"Welcome to the world of Pokémon!"

Jeff is sleeping, well, trying to get to sleep. He's supposed to be learning, but instead, he's loathing. Every word that comes out of Prof. Oak's mouth is just going straight in, and straight out. Apparently the old guy could ramble, and Jeff didn't have know it. Constantly going on about how they needed to learn that Pokémon are important, blah blah blah, about how they effect our world. Every trainer in...eh, training, has to sit through this, right before they take their test, the test that Jeff has always failed. You see, He was probably the oldest person in that lecture, he was going turn 17 in couple of months, and he still didn't have a trainers licence. Yeah, you could blame it on the fact that they raised the age to 12, but honestly, it's because he just didn't listen. They only do it once a year, and every year since he was twelve, he's failed it. Maybe it was his lack of interest, but he clearly never really had the drive to study hard in order to pass.

"Jeff, am I boring you?"

Oak was onto him now. He propped himself up with his arms, trying to stay awake. He was thinking that he probably should stop browsing Pokémon League Gym Babes late at night, because that sort of stuff can mess with your sleeping pattern. He had learned why the Cerulean Gym leader liked water so much though...

"No professor, I'm listening, just resting my eyes."

"Hm, well, come see me after this lecture, I'd like to speak to you before the test."

He was in for it now.

The lecture had passed, with Jeff constantly drifting in and out of sleep throughout. He was sure that Oak had noticed, but to his suprise, he didn't seem to care.

The lab was empty now, and he was still left sitting. Oak had told him to wait until everyone had left before talking to him. Standing up, he made his way towards Oak's small office, in the corner of the lab. Reaching the door, which was shut, he entered.

Oak was sitting at his desk, fiddling with something as usual.

"Ah, Jeff, good to see you. Why don't you take a seat."

Oak motioned towards the empty chair at the other side of the desk.

"I'm just footering around with this thing Professor Rowan sent me, you know, he's from Sinnoh, he delivered a lecture here last year...anyway, do you have any idea why I held you back?"

Jeff nodded

"You see, Jeff, I'm really getting weary of you constantly messing up your trainer test. It must be some sort of record. I mean, what, 4 failures?"

"Yeah...must be that many."

Oak stood up, turning to face the open window, looking out onto the field where the various Pokémon roamed.

"It's staggering, honestly. It's like you don't wish to become a trainer, do you?"

"Professor, of course I do, must just be bad luck or something like that."

"You do realize that this is your last chance? I mean, to take your test for free. Once you're older than 16, you have to pay, and I know you or your family can't afford that sort of money."

He was right, without his Dad, his mother had to work extra hard. They weren't poor, but could he expect her to pay for such stuff.

"That's why I'd like you to meet me in here tomorrow morning about..eh, 9am. I've got an idea that you might like the sound of."

"OK Professor."

"Just...make sure you're on time, my mother has been telling me about your late night internet history..."

Oak shot him a wry look.

"Heh...yeah...I'll be there."

Jeff stood up and walked out of the office, closing the door behind him. What could Oak be up to? He'd heard about the bizarre things the Professor called research, including sending random kids out with a PokeDex, asking them to complete it. He's kinda stopped that now, what with how most Pokémon have been discovered. On a related note, his mind turned to Red, current league champion, previous idol of his. He hadn't visited Pallet for a couple of years, and had become somewhat of a legend. The league really changed for the better those 10 years ago, no more criminal organisation dons as gym leaders. This train of thought was suddenly broken when he opened to door of the lab, coming face to face with Dan.

"For Arceus' sake Jeff, watch where the hell you're going!"

Dan was the one guy that always seemed to know exactly how to tick him off, he'd call him a 'rival', but that just sounds silly. In Jeff's eyes, he was just some guy too big for his boots. Always antagonising him, putting him down. He should just give him a word or two right now, put him straight.

"...sorry Dan."

Well, that's what he'd do if he had confidence, something that was really lacking, probably all thanks to Dan.

"Heh, well, that's OK, suppose you can't expect much from the 4 time trainer failure. You should get an award for that or something!"

Dan sneered, his laugher burning into Jeff's head.

"I'm just here to show Oak this new Pokémon I've caught, normally, it's hard to catch, but with my Blastoise, it was a breeze..."

"Yeah...that's cool Dan..."

"Anyway, I ain't got time to be speaking with failures, see-ya Jeffail!"

Dan cracked up again at his own joke, then headed inside the lab.

Letting out a sigh, Jeff put his hands in his pockets and started to make his way home through the road going behind the lab.

What sort of guy would he become if he couldn't leave this place. I mean, Pallet is a nice place, he thought, but it's all very dead end. He'd love to see the world, place like Unova, Sinnoh, hell, maybe even Orre. He once visited Johto on vacation once, and he loved it, all the different varieties of Pokémon he saw there, the amazing Bellsprout tower...he wondered if Azalea was nice this time of year. His thoughts made the walk back home seem shorter than usual, his mind was on overdrive right now, he guessed that it was probably due to what Oak was talking of.

He opened the gate and entered the front garden, then made his way towards the door, pulling his keys out of his pocket. Reaching the door, he unlocked it and entered, shutting the door behind him. He then threw his bag on the floor, next to the coat hanger, and went into the kitchen.

There was a note pinned up on the fridge.

Dear Jeff,

I've been called to the Daycare on an emergency, so I made you a sandwich and left it in the fridge for you. Please try to go to bed at a decent time tonight, because I might not be back until late. If that happens, I've left some lasagna in the oven for your dinner.

Love, Mom

The usual. His mother worked in the Pokémon Daycare on Cinnabar Island, and had done so for the past 5 years. The place had been built during the reconsturction process after the eruption. It was a hard job, due to the half hour sail to the island, and it didn't exactly pay well, considering the sporadic hours. Most of the time she had to deal with Pokémon that had been abandoned at sea, or wild Pokémon that had been hit by boats. Really awful stuff.

He discarded the note and opened the fridge, then he reached in and took out the plate that had his sandwich on it. He also grabbed a bottle of MooMoo Milk, then shut the fridge. He then grabbed the jar filled with Lava Cookies from the counter, taking it, along with his sandwich and the milk through to the living room.

He placed everything out on the table, grabbed the TV remote, and collapsed on the sofa, groaning heavily.