Out of the Spotlight

Chapter Three: To the Winds

hey there! If you're reading this: congrats! You're reading chapter three! I hope you guys like this!

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     Getting home seems to fly by. If you asked me to recollect how exactly I got home, I don't think I could tell you. All I could think about was starting at Cherrywood.

     And how no one would know who I was.

     At first, I'd been worried; what if no one liked me? What if I didn't even make a single friend? But then I realized: I don't need friends. I have my Pokémon. How long have I lived by this rule? Now's no time to give in.

     When I get home, my mom greets me with open arms.

     "There you are," she says, "We need to start packing right away. Your plane to the Orre region leaves in three hours."

     "I'm leaving for Orre today?" I ask, suddenly scared. What had I gotten myself into?

     My mom nods. "The school year starts the day after tomorrow."

     I sit back, puzzled. "Drew said it started in the fall. Tomorrow's not fall."

     My mom looks at me. "Well, first years start the day after tomorrow. The higher your year, the later you start, because you don't need as much education as the others."

     "Oh." is all I can think of to say.

     We spend the next few hours packing, making sure I have everything.

     "Should I bring my Pokéblock holder?" I ask my mom as we're finishing up.

     "No," she says, "This isn't a Contest school, this is a battle school. It won't be necessary."

     "Okay."

     My mom zips up my duffel bag. We look around at my eerily empty room. It looks barren, sucked of color, lifeless.

     "It looks kinda creepy in here." I say, and my mom laughs.

     "It does." she agrees.

     I sit on my bed, now lacking its usual colorful sheets and comforter.

     My mom sits beside me. "Shall we go say goodbye to your Pokémon now?"

     My heart dips. I had forgotten that I wasn't going to be taking my Pokémon with me.

     We both go outside into our huge backyard. I take out six Pokéballs and toss them in the air.

     First out is Charizard. Then comes Meganium. Then Feraligatr. Then it's Typhlosion. And then Sceptile. And, finally, there's Golduck. My entire team, the one that's gotten me through so much, now stands before me. Silence chokes the air. I'm not really sure what to say.

     "Well, this is goodbye," I say, but quickly add: "For now, anyways."

     "Eeeeeyum?" Meganium cooes worriedly, and I sigh.

     "I'll be back when the school year's over. Of course. It's not like I'm leaving for good. 'Cause then I would take you with me." I stumbled over my words. Arceus, I suck at goodbye's.

     "Wrooooor-eezardddd." Charry crooned sadly, and I reached up to pat his head. It seemed like yesterday he was still a Charmander.

     "Weeeeel," I said, "Bye for now. Take care, and stuff. Don't burn the house down, or anything like that." I turned around and went back inside.