Gotta Catch'em All! Pokemon!~

[lastsanity]

It is a warm sunny morning in the small village. Not a sound in the air for Pallet Town was a quiet place, a gathering of small buildings filled with small families. A place where everyone was a neighbor and everyone knew who you are and stopped by to visit every day. Every. Single. Day.

But that wasn’t going to ruin Jacob Buckelew’s day. The scrawny boy sat up out of bed with some effort and raked long thin fingernails through his thick hair a few times, causing it to become aloof and messy. A deep drawn out sight traveled between his lips exhaustedly. He shook his head, his long hair waving about frantically until his morning daze ended. When the blinding cognitive fog drifted away, he remembered that this day was special. That this day was not only a birthday, but his one and only 18th birthday! Finally the years of being forced to pretend study for college has been over and done with and Jacob can finally leave home and his wretched parents at his own free will and enter the world he so desperately yearned for. The world of Pokemon!

Before he knew it he was dressed and cleaned up in record time, Jacob never having found a reason such as this to get up in the dull mornings of Pallet Town. He raced down the stairs and heard dishes clanging and heavy footsteps falling. The parents.

“Hello sweetie, come and eat breakfast!” his mother cried out, her sentence starting sweet but ending bitter. It is his birthday, but that was the reason of his guardian’s slight anguish. They can sense that Jacob does not like the idea of being cooped up any longer. And his love for pokemon was a knowledge everyone in the household possessed.

“I have to make it quick mother, I just forgot that a friend needs some important help this morning,” he muttered quietly so he could be heard but maybe not understood as he lifted up a plate with a sandwich on it and tipped the saucer allowing the quickly made breakfast to fall into his mouth.

“Happy Birthday Jacob! You have friends?” his father said as he came around and putting on his coat for him to go to the Pokemart and sell goods. He owned the building, and it mostly soon human goods, but because of Professor Oak’s lab in Pallet Town, he was coaxed into integrating pokemon food and potions into his shopping items. His father was not a fan of Professor Oak because of the obvious Pokemon affiliation, but the friend that Jacob spoke of was actually that same person. Professor Oak had agreed to give away a pokemon free of charge from a select few to him for his 18th birthday.

As he quickly reached for the deal with the meal still trapped in his maw, his father walked past him and then backed up with his hand fishing around in his pocket, “Oh hey kid. Here’s your birthday gift. It’s all I got on me at the moment. “ He then pulled out 50 gold pieces in his palm.

“Ohff thant ffuu,” he said, swiftly swiping the cash into his pocket as he left off in a hurry, calling back to his parents with a mouth-full of food until the entire thing falls to the flat grassy fields of Pallet Town. Bolting through the few buildings in the enclosed area he found the lab easily, the tallest and largest prism in the entire town. He rudely swung the door open and came huffing and puffing from the very little running that was done.

“Oh ho ho!” a friendly and familiar voice called out promptly. “I didn’t expect you nearly this fast.” Jacob nearly jumped in surprise, but saw that it was merely Professor Oak, sitting a table and looking through a microscope. “I am onto it! I have found the primary genes in the pokevirus that allows it to regenerate and—Oh right of course, don’t look at me like that. I must wait though, everyone must arrive before I can let you all loose in my pokemon farm in the back.”

“Wait? Why?” Jacob winced, his haste having been for naught.

“You will not be the only one coming to receive a pokemon this day, Jacob! Today will be the start of many new trainer’s adventures.” And with that, he stood near the door leading to the farm and waited patiently. Jacob slouched and sat in a nearby stool and studied the books about pokemon types.

[todd2point0]

“Today was the day”, Miles thought. He had driven all night to get back home to Pallet town from Viridian city where he lived, and went to school at. As he pulled into his home town the sun was just cresting over the mountain horizon. He knew he had several hours to kill before Professor Oak asked him to be there, so he drove to the local park to kill some time. As he strolled around the small park he hoped that neither of his parents decided to wake up early and jog here because he hadn’t told them the news yet. He wasn’t so much afraid of them. They were amazing, and he loved them very much. He just knew they would be disappointed in him for giving up on school. He just could live the lie anymore. He needed to do this for himself. He couldn’t continue down the path he was going down because he knew in the end he wouldn’t be happy with his life.

An hour or two past while he sat in deep thought he had spent a lot of time mulling over what type of pokemon he would choose when the time came. He researched all different kinds, but he couldn’t ever seem to make up his mind. In the end he gave up thinking about it figuring that when the time came he would just know what one was right for him.

Miles still had about another hour to kill so he decided to get some breakfast. He knew the dinner was close so he figured he’s just walk there. Upon arriving he saw one of his old friends working behind the counter. Apparently his life hadn’t turned out so well, and he got stuck in this town working here. After some awkward catching up Miles got his meal and ate it in silence, for it was almost time.

He paid for his breakfast, and walked out the door prepared for his new life to start. It took him only a few minutes to run up to Professor Oaks place. He stood at the doors excited, and scared. Finally he knocked a few times, and waited. Professor Oak answered the door with a smile.

“Oh hello Miles you’re a little early, but that’s alright. Well come in, come in.” Professor Oak said with great enthusiasm.

“Well the early bird catches the worm. Well I guess in this cause the Pokemon, ain’t that right Professor?” Miles said while laughing.

Upon entering the lab he saw what he assumed was fellow new trainer waiting to get his first pokemon. He walked over and said “Hey there, I’m Miles. You here to get your first pokemon too?”

[dhusted34]

"Dylan, wake up!!! You have more job hunting to do today," his mother yelled at him from downstairs. It was the same thing everyday, ever since he withdrew from school.

He threw his covers away from his body and rolled out of bed. As he stood up, a loud obnoxious alarm went off and he instinctively reached for his clock. His day started the same everyday. His mother would yell to him, three minutes before he had set his alarm for, and he knew that she did it to get under his skin. After shaking off the anger that came over him due to his mother's antics, he got dressed in his usual clothing. His shirt had some sort of stain on it, but his shorts appeared to be clean.

While sprinting down the steps, Dylan fell flat on his face. His mother turned around the corner and began to laugh at him. "After all these years you still miss that last step. When will you ever learn," she asked while shaking her head in a rather irritating way.

"So, where will you be going today," she asked. The questions just keep coming!!!

"I figured I would head down to ole Professor Oak's place to see if he could use a hand around his lab," he announced as he stood to his feet for the second time this morning.

"Pokemon, huh? Well don't go there and expect to be going out adventuring. You need to get a job." He had heard that last sentence come out of her mouth nearly a thousand times since he had moved back in.

"Don't worry ma, it'll probably just be custodial stuff. Nothing even dealing with the Pokemon. I love you and I'll see you tonight for dinner," he shouted as he walked away and exited out the front door.

It was a cool brisk morning, so Dylan decided he would catch a bus down to Oak's lab. He slipped his sneakers on and immediately headed for the nearest bus stop. A million thoughts were racing through his mind. He had just lied to his mom, for he knew that there was a bigger reason for going to the lab today. He had heard through the grape vine that the Professor was giving away Pokemon today to new trainers. This was his opportunity to finally do something with his life.

Before he knew it, a bus had come and he boarded. The toll to ride to Pallet Town was so insignificant that the bus rider just nodded to a seat. Dylan politely accepted and sat down. The ride went quick, and before he knew it, he was in Pallet Town. Dylan exited the bus, and began to look around the town.

He spotted a boy that appeared to be his age walk into the lab across the street. "Well Dylan, it's almost time," he whispered to himself. He waited for a car to pass and crossed the street. A sign hung over the door and it read, "Professor Oak's Pokemon Lab."

Dylan pushed on the door, and entered the building. It seemed as though Professor Oak had been waiting for him because before he was finished shutting the door behind him, he was already being spoken too. "Ah, a new face. You're in luck, we will be getting started soon. That is, if you are interested in Pokemon," Oak said as he looked at Dylan with a very comforting face. He gave one last moment to think about what he had told his mother, and decided that it was his time. "Yes, I am here to talk to you about some Pokemon?"

[lastsanity]

“Oh, hello there,” Jacob looked over, hardly suppressing his lack of interest in conversation and ability to pick up on rudeness. However, he was willing to humor because of his delighted mood, which may engulf him for the rest of his life. For once those doors open it will be the first step to a brand new lifestyle. From predictable and boring to amazing and eventful. “Yep. I was supposed to be here eight years ago, but my parents have dictated that pokemon would be a dangerous and unsuccessful lifestyle. In other words, a path away from their grasp. But don’t let them know what I said… I’d rather not have them on my tail.” He then realized how fun and easy it was for such hateful words to pass through his lips. His eyes wandered to Professor Oak and hoped his ungrateful words were too inaudible to be heard (his voice being very quiet and has trouble reaching the ears of some.) The old man in his white lab coat was rocking on his heels whistling, either being quirky or merely pretending to not be overhearing anything being said. Jacob laughed to himself for a second.

“Anyhoo…” his eyes then came across another individual. Both of the other new pokemon trainers were even older than he was and they were just now getting their first pokemon! “Hey… you both appear to be older than I am… and I thought I had the worst life in the world to have been sheltered from pokemon all my life, the only contact with them being from books and television screens.” His eyes anxiously reached towards the door as he leaned over the desk impatiently. “Whatever is behind that door will be entirely unlike anything I have ever seen before.” Then, he proceeded to get caught up in thoughts and fantasies and forgot everyone else existed.

[todd2point0]

Miles listened with interest as his new friend talked about his life. While he thought this kid was a bit odd he couldn’t help feeling a kinship with him, for he too knew what it was like to not be able to choose the life he wanted to lead. Then the boy stopped awkwardly and chuckled to himself, but he really didn’t think too much of it because he had somehow slipped back into his own world thinking about what kind of pokemon he would pick…..

He heard the kid say “Anyhoo”, and trail off has another new trainer about his age walked through the door. This caused the strange kid to continue on more about how his life was sheltered, and then went silent. It looked as though he was deep in thought. Miles figured it was about the upcoming event, so he just let him be.

He then turned to the new guy who was about his age, and said “Hey man, how’s it going? You pumped to get your first pokemon today? Ohhh and my names Miles, whats yours?”

[Kristen Caselnova]

Kristen yawned and stretched sprawling out in her bed. She looked down at her dog Akamaru sleeping between her legs. "Holy crap I'm late." she screamed as she sprung out of bed putting on her jeans. Akamaru stood on her bed barking and wagging his tail in excitement, because even he knew what was to come of the day.

As she slid into her baseball t-shirt, she reached for her wallet and Akamaru's leash. It was good being back home in Pallet Town for the summer. Seeing all of her friends, and knowing that Professor Oak lived just down the street made her day even better. Kristen raced downstairs to meet her father. "Where are you off to in such a hurry" he asked. "I have to meet the Professor today! We're doing some research for a project for school," she hollered from the stairs. Her father just nodding and went back to his work. He never really pried into Kristen's life because he knew that she was never getting into trouble. She had always been an explorer and was never one to settle for a desk job. He knew she wanted something more.

She put on Akamaru's leash and kissed her fathers forehead. "I won't be long, I promise. And before you even ask, yes I'll be home in time for dinner" she said with a smile in her voice.

With that she ran out the door, slamming it quickly behind and taking off the dirt path. She bursted into Professor Oak's laboratory. "Am I late? Did I miss anything" she screeched. "Ah, Kristen! Welcome, Welcome. You're right on time actually. Just come on in and have a seat, will you?" the professor said as he turned back to his work. She glanced around the room in surprise. "Wow. Looks like I'm not the only one interested in the pokemon today" she thought as she grabbed a seat next to the dark haired boy with sharp, beautiful eyes.

[dhusted34]

"Uh, I am doing okay, considering the lack of sleep last night. And yes, I am very excited, which explains the lack of sleep! And my name is Dylan. Nice to meet you, Miles!" Dylan was happy to make a friend, for he never really had that many. The excitement was now almost too much to bare.

Everybody in the room seemed to be chitchatting. The strange looking younger boy, Miles, the new girl who had just burst through the door shouting, and of course, Dylan. The hot topic was which Pokemon everybody was going to be choosing. Dylan hadn't put too much thought into it, but he was determined to make another friend.

His Pokemon was going to be something different...something in need of a friend.

[lastsanity]

Jacob Buckelew was shaking his knee in excessive energy despite his lack of breakfast that day. The sound the Professor’s hand made when it casually touched the handle leading to the Pokefarm snapped him back into reality as he jumped and fell off the uncomfortable stool and onto the hard floor.

“Ow! Son of a…” he looked up and saw that a fourth trainer, a girl also older than himself, had joined the group. Great. More people to take my pokemon! He stood up quickly and gave the girl a final look before turning towards the happy-go-lucky Professor Oak.

“Now, beyond this door is 14 pokemon, all of a different type. These are pokemon that we saved from shelters and had taken care of for some time, having been waiting for some lucky trainer to come by and choose it to be their very first pokemon. Each are of its own type… now keep in that mind when you choose it. Types are very important when it comes to taking care of a pokemon, and probably what you youngsters are all thinking about, battling!”

Shut up Professor Oak, open the freaking door! Oak’s hand rattled the door handle slightly. Jacob twitched.

“Another thing, this farm is large and has a sign displaying each pokemon. I have pokeballs on a desk awaiting you on the other side. One for each of you, so choose very carefully! But I please ask that someone take this one… this one Caterpie…” his eyes actually began to tear up. “This poor creature has been neglected from most trainers because of its sheepish nature and its physical scars… The strong spirit has had a dramatic story that I’d rather not go into for I fear I may burst into tears!” he sobs into a random handkerchief for a moment before tossing it away pretending it didn’t happen. “Now, lets beg—”

As Jacob ran into the door that he though Oak was going to open, the Professor looked back at the entrance door and saw an individual come in with expensive matching clothes and long spiky red hair. His eyes were narrow and a smug smile rested on his pale face. He had six pokeballs on his belt and a fishing rod attached to his back. “Hey Professor Oak, did you forget about your grandson? Seriously? Dementia is settling in already?” He trotted towards the gang of new trainers.

“Oh ho ho always the ones to joke. But yes maybe just a little,” the old senile man winks. “I thought you said you were too good for pokemon Gary? That was just earlier this morning wasn’t it?”

“I changed my mind,” Gary sighed in annoyance as he brushed the professor of to the side and opened the door to the pokefarm himself. Jacob did not like him, but he merely shrugged and followed after the jerk into a place he will always remember.

His jaw dropped. It was huge! It was a wide fenced off area that had a lake in the center, a mountainous region to the left, a forest area in the right, a plain grassy area in the front, and a cave in the back. To the immediate right though, was a sign reading:

Fire Type: Vulpix
Ghost Type: Ghastly
Dragon Type: Dratini
Bug Type: Caterpie
Water Type: Squirtle
Normal Type: Eevee
Poison Type: Ekans
Psychic Type: Abra
Ground Type: Sandshrew
Flying Type: Pidgey
Fighting Type: Machop
Electric Type: Pikachu
Dark Type: Poochyena
Grass Type: Bulbasaur

Next to that was a desk with four pokeballs. I grabbed whichever one my hand came across and began running towards the lake. I knew Dratinis hang around in lakes! I would absolutely love to have a dragon pokemon… Only problem is, Gary is already there! There he was, standing confidently in front of the lake, with his fishing rod out, and waiting.

“Awww man! I want it! Can you let me have it if you catch it! I’ve always wanted one!” Jacob begged, trying to play the pity game and get Gary’s attention. Gary merely ignored him entirely which ticked Jacob off and made him feel stupid, he then scratched his head quietly as he thought about what else he could get.

“Good god, finally you stupid thing!” Gary cried out as a splash was heard, and the string was wound up and a azul, tiny little snake life creature with spiky ears and a large nose came sparkling out of the area. Gary then flung the shy poor creature to the ground. Gary was going to abuse this thing! Plus… well… whoever gets in their pokeball techinically gets it sooo…

“Ha ha mine!” Jacob declared as he tossed his single ball towards the still creature that writhed on the grass in slight pain and shock, to claim and save it. But Gary merely lifted his leg as if on accident and kicked the ball into the lake and it drifted to the very bottom and disappeared.

“Oops. Sorry kid.”

“W-What?! My pokeball!? I can’t swim though… I hate water…” Jacob crawled towards the edge of the water and tried to peer through it. It was nowhere to be seen. “Oh no… Does that mean… I don’t even get a pokemon?...” His anger turned to astounding depression as he then rolled off and sighed, closing his eyes to try and think of a way to re-obtain the ball as Gary briskly walked out with his rare Dratini pokemon. A few moments passed by and suddenly he felt a cold nose against his lips and he laughed from the sensation. “Get off me what is…” he opened his eyes and sat up. A small four legged pokemon jumped back in surprise but was not afraid. It actually looked very worried, its long pointy ears lowered and its fluffy brown tail between its stocky legs. “Its…an Eevee…”

[todd2point0]

Miles sat with the others chit chatting with his new friend Dylan. They had hit it off right from the start, and he knew that they could help each other become amazing pokemon trainers. Just as he was about to ask him if he wanted to have a small pokemon battle after this was over, when Professor Oak began talking and he knew it had begun.

Oak started telling a sad story about a lonely hurt caterpie who needed a good home. He liked the bug type pokemon, and would definitely try and find the young pokemon. Oak continued on when suddenly a kid burst through the door wearing six pokeballs around his waist, and had an expensive looking fishing rod lying over his one shoulder.

“Awesome”, Miles thought another trainer to take up a pokemon that he could want. “Ohh well, no need to be greedy”, he thought. Everyone would leave here with the pokemon they were destined to have.

As the strange boy he meet earlier followed the newest kid out back Miles got up and walked out the doors. An amazing site greeted him. He had no idea Professor Oak had so much land back here, let alone all the different variations of land types. He saw the sign listing all the pokemon that were somewhere in this amazing place. All seemed like they could make amazing companions, but he knew when he locked eyes with the one that he was meant to have he would know.

He swiped up a pokeball and started walking to right toward the caves. As he walked it saw something moving through the grassy field off to his left. “Probably the Ekans”, he spoke allowed. He continued on until he got to the mouth of the cave. “Well here goes nothing”, he said as he walked past the threshold. The cave was semi lit with torches, so it wasn’t really hard to see inside. The only problem was that it was empty. No signs of a pokemon at all. Shrugging his shoulders he turned around to walk out, and somehow tripped on something and landed on his face.

He picked himself up to find a Machop stirring up at him. “Well that’s some hello you have their little guy”, Miles said has he dusted himself off. He reached out to pat the pokemon on the head, but was interrupted by it suddenly chopping down hard on his hand. “OHHHHH you little bastard! Why would you do that?” Miles yelled from the pain. Quickly realizing that this was not the pokemon for him he made his way out of the cave.

Feeling a little disheartened after that little misadventure. Miles walked over to a nearby tree, and began to question himself. What if this wasn’t the right road for him to travel on? What if had made a terrible decision to quiet school? All these questions plagued him when he suddenly felt a slight chill in the air, and he had the feeling he was being watched.

He quickly turned around to find himself face to face with a Ghastly floating only a few inches away from his face. Instantly all his fears washed away. He knew that this was the pokemon he had come for. A bright smile flashed across his face and he reached up with both hands to cup the little creature, and to his great surprise the Ghastly let him! Miles began to laugh because he knew everything was going to be okay. He reached for his pokeball and gently tapped his new friend with it. The pokemon turned a bright red and entered the ball. The small button flashed red three times, and stopped.

A huge smile came across Miles’ face. He had just made a new friend.

[Eric Easy E Pelka]

The farm was bustling with life, creatures of all types aware of the day’s events. They were excited to be free from their confines, open to live outside the watchful eye of the Professor. It was only minutes earlier that Professor Oak had left the large Pokémon Farm ensuring all of them were ready to depart from the sanctuary he had prided himself in. Caterpie, alone in his small patch of Vermillion Flowers whimpered softly as the old man left him alone.

Ever since the men came to his colony, Caterpie had struggled developing any sort of relationship, both with humans and his fellow Pokémon. He struggled with an intense feeling of distrust for any living creature and a crippling sense of helplessness. He blamed himself for what happened to his fellow Caterpie in the Viridian Forest. If he wasn’t so weak and distracted, he may have been able to warn his family, or at least die fighting for them. But now he was alone

Professor Oak was the only living being to show compassion to him since the tragic event. He was willing to sacrifice his time and resources to nurse him back to health. The faith he had lost in humanity was at least momentarily rejuvenated. But now outsiders were coming; threatening to take him away from the only friend he had ever known.

At the other end of the farm, the door opened again as a series of people began to pour into the room, their faces excited with the sight of all the Pokémon. Caterpie was less than ecstatic and began to turn away from the new comers to nest himself safely inside his bushel of flowers. He tried to force himself to sleep but he had found it difficult to sleep the past few nights, nervous about where fate would take him. Nervous the men that took his friends would be the ones that harvested him from the hands of the gentle Professor.

A tussle was happening a few yards away near the water. Caterpie, unable to ignore his rising interest, peered his head out from the thick patch of flowers. There was a boy leaning over the edge of the water obviously distraught about something. Closer to him was an abrasive looking boy walking proudly away from the hunched over kid, coming at a quick pace toward him.

Caterpie scurried out to get a better look at the entire group of strangers; however, his focus was off and bumped into the leg of the proud new Pokémon trainer. He shook off the disorientation and looked upwards at the man, whimpering in hopes of apologizing. The man wouldn’t have it, and snickered down at the scarred Caterpie.

“Stupid Caterpie. Glad I’m not stuck with you,” the kid’s mouth smiled as an evil glint sparkled in his eyes. He then pulled his leg away and released it kicking the Caterpie with a massive amount of force into a tree that protruded from the small patch of grass and flower.

Caterpie cringed from the pain shooting through his entire body. His scar burned fiercely as he let out a small anguished screech. Caterpie writhed from the pain and tried to lift his head up. He was angry; fury rushing through his entire body. The pugnacious boy began to cackle as he turned away to walk away. Still Caterpie was not ready to just let the kid get away with his mistreatment. Using all his energy he could muster, Caterpie shot a stream of silk in the direction of his assailant. But it was to no avail. It pathetically fell a foot short as he collapsed into the grass.

The kid chuckled even louder and walked away leaving Caterpie alone; the way he liked it; alone where he could whimper to himself in his own self pity; a broken Pokémon powerless to the harsh world around him.

[dhusted34]

Dylan had been thoroughly enjoying the conversation with his new pal, Miles. But right in the middle of the conversation, Professor Oak interrupted everybody and began to speak about what lay beyond the doors to the farm.

Oak went on for a few minutes telling a story of lonely Caterpie that had been abused and mistreated more so than any of the other young Pokemon. Dylan listened intently to the Professor talk, which was something he actually had tons of problems doing while back at school. After the speech, Oak turned around and opened the doors that were leading to the farm. Dylan had a small tear in his eye that had been formed from listening to the sad story of Caterpie.

Just as the strange looking youngest trainer was about to enter through the doorway, another trainer cut in front of him. This new stranger was wearing very expensive Pokemon Gear. How had Dylan missed this trainer's entrance? He must have been really concentrating and thinking about that Caterpie's tragic story. The rude trainer who had cut in front of the younger kid entered first, followed by the young kid himself, then by Miles. Dylan looked over at the girl trainer, and asked, "Would you like to go next, ma'am?" The girl looked at him and simply shook her head. Dylan got up from his seat and quickly walked towards the doors.

Dylan entered and he lost his breath at the sight of the beautiful scenery. The farm was split into different regions, obviously to accomodate the different types of Pokemon. He began to look around and began to giggle at all of the comical looking creatures. A Squirtle was splashing around in a mud puddle, an Ekans went slithering past the mud puddle, and just where the Ekans had passed over, a Sandshrew began to burrow its way up to the surface. The next scene that Dylan saw washed the smile completely off of his face.

He saw the flashy, cocky trainer walking away from the young kid, who now had an Eevee dancing around on his belly. What the big shot trainer did next upset Dylan to the point of crying. The boy walked straight at a patch of flowers and suddenly stopped. He looked down and kicked his foot into the patch of flowers, and out flew the Caterpie that Professor Oak had been talking about. Dylan ran straight to the scene of the incident, as did Oak.

Dylan looked down upon the Caterpie and the creature appeared to be in extreme discomfort. When Dylan reached down to pet the little bug, it recoiled and shot a string of silk at his face. Dylan caught the attack full in the face and began to chuckle, as it had tickled quite a bit. Professor Oak then looked at Dylan and began to speak. "That boy back there, the one that did this, he is my grandson. His name is Gary and he has no clue what being a Pokemon trainer really means."

Dylan looked from Oak, to the Caterpie, and back to Oak again. Once again, he reached down to comfort the little scarred bug, but this time it only scurried away back into it's flowers. Oak once again looked at Dylan and spoke. "Young man, the type of Pokemon or the strength of the Pokemon isn't necessarily the most important. What is most important is the heart of the Trainer, the heart of the Pokemon, and the bond that they eventually begin to develop."

Sitting there for a few seconds, Dylan finally deciphered the words and prepared himself to act upon them. He exploded back up to his feet and began to walk straight towards Gary. Dylan came up right behind him, and tapped him on the shoulder. Gary turned around and Dylan immediately began to confront him. "Do you have a problem with my little friend over there? Because from where I am standing, it seems like you do." Gary began to open his mouth to speak, but before he could, Dylan gave him a kick straight to the gut and yelled at him, "How do you like it, bully?!?!"

Dylan stepped back and made sure that his opponent was not going to get back to his feet within the next few moments. When he turned around, he saw Professor Oak standing directly in front of him, with the little guy sitting directly on his left shoe. "It seems now, that Caterpie has taking a liking to you," Oak said with a kind smile on his face. Dylan then glanced once again down at the shoe, and found that Caterpie had begun to crawl off of Oak's shoe onto his own. Oak handed Dylan a Pokeball, and patted him on the shoulder. "You made the right choice, young man."

Squatting down to get closer to the Caterpie, Dylan whispered to him in a calming tone. "Do you mind if I put you in here for a while little buddy? I think that we will make good friends." Caterpie let out a rather screechy noise but had a somewhat happy note to it. "I will take that as a yes," Dylan said as he tapped the Pokeball on his new companions head and looked up towards Oak with a wide smile spread across his face.

[todd2point0]

After he was done doing a small celebration dance for finally catching his first pokemon, Miles started walking back towards the middle of the farm to see what pokemon the others had chosen.

When the pound and tall grass came into view a truly horrific scene played out in front of him. The smug trainer named Gary had punted the helpless caterpie into a tree! This set off a chain of events that caused his new friend Dylan to act with great courage, and confront the evil Gary by kicking him in the stomach.

This caused a beautiful scene to unfold. The skittish and lonely caterpie had realized that Dylan had stuck up for it, and had taken a liking to him. It seemed that Dylan didn’t get to choose his pokemon that day, for caterpie had chosen him.

He quickly ran over to his new friend to congratulate him. They had both found what they had come here for.

“Dylan, I just saw everything. What you did was….well it was amazing!” Miles shouted as he made his way over to Dylan.

[lastsanity]

The scrawny boy laughed as the hyperactive critter began pouncing and pouncing on his stomach like it was a bed as it repeated its name cutely, “Eee eee! Eevee!” Jacob was sold. This creature actually chose HIM, not even the other way around. And no top of that, he had no idea why he was depressed in the first place. It was like getting a brand new puppy.

He wrapped his thin arms around the bundle of brown fluff and embraced it lovingly, “I am honored for such an honor as this, Eevee, my first pokemon.” He then realized that this pokemon should have an original name, and not be called its race name. You don’t call your cat ‘cat’, or you dog ‘dog’. “What should I name you little guy?” He was then gifted with a paw to the face, “Ow! I get it I get it you are a girl!” Eevee fluttered her long eye lashes as if to put emphasis on the point. “You could have just told me instead of leaving a scar on my face though, haha.” He rubbed his face as Eevee then began to lick the inflammations already growing on his I-don’t-say-hi-to-the-sun-much skin before batting her eyes more. “I know what to name you… Lashes! Because of your eyes and your—“ he was slapped in the face a few more times, “Ouch ouch ouch! You really like emphasis, don’t you Lashes? I like that.”

Interrupting the touching moment between a new trainer and their first ever pokemon, Gary got up from his episode of rolling around like a man on fire and groaning like he was just beat up. Whatever happened, Jacob had missed it, and Gary was holding his stomach for it. “Oak! You old fart are you losing your eyesight too! That boy just kicked me and you are not even going to mention it and on top of that going to give him a pokemon! Please!”
Professor Oak looked torn. “Well of course I don’t think violent mistreatment should be punished with violent mistreatment…” he looked at Dylan with a sullen face but not so judgmentally, for he was a nice old man, and on top of that they weren’t exactly family. “But I can’t let this poor Caterpie go on like this. Caterpie has only ever trusted me, and ho ho I had to work at it myself. And the way you handled that extremely hard to find Dratini—“

“That IS mine I might add!” Gary cried out, finally releasing his hand from his gut and reaching for his pokeball. “And will always BE mine! I am not going to resort to such barbaric,” he said after flicking his long hair smugly and ending his heavy and uncomfortable breathing. “I would like to see if you have any true skill. As a pokemon trainer. I challenge you Dylan, you crazy brute!” He then released his Dratini onto the ground by letting the ball slide from his hand onto the ground. The dratini came out with a stretch, just recovering from being thrown to the ground just moments ago. “Dratini! Look alive! You should be proud to have such an impressive commander! Now Dylan… I asked you if you would like to have a pokebattle! …Strictly for fun of course.”

Jacob and Lashes watched with interest as he petted her soft furry head. "This should be interesting... Would you like to watch?" He then swiped his face as she then proceeded to step on his head like a pedestal and observe from a higher prospective. "You like to watch too?" he said with a pained grin, "Another thing we have in common."

[dhusted34]

Dylan was in shock at how these past few minutes had unfolded. One moment, he was rejoicing with his new friend Caterpie, and Miles was running over to congratulate him. Then, the next moment, Gary was back in his face, challenging Dylan to a Pokebattle. Oh how Dylan hated these emotions spiking like this.

He looked back and forth between Miles and Gary several times. Slowly, a knot began to develop in his stomach. There was a Dratini, and one seriously loony trainer waiting for him to come up with an answer. At the same time, Dylan looked at Miles who gave him a head nod with a smirk on his face, urging him to accept, and he remembered Oak's words. "The type and strength aren't the most important." Dylan glanced up at Gary and gave him a smile that had determination written all over it.

Dylan held the Pokeball to his mouth and whispered to it, "Alright little fella, here we go. Please, try to listen to me. I don't want to get embarrassed my very first day." He then looked one last time at his friend Miles, and then threw his Pokeball to the ground. "Let's go Caterpie, show me your String Shot!!!"

[rvbchurch]

Blinky rolled over and flipped Abby's arm off him. It was the only thing touching him since she took the blankets and pillows every night. As he glanced at the clock he noticed it was beeping- 45 minutes late. Blinky rolled back, did a double take, and jumped out of bed so fast he fell over the chair at his desk.

"Crap I'm so late!" He exclaimed, throwing on a shirt as he slipped into his sneakers, then fumbling on the desk for his keys and phone. "I'm gonna get bitched out... ugh!"

"Ghrrughruhgu" Abby drooled as Blinky ran out the door. 'I'll txt her later' he thought to himself, as he jumped into his car, and grabbed the highway from Vermillion to Celadon.

20 minutes later, Blinky squealed into the parking lot, jumped out, turned around to grab his backpack out of the backseat, and flew inside Oak's lab.

Without turning around, Oak mumbled "Late as usual huh Blinky?"

"Sorry are they out back?" Nick asked, knowing the farm from many frequent trips with his parents, who owned the safari zone and came to Oak all the time.

"Yep go ahead and take a look. I'm glad to see you are finally starting your journey." Oak answered, still with his back to the exasperated Blinky, who jogged out the backdoor.

[Eric Easy E Pelka]

Caterpie had just gotten comfortable inside his small, surprisingly roomy new home. At first it was hard to adjust. He had always been free to roam and wander, move between places. Yet in the ball he swirled around as a ball of energy unable to see anything really new. It was cramping and discouraged the newly invigorated Caterpie.

He heard the voice of the human who had defended him speaking softly with a slight nervous stutter. Just as he began to comprehend what was said to him he ignited into a ball of red light and reappeared on the ground of the small Pokémon farm. All around creatures and human alike gathered.

He was confused at why so many were paying attention to him. He looked at Oak and then the boy who had protected him moments early. His face was worried and confused as he yelled out, “Caterpie, show me your String Shot!” and motioned for Caterpie to look the other way. Caterpie reluctantly turned and jumped back when he saw the evil boy and a small Dratini standing before him wobbling a little from fatigue.

Caterpie squealed a little, concerned for the wounded Dratini. It answered with a painful high pitched growl, before the angry kid yelled at it to get ready to battle. Caterpie couldn’t help but hear the word Battle, and jump back in disbelief looking both ways for an escape. There was none, but he didn’t want to hurt a fellow Pokémon, as for the abrasive trainer; Caterpie wasn’t ready to get rid of the grudge.

Caterpie rejuvenated from the previous attack, squealed and curled his tale around releasing a thin stream of silk from his mouth toward the Dratini. If only for a second Caterpie hoped it would distract Dratini and keep him from engaging into battle, or at least slow him in the process. Turning his attention to the dreadful man Caterpie shrieked loudly and initiated a tackle attack aiming directly for the man’s groin. Caterpie only hoped the man was paying too much attention to himself as vain as he was.

[todd2point0]

As Miles watched his new friend, and the hateful young trainer face off. He figured this would be an excellent time to bring out his pokemon so he could observe the fight, as well as just hangout with his new trainer.

He lifted the pokeball to chest height, and said "Hello, new friend. Would you like to come out for a bit?" He then pressed the small button releasing Ghastly into the air!

Immediately he could see his pokemon assessing the situation, and it pained him to see what was unfolding.

"Don't worry my ghostly friend. Prof. Oak wont let anything get out of control", Miles said with a smile. "But just encase lets both cheer for caterpie", Miles added. It seemed that Ghastly agreed because he let out a cheerful cry!

[rvbchurch]

Blinky walked into the farm behind the lab. The first thing he saw was the battle raging between Gary and an unknown boy. Blinky didn't know the boy, but he knew that Gary was a huge jerk and more than likely started the fight. However, no one had noticed Blinky come in, and as much as he wanted to watch the fight unfold, he knew he had to get his hands on a Pokemon.

Without looking at the sign, he knew exactly who he was looking for, a very special Squirtle. Blinky had met the Squirtle about 4 months ago when it was brought in as a baby, and spent some time with it. He knew that this Pokemon had to be his, and he kicked himself the entire way to Oak's lab knowing his tardiness could have cost him the little guy. Fortunately it recognized him right away and jogged over to him. Blinky petted the Squirtle's head and pulled out a pokeball. It nodded and Blinky caught it, quickly releasing it so the two could watch the battle unfold.

[lastsanity]

Gary watches with an over exaggerated yawn and uninterested look upon the conjured pokemon and looks away. “Caterpie is a weak common bug pokemon. Dratini is a rare and powerful dragon type. I am afraid you have no chance of winning this one… Now Dratini—“ he then looked at his pokemon with his peripherals and then he growled at what he saw. When he was looking away, the small dragon pokemon was wrapped in a cocoon of thin string, leaving only its head popping out from the top safely. “What?! I have to order you to dodge! This must be a dud one Professor Oak! Figures you would get a mentally retarded one knowing your science skills.” He then proceeded to watch the Caterpie charged forward. “Dratini! Caterpie is going to tackle you! Use a Thunder Wave from your mouth to halt its movements too! And then you BETTER know this move because— OHHHHH POKEBALLS!” he leaned over in pain as he gripped his groin and cringed in massive pain yet again. Except this time it was considerably worse. He fell over and then looked to see what caused this pain. The tiny little Caterpie was angrily standing where he once stood, its eyes twitching in anger and bitterness. Gary’s face grimaced dubiously, “No…you can’t have… You ran right by Dratini and hit… me?!” He coughed a little bit pathetically as he rolled over moaning in dismay.

Professor Oak rubbed his eyes, “I think my eyesight really IS failing… did I just see that little critter hit him in the… er… attack my grandson!?” Professor Oak ran as fast as he could to assist his grandson for he was still family, regardless of relationship issues. “Are you okay, Gary? Will you be alright? Let me help you up, my boy!”

Lashes’s paws were shoved in Jacob’s eyes as the scene unfolded due to her interest causing her to lean forward onto his face. “Lashes! I can’t see! I can’t see!” He lifted the paws and saw that for some reason the Dratini tied up, the Caterpie glaring at Gary, and Gary was holding something in between his legs. “Thanks a lot Lashes, I just missed the—I mean I’m sorry that was my fault sorry.” Lashes lowered her readied paws. Jacob was learning. Then he realized that he had become the pokemon and the Eevee was now the trainer. But he did not dare bring up that point.

“Don’t touch me Oak! Gah! Help me up I can’t do it! No wait no go get a bucket I feel sick! Don’t you dare move I might faint and fall over I feel light headed!” Gary went on and on as he went from standing to on the ground multiple times. Oak was dedicated to helping though, and stood there as if struck by a Confuse Ray from Gary. “I won’t forget this! But remember! Its 1-0! Yeah you heard me! Pokemon can’t purposely attack trainers! I win by forfeit! I thank you for what you did, yeah! Saved some of my time beating you later on in the battle anyhow!” He walked off but then looked over his shoulder. “Oh yeah, I forgot.” He pulled out the pokeball and bashed the Dratini in its head, leaving it tied up. The poor dragon was crying and whimpering in pain as it turned red and entered the pokeball, and then Gary promptly left, “I’ll see you all soon, suckers! Ha ha!... Ow it still freakin hurts!” The door closed behind him.

Professor Oak sighed as he turned back to them, “I’m sorry but I must go after him and speak with him about all of this and make sure he is okay. I also apologize for his behavior, my son is a very successful Pokemon scientist like myself, and a little too generous to the boy. Now under the desk is another pair of pokeballs for you all, one for each trainer. I don’t want you to neglect the lucky pokemon you have received, but as a pokemon trainer I am sure you are raring to… Catch’em All! Oh ho ho! And with that, I must make my leave. Thank you for your business. Good day.” He then proceeded to leave after Gary.

Jacob, with Lashes at his side, ran to get the pokeball swiftly, “Now tell me what just happened?”

[dhusted34]

Had this really just happened? First thing, Dylan was watching Caterpie execute a flawless String Shot, and then next thing he knew, Caterpie was dashing straight for Gary. This happened completely out of instinct and not by trainer order! What was he ever going to do with this situation? No matter what his decision was, he could not scold his squirmy companion. When he finally snapped back to his surroundings, Gary was already storming off, yelling threats and insults back in his direction.

"Professor Oak, I am so sorry. I didn't....." This was all that Dylan could get out of his mouth before Professor Oak interrupted him by saying, "Young man, if you are going to be using your Pokemon to battle with, I suggest you learn how to control them. However, I cannot be angry at you or Caterpie in light of the events that have unfolded here this afternoon." Dylan smiled, and Caterpie gave out a loud victorious shriek.

Dylan went to put Caterpie back into his Pokeball but then looked over at all of the other trainers. They had their Pokemon out; they trusted them. This must be what Oak meant by forming a bond. Dylan withdrew his hand with the Pokeball and reached down to Caterpie. At first, Caterpie was reluctant to crawl onto his trainer's arm, but after a few minutes of hesitation, he slowly climbed up the arm and onto his shoulder.

Miles was standing but five feet away from him. He was approached by Dylan, and was asked, "Hey Miles, my mom should be done making dinner about now. I was wondering if you and Ghastly would like to join us? I have some errands to run first but here is my address. I live in Viridian City, you can show up at whatever time. Leftovers are always good." Miles smiled and nodded his head, so Dylan turned and exited the farm.

"As for you my pint sized pal, it seems that you are 1-0, and I am 0-1. At least officially. Now, I was wondering if you didn't want to celebrate with some pie. Perhaps a Berry Pie for a Caterpie?" And Dylan, with Caterpie resting on his shoulder, began to take a long walk home to get some well deserved food.