Episode 1: Departure

Today, I become a Pokemon trainer.

Shane thought that to himself as he looked in the mirror. He put on a baseball cap that matched the rest of his new traveling clothes - a light blue polo shirt, denim trousers, and black hiking boots. He adjusted his hat, studying himself at different angles, but no matter how he wore it, the black Poke Ball logo on the front was too bold for him. This was the type of hat a budding Pokemon master would wear. Shane wasn't going to be a master. He was leaving to study to become a Pokemon researcher, and of course, he was going to support his closest friend.

"Are you ready, Shane?" Professor Filbert asked as he opened the door.

"Yes, professor." Shane settled with wearing his hat in the most symmetrical position he could manage.

"She's going to be here any minute. Have you packed everything you need? Including that thing?"

"Don't worry, I double-checked everything." Shane glanced at his backpack, packed with camping gear, clothes, food, and other necessities.

The professor gave a warm smile. "Good. At long last, you're going out to see the world. You look brilliant in those clothes. They say that any Pokemon trainer traveling these days must do it in style."

"I hope Rachel put more thought into her outfit than I did," Shane said casually. "She's the one who's going to be a Pokemon master."

Professor Filbert walked up, put his hands on Shane's shoulders, and looked him squarely in the eyes. "Remember this, Shane. You are not doing this just for Rachel. This is for you, too."

Shane had to tilt his head up to meet his gaze. The professor was a whole foot taller, and the visor of Shane's hat was lower than he intended. "I know that," Shane answered.

Filbert smiled again. "I'll go fetch the Pokemon. You just wait by the front door."

"Don't make me wait out there by myself. I'll help you get the Pokemon ready."

"You'll be spending plenty of time with Pokemon. Just go outside and greet Rachel when she comes. You're the first person she'll want to see."

"All right," Shane yielded. With that, he walked out of his room and out the front entrance of Filbert's laboratory. In the distance, Shane could see the morning sun, still hanging low over the tall buildings of Glassport Town. Beyond those buildings was the ocean water surrounding Blessing Island and the rest of the Old King Archipelago. He kept gazing in that direction until he spotted her.

The first thing he noticed was her black pigtails bouncing as she jogged down the dirt road. She was smiling radiantly as she lugged a large A-frame backpack over her shoulders. She waved and shouted, "Shane!"

"Rachel! What's with that backpack?"

The girl quickly ran up to him and stopped, panting lightly. "I brought it just for this journey! See, there's enough room for a tent, sleeping bag, first aid kit, lightweight stove - "

"I already told you, I'm going to carry the stove and first aid kit," Shane cut her off.

"What if we use up all your medicine? Or if your stove breaks?" Rachel countered.

"Look at you! You just jogged here from your house, and you're almost out of breath. How are you going to hike for hours lugging all this?"

"Don't underestimate me! I've spent the last two years working out for this journey!" Despite her dainty appearance, Shane knew for a fact that Rachel was sturdy for her age. Shane himself was five years older and had a hard time keeping up with her whenever they worked out together.

Shane took the pack from her. "Rachel, you're going to be a Pokemon trainer from now on. You don't want a backpack slowing you down. You're going to leave some of this stuff behind, including the backpack. The frame alone must weigh twenty pounds."

"Oh, come on!" Rachel whined. "My dad used this backpack when he traveled the world. It's a classic!"

"Rachel, did you do any shopping for this trip?"

Rachel chuckled proudly. "As a matter of fact, I bought these clothes last weekend!" She put her hands on her hips, displaying her blue nylon jumper over a white T-shirt, navy cargo pants, brown tennis shoes, and a purple cap crowning her black hair.

Shane frowned, unimpressed. "You could have tried to be a little more stylish."

"Why? I think this outfit looks cool. It's from pretty popular brands."

"It's not an outfit a girl your age would wear."

"What matters is that it's functional for the outdoors," Rachel defended.

"It's not like you're going to spend every minute outside... Forget it. You need to choose your starter Pokemon. Professor is waiting out back."

"Yes, finally!" Rachel excitedly hopped the fence dividing the front yard and the Professor's ranch. Just from here, she could see the acres of gently sloping, green hills and woods of Filbert's ranch. Blessing Island wasn't very large, and owning this much land was an honor. Standing much closer were the professor himself and Natalie, the part-time assistant who would soon replace Shane. "Good morning, Professor, Natalie!"

"What took you so long? I thought you'd be more anxious to get your first Pokemon!" said the short, young assistant.

"Sorry, Natalie! Shane was nitpicking my equipment."

"We'll fix that later," Shane said. "The Pokemon comes first."

Rachel directed her attention to three tiny Pokemon at the Professor's feet. As Shane mentioned them, they jumped and cried enthusiastically.

"Bulba!"

"Char!"

"Squirtle!"

Rachel knelt down to face the small creatures. "Good morning, little guys! Are you ready for today?"

The three squealed again in confirmation.

Filbert spoke, "As you know, Rachel, you will pick only one of these Pokemon as your starter Pokemon and your first comrade on your journey. Will it be the grass starter, Bulbasaur, the fire starter, Charmander, or the water starter, Squirtle?"

"I've already decided my first Pokemon." Rachel pointed one finger and proclaimed, "I choose you, Squirtle!"

"Squirt-squirt!" The round, blue turtle Pokemon squealed in delight as it waddled up to Rachel and jumped into her arms.

Filbert spoke again, "Shane, it's your turn to pick to pick your starter."

"I've decided my first Pokemon, too." Shane crouched. "Come here, Bulbasaur."

"Bulba!" The stout, reptilian Pokemon followed suit and hopped into Shane's arms.

"Char..." The remaining Charmander looked down dejectedly, the flame on its tail dimming slightly.

"All three of you are splendid Pokemon. As for you, Charmander, I know a trainer in Kanto who's turning ten next month, and I heard he has always wanted a Charizard."

"Char!" Charmander cheered up again at the remark.

Filbert turned his attention back to Rachel and Shane. "As two new trainers, you need two more things before you go." He pulled out packages from his lab coat.

"Oh boy! I know what this is!" Rachel accepted one package and opened it, pulling out a red device resembling a wide flip phone. "A Pokedex! I always wanted one!" She opened the gadget, revealing a wide OLED top screen, a smaller bottom screen, and several buttons like a gaming handheld. She pressed the power button, and both screens came to life. A synthetic woman's voice emanated from the speakers, "Congratulations on activating your Pokedex. Please hold the machine before a Pokemon to scan it, or press the Home button to access the Settings menu."

Without hesitation, Rachel aimed the Pokedex at Squirtle, and the top screen flashed once before presenting a high-resolution image of Squirtle.

Squirtle, the tiny turtle Pokemon. It strikes prey with spouts of water and hides in its shell when in danger.

"This is so cool!" Rachel gushed, her green eyes beaming. "Professor, thank you so much!"

"Now, Rachel, don't forget the rest of the package."

Rachel looked inside again. "Oh! There's a badge case - and Poke Balls!" She pulled out a holster with five miniature Poke Balls.

"You certainly can't be a Pokemon trainer without those." Filbert handed her another Poke Ball. "This is Squirtle's Poke Ball. This shouldn't need explaining, but be sure to keep all your Poke Balls close to you."

"Of course, professor!" Rachel clipped on the sixth ball, attached the holster to her belt, and stuffed the Pokedex and badge case inside her jumper. "Shane, let's have a Pokemon battle!"

"Right now?"

"Sure, there's still an hour before the ferry leaves, and we won't have room to fight on the boat. We should test our Pokemon while we can!"

"Squirt-squirt!" the turtle Pokemon agreed.

"Sounds good to me." Shane smiled slightly. "What do you say, Bulbasaur?"

"Bulba!" his Pokemon cried excitedly.

"Not too hard," Filbert warned. "We don't have time to go to the Pokemon Center."

With that, Shane and Rachel stood several yards apart on the grass, on opposite sides of an imaginary battle field. Their Pokemon stood ready for combat. As if for dramatic effect, a strong breeze blew at that moment, swaying Rachel's pigtails.

"Alright! Squirtle, use Tackle!" Rachel shouted with a point of her finger.

"Bulbasaur, use Tackle, too!" Shane shouted with his own finger point.

"Squirtle!"

"Bulbasaur!"

Bulbasaur skipped forward while Squirtle waddled on his short feet. They rushed towards each other, then sprang forward, their bodies colliding in mid-air with a loud BANG! and bouncing back. They both landed on their feet, although Squirtle teetered for a split second.

"Nice, Squirtle! Just keep hitting hard, like that!"

"Squirtle has that shell to pad himself, but he's not good on his feet," Shane commented. "Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip this time!"

"Bulba!" Two green vines sprouted from under Bulbasaur's bulb and pounced at Squirtle.

"Squirtle, Withdraw!"

"Squirt!" Squirtle pulled his head and limbs into its shell a split second before the vines smacked against it.

"Good job, Squirtle! Now strike back with Water Gun!"

Squirtle popped out of his shell and fired a high-powered stream of water from his mouth. Bulbasaur recoiled as the stream struck him in the face, but he held his ground.

"Vine Whip, again!" Shane commanded.

With the water still gushing into his face, Bulbasaur cast his vines out toward Squirtle.

"Ah! Squirtle, quick, hide!"

Before Squirtle could react, one vine slammed into his side, and another into his leg, knocking the Pokemon onto his rear as the Water Gun ceased.

"Bulbasaur, finish it off with another Vine Whip!"

"Bulba!" Bulbasaur swung his vines back and flicked them forward again.

"Squirtle, withdraw!" Rachel spoke urgently.

Squirtle quickly retracted before the vines smacked against his shell.

"Now throw him up in the air!"

Bulbasaur's vines wrapped themselves around the shell and tossed it upward, spinning it end over end.

"No!" Rachel cried in alarm.

"Now strike its underbelly!" Shane ordered.

Bulbasaur stretched his vines up high above Squirtle. Time slowed down, and he could clearly see the shell, twirling like a coin. Then, with impeccable timing and precision, Bulbasaur smacked his vines into Squirtle's underside, plunging him straight into the ground.

"Squirtle!" the turtle Pokemon grunted as he popped his head and limbs out.

Rachel ran to his side and knelt. "Squirtle, are you alright?"

"Squirt-squirt..." the Pokemon affirmed weakly as he rubbed his abdomen. He had a red welt on his leg where a vine had struck him.

"Let's end this battle here," Shane suggested. "We don't want to tire our Pokemon out before we get on the ferry."

"Aw, well." Rachel stood up. "I'll admit defeat this time, but I'll become stronger than you before long! Just you watch!"

"I hope you do." Shane knelt down and petted Bulbasaur. "You did an awesome job, Bulbasaur."

"That really was amazing!" Natalie spoke from the sidelines. "Shane, you should aim for the Pokemon League like Rachel!"

Shane faltered just slightly. "I already decided, Natalie. I'm going on this journey as a researcher."

"The choice is yours to make," said Filbert. "As long as you have passion for what you do, you'll be happy."

As the professor spoke, Rachel pulled out a potion from her cargo pants and sprayed it on Squirtle's leg and belly. With a cheerful "Squirtle!" he hopped and lied on Rachel's shoulder.

"Do you like sitting there, Squirtle?"

"Squirt-squirt!" The small Pokemon seemed to be comfortable.

"Okay! We're still a little early, but let's head to the docks!"

"We still have to change your gear!" Shane snapped.

Against Rachel's complaints, Shane and Filbert spent the next half hour looking through storage and fishing out a medium-sized backpack, a nano-tent, and micro-sleeping bag.

"There's no way you can fit a tent in this! Where are the poles?" Rachel asked as she groped a canvas bag the size of a textbook.

"Haven't you seen a nano-tent before?" Shane replied in disbelief.

After some similar retorts, Shane and Rachel bid Natalie goodbye, and the two new trainers, their Pokemon, and the professor started the walk into Glassport Town, an old-fashioned, rural town with gray, cobblestone streets. Flocks of Wingull cawed from the rooftops. Shane had spent half his life in this town, and Rachel had lived here since she was born. It felt bizarre to think that neither of them would come here again for almost a year.

The group arrived at the docks before a moored ship where Rachel's mother, Margaret, waited.

"So, you changed backpacks after all," said the woman, still in her mid-thirties. "I said you should have bought a new one."

"Why is everyone so picky about backpacks and sleeping bags?" Rachel whined.

"We already discussed that thoroughly," Shane assured Rachel's mother.

"I won't keep bugging you about it then," the mother joked. "Still, I can't believe my little girl is leaving to be a Pokemon trainer..."

"Don't worry, Mom. I have Shane and Squirtle to watch my back."

Margaret stepped close and put her palms to Rachel's cheeks. "But still, you've changed so much. You were never even interested in being a trainer before Shane's parents passed away..."

"Come on, Mom, you're making this all sappy." Rachel pulled her mother's hands down.

"I'm sorry." Margaret's eyes showed the slightest signs of moisture. "Just promise me you'll be safe."

"Of course. I'll be away for a year, at most, and I'll come back as the champion of the Alfos League!"

"I know that you'll do your best. Even if you don't become the champion, I'm already proud of you."

"Geez, Mom, you don't have to make every sentence sound so melodramatic," Rachel groaned with a faint blush. "The ferry is about to leave in a couple minutes. Do you have any last words that aren't so sappy?"

Margaret chuckled, ignoring her daughter's sarcasm. "Be sure to call me, okay?"

"I will." Rachel hugged her mother goodbye.

"Squirtle!" Squirtle cried from his perch on Rachel's shoulder.

Margaret patted the turtle on the head. "You'll be good friends with my daughter, won't you?"

"Squirtle-squirt!" For good measure, he thumped one hand against his chest.

"I'll be watching over her, too," Shane spoke up.

"Bulba!"

Margaret nodded. "I have faith in all of you."

With that, Rachel and Shane boarded the ship, and as it exited the port, they stood on deck and waved Filbert and Margaret goodbye, receiving their blessings until they shrank from view.

"Okay, Rachel. It's time for your next surprise."

"A surprise?" Rachel questioned.

Shane pulled off his backpack, reached inside, and took out a round, tin container.

"Oh my gosh," Rachel gasped.

"Go ahead and open it," Shane told her.

She lifted the lid of the container, revealing a white cake with words written in blue frosting: "Happy 10th Birthday, Rachel!"

"Oh, Shane..." Rachel smiled as tears formed in her eyes..

"Let's go to your room and eat," Shane suggested.

"Right!"

"Squirtle!"

"Bulba!"

That was how two new trainers and their Pokemon departed on the journey of a lifetime.

The first calamity happened that evening.


Thank you for reading the first chapter of my Fakemon story~(´・ω・`)ノ As always, feel free to leave feedback.

Also, just in case, the Pokedex entry for Squirtle is from Pokemon Y and is owned by Nintendo and Game Freak |ू・ω・` )