It's a little past noon. I'm sitting on Sandgem's beach right now, looking out over the ocean as Roy and our new addition play in the sand. Another load of bullshit happened on my way here, though. When I woke up, Bitch's mom came by and asked me to deliver a package to him because his uppity ass forgot about it.

Super. The first step of my journey, and I'm already nothing more than a glorified errand boy.

Ah well, at least I'm glorified. I heard that my father had to do a lot of this kind of thing when he was starting out, too. I snagged one of his pictures from the album; I'm sure he won't mind. He's all the way in Johto right now, after all.

It's the one of him and his two friends when they started off for the first time. He was on the far right, a young kid with a Charmander sitting on his shoulder with both giving a peace sign. The one on the left is now a great professor and Pokemon breeder, though my dad still calls him 'that douchebag.'

The one in the middle probably makes this picture worth a fortune. The ten-year-old version of the legendary Red, the only trainer to retire as an undefeated champion. Normally, you have to be knocked off the pedestal by another trainer, but he never lost. That Pikachu sitting indignantly in his arms, neck noosed by a rubber leash, is known worldwide. My dad calls it "The Beast" with a dramatic flair every time. I thought he was kidding, until he visited and had a battle with my father for old times sake. I didn't think a Thunderbolt could rip up the ground and uproot a tree.

It was funny, though; after the battle my mom had them both, and their Pokemon, fix the yard. Even if Red is undefeated, he is no match for my mom, champion Human trainer.

Hah, I'm sure I'll smash him someday, too. For now, though, he's my bookmark. Enough about him, though; I mentioned earlier that I caught my first Pokemon. When I was heading to Jubilife, Dawn came up to me mid-route and offered to show me how to catch Pokemon. My father already gave me all that info, but she insisted, and at the end of the lesson, she gave me my first set of Pokeballs. This reminded me that I should have bought some potions and antidotes back in town.

I didn't get four steps back before Royal started peeping in pure outrage. I turned around and saw him dashing for a group of Pokemon. They were Shinx, little baby lions with blue and black fur. I knew they were electric type, so it probably wasn't the best plan to have him go in there alone.

I heard him spouting the same challenge as he had with the Bidoof from yesterday. Two of the three Shinx turned to him, and, though their fur sparked, they didn't release that energy, making me think that they were not a high enough level to use electrical attacks. At least that was good news.

The third Shinx, I noticed, had shorter head fur. Seeing as how the other two seemed to be fighting before my penguin companion intervened, I assumed it was some sort of territorial dispute. They both seemed tough... so I decided to catch one of them. I pulled one of my new pokeballs out and prepared it for the right moment as the two kittens converged on the my lone soldier.

A round of cute Growls and Pound vs. Tackles and they fled, running away before I could throw the ball. Roy and I looked at the last one, ready to make this one count, when the cub went up and started rubbing against my Piplup. I found out later, when I took Royal to the Pokemon center for a touch-up healing, that it was a female, and it wasn't a territory dispute the males were fighting over. It was her.

Roy had inadvertently won the courtship rite, which turned out great for me. The little beastie went into the ball without a fight and I caught her, much to the penguin's chagrin. A good reason why just happened a few seconds ago; Roy had popped up from the ocean with a silver fish in his mouth, and the Shinx leaped over his head and snapped it out of the air as he went to eat it. She thanked him with a purring nuzzle, but he, of course, is still hungry.

I just offered him a bit of food, but he reluctantly refused. He had tiny penguin pride to withhold. I watch him dive into the water, then watch the female happily eat what her male had brought for her.

She often pauses between bites, though, seeming to stare out into space for long periods of time. I suppose it's going to be hard getting used to not being a wild critter anymore, but my Piplup at least made the transition a pleasant one for her.

Roy had to fight her off of his second fish, though, eating it in a corner by the sea where she couldn't leap over him without falling into the water. Dejected, she ran over to me, apparently tattling. Was this what having kids was like? I offered her a piece of my biscuit, but she used my outstretched hand as a bridge to nab the whole damn thing. I had almost finished it anyway, but damn.

Ah well, lunch time is about over, anyway. I think I figured out enough of her personality for now. Enough to work with her, anyway. Once my Piplup returns, we'll continue on to Jubilife. This parcel isn't going to deliver itself.

Oh, I almost forgot. I named her Sarah. It's nothing of special meaning, but I had to come up with something on the fly. Besides, it kinda sounds wild and kitty-like. I liked it. I think she does too.