Professor Oak's Lab

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"Speech"

'Thoughts'

[Pokemon Speech]

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"Bro, we're finally here..."

[No damn. Dealing with all those damn caterpies and other bugs inside that forest was a real pain in the ass...] Kayden sighed as he used his tail to scratch the top of his head. Kayden was currently sitting on Nate's shoulder as they exited out of the forest before coming into view of a large country town.

Nate had already said farewell to his parents before quickly beginning their way to Pallet Town so they could officially get started on their journey after having gotten their starting equipment. Along the way, they had obviously encountered a number of bugs, mainly that of the caterpie evolutionary line.

While a few attacked them out of nowhere, Nate was more than prepared as both he and Kayden easily took care of any of the pokemon that came their way. Kayden may be an electric-type pokemon, but Nate and him knew very well how to deal with any type disadvantages that they may have.

Plus, the bugs weren't the brightest since they didn't exactly have a trainer to help them throughout the battle against them.

Quickly nodding at one another, Nate began to run towards the location where he could see the laboratory. It was hard to find considering that it was the only building that was situated on a hill, so it really stood out among the other places within the area.

Nate and Kayden felt some relief since they had always been in a crowded city all the time since they weren't allowed to leave until now, so seeing such large amounts of vegetation and farmland in this country-side town was refreshing if they were honest.

It didn't take them long at all to reach the lab as Kayden jumped off of Nate's shoulder before they began running up the stairs leading towards the lab. Nate made sure to exercise as much as he could as stamina and such was important if you were going to walking a whole lot everywhere.

Kayden was pretty much like Ash's pikachu in the anime when it comes to pokeballs, he refused to return into the pokeball that he was caught in since he said that it felt like he was kind of confined into a relatively compact space despite being able to see out of the ball as if it were made of glass.

[And here we are! How much longer is it until we need to go in, Nate?]

"Well, according to my watch, it should be around twenty or fifteen minutes now. Though, maybe we can go in a bit earlier." Nate voiced as he looked at the watch on his left wrist. "Should we go in and see if Professor Oak is available?"

[Might as well. The faster we start our journey, the bet-]

"Nate, is that you?" The two of them stopped and blinked in confusion before turning around as they saw someone else walking up the stairs they had just run up. The person was a girl who appeared to be the same age as them. "It is! It's been so long since I've seen you!"

"Wait, Leaf?"

[Oh, it is her...]

The girl that had just arrived was none other than Leaf Green, whom Nate had recognised as the female protagonist of the Fire Red and Leaf Green games. She looked exactly like the official artworks, though she did appear taller since she was fifteen instead of ten.

Both Nate and Kayen were surprised at first when meeting her a year ago when her mother had taken her to come to visit Viridian City, which was when they had met her. She was staying for a few weeks and had hung out with them for most of the time.

Considering the fact that Leaf existed here in this world, they had decided to ask her about whether she knew someone by the name of Red, though it didn't seem that she did at all. However, that didn't mean he DIDN'T exist, it could just be that he did exist and that she just never met him.

Red was someone that Nate and Kayden figured could probably give them a good run for their money even with their knowledge, and they had no doubt that Leaf probably had just as much talent as Red. However, Red was featured in future core games while Leaf not so much.

So, if Red in this world was as talented as he is in other sources, then they couldn't wait to see just how strong that Red could become in this world. Maybe they would end up running into him at some point during this adventure.

"So, you're also starting your journey today as well, huh?" Nate voiced as the girl ran up to him before stopping as she smiled brightly and nodded her head in response. It was obvious she was happy to see him again after an entire year.

"Of course! I can see you're doing to same." Leaf nodded as she looked up at him. Nate was a head or so taller than Leaf, so she would usually be looking up at him whenever they talked. Leaf then looked down at Kayden. "Oh, Kayden's with you too! So, he ended up being your starter pokemon after all. Nice to see you doing okay, Kayden!"

[Wazzup]

Kayden just raised a hand as he said this, knowing full well that Leaf couldn't understand a word he said. The only human he knew of that could understand him was Nate, but Leaf did seem to understand that Kayden was greeting her in some way with the raise of his hand.

"So, did you decide on what pokemon you're going to choose? I do remember you constantly wondering what you wanted to pick, and you keep asking me whenever you had the chance every single day before you left."

"Yep, I've finally decided to go with bulbasaur! It's an adorable pokemon as well!"

"Ah, nice choice."

Every starter pokemon had its pros and cons. While bulbasaur wasn't the most popular at all out of the Kanto starters, the status moves that could be done by the pokemon can be a serious threat. Venasaur was not a pokemon that could be underestimated. It had a pretty decent move pool as well.

"Oh, you two are here pretty early." The three of them stopped their conversation as they heard the door open. When they looked to see the one that had opened it and spoken, the person was revealed to be none other than Professor Oak himself, wearing his signature lab coat and everything.

"Hello Professor Oak, I'm here for my pokemon!"

"Ah~, Leaf. Good to see that you're doing fine this morning." Professor Oak smiled as the energetic girl walked up towards the lab, with both Kayden and Nate following behind her. "Oh, you're here as well, Nate! It's good to see you doing fine! Kayden here as well!"

"Greetings, professor. Good to see you doing well as well."

They had already met Professor Oak, though that was only one time. He had come over to Viridian City for whatever reason, they didn't really know. They really didn't have a reason at all to ask him what he was there for, so they just talked to him for a bit.

"Come on in, the three of you!"

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They were all now inside of the lab as the group had made their way to the area where Professor Oak was keeping the starter pokemon, the pokemon that were in their pokeballs as they rested inside of a circular machine. It didn't take long before Leaf quickly took hold of her new starter, that being bulbasaur, of course.

At this very moment, Leaf was carrying bulbasaur in her arms as they were all now facing the professor as he was handing each of them their starting supplies. In his hand were two pokedexes along with ten unactive pokeballs, five for each of them.

"These here are your pokedexes, which will allow you to have information regarding the different pokemon that you will be encountering. Along with five pokeballs for each of you."

"Thanks, professor." Both Leaf and Nate gave their appreciation as they took hold of the items. Nate placed away the empty pokeballs into his bag, which he still didn't understand how it was bottomless, as he looked at the pokedex with curiosity. The same being said for Kayden. 'Damn, no map function... this is really old school.'

While he was confident he knew the name and general location of all the areas in the various pokemon regions, he would rather have a map to make sure that he knew exactly where he was going just in case that memory of his decided to take a real big poop.

"Finally, we can start our journeys, Nate!"

"W-Woah, calm down! I know, I'm excited too!" Nate wasn't really prepared for Leaf when she tackled him into a hug, though he did manage to stay standing instead of being knocked over. He turned off the pokedex as she let go of him. Professor Oak gave a small laugh at their antics as he then voiced.

"You both are taking on the gym challenge, are you not?" Professor Oak asked as both of them nodded their heads. "If that is indeed the case, then I suggest you all go to Viridian City's pokemon center to get yourselves registered. Then head on over to Pewter City, which is where you should aim to gain your first badge."

"But, doesn't Viridian City have a gym?"

"We can't challenge that gym yet." The one that responded to Leaf was Nate. She looked at him with a confused look, though she did know that he had a reason for saying this, he lived in Viridian City after all. "The gym is currently not open for whatever reason, we can't challenge it at all since the gym leader isn't present."

"Oh, I see..."

"Anyway, thanks a lot for everything, professor."

"No worries at all, Nate. I wish all of you the best of luck!"

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They all then left the lab as Leaf had returned her bulbasaur into her pokeball, yes, the bulbasaur that Leaf had gotten was a female. They were now walking down the stairs as they were talking with one another, Kayden just relaxing on Nate's shoulder as they talked.

"So, you're heading straight back to Viridian, right?"

"Yeah, that's the plan. What about you?"

"Well, I kind of need to go home and tell my mum that I've managed to get my starter pokemon. She wanted me to come home before I leave." Leaf explained as Nate nodded his head in understanding. "Are you going to do the same?"

"Definitely. When I get back to Viridian, I'm going to need to head home and say my farewells before leaving. We'll probably see each other there if you end up being fast enough to catch up with me that is."

"Oh, don't worry! I'll see you there!" Leaf smiled brightly as Nate gave a small chuckle. Nate then blinked though as soon as he saw something at the bottom of the stairs, both Kayden as well as Leaf turning their heads to see what he was looking at. "What's with the crowd?"

"Not sure..." Nate muttered. He inwardly deadpanned though, including Kayden as they saw the group of people at the bottom of the stairs. It was pretty obvious who they were. 'Isn't this Gary's entourage... yep, definitely. Cheerleaders and everything.'

There were also a few people that were holding up signs that yelled out Gary's name, and also those loud as heck annoying cheerleaders. While some people would love to have girls like that cheering them on, Nate and Kayden didn't since they would end up quickly getting annoyed.

Seeing the cheerleaders, Nate and Kayden twitched their eyebrows in annoyance as they constantly called out the name of Ash's rival, which was Gary. Leaf just sweatdropped at the row of cheerleaders and also other civilians that were standing behind them also cheering out Gary's name.

"Wait, they're here to cheer on Gary?"

"You know him?" Nate decided to ask as he heard Leaf call this out. While he already knew who Gary was, he might as well ask. Leaf just nodded at him as she then added. "Yeah, he's another trainer that's supposed to start his journey today as well."

"You friends with him?"

"Friends? Ha, no! Never in a million years!" Leaf scoffed as she huffed, making Nate and Kayden sweatdrop at her attitude. "He's an incredibly arrogant individual who's already claiming that he'll be the greatest trainer in the world! I've barely ever seen him."

"Thank you, my glorious fans! I shall be on my way to get my first pokemon now!"

"Speak of the devil..." Leaf muttered with a dark annoyed expression as Nate and Kayden turned their heads to see a spiky-haired individual wearing clothes that honestly looked a bit oversized for him. It was Gary, and like them, he appeared to be fifteen years of age.

"Hm? Oh, you're Leaf, aren't you?"

"Gah...! He noticed me."

"I certainly didn't expect a little girl like you to actually go on a journey. It's a bit dangerous, so you should just stop now. You won't be able to make it. " Gary seemed to say as if it was a fact as Leaf twitched her eyebrows with absolute anger. "Move aside, the real greatest trainer is about to get his first pokemon."

"This guy...!" Leaf was shaking constantly in rage as Nate and Kayden just watched with nervous expressions on their faces. Leaf looked as if she was about to pounce on the guy and maul him like a lion. Gary then noticed them as he rose an eyebrow at Nate.

"Never seen you before... The name's Gary, Gary Oak. The grandson of Professor Oak himself!" Gary spoke with arrogance and pride as Nate just nodded his head without saying anything. "I can tell you're probably starting out as well. Let me tell you though, don't think for even a second that you'll be able to beat me ever! I'm going to become the greatest pokemon master the world has ever seen!"

"Noted..."

[Wow, this dude's an even bigger asshole than Uranus...]

"As if, you wouldn't stand a chance against Nate! He's way better than you!" Leaf shouted as she stepped in front of said person. Gary just scoffed before walking up the stairs and towards the lab, Leaf just glared at him before grabbing Nate by the hand and tugging him into the crowd, and forcing their way through. "I can't believe that guy!"

"Calm down, don't let him get to you." Nate voiced as they got out of the crowd and onto the open dirt road. Nate was going to show Gary that his arrogance would be the absolute downfall of him, and he'll do that through his actions, not through words. When he and Gary get into a battle, he'll show Gary just how big the world really is. "So, I guess we'll part ways for now."

"Yeah, though I WILL see you in Viridian City!" Leaf grinned as she quickly gave Nate a small hug as she then continued waving by to him as she turned and began running off. "See you later, Nate! I'll make sure to catch up to you in Viridian City!"

"Gotcha! See you!"

Both Kayden and Nate just watched as Leaf ran off into the distance towards the direction of her house, and they continued doing so until she was completely out of view. Nate smiled softly as he turned around, to which they both nodded at each other.

"Let's get going back, maybe we can find something interesting to catch while in the forest. Do want to start training more pokemon early on aside from you before arriving in Pewter City. What do you think?"

[Sounds like a plan. However, we are NOT catching a damn caterpie. We aren't Ash. I want you to catch something that could end up doing some serious damage!]

"Any pokemon can become strong. Though, I really am not looking to catch a caterpie." Nate nodded as they began walking. While a butterfree could prove useful pretty early on, he really didn't want one in his team. He was looking for pokemon a bit more higher-tiered. "Maybe a scyther or something, but meh."

[Scyther is somewhat decent. Do kinda want something more though]

"Agreed. Anyway, let's pick up the pace!"

[You know what needs to be done then!]

"What? No, don't you dare..."

[On the road to Viridian City!]

"Kill me now..."

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