It was still quite dark when Hannah finally set out to receive her Pokemon. She couldn't see the stars anymore, and she heard the calls of the bird Pokemon around Aspertia welcoming in the morning. On the other hand, the sky was only just starting to light up, meaning dawn was still some time away.
Yep, it's too early for me to be up, Hannah thought before she adjusted her bag and headed up the street. Where am I supposed to find this Bianca person, anyway? Maybe someone at the Trainer School knows something?
“Hi, Hannah!” a male's voice called out to her.
Or maybe Hugh knows something.
The owner of the voice was a boy that appeared to be slightly older than Hannah. His oddly blue hair was styled into what would be best described as an afro, and while his slanted, red eyes suggested someone who wasn't nice, his friendly facial expression, plus the fact that his little sister hung by his side, indicated otherwise. His outfit wasn't particularly outlandish; just a red and white jacket paired with a pair of blue pants.
(Author's note: I apologize for the lengthy descriptions of the characters; I'm trying to work on my writing skills here as well.)
“Hello, Hugh.” Hannah replied, somewhat tiredly.
Hugh grinned impishly. “I see you're as grumpy as ever.”
Hannah glared at him. “I'm not a morning person, okay? Don't judge me!”
Hugh merely chuckled a bit. “Anyway, did you get a Pokemon yet? There aren't any other Pokemon trainers around here, and I'm getting bored!”
“That's the whole reason I'm even up right now,” Hannah replied, yawning. “Some girl named Bianca wants to give me one today.”
“Really?!”
“Yes. I'm happy to finally become a trainer after being teased with it for so long, but....” Hannah yawned again, then frowned. “Why the heck did Bianca have to schedule the appointment at this ungodly hour?”
Hugh smirked. “Oh, lighten up a bit.”
At this point, Hugh's sister spoke up. “Hannah.... If you get a Pokemon, take really, really good care of it, okay?”
“Yeah....” Hugh replied, then he turned back to Hannah. “OK! Let's go get your Pokemon! There's something I have to do, and to do that I need someone besides my partner Pokemon I can trust! A person I can trust!”
Hannah nodded. “And I'm the person you're talking about, correct?”
“Correct! You seem like you've got good instincts!” Hugh turned back to his sister. “You head on home.”
“Okay, big brother! Bye-bye, Hannah!” With that, the little girl wandered off.
“All riiight! Let's go find that person named Bianca!” Hugh proclaimed once his sister left.
“Hold your horses. You don't even know what she looks like yet!”
Hugh frowned. “Okay then. What are we looking for?”
“Er...the description I got was 'girl with a big, green hat.' That sounds like a really helpful description, doesn't it?” Hannah replied.
“...I say we go to the overlook. It is Aspertia's most famous spot, after all. If Bianca isn't from around here, I bet she's up there admiring the scenery.” Hugh shrugged.
“Fair enough.”
The two made their way towards Aspertia's overlook at a leisurely pace.
“While we're here.... My mother came home just as I got up. Since the last time I saw her she was over at your place, and presumably you were up early enough to overhear what the adults were talking about...what took her so long?” Hannah asked.
Hugh shrugged again. “Typical adult things, as far as I could tell. There was a rather heated argument about politics; that much I remember. I think my dad had some worries about Team Plasma, too.”
Hannah raised an eyebrow. “Team Plasma? You mean the group who wanted to separate Pokemon from humans? I thought they disbanded after the hero defeated their leader two years ago.”
“I did, too. My parents are just worried that it wasn't the end of them.”
“I can't see how they could come back, personally. Their leader had one of the two dragons of legend and still got his rear handed to him. If you have a legendary working for you and you still lose, there isn't a lot of hope for your goals.”
“Then again, the hero had the other dragon. Maybe that had something to do with it.”
Hannah nodded. “Maybe.” She then sighed nervously. “You know, I really hope that people don't feel the need to compare us to the exploits of the hero. That's a lot to live up to, and I'm going to go crazy if it's part of the requirements.”
“I wouldn't worry too much about it. We're hardly attempting anything on the scale the hero did. I can't see any real similarities between us and the hero here, anyway – why would anyone else?”
“I hope you're right.”
They were now climbing up the stairs to the overlook. Close to the top, Hugh squinted. “I think I see a blond-haired girl with a big, green hat standing at the railing. I'm pretty sure that's the girl we're looking for.” He turned to Hannah, smiled, and motioned in the girl's direction. “C'mon, go get your Pokemon!”
“I'm going, I'm going....”
Hannah slowly walked up behind the girl, but ultimately decided against outright talking to her and simply positioned herself on the railing next to her. As it turned out, it didn't take the girl long to notice her.
“It's sooo pretty!” she stated, before turning to Hannah. In addition to the big, green hat Hannah had heard so much about, this girl also sported short, blond hair, a round face, and a pair of red glasses. She wore a white shirt underneath a poofy orange jacket, in addition to a pair of green sweatshorts.
“Hey there!” she said cheerfully. “Don't you agree?”
If this is the person I'm looking for, then why the sparse description? 'Blond-haired girl with a poofy jacket and a big, green hat' would have worked so much better, Hannah thought. Meh. I might as well try to be somewhat friendly.... She looked out over the railing, at the tops of all the trees surrounding the area. She smiled and nodded. “Indeed.”
The girl smiled in turn, before looking Hannah over briefly. “Oh! We just met, so introductions are in order!” she said. “My name is Bianca! I'm the assistant of the Pokemon Professor – Professor Juniper. I'm looking for someone. Would you happen to know a person named Hannah?”
Well, we've found the right person. That's good to know, Hannah thought. And good to know that I can tell her exactly what I think about this early morning arrangement.
“You're in luck; I happen to be quite familiar with her,” she replied, in a very sarcastic sounding tone. “I hear she was supposed to get a Pokemon today. Unfortunately, I imagine she's still sleeping, because it's too freaking early in the morning for her to be up!”
Bianca took a few steps back. “Well, it's not my fault. Professor Juniper told me to be here this morning and well....”
A few moments later, Bianca's face lightened up a bit as it dawned on her. She stepped forwards again. “Oh, wait! You're Hannah!” She cocked her head to one side. “You certainly lived up to my...uhm...expectations.” She reached up to her hat and adjusted it slightly, before happily smiling again. “It's nice to meet you!”
Out the corner of her eye, Hannah thought she saw Hugh raise a hand to his forehead and shake it. Apparently, he didn't think too highly of the sudden outburst. Bianca reacted to it well enough, though; it couldn't be that much of a fault, right?
“I have a really important request to ask you!” Bianca started up, jarring Hannah out of her thoughts. “Will you help us to complete the Pokedex?”
They haven't filled it out entirely yet? Hannah thought, but kept it to herself. “If getting one is required to have a Pokemon, then I suppose I can help you out with that.”
“Not exactly the positive response I expected, but it's a positive response nevertheless.” Bianca replied, nodding. “At any rate, thanks! Your support will help Professor Juniper's support move forward! Anyway, filling up the Pokedex is totally fun!”
There was a few moment's silence. Hannah looked around awkwardly. “So...are you going to give me a Pokemon or not?”
“Oh! Right!” Bianca then pulled out a rectangular box with a blue, transparent top, through which Hannah could see a trio of Poke Balls.
“Ta-daaa!' she continued, before opening the lid to the box. “In here is the Pokemon that will be your partner!”
Hannah smiled in relief. “At last,” she said. Under her breath, she added, “this better be worth it.”
