>>27645825>What is the average way to receive a first Pokemon that isn't the traditional starter from a Professor?There's lots of ways people catch or are given their first pokemon besides being given a "starter":
>BefriendingSome people literally just befriend a Pokemon. Pokemon aren't completely stupid- they understand the nuances and benefits of socializing with humans they can trust and eventually they just sort of allow themselves to be a Pokemon for their friend, etc..
>Weak PokemonSOME Pokemon start out so weak you're in no real danger of being attacked or seriously harmed by them and you can just weaken them yourself (nets, rocks, etc) before throwing a pokeball at them. This is why children have so many rats, bugs, etc: They save up their allowances, pokeballs cost 2 bucks a pop and they bet their luck on trying to catch a caterpie or sentret or something.
>Inherited a Pokemon Literally your dad, mom, sister, brother- someone in your family just gives you a pokemon for one reason or another: they stopped being a trainer, they're getting old, they can't take care of it anymore, you need it more, their pokemon laid eggs and they're giving you one, etc.. etc..
>Buy a PokemonSome people literally buy and sell pokemon- it seems odd by our standards, but when everything is "almost" sapient it doesn't mean as much. Most of this is pretty benign with people breeding and selling pokemon humanely and safely in captivity: Porygons, Eevees, Growlithes, Vulpixes, etc.. Some of it however is LESS unsavory as some pokemon are poached from the wild like Clefairys and Dratinis due to their rarity and unwilling'ness to be bred in captivity.
