Zan stared out his bedroom window as a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. Seconds later, a roll of thunder shook the city. He quickly glanced at his clock to see that midnight had passed just moments earlier.

   Zan knew that he needed to get some sleep, but the excitement kept him awake. In just 12 short hours, he would receive his first Pokémon from Professor Norton and he couldn't wait.

   He had always dreamed of having a Pokémon, and ever since his brother became the champion, his desire to become a trainer grew.

   As he looked towards the mountains, a light rain began to engulf the city and dread began to consume him. What if the ceremony was to be cancelled because of the weather? That could not be allowed to happen, could it?

   He turned on the TV and went through his DVD collection until he found his favorite film, maybe that would help him calm down. The video was of the day his brother became the champion, it was televised all across the region.

   The battle had lasted nearly two whole hours, but ended with his brother defeating the previous champion, Zed. Because of the victory, his family finally had enough money to move out of Gallium Town, and they settled in Thulium Center.

   After watching the film for about 15 minutes, sleepiness began to settle in and Zan reached over to cut the TV off.

   It was now a quarter to one and Zan finally crawled into his bed. The light shower had now turned into a downpour as lightning and thunder frequently rumbled through the night.

   Zan tried, but he could not fall asleep, all he could do was think about the Pokémon that were going to be given out.  The professor had brought in 25 different Pokémon for the trainers to choose one and Zan thought about each one over and over in his mind.

   Nearly an hour has passed, and Zan still had no idea what Pokémon he wanted, but then he thought about his brother and within minutes was fast asleep with a Pokémon in mind.

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   Meanwhile, 25000 feet in the air, Ash Ketchum was sleeping in his seat with Pikachu on his lap as the plane flew through the storm. Ash didn’t even budge when the Pilots assistant began speaking through the Passenger Alert System.

   Victor, the teenage boy accompanying Ash on his flight to the Osmium region shook his shoulder until he finally opened his eyes.

   “Don’t do that” Said Ash sleepily, “I can’t become the greatest if I’m not fully rested.”

   Just as Ash finished his statement and began to close his eyes again, the assistant began to repeat the message and by the end, Ash was fully awake.

   “Ladies and Gentlemen, because of the intense weather patterns that we are currently experiencing, this flight will not make its full course to Osmium City. This flight will land in Thulium Center in approximately 45 minutes, we are sorry for this change in service.”

   “Thulium Center?” asked Ash. “How far away from Osmium will we be if we land there?”

   “Ash, I’m very sorry” said Victor, “but it’s a couple hundred miles away. There’s at least six other towns between the two.”

   “What about a gym?” said Ash, “Does this place have a gym?”

   “No, there is no gym located in Thulium Center. The nearest gym is in Cadmium City. Not too far if you ask me, all you have to do is head through Polonium Village and then through the forest and you’re there.”

   “Really? This is just great. What am I supposed to do until I get there? I was hoping to challenge a gym as soon as I get there.

   “Don’t worry Ash, as soon as we land, we will spend the rest of the night at the airport hotel. Since we’re landing in Thulium, there’s something I want to show you that I think you might enjoy.”

   Ash was still annoyed at this sudden change of plans, but as he turned to look out the window, his expression changed as he spotted the outline of a giant city in the distance.

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   “Zan wake up! You’re going to be late!” Deg screamed through the door.

   Zan slowly rolled out of bed and looked at his clock. It was a quarter to 11, he had just over an hour to get to the professors lab. Fifteen minutes later, he walked into the kitchen dressed and ready for what the day had in store for him.

   His brother was just finishing up breakfast and was about to leave for Victory World Tower.

   “Thanks for waking me up,” said Zan to his brother. “Have a good day as the champion and try not to lose. I want you to still be the champion when I get there.”

   “Don’t worry, I won’t lose,” replied Deg. “And today’s going to be a great day because my little brother is getting his first Pokémon. But, it’ll also be a bit lonely here without you.”

   “I’ll miss you too Deg!” Zan screamed as he grabbed a bagel and ran out the door. It was still pouring, but he had to be there, if it turns out the ceremony did take place and he didn’t go, he would never forgive himself.

   “Zan! Wait for me!” A voice yelled from behind him. Zan turned around to see Leo, one of his closest friends running up the street toward him.

   “Hey Leo, did you go to sleep as well?” Zan asked his friend.

   “No,” responded Leo, “my mom wouldn’t let me leave until I found my umbrella. I know it’s raining, but she thinks not catching a cold is more important than getting my first Pokémon.”

   “What Pokémon do you plan on getting Leo?”

   “I want to go with a water type, I heard the first gym over in Cadmium uses mostly rock type Pokémon so I want to get a decent head start. What are you going to get?”

   “You’ll see”

   Twenty minutes later, the two arrived at the arena where the ceremony was to be held. Zan could see other soon to be trainers through the window, and just as the clock tower struck 12, the two of them entered.

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   Zed was pacing back and forth in the small room when the doorbell rang. He knew it could only mean bad news, but he quickly made his was downstairs to let whoever it was in.

   A tall man in a black suit stepped inside the moment the door opened, he looked around nervously, and began to whisper to Zed.

   “Sir, I believe you should know that his brother is currently at the ceremony in Thulium Center and he is about to receive his first Pokémon.”

   “Oh,” said Zed “Jared, this is going to be a tough couple of weeks. I worked hard to reclaim what Deg has stolen from me and it looks like now is the only time that I can take back what is mine.”

   “All those pesky trainers, they all want to become the champion. I spent ten years building my team and making sure that I had what it takes to become the champion and for what? For one no good trainer to come and steal all of my glory away from me!”

   “If those new trainers want to battle the trainer, it must be me who is the trainer. I will personally take care of the brother and I’ll make sure that he never wins a Pokémon battle in his life. Jared, I want you and the other members to take care of the rest of the trainers.”

   “What about Deg?” asked Jared.

   “I don’t need to go for him just yet,” replied Zed. “Once I have his brother, Deg will come to me. You may leave Jared.”

   As Jared exited the room, Zed sat by the window and stared out at the mountain in the distance. The pieces were beginning to fall into place.

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   Two hours earlier, Ash and Victor had left Thulium International Hotel and were walking towards the downtown area.

   “Pikachu, do you see this place?” asked Ash. “This place is huge! Victor, this has to be the biggest city in the region right?

   “Far from it,” responded Victor as Pikachu ran down the street towards a group of Pokémon sitting at the next corner. This is the third largest city in the region, and Osmium City has to be at least three times bigger. Just wait till you see it.”

   An hour later, the three of them had reached downtown and Victor led them into a huge arena. The place was packed with both people and Pokémon.

   “What is this place?” asked Ash. “What’s going on? Is this some sort of a celebration?”

   “This is the annual Pokémon ceremony,” answered Victor. “Today’s the day that the professor pulls together all of the recent Pokémon School graduates and gives them their first Pokémon so they can begin their journeys.”

   “Oh, this looks like it could be interesting. When does it start?”

   Just as Ash asked his question, the lights grew dark. A couple of seconds have passed and then a man walked to the center of the court.

   “Victor, who is that”

   “That’s Professor Norton, the ceremony is about to begin.”

Well, I hope you all liked episode one. If you would like to appear in a future episode, please reply to the official Pokemon Osmium Thread
HERE and HAPPY NEW YEAR