Chapter 1: The Beginning of the Adventure

Section 1: The Beginning of the Adventure

The morning was calm. Too calm. The kind of calm that precedes something. I could feel it in the air. The birds were singing a little louder than usual. The wind was gently brushing against the leaves. I had never liked the idea of a day like this. The one where everything was going 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 gentle, but her eyes told a different story. 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 to her, it meant more. She had seen her son go on an adventure, and she had lost a part of her life in that emptiness. A part of herself.

"Are you sure you want to go?" she asked without really expecting an answer. It was just... a thought that slipped out.

I nodded. Yes, I was sure. Or at least, that's what I wanted to believe.

I left the tea cup on the table and stood up. The gesture of grabbing the box on the dresser was automatic. A small wooden box, worn by time but still sturdy. I took it, gently caressing it with my fingertips. Inside, a Pokéball lay peacefully, surrounded by 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 just yet. I knew what was inside. A Pokémon. A new companion for my adventure. But it wasn't the time to release it. Not yet.

I left the house, closing the door softly behind me. The road leading to Professor Oak's laboratory was familiar. The stone-bordered path, the fields of wildflowers. I knew all of this. But today, something inside me was different. Not a feeling of excitement. More like emptiness. A kind of flat calm. Maybe a warning. Maybe nothing at all.

Professor Oak's laboratory stood before me. A large building with a red-tiled roof, windows open, letting the morning light filter through. I took a deep breath and pushed the door open without knocking. I had never been one for dramatic 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 immediately. He seemed absorbed in the papers on his desk, his glasses perched on the tip of his nose, a focused frown on his face. But it didn't take long for him to lift his eyes, a smile almost too wide to be sincere.

"Ah, here you are," he said. "Ready to start?"

I didn't have an immediate answer. The word "ready" seemed meaningless. Ready for what? Ready to take a Pokémon? Ready to step into the unknown? All of it seemed as vague as a morning fog. 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 just a choice like any other. But deep inside me, I knew one of them was more than just a choice. There was something more.

My eyes settled on Bulbasaur. The intuition worked before my mind had time to analyze it. It was him. Not because he was stronger, not because I liked him more. No, he was the one that suited me. A choice that made itself, silently, without noise.

I reached out, without hesitation, without a backward glance.

"I'll take this one."

Professor Oak handed me the Pokéball. It was light, almost fragile, but I could feel the warmth radiating 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 would come in time.

"Very well," he said with a satisfied smile. "It's up to you now."

I took the Pokéball in my hand, feeling it even warmer than before. A light weight, but a weight nonetheless. A beginning. And I knew everything was going to change. Not now, but soon. Everything would change.