Arabella, Leo, and Arianne followed Brooke inside the Pokemon Lab.
"Professor Hazel!" Brooke shouts. "We're here!"
"Coming!" A woman replies before there is a loud crash.
A woman who looks to be in her forties arrived with a small red fox-like Pokemon following her. "Hello, you must be Arabella, Leo, and Arianne. Sorry for the wait. I'm Professor Hazel, and this is Vulpix."
"Vul!" Vulpix shouted.
Professor Hazel looked at Arabella. "You look so much like your older sister."
Arabella shrugs. "Uh…thanks."
"Anyway, follow me, kids."
Arabella, Leo, Arianne, and Brooke followed Professor Hazel through the lab and outside through a different door. They arrived in a field, where many Pokemon were playing around with each other.
Professor Hazel hands Arabella, Leo, and Arianne each a single Poké Ball. "As Brooke is already aware, this is what we call the Starter Sanctuary. Here we raise starter Pokemon until they choose to go with trainers. Each of you will befriend a Pokemon in here and catch it with your Poké Ball. Now, go out there and meet your partner Pokemon."
Arabella, Leo, and Arianne slowly go off in separate ways through the field to befriend their partner Pokemon.
Professor Hazel looks at Brooke. "I take it Arabella still isn't speaking to her older sister."
Brooke sighs. "Unfortunately not. It's such a shame. Aaron and Mara drove a wedge between them by constantly comparing them."
"It is such a shame. I bet this brings back some memories for you."
"It does. I feel like it was only yesterday that I befriended Squirtle here and started my journey."
"Time flies, Brooke. You've grown so much since then. I'm glad that you decided to become a gym leader."
"Well, I'm still pretty new at it. I'm still working on some things."
"You still have things to learn about Pokemon each and every day, Brooke. How is Blastoise by the way, Brooke?"
Brooke held a Poké Ball in her hand. "She's doing quite well. There's a huge pool in my gym in Drizzleton City. She loves it."
"That's good to hear. Glad she's happy."
"Me too."
Arianne quietly sat by a pool of water and watched Pokemon play. She had been looking forward to this day and starting her Pokemon journey for quite some time, but she was nervous now that it was here. She didn't know how to even start trying to befriend a Pokemon.
She heard a noise close to her. "Hello?"
A Sobble appeared next to Arianne. "Sob?"
"Don't be shy. I won't hurt you."
Sobble looked nervously at Arianne.
"Are you nervous? Me too. I'm supposed to start my Pokemon journey today and I don't even know how I'm going to befriend my starter Pokemon."
Sobble got curious and listened to Arianne.
"I'm scared a little bit as well because I don't think I'll be as good of a trainer as Arabella or Leo. They're always better than me at everything." Arianne looked at the Poké Ball in her hand. "They've probably already befriended Pokemon."
Sobble climbed into Arianne's lap to cuddle with her to cheer her up.
Arianne smiled as she started to pet Sobble. "Are you scared of the other Pokemon? Is that why you're nervous, Sobble?"
Sobble nodded.
"Everything's gonna be alright, Sobble. There's no reason to be afraid. You're going to be safe, and I'm going to find my starter Pokemon."
Sobble looked up at Arianne before it pressed the button in the middle of the Poké Ball. Sobble was absorbed into the Poké Ball, and it shook three times before clicking.
Arianne smiled. "Welcome to the team, Sobble."
Leo looked around for fire type Pokemon. Fire was his favorite Pokemon type so he was determined to get a starter of that type. He felt something rub against his leg. He looked down to see a Litten.
Leo kneeled down to pet Litten. "Aren't you adorable?"
Litten purred in agreement. Leo smiled.
Litten climbed up into Leo's lap.
Leo found a ball and handed it to Litten. Litten started playing with the ball.
"Litten?" Leo asked. "Do you want to be my starter Pokemon?"
"Li!" Litten said excitedly.
Leo held out his Poké Ball. Litten pressed the button in the middle and was absorbed into the Poké Ball. It shook three times before clicking.
Leo grinned and held the Poké Ball. "Thank you, Litten. We're gonna have lots of fun together."
Arabella stood by some berry bushes. She was unsure about what Pokemon would become her starter Pokemon. She heard a small noise nearby. Arabella followed the noise to find a Bulbasaur, struggling to reach some Oran berries to eat. Arabella slowly approached, trying not to startle the Bulbasaur, before picking an Oran Berry off of the bush.
Arabella held out the berry to Bulbasaur. "Here. I see you're struggling. Eat this one."
Bulbasaur looked at Arabella before eating the Oran Berry out of her hand.
Arabella smiled as she watched Bulbasaur. "My name is Arabella. Are you still hungry?"
Bulbasaur nodded.
Arabella picked a few more berries for Bulbasaur to eat. "Here you go. Your such a sweet little…girl?"
Bulbasaur smiled and nodded as she ate the berries, confirming she was a female.
"So, Bulbasaur, I'm supposed to be starting my Pokemon journey today and finding my starter Pokemon. Would you want to be my starter Pokemon? It's okay if you don't want to, but do you?"
Bulbasaur smiled up at Arabella. Arabella grabbed her Poké Ball and held it in front of Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur tapped the Poké Ball and was absorbed into it. The Poké Ball shook three times before clicking.
Arabella smiled. "Thanks for being my friend, Bulbasaur."
Arabella arrived back to see Brooke and Professor Hazel watching Leo play with a Litten and Arianne play with a rather shy Sobble. "Hey, sorry I took so long."
Professor Hazel smiles. "It's no big deal, Arabella. This is a big decision. Who is your starter Pokemon?"
Arabella tossed her Poké Ball in the air. "Bulbasaur! Let's go!"
Arabella's Bulbasaur appeared.
Professor Hazel grinned. "Fantastic! Congratulations to all three of you on becoming Pokemon trainers. Since you are officially Pokemon trainers, here is a Pokedex for each of you."
Arabella, Leo, and Arianne each took a Pokedex. Arabella used her Pokedex on her Bulbasaur.
Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokemon. A strange seed was planted on its back at birth. The plant sprouts and grows with this Pokemon.
The Pokedex also showed Bulbasaur's current moves to be Tackle and Vine Whip.
"This is exciting." Brooke comments. "It brings back so many memories for me. Anyway, you three were talking about battling earlier. Professor Hazel has a battlefield we can use now for your first battles. Let's go."
Brooke walked inside. The others followed behind her.
Brooke led them all to a battlefield. "Here we are. I'll be the referee. Who's battling first?"
"I will!" Leo exclaimed. "See you girls out there!"
Leo ran to one side of the battlefield.
Arianne looked at Arabella. "Who's gonna battle him first?"
"You can go first." Arabella replied.
Arianne's Sobble shied away from the battlefield and Leo's Litten.
"Umm…" Arianne says. "I don't think my Sobble is comfortable with this. You battle instead, Arabella."
"Alrighty then. Let's go, Bulbasaur!" Arabella and her Bulbasaur went to the side of the field opposing Leo and his Litten. Arabella used her Pokedex on Litten.
Litten, the Fire Cat Pokemon. While grooming itself, it builds up fur inside its stomach. It sets the fur alight and spews fiery attacks, which change based on how it coughs.
Brooke stood to the side to referee the battle. "This battle is between Leo's Litten and Arabella's Bulbasaur. The battle is over when one Pokemon is unable to battle. Battle begin!"
"Litten, use Scratch!" Leo shouts.
"Bulbasaur, dodge and use Vine Whip!" Arabella responds.
Litten goes to scratch, but Bulbasaur successfully dodges the attack and hits Litten with its vines.
"Bulbasaur, Tackle!" Arabella shouts.
"Litten, dodge it!" Leo responds.
Litten tries to dodge the attack, but Bulbasaur still catches it with Tackle. Litten faints.
"Litten is unable to battle!" Brooke shouts. "Arabella is your winner."
Leo frowns before holding out his Poké Ball. "Litten, return."
Litten disappeared into his Poké Ball.
Arabella grinned at Bulbasaur while holding out her Poké Ball. "Great job, Bulbasaur! Return!"
Bulbasaur returned to her Poké Ball.
"Fantastic job from both of you." Professor Hazel said before handing one small case each to Arabella, Leo, and Arianne. "These are badge cases for your gym badges. Don't lose them. You will need to show eight gym badges to register for the Rasun Pokemon League tournament. Anyway, I think it's about time I send you three off. Congratulations on beginning your Pokemon journey, you three. I'll see you out."
"Actually," Brooke says. "Can you give me and Arabella a minute, Professor Hazel? I'd like to talk to my cousin alone for a moment."
Professor Hazel nodded. "Of course. Leo, Arianne, let's leave them alone to talk."
"Alright." Leo says.
"Let's go, Sobble." Arianne says as she carries Sobble while following Leo and Professor Hazel away from the battlefield.
Arabella looks at Brooke in confusion. "What's going on, Brooke?"
"Umm…" Brooke replies. "I know you don't talk to your older sister at all, which is why she didn't do this herself, but she's been holding onto something for years to give you when you began your Pokemon journey. She asked me to give it to you. I know you may not want to take it, but something like this is rare here in Rasun, and she's been saving this for at least five years. I think you should take it, Bella."
"What is this gift from my older sister?" Arabella asks with slight irritation.
"A mega bracelet used to mega evolve Pokemon. They're very rare here in Rasun. I'm lucky enough to have one myself, but outside of the Pokemon League, they're really rare here in Rasun. You have to use a mega stone for mega evolution as well, but she didn't leave any of those. Just the mega bracelet. I hear there's some mega stones on Ember Island though. Maybe when you travel over there to challenge Adara's gym, you can find one to use with your Pokemon. Please take it, Bella. Your sister has been saving it for years."
Arabella sighed. "I guess I'll take it, but I'm doing it for you, Brooke, not her. She couldn't even be bothered to give it to me herself."
Brooke handed the mega bracelet to Arabella. "Here. She didn't come because you have refused to speak to her for a while, and she didn't think you would want to see her. Also, Arabella, she does have some pretty major responsibilities. She can't just drop things and travel across the region on a moment's notice."
Arabella took the mega bracelet and put it on. "Thanks. I know she's got responsibilities, Brooke, but she still could've made time for me. Let's go join the others."
Brooke sighed as she followed Arabella away from the battlefield to join Professor Hazel, Leo, and Arianne in front of the Pokemon Lab Building.
Professor Hazel grinned at Brooke and the three new Pokemon trainers. "This is where I see you four off. Congratulations and best of luck, Arabella, Leo, and Arianne. Feel free to use your Cross Transceivers to get a hold of me if you need any help. Brooke, you already know that you can call me at any time. Good luck with the gym. I'm going to head back inside. Goodbye!"
"Bye!" The four replied as Professor Hazel headed back inside the Pokemon Lab.
Brooke looked at the three new Pokemon trainers. "Well, first things first, you three need to get to the Pokemon center asap. Arabella and Leo can heal up their Pokemon from the battle they had, and all three of you need to register and get your Trainer ID cards while you are there. You need a Trainer ID card to do almost anything. Rent a room to stay in a Pokemon center, register for Pokemon contests, schedule an appointment to have a battle against a gym leader, the list goes on. Got it?"
Arabella, Leo, and Arianne all nodded in understanding.
Brooke continued. "Anyway, it's about time for me to head back towards Drizzleton City, so I can return to my gym. If you follow Route 1, it'll take you directly to Covolt City, where your first gym battle should be. Here's some advice, the gym leader is Daniel, and he specializes in electric type Pokemon. Be careful while battling him. It's also supposed to be a two-on-two Pokemon battle, so I highly suggest all of you train and catch at least one more Pokemon before going to battle Daniel, especially you, Arianne, since Sobble is weak against electric types. Understand?"
"Yes, ma'am." Arianne answered as Arabella and Leo both silently nodded.
"Good. Also, feel free to call me from your Cross Transceivers if you need any advice. Do call me after you defeat Daniel and are done in Covolt City, so I know you're on your way to Drizzleton City. I'd suggest spending some time in Nimbus Woods before heading towards Covolt City as well. It would be good to train there. Also, explore as much as you can. You're on a journey. Try new things. Personally, I'd suggest starting with trying Pokemon contests. There's one in Drizzleton City weekly. They're a lot of fun, and one of you might be really good at them. Sorry for rambling. I just want to make sure you three understand everything before I go. One last thing, here's five Poké Balls for each of you to start off. Use them wisely because you'll have to buy the rest of them that you will use." Brooke hands Arabella, Leo, and Arianne each five Poké Balls.
"Thank you." The three new Pokemon trainers reply.
Brooke nods. "Absolutely. I'm going to head back now. Just give me a call if you need anything. Bye!"
"Bye!" Arabella, Leo, and Arianne replied as Brooke headed towards Route 1.
Leo looks at Arabella. "Let's head to the Pokemon Center. I need to heal Litten up after your Bulbasaur defeated him in battle. We need to get our Trainer ID cards too."
Arabella nods. "I agree. Is your Sobble alright, Arianne?"
"He's fine, Arabella." Arianne replies. "He's just shy. Are you wearing a mega bracelet?"
"Uh…yes."
"Where did you get that from?" Leo asks.
"They're really rare here in Rasun." Arianne comments.
"Brooke gave it to me. Turns out my older sister has been saving it for me."
"I thought you didn't talk to your older sister."
"I don't."
An uncomfortable silence falls over the group as they arrive at the Pokemon Center and officially begin their journey.
Arabella's Team: Bulbasaur
Leo's Team: Litten
Arianne's Team: Sobble