Rubber soles thudded on the dirt path that meandered up the hill, rushing past tall grass and wildflowers that blew forward in the rush of air accompanying them. They made a sudden quarter-turn, and, without ever completely stopping, hurtled towards the flashing glass doors that fronted the sprawling building resting atop the rise. As the doors burst open, the sound changed from the rubber hitting soft dirt to shiny linoleum. Sporadic squeaks accompanied the thuds as they raced down the long corridor, eventually echoing into an enormous room filled with various machines and the people working them. The squeaking grew suddenly to a screech as the soles finally skidded to a halt in front of a series of large screens.
Behind these screens rose a wall of clear glass, through which a small, round Pokémon with short blue fur running on a treadmill, its bubble-like tail-tip bobbing on the wiry black tail in between, could be seen and heard. Murmurs of encouragement came from the young man standing between the soles and the screens, who was watching them intently. His body rotated slightly, still facing the screen for a last few seconds, before finally turning to face the wearer of the rubber soles with a grin.
"Ready for your last day? We're not making it easy on you!"
The sole-wearer laughed.
"Bring it! I can take anything you throw at me!" A lopsided grin now stretched across her features.
The man ran a hand through his long, spiky brown hair as he reached with the other to grab a clipboard from the desk next to him. The attached stack of papers rustled noisily as the clipboard traded hands to the sole-wearing teenager.
She let out a high whistle as she flipped through the set of instructions.
"All the Fire, Water, and Grass? But there are so many!"
The young man laughed, his teasing amusement hurling itself down through the few feet of distance and inches of height that separated them.
"Well, we thought we'd celebrate the starter types a bit. Today's one of the most fun days of the year – and you get the privilege of handling one of the most important parts, solo."
She scoffed.
"I guess I shouldn't have fostered any hopes of a laid-back last day, huh? And I have to get all this done by lunch!"
"More like an hour before lunch." He winked. "You didn't think we'd let you off the hook that easy, did you? Head over to the Star Tree at 11 sharp – and bring a dry change of clothes!"
Another snort of laughter escaped her, and she looked down again at the many papers in her hands, shaking her head.
"I'd better get to it, then. No rest for the wicked." She pivoted on her toes, glancing back at him. "See you later, Gar-Gar!"
He gave a mock gasp of horror, raising his hand to his collarbone.
"I'm going to let that go, since I know you're going through some tough emotions right now. But I swear to god, if you call me that again I'll set a Tauros on you."
Laughing, she sprinted away towards another hallway, dodging computers, Pokémon, and amused researchers alike with an agility built over years of running through crowded buildings.
Grabbing one of the Pokeball carts in the supply room, she slid in front of one of the many large shelves in the warehouse-like room where the dormant Pokémon were kept. After a few quick keystrokes on a touchscreen attached to the wall, several dozen small lights appeared across the side of the room she faced, illuminating those Pokeballs containing creatures that fit the criteria. Sighing with an already-tired smile, she began collecting the day's releases.
Several hours later, she finally grabbed the last two Pokeballs off the cart, which was currently resting in the shade under an oak tree. There were more oaks than any other trees on the lab's spacious fields – a bit of a running joke among those who worked here. Its leaves cast winking shadows across the grass as two bright lights appeared, forming into shapes before finally solidifying.
One of the lights formed a small Pokémon with indigo fur covering her back and a light tan on her belly and the undersides of her stubby legs. Several reddish spots ran along her spine, furless and of a strange texture when compared to the rest of her skin. As she squinted in the sudden light, flames erupted from these spots and small squeaks of delight from her throat.
The other light dimmed to reveal a purplish Pokémon with a ring of burgundy bulges on his head. From his wide mouth dripped a sweet-smelling sap; however, the scent quickly turned foul as the Grass-type caught sight of the girl releasing him. She resisted her gag-reflex – this Pokémon had never been fond of her, despite her best intentions. He quickly waddled off on his short legs, making an effort to produce the most repulsive sap possible. She sighed sadly. Well, at least I motivate him to improve, she thought.
The small Fire-type had watched this with an adorably-cocked head, seeming to debate going after the grumpy plant. However, upon catching a whiff of the odor he left behind, she recoiled and instead ran over to wrestle with Jayde's ankle. Jayde knelt down with a smile and stroked the Pokémon's warm fur.
Cyndaquil was a starter in Johto, she knew, along with Totodile and Chikorita. If I'd been raised in Johto, I might have chosen this adorable little creature. She might also have met a wild Pokémon beforehand and chosen to travel with them – it was more common than choosing starters. Family pets, like Meowth or Nidoran; more common town-dwelling Pokémon, like Pidgey and Rattata; Pokémon caught by parents or older siblings as a gift – there were many ways to obtain a partner Pokémon without having to make the trip to Professor Oak's laboratory in Pallet.
However, Jayde had no older siblings, no family pets, and she didn't visit town very often except to go to school. She remembered her last day of classes: everyone cheering, the cries of Pokémon alongside those of humans. The sheer number of Rattata, Pidgey, Weedle, Caterpie… many would be their trainer's only Pokémon. Viridian Forest scared a lot of Pallet kids away from pursuing Pokémon training in earnest; if not that, then the first gym encountered in Viridian City. Many gyms made it their mission to not go easy on new trainers – the sooner those kids were shown how much work training really is, the better.
She already knew how much work Pokémon were, though; ever since she was a little girl, she'd been working here for hours on end, after school and on weekends, to learn everything she could. She knew many Pokémon here as if they were her own, right down to their favorite berries and petting spots. Looking down at the Cyndaquil, a rather new addition to her trainer's repertoire, Jayde thought back to the name etched on the Pokeball.
"Nubia," she cooed.
The mouse Pokémon squealed happily and rubbed her head against Jayde's shin. Light laughter rose in Jayde's throat at seeing the young Pokémon enjoying herself so much. Stroking the fur along her spine, she started rising.
"I've got to go," she said, gently nudging the youngster off of her foot. She pointed to a sunny spot on a nearby hill, where several red shapes were rolling around or playfully sparring. "You can find some other Fire-types over there. I'm sure they'd love to play with you."
Nubia whined, but she glanced at the hill for a moment before bounding towards it. As Jayde turned, she could here the amiable sounds from the other Pokémon, and from the corner of her eye she saw Nubia hop onto the back of an Arcanine (Khan, the unofficial patriarch of the long-term Fire-type residents) and happily hold on as he went racing off.
Exhausted, but still satisfied with her work, she checked her watch and ran off to her locker in the nearest outbuilding. The locker wasn't enormous, but it was large enough to store several sets of clean clothes – an asset when working with Pokémon all day. She grabbed a set and jumped into a small changing stall, quickly slamming and locking the door. When she was sure the lock was properly set, she quickly stripped off her muddy, slightly charred (as was always the case when handling Fire-types) outfit and exchanged it for a fresh pair of jeans and a clean t-shirt. After tossing her old clothes back in the locker and, heeding Gary's advice, grabbing another fresh set, she wheeled around and started heading for the Star Tree.
As the large oak came into view over the hill, she could hear the chatter of a group of people, many of whose voices were familiar to her. Cresting the rise, she could see a large table covered with all kinds of food. Around it milled several researchers (looking strange in regular clothes instead of their typical white lab-coats), some of whom were already eating under the cool shade of the tree and others who were kneeling down next to the large pool to play with the Staryu and Starmie who gave this tree its name.
When she entered their line of sight, they gave a cheer and waved her over. Gary, whom she could now see leaning against the tree, gave a snort of laughter.
"There she is! Ladies and gentlemen, our guest of honor has arrived!"
Rolling her eyes, Jayde said, "I thought this was to celebrate the starters, not my 'not-really-last day'."
Gary smirked. "It's a multitasking event. Did you bring a dry change of clothes?"
Holding them up, she gave a sarcastic smile. "No, I decided to let you ambush me without coming prepared."
"Ambush? Who said anything about an ambush?" Gary said, snatching the outfit from her hands. "By the way, could you take a step back and to your left?"
Sighing resignedly, she did as he asked and immediately felt the forceful spray of several Water Guns, no doubt from the Star-s in the pond. A few seconds later, the water abated, leaving her completely drenched. Laughing, she caught the fluffy towel that Gary threw her.
"Was that really necessary?"
"Absolutely. Oh, and I'd recommend eating quickly. That'll be happening at random times throughout lunch, and there's nothing worse than a soggy piece of pizza."
With lunch extended by almost an hour at either end (bringing the total up to more than three hours), everyone was in a very good mood. Jayde was able to talk with almost every scientist present at the laboratory, since they all stopped by at one point or another to have something to eat before heading back to their research. She had known some of them for as long as she had been here, so it was a nice chance to say some farewells.
True to Gary's word, the occasional dousing of water left her drenched and shivering several times, but the warm drinks and seemingly-endless supply of heated towels (courtesy of a cheerful Slugma a bit farther away from the water) drove away the mid-winter chill. Thankfully, Pallet Town was too far south for snows in the winter; Jayde had heard of some cities where you needed a Pokémon to clear a path to even visit a neighbor's house for months at a time.
Finally, they heard a shout; Jayde turned to see a somewhat-elderly man jogging across the field. When he reached a midpoint between the lab and the Star Tree, he began jumping and waving his arms frantically. The researchers all gave a cheer, hurriedly stuffing their last bites of food in their mouths before rushing down the hill towards the professor. Gary gave a wild grin, his eyes lighting up like a child's.
"They're finally here!"
Jayde took a last bite of pizza before wiping her hands on a napkin.
"That's my cue, then."
Turning towards her, Gary gave a sigh. "You're sure? I mean, it wouldn't really be that bad, and you could-"
"No, I can't. You know I can't get attached. It wouldn't be fair to the other two."
Giving a sad smile, Gary sighed once again. "I know, I know. Besides, you'll be back around in a few months. And we'll still run into each other at the grocery store and stuff," he teased.
Giggling, she started turning towards the outbuilding that contained her locker. She still needed to clean it out, since she wouldn't be working here for awhile at least. The thought made her sad. She had already said her goodbyes to Professor Oak the day before – they both knew he'd be almost impossible to find the day-of. And she had also said goodbye to all the Pokémon she'd known from the lab's stores – trainers tended to gravitate towards a particular team, so surplus Pokémon were rarely used. As such, they tended to become more attached to the workers at the lab – including her – than their trainers.
All her goodbyes accounted for, but she still felt like she was losing a part of herself. For almost as long as she could remember, summer break was an almost-never-ending string of Pokémon, Pokémon, Pokémon. And she had loved every minute. She didn't quite know what to do with herself for the next two months – no lab, no school, no friends of much significance. But, she reminded herself, she'd be starting a whole new life in the spring. A whole new adventure – one for which she had been waiting her entire life. And now it was just around the corner – her future lay within the intricately patterned shells of the lab's newest arrivals.
They would hatch within the next few days, she knew, and spend the next two months growing bigger and stronger, learning some basic moves, and preparing for the day they'd meet their new partner. She had been a part of this process for several years, rearing the hatchlings and keeping an ear out for any news of their journeys. But this year, she had decided to leave the lab for their early lives. If she grew too attached to a particular Pokémon, it would either end up being unfair to the other two trainers – whom she had yet to meet – or breaking her heart.
She gave the Star Tree one last affectionate pat before turning to Gary again, smiling. Even though neither of them was much for hugs, she couldn't stop herself from one last quick embrace. He had been like an older brother to her for so much of her life – it wasn't easy to let go. But after a few seconds, they both dropped their arms and stepped away, still smiling sadly.
"See you later, Gar-Gar."
He laughed. "See ya later, short-stuff."
And with that they both started down opposite sides of the hill.
I think it's safe to say that Gary's mellowed out over the years. The first chapter was set several years after Gary would have been an active trainer, so he would have 16-17ish when he first met Jayde, making him about 25ish now. And yes, the relationship is completely platonic - brother/sisterish.
I'll discuss how the whole starter thing works in the next chapter or two. It was never really explained in the anime (which is what I'm basing this particular element on) why starters are given out when there are so many trainers who just grab a random partner and set out.
I've also boosted the age of trainers a bit - 10 was just a number that the anime gave purely because of its target audience. Mid to late teens seems a bit more likely, so that's what I'm going with. Plus, character development and relationships can be a bit deeper when the characters aren't young children.
Third chapter should be up over the weekend!