The grass moved gently on the large hill, a blue sky that seemed to go on forever taking over everything else. It was peaceful. Dozens of pokemon filled the grounds each one at complete peace. It was still, almost like a photograph save for the slight breeze stirring the grass. I walked ahead feeling drawn to something further ahead. Closer up I could see a small pink feline pokemon. It seemed to be watching something. I tried to get a better glimpse at it, but the dream just began to fade away…
I jerked awake with a gasp, catching myself from falling off the chair. I must have fallen asleep. What a strange dream. I'd never had one so sharp and clear in my mind before, almost burned in. It was beautiful, and rather peaceful. I wished I knew what that pokemon had been..
Glancing up I saw my mom and dad, Nurse Joy standing close by with a smile.
"Oh!" Embarrassed I got to my feet.
"Long day?" Nurse Joy asked kindly. I nodded, eyes fixed on the ground. Smiling my mom pulled me into her grasp.
"We'll take her home now. We'll be back in the morning for her ponyta."
"Have a good evening," Nurse Joy cheerfully answered.
At home I was quick to call up Ben and tell him to come over. I had to tell him what had happened. After all, it was his gift that gave me my first pokemon. It wasn't long before a knock on the door told me he was here. I raced down and threw open the door.
"Hey," Ben greeted me. The brunette towered over me. I wasn't small for my age, but Ben certainly made me feel that way with his height. Meeting his brown eyes wasn't easy.
"Hey Ben!" I gushed, "You know that pokeball you gave me? Well I used it. I caught my first pokemon! She's a ponyta. I don't have her with me right now though, Nurse Joy has to make sure her leg's set right." Ben placed a large hand on my shoulder.
"Whoa, slow down. A ponyta? How did this happen?" Ben asked, "I thought you were gonna wait and go to Pallet Town with me?" I blushed.
"I know. I didn't go to Pallet Town. I found a group of boys hurting this ponyta. She's pretty young actually, and they broke her leg. That's why she's still at the pokecenter. I caught her to rescue her." Ben frowned.
"You would have been in huge trouble if the ponyta hadn't been wild."
"I kinda realized that after it all happened," I said. He pulled me into a quick hug.
"You gotta be more careful Cara. It won't be easy as a trainer. I'm glad you're alright. And I'm excited to meet this new pokemon of yours!" I grinned.
"You can come with me to pick her up tomorrow!" Ben nodded. We chatted some more, still agreeing to wait for Ben to go together. Ben eventually dug out his electronics, tinkering away while we chatted. He did have a gift for it.
It was late when he finally left. I collapsed into bed exhausted from the excitement. It still didn't stop me from waking up early the next day, excited to pick up my ponyta. I dragged Ben out of his house still half asleep to come down with me. Nurse Joy looked surprised to see us showing back up so soon, but smiled in amusement at my enthusiasm.
"Is my ponyta alright? Can I see her now?"
"She's awake. Just keep in mind she's had a bad experience. She's gonna be a little skittish around humans at first, especially since she's just a baby." I had thought she looked young. Entering the room my ponyta had been entered in I watched as the young ponyta got to her feet, spindly long legs dancing underneath her as she pulled herself up and nervously moved away. I slowly moved a little bit closer, holding my hand out low for her to sniff.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you." The ponyta eyed me nervously. Smiling softly I moved a little closer.
"I'm not like those others that hurt you. I promise." Thinking for a moment I dug out a carrot I'd grabbed. I'd planned on using it to get her to follow me out of the pokecenter, but probably better to use it to gain her trust first. She sniffed the carrot hungrily, still watching me as she moved closer. Grabbing the carrot, she quickly began to chew it. I smiled.
"There you go." Slowly relaxing the little ponyta nuzzled into me. I couldn't stop the wide grin that formed on my face.
"Now what should I name you?" Petting her gently, I examined her. She was a little different from most ponytas. Ponytas mainly were golden, with their coat a soft sheen to match. This one was instead a pearly white, still blending in well with her fiery mane but not the same as the soft cream color most ponytas had. Thinking I smiled.
"How about Polaris? Your coat's as bright as the star that guides lost travelers." The ponyta nickered, nuzzling me happily. I chuckled.
"Polaris it is."
"Looks like you'll get along fine," Ben commented. Grinning I turned to him.
"I hope so!" With the most difficult part over with, earning her trust, getting her to follow me out and towards home was easy. It seemed Polaris was eager to stick with the one human she had deemed friendly. She was starting to look at Ben more and more, slowly moving closer to him, so I had high hopes it wouldn't remain that way. Arriving back at the house I let her into the back garden so she could munch on some grass while I looked for my parents. She seemed pretty happy in the large yard. Stepping inside I smiled, watching from the kitchen as Polaris curiously explored the area. Mom came up behind me and looked into the yard.
"She looks happy," she commented.
"Yeah," I grinned.
The week waiting for Ben's birthday seemed to stretch on forever. At least I had Polaris to keep me company. It was fun playing with my new ponyta, even doing a couple mock battles with my dad's weepinbell. At last however, the day came, Ben showing up bright and early. This time I was the one being dragged out half asleep, Ben nearly bouncing in his excitement.
"Mom, we're heading out!" I called.
"Alright. Just remember to keep in touch."
"I will!" Dashing up to my room I grabbed my pack and raced into the backyard. Polaris startled, ears flattening for a moment before she recognized me. I'd have to be more careful.
"Come on Polaris, we're going to Pallet Town," I explained. Ears perked Polaris trotted up to me. I rubbed her forehead gently and lead her out. I stopped quickly at the pokemart to buy some pokeballs, as with Polaris there was no reason to keep waiting to start catching pokemon. Waving farewell, I excitedly started down the path towards Pallet Town.
It wasn't a long walk thankfully, only a couple of hours. It was nice just walking with Polaris and Ben, the curious filly occasionally going over to investigate some bushes and grabbing some grass. A few times I saw a rattata or a pidgey, but I didn't have much luck catching either one. Perhaps it was for the best, as they weren't the strongest pokemon. A rustling in a nearby bush grabbed my attention, pulling me from my thoughts.. A pikachu suddenly darted out. Lighting up I decided to try again. I had to succeed here!
"Alright, let's try to catch it Polaris! Tackle!" Polaris' ears pricked up with the command and charged the small electric pokemon. The pikachu startled sparks of electricity beginning to dance in it's cheeks. The blow knocked it back but it still unleashed a thundershock.
"Dodge, Polaris!" Wheeling, back she got out of the way. I was just about to cry out for Polaris to kick the pikachu when she dashed in and struck it with her hooves, knocking it back. Figuring it was exhausted enough, I threw the pokeball. It shook for a couple moments, worrying me it wasn't as tired as I'd thought. This wouldn't be like catching Polaris. Thankfully it stopped, telling me it was caught.
"Yes!" I cheered. Triumphantly I spun around showing the pokeball to Ben and Polaris. "We caught pikachu!" Polaris sniffed the pokeball curiously for a moment before snorting. Ben looked jealous.
"Haven't even reached Pallet Town and you're already catching pokemon," Ben said. I shrugged.
"I was really lucky. I'll have to name it. I know. I'll call him Pooka, after another pikachu I know." Polaris whinnied her agreement. Ben sighed.
"How about we part ways for a little while? You and Polaris can go ahead," Ben suggested. I looked at him closely. It seemed me having two pokemon so quickly when Ben didn't even have one was bothering him more than he'd said. I nodded deciding to give him his space. Polaris and I continued down the road, Ben lingering behind to think. Another rustle drew my attention. Turning I stared. It was a pink feline pokemon, exactly like the one from my dream. It drifted through the air towards us.
"Muu," the pokemon said. I patted Polaris nervously studying it. I thought I'd known all the pokemon in Kanto, but I didn't recognize this one. I mentally ran through the list in my head trying to identify it.
"Uh, hi," I said.
"Muu," the pokemon answered. Slowly it flipped itself over in the air. Smiling at the friendly pokemon I dug into my backpack, pulling out a couple apples. Giving one to Polaris I left the ponyta to happily crunch on it while I held the other out to the strange pokemon. It examined the apple for a moment before happily taking it.
"What are you?" I asked.
"Muu," the pokemon answered.
"Is that your name?"
"Mew," the pokemon answered. Giggling the pokemon floated back, and vanished. Startled I looked at Polaris.
"That did really happen, right?" I asked. Polaris whickered and nudged my arm. A little excited and a little disbelieving about what I'd seen I looked around, hoping for another glance of the strange pokemon. No such luck unfortunately.
We took a break then. Might as well, and I wanted to get to know my new pikachu. Releasing Pooka I grinned at the electric mouse.
"Hey, I'm your trainer now." The pikachu stared at me. "I'm going to take care of you, okay?" Still nothing. I looked to Polaris.
"Ideas?" Polaris whickered softly. Suddenly the pikachu darted forward and curled into my lap.
"Ka!" I laughed in surprise. Seemed Pooka was friendlier than I'd thought. He'd just needed time to warm up. Cuddling Pooka I handed out snacks to everyone. Pooka nuzzled me cheerfully, a slight shock running through me. I'd have to be careful of that, didn't want to get zapped too much. Snack finished I let Pooka climb up to my shoulder and we continued on our way, Polaris cheerfully trotting beside me. It was about an hour later that Pallet Town came into view. It was a small town like home, centered around the pokemon laboratory where Professor Oak worked. I headed in and knocked on the door, Pooka looking around curiously while Polaris stood close.
"Come in!" Professor Oak called. Pushing my way in I found Professor Oak in the middle of a balancing act, arms full of pokeballs that threatened to spill out.
"Here, let me help you." I grabbed a few of the escaping spheres, Pooka grabbing one as well to help. I followed him to a box where we dumped them all in.
"Phew. Thanks for the help. Who are you?" Professor Oak said.
"Oh, I'm Cara Kellan. I hope you don't mind me arriving early."
"Oh! Your parents called. I should have realized it was you." Looking at Pooka he frowned. "I was told you had a ponyta. Where'd the pikachu come from?"
"I caught him on the way over," I explained with a large smile.
"I see. Well seems you won't be needing a starter from me after all." I nodded hesitantly. I had expected that, but I was still disappointed. I'd been hoping to get a starter from him, they were all fairly rare pokemon in the wild. If I didn't get one as a starter I probably wouldn't get one at all.
"So what's with the pokeballs?" I asked. The professor ducked his head.
"Well I'd been told to expect you, so I was trying to tidy up when one of the shelves fell over. Unfortunately a lot of the pokemon escaped. I've rounded up most of them, but I'm still missing a charmander. I'm just not as young as I used to be." I brightened up.
"Why don't I help you look for it?" I suggested.
"You'd be willing? That'd be great! I saw her head down that way," Professor Oak said, gesturing down the road. I nodded.
"I'll do what I can." Heading down the route I kept my eyes open for the stray charmander. Pooka lifted his head sniffing the air. I glanced to him.
"Think you can sniff out the charmander?"
"Cha!" Pooka replied. I grinned.
"Thanks." After a while Pooka jumped off my shoulder and darted down into a garden. Chasing after him I found a charmander curled up under a bush.
"There you are!" The charmander shifted around. I blinked in surprise. The charmander had a dark streak on her nose. I'd never seen something like that before. The charmander bared her teeth angrily.
"Guess we found you," I said. She growled.
"Come on. We have to take you back to the lab." She retreated further into the bush. No wonder Professor Oak had trouble with this one.
"What's wrong? Don't you want a trainer to pick you?" The charmander fell silent. Encouraged I grinned.
"Didn't you know? You're at the lab so a trainer can pick you to go on an adventure with them. You'll be able to travel all of Kanto. You won't be there much longer." At this the charmander crawled out blinking large eyes at me.
"Char?" I smiled.
"It'll be fine. I promise." Happily the charmander settled into my arms. I rubbed her head softly as Pooka leaped back up onto my shoulder.
"Alright, time to head back." With the charmander clinging tightly to me I returned to Polaris on the road and headed down the street back to the laboratory.
"Maybe my friend Ben will pick you." Charmander listened closely as I told her about traveling with a trainer, and and how pokemon battles worked. I told her how she would evolve and grow strong, and how she was special, as the only starter pokemon that could evolve to fly. Arriving back at the lab I grinned at Professor Oak.
"So you found her!" Professor Oak exclaimed. He looked at the charmander snuggled into my arms and chuckled. "She seems pretty happy with you." I nodded and moved to pass her back. Viciously she suddenly lashed her tail out toward the professor. He pulled back quickly. Startled I held her close.
"What was that?" I asked in confusion. The professor sighed.
"It's what I was afraid of. She never has been particularly happy here with me, and not too fond of humans. I actually was a little relieved you had received that ponyta of yours, as this charmander might not have liked you and I would have hated to set you up with a pokemon that would attack you." I blinked in surprise. She had seemed a little wild, but nothing like what the professor was saying. I could hardly believe she'd tried to attack the professor.
"She's going to be a one person pokemon. And it seems she's chosen you," Professor Oak sighed.
"What? Really?" I asked. The professor nodded.
"She likes you. I'm not sure how well she might get along with the other trainers coming to pick up pokemon. I doubt she'd do well staying here longer. Perhaps you can teach her to accept other humans." Beaming, I snuggled the charmander closely, careful of the tail.
"Guess I'd better name her then." I looked at the charmander in my arms. She yawned contentedly, clearly pleased with herself for getting what she wanted.
"Charren," I decided. The professor grinned.
"If you're staying here waiting for your friend, why don't you help me with my work?" Professor Oak asked.
"Sure!" I responded. The hours were spent helping reorganize the pokeballs on the shelves, and helping to feed the various pokemon trainers had dropped off here. There were all kinds, and Professor Oak was kept busy taking notes on their various activities. I had fun watching them. I was actually surprised at how long Ben was taking to get here. Well I could occupy myself. I wanted to ask Professor Oak about the pokemon I'd seen though. Surely he would know what it was.
I took out my notebook and a pencil and carefully sketched out what the feline pokemon had looked like. It wasn't easy, I was no artist. At last I was satisfied that it looked close enough to what the pokemon had looked like that Professor Oak would know what it was supposed to be. I took it over to the professor where he was leaning over paperwork.
"Professor, do you know what this pokemon is?" I asked. He looked up, surprised.
"That's Mew, a legendary pokemon said to be the ancestor of all the others. Where did you see a drawing of it?" he said.
"I didn't see a drawing. I saw this pokemon," I said. He frowned.
"Very funny. People have searched for Mew their entire lives and never caught so much as a glimpse." I frowned.
"I'm telling the truth!" I exclaimed. The professor sighed.
"Maybe it was a raichu. They're similar in build," he suggested. It wasn't a raichu. But I could tell he wasn't going to be convinced.
At long last Ben arrived. Eager to start on our journey, he picked up his squirtle. Ben had decided on squirtle for his starter long before we started, talking almost nonstop some days about why squirtles were the best starters. A huge difference from my own inability to choose. Professor Oak warned us to be careful, and gave us our pokeballs and pokedexes. With a wave we headed out. At last, our adventure began!