Sungmin woke up, the familiar warmth against his side letting him know that Hangeng, his Flareon, was laying beside him. That was the only thing familiar about this room. He looked around the strange room, wishing that he could be back home in Lavender Town, with his family, and his beloved Duskull. It was too late for that now, though, and he was very glad that Mr. and Mrs. Orange had taken him in. There were no hotels or inns of any kind here in Violet City, and he would've had to sleep on the ground somewhere.
He sighed, reaching a hand down to scratch his Flareon's head. The Pokemon yawned, waking up and stretching out its body, but continued to lay beside him. He patted Hangeng's side and got out of bed. On the nightstand beside the little bed was his newly washed clothes. He gathered them up and got dressed quickly. As he fastened his silver belt around his waist, the Pokeballs rattled against each other, and Hangeng looked up, watching its trainer curiously.
Sungmin grinned at the Flareon and picked up his backpack, "Come on, Hangeng, we gotta get going." At his words, the Pokemon rose to its feet, stretched again, and hopped off of the bed. The teenager left the room, his Flareon following him, and stopped as he stepped into the old couple's kitchen. Mrs. Orange was pulling some biscuits out of the oven, and her husband was sitting at the table with a mug of hot tea.
"Would you like some biscuits, dear?" the elderly woman asked with a smile. Feeling as though it would be rude of him to refuse (and uncertain when he'd taste homemade food again) Sungmin nodded.
"Yes, please," he said quietly. Hangeng yipped, its stomach growling. Mrs. Orange laughed.
"It sounds like your Flareon wants some, too," she chuckled. The teenager just grinned at her. She picked up a few biscuits and put them into a brown paper bag, handing the bag to Sungmin. "These you can take with you when you go, dearie," she said, giving him two biscuits loose. He gave one to Hangeng and ate the other himself, thanking Mrs. Orange. Then he turned and made his way to the door.
"Are you leaving already?" asked Mr. Orange, "Well, good luck challenging the Gym Leaders, son, and remember, you're always welcome to stay here with us, anytime you want to or need to."
"Thanks. To both of you. I really appreciate it," he told the old couple, opening the door and stepping outside. It was bright and sunny today, and the occasional Pidgey fluttered overhead as the young trainer and his Pokemon made their way towards the city's Pokemon Gym. He stopped outside it, staring up at the imposing building. He was very nervous, so he crouched down beside his Pokemon.
"Hangeng, do you think we can do it? I don't know if I can beat a Gym Leader... I'm just a rookie trainer after all..." he said to the Flareon. His Pokemon smiled at him and barked encouragingly. Sungmin turned his eyes up to the Gym again, still feeling like he was making a mistake, like he should've stayed home.