Chapter 1: The Adventure Begins
"Room service," I call out.
"Just a minute," the voice on the other side replies.
I am waiting outside a room at the Hotel Richissime in Lumiose City. That's where I work. I bring food up to people's rooms. It's not the best job in the world. Actually, it kind of sucks. There's a lot of snooty, rude people here. But, I've always been a patient, polite person. And besides, I haven't got any other options. It's either this, or living on the streets. I'm an orphan, see. The man who owns the hotel offered me the job after he found me sleeping in an alley when I was ten. That's when I was supposed to get my Pokemon, but I guess they just forgot about me because I was homeless. The door opens, and a young woman about my age steps out with a pink, cat-like Pokemon on her shoulder.
"Hi," she smiles.
"Hey," I stutter, dumbstruck. I didn't think anyone my age stayed here.
"Um…" she says, eyeing the pizza.
"Oh, right. Sorry. Here you go," I rush.
"Thanks."
"Hey, I haven't seen you around before. What's your name?"
"Serena."
"Okay. I'm Leonard. It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too."
"And who is this?" I ask, gesturing to the Pokemon she was now holding in her arms.
"This is Sylveon. I raised her from an Eevee. We've been friends ever since I was ten. What about you? Where is your Pokemon?"
"I-I don't have one. I'm an orphan, so my parents never brought me to the Professor to get a Pokemon."
"Really? What happened to your parents?"
"I don't know. They might have left, or died. I was only a baby."
"That's awful," she said. A call came from inside the room.
"Serena, where's the pizza? Tip the bastard then get in here!" a gruff voice yells.
"Coming, dad!" Serena calls back. She dig in her pockets, and pulled out a handful of Poke.
"Here's 300. See you later, Leonard!" she says. And then she ran in, her Sylveon following close behind.
"Bye," I say, alone in the hallway.
Later that day, I was hanging near Professor Sycamore's lab with my friend, Tom. Tom's dad runs the hotel in Santalune City, the next town over. Tom's Skiddo is frolicking in the gardens outside the lab, and he and I are shooting the breeze under a tree.
"I mean it, Tom! She was really nice. She wasn't like the others," I insist.
"Whatever. You just met her, you don't even know. She might be really high-maintenance," he warns.
"I don't think so. She just seems normal to me," I say, closing my eyes and leaning against the tree. Tom shakes me.
"Hey, don't fall asleep! I need to tell you something," he says.
"What?" I groan.
"We're going to get you a Pokemon," he shouts. My eyes went wide.
"... What?" I say.
"My dad gave me a Pokeball yesterday. He told me to find a playmate for Skiddo, but Skiddo doesn't seem to want another Pokemon in our lives." Skiddo confirmed this by shaking his head violently, rustling the bushes near him.
"So, you're just going to let me try to catch a Pokemon? Won't your dad be mad if I waste it?"
"Nah. I'll just tell him I failed to catch one, and he'll give me another one."
"And you're sure it's okay? I don't want to take something you could use."
"I don't need it. And if I ever want another one, I'll just buy it or something. Skiddo has won a couple battles with people in the hotel, and we have plenty of money saved up."
"Awesome! Thank you!" I exclaim.
"No problem. Now let's go! We want to get to Detourner Way before it gets dark!"
After we stop at Tom's dad's house to pick up the Pokeball, we head to Detourner way. I nervously step into the grass, taking each step tentatively and deliberately.
"They're not going to come out if all you do is tiptoe around, dumbass! Just walk around, eventually one will jump out," Tom yells.
"O-okay," I call back. I walk deeper into the tall grass. Then, without warning, a fiery pokemon leaped out of the grass! It was a Litleo. The Litleo growled, advancing on me. I backed up, scared.
"What do I do?!" I yell.
"Throw the Pokeball!" Tom shouts. My heart pounding, hands trembling, I weakly toss the ball. It hits the Litleo and it captures it. The ball lands on the ground, and begins to twitch.
I stare at it in anticipation. Is this going to be the Pokemon I spend my life with?
Twitch. Twitch. Twitch. Twi-
Then, all of a sudden, the ball explodes, and the Litleo comes back out. It roars, then continues to advance on me.
"What do I do now?!" I shout.
"Run!" Tom screams. I turn around, and start running. But I don't make it far. I trip over my shoelaces, and fall hard to the ground. I turn to see the Litleo coming dangerously close, its fangs flaming.
"It knows fire fang!" Tom shouts, his voice breaking. I tremble violently, as it becomes close enough to leap. When it does, I shield my face, preparing for the burning pain that was bound to ensue. But it didn't come. Instead, I heard the Litleo yelp, and crash into the tall grass. I look. And in my astonishment, I see the Litleo in the throes of battle with a small, blue Pokemon. The Pokemon punches the Litleo in the jaw, knocking it to the side. The Litleo comes back, and bites the Pokemon in the leg. It falters, wincing.
"Come on, let's get out of here!" Tom yells.
"We have to help it, though! Get out your Skiddo!" I yell back.
"I can't! Skiddo is a grass type, Litleo is a fire-and-normal type." Tom insists.
I look back, nervous, to see the weakened Pokemon valiantly battling the Litleo. Finally, the mysterious Pokemon delivers a hard punch to the Litleo's face, knocking it out. I rush over, and pull the Pokemon out of the grass.
"What is it?" I ask. Tom looks at it hard for a minute.
"Wait… my dad told me about this Pokemon. They're rare around these parts, but I think… I think this is a Riolu!" he gasps.
"A Riolu?" I look at the Riolu, and that's when I see it.
"It got burned in the battle!" I say, "We need to get it to the Pokemon Center!"
"Okay," Tom says, pulling out a Pokeball. He opens it, and Skiddo comes out.
"Skiddo! Carry this Riolu on your back to the Pokemon Center! We'll follow!" Tom commands. Skiddo barks, then kneels to let the Riolu be put on its back. It immediately rushes towards the Pokemon Center.
"Let's go!" I say, taking off.
"Right behind you!" Tom agrees, and we both run towards Santalune City.
Tom and I were waiting nervously in the lobby at the Pokemon Center. After what seemed like forever, Nurse Joy walked out of the room.
"Your Riolu is going to be fine, although it was hard to treat him without a Pokeball. Usually, we just do it right up front," she informs us.
"But he's going to be alright, right?" I ask her.
"Yes. Here he is," she handed me the Riolu. I expected the Riolu to run out the door, back to its home. But it just stood there, looking up at me expectantly.
"Why isn't it leaving?" I whisper to Tom, "It's a wild Pokemon. I didn't catch it."
"Well, according to my Pokedex, Riolus can read auras. Maybe it likes your aura," Tom says.
"What does that mean?" I ask.
"Hell if I know. But I don't think it wants to leave you," Tom says.
I looked at the Riolu. It was wagging its tail at me, smiling. I knelt down to look it in the eye, and it jumped on my back, settling on my shoulder.
"Okay," I say. Riolu barked excitedly, and I laughed. Riolu, Tom and I stepped out of the Pokemon Center and into the afternoon light.
"What are we going to tell your dad about the Pokeball?" I ask Tom.
"Shit."