I woke up early the next morning, feeling refreshed and energized. Receiving the letter, followed by my Trainer Card, from Nurse Joy had been the highlight of my short stay here in Pallet Town; I was officially a Junior Trainer, the designation given to all first years. Knowing the fact that I scored so high on the test as well, that was just the cherry-on-top. Hopefully though, my next highlight will be just as exhilarating. Today, I was going to get my starter and a forever-friend, from Professor Oak.
I brushed my teeth, combed back my hair, wore my running shoes, grabbed my Bag, already packed last night, my PokePhone, and finally my new Trainer Card, which I attached in a slot on the back of my PokePhone. The card itself was set in a nice sunset-orange tint and embossed with my ID and name; after I get my starter, I can update it with Nurse Joy before leaving Pallet Town. I headed out the door from my temporary room and hopefully, the next time I stay here will be near the end of my run in the Kanto League circuit!
[https://i.postimg.cc/GpJjCX4x/ch4-trainercard1.png]
Exiting the Pokemon Center, I headed to the west side of the square where a white and squat building with glass floor-to-ceiling windows sat beside large open fields with a variety of environments, backed by multiple large windmills. Professor Oak had mentioned that this was his family’s, and now his, lab, but this would be the first time I would step in it. Excited but nervous at the same time, I stepped through the glass doors into what I would call a chamber of research. The front of the facility was a large open cavern, filled from the front to back with shelves and shelves of materials lit in an incandescent glow with large circular overhead lights. There were a few desks and lab attendants carrying out their work and near the back I saw Professor Oak shuffling through a PokePad while looking over his PC.
[https://i.postimg.cc/sXT9B19B/ch4-oaklab.png]
Professor Oak’s Lab
I went past the shelves, being careful not to knock onto anything before calling out to the Professor.
“Hello Professor Oak! I’m here!”
“Avery! Good good, you’re here. Come over and sit.” he replied, indicating a small stool set to the side of, what was clearly, his area to conduct any research he was interested in. I sat down, and soon enough, Professor Oak sat across from me with a pleasant but strained smile.
“So, glad you came by. I know you’re excited but let me just tell you a little bit about the situation. You see, the Pokemon League typically sends me a batch of different young Pokemon to distribute to my sponsorees every year before the League season starts. They are already here, out the back, but all of them are called for unfortunately.” he said with a sigh and a small shake of his head. I had been wondering what the Professor would figure out but to hear that all the League approved starters this year had been called for left me disappointed. Maybe he would help me catch my new Pokemon from the nearby woods but the advantage of a League approved starter would go a long way.
“Fortunately, I do have a Pokemon available for you!”, he continued quickly, likely noticing the flash of disappointment on my face. “You see, I only had two sponsorees last year and out of the 3 Pokemon I received, 1 is still left over. She’s been staying in the ranch for the last year but hasn’t had any formal training yet. The issue is, well, she was quite disappointed about not being picked you see, so her temper is a bit out there.”
“That’s okay Professor Oak! I’m sure she’ll like me!” I replied, glad to know I’d get a starter, even one a year older than the typical starter.
“Well, let’s not keep her waiting then, come on.” Professor Oak replied happily, heading over to a door near the back of the room. I quickly got up to follow and was outside of the lab and on the sprawling ranch before I knew it. Professor Oak started pacing towards a batch of waving flowers and grass before calling out, “Chikorita! Come on out girl, we have a special guest today!”
As I waited eagerly, I saw a large leaf swaying back and forth and quickly running towards us before leaping out of the grassy terrain. She was bigger than I expected, going up to my knees, a large green leaf swaying on the top of her head with small green spiky flower nubs ringing her neck; her body was a lighter green, almost yellow, with four spiky hooves and large ruby eyes. I instantly fell in love with her.
[https://i.postimg.cc/ncg2Yj8B/ch4-chikorita.png]
Chikorita looked towards the Professor before shifting her attention towards me, rearing back and growling. Before Professor Oak could do anything though, I knelt down and looked into her eyes.
“Hey girl, it’s alright.” I said soothingly before pointing to myself, “My name is Avery, who are you?”
“Chiiko…chiiko”, she replied, her stance guarded but questioning. Professor Oak stepped behind me before smiling at Chikorita and patting my shoulder.
“Chikorita, Avery here is going to start his journey soon and he was looking for a starter.” Professor Oak told her before pausing and putting a bit of pressure on my shoulder.
I took the cue and replied, “That’s right Chikorita. Professor Oak helped me out a few days ago and now I’m going to become a Pokemon Trainer. But I need a strong starter who can travel alongside me and be the leader of my team. Do you want to be my starter?”
A pause spread between us, Chikorita likely processing what we said before widening her eyes and inspecting me carefully. I tried my best to stay as still and open as possible, my face a picture of patience; Pokemon were very intelligent and emphatic, reading body language and speech was an instinct for them. I, myself, felt a small ember of nervousness, fearing rejection from the first individual that had made me feel so enamored since I woke up outside the town. Chikorita slowly padded towards me, sniffing my clothes and running her leaf against the bottom of my face. I felt my face twitch as I tried to hold in a sneeze.
Soon though, she seemed to have made a decision and butted her head against my arm. Slowly so as to not startle her, I ran my hand through her leaf and patted her behind her head. Her eyes squinted as she snuggled closer to me and I picked her up.
“Well I’ll be, you two might have been meant for each other. Chikorita hasn’t been responsive to anyone for a while now.” Professor Oak said, tilting his head and smiling at us. “Well, glad that was sorted out smoothly, come on you two, let’s get you her Pokeball and you can head out while the sun is still low.”
“Thanks Professor”, I said before turning around, Chikorita was still in my arms, her warm body had a sweet scent that made me feel calmer than I had for a while now. I realized then, as I followed Professor Oak back into his lab, that I had been trying to keep myself distracted over the last few days, looking only at the future and not even thinking about my past. Holding Chikorita, I knew that whatever happened to me, I would be alright with her by my side.
Soon enough, I had Chikorita’s Pokeball in my head and started to head out of the lab before being stopped by Professor Oak. “Avery, I’m glad you were able to help Chikorita and I’m still sorry that I cannot sponsor you officially. That said, I do have one more thing I want to give you. Can you hand over your PokePhone real quick?” he said, and seeing no reason to deny him, I handed it to him.
“You see, I always give my sponsorees a Pokedex before they go on their journey; it helps me with my research and also gives my trainers a small advantage in taking care of their Pokemon. After grandfather developed it so many years ago, there have been many new additions made to it over the years and we’ve recently compiled it all into a PokeApp.” he started to explain as he hooked my PokePhone to his PC.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“It’s still not ready for release but I was hoping you’d help me out by testing it out for me. The App should connect automatically to your PokePhone’s camera and data network, but if you notice any bugs with its detection or modeling, it’d be greatly appreciated if you could report that. Think of it as being a tester for the lab.” he finished as a small icon appeared on the homescreen of my PokePhone before unplugging it and handing it to me.
“Thanks Professor, this’ll help me out a ton!” I expressed sincerely; Oak had been nothing but a helpful guiding hand to me since he found me and I felt myself almost tear up. Before I could say anything else, Chikorita rubbed her head against my chest once more, calming my emotions down. I quickly opened the new Pokedex app and placed Chikorita on a nearby table before pointing the camera at her.
> Chikorita, the Leaf Pokemon. In battle, Chikorita waves its leaf around to keep their foe at bay. However, a sweet fragrance also wafts from the leaf, becalming the battling Pokémon and creating a cozy, friendly atmosphere all around. Chikorita also uses their leaf to scan for warmth and humidity in its surroundings, and loves to sunbathe.
– Owner Information –
> Estimated Height: 3’8” (Average for species: 2’11”)
> Estimated Weight: 8.5 kg
> Ability 1: Overgrow [Developed]
>> Slightly boosts any Grass-Type Special Attack and greatly boosts any Grass-Type Special Attack when under pressure or injured.
> Ability 2: Leaf Guard [Not Developed]
>> Prevents the bearer from being affected by any major status ailments (sleep, burns, poisoning, paralysis or freezing) or non-volatile moves during sunny weather or harsh light conditions.
> Known Moves:
>> Growl(Normal-SS-NV)
>> Tackle(Normal-Ph-V)
>> Razor Leaf(Grass-SA-V)
>> Aromatherapy (Grass-SS-NV)
> Developing Moves: Vine Whip, Bullet Seed, Leech Seed
As I started reading out her Pokedex entry, I could only stare in awe at Chikorita. She was strong, stronger than any starter should be. I was right when I felt she was larger than normal, she was almost a foot taller than the average Pokemon her size. Her first ability, Overgrow, was already developed and ready to use, which will boost all of her Grass-type attacking moves, which only consists of Razor Leaf now, but she was already developing 3 more, which was a lot. As far as I knew, Pokemon in the wild would generally only be developing one move at a time and neither would they develop their abilities so quickly. Chikorita must have been devastated this last year if she’s been pushing herself so much.
“You worked really hard, didn’t you girl?” I said as I picked her up and hugged her tight. Chikorita looked away from me with a slight azure blush on her cheeks.
“Heh, talk about a wuss!” a voice snidely commented behind me. Startled, I looked towards the entrance of the lab and spotted a short (shorter than me) kid with yellow hair wearing blue shorts and an expensive looking no-sleeve jacket.
[https://i.postimg.cc/3R8FJ2p5/ch4-brown.png]
“Brown! That was very rude of you to say!” Professor Oak admonished the boy, Brown, and I felt Chikorita snarl as well.
“Heh, it’s ‘kay Mr. Okay, he doesn’t look like much. I’m here to pick up my Pokemon by the way, which is better than that lousy fat Chikorita” Brown replied as I felt a heat burn inside my chest as well.
Professor Oak ran his hand over his face and sighed, quietly muttering, “Think of the lab, think of the lab” under his breath. He reached behind his desk and brought out a Premium Ball before handing it over to Brown, who I surmised was one of Professor Oak’s sponsorees this year. Not a great first impression but I had an idea.
Brown snatched it from the Professor’s hand before pointing at an empty space and releasing the held Pokemon. A ray of red light flew out and materialized into a Poplio with a pink frill.
[https://i.postimg.cc/mg9wdLRq/ch4-poplio.png]
“Nice, they got me what I wanted!” Brown exclaimed, looking over the small Sea Lion Pokemon. Before he could return it though, I spoke up.
“If you think your starter is so great, how about we have a battle?” I said tauntingly, locking eyes with the kid.
“Heh, you really think you can win against me, Brown Lars? Get your head out of the clouds kid.” Brown replied with a smirk, which froze as I looked at him with a smug smile that would make Purugly proud. “You know what, sure! I’ll teach you to respect your betters. You’re on!” - “Pop, pop, lio!” Both Brown and his Poplio replied before heading out.
I quickly followed, making sure to attach Chikorita’s Pokeball to my belt, with Professor Oak on my heels. As we rounded the lab, a field stylized with markings for Pokemon battle came into my vision, Brown already standing on the other side of the field.
“Come on, I don’t have all day! Go Poplio!” he replied, Poplio heading out to the field as well.
“We got this Chikorita.” I told the Pokemon in my arms and let her leap onto her side of the field.
Professor Oak went towards the middle before locking eyes with each trainer. I held his gaze for a moment and nodded before focusing on Chikorita.
“This will be a 1-on-1 battle between Trainer Avery and Trainer Brown until either trainer forfeits or a Pokemon is unable to battle. Standard League Rules. Trainers, get ready. Start!”
As soon as I heard the signal, my command was sent out.
“Chikorita, start it off with a Growl!”
“You too Popplio!”
Both Pokemon growled at each other but Chikorita, with her bigger size and experience won out and held the stare until Poplio looked away for a moment. “Now, go up and Tackle!” I told Chikorita and she started running.
“Popplio, Water Gun!” Brown commanded. Popplio started to gather a drop of water in front of its mouth but before it could be launched, Chikorita had already reached it and slammed her body under him.
“Don’t drop it Popplio, shoot it out now!”, “Chikorita, tank it and follow-up with Razor Leaf!”
A spray of pressurized water splashed directly against Chikorita’s forehead, leaving a small but noticeable mark as it pushed her back. Chikorita held her ground though and her leaf started to glow before it shot out a razor thin leafy projectile at the Water-type.
Popplio screamed as the super effective move impressed a thin severe line against his torso. “Damn it, use Pound Popplio, you got this!”
“Let him come to you Chikorita, Growl again!” I told her, and although Chikorita seemed ready to go, decided to listen to me and wait, growling at her opponent as he slammed his tail against her side. The damage wasn’t negligible but I was waiting for it and Chikorita seemed to pick up on my intent as I yelled, “Focus and Razor Leaf on him directly!”
[https://i.postimg.cc/Gp1jVWmp/ch4-chik-RL.png]
Chikorita turned to Popplio’s flank and swung her leaf, its edges glowing with a brighter evergreen and growing larger before slashing it across the Pokemon; her Overgrow ability coming into play after the damage she sustained. The move hit and Popplio was knocked back towards Brown, his Pokemon heavily panting with a new large line of red on his skin as he held there for a moment before going down.
“Popplio is unable to battle! The winner of this match is Chikorita and Trainer Avery!” Professor Oak announced as I ran up to Chikorita and knelt down to hug her.
“You did great, girl! You’re so strong!” I praised and patted her affectionately, being careful not to touch any of the damaged areas. Across from us, Brown returned Popplio, whispering to him, before giving us a long look. He strode up to us and before I could react, shoved a bunch of Pokedollars in my hand before turning around and leaving.
I looked towards the boy and his abrupt exit, and I knew that this wouldn’t be the last time we’d have a battle. He had just gotten his Popplio, and while the same was true for me, Chikorita had been pushing herself for almost a year now. I was sure that Brown would improve just as much and maybe even more than me in his journey.
“That was a good match Avery. Brown isn’t a bad kid, truly. He’s just, well, spoiled by his parents quite a bit.” Professor Oak said as he reached me. “Regardless, it's nearing noon and I believe it might be best to head to the Pokemon Center, get Chikorita healed and registered, and start your journey young man, wouldn’t you say?”
I looked towards Chikorita, seeing her determination and my own determined gaze mirrored in her eyes before nodding and getting up with her in my arms.
“You’re right Professor, thanks again for everything!” I yelled, before running towards the Pokemon Center in the distance with my new starter. This was just the start of my journey and my first battle, but it wouldn’t be the last.