Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon – those rights go to Game Freak. I do, however, own the characters and areas mentioned in the story.
A reminder that this is set in an alternate universe, where Kanto and Pikachu don't exist – rather, there are completely custom Pokémon and environments.
With all that out of the way, let's begin the main event!
Chapter 1 - The Adventure Begins!
The sun rose quietly into the sky, a mix of oranges and pinks accompanying it. Each brick house in Poketto Village shined alongside the sunrise, with red rooftops matching the pale white walls. Bright, baby blue rimed windows accompanied the bright colour scheme, only contrasted by the darkness inside each house.
Gravel roads joined the buildings with the four main houses. A silver coloured building sat off to the left.
A thick forest acted as the walls for Poketto Village, which just about hides a small bungalow, close to the right side.
The bungalow itself isn't important at all, but the inhabitants are. Heath Robinson, aged fourteen, lay deep in his bed, snoring lightly. His brown, flyaway hair was propped up against his pillow.
As the sun rose higher into the sky, thin strands of sunlight began seeping onto the bed, eventually finding their way onto Heath's face. After a few minutes, he groaned, and found himself sitting up and getting out of bed.
With his posture slouched, and his dark green eyes hidden under tired eyelids, Heath stretched, yawned, and headed for his wardrobe.
Undressing out of his blue and white striped pyjamas, he changed into a white t-shirt and grey denim jeans, before making his way out into the kitchen.
Heath's mother was already awake, cooking up two plates of eggs and bacon. A mug, containing a pure mocha, sat on the counter, where two bar stools quietly stood. Heath pulled out the stool, sat down, and began drinking. His mother, overhearing the noise, smiled softly to herself.
"Good morning, Heath!" His mother called, her voice wafting through the air as bacon crackled in a nearby frying pan.
"Morning," Heath muttered. He took another sip, feeling himself slowly waking up.
There was silence between the two of them for a moment, as his mother served them both breakfast. Eventually, the silence was broken.
"The professor wanted to see you," his mother said, gulping down a serving of eggs.
Heath took a bite out of the bacon before responding. "What about?"
"Apparently, he finally managed to get his hands on some pokémon," His mother paused for a moment, drinking up some of her espresso, before continuing, "They're really rare, according to Aubrey. Can't be found anywhere in Bukyo."
"Then how'd they get their hands on them?" Heath had finished off his bacon by this point, and was now making a start on his eggs.
"Maybe from a shipment?"
"The only shipment they could've gotten, Mum, was from Deligram City," Heath gulped down the last of his mocha. "And that's really far from here."
"Well, you might finally be able to see Deligram City for yourself," His mother finished off her plate, collecting Heath's empty one as well. "Whatever happens, you should at least go visit him."
Heath sighed, and moved off the stool. "Let me go get dressed first."
"Your shoes are out here, remember that!" Heath chuckled, leaving his mother to clean up after breakfast while he got dressed.
Heath pulled out a dark blue zip jacket, slipping it on but not zipping it up. He nabbed a black cap off the top of his wardrobe. On the head of the cap was a white outline of Pex, which is just one of the many pokémon found within Bukyo.
He headed for the door, slipping on his grey loafers sitting off on a shoe rack.
"I'll be back soon, Mum!" Heath called, waving at the doorway. He lowered his arm and waited a moment for his mother's response.
"Alright, see you then!" was the reply given a few seconds later. Heath nodded, twisted the door knob, and headed outside.
The sky was pure blue, a few clouds in the sky. Heath could see Kumoki floating around in the wind, following the northern current. He could hear yelling, laughing, and just talking in general coming from further on in the village.
Taking long strides as he walked, he headed across the gravel path towards the silver laboratory. As he approached the wide building, two children of opposite gender ran past him, the young girl tripping on a small rock poking out at the edge of the path. Heath stopped awkwardly to catch her, stopping her from hitting the ground.
"You okay?" Heath helped her up, as she began to brush left over sediments clinging to her ankle.
"I'm fine!" She exclaimed, nodding her head. "Thanks Heath!"
"It's alright, Roxie." Heath watched and smiled as Roxie ran off again, looking for the boy she was chasing after seconds before.
Heath opened the door, letting himself in. Closing it quietly, he observed the main surroundings. Off the back, above three Poké Balls, was a golden logo, depicting a flask filled with some sort of liquid being poured onto a string of DNA.
"Professor?" Heath called. With no answer, he stepped forward towards the logo, eventually stepping into a brighter light.
"Heath!" Hearing his name, Heath turned around to face a young girl with long, dark pink hair. She wore a lab coat with the same logo stitched onto one of the pockets.
"Aubrey! Good to see you again!" Heath called, holding out his hand. The two shook, nodding to each other.
"I suppose you're here for the pokémon?" Aubrey asked, grabbing a nearby clipboard. Attached to the clipboard by string was a black pen.
"I've been waiting for four years, now's a good time than ever to start!" Heath answered, sarcasm visible in his voice. He smiled, before glancing over to the Poké Balls which were sitting on a nearby counter. "How'd you get these anyway?"
"We've had them for about two years now, actually." Aubrey explained, catching Heath's attention. "When we first received them, we evolved them, added them to the Pokédex, and bred them."
Heath nodded. "Makes sense. Don't want to make the same mistake as last time."
"Exactly."
"Where's the professor, actually?" Heath asked, looking around the lab.
"Professor Madrone has important work to do. It seems like he's discovered a brand-new typing, and he needs time to research it."
"Well, let's open the –"
"Not so fast." Aubrey cut off Heath, causing him to sigh.
"Why not?" Heath asked, slouching.
"We're waiting on two more. There's William, who you probably know."
Heath chuckled. "Willy's been waiting two years. Little less than me, but he's done so much more research than me."
Aubrey nodded, before continuing, "And Connor. He lives here with his Aunt. Remember Roxie?"
Heath thought back to when he stopped Roxie from falling over. "Of course, I do."
"Roxie is Connor's cousin. He's a bit to himself though."
Heath mulled the two over in his head. "So, where are they?"
As if on cue, William burst through the door, falling over behind Heath. "I'm here…!" He gasped, completely out of breath.
"Slept in, did ya?" Heath grabbed William's arm and helped him up.
"Yeah… didn't want to be late, so I ran over here," William gasped, taking in breaths where he could. Eventually he stood up, taking deeper breaths than before.
"Good, good… Then I suppose we can begin?" Aubrey asked, writing down what could be conceived as information on her clipboard.
"What about Connor?" Heath asked, looking over at Aubrey.
"He's on his way, but it's fine. I'll let you two pick first."
"Alright!" William made a mad dash for the balls. Instead of reaching them, he snapped backwards as Heath grabbed his arm.
"Hey!" He yelled, turning to face Heath. "What gives?"
"Who said you were going first?" Heath sneered, looking William in the eye.
In response, William jerked his arm back. "Fine, scissors-paper-rock?"
Heath let out a chuckled and held up a fist. "Fine by me."
William held out his fist, smiling.
"Scissors…Paper…Rock!" The two called out. William chose Paper, and Heath chose Rock.
"Hah! I win!" William yelped, throwing his open hand into the air. Heath sighed, closing his fist before opening it.
Aubrey giggled at the two, before grabbed the three Poké Balls, and throwing them forward. The clicking and noises of the three newfound pokémon caught the two boys' attention, and they turned to look at their future partners – a tiger cub, coloured green while having a metal plate on his tail; A tadpole, floating comfortably in the air, with its body moved into a zig-zag formation; and a frog, with small holes in its body that were producing wafts of smoke.
Aubrey gestured to the three animals. "Here are the pokémon – Kuba," She pointed to the small tiger cub, which rose his posture up and smiled, "Tadshi," Next came the tadpole, who did a small flip, looking up at them with large eyes, "and Kaerog." The frog gave of a low croak, its tired eyelids covering red eyes. Neither male could tell if he was looking at them or looking at their feet.
"Who do you choose?" Aubrey lifted her hand back up, grabbing the pen and holding it above the clipboard.
William shook his head, snapping himself out of his stupor. He bound up to the pokémon, kneeling to look at them in the eye.
"They both look so good…" He looked over the three of them, but his eyes were eventually drawn to Kaerog. "Pollucroak are really rare… so I'll pick Kaerog!" William scratched under the Kaerogs' chin, watching the small frog close its eyes and let out another croak, this one sounding like relief.
Aubrey jotted down notes on the clipboard, before looking back up at William. "Would you like to give it a name?"
William sat there for a few moments, thinking it over. Eventually, he shook his head. "I can't really think of anything, so… no, I guess not."
Aubrey continued to jot down notes nodding, before pulling off two papers and placing them in a nearby folder. "And you, Heath?"
Heath wasted no time in picking his pokémon. "I'll pick Kuba."
"Excellent choice." Aubrey started writing on third page, seemingly writing as if she was typing.
"And I won't give it a nickname."
Aubrey nodded, taking off the third page and putting it in the folder, before putting down the clipboard entirely. She grabbed two of the Poké Balls, handing them to the boys. Tadshi floated down to the ground, laying down sadly, before being sucked back into his Poké Ball.
"Now, let's get down to business." Aubrey spoke in a serious tone, catching the attention of the two boys. William returned Kaerog, while Kuba hopped up onto Heath's shoulder.
"The Professor has asked me to give you these." Aubrey pulled out two small red devices. They looked almost like books, and as Heath opened them, they revealed two small screens. Pressing the button underneath the screen on the left brought the machine to life, showing a simple title.
"Pokédex+?" William asked, staring at the strange device.
"That's one of our designs. Not only does it act as fillable encyclopedia for pokémon, it also acts as a mobile phone, a handheld console, moveset reminder, and an item teleporter. Any questions before I continue?"
Heath raised his hand, which lead to Aubrey rolling her eyes. "You don't have to raise your hand, but yes, Heath?"
"Moveset reminder? Item Teleporter?" Heath asked, looking up at Aubrey.
"The moveset reminder will show you the movesets of your pokémon, in case you forget. The Item teleporter will take items you have in your bag, such as potions or Poké Balls, and teleport them to the second screen. It also allows you to put items back in your bag."
"Awesome!" William cried, closing the Pokédex+.
"May I mention, that you will need these." Aubrey handed the two boys bags, which fit comfortably on their shoulders. "As the item transporter feature is relatively new, you will require these backpacks, as they are the ones we have used for testing."
"It feels heavy." Heath commented, slipping the Pokédex+ into one of the pockets on his jacket.
"Included with the bag are 5 Poké Balls, 3 Oran Berries, and a Potion," Aubrey explained. "The final thing I'd like to present you with is the PokéReader."
"Yes!" William exclaimed through clenched teeth. He nabbed the PokéReader out of Aubrey's hand, sifting it comfortably in his ear. Heath, not knowing what the device was or what it was capable of, followed in William's movements.
"This is automatically connected to your Pokédex+. It acts as a microphone, although it is capable of much more."
"Like?" Heath asked. William's jaw dropped, as he stared at Heath in shock.
"What do you mean, like?!" William yelled, scaring Kuba off Heath's shoulder.
"Calm yourself William." Aubrey spoke, to which William obeyed. She then turned to face Heath. "The PokéReader can show you your pokémon's type, how hurt they are, how experienced they are, and how much closer they are to evolving, using a term known as 'levels'. It's perfect for any trainer, especially technical and impatient ones."
"How do I use it?" Heath asked, William groaning in the background.
"Simply put your hand on the main circle, and swipe in front of your face." Aubrey explained.
Heath did what he was told, and his vision turned to blue for a split second. When he turned to face Kuba, he saw a small circle underneath him, with two bars etching off it. In the circle was a leaf, with the top bar filled with yellow, and the bottom bar filled a quarter of the way with blue. The words 'Kuba' sat at the top of the yellow bar, with the letters, 'L.V' next to it. The number five was at the end of the long line of text.
"The yellow bar is their health, the blue bar is how much more they've got to go until they, 'level up', and the L-V is their level now. When the blue bar fills up, the number counts, and it'll keep doing that until it hits one hundred." Aubrey explained.
"And the leaf?" Heath asked, flicking the screen back into the reader.
"That's the pokémon's typing." Heath nodded slowly, while Kuba, curious of his newfound trainer's actions, looked up at him.
"Ku?" he asked, knocking Heath out of his stupor.
"It's fine Kuba. Don't worry." Heath flicked his hand in the air, shaking his head. Kuba looked down, before being sucked back into his Poké Ball.
"Well," Aubrey sighed deeply, smiling at the two. "That's about it, really. There's over two hundred pokémon in Bukyo, so you boys should be able to fill that Pokédex up to one hundred at least."
"Well, I know what I'm doing," William spoke, catching the two's attention. "I'll be filling out the Pokédex as best as I can."
"While you do that," Heath added, "I'll grab up the rights as Champion of Bukyo."
"Well, you both have ambitious goals." Aubrey smiled. "You go get started, and I'll wait for Connor."
"Connor!" Heath snapped his fingers. "Almost forgot about him!"
"Who's Connor?" William asked quietly, looking at Heath.
"Roxie's cousin." Heath answered. William rose his head with a small, "Ah…," before turning for the door.
"Come on, Heath!" The boy in question turned to face William, who was holding the door open. "I'll meet you at Route one for a pokémon battle!"
"You do that!" Heath called after him. "There's a few things I gotta do first!"
"Don't keep me waiting!" And with that, William was gone.
Heath turned to face Aubrey, smiling gently. "It was good to see you again."
"You too." Aubrey answered with her own smile. "Now go on. William's waiting."
Heath nodded, and exited back out into Poketto Village. His adventure was only just beginning.
Finishing Note: And that's the first chapter over and done with! I spent all of 2016 working on the Pokédex, the region, and everything of it, so I can't wait to really get into this story. Let me know what you think of it, and I hope to update soon!