This story is about what would happen if me and my closest friend ended up on a journey together, based on how I used to be and becoming how I am now. This is an anthro world so if that for some reason bugs or disturbs you even though Pokemon like Gardevoir exist, you can just go ahead an leave. I'll also say that this story has a mix of cartoon and real world physics. In other words, it kinda follows its own logic. I'm gonna make the other chapters longer so don's focus on the length of this one too much.

January 2nd, 2019. Nuvema Town.

Professor Juniper was going over some of her research notes when she heard the door to her lab open. She turned to look and saw a familiar face.

"Ah Ben. Good to see you."

Benjamin, or Ben as he preferred, was a somewhat short otter being only around 5'4. He was in relatively good shape. There wasn't really any muscle tone, but nothing that indicated him being out of shape either. The brown fur on his back accentuated by the white on his front and muzzle. He wore a belt to hold some items, glasses because otters were nearsighted, and a backpack, but that was all. His thick pelt hiding any mature bits very well. Anthros were almost as much of a mystery as Pokémon. The evolution from their feral counterparts was assumed to be instantaneous as there were no "in between" skeletons ever discovered. It was they appeared around the same time humans did for no apparent reason.

"Good afternoon Professor."

She put the papers away and walked over to speak to him in a more professional manner. "So what brings you here today?"

He smiles brightly. "Today's the day. I'm finally gonna start my Pokémon journey."

Juniper beamed back. "Well it's about time! Good to see you're finally confident enough."

Ben was starting quite late. In his early 20s, there were people his age who had been training for over a decade. "It wasn't just that I was nervous, I wanted to do research on Pokémon. I want to do this for a long time to come and so I wanted to make sure I do it right! I don't wanna get a couple badges, then fail to get the next one and give up. I'm going all the way!"

"Well knowing how much you care about Pokémon I can't see why you wouldn't. Now then, it's time to pi-"

Ben held up a webbed hand. "There's no need Professor, I already know which one I'm taking. I'm gonna pick Oshawott."

She chuckled for a moment. "I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that it's an otter too right?"

Ben smiled. "Of course. No correlation whatsoever."

Not needing to show the three starters, Juniper simply grabbed Oshawott's ball and placed it in Ben's hand. "Well here he is. He's all yours now. What are you gonna name him?"

Ben's smile dropped. "Uh... I... hadn't thought of that to be honest."

Juniper tilted her head. You had how many years to prepare and you didn't think of a name?" Ben responded by shuffling his feet. Juniper sighed. "Never change Ben. It doesn't really matter though. You can name him at any time you want. Now wait here for a minute. Juniper walked towards the back of the lab. She opened her laptop and typed in a bunch of info that Naro couldn't see even with his glasses. After a couple minutes she printed something out and grabbed some Pokeballs and a Pokedex out of a drawer. She then came back to Ben. "Here's your Trainer Card." She handed him a laminated card much like any normal ID. "Here are five Pokeballs and your Pokedex to get you started too." Ben attached Oshawott's ball and the Dex to his belt and put the empty ones in his backpack. "These Pokeballs are a bit different from the ones most people use. There's been quite a few reports of Pokémon attacking their trainers, many of which can be traced back to actions of Team Plasma, but these Pokeballs should prevent that from happening. I don't really expect you of all people to need that feature though. You've got a big heart."

"Thank you so much Professor!"

"Don't worry about it. Helping trainers get started is part of my job, and part of my job that I like. Now give me a call every now and then will ya?"

"Of course." With that, Ben turned around and walked out the door. He quickly sprinted to Route 1. It was finally time to start his journey.

As he ran into the Route, he took a deep breath of the crisp air. The flat and decently wooded area wasn't far from his home, but the air just smelled really good today. The sun was shining, the birds and bird Pokémon were chirping, and he felt great. His thick tail swayed behind him contentedly. He quickly spotted some tall grass.

"That's the best place to find Pokémon. Alright time to start training."

He stepped into the grass and began to search for Pokémon. He was eventually rewarded by finding a Patrat. He sent his starter out, the sea otter-like pokemon bouncing happily as it prepared for it's first real battle, as he flipped the Pokedex open and scanned it. "'Extremely cautious, they take shifts to maintain a constant watch of their nest. They feel insecure without a lookout.' Only Level 2 huh. Well I guess it's a start. Shouldn't take more than 2 hits. Oshawott use Tackle." The blue creature bounded forwards and launched itself into the rodent, doing a large amount of damage. The Patrat then responded with a Tackle of its own, but due to the difference in Level, it did very little. "Ok once more and that should finish it." The Oshawott repeated the action and was rewarded with its foe going down. "Good job little guy, now let's-"

He was unable to finish his sentence as he felt a furry arm wrap around his neck at the elbow. His hands shot up to try and pull it away, but it wouldn't budge. He looked down only to find he couldn't see what was grabbing him.

'What's happening!? Am I dreaming!?' He quickly discovered he wasn't as the hold tightened and he could feel his windpipe being crushed. He felt hot breath on the top of his head, indicating that whatever had him was significantly larger than he was. "S-Somebody help me." His voice came out much weaker than he was hoping as he couldn't get any air into his lungs. 'So this is it? This is how I'm gonna die huh? Less than five minutes into my journey and I'm gonna die.'

It was not to be however, as Oshawott reacted to the threat, and even though it couldn't see the assailant, based on his trainer's reaction he could guess where it was. He launched himself and tackled the invisible foe. He was rewarded with a grunt and the creature being revealed. The arm came off of Ben's neck and he quickly reached into his pack and grabbed an empty ball as he gasped for breath.

"You little shit. If you wanna die so badly I guess I'll kill you first!"

Ben's webbed fingers wrapped around a ball and he threw it at the voice, male by the sound of it. What was this thing? Only anthro Pokémon could talk, but they were quite rare. By the time he turned around all he saw was the red energy being absorbed into the ball, which fell to the ground and began to shake. "Come on Oshawott! We need to get out of here before he-"

Click. The ball stopped shaking.

Ben knelt down and carefully picked the ball up. Did he really...

There was a ding as the Pokedex registered the new information of the captured specimen. He looked at the picture.

"No way… Hope he's not too upset about that."