"Oh, where's the lab?"

I looked around Sandgem town, hoping to see a giant billboard or something. Professor Rowan was holding a class in his lab for new trainers, and I get lost!

I straighten my cat-eye glasses, which sat on my freckled nose rather awkwardly. It was supposed to be right here. Wait. I flipped the card over, and moaned. Man, I had the map upside down. I quickly start rolling down the street on my rollerblades. I could see the lab now. I just might make it.

I do make it. I unfortunately can't stop my rollerblades very well, and fall through the doors. I quickly stand back up. Good. Nobody noticed.

Professor Rowan addressed everyone. "Now, it's good to see that all of you made it. This won't be a very long class. As a matter of fact, it will more be like an exam. I've been seeing a decline in good qualities for trainers. Here is where I will see if you all are fit to get your first pokemon."

He held out a large box with pokeballs in it. "Now, everyone take one pokeball." We all did as he asked. I got the last one. Rowan looked at me funny, probably because I was in a helmet and blades, but he didn't say anything.

"Now, Go outside and release your pokemon. Prepare with it to battle. Learn its moves, get to know its strengths and weaknesses." We were all a little shocked with this sudden battle test we were about to partake in.

I rolled over to a nearby tree, where I took my blades off and put on some shoes I had in my bag. I then threw my pokeball into the air.

The device popped open, and out came my pokemon. "Oh, a blaziken!" I cried as the creature stood up. It had a flame patterned bandanna going around its head, and it winked and smiled at me. "Okay, wild guess here, but you're a girl, right?"

It nodded. "Okay. My name's Tara." I shuffled my feet. "Now, I'm about to battle with you, so, if you could show me your moves, I think it would help out."

Blaziken laughed. She patted me on the shoulder, trying to get me to relax. It then moved a good distance away, and started to do its moves.

She was amazing. First, her hands and feet burst into flame, and she started a series of kicking and punching. Okay, I think this was fire punch and blaze kick. Then, she split into multiple blazikens. This was double team. They all held their hands up, where sunlight seemed to gather. They all shot a glowing beam of light into the sky.

"Wow! You can use solar beam? That's amazing!"

Blaziken laughed, her copies of herself now gone. I smiled. "Okay, so you know two fire type moves, both close range. We can use double team to trick them so you can get in for an attack. Solar beam can be useful if we need some space from the enemy."

"Okay everyone, it is time for the battling to start!" Professor Rowan called.

I picked up the pokeball. "I don't think you should go back in just yet." Blaziken nodded, and we walked down to the professor.

"Now, my co-workers and I will be battling you. Everyone pair up and get ready to go." Everyone scurried to get to a lab member, not wanting to go against the professor. Why couldn't there be any hotheads wanting to try to prove there the best?

I, unfortunately, was paired against the professor. He looked at Blaziken. "I think I too shall use a Hoenn pokemon." He released a pokeball, and I groaned inwardly.

Of all the pokemon to use, he had to go with metagross? The giant colossal pokemon appeared. I wasn't looking forward to this at all. Blaziken put her hand on my shoulder, and gave me a thumbs up. I nodded, putting on a determined face. I was Blaziken's trainer, and I was going to win.

"You may do the honors," Professor Rowan called.

I nodded, and pushed my thick blonde hair out of my face. "Blaziken, use double team!" Multiple blazikens appeared, and started to run confusingly around the giant pokemon. It looked at them all. I could tell it knew which one was real. "Quickly, catch your hands and feet on fire!"

Blaziken did as I said, and now streaks of red, orange, and yellow made it much harder to even see a single blaziken, let alone the real one. Metagross blinked. It had lost the real one.

"Not bad, my dear," Professor Rowan said. "But battling a psychic type is much harder than that. Metagross, use psychic."

The X on his face started to glow blue, and all the blazikens stopped moving. Then, all of the fake ones disappeared, and Blaziken was left, floating in mid air, being crushed by an invisible force.

"Solar beam!" I cried. I knew it wasn't going to do much, but Metagross just needed to be distracted long enough to drop her.

The light particles formed in front of her mouth. She opened to fire, but was shot into the sky. She then came back down, and hit the ground with extreme force.

She got up slowly. I held my breath. She faced her opponent one last time, then fell to her knee. It was over.

I withdrew Blaziken into my pokeball. Rowan walked oveer. "Why do you look so sad? You did fine. I never expected you to win. The fact that you could handle Blaziken with that much skill is amazing."

I sighed. "Yeah, but losing still doesn't feel that good."

"Well, I think that you two would make a pretty good pair. If you would like, I can give you her instead of the ordinary starters."

I looked at him in shock. "Really? But isn't she even rarer than the starters here?"

"Yes, but I could borrow one from Professor Birch anytime. Now, if you come inside, I can give you a pokedex and some pokeballs." I followed him towards the lab, and looked at some of the other battles. Some were still going on, while others were talking to their lab people.

Inside, Professor Oak handed me a pokedex and five pokeballs. "Here you are. I must ask; what are you planning to do? Will you challenge the gyms, or enter in contests?"

My face lit up. "Oh I want to enter in contests. The feeling of seeing your pokemon taking the breath away from the audience, then dazzling them with their power." I sighed, lost in my own little dreamland.

He chuckled. "Well, you best be on your way then. I hear they're holding a contest in Oreburgh. It would be a good place to start."

I nodded. "Thank you." I ran out the door, my spirits high. "Oreburgh City, here I come!"