"Ok, remember," Sorrel's mom was saying, "Your brother has to catch you a pokemon on the first route, ok?"

"But mom," Sorrel said quietly, "the pokemon on the first route are so ordinary."

"Yes," said Sorrel's mom, "ordinary and reliable. I don't want your first pokemon to be too hard for you to train."

"But Hazel has a starter. A rare pokemon from the professor with a powerful type." Sorrel's mom sighed. "Why couldn't I be the one to get the starter? Why couldn't we both get starters?"

"We've been over this, Sorrel. Your brother won the coin flip, best of three. And there are a lot of other families that need first pokemon. Since your brother is travelling with you anyway, it's courteous for the two of you to only get one so that another family who doesn't have any can get one." Sorrel only shuffled over to the couch and plopped down in answer. Hazel was probably picking one out right now, she thought. She wondered which he'd pick. There were snivy, oshawott and tepig to pick from, and judging by the gyms that they would be battling, it would probably be best to pick tepig. A fire-type would also afford much better protection from the small bug-types that frequented the area, and could inflict burn status that would make them easier to catch. Sorrel lay back on the couch. Whatever he picks, she mused, he'd better be home on time, or we'll miss the bus to the next town.

Hazel was not home on time, and when he did return he had already spent most of their allotted money on items. As they were walking away from the house, lugging their backpacks, Sorrel inquired as to what pokemon he'd picked.

"Can I see it?" She'd seen pokemon up close before, but it was different when this was going to be a constant companion.

"Yeah sure," her twin said, distractedly, and removed the shiny red-and-white pokeball from his belt. The explosion of white energy yielded a snivy, to Sorrel's vague disapproval. "This is Flynn", Hazel said, finally seeming to escape from his daydream, "he and I stopped at the entrance to the route to practice a little; that's why we were late."

"Did you get me anything?" Sorrel asked, almost urgently. Her brother's choice in a partner was not strategic, given the nearest gym was poison-typed, and she wanted to stop worrying about what they were going to do if 'Flynn' fainted on a route. Once she had her own partner, she'd be more at ease.

"No," said Hazel, seeming to remember his mother's instructions for the first time, "I'll have to get you one once we get back on the road to the bus stop."

"Ok," grumbled Sorrel. She'd walked with her mother to the bus stop several times. The only pokemon she'd ever seen there were wurmple and maybe a sunkern. Maybe. "Don't let it be anything lame," she said.

"It's not my fault if the first thing that shows up is lame," Hazel huffed.

"The first thing? No, you have to get me a good one. Remember, this is gonna be my first partner, I have to be able to catch other ones with it, and it has to protect me!" The thought of a sunkern as her partner was too much for Sorrel. She made a face and hugged her elbows.

"Ok, ok, geez."

"Why are you being so insensitive," Sorrel snapped suddenly. "We've been waiting for this day since we were like five. You've finally gotten your first pokemon! We're going on an adventure! You should be jumping for joy."

"I don't know, I guess I thought it'd be more… exciting." Hazel kicked a cloud of dirt up and his snivy jumped, startled. "Sorry Flynn."

"It'd be more exciting if we thought about what kind of pokemon we were going to try to find for me," said Sorrel. "Think about it, the first pokemon you ever catch! Won't it be fun? Finally catching one of those pokemon we've always fantasized about getting? No more pointing out of the bus and going, "what if I could get that one?"

"I guess." The two continued until they reached a shaded path along the road. "Let's go this way." Hazel ducked into the bushes.

"No, hey, where are you going? The bus stop is on the road!"

"But the sun's out and it's hot. Besides, I know where this goes. I've seen it from on the bus."

"Ok, but are you sure?" asked Sorrel, pushing into the woods next to him.

"Yeah, definitely. Besides, we've got Flynn now, and you were the one talking about an adventure. We never go this way with Mom." Sorrel sighed and followed her brother down the path. The ground was uneven and though not muddy, it was damp and squelched under the leaves in some places. Flynn trotted along beside his new master, bright eyes fixed on Hazel's every move. Sorrel envied him.

The path arced around a rock outcropping. Along the way a couple weedle appeared, and Hazel took the opportunity to battle them. Eventually the trio were spat out into a wide, open field. It was dry and had some scrubby bushes growing, like the yard behind the school back home.

"I think we're too far northeast," Sorrel said, irritated at her twin's disinterest.

"No, we're fine. The bus stop is just a ways that way," he said, gesturing broadly to their right.

"How specific," Sorrel growled. Right about then, a shape lunged out at them from behind the wiry grass. The twins nearly leapt out of their skins in surprise. The pokemon leered at them and swept toward Flynn, screeching. "A tranquill!" shouted Sorrel, "Catch it! It's probably really strong if it's evolved!"

"Flynn, dodge!" barked Hazel as the large bird swooped around for a wing attack. The grass snake sprang into the air over the tranquill's back and rolled to its feet. "Try a vine whip!" suggested Hazel. Flynn lashed out and caught the tranquill around the ankle, only to be lifted off the ground by the strength of the bird. "Flynn!" The bird's feathers glowed and with a swift downbeat released an air cutter that hit Flynn squarely on the head. The impact sent him flying into the ground.

"Oh no," moaned Sorrel. Flynn was not a good match for a flying opponent, and it seemed one more strike would end the battle. Suddenly, with an angry growl, an orange pokemon with jaws like a can opener sprang into the air at the tranquill.

"Oh no you don't. Not picking on two kids like that." A young adult, much older than Sorrel and Hazel, stepped onto the rise from in the forest. "Wyrm, bite it down!" With a snap the orange pokemon's mouth closed around the tranquill, and the bird was smacked to the ground.

"That's… a trapinch?" said Sorrel, recovering from the shock. The little pokemon currently thrashing the tranquill around certainly looked like the pictures she'd seen of trapinch.

"Sure is," called the pokemon's trainer, "and a quite smart one too. I've just caught it recently." The trapinch continued throwing its prey back and forth until finally releasing the bird to scrabble away into the dust. "Good job Wyrm." It ambled over to its trainer, who proceeded to pick it up and place it atop their backpack. "Are you guys ok? Is your green fella there ok too?" Hazel was examining Flynn.

"He's… not up for another battle," the boy mumbled dejectedly.

"Here, can I see?" The stranger rummaged around in the mesh pouch on the side of their backpack and extracted a yellow berry. "A sitrus berry will put him back on his feet." Flynn greedily snatched up the food.

"Wow… thanks…" Hazel stammered.

"Don't mention it. Besides, aren't you two from the nearby town?"

"Yeah," Sorrel chimed in, realization hitting her. "I remember you. You went to school with our babysitter." Their savior laughed.

"Yeah, Marcy and I were friends. She must've shown you a picture of me, then?"

"You and a pokemon, some kind of blue thing. I've never seen it anywhere else. You're Max, right?"

"Ahah! 'Some kind of blue thing', wow, that's a new one. And Mac."

"I like your hair," Sorrel continued, "the blonde flecks are really nice."

"Thanks," Mac smiled. "Where are you guys headed? If snivy here is your only pokemon, I'd say to do some more training in the forest first. The pokemon out here tend to be stronger."

"We were going to go to the bus stop to Virbank City," said Sorrel, "but Hazel wanted to take a shortcut to catch me a pokemon. We only got one."

"Well, regarding the bus stop, you're quite a bit off-course. So why don't you focus on the pokemon. Any preference? I've been around this area a bit, I know where some are at." Sorrel's eyes lit up.

"I'd really like something strong! Strong but cute, if you know any."

"Mom says 'something reliable'," muttered Hazel. Mac made a noise like she had an entire mareep caught in her throat and was trying to cough it up. Sorrel realized she was suppressing laughter.

"I can do you for all three. There's a cave this way, not too far, and you'll be safe from any more tranquil if you're with me. Wyrm and I have got your back." With that, she turned and led the twins toward a nearby rise. "This thing used to be a tomb," she was saying. "It got gutted by robbers a long time ago, but the site itself became home to wild pokemon really quickly."

"Wow," said Hazel, eyes glazing over, "I love ancient stuff."

"You're in for some fun, because there's lots of old stories and relics throughout Unova." The group approached the tomb. "Careful, sometimes they like to startle you." The trapinch on Mac's shoulder made a soft vibrating noise and glanced around. Its trainer descended cautiously into the murky depths, and waved for the younger children to follow. "They're a bit sudden, so brace yourself, and have a look around." Mac stepped aside to let Hazel and Sorrel explore.

"What are we looking for?" Hazel asked, moving closer to Flynn.

"You'll see."

"That's not helping." Mac sighed and tapped her trapinch. It responded by letting out a loud, almost bark-like noise that echoed into the darkness. In answer, a fluttering sound filled the air.

"Tell your Snivy to get ready to hit one," Mac grinned and then moved against the wall as a swarm of fuzzy winged creatures flapped toward the exit. Hazel panicked for a moment, as did Flynn. "Focus guys!"

"A… alright, Flynn! Use wrap!" The snivy glanced around.

"Tell him which one!"

"Uh… that one!" Hazel pointed at a low-flying target. Flynn leaned back on his tail and sprang into the air, entangling and dragging down the ball of fluff. "Vine whip, Flynn!" The snivy struggled for a moment, and winced as a notably weaker air cutter bit against his face. Finally he managed to attack.

"Now's good for a pokeball," suggested Mac. The swarm of airborne cotton had mostly dissipated.

"Um, go…" Hazel awkwardly tossed a pokeball. Flynn noticed it and rolled his captive on top of him so that it was a better target for the pokeball. The capture device bounced against the flailing pokemon, which vanished into a bolt of red energy. "That… that's a woobat, right?"

"Yup. In my opinion it meets all the requirements you mentioned: strong, cute and 'reliable'." Sorrel felt her heart leap. A woobat was so much better than a bug- or normal-type. With a ping the pokemon was caught. "Congrats folks," said Mac. "Fabulous job bringing down the little bugger. Wrap was a great idea." Hazel had picked up the pokeball and was dusting it off. He held it out to his sister almost sheepishly.

"Here… Now you have one too…" Sorrel grabbed it and then hugged her brother.

"Thank you so much!" She released Hazel and glanced down at her pokeball. It was hers. Her first pokemon. "Come out, woobat!" With a pop the blue cottony blob appeared and flapped around madly before Sorrel called it over. "Hey, come here!" It didn't have eyes, so she couldn't see it blink, but she felt its general confusion. A psychic-type. I must be able to sense its feelings more because of that. "Why don't I call you Emmy? Like Empathy?" The bat fluttered its little wings. "I think it likes it." Mac smiled, and then inclined her head to the exit.

"I'd feel bad leaving you in a cave alone. Are you ready to go or would you rather look around some?"

"We have to get the bus," said Hazel. Mac was checking her watch.

"Probably left. But you were already far enough away that you'd likely have missed it anyway. If you want, though, I can walk you guys to the nearest campground." The twins glanced at each other.

"I didn't buy camping supplies," said Hazel awkwardly, "since we were going to be staying in Virbank city." Sorrel sighed.

"I mean, you guys could technically walk," Mac said, but the edge on her voice indicated that the 'technically' was likely not realistic.

"How close is the campground to the bus stop?"

"Pretty close. A mile up the road tops. That's about a 15 minute walk."

"Okay," said Sorrel. "It seems like a good option right now. Especially since it's getting late." Hazel frowned and looked at his shoes.

"Sorry we got lost."

"It's ok. I got a cool pokemon, and we found Mac."

"Man, it gets dark so late in the summer; I get confused at what time it is too," the woman put in. "Shall we?" The group exited the ruin and made their way across the field. There was no sign of any angry tranquill, but there were a couple of pidove that Mac's trapinch crunched and sent scurrying. Sorrel watched intently as Mac issued commands and examined trapinch's reactions and behavior. Several times what Sorrel thought might've been a bad call ended up working, and Sorrel noticed that it made things easier for trapinch. She made mental notes to pay attention to Emmy's needs in battle.

"You and Worm work so well together," she said after the second pidove had been defeated. Mac flushed.

"Ah, thanks I guess. I'd hope so, we've been training pretty hard the last couple of days. I spend a lot of time trying to get to know my new partners' personalities and abilities."

"That's so cool!"

"…It's work," said Mac evenly. After crossing the clearing, the group marched their way through the forest. A caterpie appeared and everyone stopped to allow Sorrel and Emmy their chance to practice. The bug was defeated in only a few hits, but Sorrel was still feeling very overwhelmed.

"It's so hard to be thinking about everything at once!" Mac had gotten quieter as the day progressed.

"It's a learned skill. You'll get better at it."

"Mac, is something wrong?" The woman frowned and turned to Sorrel.

"No, why? I'm hungry, but we're almost there."

"You just looked. Distant."

"I'm ok, thanks." Mac reached behind her head to scratch Wyrm on the chin.

The campsite was occupied by about three other strangers, none of whom seemed with each other. Mac had already claimed an area under the covered picnic area and had assembled her hammock. She started a small fire and proceeded to cook something.

"What's that," asked Hazel, his mouth watering at the concept of food.

"Beans. I'm just heating them. I'm too lazy to cook proper in the woods." Two pairs of hungry eyes were suddenly on her. "Yeah, ok, you can have some. Don't forget though, your pokemon need to eat too." She removed a can of pokemon chow from her backpack and sprinkled some into Wyrm's gaping maw.

Over dinner, Sorrel interrogated Mac.

"How long have you been training?"

"A while. Make sure you don't take more than you'll eat. Wasting's not allowed here."

"Do you have any other pokemon besides Worm?"

"Yeah, except he's the baby of the team right now, so he's my focus."

"Can we see them? The others?"

"Ah, maybe later. Did you guys get enough to eat?"

"Yes, thank you."

Mac only relaxed once the twins were asleep. Staring at the sky from atop one of the wooden picnic tables, she stretched her hand out and draped it over Wyrm's neck.

"Geez. A wild pair, those two." The trapinch shifted and gently chewed on its trainer's fingers. "You've gotten to be quite the battler, little fellow. It's always incredible, the learning curve. Enough to scare some people." She felt Wyrm stop chewing and glanced over. The little creature blinked at her, confused. "Not me. And you have a long way to go still. First they have to take you seriously. Then it progresses to scary. I just… never found the middle stage to last very long. Sometimes it's like it's not even there." Wyrm vibrated uneasily, and the sentiment passed between them. "I agree," mumbled Mac. "But I don't know how to deal with it yet. That's why I've got you. I thought it would be easier together, with someone else going through the same thing again. But you've already grown so fast that I don't think I have the time to get a sense for it. You guys seem to skip it too, just like I do." She yawned, rolling off the table and shuffling toward her sleeping bag.

"It's like zero to eighty in a single to monster in the blink of an eye."