In the bathroom of a small, run down apartment at the edge of Saffron City, a little girl stood glaring at herself in the mirror. The girl hated her reflection with a burning, fiery passion. She also hated her name and her 'family' and the dusty part of town they lived in. She hated the primary school she'd finally managed to suffer her way through last month and she hated all her bright eyed, stupid, hyperactive classmates. She hated all the condescending and uncaring adults in her life and she hated the caring ones who tried but still couldn't ever get it. She hated damn near everything about her new life.

Today though, was to be a day of joy. She was turning 10 again. And thus, she could finally get to the one part of this miserable new existence that had the potential to turn into something good. She was going on a Pokemon journey.

Her reflection was still glaring back at her, in defiance of the festive, upbeat mood she'd been trying for.

"Today will be the best day I've had in this life." She stated strongly. The girl in the mirror kept on glaring.

"The best of days! I'm going away! I'm getting a Pokemon! I'm not coming back!"

The girl was excited, really she was! The only problem was, even though she'd been wishing this day closer nearly every moment of every day for years at this point, she was still a bit freaked out about it.

"It's not a big deal. Lots of 10 year olds leave home for a journey. I'm an actual adult, I've learned how to camp and forage and avoid dangerous Pokemon. I'll be fine. I will be!"

In hindsight, trying to convince herself out loud was only making her anxiety worse.

"Ugh whatever. I don't care how nervous I am, I'm not delaying this anymore."

She went to turn towards the door, but paused to review her actual appearance for a second. In the mirror stood a short, Asian -or rather Kantoan- girl with long, straight brown hair and honey colored eyes. She had delicate, symmetrical features. Her cheeks weren't chubby. Her hair wasn't a mess of unruly semi curls that took forever to style. She was objectively pretty in this life, if plain in a world where naturally occurring hair and eyes could be any color of the rainbow. Nothing of her reflection resembled her at all, so she hated it.

She was wearing a plain black t-shirt and some blue boys shorts. She was also sporting a pair of beat up running shoes. In short, she looked as plain as plain can be. The only thing that stood out was the silver chain around her neck, for its adornment.

She'd have to do something about her appearance. Later.

With quick motions the girl gathered her toothbrush and toothpaste, some soap and a towel and shoved them all in her already fit to burst backpack. She went to the room she shared with her older sister and checked that she'd gotten everything. She was never coming back, after all.

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"Finally leaving then freak? Have fun dying out there all alone!" Came the grating voice of her sister from the top bunk of their bed.

"Fuck off." The girl turned to leave with a scowl on her face.

"You know you'll never make it right? It's cute to see how hard you're trying to be relevant but you'll always be a freak you know? Besides, you literally can't get anywhere with Pokemon training if you're broke."

The girl was already in the living room by the time her sister was finished and she was facing the rest of her supposed family. It was 7 in the morning, so none of them were gone for the day yet, unfortunately.

"What, you're actually going?" Asked her oldest brother with the air of a man amused at some small curiosity.

"Hah! Please, you'll never last looser. You think you can just be a trainer just like that? Bet you won't even make it to the first city, never mind get a badge!" Chimed in her other brother.

The girl filtered the rest of their trash talk into background noise and looked instead at her birth contributors. She didn't hate her siblings, not really. They were assholes and she didn't like them, but they were mostly irrelevant. She'd always been an only child.

These people though, she hated. These people who had dared try to be her parents and then failed so badly in comparison. The man looked at her with cold disregard.

"Don't bother coming back." Was all he deigned to say.

"I won't." She walked to the door, not looking back. She didn't expect anyone else to speak. Her 'mother' would rarely speak to contradict her husband after all. And say what, anyway? She might not have spoken, but the relief she'd attempted to hide had been plain for the girl to see.

The girl walked out of the apartment and then out of the building and then out of the neighborhood. With every step further away she felt lighter. She was out. She was almost free.

Her hand darted up to her exit ticket, attached to the sturdy chain necklace around her neck. The minimized Pokeball was easily the most important thing she owned. It was still there, just like it had been the last hundred times she'd checked today. She tucked it out of sight under her shirt again.

She was out of the dingiest part of the city now and heading into Saffron proper. Tension started leaving her shoulders gradually, as it always did when away from the worst part of town.There was no need to be on edge here.

It really was remarkable, how different this Pokemon world was to her old one. While not quite the near Utopia shown in the Pokemon Anime, where everything was safe unless there was a criminal team, and nobody ever died, the people here were still better off than they'd been on Earth. There was a friendliness and good will in most people that you couldn't find on Earth except in very close knit communities.

You could tell at a glance that people were happier here. The world itself seemed brighter. Just in front of her, there was a little boy running with a Growlithe. An old lady was being escorted by a Machop across the street. A woman was watering her Bellsprout in the store she was passing by. Someone was rushing down the street on a Doduo.

Almost everyone had a Pokemon companion near them, roaming free or doing some sort of job. Most people only ever had one or two Pokemon they were friends with and that was enough to fill their lives with a companionship that could barely be described, but whose results could be felt clearly. After all, the difference in temperament of people who were friends with Pokemon and those who thought of them as tools was immediately obvious in how they interacted with the rest of the world too.

But yes, one or two Pokemon was the norm. After all, they were living, breathing beings that came with expenses. And the stronger a Pokemon was, the more money was needed to keep it fed and cared for. That's why being a trainer in any serious capacity was regarded as a strictly rich people sport. But the girl was determined she'd figure out ways to stay afloat and get ahead.

The girl walked for a while, until she reached the big intersection near the middle of the city. She had a serious choice to make, one that had the potential to sink her journey before it even got the chance to begin. Where to head to?

Up north lay Route 5, a short, safe route that lead to Cerulean City.

To her south was Route 6, a popular Route for trainers heading to and from Vermillion City.

To the east was Route 7, a short and scarce Route leading to Celadon City.

To her west was Route 8, a long and dangerous Route that eventually lead to Lavender Town.