Hello and welcome to Travelling Kanto. This story is about a pair of average, everyday trainers and their adventures. No evil organizations, mythical pokemon, or ancient prophecies here! We do hope you stick around and enjoy the story!
The sun shone across a bright blue sky, illuminating the unusually shaped clouds that filled it. Below this sky was the region known as Kanto, which was filled with pokemon, plants, and travelers hoping to achieve their dreams. Walking underneath a grove of trees between Pallet Town and Viridian City were two 10-year-old girls. One was tall and lanky, her auburn hair shaggy, shoulder length, and streaked purple. The other was shorter and rounder in body type, her sandy blonde hair falling in curls. In her hands was a red and white pokeball, and her green eyes sparkled with excitement from behind her round glasses.
"I knew you'd pick that one," The taller one, Tanya, teased. She put her arm around the blonde, Chantelle, and tapped the pokeball. Chantelle giggled, letting out a snort.
"How did you know?" She asked skeptically, pushing her glasses up her nose.
"Because you love grass types, you told me that bulbasaurs are cute, and there was a drawing of a venusaur on your desk last time I came over to your house," Tanya said, counting off her fingers. She gave Chantelle a triumphant look and twirled a lock of purple hair.
"I wanted it to be a surprise! I hate it when you find little details like that!" Chantelle whined. She pressed the release button on her pokeball, revealing a chipper bulbasaur.
"Saur!" He grunted. Tanya chuckled as he waddled over to her friend and nudged her boots affectionately.
"He seems to like you. Are most lab raised pokemon this affectionate?" She asked. Chantelle shrugged and patted him on the head.
"Most people at the lab chose charmander. There was the occasional squirtle, but for the most part bulbasaur wasn't very popular," She explained.
"Have you decided on a name for him yet?"
"No. I guess he'll be Bulbasaur for now. At least until I find something original," Chantelle said stubbornly.
"I could help come up with one," Tanya suggested. Chantelle laughed lightly, shaking her head.
"I'm sorry, but no. You don't come up with original names. Remember Dolly the pokedoll?" She asked. Tanya groaned and facepalmed.
"I think I still have that thing somewhere," She mumbled. "Mom tried to get me to take it with me.". Chantelle bent down to her bulbasaur.
"Alright, Bulbasaur. I'm going to put you in your pokeball right now. Okay?" She asked him. The bulbasaur nodded and Chantelle clicked the button on her pokeball, the object opening. A stream of sparkling blue energy replaced her pokemon, and went inside the pokeball. Chantelle snapped it shut and put it inside her backpack.
"Well, I've shown you my pokemon, now show me yours. I know your parents gave you one this morning," Chantelle said. Tanya shook her head.
"It's nothing special. It's not like they gave me an eevee or a dratini. And besides, he hates me," She said.
"He does not hate you! You got him this morning!" Chantelle reasoned. "Pleeeease?". Tanya sighed in defeat.
"You know I can't say no when you give me that look. Fine. But only for a minute," She said. She took a pokeball out of her messenger bag and tapped the release button, the sparkling blue energy forming a rattata.
"A rattata? That's it?" Chantelle asked, bending down to get a better look. The rattata hissed at her and she quickly backed up.
"Yup. This is Tate," Tanya muttered. She called Tate back to his pokeball and put it into her bag.
"Your parents got you a rattata," Chantelle said, her voice a mix of surprise and disgust. Tanya simply nodded.
"We should get going. Viridian City is still a little while away, and I wanna get there before dark," She said. Chantelle pushed her glasses up her nose and nodded. The two best friends picked up the pace, walking a bit faster than they usually would to make up for lost time.
Tanya arrived first at the edge of Viridian City, and turned on the heels of her black combat boots.
"Hurry up, Chantelle!" She shouted. Chantelle readjusted her backpack and tried to walk a bit faster. She eventually made it to the edge of the city and sat down, taking off her backpack.
Viridian City was much larger than Pallet Town. True to it's green namesake, trees lined the city's edge. Up ahead, they could see a pokemon center.
"We should probably go there first and book a room," Tanya suggested. "We should also have them take a look at Tate and Bulbasaur, just in case.". Chantelle stood up and slung her backpack over her shoulder, and they walked over to the large building. It was primarily white, with a scarlet colored roof and a sign announcing that it was the pokemon center. The two walked in and were immediately greeted by a blast of cool air.
The inside of the pokemon center was simple, yet pleasant. A counter was at the end of the room, a woman in a nurse outfit working behind it. Couches, chairs, and tables were around the edge of the center. The door behind the nurse most likely led to a supply room or urgent care facility, and a hallway on the right led to the rooms for trainers. The only other people in the center besides the nurse, Tanya, and Chantelle were a group of three trainers, squeezed onto one of the couches and having a discussion about different types of pokeballs.
"Can I help you?" The nurse asked. The two girls quickly walked over to the counter, rustling through their bags for their pokeballs. They took them out and placed them on the counter before immediately going back to looking through their bags so they could find their trainer ID cards. After finding them they placed those on the counters as well.
"We'd like to rent a room for the night and have a quick check-up on our pokemon, just to make sure they're alright," Chantelle said. The nurse nodded, taking a look at their trainer cards before taking the two pokeballs and putting them in a machine behind the desk. After a little while, the machine glowed and let out a little chime. The nurse took the pokeballs out of the machine and placed them back on the counter.
"You wanted a room too, correct?" She asked. The girls nodded and the nurse once again took their training cards and typed some things into her boxy computer. She then reached into a drawer in her desk and pulled out a key, putting it on the counter along with the cards.
"You'll be staying in room five. Enjoy your stay," She said with a smile. The two quickly thanked her, taking all their belongings from the counter and rushing off towards the hallway with the bedrooms. They walked down the hall until they found room five, and Tanya used the key to unlock the door. After unlocking it, she opened the door to reveal a small room with white walls. Two twin beds with matching cream colored sheets were at the back of the room, and a small window with green curtains was on the back wall. To the right was a small dresser, and to the left was a door leading to a small bathroom. The two walked over to the beds and set their bags down.
"We should take a look at those pokedex devices Professor Oak gave us," Tanya suggested, opening her bag and pulling out the red device. Chantelle did the same and the two opened the pokedexes, tapping buttons and getting the basics of it.
"I see. They're linked to our trainer IDs and pokeballs, and keep track of the pokemon that we've caught. It says here that Bulbasaur knows Tackle and Growl," Chantelle said.
"He also said that we can scan unknown pokemon with them," Tanya recalled. The two decided put them away for later, and sat back on the beds.
"Hey, we should have a battle. Test out our pokemon," Chantelle suggested. Tanya thought for a minute, then gave a slight smile.
"You're on," She said.
The two managed to find a patch of grass near the edge of the city that was perfect for their battle. They had left everything but their pokemon and pokedexes in their room, and were now ready for their battle. Tanya stood at one end of the grassy area, and Chantelle stood at the other. Both had their pokeballs in hand and tossed them forward, allowing Tate and Bulbasaur to come out.
"Let's kick this battle off with Tackle!" Chantelle said enthusiastically. Bulbasaur ran forward on his short legs and rammed into Tate, knocking him over. The purple rat quickly got up.
"Lower his defense with Tail Whip," Tanya commanded. Rather than obey, Tate ran towards Bulbasaur and tackled him back.
"Tate!" Tanya cried, shocked that he didn't listen.
"Um...use Growl and then Tackle once more!" Chantelle called out. Bulbasaur started growling at Tate, and after distracting him, tackled him over. Not even waiting for Tanya's command, Tate tackled him immediately back. Bulbasuar pried himself away and shot a few small seeds out of his bulb, landing around Tate. The seeds sprouted small vines that wrapped themselves around him and glowed. The rattata let out a cry of pain before slumping over.
"Well that was quick." Chantelle observed. The two returned the pokemon to their pokeballs and started towards the center.
"I can't believe he didn't listen to me," Tanya said with a sigh. "I guess being a trainer will be a bit harder than I thought.".
"At least Bota learned Leech Seed," Chantelle said, looking at her pokedex.
"Bota?" Tanya asked. Chantelle grinned triumphantly.
"That's the nickname I've decided on for Bulbasaur," She explained. Tanya smiled and put her arm around Chantelle, the two continuing to the center.
And that's the first chapter! We hope you enjoyed! The team listings for the main characters are located on our profile!