Red opened his eyes slowly, waiting for them to adjust to the light pouring through the window. It was his 10th birthday and he couldn't be more excited. He had been told by his mother that today was finally the day.
In Kanto, it was a tradition that if you were willing, on your 10th birthday, you were aloud to leave their parents and journey the world with a pokémon.
Red threw on his jacket and cap and ran down the stairs.
"Red! Breakfast!" His mother yelled from the kitchen.
"Sorry Mom! No time!" he said, rushing out the door.
"At least take some toast! Red! Red!"
Red ran down the streets of Pallet Town towards a large white building with a windmill on top.
Professor Oak's Laboratory.
Professor Oak was arguably the most brilliant mind of the time. He had won numerous awards, made many technological and biological advances, and loved pokémon.
As Red rounded the corner, he saw Oak's grandson, Blue, standing in front of the doors with a look of determination.
Red and Blue were rivals. Everything one did, the other had to do better. And today was no different. Both were prepared to become the best Pokémon Trainer in the world.
"Blue!" Red yelled as he ran towards the brown-haired boy who turned towards him and smirked.
"So, you decided to show up. I don't know why. You're obviously going to be a horrible trainer."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"
Before the argument could escalate any further however, Professor Oak's assistant opened the doors and said, "Professor Oak will see you both now."
Both rushed in, each trying to get in faster than the other, almost running right into Professor Oak, who was standing at a table in the back.
"Woah, you two! Careful!"
"Sorry, Gramps. Just trying to show this poser who's boss!"
"I'll show you a pose, you sorry son of a-"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!"
Both boys suddenly snapped to attention.
"Now that I've got your attention, you remember why I called you both in here today, right?"
"You bet," Red said, getting excited.
"I'm getting too old to travel by myself, and I need someone to complete my most prized invention, the Poké Dex! Just think, a pocket-sized Encyclopedia about pokémon that anyone can use!"
"And Gramps? You haven't forgotten your promise, have you?" Blue asked.
"Of course not," Oak said, pressing a button on the table. Instantly, three poké balls rose out of holes in the table.
"Inside these poké balls are Squirtle, Bulbasaur and Charmander. You can choose whichever one of these you want. Red, why don't you go first?"
"Really? Well, okay. Let's see…"
Red looked at the poké balls before picking one up.
"I choose Charmander," he said with a grin.
"Excellent choice," Oak said. "Now Blue?"
"Well," Blue said, picking up a poké ball, "since Red chose fire, I'll choose water!"
"Okay then," Oak said, handing them each some sort of gadget. "These are you're poké dex's. I hope both of you will do well on your journeys."
"Thanks, Professor!" Red said, running towards the door.
See ya, Gramps!" Blue said, following close behind.
Once they were outside, Blue turned to Red and smirked.
"What?" Red asked.
"Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to battle me, but I thin it would be a waste of effort."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"I'm just saying, you couldn't hold a candle to me in a real battle, so why even try?"
"Okay, you! We're gonna have a battle! Right here, right now!"
"You're on, hot-head!"
The two boys ran to the opposite sides of the street and pulled out their poké balls.
"Ready… set… go!"
Both threw their poké balls and Squirtle a Charmander appeared on the street.
"Charmander! Use Ember!"
The small, fire pokémon obeyed and shot a sparse cloud of flames at its opponent.
"Squirtle! Dodge, then use bite!"
Squirtle went into its shell and spun out of the way, easily avoiding the Ember. Then, once it was out of the way and close to Charmander, and then latched onto it with its beak-like mouth, causing it to cry out in pain.
"Oh, no!" Red cried, as he checked the poké dex. It showed that Chamander's health was rapidly deteriorating.
Without really thinking, Red called Charmander back into the poké ball.
Blue laughed.
"I knew it. The moment you run into a little bit of trouble, you give up. Don't worry. I'll complete the poké dex for you."
And with that, Blue walked off, leaving Red sitting on the ground looking at Charmander's poké ball.
He had lost to Blue when they'd had similar contests in the past, but this was his first real Pokémon Battle. He wanted to be the best trainer in the world, but this…
Red suddenly snapped back into reality when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Professor Oak standing over him.
"So ya lost. Don't take it too hard. Remember: losing is the rest stop on the road to victory. Why don't I heal up your Charmander for you and then you can begin your journey to get stronger. Tell you what. There's a gym in Viridian City. If you go there, you may just learn more about what it means to be a trainer."
Red looked back down at the poké ball and nodded.
After Charmander was healed, Professor Oak gave Red a few directions.
"Just head north, through the forest, and you'll run right into Viridian City."
"Okay! I will! Thank you, Professor!"
And so Red ran down the streets of Pallet Town.
His journey had just begun.
Howdy, everyone!
So, Red's Pokémon Journey has begun.
This is a story I've been wanting to do for a long time now, and if you like it, check out my other story.
Also, I want to be clear that (in case it already wasn't obvious) that I'll be referring to the characters designs from Lets Go Pikachu/Eevee. I don't care if those games weren't well received by some people, I like them!
If y'all like this story so far, follow and favorite and until next time...
GibbyTheCookie, signing off.