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Chapter 1: A Shaky Awakening | Pokémon
🕑 Added 2025-02-08 15:18:22 +0000 UTC“…Chan.”
“Nii…chan.”
“Onii…chan!”
With a sudden jolt, Orin snaps his eyes open.
“Sweet mother of Arceus!” he exclaims loudly as he finds his whole body shaking, making his brain rattle. “Is there a Golem stampede? Did an Onix decide to dig through the house? Or did Groudon already—?!” His groggy eyes dart around in a panic.
Instead of destruction, all he sees are the familiar walls of his large room, and the glowing Starmie stickers on his ceiling flickering softly. Then, abruptly, the shaking stops.
“So… it was just an earthquake,” he mutters in relief. But as his mind catches up, he realizes something is wrong. The Starmie stickers are way too close—right in front of his face.
Wait. The ceiling is right in front of his face.
His sleepy brain finally puts the pieces together. The ceiling hasn’t come down—he has reached the ceiling!
Narrowing his eyes, he crawls to the edge of his large, fluffy bed and looks down. Sure enough, the entire bed is levitating near the ceiling. And standing on the ground, staring up at him with innocent red eyes, is a small figure.
“Good morning, Onii-chan!”
Hearing the sweet, childish voice, he groans. “Morning,” he replies in a deadpan tone. “Can you put the bed down now?”
Abruptly, he feels weightless as the bed drops. A brief wave of panic surges through him, but before he can react, the downward momentum vanishes, and the bed lands softly and silently on the floor.
Rubbing his eyes with a yawn, Orin blinks at the small girl standing in front of him. His half-closed, sleepy eyes make her figure appear blurry, his mind still foggy with sleep. “Brina, why are you messing with my bed while I am sleeping? We talked about this.”
Brina, with her long purple hair and white long-sleeved dress, gazes at him innocently. Her bright red eyes gleam as she pouts. “This time, it’s not Brina’s fault, Onii-chan! You were the one worrying about waking up early today.” Crossing her arms, she attempts to mimic his voice, deepening her tone with a playful exaggeration. “Oh, tomooorow is an important day, I hope I don't oversleep.” But her effort at sounding serious only comes out adorably off-pitch. “So Brina was just trying to help wake you up early!” She concludes with a sweet innocent smile.
“…By levitating and shaking my entire bed?” Orin asks with another yawn. “Can’t you wake me up more gently? I legit thought an Onix was tunneling into the house,” he mutters, blindly reaching for his phone on the bedside table.
Brina giggles. “Hehehe, Onii-chan is so silly! This isn’t Pewter City or Cerulean City. There aren’t any Onix around Saffron City to come crawling out of the ground.” She puts her hands on her hips, looking proud of her logic. “And I did try to wake you up nicely! I called you twice, but you didn’t respond, so I had to wake you up strongly!”
"…I wasn’t waking up because it’s still just five in the morning," Orin groans, staring in disbelief at the glowing screen of his phone. With a sigh, he turns off the 6:30 AM alarm he had set before bed.
"Yep! I woke you up extra early, just like you wanted, Onii-chan!" Brina beams, clearly proud of herself.
Orin puts his phone aside and looks at the cute girl in front of him, her bright red eyes sparkling with excitement. Swallowing his grievances, he sighs internally before forcing a small smile. "Thank you, Brina, for waking me up so early. You’re the best."
“Yay!!” Brina cheers, throwing her tiny hands in the air. Then, as if struck with inspiration, she taps a finger to her chin. “But this still took too long, Nii-chan. Next time, Brina can wake you up even faster! I think throwing the bed into the swimming pool should do the trick!” She nods to herself, glancing between the bed and the window, raising her small hands as if measuring the distance.
Orin feels a cold sweat forming at the mental image of being dunked into water mid-sleep. "No, no, please!" he blurts out, waving his hands. "I would rather have the Groudon experience than the Kyogre one while waking up." He forces a wry smile, though in truth, the best option would be to avoid both Hoenn legendaries' nightmarish wake-up calls and just let his alarm do its job in peace.
Brina gasps excitedly. "So, did Onii-chan like Brina’s Shaking Move? I can do it again if you want!" She grins, already raising her hand.
Seeing the gleam in her red eyes and feeling the bed just begin to lift, Orin quickly cuts in, "No, Brina! No need! I am completely awake now." He hurriedly smooths his hair and gives a placating smile. "How about we meet downstairs after I have freshened up?"
Brina grins. “Sure, Niichan!” She lowers her hands, and the bed gently touches back down. “Come downstairs fast! Brina will wait for you~!” she sings, skipping out of the room with a happy hum.
As soon as she is gone, Orin slumps against his bed with a long sigh, feeling completely drained this early in the morning. At least she didn’t notice his… awkward morning wood.
Enjoying the momentary peace of his room, he yawns, the soft mattress calling him back to sleep.
“…C’mon, today’s an important day. You can’t keep sleeping,” he mutters, lightly patting his own face to wake himself up.
Stifling another yawn, he moves his large Pikachu plushie aside, swinging his legs over the bed’s edge. He slips his feet into his soft Snorlax slippers and finally stands up.
Still groggy, he makes his bed before pulling open the curtains, letting the golden morning sunlight flood the room. Saffron City always wakes early, earning its famous title: The Shining Big City.
The morning warm light bathes everything, highlighting the details of the spacious room.
Orin’s room is quite large, with a big bed tucked into one corner, positioned beneath a window. A built-in wardrobe stretches along the adjacent wall, seamlessly connecting to a computer desk that also houses shelves packed with books. A small bedside table sits nearby.
Across from the desk, a section of the room is dedicated to training equipment—a rack of weights, a mounted pull-up bar, and large wall-length mirrors. A bigger wardrobe stands beside them, next to a door leading to the washroom.
On the opposite side of the bed, a display case shaped like a Poké Ball holds an array of small Pokémon figurines. The first aisle features Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, Marill, and an adorable Charmander wearing a woolen hat. The second aisle displays a happy Totodile, Shinx, Eevee, Omanyte, Pikachu, and Applin. The third aisle showcases Mareep, Alolan Vulpix, Rockruff, Axew, and a cute Jigglypuff holding a tiny microphone. And on the smallest bottom shelf, sitting all by itself, is a single Snom.
Beneath the display case, a transparent plastic container overflows with Pokémon plushies, both big and small. Nearby, another desk holds stacks of unopened Pokémon card packs alongside scattered electronic parts and miniature machines.
Despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Orin always denies being a collector. He insists he buys these things only when they are on sale—or just too cheap to pass up.
Two walls of the room are painted blue, the other two red, adorned with various posters. Among them, two stand out as the largest. As Orin sleepily makes his way towards the washroom, his still-blurry eyes land on one in particular—a striking red-and-white poster featuring a Poké Ball with bold text:
DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?
POKÉMON
LEAGUE
Yawning, Orin passes the poster and steps into the washroom to freshen up. By the time he emerges, he feels much more awake. He then heads to his desk, retrieves a pair of earphones from the drawer, and pops them into his ears. With a tap on his phone, techno gym music begins to play, setting the tone for the morning.
Hyped up, he walks to the pull-up bar, grips it firmly, and begins his routine.
"One... two... three..." he counts aloud, his muscles tensing as he lifts himself. Meanwhile his gaze shifts to the posters on the wall.
One features a panoramic view of Saffron City's skyline, bathed in golden light. The words SHINING BIG CITY—SAFFRON CITY stretch across the top.
He remembers getting this poster at the city parade five years ago. They were handing them out for free, and he felt lucky to be among the first to grab one before they ran out in just ten minutes.
"Twenty... twenty-one..." His eyes drift to another poster beside it—jet black with striking golden lettering:
SAFFRON CITY GYM
LEADER – SABRINA
MARSH BADGE – KANTO REGION
It even has a detailed image of the Marsh Badge—a simple golden circle. Orin recalls getting this poster three years ago when the gym was first inaugurated.
"Forty... forty-one..." The music pulses in his ears as his gaze finally lands on the largest poster in the room.
NEXUS ACADEMY
Forging the Masters of Tomorrow
It showcases a grand landscape with a towering building in the center, surrounded by several smaller structures. The background stretches into a vast horizon, with a glowing sun in the sky, making the academy appear massive and prestigious.
Orin's grip tightens. His sharp red eyes focus on the poster, one of the newer ones on the wall.
"Forty-nine... fifty!" He grits his teeth, straining as he lifts himself one final time before dropping back down.
Exhaling deeply, he rubs the back of his neck, suppressing the unease bubbling inside him.
"It will be fine… probably," he mutters, shaking his head before grabbing a yoga mat from his wardrobe.
For the next hour, he cycles through squats, weightlifting, stretches, and yoga. By the time he finishes, sweat clings to his skin. He removes his earbuds, places them back in the drawer, and heads to the washroom for a shower.
Steam curls around him as he steps out, towel-drying his wet purple hair while a fresh robe clings to his toned body. His six-pack abs glisten under the soft lighting.
"Hmm… hmm hmm… I wanna be the very best…" He hums a familiar tune while selecting clothes from his wardrobe.
"I will travel across the land… searching far and wide… hmm hmm hmm…" He grins at his reflection, adjusting his red Poké Ball shirt and black pants. His deep red eyes stare back at him with renewed confidence.
"A morning pic feels like a necessity, Mr. Orin Murasaki!" he smirks, striking a casual pose.
Instead of grabbing his phone, he simply stretches out his hand. The device wobbles slightly before floating up from the bedside table and hovering towards him.
"Okay, concentrate. Smile. The picture needs to be perfect." He grins, adjusting his stance.
"I should showcase a confident pose… well, I am definitely feeling pretty confident today!"
With a small twitch of his fingers, the phone’s camera snaps a shot.
CLICK
He swiftly catches the phone before it drops, glancing at the screen.
"Nice. Natural sunlight really is the best for morning pics," he mutters, pleased with the result.
Opening PokéNet, he smirks.
"Now to upload it with a good caption."
