Section 1: The Beginning of the Adventure
The morning was calm. Too calm. The kind of calm that comes before something happens. I could feel it in the air. The birds were singing a little louder than usual. The wind gently brushed the leaves. I had never liked the idea of a day like this. The kind of day when everything was about to change. It was as if the world around me knew that this morning would be different.
I took a cup of tea that my grandmother handed me. Her gaze was soft, but her eyes said something else. There was always that worry in her, that fear of letting me go. But it wasn't really about leaving. It was just a change. A small change. A beginning. But for her, it meant more. She had seen her son leave on an adventure, and she had lost a part of her life in that void. A part of herself.
"Are you sure you want to go?" She asked the question without really expecting an answer. It was just... a thought she let slip.
I nodded. Yes, I was sure. Or at least, that's what I wanted to believe.
I placed the cup of tea on the table and stood up. The motion of grabbing the box on the dresser was automatic. A small wooden box, worn by time, yet still solid. I picked it up, gently brushing my fingers over it. Inside, a Pokéball rested peacefully, wrapped in silk. It was more than just an object. It was a memory. A link to my past, to my father. It wasn't much, but to me, it was everything.
I didn't open it right away. I already knew what was inside. A Pokémon. A new adventure companion. But it wasn't the time to release it yet. Not yet.
I stepped out of the house, closing the door softly behind me. The path leading to Professor Oak's lab was familiar. The stone-lined trail, the fields of wildflowers. I knew all of this. But today, something in me was different. Not excitement. More like an emptiness. A kind of eerie calm. Maybe a warning. Maybe nothing at all.
Professor Oak's lab stood before me. A large building with a red-tiled roof, its windows open, letting in the morning light. I took a deep breath and pushed the door open without knocking. I had never been the type to make grand entrances. It was always better to blend in. No noise. No waves.
Professor Oak was there, in his lab. He didn't look at me right away. He seemed absorbed in the papers on his desk, his glasses slipping down his nose, a concentrated frown on his face. But he soon lifted his eyes, a smile that seemed almost too wide to be sincere.
"Ah, there you are at last," he said. "Ready to begin?"
I didn't have an immediate answer. The word "ready" felt meaningless. Ready for what? Ready to take a Pokémon? Ready to step into the unknown? It all seemed as blurry as a morning mist. Yet, I knew the answer was obvious.
I looked at the three Pokéballs on the table. Charmander. Squirtle. Bulbasaur. Three choices, but only one would be mine. I observed them, my thoughts floating somewhere between curiosity and indifference. It was a choice like any other. But deep down, I knew that one of them was more than just a choice. There was something more.
My eyes landed on Bulbasaur. Intuition did its work before my mind had time to analyze it. It was the one. Not because it was stronger, not because I liked it more. No, it was the one that suited me. A choice that made itself, silent, without fuss.
I reached out, without hesitation, without looking back.
"I'll take this one."
Professor Oak handed me the Pokéball. It was light, almost fragile, but I could feel the warmth emanating from it. This was a beginning. The beginning of something I didn't fully understand yet. But I didn't need to know everything. Everything comes in time.
"Very well," he said with a satisfied smile. "It's your turn now."
I held the Pokéball in my hand, feeling it even warmer than before. A light weight, yet a weight nonetheless. A beginning. And I knew everything was about to change. Not now, but soon. Everything would change.