The First Steps
I lay in bed, seeing nothing but darkness. My eyes were closed, I am not blind, nor am I dead. I heard the Pidgey chirping, and I knew it was morning. Reluctantly, I open my eyes. "14..." I mutter to myself, "Today I'm 14...I can't believe the day is already here." It was a tradition in my family, that when a member of the family reaches 14 years old, they get their first Pokémon. You don't really know what Pokémon you get, but most of the time, you'll love it. I stayed in bed a while after waking up, too lazy to get out of bed. I knew I had to eventually. I did get out of bed about 10-20 minutes later. I looked in the mirror on my dresser, "Welp, time to get this Ratatta's nest outta my hair" I giggled to myself, grabbing my brush and brushing my hair. I start humming to myself before I put down my brush. Yawning and stretching, I finally walk downstairs. I noticed that no one was in the house and I became really confused, "Where is everyone?" I thought to myself. I walk into my kitchen, only to see a note, next to a Pokéball. I pick up the note and read it,
"Dear, Shane, sorry we aren't home, we have to be gone for the day, but we left you the Pokéball! Open it to see who your first Pokémon is going to be! Love, Mom and Dad." I sigh and smile a bit before grabbing my soon to be partner. I wasn't expecting much, but I was still rather excited. Before I open the Pokéball, I start thinking about what my very first partner would be. Maybe a Pikachu, or a Squirtle, possibly Snivy? Unsure, I finally muster up the courage and I swing my arm, releasing my grasp from the Pokéball and throwing it. The Pokéball hits the ground, releasing a white light. The light forms the shape of a dog-like figure, before dissipating. I first see a fluffy, collar-like, cream-colored fur around the neck of the Pokémon, followed by a fluffy brown tail with a cream tip. I gasped in surprise once the light fully went away. I hear a soft "Vui Vui!" From the brown dog-like figure. I gasped in surprise at what I have just gotten as my first Pokémon.
"A-An Eevee!?" I exclaimed in shock, staring at the little brown dog. I kneel in front of it and start petting it. The Eevee seems to like it, wagging its tail.
"Vui Vui!" Eevee exclaimed happily, wagging its tail quickly and happily. I look around the room instinctively and I see a little box on the table in the living room. I proceed to get up and walk to it, Eevee following shortly behind. I pick up the box and see a small tag with my name on it. Thinking that it was safe to assume it was for me, I open it. In it, I see a necklace, and a water droplet charm hanging off of it. I pick it up from the box and unclip the necklace. Putting it around my neck, it hangs loosely around my neck, and it's quite comfortable too! Eevee seems intrigued by it, pawing at me. I decide to kneel down and let Eevee paw at my necklace, and I smile hearing the soft, adorable "Vui Vui!" sounds from Eevee. Eevee seems really fond of my necklace, and, eventually touches the water droplet on the end of it. The soft vuis from Eevee start going away and are replaced with... laughs? These didn't sound like Pokémon laughs either, they sounded like... laughs from a small child?! I was confused and looked around the room, shooting my body up to a standing position. The laughs went away, and instead, I heard this,
"What's the matter? Is something wrong?" I didn't recognize the voice, so I jolted my head around. Not seeing anyone, I look down at Eevee, who was now in a sitting position. I decide to sit down in front of Eevee again, who had its head tilted cutely in confusion.
"Eevee?" I uttered to it.
"Yes, master?" Eevee replies. Wait...DID AN EEVEE JUST TALK!? I jump back in shock, falling down.
"D-D-Did you just...talk!?" I asked, stuttering.
"What do you mean? Of course, I just talked! I always talk!"
"B-But... P-Pokémon don't... talk, do they?"
"What do you...wait...oh I know what you mean! Hmm...yeah, I don't know why you can like, fully understand me, but are you complaining?"
"I mean...no but...it's just weird to me? It's cool having a talking Eevee I guess."
"It's cool having a master to understand me!"
"C-Call me Shane!" I say apprehensively as I extend my hand towards Eevee.
"Oh, well...that's a name I can call you now, I guess. Welp, just call me Eevee alright?"
"Alright!" I keep my hand extended, and Eevee, confused, sniffs my hand. I forgot Eevee's don't have hands, they have paws. "Oh, right, you uh, don't have hands."
"Nope, paws."
"Well uh, just uh, I guess put your paw in my hand?"
"Ok!" Eevee replied cutely, placing his tiny paw inside of my hand. I close my hand around Eevee's paw and felt a little spark, and apparently, Eevee felt it too. We shared a confident grin before letting go. I could tell that Eevee felt the shock, as his fur stood on its end. I let out a little giggle and Eevee tilted his head cutely in confusion, "What's so funny?" He asked
"Oh, nothing, your fur is just standing on its end," I say giggling. Eevee looked at himself a bit confused. He saw his fur standing on its end and his face became red. He desperately tries to lick himself to make his fur go back to normal, and I just watching laughing at him. Eevee gave me an embarrassed, angry, and cute look after I laughed at him. He tried his best to look angry, oh how he tried, but he was just too cute and I burst out laughing. He got really mad at me and pounced on me, licking my face a ton. I proceeded to giggle immensely, "Eevee! That tickles!" I laughed loudly.
"Who's the cute one now?" He teased, continuing to lick my face more as I continued to laugh. I tried to push Eevee off of me, but I just couldn't push him off, I was too scared to hurt him. I just sat there helplessly laughing as Eevee continued his assault on my face. Eventually, he stopped and I got a chance to breathe. Panting a bit, I sit up and give Eevee a little pat on the head. He stuck his tongue out cutely and I giggled at it.
"I take it you like getting pet?" I asked him.
"Yes! Very much so!" He exclaimed in response. The rest of that day was mostly spent by Eevee and I getting to know each other better. It eventually got really late, it was around either 8:39 pm or 10:21 pm, I don't remember. Either way, I went into my bed and pulled the covers over myself. Eevee jumped on top of the covers on top of me and curled into a ball. It was a rather cold winter night, and although Eevee has all that fur, he was still shivering. I pulled him under the blankets and hugged him close. He was so soft and cuddly, and I guess he liked the warm embrace of my arms and purred, falling asleep. I started thinking in my sleep before I completely fell out.
Thoughts kept racing and racing in my mind. Thoughts such as "(Why can I understand Pokémon? Is it the necklace? Why does the necklace allow me to do this? Why did I get this necklace? Did my mom get it for me? Where did she get it?)" And so many more questions. I peeked open my eyes at Eevee, who had turned in his sleep, now facing me. I give a soft smile before gently closing my eyes and falling asleep.
I felt a soft, wet surface glide across my face multiple times. I start to slowly open my eyes to see a small, brown face in front of me. It was Eevee, deciding to lick me awake. "Wake up! Wake up! It's morning!" He sang. I giggled a bit to myself,
"You're up early today, Eevee." I said.
"I'm excited! I wanna go out and explore!" He sang out happily. I giggled a little.
"Alright, alright, we'll go explore and set out on our journey today."
"YAY!" He screamed happily, however is only sounded like a loud "Vui!" To my parents. My mom walked into the room as I was getting out of bed,
"Morning Sweetheart! I'm sorry I wasn't there for your birthday, very busy day."
"It's alright mom." Eevee went up and started sniffing my mom. He looked up and her and let out a small yipping sound to her, but to me, I heard
"Why do you smell familiar?" Topped with a head tilt. I giggled a bit and so did my mom.
"Like your new Eevee honey?" My mom asked me
"Yeah, he's adorable! I think I'm gonna set out on my journey today." My mom's face turned to a frown, but quickly to a smile. "Don't worry mom, I'll be sure to come home if I get too tired."
"Alright Sweetheart, I'll leave you alone now." She says as she walks out of the room.
"Hey, get back here!" Eevee shouted.
"She can't hear you Eevee, only I can."
"Oh, so that explains it."
"Yeah." I said giggling. "Well, we should get ready to leave, I say we leave at 12 pm."
"It's...7 am right now, so we got around 5 hours to prepare." Eevee looked excited. I was excited also, but also a little scared. I wanted to explore, but I'm only 14. Am I really ready? I shook the thoughts from my head and went downstairs. I was greeted by a stack of pancakes and maple syrup with a side of bacon. I sat down at my table and began eating. The pancakes were delicious and chocolate flavored. I ate a few pancakes and began eating some bacon. It wasn't crispy, but it wasn't raw, just the way I like it! I finished my breakfast and started playing with Eevee again. I had a little poketoy that I used and he loved to play with it. It was adorable seeing the little guy try to jump up and grab it. It was 11 am and we had an hour left, so I started packing. I packed some extra clothes and not really anything else. I also packed a sleeping bag in case I couldn't sleep in a building. At around 11:15 AM, I finished packing up what I'd need to set out on my journey. I decided to wait for the rest of the time before I head out, playing with Eevee and taking another look at my house before I go.
"I sure am gonna miss this place Eevee." I said to Eevee somberly
"Not like we won't be back, right?" He replied
"Heh... I guess you're right. Still though, hard to leave."
"I can imagine. Living here all of your life and one day you just... leave." I hung my head down low, realizing what setting off on this journey would really mean. I would be leaving home for a long time, not knowing when I would come back. I plopped down onto my bed, still hanging my head low. Eevee, sensing my anguish, hoped next to me and lay his paw on my thigh. "Hey, hey, Shane, it'll be alright. You can come back anytime if the journey gets too rough." Eevee reassured. I gave a warm smile and Eevee smiled back at me. The clock read 12:27 pm, and I knew I would need to set out on my journey, sooner or later. I put my back pack on my back and got ready to set out. My mom gave me a card to access my money, and some extra food for when I get hungry. I still had no idea if I was ready or not, but I guess we would soon see. I waved good-bye to my mom, and took my First Steps out into the world, The World, Of Pokémon!