It was springtime in Littleroot Town. A nice, crisp morning allowed me to keep the window in my room open. Or at least it would have, but I was just getting ready to leave by this time. Leaving the window open would only invite burglars, so I left it shut.

I took one last look at himself in the mirror as I made sure I had everything I needed. Bag, check; lucky hat, check; change of clothes, check; Pokégear, not back from the shop yet - I'd grab it before I left town. Satisfied with the checklist, I half-ran down the stairs. "Bye, Mom," I called into the kitchen as he passed, "love you!"

"Wait!" I stopped and turned around long enough to get caught in one of my mom's crushing hugs. She was a really nice person, but she was as strong as a Machoke at her calmest. I'm not even sure why I was worried about burglars earlier; she could take care of herself just fine. I gasped for air, signaling her to release me. "You have everything you need?"

"Already finished double-checking."

"Clothes?" Yes. "Socks?" At least three pairs. "Wallet?" Yes. "Journal?"

"My journal?"

She shrugged. "Most trainers like to keep a record of their progress, apparently. It's on the table with your ID."

I quickly patted myself down before jogging to the table. Lo and behold, there sat my Trainer's License on top of a plain black composition notebook. I hadn't actually written anything in it yet, but Mom made a convincing enough argument for me to take it with me. "There. Now that's everything."

"Be careful, son."

"IwillIloveyoumombye!" I retreated to the safety of outside before she could hug me again. As I turned away from the now closed door, I was greeted by a head of blue hair in a dress, whom I welcomed in kind. "Hey, Zuzu."

"Hi, Gold!" she greeted back.

/-/

You seem a little confused. About how this Marill is a person, or maybe just how I'm now addressing you. I'll explain.

I'm no expert, but in your world - and yes, it is most likely different from mine - pokémon are little more than a bunch of animals that can breathe fire or shoot lightning, right? Or maybe pokémon don't exist in your world outside the realm of fantasy? I don't know. What I do know is that in my world, pokémon are a set of humanoids with those same sort of abilities. Each type - fire, water, etc. - can be viewed in the same vein as human nationalities - Kantoan, Johtoan, etc. (I'm sure you refer to your world's nationalities differently) - and each kind - Rattata, Zubat, etc. - can be seen sort of like large extended families. We train them to control their powers, and only fight as necessary, or organize special matches in the League Challenge. There's a little more to it, but there's more story to go through, so I'll just try to explain as we go.

Oh, and about the fourth wall? I can't really explain that. Every time I bring it up people act like I'm crazy, so let's just keep this between you and me. Okay?

/-/

"You and Lyra playing Hide-and-Seek again?" I asked.

"A-ha!" As if on cue, a considerably taller head of brown appeared from around the corner. With little warning, she pounced at Zuzu, who expertly dodged out of the way.

"Too slow!" The Marill laughed, bounding away with glee.

"Get back here!" the girl shouted. "I'm not gonna be it forever and you know it!"

She stood and dusted herself off with a sigh. "Morning, Lyra," I greeted finally.

"Morning, Gold," she returned.

"Tag?"

"Tag." She threw what she could of her hands into the pockets of her short shorts as she turned to face me. "So, where're you off to so early?"

"I swear, you're such a kid sometimes..." I muttered before answering, "I'm starting my first day as a trainer today."

"Sounds like a time." She smiled, then added, "If I were you, though, I'd look into getting some of Elm's advice. He helps out all new trainers like that, if you don't mind running the occasional errand for him."

"I'll be sure to stop by."

"Good luck on your journey."

I nodded. "Good luck with your game of tag." I smiled at her reaction as she ran off in the other direction, trying to find her ward. With that, I made the short walk over to the Pokémon Lab, a large building with clean, polished glass in the windows and a set of double doors. The inside of the lab was sterile white with the exception of a few large computer towers lining the walls, as well as other various pieces of apparatus. Elm's assistant - I'm pretty sure his name was Roy - darted to-and-fro, running several tests at once at at least six different stations. "Excuse me," I said, reluctant to interrupt something that seemed so important, "do you know where Professor Elm is?"

"Hm?" Roy answered, not actually bothering to stop. "Oh, the professor is at the back of the lab," he adjusted the focus on one of the many microscopes he was in charge of, "Running physical examinations on the new pokémon."

"Thanks." I walked that way past a handful of machines. Sure enough, Professor Elm was sitting in his favorite swivel chair, jotting notes on a clipboard as he put three young pokémon through their paces. "Hey, Prof," I greeted, "what's going on?"

He looked up from his research, adjusting his glasses. "Ah, Gold! Just who I wanted to see. I need a guinea pig for a test I'm conducting."

I gave him a look. "It's not going to be invasive, is it?"

Elm chuckled. "No, nothing like that. I'm not that kind of scientist. You're starting your job as a trainer today, right?" I nodded. "Perfect!" His computer beeped, and he rolled over to check. "Eh?" He turned back to me. "It seems you have the opportunity to help me with two things today."

"What do you need?"

"Well, I have this friend - people call him 'Mr. Pokémon' because he claims to know all there is to know about them without actually being one; he's got something he thought I might like to see. But he refuses to tell me what it is, and I can't go out to get it because I'm swamped with work. That's where you come in."

"You need me to go pick up whatever Mr. Pokémon has for you?" I guessed.

"You hit that nail on the head, Gold. You'd be doing me a big favor by doing this."

"Alright, so what's the other thing?"

"Yes, the experiment." He cleared his throat. "Gold, do you know what I do here?"

I nodded. "You study growth rates and patterns of pokémon as compared to humans. Everyone knows that."

"Precisely, and it's those points of focus that have led me to my current hypothesis. I believe that, some distant time ago, people and pokémon lived even more closely than today. Somewhere down the line, the concept of "pokémon trainers" was established to allow the safe growth of pokémon's abilities, which is the symbiotic relationship we see today." He flips up the top page of his notes as he continues, "However, the data I've been collecting shows that this has had some detrimental effect on the physical growth of certain families of pokémon, causing them to reach peak maturity later in life." He turns up another page, reviewing the third before returning his papers to the correct order. "Something is suddenly... missing, now that the roles have shifted. Humans are no longer seen as equals, but educators. The same closeness we once had with our powerful neighbors has gone, and it's had an enduring impact on so many. It's sad, really, but there may be hope yet."

He rolled back to the three pokémon he'd been testing. "I want you to take one of these youngsters with you. I've got all the lab data I'll need to compare with whatever you observe."

I looked over the three pokémon. The first was the Chikorita, Chi-Chi, a girl in a light green shirt with a bit of a cowlick in her moss-colored hair. She looked like she'd be pleased with whatever outcome crossed her path. Next was the Cyndaquil, Samael, a boy in a yellow shirt and teal jacket with dark red stains on the back, possibly from the clay in the dirt around town. Elm liked to keep them active, it seemed. Last was Tord, a redheaded Totodile that wouldn't even spare me a second glance. Punk never did like me.

I said before that pokémon types could be seen as parallel to human nationalities. It probably helps to mention that Fire-, Water-, and Grass-types have been shown in group studies to be more agreeable toward would-be trainers like me. That's why they tend to be assigned as so-called "starter pokémon": it makes it easier on newbies to have someone more-or-less compliant so they can learn. With notable exceptions, of course.

I shot Tord a glare before standing upright. "I'm thinking of a number between one and nine. Whoever gets closest without going over gets to come with me." All but Tord stared at me intently, like they were trying to read my mind. A full ten seconds passed before they made their guesses.

"Five!" Chi-Chi called out.

"Nine," Tord said, clearly not wanting a thing to do with me.

Sam kept his eyes fixed on me a little longer. I was pretty sure he was going to bore a hole through me with - "Three."

Samael
Cyndaquil, M
Blaze
Rash, Loves to eat

I grinned. "Three's the magic number. Let's go, Sam."

"Alright, you two," Elm dismissed the others, "back to your activities. I have to speak with Samael and Gold for a moment."

"Okay. Bye, Sam!"

"...See you."

They walked off, leaving Sam alone with the professor and me. "Now, about that errand: Mr. Pokémon lives just past Cherrygrove. Make a right on Route 30 and he's right there. I recommend stopping at Cherrygrove Mart to stock up on supplies should you need them."

"Got it, Prof," I assured. "Anything else?"

Elm rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I don't actually have the go-ahead to perform this study en masse, so you two are going to serve as my proof-of-concept. That means I need the two of you to be on your best behavior. Officially, you're still trainer and ward, but you're going to do everything from now on as pure equals. No pulling rank, no threats of incineration, none of that.

"And besides," he smirks, leaning back, "From what I've heard, you could both use some more friends in your lives, so think of this as an opportunity."

"Gee," Sam and I deadpanned together, "thanks."

Once we realized what had happened, we couldn't help but smile. "See?" Elm said, "Fastest friends I've ever seen!"

"Take care, Professor," Sam chuckled.

We went to leave, but Roy actually stopped me this time. "Wait!" I turned, and he tossed me a paper box. "It's a spray for minor cuts and bruises. You should mostly be dealing with those anyway while you're out."

"Thanks."

I was finally allowed to exit, and I found Lyra and Zuzu waiting outside. "Gold!" I met her halfway from my spot at the door. "So you're taking Sam with you?"

"Yeah, we're going to look after each other."

Zuzu gave Sam a small wave, which he returned. "Zuz," he greeted. "Long time no talk?"

"I know," she answered, "It's been forever!"

"You still live on the south side?"

"Yeah, Lyra and I both."

"We were just going to head up to Violet City," Lyra said. "There's a trainer's school there and Zuzu wanted to sightsee a little bit."

"It's the only place you can get fresh croissant sandwiches anymore," Zuzu explained. "Everywhere else throws those fake frozen things at their customers."

Sam scratched his chin. "I may have to check it out if we're out that way."

Zuzu smiled, "I'll be waiting!"

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May 10, 20XX

I met my ward, Samael, today. He's a nice kid, a little younger than me. Elm wants us to speak with his friend, Mr. Pokémon, before we head out and about. We got to Cherrygrove, and Sam just loved the Pokémon Center. Can't say I blame him.

Some old man gave us a tour of town when we arrived. When we finished, he said he had a brand-new set of running shoes. I'm not just gonna turn down a gift like that! And when we went to leave, he chased us down and gave me a map card!

That reminds me: I still need to pick up my Pokégear from the shop. Elm said to call if there was a development. I'm sure Mr. Pokémon will let me use his phone.