Authour's note: Hello everyone and welcome to "The test is the real cause"! In case you really never thought about it, our dear xxRubyjanetxx has given me permission to write this story! Hooray!
To be honest, I'm just writing this because I need to work on my writing skills (I'm a reaaaaally slow typer) and I got a bit tired of playing nuzlocke emerald over and over again. Er, I never watched the anime recently but I have seen the movies. Wait, why would you care about my experiences? Let us get on with the story already!
EDIT: Well, seemed like I screwed up and thought parody meant "mock-up". Oh well! At least future readers will have no idea what I'm talking about.
The day started with the most typical way. The sun was shining, bird Pokémon were singing, the wind blew gently and a very sleepy teen covered her face with a pillow. In case you haven't figured out, that teen was me.
My neck started to ache from lack of support so I had to put the pillow back in its place. Once again, I was greeted by the shining rays of the sun and I tried another tactic, covering my eyes with my arms. I cursed how I forgot to draw the curtains yesterday night and secretly wished that I had the power to turn day into night.
I realized that there was no way I could back to sleep, so I groaned and forced myself to get up. When I sat at the edge of the bed, my foot touched a cardboard box. I stared at it confused before my brain gently reminded my parent's favor. Before I could go on a Pokémon journey, I had to give away some of my old stuff, things I didn't need now that I was a big girl.
My body had the urge to fall on the bed again but I resisted and managed to do my daily things at a Slowpoke's pace. Went to the bathroom, got dressed (wearing my favorite green tank top) and finally going downstairs to get some breakfast.
Normally, my mother would be watching TV at her favorite chair or reading the news while my father could be either accompanying my mother or baking his famous pancakes. My father surprised my mother three days ago, by inviting her to go on a second honeymoon. After much debating, they decided that maybe I needed to learn a bit about responsibility of being alone and went off to their vacation.
If you ask me, everything has been going smoothly so far. And I haven't done anything embarrassing yet! That is, if you don't count the time I accidently dropped a plate and broke it because the cooking oil was oozing all over the floor. At least I cleaned that up, right?
I put the bread in the toaster, waiting patiently for it to pop up. After several minutes, the bread came out with a golden brown look (a little burnt-black around the edges). Satisfied, I expertly put it on my plate with a knife (a little trick I learned so I didn't have to burn my hands). I set it down on the table and took out the butter from the fridge. After settling down, I took the knife and began to put the butter on the bread.
I grinned a little. I loved butter and I couldn't help putting a lot on anything I could get my hands on. Thank goodness there was no one around to give me the stink eye!
As I munched on my breakfast, I watched the golden dust dance around in the light. My mind wandered off and I started to think about today. Due to several accidents ten year olds had with their Pokémon, the government decided that maybe it was best to raise the age bar a bit. Nowadays, you could get a pocket monster of your own by the age of fourteen.
I was fifteen now and that really sucked for me. My parents didn't allow me to go catch a wild Pokémon so I had to rely on the nearby lab. They gave away "domesticated" Pokémon but the problem was that they only gave at least three, or rarely four, and in case you didn't get one, you were put on a waiting list. I could have given up a year ago but in my heart, I knew I just had to be patient and have hope.
I went upstairs and went to the bathroom, just to brush my teeth and making sure that I looked presentable. After making sure that everything was fine, I went back to my room. My eyes wandered through it. Seeing this so bare somehow made my heart ache. I kneeled down and peeked into one of the boxes. I could see my rolled-up poster of a once popular kids TV show called "Pidgey and Pachirisu", two best friends who went on wacky adventures. I even had the customize plushies of them!
For the last time, I picked up the toys and hugged close to my chest. Jeeze, I didn't even get out of my house yet and I'm getting sentimental! After pretending that they were alive and making them promise to make other kids happy, I put my precious childhood memories back into the box.
After checking that everything was in order, I opened my closet and pulled out my travelling gear. Only Legendaries know how many times I checked and re-checked the bag to make everything was there. Even when putting it on my back, I worried that I had too much stuff.
I headed downstairs, wrote a quick letter goodbye to my parents and placed it on the table where they could see it. When I was outside, I took a deep breath. My teacher once told that Pallet Town was once really small place, only having a couple of houses. After the rise of the champion who came from here, more people settled in. The teacher even said that it was a miracle that the town still smelled like nature, the forest and stuff. I honestly have no clue what he meant, but I suppose that it was a good thing.
I locked the door behind me and hid the key under a false rock. I placed my hands around my hips and I swelled my chest.
"Look out world, Emerald Great is coming your way!" I spoke out loud, trying to look and be confident.
"The world is going have to wait of you don't get to the lab in time." A voice said, startling me completely. I turned my head to the source and there was Peter, the mail carrier, wearing his regular navy-blue uniform, who rides his bike and delivers letters to all residences in Pallet Town. He looked at his watch. "In fact, you have about fifteen minutes."
"What?!" I was sure that I had everything ready early! Maybe I shouldn't toyed around so much… I started to run down the street then I realized Peter was behind me.
"Aah, thank you Peter!" I shouted at him, my legs running in place, I turned around and sprinted towards lab. I think I heard him yelling good luck at me. By the time I got there, my face was red all over and I was gasping for breath.
"Emerald!" I heard someone calling me. I raised my head and saw that it was my best friend Beckie. She was a year younger than me and one of the reasons why I still waited to get my Pokémon. She came over to me and offered a hand. "You're just in time! Come on, the professor is about to start his speech!"
I nodded, grateful for her help. She dragged me along until we were inside the lab. A group of kids, (possibly ten of them?) were all murmuring to each other, all nervous and excited. Who would get picked this time?
"Look who's finally here!" I heard someone say by my side, practically making me jump on the spot. When I heard that mocking tone, I could have guessed easily who it was. I turned around and found myself face-to-face with Renard Oak. Urgh, I just wanted to disappear right now. I prayed that he won't start another 'My ancestors were the coolest, so that makes me automatically cool, yadda, yadda, yadda.' speech. I just knew he was going to grate my nerves anyway.
"Why are you carrying that bag? Going out to pretend that you're a homeless when you find out you don't get a Pokémon?" He said, his pointed sneering nose up high in the air. He spread out his hands, as if he was shoving something invisibly disgusting. He looked at me with his mocking grin and I tried to pretend that didn't bother me at all. "You look the part, with that weird hair and that shirt makes you look like a Skuntank!"
Oh no. Oh hell no. He did not just insult my favorite clothing. I could take a comment on my dyed green hair, but he did just went too far this time. I gritted my teeth and prepared my best insult. "This little skuntank is going to pummel your ass, right now, to ground and make you beg for mercy you little-"
Beckie grabbed my arm and pulled me back. She shook her head. I pulled my arm away but she wouldn't let go of her grip. I protested but my best friend tilted her at one direction. I looked up and that the professor was giving me a disapproving look and his arms were crossed. I looked down in shame and slinked away from Renard. One of these days, he was going to pay. The professor cleared his throat and delivered his speech:
"Now that little ordeal is over, I would like to have your attention, please. Thank you all for coming. As you all know, a journey with Pokémon is full of wonders and lessons that the world can offer. Normally, I would continue on about this but some students' attention seem to drift off. Isn't that right Keith?"
That earned a chuckle from the crowd. I covered my mouth to muffle a giggle. Keith can be a good student but most of the times he acts like a complete aloof! I heard him mumbling something, apologizing to the professor. His nearby friends elbowed him and laughed.
"Now, let's not get carried away." The professor said, continuing off where he left. "It's time to select our lucky future trainers!"
As the adult picked up a clipboard, my best friend and I grabbed each other's hand and whispered good luck to each other. My legs were starting to ache from standing up so long and having to carry a heavy load.
"Renard Oak!" the professor called out. I repressed a groan. There were a couple of kids who patted his back but I could tell there were some glares in his general direction.
"Keith Ashley!" At the sound of his name, everyone clapped for him. He was slightly older than me and thus fore, waited a much longer time than me. I felt happy for Keith and I clapped with one palm as loud as I could.
"And finally…" the professor paused for dramatic effect. He looked among the group of children and I saw his eyes landing on me. I squeezed my best friend's hand harder.
"Emerald Great!"
I couldn't believe, I was completely and honestly shocked. My best friend squealed and hugged me tightly. After my mind registering the truth, I hugged her back and we started to jump around in circles.
"What are you waiting for, go!" she encouraged, laughing and pushing me off. I nodded once again with gratitude and turned around, facing the professor. I could spy from the corner of my eye that Renard was looking at me furiously. I grinned like a maniac and went up to the professor, waiting for further instructions.
More author notes: Phew, hope that was good enough! I hope that everyone enjoyed reading this and if you feel like it, review please!