Adventures of Adevre

'Where do the taxes go, if not to potholes?!' Juniper rubbed her head sorely for the umpteenth time. True, she'd heard things about public transportation, but the real deal was something else. Granted, she was on the tall side, but every little bump shouldn't launch her through the roof! None of the other passengers seemed to have a problem though. Grumbling and slightly embarrassed, Juniper resigned herself to slide deeper in the duct-taped vinyl cushions.

One bumpy bus ride wasn't enough to put her out today though. She'd take a hundred more roof-bashes to the head as a free, aspiring trainer over the most posh, cushioned seats of that nightmare of a boarding school's private transport. Today was the day Juniper finally got away from it all to start a new chapter of her own. Heck, she was starting a new book! No more teachers breathing down her neck, no more parents looking over her shoulder. Just Juniper, her partner, and all the wild pokemon they could catch. 

"Coming up on Tillshire, please be ready to depart," crackled the intercom. Juniper instinctively reached for her side, feeling the cool metal of a pokeball clasped at her hip. She was travelling light, with no bag or supplies. Town Hall promised to provide all that through their "Aspiring Trainer Program." Something about attracting new trainers back into their sleepy town. She hadn't bothered with the minute details. All she needed to know was that the town offered grants to new trainers who agreed to live locally for a two year minimum. And it wasn't like she had anywhere better to go.

Put simply, she needed all the financial help she could get. Her parents, wealthy as they were, suffocated their daughter with support. After announcing at the age of seven that she wanted to become a master Pokemon trainer, they were determined to set her up for life. Putting her through boarding school was the first step. All basic amenities were provided on campus. Students rarely left the facility- and dreading home, Juniper especially- so she had little need of an allowance and no savings to speak of. But Juniper would rather struggle to make it solo than return crawling back to her parents for money. She could make it on her own. She would.

Vast golden seas of dry grass finally gave way to a single building. A small, but official looking one, with a carport arching over the main road. Town Hall, no doubt. The bus engine puttered to a stop, and its doors squealed open.

"All for Tillshire!" called the driver. From the back of the bus, Juniper leapt to attention- and to her feet. She quivered with anticipation. She barely dared breathe, let alone to step forward. Her stop. And for the next two years, her home. 

As crowded as the bus was, Juniper was the only one standing. 'No wonder they're trying to bring in new trainers. This place must be deader than I thought.' Oh well. All the better. Once she worked up the ranks and became a Pokemon master, Juniper would put this place back on the map all by herself! 

No sooner had she taken her first step than a second figure meekly stood from the front. All Juniper could make out was her long, silky turquoise hair and a humble smattering of luggage. 'Huh, guess I'm not the only one after all.' Having ridden just a few rows from the front, her fellow traveler whisked off the bus before Juniper was even halfway down the aisle. 

A pokemon suddenly darted out in front of her, and it was all Juniper could do not to trip over it. A small growlithe looked at her from the floor, and yipped apologetically. Then it returned to the booth it came from and started tugging at a sleeping someone's (presumably its trainer's) pant leg. The young man came to with a start. He regained his bearings impressively fast for someone just napping on a public bus. Snatching his growlithe from the ground, he snuggled it close to his chest. 

"We're here! Thanks, bud, you're the best!" Grabbing his bag and recalling the growlithe into it's pokeball in one fluid motion, the young man flew out from his seat. "Sorry!" he hastily called out the door after knocking into Juniper on his way out. Pouting, Juniper forcefully made her way to the front before she was delayed any further. An extra coin plinked into the collection bin, expertly flicking a tip on her way out. The driver tipped his hat to her, drew the doors to a close, and departed. 

Standing at it's threshold, the building seemed bigger now. The long-haired girl swung open one half of the glass-double doors, the growlithe's trainer close behind. Could they both be new, fellow trainers? It looked like she wasn't alone in this after all. Fellow trainers made for fellow rivals, and Juniper surely wasn't one to be left behind. Her heart leapt before her legs, charging headfirst into a new life- into a new adventure.