Chapter One
As I stood there, presented with a shelf full of Pokéballs, a number of thoughts were running through my mind. I rolled one of the small spheres around in the palm of my hand. The knowledge that this tiny globe held a living, sentient animal, more than that, a Pokémon, an intelligent creature provide us with companionship and protection if need be. No one was quite sure where Pokémon had come from, but there had been, for many years, feral Pokémon wandering the many wild areas of the world. Most were known to society and catalogued in science, but there were some Pokémon, so powerful and elusive, that no one had yet managed to track them down and either catch them or merely prove their existence. Many had seen or encountered them, few were telling the truth. But these myths were every Pokémon trainer's goal.
I looked at the Pokéballs on the shelf again and replaced the one I held. I was painfully aware of the Professor glaring at me as I tried to make up my mind. Usually now, the various trainers determined what Pokémon they would start with via a quiz, which matched them up with Pokémon of similar personalities and strengths to match the trainer's own. While this often gave the new trainer an initial boost, they often encountered difficulties later on, when they began to be challenged by stronger feral Pokémon or better trainers. Regardless of this, most believed that they could succeed. The trainers who took the quiz usually got farther than most who didn't, but they rarely became more than mediocre trainers, as they often found themselves in situations that they couldn't combat, and didn't know how to proceed.
I had declined the test for several reasons. My own father had not taken the test, and his presence was still strong with me. He had been killed by one of the many crime syndicates of the Pokémon world. My father's Charizard had flown off after his death, never to be claimed by another trainer, becoming one of those Pokémon who were consumed by grief, anger, and confusion at the untimely death other their trainer, and simply resolved themselves to solitude, only bothering to do anything besides eat and sleep when a trainer approached them, trying to catch them, at which point they would viciously attack, often injuring both the trainer and his or her Pokémon. If they were captured, they often died soon after.
Pokémon were the primary method of combat now. It wasn't so much the enslavement of an intelligent species as it was what they existed for. Pokémon were meant to fight, it was what evolution had prepared them for. Thus, they were aggressive when their trainer was threatened. All trainers knew this, but also recognized the fact that fighting was the favorite pastime of Pokémon. Thus, in the name of training, there was an unspoken agreement between all trainers to allow their Pokémon to battle only to a point that was safe, that is, till a trainer's Pokémon had all fainted from battle. Pokémon were excessively resilient, and thus were not injured by such activities, as in the wild they often suffered, and recovered from, much worse injuries by the simple ingestion of various berries, as opposed to the expensive and extensive medical facilities scattered around the land.
I selected a Pokéball and held up my Pokédex, the device scanning the contents of the Ball and indicating that this held a Vulpix, "I'll take this one." I nodded, holding up the Pokéball and nodding to the Professor, who grimaced.
"You should have taken the test, Vulpix are often hard to get along with, and once they evolve, if they haven't yet formed a solid bond with the trainer, they will often simply renounce the trainer as their companion, leading to botched battles and potential injury for both the Pokémon and the trainer." He explained.
"Then I won't evolve it till I'm sure." I retort, impatient to get on the road.
For me, I had become a trainer rather late. At the age of sixteen, I was well past the time at which most children had left their homes. That meant that the bulk of trainers had at least two years of experiences more than me, and a few had even more. Most children now left their homes at fourteen, but a few held up the traditions of old, leaving even younger than that, sometimes as early as ten years old. However, for me, whose father was a policeman and had been killed by one of the terrorist Pokémon groups, I felt that it was my mission in life to better the world.
"I can't stop you, so it's yours." The Professor grunted, making a note on his tablet.
The Pokeball in my hand lit up around the midline, the seal button glowing briefly, indicating the Pokémon had gained ownership. These Pokeballs, specifically designed for Professors, would keep the Pokémon feral until such a time as a trainer claimed it, thus forming a single solitary bond between the trainer and the Pokémon that would allow them to be a better team. The professor handed me a small bag, it contained a belt with a pouch at the right side, a set of slots on the front, six on the right side of the buckle, and a slot for my Pokedex on the left. I threaded the belt on and then inserted my Pokedex, the device slotting into the belt and syncing with it. I knew from my studies that the belt kept the Pokedex charged through the conversion of kinetics and solar energy to electricity. The pouch held Pokeballs, which could be dispensed quickly and used to capture wild Pokémon. The slots to the right of the buckle were meant to hold my Pokémon team. Thus, I placed my Vulpix's Pokeball into one of the empty slots, where three fingers of sorts clamped down around it, holding it securely. I removed my Pokedex from the belt and checked on my Pokémon, noting that it was holding a berry, meant to replenish its health if need be. I also noted that I was able to use the Pokedex to administer various substances to the Pokémon during battle. Pokémon
The Professor also held out a single potion, which I dropped into the items pocket of my bag. I then nodded my thanks to the Professor and exited the building. It was raining outside, the worst possible weather for my Vulpix, as it was a fire type Pokémon. The cold wind pushed against my jacket, which kept me warm enough. I tucked my head against the breeze and pulled my hat down farther, the article of clothing covering my ears. My cheeks burned in the exposed air. As I walked past my house, I heard a voice calling me. I looked to my right and saw my mom waving at me.
"I've got something for you!" She called, motioning me over, "You got your Pokémon, right?"
I nodded, and she handed me something, it was a small, brown leather pouch with several hard objects in it, "What is this?" I asked, feeling it.
"Open it once you're on your way. It's from your father, he wanted you to have it when you left on your journey as a Trainer." She smiled, a hint of sadness in her eyes, "I know what some of those things are for, but some of them are a mystery."
I nodded and placed the bag in my backpack, vowing to open it later. I kissed my mother and hugged her before releasing my hold and turning away with a word of goodbye, continuing on my path out of the town. As I exited the town, I noted the sudden change in the atmosphere of my surroundings. In the towns, various tones were played, barely noticeable, but they were meant to keep the Pokémon out of the populated areas, without violent methods such as electric fences. Even those would have not done anything to keep larger Pokémon from breaking into the towns and endangering the people living there. Instead, after it was discovered that Pokémon were extremely responsive to sound vibrations, they installed hidden speakers in every town that played a repeating melody which kept the Pokémon around them more docile, and repulsed all Pokémon who approached the town. As a result, the Pokémon closer to the towns were never as strong as some that lived farther out, in the depths of the wild. Each town had different audio to combat the Pokémon that typically lived in their region. However, as there were many types of Pokémon, the tones affected the feral species differently in each area. Therefore, while the Pokémon around my town were fairly passive, the Pokémon near further towns, such as Darkgon City, were much stronger.
The grass had grown quite tall. This was permitted outside of towns to allow the Pokémon to live in peace. It was advised that no one without their own Pokémon leave their towns, as the feral Pokémon that lived in the grass and woods of the countryside were quite territorial, attacking any unfamiliar beings. It was here that I experienced my first feral Pokémon encounter while possessing my own team. A wild Caterpie appeared, spreading the grass in front of me. At around a foot long, it looked like a gigantic bug, which it pretty much was. I drew my Pokeball from my belt and hit the button on the front, tossing it up into the air, at which point it released my Vulpix, the Pokeball reconstructing my Pokémon in midair in such a manner that it landed in all fours, and I was able to catch my Pokeball. The Caterpie growled, causing a shiver to run down my Vulpix's spine that amused me slightly, as a Caterpie growling sounds like a pathetic hiss.
"Vulpix, I…" I didn't finish my statement, as my Vulpix had already lunged and bitten the feral Caterpie, its sharp teeth inflicting damage on the wild Pokémon.
The Caterpie reared back, breaking my Vulpix's hold on it. It stood it's full height, a laughable eight inches tall, though to be fair, my Vulpix wasn't much taller, barely a foot greater in height. The wild Pokémon sprayed my Pokémon with some manner of sticky string, slowing it's movements. While my Vulpix was tangled in the web, the Caterpie threw itself bodily at my Pokémon with a speed I would not have expected from a creature so low to the ground. It's body impacted my Pokémon's body. I glanced worriedly at my Pokedex as the health monitor noted that my Vulpix was injured. However, by now my Pokémon had managed to free itself. With the rain sizzling on it's body, it bit the Caterpie again. The wild Pokémon pulled away and then fainted, succumbing to its wounds. I was slightly upset, as I had hoped to add the Caterpie to my team. However, I watched as my Vulpix consumed the Berry it was holding, and then pressed the button on its Pokeball, deconstructing it and returning it to it's carrier.
"Good job." I spoke to the Ball, though I wasn't sure if it could hear me or not, before I replaced it in my belt and continued walking.