Hey y'all! I'm back!

I've missed all the love that this site gives and I'm hoping this story will be a successful one! This is my first Pokémon journey story so please give me all the pointers you can. As you saw in the summary, this is a SYOC story. I'll give the details on that at the end but for now, enjoy my Prologue. ^_^

Prologue

Prof. Oak and Dr. Maple

The gray-haired man let out a deep sigh. He walked over to the incubator that housed three spheres of red and white. The soft hum of the machine calmed his nerves only for a moment. Why couldn't it be like the good old days? The man thought to himself. Just then the opening of the door brought him out of his trance.

"Professor Oak?" His research assistant, Olivia, walked in. She walked in with her heels clacking in the quiet room. When she didn't receive a response, she prodded him again. "Prof. Oak? Are you alright? Shall I call Nurse Joy over?"

"No Olivia, I'm fine." Prof. Samuel Oak had recently reached his mid-70s and his age was beginning to show. He turned around and gave her the biggest smile he could manage. He wasn't about to let his age get in the way of what he enjoyed. Pokémon was his life. He grabbed his cane and began to walk over to his desk, where his clipboard rested.

Olivia watched as her idol and mentor did his best to not show his pain. Despite his wide smile, she saw the hollowness under his eyes and in his cheeks. His wrinkled hand shook tremendously as he tried to write his notes on the clipboard, but she knew not to press against his wishes. She smiled and walked over to him, as she pulled out her tablet from her lab coat pocket. Prof. Oak liked his traditional ways and didn't use many of the technologies of today.

Olivia was not even alive when Prof. Oak made his historic victory and became the new Kanto League Champion over 60 years ago. There were no cameras at the time but she seen paintings of his Pokémon team and heard the recorded battle from a radio broadcast many times over.

Then he stepped down from that position and became a Pokémon researcher. He devoted his life to study these brilliant creatures and through that created a legacy that the entire world knew. There was not a single person in the entire world who did not know Prof. Oak and Olivia loved that she got work alongside this legendary man.

"Subject 1 and 2 have stabilized. They will be ready for Trainer distribution. Subject 3 has a little abnormality with its health, so I want to run another test before we hand her out. Am I forgetting anything?" Professor Oak mumbled to himself for a bit, while Olivia made her own notes on her device.

"The trainers, sir?" Olivia asked and moved her blonde hair out of her face.

A wave of memory hit the elderly professor. "Oh that's right! The trainers, how could I forget?!" He waddled over to his desk and grabbed a stack of papers. "Here you go, Olivia."

She looked shocked at his request. "Sir, are you expecting me to select the trainers?" She was overwhelmed with feelings of fear and excitement. But she remained calmed and fixed her lab coat before taking the stack of papers from her mentor. Olivia tried her best to hide her emotions but she couldn't and gave a hug to the old man.

"Easy now. You don't want to hurt me," Prof. Oak chuckled. "There was an overwhelming number of applicants and I don't want to make a mistake." His face drew a dark and distant look. Before his assistant could snap him out of the trance, Olivia's phone rang and she excused herself for a moment.

Prof. Oak sat down in a nearby chair. He remembered when there wasn't so much paperwork to apply to be a trainer. However with the rise of trainer casualties, the Pokémon League decided that new rules should be added, like raising the minimum age limit to 16 for Trainers.

Media reports and the constant rise of technology tired the professor. He knew he couldn't do this much longer. He glanced at the incubator and remembered why he still does this work. His love for Pokémon was what pushed him. His gaze then returned to the stack of applications Olivia left on the table. Memories flooded his mind once again.

No. Reed was a strong applicant. She knew what she was getting herself into. Tears began to form in his eyes but he quickly shook them away. Being a trainer was hard work and he knew that only the strongest will survive. That's why he chose Dr. Maple to select the next batch of trainers.

Olivia returned from her phone call. "Prof. Oak? The reporter is here to speak with you." The elderly man got up and smiled.

"These damn reporters! What do I have to say that they don't already know?" The laughed and Olivia grabbed his arm and guided him out the door.

Okay I'm back and that is over. *Sweatdrop grin* Now that you're done with that you are here for one main reason. The SYOC submission!

I will be selecting about 9-12 trainers to enter my story and they will travel the Kanto region. Depending on the entries, I will also select the three Dex Holders that will get a Kanto region starter! All other entries will just be normal trainers that travel regularly. The entry form is on my profile; normally, I put it in the first chapter but eh.. It's just an little more scrolling and an extra click.

Oh and before I sign off, if you do submit an OC please follow the rules. All entries are automatically put at age 16 (No Exceptions)! Reviews are also mandatory! Hahaha! Thanks everyone and happy writing!