In the town of Postwick, a chubby teenage boy shivered in his hoodie as he climbed the steps of his friend's home. "Come on Edward, we're going to miss Axel!" He yelled through the door, banging against it as hard as he could. There was a sudden shuffling heard through the door before it suddenly exploded open, sending both the boy and the person behind the door sprawling off the porch.
"Can't believe I overslept! C'mon Nate, we gotta go!" Edward shouted as he quickly got to his feet, revealing a slim teen with lightly tanned skin, long, shaggy black hair, and green eyes with an impish light about them. He helped his friend to his feet, taking in his short brown hair and brown eyes contrasting his pale skin. "That's what I was trying to tell you Edward, before you sent me flying with that front door of yours." Nathanial drawled, causing Edward to smile sheepishly and rub the back of his head."Sorry about that man, but we gotta go!" With that, the two quickly took off for the town next door, Wedgehurst.
After a fair amount of running and dodging the complaints of other pedestrians, the two boys managed to make it to Wedgehurst Station, where they found their friend Gunter. Gunter was a handsome sort, tan and tall with bright blonde hair and deep blue eyes. The boy would be quite popular if it wasn't for one thing….
"What was that for? All I did was say you were hot!" Gunter whined to a woman stalking off, rubbing the bright red handprint she'd left on his face. Edward shook his head as he approached the blonde, an easy grin on his face. "You never do learn, do you mon ami?" Gunter turned towards him, raising his hands in protest. "Complete overreaction, I swear!" Nathanial rolled his eyes. "Yes, just like the one yesterday, and the one the week before, right?" Gunter was about to protest, but was interrupted by the whistle of a train coming into the station. "That's his train guys!" He shouted excitedly, trying to see into the windows. The passengers quickly disembarked as the trio stood there, waiting for the man they'd come to greet. Eventually, after most of the passengers had left, an athletic looking man with sandy blonde hair approached. "Dad!" Gunter yelled, running into the arms of the man.
"Gunter! How are you? Been behaving around the butler?" Gunter groaned and rolled his eyes. "Yes dad, I've been fine." Axel chuckled and released Gunter before turning to the other two teens. "Edward, Nathanial, how are you two?" Edward and Nathanial grinned. "We're just fine, Mr. Owens." Axel grinned as well before hitting his head in faux-shock. "That's right, you guys have all turned sixteen right? That means you boys are finally eligible for the Gym Challenge!" Edward grinned a bit more at that. "Oui, thank you for remembering Mr. Owens." Axel reached into his travel bag before pulling out three familiar red and white balls. "As promised, Pokemon to start your journeys." He said walking up to Edward. "From your homeland Edward, a cute Fenniken to take care of." He gave Edward his Pokeball before turning to Nathanial. "And for you Nate, the Trapinch you once begged for." Nathanial blushed a bit as he took the Pokeball. "Thanks Mr. Owens." Gunter grabbed his dad's arm, losing patience. "What about me dad, what'd I get?" He exclaimed excitedly. "You'll find out at home kiddo." Axel replied with a laugh before turning to the other two teens. "You two should head to Professor Magnolia and get set up with a Pokedex." Edward and Nathanial nodded and took off, Edward turning one last time to exclaim, "Thanks Mr. Owens!"
Edward grinned at Nathanial as they walked down the street. "This is awesome Nate! We finally get to start our adventure!" Nathanial grinned back. "Don't get too happy. Remember Saren?" Eward lost his grin. "Don't remind me, he's off schmoozing ladies in Sinnoh…" He grumbled, eye twitching as he imagined the jerk flirting with a certain blonde Champion. Nathanial chuckled, obviously knowing what was going through his friend's mind. "You are such a fanboy." He teased. "Screw off." Edward replied as they walked up to a nondescript house. "This is the Professor's place right?" Nathanial checked his phone. "Says so on the web." Edward shrugged before knocking on the door. A few moments later, the door opened and a beautiful orangette opened the door, dressed in a coat and tight jeans and boots. She smiled at the two teens. "Ah! You two must be Nathanial and Edward, correct? Axel said you'd be coming by." Edward shook his head as he did his best to not drool. "Uh...yeah, I'm Edward, he's Nate. Axel said to come and get our Pokedexes?" The woman nodded. "Yes! I'm Sonia, Professor Magnolia's assistant. Well I say I'm her assistant...nevermind! Nathanial, may I see your phone please?" Nathanial handed it over and she fiddled with it for a moment before handing it back to Nathanial. "There you go, I've set up the Pokedex app on your phone." She said before turning to Edward, pulling a red rectangle out of her pocket. "Axel said that you wanted a physical Pokedex instead so I got one from Professor Oak in Kanto for you. Also, Axel wanted you to have these…" She said before pulling out two earpieces. "These are prototype Pokemon Translators, just hit the button on them to turn them on." She explained. The two took the earpieces and fit them on before turning and thanling Sonia. "No problem, just helping Axel. I hope you two do well on the Gym Challenge!" She exclaimed with a smile before closing the door. Nathanial turned to Edward with a grin. "Axel really set us up huh?" Edward shook his head. "No kidding, he really pulled out all the stops." He said before looking at the sky. "How about we spend the rest of the day getting some gear and set off tomorrow?" Nathanial nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me." He said before the two walked away from the house, their adventure just beginning.