This is it.
The day had come when I would finally meet my travel partner, my Pokémon. I received an invitation on a plain notecard with a Pokéball in the bottom right corner with the letter 'J' on the red section a few weeks ago. The card said to meet one of the Pokémon Professor's junior employees at the lookout, which is where I am currently standing. The perpetually angry Hugh, and the boy that looks suspiciously like me, Nate, had also received these notecards. We are all childhood friends living in the small city of Aspertia. The boys, however, are nowhere to be seen. They're probably racing each other here or rolling in some mud or something. They are always competing and doing silly things together… Or maybe I'm too early? I'm really nervous and I don't want to miss my chance to receive my entitled Pokémon. I saw a similar situation on a TV show from Kanto a few years ago. An unorganised boy slept in and ended up with an anti-social Pikachu. That would be my worst nightmare. However Pikachu are rare in Unova, so I'd probably end up with an anti-social Patrat! I do hope my Pokémon likes me. Oh gosh my mind is wandering off. I must focus. I must…
"HI! Oh my gosh! S-sorry to keep you waiting!" A chirpy voice shrilled behind me.
I turned to find the owner of the voice, a bubbly looking girl with a bright orange jacket on. Hmmm, I'm not too sure about orange clothing; it's a little too gaudy for me. She has a really cute green beret though. I must ask her where she got it from. The bubbly girl began to run up to the edge of the lookout with an expression of awe, but as she ran she tripped over her own feet and stumbled.
"Ahhh!" She squeaked before finding her balance again.
Was she shaking? She must be as nervous as I am. She quickly regained her composure and started to messily leaf through her folder. A few pieces of Lillipup-eared paper emerged from the folder with notes and trainer headshots on them. They must be trainer profiles.
"Right, then, you must be Rosa," she said glancing up from her papers.
"My name is Bianca and I'm Professor Juniper's junior research assistant."
She stuck her hand out for me to shake. She had a firm, if slightly frantic, handshake.
"I must apologise for arriving late Rosa, I'm so sorry."
"No need to apologise, you're early!" I assured her as I showed her my brand-new X-transceiver on my wrist with the watch app active.
"Oh, look, I am early!" Bianca exclaimed as she jumped up and down. But all too suddenly her over excitement shifted into quiet thinking. She was deep in thought, staring at the trainer profiles when she finally said:
"There's supposed to be three of you…"
As if on cue the two boys bounded up the steps, barging each other with their elbows and shouting.
"I'm going to beat you Nate!" The boy with the sharp pointy hair shouted. People often teased that his head resembles a certain Johto Pokémon, but I can't remember which. This comparison only makes him rage. His hair most certainly matches his personality. I hope his temperament doesn't get him into trouble with any other trainers. He reached the top of the stairs first.
"Victory!" He shouted whilst doing a little jig. Midway through his little victory dance he saw me and paused. This caused Nate to bound straight into him and they both collapsed on the floor. Well, that was Hugh and Nate for you. Dopey and clumsy. I chuckled to myself and looked down at my shuffling feet. This is how everything had always been though. We had always been together, and now we are all going our separate ways. Sadness washed away the nervousness as I butterfreed my eyes to hide the little balls of sorrow that were forming in the corners. I put on a brave face and looked up to see the pile of panting boys fighting for their breath back. I watched Hugh's chest rise rapidly. He was wearing his 'lucky' red jacket; well that's how he referred it as. He boastfully claimed that he kicked a Team Plasma Grunt's arse whilst wearing it a few years back. I reckon he is so fond of the jacket as his mum bought it for him…
Hang on…what in Great Arceus' name is Nate wearing? Long Shorts AND leggings? Wait a moment…LEGGINGS? My mood instantly lifted at the sight of his fashion disaster, but then I remembered that I considered wearing leggings. I even tried them on yesterday while hunting for the perfect outfit. I was going to wear my white Pokéball branded long sleeved t-shirt with light blue sleeves, yellow shorts and leggings. And I was going to style my hair into two Ponyta-tails with buns at the top and my Pokéball branded visor to accessorise. But at the last second I switched to an outfit that was a little more Kanto-styled. I am wearing a turquoise singlet with a red mini-skirt and turquoise socks. On my head I am wearing my boater-style hat and my long brown hair is in loose Ponyta-tails. I kind of look a little like a bug-catcher but I think it is quite a cute look. I decided to bring my cross-body satchel instead of my large, more handbag-looking bag. I think the handbag might be too impractical for my adventure.
Amidst all the excitement and japes we seemed to forget why we were here: To begin our Pokémon adventure!
"Well… I'm Bianca, Professor Juniper's junior research assistant…" Bianca started, causing the lounging boys to bolt upright in anticipation. Had they even noticed her presence before now?
"I'm sure you've all read the 'Getting Started: A Guide for New Pokémon Trainers' book that I sent you." Bianca held up a pristine copy of the book. I had more that just read the book. I had studied it. My copy is sitting in my bag, well read and a little tatty.
"I wrote this book with a little help from my friend Cheren. He is the new Gym Leader here in Aspertia. He also runs a Pokémon school. Did any of you attend the school?"
"No, my family can't afford that school." Hugh said quietly. Bianca paused to take in Hugh's quite personal comment. The truth is none of us had been. The fees really were expensive; in fact all Pokémon schools are expensive. Some people throw money at such things as they think it will make them a Pokémon Master or a Champion or something. However those achievements come from experience and hard work, not from money and knowledge. Cheren himself doesn't seem to be that much of a bad-guy. I kind of wish he was my teacher because he's really cute! I once saw him in the Mart section of the Pokémon centre. I was looking at different labels on Moo-Moo Milks to see which one would be the best choice in terms of quality and price. Mum had only sent me out to get some Moo-Moo Milk but I took my mission very seriously! Cheren must have seen me struggling to choose and recommended the 'Johnova' brand (this brand was based in Unova but they used Johto-bred Miltank). He smiled as he handed me the bottle and then went to the counter to buy some Dusk Balls. Dusk Balls are so fancy; I wish I could afford them!
"If you are taking the Gym challenge, which I highly recommend by the way, you will surely bump into Cheren soon enough. He has only recently taken over the role of Normal-type Gym Leader. I bet he is just as nervous as you are!" Bianca continued with her mini-lecture.
"You should know all about Pokémon types, status ailments, medicines, abilities and natures by now. But if you get confused you can always check your guide or even ask. The Pokémon School has a free library that is stocked with all sorts of books on Pokémon."
I made a mental note to check out this library. I wanted to see if they had a book on alternate-coloured Pokémon. They fascinate me. I also want to read up on different Pokéball types and effectiveness.
"Now, he's the moment you've been waiting for. You get to choose your Pokémon. Do you have any idea what which one you are going to choose?"
I have always wanted Oshawott, Hugh has always wanted Snivy and Nate has always wanted Tepig, so I guess there will be no fighting or arguments over which Pokémon we will pick. We used to play together, each pretending to be one of the Pokémon.
"Ladies first." Hugh said as he ushered me to up to the capsule Bianca was holding. In the capsule was three Pokéballs, our Pokémon!
"I-I…I choose Oshawott." I stammered.
"Oshawott. Here he is." Bianca placed a Pokéball into my hand. It looked like any other Pokéball, but this one had my first Pokémon in it. Nate followed suit.
"I'll take Tepig please Bianca." Nate said proudly.
"Is Snivy alright for you Hugh?" Bianca asked.
"Snivy is perfect."
We now all had our first ever Pokémon. It was as easy as that. I just stared at the ball in amazement.
"Well now, send them out so you can greet them!" Bianca chuckled.
"Go Oshawott!" I shouted. The ball creaked open in my hand and a white light came out forming the shape of my Oshawott. He blinked in the sunlight, looked up towards me and smiled.
"Hello Oshawott, I'm Rosa, I'm your trainer." Oshawott ran straight at me and jumped into my arms for a hug. I stood up with Oshawott in my arms to find Nate tickling his Tepig, smoke blowing from its nose in glee, and Hugh was posing like his Snivy, tall and proud.
"Now you've got to know each other, how about you have a little battle with your new partner?" Bianca suggested.
"I can't Bianca I have plans to meet my father in Virbank later today, I've got to get going." Nate said, rolling his Pokéball in his hands. Nate is kind of strange sometimes. He is very cryptic and mysterious, especially around me. At least he knew his father, even if he saw him rarely. It's better than a non-existent father like what I had. Mum never mentioned my father. She said that she met him while she was working, but that's it.
" I will quickly show you how to catch a Pokémon, then you can run off. Alright? The art of catching a Pokémon cannot be explained through textbooks alone. Ooh, look, over there! It's a Lillipup. Wait. I haven't given you your Pokédex yet, how silly of me." She handed us each a black rectangular contraption with a red Pokéball design on the front.
"Press the button and point it at the Lillipup." The devices extended and jumped into life as they were pointed at the Lillipup. A mechanical voice was telling us all about the Pokémon in front of us.
"They're kind of neat aren't they, they are the newest model too! Anyway, yes, catching a Pokémon. Right. First you must weaken the target a little. This helps make the target a little easier to catch. Go Munna!" Bianca threw her Pokéball and a pink blob came out. I instantly whipped out my Pokédex to scan it.
"Pay attention now…Munna, tackle!" She ordered. I wondered why she was using a Munna. I heard she had a really powerful Mushrana. But the tackle from the Munna was hard enough, the Lillipup was struggling to find its feet. Maybe the Mushrana is too powerful…
"Once you've weakened it you start throwing your Pokéballs at it. It also helps if you can inflict a status condition like sleep or paralysis. It makes them so much easier to catch. Pokéball go!" She chucked a Pokéball at the Lillipup. It shook once, twice, a third time and then clicked.
"And it is as easy as that. That's all I can teach you now. You are on your own. You've got to get your own experiences…" Her X-transceiver rang.
"Oh…errrrm, that's the, the, the Professor, probably after a progress report. I should probably take this." Her face blushed. Was it really the Professor calling her?
Hugh's spikey head interrupted my observation.
"Hey, since Nate's just run off, would you like to battle me?" Hugh asked. I considered his offer for a moment, but I really wanted to get some training in first, so I could get to know my Oshawott a little better.
"I want to do a little bit of training first Hugh."
"I understand. Well we'll take a raincheck on that battle then." He turned around to walk away.
"Oh, wait, I forgot. C-can we exchange X-transceiver numbers, for like, if we see something cool or…" his voice went quiet, "maybe if you need someone to talk to…"
"Here's my number Hugh." He was acting a little odd. He's never been like this before. He's normally quite loud and boisterous, that is, when he's not raging. He stared at me for a moment and then spun and ran towards the open route.
Suddenly I felt sad again. My two childhood friends had just started their adventure and now I was all alone. I felt a slight chill so I rummaged in my satchel for the scarf Hugh bought me for my birthday a few weeks prior. It was soft and yellow…and kind of smelt like him. I drank in the scent of the scarf, and even though I had only just seen him a second ago. I kind of missed him. I wanted him…to hug me?
I took one deep breath and looked at the route, then turned around and started to walk back to my house. I've got to say goodbye to my mum, even though she squeezed me to death earlier… I have to show her my Oshawott!