p style="text-indent: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;" align="CENTER"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"strongspan style="background: transparent"New Bark Town/span/strong/span/span/span/p
p style="text-indent: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"Hugo, former Littleroot resident and current Devon Co. Challenge Cup winner, has traveled all the way from his island home to the Johto region. The sixteen-year-old wasn't completely thrilled to have missed out the opportunity to battle in Hoenn's Pokemon League but he knew the opportunity to have an all-expenses paid trip to Johto wasn't an opportunity he could ignore. It was enough to know he had defeated every gym leader in his homeland and would soon come back with even more experience to take the league by storm./span/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 200%"a name="docs-internal-guid-d171ed02-29d7-041d-33a3-9f0fbb7c1460"/a strong /strong/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"This trip had marked Hugo's first time in an airplane and it baffled him how quickly people could travel from one country to the next. The trainer's first step would have to be New Bark Town as Carol Ann, his liaison at Devon Co., had e-mailed him about his scheduled meet and greet with Prof. Elm. He landed in a small airstrip outside of the town and Hugo couldn't help but feel marveled how different yet the same Johto and Hoenn were. His home was full of greenery almost everywhere a person went same with what little preview of the area he had but the plant life was different. Where his plants were greener and tropical these trees were taller and had many shades of gold and brown mixed into the light green leaves. A driver waited for him near the airport entrance and he was soon headed for his first official meeting in this foreign land./span/span/span/span/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"Hugo was glad he had dressed nicely for his trip. No one had said mentioned the young man was going directly to the professor's laboratory. The ride was less than twenty minutes, which was not nearly enough time to clear the Beautifly from his stomach. However, Hugo knew this was supposed to be a very casual meeting. It was simply a ceremonial touch to the beginning of his new Johto adventure. The car stopped in front of a moderately sized building that looked more like a two-story home than a laboratory. /span/span/span/span/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"Hugo was greeted by thin middle aged man wearing eye-glasses at the door. He walked into the building and was marveled by all the computers and other high-tech machinery. It was such a clash from what he saw outside just a few moments ago. "Congratulations on winning the Challenge Cup, Hu- whoops!" Prof. Elm had placed his hand on one of the desks and immediately knocked over some paperwork and an empty coffee mug. Hugo instinctively knelt to fetch the papers but was stopped by Prof. Elm. "I'm such a klutz. Don't worry about it, I'll get it." The older man quickly organized the papers and placed them back on the table. The mug was beyond repair but it hadn't shattered just split into three uneven jigsaw puzzle pieces. /span/span/span/span/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"A Pokemon Hugo was not familiar ran in with its large club-like tail up in the air. "tret, tret!" It was a cheerful little creature that tugged on Elm's pant leg trying to lead them into the other room. They both ignored the broken mug and started walking towards an open door on the opposite side of the room. "Sorry about the mess, Hugo. My little lab assistants are a quirky duo and if you factor me into the bunch; we're not very good housekeepers." Hugo simply laughed and shrugged it off, "It's a good thing you haven't seen my room back home." He entered the room and saw a Corsola greedily eating from a giant pile of Pokemon food. "Professor, I know this Pokemon. She's a Corsola. We have a lot of those in the waters around Hoenn but this other one, it reminds me of a Linoone but smaller." Professor Elm pulled out a Lure Ball from his coat pocket and Corsola disappeared into its red beam of light. "I guess that's why we were led into the room. Corsola can be a bit of a glutton." Elm laughed and turned to face Hugo, "This here is a Sentret. They're pretty much the Johto equivalent of your Zigzagoon and Linoone. Say hi, Sentret." The Sentret stood up on its thick tail and waved. It then darted to the mountain of food where it began munching on whatever morsels it could. It's as if Sentret knew what was coming next. A clicking sound was heard and a second beam of light took the creature into a regular Poke Ball. "These two are always fighting on who gets to eat more. They seem to have gotten into the sacks and torn this one open which is perfect because I have some I want to show you. Fetch that pail and scoop a bucket full." Hugo nodded and did was he was told. The two guys walked out of that room back into the main lab. /span/span/span/span/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"Elm led Hugo to a table with three Poke Balls, "they haven't eaten today and I'd like you to help me out." The professor stood on the other side of the table and tapped on the first one, a bright light followed, "chiko-chiko." The green leaf on the little quadruped had a heavenly aroma that tickled Hugo's nose, "this one smells like freshly cut cooking spices. I'm guessing this is Chikorita, the grass-starter." Elm nodded, "you've done your homework! I can see how you're the CC's new champion. Now place a handful of the food in front of Chikorita." The trainer did and the grass-type's weary face instantly became cheerful - it was time to eat. Elm didn't wait at all to release the next Pokemon, "this is the fire mouse Pokemon, Cyndaquil." It seemed like a shy little Pokemon as its flame was off and it scooted back a few steps when it saw Hugo. "I don't think he likes me very much, Professor." Hugo scooped another handful from the bucket and placed it on the table. Cyndaquil's flame burst out of its back and quickly went out as it scooped and began munching on its new snack. A third beam of light revealed a small reptile-like creature that had a peculiar raspy voice, "totodile!" Totodile decided he was going to introduce himself and walked right up to the edge of the table wanting to take a closer look. Hugo scooped a few pieces of food and held them up for Totodile. The water-type ate them right from the palm of the young man's hand. /span/span/span/span/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent""span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"I guess it's no big secret Totodile is the extrovert of this current batch of new starters." Professor Elm looked at the clock on the wall, "oh my! It's nearly time for the new trainers to arrive." He combed his fingers through his hair and straightened his glasses, "that's why I wanted you to be here today. I have two young trainers that are coming and I would like all three of you to choose a starter Pokemon before heading out on your journey." Hugo shook his head, "thank you, Professor. However, I already have a starter Pokemon. The one I got for winning the CC, as you called it." The boy pulled out a white Poke Ball with a red strip in the middle, a Premier Ball and unleashed its contents. The flash of light revealed a four-legged creature with a long black crescent on the side of its head, "ab" it purred as it rubbed against Hugo's leg. "This is my Absol. She's a sweetheart. Besides it wouldn't be fair to take away this opportunity from another trainer." Elm waved his hand dismissively, "nonsense. You traveled to another country to try your luck at our gyms and tournaments. You deserve something to commemorate this event! You're choosing a starter and that's that." Before the trainer had the opportunity to refuse the front doors opened./span/span/span/span/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"Two young trainers walked in, one a boy with shoulder length black hair and a cap, while the other was a girl with her long reddish brown hair in a ponytail. They seemed to be roughly around Hugo's age and not rookie trainers at all. Professor Elm smiled, "you two must be Vera and Christian." He shook both their hands and pointed towards Hugo, "that's Hugo, he's the third trainer joining us today." They walked up and everyone said their hellos. Vera was the first to explain why she was there, "I'm from Castelia City up in the Unova region. I won the Pokemon World Tournament in Driftveil and now I'm here to try to win the Johto region's PWC tourney." Christian walked up and introduced himself, "I'm from Eterna City in Sinnoh and I won the region's Grand Festival. I'm here to try and do the same in Johto. What about you?" Hugo shrugged, "I'm from Littleroot in Hoenn. I won the Devon Co. Challenge Cup." /span/span/span/span/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"Vera noticed Absol standing behind Hugo, "is that your Absol?" Hugo was embarrassed thinking it made him seem greedy to be vying for one of Professor Elm's starter Pokemon when he already had one. He bowed apologetically, "yes, she's a new friend I received for winning the tournament." Vera laughed and patted his shoulder, "don't apologize. We have our own Pokemon as well." Professor Elm chimed in, "yes, Hugo. I was going to explain that when they both walked in. It's not uncommon for tournament champions to receive special prize Pokemon and all three of you are champions of one thing or the other." /span/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 200%"strong /strong/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"Elm returned to his place behind the three starter Pokemon and called the trainers over, "I'd like you to each select a Pokemon. Who wishes to go first?" Again, without missing a beat, Vera stepped forward and took charge of the situation. "I've known all along which one I was gonna pick and have been itching to do so. She didn't so much as glance over her choices as she simply went up to Cyndaquil and said, "I choose this one." Professor Elm nodded, "very well." He returned the fire-type to its Poke Ball and handed it over. Only two Pokemon were left. Hugo tapped Christian's shoulder and told him to pick first. Chris stepped forward and eyed the remaining choices carefully. "Totodile's colors are lovely but Chikorita's scent and eyes are heavenly. It's going to be a tough call." He closed his eyes and spun around and pointed at one of them. "Chikorita it is, Christian." Elm returned the grass-type to its Poke Ball and handed it over. "I guess, Totodile and you were simply meant to be, Hugo." The water-type disappeared into its Poke Ball and Hugo walked over to fetch it. Now all three trainers had a Johto region starter Pokemon and their prize Pokemon./span/span/span/span/p
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p style="line-height: 200%"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"The rest of the afternoon was simply formalities and lectures about different techniques in Pokemon care. Honestly, none of the trainers were completely interested in so much theory but were gracious enough to follow along. After a few hours it was time to say goodbye to Elm's laboratory and begin their adventures. The trainers had agreed to split up but traded Pokegear numbers in order to keep in touch. /span/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 200%"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"br /span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"After some thought Hugo decided to head to Violet City and challenge his first gym. He still had a few weeks before the first Challenge Cup tournament, the Poke Ball Cup, in Goldenrod City. It was the start of an entirely new adventure and though Hugo could feel the onset of homesickness; he was hopeful about things to come and would make sure to return a champion./span/span/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="line-height:2;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-indent: 36pt;text-align: center;" /p
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p style="text-indent: 0.5in; margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"Hugo, former Littleroot resident and current Devon Co. Challenge Cup winner, has traveled all the way from his island home to the Johto region. The sixteen-year-old wasn't completely thrilled to have missed out the opportunity to battle in Hoenn's Pokemon League but he knew the opportunity to have an all-expenses paid trip to Johto wasn't an opportunity he could ignore. It was enough to know he had defeated every gym leader in his homeland and would soon come back with even more experience to take the league by storm./span/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 200%"a name="docs-internal-guid-d171ed02-29d7-041d-33a3-9f0fbb7c1460"/a strong /strong/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"This trip had marked Hugo's first time in an airplane and it baffled him how quickly people could travel from one country to the next. The trainer's first step would have to be New Bark Town as Carol Ann, his liaison at Devon Co., had e-mailed him about his scheduled meet and greet with Prof. Elm. He landed in a small airstrip outside of the town and Hugo couldn't help but feel marveled how different yet the same Johto and Hoenn were. His home was full of greenery almost everywhere a person went same with what little preview of the area he had but the plant life was different. Where his plants were greener and tropical these trees were taller and had many shades of gold and brown mixed into the light green leaves. A driver waited for him near the airport entrance and he was soon headed for his first official meeting in this foreign land./span/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 200%"strong /strong/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"Hugo was glad he had dressed nicely for his trip. No one had said mentioned the young man was going directly to the professor's laboratory. The ride was less than twenty minutes, which was not nearly enough time to clear the Beautifly from his stomach. However, Hugo knew this was supposed to be a very casual meeting. It was simply a ceremonial touch to the beginning of his new Johto adventure. The car stopped in front of a moderately sized building that looked more like a two-story home than a laboratory. /span/span/span/span/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"Hugo was greeted by thin middle aged man wearing eye-glasses at the door. He walked into the building and was marveled by all the computers and other high-tech machinery. It was such a clash from what he saw outside just a few moments ago. "Congratulations on winning the Challenge Cup, Hu- whoops!" Prof. Elm had placed his hand on one of the desks and immediately knocked over some paperwork and an empty coffee mug. Hugo instinctively knelt to fetch the papers but was stopped by Prof. Elm. "I'm such a klutz. Don't worry about it, I'll get it." The older man quickly organized the papers and placed them back on the table. The mug was beyond repair but it hadn't shattered just split into three uneven jigsaw puzzle pieces. /span/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 200%"strong /strong/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"A Pokemon Hugo was not familiar ran in with its large club-like tail up in the air. "tret, tret!" It was a cheerful little creature that tugged on Elm's pant leg trying to lead them into the other room. They both ignored the broken mug and started walking towards an open door on the opposite side of the room. "Sorry about the mess, Hugo. My little lab assistants are a quirky duo and if you factor me into the bunch; we're not very good housekeepers." Hugo simply laughed and shrugged it off, "It's a good thing you haven't seen my room back home." He entered the room and saw a Corsola greedily eating from a giant pile of Pokemon food. "Professor, I know this Pokemon. She's a Corsola. We have a lot of those in the waters around Hoenn but this other one, it reminds me of a Linoone but smaller." Professor Elm pulled out a Lure Ball from his coat pocket and Corsola disappeared into its red beam of light. "I guess that's why we were led into the room. Corsola can be a bit of a glutton." Elm laughed and turned to face Hugo, "This here is a Sentret. They're pretty much the Johto equivalent of your Zigzagoon and Linoone. Say hi, Sentret." The Sentret stood up on its thick tail and waved. It then darted to the mountain of food where it began munching on whatever morsels it could. It's as if Sentret knew what was coming next. A clicking sound was heard and a second beam of light took the creature into a regular Poke Ball. "These two are always fighting on who gets to eat more. They seem to have gotten into the sacks and torn this one open which is perfect because I have some I want to show you. Fetch that pail and scoop a bucket full." Hugo nodded and did was he was told. The two guys walked out of that room back into the main lab. /span/span/span/span/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"Elm led Hugo to a table with three Poke Balls, "they haven't eaten today and I'd like you to help me out." The professor stood on the other side of the table and tapped on the first one, a bright light followed, "chiko-chiko." The green leaf on the little quadruped had a heavenly aroma that tickled Hugo's nose, "this one smells like freshly cut cooking spices. I'm guessing this is Chikorita, the grass-starter." Elm nodded, "you've done your homework! I can see how you're the CC's new champion. Now place a handful of the food in front of Chikorita." The trainer did and the grass-type's weary face instantly became cheerful - it was time to eat. Elm didn't wait at all to release the next Pokemon, "this is the fire mouse Pokemon, Cyndaquil." It seemed like a shy little Pokemon as its flame was off and it scooted back a few steps when it saw Hugo. "I don't think he likes me very much, Professor." Hugo scooped another handful from the bucket and placed it on the table. Cyndaquil's flame burst out of its back and quickly went out as it scooped and began munching on its new snack. A third beam of light revealed a small reptile-like creature that had a peculiar raspy voice, "totodile!" Totodile decided he was going to introduce himself and walked right up to the edge of the table wanting to take a closer look. Hugo scooped a few pieces of food and held them up for Totodile. The water-type ate them right from the palm of the young man's hand. /span/span/span/span/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="background: transparent""span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"I guess it's no big secret Totodile is the extrovert of this current batch of new starters." Professor Elm looked at the clock on the wall, "oh my! It's nearly time for the new trainers to arrive." He combed his fingers through his hair and straightened his glasses, "that's why I wanted you to be here today. I have two young trainers that are coming and I would like all three of you to choose a starter Pokemon before heading out on your journey." Hugo shook his head, "thank you, Professor. However, I already have a starter Pokemon. The one I got for winning the CC, as you called it." The boy pulled out a white Poke Ball with a red strip in the middle, a Premier Ball and unleashed its contents. The flash of light revealed a four-legged creature with a long black crescent on the side of its head, "ab" it purred as it rubbed against Hugo's leg. "This is my Absol. She's a sweetheart. Besides it wouldn't be fair to take away this opportunity from another trainer." Elm waved his hand dismissively, "nonsense. You traveled to another country to try your luck at our gyms and tournaments. You deserve something to commemorate this event! You're choosing a starter and that's that." Before the trainer had the opportunity to refuse the front doors opened./span/span/span/span/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"Two young trainers walked in, one a boy with shoulder length black hair and a cap, while the other was a girl with her long reddish brown hair in a ponytail. They seemed to be roughly around Hugo's age and not rookie trainers at all. Professor Elm smiled, "you two must be Vera and Christian." He shook both their hands and pointed towards Hugo, "that's Hugo, he's the third trainer joining us today." They walked up and everyone said their hellos. Vera was the first to explain why she was there, "I'm from Castelia City up in the Unova region. I won the Pokemon World Tournament in Driftveil and now I'm here to try to win the Johto region's PWC tourney." Christian walked up and introduced himself, "I'm from Eterna City in Sinnoh and I won the region's Grand Festival. I'm here to try and do the same in Johto. What about you?" Hugo shrugged, "I'm from Littleroot in Hoenn. I won the Devon Co. Challenge Cup." /span/span/span/span/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"Vera noticed Absol standing behind Hugo, "is that your Absol?" Hugo was embarrassed thinking it made him seem greedy to be vying for one of Professor Elm's starter Pokemon when he already had one. He bowed apologetically, "yes, she's a new friend I received for winning the tournament." Vera laughed and patted his shoulder, "don't apologize. We have our own Pokemon as well." Professor Elm chimed in, "yes, Hugo. I was going to explain that when they both walked in. It's not uncommon for tournament champions to receive special prize Pokemon and all three of you are champions of one thing or the other." /span/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 200%"strong /strong/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 200%;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"Elm returned to his place behind the three starter Pokemon and called the trainers over, "I'd like you to each select a Pokemon. Who wishes to go first?" Again, without missing a beat, Vera stepped forward and took charge of the situation. "I've known all along which one I was gonna pick and have been itching to do so. She didn't so much as glance over her choices as she simply went up to Cyndaquil and said, "I choose this one." Professor Elm nodded, "very well." He returned the fire-type to its Poke Ball and handed it over. Only two Pokemon were left. Hugo tapped Christian's shoulder and told him to pick first. Chris stepped forward and eyed the remaining choices carefully. "Totodile's colors are lovely but Chikorita's scent and eyes are heavenly. It's going to be a tough call." He closed his eyes and spun around and pointed at one of them. "Chikorita it is, Christian." Elm returned the grass-type to its Poke Ball and handed it over. "I guess, Totodile and you were simply meant to be, Hugo." The water-type disappeared into its Poke Ball and Hugo walked over to fetch it. Now all three trainers had a Johto region starter Pokemon and their prize Pokemon./span/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 200%"strong /strong/p
p style="line-height: 200%"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"The rest of the afternoon was simply formalities and lectures about different techniques in Pokemon care. Honestly, none of the trainers were completely interested in so much theory but were gracious enough to follow along. After a few hours it was time to say goodbye to Elm's laboratory and begin their adventures. The trainers had agreed to split up but traded Pokegear numbers in order to keep in touch. /span/span/span/span/p
p style="line-height: 200%"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"br /span style="font-size: medium;"span style="background: transparent"After some thought Hugo decided to head to Violet City and challenge his first gym. He still had a few weeks before the first Challenge Cup tournament, the Poke Ball Cup, in Goldenrod City. It was the start of an entirely new adventure and though Hugo could feel the onset of homesickness; he was hopeful about things to come and would make sure to return a champion./span/span/span/p
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