A young man yawned and pulled aside his covers as the morning rays peeked through his curtains. Apparently he had neglected to close them properly the night before. No matter, because today was an important one. It would not do to wake up late.
He ran a hand through his messy blond hair and drew aside the offending curtains. Already he could feel the sun's warmth on his bare chest. Groggily he made his way to the bathroom and washed and dressed. To finish his appearance, he pulled on a beanie hat over his still damp hair, where it sat lopsided, displaying the logo of last year's International Pokémon League tournament. It had coincided happily with his fifteenth birthday and his parents had taken him to the semi-final match at the Indigo Plateau.
His mother was not yet awake, so he poured a bowl of cereal and sat crunching peacefully while her Machoke tidied the kitchen. The masculine pokémon was currently washing last night's dishes in a pair of pink rubber gloves. The sight no longer held the same amusement for him as it had when she had first set it to household tasks, but it coaxed a slight smile this morning as he added his own bowl to the rack of dirty utensils.
He went back to his room and checked that everything was properly packed. Then he slung his pack across his shoulder, picked up the pokéball sitting on his desk and left. He met his mother on the landing; she uttered a sleepy greeting and he waved cheerfully as he passed her. As he made his way to the front door, a note on the worktop caught his attention. It was from dad, who had already left for work. He skimmed the neat capitalised writing and then put it down and placed his hand on the doorknob.
The autumn day assaulted his senses as he emerged into the outside world. It had been raining heavily across the region last night, but Pallet remained virtually untouched. The dew was damp on his canvas shoes as he walked the short distance to the town's laboratory, home of the famous Samuel Oak, pokémon professor. The morning was chilly but the brightness of the sun above hinted at a warm day. Already, several excited teenagers were gathered outside the large complex, many with their tired parents. In the nearest paddock, a herd of Tauros quietly grazed while a pair of Ponyta galloped side by side around the fenced perimeter.
Feeling cheerful, he waved at some of the kids as he passed them and went around to the back of the nearest building. A wooden door was set into the stone wall, and outside sat two pairs of wellington boots. He opened the door and wiped his own shoes on the awaiting mat, before continuing into the large room beyond. Several cluttered desks were spread seemingly randomly about the lab, while in the far corner was a machine for healing injured pokémon. A multitude of computer screens graced one wall, where technicians sat before an array of complex buttons, reading and recording various data.
He ignored these, however, and went straight to the back of the room, where a greying middle-aged man stood poring over countless documents. The professor was so engrossed in his work that he did not even notice the young man who stood right next to him with a bemused grin across his face.
"So, 'The relationships between nomad tribes and pokémon', eh?"
The professor looked up, startled. His bushy black eyebrows had shot up into his forehead. He quickly relaxed and smiled. "Gary. It's good to see you, boy."
"Hey Gramps. You're very popular today y'know. There's loads of wannabe trainers out there. You want me to let them in?"
Oak groaned as if he had completely forgotten what day it was. Gary chuckled to himself. The old man was so into his research that Christmas could have passed him by in the meantime. As he hastily tidied his notes, Gary started to explore the laboratory. It didn't take him long to locate his father, one of Oak's top aides and next in line to inherit the laboratory as the aging professor's son-in-law. Recently he had become so obsessive over his latest project that he was rarely at home. Gary's mother worried that he was somehow turning into her father, despite them being related only by law. "You never know," she had said to him last week, "the power of pokémon works in mysterious ways."
"What's up kiddo?" he said as Gary approached. "Your mother get my note?"
"She was only getting up when I left," he replied, and then added, "I'm sure she won't mind, dad. She understands how important your work is, you just gotta balance it out a little. Don't worry anyway, Choke takes good care of her."
His father nodded, and made to resume his studies. "Oh, and by the way, Ash is coming round to the lab soon. I think it'll do the new trainers good to see you two here." Gary was surprised. As far as he knew, his neighbour had already left on his own travels. Perhaps, like himself, he had decided to wait until enrolment day. Unlike his grandfather, Ash was not one to miss an important date.
Gary left the way he had come in and opened his pokéball. Together he and his Eevee walked around the vast fields in which numerous trainers' pokémon roamed freely. The little fox-like animal trotted around happily. She was his first pokémon, given to him by the professor earlier that year when he turned sixteen. He would perform the same joyful task today, fulfilling the childhood dreams of the kids who waited impatiently outside the lab even as he stood here in the ranch. Recently Ash had also turned sixteen, and it seemed that today Gary would discover what pokémon he had been given.
There was a call from across the field. One of the professor's lab assistants was motioning for him to return to the laboratory. He looked at his feet. "Well Eve, you gonna run with me or do you want a ride?" The small pokémon barked happily and he picked her up, placing her on top of his hat. Then he jogged toward the building and returned her reluctantly to her ball. He briefly swept his gaze over the assistant who had drawn his attention; she was a young woman, probably in her early twenties, with long red hair that fell straight down her back, almost to the waist. In fact, Gary thought, it was probably a health and safety risk.
He entered the lab once again, this time from a different entrance to before. There was muffled speaking in the next room. Gary turned left and quietly climbed the metal staircase. He emerged on a balcony which extended above a group of young teenagers, whose eyes were all fixed on the professor before them and the three shining pokéballs that stood on podiums beside him. It was a few moments before Gary noticed the other silent spectator across the balcony. Ash flashed a grin, and he responded with a curt nod. They had not parted on the best of terms, but hopefully that would be worn away in the heat of a battle.
Below them, Professor Oak picked up the first pokéball, and the crowd entered a hushed moment of anticipation. The capsule enlarged at the professor's touch, after which he gently pressed a round button in its centre. With a brief flash of light, it opened, and a short frog-like creature appeared. There was a plant growing out of its back, the flower still growing inside a closed bulb. Sounds of awe came from the gathered children. "Bulbasaur, the seed pokémon," said the professor.
He moved to the next podium and as he placed his hand on the second pokéball, Gary could just make out the slight translucency that came over its top half. This allowed a trainer to see which pokémon was inside in a fast-paced battle, reducing the time needed to switch in a new contestant. With a similarly blinding burst, an orange reptile materialised next to Bulbasaur. "Charmander, the lizard pokémon" stood on its hind legs and eyed the room warily. A naked flame burned on the tip of its tail.
"And finally, as I am sure you all know," began the professor, opening the final capsule, "here is Squirtle, the tiny turtle pokémon." The tortoise was blue in colour, with a hard brown shell. It too chose to stand upright, resting on its curled tail for balance. "Your choice is simple, but also one of the most difficult decisions you will ever likely make. Which of these three would you take as your partner and friend, your first pokémon?"
An exited buzz emanated from the gathered trainers-to-be. Gary couldn't help but smile at their pleasure; it was infectious. The professor recalled the starter pokémon and placed their balls on a small tray, which he passed to the red-haired assistant Gary had seen earlier. Those were the scientist's own pokémon, not ones available to new trainers. The crowd, however, did not seem to realise this, and fell into silence once again.
"Before I ask you to step forward and make this choice, however," the professor continued, "I have a special treat. How would you like to see a real pokémon battle?" Gary was as clueless as the children below him. Then a nervousness crept through him as his grandfather looked up at the metal balcony. "Gary, Ash, why don't you come on down?"