Alexa woke up in a jumbled heap, balled up in her blankets in an inelegant way. The sound of early morning birdsong is drowned by the oppressive roar of the alarm clock, and she flails wildly to untangle herself. She didn't sleep the absolute best, but she had a big day ahead. Her bare foot struck a wall, and her tired brain reasoned that she had turned herself fully upside down sometime during the night. She sat upright to finally slap the alarm clock, and finally, silence fell over the room. She stared around the watercolor room, and stretched.
It took her a second, but she found her glasses where she usually sat them, and looked into the mirror, yawning as she took a moment to examine herself.
She had a cute face, but she wasn't exactly the first thing on everyone's menu. More flamboyant girls got all the boys, and she'd never had the desire to be taken like a prize. Her features are narrow, just about average in every dimension. She was petite, and fit, but while attractive, she didn't have much to display. A pair of thick lensed glasses shielded her endearing brown eyes from easy looking, and her short brown hair didn't serve the same purpose as peacock feathers. She always had a preference for comfy clothes, and the world largely saw her as average.
Alexa's bare skin was pale in the early light creeping through the blinds, as due to her penchant for sleeping nude, she was able to feel the warmth of the sun over her entire body. Eventually a smile invaded her face.
Creeping across the hall nude gives her an exhibitionistic high. Only a brief moment of risk, but enough to make her feel slightly light headed. The sensation was only compounded by last night's rather arousing dream. The door shut, and locked with a click. The world became a blurry mess as she removed her glasses. She took the time to use the toilet as the room filled with steam.
Once it's ready, she leapt into the shower, and enjoyed the pleasant feeling of the warm water rushing down her body, helping to wake her up for the exciting day ahead of her.
Alexa almost had to force herself to get away from the nice shower, only getting out once the water began to turn slightly cold. She turned off the water, and stepped out, grabbing her glasses, carefully wiping the fog off of them, and putting them back on her face where they belonged. She used her towel to make sure she was fully dried off before she made her way back across the hall, her footsteps echoing on the wooden floor as she sprinted back to her room.
Once inside, she picked out her clothes, a simple, slightly baggy red t-shirt over a small white bra, and loose shorts over matching white panties. Simple, just as Alexa liked it. She readjusted her glasses on her face, tucked her hair back behind her ears, and stepped out.
"I thought I heard the shower running." Alexa's mom said as Alexa waltzed into the living room, where her mom was sitting and watching TV. "Ah, today's the day, isn't it? You're going to Professor Oak's lab, right? To get your first Pokémon?" She asked, and Alexa nodded, a smile on her face. Sure, she'd heard some bad things about being a female Pokémon trainer in this region, but despite that, she still wanted to become one, and beat the odds!
"Well then," Alexa's mom said as she stood and walked over to her, reaching into her pocket, "take this before you go." She handed her some money, and Alexa gave her a big hug as thanks, which she happily returned.
"You've got your phone?" She asked, and Alexa nodded. "Alright, be sure to call me from time to time okay? And do visit!" She said.
"I promise I will." Alexa said. She bit her lip, hesitating.
"Are you...absolutely sure about this?" She asked. "You know female Pokémon trainers here-"
"I'll be fine, mom, I promise." Alexa said, and headed towards the door. "I'm going now, love you!" She said.
"Love you too, sweetie. Be safe!" She said, and Alexa finally opened the door and exited.
The first thing she noticed was the beautiful warm rays of the sun striking her skin, making her breathe in deeply and then exhale the clean air around her. The next thing she noticed was kids running around playing, some of them stopping to give her a wave before continuing. She smiled at them, then turned to the lab she saw in the distance.
She made her way there and stepped inside, the cool interior of the building juxtaposed against the warm exterior. She saw a couple scientists around some tables as she walked to the back, where two people stood talking.
"Why don't I get to pick first?" A kid with spiked orange hair asked. He was talking to Professor Oak, who turned away from him as Alexa approached shyly and awkwardly.
"Hello, there! You must be the new trainer!" He said as he walked over. His smile thinned for only a second. "I'm surprised that despite what may be heard around here, a female wants to become a trainer, but oh well! Who am I to stop people from achieving their dreams?" The boy behind him scoffed and walked up to Alexa, eyeing her up and down, which made her skin tingle in a bad way.
"You don't seem like much." He said with a sneer. He then turned to Oak. "Why does she get to pick first?"
"She sighed up before you, Gary." He answered. "Apologies, this is my grandson, Gary. He's a little...impatient. He signed up after you, so you get to pick your starting Pokémon before him."
"So hurry up already! I've been standing here waiting for ten minutes already!" He said, sounding like a whiny kid. Alexa nodded, still not having said a word, and approached the table where three pokeballs sat peacefully.
"The three you get to choose from are a Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, a grass type, fire type, and water type respectfully," Oak explained. "They are all three fairly powerful, especially once evolved, and also fairly rare, so choose wisely."
"And choose fast!" Gary added. Alexa nodded and looked down at the three pokeballs.
Not to sound like a pyromaniac, but she always found fire to be an interesting type. It seemed strong and reliable, able to do damage she would need to succeed.
"Charmander." She said, and Oak nodded. She grabbed the pokeball the Pokémon rested in. The ball was warm to the touch, and almost seemed to shake softly in her hand.
"Then I'm gonna pick squirtle!" Gary said as he grabbed the corresponding pokeball. Of course he picked the one with the type advantage. "Now then, because I was waiting so long for you, you are hereby my rival. So battle me! Here and now!"
"Gary! You can't just-" Oak started.
"Come on, Gramps, let me show you what I'm capable of!" Gary interrupted him as he threw the pokeball, with squirtle popping out of it with a satisfying noise.
"Squirt! Squirt!" It shrieked as it stared at her intently. Alexa looked down at the ball in her hand. She knew people tended to nickname their Pokémon, and as she stared down at it, a name immediately popped into her head, a somewhat fitting one.
"Go, Pyro!" She shouted as she threw the ball, and the newly named charmander emerged, a fierce look of determination on his face as he stared down his first opponent, and ready to receive commands.
"Hehehehe..." Gary snickered. "I didn't think about it until just now, but if I win, don't I get to-"
"GARY!" Oak shrieked, and it was enough to make Gary cringe slightly in fear.
"Alright, alright." He said. "Either way, I'm gonna win!" The smile on his face made Alexa frown in annoyance.
However, despite him having a Pokémon with a type strong against hers, neither of their Pokémon knew the moves needed to deal substantial damage. Because of that, she managed to defeat him with some simple tackles, even getting a lucky strike that did quite a bit to the poor squirtle. Once it was defeated, it retreated back into the pokeball, and Gary growled.
"You got lucky." He said, and reached into his pocket, pulling out some money and handing it to Alexa. "Next time will be different." He didn't say anything else before he stomped his way out of the building. As she watched him leave, she felt a poke on her leg. She looked down to see Pyro poking her with his small finger. She reached down and lifted him up, being careful not to burn herself on his tail as she gave him a smile.
"You did good, Pyro." She said, and he growled endearingly with a smile of his own.
"Now, I must warn you one more time," Oak said, "the life of a female Pokémon trainer in this region is one full of risk. Are you sure you wish to pursue this?"
"Yes, I'm sure." Alexa said as she put Pyro back into his pokeball. Oak sighed and nodded.
"There is a Pokémon center in the next town over. You'll want to start making your way there as well as to the first gym, Brock. Although with a fire type, his rock types could be fairly tough to fight. I'd recommend getting some more suitable Pokémon before facing him." Oak said.
"Thank you professor." She said, and he nodded.
"I can heal...Pyro for you." He said, and Alexa handed him the ball, which he placed on a machine behind him. It whirred and hummed a delightful tune, and once it was done, he grabbed it and handed it back to her. "Oh! I almost forgot." Oak suddenly said before he walked over to the nearby desk and retrieved a small device off of it, before walking back over and handing it to her.
"This is a pokedex. It scans any new Pokémon you come across and provides detailed information about them. It will be essential on your journey. Please try to fill it up as much as you can on your travels. You can use these." He said as he also handed Alexa five pokeballs, likely empty and ready to hold new captures.
"Yes sir!" She said with a salute, as she took the dex and the balls.
"Well then, that's all I need. You can leave now. Good luck, and stay safe." He said, and she nodded, turning around and walking back towards the door.
As she reached it, the door opened, and in walked a kid whose eyes were mostly obscured by a red cap he wore on his head. It matched the rest of his red outfit, and while he seemed shocked for a moment to see Alexa, he regained his composure quickly and continued past her wordlessly. She heard Oak greet him as she left the lab, ready to start her grand adventure.