Ring! Ring! Ring!

...Is that my alarm?

I blindly searched for the clock by waving my arm around. When I grabbed my ringing alarm, I didn't turn it off and threw it across the room instead. It connected with the wall with a loud BANG!

That was when I decided to open my eyes. Instead of being greeted with my familiar room, instead, I saw red wallpaper and the smashed alarm clock.

"This isn't my room...where am I?" I wondered aloud.

The bed I was sleeping in had red covers when I was sure it had been blue when I fell asleep. This isn't normal...

And then, I heard a shrill, male voice yelling up at me from outside.

"NADIA! ARE YOU UP THERE?"

I grab the window and pushed it open. There I saw a boy with dark blue and spiked hair and hazel-gold eyes waving up at me. He looked unfamiliar, but he somehow knew my name. Have I met him before?

The boy looks at me confusedly, and I realized I was contemplating too long. "Uh...COMING DOWN IN A SEC!" I yelled back down, then shut the window.

I wasn't sure what's happening, but I grabbed a nearby tank top and a jacket. I replaced my pajama shorts with long pants. I realized the room was on another floor when I spotted stairs on the opposite wall.

Seriously, where did I end up?

I run downstairs to find no sign of Angel, just a kitchen, a dining table, four chairs, a TV, and a sofa. I look around the downstairs, growing more confused by the second when the boy from earlier pushed open the front door, clearly impatient.

"For Arceus' sake, how long are ya gonna take?" He exclaimed, then noticed my confused state. "Dude, did you bump your head overnight somehow? You look like you never stepped foot into this house, even though you lived here for 10 years."

I blinked at him. I lived here for ten years?

I shake my head. "No, I don't think so..." The boy sighs in relief.

"Good, because if the professor and your parents heard you gained amnesia you wouldn't be able to get your first Pokemon." He replied. Suddenly, an Eevee that had previously not been there appeared next to the boy. Wait a second, an Eevee? Parents? First Pokemon?

"I have parents?"

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I'm concerned now. Who are you and what did you do to Nadia?" I startled.

"I'm Nadia, but it's a little complicated." I tried to explain. The boy stared at me for a good few seconds, with the Eevee looking between its trainer and me.

"...Okay, whatever then. I'll have to get to the bottom of this myself. For now, though, you should go meet your parents at the dig site. They passed my house earlier, going in that direction." He ushered Eevee to follow him out of the house. "Anyway, I'll meet you at the lab!"

He ran off, his figure growing smaller and smaller until I couldn't see him anymore.

"The dig site..." I pondered. I walk out of the house only to be greeted with a small town very unlike the city I lived in.

It was a small and sparse town but people were everywhere I looked. The town was made up of red barn houses and a laboratory in the distance.

Considering I never stepped foot into this town, I had to check a few places with vivid frustration. Finally I found the site, still wondering why I got transported to what seemingly looks like a Pokemon world. However, this isn't any kind of region I've ever seen.

As I arrive at the site, I spot two people in archaeology clothes, staring at a patched up cave proudly. One of them was female, because she had long brown hair.

They must be my parents...

They must've heard me, because they turned around and my mom(? I'll just call her Mom then) exclaimed, "Nadia, sweetie!" and ran over and hugged me. My dad(? I'll just call him Dad...) walks up from behind, smiling in amusement.

"Hey, mom..." I managed to say. Man, I haven't said that in a long time...

"Well, Champ, it seems you spotted us when we were just patching up here," Dad chuckled as he ruffled my hair after Mom had let go.

"Sorry we couldn't be at home, sweetie. We found something in the cave last night." Mom explained, and Dad nodded.

"As archaeologists, we are very thorough with our work." Dad adds on, before whispering in my ear, "Please tell nobody about this, it's too dangerous to go in there as of now, so we want this a secret." I nod slowly. Well, this just escalated a lot.

"Well!" My mom clapped her hands together. "We should get down to the lab and get your first Pokemon!"

They set off towards the other side of town, grabbing my arm to drag me along with them. Mom had a sort of glint in her eye that said, "I'm telling that professor all about you".

The laboratory wasn't huge, but it was big. The walls were white and the glass circled around one tower to make a large window to the outside. Inside the lab was a room separated by a half-wall and the place was filled with machinery. On the other side stood the boy from earlier and two men, one in a black suit and another in a white lab coat.

"Ah, great! Everyone's here!" The man in the suit exclaimed cheerfully when he noticed the three of us come in. He walks over.

"I'm Professor Cypress, the new professor in town. It's nice to finally meet you." Cypress introduces himself, smiling broadly.

"Um...okay...Hello. I'm Nadia." I raise my hand for a handshake. Cypress accepts it.

"Well," Cypress starts after the handshake, "You must be excited to get your first Pokemon, huh?"

"Well, yeah." Was all I really could say.

Cypress turns around and walks to the other room. I follow, and I see a shelf with 24 Pokeballs, three on each shelf layer.

"There are a couple of things you should know about Pokemon. They are our friends, and we work alongside them. Whether it's just play or train, they grow, and sometimes they evolve and change form. As they grow, we grow as a person as well." Cypress explains. Then he gestures to the shelf. "Now, time to choose your first Pokemon. Pick one out of these 24 different breeds."

Three by three, he throws the Pokeballs, and starter Pokemon from Kanto to Galar pop out. I stare at all of them running around, the lab too small to accommodate 24 little creatures. One of them knocks the blue haired boy over somehow.

"Whoa! Jake, you okay?" My mom exclaims.

So...his name is Jake, I think as the lab descends further into mayhem.

"Yep! I'm okay!" Jake yells as he attempts to get up.

As I look around trying to pinpoint one Pokemon, one of them jumps into my arms. I look down at the sudden force and see two red-and-yellow ears.

"Um..." It looks up and lets out a quip. It's a white bunny, with its ears splitting up into two different directions, both ears slowly going from white to red. Even though it's a bunny, it's sitting on my arms like a normal human. A yellow patch sits on its nose and on the pads of its feet.

"Oh, that's one of the newer Pokemon we've gotten," Cypress says as he returns all the Pokemon back. "Its name is Scorbunny."

The thing was, I hadn't known too much about the new Pokemon other than their region and starters, since it hadn't been out for long. Scorbunny climbed onto my head, nestling itself on my hair.

"It's cute." I noted, bringing up a hand to get it off my head. Mom agrees from the other side of the room.

"Now that you have your first Pokemon, I'll give you Pokedexes...although they're the size of midgets." Cypress deadpanned. Jake snorted as he got his own red device and tucked it away in a pocket. I do the same.

"If you need anything, like obtaining another Pokemon, you may return here and talk to my assistant, David. Now, go out there and explore the world of Pokemon!" Cypress calls as I thanked him and started leaving the lab.

"Nadia, wait up!" Jake yells as I get ready to step out the door.

"Yeah?" I ask as he catches up to me.

"We have our first Pokemon now, right? Let's battle!" He exclaims before bringing out Eevee. Eevee squeals in excitement, ready to battle.

"...Sure, why not...Scorbunny?" I look at my own Pokemon, who jumps from my arms onto the floor, hopping around as a warmup.

The battle begins, and Jake goes first. "Eevee, use Growl and then Tackle!"

"Scorbunny, do the same thing!" I yell.

Eevee and Scorbunny both growl at each other before throwing themselves at each other. They jump off of the other, with Eevee shaking itself and Scorbunny still hopping.

"Keep using Tackle!" I order.

"Use Tail Whip!" Jake commanded. Wait.

Scorbunny was about to go in for the Tackle, when Eevee turned around and basically whipped its tail at the other, catching the Rabbit Pokemon off-guard. It dodged Scorbunny's Tackle.

"Eevee, use Tackle again!"

Scorbunny and Eevee tackled each other again and again, since it was the only Physical-attack move they both have. Eventually Scorbunny was the victor, having learned Ember at the very end and singeing Eevee so badly it got knocked out.

"Great job, Scorbunny!" I pat Scorbunny's head when it(she? My phone displayed the battle overview and the Pokemon's gender was female, apparently) jumped into my arms.

"Take a rest, Eevee. You did well." Jake returned Eevee to its Pokeball and looked at Nadia, eyes glowing. "That was amazing, Nadia! Didn't know you were that strong!"

"We just got our Pokemon, it was a 50/50 chance either of us were going to win." I replied. "With training, the scale would tip in one's favor." Jake seemed to get more excited.

"Then I'll train my Pokemon, and then I'll challenge you again! And...I'll beat you too!" He exclaims with confidence.

"Um...okay."

"Also, I'll heal your Pokemon and give you some Pokeballs for you to use." Jake says, and takes out a potion and sprays it on Scorbunny. The Fire-type hisses in pain, but stays put.

My parents walk out from the other room. "We watched your battle while we were discussing things with the professor," Mom says, "That was great battling!"

"We're extremely proud of you, you know? You're taking a huge step into the world of Pokemon. You'll be a great trainer in no time!" Dad added.

"We'll be supporting you throughout your journey. As for something to remember us by, we're giving you this." Mom produces a necklace with a metallic brick on it. Surprisingly, it wasn't heavy and Scorbunny played with the brick dangling on my neck.

"I made it into a necklace this morning. We hope that when you look at it, you'll remember us and that we are on your side no matter what." Mom smiles.

"Remember to keep it safe, okay? Now, we have to go back home. If you need us, we'll be there." They leave the lab, with my mom yelling over her shoulder, "Don't forget to floss!"

Once they left, Jake turns to me. "That was pretty cool of your parents, wasn't it?"

I nod. "Yeah."

"Anyway, I have to go back and prepare my adventure. You can go to Route 1 and train, and we'll meet up in Cheshma Town." Jake says and then leaves.

I stand in silence, with Scorbunny looking at me in confusion.

"......Where's Cheshma Town?"

After searching for Route 1, I realized that it starts after the bridge and I facepalmed.

This new world is not going to be easy to navigate, huh...

At the bridge, I spot two people who look awfully different from the other residents. Are they supposed to be trainers or tourists? They wear the same clothing...

I shake my head. If they were something sinister, they wouldn't find anything in this town. Well, other than the starter Pokemon.

Further down Route 1, I see two birds swooping down onto the grass. One was red and the other was dark blue. I surprised both of them, but only managed to catch the dark blue one. Apparently, the Pokemon was Rookidee, not one I've known about before...

Anyway, I explored the route, battling Zigzagoons and Pidgeys. It wasn't long, and I had gotten to the gate in no time. Just when I was going to pass it, however, I heard a voice.

"NADIA! COME BACK QUICK!" Jake yelled, catching up to me.

"Uh...Jake? Is everything okay?" I ask, and Scorbunny tilts her head in confusion.

"Literally the opposite! Something terrible happened..."