I woke up to the smell of toast and a warm ball of fur breathing against my ribs. For a second I thought I was seven again, wrapped up in the blanket with Vulpix curled like a cone on my chest, watching Saturday cartoons and pretending we were already out there beating Gyms and saving the world. Then the clock blinked 8 AM and I realized, nope I'm 13 and today is real.
"Vul," she yawned, a tiny puff of heat on my shirt.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm up," I mumbled, and my voice cracked a little because my throat was dry and also because everything felt too big to speak through. Today I was going to walk to Sandgem Town and make it official. Me and Vulpix, Trainer and partner, not just boys who grew up together (well boy and fox I guess).
I rolled out of bed, almost stepped on my bag, and caught myself on the dresser like a total pro. Vulpix hopped down with that effortless fox-like grace she likes to pretend she has. Her tail flicked, neat and perfect, like she'd groomed it while I drooled in my sleep. She's always been like that, careful, tidy and patient. People expect Fire-types to be loud but Vulpix isn't, She's a quiet flame.
I pulled on jeans, a black hoodie that smells like laundry soap and campfire, and laced up my scuffed sneakers as mom yelled from the kitchen "Aiko! Breakfast, before you faint on Professor Rowan's floor again!"
"That was one time" I yelled back. "I was 4"
Vulpix looked at me with the unimpressed auntie stare she does. Okay, maybe twice.
The kitchen felt warmer than usual, sunlight sliding across the table like butter. Mom shoved a plate at me with two slices of toast, eggs, berries shaped into a little Poké Ball because she's corny like that. Dad pretended he wasn't sentimental by staring way too hard at the newspaper.
"So. Today," he said finally, folding the page with the crossword half done. "You're sure you want to-"
"Yes," I said, a little too fast. "I mean, yeah, we've been training. We're ready."
He glanced at Vulpix, who sat perfectly straight by my chair tail tucked in a small halo. She blinked like she knew we were having a moment and decided not to ruin it.
Mom squeezed my shoulder. "Bring spare socks," she said, like that would shield me from the world. Her eyes were a little shiny. "And don't forget to eat. And call when you get to Sandgem"
I stuffed toast in my mouth to stall crying, because ugh feelings. "Cynthia didn't become Champion on an empty stomach" I said around crumbs which made Mom laugh and Dad roll his eyes.
We took a picture by the door with me holding Vulpix, who tolerated it because she understands symbolism. I slung my bag on, checked the Poké Balls I still hadn't actually used yet (empty, obviously), and the notebook where I write battle ideas like a huge nerd. On the top of the first page I'd written: Observe first. Act second. Trust Vulpix...mayby.
Outside Twinleaf Town smelled like dew and dirt and someone mowing two houses away. Pidgey hopped along the fence and Starly fussed in the trees. It's one of those mornings with air so clear you feel like you could see all the way to Mt. Coronet, which okay you can't but I imagined it anyway. Cynthia grew up not far from there, i don't know why thinking that makes my chest steady and also kind of electric but it does.
I walked till i reached route 201. It starts with that little path between tall grass patches where kids dare each other to run through. I've run through them a thousand times and have fallen in mud and chased Bidoof and gotten yelled at by a Kricketune once (don't ask...). But today I stayed on the path. Today had rules. First get registered by Rowan. Second try not to pass out in his lab again. Third don't overthink step three.
I look down at Vulpix "Ready?" I asked.
She glanced at me like, I was born ready, you idiot, then trotted ahead. She doesn't need a leash or anything, we've been walking these routes since before I could ride a bike. Sometimes I think she thought me, not the other way around.
At the lake turnoff we paused. I could've gone to peek as people say wishes you make by the lake stick better but I didn't. It felt odd to detour on the first day. I'll come back, I told myself. Later when everything's different.
By the time Sandgem's red roofs poked up over the hill, my stomach did that drop thing, like the moment before you send out your Pokémon in a real battle. I've watched Rowan's lab door my whole life. Trainers go in kids and come out holding their first partner against the sun, eyes bright like new coins. It's cheesy to say, but the world shifts for them. And I wanted that shift so bad my hands felt fuzzy.
The lab smelled like disinfectant and warm metal machines hummed and There were posters about responsible training and a bulletin board where someone had drawn a Shinx wearing Rowan's mustache. The receptionist smiled at me and took my ID, then buzzed me through.
Professor Rowan is taller than you think on TV. Not taller, exactly but...bigger. Like if a mountain grew a mustache. He turned when the door opened and peered over his glasses and his face cracked into something almost like a smile. "Aiko You made it without fainting I see."
"I hydrated and I ate mom made sure because she wants me to stop disgracing the family name in front of scientists"
Rowan's laugh rumbled like a Graveler rolling downhill. "Your mother is a wise woman" He looked at Vulpix then really looked in the way adults do when they think the Pokémon won't notice. Vulpix of course did notice but allowed it. "And you are as composed as ever."
She angled her chin like, Obviously.
He gestured me to a side table where three Poké Balls sat in a row, polished and formal. "Normally I'd ask you to choose between Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup but in your case we have an…exception"
My pulse quickened i knew this part. We'd talked to Rowan before, when I was younger and insisted I didn't want any Pokémon except the one who'd slept at my feet since I was born. He had this strict way of speaking that sometimes hides kindness inside it, like a tough candy you've gotta suck forever to reach the soft bit. He'd said: If you're going to do this, do it properly. Register. Learn. Respect the system that keeps trainers and Pokémon safe.
He held out a Poké Ball. Not one of the three on the table. It was new, red half gleaming, button bright. "For Vulpix" he said.
I swallowed hard my mouth felt dry as I looked down. Vulpix's eyes were on mine, dark and steady. We didn't need to talk about it. We had already decided as i held the ball out to her.
"You sure?" I whispered. "Once I do this we're not just…us. We're officially us"
She touched the button with her nose. A snap of light pulled her inside, gentle and sudden and weirdly quiet. The ball pinged small and final as my hand shook.
Rowan cleared his throat softly "Release her again Aiko."
I did so, my thumb pressing the button, and she sprang out like a match re-lit tail fanning in a neat arc the same Vulpix, same warmth rolling through the air between us, but something felt… different. Not heavier....just clearer Like putting on glasses after a long time squinting.
"Congratulations,\" Rowan said. He handed me a Trainer Card with my stupid ID photo on it, a Pokédex that smelled like new plastic and adventure and five empty Poké Balls in a box. "You're now officially registered, I expect you to train responsibly and observe your opponents"
I grinned. "You sound like my mom should I start calling you Mom Two?"
"Please don't" he deadpanned but his mustache twitched.
We went over a few safety things. He asked about my goals. I told him straight: "i want to become champion." It felt weird saying it out loud, like writing a sentence too big across a small page. He nodded, not impressed, not dismissive. Just…noted and then he asked who inspired me.
"Cynthia," I said, which was obvious but saying her name made my chest go all strange. "Not just because she wins but because she knows stuff and she understands Pokémon like they're....I don't know.....family"
"Knowledge is a kind of power" Rowan said his voice softer than usual. "Just don't use it as a shield to hide behind, power is also choice"
Vulpix bumped my calf like He's right. I scratched her between the ears.
When we stepped back outside Sandgem was still Sandgem, kids on bikes, a Starly scolding a Chimchar from a telephone wire, the sea hissing somewhere past the dunes. But the air felt different like someone turned the world one click sharper. People say when you get your first partner it all changes in one second. That's not true as for me It didn't change but It clarified. Like the feeling you've been walking the same path a long time and suddenly realize it was the right one.
We stood there a while just me and Vulpix watching a cloud drift across the sun. The Pokédex was heavier than I expected in my pocket and my Trainer Card was warm from my hand edges digging into my palm. Vulpix leaned against my ankle a steady small weight.
"So" I say eventually "We should probably go home and pack some things I forgot and let Mom cry on me a bit, then actually head out."
Vulpix made a sound like a tiny laugh.
I looked at the road back to Twinleaf, then at the branch that would soon become Route 202. I breathed in salt and dust and berry-sweet air and felt the knot in my stomach loosen.
"Alright" I say to her "Let's go"
She trotted ahead, tails flicking as I followed as the shadows of us both stretched long and side-by-side on the road.