~Littleroot Town~
I looked around at the small town, and I gotta admit, it was quite underwhelming. I've heard it was small, but the real life Littleroot Town compared to Rustboro is like comparing a Caterpie to a freakin Groudon! There were only a couple houses and Prof. Birch's lab. There wasn't even a Pokemon Center! The houses looked weathered, kind of like the ones in Pallet Town. Anyway it was getting dark, so I decided the best place to go was the lab. Who knows? I thought. Maybe I might talk to Prof. Birch about becoming a Pokemon Trainer! I made my way over to the lab. I stood in front of the lab with a look of awe on my face. I peered inside the glass window, but it didn't look like anyone was home. Suddenly the sliding doors opened to a pitch dark room, and I jumped back in surprise.
I slowly walked in, and I was just about to turn on the lights when I heard a man's voice coming from the dark.
"Hey, you! What do you think your doing at this hour!? Do your parents know you're here?" the voice said. Oh crap! I'm screwed! I thought. Whoever it was must have turned on the lights, because now I could see that it was Prof. Birch talking to me.
"Professor, I'm so sorry! I was chasing a wild Sentret because it was ruining our garden again. I chased it into the forrest, but then I got lost and found my way over here in Littleroot." I explained nervously.
"Where did you come from?" he asked.
"Oldale Town, sir" I replied, still nervous.
"Oldale Town!" he exclaimed, "My, you must be tired! Here, you can stay in the spare room here at the lab for the night," he said as he led me to the room.
"Thank you so much Professor!" I was just grateful that he didn't ask too many questions. I then remembered my earlier escapades, then realized Oh jeez, Mom's gonna kill me when she finds out!
~Next Morning~
I woke up late the next morning. Letting off a few yawns, I stretched and rubbed my eyes. Then I looked around the room. Wait, where am I? What am I doing here? Then I remembered: I was at the Professor's lab. I got out of bed still dressed from yesterday. I went to the main room of the lab and saw the Professor reading a book and taking notes. "Oh, good morning! Have a seat, don't be shy!" he greeted.
I sat down at the metal table, and I thought I should probably introduce myself.
"I don't think I introduced myself properly, Professor. My name is Leonardo, or Leo for short. Me and my mom just moved to Hoenn about a month ago. We're originally from the Kanto region Also, I have a brother. I don't know if you've heard of him, but his name's Red." I told him.
"Red, as in THE Red? He's your BROTHER?!" the Professor exclaimed incredulously, "My my, then you must be a pretty darned good Trainer yourself then, eh?"
"Actually sir, I'm not a Trainer yet, but I was hoping to get my Pokedex and become a Trainer ever since I was a little kid!" I said.
"I see. Here come with me, I think that we can arrange that." He motioned me over to a round table with glass covering most of it. He pressed a button on a keypad and three Pokeballs rose up from under the glass. Oh my gosh! I'm getting a Pokemon! I thought excitedly.
I had though about choosing a starter, but the starters I had though of were Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, the Kanto starters. I really hadn't expected to get a Hoenn starter. I learned about the Hoenn starters when I moved here, but now the choice was mine! Treecko, Torchic, and Mudkip. All powerful Pokemon, but I knew I couldn't have them all.
"My brother and my father both used fire Pokemon, and I think I'll take a fire Pokemon as well! I'm choosing Torchic as my partner!" I grabbed Torchic's Pokeball and tossed into the air, and Torchic appeared on the floor in a flash of red light.
"Tor Tor!" my new Torchic squealed eagerly as it jumped up into my arms.
"Now here, I should probably give you some Pokeballs. Maybe a Pokebelt too. I'll be right back," he said as he left the room. The Professor returned with 5 Pokeballs and a small black belt.
"Here you go!" I took the belt from him and put it on. I took the Pokeballs next and put them on the back of my belt.
"Thanks Professor!" I said. "No problem, Leo. Oh dang, I forgot! Wait here." He left again, this time going to a different room.
"Here ya go, a brand new Pokedex! It even has your Trainer I.D. on it and everything!" he said quite happily. Just then, the door opened and someone with a hat and Pikachu on his shoulders walked in.
"Well well well! If it isn't Ash Ketchum!" the Professor said.
"Hey Professor," the Trainer said, "I was just visiting Hoenn again. I'm hoping I can do some training here to get ready for my next journey."
So this guy's name is Ash? Why does that seem familiar? I've heard of it before. Anyway, as he and the Professor were chatting, I took out my Pokedex and decided to fill the Pikachu page with some info. "Pikachu, the Mouse Pokemon. It raises its tail to check its surroundings. The tail is sometimes struck by lightning in this pose." my Pokedex told me in a robotic voice. Sweet! I thought. This Pokedex is amazing!
"Ash, let me introduce you to Hoenn's newest Trainer, Leo!" the Professor said. "Hey, Leo, nice to meet you," Ash said as we shook hands.
After a few minutes, I decided that I should get back home, so I excused myself and thanked the Professor. As I was walking out the door, I heard the Professor say "Hey Leo, before you go, I should tell you something about your Pokedex.
A long time ago, it was believed that Arceus created the universe and the world of Pokemon. People still believe that today. Now, lately, there have been some sightings of Arceus. Some people have also reported a lot of earthquakes, and the sailors say that the tides are getting more and more dangerous. I'd want you to go and investigate this along your journey, if you would. Your Pokedex has new technology that allows it to capture abnormal energy readings. If you could bring back some of these energy readings, I'd be really grateful. So, what do ya say, Leo? Also, the new technology can capture energy readings from all Pokemon now, so if you could do that as well, that'd be great! I work in the field mostly, but I don't always have time to stuff like that."
I wondered what was making the water more dangerous, and also about the earthquake. Why was it happening? Could it be Arceus that's causing it? Anyway, what could go wrong? No Arceus is gonna mess with Leo!
"Sure, Professor. I can do that. It'd be a nice little side mission besides the gym challenge." I told him with a cocky grin on my face.
"Great! Thanks for doing this Leo. This isn't gonna be wasy, though." he said seriously.
"Don't worry Professor, I got this." I assured him
I left the lab, and I let Torchic out of his Pokeball. He ran around and let of spurts of fire out of his mouth, and I grinned watching Torchic run around.
"Torchic, ready to go on a trip? Let's go!" Torchic sounded with his delight, and we both ran to the path that led away from Littleroot. Then I heard someone shout behind me "Hey! Wait! Hold on Leo!" the voice said. I skidded to a stop, then turned around to see who was calling my name. The figure was running, and it came into clear view. It was Ash!
"Hey Ash!" I called back. Ash finally caught up to me, along with Pikachu. They were both breathing heavily, and they stopped to catch their breath.
"So I was thinking Leo, do ya wanna travel with me? I know a lot about Hoenn, and I've been wanting to travel through Hoenn again, maybe see some old friends. But now, I think I wanna see what the heck is up with Arceus and the other legendary Pokemon as well. So, what do ya say? Can I travel with you?" Ash wondered.
I actually had to think about this one for a moment. Leo, needing help? Nah, that's not what Ash is asking. He's asking to be a friend for me on my journey. What the heck, maybe I do need a friend. This lone wolf can't be alone forever.
"Sure, why not? It'd be nice to have someone to travel with!" I said eagerly.
"Torchic Tor!" came my partners' approval.
"Great! Now, where are we off to?" Ash asked. I told him that I had to go back home and grab a backpack and say goodbye to my mom first. I mean, I didn't want her to worry. I wasn't gonna pull a Red on her.
>>> OH SNAP!!! (See what Leo did at the end there?) Anyway, this chapter was SOO fun to write! Giving a character a overconfident attitue/cocky nature was very fun to write, and I decided to make Leo a little bit (or a lot) cocky, just for entertainment value. But is Arceus actually causing the high tides and earthquakes? Why would Ash challenge the Hoenn leaders again? What will Leo's mom say when he goes home? Sorry, gotta find out next week! ;) Vote and Comment!
>>> Extra credit to anyone who can comment what game Pikachu's Pokedex entry came from! (Hint: it's a trick question!)