Chapter 4
The bright light quickly materialized into the form of a blue creature with orange cheeks and fins. "Kip!", the creature said aggressively as it fully materialized. Brendan recognized it as the water-type Pokemon Mudkip. The PokeBall flew off of the ground and back towards Brendan's hand. The wild Poochyena backed away from the Mudkip in apprehension, but upon realizing what it was, began to advance again. Thinking quickly, Brendan yelled, "Mudkip, use Tackle!". Immediately, Mudkip ran at breakneck speed towards the Poochyena, and slammed into it with no hesitation. Mudkip returned to it's original position as the Poochyena recovered from the attack. The wild Poochyena responded with a Tackle of its own, barreling at the Mudkip before slamming into it.
The two traded blows for some time before the Poochyena, haggard and beaten up, flopped over and fainted. "Kip, kip!", the Pokemon cried out in joy upon defeating its canine combatant. Brendan stood in shock. He had just had his first Pokemon battle. And won. He was stricken with awe, unable to comprehend anything around him until he heard the man say, "Um, a little help, please?". Brendan snapped put of his daze and quickly rushed over to the man, who was still lying prone on the ground. Brendan offered him his hand, which he gratefully accepted, and helped pull him off of the ground.
The man stumbled up from the ground and brushed himself off. "Phew!", the man said, "Thanks for helping me out there. I was in the grass studying wild Pokemon, when I was jumped by that Poochyena. May I have that PokeBall back, please?". Brendan handed the man the PokeBall that had housed his Mudkip. He threw the ball at his Pokemon, upon which it transformed into a flash of red energy and went back inside the ball, which then returned to his hand. He walked over to his satchel lying on the ground, placed the ball inside with the other two, and slung it over his shoulder.
"Oh, where are my manners? I'm Professor Birch", he said, extending his hand. "I'm Brendan. Pleasure to meet you", he said while giving him a firm handshake. "Oh, you're Brendan? You're Norman's kid? Wow! Y'know, it's fitting that the son of a gym leader is the one who saved me", he said with a laugh. Brendan chuckled in the way one would do when someone else is praising them and they have to act humble. A rustle from a patch of grass nearby startled both of them. "This isn't exactly the best place for a conversation, so how about we go back to my lab?", Birch asked nervously. Brendan nodded while looking at the grass. The two quickly walked back to the safety of the town, making sure that no Pokemon were following them.
Once they had made it back to town, the Professor and Brendan walked into the laboratory. The inside of the lab was somewhat underwhelming compared to what ones expectations would be. The inside of the lab itself was somewhat dimly lit, smelled like really old ammonia, and had a feel of something that's been used a lot but hasn't been cleaned in a while. The vast majority of items in the laboratory were books about Pokemon. There were several shelves filled to the brim with books, and more laying in large piles around the lab. There was one large machine on the side that seemed to do something important, but not much else interesting beyond that. There were also lots of unlabeled cardboard boxes stacked up around the lab. There were several desks with research PCs and loose papers on them. There was one desk in the back corner that held nothing but a singular coffee cup.
"Yeah, depressing, isn't it?", the Professor said as they walked into the lab, "And everyone always wonders why I insist on field work over lab work". Brendan sympathetically nodded as the Professor sat down in an office chair. "So, Brendan", the Professor began, "I've heard so much about you from your father. I've heard that you don't have your own Pokemon yet". "No, I don't", Brendan replied. "But the way you battled earlier", the professor said, "You pulled it off with aplomb! I guess you have your fathers blood in your veins after all!". Brendan stared at his shoes, blushing profusely from pride. "Oh yes", the Professor continued, "I suppose I owe you a reward for rescuing me back there. Well, the most logical way for me to express my gratitude would be to let you have that Pokemon you were battling with earlier"
Brendan's eyes shot up to meet the Professors. "R-really?", Brendan asked with surprise, "You mean it? I'm getting my own Pokemon?". "Yep!", the Professor cheered, "Now let's see, you were battling with the Mudkip, right?" He pulled the PokeBall out of his satchel and threw it out. With a flash of bright light, the water-type Pokemon materialized in front of the two. "Kip!", the Pokemon cried cheerfully upon being released. The ball flew back to the Professor, upon which he handed it to Brendan. "There you go, kiddo. She's all yours". Brendan was overjoyed as he took the ball from the Professors hand, but was stopped by a sudden confusion. "Wait, 'she'? Aren't starter Pokemon usually males?", Brendan asked with concern. "Yeah, you have about a 1/8 chance of a starter being female. I guess you just got lucky", the Professor replied. Brendan shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention back to his new Pokemon.
The Mudkip sat on the floor, staring at Brendan. He bent down and placed a hand on the Pokemons head. Her skin was rubbery and wet, as if she had just gotten out of the water. She smiled and chirped her name in a positive manner at Brendan's touch. "Yknow, Brendan, why don't you give that Mudkip a nickname?". Brendan thought the idea over for a minute before saying, "Kappa. I'm gonna call her Kappa". The Professor looked at Brendan with raised eyebrows. "Well, it's certainly unusual, but it's definitely not the worst name I've ever heard. But why?". Brendan looked back at the Professor. "Well, she kinda reminds me of one of those river monsters from Japanese legend. Plus, I think it sounds kinda cool". The Professor shrugged and said, "Fair enough"
"Well, now that you have a Pokemon, why don't you try going into the tall grass outside of town?", the Professor suggested, "My daughter, May, is out on Route 103 studying Pokemon. You should go see her, get her to show you what it means to be a trainer". Brendan stood up and said, "Yeah, I'll go do that". He threw the ball at his Pokemon, upon which she deconstructed into red energy and went back inside the ball. "Alright, see you later Professor", he said as he ran out the door. "Have fun, you two!", the Professor called back. As Brendan walked out the door, the Professor pulled his cellphone out of his back pocket and pressed redial. The phone rang twice before a voice from the other end said, "Hello?". "Hey Norman", the Professor replied, "I gave your kid his first Pokemon like you asked". "Thanks, man. I owe you one", Norman said from the other end. "You're damn right you owe me one. Starter Pokemon don't just grow on trees", the Professor replied.
As Brendan walked out the door, he couldn't help but think about what a day it had been so far. He had moved to a new region, seen a girl in her underwear in front of him, got his very own Pokemon, won his first Pokemon battle, and met a world class Pokemon Professor, all within the space of six hours, let alone one day. Speaking of hours, he thought to himself, what time is it? He lifted his wrist to his eyes so he could check his watch. 4:27. He decided that there was enough daylight in the day to go visit May. He walked back to his house, opened the door and went inside. His mother was still sitting at the kitchen table, watching tv. "Oh hi, sweetheart! Did you have fun?", his mother said to him as he walked through the door. "Yeah, mom", Brendan replied, walking past her and up the stairs into his room.
When he got up to his room, he walked to the pile of boxes in the corner and opened one that was unlabeled. He dug around in the box for a minute before setting it aside and opening another unlabeled box. This time, he pulled a backpack out after a minute of digging around. He had gotten the backpack when he was younger, so that he could save it for the day he became a trainer. He ran to his computer and powered it on. He was worried that it might have been damaged in the move, but to his delight, the machine started up with a hum and whirr. After it completely booted up, Brendan selected a file marked ITEM STORAGE. He clicked on the command labeled WITHDRAWL ITEM. He selected the lonely potion he had saved on his computer back when he got his backpack. Almost instantaneously, a potion materialized on a special platform connected to his computer. He grabbed the vial of thick purple liquid and stuffed it into his bag, along with the PokeBall of his newest companion. He slung his bag over his shoulder and ran down the stairs.
Once he reached the bottom, he ran over to his mother. "Hey, mom! Check it out! I have my own Pokemon now!". He reached into his backpack, pulled out Mudkip's PokeBall, and threw it at the ground. The Pokemon materialized with a flash of bright light. "Kip, Mudkip!", the Pokemon cheerfully cried. "Oh wow!", his mother said, "You finally got your first Pokemon! Good job! Does he have a name?". "Yeah", Brendan replied, "Her name is Kappa". "Oh, cool", she said while reaching down and placing a hand on Kappa's head. The Pokemon returned the gesture with a smile and a wag of her tail. "Well, I'm gonna go into the grass outside of town, and I figured I'd show her to you before I asked", he said to her. "Oh, alright", she replied, "Well, stay safe and be back before sundown". Brendan returned Kappa to her ball and put it away in his bag. "Alright. See ya!", he said as he ran for the door. "Have fun!", she yelled after him.
Brendan slammed the door behind him and walked towards the exit to the town. He looked at his watch as he did so. 4:34. He turned his attention to the path in front of him just in time to see the kid at the town's exit. He quickly paused midstride just before running into the poor kid. "Shit, sorry!", he exclaimed. "Oh, it's you", the kid replied, "Did you save the Professor?". Brendan smiled at him, "Yeah, and I got a new Pokemon for doing it!". The boy congratulated him for his success, then went back to his business. Brendan thought it wise to do the same. He walked on to the spot he had rescued the Professor from. He quickly reminisced on how he had battled earlier, and was overcome by an urge to battle again. He approached the edge of a patch of tall grass. He took his ball from his bag and clutched it in his hand, running his fingers over it, feeling its textures and contours. He took a deep breath, gripped the ball in his hand, and stepped into the tall grass.
Hey everyone, sorry for not posting for a while but to be honest, I kinda wanted to draw out the suspense for a while longer. Privilege of being an author, I guess. Uh, write a review telling me either which starter you thought I was going to go with or telling me what a horrible human being I am for purposefully bottlenecking my own supply. See y'all next time!