My name is Howard Lee. I grew up in Verdanturf Town and was raised by my parents, Susan and Hendrick. We lived in a small but nice house on the edge of town.

The day I turned 12 years old I asked my parents if I could go to the professor in Littleroot town, so I could get a Pokémon and become a Trainer. They told me I could not become a Trainer, because I had to go to school, they told me that if I still wanted to become a trainer after I graduated that I could.

I was heartbroken, never to become a Trainer. For a long time I lived in a constant sadness. My dreams were shattered.

I never did become a trainer, instead, I went to school, and graduated, with top honors. Looking back, I am glad that I got an education instead of becoming a Trainer.

For a while after graduating, I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to become a Trainer anymore, because I grew out of liking to see them battle. I knew I wanted to do something that involved Pokémon, but there are so many occupations about Pokémon, and almost every job involves them in some way.

Eventually, I decided to further my education. I used the money my parents saved for me to go to Mauville University and learn about Pokémon.

Upon enrolling into the class, the professor, Mr. Stein had everybody show him their Pokémon, so he could get an idea on how well they already could raise Pokémon. I had no Pokémon, and Mr. Stein noticed this.

After class he called me over so he could talk to me. Nervously, I walked up to his desk ''Why did you enroll in a class about Pokémon, when you didn't have any?" he questioned.

I didn't have time to reply before he asked me to follow him into the room where he teaches students how to breed Pokémon.

The room was filled with many computers and machines. There were many graphs on the walls, and charts showing what Pokémon could successfully breed with each other .

He led me over to a machine with hundreds of Pokéballs in it, neatly stacked on many shelves behind a glass pane.

I was slightly startled when he asked me what my favourite Pokémon was. I began to get excited as I believed for a moment that he was going to give me a Pokémon.

I hadn't really thought about what pokemon was my favorite until now. 'I really like fire types' I thought ' and it should be powerful, but also loyal.' I was going to say Arcanine, but stopped myself short 'Arcanine is a good Pokémon, but its not my favourite. Maybe Houndour is my favourite? No, I don't like the dark type. I need more time to think about this.'

I told him I didn't know, but would think about it overnight. He gave me an understanding look, nodded, and told me I could leave.

'Is he going to give me a Pokémon?' I thought to myself again as I walked back to my dorm. I didn't let myself believe that he was going to just give me a Pokémon.

That night when I got home and looked up a lot of different fire types and compared them. For the longest time I couldn't decide between a Ninetales, a Magcargo, a Blaziken, or an Infernape. Eventually, I made a decision.

At the end of class the next day I walked up to Mr. Stein's desk and told him "I know what my favourite Pokémon is." He nodded and asked me once again to follow him to the machine filled with Pokéballs.

"Well, what is it then? I can't read minds." he demanded. "Blaziken." I replied, confidently.

He walked over to the machine's interface and typed something in before saying "You're in luck, we still have a Torchic left."

"You're giving me a Pokémon!?" I exclaimed. I entertained the idea that he would, but didn't allow myself to fully believe it.

"Of course, you are going to need one if you really want to learn about them." he stated.

"The only one we have left is a female however, you could wait a few days though and possibly get a male, we have an egg in the incubator, this one also does not like to be inside a Pokéball ." he continued.

"No, I want this one." I replied. I didn't really care about the gender, and I didn't like it when people kept Pokémon in Pokéballs, unless it was necessary.

"Alright Mr. Lee..." he said as he pressed some buttons on the machine"... I present you with your very own Torchic, raise it carefully and she will eventually become a Blaziken."

He handed me the Pokéball containing my new Pokémon, which I carefully placed into my bag.

"Give her a nickname, or don't, it's up to you. I look forward to seeing how well you can raise this Pokémon." he said, then told me I could go home.

My mind raced as I walked back to my dorm.

I sat at the edge of my bed, staring deeply into the Pokéball in my hand. Many questions raced through my mind as I thought about what the Pokémon inside might be like.

' Will she be friendly? How will she react when she sees me? Will she burn the entire building down?'

Eventually I decided that I shouldn't wait any longer. I pointed the Pokéball away from me and pressed the button on its front.

Bathed in white light the Torchic materialized on the floor near my feet. She looked very confused about her surroundings, which was understandable.

Then she looked directly at me, and gave me a questioning look before she said "Chic?"

I crouched down close to the Torchic and held my hand out for her to see. At first she was very cautious and watched my hand carefully. After a a minute or so she decided I wasn't trying to hurt her and hopped onto my hand.

After she was on my hand I slowly stood up and sat back down on the bed. I set her down next to me on the bed and watched her stumble around happily.

For a while I watched her explore the room before she stumbled back to me and laid down by my feet. To her surprise , picked her up and set her down on the bed where she fell asleep contentedly.

That evening I took the time to see what Torchic eat on the internet, and made her a nest out of a cardboard box that i cut in half and a small blanket folded up in the bottom. I put the nest on the floors by my nightstand, thinking it to be a fairly comfortable place.

After making the nest I returned to the internet and looked up any information I could find on raising a Torchic.

When it was time to go to bed, I placed the Torchic it the makeshift nest and laid down to go to bed.

Once I turned the lamp next to my bed off the Torchic immediately started crying. I turned the light back on and comforted it until it fell back asleep.

I had to do the same thing three times over before I went to the internet to see what was wrong. I read that Torchic are very afraid of the dark and cannot sleep in it unless they are next to somebody.

I thought about putting her back in the Pokéball, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I wasn't happy about it, but I decided to let her sleep next to me on my pillow. I wasn't worried about crushing her because I knew I didn't move much when I slept.

While I didn't like the idea of a pokemon sleeping next to my head, I quickly got over it as I fell into a deep sleep.