[Pokémon] Pokémon - Legends of Kanto

Chapter 6

The bright, morning sun had risen over the vast, beautiful Kanto region and Red could now see his way through the thick forest of Route 1 that he had been stuck in. He was thankful for the suns rising, as it scared off the powerful Haunter he had encountered earlier. The trainer was walking all alone, as both his Pokemon were tired and sore from battling. Still, he looked at both Poke Balls with pride when he held them in front of his face. Even though he couldn't see either Pokemon, he knew they were safe and asleep inside their Poke Balls. The rest was well deserved too, for the Charmander who fought so hard and the female Nidoran that was likely to be an excellent addition to Red's team.

Red finally reached what seemed to be the end of the forest. When he exited the forest, he looked to the east to notice that he wasn't too far off from the main path. Viridian City came into his view as soon as he looked ahead, and it was a rather large city. From where he was, he could see one major landmark located in the city, being the Indigo Plateau. This is the place where official Pokemon League battles are held. Red's eyes sparkled as he imagined what it would be like to compete in the Pokemon League. He continued his approach for the city once he awoke from his day dreaming.

He walked alone through the outskirts of Viridian City. Unlike Pallet Town which would normally have some outdoor activity by this time in the morning, Viridian City was empty. Red then decided he may as well do some sight seeing, so he made his way towards the Indigo Plateau. The trainer seemed rather diminutive to the stadium that towered before him, in both size and skill. <One day…> Red thought to himself as he turned away from the stadium. After walking down a few empty streets, he finally found someone who was out on their way to the store.

"Excuse me," Red captured their attention and he politely asked "do you know where the Pokemon Center is?"

He remembered reading about Pokemon Center's during his studies at the Pallet Pokemon school. Pokemon Centers are places where a trainer can heal their tired Pokemon after long battles, but are also places where tired trainers can bunk for a night.

"Ah, yes. Just take this street, take a right and then keep going, you'll eventually be there." The man pointed in the direction Red's supposed to go.

Red thanked the man and followed his directions. It wasn't too long before a large building with a red roof and a large Poke Ball design on the front came into his view. When he got to the doors of the Pokemon center, they automatically opened for him. The inside of the building was air conditioned, much to his liking. He approached the front desk as he looked around. To the side of the building were video-telephones for trainers to contact their loved ones, and on the other side was the lobby for waiting trainers. Bookshelves with magazines were also present in this area. There was no one behind the desk as Red approached it.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Red asked as he relaxed his arms over the desk.

"Oh, just a minute, please." A soft, female voice replied.

One of the doors to the backrooms of the Pokemon Center opened. A petite pink haired woman emerged from behind the door in a nurses cap, a pink blouse, white stockings, and pink shoes. Behind her was a large, chubby pink Pokemon with an egg in its belly. <She's cute.> Red thought in the back of his head as she stood behind the desk.

"Hello, I'm Nurse Joy, and welcome to the Pokemon Center!" The woman greeted Red with a warm smile and a cheery tone. The Chansey behind her exclaimed its name. Nurse Joy continued, "How may I be of service for you today?"

"I would like you to heal my Pokemon, if it's not a problem.

"Nope, not a problem at all!" The nice woman smiled, "That's what Pokemon Centers are for! Now if I may please ask for your Pokemon?"

Red nodded and gave her the two Poke Ball's he previously held in his pockets.

Nurse Joy spoke up with a question, "So, what are you doing out so early, if I may ask?". She placed the two Poke Balls onto an empty tray and handed it to Chansey, who ran into the back room.

"Oh, I left for my journey after midnight, so I was stuck in Route 1 all night." Red then proceeded to explain the situation with the Gastly and Haunter, and how he caught the female Nidoran. The woman seemed impressed by his feats.

"Sounds impressive for a first time trainer. But you should stay out of forests at night, those ghost Pokemon can be quite bothersome!"

"You're telling me, haha." Red laughed, stretched and yawned.

Nurse Joy took note of the circles under Red's eyes, "You look like you could use some sleep. Why don't you take a rest in one of the bunk rooms while your Pokemon heal up?" The woman smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder.

The boy gleamed at her offer, "Really?" He seemed overjoyed that he could finally get some sleep, "Could you please show me to a room, then?"

"No problem at all!"

The kind, pink haired woman led Red behind another one of the doors located at the back of the Pokemon Center. She directed him down to a hallway where there were multiple doors, each with a room behind it. About half of the rooms had a card hung over the doorknob, indicating that they were not vacant. Nurse Joy led the boy to the door at the end of the hallway. Inside there was a bunk bed, a window, a desk, and a small dresser.

"Here is your room, may you enjoy your sleep." Nurse Joy politely stated, but then a questioned popped into her head as Red walked into the room, "Hey, do you know if you're registered in the Pokemon League's system yet?"

Red turned around with a confused look in his glazed eyes, "The Pokemon League system? I don't know what you're talking about." he shrugged.

"Oh…" Nurse Joy paused, "Well, how about we register you when you wake up?" She smiled.

"That sounds like a good idea." Red nodded.

Nurse Joy closed the door behind her and left Red to fall asleep. The boy closed the blinds in front of the window and then sunk right into the bottom bunk of the bed. It wasn't long before he was asleep and snoring loudly.

Hours Later

It was well around noon when Red arose from his peaceful slumber. When he awoke, he left the room in only his black shirt, blue pants and socks. He paid no mind to his messy black hair, which was beginning to form with the shape of his hat. He approached one of the green video-phone machines, picked up the phone and dialed a certain number. A static noise was present in the phone as it began to connect with wherever Red was calling. Meanwhile, inside Professor Oak's Pokemon lab, one of his machines began to buzz. He appeared on Red's screen as well as vice-versa when he answered.

"Ah, Red! It's good to hear from you! May I ask where you are calling from?" The Professor was in cheery of a mood as he ever was.

"I'm calling from Viridian City right now."

Red then proceeded to explain to Professor Oak about everything that had taken place the day and night before, from him and Blue's battle to the event with the ghost Pokemon.

"Ah, so you lost your first Pokemon battle. No big deal," The Professor began to explain, "it's just one loss, and most importantly you learned from it. That is the process of the Pokemon trainer, after all."

The two chatted for a few more good long minutes before Red ended the conversation so the Professor could get back to all his important research. Red then proceeded to call his mother, who was surprised when she answered his phone call. However, Scarlet wasn't surprised by Red's rebellious antic of sneaking out in the dead of night. She was proud of her son for catching his first ever Pokemon. She blew her son a kiss through the video before their phone call ended. Red seemed embarrassed, even though no one had seen.

The trainer then approached the front desk, and he was once more kindly greeted by the smiling Nurse Joy, "Hello! Your Pokemon are all healed up and ready to go!" She said as she handed him the tray with both his Poke Balls on it, "Are you now ready for your registration?"

"Thank you so much for healing them!" Red said as he returned the Poke Balls to his pockets, "And yeah, let's get this done."

"If you would please follow me, and let me see your PokeDex if you have one."

Red handed the woman his PokeDex as he followed her behind one of the doors, "Okay, but why do you need my PokeDex?"

"To save your information on it. It's easier than having a trainer card, in my opinion." She giggled and began to examine the PokeDex, "Now if you would please sit behind the camera, we can begin the procedure."

Red sat in a seat behind a camera that was connected to a computer. An image of his face showed up on the computer as Nurse Joy told him to say cheese. The trainer gave a great smile, and information began to load on the computer. The nurse then proceeded to place his PokeDex in one of the slots on the computer. In an instant, all of Red's information and data was uploaded to his PokeDex and into the Pokemon League database. Nurse Joy handed the boy back his PokeDex, "Here you go, you can now carry on with your journey." She smiled.

***

"Come on out, guys!"

As soon as Red exited the Pokemon Center, he threw both Poke Balls in front of him. Charmander and his female Nidoran emerged and were looking much better than they had the night before. Previously, both Pokemon were tired and wounded with bruises and scratches, but now each creature was glowing with health. As Charmander greeted Red, the female Nidoran quietly examined him. There was no doubt in the Pokemon's mind now that she had been captured from her home in Route 1, but she showed her trainer no reluctance. Instead, she quietly held her curious gaze.

"Alright guys, let's get going!"

Red walked away from the Pokemon Center with Charmander and Nidoran followed, each at an opposite side. The trainer began to explore the streets of Viridian City, which were now bursting with more activity than he had seen earlier. The doors of the department stores he passed seemed to turn in a never ending cycle of people leaving and entering the store.

Red and his Pokemon continued to walk through the city, and they soon reached a part of town that was sectioned off a little farther than the other buildings in Viridian. This part of the city was a large grass field with a large building in the middle of it. A mass of large trees surrounded the backside of the building. As Red curiously approached the building, a large sign came into his view, which he proceeded to read aloud.

"Viridian City Pokemon Gym - Test Your Strength Here."

Red then paused for a moment to look at his Pokemon, and then at the gym, "Alright, let's go! It sounds like there's a battle waiting in there!" the trainer exclaimed.

Charmander enthusiastically leapt upwards and repeated it's name a couple times, "Charmanderrr!"

The reptilian Pokemon scratched at the air and then turned to his teammate Nidoran, who seemed less than thrilled. The quiet female Pokemon still seemed to be taking information in as she examined every movement of her trainer and Charmander. Both Pokemon followed Red to the door which he tried, but failed to open. Angrily and impatiently, he began twisting on the door knob while attempting to pull the door open, but still to no avail. An old man who was passing by the gym took note of this and approached the boy, who was unaware of his presence.

"Excuse me young man, this Pokemon Gym is locked, and the leader is out."

Red turned around to face the gray haired old man, "Ah, are you serious?" he whined.

"Very serious, sadly. Why, were you interested in challenging this Pokemon Gym?"

"Well, of course I was," Red pointed to both his Pokemon, "we're pumped and ready for battle."

The elderly man examined both of Red's Pokemon with his dreary eyes. He gave a slight chuckle, "You appear to be a new trainer, young man. Take a walk with me, if you would?"

Red looked suspicious at first at the old mans request, but then he decided he would be safe as long as he had his Pokemon with him. <He doesn't look like he could cause any harm.>, he thought before he proceeded to speak, "Alright, I will."

Red walked besides the old man as his Pokemon quietly followed behind. They walked in the direction of the city for a few minutes in silence before the elderly man spoke, "So, young man, do you even know what Pokemon Gyms are?"

The trainer put his hand on his chin for a moment as he pondered, "Come to think of it, no. But it sounds like a place for a Pokemon battle to me."

The old man smiled and chuckled, "You're right in a sense. You see, Pokemon Gyms are a place for Pokemon battling, but they are also a place for you to test your skill as a Pokemon trainer," the man explained as Red have him his full attention, "and the goal of this is to defeat the Gym Leader, the strongest trainer in the gym. When you defeat this gym leader, you receive that gyms badge, a merit of honor for accomplishing a victory inside their gym."

Red nodded his head before his lips motioned with a question, "So is that all you do in these gyms, battle and win badges?"

"Haha well, pretty much. But you see, you need to obtain all 8 badges from the gyms scattered across the Kanto region if you want to gain entrance into the Pokemon League."

As soon as the elderly man said that, all the pieces fit into place and Red had a new goal in his mind for his journey, which was to dominate the gyms of the Kanto region and prove himself the greatest trainer in all the land. His eyes gleamed as his smile beamed with the thought of entering the Pokemon league, which the elderly man took note of. A small smile spread across the old mans face as he gave a small chuckle for Red's obvious day dreaming. The trainers moment was cut short when his empty stomach felt weak and grumbled.

"Hungry, lad?"

Red held his stomach as his cheeks blushed, "Uh yeah, I guess I am." he laughed.

"How about I take you to my little food kiosk? I usually give trainers a free meal. You can't train Pokemon on an empty stomach, right?" The kind old man laughed.

Red thanked the man as he led the boy to where his food kiosk was located. Once the unattended kiosk came into view, so did three Spearow, who were shoving their beaks full with food. The old man yelled as he ran for the kiosk, but his pace was slow. Then Red sped past the man with his Pokemon in suit, "I'll help you out! Nidoran, Poison Sting! Charmander, Ember!"

The Pokemon sprang into action without question. Charmander released a fury of fire pellets from his mouth as Nidoran fired multiple darts of poison from hers. One of the three Spearow noticed the incoming attacks and fled the scene. The ember attack whizzed right through the spot where the red winged bird Pokemon once was. While the other two Spearow attempted to flee, one got tagged with Nidoran's Poison Sting. This gave the bird Pokemon that wasn't hit an opportunity to escape while its ally fell to the ground, wounded from the attack.

Spearow got back up with an angry look in its eyes. It propelled itself into the air and charged for Red and his Pokemon. The old man watched in awe as the trainer gracefully commanded his Pokemon, "It's time for battle! Nidoran, use Scratch!"

Charmander fell back as he noticed he wasn't the one called upon for an attack. He stood next to his trainer as he watched the female Nidoran charge for her opponent. Nidoran jumped towards Spearow with her claws ready to attack. Spearow attempted to jab the female Pokemon with its sharp beak, but the poison Pokemon struck first. Spearow fell to the ground but quickly got back up. Before Red was able to utter another command, the bird Pokemon proceeded to furiously jab Nidoran multiple times with its sharp beak.

"Nidoran!"

Red yelled as his Pokemon slid on the ground. The attack didn't seem to shake Nidoran's spirits, however. She got back up as quickly as she could to see Spearow flying towards her for another attack.

"Use a Poison Sting!"

Without fail, Nidoran carried out her trainers command. Spearow attempted to change direction when it saw the poison pins flying for it, but it was too late. The bird Pokemon slammed onto the ground when it landed. Clearly the attack had taken its toll, as the bird Pokemon slowly rose to its wobbly feet. It weakly opened its eyes, only to see the female Nidoran charging for it. There was nothing Spearow could do as the poison Pokemon struck it with her sharp claws.

Red took note of how tired the bird Pokemon was as it hit the ground. He knew it was the right moment as he grabbed an empty Poke Ball out of his pocket and threw it towards the weakened bird Pokemon. Nidoran returned to her masters as he patiently waited to see if he caught Spearow or not, with a beat of sweat dropping down his face. In an instant, the Poke Ball stopped, and Red Spearow now belonged to Red.

"That was impressive!" The old man applauded Red as he approached the ball.

"Thank you, sir!" Red thanked him as he held the Poke Ball and bowed.

Just then, the sound of clapping hands came out of nowhere. Red and the old man curiously turned their heads around in hopes of seeing where this mysterious clapping was coming from. Then, a trainer all to familiar to Red's eyes made his appearance.

A really well written story. I really like the battles in the story. I think they're pretty well balanced.

So far I've only read the prologue, but it's an entertaining story despite resembling the anime/manga/games so closely. I'm interested to read more, especially to see how this deviates from the stock-standard Kanto plot.

Lashh said:

A smooth breeze blew through the town so warmly bathed by the slowly sinking summer sun.

Click to expand...

The sentence doesn't sound right for one reason or another. Like I can read it and understand what you're trying to portray, but if you look at the way you've structured it it seems strange. It's the equivalent of writing a sentence like this: "the ball bounced off the table so quick-moving as it had been thrown moments earlier". Does the sentence I just wrote seem a little weird-sounding to you? If it doesn't nevermind about this whole thing, but if it does then you see where I'm coming from.

Also, you mentioned the word town in the sentence beforehand. There's nothing wrong with this but your writing usually flows better when you use different words, or omit some of them altogether. In this case, it's implied that the breeze is blowing through the town because you set the location of the paragraph in the previous sentence (the location being Pallet Town), therefore you don't have to include where the breeze is blowing.

Maybe try and restructure this sentence so it reads like: "A gentle breeze blew, bathing the townspeople in the warmth of the slowly sinking summer sun."

Something else which I'm not going to touch on much because by no means am I an expert when it comes to writing: try showing and not telling. At the moment you're doing both. Telling is saying "it is a peaceful day in Pallet Town", whereas showing would be describing aspects of the day which make it peaceful (for example, children are playing, gentle breeze on a summer evening, all that sort of stuff). Telling isn't always bad, but sometimes it can take away from the enjoyment of the story, as readers generally find themselves more immersed in something when they're showed. This is completely irrelevant but just came to my head now: think of it this way - you know the evening news how they have reporters on location to tell a news story and it makes it more interesting than a reporter just sitting a room reading out the script with no background? That's sort of what showing vs. telling is.

Lashh said:

The mood was high for the citizens of this peaceful town, as the students attending the Pallet Pokemon School have graduated after a year and a half's worth of hard work and learning the basics of the creatures known as Pokemon. Now that they have surpassed the basic level of Pokemon education, graduates now have the requirement to begin their own journey through the beautiful land of Kanto, where legends are born.

Click to expand...

You've described Pallet Town as a peaceful town twice (and in the first part of the first chapter again). You could always call it a serene place or a tranquil town instead, or even leave out the town and the adjective before it and just say "... for the citizens of Pallet".

Mood isn't something that can be measured, you can be happy or sad or angry but you can't have a high or low mood (as far as I'm aware, anyway). You could write "the level of happiness was high" but it wouldn't really sound that great. Maybe write something along the lines of "the citizens of Pallet could barely contain their excitement", something that makes sense but also sounds natural.

"skills needed" would work better than "requirement" in the above paragraph too, unless you changed the sentence so it reads "graduates have now met the requirements".

Lashh said:

Only three students graduate from the class at a time, the top three pupils. These three individuals passed the tests issued by the town's Pokemon expert, Professor Oak. With each group of three graduates, the Professor gives one Pokemon to each individual, granting them each a proper head start for their upcoming journey.

Click to expand...

Wait, so only three students graduate? What happens to all the other students who don't make it through? Do they have to wait another year and a half? And as its a requirement to graduate from a Pokémon school (according to the paragraph I quoted second) are there some people in the school who are twenty-five or so years old who still haven't graduated? I know none of these questions I've asked seem likely, but you need to explain this in your story. Maybe say "three students graduate every month" or something like that.

Also, I'm sorry but Pallet a town of idiots if Barclay got average scores on Oak's tests and Red's scores were even lower and they both managed to place in the top three of students.

Lashh said:

Professor Oak smiled and paused for a moment as one of the boys, Red, held his hand up with a question that was likely running through all three boys minds.

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This should read boys'. When you're talking about something that belongs to someone (for example - "that is Andrew's football") you put an apostrophe between the last letter of the word and the s. Because the word boys finishes with and s, you put the apostrophe after the s.

Lashh said:

"Professor Oak, when are we getting our Pokemon?"

Red asked inquisitively as his curious, brown eyes gazed at Professor Oak.

Click to expand...

The second sentence in this quote is related to the speech above, so you can't have a paragraph break. In other words, "Red asked inquisitively..." should come straight after the speech.

Lashh said:

"..... is for you to rest your minds and prepare for the journey ahead." he added tone to his voice when he mentioned the time.

Click to expand...

The sentence is not directly continuing on from the speech, which means that you need a full stop/period at the end of the speech (which you've done) and capitalise the first letter of the following sentence.

Lashh said:

Then, the Professor turned to his grandson. Blue couldn't have had a more serious look in his green eyes when they made contact with the Professors.

Click to expand...

You're talking about the eyes of the Professor here (well, implying it anyway), and since the eyes belong to the Professor that last word should have an apostrophe before the last S.

There are other things in this prologue which need correcting but I don't want you to feel like I'm crucifying you haha (that and I'm incredibly lazy and have already spent more time on this review than I had anticipated) so I'll leave it at that.

Also, I've noticed that quite often there are multiple spaces between words. This is a really nit-picking, I know, but I noticed it seven times in the opening paragraph. I'm not sure if this continues to happen in the following chapters, but a quick read-over of your work makes it seem less sloppy. While you're at it you can double-check spelling and grammar and your story will be instantly better for it.

Mistakes aside, this was an entertaining read (which surprised me from a canon-y fan fic) and that's the most important thing for me when it comes to stories, so I applaud your writing ability in that sense and will continue to check out this series :D

Eliminator Jr. said:

So far I've only read the prologue, but it's an entertaining story despite resembling the anime/manga/games so closely. I'm interested to read more, especially to see how this deviates from the stock-standard Kanto plot.


The sentence doesn't sound right for one reason or another. Like I can read it and understand what you're trying to portray, but if you look at the way you've structured it it seems strange. It's the equivalent of writing a sentence like this: "the ball bounced off the table so quick-moving as it had been thrown moments earlier". Does the sentence I just wrote seem a little weird-sounding to you? If it doesn't nevermind about this whole thing, but if it does then you see where I'm coming from.

Also, you mentioned the word town in the sentence beforehand. There's nothing wrong with this but your writing usually flows better when you use different words, or omit some of them altogether. In this case, it's implied that the breeze is blowing through the town because you set the location of the paragraph in the previous sentence (the location being Pallet Town), therefore you don't have to include where the breeze is blowing.

Maybe try and restructure this sentence so it reads like: "A gentle breeze blew, bathing the townspeople in the warmth of the slowly sinking summer sun."

Something else which I'm not going to touch on much because by no means am I an expert when it comes to writing: try showing and not telling. At the moment you're doing both. Telling is saying "it is a peaceful day in Pallet Town", whereas showing would be describing aspects of the day which make it peaceful (for example, children are playing, gentle breeze on a summer evening, all that sort of stuff). Telling isn't always bad, but sometimes it can take away from the enjoyment of the story, as readers generally find themselves more immersed in something when they're showed. This is completely irrelevant but just came to my head now: think of it this way - you know the evening news how they have reporters on location to tell a news story and it makes it more interesting than a reporter just sitting a room reading out the script with no background? That's sort of what showing vs. telling is.


You've described Pallet Town as a peaceful town twice (and in the first part of the first chapter again). You could always call it a serene place or a tranquil town instead, or even leave out the town and the adjective before it and just say "... for the citizens of Pallet".

Mood isn't something that can be measured, you can be happy or sad or angry but you can't have a high or low mood (as far as I'm aware, anyway). You could write "the level of happiness was high" but it wouldn't really sound that great. Maybe write something along the lines of "the citizens of Pallet could barely contain their excitement", something that makes sense but also sounds natural.

"skills needed" would work better than "requirement" in the above paragraph too, unless you changed the sentence so it reads "graduates have now met the requirements".


Wait, so only three students graduate? What happens to all the other students who don't make it through? Do they have to wait another year and a half? And as its a requirement to graduate from a Pokémon school (according to the paragraph I quoted second) are there some people in the school who are twenty-five or so years old who still haven't graduated? I know none of these questions I've asked seem likely, but you need to explain this in your story. Maybe say "three students graduate every month" or something like that.

Also, I'm sorry but Pallet a town of idiots if Barclay got average scores on Oak's tests and Red's scores were even lower and they both managed to place in the top three of students.


This should read boys'. When you're talking about something that belongs to someone (for example - "that is Andrew's football") you put an apostrophe between the last letter of the word and the s. Because the word boys finishes with and s, you put the apostrophe after the s.


The second sentence in this quote is related to the speech above, so you can't have a paragraph break. In other words, "Red asked inquisitively..." should come straight after the speech.


The sentence is not directly continuing on from the speech, which means that you need a full stop/period at the end of the speech (which you've done) and capitalise the first letter of the following sentence.


You're talking about the eyes of the Professor here (well, implying it anyway), and since the eyes belong to the Professor that last word should have an apostrophe before the last S.

There are other things in this prologue which need correcting but I don't want you to feel like I'm crucifying you haha (that and I'm incredibly lazy and have already spent more time on this review than I had anticipated) so I'll leave it at that.

Also, I've noticed that quite often there are multiple spaces between words. This is a really nit-picking, I know, but I noticed it seven times in the opening paragraph. I'm not sure if this continues to happen in the following chapters, but a quick read-over of your work makes it seem less sloppy. While you're at it you can double-check spelling and grammar and your story will be instantly better for it.

Mistakes aside, this was an entertaining read (which surprised me from a canon-y fan fic) and that's the most important thing for me when it comes to stories, so I applaud your writing ability in that sense and will continue to check out this series :D

Click to expand...

Hey thanks for the review and the crit! I've been working to avoid those little edges you mentioned in later chapters in the story, so I hope you enjoy the rest of them as they come! And about the space thing, I don't know about that cause I usually don't notice something that little when I'm proof reading.

Anyways, thanks again for reading this, and I hope you continue to! I have every intention of making this a loveable Kanto story but deviating it in my own way so it's not predictable. I hope you continue reading, and now I'll go back to writing.

I'll release another chapter during the wait.

Chapter 7

Blue ceased his clapping as he approached Red with a cocky little smile that matched his serious, green eyes. Red glared at his rival as he approached with the thought of their previous battle running through his mind. Blue gave a slight chuckle, because he could tell what the other trainer was thinking.

"What are you doing here, Blue?" Red said as he and Charmander glared with great intensity.

"I'm just exploring, that's all." The tone in Blue's voice was flat. "So you appeared to capture that Spearow with ease."

"Oh, yeah," the trainer said as he looked and pointed to his Nidoran, "she did a very good job."

A small smile spread across the poison Pokemon's face upon Red's acknowledgement of her battle. The trainer then silently looked down to his Poke Ball as the elder man spoke up, "Indeed, that was an impressive capture."

Before Red could thank the man, he was interrupted by Blue's nasally, mocking laughter. His anger only seemed to grow with each second he glared at his rival. Charmander clenched his shaking fist. The trainer then held out the Poke Ball, "If you're gonna laugh, than back it up! Let's battle again!" Red furiously said.

Blue ceased his laughter, but his devilish, over-confident little smile still remained on his face. He grabbed a Poke Ball out of his pocket and spun it around on his finger, "Fine then, I wouldn't mind defeating you again," Blue said as it appeared he was going to drop his Poke Ball as he moved his hand away, but he caught it and held it front of his face, "but not right now, anyways. I'd like to heal my Pokemon before hand, if you wouldn't mind." He paused for a moment and captured Red's gazing glare, "That might not be such a bad idea for you, either."

As much as Red disliked Blue for his mocking and teasing, he still couldn't fight his logic of going to the Pokemon Center. The trainer silently muttered, "Right" as he nodded. Both the trainers began to walk in the direction of the Pokemon Center while the old man returned to his food kiosk. Red had completely forgotten about his hunger upon Blue's arrival, for now he was only hungry for battle.

The two walked in awkward silence through the streets of Viridian City before reaching their destination. The entire time, Red was glaring at his opponent. Blue was aware of his angry stare, but paid no mind, he didn't care. The automatic doors to the Pokemon Center opened for them, and they approached the front desk. Blue handed Nurse Joy three of his Poke Balls and Red thought, <I wonder what other Pokemon he's caught.> as he handed the woman Spearow's Poke Ball. He looked back to Nidoran who was still following his every move. She didn't appear to have taken on much damage during her battle with Spearow, there was not a scratch on her. Red decided to return her and Charmander to their Poke Balls.

While they waited for their Pokemon to heal, Blue made his way over to the video telephones so he could call his grandfather and his sister, Daisy. Eventually, Red would peek over while Blue chatted with his sister so he could check her out. Blue's sister was a beautiful girl, with long, flowing brown hair and sparking blue eyes that just made Red melt and wish he could see her in person again. When Blue's video-phone chat ended, Red quickly turned around in hopes that his rival hadn't caught his spying eyes.

Red chatted away with a few trainers in the waiting lobby and watched them get called up to the front desk for their Pokemon. Each time a trainers Pokemon was healed, Nurse Joy summoned them via a microphone that echoed through the entire Pokemon Center. It was about half an hour before he heard, "Would trainers Red and Blue please come to the front desk for your Pokemon." The boys complied and approached the front desk. As they received their Poke Balls, a question ran through Blue's mind that he proceeded to ask.

"Excuse me Nurse Joy, if you wouldn't mind, could you direct us to a battlefield, if there is one located at this facility?" Blue's voice was kind and calm, a tone Red was unfamiliar with.

"Oh why yes, I wouldn't mind. Please follow me."

Red took the opportunity to scan Spearow's Poke Ball for data while he and Blue followed Nurse Joy through one of the doors leading to the back of the Pokemon Center. The part of the building she led them through was the section for hospitalized Pokemon. The trainers looked through a window to see many tired and wounded Pokemon hooked up to machines and being cared for by multiple Chansey in nurse hats. Nurse Joy then proceeded to open a door towards the end of the room, which led outside. Behind the Pokemon Center was an official battlefield, with the design of a Poke Ball painted white in the center. There was one box on each side for each trainer.

"Here is where you two will be battling. I will act as judge for the battle, if you two don't mind." Nurse Joy kindly said.

"Not at all, miss." Blue calmly stated.

Blue and Red then proceeded to stand on opposite sides of the battlefield. Red stood on his side with his legs spread apart and his fists clenched in front of him. There was a serious look raging in his eyes as he stared at Blue's calm, emotionless face. Nurse Joy stood away from the battle field, took a look at both trainers and asked "Are the two of you ready?"

"I'm ready." Blue nodded.

"You bet!" Red exclaimed.

"Begin!"

Nurse Joy raised both her hands in the air, which was the judges signal for the trainers to release their Pokemon, and they proceeded to do so. Both trainers released a flying type Pokemon from their Poke Balls, with Blue having sent out a Pidgey to face off Red's newly caught Spearow. It was almost like an instant rivalry formed as soon as both Pokemon laid eyes upon each other.

Red took the honors of the first strike, and commanded Spearow to use a peck attack. Blue waited for the bird Pokemon's sharp beak to near his Pidgey before he commanded a counterattack. Pidgey proceeded to carry out its trainers order of a quick attack, and it did so gracefully. The tiny bird Pokemon's body propelled at a high speed and rammed into Spearow head first. The red winged bird Pokemon managed to hold itself in the air after the attack, however.

<Darn it, head on attacks won't work…> Red thought as he watched Pidgey advanced for Spearow with a tackle attack, "Spearow, use a Fury Attack!"

Spearow yelled and charged for Pidgey once more with its sharp beak. Blue ordered Pidgey to dodge, and a surprised look overcame the trainers face as he watched Spearow attempt to strike his Pokemon, even after each time it dodged. This gave him no room to order an attack. Before he could even think of something to do, Spearow managed to strike Pidgey twice. His tiny bird Pokemon managed to evade further harm after the second blow hit.

"Now it's our turn! Pidgey, use a Quick attack!"

"Spearow, try another Fury Attack!"

Both flying type Pokemon charged for each other, but Pidgey managed to hit its opponent before it could strike again with its sharp beak. Spearow began to descend to the ground in a spin, but managed to gain balance and catch air before hitting the ground below. The red winged bird angrily advanced for its opponent again with its sharp beak, but this time without command from its trainer.

Red watched with a confused look in his eyes as his Spearow acted on its instincts. "Spearow, straight forward attacks won't work, it'll counter!" Red said in his attempt to reason with his Pokemon, but it fell upon deaf ears.

<Heh, it's losing patience… I can take control form here.> Blue thought before he uttered his command, "Pidgey, use your Gust Attack!"

Pidgey began to flap its wings at a very high speed, creating strong forces of wind aimed towards the advancing Spearow. The determined Pokemon fought as hard as it could against the strong currents of wind before being overtaken. Red watched as his Spearow quickly spiraled to the ground. Red commanded his Pokemon to recover from the attack, but the gusts of wind were too powerful, and it slammed on the ground. Pidgey ceased its attack as a dust cloud surrounded the area where Spearow landed. The dust cleared, and Spearow was laying immobile on the ground.

"Spearow is unable to battle, Pidgey wins!" Nurse Joy exclaimed.

Red returned Spearow to its Poke Ball as Pidgey flew down to Blue and landed on his arm.

"You did your best, Spearow."

Red respectfully said as he glared at Blue, who returned his stare with his usual cocky smile.

"I knew it wasn't gonna be that hard to defeat you again!" Blue mocked.

Instantly, Red felt his blood boil with the heat of a thousand suns. His face flushed a deeper shade of red than his jacket as he angrily yelled out, "Wait, I still have more Pokemon!"

Blue returned Pidgey to its Poke Ball before turning his head towards Red with a reply. "Sure, I wouldn't mind mopping the floor with you again." He calmly stated as he shrugged his arms.

Nurse Joy watched as both trainers threw the Poke Balls containing their next Pokemon onto the battlefield. The second Pokemon of Blue's was a diminutive rat with purple fur riding a top its body and large buck teeth. The Pokemon exclaimed its name, "Rattata!" as it watched Red's Pokemon materialize. The female Nidoran was the rat Pokemon's opponent for this battle. Both creatures glared at each other as they waited for their trainers to issue commands.

"I'll take the honors this time. Rattata, use a Tackle attack!"

"Nidoran, use Scratch!"

Both small Pokemon charged for each other as their trainers once more ordered commands. Nidoran struck the purple Pokemon with her sharp claws. When Rattata got back up, it angrily glared at the female Pokemon with its red eyes. Blue then ordered a quick attack, which struck Nidoran before it could retaliate. She attempted to strike Rattata with her sharp claws again, but the small Pokemon was too fast. This process occurred each time Nidoran attempted to attack. The battle was at a standstill, as the female Pokemon's constant attack gave no opportunity for Rattata to attack back before having to dodge again.

<Both these trainers and their Pokemon seem really into it, this is an exciting battle.> Nurse Joy thought as a smile spread across her face.

Finally, Nidoran managed to catch up with the speedy Rattata. Blue found himself in a moment of frustration as he began to grind his teeth as he watched his Pokemon hit the ground. For once, he didn't have the upper hand. Still, he issued a command with flare in his voice, "Rattata, try another Quick Attack!"

The purple Pokemon got back up to its feet, but it's previous process of dodging Nidoran's scratch attacks left it tired and panting. It still managed to carry out its trainers command, only it wasn't as fast as it was before when it charged for Nidoran.

"Nidoran, use your Poison Sting!" Red exclaimed.

As the tired Rattata neared its opponent, she released a fury of purple poison darts from her mouth. The purple Pokemon attempted to dodge Nidoran's attack, but it was too late. Blue watched with a surprised look on his face as the attack collided head on with his Rattata, each poisonous barb stinging its body. Rattata struggled to get back up on its feet. When it managed to stand, it looked flushed and sick. The wobbly Pokemon was barely able to hold its position. Before either trainer was able to issue another command, Nurse Joy exclaimed "Stop!" as she rushed onto the battlefield.

Both trainers watched with a confused look on their faces as Nurse Joy approached Blue's Rattata. By the time she had reached it, the rat Pokemon fell to the ground and began panting. The nurse put her hand over Rattata's head, picked it up, and held it in her arms.

"Blue, your Rattata is very sick." She said as she looked down to the Pokemon in her arms. "It appears to have contracted the poison status ailment from Nidoran's Poison Sting attack, and requires immediate medical attention."

Blue simply nodded as Nurse Joy rushed into the building. A closer look at Rattata would have revealed how sick the poisoning had made it, with the look of agony in the eyes it closed so tightly and an uneasy breathing pattern. Red approached Blue with Nidoran at his side, and both Pokemon trainers were making eye contact. Neither could read the others mixed emotions.

"Looks like I won that round!" Red exclaimed as his eyes shined with joy.

"Pfft, don't be so over confident, we were tied at one a piece." Blue scoffed as he looked down to the female Nidoran that handed Rattata defeat. He smirked before returning his attention to Red, "But tying with you is just as bad as losing, so don't get used to it!"

A rush of anger overcame Red as his face flushed crimson, as Blue walked away before he could say anything back. He and Nidoran's eyes were matching with a glare for their rival as he walked into the Pokemon center, with the trainers fist tightly clenching. He shook off his anger when the thought that he still obtained victory against Blue crossed through his mind again. He knelt down to Nidoran's level and began to pet the side of her face. Nidoran looked confused at first, but then proceeded to enjoy Red's show of affection.

"You did a great job, Nidoran. I'm proud of you."

Red and Nidoran walked inside the building.

An hour had passed since the battle had taken place as Red patiently waited for his Spearow to be healed for the second time that day. He had barely been on his journey for two days, and he already had three Pokemon by his side. As his thoughts began to center around all the other Pokemon he could capture, he heard the call of Nurse Joy paging him over the microphone for his healed Pokemon. He thanked Nurse Joy once more as he received Spearow's Poke Ball, and proceeded to exit the Pokemon Center. When he walked outside, he noticed Blue walking away from it. He quickly rushed towards his rival with a question.

"So, is your Rattata all healed up?"

The tone of Red's voice was inquisitive, but flat as he remembered feeling insulted by Blue's harsh words earlier. As another show of either disrespect or cockiness, Blue refused to make eye contact with his rival as he spoke, preferring to fixate his gaze in front of him.

"No, it's going to take an entire night to heal, and I don't have time to waste."

"B-but-" Red stuttered, appalled by Blue's actions. "You captured that Pokemon, you're not even gonna train it?"

"Of course not. It's not worth training if it got so easily defeated by you. Now leave me alone, I have a region to explore."

Blue got the last word again as he rushed in whatever direction Red wasn't going. The trainer glared at his overconfident rival, but shook his gaze as he realized he had the same objective.

The only direction Red had to go was forward, the direction he proceeded to walk in as he exited the city. He hadn't walked for long before the streets of the city turned into trees that only grew thicker and thicker as he proceeded. Red wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings, and before he knew it the trees began to block out the afternoon sun that hung high in the sky. Then his view of the sun became almost completely engulfed, and all he could see is trees. He was now in the Viridian Forest.

Chapter 8

Red paused for a moment to look around. There was no main path for him to follow, so he could easily get lost. He silently thanked the fact that it wasn't night time. He didn't know what kind of Pokemon could poise a threat to him in this forest at night, and he sure as hell didn't want to. Then an idea popped into his head, and he released Charmander from his Poke Ball. The lizard growled with joy as he breathed the fresh air into his lungs. He placed his gleaming eyes upon Red, who smiled, before focusing his attention on his surroundings.

Red and Charmander silently surveyed their area before continuing in the direction the trainer was already heading in. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Red noticed a Pokemon squirming through the bushes. It was a tiny, larval Pokemon whose segmented body was covered in thick, brown hair. The Pokemon crawled around on its little pink feet as it curiously checked its surroundings. It turned around and laid its small, beady black eyes upon Red and Charmander, who were silently staring right back. The trainer immediately and instinctively pointed his hand out while voicing a command in a strong voice, "Charmander, use Scratch attack!"

Even though the Weedle Red's Pokemon was now chasing for had sharp, poisonous stingers on both the top of its head and tip of its tail that it could easily use to defend itself, fear overtook its eyes as Charmander approached with fangs bared. Red was confident that this was going to be another easy capture, but his hopes were quickly dashed as Weedle shot white string out of its large, pink nose. Charmander was taken by surprise as the sticky string wrapped around his legs and caused him to crash to the ground. Weedle escaped as quickly as it could.

"Charmander!"

Red rushed to his Pokemon's side and helped it up to its feet. The Pokemon had to stand a certain way so he wouldn't fall with the sticky string that was wrapped around his legs. Red had to use effort in pulling the string off, but he still managed to remove it. Just as he tossed the string aside, another Pokemon entered Red's peripheral vision.

This Pokemon too was larval and small, but it was much different in appearance than Weedle. This Pokemon's skin was green on top and yellow on bottom. It's bright red antennae lightly shook as it sensed its surroundings. Quickly wanting to jump on another chance to capture a Pokemon after failing in his previous attempt, he pointed his hand outward again and commanded Charmander to attack. The lizard carried out his order, rushing towards the bug Pokemon with a determined look in his eyes.

Caterpie released the same silky string from its mouth that Weedle had attacked with earlier. Charmander was wise to the attack now, and quickly dodged out of the way. Caterpie looked surprised that the fire Pokemon had dodged its attack, and began an attempt to run away. However, it was to slow for the speedy lizard, who struck it with his sharp claws. Caterpie cried in agony as it flew backwards. Charmander proceeded to spin around and slam it with his tail, causing the bug Pokemon to fly backwards further and hit a tree.

Caterpie clenched its eyes shut as Red drew an empty Poke Ball out of his pocket. He threw the ball towards the weakened bug, who didn't even know what was occurring. It opened its eyes and looked around the Poke Ball it was now safely contained in, but was too weak to make any struggle for freedom. Red smiled as he walked towards the Poke Ball which contained yet another new Pokemon for him. Charmander proudly watched as his trainer picked the ball up and scan it with the PokeDex device. Caterpie was a female, and her only known moves were Tackle and String Shot. Red listened closely to her PokeDex data report.

"Caterpie, the worm Pokemon. The suction pads on the bottom of its body allows it to easily scale walls and trees. Evolves very quickly, so it is a popular pick among beginning trainers."

Red took interest in this new Pokemon and released it from its Poke Ball, despite just defeating and capturing it. Caterpie tiredly exhaled as she opened its large eyes to view her new trainer. She felt stripped of her feelings as a wild Pokemon, so she felt like she was in a different setting in the forest that she barely knew she would no longer call home. She flinched in fear as her trainer crouched down and reached his hands towards her. Even though she first felt the instinct to spray the sticky white string at the boy, her fear dissipated as she noticed how comfortable it felt resting in his arms as he held her. She looked too weak and damaged to walk, let alone keep up with him and Charmander.

Nearly a day and a half passed as Red aimlessly wandered around the forest with no sense of direction. At night, Red simply slept with Charmander on guard. His starter Pokemon seemed to receive an immense time outside of his Poke Ball, much to his delight. Caterpie had also remained outside her Poke Ball since being released. She simply watched as Red's other Pokemon battled wild ones and ones belonging to other trainers. Spearow, Nidoran, and Charmander each managed to score at least one victory, if not more.

Caterpie looked inspired to battle as she watched Charmander battle a wild Pidgey that was foolish enough to swoop in for a sneak attack. The fire Pokemon sent the bird packing, with black burn marks over its body from a scorching ember attack. Seeing how cool victory looked, she leapt out of Red's arms and onto the soft, forest ground. She then proceeded to gain his full attention as she looked up to him and tried to say something, although Red couldn't understand a word.

Caterpie then ran over to a near by tree and crawled up the side of it. Red didn't attempt to stop her, as he could somehow tell she wasn't running away. The trainer and Charmander curiously watched as Caterpie held onto the tree and released a large amount of the white string up into the air. The sticky string showered over her entire body and covered it completely. Then, her body began to glow a bright, white color. Red was amazed at the miracle he was witnessing as Caterpie's body grew in size and hardened into a thick, green shell.

Red didn't need his PokeDex to know that he just watched Caterpie evolve into Metapod, which stayed stuck to the side of the tree. The Pokemon was now a large, green cocoon. The hard outer shell was meant to protect its soft, developing body inside for the next stage of evolution. Red pried the motionless Metapod from the tree and held it in his arms. She stared at her trainer with a blank expression as he pulled his backpack off. While the main pocket had already been filled with some important journey items, he still managed to squeeze Metapod's body inside of it, though most of its body stuck out.

After walking through the forest some more with Charmander at his side and Metapod in his backpack, Red eventually ran into another trainer. This boy carried a net over his shoulder, a much appropriate tool for capturing bug type Pokemon. In his other hand, he held a small red box which held his items. The boy approached Red, noticing his Metapod.

"Howdy, the name's Clint. So I see you got yourself a Metapod right there." Clint said as he tipped his straw hat before pointing to Red's Pokemon, though it looked like he was pointing at Red.

"Hey, I'm Red. And yeah, I just caught it the other day." Red proudly nodded.

"Haha then, do you wanna see what Metapod will evolve into? Let's battle!" Clint suggested.

Red's eyes lit up at the offer of a Pokemon battle, but he seemed more interested in the mentioning of what to expect from Metapod. He knew he couldn't deny the offer, and muttered "Let's do this." with a serious tone in his voice and a determined look in his eyes. He and Clint stood away from one another, each with a Poke Ball in hand. Though Red's first instinct was to call Charmander to the battlefield, he decided it was Nidoran's turn, and released her from the ball. The bug catcher examined the female Pokemon before releasing his Pokemon onto the battlefield.

"Go, Butterfree!"

In the white flash of energy, his Pokemon emerged, flapped its wings and freely flew in the air. Butterfree's wings were beautiful in design, decorated with several black markings. It's antennas twitched as it sensed the Nidoran it was called upon to combat. It stared at the poison Pokemon with its large, red eyes and awaited for a command from its trainer. Red watched Butterfree in amazement as it seemed to grace the air with its presence. Metapod could also sense that her evolution was nearby, and silently envied it. Red broke away from his trance to call for an attack.

"Nidoran, use your Poison Sting!"

"Butterfree, dodge and use Tackle!"

Nidoran carried out her trainers command as soon as he uttered it. She released the multitude of poison barbs from her mouth, but Butterfree effortlessly dodged as it gracefully fluttered through the air. Its trainer stood confidently as the butterfly Pokemon flew towards Nidoran in the air at a high speed. Red then commanded Nidoran to use her scratch attack. When it appeared as if Nidoran's claws were going to successfully strike, the bug catcher ordered Butterfree to pull back and use a gust attack. A powerful gust of wind pushed Nidoran back a bit, but she successfully stood against the attack until it ceased.

"Nidoran, we're gonna have to be careful about that gust, now use a Poison Sting again!"

"Butterfree, dodge again and use Confusion!"

Nidoran attempted to inflict damage upon Butterfree once more with a fury of poisonous barbs, but to no avail. Red seemed frustrated as the butterfly Pokemon effortlessly dodged his every attack. Then, a purple energy began to glow and charge in the bug types antenna. Before she knew it, a purple beam of energy shot out towards Nidoran and shocked her. When the attack ceased, she dizzily walked from side to side.

"Nidoran, try to jump up at it and use Scratch!"

Red expected Nidoran to carry out his command without fail, but he looked surprised when she proceeded to run head first into a tree. The bug catcher was amused to see Nidoran in a confused state, and stalled. Red issued another command, but his Pokemon proceeded to ram her head into the tree again. With cheeks rosy red in embarrassment, he held up her Poke Ball and returned her in the red beam of light.

"Got any other Pokemon you'd like to try out against Butterfree?" The bug catcher teased.

Red grinded his teeth as he thought about what he could do. Instead of calling upon Charmander who was still standing by his side, he called upon Spearow. The red winged bird Pokemon squawked loudly as it flew in the air. Before Red could even issue a command, Spearow took to the instincts he still had from when he was wild and rushed into battle, beak first.

"I didn't even tell you what to do yet, Spearow! What're you doing!?" Red angrily exclaimed.

"Haha, this should be easy." Clint laughed before continuing, "Butterfree, dodge and use Gust!"

Spearow attempted to strike Butterfree with a peck attack, but the butterfly Pokemon pushed its body backwards with its wings while quickly flapping them at the same time. Spearow was unable to fly against the strong current of wind that blew right in its path, and got knocked back. The bird Pokemon was still able to remain airborne, however; it caught itself and gave Butterfree an angry glare while loudly squawking.

"Let's try this again Spearow, use Fury Attack!"

This time, Spearow actually listened to Red's command. The bird Pokemon flew as quickly as it could towards the awaiting Butterfree. Clint ordered a confusion attack, but Spearow was quick enough to dodge the attack by spinning out of the way, proceeding to return in its attack. The bug Pokemon was surprised by Spearow's speed, who managed to successfully strike it multiple times. When Butterfree was able to regain momentum and dodge, it had an angry look in its eyes. Red ordered Spearow to use a Fury Attack, though it still seemed to be acting on its own, as it moved before it's trainer made a command.

"Butterfree, use Sleep Powder!"

<What's Sleep Powder?>

Red thought to himself as Butterfree flew towards Spearow. Though at first it seemed like a bad idea, the butterfly Pokemon merely lifted upwards before the bird could strike, releasing a shining blue powder from its wings at the same time. Spearow went right through the powder, and in no time it began to descend to the ground. It made a loud thud when it hit the ground below while Butterfree descended and floated near Clint. Red approached Spearow and picked the Pokemon off the ground, and it was sleeping peacefully.

"I think that's a good demonstration of what Butterfree can do." Clint commented as Red returned Spearow.

"Yeah, you're right!"

Red exclaimed as he pulled Metapod out of his backpack so she could see Butterfree. The shell Pokemon's eyes glittered as she laid them upon her majestic evolution form.

"Fun battle by the way, we should have a rematch some time!" Clint said as he smiled and gave a thumbs up.

"You're right, that sounds like a good idea!" Red said with a courageous look in his eyes.

The two Pokemon trainers shook hands and proceeded to continue on their separate paths. Red's thoughts centered around the battle he just took place in, he didn't even care that he lost. He proudly looked down to the Metapod he held in his arms, excited to know that she too will be a Butterfree one day. Charmander, who was still walking besides Red, crossed his arms in jealousy that he didn't get to battle and that Metapod was receiving all the attention.

The trainer looked up to the sky, and his eyes looked up to the sky and looked surprised. The Pokemon battle seemed to make time flash forward, as the sun above was painting the sky orange with its setting over the horizon. Before he knew it, Red could begin to see the stars of the night sky. He sighed with the thought of how never ending the Viridian Forest seemed to be, and found a spot he deemed safe behind some trees when he found himself beginning to tire.

Red held Metapod up, who proceeded to shoot the white string out of the top of its body to hang up in the tree. The trainer then slung his backpack off and grabbed his pillow and a blanket with some grass stains from the night before. Charmander laid on his side and yawned as his trainer sat up against a tree, who had one Poke Ball in each hand, belonging to Nidoran and Spearow. He would have had them out too, but they were tired from the battle against the powerful Butterfree. Red's thoughts again centered around having his own. He then laid his head on the pillow and dozed off.

Hours had passed, and the night was echoing with movements of nocturnal Pokemon. Then, a buzzing noise of wings quickly flapping began to sound. This woke up Charmander, who got up to see what was going on. What he saw heading his way would have scared anyone, for it was a swarm of red eyed and black striped yellow bees with large, sharp and threatening most likely poisonous stingers. Charmander's eyes grew wide with fear, and proceeded to wake his trainer up. Red woke up and turned his head to see the Beedrill swarm heading right in his direction.

"Charmander, get down!"

Red exclaimed in fear with a powerful, commanding voice. He and Charmander then proceeded to lay as flat as they could on their stomachs, waiting for the swarm to pass. Red only turned his head up when he heard the sound of his Metapod yelling, and what he saw immediately put him in a state of worry, for he saw one of the Beedrill flying away with Metapod in between its stingers. He didn't know what the Beedrill intended to do with his Metapod, nor did he want to know. He and Charmander gave chase, sprinting as fast as they could; barely following behind the swarm.

Red chased them through a part of the forest and into a large opening. He and Charmander hid behind a bush while panting, tired from the run they just made. The Beedrill holding Metapod merely dropped her on the ground. She was safe in her hard shell, though, so it didn't harm her. While some Beedrill proceeded to some of the trees that directly surrounded the area, a few of them buzzed around his Metapod and seemed to be conversing. The shell Pokemon had the look of fear in her eyes as her brain buzzed with confusion as to where her trainer was.

Red watched for a few minutes but broke his silence when one of the Beedrill powerfully jabbed its stingers outwards. Although the trainer could understand Pokemon speech, he gained the idea that the Beedrill were planning to kill and eat his Metapod. His eyes widened with fear of the thought, as that was most likely the reality. Immediately, his brained hatched with an idea and he released Nidoran and Spearow from their Poke Ball's. Nidoran silently stood, as she was curious to what was going on. Spearow attempted to fly towards the first Pokemon it saw, being the Beedrill, but Red caught it and stopped it in its tracks.

"Spearow, you need to listen to me right now!" Red emphasized his words, which got through to the bird Pokemon. He let Spearow down, who was now giving Red it's full attention along with Charmander and Nidoran, all three curiously gazing up at him. "Alright guys, Metapod is in trouble, those Beedrill over there captured her. We need to save her, but I'm going to have to ask you guys to use everything you got… This could get dangerous."

All three Pokemon nodded, although Charmander gulped. Spearow gave a reluctant look, but knew that it had to listen to Red right now. Nidoran looked out to the Beedrill with a courageous look in her eyes. Then the trainer looked down to them and asked "You guy's ready?" in his most serious of tones. All three Pokemon nodded, and then he exclaimed "Let's go!", then he and all three of his Pokemon charged towards the Beedrill.

The Beedrill turned their heads and one signaled a command with its stinger pointed in the air. The bee Pokemon who were falling asleep in the trees rose into the air. This was going to be an all out battle royal, but Red was dangerously outnumbered. However, he didn't care, for all he wanted to do was get his Metapod back.

Awesome! A Metapod. Please keep writing!

bigtukker said:

Awesome! A Metapod. Please keep writing!

Click to expand...

Thanks for reading! Anyways, here is the next chapter.

Just a little note before, I honestly haven't gotten much writing done past the first volume of this story, but I still plan on continuing. Here is Chapter 9 for everyone.

Chapter 9

Red, Charmander, Nidoran, and Spearow all gave battle cries as they charged for the Beedrill, who were also heading in their direction. Spearow was the first to attack, attempting to strike a Beedrill with a fury attack, but the bee Pokemon retaliated with the same attack. It was almost like they were sword fighting, beak to stinger, blow for blow. At least three or four Beedrill advanced for Charmander and Nidoran, who decided to keep their distance with long range attacks poison sting and ember. The bee Pokemon moved away from each other to create an opening for the attacks to go through and miss. Red stood back, frustrated.

"Charmander, just keep using Ember! Nidoran, same goes for you with Poison Sting!" Red commanded as he tried to keep his eyes on all his Pokemon at once. He then yelled "Watch out, Spearow!" in a worried tone as he watched another Beedrill advance for it.

Spearow was already busy fighting, so it didn't notice the second Beedrill coming for it, which proceeded to strike the bird with the sharp stinger on its abdomen. Both bee Pokemon then attacked Spearow with the fury of their stingers, and Red watched in horror as the bird descended to the ground. It was completely unconscious as it laid on the ground, defeated by the double team. Red gasped as the two Beedrill decided to join the fight against Charmander and Nidoran, who were already outnumbered. Metapod could only watch as her saviors valiantly fought, wishing she could do something.

Nidoran and Charmander were still carrying out the only order they were given, so it was hard for the Beedrill to find a path to charge at them. Charmander even managed to get a lucky blow on one, with his ember attack severely scorching and defeating one. However, that was just only Beedrill out of the entire mass they had to fight off; Nidoran and Charmander began to show signs of tiring, with their attacks slowing in their consistency. Soon, the Beedrill found that gap and charged in for an attack. Nidoran attempted to jump forward with a scratch attack, as did Charmander.

The fire type managed to land a strike, but Red watched in horror as both Pokemon were quickly and continuously jabbed with the Beedrill's sharp stingers. Just like that, all three of his Pokemon were defeated. When it appeared one of the Beedrill was going to strike Charmander again, Red mindlessly charged towards the Pokemon with no second thought about the danger he was putting himself in. Red had now joined this fight, and he began to swing his fists around wildly as hard as he could. He managed to land a couple blows on the Beedrill, and a few began to back away from him in fear of being hit.

One of the Beedrill then struck him in the torso with its sharp stinger. While it hadn't cut through his shirt, the hard blow still knocked the wind out of him, and he fell to his knees in pain. Charmander caught a glimpse of this with his eyes barely open. He slowly stood up and growled loudly as one of the Beedrill readied itself to strike the trainer once more. His body was glowing with a red energy, and the fire on his tail was burning more vigorously. This was his natural ability, Blaze activating. A violent, wild look came into his eyes, and he charged for the Beedrill.

The bug Pokemon turned away from Red and buzzed for the Charmander they thought they defeated. Charmander was outnumbered by at least five or six Pokemon, but he still fought with all he had. He released an ember attack from his mouth, only this time the fire balls were larger in size, no doubt a side effect from Blaze. Red winced in pain, but slightly smiled when he saw that Charmander's attack managed to hit two of he Beedrill, completely scorching and defeating them. There was a new hope for victory in his eyes as Charmander released more and more fire balls from his mouth.

However, this new hope was quickly dashed, as some of the Beedrill barely managed to dodge Charmander's attack. Two struck him at the same time with their sharp stingers, and one even managed to puncture him a little bit, causing a small drop of blood to trickle down his body. He laid on the ground, defeated. Red smashed his fist at the ground as his eyes began to well with tears, he had been defeated. Metapod also seemed to be crying as one of the Beedrill slowly approached her trainer.

Red was disappointed in himself that there was nothing he could do, and looked down to the ground. As the Beedrill prepared the final blow to Red, Metapod loudly yelled out and gained the attention of all the bee Pokemon and her trainer. Her shell then began to crack, revealing a glowing white energy inside. This energy left the now empty shell, rose into the air and changed into the form of Butterfree. As the light disappeared, the look in Butterfree's eyes was pure with anger as she laid them upon the Beedrill. This sudden evolution caught Red by surprise, but he had hope for victory again. All the Beedrill then charged for Butterfree.

<Darn it, I can't scan her, I don't know what her attacks are…> Red through to himself as he began to remember his battle with Clint the day before. <Guess I'll just have to wing it…>

"Butterfree, use a Gust attack!"

Butterfree nodded and flapped her wings as quickly as she could. The strong currents of wind knocked a few of the Beedrill off their course and onto the ground. They got back up and charged again, so Red ordered a sleep powder from his Pokemon, in hopes that the Butterfree knew the attack he was commanding. To his joy, she did. She flew high in the air and began to release the shining blue powder. All the Beedrill passed through the powder and fell to the ground right after, falling asleep no matter how hard they fought for consciousness. Butterfree approached her trainer, and they were now safe.

Red looked at Butterfree with his eyes reflecting the moons bright light. Butterfree had gained complete trust in her trainer, since he risked to much to get her back. She was too appreciative for being in her final form. Red smiled as he praised Butterfree. "You did a good job, Butterfree. I'm proud of you!"

Butterfree nodded in excitement and giggled. Red then approached all three of his defeated Pokemon, not forgetting to praise them for their hard work in the battle against the Beedrill. His Pokemon could still hear him, being on the very edge of consciousness. He returned them to their safe places inside their Poke Balls, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to call on any of them for a battle. He then looked up into the sky, which was black with the night.

"Let's get out of here," Red said as he turned to Butterfree, "we can't stay here forever."

A little later

Just when Red thought the forest was never going to end, he noticed that the thick trees of the forest began to thin out more into an opening. Then a sign came into his view, which read 'You are now exiting the Viridian Forest, Pewter City up ahead'. Red then looked up to Butterfree, who he had kept out of the Poke Ball, with his eyes gleaming. "Let's go, the city is just ahead!"

Butterfree nodded and uttered a sound that would have translated to her saying Right. She then followed her trainer as he sprinted in the direction of the city. Pewter City appeared to be very similar to Viridian City with many buildings, streets and houses, it was smaller in comparison. It didn't take Red long to find the building he recognized as the Pokemon Center. He seemed to have a pattern now of showing up to one at odd hours, but nevertheless he ran towards the building and rushed inside.

The Next Day

Red woke up in the confines of a Pokemon Center room surprisingly early for how late he stayed out the night before. Still, he woke up without an ounce of tiredness in his eyes. He was glad that he got to comfortably rest on a soft bed, easily preferring it over the hard, forest ground. He picked up the Poke Ball which contained Butterfree off the dresser. Charmander, Nidoran, and Spearow were receiving much needed treatment and care inside another section of the Pokemon Center. He dressed into his journey attire and proceeded out of the room to go to the front desk.

"Excuse me, Nurse?" Red said to capture the woman's attention, who was behind the desk. She was identical to the Nurse he encountered in Viridian City, the only thing that differed was her eye color. "How long is it going to take for my Pokemon to heal?" Red inquisitively asked.

Nurse Joy paused for a moment looked at the information on the papers in the clipboard she held in her hands before answering the boy's question, "I'm afraid your Pokemon are going to have to stay at least until the evening. They received some pretty bad injuries, and they need the time to rest up and heal." Nurse Joy took note of the disappointed look Red's face at her words, so she said "But you have no need to worry, your Pokemon are safe in here and they will be ready and healthy later on!" with a smile on her face, in hopes of cheering the boy up.

Red smiled as he sincerely said, "Thank you, Nurse Joy."

"Not a problem." Her smile stayed on her face as she nodded.

The moment was cut short when a girl interrupted them with a question for Nurse Joy, "Excuse me Nurse Joy, is my Pokemon okay?"

Red turned around and smiled as soon as he laid eyes upon the girl. It was Green, much to his surprise. A smile spread across her face as she recognized Red.

"Reddd!" She excitedly exclaimed as she rushed towards him and gave him a hug.

Red blushed at the girls random display of affection, but at the same time he wasn't complaining. He spoke up when their embrace ended. "Green, so I see you made it through Viridian Forest! So what are you doing in Pewter?" He asked with a smile, which Green returned.

"Oh, I'm just here to challenge this towns gym leader, and I'm here to get my Pokemon." Green then refocused her attention on Nurse Joy with her ocean blue eyes sparking with her question, "Is he okay yet?"

"Oh yes, your Bulbasaur is doing just fine!" Nurse Joy happily said as the door behind her opened with a Chansey carrying a Poke Ball tray with one sphere on it.

Red's eyes lit up at the name Bulbasaur, and immediately his thoughts began to spiral. <Where did she get a Bulbasaur? Could she have been the one that stole it?> He thought as he silently watched Nurse Joy hand Green the Poke Ball. <Guess I better ask her, I don't wanna accuse.>.

"Thank you Nurse Joy!" Green exclaimed as she stared at the sphere she held in her hands.

"Hey Green," Red captured her attention, "just for curiosity, where did you get that Bulbasaur?"

Red's inquisitive words bared a tone that hinted he might know more than Green wanted him to. A worried look overtook Green's eyes as her heart began to race. She bit her lip before blurting out the first thing that came to her mind, knowing silence would make Red grow suspicious. "Uh, I managed to capture a wild one in the forest." Her lying words were nervously put together and sounded like a train wreck. "I gotta go." She said before Red could say anything more, and rushed out the front door of the Pokemon Center.

Red and Nurse Joy watched as Green ran out, and the woman commented "That was weird." which Red silently replied with a nod, as he now held his chin in deep thought. <That was really suspicious of her, I didn't even see any Bulbasaur in the Viridian Forest…> Red's thoughts circulated every situation he possibly could, and only wound up on his previous suspicion that the Bulbasaur thief was Green, she who almost made it impossible for Barclay to set out on his journey. Without a word, Red rushed out of the Pokemon Center to go look for Green.

<Darn it, that was a close one…> Green thought as she traversed the streets of Pewter City, walking at a fast pace. <I think he actually started to suspect that I stole Bulbasaur.> She held the Poke Ball in her hands as she stared at it. <I really hope he doesn't figure out, I don't wanna get this Pokemon taken away…>

Red ran through the Pewter City streets and described Green to almost every person he ran into, asking if they had seen her. He managed to find a lead and proceeded to run in the direction the man pointed him to. He couldn't shake the indefinite possibility that Green was the Bulbasaur thief, and he didn't know what to feel of this thought between shock and anger. Red quietly approached the girl from behind and grabbed her shoulder when she was within reach. She was shocked.

"What are you doing Red? Let me go!" Green demanded as she smacked his hand away.

The words that poured out of Red's mouth were the exact ones the girl feared to hear. "Look Green, I know you're the Bulbasaur thief, it's not that hard to figure out!"

"Well, I guess you caught me…" Green said as she knew she couldn't deny the truth. She then confidently smiled and asked Red, "What are you gonna do about it?" in almost a teasing tone.

"I'm gonna make you return that Pokemon, because of you, Barclay almost didn't get to go on his journey!" Red angrily shouted as he held Butterfree's Poke Ball.

Green laid her eyes upon the Poke Ball and then smiled devilishly. "You're gonna have to battle me for it, then! If you win, you can take it back. If I win, I can keep it!" She implied as she thought <It can't be that hard to defeat him, he looks weak.> in the back of her head.

Red and Green stepped a few feet away from each other and threw their Poke Ball's out onto the designated battlefield. Red released the only Pokemon he had on him, Butterfree, who was pumped and ready for battle. The boy was expecting Green to release Bulbasaur, but she instead released a Pokemon he was all to familiar with, Beedrill. He detested the buzzing sound the Pokemon made as it floated in the air. The Pokemon mirrored each other with their glaring red eyes as they awaited command from their trainers.

"If you don't mind, ladies first. Beedrill, power up with Focus Energy!"

"Butterfree, use Sleep Powder!"

The battle was on. Beedrill hovered in the air as it stiffened its body, which began to glow with a light white aura. Red was hoping to gain an early upper hand as Butterfree released the shining blue powder from her wings, but Beedrill dodged the attack with ease. Green then commanded a twin needle attack from her Pokemon, which charged for Butterfree with both its stingers pointed outwards. The bee Pokemon managed to strike its opponent, with its attack seeming empowered by focus energy. Butterfree began to descend to the ground, but quickly regained her balance.

"Butterfree, use a Confusion attack!"

"Beedrill, dodge and use Fury Attack!"

Both trainers issued their commands and the battle continued. The fast Beedrill rushed towards its opponent and readied itself to strike Butterfree with one of its sharp stingers. Butterfree's antenna glowed and charged with a light purple energy. She then shot out a bolt of energy towards Beedrill, but the bee Pokemon managed to dodge. She tried the attack twice more, but to no avail. The bee Pokemon struck her continuously with both its stingers. Butterfree squealed with pain and clenched her eyes shut.

<Haha, I knew this was going to be easy!> Green thought to herself as she smiled and crossed her arms.

"Don't give up Butterfree, I know we can win this!" Red exclaimed before pausing for a moment to think up of his battle strategy. "Butterfree, use a Gust attack!"

Butterfree opened her raging eyes after hearing Red's encouragement and command. She pushed her entire body backwards and flapped her wings at a high speed, creating strong gusts of wind that pushed away Beedrill before it was able to attack again. Angered by this, Green ordered another Fury Attack. She was starting to lose her cool.

"Butterfree, use Confusion!"

Butterfree successfully zapped Beedrill with the light purple energy, stopping it in its tracks. After her attack ceased, the bee Pokemon curiously examined its surroundings and aimlessly flew around, not knowing what to do or what was what. "Beedrill, what are you doing? Get back to the battle!" Was all Green could angrily exclaim as she watched Butterfree charge at the confused Beedrill at full speed, ramming it with her entire body force. After the attack, Beedrill shook its head back and forth real quick and came to its senses. "Beedrill, use Fury Attack again!" Green commanded as she pointed at Butterfree.

"Butterfree, use another Gust attack, blow it away!"

Butterfree formed even more powerful gusts of winds by quickly flapping its wings, and this time Beedrill wasn't able to do anything. It wasn't even able to stay up in the air, being quickly knocked down to the ground. Green gasped as her Pokemon hit the ground and slowly got back up to its feet.

"This is our chance, Sleep Powder!"

Red issued his command before Green could even begin to utter hers. Butterfree once more released a shining blue powder that descended to Beedrill, only this time the attack was successful. Try as it might, Beedrill was unable to fight the forced sleep. Butterfree descended to her trainers level as Green ordered her Pokemon to get up, but it simply laid on the ground asleep. Red approached the girl with a serious look in his eyes.

"I believe that's a victory for me and Butterfree." Red said as Butterfree began to dance around in the air, excited in victory. "I believe you have to give back that Pokemon now." The tone in his voice was commanding and serious.

Green's face nervously flushed a rosy red as she returned the sleeping Beedrill to its Poke Ball. She thought victory was within her hands, but Red and Butterfree's teamwork proved otherwise. "Right…" She quietly uttered as she approached the opposing trainer.

But what Red received from the girl surprised him. Instead of giving him Bulbasaur's Poke Ball like she promised, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and ran away as fast as she could, giggling. Red was so stunned still that he didn't chase after her. His face was blushing redder than his hat. When he managed to gather his thoughts, he signaled Butterfree to follow him. The blush still remained Red's face as he walked away from the scene with his hands jammed in his pockets.


yeah yeah I know, majorly influenced by the anime, but I still like how my take on the idea worked out.