If you're heading on your first Pokemon journey in the morning, it's important that you get a good night's sleep. Every young Trainer knew the tale of Ash Ketchum, who'd overslept and didn't get to pick out a starter, instead getting stuck with an unruly Electric type. It was just a story, of course; a fable mothers told their children to get them up early in the morning. Back in the Unova region, everyone loved trying to figure out which of the legends were true and which were just myths. Here in Kalos... not so much.
Angela had always prided herself on being able to pick out the true stories from the false. That was why she didn't bother to try to get up early on the day she was to be given her first Pokemon. And the moment she woke up, she knew that was a mistake.
"Agh! Get off!" She cried, sitting bolt upright in bed. The tiny bird Pokemon Fletchling flapping around her head was chirping loudly, pulling at her bright red hair and being an overall nuisance. She managed to smack it away after a few seconds, and it retreated downstairs, twittering angrily.
Welcome to Kalos... instead of alarm clocks, we get birds, Angela thought as she stumbled over to the mirror to check on herself. It felt like that maniac bird had torn half her hair out, but luckily it seemed that wasn't so. Still hurt, though.
Once she'd changed out of her pyjamas and walked downstairs, Angela was greeted with the sight of her mother feeding the insane bird a few scraps.
"Mom, did you set that THING on me?" Angela accused angrily. "I was trying to sleep."
"Honey, the 'thing' has a name. Her name is Lyla, and she's very good at waking up children who won't get out of bed when their mother calls them downstairs. Now eat your breakfast, it's a big day today."
Angela silently glared at them and shuffled over to the dining table, resolving that one day she would strangle that birdbrain... and Lyla too while she was at it. However, she cheered up reasonably after she ate breakfast and got murder off her mind. Now she was more worried about which starter she would pick.
"So the starters are grass, fire and water, right?" She asked her mother excitedly. "Or maybe they're different types, like Dark or Psychic?"
Her mother laughed and ruffled her hair a little. "Don't worry, sweetie. You'll find out soon enough."
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation and Angela ran to answer it. "Morning, Calem!"
"Good morning, neighbors," Angela's best friend said with a smile. "Ready to go, Angela?"
"Of course I am! I've been ready for days!" Angela said impatiently. It was true; she'd packed earlier that week, forgetting in her excitement that Professor Sycamore wouldn't give her a starter for a while.
"Good!" Calem headed outside and Angela followed him, looking around the beautiful little town... Flowers bloomed everywhere among perfect brick houses, giving the town a quaint, peaceful vibe. It was a bit odd; Angela had just gotten used to calling Vaniville Town home, and before long she would be leaving for good...
Snapping out of her own thoughts, Angela followed her friend down the short, flower-lined path to the next town. Aquacorde Town was a similarly quaint town; so similar, in fact, that it seemed as though Vaniville was just a small extension of it. A gentle river flowed through part of the town, separating it from a nearby forest.
"Hey!" A girl about Angela's age chirped from a table in front of a nearby cafe. She looked like the stereotypical girly girl; her brown hair was tied in two pigtails, and her outfit seemed to be exclusively pink. Calem waved back and pulled up a chair, Angela following his lead and sitting beside him.
"Hey, Shauna, this is Angela. Angela, Shauna." Calem introduced, and the two exchanged pleasantries for a moment before Shauna began to grow impatient.
"So, you brought the Pokemon, right?" She asked Calem excitedly.
"Of course," he replied, retrieving a box from his bag and setting it gently on the table. "Now that we're all here, we can choose our starters... Why don't you pick first, Angela?"
Angela was barely able to contain her excitement at being able to choose first. She carefully lifted the lid off the box to reveal three PokeBalls, each with a different marking corresponding to the types of the Pokemon inside. She felt a small twinge of disappointment that there wasn't something else more interesting than Fire, Water and Grass, but pressed the buttons anyway.
One by one, the Pokemon materialized in a flash of red light. Standing in front of her were a small yellow fox, a blue frog, and some kind of hedgehog with green quills.
"I want that one," Angela decided immediately, pointing at the Grass type. It looked much tougher than the other two, and just as cute. The strange creature smiled happily at being chosen, and hopped forward off the table into her arms.
"Aww, you're adorable..." She patted its shell, and immediately recoiled in pain upon being pricked by one of its thorns. The little thing chittered in apology, but she didn't mind and just smiled. "How about I name you Thorn?" The creature responded with a happy little squeak and curled up in her lap.
Meanwhile, Shauna carefully pulled the little blue frog into her lap. "I'm choosing you, little Froakie~" She cuddled it tightly and squeezed it. The "Froakie" made a happy little ribbit and cuddled down.
The last one left over looked disappointed at being left out, until Calem scooped it up gently in his arms. "Then I guess you're mine." The little fox brightened up and affectionately licked his cheek.
"Oh, and since he couldn't come in person, he wanted me to give one of these to everyone..." Calem suddenly remembered, handing some sort of red device to each of them. "He said he wants us to go on a journey to fill the Pokedex as much as possible..."
"Neat!" Angela powered hers on and pointed the camera at her new partner Pokemon, and after a quick scan the screen was covered in information about it. "It says its name is Chespin. I like Thorn better, though... Much simpler." She closed the Pokedex and stuck it into her pocket, before noticing a folded sheet of paper at the bottom of the box.
"What's this?" Angela pulled the box over to herself and reached inside, opening the piece of paper. It looked like a letter...
Dear Shauna
I wish I could meet you here to choose your starter Pokemon with your friends. (Watching someone choose their starter Pokemon always gives me such a thrill!) But, unfortunately, I cannot. My assistants have informed me that I will be unable to attend. I look forward to seeing you and your friends soon in Lumiose City.
~Professor Sycamore
Angela read the letter out loud. Once she was finished, Shauna spoke up a bit confusedly. "I haven't even met him, why is the letter just for me?"
"I'm not sure..." Angela put the note aside. "But we've got our Pokemon, so why don't we all try having a battle?"
Calem pushed himself away from the table. "Actually, I was hoping to go catch a Pokemon on Avance Trail... You two can battle, okay?"
"Okay!" Shauna happily chirped and cuddled her Froakie close. "Okay, lil' guy, you're gonna help me win this battle." She carefully knelt and placed it on the ground.
Angela petted Thorn's back and then thought for a moment. "Shall we start the battle?" The Chespin nodded eagerly and hopped forwards, ready to battle.
"What attacks do you have...?" Angela wondered out loud, flipping open her shiny new Pokedex to see information on the battling Pokemon. It went directly into Battle Mode, displaying each Pokemon's condition, their levels, and the attacks her own Pokemon had.
"Alright Thorn, use Vine Whip!" She shouted, glancing down at the screen to make sure she was calling the right attack. Two slender, whiplike vines extended from the spikes on Thorn's head, and struck the Froakie unconscious with two consecutive blows.
Shauna was stunned by this, and scooped up the unconscious creature. "F-Froakie?" She asked, biting her lip anxiously. "I d-d-didn't think it'd be so... weak..." She held it closely.
"S-sorry..." Angela felt a little guilty and looked around, unsure of what to do. The nearest Pokemon Center was in the next city, through the forest... A little inconvenient. "I think we should head to the Pokemon Center in the next town," she suggested, and Shauna quickly agreed.
Outside the forest they spotted Calem, who was clutching a Pokeball and seemed to have caught quite a few Pokemon already. He was quietly stalking a Bunnelby in the tall grass, but when he noticed the others leaving the city he abandoned his chase and went to go see them.
"Hey, guys!" Calem said as he jogged through the tall grass towards them. "What's the hurry?"
"I accidentally knocked out Shauna's Froakie... we're taking it to the Pokemon Center," Angela explained, while Shauna cradled the Froakie in question.
"Well, you wouldn't have to worry so much if you returned it to its Pokeball..."
"No! Lil' Froakie stays out here with me!" Shauna argued, clutching the tiny blue frog close to her.
"We shouldn't try to force her..." Angela whispered to Calem while Shauna started to go on a tirade about how her Froakie wanted to stay out of its Pokeball. The Froakie didn't seem to have much to say on the matter, as it was still unconscious, but Shauna was adamant.
"Well, if you're gonna go through the forest, you should catch some more Pokemon. It's full of Bug and Flying types, and we don't want your Chespin getting knocked out as well," Calem reasoned as he pulled some red-and-white spheres from his bag and handed them to Angela. "You can use these, I have a few extras."
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to catch a Pokemon or two..." Angela murmured to herself. With Calem and Shauna watching, she snuck up on a nearby Fletchling and tossed one of the PokeBalls Calem had given her once she was close enough. It sucked the Pokemon in with a red light, and quivered three times before emitting the small "click" indicating the capture was successful.
"Well, that was easy!" As Angela headed over to retrieve the ball with the Fletchling inside, she felt a huge thrill at catching her first Pokemon. "Alright, Thorn!" She said, picking up the PokeBall and pressing the button to let the Pokemon out. "Meet your new teammate Fletchling!"
The Pokemon that came out was small, round, blue, and was most definitely NOT a Fletchling.
"That didn't happen for me." Calem frowned slightly. "Actually... I don't think that's happened to anyone else in history."
"That's a bit odd..." Angela had no idea how to respond to whatever it was that had just happened, aside from pulling out her Pokedex and trying to identify the mystery Pokemon. "Okay, let's see here... an Oddish. Okay, more than a bit odd."
"But what happened to Fletchling?" Shauna asked, poking at the tiny Grass type. It shuddered and ran off to hide behind Thorn, who tried his best to comfort the scared little plant despite being just as confused as everyone else.
"Well, we can figure all that out later." Angela said decisively. "It's a Pokemon, at least, and we still have to get through this forest."