mnCollaborativelaw: September 2020

You could say this all started back when I met Professor Oak in Pallet Town. My story doesn't start out much different from the stories of many other young aspiring Pokémon enthusiasts. The idea to build a Pokémon preserve and sanctuary came to me much earlier, of course, but I didn't start working on it in earnest until after a very long discussion with the original Pokémon Professor. His research on the natural relationships between humans and Pokémon, particularly his work on shared habitats and habitats in close proximity, really inspired some of my early ideas of building a park that people and Pokémon could both enjoy.
I had wanted to meet Professor Oak in person for quite some time, but travel to the Kanto region was quite expensive for me as a teenager. I was seventeen when I first read some of Professor Oak's articles in current Pokémon journals. I learned that the professor was working on a revolutionary new device that was capable of recording and studying Pokémon both in the wild and in captivity. We know this device today as the Pokédex, and back then it really ignited my budding desire to capture, catalog and build an environment in which Pokémon could thrive and people could come study or otherwise spend time with them. The Pokédex is exactly what I felt I needed to set things into motion and so I began corresponding with Professor Oak several months before we actually met in person.
Through our correspondence, the professor was more than happy to keep me up to date on his progress with the Pokédex. When it was finally ready for field testing he sent me a personal invitation to Kanto. The idea was to form a mutually beneficial relationship where I helped him test the Pokédex while he and the Pokédex itself would help me begin my arduous task that lay ahead. I spent almost all I had saved to get myself to Kanto, but it was completely worth it looking back. The Pokédex proved to be invaluable to my task, and Professor Oak himself was an amazing mentor.
The day I arrived in Pallet Town, Professor Oak and I spoke about Pokémon passionately for several hours. I understood the fundamentals of catching and battling Pokémon, of course, but the professor was shocked to know that I'd never caught or trained a Pokémon myself. During the course of our talk, he convinced me that in order to build my Pokémon Sanctuary, I would need to know all I could about Pokémon and that there was no less certain way than to begin my journey as a Pokémon Trainer. He entrusted me with one of his earliest versions of the Pokédex which was rudimentary compared to what we see nowadays, but still unbelievably advanced at the time. Then he took me out to a field just beyond the boundaries of Pallet Town where we waited patiently for an opportunity to catch my first Pokémon.
While we were sitting out in that field, Professor Oak told me that he had recently given away his last remaining Pokémon, so we would have to wait for a Pokémon significantly weakened and unable to resist capture. He also told me that if I were successful at field testing his Pokédex in Kanto, he would make sure to acquire the three beginner Pokémon that he'd recently given away to young Kanto trainers from Pallet Town. The Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur native to Kanto were extremely rare and Professor Oak was one of the few ways to get ahold of such unique Pokémon. It was a rare opportunity for me to get some exclusive Pokémon into my Sanctuary when I was able to open it. Sitting there in the tall grass with Professor Oak, I knew that this was one of those important moments in my life where everything was about to change forever. I took a great risk coming to Pallet Town with my life's savings, but I would eventually leave with my first Pokémon companion and the very tool I would need to catch, catalog, study and care for every new Pokémon I could find. It felt amazing.

Now, catching that first Pokémon was not at all what I was expecting. It's safe to say that my first Pokémon was quite possibly the most feeble and sickly Rattata within three miles. We saw many healthy Pidgey and Rattata soaring through the air or scurrying through the grasses, but the professor assured me that we'd only be wasting our Pokéballs on them unless they were weakened. It was a daunting test of patience, but finally the most pathetic Rattata the world has ever known crossed our paths and was easily captured. He was scrawny and weak, but he was mine and I really did adore that little fellow. I named him Rascal and we were instant friends. Once I was armed with my own captured Pokémon and a Pokédex, Professor Oak and I parted ways. He told me to head north towards Viridian City - a bit of a sleepy hamlet compared to the cities I was used to back home. Along the way I could train Rascal and I would be able to find a gym in Viridian where I could continue the training.
Some of my toughest challenges as a trainer were those first few days with Rascal. He was honestly much too weak to face a full strength Pidgey or Rattata, so again we had to choose our battles carefully. I made sure he was well fed, rested and groomed, but actually getting battle experience and building up his strength was a tedious job. Although your first Pokémon is intended to keep you safe from wild Pokémon that have a tendency to be territorial, Rascal couldn't really protect me from much of anything on that initial trip up to Viridian City. We made our way very slowly and carefully avoiding unwanted attention. I took the time, hiding in the long grass, to sketch Rascal and wild Pokémon alike, but we did everything in our power to avoid unnecessary battles. They could have been a disastrous and premature end to my Pokémon journey.
Rascal and I did come stumbling into Viridian City sometime after dark that day, if I recall. I was broke having spent everything I had just getting to the Kanto region, but what little I did have I spent on Pokéballs and some lodging there in the city. I spent at least a week in Viridian City. Part of the reason was waiting for the Pokémon gym to reopen after a mysterious closure some time before we arrived, but part of me was also taking the time to slowly build up Rascal's strength and endurance. Alongside Rascal, I carefully studied the Rattata and Pidgey found along Route 1 which connected the city to Pallet Town. At first, Rascal could only confront other Rattata that we found alone and vulnerable, but slowly - painfully slowly - he built up enough strength to defend against healthy Rattata and Pidgey as well. It was a harrowing week of hiding and running from the strong, and building up Rascal's ability and confidence on the weak, but we managed to persevere.

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