The sun rose across the horizon, bathing the village of Blossom Town in glorious sunshine. The light leaked through Tom Kent's bedroom waking him from a deep slumber. He brushed his long brown hair out of his eyes, and rose sluggishly.
"TOM!" came a shout from downstairs. "You better be up if you want to get Professor Birch's on time!"
Tom jumped out of bed, and put on his beige khaki's and a black t-shirt with a logo of one of his favourite bands. He messed up his hair with some gel, and put on his favourite black trainers. He raced down stairs where his mother was waiting for him. She wore a purple dress and pink apron, and had her brown hair tied back in a bun. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying a great deal.
"There he is, my little Pokémon champ" she sniffed, holding out a plate of bacon and eggs.
"Thanks Mum, but you really didn't need to do all this for me. I'm only going to Professor Birch's to get my first Pokémon" Tom replied, embarrassed by his mother's display of affection.
"I know, but that means you will be heading on your journey, and I won't be seeing you for months at a time!" Tom's mother wailed.
"I know, but just think of all the postcards I can send you from all of the different places I will visit" Tom replied, guzzling down his mother's breakfast.
After washing down his breakfast with a glass of orange juice, Tom gave a quick kiss to his mother and darted out of the door, and ended up falling onto his backside by crashing into what felt like wall of bricks, but in fact turned out to be his best friend Walt, who was on the larger size, built like a powerhouse of muscle due to his many years of playing football.
"Sheesh that was like getting a karate chop from a Sawk" complained Tom, rubbing his backside.
"Sorry dude, I didn't see you there" replied his friend. He had short blonde hair cropped to his head, and was wearing brown shorts and a green t-shirt.
Walt helped Tom up and the pair headed off to Professor Birch's together.
"So, have you had a thought about which Pokémon you will choose?" asked Walt.
"I keep changing my mind" replied Tom, "I was up all night comparing advantages and disadvantages, but I think I will just choose the one that feels rights. How about you?"
"Definitely a fighting type, those are my favourite" said Walt, with a determined glint in his eye.
The pair soon reached Professor Birch's laboratory and stopped to take the view. It was large building, mainly made from glass with acres of land surrounding it with all manners of Pokémon running around.
A thin man came running out to meet the two boys. "C-c-can I take your n-n-name please?" he stammered holding a blue clipboard, and pushing his glasses up his nose.
"Tom Kent and Walt Russell here to pick up our starting Pokémon" replied Tom.
"O-o-of course, please steps this way. T-t-the professor is waiting for you". The man guided the pair into the large glass building, and into a large laboratory, with a tall brown-haired man standing there. He had tanned skin, and a brown beard.
Walk bowed while Tom stood there awe-struck. "P-p-p-professor Birch, these two boys are looking f-f-for their P-p-Pokémon" stammered Birch's assistant.
"Thank Gabe" replied the professor. "Pleased to meet you two. Please step forward".
Tom and Walt both walked forward to a bench that held three pokeballs on it. Professor Birch stood behind the bench and gestured to the three small red and white balls. "Inside these three balls are Pokémon. You are entitled to choose one ball and this will be your first Pokémon to join you on your journey to becoming a Pokémon master".
Walt went first, and picked the pokeball on the far right. Tom went to pick the centre ball, but then changed his mind and picked the ball on the left.
"Very well" smiled Professor Birch "please call forth your Pokémon to see who you have selected".
"Come on out!" both Tom and Walt shouted and threw their balls into the air. Both balls opened and white light poured out of them both. The light from Walt's ball took the shape of a small orange pig "Tepig" it snorted. Tom's light took the form of a small blue otter with a shell on its stomach "Oshawott" it said cheerily.
"Congratulations. Walt, you have chosen the fire Pokémon Tepig, while Tom you have chosen the water Pokémon Oshawott." Tom and Walt both looked at each other and smiled, before turning to their new Pokémon friends.
"Now, take these ten Pokeballs, and belt in order to hold your Pokeballs. Please be aware that you can only carry six Pokémon at any one time, and any other Pokémon you capture will be transported to a storage facility, which you can access at any Pokémon centre." Professor Birch then picked up two slim red devices and handed them to each of the boys. "These are your Pokedexes. When you come across any Pokémon in the wild, you can use your Pokedex to scan the Pokémon, and it will provide you with any information you need in order to successfully capture or defeat it in battle".
Tom and Walt took the Pokedexes gladly.
"Well boys that is everything. Good luck on your journey, and I hope to see you again shortly". Professor Birch smiled, shook both Tom and Walt's hands and escorted them out the building.
"Thank you so much Professor" said Tom and shook the professor's hand again. Walt did the same and both boys left.
"This is so cool, Tepig was the one I most wanted as he evolves into a Fighting type" said Walt, looking at his newly acquired pokeball smiling. Tom smiled and looked at his own pokeball. "I'm glad I got Oshawott too, I had a feeling this was the Pokémon for me".
"I know lets have a battle" exclaimed Walt, turning towards Tom with a glint in his eye.
"You're on!" exclaimed Tom and the pair took their places in a large field.
"Tepig, I choose you" shouted Walt, throwing his pokeball into the air, and the small orange pig came jumping out.
"Come on Oshawott" shouted Tom, throwing his own ball into the air, and the blue otter came leaping out.
"Tepig, Tackle" shouted Walt, and Tepig went charging forward towards Oshawott.
"Oshawott, dodge and then use Tackle yourself!" shouted Tom, and Oshawott leapt out of the ay, before turning around and charging straight into Tepig's back, sending Tepig flying across the ground.
"Tepig, get up" shouted Walt and Tepig pulled itself off the ground, and snorted smoke out of its nostrils. "Use Ember!" Tepig opened its mouth and sent flames shouting out towards Oshawott. The flames engulfed Oshawott, but he shook them off with little damage.
"Fire attacks won't work against my water-type" shouted Tom "but my water attacks should be effective against yours. Oshawott use Water Gun".
Oshawott opened its mouth and sent a stream of water straight into Tepig, sending the Pokémon flying back into a tree, and crashing into the ground. Tepig tried to send, but struggled and fell back to the ground.
"Tepig, return!" Said Walt and returned the Pokémon to the pokeball.
"That was a good battle Walt, but I had an advantage from the start" said Tom.
"I know, and it was the first of our many battles. We can fight lots of times as we travel around collecting our Gym badges" replied Walt.
Tom was startled by his friend's admission. "Sorry Walt, I was intending to travel around on my own and collect Pokémon. I thought you would want to do the same".
"But we are best friends, and do everything together. I thought we would travel together too. I don't think I would be much good on my own" said Walt solemnly.
Tom took a look at his friend's dejected face and sighed. "You're right, it won't be much fun alone. Of course, we can travel together".
Walt's face broke into a wide grin, and he hugged Tom. "This is going to be so great!" he proclaimed.
"Tom! Walt!" came a voice and soon Tom's mother appeared carrying two rucksacks. "I noticed you both battling and am happy to see you both got your first Pokémon. Here are your rucksacks to take with you. I've packed them with your clothes Tom, and lots of underwear, and I have put some food in there for both of you. Your family pass on their best to you Walt" she said.
Tom and Walt both took their rucksacks and gave Tom's mother a hug. "Bye Mum" Tom said "and don't worry about me, I've got Walt and Oshawott to watch my back".
Tom's mother began to teary-eyed again, but she sniffed back her tears and smiled. "Don't forget to send me all the postcards you promised! I want one from every town you visit!"
Tom promised he would, before giving his mother another hug and setting off on his way with his best friend, and his new Pokémon friend. It was the start of a very exciting adventure...