Oak walked over to the machine containing the pokemon and unlocked it. Now the shining, pristine pokeballs were sitting in the open, transparent tops showing an image of the pokemon within.
A fire lizard that would grow into a fearsome dragon. A playful turtle that would become a resilient beast. And a grass dinosaur that would evolve into a powerful battler. All in the hands of the three teens before them. But that was still some time off.
Oak smirked at their expressions. "I can see that you're quite eager to receive your pokemon, yes? Ladies first," he said, picking up one of the pokeballs and handing it to Green. "Green, this is Bulbasaur. Go ahead, open it."
Green did as told and opened the pokeball. The creature that emerged from it was blue-green with dark green patches. It had red eyes and small teeth and claws. But the part that stood out most was the bulb on its back. It looked to be friendly. At least it did until vines emerged from the bulb and it tried to hit the professor with them. Oak merely chuckled.
"Easy, Bulbasaur. Your trainer is here." Bulbasaur then looked around the lab until its eyes landed on Green. She kneeled down to the dinosaur and smiled at it. "Hey there. I'm Green, and I'm your new trainer. I want to travel across Kanto and meet all kinds of pokemon, and I'd really love it if you became the first. What do you say?"
Bulbasaur looked over her for a few seconds, before nodding and letting out a happy growl. He liked this human, and getting to travel across the region instead of being cooped up in the lab sounded good. He then rubbed his head against her leg. Green didn't say anything, but smiled.
Oak stayed silent, but smiled at the interaction. Then he turned back to the machine and pulled out the second pokeball. "Next up is Blue. The pokemon in here is Squirtle. He's a playful one."
The professor's grandson took the pokeball from him eagerly and opened it. Out popped a blue turtle with big brown eyes. He eyed his surroundings before landing on Blue. He realized that this was the one who was supposed to be his new trainer, and studied him for a moment. He decided that he liked what he saw, and headbutted Blue in the leg. The boy crouched down and rubbed him on the head. "So I guess you like me, huh? That's good. I'm Blue, and I'm your new trainer. It's my goal to uncover the mysteries of this world. So will you join me in that pursuit?"
Squirtle nodded, and extended its arm. Blue assumed it wanted a high five, and mimicked it. But then Squirtle blasted his face with a jet of water, and then started laughing at the boy's now wet face and messy, drenched hair. Blue glared at it, but then laughed. "You're a prankster type, aren't you? I guess I'll have to learn to live with that." The turtle just smirked at Blue's words.
Oak laughed. "And last, but certainly not least, we have Charmander. Be careful-she's a feisty one."
Red raised an eyebrow. "She?" Oak nodded. "Yes, she. It's rare for their species, but this is a female Charmander."
Red nodded and took the pokeball. The creature that emerged when he opened it had orange scales and a flame on the top of her tail. She snarled and looked around the lab. When her eyes landed on Bulbasaur, she growled and spat a fireball at him. Bulbasaur was hit by it, but he just glared back and tried to hit her with his vines. The fight would have continued longer if Oak hadn't stepped between them and said, "Enough!"
The two pokemon stepped back but still glared at each other. Red was just in shock. He knew that the Charmander line could get very aggressive, but that was pushing it. They were normally rather calm as Charmander and only became violent once they evolved. The professor merely sighed. "Yes, she's definitely a feisty one. Red, you have some work that needs to be done." The boy just nodded, still processing what had happened. The professor continued. "Normally, you would be leaving now. But I'd prefer if you three stayed behind and got to know your pokemon better. They will hopefully be your lifelong companions. You need to build the relationship as much as you can." The teens nodded, especially Red, who knew he definitely needed to work with Charmander before he set out into the wilderness with her. "That's all. Go home now."
The trio left the lab and all went back to their homes. They had expected to leave almost immediately after receiving their pokemon, but they realized that staying and building up the relationship would be good. They had a long road ahead of them with their starters, after all.
Having a bad relationship with them wouldn't help.
As Green got to her house and into her room, she immediately fell on her bed. Bulbasaur, who had been following her, looked up in curiosity. What was everything in this place? Who were the other people who lived here? And who was that one person on the posters all around her room?
Green picked Bulbasaur up and set him beside her. "This is my house. I bet you're wondering what those posters are, aren't you?" Pokemon were not stupid creatures. She didn't need to tell Bulbasaur things like, "I live here." He could figure that much out for himself.
Green continued. "The person on those posters is Erika Shimizu. She's a grass type gym leader here in Kanto and she's a world famous ikebana practitioner. That's the art of flower arrangement," she added, just incase Bulbasaur wasn't sure what that was. "She's been my biggest inspiration since I was a little kid. I would love to get the chance to train under her, but I've wanted to see the world for so long. I don't think I'd be able to just stay in Celadon City. Maybe when I'm older and I've finished my journey I'll try." Bulbasaur just listened. This Erika woman sounded like an interesting person. He could see why Green idolized her. And he was liking Green more and more. She seemed very down to earth, and not arrogant or egotistical. And she seemed like she knew what she was doing. He had made up his mind. He would travel with this human.
He hoped he wasn't making the wrong decision.
Once Blue got to his room, he immediately let Squirtle out of his pokeball. He had recalled him on the trip even though it was a short walk. Being such a young pokemon, Squirtle probably wasn't used to the suspended animation technology of pokeballs. Blue wanted him to get used to it. Squirtle looked around. The walls were painted blue and there was a bookshelf against the wall. There was also a desk with a pencil basket, drawers, binders and folders, and loose sheets of paper. The thing Squirtle was most interested in was the laptop that sat on the desk. Blue grabbed the laptop and turned it on. After logging in, he pulled up his folders and files. Squirtle was amazed. There had to be at least a hundred files, and that was just in one folder. What was this kid doing in his free time? Blue found the one he was looking for and opened it. Looking at it, Squirtle saw that it contained information on his species and evolutionary line. He read it along with his trainer. While Blue was just refreshing his memory, Squirtle wanted to see how much research this kid had done already. While it wasn't the most pressing thing he would have looked for in a trainer, having someone who did his homework was nice.
The Squirtle evolutionary line is considered to be the "intermediate" choice of the three Kanto starters in regards to how easy it is to raise. While they can be playful and mischievous, making them harder to raise than the mellow, calm Bulbasaur line, they lack the aggressive and violent nature that makes the Charmander line, particularly the final stage Charizard, so infamous. They can be hard to work with at first, but with time, a properly trained Squirtle will know when to separate work and play. And when that happens, it will be devastating to unprepared opponents. Their shells are already very tough, and they will only grow stronger as they evolve into Wartortle and then into Blastoise. Their offenses can be lacking at first, but when they become Blastoise, they grow cannons that can shoot blasts powerful enough to punch through solid steel. Their skulls are also very powerful if properly utilized. Combine this with their stellar defenses, and a well trained Blastoise will be a devastating force to battle.
Another part about the Squirtle line that researchers have been looking at is their ancestry. It is theorized that they are descending from the ancient turtle pokemon Tirtouga and Carracosta. They were water rock type and very fierce predators. However, their shells were very heavy, meaning that they often couldn't get away from their predators. Over time, they developed a way to lighten their shells, but this left them vulnerable and only worsened their endangered status. Over time, the majority of the Tirtouga population went extinct. Out of the small portion that did survive, the majority were thought to have developed into Squirtle, Wartortle, and Blastoise. Their shells lightened so they could escape predators, and their fins developed into arms and legs so they could fight on land. The lightening of their shells eventually led to them discarding their rock type and becoming pure water types. Over time, they also developed cannons that they could use to help defend themselves. It is commonly thought that the cannons only develop to the point where they can be used in combat when they become Blastoise is because it is too much strain on the prior forms, and would lead to defects and death. The Tirtouga that didn't develop into Squirtle found other habitats, and became turtle pokemon with different types entirely, such as the fire type Torkoal or the grass type Turtwig.
-Professor Samuel Y. Oak
Personal Notes
-If the Tirtouga that became Torkoal relocated to volcanic areas, why did they drop their rock type and become pure fire? Surely a rock type would help them with living in that area. Other pokemon like Magcargo and Camerupt that live in volcanic areas have secondary rock or ground typings to help them survive in that area, so why doesn't Torkoal?
-On a similar note, why do Turtwig only develop their ground typing when they evolve into Torterra?
Blue just smirked at the turtle's expression. "Surprising, isn't it? You didn't expect a human teenager to study things like this? Science is in my blood, pal. You'll learn that about me. I aim to uncover the mysteries of the world and become the greatest Pokemon Researcher to ever live. Greater than my grandfather, greater than my parents, greater than everyone. And you'll help me do that. I asked this already, but now that you know more about me, I'll ask it again. Will you join me, Blue Oak, as my first pokemon. Will you help me uncover the mysteries of this world and become the greatest researcher and scientist to ever live?"
Squirtle nodded eagerly. This human impressed him. Having the dedication and knowledge to dissect paper like that at merely thirteen? That was impressive. He had a feeling he would go far with Blue. He just hoped his instinct was right.
In contrast to the other two members of the trio, Red wasn't having much success with Charmander. She switched between being totally disinterested in him and trying to attack him. He knew the species was tough to work with, but this was just bad luck. He tried talking to her for the umpteenth time, until he had finally had enough. Raising his voice and slamming his hand down on his desk, he said, "This is just ridiculous. I picked you because I want to become the greatest trainer to ever live, and your species is extremely battle driven. Is that not true? It certainly seems like it's true in your case. Trying to attack Bulbasaur at the lab, and now you're trying to attack me. I get that you're battle hungry, but there's a limit to what you can and can't do. And picking fights with people who weren't doing anything to you is something you can't do. I can give you back to Oak. I'd have to wait, but I'd be fine with that. I'd rather have a delayed start to my journey than deal with a disobedient pokemon. So what do you say? Do you want me to take you back to the lab?"
Charmander, to Red's surprise, wasn't angry, just shocked. She just looked down. She did like to fight, that was true. And if this boy was trying to become the strongest trainer of all time, it would be good to join him. But what if he couldn't do it? She had been the strongest out of the three starters put up for selection. She had done it all by herself. She didn't need this human.
But part of her was telling her to join him. She had heard of the Pokémon trained by humans. They could reach levels far beyond what could be achieved in the wild. She wanted to be the strongest. But would she pursue that goal with this trainer or without?
Finally, she gave a tentative nod. She would give him a chance. Red was relieved. "Thank you, Charmander. All I need is for you to give me a chance. We can work our way up from there."
Charmander would give Red a chance.
She hoped that it was the right decision.
