OK, I've gone back and ripped out the Donphan/Gym bit for now, it's screwing with my chronology. So yeah, the story starts just below, follow it in the correct order by simply scrolling down! 
So, I'm starting from the beginning now, enjoy!
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It was one of those awkward tearful farewells, where only one party is tearful and the other is perfectly fine but is having to act slightly sad to prevent awkwardness and further upset. Jay was almost out of the door of his house, but despite having said his goodbyes in the hallway, his mother had caught him once again and was busily engulfing him, repeating advice that she felt was important. Luckily, Jay, like most other teenagers, was blessed with the power of selective hearing.
“… and do make sure you have plenty to eat, and don’t sleep outdoors in the rain, and if there’s a really big fierce Pokémon looking angry don’t try to capture it just run away and…”
And Jay phased out again, watching a Pidgey swoop away from a redwood tree after which his town was named. Subconsciously noticing a lull in the one-woman conversation, he phased back in again with a suitably ambiguous “don’t worry, I’ll be fine, it’ll be fun.” Snorting on a tissue with a boathorn-esque honk, his mother sniffed and wiped her eyes, smiling proudly but sadly. She was loath to let Jay go “gallivanting around the world chasing a dream”, but she had long known that she would be powerless to stop him.
So it was that today, the day after his fifteenth birthday (the coming-of-age age in Johto), he was setting out on his Pokémon journey (although Jay personally thought that “Gallivanting around the world chasing a dream” sounded equally cool). Finally extricating himself from his mother’s hug, he adjusted his rucksack on his back, said his goodbyes once more, and left home. He didn’t look back, partly for dramatic effect, and partly because he knew that his mother would be standing on the step clutching a tissue and waving it feebly.
Heading through town to the outskirts of Redwood Forest, Jay made his way to professor Redwood, who lived in a spectacular treehouse fashioned around five giant redwood trees from which he had taken his professional name. He was fairly well-known around Johto, but not just for his studies into the interaction between wild Pokémon and their environments, but for also being a bit on the crazy side. Well, more eccentric, they said. But then, who wouldn’t be, living, working and sleeping in a tree? Jay had only met him once or twice, and only ever briefly. Still, he was an official Professor, and was as such held in high regard. The people of Redwood town were pleased to have him, and he in turn got on well with the inhabitants when he occasionally left the forest.
Arriving now at the bottom of a particularly large tree, Jay saw the sign that had been nailed to it at about his height. It featured a large arrow that pointed upwards and to the right, so Jay followed it in the suggested direction, and came to the beginnings of a spiralling staircase that wound its way up through the foliage above. Excitement mounting, he leapt up them, already picturing receiving his starter Pokémon and Pokédex. After five minutes and several steps, he was panting heavily, and slowed to a walk as he regained his breath. Another two minutes of walking had finally brought him to the top of the staircase, and Jay stopped and stared in awe at the building in front of him. He’d expected some kind of glorified hut complex, but instead, he saw a complex of glistening metal and glass, with verandas here and there. It seemed to blend in with its surroundings, all curves and gliding slopes, but at the same time, it was clearly a separate entity to the subtle greens and browns of the forest it inhabited.
Standing on the veranda at the top of the stairs, Jay took a moment to get his breath, and gazed around the magnificent view in amazement. Suddenly, he became aware that he was being watched, Turning, he made eye contact with a large Noctowl that was standing on a perch by the glass door a few feet away. It hooted, piercing the silence of the forest, and tilted its head at Jay, who found himself unconsciously mimicking it. Noctowl’s great amber eyes were focused on Jay staring at him with such intensity that he could scarcely remember what he was doing or why he was in a forest. In fact, he was beginning to feel quite tired…
Locked in a stare with the Noctowl, Jay heard the hiss of a door and approaching footsteps as if they were miles away, and only came to his senses when the man called out “Noctowl, that’s enough! Sorry about him Jay, he’s a bit of a nuisance when he sees a stranger… aren’t you? Yes, you are.”
“Hello Professor, I’ve come about starting my Journey” was all Jay could really manage, suddenly exhausted by the tangle with Noctowl’s hypnotic stare.
“Yes indeed! Well, in you come – not you Noctowl, stay! – and we can get things sorted. Follow me! Oh wait… you are Jay, aren’t you? Yes, I recognise the eyebrows, you have your mother’s eyebrows… well come on in then.” And back inside he strolled, leaving a considerably bewildered Jay to follow him hurridly. The lab’s interior was more of the same – metal and glass, but with dark green carpet and bright white lights on the ceiling above. Leading him past closed doors and round corners, Redwood kept up a constant stream of rushed, babbling talk.
“So if you’ll keep following me, not too far, we can get you a dex and choose a starter, I have all three in at the moment so it’s good, alright here we are, in here, the nerve centre of my little complex, just avoid the wires, and those papers, and oh dear me are those feathers, how did they get in here and ooh, be careful, don’t touch those, it took me ages to find them after I lost them last week, turns out they were in the pocket of my other labcoat the whole time, funny how things turn out like that isn’t it, now if you’ll just excuse me I’ll fetch you a blank dex and the starters and that kind of thing”.
And he bustled off out of the room, still talking rapidly, leaving Jay to look around the room with interest. One wall was taken up by computers and assorted peripherals, including a mousemat shaped like a Snorlax, for some reason. Connected to the computers by several thick cables was a complicated looking machine that featured circular cutouts, presumably for Pokéballs. Jay guessed that it was a Pokéball transferring machine. Shelves and shelves of books occupied another wall, along with sheaves of paper, covered in the professor’s messy handwriting and amazingly detailed sketches. There was a large desk next the shelves, taking up another wall. It was amazingly messy, and Jay leaned closer to see if he could spot any desk under all the paper and books. The final wall wasn’t so much a wall as a giant window, which had a small balcony on the outside, with a commanding view of the surrounding forest.
The professor returned, carrying what looked like a platter over to the desk. As he set it down, Jay saw that it carried three Pokéballs, each in the centre of a third of the platter. Each third was decorated with red flames, blue water, or green grass patterns. Reaching into the pocket of his labcoat, he withdrew a dark blue item, about the size and thickness of Jay’s hand. Passing it to him, Redwood said “Here you are then, your Pokédex. I hope the colour’s alright, it’s all I’ve got, but anyway, flip it up, fill in the things it tells you to fill in on the touchscreen, and then I’ll do the technical bits.”
Jay took the device, and felt with surprise that it was lighter than he’d expected. Locating the seam in the dex, Jay opened it carefully, and when he did, the screen lit up and displayed the words: WELCOME! (Touch Screen to Continue) Touching the screen delicately, nothing happened. He tried again, but still no response from the dex. “Umm…”
The professor looked up from a computer. “Put a little force into it. Those things are rugged, and built to last. They’d have to be, letting kids take them out into the world, eh?” Chuckling, he returned to typing, and Jay pressed the screen with more force. The display changed, adding a QWERTY keyboard and male along with the simple instruction for the user to type in their name. Jay did so, and (quite literally) hit the OK button. The screen was refreshed again, this time with an explanatory text: “The Silph co. Pokédex Mk VI is designed to instantly and simply identify Pokémon. Simply point it at a Pokémon and the Pokédex’s sophisticated camera-database link will do the rest. The Pokédex can also scan a Pokémon for it’s moveset, gender, and other attributes. See under help > functions. This concludes the basic readme. Congratulations, you have successfully configured your Pokédex!”
“I’m done” said Jay, walking over the professor and handing him the dex. Redwood took it and plugged it in to a socket next to a computer and hit a button. Jay saw a picture of himself (that he didn’t remember ever taking, since it was of him and looked very recent) flash up on the computer, along with a few lines of text. Then it flickered off and the Pokédex beeped. He disconnected it and handed it back to Jay, who took it and tried to stick it in the back pocket of his jeans. It fitted perfectly. “Oh, um… how did you get my picture?” He said with a slightly scared inqusitiveness.
The professor smiled knowingly. “Ah, the dex automatically took it when you opened it for the first time. Built-in webcam, and all that. So yes, that’s your official picture now, it’ll follow you around for a long time now. That’s the picture you’ll be associated with across Johto. Wish you’d spent longer doing your hair?” Chuckling, he steered Jay back across the lab to the desk where the Pokéballs sat. “Ready to make your choice?” He added.
“Oh yes!” Jay replied, with great enthusiasm. He stepped forward, and picked up the ball in the red section. Stepping back and pointing the ball at the desk, he pressed the button in the centre of the ball, and it opened instantly in a flash of white light.
The white light quickly took form and colour, and in a second, a small beige and dark blue creature had appeared on Redwood’s desk. The Cyndaquil’s eyes flicked open, and with a squeak it had ignited the fire on its back. Turning to look up at Jay, it squeaked again, inquisitively.
“Hello. I’m Jay. Are you up for an adventure?” Jay wasn’t quite sure how to talk to his Pokémon, but he decided to adopt a friendly attitude and hope for the best. Cyndaquil was evidently satisfied by this, as it sprung up at Jay, who caught it carefully, wary of the fire that was flickering on its back. Rubbing its head with one hand, he reached into his pocket with the other, and retrieved his new Pokédex. Flipping it open and pointing it at Cyndaquil, the dex beeped and then spoke in a soft feminine tone. “Cyndaquil, the Fire Mouse Pokémon. Normally mild and even tempered, Cyndaquil will shoot a scorching flame out of its back when upset.”
“Well there you are!” Beamed the professor. “Looks like you’ve got a new friend, he seems perfectly happy around you. Of course, we breed starters to be friendly and easy to handle, but still, it’s always nice for your first Pokémon to take such a shine to you. Remember, you can check his moveset on your dex, but I’m right now you’re anxious to get going?”
Jay nodded. “Thanks for everything, really. It’s been great. But yeah, I should get going, I’m probably going to head in the direction of Violet City. It’s long way, but it’ll give me the chance to get some training done, and catch a few more pokes. You up for that, Cyndaquil?” The fire echidna squeaked cheerfully. “Good. So professor, um… which way is down?”
Redwood smiled. Well, not the way you came up, I have a much better way of getting down. Follow me! The two left the room, with Redwood leading the way. They passed through a few rooms, and then out onto a balcony. At one point, there was a gap in the safety railing that encircled it, and above the gap had been attatched a large metal wire. At the top of the wire, secured by a rope, was what looked like a small pulley with handles.
“Oh wow, a zipwire? That’s just awesome.”
“Oh yes! It’s much quicker and a lot more fun than trekking down hundreds of steps, ahaha. You’d better return your Cyndaquil now, you’ll need both hands.” Waving at the little Pokémon, Redwood led Jay over to the edge after he’d recalled it, checking that the Pokéball was magnetically secure on his belt. “You’ll pop out close to the main road out of town, you can enjoy the journey through the forest at ground level. Goodbye!”
Bidding the professor farewell and thanking him once more, Jay took hold of the zipwire, took a deep breath, and leapt. Hanging on tightly for dear life, (even though there was a safety net a few feet below him) he shot down through the foliage in a blur, and before he knew it he had reached the ground, where he promptly fell over upon landing. Rolling clumsily, he got back to his feet and grinned broadly. “Wow. That’s how a Pokémon journey starts? Wow. This is going to be so awesome.”
And releasing Cyndaquil from his Pokéball, the two set off walking towards the forest.
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Comment, y'all!
So, I'm starting from the beginning now, enjoy!
__________
It was one of those awkward tearful farewells, where only one party is tearful and the other is perfectly fine but is having to act slightly sad to prevent awkwardness and further upset. Jay was almost out of the door of his house, but despite having said his goodbyes in the hallway, his mother had caught him once again and was busily engulfing him, repeating advice that she felt was important. Luckily, Jay, like most other teenagers, was blessed with the power of selective hearing.
“… and do make sure you have plenty to eat, and don’t sleep outdoors in the rain, and if there’s a really big fierce Pokémon looking angry don’t try to capture it just run away and…”
And Jay phased out again, watching a Pidgey swoop away from a redwood tree after which his town was named. Subconsciously noticing a lull in the one-woman conversation, he phased back in again with a suitably ambiguous “don’t worry, I’ll be fine, it’ll be fun.” Snorting on a tissue with a boathorn-esque honk, his mother sniffed and wiped her eyes, smiling proudly but sadly. She was loath to let Jay go “gallivanting around the world chasing a dream”, but she had long known that she would be powerless to stop him.
So it was that today, the day after his fifteenth birthday (the coming-of-age age in Johto), he was setting out on his Pokémon journey (although Jay personally thought that “Gallivanting around the world chasing a dream” sounded equally cool). Finally extricating himself from his mother’s hug, he adjusted his rucksack on his back, said his goodbyes once more, and left home. He didn’t look back, partly for dramatic effect, and partly because he knew that his mother would be standing on the step clutching a tissue and waving it feebly.
Heading through town to the outskirts of Redwood Forest, Jay made his way to professor Redwood, who lived in a spectacular treehouse fashioned around five giant redwood trees from which he had taken his professional name. He was fairly well-known around Johto, but not just for his studies into the interaction between wild Pokémon and their environments, but for also being a bit on the crazy side. Well, more eccentric, they said. But then, who wouldn’t be, living, working and sleeping in a tree? Jay had only met him once or twice, and only ever briefly. Still, he was an official Professor, and was as such held in high regard. The people of Redwood town were pleased to have him, and he in turn got on well with the inhabitants when he occasionally left the forest.
Arriving now at the bottom of a particularly large tree, Jay saw the sign that had been nailed to it at about his height. It featured a large arrow that pointed upwards and to the right, so Jay followed it in the suggested direction, and came to the beginnings of a spiralling staircase that wound its way up through the foliage above. Excitement mounting, he leapt up them, already picturing receiving his starter Pokémon and Pokédex. After five minutes and several steps, he was panting heavily, and slowed to a walk as he regained his breath. Another two minutes of walking had finally brought him to the top of the staircase, and Jay stopped and stared in awe at the building in front of him. He’d expected some kind of glorified hut complex, but instead, he saw a complex of glistening metal and glass, with verandas here and there. It seemed to blend in with its surroundings, all curves and gliding slopes, but at the same time, it was clearly a separate entity to the subtle greens and browns of the forest it inhabited.
Standing on the veranda at the top of the stairs, Jay took a moment to get his breath, and gazed around the magnificent view in amazement. Suddenly, he became aware that he was being watched, Turning, he made eye contact with a large Noctowl that was standing on a perch by the glass door a few feet away. It hooted, piercing the silence of the forest, and tilted its head at Jay, who found himself unconsciously mimicking it. Noctowl’s great amber eyes were focused on Jay staring at him with such intensity that he could scarcely remember what he was doing or why he was in a forest. In fact, he was beginning to feel quite tired…
Locked in a stare with the Noctowl, Jay heard the hiss of a door and approaching footsteps as if they were miles away, and only came to his senses when the man called out “Noctowl, that’s enough! Sorry about him Jay, he’s a bit of a nuisance when he sees a stranger… aren’t you? Yes, you are.”
“Hello Professor, I’ve come about starting my Journey” was all Jay could really manage, suddenly exhausted by the tangle with Noctowl’s hypnotic stare.
“Yes indeed! Well, in you come – not you Noctowl, stay! – and we can get things sorted. Follow me! Oh wait… you are Jay, aren’t you? Yes, I recognise the eyebrows, you have your mother’s eyebrows… well come on in then.” And back inside he strolled, leaving a considerably bewildered Jay to follow him hurridly. The lab’s interior was more of the same – metal and glass, but with dark green carpet and bright white lights on the ceiling above. Leading him past closed doors and round corners, Redwood kept up a constant stream of rushed, babbling talk.
“So if you’ll keep following me, not too far, we can get you a dex and choose a starter, I have all three in at the moment so it’s good, alright here we are, in here, the nerve centre of my little complex, just avoid the wires, and those papers, and oh dear me are those feathers, how did they get in here and ooh, be careful, don’t touch those, it took me ages to find them after I lost them last week, turns out they were in the pocket of my other labcoat the whole time, funny how things turn out like that isn’t it, now if you’ll just excuse me I’ll fetch you a blank dex and the starters and that kind of thing”.
And he bustled off out of the room, still talking rapidly, leaving Jay to look around the room with interest. One wall was taken up by computers and assorted peripherals, including a mousemat shaped like a Snorlax, for some reason. Connected to the computers by several thick cables was a complicated looking machine that featured circular cutouts, presumably for Pokéballs. Jay guessed that it was a Pokéball transferring machine. Shelves and shelves of books occupied another wall, along with sheaves of paper, covered in the professor’s messy handwriting and amazingly detailed sketches. There was a large desk next the shelves, taking up another wall. It was amazingly messy, and Jay leaned closer to see if he could spot any desk under all the paper and books. The final wall wasn’t so much a wall as a giant window, which had a small balcony on the outside, with a commanding view of the surrounding forest.
The professor returned, carrying what looked like a platter over to the desk. As he set it down, Jay saw that it carried three Pokéballs, each in the centre of a third of the platter. Each third was decorated with red flames, blue water, or green grass patterns. Reaching into the pocket of his labcoat, he withdrew a dark blue item, about the size and thickness of Jay’s hand. Passing it to him, Redwood said “Here you are then, your Pokédex. I hope the colour’s alright, it’s all I’ve got, but anyway, flip it up, fill in the things it tells you to fill in on the touchscreen, and then I’ll do the technical bits.”
Jay took the device, and felt with surprise that it was lighter than he’d expected. Locating the seam in the dex, Jay opened it carefully, and when he did, the screen lit up and displayed the words: WELCOME! (Touch Screen to Continue) Touching the screen delicately, nothing happened. He tried again, but still no response from the dex. “Umm…”
The professor looked up from a computer. “Put a little force into it. Those things are rugged, and built to last. They’d have to be, letting kids take them out into the world, eh?” Chuckling, he returned to typing, and Jay pressed the screen with more force. The display changed, adding a QWERTY keyboard and male along with the simple instruction for the user to type in their name. Jay did so, and (quite literally) hit the OK button. The screen was refreshed again, this time with an explanatory text: “The Silph co. Pokédex Mk VI is designed to instantly and simply identify Pokémon. Simply point it at a Pokémon and the Pokédex’s sophisticated camera-database link will do the rest. The Pokédex can also scan a Pokémon for it’s moveset, gender, and other attributes. See under help > functions. This concludes the basic readme. Congratulations, you have successfully configured your Pokédex!”
“I’m done” said Jay, walking over the professor and handing him the dex. Redwood took it and plugged it in to a socket next to a computer and hit a button. Jay saw a picture of himself (that he didn’t remember ever taking, since it was of him and looked very recent) flash up on the computer, along with a few lines of text. Then it flickered off and the Pokédex beeped. He disconnected it and handed it back to Jay, who took it and tried to stick it in the back pocket of his jeans. It fitted perfectly. “Oh, um… how did you get my picture?” He said with a slightly scared inqusitiveness.
The professor smiled knowingly. “Ah, the dex automatically took it when you opened it for the first time. Built-in webcam, and all that. So yes, that’s your official picture now, it’ll follow you around for a long time now. That’s the picture you’ll be associated with across Johto. Wish you’d spent longer doing your hair?” Chuckling, he steered Jay back across the lab to the desk where the Pokéballs sat. “Ready to make your choice?” He added.
“Oh yes!” Jay replied, with great enthusiasm. He stepped forward, and picked up the ball in the red section. Stepping back and pointing the ball at the desk, he pressed the button in the centre of the ball, and it opened instantly in a flash of white light.
The white light quickly took form and colour, and in a second, a small beige and dark blue creature had appeared on Redwood’s desk. The Cyndaquil’s eyes flicked open, and with a squeak it had ignited the fire on its back. Turning to look up at Jay, it squeaked again, inquisitively.
“Hello. I’m Jay. Are you up for an adventure?” Jay wasn’t quite sure how to talk to his Pokémon, but he decided to adopt a friendly attitude and hope for the best. Cyndaquil was evidently satisfied by this, as it sprung up at Jay, who caught it carefully, wary of the fire that was flickering on its back. Rubbing its head with one hand, he reached into his pocket with the other, and retrieved his new Pokédex. Flipping it open and pointing it at Cyndaquil, the dex beeped and then spoke in a soft feminine tone. “Cyndaquil, the Fire Mouse Pokémon. Normally mild and even tempered, Cyndaquil will shoot a scorching flame out of its back when upset.”
“Well there you are!” Beamed the professor. “Looks like you’ve got a new friend, he seems perfectly happy around you. Of course, we breed starters to be friendly and easy to handle, but still, it’s always nice for your first Pokémon to take such a shine to you. Remember, you can check his moveset on your dex, but I’m right now you’re anxious to get going?”
Jay nodded. “Thanks for everything, really. It’s been great. But yeah, I should get going, I’m probably going to head in the direction of Violet City. It’s long way, but it’ll give me the chance to get some training done, and catch a few more pokes. You up for that, Cyndaquil?” The fire echidna squeaked cheerfully. “Good. So professor, um… which way is down?”
Redwood smiled. Well, not the way you came up, I have a much better way of getting down. Follow me! The two left the room, with Redwood leading the way. They passed through a few rooms, and then out onto a balcony. At one point, there was a gap in the safety railing that encircled it, and above the gap had been attatched a large metal wire. At the top of the wire, secured by a rope, was what looked like a small pulley with handles.
“Oh wow, a zipwire? That’s just awesome.”
“Oh yes! It’s much quicker and a lot more fun than trekking down hundreds of steps, ahaha. You’d better return your Cyndaquil now, you’ll need both hands.” Waving at the little Pokémon, Redwood led Jay over to the edge after he’d recalled it, checking that the Pokéball was magnetically secure on his belt. “You’ll pop out close to the main road out of town, you can enjoy the journey through the forest at ground level. Goodbye!”
Bidding the professor farewell and thanking him once more, Jay took hold of the zipwire, took a deep breath, and leapt. Hanging on tightly for dear life, (even though there was a safety net a few feet below him) he shot down through the foliage in a blur, and before he knew it he had reached the ground, where he promptly fell over upon landing. Rolling clumsily, he got back to his feet and grinned broadly. “Wow. That’s how a Pokémon journey starts? Wow. This is going to be so awesome.”
And releasing Cyndaquil from his Pokéball, the two set off walking towards the forest.
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