As always, thanks for the support! Keep telling me what you think, I honestly love hearing your thoughts.

Also, I'd like to make an OC request - I'd like some love interests for Clem and Holly. Yes, in the end, they'll end up with actual canon characters, but the plot requires a few short term love interests if you'd like to send them in. Thanks :)


AGE IN THIS CHAPTER: 10

Today was the day. It was the day that three of the four kids in Pallet Town had been waiting for their whole lives, and the day that one was dreading - the day they were to get their first Pokémon from Professor Oak.

At 11 o'clock, right on time, Gary, Holly and Clem arrived at Oak's lab to get their Pokémon. While Gary and Clem couldn't be more excited, Holly couldn't be further from excited. She didn't want a Pokémon. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with Pokémon, at all, but her parents insisted learning to handle Pokémon, and that it would help her grow as a person and that it'd be good for her. How training a disgusting Pokémon would be good for her, she didn't know. But her parents, surprisingly, weren't giving in on this one - they usually gave her her way, but not this time. She was going to get a Pokémon whether she liked it or not.

And now that the PokéDexes were handed out, Holly was even less excited.

As Professor Oak readied the three Pokéballs, Clem clutched her PokéDex tightly, saying, "I'm worried about Ash...he's always been so excited to get a Pokémon...so where is he?"

Holly shrugged, since she'd been wondering the same thing and didn't have an answer, while Gary brushed it off, replying, "Whatever, don't worry about Ashy Boy. If I were you I'd worry about losing a Pokémon Battle to me in a few minutes."

"Oh, whatever," Clem rolled her eyes as she'd spoke. Since they'd gotten older, she'd gotten bit less like Ash, meaning that she'd developed more of an attitude than Ash ever had. "I wouldn't get so cocky if I were you."

Narrowing his eyes, Gary opened his mouth to spit a comeback, but shut his mouth when his grandfather turned around, revealing a table with three Pokéballs. They each had a sticker on the front red half indicating which Pokémon was inside - a leaf symbol on Bulbasaur's, a fire symbol on Charmander's and a water symbol on Squirtle's. Seeing them, Gary and Clem's eyes widened with excitement and anticipation, while Holly's narrowed with disgusted.

"Alright, now, we're going to do this in the fairest way possible," Professor Oak began. "We're going to go by alphabetical order, by last name. That means Clem, you'll be choosing your Starter Pokémon first, so, please, take your pick."

Taking a deep breath, a huge grin came over Clem's face as she stepped forward. She already knew which Pokémon she wanted. She wanted Charmander, a Fire-type, like her grandparents' pet Growlithe, Rory. Without any hesitation, she grabbed the Pokéball and clutched it tight in her hand, feeling an overwhelming sense of happiness, excitement, and hope like she'd never felt before in her life.

"Good choice," Professor Oak nodded with a slight grin. "Now, Gary, you may choose your Pokémon."

"Easy," Gary piped up, stepping forward to grab Squirtle's Pokéball. "I choose Squirtle."

"Fine choice," the Professor nodded again. Looking to Holly, he added, "I guess that leaves you with Bulbasaur, Holly."

"Okay," Holly choked.

Hesitantly, she took a step towards the table, and picked up the remaining Pokéball with a shaky hand. She didn't want this creature anywhere near her, let alone in her hand, with only a bit of Pokéball metal separating them.

Just a few feet away, Clem and Gary had already released their new Pokémon, and were starting to get to know them.

"Hi there," Clem greeted, kneeling down to be of equal height with her new Pokémon. "My name's Clem, and I hope that you and I can become best friends as we travel together."

"Char?" the orange lizard-like Pokémon seemed to inquire, as it stared at the brunette girl with a kind of awe.

"Don't worry, I'll do my best to be a good friend to you," Clem assured Charmander. "I'm just a kid and just starting out, but I want to be the best Pokémon Trainer I can be, with you as my friend and partner. Okay?"

"Char!" the Pokémon agreed, already feeling a kinship with the girl.

"Okay," Clem smiled, rubbing Charmander on the head. She then pulled a baby-blue ribbon from her pocket, and offered it to Charmander, saying, "My grandma and grandpa and I got this for you. If you're a boy, you can wear it on your neck, and if you're a girl, it can be a headband, if you want to, of course."

"Charmander," it agreed again, bowing its head.

"Oh, so you're a girl?" Clem asked.

"Charmander," Charmander nodded, then pointing to her head again.

"Okay," Clem replied, carefully tying the ribbon into a bow on Charmander's head. "There we go. What do you think?"

"Char!" she exclaimed, smiling and flashing a model-esque pose.

Giggling, Clem then asked, "Do you want a nickname?"

"Mander," Charmander nodded.

"Okay," Clem replied. "How about something simple, like...Charlie?"

"Char!" the Pokémon exclaimed, leaping into her new Trainer's arms for a hug. In the process, they both fell to the floor, giggling.

It was evident already that Clem and Charlie the Charmander were going to make a good team.

Standing off to the side, watching Clem and Charlie and Gary and Squirtle, were Professor Oak and Holly, who hadn't moved a muscle since taking Bulbasaur's Pokéball from the table.

Turning to Holly, Professor Oak suggested, "Holly, why don't you let Bulbasaur out and get to know it?"

"Um...okay," Holly agreed, hesitantly agreeing as she released Bulbasaur.

She stared at the blue and green Pokémon before her, who stared back at her with a kind of sour attitude. Without knowing what else to do, she pointed her Pokédex at it, which said: "Bulbasaur. It bears the seed of a plant on its back from birth. The seed slowly develops. Researchers are unsure whether to classify Bulbasaur as a plant or animal. Bulbasaur are extremely calm and very difficult to capture in the wild. This Bulbasaur is MALE."

"Go on, get to know Bulbasaur," Professor Oak urged. Seeing Holly's unwillingness, he repeated, "Go on."

"Oh...okay," she mumbled, crouching down to try and pet Bulbasaur's head. However, before she even got close, Bulbasaur smacked her hand away with a powerful Vine Whip, which caused Holly to exclaim, "OUCH!"

"Oh, yes, Bulbasaur has quite the feisty personality," Professor Oak chuckled. "Unlike most Bulbasaurs. The two of you should make an interesting pair."

An 'interesting pair,' didn't even come close to what Holly and Bulbasaur would end up being.

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