DISCLAIMER: Pokémon is the property of Nintendo. I do not own Pokémon or any of the characters (except my own) displayed in this fanfiction.

Note from the author: This is my very first pokémon fanfic. It is about an Oshawott who tells the story of what being a starter pokémon is like. It is intended to be short. I will create longer fanfics in the future.

Enjoy!

"Come out Oshawott!"

I was released from my comfortable pokéball into the bright sunlight. It was a lovely morning, perfect for a walk.

"Osha!" Hello! I replied to my smiling trainer. Her name was Hilda. She has the prettiest blue eyes and long brown hair. I noticed she was wearing a swimsuit.

"Oshawott, I want to take the day off. I found a lake nearby that's perfect for us."

"Osha Oshawott Osha!" That's a great idea!

"Let's go!"

We traveled only a few yards until we arrived at the lake. It was beautiful! I couldn't wait to start swimming, so I immediately jumped in.

"Hey, wait for me!" Hilda called.

It was only a short while before I was tired. I decided to take a break and reflect all of the events that have occurred in my seemingly short life.

The earliest I remember was being in an egg. It was dark, and it was impossible to move. I wanted to break through the egg, because I felt I was cramped inside the egg. After fighting through the egg a bit longer, I managed to create a crack. A blinding light slid into the crack, and I was hearing voices for the first time. I finally gathered the power to break the egg. It disappeared quickly, showing I hatched successfully. The open space was very inviting. I looked up to see a towering figure who I instantly recognized as my mother. She looked joyous to see me.

"Samurott!" Welcome, Oshawott.

Mom explained many things to me. She told me I was meant to be a pokémon for a trainer starting his or her journey. A woman was training Oshawott starters to an appropriate level for a new trainer. Then, the pokémon was taken to Prof. Juniper's lab. I couldn't wait to become a trusted partner for a starting trainer, but mom warned me the training was tough. Eventually, a week after I was born, the woman was ready to train me.

"Hello Oshawott, my name is Ann." She said. "I would like you to participate in your first battle. Are you ready?"

Before I could reply, she sent out a low level Pidove to be my first opponent. I started off with a tackle attack. It was slightly effective, but Pidove was hardly damaged. It started to use its own tackle. I didn't know what to do. I stood there, hoping I wouldn't get badly hurt.

"Dodge the attack!" Ann yelled.

I understood the command. I began to jump, but it was too late. My arm was injured, but that only motivated me. I used a growl attack to prevent Pidove from hurting me as badly as it did. I then began another tackle. Pidove began to use tackle too, and our attacks collided. I hopped back, struggling with damage from the attack. Pidove was also struggling.

"Stop!" Ann called. She picked me up and smiled. "That was a great first battle. You'll make a wonderful partner to a new trainer, but before taking you to Prof. Juniper, we need to teach you how to use water gun.

Rigorous training followed my first battle. We constantly worked on focusing my energy into squirting a powerful water gun. The goal was to hit a target attached to a tree. I would get close, but the water gun failed countless times. After several days and many failed attempts, I faced the target once more. I sighed, Here goes, and began concentrating all my power into the attack. I squirted with all my power... and a water gun came out! I was so happy until I realized a minute later that I completely missed the target. I sighed, as I realized I still needed to work on aim.

Soon I was able to use water gun without a problem, and I hit the target for the very first time, but Ann said we still have work to do. I received many breaks in between training sessions and I made friends with two other Oshawott, also being trained. (We aren't related.) They both had the same dream as me: to meet a wonderful trainer. We often played in the lake nearby where I trained. They were very friendly, but they soon were brought to Prof. Juniper.

It was back to training. Ann told me to carefully aim at the familiar target. The target was really starting to taunt me, for I had been here for so long. Instead of working on power, I concentrated on hitting the target with a water gun, I was successful.

"Great job Oshawott." Ann said."Now for your next challenge. If you can hit the moving target on that Patrat," She pointed to a scared looking pokémon,"then you will earn access to Prof. Juniper's lab, and maybe even become a trainer's first pokémon."

I was so excited, that when I spotted the patrat scurrying away with the moving target, my water gun smashed right on target. Ann was clearly astonished.

"Well, congratulations! You are now ready. Would you like for us to visit Juniper now?"

"Osha!" Yes! I nodded my head yes so that she would understand me.

"Ok, say goodbye to your mother first."

I found myself sobbing a little when I said goodbye to my mother. I wanted to be a strong Samurott just like her, and to do that, I had to travel and train with a human. Ann put me in a pokéball. I hadn't ever been inside a pokéball, and I expected it to be much like the egg I hatched from. However, I noticed there seemed to be a little bit more room than the egg, and it was comfortable. I quickly dozed off.

I woke up, still inside the pokéball. I was able to see everything outside the pokéball. Ann got out of her car and entered a large building, which I quickly realized was Prof. Juniper's lab. The place was HUGE! I felt so excited as Ann pushed open a door to Prof. Juniper's office. Prof. Juniper was feeding two other pokémon when Ann stepped in. Prof. Juniper turned to face her.

"Hello Ann! Did you bring an Oshawott?"

"Yes," Ann replied," And this one is determined to become a strong pokémon."

"That's good, we already have Tepig and Snivy, so it's best that Oshawott meet them." Juniper said.

"Good idea. Go Oshawott!" Ann called. As the ball opened, I made a pose for fun. I walked over to the Tepig and Snivy, who have finished eating their meals.

"Oshawott Osha!" Hello Tepig. Hello Snivy.

Hi. You must be an Oshawott. The Tepig replied.

Hmph. There's no way he's getting picked. The Snivy remarked.

What! How would you know? I shot back at him.

No trainer would pick you or Tepig, just me. The Snivy challenged.

Stop acting so smug, you're no better than me. The Tepig said.

We'll see. The Snivy seemed so sure of himself.

I noticed a bowl of pokemon food being placed in front of me.

"I'm sure you're hungry!" Juniper said.

After all that has happened with my training, I realized just how hungry I was. Soon enough, I was full.

Wow, you sure can eat. The Tepig commented.

Suddenly, Prof. Juniper placed two bowls of food for Tepig and Snivy. The Snivy didn't eat much, but the Tepig gobbled the food.

I laughed. You eat like a pig! (I know, bad pun.)

He glared at me.

A day later, Prof. Juniper got a phone call from a father whose child just turned 10. The child was anxious to get his first pokémon, so they were leaving right away. I was really excited.

I hope I get picked! I said.

No, I should get picked. The Tepig argued.

Don't you know who really is going to get picked? The Snivy smirked.

All three of us started fighting. Prof. Juniper separated us quickly and placed us in our pokéballs. Soon, A boy had arrived. He had a look on his face as though he was sure he would be a strong trainer.

"I'm here for a pokémon. I'm going to be the best trainer in Unova!" He shouted.

"You are sure confident (and loud)" Juniper calmly replied. "I have the three starters right here. Our first pokémon is the water type, Oshawott!"

I came out, saying, "Oshawott!" Nice to meet you!

"Next, meet the fire type, Tepig!"

The Tepig happily gave the boy a smile, but said nothing.

"And finally, the grass type, Snivy!"

The Snivy smirked and said, I'm the best choice.

Juniper was pleased to see the young boy excited. "Now, all you have to do is choose one."

The boy smiled. "The choice is easy, I heard from a strong trainer that Snivy's final evolution is amazingly strong, so I choose Snivy!"

A wave of disappointment washed over me. I looked over at the Snivy, who looked at both me and the Tepig. I knew he'd pick me.

I frowned at the Snivy, over there looking so smug. I wanted to tackle him SO hard, but I forgot about it, knowing I'll never see him again.

A few minutes later, Prof. Juniper received another phone call. A girl was in a hurry, and she wanted to pick up a Tepig. She hurried in and took the Tepig. She quickly snatched the Tepig's pokéball and left, just like that.

"Wow, she's in quite a rush. Wonder why?" Juniper wondered.

I was in Prof. Juniper's office. She was feeding me lunch.

"I'm sorry that you didn't get picked. I'm sure you'll find the right trainer soon." She reassured me.

"Osha Oshawott!" I know! I can't wait until then.

"You are very enthusiastic. I'm glad your happy." Juniper said.

"Prof. Juniper!" A man called through the door.

"Coming." She replied.

"I have a new Tepig and Snivy." The man said.

"Great! Thanks." Juniper closed the door.

She released the pokéballs and revealed another Snivy and another Tepig.

The Tepig was the first to speak. Is this Prof. Juniper's Lab?

Yes, it is. I responded.

Are you two thrilled to get a trainer? Snivy asked.

Definitely! Tepig replied.

Yes, I've been rejected twice. I said sadly.

Don't worry, Snivy reassured me. I'm positive you'll be picked soon.

I was amazed that this Snivy was very nice compared to the other one. We became quick friends that day. It turned out that Tepig was rather shy, but we were able to befriend him too. At the time, I wanted to be with that Snivy and Tepig, and not a trainer. Nobody requested a new pokémon for a few days, so we had decided to have practice battles, with Prof. Juniper's permission first. It turned out that out of all of us, Tepig was the strongest. However, his strategy was poor. (He constantly used growl, even though it wasn't necessary.) Tepig says he wants his trainer to help him with strategy. After a practice battle, we would eat. Prof. Juniper found unique recipes that we each loved. We knew that soon, however, that a trainer would pick one of us up. Separation from my mother was bad enough, but now two great new friends? I was very worried.

Prof. Juniper received a phone call a week after I arrived. A mother was saying that her daughter and her best friends were all ready to start on a pokémon journey. They each wanted a starter pokemon from Prof. Juniper. Prof. Juniper and the mother were friends, apparently, so it would be a birthday gift. We ate lunch and then we were called into our pokéballs. After several minutes passed, the present was placed on a table. Soon I heard voices.

"Hey Cheren!" A girl.

"Hello Hilda. It's great to see you. We're here to get a pokémon, right?" This voice was a boy.

"Yeah! All three of us! I've been wanting a pokémon for a long time."

"...So, where's Bianca?"

"Probably late as usual."

I heard a door open and close.

"Hey guys, I'm here! Sorry I'm late." Another girl's voice.

"Bianca, what took so long?"

"My dad doesn't want me to get a pokémon. I wish he wasn't so overprotective."

"Come on guys, can't we just get our pokémon already?"

"I was about to ask the same thing."

Hilda began to unwrap the present. I was so excited! She finished unwrapping and began to open our pokéballs. Soon, all three of us were looking at our future trainers.

"Oh, they are all so cute!" Bianca said.

"I already know which pokémon I want, but Hilda gets to pick first because it's her birthday." Cheren said.

Hilda looked at all three of us. We were calm since we knew we would all get picked.

"Well," she said, "they all look like great pokémon to own, but I think I'll choose Oshawott."

I looked at Hilda, my new trainer. She was very pretty, and she looked like the kind of person who knows what they are doing.

"I hope we get along well!" She said. "The other two are my best friends, and we'll see each other a lot."

"Yeah, but we're going to be rivals." Cheren said. "I'm not taking it easy on you! The Snivy I'm going to choose and I are going to become very strong!"

"Wait," Bianca asked, "does that mean I get Tepig?"

Hilda looked slightly uneasy. "Well, I guess..."

"Yay!" Bianca startled everyone with the outburst. "Tepig was the pokémon I wanted!" She picked up Tepig and cuddled it. Tepig loved the attention he was getting. "Come on, let's go outside!"

"How about we have a battle outside?" Cheren asked.

"Sure!" Hilda replied.

The first battle was Hilda vs. Bianca. Tepig was hoping for a strategy from Bianca, but she was just as clueless. I found myself giggling before tackling him. I won with ease.

The second battle was Hilda vs. Cheren. Snivy's vine whip was improving, and dodging it was very hard for me. My tackles weren't working very well either. Cheren then made a smart move by having Snivy switch from vine whip to tackle. I felt too weak, and soon I was unable to continue battling. Hilda congratulated me for my hard work, and soon we were out on an adventure. We have caught quite a few wild pokémon, and I barely managed to defeat Cilan at the Striaton City Gym. Pansage was an excellent pokémon, but our difficult training paid off. Now, here I am, on the lake with Hilda.

I looked back at the lake. I don't know how long I had been daydreaming, but the sun was starting to set.

"Oshawott! How about we go to that side of the lake to watch the sunset?" Hilda asked.

"Osha Oshawott!" Yes, great idea!

"I invited Cheren and Bianca, so we and the pokémon can all enjoy it together."

So? What did you think? As I said before, it's my first fanfiction. I felt I got a little lazy at the end, but I would like to know where I can improve so I can write better stories. I would appreciate it very much if you gave me a review saying where the story was good and bad (especially bad). I plan on writing much longer fanfics in the future, so if you really enjoyed this story, I'm sure you'll like the stories I plan on writing!