By the time Chira got home, she had managed to cool off for the most part. She was still angry with the boy, but Cami had managed to persuade her that she would never see him again, so she was doing her best to push it to the back of her mind. She put Cami in her pen and leaned against the fence.

"Chira," Cami said, nuzzling her arm. "Think of it this way, at least we won. We showed him up. He thought he would win be default, but we showed him that level doesn't make a difference. We won our first trainer battle against all odds!"

"I know. I still can't help but be angry with him. Trainers like him are complete…" Chira paused, struggling to find the right word.

"Dolts?" Cami supplied, copying Chira's father's favorite word.

Chira smiled. "Yeah."

The back door banged shut. "Chira! Where have you been? Your guests are all waiting on you." Her mother bustled over. Chira was amazed at how late it was. She had lost track of the time in the forest and had been to upset on the ride home to notice the setting sun. "Look at you. You're a mess. You get upstairs right now and clean up. And be quick about it!"

"Yes, ma'am," Chira muttered, quickly complying with her mother's wishes.

Right before getting inside, she heard her mother ask Cami, "Why does she have to be so much like her father?"

The guests had all gone home and the party debris cleaned up. Chira was curled up on their living room sofa, waging war with an acute disappointment. Every year for her birthday, she could only hope her parents gave her the one gift she had always wanted, her trainer's license. She had thought she would get it when she turned ten, and every year after that her dream took form and was crushed. Though she wouldn't trade Cami for the world, the rest of her birthday gifts were hardly ever touched. She sighed.

"Chira," her mother said softly. "There's one last gift you didn't open." Chira sat up and took the small package out of her mother's hand. She started to open it half-heartedly.

"Who's it from?" she asked. She didn't remember seeing it during the party. It was wrapped in dark blue wrapping paper covered with Ponyta and Rapidash, tied with a hot pink ribbon. When her parents didn't answer her, she looked up. "Mom? Dad?"

"Open it and you'll find out."

She gave them a puzzled glare and tore the last of the paper off, leaving a plain shoe box. She carefully opened it and stared. Inside were a pokedex, six pokeballs, a map of Kanto, and money. She looked at her parents.

"I-I don't understand," she said in a daze.

"Honey," her mom said. "We've talked it over, and we decided that you can become a pokemon trainer. We figured that since you would probably get it the moment you turned eighteen anyway, you might as well go with our blessing."

"B-But what about the test?"

"We know you have been taking tests that your friend Sandy has been sending you from her trainer's journey, so we got on your computer and saw how hard they were. We couldn't even answer the first three. So we got special permission and got you your license."

Chira looked at the objects in the box again. "I don't know what to say," she said at length.

"How about 'Thank-You?'" Her father said.

She nodded. "That works."

Her parents burst out laughing. "How long do you think before she realizes it isn't a dream?" her mother asked her father.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe until she starts on her journey day after tomorrow?"

"What?!" Chira jumped up. "No way! I'm not even packed! I didn't have time to prepare. I have to say goodbye to my friends! I-"

"Chira, calm down. Your friends already know. They'll be there when you leave."

"Really? Oh, you guys are the greatest! Thank-You, thank-you, thank-you." She hugged them tightly, finally starting to come out of her shock.

Her mother pushed her back. "If you are going to be leaving day after tomorrow, there is a lot that needs to be done. Let's get moving, shall we?"

Chira bounced out of the room, the box clutched tightly to her chest.

Her mother looked at her husband. "She's really leaving, isn't she?" she asked, fighting the emotion. "Do we have to tell her?"

"I'm afraid so. We can't keep it a secret forever."

"I know, but… Can't we wait until she comes back?"

"She might find it out on her journey, and then what will she think of us? No, we have to tell her now. Otherwise, she might never come back."

"Mom, where are that pair of jeans I asked you to wash?" Chira's shout came down the stairs.

"Be right there, Honey." With a look at her husband, she went to help her daughter pack.

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Wow, didn't see that coming, did you? Well, since this is a pokemon fanfiction, it's kind of obvious she's going to be a pokemon trainer. But what of the secret? Well, that, actually, is what's going to set this whole thing in motion. Have fun people, and review! Think about your stories. Do you want reviews? Then review other people's stories. I have 1 review out of fifty-seven hits! What's wrong with that!

Anyway, I am having a blast writing this. Hope you're enjoying it! Arrivederci!