Today was the day Grant would get his first Pokémon. Grant had dreamed about this day for years, but until recently he was sure that he would never get to embark on his own Pokémon adventure. Today, was the beginning of Grant’s rise to power. Today Grant would take the first step towards becoming a Pokémon legend. He would, Grant’s thoughts were interrupted as his name was called by the irritated receptionist.

“Grant Wilson Professor Oak will see you now.” She said. Suddenly, Grant’s confidence from just a moment before fled him as his hands grew sweaty. He stumbled a little as he rushed to stand from the chair he had been waiting in.

“Thank you.” Grant stuttered, as he moved past the receptionist into Professor Oak’s office. She ignored him.

Professor Oak’s office was a lot messier than Grant had expected. Papers were scattered across every surface, Poke balls were strewn all over the room, and the man himself looked right at home in the clutter. his coat and hair were disheveled, but his smile was genuine as grant entered the office.

“Grant my boy it is good to see you again. I am so happy that you were selected by the foundation to receive a starter this year. They must have seen something very impressive in you.” Grant smiled nervously at the praise. The truth was he had gotten pretty lucky. Sure, the written aspect of the Foundation’s tests was all Grant, but he had only gotten selected because the rental Pokémon the foundation had given him was a very easy to work with Clefable.

“Thank you.” Grant said and sat at the chair opposite from Professor Oak. His attention was immediately drawn to a metal briefcase resting on the desk between them. Grant knew his future starter was in that briefcase.

“Of course. Now I’m sure a young man such as yourself doesn’t want to chat! You want to get right to business.” Grant smiled timidly and nodded. Professor Oak chuckled and popped open the briefcase.

“Excellent, now just a second. Ah here it is.” Professor Oak pulled out a Pokedex. Well, they used to be called that now they were known more commonly as Holo Watches. A Holo Watch was a ludicrously expensive item to purchase, but luckily all lab or foundation sponsored trainers like Grant were provided an old if free holo watch. If Grant sold this watch, he could have fed his family for a month maybe two if they were frugal. Grant couldn’t sell it though as much as he might want to. The watch was vital to the plan.

Grant took the watch from Professor Oak and strapped it onto his right wrist.

“It looks great on you Grant! Now, let’s get to the fun stuff.” Professor Oak rubbed his hands together.

In the olden times people used to get incredibly powerful starters from the lab like Charmander, Treeko, and Piplup. Now a days though there wasn’t as much funding for the labs to get those kinds of Pokémon, and what powerful starters the lab could get would be going to some kid with more money than sense. For Grant, Professor Oak gave him three options to select from as his starter.

“First, you can keep the clefable you worked with during the tests. The Foundation felt you had worked quite well with her, and they wanted to give you that option.” Grant nodded, not surprised in the least. He already knew whatever Pokémon he received in the tests would be one of his starter options. Clefable was a good Pokémon, but she wasn’t much of a fighter. Still, at least he knew what he was getting with her.

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“Your second option is a Combee. Before you ask, she is a female, so evolving it to vespiquen is possible.” Grant was definitely interested in this option and a little surprised it was being offered to him. Combee were classified as common because they could be found pretty much anywhere. However, a female combee was classified as uncommon, and a vespiquen was ranked as rare or on occasion extra rare. A Pokémon’s classification is largely determined on strength and the actual rarity of a Pokémon. For example, a Pidgey is always classified as a common rank Pokémon, but upon reaching a pidgeot stage they achieve extra rare which is the minimum classification required for a Pokémon to compete in the Indigo League tournament. Gathering Pokémon with the potential for extra rare was very important for Grant if he hoped to accomplish his plans. Regardless this was possibly a great option.

“I see you’re interested in Combee, that is good. Let me present your final option before you make a final decision.” Professor Oak pulled a pokeball out from the box, and for the first time released the Pokémon from its ball.

The Pokémon that appeared was not what Grant had been expecting. He had been thinking Professor Oak was just being dramatic and the Pokémon would be a grimer, but instead a tiny Horsea floated on a globe of water in the messy office, looking curiously around. Grant sucked air in through his teeth as he looked at the Horsea It wasn’t that Horsea were extremely uncommon in fact they were graded as common, even if they were notoriously difficult to find, but it was what this horsea could become down the road. Seadraw was a powerful rare pokemon, and if you could actually get your hands on a dragon scale your seadra would become a kingdra an epic grade pokemon. Of course, just achieving the evolution to seadra was hard enough as horsea wasn’t very strong. Raising a Horsea had very similar pros and cons to raising a Magikarp or Febas. A very weak starting point, but tremendous power if you could manage the evolution.

“So, what do you think?” Professor Oak finally asked and returned Horsea back to his ball. These were good options, and this could be a choice that Grant looked back on for the rest of his life if he chose incorrectly.

“I am uncertain. Combee offers a clear path to having my first team member for the Indigo League Tournament should I qualify. I am already familiar with Clefable and being already evolved from clefairy is an advantage. On the other hand, if I could get my hands on a dragon scale somehow.” I said trailing off. Professor Oak nodded in understanding.

“This is a common plight for new trainers. Do you take the guaranteed strength now and lose out later? Take the safe secure option? Or do you roll the dice and hope for more strength in the future.” Professor Oak turned the briefcase to face me, the three pokeballs resting inside.

“Now, it is time to make your choice.” I nodded at his words, and with only a second more of hesitation I made my decision.