A long journey to be the best
“Wait! You’re serious, today?!”
“Yes, today’s the day. No longer are we mere boys, today we are men and our Pokémon journey begins”
“I thought we were waiting until we turned twelve?”
“I’ve changed my mind; traditions dictate that we leave at ten years of age, so we shall”
“But Gabe, why today?”
“Because of the great Ash Ketchum, of course”
Miles groaned, he should have known that would be the answer. His best friend was obsessed with the 25-year-old Pokémon master. If he had to guess, today was a significant date to the well-known trainer or he just won a youngest something award that Gabe felt he just had to beat. Whatever the case, Miles knew he wasn’t getting out of this one.
“But, but, I haven’t even packed or told my parents or-“
“Don’t worry Miles my dear pal, I’ve got all of that covered. I told both our parents yesterday. Your dad said he’d dig out his old tent for you” Gabe grinned from ear to ear and began dragging his friend along the path.
“We don’t even have our first Pokémon!”
“Relax, that’s where we’re headed now. I managed to convince Professor Oak to give us something unusual just like Ash”
Miles groaned once again, rubbing a hand down his face; none of this sounded like a good idea.
……………………………
“So, you guys want to be like Ash Ketchum, huh? You know, it was I that gave him his Pikachu” Professor Oak boasted, typing on his keyboard.
“Oh, yeah! We’re totally aiming to surpass him as the best trainers from Pallet town!”
“Oh ho ho, quite a feat. Well I guess, young Gabe Snatchem and Miles Runnen, you two will need your first Pokémon”
Gabe was vibrating with excitement while Miles did his best to smile and nod. Feeding off the energy of Gabe, Professor Oak notes none of the weariness in Miles. With a hearty laugh, he hands the boys their Pokédexes and their first Pokémon.
“Go on then, see what you got” the professor encourages.
Gabe wastes no time, pushing the button on his poké ball. With a flash of light, a small Pokémon appeared before their eyes. They both stared at the creature in awe, neither boy had seen the small hamster looking Pokémon before.
“Now, you two wouldn’t normally be able to use your Pokédex for your Pokémon since they aren’t from our region. I went ahead and entered these manually so you two wouldn’t be left in the dark. Go ahead and give it a try”
They held up their Pokédexes and scanned the Pokémon in front of them, revealing it to be Morpeko. The Pokédex rattled off the basic information on Morpeko, although Gabe had stopped listening after the name.
“Come on Miles, call yours out” Gabe pushed, disrupting the other boy from listening to the entry.
Miles hit the button on his Poké ball and once again found himself looking at a foreign Pokémon. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Professor Oak willingly giving two new trainers completely unknown Pokémon, but he knew this couldn’t end well. The Pokédex revealed his Pokémon to be Toxel. He felt some relief to hear the device call his Pokémon the baby Pokémon so maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to handle.
“All right! We both got electric types, this is perfect” Gabe exclaimed.
The Professor gave them the rest of what they needed and sent them on their way.
………………………..
“To Pewter City, lead the way Miles”
Miles adjusted his glasses and pulled out the map with a little grumble. He couldn’t believe their parents just let them go; they even had bags packed for them. While he was appreciative of the supplies, he felt betrayed that not one of the four adults read the silent pleas in his eyes and suggested they wait a little longer. To make matters worse, Toxel was already proving itself to not be a tame Pokémon as it popped out of its Poké ball for the fifth time.
“Toxel, return” He ordered shakily. It didn’t listen.
“Aw, you’re so lucky. Your Pokémon doesn’t listen to you just like Ash’s Pickachu didn't”
Miles squinted at his best friend, watching as he almost mockingly nuzzled cheeks with Morpeko.
This was going to be a long journey to be the best.
