Legendarian Mistress
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- Seen Jan 17, 2017
Ending Sunrise... redone [M]
A/N: I'd like to thank Fuyu for the title. I'm also hoping for more reviewers as opposed to the 2-3 I'd gotten. Also, just letting people know that Ending Sunrise takes place roughly two months after the events of FR/LG.
Disclaimer: This fic is rated M, for violence, character deaths and moderate language. Pokémon is © Game Freak and Nintendo; 1995-2011. All other characters are © Legendarian Mistress, barring Fuyu's OT trainers.
Chapter 1: Preparing for the Adventure
The town of Pallet was relatively small in comparison to the other cities and townships in Kanto. Most of the houses were built from wood, with the exception of a row of brick houses on the eastern boundary of town, which belonged to the families with lots of money. The sun rose steadily in the sky, lighting up and warming the town as a small breeze wafted along, drying clothes which were hanging on various clotheslines and rustling leaves on trees.
Professor Oak was one of the most highly regarded Pokémon researchers in the world. He had won the Kanto region's Indigo League — a tournament held every five years at the furthest point north-west in Kanto — twice and had dedicated his life to the study of Pokémon, their habitats, lifestyles and interactions with their trainers.
Since he was always known as the most renowned Pokémon expert in the entire world, the citizens of Pallet Town had always considered it an honour that he had continued to work in his home. Visitors felt that Professor Oak's Pokémon laboratory was the only real attraction in the town. It wasn't so much a tourist attraction, but more a place where interesting Pokémon events and discoveries occurred.
Pallet Town was hardly ever bustling except when the newest Pokémon trainers graduated from the magnet school — usually at the age of ten. The school taught the core subjects such as math, science, history, reading language arts, and so on, as well as courses involving studies of Pokémon, which ranged from raising, training, breeding and battling of Pokémon. Their journeys would usually start by travelling north to Viridian City, as it was the closest city to Pallet and the only city accessible by going on foot. Nothing but deep forest lay to the east and west, and the south was a large stretch of water where Cinnabar Island resided.
As the sun rose even higher, shouting was heard from within a house on the eastern boundary of town.
"Josephine! If you don't get out of bed right now and come downstairs, then Eevee will have to go up there and wake you up!" shouted a forty-one year old woman with pale red hair and hazel eyes which burned with fiery impatience. She wore a bright red sleeveless top and blue three-quarter pants. This was Fiona Harris, mother of a Pokémon trainer-to-be. She was a very kind and caring person, but she didn't want her daughter to miss out on one of the most important days of her life.
The Saffron-born Fiona's expression was always half blank, as though she was trying to recall something from her past, but couldn't do so for the life of her. It was said that, while growing up, she was childhood friends with Alexis Barrett — who later went on to become the mother of the renowned Psychic Gym Leader, Sabrina. But Fiona made a fatal mistake. When Charles arrived from Sinnoh at the age of twelve, she became rivals with him.
This act in itself completely destroyed Alexis' trust in Fiona, and the raven-haired pre-teen became very distant and cold — a trait that was clearly inherited by her daughter. Fiona tried to repair the shattered pieces of the friendship, but Alexis wanted nothing more to do with the person who had betrayed her. The relationship was non-existent, nothing but smashed pieces of a mistake gone wrong.
"Oh well! Eevee, if you don't mind, could you please wake her up so that she's not late for her big adventure?" Fiona asked the creature standing next to her, who happened to be the family pet. The Pokémon was small and fox-like in appearance; his tiny body was brown in colour with creamy coloured neck fur and his face wore a hardened, serious expression. Two long, rabbit-like ears, which emanated from the top of his head, twitched periodically as he listened to the human's request.
<No problem. In fact, I would have done it myself even if you hadn't asked,> replied Eevee. The Harris' were able to understand him because he had been with them since he'd been born, which was a few years ago now.
He swiftly sprang up the wooden staircase, bounding down the long hallway, and hurled his small body against a door at the end of the hall. He glanced up at it, rushed inside and grumbled to himself, because even after making that entire racket to come to the girl's room, she still hadn't woken up.
Josephine Harris was born into a rich family as the third child of four. Unlike other children from wealthy families, she wasn't overly spoiled. As with all of the other children in Pallet, she studied at the Pokémon Trainers' Academy — or Magnet School, as it was called by others. However, instead of beginning her journey at the age of ten — which was the minimum legal age — she had refused to go anywhere because she wanted to learn more about all of the different types of Pokémon.
Three walls of her room were made of brick — which had been painted a light green colour — and were completely devoid of anything, with the exception of a wooden framed unicorn picture on the wall opposite her bed and a painting of a girl feeding some duck-like Pokémon in the country on the right-hand side wall. On the third were posters of her favourite Pokémon. The last wall consisted of a security grill protected sliding door.
<Forgive me for this, Ho-oh, but I've got a lazy person who won't even get off her behind. Bloody hell, Josephine, wake up!> Eevee said loudly.
Seeing that he got no reaction, Eevee's eyes narrowed and an evil sort of smirk appeared on his face, as he said <Sorry, kid, you asked for it!>
After saying that, the Pokémon jumped onto the girl's bed and tore off the covers with his paws. He then placed his fluffy brown tail in front of the girl's nose and proceeded to tickle the olfactory. Moments later, a loud sneeze ripped through the air, as Josephine sat up and wondered what sort of pollen had drifted through her open window.
Seeing the brown coloured fox sitting on her bed with his tail curled around his body, she asked "Why did you do that?" seemingly appearing to forget that today she was to leave Pallet to begin her journey.
<We have to get downstairs and you need to get ready for your journey. Remember?> the fox-like Pokémon gently reminded the girl.
"You make it sound like the Pokémon Trainers' Academy. But I know that this journey is going to be a lot better. Okay, let's go," Josephine answered, smiling at the family pet.
She moved Eevee off her and jumped out bed, as she headed towards her ensuite. The red-haired girl opened the door, closing it upon entering and then turned on the water.
...
After showering herself, Josephine proceeded to dry off her thin frame of medium height and build. She then rubbed the moisture out of her hair, allowing the wet strands to fall to her shoulders, and then dried and brushed it until it was in a suitable enough position for her to wrap a hair tie around it, creating a pony-tail look.
She went over to her closet and removed two hangers, one of which held a bright red sleeveless top, with the other holding a sky-blue miniskirt. The teen dressed herself, before slipping her feet into a pair of brown boots, and casually placed her black sunglasses over her eyes. In the past, she had received criticism from her peers as they wondered why she had come to classes with her sunglasses on, but she ignored them, as it was just a strange mannerism of hers to do that.
After placing her digital watch on the wrist of her left arm, she headed down the hall.
Heading into the reasonably large kitchen and preparing herself a bowl of cereal, she spotted her mother relaxing on the cyan sofa. After eating, she then checked to ensure that her bright yellow backpack with the imprint of a Poké Ball on the side was packed. Finding out that everything was in there, she placed the breakfast bowl in the sink, ran some water in it and headed to the door.
"Honey, wait," the voices of Josephine's parents spoke up. The girl's mother rose from the sofa as her father wheeled himself into the room. The masculine-toned voice had come from Charles, Fiona's husband.
Saying goodbye was going to be difficult and sad.
"Yeah?" the teen turned and looked at her parents as tears started to form in her eyes.
Though Fiona opened her mouth to speak, Charles got in first. "Jose, come with me to my room, please."
Looking more than a bit bewildered, the teen replied. "Uh... okay, dad." She followed her father to his room, which was on ground level because of his disability. Josephine noticed that her parent was staring back at her as he manoeuvred himself into the right place.
Soon, Charles gave a short laugh. "You're not in trouble, if that's what you're thinking. Rather, I wanted to give you your first Pokémon. Professor Oak gave me this responsibility, for he knew on the day of your leaving that he'd be snowed under with lots of paperwork."
He opened a drawer of his office desk and pulled out a solitary crimson and white sphere. "Release the Pokémon within!" Her father barked, reminding her that he was the cousin of Volkner, the Gym Leader of Sunyshore.
Many people admired Charles Ryder Harris, and few looked down at him in scorn. Were it not for his disability, he would stand as tall as Lt. Surge, and that's saying something. Josephine's father had naturally short, wavy brown hair, slightly judgmental azure eyes, and fair skin. The man's face was clean cut and wasn't roughened as one might have expected it to be; after all, though he'd lived in a militaristic family, he had not seen war like his cousin had.
He was solidly built, for he had undergone a different type of training after the accident occurred. However, the defining feature was that paradoxical smile that reached across the entire length of his face. The smile and the slightly judgmental eyes often lead people to wonder as to if he was mentally sane. The issue that could be answered was that he is Charles Ryder Harris; Sinnohian-born, Kantonian-raised and is the father of two very fine girls — Josephine Rosalea and Natalie Riviera Harris.
As for Josephine herself, she's an individual all to her own. She doesn't really share anything in common with her parents, except her mother's red hair and hazel eyes. While growing up, she was a loner, never wanting to make any friends because she didn't see them as worthy peers. Back when her sister died, she hated her brother for his involvement and for the path of shadows he was determined to walk. In addition to that, she often vented her impatience on Ronan, when he was being cold and distant, and few things made her hyper. My, how the times have changed.
Putting Josephine to one side briefly, Natalie shares a couple of things in common with her father. She inherited the short, wavy trim — with the only difference being that hers is crimson. Along with the short hairdo, her eyes mirror that of her dad's, but with a bit more hazel from her mother. The downside is that her mother's height will be all she achieves.
"What Pokémon are you expecting it to be?" Charles queried, seeing that his daughter was still hesitating. He had a smile on his face, but luckily the teen was distracted and didn't see the expression, as he thought back on how he'd obtained this particular creature.
"I'm not sure. I'm just hoping it's a good one," she responded.
Indecisive for only a few moments longer, the teen released the Pokémon. Emerging from the Poké Ball was a creature covered in blue fuzz. Her stout feline body and short azure fur shivered in the breeze that drifted in through the open window, while her tail and ears shone bright yellow. That would be useful in dark places, but hardly noticeable in sunlight. Hissing, the cat leaned down on her front legs, her yellow bands gleaming in the sun's rays.
Josephine gasped loudly and covered her mouth with one hand. "It's..." She trailed off, unable to believe her eyes.
"A Shinx," her father finished the sentence. "It's no ordinary feline, either. And while we're at it, it's not an 'it. The Pokémon is a female."
"Are you nearly finished?" Fiona's voice called out from the kitchen.
Hurriedly insisting that she return her partner to her ball, the father and daughter duo re-entered the kitchen as calmly as they could.
"It's good to see that you are finally ready. Professor Oak rang and said he wants you to meet him at his lab," Fiona told her, apprehensive that her daughter was finally setting off. She was worried that what had happened to her husband could possibly happen to Josephine as well. Her expression showed narrowed eyes and a slight frown.
Josephine stood there with a puzzled look on her face, wondering what the researcher needed to give her, but then it clicked. "Of course!" Josephine mentally slapped herself for forgetting such a simple thing.
As she was about to run to the lab, she remembered that this would be the last time she saw her parents before she left. She turned around and looked at them. "Mum, Dad… this is goodbye for now. I'll miss you."
Her father stared desperately at her, while her mother placed a hand on her shoulder and answered, "Yes, we'll miss you, too. You have grown up incredibly fast, Josephine, and we understand that you want to go on this journey."
"All right, I'll see you later, guys."
"Goodbye, dear. Know that whatever happens, I'll always think of you as a Pokémon Master. I will think that because you went and attempted to accomplish your dream," Fiona said, as she smiled at her daughter. Charles manoeuvred his wheelchair backwards, determined to talk to Fiona in private once Josephine had left.
Just before Josephine set off, she gave her mother one last farewell hug, allowing the tears to freely flow down her cheeks.
Wiping away the tears, Josephine started walking towards the research facility that was run by Professor Oak.
After trudging along for about ten minutes, she finally arrived at the location of the building. The lab's foundations were on top of a hill that was accessible by a long stairway, which took one to the entrance of the lab. It was a two-story ivory edifice that had a maroon roof, which, from the top, allowed one to view the landscape as far as the eye could see.
There was a lake to the east of the hill and to the south was an untamed forest with no paths. The forest was cut short by an open range, which was met in the north by rocks and boulders. There were Pokémon scattered all over the landscape.
Josephine rang the doorbell and waited, because she knew that Professor Oak wouldn't be able to rush to answer the door. The wooden door opened a few minutes later.
"Ah, Josephine! Come to collect your Pokédex and Poké Balls, have you?" Professor Oak questioned.
"Yes, Professor," she replied.
"Right this way, then," he answered, as he turned and led the red-haired girl into the lab. The first thing that was seen when entering was an array of bookshelves that were stacked against the wall, stretching from one corner of the room to the other.
To the right were small computers that blinked with all sorts of dazzling lights, with the monitors scrolling down with data that she could only guess was the research that Professor Oak and his assistants had compiled.
In the middle, between the computers, was a rather large door. It was used to go out to care for or to study the Pokémon that were kept at the lab.
To the left was a very large storage room in which the Poké Balls that contained the Pokémon were kept. One could only guess how many were amassed there.
At the top of the staircase to the right of the Poké Ball storage room, the upper level was desolate except for three bookshelves that were lined up against the left wall; an enormous computer that took up the entire southern wall and finally, a small dome which was the place where the Poké Balls were kept.
"Professor, there you are! We have everyone here, sir," one of Oak's aides appeared when they entered the large room which contained the small dome.
"Very good, John. Any news of the others?"
"Rachel Savina has already been and gone, collecting her Pokémon, Pokédex and Poké Balls along the way. You already know about Paul's hasty departure," John answered.
"Good. Now, Josephine, I have a few important things to give you. They are your Pokédex and Poké Balls."
Then, the researcher handed her a large red electronic device, which looked like a calculator and five small balls. The Professor allowed Josephine the time to register her partner's data into her Pokédex.
"Shinx, the Flash Pokémon — a Pokémon of the Electric type. Shinx's forelegs have a muscle-based system of generating electricity. Their bodies shine if endangered," the device reported in a monotonous voice.
"Let me explain what I handed to you before," Professor Oak began, just as the newbie trainer recalled her starter.
"No, it's alright. Thanks anyway, Professor Oak. I haven't forgotten the explanation from when you told me the first time," Josephine answered, nodding sincerely.
She walked back through the building and out the front door, waving goodbye to Professor Oak as she did so. Then, she looked up as she began to walk down the road, away from her house. The sun was now in plain view, almost blinding from where she was standing and the grass was glimmering as the dew dropped from each blade.
Josephine's Pokémon journey, as well as the day, was just beginning. She had her first Pokémon, and already knew where she was to go next — Viridian City. Now with determination in her hazel eyes, she continued to look at the sky. As an official trainer, she then looked down at the orb which contained her partner.
"Shinx, you are my key to becoming one of the best," the teen murmured, smiling proudly.
A/N: I'd like to thank Fuyu for the title. I'm also hoping for more reviewers as opposed to the 2-3 I'd gotten. Also, just letting people know that Ending Sunrise takes place roughly two months after the events of FR/LG.
Disclaimer: This fic is rated M, for violence, character deaths and moderate language. Pokémon is © Game Freak and Nintendo; 1995-2011. All other characters are © Legendarian Mistress, barring Fuyu's OT trainers.
Chapter 1: Preparing for the Adventure
The town of Pallet was relatively small in comparison to the other cities and townships in Kanto. Most of the houses were built from wood, with the exception of a row of brick houses on the eastern boundary of town, which belonged to the families with lots of money. The sun rose steadily in the sky, lighting up and warming the town as a small breeze wafted along, drying clothes which were hanging on various clotheslines and rustling leaves on trees.
Professor Oak was one of the most highly regarded Pokémon researchers in the world. He had won the Kanto region's Indigo League — a tournament held every five years at the furthest point north-west in Kanto — twice and had dedicated his life to the study of Pokémon, their habitats, lifestyles and interactions with their trainers.
Since he was always known as the most renowned Pokémon expert in the entire world, the citizens of Pallet Town had always considered it an honour that he had continued to work in his home. Visitors felt that Professor Oak's Pokémon laboratory was the only real attraction in the town. It wasn't so much a tourist attraction, but more a place where interesting Pokémon events and discoveries occurred.
Pallet Town was hardly ever bustling except when the newest Pokémon trainers graduated from the magnet school — usually at the age of ten. The school taught the core subjects such as math, science, history, reading language arts, and so on, as well as courses involving studies of Pokémon, which ranged from raising, training, breeding and battling of Pokémon. Their journeys would usually start by travelling north to Viridian City, as it was the closest city to Pallet and the only city accessible by going on foot. Nothing but deep forest lay to the east and west, and the south was a large stretch of water where Cinnabar Island resided.
As the sun rose even higher, shouting was heard from within a house on the eastern boundary of town.
"Josephine! If you don't get out of bed right now and come downstairs, then Eevee will have to go up there and wake you up!" shouted a forty-one year old woman with pale red hair and hazel eyes which burned with fiery impatience. She wore a bright red sleeveless top and blue three-quarter pants. This was Fiona Harris, mother of a Pokémon trainer-to-be. She was a very kind and caring person, but she didn't want her daughter to miss out on one of the most important days of her life.
The Saffron-born Fiona's expression was always half blank, as though she was trying to recall something from her past, but couldn't do so for the life of her. It was said that, while growing up, she was childhood friends with Alexis Barrett — who later went on to become the mother of the renowned Psychic Gym Leader, Sabrina. But Fiona made a fatal mistake. When Charles arrived from Sinnoh at the age of twelve, she became rivals with him.
This act in itself completely destroyed Alexis' trust in Fiona, and the raven-haired pre-teen became very distant and cold — a trait that was clearly inherited by her daughter. Fiona tried to repair the shattered pieces of the friendship, but Alexis wanted nothing more to do with the person who had betrayed her. The relationship was non-existent, nothing but smashed pieces of a mistake gone wrong.
"Oh well! Eevee, if you don't mind, could you please wake her up so that she's not late for her big adventure?" Fiona asked the creature standing next to her, who happened to be the family pet. The Pokémon was small and fox-like in appearance; his tiny body was brown in colour with creamy coloured neck fur and his face wore a hardened, serious expression. Two long, rabbit-like ears, which emanated from the top of his head, twitched periodically as he listened to the human's request.
<No problem. In fact, I would have done it myself even if you hadn't asked,> replied Eevee. The Harris' were able to understand him because he had been with them since he'd been born, which was a few years ago now.
He swiftly sprang up the wooden staircase, bounding down the long hallway, and hurled his small body against a door at the end of the hall. He glanced up at it, rushed inside and grumbled to himself, because even after making that entire racket to come to the girl's room, she still hadn't woken up.
Josephine Harris was born into a rich family as the third child of four. Unlike other children from wealthy families, she wasn't overly spoiled. As with all of the other children in Pallet, she studied at the Pokémon Trainers' Academy — or Magnet School, as it was called by others. However, instead of beginning her journey at the age of ten — which was the minimum legal age — she had refused to go anywhere because she wanted to learn more about all of the different types of Pokémon.
Three walls of her room were made of brick — which had been painted a light green colour — and were completely devoid of anything, with the exception of a wooden framed unicorn picture on the wall opposite her bed and a painting of a girl feeding some duck-like Pokémon in the country on the right-hand side wall. On the third were posters of her favourite Pokémon. The last wall consisted of a security grill protected sliding door.
<Forgive me for this, Ho-oh, but I've got a lazy person who won't even get off her behind. Bloody hell, Josephine, wake up!> Eevee said loudly.
Seeing that he got no reaction, Eevee's eyes narrowed and an evil sort of smirk appeared on his face, as he said <Sorry, kid, you asked for it!>
After saying that, the Pokémon jumped onto the girl's bed and tore off the covers with his paws. He then placed his fluffy brown tail in front of the girl's nose and proceeded to tickle the olfactory. Moments later, a loud sneeze ripped through the air, as Josephine sat up and wondered what sort of pollen had drifted through her open window.
Seeing the brown coloured fox sitting on her bed with his tail curled around his body, she asked "Why did you do that?" seemingly appearing to forget that today she was to leave Pallet to begin her journey.
<We have to get downstairs and you need to get ready for your journey. Remember?> the fox-like Pokémon gently reminded the girl.
"You make it sound like the Pokémon Trainers' Academy. But I know that this journey is going to be a lot better. Okay, let's go," Josephine answered, smiling at the family pet.
She moved Eevee off her and jumped out bed, as she headed towards her ensuite. The red-haired girl opened the door, closing it upon entering and then turned on the water.
...
After showering herself, Josephine proceeded to dry off her thin frame of medium height and build. She then rubbed the moisture out of her hair, allowing the wet strands to fall to her shoulders, and then dried and brushed it until it was in a suitable enough position for her to wrap a hair tie around it, creating a pony-tail look.
She went over to her closet and removed two hangers, one of which held a bright red sleeveless top, with the other holding a sky-blue miniskirt. The teen dressed herself, before slipping her feet into a pair of brown boots, and casually placed her black sunglasses over her eyes. In the past, she had received criticism from her peers as they wondered why she had come to classes with her sunglasses on, but she ignored them, as it was just a strange mannerism of hers to do that.
After placing her digital watch on the wrist of her left arm, she headed down the hall.
Heading into the reasonably large kitchen and preparing herself a bowl of cereal, she spotted her mother relaxing on the cyan sofa. After eating, she then checked to ensure that her bright yellow backpack with the imprint of a Poké Ball on the side was packed. Finding out that everything was in there, she placed the breakfast bowl in the sink, ran some water in it and headed to the door.
"Honey, wait," the voices of Josephine's parents spoke up. The girl's mother rose from the sofa as her father wheeled himself into the room. The masculine-toned voice had come from Charles, Fiona's husband.
Saying goodbye was going to be difficult and sad.
"Yeah?" the teen turned and looked at her parents as tears started to form in her eyes.
Though Fiona opened her mouth to speak, Charles got in first. "Jose, come with me to my room, please."
Looking more than a bit bewildered, the teen replied. "Uh... okay, dad." She followed her father to his room, which was on ground level because of his disability. Josephine noticed that her parent was staring back at her as he manoeuvred himself into the right place.
Soon, Charles gave a short laugh. "You're not in trouble, if that's what you're thinking. Rather, I wanted to give you your first Pokémon. Professor Oak gave me this responsibility, for he knew on the day of your leaving that he'd be snowed under with lots of paperwork."
He opened a drawer of his office desk and pulled out a solitary crimson and white sphere. "Release the Pokémon within!" Her father barked, reminding her that he was the cousin of Volkner, the Gym Leader of Sunyshore.
Many people admired Charles Ryder Harris, and few looked down at him in scorn. Were it not for his disability, he would stand as tall as Lt. Surge, and that's saying something. Josephine's father had naturally short, wavy brown hair, slightly judgmental azure eyes, and fair skin. The man's face was clean cut and wasn't roughened as one might have expected it to be; after all, though he'd lived in a militaristic family, he had not seen war like his cousin had.
He was solidly built, for he had undergone a different type of training after the accident occurred. However, the defining feature was that paradoxical smile that reached across the entire length of his face. The smile and the slightly judgmental eyes often lead people to wonder as to if he was mentally sane. The issue that could be answered was that he is Charles Ryder Harris; Sinnohian-born, Kantonian-raised and is the father of two very fine girls — Josephine Rosalea and Natalie Riviera Harris.
As for Josephine herself, she's an individual all to her own. She doesn't really share anything in common with her parents, except her mother's red hair and hazel eyes. While growing up, she was a loner, never wanting to make any friends because she didn't see them as worthy peers. Back when her sister died, she hated her brother for his involvement and for the path of shadows he was determined to walk. In addition to that, she often vented her impatience on Ronan, when he was being cold and distant, and few things made her hyper. My, how the times have changed.
Putting Josephine to one side briefly, Natalie shares a couple of things in common with her father. She inherited the short, wavy trim — with the only difference being that hers is crimson. Along with the short hairdo, her eyes mirror that of her dad's, but with a bit more hazel from her mother. The downside is that her mother's height will be all she achieves.
"What Pokémon are you expecting it to be?" Charles queried, seeing that his daughter was still hesitating. He had a smile on his face, but luckily the teen was distracted and didn't see the expression, as he thought back on how he'd obtained this particular creature.
"I'm not sure. I'm just hoping it's a good one," she responded.
Indecisive for only a few moments longer, the teen released the Pokémon. Emerging from the Poké Ball was a creature covered in blue fuzz. Her stout feline body and short azure fur shivered in the breeze that drifted in through the open window, while her tail and ears shone bright yellow. That would be useful in dark places, but hardly noticeable in sunlight. Hissing, the cat leaned down on her front legs, her yellow bands gleaming in the sun's rays.
Josephine gasped loudly and covered her mouth with one hand. "It's..." She trailed off, unable to believe her eyes.
"A Shinx," her father finished the sentence. "It's no ordinary feline, either. And while we're at it, it's not an 'it. The Pokémon is a female."
"Are you nearly finished?" Fiona's voice called out from the kitchen.
Hurriedly insisting that she return her partner to her ball, the father and daughter duo re-entered the kitchen as calmly as they could.
"It's good to see that you are finally ready. Professor Oak rang and said he wants you to meet him at his lab," Fiona told her, apprehensive that her daughter was finally setting off. She was worried that what had happened to her husband could possibly happen to Josephine as well. Her expression showed narrowed eyes and a slight frown.
Josephine stood there with a puzzled look on her face, wondering what the researcher needed to give her, but then it clicked. "Of course!" Josephine mentally slapped herself for forgetting such a simple thing.
As she was about to run to the lab, she remembered that this would be the last time she saw her parents before she left. She turned around and looked at them. "Mum, Dad… this is goodbye for now. I'll miss you."
Her father stared desperately at her, while her mother placed a hand on her shoulder and answered, "Yes, we'll miss you, too. You have grown up incredibly fast, Josephine, and we understand that you want to go on this journey."
"All right, I'll see you later, guys."
"Goodbye, dear. Know that whatever happens, I'll always think of you as a Pokémon Master. I will think that because you went and attempted to accomplish your dream," Fiona said, as she smiled at her daughter. Charles manoeuvred his wheelchair backwards, determined to talk to Fiona in private once Josephine had left.
Just before Josephine set off, she gave her mother one last farewell hug, allowing the tears to freely flow down her cheeks.
Wiping away the tears, Josephine started walking towards the research facility that was run by Professor Oak.
After trudging along for about ten minutes, she finally arrived at the location of the building. The lab's foundations were on top of a hill that was accessible by a long stairway, which took one to the entrance of the lab. It was a two-story ivory edifice that had a maroon roof, which, from the top, allowed one to view the landscape as far as the eye could see.
There was a lake to the east of the hill and to the south was an untamed forest with no paths. The forest was cut short by an open range, which was met in the north by rocks and boulders. There were Pokémon scattered all over the landscape.
Josephine rang the doorbell and waited, because she knew that Professor Oak wouldn't be able to rush to answer the door. The wooden door opened a few minutes later.
"Ah, Josephine! Come to collect your Pokédex and Poké Balls, have you?" Professor Oak questioned.
"Yes, Professor," she replied.
"Right this way, then," he answered, as he turned and led the red-haired girl into the lab. The first thing that was seen when entering was an array of bookshelves that were stacked against the wall, stretching from one corner of the room to the other.
To the right were small computers that blinked with all sorts of dazzling lights, with the monitors scrolling down with data that she could only guess was the research that Professor Oak and his assistants had compiled.
In the middle, between the computers, was a rather large door. It was used to go out to care for or to study the Pokémon that were kept at the lab.
To the left was a very large storage room in which the Poké Balls that contained the Pokémon were kept. One could only guess how many were amassed there.
At the top of the staircase to the right of the Poké Ball storage room, the upper level was desolate except for three bookshelves that were lined up against the left wall; an enormous computer that took up the entire southern wall and finally, a small dome which was the place where the Poké Balls were kept.
"Professor, there you are! We have everyone here, sir," one of Oak's aides appeared when they entered the large room which contained the small dome.
"Very good, John. Any news of the others?"
"Rachel Savina has already been and gone, collecting her Pokémon, Pokédex and Poké Balls along the way. You already know about Paul's hasty departure," John answered.
"Good. Now, Josephine, I have a few important things to give you. They are your Pokédex and Poké Balls."
Then, the researcher handed her a large red electronic device, which looked like a calculator and five small balls. The Professor allowed Josephine the time to register her partner's data into her Pokédex.
"Shinx, the Flash Pokémon — a Pokémon of the Electric type. Shinx's forelegs have a muscle-based system of generating electricity. Their bodies shine if endangered," the device reported in a monotonous voice.
"Let me explain what I handed to you before," Professor Oak began, just as the newbie trainer recalled her starter.
"No, it's alright. Thanks anyway, Professor Oak. I haven't forgotten the explanation from when you told me the first time," Josephine answered, nodding sincerely.
She walked back through the building and out the front door, waving goodbye to Professor Oak as she did so. Then, she looked up as she began to walk down the road, away from her house. The sun was now in plain view, almost blinding from where she was standing and the grass was glimmering as the dew dropped from each blade.
Josephine's Pokémon journey, as well as the day, was just beginning. She had her first Pokémon, and already knew where she was to go next — Viridian City. Now with determination in her hazel eyes, she continued to look at the sky. As an official trainer, she then looked down at the orb which contained her partner.
"Shinx, you are my key to becoming one of the best," the teen murmured, smiling proudly.
