The Start of the Journey

The morning air was fresh in the unpolluted town of Pallet. Just outside the town, a young boy threw a small red ball out into the grass only to have it sent flying back at him, hitting his feet. From the grass came a small purple rat, a Rattata. A confident young voice came from behind the boy and said, "That's not how you do it... If you wanna catch a Pokemon, you've gotta weaken it first."

The boy had blond hair and was wearing red clothing. He was well known in Pallet town mostly because the town itself was very small. His name was Akio. Akio moved his hand to his pocket, revealing another ball like the one the boy threw. He threw it, but the ball opened and a small bird with red wings appeared out of it. "Spearow, Fury Attack!" the boy called out. The bird responded by swooping down and peaking at the rat with great speed. The boy followed this by throwing yet another ball. The ball hit the rat and hit the ground motionlessly.

The boy walked other to the Pokeball and picked it up, tossing it to the little boy. "Take good care of it, okay?" he said to the boy before he rushed off. "Hey Akio, where are you going?" the boy called out to him, causing Akio ti turn as Spearow flew to his side. "I gotta meet up with Professor Oak today. He helped me heal Spearow's injuries so I'm gonna see if Spearow needs a checkup." With that said, he turned again and rushed off to the Pokemon lab in the center of the town.

The lights were off inside the lab. No one seemed to be inside. Akio pushed the door, seeing it was open. It was creepy to say the least. Spearow was within its Pokeball so Akio had no fear of that, but it was pitch black darkness inside the usually busy lab. Akio walked inside slowly, calling out, "Prof. Oak?! Are you in here?!"

"If you're looking for the Professor, he's out on a small errand at the moment."

Suddenly, the lights flickered on in the lab. A young boy with black hair and a mixture of blue and black clothing was seen standing next to the light switch, looking at Akio with a rather neutral face. At his feet was a green pokemon, which most resembled a sort of creature with a bulb on its back.

"Bulba!" it said, blinking and tilting its head as the pokemon saw Akio.

"Did you have business with him?" the boy suddenly said, walking over to Akio.

The boy took a step back, immediately assuming that this man had to be some sort of Pokemon thief. After all, going to a researcher's lab when he is out would be suspicious to anyone who didn't know the full story. Akio was too much an "act now" kind of person to figure things out. He immediately moved his hand to his Pokeball and yelled out, "You're some kinda thief, aren't you?! There's no way your getting the Pokemon here! Spearow, stop him with a Fury Attack!"

As he spoke, he threw the Pokeball, causing the bird Pokemon to appeared and lunge out at the male and the Bulb Pokemon with high speed.

Zeiro blinked...multiple times as he saw Akio's strange movements. He then proceeded into face palming, shasking his head as the boy in front of him got the wrong idea.

"You know...most people have a thing called 'manners'...you know...as in, introducing one's self before asking who the other person was and NOT attacking and accusing out of the blue..." He simply stated as two vines extended from the pokemon's back, lashign out to catch Spearow before tossing him to the side.

Akio's eyes widened when he saw the vines hit his Spearow. The male hadn't even called out an attack and the Pokemon knew what to do. He barely knew what it was except that Prof. Oak had been studying it for the past month. He ran to catch Spearow before it could hit the wall, glaring at the male in front of him.

~Spearow got tired out from the previous battles today...~ Akio thought as he looked at the situation. ~I don't have another Pokemon I can use though... I know I shouldn't but if its to save his lab, I don't think the Prof. will mind me borrowing a Pokemon...~

Deciding to take a risk Akio pointed out and said, "I don't need to hear a suspicious guy's life story. Spearow, go!" The bird flew out and towards the two again, but this time, it went above them and to the Pokeballs behind them. It came back immediately with one of the balls. Akio threw it and a small blue turtle appeared. "There, now if you want a fight, you just got one!"

The boy simply sighed. "You do realize...you're using a pokemon that doesn't belong to you...As well as a pokemon that has a type disadvantage to my Bulbasaur." he said, poiting at the turtle pokemon. "Bulbasaur, sleeping powder.

The pokemon pointed the opening of its bulb at the turtle, letting out a puff of blue powder at it.

Akio gritted his teeth at what the boy had said. How could he call it HIS Bulbasaur? All the same, he had to do something or the Sleep Power would hit his Squrtle. He pointed his finger out and called out, Squirtle, Bubble attack!"

The Pokemon responded by quickly blowing a large number of bubbles in front of them both. It was able to create a wall that took in all or the powder and neutralized it with water. When the bubbles burst, the powder was nowhere to be seen. Akio glared lightly before someone called out to them.

"Alright, that's enough, you two!" At that voice, a somewhat old white haired man started to walk forward. He looked at the two boys, then turned to Zeiro and said, "I'm sorry for the trouble. Akio here is known to be a rash boy." He then turned to the other boy and said, "And as you you, Akio. While I commend you for trying to protect my research, this boy is my guest. You should apologize to him at once."

Akio lowered his head lightly and said, "Sorry Professor... Sorry, um... I never got your name. Heh heh..."

"It's all right, professor." Zeiro said t othe older man before turning to Akio. "It's not yoru fault, but next time, why don't you think before you act?" His tone was a tad harsher towards the young boy as his Bulbasaur walked up to Akio, tilting its head.

Akio looked down at the green Pokemon with a small laugh of embarrassment. "Yeah... sorry about the whole mess down there, Bulbasaur. You're pretty strong, huh?"

The Pokemon Professor looked at the boy, surprised to see what he had done. He had taken an untrained Squirtle and used it to battle a Bulbasaur, which it had a clear disadvantage against and he managed to hold his ground. It reaffirmed the decision he had made earlier that day. "I'm actually glad you're here, Akio. There's something I'd like to ask the two of you."

He started to walk towards the desk that had Squirtle's Pokeball on it and he picked up two red rectangles. There was a third, but he seemed to only need the two. "You see, there are many different types of Pokemon in this world of ours. As a researcher, I am always searching for ways to better understand this world and the creatures within it. I may have finished my greatest invention in doing this. It is called the Pokedex. The Pokedex is like an encyclopedia that can record and store the data of Pokemon. However, to complete the Pokedex, its user must catch the Pokemon to make a complete entry. Pokemon are scattered all across this region and beyond, and I just can't move around like I use to. Therefore, I need competent trainers that can assist me. Zeiro, Akio, I need you two to help me in completing the Pokedex."

"Bulbasaur!" The bulb pokemon replied with a smile.

Zeiro took the Pokedex with not nary a word, putting it in his pocket as he turned back to Professor Oak. "Is it rght that I'm also under the assumption you want the two of us traveling together? I don't see this kid lasting more than a week by himself with his skills." he said rather bluntly

Akio took the Pokedex, then heard the words of Zeiro, turning to him with an angered glare. "Hey, don't think that I need your help to complete this Pokedex thing," he said as he opened it and started to look inside. "Hey, Squirtle... It even has stats and its attacks here too."

"Yes, the Pokedex isn't only a researching tool for me but a gret asset to trainers to learn to better understand Pokemon. Akio, Zeiro, I believe you have the greatest ability to understand that I have ever seen. That is why I am entrusting these to you, knowing that you won't abuse these gifts."

"Professor..." Akio said, touched to hear his words. "Also Akio," Professor Oak said to the boy as he pointed to the ball which had the turtle Pokemon inside. "If I may, please take Squirtle with you. It seems to have already grown fond of you from the way you two battled together. I believe it would be much happier with you than staying here with me in this stuffy lab. I said the same thing to Zeiro and he agreed to take Bulbasaur on his journey with him." Akio smiled as he looked a the ball, the see through top showing a smaller version of his new friend. (Yes, this is anime/game logic that says that one 15 second battle can create a bond between a Pokemon and trainer.)

"Finally... this road is faced with many perils and crossroads," Professor Oak said to them. "I can't say what will become of you two, but I can tell already that you each have your own paths you much follow. For now those paths are best followed alone. Then again, I don't think I could get you two to work together if I tried." He spoke of course, of the tension that was already deep within the room.

Zeiro couldn't help but scoff at Akio, rolling his eyes. "Sure...a 15 second battle that wasn't even a battle and they've instantly bonded..." He muttered as he started to walk out of the room. Bulbasaur blinekd as he saw his trainer leaving, rushing over to catch up with him. "If you excuse me, professor, I'll take my leave now..."

Akio glared at the man again before turning to the Professor and saying, "Thank you for trusting me with something like this. I won't let you down. I'll do what I can to finish this Pokedex for you!"

The professor smiled lightly and said, "I'm glad to hear it. However, you won't be able to complete it if you stay here in Pallet Town. You;ll have to travel across the region and the experiences will hopefully develop you into a fine trainer. I spoke with your mom last night about this and she inevitably agreed that this is what's best for you." Akio gave a nod as he turned and walked to the door, leaving to begin his quest.

Now, to explain the structure of the rp. Seeing as most of the characters will be away from each other until critical moments, each character is free to post in an area they see a need to post in. In doing this, you can reveal how you capture party Pokemon, battle Gym Leaders and trainers, develop your character, or just for something to do. When one person starts, another can come in as a random NPC to interact with them to make it more fun. If two or more *MAIN* characters are in the same area, they must interact in some way no matter what it is. Charcters can take any route they choose and do what they like but certain things are required to be posted.

1. Storyline that develops or reveals your character's personality or history (Obviously)
2. Moments when you catch Pokemon you will add you your party. (Pokemon you don't add to your party can be captured off-screen because rping all of it is to much to ask of anyone.
3. Gym Battles (Also Obvious but Gym Battles are also an important part of the plot.)
4. Encounters with ??? (Mysterious evil organization everyone should know.)

FINAL NOTE: There is 1 and I repeat 1 Pokedex remaining with Professor Oak as well as Charmander. ANYONE new to the story can get them at anytime but its on a first come, first serve based and must MAKE SENSE in terms of the story.

By now Zeiro was already entering Route 1. He didn't really carry anything and simply headed off into the route. His goal in mind was to head to the next town and challenge the gym there in order to achieve his dream.

His mind, however, seemed focused on Akio and the Squirtle. It was only but a fleeting glance, but thsoe two HAVE bonded in that little amount of time, which confused him greatly. As he pondered about this, he heard a rustle in the grass around him, spying a Pidgey not too far off from his location.

"Bulbasaur, Leech Seed." He simply stated as a seed shot out from Bulbasaur's bud, hitting it's target dead on and entangling the poor bird in a mess of vines extending from the seed. As the Pidgey tried to fly away, it seemed to grow weaker and weaker before its body was engulfed in red as it was soon caught in a Pokeball, shaking a few times before a satisfying 'click' was heard. Zeiro picked up the pokeball, placing it in his pocket before he and his faithful parther advanced.

Akio had went to his home, grabbing his backpack and a few supplies like food and his savings to take with him. On the way down his mother was ready to see him off. "If I don't let you go off on your own, you'll never become a man," she said to him. "That's what Professor Oak and the women on T.V. say and it is true. Do your best, sweetie!" With a final kiss on the forehead she was prepared to let her boy go off into the world.

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Within Route 1, a mysterious man in black clothing was walking through the grassy plain.He seemed to not want to be spotted by anyone. He placed his hand to his ear and silently whispered, "This is Rocket 1 reporting in... No sign of the Pokemon as of yet. However, we are picking up a faint psychic wavelength on our equipment. I'll have more information when it arises."

As Zeiro continued to trek on Route 1, he spies a rather shady looking man nearby. Narrowing his eyes, he tries to keep himself from being spotted, hiding behind the few trees around teh area. He has heard rumours about a group of people, but they were all pretty vague.

"What is he up to...?" He muttered under his breath as he peeked behind the tree. Bulbasaur leaned over, a bit more obvious than his trainer, as he observed the strange man in black.

The man stayed ever cautious, looking around as he walked, as if searching for something. He turned and saw that a Bulbasaur was watching him. He threw a Pokeball out and a small purple snake appeared in front of him. "Ekans, use Bite to get that thing out of the way!" The snake lunged out at Bulbasaur prepared to bite into its bulb, unaware that the Pokemon had a trainer.

Bulbasaur blinks, realizing it's been spotted and is now being attacked. Narrowing its eyes, his vines started to extend as he readied himself to attack the Ekans.

"Wait. That Ekans is probably going to beat you in speed, Bulbasaur." Zeiro muttered softly, seeing it come at him with incredible speed. "Ddoge out of the way and use Leech Seed!"

Without missing a beat, the grass pokemon used its vines to propel itself forward and over the Ekans. As he fell, he turned his bulb at the Ekans and fired out the same seed that the duo used on the Pidgey earlier. The seed hit its mark, causing vines to sprout from it and entangle the poor snake in life draining vines. Before it had the chance to do anything, Bulbasaur's vines extended and grabbed onto the Ekans, tossing it straight at its trainer.

"What the..." the man exclaimed as the Pokemon hit him and caused him to fall on his back. He looked out at the green bulb Pokemon in shock. No Pokemon without a trainer could be smart enough to do that. That had to mean...

"Sir, we have a trace! The Pokemon is within sight!" a voice said from the man's ear. The man grinned, knowing they would still get what they wanted no matter what happened to him. Ekans was his only Pokemon issued to him which meant he couldn't fight as it's energy was being drained by the second.

Zeiro narrowed his eyes, seeing the man grin as he hand his hand up to the receiver in his ear. ~That doesn't look good...~ He thought. Bulbasaur's vines entangled in the man's legs as Zeiro shot out from the tree, launching himself at the man and pinning him down. "Who are you?!" He shouted.

The man looked over at the boy and the Bulbasaur. It made sense that it had a trainer, but this was just a child. How could he have thought of such a plan? "Punk kids... should stay out of adult affairs," the man said in a smug tone. "Stay away from Team Rocket, or it'll be you on the ground next time." He started to laugh lightly as he was unable to move.

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(With all the time that past, a certain trainer was able to catch up, so...)

With backpack at the ready and supplies in hand, Akio began traveling across Route 1. He looked around to see if there were any Pokemon around, but he couldn't find a single one. "Hmm... maybe its bad luck..." he lightly said to himself. As he did, a mysterious creature flew like a jet above his head. The speed was so much that Akio couldn't even see what the object was. He moved his hand for his Pokedex but he was just too slow.

A vein appearedo n Zeiro's forehead, getting pissed at the guy's tone of voice. "Who's Team Rocket?!" He shouted, grabbing onto the man's shoulders and forcing him more into the ground. "What are you planning?! Answer me!!!"

The man winced as the boy had him thanks to Bulbasaur. He couldn't do much of anything at this point, so he simply said. "We just want what's ours. No more, no less, but we aren't afraid to destroy a few things to do it. My team are already on the trail or our "property" as we speak. Do what you want to me, but that Pokemon should already be back where it belongs by now..."

"What do you mean putting it back to where it belongs?!" Zeiro shouted, gripping onto his shoulders. "Are you intending on capturing it?!" Normally, he wouldn't mind if someone was going to capture a pokemon, but this guy seemed too shadey and nasty to be the type of person to take care of their pokemon.

The man grinned and said, "Not a Pokemon... The Ultimate Pokemon!" With that, he bit down hard before his mouth started to foam and he became lifeless.

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With the mysterious Pokemon our of reach, Akio reached Viridian City. He saw a large building that said GYM. He walked up to it and saw that it was empty as well as locked. "Guess I can't do that..." he said to himself before he turned and saw a path to his left. He started to walk towards it, curious as to what was there.