A cold breeze blew through the window of Jimmy's bedroom. He had never been able to get his window properly shut after that flock of Pidgeys had kamikazed into it. Jimmy lay with his face squashed against his pillow. His black hair stuck out in the rebellious fashion that all anime characters seem to and only with nautical amounts of hair gel was he ever able to tame it. Jimmy took in long deep breaths, clinging to his bed sheet, expectant, yet horrifically unprepared for what was about to come.
His door swung open and two loud thuds signalled his dad's presence.
"Waykeeeey, waykeeeeeeeeeeeeeey!" Jimmy's dad bellowed, attempting to prize a scrambling Jimmy away from his mattress "Come on son, rise and shine, today is the day you become a man!"

Episode 01 - Kicking out time

Jimmy sat at the dinner table poking some rice across his plate with his fork. Rice was pretty much the only food his parents ate. He looked towards the front door, where his parents had carefully piled the majority of his possessions. He wasn't actually taking any of it with him, his mum just wanted to start the redecorating of her new sewing room as soon as possible.

"-and I think that's everything!" Jimmy's mum said with an excited jump. "I packed you some directions once you get to Kanto and have packed your backpack with enough rice to last you a couple of weeks". Jimmy blinked and stared back at his plate.

"Is he still moping?" Jimmy's dad came into the kitchen, already dressed in his overalls "Come on, you're ten years old for Christ's sake, you should be ready to go out and make a man of yourself!". Jimmy slammed down his fork and looked up at his parents.

"Well maybe I'm not ready to leave home," Jimmy said "maybe I don't want to go out into a massive world with no knowledge of how to look after myself." Jimmy's parents stared at him for a while.

"I know what's up!" Jimmy's dad exclaimed, walking over to his son. Jimmy bowed his head, his dad always thought he knew what was up. "You want to meet your first pokémon right!"

"No dad, you're not listening-"

"Well don't you worry! I have my top protégé on his way over as we speak." Jimmy sighed and slipped himself off the chair. Standing at only 4ft 6, everything seemed so big to him. He was a small, skinny ten year old boy with an adventure ahead of him. A terrifyingly dangerous, possibly life threatening adventure.

A loud knock at the door stopped Jimmy's parents mid caramel dance. His dad leapt up in excitement and ran to franticly open the door. A young boy, approximately 14 years old, stood panting in the doorway. He had long, spiky red hair and small brown eyes. An expensive pair of goggles hung just above his eyes.

"Peter!" Jimmy's dad yelled, grabbing the youth and pulling him into a hug "I haven't seen you since I toured Johto, still got that nervous bladder".

"It's a pleasure to see you again Mr Lander" Peter said, ignoring my father's invasion of personal information and bowing graciously.

"Pfft, you needn't bother with such formalities, just call me dad." Jimmy looked up with horror, his eyes wide and mouth agape. "I remember those days we spent together" Jimmy's dad said, pulling Peter into a tight hug "The naivety in your eyes, your obvious enthusiasm towards any challenge you faced, you were like the son I never had."

"Dad!" Jimmy yelled.

"Oh yes of course!" Jimmy's dad turned to Jimmy "You want your pokémon right?"

"Well I was kinda more worried that you-"

"So Peter, what pokémon do you have for…erm…for my…"

"Jimmy!" Jimmy yelled slamming his hands on the table in frustration.

"Yes, what pokémon have you brought for Jerry?" Peter nodded and took a step back. He opened his jacket pocket slowly and drew out a pokéball. Both of Jimmy's parents gasped, their eyes wide with wonderment.

"Today!" Peter shouted, raising a hand into the air "Jimmy Lander will be starting his adventure with his new companion…"

"Seriously can you just give me my damn pokémon so I can go!" Jimmy yelled, grabbing his backpack. Peter awkwardly left his magnificent pose and turned to look at Jimmy's dad, who gave a short nod.

"Yeah, it's a…a Sandshrew" he placed the pokéball on the table and walked to the door.

"Wait, there's no need to leave just yet!" Jimmy's dad yelled. Peter turned around quickly, a large smile creeping its way up his face. "I mean, we have a lot of decorating to do, but I'm sure if you and maybe your Smeargul help us out, we can be done in no time." Peter did a small leap in the air and ran back into the kitchen.

"But, who's going to like…drive me to the station?" Jimmy said, looking over at his parents and Peter who were in a three-way-hug-skip.

"Oh you have your pokémon now, you'll be fine" his mum said. She walked over to him and grabbed his backpack. "Now whenever you win any money, make sure you send some of it to me. I'll make sure it's kept well and truly safe…unless I see something I like…then I may buy it. But on the most part it will be perfectly safe from all the much stronger and more experienced trainers that are almost certainly going to prize it all off you". Jimmy gulped and reached nervously towards his wallet. Flinging his hefty backpack onto his back he walked out the front door.

After getting a lift off a strange man in a cape, who smelt suspiciously of almonds, Jimmy arrived at the train station. His town was small and of little significance, so the nearest pokémon league approved area was about a three hour drive away. The train was meant to drop him off in Viridian City, the home of the Kanto Pokémon league.

Jimmy stood on the platform, his backpack placed down next to his feet. He looked at the pokéball in his hands, contemplating the life that was inside it. He had seen a Sandshrew before, it wasn't exactly uncommon, but to finally have one in his possession, for him to control. He threw the pokéball onto the ground with a loud clunk. Jimmy stared for a moment, noticing the complete lack of a small monster emerging amidst a flash of bright light.

"What a dweeb," a snide voice shouted from behind him. Jimmy turned to see a short, thin, blonde haired boy walking over to him. The boy wore an expensive blue jacket and had his long blond hair perfectly parted down the middle. "You don't even know how to release your pokémon from its ball."

"Well I've never really done it before," Jimmy said staring back at the boy "I knew you were supposed to throw it, but that's kinda it."

"What a noob." The boy said putting a hand to his head "How can you ever hope to become a pokémon master if you can't even release your pokémon"

"How about you tell me how to do it instead of being such a dick about it." Jimmy said, handing his pokéball to the boy. The boy pushed Jimmy's hand aside and walked passed him.

"You press the button on the front, I'm pretty sure you can manage that."

"Oh right, thanks I guess" Jimmy said, feeling around the pokéball for the button.

"What's your name?" the boy said, looking Jimmy up and down.

"I'm…Jimmy" Jimmy said, putting the pokéball back in his pocket.

"Ha, Jimmy, what a stupid name. My name's Daniel and from this day on, you and I are rivals!" The boy raised his fist in the air, apparently waiting for some conveniently timed lightning that never came. After holding the pose for a good twenty seconds, the boy picked up his bag and scurried away. Jimmy looked at his pokéball and noticed that there was in fact quite a large button on the front of it. Making sure nobody had seen how much of an idiot he had been, he placed his finger on the button and slowly pressed it in.

A flash of light dazzled Jimmy and a small figure came hurtling out colliding straight into his face. He fell back with a small squeal as the hefty little creature latched itself onto his shoulder.

"Sand Sand Shreeew!" Sandshrew yelled, digging its claws into Jimmy's shoulder. Jimmy proceeded to let out a high pitched squeal as he attempted to get the highly affectionate creature off his back. A loud ding came from a loud speaker that soon drowned out Jimmy's agonized scream.

"The train to Viridian is now ready to be boarded, make sure all items, TMs and Pokémon are safely stored into your luggage, and we hope you have a pleasant journey.

Jimmy sat on the speeding train, staring out of the window at the world whizzing by. It was the furthest he had ever been from home and yet there was so much further to go. He opened his backpack to see what his mum had packed him for the journey. A small note had been stuck to the lid of his bag.

Dear Jimmy
I didn't have much time to put anything together, so here's some dried rice and some tofu. Just remember to get plenty of rest and not to bitch out of conflict like you usually do. Your father and I love you very much but can really do with the mummy, daddy time, so you can understand how excited we are.
Remember to make lots of friends and take down any criminal organisations you may encounter.
Lots of love
Mum

Jimmy threw the note behind him and pulled out a handful of raw rice.

"Lots of love?" came a snide voice from behind him. Jimmy turned to see the parted blonde hair of the boy from earlier. Daniel was surrounded by a group of giggling girls, who all gleefully laughed at his garish gesticulations. "is the little baby missing his mummy already?" Jimmy sat back in his seat and closed his eyes. He was going to be the bigger man about this. Suddenly he felt a splash of water collide with his face. With a loud splutter, Jimmy wiped the water out of his eyes. A Squirtle stood hopping from foot to foot enthusiastically in front of him.

"What the hell!" Jimmy shouted, wiping his sodden hair out of his eyes.

"That's the power of a real pokémon," Daniel said, patting his Squirtle on the head "So much more sophisticated that you're little pile of mud!" Jimmy turned to Sandshrew, who looked somewhat taken aback at his sudden inclusion in the conversation.

"Sandshrew's with me," Jimmy said, patting him on the head "which means that he's already way more awesome than any pokémon you'll ever raise." Sandshrew contemplated this remark, but decided to remain out of the argument due to his inability to speak.

"Whatever," Daniel said, walking back over to the large group of girls. "I will leave you alone with your little pet, but mark my words, I will be back. For you…are my rival!" Daniel raised his fist into the air, causing his female comrades to swoon and blush.

"We haven't even battled yet you idiot." Jimmy yelled to the departing youth.

Slumping back in his seat Jimmy looked over at the large map on the screens in front of him. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the comfort of his mattress and that familiar breeze against his skin.

Suddenly there was a loud buzz, followed by an over-enthusiastic voice "The train will be arriving at Viridian City in approximately two minutes, all trainers better be ready to start their adventures!"

The wheels of the trains shrieked as they scraped against the sodden rails. Rain splashed down onto Viridian city in huge clumps that were just small enough to navigate the slight gap between Jimmy's shirt and his back. With a small yelp, Jimmy attempted to take his jacket out of his bag. As he pulled open the flap he was met with a disgruntled shriek from Sandshrew.

"Look, if you just got back in your damn pokéball you wouldn't have to hide away in my bag!"

"Shrew! Sandshrew!" Sandshrew shouted, attempting to pull the flap back down over him.

"Could you at least grab my jacket, I'm getting soaked out here!" Sandshrew little paw poked out of the side of the bag and quickly tossed Jimmy's jacket into a puddle. "Fantastic." Jimmy said, pulling the sodden material over his head. "Now where the hell am I supposed to go now?"