I spent the final days of the school year hanging out with Chance, and I actually really enjoyed it. A lot. Our evening runs easily became my favorite part of the day. He's easy to talk to with his chill attitude and love of cracking jokes. Maybe it's because I haven't hung out with someone so much besides Juliette in, well, forever, but the change of pace he brings is super welcoming.

Honestly, I like being around him. I can see the two of us becoming great friends on this adventure. If he's any sort of precursor as to what's to come my way, I'm eager to see what's ahead.

On the morning of my big day, I stare at my closet with a small scowl. I have a few different outfits laid out for my journey, and I don't know which one would be best for tomorrow. They're all pieces from the athleticwear brand endorsed by the Fighting-type Gym Leader from Kalos, Korrina. One outfit's white-and-mint, another is gray-and-blue, and the last is black-and-pink.

"White means optimism," I mumble to myself, fingering the fabric, "but blue goes with water, so it'll go with Totodile..."

I glance at my clock: it's 6:45. The send-off supplies distribution begins at 7:30. I don't have the time to procrastinate like this. Quickly, I pull on the white-and-mint ensemble; this outfit consists of a tracksuit and black tank top underneath. The other gear gets loaded into my dark blue backpack, and I double-check to make sure everything is there just in case anything went missing from last night when I was obsessively going through my items. Everything's there and square.

Shrugging on my backpack, I face myself in the mirror and smile. No more bad vibes, no more negativity! I've been waiting for this day my whole life—I can't let a bit of bad luck stop me in my tracks. I've got this.

"I've got this," I repeat aloud, shooting my reflection with some finger guns. Remembering Chance's words from the other night, I giggle to myself and add on, "Time to kick names and take ass."

I head to my door then pause to take one last long look at my room. My gaze lingers on my corkboard of pinned polaroid pictures, reliving the memories the photos had captured. Birthdays, sleepovers, hikes, and field trips. I grin a little; I'll need a bigger board for the photos taken during my journey. There's no use living in the past when I've got my whole future ahead of me. Nodding to myself, I shut my door and head downstairs.

The mouthwatering scent of delicious, golden waffles wafts to my nose and turns my eyes into hearts. Possessed by the spirit of a freshly awoken Snorlax, I float into the dining room and find a thick stack of the most blessed of breakfast foods ready for the taking. Natural instinct drives me to devour the meal with the ferocity of an angered Mightyena, but my self-restraint holds me back so I can greet my parents with good morning hugs and greetings.

"Ready for your big day?" Mom asks, rubbing circles on my shoulders as she presses her cheek atop my head. Opposite of Dad, she's always been extremely tall with all her 5'9 glory. She dwarfs my five feet of (yet to be released) fury.

I hum, peeking over at the waffles. "Ready as I'll ever be. Johto won't know what hit 'em."

"Thatta girl," Dad says from behind his rim of coffee, watching us affectionately. "I made your favorite so you'll eat a lot before you head out. You need to stop forgetting to eat when you're busy. That Pants kid better make sure to keep you in check."

I pry myself out of Mom's hold and begin to make my plate. "Chance," I correct him. "His name's Chance Lively."

He adds more sugar to his drink, muttering, "Yeah, yeah, that Vance guy."

There's a loud thump, and Claire arrives at the dining table. She's a half-asleep zombie barely aware of her surroundings; the moment the school year ends, her sleeping schedule turns on its head and transforms her into a beast of the night. I'm surprised she's up this early to send me off.

"Morning, sunshine," I tease her.

She grumbles some gibberish and slumps into the chair across from mine. I watch her stare at the ceiling for a good thirty seconds. Clearing her throat, she finally says, "I had a dream that you got a Wailmer for your starter, and your Wailmer ate Growlithe."

Mom chuckles. "Well, that's not very nice."

Despite the morbidness of it all, the mention of getting my starter fills me with the childish glee. Today is the day I get my beloved Totodile. Butterfree flutter through my stomach. I smile to myself. Sparkles and sunshine fill my vision, propelling me onto Cloud Nine where I can dance like a fool in the rose-colored lights of the world.

"I've got this," I say for the millionth time today when I finish my meal. I stand up with determination burning through my veins, very well high on a maple syrup-fueled sugar rush. "The next time you guys see me, I'm going to be the Champion of the Indigo League."

Dad arches a brow. "You're not going to visit us?"

"Of course I'm going to visit, you know what I meant," I say, waving my hands around. I walk around the table to trap him in our last hug before I set off for the big journey. Resting my cheek against his head, I say, "Like, I'm not going to return here to Cherrygrove City and live here without having kicked the whole Indigo League's ass"—Dad squints—"some, awesome Pokémon."

"Bad save," Claire taunts, now awake enough to antagonize those around her.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I give her a loose, one-armed hug. If I gave her a proper hug, she'd wheeze and hiss as if I'd set her on fire. "Don't be too much of a pain, okay?"

"Where's the fun in that?" She tries to maintain her cold mask, but a grin slips through the cracks. "Keep your promise or perish."

"Claire," Dad says, unimpressed with her dark sense of humor.

"It's a joke," we both return.

I make my way back to Mom, and she coos as she pulls me into her embrace. "My sweet, sweet child of the summer daughter. I can't believe you're all grown up now and ready to take on the world. It's like me and your dad were chasing you around in your diapers just yesterday." Her voice thickens with emotions, and she holds me tighter. "But look at you now: you're a strong, talented, beautiful, and clever young lady who we couldn't be more proud of. No matter what you do, you remember that we're always here ready to support whatever decision you make."

Heat rushes to my face as tears well in my eyes, touched by her sappy yet loving words. "Mom," I sniffle.

Instead of replying, she waves the others over. Dad and Claire join the group hug, stuffing me in the center of this Kline family sandwich. Growlithe spins in circles and yaps beside us, covering the noise of mine and my parents' sniffling while Claire grunts awkwardly.

"I'm going to be late," I mumble. They let go of me one by one, and I force myself to chuckle and release my pent-up stress caused by this situation. My laughter's contagious as my parents smile through their tears, and I slowly back towards the door with my hand waving at them. "I'll be back with the title of Champion before you know it. I promise."

"We'll come and see you at the Indigo Plateau," Dad says.

"Awesome." I open the door and stand in the threshold, lingering there with the weight of the world placed on my shoulders. Taking a deep breath, I smile again. "Thank you for everything, I really mean it. I won't let you down." Not waiting for a response to that, I turn heel and fist pump, shouting, "See you later!"

I don't trust myself to not break down crying like a baby in front of them, so I hightail it out of there. Force of habit propels me to run out of the courtyard and begin jogging down the streets; in the blink of an eye, my worries are left behind in the dust kicked up behind me. With a smile on my face, I run to the academy and come to panting halt in front of the staircase.

"Wow, did you run the whole way here? Impressive, Pres."

I laugh as I gasp for breath, giving Chance a smile as he watches me amusedly. He's wearing a black-and-white Digcraft t-shirt beneath a light gray jacket and black leggings. I want to call him fashionable, but the Digcraft logo stops me in my tracks.

"Nothing like a warm-up jog. Also, nice leggings," I say, straightening up into some good posture. "Have you seen the others?"

He nods. "Yeah, Theo and Juliette went in already. You're not late, though; you've still got a few minutes left." Chance then does a dramatic lunge and slaps his thigh. "And to have you know, these are meggings, not leggings. There's a difference."

I snicker. "Okay, Chance, nice meggings. Let's get moving, though. If I'm not ten minutes early, I'm twenty minutes late."

On the western side of the building is a Pokémon lab station run by Professor Elm's workers themselves. It's commonplace for these kinds of spots to be scattered all throughout the regions to make it easier for field scientists to collect local data and report their findings to each other online. Cherrygrove Academy's station, however, mostly serves as a lecture hall. One day a year, it gets to be the send-off room for professor program participants to receive their starters and Pokédexes.

My body buzzes with anxious energy as I enter the lab room with Chance in tow. Everyone—Jewels, Theo, Professor Elm, Dr. Nakamoto, lab assistants—turns toward the door and stares. I smile through the pain because wow this awkwardness hurts.

"Good morning," I greet.

"Good morning, Lyla," Dr. Nakamoto says, grinning like the happy, old man the principal is. "Everyone's here now, Professor Elm, including a special guest. How are you, Chance?"

Chance flushes pink as the group's attention falls on him. He covers his face with his hand as he answers, "I'm doing good, thank you. I just came to support Lyla here." It's weird hearing him use my actual name; I sneak him a semi-confused glance as he hides behind me from the others. Alright.

Professor Elm clears his throat, adjusting his lab coat and gesturing to the table before him. There, three Pokédexes are placed in front of three Poké Balls. My heart leaps to my throat at the wonderful, magnificent, nerve-wracking sight. This is happening for real. For real, for real.

Finally, he begins his speech, saying, "It's a pleasure to meet you all here today, Theodore, Juliette, and Lyla. Looking at your faces, I can see how thrilled you all are to be here, too. It's taken a lot of hard work and dedication to get to this spot, but you did it. You should be proud of yourselves for your outstanding efforts. Dr. Nakamoto can agree with me that there's nothing like seeing incredible students with untapped potential going out into the world to do great and wonderful things."

My mouth runs dry as Dr. Nakamoto hands the three of us our small item bags and, most importantly, our Pokédexes. The Pokédexes are sleek, cherry red devices no larger than a cellphone. Stored within these is the world's largest database of Pokémon information, updated yearly by its own holders who discover more and more about the secrets of our world's mysterious Pocket Monsters. Any question I could possibly ever have about Pokémon can be answered using a Pokédex—they're invaluable.

"Thank you," I murmur, holding the Pokédex to my chest.

Dr. Nakamoto smiles. "You're welcome."

"...now, for the moment you've been waiting for," Professor Elm continues, snapping me out of my daze, "it's time to choose your very own Pokémon. Theodore will pick first since he placed first."

"We actually decided who was getting what Pokémon back when we learned we got picked," Theo explains as he grabs the Poké Ball containing Cyndaquil.

Professor Elm lets out a relieved sigh. "That's good to hear. We've had fights here before since graduates would want the same Pokémon."

Juliette and I exchange a look, and we approach the table at the same time. Time slows as we reach out for our respective Poké Balls—my mind records this moment for all the years to come. The goofiest grin of my life grows on my face as I take hold of Totodile's Poké Ball, and I can't stop myself from giggling in glee.

"Thank you so much. This means everything to me, to us, to everyone," I gush, sincerely meaning every word I excitedly ramble on and on about.

Juliette chimes in, "We appreciate everything you've offered to us."

"We couldn't ask for a better school experience," Theo finishes with his signature dazzling grin.

"And we couldn't ask for better students," Dr. Nakamoto replies, clasping his hands together. "We wish you the best of luck on all your journeys. May you find success in everything you do."

"We'll do our best," I promise.

Professor Elm chuckles. "We hope you do. If you ever have any questions, stop by a satellite lab and contact me there."

I'm more than eager to flee the academy for once and for all and get outside. Once everyone's down the steps of the school, never to return and study ever again, I spin in a circle and beam so hard so big it hurts my cheeks.

"Alright, Totodile," I exclaim, so pumped up that my volume's at a shout, "come on out!"

White light beams out of my Poké Ball like a glittering ribbon and reveals the Pokémon of my dreams. Starting from the bottom up, a sky blue reptile with jaws powerful enough to snap logs in half appears. Maroon eyes find mine, and Totodile cries in excitement as he charges toward me. Laughing, I bend down and open my arms to catch him in a hug and—

"GAH!"

Totodile cackles like a madman with his Donald Ducklett voice as he plows me over. He lays on top of my chest with a toothy grin, and I can't help but giggle. Wrapping him in a hug, I rock into an upright position and coo over my brand new partner.

"You're such a good-good, amazing, handsome boy," I tell him, booping his snout. "You know what, Totodile? You and me are gonna be an unbeatable power duo. Like, we're going to rule the world; we just have to start with Johto and the Indigo League."

"To!" he chirps. I doubt he understands what I'm saying, but he must like my enthusiasm.

Before I forget, I open my backpack and take out a blue-silver-and-white scarf. I slide it around Totodile's neck and knot it, adoring how dapper it makes my precious Pokémon. It took me forever to find the perfect battle-resistant accessory for a Totodile.

"Looks like you two get along well," Chance says, kneeling beside us. "Hey there, Totodile."

Totodile gives Chance the most adorable smile ever then tries to chomp him. "Di!"

Chance retracts his hands with wide eyes. "Yikes! You're a feisty one."

"It's in the species; they're prone to biting a lot," I defend Totodile, patting the top of his head. "Exercise is the only way to tucker them out and get them to stop. And speaking of exercise..." I look up to where Theo stands with a knowing smirk. "Time to step up to the plate, rival."

Juliette, who's sitting on the stairs next to her Chikorita, frowns. "Already? But we've just left the lab."

"It's tradition, babe," Theo replies as we head to the battling field across the street. "Don't sweat it too much."

Chance remembers how we're supposed to be pretending we're a couple before I do, momentarily catching me off-guard as he grabs onto my hand and says, "Don't go too crazy; we've got a whole day of traveling left to do."

"We'll be fine," I assure, nudging him. Silently, I add on, There's no way I'm losing to Theo after all this mess.

Chance and Juliette stand in the referee's square as Theo and I take our places in the Trainer boxes. Adrenaline thrums through my veins and fills me with confidence. I've got this first battle in the bag with the type advantage Totodile and I have over Theo and his Cyndaquil. It'll be no problem.

Juliette steps up and explains, "This battle is a one-on-one match with no items or substitutions allowed. Please release your Pokémon."

"Get 'em, Totodile," I say as I check his move-set on my Pokédex.

Totodile waddles onto the field and turns around to wave at me. Oh, my sweet, darling, precious baby boy. Please don't be like this while battling.

Theo, however, throws me a curveball as he tosses an Ultra Ball into the air and exclaims, "Let's go, Ditto!"

I fall into a dumbstruck silence as a pink Pokémon takes to the field, looking like a piece of chewing gum that had a face drawn onto zir. Why is he using Ditto? I knew he owned one 'cause I've seen pictures of zir before on Zipagram, but I thought he would've used his Cyndaquil for this battle. Shoot.

Juliette's Chikorita raises her leaf into the air. "Ready, set"—Chikorita whips her leaf down—"go!"

"Transform!" Theo calls out.

Ditto glows white as zie changes forms. In the blink of an eye, a Totodile with pure black eyes and a ditzy grin stands across from my Totodile. He squints at Ditto and growls in confusion.

I order, "Use Leer."

"Block it with Water Gun," Theo counters.

All seriousness fades from the battle as Totodile charges forward, glaring daggers at Ditto while Ditto's too busy figuring out how to use Water Gun. The moment it clicks for Ditto, zir cheeks swell with water only for a weak stream to splash Totodile in the face. He yelps and rubs his eyes then looks back at me with a pout.

"You're doing great, sweetie," I encourage him. "Keep on using Leer, okay?"

Dread knots in my stomach as I watch Totodile run circles around Ditto. Leer requires the user to make eye contact with the opponent to work. At least Ditto's too slow to hit Totodile with a good Water Gun? I wince in secondhand embarrassment. I knew low-level Pokémon were weak, but I wasn't anticipating this. There is so much work cut out for us.

I shift gears, calling out, "Okay, Totodile, use Bite!"

Totodile bounces side to side to dodge Ditto's Water Gun and opens his jaws wide. Releasing a shout one step away from a yodel, he zooms forward and locks his jaws around Ditto's shoulder. Ditto flails and starts running back and forth, but Totodile's iron clamp never lets up.

My jaw tightens; I've underestimated the situation. Totodile, my sweet and precious darling, is essentially a toddler in Pokémon years. At such a low level, it's no wonder he barely knows how to fight. Lab scientists' jobs are to raise starter Pokémon enough to where they understand basic commands and grasp the concept of manners. Anything past that is the Trainer's duty. Throwing him into the fray like this without any coordination beforehand is cruel.

I make eye contact with Theo, and he's wearing the same distressed expression I am. "Um, do you want to finish this? This is kind of... sad."

"Yeah, let's save a real battle for later down the line," he agrees, scratching his cheek. "Ditto, come back."

I call Totodile, and he's more than happy to race to my feet for compliments and head pats. As I tell him what a good job he did, I sneak glances at Theo who's speaking with Juliette. It sucks I couldn't take out my passive-aggressive anger towards him in this battle. Next time, though. He better watch out.

"Lyla!" Juliette shouts, running towards me. Not waiting for a reply, she locks me in a hug and whispers in my ear, "Good luck on your journey; I'm rooting for you."

My heart warms at her words, and I hold onto her just as tightly. "Thanks, Jewels. You kick ass, too, alright?"

She giggles. "Mhm!"

I'll admit I was upset when I let her go to step backward and be beside Chance. He wraps an arm around me and gives me a small squeeze. "Don't look so down, Pres. We'll all meet up soon, won't we?"

"Right. When that happens, we'll have a real battle," Theo confirms, winking at me.

"It'll be the rematch of the century," I say.

"I'm looking forward to it."

"Same."

"Good."

"Awesome."

There's a moment of tension as Theo and I size each other up, but it doesn't last long. Juliette breaks it, saying, "You two please be careful going out."

"You, too," Chance replies, lifting his hand in a wave. "See you later."

We say our goodbyes, and I finally turn away from Juliette. The two of us leave in opposite directions which is something I couldn't have ever imagined when I was younger. I try not to linger on the thought for too long as I walk between Chance and Totodile, choosing to instead lift my chin and train my gaze on the gorgeous horizon.

I can do this, with or without Juliette. This is my destiny, after all. Lance better watch out from his perch in the Indigo League because I'm coming for that Champion's throne.

I've got this.

‒‒‒‒‒

Question of the Chapter

What's your favorite starter?