To Be A Master
By Kat Lahey
Part One
Ever since I was a little kid I have known I was going to be a trainer. It was a hard thing to 
accept; my family had been breeders for as far back as we can remember. I have memories of 
myself as a very young child, trying in vain to battle the Magikarp I was supposed to be taking 
care of. My aunt Laura was the person responsible for taking care of me, and she thought that my 
lack of interest in breeding was something she needed to fix. She would appear outside on our 
vast expanse of a farm, her long teal hair blowing in the mild breeze that always seemed to 
appear. She would see me trying to coax one of the Rapidash she raised into using flamethrower, 
and would instantly ride out to tell me the Pokemon on the farm were not for battling. This lasted 
for my whole early childhood, but soon her and the rest of the people living on the farm, both the 
family members and the dozens of other people who have joined over the ages, realized I was 
born to be a trainer and left me alone. 

Before long, Aunt Laura sat me down for a talk on becoming a trainer. "Now Kat, you know 
about your mothers training story", she began sternly. I rolled my eyes. I had heard it at least a 
hundred times since I was little. "I know, I know. She set off with a Bulbasaur to try and become 
a great trainer. She traveled and built up a great team, and developed a friendly rivalry with a 
handsome, talented trainer named Damien. She fell for his whole dark and mysterious thing, and 
when she was fifteen she began to have an affair with him. When he found out she was pregnant, 
he got angry and afraid, so he left her for good and took her Venasaur with him. After that, she 
decided to release all her Pokemon and withdraw into a place where nobody would know her. She 
left me with you because you were her favorite older sister, and my life was perfectly fine. Oh, 
and people always say I look just like her." I finished sarcastically. The only lesson this story told 
was to watch out for bad men. I don't even know why Aunt Laura brings it up. It has no bearing 
on me after all. "Aunt Laura, with all due respect this story has never made me even consider 
giving up the idea of training. All it teaches me is to stay away from men. So if you really want 
me to forget about training, then try and produce a better story." She glared at me. She never 
liked it how I didn't get upset over that story. She didn't get that I don't worry about someone 
I've never met. "You can be so self centered Kat" she finally replied. I shrugged. If she was going 
to think I'm self centered all because I pay much attention to the problems of people I don't 
know, then let her. Aunt Laura looked at me long and hard. I stared back with a determined glint 
in my eye. I wasn't going to give up so easily. Finally, she softened. "Fine. If you want to train, 
then I guess I cant stop you. When you turn twelve, then you can get your first Pokemon." Her 
expression became loving. "You really are a determined girl Kat", she said. I smiled. This was 
my ticket. Two years later, my twelfth birthday finally came.

When I woke up that morning, it took me a while to fully register the significance of today. I saw 
the same thing I saw every morning: the rug in the middle of my room with little Electrikes, my 
bedside table with my "Eveelution" figurines, my Fearow alarm clock. Then I spotted my poster 
of the three Kanto starters and realized that today was my day to pick one! It had finally come! I 
threw on my standard outfit consisting of a yellow shirt several sizes too big for me, and my 
baggy jeans. I didn't even bother to run a brush through my straight shoulder length brown hair. 
That didn't matter on a day like this! I dashed into the kitchen of the wing of the house I shared 
with Aunt Laura and saw her solemnly standing there with my light blue shoes and backpack. For 
the first time it occurred to me a Pokemon journey would mean leaving her. She had been most of 
what I had for the past twelve years. Sure, I had made friends on the farm, but those came and 
went. She was the only one who has always been there for me. "Here's your stuff", she said 
efficiently. "This is everything you should need: a zip up sweatshirt, lots of extra food and water, 
a sleeping bag, a map of Kanto…" she trailed off. She smiled sadly. "Well, it looks like your 
journey is finally beginning. I never thought it would actually come this far. I used to convince 
myself it was a childhood fancy, but I guess not. You'll be on your very own adventure now. Be 
brave, be strong, use your sense, and be wary of strangers." Her eyes welled up with tears. "You 
really do remind me of your mother. I'm proud of you. Now go on and start your journey!" she 
finished. Through her sadness she seemed happy for me. I would miss her. I looked at her hard 
for the last time in a long time: long teal hair, lacey white cowgirl blouse, and tight riding jeans. I 
hugged her and started towards the door. "Goodbye", I said. "I'll miss you." Upon leaving Aunt 
Laura, the hard part was over. As I descended to the farms gate, I took one more look at the 
Lahey Family Pokemon Breeding Center and was on my way to Professor Oak's lab. 

As I stood outside the white gated lab, I brushed my long bangs out of my eyes and thought of 
which Pokemon I should pick. Whichever starters were there was dependent on the area: Kanto 
was Charmander the fire lizard, Squirtle the water turtle, and Bulbasaur the plant dinosaur. As 
interesting as the other reigons starters were, I was only concerned about these three. I knew I 
didn't want Bulbasaur, but I couldn't decide between Squirtle and Charmander. Of course, Oak 
had Evee on hand if there was an extra kid. Eevee was a small Pokemon that resembled a fox and 
had five unique evolutions. I wondered if he would have one this time. Finally, I took a deep 
breath and strode into Oaks laboratory. There a group of three other trainers were gathered from 
across Kanto. There was a nervous looking girl, a boy who seemed lost in thought, and another 
boy who was looking around at the displays in the lab with interest. I didn't know what to do, so I 
waited for a minute or so. Finally, Oak appeared with three Pokeballs. They were each marked 
with a sticker that had the Pokemons name written on it so he could tell the difference. "Hello all. 
I can see you are all quite determined to be Pokemon trainers. Well, not all of you will make it to 
the Pokemon League to fight in the Kanto Tournament, and I can guarantee none of you would go 
far enough to challenge the Elite Four. So far this year I have given this speech to seventy young 
trainers like you, and only a few have succeeded. Don't let this discourage you however. If you 
are one of the people truly meant to pursue the Championship you will be one of the few who do 
make it. I have faith in you. Even if you don't go to the League, I'm sure all of you will be fine 
trainers.  And just so you know, these Pokemon are you're friends. They are not robots intended 
to fight on command. I know all of you are capable of understanding your Pokemon when it talks 
to you, its a unique talent that only the Pokemons trainer has. Because of this you should bond 
with your Pokemon. They all have a unique personality, and you should treat them as such. I 
believe you all will be both your Pokemons teammate and their friend. Now its time to choose."

He released the four pokeballs, and the Pokemon we had to choose from appeared in front of us. 
Charmander was quite cute. It was orange and stood on two legs. It resembled a cross between a 
lizard and a baby dinosaur. A flame burned brightly on the tip of its tail. Squirtle was just as cute. 
It was a small, light blue turtle that looked like it had been designed to be cuddly. It had a brown 
shell.  Bulbasaur was certainly not as adorable as the other two, but it held its own charm. It was a 
light blue tinted with green, with a grass green bulb growing on its back. It walked on four legs. It 
looked like a very non-threatening dinosaur. Finally, Oak released the extra, Eevee. It was an 
adorable little brown fox with a white ruff around its neck and a white tip on its tail. It looked like 
a generic stuffed animal. I had to admit it was kind of cute. "Now, its time to choose", said Oak. 
We all instinctively reached for the pokeballs, but Oak cut us off. "I'm sorry but I cant let you 
just pick up the one you want. You would all fight and it would be a disaster. Therefore, I created 
a system according to birthdays. That means that you go first Kyle." He pointed at the boy who 
had been looking around. The boy ran his hand through his thick, somewhat messy black hair. 
His pale face was confident. Finally, made his choice. He picked up the Bulbasaur ball and 
pocketed it. I didn't expect that. Usually Charmander was the first chosen, or sometimes Squirtle, 
but never Bulbasaur. I looked at him inquisitively. "The most underrated often turns out to be the 
superior one", he told me simply. I looked at him strangely. He looked just like any other young 
trainer. He had thick green hair and a black shirt with the letters UU SOCIETY in white. Despite 
his ordinary appearance, something about him was intriguing. I decided to follow him.

I didn't really pay much attention to the next people. I was busy thinking about my choice. When 
Oak finally called my name, I noticed there was only one pokeball. Dread filled me. I hoped 
someone had already taken that Eevee so I could get Charmander or Bulbasaur. As interesting as 
Eevee was, I had been hoping that I could score one of the starters. A cuddly little normal type 
like Eevee was bound to be weak. If it was evolved it may be different, but it was really difficult 
to get your hands on the stones required for Eevees evolution. As I saw the pokeball sitting on 
the table, I noticed it was labeled Eevee. I was disappointed. This was like getting Skitty 
for a starter. I released it from its pokeball and it looked up at me with curiosity. "Well 
Kat, I guess you should throw the pokeball at it. That will mean its captured, and that will 
make it yours." I picked up the pokeball and threw it at Eevee. I figured although its 
somewhat disappointing, I still had a Pokemon of my own so I couldn't just turn it down. 
The ball opened with a red flash, and Eevee was absorbed inside. The ball shook three 
times and then fell still. Oak handed each of us a red Pokedex. I opened it to check it out. 
"I programmed it for each of you. The information inside registers you officially for The 
Indigo League. It also stores data on every known Pokemon in the world. If you need 
instructions on how to use it just open it and it will explain everything. Its an intelligent 
computer." Oak clapped his hands together. "Well, looks like you kids are all set. Good 
luck, be safe, and treat your Pokemon wisely. I wish you all the best. Now its off to 
Viridian City." We all left the lab, as excited as a kid on the last day of school. I saw 
Kyle head north, so I followed him. I wanted to see what he was all about. I followed him 
for a few minutes, then he almost spotted me. I quickly ducked behind a tree so he 
wouldn't see me. I felt like such a stalker. 

I went on like this for about ten more minutes before he let his Bulbasaur out. I watched 
him curiously as he pet her on the head. she seemed pleased. She sad something to him 
that I couldn't comprehend, and he smiled. "I promise you wont be disappointed", he 
replied to the whatever Bulbasaur said. It jumped onto his lap, and he picked some sort of 
flower from beside the stump they sat on. He held the flower in front of Bulbasaur, who 
ate it like candy. I made the mistake of saying "wow" a little too loudly, and he turned 
around to stare at me. I tried to hide in the bush I was currently in, but he spotted me. He 
looked surprised, but not hostile. I blushed deeply and tried to explain." Well, you see we 
were kind of heading in the same direction and spotted you and Bulbasaur, so I was just 
innocently looking. It was nothing" I sputtered. He just seemed amused. "You were 
following me weren't you", he said nonchalantly. I wasn't prepared for that. "Well, I kind 
of was, but don't get the wrong idea…" He laughed again. "Well, I would like having a 
human companion to keep me company on the road. It always seemed like it would get a 
little lonely, even with Pokemon by your side." I was feeling much better now. I smiled 
at him. I released Eevee to go play with Bulbasaur. I had to admit, Eevee was full of 
personality and energy. She also seemed quite affectionate. She leaped on top of 
Bulbasaur and licked her, but Bulbasaur was repulsed. I laughed. The whole situation was 
quite amusing. Kyle and I didn't talk, we just watched the Pokemon. Soon, Eevee jumped 
on to my lap and looked up at me adoringly. I didn't brush it off. I almost liked it. 
Almost.