Maria, a novice trainer with a handful of a Pokemon partner.

It was a quiet day in Driftveil City, once a rustic little mining town in the middle of the bustling Unovan region. Now it was another city, just as bustling as the others, thanks to the town's Gym Leader, Clay, a dedicated miner turned real estate tycoon who got the bright idea to fill the town with towering hotels. Some older folks were a little sorry to see it happen, but Maria, only a child at the time and now 18, had long since gotten comfortable with it.

Today was a special day for Maria. See, she was a late comer to Pokemon training; so many people years younger than her had started their journeys, even leaving home to wander the continent! And, well, according to Clay and her mother, Maria was going to start that today, and she was having mixed feelings.

See, she'd been hearing all about Unova from her mom, and she'd been learning to battle from Clay using borrowed Pokemon down at the Gym. Apparently, she wasn't too bad, because Clay wanted to introduce her to some professor, have her go around Unova looking for Pokemon. It didn't sound too bad, honestly; getting to see, catch, and fight so many different cool species? It sounded incredible! Only... there was one problem, and while she started her day off with a shower, that problem was sitting in a Pokeball on her nightstand.

She was trying not to think about it during her shower, letting the water cascade down her curly black hair, tan skin, slender limbs and rounded curves. Over the rushing water, she couldn't hear the sound of a Pokeball opening, some scratching at the door, and then a door opening. With soap in her eyes, she didn't see through the frosted glass as her light blue tank top and gray pajama pants were dragged from the room, nor did she see the same happening to her black underwear, light blue top, and black shorts. In fact, she only got suspicious when she heard scrabbling against porcelain, a thud against the glass door, and then the woosh of fabric. When she reached for her towel to wipe her eyes, and check things out, she found it wasn't there. No, as she opened her eyes and slid the shower door open a crack, all she saw was...

"Karrablast!"

The little blue and yellow bug flashed her an evil grin, her towel held in it's clutches, as it scrambled out of the bathroom. Maria let out a growl and ran after it, too angry to care about how sopping wet her bare body was. Maria had caught the little devil a week ago, using a wimpy Sandshrew borrowed from Clay. Apparently the Pokemon didn't appreciate being caught, because since then it had been raising hell for its new owners. Breaking things, clawing up furniture, and now, stealing clothes. Maria wanted just to release it; but if she complained to Clay for another Pokemon, what would that say about her potential as a trainer?

Karrablast rounded a corner, pink towel trailing behind it like a cape, as Maria slammed against the wall with thud, leaving water marks, but she kept running after it. It passed into the kitchen, where they'd set up infant blockers to keep it from making too much trouble, and Maria grinned, confident that she'd grab the little guy.

She slid into the doorway, standing tall with a manic grin.

"Aha! Got you, you little--"

Maria halted, and her expression fell, standing dumbstruck in the kitchen door. In front of her was her mother, holding her towel, and next to her mother was a woman with brown hair, wearing a white labcoat, holding a fidgeting Karrablast. The room was silent except for the sound of Maria dripping onto the kitchen tile, the two clothed older women staring at their younger counterpart, before the woman in the labcoat spoke up.

"You must be Maria!" she said, "My name is Professor Juniper, and I'm here to ask you for a very important favor...."