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.
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.