Journey

Game 1: Pokemon Red. Chapter 1

I woke up, springing out of my bed. Today was the new beginning of my life. I got dressed, brushed my teeth, and practically flung myself down the stairs, almost tripping and falling on the way down. I was about to reach the front door when the there was a sharp shout from the kitchen. "Wait! You have to eat before you go Josh.", my mom said with a stern toan. "But moooooooom!" I retorted. "No buts! Hurry up and eat so you won't be late dear." I ran to the kitchen and wolfed down what was on the plate. I didn't really take the time to check what it was but it tasted like eggs I think. "Ok mom, I'll be back soon!" I said quickly. She quickly grabbed my cheek and kissed it as I ran out the door.

I ran quickly down the small dirt path that led to Professor Oak's laboratory. Its appearance was small on the outside, but it was surprisingly spacious on the inside, holding all kinds of contraptions used to test Pokemon and see what their DNA was made of. But none of that matters because I'm about to begin my Pokemon journey! You see, every few years, three children at the age of eleven are selected to choose a Pokemon and evolve them and collect as many Pokemon as they can to use for scientific research. But, after many years, the tradition was changed to three children being chosen to go on a simple adventure, with the collecting of Pokemon still in mind, but not fully endorsed. And lucky me, I'm one of the three chosen! Along with the Professor's grandson and a girl I've never met before.

I arrived at the lab in two minutes flat. "Professor! I'm here!" I shouted as I swung open the doors. As I entered, the other two chosen children were already at the lab, staring quietly at a table. The table had three Pokeballs sitting undisturbed. "Ah Josh! We were just waiting for you to arrive." Oak said with a smile. "Please come and sit. We have much to discuss."

I quickly walked over to the third empty seat and sat down in nervous anticipation. "Now listen up you three. What you're about to do is a great undertaking in Pokemon history! This is the first time that the League has opened up for any challengers since the Great War, and you three are very lucky to have been chosen for this astounding opportunity! Before you choose your first partner, I'll give you these." The professor handed us small electronic machines. On the cover it read Pokedex. "These are your official Pokedex's! They're essentially an electronic encyclopedia for Pokemon! And here are these to help start your journey as well." He handed us five empty Pokeballs each. "Now that we got all that out of the way, let's get to the best part of all this." he said with a smile. "I guess its only fair to leave this up to chance."

I erratically sat up in my chair. The professor covered his eyed and pointed at the girl in the middle of us. Then he started to say "Eniee, Meniee, Miniee, Moe,..." he continued this until he got to the end of the chant, switching his finger to one of us after every syllable. As he finished, his finger finally landed on his grandson, Gary Oak. "Yes!" he whispered as he stood up in front of the table and eyed each of the three polished Pokeballs carefully. After what felt like eons, he finally chose the ball that was closest to him on his side of the table. "I choose this one Grandpa!" "Ok Gary, go ahead and open it!" Oak said with excitement. Gary grabbed the Pokeball and pressed the button in the center of the ball and threw it up into the air making a slight whooshing sound and the iconic sound of a Pokeball opening.

When the ball opened, my heart sank, because Charmander fell into his arms and yelled "Char Char!" "Alright, I chose Charmander!" Gary said with lots of excitement. I was extremely jealous beacuse I wanted Charmander more than anything. I slumped in my chair, angrily. I didn't care about the last two Pokemon because I wanted Charmander. "Josh, would you like to choose next?" Oak asked. "No thank you." I said as sternly as my undeveloped voice could say. "Well alright if you say so. Izzy, would you like to go next?" Oak asked. The girl slowly nodded and stood up shyly. She quickly chose the ball closest to her, the one in the middle. Upon opening it, a Squirtle came out and hugged the girl tightly. She hugged it back and quickly sat back down. The two kids were sitting next to me, playing with their new Pokemon. I sighed and reluctantly got up and chose the last remaining Pokeball. As I picked up, I noticed the ball was a lot smoother than I had thought it to be. It had a cool touch to it, almost like grass in the early hours of the day. My anticipation suddenly grew again as my curiosity peaked.  "Well go ahead Josh! Open it!" Oak said excitedly.  I picked up the ball and pressed the button on the ball which made a sharp clicking sound.  The ball suddenly popped open and the Pokemon was standing on the table. I had never in my life seen a Pokemon that looked like this.