Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
Chapter 1: O' Bright New Day
Happy sprang up from her bed that morning, rushing to the wardrobe. She had picked out some new clothing specially; a cute pink and white skirt, with two loose pocket, which ran just above the knee, a plain white vest-top, and an orange waistcoat. She topped it of with her brand new slip-on shoes, which had various coloured patches around them. Happy admired herself in the large mirror that was inside the door of her light, wooden wardrobe, pulling the navy-blue scrunchy from her curly red hair, and shaking it loose. She twirled, and tied the waistcoat at her chest in a neat bow, before kneeling on her bright pink bed sheets, which were in a heap on the bed itself, and peeling from the wall a picture of her favourite coordinator, Solidad, folding it neatly and placing it in her skirt pocket . Nothing could ruin today for her. You see, today was the day that she would be receiving her very first Pokemon!
Happy ran downstairs, snatching hold of her over-the-shoulder, orange, zip-fastened bag as she went. Julie was waiting for her at the dining room table, gazing nervously at her short dark-brown hair in a small, blue, compact mirror, and correcting some smudged, golden eye-shadow.
"Happy!" Julie stood up to greet her daughter. "Come over here and sit down". The girl stared blankly at the panicked woman, before rolling her emerald eyes and moving further forwards to sourly greet her.
"Oh, for goodness sake, Mum. You're not actually worried are you? I can handle it. The open doors, it's nothing for me. My friends all left at ten years old remember? Ten! They have now had a five year start on me, thanks to you. Hoenn might be a big place, but you're wrong to think I can't deal with it. You can't cling to me forever, it isn't fair. Well, forget it. I'm leaving today whether you like it or not! And..." Happy ranted on before being interrupted by her red-faced mother.
"Oh, I know the deal," Julie said while struggling to thread a thin, black ribbon as best she could through her short, think hair, "But I'm not being unreasonable - you are still a child after all. You will thank me one day, you know. However," she continued, "You're father and I have had a good chat, and we are prepared to let you go. But, I am warning you...". Happy was used to this kind of attitude from her parent, and knew exactly which buttons to press.
"Calm down," Happy assured her mother, softening her tone, "I'll be fine. And, yes, I will come home once and a while, just don't expect me to be on the phone every thirty seconds".
"Right. Just remember I'm here, ok?" Julie gave up, and Happy nodded, triumphantly.
"I'd better be going - our little chat has pushed me behind schedule". Happy turned to the door, but was stopped by her mother's words.
"Oh no you don't! You are not leaving until you've at least eaten something. We still have some of those toasted pancakes left - you can go when you've had a couple of those". Happy reluctantly agreed, sitting down to eat, shoving what was handed to her into her mouth, before rising and bounding though the door.
"And, for goodness sake, make sure Dad doesn't follow me!" Happy shouted back to Julie, who was standing at the doorway to her house, as she walked down the street - remembering the time that her father, Robert, really had followed her home from school to make sure she wasn't hurt by a group of boys who had threatened her earlier. Julie smiled, holding back tears. "I'll be back one day" Happy finished, turning away from her mother and her home, and looking to the future.
Professor Birch's laboratory should have only been a fifteen minute walk, but it was mid-day before Happy arrived at the scene, equipped with a large, rolled-up map, which she dropped into the paper bin. Whose idea was it to give Happy a map, knowing her awful sense of direction? Her father's, no doubt. She laughed, routing through her bag to see what other things her parents had deemed necessary: a compass, a bus timetable, and a pair of yellow and black slippers were just a few of them.
Birch was standing at the door of the great building that was his lab, greeting Happy with a toothy grin, and a handshake that made her knuckles ache. He was a tall, plump man, with shaggy chocolate hair and matching eyes. Wearing a long, pearly white lab-coat, and transparent plastic gloves, he led Happy into the building. Everything looked even larger from the inside, and the lighting was incredibly bright, causing her to blink madly, waiting for her eyes to adjust. After striding through endless corridors, and steep flights of stairs, the two eventually reached Birch's 'Beginner Trainers' room, where he kept all the Pokemon that he would be offering to those trainers who would start their journey in the Hoenn region.
Birch began by giving Happy an interview. Pokemon weren't all about contests and battling, they were real living things that were to be treated with respect, and compassion, but he was sure that Happy was capable of offering plenty of that.
"Yeah, right" Happy whispered quietly under her breath. Birch pressed a small red button, which prompted three polished Pokeballs to appear on his desk. They were red on the top half, and white on the bottom, with a button in the centre which would be used to compress the equipment, to make carrying easier.
"These are the Pokemon that I will be offering you today. Make your choice wisely and carefully - the Pokemon that you choose will be your main partner throughout your whole career, so you can't afford to mess this up, okay?" Birch told the young girl, who nodded, confidently.
Just as Birch picked the first of the three Pokeballs up, and prepared to release the creature that lay resting inside, one of his assistants skidded into the room. He wore similar attire to Birch, except his jeans were visible through the coat - making the uniform scruffy. He had a light, thin tuft of caramel-coloured hair, and sea-blue eyes. His head was shaped like a rugby ball, and he was skinny, and taller then Birch.
"It's terrible!" the assistant cried, waving his hands around in panic, "Absolutely awful".
"Calm yourself, Joe, what's up?" Birch said, turning to his friend and worker.
"The farm, the one just down the road, the farmer there is trying to slaughter a bunch of Mareep - says that they were born with too little strength. Too weak to produce enough static on their wool to help run the power, he tells us. We said he should release 'em, but he was having none of it, doesn't want any of them breeding with any of his other Mareep - says it will spread the problem along, and he won't keep 'em because he says he can't afford to" Joe's words fell out in rags as he tried to explain the situation as well as he could in his panic.
"Calm down," Birch said once more, "take me to him - I will see what I can do. Happy," he continued, "you stay here and wait for me to get back, I shouldn't be too long".
Birch was out of the door and up the corridor in a flash, Joe, a few steps ahead.
"Hmph," Happy moaned to herself, "I'm supposed to starting the adventure of a lifetime today, not hanging around indoors; I'm supposed to be out there". Happy spiralled round to point towards the open window, "I will be out there" she whispered, smiling, before bounding towards the rooms door. Locked. The back door? Locked, also. There was still a final option. Happy thought for a second, before grinning widely, and walking towards the window, gently pushing it forward, testing how far it would open. Enough. She stood on Birch's chair, before slowly lifting herself through the open space. She got through, but toppling head-first onto the stone floor had not been her idea of a graceful landing. Smiling to herself, she realised that her bad coordination and clumsiness hadn't risen with her ambition. Oh well.
Pulling herself to her feet, and momentarily rubbing the back of her neck (which had taken the weight of her harsh landing), she began to focus, running down the road, a determined, strong, zealous attitude sweeping over her. She felt as if the whole world could collapse at her feet any second, as if... wait a second, where was she going? Ugh... she knew she shouldn't have been so rash - it was totally out of character.
"Right," she said to herself, "that Joe guy said that the farm was just down the road - so I should head... just down the road!" she grinned, turning to the stone-paved road. Except, there was two 'down the roads', so which way...hmm. She decided to wander right for a while, to see if she found anything that way, and if not, she would turn back. She grinned again, and marched up the steep route that was to her right.
"For goodness sake, I should have gone left!" Happy told herself, stopping after walking for just five minutes up the road, "At least that way was down-hill" she slapped her forehead gently, and began to turn back, when she heard the sound of some shouting, coming from nearby. She followed the cries, running as best she could despite being tired from the short walk, arriving at a scene of Joe and Birch arguing with another man. He was a tall, skinny bloke, with blond hair, and bushy caramel eyebrows. He was wearing a large, warming, think red overcoat, and some old blue jeans, which were tucked tightly into his lilac Wellington boots.
"Honestly, if the world was cleared of people like you, it would be a much happier place" Joe told the farmer, trying to stay composed, but clearly struggling in the heat of the moment.
Happy wandered further into the clearing, but still remained unnoticed. As she looked to her side, she saw a bunch of five or six Mareep, clueless - falling around each other - all varying in size, the largest about two and a half foot wide, and the smallest, about a one and a half. The Mareep all bore a similar resemblance, creamy clouded wool embracing most of their bodies, except a dark-blue head, four small legs of the same colour, and the ears like cones sticking out from either side of the head - striped yellow and black. The tail had the same pattern as the ears, with an orange sphere resting at the tip.
"Look, they're mine to do as I please with. If I let them go, all that will happen is that they'll reproduce with my flock, and then, eventually, all my offspring will be like them, too weak to pay their way with the less electrical charge on their bodies. If I kill them, at least I can skin 'em and get a little money out of them, and they won't be a problem for me in the future. Stupid Pokemon they are anyway, Mareep - don't see why you care so much".
That was it. Happy's fuse was broken, and she broke right into the clearing, standing before the farmer, her hands on her hips, and eyes glaring at him in her most intimidating manner. The farmers expression told her that the man was quick to realise that Happy really wasn't a girl to mess with - she could never resist a good, old-fashioned argument.
"Those are living things," Happy shouting, trying to keep a straight face, while enjoying the fight while it lasted, "you think that you can just throw life around, well, you can't".
"Stay out of this" the farmer told her, turning back to face Birch and Joe once more.
"Ugh... I can't stand people like you. Acting all tough but turning away from any fight that you don't think you can win. Hmph, I haven't got time for this, just give us the Mareep" Happy spilled a smile, but managed to keep her fierceness intact.
The farmer ignored Happy this time, waiting for whatever else Joe or Birch had to say.
"Look, how about this. Give the Mareep to me, and I will take care of them in a controlled environment - how does that sound?" Birch reasoned with the man, who paused for a moment, before nodding his head in agreement, and turning around - heading away from the tension-flooded scene. Birch sighed in relief, before turning to Happy. "Now that you're here, Happy, could you give Joe a hand in carrying those Mareep back to my lab - I will walk ahead". Happy saw Birch quickly head back down the path, before turning to face the fenced Mareep once more. Joe, somehow, was already there, encouraging the babies to be calm, as he carried three in his arms.
"Happy," he asked, "get those last two for me, would you?" Happy looked down at the two Pokemon with distaste, but she wasn't in a position to argue. She knelt before the small creatures, picking the larger of the two up first, before putting a single hand around the smallest. They were warm, and their wool was soft and clean. She stood up once more, and followed Joe back to the lab, who was already leading the way. Happy was struggling to keep the Mareep still, as they tried to pull themselves from her grasp.
"Stop that!" Happy yelled at the two, "I'm here trying to do a good thing and I just don't get any thanks. Perhaps I should have just left you back at that farm, and I bet you don't know what would have happened then, do you? You wouldn't be alive now, that's for sure" The Mareep looked up at her in understanding. The smallest stopped its struggle, and gave her a look of regret.
"Mareep, epp." The smallest apologised sincerely, but the bigger continued to fidget about, and was scolded by the other for its actions. At this, the larger Mareep opened its mouth and released thin sparks from it, aimed at the smaller, and hitting it directly in the face. "Eeeeep!" it squealed in pain.
"Stop that right now" Happy shouted, cradling the victim in a way that it was out of reach for the others attack. The angered Mareep, however, did not stop its attack, but just looked up at Happy, aiming the attack at her. The sparks flew into her face, they didn't feel painful, just kind of irritating - like static - she continued to walk after Joe, who was a good distance ahead of her now, clearly having problems of his own. She craned her neck as far away from the attack as she could, but it just carried on. The more and more the yellow sparks scratched at her skin, the more the impact did begin to hurt.
"Mareep!" the smaller began to scold the larger once more, still held at a far enough distance to be attacked. "Mareep, eep, eep!" it tried once more and failed, before jumping from Happy's cradled arm, and grabbing hold of the attacker from behind, using its own Spark attack. These sparks were similar to its superior, but smaller, and only a few shot from its mouth, before it was too tired to continue.
The larger Mareep stopped attacking Happy, twisting its neck around in order to give the smaller an amused smirk, before digging its teeth into its neck. "Eeep" it squealed in pain once more.
"I'm really getting sick of this now," Happy tried to discipline the two, "look, your moving and jumping about so much that I can barely keep hold. We're nearly at the lab now, and you will both be still until we get there". Happy squeezed the larger around the neck, forcing it to pull its teeth from the other, before picking it up by the scruff of its neck with her left hand, and dropping her arm to her side, carrying the creature like one would carry a shopping bag. She pulled her right arm back in a manner that forced the smaller Mareep, who was slightly bleeding from the bite, to fall on its back - held by Happy like a baby. The larger creature continued to fidget, but was unable to attack in any manner, while the smaller lay still, looking up at Happy in utter admiration.
Arriving back at the lab, Joe had let the Mareep that he had been carrying into the lab's huge greenhouse - which was built with conditions for any Pokemon that the professor may be studying to live in. Happy walked into the greenhouse, and came up to Joe, carrying her two creatures.
"Just set them down in here," Joe told her, "I'm sure that they will have a great life here. Oh, and thank you for bringing these two back". Happy forced a smile despite having been pushed to her limit on the short walk, unknown to Joe. She placed them both on the ground, the larger running quickly away to join the other three, but the smaller stayed still, looking up at Happy, sweetly. "Aww, that one must be a little shy about its new home, but I'm sure it will be fine. Come on, lets go and see Birch - you should have been and gone with your first Pokemon by now". Happy gladly followed Joe towards the door of the greenhouse, before feeling something brushing against her feet while she walked. She looked down, and Joe followed her gaze, to see the smaller Mareep walking alongside Happy as closely as she could. "C'mon," Joe said, wrapping an arm around the creature, "you'll be fine here, don't be shy", but the Mareep was quick to dig its teeth into Joe's hand, drawing blood. Joe softened his grasp, and the creature jumped from him, and into Happy, who caught the Pokemon by reflex. The creature cooed, holding itself close to Happy, rubbing its head under her neck. "Goodness, she seems awfully fond of you, Happy" Joe told her, "I think it wants to stay with you. Do you?" he asked the Mareep, who cuddled closer to Happy as an answer to his question.
"Well, this is rather an unusual situation" Birch scratched his chin, now comfortably back in his Beginners Trainers room. "There's only really one thing that you can do in these situations. Happy, how do you feel about taking this Mareep as your partner?" Birch chuckled slightly, but waited for Happy's response.
"Erm... I guess." Happy didn't feel like she had the right to refuse, she was being given a Pokemon, after all. She wasn't satisfied - she had hoped for a beautiful, powerful, contest-winning Pokemon, not a simple Mareep - but accepted the offer.
"Good stuff," Joe cheered, handing Happy a small, rectangular, red machine, as well as the six white and red metal balls, "here are your Pokedex and Pokeballs!".
"Thanks!" Happy said.
You should probably keep that Mareep out of its Pokeball for a month or so - it can be quite scary for new-borns to be carried around in those things - and they really need to grow and learn about the world." Joe told Happy, who nodded, secretly unsatisfied that her plan of 'Keep Mareep in the Ball and Catch a New Pokemon Straight Away' hadn't worked out.
"Now," Birch started, "I told you earlier how to use those Pokeballs. The Pokedex is pretty simple, too. When you want data on a certain Pokemon, you can tell it the name of the species, point the machine at towards the species that you want, or browse for information. The Pokedex will hold information about all of the Pokemon that you've captured, including their species, height, size, moves, things like that. Do you understand?" Happy nodded in answer. "Ok, I think that the first thing that you should do is look up your new Mareep in that new Pokedex".
Happy flipped open the cover of the machine to reveal a screen with various buttons surrounding it. She pointed the radar at her new partner, who was now sitting on Birch's desk.,
"Mareep," the Pokedex told her, "female, weight: 16.9lbs, height: 2'00'', current moves: Spark, Tackle".
"Ok," Happy said suddenly, pointing at the creature that had just been reviewed, "I'm going to call you Momoko!"
"Aaaah, so your into nicknames then, Happy? You like that new name of yours?" Birch grinned as he spoke to the young Mareep.
"Eeep!" Momoko answered in delight.
"So, Happy," Birch's grin grew wider, "I guess you had better be going now. The next official Pokemon Contest is in Rustboro City, which is quite a distance from here. I have a map for you, though," he picked up a rolled-up map from his desk, and unravelled it, "we are in Littleroot now, so you will have to head through Oldale Town, Petalburg City, and Petalburg Woods in order to get there - you clear?", and Happy nodded once more - just wanting to get out into the world.
It was late before Happy escaped the clutches of Birch and Joe, who stood at the door to the lab, waving her and Momoko goodbye. She turned, smiled, and held her hand in a wave, before heading off down the road, Momoko walking closely to her side.
"She doesn't like Momoko, does she? Happy, I mean" Joe's face turned sour as he questioned Birch.
"No, she doesn't," Birch said with a calmness that made Joe gasp in disbelief, "but she will - a girl like her needs a bit of a challenge, which is why I gave her that Mareep. She needs to realise that Pokemon Training is easier then how it looks on TV, and her new partner will definitely show her that" Birch finished, a smile spreading across his face, as he finished his wave goodbye, and turned back into the lab, Joe following closely.
And as for Happy, who knows where this journey will bring her? She would just have to wait and see!