The tardy bell rang as a young girl slowly roused from her sleep. She rubbed her eyes and glanced at her alarm clock, the sight of the time jolting her awake.
"I can't believe it, I overslept again!" she cried as she tumbled out of bed, shedding her pajamas and pulling on a blue tee shirt and a pair of denim cutoffs. "Of all the days… Ms. Pyre's going to kill me!"
As she sat at the foot of the bed and hurriedly tugged on her shoes, a pair of invisible hands braided her long brown hair, tying it back with a blue satin ribbon. "Thanks, Kezme, I owe you one!" she called to the Abra as she grabbed her backpack and ran out the door.
As she dashed across the campus, there came an ominous SCREECH from the top of a nearby tree. Without any further warning, a Pidgey came diving at her from the branches, pecking at the back of the girl's head.
"Not today Rowan!" she yelled, as she swatted at the bothersome bird. "I don't have time for you!" She ran through the front door of the school, slamming it behind her, and continued racing down the hall.
She skidded to a stop at an indoor courtyard, looking down the various corridors. "Now, which way?"
She'd always gotten lost on her way to first hour; the school was practically a maze of hallways and dead ends. She bit her lip in frustration as she debated which way to go, then bolted down the chosen path. She spun about on her heels, bursting through the classroom door.
"S-sorry, I'm… late… I over… overslept," she gasped as she leaned against the doorframe, trying to catch her breath.
"Tina Oak!" snapped the teacher, annoyed at having to stop her lesson. "Ten tardies in the same number of days, that is inexcusable!"
Tina winced at Ms. Pyre's sharp tone, looking down at her sneakers as she walked to her seat. "I'm sorry, ma'am."
The teacher's bitter expression softened as she picked up a Pokeball from her desk. "Just the same," she said, handing it to Tina, "better late than never."
Tina accepted the ball, looking at it curiously as the teacher continued, "I've made notes of your personality; your strengths and your weaknesses, and this partner is most suited to your abilities. Train her well."
There was a flash of red light as the latch on the Pokeball released, which took a solid form at Tina's feet. When the glow faded, there sat a Growlithe, most obedient of all Fire-types, looking up at Tina with a 'Let's play!' expression upon its face.
The Pokemon was obviously little older than a pup, and was severely undersized, but her eyes held a will to live that captured Tina's heart. She absolutely could not tear her attention away from the pup's eyes, which were an icy blue, a rare coloration among Growlithe, or any other Fire-type. In fact, it was a tint that Tina had only seen once before; a snowy-white Ninetales, eyes of ice, a heart of untainted gold…
{Well, what's my new friend's name?} came a voice in the back of Tina's mind, snapping her out of her daze.
She jumped back in surprise. "Did you say that?!" she gasped, eyes fixed on the Pokemon.
{Of course I did,} the voice chimed again. {Now, who are you?}
"T-Tina Oak," she stammered, not believing her ears, assuming that it had been her ears that had heard the voice.
By now, the entire class had gathered around, but she didn't notice. The idea that a Pokemon was actually communicating with her was beyond belief.
{Nice ta meet'cha, I'm Taja,} the Growlithe replied. {By the way, you can talk to me in your head, y'know.}
{Oh, right.} Tina scratched Taja behind the ears. {Welcome to the team, my little friend.}
