JUST A WARNING! There WILL be Pokephilia present in this story! If that bothers you, please don't continue reading! It's going to have a heavy presence, but it won't be ALL this story is! There will be genuine character, story, and world building, but again, there WILL BE POKEPHILIA! Check out my tumblr (the link is in the description) if you want SAFE FOR WORK drabbles, because I will be writing those, too!

Not every chapter will contain Pokephilia. There will be a warning at the beginning of any chapters that will contain it.

I hope you enjoy this! Please leave your reviews, and make sure that you favorite this for alerts if you like it!


As all children did, she dreamed of adventure. She dreamed of greater days where her little legs could take her across the world, far and beyond, to travel the lands touched only by her imagination. She dreamed of hiking up mountains and scouring their caves, digging up the fossils and stones hidden beneath the earthen ground. She wanted to feel the dirt between her fingers and even under her fingernails.

She wanted adventure.

Most of all, though, she wanted to travel with Pokemon. She wanted to create memorable moments on which she could reflect on as she aged, although the mindset of a little eight year old wasn't thinking of it that way. In her mind, it was more of a "I want to be able to remember this forever!" thing. She wanted to take pictures of everything and make cute scrapbooks for her and her Pokemon to enjoy. She wanted to battle trainers of all types and earn prettily colored badges. The only problem?

Nora didn't have any Pokemon.

After all, she was, now, only eight years old and not quite ready to be traveling the world on her own. Some would argue that ten or twelve weren't much so different and still far too young for children to be out and about on their own, but the world of Pokemon was relatively safe, and as long as they had a trustworthy Pokemon by their side, they would come by no harm.

That morning, the sun was shining high in the sky, its warm rays dappling onto the wooden floor boards of her room, warming and illuminating everything it touched. The little girl yawned and sat up in bed, quietly groaning as she stretched her arms back, feeling the relief settle into her body. As the grogginess began to fade away, excitement lit up her brown eyes. It was her birthday, and today, she turned eight years old. With haste, she leapt out of her bed, bounding onto the floor. Like a rocket, she raced to her door, flinging it open, and sped down the stairs as if there was no tomorrow. She didn't stop to use the bathroom, nor did she check to see if her parents were even awake (although she didn't see why they wouldn't be; it was well past seven in the morning); she was far too eager to get downstairs and begin the festivities of the day.

The small girl could smell sweet, delicious aromas lingering in the air, wafting over and into her nostrils from the kitchen – so someone was awake after all! With a grin splayed across her lips, she, more or less, barreled into the kitchen and hugged the first torso she saw. Looking up, Nora grinned even wider (if that was even possible) to see that it was her mother at the stove.

A larger, but still small and slender, hand came down upon her head, ruffling a head of messy dark brown hair. "Good morning, Nora," said her mother, Vanna, her voice sweet and cheerful. Momentarily, Vanna spared a glance at the pan before returning her gaze down to her daughter. "I'm making your favorite breakfast, dear! Strawberry and blueberry pancakes! If you'd like waffles on the side, would you mind taking the waffle maker out?"

Pure delight swam in brown eyes; Nora's mouth was already watering. Nodding profusely, she didn't hesitate in diving into the cabinet where the machine was kept. Little hands brought it up on the counter, and she climbed up on the small step stool to plug it into an outlet.

"I just want a small waffle," Nora said, after giving the waffle maker a good look. "Daddy can have all the big ones. I know he likes waffles!"

Vanna chuckled, shaking her head in amusement as she flipped the pancake over in the pan. "Isn't that sweet! But it's your birthday! I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you ate them all."

This time, it was Nora's turn to shake her head. "You're already makin' me pancakes, though!"

"All right, all right. I see your point. Well, then! Pour some batter into it once it's hot, okay?"

"Mm, okay, Mommy! But.. Where's Daddy..?"

Vanna lifted the pan, sliding the pancake onto the large platter with the others. She cut the stove burner off and set the pan back down, resting the spatula along the edge of the plate. There was a knowing glimmer in the woman's eyes, but she remained silent, only relenting to say, "Hm… He left a little while ago. I'm sure he'll be back soon. Don't worry!"

Soon enough, the pair began setting up the table, her parents' Pokemon, Machamp and Empoleon, extending some helping hands. Machamp had lifted Nora up and flew her around in the air, eliciting a stream of giggles, presumably for the sake that it was the girl's birthday. Empoleon had simply affectionately patted on her head with her flipper. And sure enough, just as everyone had finished laying out the plates, cups, and silverware, Nora's father, Hideo, walked in through the door, a bright smile resting on his face.

As Nora came running, Hideo crouched down and opened his arms, tightly pulling her into his embrace. "Happy Birthday, kid," he told her as he let her go, although his hands were now resting on her shoulders. He looked over at the table and sniffed once, then twice. "C'mon, let's go eat."

The little family were soon all seated around the table, and the birthday girl was piling pancake after pancake on her plate, granted they were rather on the smaller side. Both of her parents shot her an amused look, although her father looked more amused out of the two, one of his eyebrows raised quizzically and the corner of his mouth quirking upward.

"Are you sure you can eat all of that..?" Hideo asked. He tried to mask a breath of laughter as he ate, but it didn't work. All the same, he received an enthusiastic grin from his daughter.

"Of course I can! I'm going to be a mighty trainer! I need to eat lots and lots of food to be big and strong!" she exclaimed, furiously pouring the syrup down on the hotcakes and cutting them up with her fork. She shoveled small piles of the food into her mouth, her cheeks now puffing up, much like a Pachirisu's.

"Nora," came her mother's voice, mild disappointment lacing the tone, "you know better than to play with your food. Don't eat like that! That's making use of poor table manners, okay?"

With food still stuffed in her mouth, she just nodded and gave a muffled "Mhm!" in response. She continued to eat, although now at a much slower pace, chewing quietly (not so quietly, as she kept giggling) while savoring the flavor of the pancakes. She grabbed at her glass of milk and took a sip to wash down the sweetness of the food before taking another bite. Surprisingly, she was able to finish five stacks of pancakes. Vanna was unsure of whether she should be proud, in dismay, or simply surprised.

Nora's plate was now clean, and quite nicely, too! She even went as far as to stick her fingers all over the plate in order to clean it of syrup so that her mother wouldn't have to work so hard to clean it. Vanna didn't look so pleased, but she rolled her eyes and laughed anyways. Hideo, on the other hand, had released bellowing laughter, to which he received a mildly scolding look from his wife.

"All right, birthday girl," Hideo began as he rose from the table, his plate and glass in his hands. "How about getting to your presents after we clean up the dishes?"

The girl was practically bouncing in her seat at hearing the word 'presents.' Hurriedly climbing off of her chair, she reached up to grab her dishes and sped into the kitchen, bouncing again, now on the balls of her feet, as she waited behind her mother so that she could wash her dishes.

Vanna turned and smiled warmly. "Oh hoh, so you're going to do your own dishes today? Such a big girl now!"

Nora nodded, the corners of her mouth stretching to reveal her pearly white ivories in her grin. "Yup! I'm gonna help you out today, Momma!"

Once her mother had finished washing everything and set it all in the dish dryer on the counter, Nora scuttled up to the sink and set everything down before rushing off to grab her stool, returning as swiftly as she had left. A hand reached out to turn the faucet on, and she let the dish run beneath the surging water. Grabbing the little dish wash cloth, she squeezed it to make sure it was still soapy before she started scrubbing at the plate. She made sure to scrub it good to ensure that every last sticky spot had disappeared. Dropping the cloth, she ran a finger under the water and dragged the tip across the plate - squeaky clean. Sticking the plate in the dryer, she washed her fork and cup and set those inside too.

"Done!" came her proud exclamation. As she turned, her father had approached and extended his dishes towards her. There was a look in his eyes that seemed to ask for her to do his dishes as well, but the girl simply shook her head, all while snickering. "Nope, nope, nope! Do your own dishes, okay, Daddy?" she told him as she hopped off of her stool.

Hideo chuckled. "Ah, I see how it is, Nora! Well, go on to the living room! I'll met you guys there in just a few."

Nodding, she ran off and joined her mother, Machamp, and Empoleon in the living room. She plopped down on the couch and grabbed at the remote, flipping on the TV. The local news channel was running its course, but she wasn't interested in that; she heard a soft, nearly inaudible, noise of protest emit from her mother as she changed the channel. Finally, she stopped on a channel showing a cartoon about a superhero battling against a villain and their band of goons. The volume was kept low, for it was still morning, and noise seemed to be immensely louder earlier in the day, when all was quiet and still.

Before she was able to become too engrossed in what was on TV, her father joined the rest of the family, a hand behind his back. With the other, he gestured for Nora to come over, and she did so without delay.

"What is it, Dad?" she questioned, almost too eagerly.

Her father just smiled at her. "Closer your eyes, Nora! I promise, you're going to love it." Nora's eyelids fluttered to a close and she kept them squeezed shut. "Now hold out your hands. Bo- Both of them. Good. All right, now cup them together."

She did as she was told, and Hideo gently left a spherical object in her palms.

"Don't look yet!" Hideo instructed as he saw one of his daughter's eyes beginning to crack open. "I want you to try to guess what it is first." Then, he looked over at his wife and grinned; Vanna looked extremely shocked, but not displeased.

"A ball?" Nora guessed. "A really, really, small ball?"

"Nope! Guess again."

"Is it one of those capsules you get from the toy machines?"

"Uh, no. Try again."

"A mini globe!"

"Nope."

"I don't think it's a fruit..."

Hideo laughed heartily. "No, it's not a fruit."

"Is it a giant jawbreaker?"

"No, but it kind of looks like one." He's purposely painted jawbreakers to look like Pokeballs in the past.

A lightbulb flickered on in Nora's head. "A Pokeball! A Pokeball!"

"Bingo! Right on target. Took you a while, kiddo!" her father teased, reaching out to ruffle her hair.

Nora's eyes opened and she grinned happily. "So do I get to go out an' catch my own Pokemon?"

Hideo shook his head. "Hm, not quite. Here, let me see it again."

Pouting just slightly, the girl handed the Pokeball back over to her father. Why would she get a Pokeball if she wasn't going to catch anything with it. It only just hit her as her father's weathered hand took the Pokeball into his grasp and began to call out to it, summoning out the Pokemon resting within. Appearing before her now was a a little Torchic, its brightly colored feathers a large contrast from the lighter and more neutral colors of the room.

A hand flew over Nora's mouth to contain a scream of excitement. For her eighth birthday, her father had given her a Pokemon! She ran up to her father and wrapped her skinny arms around him, squeezing him as tightly as she could. This was officially the best birthday ever. After a little while, she let go of him and turned her attention to the Torchic before looking back at her dad.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" she asked, canting her head to the side.

"This Torchic is a boy," Hideo replied, smiling down gently at his daughter. Now, Vanna had gone to grab a camera. She had snapped a few pictures and was now recording Nora as the girl returned her attention to the Pokemon. She was squatting down on the floor, shrinking closer to the small bird's height.

"Hey there," Nora said softly, beckoning the Pokemon forward. "I'm gonna be your new friend from now on, okay? We'll go on adventures when we're older!"

"Tor! Torchic!" the Pokemon replied. Nora grinned, even if she didn't understand what that meant. She was excited all the same.

Finally, her first Pokemon. By the time she finished basic school and traveled on to greater schools and greater heights, her Torchic would've already become a great Pokemon; he definitely would have evolved by then.

She couldn't wait to see what life had in store for her. She was ready to be off on an adventure.