I bobbed my head to the music, staring up at the ceiling. I felt my leg hanging off my bed, swinging back and forth idly. I groaned— almost six o’clock. I would have to get up and start doing some chores soon. Not to mention the homework I’d been putting off as long as I could.

The sudden sounds of feet running and loud squeals came through my door, and I repressed my desire to turn up the volume. I knew the Housemother would make me turn it back down. I didn’t mind her looking out for us but listening to the younger kids running about got tiring.

I chuckled at myself. Complaining about the younger kids in the orphanage when I was one, not even a few years ago. As it always did these days, thoughts of my age made my eyes dart over to the calendar on the wall, with my birthday circled a couple times in bright red.

The day I turned sixteen and the day I left the orphanage. I’d been here longer than almost anyone, ever since I was four. As usual, I was conflicted. The Housemothers were more like my actual mothers by this point, making me ever so slightly reluctant to leave them.

At sixteen, I would be allowed to get my first pokémon and register as a trainer. Besides becoming an adult, it was one of a few ways out of the orphanage. I never had honestly considered it. I’d dreamed of being a trainer my whole life. The only reason I didn’t say my entire life is because I didn’t remember when I was a baby; I’d dreamed of it that long.

My thoughts drifted into fantasies of what type of pokémon would be my starter. Everyone knew the starter was most important after all, it was the backbone and last resort. No matter how comparatively good I was in my classes, I knew I hadn’t tested high enough to get one of the three regional starters from Professor Rowan. I wasn’t going to lie to myself on that. Which meant I would have to think of a more creative option.

Living in Crown City, I had a good idea of the potential starts around the city. My eye was on a Shellos. Many people thought it was gross, but I didn’t mind getting my hands dirty. Besides, it was one of the best all-around pokémon near the city. I was hoping for a Gastrodon one day.

Shaking my head to clear it of pokémon fantasies, I cracked my knuckles and stood up. Reaching over with a sigh, my music cut off, and I glanced at the small mirror on the wall. Tanned skin from working in the gardens greeted me with brown eyes and dark black hair. I was wearing my usual mono-color shirt and jacket combo, and today was a purple shirt that I loved for its softness and my black hoodie. Combine it with my everyday work pants and hiking boots, and you had me.

It was a common joke how normal I looked. But when you had people with the occasional crazy style and sometimes colored hair. Well, in comparison, I am pretty ordinary. I reached over, snagged my pokégear off the small bedside table, and secured it around my wrist as I moved to my door.

Opening my door, I immediately stopped moving, watching a few of the younger kids shriek in joy as they run past. I smiled at the Chansey following them, getting a quick, “Chan- sey!” in return. Shaking my head but smiling, I made my way through the familiar halls and into the lunchroom where Housemother Scintel was working on some papers, her Kadabra helping sort them for her.

I made sure to nod respectfully to the Kadabra. He didn’t look like it, but he was at a high A Rank in strength and was the primary protector of the orphanage. Apparently, he’d been on some trainer's team, but when the trainer retired, he found his way to us.

I was always rather impressed with him. When you become a trainer, you start at a small range of ranks. If you score poorly on the pokémon knowledge tests, you begin at E-Rank and can only use pokémon from the E-Rank list. If you score middling, you are a D-Rank, and if you score high, you are a C-Rank. Only the three highest scorers start at B-Rank, and that’s because the regional starters were all B-Rank pokémon.

I knew I would almost certainly be a C-Rank, which worked just fine for me. Shellos fit just within C-Rank, and that was enough for me. After two badges, you could increase your rank to B anyways.

While I knew there had apparently been some pushback to the ranking system and the higher starting age, I couldn’t remember a time without them. And I wasn’t really that upset about it. It was easy to look at the statistics, nearly sixty-seven percent fewer trainer deaths since the safety laws went in.

And in the case of some rare encounter with a pokémon beyond your rank, there were the occasional exceptions. Most notably for those that hatched their pokémon and were thus imprinted on. The Sinnoh League didn’t even try to separate hatched pokémon and the more intelligent ones that chose their trainers.

The Housemother looked up and smiled at me, “Ah, Daniel. Sit, sit,” She gestured at the seat across from her, and I sat. She just looked me over for a moment before smiling, but it was a little sad. “I can positively feel how excited you are for your birthday. What was your goal again? A Shellos?”

I nodded, “Yeah, I think it looks like the best choice for me. The next best would be towards Sunyshore with a Shinx.” She nodded for a moment, with Kadabra doing the same.

“Well, you know me and the others wish you the best of luck. Just come back to visit now and then, okay?”

I will. I intended. Whether I liked it or not, this place was home. Can I assume I’m on cleanup after dinner tonight?

She laughed for a moment, “Yes, yes you are. Along with David, Thomas, and Elizabeth.”

I shrugged, not really paying attention. All three of them had come in within the last year or two. The older kids were always hardest to connect with, and since they were leaving soon anyway, I didn’t really try too hard.

“Alright, sounds good. I’m gonna head back and finish up some last-minute homework. Just wanted to make sure.”

She nodded at me before refocusing on the papers in front of her. Kadabra silently handed her another paper that she placed into one of the piles. With my daily chores sorted out, I quickly returned to my room, making sure to greet some of the younger kids I knew on my way back.

It didn’t take long for the time to fly by. Before I really knew it, I had finished my homework, and dinner was already past. A habit of living here, I suppose. Most days are pretty similar, sometimes time escapes you. Standing in the kitchen with two other boys and a girl roughly my age, I worked quietly and quickly.

I accepted dishes from Thomas, scrubbed them clean, and then passed them onto Elizabeth. A nice little assembly line. I was so caught up in my thoughts I almost didn’t realize I’d been asked a question.

“You’re the oldest of us… Are you going for becoming a trainer?” David’s annoyingly deep voice asked from where he stood, putting dishes in the dishwasher.

“Um, yeah, I am. Kinda been my biggest goal, so it seems like a no-brainer to me.” I shrugged as I finished speaking. It wasn’t like I kept it a secret. I could see David nodding from the corner of my eye.

“Yeah… I’ll be doing the same, I think.”

I heard a sigh from my left before Thomas spoke, “Not for me, thanks. College is my future.”

I shrugged again, “That’s fair. What are you looking to study?”

His lips curled into a smile for a moment, “Pokémon Anatomy and Move Physics. I heard there was some professor in Orre doing some interesting research in that sorta thing. It caught my interest.”

Elizabeth made a sound of agreement, “That does actually sound kinda interesting. I’m thinking of applying at the Ranger Station….”

I looked sideways at her, “Damn, that’s really cool. Base or ranging position?”

“Ranging position,” She answered, “I wanna patrol the routes, help travelers stay safe.”

I nodded, straining to keep my smile. I knew that the reason she was here was related to an attack on the road, and it wasn’t hard to put two and two together. Nonetheless, I nodded in support.

After a few minutes, it was clear that the silence was now back and with a vengeance.

After another awkward few minutes, I broke the silence, “So David, what starter are you thinking about?”

He glanced up before answering, “I’m probably gonna be a D-Rank, so I’m looking at Budew or Starly.” I could see him shrug again, “How about you?”

“Well, I’m pretty sure I’ll be C-Rank, so I’m thinking—” Before I could finish the sentence, the building shuddered as a muffled boom resounded through the air. We all flinched, and Thomas shot up with a few swears.

“Fucking hell, what was that?!” I exchanged a glance with Elizabeth and David before we all suddenly ran out the doors. We almost ran into Housemother Amante as she ran towards us, panic across her face.

“All of you, get the younger kids into the lunchroom, Kadabra is teleporting people away until it’s safe; go!” When we all stayed frozen for a moment, she snarled, “I said GO!”

That was enough to get us moving. Suddenly all four of us were scrambling down the hall. A minute later, we were all throwing open doors and herding the crying and panicking kids towards the lunchroom. I tried to do a headcount, but there was too much chaos.

David came running from around the corner, holding a little girl I had seen playing earlier today, “That’s it, she’s the last, let’s go!”

I nodded once before helping Elizabeth and Thomas. Another three minutes later and we were all piling into the lunchroom in time to see Kadabra teleport away with the last of the very few toddlers. A mere moment later, he reappeared. I surged forward and helped guide one of the kids to him, “Here, take him! We’ll have them ready; just go fast!”

Kadabra nodded at me with a relieved expression just before another muffled boom resonated through the building, and we heard the loud cry of a pokémon. I had no idea what was going on, but I couldn’t let myself think about it. I focused on just having a kid ready every time Kadabra reappeared. Slowly, the crowd in the room began to thin, but the pokémon cries were only getting louder and closer.

By this point, I was sure that something was fighting the few pokémon that helped take care of the orphanage. I could feel the panic and fear bubble up but ruthlessly shoved it back down again. Before I knew it, it was only us older kids left.

Kadabra reappeared, looking worn out but still going. Not for the first time, I was extremely thankful to have such a powerful pokémon with us. Not giving myself time to think, I shoved Thomas towards Kadabra, and together they vanished.

David’s eyes widened, “Woah! What was that?!”

I huffed before glancing towards where the sounds were coming from, “We don’t have time to argue about who goes first; just go!”

When Kadabra reappeared, David looked at me. He hesitated before sighing and reaching out his hand, letting the psychic pokémon teleport him.

Elizabeth looked at me, “I’m going to be a Ranger, I can handle this. You go.” I considered for a moment before nodding.

“Fair enough.” When Kadabra reappeared, I didn’t hesitate. I shoved Elizabeth as hard as I could towards him. She had enough time to yell in shock before vanishing once more.

Before I could even begin to contemplate how angry she would be, I heard the doors to the room slam open. A slightly wounded Weaville stood in the doorway, glaring at me. I gulped heavily. A sudden surge of fear washed through me as I watched the buildup of Dark energy around its claw.

With the sound of air displacing, Kadabra appeared beside me the exact moment the Weaville fired the Dark Pulse. The next few moments played practically in slow motion as they happened.

I watched the Dark Pulse impact Kadabra at the exact moment I felt him touch my hand. I’d teleported before, so I knew how it felt.

The rough, violent, and painful tugging from my stomach was what happened when a teleport was disrupted, and anything could happen.

I felt like I was falling down a ravine with the walls made of razors, my mouth opened to yell in pain, but nothing came out. Until with brutal suddenness, I slammed to my hands and knees. I groaned in pain and cradled my hand to my chest, feeling the bruises and minor scrapes. Slowly, I looked up to see where I was.

All around me was rough and unhewn rock in the form of a large tunnel. It must have been at least two and a half meters tall and close to as wide. One side led to a slight downwards slope and into darkness, while the other was brighter, making me think it led outside. Only then did I notice the sound of screaming wind and the much lower temperature, making me shiver in place.

I swore before gently leveraging myself to my feet. Walking carefully towards the sharp turn that led to that source of light and sound, I turned the corner. And immediately, I felt my jaw drop and a cold wind scythe through my thinner clothes.

Snow whipped through the air in front of me, whirling here and there and flying close to horizontal from the sheer force. But beyond that, past the remaining three or four meters to the mountainside, I could see for miles and miles. The land spread out as far as I could see, with just a glimmer of the sea in the distance.

I had no idea where I was, but I was at least halfway up a mountain.

With no way down.