Olive trudged down the path, her head hanging low under the hot sun. She was not tired, but it was just so warm. Too warm for her taste. She wished she was home in Lavender, relaxing under the shade of all the trees. Her back was really hurting her now, for she carried a big bag on it. Her brother had specifically asked her to deliver a parcel to Professor Oak immediately. What was inside the parcel? She had no idea, since she was not exactly paying attention to her brother. All she remembered that he said something like "pokemon discovery".
She had been traveling for quite a few days now. From Lavender, she had run a long way, and now she was here, nearing Pewter City. She knew her way through the forests really well, which is the reason why she got to where she was now so fast. Now, her fifth day of travel, all Olive could think about was a rest in the shade and a nice cool shower. She was not too far off; Professor Oak certainly could wait. Olive walked off the path, and deeper into the surrounding trees. She sat down under a particularly large one, and just let all the exhaustion she was hiding inside her out. She sighed heavily, and decided that Professor Oak could wait just a bit longer, while she took a short nap. Seriously, what if she collapsed out of exhaustion? Her health was way more important than him getting his parcel within the hour.
The beam's of sunlight which entered through the leaves shined on her hair, making it look lighter than it even was. She closed her dark olive eyes, and silently dozed off. After what seemed like at least half an hour, Olive woke up with a start. She heard a man yelling, deeper in the forest. She thought of all the possibilities of what those yells were for; a man yelling at his friend or pokemon, maybe a pokemon too. She grunted as she got up, and stretched out her thin legs. She lifted her bag onto her shoulder, and quickly followed the sound. She was not running, just walking at a pace a bit faster than usual. Even if there was trouble, how was she going to help? Wrestle whatever it was with her bare hands? Still, now that she heard it, she HAD to know what it was.
Finally, Olive found the source. An elderly man was desperately trying to climb up a tree, since a bunch of pokemon were attacking his feet. He had grey hair, and dark eyebrows, and was wearing a lab coat. At some point, he must have turned his head, because when he saw Olive, his the corner of his lips turned up, forming a great, big smile.
"Hello!" he called over to her, as if she were deaf. "Please, can you help me? No, you must help me. See that bag over there?" He pointed to a briefcase a few feet away from the tree. Olive nodded slightly, now very interested in the situation. "Well, inside there's a pokeball."
Okay, a pokeball…. What exactly was she supposed to do? "Sorry, but I have no idea what you want me to do…." Her voice trailed off.
"Take the pokeball, release the pokemon inside, and scare off these little guys! Hurry!!!" He yelped as one of the pokemon nipped his feet.
Olive casually walked over to the bag, and opened it up. Boy, this sure was entertaining! She found the pokeball, exactly where it was supposed to be. She grabbed it, and walked closer to the upset pokemon. She had never battled with a pokemon, so she did the first thing that came to her mind. She threw the pokeball at one of the pokemon, and it hit him straight in the chest. Now she was really in for it.
A red beam flashed as the pokemon who were once attacking the old man were now wanting to kill her. The red beam was probably all their fury, and they were probably preparing for an attack. They had surrounded her, leaving her nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. She had nothing to do, but yell.
" Torchic, use Ember!" the man had jumped out of the tree, and was now yelling out the attacks he wanted the pokemon to perform. It was a little red bird, which stood on two feet. It had no wings, but anyone could make out how fierce it was. It's attack hit the other pokemon, scaring them away. They quickly left the scene, leaving Olive alone with the old man and red bird.
"You see, you aren't supposed to actually throw the ball at the pokemon and hit them. You throw it into the air, which releases it. But still, thank you very much for saving me. Now tell me, what did you say your name was?" The old man asked kindly, gently petting the pokemon's head.
"I didn't. But it's Olive." Olive got the sudden urge to start petting the bird, no she wanted the bird. The battle was the best thing she had ever seen in her life, and now, she just wanted to do that. She had never seen pokemon from this perspective before.
"Olive? Oh, you had to deliver a parcel from Robby! You're his sister which he talks about so much! I am Samuel Oak, and it's nice to meet you. Come with me, I'll bring you to the Pokemon Center. You look famished!" He gently grabbed her hand, and walked with her out of the wood, and into the city. Ah, Pewter City it was.
While at the Pokemon Center, Professor Oak explained her the importance of the package; not that she was actually listening. The pokemon, Torchic, was now seated in her lap, and all her real attention was focused on him. His feathers were so soft, and Olive couldn't help but stroke them longingly. She wanted to keep this pokemon now.
Professor Oak wiped his mouth on his kerchief. "I must be getting along now. There's a whole lot of work left for me at the lab. Thanks again for saving me. I really don't know what I would've done without you. Come along Torchic. We have to go." Then, the most incredible thing happened. Torchic didn't go. He stayed on Olive's lap, a firm look on his face, as to say I'm Staying and You Can't Stop Me.
"Um….." was all Olive could think of saying.
Instead of getting upset, Professor Oak laughed. "That little guy isn't planning on leaving with me. I can't force him to come, so it can only mean one thing. Olive, are you ready to own and work with a pokemon? To keep it as a friend and never hurt it? To train hard and travel?"
Olive was puzzled. What was happening? Train hard, travel? Keep Torchic as her companion? Suddenly, she understood. Professor Oak wanted her to start a pokemon journey with Torchic. "Yes sir! I'll do anything and everything, and I will come out on top!" She was now standing, with a courageous look on her face.
"Hehe, you are ready for this. As my thanks for saving me earlier today, I'd like you to have this." He opened his bag and placed a white electronic object in her hand. He didn't even have to explain; Olive knew what it was.
"A pokedex? Thanks! I better call Robby and tell him the news. I'm going to need money and a whole bunch of things now. Thank you so much Professor. You just made my life a thousand times better!" For the first time in her life, Olive smiled a big, genuine smile. Yes, this was the real thing. Nothing fake.
Professor Oak left soon after that, leaving Olive alone with Torchic. She called her brother, who said he would send all the things she needed to Pewter City right away. A friend of his was leaving soon, and would arrive here no later than the next day.
After everything was sorted out, Torchic and Olive went up to their room in the Center, where they would be spending the night. All was just as she had dreamed, and snuggling up to Torchic while she slept, she had never felt happier.