"Nidorino, attack with Smart Strike!"
A light-purple quadrupedal creature grunted before it aimed the large horn on its head towards its foe. With a few quick steps, and speed unexpected of its build, it arrived in front of the opponent and thrusted its horn forward. The target quickly faded into the air, as if it was not part of this world, before it reappeared a few steps back.
This creature was the complete opposite; dark-purple in color and stood bipedal as it stared down its attacker with bright red eyes. The combination of red eyes and the big grin on its face made it look menacing and mischievous at the same time.
"You'll have to do a better job if you want to catch Gengar, you big oaf."
"Night Shade!"
Gengar clapped its hands together and then pointed its palms towards Nidorino. The horned creature shook its head, clearly in pain as it staggered back. This Nidorino was battle hardened with experience, so it knew it had to get out of the attack's range, even without being commanded to by its trainer. With a grunt and using its strong legs, it jumped back two yards away.
"Hmph!" the woman behind Gengar stomped her right foot in response. With a mischievous smile, Gengar sunk into the ground and suddenly appeared right above Nidorino! The audience gasped and a young voice shouted, "Look out!" They had been absorbed in the battle, and were naturally quiet until now. A surprise attack like that can end the battle, and it was something they didn't want just yet.
It did mark the end - or climax of the battle, but not what the audience had anticipated. The man standing behind Nidorino just smiled.
"Sucker Pu-"
The TV turned off. "Ash! Get to bed! It's eleven o'clock and you should be asleep."
A woman stood at the door, her eyebrows furrowed. This was Delia Ketchum and Ash's mother. Even though she was in her early thirties, her youthful appearance and beauty made her look ten years younger. Strangers often mistake her for a young college student; in fact, she has had to turn down date proposals from younger men more than a few times.
Ash grumbled, "I'm ten years old now mom, I don't have a bedtime… And besides, I begin my Pokemon journey tomorrow. I can't sleep."
"Well if you can't sleep, at least get ready for tomorrow. Here, watch this." She turned the TV back on and changed the channel. On the screen was Professor Oak, the famous professor of Pallet Town.
"Go to bed when this is done."
After his mother left, Ash turned his attention back to the TV as Professor Oak started his speech.
"Good evening, Pallet, tomorrow's the big day for the newest class of Pokemon trainers. I'd like to introduce you to Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle. Each one is available for new trainees. Which one will you choose?"
Each year Professor Oak held an annual exam for young trainers-to-be. Only the top three will receive handpicked Pokemon from the professor, the rest will have to find their own. Luckily Ash was one of the three.
"Bulbasaur."
"Charmander."
"Squirtle."
Ash declared, "I know which one I'm going to pick" as he smiled gleefully.
The next morning.
"I'm off to the professor's lab mom!"
Ash ran down the stairs, grabbed his nearby hat and jacket - along with a piece of toast, and rushed out the door before Delia could respond. At the age of ten, an individual can receive their Pokemon license. This was an important point in life and anyone would be excited and restless, let alone Ash. She smiled and watched through the window as he disappeared down the road.
The professor's lab was not far from his house so it did not take long for Ash to arrive. Given his excitement and that he ran here, he actually forgot to eat his toast! It was still in his mouth, but had now cooled down and hardened to be less than pleasant to eat. Nonetheless he gulped it down and squeezed his way through the crowd of people standing in front of the lab.
Standing in front of the door were two other youngsters; a boy and a girl. They both had brown hair, with the girl's being a darker shade of brown. Her long hair reached down to just above her waist, and she wore a black tank top and light blue shorts. The boy had a necklace around his neck; he wore a dark blue long sleeve t-shirt and black jeans. His jeans were tighter compared to Ash's light blue baggy ones.
"Finally made it huh?" the boy said as Ash came up to them.
"Hey Gary, how long have you two been waiting?" Ash quickly replied.
"Not too long," the girl standing nearby beamed as she hopped over to join the two boys.
As soon as she said that, the door opened and Professor Oak walked out. The man who stood in front of them was Samuel Oak, the authority on Pokemon knowledge. There were many professors in the world who were experts in their field of study, but Professor Oak stood above them all; his opinions were regularly sought by each one of them. With a quick motion to follow him, he led the three youngsters into his lab.
"You sure kept us waiting, gramps," Gary complained as they followed the elder man through the lab. Professor Oak chuckled and replied, "I am expecting a visitor and was waiting for him to arrive first. But alas, I am also excited for this occasion and could not wait any longer."
"Say Professor, I was watching a video of one of your league battles last night. You were quite the battler in the old days huh?" Ash remarked as he looked over to the professor. He was referring to the video that Gary had lent to him. Upon hearing the young boy's compliment, Oak gave a chuckle. The Oak today may not look like it, but he was one of the strongest trainers in the Kanto region when he was younger. Very few trainers could say they were his equal.
The four of them soon arrived at one of the rooms in the lab. In the back, there were three food bowls placed on the ground and behind each were the starter Pokemon promised to these youngsters.
"I hope the three of you have carefully thought about which one you'll choose."
Before the professor could continue, there was a knock on the door.
"Ah that must be him. Can you open the door for him, Leaf?" Professor Oak motioned to the girl, who quickly ran over to the door to welcome the visitor in.
The stranger looked a year or two older than the other three. His spiked hair was a dark orange color, his yellow jacket was zipped up and he wore dark blue pants. He and Leaf walked over to stand next to Ash and Gary. Leaf, being the inquisitive person that she was, looked at the three boys next to her and then to the three Pokemon in front of them before she looked at the professor.
"Professor, there are three Pokemon and four of us."
"You don't need to worry about me little sprout."
Leaf frowned, "Who are you calling little sprout?"
The stranger then pulled out a Luxury Ball that was black in color and outlined with yellow gold and red lines.
A small canine-like pokemon appeared from out of the ball in a flash of light. It had brown fur while its tail and the mane around its neck were cream white in color. It lightly shook its body as if it had just woken up from a nap. After doing so, and realizing it was in a new environment, it looked around with curiosity. Its eyes soon settled onto the girl who was looking at it with loving eyes.
"Oh my gosh, an Eevee! It's so cute." Leaf scooped up the adorable Pokemon, and rubbed its cheeks against hers as Eevee scrunched its nose with an annoyed look on its face.
"This is my partner, Bing'er." Michael paused to look at the pair before continuing, "Normally she's standoffish to strangers."
Professor Oak cleared his throat to get their attention. "I'm glad you could make Michael. Professor Krane told me you were coming."
"Right, now then. Since everyone is here, we can get started. Leaf, you're first. Please come up and pick your Pokemon." Leaf was still busy playing with Bing'er, so she told Gary to go instead.
"Sure thing little sprout," Gary teased as he walked past the glaring Leaf. The three of them had grown up together because their families were close friends with each other. Gary was the obnoxious flirt; Ash was the stubborn one; while Leaf was the calm balance between the boys. Leaf was originally from Johto, but she moved here on recommendation from her uncle; Professor Elm, who was a student and now close friend of Professor Oak.
Professor Oak handed Gary a Poke Ball and watched as his grandson walked up to the Pokemon on the far right.
"For me the choice was clear." Gary knelt down in front of the blue turtle-like creature, who couldn't help but open its mouth to let out a big yawn. The boy grinned. He liked this carefree attitude that he was seeing. "How about it Squirtle, do you want to come with me? Together we'll become the strongest in the world." Squirtle looked into the boy's eyes for a moment before nodding its head. It lightly tapped the Poke Ball in Gary's hand, and disappeared inside it with a flash of light.
Professor Oak then handed Gary a red device called the Pokedex and instructed him to point its camera towards his Poke Ball to register his new Pokemon.
Squirtle, the tiny turtle Pokemon. A Water type. When it feels threatened, it draws its limbs inside its shell and squirts out water with vigorous force; its gender is male and it has the ability Torrent; this Squirtle knows the moves Aqua Jet, Water Gun, Tackle and Tail Whip.
Upon seeing Aqua Jet, Gary whistled. An egg move! As expected from a Pokemon bred by the Pokemon League. Where else would his grandpa be able to procure the same rare Pokemon every year? It's not like breeders for these Pokemon can be found easily, let alone buy from them once he found one. Being a professor was not a lucrative profession but it did have its perks.
Next was Ash's turn. Like Gary, he received a Poke Ball and Pokedex from Professor Oak and walked up to the Pokemon on the far left. This was a green quadrupedal creature with a closed flower bulb on its back. It had a fierce look and grunted at Ash as if saying what are you looking at?
"Bulbasaur, my dream is to become a Pokemon Master. I want to make friends with different Pokemon around the world, and battle the strongest trainers I can find. Do you want to join me on this journey?" This Bulbasaur was proud of its power and wanted to prove it to the world. Hearing Ash's promise to seek out the strongest battles, it felt that he was the right one to follow, and nodded its head.
Bulbasaur, the seed Pokemon. A Grass type. There is a plant seed on its back right from the day this Pokemon is born. The seed provides nourishment and sprouts and grows with this Pokemon; its gender is male and it has the ability Chlorophyll; this Bulbasaur knows the moves Tackle, Growl, and Vine Whip.
Seeing that it was finally her turn, Leaf returned Bing'er to Michael and walked up to the Professor. The remaining Pokemon looked reptilian and stood on two legs; it had orange scales and the tip of its tail was lit with a warm burning flame.
Charmander, the lizard Pokemon. A Fire type. The flame that burns at the tip of its tail indicates Charmander's life force and emotions. If the Pokemon becomes enraged, the flame burns fiercely; its gender is male and it has the ability Blaze; this Charmander knows the moves Scratch, Ember, Growl and Counter.
"I'll call you Charly," Leaf said as she smiled and gently hugged the nervous looking creature. Normally, the Charmander species are known to be calm but confident Pokemon, but this one was a bit skittish.
"This last Pokedex is yours Michael." Professor Oak handed the device to the orange haired boy.
"As all of you just saw, the Pokedex can provide you with information about different Pokemon, you just need to point it towards one. However, to register a caught Pokemon, you have to scan the Poke Ball with it." Oak went on to explain the other functionalities of the Pokedex; including the ability to act as a trainer registration id. Thus, it was important for them to not lose it.
He also gave each of them a Pokegear, which were gifts from Leaf's uncle, Professor Elm. The Pokegear functions as a watch, map and cell phone. All were essential tools while on a long journey. Furthermore, when they get the chance, he suggested they purchase a PokeNav if possible. Like the Pokegear, the PokeNav also has a map feature to help with navigation. But most trainers used it for their daily news consumption, or to keep up with danger warnings posted by Pokemon Rangers.
"Enough dilly-daddle, it's time to get going on your journey, don't you think?" Professor Oak proclaimed as he clapped his hands together. Looking over to Michael, he said, "Please wait here while I send these three off."
NOTES
Ash: Bulbasaur (Male Bulbasaur)
Leaf: Charly (Male Charmander)
Gary: Squirtle (Male Squirtle)
Michael: Bing'er (Female Eevee)
Whew, this is my first fanfic so bare with me on this. I've always liked the idea of what Ash's adventures could've been if he wasn't late, and didn't get Pikachu. So, based on that, I'll be incorporating certain aspects of the anime, manga and games into the story. I'll also treat Pokemon as animals, and in the real world, animals are not able to speak or say their names.