It's a beautiful summer day in Viridian City! The sun is shining and the birds are singing today and of course children are shouting for joy everywhere for today is the first day of their summer vacation. And for some, it is also the first day of their pokemon journey!

At the local arcade, Rick, Chris, and Morgan have joined up to play some games and have some pizza before going home to get ready for their journey together. The sounds of bells and whistles mixes in with the chatter of kids just out of school; a perfect atmosphere for celebration!

"No more school!" Chris cheers out, raising his glass of soda.

"I know, it's just great!" Morgan, practically the only girl in the arcade, stands out even more in her bright pink shirt. "Now we can finally set off together!"

"Guys," said Rick in a hushed voice. "I'm kinda nervous."

"Nervous?! How come?"

"Well," he said, looking down at his plate of pizza. "I've never really been away from home, Morgan."

"Oh, you're a big baby!" She said, pushing Rick softly on the shoulder.

"Shuddup!"

"Don't worry, Meowth can protect you."

"Yeah, and Charmander too! My Charmander could beat any pokemon's butt!"

"Nuh-uh, my Squirtle'll just water gun your Charmander's flame right out!"

"B-but, then he'd die! You wouldn't really do that, would you Rick?" Chris stared at Rick with large and watering eyes.

"Maybe…"

"You big meanie!"

"Oh, would you two settle down! Chris, Rick would never do that, would you Rick?" Morgan glared at Rick.

"…No. I'm sorry, Chris."

"…It's okay."

"Good! Now we're all better!" Morgan smiled brightly, seeming to mend all shallow wounds.

"But, what will happen to our other friends here?" Rick asked.

"Oh, they'll be fine," Morgan said smiling warmly and rubbing Rick's upper back for comfort. "They can manage without us!"

"And our families?"

"Psh, like we really want to stay here with them," Chris said abruptly. Rick couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, you're right."

"So, now that that's settled," Chris said, seeming rather proud of himself. "We can finally get out of here! We've been waiting for how long?"

"Oh, I know, it feels like ages!" Morgan exclaimed.

"It was nice of you guys to wait for me to get my pokemon, you guys."

"No problem, Rick," Chris said smiling.

"So, shall we each go home and get ready?" Morgan asked, her eyes showing her excitement.

"Yeah!" Both boys said at once.

"Then we'll meet at the pokemon center!"

Barely an hour later, both boys were waiting by the pokemon center for Morgan. They had both changed out of their school clothes. Rick was wearing pants and a couple shirts, a messenger bag hung over his shoulder. Chris practically looked the same. When they could finally see Morgan running up the sidewalk, they both smiled and sighed "finally."

"Sorry it took me so long! I couldn't decide what to pack and my hair was just acting terrible!"

"Uh-huh…" said the boys. Neither of them could really understand that. They never really did anything with their hair, especially not Rick whose hair was always a mess.

"Well, we've all got our necessities. I mean, we all bought our first six pokeballs the day we got our pokemon! So, we can get going, right!"

"Yeah," Rick said softly. "I guess we just gotta say goodbye."

"Oh, this is gonna take forever," Chris said glumly.

Rick gave Chris a glare that seemed to say 'shut it' and he turned to look around at the city. His eyes lingered on the apartment he and his mom stayed at. He had woken up early today to have a good breakfast with her, and they wound up getting into a small fight over how little Rick did around the house. He really tried, but he never seemed to do enough to make her happy.

"Ready yet?" Chris asked.

"Yeah… let's get outta here."

"Woo-hoo! It starts!" Morgan yelled.

She ran off giggling toward Viridian forest. The two boys couldn't help giggling as well as they ran behind her. She called back "Come on you two!"

The three ran down the sidewalk through the city, smiling and laughing together brimming with excitement at the thought of starting this long journey ahead of them. Each of them had plans in store for their future in the world of pokemon, but nothing could prepare them for the adventure ahead of them.