HMTKSteve
04-14-2008, 12:07 PM
I showed this to a few of the forum members before posting it here. I made a few changes to the text and fixed the flow of it based on feedback from those same members.
Please enjoy my writings and feel free to leave comments in the thread.
Ezekial's Pokemon Journey: Chapter 1
You don't know me, but one day you will. My name is Ezekial and what follows is the story of my Pokemon journey.
It all started shortly after my thirteenth birthday. I was invited to Professor Jonhson's Pokemon research lab to select a Pokemon to join me as I entered the teen years of my life. Lots of kids had been given Pokemon upon reaching their thirteenth birthday and I was not about to be an exception.
Now I know a lot of kids pick from a small grouping of Pokemon commonly referred to as "starters" but here in Azuretown things work a little bit differently. Even though we are part of the Sinnoh region you will not find our town on the normal maps of the area. Our town is too small and too secluded to be noticed by most folk.
Instead of offering me the normal pick of Chimchar, Turtwig or Piplup Professor Johnson takes a longer view of assigning Pokemon to new trainers. In fact, my entire twelfth year was spent visiting Professor Johnson's lab on weekends and interacting with all of the Pokemon that passed through his care. By the time I was thirteen the Professor had enough knowledge of me to pick the appropriate Pokemon to join me as I made my way towards adulthood.
The Professor also never liked the idea of a "starter" Pokemon. "No Pokemon should be considered a starter," he would say, "it sounds eerily like training wheels on a bicycle. Are you supposed to outgrow your starter Pokemon at some later date? How does that make the Pokemon feel? How would you feel if you were a starter child to your parents. Someone they would throw away after a few years once they gained a knack for raising kids?"
The professor and I spent a lot of time talking to each other about life and Pokemon. Oh, don't get me wrong, the professor also kept me working on those weekend visits. A Pokemon research lab will not run itself and a Pokemon Trainer needs to learn the basics of Pokemon care and feeding long before they get their first Pokemon. Even when I was working, the professor always took a little bit of time to talk to me. This was his way of doing research on me so that when the time came he could present me with a "life" Pokemon. A Pokemon that would be with me for the rest of my life, not just a few years.
The professor has been in our town since even before my parents were born. My dad is originally from Azuretown but my mom hales from one of the bigger cities of Sinnoh. Both of my parents have Pokemon but only my dad got his from the professor. My mom got hers from another professor, one who was not quite as good as professor Johnson.
My mom is a very loving and protective woman. She worries about us kids when we are out of her sight but she doesn't hover over us. She understands that for us to grow up into responsible adults we need room to grow. We need to experience life and all there is in it before we can properly find our place in it.
Mom's Pokemon is a Piplup. In all the years Piplup and her have been together she never let it evolve. She was always worried about how her Pokemon evolving would change the nature of their relationship. Now that her children are growing up I think she might change her mind and let that little Piplup evolve into a Prinplup, maybe even an Empoleon. She's been with that Piplup for over 20 years now and she also had her own Pokemon journey when she was younger. Enough about that. you're probably wondering about my dad right about now.
My dad, on the other hand, was born and raised right here in Azuretown. The house we live in has been in the family for several generations. My great grandparents used to live in this house before they passed away. There is a small family plot a short ways down the road where they, and their Pokemon, now lie.
When my dad was thirteen he got his Pokemon from a younger Professor Johnson. To hear my dad tell it professor Johnson had gray hair even way back then! My dad has a funny way of relating the story of how he got his Pokemon from the professor but I'm not as good at telling it as he is so you'll just have to make due with my version.
See, when my dad was a kid he was not the most energetic kid around. Oh he could get excited and move around when the notion struck him. It's not that he was lazy, just uninspired. When the professor gave him his Pokemon a lot of people were wondering if the professor was trying to make a joke, he wasn't.
Even back then the professor had a way of seeing who you are today and who you will become in the future. My dad was not a real doer in those days, he sort of just let things happen. Unless it was something he really wanted. Then (and only then) he would move quickly. In case you can't guess, my dad's Pokemon was a Slakoth. He's not a Slakoth anymore though. Not too long into his Pokemon journey that Slakoth evolved into a Vigoroth. Those two never slowed down after that! Sometimes my dad jokes that once he's ready for retirement he'll let Slakoth evolve into a Slaking, so they can both be lazy again and have the strength to get things done when the need arises.
It was during my dad's Pokemon journey that he met my mom. It was right around that time that Slakoth evolved into a Vigoroth. Mom and Dad giggle like kids sometimes when they talk about that but it always went over us kid's heads.
I was very nervous on my thirteenth birthday. Mom and Dad held a small party for me in the morning but they knew better than to drag it out. No kid wants to be delayed in getting to the professor's lab on their thirteenth birthday! My little brother and sister were also a bit on the antsy side. They were just as excited as I was to see what sort of Pokemon the professor would give to me.
To say I was nervous about getting my Pokemon would be an understatement. When the professor gave you your first Pokemon it was a big deal. It was like a local coming of age custom for us. People looked at you differently once you had your Pokemon. Your Pokemon was a look into who you were as a person. Now, you also have to take into consideration that there is not an infinite number of Pokemon in the world so the Pokemon you were given was as close of an approximation as the professor could get. Just because you were given a Taurus did not mean you were bull-headed. It might mean you were very strong and resolute, or it might just mean you were stubborn!
My family waved goodbye to me from the front porch of our house as I walked down the road towards the lab. The talk at the diner table all week long had been about this day. Mom and dad never said too much about what they thought I would get today but my brother and sister never held back.
"Zeke? Oh you just know he'll be getting a Combee," my sister would say. "Why a Combee," my mom would ask? "Cause he's always bugging me of course. That and he's useless," my sister would reply.
My sister and I have a very interesting relationship. She's only six years old but she thinks she runs the house when mom is not around on account of mom running the house when she is around. If anyone deserves a Combee it would be her! She'd probably end up getting a female Combee and evolving it into a Vespiquen though. If that happened there'd be no stopping her!
My brother? He's only two years younger than me and we are pretty tight. I think he thinks I should get something strong, perhaps a Rock or Dragon type Pokemon. I'm not so sure about that. Even I get scared at times. It's nice to have someone who looks up to you like that, I hope he's not disappointed in me if I come home with something that is not as all-powerful as he expects.
After a short walk I made it to the lab and found the professor waiting on the doorstep for me. "Welcome young Ezekial. Are you ready to enter the lab and begin your Pokemon journey? You can always turn around and go home if you don't feel ready." He said with a hint of a smile on his face. With the lab door I open I walked in. The professor followed behind me.
End Chapter 1
Please enjoy my writings and feel free to leave comments in the thread.
Ezekial's Pokemon Journey: Chapter 1
You don't know me, but one day you will. My name is Ezekial and what follows is the story of my Pokemon journey.
It all started shortly after my thirteenth birthday. I was invited to Professor Jonhson's Pokemon research lab to select a Pokemon to join me as I entered the teen years of my life. Lots of kids had been given Pokemon upon reaching their thirteenth birthday and I was not about to be an exception.
Now I know a lot of kids pick from a small grouping of Pokemon commonly referred to as "starters" but here in Azuretown things work a little bit differently. Even though we are part of the Sinnoh region you will not find our town on the normal maps of the area. Our town is too small and too secluded to be noticed by most folk.
Instead of offering me the normal pick of Chimchar, Turtwig or Piplup Professor Johnson takes a longer view of assigning Pokemon to new trainers. In fact, my entire twelfth year was spent visiting Professor Johnson's lab on weekends and interacting with all of the Pokemon that passed through his care. By the time I was thirteen the Professor had enough knowledge of me to pick the appropriate Pokemon to join me as I made my way towards adulthood.
The Professor also never liked the idea of a "starter" Pokemon. "No Pokemon should be considered a starter," he would say, "it sounds eerily like training wheels on a bicycle. Are you supposed to outgrow your starter Pokemon at some later date? How does that make the Pokemon feel? How would you feel if you were a starter child to your parents. Someone they would throw away after a few years once they gained a knack for raising kids?"
The professor and I spent a lot of time talking to each other about life and Pokemon. Oh, don't get me wrong, the professor also kept me working on those weekend visits. A Pokemon research lab will not run itself and a Pokemon Trainer needs to learn the basics of Pokemon care and feeding long before they get their first Pokemon. Even when I was working, the professor always took a little bit of time to talk to me. This was his way of doing research on me so that when the time came he could present me with a "life" Pokemon. A Pokemon that would be with me for the rest of my life, not just a few years.
The professor has been in our town since even before my parents were born. My dad is originally from Azuretown but my mom hales from one of the bigger cities of Sinnoh. Both of my parents have Pokemon but only my dad got his from the professor. My mom got hers from another professor, one who was not quite as good as professor Johnson.
My mom is a very loving and protective woman. She worries about us kids when we are out of her sight but she doesn't hover over us. She understands that for us to grow up into responsible adults we need room to grow. We need to experience life and all there is in it before we can properly find our place in it.
Mom's Pokemon is a Piplup. In all the years Piplup and her have been together she never let it evolve. She was always worried about how her Pokemon evolving would change the nature of their relationship. Now that her children are growing up I think she might change her mind and let that little Piplup evolve into a Prinplup, maybe even an Empoleon. She's been with that Piplup for over 20 years now and she also had her own Pokemon journey when she was younger. Enough about that. you're probably wondering about my dad right about now.
My dad, on the other hand, was born and raised right here in Azuretown. The house we live in has been in the family for several generations. My great grandparents used to live in this house before they passed away. There is a small family plot a short ways down the road where they, and their Pokemon, now lie.
When my dad was thirteen he got his Pokemon from a younger Professor Johnson. To hear my dad tell it professor Johnson had gray hair even way back then! My dad has a funny way of relating the story of how he got his Pokemon from the professor but I'm not as good at telling it as he is so you'll just have to make due with my version.
See, when my dad was a kid he was not the most energetic kid around. Oh he could get excited and move around when the notion struck him. It's not that he was lazy, just uninspired. When the professor gave him his Pokemon a lot of people were wondering if the professor was trying to make a joke, he wasn't.
Even back then the professor had a way of seeing who you are today and who you will become in the future. My dad was not a real doer in those days, he sort of just let things happen. Unless it was something he really wanted. Then (and only then) he would move quickly. In case you can't guess, my dad's Pokemon was a Slakoth. He's not a Slakoth anymore though. Not too long into his Pokemon journey that Slakoth evolved into a Vigoroth. Those two never slowed down after that! Sometimes my dad jokes that once he's ready for retirement he'll let Slakoth evolve into a Slaking, so they can both be lazy again and have the strength to get things done when the need arises.
It was during my dad's Pokemon journey that he met my mom. It was right around that time that Slakoth evolved into a Vigoroth. Mom and Dad giggle like kids sometimes when they talk about that but it always went over us kid's heads.
I was very nervous on my thirteenth birthday. Mom and Dad held a small party for me in the morning but they knew better than to drag it out. No kid wants to be delayed in getting to the professor's lab on their thirteenth birthday! My little brother and sister were also a bit on the antsy side. They were just as excited as I was to see what sort of Pokemon the professor would give to me.
To say I was nervous about getting my Pokemon would be an understatement. When the professor gave you your first Pokemon it was a big deal. It was like a local coming of age custom for us. People looked at you differently once you had your Pokemon. Your Pokemon was a look into who you were as a person. Now, you also have to take into consideration that there is not an infinite number of Pokemon in the world so the Pokemon you were given was as close of an approximation as the professor could get. Just because you were given a Taurus did not mean you were bull-headed. It might mean you were very strong and resolute, or it might just mean you were stubborn!
My family waved goodbye to me from the front porch of our house as I walked down the road towards the lab. The talk at the diner table all week long had been about this day. Mom and dad never said too much about what they thought I would get today but my brother and sister never held back.
"Zeke? Oh you just know he'll be getting a Combee," my sister would say. "Why a Combee," my mom would ask? "Cause he's always bugging me of course. That and he's useless," my sister would reply.
My sister and I have a very interesting relationship. She's only six years old but she thinks she runs the house when mom is not around on account of mom running the house when she is around. If anyone deserves a Combee it would be her! She'd probably end up getting a female Combee and evolving it into a Vespiquen though. If that happened there'd be no stopping her!
My brother? He's only two years younger than me and we are pretty tight. I think he thinks I should get something strong, perhaps a Rock or Dragon type Pokemon. I'm not so sure about that. Even I get scared at times. It's nice to have someone who looks up to you like that, I hope he's not disappointed in me if I come home with something that is not as all-powerful as he expects.
After a short walk I made it to the lab and found the professor waiting on the doorstep for me. "Welcome young Ezekial. Are you ready to enter the lab and begin your Pokemon journey? You can always turn around and go home if you don't feel ready." He said with a hint of a smile on his face. With the lab door I open I walked in. The professor followed behind me.
End Chapter 1