Graduation

The screen on the wall of the waiting room comes to life, displaying an image of Professor Oak, standing behind a podium on the stage in the Laboratory's main auditorium. The grey haired man is wearing his iconic white lab coat and smiling at the camera with practiced ease.

"Welcome to the graduation ceremony for the fifth class of the League Preparatory Program. All of you students sitting in the audience should be proud of yourselves. You are the best of the best, the future of the professional pokémon world, and I have no doubt that you will do great things. Three of the last four champions of the Kanto region have been graduates, and I have a very good feeling that this time next year it will be four out of five.

"As I'm sure you all know, the top three students in the program receive a special honor. These three have shown dedication and mastery that shines even among amazing young people such as yourselves. They are rewarded for this with one of three rare pokémon. As is tradition, these three will come to the stage and pick a pokéball containing one of three rare pokémon. The top two students will then release their new partners and have an exhibition match to show everything that they have learned.

"I'm not one to stand on ceremony so, without further ado, please welcome our top student, Red!"

You continue to stare at the screen, until Green elbows you. You turn and find her staring at you with an amused look on her face. "You know that's you, right?"

Green hops up and heads toward the door, chuckling in amusement as she does. You stand as well, hurrying to catch up to her. After a short walk down a hallway, you arrive at the edge of the stage. From your vantage point you can see what look like hundreds of people—students, their families, even a few news crews. You make your best effort to swallow your growing anxiety, and step out onto the stage.

As soon as they can see you, the crowd goes wild; it's both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. You try to focus on the exhilarating part, smiling and nodding to the crowd as you make your way to Professor Oak."

The Professor smiles at you, and says, "Red, you are the top student of this year's graduating class, and from what I have seen, you've earned it. You have the makings of a phenomenal competitive battler, as well as a well rounded skillset outside of that field. Before you pick your pokémon, is there anything you'd like to say to your classmates and those gathered here to celebrate your graduation?" Without waiting for an answer, he offers you his microphone.

Not having much of a choice, you grab the mic and face the crowd. "Like a lot of you, I've wanted to train pokémon for as long as I can remember. I think almost all of us took extra classes in school so we would be ready to leave home as soon as possible and go into the world to catch and train pokémon.

"Choosing to take another year of classes after graduating high school, even in a program as amazing as this one, wasn't easy. I can't express how glad I am that I did though. I'm certain that what I've learned over the past year, from both my professors and my fellow students, will more than make up for the year I delayed leaving on my journey.

"On behalf of our class, I would like to thank all of our professors, families"—you glance briefly to the right, where Green is waiting offstage—"and friends for their support. We couldn't have done this without you." Finished, you hand the microphone back to Professor Oak.

"Well said, Red," he says with an approving smile. "Now, for what you've all been waiting for; especially you Red, I'm sure," he announces, pushing a button underneath the podium.

With a mechanical whir, the stage next to the podium retracts and an ornate dais holding three pokéballs rises up from the floor. Each ball has the element of the pokémon inside artfully carved into it; a flame for charmander, a drop of water for squirtle, and a leaf for bulbasaur.

You are so absorbed in the pokéballs, that you almost jump when Professor Oak says, "You may pick your Pokémon. Once you do, please go to the far side of the stage to get ready for your battle."

You carefully reach out and place your hand on the ball you've chosen. The cool surface feels wonderful against your skin. Reverently, you pick it up and stare down at the symbol of your new partner's element. You take a moment to etch the memory into your mind, then head across the stage to wait for your battle, already thinking of strategies for your battle with Green.