CH. 04 - The Journey Begins!

"Professor, I have decided to choose Pidgey to be my partner.", I said to Prof. Oak.

"Hmm. I see! Pidgey is your choice. Pidgeys are generally docile and usually prefer to flee from their enemies than fight them. But they also can be extremely loyal to their Trainer once trained. They have an extremely sharp sense of direction and homing direction. Very helpful in case you get lost in areas such as forests."

"So, Alex, you want to go with the {Flying} type Pokémon, Pidgey?", asked Prof. Oak.

"Yes!", I said to him with a smile sprouting over my face.

"Well then, let's meet your Pidgey.", he replied nodding once. He then picked up a Pokéball lying on the machine and proceed to click a button at the middle. The Pokéball opened and a brilliant white light shot out of the Pokéball and started taking the form of a Pidgey.

*Ding*

___________________________

[Pidgey]

[Level]: 5

[Gender]: Male ♂️

___________________________

A small, plump-bodied bird which had primarily brown feathers with a cream-coloured face, underside, and flight feathers; and a short, stubby greyish-pink beak and feet with two toes in front and one in the back appeared in front of me.

"Piidgey... Pri~", the Pidgey cried out while flapping and stretching his wings.

I approached him, bent my knees and stretched my hands towards him in a motion to welcome him. "Hey buddy, would you like to join me as my No. 1 partner?"

"Pidgey! Pr~dg!", it cooed while nodding happily. It then flew and perched on top of my right shoulder.

"Oh, it seems the Pidgey has taken quite a liking to you! Would you like to give a nickname to your name?", asked Prof. Oak.

"Hmm... I would like to call you Ace! Do you like it?", I asked Pidgey.

Pidgey nodded approvingly and was happy with its new name, it again cooed and flapped its small wings with pride. (A/N: Now onwards Pidgey will be noted as Ace)

"Okay, Alex, please give me your Trainer ID and register it to the system and link Pidgey's Pokéball with your Trainer ID."

I gave my phone to the Professor which contained the Trainer ID, which he took over to a computer along with the Pokéball which contained Ace previously.

*Ding*

___________________________

[Pokédex Updated]

Pidgey #0016

[Type]: {Flying}

• Tiny bird Pokémon. Very docile. If attacked, will often kick up sand to protect itself rather than fight back.

___________________________

*Ding*

___________________________

[Quest Completed]

1. Receive a Starter Pokémon

• Exp. gained +8

• Reward obtained:

- Unlocked new system function "Pokémon Status"

___________________________

Ohh. A new function.

Before I could check it out, the Professor came back and handed over my phone, Ace's Pokéball and a new glassy card which appeared to have an electronic screen.

The card displayed -

___________________________

[Trainer ID] (Unsponsored):

[Name]: Riziero Alex

[Age]: 16

[Gender]: Male♂️

[Hometown]: ???

[ID No]: 14462

₽: 1500

[Badges Earned]: None

___________________________

"This Electronic Card will act as your Trainer ID which will enable you access to almost all the towns and cities across the region and also doubles as a debit card at various stores across the region. And I have deposited ₽1500/- to your account as a leeway to help you out since you currently have no one to act as your sponsor."

"Sponsor?", I asked him nonchalantly.

"Ah, yes. A sponsor is a person who will act as an intermediate, who helps to keep your Trainer's life safe away from the chaos of the public media mostly. A Trainer and his/her sponsor co-exist with a mutually beneficial partnership with deals that can be worked out with each other. Usually, the deals always consist of the profit gained from telecasting a Trainer's gym or tournament battles.", he said.

"Professor, are you personally sponsoring someone?", I asked him with a glint of hope in my eyes.

"That I am. I have accepted to sponsor 4 kids with one being my grandson, Gary who you met downstairs. 2 of the other kids have already left after receiving their Pokémon and Trainer essentials. I was waiting for the fourth kid to show up, which was when you arrived. Ohh. and I will put in a word with Ms Joy at Viridian City Pokémon Centre since they usually take in Trainers who have unverified identities, and you are an unusual case of having amnesia with no previous records available on the system. By accepting the sponsor's deal you can also register that town as your base or hometown for your journey."

"Mmhmm, that was good to know Professor. Thank you.", I said smiling.

"You are welcome, boy. Ahh, before I forget, here is a backpack filled with Trainer essential items. It contains 6 Pokéballs, 6 Potions, 6 Antidotes, 6 Paralyze Heals, some Pokémon food and dry food for you to last till Viridian City. Take care to usually stock up on items at a town or city before each journey, since it is very essential for survival in the wild.", he said.

A bit scared I asked, "Are the Pokémon aggressive in the wild?"

"No, no. Pokémon are usually kind, docile and tolerable to us humans in their environment. But there are certain exceptions. There are certain Pokémon which can be territorial, and also those which become more aggressive during certain times of a day or breeding season.", he cautioned.

Prof. Oak continued, "Just in case, I took the liberty to install some new modules into your phone when you gave it to me to register your ID. Hope you don't mind. Your phone was almost non-existent without any basic modules. Check it out."

At his request, I took out my phone again and unlocked it. In it were four more new apps present excluding the Trainer ID app and Map app. Huh. Apps are referred to as Modules here. Interesting. So, the modules now present in my phone were:

1. Trainer ID

2. Map

3. Calls and Contacts (New)

4. Camera (New)

5. Pokédex (New)

6. Pokémon Status (New)

Nice. There is even a module that has the same name as that of the function that was unlocked earlier. I should look at it when I have time.

"Much appreciated Professor!! Is there anything that I need to know before I depart sir?", I asked Prof. Oak.

"Hmm..", he stood there pondering for a while. "Ahh!! How could I forget!! Let me ask you something Alex. What do you know about Pokéball?", asked Prof. Oak.

"Well, I know that Pokéball is a tool that is used to catch a Pokémon. Great Ball and Ultra Ball are higher grades of usual Pokéball with increased capture rates. There are also various kinds of Pokéballs such as Dusk Ball and Net Ball which help to capture different kinds of Pokémon in different circumstances or scenarios. Apart from them, there are also those which help with status conditions such as Heal Ball and those that increase friendship such as Luxury Ball.", I replied.

"Good. Very good. Though you know your way around the kinds of Pokéballs that exist, there is one crucial piece of information that you should remember. A Pokémon caught in the wild cannot be used immediately after capture. It has to be brought to a Pokémon Centre or a Pokémon Lab. to get the Pokéball containing the Pokémon to be linked with your Trainer ID, just as I did before with your Pidgey, a few moments ago."

What?! I thought as I stared at him with my mouth agape.

He continued, "This system was put in place since a trainer may not want to keep the Pokémon they caught with them. In that type of situation, the unregistered Pokémon can be sold for Pokémon Research to Pokémon Professors like me, or to your Sponsor who may require certain Pokémon. This also helps the Trainer to complete the Pokédex without having to think about the maintenance of the captured Pokémon."

I don't know how to feel about these things that have deviated from the lore of Pokémon. Should I open Pandora's box and ask whether we eat food made from Pokémon? No, I won't be able to digest all this info at once. Haaah. *sigh*

"I think that covers almost everything that you should know before setting out on a journey. Ahh. Gary must be about to explode as I already have spent so much time here with you since he was already raring to go. Ahh, he reminds me of the days when I used to be a hot-blooded Trainer myself. *ahem**cough* Let's head downstairs then.", he said motioning me to follow him downstairs.

Finally, the lecture was over and I got myself a Pokémon. Ace was still out of his Pokéball and perched on my shoulder.

One thing that I could glean from this lecture was that most of the things were similar to the Pokémon lore that I was familiar with, but there existed machinations that were completely different. So, I have to get up to date on these things at the earliest, or it can get the best of me.

We reached the living room downstairs.

Gary was still sitting on the sofa with a frustrated expression seeming to burst out with anger at the next moment. On seeing us, he got up and walked towards us. He glanced at me and saw Ace perched on me.

"Pfft!! BWAHAHAHA!!", he suddenly burst out laughing while stealing glances at Ace.

Suddenly feeling very irritated, I asked Gary, "Hey! You have a problem with Ace?"

"Sorry, sorry." He stopped laughing while clutching his stomach. "Hah, hah, I never knew you there was such a sore loser who would choose a Pidgey as their starter Pokémon which could be caught in the wild just outside Route 1. Hahaha.", replied Gary still laughing looking at me and Ace.

Grr... Both I and Ace were looking at Gary with a murderous glare.

"Now, now. Calm down, both of you. Gary, you should apologize to your fellow Trainer and his Pokémon, since every Pokémon is precious on its own.", said Prof. Oak chiding Gary for his childish behaviour.

"Sorry gramps. Sorry, Pidgey. Sorry loser. Hahaha"

Prof. Oak sighed and started giving the lecture that he gave me at the research lab before we came downstairs.

"We will get him later Ace", I whispered to Ace to calm him down. I will stay ahead of him each step in training Pokémon. I thought to myself determined to get stronger to shut the mouths of brats like Gary, who thinks that others are beneath them.

Once he finished lecturing Gary, Prof. Oak took us outside the lab. The crowd that was outside when I arrived was still there, now along with some cheerleaders in front of them. There was also a red sports car with no overhead roof behind them with a driver in it. On noticing us, the crowd started cheering, and the cheerleaders started chanting "Let's go, Gary, Let's go, Let's go!" on an encore while shaking the pom-poms they carried. Hmm. (*whistling* in my mind) Those figures are good.

Okay. I am getting sidetracked here.

Anyways, Gary went forward to address the crowd on how he would become the Pokémon Master and beat the Champion.

At that time, a seemingly familiar boy with black unkempt hair, wearing green and yellow pyjamas arrived at Prof. Oak's lab who was huffing loudly as he was out of breath.

*Ding*

___________________________

[Name]: Ash Ketchum

[Age]: 15

[Profession]: None

___________________________

*Ding*

___________________________

[Hidden Achievement Unlocked]

★ Meeting The World Protagonist ★

• Special Effect - The interaction between you and the world protagonist may lead to deviation from the events set in the timeline.

___________________________

Holy Shit... I don't want to get involved with Ash's messes during his adventures, though I want to get to know the lovely ladies that he usually travels with. This is a big headache. Major deviation could also lead to events that never took place in canon which can catch me off-handed, and drag me through unwanted troubles. Let's just be acquainted. Surely that won't break the timeline, right?

Hmm. And the profession/class tab is projected as 'none', which might be because he still hasn't registered himself as a trainer.

"Here's another loser, that too still in his pyjamas hahaha. Well, you must be Ash, Better late than never I guess. At least you get the chance to meet me, the future Pokémon Master.", said Gary.

"Gary?", Ash said with a bemused expression.

"Mr. Gary to you. Show some respect. Well, Ash, you snooze you lose. I got a Pokémon and you don't."

"You got your first Pokémon?"

"That's right loser. And it's right inside this Pokéball.", Gary sneered while he spun the Pokéball on top of his finger like a basketball.

"Let's go, Gary, Let's go, Yeah, Yeah", the cheerleaders continued with their encore.

"Thank you fans, thank you all for this great honour. I promise you that I will become a Pokémon Master and make the Pallet Town known all around the world!!", exclaimed Gary to the crowd.

"Yay", "Way to go", "Whoo" various remarks came in from the crowd while he made his speech.

"Excuse me?"

"Yea?"

"I was just wondering if you could tell me what kind of Pokémon you got."

"None of your business. If you showed up on time you would have seen that I got the best Pokémon from Professor Oak. It's good to have a grandfather in the Pokémon business, isn't it?", Gary said while climbing onto the car with his cheerleaders in tow.

"Thank you for coming out to see history in the making. Now I, Gary Oak, am of to learn the ways of a Pokémon Trainer!!", exclaimed Gary while the car sped off into the distance, and the crowd dispersed.

"I'll show you", said a determined Ash while looking at the departing Gary clenching his pumped-up fists.

At that time Prof. Oak and I approached Ash from behind at the gates.

"So, you decided to show up after all.", remarked Prof. Oak.

"Ohh, Prof. Oak! Where's my Pokémon?", he said with a glint of passion in his voice.

"Your Pokémon?", asked Prof. Oak.

"Yes, I'm ready", replied Ash with vigour.

"You look like you are ready for bed, not for Pokémon training. I hope you don't think you are going to train in your pyjamas.", joked Prof. Oak.

Ash looked down as his face flushed red with embarrassment, while I chuckled from the side.

On hearing me chuckle beside Prof. Oak Ash turned to the side and looked at me and Ace. With stars in his eyes, he asked, "Oh! Did you also get your Pokémon today? Wow, it's a Pidgey!"

Taken aback a little with surprise by his proactive approach, I scratched my head and introduced myself, "Hello, my name's Alex Riziero. You can just call me Alex. This guy here is my partner Ace." Ace gave a proud posture while I introduced him.

"Oh, excuse me. My name's Ash Ketchum and my dream is to become a Pokémon Master!", said Ash.

Uhh. Does this guy shout his dream whenever and to whomever he meets?

"Nice to meet you, Ash. Hope we can be both friends and rivals to each other."

"Me too."

Prof. Oak interjected in between, "Well you gotta get yourself a Pokémon, young man. And you are late today."

Ash said in an apologetic tone with his head down, "Oh no. Sorry, Professor. I got messed up and was a little late. But believe me, I'm ready for a Pokémon."

'Little', my ass. It's almost 2 PM. Even if he did break his alarm clock as in canon, how did he sleep in over lunchtime?

"We'll see.", Prof. Oak said to Ash. He then turned to me, "Well then Alex, I will be taking Ash for him to 'choose' his Pokémon. It's time for you to depart to Viridian City or you will lose precious daylight. Remember. Your Pokémons health and your health are always the priority. I also added my number to your contact list so that you can contact me whenever you need help with something."

I thanked the Professor and me and Ace said our goodbyes to Ash and Prof. Oak and started taking our first step towards Viridian City.

.

.

.