How'd you give the protagonist a starter pokemon?

[TypicalJalapeno]

As for me, I'll just give the player some pkmn in pokeballs and pkmn prof. will ask him to deliver them to the mart in the next city along with another person (the rival). Then due to a problem, they will have to use them to battle (wild pkmn or some evil team,etc.) Player chooses first, rival chooses later and coincidentally it is the stronger one... And the story progresses. (They get to keep their pokemon)


How'd you give the player a starter pkmn?

 

[doof]

Eh, in my game they just go to the [Insert Cliche Starting Town] Lab and meet Professor [Insert Cliche Professor Name] and he gives them a [Insert Cliche Starter Pokemon]. Pretty much the usual.

 

[Djaco75]

Ahh. I had it pre-picked by the player choosing a Pokemon from a flyer and then the Professor bumps into them and asks them if they want to be a Pokemon Trainer. You have to say yes so you follow her to the lab and receive the Pokemon.

 

[aiyinsi]

Well I do the clasic with the Prof getting attacked in the grass and having to pick a Pokémon out of the bag to help him.

 

[Ludicrousity]

The player and his friend venture out into the safari zone, where they plan to do something (god knows what yet). The champion of Harmo catches them when they're chasing a herd of Sparkideer around the safari zone. He sees promise in the two children and after calming them down takes them to visit the professor of the region. From there they get their pokemon. Or something along those lines, still not 100% sure.

 

[Blue]

Bit of a fake out method on my end. No professor involved but a sergeant is giving out Pokemon for use in the field and asks the trainer to select one from the Pokeballs. When chosen though an event interrupts and everything quickly goes to hell without anyone getting a Pokemon.
Then after a little exploring/surviving depending on what 'mon they chose triggers a variable encounter in the forest, and the capture is guaranteed. Mostly just played for story purposes but functionally the same thing.

 

[Keileon]

We have the player go to the lab a city away and meet up with the other protag and the second rival. The nonstandard thing though, besides the starters themselves (Eevee, Mienfoo, Solosis), is that the Pokemon are technically wild, even if they're well-behaved. The player "catches" their starter of choice rather than just being given the Pokeball.

Of course this mechanically just translates into being given the Pokemon.

 

[Sam Moore]

The player in my game is taken on a field trip with their two friends, by the region's most popular Pokémon Prof. into Dawn Cave, where they end up finding a crack in cave wall. The Prof. blows the cave wall open to reveal a beautiful cave, hidden by the wall. It has three, differently coloured eggs at the end of the opening. The prof. immediately recognizes them as the three starter Pokémon available to starting trainers. She says that they are close to hatching and that since they're wild eggs, the player and their friends get to each pick one after she tells them what Pokémon live inside them.

 

[BlasterMillennia]

My current vision for my game is for the player to start off participating in an exploration and field research group, managed by a professor, in a relatively-unexplored region. In order for the player and their colleagues to travel the wilderness more efficiently, the professor would give them what would effectively be their starter Pokémon. I'm thinking that each member of the group would receive a different Pokémon that's available in the wild in the surrounding area or not too far away, but the player themselves would always receive the same Pokémon each time. If the player might not like their initial lack of choice, then other Pokémon that could also serve as a starter would be able to be found in the wild near the beginning of the game.

 

[DotDotDot]

My character's sister is a breeder and breed the three starter Pokemon for them and gave away the other two to other trainers

 

[Sableye]

I want the Player to get it from the bodies of their parents*.. sort of like how you get it from Birch in ORAS but instead of being chased your Fathers dying words are "Choose a pokemon and avenge us <son/daughter>!"

*My idea for a pokemon game is quite dark