The amazing world of Pokemon! The dream of every young child is to explore this world. With their dreams sparkling in the eyes, and Pokeballs clipped to their belts, they set out to make lifelong friends, experience great adventure and become Masters! All starting the day they turn 10 years old. What are you waiting for? Come on down and choose your starter pokemon no…
The commercial was suddenly cut short by a quick pop and a black screen. "Yeah, right." Kriss thought, rolling her eyes, finger still holding down the remote control's power button.
"Kriss! I was listening to that!" A woman's voice called from the kitchen.
"Mom, it was just an ad." Kriss replied. She tossed the remote onto the couch cushion beside her, and rounded the corner. Her mom was standing behind the kitchen counter. She fidgeted with the red kitchen towel in her hands, and looked at Kriss with a thin smile. Anybody else who saw the woman standing there would've seen nothing but a worried mother but Kriss could feel the blunt edge in her mom's gaze. "Here it comes…"
"Did you hear what the man on the T.V. said?" Kriss' mom asked, "about choosing a starter pokemon?"
"Mom…"
"Maybe you should go down there, Kriss. You could catch up to your friends and.."
"No." Kriss said adamantly. " I don't want to."
"Kriss! You're already 14! All your peers have already left! How long before you're ready?" Kriss' mom's voice turned sharp as she spoke. " At some point you're just going to have to go out there and get started!"
" I am ready," Kriss protested, " I just don't want to!"
"Are you scared? Is that it? If you choose a strong pokemon you won't even have to worry. Something like a Charmander or…" Kriss turned her back, cutting her mother short.
"I'm going out." she said, keeping her voice calm. It was no use talking to her mother when she got this way.
"Don't walk out on your mother, young lady!" The mother called out, but Kriss had already grabbed her Old Rod and swung the door shut behind her. She paused for a second, just outside the door, to take a deep breath. Her lungs were filled with the chill air blowing off the river that ran through the town. She tasted it's sweet freshness, and let it fill up her chest before slowly releasing it.
"There's no use getting mad." She thought as she walked to her favorite fishing spot. A bend in the river, rarely visited by the local children and fishermen. The water here was a clean blue and cool even in the middle of the hot summer. It had been Kriss' hiding spot since she was a tiny child. The sun warmed the top of her head as she cast her line into the water. If she was lucky, she would catch something small she could fry up and eat, maybe not have to go home until after dinner. The thought comforted her and she settled down in the long grass, waiting for a bite.
"What's everybody's obsession with Pokemon adventures anyway?" She thought, staring mindlessly into the water. It wasn't like the cheap badges would help those kids get jobs. It was all a distraction from real life. Kids spending years chasing ridiculous dreams for no real reason. If Kriss wanted to waste time like that, she was more than happy doing it with her fishing rod, relaxing in the sun.
A sudden tug on the line yanked Kriss away from her thoughts. She sprung into action, braced herself and began to reel. The fish tried to struggle, but was no match against Kriss' experienced hands. After about a minute of fighting, she gave the pole on last yank, and a red blur jumped out of the water and dangled from the hook of the rod above the surface.
"Really?" Kriss said flatly, staring at her catch. The pokemon's only reply was a deep " 'Karp".
She sighed, magikarps made for a terrible dinner, they were dirty fish that always tasted like mud. She decided that she would much rather face her mother again instead of trying to gut the magikarp through it's hard red scales. She prepared to throw the fish back in when it started to thrash about, repeating a panicked "'karp, 'karp, 'karp". Suddenly, a huge pidgeotto flew just over her head, blowing her short brown hair into her face, and scooped a magikarp that had wandered too close to the surface up in it's huge talons. Kriss looked behind her to see another pidgeotto poised to strike. It's beady eyes fixed on the magikarp at the end of her line.
The fish pokemon looked at her with it's large, unfocused eyes. Almost like it was pleading for help. She stared back at it, her sharp green eyes filled with focus. Usually she would happily let the birds eat, but something here kept her from doing it. To hand over the magikarp felt intensely immoral. "I guess it is kinda….cute?" She thought, examining it's thick, gaping lips, and the crown shaped fins on its head. "Okay, not really. Still, some kid would probably take it from me though, right?" Her time to deliberate was cut short by a loud screech behind her. The pidgeotto took off and dove for the magikarp. Kriss quickly yanked the rod, bringing the fish closer to her, and grabbed it with both arms, holding it to her chest. The pidgeotto, startled by the sudden movements, took off back to it's roost, screeching and cawing.
She watched the bird disappear from sight then loosened her grip. She looked down to discover the front of her shirt completely wet. "Ew!" she exclaimed. She immediately stood up. She grabbed the magikarp's tail and dangled it in front of her face. "Look what you've done! Now, I've gotta change, before I can find somebody to pawn you off on." She grumbled. The magikarp replied with a confused sounding " 'karp?".
"Sorry, I don't speak idiot." Kriss said, tucking the fish beneath her arm. " You better be thanking me." She started to walk back home to the fish's happy cry, " Magi!".
