Kris groaned as his mother shouted up at him; he rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up. "What's that?" he called back down, blinking the sleep out of his eyes.

"I said to wake up, Professor Elm needs you!" his mother's voice called up, echoing up the stairwell.

Professor Elm? he thought, slightly confused. He was friends with the professor, and his daughter was his age; still, he had never been called over like this.

Oh, well. At least it'll be interesting, Kris thought, standing up and stretching. "I'm on my way down!" he shouted, pulling on his red jacket, gold-and-black hat, and his bag. He took the stairs two at a time and passed through the living room, walking up to his mom at the table. "So, what does Prof. Elm need me for?"

His mother shrugged. "I don't know; he just called over here a moment ago. He said he needed your help with a very important experiment. Here, I got you this notepad; maybe you can keep a report of your own!" She handed him the pad and a pen, grinning excitedly. "I can't believe my little boy is already grown-up enough to handle this big of a task!"

Groaning, Kris still blushed some at his mother's praise. "Alright, alright; I'm gonna go now, see ya later." He turned and headed out the door, his mom calling out for him to be safe as the front door shut behind him.

Glancing behind him at his mother's call, Kris stumbled and bumped into something small and round. He blinked and turned quickly, looking down to see a bright blue Marill gazing up at him, its tail bobbing up and down. "Marrrrill!" it growled out, blinking cutely.

"Oh, there you are!" a girl's voice said. Kris looked over to see Lyra, his neighbor and childhood friend. "Hey, Lyra!" he said, smiling at her. "Been playing hide and seek with your Marill?"

Lyra giggled and nodded. "Yep! But he always picks the best places to hide, ya know?" She scooped up her Marill and grinned at Kris. "Well, I'd best get this little guy back home, time for his breakfast."

"Marill, maaarill!" the Pokémon exclaimed happily, as Lyra toted him back to her house. Kris followed her at first, but then turned towards the front side of the large building that housed both Lyra's home and Professor Elm's lab.

Stepping through the door, Kris gasped as he saw the interior of the laboratory. In the front, there were large bookcases that were filled to the brim with scientific research journals and the like. Further back, he could see the professor fiddling with a large machine that housed three PokéBalls.

"Hey, Prof. Elm, it's me!" he called out, walking past a few lab assistants on his way to the back. The professor glanced up and grinned. "Fantastic! Kris, I'm working on an experiment, and I need your help."

Kris nodded, stopping right in front of the machine. "Yeah, my mom told me. Does it have something to do with those PokéBalls?"

Elm grinned and nodded. "Yes, it does. Before these PokéBalls were invented, Trainers just walked with their Pokémon, like my daughter does with her Marill. I think that walking with one's Pokémon can influence its evolution; Kris, I want you to take one of these Pokémon and test that theory out!"

Kris froze for a second. "Wait…what? Y-You want me….to raise a Pokémon?" He began to grin slightly. Professor Elm nodded and stepped aside, opening up the glass casing on the machine.

Trembling slightly, Kris stepped forward and looked at the three PokéBalls. He slowly reached in and took the one in front; a monitor on the top of the machine showed that the grass Pokémon Chikorita had been removed from the case.

"Ooh, Chikorita…most of them love the sun, and enjoy playing more than fighting," Professor Elm stated, looking at the PokéBall in Kris's hand. "Now, if you'll press the button on that PokéBall, you can have your very first Pokémon!"

Kris nodded and, taking a deep breath, pressed the center button. The PokéBall popped open and a flash of light streamed out, forming into a small little shape. The light faded and revealed a lime-green Pokémon with a large leaf on its head. "Chi-kooor!" it called.

Kris grinned and knelt down, slowly holding out his hand to the Pokémon. "Hey there, Chikorita…my name's Kris. I'm gonna be your Trainer!"

The Chikorita nuzzled up to Kris's hand before biting down on it sharply. "Ow!" Kris cried, pulling back and massaging it.

"Kris, are you alright?" the professor exclaimed, kneeling down beside him.

The Chikorita pouted and tried to nuzzle against Kris again, wondering why this new human was shying away from her; she had just given him a playful little nom.

Kris whimpered and didn't hold out his hand again. "Ch-Chikor, that hurt…" he said, biting his lip to keep it from trembling.

Professor Elm glanced between the two of them, frowning slightly. "Hmm, you sure you want this Pokémon, Kris? She seems a little…feisty."

The Chikorita pouted again, hopping up onto Kris's lap and licking his neck. "Chi-kor!" she exclaimed, wagging her small tail cutely. Kris looked down at her and smiled slightly. "N-No, Prof. Elm…I-I think I can handle her."

He stood up, picking up the Chikorita and holding her in his arms. "I think I'll call her Nina."

Nina blinked and wriggled out of his arms, landing on the floor. "Chikor-REE!" she called up, grinning. Kris chuckled. "So I guess you wanna walk, then?" Nina nodded.

The professor chuckled and grinned. "Fantastic, then!" A light beep grabbed Elm's attention and he turned towards his laptop. "Huh? Wait…oh dear." He turned back towards Kris and Nina, his face thoughtful. "Kris, it appears that my friend Mr. Pokémon has found something real this time; it's annoying, but could you go for us? I'm sure it'll give you time to bond with…Nina, was it?"

Nina growled cutely and nodded. Kris glanced down and grinned. "Looks like Nina wants to; guess I can't say no!"

The professor grinned again. "Great! Mr. Pokémon's house is just north of Cherrygrove City, you can't miss it."

Kris nodded and waved to Prof. Elm as he walked away. "Thanks, professor!" Nina growled again and pranced in front of Kris; they made their way back to the front door.

"Wait, Kris!" a voice called out.

Kris paused and turned around. "Hmm? What's up?"

One of the lab assistants ran up and handed him a pack of Potions. "Here, take these. If your Chikorita gets wounded, spray one of these on the wound."

Kris grinned and nodded. "Right, thank you!" He turned and held the door open for Nina before walking out himself. "Alright, Nina, let's go!" Nina nodded and set off by his side. They walked towards the edge of the town, past the large exterior of the lab. In the corner of Kris's eye, he noticed a form standing in the alleyway by the lab; he turned to get a full view of a boy with dark red hair staring through a window.

Kris walked closer and heard him mutter, "So this is Elm's lab…" The boy glanced over at Kris and narrowed his eyes. "What're you looking at, kid? Get outta here!" Kris squeaked and backed away, though Nina growled threateningly, standing her ground.

"N-Nina, come on!" Kris stammered out; Nina reluctantly backed away and walked to Kris, though she tossed her head huffily towards the rude boy. Together, they walked away, Kris biting his lip again. "H-He was scary…" he muttered.

"Wait! Kris!" the professor's voice called out from behind them.

Kris turned around again, confused. "What's wrong, Professor?"

Professor Elm ran up to them, panting slightly. "N-Nothing…just wanted to give you my number. You have a Pokégear, right?"

Kris nodded. "Of course!" He tilted his arm, the Pokégear strapped to his wrist. The professor flicked it open and quickly typed in his number; he shut it and grinned. "Fantastic! Now then, you get going! Thank you!"

"Thank you, professor!" Kris said, turning around again. Nina, having glanced between them during the exchange, cantered out to be in the lead as they took their first steps onto Route 29 that led straight to Cherrygrove City.

"Here we go, Nina…" he said softly, grinning. "First time out with a Pokémon…should be fun, no?" Nina nodded her agreement, growling out, "Chik-or!"

Kris started down the path; off to the sides were a few patches of taller grass that had wild Pokémon rustling around in them. Suddenly, a Sentret leaped out at them, growling menacingly. Nina narrowed her eyes and growled back, leaning down and swishing the leaf on her head. "Chik-or-reee…"

Glancing between them, Kris grinned. "Wait, is this our first battle? Sweet!" The Sentret took the distraction and leaped forward, aiming to tackle Nina and knock her off her feet. She dodged to the left, skidding on the dirt path slightly. "Chi-kor!" She returned the attack and slammed her head against Sentret, knocking it into the grass on the side. The Sentret whimpered and scurried away, scared by Nina's power.

"Great job, Nina!" Kris exclaimed, kneeling down and hugging her. "You were amazing!" Nina growled lightly and nuzzled against his arms. "Chik-or-REE-ta!"

Kris stood up and nodded at her; they returned to walking down the road, heading towards Cherrygrove City and Mr. Pokémon.