Kanto. Once a beautiful region, now just a chunk of land controlled by the Elite Four. They ruled Kanto with an iron fist, and crushed all who opposed them with their mighty Pokémon. I t wasn't always like this. A long time ago, Kanto was a free region; there was no leader to govern it and everyone lived in harmony with their Pokémon.
That all changed when the Elite Four came along. The Elite Four were a group of tyrants with ridiculously strong Pokémon who conquered Kanto in a matter of days. They were always led by a Champion, stronger than all of them, who they trained to be ruthless and evil. They put their foul residence at the end of Victory Road at a place that would be called the Indigo Plateau. To cement their rule, they had a trainer stationed at each major city. These Gym Leaders, as they were called, would control the town, making sure the citizens would be kept under control.
Some towns had it easier, as they were too small or insignificant for the Elite Four to place a Gym Leader in them. As such, they had more freedom than the major cities. Over time, many people grew tired of the Elite Four's rule and rebelled, getting their own Pokémon and training them to become stronger in hopes of overthrowing the Elite Four. None would know that a young trainer, by the name of Red, would defeat the Elite Four.
"Mom, I'm going outside to play with Blue!"
"Okay honey, just stay away from the tall grass!"
Red closed the door silently as he left his house. He was quite young, just over twelve years old and was about to play with his best friend Blue. There were best friends since they were very little, but always had a bit of a rivalry. They both lived in Pallet Town, a town so small that you would be lucky to see it on a map. The only thing people felt was worth knowing about Pallet Town was that it was home to the legendary Professor Oak, Blue's grandfather.
As Red walked toward his friend's house, he looked around and saw everyone. They were all in good moods, and would always smile when they saw Red's happy face. Red finally got to Blue's house, interestingly it looked exactly as Reds house.
"Hey Blue! You up yet?"
"Just a second Red!"
The door opened revealing Blue. He was barely any older than Red, but would always treat him as something of a little brother, and he took immense pride in the fact that Oak was his grandfather.
"I was out of bed first Blue, so you're it!"
"Sorry Red, but I choose who's it."
"That's no fair!" Red crossed his arms and huffed to himself. Here he goes again, just because he's older by five minutes.
"Don't worry Red, I'll go slower so you have a chance to catch me!" Blue said snidely.
Before Red could say anything else, Blue dashed away with Red chasing after him. Blue could put up a very long chase, as he knew every shortcut and tight spot in Pallet Town, Red didn't. Red believed he lost Blue after he slid under the porch of their neighbors' house, but spotted him as he crept toward the Pokémon Lab. Red was just about to finally catch Blue, but immediately stopped as soon as he saw what was in front of him. Blue's heading into the tall grass!
"Hey Blue! You shouldn't go in there, there are wild Pokémon!" Red yelled worriedly.
"What's wrong Red? I'm not afraid of some wild Pokémon!" Blue replied confidently.
Red was worried, all of their lives Red and Blue were told to never go into the tall grass because they could get attacked by wild Pokémon. But he didn't have much of a choice at the moment, as Blue was walking deeper into the grass. He had to stop Blue from going through with such a stupid idea.
With a deep sigh, Red crept into the tall grass, taking care to not make any noise; after all he didn't want their parents knowing they went there. Red was just about to grab Blue by the shoulder, when he heard something that sent chill down his spine.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing over there?"
Red and Blue turned around in surprise to see none other than an angry Professor Oak. The professor heard the children's screams of laughter and looked outside his lab, only to see to the two youngsters in the tall grass.
"What were you doing in there? Don't you know that there are wild Pokémon in there?"
"But Professor Oak, I was trying to tell Blue not to go in there!" Red said defensively. Blue looked at him in disbelief, thinking that Red just ratted him out.
"Did not!" Blue exclaimed.
"Did too!" Red argued.
"Enough! Now, how about you come with me to the lab for a few minutes, okay?" Oak asked. Both youngsters looked down to the ground in disappointment.
"Yes sir…" They both replied.
Even though the distance to the Lab was only a few meters, it felt like miles for Red. He went into the tall grass, and what's worse, he got caught. Red could only wonder what the professor had in mind for them. After they had entered the Lab, Oak led them to the back of the room to a table, which had three Poke Balls sitting on top of it.
"Don't worry boys; I'm not going to punish you. I remember what it was like to be a child, always off to explore parts unknown. But I couldn't do it alone, I had partners with me. Do you know what these are?" Oak asked.
"Poke Balls, gramps." Gary replied almost instantly. Red also knew what they were; he had seen them on T.V. From what he understood, Poke Balls were a way for people to carry their Pokémon with them and to catch Pokémon.
"Correct, Blue. In each of these Poke Balls is a Pokémon that I wish for you to have, so you can have your own adventures with them."
Oak took all three Poke Balls and activated them. As he threw them up into the air and they opened, and a bright white light flew out of them and onto the ground. The lights took different forms and faded away, revealing three Pokémon. Red and Blue could only watch in amazement.
"Cool, thanks gramps!"
"No problem boys. These Pokémon are Bulbasaur, a Grass type, Charmander, a Fire type, and Squirtle, a Water type. You each can choose only one and it will be your partner."
Red and Blue scanned the three creatures in front of them. Bulbasaur was lazily resting on the ground, taking a nap. Charmander scratched its head and looked around. Squirtle was spinning around on the back of its shell. Red had seen these three Pokémon on T.V and always wondered which one he would want. It was then that Red finally decided.
"I want that one!" Red pointed to Charmander, who nearly jumped in surprise to Red's loud decision. Oak took a Poke Ball and returned Charmander to it.
"Very well, Red. From now on, Charmander will be your first Pokémon. And what about you Blue?"
Blue was still observing the two Pokémon. After a few more seconds he decided to pick Squirtle. The professor took Squirtle's Poke Ball and gave it to Blue.
"We finally got our first Pokémon!" Both Red and Blue screamed to each other. Clearly, they were very excited about this, and now their dreams of going on their own adventures were going to come true. Red was about to run home to show his mother when something stopped him.
"Hey Red, how about a battle?"
Red stared back to see Blue with a determined look on his face. Now that he had his own Pokémon, he wanted to battle with it, and he knew Red wouldn't disappoint him. Red didn't exactly know how to answer this, it came by too fast. He realized that Blue wouldn't leave him alone until they battled.
"Fine, I'll take you on!" Red grew just as determined as Blue; he had no plan to lose his first battle. Both grabbed their Poke Balls and released their Pokémon. The battle didn't take long to start.
"Squirtle, Tackle!" Blue commanded.
Squirtle ran toward Charmander with all the speed it could muster. Charmander instinctively dodged the move, almost sending Squirtle crashing into the wall. Squirtle stopped and stood toward Charmander.
"Charmander, Growl!" Red ordered.
Charmander sent out a low growl toward Squirtle, making it flinch a bit. Although it did no physical damage, Red could see that Squirtle was starting to grow unconfident. The move did not phase Blue however.
"Use Tail Whip!"
Squirtle jumped toward Charmander. Right before it could make contact, Squirtle rotated its body and swung its tail right at Charmander, knocking it back. Blue was pleased at this result.
"Good work Squirtle! What's wrong Red, your Charmander a bit slow on the uptake?"
Red growled to himself, he would not let Blue mock him or his Pokémon. Charmander was struggling to get up, as the Tail Whip made contact with its face.
"Come on Charmander, don't give up!" Red encouraged it. Charmander was finally able to pull itself up after the attack and stood ready.
"Alright then, Scratch!" Red commanded.
Charmander ran over to Squirtle while extending its claws. Before Squirtle could react, Charmander sent a scratch across its face, pushing it back. But Red wasn't through with it yet, with his anger, he never was.
"Use Scratch again Charmander!" Red demanded.
Again Charmander charged toward Squirtle, its claws extended. But this time, Blue was ready.
"Don't let him push you down Squirtle, Tail Whip!" Blue ordered.
Squirtle rotated its body so that its tail would knock Charmander out of the way, but Charmander wasn't going to be stopped by that. Charmander jumped, actually grabbing Squirtle's tail with its free hand, and sent a scratch toward Squirtle, sending it stumbling back. Squirtle attempted to focus on the battle, but it couldn't and after three seconds, it fell to the ground, knocked out.
"Squirtle is unable to battle, the winner is Charmander!" Professor Oak declared.
Red cheered as he grabbed his Charmander and hugged it. Blue looked at his Squirtle sadly, but knew he would always have another chance at winning. Red and Blue walked toward each other, and Blue rose out his hand.
"Great battle Red, I didn't know you had it in you."
The two of them shook hands, knowing that they were still best friends and that this battle would never change that. Blue would stay with his grandfather for a little while longer, but Red dashed straight for the exit to tell his mother the news.
Right before Red could leave, the door almost slammed into his face. Red stopped to see a boy no older than him at the door.
"Sorry about that, didn't see you there."
Red looked at the boy. He had messy, short brown hair with a pair of sunglasses on them. He wore a dark green jacket with black stripes on it, and wore light jeans. His green eyes showed he was apologetic about the accident. Red shook off the surprise he originally had.
"No problem, what's your name anyway?" Red asked.
"Grast. What's yours?"
"Red."
"That's a cool name. See ya Red, I have to go talk to the professor, but I hope we see each other again."
Grast waved back to Red as he ran toward the Professor. Red smiled to himself as he exited the building. Wow, first I get a Pokémon, now I have a new friend. Today must really be special. Red thought to himself. He could not wait until he told his mother that he was planning to go on an adventure.