Teari, a girl of 14, a Pokémon Trainer, a native to the Orange Islands. She remembers the warm sand, tropical air, and the cries of the Wingull above the softly crashing waves. She also remembers all of the fun she had back then. But most of all, she remembered the adventures she had with her best friend.

She had to move away all those years ago. She had missed that friend. He was her only friend at the time.

But the times are different now. Life is different now, from what it used to be anyway. It's different from the journeys she had had by herself when she first started out as a 10 year old Trainer. She had made no friends along the way, which was a very lonely 2 years for her, but it taught her how to handle things for herself. She was no worrisome, pathetic spoiled girl, who couldn't touch dirt with a thirty foot long pole. She knew what crap life had in store for the weak minded, which she considered herself blessed to not be in the slightest. She was an independent person, who just happened to never make any friends, despite her incredibly likeable personality. A loner.

Then she started traveling with her cousin, Ember, who is a 16 year-old fire type trainer with dark caramel skin. But within 2 years, they grew tried of exploring the exact same regions over and over again. So they decided to return to Pallet Town, until they find a new reason to start traveling again.

It was then, that everything seemed to fall perfectly into place for her.

Why?

How?

No. Who.

She had met up with the one person who mattered to her most, the one from her childhood. The one person she vowed to bring back into her life, and keep forever in her heart, living in Pallet Town. The friend she thought she had lost forever.

He had made many friends since they last saw each other, and Teari got to meet them all. They've been in Pallet Town, visting each other constantly (especially him) ever since. Then again, there was no where else for them to go.

Or was there?

She picked up her pen, and spun her chair around to face the desk in her bedroom. She then began to write to each of her chosen traveling companions, excluding Ember, as she would just tell her. She wrote her friend's first.

Dear Tray,

I say it's about time we do something. I mean, as in go somewhere new. Travel! I have a certain place in mind. Meet me at the dock in Pallet Town with Misty and Brock tomorrow at 8am.

Be sure to pack a bathing suit for the ride there. We're going on a cruise ship to get there! The place I choose is somewhat similar to the tropical environment of the Orange Islands, so come prepared!

Can't wait to see you there!

Love,
Teari H.

Yeah, believe it or not, she's not afraid to say 'love'. In fact, she says that the whole 'like or love' system is all messed up. Many people would say that they 'like' their friends and 'like-like' their crush. To her, she loves all of her friends. And she'll say it too. But sometimes, they weren't always sure what to make of it when she did say it. But at other times, one wished that he knew when those words would mean something more than just friends.

Teari finished writing the rest of the letters and sent out her Noctowl.

"Owlia, here," Teari said, handing over the letters to the said Pokémon, who took it in her talons. "Take these to Tray, Misty, and Brock. You know where to find them."

"Noct." She cooed, as a familiar family member walked in Teari's room, just in time to see the takeoff.

"Whatcha doin'?" Ember asked her, flopping herself into a comfortable position on Teari's bed.

"Sending Owlia to deliver a couple of letters. I'm inviting everyone to come to the Inkanni region with me." Teari explained, grabbing another Cheeto from the bag before eating it. "Including you of course, that is, if you want to meet everyone else I'm inviting."

"I know, I was listening in the whole time." She answered, blandly.

"Then why'd ya ask?"

"I dunno." Ember simply shrugged. "I just wanted to make sure I was right."

"Mm... 'kay." Teari shrugged in reply.

"Hey, Teari?"

"Yeah, Ember."

"How exactly did you hear about the Inkanni region?" Ember asked her cousin.

"I went online and browsed through the destinations of the cruise ship company's website thingy." Teari said. "Pokémon Training isn't a really big thing around there, but there a series of small competitions here and there."

"Oh." She answered, obvious disappointment displayed in her expression.

~

Brock was almost finished with a challenger at the Gym, when he was suddenly distracted. And no, not from a pretty girl.

"Noctowl!" Cried a voice from the window.

"Huh." Brock said, dumbfounded as to why Teari's Noctowl was trying to break into in the Gym.

"Now, Clefairy! Use your secret weapon! Solar Beam!" The challenger yelled.

"No, Onix!" Brock hollered as the rock snake fell to the ground.

"Oowrrr!" It cried out in pain, before Brock returned it to it's rightful Pokéball.

"You did great, Onix. You deserve a good rest."

"Wow! We did it, Clefairy! We beat our first Gym match!" The challenger cheered, before meeting Brock in the center of the battlefield.

After Brock awarded the kid a Boulder Badge, he opened the window to let the Owl Pokémon inside. It was then that he noticed the envelope in her beak. He retrieved it, and it read:

Hey, Brock

I was wondering if you could come to the Inkanni region with us. That is, if you can take a break from your role as Gym Leader. If you can, meet up with us at the dock in Pallet Town with Misty tomorrow at 8am.

Be sure to pack a swimsuit for the cruise ship we'll ride on the way there. Also, I don't think you and Misty have met my cousin yet, and never tell her that I told you this, but she happens to be single and around your age. ;)

I don't know what kinda guys she's into, but don't worry about if she's a lesbian or something. Cause she's not... to my knowledge anyway...

See ya there!

Love,
Teari H.

P.S. - I think that you and Ember will be great friends. If not, maybe more than friends... ;)

Brock couldn't help himself from smiling at the letter from his crazy matchmaking friend.

~

In Cerulean City, the water type Gym Leader, Misty Waterflower, has also been visted by a familiar Pokémon.

Out her bedroom window, perched a slightly larger Noctowl, indicating that it's Teari's Noctowl. As well as her fluffed up and softly ruffled feathers.

"Isn't that Teari's Noctowl?" Misty's other visitor, Tracey Sketchit, asked.

"I think so. What do you think she wants?" Misty wondered aloud, only receiving a shrug in reply.

She opened the window to let the Owl Pokémon inside her room, who then landed in between the two. Misty saw that the Pokémon had two envelopes, one in her beak, and one in her talon, obviously only expecting to deliver one of them at this stop.

"They're for us." Misty pointed out, handing Tracey the one labeled 'Tray', and opened the one meant for her.

Howdy, Mist

I was just thinking about how great it'd be to travel again, and I know exactly where we should go! I accidentally already told Brock where we're going on his invitation, so the surprise is ruined for him. Meet us at the dock in Pallet Town if you can come with us.

As I've said on the other two letters, pack a swimsuit because we're going to have to take a cruise, which is lucky for you. Being a water type Gym Leader and all. Also, I forgot to mention to Brock about the environment being like that of the Orange Islands. Which may not matter if he already knew that about the region... Ohp! Now I've revealed that it's in a different region!

This one is getting longer than the others, but I'd like to mention that my cousin is also coming with us. I know that you'll like her!

Love,
Teari H.

"Let me guess, yours says 'love' too, doesn't it?" Tracey asked, disappointment apparent in his dim frown.

"Yeah." Misty replied, sympathetically, to her friend, knowing that he wants to be something more to her than just any another friend she had. They did have history, after all.

Misty looked at his invitation, to see if there was something to cheer him up. Finding it, she let out a smile.

"But yours says 'dear', and mine doesn't." Misty said, "It could mean something, you know."

"I don't know, Misty." Tracey sighed, standing up to leave. "It doesn't matter anyway."

"You just don't like the idea of being completely friend zoned." Misty said, in an understanding way. "I know how that feels, you know?"

"Yeah, except..." Tracey started to say, before struggling to continue with. "I guess there isn't much difference in our situation, is there?"

"There is. You and Teari aren't looking for a relationship, but you sometimes feel like you want to be her 1st choice, for when -you know- she decides to join the race." Misty explained, leading Tracey toward the bottom of the stairs. "I'm just a hopeless romantic who fell for her best friend, who doesn't even know the first thing about anything, but food and Pokémon." Misty explained, walking Tracey out the door.

"Yeah, I guess that is a bit of a difference." He sighed, an inner peace drifting over him. He let out a small smile. "But in a way, we both fell for our best friend... didn't we?"

Misty smiled back, "We did, didn't we?"

~

Hey there guys!

Welcome to Book 1 of The Inkanni Chronicles!

I hope that this first chapter has sparked your interest into the story, and I hope that you'll add this to your archive or library (if you haven't already done so) so you can get updates. Also don't forget to vote if you want me to continue with this story. If you want to see more of Teari Howl and "Tray", be sure to check out my Pokémon Truth or Dare, where I first decided to turn it into this story. (Also, if you haven't caught on already, "Tray" is Teari's nickname for Tracey ever since they were little.)

It gets more personal next chapter when they hop aboard the cruise ship and... Well, I suppose I shouldn't tell you spoilers so...

~Teari Howl't!