New Beginnings

It was a fine summers day and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The air was full of chirping and creatures frolicked in the grass, but the onset of autumn was evident. Leaves had started falling from their trees, and you could smell the cold coming along in the air. But it was a fine day, and that was all that mattered.

"Hurry up, Polo!" shouted Ywazeey, sprinting down the narrow drive. "We're gonna be late for Professor Elm!"

"Hold on!" Polo sat on the ground, peering at the ground. "I found a Caterpie!"

"Big woop, Polo," said Hazza, walking past indignantly. "I see them almost every day. So hurry up. It's not that amazing."

"Hey, calm down," Polo replied, letting the Caterpie crawl up his finger. "Remember, I haven't been in Johto for seven years. I haven't seen a Caterpie for years!"

Ywazeey skidded to a stop and turned around to face Polo. "Don't they have Caterpie in Sinnoh?" he questioned.

"No," Polo said, absent-mindedly. "They have other bug Pokémon, like Wurmple, and Kricketot."

Hazza blinked. "Sound boring. Come on, let's go. We'll be late, Polo."

"Oh, alright. See ya, little fella!" Polo let the Caterpie crawl off his finger, and got up, following Ywazeey and Hazza.

A few minutes later, the three came to a stop outside Professor Elm's laboratory.

"So this is it," Ywazeey said. "Remember the starters we agreed on?"

"I get Cyndaquil," Hazza nodded smugly.

"And I get Totodile," Ywazeey flicked his hair out of his eyes.

"So I guess I get Chikorita," Polo smiled excitedly.

"So, Polo," Ywazeey asked. "You've done this before. Do we just go in, or what?"

"I didn't get my Sinnoh starter like this," Polo said. "Me and my friend, Dimitri, were attacked by wild Starly, and we took one each to protect ourselves."

"Starly?" Hazza said, confused.

"Starly," Polo repeated. "They're like Pidgey. Very common Pokémon. I've got a fully evolved one, a Staraptor, back in Twinleaf Town."

"Cool…" Hazza said. "Let's go inside."

Ywazeey reached out, and knocked on the door three times.

After a few minutes, a middle-aged man, wearing glasses, in a lab coat opened the door

"Ah, boys! Welcome!" Professor Elm said. "Come in!"

The boys shuffled in, peering around in awe at the Professor's lab.

"Now, boys," the Professor said, closing the door behind him. "I'm afraid I have some very bad news."

"What?" Ywazeey started in disbelief.

"Sit down, boys," the Professor said, offering the three a seat. "I'm afraid something absolutely terrible happened this morning. You see, you and two other trainers were set to receive starters today, so I had the local breeder bring in two of each starter. They arrived last night, but when I got up in the morning, I found that three had been stolen! Someone had broken in during the night and stolen a Chikorita, a Cyndaquil and a Totodile! I was shattered, and I had half the mind to not give the two other boys who came in here today their Pokémon. I'm afraid now I only have a Cyndaquil left."

"What?" said Ywazeey. "That's outrageous!"

"Awesome!" Hazza said. "I'm gonna get a head start on you suckers! Hand it over, Professor!"

Polo was deep in thought. "Who on Earth would steal three Pokémon?"

"Obviously someone who wanted some easy cash," Professor Elm said. "Now, here you go, young man," Elm handed Hazza a Poké Ball. "It's a Cyndaquil. Take good care of it!"

"Hahaha!" Hazza laughed manically. "See you later, suckers! I'm gonna go kill… I mean, catch myself some Pokémon!" He ran out the door and out of the town, headed for Cherrygrove City.

The Professor and the boys sat in silence for a short time.

"Oh well," the Professor said, finally. "I'm very sorry, boys, but you'll have to wait a week or so until your starters arrive. See you!"

The pair left, Polo looking happy, but dissatisfied, and Ywazeey looking absolutely pissed.

"This is sooooo unfair!" he raved. "Damn Hazza gets off with his stupid Cyndaquil, and we're left to hang around with our parents on the day we're supposed to start our very own Pokémon adventure! It's an outrage!"

"Oh well!" said Polo. "At least we get to embark on a Pokémon adventure eventually! There are some kids out there who will never get a chance to be a Pokémon Trainer like we do. People who don't get a Pokémon that grows to be as powerful as ours."

"I guess you're right," Ywazeey said thoughtfully. He then smiled, and began to run off. "Come on, let's go into the woods. Maybe we can catch ourselves a Pokémon anyway!"

"What?" said Polo, frantically running after his friend. "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna catch a Pidgey! I'm gonna start training it straight away! I can't let Hazza get ahead!"

"No, Ywa! It's not safe!"

The pair came up to the forest on the edge of New Bark Town. Ywazeey ran straight in. Polo reluctantly followed.

"How are you gonna catch one, anyway?" he said, tripping over a root and almost falling flat on his face.

"Poké Balls, man," Ywazeey said. "My dad got 'em for me one day when he went on a business trip to Goldenrod. Look, over there!"

He pointed to a small, two-headed bird wandering over near some berry bushes.

"A Doduo…" Polo said in awe.

"Hey, two face!" Ywazeey bent over and picked up a small rock. "How you like this?"
He piffed the rock at the Doduo's head. The bird Pokémon panicked, and tried to run away, but the rock hit it in the leg, knocking it over.

"Alright!" Ywazeey dug into his bag and pulled out a Poké Ball. "Let's catch this thing!"

He threw the ball at the injured Doduo. It hit the Pokémon, and swallowed it up in a beam of white light.

"Gotcha!" Ywazeey exclaimed. "My first Pokémon!"

"Wow," Polo said, stunned. "That was… really cool."

Ywazeey strolled over arrogantly to pick up the ball.

Suddenly, a blazing, fiery shape came bursting out of the bushes, knocking Ywazeey off his feet and kicking the Poké Ball away. The ball burst open and let the Duduo inside it free.

"Holy crap!" Polo said. "A Rapidash!"

The Fire Horse Pokémon towered over Polo, leering at him and lightly breathing smoke from its noses. It stood with its hoof lightly placed on Ywazeey's chest.

"Ywazeey!" Polo cried. "Are you okay?"

His friend groaned, and his head twitched slightly. The Rapidash stared at Polo, and slowly began positioning itself, prepared to sprint at Polo.

"Don't… move…" Ywazeey groaned. "Stay… still."

Polo nodded. The Rapidash continued to peer at him, the stream of smoke coming out of its nose growing in intensity. He shuddered, and whimpered softly. The Rapidash sprang.

"Go! Hydro Pump!"

A giant stream of water hit the charging fire Pokémon right in the side, knocking it over. The Rapidash tried to get itself up, then fainted.

Polo stood in shock for a few moments, then ran over to his friend. "Ywazeey! Are you okay?"

"He'll be fine," said a voice to the right of him.

Polo turned in surprise to look at the source of the voice. To the right of him stood a tall, European man standing next to Gyarados.

"My name is Luca," the man said, in a deep, brown voice. "I watched you and your friend from the trees. You have been very foolish."

"What?" Polo said, astonished. "How have I been foolish?"

"You should never let your friend do something as dangerous as that," Luca said. "You should have stopped him."

"How was I supposed to stop him? I don't have any Pokémon!"
"I've heard of you, Polo," Luca said, kneeling down over the fainted Rapidash. "I know what you've done. I've heard about your Sinnoh adventures. I'm sure you're resourceful." He poured a small amount of potion into the Rapidash's mouth, and it slowly began to wake up.

"Remember to stay alert, Polo, and watch your back," Luca pulled a Poké Ball out of his pocket. "People like me won't always be there to save you."

He rose the ball into the air, then threw it at the rising Rapidash. In a matter of seconds, it was caught.

"Make sure your friend doesn't get into anymore trouble, alright?" Luca threw the ball into the air, releasing the Rapidash. In a single fluid motion, he jumped onto its back, and put his Gyarados back in its ball. "Let's go!" He rode off into the distance.

Polo stood dumbfounded for a few seconds, then ran over to his friend.

"Ywazeey!" he said. "Are you alright?"
Ywazeey let out a weak roar, then sprang to his feet, enraged.
"That ASSHOLE!" he yelled. "How dare he be so rude? That little craphead! I swear, one day I'm going to track him down and beat the crap out of him! In a Pokémon battle, too!" he kicked at the ground furiously. "Asshole! Thinks he's better than us! Asshole!"

"Calm down, Ywazeey!" Polo grabbed his friend by the arm. "You're still weak. We'd best get back to town, and wait for our starters. It shouldn't be too long."

Ywazeey began to breath in heavily, then expelled the breath, sighing. "You're right. Let's go."

The pair walked off, headed out of the forest, back to the safety of New Bark Town. Little did they know that they had already been introduced to an important character of their very own Pokémon journey.