Today was the day. The day Greg finally had the chance to leave home. He would leave behind a family he didn't fully trust, all the bullies who had plagued him everyday life, and his small group of friends he shared everything with. That last one was a giant sacrifice to Greg, as they were all he felt like he could rely on, but when you begin a new chapter in life you must let things from your past go, as hard as that might be. At the very least he felt like his family would miss him, even if they didn't have the best relationship, but they practically shoved him out the door when they heard of the compensation they'd receive if Greg participated in Professor Pine's study. Typical of them, Greg thought, to only care about themselves.
Greg was told to meet Professor Pine in the Pokémon Center of Viridian City. An odd place to receive a Pokémon, as he thought you would usually start in the professor's lab. Greg didn't care too much about that though, as he was more than ready to leave all the bad things in his life behind. He had never stepped foot into the Pokémon Center before, but he knew the building well, with it's bright red roof and the sign on the outside of the building.
As Greg made his way through the city, the familiar feeling of being alone sank back in. That would last long though, as he was about to get his first Pokémon on this gorgeous sunny day. The small ponds reflected his image back to him, and he couldn't help smiling back at himself. Nothing could be negative today. As he approached the familiar building, he started to get nervous. What if his Pokémon didn't like him? Well, that's not an unfamiliar feeling that he's felt with real people all the time. What if he was too late? No, the professor would surely wait for him. He swallowed his fears as he stepped inside the Pokémon Center, and felt relieved when he saw a woman with a white lab coat and long dark hair standing at the counter with Pokéballs in front of her.
"Excuse me, are you Professor Pine?" Greg asked quietly. His introversion was showing, as talking to new people always made him nervous, regardless of the situation.
"That would be me," she started. "And you must be Gregory! I'm pleased to meet you," the professor said as she extended her hand with a smile.
Greg felt relieved that she was friendly, and shook her hand and matched her smile with one of his own. "I feel the same way! I'm ready to start my journey."
Professor Pine's face grew excited, as she stepped to the side, revealing the Pokéballs Greg saw earlier. "Well, you are a little late compared to the others who have been here, so I don't have many Pokémon left. But I think you might like this one," she explained as she handed over a Pokéball to Greg.
It felt nice holding the small red and white sphere in his hand. It was a feeling that he could definitely get used to. He pressed the small button in the middle to expand the ball, then tossed it in the air a little to release whatever was inside. A white light emerged, and eventually took the shape of a monkey whose tail was on fire.
"This Pokémon is called Monferno, and it comes from the far-away Sinnoh region. I don't know why, but I felt like a fire-type might fit you well," the professor exclaimed with a smile.
Greg was a little nervous at first looking at the Monferno. It's eyes had a fierce look to them, and it look like a rather tough Pokémon. It gave him the same sort of feeling of seeing one of his bullies, but at the same time it was almost comforting. This was a Pokémon that he would be the owner of, and that almost extended to overcoming his fears of bullies. The feeling of nervousness melted away to happiness, and Greg knew it would be a good fit. "He's perfect."
"Wonderful!" she exclaimed. "I'll let you bond with him later, but right now I have a few more things to give you. First," she started as she handed a small red box-shaped device to him, "this is a Pokédex. It will record data on Pokémon as you encounter them. It's like a Pokémon encyclopedia that updates with new information all the time!"
Greg took the Pokédex and scanned Monferno with it. He wasn't expecting the device to have a voice of it's own.
"Monferno, the playful Pokémon. It skillfully controls the intensity of the fire on its tail to keep its foes at an ideal distance."
In addition to the small blurb, it showed Greg the moves Monferno could learn, it's typing, and a whole slew of information about him. A Fire-Fighting type was definitely useful for Greg, as it should be very strong offensively.
"Next, this is your license for the Pokémon League. This will allow you to earn badges from Gym Leaders, as well as compete in the Indigo League if you collect all 8 badges, which I'm hoping you do! And that's about all I have to give you, so whenever you're ready to head out feel free!" Pine said excitedly. She definitely loved her research, and was excited for the new trainers to start to help with it, even if they didn't know what it was truly about.
Greg thanked her and returned Monferno to his Pokéball. He would bond with it later, but right now, he needed to get out of Viridian City to start his journey. He strapped his new Pokéball to his belt, ran out the doors of the Pokémon Center, and north towards Route 2 and Viridian Forest.