(Introduction)

It was a late evening in Pallet Town as Professor Oak sat in the back room of his lab. Agatha was going back through his findings for a third time now, unwilling to accept what he was saying to be true.

"Are you absolutely sure about this, Oak? This is certainly going to be an interesting claim to explain to the Elite Four." She said without removing her eyes from the documents. Oak booted up his pc and typed a series of commands into the keyboard before turning the monitor towards her. The screen depicted a map of the Kanto region and its energy readings. Four blips throughout the area were much more visible than the rest, shining brighter than major cities.

"You can read the data as well as I can. There's no denying that something isn't right here. This has happened before, who's to say it won't happen again." Oak said as he turned the monitor back toward himself.

Agatha paused for a moment, reorganizing the professor's report before placing it neatly on his desk.

"If I know you like I think I do, I suppose you've already come up with a solution to this problem, haven't you?" She asked with a smirk. Oak smiled, but his eyes were locked onto the computer screen.

"A potential solution, yes." Agatha leaned onto Oak's desk, putting her face closer to his.

"If I'm understanding your report correctly, then we're going to need more than just potentials."

"I've already sent my studies to a couple of respected colleagues of mine. Once they have had a chance to make sense of the data, I will set up a meeting of Pokemon researchers before we announce our findings to the rest of the Indigo League."

Agatha stood back up and crossed her arms in a huff.

"We don't even know what we're dealing with and you're already sending data to your friends!?" Agatha said with a raised tone. Oak shot her a dirty look, but only for a moment as he quickly returned his eyes to the monitor.

"Not friends, colleagues. And what we're dealing with here is a possible recreation of the Energy Amplifier, or even worse… a reforming of Thu-Fi-Zer. If Team Rocket or anyone else for that matter gets their hands on that kind of power, there's no telling of what could happen!"

(Steady Starters)

Mako was excited about getting his first pokemon, so much so that he'd barely gotten any sleep the night prior to the beginner trainer event at Professor Oak's lab. He woke up in a panic, running downstairs while he finished getting dressed. The small home in Viridian City was quiet, his mother having already left for her morning shift. He grabbed a light breakfast and the remainder of his monthly allowance before heading out the door. Running down Route One, Mako ignored the new trainers he saw that were happily meeting their new companions. Carefully avoiding the tall grass, he continued on hoping that there would still be a pokemon left for him.

He was very late, and he had convinced himself the best of the bunch had already been chosen. Running as fast as he could into Pallet Town, he hoped he was fortunate enough that the professor was still waiting for any late arrivals. Several scientists glared at Mako as he involuntarily barged through the doors, stumbling into the lobby of the pokemon lab. The pokemon professor welcomed him to the back table as he straightened out his shirt and tried to make himself presentable.

"Good morning! I'm Professor Oak. Are you here to receive a Pokemon?" Professor Oak asked with a smile. Mako looked shyly and worked up the courage to speak.

"Y-yeah is there any left?"

"Well you are very late, but at least I still have a couple of pokemon left for you to choose from."

The professor opened a briefcase and revealed three identical looking pokeballs, gently smiling at Mako.

"Pick any one you'd like! Although please consider these Pokemon are a bit more on the finicky side than the rest. The trainers that came early definitely had the best choice!"

"Yeah, don't remind me." Mako muttered to himself. He looked at the red and white pokeballs, of which contained Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander.

"How am I supposed to know which one to pick?"

"Just pick whichever one speaks to you most."

Mako nodded and hesitated for a few moments before selecting the middle ball. The smooth curvature felt cool in his hand for a moment and Mako smiled at his own reflection on the shine of the ball. The Professor closed the briefcase with a smile.

"Thank you for coming to the annual starter pokemon giveaway, I hope you and your Squirtle have an amazing adventure together!"

Mako couldn't stop looking at his pokeball, in disbelief that he was now going to be considered a pokemon trainer. After having a late brunch, he decided to greet his new partner for the first time. Somewhere in the outskirts of Viridian City, Mako gripped his pokeball and deeply exhaled.

"Alright, come on out, Squirtle!"

The Squirtle appeared out of the ball and looked up at its trainer with a smile. Mako smiled from ear to ear, hugging Squirtle tightly and spinning him around.

"I can't believe it! I'm a pokemon trainer now! And you and I are going to be best friends!" The Squirtle was overjoyed with its new owner and cheered happily alongside its trainer. Their celebration was cut short by a stranger who approached them, confronting Mako when they came into view.

"Well if you're a pokemon trainer, I guess you wouldn't mind battling me then?" The stranger asked with a smile.

Mako's heart sank deep into his chest as his eyes locked with the strangers. He fumbled around with his pokeball and tucked it away into his pack.

"Y-yeah I guess not. We'll battle you." Mako said softly. Squirtle nodded at him with encouragement, but his nerves were getting the best of him. The stranger smiled and got into position, sending his Bulbasaur onto the field.

"Let's do this, Bulbasaur! I knew the Professor saved the best for last!" He cheered. Mako was surprised to be battling another trainer who had received a pokemon from the Professor so soon, but he sent Squirtle in and the battle began anyway.

"Bulbasaur, use tackle!" Bulbasaur charged forward, knocking Squirtle onto its back. Mako cried out while the stranger cheered.

"Get up Squirtle!" Mako shouted.

"Quick Bulbasaur, use vine whip!" Long vines emerged from Bulbasaur and wrapped around Squirtle's shell and lifted him off the ground.

"Protect yourself Squirtle!"

Still immobilized by the vines, Squirtle retreated into its shell. The stranger smiled at Mako, clearly enjoying the battle more than him.

"Nice defense, but you're going to have to try harder than that! Bulbasaur, use Sweet Scent!"

Bulbasaur emitted lovely aromatic spores from its seed, luring Squirtle out of its shell. With a smirk the vines slapped Squirtle several times before dropping him onto the ground with a thud. Squirtle struggled to get back on its feet, and was near fainting as he looked back at Mako.

He couldn't bear to see the battle go on, so Mako forfeited the match before Squirtle was officially knocked out.

"Please stop, you win!" He cried.

"Nice win, Bulbasaur!" The stranger congratulated his pokemon before safely returning it to its ball. He turned to Mako as he hugged Squirtle.

"Good match, but honestly I didn't expect to beat you that easily. I think you could get a couple of badges out of the gym circuit if you spend some more time with your pokemon!"

Mako returned Squirtle to its ball and wiped a tear from his eye as he faced the stranger.

"You're really strong…" he said softly.

"Heh, yeah. But this ain't my first battle like yours. I'm Caspian by the way."

"Mako."

"Nice to meet you Mako, I hope we can battle again when your pokemon gets stronger!" Caspian said with a smile as they shook hands.

Mako's mood quickly turned up and he nodded in agreement. The stranger left as quickly as he came, and Mako was left alone with his first defeat as a pokemon trainer.

After scurrying to the pokemon center in Viridian city, Mako thought about what Caspian had said about the gym circuit. He had considered it, but he was always more interested in bonding with pokemon instead of researching or competitive battling. Without a pokedex there wasn't going to be much discovering to do, so he decided to make his way to Pewter City to try his luck at the first gym leader.

Spending the last of his money on a potion and a single pokeball, Mako made his way to the entrance of Viridian forest. The beaten path of Route One ended as the large trees surrounded him and the sunlight became less prevalent. The tall grass was becoming nearly impossible to avoid the deeper he went through the brush. Viridian forest was a natural maze and Mako was quickly realizing why. His leisurely pace turned to a frantic rush as he ran scared through the woods. Pushing his way into a patch of tall grass he accidentally tripped and fell into a large sticky web.

"Oh no, how could this get any worse?" He asked as he struggled to free himself.

Two spinaraks repelled from the treetops above, angry that their home had been invaded. They cried at Mako and showed their fangs, preparing for an attack. Squirtle suddenly leapt from its ball and came to Mako's defense. Squirtle's Bubble attack removed the webbing, and staggered the Spinaraks.

Mako's eyes lit up and he cheered on Squirtle and encouraged him to continue.

"Keep going Squirtle, use Bubble again!" He called out. The spinaraks were outmatched as the clearing filled with sea foam, causing one of them to faint as the other fled back into the canopy above.

"That's right! I'm a Pokemon trainer now and we aren't scared of wild pokemon!" Mako cheered. The treetop rustled again before an Ariados lowered itself down and glared at Squirtle and Mako. Squirtle backed down immediately, cowering in fear of the second stage evolution.

"Squirtle, use bubble so we can get out of here!" Mako cried, but Squirtle was paralyzed with fear. In the blink of an eye Ariados used Poison Sting, knocking back and infecting Squirtle with a lingering poison. Mako quickly returned Squirtle to its ball and ran away from the long leg pokemon as fast as he could.

Hours went by as Mako hiked through the forest, avoiding as many wild pokemon as possible while staying on the dirt trail. It was getting darker now and the shadows cast from the forest made it even more difficult to see. Mako began to panic as he searched for an exit to the forest, but he was lost deep in the natural maze of trees and brush. He looked for anything that resembled a trail marker, but he seemed to have gone too far astray.

"Don't worry Squirtle, I'll get you to a pokemon center soon!" He said softly to the ball that was keeping it safe. The longer he wandered, the darker it got, and Mako was beginning to think he was going to have to spend the night alone in the forest. Just as the fear set in, he noticed the light of a flame shining through the trees some ways ahead. Fueled by adrenaline, Mako ran toward the light, hoping to find someone that would help him navigate the forest. He fumbled and stumbled over the rugged terrain, nearly falling as he ran. When he got closer he realized the source of the light was actually a small campsite, and approached more cautiously as he entered the forest clearing.

"Hello?" Mako called out into the darkness. There was a rustling in the bushes before a Charmander hopped out and confidently roared.

"Char!" It cried. Mako was surprised and fell backward, causing Squirtle to come out of its ball. It was still poisoned and injured from the previous fight, but it was still ready to defend Mako. The Charmander growled at Squirtle as the flame on its tail flared up. It tried to charge an attack, but was interrupted by a girl's voice calling out to it.

"Hold it, Charmander. They look like they need our help." She came out behind Charmander and patted its head before extending a hand to Mako to help him up. He thanked her generously and took the potion out of his pack and applied it to Squirtle's wounds. The girl looked at Mako and couldn't resist asking him questions immediately.

"What are you doing all the way out here with no antidotes? I know the forest has healing properties, but doesn't everyone know this place is crawling with poison types?" She asked bluntly.

"Yeah, I figured that out the hard way. I'm just trying to get to Pewter City." Mako said. The girl smiled as she rummaged through the items in her bag.

"Well I'm Scarlett, and this is my Charmander. We've been doing some training in the forest the past couple of days to prepare for the gym challenge. Is that what you're doing too?" She asked while offering an antidote from her bag. Mako was embarrassed that he didn't have the medicine that Squirtle needed and accepted the gift humbly.

"I'm Mako, and yeah, I've been thinking about entering the gym circuit. I don't have that much battle experience though." He admitted while applying the antidote to Squirtle. Within seconds, Squirtle recovered from its poisoning, but still stayed close to Mako. Scarlett laughed and patted Charmander on the head.

"Hah, we are still pretty new to battling too."

"You could've fooled me. I haven't seen you in battle yet but if it's anything like the way you prepare, I'm sure you're a natural," Mako said admirably,

"Your Charmander looks strong too."

Scarlett nodded and pulled her pokedex from her bag and scanned Squirtle with it. The machine buzzed and displayed information about the pokemon, and Mako was stunned to see a pokedex in person.

"You have a pokedex?!" He exclaimed. Scarlett smiled and nodded her head.

"Yeah, you don't? This was a gift from my father when I became a trainer."

"I'm lucky that I even have a pokemon honestly." Mako admitted. Scarlett allowed him to take a closer look at the device, letting him read Squirtle's pokedex entry to get a better understanding of his starter pokemon and new companion. They spent some more time chatting by the fire, until Scarlett unpacked her sleeping bag and welcomed Mako to stay the night. He was reluctant at first, but she insisted, even offering to escort him to Pewter City in the morning; at which point he gladly accepted. He made a mental note to get a portable sleeping bag, and cuddled up alongside Squirtle's shell until morning.

Scarlett and Charmander were up with the rising sun, tidying up their campsite to leave as small of a footprint as possible. Mako was snoozing away with his Squirtle until Scarlett was nearly ready to head out to Pewter. She stood over him and nudged his side with her shoe.

"If you ever want to get out of this forest, your guide is leaving now." She joked. Mako jolted upright, confused about where he was for a moment before he saw Scarlett smiling down at him.

"Do you think you could get Squirtle to finish off these embers?" She asked, pointing to the ashes in the campfire. Mako nodded and gently knocked twice on Squirtle's shell.

"Come on out Squirtle, time to get going."

Lazily Squirtle emerged from its shell, clearly still half asleep. Excited to start his first whole day as a trainer, Mako had a burst of morning energy.

"Alright Squirtle, use Water Gun!" He cheered. Squirtle agreed and stood up, then steadying itself before locking onto the campfire. A small, weak stream of water left its mouth and doused the remains of the fire, but the move was overall unimpressive. Scarlett giggled but stopped herself when she noticed that her response made Mako look doubtful.

"Not bad for your first go around, Squirtle!" She cheered. Mako smiled and rubbed Squirtle's head.

"We'll work on that one." Mako said.

"Practice makes perfect, Mako. The more you use Squirtle the stronger it will get." Scarlett said with a smile. Mako nodded and returned Squirtle to its ball, looking over at her and her Charmander.

"You sure know a lot about Pokemon, Scarlett."

"Thanks Mako, but I'm still a new trainer like you. Come on, we can talk more about this on the way to Pewter."