"Kieran," whoever it was that was saying my name must have been standing there a long time because a hint of impatience crept into their voice. Out of nowhere, a hand slapped across my face. Christine cleared her throat and regained her posture.

Christine Joy was the head nurse at the Goldenrod Pokémon Center. Instead of the classic Joy style, she had cut her hair short and layered it, and her eyes were bright green instead of the normal blue. She wore blue scrubs and a black apron. Everything about her screamed rebel.

"What do you want, Rebel?" I asked, slightly annoyed and pulling out my phone to check for a bruise.

"Welcome back to reality, did you enjoy your time in Lalaland? I need you to head down to Room 117 and check on the Squirtle in there.

"Fine, but do that again and… ah, forget it."

I got up from the Nurses' station and walked away from the ever-annoying Joy. I turned the doorknob to 117 and peeked in. The little Squirtle was sound asleep. I sighed and inspected him. A wild Haunter had hurt him. He had a few scratches and a dark aura still surrounded him. He started to buck a little and started to cry.

"Rebel, get someone down here! He's having a lingering Nightmare!"

A nurse came running down and pushed me out of the way. I walked back to the station, worried about how the poor Squirtle would turn out.

I got off of work and headed a few blocks down to the Pokémon Daycare. Today, I was going to get my first pokémon. I know, it's a little sad to be a 17 year old without a pokémon, but that would change today. The daycare wasn't ever really busy, so I just walked in and spoke to the nice old lady who ran the place with her husband.

"Um, I was w-wondering if I c-could adopt a pokémon?" I sounded like a stumbling idiot just trying to ask.

"Hold on, sweetie, let me find someone to help you find one." She seemed to completely ignore my stuttering. She went through the back door and closed it behind her. I looked around as I waited for her to come back. I jumped a little as I noticed myself in the mirror. I looked a mess. My dark blue fauxhawk was slightly dipping from the bizarre heat in the hospital today and sweat gleamed on my bronze skin.

"Hey," a guy, must've been a daycare hand stood in the door. "Ellie asked me to help you find a good pokémon that suited you." He held the door open and gestured for me to come on. I followed him into the giant field behind the daycare. A group of pokémon had gathered, waiting for us.

"These are most of the pokémon on the ranch that don't have owners."

I glanced over the group, but none of them really struck me as a good partner. Then I saw him.

"What about that one?" I asked, pointing toward the giant barn in the back.

"You mean Cyndaquil? Well, he's about 2 months old and younger pokémon tend to be rowdier. I don't know if you can handle him."

"Oh please, he's perfect. I mean, look at him." He was kinda perfect. Instead of blue-green fur, his back fur was a dark black. The flame on his back was a brilliant purple. "I'll take him."

"Ok," the guy sounded unsure, but he beckoned for the Cyndaquil. "Come here, Cyndaquil. Come on boy."

The Cyndaquil perked up and looked over at us. He quickly scampered over to us.

"This guy wants to adopt you." Cyndaquil practically exploded with joy. He jumped straight up into my arms.

"Woah, boy. You sure are excited to come home with me. But, if you are, you're going to need a better name. How about… Zeus?"

"Cynd, cynda. Quil!" Zeus replied.

"Okay, let's go fill out the paperwork." The guy steered us back toward the front building. Ellie was at the desk waiting for us.

"Did Sean help you out alright, honey?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah. I'll be adopting Zeus here." I replied.

"Oh, that's a very nice name." Ellie said. She pulled out a packet and handed it to me. "If you could just fill these out for me, we could have you two heading out really soon. Oh, and I'm so glad you didn't have to tough a time with Sean, he isn't too big on socializing with people."

Sean blushed a beet red, "Gran, stop it!"

"Oh, hush, I didn't say anything too bad." Ellie giggled. I filled out the adoption papers and handed them back to her.

"Thank you, dear. Hold on a sec," she typed some things into the computer on the desk and pulled a little plastic card out of the printer. "Here's your trainer license, and can I ask you something. How would you like to work here at the daycare? You look pretty strong and we only have Sean here and… oh, what is her name?"

"Stacie," replied Sean.

"Yes, thank you, Stacie to help me and my husband out." Ellie said.

"Um, I'll think about it, but I can't make any promises." I said.

"Oh, well. Give it a thought. Here's Zeus' poké ball."

"Thanks. Come on, Zeus. Let's take you home." I walked the few blocks back to my house and took Zeus up to my room. My room was pretty decent, at least by my standards. My queen-sized bed was just underneath the window. There was a 40" TV opposite of my bed. On the wall, next to the door, were my desk and a Silver laptop. I had a dresser next to my bed. A lamp sat on the night table on the other side. A poster from The Walking Gengar hung on my wall.