The First Step

Finally, thought Tobias, I'm here. After the month long boat ride and the day long truck ride, he had arrived at Littleroot town. It was a small and quiet town, not unlike Tobias' home town, Blackthorn, but with a few differences. There was an absence of sound of running water that you could hear in Blackthorn, and he didn't see a gym, which was probably the reason for the town lacking a Poke Mart. There also wasn't a huge mountain in sight. I need to stop comparing every place I go to Blackthorn, he mused. I'm gonna get homesick. So far, he had managed to escape this, but... he was prone to depression.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he looked at the address he had been given, and, sure enough, there was a building with a sign that read "Professor Birch's Lab." He made his way over to the building, ignoring the looks from the residents of the town. The door was ajar, so he made his way into the lab, looked around, and waited.

Professor Birch grins, as he notices the kid slip into his lab. But he really doesn't say anything at first, before he grins and silently mumbles to him.

"Well hello there, I'm guessing you are a new trainer, but at any rate we shouldn't waste time. You can take a look at the Pokémon over there, get a good idea on which one you would want, but before I can give one of them, or a PokéDex to you, i'll need your name. I'm Professor Birch, and you are?"

As the professor stands waiting, Tobias simply has a choice to make. What will he do?

Tobias jumped as he heard the Professors voice, quickly turning around and looking up. He hadn't been expecting someone so soon. He looked down and opened his mouth to speak, but only a raspy sound came out. Tobias realized he hadn't talked in several hours. He got a hold of himself, thought Make eye contact, looked up, cleared his throat, and said, "Yes sir, my name is Tobias, Tobias Warren," boldly.

He looked where the professor had indicated, and after gazing for a sec and trying to wrap his head around the fact that one of those was going to be his Pokémon, he quickly realized that he recognized none of the 'mons. Looking back up at Professor Birch, he asked, "Do you have any Dragon Pokémon, sir?

Professor Birch stares a bit hard before he begins to talk.

"Well Tobias, we don't have any dragon Pokémon persay, but the closest thing I'd say is a Swablu, which evolves into an Altaria, but don't put all of your eggs in one basket, look at the others for a bit before you make your decision, and meanwhile I'll get your PokéDex and some items."

Walking out of the room, Professor Birch points Tobias to the wall again, and having him look at all of his choices, goes to get his supplies ready to go...

Tobias' eyes widened when Professor Birch mentioned a Dragon Pokémon, he hadn't actually expected to get anything close, let alone a Pokémon that evolved into a Dragon. He did as Birch asked, walking over to the wall and looking over the 'mons, but his eyes kept wondering back to Swablu. He chuckled, knowing his obsession with Dragons was probably unhealthy, but he didn't care. He was ready to show the world that he was a trainer from Blackthorne City.
Tobias knew his decision had been made from the second he heard the word "dragon," so he called, "Professor Birch, I've made my decision. I want a Swablu, please."

Professor Birch grins as he places the PokéBall into Tobias' hand, and as he leaves the room, he quickly calls back to Tobias.

"Hey, I'll get your PokéDex and a few other things, maybe you should get to know that Swablu of yours a bit better, you know? Once I get back we can head on out for a quick test."

As he leaves the room, Tobias is staring at his new Pokémon, and tries to think on what to do next...

Tobias watched as Birch leaves the room, presumably to give him some privacy for his first encounter with his first Pokémon. Not that he really cared. He looked around once more, feeling awkward, before opening the PokéBall.

Out came a Swablu, who sat on the floor in front of him, looking fairly confused. Tobias bent down and said, "Hey, little guy. I'm gonna be your trainer from now on, ok?" It looked up at him, seeming to try and decide if it liked him or not. Tobia said, "We're gonna have to give you a new name, little guy. Or is it girl?" The Swablu said "Blu" in a high voice and hopped on his shoulder, nuzzling his cheek.

Tobias laughed and said, "While that doesn't really answer my question, we'll figure it out sooner or later, this is fine with me," he said, smiling, and waited for the professor.

As Professor Birch returns, he is glad that Tobias and Swablu were getting along. As he interrupts the two, he places a few things on the table before speaking to the two.

"Well to answer your question Tobias, that Swablu is male. But we are going out for a quick test of your abilities, and while there shouldn't be any problems, the fact is that things aren't perfect, and since my healing machine is broken, I've got some items here for you, along with your PokéDex."

Pointing at the table, Birch indicates the Town Map, Revive, 2 Potions, 2 Full Heals and 3 Oran Berries that lay next to Tobias' new PokéDex as he walks to the door.

"Shall we?"

As Birch walks out of the door, Swablu and Tobias can only stare in confusion...

Advance to Route 101