MAP OF THE CHINOCKO REGION: document/d/1g6GTC6qGQbCxIzHwAZfjKr2Bd8ow23ohhHU2Mfqzll0/edit
Pikachu, an iconic Pokemon, attacked using its most powerful move, Thunder, launching a zap of lightning at its opponent, Blastoise! The lightning bolt made a loud clap as it made contact with Blastoise, shocking the water-type Pokemon! The attack was super effective against the Blastoise, and dealt serious damage to it, but the Pokemon was determined to get up again! Stomping its two big feet into the ground, it pulled itself up using its tail to support it. It began charging up for a strong attack! The crowd excitedly cheered as the Pokemon battled it out, their Trainers standing a safe distance away from the heat of the battle and cheering their powerful Pokemon on!
The Blastoise released its charged attack, blasting two jet streams of water out of the two cannons in its shell! The move it had used was Hydro Cannon, an incredibly strong move! Pikachu jumped out of the way of one of the streams, but the second stream hit it right out of the air! Pikachu hit the ground, rolling against the dirt. It stopped rolling close to its Trainer's feet, who stared down at the Pikachu with concerned eyes. The Trainer began frantically digging through their bag, looking for something in particular. The Blastoise panted. It had used up a lot of energy to use such a powerful move as Hydro Cannon, and now it was recharging. This was the Pikachu's Trainer's chance to use a healing item! They pulled a Potion out of their bag and proudly spun it around in their palm, before applying the spray-on medicine to Pikachu's furry, staticy body.
Pikachu hopped up to its feet with a determined "Pika!" and wiggled its tail. Little sparks of electricity sizzled around its bright red cheeks. But Blastoise was now recharged! It immediately took the chance to perform another attack! It shot another jet stream of water out of its two cannons, but this one was lesser in power than before. This was merely a Water Gun attack. Pikachu dodged the attack perfectly this time! It looked back to its Trainer with pride in its eyes, and its Trainer looked back at it with a proud smile! The Trainer and their Pikachu nodded in unison, showing how in-sync they were!
Pikachu started running straight for Blastoise! Blastoise focused in on Pikachu, planning to dodge an oncoming physical attack! But what's this!? The Pikachu had disappeared from sight! Then, it reappeared in the air. It looked as though it had jumped up into the air, and there was a ball of electricity on the tip of its tail, ready to be launched! Blastoise smirked, prepared to dodge the attack! But then, it noticed another Pikachu, and another, and another next to that one! They were all doing the same motions! They were all ready to launch balls of electric energy at it! Confused, Blastoise gulped nervously. Its Trainer gasped.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Pikachu headbutted Blastoise, right in the stomach! It was moving at such a high speed that the impact knocked Blastoise, as large as it was, right off its feet! It was an astonishing tactic! Pikachu had just used a fake-out Double Team to distract the Blastoise, then attacked it with a Quick Attack while it was distracted! Pikachu landed on top of the Blastoise's stomach, who had fallen onto its shell and was scrambling to get back up!
Blastoise grabbed the Pikachu though, and turned its cannons inward, aiming them right at the small mouse Pokemon in its clutches! The Pikachu squirmed, but Blastoise had a strong grip on it! The cannons filled with water as Blastoise prepared them to fire!
But then, suddenly, a new Pokemon jumped into the ring! Out of nowhere! It was a very small, fluffy Husky Pokemon with two eyes of different colours. It was Pupsky! It barked. It seemed to be concerned about the battle that was going on, or something. Then it barked again. And then again. The battle came to an abrupt halt as everything started to fade into grayness.
Riley rubbed his tired eyes. Wow… what a vivid dream about a Pokemon battle. It must have been sparked by the Pokemon League battles he had been watching on television before going to bed. His television was still turned on, he noticed. He looked down. On the floor next to the bed was his pet Pokemon, a Pupsky. Pupsky jumped onto the bed next to Riley after it had noticed he had woken up. He smiled and pet the Pokemon's forehead as it licked his cheek, helping him to wake up more. The sun was bright outside his window, and he knew it would be a good day.
He gazed around his room as he slowly woke up. Aside from his bedroom TV being left on (which was now playing a kid's cartoon about a school of Wishiwashi) and his window being open to the bright sunlight, he noticed something on top of his dresser. He groggily hopped out of bed, still in his warm pajamas, and walked over to see what it was.
The item was a box with a ribbon around it. There was a card propped up against the box. The card had the design of a Great Ball on the front. He took the card in one hand and read it to himself. Pupsky sat patiently still on the bed, its small tail wagging. "Happy birthday, son!" the card read. Oh, it must have been from his father. "It's an exciting day for you! Not only are you a year older today, but it also means you're finally old enough to go on that Pokemon journey you've been so excited about going on! I got you a little present to help you start your journey. I thought you would like the colour I chose for you."
Riley smiled. His father was so thoughtful, always trying to make him happy and comfortable. His father used to be a Pokemon Trainer when he was Riley's age, or at least that's what the man told his son. Riley looked to the box that came with the card. It was well-wrapped in black wrapping paper with Chandelure designs on it. Riley's dad was terrible at wrapping boxes, so it clearly wasn't his wrapping. Riley chuckled. He tore curiously into the wrapping paper to get to the opening of the box. What could it possibly be?
He pulled open the box, and pulled out what was inside. It was a blue and black backpack with a cross-the-chest strap, and it even had a PokeBall keychain dangling from one of the rings the strap went through. Riley wanted to try it on, but he thought it would be best if he put on actual clothes first. He had already picked out what he wanted to wear for his birthday, so he went over to the chair in the corner which had his outfit folded up on top of it, and started getting dressed.
His outfit was fairly simple. A pair of comfy jeans, a t-shirt, and a fur-lined flannel sweater with blue plaid. Oh, and a gray checkered bandanna to go around his neck. He got dressed swiftly, and picked up his hat from the hook it was hanging from. It was a cute newsboy hat in the same shade of blue as his sweater. He tried on the backpack and looked in the mirror. Nice! The backpack matched his outfit perfectly! His hsoes were waiting for him at the door of his bedroom. When Pupsky saw Riley was leaving the room, the small Pokemon jumped down from the boy's bed and ran to the door. It jumped up and put its tiny, cold paw on Riley's shin. He grinned and knelt down to pet it, meanwhile he was putting on his favourite black canvas shoes.
He made his way downstairs, where he found his dad waiting in the kitchen. He was standing over the sink, it looked like he was doing dishes. He heard Riley coming down the stairs, with Pupsky not far behind, and smiled brightly. "There's my birthday boy!"
Riley sat down at the kitchen table and took off the backpack, setting it on the ground beside the seat.
"I see you found my birthday present to you," his dad said happily. "Happy birthday, son. I hope you slept well, 'cause you've got a big day."
Riley nodded. He knew he had a big day ahead of him. He would get to spend the day with his best friend Rose, and the best part was that Professor Maple had agreed to give him and Rose their very own Pokemon for their birthdays! Since Rose's birthday was only a few days before, Professor Maple decided to give both of them a Pokemon on Riley's birthday.
"I have another surprise for you, Riley," his dad grinned.
Riley beamed. Another surprise? But the backpack was already so great!
"I got you your favourite treat, Chinoughnuts!" Riley's dad exclaimed, pulling out a box of the delicious Chinockan delicacies and flourishing it as if it was the result of a magic trick. "Every time we go to Vancine City to do some shopping, you always want a Chinoughnut or two from Chinoughnut Champion, right? So, I got you a whole box to enjoy for your birthday! It's still breakfast, so don't eat too many, but they're all yours."
Riley was ecstatic. Could this day get any better? He flipped open the box of Chinoughnuts and immediately dug into one. The golden brown doughnut was the perfect consistency, and it was topped with a light layer of glaze, and then a layer of white icing on top! There were crumbled bits of maple cookie on top to add crunch and flavour. Chinoughnuts paired perfectly with hot chocolate. Such was a modern tradition in Chinocko, the region of Riley's home. But even without hot chocolate, Riley still couldn't wait to bite into it. And that's exactly what he did.
Pupsky looked up at Riley with a sad expression on its face. It looked like it wanted some of the Chinoughnut too, and was trying to look sad so Riley would give it some to appease it.
Riley's father noticed. "Pupsky, no. Away from the table."
Defeated, the small, black and white, furry Pokemon slinked away from the table.
Riley finished the delectable doughnut, and hopped up out of the chair. He grabbed his new backpack and placed it proudly over his shoulder once again. He made sure to thank his father for the thoughtful gift, and also for the Chinoughnuts.
"You should take a Chinoughnut with you, Riley," his dad said. "Just in case you get hungry along the way. Or, maybe your new Pokemon friend will like Chinoughnuts as much as you!"
Riley decided to take up the offer. Chinoughnuts were a popular item among established Pokemon Trainers because they could heal a Pokemon's wounds somehow. Probably the delicious taste, Riley thought! His dad packed up a Chinoughnut in a small box for him, and he placed it carefully into his new backpack.
"Remember, Rose is meeting you at the Central Fountain before you guy go to Professor Maple's Lab. She said she had something for you for your birthday that she wanted to give to you before you guys got your Pokemon, I wouldn't keep her waiting if I were you, hah."
Riley nodded, then with a smile and a wave, and a kiss on Pupsky's forehead, he went out the door and into the street.
The weather was, as could be seen through the window, lovely in New Moon Town today. The fairly small town was surrounded by a circular wall of white brick with two gates, one on the east, and one on the west. There was a main road leading between the two gates, and Central Fountain was located right in the middle of town, which meant it was intersected by the main road. The main road also split the town in half colour-wise. On one side of the main road, all of the ground was made of white brick. On the other, all of the ground was made of autumn-coloured brick. Many people commented saying that New Moon Town kind of looked like a PokeBall. Central Fountain would have been where the button to open the PokeBall was located.
It was a fairly straight walk to the Central Fountain, and not a long one. As Riley approached the town's one of few landmarks, he noticed that there was someone already waiting there. It was Rose, his best friend since he could remember. She was an objectively beautiful girl, with long, straight black hair and wide light-brown eyes. She was also an objectively fashionable girl, especially for someone of her young age.
She wore form-fitting dark-gray jeans and a tank top, and a sweater that looked like a purple version of Riley's. Her sweater, though, was stylishly draped off her shoulders. On her head, she had a cute dark-violet beret, and around her neck was an indigo scarf that occasionally twitched in the early-autumn breeze. She wore comfy-looking high-bottomed hiking boots in black and purple, and she had a backpack that was the same style as Riley's and matched the colours of her outfit the same way Riley's matched his.
He approached, and it took a while before Rose noticed Riley coming. "Oh!" she beamed, standing up from her seat on the edge of the fountain. "You finally made it!" She stood up and waited for Riley to get closer.
Riley started jogging as to not keep his friend waiting any longer. When he reached her, Rose gave him a playful hug. "Happy birthday, Slowpoke!" she teased. "Can you believe it? We're both now finally old enough to go on Pokemon adventures! It's gonna be so fun! I always knew we'd start our Pokemon adventures together! Pokemon League, here Riley and I come! Am I right?"
Riley grinned in agreement.
"Gee, you always know exactly what to say," Rose joked, then chuckled aloud. "Here, I got you something! I figured it might be useful to get you started." She pulled something out of her bag. It looked like a book of some sort. She handed it over to Riley, who took it and looked at it to see what it was. His first instinct was to open it and see what kind of book it was.
There was only a screen inside, though.
"Okay, to be fair, it was actually my mom who bought it, but I'm the one who convinced her," Rose explained. "Here, lemme show you how it works. See this button here?" She reached over and pressed a button on the book-screen-thing. Suddenly, the screen turned on. Evidently, the image on the screen was a map. There was a flashing blue marker in the center-south of the map. Something looked familiar about the map.
"It's the Town Map of Chinocko," Rose continued to explain. "And that blue marker thing is your location. See where it is now? That's New Moon Town. That's right where we are!"
Riley was indeed impressed. What cool technology, for something that looked like a book!
"And there's a bunch of other cool features, too! I heard that it can be used to see what kind of Pokemon live in different areas of Chinocko, but I haven't figured out how to get that to work yet. The Town Map can display the temperature of different areas of Chinocko, though. Cool, right?"
Riley fumbled around with the touch screen. He managed to find the button that displayed the temperatures. Suddenly, a number was imposed in front of all of the different towns on the map. New Moon Town, Riley's location, was at 18 degrees Celsius, according to the forecast on the Town Map. It even showed that there was a light breeze! How accurate, and how useful!
Riley thanked Rose for giving him such a useful piece of technology as a gift.
"You're super welcome!" she cheerfully responded. "You ready to go to Professor Maple's Lab? Oh, I'm so excited! She's expecting us, we can go right away!"
Riley smiled and nodded. He was also excited to go.
Rose started walking ahead, and Riley followed. They soon arrived at the renowned Maple Labs. It was one of the larger buildings in town. There was a maple leaf logo on the wall, and there were big glass doors. There were also many windows. Maple Labs was a rather large lab, or at least what Riley envisioned to be a large lab, with nothing else to really compare to, and it employed multiple Pokemon scientists. The glass doors slid open when the saw Riley and Rose approaching.
Professor Maple was waiting inside. She was young for a Pokemon Professor. At least, Riley thought she ought to be young for a Pokemon Professor. The only other Pokemon Professors he knew of were the famous Professor Oak and the slightly-less-famous Professor Rowan, from the Kanto and Sinnoh regions respectively.
She had shiny brown hair and striking green eyes. Her hair was loosely curled, and reached down to about the middle of her back. For an outfit, she wore a cropped dark-gray blazer, which had the same maple leaf logo as a pin in the chest pocket, overtop of a full-length white dress shirt, and a pencil skirt that reached mid-thigh. She also wore thigh-high woven white socks, and comfy-looking flats that matched the colour of her skirt and blazer. She also wore white silk gloves, which were the things that made her look like a real scientist, in Riley's eyes.
"Oh, you two! I've been waiting!" The Professor had a tablet screen in her hand, like she always seemed to.
"Hey, Professor Maple!" Rose cheerfully greeted, running over to see the woman who she looked up to. "So? So? Our Pokemon! Where are they!?"
Professor Maple chuckled heartfully. "Yes, I'd be excited, too," she sighed. "But be patient, Rose. I'll get to that soon enough. Come with me to my office?"
"Okay!" Rose and Riley both followed the Pokemon Professor into her office. It was a large-ish building, so there were multiple offices. Four, to be precise, and a social area.
All things considered, Professor Maple had a pretty luxurious office. Well, her renowned reputation clearly must have earned her that, at least. There was a long desk in the middle of the room, somewhat conference-like. Riley and Rose both didn't bother to sit down, though. At the other end of the office was a large screen, currently off, which was separated from a wall of trickling water by a glass pane. There was a small round tank with small fish Pokemon in it in the corner. The Pokemon seemed happy, even if they were in a fishtank.
"So!?" Rose blurted out, unable to contain her excitement.
"Hahah," laughed Professor Maple heartfully. "All right, let's begin immediately so that you can get your first Pokemon as soon as possible." The Professor flicked something on the screen of her tablet, which caused the image to be projected onto the much larger screen on the back wall. "I've got to see you guys grow since you were both quite, quite young. And you've both grown up into mature young adults."
"Aww, thanks," Rose said, blushing.
"Very welcome!" Professor Maple continued, her smile genuine. "So, given how mature you've both become, I figured that if I were to put the task of taking care of a Pokemon into anyone's hands, I'm glad it gets to be yours. I have very special Pokemon for you to choose from today."
"I can't wait!" Rose interrupted.
"Patience, Rose," Professor Maple continued. "This is important. The Pokemon I picked out for you guys to take care of are from endangered species."
"Endangered species?" Rose asked.
"Mhm," confirmed the Professor. "So, I need you guys to take extra good care of these Pokemon, because their natural habitats have been taken over by humans."
"I promise I'll take the very best care!" Rose said with resolve.
"Good, good," grinned Maple. "There are three Pokemon I've selected today. You'll each choose one of the Pokemon to take care of and become friends with." She pulled up another image on the screen. It was an image of a Pokemon! It looked like a small, short-haired Pokemon with a rocky shell. "This is Burndillo. Burndillo is known as the Small Ember Pokemon. It's cute, no? But, its habitat in the Osuyassa Desert Subregion was lost due to the expansion of the Excavation Site."
'Oh no…" Rose whimpered.
"It's a real shame," Maple nodded sympathetically. "But if either of you pick Burndillo as your partner, I know it'll be in good hands. It rolls around using that cute shell of its, using its tail to propel it. It's a fire-type Pokemon.
"Next, is this one." Maple pulled another image up on the screen. It was a Pokemon that didn't have any limbs, but had an interesting skull-looking face. "This one is known as Elelel, The Little Eel Pokemon. It's water-type. It used to live along the coasts of Chinocko, but temperature changes in the water caused the population to drastically decline. But it's an awfully cute Pokemon, huh?"
Riley responded this time. He nodded. Elelel was pretty darn cute.
"Yeah!' Maple enthusiastically cheered. "They're social Pokemon, due to their tendency to try to establish mutualism; that is, to work together with other Pokemon in the wild. Elelel just loves when you pet its fins, too!"
"That's adorable!" Rose gasped, shaking her arms in excitement.
"Last, but absolutely not least," Maple continued, swiping one more image up onto the screen. It was a green Pokemon that looked like a teddy bear with vibrant flower petals around its neck. "We have Cubbush, the Wild Cub Pokemon! It unfortunately got run out of its natural habitat due to the expansion of cities in the Central Subregion of Chinocko, but you can see it's still full of zeal to live a happy life! Just look at those hopeful eyes!" The Pokemon on the screen had huge, happy-looking eyes with a shine of red in them. "They have little rocky claws that allow them to climb trees, and the flower petals on their neck are so pleasant-smelling that they're sometimes used for aromatherapy."
"Aromatherapy?" Rose asked.
"Aromatherapy is when you… when you smell something nice, and it makes you feel less stressed or sad. Like when you smell a flower that you like the smell of," Professor Maple explained.
"So those are the three Pokemon we get to choose from?" Rose asked.
"Yes," nodded Maple. "I've got them right here." She pulled out a capsule. There were a total of three PokeBalls inside, each nestled in a cushion so they wouldn't get scratched.
"Ooh!" Rose squealed ecstatically. "Oh, I'm so excited!"
"Riley, it's your birthday today, why don't you take the first pick?" Maple suggested.
"Yay! Riley, are you excited?" Rose was skipping on the spot out of her overflowing excitement.
Riley nodded and grinned. Wow, his very own Pokemon! Which one would he choose? How could he possibly choose just one?! All three of the Pokemon looked so awesome!
The PokeBalls were indicated by the colour of cushion they were laid on. One cushion was blue, and had a water droplet embroidered on it. One cushion was orange, and had a red flare of fire embroidered on it. The last cushion was a pleasant green, and had an emerald leaf embroidered on it.
Riley took a moment to choose. It didn't feel like he would come to a decision anytime soon. But, he didn't want to keep Rose waiting, either. She was pouring out excitement.
"No need to rush it, Riley," Maple reminded. "This is a big decision."
But he knew that he would love and cherish any Pokemon he received. He wanted to believe he could take great care of his Pokemon. He closed his eyes tight, and let his hand take whichever PokeBall it landed on. He felt his finger slide along the light but sturdy metallic surface of a PokeBall. He closed his palm around it, and opened his eyes.
It was the PokeBall on the orange cushion! It looked like his Pokemon would be Burndillo! He could hardly believe he was holding a real-life PokeBall. He held it close to his chest.
"My turn, my turn!" Rose insisted.
"Yes!" grinned Maple. "It's finally your turn! You've been so excited this whole time, hah! So, go ahead! Pick your Pokemon, Rose!"
"I already know which one I want!" Rose proclaimed. "I choose Elelel! It's just too cute!" She skipped over to the capsule on the desk and proudly claimed the PokeBall containing Elelel. She held the PokeBall up excitedly.
"Riley?" she asked, turning to face Riley. A new kind of determination was now on her face. "You have to be my first opponent in a Pokemon Battle!"
Riley smirked. He was already excited to try battling with his new Burndillo!
"Not in my office, kids," Maple insisted.
"Oh, okay," Rose complied. "Let's go to the Central Fountain again! That sounds like the perfect place to battle!"
"That does sound nice!" Maple admitted. "I'll go with you guys."