Beep. Beep. Beep.
Bronze's Chipree-shaped alarm clock blared into the early morning, the chattering teeth clanging against its frame.

Groaning at the barely waking dawn, Bronze rolled away from the light. He opened an eye to stare into Chipree's annoyingly smug face, then smacked it on the head. Chipree fell silent.

"Haha," he reveled in his tired wittiness. "Karate Chop, Machop, go. Haha."
He closed his eyes again, ready to fall back asleep.
He opened them again and smiled.
Today's the day, he thought happily. Today I talk to Professor Maple. He said he had a surprise for me. I think I know what it is.

Normally, Bronze would hate to get up at this hour, but he was filled with that euphoria that comes from anxious anticipation. He couldn't wait to get going and down to Professor Maple's lab. Bronze had always loved that place; it had seemed alive and full of wonder and possibility, like anything could happen. He just knew Professor Maple had something amazing for him.
Bronze leapt out of bed and got ready as quickly as possible. He was in such a hurry he forgot to put on his pants.

"Thanks, Mom!" he called from his room after she pointed out his lack of pants. He pulled them on hastily and then grabbed his bag and headed out the door.

"Wait, Bronze!"
Bronze turned around at the head of the walkway; his mom tossed him a granola bar from the doorway.
"You forgot to eat your breakfast! A growing boy needs his nutrition!"

"Mom!" sighed Bronze exasperatedly.

"Oh! Save some for your Pokémon!"

Bronze's face lit up, his eyes twinkling brightly.
"I knew it!" he cheered with glee. "I knew that was what this was about! I'm getting my first Pokémon!"

"Dammit!" said his mom in mock frustration. "I'm always so terrible with surprises. Oh, well! Have fun, Bronze! Tell Professor Maple hi for me, okay?"

"'Kay, Mom!"

Bronze practically skipped down the narrow road on his way to Professor Maple's lab. He passed his neighbor's house and the Pokémon Center, flying down the street.

"Good thing Mom got me these running shoes," thought Bronze to himself as he went around a bend. "I can sprint everywhere without worrying about hurting my ankles or something."

Just then, Bronze stopped in his tracks and stared ahead of him. He couldn't believe his eyes: A Finnich, right there on the path! Usually, they didn't come near civilization. Then again, Alcapo Town wasn't exactly metropolitan.

"Easy there, little guy," cooed Bronze quietly. He wasn't sure if Finnich were aggressive, but he didn't want to take the chance. He only saw them when he went with his mom to Senyo Town, and even then, her Boraureal usually scared them off.
"I'm not gonna hurt you. I just want to get by—"

Just then, Bronze's clumsiness struck. His foot fell against a rock in the road, causing him to fall forward and right in front of the Finnich's curious face.
The Finnich's expression quickly changed from curiosity to fear as it took to the air, letting out a horrible cry of distress. Immediately, dozens of older Finnich and Finalore came to the small bird Pokémon's aid. One large Finalore leading the flock stared intensely at Bronze, who began slowly to get off the ground. He backed up quietly, calmly, holding out his hands to try to assuage the flapping birds. When he thought he'd just about gotten off the hook, he stepped back again. . . onto a stick. Almost losing his balance, he cried out in dismay as he struggled to gain his footing, snapping the stick in two. The head Finalore, apparently perceiving this as a threat, rallied his companions with a call to attack. They charged ruthlessly at Bronze, who took off once more down the road.

"Thank God for these shoes!" he thought again, huffing and puffing with the effort.

The birds were in hot pursuit, flapping furiously as they chased him out of the small thicket of trees through which Bronze had stumbled. Following the lead Finalore's example, they began to launch Air Cutter and Air Slash attacks at Bronze as he sprinted away. He could barely keep out of their reach, let alone their attack range for long. He began to climb a crest, and then, there it was: Professor Maple's lab!

Out of breath, Bronze managed out a few strangled yelps of "PROFESSOR MAPLE!" as he dashed toward the lab in the distance. He could see the dot of Professor Maple emerging from the lab, not caring about the stunned expression on his face.
"DO SOMETHING!" he yelled, still running full tilt from his avian assailants.

"Right! Just hold on, Bronze!" called Professor Maple.

"HOLDING ON!"

"Go, Mesterquin!" The words rang out over the hillside as a red light produced an anthropomorphic creature with wild blue hair and a black face. With a small cackle, it raised its chin, staring into the distance.
"Mesterquin, use Reflect to block off the Finnich and Finalore!" called Professor Maple to his Pokémon. Mesterquin nodded in agreement and, bowing its head, spread its hands out in front of itself. An invisible wall appeared between Bronze and the oncoming bird Pokémon. The first wave collided with the wall, the rest pulling back to avoid it. With a call from the Finalore in charge, they retreated back to the forest.

"Are you all right, Bronze?" asked Professor Maple.

(Props to DelinquentDuo for the idea of posting story info at the end of the chapter like this)

Chipree (CHIP-ree), the Tunnel Pokémon
Type: Normal
Height: 43.0 cm Weight: 8.4 kg
Ability: Run Away

Description: Like a cross between a prairie dog and a chipmunk, Chipree is a small rodent with stubby legs and a small tail that usually stands on its hind legs. It has a yellow-brown color and large bright black-brown eyes. It's a very social creature that lives in family groups within huge subterranean tunnel systems.

Finnich (FINN-itch), the Adapt Pokémon
Type: Normal/Flying
Height: 28.1 cm Weight: 2.1 kg
Ability: Tangled Feet (male) or Run Away (female)

Description: More or less a generic small songbird, based off the American goldfinch. The male has colorful plumage: bright yellow feathers with black highlights on the wingtips and tail, and two black stripes along the head. The female has dull brown feathers, with slightly darker highlights along the head like its male counterpart. Finnich is small, plump and vulnerable, relying on its larger relatives to protect it.

Boraureal (buh-Ror-reh-AL)
(more info later)

Finalore (FIN-uh-lor), the Attention Pokémon
Type: Normal/Flying
Height: 67.4 cm Weight: 20.5 kg
Ability: Tangled Feet

Description: Finalore is essentially the pimped-out male evolution of Finnich. Imagine a double-crested cockatiel and a bird of paradise blended together that constantly begs for attention. That's basically Finalore. It's a medium-sized bird, fairly sleek and elegant. Its two gray-black crests fan up from the back of Finalore's head. Black markings run in a crescent around the eyes, in a diamond shape along either side of its body, along the tops of its wings, and in three sections of the tail plumage. The top half of its beak is black as well. Behaviorally, Finalore acts as a diversion, distracting any potential predators from its offspring and drawing them away from the nest. They can also be aggressive, defending their Finnich children to the death.

Mesterquin (MES-ter-kwin), the Guile Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Dark
Height: 178.2 cm Weight: 70.9 kg
Ability: Soundproof or Filter

Description: Mr. Mime meets Jack Skellington. Mesterquin has a basic humanoid structure with a long, skinny torso, black at the top and bottom, fading to white. Against the white background are large black diamonds. Its white arms and legs are very long and skinny, with black diamond-shaped knee- and elbow-pads. Its feet are long and black and curl back at the tips. The hands are long and skinny like the limbs with black fingertips. It has a pointy ruff with a black upper layer and a white lower layer, almost like leaves. The face is white with a black mask. The eyes are glowing white and it constantly has a smile on its face. Its hair is huge and frizzy, divided into sections and hanging down like a jester's hat with a dangly bell on one section of hair. It has a white sweatband-like thing around its hair. Mesterquin is a trickster by nature and loves laughter, drawn to good-natured and jolly people and Pokémon.