Chapter 1 - Pallet Town

Pallet Town is the first chapter of Speechless and aired on 12/1/2017.

Plot
This was it. Today's the day, he thought to himself, today would be the most important day of his entire life. Red had been waiting ever since he was eight years old to embark on his journey around the Kanto region with his starter alongside him, tackling the gyms and becoming eligible to participate in the Indigo League. Few of the trainers who do try to participate manage to get in, something that Red had thought about. He had been studying a lot about Pokémon and was even mentored by Professor Oak ever since he learned this fact in hopes that he'd become one of the trainers on television, battling the champion with his own Pokémon.

Red already had a starter Pokémon, albeit it was an unconventional starter that the professor did not give him but one that he found himself. It was a yellow rodent-like Pokémon known as Pikachu. He found it in a forest in Pallet Town one day and befriended it with ease after playing with it and saving it from a wild Pokémon, finding himself able to befriend it with ease. The white-haired boy had an affinity with Pokémon, managing to understand what they were saying with ease and could build a strong bond with them despite not being able to speak.

The fourteen-year-old, soon to be a trainer, had set his alarm clock to wake him up at six o'clock this morning last night but then set it to five o'clock to be safe. He had to get to Professor Oak's laboratory to receive a trainer card at seven, meaning he had two hours to get ready and arrive there. He had to arrive a few minutes early though in case something were to happen and delayed him a few minutes and by then the horde of wannabe trainers would be blocking the Professor's lab. Truthfully, Red also wanted to get a Pokédex, a digital encyclopedia that could scan Pokémon and then give them a description of them, their moves and moves they could learn, abilities, levels, everything there was to learn about it.

It was currently quarter past six and Red was eating breakfast in the dining room. A bowl of cereal rested in front of him alongside a glass of milk, and for Pikachu, there was a bottle of ketchup. He always found it weird that Pikachu was attracted to the condiment, gulping it down all at once like it was nothing.

Red's chair was propped up so he could eat his sugary bowl of cereal that was unhealthy and would probably give him diabetes while watching the TV. Red mainly used the TV to play games on his Wii, such as Super Smash Bros Brawl (he was almost complete with the Subspace Emissary) or New Super Mario Bros. Wii, but today was an exception as he was watching a recording of the earliest Pokémon League matches. There was a trainer facing the third Elite Four member, Agatha who specialized in ghost and poison types. The trainer bore an uncanny resemblance to Professor Oak, with dirty brown hair spiked to the right resembling his grandson's and thick eyebrows matching his usually stern expression.

Samuel Oak's team consisted of six Pokémon but was down to only three now due to the grim lady Agatha's Gengar taking out his Tauros with a finishing Sucker Punch. Red watched in anticipation as Samuel released his second-to-last Pokémon onto the rocky arena, a light purple, quadruped creature that had a horn on its head. He knew it was a Nidorino, recognizing the Poison Pin Pokémon from around the edges of the Pallet Town forest.

The one he found paled in comparison to Samuel's though, who he could tell was ready to evolve given its size. Its horn boasted an immense size and was a darker shade of purple as was the rest of its body, matching a Nidoking's impressive figure. Nidorino was also five feet tall, an exceptional height for its species, and it looked to weigh around one hundred pounds. Red knew for sure it'd be a threat to Agatha's team, even if it wasn't Samuel's strongest Pokémon; a title held by his Dragonite and Charizard.

That wasn't to say Agatha's Gengar wasn't a ferocious creature. It was also five feet tall, a little over average for its species height and roughly Nidorino's height, but it was incredibly light on its feet and packed incredible strength with an impressive moveset. Gengar took down Samuel's Tauros, an infamous Pokémon due to its sturdy build that was terrifying for any Pokémon on the receiving end of its Thrash attack. Gengar was Agatha's final Pokémon and her ace, notorious for also defeating Pokémon that were incredibly powerful. Red remembered when a man from the Alola region named Kukui challenged Agatha to a battle and used a canine Pokémon called Lycanroc who managed to defeat most of Agatha's team smoothly... Until it suffered a Shadow Ball attack from it.

Nidorino gained a fighting position as he was released from his Pokéball, mightily growling at the phantom Pokémon, Gengar. It followed Samuel's orders understandingly, dashing forward with its horn. Agatha's lips curled into a smug smile, her eyes flashing an expression of pity for a moment before regaining her overall vain appearance. Red knew about Samuel Oak's rivalry with Agatha but he had never expected Agatha to be so egotistical. She'd soon pay for her mistake of underestimating one of Samuel's well trained Pokémon.

Agatha ordered Gengar calmly. "Shadow Punch."

Gengar stepped off to the side, leaping into the air swiftly. Its fist was encased in a dark purple aura, colliding with Nidorino as Gengar landed gracefully on the ground. Nidorino was thrown aside by the attack, skidding across the ground and through multiple boulders with scratches covering its body. It appeared to have taken some damage prior to being sent out against Gengar, and the Shadow Punch seemed to have critically stricken an already injured spot.

"You can do it, Nidorino!" Red thought to himself, cheering mentally for his hero's Pokémon.

Nidorino groaned, taking another Shadow Punch from Gengar. It struggled to get up and brush off the attacks, stumbling forward as it narrowly missed another black orb of electricity. The Poison Pin Pokémon threw itself at Gengar, its horn gaining a purple aura that struck Gengar. Gengar skidded backward and slammed into a boulder, leaning forward as it was close to collapsing. Despite Tauros and Jigglypuff fainting to Gengar, they had managed to injure Gengar to the point Nidorino could finish it off in a few more moves.

"Nidorino, use Thunderbolt!" Samuel Oak said, regaining his composure.

Red was agape of the order, before shaking his head with a smile on his face as he remembered it was a Technical Machine move, or a TM move for short. Red's hands formed a string of signs to Pikachu, asking if he thought he'd learn Thunderbolt one day.

Pikachu's mouth released from the top of the ketchup bottle, nodding his head and giving a cry of agreement.

Red continued to watch the match, eyeing the screen closely as Nidorino released a bolt of thunder from its horn, striking Gengar with accurate precision. Gengar tried to avoid the attack, leaping into the air but was hit and thrown into the stadium walls. Red winced, thinking to himself about how Gengar would need to take a long rest after the match. Gengar fell onto the floor, creating a small-sized crater with dust cloaking the air. Agatha's mouth opened, closing firmly as she ordered it to get up.

"Gengar, get up, now." Agatha tapped her foot impatiently. "Come on, you're better than that."

Gengar sighed, slowly rising upward. It flashed its teeth, giving a smile that sent shivers down Nidorino's back. Lurching forward, Gengar's movements resembled a limp doll being held loosely together by strings. The announcers spoke in the background about the creepiness of Gengar, something which Red agreed with. The Shadow Pokémon emitted a dark and suspenseful ambiance as it crept forward. Nidorino backed away as Gengar neared it, dodging a punch. Gengar slammed its fist against Nidorino's horn where sparks were flying, a blast of electricity releasing from the horn and throwing Gengar across the stadium. Nidorino flew back from the collision of the two attacks, ramming into multiple boulders which broke into smaller chunks.

Dust covered the battlefield, clearing away for Samuel and Agatha to see that Gengar was lying on the ground, appearing to be unconscious, while Nidorino hung onto itself tightly, barely awake.

"And the winner is... Samuel Oak, from Pallet Town!" the announcer shouted, his voice barely audible due to the uproar of fans drowning him out.

Red leaped out of his chair, throwing his fist in the air while jumping up and down. Pikachu cocked his head at Red's sudden burst of energy but joined in regardless. Red stopped celebrating, silently laughing to himself as he thought about his own future as a trainer. One day he'd be up there, in the stadium facing Agatha on live television.

The sound of feet clicking against wood could be heard not too far away from Red, making him turn to find his mother walking down the stairs. Delia simply smiled, before glancing at the clock.

"Red, it's time to leave," she exasperatedly sighed. "I'll pack your bags while you go get your trainer card. You better hurry since it's almost seven."

Red widened his eyes, nodding his head before jolting towards the door. Pikachu leaped off the floor, pushing himself off Red's red and white jacket and onto his shoulder. Red thrust the door open, it whirling around to uncover a blue sky with wispy clouds and flocks of Pidgey soaring in the air. He couldn't help but smile at how beautiful it was outside, glancing around Pallet Town as he nimbly jogged along the unpaved road that led to Professor Oak's laboratory.

He took the time to enjoy his jog, catching a glimpse of a few kids, roughly ten years old, surrounding a plump brown avian Pokémon which he identified as Pidgey. They were getting riled up as one boy tossed a Pokéball directly towards it. He barely held the urge to laugh as the Pokéball missed, masking the amusement with a casual smile and a friendly wave to the kids. It reminded him of the competitions he had with Blue and his friends in elementary school, usually hunting down a Pokémon and trying to capture it or see who could catch the most amount of Pokémon in a limited amount of time.

The competitions rarely ended with Red winning though. He was excluded from the game when people realized he was also playing, and the scarce occasions he was allowed to play with them it usually ended with Blue winning. Blue had an aptitude for capturing Pokémon and raising them, often knowing the best movesets for a Pokémon and what sort of training they'd need to accomplish his goal. He was simply gifted in that area, earning the attention of students and teacher with his knowledge and acing tests without breaking a sweat.

There was one moment Red had won. He was eleven years old and had recently caught Pikachu, though he wasn't officially licensed due to Red lacking a trainer card, and managed to use Pikachu's Thunder Wave attack and Static ability to paralyze Pokémon and capture them. Blue caught ten. Red caught eleven.

Red shook his head and sighed, wondering where it all went wrong. Blue was his best friend for a majority of his life, both being the quiet kids at school who shared a passion for Pokémon. Blue didn't even like being popular at school, but for some reason, girls threw themselves at him and boys would always seek a battle with him. He learned sign language in order to communicate with Red, something that he wouldn't do now. This wasn't the day to reflect on his relationship with Blue though, he had a trainer card to receive.

Professor Oak's laboratory stood out from the rest of Pallet Town due to its incredible size, a large building with a ranch and wind turbine behind it that had all of Professor Oak's Pokémon. It was located on a hill that unfortunately steeped, making it hard to reach the top. Thankfully Professor Oak realized this and there was a gentle unpaved path built. While ascending the stairs, Red noticed a ferocious orange Pokémon resembling a dragon flying hundreds of meters above the lab, performing aerial tricks adroitly. Red peered his eyes at the Pokémon, trying to assess the creature's species. It could be a Dragonite, but Dragonite were a pale orange and this creature was a brilliant orange.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Red realized it was Professor Oak's Charizard. He should've suspected it was his Charizard due to his impressive height at a colossal nine feet. Dragonite was only around seven or eight feet tall, but to Red's credit, who's barely five feet tall they both look like they're the same height from a couple of hundred meters away. He couldn't help that he was short.

Red entered Professor Oak's laboratory with Pikachu on his shoulder, taking a few seconds to take in the familiar surroundings. Nothing changed in the past few months, everything remaining where he had last remembered. During his apprenticeship under Professor Oak, he had made visits to the lab frequently and often played with the elemental starter Pokémon and did whatever the objective was or tagged along Professor Oak to see his studies. It was mostly uneventful. The walls weren't as clean as before though, appearing a light gray with a tint of green compared to its originally vivid white colors. The entrance to the lab though didn't have much to offer, being a hallway that had a few doors that led to the library, living room, and the backdoor to the ranch.

The main interest was the research room located upstairs, where budding trainers went to get their starter Pokémon and where most of the technology was. Professor Oak's aides were there this morning, presumably preparing for the flurry of trainers that'd come in a few minutes. Red and Pikachu looked at the research floor and found Professor Oak's grandson.

Blue Oak.

"Hmph," Blue sneered, leaning against a wall while looking down. He had a smug smirk on his face that made Red repulse. "It's only Red? Heh, thought it was grampa. You know where he is?"

Despite Blue being capable of speaking in sign language to Red, he preferred voicing his thoughts instead. As a kid though, Blue would always speak in sign language to Red because both kids were able to communicate to each other perfectly and it was less awkward that way. Ever since they had a fallout, Blue only spoke aloud.

Red's pinky and ring finger were both closed and his other three fingers were wide open, snapping together to form a "no".

Blue shook his head, his smirk vanishing into a frown. He pushed himself off of the wall, walking upstairs to the balcony. Red wasn't sure what he was doing but shrugged off that thought and walked downstairs. He knew Professor Oak wasn't too far away from his lab, probably on Route One doing field work or in the forest near the edges of Pallet Town where the ports resided. Red had walked near the ports a few times, mainly to get to the Pallet Town forest, but he had never been there and went on one of the jets. Most kids never went too far out of Pallet Town, though a large part of that dealt with the Spearow flock residing on Route One, notorious for terrorizing novice trainers due to being an easy target.

A Thunder Shock from Pikachu would be more than enough for them though.

Red found himself on the outskirts of Route One. Rattata that were hunting for food paused upon seeing the trainer, scurrying away in fear that he'd harm them or more specifically the mouse Pokémon sitting on his shoulder with electricity crackling from the red twin pouches on his face. He couldn't help but chuckle considering Pikachu was a friendly Pokémon for the most part.

Route One extended for miles, and it could take hours to find Professor Oak. There wasn't a path that could help lead him to the Kanto professor, which only added more to the dilemma. Sighing, Red trudged along the ground with uncut grass that went a little above his shins. He wasn't enjoying this very much since he had more important things to do, along with the dozens of people outside of Professor Oak's lab.

After a few minutes of silence throughout the route, Red finally heard a rustling sound. The grass was shaking for a few seconds, the source of the rustling leaping toward Red in a blur. Pikachu leaped off Red's shoulder and latched himself onto the purple creature, pinning it to the ground. Red couldn't contain the excitement he was feeling; this was his first real battle! Never mind it was a wild Pokémon, this was an actual battle!

Pikachu held onto the purple Pokémon, holding a tight grip that could probably squeeze the oxygen out of it. Red punched the air, his fingers popping out to resemble a fizzling gesture that was meant to look like Thunder Shock. Pikachu cocked his head, staring at Red's hand which repeated the action. His eyes widened in realization, turning his attention back to the furry creature. It was a purple rodent Pokémon with a creamy white coloring on its stomach and two oversized front teeth. Red eyed the creature known as Rattata, knowing Pikachu wouldn't enjoy a bite from its upper front teeth.

The electricity crackling around Pikachu's red sacs were released, striking the Rattata with bolts of the overwhelming current. Defenseless due to Pikachu holding him, Rattata tried squirming out of its grip but couldn't budge. Fangs bit down on Pikachu's tiny arms, forcing Pikachu to let go of the Rat Pokémon. Red wanted to help Pikachu out in some way, but the only way the two could communicate was through gestures Pikachu struggled to understand.

Rattata sprung towards Pikachu with its fang first, Pikachu ducking the attack in a sensuous slink. He whirled around to face the fang-bearing creature who was doing its best to intimidate Pikachu, puffing its chest out and emitting a sharp hissing sound. Red scoffed before squinting his eyes and cocking his head to the side. A white foam was seeping out of the corners of Rattata's mouth, oozing on the sides of its jaw. He had to warn Pikachu somehow...

Rattata hopped into the air on its two back feet, diving towards Pikachu with its paws stretched out and fangs aiming at it. Pikachu dodged the predictable move, stepping off to the side while sticking its tongue out and stretching the lid of its eyes. He wasn't taking the match seriously but would soon, Red thought, Rattata seemed to be an unsafe Pokémon and could have PokéRus. It would be a dangerous illness that could put Pikachu on the sidelines for weeks, if not months.

Red did what every amateur trainer would've done to end a wild battle: He hurled himself at Pikachu's way and caught him in his arms before bolting away from the potentially dangerous Rattata. He wasn't going to take any chances. He sprinted as fast as he could, his legs becoming an automatic machine in the process. There was no stopping for him. Passing by trees and small ponds filled with Pokémon, Red eventually halted, causing him to skid and hit his foot against a rock, throwing himself onto the ground, rolling near the edges of a cliff on the Route One outskirts. His exhausted body tipped over, plummeting towards his eventual death along with Pikachu's.

No. He couldn't allow that. Red was only fourteen, barely a teenager. He hadn't even embarked on his journey, just at the beginning of Route One to fetch Professor Oak. This couldn't happen. It couldn't. Red had to find a way to survive.

Red gripped onto Pikachu's body who was curled up in a ball, positioning himself so he'd land on the ground feet-first. He could brush the back of his shoe against the cliff wall, dragging himself downward at a slower pace and controlling the situation. There was no other option that wouldn't leave him with broken legs, so he had to take it...

Red slammed his left heel against the wall and then planted his right heel against it, his body slowing down and drifting along the wall, but he was still falling or sliding in this instance. He pushed himself off of the cliff wall with both feet and observed the area in a split-second. Below him was two paths carved apart by a stream of water, with a couple of trees on the right side and the wall on his left side. There was nowhere to land that wouldn't result in injury, or worse, death. Red's eyes widened in delight as he realized something. A branch stuck out of the cliff.

He knew exactly what to do. He grabbed onto the branch while falling, it snapping almost instantaneously. Red bent his knees and was falling feet-first, holding Pikachu as he fell the remainder of the fall - which wasn't very much, granted. It was a lot safer doing this, though he was hurt and collapsed onto the ground.

Pikachu was held tightly in his arms, avoiding any damage due to Red securing his head and body with one hand...

Red, on the other hand, was injured slightly. It was nothing serious, only a few scrapes that would heal within the day, maybe one or two scratches that would last a few more days due to throwing himself onto the ground and getting jabbed by a few jagged rocks. His shoulder did hurt a lot though. Red pushed himself onto his side while laying down, holding himself up with his elbow, and tried to catch his breath, clutching his side with his free hand while his head lowered as he tried to catch his breath. It wouldn't hurt to take a rest for one minute... Just one minute.

His eyes awakened, finding himself lying on the ground while holding Pikachu. How long had it been? Surely it was just a few minutes, he had been repeating "just one minute" in his head after all.

The teenage boy pushed himself up, now on his knees with his head lowered. The aching in his shoulder came back, a sign that was definitely not good. He had to push forward, Professor Oak was nearby, he just knew it.

Red stood up and walked with Pikachu beside him, following the direction of the stream. It was significantly quieter here (wherever here was) than it was on the outskirts, not many trainers were here and Pokémon either. He rarely encountered Rattata or Pidgey anymore, and it made the route feel empty.

Eventually, his legs started to tire after what felt like hours of speedwalking or jogging. Red found a large, rather smooth boulder that he could sit on so he did. The two partners ate berries that Pikachu had stumbled upon, eating them in silence. Pikachu shot a glance at Red, who appeared to be thinking, and frowned. He knew his trainer was currently trying to find Professor Oak, but ever since they fell off the cliff Red took less joy in this adventure.

Red got off of the boulder, walking away. His fingers were colored blue now due to the juices the Oran Berry left. The special berry was actually used to heal Pokémon, a natural medicine the Nurse Joys called them, but was also edible by humans. They didn't give the same results to a human they did with a Pokémon, appearing to be just a sweet fruit, but the juices inside restored Pokémon's energies quickly along with the other benefits it had.

Pikachu knew he was done and sprinted after him.

Finally finding Professor Oak, hours after they'd left Pallet Town, they were surprised to find him out in an open field protecting a suitcase from three angry Spearow. Red ran into the commotion, Pikachu following, and stepped in front of Professor Oak.

"Red! It's nice to see you, but now's not the time," Professor Oak said gently at first, but his voice quickly became stern. "It's too dangerous for you to handle them all al -"

Red wasn't listening, instead commanding Pikachu with gestures that they'd finally mastered while searching for the professor. Pikachu darted towards one Spearow and blasted it with a surge of electricity. It went down quickly after another Thunder Shock, Red noting that Spearow was a flying type and as a result weak to electric type attacks.

One other Spearow flanked Pikachu, striking his side with its beak in a blur. It quickly appeared behind Pikachu who appeared to have some minor bleeding, rushing towards Pikachu again beak-first. Pikachu was luckily more clever than the Tiny Bird Pokémon and lashed its tail from behind after hearing the sound of wind rushing behind him, smacking Spearow into a tree.

The final Spearow was terrorizing Professor Oak, having an agitated look in its eyes. The professor must've angered it somehow, and Red had to calm it down or put it down. Red dashed towards the suitcase and swung it at the Spearow, purposely driving it away from Professor. Sheets fell out of the suitcase, which he stepped on and slid behind him to protect. It now directed its anger at Red, darting towards his injured shoulder beak-first. Red would regret his action, he just knew it.

Pikachu dove into the air, tackling Spearow mid-air and pinning it down to the ground. Bolts of electricity repeatedly struck Spearow, the Mouse Pokémon torturing it with its electric attacks. Red's eyes widened in horror. Was it going to kill the Spearow?

Red rushed towards Pikachu, trying to pull it away from the Spearow. It wouldn't budge though and accidentally redirected its Thunder Shock attack, the current of the electricity passing through Red's body and rendering him unconscious. Professor Oak gaped, and even Pikachu realized what it did just then.

Red awoke to find himself on a bed in a white room. Bookshelves were resting against the wall, and machines were scattered throughout the room. It didn't look like a conventional hospital room, it resembled a laboratory more. Professor Oak's laboratory to be specific. White tiles, bookshelves, machinery. It had to be Professor Oak's lab.

Red jolted upwards, the sheets that were lying on him thrown into the air. What happened? He had bandages on his shoulder and there were a lot of wipes that had a red liquid - he didn't want someone to confirm his suspicions - lying on a desk next to him. Red groaned as he instinctively held his shoulder. Professor Oak came into the room, startled by Red's now conscious presence.

"Ah, I see you've awakened," Professor Oak said, collecting himself. "Pikachu had accidentally electrocuted you because it feared that you'd get injured even more, and you, well, were thought to be in a coma."

Red sighed. No wonder Professor Oak had gotten scared.

"You're fine though, I've treated your injuries. What were you thinking though going out without any items and running into a battle with a savage Pokémon?" Professor Oak started to fire away questions. "You know as well as I do, that was a very irresponsible decision,"

"But, at the same time... Thank you. Even though you stepped on some of my research and gotten mud all over it - the reason I was protecting the suitcase, you had saved me," Professor Oak rambled more, before remembering what the day was. "I see now, today was the day I gave out Pokémon to beginning trainers along with Pokédex and trainer cards, wasn't it?"

Red nodded. So Pokédex were being given out to a broader mass now, which meant he'd receive one.

Professor Oak chuckled at the nod, shaking his head furiously at his mistake. "Meet me upstairs, I'll prepare my reward for you."

Red hopped off the bed, moaning at the pain he felt as his legs wobbled when trying to walk. His legs weren't injured besides the fall he had a few hours ago, but it felt like Pikachu had blasted him with one hundred thousand volts. He managed to walk properly, guiding himself by holding onto nearby objects. He had to remind Professor Oak where was Pikachu, but it was likely the professor was keeping it somewhere upstairs.

After walking up the stairs with little struggle, Red was surprised to find the machine that contained three Pokéball, and this time another Pokéball with a lightning bolt symbol in the center of the three Pokéball.

"I've given your Pikachu a Pokéball and healed him," Professor Oak said with a half-hearted laugh, standing near the machine. "He didn't seem to enjoy the Pokéball very much though."

Red smiled. Pikachu had gotten used to being out of a Pokéball and always being with Red for the past three or four years since he never had one, so it made sense he wouldn't like a tool that rendered him in a stasis now.

"Along with that, I've prepared a Pokédex and your trainer card."

Red's guess was (thankfully) confirmed. Professor Oak was starting to hand out Pokédex to beginning trainers now since it'd help keep them alive. He shuddered at the thought, remembering the period in Kanto when ten and eleven-year-olds calling themselves "youngsters" had been allowed to become trainers. Even the gifted prodigies had died. As a result, the age was bumped up to 14 and schools had started devoting more time to survival skills out in the wild, Pokémon battles, taking care of Pokémon, any and every precaution that would save a life.

"It's not fair that Blue got a starter since he had an Eevee, so I'm granting you a starter of your choice," Professor Oak said, waking Red up from his current choice.

Red frowned at that statement. Those were incredibly hard to buy, costing an amount of money that Red probably hadn't learned in school yet. To rub it in, he was getting a starter as a reward for saving the professor's life and Blue was getting a starter for no reason, especially considering he then had two Pokémon. Professor Oak rolled his eyes, realizing what Red was thinking.

"Red, I know Blue's... A bit of a jerk, but I gave him a starter so he'd learn to take care of it and eventually bond with it," Professor Oak said with a tone that resembled Red's mother when she was finished with an argument. "Eevee are hard to raise, especially with the attitude he has now, so he'll eventually manage to soften."

He didn't agree with Professor Oak, but he wasn't going to argue. Mainly because he couldn't since Professor Oak knew very little ASL. Red walked over to the machine and picked Pikachu's Pokéball, releasing his first Pokémon from it.

Pikachu instantly tackled Red's leg and nuzzled it with appreciation. He truly was sorry for hurting Red and didn't mean to. Red kneeled down and patted Pikachu's head, giving him a warm smile that seemed to erase Pikachu's memory of the electrocution event. His trainer was kind in that way.

"You see, it was all just an accident. His instincts kicked in and he saw you in a position where it looked like you need protection," Professor Oak noted.

Red turned his view to the machine with three balls with red and white halves joined by a black strip where the button was. He recognized the devices as Pokéball, used to store Pokémon and transport them. He knew the starter in and out, studying about them and interacting with them while he was Professor Oak's apprentice. The first Pokéball was the grass and poison type, Bulbasaur. It was the only dual-type starter in Kanto, specializing in status and special attack moves. It's also a tank, able to brush off attacks like its nothing, though that was only in its Venusaur stage.

The second Pokéball was the water type, Squirtle. Its final stage, Blastoise, was very powerful and had the best defense. If Venusaur was a tank, Blastoise was the tank that'd tip over the other tank with ease. Red was bad with comparisons. It shared similar flaws to Bulbasaur and Ivysaur in its first two stages, being a small and speedy Pokémon, but in its final stage it'd make up for it with its powerful attacks.

The final Pokémon was the popular fire type, Charmander. It was a beast in its final form, incredibly fast with an extraordinary high special attack. Lance and Professor Oak had one, both which were able to destroy towns if they wanted to. Every kid growing up wanted one, it was just that popular.

Except for rock-type specialists such as Brock, who enjoyed seeing trainers send out a Pokémon that had a double weakness to rock types.

Red didn't need to think much about his choice and grabbed the one to the far left, Bulbasaur's Pokéball. The dual-typed grass and poison Pokémon had an array of moves that were more status and special-orientated and it was capable of taking many hits in a row with ease, and he was trying to build his team around what he currently had; Pikachu only. If he had chosen Charmander, he would struggle against Brock and any other rock or ground-type specialists and there weren't many Pokémon before Pewter City that could take on Brock. They were especially hard to raise due to their temper and stubbornness, but that didn't stop the amateurs who'd thought they could raise the next champion-sweeping Charizard. Squirtle was also a good choice but by the time gym leaders and more skilled trainers had Pokémon weak to it, he'd have a decently-sized team that had Pokémon of similar battling styles and/or typing.

It was the safest choice and the one that'd benefit in the long run, ultimately.

Red looked at the semi-transparent red top, noticing the miniaturized Bulbasaur inside who gave a grin to him. He grinned back at the Seed Pokémon, whose smile was impossibly wide for an already wide mouth.

"Now, since Pokédex are becoming mainstream, a few additional features were added and the upgrade for it was made yesterday night," Professor Oak noted, adding more. "Pokédex will identify trainer cards now and act as a digital version, keeping information such as who's on your team and information on them and other useful things."

Red's eyes widened. Science was amazing!

"Why not scan your Bulbasaur with your Pokédex? Since the Pokéball belongs to me it doesn't officially recognize it." Professor Oak pointed at Red's Pokédex.

He tossed Bulbasaur's Pokéball into the air, it bouncing off of the floor and shooting out a white plasma-like substance that formed into the shape of a small, quadruped green Pokémon with a large bulb that was a darker shade of green, matching the triangle-shaped marks spotted across its (Red had to check its gender on the Pokédex soon...) body. Bulbasaur's pointed ears perked up immediately and it let out a cry, glancing around the room before recognizing its trainer who it strolled over to. Red smiled, going down on one knee and patted Bulbasaur's head with one hand while scanning it with his other.

"Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokémon. Bulbasaur can be seen napping in bright sunlight. There is a bulb on its back right from the day this Pokémon is born that progressively gets larger by soaking up the sun's rays, indicating when it is ready to evolve by the size of the bulb."

The AI, Dexter, read the information on the page of the Pokédex for Red, who was taking in the information of the Bulbasaur species. Holding in his palm the book-shaped device, he pressed the touchscreen and found more detailed information on another page. A pop-up blocked a section of the screen, asking:

"Would you like to claim this Pokémon?" with a big YES/NO button on the side. That meant that despite being in a Pokéball, the Pokéball wasn't registered under Professor Oak... Red shooed his thoughts away, pressing the yes button.

A screen asking if he'd like to nickname his Pokémon followed the pop-up, to which Red pressed no. Despite him wanting to nickname his Pokémon and refer to them by it, he couldn't communicate to them besides gestures and body language so it was pointless giving them a nickname appearing in the Pokédex that they wouldn't even know about. Finally, Red had found the screen giving more detailed information on his Bulbasaur and learned it was a male.

Red looked up at Bulbasaur, who was napping. He didn't think the Pokémon realized the only sunlight in the room was glaring through the windows...

He went back to his Pokédex, looking at Bulbasaur's height (which was two feet and four inches, average for his species) and weight (thirty pounds, a little over average), his moveset, ability, level, where it had met, and ID number. The ones he were most interested in were Bulbasaur's moveset and ability, the latter which was Overgrow, a common ability on Bulbasaur. His moveset consisted of Tackle, Growl, and a rare move on Bulbasaur known as Curse. Bulbasaur weren't capable of learning Curse, and he had checked the learnset on an earlier page.

Professor Oak hovered over Red, smiling. "It appears you've noticed Bulbasaur knows Curse," Professor Oak said. "You may know about egg moves, moves that are bred onto Pokémon," he added, filling in the clues for Red. "Starter Pokémon are typically bred and domesticated and have been in recent years, to avoid cases of Pokémon turning on their trainers. Usually, they're done at Breeding Centers in the region, ours on Route 5 connected to the daycare, and your mother works there and managed to make a special deal with me and bred a few sets of starters with egg moves."

Red nodded, absorbing the information. Most of this was obvious but he didn't connect it together. His mother was spending countless nights away and he stayed home alone, and she often appeared groggy. It all made sense, especially since egg moves are incredibly hard to breed onto a Pokémon and even the Johto region's Professor Elm, the main authority over breeding research, wasn't sure why sometimes only the father or mother would only pass down egg moves. Especially since that meant his mom had to go and find other Pokémon to breed with hers in order to get the egg move, a difficult task of its own added in with the other factors.

That reminded him of his mother more. She was a trainer and caught many Pokémon in her day, helping with Professor Oak's research and ultimately contributing to the creation of the Pokédex. Her Pokémon were incredibly powerful, not on the scale of Lance's or Professor Oak's, but he was sure she could've at least made it to the finals of the Indigo League and possibly beat Lorelei and Bruno of the Elite Four. Instead, she decided to settle down and had a child (him, if that wasn't obvious) and became a Pokémon Breeder.

"Now that you've learned about how your Pokédex works and have your trainer card too, I take it you'll be visiting your mother and then leave to Viridian?" Professor Oak asked with a smile.

Red nodded and gave a grin.

"It's about a day or two away from here, the Pokémon shouldn't give you much trouble now that you have two - both who I believe will become some of your most powerful Pokémon," Professor Oak said, nodding at Bulbasaur and Pikachu.

Pikachu let out a cry resembling a squeak of agreement, and Bulbasaur also made a cry agreeing with the Kanto Professor.

"I truly believe you are a gifted trainer," Professor Oak said quietly. "You essentially have a photographic memory and know a lot about battling already, but that's not all you need to know. There's more to battling and being a trainer than that, including caring and raising your Pokémon which will benefit you in battle. Ah, but being gifted isn't everything, right?"

Red nodded, though he didn't agree. If you weren't gifted, you wouldn't be the next Lance, you'd be the Top 128 or 64 in the League and that wasn't good enough. He waved at Professor Oak, walking out of the laboratory. He reached his house, which had a distinctive red roof compared to other houses which had a blue or green one. He swung open the door and walked in, his Pikachu and Bulbasaur following after him. Bulbasaur didn't care if it was in its Pokéball, being open-minded about it, but Red let him out so they could all bond.

Delia, his mother, was on the couch watching TV. Alert by the sound of the door open, she turned around with a look of shock on her face before calming down.

"Oh, you'd scared me! You hadn't visited yet so I thought you were already gone and... Wait, you have a Bulbasaur?" she asked, cocking her head. "That Bulbasaur looks familiar... Its patch pattern looks like it was from the Bulbasaur I bred..."

Red spoke in sign language, holding one hand directly in front of him turned with his thumb facing him, and held his other hand in a fist with his thumb sticking out in front of his left hand. He pulled his right hand forward, his thumb closing, to say "ability".

"What about it?" Delia asked. Her eyes widened in realization as she figured out what Red meant. "It's the one with the hidden ability! Where did you get it from? Professor Oak?"

Red nodded.

"Have you tried out your Pokédex yet?" Delia asked.

Red gave another nod.

"This is all so... shocking," Delia said, to which Pikachu responded with a Thunder Shock that thankfully missed and only hit a wall. "Well, I guess you're a trainer now."

This time, Red grinned at the remark. He was a trainer now. He had been waiting for years, and he was finally a trainer... Red snapped out of his thoughts as his mother squeezed him tightly, embracing him in a hug that should've killed him.

Delia laughed as she realized she was being a bit too strong. "Just... Don't get hurt, okay Red? Call me every day, I want to see your progress and make sure everything is alright. I also want to see your gym badges!" Delia grinned at Red. "When you come back, you'll be the Pokémon League champion!"

Red glanced at his Bulbasaur and Pikachu, before looking back up at his mom. He'd do this... Red would become the Kanto Champion and nobody would stop him!

Major Events

 * Red starts his Pokémon journey.
 * Red receives a Pokédex and his Trainer Card.
 * Bulbasaur joins Red's team.

Characters

 * Red
 * Professor Oak
 * Delia
 * Blue (mentioned)

Pokémon

 * Red's Pikachu
 * Red's Bulbasaur
 * Nidorino (on TV)
 * Gengar (on TV)
 * Spearow (x3; wild)
 * Rattata

Trivia

 * It's revealed Red has white hair and red eyes, an implication that he has albinism.
 * Red makes a reference to the Japanese name of Thunderbolt, "One Hundred Thousand Volts".
 * Red's Pikachu liking ketchup is a reference to Ash's Pikachu from the anime.
 * Spearow taking an antagonistic role is based on the anime, and Pokémon Sun and Moon.
 * Red gaining a Bulbasaur is inspired by the Pokémon Adventures manga.
 * This was mainly because Bulbasaur was the first Pokémon in the Pokédex.
 * It may also have to do with the author liking Bulbasaur.
 * The opening scene was directly based off of the one seen in Red & Green (or Blue in Western countries) and in FireRed & LeafGreen.
 * It is applied to Professor Oak and Agatha due to their canon rivalry and Professor Oak being implied to have been a champion in the anime (and possibly games) and it being canon in the Adventures manga.
 * Professor Oak mentions caring and raising for Pokémon, stating that it'll help you in battle. This is a reference to the feature originating in Pokémon X and Y called Pokémon Amie.