"Welcome, all you youngsters…to the annual Saffron City Novice Trainer Orientation meeting, sponsored by Silph Company, makers of such products as the ever popular Ultra Ball and Super Potion!" Mr. Silph's announcement was met with applause from the soon-to-be Pokémon trainers.

"When do we get our starters?" Seven didn't want to be left behind at the very start. He'd heard a story about some slacker named Ash, who had overslept on his first day of Pokémon training and nearly missed his chance to select a beginning Pokémon.

"Hold your horses there…" Mr. Silph trailed off, attempting to recall the name of that skinny kid with the black headband. "Six?"

"It's Seven." Now Seven was annoyed as well as impatient.

"Ah, of course. Seven. First, you kids have to watch our thirty-minute introductory video to get you acquainted with the art of training. It is my pride to be the one to introduce you into the glorious world of Pokémon, and aid you as you take those first few steps out into our brave world…" Seven didn't bother paying attention to the president's platitudes. The only reason he'd signed up for this program in the first place was that being provided with a starting Pokémon was easier than having to go out and actually catch one by himself. Mr. Silph went to insert his video into the VCR, and Seven took that opportunity to set the watch on the new Pokégear that had also been provided by the Silph Company.

"Hmm…I think I did it right." The gear displayed DAY 1:43 on its monochrome screen. Since he didn't have anything else to do, he reluctantly turned his eyes to the video screen.

"Hello! Sorry to keep you waiting!" A blurry, unmoving image of world-renowned Pokémon expert Professor Samuel Oak appeared on screen in addition to the words he spoke. "Welcome to the world of POKéMON! My name is OAK. People call me the POKéMON PROF." Seven couldn't decide whether to be bored because the intro was so dull, or entertained simply because of how intelligence-insulting it was. He silently mouthed along every time the professor came to a word that was rendered in all caps by the subtitles, as he would pronounce it slowly and drawn out.

"This world is inhabited by creatures that we call POKéMON." The professor continued speaking, but he faded from view and was replaced by a rather plump Marril. As he completed this sentence, the Marril made an odd beeping noise. This proved definitively that the video was low-budget; its makers couldn't even obtain a proper clip of Marril's voice.

"People and POKéMON live together by supporting each other." The visual shifted back to Oak. "Some people play with POKéMON, some battle with them. But we don't know everything about POKéMON yet. There are still many mysteries to solve. That's why I study POKéMON every day. Are you ready?" At this point, Seven had fallen completely asleep, and was drooling on his desk. "Your very own POKéMON story is about to unfold. You'll face fun times and tough challenges. A world of dreams and adventures with POKéMON awaits! Let's go!"

When Seven finally woke up, Mr. Silph thrust a Pokéball in his face. "What happened to all that energy you had a while ago, kid? Everyone else has already picked their Pokémon. This is the only one left!"

"What? You mean I…I…no, I couldn't have fallen asleep at such an important time as this It's impossible!" Mr. Silph gestured at the puddle of drool that had collected on the table Seven had been sitting at. "Hmm…well, I suppose it is possible…" He decided to turn his attention to the shiny Pokéball Mr. Silph had given him. "I wonder which one I got?" Seven pressed the release button on the metallic orb, which popped open to reveal…

"Slowpoke?"