Thread: Welcome to the World of Pokémon ~ Kanto Edition

A gentle sunrise painted the sky in orange and pink pastels as morning dawned on the Kanto region, light peaking over the tops of houses in the small town of Pallet as a new day begins. Professor Oak, clutching a steamy cup of coffee in one hand, yawned as he checked his watch, opening up the door of his laboratory as the sunlight streamed in, glinting off the marble floor tiles; several children would be stopping by this morning to pick up Starter Pokémon.

@Guardian of Johto
@-Gray-
@Egghatch
@Lone Wolf

Soon to be Pokémon trainer, Tye Taylors woke up in his cabin aboard a large ship set to land in Pallet. A loud air horn rang out signaling that they had been nearing port. Tye and many other passengers had made their way out into the hallways of the cruiser. He pushed through the crowd and made his way to the area of the ship from which he could depart. A large portion of the haul of the ship dropped down forming a ramp to the dock, the crowd of passengers made there way onto the concrete pier. Tye broke from the group and made his way out of the busy harbor and into the quiet town. As he looked up he saw the Pokémon lab of the professor on the horizon. It was a good thing I called ahead... He thought to himself as he put his hands in his pockets, his messenger bag hung across his torso as he walked toward the lab...

A small white sailboat by the name of the S.S. Lapras drifted lazily into Pallet Town, stopping abruptly a few inches from where the grassy shoreline met the water. A gangplank was lowered, money was paid, and a seventeen-year-old boy named Cole Jacobson stepped onto land for the first time in two days.

Cole's father had provided cash for the trip, and had arranged the boat to pick him up in Fuchsia City. It would have been a short trip, had there not been almost absolutely no wind the entire time. The tide was the only thing that had pushed them - Cole and the captain, who had neglected to provide a name - towards shore, and it had warped for a few miles towards Cinnibar before heading back towards the mainland. They had had enough food, as the captain had a supply of dried fruits and several barrels of water, but it had been a monotonous trip.

However, that was the past, not the present, and Cole's father's line of work had taught him not to dwell on things that had already happened. Here he was, in the quaint little Pallet Town, marked on maps only because it housed the world's leading Pokemon Professor. And there the man was, standing outside his door and sipping coffee as the dew on the grass began to shine.

Cole walked up to the professor, his shoes accumulating water as he walked. "Hello, Professor Oak, I'm Cole Jacobson. I'm here for my first Pokemon." That was his father's line at work - get to the point as quickly as you can, avoiding chitchat and other distractions if in any way possible.

A thirteen-year-old girl named Rika Taylor watched the sun rise over her home in Pallet Town. She had been staring out the window for quite a while, her eyes and mind not focused on anything. As the sun grew brighter, she realized this and blinked.
Why am I not asleep? Rika thought. Less than a second had passed before she remembered that the day she would start her Pokémon journey had finally come. She was smiling to herself and daydreaming about becoming the world's greatest Pokémon Master when her pet Vulpix, Valerie, wandered into her bedroom and snuggled up against her, looking upset.
Rika stroked Valerie's silky, auburn-colored fur.
"I'm sorry you can't come with me..." Rika sighed. "I really wish you could, Valerie. I'll call the house as often as I can, though, okay?"
Valerie licked Rika's hand. The two smiled at each other.

Professor Oak chuckled heartily at Cole's abrupt entrance, gesturing for the teenager to step inside the laboratory.

"Welcome to Pallet Town, Cole, what sort of pokémon do you think would suit you best?" He now gestured to a small table in the middle of the main room, on which sat three separate rows of pokéballs, each marked labeled with "Charmander," "Squirtle," and "Bulbasaur" respectively.

"I would like to think that your choice in starter pokémon is a reflection of who you perceive yourself to be as a pokémon trainer, so choose wisely." With that, the professor stepped back quietly and took a sip of his coffee, smiling; he always enjoyed this moment in a trainer's journey.

Tye strode up to the door of the Pokémon lab, having just saw a boy enter he followed Cole in. Tye stood in the doorway watching Oak and Cole converse, he hummed quietly as he waited for his turn. With a quick wave to Oak he leaned on the wall next to the door, casually waiting his turn. Which one?.......It's a no-brainer he snickered at his thought.

Cole studied each Poke-Ball in turn, examining the names. "Would you mind if I could actually see the Pokemon before I chose?" he asked the professor. "I'd like to know more about each Pokemon's individual personality before I make any hasty decisions.

"I'm glad you asked," Oak replied, smiling as he picked up Charmander's pokéball, clicking it open as the Fire pokémon emerged, yawning and blinking around drowsily at his human onlookers.

"This is Charmander, the Fire starter," Oak said, before opening the other two pokéballs to reveal Squirtle and Bulbasaur.

"This is Squirtle, the Water starter. And this is Bulbasaur, the Grass starter."

Meanwhile, Rika was playing with Valerie. Then, she looked at her clock. It was 9:30.
"Oh no!" she gasped. "I need to get ready! I can't be late to Professor Oak's lab, or I might not be able to get my starter!"
She ran into her closet and emerged from it dressed in a solid white T-shirt and black polyester shorts. Then, she ran to her bureau, where she had laid out green fingerless gloves, a gold pendant necklace, a black zip-up sweatshirt, and a faded brown messenger bag that carried nearly everything she needed to start her Pokémon journey. She put these things on, looked at herself in the mirror, and smiled.
"What do you think, Valerie?"
Her Vulpix looked up. "Vulpix-Vul..." she said in a broken voice.
Rika frowned, then walked towards and hugged her.
"Please don't cry..." she said. "I'm going to miss you too, but like I said, I'll call as often as I can."
Valerie licked Rika's hand again. A few minutes later, Rika smelled pancakes cooking in the kitchen. She looked up.
"Mom's cooking breakfast," she remarked and ran downstairs. Valerie followed her.
"Hey, Mom," she greeted her mother.
"Good morning, Rika! I see that you're up early." Her mother smiled and handed her a plate of buttered pancakes.
"Thanks," Rika said as she began to eat them. When she finished, she stood up and said goodbye to her family.
Shaking with excitement, she called out, "Today, I will start my Pokémon journey! And I'm going to be the greatest Pokémon master the world has ever seen!"
She opened the door andbegan walking out when her father stopped her. "Before you leave, Rika, I want you to have this," he said as he handed her an old map of Kanto.
"What's this?" Rika asked.
"It's the map I used on my Pokémon journey. I want you to have it."
Rika nodded. "Okay," she said, still smiling as she took the map and walked out the door.
"We'll miss you!" her mother shouted to her from the kitchen window. This was accompanied by a quiet cry of "Vul-pix..."

Soon enough, Rika was about to walk into the lab when she noticed Tye standing in front of the door.
"Uh... hi," she muttered to him nervously. "Are you here to get your first Pokémon?" She could feel her face turning red and hoped he didn't notice.

"Hello, yes I am" Tye said with a smile as he turned to meet the girl. She looks a little nervous... he smirked. "I suppose that is what you are doing as well?" Tye asked charmingly. "Pleasure to meet you, I am Tye Taylors" he quickly kissed her hand, "And your name is?"

"My name is Rika Taylor," she said, blushing. "So... uh..." she hesitated, unsure of what to say. "What Pokémon are you going to choose?"

Tye took a calming breath and smiled before uttering: "That is a beautiful name". "And to answer your question, I will be choosing a Charmander...but I will have to browse the Professor's selection of them" he paused for a moment. "Yourself?"

Still blushing, Rika smiled and replied, "I'm probably choosing Squirtle. I'm not totally sure, though."

"That's cool" Tye said in a calm tone as he grinned. "By the way, are you alright?" he said noting her blush, he laughed slightly.

Rika giggled nervously. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, brushing a lock of hair in her face.