It was a bright and sunny day. Not a cloud was to be seen in the sky. A slight breeze ruffled the leaves of the various trees in Twinleaf town. It was late morning, and people were just waking up and getting out of bed, as it was a Sunday. There weren't too many houses in Twinleaf, just more than a handful. Twinleaf was an out-of-the-way hamlet, near Lake Verity. Not many people visited this small town, and it's citizens were satisfied with their peaceful, albeit sleepy lives. Except for one.
Barry barreled down the stairs and out of his house at full speed, leaving a surprised mother in his wake. He sprinted down the street towards another house, which looked the same as his house on the outside. In fact, all the houses in Twinleaf looked the same from the outside. The only thing that differentiated them was the sign outside each one naming the residents. As Barry reached the house he was heading towards, he slid to a stop and stared at the house for a bit. He mumbled something to himself before entering the house. It sounded vaguely like, "I feel it. Today is going to be a epic day."
The inside of this house was not very different from his house either. On either side stood potted plants. In front of door were a few chairs, placed for optimal vision of the TV. On one of these chairs a woman was seated. On the far wall, one side had a staircase leading upstairs, while the other side had a kitchen. The woman was watching TV, so Barry shouted a quick hello before dashing up the stairs.
Lucas was watching a documentary on Pokémon and Professor Rowan, when Barry ran up the stairs and into his room, saying "There you are!" As he approached Lucas, he said "Did you watch the program on TV? Of course you did. Isn't Professor Rowan that really important guy who studies Pokémon? If we ask him, he'll give us Pokémon for sure." While talking, Barry looked around the room. Another potted plant stood in the corner across from where he had entered. There was a rug in the middle of the room, which had a perfect view of the television if one sat on it. Attached to the TV was a Wii, with single controller lying nearby. In another corner stood a bed, with the covers scattered around, evidence that Lucas had just woken up. Across the room from the bed, next to the TV, was a desk. As Barry's eyes fell on the desk, he let out an exclamation and asked, "Is that a new computer? Where was I? Right, I'll be waiting outside so that we can go get our own Pokémon. If you're late I'm going to fine you 10 million." Saying so, Barry left the room.
All the while, Lucas had been trying to get a word in, but hadn't been able to utter a syllable. Shaking his head and muttering about loudmouths and freaks, he got dressed and walked down the stairs. As he entered the room, his mother called out to him, "Lucas, Barry already left. That boy is always in a hurry. Oh yes, if you're going out, don't forget to take the gift that your father sent you." Saying so, she pushed a gift-wrapped package into his hands. Lucas wondered what it could be. His father was the Gym Leader in a far-off land, and only came home once in a while. This was the first time that he had ever sent a gift for Lucas. The package was cubical, and something was rolling around inside. Lucas tore open the wrapping paper and held the brown box to his ears and shook it. It sounded like a ball rolling around inside. He brought the box away from his head and eagerly opened it. He had an idea of what it could be. His father caught many Pokémon while training, and perhaps that was what the gift was. A Pokémon of his own!!
Lucas was afraid to even think of that. He hadn't been allowed to go on his journey as his father felt that there should always be a male in the house. As a result, he did not have any Pokémon of his own. There were wild Pokémon in the fields outside Twinleaf, but they were mainly Starly and Bidoof, neither of which interested him. As his trembling hands took off the lid, he almost dropped it in surprise. Lying at the bottom of the box was, indeed, a Poké Ball. The red and white sphere beckoned temptingly to him, and he placed the lid aside. With a deep breath he lifted the ball out of the box and pressed the button in the middle to enlarge it. His mother was beaming as she watched him. He threw the Poké Ball and it opened up with a flash of red light which took the shape of a bipedal creature. It was orange in color and looked like a dinosaur. The tip of it's tail was engulfed in a small flame. As it stretched its arms up, it cried, "Chaaarrrr!!" Then it looked up at Lucas and smiled. Lucas smiled back at Charmander, who then jumped into his arms. He could already feel a bond forming between the Pokémon and him.
His mother said, "I can see how happy you are to finally have your own Pokémon. You deserve it, Lucas, for having been patient all these years. Your father has changed his mind about having a male at home at all times. You can leave if you want to now." She gave Lucas a big hug and then stood back to watch her son bond with his first Pokémon.
Lucas was thrilled to have his own Pokémon. He could finally leave on his journey! The very thought gave him shivers of excitement. He looked back at Charmander to see that the lizard had gone to sleep in his arms. Lucas decided that the poor Pokémon had travelled a long distance and was probably very tired, so he recalled Charmander into the Poké Ball and gave his mother another hug. Now he could go show Barry that he already had a Pokémon. True, that was a little immature for the sixteen year old, but sometimes it was okay to indulge oneself. Both boys were the same age, and had grown up together. This was the inspiration for a friendly rivalry, which was healthy in the fact that it kept both of them on their toes. Neither wanted to let the other outdo him, and so both worked hard to never let that happen. More often that not Lucas would win against Barry, but Barry never gave up trying. Coupled with his over zealous personality, this meant that Lucas was always involved in some sort of competition or the other. Over the last year, Lucas had grown an inch taller than Barry, which peeved the latter off, even though Barry stood at a respectable 5' 9".
Lucas left his house and walked down the street towards Barry's house. There were a few houses on either side of the street. People were up and about already. Most were adults, on their day off, but there were also some little kids, playing about in the gardens that were in front of each house. Twinleaf truly was estranged from the rest of the world. This particular scene was as familiar to Lucas as the back of his hand. It was the same every week since he had been born. People leading quiet lives with none of the sounds that were common in urban settings. But now Lucas was going to leave! He would be able to see the whole world! He would battle other trainers, compete in the Pokémon League and become the Champion!
He was broken out of his thoughts by the sound of running feet. He stopped and looked around him. He was on the very outskirts of town. While he was pre-occupied with day dreaming, he had crossed Barry's house. He turned and jumped to the side just Barry tripped on a rock and tumbled onto the very spot he had been standing on. Lucas held out a hand to help Barry up, while using the other hand to cover the smirk on his face. "Barry, you need to learn to control yourself. Slow down once in a while."
"Where were you headed off to, Lucas? You had a dazed look in your eyes and you weren't even responding when I called out to you."
"Barry, I want to show you something. My Dad sent it to me as a gift today." With that, Lucas took out his Poké Ball and threw it, revealing Charmander. Barry gave a start upon seeing the Pokémon. He bent down and peered at Charmander. Charmander looked back at Barry and fired an Ember into his hair. Barry jumped and started running around in circles trying to put out the fire in his hair with his hands. Lucas laughed and picked up some snow off the ground with both his hands. He walked towards Barry and dumped the snow onto his head. Barry let out a sigh of relief and slumped onto the ground as the fire was extinguished. After a second of lazing on the ground, he jumped up and pointed a finger at Lucas. "You told your Pokémon to do that, didn't you? Hmph. I should have known. You would do something like that. Just because you got a Pokémon before me. You wait and see, I will be the Champion one day."
"Oh shut up. I didn't tell Charmander to do anything of the sort. You were looking at him in a weird way, which probably ticked him off. If anyone, it's your own fault. Let's get going, shall we?"
Barry nodded in the affirmative and started walking towards Route 201. Lucas looked at Charmander, who smiled back and gave him a wink and a thumbs up. Lucas laughed and picked Charmander up. Charmander snuggled up against Lucas and quickly fell asleep again. Lucas recalled him, and ran to catch up with Barry. He felt at the top of the world at the moment, with a great Pokémon in his pocket, and an entire journey ahead of him.
Please read and review. Let me know what you think. I don't own Pokémon