I awoke to the familiar, loud cry of a Dodrio. Quickly, I sat up in bed and pushed my tangled hair away from my face. Today is the day, I thought excitedly. Today was my 16th birthday, and I already knew what my present would be.
I threw on a T-shirt, some shorts, and my sneakers, brushed my hair as best I could and ran out of my room and down the stairs. My mom was waiting for me when I entered the kitchen. "Looks like someone's excited about their special day," she said. "Sit down, honey. I made your favorite."
After my delicious breakfast of Nanab berry muffins and Appleton juice, it was time to receive my gift. "Since you are 16 now, it's finally time for you to get your first Pokémon and travel through the Laria region," Mom said. "Professor Maple is waiting at the lab to give you your starter."
Even though I already knew that was coming, I couldn't contain my excitement and jumped up and down. In most other regions, children could start their Pokémon journeys when they were as young as 10 years old. Here in Laria, The laws were more strict, and the age to qualify to start A journey was raised to 16. I had been talking about getting my first Pokémon practically since I could talk, and now that wish would finally come true.
I gave my mom a hug and kiss goodbye and picked up my cane which hung by the door. Also hanging by the door was a pendant which I slipped around my neck. The stone at the end of the chain was smooth and round. Mom once told me that it had belonged to my father many years ago, but I didn't know much else about it besides that. I always kept it with me when I traveled as a reminder of home.
I said one final goodbye to my mom and stepped outside. Syrut City was a small and peaceful place. Even without sight, I knew it like the back of my hand. Warm summer air greeted me as I walked down the path away from my house. I stopped when I reached the steps of another house. It was where Wren, One of my best friends since childhood lived.
I knocked on the door and waited. No answer. I tried again but still nothing. He must already be at the lab, I thought. He would be getting his starter today too, along with me and Professor Maple's daughter Kate.
Not wanting to be late, I turned away from the house and kept running until I reached the Pokémon research lab. I rushed through the door and shut it behind me.
"Hey, Sky," Wren greeted as I entered.
"It's about time you got here," said Kate.
While Wren was shy and pretty friendly, Kate was a bit more on the competitive and wild side. Even if she got on my nerves, we were still pretty good friends.
"I didn't take that long, did I?" I asked.
"Are you kidding?" Kate laughed. "We've been waiting here for you for like ever. Can we get on with it already?"
Just then, Professor Maple entered the room. "I know you're excited, honey, but please try to relax. I'm glad you could make it, Sky. Now, on the table in front of you all are three Pokéballs. Each one contains a starter Pokémon you may choose to take on your journey through Laria. The one on the left contains Sprigatito, A grass type. The one in the middle contains Fennekin, A fire type. The last one on the right contains Mudkip, A water type. Skye, why don't you choose first?"
Kate let out a groan of annoyance which I ignored. I thought about the three choices in front of me. I knew from reading about Pokémon that they would all grow into decently powerful ones. After a few more seconds of thinking, I picked up the Pokéball on the left and pressed the button. "I choose Sprigatito," I said.
The little Pokémon nuzzled up to my leg, purring softly.
"Hello there," I said quietly. "My name is Sky. I'm going to be your trainer. I was thinking of giving you a nickname. Do you like the name Flora?"
"Sprig sprig!" she replied. A sweet, pleasant scent was coming from her fur.
"Well if you chose that one, I'll choose this one," Kate said, letting out her new Pokémon.
"Fen!" The creature barked. The air began to feel warmer and Flora quickly hid behind my leg.
Of course, I thought. Kate always liked to have a competitive advantage against someone.
"I have the coolest nickname for you," Kate said excitedly. "I'll call you Ember."
Hearing her name, Ember barked in excitement.
"Well, I guess that means it's you and me, Mudkip," Wren said, releasing his Pokémon.
There was a small splashing sound as the little Mudkip bounced up and down happily. "Mud, kip! Mud, kip! Mud, kip!"
Kate burst into laughter. "I can't believe you got stuck with that thing!"
Mudkip stopped bouncing, turned his head, and sprayed Kate with a water gun. She screamed, which made the rest of us start laughing.
"See?" Wren said. "He's more powerful than he looks. Since you're so full of energy, I think I'll call you Skipper. How does that sound?"
Mudkip responded by bouncing up and down some more.
Now that we all had our Pokémon, Professor Maple gave us some supplies. We were all given bowls and bags of Pokémon food, and Kate and I received collars and leashes while Wren received a portable Poképool so Skipper could swim whenever he wanted exercise. We also received 10 Pokéballs and a machine called a Pokéscan. This device had the functions of a Pokédex but could also act as a phone or as a map and a guide to the region. It could speak things aloud or it had a quiet mode for those who preferred to read text instead.
I held the square device in my hand, running my other hand over the spiral logo on its top. It was created by Sigma Corp, A company that manufactured most products related to Pokémon including food, Pokéballs and other technology. They were similar to companies like Silf on Kanto or Devin in Hoenn, and their headquarters were in Sancot City.
I opened the Pokéscan to see what information it had on Flora.
Sprigatito: The grass cat Pokémon. It's fluffy fur is similar in composition to plants. This Pokémon frequently washes its face to prevent it from drying out.
Type: grass
Gender: female
Ability: overgrow
Current moves: scratch, tail whip, leafage
"This thing is so cool!" I said a bit too loudly.
"Nerd," Wren and Kate said at the same time, laughing.
I put the Pokéscan in my backpack with the rest of my supplies and was about to leave when Kate blocked my path and cleared her throat. "Come on, Sky. Let's test out our new Pokémon. I am not leaving here without a battle."
"All right then. Let's go, Flora!"
"Battle time, Ember!"
Both Pokémon ran towards each other. Flora was faster though, so she got to move first. "Start off with tail whip," I commanded.
Flora began running around in circles near Ember, waving her fluffy tail around to confuse her. Then she gave Ember A little smack in the face with her tail.
"Don't get distracted," Kate said. "Use ember."
The air grew hotter as Ember shot a small fireball at Flora. Thankfully, she dodged out of the way and her attack missed.
"Use scratch," I said.
Flora sprinted toward Ember and quickly scratched her.
"Going for a direct approach, I see. You won't get lucky this time. Use ember."
Ember sent more fire toward Flora. This time, however, the attack didn't miss. Flora was knocked back and fell on the ground. "Spriiiiiig!"
"Flora, are you OK?" I asked, concerned.
She responded by jumping up and giving me a lick on the leg before returning to her opponent.
"Let's try leafage," I commanded.
"Quick! Burn those leaves with ember!" Kate shouted back.
Flora sent out a bunch of leaves that came falling toward Ember. Some of them were burned by the small flames but a few managed to hit their target.
"Now use tail whip then scratch," I said.
Flora began running around and waving her tail again. Then suddenly, Ember let out a bark of surprise. From the sounds of things, Flora had jumped on her back and was now scratching her over and over again. Then Ember fell to the ground, knocked out.
"I did it!" I yelled. "I won my first battle!"
Flora jumped into my arms and nuzzled against me, meowing happily. Wren and Skipper cheered while Kate returned Ember to her Pokéball to rest.
"I must say I am very impressed," Professor Maple said. "All three of you are on your way to becoming great Pokémon trainers."
With that, we all said our goodbyes and took our first steps into the Laria region.
