"Well which one is the one you've already promised away?" I exclaimed, looking shocked at the two choices in front of me.
On the left stood a bird, I recognised as a Pidgey. It appeared to smile as it chirped and hopped around, occasionally fluffing its feathers as it grew accustomed to its surroundings. On the right was a Caterpie. Nothing special, no facial expressions or anything. Just a plain old Caterpie.
For the first time in my life I hoped to have the bird. I absolutely hated birds, but nothing could be worse than-
"Oak! Todays the day!" The door swung open behind us. A beaming smile followed by a very energetic young woman flew into the lab. I was certainly up Muk's creek here. It was non-other than self proclaimed celebrity Jessica Birch. She was the girl in school that all the boys would swoon over, and the girls would envy. She was not only the most popular girl in Pallet Town, but due to her incredible success of singing over social media she was expected to be the next global superstar. In other words, a complete and total asshole.
She paced up to stand next to me, and glanced at the selection in front of us. "Is my Pidgey ready? I've already chosen a name and everything!" She exclaimed. She was a walking foghorn. The type of person who would announce her words ten times louder than everyone else.
"Jessie…" Oak mumbled, appearing distant in thought. Glancing his eyes back down towards the Pokemon figdeting around on the floor he seemed to collect himself, "Yes here he is. Freshly caught in the wildlands of Route 1, I present you with Pidgey." He handed her over what looked like a red smartphone and to my sudden surprise it automatically switched on. Following a blue screen, it started beeping furiously.
"That's a Pokedex. It automatically records whenever you view a Pokemon wearing the eye attachment which is clipped onto the back." He minimised the Pidgey back into its pokeball and instructed Jessie to place the eye-piece on over her ear, and look straight at the pokeball. Clearly the loud beeping of the dex started to get annoying, so he quickly tapped a few options on the screen and told her to stare directly into the camera.
"This is for your trainer ID, it needs photo identification and also stores all the information about your current party, your amount of badges and most importantly your name and date of birth. Scan this," Oak explained, placing the ball in her hand.
Whilst Jessie was fumbling around with her new device, clearly struggling to set up all the information, he handed me exactly the same thing. Which of course then began beeping until he pressed a few buttons and opened up what appeared to be a menu screen. Returning the Caterpie to its ball, he then handed me over what appeared to be my first pokemon.
"As I'm sure you can see, this is all I have left unfortunately, but it'll be a great incentive for you to go out there and start catching as many Pokemon as you can see!" He stuttered, pointing over to the dex in my hand. "If you'd like to fill in all the information you can see then we can finally set up your trainer ID."
I looked down and started to fill in all sorts of information about myself, my age, when I was born, where I was born, my next of kin details and the rest. Finally I landed on a screen which informed me to scan my first Pokemon. Placing the eye-thingy on my ear, I glanced through it and looked at the ball which was now sitting silently on the desk. The screen suddenly lit up, with all kinds of information.
'Caterpie, the Bug Pokemon. Level 5 Bug Type. Male. Moves: Bug Bite, Tackle, String Shot. Caterpie use their antenna to release foul stenches which are used to repel predators. It has large yellow rings over its body, resembling eyes which are used for defensive purposes.'
Suddenly the idea of owning the worm seemed a whole lot more interesting! I glanced over at Jessie, as she appeared to be reading the description of her own Pokemon. She glanced over at me, and both our eyes lit up.
"So, as I'm sure you both can see that the Pokedex is a very highly advanced piece of equipment. It's not just your form of identification, it's also your way of navigating through the world. Kanto isn't the only region you can visit you know!" He exclaimed with a wink. "What I want from the two of you is the fill the dex with as much information as possible, as you travel around the regions. Each of the professors from each region have tasked two teenagers from their local towns to do exactly the same things that you're doing. But if I'm honest I just want the two of you to follow your dreams."
"What's important to remember whilst you're on this journey is to enjoy every second of it. Make it exactly what you want it to be. If you choose to take on the recently opened gym quest and make your way up to the championship, or become a professor like myself, or even just open up a herbal remedy store, make sure you don't become influenced by other people to do something you don't want to do." Oak advises.
We both stare at him with open eyes, thinking of our future possibilities that the world of Pokemon could open up for us. "So is that it?" Jessie asks, clearly eager to start her journey.
"Yes Jess, that's it." Oak says as he slumps back down into his seat. For a 23 year old man he seemed to remind of someone a lot older.
Jessie turned to me and clutched her Pidgey's ball, "I suggest we have a battle to see which starter is stronger!" She exclaims, fire burning in her eyes.
Knowing full well that she'd have a type advantage over me, I ponder the idea for a minute. Lightbulb moment. "Tell you what Jess, let's have this battle when we get to Viridian City, just past Route 1. That gives us a bit of time to bond with our partners."
"Scaredy cat." She mutters, and storms out of the lab in a very positive manner.
I glance over at Oak, he just rolls his eyes and continues to mess around with his own dex. I give him a wave goodbye, and make my way back home. It was my birthday after all, I had some celebrating to do!
I can't believe I got stuck with a Caterpie, of all things! I chuck out my newly acquired Pokemon and get down on my knees so we can see eye to eye. "Hello there little guy, my name's Kerry! Nice to meet you." I look up at the sky and see how peaceful the sky is. Not a cloud in sight. That's it! Excitedly I look down at the worm, "I'm going to name you Sky! Do you like the sound of that!"
The Caterpie wiggles for the first time since I've laid eyes on it. I'll take that as a yes. Welcome to my team Sky.
