Disclaimer: I do NOT own pokemon. If I did do you really think I'd be sitting here writing a fanfic of it? Nuh uh! Have mercy on me, I have not written a pokemon fic before. Now with that said on with the story XD

Every child dreams of the day they turn ten. A whole new world opens up to them because at the age of ten they're allowed to register as pokemon trainers! The road to becoming a pokemon master is thrilling, challenging and difficult path. Not all trainers succeed at becoming masters…specially those who over sleep the day their suppose to be registered. Which is where this story begins.

The early bird gets it all

The numbers on the clock slowly ticked by as a young girl lay sleeping soundly beneath the thick comforter and an alarm clock lay in the floor beside the bed. Various pokemon books and maps were scattered across the floor. A large stuffed pikachu sat in one corner of the room with pieces if clothing strewn across it. Posters littered the walls and small trinkets were placed on the desk and bookshelf. The typical room of any child. A harsh knock on the door jerked the girl from her sleep.

"Edea? Edea, wake up! Your already late!"

Edea rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked at the clock. With a startled yelp she jumped out of the bed and ran to the closet to get her clothes.

"I'm awake, daddy! Oh no, Oh no….I'm sooo late!"

Scott Dowell chuckled and shook his head. He knew this was going to happen when she wouldn't go to bed the night before. Oh well, it was just something else his daughter could learn from. He had to catch her as she stumbled out the door trying to put her shoes on while she ran.

"Slow down long enough to put your shoes on."

"I can't slow down! I'm going to miss getting a pokemon and never become a pokemon master!"

He just laughed and turned her loose.

"You go on and I'll get your stuff together."

"Thank you, daddy!"

With that she ran out of the house and down the road to the pokemon lab.

Edea stopped at the door to the lab to catch her breath. Wouldn't do any good to go inside if she couldn't talk. She straitened up and pushed the door open and peeked inside before slowly walking in. She looked around wide eyed as she walked through the lab. It was nothing like she had expected. There were so many machines and books that she'd never begin to figure out what they were for and sitting at one of the computers was an elder man hunched over the keyboard and typing with such a fury she was sure his fingers were going to tangle up at any moment. She stepped closer to him and cleared her throat to try and get his attention.

"Um, excuse me…I'm looking for professor Oak…"

The man straighten up and looked over at her with a smile.

"I'm professor Oak, what can I do for you young lady?"

"Well, I just turned ten last week and I wanted to become a trainer. I know I'm late…sorry…"

His smile faded and he gave a sigh as he shook his head slightly.

"I'm sorry, all the starter pokemon were taken earlier. You should have gotten here sooner."

Edea hung her head and cursed herself for not going to bed at a decent time like her dad tried to get her to. Now her shot at becoming a trainer had just been lost. A gentle hand on her shoulder drew her attention away from her sulking. The professor gave her another smile and stood up from his chair.

"I'll see if I have a pokemon that you could have. I do tend to pick up strays once in a while that could use a trainer and home. Come on now."

He turned away from and started down one of the halls, glancing over his shoulder to make sure she was following him before stopping at a door. The door slid aside and Edea followed him into the rather large room. Shelf after shelf stretched across the room filled with pokeballs.

"These are the pokemon trainers have caught. Since you can only carry six at a time they're automatically sent here where I care for them until the trainer needs them. There're several rooms like this one, it helps me keep up with which species is where. Each pokemon is very unique and require different things to keep them happy and healthy…and I'm starting to ramble, my apologies."

He finally stopped at a shelf lining the back wall and carefully looked over the pokeballs there. After a moment he pulled down one and handed it to her.

"Your up for quite a challenge since all the other trainers start with either Bulbasaur, Squirtle or Charmander. This pokemon isn't much now, but if your determined to become a trainer…"

Edea looked at the pokeball in her hands and tried to imagine what pokemon was inside. An Ekans…a sandshrew or maybe even a jigglypuff! With a grin she released the pokemon and the look of surprise was clearly written across her face at what sat before her.

"A Rattata…"

"The only other pokemon I have is a primeape which is not a good idea for a beginning trainer…or most experienced trainers for that matter. If you'd rather wait for—"

"Oh no! This is just fine, really!"

She carefully picked up the small pokemon and held it out at arms length. She couldn't help but smile as its ears twitched. It may not have been some great or rare pokemon, but it was cute. She hugged the pokemon to her and smiled again.

"Thank you professor Oak!"

"Oh, don't thank me yet, I have more things for you."

He lead her back to the main part of the lab and over to a table. Picking up one of the pokedex and handful of pokeballs he turned back to her and held them out. Edea sat her pokemon down and took the items from him.

"The pokedex has already been program with you as the user since you were on my list of possible new trainers. Be careful though, if you loose it I can't replace it and any data you've collected will be lost."

She gave a nod and tried to keep from grinning. This was it, she was a trainer now and a whole new world awaited her. She walked out of the lab with her head held high and her Rattata by her side.

"Look out pokemon cause here I come!"

The day couldn't be brighter as Edea marched up the steps to her house. Flinging the door open she stepped inside and gave a shout.

"I'm a pokemon trainer now!"

If Scott hadn't already been sitting down he surely would have fell down. His daughter could be so...animated sometimes. He stood up from his chair in the den and went to meet her in the living room. He kneeled down in font of the rattata and lightly rubbed it's ear.

"Sure is a fine looking pokemon. You two will do great, I just know it."

He gave her a proud smile and stood back up. She was growing up so fast and he was sure the next time he saw her she'd be quite different. Not so different than him on his pokemon journey years before. She snatched up her pack and started back for the door with a wave, but he called out to her and made her come back.

"Not so fast, sparky. I have something for you…it was mine when I was your age."

He held out a belt with notches in it to hold pokeballs. The leather was darkened with age but still looked to be in very good condition. Edea grinned and took the belt, she hadn't even thought about how she was going to carry her pokeballs till then. She sat down in the floor to carefully place the balls in the notches and stood back up to fasten the belt around her waist. One side caught on her hip while the other sagged down. Scott chuckled and shook his head.

"I guess we need to put a couple more notches in it so it'll fit."

Edea quickly shook her head and grinned.

"Nope! I like it just like this…it matches."

He gave a slight nod and sat down on the couch and pointed to a small box wrapped in silver paper and topped with a blue bow laying on the coffee table.

"That's also yours."

Edea gave him a curious look and walked over to pick up the box. She sat down beside him and carefully tore the paper away. She smiled as she brushed her fingertips over the smooth dark wood knowing it must have cost him a pretty penny.

"I love it…no one else will have such a pretty badge case!"

He smiled and reached over to playfully ruffle her hair.

"Don't loose it. Be careful and call whenever you can, I know you're a big girl that can take care of yourself but humor this old man and let me know how you doing, ok?"

"Ok daddy, I will….I promise."

With one last hug and a wave Edea set out the door naming off all the pokemon she was going to catch.