Pokémon : The Journey of Travis Tedford

Chapter One: Happy Birthday

I was sound asleep when my mom came bursting into my room with a cake in her hands. "Happy Birthday, Travis! You're finally 10 years old!" she shouted. I quickly jumped out of bed. At first, I was annoyed, but then when I realized what day it was, I quickly turned my frown upside down. "Finally! Does this mean that today's finally the day I get my first Pokémon?" I asked with such excitement. "Yes! I already spoke to Professor Oak, and he said you can head on over anytime you're ready!" she said with a giant smile on her face. I quickly hopped out of bed and ran into the shower and changed into some casual clothes before running out of the house toward the Professor's lab. That's right, I resided in Pallet Town, which was known for being the hometown of the current Pokémon Champion, Red. I remember 5 years ago when I had first met Red. He saved me from a group of wild Beedrill when he first left on his journey. Ever since then, I aspired to become a trainer just as great as he is. When I arrived there, I found that my best friend, Efren, was already outside of the lab waiting for me. "Finally, I've been waiting here for half an hour!" he said. "Is that any way to talk to the birthday boy? Besides, you didn't have to come! I wanted to surprise you with whatever Pokémon I pick anyways!" I said. "Well, I'm leaving town today. That's why I've been here waiting for you. I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye first," said Efren. I couldn't help but feel a bit sad. Efren and I had been best friends since we were in preschool together. We became fast friends after I beat up a bunch of bullies that picked on him for being autistic and for claiming to be gay at such a young age. Despite being 6 months younger than me, his parents allowed him to raise a Pokémon at the age of 9. I never told him this, but I always had a slight crush on him since the day I first met him, which resulted in me defending him from the bullies. I was sad to hear that he was leaving, but I couldn't help but smile and be happy for him. "We've spent every day talking about this day for the past 5 years, and it's finally come. You take care of yourself, Efren. As soon as I get my Pokémon and run into you out there, I'm going to challenge you to a battle!" I said with such confidence. Efren smiled. "Sounds good! I do have one small present for you before I leave, though," said Efren as he leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. My body froze as I turned red all over. Efren laughed and then walked away. "See you later, Travis, and happy birthday!" he called out.

After he left, I went into the Professor's Lab where he stood there waiting for me. "Hello, Travis! Today's finally the day! I hope you're ready to start your journey as a Pokémon trainer!" he said with excitement in his voice. "Yes, sir! I've been waiting for this moment my whole life!" I responded. The Professor laughed and then held out a Pokéball. "I remember you told me your favorite Pokémon was Raichu, so I decided this Pokémon would probably be best suited for you as your Pokémon partner! It just hatched from its Egg a few days ago!" said the Professor as the Pokéball opened and a Pichu emerged. Pichu stared at me for a bit, confused at first, but then it smiled and waved its left hand at me. "You're so cute! Hello there, Pichu! How would you like to come along with me on my journey?" I asked as I lowered myself to the ground. Pichu smiled and agreed, then jumped into my arms. I hugged Pichu, and then he climbed onto my shoulder. "Wow! He warmed up to you very fast! Everything you need to know about Pichu, including its attacks, is registered in this Pokédex, which has knowledge on every single Pokémon that's been discovered so far! And take these! Six Pokéballs so you can catch other Pokémon while you're out there traveling around," said the Professor. A few minutes later, I ran out of the Professor's house, already anxious to leave and get a start on my journey. "Efren, I refuse to let you get too far ahead of me," I thought to myself as I rushed home. When I arrived, my mom had breakfast waiting for me, which consisted of many of my favorite foods, including her special pancakes. I gobbled all of it up, and that's when she handed me a backpack full of supplies. "Here's everything you'll need while you're out there on your journey. Make sure you wash your clothes every few days and take care of yourself. If you ever need money or anything, just call me at the nearest Pokémon center, and I'll wire you some," she said. I took the bag from her hands but not without hugging her first. Though I was excited to leave on my journey, I knew I would miss her. She walked me out to the front of the house and saw me and Pichu off until I was no longer in sight. When I first arrived at the upcoming route, I was amazed at all the different Pokémon I was already seeing. The Kanto region had changed a lot over the last several years; there were no longer just Kanto Pokémon, but many other Pokémon from different regions now resided in Kanto. While I walked forward looking around, I didn't pay attention to the person behind me who was following me. "BOO!" he shouted.

I jumped and screamed, but then frowned when I realized it was only Efren. "That's not funny! You can't do stuff like that! I could accidentally have hit you, ya know!" I said, annoyed. "Don't be boring! Anyways, now that you have your first Pokemon, it's time I give you your second gift! Your first-ever Pokemon battle!" said Efren. My eyes lit up, and then my mood quickly switched from annoyed to ecstatic. "Yes! Finally, I get to have a really nice trainer battle! Let's do it!" I said. I followed him to an open field where we stood opposite from each other. "Each of us will use one Pokemon! May the best trainer win!" called out Efren as he threw his Pokeball. When his Pokeball opened, out came the Pokemon his parents had given him: a Riolu. "Alright, Pichu, I choose you!" I shouted as Pichu jumped off of my shoulder and onto the field. "I'll start! Riolu, use Quick Attack!" called out Efren. Riolu charged at Pichu with incredible speed and landed a hit before Pichu could even react. "Pichu, no! Quick, use Swift!" I shouted. Pichu nodded, and then with a swing of his tail, sent multiple shooting stars directly at Riolu. "Quick, Riolu, jump in the air and dodge!" shouted Efren. Riolu did as Efren commanded, and I smirked as I watched the Swift attack follow Riolu into the air and hit him directly. "No way!" shouted a confused Efren. "You forgot that Swift is an attack that never misses! Now, try this on for size! Use Sweet Kiss!" I called out. Pichu immediately jumped in front of Riolu and gave it a kiss on the cheek, which resulted in Riolu becoming confused. "Darn it... snap out of it and use Force Palm!" called out Efren. Riolu kept spinning around confused, which gave me an opening. "Alright, now's our chance! Hit it with a Thundershock, Pichu!" I called out. Pichu charged electricity through its cheeks and then let out multiple jolts of electricity which struck Riolu. Riolu fell down to one knee, but he was no longer confused. "It's going to take more than that to beat us! Now, Riolu, let's wrap this up with Vacuum Wave!" called out Efren. While Riolu charged his attack, I decided to call out my next attack as well. "Use Swift! Full power!" I called out. Both Pokemon launched their attacks which resulted in an explosion. When the smoke cleared, both Pokemon were still standing, but then a moment later, Pichu fainted. "Pichu is unable to battle! Which means we won!" called out Efren as he ran to Riolu and picked it up. I walked over to Pichu and carried him into my arms. "You did great, Pichu. Get some rest," I said as I returned it to its Pokeball. "That was some battle! I probably only won because my Riolu has more battle experience. I'm sure next time the result can go either way," said Efren. "Yeah, you're really strong, Efren. I hope to become even stronger. What are you going to do now?" I asked. "I'm going to head over to the Pewter City Gym to get my first Gym badge. I'm hoping to catch at least one or two more Pokemon along the way. What about you?" asked Efren. "Hmm, well, I've always wanted to visit the Viridian Forest! I heard lots of Pokemon reside there, so I'll probably head there before going to Pewter City," I said. "I see, well, looks like we're going our separate ways again. Take care, Travis. You better train hard because I'll be even stronger next time we see each other," said Efren as he walked up to me and kissed me on the cheek. I completely froze and turned red again while Efren laughed and ran off again.