Luke reached the front door of Oak's lab and rang the doorbell.
Coming!
The door swung open to reveal a brown-haired boy with spiky hair and smug face.
"Hi! I'm Luke. I'm here to see Professor Oak and get my Pokémon." Luke recognized him as Gary.
'Someone actually better-looking than me' Gary grumbled.
"I'm Gary, and I'm also a new trainer this year. Come on in!" Gary said with a smug grin.
As they entered the room, a kindly-looking man in his 50s wearing a white lab coat immediately came to greet them.
Professor Oak smiled and said "You must be Luke! Lorelei has already told me about you. Welcome!"
Luke respectfully replied "Hello! It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor Oak!"
"Haha! What a polite child! Much more polite than Gary!" Professor Oak laughed.
"Hmph!" Gary grumbled from the side "What's so great about being polite?"
After exchanging pleasantries with Professor Oak, Luke suddenly noticed a girl standing to the side.
She had long blue hair and a beautiful face, looking very cute.
So he went over to greet her.
"Hello! My name is Luke!"
The girl shyly replied "Hello! I'm Leaf! I'm also a new trainer!"
"Alright! It's about time. We won't wait for the latecomer anymore. Come choose your preferred Pokémon!" Professor Oak clapped his hands.
As for that latecomer? It must be ash!
Professor Oak walked to the machine holding the Poké Balls and pressed a button.
Immediately, 3 Poké Balls rose up!
Then he explained "I'm sure you're all familiar with the starter Pokémon - there's the Fire-type Charmander, the Water-type Squirtle and the Grass-type Bulbasaur. Go ahead and make your choice!"
"I want Squirtle!" Gary shouted impatiently, quickly grabbing Squirtle Poké Ball as if afraid someone would snatch it from him!
Professor Oak shook his head at this, but didn't say anything.
After all, it was his own grandson.
The shy Leaf didn't move and just looking at Luke, clearly wanting to let him choose first.
What a well-mannered child!
Luke smiled slightly and said "It's alright! You go first. I'm fine with any of them!"
Although Luke preferred Charmander, letting ladies go first was a must!
Besides, it wouldn't be hard for him to get a Charmander later anyway.
"Are you sure?" Leaf asked timidly.
"Of course! Ladies first, right? I'm not like some people!" Luke said, glancing at Gary.
"Why you!" Gary gritted his teeth in anger.
"Thank you!" Leaf cheeks turned slightly red as she said. "Then I'll choose Bulbasaur!"
"Perfect! Charmander is exactly who I wanted!" Luke said as he picked up Charmander's Poké Ball.
"Come on out, Charmander!"
"Nice to meet you, Charmander! I look forward to working with you!" Luke crouched in front of Charmander and extended his hand.
"Char!" Looking at the human in front of it, Charmander nodded and placed its little paw on Luke hand, signaling its acceptance.
"Charmander, your final evolution is Charizard, a Fire and Flying type. As a Charizard you will have two Mega Evolution forms to boost your power further. You'll have to work hard, Charmander!" Luke said while patting Charmander's head.
"Char char!" Charmander eyes shine with excitement.
"Wow, that's amazing! What about my Bulbasaur? And what's Mega Evolution?" Leaf exclaimed from the side.
"Bulbasaur's evolution line goes to Ivysaur and then Venusaur, both Grass types. Venusaur can also Mega Evolve! It's a great Pokémon too. As for Mega Evolution, it's a new form of evolution recently discovered in the Kalos region. It requires a Key Stone and the corresponding Mega Stone, as well as a deep enough bond between trainer and Pokémon. The conditions for evolution are quite strict!" Luke explained.
"Wow! You're so knowledgeable! You know so much about pokemon!" Leaf eyes were full of stars as she looked at Luke.
"It's not that impressive, You can learn all this too if you study hard!" Luke was almost blinded by the sparkle in Leaf eyes.
On the side, Gary watched Luke showing off in front of the girl, dying of jealousy.
'Damn it! It's bad enough that he's more handsome than me, but he knows so much too!'
"Clap clap clap!" Professor Oak applauded "Well said! It shows that Luke must be a good child who studies hard! You even know about Mega Evolution! You've talked about Charmander and Bulbasaur, why don't you explain about Squirtle as well?"
"Certainly, Professor!" Luke glanced at Gary expectant look before explaining.
"Squirtle evolutions are Wartortle and Blastoise, both Water types. Blastoise also has a Mega Evolution!"
'So Blastoise can also evolve further' Gary thought excitedly.
"Then do you know where I can buy the Key Stone and Blastoise Mega Stone you mentioned?"
Luke shook his head and under Gary disappointed gaze, he said.
"These two items are very rare and precious. Most people who have them treasure them dearly! Even if some are occasionally put up for sale, they're immediately bought by the League or big families. You shouldn't get your hopes up."
"I see..." Gary was clearly very disappointed.
"Actually, it's not too difficult for you to get these items," Luke suddenly changed his tone.
"Really? How can I get them? Tell me quickly!" Gary said urgently.
Seeing Gary rapidly changing expressions, Luke felt extremely satisfied.
Luke didn't answer, but just looked towards Professor Oak.
Following Luke gaze, Gary suddenly realized.
'That's right! These items might be very precious, but with grandpa influence, he could surely get a set or two for research!'
Feeling uncomfortable under Gary's intense stare, Professor Oak gave a look to the culprit, Luke, before saying to Gary.
"Alright, I'll keep an eye out for you."
"Now that you've chosen your Pokémon, come get your Pokédex!" Professor Oak brought over 3 Pokédex and some Poké Balls from a nearby table.
"I don't need the Poké Balls!" Gary, after taking the Pokédex, didn't even look at those cheap, low-level Poké Balls.
"I don't need Poké Balls either" Luke shook his head after receiving his Pokédex.
Luke used the Poké Balls rewarded by the system, which had adjustable transfer switches and no League detection devices.
The Poké Balls given to new trainers and sold in stores all have League detection devices that constantly monitor information about the Pokémon inside.
This is a very annoying feature, so wealthy families or rich people often make their own Poké Balls.
After all, no one wants their Pokémon to be under someone else surveillance 24/7!
Plus, the transfer device can't be turned off, forcing a transfer once you have 6 Pokémon.
"Then I'll take my leave now. I'll visit you again next time, Professor Oak!" Luke was about to leave after receiving his items.
"Wait! Do you dare to have a battle with me?" Gary said arrogantly.
System: Ding! Since someone is sticking their face out, you should slap it hard!
Task: Teach the arrogant Gary a lesson, let him know what real skill looks like while also showing off!
Reward: One Lucky Fishing Rod!
Lucky Fishing Rod: Gives one chance to fish for an excellent Water-type Pokémon!
Seeing the system reward, Luke smiled. "Why wouldn't I dare? Let's go outside!"
"Then let me be the referee!" Professor Oak said.
****
Outside in the open space, Luke and Gary stood on opposite sides.
"Go! Charmander!"
Charmander
Height: 0.6 meters
Weight: 8.5 kg
Type: Fire
Ability: Blaze: When HP is less than 1/3, Fire-type moves' power increases by 50%.
Hidden Ability: Solar Power: In harsh sunlight, Special Attack increases by 50% (HP reduction removed here, as it was too limiting)
Strength: Beginner
Potential: Elite Four
Moves: Scratch, Growl, Ember, Smokescreen
Description: A starter Pokémon trained by the League for new trainers. Has great potential, recommended for rookie trainer!
As expected of a Pokémon carefully selected by the League, its potential is actually at the Elite Four level!
Potential doesn't necessarily mean the Pokémon will reach that level.
Besides the Pokémon's own efforts, the most important factor is whether the trainer knows how to unlock the Pokémon's potential.
"Go! Squirtle!"
Squirtle
Type: Water
Ability: Torrent: When HP is less than 1/3, Water-type moves' power increases by 50%.
Hidden Ability: Rain Dish: Recovers 1/16 of max HP at the end of each turn during rain.
Strength: Beginner
Potential: Elite Four
Moves: Tackle, Tail Whip, Water Gun, Withdraw
Description: A starter Pokémon trained by the League for new trainers. Has great potential.
Seeing both sides send out their Pokémon, Leaf pouted and said.
"Water-type beats Fire-type, that's so unfair to Luke!"
Hearing this, Professor Oak laughed and said. "Leaf, you should know that there's no such thing as fairness in Pokémon battles! Also, for excellent trainers, type advantages may have an impact, but they're not the key to determining the outcome of a battle. Just watch, Luke should be able to teach you all a good lesson!"
After saying that, Professor Oak walked over and said.
"Now we'll hold a one-on-one Pokémon battle between Luke and Gary. Let the match begin!"
"Squirtle, use Water Gun!" Gary wasn't one for pleasantries!
"Charmander, dodge and then use Smokescreen!" Luke calmly commanded.
Jumping to the side to avoid the Water Gun, Charmander slowly covering the field with smoke!
Unable to see the field and with Squirtle not yet having learned any moves to counter the smoke, Gary didn't know what to do.
At this moment, Luke command came from across the field!
"Charmander, use Growl!"
Charmander in the smoke also couldn't see its opponent and didn't know what to do when Luke voice came just in time.
It immediately opened its mouth and roared.
The smoke couldn't block sound and Squirtle attack was immediately lowered!