I stirred in my bed as I suddenly awoke from my slumber. I opened my eyes slowly and blinked a few times before shielding my eyes from the harsh "sunlight" shining through my window. I looked around my room. There were solid steel walls and floors that were painted a light blue with white and black stripes. The room was large, enough so to fit in five other beds along with mine, and with me were five other people still asleep. There were two large dressers on either sides of the room along with a large TV just above the door. Between each bed was a PC machine and in the center of the room was a moderate sized coffee table with a blue and white leather couch in front of it and two small wooden chairs on either sides, both of which were a seafoam green.

I blinked a few more times before sitting up and stretching. I rubbed my eyes and yawned silently. I got up slowly and went over to the dresser closest to me and opened the second drawer. I pulled out one of my piles of clothes. Each pile had my shirt, pants, underwear, and bandana folded neatly on top of each other. I went out into the hallway and took a left. I walked past a couple of rooms before arriving at the bathroom.

I entered the bathroom without knocking. There was no need, I was always up before everyone else. Even my superiors. I put the clothes down on the sink before stepping into the shower. I turned on the shower and just let the water hit my face. The water was lukewarm, just the way I like it. The benefits of getting up early are that it is usually very quiet and I don't have to wait to get shit done.

For a while I just stood there in the shower, doing nothing, not even actually washing myself. Right now this was just a time to think in peace. To think about where my life is going, my past choices, my plans for the day, that kind of stuff.

After a few more minutes of just standing passed I finally decided to start washing myself. I gave my body and hair a quick rinse before stepping out. After stepping out I quickly realized that I forgot my towel. I was NOT about to go running through the halls naked, so it looks like I'll have to borrow one of my roommates towels that they left. I quickly dried myself before putting on my clothes. I put on my blue and white striped shirt on first, then I put on my ragged cyan shorts and wrapped my black cloth "belt" around my waist. After that I put on my blue and white striped knee socks and my black gloves. After that I went over to the mirror to do my hair. Before worrying about my hair I just looked at my face in the mirror. I looked at my light tan skin and my brown eyes. I had a few scars on my face but they were barely noticeable. I checked to see if I had hair growing anywhere on my face. I was a bit younger than the rest of the grunts, only being 19, so I didn't really expect much to any facial hair. When I saw none I quit my search. I don't really want facial hair, it seems like another hassle I'll have to deal with. After washing my face I started to focus on my hair. "Man, afros become so hard to manage at times…" I mumbled to myself. My afro was small but tending to it was tedious nonetheless.

After about five minutes of picking and combing my afro I grabbed my badana off the sink. Usually my colleagues wear their bandanas around their heads but I prefer to wear mine around my neck. It's out of the way, comfortable, and if I'm bored and want to look cool I just pull it up over my mouth like a bandit.

Now by this point you may have noticed there was a reason for my attire being like it is. That reason is I am a Team Aqua grunt. An "Ace Grunt" to be exact, but a grunt nonetheless. Life as a grunt is tough. It's difficult, it's demeaning, it's tiring, and you get treated like a lower lifeform by your superiors. But it is also rewarding and pays relatively well.

As I finished putting on my bandana I started to hear the sound of footsteps outside of the door, which could only mean everyone else is starting to wake up. I groaned and walked back out into the hallway.

The second I walked out into the hall I was met with the hustle and bustle that was common in the dorm wing of the base. I made my way through the crowd and back to my room. I walked in to see a few of my colleagues just start to wake up. All of my roommates were females, but don't get anything twisted. This is not going to end up like a harem. In fact, 2 of my roommates barely acknowledged my existence. I gave them a quick "good morning" and went to grab my pokèballs out of my dresser drawer. I checked to see if both of my pokèmon were there, and as always they were. I put them on my "belt" and walked out the side door. Past the door there was a very small room. All that room contained was a green warp pad. I stepped onto the pad and was greeted by a green veil and sequences of numbers flashing before my eyes. The feeling of going through a warp pad is weird. It feels like you are in freefall and being in hypergravity at the same time, but only for a second. I was relatively new here so it would take a while to get used to these.

I stepped off the pad only to be met with even more chaos than before. I really shouldn't be surprised, it is the main part of the base after all.

I shifted through another, even larger, crowd. Along the way I saw a few familiar faces. I said my hellos and saw if they did anything new. Our talks were short because we all had to get to work, but I still enjoyed them. To most all us grunts look the same, and in some ways we do, but we are all different in our own little ways so talking to the other grunts never really bores me. Everyone has their own personality, interests, and hobbies so nothing is ever bland here at the base.

I continued through the halls towards the mess hall. I finally arrived at another warp pad with a sign reading "Mess Hall" above it. Couldn't be more clear if ya tried.

I stepped onto the warp pad and was, again, met with another familiar feeling. In the blink of an eye I was teleported into an extremely large room. The walls were still made of steel, but there was only a solid white paintjob on the walls. There were multiple large turquoise tables placed around the room. Nearly every seat was filled and there were still some people in line getting their breakfast. I saw some people I knew, but there was one man in line that EVERYONE here knew.

In the back of the line stood a tall, muscular man. He wore a blue one-piece wetsuit. The part of the wetsuit that was supposed to cover the torso and arms had been ripped apart completely with only a few pieces left hanging by his sides. The only parts of the suit intact were the "pants" and gloves. He wore a yellow necklace. He wore blue war paint on his face and had our team's symbol painted across his bare chest in white. It was one of our admins, Matt.

Most people tried to keep their distance from Matt because of his rank and intimidating looks but not me. I walked right behind Matt and waited in line. It was going to be boring doing nothing so I decided to strike up a conversation with Matt. Without really looking anywhere in particular I calmly started to speak. "Hello, sir. Good morning."

He turned around and looked down at me. The man towered over me by at LEAST a foot and a half. He seemed groggy and a little out of it at the moment, but even with the fact of him being tired he still tried to hold the facade of being his usual energetic self. He gave me a small, tired smile. "Oh, hey there little dude. You're new here right?"

I chuckled, shaking my head a bit. "Well can't exactly call me new. I've been here for nearly three months." Matt bursted out into laughter. He hunched over holding his stomach trying to regain his composure, but was failing. Guess this is what happens when you're sleep deprived. "Man! I was WAY off!"

Everyone in the room was looking at us, all of them quizzical about Matt could be laughing at. Me, however, I just laughed a little with him. It's sort of contagious that laugh of his. He slowed down to a chuckle as he wiped a tear from his eye. "Hahahaha...haha… Man. What's your name anyway dude?"

I finally looked up at the behemoth before me and locked eyes with him. I flashed a toothy grin. "The names Matt." My name was really Kenn but I liked Matt better. Either way this just seemed to make Matt lose ALL of his shit. He burst out laughing again but this time he nearly fell to the ground laughing. It was funny before but now it's just weird but I guess I won't say anything. "HAHAHAHAHA! O-oh man! What are the odds!? AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" he bellowed.

Again, it took him a while to settle down and he wiped more tears from his eyes. "Well… anyway… . You probably already know who I am, but nice to meet ya." He stuck his hand out and we both shook hands. His grip nearly broke my hand on contact. Whatever his workout regiment is I need to get into that.

"Well anyway sir… What is the schedule for the day?" I asked calmly.

"Well some of it is for the higher up's so I'll leave that out… But other than that it's just a training day."

I smiled. Training days were my favorite. Just me and my pokèmon dominating as many others as we could. Just the thrill of trying to become the "King of the Hill", as you would say, is incredibly infectious and everyone never holds back. "Well I'm glad to hear that! Just the thought of the battles I'll have is getting me PUMPED!"

Matt let out a low chuckle. "Hahaha… Maybe I'll stop by and do some training too!"

"When do we start the training?" I asked enthusiastically.

"In a few minutes actually." he replied.

All of a sudden there was a loud boom and the walls and floor shook violently. Small pieces of rubble fell from the ceiling. At the sound of the bang everyone in the room snapped to attention.

I looked up at Matt with a little worried smile. "Uhhh…. Hahaha… Is this part of the training?"

Matt did not to even bother looking at me. He wore the most serious expression I've ever seen on him. Then, with an equally serious tone, he replied simply. "No."

My smile faded quickly. "Yeah. I didn't think so…"