Leaf begins her journey without much fanfare. It's simply her day to go off - her and Blue's, she reminds herself. When she looks around her room, it's not to stall for time but to remember every inch of the place she called home for the last ten years. She stands from her desk and moves through it; she trails her hands along the row of Pokémon-related books on her spring green bookshelf, then takes a seat on the yellow spotted rug and toys with the NES's controller. On the television, there's a movie - she watches it for a few minutes, distracted by the sudden change to color, and feels her heart squeeze when she realizes it's the Wizard of Oz.
What a bad movie choice for going out.
She slips down the stairs and rushes to her mother, wrapping her arms around her wide, warm shoulders. Her mother laughs and takes off her hat, petting the hair beneath it, and Leaf buries her head into her mother's soft bosom.
"Right." Her mother takes a deep breath, and Leaf looks up. They're both having a miserable time trying not to cry, now, even though Leaf knows she has to be strong for her mother.
"Right," her mother repeats and smiles. "All girls dream of traveling. It said so on TV."
Leaf nods slowly, stepping back. Her fingers curl into her mother's blouse, and she almost wishes she didn't have to go. Almost, because she's been waiting a long time for this. Her mother gives her a look over, squabbles with her hair a little, then places the hat back on her head and sighs. Her slightly wrinkled hands, soft from years of mothering, lay on her lap.
"Professor Oak, from next door, was looking for you."
She nods again, kisses her mother on the cheek, and heads out. It occurs to her, two steps from the Oak lab, that she didn't say anything through the whole ordeal. She tries to squeak out a word for herself, but it warbles and - well, she decides it was probably for the best that she hadn't talked. She wipes the last tears edging her eyes from the effort, then peeks inside.
There's Blue, waiting at the opposite end, but no sign of the Professor. She heads in regardless, giving her old friend a small wave as she approaches. He doesn't return it, and Leaf tries not to let the disappointment show on her face.
"What, it's only Leaf?" Blue sighs, pressing two fingers to his forehead. Leaf imagines he must be thinking where is that old coot now, but nods.
"Mom told me Professor Oak was looking for me. Is he here?"
Blue gives her a look that asks, does it look like he is? Leaf feels her cheeks heat up, both out of embarrassment at her stupid question and anger at his attitude, and he laughs with a shake of his head. It isn't friendly.
"Gramps isn't around."
"Then I'll find him." A look of surprise registers on Blue face, and Leaf turns on her heel and heads out of the lab. She stretches outside of the lab, looks around, and starts her search.
None of the residents can point her to where the old man might be. She stands at the edge of town and frowns. Could he be out in the field-? She steps outside of town, and jumps at the sound of scuffling from behind her. Caution makes her jumpy than usual, and she gives a small shriek when a hand lands on her shoulder.
When she looks over, though, it's only the professor.
"Hey! Wait!" He pants, even though she's already stopped. Leaf tries to calm her racing heart and squeezes her hands together. "Don't go out! It's unsafe! Wild Pokémon live in tall grass!"
Leaf opens her mouth to respond, but the professor shakes his head firmly and wags a finger at her. She deflates neatly at it, shutting her mouth despite the fact she wasn't going to back talk about it.
"You need your own Pokémon for protection," he scolds.
"I know," she manages to get out before he can go on. "That's why I went looking for -"
"I know!" The professor continues. He turns her around and pushes her towards the lab looming in the distance, humming to himself. He's evidently pleased by whatever idea he's gotten in his head. "Here, come with me!"
Leaf doesn't have the heart to tell him that she doesn't have a choice, if he's pushing her along the way he is, so she keeps quiet until they get to the lab and he pulls her the rest of the way in. Blue gives a start when he sees them, crossing his arms over his chest and frowning.
"Gramps! I'm fed up with waiting!"
Professor Oak frowns back, but instead of in frustration - like Blue's - it's in confusion.
"Blue? Let me think..." Blue rolls his eyes and waits. Leaf wonders if it's always like this for them. "Oh, that's right, I told you to come! Just wait!"
Professor Oak turns to her, and Leaf takes a small step back.
"Here, Leaf!" He takes her hand and tugs her forward. She almost starts to ask a question, then thinks better of it. He'd probably answer it - "There are three Pokémon here."
"Where?" She glances around, but only sees the three balls sitting on the table. Professor Oak laughs, but her embarrassment comes from Blue's snickering behind his hand. She glares at him, and Professor Oak clears his throat with much amusement.
"The Pokémon are held inside these Pokéballs," he explains as he motions to them.
"Oh." She feels a little stupid now. Her old friend looking at her like she's stupid doesn't help. Leaf struggles for something else to say, and comes up with a simple enough question: "How did you get them?"
"When I was young," Professor Oak sighs as he turns to the table and smiles at the three pokémon, "I was a serious Pokémon Trainer. But now, in my old age, I have only these three left."
He pauses, then turns to her. "You can have one."
Leaf can't help it; she gapes a little. Really, she had come for a Pokémon to begin her journey with but - one of such great improtance to the professor -
"Go on," the kind old man coaxes, "choose one!"
"Hey! Gramps! No fair!" The voice of her soon-to-be rival interrupts her shock, and the two of them look at him. "What about me?"
"Be patient, Blue!" The professor gruffs at his grandson. Blue rolls his eyes. "You can have one, too."
Leaf bites her lip - Blue had been waiting here longer than her - and turns to him to say, "You can choose first."
"Heh, I don't need to be greedy like you. I'm mature!" She flinches at the barbed words and, instead of feeling angry like she wants to, feels an ache in her chest instead. Blue either pretends not to notice or doesn't, because he shrugs towards the table. "Go ahead and choose, Leaf!"
So she does. She studies them in their pokéballs, and Oak chuckles at her careful consideration.
"Bulbasaur is a grass-type and very easy to raise. Squirtle is a water-type and is one worth raising. Charmander is a fire-type, and you need to be patient when raising it."
Grass, water, and fire. Easy to raise, worth what struggle there might be, and patient. Leaf reaches for Charmander's ball, then spares a glance towards Bulbasaur and takes that one instead. The pokémon smiles at her through the translucent red, and she feels one of her own growing.
Blue takes her place when she steps back, marvelling at the pokéball, and without a hint of hesitation she notices him take the charmander's ball.
"I'll take this one, then!" He studies it proudly. "It looks a lot tougher than yours."
"I guess," she mutters, but holds her new bulbasaur close to her chest and kisses its pokéball. Saurette, she decides. Her name is Saurette. Oak smiles when she tells him so and nods; no doubt he's feeling the nostalgia of getting his first pokémon and naming it something. Blue, she notices, doesn't name his.
"Wait, Leaf!" Blue calls as she turns away. She pauses, looking over her shoulder with a feeling of dread beginning to creep up her arms. "Let's check out our Pokémon! Come on, I'll take you on!"
"Oh, for Pete's sake..." Oak sighs as Leaf hesitantly lets out Saurette. He shuffles closer to her and lays a hand on her shoulder; it's warm and calloused, and she's reminded that yes – this old man used to be one of the greatest pokémon trainers in Kanto. "Leaf. You've never had a Pokémon battle before, have you?"
"No, sir." She hadn't even seen one before. Blue laughs, but she knows he's in the same boat. Grandson of the professor or not. "A Pokémon battle is when trainers pit their Pokémon against each other. The trainer that makes that knocks out the other trainer's Pokémon first wins."
At her worried look, Oak laughs. "It isn't so hard, Leaf, and they enjoy it. It's also easier to experience than to hear about, so why don't you give it a try?"
She's not completely sure of its safety, but goes for it anyway. Their pokémon exchange blows, but Saurette's faster; Charmander goes down, and Leaf bounces on the balls of her feet.
"We did it!" She returns her bulbasaur, just as Blue groans that he picked the wrong pokémon. "Good job, Saurette."
"I'll make my Pokémon battle to toughen it up!" Blue returns his fainted charmander, and Oak heals the both of them. "Leaf! Gramps! Smell you later!"
And out he goes. Leaf watches with a heavy mixture of disappointment and happiness, then thanks the professor and heads out herself.