Finding My Voice

The Journey Begins.

I ran home, the four Poké Balls on my belt. There was a nice breeze on the warm summer day, it wasn't too hot or too cold. The sun shone down on me, and I felt my spirits begin to rise. I ran into my house, and my mom looked up from a magazine she was reading.

"Red! You're back already? Did you get your Pokémon?" She asked, standing up. I nodded, taking my four Poké Balls from my belt and tossing them in the air. In four flashes of light, Charmander, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Pikachu appeared in front of me.

"Four Pokémon? My Red, this is such a surprise! And they're all so cute!" My mom cooed, smiling at the Pokémon. Bulbasaur smiled back, while Squirtle turned away, Charmander had fallen asleep, and Pikachu still had a blank expression.

My mother stared at the four Pokémon. "They're an interesting bunch. I know Professor Oak's had them for some time, so I imagine they're a pretty close group." As if confirming this, the four Pokémon seemed hesitant to wander off from each other.

"So Red, when are you going on your adventure?" My mother asked. I signed to her that I was leaving in an hour, and that Daisy was coming with me.

The woman's eyes widened. "Ohh, I see. You better be a gentleman if you're going to be traveling with her." She teased, causing my face to flush red. "I'm glad you and your friend are going together, though. Daisy will keep you safe, I'm sure."

I signed to her in agreement, blabbering a bit about how eager I was to get started.

"Well then, how about I make your Pokémon something to eat while we wait?" She suggested, and Charmander woke up instantly at the mention of food.

My mom went to the kitchen to get some Pokémon food that we kept for when we wanted to go feed some of the wild Pokémon in the area. She got out four bowls and poured some food into each of them.

She set down the bowls and Charmander raced to one of them gobbling up the food. Bulbasaur made his way over and nodded appreciatively at my mom before digging in. Pikachu ate his food slowly, still having a blank expression. Finally, Squirtle refused to eat his. I didn't really understand why, but I was starting to wonder if it had to do with accepting food from people he didn't know.

Oh, Squirtle... It's alright, you can trust us. The Professor wouldn't have given me to you if he didn't think so. I begged silently. I wished there was some way to reach the Pokémon, but the communication barrier would make that difficult. Suddenly, the turtle Pokémon sighed and began eating the food right after my thought.

That was... Odd, like he read my mind or something. I stared at the Pokémon, they seemed to have understood me when we were battling. All of it was confusing me, but it made me wonder.

"Alright Red. Well, you should get going. Be sure to visit sometimes, and don't forget about your hygiene, and stay safe, and I love you." My mom told me and I hugged her. The embrace lasted for a few seconds before I finally let her go. I then returned my Pokémon, excluding Squirtle.

I pushed open the door to the house and looked back, my mom was waving at me and brushing tears from her eyes. I waved back at her and then stepped outside. It was time to start my journey.

I looked down at the Pokémon tottering by my side. It was time to test something. Alright Squirtle, how can you understand me? I wondered and Squirtle looked up at me like I was a crazy person.

"Squirtle..?" He asked as we walked towards the town exit. Daisy was standing there, eagerly waiting for me to arrive. She had a large, green backpack on now and waved at me.

Nod your head Squirtle. I thought. Squirtle's expression immediately turned to a glare. I think he can understand my thoughts or something.

I shook my head, it was all too confusing to wrap my head around. Plus, how would I explain this to anybody? It might've been some sort of coincidence. I decided to drop it, for now, and ran up to join Daisy.

"Hi Red! Are you ready to go?" She asked and I nodded.

"Alright! I made sure to pack a town map, a bunch of berries, Pokémon food, and my Poké Dex. Oh yeah! Speaking of the Poké Dex, Grandpa forgot to give you one in the lab. I think he was thrown off by Blue showing up. Here!" Daisy fished a red device out of her bag and handed it to me.

"You know how to use it right?" Daisy asked I nodded. It was easy to use, even if I had never had one before. I held the delicate device in my hands. I was finally a Pokémon Trainer.

"It should already be filled with every Pokémon in the area. Yellow went and caught every Pokémon she could find." Daisy recounted to me, blabbering a bit. "Grandpa always hoped someone would do it, so I'm glad she managed to. I'm not sure what my own goal is now, though."

I remembered what I had heard about Yellow on the news. She was a trainer from Pallet Town who got her start around five years ago. She had spent her time as a trainer filling the Poké Dex. She finally finished about three months ago with the capture of Mewtwo. Now she was taking on the Kanto Gym Challenge, aiming to become The Champion and dethrone Solus.

"So we're off to Viridian City as our first stop!" Daisy declared. "Right? I don't think there's anywhere else to go." I nodded, signing to her that I was hoping to take on the Pokémon Gym in the area. After Blue beat me, that settled things. I would go as far as I could and prove him wrong. "The Gym Challenge, eh? You're going to do awesome! And I'll be your determined right-hand man, ready to stop anyone who gets in our way!"

Daisy and I locked eyes and shook hands. Our determined looks immediately broke and we started to laugh at the declaration. We set our sights on Route One and I started to think.

I'm gonna show Blue how wrong he is. I'll become an awesome trainer, and then I'll show him! I decided. Squirtle nodded his head and gave me an approving smile. So... you can understand me. That's great!

"Red! Come on!" Daisy snapped her fingers in front of my face. "You can't zone out right now, we're about to start our adventure!" I looked at her and we started to run down the road, Squirtle tailing behind us. I was ready.