Here in the Unova region, getting a starter Pokémon is like beginning a new era, taking your first breath, or being born again. It makes a person new and refreshed. Of course, when you're ten, you don't think of it that way, do you? All that you can think is how long you've waited for this moment; your journey with Pokémon! It is all so exciting for every new trainer! That, of course, is why I chose the always rewarding job of being a Pokémon Professor. Changing a child's life is always such a rewarding experience! However, the story that I am going to be telling is not about my journey as Professor Linden, this is the story of me as a young ten-year-old boy named Elijah, embarking on the journey that will change everything that he knew about himself. A journey that will make him an adult.
"Woohoo!" I yelled, "Today, I get to be a Pokémon Trainer! Yeah!"
It was just an average summer day; the Sun was shining, the air was thick, and it was perfect weather for swimming. However, I had something else on my mind. Today was the day that I had been waiting for my whole life, because today I was going to get a starter Pokémon from Professor Juniper's lab! Boy, was I excited. I just couldn't wait to start my journey as a Pokémon Trainer!
"Keep it down, Elijah, or you'll have to deal with your baby sister when she wakes up!" My mom said as she popped her head through my bedroom door. My baby sister Francesca was only two.
"Sorry Mom, I just can't wait to go to the lab!" I said, the tone of my voice escalating. My mother shushed me, but I just ignored her as I grabbed my backpack and skipped into the kitchen. After my mom fixed my crazy blond hair and made sure that I had everything packed, I put on my cap, said my goodbyes, and left on my bicycle to Professor Juniper's lab. After all, we only lived a few blocks away.
I was so giddy with excitement that I even fell off of my bike a few times.
Once I reached the lab, I set my bicycle against the sandy bricks and rushed inside, pushing away the door in front of me. The lab was very expansive and spacious, and had a very serious aura. There were a few men in white coats working on machinery and computers that all looked foreign to me. I felt very out of my element, but I had a feeling that everything would seem very strange and new to me on my journey. Wondering where I was supposed to go and how to get there, I approached one of the men and said in a hushed manner, as if I was in a library "Hi, I'm Elijah Linden, and I'm here to get my starter Pokémon today."
"Oh, of course," the man said in a warm, comforting voice, "Please, follow me Mr. Linden. Professor Juniper has been expecting you."
Doing as I was told, I followed the man into a much smaller room where there were already some Pokémon out of their Pokéballs. I looked around the cozy room, and I realized that I wasn't the only soon-to-be trainer there. There was Professor Juniper of course; the thin woman with warm green eyes, but there was also a girl that looked about the same age as me. She was playing with what looked like a very snobby grass Pokémon that did not seem at all interested in the girl. The girl was very pretty; she had large, intense brown eyes and crazy auburn hair tied into two pony tails restrained by a yellow bandana. She sighed as the Pokémon crossed its arms and went towards the Professor. The other Pokémon was a small blue otter-like Pokémon that had a very curious nature. It looked at the girl as if she were some strange, alien creature from Mars. It walked up to her and stood before her, looking up in awe. "Let's see, what Pokémon are you?" the girl asked as she held up a device that looked like some sort of tablet.
The girl pointed the device at the Pokémon, and the tablet said something inaudible to me. "Oh, so you're an Oshawott, right? And you know the moves Tackle and Tail Whip, huh? That's so cool!" the girl exclaimed, "How would you like to travel with me, Oshawott?"
The Oshawott smiled and ran around excitedly, and exclaimed, "Osh, Oshawott!"
"Well then I guess that's settled," Professor Juniper said, "Oshawott will be your first Pokémon!"
"Professor Juniper?" the man who showed me in here said, "Elijah Linden is here to see you about his starter Pokémon."
"Thank you, sir." Professor Juniper said, and with a nod, the man left. "Well hello there, Elijah. It's very nice to see you. I've been expecting you! I bet you're very excited to be here this fine morning. Well, without further ado, let's get started! But first… Olivia, would you like to introduce yourself to Elijah?" Professor Juniper said to the girl that was still on the ground playing with her Oshawott.
So her name is Olivia, and she's a new trainer, too! Olivia stood up, brushed off her purple dress, took out a Pokѐball, and said, "Oshawott, return!"
There was a red light that surrounded the Pokémon as it disappeared into its Pokѐball. Olivia carefully placed the red sphere into the bag that was slung around her shoulder. She then faced me, held out her hand, and as I shook it, she said, "Hey! I'm Olivia Newton. And you're Elijah, right? Hmm, well I'm going to call you Eli, is that okay? Of course it is! I don't even know why I'm asking. Anyways, I hope that you find a Pokémon that you like! You see, I have an Oshawott here. The other choices are-"
"Olivia, please. I'm the Professor here, right?" Professor Juniper said, relieved that Olivia had stopped talking, "Anyways, Eli. I have other things than just a Pokémon to give you. Here is your Pokédex and Pokéballs."
"Awesome! Now I have a Pokédex just like Olivia!"
"Yep!" Olivia exclaimed.
"Check out you're Pokédex, it's really quite cool. On it, you can check and see information on all different kinds of Pokémon here in the Unova region! It should really help you on your journey."
I slid open my Pokédex and pointed it at the grass Pokémon that Olivia was trying to play with before. The Pokédex screen then lit up with pictures and information about this Pokémon. The Pokédex then spoke, in a monotonous and robotic voice. It said, "Snivy, the Grass Snake Pokémon. Cool, calm, and collected, Snivy uses photosynthesis to collect energy with the leaf on its tail."
"Sni-VY!" Snivy said snootily as it turned its back to me.
"Well, it doesn't seem to like me," I said, disappointed, "Do you have any other Pokémon?"
"I'm afraid that somebody else came by earlier and took the other starter, Tepig, that we had. Well, I'll think of something. Just give me a minute; I'll be back right away!" Professor Juniper said as she sped away into another room.
"I'm sure that she'll be right back with another Snivy or something, Eli. Don't worry!" Olivia cheered, reading my emotions.
"I bet that you're right, Olivia," I said hopefully, "Hey, can I see your Oshawott?"
Olivia said yes and then brought out her Oshawott. I looked it up on the Pokédex and played with it until a thought dawned on me. "Hey Olivia," I said "Where are you from, anyway? I've never seen you around town."
"Oh yeah, well I live in Striaton City with my brothers Cilan, Chili and Cress. They're actually the Gym Leaders of Striaton City!" She cried with excitement.
"Wow, that's so cool," I said, "Maybe we'll get to battle them one day!"
Olivia and I made conversation and asked each other questions until Professor Juniper came back in with another Pokéball. "I can assure you, this is no regular occurrence. Usually things go so smoothly, so I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Eli. I had to call my good friend Professor Oak and have him transfer a Pokémon all the way from the faraway Kanto region. This little guy that you are about to receive is no common Pokémon in the Unova region, so I hope that you see this as a positive!" Professor Juniper smiled, and said "Without further ado, Eevee, come on out!"
From the Pokéball came an adorable, brown Pokémon. "Wow, how cool! I wonder what it is," I cried as I held up my Pokédex.
"Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon. Eevee is a unique Pokémon that can adapt to its environment by changing its form and abilities when evolving."
"According to what Professor Oak told me about Eevee, it has 7 different evolved forms! Depending on what it is exposed to, Eevee will evolve when it has reached a high enough level. Isn't that amazing?" Professor Juniper informed excitedly.
"Wow! Hey there, Eevee. What do you think of all of this? Do you want to travel with me?" I asked as I knelt down in front of the bushy brown Pokémon before me.
Eevee approached me and climbed into my lap, analyzing every inch of my body. It climbed up on its hind legs, and rested its front paws on my chest as it stared at me right in the eyes, as if searching my soul. It then curled up in my lap, as if showing approval. "So does that mean that I passed, Eevee?" I questioned.
Eevee looked up at me, and replied with a very astute "Eve, Eevee."
"Alright then, Eevee, Return," I commanded as I held out Eevee's Pokéball, but nothing seemed to happen. Eevee just crawled out of my lap and hissed at the Pokéball like an angry cat.
"How interesting," Professor Juniper observed, "Eli, there are certain Pokémon that dislike being in Pokéballs. There may be no reason for this, as us humans do not understand many Pokémon habits. Will you be okay with just carrying Eevee out of its Pokéball with you?"
Confused, I considered for a moment. What if I lost track of Eevee, or if it decided to wander off somewhere? What if somebody stole him while I wasn't paying attention? However, it is a huge privilege to have Eevee traveling with me as it is very rare in the Unova region… "Of course," I said to Professor Juniper, "Why wouldn't I? If Eevee doesn't like being in its Pokéball, that's cool with me."
"Eevee Eve!" Eevee said happily as it hopped onto my shoulder.
"That's settled then; you will go on your journey with Eevee. I hope you two get really strong, and battle your way to the Unova League!" Professor Juniper said.
As soon as Professor Juniper explained everything that there is to know about Pokémon to Olivia and me, she sent us off onto Accumula town, the next town over, which was about an hour walk. Determined to get through it before sunset, I started off on my journey, hoping for the best.
This sure would be great. It would be just me and Eevee, setting off on the trek of a lifetime. Of course, it was only just the two of us until I realized that Olivia was walking only a few feet behind me, trying to catch up with me slowly. Oh well, I thought, Olivia can do whatever she wants. I just want to get to Accumula town as fast as I can!
Olivia had other plans.
"Eli! Hey, Eli!" she called.
I could hear her, but since I was looking forward to a little bit of alone time, I just kept walking, picking up my pace. Hopefully she would eventually give up.
"ELI! Wait up!" Olivia yelled as she ran up to me and tapped me on the shoulder.
Sighing, I gave up and turned around to her. "What is it, Olivia?"
"Let's have a battle!" she exclaimed.