DSMP Pokemon AU

The Journey Begins!

"Remember, Tommy, it's all in the wrist movement."

Wilbur was crouched beside Tommy in the grass, coaching him on the perfect Pokéball throwing technique. To illustrate his point, he masterfully flicked his wrist, lightly tossing a ball to catch a sleeping Pidgey. "See? Now you try."

Tommy didn't much care for all that fancy stuff. Instead, he just threw the ball and hoped it landed. He didn't hear it. Wilbur frowned. "You don't have it down quite yet. That's okay, though, we can keep practicing."

"I'll go get it," said Tommy, disappointed. He walked through the grass to go retrieve the ball, but when he found it, it was shaking, the center piece glowing red. "Huh?" He stepped closer to the ball. It stopped shaking, and the red light dimmed. He'd actually caught something. Laughing triumphantly, he picked up the ball and ran back to show Wilbur.

"Took you long enough," scoffed Wilbur as Tommy ran back, too excited to mind Wilbur's tone.

"Wil! Wil, I caught something!"

Wilbur's expression shifted immediately, from boredom to surprise. "You did?"

"Yeah! Dunno what it is, though. It was already caught when I got there." He looked at the ball in his hand. "Well, let's open this thing up!" With that, he clicked the button, and a red beam of energy came out, settling on the ground and forming into-

"Oh, it's just a Venonat," said Wilbur, seeming disappointed. Tommy, however, was thrilled.

"My first Pokémon! Isn't this cool, Wil?" he asked, excitedly, and Wilbur couldn't help but brighten up a bit at the kid's enthusiasm. Tommy picked up the Venonat, hugging it close to him. "I'm gonna name you Clementine!"

Wilbur smiled. "You did always have a thing for bug types. I guess it fits. Although I'd always imagined you with a Rattata."

"Hey, you take that back!" gasped Tommy, mock offended. Wilbur elbowed him in the shoulder, and he laughed, lightly hitting him in the chest. He looked back at the Venonat- Clementine, and his eyes shone. "This is so cool!"

"You've said that," said Wilbur. "But there's something even more cool- you're a genuine trainer now. That means you can challenge gyms, enter competitions- heck, you might even work yourself up to being Champion!"

"Well, I don't know about that," Tommy responded. "Still though, I can't wait to get into my first battle! Can I battle you, Wil?"

Wilbur chuckled. "Not with that thing, you can't."

"Her name is Clementine."

"Right. My point being, Clementine is a bit too weak right now. You gotta train her first, I don't have any Pokémon weak enough for it to be fair."

"You have that Pidgey," Tommy pointed out.

Wilbur shrugged. "Fair enough." Grabbing Pidgey's ball, he readied himself. "You really want to battle, then?"

"Course I do!" Tommy set Clementine down. Wilbur tossed Pidgey's ball onto the ground, and the bird Pokémon popped out, squawking.

"Alright then. Pidgey, use Sand Attack!" Pidgey scratched at the earth, gathering up sand and dirt, and promptly kicked it at Clementine. But the bug Pokémon didn't seem to be affected, just blinking and shaking the sand off.

"Hm. So it must have Compund Eyes," mused Wilbur, as Tommy looked on in confusion.

"Compound Eyes? What's that mean?"

"It's Clementine's ability," Wilbur explained, as Pidgey ruffled its feathers in impatience. "She can't be affected by moves that lower her accuracy, such as Sand Attack."

Tommy grinned. "Alright! So it's my turn, yeah? Clementine, use-!" He paused. "Um, what moves do you know? Whatever, just attack!"

Clementine responded by launching into a Tackle. Wilbur commanded Pidgey to dodge it, but the bird Pokémon couldn't get away in time. The battle continued on like that. At one point, Pidgey sent a Gust that seemed scary, but Clementine was able to Disable it and finish the fight with another Tackle. After it was done, Wilbur patted him on the back. "Well played, Toms. But not every fight is gonna be that easy."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," mumbled Tommy. He didn't want any more lessons right now. Wilbur was a pretty good trainer, in fact, he was a gym leader, and he always viewed Tommy as like a little brother to him, which meant he got lectured constantly about proper techniques, even before he decided he wanted a Pokémon.

"Alright, then! The next step is to go out and train!" said Wilbur, placing a hand on Tommy's shoulder and pushing him slightly forward. "Maybe meet some new people. Who knows, you might find some other new trainers out there!"

Tommy nodded, and- attaching Clementine's ball to his belt, but still carrying her in his arms, he set off into the forest.

The forest was deep, and a bit dark. It was a bit spooky, but he wasn't scared. Big Men aren't scared of anything. He looked down to follow the dirt path below him, glancing around at the Pokémon living in the forest (he'd have to get some other Pokéballs to catch some) but while he was distracted, he bumped into someone. He took a step back. "Hey, what's with the standing in the middle of the path?"

The person turned around. He was about two inches shorter than Tommy, and was wearing a green cloak. The oddest thing, though, was the mask he was wearing, with a smiley face on it. "Hm. My bad." He took a step to the side. "Haven't seen you around. What's your name."

"Tommy," said Tommy, who had been taught not to talk to strangers, but something about this man compelled him. It was weird. He noticed that the man was looking at his Venonat, and he hugged her closer to his chest. "This is Clementine."

The man nodded. "Name's Dream," he said, before turning to leave. Before Tommy could stop him to ask about the mask, it seemed like he'd disappeared into the woods.

Tommy kept walking, now making sure to look where he was going. That was odd, not gonna lie, and it weirded him out a bit, but he was still excited for his adventure.