Malik Blaze's Pokémon Journey: Book One; Galar

Chapter One: Getting Started

The world of Pokémon. A wonderful place full of mystery, people, and of course, Pokémon! Some people have Pokémon has pets. Some study them to learn more about their behavior. And some train them for battling other trainers in Pokémon battles. At the age of twelve, children set forth on their journeys to determine their future careers. One boy in the Galar region by the name of Malik has just turned twelve, and him and his friend Hop are eager to get new Pokémon! Who knows what awaits the two!

Our story begins in the sleepy town of Postwick where Malik and Hop are getting ready to get their certified starter Pokémon, and begin the Galar Gym Challenge. They both already have Pokémon, but because you can't catch any until you have your trainers license, they can't use them yet. Malik has a Wooper and Hop has a Wooloo. After getting dressed, the two boys meet up outside of Hop's house.

"You ready?" Asks Malik, with Wooper on his shoulder.

"You bet I am!" Hop replies, as Wooper hops off to play with Wooloo.

The two start heading off towards Wedgehurst, where the Professor of the Galar region, Professor Magnolia, will give them one of three Pokémon; Scorbunny, Grookey, or Sobble. The boys both knew from very young ages that they were going to be trainers, it was in their blood. Hop's older brother is Leon, the current champion of Galar, and Malik's father is Norman, one of the gym leaders in the Hoenn region.

They rushed through route one, dodging any Pokémon they saw, and rushed into Wedgehurst, immediately heading for the lab. They went up to the door and knocked.

The door opened and there was professor Magnolia, a short, kind looking old lady. "You must be Malik and Hop!" She said inviting them in with a wave. "Your Pokémon are ready for you!"

On a table sat three pokeballs, one with a leaf on it, one with a flame on it, and one with a raindrop.

"I'll let you pick first Hop," said Malik, while Wooper looked at the pokeballs with interest.

"That was a bad decision!" Hop said with a laugh. "I'll pick the grass Pokémon Grookey to have an advantage over your Wooper!"

"Well in that case," Malik said, a grin on his face. "I'll have to give up my original plan of Sobble, since that would put me at a serious disadvantage." He reached forward and grabbed the fire Pokémon Scorbunny's pokeball.

"Alrighty then!" Said a voice behind them. "I'll take Sobble with me!" They turned around to see Leon standing there, with his Charizard right behind him.

"Leon!!!" Hop ran over to hug his older brother "it's been so long since I've seen you in person!"

"Hey Lil bro! Looks like you've grown," he pauses. "about one and a quarter inch since I've last seen you!"

"Exactly right Lee! I don't get how you're so good at that, but you're pants with directions."

"Thanks Hop." Leon said sarcastically, before turning to Malik. "And look at how much you've grown! You're just about as tall as Hop!"

"Alright let's stay focused, there's still two more important things for you boys to do." The professor went over to her computer and began typing. A few seconds later, she grabbed two things that had come out of a printer. "These are your official Trainers Licenses! With these you can catch Pokémon and can enter the Gym Challenge!" She handed one to Malik and one to Hop.

"Alright! We're officially Pokémon trainers!"

"And the second important thing," the professor said, reaching into her desk. "Is to give you these!" She pulled out two small computer chips. "By giving the data from these to your Rotom phones you can store items, like pokeballs and potions, on your Rotom phone! I've already given you 20 pokeballs and 10 potions to start off!

"Awesome! That will make carrying stuff around super easy!"

"And one extra thing. Now that you have a Pokémon you can give it a name, to help strengthen the bond of friendship between you!"

"Hmm." Malik was struggled to think of a good name. "I think I'll have to take a look at my Scorbunny before I can have a good idea for a name"

"That's a good idea!" Hop said.

They both pressed the buttons on their pokeballs, and the two Pokémon popped out. Scorbunny was a small, energetic red rabbit, with something like a bandaid on its nose and feet.  Grookey was a small green monkey, with a stick in its the leaf like thing on top of its head that it uses for drumming.

"I think..." Malik said, looking over his new pal.  "I'm gonna name him Kicker! Hi Kicker!"

Upon hearing its new name, Kicker jumped up and down with joy, and started running all over the place.

"Calm down Kicker!" Malik said, laughing. When the Scorbunny finally settled down Malik put his hand in a fist and showed it to Kicker, who gave him a fist bump!

"The I think I'll name my Grookey Beats!" Hop exclaimed.

As Beats ran around, drumming on everything it could see, Malik heard a small whining in his ear. "Wooper! Oh how could I forget!" Malik summoned a pokeball out of his Rotom phone. "Ready to officially be partners?" Wooper nodded, then hopped up and hit the button on the pokeball with its head. The ball shook three times and stopped. "Alright! I just caught Wooper!"

He sent out Wooper who immediately began running around causing chaos with Kicker and Beats. "I've been thinking about a name for him." Malik said with a grin. "His name is Bigo! Because soon I'll be able to dynamax him, and he'll become ginormous!"

"Oh that's right!" Cried professor Magnolia. "I need to order you two some dynamax bands! Though it may take a day or two..."

"That's fine!" Said Hop, with his grookey drumming on his head. "I know the perfect way to pass the time! Malik, I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"