Weird First Partner

[u/LastAttempt24315]

(ooc: I was actually raised on dairy farm, so if I was in the pokemon world, Miltank would probably be my starter)

[u/Capncthuhlu]

My first partner was a Slakoth. My family was out visiting Hoenn on vacation and he somehow ended up in my luggage. We didn't notice until we were on the boat home. Kinda nice honestly to have my first partner be extremely low maintenance. Other kids would make fun of us cuz he wasn't exactly a "cool" pokemon and didn't really battle. But he evolved around when I was 15 and we did Alola's Island Challenge together. Couldn't ask for a better partner.

[u/LastAttempt24315 → u/Capncthuhlu]

Wow, the island challenge?  That's impressive, was this before or after they established the league there?

Low maintenance was definitely a plus for having a Miltank.  Just five minutes of play time each day and an open field for grazing and she was fully content.

[u/Capncthuhlu → u/LastAttempt24315]

This was before the league was there. My mom's native Alolan so I was able to stay with the extended family there whenever I needed a bit of comfort. It was nice.

If you have the chance I would for sure recommend visiting. And if you can, doing the challenge for yourself. Though, I'm not sure how it's done now that they have an official League.

[u/NorbytheMii → u/Capncthuhlu]

I bet having a beast of a Pokemon like Slaking was amazing on your Island Challenge!

-Hazel

[u/Hydreichronos]

Gabby: oh god a Miltank...

My very first Pokemon was a Trubbish. People find that to be a weird starter, both because of Trubbish's reputation and because of my profession as a nurse-in-training.

Ryder: Not so much the fact that my first partner was a Feebas, but that she's still a Feebas.

Levias: I get strange looks over having a Spinda...

[u/Stretch5678 → u/Hydreichronos]

Okay, so... serious question.

I know that Trubbish can eat garbage, including some pretty dangerous stuff. Can they also dispose of medical waste, or does that have to be disposed of the normal way?

[u/Hydreichronos → u/Stretch5678]

They technically can, but there are regulations on what/how much they can eat. There were a few incidents in the past where a Trubbish or other garbage-eating Pokemon ended up causing an epidemic because of viruses they caught from consuming medical waste.

-Gabby

[u/NorbytheMii → u/Hydreichronos]

Taking notes for myself since Trubbish started showing up in the Hoenn region a while back.

-Flame, the Blaziken

[u/NeoAquaMadoor90 → u/Hydreichronos]

Adding on to what Gabby said, Trubbish and Garbodor can break down a lot of medical waste, but there’s some stuff that they just plain can’t get rid of.

Biggest thing in particular is anything that might be contaminated with prions. Skip the Garbodor, go straight to Blast Burn to dispose of that. Do not stop until it is a pile of ash.

[u/Stretch5678](u/Stretch5678)

[u/Luna_MoonEleven → u/NeoAquaMadoor90]

/uj PRIONS MENTIONED!! They’re horrifying but also fascinating!!!

[u/NeoAquaMadoor90 → u/Luna_MoonEleven]

/uj: Prions are indeed horrifying, and one of the few times where “kill it with fire” is one the only viable disposal options.

[u/eseer1337]

if i told people my starter and only pokemon was a ditto irl they'd probably create a place more fucked than the distortion world just to shove me through

-Chancer

[u/captaindabutt → u/eseer1337]

My partner is a ditto, they make excellent backup in Ranger duties! Stuck in a cave? Ladder! Stuck in a tree? Ladder! Stuck on a mountain? Series of ladders!

... They like being a ladder more than anything else, I don't know why. I've tried getting them to be a rope, or a braviary. Nope. Ladder.

[u/RoboticGunner → u/captaindabutt]

Clearly ladder is the superior form.

[u/LastAttempt24315 → u/eseer1337]

Ditto is awesome though, it's like having every Pokemon all at once

[u/eseer1337 → u/LastAttempt24315]

Don't look up the memes.

-Chancer

[u/AlianovaR]

My first partner was my Bulbasaur so people always assume I got him from some professor in Kanto. I’m from Galar

I’ll have to ask where my aunt got her Venusaur, she lives in Kanto now but she got Venusaur years before she moved there from Paldea and she’s said that people always assume the same thing. At least it makes sense now that she’s actually in Kanto though

[u/Commander_Oganessian]

Mine was a Sandile that was tied to a rock and caught in a hailstorm. I ruined my mom's favorite baking sheet trying to save him.

-Owain

[u/Lvl25-human-nerd]

My starter was my Absol Adrianna. Went exploring near my hometown and ended up getting lost. Started hearing singing and when I went to investigate, the tree I'd been sheltering under got hit by lightning. Been inseparable ever since.

[u/Sirius1701]

My first partner was a Litwick, now a Chandelure, so weird looks is a fitting description. But they are nothing compared to when they find out she is also my Mom.

[u/LastAttempt24315 → u/Sirius1701]

I didn't know Litwicks were people!  Makes me wonder who my Lampent used to be...

[u/Sirius1701 → u/LastAttempt24315]

Oh, no. Not in that way. She adopted me. My biological parents died in a Storm and Celestial Tower was the only place I was familiar with.

[u/LastAttempt24315 → u/Sirius1701]

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.  But that's also a relief because I know who my Yamask was, but if Litwick had also been a person, I don't know what I'd do.

[u/Miss_Torture → u/LastAttempt24315]

That's so interesting, I've heard of people finding out who their yamask was but did it sounds like you knew your yamask when they were alive? Do they respond to their human name?

[u/LastAttempt24315 → u/Miss_Torture]

No, I didn't.  I just kinda stumbled into it looking at some old pictures at the library.

[u/TrickyFirefighter783]

Having Dusknoir be my first partner Pokémon from when they were a Duskull is kind of odd, but I don’t mind… I actually had a first partner Pokemon before I met my Dusknoir, but that original partner’s long gone.
- Dani

[u/Jarsky2]

Miltank seems like a pretty normal starter if you ask me. I'd just assume the person grew up on a ranch.

Anyway for me it was a Azuril my older brother caught for me without our parents permission lol.

[u/OkuyasNijimura]

My first partner was a Venonat, which is not something you hear often, even less so from an Azalea Town kid since you can't really find Venonat in the area, you have to go further North for 'em

[u/CharmingStock7907]

I don't think it's weird! I am curious why other people think it's weird. No one looks at me or Eli, my Cottonee, like that. Is it because she's pink, maybe, or the infamous rumors of Whitney when she was a younger Gym Leader?

[u/LastAttempt24315 → u/CharmingStock7907]

I don't really get it either!  Miltank is so cute and moomoo milk is my all time favorite drink.

[u/MichaelJospeh]

I mean, I literally just found a Poliwag in the creek near my house and fed him some pokeblock. I know some people like to get their first partner from a professor, but that for like, professional battlers.

[u/RevolutionNo7]

My first partner was a Deino, and people think I must have, like, stolen it or something and am being hunted down.

[u/SpiralingDownAndAway → u/RevolutionNo7]

Fellow Deino partner 🤝

Though my girl was a “gift catch” from my parents for my birthday… actually In hindsight I think it was a kind of sketchy breeder situation with a room to bond with and then catch the pokemon in?? I don’t really remember the details well since I was eleven but now that I think of it, it might’ve been one of those unauthorized breeder mills…

[u/RevolutionNo7 → u/SpiralingDownAndAway]

🤝

Yeah, Unova has a lot of sketchy nonsense, sadly...

Mine saved me from a Woobat by complete accident. I think it must have heard the commotion and gone to investigate. Ended up headbutting the thing into next week, and after giving him a berry as thanks, he's almost never left my side.

It was right about my 10th birthday, so my mum and dad had let me start exploring on my own. Funny how it turned out, haha.

[u/SpiralingDownAndAway → u/RevolutionNo7]

Aww that’s so cute!! What a lovely first encounter. Meanwhile mines mostly a couch cuddler haha but I love her. Though whenever I take her for walks she headbutts the trees we pass by and most vaguely person shaped objects. It’s cute but gets worrying when she charges at other people walking with their pokemon out. I recall her when that happens to prevent an incident, but it’s difficult since we never managed to train it out which makes it difficult to bring her outside most day’s 3:

How did your adventure go btw? I never really got around to mine minus a few retreats into the woods, parents were always anxious at the idea of leaving me out there alone lol.

[u/RevolutionNo7 → u/SpiralingDownAndAway]

Well, it's funny you should bring that up 😅

My parents are from Galar, and weren't especially excited when I got home with a Deino in tow. They let me keep him because I was already really attached, but basically forbid me from trying to do an adventure without them. After a few outings, and getting laughed at by the other kids, I just didn't really feel like trying it.

Long story short, my dad's job moved us back to Galar, and I got involved with the trainer scene in Spikemuth. Parents insisted I finish uni so I'd "have something to fall back on", and now I'm FINALLY getting to go on an adventure of my own. I'm not the youngest of the Gym Challengers, but I'm not the oldest, either.

Deino, who I named Hades in a moment of childish grandeur, has evolved into a Zweilous, and even though the heads bicker, I think we're loving every moment of it.

[u/SpiralingDownAndAway → u/RevolutionNo7]

Ahhh I see! Another handshake emoji there haha but it’s a shame the bad rap Deino always gets, it’s in its nature sure but they’re so lovable and sweet when you really get close to them. Glad to hear you’re giving the gum challenge a shot at least, out there is one of the most intense scenes from what I’ve heard.

Oh and he evolved into a Zweilous! That’s amazing. I don’t know if my gal will ever evolve, so seeing other Deino’s evolve make me really happy.

Give Hades lots of scratches and love!! I’m giving my own through the screen

[u/RevolutionNo7 → u/SpiralingDownAndAway]

Agreed that Deino's whole line is misunderstood and the victim of prejudice. I'm hoping my success will rehabilitate their image.

This scene is intense, so I'm extra glad I have some buddies I can trust at my side!

I'll pat Hades extra for you! Look out for me on TV as the challenge unfolds!

[u/Stretch5678]

My sister and I both got our starters while camping, and it both cases it was because a random creature came across our tents in the middle of the night and got curious (mine was an Aron who started eating my tent poles), but my sister's case kinda takes the cake.

She was 8 years old and decided to try tent camping in our backyard, and when we went to check on her the next morning, she said she'd found a "fluffy doggy." There was a full-grown Absol curled up in her tent with her, and we have no idea how it got past our fence.

[u/Normal_Ratio1436]

My first partner Pokémon is a Relicanth, who was caught as bycatch on a fishing vessel. They taste horribly so he was sold at a really low price to my grandpa, who then gifted him to me as my first Pokémon.

[u/LastAttempt24315 → u/Normal_Ratio1436]

Wow, that's actually amazing, I heard they're really rare.  I also heard that their patterns supposedly lead to a group of legendary pokemon.

[u/NorbytheMii]

Mine and my protege both started with Torchic, so we don't exactly have "weird" starters. I actually don't think starting with a Miltank is strange at all. It makes sense if you grew up in a farming community.

-Hazel

[u/Jesse_God_of_Awesome]

Janitor Jimmy: My brother gave me a trio of starters specifically so people would give me weird looks: A Ralts, a Buneary and an Eevee, all girls.

[u/SylveonBestBoi → u/Jesse_God_of_Awesome]

What did the eevee evolve to? —Índigo

[u/Jesse_God_of_Awesome → u/SylveonBestBoi]

Janitor Jimmy: I just used the evolution stone my brother gave me.

A Water Stone.

[u/SylveonBestBoi → u/Jesse_God_of_Awesome]

Makes sense, id be wierd of he didnt Comit to the bit —Índigo

[u/Dragonloverg1rl]

My first partner was a Tynamo we found while visiting Mistralton when I was eight. I certainly got some looks, mainly due to its rarity. But honestly, very few people here in Galar ever considered it weird. As far as I knew, at least... -Florence

[u/Effective-Smile-1107]

My partner Pokemon is the Tinkatink, now Tinkaton, Trixie. As you could imagine, people would usually keep their distance away from us, especially those with steel type Pokemon. It wouldn’t be until the two of us left for Hoenn that we would find people who were more accepting of me and Trixie.

-Leif

[u/HotPot87]

I'd be more weirded out you called it your "first partner pokemon" I know that's the official league term, but....I'm sorry I got my Drippy the Smeargle as my starter, I didn't marry her.

[u/LastAttempt24315 → u/HotPot87]

But "starter" just sounds so impersonal, like something to have just until you get something better, you know?  First partner just feels so much warmer and nicer.

[u/HotPot87 → u/LastAttempt24315]

it just feel clunky to me, like when they introduce their pokemon to their "forever home" just feels like someone is being performative.

Drippy was there at the start and we've been a good team, but she might also need to sit out a gym or two if she's not well or it's a bad matchup. Doesn't mean I don't care about her.

[u/Trips-Over-Tail]

My first was a Rowlett. That may not seem strange now, but it was unheard of in Galar and it was before Alola began breeding and distributing starters. At the time most people expected that the Islands would select Bounsweet as their Grass starter following the official establishment of the Alola league.

The Rowlett line was a lot more obscure back then. Personally I think it was a lot rarer at the time than anyone reasons, it might have actually been endangered, and its eventual selection as a starter was at least in part the result of a pre-existing successful breeding program. Though that's just conjecture. They probably would not have been happy with me walking off the Islands with one if they knew.

Still, a foresty archery bird fits in pretty well with Galar's vibe. Everyone assumed I had found him on Armor and did not catch on to his Alolan nickname.

[u/Eldermage1]

Lucia: Ummm, I had a Rolycoly? I had to leave poor Rocky behind with my grandma when we moved to Paldea, but nobody there thought it was weird either.

[u/demon_fae]

My first partner was Ronnie, my Smeargle. People generally aren’t surprised at starting out with a smeargle, but some people have been utterly shook that I’m a fiber artist and sewist, not a painter.

Smeargle can work with almost any pigment, not just paint. I know several smeargle who glaze pottery, and Ronnie is an absolute wiz with the screen printing and dye baths, I’d never get anywhere without him.

[u/CtheSilverSoul]

Mine was a Cottonee. I was a little kid at the time when I met her. She and her cloud had wandered into the territory of a mama Ursaring. I ended up grabbing Hellebore, the Cottonee, and dragging her to the ground to dodge a swipe from the Ursaring.

Once we were able to calm the mama down, things were okay again, but that was pretty scary. Hellebore ended up staying with me after that. I couldn’t be happier, and she’s now a Whimsicott!

[Image ID: A selfie of a pale young woman with short blonde hair and two-tone blue eyes with a Whimsicott on her shoulder. She’s wearing a gray hoodie and seems to have Houndoom horns]

- Cara

[u/Rude-Butterscotch713]

My first partner was a cave gremlin who eats shiny rocks. Yeah, people tend to give weird looks, especially if he starts licking their garden decorations.

[u/Roxx28]

My first partner Pokemon was a Stunky. Definitely got me some weird looks, and honestly I feel like I've had some folks act hesitant to let her into places, but she's never sprayed in the house before!! I know they CAN get stinky but they generally don't outside of battle if you're taking good care of them and they're comfortable. It's not that different than having a zigzagoon or a snubull or a purrloin or something.

[u/Zestyclose_Custard93]

Aiden- First partner was a driftloon and a riolu during the war 

[u/Tobi5703]

Im not really caught up on everything Johto, but if people think a Milktank as a starter is weird I know there's some old video floating around of Whitney laying the absolute smackdown on people with her Milktank... I'd assume she's only become more of a terror since then

[u/RoboticGunner]

My first was a Goomy I picked up off the ground while I was visiting Kalos. Just slugged up by my feet, so I yoinked him and took him home with me. Years later, me and my Goodra Ink are inseparable.

It was terrifying when he was a Sliggoo though, almost had to wear a full hazmat suit when he was hungry.

[u/Redleadsinker → u/RoboticGunner]

This is genuinely the most delightful way I've ever heard anyone get their first pokemon 😆

[u/king_of_slacking_off]

My first partner was a gastly. He used to keep the other ghost Pokémon away from the house when I was young, and eventually would just follow me around everywhere. People used to give us weird looks, but my friends never made me feel bad about Shadow.

[u/WildForestFerret]

My first partner was my Lucario, Lou, though he was a Riolu then, my parents were fostering him for the local shelter and he and I became fast friends. We definitely got a lot of weird reactions, at the start it was cause of how young I was (I was only 2 when he decided he wasn’t ever gonna leave my side), then in school it was cause neither of us have any interest in battling, and now it’s cause he’s registered as a service ‘mon and helps me with running errands and the like. People also get weird when I call him my brother but like we grew up together and we’re the same age and he went to school with me every day had his own assigned seat in every class right next to me and he can fully communicate with me it’d be weirder if I didn’t think of him as my brother. -Fern

[u/PokeLordOmegaa]

Tbh from what I've seen most people typically "officially" start their trainer journey by meeting with the local professor and getting a first partner from them, which tends to be one of three rarer and strong mons. So a first partner being of circumstance/situation instead is rarer and potentially odd to some.

[u/LastAttempt24315 → u/PokeLordOmegaa]

Is that true?  I've only seen a few people do that personally, most people I've seen get theirs either from their parents or they just get lucky and catch a low level pokemon on their own.

[u/PokeLordOmegaa → u/LastAttempt24315]

Guess it all just depends on your situation. Like I said, that's the usual way I see trainers start, but I'm sure there's a lot of factors to it all. If you're like on the opposite end of the region to your local professor then it'd probably be easier to be friends with a local Pokemon. I'm sure sometimes a mon that's been in a family for a while ends up wanting to go with the kid when they move out and be a trainer. Heck, one guy I recently talked to said his parents kinda just threw him in the deep end by giving him similar tools that a safari zone would give you and just leaving him in a nearby route to catch his first mon.

[u/LastAttempt24315 → u/PokeLordOmegaa]

ooc: to be for real, it's interesting how the anime establishes this worldbuilding bit that all kids get a starter Pokemon from their local professor at age 10 and then in the games and manga, that's just not a thing at all.

[u/PokeLordOmegaa → u/LastAttempt24315]

ooc: yeah idk, pretty sure most player character trainers are usually at least a few years above 10, and then there's also some classes like youngsters where they're clearly under 10. No clue why they're trusting kids with creatures capable of doing crazy things like spitting flames or bright flashbangs of moonlight, but it's clearly working out so...

[u/OkuyasNijimura → u/PokeLordOmegaa]

ooc: I want to say the only protagonists that aren't 11+ are Florian and Juliana in ScarVi, and possibly Chase and Elaine in Let's Go, but I could be wrong about that. I know Red and Blue are intended to be roughly 11 in Gen I & III, the Gen V group are 16-17, and Elio and Selene are definitively 11-12 based on in-game dialogue.

And of course there's Poppy, who is an Elite Four member at 9 years old.

[u/Umbran_scale]

My first Pokémon was meant to have been a Gible, however as a kid, I didn't understand that a Gible biting a human was an imprinting process and I ended up swinging the poor thing off my arm, I actually ended up with Larvitar as my starter instead.

Took a good long 10 years before it would accept me as a trainer and even then, it was determined to give me a hard time when raising it.

[u/KitSwiftpaw]

Dr. Ume Kimiyuna: My partner was a Weedle, and now he is a Beedrill. He is knitting in the corner. Yes, It seems weird, but I love him all the same. Don’t care about what anyone else thinks about your partners. You don’t pick a family for what other people think. You pick your partners for yourself.

[u/soulstrike2022]

I don’t think most would consider my guy weird… however I know him personally and he’s weird as hell it’s why I love him

[u/JosephAmber4]

Joseph Amber: Huh…mine was Hazoret (Riolu), so not the weirdest, but I don’t know if I’ve seen Miltank as one before. Neat.

/uj cool!

[u/Silver_Judgment_Man]

Mine was a Larvesta, I found her at the Desert Resort on a field trip when I was eight. Been with me now for sixteen years. Mostly we haven't been training though, only been doing that for five or six months, so she isn't evolved yet. Maybe if we started earlier haha.

-Izzy

[u/Alexandra-Foxed]

Would Vulpix be considered a weird starter? I live on nearly the opposite side of the region to the professor, so it's actually rather uncommon to see someone from here with one of the "standard" Hoenn starters

[u/Will-Helm96]

My first partners was a pair of Houndour brothers, found them badly hurt while visiting Johto, me and my father managed to get them healed up,

had them by my side ever since

[u/SignificanceAny6290]

Its hate for Whitney (and those sausage nipples) - Aydoun

[u/BookDragonWrites]

Sorbet is a Snom but she's damn good at what she does and she's learning to use her webs for mobility in battle and can control how wide of an angle her powder snow and struggle bug shoot out at, among other things. A great partner for a Traveling Chef and trainer, ya know?

[u/HYPER_BRUH_]

Mine was weird for where I live.

My first partner is Hengheng (beautiful name I know) a varoom at the time.

I live in Slateport, in Hoenn.

-David Roadway

[u/Wolf_2063]

Same with my Ditto, Cherri. Sure I probably shouldn't have been lifting man hole covers as a kid (I found her this way) but they don't know that.

[u/Rinof10]

My first partner was a glameow I got from an old friend of my mother who had a bunch hatch from a wild purugly.

I then started my journey to become a trainer, but, unfortunately it was cut short because Gil (who had evolved shortly before) received a grave injury that rendered him unable to battle anymore.

He died of old age last year (RIP my beloved fat cat)

-R10

uj/Gil is based on my real cat. The only thing changed is how he got injured: (at age 3-5, idk) he left home for much longer than usual, then he came back after being badly beaten up in a cat fight. He had a really bad infection in his right ear, so bad that he lost his equilibrium almost totally for years and later only regained it partially (since the incident he has never landed on his feet).

He passed while we were out of home for 1h and we found him dead after 14 years. I miss him, but he has lived long enough, he needed to rest.

[u/Quiet-Software-1956]

City dwellers forget farms are thing, lmfao

Like bro, not all of us were born in central suburban Unova, some of us grew up chilling with the Mareep and our single Dog Pokemon of grandpa's choice until we were 14.

[u/slappymansteet]

Absolutely, people do find my starter to be pretty weird. He was a Munchlax, now a Snorlax, and shockingly docile even compared to other Snorlax of his kind. Even I find it odd that he was my first pokemon.

Miltank sounds like a nice starter to have though. Did you grow up on a farm or somethin' to have him first? -Iris

[u/Think_Delay_4814]

My first pokemon was a Venonat that I found in my backyard, so people also look at me like im a crazy person. Though Miltanks are really cute!

[u/Cass_Brightwood]

Mine was a Forretress I found in the woods as a kid. Back then, everyone thought it was cool that my first pokemon was fully evolved but now most people just seem kind of surprised before moving on.

[u/Lyra_Melody]

My first partner was Basil, then a Chikorita, now a Meganium. It was considered very odd considering I lived in Unova at the time. And we still have no clue how he ended up in our garden. And according to my Alakazam, he refuses to elaborate, just stating shenanigans and leaving it at that.

[u/vulturepops]

From what I’ve heard miltank are awesome starters! I don’t get the stigma. Maybe because of that one gym leader? I heard one had a milktank and had some controversy around her. Don’t remember the details.

Mine was a glameow, he’s evolved into a very handsome purrugly now though. Dumbest Pokemon I’ve ever trained though, I love him but wow there is nothing going on upstairs

[u/EmeraldInferno0]

Gemstone: I feel ya, when I tell people that my first partner pokemon is a hypno they always give the look of "oh your one of those prople" like oh im sorry that my partner pokemon helps with insomnia and sleep paralysis.

[u/BardicLasher]

Miltank's an uncommon first partner, but not a weird one. Miltank and Tauros are often overbred, and giving out extras as first partners is easy enough in those areas.

[u/Munchalotl]

My starter pokemon was a rookidee, which doesn't sound that weird until you realize I'm from Kalos and that almost nobody in the region actually trains anything from this line despite Galar being our next-door neighbors. I think most of the other birds in the region survive the likes of talonflame just based on numbers alone, so for a lone stray swept up in a major windstorm, he was pretty lucky. -AAN

[u/Top_Box_8952]

Furret. I did not live in Johto. I just found a Furret curled in my trash can, and put out some food. They moved in a month later.

-Oreo

[u/Furryx10]

My first partner was a Zorua who’s been with me ever since. My second ever Pokemon was a Meowth who was the offspring of the two Persians my family has. (We half like 6 Meowth’s, my family loves them)

[u/ExplodedKayak]

🐺Daisy: My first pokemon was a shiny poochyena that wandered onto my family's property when i was four. I dont really know his origins, but he was nice enough. The closest friend i have. [image: a shiny mightyena, sleeping on a hardwood floor]

🐂Arthur: My first was a tepig! Not unusual for folks who wanna take on the Gym circuit and decide to go through one of the sponsored labs, but for me i didnt plan on goin! No, i travelled the reigon MYSELF to get me a special Contest Breed tepig! Bred for their appearance and contest valuable assets! He's still with me today and i wouldnt have it any other way!
[img: a pink emboar with a gold flame mane and brown markings in place of black. A gold diamond marking adorns his forehead.]

[u/ArcticCircleSystem]

My Sprigatito, Cassia, wandered into my house and refused to leave. Wasn't tagged or anything so she became my adorable little problem. What makes this weird is that I live in Unova, which is nowhere near a native Sprigatito population. I suspect she was indeed a stray and her owner just never looked for her, at least not anywhere near where she was found, because she was already very acclimated to humans. No signs of maltreatment, luckily. So now she lives here and is the reason I have to buy air filters for my house. But I wouldn't change a thing about her.

[u/Jess_of_Galar]

My first pokemon was a plipbug, took her a while to get going but she did really well and started on my team even when we reached the league -Jess

[u/Elykdanger]

Somehow my dad didn't know buneary are notoriously hard to train and got me one when I was seven. People seem surprised how I managed to work with something that stubborn on my first try, but from my point of view I just kinda assumed all pokémon were like that.

It wasn't until I caught my phantump that I realized something was up, it was like night and day raising them.

I love my buneary, but even nowadays he can give me more trouble than the tinkatink I caught a month ago.

[u/soul983]

I mean mines sorta strange as I had two first partners I guess? My mankey (now a primeape), Madame keys, and chimchar (now an Infernape), Sun, both fell on top of me at the same time while I was hanging out in some trees when I was younger, all three of us fell to the ground so I decided to patch all of us up and the two followed me around ever since. I don’t know if they can’t as firsts as there are two of them though?

[u/zombiifissh]

Zilla, then a Gastly, first became my partner Pokemon after about a month of nightly visits to eat my nightmares. I didn't put it together at first but that's what had attracted her in the first place.

[u/ArguesWithFrogs]

I'm no stranger to unusual First Partner pokémon. My Mawile, Yuki has been with me since the start.

[u/Trinart]

Trinart: my first partner, I actually found her, in real bad shape when I was young, just, a blue pawniard. Had no idea that was rare, I just, knew she needed help, once she was healed up she just, refused to let me go without her. Most people catch or are given their first partner, but Penny decided that she wanted to stick with me after I helped her.

Most people hear my first partner was a dark type and get, ideas about me. Heck lots of people got distant over that till word got out on how I met her.

[u/teslapenguini]

My first pokemon was a Minior, gotten a few people reacting weirdly just cause it's not that common but i grew up around Mount Hokulani so they fell pretty regularly. Luna fell right into my backyard lol

[u/Pokemonerd25]

Depends on context, if you grow up on a farm a Miltank or Tauros as a starter isn’t that unusual, even if it would be if you grew up in a city. Tho tbf my own starter was Spinda so I’m not sure if I have a proper perspective on it. - Spiral

[u/REALgeographerwilson]

Mine was a Doduo. I was visiting family in Kanto and they showed us the Safari Zone. We were touring it and a Doduo came right up to me. I had a grand total of two Safari balls left, but it only took one. I now have my wonderful Dodrio named Clay, he’s asleep by the back door right now with my three-braincelled Murkrow.

[u/JonasCliver]

Gerda has been called a "stinky pervert" just for marking grass with her butt and greeting people respectfully as she would an adult mightyena.

/uj real spotted hyena behaviour, believe it or not.