*A/N

Sorry for such a short chapter, but I'm tired so I'm heading to bed now. Hopefully I can start working on the next chapter tomorrow. Anyways, hope you guys like it!

Warning: There may be some OOC, so I apologize for that.~

Chapter One

-Claire's POV-

I stood beside my best friend and soon-to-be rival, Cheren, and joined him in gazing at the pretty box that sat neatly on my desk. We had already read the note on top, the one Professor Juniper had written to us. Inside was our future. All we needed now was Bianca.

Cheren began to tap his foot impatiently, glasses slipping down his nose slightly. "Where is she?" he growled quietly, obviously frustrated. Since I was basically silent most of the time, I didn't answer. Cheren was always like this whenever Bianca took too long. She most likely got held up by her father, whom Cheren and I secretly find extremely annoying. He's always lecturing Bianca about something, whether or not it was relevant to the situation.

Moments later, however, my own patience was rewarded. Cheren blew out a gusty sigh and turned to face the newcomer, who noisily clambered up the stairs, puffing from what looked like a great deal of running. Cheren pushed his glasses up. "Bianca! In the ten years I've known you, never have you been this late before."

Bianca smiled apologetically. "My father got caught up with a television show," she offered cheerily. Behind that, I noticed she looked a little irritated, which was somewhat unlike her. "Never mind that. Happy birthday, Claire!"

I smiled the way I had when Cheren had walked through the door, bearing his own gift for me, which now hung prettily around my neck. Bianca handed the gift to me, which I happily proceeded to unwrap, revealing a warm green turtleneck. I threw my arms around Bianca, retaining the urge to squeal like I'd just received a million dollars. "Thank you!"

Bianca glanced up at Cheren, whom to her surprise was smiling softly. They both knew that I've wanted this shirt for such a long time now. It was just so … "Claire-ish", according to them.

I let go of Bianca and turned to look at Cheren, who gestured towards the box politely. "You can go first, since it arrived at your house," he said with a slight cough. Bianca pushed me forward gently. I slid the green turtleneck over my head, pulled on my necklace to make it show, and reached out to pull the ribbon.

The note slid onto the desk beside the solid box, forgotten in the heated moment, and both my friends leaned forward curiously. There were three Pokeballs inside, and I bet Cheren already knew what species they were.

Hey, who knows what he reads in those books of his?

I picked the Pokeball that sat to the far left and cuddled it against my chest, beaming and going silent. Bianca charged up and picked the middle Pokeball. "Cheren, you get that one!" she chirped merrily, shoving the last ball into his hands. The boy looked indignant. "Why do you get to pick mine for me?" Bianca skipped away and stuck her tongue out, clutching the Pokeball close. Cheren sighed. "Well, alright. I wanted Tepig from the start anyways."

Then Bianca happened to get a 'brilliant' idea.

"Hey, I know! Let's have a battle!"