Chapter 1
I groaned as the sunlight burned my eyes. Although they had been closed, the light was incredibly strong today. I opened my eyes and hissed, throwing off my covers. I then sprang out of bed and shut the blinds in a rage. Why were they open? I never open them!
It was then that I glanced over at my clock and noticed the time, 7:34. I had to be at the Professor's lab in half an hour! That's why I opened the blinds. I was a pretty heavy sleeper, so I predicted sleeping though the alarm and decided to keep my blinds open to let the sun in. My plan had worked perfectly. Well, sort of. I only had so much time to get ready.
Oh. Hello! My name is Ichigo Hatake. I'm 16 years old and I'm a 'late' Pokémon trainer, meaning that I am getting my beginning Pokemon and going on my journey later than most people. The normal traveling age is ten, but because my parents had held me back for so long, I'd never gotten the opportunity to go. Currently, the two of them are exploring different regions and the still want me to wait, but I'm ready to go now! Not when I'm twenty.
I live here in a gorgeous place called the Petilla region. This region is pretty special. Here, you're allowed to choose any starter you want from any other region. I've already got one in mind, of course.
I quickly threw on my clothes, brushed my hair and teeth, then grabbed my brand new backpack. It was a light purple color and the straps were black.
As for my appearance, I wear my red hair down without any real style. It's straight and just barely passes my shoulders. I wear a black shoulderless shirt with purple straps and netting that covers my chest and a bit of my neck.. I also wear black shorts that run a bit less than halfway to my knees and some plain, matching tennis shoes.
Once I was all set, I scurried out the door, going the fastest I could so I wouldn't be late. I shoot down the long, dirt path that would lead me to my destiny. I was so excited I couldn't breathe. The thought of exploring the world and even making my name known was an awesome thought. Maybe I'd even become famous!
The lab shouldn't be too far down the path. Maybe a fifteen minute walk. But at he rate I was running, I might even be able to make it in five minutes. Perfect. I could still be early. In fact, I wondered if everyone else had even arrived yet or not.
According to the professor herself, I'm not the only late trainer. There are three others who will join up with me at the lab. That really gave me a lot more confidence. I'd feel a bit awkward if I were he only one starting off at such a strange age. The others were all supposed to be in my age range too, so I might even make friends with them. But I knew that they could be potential rivals as well.
I smiled brightly as the lab came into view. It looked amazing. It was painted completely white and had unique carvings and features. It was like a mini castle. It was one of the largest structures in the area and it really stood out. Impossible to miss it.
As I stepped up to the doors, they opened automatically, a cool breeze sweeping past me as I walked in. I enjoyed the breeze for a brief moment, letting it cool my skin from the hot day. Then, I took a look at my surroundings.
I stared in awe at all the machines and scientists running about the lab. It looked so impressive. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. I could only imagine how difficult it must be to use all of those devices and have to gather so much research every day. To the scientists, though, it must be a walk in the park. They had studied to do this after all. And the workers in a professor's lab were usually highly experienced.
I looked over to my right to see three different trainers standing before an adult. That must be Professor Pine and the other late trainers. Professor Pine had long, messy blue hair that was tied back. She wore a long, white lab coat and wore flat, light blue shoes. She smiled at me kindly and gestured for me to come over.
I joined the line they'd made, standing next to a male trainer. He didn't even so much as glance over at me. He came off as anti-social. Professor Pine smiled again and brought out several Pokeballs, lined out on a cart.
"You three will all receive one Pokémon from one of these Pokeballs," stated the Prof. as she pushed back a strand of hair. "But I'd like you to introduce yourselves before choosing your Pokémon. Let's start with you."
She pointed at the trainer farthest from me. He had black, ovular glasses and neat orange hair and eyes. He wore a sort of 'formal' and 'nerdy' outfit. He had on a white dress shirt and some black slacks held up by a belt. He looked like a brainiac.
"My name is Kohaku," he said, smiling over at me in particular. I waved slightly and then the next person came forward.
She had long, light purple hair that reached down to her waist and eyes that matched. She also wore a cute, plain purple dress and yellowish brown flower sandals.
"Hi. I'm Miku," she said, winking over at the guys. She came off as flirty.
The next one to step up was the guy next to me. He had a blank expression on his face as if he had no emotion. His hair was bright and golden and his eyes were a gorgeous, piercing green. He wore a black shirt with a black and white checkered jacket over it. He also wore jeans and white tennis shoes. I you asked me, he was extremely attractive.
"Akako," was all he said. Nothing else. He seemed like the impassive type, but that was only my first impression.
Finally, it was my turn to introduce myself. I stepped forward and gave them a confident smile. "I'm Ichigo Hatake, future top coordinator!"
Miku smiled. "I'm no coordinator, but I'm going to be the best at battles! You guys better watch out. I'm going to become the best trainer in all of Petilla."
Kohaku, clearly amused, chuckled at Miku. "Actually, the future champion is going to be me."
I turned over to Akako, who didn't seem to be paying attention to the conversation. "What do you want to do?" If I didn't ask, I doubt he'd even say.
He didn't say anyway though, he just stared over at all the Pokeballs. As if on cue, the Professor gestured over to them.
"Do you know which Pokemon you'd like?!" she asked us all, looking just as excited as we were.
Kohaku nodded. "I would like your Snivy."
Professor Pine nodded and grabbed a Pokeball pretty far down on the cart. She tossed it over to Kohaku, who caught it with ease.
Miku was the next one to choose, looking slightly hesitant at first, but then seeming more confident in her choice. "I want Squirtle! It's so cute!"
Professor Pine smiled and handed her the Pokeball. "Raise it with care."
I then took the chance to answer. "I'd love to be partners with Torchic!"
Pine handed me the Pokeball and I hugged it close to my chest. It was the official start of my journey. As I stared down at the Pokéball, I wondered what Torchic's personality would be like. I'd try to be the best trainer I could be so the two of us could become close friends.
Akako then, finally, spoke.I barely heard him, but he said, "Treecko please."
That's cool. Akako and I both chose Pokemon from the Hoenn region. Maybe our Pokemon would be friends! And if he'd show some more personality, I'm sure we could be too. I admit, I'm kind of trying hard to make friends right now, because at the moment, I have none. Sad, really.
I excitedly threw my Pokeball up into the air, calling out my Torchic. A gleam of red light formed into the shape of a Pokemon. Then, Torchic was standing before me, smiling cutely.
"Torchic!" it greeted.
I pet the Torchic as it ran over to me. It was so fluffy and warm. I embraced it happily as it called out its name cutely.
Then, Kohaku approached me, scanning my Torchic with some weird device.
"What are you doing?" I asked him.
Kohaku pushed a button on the device. "This is an invention I made. It tells what gender your Pokemon is. That Torchic is female."
I smiled. "That's so cool! Do you have any more of those devices?"
Kohaku nodded and smiled. "I'll give one to all of you for free."
Everyone except for Akako applauded as we discovered our Pokemon's genders. Torchic was a girl. Squirtle was a boy. Snivy was a boy. Treecko was a boy. I had the only female Pokémon. I wasn't surprised though. It was rare for a Pokémon to be female. There's only a 12.5% chance.
Akako didn't seem all that interested in his Pokemon's gender. I looked away from him and turned myself back over to Torchic.
I dug through my backpack and pulled out a pink bow with white stripes and dots. I then placed it on Torchic. She cocked her head to the side in confusion.
"There! You look so cute in it!" I exclaimed.
She then understood that it was an accessory and danced happily. I stood up and grabbed my Pokedex from the professor. It was a different design from those of other regions. Mine was a bright pink color with black, squiggly designs. It had round edges and was almost circular. It looked really cool.
As I admired both my Pokemon and the Pokedex, I heard a loud crash come from outside the lab. More crashes were then hear and the windows broke, glass going everywhere. I fell down, the crashes causing a mini earthquake. I held on tightly to my Torchic until the shake ended.
Professor Pine's eyes widened in fear and shock. She stood up and ran towards the exit. "Follow me!" she yelled out to us.
Torchic buried her head in my chest as we all followed Professor Pine outside. What in the world had caused that earthquake?