Ten Years Later...
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! I groaned and hit the alarm clock with my hand. Why am I up so early? It's the start of summer vacation. I rolled over and saw the date function on my clock. Oh. I jumped out of bed and began throwing on clothes. Jeans and a t-shirt were fine. I grabbed the bag I had packed a few weeks ago in excitement, and turned to face my room. I would never have to return to this lavender prison, filled with material possessions , mostly Pokedolls. I shivered. Pokedolls were hideous mockeries of the real creatures they portrayed, and today I would finally own one.
I ran down stairs, singing out loud, holding an empty Pokeball in one hand, and my brand new trainer card in the other.
"I never thought my life could be, anything but catastrophe, but suddenly I begin to see, a bit of good luck for me," I sang skipping around my house, "Cause I've got a golden ticket!" I screamed and kissed my trainer card, "I've got a golden twinkle in my eye!"
My mom walked downstairs in her bathrobe, lavender like everything else in the damn house, and watched me jumping around singing. She smiled softly. I ran up to her and hugged her, still singing.
"I never had a chance to shine, never a happy song to sing, but suddenly half the world is mine, what an amazing thing!"
My mom rolled her eyes and clamped a hand over my mouth, "I'll go get dressed real quick, and drive you out to the breeder's house. Just wait a second."
She climbed back up the stairs, and I began nervously tap dancing until she came back down. So I was two times a freak. I could talk to Pokemon, and sing and dance. What's your point? Ten minutes later, my mom came back down the stairs, walking as slow as a Torkoal. Or at least that's what it seemed like to me. She had quickly brushed her hair and thrown on some sweats.
"Your father's staying home," she told me, "and I'll wait in the car. I'd break out in hives if I went in."
I nodded excitedly, my head almost snapping off. My parents had forced me to stay home until I was sixteen. I retaliated by randomly blurting facts about gym leaders at them. I had wanted to drive all the way out to Littleroot Town to get a normal starter, but my mom refused to drive that far. Instead, we were going to the breeding center in my small home town that was located right outside of Petalburg City.
I ran out of the house and jumped into the side door of my mom's minivan. My mom got in the driver's seat and smirked at me, "Did you forget something?"
I thought hard but couldn't think what I'd forgotten. My mom threw a granola bar at me.
"You forgot breakfast. You might want this too," she said and handed me a packet of Pokemon food, "For your new little friend."
I smiled, "Thanks mom!"
It must have been hard for her to go down to the Pokemon store to get this. After so many years without being around Pokemon, she had become somewhat frightened of them. We drove in silence, mostly because if my mom tried to say something, she'd start crying, and if I tried to say something, I'd start singing. I looked over at my mom and tried to make a picture of her in my mind. She had blonde hair like me, but her eyes were brown. I wanted to memorize her face so I wouldn't forget her on my journey, but she noticed me staring at her and I had to look away.
Finally, we arrived at the breeder's center. I jumped out of the car without saying anything, and ran for the door.
"Have fun!" my mom called.
I opened the door, and was greeted by an older woman who looked to be in her late forties. She was wearing a yellow dress, and had big brown eyes that made her look constantly frightened.
"Welcome," she said smiling at me, "I'll take you to see what we have for sale."
I followed her, nervously feeling the money in my pocket. I hoped it was enough. She led me down a hallway, and showed me the way to a huge room. In the room, were tons of cages, each holding a newborn Pokemon.
"You can go ahead and look around," the lady told me, but I was already gone.
"Pick me! Pick me!" every Pokemon was yelling.
Even though there weren't many people in the room, it was very loud. The air was filled with conversations about who would have the best trainer and who was going to get left behind. I paused at a display filled with Dratini, but left when I saw the price tags. I walked around the room in a circle, trying to find a Pokemon that felt right for me. Finally, I came to the last booth. There were many different Pokemon on it, and they didn't seem to have any kind of similarities. I found one of the breeders and tapped him on the back.
"What's different about those Pokemon?" I asked.
He shrugged, "Those are the rejects. If no one adopts them here, they'll be sold as test subjects or to a farm."
I shivered, but he turned away and didn't seem upset at all. By asking around, I found out that most of the rejects were there because they were too small or sick, and probably wouldn't live much longer, anyways. I still stubbornly decided to look at them.
One cage held an Azurill. She was laying on her side and breathing heavily. Her eyes were glazed over. I felt tears in my eyes and continued to the next cage. Here, I saw a small Elekid. He glared at me and tried to bite me. I flinched away. Most of the cages had Pokemon with similar problems, but in the last cage was a Pokemon I didn't know. It didn't seem to have anything wrong with it, so I tried to talk to it.
"Hey!" I called trying to get his attention.
The blue and black Pokemon looked around to see who was calling him. His tail flicked back and forth.
"Hey!" I said again, "Over here!"
He looked over at me with wide eyes, "Are you talking to me?"
"Yes," I said nodding, "What kind of Pokemon are you?"
"I'm a Shinx," he replied, "How can you understand me?"
I shrugged, "I don't know. Why are you over here?"
"My parents rejected me. The breeder figured something was wrong with me," he said nervously. I suspected he might be hiding something. Still...I felt like something about him clicked with me. I looked at the price tag. Only 200 Poke. Well, he was cheap.
"How would you like to go on my journey with me?" I asked.
"Do you mean it?" he looked like he was going to pass out.
I nodded, "Sure. I want you to be my first Pokemon."
He opened his mouth to respond, but couldn't make any noise. Then I heard, a squeaking sound. He opened his mouth again, and started to sing.
"I used to think baby you loved me, now baby I'm sure..." he continued singing for a few minutes.
I walked away to get a breeder to open the cage for me. The breeder looked at me seriously, "Are you sure? He's kind of strange."
I looked at the Shinx and saw that he was now trying to moonwalk around the cramped space in his cage.
"Yeah, I'm sure."
The breeder opened the cage, and the Shinx jumped into my arms.
"Best friends forever!" he yelled and wiggled around excitedly.
I checked out, my pocket still full of money. I held up the Pokeball to put him inside, but he started whimpering.
"Please don't make me go in there!" he screamed, "I hate those. I'm scared of the dark."
People were starting to stare, so I started to head for the door.
"Please stop crying," I said soothingly, "I promise I won't put you in there."
"Pinky promise?" he held out a paw.
"Sure."
He wrapped his whole paw around my little finger. I sighed and walked him out to the car.
"Why isn't that in a Pokeball?" my mom asked as soon as I opened the car door.
"He's afraid of being in Pokeballs. He screamed when I tried to put him in one."
My mom sighed, reached into her pocket, and pulled out a nose plug. She attached it and said, "I knew something like this would happen."
We drove home so I could eat lunch and say goodbye to Dad, before I was ready to leave. Me and my new Pokemon didn't manage to get on the road until one in the afternoon, but he didn't seem to mind. He was still humming as we walked out of town.
"I forgot to ask you," I told him, "What's your name?"
He thought for a minute, "I don't have one. But you can call me the Great Ruler of All Who Live."
"How about Sparky?"
He shook his head, "I want a noble name."
"How about we compromise and name you after a god?"
"Sure. How about Thor?"
"That works," I said, and we headed for Petalburg City.
