Today's the day.

I finally leave this pathetic city for good.

I moved here two years ago, from Straiton City in Unova. I loved Straiton. It was a very nice place compared to Mauville, which is too shiny and fake for my liking. I wanted to begin my trainer journey in Unova, but this move caused a change of plans. Mom wouldn't let me stay alone at Straiton for a year, so I had to come here.

I barely knew anything about Hoenn. I had only been outside Mauville once when we went to Lavaridge for the hot springs on a holiday. I hated that place too. It was crammed with tourists and was a one-horse town. But I guess I'll have to go there once I begin my journey, because they have a gym there.

I haven't told you anything about myself, have I? Sorry! I'm Gavin Monroe. Height 6'1", black hair, brown eyes, normal weight. I'm sixteen. As you might have guessed, I want to be a trainer. And today, I receive my result of the test. You get a Pokemon depending on your test rank. There's the usual starters; Treecko, Torchic and Mudkip. Since the Mauville Gym runs the trainer school in Mauville, a lot of electric-type Pokemon are available as starters too, like Electrike, Magnemite and Pikachu. A few random Pokemon like Poochyena and Taillow are also included. If we don't want any of them, we can receive a nest ball instead and catch a Pokemon nearby.

I went in the academy and in the graduation room for the result. It was a small room, with enough space to seat all graduates. There were 20 people who graduated this month. I had ranked fifth, to my surprise; I had been ranking 12-15 out of 20 throughout school, but I lucked out in the tests and got a high rank. Hopefully I get a good electric-type pokemon as a starter.

"Hey bro" said a male voice from behind, as a shorter blond male sat beside me. He was Alexander Dawson, or Alex for short. Alex was my only friend here. We happened to both come from outside Mauville, and our mutual dislike for this City was our reason for friendship.

"So, who you gonna pick? Anyone you have in mind?" he asked.

"Fifth place means I'll probably get an electric-type. Treecko, if I'm lucky. I really wanted Torchic, but that aint gonna happen now" I said, sighing. Having a hi-jump kicking Blaziken was one of my dreams, but the first-ranked trainer always took Torchic. Torchic were very rare in the wild, but Treecko and Mudkip were quite common.

"Don't worry. I know you'll do well with whoever you get" he reassured.

"Welcome, Graduates!" announced the principal of the school. "Today marks a very important day in your lives…"

He gave a very long speech. I have no idea how long it lasted. Must be an hour. I was glad when I heard applause, signifying the end of the speech.

"Now, the trainers will come on stage and select their starter according to their rank. First Rank: Melissa Adams!" he said. I saw a brown-haired short girl head onto the stage.. and pick Elekid. Murmurs were heard around the room. This was unexpected.

Melissa was always a huge Torchic-fan, so having her pick elekid was a huge surprise. But I was hopeful. This meant that at least I'll get a better Pokemon.

"Magnus Svensson!"

The tall, blond boy wearing a blue shirt and jeans went on the stage and chose Treecko. Magnus always preferred Treecko, but it was weird having the top two trainers not having picked the fire chicken as their first partner.

"Samantha Thorne!"

I watched as that beautiful dark-haired girl walked on the stage and pick Ralts. I sighed as she returned to her seat. I'd have to forget this one-sided love soon- She had a boyfriend.

Alex then effectively crushed my Blaziken-dreams by picking Torchic. "Sorry, bro" he said as he returned to his seat beside me. I was disappointed.

"Gavin Monroe!"

The time had come. I slowly got up.. and stumbled, almost falling into the girl in front. I left after mumbling an apology, and nervously headed onto the stage.

"Well then" said the principal "Pick your partner"

'I guess I'll have to do with you', I thought to myself, as I reached out my hand to a pokeball. Beside it was a picture of the mud fish Pokemon.

Mudkip.

Thanks for reading. Please leave reviews and criticism so I can improve, I'd really appreciate it. Fixed a few mistakes.