Challenger

A Pokémon fanfic by Brave Soul RMS on Fanfiction.net. Details the adventures of 15 year old Grey Thomas, a rebellious runaway, as he sets off to realize his dream of becoming a Pokemon Trainer. At the moment is 19 chapters and a typical Journey Fic, however the Author says that it will eventually become a Coming of Age Story. Can be found here

Grey comes from a family with a long history of turning out Pokemon Rangers. Being the odd one out, Grey always found training Pokemon to be more appealing that becoming a Ranger and frequently voiced his desires to his strict father, Van. Van made multiple empty promises to let the boy go out and do his thing, and when Grey finally had enough of it, he decides to run away from home with his first Pokemon and best friend, a Charmander named Soul. Hitching a ride with his supportive ex-trainer uncle to the Silver Ring Archipelago, Grey is joined on his journey by his older sister Rachel, a Top Ranger and firm believer in tradition and Juniper Hawthorne, an aspiring researcher and the resident Pokemon Prof.'s only daughter. Along the way, they pick up Jameson Rhodes, another trainer who parallels Grey in every way.


 * Region Building: The Silver Ring Archipelago was designed by the author, and is split into two main islands and a handful of smaller ones. The story is currently taking place on the first island, Pacific Island, and the second half will take place on Dealer Island. Word of God has it that Dealer's name isn't set in stone yet, and that both islands together are about the size of a region-and-a-half.
 * Sliding Scale of Realistic Versus Fantastic: Fits on the Fantastic end of the scale, as is par for the course for Pokemon. However, real-world limitations and problems in terms of raising Pokemon have recently been brought up: budgeting around the Pokemon one owns and tending to their individual needs and training, the requirement of needing a Trainer Card to be an official trainer, and, of course, making sure the trainer and Pokemon all have enough to eat.