Finding My Voice

Through the Eyes of a Mute

I was standing on a beach, looking out into the water. "Where am I?" As I asked the question, I gasped. How was I speaking? This should have been impossible. I didn't remember going to the beach, especially not... here.

The sun was shining down on me, and I glanced around to see a few buildings in the area. This place had a vague sense of familiarity to it. I just couldn't place from where. I looked down at the sand covering my feet and noticed that the color seemed to have drained from the area.

My eyes darted around to see the entire world turning monochrome. "What's happening?"

"Red." A voice boomed.

I looked at my hands, now also lacking any defined color.

"Red!" The voice shouted, louder this time.

I looked up to see a vortex appearing in the sky.

"RED!"

I shot up, finding that I was in my bed.

"Wake up Red! Come on, it's your birthday!" My mom called from downstairs. It was just a dream. I tried to see if I could call out any response, but of course, I wasn't capable of speaking.

It was strange. Normally, I was still mute even in my dreams. I thought, getting up and putting on my red hat with a Poké-Ball and putting it on. The hat covered my light brown hair on my head, though a bit poked out on the sides.

Today's the day I get a Pokémon! I remembered. Maybe that's why I'm a bit off, this is huge! I was suddenly charged with energy.

I began to pack a bag with some of the essentials. Some money, extra clothes, and a pen with some paper in case I ran into people who didn't know sign language.

I put on blue jeans, red shoes, and a black shirt. Then I put on a jacket, the zipper area was white, and the rest of the jacket was red. However, the sleeves were black so it blended in with my shirt nicely.

I confirmed my outfit in the mirror and then stared into it. Twelve years old, that meant it was time to get a Pokémon. I'd be off to explore the world, take on other trainers in battles, and discover all sorts of different Pokémon. My brown eyes glimmered back at me in the mirror.

It was time to do this.

I hurried down the stairs after brushing my teeth, arriving at the bottom floor where my mom was making breakfast. The quaint house that I had grown up in was spacious enough for me and my mom. The news was currently on, discussing Yellow capturing a Legendary Pokémon.

"Morning Red, and happy birthday!" My mom told me as she flashed me a smile. The woman was making some pancakes in the kitchen as I descended.  The smell filled my nose as I sat down at the table. It was nice to have a consistent birthday tradition like this.

"How did you sleep last night?" She asked. I signed to her that I had a bit of a strange dream, but I was probably just excited.

"I understand that, before I got to take on the world I was so antsy. It's an incredible thing, to go on a journey. I was only twelve years old, just like you, but it changed my life forever. After all, it's how I met your father." She reminded me, and I nodded in agreement. My father...  My mother's voice grew a bit shaky. "Just promise me you'll be careful. Team Rocket has been all over the place recently, and I don't want you to get hurt."

I assured her that I was going to take care to stay out of trouble. With a Pokémon by my side, I could handle anything in my way. I wasn't exactly someone to go and get into trouble, though.

"Fair enough." She conceded, wiping some tears from her eyes. "I know I need to let you fly, and you're going to have an amazing time. Once you finish breakfast you can go meet Professor Oak in his lab." My mother told me, motioning to the pancakes that she had put on a plate.

I dug into the food in front of me. Pancakes weren't anything special, but my mom always did something special with them on my birthdays. Sprinkles had been added to the pancakes, giving them a bit of birthday flair.

As soon as I finished I stood up and hugged my mom. She embraced me tightly for a few moments, before exhaling and letting me go.

"Stop by once you get your Pokémon, then I'll give you a proper send-off." My mom told me. I looked up at her and nodded. Then I turned to run out the door.

I threw open the door and started on the way to Professor Oak's lab. Fortunately, Pallet Town was very small. There were only three houses and the lab. The town was located in a peaceful grassy area, with a path down to the ocean to the south. To the north was the trail to Route One, which would take you to Viridian City.

The other homes were occupied by Yellow and her family, and Professor Oak's family. Professor Oak had a granddaughter and grandson. Daisy and I were somewhat close friends, though I only met her last year. She had an older brother, Blue, though he hadn't ever been around. According to Daisy, he wasn't the best person.

Daisy and Blue had moved in with Professor Oak last year, though Daisy didn't ever really say why. I probably could have asked her, but I didn't want to pry. We got along decently well, though that was helped by the fact we were the only two kids in the town.

I hurried across the town and ran into the lab. Professor Oak turned to face me and smiled. He was wearing his usual apparel, a lab coat. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"Hello Red, I'm assuming you've come here to receive your Pokémon?" Professor Oak asked me, and I nodded quickly.

"Well then, it's time for you to meet the four choices." He motioned to a table with four Poké Balls, a display screen behind the table. "First we have Bulbasaur the Seed Pokémon." He introduced the grass type, and an image of the Pokémon appeared on the screen.

This is so cool! I thought giddily, jumping up and down.

"Next we have Squirtle, the Tiny Turtle Pokémon." Professor Oak motioned to the next Poké Ball in the row, the screen displaying an image of the water turtle. "Next we have Pikachu, the mouse Pokémon." He moved his hands to point at the next Poké Ball, the display screen changing again.

So if my memory serves me right, the next Pokémon is a fire-type!

"Finally we have Charmander, the lizard Pokémon." The display screen changed to the fire lizard, and I immediately fell in love. There was no need to debate, I wanted Charmander.

"So, which one would you like?" He asked, and I pointed at Charmander's Poké Ball. "Charmander? Ah, fantastic! Take good care of him." He moved to the fire lizard's Poké Ball and picked it up. He was about to hand it to me when the doors burst open.

A kid who looked to be about fifteen was standing in the doorway. He had a smug grin on his face as he strode over to us. His ginger hair was almost orange, and it contrasted with his pale skin.

He was wearing purple pants and bracelets, and a black tee-shirt. A necklace with some sort of gemstone rested around his neck, accenting the outfit. "Seems I heard correctly there's a new trainer in town. Perfect." The boy spoke with an unearned amount of cockiness. He came to a stop a few feet away from us.

The boy flashed his teeth at me and produced a Poké Ball.