Daniel Cardinal drank deeply of the fresh summer air. The sun had yet to rise over Viridian City and the day was just beginning. He looked out of place in his room in cloths for traveling, which was less than comfortable in the summer heat, and an overstuffed backpack thrown over his shoulder. He left his room and descended the stairs five at a time. Once in the kitchen he took out a small cooler and attached it to his backpack.
"Mom! Dad!"
He heard the rapid footfalls of his father down the stairs, and his dad entered the kitchen with a finger to his lips. "Your mother isn't coming."
"Ok, what about Jess?"
"I don't think she is coming eithe–"
But before he finished the sentence Danny's little sister, Jessy, walked into the room still in pajamas; her brown hair was a tangled mess, her eyes were bloodshot from crying and lack of sleep, and to complete the pitiful picture she was holding the hand of her favorite and ragged stuffed animal.
"Hey, Jess!" Danny made a special effort to be gentle. She refused to meet Danny's eyes except to glare at him before getting her cereal.
They left a short while later by car. Dead silence followed them all the way out of Viridian City and was finally broken by Danny's father. "So Scott's setting off on his Pokémon Journey, too?"
Danny grunted the affirmative.
"Good. It's always good to have a rival. You know his uncle and I…" but something he said made Danny turn away and look out the window, distracted from the rest of what his father's speech.
After a very short while, Danny and company arrived at their destination: a laboratory just outside of Pallet, overlooking the ocean. It rested at the top of a steep hill. Past the gate they parked in the lot. They rang the doorbell when they had exited their car while admiring the impressive silver sliding doors and high-tech doorbell as they waited. A bespectacled man in a lab coat answered the door.
"Come on in," he led them to a lobby that resembled a sitting room where they sat on a comfortable sofa, "the professor is with someone right now, he'll be right with you."
Danny assumed that man was an aide, definitely not the man they were looking for. They could hear the footsteps of a few people in the hallway, some of these footsteps seemed to exit the lab, and a single pair could then be heard approaching the sitting room. They all stood and Professor Oak entered the room.
Danny's dad greeted him first, "Professor Oak! Long time no see!"
"Yes, it has been a long time, Cardinal," they shook hands, "so this is Daniel?"
Danny nodded.
"Another one, hmm," Oak shook his head and said jokingly, "If you keep having children we might as well rename the Elite Four the Cardinals."
At that moment a thundering crash, made by the front door being flung open, sounded from the hallway followed by a booming laugh. Prof. Oak jumped up and rushed to the hallway, but before Oak made it to the hall a thick set man, grinning broadly, burst from the hallway.
"Oak! Great to see you," the man had wrinkles at his eyes from smiling, graying hair, and sun-brown skin, but despite these traces of age his smile and bright eyes showed signs of youth.
Oak returned his enthusiastic greeting and shook his hand.
"And Cardinal, it has been too long, eh?"
It was Mr. Cardinal's turn to smile widely as he shook his friend's hand, "No kidding, Greg."
Just then another newcomer entered the room. It was common knowledge among the company that the newcomer was Greg's nephew, Scott. The two had similar features, but for the difference in age and demeanor, they looked worlds apart. Scott had not his uncle's enthusiasm.
"As much as I'd like to reminisce with old friends," said Oak finally, "we have business to attend to."
"Of course," said a still smiling Gregory.
All smiles faltered at the sight of Danny and Scott, as they exchanged an awkward glance.
Oak led them all through the house, down some stairs, and into his lab. There were all sorts of computers and machines related to Pokémon. One of Oak's aides was at that moment typing on one; the text was filling in empty space next to a picture of a Pokémon. Oak led them to a computer with odd devices and strange buttons. The computer had a camera on its side and had what looked like two Game-boys connected to it.
Oak had Scott stand in front of the camera and a picture was taken. One of the red devices made a ringing sound and Oak handed it to Scott. Prof. Oak had Danny do the same and handed him his own red device.
"What you hold in your hands is a Pokédex; it has your Trainer ID number, it records your progress in the Gym Challenge, and has extensive information on all things Pokémon. It is even able to record new data on Pokémon; it's a high-tech encyclopedia. Are you two planning on taking the Gym Challenge or competing in the Pokémon League Tournament? Well of course, I'll explain that as well…"
Scott and Danny were experts on everything Oak was explaining, as they had been planning their Pokémon Journey for as long as they could remember, and as such Danny didn't pay attention especially since Scott was there and his mind was elsewhere.
Scott and Danny had been best friends since birth. Scott's parents had been long time friends of Danny's and they had both settled nearby so Scott and Danny were pretty much always together. They also turned out to have very similar interests. They both had always dreamed to become Pokémon Masters one day, and in anticipation of this they became experts on everything Pokémon. They watched all Pokémon League related events, studied Pokémon themselves, and even analyzed battling strategies. In this way they developed a rivalry to challenge each other to improve further.
Everything changed when their dreams became reality. On their shared tenth Birthday Party, Scott and Danny received their very first Pokémon. They battled each other shortly after and Scott won. Danny took the loss hard and isolated himself from Scott to train for the following week, then challenged Scott and claimed a victory for himself. The loss had a similar effect on Scott. They continued in this way until dominance had become more important to them than their friendship. Both Scott and Danny firmly believed that, one day, they would face each other atop the Indigo Plateau and battle for the title "champion." As such they considered each other rivals and believed the severance of their friendship was a demonstration of their resolve. They hardly knew it themselves, but they both deeply regretted losing each other's company.
Oak suddenly brought Danny back to the present, "Now, I know you both already have a Pokémon, but I was thinking I would jumpstart your Journeys with another one."
Danny heard his sister sob loudly and bury her face in her father's leg. Despite his sister's outburst, Danny cheered up and was suddenly alert. Oak gestured to a table with three Poké Balls arranged in a neat row.
"I don't normally do this, but, as I know you both, I thought I might as well. And I daresay those Pokémon would be happier with you two."
"What Pokémon are they?" asked Scott.
"Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander."
Even as Prof Oak said the Pokémon, Danny noticed a card for each ball with the Pokémon's names indicating which ball contained which Pokémon.
Scott immediately grabbed the Poké Ball behind the card labeled "Squirtle." It didn't take much longer for Danny to grab the ball containing Charmander.
"Oh and I almost forgot," began Oak when everyone made to leave, "I'll open you a Pokémon Box, to store your Pokémon."
They observed Prof. Oak in mild interest while he put in their info and opened a box. He put their Pokémon in, briefly, and took them out to show them how it worked. "It's neat, isn't it?"
Danny answered for them both with a shrug.
Prof. Oak gave them a reproving look, "You two could at least thank me for the Pokémon."
They did little to console Prof. Oak with their distracted thanks.
"Don't blame them, doc! I'm sure we were just as preoccupied when we started Training!" Oak fixed Greg with a similar look that possessed more amusement than reproach.
"Well seeing as Scott's my grandson I thought this moment might be more touching," said Oak sarcastically.
Greg just laughed and said something about "kids nowadays" and "you know Scott."
Oak guided them back up to the lobby and through the front door. Mr. Faulkner realized Jessy was no longer holding his hand, but was relieved to see that she was lagging in the back, talking to Prof. Oak.
After exchanging farewells everyone parted – everyone except Scott and Danny. Scott had grabbed Danny's shoulder as Danny was walking away. Danny span on the spot, "Hey—wha-?!"
"Don't you want to test out your new Pokémon?"