Chapter 2

A teenaged boy stood outside the lab of the great Professor Oak.

It was a warm spring morning; the birds were chirping as they fed their young and the branches of the nearby trees swayed with the light breeze that ruffled the dark hair on the boy's head.

He looked at his watch and sighed. A few more minutes, he thought, and then I can finally get my own pokemon!

Ever since he could remember, the boy knew that he wanted to become a pokemon trainer. He had been waiting patiently for years until he turned ten, the standard age at which people were officially allowed to own a pokemon training license. But disaster struck, and a month before he would be allowed to leave on his training journey, his family business fell through. A freak thunderstorm at night had set their store on fire, destroying most of their current stock and resulting in tremendous losses for his family.

Soon after that, his father had taken his own life, after drinking away most of what money remained. His mother and he, the remainder of their small family, decided together that he could put off going on his pokemon training adventure for some time while they got the business up and running again. All day the boy worked in the store. In his spare time, he would do all sorts of odd jobs in town to earn a bit of extra spending cash. The harsh reality of life at a young age took its toll on him. It was hard to be happy in that period of suffering, and he learned soon that displays of grief could earn all sorts of punishments from local bullies. He became an expert at hiding his emotions, never letting any of his feelings surface. His mother tried to pull him out of this emotional shell, but to no avail. Resignedly, she gave up on trying to get him to open up.

After five years, their hard work finally paid off. The pokemon goods store that they owned was bought over by the chain of pokemarts that had an outlet in every city. They were rich!

The mother-son duo decided to move far away from that town, and hence sold their house and relocated to a small town; one which did not even have a Gym, or a pokemart, or even a pokemon center.

Pallet Town, home of the world-renowned researcher, Professor Oak, and his equally famous grandson Blue, who had become the youngest ever Champion of the Kanto region at the age of thirteen.

Blue now lived in Indigo Plateau, with adoring fans at his beck and call, in the lap of luxury. Even so, he had faced many challengers, none of which had come close to beating him and his varied type team.

The boy shook his head to clear out his thoughts. There wasn't time for those right now. The moment was finally here. The moment he had been waiting for his entire life, as well as dreading. He would get his training license and his first pokemon. The dreading part was that he would also have to make a choice. Three pokemon would be offered but only one would leave with him. Normally there would also be other young boys and girls accompanying him to start out their journeys which could make the choice easier as they might choose first, but for some reason this year he was the lone person. I wonder how that will change things.

He knocked on the heavy wooden door and waited. After a few moments, the sound of shuffling feet permeated through to where to boy was standing. He felt his palms grow sweaty and his knees grow weak. The door creaked open.

"Can I help you?" a gruff voice asked. The boy looked up from his sneakers and saw an old man, head full of grey hair, standing at the open door with a walking cane in one hand.

"I am here to receive my training license and pokemon. I think you must have been expecting me," replied the boy.

"Ah yes, follow me. Shut the door on your way in. There's a good lad."

The old man rambled on as he led the way into the laboratory. "I am Professor Oak, but you probably already knew that. You know, I was quite surprised when I was informed that a fifteen-year-old boy would be receiving his license. It's not a common occurrence at all. What is your name again?"

"Red."

"Well Red, today is the day you finally become a pokemon trainer. If you don't mind, may I ask why the delay? You know that you could have started five years ago?"

Should I tell him? It's really none of his business. Though maybe he has a right to know. I could be anybody after all, maybe a delinquent or a criminal who will mistreat his pokemon. But I have nothing to hide.

And so Red narrated his story to the professor. At the end, Oak rubbed his chin with his hand and thought about something. He walked over to his computer, sat down and started typing something. Then he stood up again and rubbed his chin some more. He looked left and stared at some machine for a few seconds. Then he looked right and stared at a table. The table had a peculiar red device on it, much like a handheld computer. Red knew, from all his years of following pokemon news, that the device was a pokedex, an encyclopedia of pokemon. Just point the device at any pokemon, and everything known about that species was in your hand. Useful tool. Would definitely help me in my journey.

Professor Oak walked away from the computer and towards Red. His face was absolutely serious now, a complete change from the contemplativeness just a few moments earlier. The tap-tap of his cane on the floor seemed to intensify the feeling that something momentous was about to occur.

"Red, what I am about to do, is not completely against the rules but is highly frowned upon. I am going to give you a special pokemon. These pokemon have been specially bred to be very powerful- much more so than a standard starter. These pokemon are normally given only to those who have proven themselves to be exceptional trainers. You may not be at that level yet, but I can feel your potential. I think you could use a boost to catch up to your peers. I trust you will not abuse this privilege."

Saying so, Oak smiled for the first time. He continued, "There is one more thing I would ask of you. I saw you noticing the pokedex. You clearly know what it is and how to use it, which is more than I can say for most of the newly initiated trainers who come to me. My grandson took one with him when he left five years ago but the lazy boy hasn't come back to get it updated in over a year. So many new species have been discovered since. I want you to take this newest model and try and record as much data as you can. I will even give you compensation for this favor. Do you agree?" and he stuck out his hand.

Red was stunned. A powerful pokemon!? This is better than I had ever imagined. And a pokedex! And I get paid for using it! I must be dreaming. He tried to pinch himself but nothing happened. He looked up and saw Oak standing there with his hand out. Red quickly grabbed it with his own hand and gave a firm shake. He was elated, but as usual did not let it show.

Oak turned around and beckoned for him to follow. They went up to Oak's computer and Oak put in Red's name. A minute later, Red was holding up his brand new trainer card.

They then walked over to the machine that Oak had been looking at earlier and Oak pressed a button on the side. A panel opened up and he typed a password into the keyboard that lay beneath. The machine gave a loud beep at the correct password and another panel slid open. Inside were three pokeballs, but not the usual red and white ones. These ones were black on the upper half and red on the lower half. Above each ball there was a screen, which displayed which pokemon was inside the ball.

At first glance, it seemed that these were the same choices given to all new trainers, Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle. But when Red looked again, he saw the differences. Their colors were different from the normal colors of their species. Bulbasaur and Squirtle were paler than the average member of their species. Charmander was darker, almost black. That was not the only thing that made the Fire type stand out. The images of the other two were constantly growling, baring their teeth and snapping.

These pokemon are more feral than usual. No wonder Oak would not consider giving them to beginner trainers. But that Charmander; it looks so intense. Like it has a point to prove. Pokemon don't normally have that look.

Without another thought, Red grabbed the ball containing Charmander and released it from the ball. A red laser shot out from the center of the ball and the dark shape of Charmander appeared. The flame on the tip of its tail was large, larger than any Charmander's should be. And Red could feel the heat, as if he was in a desert, with no protection from the glaring sun. It stared at Red with its intense crimson eyes. Red stared back into its eyes.

Red eyes met their brown counterparts and an unbreakable bond was forged. After a moment, the Charmander nodded and walked over to Red. He knelt down and petted its head.

"You will be the swift and righteous flame that incinerates our opponents."

The Charmander nodded. Oak nodded as well and then shut the panels on the machine with the press of one button.

He doesn't trust me. But with those pokemon, I don't know if I would trust anyone.

"So you chose the Fire type. It's a surprise, really. All the new trainers in the last few years have picked Bulbasaur first. I suspect it's due to the type advantage it has over Blue's Blastoise. Regardless, Charmander is a daring choice, especially considering how weak it is to the first few Gyms. Yes, I think you will do very well as a trainer."

With that, Oak turned around and walked back towards the table on which the pokedex sat. Red stood up and followed, Charmander padding along next to him. Every move the pokemon made was with a sense of purpose, no unnecessary fidgeting or extraneous motions. Red was very impressed with the discipline that Charmander showed. It will be a pleasure to have such a companion on my travels. I can't wait to get out of here and on the road.

Once Oak reached the table, he picked up the pokedex and handed it to Red. "This is the most recent model. I hope you use it well. And as payment for doing this task, I will give you a fossil. It can be resurrected at the Pewter city museum into a pokemon. That should also help you to complete your pokedex." He handed Red a yellowish, translucent ball. Red could see a bone inside which it looked like a claw.

"Red, I think you might have what it takes to beat my grandson. He's put himself on a pedestal, and a little bit of humble pie might serve him well. Good luck."

They shook hands once again 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 pokemon. "Mom is going to love you," and 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.

"Oh what a lovely Charmander, and a Shiny one, too. Red, he looks just like you; so serious all the time. I'm very proud of you. Finally you can follow your dream."

Red smiled and nodded. "Mom, I'm going to get my stuff prepared. I have to leave today. Will you be okay all by yourself?"

"This is hardly the first time I've been alone, son. All these years while you were working I would have to sit at home and worry about you. Nothing much will change. Now go. You've been waiting far too long for me to stop you."

She handed the pokemon to Red and he placed it on his shoulder. Red petted its head once again, and walked up the stairs to his room. All his supplies had been purchased and kept ready over the past week. Most had been ordered online from the pokemart 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, pokeballs, food and clothes.

Everything went into his backpack, one of those that could store way more than it looked like it could. Before putting the pokeballs in, he scanned them in front of his trainer card so that they would be registered to him. Last, he picked up his red hat and put it on his head. Then he lifted his backpack and walked down the stair, Charmander still on his shoulder.

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 hope she will be okay. Maybe I should get her a pokemon to keep her company.

He smiled back at her and walked out the door. No words were needed. Everything to be said had been done so in the last few days. The time was at hand.

The whole world was open to them.