Chapter 0: When you end up on a Pokemon journey while trying to find shiny Pokemons?
Despite the exploration team's best efforts, however, the rare, oddly colored Pokemon eluded detection. The rumored GYARADOS failed to appear, even fleetingly, to the crestfallen team.
That concludes our special report "Search for the red GYARADOS!"
7:30AM
I close my TV and walk downstairs. A red Gyarados? How rare could THAT be? The sudden appearance of oddly colored pokemon has baffled so many scientists...man I wish I could see one (or maybe even catch one). Okay no that would be pushing my luck, seeing one is enough for me.
"Haru! Barry came calling for you a little while ago! I don't know what it was about but he said it was an emergency" my mom says as she turns her head from the TV (probably watching the same show as I was watching earlier)
"Alright, thanks mom" I say as I grab a piece of jam filled sandwich and walk out the door.
"One more thing" my mom says, "Don't go onto the tall grass, wild pokemon might attack you. It'd be okay if you had your own pokemon but you don't so…."
"Yes, yes I got it. I'm off!" I say as I hurriedly run out of the house before she says anything else and keeps me in for the whole day.
One thing I really like about Twinleaf town is the fact that we have a lake right in front of our house. At night, sometimes, the water would glow and a strange sense of peace and harmony would fill the air. I remember swimming in the lake when I was younger and it was so refreshing! I greet our neighbour and walks away hurriedly (as I didn't want to be held up any longer) as he mumbles something about today's technology.
As Barry's house come into sight, I can't help but grin a little. Barry had been with me since we were little babies and our moms were best friends. We've been on so many adventures together and I bet today will be the start of another one. I wonder if he watched the special report earlier.. I can't wait to talk about it with him.
As I open the door, it suddenly slams right into my face and I bump right into a blonde haired boy.
*THUD*
"What was THAT about?" he says as he looks up. "Oh hey Haru! I'm going to the lake! You come too! And be quick about it okay? I'll fine you 1M for every minute you're late!" he says as he hurriedly runs away. Not for long, though, after about 5 steps he makes a quick 180 and rushes back into his house.
"Oh geez! I forgot something!" he says before disappearing into the house, leaving his front door wide open.
Good ol' Barry I thought as I walk into the house myself. He never ceases to surprise me.
"Good morning ma'am! " I say as I greet Barry's mom.
"Good morning Haru!" She replies "Are you looking for Barry? He was gone for a second but came rushing right back home. He can't sit still that boy, I wonder who he takes after?" She continues as she's eating her breakfast.
"Haha I wonder…" I reply as I go upstairs. Not you ma'am that's for sure. Barry's mom was always so calm and gently, quite the opposite to her son. I've never really had the chance to see his dad as he often goes on trips but I bet he's more similar to Barry.
Upon entering his room, I see him shuffling in one of his drawers.
"Oh hey! He says as he notices my presence, "We're going to the lake! I'll be waiting on the road! It's a 10M fine if you're late!"
That being said, he sprints right out of his house and disappears from my sight. Wow at least he could've waited for me. Oh well, there's no rush , I'll just meet him there.
I walk down the stairs I had just climbed literally 5 seconds ago (damn you Barry), thanks the mom and leave the house.
A few minutes later, route 201 comes into view and so does Barry. Crossing his arms and tapping his foot, his impatience is already overflowing and I hurriedly walk up to him.
"Hey, Barry!" I greeted
"Hey, you saw that news report that was on TV, right?
"Uhh which one?" I asked, though I was pretty sure we were talking about the same one.
"You know, "Search for the red GYARADOS! The mysterious appearance of the furious Pokemon in a lake! ""
Yep that's the one alright "Yeah! I saw that" I replied
"That show got me to thinking. I'll bet our local lake has a Pokemon like that in it,too! So that's what we're gonna do. We'll go find a Pokemon like that!" He said as his eyes start to shine. That's usually when Barry's mind is already out of this world and nobody can stop him from going on his adventure. That's what I liked about Barry, to be frank, he's not afraid to dream big.
"I bet! Let's go find out then!" I reply, as excited as he is
"Alright! Let's move! Hustle up!"
We both walk towards Verity Lakefront as the gentle breeze blows. The weather is couldn't be any more perfect for a brand new exciting adventure. After a while, a sign comes to view and the words "Lake Verity Ahead, The lake of Emotions" are written on it. I've never known why it was the lake of emotions but it does make me feel a little emotional everytime I see it. We walk into the place as an old man and another young boy comes into view.
"What's going on…?" Barry asks me
"Beats me" I reply.
The old man and his grandson (?) didn't seem to notice us as they were too focused on whatever they were doing.
"Professor, there's nothing out of the ordinary on the other side, either!" the young boy exclaims.
"Hmm, is that so. Something appears to be different than it was before, but…Fine! Its enough that we have seen the lake" he replies. "Lucas, we're leaving"
Ahh so the young boy's name it Lucas and the old man is a professor...
"Professor you've been gone for 4 years now, how are you enjoying being back in Sinnoh?" Lucas asks
"Hmm...there is one thing I can say. There are many rare kinds of Pokemon in Sinnoh. The region should serve us very well in regard to our studies. " He replies.
Studies? Rare pokemon? Woah, seems like they're some kind of scientists.
As the duo walks towards us, I walk aside to let them pass but Barry just stood there, lost in thoughts.
"Excuse me, Let us pass, please" the professor asks.
"Barry! Move! You're blocking their way" I say as I hurriedly grab one of his arms to move him.
He hesitantly moves aside and the two walk out of the lake area.
"What was that about? These two...HUH? Haru! Let's check this out!" Barry says as he notices something in the grass where the two were before.
"What is it? Actually, whatever it is, we can't go into the grass. Mom said there'd be wild pokemon that could attack us, remember?" I reply
"Hmm? Don't worry, don't worry, he says nonchalantly while waving his hand, "We won't be in there long enough for a wild Pokemon to come out."
I hesitantly follow him into the tall grass and an old, brown briefcase comes into view.
"It's….a briefcase?" Barry says, disappointed. "Those people forgot it here. What are we supposed to do with it?" he asks
"Well we give it back" I said, stating the obvious.
"We can try to deliver it, but who are they? I heard them say professor….WAHH!
We were cut short as two Starly come out of nowhere and starts attacking us.
"Po-Pokemon?!" Barry screams, surprised.
"What's going on?" I scream, as surprised as he is.
In the midst of the chaos, the briefcase Barry was holding onto, snaps open, revealing three pokeballs inside.
"Look! These are Pokeballs! Let's battle using those!" Barry exclaims, excitedly.
"Why do I have the feeling that you knew this was going to happen, Barry?" I ask suspiciously.
He probably knew who the professor was and did it deliberately just to get a chance to fight using the pokemons, and I fell right for it.
"Ehh, anyways, Which one do you want Haru? "
"Which one…? GAHH no time to think!" I cry out as I randomly grab one of the pokeballs and throw it .
The ball snaps open revealing a cute chimchar, all excited to battle. Which move should I tell him to perform? I ponder as I recall that all starter pokemons know very little moves and the most basic one was either scratch or Leer.
"Chimchar use scratch!" I shout nervously, hoping that the pokemon knew what I meant. The monkey leaps towards the Starly and scratches him with it's nails, making it unstable. As the Starly struggles to regain its balance, it growls and chimchar and I are forced to cover our ears from the horrendous noise. Before it has the chance to attack another time, I hurriedly tell chimchar to use scratch one more time and he does, bringing down the Starly that messed up my hair. Take that, you bird. I look at Barry and he also seemed to have somewhat chased away the other starly and he turns to me.
"Fwaaaah! Your chimchar totally rocked!" He exclaims, happily. "But my piplup was way tougher than yours!"
"Well geez thanks for nothing!" I reply, as happy as he is after winning my first pokemon battle ever.
Our brief moment of victory was cut short as we realised that the pokemon we used weren't ours.
But since we had to use them to defend ourselves, they won't mind, will they?
Just as we had those thoughts, Lucas comes rushing towards us and an expression of relief forms on his face as he notices the briefcase Barry was holding.
"Whew! You found the briefcase?" he says "The professor would've gone through the roof if he knew I forgot it here" he explains, scratching his head in embarrassment.
Barry hands him the briefcase and he opens to checks the content. His expression changes as he sees the missing pokeballs.
"Uh oh…" I whisper to Barry as Lucas glares at us.
"Did you guys….Did you use these Pokemon?!" he asks
"Umm well there was a good reason behind our acts…" I say, trying to justify our action
"Oh man….how am I gonna explain this to the professor?" He sighs, not hearing what I've just said "Anyhow, this briefcase is the professor's, so I'll take it, ok?"
That being said, he walks out of Verity Lakefront and disappears onto route 201.
"What was that about?" Barry asks, as confused as I am.
"Don't ask me, I don't know the lad." I reply
"Oh well. Let's just get out of here. My pokemon got hurt from that battle"
"Yeah, if we get attacked by another pokemon, we might be in trouble" I say as I try not to picture the consequences that might happen.
We both walk out of the lakefront and stride along route 201 to the evening breeze. Today had been an eventful day, even though we didn't see any odd colored pokemon, we still made quite the achievement. As our houses come into view, Barry suddenly stops.
"You go ahead. I know we have to go return these Pokemon, they're not ours." he says sadly. "But I want to spend just a little more time with this little guy…" He sighs as he looks at his piplup's pokeball.
Just at that moment, the professor and Lucas walk come into view, as if they were waiting for us.
"Hey, it's those people! Is that old guy staring at us?" He asks suspiciously.
"I don't know what he wants but he sure is staring intensely" I reply, a little suspicious myself.
"Hmm…" The professor says as he walks towards us. "I heard from Lucas that you used our Pokemon?" he asks.
"Y-yeah, we didn't have a choice" I reply, a little nervous.
"Let me see them please"
I hand over my pokeball and nudge Barry's arm who, hesitantly, does the same.
"hmm...Chimchar and Piplup...hmmm…"
"What is he doing?" I whisper to Barry
"I see...that's how it is…" The professor exclaims before Barry could respond to my question."Lucas! I'm going back to my lab!" He says and hurries back into Twinleaf town.
"Uh...yeah, of course!" Lucas replies, a little confused. "Professor, wait for me!" he shouts as he turns towards us.
"You should visit us at our lab later" He says, unsure of himself. "I think. We'll be seeing you!" he waves and runs back into Twinleaf town.
"What was all that craziness about?" Barry says, all baffled by the unusual turn of events.
"I certainly wouldn't know, but it does sound pretty interesting is you ask me!" I reply.
"That's true but, I mean, if he was angry, he could've just yelled at us, or whatever...and didn't he want their Pokemon back?" He asks, puzzled.
"Err, I really am as lost as you are buddy." I assure him
"Oh well. Haru, we should go home too…"
"Yep. Let's."
Back at home, I excitedly explain everything that happened today to mom as she prepares some soda. The adventure we were supposed to go on, the conversation between the professor and Lucas, the surprise attack by the Starly, my first pokemon battle and the conversation between the professor and us.
"Wow. I can't believe that happened to you." She says, after a while. "Am I ever glad that both you and Barry are unharmed" she sighs in relief.
"Yeah, same here mom"
"The professor you mentioned is most likely Professor Rowan of Sandgem town. I'be heard that he is well known for his studies on Pokemons. I heard he's also quite intimidating…"
"Yeah he is, alright…" I say as I recall the way he glared at us.
"Haru, I think you need to visit him in Sandgem Town."
"What? But he's so scary…."
"You need to properly explain why you had no choice but to use his Pokemon."
"But…"
"Don't worry! I'm sure he will understand, plus, going to Sandgem Town is like an adventure in itself, right?" she adds.
"Wow mom you sure know how to convince people." I reply
After getting a good night of sleep, I rush to Barry's house the next morning to tell him what we had to do.
However, he is nowhere to be found, So I decide to head to the professor's lab first.
On route 201, I encounter another Starly, but this time, I know what to do. My chimchar easily defeats it within 2-3 moves and I move on. I come across a sign giving tips for new trainers, telling us to talk to everyone we meet. Well that's different from the "don't talk to strangers" rule we've always had when we were younger…
Upon arriving at the professor's lab in Sandgem Town, I meet up with Lucas who was waiting for me right in front of the lab.
"Hi! I've been waiting for you! Please come with me, the prof's waiting to see you" he greets
"Sure thing" I reply
"See this? It's our lab." He says, gesturing the building. " We'll just go in and...OOF
As soon as he opens the door, Barry rushes out, running right into poor Lucas.
*THUD*
"What the...oh! It's you Haru!" he exclaims "that old guy isn't as scary as he looks you know! Anyways, it doesn't matter Haru. I'm outta here, see you later!" he shouts as he runs away.
"What...was that?" Lucas mumbles as he struggles to get up.
"Good ol' Barry" I reply, lending him a hand
"Thanks. Your friend always seems to be in such a rush. Anyways… let's go in."
Upon entering the lab, many bookshelves can be seen and scientists are busy shuffling around left and right. In the middle of the lab, Professor Rowan is seen standing there, as if waiting for us.
"Finally, you've come. Haru was it?" he asks
"Yep"
"Let me see your pokemon again."
I take out chimchar's pokeball and hand it over to him. He inspects it for a while and hands it back to me.
"This pokemon seems to be rather happy. Alrighty then! I'll give that chimchar to you as a gift!" he exclaims.
"Really? Thank you so much professor Rowan!" I say joyfully.
"You friend Barry told me what happened at the lake yesterday. I heard you battled very well, despite it being your first time." he continued. "From what I can see, there is a growing bond between you and that pokemon, though it is still young. That is why I would like to entrust you with Chimchar"
"Yes! I will take good care of it thank you so much!"
"Boy am I glad you're kind towards Pokemons" Lucas says "if you weren't, well….I don't even want to think about it."
"Haha! No worries there, I love them!" I reassured the lad.
"Er-hem! Let's move on to the main topic." Professor Rowan continued. "There is something I want you to do for me."
The professor then proceeded to tell me about himself, he's a professor who studies pokemons. He wants me to discover the different kinds of pokemon that live in the Sinnoh region and to do so, I have to collect various data using my pokedex. He then handed me a pokedex and told me that I was to go on a journey throughout all of Sinnoh and collect the data to be analysed.
"Now go! Haru, your grand adventure begins right now!" He said, full of enthusiasm.
"Yes! Thanks again professor, you too Lucas!"
"Since the professor also gave me a pokedex, that makes us comrades working toward the same goal. I'll teach you stuff later okay? Lucas adds, just as excited as I am.
"Sure thing! Have a great day professor!" I waved as I exited the lab, full of excitement.
After we exited the lab, Lucas showed me the pokemon center, the building with the red roof. We he then proceeded to show me the pokemart, the building with the blue roof. He then told me that I should go back to Twinleaf town and let my family know about my current situation. After healing up at the pokemon center thanks to nurse joy (who changed hairstyle and became prettier), I head back to route 201 and reach Twinleaf Town before noon thanks to the shortcut that a random guy showed me earlier.
"I see. So professor Rowan asked you to do something that big...Okay dear! Go for it! Your mom's got your back" Mom said with a big smile on her face.
"Thanks mom! I'll take good care of myself!"I replied
"Oh, I know, I've got something that you'll find useful." she said, handing me a journal."Gee,a journey full of adventure... I envy you kiddo. Plus, you're not alone, you've got your pokemon with you. I wish I could go instead!"
"Aww you could always come with me" I said, jokingly
"I'm just joking, dear!" she replied, apparently not knowing I was also joking earlier. "Yup, I'll be alright by myself, so you go and enjoy your adventure! It'll make your mom happy too. But you have to promise to come back sometimes okay?"
"Sure thing." I reassured her.
Just at this moment, Barry's mom comes in with a worried expression on her face.
"Excuse me, is my little Barry here? She asks.
"Oh? No...he's not" mom replies
"Oh...then he must've left already" she sadly says. "What to do...that boy shouted about going on an adventure, then he bolted. I at least wanted him to take this…"
"Not to worry, Haru will deliver it to him" mom said reassuringly.
"Won't you Haru?" she looked at me
"Of course I will ma'am don't worry about it." I answered.
"My boy is probably headed to Jubilife city...please take that to my Barry."
She then handed my a parcel, which I put in my bag and left. It was getting pretty late so I headed to my room and rested until the next morning. And that is how my journey to explore Sinnoh, where I will befriend many trainers and pokemons and also have countless battles with others, started.
