Garnet Town
"Hey! Orion~"
I hear my name being called and I realize that there's a bright light behind my eyelids. I throw my pillow at the voice, and pull the covers over my head trying to block it out.
"Orion! Wake up!"
"Go away Orpheus, it's… wait, what time is it?"
"It's 4:70!"
Oh yeah. Count your 5 year old little brother to know what time it is, I tell myself, sitting up. I look over at the clock: 10:25. Uh oh.
Don't you love it when your alarm doesn't go off? I sure don't. Luckily, I live close to the Lab so I made it in time—though my appearance is suffering. I saw a faint reflection in the glass doors, and I've been trying to comb my hair out with my fingers since I sat down in the lobby. There was a boy slouched over on the other side of the room, luckily turned away from me, with a hood pulled over his face—but not in a menacing way. Though, he doesn't seem like the kind of person Professor Jamie would hand-pick, I guess it goes to show how you can't judge a book by its cover.
We're here waiting to see Ms. Collice Jamie, a renowned Pokemon Professor. I've read that she's quite the intimidating woman, and that she's really strict. Judging from the scientists and biologists hurrying about, I can guess these rumors are true. I've also picked up that Professor's in other regions hoard low-leveled Pokemon, and pass them out to 10 year olds who wish to take the Trainer path. Professor Jamie, however thinks academics rule out Pokemon. She studies a whole bunch of Pokemon, and when she's finished with that group, she passes them on to high school student who have exceptional grades. Luckily, since this only results in a few trainers every year our region has another Professor who isn't nearly as popular and uses the other method.
I go over what Pokemon are, in case she asks questions. They are creatures very similar to animals, except they have powers—the main elements are Fire, Water, and Grass though there are 18 all together. Professor Jamie has recently discovered a Pokemon with a totally different type than all the others- Light. Pokemon can be trained, and if they gain enough experience they can evolve, which makes the Pokemon much stronger and more adept than it had been before. Not all Pokemon can evolve, and when they do they usually only have 3 states. However, there is one Pokemon—an Eevee that has several different evolutions. Then there are legendary Pokemon; rare and they never evolve… at least none of them have evolved yet.
I glance at a clock, it is 10:56. I hear the automatic front doors slide open and in come Professor Jamie and a shaggy haired kid. This kid has dark brown eyes and dirty blond hair and is definitely one of the popular kids at his school. He walks with an air of grace and confidence but not in an I'm-Better-Than-You kind of way. He looks at the other boy first and then at me, giving me a wink. And, of course, I can feel my cheeks heat up. I try to smile back, but my shyness makes the attempt rather weak. Then my attention focuses on the Professor. She stands straight, and is very tall, keeping her arms crossed. Yep, she's intimidating. She has long blonde hair, pulled up in a pony-tail and keeps her long bangs pinned back. I can see from here that her eyes are odd colored—one is bright green the other is a green-brown hazel, and they hide behind sharp bright blue glasses. Her white lab coat flows to her knees, and 6 PokeBall's are hooked to her belt.
The other boy had stood up, and pushed his hood back, revealing short brown hair that curls at the end. Like me, he's got freckles, but his are faint and there's not as many. His face is rugged, though he has black glasses that help to soften his appearance. His amber eyes startle me too, though they aren't as farfetched as the Professor's.
I stand up also; giving my hair another run through, feeling like a clump of Metapod had evolved in my stomach. Without a word, Professor Jamie continued through the Lab, expecting us to follow her, and that we did.
"Hey, while we've got a chance we should introduce ourselves! My name's Ahren," the blond boy says.
"Nyoka."
"I'm Orion, nice to meet you," I say, my voice quiet.
"Man, are you guys psyched or what? I am. What kind of Pokemon do you think you'll get?" Ahren asks, looking at me.
"Uh, well, I have no idea. I like Electric types," I say, imagining the cute, fluffy sheep Pokemon Mareep.
"Really? I thought you'd be into Water types but that's cool. Electric's my second favorite. Dragon comes first! Though, I doubt she'll let me train a Dragon type to start off with—they're for the elite," he says, his eyes lighting up. He turns to Nyoka, "What about you, which type is your favorite?"
"Poison."
"Nice man, are you looking for a Miasmavine?"
"I guess," he said with a shrug. "I don't know a whole lot of Pokemon."
Ahren chuckles, "It's okay neither do I. Actually, not a lot of Pokemon have been discovered in this region. At least… not as much as the others. Maybe, once we're all big-time trainers we'll discover more! Wow that would be awesome."
Nyoka and I make a humming sound as a response.
We walk through a set of doors into a large area with a bunch of Pokemon. My eyes widen, and stealing a glance at the other two I see mirrored expressions of awe. A light blue Pokemon with translucent green fins swims through the air towards us and nuzzles the Professor lovingly. It reminds me of a Seaking; a Sea-horse Pokemon. However, this one looks much closer to a Leafy Sea-Dragon. Gazes of raccoon-like Pokemon are lazing around, some on top of others, and some away from the group. There are large flamingo-like Pokemon strutting around, wobbly legged-chicks following them—a prime example of evolution. The small Pokemon later grows up into the larger one, and if the fully evolved Pokemon lays an egg, it hatches into the younger version. Complicated, but if you've lived with it you catch on quickly. I see a few odd looking pig-like Pokemon before we get to a desk in the corner of the room.
Professor Jamie unhooked the PokeBall's, setting them on the desk. "Welcome, and congratulations. I'm sure you know why you're here, yes?" She looks over her glasses at us. "Good. So I'm not going to waste my breath. Any questions?"
"Uh, yes. How many Pokemon will we get to choose from?" I ask.
"Four. Luckily for you, they're uncommon. There's a Fire-, a Grass-, a Water- and a Fighting-type. The Fighting-type can be found in the wild, unlike the other three, but it's hard to find, and even harder to catch." She takes 2 of the PokeBall's and releases them. There's a Miasmavine in one and a walking-stick Pokemon in the other. She calls over an assistant to take them to the others. Turning back to us, she gestures to the other four.
"Since we're new to this can you explain them?" Nyoka asks his hands in his pockets.
"Sure," She looks at the balls and selects one, pushing the button in the center to open it. A flashy blue light travels to the ground and out comes a cute deer-like Pokemon. "This is a female Aquapi, it's a Water-Psychic-type. She's very docile and only knows 2 moves so far—Stomp and Double Team. Her ability is Coral; it increases her defense, which is her strongest stat. As she gets stronger, the coral plate on her head will get bigger." The Pokemon stood and looked up at us, not quite afraid, but not coming too close. She's light blue in color, with alternating dark blue and white spots. There's a strip of coral on her nose that follows the bridge up to her forehead, and her tail is coralline also. She has dark blue markings around her white coral hooves, and stripes on her back legs.
Leaving it out of the PokeBall to adjust to its new surrounding, she picks up another, releasing it. A green ball of fluff sits on the floor, looking dazed. However it snaps out of it and pads up to us, giving us a sniff before going to clamber onto the Aquapi. Its underbelly, undertail, and spots on its face are a light green, whereas its tail is tipped and striped with dark green. Its ears, mask, and front arms also bear the same color. "This is a female Planda; which are Grass-Dark-types. She's got a jolly nature and as you can see, is playful and outgoing. These Pokemon are based on their speed and they have an ability called Lucky Clover that gives the species an enhanced sense of accuracy. She only knows Tackle right now, but she'll learn Razor Leaf in her next level—which is quite the attack for a Pokemon of her level."
The third Pokemon is quite large for a first evolution. A dark gray elephant-like Pokemon stands in front of us. Evaluating, it walks around us. It has three glass balls on each of its sides, filled with ash. The tail is long and sweeps the floor, the fur at the end a burnt orange like the markings at the end of its feet. Compared to the other two, this Pokemon is simple. "This is a male Eleflame. As you can guess it's a Fire-type but it can also learn Poison based moves." Nyoka perks up. "He's got an adamant nature, which makes it a quick learner. However, these Pokemon are hard to train, so you have to be dedicated. They pick up and use their Trainer's emotions as fuel so you need a clear mind when fighting. These Pokemon are based on attack stats and their ability Ash Cloud raises its special attack and special defense. He's got 3 moves already: Defense Curl, Poison Sting and Growl."
"And the last one is Karatty," she says, releasing it. It stands about waste high on two legs. There are beads that hang off its ears and they glow slightly. It has six formidable claws on each paw and a long rat tail. It drops down on all fours and runs around, letting off excess energy no doubt. When it comes back it stands and holds its paw out, facing the sky to each of us. "Put your hand on his paw," the Professor instructs and one by one we do. Each time it nods, and the beads glow. "It's part of his ability—Light Check. Have you heard about the discovery of Light Pokemon?"
Ahren and I nod, but Nyoka shakes his head. "Professor Jamie discovered them," I tell him.
"Indeed I did," she says, an expression of pride flashing on her face. "This is the species. This one here is a male. Female Karatty's are harder to come by than males. He's got 2 moves: Double Kick and Comet Punch. He's got a Brave nature and his ability senses the light and the dark in people. So give it some thought and choose wisely.
The other two are deep in thought, so I decide to walk up to each of the Pokemon to get some firsthand experience. Aquapi sniffs my hand when I hold it out, and she pushes her nose into my hand to express friendliness. I stroke her cheek a couple times before being tapped on the shoulder. The Eleflame lowers his head towards me also so I pet his forehead. He's very warm to the touch. Then the Planda climbs up my back and wobbles on my shoulder using my head to stabilize itself. She chirps happily, and licks my cheek. I hold my arms out and she jumps down into them and looks at me with her big dark green eyes. The Karatty just nods at me again.
"Whoa! Looks like someone's found her Pokemon!" Ahren says, joining me. The Eleflame stomped over to Nyoka and ruffled his hair with his trunk. It didn't look any different when the Eleflame finished, but it got a grin out of the quite boy. Ahren looked between the two remaining Pokemon, he made a funny face in his thinking. The Aquapi looked hesitant to step forward, but the Karatty made no move. "Oh gosh… this is hard… uh okay I'll choose the Aquapi."
Professor Jamie nodded, and handed up the respective PokeBalls. "Well kids, you best be off now."