"Must.. make it… there… before… Barry!" huffed a girl, urging her bike to pedal faster. She was 10 years old, so today she embarked on her Pokémon journey. She had traveled all the way from her homeland Fiore to the Sinnoh region just because she had her mind dead set on what partner she'd want.
I heard the sound of a key turning in a lock. Blinking, I saw the blurry figure of an old man with a mustache and a square face. Oh, it was Rowan. Once my vision was clear, I sat up and stretched. I nearly forgot what today was.
Before I was completely awake, I felt two firm hands lift me up. "Today's a big day," Rowan murmured in that deep voice of his. Next thing I knew, I felt a cold metal surface under my feet. It sent a shiver up my spine, and the fact that my worst enemy was sitting beside me didn't make it any better.
Professor Rowan placed another familiar creature- a green one- on my other side. I gave him a little smile, and he smiled back. I could feel him shaking though. Rowan patted each of our heads, his hand resting for a moment on the head of the blue penguin beside me. "Daddy's favorite", I thought bitterly. I considered using Ember once he stuck his tongue out of his yellow beak at me, but contained myself. If the human picked me- or Piplup- then I'd never have to see his stupid face again.
"PROFESSOR ROWAN! I'M HERE!" the girl from before shouted suddenly, bursting through the doors. Piplup fell over backwards- that made me smile- and Turtwig jumped. I tilted my head, my heart thudding rapidly in my tiny chest. The girl had straight, sandy-tan hair that went down to a couple inches above her waist. On her head was a white hat with a red ribbon circling above the brim. She wore a sky blue shirt with sleeves not even past her shoulders, and a short light-pink skirt. On her feet were yellow sandals, and around her neck was a magenta-ish scarf that really didn't match her outfit. Also clashing with her ensemble was a light red back she had strapped over her shoulder. Her eyes were the deepest shade of blue- oh, how I hate the color blue- and were flaming with victory.
What an eccentric human.
Rowan smiled at her, but I could tell he would've loved to push her back down the porch and lock the door behind her. It would certainly save him a headache. "Ah, Marina Allketch. I've been expecting you." He sounded tired already.
The girl calmed down half a level. "Those three cuties are the starters, right?" she confirmed, pointing at us. I saw Turtwig's cheeks go pink, but Piplup just stuck up his beak. Him, cute? That was old news.
Hands behind her back, the girl strode over with this big friendly grin on her face."Hey guys! Geez, you're even more beautiful in real life than on a computer screen," she crooned peppily. Piplup sat up real proud-like, while Turtwig shrunk back in a bashful manner. I just sat there blinking, trying to read this girl. Marina, Rowan had called her.
"Did you decide what partner you'd like beforehand?" inquired Rowan, walking up behind her. Marina nodded, her gaze unfaltering.
"Yes, but I'd like to see if my choice is the right one… I'm trying to get a feel for these guys' personalities. And from the vibes I'm getting, I'd say I'll stick with my decision." From her bag, she received a ribbon that was the exact same color as her shirt. I shuddered a little. It was also the same exact color as PIPLUP.
Well, alright. I'd be perfectly happy for her to take him with her. Then I'd never have to see him again. Besides, this girl was odd. I wasn't too keen on being chosen by her anyway.
But, suddenly, I felt her gently take my wrist. She wrapped the ribbon around it, tying it into a neat little bow. "I'd like to take you with me, Chimchar." Piplup fell backwards again in devastation. Normally I'd laugh at that, but I was too shocked to move. I'd be traveling with this spazz for the rest of my life.
"Excellent choice. Now, here's his poké ball, and 5 new ones as well. You also get the pokédex and these ball capsules," Rowan said. Marina nodded enthusiastically, quickly but carefully placing them all in her bag. She then turned to me and held out her arms. "Come on, Chimchar. We're going to be partners." Her voice was soothing, and the next thing I knew I had locked my hands in hers and she was carrying me. I got a really nice feeling from her. I liked it a lot.
As she thanked Rowan and listened to him drone on about the tasks that were to come her way, I glanced back at Piplup. I pulled down my eyelid and stuck out my tongue. Piplup started to use Bubble on me, but Marina had already started sprinting out the door.
She gingerly placed me in her bike basket, then shot off down the road. The wind flowing around me felt good, and I had to smile. I wasn't concentrating on the words she was saying, but I knew she was talking to me in a friendly tone constantly. She didn't stop until we reached a big glass building with an orange roof.
"Alright! Here we are, at the Poké Centre. We'll spend the rest of the day here, then really kick off our journey tomorrow. Sound good?" I just nodded. I mean, if I argued, it wouldn't really make a difference would it?
The building was bustling with humans and Pokémon, some of them resting, some of them standing and interacting with each other, some of them fighting. I shrunk back, gripping Marina's shoulder tighter. I wasn't used to this.
Luckily, she chose a seat on a bench far away from any people. She placed me on her lap, pulling off her bag and starting to dig through it. She retrieved a yellow case with flowers on it, and poured pink cookie-like things onto her hand. "Here ya go! These are called poffins. They're yummy treats for Pokémon, and healthy too!" she explained. I looked up at her uncertainly, but nonetheless I took a "poffin" out of her palm. I hesitantly put it in my mouth, and gasped. It was amazing! Flavor burst in my mouth, filing me with joy. It wasn't bland, like what Rowan gave us. Not at all. I eagerly shoved more into my mouth, and she laughed.
"There's plenty more where that came from, buddy, but let's save some for later, alright?" She stuck her hand in another pocket of her bag and this time pulled out a green brush. She began gently running it over my fur, mostly on my head. It felt heavenly.
"Since we're gonna be together forever, why don't I tell you about me?" she offered. I nodded, my gray eyes closed. It would probably help to know more about this chick's past.
She explained that she had 9 sisters: 2 of them were older than her, and she was the oldest out of a set of triplets. There were 2 sets of twins in her household; at the time, one pair was 8 and the other was 6. "I have another 6 year old sister, but she's 3 months older than those twins. You see, they're not actually my sisters, they're my cousins. Their parents were killed when they were a few days old, so my parents decided to raise them," she told me. I nodded, eyes still closed. Humans were certainly interesting.
"Sabrina- the oldest of the 10 of us- is 14, and something called a Pokémon Ranger. My parents are soooo proud of her, because she helps the environment AND Pokémon. Then Malina- she's 12- does a whole bunch of stuff with Pokémon, so they're even prouder of her. Cristina- my one triplet- is gonna be a Pokémon breeder, and Elina- the other triplet- is a Ranger like Sabrina, so my parents just loooove them. But I don't care what they think of MY career. I just want to be close to my Pokémon, and reach my own goals. Or, if anything, I at least wanna be friends with YOU."
I opened my eyes, looking up at her. "Don't worry, Marina. I'll be your friend! I mean, we ARE gonna be partners for a long time now," I told her. I know all she heard was "Chim! Chimchar chim!" but I must've gotten my message across, because she smiled softly and hugged me.
"Thanks, Chimmy. Oh, one more thing I need to tell you: there's this guy I've known since preschool, his name is Barry. We're BEST friends, but also arch rivals. I'm super glad I made it to the lab before him today. Though I want good for him too, I'm going to SMASH him on my way to the top. You in?" I frowned. Smashing your dreams didn't seem very best-friend-like to me at all.
Suddenly, the automatic doors to the building slid open. "Outta the way, outta the way! Don't make me fine you!" a boy shrieked. He dashed past a bunch of (angry) people, then skidded to a halt in front of us. He had unruly yellow hair, and crazy orange eyes. He wore a green scarf, a white-and-orange striped t-shirt, and jeans. He looked really ticked off about something.
But within an abrupt second, he grinned real happy-like. "Good to see you made it here in one piece."
Marina smirked, shifting the position she held me in. "You're one to talk, Mr. always-in-such-a-hurry-that-you-always-fall-off-your-bike." By now I inferred that this guy was Barry.
"Ah, can it you. So I see you got a Chimchar, hm? Nice nice. But, get a load of MY partner." He whipped a poké ball out of his pocket, and a white light flashed from it. I gasped in horror. In front of me stood my arch nemesis, Piplup.
Smashing his dreams suddenly sounded great.
