Shaking my head to rid myself of adventurous thoughts, I collected myself and hurried forward in the direction of where the girl had gone.

I don't even know her name… I pondered, as I took a glance out of the two wooden doors that led into a large courtyard.

Inside it was a large cobbled area, with small patches of browning grass protruding out from the paved stones. The sun hung in the sky, at its highest, and its beams seemed to reach down and purposefully blind me, so I was forced to squint.

My heart rate began to increase, and I swallowed nervously.

Where did she go?

But there she was, striding past a fountain that was situated in the middle of the courtyard. The sun caught the colour of her hair perfectly, as it resonated in all its beauty. But with a lurch of jealousy, I noticed other trainers who were lingering around turning their head to watch her as she walked, her pleated skirt swaying slightly in the light breeze.

"She's quite a looker, isn't she?" a voice said, coming from behind me.

I spun around, my hand instinctively reaching down to my utility belt where usually my trusty Poke Balls would be.

The voice had originated from Ash. He wasn't squinting; his cap was pulled down over his eyes, as was his custom, so he was protected from the harsh gaze coming down from the sky. But I could see a wry smile creasing his pale face.

"Definitely," I replied cautiously. "Why?"

The trainer just looked at me and his smile increased.

"Well…if you're talking about her name, I don't think it will matter if I tell you that I don't know any more than you do. But," he added, obviously for special effect. "She is definitely going to be my next girlfriend…"

And with a small, casual lift of a finger to the brim of his cap – a strange, mocking form of salute, he brushed past me, nudging me slightly out of the way, and set a large stride after her. The beautiful girl – the one who no one seemed to know much about.

I decided to leave and try and find my dorm, but as I did, I couldn't help but think about what Ash had just told me.

My NEXT girlfriend…the use of the word 'next' couldn't help but cause a strong upsurge of hatred.

I joined a large queue, and after reaching finally reaching the end, I was met by a kind old man, with a greying beard, flecked with streaks of black.

"Good afternoon young man," the man said; and with a glance at my watch, I saw that he was correct, it was one o' clock. "I assume you'll be asking about your dorm?"

I nodded.

He reached for something under the desk he was positioned behind and placed a large stack of keys onto the table. I noticed that some were in the shape of recognisable Pokémon: Pidgey, Pichu, Riolu and Gastly were just some of many. I looked enquiringly back up at the man, who had a look of amusement creased over his aging features.

"There are also three special dorms named after some ancient Pokémon, thought to be the creators of this land. Lugia, Ho-Oh and Moltres are the names of these – however, they can only be accessed by older people who have already won some Gym Badges during the Pokémon League. So…

"It seems that you will have to choose one of the other ones. What is your choice?"

I looked hard at the Pokémon shaped keys, and eventually settled for one.

"I'll go for the Riolu dorm please."

The man smiled and handed me over a key.

"You'll be in room 216, so an elevator will be available to get you there when you enter Riolu building."

I ran the key through my fingers, feeling the cold metal. It allowed me to distract myself away from Ash and his pursuit over the girl who, I realised, I hadn't stopped thinking about since I had first seen her.

"Do you need help finding your way there?" he asked, motioning to two resolute looking men stood at either side of him.

Not liking the look of the grimaces on their cleanly shaven faces, I politely declined and moved off; detaching myself from the queue that had formed behind me, before entering the main lobby again.

Above me, hanging from the ceiling, was a large sign that read out the names of the Dorms, and had a helpful arrow pointing towards the direction of the staircase the respective pupils would have to take. Looking for the right arrow to take for the Riolu dorm, I ascended the stairs, and found myself walking along a corridor, painted with many figures of the Pokémon Riolu and its eventual evolution, Lucario.

Finding room 216, I let myself in and found myself stood right in front of the girl I had seen not five minutes before.

I smiled nervously, closing the door behind me.

"I guess you chose Riolu dorm too, then?" she asked.

I nodded, suddenly finding myself unable to form cohesive words again.

She smiled knowingly, and brushed past me. I caught the faintest hint of her body spray as she did so.

"Well, come here and meet Max." she said.

I followed her without question; her voice just seemed to make me melt before her eyes.

Inside a side room, one of the three bedrooms that were situated inside 216, was a boy. He looked to be my age, with short black hair with unusual red tints. He was wearing a black jumper, with a Chinese dragon on it, and fading blue jeans which seemed to contain an innumerable amount of pockets.

"Hey," he said, reaching over to shake my hand briskly. His grip was firm, as though he was looking to make an impression. "Nice to meet you."

I smiled at him genuinely. "And you." I had a good feeling that we were going to get on very well.

The girl came over to me, and stood at my side. She had a curious smile on her face.

"And I'm Gaia," she announced. "Looks like we're all stuck with each other for the next couple of years!"

I laughed, hoping to sound as manly, and humane, as possible. Max just seemed more fluid, however, as he made a non-committal noise, and walked past us into the living room. Inside it was a large sofa, two large chairs, a metallic coffee table with lots of Pokémon magazines stacked up on them, and a huge plasma TV which took up one whole length of the room.

He sat down heavily on the sofa, picked up a remote and flicked it nonchalantly. The TV burst into life, tuned into the Pokémon League channel. A fierce battle between a Typhlosion and a Tyrantrum was taking place.

"I reckon the Typhlosion will win…" Gaia giggled. She too took a seat next to Max. Feeling another spurt of jealously, I followed suit and cast a wary glance over my two roommates, while seeing the Tyrantrum rear up dangerously on the screen.