And it finally begins. After a lot of procrastination I finally managed to get myself to write this FanFic. So before we actually get into actually story like every good author I have a couple of announcements to make.
First of I would like to thank IcecreamSyndrome. Her story New Species was the motivation I needed to write my own story. As both storys follow a similar plot one can say I was inspired by it. If you have not read that story yet. Do it! Without it your life will always be incomplete.
Secondly, I would like to note here that this is my first FanFic, also I was raised bilingually. So if you find any typos or grammar mistakes (the odds of it are pretty good) let me know, leave a remark in your review, send me a PM, flame and rage at me, find out where I live and punch me (please don't) or try to notify my some other way. I really want to write a good FanFic and writing it correctly is part of it. Also I would love reviews. If it is praise, a question about the story, constructive criticism or even some flaming I would love to read it all.
Lastly, the disclaimer. Although it is a nice way to get the word count up it is pretty annoying if you ask me. So I will say it once and this disclaimer will be valid for this and any following chapters.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of the Characters that were presented in the games/anime/manga. Any OC that will make an appearance in this Fic is in fact a figment of my imagination or if not it will be announced in the chapter where that OC appears.
(Seriously guys, if I actually owned Pokémon would I be writing FanFic about it?)
Without any further ado I present to you "The Next In Line"
The Next In Line
Chapter 1
A Break In The Routine
Felix groaned when he heard his alarm go off. Groggily he swung his arm around and silenced the alarm with a good smack. Without even opening his eyes he sat upright and found his slippers in the same spot he left them last night. Before Felix really woke up, he was in and out of the bathroom and done with his morning routine. Still yawning descended the stairs to the ground floor. Anyone who was not used to this stairs would have probably ended up falling down them. They were really narrow and steep and actually could have been called a latter. But climbing these stairs all his life Felix had no problem with them even with barely opened eyes. He did manage to bump his head against the ceiling. He had grown a bit once he turned twelve and was still getting used to the extra height. Grumbling and rubbing his forehead Felix entered the kitchen of the small cottage that his father Kevin and he shared.
His Dad was of course already sitting at the table reading the newspaper and enjoying his coffee. A cheerful: "Good morning Felix" was left unanswered by his son. Felix found his chair, fell into it and starting eating his cereal.
Eating breakfast was enough to get Felix fully awake. He quickly fell into his post breakfast routine. Put away the remains of breakfast and give the kitchen a quick wipe. As soon as the work is done sit down and study. He would study until noon. Lunch is followed by a quick clean of the cottage and more studying. The sounds of dad's car coming down the forest road would signal Felix to start his dinner routine. Routine is comforting and boring. Routine makes you forget about everything except the task at hand. That is how Felix lived for the last couple of years and he was happy. However any small change is enough to knock one out of the routine harder than a Snorlax using body slam. His dad still sitting at the kitchen table after he was done cleaning was one of those changes.
Felix immediately was worried. Was his dad sick? That was not good. Dad had to work in order to pay the bills. But they had a nice cushion. He could deal with his dad being sick. He would just have to change his routine but that he could do it.
His dad let out a long sigh. "Felix, I think it is time you and I have a talk." A short pause "I think it is time that you finally go on your journey"
Felix was stunned by this. Did Dad want him gone? What did he do wrong? But at the same time the idea appealed to a small portion of him. Seeing the mixed emotions on his son's face Kevin continued.
"Felix for the last 4 years you have been living in this routine of yours. I think it is time that you finally moved on." Tears threatened to form in Felix eyes. But just as quickly they became emotionless, then curious. This made Kevin sigh again. That cannot be healthy for him.
"Anyway I already talked with Professor Oak yesterday. He has a Pokémon waiting for you, although he did not tell me which one." Again there was silence. Felix still did not say anything "Listen Felix, I think this will be really helpful. You did not have any contact with anybody else for the last 4 years. You need to come out of your isolation. Do you remember what you promised your mother?" This was a low blow and Kevin knew it. He had hoped that time would heal Felix wounds but apparently sometimes one just needs a little help.
At the mention of his mother Felix looked at his feet. After yet another moment of silence he looked up and finally spoke. "When can I leave?"
Felix soon found himself in his dad's car en route to Pallet Town. It was not a very long drive. Their cottage was situated just south of the Viridian Forest. The longest part of the trip was actually navigating the forest roads until they could get onto a proper one. Soon enough Felix found himself standing in front of Oak's Lab alone. His dad finally drove to work after making Felix promise that he would stop by before entering the forest.
Nervous about the whole situation Felix walked up to the door. Should he just walk in or knock. Unsure of himself he just stood there. Luckily the decision was taken out of his hands when suddenly the door opened and a man walked right into him sending Felix to the ground.
"Oops, sorry about that. Did not see you there." Felix looked up to see a young man with spiky brown hair. This man was wearing a lab coat and had some sort of coin hanging around his neck.
"So, you must be Felix. Gramps mentioned that you would be coming today. My name is Gary Oak by the way." Gary continued talking while helping Felix back to his feet. "So you are here to start your journey?" Felix still lost for words just nodded. "You belong to the quite type don't you?" Gary concluded with a chuckle.
"Not really, you just took me by surprise."
"Well whatever the reason, my presence is needed elsewhere. You can find Gramps in the Lab, just follow this hallway."
With those words Gary hurried off. Felix was about the say "Thank you" but it would have been pointless as Gary was no longer within earshot. So Felix did the only thing that was left to do. Wander into a strange building with only one direction given. What could possibly go wrong?
As he suspected not much went wrong. At the end of the hallway he found a door and behind it the Professor, just as Gary told him.
Felix knew about the Professor of course. Who hasn't? A lot of the books dad had brought home for him to study were written by Professor Oak. But Felix had to admit, the Professor started to look old. Mind you he always did in a way with his grey hair, but in the pictures he always seemed to have some sort of energy youthful energy. This energy seems to be leaving him slowly. Well nobody can live forever.
"Ah, Felix you are finally here. So your Dad finally convinced you to start your journey?"
At this Felix was confused. "Finally? He just talked to me about it this morning."
"Really?" Professor Oak raised an eyebrow "Never mind then. Let's get started. It's time for you to meet your Pokémon partner."
Felix was actually getting excited now. Dad told him a lot of stories from his Pokémon journey. Which kind of Pokémon he caught and who he battled. He also said that a Pokémon was a friend for life. Felix started to wonder, not for the first time, what happened to Dad's Pokémon. He never saw one of them.
The Professor got up and picked up one of the many Pokéballs that were lying around in the lab. How can he even tell the difference between them all?
"So Felix, you will not be getting the typical choice between the usual starter Pokémon. This has a simple reason. You did not come to the usual time trainers start and I just do not have the Pokémon yet to give out to new trainers".
Felix nodded at this. It was logical and he understood, although it bugged him a bit. He really wanted a Bulbasaur. But he couldn't get a Pokémon the Professor did not have. It would also be rude to reject a Pokémon the Professor was willing to give away.
"Secondly, I did not acquire this Pokémon in the usual way. This Pokémon was found during a raid of a Team Rocket base and seeing that it was very young Officer Jenny handed it over to me."
This confused Felix. His mind had already been thinking about alternatives. Maybe a starter from a different region or another rare Pokémon. It was a well-known fact that Professor Oak gave Ash Ketchum a Pikachu as his starter. But after that last comment he wasn't sure what to expect. He was actually a bit worried now. So he said the first thing that came to his mind.
"Wait, I thought Team Rocket was disbanded years ago."
"Technically, they did. But one does not simply disband an organization like Team Rocket. There are always some second in commands who are willing to take the lead when the leaders get arrested. Nowadays there are only some small groups left that work under the Team Rocket name. But somehow the Jenny's cannot get rid of them. It's like trying to get rid of cancer. Anyhow, you don't have to worry Felix. This Pokémon was born a couple of day before the raid. Team Rocket didn't even have time to do something evil to it and I have been taking care of it ever since. It seems to be a bit restless here so I thought it would be a good idea to send it along with a new trainer." With that he released the Pokémon.
In front of Felix appeared a Pokémon he had read about. It was quite famous in the scientific community. It had the basic form of a duck, although its crystalline body was pink and turquoise. It was about 2' tall and it seemed to levitate a bit of the ground. It tilted its head when it looked at Felix and sounded more synthesized than natural. "Porygon"
Felix did certainly not expect a Porygon. They were rare and controversial. Their Conversion ability had quite a few interesting applications in battle. After Pokémon and Trainer had a good look at each other, Felix could not shake the feeling that Porygon was analyzing him thoroughly, he crouched down and held a hand out to Porygon.
"What do you say, Porygon. How about you and me go on an adventure together?"
Porygon did not answer immediately instead it just continued to star at the young boy. This gesture actually made both the Professor and Felix nervous, as they both thought the same thing. Was Porygon going to refuse? The Professor finally let out a sigh of relief when Porygon happily said its name again and leaned forward to let Felix pet him. After a short while Felix stood back up and looked at the Professor who nodded.
"Well now that is done there is not much left. Here you have Porygon's Pokéball and some spares. Here is also the newest version of the Pokédex." Felix accepted the items and made to stow them in his bag. It was an awkward moment when he noticed that he had in fact forgotten his bag at home. Oh well, he was planning on visiting his father anyway. The Pokéballs found a temporary place in his pockets, seeing as the belt clip was also in his bag. Not being able to resist testing the Pokédex he pointed it at Porygon.
Porygon, the virtual Pokémon
Using the most advanced technologies, scientists finally succeeded in making the first artificial Pokémon. Porygon is capable of reverting itself entirely back to program data and entering cyberspace. This Pokémon is copy-protected so it cannot be duplicated by copying.
"Cool", after that short comment the Pokédex too was stored in his a pocket. Porygon was also quickly returned to his Pokéball.
After saying thank you and goodbye to the Professor Felix left for Viridian City and Professor Oak returned to his never ending research. Both were deep in thought. Felix thought about his journey and the Pokémon he just got and the Professor about his research and of course poetry. Neither of them paid any attention to the world around them. If they had, they may have been able to hear a high pitched melodically giggle.
That's it. I hope you enjoy it. I will try and update the story "regulary". I am notoriously lazy. Any future author notes will always be at the end of the chapter. Do not forget to review and subscribe.
Edit: Cleaned up the chapter and corrected several mistakes.
benthefirst, signing out.
Boom Boom Pow Away!