It was slightly past mid-day when a trio of psychics moved out from the village. Their goal was simple: Astra was to enter a human settlement and become a Pokemon trainer.

“I still can’t believe we’re doing this.” The guard complained. He was leading the small group forward, heading east. “It’s completely insane.”

Walking in the middle, Astra’s grandfather grunted. “It is what is necessary. We’ve been exceptionally lucky so far. Without action on our end, we will doom ourselves.”

The guard merely sighed. “That’s the same reasoning as earlier. It still sounds crazy. Even then, you could have waited more than half a day to start this! Or even, I don’t know, told anybody else!?”

“I don’t see why I have to wait when I’m ready!” Astra huffed, herself taking up the rear, fully clad in her disguise far ahead of necessity.

“That’s another thing. How in the world did you master illusions in that time? Last I heard, you were still having trouble with control.”

“Maybe it’s because I’m awesome-” Astra’s boast was cut off by a flick to her forehead. “Ow! Hey!” she pouted at her grandfather, who merely smiled.

“Do not get too overconfident, Astra. In any case, she has not mastered illusionary arts, no. But she has learned enough that, combined with her disguise, it should be trivial to misdirect their expectations.” he smiled. “That said, she did pick it up rather quickly. I suspect she hit a minor breakthrough during your scuffle the other night.”

“You look ridiculous, by the way.” The guard mentioned. “How aren’t you getting heatstroke in that thing?

“I do not! I look mysterious, and cool.” she replied. “Literally. It isn’t getting that warm, actually. I can just make a breeze on the inside. See?” She struck a fancy pose, and the garment dramatically billowed in the still air.

“Admittedly, we did not have a lot of choice in ‘style’.” Her grandfather shrugged, ignoring the display. “We don’t have any tailors, and only had one bolt of fabric. We are lucky that it managed to fit together, I think the aesthetic can be forgiven.”

“The ‘sleeves’,” he deadpanned, making air quotations, “go half a foot beyond her hands.”

“It’s kinda fun.” Astra added, flopping said sleeves for effect.

“Their hands look very different. It’s wise to hide them.”

“And the hat?”

“Humans don’t have horns.”

“True.” The guard conceded the point. “Still looks awful.”

“Thank you for coming with us, by the way.” Astra said. “Even after you got all banged up yesterday.”

The guard rubbed his head. “It’s no big deal. Kinda in the job description. That reminds me, why didn’t we bring more?”

“We’re going for stealth.” the elderly Kirlia reminded him. “If we brought more, we would be more likely to be spotted.”

“I suppose so.” The guard didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t press the point. “You’re here to teleport us all away if it goes wrong, right?”

The grandfather hummed in confirmation. “If at any point Astra is discovered, I will pick up on her distress call, teleport to her, and teleport us both out within a second. Then, I shall teleport the three of us back home. In such a scenario, I will probably have to sleep in for the next day or two. Teleporting is an intensive task, and three of them back to back over long distances, well, it’s very difficult.” Chuckling, he added “If I may brag, I believe I am one of the few capable enough to accomplish such a feat.”

“Ah! You’re so awesome!” Astra gushed. “I hope I can do that someday.” Grinning, she levitated tens of stones from the surrounding grass and set them orbiting around her, forming patterns in the air. “This is pretty easy now, so I should be close, yeah?”

Her grandfather smiled. “Not quite. You must still practice, and you must also attain your next form. For now you are still a child, and though we are in a hurry in some things there is no need to rush others. Teleportation will come in time.”

“It’s harder than it looks. I can only do it a few times per day, and not very far,” the guard admitted.

“You usually skeeve off duty to grab a magikarp from the fire. Don’t try to pull one over on me young man, I’ve sensed you flash away!” He warned. The guard's mouth snapped shut. He sighed and returned his attention to the march.

Some time passed, filled with idle banter, minor acrobatics across branches, and a brief encounter with a family of Zigzagoon. The sun inched across the sky.

“So… when are we getting there?” Astra asked. She hadn’t traveled this direction much at all. Surely it was getting close?

“Soon. The building is on the outskirts of the town, if I remember correctly. It is there that humans acquire the ability to use their devices.” The elder frowned, and continued a train of thought. “I was an adventurous youth myself. I often overheard bits of conversation near the trails in the past, though they were much smaller back then. They mentioned this place once or twice.”

“I’m starting to hear noises.” The guard warned, halting the group's momentum. Creeping closer at a slowed pace, they came upon a scarcity of trees leading to a large clearing, in the center of which stood a building. It was two stories tall with windows on each side and a chimney, made from wood and colored a cheery tan. On first impression, it would almost be mistaken for a cottage.

“That’s… a lot of pokemon.” Asta said, eyes wide. Indeed, an extraordinarily large gathering of creatures were lazing about behind and to the sides of the building. Most of them were native to the forest, but there were several extreme oddities, such as a titanic blue pokemon lounging next to a large pond containing several unknown aquatic types. Nearby, a giant steel beast she had never seen before was making a terrible racket while burrowing inside a pile of scrap metal.

The metal pokemon also appeared to be on the receiving end of a lecture by a green haired human. Astra couldn’t make out what he was saying; but judging by how he held his hands over his ears, it would be about the noise. She yelped as she was yanked behind a tree.

“Be careful.” Her grandfather admonished. “There are many eyes here.” Peeking back around, he observed the scene for a moment more. “I believe this is the location.” He paused, eyes scanning across the area. “Hm, yes. We will have to circle around a bit so you can come from that road.”

Astra wrung her hands as they flitted from tree to tree. Faced with the imminent encounter, her fear was becoming rapidly apparent. What if she screwed up? If she said the wrong thing, she could be captured and sent away, wouldn’t she? What if-

The guard clapped a hand on Astra’s shoulder. The beaten dirt path lay in front of her, leading to the structure. “Well kid, looks like it’s showtime.” He grinned, but it didn’t hide the nervous tone. “We’re counting on you, alright? It’ll be okay.”

Astra let out a breath and returned the guards smile. “Thank you. I’ll do my best!”

With shaky steps, she emerged from the treeline and set off down the road to the lab.

Professer Birch frowned at his paper. This whole grant thing was infuriating. How was he supposed to get anything done if his funds depended on some unimaginative hacks who never spent even a week camping in a deep forest in their life? He sighed and rubbed his temple. He hoped Joshua finished with Aggron soon. The screech of metal was giving him a migraine.

He just wanted to fund a deep woods expedition for a reasonable length of time, but no. ‘There’s nothing in those woods, we’d rather explore the ocean’ they said. ‘Such a thing could be afforded with one’s own money’ they thought. Excuse him if feeding his own family and maintaining the lab took up most of his funds and time. He even had decent evidence this time! A new, rare pokemon reported by a trainer he had sent out himself!

Maybe he could- a small bell disrupted his already frayed attention. Sighing, he left the matter for later and turned to see his visitor. “Hello there, is there anything I can- eh?”

He blinked. A child stood, visibly nervous at the entrance to his lab. She stood waist high and was dressed in the most bizarre clothes he had ever seen. Without a single stitch to be found, the kid seemed to be wearing a full body cloak out of a stretch of black cloth. She appeared to have even covered her head and mouth, leaving only one brilliant red eye exposed under a fringe of green hair held to the side by a red clip. She was also wearing a large sunhat made out of… woven grass? Is this what Joshua meant by hipster? Was she wearing two pairs of pants as well? He didn’t know it happened this young.

“H-hello?”

She also had the weirdest voice Birch had ever heard. It was super hard to describe, too. It was on the tip of his tongue. With a jolt, he realized she had been speaking to him.

“Ahaha!” he laughed, scratching the back of his head. “Sorry about that. You just startled me is all. Hello!” he greeted, giving a wave. “I’m Professor Birch, is there something I can do for you?”

The kid still looked really frazzled. Was it something he said? Probably the staring. Shoot, he felt bad now.

“I… I’d like to become a trainer?” She said, coming out more question than statement. There it was again. It was like some hitherto unnoticed element of speech was just… missing. He was getting distracted again. Focus!

“Ah! Really?” he said. “You’ve come to the right place, though you’re rather late. My last collection of beginner pokemon have almost all been snatched up. Come in, come in!” He motioned her to follow him. “Let’s get you registered. Did you bring your ID with you?”

“Er, I don’t- I didn’t. Is that bad?” The child slowly followed him around the room divider and sat at a table he motioned to. She fidgeted around as he raised an eyebrow.

“No, not really. It just would have made the process go a lot faster. Looks like we’ll have to do it from scratch.” He rummaged through his desk for the form. “It’s just as well, youngsters like you usually just replace the thing with your trainer cards anyway. Exciting day, huh? I bet you’ve been looking forward to this for a while. Or was this a recent decision?”

“Oh,” she said. “Um. We- I decided to become one just this morning.”

Birch hummed. “A snap choice, then? One made for yourself or were you pushed into it?” Where did he put that- aha! He pulled out a sheet and clicked a pen.

“Er.” She was still super nervous. It was almost a little funny. “It was my decision. I want to be the champion.”

He swirled that thought around as he sat in front of her. “A lofty goal. You don’t do things by half, do you? Most kids just end up doing the gym challenge. I’ll need to jot down some basic info for your card. What’s your name?”

“Astra.” She perked up at the question. Hopefully her nerves had calmed down.

He smiled. “Lovely name, Astra. I’m sure you’ll do great. No last name? Very well.” he ticked off a box at her negative. “Age?”

She paused, squinting. “14?” She said after a moment. Why did she sound like she was asking a question? Also, what? Teenager? Wow she was super short for her age. Late bloomer or genetics? He noted down her eye and hair color while he mulled it over. Liar? There wasn’t anything to gain from falsifying a trainer card. He supposed she was just short. He discarded the thought, not his business. “Step on this scale over here, Astra? I need your height and weight. Can you take off your hat?”

Astra seemed to shrink back in on herself at that. “I- I would rather not.” she stammered.

He frowned. “I need to get a measurement. I can’t do that with your hat in the way.”

She shook her head. “Can’t you get it without?” She stared at him, her red eyes pleading him to reconsider.

Odder and odder. He sighed. It rankled at him, but she was probably going to outgrow whatever he put down within a couple months or so anyway. He could just approximate upwards and be correct later. Besides, he didn’t much like stressing kids out. “Very well. Can you put your hand level with where the top of your head is?”

Almost visibly relaxing, she did as he asked. “Thank you!” he said, and marked it up a sliver. Man, she was tiny! Weight was slightly higher than expected. “Almost done, stand over here for a photo. You may strike a dramatic pose with a pokeball.” he allowed, which was rewarded with a smile. Success!

He tossed her a prop, which she held clutched to her side with one hand and then extended the other towards the camera flat and spread out. The effect was a bit lost with the excessively long sleeves as both hands were still covered. Astra glared at the camera in what was probably intended to be condescension but ended up an adorable pout.

He snapped the camera. “Very sinister. You like psychics?” He offhandedly asked as he maneuvered over to his PC. He paused to study the photo as the program booted up. Was her cloak billowing? “I think I’ve seen that pose from those shows my youngest watches.” Copy the written information over, upload the picture into the form, generate the ID number then… print!

“Done!” he announced as the big printer began to churn. After a few seconds of mechanical churn, a laminated card dropped into the exit tray. Giving it a quick once over for errors, he proudly handed the ID to the young trainer. He grinned as she stared at the little card in awe. “This card can be used as a form of identification, but you will need a different ID to operate vehicles, buy alcohol or other, non-training related things when you come of age. Congratulations Astra, you have become a pokemon trainer!”

Her gaze snapped back to him. “Thank you! “ She said in earnest. Ah! She was grinning again, he could tell. She almost had sparkles in her eyes. “Thank you so much! This- this really means a lot.” She held the card close to her. “My grandpa will be so happy.”

He scratched the back of his head and laughed. “Hey, Astra, it’s no problem. It’s always a joy to see kids like you getting out and exploring the world. But!” he held up a finger. “We aren’t even done yet! I’ve still got your introduction!”

Astra tilted her head and squinted. “...eh?”

“Oho, yes! My introduction to the pokemon world! I give it to everyone who registers with me. I mean,” he admitted, “I kinda legally have to, but it’s pretty fun.” Taking a few steps so he stood in the middle of the room, he swiveled on the spot and began.

“Welcome, to the beginning of your journey!” He announced to his audience’s wide eyes. Taking out a pokeball from his pocket, he tossed it to the ground and released his Lotad. The creature let out a sharp chitter as it peered around, then settled into place by his foot. “This world is widely inhabited by creatures known as Pokemon. We humans live alongside pokemon at times as friendly playmates, and at times as cooperative workmates. And sometimes, we band together and battle others like us.”

He raised a finger. “But despite our closeness,” he continued, “we don’t know everything there is to know about pokemon. In fact, there are many many secrets surrounding them. To unravel these secrets, I and many other professors have undertaken research for our entire lives. That is what we do.

“‘But what do I do?’ you may ask? Trainers serve a vital role in many different roles in our society. They can be defenders, they can be healers. They can be field researchers or explorers. Breeders and entertainers. They can even rise to the top of society and become the champion of all trainers! So the answer to your question is another question; ‘What do you want to do?’ The path is as open as you want it to be.

“Your journey is about to begin, but here and now you have a choice to make. Or, excuse me,” he said, breaking script. “You don’t. At this point I would usually offer you a choice of three starter pokemon, but I’m afraid that two of my last three were taken just a few days ago.” He cast a sorrowful look at Astra, who looked a bit overwhelmed. “Apologies. If you want to come back in a week or two-”

“No! No, it’s uh. It’s fine. Now is fine.” she said, waving her arms in the negative. Hesitantly, she continued, “You’re going to just… give me one?”

He nodded. “Indeed. It’d be hard for you to get started if you had nothing of your own from the onset. Let’s get to it then, over here!” Recalling his Lotad, he motioned off to the side. Astra followed him dutifully.

Striding toward the holding machine, he hit a few buttons on the panel and watched the device hiss open. “As I said, I only have one pokemon left.” Grabbing the solitary pokeball from its divot, he turned to Astra and held it aloft. “Let’s meet him, shall we?” he grinned and tossed it into the air.

Releasing its payload, the light resolved into a green bipedal gecko with a red underbelly and leaf like tail, also known as Treecko, the aptly named wood gecko pokemon. Treecko lazily glanced around the room before fixating on Astra. The foot long pokemon dropped to all fours and scurried over to the startled girl and climbed up her leg to rest on her back. This was received with a mild shriek of alarm.

“This is Treecko.” Birch said, amused. Treecko poked his head above the beleaguered girl's shoulder. Astra flinched, but when nothing came of the action, turned to look at the critter. “He is a Grass type pokemon excelling in speed. This is the only option we have at the moment. A solid pokemon even at high levels, his breed is very dependable.”

Astra stared at Treecko. Treecko blinked back, then climbed over her shoulder to her front. The girl was then suddenly cradling the pokemon, who had appropriated her arms as a bed.

“I think he likes you.” Birch observed. Astra flicked her attention to him before returning to the Treecko in her arms. Ah, he recognized that look in her eye. If she didn’t walk out of here with him he’d revoke his license.

Silently, he moved closer and crouched in front of Astra. Holding out the pokeball, he smiled at her startled expression. “I suppose there’s no need for me to ask, but I suppose you’ll take him?”

“I…” She seemed lost for words, rapidly looking from the ball to him, to the pokemon snoozing in her arms. With a minor shift, she reached out and grabbed the pokeball with her sleeved hand. “Yes. I don’t- I never thought…”

“The first time is pretty heavy, yeah.” he agreed. “This Treecko is in your care now. It’s a big responsibility but I know you’re up to the task.” He gave her a smile, and received one in kind.

“Make sure to let him out at least once every day.” he continued in a new lecture. “The pokeball simulates a sort of sleep/stasis environment but it isn’t healthy without daily activity, and he needs to eat as well. It will automatically open if no activity is detected for a week. This goes for all future pokemon you capture. If you hold six pokemon, any additional ones will be automatically transferred into the PC system, which can hold any pokemon indefinitely and can be accessed from special computers located in pokecenters.”

Astra was looking decidedly more confused now. Wincing, he rubbed his head. “Man, this explanation is long winded. Just let them out now and then, exercise and feeding frequency varies.” He snapped his fingers. “Oh, just one more thing. You’ll need one of these!” With a flourish, he withdrew a shiny red card shaped device. “A pokedex is a must have tool for any up-and-coming trainer. It acts as a cell phone, map, camera, and payment device! It can even bring up relevant data about any pokemon you scan or capture.”

Astra shifted her arms and took the pokedex. Examining it for a moment, she fiddled with it through her sleeve and flipped the cover open. A soft ding and a cool blue light emanated from the screen. “This is…” Eyes wide, she poked a button and watched in awe as menus shifted in and out of view.

Birch raised an eyebrow. It was a big occasion, yes, but the girl acted like she’d never seen a phone before. Honestly, something weird was going on here but damn if he couldn’t glean the answer.

“Anyway,” he interrupted the new trainers reverie. “Make sure to capture as many different pokemon as you can! A varied team is critical to success in your chosen path, and the data I can gather is valuable to the study of pokemon as a whole.” He gave the girl another smile. “You have a long road ahead of you. You’ll have to garner the respect of all eight gym leaders plus the Elite Four, and then best the Champion in an all out fight to become the new one.”

Astra snapped the pokedex shut, determination written across her expression. “No matter what it takes, I will do it. That’s a promise!”

“Well, I look forward to hearing about it.” Standing back up, he motioned to the door. “ Now, I believe you have a journey to start! I wish you the best of luck, Astra.”

“Thank you!” Farewells said, Astra made a swift break for the exit. Birch waved as she walked into the distance.

He sighed. “Man, that was weirder than usual.” he muttered to himself. “At least Joshua stopped that racket.”

Stretching his arms, he wandered back to his desk and relaxed in his chair for a moment. “What was even up with her voice?” he asked to thin air. “It was sort of… clear?” He paused and ran that though through his head again. “No, not just clear. It was… a lack of echo? How would that even work? It’s not like she was... “

Birch stared at the wall for a moment. Reaching across his desk, he picked up his phone and dialed a number.

Ring ring… ring ring… ring-

“...?”

“Hey, Brendan!” The professor said, cheer in his tone. “How’s it going? You still up in Petalburg?”

“...! ...”

“That so? Don’t stay too long, you do have quite a task ahead of you. Also, I have some news! A new trainer just came in today, picked up the Treecko.”

“...! …?”

“Ah, yeah. Her name is Astra. She’s around your age bracket, somewhat younger. Dresses strange too. Black cloak, sunhat made of grass. Green hair, red eyes, pale skin, can’t miss her. She’ll probably come by Petalburg within a day or two. Though, I don’t think Norman has gotten his beginner level team together yet, has he?”

“...? …”

“Shame. It’s just as well. I think some on the road practice would do you three some good. Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say. If you see Astra around, make sure to introduce yourself!”

“...!”

“Love you too, son. Say hi to May when you see her!”

“...”

Click.

Birch tapped his desk for a moment. Swiveling his chair, he turned to his PC and pulled up his visitors new profile. Astra’s half-masked face stared back at him.

“What sort of child are you?” he murmured. “To not only be capable of telepathy, but also replace normal speech with it entirely?” He bookmarked the page and set the link next to the others. He’d have to watch this one closely.

He turned back to his previous work. Now that Brendan was out of the house, maybe if he saved up for a couple months he actually could fund the trip himself? He hummed a small tune as he ran the numbers. He grimaced at the result. Possible, yes. Comfortable? No. Alas, progress knew no comforts. He had a good feeling about this.

The sky had begun to lose the bright blue of midday and was progressing into early afternoon as the new pokemon trainer exited the lab. She was still staring at Treecko when a voice in the forest called out to her.

“Astra!” Her grandfather motioned to her from the bushes. “Did everything go alright? Are you- oh, what’s this?” he interrupted himself as she drew closer.

Treecko opened an eye and glared at the sudden interruption. “Ko.”

“Um. This is.” Astra halted, trying to find her words. “This is Treecko. I… own him now, I guess?”

“Oh man. You really did it!” The guard broke into a look of awe. “Amazing! What was it like in there?”

“Um.” She still felt off balance. Was it supposed to be that easy? She had expected… She didn’t know. “It was very white. Everything was super shiny and there were a lot of machines scattered all over the place. There was a man inside named Birch. He asked a bunch of questions and then he gave me a card and told me I was a trainer. And then he gave me Treecko and this weird thing. He called it a pokedex. Apparently it does a lot of stuff.” She held up the red device for a brief examination. Their eyes passed over it, but returned to the creature in her arms.

“No difficulties then?” The old Kirlia peered at the lounging gecko. “Hello little creature. Treecko, was it?”

She let out a giggle as Treecko used one arm to fend off an experimental prod. “It was really easy, actually. I had to make up some stuff for a few questions. I didn’t know how many springs had passed since I was born, so I just said a random number.”

“Huh. Is that important to them? Enough to keep track, I mean. Weird.” The guard leaned against a tree. “What’s the point?”

“They age differently than we do. It would be possible for a newborn Ralts to become a Kirlia in under a week if they were put through high stress situations for an extended period of time. Wouldn’t be very healthy, but possible.” The elderly Kirlia stopped his one finger assault and glanced at the younger. “Humans are just humans their entire lives. I suspect trying to directly compare our respective levels of age would be futile. A Ralts is a child, A Kirlia is an adult. They are rather more… vague.”

“Tch. That must be complicated.” The guard tapped his foot, then turned his attention to Astra. “Hey, hey. You have a pokeball for him, right? Can I see it in action?”

“Oh? Sure, I guess. Let me just-” Shifting Treecko to one arm, Astra enlarged the ball the professor had given her. She paused to stare at it. “Um. I don’t know how.”

“Point it at him and say ‘Return’.” her grandfather supplied. The others stared at him. “What?”

“Did you learn that by eavesdropping too?” the guard smirked. “You seem to break a lot of your own rules, ya know? Makes a guy wonder.”

“Oh shush. Youth today, no respect I swear.” He grumbled.

“Return.” Astra commanded. A thin red beam shot out of the ball and enveloped Treecko. He yawned and dissipated into a swirling ball of red energy which flew into the ball. The event ended with a soft click as the sphere shrunk to its lesser size. “Amazing…” she murmured, turning the pokeball around. “How does he fit in there?”

“Must be cramped.” The guard concluded.

Her grandfather grunted. “Questions for another time. In case we’ve forgotten, we’re still right next to a human road. Gather together, we’re teleporting back home.”

“Won’t you get really tired?” Astra asked as she and the guard huddled with the old Kirlia.

He smirked. “I’ll be fine. Won’t have to rush it now that we’re in the clear. Hold tight!” With a swirl of psychic energy the three disappeared from the area, a subdued clap of air echoing in their wake.

Over in the clearing, Joshua muttered a curse as a loud noise set off the Aggron again.