To Pursue a Legend
I set my alarm to go off at 7:00 on July 2nd. It was the day after Karin, the little brother of 12 year old Jared, had turned 10. I myself had turned 10 years old over eight months before, and my close friend Samantha had just gotten to double digits two weeks later. Gary Oak’s little brother and Professor Oak’s youngest grandson, Jessie, was already 11. Professor Oak had invited the five of us to come to his lab and choose our starter the day after Karin turned 10. He was ready to do it the second Samantha had ‘come of age’ but Jared had insisted that we wait for Karin. He had turned down every opportunity to begin his pokémon adventure until his little brother was old enough to go with him.
I wasn’t about to oversleep the day of, either, like my older brother Ash did four years ago. I set the most obnoxious alarm possible and stuck it underneath my pillow. My mom warned me that when it went off the whole town would be woken up. I hoped that wasn’t true. I wanted to get to the lab earlier than even Jessie so that I could have the widest range of choices. There were at least three that I could choose from, I knew. I could choose Bulbasaur, the grass pokémon. It would evolve into Ivysaur and then later Venusaur. It would also eventually develop to be part poison. This was a good combination of things. It was also an easy pokémon to raise, I had to note.
Then there was Squirtle. Squirtle was a water pokémon. It evolved into Wartortle and finally Blastoise. Blastoise was extremely powerful and had everything from water pumps to high defense mechanisms.
Finally, I could receive Charmander. Charmander could grow and become Charmeleon, then Charizard. Charizard had a huge attack range. It was a fire type. It could fly.
I had to take all of these into account to decide which starter I would choose. It was a pretty tough decision, one that would stay with me the rest of my life- and I still had no idea which I wanted.
I fell asleep that night with the words Charmander Bulbasaur Squirtle floating around in my head.
Mr. Mime stood at the kitchen counter slicing a tomato. My lunch, I presumed. Mr. Mime was so welcome in our family. Since we were lucky enough to receive the barrier pokémon, whenever my friends complained about cleaning up after dinner, or picking up their rooms, I would just smile and casually drop Mr. Mime’s name in. It used to really bother people like Jared. It’s also one of the only things that Jessie has to be jealous of me for.
The toaster dinged and, to my surprise, spit out a crispy, browned piece of toast. My mom slid a small jar of jam across the table to me and I grinned.
“Wow,” I joked. “You actually made me my breakfast. Special occasion?”
She beamed at me. “I’m so proud of you, Charles! You’re off to become just as famous as Ash! You’re going to have such a good time…”
I glanced into the other room. The television was lined with trophies and medals of all shapes and sizes that my brother had received. Was I really ever going to be good enough to challenge him? I spread the jam on my toast and took a bite. It occurred to me that it was the last meal I would have at home, and I ate slowly. When I took the last bite, Mr. Mime had just finished bagging my lunch and neatly slipped it into the pocket of my backpack. I nodded the pokémon a quick thanks as I threw the sack over my shoulder.
“Pick a good one, Charles!” my mom called after me. “Don’t bring home another Pikachu!”
I laughed, raising my hand in acknowledgement. I knew she didn’t care. We all loved Pikachu. Every time Ash came home, whether it was once a month or once a year, we were just as happy to see his little yellow pokémon as we were to see him.
Once I reached the main road the sun, peeking over the tip of the hill, reminded me that I should be going- I was on my way to getting my very first Charmander, Squirtle, or Bulbasaur! Excitement pumped through my veins and got me running across the town, right to Professor Oak’s front door.
I wasn’t about to oversleep the day of, either, like my older brother Ash did four years ago. I set the most obnoxious alarm possible and stuck it underneath my pillow. My mom warned me that when it went off the whole town would be woken up. I hoped that wasn’t true. I wanted to get to the lab earlier than even Jessie so that I could have the widest range of choices. There were at least three that I could choose from, I knew. I could choose Bulbasaur, the grass pokémon. It would evolve into Ivysaur and then later Venusaur. It would also eventually develop to be part poison. This was a good combination of things. It was also an easy pokémon to raise, I had to note.
Then there was Squirtle. Squirtle was a water pokémon. It evolved into Wartortle and finally Blastoise. Blastoise was extremely powerful and had everything from water pumps to high defense mechanisms.
Finally, I could receive Charmander. Charmander could grow and become Charmeleon, then Charizard. Charizard had a huge attack range. It was a fire type. It could fly.
I had to take all of these into account to decide which starter I would choose. It was a pretty tough decision, one that would stay with me the rest of my life- and I still had no idea which I wanted.
I fell asleep that night with the words Charmander Bulbasaur Squirtle floating around in my head.
. . .
It was an efficient, but not a kind way to wake up, with my clock blaring in my ear and vibrating my whole head painfully. I changed quickly and yanked my yellow beanie over my spiky brown hair. I then staggered downstairs to find my mother waiting for me. A backpack, stuffed to the top, sat on the kitchen chair. I shoved it to the floor and sat down.Mr. Mime stood at the kitchen counter slicing a tomato. My lunch, I presumed. Mr. Mime was so welcome in our family. Since we were lucky enough to receive the barrier pokémon, whenever my friends complained about cleaning up after dinner, or picking up their rooms, I would just smile and casually drop Mr. Mime’s name in. It used to really bother people like Jared. It’s also one of the only things that Jessie has to be jealous of me for.
The toaster dinged and, to my surprise, spit out a crispy, browned piece of toast. My mom slid a small jar of jam across the table to me and I grinned.
“Wow,” I joked. “You actually made me my breakfast. Special occasion?”
She beamed at me. “I’m so proud of you, Charles! You’re off to become just as famous as Ash! You’re going to have such a good time…”
I glanced into the other room. The television was lined with trophies and medals of all shapes and sizes that my brother had received. Was I really ever going to be good enough to challenge him? I spread the jam on my toast and took a bite. It occurred to me that it was the last meal I would have at home, and I ate slowly. When I took the last bite, Mr. Mime had just finished bagging my lunch and neatly slipped it into the pocket of my backpack. I nodded the pokémon a quick thanks as I threw the sack over my shoulder.
“Pick a good one, Charles!” my mom called after me. “Don’t bring home another Pikachu!”
I laughed, raising my hand in acknowledgement. I knew she didn’t care. We all loved Pikachu. Every time Ash came home, whether it was once a month or once a year, we were just as happy to see his little yellow pokémon as we were to see him.
Once I reached the main road the sun, peeking over the tip of the hill, reminded me that I should be going- I was on my way to getting my very first Charmander, Squirtle, or Bulbasaur! Excitement pumped through my veins and got me running across the town, right to Professor Oak’s front door.
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