Author's Note: Sorry about some of the writing being in the brackets. I wrote it all out as being in the greater-than and less-than signs, but the website decided it didn't want to let me copy those over. So if things are in the brackets {like this}, it's to identify a Pokemon talking through telepathy, like some do in the series.
Green. That was all she could see, for the most part. A rolling field of green, with some red and yellow flowers dotted around her. The sun shown blissfully from the cloudless sky, bathing her face in the warmth it always did. A cool breeze flowed around her as she stood there, the grass tickling her bare feet lightly as she walked. The large, peaceful river in front of her filled the air with a pleasant sound, its crystal-clear waters allowing full view of the few Goldeen swimming through it.
As she walked forward to the river, the sounds of a nearby flock of Pidgey filled the air. Her attention shifted that direction, knowing that if that were really what she was hearing, then something would have had to startle them enough to leave their nests.
She walked downstream a little, finding a smooth, fallen tree to serve as a bridge. She didn't much like swimming, having never really learned how. She slowly made her way across the tree, using the branches jutting out from the sides as rails to ensure she didn't slip and fall into the water.
Getting across the stream was no problem. She hopped to the ground when she got to the other end, making sure to take extra caution to not land on the sharp roots of her makeshift bridge. She walked as quietly as she could, nearly on tiptoes, into the dense forest. Pidgey and Taillow chirped out their songs as she passed, though if they were startled or unbothered by her presence she couldn't even begin to guess.
Getting to around where she'd heard the flock fly off, she stopped. It was a large tree, one that she'd could see from across the river. An old Oak tree. It was beautiful, the way the branches curved gracefully, adorned by fluttering green leaves.
But there was one thing that caught her attention. Something glowing in one of the branches, something that she hadn't noticed by the river, and she was sure that it was what had startled the flock into fleeing the tree.
A child-sized figure stood on one of the branches. It was covered, from the top of its head to the tip of its tail, in beautiful, short, fine pink fur. Its long, slender tail coiled around the thick branch, long enough to wind around it a couple of times completely, and was at least twice the length of its body. It kept its balance on a pair of large, paw-like feet, which were about the same length as its torso if not a few inches bigger. Its head was wide and cat-like, with large, feline ears on the sides of its head. It looked down at her, with large, blue eyes, ones that seemed to smile at her when she got close.
"Mew!"
She jumped slightly when it let out its cry, still not believing what she was seeing. It really was a Mew, a real live Mew! She took a step forward, her eyes widening in joy as excitement filled her.
With its psychic powers, it floated up into the air, quickly flying away from her. It was letting out a small giggle, stopping when it got a few feet away.
She knew what it wanted. She'd read up on the child-like Pokémon in the past. Though all records said it was extinct, she couldn't deny what she was seeing at that very moment. "Wait for me!" she shouted as she chased it, giggling lightly.
She followed it deeper and deeper into the woods, not caring that she would get lost. She just wanted to play with it. That's all it wanted, after all. But before she knew it, it started to rain lightly. But again, she didn't care.
That was until the wind picked up.
It was a light rain at first, but it was quickly developing into a harsh storm. She couldn't explain it, but it seemed there was just something unnatural about this storm. Perhaps because moments before, there wasn't even a cloud in the sky? It had gone from perfectly sunny day to terrible storm in a matter of seconds. Things like that just weren't normal.
She heard the Mew cry again, before the world around her was suddenly tinted a light pink. Her feet were knocked from under her, causing her to fall, but she never connected with the ground. A thin sphere, a vibrant pink orb, had formed around her, lifting her into the air. Mew had saved her, knowing the torrential downpour would soon be too much for the little girl.
It flew in front of her, holding its little paws out to its sides, like it was opening itself to a hug. It took a different action, however, and she could feel waves of soothing energy flowing through the bubble, sinking straight into her mind. Hypnosis, she knew. It was putting her to sleep.
Before her eyelids slid shut, there was one final thing that she noticed. The Mew seemed to shift, its form taking on a more violet color. It got bigger, and more humanoid, but still kept its main shape. As her eyes closed, she could have sworn its eyes changed from the playful, calm pools of blue they'd been before, to a deep purple. They also seemed like an angry glare.
{Hey! Wake up! Wake up!}
There was a slight pressure on her chest. It felt like a small animal was sitting on her. She could distinctly make out the shapes of four little paws on her chest, and a fluffy, vulpine tail brushing across her face.
She rolled over, causing whatever was on her to fall off. The voice that had spoken into her head telepathically let out a surprised cry. Moments later, she felt a small snout, nuzzling into her cheek.
{Come on, Sumi! He's waiting for you!}
The voice was high-pitched, like a child's. It was familiar, but she was still too tired to really focus. She felt something warm against her chest, warm and fuzzy, and quickly wrapped her arms around it. It let out a small gasp, probably of surprise.
A sudden sharp pain in her arm snapped her out of her sleep. She jolted up, the blankets thankfully catching what she was holding so she wouldn't end up throwing it by accident. She looked down at her arm, a small bite mark in it. It wasn't hard enough to break the skin, but it still stung a little bit.
{Finally. I'm sorry I had to bite you, but you weren't waking up!}
She focused her violet eyes down at the small animal sitting in front of her. Quickly reaching to her bedside table, she grabbed her brush, going through her deep crimson hair. "Zee, why wake me up? I was dreaming." She said in a tired voice.
Zee, the small, foxlike Pokémon sitting on her lap tilted his head with a small grin on its face. {I guess you don't want to start your journey today? You know, the one you've only been planning for the last year and a half?} he asked, bringing a paw up to clean the deep grey fur, paying attention to the crimson tips of his paws.
Sumi rubbed her eyes, trying to get the drowsiness out. "That was today?" she asked. She took a quick glance at her clock, the cute Poliwhirl-shaped device with the clock face where the swirl should have been. It was almost noon! "Oh no! The Professor's waiting for me!" she said, springing off of her bed to her feet. She darted around her room, brushing the rest of the way through her waist-high hair as she grabbed the cloths she'd decided to go on her journey in.
She pulled her royal purple tank top on, pulling the flared separated sleeves on and adjusting them until she was comfortable. She pulled her knee-high, ice-blue skirt with the royal purple trim on and using one of her black belts to buckle it up. To finish the outfit, she pulled on a pair of black, transparent socks with black dress shoes.
Zee pulled Sumi's blankets up with her mouth, effectively making her bed for her. She sat down, watching her human partner. Her deep grey fur, almost black, had been cleaned earlier this morning. Her small body was foxlike and lithe. Her head had a thick tuft of grey fur on the top, a splash of crimson on the tip, the tuft positioned between her large lupine ears. He was a special Pokémon, one that Sumi's father had brought back from a faraway land called the Unova region. He'd called him a Zorua, something that was hard enough to find in Unova, and nowhere to be found in Kanto, where she was from.
Sumi grabbed her backpack, the purple one with the patch of a Butterfree sewn onto the pouch. She knew she'd need it for what was going to happen.
Today was her tenth birthday. She was going to be going on her Pokémon adventure soon. She'd been talking to Professor Oak about it for months, getting ready for it for the past eighteen months He had decided that since she already had a starting Pokémon, her precious Zorua, he'd not worry about going to capture any of the starting Pokémon he'd normally get if anyone in Pallet was getting ready to leave on their journey. Zorua would be her starter.
She was admittedly scared, but she was also excited. This was something that every 10-year-old went through in her town, something every 10-year-old would dream of. It was her turn. She and her little Zorua would be setting off together.
There was just one thing standing in the way when she'd gotten downstairs.
"Happy birthday, sweetie!" her mom shouted as soon as she came down.
"Morning mom." Sumi said happily, coming down and sitting at the table. She figured her mom would have made her breakfast, the least she could do before she left home was spend some time with her.
Sitting at her spot on the table was a small box next to the large breakfast her mother had made her. Zee leapt up onto the table, starting to munch on a small bowl of Pokémon food that sat next to Sumi's plate.
"I can't believe you're already leaving home… You're still just a kid…" her mom said, coming up and sitting in the chair next to her.
"Yeah, but you knew this was coming, mom." Sumi said. She wrapped her arms around her mom, smiling, but there was a sadness to her smile. She'd been preparing, but she was still sad to leave her family.
Her mom giggled, grabbing the present on the table and holding it out to her. "Here, I wanted you to have this. My mother gave this to me before I started my journey at your age. I thought you'd like it." She said, watching her.
Sumi opened the small, blue box, taking out the contents of it. It was a black choker, a thin piece of leather with a figure of a violet-winged Beautifly hanging from it. She picked it up, smiling. "Thanks mom. I'll always treasure it." She said. Her mom pulled her hair up a little, mostly to expose her neck, while Sumi reached up and fixed it onto her neck.
"I got one for you too, Zee." Her mom said with a smile. She held up a small collar with the same emblem on it. "It was worn by my Charizard, back when she was just a little Charmander. You just need to adjust it if Zee ever decides he wants to evolve. You know, size change and all." Her mom said as she fastened the collar around Zee's neck.
Zee looked down at himself, a small smile on his face. He spinned around a couple of times, watching the little amulet swing back and forth. {It's pretty! Thanks!} He said with a large smile
Sumi went to work on her breakfast, admiring the choker and the collar as she did. It didn't take her that long, mostly because she was rushing to ensure she didn't take so long so she could get started on her journey.
When she was done, she stood up, bringing hers and Zee's dishes to the dishwasher. Zee followed at her side, leaping up to stand next to the sink as Sumi took care of their dishes, watching her.
It was a short goodbye. Sumi didn't want to stick around too long, knowing that if she waited, she'd have second thoughts about leaving, maybe decide not to leave at all. She didn't want that to happen.
She took a deep breath and let it out, looking down at Zee next to her. The little Pokémon looked back up at her with a confident grin, showing she was ready. Together, the two took off down the road. One quick stop at Professor Oak's lab, and then their journey was ready to begin.