She was from Nuvema Town as well. A little bit older than Black, by a few months, and standing at a modest height of five feet five inches, she always wore a black vest over a white singlet. Like Black, her chestnut brown hair was also tucked in a white cap emblazoned with a pink symbol of the Pokeball, and she had a bag similar to Black's, slung over her shoulder, but it was pink instead of dark grey, and she constantly wore cyan shorts that were slightly tearing at the edges.
Her name was Hilda Ivory, but most called her 'White'. It was slightly due to her personality; most people that knew her described her as a sweet girl. And it was mostly due to her name, Ivory, which was another term for White.
White was born in Nuvema Town, and were friends with Cheren and Bianca since they were toddlers. She loved Pokemon, always loved to steal peeks of her parents' Braviary and Deerling as they trained in the backyard. She met Hilbert when they were both four, and Cheren, Bianca, and the two of them became fast friends.
She waited for the day they would receive their Pokemon from the Professor, together with Pokedexes, thus beginning their Pokemon journey, but the Professor in the region decided that ten would be a rather immature age to wield a Pokedex, and thus stated that the age be fourteen years. It did not necessarily have to mean that the child would have to celebrate their fourteenth birthday first, rather, it was New Year's Day, the year that they would turn fourteen.
White was jealous of Black's Pokemon, Drillbur; it seemed really intriguing to own a Pokemon, all the fun that would come with it. White loved reading books, not as much as Cheren but enough to feed her brain a wide array of Pokemon knowledge.
On New Year's Day, when the quartet would turn fourteen, they all gathered in Black's house to celebrate, and to get going to the Professor's lab. "What starter would you guys choose, Snivy, Oshawott, or Tepig?"
Bianca squealed at the mention of Oshawott, and instantly started saying that she would choose the otter Pokemon. Cheren decided that he preferred Snivy, as his favorite color was green, although he did not share the information with his peers, and merely said he chose Snivy because it looked the smartest. Black sat there thoughtfully as Bianca and Cheren egged him on, while White was wondering what he would choose. 'Tepig, maybe, since the other two already picked their separate pieces and he did not want to spark any tension between them,' White thought. 'Meanwhile, I'd like to pick an Oshawott as well.'
As the clock struck twelve, a new year had begun, so had a new day, and the four friends cheered in celebration, as the day was their beginning, them becoming a Pokemon Trainer with Pokedexes, and they were barely able to contain their respective excitement, all except Black, who whooped and shouted out of the window that he was going to be the best Trainer in Unova. White merely shook her head and smiled, enjoying the idea of travelling around the world of Pokemon and exploring, when suddenly the doorbell rang, and the spell broke, all of them excitedly rushing down to check what it was. As Black swung the door open, a mailman was there, holding package that had the Pokemon Lab address. The mailman left almost immediately and the four of them were left to discover what was in the package.
Not wanting to spoil the surprise, Black lifted the box up to his room, his friends tailing closely behind. As Cheren removed the cover of the box, the four stared inside the box. There were six Pokeballs, there were two of Oshawott, two of Snivy, and two of Tepig.
Bianca's hand darted forward, grabbing the Oshawott Pokeball and whooping with joy, while Cheren merely stared at her in amusement. "Bianca, stop shaking the Pokeball, you're liable to give the Oshawott brain damage," Cheren smirked. Bianca merely pouted, and stopped moving around, tossing the Pokeball down on the floor. The Pokeball exploded, revealing a small otter with a scalchop as a tail, and Bianca was delighted at such a cute starter. White watched as Black scratched his head and selected the Tepig, then placing the Pokeball containing the Tepig beside his Drillbur. Cheren then laid his thin fingers on the Pokeball containing Snivy, grinning inwardly as he knew he was on the road to become best trainer in the world. He did not tell the others this, but he secretly had the same dream as Black. Cheren let Snivy out of the Pokeball to explore its new surroundings.
White was the last to select a Pokémon. She had originally wanted an Oshawott, but now, as the three Pokeballs were laid in front of her, she was spoilt for choice and was unsure of which to choose. Black smiled gently and beckoned at her to select one; he could not wait to get his Pokedex. Bianca was smitten with her confused Oshawott which was staring at its trainer with an unsure expression. Cheren impatiently stomped the floor, waiting for his Pokedex.
White decided upon Tepig, the same as Black's choice; while Black raised an eyebrow about her choice, as she had said she would pick Oshawott. However, he did not say anything and was unconsciously thrilled that he and she would be sharing the same starter.
"Now then," Cheren said excitedly, as they all had gotten their Pokedexes, "We've got our Pokedexes!" Bianca exclaimed, "Yeah, we have, how about a Pokemon Battle, then?"
Black and White nodded, but Cheren shook his head. "As much as I'd love to test Snivy's strength right now, a Pokémon battle indoors would be rather messy." Bianca pouted, "Aw, what a spoilsport!"
Black cut in, "Cheren's right, but Bianca's right as well. I say we go for it, provided that we try to keep the damage to a minimum." Bianca, happy that Black had supported her opinion, whooped and said, "Come on, White, you versus me!"
"Oh, alright," White smiled. It would be her first ever experience battling; although she had studied about Pokémon, the real experience was much more different from the books.
"Go, Tepig!" White tossed the ball, releasing the small pig out of the red and white capsule, when her Pokedex started tingling. "Tepig, the fire pig Pokémon, it blows fire through its nose. When it catches a cold, the fire becomes pitch-black smoke instead." The Pokedex stated, likely in a Professor's voice.
"Let's do our best, Oshawott!" Bianca's Pokemon was already out of its capsule, and looking at Tepig with a confused glare, as if disliking what it saw. Tepig returned the gaze with an even more intimidating glare.
"Alright, Tepig, let's see what you can do," White said, checking Tepig's moves in her Pokedex. She spotted Tackle and decided it as a first move. "Tepig, use Tackle!" Black remembered that Pokemon could learn new skills and moves as their training progressed, or based on their emotions, and told them all. "Guys, you know that your Pokemon can learn new skills as they train, right? And they also can do special moves according to emotions as well."
Cheren nodded, and noted to himself to remember that bit of information. The battle continued between White and Bianca, and both their Pokemon were equally matched.
"Oshawott, hit Tepig with your scalchop!" The Pokemon obeyed, sweeping its scalchop tail to smack Tepig in the face, causing it to snort in pain, smoke dribbling out of its nostrils.
"Tepig, try to surround Oshawott with your smoke!" Tepig listened, and used the jet-black smoke to engulf Oshawott, causing it to have reduced vision and affected its lungs. "Now, Tepig, tackle Oshawott once more!" The pig plowed into the otter, and the otter was left out of energy, spent, falling to the flooring of Black's house and fainting.
"Nooo, Oshawott!' Bianca whimpered as she cradled her fallen Pokemon like a baby, returning it to its Pokeball.
Cheren patted her back shyly and told her words of encouragement, causing her to blush like a tomato. Meanwhile White was immensely happy that she had won her first Pokemon battle and overcome her opponent, Bianca. Black was happy for her, and congratulated her, while their Tepigs sniffed each other curiously. After a few seconds, the two Tepigs cuddled around each other contentedly, catching the attention of Black and White.
The four of them noticed that Black's room was askew and messy with traces of smoky marks from Tepig, and White and Bianca hurriedly apologized to Black, who just waved it off with a grin.
Black then turned on his Pokedex, and scanned the two Pokemon, while White observed what he was doing. He saw that White's Tepig was a female and his was a male, to his amazement. "No wonder the two of them are cuddling together," Black deduced, while White stared at the two Pokemon. Suddenly something crossed White's mind – since she and Bianca had already had a battle, it was time for the two males to fight.
"Cheren, Black," White said, catching their attention. She continued, "It's time for you guys to have a match with each other, like me and Bianca. Besides, Black's room is already trashed, so there's no point in not battling."
Black grinned. He was going to put all his experiences with his Drillbur to the test with his new partner, Tepig. Cheren merely flashed a grim smile, replaying all the Pokemon techniques in his head. Bianca had stopped whimpering about messing up Black's room and enthusiastically watched the battle from the side. White did the same as Bianca, and wondered who would turn out to be the winner of the battle.
"Come out, Snivy!" Cheren threw his Pokeball on the floor, whilst the grass snake Pokemon grimly surveyed Black. Black nodded to Cheren, signaling that the battle started. He then tossed his own Pokeball out, releasing the Tepig which snorted black smoke, and stared down Snivy which was slightly taller. Meanwhile, all of their Pokedexes reacted to the two Pokemon.
"Tepig, the fire pig Pokemon, it can deftly dodge its foe's attacks while shooting fireballs from its nose. It roasts berries before it eats them."
"Snivy, the grass snake Pokemon, it is very intelligent and calm. Being exposed to lots of sunlight makes its movements swifter."
"I may be at a type disadvantage here," shouted Cheren, "but I'm not gonna back down from a challenge!"
Black grinned at Cheren's imposing threat and then ordered his Tepig to whip at Snivy with its tail. Snivy tried to dodge, but Tepig's tail wasn't aiming for it, it was merely lowering its defense. Snivy jolted back in surprise at Tepig's swift motion as Black commanded it to headbutt Snivy. There was hardly any time to dodge, but Cheren kept a cool composure and directed Snivy to slither around the charge.
"Not bad at all, Black. But not good enough." Cheren remarked coldly as he flicked his wrist, ordering Snivy to whip its vines on the coarse black coat of Tepig. Tepig squealed in distress, failing to dodge the accurate vines that struck it.
Meanwhile, Black was observing Cheren's battle style, noting that he barely had love for Pokemon, caring mostly about the strengths. He wanted to lose to feed Cheren's ego and satiate his hunger for strength, but if he lost, Cheren might look down on him, and he did not want that. So he decided to end Cheren's Snivy with an attack he would not expect.
"Well, Black, what's on your mind?" Cheren said, noting Black's silence and deep thinking. Black looked up with a neutral expression on his face and directed Tepig to throw stones at Snivy, a few hitting their mark.
"What's Black doing?" Bianca asked White, who shrugged, and continued looking at the battle. Cheren was surprised at such a simple move that damaged his Snivy, but did not say anything. "Snivy, now for the finale!" The grass snake looked expectantly at Cheren, bruises covering its face.
"Leaf Tornado!" Cheren smirked as he uttered those two words that gave him assurance of victory. Black grinned at the sudden change of atmosphere, and told Tepig to burn the leaves with incinerating heat, causing a smokescreen that fogged up the area. When the dust cleared, both trainers and Pokemon stood in Black's house, tired but still standing, whilst Bianca and White had their attention glued to the scene.
Cheren smiled, returning his Pokemon into its ball. "Well played, Black."
Black returned the smile, and patted Tepig on its head. "You did well, Tepig. I'm proud of you," he said. Bianca was surprised it was a draw; she had expected Cheren to win.
"You guys were totally amazing!" Bianca said, wobbling unsteadily on the black soot on the floor. Cheren adjusted his glasses and nodded, accepting the compliment gratefully, but replied, "However, Black's room is a mess. What shall we do now?"
"Umm…" Bianca stuttered, whilst Black merely started cleaning the mess. "We're all in this together, aren't we? So let's clean up together." He said with a smile. White agreed with his thinking and started to take the broom and sweep the charcoal colored flooring, when a hand shot out to grab the broom. White looked up and saw Black taking over her cleaning with a smile. White's face flushed a little bit but she waved it off by saying, "It's a rather hot day, isn't it?"
Just then, Black's mother entered the room, and saw the huge mess they had done. Bianca covered her ears to prepare for a scolding. Cheren merely hid in the corner, but Black walked up to his mom and told her they were going to clean up the mess they had made from battling. White was impressed with his confidence, but only a little bit, because Black was talking to his mother.
"Come on, now, Cheren, Bianca! I'm not gonna scold you guys over having fun! You guys go on ahead to the Professor's lab, now, I'll just clean up, and that's my job, no?"
White thanked Black's mother, but insisted that she at least help out a little bit. "You three go on first, I'll help Black's mom clean this place up."
Cheren nodded in thanks to White, Bianca was so touched by White's offer to help Black's mom and ended up tripping on the charcoal floor, while Black was at a loss of words. He felt like he should've been the one helping, but White had made it clear she was going to do it. So he offered as well.
"Mom, you should relax. Me and White got this, okay?" Black said in an assuring voice. Although his mother did not seem convinced, she let the two of them do because of 'specific reasons' she would not tell them. Then she went off giggling into the kitchen.
"Your mom's real cool, Black," White said, offering a smile. Black could only beam in pride; his mom was a kind and lenient person, buying him Pokeballs on his seventh birthday. "Well then, let's get this done, shall we?"
Little did they know Black's mother was chuckling because she felt that White would've been a good daughter-in-law. But they were still too young, she mused.
After the tedious clean up, the two of them headed over to the Professor's lab, Cheren was stomping his foot in impatience while Bianca was teaching her Oshawott a game of rock, paper, and scissors. The two of them were waiting for Black and White in front of the Professor's lab.
"Alright, now that you all are here, let's get on with it," Cheren hastily said as he barged into the thick steel doors of the laboratory. His other three friends followed suit, and entered.
Sitting on a chair in front of a computer with advanced technology and information about Pokemon was the Pokemon professor herself. She was engrossed in her ongoing research about the three different starters she had handed over to Black's house, and it took a courageous Black to clear his throat to catch the attention of the professor.
"Who…?" Prof. Juniper turned around to see the four friends standing before her, Pokeballs in their belts and bags and all of them fully dressed for the journey ahead. "Why, it's Hilbert, Hilda, Cheren, and Bianca! How are you all? I hope the Pokemon I have given to you didn't disappoint you?"
"Not one bit, Prof! And please, call me and Hilbert 'Black' and 'White'," White smiled at the Professor's amicable nature.
"Right, let's get going. My name is Professor Aurea Juniper, and I was the one who gave you all your Pokemon and your Pokedexes," she stated. Black waved it off, saying, "Don't need to be so formal, we already know who you are, Prof!"
The professor grinned. "For such a big occasion, I need to be formal. Straight to the point, I can't be letting you four go on a journey without these!" She opened her bag and inside was twenty Pokeballs. Black had long since used all his Pokeballs, and only successfully managed to catch a Drillbur.
"W-wow!" Bianca stared at the abundant supply of capsules. "P-professor, t-thank you!" The professor smiled at Bianca's gratefulness. Cheren didn't waste any time, nodding his head to the professor and grabbing five of the balls, and turned to go, but Black stopped him. "Shouldn't you thank the professor first?"
Cheren glanced at Black, radiating cold that even White could feel, but Bianca too oblivious to. He relented, however, and thanked Professor Juniper, not before uttering these words, "You are now my rival. Don't expect any mercy from me, Hilbert Ebony." With those words, he walked off, leaving Black with a confused expression on his face. Professor Juniper simply shook her head and smiled. She knew that Cheren had the same dream as Black; to conquer Unova's Pokemon League and become the Champion.
"What was that about?" Bianca asked Black, but his shoulders merely sagged. "Cheren's now my rival. I'm going to have to train," Black said with a trace of his old smile. "Bianca, go follow Cheren, I'm sure he doesn't mind your company. After all, when the four of us meet again, we can have a double battle."
"O-okay, Black, you can count on me. Well, see ya, guys! Bye-bye!" Bianca took the professor's Pokeballs, thanking her again, and went off, tripping on the stairs leading to the front door, and continuing to go after Cheren.
Black and White each received their share of Pokeballs, and waved to Professor Juniper, who continued with her engrossing research on Tepig, Oshawott, and Snivy. "Those kids… I wonder who'll be the Champion," she mused to herself.
"Don't worry, Black, Cheren's just a bit upset that he couldn't beat you in battle," White patted his back, earning a smile from him. "I guess I overthink too much, don't I?" He said as they crossed the tall grass on Route One.
"Yeah, you do. Want to have a battle to wipe those thoughts out?" White began grinning, waving her Pokeball in front of him. Black agreed, and the journey had finally begun.
NEXT ON MONOCHROME - WHITE VS BLACK! AND STRIATON CITY!
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