Okay, just so everybody knows, I do not own Pokemon or have any sort of affiliation with it. All of the OCs in the story belong to me; characters and Pokemon from the game such as, for example, Professor Birch and Pikachu, belong to Nintendo and Gamefreak. Otherwise... enjoy!


Chapter One: Late For An Appointment

"Damn it, why didn't my alarm clock wake me up?! Man, I knew I shouldn't have gone to that stupid graduation party!"

Cole Richards cursed his lame alarm clock as he hastily cleaned himself up for his special appointment. His parents had arranged a meeting with Professor Birch for Cole to receive his own Pokemon on the day after his high school graduation. Unfortunately, one of Cole's best friends dragged him off to a graduation party, and when he returned home later that night, he had fallen asleep the instant his body hit the bed. By the time he woke up, he was already forty-five minutes late for the appointment.

Hurrying as quickly as he possibly could, Cole forced himself to be washed, shaved, and dressed in the next five minutes. He remembered that his dad had told him that the weather would be rather chilly today, so he pulled a blue collared shirt over his black Tee, and for good measure slipped on his favorite blue-jean jacket. That ought to keep me at least a little warm, he thought pleasantly to himself. He shoved his hands into two black gloves, wrapped a scarf around his neck and, seeing as he figured he wouldn't be any warmer even if he tried, ran out of his bedroom and headed toward the front door. Both of his parents were absent from the house, so hopefully his late wake-up call would go unnoticed.

After deciding to make a quick stop in the kitchen and shoving two slices of bread into his mouth, Cole went to the front door of the house, exited the house, and locked the door behind him.

"If I run as fast as I can, I should make it to Professor Birch's house in thirty minutes, tops."

So Cole immediately took off down the street, sprinting as fast as he possibly could. The cold wind blew through his dark brown hair and chilled his face; he knew that he'd have to deal with the wind burn later, but he had to get to Professor Birch's laboratory before he was totally screwed. As Cole ran, he started to think of what Pokemon he should choose. From what he had heard, Birch was the only professor who gave trainers the option to choose between the three Hoenn-exclusive Pokemon Torchic, Treecko, and Mudkip. Cole knew each of those Pokemons' evolutions and the fighting potential that each Pokemon possessed, and since each one was so awesome in its own right, choosing only one was going to be a very difficult decision.

Torchic evolves into Combusken and Blaziken, each of which are top-notch fire and fighting Pokemon; Blaziken can even take on such powerful fighters like Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, and Lucario. Treecko will eventually become Sceptile, which is supposed to be an incredibly agile grass Pokemon. My dad said that its power could rival that of a dragon Pokemon… that's just insane, though. Then there is Mudkip, who evolves into Marshtomp and the powerful Swampert. Such great Pokemon, all of them, and it's amazing how they are can so strong and still be considered starters…

It was aggravating how Professor Birch lived out in the grassy outskirts of Littleroot Town. Birch was known as one of the youngest and most brilliant Pokemon professors in the world, as well as one of the few professors who was actually very physical in his research. Since he was still very young for a professor, Birch preferred to experience Pokemon in their habitats up close and often resorted to taking long excursions in the wild. To catch him working in his laboratory was often a rare occasion worthy of celebration.

The road that led from Cole's house, which was just barely within the limits of the town itself, to the professor's lab passed through a hilly grassland that stretched as far as the Petalburg Woods. Wild Pokemon inhabited these grasslands, and as the young man ran the path, he could make out several different Pokemon: a flock of Taillow swarmed overhead, probably searching for this morning's breakfast; a pair of Linoone fed their baby Zigzagoon a couple of berries; and he could even hear the quiet murmurings of a Wurmple spinning its string shot. It was simply amazing to watch and listen to the goings-on of Pokemon, but as much as Cole wished he could admire them for a bit longer, he continued to press forward to the professor's lab.

A couple of minutes more, Cole realized he could hear a voice somewhere off to his right. Despite the fact that he was pressed for time, he could not shake the feeling that the voice, however distant, sounded rather familiar. Taking just a second to check out the source of the voice, Cole left the road and cautiously walked into the tall grass. With each step the voice got louder and a little more discernable. Cole started to think that he was being silly; after all, it was not as if it was uncommon to hear people talk to others or even themselves in the wild. So why in the world was he so curious about who was speaking now?

When Cole climbed out of the tall grass, he finally saw the person doing all of the talking: a somewhat tall, broad-shouldered man in a white lab coat and khaki shorts, complete with sandals. The man was bent over on one knee, examining a plant with little purple berries. "These Oran berries will be just perfect for the Pokemon! I'm also sure that they would be wonderful in pies… hmm, that would be interesting: Oran-berry pies! Scrumptious delights for both Pokemon and humans! Wow, I may have very well invented the newest food trend! Poke-pies all around!" Professor Birch laughed heartedly as he started picking the berries from the plant. Cole simply stood in his place, dumbstruck.

"Um, Professor Birch? What exactly are you doing?"

The professor turned around to acknowledge Cole and smiled widely at the sight of him. "Cole, my boy! How marvelous to see you!" Birch stood up and walked over to Cole, shaking his hand which, Cole noticed afterward, was now covered in sticky berry juice. "I see that you caught me in the middle of my research. I came out here initially to make a short documentary of the Pokemon in their natural habitats, but instead got caught up in admiring the plant life." The professor chuckled at his own eccentric behavior and then asked, "So what can I do for you?"

Cole grinned slightly. "My parents made the appointment for you to give me my first Pokemon, remember?"

Birch slapped his own forehead and laughed. "Ho-ho! I completely forgot about that! Yes, I see now. Okay. Well then, let's make our way back to my lab, shall we? I believe my research out here is complete for today; I have been outside all day since four o' clock this morning," he added as he grabbed his large brown shoulder bag and escorted Cole back to the main road.

"Why were you out so early, Professor?" Cole asked disbelievingly. He himself never got up that early.

Birch smiled and scratched his bearded chin; Cole realized that, despite the professor's youth, his hair had several light grey spots. "I'm a Pokemon professor, Cole. Aside from my own family, my greatest love in the world is Pokemon. Being able to see Pokemon act in their own environments, behaving on their own without human interference: that is something I have come to delight in over the course of my short life. Of course, being paid for my work and efforts is fine and dandy; it gives me a way to provide for my family and let them live good, comfortable lives. But even if I wasn't paid for it, I could not dream of doing anything else other than what I am now. That is how much Pokemon mean to me."