The sun pushed its way through the blinds that were laid out over the window across the room from the large bed in the corner, expertly aiming directly for the eyelids of the sole inhabitant of the room. This caused a low groan to slip out from said inhabitant, who gracelessly rolled over and pulled the large blanket higher to block the sun. This placated the still sleeping form tangled in the sheets, and the scene remained largely unchanged for a substantial period of time.

Alas, this peace could not be maintained forever, carpe diem and all that. The early morning quiet was shattered by a call from above, echoing through the house. "Jeff, breakfast!" Again, groans could be heard from the bed, and the form under the blanket shifted around. "Geoffrey?" Still more groans and more shuffling. "Geoffrey Jackson Davidson III! You will get out of bed this instant!" This outburst produced more of a reaction from the pile of sheets, which included wild flailing and an eventual fall off of the bed.

A groan emanated from the pile of blanket and limbs on the floor before it began to shift and rise. The blanket fell to the floor revealing the sole occupant of the room, one Geoffrey Jackson Davidson III, holding his back from the rough landing. He stretched once, cracking his spine, before he set to beginning the day.

Several minutes had passed since Jeff's ritual meeting with the floor, and he had quickly but efficiently gotten ready for the day. He exited his room having dressed for the day in his standard dark red tee shirt and black cargo pants, black socks adorning his feet. He yawned once on his way down the hall towards the smell of bacon, eggs, and pancakes.

Jeff entered the kitchen, running a hand through his shoulder length black hair. He glanced around the room before walking over to the stove and heaping a large amount of breakfast food onto a plate he pulled out of a cupboard. He grabbed a fork on his way to sit at the table.

Before he was able to begin eating, his mother walked into the kitchen from the hallway. "Ah, here you are, Jeff." Jeff grunted once in response. "Do you know what time it is?"

Jeff glanced up at the clock on the stove. "It's 10:18." He attempted to take his first bite, however his mother interrupted him first.

"Well, do you know what day it is?" She walked over to sit across from him.

Jeff glanced longingly towards his still uneaten breakfast, muttering "Saturday?" before resuming eating.

"No, it's Monday." This brought about a grunt from Jeff, who had finally taken his first bite. "The third?" Another grunt. "Well then, I guess you just want to wait another year."

Jeff swallowed, chocking down a half-chewed mouthful of egg. "For what?"

His mother sighed, and then continued in a condescending tone. "Today is the day that Professor Oak is giving out the starter Pokémon to new trainers, and you have had a series of unfortunate events that prevented you from joining these new trainers for seven years now. Would you like to make it eight?"

Jeff took another bite of egg, letting his mother's words sink in. After chewing thoughtfully for a second, he calmly put his fork down before proceeding to launch a mouthful of egg across the kitchen and jumping up and running towards the door. He stopped in the front hall to pull on a pair of tennis shoes before running out the door with a dark grey windbreaker trailing behind him, a wallet being stuffed into his pocket, and a chuckling mother watching him go.

"He never was a morning person."

"Ah, Mister Davidson, so glad you could make it." The graying gentleman in the lab coat was standing in the middle of a medium sized laboratory room, surrounded by many young children. He walked over to Jeff, who had just entered after following a young lab assistant.

"Professor Oak. I'm glad I could make it." Jeff shook the Professor's offered hand as the children in the room were being entertained by a second assistant who had brought in a young litter of Growlithe and their mother. "And only thirty minutes late this time."

The two of them chuckled. "Yes, when you didn't show up on time, I was afraid that we would have a repeat of last year. I suppose that you still remember the speech?"

"Yes, of course. It's not like I've heard it six times or anything." This brought on another bout of laughter.

The assistant with the children called over to the Professor that the Arcanine was becoming a little agitated. The Professor responded by summoning the children. "Come on, kids. The pups need a nap." A chorus of groans issued from the children. "You know, I think that it's time to start handing out Pokémon." This replaced the groans with cheers and enthusiasm.

Jeff stood back and watched as the crowd of children thinned as they received their first Pokémon and began their training. After a few minutes that seemed like seconds, Jeff was left in the room with the Professor. Jeff took his place in front of the table over which Professor Oak gave new trainers their first Pokémon.

The Professor grinned. "Well, Jeff, how does it feel to be standing here after waiting all these years?"

Jeff returned Oak's grin. "Pretty good, Professor. It feels pretty good."

Oak reached down under the table and pulled out a single Pokéball. "I sent for this Pokémon for you, Jeff, because I felt bad about not being able to let you have one these last two years."

Jeff cocked an eyebrow. "Why isn't it red?"

The Professor passed the Pokéball across to Jeff, the artificial light gleaming off of the black metal. "Well, it's a special ball for a special Pokémon… for an extremely patient trainer." Oak chuckled as Jeff examined the unique capsule. "Well, what are you waiting for? Do you want me to take it back for another year?"

"No!" Jeff clutched the black Pokéball to his chest, bringing the Professor to laughter. "I mean, no, I think I've waited long enough."

Oak reigned in his laughter with some effort. "Alright, don't worry. That Pokémon is yours now, so I can't do anything with it that you don't want me to." He chuckled again. "So? Aren't you the least bit curious?"

Jeff relaxed slightly, glancing over his new Pokéball, interest now piqued. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"Well? What are you waiting for?"

At that Jeff tossed the ball into the air. It spun up to about ten feet in the air before cracking open with a flash. When the light receded, the ball dropped down into Jeff's hand and he looked down at his feet. "Oh, Professor, you know me so well."

"How could I not know which Pokémon you wanted?" Oak chuckled as he watched Jeff crouch down to get a closer look at the small Pokémon at his feet. "Every year, when you came in late, you asked about the Charmander first."

The Charmander was lying on the floor with its tail curled around its nose, the flame up against its shoulder. A large, light blue eye opened up to look up at Jeff before quickly closing again. Jeff glanced up at Oak, who chuckled.

"They said she was a little shy, but that seems to be an understatement." Oak walked over to a cabinet against the wall, pulling out a can with a single tongue of fire on it before returning to Jeff. "This is a mixture of berries that most Fire types find irresistible. Giving her some of this could help to get her to open up."

Jeff took the can and shook a little out into his hand. He held it out to the Charmander, whispering comforting coos. The Charmander cracked open an eye, glancing at the berries, then up at Jeff, then back at the berries, before picking her head up and taking a tentative sniff. Her eyes lit up and she moved a little closer, taking a lick, then a nibble, then a bite of the berries. Jeff slowly brought his free hand up to pat the Charmander on the head.

The adorable moment was broken by the Professor. "You two seem to be getting along well." He chuckled. "The guys at the Farm said that she was shy, but that after she opened up she can get a little mischievous. They also said that they all like her, so you need to take good care of her. Something about hunting you down?"

Jeff looked up from the Charmander who had finished off the berries that were in Jeff's hand and had taken to licking his hand. "Oh, don't worry. I don't think I could not take good care of her. You did say she was a she, right?"

Oak chuckled. "Yes, yes I did. Do you want to give her a name?"

Jeff glanced down at Charmander, who was currently nuzzling his hand. "You said she was mischievous?" Oak nodded. "Eris."

Oak cocked an eyebrow. "Eris?"

Jeff nodded. "Eris, the goddess of chaos. She has a golden apple. The flame on her tail looks like it could be that golden apple."

"Ah."

Jeff paused for a moment, looking pensive. "Wait, aren't Charmander red?"

Oak chuckled at this. "Yes, most Charmander are red. However, on occasion, a Charmander is born with a different coloring. It happens with all Pokémon, actually. We call these odd-colored Pokémon 'shiny'." Oak chuckled once more. "What you have there, Jeff, is a very rare female shiny Charmander."

Jeff stared at Professor Oak for a moment before looking down at the newly named Eris. "Rare?"

Oak nodded. "Yep, you're welcome."

Jeff cupped Eris' cheek in one hand, bringing his other hand down to rub her back. "Yeah, thanks." Eris nuzzled Jeff's hand a little before she climbed up onto it. He picked her up and looked over at Oak.

The Professor reached a hand out to pet Eris' head, before leading Jeff over to a desk against the wall. "Well, I think it's about time for you to get going." Oak picked up a rectangular piece of gold metal and several small red Pokéballs. "Here is your Pokédex. It will serve as your trainer id. And here are some extra Pokéballs, to fill out your team a little."

Jeff put Eris up next to his shoulder, which she crawled onto, before he accepted the offered items, placing his Pokédex in a pocket and his new Pokéballs, along with Eris', onto the magnetic spots on his belt. "Thanks, Professor. I think I'm gonna head off now."

Oak led him out of the lab and waved after him as he headed towards his house.

Jeff walked through the front door with Eris still on his shoulder, her head against his chin and her tail draped across his chest. As he shut the door behind him, his mother walked in from the kitchen. "Jeff! You're back!"

Jeff turned to his mother, reaching up to scratch Eris' chin. "Mom, this is Eris."

His mother was in front of him in an instant, startling Jeff and scaring Eris, who dug her claws into Jeff's jacket. "Aww, she's adorable!" Eris' eyes grew wide as Jeff's mother reached up to pet her. Eris shrank back behind Jeff's hair. "Oooh! I can't stand it."

Jeff recovered relatively quickly, bringing a hand up to reassure Eris. "Careful, mom, she's shy."

She yanked her hands back with a gasp. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare her."

"I know you didn't, Mom." Jeff stroked Eris' head reassuringly before pushing his hair out of the way. "Eris?" The Charmander looked up with wide eyes. "This is my mother. She's not going to hurt you. She just gets excited easily."

"Hey!" His mother had a reproachful look on her face, but her eyes showed her amusement. After a moment of feigned rage, she smiled apologetically. "I am sorry, though." She leaned in towards Eris, who shrank back a little but didn't hide. "I'm sorry, Eris. I didn't mean to scare you and I would never hurt you."

Eris raised a brow curiously as Jeff's mother brought a hand up to her, palm up, before taking a cautious sniff, and sensing no danger, gave her hand a tentative nuzzle and received a scratch on the side of her head in return. Eris made a sound that sounded halfway between a growl and a purr, leaning into the pleasant scratching.

Jeff laughed a little at the cute noise that Eris was making. "Well, Mom, I need to get going." He stroked Eris' head subconsciously. "I really just came back to get my stuff."

His mother's face fell slightly. "Okay, Jeff. I'll let you go. Just make sure to keep in touch." She leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Be careful."

Jeff blushed a little. "Don't worry, Mom. I will." He turned to look at Eris, who he was still petting. "Come down, Eris." She looked up at him, before looking down at the hand he held out for her to climb onto. "I'd like to leave you out here with my mom while I go get some stuff from my room."

Eris looked up at Jeff again, then over at his mother. She slithered around Jeff's neck and down his arm towards his hand which he brought down to the kitchen table. Eris crawled down onto the table and nuzzled Jeff's hand for a moment before turning towards his mother.

The woman held out a hand, which Eris nuzzled, before scratching Eris on the back of her neck. Jeff chuckled at the endearing sight before walking off to his room to gather his belongings.

Jeff walked into the kitchen, a silver backpack filled with clothes and nonperishable food on his back with a black sleeping bag hanging off of it. He was greeted with the sight of his Pokémon on her back on top off the kitchen table on the receiving end of what appeared to be a very pleasurable belly rub. Jeff couldn't keep his laughter silent, which revealed his presence to the two. The woman grinned sheepishly, and the Charmander quickly flipped back right side up and trotted up to Jeff. "Well, I'm glad you two are getting along well." Jeff chuckled again. "But we had better get going if we want to get to Viridian tomorrow."

His mother sighed, the exuberance felt moments ago fading quickly. "I know." She stood up from the table and hugged him fiercely. "I love you, Jeffy. Be safe and keep in touch."

Jeff returned the hug. "I love you, too, Mom. And I will." He dropped the hug after a moment. "But you need to let me go so I can get going so that you can look forward to my next visit."

His mother laughed sadly before giving him one last squeeze and releasing him. "That's a good way to put it." Her tone shifted from solemn to stern. "Just don't make me wait too long."

"I won't." Jeff turned back to the table, offering Eris his arm. "Come on, Eris. Let's go before Mom holds onto us for another hour." The lizard scampered up his arm and curled around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder. Jeff then walked to the door, being followed by his mother. "Bye, Mom. I'll call when I get to Viridian." Hearing her sad 'goodbye' he turned and set off down the street to begin his journey.