No one wants to be a Pokemon trainer.
That's what my mother told me, trying to change my mind. She told me of all the Trainer deaths that occurred annually, of the many injuries and mental traumas that so many suffered from. It's true that it is one of the least popular professions, and that most don't make it past their first year as a Trainer for one reason or another, but it's not really my decision. I have to do it. Every night since I was ten, I've had dreams. Dreams I can't remember, but fill me with an overwhelming desire that I can't refuse.
I'd brought it up with my family, who had trouble believing me, but knew in this strange world we live in anything is possible. If only the requirements to be a Trainer were the same as they were eight years ago! Then I could have become a Trainer as soon as I was ten. But no. For three years I've felt hollow, like I'm depriving myself of an essential life function.
Not anymore. I have passed the requirements. It's the day they recruit new Trainers, and I have just turned thirteen. It's time for me to go. I walked inside Professor Aspen's lab, my shoes pounding against the floor as my heart pounds with excitement. Three years ago, I would have been terrified, but now I felt as though my life was about to be completed. I breathed in the smell of chemicals and opened the door to the main laboratory.
"Ah, William, you're the first one here!" Professor Aspen exclaimed, throwing her hands out to her sides. She was wearing the traditional white lab coat, with a few faded, different colored stains on it. She almost looked like a child who had made a mess with fingerpaint, but the paint was chemicals, and Professor Aspen was a fully grown adult. She straightened out her coat and waved for me to follow her.
"So, do you know which starter to pick? They're from the Unova region this time." she said to me as we walked down the hallway, her high heels echoing.
We live in the Magturae region, one of the many minor regions without any unique Pokemon that we know of, as Pokemon from almost all of the other regions had been imported and exported to and from them. This means each town has a batch of starters from one of the larger regions. Our town of Euthalia usually gets whatever Pokemon are left over once Argus town, the town closest to us, is done with them. We happened to live between Unova and Kanto, so it's usually from one of those two that we get our starters.
We stood at a locked door, and I thought for a moment before answering her question, "I think I have a good idea of which one I want."
"That's good, that's good." she nodded, a little distracted by putting the key in the lock, "It's important to pick the right one or your experience might go a little less than optimal. Ah, we're in!"
The room was nothing special appearance wise but it lacked the chemical smell of the other rooms I'd been in and instead smelled rather nice. There were tables, chairs, bookshelves, and computers scattered around with no clear order, and in the center of it all was a round table with three indentations. These were made to hold one thing and one thing only. Pokeballs. Beneath each ball was a screen showing the three starters, Snivy the grass snake, Tepig the fiery piglet, and Oshawatt, a blue otter with a shell on its stomach.
If Professor Aspen said or did anything, I didn't notice, I was so absorbed in my thoughts. I had to pick the right one. If only I could see what their personalities were like, so I could make a better decision…
But I had done enough thinking. I wasn't getting anywhere. I already knew which one I wanted, all I had to do was take it. It felt like a force was keeping me in place, my indecisiveness grounding me to where I stood. I fought against it, and walked up to the table. I took a deep breath and confidently grabbed Snivy's Pokeball.
Professor Aspen smiled, "So, you've chosen the Grass starter, Snivy? Brave choice."
I was a little taken aback by her choice of words, but shrugged it off. I had done it, I had become a Trainer. I allowed myself to grin, and then broke into nervous laughter. I had just made both the best and dumbest decision of my life.
A short time later, I had received my Pokedex, five empty Pokeballs, and a Trainer card, which had my ID, other info about me, and could be used like a credit card to make purchases. I stepped outside the lab, and waiting for me was my mother, father, and best friend, all knowing this may well be the last time they see me in person. I wished my brother, George, was there too, but he was at college to be a Pokemon doctor.
My mother is caring to a fault, and although she is unwilling to let me go, she understands that I need to. I often wondered how she would act on the day I left, and she was surprisingly composed, on the outside at least.
"So, which one did you pick?" she asked.
"I chose Snivy," I stated, unsure of how they would react.
"Wow, Snivy? No offense, but it's not the most powerful Pokemon of the Unova trio. Can I see it?" my friend, Charley, asked eagerly.
I didn't know how to tell him that it might not be a good idea to have my new Pokemon bond with people that I'll have to leave soon anyway. I couldn't even fully accept that I was leaving them myself.
After a few seconds of awkward silence that felt like ages, my mother spoke up. "Are you ready William? You're going to want to leave with at least one other Trainer, just like we planned." She said to me, gently stroking my hair, something she often does when she's nervous and I'm nearby. I nodded, not trusting myself to speak for fear of crying.
Charley didn't have the same amount of self control as I, and began to sob. "I-I'm going to miss you. It's just… Without you I'll go back to being hated!" he exclaimed. This outburst was a surprise to me, as he was a very upbeat person usually.
I had never seen him show so much emotion before, and I felt sorry for him. I really did. In fact, I first became friends with him because he didn't have anyone else. It turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. I learned most of what I know about Pokemon from him, as he wanted to be a Professor one day, and was obsessed with them. I often joked that he would be a better Trainer than I, but he refused, claiming he wasn't nearly in enough shape to go traveling on foot everywhere.
"That's not true, Charley," I said, comforting him. "You can make friends, you just have to try. And I'll still be calling you like crazy. I don't trust the Pokedex as much as I trust your knowledge."
Charley visibly steeled himself, wiping the tears away. "You're right, I'm being too dramatic."
My father hadn't said a word yet, and I wondered if he was also holding back tears. Then again, he never really said much anyway, he was kind of a "strong but silent" type who only said what he had to. So it surprised me when he pulled me into an embrace, and told me in a hoarse voice, "I know you'll do us proud. Go get 'em."
A tear trickled down my face as he slowly let go. Mother was the next to hug me as she too began to cry.
Our goodbyes were interrupted by another group of people, who walked up to us and asked, "Excuse us, but is this Professor Aspen's place?"
"Oh dear," Mother said, wiping her tears, "Yes, this is it. Is one of you going to be a Trainer as well?"
A thin, brown haired girl in a bright pink dress responded eagerly, "Yes, I'm Emily Kimberly and I'm going to be the new champion! I've trained all my life for this. Charley, I hope you're not thinking of joining, I doubt you'll make it very far." She noticed the Pokeball in my hand, and shifted her focus on me, "You might get a little farther, but trust me, I'll win in the end."
What fabricated world is she living in? Are there people who actually think that way? I wish I was that confident. Emily was in my grade, and she wasn't all that popular mostly because of her personality, though she did have some devoted friends that I was surprised she was willing to leave behind.
"Well, which Pokemon did you pick?" she asked me.
"Snivy," I tried to sound as confident as she was, "I was just about to head north toward Route A. What about you?"
"I'm going to Route C first, maybe we'll cross paths sometime. No offense, but I don't want to travel with anyone, and I don't think we could be rivals, either. Anyway, I've got a starter to choose." With that, she sauntered into the lab with the rest of her family, who never said a word to us the entire time.
"Charming young lady," Mother muttered sarcastically.
"I definitely would be better off traveling alone," I said to my mother, hoping that she wouldn't make me go with Emily.
"Well, let's wait and see if the third Trainer will make a better travel buddy than Emily," she agreed.
Despite the three years of planning that we had, one thing we couldn't properly prepare for was finding a travel buddy. When someone decides to become a Trainer, they tell the nearest Professor their plans so they can be registered a Pokedex and enough starters are prepared. The only people the wannabe Trainer can tell about their future is their immediate family, who in turn can't tell anyone else. This makes it very difficult to plan ahead in finding other new Trainers to travel with. It's a law with a hefty fine, yet I had broken it in telling Charley. My family never hesitated to express their frustrations on this particular rule, as well as many others that were put on Trainers. It is bothersome, rarely followed, and only served to be a frustration for new Trainers. Yet, we could do nothing about it.
We waited around a few minutes, making small talk, and by the time the third person arrived, Emily had already left, having not said another word to us. Then we saw someone in their middle teens carrying a large backpack approach the building with no one else around him. He had scraggly brown hair and a somewhat wide, muscular frame. At first I thought he might be an intern or something, but then he greeted us warmly.
"Hi, I'm Alan Dominick, I take it I'm the last one to get here?"
Charley looked away shyly, which wasn't an uncommon action for him, and I confirmed to Alan he was indeed the last one.
"That's fine, I'll take whatever Pokemon is left," he said cheerily.
"Has anyone came with you to say goodbye?" Mom asked.
"No, we said all our goodbyes before I left," Alan responded quickly.
My dad decided to speak up, "This might be a little much to ask, but are you willing to travel with my son William? He's a Trainer too and needs someone else to go with him."
"Sure can Will! It won't be a problem at all, since I don't want to go alone either. I just hope you can keep up." He smiled at me.
"I can try," I chuckled.
As he went into the lab, Mom handed me my own backpack, full of the essentials, like food, water, a tent, sleeping bag, and clothes. I put my Pokeball inside. All of it combined was a little too heavy for comfort, but I would have to get used to it. I suddenly wished I had exercised more.
"Can you carry all of that?" Charley laughed.
"I sure hope so, because we've got a long journey ahead of us." Alan had just exited the building carrying a Pokeball in his hand. "I got Tepig. Which one did you get?"
"Uh, Snivy" I responded simply, not knowing what else to add.
"Well that means I have the type advantage," he teased, "You're going to have to train twice as hard as me."
With that, it was finally time to go. I strapped my backpack on and followed Alan as we walked toward Route A. My family and friend continued to wave and say goodbye as long as I could see and hear them, and I did the same. As they left my line of sight, Charley made a phone gesture and yelled "Call us soon!" Then we turned a corner, and they were gone.
Even as I was walking away, I couldn't believe I was doing this. My life had been normal until that point, and now I was going to leave it all behind. I was sure I would fail, maybe even die. But I knew I had to try. So as I left Euthalia, the town I grew up in, with nothing but a backpack, a stranger, and a single Pokemon, I could only hope that whatever was causing my dreams knew what it was doing.