"What do you mean I can only use Poison types?" Ivy shrieked. She was at Professor Elm's laboratory to start up her career as a Pokemon Trainer, like so many other kids, youths, and young adults in the area. It wasn't as easy to become a Trainer anymore, though, there were a lot more restrictions than there used to be.
"Those are the rules. Due to over-catching, wild Pokemon populations are lower than ever, and each trainer that comes through gets a different restriction. Elm explained patiently.
Ivy folded her arms. "But you don't even offer Poison type starters."
"I know that," Elm said, handing her the Trainer Application form. "You're legally allowed to borrow any of my starters until you can catch your first Poison Pokemon, then you'll have to return it or your license will be revoked."
"This sucks," Ivy grumbled, but she picked up the pen to fill out the form anyway. Pokemon training was the best job she could hope for, and even if it took her a while to get a Pokemon of her own, she should be fine once she started. There were some pretty cool Poison type Pokemon, after all, and there were a couple different species nearby, so she'd have some options.
Trainer Gender... Female, duh... she thought to herself. Name, Ivy. Type Restriction, Poison. Seems simple enough. Several minutes later, she called out, "Alright, Professor, I'm all filled out and ready to start this thing!"
"Excellent," Elm said, picking up her sheet. "Pick whichever Pokemon you like, and send it back to me when you catch your first. And remember, you can only get the first Poison Pokemon on every route."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," she said, nodding. "I guess I'll take your Fire Starter, just because he's cute."
"Good choice," Elm said, looking up from his laptop. "Listen, I just got an e-mail from a friend of mine. He lives north of Cherrygrove city, and if you could run up there and bring back his newest discovery, I'd really appreciate it. In fact, I'll give you some Pokeballs if you'll run the errand."
Ivy grinned, picking up the Cyndaquil's Pokeball. "Well, I suppose I can do that for you, Professor." After all, something had to give her a bit of an edge.
Cyndaquil was a patient, if quiet partner, and he seemed perfectly happy to be on loan. "I guess it must get pretty dull in that lab all day, right? Nice tackle, by the way," she added, as the Cyndaquil took down his third Pidgey in a row. Cyndaquil just nodded and kept walking.
In no time at all, they were well North of Cherrygrove, knocking on Mr. Pokemon's door. "Hi... Professor Elm sent me?" she started.
"Ahh, yes, excellent!" he said. "Please, do come in. I've got an egg I'd like him to take a look at, I've never seen one quite like it, and neither has Professor Oak here."
"You are Ivy, correct?" Oak said, peering over at her. "Elm explained your situation... I can't break the rules for you, but I can at least give you a tool to help out a bit. This is a Pokedex, and all the Poison Pokemon available in this region have been earmarked for you. That way you won't waste time on routes that don't have any Pokemon you can catch."
"Wow... thanks," Ivy said. "Thanks a lot. That will make this much simpler." Poison was one of the rarer types in this region, and this would be a tremendous help.
"Now I have to be off to Goldenrod, but good luck on your journey," Professor Oak said, waving.
-
"That was nice of him," Ivy commented to the Cyndaquil on their way out the door. "Now I guess..." She was broken off by her Pokegear ringing, and Elm's frantic voice babbling about a theft. "Change of plans, Cyndaquil. There's trouble back at the lab!" Looking worried now, Cyndaquil wasted no time in rushing downhill back the way they'd came.
They were barely halfway there when a boy crashed right into them, tripping over Cyndaquil and almost toppling both himself and Ivy to the ground. "Out of my way," he grumbled. "I can't believe a weakling like you got a Pokemon from Elm."
"Well actually, I... hey, wait. You must be the thief Elm was talking about! Cyndaquil, we have to stop him!"
"Fat chance," the boy snorted. "I've got a type advantage..." He had barely started when his newly sent out Totodile was flattened to the ground, Cyndaquil growling menacingly. "What? Weak little Pokemon... you'll have to do better than that. I'm Anti, and I'm going to be the Champion. You'd better stay out of my way." He recalled his Totodile and shoved Ivy to the side, storming away.
"How rude," Ivy said, staring after him. "You alright, Cyndaquil? Let's get back to the lab!" Apparently suffering no ill effects from the battle, Cyndaquil started off again, even more eager now they were almost in sight of New Bark.
-
"I hope they do catch him," Ivy said to Elm after the police officer had left. "I'm worried about that Totodile."
"Me too," he sighed. "Anyways, how did your visit with Mr. Pokemon go?"
"Oh, right," she said, carefully taking the spotted egg out of her bag. "This is what he sent. And Professor Oak was there too, he gave me a Pokedex."
"That's excellent!" he said, taking the egg from her and settling it carefully in an incubator. He handed her several Pokeballs. "You'll do well now for sure. Now, hopefully you'll be able to actually get started on your quest. That should be enough to get you at least a couple of partners of your own."
"I hope you're right," she said, looking through the Pokedex she'd got. "Hmm... it says I can't catch anything on Route 29, and there's an infentesimal chance of getting a Weedle on 30. We didn't see any while we were there... I think we'll have a look on our way through, but it looks like my best bet is getting a Bellsprout from Route 31."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Elm said. "Good luck!"
-
Some time later...
"One more Tackle, Cyndaquil!" Ivy said, pulling out a Pokeball. As soon as the little Fire Mouse was out of the way, she tossed it, catching the Bellsprout right on its upper bell. After a few tense seconds, the ball locked down. "YES!" Ivy shrieked, scooping it up. Putting Cyndaquil back in his Pokeball, she jogged back downhill to Cherrygrove, careful to avoid all the trainers.
In the Pokemon Center, she healed up both Pokemon, then called Elm. "Professor! I'm sending Cyndaquil back to you now. I've got a Bellsprout."
"That's great news," he said with a smile, glancing down as Cyndaquil's Pokeball transferred back to the lab. "Do you have a name for it yet?"
"Yes," she said, smiling. "I think I'm going to call him Bromine."
"I'll update your Trainer information. Congratulations, you are now an official League Trainer."
Cyndaquil appeared on the desk beside him, and lifted one tiny paw to wave. "Good luck!" came the quiet voice.
"Hey, I was wondering if you could talk," Ivy said with a grin. The Cyndaquil blushed and jumped down off the desk.
"Don't worry, he's a shy one," Elm said. "Keep your mother and I updated, alright?"
"You got it. Thanks, Professor," Ivy said, signing off. She sent out her new Bellsprout, kneeling down to talk to him. "Hey, there," she said with a smile. "I'm Ivy."
"You caught me," the Bellsprout said. His voice was deeper than she'd expected, and echoed just a bit. "Where's that fiery Pokemon gone?"
"He wasn't mine, I was just borrowing him," Ivy replied. "I'm going to be a Poison trainer, which means I can only train Poison types."
"Well... that sounds interesting," he said. "I guess I could come along. Have you got a name for me?"
"I was thinking Bromine. It's a particularly toxic poison... and I think you're going to be a big bro, so..."
He rubbed one leaf across his bell thoughtfully. "I like it. So, where are we off to first?"
She grinned. "Well, there's a gym in Violet City, but it is full of birds. I'd like to get some more teammates first."
"So let's go exploring!" he said, striking a dramatic pose.
"You got it."
Author's Note: This is a documentation of my Poisonlocke in Pokemon Crystal. Basic rules are that I can only catch the first Poison Pokemon I find on any route, and if a Pokemon faints, it's considered dead. This means that I don't know more than a chapter or two ahead of you guys which Pokemon will go to the end, which Pokemon will die… or even if I'll make it to the League. So be prepared for some twists and turns, and feel free to let me know if you'd like to see anything included in the story.