Chapter 1: First Choice
It was a warm spring morning, the sun's harsh rays just starting to peek in through the open basement window. A girl, well more of a young woman actually, lay on the floor, staring up at the constellation painted ceiling. She waited until the light reached the top of her desk before deciding that it was late enough to begin the day. She was already wearing a pair of long worn jeans and a black tank top, but she reached over to the chair and picked up her jean jacket, hand embroidered with vines, flames, stars and moon. She picked up the almost empty backpack, slung it over one shoulder and crept up the creaky stair, keeping to the edges to prevent noise.
She wasn't being quiet to let her foster parents sleep just to be nice, she honestly didn't want them to know she was leaving. They definitely wouldn't allow her to go to the professor's house to get her starter pokemon. They didn't like pokemon all that much and basically looked down on anyone who thought to use or befriend them. If it had been a few years earlier they might have been more accepting of their foster daughter's dream of traveling, and training pokemon, but the years had not been kind and the little farm was struggling to just make ends meet. Pokemon were just an extra mouth to feed.
Gabrielle snuck outside, squinting in the light. Swiftly she ran towards the orchard, to get beneath the cover of the trees. Reaching up the teen grabbed a tiny green apple for her breakfast before starting the mile long run it would be to reach the road. Since she made this run at least once a day she was barely winded by the time she stopped. Now only four miles stood between her and her new pokemon.
She stuck the apple in her mouth while she pushed her long straight black and violet streaked hair into a high ponytail. What pokemon would be the best for me? There aren't that many to choose for a starter but hopefully I'll pick the right one. When Professor Hemlock had received the starter pokemon for the summer he had posted a list of which ones were available, but Gabe had refused to look. That way I won't be disappointed if the one I want is gone. By the time she reached Hemlock's house the apple was gone and even though it was still morning the day was already starting out to be a hot one.
She opened the door silently, and walked into the Lab. Already a few other new trainers were waiting for Professor Hemlock to let them choose. Most stood in clumps, whispering to each other, but there were a few who stood by themselves. She walked over to an empty corner after signing in, keeping her eyes to the floor.
She knew by now that her eyes odd color was a least a small reason as to why her friends were few and far between. They were mostly devoid of all color except for around the edges of her irises, where a hint of violet could be seen. Demon's eyes, was what was whispered when no one thought she could hear.
Gabe looked up as Professor Hemlock, a tall broad-shouldered man with slightly greying black hair and warm, yet sharp blue eyes, and another figure walked in. She smiled when she saw the smaller figure was Briar. Briar Hemlock was one of her only friends in the small village and the professor's nephew. He was tall for his age too but in a lanky sort of way, with the hereditary dark hair, and his mother's amber colored eyes. He smiled when their eyes locked causing her to smile back, before mimicking two of the talkative girls across the room. That produced one of the silent laughs the two best friends had perfected over the years.
It was strange and a little unnerving how well the two knew each other. It seemed that they could read each other's minds, though neither of them had tested positive for any psychic powers. Briar put up with and even seemed to understand Gabe's odd ways, sometimes even joining in with her. She in turn understood and accepted his need to see and act on the silly side of life, most of the time ignoring any serious problems faced. They were two sides of a coin, complete opposites yet continuously connected.
"Today is the day each of you will receive your starter pokemon. For most of you this means the end of you time in our village for a long while at least. You should have thought hard about the pokemon you will choose," Professor Hemlock shot a meaningful look at Gabe, knowing full well her ignorance of the choices. "Each pokemon has their own merits and will help their trainer grow as much as they will. To determine the order in which the pokemon will be chosen I have given each person a number and will randomly choose the numbers."
The first number called was one of the girls Gabe had mimicked. Her choice was a vulpix. The next was a boy at least three years younger than Gabe's 16, and his choice was an ekans. When the next name was called, Gabe was surprised to hear it was hers. She walked slowly up to the pokeballs that were lined up on a shelf in front of the group. She kept her eyes down so as to not read the sign telling which was which and lifted her hand about an inch above the balls. Her hand moved from the right to the left and was almost towards the end of the row when she stopped and picked up the ball under it. She walked back to her corner, clipping the pokeball to her special belt. When she met Briar's eye all she could say to his unspoken question was a simple shrug.
About a half hour later all of the new trainers had received their pokemon and were leaving. Briar met her outside and started walking with her back to the farm.
"So, what was your choice?" he asked.
The only answer she gave was another shrug. He sighed then smiled.
"Well can you tell me why you chose that one, then?"
"It felt right, I guess. I dunno, it's not something I can really explain. I just knew that was the pokemon for me. It's just one of those 'is' things." She smiled when Briar had finished the phrase with her. He knew her too well.
Briar looked down at the pokeball that contained his new ghastly. "Well don't you wanna see what it is?"
"Yeah, I guess it would be a good idea to at least know what I have before I get home. I mean, I don't think my foster parents are gonna like it that I have one, but not even knowing if it could be of any help on the farm? They'd have a fit." She unclipped the pokeball from her belt and let the pokemon inside it out. After the light had cleared a tiny brown pokemon with long ears and a bushy tail tipped a cream color, stood before them. It tilted its head to the side looking slightly confused. Gabe's eyes had widened slightly. She looked into Briar's smiling eyes.
"I got an eevee? That was one of the choices?"
Briar laughed at her shocked look. "Yup. Eevee was a choice. Ya would have known that if you looked at the list." He glanced up at the sun to check the time. "I better get back. I still have a few chores left today and it's getting late. Talk to them again about letting you go since you have your pokemon already. If they still don't agree just come with me anyway." He turned and walked back the way they had come.
"Right like that'll work," she called after him. She knew it was getting late and if she didn't get her chores done quickly there would be hell to pay. Hell for both her and the eevee that walked peacefully by her side.