"Rylee! It's almost noon! Time to get up!" my mom called from the end of the hallway.
I groaned and pulled the covers over my head as I heard footsteps approaching. The door swung open and I could hear the sound of my mom's foot tapping against the carpet.
"Rylee, you've had enough time to sleep. I need you to go out and get some berries for dessert tonight." mom said.
I peeked out from my blanket and looked up at my mom. Her hands were placed firmly on her hips and her foot continued to tap. Her long, dark teal hair was tied back in a low ponytail with some pieces resting on her forehead and around her face. Her blue eyes were icy with "the mom look" plastered all over her face. She wore a white apron over a light pink t-shirt, blue blazer, and beige trousers.
"Mom, I have all the time to do that." I said. "Just give me five more minutes."
"Five minutes usually turns into five hours." Mom said. "Now get up."
I groaned and threw my blanket back over my head. My mom sighed.
"Minccino..." she said.
Something jumped onto my bed and wiggled its way underneath the covers next to me. The next thing I knew, I felt something soft brushing against my stomach. A laugh burst from my lips as I threw my blanket off of me, revealing a little Minccino tickling me with its tail. I grabbed her and picked her up like a baby in desperate need of a diaper change.
"Really, Mom?" I said.
"Good, you're up." Mom said innocently.
She turned on her heel and walked down the hall. I rolled my eyes and set Minccino back down on the bed. I threw the blanket over her head and changed out of my black shirt and light gray pajama shorts. I put on a purple and white striped t-shirt and black denim shorts. I walked over to my white vanity and stared at myself in the mirror. I took a brush and tamed the beast of medium brown wavy hair that grew from my head and hung past my shoulders. My eyes were the most unusual part of my body. Grass green from a distance, but if you take a closer look, you can see a ring of purple wrapping around the pupil and tiny flecks of purple dotted around the iris.
I walked over to the pink jewelry holder that hung on the wall next to my dresser. Minccino wriggled out from underneath the blanket and trotted over to me. She sat next to me, so close that her soft fur stroked my leg. I reached up slowly and fingered a specific necklace that hung on a hook: a Poké Ball charm that rested on a short silver chain. A familiar but unwanted feeling washed over me as I took the necklace and clipped it on. I touched the charm as it sat against my skin, right above my heart.
Minccino purred, snapping me out of my reverie. I looked down at her and smiled. I offered her my arm and she climbed up it and sat on my shoulder. We walked down the hall, passing my mom as she washed the dishes in the kitchen. I grabbed my foraging bag, a tan over-the-shoulder bag, and headed out the door.
The sun was smiling down on the area as the wind caressed gently against the trees. I walked into the forest. Minccino hopped off of my shoulder and sniffed at a shrub. I touched the trunk of a tree and looked up at its branches, scanning the leaves for hidden berries. Minccino called for my attention and I turned to see her tugging at a bush filled with Sitrus berries.
"Good job, Minccino." I said.
I walked over and crouched down next to Minccino and the bush. I carefully plucked a few berries from the bush. I placed the berries in my foraging bag and slung it back across my body. Minccino and I took a break from scavenging and sat on a branch of a large tree. I looked down the path of the forest, the area I've been so familiar with I could find my way home from the heart of the forest blindfolded. I sighed.
"Minccino..." I said. "Do you think we'll ever get a chance to explore places other than this forest?"
"Cino?" Minccino squeaked and twitched her ears in confusion.
I gripped my bag's handle.
"Mom would think me crazy if I told her about this, so no snitching on me." I chuckled. "But for a while now, I've been having these awesome dreams. I'm traveling all over the Unova region, going town to town and having all these adventures. I meet all of these cool people who I befriend." I felt a blush creep on my cheeks. "I even meet someone."
Minccino nuzzled her cheek against my elbow. She looked at me and chattered in a teasing way.
"But whatever. They're just dreams." I said, shifting my gaze to the open sky above me. A flock of Pidove chirped as they passed over us. "I wonder what it would be like to be those Pidove: flying to new places, seeing amazing sights... If only my dreams were a reality."
I sighed and rested my chin in my hand.
"When I'm older, I'll become a Pokémon researcher. Then I could have the chance to travel the world. Maybe I could listen to everyone and become a trapeze artist. I've definitely got the acrobatics for it. Or, maybe," I chuckled to myself. "I could become an international spy or something. Maybe I could get a job of being a Pokémon bodyguard."
Minccino's ears twitched and her nose wrinkled up. She didn't seem to like that suggestion, even though I was only kidding. I sighed again.
"Whatever. For now, I'm stuck here being plain old Rylee, daughter of a plain old woman and..." I said.
I stopped myself and grunted as I chucked a berry down to the ground. I watched it soar through the air and land in a bush. Suddenly, it came bouncing back out and rolled onto the ground.
"What in the...?" I said.
Minccino and I jumped down from the tree branch. I picked up the berry. I examined it, tossing it up in the air and catching it a few times. I threw it at the bush again, only for it to come bouncing back and hit Minccino. She yelped and muttered in frustration.
"Sorry..." I said, not really attentive to her tantrum.
"Pika..." a voice whimpered.
It was coming from the bush. I rushed over and crouched next to it. As I pushed the leaves out of the way, I cried out. It was a small rodent Pokémon covered in yellow fur. Its ears were long and pointed with black tips and it had two red circles on its cheeks. The Pokémon was unconscious, with swirls in its eyes, but it groaned quietly.
It was a Pikachu.
"Oh, my goodness!" I said. "What's a Pikachu doing here?!"
I picked up Pikachu and held him in my arms.
"Let's take it to the Pokémon Center." I said. Minccino nodded and we took off down the path.
The path that would lead me to my journey and to the rest of my life.