Aspertia City was a rather peaceful set of buildings that lay somewhere on the outskirts of Unova. It was described as a “city,” but a more apt description would be “suburb,” or even “town.” As far as cities went, this one was quite small. There were no major apartment buildings, no skyscrapers, nothing so much as a supermarket. Just a bunch of houses, a trainer school, and a Pokemon center.
A woman, with her reddish hair curled up into a bun on top of her head, headed home after a night spent at the neighbor's. Although she looked alert at first glance, closer inspection would reveal that she was in fact rather worn out. Staying up all night could do this sort of thing to someone.
Right outside her house at the southeastern corner of Aspertia, she suddenly heard the ringing of her Xtransciever. Hastily, she pulled it out and answered it.
“Oh, hi!” she said, her voice somewhat groggy. Her face appeared to lighten up once the person on the other end spoke up. “Aurea Juniper! It's been far too long! What can I do for you?”
Another few moments, and the woman's face became even more cheerful. “Wow! A Pokedex, for my child? Why, that's great! I think a journey could be a wonderful experience!”
The smile gave way to a mild frown after a few more words from Juniper. “What now? She's already here? Oh, for Pete's sake. You never change. Once you've decided on something, you just start going.”
“OK! Bianca, right? A big, green hat. Got it. OK! No worries!”
With that piece of knowledge, Hannah's mother promptly hung up and went inside. “Hannah! I'm home!”
Hannah, who at this time was still in her bedroom dressed in her pajamas, turned her head in the general direction of the door. “About time. I'd thought you wouldn't take so long to come home after I came back. What the heck were you doing? For that matter, why are you talking so slowly?”
There was a pause from her mother. “Talking slowly? I'm speaking at my usual pace, Hannah. You sure you aren't hearing things?”
A light clicked in Hannah's brain. She reached down into her bag, which sat at the side of her bed, pulled out her own Xtransciever, and flipped to the menu that read “Options.” From there, she set the option that read “Text speed” to “Fast” before shutting off the device, putting it back in her back, and heading out to the living room.
“Never mind. I'm more worried about what you were doing last night. Surely, you couldn't have spent all night talking to Hugh's parents, could you?”
“That's none of your business, Hannah,” her mother responded bluntly, before cheering up and smiling. “Anyway, I've more important news to tell you.”
Hannah looked up at her mother. “Do tell.”
“Do you know Professor Juniper? She's a famous Pokemon professor.”
“I had a dream about her last night. It was really weird; she insisted on telling me things I already knew and she thought I was a boy for some reason.”
Hannah's mother raised an eyebrow for a few seconds before continuing. “Actually, she's an old friend of mine, and she called me just a few minutes ago for the first time in ages.”
“And you never told me about her why?”
“...Anyway. This might seem out of the blue, but you do want to have a Pokemon, right?”
Hannah nodded. “I was supposed to get one today, wasn't I? Otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered getting up at this hour.”
“Well, that's one important step out of the way. Next question: Do you know what a Pokedex is?”
“That thing trainers carry around that tells them stuff about the Pokemon they just caught.”
“I knew you would? It's amazing that it automatically records Pokemon you encounter! Yet another question: You want a Pokedex, right?”
“I have a feeling I'm going to need one to even own a Pokemon in the first place....”
Hannah's mother nodded. “Both the important questions are out of the way, then. Now your course of action has been set! There's a girl named Bianca who has come here to meet you! She's Professor Juniper's assistant, but Aurea didn't give me much detail. I was told to simply look for a big, green hat!”
Hannah stared at her mother blankly. “That's certainly a big help. You do know what kind of world we live in, right?”
Her mother shrugged. “Well, you're going to have to find her either way if you want a Pokedex and a Pokemon to go with it.” She thought for a few moments. “Oh! You do remember how to use your Xtransciever and how to open your bag, right?”
“Mom, I'm not that stupid!”
Her mother gave her a warm smile. “I know, darling. Again, the girl you're looking for is named Bianca, and she has a big, green hat. Go look for her!”
Hannah looked down at herself again, realizing that she was still in her pajamas. “Well, I can't do that right this second. I'm not even dressed yet!”
“Well, okay. But hurry up.”
With that, Hannah hurried away to prepare herself for the meeting.
After about a half hour, Hannah's mother called out again. “Hurry up, Hannah! Do you want to keep Bianca waiting!”
“I'm preparing my hair! It's not my fault the game developers decided that it was mandatory for me to have a ridiculous choice of hair style!” came Hannah's reply.
Another few minutes, and Hannah finally reappeared at the door to her house. She was dressed in her usual outfit of a white shirt with a Pokeball icon on the chest, a sun visor on her head, with her brown hair styled with two buns on either side of her head, along with a pair of pigtails that went down her waist. Along with it, she had a green pair of shorts with frilly ends, paired with black stockings that covered what would otherwise be exposed skin.
“Alright Mom, I'm heading out. I love you,” she said.
“I love you too, Darling!” her mother replied as Hannah opened the door and headed outside.
