The Viridian Academy for Pokemon trainers was still in its youth, but already it's opened doors had welcomed in many prospective trainers, breeders - really, anyone who wanted a future alongside Pokemon was allowed inside the academy's hallowed halls. In the fallout of Team Rocket's reign of terror on Kanto, and the insurgence of other groups in far away regions, it was important that everyone knew the importance of the relationship between humans and Pokemonkind.
For this reason, the Academy had chosen to guide new trainers through this process. No longer would they be thrust into an unknown world with a stranger beside them - now, long before they ever step foot in the field, the seeds of partnership have already been planted between trainer and Pokemon.
On this particular day, a young student's journey into the world of Pokemon begins with her entry into the hallowed halls of the academy. Today marks the beginning of a truly beautiful journey, one that will resha-
"Sable! Get back here!"
A young girl, still dressed in her pajamas, ran down the stairs in chase of a purple gremlin creature, who held a brush in its small clawed hands. This was a regular occurence in this household, but it was particularly irritating for it to occur on a day as important as this.
The Sableye jumped up on the breakfast table, the hairbrush still firmly clutched in its grubby claws. All the while it was chuckling quite mischievously, its sharp teeth glinting through its smile. Meanwhile, the girl's mother calmly stirred her coffee, the event unfolding before her was nothing out of the ordinary.
The girl finally caught up to the little beast in the kitchen, although she was clearly out of breath. Her breath was heavy, and her hair could very well be mistaken for a Taillow's nest from a distance. "Sable, I'm serious!" She whined. "This is important! We don't have time to play games!"
Sableye looked down at the brush pensively, before flinging it on top of the fridge. It knocked over a loaf of bread, but thankfully that was it. Before the bread even hit the ground, the Sableye was gone, the echoes of its giggling being the only thing that remained in its presence.
"Man, I'm too tired to deal with this today…" Once again, she found herself cleaning up after Sableye. It was a daily routine by now, but it wasn't one that she liked any more as the days went on. The brush landed right in the bread basket, so the bristles were covered in crumbs. "Ugh…"
"Quite a troublesome friend you have." The girl's mother noted, taking a long sip from her cup of coffee. "Mina, please try not to get into too much trouble at that school of yours."
"Doesn't seem like it's up to me." Mina muttered in response, running the brush through the sink's water. "Seriously, how am I supposed to deal with Sable? I bet Delcatty wasn't so troublesome when you first got her."
In response to her name, the Delcatty resting in the corner of the kitchen atop a large cushion perked her head up. Mina, noting how Delcatty was eyeing the bread with hunger, tossed a loose slice of bread towards her, which she happily catched in her mouth.
All the while, Mina's mom observed the scene with a content smile. "Well, I would say that my dear Skitty wasn't quite as much of a troublemaker as Sableye. But you know, not every partner is perfect. They're quite like children, you know - it takes a firm but caring hand to bring out the best in them."
"Well, I'm too young to be a mother." Mina grumbled beneath her breath.
"Odd, I don't remember you being so grumpy when you first picked out Sable. You were so excited to be a trainer." She sighed, taking another long sip of her coffee.
Mina looked down at the floor. "Well, that's still true. I want to be a trainer…"
"Then that's the end of that, no?" Her mom chuckled - for a second, Mina thought it sounded quite a bit like Sable's mischievous chuckles, and that scared Mina more than anything.
"You're honestly so difficult sometimes mother. But thank you."
"It's what I'm here for. Also, please go get dressed. You don't want Pidgeys roosting in your hair, do you?" And that was the end of that conversation. Mina stomped off upstairs to finally finish off her morning, and hopefully Sableye wouldn't steal her toothbrush too.
The airport was particularly busy at this time of day. Mina was part of a group of prospective trainers from Hoenn heading out to study in Viridian Academy - Mina couldn't quite recall how large the class was supposed to be, but her fellow students were fairly easy to spot. The casually dressed youths with their partners by their side stood out against the sea of sharp-dressed businessmen and gaudy tourists.
Mina herself had Sableye perched on her shoulder. It was behaving relatively well, but she kept her eyes wide open. Sable was a particularly merciless trickster, and she had no doubt that it was itching to stir up some trouble.
"Viridian too, huh?" From the corner of her eye, Mina noticed a young, pale-haired boy sitting cross-legged on a seat one row behind her. A Vulpix rested on his lap, soundly asleep. "The name's Royce, by the way. From Lavaridge. Ever heard of it?"
"Well, good day to you too." Mina replied, a twinge of sarcasm apparent in her voice. "Yes, I am aware of Lavaridge. Likewise, I'm Mina, from Petalburg Town."
Royce raised his hands a bit defensively. "I think we've gotten off the wrong foot. I don't mean to give off the wrong impression. It's just that us first years have to stick together. Of course, my brother's already a second year back in Viridian, so I have some more experience that just your regular freshman."
"I appreciate the sentiment." MIna pursed her lips. "But I'm sure I can figure out how to get around the school pretty fast."
"Well, suit yourself." Royce shrugged. "Oh, by the way…"
"Yes?" Mina was starting to get a bit impatient now. She didn't like the tone of this guy's voice. "What do you want now?"
"Where'd your little buddy go?" Royce gestured toward his shoulder, and immediately Mina realized that her shoulder did indeed feel like a weight has been lifted of it. In a sudden surge of panic, Mina whirs around in a frantic search for her Sableye.
"Saaable!" Her sudden yell got her some odd glances from some people, to which Mina felt her cheeks redden. 'I should have known this would have happened. Why did I take my eyes off of him!? It was that kid Royce's fault for distracting me! Yes, that was an acceptable reason.
"Yooo-hoo!" An outstretched hand in one of the rows to the left caught Mina's attention. A dark-skinned girl wearing a snow cap held Sable in her other arm. Sable had a Pecha berry between its teeth, which it had spotted the girl trying to feed to her Snorunt sitting right behind her.
There was a girl next to the waving girl who was much taller, paler, and had long, red hair that reached just below her shoulders in a straight cut. A Bagon stood alert at her feet. Unlike the smaller girl, who had a large goofy grin on her face as she waved Mina over, the taller girl possessed a much more serious and stern expression on her face.
As Mina, her face still red with embarrassment, closed the distance between her and the duo, Sable lept out of the girl's arm and back onto her shoulder in one leap. "Sable! Don't do that again!" In response, Sable swallowed the berry in one big gulp and giggled. Back to the two girls, Mina was desperately trying to mend the situation. "I'm so sorry. He's not usually so… troublesome."
"Oh, no worries!" The snow cap girl chirped a lot more happily than Mina had expected. "The little guy was just hungry, that's all! I've got plenty of berries stored up for the journey anyway, so it's no big deal if I prop some along the way."
"Oh, thank you so much." Mina sighed and gave a calm smile towards the shorter girl. Meanwhile, the red haired girl opposite to snow cap maintained her stern expression.
"By the way, the name's Nona!" Nona then gestured to the taller girl beside her. "And this is Selena. Don't mind her, she doesn't talk much." Selena, true to form, merely hmphed in response.
"Well, it's very nice to meet you two."
It only took a few more minutes for the plane to finally arrived. Mina at least felt that she had made a good start to acquainting herself with her new classmates - at least, the ones that she shared a home region with. Sable returned to its Pokeball - it never liked being confined for so long, but she couldn't just take such a ruthless troublemaker like it on a plane. But for once, Sable remained calm for the entirety of the journey, thus giving Mina a chance to take a well-deserved nap.
By the time she woke up, the plane had already landed in Kanto. And thus began her life as a student of Viridian Academy.