hard in the shin, bringing him to one knee. It immediately tackled him trying to get at the food.

Daniel dropped the luxury ball and pushed against the heavy shrew, managing to get out from under it after a few moments. He grabbed the ball again and held it between him and the sandshrew. "No!" he told it, "No more food unless you come with me." His shin throbbed from being headbutt by an ice covered steel ball, but he kept the pain from showing.

The sandshrew looked him in the eye for a minute. Then two. Daniel's eyes were burning from not blinking. When he thought he wouldn't be able to go any longer, the sandshrew blinked and looked down. With a victorious smile, Daniel pressed the luxury ball against the sandshrew. It was sucked into the ball in a flash of red light. The indicator light blinked red a couple times before it flashed blue and went out.

"Yes!" he exclaimed, pumping a fist in celebration.

"Caught yerself a shrew, huh?" A voice spoke from behind him. Daniel jumped up in shock, whipping around to see one of the rangers from the outpost watching him. He glanced around and didn't see anyone else nearby.

"Uh, yes. Yes sir, Ranger-" Daniel trailed off, not knowing the man's name.

"Brian Smith," the ranger answered. He kept talking without giving Daniel a chance to properly address him, "Ya know yer not supposed to be catching 'mons out here, right?"

"Err, yes sir. I was-"

"You know I can legally have a suspension placed on your license for doing so, right?" The ranger's accent faded slightly and he took on a more serious tone.

Daniel felt the blood rush from his face. "Yes sir, I did. I didn't disturb anyone though. And I didn't technically battle the sandshrew. He allowed me to catch him."

Ranger Smith glared sternly at him for a moment or two before cracking a grin. "Yer right. I knew you were planning ta catch something the moment I saw ya. Just wanted to scare ya a bit."

He heaved a sigh of relief. "Wait. You knew?"

"'Course I did! Rangers are informed whenever a new class of rooks are released. We've had a couple reports from other outposts about your pickiness. I kinda expected you to show up a week ago."

He almost let himself get frustrated over the comment but he took a breath and calmed himself. It made sense that the League had local rangers watching out for rookie trainers, especially those who decided to catch their starter on their own.

"If you knew what I was doing, then why did you let me catch the sandshrew? Why did you follow me?"

"I saw ya heading to the group over there and wanted to make sure you didn't cause a ruckus. Lotsa rooks think they can snatch a young piplup or spheal and scram, but it never works out and they get hurt."

"Err, well. I was hoping to catch one but I was hoping to befriend one the next couple days to keep things calm."

The ranger gave a loud laugh and a nod of acknowledgement. "Glad yer smarter than yer friends. That's the way to do it if you want to keep from battlin'. Anyways, the shrew's a nice catch. Don't typically see 'em this far down. Consider yerself lucky. And don't go making trouble, Pugh."

"Yes sir. Thank you Ranger Smith," Daniel called after him as the ranger turned to walk back to the outpost.

Once the ranger was out of earshot, Daniel fell to his knees, pants now a little wet from the snow. Two thoughts ran concurrently through his head. First was that he finally had a starter: a friendly, curious, determined little sandshrew. Second was that the walk home was definitely going to be painful if the throbbing in his leg was any indication.