This is a disclaimer. It disclaims stuff. I do not own Pokemon.
(INTRO)
In the land of the Johto Region, a young boy started on his journey to take the Pokemon Gym Challenge. His ambiton? To hopefully become the champion.
Taking his partner, a Cyndaquail, and leaving New Bark Town, this young man, named Ethan (or Gold to his friends), left on an exciting journey of dreams and discovery.
This is not that you expected it was, considering how many Gold stories there are, isn't surprising, but it is a little sad.
This is the story of what was left behind, the Pokemon not stolen and the Trainer who probably should have seen that he was being used by a Pokemon Professor. That said, he wouldn't care either way.
This is the story of Nicholas, a boy so eager for a Pokemon journey he completely forgot that he has no experience at competitive battling. But hey, you can do anything you can set your mind to, so whatever.
(ELM POKEMON LAB, NEW BARK TOWN)
Professor Elm, the world's foremost expert on Pokemon breeding, was a calm, collected individual, who was at times a little scatterbrained.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!"
He was, however at this moment, dealing with a Pokemon who had proven routinely that she had as more eager for adventure than common sense.
As it turns out, having a rare and precious Pokemon stolen from right under your nose would make anyone a little nervous about it happening again. Thus, in his nervousness Professor Elm may-or-may-not have stopped Chikorita from leaving the lab as often as she used to.
In retaliation this Chikorita scattered all of the Professors new reasearch notes, which he'd spent all night trying to finish.
Suffice to say, neither of them was happy with the consequences of the Professor's decision.
Now the papers were scattered all over the floor, and the Professor grumbled aas he picked them up.
Suffice to say the professor was not a matter of fact...
"THAT'S IT!" shouted Elm."I've had it! Are you really so upset that you're the only pokemon here now?"
Chikorita responded by blowing him a raspberry.
"You can't really be upset that you weren't stolen, can you? That red-haired boy was crazy! You're lucky you weren't stolen."
The Chikorita huffed and went into her little corner to sulk. The Professor heaved a long suffering sigh and tried to think things through.
There's got to be a way to get her to stop moping, or at the very least, get her out of here so she'll stop trying to burn off excess energy attacking ME!
He still had the bruises to justify his mental rant. That Chikorita hit hard.
The Chikorita was, for want of a better term, adventure hungry. The fact that she'd been rejected by two trainers this week was probably making her a little antsy about ever getting chosen and getting out there to show what she could do.
Then the Professor saw the answer to one of his many problems. Nicholas, a young boy interested in Pokemon training, had managed to fill in the river alongside New Bark Town. Why he had done so hardly mattered at this point.
He was the solution.
Now, normally Professor Elm would never dream of dumping a Pokemon on an unwitting trainer. However these were not normal circumstances and he liked to think that, in the event that a Pokemon got left behind and started taking it out on a Pokemon Professor, said Professor would do what he had to to get the Pokemon from attacking him.
Also, if the Professor just happened to be knocking out two Spearow with one stone, well, that was just a benefit.
And so, the story begins for Nick and his Chikorita.
(WITH NICHOLAS)
Nicholas emerged from the river soaked to the bone. He was a boy of eleven, of average height, with what his mother called his father's hazel eyes and hair colour. Which made his dad a nut-eyed ginger. Or at least he saw it that way to make it funny. His hair also seemed to be perpetually shaggy.
One small victory was he had managed to keep his mom's pink backpack dry. There was too much of his mothers stuff from her own Pokemon journey in there to get it wet, which would surely result in him getting yelled at. Especially since she didn't know he'd borrowed it.
Of course, his Trainer Card was in his pocket, but it was a highly durable plastic anyway. Chances are, it was plastic for any trainers who fell into rivers, which he'd heard happened alot.
Nick laughed as he realized something: he was in the clear. The Pidgey hadn't seen him, so he wouldn't be chased by an angry Pokemon today.
"PIIIIIIIIIIIDDDDDDDDDDDGGGGG."
Or he'd spoken too soon.
The Pidgey had decided to attack, and while normally that was okay, he hadn't borrowed his mom's Pokemon today. Scooping up his bag, he did the rational thing and ran like hell!
He ran as fast as he could to his home, the Pidgey hot on his heels.
On the porch his mom was waiting for him, having found out he'd gone out without her knowledge."Nicholas where have yo-" she was abruptly cut off when the Pidgey, apparently realizing it could dive bomb him from that high, proceeded to do just that.
His mom shouted a hasty "Furret, use Scratch!" as Nicholas rolled to avoid the Pidgey's attack and his mother's Furret leaped up to Scratch the Pidgey.
The Pidgey screeched and, having figured out it was out of it's league, beat a retreat almost as hasty as Nicholas's own. The only real difference was the Pidgey wouldn't be in trouble when it got home. Right now, Nicholas was in trouble for the whole not-telling-mom-where-you're-going thing.
"So Nick, where exactly were you?" His mother's tone, while pleasant was betrayed by the way stiff posture she had adopted.
In moments like these, Nick knew he had to be calm, so as not to enrage his mother further than she clearly already was. While his mother was only a little shorter than average, she had red hair, dark brown eyes and wit he was pretty sure could cut razor blades. Or atoms.
Write now his mom wore a knee length sundress and sandals. Nick wore a red shirt and a pair of khaki pants with some black sneakers, all of which were soogy.
"Well, you see mom there was a thing with a guy who needed a-"
"Nicholas", she said, cutting him off mid-excuse."Never mind that. For now. Professor Elm wanted to talk to you." She was still mad, but was clearly she was as confused as him. Sure, Professor Elm lived in New Bark Town, but he was usually busy with some Pokemon related matter. Maybe he needed help moving something.
"Sooooo, am I off the hook or...?"
She glared at him and said,"Nicholas. Leave now before-."
He dumped the backpack and ran as fast as he could before she made good on whatever her threat turned out to be.
(IN FRONT OF ELM'S POKEMON LAB)
Arriving at the Professor's lab, Nick took a moment to look at the double-story building, trying to find the reason for Elm wanting to talk to him. Not that he wasn't famous, even if it was for constantly being chased by mad Pokemon, but the Professor was a busy man. Why would he call-
The door abruptly swung open, one of the Professor's Aides standing in the doorway."Ah, Nicholas, welcome to the Elm Pokemon Lab."
Nick smiled uneasily and said,"Nice to be here."
The Aide gestured that he should come in and, ignoring how wet his clothes were, said,"Come in, the Professor's waiting for you."
Nick followed the Aide into the lab, and stopped dead. The place was packed! And not just with books, but also with notes, machines, a few computer terminals, a few Aides and Nick.
Just then a green streak rocketed out of the back room and rushed straight to the door, which unfortunately put Nick in it's way.
Nick had no time to react as the streak Tackled him, knocking him onto his butt. He wrapped his arms around the Pokemon, though it stopped after the shock of jumping against a soaking wet Trainer. He got up and held it away from his body to get a better look at it. It wasn't the first time a Pokemon attacked him, but usually he had the pleasure of knowing what it was before it hit him.
The Streak was a small, quadrapedal Pokemon with what looked like little green buds forming a necklace on it's neck, red eyes, a single nail on each foot and a large leaf protruding from the top of it's head. It was a light green all over, with only its leaf and buds being a darker green. It was now looking at him with an odd mixture of shock, frustration and...hope?
The Professor hurried out of the back room with a Pokeball in his hand, most likely the ball of the running Pokemon. He was a tall, slender man with light brown hair, a slighty pointed nose and circular glasses. At the moment he looked like he'd gotten into a fight with Nick's mother's Furret.
"Oh, ah, hello Nicholas", said the Professor as he tried desperately to straighten out his coat.
Nick smiled and cleared his throat and offered his hand. "Actually sir, Nick will be fine. My mom calls me Nicholas when I'm in trouble."
The Professor took the offered hand and asked,"Oh, so not often?"
"Every other day."
"Oh." The Professor looked to be at a loss for words,which grew worse when he realized Nick was soaked and dripping on the floor, before he latched onto something he could talk about."Well, I bet you're wondering why I called you here."
"I might have forgotten after the...whatever that was."
"Uh, right, well." The Professor had no idea how to say what he was asking for. "Nick, I have a favour to ask of you."
Nick was surprised. There wasn't really any reason for a Pokemon Professor to request something of anyone but his Aides, since it was what they were paid to do.
"First though, what is it?" he asked, already suspicious. He was like that.
The Professor cleared his throat and said,"Well Nick, I'm sure you're well aware of the break in that occured in the lab?"
"Yes sir, the whole town is still talking about it."
"Oh", said the Professor."Good things?"
"They say it was one of the greatest screw-ups in the history of Pokemon Professors."
"Really?!"
"Yeah. Someone asked if you were going to resign."
"Well that's-"
"And that's not counting what the police said about you to-"
The Professor abruptly asked,"Nick are you a registered Pokemon trainer?"
Nick just stared, then asked,"Yes, why?"
A soft snuffle drew his attention to the Chikorita, which had taken the liberty of falling asleep in his arms, despite how wet he was. He was a little nervous as to what to do with it now, but the Professor, noting the sleeping Pokemon, said,"Oh good she's asleep."
Nick looked at the Professor and then asked simply,"Yeah, but why?"
The Professor blinked and then said,"Well, she was running around all day and it was hot. Your soaked clothes probably helped her cool down quite a bit, and after all that running she should be tired. But onto why I called you here." Here he took a deep breath."Nick this Chikorita's is the Pokemon that wasn't stolen. She has an incredibly adventurous spirit and seeks to go on a journey to grow stronger."
Nick blinked and asked,"Really?" Now he sounded interested.
The Professor said,"Yes, well the thing is that she wasn't chosen either and, as a rare Pokemon, I can't just let her go running around on her own. She needs a Trainer, if for no other reason than to show her the world."
Nick waited, and when the Professor said nothing else went,"This is where I come in right?"
The Professor smiled and said,"Well, seeing as she needs a Trainer and you're intersted in Pokemon training..."
He looked at the Professor and asked,"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" He had unintentionally caught his breath at the word 'Trainer' and was still holding it as he awaited the Professor's answer.
The Professor's smile grew as he asked,"Nick would you like to be this Chikorita's trainer?" He paused, waiting for Nick to answer.
It took him a second, but Nick finslly remembered to answer."YES, YES!" Then seeing how the Professor was looking at him he forced himself to show less excitement and said," I mean sure, you know, if you're offering."
Raising an eyebrow, the Professor said,"Okay Nick. If you're going on a journey you should take a night to rest and get to know your Pokemon, as well as tell your mother. By tomorrow I'll have some advice for you as well as any tools you may need as a Trainer. For now though, here's Chikorita's Pokeball."
Nick looked at the Pokeball in his hand, awestruck, and finally said,"Thank you Professor."
The Professor smiled and said,"Don't worry about it. You both have goals that require each other's help. I'm sure you and Chikorita will get along great. Now get going befor your mom comes looking for you."
Nick grimaced and asked,"Now why'd you have to bring that up? I was so happy to get a Pokemon too."
Nick turned to leave and turned back at the door and said,"Thanks again Professor."
The Professor only said,"Believe me, it was my pleasure."
As soon as Nick was gone an Aide rushed to Professor Elm and asked,"Is it gone?"
Professor Elm smiled and said,"Yes, but remember we still have to see if they take to each other."
The Aide nodded and asked,"So should I prepare his gear?"
The Professor smiled. If there was one thing he loved about his job, it was seeing new Trainers going on their way, knowing he had helped them start their adventures. He looked at the aide and said,"Of course! In fact I'll help." I just hope that Nick and Chikorita hit it off. Or that she's at least grateful to get a trainer. I'd hate to have to deal with her again.
The Aide turned back to the professor and asked,"Why did Chikorita Tackle him anyway?"
"She thought he was in the way of the door and saw it as the quickest way to get him out of the way so she could get out."
The Aide continued on his way, now sure that the Professor had made the right choice in giving that Chikorita away.
The only problems they faced as they prepared Nick's gear was when the Professor slipped on the puddles of water Nick had left behind.
(END CHAPTER 1)
AN:This is my first fanfic so if I suck let me know. Gold (or Ethan) will follow the plot of HeartGold, while Nick will deviate slightly on some the plot of SoulSilver. Of course most of what happens in the games will have to be cut out since Nick is not doing what the player is doing, but what happens after. Chances are Gold will make some cameos though. Tell me if there are any Pokemon that will balance out Nick's team and if you don't be warned that I'm planning.