Wednesday, 14 January 2044

  Today was different. Yeah, today was unlike any other day; I'd never lived in a day like this. I'll never forget the headache I had this morning. It was for two seconds, and I saw some really weird stuff. I think I was dreaming about being in space. I don't know; that's how it looked like.

  There were galaxies and those cool space clouds, but it was shattered and weird with little floating islands. That's all I remember from the dream. And that it gave me a headache!

  Anyway, I woke up to a loud knock on the door. Banging, actually. It was him, of course. He always comes around that time. Usually, Nanny opens the door for him, and he barges into my room, so I was surprised not to be woken up by him.

  This time, though, for some reason, Nanny didn't open for him, so I woke up to his loud banging.

  Surprisingly, when I got downstairs, it was empty. The kitchen, living room—all empty. I found Nanny's little Eevee on the sofa, curled up in a cozy ball, fast asleep. He's always sleeping. Since I could remember, Nanny always called him her little brownie, but she never gave him an actual name.

  I opened the door. Just as I suspected, it was him. Still as jittery as ever, but today was different, remember? He was even more excited than usual.

  He was all like:

  “Lucas! What the hell took you so long? Nevermind, nevermind, nevermind—listen! We need to go, right now! We're gonna be late!”

  He was super excited. Sparks may as well have been flying out of his mouth with how fast he was talking. I couldn't sleep anymore; he'd electrified everything around us. The air, the living room; everything. No one could sleep with him around to charge things up.

  I was confused at the time, so I asked him what we were late for, and he went off!

  “Are you stupid? Stop screwing around, Lucas, let's go! Get changed and let's go; there's no time for showering, we gotta go now!” He yelled, “Unless you don't want a Pokémon anymore!”

  Wanna know something crazy?

  I'd completely forgotten. Today was the day. The day we were going to go to Professor Rowan’s Lab and ask for Pokémon. I was super tired, so somehow I thought I already had one. Can you believe it?

  I didn't, though.

  But now, things have changed!

  Today was the day. We got our very first Pokémon! I've been super excited the whole day. I rushed upstairs and got dressed, making sure to take my scarf with me. I couldn't leave without it.

  We were about to leave when I realized I left my bag. But when I told Barry, he said something like:

  “Dude, hurry the hell up! And don't forget your card; otherwise, we'll have wasted even more time!”

  It was a good thing he'd said so because I definitely would've left it. You know, he may always be in a rush, but out of the two of us, I'm definitely more careless. I wouldn't get far without any help or someone to remind me.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  I was this close to leaving my Poketch upstairs too. I don't know; I feel like I'm always missing something.

  Not my scarf, though. Never that. Even if I was being swarmed by Combees, I wouldn't leave it.

  Anyway, Barry was groaning, and he didn't want to wait any longer, so he told me he'll meet me by the road. I'm not paying him that ten million for being late, though.

  Thankfully, he wasn't too mad the rest of the day. He's scary when he's angry; plus, it's always better when we get along. We're best friends after all.

  More importantly, I can't believe I actually met Professor Rowan today! He was wearing his signature brown coat too, and his hair was totally gray—way more than it looked on TV!

  He was so cool!

  And that girl he brought with him, Dawn—she's so pretty! I think I might be in love. And the way she smiled at me! I can't wait to see her tomorrow when Barry and I go visit the Professor in Sandgem.

  No one was home today.

  She was gone. She's always gone. Again and again. Every day I wake up, and she's gone. Not that she's there when I go to sleep. Mom's always busy, always out of town for work. Always too busy for me.

  I don't know where Nanny went either; she's been gone the whole day. I thought I'd find her when I got back, but no. Anyway, I hope Mom comes back soon. I haven't seen her in a while, and I'm starting to miss her. She doesn't pick up when I call either. She's still helping Kiera get ready for her contest next week in Hearthome. I get she has to work and all, but… is it too much for her to come back?

  It hurts more than losing.

  Side note: I lost my very first battle! Shucks. I thought it'd hurt more, but for some reason, I don't feel too bad. I kinda expected it. I hope I don't sound like too much of a loser, but I mean… it was kinda destined to happen. Barry's so much better than me; plus, he's got an actual goal!

  Unlike me.

  I mean, I do wanna be strong and stuff and become champion, I guess. I mean, that's basically every kid's dream. Sounds like fun. But I don't know if that's all I wanna do. I mean, there's so much to learn, the history of the world, what happened in the past, the myths, the legends—so much I want to learn.

  Of course, I've got to become super strong. That's definitely gonna happen. It's not like a like losing (I hate it).

  Yeah, but there's so much out there; I don't wanna get stuck on one thing. What if I see something or meet someone and change my mind? It's not like the Pokémon League's all there is to life, right?

  Barry would probably hit me if I said that. He loves the League. It's all he watches, especially when his dad is on. Must be nice seeing his dad in action. I bet that's why he's so good already; his dad's probably giving him cool advice. I remember he said his dad sometimes let him battle before we even got our own.

  He'll probably become champion just like he says.

  It's all good, though. I'll be fine, especially with my new partner! Piplup really was and always will be the only choice for me. Nothing could ever change that!

  ...

  I still miss him.

  I wonder what he'd say about me losing to Barry today. He was always so strong, so cool. He'd probably tell me to toughen up and get Barry back in blood. (I WILL).

  Nothing to worry about, though. Soon, I'll be super strong. Just like him. Me and Azure against the world. Yes, that's what I'm naming him. Azure! I like it; I think I'll stick with the color scheme for all my partners' names. It'll make them stand out, plus Bulbapedia says Pokémon like affectionate names.

  Alright, alright, on to business.

  First stop after Professor’s lab: Oreburgh mines. I bet I can toughen a whole bunch before I challenge Roark.

  Yeah, gotta go to the mines.

  Plus, I've always wanted to see what the mines are like on the inside. Maybe I should check out the school too; bet there'll be a bunch of cool people I can learn from. Who knows? Maybe I'll come across a Veteran or an Ace Trainer, and they can teach me a few things.

  Okay! Tomorrow we'll go to the lab and then straight to Jubilife.

  That's all for today.