Chapter 1: A Reluctant Beginning
Hey howdy hey hello, welcome to the show! Enigma's here with a new fic.
I've had this one in the works for a while, and I'm excited to see what everyone thinks.
No wasting time, let's jump right into it.
Feel free to review, but don't just rip into me. I'm doing this for fun, not excessive criticism.
"Good morning, sweetheart!"
A smooth male voice echoed up the stairs and through Blair Luxen's door, waking her up. Sitting up slowly, rubbing sleep from her eyes, Blair cast a glance around her room.
The room was somewhat small, with a single person bed in the back left corner, a desk along the wall at the foot of the bed had a few papers with sketches of Pokémon on them scatted across the desk. A purple desk lamp also sat on the cluttered surface, and a brown leather bag hung from the chair.
In the back right corner of the room were two tall bookcases, packed with various novels, and a big beanbag chair resembling a Snorlax. Sunlight peaked through the curtains on the nearby window, casting light on the foot of the bed.
"Come on, sweetie! You've got a present!" The voice called again.
"I'm up!" Blair called back, throwing back the covers and hopping out of bed. She paused for a minute to get dressed, checking her appearance in the mirror.
Blair was a short young girl, fourteen years old, standing at 5'4" with shoulder-length brown hair she had tied back in a messy bun and pale white skin. She wore a pair of dark blue jeans with a long-sleeved white shirt with pale blue stripes, overtop of which she wore a hooded white jacket. She also wore a pair of brown hiking boots and rectangular black glasses over her deep blue eyes.
Taking a deep breath, Blair opened her door and walked down the stairs into the living room. Sitting on the coffee table in front of her father was a piece of paper.
"Well? Give it a look!" Blair's father grinned. He was a tall man with short black hair and deep blue eyes, wearing a pair of sweatpants and a buttoned-up black shirt.
Blair picked up the paper and looked at it, her eyes going wide. It was a major league endorsement from her father.
"Nice, right? Your old man used his power as a minor league gym leader to get you an endorsement for the gym challenge." Her father smile grew, before noticing the look of worry on his daughter's face, "But, if you want to start in the minor league you can always…"
"I-It's fine, dad. Thank you." Blair took a deep breath and smiled.
"Uh… well, alright then! I also have this from your mother." He shook it off and reached under the coffee table, picking up a pokeball and placing it on the table, "A starter, so you can properly register!"
Blair's heart nearly stopped. Even if she wasn't interested in the gym challenge or battling in general, she had never been allowed to have a Pokémon before.
Reaching out slowly, she picked up the pokeball, pressing the button on the front. The pokeball snapped open and a beam of red light came out, a Pokémon coming out before her very eyes.
"Chim-Chimchar!" The small orange monkey declared, flexing its arms.
"A-A Chimchar?!" Blair exclaimed, stepping back.
"Yep! And she's all yours!" Her father smiled, "Why don't you give her a name?"
"Sol!" Blair said without hesitation. This wasn't the first time she had thought about it, "I-I'll call her Sol, I mean."
"That's a wonderful name!" Blair's father laughed, "What do you think, Sol?"
"Chim!" Sol nodded approvingly, jumping up to Blair shoulder and nearly causing her to fall over in shock.
"Alright, you'll need to get to Jubilife in the next seven days if you want to join the gym challenge." Blair's father explained, "I've made arrangement for you to stop off in Sandgem and pick up your Pokedex."
"A-Alright." Blair nodded, "I'll get packed, then."
"Ah, I need to get to the gym." Blair's father reacted to his phone going off, "But hey, you're gonna do great, all right? I'm rooting for you!" He told her, as she climbed back upstairs, shutting the door to her room behind her.
Sol hopped off of Blair's shoulder onto the desk as Blair began packing, talking quietly to herself.
"I don't even want to go on the gym challenge." She complained with a sigh, packing her town map into the bag, "I just want to be an artist…"
"Chim!" Sol cut in, hopping onto the back of the chair.
"But you really want to take on the challenge, huh?" Blair asked, looking up at the small Pokémon.
"Chimchar-Chim!" Sol flexed her arms again.
"I-I guess it can't hurt to try." Blair admitted, pulling the bag over her shoulder and donning a long grey scarf. Downstairs, she could hear her father leaving the house, "I know he just wants the best for me, I don't want to let him down."
"Chim-Chim!" Sol hopped onto Blair's bag, taking a seat on top of it.
Exiting her house, Blair looked nervously around the town of Twinleaf. The town was so small she knew everyone there by name, a couple across the street waved to her in a friendly manner.
"Hey! Blair!" Someone yelled.
Turning, Blair saw her childhood best friend, Bo Dubois, running towards her at top speed. Bo slid to a halt in front of Blair, eyes locked on Sol.
"Woah! You finally got your own Pokémon?" He asked.
Bo was a fifteen-year-old Kalosian boy with olive skin and dark green eyes, with short, windswept black hair. He wore a pair of tan cargo pants with a buttoned up, short-sleeved dark green shirt and a pair of dark green shoes.
"Y-Yeah, my dad endorsed me for the major league…" Blair admitted.
"Woah! Me too!" Bo nodded excitedly, "But I thought you didn't want to be a trainer?"
"I don't! But…"
"Let me guess, you still couldn't muster up the courage to tell your dad." Bo put his hands on his hips.
"Y-Yeah…" Blair admitted quietly.
"Alright, we might as well make the most of it." Bo grinned, "Hey, I'll race you to Sandgem town!"
"Wh-What?!" Blair exclaimed, but before she could even finish speaking Bo had bolted off, racing out of town. Sighing heavily, Blair adjusted her backpack and checked on Sol before setting off after Bo.
A number of people waved her goodbye as she left, wishing her luck on her journey. Blair didn't feel the most confident, but she would still try her best.
Fortunately, the journey to Sandgem town wasn't very long, and there weren't very many strong Pokémon. Still, Blair did her best to avoid any Pokémon she saw.
Despite her best efforts, however, a wild Pokémon looking for a fight leapt out on the path in front of her. An aggressive looking Shinx blocked her path, cheeks sparking as it let out a tiny roar.
Before Blair could think to speak, sputtering in shock, Sol leapt off her backpack, landing in front of her and shouting out a challenge at the Shinx.
"I didn't want to get into a fight, but I guess I don't have a choice…" Blair decided, "A-Alright! Use Scratch, Sol!"
"Chim!" Sol charged forward with her right hand raised, small glowing white claws poking out of her fingers.
She swiped downwards toward the Shinx, which leapt to the side to dodge, preparing to counterattack.
Before Blair could even react and shout out in warning, Sol had used Scratch against, swiping Shinx across its nose stopping its Tackle.
"Good job, Sol! Now use Scratch one more time!" Blair ordered.
"Char!" A second Scratch put the Shinx out of commission, knocking it over unconscious on the ground.
"A-Alright! Good job!" Blair nodded, as Sol let out a small breath of fire, "We should get going… you know, before it wakes up…"
Nodding in response, Sol leapt back up onto Blair bag, taking a seat as Blair set off at a quicker pace.
It took maybe an hour for Blair to finally reach Sandgem town, Bo was waiting for her at the edge of town.
"You lost, slowpoke!" He laughed, sticking his tongue out.
"Y-You started before I was ready!" Blair stomped her foot vehemently.
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry." Bo held his hands up, laughing, "This is the lab, right? Let's head on inside!"
Bo grabbed Blair's hand and dragged her into the building before she could argue, only giving her a few moments to register the interior.
The lab was rather high-tech and clean, filled with bookshelves and various scientific tools. A few assistants were wandering about, carrying books and trays of pokeballs.
The bearded Professor Rowan was pouring over notes on his desk, an open suitcase with three pokeballs in it on his left. He turned around as he heard the two approaching, casting a stern gaze over the two of them.
"Professor Rowan, right?" Bo asked, unperturbed as Blair tried to subtly hide behind him, "We're here for our Pokedexes!"
Rowan's face softened significantly at that.
"Ah, of course. Welcome!"
And there it is! I'd say that's a fine first chapter.
What'd you think? Blair's pretty similar to Hiryu, but she's got a few key differences. I already like her.
I'll be back... eventually, with the next chapter. See you then!
Enigma, signing off.