Ch.1: Viridian Contest Hall
The contest hall echoed with the sounds of screaming fans as Sarah and Alyssa sent out their pokémon. Sarah has been my best friend since we were toddlers and we were both starting our Pokémon careers together. Hi, my name is Mark, I'm 19 years old and I'm from the Unova region. Sarah and I used to live in the Almia region together until our parents decided to move to separate regions. Sarah went to Johto and I wound up in the Unova region. At 15 years old, we left home and decided to begin learning all we could about pokémon at Professor Oak's lab in Pallet Town. He took us under his wing. We were trained in all aspects of the pokémon world. We were given assignments and training as researchers, trainers, coordinators, and even Pokémon Rangers when he saw fit! During our study years, we met Jackson, a former Almia resident and the only other student who trained under Professor Oak like we did.
At the end of 4 years, we "graduated" Professor Oak's "academy". We were given time and the choice to choose our careers. I had always found a joy in battling, so I chose the profession of the trainer. Sarah however chose Pokémon Coordinator and Jackson Pokémon Ranger. We were allowed to go talk to our families and tell them the news, and Jackson got his styler and the title of Roaming Ranger. A Roaming Ranger is a ranger who is allowed to travel and give himself his own missions instead of following only HQ orders. We came back and were told that in addition to those careers, Professor Oak was going to give us "research missions" where we would investigate things and record the data on our Datadexes. A Datadex is the exact same thing as a Pokédex but we can record and transmit our own information besides what is stored inside.
The announcer made comments and…um….announced as Alyssa sent out her Pokémon. A burst of white light emerged from the Pokéball and when the light faded, in its place was a pokémon. The pokémon had pink fur with puffy rings of white wool around its neck and on the crown of its head. Its ears were cone shaped and striped black like its tail, which had a red bow and the usual blue orb at the end of it. Alyssa's smile turned to frustration as she looked down at the pink ruffled dress she had been forced to wear. Her light brown, short hair managed to constantly get in her face. Sarah sent out a pokémon with yellow feathers all the way down to its tail. The only non-yellow parts were its bill, webbed feet, and a little tuft of black feathers at the top of its head.
"Uh-oh", I said to Jackson, "Psyduck isn't going to do much good against an electric-type like Flaaffy." I was wearing my Sonic the Hedgehog shirt and jeans with plaid converse opposed to most of the crowd who wore fancy outfits.
Jackson's longer and lighter brown hair flipped slightly as he turned to me and said, "Yeah, but knowing Sarah, she'll beat her no problemo." I stopped for a second and wondered what it would be like to wear the red jacket and black pants of a Pokémon Ranger like Jackson.
I looked and saw the coordinator's mouths moving, giving orders to their pokémon. Flaaffy let loose a bolt of light-blue electricity, barely dodged by Psyduck. Psyduck began to glow with psychic energy and I could see Flaaffy wince as she was lifted and thrown to the ground. She broke out of Psyduck's control and the two began to tackle each other until Psyduck was sent flying across the room. Another stream of electricity was stopped mid-air by Psyduck's Psychic attack and the sheer force of the energy caused the stream of blue to implode. The audience gasped in amazement as the sparks from Flaaffy's attack shimmered down on the room. Psyduck then opened his bill and sent out a large stream of water at Flaaffy, knocking it over.
Alyssa's points were depleted and the judges had made the final decision. "The final vote is clear," said the announcer, "Sarah and Psyduck take the ribbon in an amazing show of beauty and power!" Sarah's proud face was shining on the screen as she and Psyduck rejoiced. Alyssa walked over and gave Sarah a congratulatory hug. Sarah could barely hold in her excitement as the judges pinned the Viridian City ribbon onto her dress.