Goldenrod was buzzing with people. It was busy at the best of times, full of the hustle and bustle of millions of people going from one place to another. It was August, and the winter weather was creeping into everyday life. Yet that did not stop the streets from being flooded. Obviously we were not the first group of graduates who were eager to show off their new Pokemon. One particular teen was standing outside with his shirt off, despite the cold, just so he could flex his muscles next to his new Machop. Absolute idiot.

He did have some nice muscles, though.

There was another, much smaller looking kid. He was running frantically with his arms low to the ground, chasing after a mischievous Purrloin. He was calling after her, desperately trying to get her to not run off. He couldn’t catch her, and he chased her all the way across the street until a quiet alley.

He was also an idiot, for not realizing he could just recall the Purrloin to its Pokeball.

At the sight of both scenes, I couldn’t help but feel an even greater stab of sadness. I wouldn’t get to make all the mistakes they were gonna make, I’m not going to make all the memories that they’re about to make.

I know it’s petty, but even the sight of their happiness made me bitter. Deciding to keep my head down, I kept on walking.

It didn’t take very long for me to reach the battle courts. Funnily enough, despite Gwen being the most eager to get here, she ended up going to the wrong one and was currently running as fast as she could across the city, just so she didn’t miss “anything important”.

I was the first one here, but I didn’t have to wait long. Soon, Jack came round the corner, clutching a Pokeball with both hands so hard his knuckles had turned white.

Jack was quite short for a guy our age, with pale skin, curly black hair, and thin round glasses. He was wearing his signature look of a dark green roll-neck underneath a long black trench coat. It must have been an outfit that made him feel confident, because he always seemed to wear it for special occasions.

When he saw me, his face lit up in recognition and he came up next to me.

“Hey Ethan,” he said. “You had a good morning?” He was clearly burning with curiosity about my Pokemon, but he would never just ignore politeness and ask straight up.

“Yeah man, it’s been good.” I replied. I was lying through my teeth. Knowing Jack, he could probably tell. I just dont think I could explain my lack of starter 3 times to all my friends separately. It’d be hard enough getting the words out just once.

“You know Ethan, I’m sure your starter is really cool, no matter what it is.” he said, while trying to subtly gauge how bad it was based off of my reaction.

Oh, Jack. He was trying his best to cheer me up, but he couldn’t tell he was just making things worse. I responded with a low gunt and we resorted to just waiting in awkward silence until the other two showed up.

Gwen and Leo actually showed up at the same time. Both bolted around the corner, seeming to be in a race not to be the last person to show up. It was pretty close, but Gwen put on a burst of speed at the end and surged into the lead. Throwing up her hands in celebration, she jokingly turned around and mocked Leo, who had slowed down to a jog on his way over to us.

Leo was tall, like me. Though we differed in looks in almost every other department. Where I was thin, Leo was broad. My messy brown hair was in complete contrast to his short, waxed blonde hair. He wore a simple tracksuit with a tight short sleeve shirt, and showed no signs of being bothered by the cold weather.

Leo had always radiated confidence, but in a way that didn’t make him come across like a dick.

Gwen was also pretty tall, for a girl. She was wearing workout gear too, and was bouncing up and down so much her ponytail was flopping all over the place.

“I win again, Leo! What does that make the score now, Like one hundred to zero? I hope you’re better at Pokemon training than you are at racing!”

Leo completely ignored her, instead deciding to check in on me and Jack. Of course this wound up Gwen even more, and I’m sure a mock fight would have broken out if Gwen hadn’t forgotten everything else apart from Pokemon now that we had all met up.

“Okay! Who wants to go first?” Gwen practically shouted. Before anyone could even speak up she raised her Pokeball dramatically into the air. “Okay fine I’ll go first guys! Since you insist. Come on out baby, and show them that you’re the best starter ever!”

There was a bright flash of light, and a small form materialized in front of us.

It was small, four legged, and mostly a light blue color apart from it black fur that extended from its back legs up to its tail, which ended in a star.

“Shinx!” It screeched, which came out more as a high pitched yowl than a roar. Almost immediately, Shinx and Gwen were bouncing around in excitement until she scooped them up and wrapped them in a hug that looked almost suffocating.

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“Isn’t he the most perfect boy you’ve ever laid your eyes on!” Gwen was grinning from ear to ear, and pushing the feline into all our faces so we could get a closer look. To be fair, Shinx did look impressive. Even though it was clearly a cub freshly hatched from an egg, he had the beginnings of muscle under its fur. And occasionally sparks of electricity would fly out of its body, causing me and Jack to jump back in surprise.

Leo didn’t even flinch. “That’s a nice starter you got there Gwen. I think you’ll be having some competition for the top spot though.” He let out a haughty laugh and nonchalantly raised his own Pokeball. “Nobody laugh, okay? My dad thought this guy would be a hilarious starter, given that my name is Leo.”

Before I could even ponder what that was supposed to mean, Leo tossed his ball and released the Pokemon inside it. Surprisingly enough, it was another feline. This one was a couple of inches taller, and carried itself with none of the lithe movements and slipperiness of Gwen's Shinx. Its brown fur looked incredibly soft to the touch, and I could just about see the tips of its jaws poking out of its lips.

“Litleo!” the little monster cried, in a comically similar way to how Shinx just had a few moments ago.

“Yeah yeah, buddy. Just remember, I was called Leo first,” Leo grumbled, though obviously without any seriousness.

Gwen was just about to start making fun of him, until Shinx suddenly let out a shock of electricity and jumped out of her arms.

The two Pokemon were jumping back and forth at each other, pawing at each other's faces and running between everyones legs like some crazy maniacs.

“I see my little innocent Litleo is already being influenced by your hell-raising Shinx. You better keep your eye on him.” Leo said, with his characteristic sarcasm.

“Oh relax! They’re already best friends” Gwen replied. “They’re just burning off some steam.”

The sudden explosion of movement made Jack flinch, and I noticed he started clutching his Pokeball even harder.

“What about you Ethan, fancy going next?” Leo asked.

“Errr, I think Jack should go first, actually.” I hastily replied.

I don’t know why I was lying. It’s not like a Pokeball was going to appear in my hands to get me out of this conversation. But this was such an important moment for all of them, and I guess I didn’t want to ruin it with my sob story just yet. Jack gave me a look like I was going mad. Because who on earth wouldn’t want to show off their super cool new Pokemon.

The kind of person who didn’t have one, I thought to myself mirthlessly.

With a shake of his head like he was psyching himself up. Jack stepped forward and awkwardly threw out his Pokemon.A little Seedot materialized in front of us. Hesitantly, it looked up and I watched the realization set in on its face; that everyone was looking at them with intense interest.It let out a short squeal and retreated behind Jack's legs.

It was shaking like a leaf, no pun intended.

“She’s, uh, a bit shy.” Jack said plainly. “Dad said she’s not a natural battler. That doesn’t matter though. She’s perfect just as she is.”

Both Litleo and Shinx paused in their game and stared at the frozen grass type. Slowly, the both advanced, both in curiosity and hoping that they’d got another member to add to their game. The little Seedot yelped, and actually fired off a low powered bullet seed. Thunk, thunk. The projectiles bopped both Litleo and Shinx right on the nose, and they both scrambled away as fast as they could.

Jack returned her immediately. “She gets spooked easily,” He explained. “That’s why I don’t think she’s ready to battle just yet.”

“Ha ha!” Leo boomed. “I don’t know what you're on about Jack, the little buggers got some great aim. That’ll teach Litleo not to be such a cheeky bastard.”

Jack's face cheered up a little after hearing that, and he seemed to carry himself a little lighter.

Well, there wasn’t anyone else to go instead of me. Everyone was looking at me expectantly.

This must’ve been how little Seedot just felt.

“Okay guys. I don’t know how else to say this, but I don’t have a starter yet. I don’t even think I’m getting one. At least not this year. Me and mom are kinda strapped for cash at the moment, and I need to stay here at Goldenrod and to help support her. I don’t know when, or even if, I’m going to get to go on a journey. But I don’t want any pity. And you better all become Indigo Champions, so I can brag to everyone back here in Goldenrod that I knew you all at school. And me and mom are going to watch all your matches on the TV, and if I get enough cash I might even come watch you guys compete or something” I was rambling, and I knew it. But as soon as I got through the first sentence, I watched everyone's faces morph into utter pity and I didn’t want to just sit there and look at it. Even Gwen lost her usual optimistic attitude.

“Shit man, I’m sorry.” Leo said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “You just stood there and watched us all show off like total jerks.”

“It’s ok Leo. no matter what’s going on, I still wanted to see you all, and all your Pokemon, before you guys left.

“I can catch you something, if you want?” Jack quietly suggested.

“Thanks Jack, but no.” I replied. “Even if you did, feeding it would be a massive expense, and I won’t have any time to look after and train them when I get a job to help mom.

Jack gave me a nod like he’d already thought of that, but just wanted to suggest it to me anyway.

Gwen was quiet. Eerily quiet. Suddenly, she launched into me in a way that sent me flying a few steps, and wrapped me in a really tight hug. Like one of those hugs that make it hard to breathe.

“Okay guys! I get it, it’s sad!” I shouted “Let’s stop this pity parade though. It’s an exciting day for you three, and you should enjoy it. Go! Train, travel, do whatever it is you trainers do.”

Almost as quickly as Gwen launched into me, she released me and whipped herself around to face the other two.

With one hand on her hip and the other one pointed forward, she dramatically announced in a loud voice, “you're right, Ethan. We're trainers now. And you know what that means right? Lets battle”