A/N: It's storytime.
I've been playing too much SoulSilver.
And yeeeees my protagonist is going to get paired up with someone from canon.
Anyways... I choose you, cliché-storyline!
'...!'
Bright green eyes stared intensely at the can tightly gripped in her pale hand as she strained to place it on top of the neatly-stacked pyramid of canned products she worked on all day. Her other hand clung onto the handle of the stepladder tightly as she leaned forward a little to place the can on top of the structure. A bead of sweat ran down from the side of her face down to her neck and collar bone.
'C'mon, c'mon...'
The young woman bit her lip in concentration as she carefully placed the last can on top of the pyramid. Pulling back and letting her fingers linger near the can, her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at her accomplishment.
"Holy..." The female uttered softly, before her lips formed a small smile. "Wow... I did it! And it didn't fall this time!" She sighed in relief and brushed her shiny white hair away from her face.
Clap, clap, clap. "Ohohoho, Alyssa! Good work, girl."
Said girl nearly lost her balance from the top of the stepladder as her supervisor applauded her accomplishment. Alyssa looked down onto the polished floors of the Pokémart ('Oh wow; am I really that high up...?' she mentally gulped) as a dusty pink blush appeared on her cheeks at the praise.
"Ah... uhm, thank you sir!" Alyssa squeaked bashfully, carefully climbing down the stepladder and reuniting with level ground. Her supervisor's sleepy-looking brown eyes glittered in amusement at her slight discomfort.
"My, my;" The man chuckled, running a hand through his curly black hair. "It's hard to believe that you can stack items in this shop perfectly on a high stepladder, but yet on solid ground you're not so nimble with your feet! Ahahaha!"
Alyssa giggled a little knowing about her normal clumsiness, "I... work better under pressure?" She smiled embarrassedly.
The man gave her a thumbs-up and walked past her. "I'll put in a good word for you to the manager, Al. At seventeen years of age you're pretty capable! Not many teenagers these days doing this job bother to do the tasks we give them..." He tilted his head a little and glanced back at her, "Also you're done for the day; go enjoy yourself."
As her supervisor went through the double doors into the storage room, Alyssa let out a deep exhausted sigh and took off her assigned uniform (which was actually just a white apron with a Pokéball symbol on the left breast). She was wearing a forest green tank top with the straps coming up to the back of her neck and tied up into a neat bow, and over that was a baggy black shirt that was only buttoned halfway. A plaid grey skirt reaching her mid-thigh was worn over black leggings with grey spots on them. She wore black converse shoes to finish the look.
Walking over to the pay counter, putting her folded apron in a drawer and picking up her shoulder bag from a hidden storage cabinet, she waved goodbye to her co-workers and walked out through the sliding doors of the mart.
Alyssa moved from Lavender Town in Kanto to Cherrygrove City in Johto three months ago. After her parents divorced, she decided to go with her father to move into Cherrygrove while her mother stayed in Lavender. The young woman took a job in the Pokémart to save enough money to buy a Magnet Train ticket from Goldenrod to Saffron so that she could visit her mother.
"And I finally have enough..." Alyssa whispered giddily to herself, putting a little skip in her step as she walked. The white-haired teen slowed down and made a turn towards the beach wanting to listen to the calming waves of the ocean.
'Hm?' The female paused and tried to focus on what she was hearing, trying to make out a slight squeaking sound through the noise of the waves. Alyssa strained her eyes in the distance and focused on a struggling Pokémon getting drowned in the waves. Her eyes widened as the small creature let loose a weak Ember attack, a distress signal for help.
"Aw, crud..." She started running as fast as she could to the drowning Pokémon. Obviously fire and water do not react soundly to each other, and water will smother the fire out. Her shoes made deep prints in the sand as she ran to the fire Pokémon. Alyssa winced as the waves crashed onto her sand-filled shoes, but picked up the creature and cradled it in her arms carefully.
Checking to see if it was okay and breathing, Alyssa quickly made her way back home, the little Cyndaquil in her arms shivering and snuggling against her chest.
"What 'cha got there, Al?" Her father asked as his daughter closed the front door from behind her. He looked up from the television and eyed the calm Pokémon looking comfortable in her arms. His green eyes, similar to Alyssa's, flashed in recognition, "Hey..."
"Dad...? Do we have any blankets or anything that'll warm it up?" Alyssa interrupted swiftly, kicking off her wet shoes at the foot of the door. Dad nodded and quickly went into another room for some clean towels while Alyssa was in the kitchen checking out if the Cyndaquil was still alright. She eyed the Pokémon closely for a bit (and determined it was a male) and searched the cupboards and the fridge for some suitable foods for him.
Cyndaquil sneezed, the holes in his back flaring up a little before settling down again.
Alyssa pulled out some of last night's leftovers for dinner from the fridge and popped it in the microwave to heat it up. The Cyndaquil eyed the white-haired girl curiously from his spot on the kitchen counter.
"...I'm going to call you Mikehl," Alyssa decided from out of the blue while they waited for the food to heat up. She glanced at the Pokémon as he tilted his head as if questioning her decision. "Well I can't just call you Cyndaquil all the time. All living things are unique, and they all deserve a name of their own." She smiled at the Pokémon, "My name's Alyssa; my mom named me that."
Both the newly-named Mikehl and Alyssa glanced at the door as Dad went inside carrying a neatly folded blanket. "Do you want me to prepare the bedding in your room so you can keep an eye on it?"
"Him," She corrected absently, taking out the food as the microwave beeped. She placed the plate in front of Mikehl, who sniffed it and started to eat. "Yes that would be good, in case Mikehl starts to feel unwell and I can tend to him quickly..." Alyssa placed a small bowl filled halfway with some warm water next to the food.
"Mikehl..." Dad repeated quietly, before starting to speak a little louder. "Y'know, Professor Elm from New Bark Town is missing a Cyndaquil." He informed, eyeing the eating fire Pokémon. "Apparently it was stolen from the lab... He put posters up around the area and adverts in the newspaper about it. They've been up for about four days now."
Alyssa frowned in disappointment. She was just getting quite attached to the little guy... "I'll go and visit the Professor tomorrow," She promised, glancing at Mikehl. "Let's see if this one is the Cyndaquil he lost..."
Mikehl continued to contently nibble on a potato.
The next day...
Alyssa bit her lip as she stood in front of the New Bark Town lab. Mikehl was by her feet, curiously looking up at her. Steeling herself for what's about to come, the teen opened the double doors and entered the lab.
The scientists and assistants briefly glanced at her when she entered, but quickly ignored her in favour of their current tasks. On the other side of the lab was the Professor, who was speaking to a male police officer (who, strangely enough, looked vaguely familiar...). The officer was taking notes as the Professor was explaining something.
"Uhm..." She interrupted quietly, her voice echoing in the lab and turning both men's eyes towards her. "I, uh, might've found a Cyndaquil of yours...?" On cue, Mikehl made a squeaking noise by her feet.
The officer raised a fine eyebrow, adjusting his cap over his blue hair. "Well then, Prof. Elm..." He spoke, closing his notebook in one fluid motion and putting it away in his pocket. "I'm guessing that you won't be needing my services anymore, now that this young lady just did my job for me." He chuckled, his one visible blue eye glancing at the white-haired girl and then at the Cyndaquil.
"I suppose she did," Elm smiled in appreciation at both Alyssa and the man in uniform, "But you may stay for a little longer, if you wish." The officer smiled in response.
"...Err, sorry?" Alyssa muttered to the officer, who only laughed and waved it off.
"Don't worry about it," He replied, his smile getting wider. "I'm only working as an officer to contribute to the community; I'm not even getting paid."
'That's very nice of him...' Alyssa thought, "So, what do you do usually?"
"I'm the gym leader of the Violet City gym," The officer responded airily, brushing his fingertips on his belt. Alyssa finally noticed the Pokéballs clipped onto it. "My name is Falkner, and I use bird-type Pokémon in my gym."
Something clicked in her mind, "I knew I recognised you from somewhere," The young woman exclaimed, and then smiled embarrassedly for the slight outburst, folding her hands behind her. "Sorry," She said meekly, a blush forming on her cheeks. Falkner just smiled politely, not bothered at all.
Elm studied Mikehl, who was currently snuggling up against Alyssa's ankles. "I'm afraid I didn't quite catch your name, even though I've seen you around in the city a couple of times..."
"Alyssa," She quickly introduced, still maintaining her meekness.
Elm laughed, "No need to be so shy, Alyssa. Tell me, what do you plan to do now?" He asked kindly.
Alyssa blinked at the sudden question, but answered nonetheless. "Umm, well I was kind of planning to board the Magnet Train to Kanto and visit my mother. I finally saved up enough money for a ticket!" She answered cheerfully but quietly, coming out of her shell a little bit.
"That's all the way in Goldenrod..." Falkner hummed, glancing at the Professor knowingly. The older man merely smiled in response to the gym leader's look and turned to face Alyssa again.
"I've decided:" Elm said positively. "You, Alyssa, can keep that Cyndaquil."
There was a brief silence, then:
"Wh...Whaaa?" Alyssa blinked rapidly in surprise, briefly looking down at Mikehl snuggling against her feet. "But... Isn't he...?"
"Cyndaquil stayed here in the lab with me so I could find a suitable trainer for him. He's taken quite a liking to you, and vice versa." Elm explained, grinning at Alyssa's astonishment. "Since from here to Goldenrod is quite far, he will be a great companion and he can protect you from wild Pokémon." Elm hummed, walking over to a cabinet filled with metal containers. "Tell me, Alyssa; have you ever considered being a trainer?"
"...I, well, yeah." Alyssa admitted, blushing slightly. "Both my parents were trainers, and when I was younger I aspired to be like them." She looked away. "I lived in Lavender Town before, and Pallet Town was so far away and hard to get to..."
"Do you still want to be one?" Elm inquired, taking out a container and handing it to Falkner. "Most trainers start when they're ten years of age, but truthfully you can never be too old to start being a trainer." The Prof. fished in his lab coat for a set of keys to unlock the container.
Falkner snorted, "And you can never be too old to still be one, either. Look at Pryce! Over fifty years with his Pokémon..." Elm coughed to try and hide his amusement while he unlocked the container.
"Alyssa, I'm giving you a chance to chase that old dream of yours. That Cyndaquil will help you out." The Professor murmured softly, opening the container and pulling out some Pokéballs. Falkner closed the container and placed it on a nearby table. "You'll meet all kinds of Pokémon on your journey, and even befriend some of them. From all the trainers I've given Pokémon to so far, when they come back from their journey I immediately know from the looks in their eyes that it was all worthwhile."
Falkner piped up, "A trainer makes their own path," He stood next to Professor Elm again. "Some become League champions, Pokélathon winners, contest performers... there are a lot of choices."
Elm smiled reassuringly at Alyssa and offered the Pokéballs to her. She eyed them uncertainly, "It's up to you." He said, trying not to pressure her. "Will you take the path of a Pokémon trainer, Alyssa?"
"But, why...?"
"Why not? You seem to be a very capable teenager, and I know you have the potential to be great."
The young woman bit her lip nervously as she stared at the red and white capsules. Her green eyes glanced at Mikehl who was staring up at her, and the Pokémon squeaked confidently. She gulped a little and fixed her eyes at Elm's expectant ones.
"I accept," She decided with determination in her voice.
A/N: Yes. Mikehl. Pronounced Mee - kel.
Because Mikel looks lame, I added an extra 'H' in there. Much cooler.