It was autumn. The weather was cold and the wind was brisk. Leaves danced in the air and fluttered to the ground, coating everything in a warm, cheery glow. Morning sunlight filtered in through her window as she stretched her arms above her head.
A yawn escaped her mouth.
Today was the day she had been waiting for her whole life. The day that she would receive her first Pokemon. She could scream for joy.
Where she lived, most kids had gotten their starters at age 10, and set off for their Pokemon journey.
She was already at the ripe old age of 12. Her dad, being the protective type, had banned her from getting her first Pokemon, telling her that she was "too young" and that the world was "too dangerous for a ten year old girl."
Well, she wasn't a little girl anymore. She could travel on her own now, and her dad couldn't tell her what to do. With her trusty Pokemon at her side, she would be safe. She was beyond excited.
She shot a quick glance at the clock. 7:21. Perfect. She changed out of her pajamas, brushed her shoulder length hair, and rushed out of the door. Breakfast was a useless meal, anyways.
Her feet pounded against the ground as she ran down the gravel road. Each step brought her a few feet closer to her destination. The sky was a dazzling blue and the air was crisp and fresh. The wind tangled her hair into knots.
She skidded to a stop in front of a small blue house. Taking care to not step on the small rosebushes planted in the front yard, she jogged up to the porch and rang the doorbell. Her foot tapped impatiently against the ground.
Where is he?
Her finger poked the doorbell once more.
A male voice grumbled, "Calm down, I'm coming!"
The door swung open to reveal an irritated young boy. He ran his hand through his unruly hair.
"Hey, May," he said.
"Come on, Drew, let's go!" she said. Ever since the whole braid incident, the two of them had become friends. She didn't know how it had happened; they just suddenly started to hate each other less, and soon they were playing together during recess and trading embarrassing stories. Their personalities had rubbed off on each other. She had become more outgoing and social, and he had become less rude and more reserved.
She grabbed his wrist and pulled him out the door. "Don't you know what day it is? It's the day I finally get my first Pokemon! I'm so excited, I feel like I could just burst! Were you this excited when you first got Surskit? I'd be happy with any Pokemon, really, but I'd love to get an Eevee, they're just so cute-"
"Pipe down, will you?" He clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Mmmffphh!" She struggled to talk.
"The lab is only a few feet away. Just be quiet until then, okay?" He unclasped his hand from her mouth.
She sulked and scuffed her shoes against the ground.
Side by side, in the early morning, they walked down the road. One boy and one girl, the sun rising behind them.
Soon, they reached the Pokemon lab.
They opened the door and walked into a giant room. Weird, there were almost no people there.
She rushed towards the Professor, eager to receive her Pokemon.
"Hi Professor! I'm here to get my first Pokemon! Where are the starters?" She glanced back and forth across the room. There were tons of test tubes and notepads, but where were the Pokeballs?
The man, slightly startled, laughed sheepishly, and scratched the back of his head. "Ah...actually…"
She gazed up at him with a questioning look.
"...I ran out of starters."
Her face fell.
"You came kind of late, see. All the other trainers came at 7:00 sharp, and took everything," he said, looking apologetic.
Her bottom lip started to quiver, and her face crumpled up.
"Hey, but don't worry! Really!" He frantically waved his arms in front of his face. "I bet have something. See, right here, I've got," he fumbled through his pockets, "oh, look!" He pulled a Pokeball out of his lab coat. He tossed it up in the air, releasing the Pokemon inside.
A small Wurmple popped out. It was a tragic thing. It was the runt of its litter; its body was a pale pink, and its spikes had not yet formed. It made a weird mewing sound, similar to a dying cat.
She cringed at the sight of it. She couldn't possibly have to take this starter Pokemon. It was so...ugly. So not-cute.
The Professor laughed sheepishly. "Ah, I know it really isn't the average starter Pokemon...but it's great nonetheless, right? What do you say? Will you take this Wurmple as your starter?"
The little thing's eyes shone up at her expectantly.
She wanted to say no so badly. She had really wanted a cute little Eevee to travel with. At least Eevees had fur, unlike this thing. What did Wurmples even have? Bug skin? Ew, gross. She hated bugs. She would rather wait another year than take this thing with her. But she couldn't. That would be rude. Plus, her mother would yell at her for not being grateful for what was given to her.
"...Alright," she said reluctantly. "I'll take it."
Wurmple looked happy, sort of. It did a weird little dance.
"Great!" Birch beamed at her. "Here's its Pokeball." He shoved the tiny capsule at her. "May you go on great adventures together!" He dashed away to help another late trainer.
She stared at the Wurmple on the ground, then at the little capsule in her hand. "Wurmple, return!" she called out. A red light flashed and Wurmple happily disappeared into its Pokeball. She sighed, and shoved the ball into her pocket.
Drew, who had been silent the entire time, looked at her strangely.
Her face, so bright and cheery ten minutes ago, now had on a disappointed frown.
"Let's go," she mumbled.
"Where to?" he asked.
"I dunno," she responded, turning towards the door.
Somehow, they had ended up at the swing sets at the park. Two worn plastic seats connected to rusted metal chains, hung from the poles. She plopped down in one, and so did he.
The swing sets were so old, it felt like they would collapse at any minute. But that was part of the fun. She could swing so high, she felt like falling. It was nice being so high up. She could see the forests surrounding her town, and the rivers and skies and valleys. It was all so beautiful. Leaves drifted down onto her lap, but she didn't mind.
She fiddled with the stem of the leaf in her lap. It looked like a maple.
Out of the blue, she asked, "Drew, do you remember the time you got your first Pokemon?"
"Yeah. My mom gave me my Surskit on my tenth birthday. She wrapped him in a little box and when I opened it, he popped out. Probably the best birthday gift I've ever gotten." His legs pumped back and forth, sending him high into the sky.
"The best birthday gift ever, huh..." she said to herself. "It must be nice, getting the Pokemon of your dreams."
"Surskit definitely wasn't my dream Pokemon." Seeing the confused look on her face, he continued. "He was so weak and tiny. He could hardly stand on his legs, he kept falling down." He let go of the chains and hopped off of the swing, landing on his feet.
"Surskit seemed like a horrible starter at first. I didn't know why my mom had decided to give me such a weak, useless thing. I wanted something cool, like an Absol, or Trapinch." He dusted himself off.
"But Surskit was the Pokemon I ended up with. At first, I didn't like him. I wanted a different starter, any starter. I thought that I would always be weaker and worse off because I had a worse Pokemon. But I trained with him, I played with him, and soon he was my best friend. And yeah, he's not super strong or anything, but I wouldn't trade him for any Pokemon, no matter how rare or legendary. When you love someone, you don't care about that sort of stuff."
He looked down at his shoes, his hair shielding his eyes.
She slowed her swing to a stop and smiled.
"I get what you mean, Drew."
He looked up, flustered. "Y-you do?"
She nodded. "Yeah. My dad's a gym leader, so he doesn't get to come home much. He's always busy at work. But when he does, he always brings back a gift. Once, he got me a pair of neon pink socks with sequins and sparkles and everything. They were so ugly. But Dad put a lot of thought into getting them for me, yknow? And I really love my dad, so I wore them." She shrugged. "Love can change things."
The redness from his face slowly faded, and he laughed.
"Yeah, it can."
A faint smile appeared on her face.
She stood up and rustled around in her jean pockets, until she found her Pokeball. "Come on out, Wurmple!"
In a flash of light, the Pokemon appeared. Still small, still weak, and still weird. Her eyes glowed hopefully, and her little mouth opened in what looked like a smile.
She wasn't as ugly as she remembered. Actually, she was kind of cute.
Just give her a chance, she told herself. She opened her arms, welcoming her in.
"Hi there, Wurmple. I have a feeling that we're going to be good friends."
This chapter feels so different from the first. Sorry about the lack of romance, the next one is full of it (I swear). Reviews are loved! 3