Garret's Nuzlocke: Ch. 4

Garret was woken up by the same soft nudging. He opened his eyes to see Birch standing over him again. He yawned and sat up, looking down to Ciceris who was standing beside the bed. He stretched upwards, saying, "Did you sleep at all?"

Ciceris smirked and nodded, then looked up at Birch, who was smiling at the comfort the two already had. Birch spoke after Garret rolled out of bed, "A couple of students are here. They're picking their Pokémon now. Come on down and I'll talk to you all at once." He turned around and went downstairs quickly.

Garret stretched again, then looked down to Ciceris, "You ready?"

He nodded, saying, "Yep. Let's go." He sprinted to the stairs, dropping down onto all fours to scurry down them.

Garret followed lazily, picking his backpack up before heading down after Ciceris. He was waiting at the door, and then followed after Garret.

Garret immediately saw two people he knew: Caleb, one of his friends from school, and Holly, one of the popular girls. Isaac was in his usual blue jeans and blue shirt, and his hair was cut very short. Holly was wearing an elegant orange top with a red skirt, and her long red hair was up in a ponytail. Each had chosen their Pokémon: Caleb having a small blue mud fish Pokémon with an orange belly and a big blue fin on its head beside him, seeming stern as he stood there; and Holly having a small orange chick in her folded arms, not seeming to like being squeezed to her chest.

Garret walked over to greet Isaac, saying, "Hey Caleb! Guess what I'm doing this year!"

Caleb blinked, saying in a surprised tone, "Garret? You're becoming a trainer? I thought your mom wouldn't let you."

Garret froze for a second, chuckling weakly, "Well… it's my choice in the end."

Caleb shrugged, "Hey, I've never questioned you before." He started to laugh before he was cut off by a forced cough from the professor. He quickly became quiet and turned to face the adult.

Garret stepped up as he looked between the three. He cleared his throat one more time before saying, "Alright. It seems like everyone has chosen their starters. Now I'm sure you all have heard this, but I will repeat it again for emphasis: Pokémon are NOT weapons, tools, or status symbols. They are your companions. Your friends. Your family. They will protect you and help you as long as you respect them and care for them." He looked to each new trainer sternly, each giving him a quick nod.

The professor smiled warmly, continuing in a happier tone, "Good." He turned around to the desk as he spoke, "You three have officially started your journey. There are infinite possibilities from this point on. You can join contests to show off your team's talent, as well as your own. You can catalogue all the Pokémon you encounter and capture. Or you can go all the way and challenge the League and vie for the title as Champion."

He had rifled through the desk, gathering an assortment of items. He turned around after he finished with a box of the items. Inside were small tablets, several dozen pokeballs, and maps of the region. He handed each one of them a tablet, pokeballs, and a map. He started after putting the now empty box away, "Two of the items I gave you are obvious. But the tablets I gave you are your Pokedex. This will record your encounters with Pokémon and give details on caught Pokémon. As I said, some trainers aim to fill their 'dex, which in some cases is a harder challenge than becoming Champion."

He laughed as the trainers looked over and stowed the items in their bags. He cleared his throat again before finishing, "That is basically all I can say right now. From here on, the decisions are yours to make. But think hard before you do. Everything you do can, or will, have a consequence. And you will have to live with it."

An awkward silence fell over the group, which was finally broken by the professor, "Not to discourage you or anything, but it is a fact of life. But enough talk. It's time for you to head out before the day is wasted." He looked up to the clock for a moment to make sure he didn't talk it all away. It was only a quarter-past-nine. He smiled as he looked back and said, "It was good to see you all, and I wish you luck on your journey. Now I must go call my assistants and start the day myself."

The three said goodbye to the professor as he headed to the break room. They looked between each other for a moment before Caleb said, "Well, as the professor said, no point in hanging around here and wasting time. I'm going to go out with Kilian and see how he does." He gave a wave before heading out, followed by the skipping Mudkip.

Holly watched him leave before saying in a snooty tone, "Well I'm going to go show Martha here to my parents. Then I'm off to start training for contests!" She headed out with the Torchic squeezed tight to her chest, the chick squirming to get out.

Garret watched her leave quietly before looking down to Ciceris, who was standing there quietly with his arms crossed. He looked up to his trainer and said, "I don't think we have to worry about what the professor said. I can take care of myself, and probably you too." He smirked upwards, and Garret smirked back.

"Yeah, well I don't want to lose my first Pokémon, so be careful. Now let's go," Garret said as he started towards the door. Ciceris followed right behind, smiling.