EPISODE ONE; BEGINNING A JOURNEY
It began innocently enough. The boy and his Torchic, heading to Odale town on an errand for their mother. Along the path, they fought several others like them. Children and their Pokemon partners. That was, until that fateful encounter. The famous Professor Birch had been cornered... By a Poochyena! It seemed as though this was easy enough to get himself out of, until the boy saw that the professor didn't have any Pokemon on him.
So, he intervened.
Torchic embered the Poochyena away, and the coast was clear in seconds. The professor seemed a bit astonished that the boy made such quick work of the Pokemon. Especially while holding groceries in one hand and a potion in the other, ready to heal his partner should something happen to him. Seeing this fire, this dedication to his friend, the professor smiled. The boy was invited to the lab that day, and he happily obliged.
"Should we be here right now?" Asked the Torchic. The boy just shrugged and kept walking in, amazed at the lab equipment and the busy scientists. What were they studying?
"It shouldn't be too bad. Let's just hear him out, alright Chidori?" The boy gave his friend a thumbs up. The two weren't exactly trainer and Pokemon; Chidori had no Pokeball. No, they met by chance one day, and Chidori saved him from a Zigzagoon that wanted to steal his lunch. The two became fast friends, and eventually Chidori was able to join him at his house.
The professor smiled and turned his attention to the two. In his hand was a small, red device. In the other, he held smaller, round devices of red and white color. His smile turned into a serious expression before long, and he spoke to them.
"You, youngster, what's your name?" he asked.
"Jet, sir." Jet replied, slightly intimidated by the sudden change in expression.
"Jet, what I witnessed out on the field today was no average kid trainer and his Pokemon. You've got some potential to go far. So in light of that, I'm asking you; Jet, would you like to be a field tracker for me?"
Chidori withheld its comments, and stayed back on Jet's shoulder. Jet picked up his friend's uneasiness, and knew he had to stand up and ask some questions.
"What would I have to do? I'm only fourteen you know. I can't really have a job, legally..." he began to think about why legalities allowed Pokemon training at age ten, but not getting a job until age sixteen, but quickly let it slide, as he was being confronted again.
"A field tracker carries this device around. It's a Pokedex, and it will record data on every Pokemon you see. I'm a Pokemon researcher as you know. But, I'm stuck in my lab running theories and researching information I get from other Pokedex holders, like my kid, Fiora. These things also certify you as an official Pokemon League trainer, which means if you want, you can compete in gyms."
Jet and Chidori held back their surprise. So that was what this was about; these Pokedexes were technically a trainer's license If Jet accepted, it would be the start of a journey that would put himself and his friend in danger, while giving them fame, oportunity, and direction in life. It was a tough call. Chidori eased up a bit, knowing Jet would contemplate this idea for a while. It was indeed a huge chance, but it was also a huge gamble with their own lives.
"Alright."
Chidori kept its reaction contained.
"We'll do it. But one condition." Jet held out his hand for the Pokedex, and kept a grin on his face. The professor gave him a curious look, handing him the Pokedex and waiting for him to take the Pokeballs.
"We do it our way. I'll record your data for you, but I'm not gonna go out and catch a bunch of Pokemon just for research. Anything I catch is because I want to befriend it. You can read through my data, but you aren't even touching my friends unless they're okay with it."
Chidori heard this and perked up. Now that was a good trade off. It didn't want to see wild Pokemon being forced into laboratories and such, that was why it was so unsure of Jet's choice. If that was the compromise, Chidori would accept it. The professor nodded, handing Jet the six Pokeballs. Seeing this, Chidori hopped off Jet's shoulder and poked at one until it opened, and sealed Chidori inside.
((CHIDORI JOINED THE PARTY))
Jet opened the Pokeball, allowing Chidori out again, where it resumed sitting atop his shoulder.
"You've already made such good friends with that Torchic, I'm sure you can succeed in this task. I won't delay you any longer though. If you want to show me your Pokedex data, use the PC at any Pokemon Center in any town."
Jet nodded and headed out the door, Pokeballs in his grocery bag and Pokedex in his pocket. Luckily, Littleroot was a small town, and he was home quickly. It was almost sunset, however, so today was over. His mother was less than surprised it took so long; those two were always out playing and battling.
"Welcome home, honey. Did you get the milk and rice?" she asked.
"Yeah, and I have something to talk to you about over dinner tonight. You and dad both." Jet immediately took the Pokeballs out of the bag, and headed upstairs to his room. In his home computer, he registered his Pokedex online to the Pokemon League. He would be receiving a Trainer Card in the mail, tomorrow at the latest. Air mail from Pokemon made the postal system so easy! His Pokedex asked for an input of his starting Pokemon data. He assumed this meant all registered trainers received a Pokemon, and shrugged.
"Chidori, care to be the first entry?"
"If I have to." Chidori hopped onto the table, and Jet allowed the Pokedex to scan it. It gave a brief description of Torchic natural habitats, behavior, food, and so forth. Chidori was shocked at how much it actually knew just from scanning one of his kind, and was impressed whether it would admit it or not. The Pokedex had finished registering him as a trainer now. He was entered in the League as Rookie Trainer Jet, to which Chidori laughed.
"Dinner is ready!" called Jet's mother. Both of them gave each other a 'this is it' look, and headed downstairs. Jet's father was there, already at the table. His mother put the meal down on the table and smiled.
"So, honey, what did you want to talk to us about?" she asked Jet.
"Mom, dad... Chidori and I are registered in the Pokemon League now. Professor Birch gave me a Pokedex and everything."
Both parents looked up at the boy with surprise. Dad gave him a smile and stayed silent until mom had time to respond. This gave Jet a bit of a positive outlook.
"Honey, you realize how dangerous that is, right?" she asked.
"Yeah. I'm not gonna lie and say I'll be fine. But, I think this is exactly what I need in life to be somebody. I've never really been good at anything but befriending Pokemon."
Dad looked up from his meal and decided to give his input.
"Your license should be here soon then. We need a family photo before you set off. All of us." as he said this, he opened a Pokeball of his own, and from it came a very mature, robust looking Swellow. Chidori and Swellow gave nods, and then started eating their own dinners.
"Heh, you got it dad." Jet said, finishing off his meal quickly. Upon his finish, he heard a call from outside. It was loud and screeching, but not unpleasant surprisingly.
"That's for you, kid." said dad.
Jet opened the door to find a Skarmory. Around its neck was a sack of items, including a Trainer Card, badge case, town map, and rope.
"This is the official Pokemon League care package right? Thank you! Here, something for the road."
Jet pulled a Pokeblock from his case, and gave it to the Skarmory. When it began flying off, he returned inside. That night was one to remember; a family night full of party, music, photos, and fun. Jet slept quite hard that night, tired out from all the fun. The morning came quickly, though, ad it was time to set off. With a wave back to his family, Jet and Chidori headed into the first route, and thus took the first steps into their journey to become something great.
