Professor Maple guided the two youngsters, Riley and Lilly, to a projector screen in the back of her office. Using the tablet that she kept held professionally in the crook of her arm, the projector showed an image of a cute, green bear on the screen. "This is Cubbush," she began to explain. "It's a Grass-type Pokemon that is very endangered. Very few are left in the wild, so I'm giving you the choice to nurture one so that it can't be badly injured."

With another tap on her tablet, Maple made the projector show a picture of a blue eel with what appeared to be a skull over its eyes. "This is Elelel, the Eel Pokemon. Climate change, an effect of failed resurce management, has caused it to no longer be able to survive in Chinockan waters. So I hope, if you pick it, you will treat it kindly and make sure it feels like it still belongs in our pleasant region."

Once again, Maple switched the image displayed on the projector screen. Now, it showed a cute mouse-like creature that was poking its head out of its shell, which was releasing smoke and a hot-looking, thick liquid. "This Pokemon is Burndillo, and because its habitat was sacrificed in order to expand Eclisse City, its only environmental niche was destroyed. It has no place to go, so treat it with love if you pick it."

Maple nodded determinedly. "So, Riley, who will it be?"

He pondered. This was a big decision. He hadn't walked into Maple Labs knowing he'd have to make this decision. Cubbush was adorable, and it looked like it would grow up into a strong, protective Pokemon. Burndillo looked like it really needed love and support, and Riley would feel wrong not lending it to the tiny little thing. But Elelel was so cool-looking that he wondered what it could be capable of.

"Take your time, Riley," Maple said. "This is an important decision, and I don't expect you to rush it."

Lilly, however, looked seriously impatient. She was practically stomping with impatience. Luckily, though, Riley had settled upon a decision.

He walked over and picked up the PokeBall that was sitting on the orange file document on Maple's desk.

"Burndillo? Smart choice, I'm sure you'll love him! But be careful about his leaking body fluid. It's a result of its shell's odd growth pattern, but it burns to touch!"

Lilly strutted right up. "I wanted that one...!"

"Now, Lilly," scoled the Professor. "Pokemon aren't just things. You can't just choose them like you can candies at the super market. You have to develop a relationship with them. And once you do, you'll love them no matter which ones you find."

"But..." Lilly looked frustrated. "Okay then, I understand. I think I'll pick the Water-type Pokemon, Elelel, just to have the advantage against Riley."

"Oh Lilly." Ms Maple pressed her index finger against the bridge of her nose and giggled. "So say, why don't we have a battle outside by the fountain?"

The atmosphere of the fountain changed completely. It went from the backdrop of selfies to the backdrop of a Pokemon battle in mere breaths! "Ready?"

Riley and Lilly both nodded silently.

"Go!"

"Elelel, I can't wait to see what you're capable of!" The blue Pokemon with translucent fins running along its entire back and belly swam through the air and glared at Burndillo, its rival for now.

Riley looked over at Burndillo, and the beige-coloured Pokemon immediately knew what to do. It rolled itself up into a ball using its shell and rolled onto the battlefield. Its movement was awkward, but Riley believed in it.

"Elelel, use Tackle!" Lilly grinned, her spirit on fire with the heat of battle.

"Elel! L'el!" The Pokemon that had a shell over its upper face and had deep yellow eyes that were hidden in shadow swam up to the Pokemon across from it and bashed its forehead into it.

"Dillo! Bur-burn!" Burndillo seemed angered by being attacked. It looked back at Riley for instruction, and just by looking into the trainer's eyes it knew he wanted him to use Scratch. And that's exactly the attack it delivered to Elelel.

"Elelel, Tackle again!" Lilly exclaimed, clearly ecstatic to be battling with a real-live Pokemon for her first time. It was so much cooler than smacking Pokemon-shaped dolls together!

Elelel's Tackle, however, missed! The small Pokemon backed up, looking worried that it might have upset its trainer. And Lilly looked upset alright.

Burndillo rolled up to Elelel and, as soon as it popped out of its circular form, it used Scratch, scratching Elelel right across its skull-shaped face.

Elelel wasn't down, though, and it countered with a strong Tackle! Burndillo looked back to Riley, but it received a command it did not expect to. Leer. Its eyes became dark as it gave Elelel a very serious look, and the eel became afraid. Its Defences lowered!

But not its Attack! Elelel delivered a full-force Tackle right to Burndillo's stomach! In pain, the shell-covered Pokemon rolled up into a ball. But it knew it couldn't hide and let Riley down. It bounced back by delivering the Tackle its trainer asked for, and with Elelel's Defenses lowered, it went down nobly.

Professor Maple exclaimed, "Elelel is no longer able to battle! Burndillo and Riley win the battle!"

"Congrats, Riley." Lilly sighed, shaking her best friend's hand. "You won our first battle! But I won't let that streak last long!"

Riley chuckled and pet Burndillo's soft head fur.

"You two ready for your very own Pokemon journeys?" Professor Maple asked with a wide smile.

"Am I ever!" Lilly was jumping up and down, as was Riley.

"I'll give you some things to take with you, then. This," she said, pulling out two of the PokeDex devices she'd demonstrated before, "is your PokeDex. Every Pokemon you encounter will be registered, and every Pokemon you catch will be described by its stored intelligence."

"Wow," Lilly gasped. "A PokeDex! This is so surreal!"

"But that's not all! I've also gotten you both PokeVices. PokeVice is the short term for Pokemon Device. It goes around your wrist, and you can manage a lot of things with it, like calls and video chats, using its Malasarri City-style holographic screen."

"Wooooow!"

Riley clipped his PokeVice around his wrist, and held it up to the light where the sapphire node that would project a holographic screen when he activated it glimmered in the sun's light.

"And these," Maple stressed, "are very important. Your Trainer's License."

Lilly questioned, "Trainer's License?"

"Yes. In Chinocko, it's required for Pokemon Trainers to have a license, and these are yours. It has your name, age, and a picture of you on it, as well as other information that will be important further on in your journey."

"Wow, that's so exciting!" beamed Lilly.

"Just one moment," Maple nodded. "I need to take your picture for the license."

Riley and Lilly both posed for their shot.

"Perfect! You can use any photo of yourself that you take, but remember to always keep your Trainer License on hand and up-to-date."

"I got it!" Lilly nodded. Riley nodded immediately after her.

"You guys should head to Route 3, to the west. We'll meet at Torutara Town, which is at the entrance of the forest."

And with that, they were off. Their journeys had finally begun.

Riley gave the wall that surrounded his hometown of New Moon a goodbye wave before heading out to the autumn-coloured trail. There was a rocky path through the maple-leaf-covered route, and some benches that trainers were sitting on. Riley knew to be careful. Talk was massive about engaging a battle with a fellow Trainer by making eye contact with them.

"You're Riley, right?"

Riley practically jumped. He nodded.

"I saw you at the store a couple days ago! My name's Harry. Youngster Harry! I'm trying to practice my Pokemon Battle skills so I can register for my license when I'm your age."

Riley nodded, agreeing to battle the young one.

Harry sent out a small rabbit Pokemon that had a few small diamonds of pale-brown on its white body. He aimed his PokeDex at it, "Number 13, Cottontuft. Normal-type. The Fluffy-Tailed Pokèmon. Cottontuft are very small Pokèmon that live in small dens, often in the side of small elevations. They have spots on their bodies that apparently are linked to sensitive nerves. Very popular among beginner trainers."

Riley nodded and harrumphed in understanding. He sent Burndillo into battle!

"Cottontuft, Tackle!"

The small, frail Pokemon hopped adorably over to Burndillo, its nose twitching rapidly. It pulled back on its thick hind legs and propelled itself towards Burndillo. The armadillo-like Pokemon looked upset and hurt, but it looked back at its beloved friend and trainer for instructions. Tackle. It approached the weak bunny Pokemon and used the same move that it had been attacked with, causing the little creature to faint.

"Aww man! I can't beat a real-live Pokemon Trainer yet..." Harry huffed and sniffed, upset. He handed over a small bill that Riley accepted as a reward for winning.

In the leaves! Something was moving! A Pokemon, no doubt! He would have to approach it to test his skills. But not before healing Burndillo using the Potion that his father had gifted him. The Pokemon jumped out of the red, brown, and orange pile of leaves, and Burndillo rushed to protect its trainer!

"Sto-stoaf-aff!" the Pokemon cried.

Riley pointed the scanner on his PokeDex at it, and heard the following recited to him: "Number 15, Stoaf. Normal- and Ground-type. The Long-Bodied Pokèmon. Stoaf are nimble Pokèmon who are great at climbing trees. They are also fantastic diggers. They eat insectoid Pokèmon and leaves. Their long tails are great for many things, including hanging from branches. Stoaf's tails also make up for over half of their body mass and weight. The patterns along their backs are also supposed to have some significance, but to humans, that significance is unknown."

"Stooo-AFF!" The Pokemon's growl brought Riley immediately back to his situation.

Burndillo knew RIley wanted him to attack, and so it did, using the new move it had just learned through its battle with the Cottontuft, which was Bite. It bit down on the Stoaf's meaty tail and the Pokemon took serious damage. The long-bodied creature retaliated by using Scratch, which caused Budnillo to accidentally roll backwards in its shell. But it got back up, and finished off the opposing Stoaf with a Tackle, making the Pokemon faint! Phew, what a close call.

There! The archway over the trail that signified the entrance to Torutara Town! Riley ran into the town, which was significantly larger than New Moon Town, but not particularly a 'large' town.

Much of the town was forested, and trees lined the wooden street over the brick foundation. The houses were all lined up in neat rows, unlike New Moon Town where the five to seven houses were placed wherever they fit inside its walls. The town didn't have a wall like New Moon did, but instead the houses and shops were lined up in such a way that they created their own walls surrounding the winding wooden road. It was so aesthetic, and Riley had only ever been to Torutara Town a couple times before.

It was large enough that it had a Pokemon Centre all to itself. Riley walked inside, knowing he needed to give Burndillo a quick heal. "Hi, I'm Nurse Joy. I work at the Pokemon Centre here. You want me to take your Pokemon in for a quick restore?" asked a woman with odd, but stylish hot-pink hair. Riley nodded, and handed her Burndillo's PokeBall.

She put it into a healing machine, and instructed Riley to find something to do for a couple minutes. So, he checked out the PokeMart in the left corner of the building. "Hi, how may I help you today?" Riley looked at the holographic screen that was being projected from the desk, and selected two Potions. "That comes to 200, young sir." The desk worker went into the back of the store and brought out two Potions, as Riley had requested. He accepted the change that Riley gave him and put it into the cash register. "Have a nice day!"

"Riley, your Pokemon is healed!" called Nurse Joy. Riley walked over with a smile and gave Nurse Joy a polite wave when he left the Pokemon Centre, Burndillo's shiny new PokeBall in hand.

"Hey, Riley, over here!" It was Lilly's voice, no doubt. He looked around for her. She was standing in the middle of the stage to the north, which was at the heart of Torutara Town similar to New Moon Town's fountain. He ran up the steps and onto the stage with her.

"With my Pokemon's new move, I ask you that we have another Pokemon Battle!" she proclaimed. Riley couldn't turn her down; he was all set, so it would be cowardly to turn down a battle with a fellow trainer, much less his best friend.

"Okay, Elelel, show him your new power!"

Burndillo heard Riley's determined grunt the moment it was released from its PokeBall. It knew it was time for battle, and with its pleasant friend Elelel no less. It hopped up and down in its shell with excitement.

Burndillo had the first move, so it used Bite on Elelel. It was a critical hit, and Elelel nearly fainted, but holding on, the eel used Bite back. Burndillo was hurt by being bit, but it didn't recieve as much damage as its opponent. It used Tackle, because it knew Riley would have told it to if he weren't such a silent trainer. But right before Burndillo could land its Tackle, Lilly sprayed a Potion on Elelel. Elelel, revitalized with Lilly's Potion, took the attack very well. Burndillo attacked again, this time using its stronger move, Bite, and sending Elelel unconscious!

Riley hadn't noticed, but the battle between the two had gathered a crowd of viewers. By being from the neighbouring town, he knew that this was the stage that people in Torutara Town who wanted to give or receive a show went to for said show. It was most commonly a place for battles, but concerts and even marriage proposals were really common on this stage.

"Wow, what a great battle between brand-new trainers." "I could feel the heat from here!" "They're going to grow up into strong trainers, I can tell, right?" "I wonder where they got rare Pokemon like that."

There were at least fifteen to twenty people who had gathered to witness the battle. One of those people was even Professor Maple. Without fear, she stepped up onto the stage as well. "You two are doing great. Your Pokemon are growing so well, and you've only had two battles with each other."

Lilly blushed, "I'm glad you think so, Professor."

"Please," Maple assured, "call me Maple."

"Maple, right!" Lilly smiled brightly. "What've you got for us this time?"

"The reason I wanted you here is because my young assistant, Akili, lives here. I had her prepare some PokeBalls to start you off on your adventure filling out the PokeDex."

A girl not much older than Riley or Lilly, who had black, curly hair and chocolate-coloured skin, with shimmering green eyes, stepped onto the stage. She held two trays, each with ten PokeBalls rolling around on it. "These, guys, are for you."

"You must be Akili," Lilly decoded.

Akili replied, "You must be Lilly!" She smiled and gave a modest wave. "You're right, I am Akili, Professor Maple's assistant. Take your PokeBalls. As players on Professor Maple's Pokemon conservation team, catching and protecting Pokemon will be as helpful as possible to us.

"Great! Thanks!" Lilly excitedly grabbed her PokeBalls, and after that, Riley grabbed his with the same enthusiasm, if not more.

"Akili and I," the Professor started, "are going to be in the Pokemon Trainer School in Sherrow City, which is east of here, through Tempura Forest, the largest forest that still remains in Chinocko."

"Awesome, can we come?" Lilly asked politely.

"Sure, come along if you like, but the Pokemon in Tempura Forest are strong. Be careful going through it."