The sun was rising over the hills of Azalea Town; the golden rays peered through Erin's window and shined on her face, causing her to pull the blanket over her head. Her bliss of sleep was rudely interrupted a second time by a loud knocking.
"Erin, wake up! Breakfast is ready!" her mom yelled.
"Uuuuugh" Erin moaned as she climbed out bed, her dark hair a tousled mess.
She began treating this morning like any other, brushed her hair, put on her white beanie followed by a black tank top and pink skirt, brushed her teeth and proceeded down the stairs to the kitchen. It wasn't until she sat in front the warm pancakes at the table that it hit her. Today was the day! The day she started her Pokemon journey! A wave of excitement ran over her as she smiled ear to ear.
"What's got you in a good mood?" her father asked as he looked over his newspaper.
"Dad! I start my journey today! How could you forget?" she asked.
"Oh that. Well it doesn't seem like such a big deal." Her father teased.
"Of course it is!" Erin's mom chimed in. "She'll be out of the house and on her own!" she continued with a worried tone. "Ten just seems like such a young age."
"Relax mom, I've got this! I'm travelling with Mikayla and Whitney!" Erin said proudly. Mikayla had been her best friend for as long as she could remember, and Whitney and her had become good friends in Trainers School.
The doorbell rang and Erin's mom got up to answer it.
"Hi Whitney! Come on in!" Erin heard her mom say.
Whitney entered the kitchen looking very put together, her short pink hair was pulled back into pigtails and she was wearing a white button down t-shirt with denim shorts.
"Hey Whitney, how's it going?" Erin said between large mouthfuls of pancakes.
"Oh, I'm so excited, Erin! Aren't you?" Whitney beamed.
"Can't wait!" Erin said and she stood up and walked toward the door to put on her pink boots.
Whitney followed her, followed by her parents.
"I packed you a backpack, Erin!" her mom said with a shaky yet happy voice. "There are some snacks in it along with an extra change of clothes, and some minor first aid supplies."
"You'll get the rest from Professor Elm" her father added.
"Thanks guys, I guess…I'll get going now." Erin said shakily.
Her mom enveloped her in a big hug.
"I'll miss you, please be careful!" her mom said.
"Stay out of wild grass until you get a Pokemon, ya hear?" her father yelled as she walked down the driveway.
"Got it! Bye!" she waved and proceeded down the road to Professor Elm's lab.
"Where's Mikayla?" Whitney asked.
"She lives a lot further from the lab than we do, she'll bike and meet us there" Erin said calmly as she looked up at the sky. "Hey, what do you want to be when you're older, Whitney?"
"Me? Well, I think I'd like to be gym leader! You know, battling challengers from all over, it'd be a great way to meet new people and experience new battling styles, while still staying close to home." Whitney answered matter-of-factly.
They had entered New Bark Town, a larger town only 15 minutes from Erin's house.
"What about you, Erin?"
"Well I'm not sure yet, I think this journey will be a great chance to see what I have a talent for." Erin said as they walked up the steps to the doors of the lab. The automatic doors slid open and a whoosh of cold air blew past them, they stepped inside. The lab was immaculate! It was white all over with glass, dome ceiling and plenty of bookshelves. There were lab assistants walking every which way, while some were at computers or microscopes. One turned toward the girls.
"Hi girls! Are you here for your Pokemon?" she asked.
"Yes!" the girls exclaimed in unison.
"Well come with me!" she said and led them to the back of the laboratory.
They walked in to see Professor Elm staring at a computer over the shoulder of an assistant.
"Remarkable, just remarkable" he was saying. "Oh hi girls! Can you believe it? We've just learned something new about evolution!" he beamed.
"Was it is, Professor Elm?" the female assistant asked eagerly.
"Pokemon actually CHOOSE when they evolve! It's not a forced process, they decide when they are ready then BAM!" Professor Elm exclaimed while pushing up his glasses. "Sorry girls, you're here for Pokemon, aren't you?" "Wait, where's Mikayla?"
Whitney and Erin looked at each other then around the room.
"I…don't…know" Erin said while still looking around.
"Oh well, it's almost 11:30; we have to get moving so you girls can start your journey before lunch!" Elm said.
"WAAAAIT!" a loud yell was heard from the front of the lab.
They all turned to see Mikayla rushing over while pulling her bike, spreading muddy tire tracks on the pristine white floors. She leaned her bike against a nearby bookshelf and ran over. She stopped in front of Professor Elm, her hair slung into a messy ponytail while her pink and white baseball cap leaned to one side, one of the pink laces and her black hiking boots was untied and there was a large piece of underdone toast still hanging from her mouth.
"I'm here! I'm here! Traffic was a nightmare!" she said while finishing her toast.
"You were on a bike" Erin said dryly.
"Okay FINE, I slept in. HAPPY?" Mikayla said, exasperated.
"Girls! We need to get started!" Elm yelled. "Now, you've learned the basics of Pokemon and Pokemon training in school, but I have a new piece of technology to introduce you to" he held out a red square with a large green button on the bottom right corner. "This is a PokeDex" he said proudly, he pushed the green button and the device flipped open to reveal a screen and smaller, yellow buttons. "It can identify any Pokemon for you, I hope you can fill it by the end of your journey" he handed one to each of them. "Now have you all given much thought to which Pokemon you want to start with?" he released the three Pokémon from their PokeBalls. Erin instantly fell in the love with the grass type, Chikorita. "Oh Professor, I want this one!" she ran over to it and knelt in front of it.
"Chikorita? Okay Erin, she's yours!" he handed her a PokeBall. Chikorita nuzzled up against Erin's leg, a great start to their relationship.
"I like this one! Look at that spirit!" Mikayla said referring to the Totodile that was jumping up and down.
"Ok Mikayla, here's his PokeBall!" Elm handed her an identical ball.
"SWEET! Are you ready to conquer the Pokémon League?" Mikayla asked her new Totodile who responded with great enthusiasm.
Whitney received the PokeBall for her female Cyndaquil and girls were on their way out.
"Wait girls, come back for your PokeGears!" Elm handed them what looked like yellow cell phones. "This is so you can contact me and each other while on your journey. Think of it as a video phone"
"THANKS PROFESSOR!" the girls said in unison.
They turned and walked down the path, their brand new Pokémon beside them. Where would this adventure take them? Neither of them knew, and if they did, what would be the fun in this journey?
It's hard to believe that was eight years ago.