—No One POV—
As Liam continued chasing after Wimpod through the forest, he heard the sound of struggling past a group of bushes.
"Spea. Row."
"Spea. Row."
"Spea. Row."
And when he went past the bushes, he saw Wimpod being attacked by three Spearow.
"Scrhcchh! Scrhcchh!"
Wimpod kept trying to run away, but the three Spearow kept swooping down, blocking every direction Wimpod tried to escape.
"Stop it!"
Liam was mad that the Spearow were attacking Wimpod and knew that Spearow were the type that liked to bully weaker Pokémon.
"I said cut it out!"
Liam grabbed a tree branch and immediately went to Wimpod's defense as he started swinging the tree branch at them.
"Wimpod, get behind me! I'll protect you until Professor Oak and Daisy show up."
Wimpod was in awe of the human boy trying to save him. When the boy swung the branch and hit the Spearow on the left side, the other two Spearow used Peck on the young boy.
Liam dropped the tree branch and used his body to protect Wimpod.
"Don't worry, Wimpod. I'll protect you no matter what."
As Wimpod heard the boy's words, he remembered his friends, whom he had protected before he was brought to this unknown place, and gained the courage to help protect the boy just as he had protected his friends back then.
"Scrhcchh! Scrhcchh!"
Wimpod immediately moved away from Liam and was ready to fight back. It prepared to attack by coiling itself into a ball.
"Wait, is that Rollout?!"
Liam was stunned that Wimpod knew Rollout, as Wimpod immediately attacked the Spearow that was in front of them with Rollout multiple times until it was knocked out.
'This Wimpod must have been born with Rollout, and since Rollout is a Rock-type move, it gives Wimpod a type advantage against the Spearow, which are Flying-type.'
The other two Spearow grew frustrated and wary of this small, weak bug that had taken out the head of their flock. Until they both looked at each other and decided to attack together by using Peck.
"Wimpod, be careful! They're both going at you together! Use the terrain!"
Liam yelled at Wimpod, and Wimpod understood Liam's command. Wimpod saw a large rock and decided to use Rollout, using the large rock as a stepping stone to help give him a push into the air.
Wimpod was able to evade the Spearow's attack in time as it went high into the air.
"Wimpod, use Rollout quickly while you have momentum!"
Wimpod understood Liam's command once more and used Rollout, knocking both Spearow to the ground.
"Awesome, Wimpod! You won!"
Liam was able to catch Wimpod in time and hugged him. Wimpod was also overjoyed at protecting the young boy who was willing to protect him, too.
When the joyful victory came to an end, they heard sounds and footsteps coming from behind them. To their surprise, it was Professor Oak and Daisy.
Daisy ran up to him, worried, and asked if he was okay.
"Liam! Are you okay? We heard the sounds of a battle and Spearow."
Liam and Wimpod both looked at each other and chuckled at Daisy's words.
"Don't worry, Daisy. Wimpod and I are okay."
Professor Oak looked at the battle that had occurred behind them, where three Spearow had been knocked out.
"Amazing! Did Wimpod do all this?"
Liam nodded in acknowledgment of what had happened and started explaining what happened when he first found Wimpod.
Both Professor Oak and Daisy were stunned at what Wimpod had done. Even though they both knew that Wimpod had the ability Wimp Out and that if they were damaged enough, they would immediately run away.
But based on what Liam said, Wimpod had been hurt enough but still didn't run away and chose to attack.
"I believe it is best to head back to the lab and let Wimpod and you both rest up."
Professor Oak said to Liam and Wimpod, and they all agreed to head back to the lab and rest for a while.
—Liam POV—
"Well, that was something. Don't you agree, Wimpod?"
Wimpod nodded at my comment about what occurred earlier. And I thought of something while we were recuperating from what had occurred recently.
As Wimpod and I were relaxing in the living room, I heard footsteps coming from the kitchen, and it was Daisy bringing us both a snack.
"Here you guys go. You two are probably famished from that battle earlier. Also, dinner will be ready in a bit. Just don't go eating all the snacks; it'll spoil your appetite."
"Okay, Daisy, and thanks for the snacks, too."
"Scrhcchh. Scrhcchh."
Wimpod and I said to her as she nodded and went back to the kitchen.
Then Professor Oak came into the living room.
"Liam, do you plan on staying here the night or immediately heading out? I'm fine with you staying the night. We have a guest room upstairs. And also, about the issue of your first Pokémon, how about Wimpod?"
I was stunned at what Professor Oak said, and I never thought that my first Pokémon would be a Wimpod.
Correct that, a Shiny Wimpod, actually.
When I looked at Wimpod, straight into his eyes, I stretched my hand toward him in a friendly gesture.
"Wimpod... do you want to come with me on my journey and be my partner?"
Wimpod looked at me with eyes full of awe and immediately jumped toward me with joy as it let out a cry of joy and agreement.
"Ha-ha-ha! Thank you, Wimpod. I promise you that we'll have amazing adventures together."
Professor Oak had a smile on his face as he gave me Wimpod's Poké Ball. I took it and showed it toward Wimpod as I was excited that now I was a Pokémon Trainer.
"Also, Liam, may I ask what your dream is?"
That was a weird question for him to ask me, but I had no idea what I wanted since I basically died in my previous life and was reincarnated here.
Until something crossed my mind and I decided to speak what my heart wanted me to say instead.
"I want to experience everything that this world has to offer. I want to know everything about Pokémon. I want to meet new Pokémon, new trainers who would be my rivals and friends, and take part in many leagues while traveling with Wimpod and sharing our new experiences together. Sorry, it sounds like a lot, and I don't know what word to describe it as."
Professor Oak was thinking about what I said and had an idea.
"Basically, you want to be a Pokémon Master."
"Pokémon Master? Are you sure that is what it means?"
Professor Oak gave me a small chuckle as he explained it to me.
"Pokémon Master is an ambiguous term with no set definition, Liam. It can mean multiple things to different people. To some, it is about learning everything about Pokémon. To others, it is about catching all Pokémon in the known world, and to others, it is about battling and many more things, too. But yes, your dream basically coincides with that of a Pokémon Master."
After thinking about it, he was right, and now I knew what my dream was until we heard Daisy calling us to the dining room that dinner was ready.
It was morning. Wimpod and I were getting ready to set off on our journey. As I walked out of the lab, both Daisy and Professor Oak were waiting outside for me.
"Well, I'll be heading out now, and thanks for everything, Professor Oak and Daisy."
Daisy had a smile on her face.
"Don't mention it, Liam, and don't forget to call from time to time about your adventures, got it?"
"Yeah, I will."
Professor Oak came forward with a large envelope in his hand.
"Liam, I have two favors to ask. One isn't all that important, but the other one is."
Well, this got interesting.
"Sure, Professor. What favors do you want me to do? After all, both you and Daisy helped me out a lot yesterday."
Professor Oak gave a small chuckle at my words.
"Well, I was hoping you are willing to fill out your Pokédex during your travels, and if you can send this envelope to a former student of mine. He lives in Vermilion City with his family, and the address is on there. The envelope contains some files for him that he asked me to send to him, but right now, I don't have the time to send things since I'm currently working on a project at the moment, and Daisy is still technically training right now to become a Researcher."
I'm excited about these two favors he asked of me, and I probably knew the student he was talking about, but it was probably best to ask.
"And who is this student you want me to deliver this envelope to, Professor Oak?"
"His name is Professor Cerise. Currently, he is collecting funds to open his own lab and does most of his work at his house and at a temporary office that the Pokémon Association lent him with two other researchers, until he has his own lab."
I knew it!
"Sure thing, Professor Oak. I promise to deliver this envelope to him, and I promise to fill out my Pokédex, too, as best as I can during my travels."
"Thank you, Liam, and I have this feeling that you're going to be a great Pokémon Master."
Daisy stepped forward with a smile on her face.
"Same here, Liam. Ah, but don't tell Gary I said that. He tends to get jealous. If you see him on your journey, tell him I said hi, especially to the others."
"Sure thing, Daisy."
After that, I nodded and said my goodbyes to them before starting to walk on Route 1. After a bit of walking, I stopped and let Wimpod out of his Poké Ball.
"Okay, Wimpod. Before we go any further, it's time I gave you your name."
Wimpod was happy that I was going to name him, and there was one name that I thought of.
When I was younger, I used to watch this old show about a dog named Courage who was a coward but was willing to protect his family from those who tried to harm them.
"How about Courage? It's from this old show I used to watch when I was younger about a cowardly dog who was afraid of things but was brave when it came to protecting his family, similar to how you're scared but are brave enough to protect your friends. So, what do you think?"
Wimpod thought about it and jumped up and down in joy at the name. I smiled as Wimpod liked the name Courage.
"Alright. From today on, your name is Courage. Let's go on many exciting adventures, Courage."
And just like that, we continued on our way.