Darkness. Dread. Evil. These feelings had plagued Link's nightmares for Goddesses-knew-how-long. This night was no different. Every night, he had a nightmare of a strange man, with dark skin and red hair, rising from the west; eight large, shadowy pokémon stood behind him. Every night, this man steadily snuffed out the light around him, until naught was left but a dim red glow in his eyes. Link could do nothing but watch as this darkness spread across the kingdom of Hyrule. He had to watch, helpless, until the time he awoke.

-o-

"Link, it's time to get up!" the castle smith shouted. "It's your tenth birthday, and we have a visitor!"

That shout from his grandfather's forge was all it took to get Link on his feet, fully awake. As he shook off the lingering nightmare, he thought ahead to what was to come. Every child in Hyrule knew what their tenth birthday held in store: a chance to meet their first pokémon companion. It was said that the pokémon chose the child, not the other way around, and that that pokémon was a sign of destiny, large or small. For example, many knights had bonded with strong defensive pokémon, like Pineco or Ferroseed.

As he walked down the stairs, Link wondered what pokémon he would get. He hoped it wouldn't be anything weird, like a Mime Jr, or a Dunsparce. Looking into the forge, he was surprised to see, not a pokémon, but a person waiting for him.

"That took a while," Princess Zelda said, with a smile on her face. "Come on, Link, we're wanted in the Grand Hall."

That was a surprise. Zelda and Link were good friends, all the way back to the day they were born, but Link never expected that he would have the honor of meeting his pokémon by her side. He had thought he would have a small, unofficial celebration of his own, then attending Zelda's ceremony. As the son of a knight, born on the same day as the princess, Link had always been treated with a moderate amount of respect by Hylian royalty and the various important trainers that served underneath them.

"Well, Link, you'd better be on your way," his grandfather said, gently pushing him towards the door. "His Majesty pulled a few strings so this could happen, you wouldn't want to disappoint him. Gurdurr and I will tend the forge." The mentioned pokémon grunted from beside the anvil.

Link followed Zelda out of the forge and through the castle's hallways. He was sure that it was her idea to have them do this together. Yes, the King thought highly of Link, but not that highly.

"So, from what I've heard," Zelda explained, "all the breeders brought a few of their best stock in hopes of me choosing one of them. I hope nobody gets offended if I don't choose theirs."

"That is not your worry today, Your Highness," came a voice from behind them. "What you should be worrying about is what you do tomorrow. You know your father will want you to stay in the castle."

"I know, Impa," Zelda responded, without turning around. It was pretty obvious who it was; only the Sheikah caretaker was stealthy enough to follow the two of them silently. "You know, however, that I want to get out and explore the kingdom. If I am to lead in the future, I must know more about my people than what is gifted to me."

"That's true," Impa conceded. She quickly passed the kids and opened the door to the Grand Hall. The assembled crowd stood silent as Zelda strode in, Link walking behind her as if he were a guard already.

There were easily a hundred hyruleans. Fifty pokémon were in pens, all trying to catch the children's attention. On the throne sat the king, his Tyrantrum by his side. Five of the six sages flanked them, three on each side once Impa took her place. Each sage was revered, for they had played a role in sealing away a terrible evil not even twenty years prior.

The hero, Link's namesake, had disappeared after the great battle for Hyrule. Not long after, pokémon started appearing throughout the kingdom, and human trainers from other regions quickly followed. It was from these humans that hyruleans learned the art of raising pokémon… after some misunderstandings between the trainers and some gorons. Hyrule had since adopted much of the world's customs, such as a limit on the number of pokémon one could carry with them.

"My dearest Zelda, and Link, too, happy birthday," the king said, his voice reverberating across the room. "As is customary, today you shall choose your first pokémon." He motioned to the pens. "Choose wisely, as this pokémon will be by your side for the rest of your life."

Link motioned to Zelda to go ahead. Ladies first, after all. The princess carefully walked past each pen, looking over each pokémon with a critical eye. She eventually came to the last pen, which held two Ralts from Kalos. The visiting human had only the two, but looked rather proud as Zelda stopped in front of him.

"Your highness," the breeder said, "these two are my pride and joy. Their eggs were found in the possession of none other than Champion Diantha's Gardevoir. They have measured highly in every category you could possibly think of."

Zelda did not respond, instead bending ever so slightly to get a closer look. One of the two shuffled closer, reaching its arm through a gap in the side of the pen. Link, in the meantime, had gone through the same process, evaluating each available pokémon, and none stood out to him.

He stood by Zelda's side as she touched the Ralts' arm. Nothing seemed to happen, at least to the casual observer, but Link knew his friend better than that. He saw a spark in her eye, and knew immediately she had made her choice.

"You say these two are siblings?" Zelda asked the breeder.

"As far as we can tell, yes," he responded. "That one is female, and the other is male."

She turned to Link, who knew what she was going to say before she opened her mouth. He nodded, unable to disappoint her. These siblings would not be parted. He gently picked up the male, who seemed to be excited to be chosen. The Ralts gently cooed, causing Link to smile. Zelda picked hers up too, and it reached out and touched her nose.

"Heh, she's so cute," she gushed. "We'll take these two, please."

"Of course," the human said. He bowed to Zelda, then turned and bowed to the king.

"Well, with that done, I think it's time for a feast!" Darunia said from beside the king.

-o-

The feast was short but filling. Besides the rock sirloin, Link had tried a bit of everything. As he sat in his chair beside Zelda, he thought of the future. Most kids his age were pretty much obligated to go on an adventure around Hyrule, raising their pokémon. He wanted to go to the Kokiri forest, and perhaps see the home that the hero lived in.

Zelda leaned over to him. "Meet me once the sun goes down. I'll be in the gardens." Link nodded, familiar with Zelda's mischievous streak. There had been multiple times when they had sneaked out of their rooms to wander around the castle. Frequently, Impa joined them, willing to put up with their shenanigans as long as they stayed safe.

Still, he couldn't help but feel that tonight would be different.