Vermilion had always been a beautiful city, resting near the gentle waves of the ocean and protected by the edge of a small forest. It had been the perfect place to raise their baby, or so the new parents thought. It was the perfect place to set up their research lab and really start to make groundbreaking movements in the world of pokemon. It was also a good place to hide in secret from the Rockets who had been ceaseless in their efforts to get their hands on their research. It would be a good place to raise Atem quietly and in peace. And that was the most important thing of all.
Atem seemed to grow up faster than even his father and mother had predicted. What was most pleasing of all, though, was his penchant and love for pokemon. It didn't seem to matter what pokemon he was faced with or looked at or "nearly" caught in the ocean or by walking alone in the paths, he was always happy to see them. And the more he grew the more he was happy to assist in his parents research. His mother had been slightly adamant about keeping him out of the more heavy duty aspects, and she had certainly made sure his father kept him from revealing any secrets to the young boy, but as long as Atem was happy, so was she.
On one of her trips back from traveling the region, she came off the S.S. Anne to a waiting, exciting and bouncing little boy. He was thrilled to have his mother back after a month long expedition. Little did he know all his waiting was about to pay off.
Once she was able to pry him from her leg and sit him down for an afternoon snack she readied herself for the inevitable rush of joy. She waited until he was halfway through with his sandwich, running a hand through her six year old's wild tri-colored hair. He looked up at her with crumbs and jam all over his face and smiled. She couldn't help the warm feeling that bombarded her chest and made her return it widely.
"You know, while I was traveling I was able to stop by Ms. Marcy's." A small test to see if Atem would even remember who that might be.
He was in the middle of a bite when she asked, swallowed it quickly and gulped down some milk so he could speak. It left a thin mustache as he hurried. "The breeder lady?" He had always been fascinated by all jobs pertaining to pokemon. Breeder wasn't something he wanted to do one day but the few times he'd gone he had been particularly excited to check up on different eggs and hear about how close they were to hatching. Sometimes he even got to hold them!
His mom gave him a pat. "Yes. She said she was sorry she missed your birthday." This was true. Everyone loved little Atem. It was hard not to.
"That's okay." He mumbled between a few more bites. "She lives all the way up in Ecr-Ecru-Ecruteak." He had a little trouble getting his mouth to form the word. "And I know she was waiting for a new baby to hatch." Always exciting. He was sad he'd never gotten the chance to see one hatch. Only the eggs or the babies but never the process. One day. One day he'd have an egg of his own to take care of.
Today was not that day, but hopefully she had something just as good. "Mm hmm." She agreed as she reached into her bag. "She asked me to deliver you your birthday present."
The sandwich was set down immediately. "I get a present?" All suddenly flustered with happiness. Who could resist a present?
A few more minutes of Atem squirming in his seat passed by between she was able to grasp the small object in her hand. "Now I need you to promise me something." Her tone had dropped to a careful seriousness as she pulled Atem's hands to hers and held the object in it with her own still covering over.
He was intent. Whenever his mom made him promise something it was always serious. So he nodded once and then a few more times for emphasis. "Uh huh!" His excitement was a little overwhelming.
"I haven't even said what it is yet." The seriousness was broken by yet another smile. Atem was just too much for her sometimes. "I want you to promise you will take very good care of her." T-minus 10, 9, 8-
"Her?" The promise threw him off. What could his mom possibly be giving him that came from the breeder lady that would need taking -… oh. Oh.
His hands dropped out from under hers so that he could get the object from her. She was too slow to grab it as his hands cupped around it and he jumped from his chair. "H-hey! Atem! Get back here!"
It was too much for his little heart to handle. In his hands was a shiny, small, beautiful object.
A pokeball. His very own pokeball. And inside was his very first pokemon partner.
He zipped outside and pressed the button as hard as he could manage, getting the object to enlarge. "Go!" He tried to say this as cool as he'd heard the other trainers do it. Releasing the ball into the air he could hardly breathe. The bright white form burst from the ball before going back to his hands. He barely had the attention span to catch it, focused too hard on what pokemon was coming out.
Once the light faded a tiny horse reared up on her back legs, glad to be free. "Ponyta!" She whinnied loudly.
Atem went from being barely able to breathe to being unable completely. His heart was pounding. He, a newly turned six year old, was getting his first pokemon seven years earlier than expected. And it was a newly hatched, amazing ponyta.
His mom watched him from the kitchen, standing rigid. For a moment she thought maybe he was displeased. Maybe this was too much for him to handle. Perhaps this hadn't been a good idea after all.
"Sweetheart he's only six years old…" His father was uneasy about the idea.
"Marcy insisted. I know he'll take good care of her." She was sure.
"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthan kyouthankyou!" The words came out in a never ending stream as he ran to the pokemon, ready to throw his arms around it.
"No!" Both parents shouted.
Atem's excitement was delaying his impressive smarts. Ponyta was a fire horse pokemon after all. Both dashed from the back door to try and stop him but by then it was too late. His arms had encircled around the baby horse's neck and he was nuzzling her. The flames had died down enough to allow him.
His mother breathed a sigh of relief. His father shook his head.
"Ponyta," Atem said quietly, awe still apparent in his voice. His very own pokemon. His hands went to her muzzle. petting and holding her as he looked into her big brown eyes. "We're gonna be the best partners. I promise." He threw his arms around the tiny horse again, ponyta nuzzling him back this time, the bond already strong. "I promise.