It's time for my next story, continuing right after where I ended An Emerging Trainer. This'll be a bit longer than its predecessor, but it'll still be just as good. Let's get started.
Vermilion City. The gateway to the Kanto region. Terrell, a Trainer fresh from the Lily of the Valley Conference, Natasha, an adventurous Trainer and Terrell's significant other, Chris, an aspiring Pokéathlete, and Gary Oak, a Pokémon researcher coming to Kanto to visit his family, stood in the Vermilion City Airport, where Trainers and their Pokémon were running around to their flights.
"We can catch a bus to Pallet Town from here," uttered Gary. The three of them nodded before heading down to the bus station, before getting on the bus.
"Isn't Pallet Town Ash Ketchum's hometown?" asked Natasha. Terrell nodded.
"That's another reason why I wanted to come to Kanto," replied Terrell. "To see the region my childhood hero's from."
Gary smirked upon hearing this.
"I actually knew Ketchum personally," replied Gary. "Back when I was a Trainer, we were heated rivals."
"Wow," replied Chris.
"Of course, that was back when I was more cocky and reckless," replied Gary. "I eventually decided on becoming a researcher, but we still have a battle whenever we meet."
"Fascinating," replied Terrell. "Still, I'm super excited for our journey through Kanto."
"Yeah," replied Chris. "We'll need to register for the Indigo League and the Pokéathalon once we get to a Pokémon Center though."
"Good idea," replied Natasha. "For now, let's just enjoy this bus ride."
"Giovanni wants a report on the status of the controlling device," uttered a Team Rocket grunt. Dr. Zager turned towards the grunt.
"You can tell him it's finished," replied Dr. Zager. "We just need to test it."
As the grunt left the room, Mewtwo reared its head towards Hoopa as they remained captive in their cells, bound by the strange energies within the cell.
"They're getting closer to controlling us. We're powerless to stop them."
"Hopefully it's not powerful enough to control us."
Giovanni entered the room, smiling at Dr. Zager.
"It's finished!" exclaimed Giovanni. "So how does it work?"
"I reverse-engineered the Iron-Masked Marauder's Dark Ball technology into the form of a ray," uttered Dr. Zager. "Only this time, its power is amplified due to the strength of Mewtwo and Hoopa."
"Did you make sure to prevent them from breaking free through sheer will?" asked Giovanni.
"Of course," replied Dr. Zager. "That part alone took ages."
"I'll get our tech teams in here to get a Pokémon to test this thing on," replied Giovanni.
The bus pulled into Pallet Town, with the four Trainers getting off. The town was small, with Professor Oak's lab overlooking it.
"We're finally here," uttered Terrell. "Let's get to the lab."
The streets of Pallet were filled with people and Pokémon. Oak's lab was atop a hill, and the four of them made their way inside.
"Ah, Gary!" exclaimed Professor Oak. "You made it!"
"Good to meet you Professor," uttered Terrell. "I'm Terrell Foster, and these two are Natasha and Chris."
"Good to meet you all," replied Professor Oak. "Gary told me you'd be coming to pick out starter Pokémon to go through Kanto with."
The three Trainers made their way to a table, where three Poké Balls popped open. A Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle emerged from the Poké Balls, smiling at the Trainers, who immediately went for their starters, much to Professor Oak's shock.
"It's not that often that Trainers choose their starter Pokémon that quickly," uttered Professor Oak.
"We decided before we came here," replied Natasha. Professor Oak smiled.
"I'll get your Pokédexes and Poké Balls for your trip through Kanto," replied Professor Oak.
Terrell looked at Chris and Natasha, smirking.
"How about we battle each other?" Terrell asked. "Just our starters."
"Sounds good," replied Natasha. "Besides, the last time we battled was at the start of our journey."
"I'd love to battle," replied Chris.
"Kasai, use Scratch!" exclaimed Terrell as he neared the end of his battle with Chris. Kasai, his Charmander, responded by slashing Squirtle with a vicious claw strike. Squirtle reeled in pain, but held on.
"Tackle, now!" exclaimed Chris. Squirtle rushed at Kasai, hitting him with a vicious tackle. The flame on Kasai's tail began burning brighter.
"Growl!" exclaimed Terrell. Kasai let out a screeching noise that startled Squirtle, leaving him hurt.
"Tail Whip!" exclaimed Chris. Squirtle wagged its tail, making Kasai less weary.
"Scratch!" exclaimed Terrell. Kasai lunged at Squirtle, slashing him with a sharp claw and knocking him out.
"Huh," uttered Chris. "Besides, I'm not much of a battler."
"Looks like we've done all our battles against each other," uttered Terrell. "We should start heading to the Pokémon Center in Viridian City so we can register for the Indigo League and the Pokéathalon."
"Sounds good!" replied Natasha. The three Trainers began making their way out of Pallet Town towards Viridian City.
And there we have it! I'm really excited to delve into Kanto as it means we'll see some nice cameos from many Original Series characters. Anyways, see you soon!