Pokemon: Kanto Elite

Unique

Night came soon after he left the Pokemon center, as there was a long line for trainers to get their pokemon healed. The curfew bell rang out, signaling the end of Red's most embarrassing first day ever. Even at only 8 years old, he never felt this bad. The blood never flowed away from his cheeks as he dragged his feet to his dorm room. He was so upset about his first day, he even forgot to miss home.

Speaking of forgetting... He forgot who his roommate was. He had been so rushed to start that he didn't even see the bed across the room from his own.

That question was answered as soon as he heard a mouse squeaking loudly on the floor and the command "Pikachu, get over here. The new roomy's coming in," rang out in a familiar voice.

He remembered seeing him before, except he was staring down his own pokemon with those dark brown eyes half covered by his thick black hair. His red and white hat, with the league insignia on it, sat on his night table, the only color on the steel furniture.

Is that the one who attacked my Snorlax before??

As he walked in, he saw the yellow mouse, as big as his forearm, curled up like a cat on the boy's bed.

"Hey there. Wait a minute- Weren't you the boy with the Snorlax?"

He froze in panic. The last time they saw each other, Ray had been scolding him to get his pokemon under control. Now, after the second time bringing his Snorlax to the Center, he didn't want to have to face the boy that sent him there in the first place. But he had to.

"Yeah...It was me. I'm sorry."

But what happened next surprised little Red.

"It's okay. Trainers have that problem all of the time. Take my pikachu for example."

The moment it heard it's name, it perked up with it's ears pointed upwards.

"It would shock anyone else that touched it. I even had to keep it inside the ball at all times at one point. Now..."

He reached over towards the giant mouse and scratched behind the ears. It squeaked in delight as Ray found a sweet spot.

"It's a cutie pie. Anyone can touch it."

Almost on cue, the mouse, looking more like a yellow chinchilla than a mouse, leapt off of the bed and rubbed itself on Red's dirty pant legs.

I know that it's your first day, but don't worry, kid. It doesn't happen overnight. All pokemon need their own special training, Red."

Red put his knapsack down and rested on his bare mattress, letting a sigh of exhaustion creep out of his lungs. It had been too long of a day just to get another lesson learned. He was so done with the day that he shook that unneeded advice off with a cynical retort.

"But that's only with your pikachu's defensive habits. They are known for being afraid of anyone but their trainers, or even them too. That doesn't change anything. How on Gemini am I going to train a pokemon who's bad habit is sleeping?!"

He never even realized that he had stood up, his pokeball clenched in his right hand as if it leapt out of his pocket. Even Pikachu could sense that something was wrong as it jumped back onto Ray's bed in alarm. He sat there with a calm look on his face, with a silent empathy that only comes with getting older.

Red then turned around and set up his bed as best as he could remember from home.

Then it hit him. He was not home. He wasn't going back. He wasn't going to see his parents again, at least not for a while.

This isn't camp. This isn't a school trip. He wasn't going to be going home. He was staying here, alone, on his own...

He couldn't set up the bed right... He forgot his Mother's instructions on how to make the bed...

He was all alone... His Mom wasn't here...His Dad wasn't here...He wasn't home... His mom wasn't here...

"Red, here. Let me get this. Pikachu, keep him busy."

He lightly pushed Red away from where his tears moistened the floor and took care of the fitted sheet. As Pikachu leapt up into the little boys arms, Ray cursed the day those stupid sheets were invented. Sooner or later, the bedding was finished and Red was beckoned back. By that time, he had been feeling better after snuggling with the living pillow like he did when he was younger. Even at seven, he wasn't that mature.

As the moon graced the sky and lit up the training fields outside, the academy called the lights out and shut off all of the dormitory lights. And little Red, with a Pikachu curled up on one side and his first pokemon on the other, dreamed not of home but of what was to come.