Kaede

GO: Beginnings

Pokemon had always been an interest to her, just like thousands of others. It wasn’t anything unusual at all, when your child walked up and said they wanted to be a trainer most parents just nodded and took them somewhere to get their first pokemon, and if you were the child of a breeder? Well you’d probably just be taken to your own backyard.

But she had seen the pokemon in her backyard, and none of them were really what she wanted to call her partner, flustering and annoying her parents who had been eager to hand over a pokemon of their choosing.

Kaede Donar was refused a pokemon of her own until she was old enough to prove herself responsible enough to go get one herself. At sixteen years old, she was the only of her classmates to not have a pokemon of her own. At eighteen Kaede had grown sick of her parents trying to force one of their stock down her throat, and tossed some things in a bag to head out on her own.

It was just before midnight, with the moon high in the sky illuminating the town. Kaede snuck down the street into the heart of Vermilion City, aiming to take route 6 north to the next city up. She was slipping through the shadows towards the road when a man appeared in her path, a large pokemon that she couldn’t identify in tow.

The man gave her a wave as she hesitated, and held his hands up to show he only had a phone on him. “Where are you going this time of night?”

“What are you doing out here this time of night?”

“A runaway huh?”

“What’s it to you?” her eyes narrowed, and she wished for a second that she had something on her she could use in defense. “I’m eighteen, I can go wherever I want.”

“Hm, that is true,” the man chuckled. “I’m Professor Willow. Who are you?”

“Professor?”

“Yep.”

“I’m… Kaede.”

“You’re coming from the direction of Donar farms. That your home?”

She scoffed, looking away. “It was.”

“Something happen at home?”

“Something’s been happening since I was ten. Can I leave now?”

“Depends, you have any pokemon? It’s not really safe to travel by yourself, especially this late.”

“No, I don’t.”

“I see,” he seemed to think for a moment, then reached around into a side pocket of his backpack to produce a couple pokeballs, as well as a map. “Here, take these and go try and catch a couple. And if you don’t mind, I’d like you to go find one of the three places marked on here to check in with one of my assistants, whichever one you go to is up to you, but be sure to let them know that I sent you.”

“Why should I?”

“You don’t have to, really, but seeing that look on your face makes me think you might just find a good friend in one of them, and maybe even a place in the Go Program.”

“The what?”

Willow smirked, and shook his head. “Ask them when you find them!”

He was leaving her behind before she could ask any other questions, that pokemon following him without hesitation. Kaede watched him vanish from her sight, and with a glance at the items he had given her set off in another direction. As she had planned she set out North, but found herself hesitating at the sight of the tall grass not far from the edge of town. She looked across the obstacle, and after steeling her nerves she took the first step.

Not far into the grass the young woman was startled to find herself locking eyes with a familiar pokemon.

“Meowth?”

The cat creature sat in front of her, a tilt to its head and a question in its eyes. It was a wild pokemon she had fed several times in the past, the distinct tear in its right ear being all the identification she needed. It walked over to her and sat at her feet, looking up at her expectantly.

“Sorry buddy, I don’t have any food today.” Kaede knelt down and held out her hands to prove it, but the pokemon only sniffed her hands and looked up at her again. Feeling a little more at ease, the young woman thought back to her encounter with the strange professor before pulling one of the pokeballs out of the side pocket of her bag where she had stowed them. Expanding it to its full size she held it up to the Meowth in front of her and let it sniff it. “Hey, whaddya think about coming with me?”

She only a curious look from the creature, making her give it a smile. “You don’t have to, but I’m not going to be around to feed you anymore.”

The cat seemed to be considering what she said, reminding her of other times she had spent with the Meowth when it would sneak onto the family ranch. It always seemed rather responsive to her, just like now. After another look at the woman’s smile, it seemed to make up its mind; the pokemon pressed its forehead against the button on the ball and allowed itself to be captured, only to be released a moment later. Kaede put the ball away in another pocket of her bag before lifting her new partner into her arms.