It just so happens that this part of the story begins and ends with me standing.
You may be thinking 'Yeah, so what?'

Well, I wish I thought like that.

I really do.

I always presumed that my journey would have been easy.
I wished the same as any other kid about becoming the 'master.'
I heard about countless others. The legends.

And of course, there was the original, Ash Ketchum. He was always the most talked about. But then apparently he just disappeared.

I think he's still out there.

He has to be. He was the master. He still is the master.

Unlike the Prof. He was a completely different kettle of fish.

He was a shell of his former self. You could tell.
You could also tell from his appearance that his life had left many footprints on his face.

Heel marks were stubbed into his cheeks. Angry shoeprints scarred his chin.
His eyes were scratched and his skin was stretched.

His face was gaunt; cheekbones grasping at air. His overall appearance seemed one of complete exhaustion yet he walked in a rushed pace.
Always muttering, fingers twiddling.

He was a paradox. Ran like clockwork but looked like an overworked clock.
Nuts and bolts missing. Obvious flaws.

But still somehow ticking away.

His hair was grey, his eyes were brown and his fingers were finger coloured.
They were flecked with the world and experiences.
As was his mind.

His Lab was a fine example of that. It was a magnificent building.

In essence, it was the heart of the town.

A giant spherical building hoisted into the air and supported by giant glass beams, it almost looked like it was floating if you viewed it from a distance.

It was completely white which I can't understand. It was spotless all the time; there wasn't a mark on it.
Which, when looking at the dishevelled appearance of the Prof, almost begs belief.

It had several symmetrical access stairways leading down from it, which would change colour as soon as you stepped on them.
They supposedly picked up on your mood.

If you were angry, they would glow a brilliant cherry red.
If you were relaxed, they would shine a subtle soft yellow.
Even if you were nauseous, they would adapt and change into a swampy colour of green.

It was beautifully unique.

Surrounding the Lab was a giant circular lake, complete with exotic water lilies and water fountains.
It was supposedly filled with water pokémon but fishing was strictly forbidden.

Rumour has it that one time; a fisherman broke the rules and fished there in the dead of night.
The result was him hooking an alarmed Tentacool, which I've heard looks a blue jellyfish-like pokémon.

It promptly wrapped him up its tentacles and didn't let him go until morning, where upon he was found, arrested and sent to do community work at a nearby Day Care Centre.

But despite its impressive appearance, the Lab was built in controversial circumstances.

Unlike Prof. Elm's, which was modest in size and pretty ordinary looking, the new Lab was a spectacle and some spectacle at that.

It was amazing in both size and look.

And this scared the people of New Bark.

It took several meetings and votes for the build to get the go-ahead and even then, there was an air of suspicion about it. People talked about the meeting being rigged but nevertheless, the build took place.

And it worked. It was the hub of the town, and essentially placed us on the map.
People would travel from everywhere to see it and it made out town quite a bit of money.

Every night, it would glow a different colour and the circular shape would depict a face of different pokémon.
I remember as nine year old looking out of my bedroom window and seeing all sorts of unusual creatures that I didn't even know existed.
They didn't look real.

It messed with my sleep pattern, my head and my ambition to succeed in the world.

In a way, it was addictive torture.

So when the day came to get my first pokémon, I couldn't be more excited.

I remember climbing the stairs (which were fighting between nervous oranges and excited blues), but almost in a dreamlike state.

You know, where you want to run but you feel like you're sprinting in quicksand?

I remember knocking on the door of his lab and expecting the Prof. to open the door with a huge smile and a pokéball in his hand.

I expected too much.

He didn't answer. Well, he didn't until I continuously pounded on his door.
While I was heating his door with my first, he was probably waking up.
No one can be that moody if they've been awake for a while.

He finally opened his door and we chatted for a bit.

* A snippet of our chat *

Prof: "You better have a feckin' good excuse for knocking so many times!"
Me:"I-"
Prof: "Do you know what happened the last time someone almost battered my door down!?"
Me: "No, but I-"
Prof: "No! And I bet you don't want to find out do you!?"
Me: "Well no, but-"
Prof: "But NOTHING! That's it! Nothing! Now feck off!"

You should have heard him before then.
I stood there and tasted five minutes of swearing and verbal abuse.

It tasted almost metallic.

The door was slammed in my face. And to think, I was only fourteen.

I stared at that door for a good few minutes before swallowing down the lump that had formed in my throat, breathing in my sliced disappointed and attempting to walk home.

Pshh, some attempt Zen...

I couldn't even turn around.

It was only when the Prof. opened the door again that I snapped into life.
And he was wearing a lopsided smile.

And for the first time, I felt relieved. It was almost like a joke. A test of character.
I thought he would say something like, "Well done boy, you've passed the test! Sorry for shouting, I had to see if you could take it because believe me the world of Pokémon is far trickier than you could ever imagine! Come inside for a bite to eat and we'll sort you out with a pokémo-."

I say this of course, until something appeared between his feet.

Like, just appeared. I can't explain it any clearer.

It was a pokémon, nearly entirely gold in colour, except for its shoulder parts which were a dark oaky shade of brown.

It almost looked like a fox except it had arms and legs, hands and feet and an almost human character. It sat like a human too, slouched in a lackadaisical manner.

Both of its eyes were firmly closed, yet it looked up at me and I almost felt like it was searching my mind.

I was transfixed.

So much so, I only just heard the Prof. mutter 'teleport' and the next thing I knew, the thing had raised its hand, stretched out its three fingers and remained entirely still.

I continued to stare at it, intrigued, until I blinked.

And I was no longer looking at it.

I was looking at a floor.
And then it struck me. I was standing, in the exact same position.

Except I was no longer outside the Lab.

I was very much inside of our local Pokémon Centre...