With a wide grin on his face, the black-haired kid stepped into the laboratory. Looking around, he saw all kinds of weird machines and devices standing on tables, shelves, and sometimes even on the floor. Several researchers where absorbed in their books, appearing to have not even noticed the boy, whose smile faltered when he saw the professor was not in the room. After quickly scanning his environment and deducing there weren't any doors, the boy's smile faded completely. It wasn't until someone across the room spoke up that he moved.

'Hey, Reddy-boy. What're you doing here? 'M sure gramps isn't going to give you a Pokémon?'

Sure enough, Red had noticed the brown-haired kid, but he had pretended not to see him. The boy couldn't resist taunting him whenever he had the chance. And this was a golden one. 'Go away, Blue. I'm looking for Professor Oak.'

The boy, Blue, had once been a friend of Red's. No, even more so, they were best friends. They were together every day (which wasn't very difficult, as they were neighbors), they talked a lot, they played games they had made up together, and had the same dream. The dream of becoming the strongest trainer there had ever been.

It was this dream that drove them apart.

Blue had always been self-centered and was friends with Red because he deemed the boy weaker than him. Red, however, thought of them as equals and had friendly competition in mind. Blue became more and more arrogant and would constantly remark on how strong he was and how much stronger he'd become, and whenever Red spoke up saying he'd become strong too, the brunette would eye him with pity and tell him too never stop trying, because "you could become pretty strong, but never able to beat me." As Red had to hear more and more of these comments, he became so insecure he became a very silent person. Blue noticed this and didn't think him worthy of being his "friend" any more. Thus, his bullying began.

Now, as they were both fifteen years old, they were not even "acquaintances" any more. They were downright enemies. This would change later on, but right now, they hated each other.

The black-haired boy turned around before his bully could say anything and walked outside, closing the door behind him. Walking into an Oak-less laboratory and coming face to face with his greatest fear (because even though he denied it, he was afraid of his neighbor) had completely ruined his mood. Kicking a rock, he tried to think of places the old man could be. He was not in the laboratory. If Red had searched all other places and couldn't find him anywhere, he would return there and wait for him. He was a good friend of Red's mother, but he probably wasn't at their house. Red would have passed him on the street when walking to the lab. He could have gone shopping, or something like that. Red decided to check the main stores eventually, but first he went to search Oak's house- or rather, the house of his kids.

The doorbell's ring had barely faded when a girl opened the door. She blushed slightly when she saw Red, but quickly regained her posture and greeted him. 'Hi Red! What is it? Shouldn't you be at grandpa's lab?' Red smiled. Daisy, Blue's sister, had always been nice to him, even when Blue had stopped talking to him. 'Well, I went there, but the professor isn't there. I suppose he also isn't at your house?'Daisy shook her head. 'Sorry.' 'Do you have any idea where he could be?' She thought for a second, and then snapped her fingers. 'Of course! He said he was out doing fieldwork! When he told me, I forgot to tell him he should be at the lab. Sorry!' Grinning, Red waved away her apology. 'Nah, no problem. I'll go find him on Route 1. Thanks, Daisy!' He turned around and waved back at her before jogging to the route north of his beloved Pallet Town. 'You're welcome!' he heard her chime behind him. 'Bye, Red!'

There was a lot of tall grass. Red wasn't sure how to get past it without getting attacked by some random Pokémon. He was just about to jump into the tall grass and run through it as fast as he could, when professor Oak hastily ran up to him and stopped him. 'Boy, what in the name of- What are you doing, boy?' Confused because the man didn't seem to recognize him, Red didn't know what to say. 'Um…' He was about to explain when Oak made an 'aha!' sound and dragged him towards his lab. 'What-' 'I'm sorry, Red, I didn't recognize you there! I haven't seen you in years! Now, here we are!' They had stopped in front of professor Oak's lab, and the old man happily opened the door.

'This is a special moment, young man!' he said while guiding the stunned trainer-to-be towards the back end of the research facility. 'You're getting your very first partner and- oh, hello Blue! I didn't know you were here already!' Red's spiky-haired neighbor raised his head and looked up to his grandfather. 'You were supposed to be here almost an hour ago.' The boy was definitely bored, and his short temper was going to show within minutes now. Luckily, the professor also saw this and apologized. 'I'm sorry, Blue, I had fieldwork to do and forgot you were waiting for me. Now come over to the table please.' Blue snorted but stood up and approached a large white table. On it were three spheres about the size of a small orange, with two halves – a red upper and white lower half – divided by a grey band with a button on it. It took Red about half a second to recognize the spheres as something vital to being a Pokémon trainer – Poké Balls.

A Pokémon trainer, as said before, trains Pokémon and battles with them. However, it is necessary to first earn the creature's trust, before such training can be done. Also, to train them efficiently, it is useful to keep the Pokémon with you at all times. This would normally not be easy, as some Pocket Monsters (which is a Pokémon's full name) are not nearly as pocket-sized as one would hope.

Thus, someone invented the Poké Ball. A small, round object in which a Pokémon can be contained as a form of energy. A Pokémon in the Poké Ball of a trainer is widely believed to be in that trainer's possession.

Three Poké Balls were sitting on the table. Red felt his hands shaking against his sides. Three of them, he thought. One for me, one for Blue, and… 'Professor?' 'Yes, my boy?' 'Blue and I will both get a Pokémon, right?' 'Indeed.' 'There will be one left.' Oak smiled. 'That's right, Red. I will give the remaining Pokémon to another young trainer one day, but for now, that is nothing you two will have to worry about.' He shoved them towards the table and motioned towards the spheres. 'Go on. Red, you can pick first.' The man leaned over the table and quickly pushed the buttons on the Poké Balls, which caused them to open. A white energy came out of every capsule and revealed a Pokémon.

'From the left to the right, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander.' Oak said. He took a deep breath, and Red braced himself for what was coming next. The Pokémon professor was known for his rambling.

'Bulbasaur is a Grass-Poison type Pokémon, and an excellent choice for beginners. It evolves quickest of these three Pokémon and is also easiest to raise. Charmander is a pure Fire-type, but it will eventually become part Flying-type too. It's known to be somewhat harder to raise and if you want more of a challenge, Charmander is a good choice. Squirtle is kind of something between Bulbasaur and Charmander. It's not as easy to raise as Bulbasaur, neither is it as hard as Charmander. It's only Water-type, in all of its stages of evolution.'

Evolution is the process where Pokémon change their forms to become stronger, Red thought. 'Professor, do they all have three stages?' 'Yes, Red.' So every one of them is able to evolve two times. 'Hey!' Blue piped up. 'Gramps, that's not fair! I want to pick first!' 'Easy now, Blue. I can't let you pick first, you're my own grandson. Now, wait there and let Red decide.'

In the meantime, Red was thinking of which Pokémon to choose. Grass, Fire, or Water… The three creatures looked up at him with a look of curiosity in their eyes. Bulbasaur, the Grass-type, looked like some kind of toad. Squirtle, the Water-type Pokémon in the middle, was like a turtle, and Charmander, the Fire-type, was a lizard. Squirtle, apart from its blue color, looked like an animal like Red had seen in books at home. Charmander and Bulbasaur looked more peculiar, though. Charmander was an orange color, it stood on its hind legs, and it had a flame on the tip of its tail. No wonder, Red thought, it's a Fire-type after all. The toad-like Pokémon was a greenish-blue color with darker colored spots on its body. The most interesting thing, though, was the large green flower bulb on its back, which was almost as large as its body. It stared at Red with its- well, red eyes.

They boy decided to go for his intuition and opened his mouth. 'Bulbasaur.' After he said it, he smiled. The decision felt right, Bulbasaur was really a nice Pokémon. Blue stepped forward. 'I take Charmander, then.' He swiftly scooped up the lizard's Poké Ball and pushed the button on it. The sphere opened and, transforming the orange creature into a white energy, sucked it in. 'Reddy-boy, it's so like you to pick the easy one. Of course, it only fits you. I take the one that's hard to raise because there won't be any kind of challenge if I pick Squirtle, you see.' He smirked and proceeded to look at the sphere in his hand, examining it from all sides. Red, who decided it would be best to not say anything, thanked professor Oak and turned around to leave. He was halfway to the exit when Blue stopped him, again with a smirk on his face.

'What do you say of a battle, Reddy? Think you can beat me?' Surprised, Red agreed to the challenge. He looked at Bulbasaur, who he had left outside of his Poké Ball, and nodded. 'What do you say, Bulbasaur? Wanna battle?' The toad-like creature grinned (apparently this was possible) and agreed with a sound, tilting its head upwards to look at its trainer's face. The novice trainer smiled at its enthusiasm and faced his childhood friend. 'We're ready, Blue.' Quickly, the brunette took the sphere containing his partner and pushed the button. The Fire-type came bursting out of it with a growl-like cry. 'Good. Let's go, Charmander!' 'You too, Bulbasaur!' The critters stepped forward to face each other, trying their best to look intimidating.

Suddenly, Red realized he had no idea what to do. He knew how Pokémon battles worked, there weren't that many rules, but he had no idea what moves his partner knew. Moves are techniques a Pokémon can use in battle, and some were stronger than others. There were moves that directly or indirectly damaged the opponent, moves that lowered or heightened attack, defense, speed or other things, and different supporting moves. Professor Oak, who had been watching the beginning battle, also noticed this and decided to help. 'Blue, your Charmander knows the moves Scratch and Growl. Red, Bulbasaur also knows Growl, along with Tackle.' Smiling, he stepped back and continued to watch. Red and Blue, who now knew what to do, looked at their Pokémon and then at each other, both waiting for the other to make a move.

'Scratch!' Blue's sudden yell surprised Red for a moment, but he recovered in time to tell Bulbasaur to dodge. Jumping aside faster than its look would suggest, it waited for its master's next command. 'Umm… Tackle!' Quickly, the toad sprang forward and hit its opponent with its whole body. The lizard was thrown backwards by the force of the attack, but remained on its feet. 'Scratch! Now!' Lashing forward, Charmander made a claw mark across Bulbasaur's face. The toad staggered backwards, but not fast enough for Charmander's next attack. 'Keep scratching it!' Blue cheered on his Pokémon. I have to do something, quickly! Cornered by its enemy, Bulbasaur couldn't escape. 'Come on, Bulbasaur! Use Growl, then Tackle!' Growl was a move that lowered the opponent's attack stat. By using it, Red hoped to reduce the damage done to his Pokémon, and then free it by having it use Tackle.

The green Pokémon growled at the orange one in front of him, easing up a little when seeing it lose a little confidence in its strikes. He then jumped forward and threw his whole body against his opponent's stomach. Charmander fell down, and Blue yelled at it to get up. 'Come on, you stupid Charmander! Get up and use Scratch again!' Red, however, saw his chance. 'Use Tackle one more time!' His partner obeyed and hit Blue's Pokémon, which fell down again. Professor Oak, who was apparently refereeing the match, held up his hand. 'Charmander is out! Red and Bulbasaur win!'

Exhausted, the green Pokémon lay down. Its master kneeled down at its side and scratched it behind its ears. 'You did great, Bulbasaur! I'll get you healed as fast as I can, so stay inside the Poké Ball for now, okay?' It nodded, so Red returned it to its capsule. He then stood up and looked at Blue, who had put his Charmander in its Poké Ball without a word. 'I picked the wrong Pokémon. Gramps, can I have the other one?' Sighing, the professor shook his head. 'No, Blue. You picked this one, so it's yours. Imagine how bad Charmander would feel if I told it you took Squirtle with you because it wasn't good enough!' 'Whatever, then. I'm gonna stop by my house to pick up a town map, and I'll tell my sis not to give Red one!' He looked at the black-haired boy. 'Alright, gramps, Reddy-boy, smell ya later!' And with a smirk and a wave of his hand he walked out of the lab with his fainted Pokémon.