Pallet Town – A New Story Begins
"Hello there! Welcome to the world of POKEMON! My name is Oak! People call me the POKEMON PROFFESOR! This world is inhabited by creatures called POKEMON! For some people, POKEMON are pets. Others use them for fights. Myself...I study POKEMON as a profession. First, what is your name?"
Red had been taken off guard by the excitement of the old man. He'd met Professor Oak before, but only briefly. For the first thirteen years of his life, Red held a very sheltered life. He grew up in a wealthy family, who inherited a profit from past generations of which created the Poke Ball. His current family hadn't done much to deserve their wealth, though a few of them went into research to build stronger, more effective Poke Balls. Red, however, wasn't interested in all that. Red was a strong-willed adventure starved teenager who was finally ready to explore the wonderful world of Pokemon.
"My name's Red! We've met before, so you probably just didn't recognize me.
"Right! So your name is RED!" Oak looked toward another boy and motioned for him to meet with the two of them. The boy casually walked over with a smug look on his face.
"So this is the prissy rich boy the entire town worships? Looks like a total pushover to me."
Red cast a glare in his direction but said nothing. He didn't want to risk creating a rivalry so soon on his adventure.
"This is my grandson. He's been your rival since you were a baby."
So much for that.
"...Erm, what is his name again?"
"What!" the boy yelled, "Grandpa, you aren't being serious are you! It's Blue!"
"That's right! I remember now! His name is BLUE!" Blue groaned and began to rub his forehead. Oak seemed pleased with the scene he'd created. He began to get even more excited, "RED! Your very own POKEMON legend is about to unfold! A world of dreams and adventures with POKEMON awaits you! Let's go!" he pointed towards a desk holding three Poke Balls. One had a water drop symbol on it, indicating the water starter, Squirtle. Another had a leaf symbol on it, indicating the grass starter, Bulbasaur. And finally, the last had a flame symbol on it, indicating the fire starter, Charmander, "Here, RED! There are 3 POKEMON here! Haha! They are inside the POKE BALLS. When I was young, I was a serious POKEMON trainer. In my old age, I have only 3 left, but you can have one! Choose!
"Hey! Gramps! What about me?" Blue yelled angrily.
"Be patient! BLUE, you can have one too! Now, RED, which POKEMON do you want?"
Red walked to the table, examining each carefully. He had thought about this over and over again. He could have Bulbasaur, who's grass and poison combination could make it a strong competitor in battle. Or he could go with Charmander, who would have intense fire attacks and ultimately evolve into the powerful Charizard. But in the end, he had to go with his favorite.
"I choose Squirtle!" He lifted up the Poke Ball housing the water Pokemon and released it. Out came a blue turtle with a squirrel tail. That's it! The overall look and charm of Squirtle was absolutely breathtaking. Unfathomably cute, yet somehow holding a sense of strength and dignity. That is why Red chose Squirtle. Most trainers would use strategy and choose which they thought would make them more powerful. But Red didn't care about strength. He wanted a companion he could enjoy the world with. That is why Squirtle was the perfect choice.
Blue laughed heartily. "Squirtle, eh? I guess it's an okay Pokemon."
"It's your turn BLUE." Oak stated, still seeming happy.
"I'll take this one, then!" he took hold of the Poke Ball containing Bulbasaur and released it. Out came a small reptilian creature with a large green plant bulb on its back. Blue smirked at Red, "Guess who's got the type advantage."
"Now you two calm down." Oak said, "If you boys want to see who the strongest is as of now, you should settle it with a battle! I'll be the ref!"
"Sounds great!" Blue said with excitement, "There's no way I'm gonna lose to a prissy rich boy."
"Ha! You should be thankful I'm even giving you my time!" Red retorted back.
The two were getting fired up with both anger and excitement. Red hadn't planned on battling much, so starting his adventure with a battle was a bit of a shock.
"Okay! Since you two only have one Pokemon each, the second it becomes unable to battle, a winner will be decided. Are you both ready?" The two nodded, "Well then…..BEGIN!"
"Bulbasaur, use Tackle!" Blue's Bulbasaur began charging towards Red's Squirtle at an astounding speed. Catching Red off guard, he forgot to command it to dodge, resulting in a powerful blow that knocked Squirtle to the ground.
"Wait, Squirtle! Get up!"Squirtle was easily able to recover, though it had become short of breath. Red thought hard. At this early in it's life, a Squirtle would only know Tackle and Tail Whip. He didn't want to risk a defensive strategy so early with so much inexperience, so he decided to make it a full melee battle, "Squirtle, come back with Tackle!" Squirtle began charging towards Bulbasaur head first.
"Oh no you don't! Bulbasaur, sidestep to the left!" Bulbasaur did just that, easily avoiding the attack, "Now use Tackle again!" Bulbasaur rammed into Squirtle, knocking it down to the ground again! Squirtle began coughing and shaking. It was having trouble regaining it's footing.
"No!" Red yelled.
"Alright Bulbasaur! Finish it off with a final Tackle!"
Bulbasaur quickly began it's third attack until Oak yelled, "Stop!" Bulbasaur stopped itself from dealing the finishing blow.
"What's the deal, Gramps!" Blue yelled.
"I think we've seen enough to determine the winner. Besides, Charmander's trainer has come."
Walking toward the group was a girl about the same age as both Red and Blue. In fact, Red had known her already. It was Leaf, a friend from his childhood whom he'd grown apart from over recent years. Seeing her again for the first time in a year or so felt weird, yet at the same time heartwarming.
"Leaf! It's been a while!" Red called out.
"Hey Red!" Leaf said back, "Looks like you had a battle. How'd you do?"
Red looked at his injured Squirtle who had since fallen asleep, "Uh…Not too well."
Leaf frowned, "That's a shame to hear."
"Yo Leaf!" Blue said brushing his hair to the side with his hand, "As you can see I just kicked this sorry loser's butt. Pretty impressive right?"
"Well, it's not nice to brag about it. I'm sure Red doesn't enjoy it." Leaf said sincerely.
"How about this? Since I just won the first battle, we can have a battle to determine who the strongest of us all is! My Bulbasaur's not even weakened from the last battle, so it's all fair game!"
"No thanks," Leaf said waving her hand as if swatting away a fly, "I have better things to do then put myself in some annoying rivalry triangle."
"Suit yourself." Blue said shrugging his shoulders.
"LEAF, you are here to receive your POKEMON, correct?" Oak said, getting excited again.
"That's right!"
"Unfortunately, the only POKEMON I have left is Charmander. Had you come earlier, you would've been able to choose two others."
"That's fine. I like Charmander. I just need one for protection so I can go see my father in Vermilion City." Leaf said, picking up the ball. She attached it to her belt and began to leave.
"Don't you want to introduce yourself to Charmander?" Oak asked.
"There's plenty of time for that later." Leaf looked at Red and Blue, "It was nice seeing you two again!" She smiled and turned toward the exit.
"Just one moment!" Oak yelled, "I have a proposition for the three of you!"
Leaf stopped and turned to face Oak.
"I need the three of you to work together. Think of it as an entrance exam to the world of POKEMON!"
"You expect me to work with that loser?" Blue said.
"Now, now, this does serve a vital importance to the journeys each of you will take. All I ask is that you work together for now, so that you will all have it easier later on." Oak replied.
"What is it you want us to do?" Leaf asked.
"I had a package sent to the Poke Mart in Viridian City. I recently received a phone call saying that it had finally been shipped in. I need you three to get it for me."
"You need us to be your delivery people?" Red asked.
"In short, yes." Oak said smiling, "Though you will thank me for this mission later."
"Well," Blue said walking toward Leaf, "We may as well get this over with. Come on, Red!"
"Best of luck to all of you!" Oak yelled back!
And thus began Red's journey across Kanto. He had already encountered a group of people to share his love of adventuring with, and he hadn't even left Pallet Town! With a newfound sense of duty, Red could finally embark on a quest throughout the Pokemon world!