Professor Elm was more than happy to receive help around the lab, and couldn't help but go into a rant about how he himself started out as an intern in a pokemon lab. Now, anyone who knows Prof. Elm knows that once he starts talking, theres no stopping him. On Nick's first day, they did nothing but talk about the duties and disciplines of a researcher. An entire day spent talking. But the next day, it was all worth it. His first job was to feed all the pokemon, and make sure they knew he was a friend, and not an intruder. His hopes dropped when all he found were sentrets, ratatas, and pidgeys. "If I wanted to see a bunch of normal types, I'd go to route 29!" he thought. His wishes were answered when he thought he saw the beginning of a forest fire. But, something was off. This fire wasn't burning the trees around it. Curious, Nick moved in for a closer look, and found himself face-to-face with a sleeping Charmeleon. "Wow..." he thought "a real fire-type!" He stood there, wondering what to do now. It was tame, but that didn't mean it wouldn't attack him if it felt provoked. That ruled out waking it up. Disappointed, he left a bowl of food, and left a mental note to return later to see if it awoke. Little did he know that he was being watched by two red eyes; waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Nick continued his rounds, stopping by the pond to watch some water pokemon eat the fish food he had just thrown in. It was peaceful there; nothing but the flow of the river and the chirping of bird Pokemon in the distance. Suddenly, he heard a rustle from some nearby bushes. He looked over, but saw nothing and didn't think twice about it.
The attack came from the left.
CHIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!
"What the hel-Oof!" Nick was knocked over, and landed prone (face down) on the ground. He felt his attacker standing on his back, and knew he was a goner. "It's not fair! Just when things were looking up! I never even got my first pokemon! I've never had my first kiss!" he thought to himself. Just when he thought he would die, the back of his neck felt wet. "Oh, god, I'm bleeding! But it didn't hurt? It's bite must have paralyzed me... I'll be dead soon.." he thought. Just then, the attacker got off, and started lightly nudging his head. "Huh?" he said aloud, raising his head to meet his so-called killer. It hardly looked dangerous; it had cute red eyes, an adorable tiny tail, stubby legs, and dots around its neck. It was light green-yellow, and had a big, dark green leaf on its head; no wonder he hadn't noticed it hiding in the bushes.
Chi?
The pokemon sniffed him, and then smiled at the still-face-down boy.
Chiko!
"Now I remember", he thought, "It's a Chikorita!" Though not his starter of choice, he had nothing against Chikoritas. He simply liked Cyndaquil more. He got up into a sitting position, and properly greeted his new acquaintance. "My name's Nick!" he said, extending his hand to the Chikorita.
"Kori!" it responded, flinging it's leaf into Nick's hand.
"Nice to meet you too, Chikorita!" he said as he shook hands, er, hand and leaf with the friendly flora.
"You hungry, Chikorita? Professor Elm told me to make sure everyone is well fed."
"Chi!" it repeated, nodding.
After digging through the bag, he finally found a jar with a Chikorita face on the label.
"Here you go!" he said, pouring the contents into a bowl. He stayed while it ate, and picked up the bowl when it was finished. "I've got a lot more pokemon to feed, but we can play later. See you around!" the Chikorita reluctantly waved goodbye, and he was off.
Nick continued looking for hungry pokemon, and fed a few. However, none were nearly as friendly as Chikorita. He decided it was almost time for his break, but he wouldn't return to the lab without first checking on the charmeleon. To his disappointment, it was gone, along with the food he left it. Slightly disheartened, he went back to the lab for lunch. Fortunately, the one time you can have a conversation with the rambling professor is when he's eating, since he has to stop and chew food. So, over lunch, Professor Elm asked about how Nick's first day went. Nick told him about the charmeleon, the peace he felt at the pond, and, of course, about the playful Chikorita.
"I know the one you're talking about. She's one of the starters available for trainers that start next year." Elm said "Really? I thought she was some trainer's pokemon" he said, a little shocked.
"She hatched late, and missed this year's trainers. That may be for the better; from the way she already likes you even though you're new here, I can see you two would make quite the team."
"She's nice, but I'm going to get a Cyndaquil" he said.
"Is that so?" Elm replied.
After lunch, Elm said he could go, but he decided that he would rather stay and see more pokemon, this time without the huge bag of food. He hadn't gotten far when he was pounced by a familiar green blur.
CHIIIIIII!
Once again, he was knocked over, this time on his back. Standing on his chest was Chikorita. "Hi Chikorita! I'm done passing out food, so now we can play!"
Chikorita remained silent, and a devious grin spread across her face. She reached down with her leaf, and slowly reached towards Nick's face, and tapped him on the forehead, and squealed "Ta!". The instant the leaf touched, she ran to a safe distance. Nick didn't need to understand poke-speak to know what Chikorita just said:
"You're It!"
One year later
It was finally time. Nick just turned sixteen, and he would finally start his journey. By the time he was in the lab, he was shivering with excitement.
"Now, Nick, if I recall correctly, you wanted a Cyndaquil, no?" Elm said smugly, knowing the answer.
Nick had told Chikorita long ago that he intended to start with Cyndaquil, but that didn't make her any less sad now. Chikorita looked up at Nick, pleading, and Nick smiled at her.
"It was a tough choice, but I've decided there's only one pokemon I want to start my journey with. Professor, I want Chikorita."
The next thing he knew, he had an extremely happy grass-type nestled in his arms.
As he left his home heading towards route 29, he knew that there was no pokemon he would rather travel with than his best friend.