Notes: It should be noted that when I refer to pokemon as a species I use lower case and as a name I use upper case. Also, I used some pretty generic first and last names for my original characters. Take them, you die. Note that I do not own the rights to Pokemon at all. Enjoy.
Chapter 1: The Neophyte
It was everyone's dream, to rule the Kanto Pokemon league. Millions of trainers across two planets try it, but fail. That hasn't stopped people from trying. Even immigrants from the planet Earth have tried to compete. Pokemon and their diverse powers remained the core of the Kanto culture. Because of that, it has become the dream of the Kantonian youth to wield these amazing creatures.
This particular dream has become the obsession of this one particular youth. His name was Simon Espenson. He was 13, had green hair, and was dressed in a regular t-shirt and jeans. His room was covered with pokemon paraphernalia. It was your typical pokemon fanatic's room. He was sitting on the floor watching the re-run of a past tournament match. He watched it intently.
The crowd was going nuts.
"The match is going down to the wire!" the announcer exclaimed. "Point goes to Miss Prinsen!"
The crowd cheered. Her pokemon, a Raichu, cried loudly in triumph.
Her opponent called of his defeated pokemon and sent forth a Rapidash. The flaming horse pokemon stood on its hind legs and neighed. Its flaming mane showed brilliantly.
"Battle commence!" the ref yelled.
The trainers shouted their orders.
The Raichu stood on its tail and launched a magnificent Thunder attack from its body. The Rapidash dashed out of the way and breathed fire at the electric mouse.
Simon heard a familiar voice outside his bedroom window.
"Ok that's it! I'm tried of throwing rocks. Throw me through his window!"
Simon looked around.
"Heeeeeeey Simon!" the kid said as he came through the open window and landed on Simon's bed.
"J-Jason?!" Simon exclaimed.
"Yep that's me!" Jason said smiling. Jason grabbed the remote and turned off the TV.
Jason was 16 years old. He was taller then Simon. He had brown hair and he was wearing blue jeans and a red, light jacket.
"What'd you do that for?" Simon said standing up.
"Dumbass, you're supposed to get your first pokemon today remember?!" Jason replied.
"Oh….shi…snap!" Simon said smacking his forehead. "How much time do I got?"
Jason looked as watch. "Oh about...20 minutes," he said sarcastically.
Simon quickly put his shoes on, picked up his backpack and ran out the door.
Jason simply laughed, called back the pokemon that threw him through the window, and followed.
Simon sped out the door and ran down to Professor Oak's Laboratory. Jason looked around the empty house. Simon's parents died years ago while he was still young. Simon lived with his older brother Ed until he left on his own journey.
Since there was no one to look after the house, Jason plopped himself on the couch to watch TV.
He picked up the remote off the table and turned the TV on. He started flipping through the channels, watching for about 3 seconds per channel. Soon, he dozed off and fell asleep.
Outside…
Simon ran like hell to the esteemed Oak's Laboratory. He leaned against the door, breathing heavily. He pushed the door open and slowly walked inside. Inside, it was bustling with activity. Men and women in lab coats were running around everywhere doing random things. Simon walked around in utter awe. He never saw so many pokemon in one place.
One person was experimenting on the viscosity of various grimers. A pair of women were testing the voltage and power output of various electric pokemon. A young male scientist was trying to use an abra to read the mind of a female colleague for reasons that were obviously not in the interest of science.
Simon walked to the rear of the laboratory to Professor Oak's work table. Oak was working their alone watching a video camera watching two tauros headbutt each other over a miltank.
"Umm…sir?" Simon asked timidly.
The old professor turned to him.
"Oh Simon!" he said smiling. "You're two hours early."
Simon nearly fell over.
"So are you sure you're ready this time?" Oak asked.
"Y…yes sir. I actually studied this time," he said shamefully looking down.
"That's good," he replied sternly. "You failed that exam you need to pass three times already. Normally, kids get their first pokemon at age ten."
"I know sir…I'm just a bad test taker."
Oak patted him on the back. "But you got the highest marks in the class this time."
"I did?"
"You bet. So that's an accomplishment in it of itself. So, moving on to business," he said taking three pokeballs out of their cases. As per what's standard for those who follow our program, trainers start with either the grass type Bulbasaur…" he said typing a bunch of keys on a nearby counsel and a picture of said pokemon appeared on the screen.
"…the fire type Charmander….and the water type Squirtle. So which will it be?"
Simon stared at the screen for a long time. He was debating over in his head what other people have said about them.
"The three pokemon that will be your choices for your first pokemon go in a rock-paper-scissors kind of triangle. Except it is grass-fire-water. Bulbasaur sacrifices speed and mobility for defense and power and is easier to level up. Charmander is a lot less tame but makes up for ferocity in battle. Squirtle has its turtle shell for protection and has been known to handle itself well in the clinch," were the words of his teacher and possibly one of the few times he was actually paying attention.
"What pokemon to pick? Ummm….they're all pretty much well balanced. On their own they're pretty tough if raised well. With one of those pokemon alone you'll have a huge advantage over someone who caught his first pokemon in the wild around town. Just stop stressing about it and just follow your instincts," were the words of his brother.
Simon thought of it a little more then it clicked. He turned to the professor.
"Professor Oak, my brother came to you for his first pokemon right?"
"Yes he sure did."
"Which one did he pick?"
"Umm…a squirtle, why do you ask?"
"Then I'll take a bulbasaur!" he said smiling.
The old professor pressed a few buttons on a keyboard and a pokeball came out of a slot on the table and he handed it to him.
"So why a bulbasaur?" he asked.
"I want to eventually beat my brother, so now I have something to counter his squirtle. All I need to do is catch five other pokemon to counter whichever five pokemon he currently has," he said standing up and clutching the pokeball like a kid would do to a toy it always wanted.
Oak simply laughed. "A good plan Simon but it's not quite that simple. I'm sure his squirtle would be a blastoise by now. And he's a tournament contender too. You have a long way to go before you even have a shot at beating him."
Simon looked down gloomily.
Oak patted him on the back. "But don't worry about that. You have your whole future ahead of you!"
Simon cheered at that.
"Well…time to register you into the official pokemon league," he said turning in his chair and back to the computer.
He typed a few commands on the keyboard and the picture of the three starting pokemon disappeared and up popped a picture of a blank, generic trainer id card. He typed in more commands and Simon's picture appeared in the portrait slot. A random id number was assigned above it. A dollar amount that was set at $0 was changed to $5000. There was another slot for pokemon caught which Oak changed from 0 to 1. He then went to the personal information which filled in automatically. Below that were eight empty spots for badges. He clicked on print. Simon's trainer card came out. It was the same composition and size as a normal driver's license.
Oak held it up to the light. "Let's see…Simon Espenson…age 13…id no. 09462. That's you alright. This will function as identification, a record keeper, and a credit card," he said handing it to him.
Simon pocketed it in his jeans pocket. "Thank you professor!" he exclaimed.
"Not a problem son, now run along."
Simon nodded, attached the pokeball to his belt, and headed back towards the exit.
It looked the same on the way out except the guy with the abra was now on the floor sprawled on his back in a daze. He had a distinct, feminine, red hand mark on his face. His female colleague was walking away with the abra in her arms and with a look of disgust on her face.
Simon scratched his head in thought then shrugged and walked out the door.
Back at the house…
Jason was snoring loudly. He muttered something about girls before he accidentally slid off the couch and landed on the floor with a thud. He slowly stood up rubbing his head.
"Ow…" he said reaching for the remote. He was on some news channel and the female reporter was somewhere up in the mountains where it looked like a war was just fought.
"The conflict with the rockets has cost more lives this morning as a small skirmish was fought in the mountains north of Pewter City. Twenty Kantonian soldiers were killed in the battle along with thirty-five wounded. Several pokemon, both wild and those in the military, were among the dead as well."
The camera was about to zoom in on a hurt geodude when Jason turned off the TV.
"Damn…small skirmish my ass," he said setting the remote on a table and walking to the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of water and took a sandwich before heading back to the couch. He was halfway through his sandwich when he heard the door being opened.
"Hey Jason!" exclaimed an excited Simon. "I finally got my first pokemon!"
Simon sat on the opposite end of the couch and opened the pokeball. The bulbasaur appeared on the table. It stood on its hind legs and growled happily. Simon knelt on the floor next to the table and poked his pokemon.
"I can't believe it's actually real!" he said excitedly. "Yay for Bulbasaur!"
Jason laughed and adjusted himself in his seat.
"Relax dude. Don't get over excited," he said. He smirked knowing he shouldn't talk, he was no better. He took another bite of his sandwich.
Simon watched bulbasaur get used to the environment.
"You started with a bulbasaur right?"
"I sure did," he replied with his mouth full. He swallowed. "Those were the days."
"So what does it eat?"
"Well it's a grass pokemon. Just let it sit out in the sun and it'll be fine for a few days. They, like most pokemon, will eat berries or any generic pokemon food that you can buy for cheap."
"What attacks should it know?"
"Tackle…growl…that's about it at this stage."
"Well….Bulbasaur…tackle."
Bulbasaur took a step backwards then running tackled what it was looking at, which happened to be Simon. Simon fell backwards and hit the seat of the couch. He rubbed his chest where he was hit.
"He's a hard hitter," he said groaning a little.
Jason finished his sandwich and drank his glass in one shot.
"Of course they are. He weighs 15 lbs."
Simon picked Bulbasaur up.
"How do you know it's a he?" he asked curiously. He lifted it up to see its underside. "I don't see any parts."
"No one's ever seen pokemon mate. No one knows how. They know when they're being watched, it's freaky. And trust me, it's a boy."
"Really now?" Simon asked looking Bulbasaur over for any tell tale sign that would give its gender away.
"Trust me on this. You'll be able to tell once you get more experience with pokemon."
Simon sighed. "Oh well. But we'll be the greatest team won't we Bulbasaur?"
Bulbasaur growled in reply.
"We can take on the world!" he said putting it back down on the floor. "Bulbasaur return," he said calling him back to the pokeball. Bulbasaur disappeared in a flash of red light.
"That's the spirit," Jason said laughing leaning back on the couch.
"I'll be able to take on the Elite Four before long."
"Like hell."
"What was that?" Simon asked turning to him.
"You're getting ahead of yourself. All rookies do."
"You'll see. I bet I could take you on."
"Again…like hell."
"I've mastered the strategy. I can beat anyone on the simulator in any situation with whatever disadvantage I have," he said standing up.
"Oh really?" Jason said calmly. "The simulator's glitched, and it doesn't take a lot of factors into effect like state of mind for instance."
"Well still, I'll be able to contend with the best of them. My teacher said I have the best aptitude for battling in all of his classes."
Jason sighed. "If you can think you can take me, meet me outside."
Simon couldn't sit still. "Yes!" he said with excitement before running outside.
Jason laughed and stood. "This'll be quick."
Simon stood in the middle of the dirt road outside his house with his hands hovering by his sides, he was tensed up. Jason calmly walked out and stood several feet away from him. A woman gardening in the house across the street stopped to watch from a distance. A small wind blew around the leaves of the nearby trees and bushes. It was a clear, nice, spring day.
"Are you ready?" Jason asked.
"You bet I am," Simon said reaching for his pokeball.
"Then let's go!" Jason exclaimed reaching for his ball.
"Go Bulbasaur!" Simon said as he threw his ball towards Jason. The ball landed and popped open. Bulbasaur appeared in a white flash and it growled saying it was ready to go. The ball then flew back to Simon.
"I could get used to this," he said in amazement.
Jason smirked. "Go…Venusaur!" he yelled throwing his ball.
The pokemon that appeared had Simon speechless in amazement.
The venusaur roared in anticipation. The sheer size of it intimidated him. Simon saw these in the simulator, they were decent graphics in it of itself on the computer but it was nothing compared to the real thing.
Jason laughed again. "Are you going to sit there with your mouth wide open or are you going to battle?"
Simon gulped. "Y...yeah." he said already having second thoughts about it. But he saw a similar situation before in the simulator so he decided not to back down.
"Then order him already," Jason replied.
Simon thought the battle over in his head. "Tackle!"
Bulbasaur nodded in response and charged forward.
"Vine whip!" Jason ordered.
Two vines came out from under Venusaur's flower. All Simon heard was a whipping motion and then the next thing he knew, Bulbasaur was on its side, unconscious.
Jason called back Venusaur. "No contest."
Simon ran to his Bulbasaur. "What happened?"
He picked it up to see two bruises on its face in the shape of leaves.
Jason sighed. "Let me help."
Jason walked over to him and pulled a yellow, diamond-shaped item out of his pocket.
"What is that?" Simon asked.
"A revive," Jason said calmly. Jason cracked it open in front of Bulbasaur's mouth and a yellow fluid flowed into its mouth. Bulbasaur stirred a little then opened its eyes and growled at Simon softly.
"It's ok!" Simon hugged it tightly.
Jason smiled having been reminded of his first loss and what he felt. "Now you've learned your lesson. Don't get ahead of yourself from now on," he said ruffling Simon's hair.
"Heh…I guess you're right," he said before groaning. "How do you do it? My journey's going to be tough."
Jason patted him on the back. "Don't worry. It WILL be tough. Especially in this day and age with all the shit going on in the world."
Simon sighed. "How does that make me feel any better?"
"Because I'm going with you."
"But…my brother went alone." Simon looked down sadly.
Jason lightly rapped him on the head with the back of his hand. "You're not your brother. Stop trying to emulate him. And you know you won't get anything done without me."
Simon sighed but looked up happily. "I guess you're right."
Jason turned around. "Well I should be. I'm never wrong."
Simon rolled his eyes. "Like when you said Tiffany didn't have a boyfriend?"
Jason nearly tripped over his feet. "That was a different circumstance."
Simon laughed. "Gotcha."
Jason turned back to him. "Well the point is…I have a lot more expertise then you do and a lot more money and I've had a history of saving your ass."
"Heh…that's true. When will we go?"
"First thing tomorrow!"
"Heck yeah! You're the greatest Jason."
Jason scratched behind his head. "You know I am. Now get back in the house, Bulbasaur needs a nap as you can see.
Simon looked down then ran back into the house.
Jason sighed. "This has 'long year' written all over it," he said walking back into the house and locking the door behind him.
The woman who was watching giggled softly and went back to gardening.
