Eric continued browsing the page for some more news. After some scrolling, another article caught his eyes.
Breaking: The Record Lance set by becoming an Intermediate trainer in just 45 days has been broken by 2 trainers!
Interested by the title, Eric read further.
Two trainers have just set the new record of reaching the intermediate level in just 29 days since registering as a trainer!
A year ago it was Lance, now it's these two. Kanto is truly full of talents!
One of the trainers doesn't surprise me. He is the grandson of the one and only Professor Oak. His name is Blue Oak!
The other trainer alongside him also hails from Pallet Town, and according to reports, has been Blue's rival since they were kids. His name is Red Ketchum!
Both trainers are confirmed to reach the intermediate levels in just 29 days. Unfortunately it's not confirmed who did it first, so they both will have to share the record. But this is incredible news! What talents!
'Red and Blue!' Eric jumped out of his bed.
He of course knew who those trainers were.
'And Red Ketchum?' Is his surname Ketchum? Does that mean Ash also exists in this world and is related to Red?'
The inner Pokemon fan in Eric was jumping in joy, an excitement he didn't know he had
'29 days to reach the intermediate level?'
He then compared himself to them. He had been in this world for about 20 days now.
In the next 9, it is very much possible for his Gastly to reach the Intermediate level.
But to be an intermediate level trainer, you need to have a minimum of 3 Pokemon at that level.
Eric didn't think it was possible. If he rushed it, maybe he could make it. But he won't ruin his Pokémon's development just for something this meaningless.
'But still, they are as impressive as I expected.'
Fighting spirit surged with Eric.
'I have no plans of lagging behind though.'
He didn't think he was a competitive person until now. But the thought of lagging behind someone irked him, even if they were The Red and Blue.
----
Red and Blue.
In this world, the usual age for a person to start his journey as a Pokemon trainer is between 15 and 16. Some people like Belle, start early. It's not a rule that you can't.
Red and Blue started their journey when they were both 16, just 9 days before Eric.
Red has always wanted to be a Pokemon trainer, ever since he was young. He always had an affinity with Pokemon, and he idolised his father.
Red's father started off as an ordinary trainers without any background. But he was talented like no other. In a time where ordinary trainers barely reached the intermediate level, he was one of the handful of people who reached the Advanced level.
Red couldn't wait to start his journey. After a lot of effort, he had convinced his parents to let him start off at age 12.
When Blue heard of this, he also pestered his grandfather, Professor Oak to let him start at 12 too. The thought of him lagging behind Red was completely unacceptable.
Thus, both Red and Blue were ready to start of at the age of 12. But things didn't go as planned.
Tragedy struck the Ketchum's as during a certain expedition, Red's father died in a tragic accident. His mother was distraught at the news.
Red, who was devastated, looked at his mother's state and his younger brother Ash, who was just 9 years old. He couldn't leave them behind in these conditions. So he abandoned his desire to start of at 12, and decided to help his family.
Blue didn't want to get a head start over Red in such a situation so he too decided to wait. Instead, he learned about Pokemon from his grandfather, preparing for the start of his journey.
In the next 4 years, alongside staying with his family, Red too spent his time learning as much as he can about Pokemon training. He couldn't compete with Blue's resources of course, and lagged behind in knowledge.
Red's mother, Delia could see the pressure Red had put himself under after her husband's death. She knew that she can't stay depressed and had to be strong for her kids.
By the time Red was confident about leaving home, sure that things would be fine there without him, he was already 16 years old.
"You sure took your sweet time and kept me waiting, Red."
"I didn't ask you to."
"Tch. Still as annoying as ever. Well it doesn't matter. Be prepared, for I am going to leave you in the dust."
"We'll see."
Both Red and Blue got their starter Pokemon from Professor Oak. Both starters had great potential, but they were a little less talented than what someone of Professor Oak's caliber could provide. They had lower potential than Lance's starter, for example.
He believed that it was more valuable to bridge that final gap with their own effort.
Professor Oak gave Red a starter with potential equal to Blue's, primarily because he was a good friend of Red's father, despite their age gap.
It was in fact his death that pushed him to fight so passionately for the future of regular trainers.
Initially, Blue had the edge over Red, due to the knowledge gap between them. Being the grandson of Professor Oak meant he had access to a ridiculous amount of information.
Blue became over confident after their first fight. But Red's talent as a trainer was second to none.
In their next battle, Red closed the gap a little. And by their third fight, Blue barely won.
This put pressure on Blue. He did not want to lose to Red at any cost. He abandoned his over confidence, and got more serious than ever.
Red had inadvertently awakened Blue's true potential.
In this manner, not wanting to be out done by the other, both Blue and Red improved as if they were on a rocket ship, completely shattering Lance's record and becoming Intermediate trainers in just 29 days.
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Notes:
We've finally introduced Red and Blue! Where do you think the story will go next?