New Beginnings - Anita's Pokémon School Life

1 - Arrival in Rustboro

Anita Lopez, a new transfer student trainer, shifted from one foot to the other. She could scarcely keep her energy bottled up inside. Today, she was finally allowed to run errands on her own to get ready for school. With her school money and entry level items in her backpack and her Vulpix, Cali, sitting at her feet, the trainer bounced in place. The line to use a student bike voucher was long. It was only to be expected. Most of the new student arrivals were arriving over the weekend and getting settled into the student dorms.

However, standing in line in the middle of the city gave Anita a chance to eyeball her surroundings. Music oompa-pahed in her ears from just out of sight where the street fair was in full swing. From above, the late summer sun warmed her skin. The scent of something deep-fried and cinnamon-dusted filled her nose. Anita swallowed. She cursed having gotten into the line as late as she did, but Anita had gotten distracted on the way. The little Vulpix figurine she'd gotten as a prize from a ring-toss game en route was cute, if a little unevenly painted. The hand-sized, plastic toy pokeball had also been cute. So had the tall arrokuda novelty glass. Though she'd been sheepish upon seeing the length of the line when she arrived, the acquisition of prizes and the anticipation of riding with the wind fulfilled her enough to keep her in place.

Cali's tails rippled in interest as the fox watched a Smergle work at a caricature stand. Having newly split her final tail for this form, the fox had been officially approved for Anita to take home just last week. Anita had been able to visit the breeder's nursery and bond with the fire Pokémon over a series of sessions and fire safety classes before she was allowed to take custody of her first partner. Today, however, the dangers of an errant flame seemed far away as Cali tittered as the warped portrait taking shape. Anita bent and scritched the fox behind the ruff of curled fur with a growing grin. "After this, we'll go find something to eat. What do you think-funnel cake?" The fox chirruped.

When the streaks of sunlight had just started to climb the buildings on the opposite side of the street, Anita stepped out of the bike shop. The neon green bike wasn't what she envisioned when she'd browsed the advertisements at home, but once she laid eyes on it, the green just spoke to her. Deciding she'd worry about the extra charge the custom color had taken later, Anita straightened with her hands on her hips and got her bearings. Recounting the actual school supplies she still had to collect, Anita stepped off-

Or at least, she started to. When she realized Cali wasn't at her heels, Anita turned back. "Cali?" she called. "Ah, there you are." Anita trotted her way back to a stand ringed with various budding berry plants. The ceramic pots were glazed with a myriad of colors, some earthy and some more vibrant to catch the eye. Her fox Pokémon was sitting on the ground in front of the stand and looking up. It seemed at first that Cali was transfixed by a plant marked, "Oran Berry", but the closer Anita walked, it became quickly clear that this wasn't any oran berry plant that she'd ever seen.

The green shape squatting in the pot was an almost perfect circle and covered in spikes. A yellow bloom spread at the top of the sphere. As she grew closer, the plant stand the pot was hanging from gave an audible creak. This stand is putting in some serious work, Anita noted to herself as she tilted her head to examine the plant more closely. At an angle, it became clear that the plant was not in fact a perfect circle, but had a pair of growths curled in on itself on the other side. Arms? she questioned. Is this...a Pokémon?

The green spiked sphere gave an answering twitch. Then, another. Cali tilted her head, staring intently up at the hanging pot as Anita leaned in.

"Gol-durnit! I told you t' stay out of my stall!" came a sharp scold from their right.

Anita sucked in a breath of surprise and startled back onto her heels. Her Vulpix jumped to her paws as the pot began to waggle and swing back and forth. The plant's arms extended and the creature turned in place. On the opposite side of the spiked sphere, a smattering of dark holes spread in a shape mimicking that of a face. Shivers ran down both Anita and Cali's spines as a pair of eyes glinted at the two of them from the top two holes.

The spiked Pokémon lunged out of the pot and hit the concrete rolling. The force of the Pokémon's tumble sent the pot swinging wildly back and off of its hook. Acting out of reflex, Anita reached forward to catch the clay container. "Hup-" Landing in a squat, she clasped the pot in both hands. "Phew!" Setting it on the ground with hasty care, the trainer straightened and spun on her heel. "That was-Cali!"

Anita caught a glimpse of Cali's indisputable mass of tails snapping behind the fox before her partner sprinted around the corner and out of sight. "Cali, wait!" The trainer clasped a hand to her hat and ran off in pursuit. Her bag jangling with supplies and goodies, Anita and her partner were quickly swallowed up by the block party festivities.