Born to be a Winner

by Darth Severus


Meeting the Professor

Spike had just woken from his sleep, thanks to another one of Acaria's earthquakes. These quakes had been getting worse and worse lately, but nobody knew what was causing them. Spike dusted himself off after he got up off the floor. "Geez, these earthquakes are annoying... Well, whatever. Today's the day I pick my starter Pokémon!" before running downstairs to see his older sister Twilight, along with his sister in-law and niece. He asked, "Hey sis, shouldn't you be back in Dramos Town?"

Dramos Town was a small town to the east of Spike's hometown, Carcira Town, and Twilight was the Gym Leader there. She told Spike, "You didn't think I'd miss my little brother's big day as becoming a Trainer, did you? Besides, I've been meaning to see Professor Cottonwood. I've got a theory on the earthquakes we've been having."

Spike smiled, "Thanks sis, you're the best." It had been three years since their mom went missing, and their dad, a Pokémon Ranger, had gone on an obsessive quest to find her. That was around the time the earthquakes started, and Twilight knew it. Their brother Shining Armor had become one of the Acaria Region's Elite 4, so he didn't have the time to look into their mother's disappearance, so Cadence had been taking care of Twilight, Flurry Heart, and Spike for the last three years.

As Spike and Twilight finished their breakfast, they headed over to Professor Cottonwood's lab, and she greeted them, "Twilight, Spike! It's good to see you."

A girl twirled around on her feet and smiled, "Good to see you Spike. It looks like we'll be helping the professor together." The girl was Spike's childhood friend Smolder, who was also getting her first Pokémon today.

Spike smiled back, "Hey Smolder, good to see you too."

The professor cleared her throat saying, "Well, today is the big day where the two of you start your Pokémon journey. Now, normally I give new trainers an Eevee, but an old colleague of mine had some Pokémon that he was going to release if I didn't take them. Twilight, I assume you know about Delta Pokémon?"

Twilight nodded, "Yes, but I don't know a lot about them, just that their typing, abilities, and moves are different from other Pokémon, sort of like the regional variants you'd see in Alola or Galar, but they're not confined to a single region. Are you saying you're going to give Spike and Smolder Delta Pokémon as their starters? I'm not sure if that's really a good idea."

Professor Cottonwood sighed, "Yes, I was hesitant on the idea, but I do want to research Delta Pokémon, so I decided to give Smolder and Spike one of them, and I'll research the last one myself. I don't know what their typing is, but these are Delta Bulbasaur, Delta Charmander, and Delta Squirtle. Pick whichever one you want."

Smolder looked at Spike and told him, "You can pick yours first Spike."

Spike rolled his eyes, he knew Smolder was doing this so she could pick the starter with a type advantage, but since they didn't know what types the Pokémon were, there was a chance her choice wouldn't have one. He walked up to the Poké Ball that Professor Cottonwood said held a Charmander and picked it up, "I'll go with Charmander."

Smolder walked over to the table, "In that case, I'm going with Squirtle."

The Professor said, "Now, before you leave, take these, you'll need them." before handing the two of them a Pokédex and ten Poké Balls. "The Pokédex will record data from any Pokémon you catch. And those Poké Balls will allow you to capture more Pokémon. If you intend on challenging the Pokémon League, you'll need to go to Asarath City, just north of Dramos Town. That's where the first Gym is. Twilight's Gym may be in Dramos Town, but you're not ready to face her yet."

Twilight cleared her throat, "I'm still right here professor, you don't need to speak for me." before looking to Spike and Smolder, "But she's right, to challenge my Gym, you'll need to acquire four badges first."

Spike nodded "Ok sis, but I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're my sister!"

Twilight smiled, "Music to my ears."

As Spike and Smolder left the lab, Ember asked Spike, "So, should we go on our adventure together?"

Spike thought for a moment and nodded, "I think we should, we've been friends since we were kids, so I wouldn't want it any other way."

Suddenly, Professor Cottonwood yelled out, "Wait, I forgot one last thing. Register me in your PokéGear, just in case I need to call you." before registering her number in Spike and Smolder's PokéGear. "Good luck out there you two." and heading back into her lab.

After registering the Professor, the two new trainers headed out towards Shade Forest, which was the midway point between Carcira Town and Dramos Town. They would need to get through the forest to get to Dramos Town, and then they would head north to Asaratch City for their first Gym Battle.

As they walked through the forest, they didn't see any wild Pokémon, and Spike said, "Something's not right. Twilight told me this place was filled with wild Pokémon, but I can't seem to see or hear any."

Smolder shrugged, "Maybe they got scared by that earthquake this morning."

Spike sighed, "Yeah, probably. It's getting dark, and when our dad was around, he told us never to go through Shade Forest at night. Should we keep going or set up camp?"

"I think we should set up camp at the clearing, that place seems unaffected by the earthquakes," Smolder replied before heading a little further with Spike. She thought to herself, "Spike's always wanted to be a Pokémon master... I don't know how I could tell him I'm more interested in being a Pokémon Coordinator. We're best friends, but if I told him the truth, how could we still be rivals? When we were little, he always wanted to be up against me in the finals of the Pokémon League Tournament... I don't want to ruin that dream, but... well, worrying about it won't help. Maybe a good night's sleep will help." before setting up her tent and falling asleep in her sleeping bag.

And so Spike and Smolder have started their journeys as Pokémon trainers. As trainers, they also will be helping Professor Cottonwood with her research, as well as forging their path as trainers. Spike is aiming for the Pokémon League, but Smolder seems to have a different path in mind. Now their story unfolds.