Pokémon Metal Platinum
Chapter 1: Becoming a Trainer
"Pokémon are by our side, always. I hope you will understand the meaning of these words." -That was the comment left by Professor Rowan, who has returned to Sinnoh from the Kanto region."
"That concludes our special program, Let's ask Professor Rowan! Brought to you by Jubilife TV on Nationwide Net! See you next week, same time, same channel!"
After watching the latest episode of Rowan's show she turned off the TV and got ready for her day. Her name was Dawn, she was twelve years old and had big dreams, to become a great Pokémon Trainer that could rival the likes of champions.
Dawn had just gotten out of bed still in her pajamas. She went internet surfing on her PC before a friend of hers came barging through the door.
"There you are!" Dawn's friend Barry said, the boy had golden blond hair and orange eyes. He wore a long sleeve cardigan with orange and white stripes, and a long, green scarf.
"Hey Barry, how's it hanging?" Dawn asked, getting off the chair by her computer to greet her best friend.
"Hey, Dawn! Did you just see the TV? Sure you did!" Barry blurted out speaking really fast. "Professor Rowan's that really important guy who studies Pokémon, right?"
"Of course, silly, don't tell me you didn't know that!" Dawn teased.
"Well anyways... that means he must have lots and lots of Pokémon. So, if we ask him, I bet he'd give us some Pokémon!" Barry reasoned making Dawn also get excited.
"Oh wow, no way, we could get our first Pokémon today!?" Dawn said eyes lit up with passion. "You really are a good thinker, Barry! We should go immediately."
Barry ignored Dawn and ran up to her computer as he was extremely impatient and could easily get distracted by just about anything he found cool.
"Oh hey! Is this a new PC?!" He said scrolling on the mouse.
"Barry, shouldn't we be going?" Dawn chuckled.
"Where was I?" Barry said realizing he had gotten off topic. "Oh, right, right! We're going to go see Professor Rowan and get some Pokémon. I'll be waiting outside."
"Okay then, just give me a minute to get dressed alright?" Dawn said eager to go get a Pokémon.
"Ok Dawn? If you're late, I'm fining you ten million!" Barry said wagging his finger at Dawn before quickly leaving her room.
My first Pokémon... Dawn thought excitedly.
Dawn quickly got dressed, she lived in Twinleaf town which was almost always cold and snowing, so she wore a long-sleeved red sweater dress with multiple pink buttons on it, a white scarf, and a white satchel. She firmly placed on her head her white beanie which had a pink Pokéball print on it as she was now ready to go and get her Pokémon.
Dawn walked down the stairway to greet her mom who was cooking breakfast in the kitchen.
"Good morning hon, Barry was just here!" Mom said as she turned to see Dawn all dressed up. "Going somewhere?"
"Let's just say Mom, if Barry's hunch is right, I may be getting my first Pokémon today!" Dawn said not wanting to reveal all her secrets.
"Really now, no wonder Barry seamed so excited." Mom said flipping some eggs over the stove.
"Well, I'm going to go out now, see you later Mom." Dawn said about to leave.
"Don't go into the tall grass. Wild Pokémon might attack you!" Mother warned before Dawn left.
Dawn went and ran over to Barry's place; she had moved to this town at the young age of five and had been best friends with Barry ever since. It was a small town with a fresh sent of new leaves in the air hence the name. It felt like a place where new adventures could start.
Just before Dawn could ring the doorbell to Barry's house he opened the door and bumped into her, causing the both to land on their bottoms.
"Feels like we're always meeting like this," Dawn said as she got back up on her feet.
"What was that about?" Barry said not even noticing Dawn before he turned to look at her. "Oh, hey, Dawn! Hey! I'm going to see Professor Rowan! You should come, too! And quickly!" Barry said forgetting he had already invited her to come with him not to long ago.
Barry bolted out there but jogged back upon realizing something.
"Oh, jeez! Forgot something!" He muttered as he ran back into his house.
I should go with him or else he'll forget his own name, Dawn thought as she entered after him.
Upon entering Dawn greeted Barry's mom who was almost like an auntie to Dawn. Dawn went upstairs to Barry's room to go with him to Professor Rowan's.
"...I'd better take my bag and journal, too..." Barry muttered as he packed up his backpack, he then looked up after seeing Dawn's shadow and saw her.
"If you're going to Professor Rowan's then I'd better go to." Dawn said.
"Oh, hey, Dawn! I'll be waiting on the road! It's a ten million dollar fine if you're late!" Barry said as he scurried out his room.
"Wait hold on, I'll be fining you if you keep rushing ahead without me!" Dawn cried as she quickly followed her impatient friend.
Dawn followed Barry all the way to entrance of the small town, where outside was all the wild Pokémon, Dawn put her hands on her knees and panted as she ran as fast as she could to catch Barry.
"Too slow!" Barry complained.
"Not everyone has lungs as good as yours Barry." Dawn said recollecting herself.
"Alright! Let's get moving to Professor Rowan's lab." Barry announced. Both him and Dawn turned to the long, wide grass patch, running in their might lead them to an attacking Pokémon.
"W-we can't go without a Pokémon though!?" Dawn freaked.
"What? Don't go into the grass, right?" Barry replied. "No worries! No problem! It doesn't matter that we don't have any Pokémon."
"What are you getting at?" Dawn asked.
"Trust me on this one. I've got an idea!" Barry said with a smirk on his face. "Now listen. You know how wild Pokémon jump out when you go into tall grass?"
"You know I do." Dawn responded.
"So, what you do is, you scoot over to the next patch of grass before any wild Pokémon can appear! If we just keep dashing, we can get to Sandgem town without running into wild Pokémon!" Barry said, further exciting Dawn.
"Wow Barry, you are a genius!" Dawn exclaimed.
"I know I am, now stick with me!" Barry said, with Dawn staying right beside him, they both got ready to dash for it.
"Ok, here goes! On your marks..." Barry uttered.
Right before they took their first steps, the two of them heard a voice they recognized from TV, they instantly turned around to see who it was. The voice told them to hold it.
It was an older looking man, he wore a brown coat, a tie and shoes. He had white hair and a white spiky looking mustache.
"You two don't seem to have any Pokémon between you? Then, what is the meaning of going into the tall grass?!" He yelled at the two kids.
Dawn looked down, unable to look the man in the eyes.
"I-it was his idea!" She said pointing to Barry who ignored it.
"Hey, Dawn. This old guy..." Barry whispered just loud enough for her to hear him. "It's Professor Rowan, isn't it? What's he doing here...?"
Dawn's eyes lit up with surprise, now that he mentioned it, the man did look identical to the Professor Rowan she had seen on TV.
"You're right, it must be him." Dawn whispered back.
Professor Rowan stepped back and began to ponder.
"...They tried to go into the tall grass because they wanted Pokémon..." He muttered. "Hmm... What to do...? Their world would surely change if they were to meet Pokémon... Is it right for me to put them on that path...?"
Rowan turned back and walked to Dawn and Barry, with his arms behind his back.
"You two. You truly love Pokémon, do you?" He asked.
"Yes, becoming a Pokémon Trainer is the only thing in life that matters." Dawn said quickly.
"Me, too! I love Pokémon, too!" Barry yelled.
"I will ask you once again. You two. You truly love Pokémon, do you?" Professor Rowan asked once more.
"What?! You can ask a hundred times! The answer will never change! We'll both answer a hundred times, we love Pokémon!" Barry explained. "Right, Dawn?"
"Definitely!" Dawn agreed.
"...A pair of reckless kids who foolishly try to enter tall grass without Pokémon of their own...?" Rowan said, rubbing his chin. "It worries me what people like that would do with Pokémon."
"...Uh... Well, I, uh..." Barry stumbled over his own words. "Well, then forget about me, but give a Pokémon to my friend here."
"Barry..." Dawn said. "N-no, I won't accept that, give a Pokémon to Barry, he deserves one more!"
"No way, you have to get one Dawn!" Barry argued. "I mean, it was me who tried to go into the tall grass and all..."
Professor Rowan was surprised to see both their kindness. He finally smiled confusing Dawn and Barry.
"How big of you... both of you..." He spoke. "Very well, then! I will entrust you two with Pokémon!"
"Seriously!?" Dawn said with excitement, she jumped happily up and down covering her mouth.
"Heck yeah, this is awesome!" Barry shouted at the top of his lungs.
"I apologize for putting you through that exercise. However! You must promise me that you will never recklessly endanger yourselves again." Professor Rowan laid out.
"That I can promise!" Barry said, giving a salute.
"We both will!" Dawn swore.
"Now then..." Rowan said patting down his pockets. "Hm? Now, where...?"
Rowan turned around after hearing someone's footstep. Dawn turned her attention to see a young boy who looked to be around her and Barry's age. He wore a dark red full sleeved shirt with a dark blue and black jacket over it, a white scarf wrapped around his neck. He wore on his head a dark red hat with a black Pokéball print on it.
"A friend of yours?" Dawn asked.
"Professor Rowan!" The boy said. "You left your briefcase behind at the lake. Is something wrong here?"
"Ah! There it is! Lucas, nice work." Rowan said feeling relieved. "What I was about to do was entrust these two with their own Pokémon."
"Hey!" Dawn said waving at Lucas.
"Sup!" Barry said.
"Wha...?!" Lucas muttered turning to Rowan in disbelief. "Those Pokémon are crucial. You're giving them away?"
"Hm! We exist side by side with Pokémon. There comes a time when people should meet Pokémon. There is a world that should be explored together. For them, today is that time. The place, right here." Rowan explained.
"I hope you're right Professor." Lucas sighed as he opened the briefcase.
"Go on you two, go ahead and pick a Pokémon, please choose who you want carefully." Rowan told them.
"Alright, the time has finally come, Dawn!" Barry said, eyes glistening at the sight of the Pokéballs.
Dawn and Barry both stared at the three Pokéballs before them unsure which to choose.
"Hey, Dawn. You can choose first." Barry finally said.
"Really, you'd be okay with that Barry!" Dawn said surprised.
"Hey, I'm practically a grown-up. I have to show some class here." Barry gloated.
Dawn walked closer to Lucas and had her arm hover over the Pokéballs.
"Um... which one is which?" Dawn asked.
"Oh, well the one on the left of you is Turtwig, it's a Grass Type." Lucas said. "The one on the middle is Chimchar, the Fire Type, and the one to your right, is Piplup, the Water Type, all three are excellent Pokémon, you can't go wrong with any of them."
"Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup..." Dawn mumbled.
The idea of choosing a Fire Type enticed her, she made up her mind.
"I've decided!" She said placing her hand on the middle Pokéball.
"So Chimchar is the Pokémon you want!?" Lucas asked her. "It'll be with you for your whole journey, are you really sure?"
"It has to be Chimchar!" Dawn said, she turned to Barry who wasn't paying attention.
"Barry!" She said, alarming him.
"Oh, wha, hold on, have you chosen a Pokémon yet?" Barry asked. "Who'd you choose?"
"If you'd have paid attention, maybe you'd know!" Dawn smirked.
Barry walked up to Lucas and eyed the suitcase.
"Then, I choose you!" Barry said grabbing the Pokéball on the right.
"Piplup huh, good choice!" Lucas told him.
"Hey, don't tell me you just acted like you weren't paying attention so you could choose the Pokémon with the type advantage over mine." Dawn accused.
"Me, I would never! No way!" Barry defended himself.
"Very well! Both of you have chosen a good Pokémon, it seems. Now, listen well! The Pokémon you have been entrusted with are unfamiliar with the world. In that regard, they're much like you. As fellow newcomers to the world, I hope you'll do well together. If you have any trouble, come see me at my lab in Sandgem town. And now, we'll be on our way." And with that Rowan took his leave walking through the tall grass.
"Professor! Wait for me!" Lucas yelled following behind Rowan.
"Uh, sorry, folks." He said as he ran past the two following after the Professor.
"How do you like that? Professor Rowan's really nice." Barry commented.
"Tell me about it, on TV, he seems so stern and scary." Dawn replied.
"Hey, what do you say we take a look at our Pokémon now!" Barry said eagerly.
"Just what I was thinking!" Dawn said as she pressed on the white button on her Pokéball.
Out from the Pokéball came her new Chimchar. The Pokémon was quite hairy and had orange fur, though its face, outer ears, underbelly, hands, and feet were a light-yellow color. Its rear was unleashing a bright flame.
"Chimchar!" Chimchar exclaimed, happy to meet its Trainer.
Dawn kneeled and greeted her starter.
"Hey Chimchar, my name is Dawn and I'd like for us to be good friends, what do you say!?" Dawn said petting Chimchar on the head.
Chimchar jumped up and down in joy and gave Dawn a hug, Dawn hugged it back.
"Cool! My turn!" Barry said, releasing Piplup from its Pokéball.
Piplup was a light-blue, penguin-like Pokémon. It had a dark blue head with a primarily white face and a short, yellow beak. Barry kneeled down to greet his Pokémon as well.
"You are just so cute; I love you already!" Barry said hugging Piplup uncomfortably tight, but Piplup still seemed to like Barry.
"P-Piplup!" Piplup said as Barry let go.
Barry turned from his Piplup to Dawn with a smirk on his face.
"What's up, Barry?" Dawn said turning her focus from Chimchar to her best friend.
"Heheh, Dawn! We've both got Pokémon now. There's only one thing to do, right? Are you up for this?" Barry asked to which Dawn knew exactly what he meant.
"Alright, now's a time as good as any." Dawn answered. "Chimchar, you think you're ready for a battle?"
"Chimchar!" Chimchar happily shouted standing and throwing punches like a boxer.
"Haha, well, looks like Chimchar's cool with it!" Dawn said.
Barry turned to Piplup who gave him a nod.
"I've always wanted to say this..." Barry said getting up. "The time has finally come! Dawn! I challenge you to a battle!"
"We accept, now let's do this!" Dawn declared, Chimchar leaped in front of her and formed a battle position to which Piplup did the same for Barry.
Barry, I always wanted to say those words too... Dawn thought.
Hey guys, time for some words from the author. So welcome to my new story, man, it's still so weird to be publishing a fanfic that isn't Crimson Gold. So anyway, in case you aren't in the know which I highly doubt you aren't, this fic is being written after my insanely-long previous fic which was called Pokémon Crimson Gold. So if you like this fic and can't stand to wait for more chapters, I recommend you read that one if you haven't.