The Hero of Unova

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Pokemon characters in this fanfiction except for characters I have created. Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Game Freak.

I woke up with a start. The bright sun shone through my window as I looked into the mirror across my room. My eyes were hardly open, and my hair was a mess. Again. I was going to get out like a regular day until I saw my Pokémon calendar. June 9, the day after my 15th birthday. Although most children have their Pokémon Adventure when they turn 10, the law in Unova is different. You have to be 15 over here, mainly because of safety and educational requirements.

But that wasn't the important part. I was extremely late for my meeting with Professor Juniper! I quickly threw on my favorite outfit, grabbed my messenger bag, and ran downstairs. I was just about to run out the door when my mom stopped me. "You're not leaving on your big day without breakfast. Late or not, you need to eat something." I grabbed a granola bar and ran out the door. As I was running, I heard Mom yell, "I'll be at the lab to see you later!"

I couldn't believe I forgot my alarm. 9 o'clock, I was supposed to wake up. But instead I woke up at 11:45. Oh God I hope there's still a Pokémon left for me, I thought while running to Juniper's lab. Finally I made it. My best friends, Bianca and Cheren, already had their Pokémon, and were waiting at the front door. Cheren was gently patting his Snivy on the head, and Bianca was holding her Tepig in her arms. "Colin!" Bianca called. "When we agreed to wait for your birthday for all three of us to start our adventure together, I didn't think I'd be waiting for you!"

I apologized and made my excuse. "Wow, that sucks." Cheren said. "I think another kid already got the Oshawott that was in there, there might not be any Pokémon left."

"WHAT!" I yelled.

"I don't know, just go check and see." Cheren said to calm me down. I took a deep breath and walked into the lab. Professor Juniper was waiting for me.

"Well, I was starting to think you weren't gonna show." Juniper said. I sighed and told her I overslept. "Shame," She replied. "I hope you're going to be more careful when taking care of Pokémon. Being late is different than forgetting about a living creature." I apologized and promised to do better. Then while I was on the subject, I asked if there were any Pokémon left. "I'm sorry, Colin, but all of the starter Pokémon have been taken." I was starting to get misty eyed. "However, after some advice from an old friend of mine, I decided to give you one of the Pokémon I'm done studying." My head lifted in excitement.

"Really?" I said. Juniper nodded and led me into another room.

"I was studying a rare Pokémon from Sinnoh while researching baby evolution, and I've finished my studies, so I'll let you have it."

"Great! Can I see it?" I said. Juniper led me to a capsule holding a Pokémon. This Pokémon was about 2 feet tall, round-ish, and looked relatively friendly. It had blue fur with a cream color spot on its chest, and on the lower side of its head. It had big ears and two innocent wide eyes. It had a pretty big mouth with two fangs protruding upwards. I looked at the card in front of the capsule. It read:

Name: Munchlax

Gender: Male

Height: 2'3"

Weight: 232.2 lbs

Known Moves: Metronome, Tackle, Return, Thunderbolt

"WOAH!" I was excited at the sight of it. I've never seen any Pokémon like this one. "He's from Sinnoh, Professor?"

"Yes, even in Sinnoh, this Pokémon species is quite rare. I trust that you will treat it with lots of love."

"I will Professor! You can count on me!"

Juniper opened the capsule after putting in a PIN. The transparent walls slowly came down, setting Munchlax free. "Munch!" he yelled. He climbed from the pedestal where the capsule was, and walked towards me. I pet him on the head between his ears. He seemed to really like that. Juniper smiled because of the fact that we were already making friends.

"Well, Colin, it seems your adventure starts right now! But first…" She gave me six pokeballs to start with, along with Munchlax's. Then she gave me a Pokedex, a new high tech device that contained info on every single Pokémon in the world discovered so far. "Use these to capture more Pokémon, and this to get more info on them. Have an amazing adventure full of excitement!" I ran out the door with Munchlax, ready for whatever challenges lie ahead.

As I ran out, Cheren, Snivy, Bianca, Tepig, and Mom were waiting for me and my new partner. "Wow, what kind of Pokémon is that?" Bianca said.

"Yeah, it looks really cute," Cheren added. I told them all of Munchlax and where he comes from. "Well, are we ready to go?" Cheren said. He's had Snivy for a while, since his birthday was a few months ago. Bianca has had Tepig for a few weeks now. We all agreed that we would wait until all three of us had Pokémon of our own, then we would all leave Nuvema Town together.

Mom gave me a hug. "Be safe, Colin."

"I will. You can count on it." As I said that, Cheren and Bianca's Parents each had come to say their goodbyes. This would be the last time I would see any of them for a while. Munchlax was just happy to be around lots of people. I'll bet he hasn't seen anybody else besides Juniper and her fellow scientists. No, He was happily enjoying the fresh air. I didn't put Munchlax in his Pokeball, instead, I decided I'd get to know him better before I start putting him in the ball. Besides, he just got some fresh air. Why put him back in captivity?

As the three of us were leaving town, we saw the entire town from a large hill. "This is it," I said. "We won't be here for at least a few months."

"Yeah, but we've gotta visit every now and then, don't we?" Bianca asked.

"Of course. It's not like we won't miss our families." Cheren said. Munchlax pulled at my leg as I stared at the town I had called home. I looked down at him after spacing out for a bit.

"Something you need, buddy?" Munchlax's stomach growled. "Oh, you're hungry. Here, have some of this." I gave him a can of Pokémon food, and Munchlax gulped it down fast. I checked the Pokedex. I read Munchlax's eating habits, and they were off the charts. Great. I had to keep feeding this guy. But then the Pokedex mentioned a store in Accumula Town that sells special food for Pokémon with large eating habits, particularly for giant Pokémon, but I'm sure the same effect would work for Munchlax. In appreciation, Munchlax gave me a hug.

"Awwwww," Bianca said. "That's cute!"

We went over the hill onto Route 1. Our adventure had begun.