Chapter Text
It was the day you got your starter Pokémon. You sprinted all the way from your home over to the lab, so excited that you barely slept last night.
You halted at the front door, panting from the sudden stop. It took you a moment to readjust yourself to a somewhat presentable state before heading inside.
You took in the atmosphere, how grand but not overwhelming a sight of the green walls and white tiles were with a hint of nerdiness from all the books and machines. It surprised you to spot someone having already arrived earlier than yourself. The dark colors of their outfit stood out against the airiness of that of the wallpaper as they stood with crossed arms while tapping their foot. They didn't look like a researcher there, but certainly not too young to be one.
“Hey there! You here for a starter too?”
They spoke. You thought to yourself if you've stared for too long that they noticed.
“Oh! Hi! Uh… Yeah.”
You stuttered, the sudden start of a conversation caught you quite off guard. They didn't seem to mind, though, as they continued with an introduction, smiling:
“Name's Felicity!”
They stuck out their hand. Now with uncrossed arms, you could fully see what Felicity had on themself. They sported a navy cropped sweater on top of a cropped dress shirt. Their low-rise jeans exposed their midriff and they had a small crossbody bag for their adventures. You couldn't help but wonder how much they could carry with it.
You shook their gloved hand and introduced yourself in return.
“So you're telling me you're heading off to the big leagues instead of finishing up your studies?”
They asked, somehow in disbelief. You didn't get why, since many others have left even younger than you were. You nodded in response.
“Did you gain any battling experience from your school?”
You thought for a moment. It was quite hard to dig up from your memories due to how few and far between the times you were actually allowed to battle were. Despite being a place of learning, you were mostly required to memorise information to regurgitate on a sheet of paper, something you definitely did not like doing nor perform well in.
“A little, it was the school's Pokémon, though. I only got to battle whenever there's a held event and I was never allowed to bring along my parent's Pidove or Herdier.”
Felicity let out a stretched “oh” upon hearing your answer. You decided to ask them the same question.
“What about you, then?”
How come they were so curious about you in the first place?
“Oh I'm from Black City! Like you, I wasn't allowed to have Pokémon to call my own. Until my sister gave me an egg! That's all though, my school didn't require us to have more so my parents didn't think it was necessary for me either. Despite them-”
They started to ramble, you stopped listening to them sometime you didn't notice and instead you shifted your focus to the movement towards the lab's entrance.
You caught a glimpse of a person getting off an avian Pokémon with a large yellow beak and blue feathers. They kissed it thank you before recalling it back to its ball. The sight made you feel awkward, you wonder if it was possible for you to grow that affectionate to a Pokémon.
“-I… failed, to put it simply. But that's not important, I'm here now and ready to start something grand!”
That was all you were able to catch after tuning back in to what Felicity was saying. You nodded and chuckled, giving vague signs you were listening.
“Yes! Pokémon battling is gonna give us way more money than going to school ever would! Studying's exhausting!”
You said, hopefully enough to distract them from the fact you didn’t really catch what they were saying. That lifted up Felicity a bit as they softly tittered, sighing:
“Heh heh, yeah… You're right.”
The door slid open and you both turned your heads over at the sound of the movement. Walked in was a teenager, dressed comfortably in a baggy sweatshirt and leggings decorated with musical notes. They had a decently sized backpack hung on their shoulders and a beret cap sat on top of their head.
“Good morning! I'm Mavis. Professor Juniper told me to get here for a starter Pokémon.”
You waved while Felicity said hello. After seeing neither of you did anything, Mavis asked with a twinge of worry in their tone:
“I hope I'm not late. Where is she?”
“No, you're not late!”
A voice spoke from the adjacent room. A young blonde woman walked out from it, readjusting her crooked glasses and messy hair from scrambling around too much.
“Sorry for keeping you waiting! Professor Juniper is not here right now, she's traveling to other regions to do some studying on how Unovan Pokémon can acclimatize there. I'm Bianca, the Professor's assistant, and I'll be handing you your starter and your Pokédex today!”
She said, swiftly giving you three the gadget before turning around to pick up a clear box with three PokéBalls inside. Opening it, she turned to Felicity:
“Since you’ve waited the longest, how about you pick first, Felicity?”
You felt a slight jab at the back of your head, your sleepless night and all that effort running to here were apparently bested by this Black Cityfolk. You decided not to object.
Felicity took a look at the presented options, pondered for a good moment before taking the ball with Snivy. They pressed the ball, letting the creature out.
“He looks beautiful! Yes! Oh, finally. I think I'll call you…”
They picked up the Snivy.
“Lucero.”
It chirped contentedly in response, lowering its head at the compliment like a bow and accepting the name.
“How adorable! Lucero seems to like the name and you're getting along already. I’m sure you two would grow fantastic together.”
Bianca commented before finally turning to you and Mavis with the remaining options.
You gazed at the two options, it now dawned on you how hard it was to make a decision, since you've only ever been assigned a Pokémon to temporarily battle with before promptly returning it to school faculty. Therefore, you never had the chance to learn anything about the Pokémon. You considered taking Tepig as it was strong against the grass type starter, but would that really be a good reason to base your choice on?
“I choose Tepig!”
The sound of Mavis interrupted your train of thought. They grabbed the ball and there was only Oshawott left. Guess it was only reasonable to take it into your hand. You both let your chosen Pokémon out of their rooms to take a good look at your first partner.
Your Oshawott let out its cry and stood firmly on the ground, taking off the shell on its stomach to wave around. This scared the Tepig as it quickly hid behind Bianca's legs.
“Aw, don't be scared, little one. It's time for you to go to your new home.”
She cooed. Mavis kneeled down to be closer to Tepig, they took off their backpack and took out a food item nicely wrapped in cling film then gently offered it to the scared creature.
It slowly came out of its hiding place to take a whiff at the food, nibbling at it before chowing down once it's realized its edibility. Mavis smiled adoringly at the Pokémon, waiting for it to finish eating. They then stuck their arm out and the Tepig crawled into their chest.
“I knew that sandwich would be a good idea. Chef Chris is getting a five-star review.”
Mavis picked it up and held it tightly, commenting on the feel of the Pokémon in their arms:
“He’s such a warm little darling. I’m naming him Sajan.”
With those two settled, Bianca then looked towards you:
“Do you have a name in mind to give to your Oshawott?”
You paused and looked at Oshawott in silence. Huh, you thought, somehow this had never crossed your mind before. You didn't have a name for it and you didn't feel much of a need to.
You replied:
“Maybe… Not now. I’d like to take some time to get to know her first.”
“That's a good choice, too!”
Bianca agreed. She then clapped her hands together, beaming:
“This is so exciting! I always get giddy witnessing the start of a trainer’s journey. There are many shops outside with items that you can stash up before heading into Route 1. Come on now!”
“Can we have a battle before going?”
You suggested before leaving. You have been itching for this moment the entire night, your senses dying to finally put what little you learned from school to use.
“Great idea! That'd be a wonderful way to get them some experience.”
Felicity agreed with you. Bianca nodded and smiled:
“Of course! Oh this reminds me of the start of my journey three years ago. There's a yard outside the lab, let's head there!”
There was the blatant type disadvantage to your side when pitted against Felicity but at this level, none of your first chosen partners knew a move of their typing, which might be a little less convenient fighting Mavis later but good for now.
“Oshawott, use Tackle!”
“Lucero, Leer!”
The battle started, you two ordered. The Snivy glared at your Oshawott, being one step slower has had her defense lowered from the frightening sight of the opponent. Nonetheless, she managed to hit him and took off a decent amount of health.
“Oshawott, Tackle again!”
“Lucero, get out of there and use Leer!”
Felicity hastily ordered. It went through as your Oshawott missed the target and was once again disarmed.
You were frustrated, that was a chance to be one step closer to victory and she couldn't grasp it. Now she was even more vulnerable.
“Get it together, Oshawott! Tail Whip, do it!”
“Tackle, now Lucero!”
The Snivy rammed his head into your Oshawott, knocking her far back. You yelped. Could it possibly be that you have lost your first battle?
But then you heard your Pokémon cry out, getting up from the spot she crashed into. Heavily panting with barely enough energy to stand, but that was enough to say she was willing to continue, and the battle was not over.
She wagged her tail side to side, lowering the opposing Snivy's guard in turn.
“That was impressive!”
Mavis commented. Indeed it was. You couldn't help but compliment her out loud:
“Good job, Oshawott! Now, Tackle, you can do it!”
“Lucero, Tackle! Let's finish this!”
You could barely look, she was so near to fainting it was for sure Felicity would take this win considering how much faster the opponent was. You silently prayed she could dodge it,...
And dodge she did! With all the strength she had left, she tackled the opponent, delivering a critical blow to the Snivy's stomach, knocking him black out far back.
“YEEEESS!!”
You cheered, jumping for joy while your Oshawott tried her best to stay on her feet. This was what you were after, the thrill of battling, the triumphant feeling of victory, and most importantly…
“Here! Congratulations. That was really insightful.”
Felicity handed you your winnings. Your first dollars on your journey to the League. You carefully took it and stashed it away safely.
“That was surely a sight to behold, you four!”
Bianca stood up from her seat. She offered to heal both of the Pokémon before you went onto challenge Mavis.
“Oshawott, Tail Whip!”
“Sajan, use Tackle!”
Your Oshawott was faster than the Tepig, she was able to lower his defense but the damage she took from the attack was quite a bit more than you expected.
You decided to opt for continuously damaging the foe till the end of the match, seeing as the Tepig would surely knock out your Oshawott if you didn't manage to take it out first.
But that wasn't enough. You lost in two hits and you were flabbergasted. Despite being faster as well as able to lower the Tepig's guard, his attack was too strong for your Oshawott to withstand, she went from standing absolutely fine one second to flat on the ground unconscious in the next.
“Looks like we've won! Great job, Sajan!”
Mavis happily held up their Tepig. It was true, you lost, but you can't help but feel quite ticked off from the sight. You reluctantly pulled out your wallet and gave away half of the earlier winnings you received from Felicity. It helped you feel less like you were losing your own money somehow.
You made your way over to a nearby bench where Bianca was sitting. You healed up your Oshawott before sitting down beside her with your Pokémon and watched the battle between Mavis and Felicity.
You tried to analyze as much as you could from observing, but it seemed like Felicity uses the same tactic to go all out damage on the Tepig.
And, somehow, they won. It was slightly upsetting to you, seeing how they succeeded but you did not while using the same strategy. Whatever, you thought, it could've been the complicated stats that you haven't gotten the time to look at yet. The two healed up their Pokémon with Bianca and with that, you got up and finally left the lab with the others.
As the three of you novice trainers walked behind Bianca, you scanned around your environment. You never knew these shops existed before today despite living here your whole life. Since school and homework left you with little time to your own, you barely went outside. You could hear Felicity going on about something regarding using items in battle behind your back. A bunch of jargons you didn't understand but Mavis seemed to really soaking it in judging by the rapid sound of pen against paper and page turning coming from their end.
Bianca stopped at a stall selling fresh produce, explaining briefly how you could use them.
“Your Pokémon can only heal itself with held berries, though. They won't know how to use potions.”
She said. Mavis picked up a green berry and turned over to Felicity:
“I remember helping out Chef Chris and getting rewarded with a Lum Berry when I was little!”
“What effects does it have?”
You chimed in.
“It heals all kinds of status effects your Pokémon might've caught! It tastes amazing, too! I like its crunchy texture.”
It sounded like a super food, a helpful item such as that would definitely be convenient while battling. You got out your wallet, interested in buying it until you saw the price tag.
20 bucks per berry??
You left the house with 3000 to your name with a water bottle and a couple of snacks until you can reach an inn. A lunch cost half of what you had at that moment and you plan to earn more through battling. This berry wouldn't even heal your Pokémon back to full health and it was demanding a lot, you're not planning to be in debt in the case that you lose to someone. You turned away from the Lum Berries, looking for a better deal only to find out that all of the produce was at the same price.
Disappointed and a little horrified, you put your wallet back inside your bag, at the same time you saw Felicity picking up like eight different kinds of berries of varying quantities. They must be loaded coming from somewhere with items worth five times their usual price.
A guffaw can be heard from nearby, startling you three. You looked up from where the berries were placed over to the source of the laughter. You saw that Bianca was talking to a big bearded man in an orange shirt wearing a bucket hat, noticing you were looking at them, they headed over to where you were standing.
“Ya kids done window shopping yet?”
The man asked upon seeing your empty hands. He seemed to be the vendor of this shop. You felt compelled to answer, of course you were window shopping, preventing yourself from starving comes before buying a couple of berries from a stranger.
“Nah, I'm just messing with ya. Bianca here told me about you three. Congrats on becoming trainers! I'd like to give y'all my best wishes. As my treat…”
He gave each of you a yellow pouch weighted with something inside. You took a look and they were five blue berries.
“Those are Oran Berries! It recovers a bit of your Pokémon’s health and if you give it to them, they'll eat it themselves once they feel only half as well to fight.”
Bianca explained. The three of you took turns thanking the vendor before departing for Route 1.
Bianca demonstrated how to catch a wild Pokémon upon arrival. She then gave some information about hidden grottoes but that wasn't necessary, you thought, no trainers there to give you prize money and you surely needn't to battle a strong untamed creature somewhere deep within the woods.
“Meet me at Accumula Town's Pokémon Center to get yourselves registered into the system! I'll be waiting there.”
Bianca turned her foot to walk away but Mavis stopped her tracks:
“Wait, miss Bianca! Can I ask if there is a way to transfer my father's Pelipper back home?”
So that's what that Pokémon was called.
“Oh you can do so at the Pokémon Center! I can do it for you if you're in a rush to get it home.”
You all looked at Mavis, who promptly replied:
“I think it's alright, I'd like to learn how to do it myself once I get there, too.”
“That's great!”
She sweetly smiled at the teen.
“Well, I'll see you three there!”
With that she walked away, marking the official beginning of the three of you's journeys as Pokémon trainers. You wondered what you could do next?
“This place feels so peaceful, I love the fresh air and the smell of the sea, reminds me of home.”
Mavis exclaimed before letting out their Pelipper.
“I think I'll go ahead and surf around the area with Nila. I'll catch up with you later.”
“Safe travels!”
Felicity responded. You waved them goodbye as they went straight off before making a left turn for the shore.
“They really have a thing for nature, huh?”
Felicity commented.
“Heh, yeah, seems like it. Wonder how they'll turn up by the end of this.”
You agreed. You thought about how they could get stronger by the time Autumn rolls around, seeing how carefree they were.
That was not the issue at the moment however, it was only you and Felicity left. Not yet taking your first steps into Route 1.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go! You and me!”
Felicity hyped, taking you by your wrist. After that, the last thing you remember before getting into a wild Pokémon encounter was feeling like they had ripped your arm out of your shoulder.