Pokemon White 2: Randomized

Chapter 1: Starting Out Wrong

Bask knew what was ahead of him when he heard his mother calling out. He walked out of his room and put his backpack on while letting out a defeated sigh. "Honey, I know you're worried about the dangers of the world out there, but I promise that--" His mom started to reassure him before he groaned and interjected. "Mom, you've told me that for 5 years straight and I'm not convinced in the slightest! I can't think of how a few freakshows will help me in case something horrible happens..." Bask said before covering his face with his hand. "Bask, you don't realize how powerful and useful Pokemon can be." His mother told him. "I don't believe you. All I've seen of these Pokemon are a few cats and dogs that can make pretty fountains with their mouths. 'Ohhhh, how powerful! How manly! How awesome!'" Bask imitated a crowds reaction to a Pokemon Contest he viewed a few years ago. His mom started to ignore Bask's arguments as she began to rush him out of the house and into the streets.

A very long time ago, the residents of Aspertia City declared a limit on how many Pokemon a person could own at once, believing that too many could wreak havoc on the city. The request went through and residents could only have 1 Pokemon out at a time in the city. Along with the request to limit Pokemon in general, a new rule was also passed where starter Pokemon would be given out once every 5 years instead of once a year. Today, only one person in town has a Pokemon, as everyone that had one left.

They stopped speed-walking in the middle of town. "Whew! Glad we aren't late!" Mrs. Black happily pointed out, obviously trying to hide her stress. They both waited for a few minutes, awkwardly staring at passerby, when another teenager and his mother met them. The other teen had wild black hair and a red jacket, with a journal in his pocket. Bask recognized the teen and shot him a dirty look before whispering to Mrs. Black. "Mom, I told you I don't wanna talk to Withe anymore. What are you doing!?" "Just talk to him, I'll tell you why in a minute!"

Bask and Withe exchanged awkward greetings. They hadn't talked to each other in years despite being in the same neighborhood, and it would've been kept that way if their moms didn't drag them out to reconcile together. Bask and Withe were the typical childhood rivals growing up; picking fights, destroying each other's toys, etc., but as they got older, the stuff they did to each other got much more severe (said stuff has been requested not to be touched on), and caused them to be separated.

After exchanging their uncomfortable greetings, they shook hands before Withe motioned Bask to get closer so Withe could whisper to him. "If whatever's going on here has anything to do with you blaming me for something stupid, you'll regret it, punk."

Ms. Black cleared her throat.

"So, the reason I had you two meet up is simple..."

Withe seemed to be anticipating the announcement, while Bask was dreading the inevitable.

"You two are going to work together to become Pokemon Masters!" Mrs. Black cheered over enthusiastically, making everyone nearby stare. Bask was near breaking point from the second-hand embarrassment, but Withe was oblivious. Withe muttered an uncaring "Okay" before tapping his foot in impatience. Bask thought Withe already went on an adventure considering Bask never saw him for 5 years straight, which raised an eyebrow.

"And the best part is that you two will be getting your starter Pokemon tomorrow!" Both Bask and Withe groaned in disbelief. "Tommorow!?" Bask said, seething. "But we won't have any time to prepare!" Withe chimed in. "You'll have plenty of time, boys! You just need a backpack and a bit of food and you'll be on your way." Both the mothers said to the teens as they ushered them in their homes.

Bask slouched onto his bed once again, holding the Plasma Engineering note to his lamp, but whatever was on the paper was already washed away a long time ago. Bask placed the paper back inside the box o' mysteries, and fell asleep.

The next day, Bask's mother got him ready for the big meeting. She only gave Bask the absolute necessities: Food, Water and a camping set. She didn't allow him to bring anything else as it would "break the immersion of a true adventure!". Bask was just about to leave, until something sprang into his mind. He scurried off into his room with a quick "I'll be right back!" and rummaged through his box o' mysteries once again to find the Plasma Engineering note. As soon as he found it, he stuffed it into his pack sneakily and raced out the door.

Bask and Withe met up and climbed the stairs to the rendezvouspoint without saying a word. Once they both got to the top, they found a woman, staring off into the distance. "Hello, Ma'am?" Bask asked quietly, but the woman didn't budge. "E-excuse me?" He asked again, nervously as he reached his hand out to touch her...

"O-oh what? Oh, hello!" The woman flung around, startling Bask. "Uhm, hi, I'm Bask, and over there's my partner Withe. We're both here to receive our starter Pokemon and Pokedexes to jumpstart our journeys to become Pokemon Trainers..." Bask said quietly, still rustled by the woman's sudden response. "Oh, of course! I take it you need no introduction on how to train Pokemon and use the Dex?" The woman asked. "Yeah, my mom's already hammered the basics into my skull for the past few years, I don't wanna hear it again." Bask answered. "Well then, now that everything's settled..." The woman pulled out a small cylinder container and opened it, revealing 3 Pokeballs. She then took the balls and threw them up in the air, releasing the Pokemon that were within.

"Surprise! Choose your partner!"

The three Pokemon that were available were very... Odd. The ones that Bask had seen at conventions and contests were "cute". Things like dogs and cats, and various other things that could be considered appealing. These 3 Pokemon were not appealing. The first choice was a tall bird with pigeon-like features and sharp metal wings, while the second was a large hunk of metal shaped like a face, with an equally sharp mustache.

The third option wasn't even a Pokemon. It was just a small stone, carved out to look like a bug, but Bask could swear he saw it emitting a soft aura around it. "C'mon, choose already, punk!" Withe called out impatiently, snapping Bask out of his trance. He had his sights on the bird as it was the closest you could get to a living thing. "I'll choose--" Bask started to speak, but the purple aura from the stone got just a small bit harsher. "Oh, the stone?" The woman began. "Nobody has chosen it before out of fear, so we've been considering removing it from our pool... Maybe you'll be the one it accepts?" Accepts? Bask thought to himself. The woman's description was shady, but he decided to try picking the stone anyways. First he nervously touched the stone, but nothing happened. Then he tried picking it up, and looking inside one of it's eyeholes, but nothing was inside. "Whelp, I tried. Guess I'm gonna pick the bird." Bask announced as he placed the stone down.

That's when the stone shot a ball of darkness aimed directly at Bask's head.