“I choose this one!”

  Lucas pointed at the shiny red pokéball sitting in the far right side of the brown briefcase.

  “Ahh… the penguin pokémon, piplup. Extraordinarily competitive, I have to say. But…for those that can distil its stubbornness: an excellent partner in any area. Marvellous choice,”

  Lucas's heart almost blew up. His pale gray eyes sparkled like a silver lake on a sunny day or something. Not only had The Professor just given him a pokémon, but he called it a marvellous choice! How many times has Professor Rowan called your pokémon a marvellous choice?

  “Thank you so much, Professor Rowan! You have no idea what this means to me—I’ve been watching you since I was like eight! You’re so cool!” Lucas said. His voice was so saturated with excitement you'd probably smile like an idiot just hearing how happy he was.

  The four of them stood there in the middle of a frosty field of grass lightly coated in snow like those sugar-frosted jelly sweets or powdered icing. He'd been to Route 201 so many times, but this time; this one in particular was something special.

  Once in a lifetime.

  “It’s awesome that you chose piplup; I can totally see the logic behind it (I have one too) (。?ω?。)” said the girl accompanying the professor. Lucas had never seen her in his life, but the moment he had, he felt like he’d been cured from… from something.

  But then again…

  “I couldn’t choose anything else; that’d ruin everything…” he said.

  “That's awesome, you already have everything planned out?” Dawn asked, her pink boots crunching the snow as she moved closer to Lucas.

  “No, that’s not it. I… I feel like it’d be wrong to choose any other pokémon. I don’t know, but piplup feels like the right choice—”

  “Okay, okay, enough waiting!”

  That was Barry. He didn't like waiting. Not at all.

  With his bright blonde bangs and tangerine eyes, he was like a yellow bolt of lightning. Never able to sit still, that one, always buzzing like a beedrill. He swiped one of the pokéballs out of the case with a blurry hand.

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  Professor Rowan watched, remembering when he witnessed children just like these in this exact scene. Nothing changed.

  This was good.

  “I choose turtwig! Together, we'll take over the entire region—we'll have our fight with Dad in no time!” Barry held the sleek orb in his hand to the sky with a grin.

  “What was that about your father, young man?” Rowan asked.

  “Huh? Oh, I'm gonna challenge him and I'm gonna win is all. He's a frontier brain, so he's crazy strong, but I know I'll beat him. First I've gotta become champion, which'll be super easy. Cynthia won't know what the hell hit her, you'll see. The thing is with all these League guys is they think they're invincible. Watch, in no time at all, I'll crush the Elite Four, and just like that: I'll be ready to beat my dad!”

  The silvery professor nodded his head, seemingly interested in the young boy's ambition.

  “How interesting,” he said, “the son of a frontier brain; you're certainly bursting with vigour. And what about you, Lucas? What are your ambitions?”

  Lucas paused for a second. “Well…”

  “He doesn’t even know yet!” Barry's voice buzzed in their ears like a combee's wings. “He says he wants to be a strong trainer and all that, but he doesn't even have a clear goal in mind!”

  Professor Rowan noticed Lucas's demeanor dampen. Whereas Barry was like a wild electrike, Lucas was more a… a tynamo.

  “Is that so, Lucas?” The professor glared at him with his refined blue eyes.

  “Sorry? No… Well, I don't know.” He held the white scarf wrapped around his neck. “I haven't figured it out yet. I know it's bad, but I still need time to think about it…”

  “Is that so?” Rowan asked, “You say you need time?”

  “Yes, sir… I think. I-it's not like I don't have any ideas! Don't get me wrong,” Lucas's eyes briefly met with Dawn's, “I'm still trying to figure it out, I guess.”

  He understood. There was never a need to rush. This was a delicate time. A very important moment. The professor fixed his tie and cleared his throat. Dawn immediately knew what that meant. He'd had enough.

  “Well, gentlemen… I'll leave those little ones in your care. Go out and see the world, and don't forget to open yourselves up to new experiences. I'm quite busy at the moment, but be sure to stop by my lab tomorrow. Dawn…”

  “Coming, Professor!” She said, shutting the briefcase and locking eyes with Lucas. “It was nice to meet you guys; please take care of your pokémon.”

  “Bye! Thanks again, Professor Rowan! I'll definitely come by!” Lucas waved, his cold misty breath dancing in the noon air. His heart was still swollen with excitement, still on the verge of bursting.

  Professor Rowan was such a kind person, so wise too—definitely someone to look up to. He set such a good example and—

  “Lucas, I challenge you to a battle right now!”