The sun rises on Littleroot Town. In one house, a woman is unloading boxes. She calls up to her son, “Brendan, wake up! Today’s your big day!”

  Upstairs, Brendan is getting dressed. He zips up his black and red jacket then pulls his green satchel over his neck. Today is his 18th birthday. He’s officially old enough to get his first Pokemon. He calls back, “I’m up, Mom! I’ll be down in a minute.” He looks in the mirror and puts on his green and white beanie. He smiles and heads downstairs.

  In the kitchen, Brendan’s mom looks at him. “You look so handsome. You remind me of your father when he was younger.”

  Brendan laughs, “Speaking of, he told me to call him before I head out.” Brendan pulls out his phone and begins a video call with his father. After a moment, his father, Norman, picks up the phone.

  “Brendan, I’m glad to hear from you!”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  “I remember when I started my own Pokemon journey. Back then, I never would have believed where it led me. Once you receive your starter from Birch, I want you to begin the trek to Petalburg. It would be an honor for me to be your first gym challenge. Plus, I have a surprise for you whenever you get here.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  “Alright, well I’m pretty busy, so I’ll see you then.” Norman hangs up.

  Brendan begins to head for the door, but his mom says, “Now wait one moment. I need a goodbye hug, and I have a surprise for you too.” She goes and pulls a box out of a bag. She opens the box to reveal a new pair of sturdy running shoes. “You’re gonna need these for your journey.”

  Brendan puts them on. “Thanks, Mom. I love them.”

  “Alright, Dear. You’re gonna have a wonderful adventure. Please check in every now and then. I know that you may get carried away with the excitement of it all, but a mother worries.”

  “I will.”

  “Okay, I love you.”

  “I love you too.” They embrace, and Brendan leaves home, heading for Professor Birch’s lab.

  He makes it to the lab and finds a girl about his age outside, seemingly waiting. As he approaches, she sees him and asks, “Are you Brendan.” He nods in response. The girl continues, “Nice to meet you! I’m May, the professor’s daughter. I got my Pokemon a few weeks ago but haven’t set off yet, so he asked me to show you the ropes.”

  Brendan perks up, “That’s awesome! What Pokemon did you choose?” May grins and throws a Pokeball into the air. A beam of light erupts, and from it emerges a Mudkip. As she does this, the front door opens and Professor Birch appears.

  The professor grins at what’s taking place and says, “Ah, I see Brendan’s arrived. Why don’t you two follow me?”

  The trio head inside. The lab is filled with all sorts of machinery that Brendan’s never seen. Birch leads them to a table where three Pokeballs are sitting. In front of each ball is a small placard and a name. Birch says, “Your choice is between Torchic, the fire Pokemon, Mudkip, the water Pokemon, and Treecko, the grass Pokemon. Have you thought at all about which you’d like?”

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  He responds, "I made up my mind a while ago, and seeing May’s Pokemon only solidified my choice.” He grabs the ball labeled “Treecko” and throws it. “I choose you!” Treecko lands on the table and looks at Brendan, smiling.

  Birch says, “Treecko seems happy you picked him. That should get the two of you off to a strong start.”

  May looks puzzled and asks, “But what does my Mudkip have to do with this?”

  Brendan smirks, “If you’re gonna be my rival, I’m gonna need my Pokemon to have the advantage over yours!” May’s expression changes to one of shock, “Rival? Who said anything about that?”

  Birch chimes in, “If that’s the case, then why don’t you have your first battle right now? There’s an arena outback.”

  At the arena Treecko and Mudkip face each other down. Brendan shouts, “Treecko, Bullet Seed!” Treecko looks back at Brendan confused.

  Birch pipes up, “Treecko has yet to learn that move. He’s still a low level.” May takes the opening, having Mudkip use Tackle, sending Treecko flying. He recovers only to be hit with a Water Gun.

  Brendan asks, “What moves does Treecko know?”

  Birch replies, “Try Quick Attack.” As Treecko begins his Quick Attack, he dodges another Water Gun and slams into Mudkip. Birch continues,”He also has Pound.” Brendan shouts for a Pound while May calls for Mud Slap. Mud Slap hits first, blinding Treecko and causing his Pound to miss.

  Finally, May yells, “Now finish this with another Tackle!” And finish this, it does. Treecko faints, and Brendan recalls it.

  Birch goes up to Brendan and says, “Sorry, I should have given these to you before the battle.” He hands over a Pokedex and several Pokeballs. “The Pokedex will tell you what moves your Pokemon know, as well as all sorts of other info.”

  “Thank you for everything. I wouldn’t be able to do this without you.”

  Birch replies, “It’s no problem. Norman’s an old friend. We go way back to when we were both fledging trainers. The least I could do is help his son.” With that, Birch goes inside.

  Brendan approaches May, “That was an awesome battle.”

  “I guess it was.”

  “You’re really good at this! I’ve got a lot of work to do if I’m ever gonna beat you.”

  “I’m not your rival.”

  “What’s the matter with a little friendly competition?”

  “Nothing, it’s just…”

  “What?”

  “I don’t want to leave home.” Upon saying this, May turns away and starts to choke up. “I’m sorry, I just met you.”

  “No, it’s okay. Why don’t you want to leave home?”

  “It’s stupid.”

  “I’m sure it’s not.“

  “I just… don’t know if this is the right path for me. My dad wants me to do the gym challenge and explore the world. What if I spend all that time doing it and find that it’s not for me?”

  “Then it’s not for you. That’s not a big deal. On the other hand, what if you never leave home only to years later wish you did? I get that it’s scary to take that first step, but sometimes people have to do things that scare them. You’ll never know without trying.”

  “I guess I’ve never thought of it that way.”

  “So, are you gonna try?”

  “Yeah… yeah, I will. I mean, I can’t today because I’d have to pack and can’t just run off without saying goodbye, but…”

  Brendan holds out his hand, “Rivals?”

  May smiles and shakes it, “Rivals.”

  Brendan begins to walk off, “I look forward to meeting again! I’ll see you in Ever Grande City!” And with that, Brendan’s Pokemon journey officially began.