The night sky hummed with life. Several Murkrow flew past, spreading their wings wide, heading for the park, where they could find darkness. A few Gengar floated past, with a band of Haunter and Gastly. Misdreavous' wails penetrated the silence. A young boy sat on the lakeside, the crescent moon shining on the surface.
" C'mon Jerry, tomorrow's your big day!" Jerry's mum said, from inside the house.
Jerry jumped up, his brown hair glowing silvery in the moonlight. As he walked inside, the family Glameow wandered over, purring deeply as it saw the boy she had played with since he was born.
"Glam," he said, rubbing her head, "It's sad that after tomorrow, I won't see you for a while".
"Go on, get to bed," Jerry's father remarked, " After all, tomorrow will be a hard slog to get to Sandgem Town, and then to Jubilife City."
Sighing, he walked upstairs, thinking about what Pokémon he'd choose. There was Chimchar, the Chimp Pokémon, who was a Fire Type, and was very agile, as well as strong. There was also Turtwig, the Tiny Leaf Pokémon, who was a defensively orientated Pokémon, and a Grass type. There was also Piplup, the Penguin Pokémon, whose Water Type attacks packed a nice punch.
Flicking on the TV, he collapsed into his sofa, and watched.
Search for the Red Gyarados
The appearance of the furious Pokémon in the lake!
A Lake Verity Rumour!
Despite the exploration teams best efforts, however, the rare, oddly coloured Pokémon eluded detection. The rumoured red Gyarados failed to appear, even fleetingly, to the crestfallen rescue team…
That might be worth a look tomorrow, thought Jerry, as he changed into his pyjamas. He'd heard that Lake Verity housed a legendary Pokémon, and he wanted to see it. He was still thinking about it as he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
The next morning, he woke to see his mother, Jessica, opening the door, frantically handing him a bit of toast with Milkanto Cheese.
"You're late," she exclaimed, "Quick, get dressed!" She hurried out, to give him some space. He swiftly got dressed, looking out the window, swearing he saw something in Twinleaf Lake.
He hurried downstairs, jumping the last few. He was light for a 14 year old, and his jump almost saw him careen into the front door, scaring Glam into hitting him with a Shock Wave, before stalking off, head in the air.
He rushed outside, tearing across the street, J-Walking over the road, until he arrived in town. He sprinted towards his friends house, only for Martin, his friend, to come out of his own door, crashing into him.
"Be careful!" Martin yelled, before laughing as he saw who it was. "Oh, sorry Jerry, you scared me. I was just going to the Lake. You wanna come?"
"Yeah, okay, I was going to ask you that! Lets look for the Gyarados!"
" Or that legendary that apparently lives there."
"Yeah, that'd be awesome!" Jerry yelled.
Suddenly, Martin took off. He yelled over his shoulder, "I'm fining you $10,000,000 if you're late!" Jerry quickly chased after his friend, struggling to follow his blonde hair. He saw Martin as he spun across the road, angering motorists, before following. He heard abuse being hurled his way, yet he didn't look back. His friend stopped as he arrived at the border of Twinleaf, waiting for Jerry.
"Why'd you have to run like that?" Jerry demanded.
"I don't know, I thought we should have a race, because, you know, soon we'll be competing in the Pokémon League together, and I will win, so I decided to start m journey on the winning side!"
His friend never paused for breath, making his sentences horribly run-on, due to his impatient nature.
" Anyway, lets go, last one theres a Slowpoke!" He set off at a slower pace, letting Jerry stay with him. They quickly reached the Lake's entrance, and dashed inside. The dense forest choked the duo, forcing them to run. They found themselves in a clearing, across from a man. The man was quite tall, maybe 190 centimetres, with a white moustache, and piercing blue looked about 60. His assistant, a young girl, probably about 13, stood by his side, her blue hair waving from side to side. They both came at Jerry and Martin at a frightening speed, the older man stopping.
"Let us past please" he boomed, glaring at them.
"Yes sir, sorry sir," the two boys stammered, before moving to the side of the path. The girl just nodded at them as she passed, acknowledging their existence.
"What's with them," Martin exclaimed, after they were out of earshot, " That must be the Professor from Sandgem"
"Hey look," Jerry yelled. " They left that briefcase there!"
The two boys ran over, but Jerry stopped. Martin turned, enquiring.
"Mum said to never go into tall grass without a Pokemon" Jerry explained.
"Oh, don't worry, we won't be in their long enough for a wild Pokemon to come out," Martin reassured.
Jerry nodded, liking the reasoning, before walking calmly inside the grass. Suddenly, two Starly flew over, attacking the two boys. Martin opened the briefcase, before shoving it too Jerry.
"Eh, which on do you want then?" he asked.
Surprised, Jerry grabbed the middle one, before throwing it. A Turtwig appeared, shaking its head, the leaf swaying in the wind. Meanwhile, Martin threw a Pokéball, and a Chimchar appeared, in a flash of white light.
"Turtwig, use Tackle attack, go!" Jerry yelled, taking the initiative. Turtwig charged forward, hitting the Starling pokemon with suprising force, knocking it over. The Starly hit back, with it's own Tackle, though that did'nt do nearly as much damage.
"Tackle, again!" Jerry yelled, as his Turtwig ran forward, smashing the Starly to the ground, unconscious. Martin had done much the same, 20 meters across.
Martin looked across, and jogged over. Guiltily, he asked " Do you think we should have done that?"
"I don't know, it was to save ourselves, I'm sure the man will understand." Jerry replied.
The two boys quickly walked through the dense forest, Martin carrying the leather case. Jerry walked in front of Martin, jumping over the logs that blocked his way. It was funny how he didn't notice them when he was terrified.
The duo finally arrived into the clearing, outside the forest. Martin pulled out his belt, before sending out his Chimchar. The Chimp Pokémon looked curiously at Jerry, before jumping onto Martin's shoulder, singing his hair with it's flame.
"Ow, Chimchar!" Martin muttered, before brightening. " Hey, do you need a nickname? I think I'll call you… Flare. You like it?"
"Chim, Chim, Char!" The Small Ape Pokémon yelled happily.
"Hey, Jerry, you should nickname your Turtwig!" Martin said, flashing his white teeth.
"Uh, I don't know, maybe." Jerry replied uncertainly. Suddenly, his Turtwig popped out of its Pokéball, nuzzling Jerry's legs.
"Hey Turtwig, do you want a nickname?" Jerry asked his pokemon.
" Turt, Turtwig!"
"You do? Well, okay, I'll call you… Thorn. Whaddaya think?
"Turt!"
The two boys and their Pokémon walked along the path, preparing to tell the man about how they had used the Pokémon. Jerry thought about lying, but Martin flatly refused, preferring the direct approach, just telling him about what they'd done. Jerry wasn't a big fan of what the Professor might say, but agreed eventually. As they settled into a silence, they saw the Professor and his assistant standing about 100 meters away, looking at them. Martin walked faster, waiting to get it over with. He started running with about 20 meters to go, forcing Jerry to sprint. The professor's assistant just stood, watching, leaning against a tree, apparently amused by the two boys running clumsily along, nearly tripping a few times. When they finally arrived, the Professor just stared, unnerving them, until Martin broke the silence, with a garbled version of events. He calmed down, realising that he was sweating. Jerry broke in, telling the story how it was.
The two boys had been looking for the legendary Pokémon, when they stumbled upon a briefcase. They were suddenly attacked, and both boys sent out a Pokémon, to defend themselves. Then they had walked out, and came straight here.
"Mhm, interesting" The professor cut in, before Jerry got to saying that they'd nicknamed the Pokémon.
"Well, as you've told me the truth, you may keep the Pokémon that you selected. Please visit me at my lab in Sandgem Town when you get there. I have something to ask you for in return. Come Dawn" And with that, he walked away, followed by his assistant.