It was a bright, sunny end-of-summer day. The trees on the white brick side of town were green, if not small and sparing. New Moon Town was a small town, but not an old-fashioned one. The sun would not let up, no matter how hard the clouds in the sky tried to gang up on it. "Why don't you check on Riley? He's gonna be late for his meeting with Ms. Maple."

"Awroof!"

The staircase leading up to Riley's room seemed so big in the eyes of a Pupsky. But it was just that much more fun to jump from step to step when they were so big! The young boy's bedroom door was left opened just slightly, which was just enough for Pupsky to dig his nose in and crawl through the door.

Oof! Riley was shocked awake by the force of a small dog on his belly. Immediately after being rudely awakened, he got a wet tongue right on the bridge of his nose. Someone was also waiting in his doorway. "Hey Riley," asked the tall, large figure in the door. "You know what day it is, right?"

Of course Riley knew what day it was! It was none other than his birthday! He was so excited to find out what sort of presents he'd get that he ran downstairs before even getting out of his pajamas.

"Here, I ordered your favourite. Chinoughnuts," his dad smiled, patting Riley's shoulder as he eyed his favourite food. He scarfed down at least three for breakfast, and his dad had one. "You'd better go get dressed, quickly. Remember your meeting with Ms. Maple in about half an hour?"

Riley had completely forgotten! He gasped, before sprinting upstairs. Pupsky curiously followed him, and jumped on his bed when it realized he was returning to his room. It was time to choose an outfit. He pulled his favourite clothes out of their spots in his drawers and closet. His favourite faded navy-blue baseball cap, the red and grey vest that his father had gotten him brand-new for his birthday, which he wore on top of a very light grey-coloured t-shirt that he felt comfortable in, his red and white shoes that had yellow buckles, the purple bandanna that his mother gave him years ago, which he fashioned around his neck, the jeans that he'd worn so often they'd begun to rip and fray, and a pair of fingerless gloves that he'd received as a gift from his best friend Lilly, and finally he tied his black sweater around his waist.

He looked himself over in the mirror. It was quite the look he had, but he liked it. It would have to do, because he was already almost late! He dashed downstairs and straight to the front door.

"Riley." His father stopped him right as he was walking out the door. "I wanted to give you some things before you go. Your birthday presents from me." Riley smiled at his dad and closed the door behind him before sitting at the kitchen table, where his father handed him a large box. He peered inside, and was delighted at what he found. A messenger-style bag in a blue, red, and purple colour scheme. He'd been eyeing it in the store that he'd seen it in when they visited Vancine City last week, and apparently his father had gotten it for him! He gave his dad a big hug, but the gifts didn't stop there. "Wait, I've got a couple more things to help you kick-start your adventure." Riley's dad pulled a small cardboard box off the table. It had a little square hole in the top that was covered by a clear layer of cheap plastic, and inside was a Chinoughnut, a doughnut that was made with a special recipe popular in the Chinocko region. They were, indeed, Riley's favourite food, but they were also safe for consumption by Pokemon.

"One more thing, dear." His father's smile was sweet when he handed his son a small purple spray bottle. "It's a Potion. It's for use on an injured Pokemon to soothe and heal the wounds acquired in battle."

With that, Riley's dad gave his son a goodbye wave as he watched Riley skip happily down the white bricks that made up the south side of town.

The south side of New Moon Town was home to Riley, his best friend Lilly, and a family that had two children much younger than Riley and Lilly, both of whom were eleven as of today. The north side was the one more traveled, though, as it was home to Professor Maple's laboratory. It was also always covered in beautifully red leaves because of its very unique and specific geographical details. And right in the center of town was a black walkway which lead from the eastern entrance into the walled-in town to the western entrance. And right in the very middle of town was a fountain that was popular among the locals as a place to meet.

Sitting on the edge of the fountain was none other than the fashionable Lilly herself, checking through her own bag. She had hair of a deep, shiny brown as opposed to Riley's matte, cobalt hair. Her eyes, as well, in opposition to Riley's ebony eyes, were a sky-like sapphire. Her outfit was not very different to his. She wore an identical red hat, a blue crop-top blouse over a similar white shirt to Riley's own, only smaller so that it showed a cute amount of her belly. Instead of a bandanna around her neck like Riley, she had a scarf, though it was exactly the same colour as Riley's bandanna. Just like Riley, she had tied her nice purple sweater around her waist. She wasn't wearing any gloves, unlike Riley, but her pants were in a much better condition than his. And to top it all off, she was even wearing the same shoes as him, only hers had a slight heel on them. "Hey, it's the birthday boy!"

Riley smiled and waved as he walked up and rested his behind on the fountain beside her. Lilly had celebrated her eleventh birthday only three days before Riley, and as a result, she was invited to the same meeting with Professor Maple as he was. "Excited for our meeting with the Professor? I sure am! I wonder why she wanted to see us, as opposed to any other child in Chinocko? Probably because we live close to her house and her lab, but... I'm getting ahead of myself. How are you, Riley? Get lots of presents?"

Riley smiled and nodded, but there were still more presents for him. He could feel it. "Let's walk to the lab together, why don't we?" Lilly let some of the clear water from the fountain wet her hand before she rubbed the cold, refreshing water on her cheeks.

The laboratory was a noble building, even before they got inside. Even just approaching it, it looked grand. It was easily the largest building in New Moon Town, and it was built right into the wall that surrounded the circular town. The main door was on a tall section that was almost an entire storey taller than all of the houses in the town. To the right of the main entrance was a garage door that had a truck parked outside of it. The door and the truck had the same PokeBall-inspired logo on them. To the left of the main doorway was a small pond that was surrounded by glass fences to keep people from going inside. However, there was a door from the lab that led onto a small bridge that was attached to an equally small island in the middle of the pond that had a bench on it. It was... romantic. Especially because the entire north half of New Moon Town was absolutely flooded with red maple leaves, some of which were floating lazily in the pond's water.

"Let's head inside, no?" Lilly smiled, walking in through the lab's electric sliding main doors. Right behind her was Riley, who was practically hopping with excitement. Before walking into Maple's office, Lilly playfully repositioned her ponytail so that it rested on the strap of her messenger-style bag that was on her sleek shoulder. Then, she knocked on the black door that had a one-way window on it the colour of dawn itself. "You made it!"

"Professor Maple!" Lilly laughed, bursting with excitement.

Riley waved, grinning so wide every single tooth in his mouth could be seen.

"This is a very important meeting, but I'll try to keep it short," the Professor explained. "You. Are getting. Pokemon."

Lilly and Riley both grabbed each other at the news. They looked ready to scream. "Really!? My very own Pokemon to battle with and train!?"

"That's right, Lilly." The Professor looked oh so happy to see the children from her hometown so ecstatic. "But the Pokemon I'm going to give you are from a very endangered species, so you'll have to treat them with the utmost respect and care, understood?"

"Understood!"

"And it comes with a responsibility, too," Maple said, getting serious.

"A responsibility? I can handle it!" was Lilly's hopeful response. Riley pumped his fist, agreeing that he, too, could handle whatever responsibility he needed to have the privilege of owning his very own Pokemon.

"You sure?" questioned Professor Maple. "Okay." She nodded. "Because I study Pokemon conservation and rehabilitation, I need you both to gather information on the Pokemon you find throughout Chinocko while you're traveling it with your Pokemon companions. In other words, I need you both to fill a PokeDex for me."

"A what-Dex?" Lilly asked, confused.

"One of these." Maple took a red device out of her pocket. It had a cyan scanner on its top area, and a similar-coloured screen in its center. "Information on every species of Pokemon found in Chinocko, and even the world, is stored in a PokeDex. The Chinocko PokeDex was started by my great great grandfather, over two hundred years ago when he had to record his findings in a journal. Now, though, it's much easier to utilize this information because it's been stored in a device, which we call the PokeDex."

Lilly beamed, "that's really exciting! You want me to scan every Pokemon in Chinocko with it!? Even the scary ones!?"

"Yes, Lilly. I believe in you." The Professor nodded, her beautiful eyes closing gently as her head craned down, and opening into a new, more determined-looking pair when her head reeled back up. "I decided to ask you two for your help because I believe that the children of this generation are the future of our world, and we have to give them experiences so they can learn what is necessary for creating the utopia that humans have always strived to achieve."

"You sure are motivational," giggled Lilly.

"I'm also determined to help Pokemon," Maple sighed, "that get injured because of human intervention, and it's my liberty to relocate them to places they can thrive. But I can't do that if I don't have the information in the PokeDex."

"I understand." Lilly stomped her foot down, showing her determination.

"And you, Riley? Are you up to the task?"

He nodded and stood as straight as his spine would allow.

"Perfect! Now, Riley, because you're the birthday boy, you get to have the first pick of your Pokemon."