Pokémon Adventures
Chapter 1 – The Journey Begins
"Ugh! I can't believe I'm going to be late for work again! Professor Birch is going to have my head for this" Howie muttered, trying to catch his breath as he ran down the side of the road to Professor Birch's lab.
Howie, a young electronic engineering student, had been working under Professor Birch, Hoenn's leading Pokémon professor, as well as his team, for a little over 6 months now attempting to develop a new super-pokédex. "I really need to invest in a car … maybe a bike, yeah, that's it – I'll get in shape and it'll be good for the environ- … huh? What's that?" Howie tried to make out the figure that was headed towards him; it took a few moments before he could identify the creature as a Pokémon, a Mareep.
"You're one of Professor Birch's Mareep aren't you?" Howie questioned the creature as it neared him. "How'd you manage to escape?" Howie asked extending his hand towards the Mareep. "Mareep! Reep!" the Mareep bellowed before licking Howie's hand. "Friendly little guy aren't you? You know … I could actually use this as an excuse as to why I'm late …. Thanks little guy, you saved the day! Let's get you home"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Now Blake, becoming a Pokémon trainer takes a lot of patience and hard work. You must become one with your Pokémon and battle alongside them" Professor Birch exclaimed as he paced back and forth in front of his son Blake. "Dad! I'm 16! You know how responsible I can be! Can I please have my Pokémon now?!" Blake said, trying to hold back his excitement. Professor Birch sighed. "You've grown up so fast, Blake … Where did the time go?" Birch muttered under his breath, as a single tear rolled down his cheek "Alright son, it's time for you to decide your partner for your journey!"
"You could have the water-type Mudkip!" Professor Birch said as he released the Mudkip from its pokéball "Kip! Kip!" the Mudkip exclaimed, excited to see Professor Birch's face. "Or, you could have the grass type Tree-" Professor Birch was quickly cut off by Blake "Mudkip! I want Mudkip". "But … you haven't even seen your other options yet!" Professor Birch said, shocked by his son's actions "No need to! I've done my research and I know Mudkip is the Pokémon for me!" Professor Birch laughed "Well then, Mudkip is all yours." Birch tossed the pokéball to Blake. "Mudkip! Return!" Blake said happily as the Mudkip returned to its ball. "Wow … my very own Pokémon – Once I catch a few more I'll be able to chall-" Blake was cut off by the front door of the lab being busted open.
"Professor Birch" Howie said entering quickly through the door "You really need to keep a closer watch over these Pokémon! This little guy had escaped somehow and I've spent my whole morning chasing him down … So I hope you'll excuse me for being late" Howie said with a smug smile on his face "Actually Howie, I had sent that Mareep to fetch you since you were so late – I'm glad he managed to find you alright" Birch said staring at Howie before letting out a laugh "Don't worry about being late Howie, today's a big day – Blake begins his Pokémon journey today!" Professor Birch shouted wholeheartedly, not even making an attempt to hold back his excitement "Oh cool" Howie said sitting down at his work station "Which Pokémon did you end up choosing, Blake?" Howie asked uninterested as he started up his computer.
"A Mudkip! Check it out!" Blake tossed the pokéball, which hit Howie in the side of the head, knocking him out of his chair. "Oops! Sorry Howie … I kind of expected it to open before it made it that far" Blake said holding back laughter "Owwww" Howie moaned, writhing in pain on the floor as the newly released Mudkip sniffed his limp body "Kip!". "Professor Birch are you sure this is a good idea?" Howie said standing up, dusting himself off "What do you mean?" Birch asked, puzzled. "I mean giving him a Pokémon … letting him do this on his own. Blake isn't exactly the most mature person … not exactly someone I could picture as a top tier trainer either" Howie said staring at Blake "Howie, he's just a beginner – besides, going on a journey across Hoenn will be a growing experience for both of you" Birch said. "I suppose so … I guess I have seen some worse trainers starting out and they usually end up just fine. Wait, what do you mean both of us?" Howie said, his eyes growing in size "Well …" Birch said, turning away "No! No no no! Professor I'm not travelling across the Hoenn region with a kid!" Howie shouted towards the professor "Oh, don't act like you're so much more mature than I am! You're like 2 years older than me!" Blake shouted back. "Two and a half! Professor Birch, I'm an engineer not a Pokémon trainer! I don't even have my own Pokémon. Why would you even want me to go!?"
"It's finished Howie" Birch said turning around "W-what?" Howie asked confused. "The new pokédex…It was completed this morning" Birch said, a smile growing across his face. "What?! Why wasn't I notified!?" Howie asked, shocked. "Well, maybe if you actually came to work on time …Listen Howie, I need someone to test it out and you're the only one I can trust with technology , plus I'll feel more comfortable knowing that Blake won't be on his own. You don't need to stay with him the whole time, just long enough until he gets the hang of things and we can verify that the pokédex works."
Howie stood in silence for a few moments "Fine. But I want a raise" Howie said with a smile. Birch began to laugh "We'll discuss that when you get back! Here you'll be needing this" Birch said as he pulled out a pokédex from his pocket "it's already been registered to your name – so whenever you catch a Pokémon it'll automatically register any information about it in here. I have the standard model for you Blake – Once we know the accuracy of this new dex we'll upgrade yours" Birch said, handing the pokédex to Blake before turning back to Howie "You'll also be needing a Pokémon, you could have Treecko or Torchic." Howie thought about it for a moment before answering. "I want the Mareep" he said looking down and smiling at the Pokémon. "A unique choice … but if that's what you really want, it's all yours" Birch said before handing each of the boys a backpack "I've took the liberty of preparing you both with supplies. There's enough food, potions and pokéballs to last you to Petalburg City…. I'm proud of you, both of you" Birch said, wiping a tear from his eye "You should leave now, before it gets too late – I wish you both the best of luck, keep me updated with your progress"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Man, dad seemed really upset just now" Blake said looking down at the pokéball in his hand "Do you think I'm making a mistake?". "Nah, your dad is just really proud of you – He's known that this day would come for a long time now, I guess he just never expected it to come so quickly" Howie said looking over at Blake, who returned a smile back at him "Thanks …. What would you say to a Pokémon battle?" Blake asked with a grin "I'm not a trainer Blake, I just research technology that helps the trainers" Howie said pulling out the pokédex "Speaking of which, let's test this thing out – Mareep! Go!" Howie said releasing the Mareep from its pokéball. "Alright, hold still Mareep!" Howie said as he held the pokédex up to the Mareep. A laser shot from the pokédex and scanned the Mareep, who looked confused.
A voice began to resonate from the pokédex "Mareep, the wool Pokémon" A holograph of Mareep was then projected from the pokédex "Mareep's fluffy coat of wool rubs together and builds a static charge. The more static electricity is charged, the more brightly the lightbulb at the tip of its tail glows." "Oh man! That's so cool!" Blake said staring wide eyed at the pokédex "Thanks" Howie said with a smirk "the holograph was my idea." Blake grabbed the pokédex from Howie's hand "I want to try with Mudkip" Blake exclaimed as he released Mudkip from its pokéball. "Careful! I worked half a year on that!" Howie said in worried toned "Alright, let's see here…" Blake fiddled with the pokédex for a moment before scanning the Mudkip "Mudkip, the mud fish Pokémon" as before a holograph of Mudkip was projected "The fin on Mudkip's head acts as highly sensitive radar. Using this fin to sense movements of water and air, this Pokémon can determine what is taking place around it without using its eyes. "
Blake looked at the pokédex for a moment, puzzled. "So … why isn't it displaying any other information about Mudkip?" Blake asked. "What do you mean?" Howie replied. "When you scanned Mareep it had information on its habitat, diet, everything! It's only showing a picture of Mudkip" Blake asked. "Well, I assume it's because the pokédex is registered for me as a trainer … which is kind of weird to say, because I'm not a trainer, but I think it only gives a full analysis on Pokémon I actually catch myself …. Only one way to find out though" Howie said, looking up and scanning the trees for a few moments before spotting a Pidgey perched on a branch "Mareep! Use thundershock on that Pidgey!" Howie shouted, Mareep charged towards the bottom of the tree before shooting a bolt of lightning out of its tail, stunning the pidgey, causing it to fall from the tree. Howie tossed a pokéball at the downed Pidgey, engulfing it in a bright red light. The ball began to rock back and forth for a few moments before coming to a halt. "Alright" Howie said, picking up the pokéball "Let's put this theory to the test "Go Pidgey!" Howie said releasing the newly caught Pidgey before holding up the pokédex one last time "Pidgey, the tiny bird Pokémon" like before a holograph of pidgey was projected from the pokédex "Pidgey has an extremely sharp sense of direction. It is capable of unerringly returning home to its nest, however far it may be removed from its familiar surroundings."
"Yeah, all the information is here" Howie said, scanning through all the newly recorded information "Look – 'Pidgey is docile and prefers to avoid conflict' the perfect Pokémon for someone who doesn't want to be a trainer" Blake said lightly punching Howie in the shoulder. "Haha aren't you funny? We should probably stop goofing around and head out before it gets too late, if we're lucky we can make it to Oldale town before nightfall" Howie said looking up at the sun "Yeah! I caught it!" a voice echoed from the woods, causing both of the boys to look in the direction of the noise, then back at each other "Good job bro!" a higher pitch voice followed shortly after. "Must be some other trainers" Howie said repositioning his body to try and see something through the trees "Awesome! Let's go battle them!" Blake yelled, taking off into the woods "But … I'm not a trainer …. And it's going to be dark soon! …. Blake? … Blake? …. He's not coming back" Howie let out a sigh before running after Blake.
"Here Veronica, you take this one" the young man said, handing a pokéball to the short brunette girl beside him "But … Tanner, you caught it! It's your Pokémon" she said, shocked by his actions. "If she doesn't want it I'll take it" Blake said appearing out of nowhere "Who are you? Have you been watching us?!" Tanner asked aggressively "Ignore him, he's just really excited about Pokémon. I'm Howie and this is Blake." Howie said, out of breath. "Oh great, another one – why were you creeps watching my sister and I?" Tanner said eyeing both Howie and Blake. "We weren't watching you. I heard you say that you caught a Pokémon and I wanted to come battle you! I just became a trainer today" Blake said with excitement "I'm flattered, but I think I'm a little out of your league" Tanner said before turning to his sister "Come on Veronica" he said as he began to walk away "You coward!" Blake screamed "battle me!" he screamed again as Tanner continued to walk away "I'll battle you" Veronica said looking at Blake "I'm sorry for his arrogance, but he's not wrong – he would easily beat you. Tanner, give me the Pokémon" she said turning to him "Suit yourself" Tanner said tossing over a pokéball to her.
"Alright, let's do this" Blake said before taking a pokéball off his belt "Go Mudkip!", "Skitty! I choose you!" Veronica said tossing a pokéball back. "Isn't he cute" Veronica said with a smile "Not as cute as my Mudkip!" Blake said smiling back "Oh dear lord, are they really going to make this about how cute their Pokémon are" Tanner said, taking a seat next to Howie "Yeah … he's new to this" Howie said eyeing the two Pokémon. "What's your deal anyway? Are you like his babysitter?" Tanner question "Yeah, pretty much" Howie said, not taking his eyes off the battle."Skitty! Use Tackle!" Veronica shouted.
The Skitty rushed towards Mudkip and rammed it with its body, knocking it back. "Mudkip! Use water gun!" Blake commanded, his Mudkip began to shoot a stream of water out of its mouth "Dodge it Skitty! Then hit him with another tackle!" The Skitty jumped out of the way of the path of the water and tackled Mudkip once again, knocking him over. "Come on Mudkip! I believe in you!" Blake shouted at his downed Mudkip. Mudkip hopped back to its feet "There you go! Now hit Skitty with a tackle of your own!" Mudkip began charging towards the Skitty. "Skitty! Use sing!" Veronica ordered. The Skitty began meowing a soothing tone, which put Mudkip to sleep before reaching it. "Now Skitty! Hit him with one last tackle!" Veronica said with a grin growing across her face as her Skitty rammed Mudkip once last time, knocking it out. "Mudkip! Return!" Blake said retrieving Mudkip in its pokéball. "Good match!" Veronica said with a smile. "No it wasn't" Tanner said, standing up "You have the audacity to call yourself a trainer? That was one of the most pathetic displays I've ever seen" Tanner said staring at Blake. "What?! Says the guy who was too scared to battle me!" Blake said pointing at Tanner "I told you, I'm out of your league – You couldn't even beat my sister whose just a rookie …. Speaking of which, we need to get going Veronica, we need to train for the tournament" Tanner said grabbing his sisters' arm.
"What tournament?" Howie asked, turning to Tanner "The Petalburg cup – Once a year, Trainers gather there and compete in a giant tournament, the winner gets a rare Pokémon, it's in a couple of weeks and Veronica and I plan on entering" Tanner said before a smile grew on his face "…and winning". "Then I'll enter too! We need to pass through Petalburg to get to Rustboro City anyway!" Blake said. Tanner burst into laughter "Keep dreaming kid, you need at least six Pokémon to even register and I doubt your pathetic Mudkip could even handle it" Tanner said with a smirk growing on his face, a frown grew across Blake's. "You said it was in a few weeks right? That's plenty of time for him to catch and train his Pokémon … Besides, Veronica only has one Pokémon too right?" Howie said trying to calm the argument "We'll see….Would you be entering?" Tanner questioned Howie "What? No! I'm no-" Howie tried to explain, but was quickly cut off by Blake "Howie will enter, and he could easily beat you" .
"Oh really? Well I guess we'll see in a few weeks … I wish you both the best of luck on your journey. You'll need it. Come on Veronica" Tanner said as he walked away. "Umm, it was nice meeting you" Veronica said shyly before chasing after her brother. "Wow … What a jerk!" Blake said , watching as Veronica and Tanner walked away. "Forget him, it's getting late – we really need to rush If we still want to make it to Oldale Town. Come on" Howie said walking away "Tanner … I will beat you, I promise" Blake whispered to himself as he continued to watch the two teens walk away.