A/N - Never fear, Chapter 6 is here. As always, thank you to my fiancé for correcting my flaws. Please read and review!
Chapter 6 - Technology
Charmander gazed up at Red, who was kneeling and whispering to it. Oak stood watching the first interactions between Pokémon and Trainer. He could feel the attachment forming, almost as if it were tangible. One didn't study Pokémon or give them out to new Trainers for decades without picking up on the little body movements and facial expressions that spoke a language by themselves. He was very satisfied with what he saw. He saw that Red would take good care of Charmander and that Charmander in turn would fight to the end for Red. He inwardly congratulated himself on doing the right thing.
He left them to get to know each other, and walked to his computer. He opened the application that was used to create Trainer cards. He entered Red's name into the application and the Pokémon that he had chosen to start with. Within seconds, he was holding up a red coloured card with Red's name and image printed on it. It had an embedded microchip which stored other information, such as Pokémon owned and win-loss record. This was the bread and butter of every Pokémon Trainer. A Trainer Card essentially was the authorisation to train Pokémon and compete in tournaments. Anybody could capture a Pokémon and battle, but without a Trainer Card, they were not allowed to compete in any official League tournaments. That didn't stop some entrepreneurs from organising their own illegal tournaments though.
Another function of the Trainer Card was as a wallet. Funds were stored electronically on it, to use as required. Remittance was also directly on to the Trainer Card. It was a high tech debit card, and ever since the technology had been developed, nobody used cash anymore. To check the amount of money on it, one simply had to press a tiny button on the side, and the balance on the card would be displayed. There was also a tiny multipurpose scanner at the back of the card.
Oak could remember when he received his first Trainer Card. It hadn't had any of these technological marvels in it, but he had been overjoyed. The card was probably still somewhere in his laboratory. He would have to take out time to look for it one of these days. But first, he needed to give this young Trainer his first card. He walked back to Red, who stood up. Oak held out his hand with the card to hand it over.
"Here's your Trainer Card, Red," he started, "I'm sure you know the significance of this. You are now officially a Pokémon Trainer. You are free to begin your journey." Red took the card from Oak and looked at it from all sides, first looking at his picture, the one he had submitted along with his application, and then turning it around to look at the back. While the new Trainer was examining his latest acquisition, Oak was examining him, mind whirring in deep thought.
After a few seconds, he nodded to himself and said, "There's one more thing, Red. You know, over a hundred species of Pokémon have been discovered in Kanto to date. And there are even more species in other parts of the world. But there is no standardised set of information available on them. I have dreamed of collecting information on all available Pokémon for a very long time, but I was too busy with research earlier, and now I am too old to run around the country capturing Pokémon. So I have created a device that reads the genetic code of a Pokémon and can automatically pick up information about it based on its genes. If you simply point it at a Pokémon, you can find out the Type of the Pokémon, its current health and where you can find the Pokémon in the wild. When you capture a Pokémon, the device links with the Poké Ball used to capture it. I'm sure you don't know that a Poké Ball isn't used just to capture and store Pokémon, right?"
Red, in fact, did not know that little tidbit of information. He listened closely, filing away all new information in his brain.
"Poké Balls link with the Pokémon they are used to capture. This link is used to prevent anybody from capturing the same Pokémon with another Ball or to use the ball to capture another Pokémon. Up until recently, the link also collected information only about the health of the Pokémon. It was a very under-utilised piece of work. However, with the development of my device, the link now collects genetic information and passes it on. My device can then tell you all the information about that species, including moves it has learnt and moves it will learn. Really, it provides a large advantage to Trainers. I call this device the Pokédex."
Red knew exactly what device Oak had been talking about. Not many Trainers actually owned a Pokédex, but those that did were generally much more successful. The first Pokédex had been given out at the time that Oak's grandson Blue started his journey, about five years ago. Obviously, being Oak's grandson, Blue had received a Pokédex. It was obvious that the Pokédex had helped him get to where he was currently — the Pokémon Champion of Kanto. Blue wielded strategy like a sword; he had never lost a battle. His Pokémon were all of different Types and very strong. However… Oak probably gave Blue more than just a Pokédex. I think Blue received a Perfect Pokémon as well! And it was extremely likely that this was true. No Pokémon had ever defeated Blue's starter.
Red was brought back to the present moment when Oak smiled and continued speaking, "I want you to take one too. It will help you in your journey, and me in the completion of my dream. It'll be a win-win situation."
Red couldn't say no to that. He nodded his acquiescence, which widened Oak's grin. The old professor turned and walked back to the desk with the computer. Red followed, Charmander padding along next to him. Every move the Pokémon made was with a sense of purpose, no unnecessary fidgeting or extraneous motions. Red was very impressed with the discipline that Charmander showed. I'm going to love training and travelling with Charmander. I can't wait to get out of here and on the road.
Oak searched through the mess of documents on the table until he found what he was looking for with an "Aha!". He held it up and turned around.
The first thing Red noticed was that it was red in colour. And its outer covering was a shiny plastic. I knew that's what it was! He had caught a glimpse of it as soon as he walked in the door, and he had suspected it of being a Pokédex. The entire thing was the size of book, and not a thick one. A screen took up the middle and there were buttons on either side of the screen. On one side there were directional arrows. Oak pressed one of the buttons and the device flashed on. On the screen however, was printed 'Pokédex set up - Insert Trainer Card'.
Red handed over his card to Oak, who inserted it into a slot on the top. Red's picture and his information showed up on the screen after a couple of seconds. Oak confirmed it after the Pokédex asked for it. He removed the Trainer Card and handed both to Red.
"There, it's registered to you now. Red, I think you might have what it takes to beat my grandson. He's put himself on a pedestal, and a little lesson might serve him well. I wish you all the best."
They shook hands and Red walked out of the laboratory, Charmander trailing a step behind. They continued walking in silence until they reached Red's house. Red stopped outside the door and smiled down at his Pokémon. The lizard smiled back. Red opened the door.
Inside, his mother was busy in the kitchen cooking lunch. As she heard the door open, she ran out and with a laugh she picked up Charmander and hugged him. Charmander looked stunned by the display of affection, but after a few seconds accepted it.
"Oh, what a cute Charmander, and it's a Shiny one! Red, he looks just like you; so serious all the time."
She placed Charmander back on the ground. Her smile turned upside down. "This is it, I guess. It's finally time for you to leave, Red."
Red nodded, looking a little worried.
"No! Stop that. This is hardly the first time I've been alone, son. All these years I've been worrying about you. Nothing will change. Now go. You've been waiting far too long for me to stop you."
She placed Charmander back on the floor and petted its head before straightening up. She turned and walked back into the kitchen, surreptitiously wiping an eye while her back was turned to her son.
He stood there for a second before grabbing Charmander and running up to his room, taking the stairs two at a time.
He entered his bedroom and took a look around, trying to fix it in his memory. He knew that he would not be in this room for a long time to come. His bed was in one corner, the sheets and blanket still messy from when he woke up in the morning and ran off to get his Pokémon. He took a minute to make his bed. Hate messiness. He was just about done, and grabbed his backpack. He was walking to the door, when his gaze fell on his desk and a couple of packages on it. Damn, I almost forgot those!
All his supplies had been purchased and kept ready over the past week. Most had been ordered online from the Poké Mart chain, at which Red had access to a substantial discount as part of the agreement which let the chain take over his old store. He had a full stock of healing items, Poké Balls ,food and clothes.
Everything went into his backpack; it was one of those that could store way more than it looked like it could. Before putting the Poké Balls in, he scanned them at the back of his Trainer card so that they would be registered to his Trainer ID. Last, he adjusted his red hat on his head so that it fit better. Then he lifted his backpack and walked down the stair, Charmander a step behind.
As he reached the bottom, his mother was standing at the door. He made his way to her and gave her a hug. She smiled at him through tear filled eyes and held his hand for a moment. "I want you to know that I'm proud of you, Red. I have only one request. Complete your dream. Be the greatest Pokémon Master ever. I love you and you will always have my support, wherever you go."
I hope she will be okay. Maybe I should get her a Pokémon to keep her company.
He smiled back at her and gave a firm nod before walking out the door. He didn't need to say anything. She knew how he felt and she knew that he would give it everything that he had.
He stepped out of the door and shut it behind Charmander. The duo walked side by side until they were at the edge of Pallet Town. They stopped just inside the border and looked out into Route 1. They looked at each other simultaneously and nodded.
The time was at hand. They took the first step of their journey together.
The whole world was open to them.
A/N - Red finally is off on his journey! I have a basic outline of his journey planned out, and it will mainly follow the games. I'm open to suggestions from readers though. Put them up in reviews and I might incorporate them into the story - with a shout out, of course!