Chapter Text
Amity Blight was not having a good day. She couldn’t think of many more ways for her first day as a Pokémon Trainer could have possibly gone wrong, that hadn’t already happened. And it wasn’t a mystery why. Thanks to one curly-haired girl named Luz Noceda, her journey had been flipped on its head.
— — —
“And Amity dear, do remember what I told you. Never—”
“Never lose sight of the goal, and do whatever it takes to reach it, yes Mother, I remember what you’ve said,” Amity replied, hiking her backpack up her shoulder as she exited the small bus, tossing a handful of dollars to the driver, who raised his eyebrows but said nothing. The line went silent for a second as Amity watched the bus pull away from the bus stop, causing a small flock of nesting flock of Pidgey and Pidove to scatter from the side of the road, taking flight in a mess of feathers and cries.
“Don’t speak over me dear,” she heard her mother’s voice over the line. Her voice had a deliberate ice to it. “It’s unbecoming of an up-and-coming Trainer to be rude to their elders. Especially for a Blight. Amity, you have a family name to uphold. Remember that.” Amity nodded, before remembering that obviously, her Mom couldn’t see her.
“Yes, Mother. I promise. I’ll make you proud.”
“I know you will dear. You’re the good daughter.” Amity smiled, and then the line went silent, save for a small buzz. Amity pulled her phone away from her ear, noting the ‘Call Disconnected’ screen, before returning her phone to the pouch on her belt. And that was that.
No ‘good luck Amity.’ Blights did not need luck. No ‘I love you.’ Not that she was expecting her Mother to say it. Sure, Odalia wasn’t exactly the warmest of Mothers, but Amity was used to it. She knew what her Mother expected of her, and Amity was more than eager to prove that she could meet her lofty expectations. Like every time, Amity still felt a little glow of pride at her Mother’s words. It wasn’t exactly the warm reassurance other parents may give, Amity knew, but compared to the icy disapproval her Mother had for the twins? She would take it. She surveyed the rolling fields with small houses dotting around the valley that made up Pallet Town. Between the sprawling fields of crops, the dirt trails meandering from this building to that, and a less than bustling market, there could not have been any more of a stark contrast between it, and her hometown of Celadon City, with its crowded streets, busy department stores, and soaring skyscrapers. To be honest, Amity never could quite wrap her head around the fact that this farming village was the place where every trainer in the region started their life-changing journeys as Pokémon trainers.
“Well, at least it’s quaint,” she sighed, before setting off, down the main road in search of the Professor’s lab.
— — —
Amity came to a stop at the foot of a particularly large hill. Her eyes followed the winding dirt path, leading to her destination, a building almost looked out of place in the small farm town. The structure mostly composed of a smooth concrete It was at least twice as large as the barns Amity had seen while walking through town, but unlike those wooden structures, the walls were what appeared to be smooth concrete, arcing into a round roof. A silvery wind turbine jutted out from the side of the building, and nearly every inch of the curved roof was covered with mismatched solar panels, the mess of wiring trailing down the side of the building into a worn-out control box.
As Amity hiked up the path, she couldn’t help but feel a mixture of apprehension, and excitement. This was the day she had been looking forward to for years. And now, she was right at the start of her future that she and her Mother had been planning for since she was four. Her heart was pounding as she came to a stop in front of the glass doors at the front. She closed her eyes, her fists clenching and unclenching rapidly. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. In the reflection of the glass doors stared back a figure that Amity had seen all her life, pictured all around the mansion. From her sleek grey jacket, to her tied-up aquamarine hair, the person in the glass radiated confidence, and a certain air of cold-determination. She looked older. Powerful.
Amity brushed aside a loose strand of hair, tucking it behind her ears, and stepped forward. The doors slid apart silently, and with it, the reflection of her mother. With only a slightly shaky step, she strode into the air-conditioned lab, as the doors slid shut behind her with a hollow thud.
If the outside of the lab had seemed out of place in Pallet Town, the interior was downright alien to the rural village. A sleek, gray hallway ran down the center of the lab, with doorways lining the walls, and a larger one at the end of the hallway, from which Amity could hear voices talking. As she strode down the hallway, she couldn’t help but curiously peek into a few of the rooms. One of the rooms was dimly lit, with computer servers lining the walls, lights blinking in a slow rhythm, and cables snaking between them in a tangled mess. Another was filled with filing cabinets, paperwork spilling out of several of the drawers. Her footsteps echoed on the hardwood floor as she reached the end of the hallway.
“Professor?” she called out as she passed through the doorway into the larger room. Her eyes blinked to adjust to the bright sunlight that poured in through the glass that made up the ceiling and the floor. Facing away from her in the center of the room, which unlike the rest of the area was clear of any clutter and tables, stood a figure in a rumpled gray lab coat. Perched on his shoulder was a fuchsia Impidimp, who’s ears perked up at the sound of her footsteps. It turned its head towards Amity, and waved, chittering rapidly.
“What is it Frewin?” the man asked, glancing at the excited Pokémon on his shoulder, before turning to see who the creature was waving at. When his icy blue eyes fell onto the aspiring Trainer standing in the doorway, his wrinkled and scarred face breaking into a warm smile. “Ah, hello Miss. Is there something I can help you with?”
Amity recognized the man from her mother’s description, and nodded, jaw set. She took a step forward; with all the bravado she could muster.
“Professor Bump, my name is Amity Blight, and I am here for to start my Pokémon journey, and to choose my Starter Pokémon!” She looked at the Professor, who’s warm smile was replaced with a wince. “What?”
He sighed, before putting his hands together, looking her dead in the eye.
“I’m terribly sorry Ms. Blight, but I’m afraid we don’t have any more Starter Pokémon available at the moment.”
Amity faltered. “Excuse me?”
“I just gave our last starter out to young Luz here,” he said, gesturing behind him. “Camila, when was the next shipment from Mrs. Ally and the Daycare?”
Still reeling, Amity realized there were others standing behind the Professor; a woman with a white lab coat over her light blue shirt, and curly brown hair, maybe in her forties. Standing next to the woman was a man that appeared to be a similar age, with brown, wavy hair and wearing a white coat over his teal collared shirt and beige shorts. Sitting cross legged on the ground near them was a girl, around Amity’s age, she would guess, with curly brown hair and a purple and white shirt. The girl, whom Amity guessed was the ‘young Luz’ the Professor was referring to, bore a striking resemblance to the two adults, and all three had the same coppery skin, and chocolate brown hair. In the girl’s lap sat a fluffy, beige creature Amity recognized as the Pokémon that every trainer was given at the start of their journey, Eevee. Or almost every trainer, apparently. The girl gave a friendly wave, but Amity’s eyes darted back towards the older woman standing behind the Professor.
At Bump’s question, the curly haired woman reached into her coat and pulled out a clipboard, flipping through quickly as she scanned it.
“Vinera told me a day or two ago that her latest litter are still too young to be transported. Maybe a week at the soonest, but most likely it will take two to three before they’re old enough to be brought to the lab.” She turned to Amity with an apologetic look.
“I don’t understand,” Amity said, almost frantically. “You guys are supposed to give trainers their first Pokémon, this is your job! How do you not have a Pokémon ready for me? How does that even happen?”
Camila put down the clipboard, tucking it under her arm. “I’m very sorry dear, if we had known ahead of time that we would have an extra Trainer here today, we would have had something set aside for you!”
“Extra? No, no-no, I was supposed to be here! I registered my trainer identification with the league ahead of time, and I called here months ago, I specifically said I’d be here, today! There must have been some kind of mistake!”
“We had two trainers marked down to receive their first Pokémon today,” The wavy-haired man said, frowning. “Luz here, obviously,” he said, gesturing to the sitting girl, “and then we had the other one earlier today, what was his name? The blonde kid that didn’t say much. Henry? Hudson?” He snapped his fingers, “Hunter! I’m pretty sure it was Hunter.”
Amity eye twitched, staring at the man. “Shouldn’t you at least be keeping a record of the names of the people you’re supposed to be handing out Pokémon to?”
The Professor cleared his throat, stepping forward. “Of course we do… as of right now anyways.” He turned to the other man, “Manny, write that down please, we really must make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again.”
Amity wanted to scream. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she gave an aggravated sigh. “So. I call in advance, I call SIX whole months in advance. I make it very clear I would be arriving here today, to receive my first Pokémon and start my journey, one that I have been planning for and waiting for years, and you just GAVE it away to a random kid who showed up unannounced?” She took a step forward, before quickly stepping back.
“That’s enough” Professor Bump said, his voice hardening. He stepped forward, putting himself between her and the two adults. “I understand this must be distressing for you, but I will not tolerate you berating my assistants. You are correct that we have made a terrible oversight, and as Dr. Noceda said, we will do everything we can to remedy it. However, unless you can calm down, there isn’t anything I can do to help you, so I suggest that you take a moment to consider your next action.”
Amity eyes narrowed as the Professor stared her down. She glared right back.
A second passed.
Two.
Amity inhaled.
“Fine. Do you at least have a Pokédex for me?” Professor Bump visibly relaxed, his shoulders dropped.
“Yes, of course Ms. Blight. Manny? If you would.” The Professor waved him over. Manny strode over, reaching into his lab coat. He pulled out a device; it was composed of two reddish metal sheets, each an inch wide, and several long, but only half as thick as her own cellphone; and a dimly glowing band between them. As he held it up in front of her, the glowing band flashed and expanded with a hum, pushing the metal sheets apart with a glass-like screen the size of a tablet. “Tell it your full name kiddo,” Manny said, as a circle appeared on the display, clicking and whirring.
“Amity Blight,” she stated, glaring at Manny through the screen.
“Accessing trainer identification. Amity Blight. Verification complete. Full Pokédex operating functions online!” the screen chirped, flashing, before the screen collapsed back down, powering down.
“There you go kid,” Manny said, holding the device out to her. “It’s all set to go. Just point it at a Pokémon and it should be good to go. It’ll show you all the information about the Pokémon, their specialties, and all available research about-“
“I know how a Pokédex works, sir,” Amity replied, her tone icy as she took the device from the assistant. Manny raised an eyebrow, and chuckled, raising his hands in mock surrender.
“Alright then. If you have any troubles with it down the road, there’s a help line on there. Shoot me a call, and I can try to help resolve your issues. It doesn’t happen too often, but regardless, I’m available.”
“Right.” Amity nodded tightly. She took a deep breath that did nothing to lower her blood pressure. “I’m on my way then. Thank you for all of your help. Good day!” She turned on her heel and marched towards the door, cursing as her foot caught on one of the cables that was snaking between rooms in the hallway.
“Ms. Blight wait just a moment, it’s very dangerous to venture out without a Pokémon for your protect—"
The Professor’s exclamation was cut off by the echo of the glass door sliding open and slamming shut behind .
— — —
The brown hair girl looked back down at her lap where an Eevee was sitting, looking back up at her with its large brown eyes.
“Welp. That probably could have gone better for her.”
Manny and Camila sighed. Professor Bump nodded.
“You are correct. That went quite horribly.”
Frewin chirped in agreement.
“Well, I’m very sorry to have to leave at such short notice, and on your special day young Luz. However, I believe I should go file a request with Mrs. Ally and the Daycare to try and see if they might have any Pokémon that could be available on short notice. I don’t like the idea of a young new Trainer wandering the world without a partner Pokémon at their side to keep them safe.” Prof. Bump looked apologetically at the new trainer.
She waved him off, smiling. “Don’t worry about it Professor B. I’ll be just fine!”
Bump’s shoulders relaxed, and he smiled warmly. “Thank you dear. I have no doubt that you and your Eevee will succeed in whatever endeavors you strive for. I look forward to hearing where your very own journey takes you. I wish you all the best.” With that, he strode towards his office. Stopping halfway through his doorway, he turned back to the Noceda family.
“Please, take all the time you need to see off young Luz here. Manny, I’ll let you know when I’m ready to send off the application to the Daycare. I believe one of our resident Pokémon has chewed through the antenna cable again, that will need to be fixed.”
Camila sighed in exasperation. “That Gligar. I’ve been trying to get him to leave the wiring on the roof alone for a few days now.”
Manny chuckled, wrapping his arm around his spouse’s shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. “Don’t worry mi corazón. It only took you a few months to get Luz to stop eating the purple crayons when she was younger, you’ve got it under control.”
“Papi—” Luz groaned, as her Dad roared with laughter. “I was only three, cut baby me some slack!” But she was also grinning ear to ear.
Smiling, Camila turned back to Bump to answer for her still laughing husband. “We’ll be there in a few minutes. Besides, I’m sure Luz is dying to finally get out in the world. We won’t take long!”
The Professor nodded, a small smile showing on his face. “Naturally.” He walked through into his office, his door closing behind him.
Turning back to her daughter, Camila smiled as she watched her stand up, her Eevee leaping off her lap as her seat left from right under her.
“Our Mija is growing up so fast. Your about to leave on an adventure of you very own. It doesn’t feel like it has been sixteen years already!
“She certainly has.” Manny brought his other arm around his daughter, pulling her into a tight side hug. “I’m so proud of you kiddo. We’re going to miss your help around the lab, but I can’t wait to hear how your journey goes, and watch you take on the world!”
“And we’re going to hear about it often,” Camila interjected, “because you’d better be calling us whenever you get the chance, got it?”
“Mom!” Luz grinned, reaching around to fully pull Camila into the family hug. “Of course I’m going to keep you updated on everything. All the fun stories, nail biting tales, and patented old-fashioned-Luz-hijinks!”
Camila choked a laugh, her eyes tearing up. “Oh no, goodness, I –“ Manny swooped in a gave a quick kiss on the cheek, with another squeeze of her shoulder.
“She’ll be fine dear.” He turned to wink at Lus, his own eyes shining with pride and mirth. “Now hurry up and get out of here before you give your poor Mother a panic attack and she changes her mind.”
That earned him a playful shove from Camila as they broke from their impromptu group hug, and Luz hiked up her backpack.
“Righty-O! I’ll call you soon!” Bouncing with excitement, Luz beckoned to her partner Pokémon. “C’mon girl, let’s go see the world!” She and Eevee took off down the hallway towards the sliding door. Camila’s hands went to her mouth as the heard the telltale sound of a forehead hitting glass echoing from the hall.
“Ow, right. There’s a door there. My bad. I’M OKAY!” her voice called from the entrance as Manny was chuckling quietly and Camila was staring wide eyed.
“Oh, she’ll be alright. She’s got a thick noggin, she got it from me—” Manny rapped his knuckles on his forehead to demonstrate as Camila shook her head, starting to smile at his antics. He let out a sigh as they heard the door slide shut behind their daughter. “The world won’t know who hit her!” Camila snorted, taking a good look at the shrinking figure of Luz as she ran down the hill, and off, her Eevee leaping at her side, heading off, on their very own Pokémon adventure.