"Oh, wait up dearest!" Jordan sighed and turned around.

"What is it, mom?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were all ready to start off on your Pokémon journey!"

"But you already checked!"

"It's always good to double check, dearest. It looks like you have everything! I'll see you at Professor Oak's lab!"

"Alright, mom." Jordan turned around and continued the walk toward the famed Gary Oak's lab. He couldn't believe he was finally old enough to go out and pursue his dreams of becoming a Pokémon Master, just like Master Ash Ketchum did when he was ten.

Jordan Arzola surfaced from his ocean of thoughts and looked up, surprised to find out he was already at Gary Oak's Pokémon laboratory. He took a deep breath and walked in.

Gary looked up from his desk. "Well hello there," he said. "What's your name?"

"J-Jordan." He stammered.

"You must be here for your very first Pokémon!"

Jordan nodded, more nervous than ever.

"Come with me. I'll bet you're hoping to turn out like Ash Ketchum did. I was his rival, you know."

"R-Really?"

"Yep. I'll bet you also didn't know that he didn't get to pick a Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle either!"

Jordan shook his head.

"Thought so. Ash overslept, and all that was left by the time he got here was a Pikachu! He and that Pikachu became best friends, and he went on to become Pokémon Master! I hope that's what happens with you and your first Pokémon. Which would you like: Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle?"

They had reached a table with three Pokeballs. He knew that in one of them was his first Pokémon. But which one should he choose?

"I'll take Charmander."

"Good choice. Here you go." Gary handed him a Pokeball. Jordan turned around and left.

When he reached the exit, he saw his mom waiting for him. She looked close to tears.

"I- I'm so happy for you, dearest. What did you choose?"

"A Charmander."

"G-G-Good choice, dearest." Suddenly, his mom broke into tears. "Have fun on your journey, dearest," she said, wiping her tears away. "Good bye."

Jordan nodded, then turned and walked away towards Viridian City.

About halfway along the road, Jordan to stop for lunch. Just as he was setting his backpack down, he saw a wild Pokémon. He went to get a closer look. Seeing it was a Rattata, he threw out the Pokeball containing his Charmander to battle.

"Go, Charmander!" he shouted as he threw the Pokeball. Rattata turned around to see what was happening. When it saw Charmander, it crouched down, ready to fight. "Charmander, use scratch!" Jordan yelled. Charmander lashed out with its claws. "NOW! Pokeball, go!" Jordan threw the Pokeball at the weakened Rattata. The ball shook for a few moments, then laid still. Jordan stood stunned for a couple moments, then rushed forward to pick up his new Pokémon. After doing so, he called it out. "Come on, guys," he said. "Let's get some lunch."

After lunch, Jordan called back Charmander back to its Pokeball. He was about to do the same with Rattata when he saw a wild Pidgey. "Well," he said, turning to Rattata. "Now's your time to shine. Use quick attack!" he ordered. The Pidgey turned and saw Rattata charging toward it. Too late to dodge, it took the full force of the attack. "Good job Rattata!" Jordan shouted. "Pokeball, go!" Jordan threw the Pokeball at Pidgey, but Pidgey, but Pidgey just knocked it away with its wing. "Hmmm." Jordan grumbled. "This Pidgey is tougher than I thought. Go Rattata! Use tackle attack!" Rattata leapt forward to attack Pidgey, but Pidgey flapped its wings, creating a gust that prevented Rattata from going further.

"Rattata, return!" Said Jordan, holding out a Pokeball to recall Rattata. "Now! Go, Charmander!" Charmander appeared in a flash of light. "Charmander, use ember!" A burst of hot embers flew out from Charmander's mouth, hitting Pidgey. "Pokeball, go!" Shouted Jordan, throwing the Pokeball at Pidgey. This time, Pidgey was caught inside. After wobbling around for a few moments, the Pokeball stopped, signaling that Jordan had caught Pidgey. "YES!" Shouted Jordan, running forward to pick up the Pokeball.

With three full Pokeballs strapped to his belt, he finally finished traveling the road to Viridian City. Seeing as it was almost dark, he rushed into town to get to the Pokémon Center and stay there for the night. He burst in just as it started to rain.

Next morning, he walked out of the Pokémon Center ready to challenge Lt. Surge, leader of the Viridian City gym. Just then, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw a boy about his age facing him.

"Hi," he said. "My name's Edward. Want to battle?"

"Sure!" Jordan replied. "My name's Jordan. Good to meet you."

A couple minutes later, Edward had called out a Rattata, and Jordan had chosen his Charmander. Jordan kicked off the battle by ordering Charmander to use growl attack as a way to lower the power of Edward's attacks. Edward then used quick attack, but it didn't do much damage. "Now!" Jordan said. "Use ember!" Rattata stumbled back. "Again!" commanded Jordan. The force of the two attacks caused Rattata to faint.

"Wow," said Edward, shaking hands with Jordan. You're a great trainer."

"Thanks Edward."

"So are you going to battle Lt. Surge? If you are, I would suggest using a ground type against him. It's probably the best shot you have against beating his Raichu."

"Yeah I was just about to head over. I don't have any ground types, but I'll see what I can do."

"Alright then. Good luck!" Jordan nodded, then walked through the doors of the Viridian City Gym.

"I've come to challenge Lt. Surge!" Shouted Jordan, with all the courage he could muster.

A tall, tough looking man wearing tough looking sun glasses stepped out of the shadows.

"You sure you want to do that, baby?" He asked.

Jordan nodded.

"Well then let's do this!" Lt. Surge shouted. He snapped his fingers and lights turned on, illuminating the once dark gym. "Let's do this! Go, Raichu!" yelled Lt. Surge.

"I choose you! Charmander!" shouted Jordan.

"Okay, Raichu," said Lt. Surge. "Let's teach these babies not to play with thunder! Hit 'em with a thunderbolt!"

"Quick! Charmander, dodge!" Charmander narrowly escaped the bolt of lightning. Then Lt. Surge ordered a body slam. "Dodge it again, Charmander!" But this time, Charmander only got partially out of the way, with only its head sticking out from under Raichu's body. "Charmander! Use a close range ember attack!" Raichu rolled off of Charmander. Just then, Charmander began to glow. Lt. Surge took off his sunglasses to get a better look.

After a couple of seconds, it became clear what had happened: Charmander had evolved into Charmeleon! "YES!" yelled a joyful Jordan. "Now Charmeleon! Use Dragon Rage!" The flame on Charmeleon's tale grew bigger. Charmeleon released a fiery inferno from its mouth towards Raichu.

After the smoke had cleared, the battle judge determined that Raichu was unable to continue battling. Lt. Surge returned Raichu to its Pokeball.

"Good job, kid. You're gonna go far. I can tell already. Here's the Thunder Badge. It marks your defeat of the Viridian City Gym."

Jordan stood still, shocked.

"Well? Are you gonna take it?" Lt. Surge's voice jolted him back to reality.

"Of course." Jordan took the badge.

"Well, kid, I honestly think you're the real deal. Just keep training, and I promise you that you'll go far. Take care."

And with Lt. Surge's advice playing on a repeat soundtrack in the back of Jordan's head, he felt ready for any obstacle thrown at him.