Chapter 1 :
Beginnings
"We've just this in! A group of people have formed a criminal
organization called Team Plasma. They are extremely
dangereous, as there have been reports of Pokémon mising
from their trainers. We suspect Team Plasma is behind this,
but further proof is needed before the police gets a
solid lead. Stay tuned for more, on Pokémon Channel 5!"
Somewhere in the Unova region, a boy named Soma is preparing
himself for a journey to become a Pokémon master.
Suddenly, Soma heard a voice.
"Soma, wake up! Juniper called and asked you to go to her lab right now.
Apparently it's somenthing important."
Soma was still sleepy from the last day. He couldn't contain
the excitement, this was going to be his first day as a
Pokémon trainer.
"Hey mom." said Soma in a tired voice.
"Hey. Remember to eat your cereals before you leave, Sugar!" she exclaimed.
Soma quickly ate his cereal with some milk. After that,
he choose his clothes carefully, for this was going to be a
long journey after all.
"So you're all grown up... you're looking more and more like
your father. Are you sure you really want to go?" said Soma's mom
in an unsure tone.
"Mom, my father was also a trainer. I want to experience what it feels like
to go to different places, meet new people, you know..."
After a brief respite, Soma went for the door.
"Bye mom."
"Bye sugar..." she replied.
After Soma went through the door, Soma's mom whispered to herself :
"If only he knew what his father went through... if only..."
After a little walk away from home, Soma reached what seemed to be
Juniper's lab. At the entrance, he meets with Genya, his best friend.
"What's up Soma? Oh, yeah, today's the day you're going to become
a Pokémon trainer, right? Mine's too!"
Surprised, Soma replies "Oh, really? This is news to me..."
Together, they enter Juniper's lab, and they are ultimately greeted
by Juniper herself.
"Oh, hello boys. I assume you two received my call?" She asks.
"Yes, we did." replies Genya, "So, where are our Pokémon?"
"Your Pokémon? They are just outside the lab, near the mountain view. Look for a girl
named Bianca, she has your starting Pokémon."
"Thanks Juniper." replies Soma in a kinda happy tone.
After another short walk, both Soma and Genya meet a blonde-haired girl at
the appointed spot.
"Is your name Bianca?" asks Soma in a polite way.
"Heya! Nice to meet you! I'm Bianca! I'm Professor's Juniper assistant!" screams Bianca in a weird way.
After shortly covering his ears, Soma's response is :
"Hey, no need for the high voice! We can hear you just fine..."
"We're just here for the Pokéballs. You got them?" Genya asks.
Bianca quickly opens her bag and shows three Pokéballs to the two trainers-to-be. She says :
"Sorry about the outburst. I was trying to make a good impression! After all, you guys are going on a journey, so I need to sound optimistic!"
"Yeah, right... so... what's inside these Pokéballs?" Soma asks.
"Oh, these. You can choose one Pokémon for your quest! These are the ones we have available for you both : Snivy, Oshawott and Tepig!"
Genya points his finger slightly at Tepig, but the exact next moment he re-points his finger at Snivy and says :
"I'm gonna pick Snivy, I just have this feeling he's the right choice!"
Soma ponders for a moment, then he decides :
"I want Oshawott."
Bianca then gives Soma his Oshawott Pokéball, and gives Genya his Snivy Pokéball.
The moment Soma grabbed the Pokéball, he though he heard voices through his head. Somenthing like, "Hi trainer".
"Hey, Genya, did you hear anything?" He asks.
Genya replies "No, why?"
Soma pauses for a split second. "Eh, nevermind."
Bianca then barges in and says : "Now, you guys go back to Juniper so she can give you two your Pokédexes!"
Soma and Genya stare at each other briefly, then they head to Juniper's lab once again.
Juniper greets them again, this time giving them a great mission :
"So I see you two got yourselves a Pokémon. Well, as you probably guessed, i'm a Pokémon researcher. I would have you two do a little errand for me..."
Genya, surprised, asks "What kind of errand?"
Juniper replies "You see these two devices on that table? These are Pokédexes,they are highly technological and can scan information on any kind of Pokémon!
One of my objectives as a researcher is to acquire information on all of these little critters and use these for improvements to the society. However,
I can't abandon this lab and simply go exploring, it's not that simple. Pokémon can be dangereous if encountered in the wild, and i'm not too good of
a trainer."
Soma interrupts her speech "So, what you're trying to tell us, is that you want us to scan every Pokémon for you?"
Juniper boldly responds "Well, it's not like that. You don't have to scan EVERY Pokémon, but i'd appreciate if you at least tried to gather some scan
information for me. Don't think of it as a mission, think of it as a side-quest, somenthing to do when you have free time. Besides, it'll be good
experience for you too, since information can be the decisive factor in Pokémon battles!"
Genya jumps in and says "Enough with the chit-chat lady! We're gonna take the Pokédexes and become the best trainers ever! See ya!", afterwards, he picks one of the Pokédexes and sprints through the door.
Juniper nods her head and says "That little boy has no patience... hope he can take care of himself! What about you, Soma?"
Soma looks at Juniper, and then firmly says "I'm up for the Pokédex job. I can't afford to mess up after all."
Juniper hands out a Pokédex to Soma and encourages Soma "You made a good choice! Believe-me, you're going to need all the information you can get on this journey."
Soma heads through the door, only to find Bianca,Genya, his mom and a mysterious man outside.
"So your son is setting out on a quest?" asks the mysterious man to Soma's mother.
"Indeed! I believe in my son, he will become much stronger!" Soma's mother answers.
Just then, the mysterious man notices Soma's presence, and goes up to him "Hello Soma, i'm Cheren. I'm Nuvema's town GYM Leader. When you get stronger, please visit my GYM."
After that, Cheren heads back to his GYM.
Soma, puzzled, decides to approach his friends with a question, however, he is interrupted by Genya "Hey Soma! Since we're going on a quest, how about we exchange our PokéLink numbers?"
"Huh? PokéLink?" says the confused Soma.
Soma's mom then hands out a PokéLink to Soma and clears Soma's confusion :
"It's a little handy device that works just like a cellphone, but it actually has some extra features. I bought it for your journey, nowadays, everyone has one of these, sugar."
"Oh?" Soma then continues "Hm, thanks mom. I'm sure it will be useful."
Bianca then barges in again and says "Here, let's register each other!"
Soma exchanges numbers with his Mom, Bianca and Genya.
Genya, impatient, says "I'm itching for a Pokémon battle! Since you're my best friend, i'll battle you first, Soma!"
Soma didn't expect a battle so soon, but he replies "Okay, I guess we can battle..."
Soma sends out his male Oshawott, while Genya sends out his male Snivy. That same moment, they realize somenthing.
"Hey, Soma, our Pokémon don't have nicknames yet, do they?" is Genya's question.
Soma replies "Hey, you're right. Oshawott, here."
Oshawott turns around, and then looks at Soma's eyes.
"I'm Soma. I'm your new trainer. I think I should name you Ken. You're ok with that?"
The Oshawott nods up and down, and then responds "Yeah! It's a great name!"
Soma becomes shocked. Was that just right? Did he hear Ken's voice? Pokémon aren't supposed to talk... but... apparently,
Genya didn't seem shocked, so it might just be... that... Soma actually has the power to understand Pokémon speech!?
"That's all you wanted to say?" asks Ken.
Soma snaps out of it and replies "Uh, yeah, so, you're now Ken. So, are you ready to battle?"
"Yes! Let's have an awesome battle!" answers the cute Ken.
Genya then waves at Soma and says "I've already named my Snivy! Ok, Milos, let's go!"
The battle now starts for real. Ken and Milos seem to bash at each other to see who's stronger for a few moments, until Milos tips back and falls on his back.
Soma then runs towards Ken and then lifts him in the air with his hands "Good job Ken! I knew you had it in you."
Ken gives Soma a smile "I'm happy that you're happy Soma!"
Genya mutters a little to himself, and tells Soma "Ok, I'll see you all later. I'm going to the next town to become stronger!" and then darts away.
Bianca, who was the only one watching the battle, says "Good job Soma! You should definitely go after your friend, you need a lot of training to defeat Cheren!"
Soma's mom then comes in and gives Soma some Pokéballs "I also bought these for you, just in case Ken gets lonely, sugar."
"Thanks mom." replies Soma. "Right, now I have a quest to fulfill! Let's go Ken!"
"All right Soma!" replies Ken.
And the two of them leave town. This is only the start of Soma's journey...