The alarm clock beeped as sunrays beamed down into Ava Mitchell's room. She was finally twelve years old–eligible for her very first starter Pokémon. Well, past eligible, at least. Ava was always the cautious type. She never really was fond of Pokémon, or going into the outside world without guidance, for that matter. She was scared of all the large and intimidating Pokémon out in the wild, not exactly knowing that all of them were once smaller Pokémon just as timid as her. Today was the day she'd finally surpress that fear and go into the outside world. If she's lucky, maybe she'd finally get her starter.
But that's still yet to be decided. Ava grumbled at the sound of her alarm clock, shutting the loud device off and turning over in her bed. "Five more minutes…" she muttered, pulling the blanket at neck height.
Around five minutes later, the alarm clock started beeping again. Ava mumbled aggressively as she tossed a pillow toward the insufferable device. "I said five more minutes!" she yelled, as if the alarm clock could hear her. The clock obliged and shut off.
Five more minutes later, the alarm clock strangely never beeped. It didn't seem to wake Ava up, but something else definitely did. The family pet, a Boltund, jolted into the room, happily barking. She could only remember when Boltund was just a tiny Yamper, who'd only reach up to about her shin in height. Now Boltund was a full three feet tall, which meant he now reached up to around her waist. If he stood up on his hind paws, they'd meet heads.
Boltund jumped onto the bed, standing directly on top on Ava with his paws on her shoulders. She awoke to the sounds of Boltund licking her cheek and his incessant panting. Ava shooed Boltund off, finally awaking and standing up. She grabbed a towel, wiping her face. "Blech… Thanks for the such gentle awakening," she said, yawning. Boltund tilted his head as he jumped off the bed, slowly trying to grasp what Ava was talking about.
She walked downstairs, scratching her head as she slowly arrived at the dinner table, grabbing a fork and picking at her eggs. Her mother flipped a pancake and placed it on a plate, noticing her daughter's tired expression and rather wild bedhead.
"Ava? What's the matter, honey?" she said, sliding the pancake next to Ava's eggs. "Nothing, Mom," she replied, stuffing a forkful of egg into her mouth. Her mother sat down at the chair across from her, next to the empty chairs where her dad and big brother used to sit. Her dad worked weekdays so she never really had to opportunity to have a good breakfast with him.
"Y'know, Ava, I just got to sending in the form. You're starting your Pokémon journey at 8am sharp," her mother said, breaking the silence.
Ava looked up from her eggs, talking with her mouth full. "I am?"
"Yeah! Your brother just started his a few weeks ago. He texted me this morning and said he was already on the third gym leader."
Ava almost spit out her eggs back onto the plate. "He is?!"
"He always did advance fast," her mother replied. Their Boltund sprinted down the stairs, happily trotting toward the breakfast table, plopping his head next to Ava's plate. Ava slowly stabbed a couple of eggs with her fork and gently slid them to Boltund's side. He devoured them in almost a single bite. Her mother lightly chuckled. "Don't feed him, Ava. He's already had his breakfast, and you need yours."
"Sorry Mom," Ava apologized. "But where'll I get my starter at? What if they're all good options and I won't know which one to choose?"
Her mother nodded understandingly. "You'll get your starter at Professor Oak's lab, just around the corner. I trust you to get there on your own. No talking to strangers, okay?"
"Mom," Ava said, chuckling between words. "It's, like, 7:35. Nobody's gonna be outside this early."
"7:35 isn't that early," her mother said, watching Ava finish her breakfast. "You're just being dramatic."
Her mother took another bite of her pancake. "While you're out there, I want you to remember that the Kanto out there was and will not be the same Kanto as it was back in the 90's. More Pokémon have been appearing all over the place. It's nothing like the original hundred-or-so that I used to grow up with. You think you can handle that, honey?"
Ava scoffed. "Mom, I can handle it. I assure you."
Her mother shrugged, stuffing another piece of pancake in her mouth. "Okay, but just remember you know our address. You can always come back home."
Ava stood up, grabbing her plate and gently sliding it into the dishwasher. Boltund barked, sniffing at whatever remnants of egg and pancake fell from Ava's plate. "Well, Mom… I guess I'll be off now." Her mother sipped her coffee, not yet wanting her child to go on without her. "Yeah… I guess so… Bye, Ava."
"Bye Mom," Ava said, grabbing her bookbag from off the hallway floor and slipping on her running shoes. "Stay safe. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Her mother chuckled. "I thought I was supposed to be the one telling you that. Where'd you get this attitude from anyway? I bet it's them public schools," She got up, giving a quick kiss to Ava's forehead. "Bye, honey. I love you."
Ava hugged her mother. "I love you too…" Boltund yipped happily, jumping on his hind legs. Ava chuckled. "We love you too, Boltie."
Ava opened the door, off to find this "Professor Oak" and his elusive "laboratory" that was somewhere around the corner. Her mother never really was that good with directions, so there was a possibillity that she had got directions mixed up. Ava slinged her bookbag around her shoulder, walking off around the house, scoping her yard for any signs of any laboratories. Not much was found.
She kept walking, before she heard squawking from above. She looked up at the sky to see a Starly flying down, eventually landing on her nose. She giggled, picking up the tiny bird Pokémon and holding it in her hands. "Aww… You're cute. What's your name?"
The Starly ruffled its feathers, before jumping off her arms and flying away, merging into a nearby flock of Starly and Staraptor. They seemed to be migrating somewhere.
Ava blinked. "I couldn't even get its name… God, I wish I had a Pokédex right now."
Ava started to walk out of her yard and into the sidewalk. Her feet lightly printed dirt into the hardened cement as she walked. She took quick glances at everything, making sure to keep a keen eye out for Professor Oak's lab.
She turned the corner, and looked to her left. Right by her was the lab. "Finally…" she muttered, running up the pathway into the front door.
She took five quick knocks to the door. "Hello? Helloooooo? Anyone in there? I'm here for a starter…"
Ava slowly twisted the knob, finally realizing the door opened on its own. She walked into an almost completely empty laboratory. Nobody but just a few people were there. There were barely any Pokémon either, except for a Minccino dusting away at a clear table in the corner. Ava looked around, spotting a scientist and walking up to him.
"Hey, uh, sir? I'm here for a starter," Ava inquired. "Where's the Professor?"
"The Professor?" the man replied. "He's on vacation somewhere, I'm pretty sure."
Ava squinted her eyes, tilting her head a tiny bit. "Vacation?"