I walked along Route 1, the sounds of nature filling my ears. A Pidgey chirped out "Good morning! Good morning! Time to start the day!". A Rattata scurried through the bushes, searching for food. As I walked by, he stopped suddenly and looked at me sadly. "Food?" he asked. I reached into my pocket and tossed him a Pecha Berry. The tiny mouse happily munched on the fruit as I walked onward to Pallet Town, smiling to myself.

"Ah, you're the youngster from Viridian here to get a starter Pokémon."

Professor Oak, at the age of 65, was getting on in years. He was famous for accounting for all 150 Pokémon in the Kanto Region and winning the Indigo League when he was 12. But now, he handed out starter Pokémon to kids so they could start their journey. He always remembered the names of the beginning trainers and would boast when one would win a Pokémon League or Grand Festival.

He had seen some unusual children in his time, but this one took the cake.

The boy was wearing a dirty purple shirt and dark blue pants. He was wearing a ragged green hoodie and red sneakers. A ball cap was backwards on his head and his messy blond hair covered most of his forehead. A black backpack was hanging off one arm and it had a Pokéball design on the back. The bag was probably the best thing the kid owned; Silph Co. was known for their Pokéball logo.

'Of course, looks don't matter. This kid could become Indigo League Champion.' the Professor thought. "Follow me."

He led the boy onward to a shiny machine in the middle of his lab. Two Pokéballs rested on the silver pedestals.

"Of course, the starters are Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander. A young girl took Charmander already, but Bulbasaur and Squirtle are still available."

Professor Oak watched as the boy picked up a red and white sphere. He smiled and released the Pokémon. A tiny blue turtle came out. He had a light brown and yellow shell and stared at the kid. "Squirtle Squirt." he said, and turned away from the blond kid. In response, the trainer recalled Squirtle and nodded his head.

'Is this kid mute or something?' Professor Oak mused, but handed him a small red device. "This is a PokéDex. It automatically records data on any Pokémon it sees."

Surprisingly, the kid slid the PokéDex into his pocket. 'Most kids test it on their starter.' the Professor thought, but let it slide. He felt uneasy about this one.

"And here are some Pokéballs. They can capture Pokémon." Oak said, and handed him some miniaturised spheres. The boy hesitated, but pocketed them as well and waved goodbye as he left the lab, leaving the Professor baffled at what just happened.

"I'm not training with you. You look like you fell out of a dumpster!" Squirtle complained, but it was useless. They were almost at Viridian City, and he wasn't going back to the lab anytime soon. Squirtle huffed. "I don't like you." he said. "I'm gonna call you Trainer," he mumbled, but his trainer was either ignoring his angry complaints or just didn't hear him.

It was probably the latter, as the blond boy was listening for a Pokémon to catch. His head turned as a nearby bush rustled. A tiny purple Rattata emerged. "Hey. You came back to battle. Let's go then!" he cheered. The blond haired boy turned and sharply whistled for Squirtle, who rushed over and looked at him. "Are you kidding me Trainer? You want me to go against this puny Rattata? He looks weaker than you, and that's saying something."

That was the last straw for Rattata as he tackled the tiny turtle and started to use Hyper Fang. Squirtle struggled to counter with Water Gun to stop the attack from hitting him.

The trainer whistled again and Squirtle pushed himself out from under Rattata and jumped back. "What? What now?" Squirtle grumbled, breathing hard. He looked at his trainer, who made an "o" with his mouth. Smirking, Squirtle shot a Bubble attack at Rattata, knocking him over. As the tiny Pokémon struggled to get up, Trainer threw a Pokéball at the Rattata, capturing him almost instantly.

The Pokéball sat on the soft grass. The boy picked it up and studied it. It's round shape glinted in the sun. Smiling, he added it to his belt.

Turning to Squirtle, he winked at the turtle.

"What does that mean? Seriously? Talk to me here." Squirtle complained. "Why did I get the weirdo trainer?"

Hey.

So if you haven't figured it out yet, he doesn't talk at all.

Keep reading,

Ty8