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A balmy breeze rustled the palm tree fronds under the summer sun. The weather was usually nice in Littleroot like this, but today it seemed even nicer than usual. Pokémon milled around in the surrounding forest, chattering to each other. Sometimes they even wandered into town; Littleroot was small enough that wild Pokémon didn’t feel threatened among the quaint buildings.
It was on a day such as this that a very old man with a long, white beard stopped in front of a particular house and knocked three times on the door.
After a few moments the door opened, revealing another old man, though perhaps not quite as old as the first. His white visor cap denoted him as a ship’s captain, though from the looks of things he was probably retired. His expression was cold and serious, but he seemed to brighten when he saw his guest.
“Ah!” said the second man, “That didn’t take you very long.”
“Thank you for letting me visit, Drake, especially on short notice like this…” the first man said gratefully, “You are on leave from the league, and I know I’m being terribly rude…”
The wizened sea captain raised his hand airily, waving off his friend’s all-too-polite apology.
“It’s no trouble, Spenser. You are a friend whom I hold in high regard. Come in, come in. But I must ask: what brings you out here?”
“I’ll get to that,” the old man smiled apologetically as he walked in the door, “How have things been with you? I haven’t heard from you since you took leave to care for your granddaughter.”
“Things are as usual,” said Drake, “It’s quiet here in Littleroot. Laura is as bright and energetic as ever.”
“Energetic, you say…?” Spenser seemed confused, “I wouldn’t expect a girl that you raised to be the energetic type.”
“You would be surprised,” Drake’s smile was hidden by his white mustache, “She’s quite like her father, honestly. Always running out to Route 101 to play with her friends, regardless of how I’ve warned her not to.”
Spenser took his seat at the kitchen table; Drake remained standing respectfully until the other man motioned for him to sit.
“How old is she now? Your granddaughter.”
“She turned thirteen last week.”
“Just the right age to become a Pokémon trainer,” mused Spenser. Though the legal age for becoming a Pokémon trainer was ten, most children in Hoenn started their journeys at thirteen or fourteen, “Has she, then?”
“Has she what?”
“Become a trainer?”
Drake laughed quietly.
“Littleroot is a small town,” he said, “We don’t even have a mart that sells Pokéballs, much less a local Pokémon Professor to start trainers off on their journeys.”
Spenser wondered why Drake, one of the prestigious and powerful Elite Four, hadn’t provided a starting Pokémon for his own granddaughter. Did he not want her to follow in his footsteps?
“Well, I believe she’s in luck,” said Spenser, stroking his beard, “I have with me a few Pokémon that I do not need. They are offspring of my own Pokémon, offspring I did not plan for, and I don’t have the time to raise them all myself.”
“I see,” said Drake, furrowing his brow beneath his cap. He always wore the cap, even when indoors, even when far from the sea. He wasn’t a vain man, but he didn’t like how he looked without it.
“If you would like, fetch your granddaughter. I can give one of them to her. I have three here with me, if she has friends who would also like to become trainers…”
Drake eyed Spenser suspiciously. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the old man; it was hard not to trust a man who spent his days raising Pokémon with care. He just wasn’t sure why, of all the cities and towns in Hoenn, Spenser had picked Littleroot. Why, of all the possible children, had Spenser picked Drake’s granddaughter to receive a Pokémon he didn’t need?
“I…” Drake began, “I hadn’t expected this day to come so soon. The day I watch my granddaughter become a trainer.”
Perhaps part of him had also wanted to start her off the way his father had for him, taking him deep into a cave in the north and leading him straight into a dragon’s nest. He’d watched an entire clutch of dragon Pokémon hatch from their eggs all at once, and from them had selected a partner that still fought alongside him today.
He’d wanted to lead his son on the path of dragons many years earlier, but his son wanted not to train Pokémon but to study them. He’d gone off with his wife to travel the globe studying Pokémon, leaving Laura in Drake’s care at a young age. Deep down, Drake was anxious: Laura was his last hope for keeping the lineage of Dragon Masters alive. He didn’t want to simply dictate her life for her, but he also didn’t want Hoenn’s line of Dragon Masters to disappear.
“I understand…” said Spenser, “If you want, I can find someone else to care for these Pokémon…”
“Oh, no,” said Drake, “It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t give her this choice.”
Spenser nodded. Drake went upstairs to find Laura.
* * *
Their house was small: on the first floor, one large room served as the kitchen, dining room, and lounge area, with a small room off to the side as a bathroom. On the second floor there were only two rooms, both bedrooms, with another small bathroom between them.
In her room, Laura was packing a fanny pack and getting ready for another day of adventuring with her best friend. She was short for her age, with shoulder-length navy hair that never really behaved the way she would have liked. As she tied a red bandana on her head, a knock sounded at her door.
“Laura?” it was her grandfather.
“Yeah?”
“Come downstairs. There’s a surprise for you.”
“A surprise?”
Laura’s grandfather wasn’t one to surprise her often, so she immediately wondered if it was something big. Maybe he was going back to the Pokémon League, and she would have to live with her best friend (or even someone else) for a while. She wouldn’t mind living with her friend; they practically lived at each other’s houses already. But if it turned out to be someone else… it would be like her parents all over again, sluffing her off to pursue bigger, better things. She’d been too young to understand what was going on at the time, but now that she was older… she supposed she really did resent them.
Or maybe…
What if her parents had come back?!
Laura’s heart leaped into her throat. She grabbed her fanny pack and fastened it hurriedly around her waist, jumped into her shoes, and practically ran down the stairs. Drake followed her reservedly.
“You see, Spenser? She’s quite energetic.”
Spenser…? Her heart sank. Sitting at the kitchen table was an old man, probably older than her grandfather, with a bald head and a long white beard. He was dressed in monk’s robes, his skin was tattooed with arcane blue symbols, and a walking staff leaned against the table beside him. He smiled at her, eyes squinted shut.
“Hello, child,” he said, “You must be Drake’s granddaughter. Laura, correct?”
Laura nodded nervously.
You can’t be serious, Grandpa, she thought, You’re not leaving me with this old guy, are you…?
“My name is Spenser,” said the old man. His voice, at least, was friendly, “I have something very special for you. With me I have three Pokémon, one each of the Three Essential Types. Your grandfather and I have decided to give one of them to you.”
Three Essential Types? Laura racked her brains; her grandfather had occasionally lectured her about the philosophical associations of Pokémon types, but she rarely listened attentively. More pressing, however, was the fact that she was about to receive a Pokémon.
“As I said, I have three Pokémon with me,” said Spenser, “If you have friends who might be interested, I will extend the offer to them as well–”
Laura didn’t even let him finish; she bolted out the door as fast as her feet would carry her.
Wait’ll Terry hears about this!!
Terry had been Laura’s friend ever since she first came to Littleroot with Drake. He was an outgoing, rambunctious boy a year older than herself. The two of them got up to all sorts of mischief together, from running off to Oldale town by themselves to playing in the tall grasses of Route 101 to pilfering dates and bananas from the community garden and snacking on them in the shade. Drake didn’t believe in keeping his granddaughter occupied with adult-run activities, and Terry’s parents were too busy running the grocery store to care about what he did during the day. The two of them had enjoyed a childhood relatively free of obligation, besides going to school in the fall and winter.
Terry’s house was a stone’s throw from Laura’s, a slightly bigger dwelling with two floors and a basement. Terry had a little sister who’d tagged along with them when they were younger, but now she was old enough to have her own group of friends. It was she who answered the door when Laura got there.
“You’re looking for Terry, aren’t you?” she said. Laura nodded.
“Tell him to come quick!” said Laura, “Grandpa has something really awesome for us!”
The girl turned and shouted into the house:
“Terrrrryyyyy! Laura’s here!”
There was no answer.
“Terry, you big dummy! Laura says come quick!”
“I’m not a dummy!”
The boy himself came downstairs, tugging his awkward-looking hat down over his messy white hair.
“What is it?”
“Someone showed up at my house with POKÉMON!” said Laura excitedly, “He’s gonna give us our own Pokémon!”
She’d had him at the first “Pokémon”. Terry followed Laura out the door and away, ignoring his ten-year-old sister’s cries of “Pokémon? I wanna come too!”
Laura hadn’t been gone ten minutes when she came bursting back through the front door of her own house, Terry at her heels. There was some silence as the two of them stopped to catch their breath. Spenser eyed Terry curiously: the boy was dressed rather warmly for summer in the Hoenn region, what with his long-sleeved jumpsuit and biking gloves. Laura was dressed a bit more appropriately.
“All right,” said Spenser, “Let me show you these Pokémon of mine.”
Spenser took three Pokéballs from his robes and opened them, one at a time. From the first came a green Pokémon that looked like a lizard with a leafy tail.
“First is Treecko, the grass-type Pokémon.”
From the second Pokéball came a Pokémon that looked like a small, flightless bird with orange feathers.
“Next is Torchic, the fire-type Pokémon.”
From the final Pokéball came a blue Pokémon that was hard to describe. It stood on four legs, though its head was bigger than its body, and it had a fin-like tail. It also had a fin on its head, and orange growths on its cheeks.
“Finally we have Mudkip, the water-type Pokémon.”
Laura and Terry looked over their choices carefully as Spenser continued.
“These three Pokémon, though native to the Hoenn region, are extremely rare,” he said, “You two are very lucky to have this opportunity, as most trainers are only able to choose from Pokémon near to their hometown. You are also lucky that they are already accustomed to being around humans.”
Laura looked carefully from one Pokémon to the next. The fire one was cute, but so was the grass one… and the water one was the cutest of all. She wondered which one would be most useful to her as a trainer, or most practical as a partner in the Hoenn region. She still wasn’t sure if she was actually going to go on a journey, or was just going to have a Pokémon around as a pet. A journey sounded exciting, but it would be hard to leave the comfort of Littleroot–especially knowing how stern her grandfather was about wandering off.
She made up her mind.
“I’ll take this one!”
Laura reached out and picked up the blue Pokémon. It had a simple face, and it smiled at her cheerily.
“Mud!”
From a practical standpoint, it was a wise choice. Hoenn’s culture and economy depended largely on the ocean. The region was comprised of a mainland and several islands, and oftentimes trainers could only get to these islands on the back of a swimming Pokémon.
“All right then,” said Terry, “I’ll take this one!”
Terry picked up the green Pokémon. It closed its eyes lazily.
“Tree,” it said simply.
“Hey, I see what you did,” said Laura accusingly, “You waited for me to pick so you could get the one that’d beat mine!”
“You snooze, you lose!” said Terry, “Or I guess, in this case, you snooze, you win!”
“Now now,” said Drake, “Behave, you two. Laura, are you sure that’s the Pokémon you want…?”
Laura looked at Mudkip again. It may not be the best choice in battle against Terry’s grass-type, but it would certainly be more practical in the field. In a place like Hoenn, a water Pokémon would definitely come in handy.
“Yep, I’m sure.”
“Well then,” said Spenser. He smiled kindly at the fire-type Pokémon. Maybe this Spenser guy is really good with Pokémon, thought Laura, Torchic looks like it doesn’t mind being the last guy left.
Spenser handed Laura and Terry their Pokémon’s Pokéballs.
“In other regions, Pokémon professors give new trainers the latest newfangled gadget or other items to aid them on their quests,” Spenser continued, “I am no such professor, so I’m afraid I have nothing to offer you other than your first Pokémon. Before you participate in any battles with other trainers, you should probably go to the Pokémon Center in Oldale town. There you can get an official Pokémon Trainer ID card, which no legal Pokémon Trainer can go without.”
“Right,” said Laura and Terry, both nodding.
“Normally such things are issued by trainer schools or professors, but our region, Littleroot town especially, is… a special case. Drake, have you paper?”
“Indeed I do,” Drake replied. He walked over to the kitchen, where a pad of paper and a pen sat next to the telephone. These he brought over and handed to Spenser. The old man scrawled something on two sheets, tore them off the pad, and handed one each to the new trainers.
“Present these at the Pokémon Center’s front desk and ask for trainer cards; they will know what to do,” he said with a smile.
Laura looked down at the letter; Mudkip eyed the paper, but probably couldn’t read what Spenser had written there:
Please give the bearer a Trainer Card. You have my permission.
Spenser
Just who was this Spenser, that he could go around giving orders like that? Laura wondered if there was something he wasn’t telling her. She and Terry looked at each other before glancing back up to the old man who’d given them her Pokémon.
“Well with that, I think my business is finished here,” said Spenser. He stood up and recalled the fire Pokémon, “Thank you again for having me on such short notice, Drake. I must be off, I’m afraid.”
“It’s no trouble,” said Drake, “Thank you for your kind gift to Laura and her friend. Say thank you, you two.”
“Thank you, Spenser,” the two of them said in unison.
“It was no trouble,” said Spenser, “Whether you embark on your own journey, or simply keep your Pokémon as companions at home, I wish you all the best. I hope the both of of you come to understand how wonderful Pokémon are.”
Spenser waved kindly before showing himself out the door. Terry and Laura spent a few minutes looking at their Pokémon in awe. Laura almost couldn’t believe she wasn’t dreaming: a Pokémon of her own? Drake was always stern about Laura venturing out into the wild without one, and his own Pokémon were terrifyingly strong. She had come to think that Pokémon were a big responsibility, or even a little dangerous–but looking at her new Mudkip, her doubts dissolved.
“Hey, we should battle!” said Terry after a while, “That’s what Pokémon trainers do, isn’t it?”
“You heard Spenser,” said Drake sternly, “You must get a Trainer Card before you participate in any battles. I won’t allow any unofficial battles under my roof.”
“Aw, not even one? Just for fun?” said Terry. Drake shook his head.
“The Pokémon League has rules surrounding such things, and at any rate, Pokémon Center services are only free to card-carrying trainers. If one of your Pokémon were to be severely hurt, you would have to cover the costs yourself. Come now, getting a card is not difficult. You can be patient, can’t you?”
“Well…” said Terry.
“You should probably let your mother know you have a Pokémon, as well,” said Drake, “Even if you aren’t planning on taking a journey, caring for a Pokémon is no small task.”
“Yeah…” Terry looked at Laura, “I’ll meet you out on Route 101 when I’m done talking to my mom.”
“Okay,” said Laura. She watched as Terry left, then turned to her grandfather. They eyed each other for a little while.
“What is it?” asked Drake, “Don’t keep your friend waiting.”
“Who was that man, Grandpa?”
“A friend,” said Drake simply, “He’s actually someone very important, but he prefers to keep out of the public eye.”
“Oh…”
“Laura,” said Drake, “This day has come sooner than I would have liked, but… I hope you and your Pokémon get on well from here on. A Pokémon is a lot of responsibility, but I think you are a capable girl.”
“T-thanks…” such praise from her grandfather was rare, and Laura wasn’t sure how to respond.
“In that vein,” said Drake, “The choice is ultimately yours to make, but should you wish to embark on a journey with your new partner… you have my permission.”
“Really?!” Laura’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor. She’d been yearning for the chance to explore Hoenn past Oldale, but without a Pokémon, she never could. Nor had she imagined her grandfather would let her, much less suggest it.
Drake smiled; it was the kind of smile that only she could see, having spent so much time with him.
“Mud?” Laura’s Mudkip piped up.
“So if I wanted to leave tomorrow, or even today… that would be okay?”
“You’ll have to pack adequately, of course,” said Drake, “I will help you decide what to bring.”
“You always seemed so protective of me…”
“For your sake, I was. But all girls leave home someday. Now that you have a Pokémon, I trust you’ll be all right on your own–but before that, you must get a Trainer Card. Go on. Your friend is expecting you to be there before him.”
“Okay. See you later, grandpa!”
Laura lifted Mudkip off the floor and headed outside, Spenser’s note tucked into her pocket.
* * *
Laura met Terry on Route 101 a few minutes later, Mudkip in her arms. Terry’s mother hadn’t been too happy with the new Pokémon initially, but had agreed to let him keep it as long as Terry used his own money to feed and care for it.
“So do you think you’re gonna go on a journey?” asked Laura.
“I dunno,” said Terry, “I want to, but I bet my mom’d have a fit…”
“Well, you’ll just have to convince her!” said Laura, “Grandpa said I can go on a journey, but it’d be no fun if you weren’t traveling too.”
“I’m sure that’ll win her over,” said Terry.
They bickered all the way to the Pokémon Center in Oldale. Surprisingly, they weren’t challenged by a single Pokémon along the way. Laura and Terry had had some close calls with wild Pokémon when they ventured out before. Now, it was almost as if Mudkip was scaring them all away.
“You’re not really that scary…” Laura held Mudkip out at arms length as she approached the counter, looking at its simple face.
“Mud,” said Mudkip.
“Welcome to the Oldale Pokémon Center!”
Laura and Terry jumped; it was the first time they’d ever been in a Pokémon Center, and they were surprised that the young woman behind the counter was talking to them.
“We’ll bring your Pokémon back to full health,” she continued mechanically. Obviously this was a sort of set phrase, “May I see your Trainer Cards, please?”
“Actually, that’s what we’re here for,” said Terry. He fished Spenser’s note out of his pocket, “We have this.”
Laura got out her note, and both of them handed theirs to the nurse. She looked at the notes carefully.
“From Spenser… oh! Understood. Give me just a minute, you two.”
The nurse disappeared through a door behind the counter, and Laura and Terry looked at each other. “Important” indeed–whoever this ‘Spenser’ was, he must have had some kind of authority. The nurse returned with what appeared to be a camera.
“I’m going to need to take your pictures,” she said, “Your trainer cards are good for ten years; you’ll need to renew them and get a new picture then. Of course, you can renew your card at any time if you feel you need a new picture.”
“Got it.”
The nurse took Laura’s picture first, then Terry’s, before turning to the computer behind the counter. Within a few minutes, their trainer cards were ready. Laura held her card as though it were a precious treasure, eyes passing over everything that was written there. Somehow, the sight of her name and picture on the card made her swell with pride. With this, there wasn’t any room to doubt. She was officially a Pokémon Trainer.
“Alright, Laura,” said Terry, “Now that we have these… let’s have a battle!”
“Huh–? Right now?”
“Yeah, right now!” said Terry, “Let’s see how our Pokémon match up!”
“Well, all right,” said Laura, “But I’m not gonna lose!”
“Um…” said the nurse, “Please don’t battle inside the Pokémon Center. It disturbs the other customers.”
The two of them looked around the lobby. Aside from a girl using the computer in the corner, it was empty.
“You sure…?” Terry started. Laura elbowed him.
“Ow! Okay, okay!”
* * *
The two of them found a shady spot near the Pokémon Center to have their battle. Laura’s Mudkip took the field in front of her, while Terry let Treecko out of its Pokéball. The lizard Pokémon picked up a nearby twig and stuck it in its mouth.
“Okay, Mudkip!” said Laura. She took a confident stance, as she’d seen trainers on TV doing, “Use, um…”
“Spenser didn’t even tell us what attacks these guys know!” said Terry, “Ugh… Now how are we gonna battle…?”
“Well…” Mudkip looked at Laura expectantly, “Um… attack!”
Mudkip rushed forward and tackled Treecko to the ground. The lizard Pokémon quickly got to its feet.
“So that must be ‘tackle’…” said Terry, “Okay, Treecko, you attack too!”
Treeko ran for Mudkip and pounded the blue Pokémon with its small fist. Mudkip cried out and ran back to Laura’s side.
“Maybe that’s ‘pound’…?” said Laura.
“I guess so,” said Terry.
“Okay, Mudkip, tackle!”
“Pound, Treecko!”
Mudkip repeated its attack with the same results, and Treecko this time used its tail to hit Mudkip. Laura and Terry called out attacks again, and the battle went back and forth for a few minutes. Laura hadn’t imagined that her first Pokémon battle would be so… bland. After a while the two Pokémon were looking a little worse for the wear.
“Okay, Mudkip, you can finish it! Tackle!”
“Don’t let her win! Treecko, pound!”
Treecko moved first, swinging its fist at Mudkip–but Mudkip dodged in the nick of time, catching Treecko off guard with its tackle attack. Treecko fell off to the side, defeated. Terry ran to pick it up.
“Aw no, Treecko!” he said, recalling it, “You did good, though. We’ll do better next time.”
“Good job, Mudkip!!” said Laura, picking up her Pokémon and swinging it in the air, “We won!”
“Mudkip mud!”
“That was a good battle, Laura,” said Terry, “Don’t think I’m gonna let you win next time, though! Once Treecko learns a grass-type move, you’re history!”
“We’ll see about that!” said Laura, “I’ll just catch a Flying-type Pokémon to beat Treecko!”
“Then I’ll catch an Electric-type!”
The two of them bickered in this way back to the Pokémon Center, and then continued their hypothetical all-out battle the entire walk back to Littleroot. They finally reached a tie in front of Terry’s house after somehow working themselves into a dragon-dragon loop.
“Well,” said Terry, “In order to catch all those Pokémon to beat each other with, we’re going to have to go on a journey. I say we start tomorrow!”
“Huh? But won’t you have to ask your parents first?”
“They’ll come around,” Terry grinned cheekily, “I’m fourteen, dude. Lots of people start their journeys at this age. I can take care of myself. Besides, I have Treecko now to protect me.”
Terry patted the Pokéball in his pocket reassuringly.
“So I’ll meet you at the Oldale Pokémon Center tomorrow morning at 10!” he said, “Last one there’s a rotten Exeggcute!”
“What? Terry–!”
But Terry was already inside, leaving Laura on the front porch with Mudkip in her arms. She looked at her Pokémon, and it looked back up at her curiously.
“A Pokémon journey, huh…? I’d better head back and tell Grandpa.”
“Mudkip!”
She hadn’t expected to be leaving so soon, but some part of her felt that it was now or never. She had a Pokémon, she had an excuse, and she had her grandfather’s permission–what did she have to lose? Besides, Littleroot would be awfully boring without Terry around. Laura headed home feeling lighthearted from excitement.
When was the last time I felt this fired up?