Channary Sherwood lay on the couch in her family's small living room, a common habit of hers when she became bored. Her long, black hair covered her shoulders as her bright hazel eyes looked at the ceiling. Channary was wearing her favorite outfit: a grey tank top with a white trim, a yellow skirt and hat, and black shoes.
"You're not going to sit around all day again, are you?" Channary recognized the voice as her mother's, Ronda or Mrs. Sherwood. "You're ten years old, now's a good time to start your Pokemon journey. You can't just sit around the house every day: you need to explore, expand your horizons."
"I know, Mom." Channary replied, "I want to travel, but I also want to participate in something with Pokemon. I could be a coordinator, trainer, stylist, and more but I don't know which one I want to do."
Mrs. Sherwood sighed and smiled, "Lots of people aren't sure what path they want to pursue, but along the way they figure it out. I just don't think it's healthy for you to lay around all day."
"I know." Channary answered, inspecting a strand of her hair. She then got up right away, "I'm going to go for a quick walk in the forest."
"That's fine, just be back soon."
"I will." Channary nodded and headed out the door.
As Channary walked through the forest, she couldn't help but think about her journey. Though the forest was a bit thick, Channary knew her way even when something was troubling her.
"I really do want to go on a journey, but what will I work towards?" Channary sighed and continued with her walk.
"Pokemon Contests sound great, but I don't know if I could handle being watched by so many people." She shuddered, "Gyms seem cool, but the leaders appear to be really tough." Then another thought came to mind. "I've heard of Pokemon Styling too, but like contests you have to perform in front of a large audience and the TV stations will be there." She stopped walking and closed her eyes to collect more thoughts.
"This research is going great," A soft whisper sounded near Channary. "Just a few more notes about the local Pokemon, then I'll expand to more cities perhaps."
"Could that be…?" Channary trailed off as she walked towards the voice. After looking around for a while, she figured the voice was just her imagination. "I've been out here long enough: I'd better go home."
Channary turned around and began to walk back. Will I ever choose what to do? What will I be good at? What if I'm bad at contests, gyms, and everything else? She suddenly closed her eyes to block the tears from streaming down her face and ran as fast as she could. She felt the cool, damp air against her face and through her hair.
Suddenly, she knocked into something and heard papers fly through the air. Channary quickly opened her eyes and saw a tall man in front of her with a lab coat on. As she felt herself falling to the ground, the man grabbed her arm to stop her from hitting the forest floor. When she regained her balance, the man released her.
"Sorry about that, are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry for crashing into you, I should have watched where I was going." Channary replied, hiding her sad emotions with a smile. She then started picking up the papers, the man doing the same. When all the papers were picked up, they both stood back up.
"Thanks for helping me get these," he said, holding up the papers, "By the way, I'm Birch, the Pokemon Professor from Littleroot Town."
"I'm Channary Sherwood from Oldale Town."
"Sherwood?" Birch thought for a moment, then replied, "Oh, right! Sherwood! Your father's name is Perry, right?"
"Yeah, you know him?"
"No, but I've heard a lot about him and I've seen him on TV a few times before. He's a reporter, correct?"
Channary nodded, "Yeah, he travels around a lot too."
Wow, I'm talking to Professor Birch, one of the great Pokemon Professors! He's like a celebrity! The two continued talking for a while. The whole conversation was about Pokemon, battles, contests, and such.
"Channary? Channary?" A familiar voice called, it got a bit louder every second. Then Mrs. Sherwood appeared from the bushes. "Channary!" She exclaimed, giving Channary a hug, "You were gone more than usual so I was afraid you got hurt."
"No, Mom I'm fine. I just bumped into Professor Birch, he's a famous Pokemon professor you know." She smiled.
"Hello, sorry to worry you. Channary sure does seem ready for a journey: she knows enough to get a Pokemon and travel." Professor Birch said.
"It's alright, I was just getting worried," Mrs. Sherwood replied, "She's ten, so she meets the age requirement for a journey and she does like reading about Pokemon."
"Channary, if you and your mother think that you're ready for a journey, come to me and I'll give you your first Pokemon."
"Okay, thank you Professor Birch." Channary smiled. I wonder if I ever will start a journey. I sure hope so: I'd love to have a Pokemon.