Pokemon: A Hero Rises (reboot)

Chapter 1

"Valerie! Valerie wake up! It's here! Get up!"

Before I had time to register those words a heavy weight dropped on top of me, nearly pushing the air out of my lungs. My eyes flew open as slender arms began shaking my shoulders vigorously.

"Okay I'm awake," I coughed roughly as a familiar pair of knees dug into my sternum. "You know I can't get up if you're sitting on top of me right?"

"Oh, right," Lizzy, my fourteen year old little sister said as she quickly climbed off of me.

Her dirty blonde hair was still a mess as she had not yet brushed it, mine was probably in a similar state. Her icy blue eyes held almost as much excitement as my own.

"Now let's go meet my new Pokemon!" I said giddily. I was practically bouncing on my heels. Anxiousness and joy and a dozen other emotions bubbled up inside me as I raced out of my room. Lizzy was only a couple of steps behind me.

We raced down the stairs and into the kitchen, which was made up of a blend of dark wood, glass, and smooth granite.

On our large, dark oak dining table sat a fancy wooden box. At the center of the lid was a pokeball emblem with the letters NPTR in its center- the seal of the National Pokemon Trainer Registry. Below the seal read, 'To Valerie Evers. Handle with care.'

"You're lucky I waited for you to come down here and open it," said my father from his seat at the bar. He proceeded to take a long sip from his coffee mug.

He was wearing one of his many flannel shirts. His inky black hair hung just over his brows and now had streaks of silver running through it.

I gave him a broad smile. "Well I'm sure glad you did."

"Well are you going to open it or what?" Lizzy said impatiently.

"I am, but just give me a second to take it in," I replied, gazing at the wooden box in awe. "This is one of the most important moments of my life. I'm going to meet my starter Pokemon; the Pokemon I'm going to bond with and have at my side for the rest of my life."

"Well you certainly have your heart set on this journey," my mother gave me a small, somewhat forced smile as she entered the kitchen. Lizzy was practically the spitting image of her, although much younger. Also our mother's hair was several shades lighter than Lizzy's; more closely resembling the white-blonde color of my own hair..

My mother was still somewhat opposed to me entering the Kalos League. She had always been a bit over protective, which in all honestly wasn't a bad thing. It kept me out of a lot of trouble growing up. Now that I'm eighteen and I've graduated high school though she can't stop me from doing this.

"Mom-," I began, but she cut me off.

"Listen Valerie. You know I'd rather you not travel across the Region like this, but I know how much it means to you. Even if it makes me worry every day I still want you to fulfill your dream."

I felt my eyes start to water and quickly blinked back the tears. My mom had finally given me her blessing.

"Thanks Mom," I said quickly, not wanting to reveal the emotion that hitched in my voice. I turned back to the box.

"Well I shouldn't keep him waiting any longer," I said, exhaling a nervous breath of air.

With shaky hands I opened the box. Inside was a shiny red and white pokeball, a Pokedex, a few informational pamphlets, a plane ticket to Lumiose City, my Trainer ID, and a small metal disk.

Momentarily ignoring the other contents, I slowly reached for the pokeball and grasped it in my left hand.

This is it. My life changing moment.