Please note that I do not own Pokemon, or any other characters mentioned in this story.

This story was originally written when there were only 151 pokemon known to exist. The setting is based on a mixture of the pokemon games, anime, and manga with my own personal twist thrown in the mix. For example, the red part of a pokeball is translucent in this world, allowing you to see which pokemon is in the pokeball just like in the manga. On the other hand, the pokedex contains a trainer's license, just like in the anime.

I would love comments, questions, and feedback, but since the story is already mostly written I will not do any requests. Once again, thank you for reading, and I hope that you enjoy the story.

Chapter 1: Four Boys and a Pokemon

Ding. Ding.

The alarm clock barely finished its second toll before Caleb turned it off.

"Today is the day!" Caleb beamed. He flew out of bed, already dressed for the day, and scurried down the stairs.

"Whoa! Where are you off to in such a hurry?" his older brother Joshua asked.

Caleb swallowed a banana and snatched up his back pack, not even bothering to slow down and face his brother.

"Today's the day I get my first pokemon!" Caleb said excitedly. "I have to hurry and get to Prof. Oak's lab before Daniel and Jason do. That way, I get first pick."

Joshua pulled out a pokedex from his pocket. "Which one did you decide on?"

"Charmander, the fire pokemon!" Caleb shouted over his shoulder as he raced out the door. "I'll swing by before I leave."

"Good choice," Joshua said as he read Charmander's stats on the pokedex. "I'm sure you two will get along splendidly."

But Caleb didn't hear him. He was already down the street, running as fast as he could to get to Professor Oak's Lab.

His excitement was to be short-lived, however. Caleb was so busy running that he completely missed the column of smoke rising from the lab's location until he arrived at the front lawn.

"What's going on?" Caleb exclaimed in horror. The lab was a total wreck, just a pile of smoldering rubble to mark where it had once stood.

"Oh dear, is that you Caleb?" Professor Oak walked out from behind the pile of remains, his face and coat covered in soot. "I'm afraid we had a burglar last night. He stole all of my research notes and my pokemon. Then he burned my lab to the ground."

"What happened?" cried a voice from behind Caleb. He turned to see his friends, Jason and Daniel, also arriving on the scene.

"The lab was attacked, and the pokemon are all gone," Caleb summed up, a sob welled in the back of his throat.

"I'm terribly sorry, boys," Professor Oak apologized. "I know I promised each of you a pokemon to help you start your journeys, but I'm afraid I have nothing left."

"This isn't fair," Jason wailed. "How am I ever going to learn about pokemon now?"

"Have you looked to see if the crooks missed any of the pokemon?" Daniel asked Oak. "Maybe there's still a pokeball or two left in the rubble."

"I've been searching since last night, and no luck," Professor Oak replied. "You're welcome to see for yourselves, but I don't know if they could survive the lab fire even if they did get left behind."

Caleb was already digging through the rubble. Daniel ran over to help.

"Can't you get us some new pokemon from another city, Professor?" Jason begged.

"I'm sorry, my boy," Professor Oak said sadly, "but it will take too much time and money to get a new pokemon, pokeballs and a pokedex for each of you. Besides, all my precious work has been stolen or destroyed. I'll have to replace all of that first."

"I got one! I got one!" Caleb danced around, holding a pokeball triumphantly above his head. "And it's Charmander, the one I wanted, too!"

Professor Oak and the other two boys gathered around him. Sure enough, there was Charmander sleeping safe and sound inside his pokeball.

"Well done," said Professor Oak. "Of course Charmander would be able to endure the heat, since his is a fire type pokemon after all."

"What about the others?" Daniel asked. "I was really hoping for a Squirtle."

Oak shook his head. "It was most-likely stolen."

"But I can still keep Charmander, right?" Caleb pleaded.

Professor Oak scratched his head. "Well, I don't see why not. I was going to give him away anyway. But you do realize you won't be able to compete in the gyms with just one pokemon."

"I'll catch more," Caleb protested.

"How?" Jason asked. "You don't have any empty pokeballs or a pokedex."

"And what about us?" Daniel added. "We were supposed to get a pokemon, too."

"They sell pokeballs in Viridian City," Caleb pointed out. "Charmander and I can help catch pokemon for you as well."

"That would work, I suppose," Daniel said, starting to calm down. "I already have a lot of money saved for the trip."

"But what about a pokedex?" Jason asked. "Those things are really expensive, and you can't compete in gyms unless you have a trainer's license stored in a pokedex."

"Quite right," Professor Oak said. "And the Pokemon League only issues a professor like me a certain number to distribute per year. I can't replace them just because they were stolen or destroyed."

Caleb thought hard. Then his eyes lit up. "My brother has one. He's been using it to study up on the pokemon in our area. Maybe I could convince him to let me use it?"

Jason turned to Professor Oak. "Can the three of us make do with one pokedex?" Jason asked him.

Oak scratched his chin in thought. "I don't see why not. Of course, you do realize that all three of you would have to have your license on the same pokedex, which means you would all have to travel to the gyms together."

Daniel stood tall and proud. "If that is what it will take to fulfill our destiny, then so be it."

Caleb gave him a weird look. "That's a little over dramatic, don't you think?"

"No time to argue," Jason cut in. "Let's go ask your brother about the pokedex."

Professor Oak watched them run off. "I feel bad for them, but who knows? Some of the greatest trainers tend to begin their journeys with the roughest starts."

Back at Caleb's home, Joshua was more then a little surprised at their request. "You need my pokedex?"

"Please Joshua," Caleb begged. "We can't compete without it."

"It's going to be hard enough with the three of us sharing one pokedex," Jason said with a sigh. "But if we don't even have one, they won't let us compete at any of the gyms."

Joshua seemed to be struggling. "You guys are going to be gone for a whole year. Maybe even longer. I can't be without my pokedex for that long."

"If you want to research pokemon so badly, then come with us!" Daniel offered.

"Yeah, that way you can even see new pokemon close-up and in person," Caleb added.

Joshua let out a sigh of defeat. "Alright, alright. I suppose some field work would be a good thing, and I do want my brother to be a pokemon trainer. Just give me a few minutes to pack some stuff."

"Yes!" the other three boys exclaimed.

Caleb put out his hand. "The four of us are going on a journey to become great trainers."

"To raise pokemon," Jason added, placing his hand on top of Caleb's.

"To learn about them," Joshua said, adding his hand to the others.

"And to be the best in the world," Daniel grinned, topping off the pile of hands.

"All for one, and one for all."