Chapter Text
Luke leaned close to his computer monitor. He was watching a challenger take on the Johto Champion league. The trainer who won the Silver Conference would then enter the Champion’s league to take on the Elite Four and finish by battling the Champion in hopes to take their seat. The video Luke was watching was over 20 years old. He had watched it a thousand times and knew every word said by the commentators.
The challenger sent out her last Pokémon. She and the champion were both down to their last Pokémon. It had been a grueling battle. The challenger had fought tooth and nail. She was determined to become the new Johto champion. Out came her Scizor, her ace Pokémon. It had been feared during the Silver Conference where she and Scizor dominated the competition. The champion sent out Tyranitar. A fearsome beast who had destroyed many people’s dreams of becoming the champion.
“Let’s finish this Scizor! Bullet punch now!” The challenger ordered. Scizor’s wings shot of its metal frame and sprung to action. It raced towards Tyranitar like a bullet train; its pincers ready to show Tyranitar just how powerful it was.
“Don’t be afraid! Deflect with sandstorm!” Tyranitar nodded in response to its trainer and let out a loud roar. A powerful sandstorm suddenly whipped up, swirling around like a tornado. It quickly covered the entire field, blocking either trainer from seeing what was happening. The challenger furrowed her brow unable to make out where Scizor was. A loud crash was heard and the sandstorm disappeared. Now revealed to the eager crowd and trainers, Scizor had connected its bullet punch and sent Tyranitar down on one knee. The champion’s mouth was wide open, shocked that Scizor was able to successfully hit his Tyranitar. The challenger, however, smirked.
“Now Scizor metal claw!” She shouted as Scizor jumped high in the air, slamming down hard on the foe with its metal pincer. The hit landed right on the top of its head. The already staggered Tyranitar could do nothing but take the hit. Tyranitar fell to its knees and Scizor landed down back in front of its trainer. “Quick Tyranitar! Get up, I know you can!” The Champion called out desperately, but it was no use. Tyranitar fell on its back unable to continue the battle.
“Tyranitar is unable to battle! The victory goes to Ashley the challenger!” The referee called out. Ashley ran out to hug Scizor. “We did it! We’re the champions now!”. The now former champion came over to congratulate Ashley on her victory and said he was grateful for his time as Champion of Johto.
Luke paused the video and sighed. That was the video of his mother winning the Champion’s League. Luke was 3 when she lost her Champion title, and he hasn’t seen her since. Now Luke is sixteen years old and ready to start his own Pokémon journey. He was from New Bark Town and grew up with his friends Ethan, Lyra, and Nick. Ethan and Lyra left when they were 10 years old to become Pokémon trainers. Ethan would go on to defeat Lance and become the champion while Lyra returned to New Bark Town to become Professor Elm’s assistant. Luke dreamed of becoming a Pokémon trainer just like them but his father forbode it. Luckily for Luke, his best friend Nick was eventually able to convince Luke’s father to let him go on a journey as long as Nick was with him every step of the way. Luke checked the time, 9:00am. It was time to pick up his starter Pokémon and start his journey to become Champion of Johto. He raced downstairs where his father was waiting for him.
“So, today’s the big day huh?” His dad said to him. Luke could already see the tears forming in his father's eyes.
“I’ll be fine dad, I’ll have my Pokémon to keep me company” Luke scoffed. “And Nick...” he muttered. His dad’s eyes widened after hearing this.
“Don’t you like Nick?”
“I do! It’s just that I don’t need a babysitter! Ethan left at 10 on his own!” Luke passionately argued about his case.
“You know what his mother is like. I’d like to think I’m a bit more responsible than her,” His dad said with his hands on his hips.
Luke shook his head and walked away eager to get his first Pokémon. “Wait!” His father called out to him. “Here. Take this” he said, handing Luke a green and white hat. “This was your mother’s when she was a trainer. I’m sure you’ll become a powerful trainer just like her”.
“I’ll make you proud dad” Luke said, giving him a hug before putting on the cap. The cap went perfectly with his jacket which was green with a white stripe going down the middle and the hem. “I’ll call you often!” Luke exclaimed, racing out the door. He walked over to Nick’s house and knocked on the door.
“Oh, hey Luke” Mrs. Stevens greeted Luke at the door.
“H-hi Mrs. Stevens...Is Nick here?” He asked shyly, rubbing the back of his neck. Luke was a shy teenager. If you asked Nick or his dad, they would say the complete opposite. Luke was comfortable around those two. For everyone else, however, he was as quiet as a mouse. “Oh...I think poor Nicky is still asleep. Why don't you go and see if you can wake him up!” She said cheerfully, staying out of the way of the door to let Luke inside the house. Luke thanked her before opening the door. He burst open Nick’s door and to no one’s surprise he was still asleep. Luke ripped off Nick’s blanket and began to shake him. “Nick Stevens! Who do you think you are? Sleeping in on the first day of our Pokémon journey!”. Nick’s eyes slowly opened and he stared at Luke. “Five more minutes, dear” Nick said groggily. Luke let go of Nick suddenly making him fall back onto the bed. “Don’t call me that!”
“I knew it would make you stop,” Nick chuckled as he slowly got out of bed. Nick was still in his Squirtle pajamas, and his brown hair was a mess, but it still didn’t look much different than when it wasn’t a mess. “Don’t you ever brush your hair?” Luke said as he tucked a part of his hair behind his ear. He had blonde hair that he neatly brushed every morning. “I just woke up dude” Nick replied patiently, who was used to Luke’s silly questions. Luke turned to leave the room “I’ll meet you outside Professor Elm’s lab. 10 minutes Nick!” He ordered tapping his Pokégear. “You got it boss” He gave Luke a thumbs up while opening his closet looking for his clothes.
Luke scoffed in annoyance as he left Nick’s house and walked down to Elm’s lab. New Bark Town was a small place which made it easy to walk everywhere. Luke looked through the window in the lab. He could see Elm staring intently at a computer while his assistant ran back and forth with files, sorting them in different places. The assistant turned his head to the window and saw an eager Luke staring back at him. Luke quickly turned away from the window. He covered his face that was now flushed red with embarrassment with his hands. “What’s got you so worked up? Thinking about me?” Nick teased. Luke jumped at the sudden appearance of Nick. “Not in a million years idiot” Luke said trying to sound tough, but it came out much softer than he wanted it too. “I hope he doesn’t think I’m weird now” Luke thought to himself still thinking about getting caught staring. Luke quickly shook his head to stop thinking about it.
“Come let’s get our Pokémon!” Luke said, swinging the lab door open. Nick followed in behind him and was quickly greeted by Professor Elm.
“Great! You’re finally here to pick your Pokémon” Professor Elm said standing up from his computer. “It feels just like yesterday I gave Ethan his first Pokémon. Thanks to him I was able to learn a lot about Pokémon eggs and what kind of new Pokémon we can discover that way” Elm rambled on.
Nick looked at Luke with a smirk on his face and rolled his eyes, making Luke let out a small giggle. Elm tended to often ramble on about his research. “You can’t say he doesn’t like his job” Nick whispered into Luke’s ear, prompting the boy to form a large grin on his face. Nick loved to see Luke’s smile.
“Anyway, follow me over here boys” Elm gestured to the boys to follow him over to a machine that housed three Pokéballs. “Here are your options, Chikorita, a grass type, Totodile, a water type and Cyndaquil, a fire type
Both teens leaned down to stare at the Poke balls. “I already know which one I want! Totodile, I choose you!” Luke grabbed the ball and released Totodile. Out came the small blue crocodile who stared back up at Luke. “Hi Totodile! Me and you are going to be best friends,” Luke said, picking up the Pokémon. Totodile joyfully agreed.
Nick watched Luke play with his new Pokémon. All he could think about was how cute Luke looked at this moment. He was used to Luke being shy around others, but it seems Totodile broke down his walls and made him act without a care in the world. “Tough choice?” The professor said to Nick, which snapped him out of his trance. “Oh right, I still have to pick one” Nick said embarrassed slightly. Nick grabbed Cyndaquil’s ball and held it for a moment. “I think I’ll pick this little guy”. Cyndaquil was released from the ball. She let out a small squeak upon seeing Nick and ran to hide behind Elm. “Sorry, this one’s a bit shy as you can infer”
Nick squatted down next to Cyndaquil, making sure to give her the space she needed. “If I’m being honest, Cyndaquil. I’m not sure how good a trainer I’m going to be, but I can promise you I will raise you the best I possibly can”. Nick put out his hand, offering it up to her. Cyndaquil slowly moved from behind the professor’s leg before letting a happy cry and putting her own paw in Nicks palm. Nick smiled and stood up “It’s official then, partners till the end!”
Nick looked over to Luke who was staring at him with a determined look. His expression then changed as he nervously walked over to Elm, fidgeting with his hands “Y-you don’t mind if we have battle right now do you, professor?” Luke asked.
“Oh no! Of course not! It’s important of Totodile and Cyndaquil to learn what battling is like, just make sure not to push them too hard now”
“Ready Cyndaquil?”
“Cynda!” The Pokémon squealed as it jumped into position for battle.
That determined look returned to Luke as he prepared for the battle. “Alright Totodile, let’s do this!”. The blue Pokémon let out a snarl staring at Cyndaquil.
“Use scratch Totodile!” Totodile jumped to action running towards Cyndaquil with its claw at the ready.
“Try to dodge it!” Nick ordered but the fire type was too inexperienced and nervous to do so. Totodile’s claw connected and sent Cyndaquil back towards the wall
“Tackle attack now!” Nick shouted, pointing towards the direction of Totodile. The fire in the small Pokémon’s back flared up and it began to dash towards her foe. “Scratch one more time!” Luke instructed. The two Pokémon were now sprinting towards each other, both ready to strike. Cyndaquil proved to have the stronger attack as it rammed its body into Totodile and full force tossing him backwards. Both Pokémon were getting tired, but neither trainer seemed to be.
“This battle is over Nicky!” Luke said clenching his fist with an air of confidence around him.
“You always get so competitive Luke” Nick replied calmly, Luke’s confidence seemed not to deter him one bit.
“I have to be when I become Pokémon Champion!” Luke replied. “Totodile! Finish this with water gun!”
“Don’t jump the gun Luke! Totodile hasn’t learned that move yet” Elm injected.
“Oh yeah, forgot about that…” Luke covered his face slightly in embarrassment. “Scratch attack” Luke commanded much softer than more.
“Growl Cyndaquil!” Nick responded. Cyndaquil let out a high-pitched growl designed to lower the power of Totodile’s attack. However, it wasn’t enough to stop Totodile who dealt the finishing blow with a swipe of his claws. Cyndaquil exhausted from the battle collapsed, unable to continue battling.
Luke ran grabbed Totodile jumping up and down in joy. “Ha! We did it! We won our first battle! This is it, Totodile. Our first victory on our path to League Champion!” Luke celebrated not caring about who saw him. Nick smiled, watching Luke knowing how reserved he could be.
Nick held Cyndaquil who looked a bit down. “Don’t be sad, Cyndaquil. You did great out there! I’m sure you’ll have many victories soon” Cynaquill replied happily by nuzzling her head into Nick’s chest.
“Is Cyndaquil okay?” Nick heard Luke ask softly.
“Yeah, she’s doing fine, just needs a little rest time” Nick explained returning his Pokémon to her poke ball. “How’s Totodile?”
“Happy as ever” Luke smiled turning around to watch Totodile who seemed just as excited about winning as Luke did.
“I think you found the perfect partner” Nick laughed watching the Pokémon celebrate.
“Looks like you got competition, Nicky boy” Luke teased. Nick was taken aback by his sudden teasing looking away from the other teen pretending not to be effected by it.
“I almost forgot! Here take these!” Elm handed the boys two red devices. “This is a Pokédex, it has all the information you will need on the Pokémon you will find on your journey”. The new trainers thanked the professor before putting the devices away.
“Also, if you boys wouldn’t mind. I sent Lyra down to Cherrygrove City for some field work, but it seems she hasn’t returned. If you two could head down and bring back any research, she gathered, I would be a very happy professor”
“Hm, well that is in the direction I need to go for my first gym battle” Luke pondered.
“It would be nice to see Lyra again wouldn’t it?” Nick responded.
Luke nodded in agreement. “Okay professor! We’ll be back before you can say Totodile!” Luke ran out the lab eager to start his Pokémon journey. Nick followed quickly behind making sure to keep a watchful eye on him. That is what he promised Luke’s father.
The road to the Silver Conference and the Champion League will be long and most definitely tough but these two new Pokémon trainers can forge their own path, catch new Pokémon and learn new things about themselves and each other on this journey through Johto.