Meeting The Trainers!

The camera panned the small island. Despite its size, it seemed to house everything; beach, forest, and even a snow-top mountain. Finally, it zoomed into a poorly built dock set on a beach that contrasted the rest of the sensory. A Magikarp lay on its side on the beach before the sea rose slightly to take it back to sea. Before it could reach home, however, a large Pidgeot swooped down and grabbed it with its talons.

A chuckle cut through the scene and the camera quickly turned to a man. Cleanly dressed and standing at a few inches over five feet, he flashed the camera his most sparkling grin. "Yo. We're coming at you live from Crownset Island, somewhere in the Orange Archipelago! I'm your host, Chris McLean," he said was a slight head nod at himself. "Dropping season one of the hottest new reality show on television, right now!" He began to walk down the dock, the camera following. "Here's the deal. Twenty-two lucky soon-to-be Trainers have been selected to take part in a challenge of becoming the best, like no one ever was. How will that happen? I'll tell you. Pokémon. What are Pokémon? I'll show you."

He tossed out a red and white ball. In a burst of light, a large and menacing purple creature came what a rumbling chest. It was covered in poison barbs dripping in silver droplets.

"This is one of the one-hundred-fifty-one Pokémon the Orange Archipelago has to offer!" Chris said with a chuckle. "They often act as pets and loyal companions, but Nidorino here is far from cuddly. These are most often the Pokémon you see out of their Poké Ball since they are battlers! Yeah. And it's not abuse. Trust me - I've checked with the lawyers. Anywho, these are the types of creatures our Trainers will be given after arriving. Not only that, but they can capture their own Pokémon and train them, as their title implies. Only seen here on Total! Pokémon! Island!"

***Cue the theme song: Gotta Catch 'Em All!***

"Welcome back to Total Pokémon Island," Chris said. He took a few steps closer to the edge of the dock, but made sure to not get too near the rotting wood beam holding one side of the dock up; a dumb Psyduck had recently been banging its head on it, making it even weaker. "Our first Trainer should be arriving anytime now . . . Ah! Here comes one!"

A boat pulled in and a girl with braces, high ponytail, and glasses got off. Her imperfect smile widened when she saw Chris.

Seeing the excitement on the girl's face, Chris said: "Beth, what's up?"

Beth ran up and wrapped her arms around the host. "It's such an honor to met you!" she said with a slight lisp. She quickly looked around. "So, where's the Pokémon?"

Chris pushed them apart. "You'll be given a Starter once everyone else arrives."

"Oh. Bummer." Beth picked up her luggage and walked over to the other side of the dock. Chris stared at her, slightly offended that she had no interest in actually speaking to him or the camera. Figures with kids these days, though.

"Anywho. We have DJ!"

On cue, an athletic guy with dark skin stepped off the next boat. He stepped up and gave Chris a high-five. "Yo, Chris McLean! How's it going? Hey, where're the Pokémon? I can't wait to get my Starter."

"Sorry, bud. You're gonna have to wait," Chris said, pointing over to where Beth already was. "Don't worry, though. Everyone will be getting their own Starter Pokémon. As promised."

"Alright, man," DJ said as he picked up his bags again. "I just want to meet my new little buddy is all." He went and stood by Beth. They greeted each other before Chris called out for the next camper:

"Hey, Gwen."

A goth girl stepped onto the dock, a few bags in hand. She made a face at the sight of the dirty beach but shrugged. "At least the rest of the island looks nice," she considered.

"Yeah. Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny have really done quite a bit to make this place as Pokémon-friendly as possible!" Chris said. "Now, are you gonna follow the group by asking where the Pokémon are, or stay true to your way as a goth and not ask?"

Gwen didn't appear fazed. "Judging by the lack of Pokémon by the other two's sides, I'm gonna not and just assume they'll be given later."

"Smart girl," Chris said.

The next boat rang out with party music. The party animal of a dude bounced from the top of the boat onto the dock. The boat driver threw his bags out. Thinking it was an act of kindness, the guy gave a thankful thumbs up. "Yo, Chris McLean! Sup, man! It's an honor to be here, man!" he exclaimed.

"The Geoffster! Welcome to the island, man," Chris returned.

"Thanks, man."

"If they say 'man' one more time, I'm gonna puke," Gwen said.

Geoff high-fived Chris before taking a spot by the others.

"Everyone, this is Lindsay," Chris introduced.

A pretty blonde with blue eyes stood on the dock. She wore a shirt and tight top. Her hair was kept under control by a head bandanna.

"Not too shabby," Chris commented to the camera.

"Hi!" Lindsay said in a soft but excited tone. "Okay, you look so familiar."

"I'm Chris McLean." A blank look was all Chris got in response. "The host. Of the show?"

"Oh! That's where I know you from. I thought a Pokémon would greet me here," Lindsay said, blushing with slight embarrassment.

"What is with everyone wanting to meet the Starters now?! Is socializing with actual people so hard?!" Chris shouted.

"Well, you see, some of us are a bit awkward," Beth said.

"And others don't like people in general," Gwen added

"But who couldn't love a cute Pokémon?" DJ finished. "They're just so sweet!"

Chris scoffed. "You won't be saying that for long, bud. Not for long . . ." The glint of the next Trainer's sunglasses pulled him away from the warning. She had ruler-straight black hair and she narrowed her eyes dangerously as she removed the shades. "Heather," Chris introduced, knowing he wouldn't get a greeting just from the looks of the girl.

Beth ran over, not sensing the dangerous aura around Heather and said: "Hi! Looks like we'll be competing against each other for the next eight weeks!"

Heather took a step back, disgusted by the amount of saliva with nearly every word. Meanwhile, Chris watched in amusement as Heather got a feel for who her competition was. Lower the bar and then up it again! That was what Chris aimed for.

Suddenly blaring punk music caught them all off guard. A guy with several piercings and a green mohawk stepped off the boat.

"Duncan. Dude," McLean said.

"I don't like surprises," Duncan said as he held up a fist.

"Oh, then you are really going to hate priority moves!" Chris chuckled. "Just so you know, we have an officer on duty on this island. So no funny business, or you'll become someone's prison bitc-"

"As if McLean," Duncan cut him off. "I'm here to get some powerful Pokémon and battle with them."

"That's nice to hear," Chris said, although his voice made it seem as though he weren't all that okay with Duncan playing good boy for the sake of getting Pokémon.

Duncan gave a simple wave, clearly indifferent to the entire thing.

Heather turned and made a face at Duncan. "Looks to me like you have been someone's prison b-" a series of honking horns broke through her words for a second -"before."

Duncan scoffed. "Totally haven't heard that before. Come on, queenie. At least spit out original lines."

They then turned their attention to the honking boat. "Ladies and gentlemen - Tyler!" Chris said.

The next Trainer, rather than on the boat, road behind it on skies. However, the skies continued going further and further apart, spread his legs until he was nearly doing a split. Despite his grin, the skies went too far apart and one slipped off his foot. Then the other. At that moment, his smile slipped and he hardly had time to gulp before he went spinning the water before knocking into the dock and being hurled into the luggage. Luckily nothing tipped into the water.

"Wicked wipe out, man!" Chris called. Tyler gave thumbs up as he climbed out of the luggage.

"That was pretty cool," Geoff said.

DJ nodded. "Yeah. Although, I get the feeling he didn't mean to do that."

"Accidents can be just as cool as planned tricks."

"I agree," a new Trainer said as he stepped off his boat, which seemed to be just as quiet as his footsteps when arriving. "Improvised moves are my preferred methods anyway."

"Welcome to camp, Harold. And I wouldn't be so sure about picking a Pokémon training style just yet," Chris said. "You've still got a lot coming to you."

"Like I said. Improvising," Harold pointed out. "I can improvise for most of what's to come."

"If you say so," Chris said doubtfully, but quickly shifted interest onto the next Trainer. "Coming in at number nine, we have Trent."

Trent was very casual. Tall, dark, and handsome, fit with a guitar case on his back. He seemed too good to be true. He grinned as he walked over. "Hey, good to meet you, man," he said to Chris. "Saw you on that figure skating show. Nice work."

"Thanks, man. I knew I rocked that show!" Chris said, giving Trent a fist bump.

"So. Where's the Pokémon?"

"We'll you guys stop asking about the Pokémon?! You'll meet them later!" Chris shouted.

Trent held his hands in defense. "Whoa, man. I was just asking."

"Well, don't ask anymore! This dock is now a human-socializing-about-human territory."

"Alrighty, then," Trent said, a little scared of Chris' outburst. He went over and took a spot between Gwen and Geoff. He immediately flashed a grin at the goth.

Gwen turned away, crossing her arms. She'd never had such kind eyes on her. When she was sure Trent wasn't looking, though, she allowed herself a glance and smiled slightly. Maybe meeting new people wouldn't be all bad.

The next Trainer had pale blonde hair tied in a high ponytail and wore a blue hoodie. It looked odd, because she also held an orange and red surfboard. What surfer wore a hoodie? "Hey. What's up?" she greeted.

"Alright. Our surfer chick, Bridgette, is here," McLean introduced.

Duncan scoffed. "Nice board. You do know surfing is what a Water-type Pokémon is for."

"I plan on surfing alongside my Pokémon. Not on them," Bridgette said simply.

Chris fumed, but at least Bridgette didn't ask where the Starters were, so he didn't blow his top just yet.

Bridgette went over to the other Trainers and greeted with a smile: "Hey, guys."

Geoff's eyes brightened. "Hey," he said, clumsily stretching the word out longer than necessary. "I'm Geoff."

"What's up?" Bridgette asked as she turned to face Geoff. She swung her surfboard around, not minding the others, forcing a few guys to duck to avoid getting knocked into the water. The two shared a few words before coming to a comfortable stop.

"Hi! I'm Beth," Beth said, waving.

"Hey." Yet another swing of the board. This time, however, Duncan couldn't duck fast enough. Or maybe he underestimated how hard the board would be. He broke through the surface of the sea and thrash for a moment to gain composure.

"You just made yourself an enemy, honey," Duncan muttered.

Before he could climb out of the water, the next Trainer appeared. "Our next Trainer is Noah," McLean said.

A rather board teen walked across the dock. "You got my memo about my life-threatening allergies?" he asked Chris but didn't really stick around to hear the answer.

"Sure someone did!" Chris said.

"Good. Is this where we're staying?" He looked over at the bright green grass and trees in the distance. He was expecting something a little less like the actual pictures on the application form, but he supposed a show dedicated to battling Pokémon would get enough hate as it was. Chris was better off paying a little more toward the preservation of the environment than letting everything rot.

Duncan climbed out of the water and cracked his fists at the sight of the weakling. "No. It's your mother's house, and we're throwing a party."

"I'd rather not have someone who looks like they've been someone's prison wrench comment on my mother or anything about her," Noah said, crossing his arms, looking a bit more intently at the punk.

"Oh, yeah? What're you gonna do about it?" Duncan taunted. Much to his surprise, the dweeb didn't so much as falter.

"Good question," Noah said simply before turning his attention elsewhere.

The next Trainer was large, black, and loud. Stereotypically so. "Hey, y'all! What's up? Leshawna's in the house!" she said, waving.

Harold gasped.

Leshawna high fived Chris as she walked over the rest of the group. "Feel free to quit now and save yourself the trouble, because I came here to win." She gave out another high five to DJ.

"I've never seen a girl like you in real life before," Harold said.

Leshawna turned, brow high. "Excuse me?"

"You're real' big, and loud."

Her expression soiled. "What did you say to me? Oh, no, you didn't! You not seen anything yet! I'll show you big, baby!"

Harold took a karate stance, but before Leshawna could shatter his tiny frame, DJ and Bridgette were kind enough to hold her back. "Leshawna, I'm sure he meant it as a compliment," Bridgette said. "After all, if you're large - Harold's words not mine! - then there's more of you to like, right?"

"Yeah, and being loud means you catch everyone's attention," DJ said in an attention to cover up what Harold said.

Leshawna considered it and let up from her attack. "Fine, but you best watch yourself, white boy."

"How can I watch myself when all I see is you?" Harold asked, now in a daze.

Leshawna blinked. "Pardon me?" she said a little bit more than confused at that point.

Before Harold could say anything in return, the next two Trainers arrived. "Ladies," Chris greeted. "Sadie, Katie, welcome to your new home for the next eight weeks."

"Omigosh, Sadie - look!" Katie said. She was the slimmer one with brown skin, whereas Sadie was plump and had a pink tinge to her skin. "It's like a resort!"

"Okay, I have always wanted to visit a resort!" Sadie said before the two squealed their way over to the crowd.

No one expected the next Trainer. He was even more silent in his steps than Harold. When Chris turned, he yelped. "Ezekiel! What the hell?! Don't scare me like that, man!"

Ezekiel looked confused. "But . . . I didn't scare you."

"Then what is this look of fear from? Heh?!"

"I didn't mean to, eh," Ezekiel said. "I was just standing here."

"Well, just standing there is creepy!" Chris shouted. "Go join the others before I throw your Starter into the ocean!"

Ezekiel's eyes went insanely wide. "Y-Yes, sir!" He ran over to the others, several whom looked horrified that Chris would even threaten to do such a horrible thing; that shock would soon change to a 'meh' once they got a taste of what Chris could do to make their lives hell.

The next boat dropped off a scrawny dork who had a gap between his front teeth. Chris' attitude took a three-sixty. "Cody! The Codester! The Codemeister!"

"Dude, psyched to be here, man," Cody said as he attempted to look cool. He voice was fake, as if he were trying to hide a more late-puberty voice pitch. "I see the ladies have already arrived. Alright." When he attempted to say something to Leshawna, she just said:

"Save it, short stuff."

A unibrow sporting girl took a step on the dock next. "Eva," Chris said, but Eva ignored. He would've commented on how that was rude, but he didn't want to test the strength of such a muscled woman who likely only came to get a Pokémon so something could love her. Eva set her bag down on Cody's foot.

Cody let out a yelp, revealing his state of puberty to all the campers. "What's in there? Dumbbells?"

"Yes," Eva said as if it were a normal thing to carry around dumbbells. No one dared commented on this, though, fearing the worse would come.

Chris chuckled at that, but when the dock shook and a "Woohoo!" shook the air alone, everyone's attention directed elsewhere. "Chris! This is so awesome! What's happening? Woohoo!"

"Owen! Welcome!" Chris' childish attempt to match the fat boy's enthusiasm. Big mistake. Owen didn't hear the mock in his tone, and instead of shutting up, scooped McLean into his arms in a crushing hug.

"Awesome to be here, man!" Owen said, loud as ever. "Man, this is just so . . ."

After a moment, Gwen suggested: "Awesome?"

"Yes! Awesome!" Owen howled. "Are you gonna be on my team?"

"Oh, I sure hope so," Gwen said sarcastically, but as she predicted, Owen didn't pick up on the snark. Instead, he bellowed out a few more 'awesome!'s and 'woohoo!'s before taking a spot near the others. Good timing, because the next boat pulled up quickly after.

"And here comes Courtney," Chris said. He helped her off the boat.

She was pretty. Not conventionally so, but her brown skin, dark eyes, chestnut hair worked for her. What didn't work was her outfit. She didn't wear casual clothing, and instead, it looked like she'd be the person to get you out of situations like the one she was in - becoming a Pokémon Trainer for the entertainment of others.

"Hi. You must be the other constants. It's really nice to meet you all," she greeted.

Gwen lifted a brow. What person talks like that? She mental shrugged. Maybe it was just that one awkward greeting that never gets mentioned again, but when you think about it afterward, you cringe. Yeah. That was probably it.

"How's it goin'? I'm Owen!" He shook her hand harshly.

"Nice to meet you, Ow . . . wow." Courtney's eyes trained elsewhere.

The next Trainer could only be described a hot. Now, that was the true definition of tall, dark, and handsome. All the girls and Owen got sparkle-eyed at the sight, while the other guys stared in shock. With a wink from dear ole' tall, dark, and handsome, Sadie fainted.

"This is Justin," Chris said, the only one not affected by Justin in any sense. "Welcome to Total Pokémon Island." He fist pumped Justin.

"Thanks, Chris. This is great," Justin said.

"Just so you know, we based you entirely on your looks," Chris informed.

Justin shrugged and flashed another teeth gleaming smile. "I can deal with that."

A short, awkward exchange went down between Owen and Justin, about the latter's pants of all things. At the end, Owen deemed himself 'Stupid!'.

Finally, the last Trainer arrived. "Hey, everyone! Izzy!"

Izzy had long, wild hair. "Hi, Chris! Hi! Hi-Whoa!" She tripped over the edge of the boat (?) and landed chin-first on the dock and into the water.

"Ooo, that was bad," Tyler said with a poorly hidden laugh.

Courtney ran over and helped Izzy up. "Guys, she could be seriously hurt!" She pulled the wild girl up, who promptly shook her hair dry like a dog.

"That felt . . . so . . . good! Except for hitting my chin." Izzy stood, patting her hair into place. "So this is training camp? Where are the Pokémon? Can we catch our own?"

Everyone wanted to shout at Izzy, but Chris was the first to speak up: "You'll be seeing the Pokémon after we take a 'before' picture." He shouted rather calm compared to the last few times people mentioned the Pokémon, so none of them would get their own Pokémon cast out to sea. But let's be real - most of them would swim out to sea to get them back. "Now, everybody to the end of the dock!"