The Beacon Region is home to many various breeds of Pokemon and people. Anywhere you look, you'll find them soaring through the sky, climbing through the trees, or gliding through the oceans. The selection is great; it's quite easy to find many sorts of Pokemon there, from Abomasnow to Zubat. Many people come far and wide to the Beacon Region simply for the Pokemon League, despite the fact that it's only been around for a few years. Even within the region, you can ask many young men who are traveling, and they'll say that it's to become the greatest Pokemon Master, starting right in their home region.
Our story starts with one of these young men, going by the name of Ray Narvaez Jr.
Professor Matt Hullum had not been expecting anyone the day he met the new Trainer. When he heard the knock at the door to his lab, he had just finished up some research for the day and was beginning to clean up. He turned when the tell-tale knocking hit his ears; he quickly answered it in confusion. Standing on the other side of the door was a young man with jet black hair, slightly tan skin, glasses, and a sheepish smile.
"Professor Hullum?" he asked.
The man nodded, although he was still slightly confused. There was something familiar about the face in front of him, but he just couldn't place where from…
"Yes," he responded, "Yes, that's me. And who are you, may I ask?"
The younger man swallowed. "I'm, uh, Ray Narvaez Jr, sir. I was hoping you would allow me to have a Pokemon so I could begin my journey." He stated this as if he had rehearsed it in his head hundreds of times before arriving.
"Narvaez," Professor Hullum sighed, "Where have I heard that name before…?"
As the professor thought, Ray looked away, grabbing the hem of his purple and black, sleeveless sweatshirt and starting to twirl it in his fingers. He was about to respond to the question when the older snapped his fingers and smiled.
"That's right! You must be Adrianna's boy!" he mused. "Right, right, she married your father, Mr. Ray Narvaez Sr!"
Ray nodded, looking back to the other man. "Yeah, that's right. How did you…?"
"We went to high school together," Hullum explained. "She and I e-mail each other every once in a while. I believe she mentioned something about you wishing to start a Pokemon journey…" He slapped his hands together and stepped back. "Please, come in! If you'd like to be a Pokemon Trainer, the first step is claiming a starter Pokemon!"
The younger did as told and walked into the lab. Once he was in, Professor Hullum shut the door and turned, leading him towards the back of the building.
"I suppose you may not know who I am," he laughed. "In case your mother hasn't told you, I'm Professor Matt Hullum, although a lot of people here in Dirtbag Town call me the Pokemon Professor. You're from Nucom Village, correct?"
Ray nodded. "Yeah."
"So that means you came here via Route 20, I assume," he continued. "That's where I go to conduct a lot of my field research. As you probably well know, people do all sorts of things with their Pokemon; some choose to train them to be better fighters, others help them be beautiful for Contests, and some people solely have them as pets! But not me. No, I prefer to study them to learn about how they act and such. I usually am out in the field on Route 20, but you were lucky today; I've been just gathering my research and studying for a few hours now. Ah, here we are!"
Professor Hullum stopped in front of a table covered in a white sheet; from where he was standing, Ray could see that there were a few things under the fabric. Before he could even question it, however, the professor was pulling the sheet away, revealing lots of papers, bunches of small, different colored devices, and three PokeBalls.
"These are the starter Pokemon," he said. "Each one is a little different, so it may be a decision that will take a little while to make. It is a big decision, after all."
The last few words caused Ray to have to swallow. He watched as Professor Hullum grabbed the first PokeBall and was about to press the button in the middle when he suddenly jumped and turned back.
"Oh! I nearly forgot!"
He grabbed one of the small devices that had been residing on the table and turned back to Ray, holding it out to him. Ray stared at it for a moment before gently taking it, turning it over in his hands a few times as the professor explained.
"This is a PokeDex. When you open it and hold it up to a Pokemon, it'll record your seeing of it and where you are, then send it back to me so I can know where to find it if I ever need it for research. Your mother asked me to give it to you, in case you forget to call her to tell her where you are." He pointed as Ray opened it. "It'll also give you some information on the Pokemon it's scanning. Some versions of the PokeDex have a function for it to speak to you out loud, but quite honestly I always found that annoying, so I hope you don't mind." He shrugged. "I also hope you don't mind it being red. I would have given you the option for some of those other colors, but at the moment, this one is the only one that works. Now that we've got this covered, finally…"
He finally pressed the button to release the Pokemon within the PokeBall. It made a cry of joy and sat down, scratching itself behind the ear with its foot.
"Go on, try the PokeDex on it!" he urged.
Ray nodded and held the still-open device up towards the Pokemon.
"'Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokemon,'" he read. "'Shortly after it hatches, this Pokemon can obtain nourishment from the seed on its back.'"
"Interesting, isn't it?" Professor Hullum said. "Some say that the seed was planted on its back at birth." He grabbed the second PokeBall and opened it so the Pokemon landed next to Bulbasaur. Again, Ray held up the PokeDex and read while the Pokemon squeaked and curled up.
"'Cyndaquil, the Fire Mouse Pokemon. The flames on Cyndaquil's back will burn more brightly if it is startled.'"
He watched as it squeaked again and curled up next to the Bulbasaur. The professor laughed nervously and explained, "This one is a little timid. It might be a little hard for you to train, now that I think about it." He grabbed the third PokeBall next, pressing the button and letting it land on the floor on the other side of the two. It proudly said its name and stood with its arms at its hips, ignoring what was going on with the other two starter Pokemon.
"'Piplup, the Penguin Pokemon. Piplup can dive in icy northern waters for ten minutes at a time. Seems like a lot of trouble, but Piplup is too proud to accept food from humans.'"
He looked down in time to watch Piplup scurry over to Cyndaquil and grab its paw, trying to pull it away from Bulbasaur. It squeaked and pushed further into the Seed Pokemon, which only doubled Piplup's efforts. Ray felt his heart twist at the sight, having been in Cyndaquil's place time after time as he was growing up.
Bulbasaur then growled at Piplup, using its Vine Whip to gently push the Penguin Pokemon away and wrap up Cyndaquil. Ray smiled gently, glad that it was getting what he had never had.
"Alright, Piplup, that's enough."
He looked up at the professor, who was currently looking down to scold Piplup at his feet. It sighed and plopped down, crossing its fins across its chest angrily. Professor Hullum sighed and looked up at Ray.
"So? Have you decided which Pokemon you want?"
Taking a glance at the three in turn, Ray nodded. "I think I would like to have Cyndaquil, if that's okay."
The professor was taken aback. "Really? You want Cyndaquil? You realize that this will be a challenge to train a Pokemon as timid as this one, don't you?"
The younger looked at the Fire Mouse Pokemon again, seeing its fallen face in reaction to Professor Hullum's words. This just confirmed it for him, and he nodded again.
"Yeah. I think I'll be able to train it well," he informed. "Like you said, it's really timid, and, well, I have an anxiety disorder. So I'll know how to treat it when it's afraid and when it's not, so hopefully that'll be enough for us to like each other so we can get really strong." He looked at Cyndaquil, who looked back at him. "I mean, I'd like to if it's okay with Cyndaquil."
He barely had finished the sentence when it slipped out of Bulbasaur's grip and nuzzled itself into his leg.
"Well," Professor Hullum said, "It looks like you've got yourself a Pokemon, Ray." He handed him the PokeBall with a smile and patted him on the shoulder. "I think you'll do just fine as a Trainer, even though Cyndaquil might be a little tough at first. I wish you good luck on your journey, kiddo."
Ray smiled and nodded. "Thanks!" He turned to Cyndaquil. "Do you want to stay out with me or go into the PokeBall?"
It pointed to the PokeBall, and Ray quietly returned it. He thanked the professor and started to walk to the door; his hand was on the handle when he heard Professor Hullum say, "Oh!" quickly followed by a, "Ray, wait! I almost forgot!"
The new trainer turned and waited patiently as the older man rushed over to him, holding his hand out to reveal a few smaller PokeBalls.
"Here, so you can catch more Pokemon," he explained. "Take them as a gift, so you don't have to spend your money on PokeBalls until you need more."
Ray smiled and thanked him again before turning, opening the door, and taking his first step on his Pokemon Journey.
A/N: PokeDex entries can be found here
AO3 - Tumblr