let's go on a JOURNEY! (POKEMON ORAS)

1. START

8-bit chirps and bleeps filled the air of her bedroom. This would be her first weekend spent in the neighborhood, and for some reason, she was feeling more nervous than ever. Her family had a lot of errands to run today, and she was invited to tag along with them. She should've been getting ready, but this video game was much more intriguing. It wouldn't hurt anything if she stayed in bed for a while longer...

"May!"

Well, maybe not.

"May! Are you awake?"

Her mom was already storming up the stairs. May quickly hid her handheld console under her pillow and stripped off her pajamas. She had just pulled a shirt over her head when her mom burst into the room.

"I told you we had a busy day ahead of us, and you're just now putting on clothes?" she scolded. "You should know better."

"Uh, sorry, I forgot to set my alarm," May said, trying hard to cover her carelessness.

"We're meeting our neighbors for lunch in fifteen minutes. I expect you to be ready to leave by then." With that, her mother had spun around on her heel and headed back downstairs.

May sighed, and she finished cleaning herself up. The final touch of her outfit was a red bandana tied like a scarf around her head. She pulled it tight, took one last look in the mirror, and headed downstairs. Her parents were already halfway out the door, waiting for her to join them.

Their neighbors were a pokémon professor and his family, including a son around May's age. He was an old friend of her father, and the reason they moved to Littleroot Town in particular. May always found it odd that they didn't move to Petalburg City, where her dad's gym was. But, she wasn't complaining. She liked the quiet atmosphere in this little town.

Professor Birch was an incredibly nice man. He shook everyone's hands and led them over to the dining room table. The parents were seated across from each other, where May just faced an empty seat.

"Unfortunately, my son had some last minute field work he wanted to finish up," Birch sighed. "He really thinks he'll be a professor like me some day. What about you, May? Do you want to be a gym leader like your dad?"

With a shrug, she replied, "I dunno. I want to be a pokémon trainer some day. But, I don't think I could ever be good enough to have my own gym."

Birch smiled. "Do you have a pokémon, May?"

"I don't," she said.

"Norman, how can this be your daughter?" Birch laughed. "We need to change that! Come, over here."

Birch led her over to a briefcase and opened it. Inside laid three poké balls. "I hand these out to beginning trainers sometimes. Go ahead, have your pick."

"A-Are you sure?" May asked.

Professor Birch just nodded her on. And so, with hesitation, she reached in the suitcase and picked the poké ball on the right. "May, why don't you introduce your starter to your parents?"

"Well, all right," May said with a smile. "Here goes nothing!" She pressed in the release button and watched as the beam of light materialized into her very first pokémon...