My phone jerks me awake at 6am.
I roll over, turning the alarm off, and I hear a grumbling from under the blanket.
I peek under, and see Effie, curled against my chest.
"Hey, baby girl..." I scratch her chin, and her tail fin kicks against my stomach in pleasure.
I gently scooch over top of her, leaving her to sleep as I get ready for today.
Today is a huge day.
I shower, taking as long as I can, as this is the last time I will be seeing this house for a while.
I get out and dressed, and see a text from Rayna.
Cafe, 6:30
I smile, grabbing my phone, and a still-sleeping Effie, and head out.
"There you are!" Rayna throws me into a hug as I approach.
"Hey sweetheart!" She bends down and hugs Effie, who purrs in response, nibbling her nose.
She leads us in, to where Matthew and Nareen are sitting at our usual table.
"Hey." She looks tired, but Nareen still spares us a smile.
"You okay?" I ask her as she slides a coffee over to me.
"Tired. My parents were so excited they invited all of the family over, and god forbid anyone miss a party, so everyone showed up. I didnt get to bed till almost 2am." She laughs, sipping her drink.
"Oh Nar." I rub her arm, as Effie jumps into her lap.
"Car!" She nibbles her cheek lightly, and Nar laughs.
"Hey honey." She gives her a piece of the breakfast sandwich in front of her, and Effie scarfs it down quickly.
I order a couple more sandwiches, one for Effie and one for me, then settle back down.
"How'd it go with your family last night? Kai?" Matthew asks.
They all know how close me and my brother are.
"Mom and Dad took it pretty okay, but Kai..." I stop, tears forming in my eyes, no matter how hard I will them not to.
"It's okay, man. Hector is going to watch out for him while your gone." Matthew squeezes my hand.
Hector is Matthew's younger brother, and him and Kai are also best friends.
"Thank you." I whisper, sipping my coffee.
Effie leaps over the table, into my lap, and promptly curls up, falling asleep.
We all laugh.
"So? How did your guys's parents react?" I ask, and Rayna's face lights up.
"They are so excited for me! Well, they are mainly excited to come VISIT me in Alola, but tomato tomahto." We all laugh.
"And mine are pretty pumped, though Hector seems a bit down about it." He shrugs.
"And you all know what mine thought..." Nareen cuts off in a yawn, and we all laugh.
"Why werent we invited?" I pout, nudging her foot, and she laughs.
"You really want to come party with a bunch of four and fifty year olds? Im the only middle kid." She yawns again, and I squeeze her hand.
My food arrives, and I scarf my sandwich down quickly, placing the plate with Effie's in front of her. She's awake instantly, mowing down on it.
"You guys..." We look over to see Rayna, with tears in her eyes.
"Ray, whats up?" I pull her close to me and she cries quietly into my shirt.
"This is... the last time... we will... be in the... same place at once." She sobs quietly, and I hold her. Nareen starts crying to, and Matthew holds her.
"Hey, hey! Don't say that! We will all be back for Christmas, right? We will just meet up then!" She nods, but still cries.
The cafe door opens behind me, and Nareen and Matthew's eyes go wide.
"What? What is it?" I turn around, to see... N. He's just walked in, and is coming towards us.
"Oh, crap!" Rayna sits up quickly, wiping her tears carefully and sitting straight, acting uninterested.
"Hey." He says simply, resting a hand on my shoulder.
"Hey... Whats up?" I ask, and he smiles.
"Came for a coffee, can't function in the morning without it." He sighs.
"Amen brother." Nareen high fives him, sipping from her own.
"So, you all ready?" He asks, and I nod.
"Good, cause they bumped our flight. We leave at nine." He ruffles my hair.
"What?!" I check my phone...
8am.
"Meet me a the airport at nine. See you soon. It was nice to meet you guys!" He smiles as he grabs his coffee and waves as he leaves.
"Really?!" I scarf my coffee down, burning my throat.
"Good Luck! Video chat all the time, and we love you!" Rayna kisses my cheek, as does Nareen, and Matthew hugs me.
"Good luck man, text us when you get there!" I wave as I run out, Effie following closely.
I rip home, grab my bags, and pause at the door.
"What's wrong?" Mom asks, and I hug her tight.
"I'm leaving earlier than expected. I love you guys SO much. Tell Dad I love him, and I promise to video chat as soon as we get settled." Effie jumps into Mom's arms, kissing her chin.
"Oh, sweetheart! Have fun on your trip!" She kisses my forehead, and away I run.
I leave so quickly that I don't even notice Kai, who is sitting in his bedroom window, waving.
"There you are! You are late!" N laughs as I try to catch my breath, finally making it to the plane.
It's a long, slender jet, with the Team Plasma insignia on the side.
We enter, after I hand my bags to a worker, and grab seats.
The inside is quite luxurious, and I have to catch myself to make sure I don't trip or scuff up the expensive carpets.
N sits on a recliner, and a stewardess hands him a glass of bubbling liquid.
"Champagne?" He holds his glass out, but I shake my head.
"No thank you, I don't drink." I laugh as Effie nods vigorously.
"Fair enough." He smiles, holding out a bottle of water, which I graciously take.
"So, tell me a bit about yourself?" He asks, as the plane lurches into motion.
"Um, I just graduated." I start, and he nods.
"Good for you. I never did, but then again, I've never needed to." He smiles.
"So, like, am I the only intern on this flight?" I ask, and he laughs.
"You were the only intern from Kanto." He laughs, as I put on a quizzical expression.
"Really? How many other kids applied?" I ask, and he puts a finger to his chin.
"Hmm... around, maybe say... two hundred? Ish?" He spurts a number out, and my jaw hits the floor.
"Me? Only me, out of TWO HUNDRED?" I gasp, and he nods again.
"Okay, next question." He laughs, waving me on.
"Okay... um... how long is the flight?" I ask, and he nods.
"Eleven hours, with a pit-stop in Sinnoh to pick up a few interns there as well." My eyes go wide again.
"Okay, thats cool. Last question. When do I get my Plasma starter pokemon?" He nods again.
"Technically, you should wait until we get to Unova, but I like you, so I will let you pick now." He grabs three pokeball's out of his bag.
"Wait, like, now? NOW now?" He laughs, nodding.
He releases three pokemon in front of me.
"First, we have this little guy. He is a Patrat."
The first pokemon of the bunch is a small rat pokemon. He has his hand over his eyes as he observes me, almost as if I was a long distance away, or if it is too sunny. His eyes are a bright red, with a light yellow stripe through the middle.
"Ha!" He laughs, pointing at Effie, who growls.
"Second here is Lillipup. She is a native dog pokemon to Unova."
Lillipup is the second pokemon to be released. She is small, but has VERY fluffy fur all around her neck, and her body is small and a light brown color.
"Ruff!" She giggles, licking my hand when I pet her.
"Hey sweetheart!" I laugh.
"And third, this here is Purrloin. She is a sweetheart, but very mischievous."
The third and last pokemon is a small cat pokemon, purple in color, and her eyes are a dark green, with pink markings that reach up to her forehead.
"Meow." She licks her paw, but smiles as I pet her.
"Those are your choices." He smiles, gesturing to the pokemon sitting in front of me.
"Well... I think I will go with..."
"You!" I point, and the pokemon has a surprised expression.