[Pokémon] The Kanto Journeys

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1. The Five Friends

It was the first of April, 3258. The sun was shining through the leaves of the forest near Route 1, and a fresh breeze blew between its numerous trees. The last few raindrops from the downpour the other day fell off the lowest-hanging leaves of the trees, when a horde of wild Rattata dashed through the woods, accompanied by a bunch of Machop and Geodude. They were expelling two young boys from their territory.

One of the boys had shaggy black hair that covered his ears and a big part of his dark-skinned face. This boy was Brown Baldwin, from Viridian City. "Watch out!" He shouted to his friend. "They're way faster than we thought."

The other boy had brown eyes, brown like the bark of an oak tree, just like his left-swept hair. His eyebrows had a strange cut on the outside, as if a few hairs had been taken away. This boy was Zane Patterson, living in Pallet Town. "I noticed that," he answered to Brown. "Where's Red?" "Dunno, can't see Blue either," Brown replied. "By the way, I think we got away from those wild 'mons, maybe we're outside their area." Zane and Brown paused at a group of trees.

Earlier that day, they were strolling through the woods with two other friends, when they ran into a group of wild Rattata. The Pokémon thought the kids were enemies, so the Normal Types instantly called for help and started attacking the kids. The four friends ran away as swiftly as they possibly could, but Zane and Brown lost the other two during their escape.

"Where could they've gone?" Zane wondered while he started walking again, "They were with us five minutes ago." Brown followed him, "I hope they found the way back to Pallet." "I told you this was a bad idea, we should've just waited for the Prof to give us our Pokémon. Going to catch one is the worst idea ever, but the two of you wanted to go farther than we're allowed to. Now we have no idea where we are!"

Zane was interrupted by a loud voice not so far behind them, "Dratini! Use Thunder Wave to slow them down!" The two friends looked around. "Who's that?" Brown asked. "I think I know that voice," Zane stated, "isn't that Grey?" "Now, use Wrap!" "That's definitely Grey!" Zane exclaimed, starting to run again and with a hopeful look on his face. "You're right," Brown shouted back, following his friend, "let's go find him."

But another voice stopped them, "Brown, Zane, hold up! We're here!" Someone with dark-brown, almost black hair covered by a red cap came walking toward them from out of the shrubbery. It was Brown who recognized the short boy, "Red? Is that you?" "Yes!" Was the response. "And Blue's with me." And indeed, behind Red was Blue, who got his name because of the color of his eyes, just like Red. He had orange hair and was only slightly taller than the other boy.

Because the two had been running around when Zane and Brown were taking a break, Zane tried to convince Red and Blue to take a rest, but Blue declined, "That voice, it's Grey, so we gotta hurry. He's got a Pokémon, so we'll be safe when we get there." Brown and Red both agreed, so Zane could do nothing but follow them in the direction of Grey's voice.



"There you are, what in the world were you thinking!" Grey shouted. "Going out in the wild without any Pokémon, now you've angered all those wild Pokémon. Dratini can only use Leer, Thunder Wave, and Wrap. The Machop and Rattata won't be that difficult to defeat, but the Geodude are unaffected by Thunder Wave."

By Grey's side, fighting the wild Pokémon, was the gray-blue serpentine Pokémon. The Dragon Type's big purple eyes showed his desire to battle, and the white three-pointed fins on his head, also functioning as ears, were wavering as a sign of the adrenaline rushing through his body. Grey shouted at his Dratini to keep attacking, but suddenly, the already big, silvery eyes of the tall boy got even bigger of fear, "Brown, look out!" A Machop tried to kick Brown's legs, but thanks to Grey's warning, Brown was able to jump aside to avoid the attack. "That was Low Kick" Grey explained. "All of these Machop probably know that attack. It does more damage on an opponent that weighs more than the user, so we should watch out for that." Red was also nearly hit by a Machop, while Blue and Zane ducked down just in time to avoid two Geodude.

Grey was still battling the wild Pokémon, but there was something his Dratini hadn't learned yet, on which his white-haired Trainer corrected him. The Dragon Type kept launching weak electric jolts at the wild Pokémon, even though the Geodude were immune to the Thunder Wave. Grey explained this to his serpentine buddy, who followed the order.

After a while, all the Rattata fled and most of the Machop were defeated, but the Geodude had noticed that Dratini didn't attack them, so they started attacking the blue Dragon Type, instead of defending themselves. Their clenched stone fists hit Grey's Pokémon on his tail and white snout continuously, and Dratini clearly began to get exhausted. His movements were slower than before, and his attacks seemed to do even less damage than normal. Grey noticed it and asked for help, "One of you, try to capture a Geodude and give me a hand!"

Red was the first one to grab a Poké Ball out of his bag and throw it at a Geodude. The Pokémon broke out right away and continued its attacks on Dratini, which frustrated Grey. "It won't work when you try to catch a healthy Pokémon. Of course it'll break out! Throw a Poké Ball at one that's already damaged, they're easier to capture!" Brown was the next one to throw a Poké Ball, but he followed his friend's advice and threw it at the Geodude that just took an attack from Dratini. The Poké Ball hit the muscular Pokémon above his rocky eyebrows and turned him into his energy state, making him able to fit inside the Poké Ball, which closed afterward. It shook a few times, but then it definitely closed.

"I did it! I caught a Geodude!" Brown shouted, but at that exact moment, a wild Machop chopped Dratini right on his white snout. "Now is not the time to celebrate your first capture," Grey shouted, "send him out, or the other Pokémon will start focusing on us!" "Okay then," Brown nervously replied, "Go Geodude! Use Tackle!" The Rock Type hesitated for a moment, but the started attacking his old friends. Slamming into his opponents didn't seem to do much damage, but the captured Geodude was a lot quicker than the others, so he could dodge most of their attacks.

A few minutes later, when Brown successfully defeated the remaining Pokémon, the five boys noticed something else. The earth started trembling, heavier and heavier with every second that passed. "This isn't a normal earthquake," Grey claimed, "this one is caused by a Pokémon. Definitely not by a Geodude, they are too weak to do this. I guess this is done by either a Graveler or a Dugtrio, maybe even a Rhyhorn." "Well, I don't wanna find out, we should run away from here, fast," said Red, unintentionally giving Blue an opportunity to tease him. The boy took his chance, ignoring the warning on Zane's face, "What's that Red, are you scared?" Zane reacted to that before Red could, "Stop that Blue, you know we're all afraid, you too. There might be a Rhyhorn charging at us." "Or just a Diglett." "You don't know that." "Do you?" "Zane! Blue! Stop arguing, we don't have time for that." Grey said, "I think Red is right, we gotta go, now." "Too late, it's here," Red looked scared. "I can hear it pushing the trees." Grey was already running towards a hiding place, "Get into the bushes!"

They all hid and waited until a ball of green, plated rocks rolled over the place where the five boys stood a few seconds ago. The ball stopped rolling when two arms and two legs of clay came out of it. After the wild Pokémon had stamped his feet on the ground to cause another tremble, he looked around to find anyone hiding anywhere.

Blue cursed when he realized that it was a Golem, accompanied by lots of Geodude and Graveler. They were helping their leader in its search for the people who had dared to capture their congener. "They're going to find us," Brown whispered, "we gotta run!" Grey disagreed, "If we move, they'll see us and attack immediately, that won't work." "But if we stay here, they'll find us," Blue whispered, "that won't be any better. If we run, we might actually have a chance." Zane wanted to react, but suddenly, a new voice distracted them and the wild Pokémon.

"Hey you, Golem, take this! Pinsir, use Focus Punch. Arcanine, prepare for Solar Beam!" It was a Trainer, trying to defeat the Golem and his companions. A Graveler ran towards the Pinsir to break the Bug Type's focus but was kicked away by another Pokémon. "Well done Poliwrath! Keep using Low Sweep to protect Pinsir!"

The man ran towards the bushes where Zane and his friends were hiding, "You guys, come with me, those Pokémon are now focussed on my Pokémon, but they can't keep those Rock Types busy for much more than a minute or two." The boys followed him, without thinking about who the man was or how he knew they were hiding in the bushes, but only about getting away from the Golem as fast as they could.



"I think we're safe," said the man. "We can stop running." The six stayed in an open field so that there was enough place to run to if the Golem found them again. Zane got his first good look at their rescuer, he was a middle-aged man with ash brown hair and hollow cheekbones. He was not that old yet, but small wrinkles could already be seen next to his eyes. He was wearing a white blouse with a long, brown coat over it.

"So, let me start by asking you for your names," the man said. "Let's begin with you there, the one with the shaggy hair." "Brown. My name is Brown."

"Okay, I'll remember that. What about you, the boy with the weird eyebrows?" "My name is Zane, sir." "Don't call me sir, it makes me feel older than I am," the man laughed.

"Now you over there, the tall guy." "The name's Grey."

"And you there, with the orange hair?" "I'm not gonna tell you my name," Blue reacted with an arrogant smile on his face, "We don't even know yours." The others looked at him with anger clearly in their eyes, but the man remained calm, "Apart from the fact that I probably saved your lives a minute ago, you do indeed have no reason to trust me. I won't tell you my real name, for I am the only one who knows it, but I have been given a codename, 100 KR. My job is to protect the Kantonian people from any danger, like that Golem with its aides. We have reasons to believe that someone or a group of people is setting some incredibly powerful Pokémon loose around the main towns and cities in Kanto. I can't tell you anything else about it yet, it's classified information."

At that moment, the bushes behind them started rustling, and a Pokémon jumped out of it. "Don't worry, it's just a Raticate," 100 KR said. "My Pokémon haven't returned yet, so you there, Grey, could you use your Dratini to defeat it?" "No, sorry, he fainted." "What about the Geodude? I saw a Geodude battle against the other wild Pokémon, my guess is that one of you caught it." "I did," Brown said, "but it is too weak to battle." "Wait a second," 100 KR said, while he reached into one of the pockets of his coat, "if I recall correctly, I still have some Potions with me." He pulled a small spray bottle with a purple liquid in it, "here it is, let me see that Geodude of yours." Brown sent out Geodude, and 100 KR sprayed the Potion on the Pokémon. Geodude seemed completely fine again afterward, so Brown told it to use Tackle to defeat the Raticate.

"Guys," Red started, "um, there … there's a bunch of Spearow flying towards us, and they don't look friendly." "We have to run again," said 100 KR, "now!" While trying to escape the Pokémon, Zane noticed that there weren't only Spearow, but also Pidgey and Beedrill trying to get to them. Grey saw it too, "We gotta go back into the forest, those Pokémon won't be able to attack us there." But as they ran through the woods, they were chased by other Pokémon. "What have you done to anger all those Pokémon?" 100KR asked. Before anyone could answer him, they noticed something was approaching them from the direction they were running into.

There was no time left to turn around. They waited in terror to see which Pokémon would appear, but there wasn't any reason to. It, or rather they, were the three Pokémon that 100 KR used to defeat Golem. "Good," the man said, "I need you to attack those wild Pokémon, Poliwrath takes care of the Geodude, Arcanine attacks the Paras and Bellsprout, and Pinsir takes on the Nidoran."

He turned to the five boys. "You five should run now, maybe we'll meet again, but for now, goodbye." "Good luck," Zane shouted back, after which the friends ran away.



When the five were finally nearing the main route, Brown apologized, "Okay Grey, that was a bad idea. Sorry." His three years older friend ignored his apology, "I'm glad we got out of there unharmed. If it weren't for 100 KR, those Geodude and Graveler would've found us. Do you think we will actually ever see him again?"

"I hope so. Maybe I can challenge him to a battle if I have my own Pokémon," Blue said. "Is that seriously everything you can think about?" Red replied. "At least I know how to battle," the other commented. Grey interrupted them, "Blue, could you not taunt Red with everything he says? You'd not only get on his nerves but also on mine and probably Zane's and Brown's too."

Everyone was silent after Grey's small outburst, but Zane dared to break the silence a few minutes later. "Do you think 100 KR was right about that Golem?" "How do you mean, exactly?" Grey asked. "Well," Zane explained, "he said that he thought there's someone setting Pokémon like that Golem loose, do you think he's right?" "I think they just escaped from the dangerous places around the region, like Victory Road and the deeper caves of Mt. Moon," said Brown. Grey thought something else, "If they escaped from those places, I think the guards would've noticed them. The Cinnabar Volcano, Cerulean Cave, all of them have guards to warn the people if a Pokémon escaped. I think 100 KR was right." "Are you really that stupid, those guards are never paying attention, they're too lazy to. Kinda reminds me of you, Red." Blue looked at his shortest friend to see how angry he'd get, but before that one could react, Grey interrupted with a cold tone in his voice, "How would you know that? You have never even gone farther than Viridian City. I think it's better when the two of you just don't say anything. That way, there won't be any more arguments between you."

Red and Blue didn't say a word the rest of the path, like Grey told them to, while the other three were talking about things like what other Pokémon could've been encountered by 100 KR, for whom he worked and stuff like that. At some point during their conversation, the subject under discussion became their favorite Pokémon. It was Brown who started, "No doubt about it, Poliwrath is my favorite. You know what it looks like, right?" Zane and Grey nodded, so their friend continued, "Almost its whole body is made of muscles. I am sure that it can beat the best swimmer in the world without any trouble." "That's right," Grey admitted, "but I still like Arcanine more. If I ever encounter a Growlithe, I'll definitely catch it and then evolve it as quickly as possible. Just listen to this, Arcanine can run 6,200 miles in only one day and one night, nothing can beat that. Zane, which one is your favorite?" "I think it's Rhydon. Its hide protects it from lava, and its horn can even drill through diamond."

Zane wanted to further explain his choice, but Brown interrupted him because they had reached the end of the forest. "It looks like we've found the road, so I'm leaving you. Bis bald." The others told him goodbye, and Brown went to Viridian City, to the north, while the other four went southward to Pallet Town. Zane and Grey talked for a few more minutes, but when they fell silent, it was Blue who decided to talk again. "I think Blastoise is the best of them all." "Oh, he can also talk, I almost forgot," Zane joked. "What about you Red? Which one's your favorite?" "Uh, I think Charizard, it just looks amazing." "And it's, of course, weak to Blas.." that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Grey exploded, "Don't even think about saying that! You know that will start another argument between the two of you, and you've already had too many of them! Now don't you dare to say anything else, or I'll tell your grandfather about this!"

The last bit of the route was completely silent because Grey was too exasperated to talk, Blue was too afraid to, and Zane and Red were scared to aggravate the situation. Back in Pallet Town, Red and Blue went their own ways to their homes, in the northern part of the town, and the other two walked farther down south. As they were walking the last few steps towards the crossing, Zane finally said something to Grey, "Those two really hate each other, don't they?" "They definitely do, but there's nothing we can do about it." "I guess you're right."

Suddenly, they heard a voice behind them, "Smarty, there you are! And Patters too!" The two boys turned around, already knowing which face they would see. She was Grey's little sister, Yellow, who liked giving nicknames to people. She had blonde hair with a ponytail in it as usual, and her hazel-brown eyes were full of determination.

"Yellow, you are just coming back from Green's, aren't you?" Grey asked. "Yes, Kiki was there too, we've been on the playground near the Professor's Lab. How about you?" Both boys knew that Kiki was the nickname Yellow gave to Kiara, Zane's twin sister, and Green was Blue's little sister.

Grey assured his sister that he'd tell her about his day at dinner when their parents could also listen to it so that he could say goodbye to his friend. "I'll see you tomorrow, but we're not going into the forest anymore."

"I agree. Adieu!"

"Farewell!"

First tip: every new line of dialogue begins it's own paragraph. Otherwise, readers will find a wall of text and will become discouraged from reading it. I'm exhibit A.

2. The Dream

As Zane walked into the living room, he made his mother Petra aware of his arrival, "Hi mom! I'm home!" But she wasn't the one who answered, "Zane, finally, what took you so long?"

The voice came from a girl who had the same brown eyes as Zane, the same strange cut in the eyebrows, and the same brown hair. The only differences were her longer hair, and, of course, her overall more female look. "Hey, sis," Zane returned. "I was caught up in one of Blue's stupid ideas."

Kiara, Zane's twin sister, walked into the room. "What happened?" "I'll tell when mom and dad are here too, I don't want to tell the whole story twice. How about you? I heard you were together with Green and Yellow at the playground." "Yes, it was fun. There was a Trainer from Cinnabar Island who showed us his Murkrow. Green talked with him afterward, I think she likes him. Mum came to take me home before they stopped talking, so I don't know how it ended." "Okay, I think I'll go to my room then, there is something I need to do for Red." "Alright, I'll go to my room too. I'll see you at dinner." "Yep."

On the way to his room, Zane walked past his brother's room. 'I wonder where Nick is now,' he thought every single day, 'how many Pokémon and badges will he already have?' He continued to his own room, where he started thinking about a birthday present for Red. 'He finally turns ten in two days, let's see…'



In the evening, Zane and Kiara went to the dining room after their mother, Petra called them downstairs. It was their mother from whom Zane and Kiara got their brown hair, but she had blue eyes, which had been passed down to Nick, her oldest son. Petra and her Chansey were already dishing up the Celadon soup, which contained leaves of an Oddish and Pinsir pincers.

When Zane entered the room, he heard his father, Orion, closing the door after returning from his work. He worked as a chief executive for the Silph Company in Viridian City. "Good evening everyone!" he shouted, "I'll be there in a moment!"

The tall man entered the room. He had the brown eyes that the twins had, but it was his blond hair that Nick had gotten. His small mustache and high cheekbones made him look like he was still in his late twenties, while he was actually already 37 years old, 2 years older than Petra.

When everyone finally sat down at the table, Kiara instantly asked Zane for his story. "What story?" Orion asked, "what did I miss?" Zane told the whole story about the idea of Blue and Brown, about Grey saving the four, about 100 KR, and about the Golem. "Interesting," Orion started, "I don't think wild Golem appear anywhere outside of the dangerous locations. That man was probably right." "That was what we thought too, except for Blue, but you know Blue. Anyway, what about your day, dad?"

Orion told about his work and about the phone call he got. He was invited to a meeting for all the Gym Leaders of the region, the current and the past. Orion was once the Gym Leader of Celadon City, specializing in Flying-Type Pokémon. His main Pokémon was a Pidgeot, holding the Pidgeotite, which made it able to Mega Evolve. He gave his position away to Erika, who specializes in Grass-Types.

"That's enough talking for now," Petra noted. "I didn't heat the soup just for you to let it get cold."



After the meal, Kiara went back to her room, but Zane stayed downstairs because Orion had something to tell him. He showed Zane an envelope.

"Earlier this day, I received a message. It was from Nick." Zane, with big eyes of excitement, grabbed the envelope out of his father's hand and opened it to start reading the letter inside of it:

Dear mom, dad, Zane, and Kiara,

How have you been?

I've defeated Erika! I now have five Badges, because I've also already earned the Cascade Badge in Cerulean City. My team also changed a bit, I caught a Magmar and an Electabuzz, and my Slowpoke evolved into Slowbro. I deposited my Krabby because I already have Slowbro. Dratini, Sneasel, and Hitmonlee are still with me, and I don't think I will change anything about this team anymore, except for evolving Dratini. I am now heading for Vermilion City to challenge Lt. Surge for the Thunder Badge.

Kind regards,
Nick

"Five badges already," Zane said, "and he's been away for less than a year." "That is pretty impressive," Orion admitted. "His team is also great like this. Sneasel, Electabuzz, Magmar, Hitmonlee, Slowbro, and Dratini, which will become a Dragonite. If he is challenging Lt. Surge's Gym, he'll probably use Dratini and Electabuzz a lot" "That's true, but Lt. Surge's Electric Types are also resistant against Electabuzz," Zane replied. "You're right, and I don't think Dratini has any strong moves yet, but he has probably taught Earthquake to Hitmonlee." They talked for a bit more, but then Zane went back to his room.

He thought about Red's birthday present some more. Remembering their conversation from earlier that day, he came to the idea of giving him a Charizard doll, it is Red's favorite Pokémon after all. He started up his computer to see if it was available in the Viridian Poké Mart. He searched the Poké Mart Database and found that the Charizard Doll was still in stock in Viridian City.

"Zane?" Petra shouted from downstairs. "Don't forget to take a shower!" "I'm going now!" The boy shouted back. "And go to sleep on time! Tomorrow is your last lesson from Professor Oak!" "I'll try to remember!" Petra sighed but didn't reply. Zane heard her walk back into the living room, and he decided to go to the bathroom after one episode of his favorite TV show.

It was a series about all kinds of speculation. This particular episode was about the Elite Four and the Champion. The host talked about multiple possibilities like Giovanni Olson and Samuel Oak. The former was once the Viridiane Gym Leader, but he resigned at the end of last season. He gave the position to someone else, but nobody knows who. Giovanni disappeared, and there had been no news on him ever since. The presenter of the TV show thought that the man must have become one of the Elite Four.

Samuel Oak, the Pokémon Professor, on the other hand, was soon crossed out as an option. "The old man is too busy doing his research to become a member of the Elite Four, let alone the Champion." There were a lot of other people the host named as possible members of the League, some of which Zane agreed on, some of which none at all. "So, League Challengers," the host concluded, "don't be surprised if you get to fight the Elite Four and see Kiyo or Lance standing in front of you."

Zane knew the outro of the show, so he stopped the video without watching it through to the end. 'The League Challenge,' he thought. 'Maybe I can take part next season.'

His thoughts were interrupted by his mother, "Zane! Go take a shower, now!" "I'm going!" Zane replied again. "That's what you said twenty minutes ago! Turn off that computer and go to the bathroom!" The boy did as his mother told him and walked out of his room.



When he got back to his room after half an hour, Zane put on his pajamas and went into his bed. He read a book before going to sleep, the book his father gave him on his seventh birthday.

It was a story about the Pokémon Trainer who wanted to create a challenge for other Trainers to become stronger. That way, he became Kanto's very first Gym Leader. After he had read a chapter or three, he went to sleep and started dreaming almost immediately.



A light in the distance became bigger and bigger to show the first part …

A man could be heard in the forest, yelling to his three Pokémon. He wanted them to attack the wild Pokémon searching through the forest. The man ran towards the bushes and shouted to the five young boys hiding there. They started running immediately, and the man brought them to an open field.

… Everything went blurry, then dark. A light in the distance became bigger and bigger to show the next part …

Two boys were shouting to each other, the first one was running towards a wild Pokémon, which the other one was running away from. The first one sent out his two Pokémon, the other stopped yelling and ran away. The two Pokémon attacked the wild one, listening to what their Trainer told them to do.

… Everything went blurry, then dark. A light in the distance became bigger and bigger to show the next part …

The five boys were whispering to each other, they were hiding from a wild Pokémon, but they had a plan. The shelter they were hiding in was ripped away by the Pokémon they were hiding for. All five sent out their Pokémon, telling them to attack their opponent. The five boys stood next to each other and kept shouting.

… Everything went blurry, then dark. A light in the distance became bigger and bigger to show the next part …

A young boy and a man from about ten years older were running away from the Pokémon that was charging at them, but the Pokémon grabbed the older man. The boy turned around and wanted to tell his Pokémon to attack, but the man had a Pokémon himself. His Pokémon attacked and caused the wild one to let the man loose.

… Everything went blurry, then dark. A light in the distance became bigger and bigger to show the next part …

Two Pokémon were standing in the middle of the city, apparently surrounding two people. A large man attacked the two Pokémon with his own to give the two boys a chance to escape, but after they had escaped, they helped the man fend off the two wild Pokémon.

… Everything went blurry, then dark. A light in the distance became bigger and bigger to show the next part …

The Pokémon inside the tower had duplicated itself so that the two boys couldn't see which one the real one was. The first one panicked and tried to hide behind the other one, but the other one told his scared friend to help him. He had told his Pokémon to attack as much Pokémon as they could to identify the real one, but the scared boy didn't do anything. The other told his friend to do the same as he did.

… Everything went blurry, then dark. A light in the distance became bigger and bigger to show the next part …

Three boys were hiding in a small building, just big enough to fit all three of them inside. They were talking to each other while hiding for yet another powerful wild Pokémon. All three of them looked scared and sat there for more than ten minutes until the earth trembled. The three went out of their hiding place, just in time. The roof of the place they stood in a moment ago collapsed, and the wild Pokémon roared in the middle of the now demolished room.

… Everything went blurry, then dark. A light in the distance became bigger and bigger to show the next part …

A girl was lying on the ground with a deep wound on her arm. A boy stood next to her, together with his Pokémon to protect her, but there wasn't anything to protect her from. The Trainer kept on talking to his Pokémon, probably telling them to stay alert, but what for? There it was! A small flash of light in the air! It wasn't much, but enough for the Trainer to let his Pokémon attack. As soon as one of the Pokémon bounced against something in the air, the invisible thing tripped and was revealed to be a wild Pokémon.

… Everything went blurry, then dark. A light in the distance became bigger and bigger to show the next part …

The five boys from before all stood together to attack another one of those incredibly powerful wild Pokémon. All of them had sent out one of their Pokémon, but the wild Pokémon wasn't alone either. The five boys shouted for their Pokémon to use their strongest attack at the same time, but the companions of the wild Pokémon also attacked together with their leader. When they clashed, it was clear that the five boys were at a disadvantage.

… Everything went blurry, then dark. A light in the distance became bigger and bigger to show the next part …

The girl from before stood in the middle of a gigantic city, together with the boy who protected her earlier. They were looking at the three Pokémon that were flying around above the city, attacking the citizens and beating against the building, trying to devastate them. The two children went into two different directions and tried to attack the Pokémon that were still busy destroying the city.

… Everything went blurry, then dark. A light in the distance became bigger and bigger to show the next part …

The same two children again, but this time in a forest. They were waiting for someone or something. While they were waiting and talking to each other, two Pokémon came flying towards them with their Trainers on their backs. The boy on the ground ran towards them He explained his plan to his companions after they had landed. After he had finished talking, he and the girl went to the south, while the other two boys went north.

… Everything went blurry, then dark. A light in the distance became bigger and bigger to show the next part …

This time, there was only the boy, nobody else. There was a laboratory, a gym, and a few other buildings, including an old-looking house. In the background, there was the shape of an imposing volcano. All the people who would usually help the boy were trapped in the old mansion. He was thinking, with the roar of a wild Pokémon in the background. The roars got louder, implying that the Pokémon was getting closer to him. Suddenly, the boy jumped up and sent out all six Pokémon he had with him. All of them attacked their wild opponent, and the boy ran towards the old house with a key in his hand.

… Everything went blurry, then dark.

"Zane! Kiara! Wake up! You're going to be late!"

3. Professor Oak

Zane got out of his bed and put on his clothes. He went to the living room to eat his breakfast, a slice of bread with a jam made of Cheri Berries and a glass of Moomoo Milk to drink. Afterward, he went upstairs to brush his teeth, to his room to pack his bag, and back down to leave for school together with Kiara. If you want to call it a school, that is.

The 'school' only had eight students and one teacher, and there was only one lesson in a week because the teacher spent most of his time researching Pokémon. When Zane entered the building, he saw he was indeed late, he and Kiara were the only two who weren't there yet.

"Well, Zane and Kiara, you're a little late, don't you think." It was the teacher, a stern man with gray hair that still had a trace of the brown hair he had in the past. His eyes were dark blue, like his only son and his grandson, Blue. The wrinkles on his face could not be unseen, but those made him look even smarter than he already did. His name was Samuel Oak, better known as Kanto's very own Pokémon Professor. "Take your seats, I was about to start with our last lesson." Zane sat down next to Red, while Kiara went to the table where Green was waiting for her.

"To start things off for today, I've checked your tests from last week, it went pretty well, for the most of you." In the lesson the eight got one week earlier, they had been given a test. There had been multiple over the years, but this one covered everything Oak had ever taught the children. The Professor had them do this one final test to judge whether the kids would be capable Trainers. "These are your scores," the old man continued. "Red, 17 errors, well done. Green, 48 mistakes. Grey, congratulations, you got everything right, amazing job. Kiara, you got 132 of the questions wrong, you just need to study more. I know you pay enough attention in class, but you have to do things at home too. Blue, it's the exact opposite for you, you do nothing at all here, but I know you give it your best at home, 156 errors. Yellow, 19 mistakes. Zane, extremely well done, only four errors. And last but… actually, this is the least. Brown, I can see that you didn't do anything at home nor here, you got 57 points, meaning you missed 481 points. We spent three whole years preparing for this test, did you learn absolutely nothing?" Professor Oak looked furious, but Brown wasn't looking back, as he was too ashamed to. "I'll talk to you about this later," Oak said. "Anyway, I know Red's birthday is tomorrow, so I want all of you to come here tomorrow too. I will have a unique birthday present for him." "But we didn't we get any, so why would he get one?" Brown asked. "You'll see tomorrow, believe me. But today, I want to tell you about the one thing I haven't taught you about yet, the Pokémon League Challenge. Does anyone here know what it is?" Zane put up is hand immediately, but Oak said that he would tell it himself.

"The Pokémon League Challenge, or PLC for short, exists of eight Gym Leaders, each of them specializing in one of the eighteen types. Each gym is located in a different city across the region. There's Brock of Pewter City, he uses Rock Types. Misty in Cerulean City, who specializes in Water Types, she's the son of an ex-champion, Simon Wells. Then there's Da, sorry, Lieutenant Surge with his Electric Types in Vermilion City. His mother was once an Elite Four member. Next up is Erika of the Grass Types, her gym is located in Celadon City, she is the successor to Zane's father. Then in Saffron City, Sabrina with Psychic Types. Her father was Orion's predecessor and an old Elite Four member as well. In Fuchsia City is Koga using Poison Types. A good friend of mine, Blaine, has his gym on Cinnabar Island. There is also a Gym Leader in Viridian City, but nobody knows who he is or in what type he specializes."

"I heard that Viridian's last Gym Leader was Giovanni." "That's right Zane," Oak confirmed. "But did anyone here know that Giovanni, on his turn, was my successor?" "What?" All of the children looked surprised, none of them even knew that the Professor was a Trainer once. "I was a Gym Leader in Viridian City, specializing in Normal-Type Pokémon. My signature Pokémon was Kangaskhan. If one of you wishes to challenge me to a battle, you should at least participate in the League Competition." Oak looked at the eight confused faces. "It's clear that you need me to explain what that is. If a Trainer manages to beat all eight Gym Leaders, they can participate in the League Competition, a tournament that takes place every seven years in which all the Trainers who defeated the eight Gym Leaders fight against each other to see who is Kanto's strongest Trainer. You can register for the Pokémon League in any Pokémon Center, as long as you are at least ten years old and have at least one Pokémon. Does anyone have a question about the Pokémon League?"

Yellow did, "If the Viridian Gym Leader doesn't battle, how can we still get all the badges?" "Good question," Oak replied. "The bosses of the Pokémon League, known as the Elite Four, are probably thinking about a solution for that. So I can't give you the answer to that at the moment." Blue now also had a question, "Who are the Elite Four?" Oak's response: "The four most skilled, most powerful, and most brilliant Trainers of Kanto, undoubtedly even stronger than most of the League Competition winners. They all use a certain type, but no one, except for themselves, knows which types." There were no questions left, so Oak ended the lesson and told everyone one last time to really come to his lab the next day.

When Zane walked out of the door, Grey walked towards him, "Hey Zane. Can you come over to my house, there's something I wanna tell you." "No, sorry. I'm going to Viridian to get Red a present, but I'll come when I'm back, okay?" "Okay, then I'll see you in a few minutes." "See you then," Zane concluded. After that, he walked north together with Brown.



While they were walking through Route 1, Brown started talking to Zane, "I'll prove that old man that knowing stuff isn't important." "Don't be so angry," Zane responded. "That old man has tried to teach you a lot." "But he thinks that all we need to be good Trainers is knowing stuff. He said that if we want to register for the League, we have to be ten years old and have a Pokémon. I have both, so I could do it if I wanted to." "But you have to come tomorrow to Red's birthday." "Why does he get a birthday present and we don't? Have you thought about that?" "Of course. But there's definitely a reason." "And the reason is that he likes Red more than us, so he gets something for his birthday." "Of course he likes us too, you just have to wait." "He likes you, that's right, but he doesn't like me at all. He thinks I'm dumb, a fool." "No, he doesn't. Just come tomorrow." "Yeah, sure, but I'll leave after that." "Who knows."

The two kept walking to the gate towards Viridian City in silence. When they arrived there, Zane said goodbye to Brown and went to the Poké Mart. A Poké Mart is a big shop, selling products like the Charizard doll Zane was looking for, but also items for Trainers, small home appliances, and food. While Zane was looking for a Charizard doll, he also noticed some other dolls, some that looked like a Venusaur or a Blastoise, a Charmander or a Graveler or just a Rattata.

'There it is,' he thought. 'There's only one left. Looks like I'm lucky today.' But right as he picked it from the shelf, someone shouted, "I want that Charizard!" Zane turned around to see who was talking to him, it was a little boy with blond hair, he looked really desperate. "I want that Charizard," he repeated. "It's mine!" "I'm sorry," Zane apologized, "but I got it first. You should look for another Pokémon because this one is for my friend." The boy looked furious and started shouting. 'Why me? Why is it always me?' Zane thought to himself. Luckily, an employee walked towards Zane and the boy to ask what the problem was. Before Zane could answer, the boy continued screaming, "This mean boy stole my Charizard! It's mine!" "That's not what happened," Zane reacted. "I took the toy from the shelf, and he comes running to me yelling that it is his." "Just wait here, I'll go look for another one of those, I think we still got one in the storage," said the employee and he walked away. In the time the two boys were waiting, the smaller kept screaming, while the other looked like he had nothing to do with him.

When the employee finally came back, he had another Charizard doll in his hand. He gave it to the boy, who ran back to his mother. "Molayne Tyler Lambert, come back here!" Zane heard the woman shout. After this, the Poké Mart employee apologized for the inconvenience. Zane thanked him and walked to the counter to pay for the doll.

When he was about to leave, the cashier, an old, bald man, stopped him. "You're from Pallet Town, right?" Zane nodded. "Great, could you please deliver this to Professor Oak? It's a package he ordered a few days ago." "Sure," Zane said, "no problem." "You know what? I'll give you that Charizard doll for free because of your kindness." "Okay, thank you." "You don't have to thank me, as long as you deliver that to the Professor." "I'll do." Zane went through the exit of the Mart and back to Pallet Town.

When he came back in Pallet Town, Zane took the first path to the left to go to Professor Oak's Lab, where Samuel did most of his research. When he walked through the door, he noticed that the lab was almost empty. Zane looked around and saw there was only one person to be found, it was Blue's mother, a woman with orange-ish hair like her son and daughter. She had had long rectangular glasses, and only the tiny wrinkles near her eyes revealed her somewhat higher age. At the moment Zane entered the lab, she was busy examining the wound on a wild Houndour's leg.

"Helleu Mrs. Oak," Zane said. "Good afternoon," Brenda replied, she had just cleaned the wound. "What can I help you with?" "I got a package for the Prof from Viridian, do you know where he is?" Zane asked. "He is at home, preparing for Red's birthday tomorrow." "Okay, thanks. Adieu and good luck." "Thank you, goodbye," Brenda smiled. Zane walked out of the lab, towards Blue's house.

Once there, it was a girl who opened the door for him after he rang the bell. The two years younger and 7 inches shorter girl with emerald-colored eyes was Blue's little sister, Green. "Hi Zane, you're here for Blue?" She asked. "No, I got a package for the Prof, is he here?" "Yes, come in." Zane walked into the house and saw that Blue was watching the television while his father was mowing the grass in their garden.

"Wazzup Zane?" Blue welcomed, "why are you here?" Green explained, "He got a package for gramps, he's in his room, right?" "Yup," Blue answered, "preparing for Red's birthday. I really don't know why he's making such a deal of it." "Well Zane," Green continued, "you know where his room is, so I'm going now." "Bye," Blue replied.

Zane went upstairs to Oak's room, and he knocked on the door. "Who's there?" Oak asked. "It's Zane, I got a package for you," he answered. The door opened, but only just far enough so that the Professor could get out of his room and close the door immediately afterward. "What package?" he asked. "I got a present for Red in Viridian, and the cashier told me to deliver this to you." "Oh, great! This is the only thing I still needed, this package contains Red's birthday present. You didn't peek, did you?" "No," Zane responded, "but I regret that now." Oak laughed, "You'll see what it is tomorrow. And believe me, you'll like it." "I'll like it? But it's Red's present." "Indeed," Oak smiled, "but you'll like it anyway."

He opened his door again, walked through it and closed it fast enough for Zane to, again, only see Oak, nothing else that was in the room. "See you tomorrow," Zane shouted, but there was no reaction. He walked downstairs, said adieu to Blue, and left the house.



Before Zane went to Grey's, he went home to tell his mother about what happened and that he was going to Grey's. "That's fine, just be here when dinner's ready, that will be around seven o'clock." "Okay!" The boy went out again and walked to the southwestern part of the town, where Grey's home was. When he rang the bell, he waited for a minute. When he was about to ring for the second time, he heard a key entering the lock, after which the tall boy opened the door, "Ello Zane, finally. What took you so long?" "Sorry Grey, something happened." "Come in, then we can talk."

When he entered the house, Zane took off his shoes and followed Grey upstairs to his room. "Well," Grey said, "what happened?" Zane explained it to him, telling about the little boy in the Poké Mart, the package for Oak, and the Professor's mysterious acting. "Okay," Grey said, "that's why that lasted so long. I was wondering how getting a present would take so long."

"Anyway," Zane said, "you wanted to tell me something." "Yes, I think I'll leave tomorrow after Red obtains his present." "Leave? As in, going to register for the PLC?" "Yes." "Well, you're not the first, Brown was thinking about doing that as well." "That fool would even use a Fighting Type against a Gengar. He won't get far." "That's what Oak thought too, said Brown, but he wanted to prove the Prof wrong." "But will he come to Red's birthday?" "He said he would, but I'm not sure about it." "Me neither, he looked very angry this morning when he left school. I think he'll leave before this day has even ended." "Let's just hope he doesn't." "You're right."

They heard the door open, followed by someone shouting, "Grey, who's visiting you?" It was Grey's mother, Ruth. "It's Zane, why?" "We need to go somewhere, he'll have to go home." "Okay," Grey shouted back. "Well, looks like I gotta go," Zane noted. "Indeed, see you tomorrow." "Adieu."



When he came back home, Zane explained to his mother why he was back so soon. He went to his room and finally took a look at his test to see what mistakes he had made. The different parts of the test were about cities, Pokémon, types, and attacks. Samuel had asked questions about certain important areas, in which cities they were located, and then about those cities. He had also made the eight children write down the typings of each Pokémon and fill in a table with all weaknesses and resistances of each type. Finally, he had asked for the type of every single attack, whether they were physical, special, or status moves, and name one Pokémon that could learn it. Zane found that he had made all his mistakes in the type chart. After he had done the checking, he wrapped his present for Red and continued reading the book about the first Gym Leader.

In the evening, he went downstairs again for dinner. Today, it was Zane's favorite dish, the Fuchsia Burger. Two pieces of bread with a slice of Tauros Beef, some mushrooms of a Paras, covered by a sauce of Tango, Rowap, and Custap Berries. "We haven't had this for too long," Zane sighed. Orion agreed, "Definitely, but it is expensive too, that's why we don't eat this very often. But enjoy it now." "We will," Kiara assured.

After the meal, Zane went to his room and started his computer to watch a few videos about the PLC. Apparently, all the Gym Leaders had once competed in the tournament. Some of them, like Brock and Erika, had even reached the finals. However, the winners of the last two PLC's, Lorelei and Lance, hadn't become Gym Leaders yet. 'Maybe they're members of the Elite Four,' Zane thought. After he felt like he knew enough, he changed into his pajamas and went into bed. He didn't feel like reading his book, so he immediately went to sleep.



A bit earlier that day, in Viridian City, a brown-haired woman shouted for her son across the street, "Young man, don't you dare to run away! You have friends who you'll have to stay here for. Just having an own Pokémon doesn't make you able to go anywhere you like and do whatever you like!"

Her son didn't listen, so she called for help, "Cade, come here and help, our son is running away!" The husband of the woman went out of the house after his wife. He had a brown skin tone, black hair, and brown eyes, exactly like his son.

"Don't worry, Maddy," Cade replied. "He is a real Baldwin, he'll come back." But the boy was confident about what he was going to do, he was going to prove that old man wrong. He looked at the Badge Case he picked up at the Pokémon Center about twenty minutes ago.

There were eight empty slots in the purple velvet of the tiny, russet-metallic box, which he was going to fill. He closed the case and looked at the name carved into it, his name, Brown Baldwin.

This is a neat story. I like the way your incorporating a somewhat foreshadowing/peaking interest in chapter 2 and 4.
Of course, I will admit, despite the Chapter 3 name I was taken a bit off guard by the dream. It wasn't long before I got it, but just keep in mind that with writing things need to sometimes be spelled out clearer than envisioning it. Since not everyone sees it the same, or will get it in a more anomalous style. I'm not saying it's not good, but upon proof reading try to approach the writing in different ways of reading it.
Really the main issue I had with your story was proper flow and placement.

Tyshaun B. Simo
"I think it's Rhydon, its hide can protect it from lava and its horn can even drill through diamond."

Brown interrupted him because they reached Route 1. He lives in Viridian City, unlike the others, so he needed to go north, while the other four had to continue south, to Pallet Town. They said goodbye to each other and went their separate ways.

Click to expand...

You want to make sure your transitions make sense. This was mainly Chapter 3, but it helps to know to avoid confusion in the future. If your characters are confused about their surroundings from a first person perspective, then it would be okay. (to me that is not sure how others would see it)

Other than that it was pretty good. I liked the thought you put in the characters and having the Nick already gone. The Oak thing was a fun little idea and helped me enjoy Chap. 4. You have a good flair for character's and interactions. I would suggest working on transitions and detailing a bit more (because some scenes were to vague and basic in word choice). I would encourage you to keep using your skill in characters and world building. Have Fun!

4. Red's Birthday

When he woke up, Zane had the feeling something big was gonna happen that day, something that would change his life. He didn?t sleep well last night because he had another dream that night, a dream about three birds above Viridian City. One was blue, one yellow and the third was red. There were also three Trainers giving them commands, two men and a woman with a third man standing in the background. Zane wasn?t able to see his face, but he just had the feeling that that man was someone he would get trouble with.

Petra interrupted Zane?s thoughts about the man, ?Look a bit happier, it?s your best friend?s birthday.? ?I know. There?s just something I saw in my dream.? ?It was probably just that, a dream. Don?t worry about it. Try eating your breakfast instead.? Zane laughed, ?Good idea. By the way, where is Kiara?? ?She already went to Green?s together with Yellow, she told me they had to do something.? ?I think I?ll leave too in a few minutes, I don?t want to be late to Red?s birthday party.? Petra agreed and continued doing the housework while Zane ate the last bits of his sandwich with Tangela vines, which don?t look tasty but definitely are.

After he had finished his breakfast, Zane went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, still thinking about the man in his dream. After taking the Charizard doll from his room, he went downstairs to put on his shoes.



When he walked across the street towards Red?s house, Zane saw Grey also leaving his home. ?Hey Zane, looking forward to the party?? ?Sure I am.? ?Good, I?m heading to Oak?s first, but I?ll come to Red?s after that.? ?I could go with you.? ?No,? Grey immediately said, ?rather not, you?ll know why.? Zane looked disappointed, ?Okay then. I?ll see you at Red?s.? ?You will.? Zane continued to Red?s house and saw that his friend was already waiting for the first guest to arrive.

?Good morning Red!? Zane said. Red looked up and smiled at Zane, ?Finally, someone is here. My mom has already gone to Oak?s, so, uh, I?m here alone now. Well, not anymore, of course.? Zane entered the house and congratulated Red with his tenth birthday, ?Well, we?re all ten now, we can take part in the league.? ?Maybe, uhm, that?s Oak?s present!? Red speculated. ?That would be amazing, but I don?t think so,? Zane laughed. ?But don?t stop hoping.?

Blue arrived not much later, and Grey also entered the house soon after him. ?We?ll only have to wait for Brown now,? Red stated. The four talked for about a quarter of an hour, and Zane got more and more worried. ?Where is Brown?? He thought, ?he is way too late. Did he actually already leave?? After another few minutes of talking, everyone started to get worried. ?Where is Brown?? Blue asked. Grey followed, ?He should have arrived an hour ago, what is taking him so long??

They sat in silence, but it was Zane who broke through it, ?I think he left.? ?Uh, what do you mean?? Red asked. ?Well,? Zane started, ?when I talked to him yesterday, he told me he was thinking about registering for the PLC and leaving to go on an adventure.? ?You don?t actually think he did that, right?? Blue asked, ?I mean, it?s Brown, but even he wouldn?t do something like this.?

After discussing it for five more minutes, they accepted that they would have to celebrate Red?s birthday without Brown. It was already lunchtime by then, so they ate cake and drank lemonade before giving Red his presents. The cake was a Lavender Pie, with pieces of exotic fruits from parts of the region they didn?t think they?d ever go to.

When they were finally about to give Red his birthday presents, they were interrupted by the door being slammed open, it was Red?s mother, she looked terrified. ?Red, come quickly, the rest too. Oak is in trouble!? They ran after her towards Route 1, and Blue shouted, ?What happened?? ?We were walking through Route 1 when a wild Kangaskhan appeared and took the Professor away into that direction!? She pointed at the forest the boys escaped from two days ago. ?What?!? Red shouted. ?We should go immediately,? Grey stated, ?We need to save Oak!? The others agreed, and they went into the forest but were almost directly forced to go off the path because of a huge, dark blue Pok?mon blocking the way.

?What is a, um, wild, uh, Snorlax doing here?? Red wondered, ?Do they even, uhm appear outside the, um, Safari Zone?? ?Not often,? said Grey. ?We have to go another way.? They ran away from the path until Grey tripped over a box. ?What is that?? Blue wondered. ?Let?s, uh, open it,? Red suggested. Zane was the first to get to the box and open it. In it were three tags, all attached to their own Pok? Ball. ?It says something on those cards,? Blue noticed. ?But what?? Red asked. Zane read them, ?They are our names. Red, Blue, and Zane.? Looks like they are yours then,? Grey noted, ?I think they contain Pok?mon, so check them out.? They all took the Pok? Ball with their name on it and threw them.

?No way?? Red said.

?This can?t be true?? Blue added.

?Are they really ours?? Zane asked.

In front of them were three Pok?mon. One of them was a green one with a plant bulb on its back and dark patches all over its body, for Zane. Red?s was orange-red colored with a light yellow chest and a wavering flame on its tail. The third one, Blue?s, was light blue with short legs and arms, a curled tail, and a shell encasing its body.

?Bulbasaur!?

?Charmander!?

?Squirtle!?

?Guys,? Grey said, ?this is amazing! But we have to continue to rescue Oak.? But when he said that, four Pok?mon jumped out of the bushes. ?Well,? Grey noted, ?it looks like you have to battle with our Pok?mon already. I?ll use Dratini to defeat the Raticate.? ?Charmander and I will take care of the Tauros,? Red added. ?Then I?ll take on Persian together with Bulbasaur,? Grey continued. ?That leaves Lickitung for Squirtle and me,? Blue concluded. They all shouted at the same time.

?Dratini, use Wrap!?

?Squirtle, use Tackle!?

?Charmander, use Scratch!?

?Bulbasaur, use Tackle!?

The Pok?mon weren?t that easy to defeat because the new Pok?mon weren?t particularly strong yet. Dratini slithered towards the Raticate to wrap himself around the Normal Type, but the brown Pok?mon jumped aside and countered with Bite. On his second try, Grey?s Pok?mon did manage to get hold of his opponent. Red?s Charmander, on the other hand, immediately jumped on Tauros? back so that he could not be hit by the Normal Type. The orange Pok?mon started scratching his opponent, who was trying to shake the Fire Type off his back. Meanwhile, Blue?s Squirtle ran directly towards the Lickitung and smashed his head into him. The Normal Type, however, instantly replied by licking his opponent. Squirtle didn?t quite like that, so he kept attacking, but he now also tried avoiding his enemy?s tongue. Bulbasaur used a completely different tactic. Vines shot out of the bulb on his back and wrapped around a limb of a tree. The Grass Type lifted himself in the air with his vines. The vines let loose at a certain point, and the green Pok?mon tackled into Persian, who had no idea what happened and fainted immediately. Dratini had already managed to defeat the Raticate by squeezing him, and Charmander scratch Tauros once more to beat him. Squirtle had some more difficulties with the Lickitung, but Blue?s Pok?mon emerged victorious after a few more Tackles.

?Let?s go!? Grey urged. ?We need to find Oak!? The four friends ran farther into the forest, but Blue almost gave up, ?We?ll never be able to find gramps here, this forest is too big.? ?Don?t talk like that,? Grey countered, ?it is not just your grandfather we?re talking about here, it?s the Pok?mon Professor. We need to keep searching.? They continued their search, but it looked like Grey knew the path they had to follow, as if he knew where to find the Professor.

Not much later, they heard a loud roar from behind them. ?That sounded like Kangaskhan,? Grey noted. He was right, and it was a fast one. Even though the friends ran as fast as they could, the Pok?mon easily reached them within half a minute. The brown Pok?mon was over seven feet tall, and even the baby in her pouch was almost as big as Red, the shortest of the four boys. Kangaskhan?s red eyes revealed her ferociousness while she charged at the friends. ?It looks like we, um, have to, well? battle again,? Red noted. ?You?re right,? Zane replied, ?Bulbasaur, attack that Kangaskhan!? ?Squirtle, you too!? ?Help them, Dratini!? ?Charmander! Use Scratch!?

They all attacked the wild Pok?mon, but she needed just one punch to defeat Dratini. Charmander scratched the Normal Type, while Squirtle and Bulbasaur kept charging at her, but she didn?t seem to really be damaged. Kangaskhan got hold of Charmander and punched him into a tree trunk, beating the Fire Type in one blow as well. Suddenly, Squirtle jumped towards the wild Pok?mon?s head and slammed into it, damaging the Normal Type quite a lot. Bulbasaur tackled into her feet, but the giant Pok?mon kicked him away, defeating the third of the boys? four Pok?mon. Only Squirtle was left. Luckily for the kids, he was enough. Another tackle into the back of his opponent seemed to hurt her quite a bit, and another one to her head was too much.

?That was close,? Grey admitted. ?I hope there won?t be any other Pok?mon,? Blue stated. ?Don?t worry.? The reassurance came from the same source as a bright light approaching the four friends. As it got closer, Zane noticed that the light was expelled by a Pok?mon, a small, furry, purple Pok?mon, a Venonat. Three girls walked behind the Venonat. One, as always, had a ponytail in her blond hair, while another?s curly brown hair reached to her shoulders, and the third?s green eyes matched the color of her shirt.

?Yellow, Kiara, Green?? Red started. ?What, um, are you doing here?? ?You?ll see,? Kiara replied. ?Just follow us,? Yellow added. ?Venonat, take us back,? Green told her Pok?mon. She got her Venonat at the age of five because of her fear of darkness. Venonat is one of the few Pok?mon that can learn the attack Flash. Red, Zane, Blue, and Grey followed the three girls to an open field with a wooden stage in the middle of it, but the platform was empty. Grey and the three girls walked onto the stage, and the other boys followed them, but Grey told them to stay on the grass.

?Well, that took you long enough,? a man stood behind the three boys, together with two women and two other couples. The man was Red?s dad, the women his mother and Grey?s, and the other couples were Zane?s and Blue?s parents. ?Why are you all here?? Blue asked. ?To celebrate Capper?s birthday, of course,? Yellow replied. ?Why, uhm, do you make such a deal of, um, my birthday?? Red asked. ?Why not do, uh, something like this for, uhm, Zane or Grey?? ?Haven?t you noticed yet?? An old voice asked, ?this isn?t a birthday party just for you, but for Zane and Blue as well.?

Samuel Oak was the last person to walk onto the stage, accompanied by his five Pok?mon, the Pok?mon that attacked the four friends in the forest. ?Well,? he asked, ?any of you who guessed it?? ?Definitely not,? Blue replied. ?But I did, um, notice that all of the Pok?mon that attacked us were, uh, Normal-Types,? Red added. ?That?s right, those are the six Pok?mon I used as a Gym Leader.? ?Six?? Zane asked. ?I only count five.? ?Snorlax isn't here,? Oak explained, ?he is still sleeping on that road he blocked from you. Sleeping is pretty much everything he does. Anyways, we?re getting off the subject. The real reason we?re all here is the three Pok?mon you have there.? ?You mean Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle?? Blue asked. ?Yes, those three,? Oak continued. ?You didn?t find that box by accident, I placed it there after I received it from Zane yesterday.?

Everyone looked surprised, including Zane, ?Was that the package from the Pok? Mart?? ?It was. You carried your own birthday gift to me yesterday, without knowing it.? ?Zane?s birthday present? But it?s, uh, my birthday,? Red noted. Oak nodded, ?That brings us to why I?m making such a big deal out of your birthday while doing nothing for the other four. This is my birthday gift for all three of you, your very first Pok?mon.?

Zane looked around, everyone, except for Red, Blue and himself, knew about this. His parents, Kiara, Yellow, Green, and even Grey. Oak continued his list of surprises, ?There is also a birthday present for Grey.? Now Grey looked surprised as well, ?Am I getting something too?? ?Yes you are,? Oak answered. ?Here it is.?

Grey opened the box Oak just handed him. In it was a red device. It had the size of a book, but it didn?t look like one at all, there were some buttons and lights on it, with a screen in the middle. ?This, Grey, is your very own Pok?dex,? Oak announced. ?I know that you like to learn about Pok?mon, their attacks and maybe even more, so this suits you perfectly.? ?It definitely does,? Grey replied, unable to say much more because of his happiness. ?I suppose that the four of you want to go to the Pok?mon Center as fast as possible to register yourselves for the league, don?t you?? Samuel asked. Grey and Red were still too overjoyed to react, but Blue answered, ?Definitely. I think I want to go now.? ?Too bad,? Oak responded. ?We?ll have to celebrate Red's birthday first.?



Meanwhile, between Viridian City and Pewter City, a Trainer fought his way through the dark Viridian Forest, it was the Viridiane boy Brown. While easily defeating the many Bug-Trainers with his Geodude, he encountered a Pok?mon he hadn?t seen in the wild yet. ?Well well, there it is.? The brown, spherical segments of his body, connecting his head to the barbed stinger on his tail, gave his body a length of fewer than seven inches. Brown had already seen some other Trainers in the forest using a Weedle, but he wanted one for himself, so now was his chance. ?Geodude, use Tackle!? The Weedle was hurt by Geodude?s attack, but not enough to make it faint. ?Great,? Brown thought, ?now I can capture it.? He threw a Pok? Ball, but the Weedle broke out. ?Darn, almost had it.? The wild Pok?mon stung Brown?s Pok?mon with his toxic needle, but it didn?t affect Brown?s Pok?mon that much. Brown let his Pok?mon punch the Bug Type once more, after which he threw another Pok? Ball. This time, after three shakes, Weedle didn?t break out. ?Yes,? Brown exclaimed, ?I caught my own Weedle.?

After he returned Geodude and put the two Pok? Balls in his bag, he continued the path he was already following. When he turned around the corner, he saw the gate into Pewter City in the distance. ?So there is the way to my first Gym Badge,? he thought, ?let?s go then.?



Back at Route 1, Yellow just came up with an idea, ?Why don?t you three battle against each other? I would like to see which one of you is the strongest.? ?Good idea,? Kiara replied. Blue immediately agreed, Zane nodded, but Red doubted. ?I think it?s a bad idea to, uhm, let our Pok?mon have a battle when they just, uh, fought against the Prof?s Pok?mon.? Oak approached them, he had heard Yellow?s idea and Red?s reaction to it, ?That won?t be a problem, I can heal them up right here and right now.? After he had used two Revives and some Potions, the three Pok?mon were ready to fight again.

The first battle was between Zane and Blue, Bulbasaur against Squirtle. Blue was the first one to tell his Pok?mon to use Tackle, which Bulbasaur dodged. Zane?s Pok?mon responded with a growl, scaring his opponent and lowering that one?s attacking power. Blue?s idea was to just defeat Bulbasaur with pure force. He told his Water Type to keep attacking, but Bulbasaur avoided almost every attack, jumping to the left, to the right, and, sometimes, up. ?Now, attack!? Zane shouted. After dodging Squirtle one more time, the Grass Type charged at his opponent and struck at the front side of the shell. Squirtle wasn?t defeated by this and countered by finally slamming into Zane?s Pok?mon?s side. This, however, hardly damaged Bulbasaur. Squirtle tried some more times, but his attacks had just become too weak to actually do something. Bulbasaur charged at him again, struck again, and Blue?s Pok?mon fell on the ground, fainted.

?Congratulations Zane,? Oak shouted, ?let me heal your Pok?mon so that you can have your battle against Red.? Oak used a Potion on Bulbasaur and went to heal Squirtle afterward. ?What are you waiting for?? Green shouted. ?Send out Charmander!? Red threw his Pok? Ball to let Charmander fight. The Fire Type started with a small growl to scare Zane?s Pok?mon. ?Bulbasaur, attack immediately,? the brown-eyed boy shouted. ?Let?s see how this goes!? Charmander wasn?t as good in dodging as Bulbasaur was in the last battle. The Fire Type kept running around the open field, sometimes letting out a growl. This didn?t work, as Bulbasaur stood in the middle of the field and charged at his opponent at the right moments. His power decreased over time, though, and Charmander noticed. He heard his Trainer shout for him to attack, and so he did. Right when Bulbasaur charged at him, he stopped moving. The Grass Type tried to stop, but he slid through the grass in front of his opponent and crashed into a tree. Charmander used this opportunity to run towards Zane?s Pok?mon and scratch that one?s face, right when he turned back around. The Grass Type couldn?t take it anymore and collapsed.

?Looks like Patters isn?t invincible either,? Yellow noted. ?Let me heal Charmander first, there is a third fight that has to be fought,? said Oak. After Red?s Pok?mon was made ready for battle, Oak went to Zane and Bulbasaur. ?Let me see,? he started, ?here?s a Revive, that?ll help him regain consciousness.? Zane broke the small yellow capsule and let the contents drip onto his fainted Pok?mon. Bulbasaur opened his eyes and got up. ?You?re still weak, buddy,? said Zane. ?But don?t worry, you?ll be alright.? After Oak had sprayed a Potion on Bulbasaur, he turned around to watch the battle between Red and Blue. Bulbasaur was completely fit again, so he watched the fight too, together with his Trainer.

Blue had the upper hand, at least that?s what it looked like. Charmander was clearly hurt, but Squirtle was not showing any sign of pain. The Water Type slammed his head into Charmander?s side, damaging him even more, but still not defeating him. Red smiled, so did his Pok?mon. Squirtle nor Blue noticed it. The Water Type knocked on the front side of his shell to show off, but he didn?t see Charmander running towards him with his sharp claws ready to attack. ?Squirtle, look out!? Blue shouted, but it was too late. In his pride, Squirtle let down his guard, causing Charmander?s Scratch to hurt him a lot. Even enough to make him faint. ?Well done Capper!? Yellow shouted. ?You?ve won both of your battles,? Red?s mother exclaimed. ?How did you do that?? Zane asked his friend. Red explained to him that he had waited for Squirtle to let down his defenses. As soon as Squirtle thought there was no way he could lose anymore, Charmander struck. ?Looks like Blue and Squirtle really fit,? Samuel joked. ?Too proud to pay attention.?



After the party had ended, around 2 o?clock, Professor Oak took the four friends to the Palletan Pok?mon Center to register them for the Pok?mon League Challenge. Once there, four employees each took one of the four friends with them for the registration. Zane was accompanied by a man with black hair and glasses. ?Well,? he started, ?let?s begin. What color would you want your Badge Case to be??

Zane saw a screen before him, showing all the different colors he could choose from. There were colors like purple and orange, but also some more unusual ones like lime and crimson. Zane decided to take a color named petaya orange. ?Fantastic, now for the color of the velvet, I think navy would be an excellent combination with that.? Zane looked at the screen, where a Badge Case was shown in the color he had chosen. When it opened, there was a dark blue colored velvet in it. ?I think you?re right,? he said. ?I?ll go for navy velvet.? ?Fantastic,? the man said, ?the only thing left is your name.? ?It?s Zane, Zane Patterson.? ?Perfect. Your Badge Case will be ready in a few minutes. In the meantime, I?ll guide you to the Pok?mon League Challenge registration.? Zane walked after the man and waited in the main room of the PMC. The other three were already there.

After about three minutes of waiting and talking to each other, a woman entered the room to take one of the four with her. Red went first, then Blue, and Zane followed the next employee into another room, where yet another one was waiting for him. The man gave him his Badge Case. It was a tiny box with velvet in it. In the velvet were eight gaps in the shapes of the eight Gym Badge of the Kanto region. The woman told him to leave the room through another door, to the waiting room for the registration.

Once in the chamber, he saw Red and Blue also just arriving there. ?Hey guys,? Blue shouted, ?let me see your Badge Cases!? Red was the first to show his, a scarlet box with the name Red Newman carved into it. When he opened it, Zane saw that Red chose for light gray colored velvet. Zane showed his next, and after him was Blue. He had picked a turquoise box with maroon velvet. ?Who, um, goes first?? Red asked. Zane answered before Blue could, ?You, of course, it?s your birthday after all.? ?That?s right,? Grey walked towards the three, holding his opened silver Badge Case with black velvet in the air. ?That?s settled then,? Blue said. ?But I?m second.? Red was already walking towards the woman at the desk. His friends didn?t hear what she asked him.

Not even a minute later, Red walked back to them, ?I am now, uh, officially taking part in the, um, Pok?mon League Challenge!? But Blue didn?t hear that, as he was already walking towards the desk himself. Grey congratulated Red, and Blue returned within half a minute. ?I?m in too,? Oak?s grandson shouted. Zane went to the desk next, and the woman behind it welcomed him. ?Hello,? she welcomed, ?can I have your name please?? ?Zane Patterson.? ?Okay,? she continued, ?your Pok?mon?? ?A Bulbasaur.? ?Date and place of birth?? ?The eighth of August, 3247 in Pallet Town.? ?Good, that?s a done deal then. You?re now officially participating in the Pok?mon League Challenge.? Zane thanked her with a big smile on his face.

On his way to his friends, he saw Grey had already started walking towards the desk. He answered the same questions as the other three and came walking back, ?we?re now all ready for our adventure, I think.? ?What do you guys do now?? Red asked. ?I?ll, uhm, leave tomorrow.? ?I?m going home first, but then I?m leaving,? Blue replied. ?I?m taking off immediately,? Grey said. ?I?ll go home too,? Zane decided, ?but I think I?m also leaving today.? After saying goodbye to each other, everyone went their separate ways. Grey to Route 1, Red and Zane to their respective homes, Blue to the lab.



When Zane entered his house, he saw that his parents and Kiara were waiting for him. ?So you?re sure you?re going?? Orion asked after Zane told exactly what happened. ?Definitely,? Zane responded. Orion nodded his approval. Kiara was looking really proud.

Nick left about a year ago, now was the turn for her twin brother. ?Good luck,? she said. ?And write us a letter when something happens.? ?I will,? Zane assured. Petra looked like she was about to cry, from happiness and sadness at the same time. ?Take care of yourself and your Pok?mon.? Zane nodded and grabbed his bag, containing his Pok? Balls, Potions, and other items. ?Remember to stay on the main paths,? Petra warned. ?And don?t stay out too late. And ?? She was interrupted by her husband, ?he?ll be fine, Petra, don?t worry.? Petra calmed down, but she still looked unhappy. ?You?re probably right,? she responded. ?Take care.? Zane nodded.

?Then I?ll leave now,? he concluded, ?adieu.?

5. Viridian City

Zane walked onto Route 1, on the way to Viridian City. He had been there many times before, but this was his first time as a Pokémon Trainer. As he was walking down the road, he thought about which other Pokémon he wanted on his team.

'Definitely Rhydon, and probably a Water-type like Gyarados or an Electric-type like Magneton. I have Bulbasaur to battle against Brock and Misty. I need a Ground-Type for Lt. Surge, but Rhyhorn only appear in the Safari Zone. Maybe a Sandslash or Dugtrio. Fire or Flying against Erika, I think Dodrio or Pidgeot. Ground again for Koga and Blaine. I need something to use against Psychic-Types, maybe a Bug- or Dark-Type, like Scyther or Houndoom.'

As a result of his thinking, Zane wasn't paying attention to his surroundings, until a wild Pokémon jumped out of the tall grass to attack him. "Let's go Bulbasaur, use Tackle!" Zane shouted. Bulbasaur got out of his Poké Ball and tackled the Rattata, which fainted after the Grass Type slammed into her once more. "Good job," Zane praised, "do you want to stay out of your Poké Ball for a bit?" Bulbasaur moved his head in a way that looked like nodding, so Zane saw it as a yes. They continued to the north, to the biggest city in Western Kanto, to Viridian City.



"An Onix," the boy angrily mumbled, "how are we gonna defeat a fricking Onix?" Brown had just challenged the Pewter City Gym Leader, Brock, but he lost without even a chance to damage the Leader's Onix. "We gotta train more, you gotta learn new moves, we gotta battle more Trainers. We're gonna train on Route 2, I think more Trainers are there."

Route 2 is the small area between Pewter City and the Viridian Forest, and there were indeed multiple Trainers. Most of them used Pokémon that were easily defeated by Geodude. Brown realized that if he wanted to stand a chance against Brock, he also needed to train Weedle. 'He's too weak to battle against Trainers, we gotta go back to defeating wild Pokémon.' He sent out his Weedle and went into the tall grass. It didn't take long before he encountered some wild Pokémon like Rattata and Caterpie.

After defeating dozens of them, he encountered another Weedle. "You know what you gotta do, use Poison Sting!" His Pokémon stung his opponent with the poisonous stinger on top of his head, and he defeated his opponent, but something more happened. "Weedle, what are you doing?!"

The Bug Type became surrounded by intensely shining white light. "Could this be … evolution?" Brown wondered. The light got even brighter, but the source of the light started changing its form. The core, in the shape of Weedle, stretched out and the spike on its head disappeared, while the head itself changed to the shape of a dome. The tiny circular parts of Weedle's body expanded until the core was in the form of a different Pokémon. The light faded away and only the Pokémon was left, Brown's Weedle had evolved into Kakuna. "Amazing!" Brown shouted. "We could maybe defeat Brock now!"



Zane and Bulbasaur walked through the gate into Viridian City. The city was much bigger than Pallet Town: wider streets, taller buildings, and way more people. The streets were clean and straight with lots of side roads leading to other buildings and even smaller side roads. Most of the buildings were about the same height as Zane's home, but they were all houses of other people. The taller buildings were mostly nonresidential buildings, like the Silph Company and the Poké Mart. The two main streets were the one going from the south to the north and the other from that street to the west. The Pokémon Centers was near the south entrance, so Zane went straight for it.

"Welcome to the Viridian Pokémon Center," said the nurse behind the counter inside, "how can I help you?" Zane nodded, "Could you please heal my Pokémon?" "No problem," the lady answered, "just hand me your Poké Balls and they will be perfectly fit in a few moments."

Zane gave the Poké Ball containing Bulbasaur to the nurse, who placed it onto the machine behind her. She pushed some buttons and out of the machine came a glass dome over the Poké Ball. The part of the machine that was covered by the dome, including the Poké Ball, started glowing orange and stopped doing that a few seconds later. The dome opened up again, and the lady took away the Poké Ball to give it back to Zane. "Thank you for waiting, we've restored your Pokémon to full health. Good luck on your journey and don't forget to go to a Pokémon Center when you need to." "Thank you, goodbye."

After he had left the building, Zane went to the north to find the crossing and continue west to Route 22. Before he could leave the city, he was held back by an old woman with gray-blonde hair and a wooden cane, "You look like a boy who is just starting on his adventure, but you shouldn't haste. Before you can really go on an adventure, you need to learn a lot. I can bring you to the Pokémon Academy around the corner if you feel the need to learn about Pokémon." "I don't think I need to," Zane responded, "Professor Oak has taught me everything I need to know." "Oh, is that so?" The woman looked surprised, "Then maybe you can prove how good you are to my students by battling me on the battlefield at the Academy." "No problem," Zane responded, "I'll come with you."

He followed the woman back to the middle of the city and to the south again, the Academy was apparently across the street from the Pokémon Center. When he entered the school, he saw that most of the students were as old as himself, some were even older. "Listen everyone!" The woman announced. "I have found a Trainer who is willing to battle me to show you how good he is. He has been taught by Professor Oak, so he should win from me without a doubt."

The children laughed, Zane realized that it was a laughter of mockery. Apparently, the students, including the woman, despised the Professor. They thought he was too overrated, not an actual teacher, let alone a Professor. "Well then," the woman said, after the laughter faded, "let us go to the battlefield and see how good Oak's student is." Zane heard the clearly sarcastic tone in her voice, but he followed her anyway, wanting to show her and her students that he wasn't as bad at battling as they thought he was and that Oak was neither.

"I'll let you send out your Pokémon first," the woman shouted. "That way, I'll be able to choose which Pokémon I'll use." Zane agreed and sent out Bulbasaur. "Ohoho," the woman laughed, "he gave you a Bulbasaur, so he sees a lot of potential in you. Let's see if he is right," an evil laugh appeared on her face, "probably not. Go Staryu! Use Tackle!"

Zane had not expected her to attack immediately, so this came as a surprise to him. The star-shaped Pokémon started spinning and hit her opponent mid-spin with one of her five brown limbs. Luckily for Zane, when he went training on Route 1 before, Bulbasaur had learned to use his vines to attack. This was the first time this tactic was actually used in a battle. The thick vines shot out of the bulb on the Grass Type's back, and they were directed towards Staryu. The brown Pokémon was clearly damaged by the whip, as her red core flickered and grew fainter.

The Water Type kept spinning, however, and came back to Bulbasaur like a boomerang, hitting him again with another of his limbs. This time, Zane's Pokémon immediately grabbed his opponent with his vines and slammed her to the floor. The red gem in Staryu's core flickered again and turned completely gray now. Zane thought he had won, so he wanted to take out Bulbasaur's Poké Ball and let his Pokémon return to it.

"What are you doing?" The woman asked, "I'm not done yet. I have more than one Pokémon, you know." "But that's not fair!" Zane shouted. "How do you mean," the woman laughed, "I didn't hear you say that we were both allowed to send out only one Pokémon. Come out, my friend!"

Her second Pokémon was a black orb of gas, surrounded by even more poisonous gas. 'A Gastly,' Zane thought, 'what am I going to do against that?' He was pulled out of his thought by the voice of the old woman, "Gastly, use Lick!" This came as a surprise again, so Bulbasaur was too late to avoid his new opponent. The Ghost Type stuck out her tongue and licked the right side of Bulbasaur's face, which made tiny sparks appear on his cheek. Bulbasaur let out a growl, while Gastly swiftly flew around him to also Lick him on his left cheek. The only thing Zane's Pokémon could do was attack his opponent with his vines, since he would simply dash through the Ghost Type if he tried tackling her. The vines didn't hurt her either, which meant trouble for Zane. 'I can't defeat her like this, what can I do?'

Bulbasaur kept hitting his opponent with the vines from his bulb, but Gastly kept licking and creating small electric sparks on the Grass Type's body. Suddenly, one of the vines hit Gastly right between her eyes, a weak spot. The black orb was sent flying back to her Trainer with a trail of light purple gas following her. "No!" the woman shouted. Her Gastly hadn't been defeated yet, but her slower movement and the painful look on her face revealed that she was close to fainting. Only one more hit by Bulbasaur's vines would be enough to finish the fight, but at that exact moment, the sparks all over his body did their job. Bulbasaur was fully paralyzed and couldn't move at all.

The woman put her evil laugh up again, "Gastly! One last time to finish this battle!" The Ghost Type flew towards Bulbasaur and licked him one last time, defeating Zane's Pokémon. "See," The woman concluded, "Oak's teachings aren't all you need. Since Sam has undoubtedly taught you to be as stubborn as himself, you're not allowed in here any longer. Rex, show him the way out." A boy with green hair, about eight years old, walked towards Zane and took him back to the street. "No one will ever beat Miss Agatha," Rex said. "And definitely not a Sammy." He shut the door, leaving the Palletan boy outside on his own.

Zane returned to the Pokémon Center, discouraged about his idea of traveling through Kanto. He healed his Pokémon up again and finally went onto Route 22. Right after Viridian City was left, the sand path already split up into two directions, one continued to the west and then north, while the other went south and then west again towards a small building. Zane chose the path to the south, towards the building.

As he walked inside, he saw a man sitting behind his desk. The man turned around and starting talking to Zane, "Well hello, could you please show me your Badges?" Zane looked confused, he didn't have any badges yet. That's what he told the guard. "Then what are you doing here?" The man irritatedly asked. "You're not allowed to go any further unless you've obtained all eight Badges of the Kanto Region." "Oh," Zane said, "sorry. I didn't know." Zane turned around, but when he was about to leave the building, he turned around and asked the man something, "Just one question, though. Are you a guard of the Victory Road?" "I am," the man replied, "that's why you're not allowed to continue this way unless you have all eight badges. The Pokémon League is right after the Victory Road, so you could see that mountain as your last challenge before the League. Good luck on your journey." "Thank you," Zane responded, "good luck to you too." The man nodded, and Zane turned around to leave the building.

After he had got to the crossing again, he went to the left, to a patch of long grass, probably hiding a lot of wild Pokémon to train Bulbasaur with. First, he encountered a Rattata. After that: Rattata. The next one: also a Rattata. A lot of a Rattata later, Zane noticed a Pokémon flying towards him. 'Could that be a Pidgey?' He thought to himself. He sent out Bulbasaur to attack the Pokémon, "Use Tackle on that Flying Pokémon!" Bulbasaur jumped into the air and took the wild Pokémon out of the air. Zane ran towards it and looked at the Pokémon.

He had brown feathers on his head, and his wings had a pinkish color. He had a hooked beak, and his tail existed of three brown feathers. "A Spearow! Bulbasaur, stop attacking it!" Bulbasaur let out a few growls to scare the Flying Type, who now started trembling with fear. "Don't worry," Zane assured. "You'll be alright."



'Why is this forest so big,' Grey thought, 'a map would actually be useful now.' All the Trainers who challenged him were beaten easily, Dratini was simply too strong for them. 'Where is the exit of this maze? I think I'm lost.'

"Are you looking for a way out?" A voice asked, unintentionally startling Grey. "I'm sorry for frightening you, young man, for it was not my intention." The person walked out of the shadows, and Grey saw her face, it was an old lady with white hair. "Let me ask you again, are you in search of the exit?" "Yes," Grey answered, "I am. Who are you, if I may ask?"

"The name I was given is Maya, Maya Yates. I am of the four forest's guides," the woman responded. "We give help to younglings who have lost their path in Viridian Forest by revealing the correct way to get out. The other three guides would be my two sisters and one brother, Nya, Ryan, and Sylvia. But I have learned that you happen to be a Trainer of Pokémon, and the four of us haven't taken part in proper battles with Pokémon for multiple decades. Would you care for one of them with me and my siblings?" "Sure," Grey said, "why not?" "Then I'll guide you over the road to our place of living, the others of us should be right there at the moment of speech." Grey followed Maya to her house, not knowing what to expect from it.



"Well," Brock started, "you've come to get your revenge, I see." "I have," Brown responded, "and I won't lose this time!" "We'll see." Brown sent out his Kakuna and his opponent, the Pewter City Gym Leader, sent out his Onix. "So you've evolved your Weedle, always a good idea," Brock noted. "Let me see if it can do something! Onix, attack!" Some of the boulders that were scattered over the battlefield were hurled at Brown's Bug Type by Onix's tail. Kakuna was still too weak and already fainted when only the first of the several boulders hit him.

"It didn't have much to offer yet, did it?" Brock joked. "Do you still want to send out your Geodude or do you want to forfeit to continue training your Pokémon?" "I'll give up," Brown admitted, "there's no way I can defeat Onix with Geodude. But I'll win next time!" "You better make sure you do," Brock replied, while he returned Onix to his Poké Ball, "otherwise you'll be fighting me for ages, that won't work."

Brown returned Kakuna to his Poké Ball and left the Gym to go to the Pokémon Center and let his Pokémon be healed. After that, he went back to Viridian Forest to train his Pokémon.



"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!" Zane let his Pokémon weaken the Spearow a bit more, enough to be able to catch the wild Pokémon. "Goob, Bulbasaur, return!" Zane had two Poké Balls in his hands, one of which was the one Bulbasaur had just returned to, the other was still empty. He put away Bulbasaur's Poké Ball and got ready to throw the other one at the wild Spearow. 'Here we go,' he thought when he threw the Poké Ball.

It hit the Spearow right on his beak, opened up and the Pokémon was sucked into it after he had been turned into his energy state. It shook once. It shook twice. Thrice. And it closed! "Yes!" Zane shouted. "I've caught a Spearow!" He sent out both of his Pokémon, Bulbasaur and the newly caught Flying Type. Both seemed to like the other, but Spearow was still badly hurt from the battle. "I'll take you to the Pokémon Center," Zane promised, "you'll feel a lot better afterward." He returned both his Pokémon to their Poké Balls and went back to Viridian City.

When he gave the two Poké Balls to the nurse inside the Pokémon Center, she looked surprised. "You've caught a new Pokémon! Amazing, which one is it?" "It's a Spearow," Zane clarified, "I wanted a strong Flying Type, so this one fits." The smiling nurse nodded and placed the Poké Balls on the machine.

After his Pokémon were healed, Zane went outside, just in time to see everyone running away from something. Something dangerous, apparently. "Get out of the way!" He heard a man shout. "Run!" Someone else yelled. The whole city was in fear, everyone was shouting at each other and running away from the north of the city. "What's happening?!" Zane shouted. "What are you all running away from?"



Blue walked into the city, he heard people shout, but he thought it was daily business. When he had gone home earlier that day to say goodbye to his family, he told his grandfather that he would make him proud, his sister that she needed to take care of herself, he had wished his parents good luck with their jobs and waved everyone goodbye. After that, he walked onto Route 1, towards Viridian City. Someone came running towards him, shouting for help.

"What is the problem?" He asked. He noticed that the woman looked terrified. "A wild Pokémon is attacking the people in the city! You are a Trainer! Help us!" Blue knew that this was bad news. "I'll go," he promised, "I'll defeat that Pokémon." He left the woman behind and ran towards the city, where he saw another boy standing next to the Pokémon Center with two Pokémon by his side. He knew that boy, "Zane!" He shouted, "we gotta defeat that Pokémon."

Zane turned around to see his friend running towards him. "What Pokémon? What's happening?" He asked. "A wild Pokémon is attacking, we gotta help!" Blue explained. "Okay," Zane shouted back, "but we don't even know which Pokémon!" "Doesn't matter," Blue responded, "we gotta defeat it as fast as possible, so let's stop standing here, go!" While the two boys ran to the north, Blue sent out Squirtle. When they turned around a corner, they saw the Pokémon. They both had a scared look on their face now. A giant blue Pokémon with two muscular arms and white hands like boxing gloves was destroying the buildings and attacking the people. On the front of its body was a black and white swirl.

"I think I've changed my mind about this," Blue stated, "we gotta run. Now!"



------
Two boys were shouting to each other, the first one was running towards a wild Pokémon, from which the other one was running away. The first one sent out his two Pokémon, the other stopped yelling and fled. The two Pokémon attacked the wild one, listening to what their Trainer told them to do.
------

Blue and Zane were shouting to each other, Zane was running towards a wild Pokémon, from which Blue was running away. Zane sent out his two Pokémon, Blue stopped yelling and fled. Bulbasaur and Spearow attacked the wild Pokémon, listening to what their Trainer told them to do. Bulbasaur used his vines to whip, and Spearow his sharp beak to peck, both on the enormous wild Poliwrath.

6. Poliwrath

Neither Peck nor Vine Whip did any damage to the wild Poliwrath, it was just way too strong for Zane's Pokémon. "Blue!" He shouted. "Help!" But his friend had already gone to the west, to the Route on which Zane had caught Spearow.

When Blue walked off the sand path into the tall grass, he soon found himself surrounded by a horde of Rattata. 'What have I done now?' Blue thought to himself. Then he felt something touching his heel. He looked to see what it was, and as soon as he saw it, he knew what the problem was. It was a purple Pokémon, about 2 feet tall. He had red eyes and large spiky ears and front teeth. The horn on his head was pretty big, indicating that his poison was rather strong. It was a wild Nidoran and, judging by its purple color, a male one, trying to hide behind Blue, who figured that that Pokémon was the cause of the anger of the wild Rattata.

"Leave him alone," Blue warned, "it doesn't matter what he did to you, but he deserves another chance." At first, the Rattata seemed confused with someone defending their opponent, but they soon realized they had to battle the human. They sprinted towards Blue but were held back by a forceful shot of water. "Well done Squirtle, keep using Water Gun!" Blue turned around to look at the Nidoran, but it was gone. When he looked around, he saw it running towards Viridian City. "Squirtle, I'm going after that Nidoran, just keep attacking and don't get hurt!" Squirtle nodded, turned back around, and tackled and defeated one of the Rattata.

'He can do this,' Blue assured himself, 'now let's see where that Nidoran is going.' Luckily, Blue was much faster than the Nidoran, so he caught up with the Poison Type before it reached the city. "Don't go there," Blue warned him, "there's a very strong Pokémon running wild through the city." The Nidoran looked at Blue, he was upset. "Don't worry," said Blue, "I'll protect you." The look in Nidoran's eyes became a bit more trusting towards Blue. "Let's go back, I think Squirtle has taken care of most of the Rattata, maybe he left some for you. Let's see what you can do, okay?" The Nidoran looked a lot less worried now, even a bit excited to battle alongside a Trainer.



"Hello! I've made my return!" Maya shouted. She and Grey had just reached the old house of the four siblings, but it looked like Maya's brother and sisters weren't there. The enormous house was in the middle of the Viridian Forest, but all four of the Guides guarded one of the four sections of the forest. Maya oversaw the South, Ryan the North, Nya kept an eye on the East and Sylvia on the West.

After Maya had explained all of that to Grey, they arrived at the house in which she and her siblings lived. "Hello?" Maya repeated, but again no reaction. "I don't think they're home," Grey said. "I mean there's no reaction." "No reaction indeed," Maya responded.

"Weird it would be if there was," a new voice whispered, right next to Grey's face, thereby startling the tall boy. It was a woman who looked about the same as Maya but only with blue eyes instead of Maya's brown ones. "This is Nya of us four," Maya explained, "one of my sisters." "And not he is, certainly," Nya replied. "So why's 'e here?" Another new voice, a man with purple eyes. "'E doesn't look trustable." "Go back to your calm, Ryan," Maya tried, but her brother didn't listen. The argument between the two was only just prevented by the third new voice.

"Okay, don't continue," she ordered, "let Maya not hide why she didn't leave that youngster from our place. But now, let me not keep my name from you. My name is Sylvia." The woman stepped out of the shadows and Grey saw that she was the oldest of the four, and she had red eyes behind her glasses. "The name Grey has been given to him," Maya explained, "he happens to be a Trainer of Pokémon. I had a desire for us to have a battle with Pokémon against him. I felt the need to find out if we're still with our old capabilities. So please me and give ourselves a fight against this youngling."

Sylvia, with the red eyes, instantly agreed, and Nya, with the blue eyes, doubted first but was then convinced by Maya, with the brown eyes. Ryan, with the purple eyes, was another person entirely, he wasn't to be convinced in any way possible, not by his sisters, not by Grey, not even by his Ekans who got out of his Poké Ball trying to persuade his Trainer to battle Grey. "Well then," Sylvia stated, "the three of us will not keep our Pokémon away from battle against you, but Ryan will not stay here." Ryan brought Ekans back into its Poké Ball and left without saying a word. "Let's make the beginning," Maya exclaimed, "who will you give the first battle with Pokémon?"



"Let this be the start, then," Maya began, "let us bring our companions into the battle with Pokémon. Sandshrew!" "Go Dratini!"

Grey's Dragon Type immediately slithered towards his opponent and wrapped himself around her. The Sandshrew, however, found her way out and dug into the ground. Dratini looked around to see the Ground Type a soon as it would come out of the dirt. What he didn't see coming, however, was that Sandshrew hid right underneath him and fired a poisonous needle up through the surface of the battlefield. The wound on Dratini's underside, where the attack had hit him, turned purple and hurt the light blue Pokémon everytime it moved. Now that Sandshrew jumped out of the ground again, Dratini went straight towards her to wrap himself around her and squeeze her into unconsciousness.

Maya returned her first Pokémon to make place for the second, Diglett. The brown Pokémon was usually underneath the ground, making her lower body invisible. She jumped out of her hole in the ground and scratched Dratini with her small claws, but it did nearly no damage to the Dragon Type. It seemed as if his hide had turned impenetrable since he was poisoned by Sandshrew. Diglett scratched Dratini again, but it was the latter who let her come closer so that he could get hold of his opponent and squeeze again. Maya's second Pokémon was weaker than her first, so it didn't take Dratini too much effort to beat her.

The third, however, was the old woman's signature Pokémon, and thus her strongest. The brown Pokémon wore a skull with two horns over her head and had a bone in her hand. Her two hands had two claws each, and her feet only one apiece. "I've given the title of my favorite, hence signature Pokémon, to this Cubone. She's not as easily taken out of this fight as her predecessors!" The Ground Type jumped at Dratini and hit him on his white snout with her bone, causing Grey's Pokémon to flinch and giving herself a chance to attack again.

This time, Dratini didn't hold back, and he gave Cubone an intimidating look, frightening her and lowering her defenses. Before the Ground Type could react, she was already lifted into the air by Dratini's tail. The Dragon Type slammed her on the ground multiple times, but she managed to release herself. She stood up and charged at her opponent with her bone ready to attack. Dratini was too slow to slither away, so Cubone's bone hit the middle of his tail. Grey's Pokémon clearly felt this, as the expression on his face showed a not-so-happy look. After this, however, Dratini managed to get hold of Maya's signature again and threw her in the air again. When the Ground Type fell back onto the field, she didn't stand up anymore, which meant Grey defeated the first of the three sisters.

"Well well," Maya started, "the victory of this battle was actually acquired by you, I had presumed that I would come out as the one to do that." "Don't worry," Sylvia replied, "we won't keep ourselves from training as of not earlier than now, so that not far in the future, we will not be beaten by Grey. But for now, just not stand here, I won't wait any longer to battle him next."



"Well then," said Sylvia, after she had restored Dratini to full health and walked to her side of the battlefield. "Let's wait no longer! I won't start with someone else, Ponyta!"

Grey sent out Dratini, who instantly intimidated his opponent with a sharp leer. "Not a stupid move," Sylvia admitted. Her cream-colored Fire Type charged at Dratini from across the battlefield and tackled him. Grey's Pokémon countered by wrapping himself around her as soon as she bumped into him. Ponyta managed to get out of Dratini's squeezing grip and ran back to her Trainer, crushing the twigs on the battlefield with her hooves. Dratini got ready to take another Tackle, while Sylvia's Pokémon turned around at the other side of the field to charge back. This time, when the Dragon Type got hold of his opponent again, the flames on her back managed to set Grey's Pokémon's tail on fire. "Dratini, let's finish the battle before you faint of that burn, keep hold of Ponyta!" Not that much later, the Fire Type fainted due to Dratini's power, meaning that the red-eyed of the three elderly sisters had to send out a second Pokémon.

"My last one isn't Vulpix either!" She sent out her Pokémon and told her to wag her six curled orange tails, which made Dratini less wary of his opponent. Nevertheless, the Dragon Type gave her a sharp look, just like he did at Sylvia's first Pokémon. He continued by attacking without his Trainer's command, because he was angry with Sylvia and her Pokémon for pulling off such an easy trick on him.

"What are you doing?" Grey asked, but Dratini didn't listen in his rage. He started spinning around, giving off some kind of mystical wind to create a tornado. Grey felt his Pokédex buzzing inside his bag, so he took it out and read what was on the screen. Dratini learned a new attack called Twister, a special Dragon-type attack with an accuracy of 100%. This attack may cause the target to flinch.

'Interesting,' Grey thought, 'a new attack, let's use it.' But he didn't have to say a word because Dratini had already completed the vicious tornado and sent it toward Vulpix. The twister hurled the Fire Type in the air, and the mysterious winds damaged her as well. Within seconds, Sylvia's second Pokémon fainted. "What was that?" The guide asked. "That," Grey explained, "was his new attack, Twister." Sylvia nodded and returned Vulpix. "But you haven't yet made my signature Pokémon unconscious!"

The old woman's last Pokémon, standing on all four short legs, was an orange-furred one with black stripes all over her body. The fur on her muzzle and chest was light yellow, just like the tail and the hair on top of her head. She had quite big round ears and a small black snout. Growlithe showed her sharp teeth and roared to intimidate Grey's Dragon Type. Both Grey and Dratini realized that is was now a better idea to use special attacks, so the latter created another tornado and sent it to his opponent. Growlithe didn't faint like Vulpix did, but the twister did make Sylvia's signature to wince. Dratini took this opportunity to send another tornado, but Growlithe did not draw back this time. She jumped at the Dragon Type and bit his tail.

Now it was Grey's Pokémon who couldn't attack because of his pain. The tip of his tail was still burning and hurting. Dratini was still able to battle, but it wouldn't take Sylvia much more to take the victory. Growlithe realized that her opponent flinched after she had already returned to her side of the field, so she jumped back to bite again. Dratini tried to keep fighting, but the flame on his tail was too much, he fell over and fainted. "I haven't lost," Sylvia declared. "And I have," Grey reacted. "You did, yes," Nya explained. "But now, battle you, I want to." "You'll've to wait," her brother replied, leaning against a tree with his back. Nya and Maya looked surprised by Ryan's return, but Sylvia had a smile on her face. "I knew you'd not stay away," she stated, "I simply don't know you bad enough to not figure that out."

Ryan looked angry at his sister but turned his face around to look at Grey. "Like I've said," the guide declared, "I've changed m' mind. I wanna've a battle against you now, Nya'll've to wait, she'll lose anyway." "Let me heal his Dratini first," Sylvia interrupted. "Of course," Ryan replied, "I'll defeat 'm anyway."



"Spearow! Look out!" But it was too late, Poliwrath shot a blast of water and Spearow fell out of the air, fainted. "No!" Zane shouted. 'How could I've been so stupid,' he thought, 'of course I can't defeat a Poliwrath.' He returned Spearow to his Poké Ball, just in time to see two Poliwhirl defeating Bulbasaur with a freezing beam of energy.

"Looks like you're in need of some assistance," a familiar voice noted, "I wanted to talk to you, but didn't expect it to be in a situation like this." Zane turned around, the man who had spoken to him was the Professor. "Let's see, a Poliwrath with a lot of Poliwhirl and Poliwag." Zane saw that Oak started thinking, but they didn't have much time left. "Okay," Oak began, "first of all, retreat Bulbasaur."

Zane did what the Professor told him to, after which Samuel sent out his six Pokémon. Snorlax barraged the Poliwag and Poliwhirl with hard-shelled seeds, and Lickitung helped by summoning a number of strong Thunderbolts. Samuel's other four Pokémon aimed at the leader of the wild Pokémon, Poliwrath. Tauros charged at him with all of his willpower assembled in his forehead, while Persian and Raticate kept scratching, kicking, punching and biting the enormous Pokémon. Lastly, the Professor's strongest Pokémon, Kangaskhan, made sparks appear around his hands to make his punch do more damage to the Water Type.

"You know what I like so much about Normal-type Pokémon?" Oak asked. Zane shook his head as a reaction. "They can use moves of all eighteen types. Grass, Electric, Psychic, Fairy, all of them." They watched the battle, Zane with fear, Oak calm but slightly annoyed, as if this happened every day. The old man even went to sit on a bench to watch his Pokémon battle, as if he knew they'd win. Samuel's Pokémon defeated the Poliwag and Poliwhirl, but Poliwrath beat Raticate, Persian, Tauros, and Lickitung. "It looks like that Poliwrath isn't going to give up," Oak mumbled. "Maybe I should… Yeah, I should do that." "Do what?" Zane asked. "Just watch this," Oak replied.

He stood up and took a pen out of a pocket on the inside of his white coat. The pen looked valuable and mystical, it was a silver fountain pen with a golden grip and nib. The cap was also made of silver, but the clip was bronze. The weirdest thing about the pen was the small shining stone on top of the cap, it was transparent and glistened in all colors of the rainbow. Oak touched the tiny jewel and something inside Kangaskhan pouch starting glowing. "Kangaskhan!" Oak shouted. "Surpass the limitations of evolution! Mega Evolve!" Kangaskhan started emitting purple light until only its shape could be seen. The form of the Kangaskhan altered, something jumped out of the pouch and grew, making it look stronger. The purple light got even brighter, and Kangaskhan roared. Then the light was sent out, together with a blast of energy, and Kangaskhan was left together with her child standing in front of her.

"This," Oak started, "is Mega Kangaskhan. The child in front of her was the baby in her pouch in her standard form. Now she's much stronger. That Poliwrath won't stand a chance." The Professor was right, Snorlax kept using Seed Bomb, but Kangaskhan used Power-Up Punch once, making both her and her child's attack more powerful. And indeed, the two used Thunder Punch afterward, which clearly did more damage than before. The mother's punch was not enough to make the Poliwrath faint, but the child's contribution made it too much for the Poliwrath, he fainted.

"That's amazing!" Zane exclaimed. Kangaskhan reverted back to her original form and Oak returned her and Snorlax into their respective Poké Balls. "There's only one problem," he stated, "what do we do with that Poliwrath?" A crowd of people had formed behind the Professor and Zane. "No problem," one of them shouted, "we'll take care of that." "Good," Oak replied, "then I can finally talk to you, Zane, I have something else for you."

He put his pen back into the pocket he took it from and reached into another one. "Here it is." He stretched his hand toward Zane, he had something in it. "A Pokédex? For me?" Zane asked. "Yes," Oak confirmed, "the last parts were just delivered to my lab, so I was only now able to construct the other six, among which were this one, one for Red, one for Blue, and one for Brown. Do you know where they are right now?" "I know Red's still in Pallet Town, and Blue ran to the west, so he is probably still there." "And what about Brown?" Oak asked. "I don't know," Zane replied, "he could be anywhere." "Okay, that makes thing quite a lot harder," Oak reacted. "Oh, I know. Can I trust you with this one too then?" He handed Zane another Pokédex. "This one is for Brown, could you give it to him when you find him?" "I will," Zane responded. Samuel thanked him. "Then I will go look for the other two, see how they're doing. By the way, I noticed you have two Poké Balls with Pokémon. One of them is Bulbasaur, of course, but which one is the other?" "I caught a Spearow," Zane explained. "Well done," Oak praised, "good luck on your journey." "Thank you," Zane replied.

Oak turned around and walked towards the west to search for his grandson. After the crowd had dissolved, Zane went back to the Pokémon Center, but he heard something. "Help!" Someone shouted. Zane turned around and saw who was the source of the noise. It was a woman from about 25 years old, she had the outfit of a zookeeper. "What happened?" Zane informed. "The Pokémon from the zoo have escaped, all of them!" "Calm down," Zane tried, "I'll help you."



After they had returned to the horde of Rattata, Blue and Nidoran saw that Squirtle had indeed defeated most of the wild Pokémon. "Well Nidoran," Blue started, "use your strongest attack to beat one of them." Nidoran sprinted to one of the Rattata and jabbed her with his horn, the wild Pokémon instantly fainted. "Good job!" Blue shouted. "Keep doing that!"

Together with Squirtle, Nidoran managed to defeat all of the Rattata. "Well done, both of you." Blue praised. "Now, Nidoran, would you like to come with me on my adventure?" The Nidoran looked at him and smiled. "I think that's a yes," Blue laughed. He took a Poké Ball out of his bag and put it on the ground before Nidoran. The Pokémon pushed the button to open the Poké Ball and be converted into its energy state. The Poké Ball closed, shook only once, and Nidoran was caught. Blue picked up the Poké Ball and sent out his new friend.

"Excellent job," someone shouted to him. Blue turned around to see his grandfather walk towards him. "What are you doing here, gramps?" He asked. "I wanted to give you something, here it is." Blue took the Pokédex out of the Professor's hand. "Thank you," he said, "but why do I get one?" "Because you need it," Oak explained. "If you go on an adventure, a Pokédex is pretty much necessary. I gave one to Zane too, he told me to search for you here." "Well, thanks," Blue repeated, "but why didn't you give me this before?" "The last parts just got delivered, I didn't have them the last time I saw you." "Okay," Blue responded. "Anyway, good luck on your journey!" Oak told his grandson. "Thanks, Gramps. Smell ya later."

Samuel waved Blue goodbye and turned around, back to Pallet Town to give Red his Pokédex. "Well, Nidoran, Squirtle," Blue started. "That was my grandfather, the Pokémon Professor of Kanto. He's the one who gave you to me," Blue told his Pokémon, that last part to Squirtle specifically. "I'll take you to the Pokémon Center," he continued, "then we'll walk around Viridian City, it's already getting a bit late, so we're not going to the Viridian Forest yet."



"So," Zane started, "what Pokémon escaped the zoo?" "Lots of them," the zookeeper replied, "Growlithe, Mankey, Slowpoke, Meowth, too many to name them all." "Okay," Zane responded, "that's bad. I gotta go to the Pokémon Center, my Pokémon have fainted."

While the two walked south, the woman told Zane that over a hundred Pokémon escaped from the zoo, but also that they all seemed to listen to one particular Pokémon, a Mankey. "So I just gotta defeat that Mankey." "No, definitely not," the woman reacted, "if you defeat that Mankey, the others would just wander off, never to be found again. You'll have to trap him and get him to order the other Pokémon to return to the zoo." "That's going to be difficult," Zane claimed, "it's impossible to trap a Mankey, they're too fast and can climb anything. I can't do anything. Unless…" "Unless what? Tell me," the woman got pushy. "Unless I capture him, let him come with me. A Mankey would be useful against Brock."

The two walked into the Pokémon Center, and Zane let his Pokémon be healed by the nurse. "I don't care how you do it," the zookeeper stated, "as long as you manage to get those Pokémon back to the zoo." They walked out of the Pokémon Center again. "By the way," Zane started, "how did those Pokémon escape?" "They would've been held inside the zoo by its walls, usually, but those Poliwhirl and Poliwag destroyed one of the walls. Once those Water Types were gone, the Pokémon of the zoo escaped." "Okay, clear. Let's go find that Pokémon." "I don't think we'll have to," the woman replied, "look there."

She pointed at one of the highest buildings in the city, the Viridian City Sakaki Company tower. A Pokémon was climbing the building, a two feet tall, angry looking Pokémon. A Pokémon with a curved brown tail and covered in ruffled light brown fur. The Pokémon to which the zoo Pokémon listened, the Mankey Zane was looking for.

7. In The Air

"Defeated, again, how?" Brown wondered. His Geodude and Kakuna followed him, the first walking on his stone hands, the other bouncing forward. "I guess we'll just have to train even more," the boy thought. He walked to Route 2 again to battle more wild Pokémon, not noticing that someone was following him. When he had gone back to the Pokémon Center, he did feel like being watched, but he thought little of it. About ten minutes later, he went to let his Pokémon be healed again. When he walked out of the Pokémon Center this time, he saw her, the girl who had been watching him. Not that it was too difficult to spot her, as she stood right in front of him. Her dark brown eyes were hiding a somewhat mocking attitude. She was about the same age as Brown, and her hair had a very dark reddish color. Her finger was pointing at him.

"I want to have a Pokémon Battle with you," she announced. "Right here, right now." She sent out her Pokémon, a Clefairy, so Brown sent out Kakuna when he realized what had just happened. The Bug Type bounced toward his opponent and hit her with the sharp end of his body. "Okay Clefairy," the girl shouted. "Use Pound and keep using it until you defeat that Kakuna!" The pink Pokémon hit Kakuna with her plump arm, while Brown's Pokémon toughened his cocoon. It didn't take the Poison Type long to defeat Clefairy with his poisonous stinger, so the girl was forced to send out her second Pokémon.

The Grass Type was covered in blue hairy vines, so nothing of her face could be seen, except for her eyes. It was also these vines that gave the Pokémon her round shape. The Tangela didn't like the sight of a Bug Type, judging by the fact that she ran around to hide behind the Pokémon Center. Kakuna hopped after her, so she didn't stop running. Her red boot-like feet made a clacking sound on the stone path. Brown noticed a few passengers stopping to laugh at the sight of those two Pokémon chasing each other. It did look funny though, a ball of hairy vines running around on big red feet, followed by a yellow hopping cocoon. The girl decided to stop the chase by commanding her Pokémon to attack. The blue Pokémon stopped running and turned around to wait for her opponent, but she was still trembling with fear. At least, that's what Brown thought. Before the boy realized it, his Pokémon had already come around the corner and dodged the powder Tangela scattered around.

The Bug Type bounced toward his scared opponent and hit her with his stinger. Tangela hadn't stopped shuddering though, and Kakuna got covered in the green dust. The yellow Pokémon fell to the ground, asleep. However, Kakuna's outer layer of silk cut open and fell off. As soon as the silk was spread over the ground, it disappeared and Kakuna jumped back up. "How is that possible?" The girl exclaimed. "I don't know," Brown shouted back, "but I ain't complaining!" He noticed that Kakuna started giving off heat, but he told his Pokémon to just continue stinging the Grass Type. Tangela shot some of his vines into the dirt to retrieve energy some energy from it. This made her immobile, so it was easier for Brown's Pokémon to hit her. The blue Pokémon used two vines to squeeze Kakuna, but the Bug Type easily escaped the grip and stung his opponent again. This time, the poison on Kakuna's stinger managed to inflict Tangela. This neutralized the positive effects of the Grass Type's Ingrain, so it wasn't difficult for Kakuna to finish the fight.

"Well done," the girl congratulated, "how many Badges do you have?" But Brown didn't pay any attention to her because Kakuna started glowing intensely. "Finally," Brown sighed, "he's evolving again." The shape of Kakuna inside the white orb of light started growing, and a cut in its back started opening up, expulsing even more light. Out of the cut came the form of a new Pokémon. The cocoon disappeared at the same time the light did so that only the new Pokémon was left. His body existed of three segments, the first being the head with two sharp red eyes and two sharply bent antennae. The middle section had the two big transparent wings and the four legs. The upper two legs ended in stingers in the shape of drills, and the lower two were the legs were the Pokémon stood on. The last segment was the biggest, had two black stripes around it, and contained the main stinger. "Beedrill!" Brown shouted. "Finally! I might be able to defeat Brock now!"

"Oh, so you're re-challenging my brother?" The girl asked. Brown had momentarily forgotten she even existed. "You're Brock's sister?" He asked. "I am, and I'd really like to see you try again to defeat him." "You saw me battle him before?" "Of course I have," she responded, "I look at all of my brother's fights. My name is Yolanda, by the way." "I'm Brown, from Viridian City, I'm taking on the League Challenge." "Good luck with that, you have a long way to go," she reacted with a teasing smirk on her face, after which she turned around and walked toward the Gym. Brown followed her because he wanted to re-challenge Brock, now that he thought he stood an actual chance with his Geodude and Beedrill.



After Grey had sent out Dratini, Ryan also sent out his first Pokémon, Grimer. The purple blob sprayed a purpureus gas around his opponent. The Dragon Type couldn't just stop breathing, so he inhaled the gas, which poisoned him. "Dratini, it looks like we have to hurry again, use Twister!" Grey shouted. Grimer replied by pounding with his slimy arms. It didn't cause much damage, but it did make Dratini flinch. Grimer punched him again, but Dratini was able to use Twister again. This time, the small tornado was enough to throw the purple slime back to Ryan. "Grimer, return!" The guide shouted. "Here's two, Koffing!"

The purple ball filled with gas floated toward Dratini to tackle him, but the Dragon Type slithered towards him to create another twister right under Koffing. This caused Ryan's Pokémon to be hurled into a tree, where he got stuck between several branches. Dratini started spinning around again to send the last tornado to defeat Koffing, but the attack missed and instead hit the tree, which started shaking and caused the Poison Type to be freed. He floated towards the poisoned Pokémon and hit his side with one of the small stumps on his own body. This big impact sent Dratini sliding across the battlefield, back to Grey. "Fantastic!" Ryan exclaimed. "Fantastic!" "Not fantastic enough," Grey replied, "Dratini, now!" The Dragon Type wrapped himself around his opponent, who wasn't paying attention, and squeezed him to unconsciousness.

This meant Ryan had to send out his signature Pokémon. The purple serpentine Pokémon avoided the jolt of paralyzing electricity from Dratini. He slithered toward the Dragon Type to wrap himself around him and hurt him with the coarse yellow underside of his body. The same kind of yellow hide covered a part of his neck and the poisonous rattle. Since Ekans was now wrapped around Dratini, the latter's Thunder Wave was sure to paralyze the former. The Dragon Type was now able to get himself out of Ekans' grip and slithered away from it as fast as he could. "Chase 'm," Ryan shouted. The Poison Type was too slow to reach his opponent in time and got thrown in the air by a tornado of mystical winds. The Poison Gas from Ryan's Grimer now clearly took its toll, Dratini's usually white underside had turned slightly purple, and the light blue had a darker shade as well. Ekans managed to get closer and closer to Dratini after every Twister, until he got near enough to hit him with his yellow rattler. Due to this and the poisoning from before, Dratini couldn't hold it any longer, he fainted.

"Congratulations," Sylvia looked proud of her younger brother. Maya was getting a bit angry, as she was the only one to have lost to Grey so far. Nya, the youngest and most enthusiastic of the old siblings, seemed eager for her match. "My battle, I want now," she stated. "Start, my fight against Grey needs to!" "You won't have to wait," Sylvia laughed, "don't let us unknowing of your abilities."



"Okay then," Grey said, "the last guide. Let's go Dratini." Nya also threw a Poké Ball to send out her Krabby. After the Water Type had gripped his opponent with his stronger left pincer and Dratini had escaped, Grey's Pokémon created several twisters, which combined to become one bigger tornado and defeat the orange Pokémon in one hit. 'I gotta remember that,' Grey thought. "Krabby, back you come, the battle I'll continue with Psyduck!"

The old woman sent out her yellow Pokémon and ordered her to use Tail Whip, "lower Dratini's defense as much as you can, Goldeen will take care of him afterward." Dratini's defense got lowered like Nya wanted it to, but he defeated Psyduck with just two normal Twisters. "Psyduck, return. I'll finish with my favorite," Nya repeated.

Her last Pokémon was a white Water Type, which had orange marking on her back and four fins. Since this Goldeen was a female one, the horn on her forehead was quite small, it would've been bigger on a male one. Nya's Pokémon started by generating odd sound waves, which, unluckily for Grey, made Dratini confused. The Dragon Type continued the battle by sending an electric shock to his opponent, which also hit. This meant both sides now had a status condition. Dratini was the first to get affected by it. When he tried to use Twister, the mysterious winds turned around to hit himself instead of Nya's Pokémon. "Dratini," Grey shouted, "I need you to Leer until the confusion fades away. You can't hit yourself if you don't attack!" 'Smart, that kid is,' Nya thought.

Goldeen got affected by her paralyzation twice in a row, but afterward, she managed to hit Dratini's chin with her jabbing horn. Not much later, Dratini's confusion wore off, and Grey told him to use Wrap. Because of Goldeen's lowered defense, Dratini dealt enough damage to defeat his opponent. "Well then," Grey concluded, "that was that."

The Water Type was returned to her Poké Ball, and the four guides stood next to each other in front of Grey. "Congratulations," Maya started, "you've taken victory against two of us four." "I gotta say," Ryan admitted, "you're a good Trainer, even though you lost to me 'n m' sister." Nya, after putting her Poké Balls away, added, "I guess Brock, you're going to challenge. Please hello from us, say to him. A good friend of ours, his father was." "I won't let your Pokémon in this state now," Sylvia concluded, "after that, it'll be Ryan's task to no longer keep you away from the exit since Pewter City is not to the south, the east, or the west." Grey walked toward the old man, and the two walked through the northern part of the forest towards Pewter City.

But none of the two, nor the three old women, noticed the two people wearing black clothes hiding in the shadows. Both with black boots and black gloves, both with a dark gray belt with Poké Balls and both with the large red R on their suits.



Back in Viridian City, Zane and the zookeeper were still thinking about a way to reach the Mankey. "How are we gonna get up there?" Zane wondered. "Look out!" He tried to warn the zookeeper, but he was too late. A Pidgeotto lifted her from the ground and brought her to the Mankey, who had now reached the top of the building.

The Fighting Type cried for his allies to help him. They appeared from under all cars, out of every corner, behind of every bush. There were Ekans, Pikachu, Nidoran, Growlithe, and many other Pokémon roaming through the city, attacking all people and Trainers' Pokémon they encountered. The kids and teachers from the Trainer Academy were also battling as many of the Pokémon as they could, but there was no sign of the woman who fought Zane earlier that day. He figured that it would be better to battle the other wild Pokémon while thinking than to keep standing in the same place the whole time.

He sent out Bulbasaur to let him attack a horde of Slowpoke that just turned around the corner. Before being able to send out Spearow too, the brown-haired boy was forced to the ground by a Drowzee. Bulbasaur noticed it and turned around to save his Trainer, but he wasn't aware of the Drowzee's congeners. They pounded him, followed by the Slowpoke also striking with Tackle. Bulbasaur survived and got angry as a bull, he scratched the Drowzee that stood on top of his Trainer, which perplexed Zane, as Bulbasaur didn't know that attack. Zane, now released from the Drowzee, stood up and looked at his Pokédex because it had started buzzing, a message had appeared on the screen. Bulbasaur has learned a new move, called Cut, a physical Normal-type Attack with an accuracy of 95%. He already knew four moves, so he forgot the move Tackle.

"Well," Zane said to his friend, "a new attack, great. Let's use it!" Bulbasaur started fighting off the Drowzee. Zane sent out Spearow to let him attack the Slowpoke as well, but as soon as he sent him out of his Poké Ball, he figured out a way to reach the Mankey. "Spearow," he started, "don't attack. Fly me to the top of the building." He pointed at the tower of the Sakaki Company. "Bulbasaur," he continued, "keep battling the Drowzee and Slowpoke until I've captured Mankey. Use Leech Seed on some of the Slowpoke." Bulbasaur nodded to let his Trainer know that he understood. Zane turned around to Spearow, "Here we go." Spearow flew up to shoulder height, so that Zane could grab his feet, and flew higher up after that, to the top of the building.



Red placed one foot onto Route 1, then the other, 'now my adventure has begun,' he thought. Although he had said to his friends that he would leave the day after his birthday, he couldn't resist his desire to travel and discover, so he took off a day earlier than he had intended to. When walking toward the city where Zane and Blue were at that moment, he saw an acquainted figure approaching him, it was the Professor. "Leaving already?" Oak asked. "I thought you'd leave tomorrow." "I, um, I meant to, but I just, uh, couldn't wait to, uhm, start." "Good to see," Samuel smiled, "but you can't leave before I give you this." He handed the fifth Pokédex to Red. "This is one of the last three Pokédexes I have, I've already given Blue and Zane theirs, and Brown will receive his from Zane when they meet." "So, uh, this one's for me, thanks. But, uhm, who gets the last two?" "There are two girls in Pallet Town, two girls you know, who want to go on an adventure too, but they are too shy to ask me for a Pokémon," Oak explained. "But then, uh, how do you know that they, uhm, want to go?" Red wondered. "I could just tell by the look on their faces when I gave Pokémon to you and your friends, they want one too, definitely." "But, um, who are they?" Red tried. "I'm not going to tell you, you'll see when you meet them during your adventure," Samuel responded with a mysterious smile on his face. "But for now, good luck on your journey." "Uh, thank you very much," Red reacted, "you too, um, good luck with your research." Oak nodded thanks and walked past Red, back to Pallet Town, while Red continued into the other direction.

On the way, he defeated some Rattata and Oddish, but at a certain point realized that there shouldn't be any Oddish there. Looking around, he also noticed some Meowth and Nidoran. 'It's like they're from Viridian.' He started walking a bit faster to see if his thoughts were correct. He walked around the corner to see the first street of Viridian City, it was crowded with Pokémon and people, like usual. The Pokémon were attacking the people, not so usual.



Blue ran into the Pokémon Center to let his Pokémon be healed as quickly as possible, he needed them to fight against the wild Pokémon that were roaming through the whole city. When he went outside again, he sent out Squirtle and Nidoran and told them to attack with Water Gun and Peck. "Come on guys," he shouted, "we can do it!"

While he was being pushed back by the wild Pokémon due to being outnumbered by them, he bumped into someone behind him who was experiencing the same problem. Blue turned around to tell the other Trainer to watch out, "Watch where you're walking, you're not the only one who's trying to … Red?" The other person turned around, it indeed was Red. "Blue? You are still in, uh, Viridian?" "Yes, there was a problem with a Poliwrath earlier today, and I caught a Nidoran. I'm sure you tried to capture another healthy Pokémon, didn't you?" "Shut up," Red responded.

During the conversation, their Pokémon kept battling, but they were so strongly outnumbered, that they simply couldn't defeat all of the Pokémon. Suddenly, a fourth Pokémon started fighting for Red and Blue. "Bulbasaur!" Red exclaimed. "That means, uh, Zane is here too!" "But where?" Blue wondered. Bulbasaur turned around to Zane's friends and nodded his head toward the Sakaki Company tower and the Pokémon flying to its top, but mainly to the boy hanging underneath that Pokémon. "Is that, uh, Zane?" Red asked. Bulbasaur nodded and turned around to continue fighting off the wild Pokémon. Red and Blue looked at Zane and Spearow, who had now almost reached the top of the building.

"Idiot," Blue stated, "that's dangerous, he could fall down, he could be attacked by a wild Pokémon, there are so many things that could go wrong." "You don't have to say that," Red replied, "he won't, uhm, hear you anyway." Blue looked at his rival with an annoyed look on his face, "You don't say."



"Almost … there," Zane groaned, he could see the Mankey looking over the edge of the tower, he saw the angry expression on his face and his mouth moving, trying to yell at the Pidgeotto that were flying around, probably asking them to pick him up from the rooftop. Spearow had now reached the top. 'Just a tiny bit more until I can jump onto the building and attack Mankey.' His head rose over the edge and Zane could now also see the zookeeper lying unconscious on the roof.

When he jumped onto the building, happy to feel something underneath his feet again, he immediately ordered Spearow use his sharp beak to attack Mankey. Mankey jumped aside, and it became apparent to Zane that the Fighting Type was much faster than Spearow. "It is quicker," Zane shouted to Spearow, "so we gotta be smarter, use Leer to lower its defense! When Peck hits, it'll do more damage!" Zane hoped that his Pokémon had heard him, he didn't know because of the strong winds. Mankey stopped jumping around and let the sharp leer affect him. 'Why would he do that?' Zane wondered.

The Mankey kept standing in the same place, but when Spearow tried to attack him again, he avoided the attack. He again stopped moving when Leer was used and moved when Spearow attempted to damage him. 'How does that help him?' When Spearow flew at Mankey again, the Fighting Type jumped aside and scratched his opponent, which almost beat Zane's Pokémon in one strike. That was when Zane understood Mankey's strategy, 'It's the Defiant ability.' "Spearow," he shouted, "stop attacking Mankey, try to avoid him!"

He looked around and saw a Pidgeotto landing on the roof. Mankey ran away and jumped on the new Pokémon's back, and the Flying Type got ready for takeoff.

'This is definitely a bad idea,' Zane thought. 'I shouldn't do this.'

Pidgeotto flapped her wings to get into the air.

'Darn it,' the Palletan boy thought. 'Why is it always me?' He sprinted towards the two wild Pokémon and grabbed Pidgeotto's feet, just before she flew away. When they were in the open air, Zane realized again that this wasn't a good idea. 'This is bad,' he looked around over the city, 'this is really bad.'

Everywhere were wild Pokémon. At the place where he left Bulbasaur, he saw two children and three other Pokémon attacking the wild ones. 'Red and Blue? I think that's Squirtle and Charmander.' His thoughts were interrupted by the screech of the Pidgeotto, she had noticed that an unwanted passenger was flying with them and tried to shake him off her feet. Zane tried to hold on, but his efforts were in vain.

He fell…

8. Capturing The Leader

?I can?t believe I?m already in Pewter City,? Grey thought as he walked through the streets of the quiet city. The city had lots of trees, there were not many people, and spreading over the whole background was the enormous Kantonian mountain range which included Victory Road, Drogg?s Mines, the Northern Pinnacle, and Mt. Moon. Pewter City had two main roads, just like Viridian City. One reached from Route 3 in the east to the Pewter Caves and the Onyx Highlands, the other was the south entrance of the city, leading toward the first road. The tallest building in the city was, by far, the Pewterian Sakaki Company tower.

?The first thing I?m going to do tomorrow is to challenge Brock.? Grey decided. ?But first, I?ll need to find a place to rest, where is the Pok?mon Center?? He looked around and found the familiar red roof. He walked inside to ask where the Trainer Center of Pewter City was located. A Trainer Center is a place where travelers can stay to eat and sleep. It?s also a place where Trainers can meet each other to battle, trade, or just have a talk. Each city has a TRC, short for Trainer Center, just like all of them have a Pok?mon Center.

?It is across the street from the Pewter Museum in the far north of the city,? the nurse inside the PMC explained to Grey, ?if you can?t find it, just come back here and ask again, then we?ll give you a map.? Grey thanked her and went to the Museum Street, where he indeed found the TRC. Inside were dozens of Trainers, most of them just sitting and talking, but there were also two battles going on, outside on the battlefields. One of the two fights was a young boy and his Gloom against a woman from about forty years old with her Hitmonlee, but Grey was more interested in the other battle, a boy with a Kadabra against a girl and her Dratini.

The Kadabra sent out a telekinetic force with the spoon in his right hand, but Dratini countered with Bind, after which the Psychic Attack struck, defeating the Dragon Type. ?Kadabra beat Dratini!? the judge shouted. ?Which means Blake Moran won the battle!? ?Blake Moran,? Grey thought, ?where have I heard that name before?? Blake thanked his Pok?mon and returned it to his Pok? Ball, with the sound of people cheering for him filling the whole battlefield.

Someone came running to Blake, ?I have a Machoke,? she started, ?do you maybe want to trade it with Kadabra twice? We?d both be stronger.? Everyone fell silent, waiting for Blake?s answer, which turned out to be no. ?If we?d evolve them right now,? he explained, ?they?d be harder to train, and it?d take longer to teach them new moves.? The girl nodded disappointedly and walked away, while everyone else started talking again. Meanwhile, the other battle had finished too, the woman had won by defeating Gloom with Hitmonlee using Blaze Kick.

?Ol? Grey,? someone shouted, ?haven?t seen you in a while!? Grey turned around to see a friend approaching him. ?Brown?? He asked. ?Why in the world did you already leave yesterday?? ?Doesn?t matter,? Brown responded, ?I want to challenge you to a ba?? He was interrupted by the owner of the TRC, announcing to everyone in the building that there wouldn?t be any battles anymore that day. ?Oh by Moltres? flaming wings,? Brown cursed, ?we gotta wait.? But Grey didn?t give a reaction and turned around, he had realized something.

?This can?t be,? he thought. ?Blake Moran is the second one I was warned for.?



Red and Blue stood back to back, surrounded by wild Pok?mon. Charmander, Squirtle, Nidoran, and Bulbasaur were defeated, there was nothing they could do. ?I didn?t, uhm want our journey to end, uh, so fast,? Red lamented. ?Me too,? Blue replied, ?I?m talking about my own adventure, not yours, I don?t care about that.? ?Well, thanks,? Red reacted. A Growlithe jumped at Blue to bite him, but he was picked off the ground by a Venomoth. All around the two friends were suddenly lots of Pok?mon attacking the wild ones.

One of the Trainers came running towards Red and Blue, a woman with short purple-dyed hair, orange eyes, and bright red lipstick. She had a gold earring in her right ear and pink oval glasses. Her blouse was pink, the trousers purple, her tie was purple-stripes, and the shoes with high heels had a particular shade of purple as well. ?Welcome to Viridian City!? She shouted. ?Sorry for the inconveniences!? She noticed that the two boys didn?t recognize her, so she introduced herself to them. ?My name is Tracy Boggs, Viridian City?s mayor! That Venomoth is mine!? ?You?re the mayor?? Blue asked. ?I didn?t even know there were still mayors!? ?I know!? Tracy responded. ?Some of the other mayors want us to be unknown! Don?t ask me why! If you?ll excuse me, there are some wild Pok?mon I need to battle!?

She turned around and sent out her other Pok?mon, ?Magneton, use Tri Attack! Exeggutor, use Sludge Bomb!? The mayor ran away, while Red and Blue were surrounded by her employees who were protecting them from the wild Pok?mon. Red noticed Bulbasaur was still laying on the ground, reminding him of Zane. He looked at the Sakaki tower, expecting to see Zane fighting Mankey on top of it, but he wasn?t there. ?Blue, look there,? he exclaimed, ?Zane?s falling!? Blue looked at the building too and saw what Red had already seen, Zane had been shaken off Pidgeotto?s feet and was falling to the ground.

Suddenly, the two kids felt a wave of energy, coming from the bottom of the tower. ?What was that?? One of Tracy?s employees shouted. ?I don?t know,? another one replied. The wild Pok?mon stopped fighting for a few seconds as well. Red and Blue looked at their falling friend and saw a Pok?mon flying toward Zane with a man sitting on its back. Other Pok?mon also appeared in the air. ?I can see a Fearow and a Golbat,? Blue stated. ?You?re right,? Red continued, ?and, um, isn?t that a Murkrow? And. uh, there?s a Farfetch?d too.? ?And a Dodrio as well,? Blue added. ?But what, uhm, Pok?mon is going to, uh, Zane?? Red wondered.

They focused on that Pok?mon, then Red recognized the man on its back, and a smile appeared on his face. He knew the man, so did Zane and so did Blue. After he had identified the man, he was sure which Pok?mon was going to rescue Zane, no doubt. The Pok?mon was orange-brown on the top and white on the underside. His tail feathers were red with blue tips, while his wings had the Pok?mon?s main colors with the same blue tips. The crest on top of his head existed mostly of yellow feathers, but there were also three red ones. One on the left of the yellow feathers, one jutting out to the front, and one to the back, wavering even beyond the end of the Pok?mon?s own body. With the four claws of his left foot, he lifted Zane back up. ?Blue!? Red shouted. ?That?s, uhm, not a normal Pok?mon, it is ??



?Mega Pidgeot!? Zane yelled. ?Dad!? And indeed, the man with the blonde mustache was flying his Mega Pidgeot towards the Sakaki Base where Mankey had returned to. The wave of energy Red and Blue felt a few seconds earlier was Pidgeot mega-evolving. Spearow was flying close after them, and Zane saw that Mankey didn?t notice them. ?Spearow,? he shouted, ?Use Peck on Mankey, quickly.? Before Mankey could turn around, Spearow had already attacked him, causing the Fighting Type to fall of Pidgeotto?s back. He was, however, picked up by another Pidgeotto and flown back to the top of the Sakaki Tower.

When father and son jumped onto the building, Mankey turned around and looked surprised by the return of the boy who he had last seen falling to the ground. ?Here,? Orion started, ?this might be useful.? He handed Zane a Pok? Ball with an icon of a fist on it. ?This is a Brawl Ball,? he explained, ?one of our newest Pok? Balls, it gives a higher chance to capture a Fighting Type.? Zane nodded and threw the Brawl Ball at Mankey without hesitation, and the Pok?mon got turned into his energy state. The capturing device absorbed the energy and closed. It fell onto the roof and shook once, shook twice, shook thrice, shook a fourth time even, and then Mankey was caught.

?Amazing!? Orion shouted. ?It worked!? Zane sent out Mankey at looked at him. The Pok?mon was still angry, but a lot less than before, as he had now recognized Zane as his Trainer. ?Well, Mankey,? Zane began, ?I hope we?re going to be good friends. I want you to call back all those other Pok?mon.? Mankey hesitated, but he finally chose to follow his new Trainer?s orders. The wild Pok?mon suddenly stopped attacking and turned around, back to the wild or to the zoo. Within five minutes, it looked like nothing had happened at all. The mayor and her employees, the teachers and students of the Pokemon Academy, Red and Blue, the citizens, and all their Pok?mon stood on the street, only looking to the two men standing on top of the Sakaki Base, Zane and Orion. Everyone started applauding for them.

Orion looked at his son, ?Now don?t this every day just to get an applause.? Zane laughed, ?Definitely not.? Orion shouted for Pidgeot and Fearow to pick Zane and him up from the building and bring them back to the ground. The first one to greet them was Tracy Boggs, ?Thank you for saving the city, I wish to invite you to the City Hall.? ?Thank you,? Zane replied, ?but it wasn?t only the two of us.? He turned his head to Red and Blue, ?My friends over there protected my Bulbasaur when I was up there. By the way, who are you exactly?? Tracy rolled her eyes, ?I?m the mayor of Viridian City.? ?Mayor?? Orion asked. ?Do we still have those?? ?You can better stop talking, or I?ll withdraw my proposal,? Tracy warned.

Then it came to Zane?s mind, ?where is the zookeeper?? He thought back to the rooftop, ?She was there when I jumped to the Pidgeotto, but when dad returned me to the roof, she was gone. What could have happened?? He saw Tracy and her employees leaving for the City Hall and the students and teachers for the Academy. Only he, his father, Red, and Blue were left. ?I think we?ll need to go the PMC,? Blue stated, ?Squirtle, Charmander, Nidoran, and Bulbasaur are all unable to battle.? ?Good idea,? Zane replied, ?but where is Bulbasaur?? No one needed to answer, as Zane felt something pushing against his feet. He looked down and saw his Pok?mon. ?Bulbasaur, return,? Zane calmly said, ?you deserve a good rest.? Zane?s Grass Type went back inside his Pok? Ball, and the group of four went to the Pok?mon Center.

?By the way,? Orion noted, ?how did you know that Mankey was the leader of those wild Pok?mon?? ?I was just thinking about that,? Zane answered, ?a zookeeper told me, but I don?t know where she is now.? ?She?s, uh, probably alright,? Red assured, ?don?t worry.?



?So,? Orion said, ?I?ll leave you now, I am the supervisor of the new night shift employees tonight.? Zane?s father had guided the three friends into the Viridian TRC, where they could stay the night. ?Good luck,? Red shouted. ?Adieu!? Zane added. ?Goodbye!? Orion shouted back as he left for the Viridiane Silph Company tower.

?Well then,? Red started, ?let?s, uh, send out our Pok?mon.? He sent out Charmander, Blue threw Squirtle?s and Nidoran?s Pok? Balls, and Zane let Bulbasaur, Spearow, and Mankey out. ?I?ll go get a room,? Zane stated. ?Okay,? Red replied, ?we?ll look after your Pok?mon.? When Zane walked away, the six Pok?mon started playing, but that escalated soon.

Squirtle and Charmander were babbling to each other, and Spearow wanted to join their ?conversation,? but Charmander didn?t like that. He pushed Spearow away, accidentally against Bulbasaur, who got angered by that. He wanted to attack Charmander, who used Ember to protect himself. Bulbasaur could get out of the way in time, but the Ember hit Nidoran. Nidoran got scared and started running around. Mankey tried to calm everyone down, but it didn?t work. Bulbasaur and Spearow were battling Squirtle and Charmander, and Nidoran was still running around. ?Charmander, stop that!? Red shouted, while Blue also told his Pok?mon to calm down. None of the Pok?mon listened, and Nidoran ran out of the building. ?Nidoran!? Blue yelled. ?Come back here!? But he didn?t listen.

Blue ran towards the door, but at that moment, Zane returned, ?We got room number seventy?? He saw the Pok?mon fighting and Blue opening the door. Then he noticed that Nidoran wasn?t there, then he knew why Blue was running out of the TRC. ?Bulbasaur, Spearow, Mankey, return!? He shouted, but Bulbasaur and Spearow didn?t listen, they wanted to win from the two other Pok?mon. ?Never mind,? Zane told them, ?I?m going after Blue! Red, stay here.? Red nodded, and Zane followed his other friend. He saw Blue running to the north, so he supposed that Nidoran was also going into that direction. He followed them and got more and more worried. They were running to the Viridian Forest.

?Blue!? He shouted. ?He is going into the forest, don?t go in there!? But it was too late, Nidoran had entered the woods, and Blue followed. ?Blue! Come back!? Zane tried once more, but his friend couldn?t hear him anymore. He turned around to see Squirtle running toward him. ?Squirtle, stop!? But Squirtle didn?t pay attention to Zane, just like Blue and Nidoran didn?t. The Water Type dashed into the forest, and soon, Zane couldn?t see him anymore either. ?Great,? he thought, ?now this happens.?

He heard Red shouting for him, ?Zane! Where is Blue?? ?Into the Viridian Forest. We can?t follow them, we?d all be lost. He?s gotta find the exit himself. How are our Pok?mon doing?? Red looked aghast by his friend?s sudden departure, but he answered Zane anyway, ?After, uh, Squirtle had run away, I was able to return Charmander into, uhm, his Pok? Ball, and Mankey was, um, able to calm down your, um, other Pok?mon.? ?Good, let?s go back now, we gotta sleep. I?m going to Pewter City tomorrow, you can come with me if you want to.? The two friends started walking back to the TRC. ?Definitely,? Red replied, ?I, uhm, wanna go there too, so, uh, that?s sure.?

When they entered the Trainer Center, Zane returned his Pok?mon to their respective Pok? Balls and went to the canteen. There were only three other people, but none of them looked like they wanted to meet new people, so Red and Zane went to one of the empty tables. They ate as much as they could handle and went to their room, room number 73.

After they had brushed their teeth, they went to bed. ?Good night,? said Zane. ?Same to you,? Red replied, and they went to sleep.



?So here is our target,? the man whispered. ?Yes, without a doubt,? the woman replied. ?Let?s go then,? the man concluded. The two went onto the path that Grey and Ryan had walked upon a few hours earlier, almost invisible due to the combination of their black outfits and the darkness of the night. The only visible parts of their suits were the big, red Rs on the black shirts.

?I?m happy we can finally move again,? the man whispered. ?You?re right,? the woman responded, ?after sitting in the same position for seven minutes, my muscles were already starting to hurt, and we sat there for over four hours.? The man hushed, ?we need to be silent from now on, we don?t want them to notice us.? The woman nodded and followed the man toward the huge house in the middle of the forest, where four old siblings were still talking to each other.

9. In The Middle Of The Forest

?Nidoran! Wait!? Blue shouted. ?Don?t run! That?s way too dangerous! We?ll get lost! We gotta go back!? He realized that it had no use, his Pok?mon wouldn?t listen anyway. When he finally reached his Pok?mon, he lifted him from the ground and looked him in the eyes, ?Why did you do that? Do you wanna get lost in here, we probably can?t even find the way back.? Nidoran looked away, but Blue kept talking, ?It was an accident, Charmander didn?t attack you on purpose.?

Suddenly, Nidoran jumped out of his Trainer?s hands and continued running. ?Stay here!? Blue tried, but his Pok?mon ignored him again. ?Darn it,? the young boy thought, ?why doesn?t he listen.? He started chasing his Pok?mon again, but when he took a turn into the path that Nidoran had also chosen, he saw lights in the distance. ?Pewter City! How did you find it?? He asked Nidoran. His Pok?mon looked at him with a rare combination of joy and fear in his eyes. ?You?re one little mystery,? Blue said, ?I like that.?

He heard something approaching them from behind them, he turned around and saw his other Pok?mon. ?Squirtle!? He shouted. ?I?m sorry that I forgot you.? Squirtle knocked on the front of his shell twice as a sign of forgiveness. Blue nodded and returned both his Pok?mon, after which he walked toward Pewter City.

When he entered the city, he went straight to the Pok?mon Center to ask directions. After he had learned where the Trainer Center was located, he went there and asked the man at the desk if there was still room for him. The man looked at his computer to see if there were any rooms with an empty bed. ?There?s one,? he said, ?room number 38.? ?Thank you,? Blue said, ?who are already sleeping there?? ?Let?s see,? the man looked at the computer again, ?Brown Baldwin and Grey Hudson.? ?Great,? Blue laughed. ?You know those two?? The man asked. ?Definitely,? Blue answered, ?they are two of my best friends.?

When he entered room 38, he noticed that both of his friends were already asleep. ?I gotta be silent,? Blue thought, ?I wanna see their reactions tomorrow.?



?Come on, let?s go!? Red shouted the next morning. ?I hear that you?re really excited about the forest,? Zane laughed. ?Of course I am,? Red reacted, ?it?s, uhm, further than we?ve ever been before.? ?You?re right,? Zane responded, ?I hadn?t thought of that yet.?

The two went to the canteen to eat breakfast, after which they went back to the room to pack their bags. ?Let?s see,? Red mumbled, ?Pok? Balls, uhm, Potions, a Map, I think I, um, have everything I need.? ?We?ll probably need Repels and Antidotes too,? Zane commented, ?there are a lot of wild Pok?mon, and many of them know Poison Sting.? ?So, uh, we need to go to the, uhm, Pok? Mart,? Red concluded. Zane nodded, ?so let?s hurry up!?

The two friends left the TRC and went to the north since the Pok? Mart was in that part of Viridian City. When they entered the building, they went straight for the Trainer area, where items like Potions and Repels were displayed. The two boys searched the shelves for the items they needed. ?Super Potions, Great Balls, Awakenings, there they are. I?ve found the Repels,? Zane told his friend. ?And here are the, uh, Antidotes,? Red answered. They both bought ten of each, and they left the Mart after they had paid for the items. ?I think we?re ready to go now,? Zane stated. ?Yes, we are,? Red confirmed.

The two walked to the north to enter the Viridian Forest. When they set foot into the woods, there was one thing they both noticed. It was extremely dark, almost the entire forest was covered in shadows due to the high density of trees. There were only a few patches of light on the ground, but not much more could be seen. ?It, uhm, wouldn?t surprise me if the others, uh, were still in here,? Red said. ?I mean, uh, there are already seven paths we can, um, choose to follow, I think that, uhm, there are people who have been, uh, wandering here for months, maybe even years.? ?Don?t think so dark,? Zane responded, ?they?re probably alright.? ?I hope so,? Red replied.

The two decided on which path they would take, but they soon found themselves surrounded by wild Pok?mon. ?Looks like we need our Pok?mon,? Zane noted. ?You?re right,? Red replied, ?there are only some Caterpie and Weedle, so I?m sending out Charmander.? ?And I?ll send out Spearow.? Together, the two Pok?mon fought off their opponents. ?Well done, Charmander.? ?Good job, Spearow.? The boys praised.

Suddenly, they heard someone scream for help. ?Sounds like someone is in trouble,? Zane stated, ?let?s go.? The screaming kept going on, so the two friends knew which way they had to go, but before they could reach the source of the noise, the person stopped shouting. ?Darn it,? Red cursed, ?now we, uhm, don?t know where we are or, uh, where we need to go.? ?Hush,? Zane hissed. Red listened and heard what Zane had already noticed, a muted moaning. ?What?s that?? Red asked. ?I don?t know,? Zane responded, ?let?s find out.?

They went into the direction of the almost inaudible sound and found an old woman lying in the bushes. ?Are you alright, miss?? Red asked. ?Please, us, you need to help,? the woman begged, ?attacked our house, two people in dark uniforms did.? ?And where is that house?? Zane informed. ?The way, I?ll show you,? she answered. ?I?m, uh, Red Newman, by the way,? said the short kid. ?And my name is Zane Patterson,? the boy with the strange cut in his eyebrows added. ?To meet you, good it is,? the woman with blue eyes replied, ?Nya Yates, my name is.?



Red and Zane followed Nya into the deepest part of the Viridian Forest, where her house was. She stopped when they had nearly reached the building. ?I don?t know if those two are still there,? the old woman whispered, ?so you should be careful.?

?You can talk as quietly as you want to,? an unfamiliar voice whispered back, ?we?ve found you anyway.? Zane turned his head around, and he saw the man and the woman in black suits with the red R?s. ?And we need you to conveniently disappear,? the man continued. ?Drowzee, use Hypnosis on those three.? The two boys were able to jump away in time, but Nya was not that swift anymore, she was hit by the attack and fell into a deep sleep.

?Judy!? The man shouted. ?Bring away that woman, I?ll take care of those brats.? The woman did as she was told, while the man sent out his other three Pok?mon. ?Geodude, try to get hold of them, Oddish and Drowzee must then use Sleep Powder and Hypnosis. Koffing, I need you to set up a Smokescreen. Attack now!? But when he looked back to Red and Zane, he saw four Pok?mon, ready to battle. ?Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip on Geodude!? ?Charmander, Ember against Oddish!? ?Spearow and Mankey, attack Drowzee with Peck and Scratch!? ?What?!? The man exclaimed. ?How can you imps already have Pok?mon?!? The boys didn?t answer, but they told their Pok?mon to keep attacking. Geodude was defeated in no time by Bulbasaur?s vines, so Zane told his Pok?mon to start cutting Koffing with his small claws. The man was now released from his surprise and realized that he had to do something, ?Koffing, use Poison Gas on Charmander! Oddish, keep using Sleep Powder, try to hit one of them, doesn?t matter which one! Drowzee, Confusion on Bulbasaur!? Due to the Smokescreen, the three Trainers couldn?t see what happened, but when it faded away, the seven Pok?mon could be seen. Oddish and Bulbasaur had been defeated by Drowzee and Charmander, respectively. The latter had been poisoned, Spearow had fallen asleep, and Drowzee and Mankey seemed to be fine, while Koffing could barely hold on. The man and Zane returned their defeated Pok?mon and started ordering their Pok?mon to attack again.

Mankey fainted after Drowzee had used his psychic powers again, and Koffing?s last bit of health was taken away by Charmander?s sharp scratching claws, but not before the Poison Type could slam himself into Zane?s Flying Type. Only Charmander, Spearow, and Drowzee were left now. Charmander poisoned, Spearow asleep, and Drowzee still fit.

?Drowzee, attack Charmander with Headbutt!? ?Charmander, counter with Scratch!? All Zane could do was watch the battle and hope that his Pok?mon would wake up. Charmander and Drowzee clashed, but Charmander was the one that was sent to the floor, due to the damage it had already received from the poisoning. When Red?s Pok?mon fell on the ground, a cloud of dust was whipped up, so again, none of the Trainers could see what was happening. When the dust fell down again, Charmander was revealed to have fainted. ?Fantastic, now take care of that Spearow,? the man told his Pok?mon. Drowzee searched for Spearow, but he couldn?t find him.

?Now! Attack!? Zane shouted. Spearow flew to Drowzee at full speed, hitting the Psychic Type four times in a row with his beak. Zane felt his Pok?dex buzzing in his bag, but he didn?t take notice of it, as Drowzee still hadn?t been defeated yet. ?Use Peck once more to finish this battle!? ?You don?t need to,? a female voice shouted, ?we retreat!? The companion of the boys? opponent, the woman with dark brown eyes, walked out of the house. The green haired man nodded and withdrew his Pok?mon. ?You?ve won,? he admitted. ?But they?ve lost,? the woman added, pointing at the four siblings running out of the mansion.

?You two, you need to remember us,? the man continued, while his associate sent out her only Pok?mon, Kadabra. ?You need to remember the name of our organization, you need to remember Team Rocket.? He and his companion both grabbed one of Kadabra?s hands, who then teleported all three of them away.



Red and Zane looked at the four people walking out of the mansion. ?Are you not weakened?? The woman with glasses asked. ?Uhm, we?re not,? Red replied. ?Thanks,? the only man from the four said, ?thanks from all o? us. My name?s Ryan. I?m one o? the Forest Guides, together with m? three sisters.? ?I see that you?re not unknown to Nya,? the woman with glasses added, ?I?m not younger than any other of us Yates siblings, my name is Sylvia. Ryan is no more than two years younger.? ?And I am the third of us four,? the other woman said, ?the name that was given to me is Maya.? ?Which the youngest of the four, that makes me,? Nya concluded. ?Sisters, brother, Red Newman and Zane Patterson, they are.? ?Welcome, boys,? Sylvia said, ?don?t go if you don?t want to.? ?Uh, thanks,? Red replied, ?but we?re on, uhm, a journey through Kanto. We, um, want to be Pok?mon Masters.? ?If that is what is,? Maya started, ?why haven?t we come to the idea of having a battle of Pok?mon? Red, Zane, and Nya of us as opponents to Sylvia, Ryan and me of us.? ?Are you Trainers?? Zane asked. ?Not really,? Ryan explained. ?Although we?ve Pok?mon, we almost never battle.? ?But we aren?t sticking to that,? Sylvia replied, ?we didn?t lie about that after we didn?t leave that other boy alone yesterday.? ?Right, she is,? Nya admitted.

Zane looked at Red, ?could that other boy be one of the others?? ?What?d you say?? Ryan informed. ?Well,? Red stated, ?three other friends of us are, um, also on an adventure, they, uhm, have probably gone through the, uh, forest too.? ?Could be not otherwise,? Sylvia replied, ?don?t keep from us who those three are.? ?One is Blue Oak,? Zane started, ?orange hair, dark blue shirt, about as short as Red.? ?I have laid eye on a youngling like that who was dashing his way in the direction of the exit out of the forest during the last moon,? Maya responded. ?A Squirtle had a chase on him, and he, on his turn, on a Nidoran.? A smile appeared on Red?s face, ?that?s Blue. But, uh, he wasn?t the boy you battled?? ?No,? Maya replied, ?but there?s a chance that it would appear to be another of your comrades.?

?There?s also, uhm, Brown Baldwin,? Red continued, ?he?s got, uh, black hair, a darker skin than us, and an, er, silver necklace.? The four siblings looked at each other to see if one of them saw someone like that. ?None ?f us?s seen ?m,? Ryan answered, ?let alone battled ?m.?

?Well,? Zane continued, ?that leaves Grey?? ?That one of you!? Maya shouted. ?The name Grey was given to that Trainer of Pok?mon.? ?Then you?ve, uh, battled our friend,? Red replied. ?And now we won?t leave two of his unfought,? Sylvia stated. ?Now,? Ryan started, ?it?s time for the battle. The four ?f us?ll use two Pok?mon, you two may use all ?f your Pok?mon.? Everyone walked to their side of the field before the mansion. ?Let us commence our battle of Pok?mon!? Maya shouted.



?Good morning,? Grey whispered, trying to see if someone else was already awake. ?Good morning,? Blue and Brown returned. ?Does someone know the time?? Brown asked. ?Quarter past nine,? Grey responded, ?that?s pretty late.? ?Don?t worry,? said Blue, ?we have all the time.? ?He?s right,? Brown added, ?don?t hurry.?

After lying in their beds for about ten more minutes, the three went to the canteen for their breakfast. They each took one of the bags with food and walked to one of the empty tables to open the sacks. While they were their breakfast, someone else came sitting at their table. ?Good morning,? the boy welcomed. He had blond, left-combed hair and straight eyebrows. His eyes had a hazel color, which fitted with his brown coat, under which he wore the same green blouse and blue jeans he had worn when Grey saw him battle with his Kadabra a day earlier.

?Let me introduce myself,? the boy started. ?The name?s Blake Moran, I am a Pok?mon Trainer from Celadon City.? Grey looked up with a glance of suspicion, but Brown started talking, ?Hello, they are Blue Oak and Grey Hudson, from Pallet Town. I?m Brown Baldwin from Viridian City.? ?Nice to meet you,? Blake said. ?I did see the Grey and you yesterday, but I don?t think Blue was there too.? ?That?s right,? Blue responded, ?I wasn?t.? ?Now that you say it,? Grey looked to Blue, who couldn?t hold it any longer. He burst into laughter, ?that took you long enough. How did you not notice I was suddenly here.? ?But ? how?? Brown asked, ?I know about Oak?s gifts, Grey told me, but how are you here already??

Blue explained about the fight between the four Pok?mon, about Nidoran fleeing into the forest, and about him and his Pok?mon finding the exit of the woods. By the time he was done telling his story, the four finished their meal and told about what they were going to do that day. ?I?m going to train my Pok?mon for my fifth battle against Brock.? ?Fifth?!? Blue exclaimed. ?You were defeated by the Gym Leader four times?? ?Yes,? Brown shamefully admitted, ?and I have still seen only one of his Pok?mon, Onix.? ?That?s probably the only Pok?mon he?ll use against you,? Blake started. ?Brock has several Pok?mon he uses in Gym Battles, but he uses them depending on the challenger?s experience and the Pok?mon they are going to challenge him with. The same goes for most of the other Gym Leaders, except for the Viridian City Gym Leader, he doesn?t use any Pok?mon as far as we know.? ?That?s good to know,? Blue reacted, ?do you know which Pok?mon Brock has?? ?If I recall correctly,? Blake replied, ?he has the complete Geodude line, the Rhyhorn line, an Aerodactyl, and of course an Onix.? ?And that Aerodactyl can mega evolve, right?? Grey asked. ?You?re right,? Blake responded, ?he has an Aerodactylite, I don?t think he has ever used it, though. Anyway, what are you two planning to do today?? Grey was the first to react, ?I am going to challenge Brock.? ?That is what I wanted to do too,? Blue responded. ?Then who?s going first?? Brown asked. ?I know, what about a battle between the two of you?? Blake suggested. ?The winner gets to battle Brock first. Besides, I?d like to see you fight.? Blue and Grey both agreed. ?Then let?s go to the battlefields after you?ve brushed your teeth and things like that,? Blake continued. ?They will open at ten o'clock, so we?ve still got about ten minutes left, that should be enough.? ?See you in a few moments then,? Brown concluded, after which the four went to their rooms.



?The battlefields are open now,? the owner of the Pewter TRC announced. ?Battlefield B has already been booked by Blake Moran for a battle between two of his acquaintances. All the other battlefields are free to use. Have a beautiful day, I?ll speak to you again in the evening.?

Grey walked outside and saw almost every battlefield being filled with Trainers. He noticed Brown and Blake walking towards him and followed them to battlefield B, where he and Blue would battle against each other. When the two friends each stepped onto one of the Trainer Fields, the small fields on each end of the rectangular main battlefield, Blake announced that he would be the referee. He called out the battle rules, ?The single battle between Grey Hudson and Blue Oak will now get underway. Both Trainers may use all the Pok?mon they have with them. Furthermore, both Trainers are allowed to substitute their Pok?mon. Let the battle begin!?

Blue sent out Nidoran first, while Grey sent out his Dratini. Blue noted that the now starting fight between him and his friend had already drawn attention, people were standing all around the battlefield to watch the battle. ?Dratini,? Grey began, ?let?s start this battle with Twister!? Dratini whipped up a tornado and sent it towards Blue?s Pok?mon, who was not fast enough to avoid the attack. ?Nidoran, focus your energy to make your next move do even more damage!? Dratini sent another tornado, but that still wasn?t enough to defeat Nidoran. ?Now,? Blue shouted, ?use Peck!? Nidoran hit Dratini?s snout with his horn, which sent the Dragon Type flying back into the wall of the TRC behind Grey. ?Dratini, hang on,? the white-haired boy reacted, ?and attack again, it might be enough!? The third twister was indeed able to beat Blue?s first Pok?mon.

?Nidoran is unable to continue fighting, he needs to be withdrawn!? Blake announced. ?Nidoran,? Blue said, ?you did well, take a rest now. Squirtle, I need you to finish this! Use Tail Whip!? The blue Pok?mon jumped out of his Pok? Ball and lowered his opponent?s defenses immediately by making him less wary with his own wagging tail. Dratini responded with an electric pulse to make sparks appear all over the Water Type?s body. Since Grey?s Pok?mon was much faster now, he could wrap himself around his opponent before that one could strike. Dratini attacked again, this time with yet another tornado, after which Squirtle was fully paralyzed by the tiny sparks. ?Dratini, we can finish the battle now!? Grey shouted. ?Use Twister one last time!? Squirtle saw the strong mystical winds raging towards him, but he hadn?t given up yet. He jumped aside right in time and charged at the serpentine Pok?mon again. Blue encouraged him and shouted for him to keep attacking. Dratini hadn?t expected that, so the comeback was a surprise to him. Squirtle dealt an enormous amount of damage to the Dragon Type, but Dratini soon realized that something needed to be done, he kept avoiding Squirtle until? ?Now! It can?t move because of Thunder Wave! Use Twister!? All the spectators, including Blake, held their breath. Dratini created a tornado, Squirtle stood up, Dratini sent the draconic winds towards the Water Type, Squirtle jumped out of the way, Dratini slithered towards Blue?s Pok?mon, Squirtle prepared for an attack, Dratini wrapped himself around his opponent, Squirtle tried to escape the Dragon Type?s grip, but in vain. Blue?s Pok?mon fainted.

In the background were the noises of other battles being fought, but there weren?t any other sounds. Even Blake seemed to forget he needed to name Grey the winner.
?Squirtle is unable to battle,? Blake announced, ?which means Dratini wins, making Grey the winner.? Blue and Grey returned their Pok?mon, while the people around the battlefield started talking again.

?Congratulations,? Blake told Grey. ?That was an excellent battle.? Blue walked towards the two with a disappointed look in his eyes. ?I think we gotta leave the field,? he noted, ?other people want to battle.? Grey and Blake nodded and walked towards Brown, who was standing next to the battlefield. When the four were reunited, they left the TRC and headed for the Pok?mon Center. ?I?m going to the Gym now,? Grey told his friends, ?farewell!? The others waved him goodbye until he ran around a corner.

?What are you two going to do now?? Brown asked. ?I?m going to train my Pok?mon for my battle against Brock,? Blue replied. ?I?m going to train too,? Blake added, ?I was planning to leave the city today, but then you came around. I wanted to see your capabilities, so I stayed to watch you battle, and I don?t regret that decision.? ?Are you doing the PLC as well?? Brown asked. ?Yes I am,? Blake responded, ?I?ve already obtained three badges. The Rainbow Badge from my home city, the Soul Badge from Koga, and I?ve earned my Boulder Badge three days ago. My newest Pok?mon, Tangela, helped a lot in that battle. Anyway, I?ll stay here for your Gym Battles, and a bit of training is never wrong.? ?You?re right about that,? Blue reacted, ?but where do you want to train?? Blake smiled, ?I?d say that there are enough Trainers to challenge in the TRC, wouldn?t you think??



When he opened the door of the Pewter City Gym, Grey noticed that there wasn?t anyone there. The battlefield, covered with boulders and patches of sand, was empty, so was the rest of the gym. ?Hello?? He shouted. ?I want to battle against Brock Rokes!? ?You?ve certainly come to the right place!? Someone shouted back. Grey looked at the other end of the battlefield, where the last lights were turned on, someone was standing on a stone pedestal, waiting for a challenger. ?So you wish to battle me,? the man continued, ?then ask me properly.?

Grey was surprised by someone standing there in the shadows all the time, someone who apparently was Pewter City?s Gym Leader. He cleared his throat and started talking, ?I, Grey Hudson from Pallet Town, am here to challenge the Gym Leader of Pewter City.? ?That challenge is accepted,? Brock shouted back. ?Let the judge come to the battlefield!? A woman walked onto the stand next to the field, while Brock asked Grey for his Badges and Pok?mon. ?My only Pok?mon is a Dratini, and I have no Badges yet,? Grey responded. ?Good,? Brock reacted, ?then I?ll use only my Onix.?

He nodded at the judge, who then announced the rules of the battle, ?The single battle between the challenger, Grey Hudson from Pallet Town, and the Gym Leader, Brock Rokes from Pewter City, will now get underway. Both Trainers may only use the Pok?mon they named earlier. Let the Gym battle begin!?

10. The First Badges

"Go Bulbasaur!" "Do it, Charmander!" "Psyduck, counting on you, I am!" Those were the Pokémon sent out by one side in the battle of Red, Zane, and the Forest Guides. The other three were Ryan's Koffing, Maya's Diglett, and Sylvia's Vulpix.

"Psyduck," Nya shouted, "with Water Sport, you should start!" The yellow Pokémon tilted her head slightly to the left and did a short dance to summon a light drizzle. Because this would lessen the effect of his Ember, Red's Charmander wafted the smoke from the fire on his tail into his opponents' eyes.

Sylvia's Vulpix countered by wagging her tail to lower Psyduck's defense, and Maya's Ground Type whipped up some sand and threw it into Bulbasaur's eyes. The first actual attack then came from Ryan's Koffing, who slammed himself into Psyduck's head, after which he got bounced back up by the jumping Water Type. At the same time, Zane's Bulbasaur got hold of Diglett and pull her out of the ground with one vine to whip her with the other. However, because he was concentrating on the Ground Type hanging in the air, he didn't see Sylvia's Vulpix spit a small flame at him. Bulbasaur had to let Diglett loose again, but the Ground Type fainted when she fell back onto the field without anything to break her fall.

Maya sent out her other Pokémon, Cubone, who hit Charmander on his head with her bone. Red's Pokémon let out a growl, while Zane's Bulbasaur tackled into Vulpix's side as payback for the flame. Vulpix got scared and ran back to her Trainer to hide behind her. Unfortunately for her, Psyduck was already there, holding his hands against the sides of his head. The Water Type got ready to attack, but Koffing came to the rescue by slamming into her side and sending her into a tree. Vulpix and Sylvia looked at the two. Koffing floated back, but Psyduck didn't get up anymore. Nya, standing opposite of her oldest sister, returned her first Pokémon and sent out the second.

Meanwhile, Charmander managed to get underneath Koffing, after which he used the flame on his tail to heat up the gas inside the Poison Type's body. The heat hurt him, it hurt him a lot. Without being able to do anything, the gas made him explode. Bulbasaur was near Koffing when this happened and got blown away by the explosion. It wasn't that big of a blast, so the other Pokémon didn't feel more than only a weak breeze. Before Zane's Pokémon could get back up, Vulpix had already run towards him and let out another flame to burn him. The Grass Type managed to get back on his feet but didn't keep that up for much longer than a few seconds.

Ryan and Zane sent out Ekans and Spearow respectively. The former went to sting Charmander with his rattler, while the Flying Type jabbed Sylvia's Vulpix with his sharp beak to defeat her. Nya's second Pokémon, Goldeen, drove her horn into Cubone's back, hurting and angering her. Psyduck's light drizzle finally faded, and Sylvia's next Pokémon, Growlithe, immediately shot a flame at Spearow. Maya's Cubone slammed his bone into Charmander's side, quickly followed by hits on his head, his tail, and then his leg. The Fire Type couldn't keep track of his attacker's movements and was soon knocked unconscious by a final hit on his head.

Things went better for Nya's Goldeen. She had just found out how to send out beams of water and decided to use that offensively. A small orb of water formed in her mouth and was forcefully shot at Maya's Cubone. The Ground Type tried to avoid the attack, but he was blown into the wooden wall of the guides' mansion. She fell on the porch with her bone beside her. Goldeen turned around and got distracted by Ekans, who was looking at her with a sharp leer. She didn't see Sylvia's Growlithe coming from the left. The Fire Type jumped in the air to jump down on her opponent and make her unable to move.

Spearow and Cubone were in their own battle. The latter tried to reach Zane's Pokémon with his bone, but without success. Spearow continuously flew down to stab his beak into his opponent while avoiding her swipes. The Flying Type kept looking at his opponent to not lose track of her exact position to deliver the most damaging strikes. This went on like that for a few minutes, but Spearow was finally able to defeat Maya's second Pokémon.

Ekans had meanwhile stung his rattler in Goldeen's head, while Growlithe used Ember to put a flame on the tip of her horn. Luckily, Spearow went to help the Water Type after he had beaten Cubone. He got hold of Ekans with his claws and took him into the air. Growlithe was unable to attack Goldeen and attack her simultaneously, so he jumped off her and started biting. Goldeen hopped aside and shot another beam of water at her opponent to defeat her. The poison from Ekans' tail took its toll as well, the Water Type fainted.

Meanwhile, Spearow flew around, hitting Ekans against some trees. However, the Poison Type somehow managed to wrap himself around his opponent. This made Zane's Pokémon unable to move his wings, thus sending both Pokémon falling to the ground. Ekans let Spearow loose, right before the two would hit the ground, and got hold of a branch of a tree to stop himself from falling. His opponent, on the other hand, fell on the ground, hard. It was time for Zane's last Pokémon, Mankey.

Ekans looked at his new opponent with an intimidating sharp leer. When he tried to attack, however, Mankey jumped aside to dodge him. "He's tryna avoid your attacks," Ryan shouted. "Keep lowering 'is defense!" Mankey jumped into a tree to make Ekans' rattler miss him, after which another leer did affect him. "It's time!" Zane shouted at Mankey. The Fighting Type jumped out of his hiding spot behind some bushes and used his sharp claws to scratch the side of Ekans' face. The attack made the Poison Type draw back in pain. Mankey kept scratching him until it was enough. Ekans was curled up with his head lying on the purple tail.

After Ryan and Zane had returned their Pokémon, the other four walked back onto the battlefield. "Zane, how'd Mankey get so powerful?" Ryan wondered. "Do you know about Abilities?" Zane returned. "Without a doubt," Sylvia responded, "but it does not look like your friend knows." Zane turned around to look at the red-eyed boy's confused face. "Well," Red admitted, "I've, uh, heard of them, but I, um, indeed have no idea what they, ehm, actually are."

"They're basically a Pokémon's special power," Zane explained. "Send out Charmander and look at this," he added. After sending out his Pokémon, Red looked at the Pokédex Zane had just opened. "Wait a second, it says that Spearow has learned a new attack," Zane noted. "It's Fury Attack." "That must've been no other time than when he did not leave that evil man's Drowzee unharmed after he went out of his sleep," Sylvia figured. "You're right," Zane replied, "now that you say it, I do remember feeling my Pokédex buzzing right then." "Which would make it indubitable that that was his introductory time for that particular attack," Maya concluded. "Indeed," Zane replied. "Anyway, let's continue with Charmander's Ability."

Zane pointed his Pokédex at Charmander and showed the screen to Red, who read what was on it, "it says that, uh, Charmander's Ability is, uhm, Blaze." "Blaze powers up Fire attacks when your Pokémon doesn't have much health left," Zane explained. "Other Abilities lower the opponent's power, keep the Pokémon awake, or boost a certain stat when it's raining." Red nodded in understanding.

"But you've still gotta answer m' question," Ryan impatiently noted. "Oh yeah," Zane replied. "My Mankey has the Defiant Ability, that's why he avoided Ekans' attacks but took his Leers." "That is ingenious!" Maya replied. "Just one question though," Nya added, "that by Samuel Oak you have been taught, Grey told us. Then how is it that know about Abilities, Red didn't?" "He has taught us only the basics," Zane explained, "he promised us that we'd learn more from experience than he would ever be able to teach us." "That's is definitely not untrue," Sylvia reacted, "not unusual for Samuel." "You talk like you know him," Red noticed. "Long story, that is," Nya instantly replied, "hear about it, you later will." "How do you mean?" Zane replied. "Stop talking 'bout this," Ryan reacted, "we want you to go out of the forest. Now!" The four siblings suddenly looked furious. Zane looked at his friend, who nodded. "We'll, uhm, go then," Red stated. "Which way is the, um, exit?" "It appears that the two of you are going to have to start your own exploration of this forest," Maya replied.

After this, the four guides went back into their mansion. "So we'll, uhm, need to just, uh, walk around and hope to, um, find the path?" Red asked. "Apparently," Zane responded. "Why are they suddenly so angry? What did we do wrong?" "I, uh, don't know," Red reacted, "but I'm more surprised that they, uhm, know the Professor." Zane nodded, "you're right. But still, how are we going to get out of here." "Not by, uhm, standing still," his friend replied, "so, um, let's go."



The gym battle between Brock and Grey had already been going on for a few minutes when Dratini finally managed to hit his opponent with a tornado. The Gym Leader commanded his Pokémon to hold back for some time to gather strength. Grey responded by letting his Dratini keep sending the strong mysterious winds. The giant Pokémon got hit by four other vicious tornadoes, but then he unleashed his stored anger, attacking Dratini with tremendous power. Onix was almost upon the Dragon Type when another Twister caused him to fall down in pain.

"No!" Brock shouted. "That can't have just happened!" The last tornado hit the heavily damaged Onix, who couldn't hold it any longer, he fainted. The judge looked at the rock-made Pokémon spread out over the floor of the Gym and concluded the battle. "Onix is unable to continue, meaning that Grey Hudson, from Pallet Town, has won the battle, thereby officially earning the Boulder Badge." Brock returned his Pokémon, while Grey walked to the other end of the battlefield. "Well done, kid," Brock congratulated. "Here, take this, you've earned it." In the Gym Leader's hand was a small gray octagon, the Boulder Badge. "Thank you," Grey replied. He opened his silver badge case and placed the Boulder badge in the upper-left gap in the black velvet.

"I suppose you're going to Cerulean City next," Brock guessed. "Yes, I am," Grey responded, "I'm going to challenge Misty there." "Good," Brock replied, "but beware of Mt. Moon, it is easy to get lost in there. In the Viridian Forest, you're still protected by the Forest Guides, sort of, but there's nobody like them in the Mountain." "Thanks for the warning," Grey reacted, "I'll go to the TRC to see what information I can find. By the way, you'd better get your Pokémon healed, a friend of mine is going to challenge you soon. He has a Squirtle, so good luck with that." "I'll need that," Brock laughed, "good luck on your journey." "Farewell," Grey finished when he left the Gym. He went to the PMC to heal his Pokémon before he headed for the TRC to surprise his friends.



"What are our scores at the moment?" Brown asked. "Let's see," Blake responded, "you've won three battles, and you've lost one. Blue beat two opponents and hasn't been defeated yet. As for myself, three wins, no losses." "I think I'm ready for Brock then," Blue replied. "Just why does it take so long for Grey to finish his battle?" "What are you complaining about?" Brown laughed. "It's only been twenty minutes since he left us. A Gym Battle isn't fought in less than half an hour."

"Isn't it?" Someone asked. "Then I'm here too early, am I not?" The three turned around to see Grey walk up to them with the Boulder Badge in his hand. "And take a look at this!" Everyone in the TRC fell silent and looked at him, interested by the Badge and the Trainer who held it. Grey heard all the questions being whispered by the other Trainers. "My name is Grey Hudson, and I've defeated Brock's Onix with my Dratini. My friend Blue over there will challenge the Gym Leader in a few minutes, he'll probably win too." Like that, he answered most of the other Trainers' questions at once.

Blue smiled, but nobody looked at him, most of the people wanted to battle Grey. "I think I'll leave for the Gym," Blue told his friends. They nodded and looked at Grey's first challenger, a girl with piercing green eyes and wavering brown hair. Blue took one last look inside to see Grey and his opponent walk outside through the exit in the left part of the building. He closed the door and walked westwards, towards the Gym.



When he crossed the last street, he saw the end of a long brown coat disappear around the corner. 'This can't be,' he thought, 'I know that coat.' He ran towards the corner and turned around it. 'There he is,' he noticed, 'it actually is him!' He ran to the man and tapped on his shoulder, to which the man reacted by turning around. Blue could see his face now, "100 KR!" He shouted. "Quiet," the surprised man ordered, "I don't need a whole City knowing about me." "I'm sorry," Blue apologized, now a bit calmed down. "Why are you here?" "We got an alert from someone saying he saw a wild Machamp around Pewter City, which is, of course, very suspicious. We think it's one of those powerful Pokémon again." "Like Golem and Poliwrath?" "Yes," 100 KR replied, "like Golem and, wait, what? Poliwrath?" "Yes, Poliwrath," Blue repeated, "in Viridian City, yesterday." "Why don't I know about this?" 100 KR wondered. "I'll need to talk about this with my superior. Actually, I'm going to do that right now. Goodbye." "But…" Blue tried. The mysterious man was already gone.

'Where did he go?' The boy wondered. 'He stood here three seconds ago, and now he's gone.' He looked everywhere around him, but 100 KR was nowhere to be seen. After a few minutes, the boy gave up and finally went to the place he wanted to go, the Pewter City Gym.



When Grey and his first challenger stood on the opposite sides of the field, the judge explained the rules. "The single battle between Grey Hudson and Ira Newton will now get underway. Both Trainers may use one Pokémon. Let the battle begin!" Grey sent out Dratini, while his opponent sent out her female Nidoran. She looked like Blue's male Nidoran with the only differences being Ira's having spines and her light blue color instead of the male one's purple color.

The Poison Type immediately jabbed her opponent with her small horn and poisoned him. Dratini countered by creating a whirlwind with the mysterious winds from out of his wavering white ears. Nidoran flinched, so Grey's Pokémon sent another Twister, after which his opponent used her small legs to kick him twice in a row. After a third Twister, Nidoran still hadn't been beaten, and she kicked her opponent again. This time Nidoran was finally beaten by another tornado.

"Nidoran has fainted, meaning Grey Hudson won the battle." The two Pokémon were returned, and their Trainers talked to each other about the fight. After Grey had his Pokémon healed, he went to the fields again to fight his next opponent.

At the end of his eighth battle, which he had won, he announced he'd stop fighting for that day. Out of his eight matches, he triumphed in six. One of the two Trainers who beat him had a Shellder that knew Icicle Spear, whereas the other one battled with a Jigglypuff who used Disarming Voice. When Grey went to heal his Pokémon before going back to his room, someone tapped on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Grey said, before turning around, "I'm not doing any more battles today." "And what about a double battle?" Grey realized he knew that voice and looked at the boy behind him, recognizing his orange hair the blue eyes. "Blue!" He exclaimed. "How did it go?" Blue took his Badge Case out of his bag and opened it, the Boulder Badge was in the first gap. "You've beaten Brock too," Grey noted, "good job. Which Pokémon did he use?" "He used his Geodude first, that one was easy to defeat with Squirtle. His Onix, however, managed to defeat Squirtle, but he was beaten by Nidoran." "How did he do that?" Grey wondered. "He has learned Double Kick during the battle," Blue explained. "With a Fighting Attack, it is easy to defeat him." "It is indeed," Grey replied. "But what were you saying about a Double Battle?"

"He was talking about us," a new voice answered. The voice belonged to a girl, who was standing behind Grey together with another boy. The girl continued, "We are Tara and Kevin Wolfe, and we want to challenge you to a battle." "You as in the two of us, or you as in me?" Grey asked. "Both of you," Kevin replied. "Can't say no to that," Grey responded. The four went to the battlefields and asked for one field. "Battlefield F is empty at the moment, you can have a battle there. A judge will be there in two minutes."

The four already went to their respective sides of the battlefield. When the judge arrived, the rules were explained. "The double battle between Tara Wolfe and Kevin Wolfe on one side and Blue Oak and Grey Hudson on the other will now get underway. All Trainers may use one Pokémon. Let the battle begin!"

Tara sent out Venonat, while her brother chose for his Tentacool. On the other side of the field, Blue and Grey sent out Dratini and Squirtle. Kevin's Pokémon was the first to attack, sending soundwaves from the red spots on top of his head and confusing Dratini. Squirtle wagged his tail to distract Venonat, who tried to cover her opponent in purple poisonous powder, which didn't succeed. Grey's Dragon Type created a Twister, but the tornado was blown back to the confused Pokémon. Squirtle slammed his tough shell into Tentacool, who reacted by wrapping his two tentacles around Squirtle. Dratini's next tornado didn't return to him and hit the right target, Venonat, who tried to poison the Dragon Type this time, but she failed again.

"Use Constrict!" Kevin shouted at his Tentacool, who was still holding Blue's Squirtle with his vines. The Poison Type brought his vines closer together, but his prey didn't feel much of it, as he had withdrawn himself into his shell. Dratini had, in the meantime, recovered from his confusion, and Venonat was the target of his next Twister. On the other hand, Tara's Pokémon finally managed to make the purple powder fall onto Dratini, whose white underside now got a slightly purpureus tone. Tentacool gave up on trying to defeat his opponent by squeezing him and came to the idea of stabbing him with one of his venomous tentacles. Squirtle was stung in his head and got poisoned by it.

Kevin commanded his Pokémon to let Squirtle loose again and try to confuse Dratini again, while his sister's Venonat sent out a weak telekinetic force from the white antennae on his head. The force reached Squirtle and gave him a short but heavy headache. The Bug Type took her opportunity and bounced into Squirtle's side, simultaneously with Dratini getting hit by the soundwaves from Tentacool. Squirtle was beaten after he was sent flying back to his Trainer, but Dratini held on. Grey's Pokémon, with a now fully purple underside and snout, tried to create another tornado with the mysterious winds from behind his white fins, only for the twister to be blown back to the creator again. The attack didn't take Dratini out, but the poisoning did its job well.

"Squirtle and Dratini are both unable to battle, which means Tara Wolfe and Kevin Wolfe are the winners." Tara and Kevin returned their Pokémon, after which Grey and Blue congratulated the siblings with their victory. "I didn't think we'd actually win," Kevin admitted. "Neither did we," Grey replied, to which everyone laughed. The four went to the canteen, where they were joined by Blake and Brown. They sat down at a table to continue talking until it was dinner time, but they didn't stop talking until late in the evening when the door opened, and two other boys came walking in.



In the late afternoon of that same day, Red and Zane were still wandering through the forest, hoping to find an exit. "It's, uh, getting darker," Red noticed. "You're right," Zane replied, "I'm afraid we're stuck here for the night." A few hours later, when it was pitch black in the forest, the two still hadn't found the exit.

"Red?" Zane asked, "I hear some kind of music coming toward us." "It's not, uhm, just you," Red responded, "I, um, hear it too." The sound got louder and louder until a bright pink orb appeared before the two boys. "What's that?" Red wondered. "That doesn't matter," a high voice responded. "Who was that?" Zane asked. "I'd really think you'd be able to see me, I'm that pretty pink orb in front of you," the voice answered. "How do you talk?" Red continued. "That doesn't matter either," the voice reacted, "all that is of any use to you right now, is the exit of the Viridian Forest. I will show it to you, just close your eyes."

The boys did as they were told to, without being able to decide whether they should, it just happened. When their eyes opened again, they stood before Pewter City, and the pink ball was gone. The soothing tune was still audible in the far distance, but it soon faded. "By, uh, Zapdos' beak, what did just, um, happen?" Red wondered. "I have no idea," Zane replied, "but we're in Pewter City, so I'm not complaining." "We should, uh, probably look for the, uhm, TRC," Red noted. Zane agreed, and the two boys headed for the Pokémon Center to ask directions.

They got the information they needed and went to the northern part of the city, to a building across the street from the Pewter Museum of Science. When Red opened the door and walked inside, they heard that the conversation that had been going on inside suddenly stopped. "Red? Is that you?" A familiar voice asked. "Never thought I'd, uh, say this," Red reacted, "but I'm so glad to, um, see you, Blue."

11. Pewter Museum Of Science

It was already half past twelve when Zane finally woke up, but he noticed that Red was still asleep. The night before, the two of them told everything to their friends about the Forest Guides and the pink orb, after they had been introduced to Blake, Tara, and Kevin. After they had eaten, they went to bed around two o'clock, so they slept right through the middle of the day. Zane went to the canteen to eat his breakfast and saw Blue, Tara, and Blake already sitting at a table and breakfasting.

?Good morning,? Zane greeted.

Blue looked up at his friend and returned a ?good morning.? After Zane had chosen the food and drink, he joined the three.

?We were just talking about our plans,? Blake explained, ?Tara and Kevin are leaving in an hour, Kevin is already done eating.?

?And what about you?? Zane asked Blake and Blue.

?We are going to the Museum together with Brown and Gray,? Blue answered, ?do you want to come too??

?Of course,? Zane replied, ?and I think that?s the same for Red. But I do want to challenge Brock as soon as possible, so can we go after I?ve done that??

?Sure thing,? Blake responded.

?No problem,? Blue added. After a few minutes of talking, Tara went to get ready for her departure, just when Gray and Red entered the room. After being asked for it, both of them agreed to go to the Museum.

?It?s not like I?m going to challenge Brock anytime soon,? Red noted, ?Charmander is too weak at this point.? When everyone, including Brown, who joined soon after Red and Gray, finished their breakfast, it was a quarter to two, so Zane left for the Pewter Gym, leaving the rest behind to talk and battle.




When he entered the Gym, Zane saw that all the light were out. One by one, they were turned on, slowly revealing the sandy battlefield covered with rocks, the judge standing next to it, and finally, the man waiting on the stone pedestal with his back turned to the entrance.

?Who are you, and what are you here for?? The man asked.

Zane replied, ?I, Zane Patterson from Pallet Town, am here to challenge Brock Rokes for a Gym Battle.?

The few seconds of silence after this felt like an eternity to Zane, but it was ended by Brock?s voice, ?Your challenge is accepted. Which Pok?mon and Badges do you have??

?I don?t have any Badges yet, and my Pok?mon are Bulbasaur, Spearow, and Mankey.?

?So you?re the fourth of Oak?s students,? Brock replied, ?the one who has the Bulbasaur, this is going to be interesting.? Another few seconds of silence.

?In this battle, I will use Geodude, Rhyhorn, and Onix.? Brock turned around and nodded to the judge, who started explaining the rules.

?The single battle between the challenger, Zane Patterson from Pallet Town, and the Gym Leader, Brock Rokes from Pewter City, will now get underway. Both Trainers may only use the Pok?mon they named earlier. Furthermore, only the challenger may substitute his Pok?mon. Let the Gym battle begin!? Both Trainers sent out their first Pok?mon, Rhyhorn and Mankey.

?Rhyhorn, start with Scary Face to slow him down!?

?Mankey, use Leer to make him weaker!?

?Rhyhorn, Tail Whip!?

?Now, Mankey, profit from your Ability, use Low Kick!? The attack hit the rocky hide of Brock?s Pok?mon hard, but that one countered with Fury Attack, hitting the Fighting Type five times. However, Mankey used Low Kick again and defeated Rhyhorn.

?You did well, Rhyhorn, now take a rest, it?s Geodude?s turn.? The second Rock Type used Tackle immediately when it was sent out and caused Mankey, who had been damaged a lot already, to faint.

?Mankey, return, it?s going to be fun now. Bulbasaur! Use Vine Whip!? The Grass Attack was not enough to defeat the opponent in a single blow, so Geodude was able to use Tackle again. Bulbasaur used Vine Whip a second time, but Geodude was able to evade the attack this time, and he used Tackle, which dealt an enormous amount of damage to Zane?s Pok?mon.

?A critical hit!? Brock exclaimed. ?Lucky me. Use Tackle one last time!? Bulbasaur countered the attack with another Vine Whip, which was enough to beat Geodude.

?And this brings us to my signature Pok?mon,? Brock announced when he returned Geodude.

?Go Onix! Use Bind!? The Leader?s last Pok?mon was the one that had, until now, always lead to Brown?s defeat. He was a long chain of massive rocks of variant sizes, with the head being the biggest and the tail the smallest. There was a large rock horn on his head, and his mouth was in the entire width of the head-rock.

?Bulbasaur, use Leech Seed to regain some health!? After Onix was seeded by Bulbasaur, he got hold of the Grass Type and started squeezing. When the green Pok?mon escaped, he used Vine Whip.

?Onix, hold back for a while, use Bide!?

?Bulbasaur, use Growl while he is charging for Bide! Just don?t damage him!?

?That kid is smart,? Brock thought, ?Bide won?t do any harm like this.? After Bulbasaur had used Growl a few times, Onix?s Bide?s energy was released, but there was none since he hadn?t taken any damage during its charging time.

?Bulbasaur, you can attack again, use Vine Whip!?

?Onix, try to avoid him and use Rock Tomb to slow him down!? Brock?s Onix was surprisingly fast and managed to avoid Bulbasaur?s attack and hit him with an own one.

?Now keep using Rock Tomb to damage him even further!?

?Bulbasaur, use Growl as many times as you can, you?re too slow to harm that Onix!?

?Onix, one more time, Rock Tomb!? The rocks fell onto the Grass Type and caused him to faint.

?Bulbasaur, you did amazing,? Zane told his Pok?mon while he returned him, ?now rest for a bit. Spearow, it?s your turn now, use Fury Attack!?

?You?re trying to defeat my Onix with a Spearow?? Brock asked. ?Can?t say I?ve ever seen that happen. Onix, use Rock Tomb to finish his last Pok?mon off!? After Spearow had hit Onix three times with his beak, the Rock Type countered with his most powerful attack, but it did almost no damage.

?No!? Brock shouted. ?I forgot about Bulbasaur?s Growl!?

?Spearow, don?t worry about getting hit,? Zane assured his Pok?mon, ?you?ll regain some health from Bulbasaur?s Leech Seed!?

?Onix, slow him down with Rock Tomb,? Brock reacted, ?just try anything to defeat him!? But no matter how hard Onix tried, Zane?s Pok?mon had just damaged him too much. The combination of the Leech Seed and Fury Attack in addition to his almost useless attacks caused the Onix to be beaten.

?Onix is unable to battle, which means the victory goes to Zane Patterson, who has hereby earned the Boulder Badge.?

Brock walked towards Zane?s side of the battlefield, ?congratulations. I wouldn?t have expected a Spearow to be able to beat Onix. Anyway, here is your Boulder Badge.? Zane took the gray Badge out of the Gym Leader?s hand and thanked him, after which he put the Badge in his Badge case.

?There is something else though,? Brock continued, ?a friend of my late father passed by earlier this day and told me to give you this.? Zane looked at the letter in Brock?s hand.

?Who was it?? He asked.

?Sylvia Yates, oldest of the Forest Guides.?

?Thank you,? Zane replied.

?What?s wrong?? The Gym Leader asked. ?You look a bit surprised.?

?That?s because I am,? Zane answered, after which he left the Gym.




When he got back to the TRC, Zane went straight to his room to open the envelope and read the letter together with Red. He slammed the door open, accidentally scaring his friend, and took a chair to sit on.

?What is wrong with you?? Red shouted.

?Letter. Brock. Guides,? Zane tried to explain.

?Take it easy,? Red interrupted. ?First, take a breath, then, well, tell me what you want to.? When Zane finally calmed down, he explained everything to his friend.

?I got this letter from Brock, he told me it is from Sylvia.?

?As in the Forest Guide?? Red asked.

?Yes, that Sylvia,? Zane confirmed.

?Then let?s see what she?s got to say.?

Zane opened the envelope, unfolded the letter, and the two boys started reading.

Dear Zane and Red,

Sorry for what happened last afternoon, we were upset about something. That something was the same thing that guided you out of the forest. That pink ball was an orb of power, created by a friend of us. That same friend was the Pok?mon stolen by those Team Rocket grunts from before. We hope that you?ll forgive us.

Kind Regards,
Sylvia, Ryan, Maya, and Nya Yates

P.S. Don?t search for us, we?ve left the forest in a search for our friend.

The first thing Zane noticed was the fact that the four siblings knew about the pink orb.

?They must have followed us,? Zane figured.

?Or that Pok?mon they?re talking about might have, uh, sent them a message as it did to us,? Red replied.

?But which Pok?mon could it have been?? Zane wondered. ?It?s probably a Psychic or Ghost type since it sent us such a message,? Red replied.

?And that still leaves about fifteen Pok?mon, maybe it?s even one we don?t know about,? Zane reacted.

?That last one seems really unlikely to me,? Red responded.

?If there were more than 154 Pok?mon, Oak would?ve known about them.?

?You?re right,? Zane admitted.

?Anyway,? Red continued, ?how did your Gym Battle go?? Zane took his Badge case out of his bag and opened it.

?You defeated Brock!? Red noted. ?Amazing! How did you do it?? After Zane had told Red about the whole battle, the two left their room to find the others and go to the museum with them. While they were searching for their friends, Red saw them sitting in the canteen, talking with some other Trainers.

?Hey, guys, Zane and Red are here!? Brown shouted at the others.

?How did your Gym Battle go?? Blake asked. Zane told them the same as he told Red, but he didn?t think about other Trainers being able to see his Boulder Badge.

?So you think you?re amazing just because you have one Badge,? a voice with a tone of antipathy in it noted. Zane and his friends looked into the direction of the sound, a boy was standing there. He had brown hair, blue eyes, and rather big ears. Something about him just made him look arrogant, Zane didn?t know if it was the look in his eyes or the way he wore his blue leather coat, probably the combination of those two.

?Let?s see how good you really are,? the boy continued, ?I challenge you to a Pok?mon battle.?

?I?m sorry,? Zane replied, ?but what was your name??

?My name is Kelvin Berry, you should remember that. What?s yours??

?Zane Patterson, and I?m not able to accept your challenge yet. We were just going to leave for the museum.?

?So you?re scared of losing against me, what a coward you are.?

?I never said that,? Zane reacted.

?But it is what you meant,? Kelvin countered.

?No, it?s not!?

?Then prove me that you?re stronger,? Kelvin replied.

?Okay then, I accept your challenge,? Zane admitted.

?Then let?s go to the battlefields, shall we,? Kelvin concluded with a contemptuous smile on his face.




?The single battle between Zane Patterson and Kelvin Berry will now get underway,? the judge announced. ?Both Trainers may use two Pok?mon. Furthermore, both Trainers may substitute their Pok?mon. Let the battle begin!?

As Zane sent out Mankey, he saw that Kelvin had sent out his Bellsprout.

?Mankey, start this fight with Scratch!? Zane shouted.

?Put him to sleep to give yourself some time!? Kelvin shouted back. Bellsprout let Mankey hit him so that he could use Sleep Powder on the Fighting Type.

?Now use Growth until it wakes up again!? Kelvin commanded.

?This is not going to work,? Zane thought, after which he returned Mankey to send out Bulbasaur, ?use Cut!?

Bulbasaur hit Bellsprout, but due to that one?s raised power, he could do very much damage with Wrap. Bulbasaur kept using Cut and almost managed to defeat Bellsprout if it wasn?t for himself to be beaten first.

?Bulbasaur, return. Mankey, I need you to use Scratch as soon as you wake up.?

?Bellsprout, start using Growth again!? When Mankey finally woke up, and Bellsprout?s power was almost as high as it could be, he jumped at the Grass Type and started scratching it, but not like he normally would. Zane felt his Pok?dex buzzing.

?A new move,? he figured, ?I wonder which one it is.? He quickly opened his Pok?dex and read what was on the screen.

Mankey has learned a new move, called Fury Swipes, a physical Normal-type Attack with an accuracy of 80%. This attack strikes two to five times in a row. Mankey already knew four moves, so he forgot the move Scratch.

A smile appeared on Zane?s face, ?Mankey, use Fury Swipes again after you?ve evaded Bellsprout?s Attack!?

With his new Attack, Mankey was able to defeat Kelvin?s first Pok?mon. The only problem: Kelvin still had his second Pok?mon. She had a thick skin with white fur covering her whole body. There were two flippers on the end of her tail and one on each side of her body. She had a large pinkish tongue and two sharp teeth, and a white horn on top of her head to finish things off.

?Seel, use Icy Wind to slow that Mankey down!? Kelvin ordered.

?Mankey, counter with Low Kick!? Due to Mankey?s Ability, Low Sweep did more damage after the Pok?mon?s speed was lowered by Seel?s Attack.

?Now, Seel, keep using Headbutt until Mankey faints!?

?Mankey, try to avoid her attacks and use Low Sweep as many times as possible!? But no matter how hard he tried, Mankey was not fast enough anymore to avoid Seel?s Attacks. Seel got damaged a lot by Low Kick, but Mankey was defeated before he could finish her off.

?Mankey is unable to battle,? the judge announced, ?which means the winner of this match is Kelvin Berry.? The boy returned his Seel and walked off the battlefield, but while he did that, he walked past Zane to whisper something to him.

?Just give up, you?re not good enough for the League Challenge, let alone the Competition.? Zane looked at Kelvin, but the arrogant boy had already left. When Zane got back to his friends, they tried to comfort him with his defeat, but he neglected their efforts.

?Never mind that,? he said. ?Let?s just hope we will never see that Kelvin again.?

?You?re right,? Blake replied. ?You should just ignore that scoundrel, he is known around here as someone who is not good at making friends.?

?He has done such things before?? Blue asked.

?Many times,? Blake responded. ?But luckily, he is leaving for Mt. Moon today, so we won?t encounter him in the museum.?

?Talking about the museum,? Brown noted, ?maybe we should finally go.?

?You?re right,? Red replied. The others all agreed, so they walked out of the TRC and across the street into the Pewter Museum of Science.




After the six had paid 50 Pok?dollars each, they were allowed to enter the main hall of the museum. The first object to be seen was the skeleton of a giant Aerodactyl hanging from the ceiling.

?Were Aerodactyl really that enormous?? Blue wondered.

?They probably were,? Gray replied.

?I heard that if you have an Old Amber, you can let it be revived into an Aerodactyl in the lab on Cinnabar Island,? Red added.

?That?s right,? Blake reacted. ?And they can also revive a Helix fossil into an Omanyte or a Dome Fossil into a Kabuto.?

?Speaking of which,? Zane noted, ?look over there. The skeletons of an Omanyte and an Omastar.?

?Let me see,? Brown reacted. He walked to the exhibit Zane talked about together with Blue and Blake. On the sign next to the vitrine, there was some information on the two Pok?mon.

After Brown had read the facts, he told his friends about the two Pok?mon, ?Apparently, Omanyte used to swim by twisting around their 10 tentacles, but to rise and sink inside water, they used the air stored in their shells. If one was being attacked by an enemy, it withdrew itself inside in that same shell.?

?Interesting,? Blake replied, ?what does it say about Omastar??

?A lot more than about the other,? Brown responded. ?Their tentacles were that highly developed, that they were almost like hands and feet. They used them to ensnare prey, and once wrapped in them, nothing could escape. They also used them for self-defense. Scientists believe that they went extinct because of their shells growing too large, which caused their movements to become too slow and clumsy to catch prey.?

?So one of their greatest assets came to be their downfall,? Blake noted, ?now that?s some really rotten luck.?

?Indeed,? Brown added.

?Let?s see if we can find something about Kabutops,? Blue suggested.

?Good idea,? Blake replied, ?but do any of you happen to see Red, Zane, or Gray??

?Now that you say it, they did indeed stay at the Aerodactyl skeleton,? Brown replied.

?What does it matter,? Blue reacted. ?We?ll see them back in the TRC this evening, if not earlier. For now, let?s just explore the museum.?

?You?re probably right,? Brown responded, ?they will likely come to the same idea.?




?What does that sign over there say about these fossils?? Red asked. He, Zane, and Gray had gone to another part of the museum, where they found an exhibit with all kinds of fossils.

?Let?s see,? Zane replied, while he read the sign.

?It says that scientists have yet to find a method to revive these fossils. But in the meantime, they have already gotten names. That one for example,? he pointed at one of the green-colored fossils, ?is called the Claw Fossil.?

?And what about this one?? Gray looked at an orangish fossil. ?That is an Armor Fossil.?

?Interesting,? Red replied.

?But wouldn?t this mean that there are more 154 Pok?mon?? Gray wondered.

?Don?t be ridiculous,? Zane responded, ?that?s impossible. They?re almost certainly fossils of Pok?mon we do know of.?

?And it is that ?almost? which is making me doubt about that,? Gray countered.

?Guys, stop it!? Red intervened. ?There is no point in arguing, we came here to see things about the past, not to discuss whether or not there are Pok?mon we don?t know of.?

?He?s right,? Gray admitted, as did Zane.

?Then let?s go to the second floor,? Red suggested, ?I heard there are spaceships and objects found in space up there.? Both of his friends agreed, so they went up the stairs to the other floor. A giant stone marked this part of the museum. It was the meteorite that crashed into Mt. Moon a few decades earlier, hence the name of the rock, the Giant Moon Rock.

?Is it like a Moon Stone?? Red wondered. ?Like, does it cause Pok?mon like Nidorino and Jigglypuff to evolve??

?No,? Gray replied.

?Some have tried, but it didn?t work,? Zane added. ?This is actually a casual meteorite. The only special thing about it is, well, the fact that it is a rock from space.?

?How can you be so sure about that?? Red asked.

?It says so on this sign,? Zane dryly replied, to which Gray burst into laughter.




Later that day, Gray came to the idea of having dinner at the museum restaurant instead of in the TRC. Red and Zane agreed, so the three went to eat. When they entered the restaurant and looked around for a table, they noticed that, coincidentally, their other friends had also had the same idea. The three walked to the table where the others were looking at the menu and greeted them.

?So in the end, we found each other back,? Gray noted.

?Looks like it,? Blake replied. The three newcomers each took a seat, and they asked about the findings of the others.

?We?ve learned a lot about extinct Pok?mon,? Brown started.

?And about the discovery and resurrection of the fossils,? Blue added.

?And what about you? What have you found?? Blake asked.

?We?ve seen the Giant Moon Rock,? Zane started.

?And also the Space Shuttle Columbia,? Red added.

?A replica of it, the real one is still in space,? Blue corrected.

?Is it?? Red asked.

?Of course it is,? Blue replied, ?how would it ever be possible to return a spaceship to earth without crashing it??

?Hadn?t thought about that,? Red admitted.

?Of course you didn?t,? Blue noted.

?Anyway,? Gray continued, trying to prevent another argument between Red and Blue, ?we?ve also seen some other fossils that couldn?t be revived yet. I think that they might be a hint at there being more than 154 Pok?mon.?

?We?ve talked about this,? Zane reacted, ?it is impossible.?

?Now don?t you start again,? Red warned. ?By the way, Zane, I think Gray is right. Do you remember that pink orb last evening??

?Of course,? Zane responded, ?how would I ever be able to forget that??

?I?ve thought about it some more,? Red continued, ?it must?ve been a Pok?mon we don?t know yet.?

?How are you so sure?? Zane asked.

?We had already concluded that it was, um, either a Psychic or Ghost Type,? Red explained, ?but if it was, for example, a Hypno, why in the world would they steal it? Those Pok?mon can all be found in the wild. Therefore, that pink orb must?ve been a very rare Pok?mon, like the three Legendary Flying Types.?

?You?re comparing that pink ball with Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres?!? Zane exclaimed.

?Maybe I am,? Red answered.

?I think Red has a point there,? Blue admitted.

Blake agreed, but it was Brown who disagreed, ?this is pure nonsense. How can there be more Pok?mon than Oak knows of??

?Since when do you admire my grandfather?? Blue wondered.

?I always have,? Brown replied, ?but I hate him because of that.? At that moment, the waiter arrived at their table and asked for their choices. After everyone had ordered their food, Brown and Red continued arguing, starting with Brown.

?Tell me, how can there be more Pok?mon than those in Gray?s Pok?dex??

?Well,? Zane replied, ?I must say, the Pok?dex was created by the Professor, so if there is any Pok?mon he doesn?t know about, it isn?t in the Pok?dex either. Speaking of which, when I was in Viridian City, Oak gave me a Pok?dex, and since you had already left, he asked me to give you yours if I came across you. I kinda forgot about it, but here it is.? Zane handed Brown his Pok?dex.

?Thanks a lot,? Brown reacted, ?but still, how can some Pok?mon go unnoticed to the greatest Pok?mon Professor alive??

?Has it ever occurred to you that there might be more than just Kanto?? Blake noted. ?There are probably other regions outside the barrier, containing other Pok?mon than the 154 we know.?

Before Brown could reply to that, the waiter returned to their table with the six dishes for the six friends.

?One Viridian Soup for?? Blue raised his hand.

?Okay, then one Celadon Pie, I think for the boy here.?

?Yes, thank you,? Brown confirmed.

?Next up, two times the Lavender Steak.?

?One is for me,? Zane reacted.

?The other one for me,? Blake added.

?And finally, two Fuchsia Omelettes for the two remaining boys. If there is anything I can do for you, just raise your hand, and I will be here within a few seconds. Bon app?tit.?

?Thank you,? Gray replied, and the six started eating.




After their dishes had been finished and paid, Gray and Zane talked about the Aerodactyl skeleton in the main hall.

?Do you think that Aerodactyl were actually that big?? Zane asked.

?I don?t know,? Gray replied.

?Maybe Brock can show you,? Brown noted, ?he has an Aerodactyl. He could even Mega Evolve it.?

?That's an excellent idea,? Red reacted.

?Then why don?t you ask him?? A familiar voice asked. ?I?m sure he would be happy to show you his Pok?mon.?

Blue looked to his left and saw the man standing there, ?Brock!?

?Yup, that?s me,? the Gym Leader responded.

?Would you actually want to show us your Aerodactyl?? Zane asked.

?Definitely,? Brock answered, ?I can?t see why I wouldn?t.?

?Then you guys can go watch it,? Blake noted. ?I have a meeting with someone in ten minutes, so, unfortunately, I can?t come. But don?t delay your plans because of me, you can go now if you want to.?

?Then that is what we?ll we do,? Brock replied. ?If that?s not a problem.?

?Not for me,? Brown responded, ?I think I speak for all of us with that??

His friends nodded, so Brock led them outside and to the west, to the Onyx Highlands.

12. Another One Leaves Pallet Town

"These are the Onyx Highlands," Brock told the five boys. They looked around over the beautiful rocky plains.

"I've always thought that they look more majestic at dusk than at any other time of the day. You can see the whole City and even a bit of the Viridian Forest over there. But if you turn around..."

"That's the Indigo Plateau!" Gray exclaimed.

"Indeed," Brock replied, "that's your destiny. That is where the League Battles are announced every year. However, that is not what we came here for, so come out, Aerodactyl!" The airborne Rock Type went out of his Poké Ball to surprise the five friends with its enormous size. The light purple-gray Pokémon had two extremely skinny arms, with the violet wings attached to them. His tail ended in an arrow, and he had a sharp horn on top of his head and a blunt ridge on his back.

"Is it just me, or is your Aerodactyl smaller than the one in the museum?" Brown asked.

"Mine is much smaller," Brock confirmed.

"How is that possible?" Blue wondered.

"Just like humans, Pokémon can have different heights," Brock explained. "The skeleton in the museum is the biggest Aerodactyl ever found, while mine is around average height."

"And does that give any advantages?"

"Well, I know that smaller Pokémon are faster and have a higher evasiveness."

"And bigger Pokémon have more power," Gray added, to which Brock raised his eyebrows of surprise.

"You seem to know much," the Gym Leader commented. "By the way, Brown, I've noticed that your Beedrill is an exceptionally small one. And Zane's Mankey is quite a lot bigger than average."

"So that makes him even stronger," Zane noted. "Cool."

"Anyway, that's not what we're here for," Brock continued, while he took a gold necklace from under his shirt. Something was hanging from the chain, a shiny stone with all the colors of the rainbow.

"A Key Stone," Zane whispered.

"Yes indeed," Brock responded, "and you know what that means. Aerodactyl! Beyond evolution! Mega Evolve!"

The Mega Stone on Aerodactyl's back started glowing, and within seconds, the whole Pokémon glowed in the purple light. Aerodactyl started altering, spikes grew from everywhere on his body. From his back, his wings, his head, and even from the back of his feet. The purple light was expulsed in the form of energy, after which Mega Aerodactyl let the six people hear his roar. Zane had his head turned away because of the energy, but now he looked towards the Mega Evolved Pokémon.

"It even slightly grew," Red noticed.

"That's right," Brock replied. "But I must admit, even I don't see him in this form very often. I hardly ever use him in battles since most Trainers are too weak to handle a Mega Evolution." At that moment, Aerodactyl got hit by something, and it clearly hurt him. Zane looked around to see what hit him, but he couldn't see anything.

"What was that?" Brock wondered. Aerodactyl flew up to reveal a lot of Machop and Machoke behind him.

"I think that Aerodactyl's roar woke up the young Machop," Brock figured, "and they're, obviously, angry about that."

"I don't think so," Blue replied. "Guys, I believe that you remember 100 KR?" His friends nodded.

"I met him again yesterday," Blue continued, "right before I went to challenge Brock. He told me that there was a report about a Machamp roaming around Pewter City, just like Golem and Poliwrath."

"And those two were accompanied by lots of their, uh, pre-evolutions," Red noted.

"And since there are lots of Machop and Machoke here..." Brown continued.

"Machamp is probably searching for us right now," Zane concluded.

"Are you saying you're scared of a Machamp?" Brock laughed. "I have a Mega Aerodactyl, it can defeat him with a single Flying Attack."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Gray warned.

"Anyway," Brown interrupted, "we'll need to keep those Machop and Machoke away, so let's get started with that."

"You're right," Zane replied. "Mankey, Spearow, Bulbasaur, attack those wild Pokémon!"

"Geodude, Beedrill, help them with that!" Brown added.

"Charmander, use Smokescreen!" Red shouted.

"Squirtle, Nidoran, attack!" Blue continued.

"Dratini, Thunder Wave!" Gray commanded.

"I guess I'll also help," Brock noted. "Aerodactyl, use Aerial Ace!" His Pokémon flew through the crowd of Machop and Machoke, intercepting a lot of them to lift them into the air to subsequently drop them down to the ground. After this, the Gym Leader sent out three more Pokémon.

"Golem, Rhydon, Onix, help those boys!" All the Pokémon fought hard, but the amount of Fighting Types seemed endless. The Trainers' Pokémon started getting hurt a lot, and they fainted one by one. First was Brown's Geodude, very soon followed by Brock's Golem and Zane's Mankey.

"We're losing!" Brown warned.

"Boys, return your Pokémon and hide in that shelter," Brock advised, he pointed at the small dilapidated shed at the edge of a cliff. "My Pokémon will take care of this!"

"Do as he says," Gray commanded, while he took Dratini back into his Poké Ball. His four friends did the same, after which they all hid inside the shelter.

"There is a small crack in the wall over here," Blue whispered, "I can see Brock and his Pokémon. I'll tell you what's happening."

"Okay, thanks," Red replied.

"We'll talk about what we'll do if Brock gets defeated," Gray added.

"Well, I think we should just send out all of our Pokémon and start attacking," Brown reacted.

"Yes, that's pretty obvious," Gray responded, "but with which attacks?"

"I'd say Leech Seed for Bulbasaur and Peck for Spearow," Zane replied.

"Charmander can use Smokescreen, Ember, or Growl," Red added.

"Squirtle with Water Gun and Nidoran with Peck," Blue continued.

"Beedrill knows String Shot, that can slow them down," Brown whispered.

"And Dratini can Paralyze them with Thunder Wave," Gray concluded.

"I think it's best when Charmander uses Growl since Fighting Types are mostly power-based," Zane stated. "When we take that away, they'll be beaten in no time."

"Correct," Gray responded, "and for your idea with Bulbasaur, genius. He'll be invincible when he absorbs health from that many Pokémon."

"Guys," Blue interrupted, "he is there."




A loud roar in the distance made Brock aware of the leader over the Fighting Types, who had now appeared behind his companions. The enormous blue-gray skinned Pokémon was the most muscular one in existence. His main asset was his extra pair of arms, attached on top of his shoulders. His red eyes and strong jaw made him look even more powerful than he already did, and his roar amplified this all the more.

"Aerodactyl, now! Use Aerial Ace!" Brock shouted. His Mega Pokémon tried to hit the Machamp with his wings, but things didn't go exactly as planned. Machamp managed to grab Aerodactyl by his wings with his upper two hands, while sparks started forming around his other two fists. Brock wasn't focusing on his Flying Type when this happened because the Machop and Machoke kept coming closer to him.

"Rhydon! Onix! Keep using Dragon Tail to keep those Fighting Types away!" He looked back at Aerodactyl and Machamp to see the latter using Thunder Punch, while Aerodactyl was hanging helplessly in his upper arms. The Gym Leader was so desperate to save his Mega Pokémon that he decided to send out his Geodude and Rhyhorn.

"I want you to distract that Machamp from Aerodactyl!" He shouted, after which the two Rock Types went toward their main enemy as fast as possible. When he looked back to see how his other two Pokémon were doing, Brock noticed that they had already been defeated by the Fighting Types, and before his weaker Pokémon could even get near the Machamp, they were also defeated, soon followed by Aerodactyl.

'I need to get help,' he thought. While he returned his Pokémon, he took a small machine out of his pocket to send a message to someone he could definitely trust. After the report had been sent, he ran to the Pewter Caves to get back to the City, while the Fighting Types let him go and turned toward the little shelter on the edge of the Onyx Highlands.



------
Five boys were whispering to each other, they were hiding from another wild Pokémon, but they had a plan. The shelter they were hiding in was ripped away by the Pokémon they were hiding for. All five sent out their Pokémon, telling them to attack their opponent. The five boys stood next to each other and kept shouting.
------

The five friends were whispering to each other, they were hiding from Machamp, but they had a plan. The shelter they were hiding in was ripped away by the Machamp. All five sent out their Pokémon, telling them to attack their opponent. The five friends stood next to each other and kept shouting to their Pokémon to attack, but the Machamp was too strong.

Spearow and Nidoran were the first to faint since the wild Pokémon focused on them because of their super-effective Attacks. Next up were Bulbasaur and Charmander, as Bulbasaur took most of their health, and Charmander kept lowering their attack power. Now there were only three Pokémon left on the friends' side: Dratini, Squirtle, and Beedrill. Dratini used Thunder Wave on Machamp, but the attack missed. Squirtle used Water Gun, but it did almost no damage. Beedrill used Poison Sting, but he failed to Poison the Machamp. Three of the Machoke used Karate Chop and defeated Gray's, Blue's, and Brown's Pokémon.

The Machamp grabbed Zane and Brown from the ground, started squeezing, and ordered some Machoke to do the same with the other three. However, before they were able to do so, Machamp got hit by an attack and let Zane and Brown loose, who then fell to the ground.

"What was that?" Gray wondered, while Zane and Brown were still trying to breathe normally again since the Machamp hadn't held them particularly carefully.

"Arcanine, return," a trusted voice shouted. "Hypno, use Dazzling Gleam!"

"Kadabra, use Confusion on Machamp if Dazzling Gleam isn't enough!" Another familiar voice added.




At the moment Yellow walked into Oak's laboratory, she had already decided what she wanted, she wanted to follow in her brother's footsteps to also become a Pokémon Trainer. She went straight to Oak's own office in the lab, where the old man was having a telephone conversation with someone.

When Yellow walked into Oak's room, Samuel quickly ended the phone call, "I'll talk to you later, there's someone who wants to ask me something." All Yellow had still heard of the conversation was something about having to wait a long time and replacing someone else.

"Who was that?" She asked.

"Someone you don't know," Oak replied. "Someone who is very impatient about certain things. But that's not why you came to me, I suppose, so what brings you here?"

"I want to go on a journey through Kanto," she replied. "Just like my brother and his friends."

"Finally," Oak responded. "Finally you've dared to ask. Have you asked your mother about this?"

"Yes," Yellow replied, "she thought I was ready to go."

"Well," Oak reacted, "then that's my opinion as well." The Professor noticed tears of joy appearing in the girl's eyes.

"Now don't get too overjoyed, you'll still need to get something from me. Three somethings, to be exact. First of all, I've already completed your Pokémon League registration, so here's your Badge Case, I asked your mother, and she told me you'd like these colors." The case itself was yellow, and the velvet inside was silver-colored.

"Second something, your very own Pokédex." Oak opened one of the many drawers in his desk and took a Pokédex out of it.

"Thank you very much," said Yellow.

"Don't thank me yet, your biggest gift has yet to be given."

"My first Pokémon?" Yellow guessed.

"Your first Pokémon indeed," Oak confirmed. "This morning, I went to the Viridian Forest for a bit of research, but when I was about to leave, I was held back by a certain Pokémon. I didn't have any Pokémon with me, so my only option was to capture it. That same Pokémon is the one I'm now handing over to you, open this Poké Ball to meet your first new friend."

Yellow nervously took the Poké Ball from Oak's hand and threw it in the air. The energy state of a certain Pokémon went out of the capturing device and turned into her standard form.

She was a small, yellow Pokémon with red cheeks. The tips of her ears were black, and the end of her tail was in the shape of a heart.

"Pikachu!" Yellow screamed, she couldn't hold her tears of happiness back anymore. Oak also couldn't resist a smile at seeing the girl overflowing with pure joy. Pikachu looked from the one to the other, she did understand that both were overjoyed, but she had no clue why.

"Pikachu, from now on, I'll call you Electra. I'm sure we'll become the best friends that will ever be," Yellow promised.

"One question though," Oak noted. "Are you leaving right now?"

"Yes," Yellow answered, "definitely."

"But it's already getting dark," Samuel countered, "wouldn't it be better if you left tomorrow morning?"

"I could," Yellow reacted. "But if I'd start my journey now, I'd reach Viridian City before it's night, and I'd have a better chance of catching up with the others."

Oak smiled, "you want to prove them that you are as good as them, don't you?"

"Maybe," Yellow laughed back.




"I can see from your faces that you all have a lot of questions," 100 KR noted, "then let me explain."

After the Machamp had destroyed the shelter where the five friends were hiding, they were saved by a Hypno and a Kadabra, and they later discovered that they were 100 KR's and Blake's respectively. Hypno had used Dazzling Gleam, which hit all of the wild Pokémon. The Machop and Machoke were defeated by the attack, but Machamp had still not been beaten, that happened after he was struck by Kadabra's Confusion.

"Red, you may ask the first question," 100 KR continued.

"Uh, how did you know to find Machamp there?"

"I got a message from my boss about the Machamp that had been roaming around Pewter City, he told me that it was at the Onyx Highlands. When I said that to Blake, he sprang out of his chair and said we needed to go there. I asked him why, and he explained to me that you were there. On our way to you, we also encountered Brock, who was running back to the City for help. The second question is for you, Brown."

"Why were you and Blake in a meeting?"

"Well, that's a long story," 100 KR replied, "but I can't tell you."

"Why not?" Brown asked.

"It's classified, sorry."

"But then, um, why does Blake know about all of it?" Red continued

"Another long story," 100 KR answered. "And again, something I can't tell you. The next question is for Gray."

"Who do you get those reports of wild Pokémon from?"

"I get them from my boss, who gets them from people who sent the report. In your case, that was probably Brock, as he was the only one who was there when the Machamp appeared. If you want to, I can give you something with which you can reach me at any time."

"Which is?" Brown asked.

"This," 100 KR responded. He took five tiny machines out of his coat, all with the same black button on it.

"This is the 100 KR Emergency Device."

"Which I find such an original name," Blake sighed.

"Don't complain," 100 KR noted, "it is what its name says it is, so it's a perfect name. Anyway, if you push the button, this device," he took a sixth device out of his coat, one with a map on it, "will start beeping. The location of the pushed button will be shown to me on this map. But to see who's used it, I'll need to know the names of each Emergency Device's owner. So what are your full names?"

"Gray Hudson."

"Red Newman."

"Brown Baldwin."

"Blue Oak."

"Zane Patterson."

"Wait a second, Blue," 100 KR noted, "are you family of Samuel?"

"I'm his grandson," the boy answered.

"Well, well. And what about you, Zane, are you family of Orion?"

"He's my father," Zane responded. 100 KR looked surprised.

"Well, then there's one thing I can tell you," he reacted, "you'll receive lots of surprises in the time to come. Anyway, next question is for you."

"Yes," Zane replied, "have the two of you ever heard about Team Rocket?" Zane noticed that one of his other friends gasped, but he didn't hear who it was.

"Of course," 100 KR replied. "But I'm surprised that you have as well. When did you meet them?"

"Yesterday in the morning," Zane answered. "Red and I were walking through the Viridian Forest, when we were asked for help by Nya, one of the Forest Guides. Their mansion in the middle of the forest was under attack from two Team Rocket Grunts."

"Why would they attack the Forest Guides?" 100 KR wondered.

"Well," Red continued, "we were, uh, teleported to the exit of the forest by a mysterious pink orb, and we received a letter from the Guides yesterday. They said that that pink ball was a message sent by a friend of them, that friend was the, uh, Pokémon that was stolen by the Team Rocket Grunts. The Guides have now left the forest in search for their friend."

"What?!" 100 KR exclaimed. "The Forest Guides left the Viridian Forest! What is that important for them that it makes them leave the forest?"

"That is what we've been wondering about ourselves," Zane reacted. "We figured that it should be at least as rare as the three Legendary Birds. Otherwise, Team Rocket wouldn't have put all that effort into stealing it from the Guides."

"But that would mean there's more than 154 Pokémon," Brown added. "And that is just impossible."

"I'm not so sure about that anymore now," 100 KR replied. "What else happened with that pink orb?"

"Well," Zane answered, "when it approached us, some kind of calming melody came with it, and it talked with a high voice."

"What did it say?" Blake asked.

"Nothing important," Red responded. "Just that we had to close our eyes. We did that, not that we could resist in any way, and when they opened again, we were standing at the edge of the forest."

"Very curious," Blake mumbled.

"I'll send a message about this to my companions so that they can further investigate this matter," 100 KR said.

"Don't," a voice whispered. "Just tell them that the Forest Guides must be temporarily replaced."

"Who is this?" Blake asked.

"It's Nya," the voice whispered, "Nya Yates."

"Why don't you want me to inform my helpers about this?" 100 KR asked.

"We don't want anyone but you and ourselves to know about our friend."

"But am I allowed to tell him that Team Rocket has been seen in the Viridian Forest?" The voice didn't answer.

"Hello?" 100 KR tried.

"You may," Nya finally replied. "But don't tell them anything else. All that matters is the safety of the citizens."

The voice stopped, and the seven people in the room were left completely confused.




"See that? That's Viridian City," Yellow told her Pikachu. "The first big city we'll come across. Tomorrow, we'll go through the Viridian Forest. Do you know the way through there?" Pikachu nodded.

An idea formed in Yellow's head, "do you think you can guide me through the forest before it's completely dark?" Pikachu, wanting to prove herself to Yellow like the girl wanted to prove herself to her friends, nodded again.

"Then let's do it," Yellow laughed. "But first, we'll need to pick up some Poké Balls and a few Potions for underway." After she had paid for the items, Yellow followed her Pokémon to the Viridian Forest. They had been wandering through it for a bit when Yellow started to get a bit worried.

"Are you sure you know the way?" She asked again. Electra nodded again, but not as convincing as before.

"You don't, am I right," Yellow figured. Pikachu gave up her pretense, she didn't actually know which way to go.

"And now we're lost," Yellow complained, "great." She looked around to see if she could find any distant lights, but unfortunately, she didn't. The two continued walking around until suddenly, they heard another Pokémon crying not so far away.

"Let's check that out," Yellow suggested. Her Pokémon followed her into the direction of the noise, where a purple Pokémon with a cream-colored underside was lying on the leaves that had already fallen off the trees. The Pokémon had two large front teeth and long whiskers, and his tail, covered in purple fur, ended in a small curl.

"That Rattata's hurt," Yellow noted, and she took a Potion out of her bag.

"I think he's alright now," she said after she had sprayed the healing liquid on the injured Pokémon.

"Maybe he can show us the way out," the girl figured. "Can you?" she asked the Rattata. The Normal Type nodded, more convincing than Pikachu did in Viridian City, so Yellow trusted him.

"Then let's go," she smiled again.




"I've always thought that there was something curious about those four," 100 KR noted. "And this does more than definitely confirm that."

"But it does feel weird that they're not in the forest anymore," Blake added.

"Of course it does," 100 KR reacted. "The leaving of people that have been somewhere for as long as you know is always difficult."

"But what are we going to do now?" Red asked. "As in, um, what are we going to do about those powerful wild Pokémon?"

"The six of you should just continue your journeys," 100 KR replied. "I'm taking a shortcut to Vermilion City, someone I need to talk to is currently there."

"I'm going to Mt. Moon tomorrow morning," Blake added. "Does one of you want to come with me?"

"I will," Gray responded. "There's nothing for me to do here anymore anyway."

"What about Blue and Zane?" The blond-haired boy continued.

"I'm staying here to train a bit more," Blue answered.

"Me too," Zane added.

"Well then," 100 KR concluded, "I'll go to the south. See you all later."

"Goodbye," Blake returned, and the man disappeared.

"How does he do that?" Blue wondered.

"It's a simple trick," Blake responded, "but you'll have to figure that one out yourselves."

The six went out of the building in the southwest of the city and northward to the TRC. After they had wished each other good night, everyone went to their separate rooms and fell asleep.




"See," Yellow told Pikachu, "this Pokémon does know the way through the forest."

She turned to the Rattata, "Thank you for helping us out, you can go back to your friends now." As soon as she had said this, Rattata's face turned sad.

"What did I say wrong?" Yellow asked, but she figured it out in an instant.

"You don't have any friends?" Rattata nodded, still with a low-spirited look on his face.

"I could be your friend if you want me to," Yellow said. "As could Electra." The Rattata looked a lot chirpier now.

"You like that idea, don't you? I'll call you Momus," Yellow smiled. Rattata jumped into the air because of his cheerfulness.

"Then here is your new home," the girl smiled when she took a Poké Ball out of her bag. She pushed the white button on the front against the Rattata, who turned into his energy state. The Poké Ball sucked the ball of energy inside itself and closed, after which it shook three times and definitely closed.

'I've been on my adventure for three hours, and I already have a second Pokémon,' Yellow thought. 'So far so good.'

She returned Electra to her Poké Ball as well and went to the Pokémon Center to heal both of her Pokémon and to ask for the TRC. She got the same instructions as the other Palletans had, a few days ago, and she went into the direction of the museum.

"Room number 53 still has an empty bed," the housekeeper of the Trainer Center told Yellow after the girl had asked for a room.

"By the way," the small girl added, "is there someone else from Pallet Town staying here at the moment?"

"Let me check," the housekeeper responded. He looked at the list of all the Trainers that were staying there and found four names. "Red Newman, Zane Patterson, Blue Oak, and Gray Hudson. Oh, I get it," the man noted. "That Gray must be your brother."

"You got it," Yellow replied. "And do you know the other three as well?"

"Yes," she answered, "they are three of his best friends."

"Well then," the man concluded, "you'll see them tomorrow morning since they are already sleeping, but for now, have a good night." Yellow thanked the man and went to the room that was assigned to her.

When she walked inside, she was instantly welcomed by her two roommates. One of the two, the much bigger one, had light blue hair that reached to her shoulders and brown eyes like her own Vulpix' hide. She wore her red denim t-shirt over a white shirt, and, even though she was just as old as Yellow and the other girl, she was almost half a foot taller. She was introduced as Bethany Adkins by her friend with curly brown hair, who was about as tall as yellow, 4 feet and a bit. The most noticeable thing about the second girl was her piercing green eyes. Yellow had already seen green eyes since one of her best friends, Green, also had this eye color, but Ira Newton's green eyes were nothing like that.

Bethany and Ira were about to sleep when Yellow walked in, so the three decided that they would continue talking the next day. They did, however, still talk while Yellow was changing into her pajamas. During that little conversation, the Palletan girl discovered that Ira and Bethany came from Pewter City and Viridian City respectively and that both were participating in the Pokémon League Challenge as well.

The three wished each other goodnight and went to sleep, not knowing how much their bond would strengthen the next few days.

13. The Corul Woods

The next morning, Yellow woke up before her two roommates did, so she didn't go out of her bed yet. Instead, she looked around the room. She was sleeping in the single bed in the chamber, the other two had already taken the bunk bed before Yellow arrived at the TRC. Since it was almost midnight when the girl from Pallet Town walked into their room, Bethany Adkins from Viridian City and Ira Newton from Pewter City hadn't been able to properly introduce themselves to her yet, but neither had she. She did know that they both hadn't obtained any badges yet, but Ira was going to challenge Brock this day.

"I'm not used to not being the first to wake up," one of the girls groaned, it was the brown haired girl on the lower bed, Ira. Yellow looked her in the face and, again, noticed her piercing green eyes.

"Sorry," she laughed back.

"Well then, let's go to the canteen and see who I can introduce you to," Ira continued. "Maybe Blake is already up." Yellow was surprised by the admiring tone at which Ira pronounced the name Blake.

"Who's that?" She asked.

"Blake Moran, the cutest boy in the Kanto Region, if not in the whole world."

"I don't care about boys that much," Yellow replied.

"Oh, believe me," Ira responded, "you will after you've met him."

"Anyways, what about Bethany?" Yellow asked, trying to change the subject. "Shouldn't we wait for her to wake up?"

"Don't bother her," Ira answered. "She'll wake up in a few hours, but by that time, almost everyone will be done with starting the day, so let's go now."

"Okay," Yellow replied. After the two girls had got dressed, they went to the canteen for breakfast.

"So tell me a bit more about yourself," Ira said to Yellow after the two sat down at a table. "The only things I know about you are your name, your hometown, and that you don't care for boys, yet." She emphasized on that last word, which caused Yellow to smile.

"Well," she answered. "To start, I have a brother, Gray Hudson."

"Oh, I know him," Ira interrupted. "He's your brother?"

"He is," Yellow continued, "do you know if he's still in Pewter City?"

"I don't think so, he left for Mt. Moon last morning. But I'm not sure about that," Ira replied. "One thing I do know is that he's friends with Blake." Yellow laughed again.

"What about you?" she asked. "Do you have any siblings?"

"Nope, I'm an only child," Ira answered. "Continue talking about yourself, what Pokémon do you have, for example?"

"Electra and Momus," Yellow replied.

"I'm sorry?" Ira reacted.

"My Pokémon's nicknames," Yellow explained. "Electra is a Pikachu, and Momus is my Rattata."

"Bethany has a Rattata too," Ira noted. "She hasn't given him a nickname though. Do you like giving your Pokémon nicknames?"

"Yes," Yellow responded. "Well, not only to my Pokémon, but also to friends."

"Okay, what nickname would you give me?" Ira wondered.

"Something with your green eyes, I think," Yellow replied. "Let's see, maybe some kind of berry. Lum? Too short. Kebia, I like that. Babiri? Too male. Salac? Too evil. Micle, ooh, that sounds good, Micle. Do you like that?" Ira looked at Yellow with raised eyebrows and a little smile on her face.

"Interesting thinking process," she noted. "But yes, Micle is alright."

"I'll call you that then," Yellow concluded with a smile on her face. Ira laughed back.

"Oh, about that brother of you," she started. "Just to be sure, he has white hair, right?"

"Yup," Yellow replied.

"Dark gray eyes?"

"Correct."

"Big smile?"

"What?"

"Look behind you," a familiar voice added.

"No way," Yellow smiled.

"Way," Gray replied. The girl turned around and looked her brother in the face. He had, indeed, a big smile on his face.

"Good morning, sis," Gray continued. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"I know," Yellow replied. "I left Pallet Town last evening."

"And you're already in Pewter City?"

"Yes, my Pokémon guided me through the forest."

"Which one do you have?"

"I have two," Yellow responded. "I got Electra, my Pikachu, from the Professor, and I caught Momus, a Rattata, in the Viridian Forest."

"Has Oak also given you a Pokédex?"

"He has," Yellow replied, "isn't that amazing!"

"For you, yes. For me, not so much. I thought I was special for receiving a Pokédex, now all of us have one."

"Don't complain," Ira reacted, "you're not the only special person, but you are still one of the few. I haven't got a Pokédex, neither have Bethany, Blake, or anyone else."

"She's right," Yellow added.

"I guess so," Gray admitted. "Anyway, Brown and Blue will soon be here as well. I don't know about Red and Zane. In the meantime, why don't you introduce me to your new friend?"

"Yes," Yellow responded, "this is Micle. She's also on a journey through Kanto."

"I thought I remembered your name was something like Ira," Gray wondered.

"It is," the Pewterian girl reacted, "my name is Ira Newton. Your sister gave me that nickname because of my green eyes."

"Ah, of course," Gray reacted. "Anyways, nice to meet you. Anything else I should know?"

"No, but there is someth..." Ira wanted to ask Gray about Blake, but she interrupted herself because that boy had just entered the canteen and walked right to her table.

"Bonjour, Gray!" He shouted. "Ready for Mt. Moon?" Yellow looked around and noted the blond-haired guy the other two were already looking at.

"Definitely am," Gray answered his friend.

"And who might those two girls be?" Blake continued.

"This here is my little sister, Yellow," Gray explained.

"The other one is Ira, a new friend of hers."

"Nice to meet you," Blake said to the two girls. "My name is Blake Moran, I'm from Celadon City."

"Nice to meet you too," Yellow responded.

"Hi," was all Ira could bring out.

"I think I've already seen you around here," Blake told Ira.

"That's possible," Ira nervously responded.

"I believe that we should leave them alone for a bit," Gray suggested to his sister. "It's pretty clear to me that your friend likes Blake."

"You're right," Yellow smiled. When they sat down at another table, Yellow asked for Gray's journey until that point.

"It's going pretty well," the boy responded. "Dratini is getting more and more powerful, and I've already beaten Brock. I'm leaving Pewter City with Blake today, as you might've already heard."

"Yes, I have," Yellow responded, after which both fell silent until the third of the six friends entered the room, Brown.

"Yellow as well?" He exclaimed.

"Yes indeed," Gray's sister replied. "Happy to see you too, BB!"




Later that morning, when Zane, Red, and Blue had also been surprised by Yellow's presence in the TRC, Gray and Blake went to the east to take on the biggest Kantonian mountain. About two hours later, when it had already been one o'clock, Bethany also entered the canteen for 'breakfast.' At that point of the day, Zane, Red, and Blue had already challenged other Trainers on the TRC's battlefields, and Brown had gone training with Yolanda, Brock's sister.

Ira, Bethany, and Yellow sat in their room, talking about where they wanted to go. Yellow wanted to go to Drogg's Mines, the first-ever mine in Kanto located northeast of Pewter. Bethany came with the idea of visiting the Pewter Museum, but Ira had already been there multiple times, so that option was crossed away. Ira herself thought of training in the TRC, just like Red, Blue, and Zane. Bethany found Yellow's idea the better one, so the three took off to the Pewter Caves in the west, which took a turn to the north into the mines. However, when the three girls left the building, Yellow heard a strange deep voice in her head.

'At last, the three Weatherly Feathers have been reassembled. We need them to collect the seven colors. They need to go southeast, they'll find the altering Sapphire there inside the Corul Woods.'

"What in the world are the Corul Woods?" Yellow heard Bethany wonder.

"Did you hear that voice as well?" Ira asked.

"Yes," the Viridiane girl answered.

"And so did I," Yellow added.

"That's weird," Ira noted. "I could've sworn that that voice was just in my head."

"You're right," Bethany agreed. "It talked so quietly, I don't think you could've noticed it."

"Then we must've heard another voice," Yellow said. "The sound I heard was low, but it was definitely loud."

"Mine was an extremely high voice," Ira reacted, "it was almost screeching, they were definitely different voices. I heard something about a Sapphire in the Corul Woods."

"And that forest is southeast from here," Bethany added.

"Also something about three feathers," Yellow replied. Bethany and Ira both told that they also heard about that.

"I'd say we're going there right now," Ira decided.

"Me too," Yellow responded. "What about you, Sky?"

Sky was the nickname Yellow had given to Bethany because of her light blue hair, "I agree."




"Okay then," Yolanda started. "If you want to beat my brother, you should train by battling other Rock Types and find a strategy."

"But where are we going to find Rock Types?" Brown asked.

"Are you kidding?!" Yolanda exclaimed. "We're in a city that's literally surrounded by mountains. Where do you think we could find other Rock Types?"

"Oh, yeah," Brown reacted, a bit scared by Yolanda's sudden fury.

"To the Windless Mountains then," Yolanda continued, she had already calmed down. "That's a group of three mountains where it is never windy, like the name says. We'll go through the Pewter Caves towards the Onyx Highlands and head northwards from there on."

"I'm okay with that," Brown replied. The two left the Pewter Gym after they had said goodbye to Brock and went to the main road that led to the west, into the Pewter Caves.




"So how are you going to train?" Blue asked.

"I'm just going to challenge other Trainers," Zane responded.

"Me too," Red added.

"That was my plan as well, but wouldn't it be better if you went to train with the Gym Leader," Blue told Red, "he is after all the one you want to defeat."

"That's not a terrible idea," Red noted. "I'll see what Brock, uh, thinks about it."

"Go do that," Blue encouraged, "smell ya later."

"Adieu," Zane added.

"Goodbye," Red returned.

After Red had left the battlefields, where the three had been talking, Blue sighed. "Good, that one's gone."

"What?" Zane exclaimed. "You did that to get rid of him?"

"Of course I did," Blue reacted, "I don't want to train when he's anywhere near me."

"But you do know that you've just helped him beat the Gym Leader, don't you?"

"He won't defeat him anyway, he only has a Charmander. Even if he would, the next Gym Leader is Misty, and there's no way that he's going to earn her Badge. He won't stand in our way anymore."

"And why would you think that? He did manage to defeat your Water Type with Charmander."

"But that was before our Pokémon learned any moves with a type other than Normal."

"Doesn't matter, he ..."

"It does matter, he wouldn't be able to defeat my Squirtle now that he has learned Water Gun."

"Then challenge him to a battle to prove that."

"I will, and he won't win. I'm way ..."

"I'm going to stop talking to you," Zane decided. "I'm going to train, adieu."

He didn't wait for his 'friend' to react, not that Blue was going to.




Yellow, Ira, and Bethany went towards the southeast, and they all somehow knew where they needed to go, into the tiny flower park and through the trees to the south of that place.

"Sky, Micle, can you see that?" Yellow asked. Her two friends both confirmed. A few feet ahead of them, through the trees and bushes, some kind of portal could be seen.

"Should we trust it?" Bethany wondered.

"It might be dangerous," Ira replied," but on the other hand, it could change our lives. In a positive way."

"I think we should go into there," Yellow concluded.

"I agree," Ira reacted, and Bethany also nodded. The three approached the portal, and when Yellow stepped into it, everything turned black.

In the background, she could hear thunderstorms and the voice that spoke in her head earlier, "The blue gem is here, inside the Corul Woods. Search for the Viminal Lighthouse and face the dog."

Everything got colorful again, and Yellow now saw herself inside a big forest, but her friends were nowhere to be seen.

"Micle? Sky?" She tried.

No reaction.

She looked around, 'I'll have to find the lighthouse, those two will probably be searching for it as well. Now, where am I going to find it?' She started walking and looked at some creatures that looked like Pidgey and Spearow that were sitting on the tree branches.

'Are those Pokémon? They must be some I don't know about.' Everywhere around her were the weird creatures. There were also some weird-looking pieces of fruit hanging from the trees.

'I wonder if they are tasty," Yellow wondered. 'On the other side, they might be poisonous.'

She looked at the flying creatures, sitting on the strong branches of the many trees, and that was when she thought of something.

'The trees! I can climb the trees and look for that lighthouse!'




"Thanks for helping me," Brown said to Yolanda.

"No problem," she replied. It was already evening when Yolanda that they had done enough training for a day. Beedrill grew a lot stronger, and Geodude learned a new attack, Magnitude.

"I suppose I'll see you tomorrow?" Brown asked.

"Probably," Yolanda replied. "Good night!"

"Bis bald!" Brown responded.

"What?"

"That's my way of saying goodbye," Brown explained.

"Ah, okay," Yolanda understood, "bis bald, then." Brown laughed and turned around, back to the TRC.

When he entered that building, he saw Red and Blue arguing with each other and Zane trying in vain to calm them down.

"What happened?" Brown asked, but Red and Blue ignored him.

"When I went inside," Zane explained, "I noted that Red had already returned and that Blue and he had started another of their many arguments about who's stronger."

"It doesn't even surprise me anymore," Brown reacted, to which Zane laughed. After the quarrel between the two Palletan boys had ended, Zane noticed that Yellow and her two new friends still hadn't returned.

"I heard them talking about going to Drogg's Mines," said Blue.

"Maybe they're lost inside there," Red suggested.

"Never," Brown reacted. "That mine is created to make it impossible to get lost in. There's a map at literally every corner."

"He's right," Zane admitted. "But then, what happened?"

"I guess we'll find out tomorrow," Blue figured. "I don't know about you, but I am tired, I'm going to my room."

"I guess you're right," Zane responded. "There's nothing we can do about it anyway." The other two also agreed, so they went to their rooms and fell asleep.




'It's beautiful,' Yellow thought. 'Flying creatures everywhere.' She looked around over the sun-drenched forest. She saw the lighthouse in the distance, and it wasn't like any she had ever seen on pictures.

The massive tower had five parts, the first being a large square base. On top of that was the tallest section, a cubical tower of which the top was already higher up than most of the trees. The third part was a cylinder on top of the cube. It was slightly shorter than the lower tower but still incredibly high, and there were still two sections on top of it. The second-highest part was another circular tower, but this one was about as high as the base square. The last bit of the tower was the part where the light came from, it was the same as the second-last part, except for the lantern room and the green roof on top of it. Yellow took her eyes off the lighthouse and looked around some more. That was when she noticed the two orbs of light floating through the air, one red and one blue. She looked right up and saw another ball above her, a yellow one.

'Then those other two must be Sky and Micle,' Yellow figured. She decided she would go to the blue orb first, so she climbed down the tree and ran towards the direction where she had seen the flying ball.




"Sky, is that you?" Yellow exclaimed.

"Yellow? Over here!" Was Bethany's reaction. The big blue-haired girl turned around when she heard Yellow jump out of the bushes behind her.

"How did you find me?" The Viridiane girl informed.

"I climbed up a tree and saw a red and a blue orb floating through the air, and I figured that they were right above you," Yellow explained. "I also have a yellow one flying above me."

"So that third orb is where Ira is," Bethany understood.

"It is," Yellow confirmed, "and I also saw the tower."

"You were told to search for it as well?" Bethany surprisedly asked.

"Yup, it was the same voice that told me to go here."

"Same for me."

"I'm going up the trees to see where Micle is."

"Okay," Bethany agreed.

When she could see over the forest again, Yellow looked around for the red orb, and it was on the other side of the tower.

'Darn it,' she thought. 'We'll need to go past the lighthouse for Micle and then head back to it again.' She looked at the orb a bit better and noticed that it was heading in their direction.

'Fantastic,' the Palletan girl now thought. She went down again and told Bethany which direction they needed to go to.

"I believe that Ira has also figured it out, her orb was heading our direction."

"That's good news," Bethany noted.




"Does one of you know what the 'dog' is," Ira asked.

"No idea," Bethany admitted.

After she and Yellow had found Ira, the Pewterian girl confirmed that she had also discovered the floating orbs.

"I think it's some kind of Pokémon we don't know about," Yellow suggested.

"Just like those Flying Types all around this forest, you mean?" Ira asked.

"Exactly, like them," Yellow responded.

"And what do you think it looks like?" Bethany asked.

"We'll figure that out soon enough," Ira noted. "There's the lighthouse."

The three girls stopped talking and walked through the enormous gates of the imposingly tall building. They looked around and saw that the entire square base of the lighthouse existed out of one room, one expressionless room. There was nothing inside it except for a staircase that went up into the higher parts of the tower.

"Who are you?" A loud voice asked. "You, with the power of sleep, which I don't have, but do desire. You, with the ability to get outside of this forsaken tower, which I don't have, but do desire."

"I am Ira Newton, from Pewter City. They are Bethany Adkins, from Viridian City, and Yellow Hudson from Pallet Town."

Silence.

"Never heard of those places. Why are you here? You, with the advantage of passion, which I don't have, but do desire. You, with the strength to build and destroy creations, which I don't have, but do desire."

"We are here to face the dog," Yellow answered. This time, there was no silence, the voice reacted immediately.

"Then come forth. You, with the potential to become someone, which I don't have, but do desire. You, with a purpose in life, which I don't have, but do desire." The three girls blinked and were suddenly in front of the staircase.

"I guess we don't have a choice anymore," Bethany figured.

"So let's go," Ira replied.

When the three girls were walking up the lighthouse, they saw nothing but the endless stairs. Smelled nothing but the musty air that came from downstairs. Heard nothing but the loud barking coming from upstairs.

14. The Viminal Lighthouse

The next morning, when Zane woke up, he noticed that Red had already left their room. He looked at the clock, only twenty past six.

?Why am I up so early? How is Red up so early?? He stepped out of his bed and got dressed, after which he yet again left for the canteen. He noticed that it was raining outside.

?Six days of sunny days, and now it?s raining.? He walked into the main room of the TRC and saw that both Blue and Brown had also already woken up.

?Why are you so late?? Brown asked.

?Late?? Zane reacted. ?It?s only half past six.?

?Zane,? Blue responded, ?it?s 3 o?clock in the afternoon.?

?What?!? Zane exclaimed, he looked at the clock in that room, it was indeed showing the time Blue said.

?The clock in our room shows another time,? Zane noted.

?It has stopped,? Red explained. ?When I, um, woke up, I had the same thought, but it was already half past ten by then.?

?Okay, but that?s no problem, is it? The clock just needs to be recharged,? Zane said.

?It indeed isn?t,? Brown replied.

?There is, however, another problem,? Blue added.

?Yellow and her friends still haven?t returned,? Red explained.




?Stairs. Many stairs. More stairs. Even more stairs. Too many stairs. When is it going to end? Still stairs. Way too many stairs.? Yellow was still walking up the staircase into the highest part of the lighthouse, where the barking came from, and the voice, the voice that kept complaining about things it didn?t have, but did desire.

?You, with the abilities that I don?t have, but do desire. You, with the powers that I don?t have, but do desire.?

?When will it stop?? Ira wondered. ?This?ll drive us crazy before we even reach the top.?

?You, with the advantages that I don?t have, but do desire. You, with the potentials that I don?t have, but do desire... that I don?t have, but do desire... that I don?t have, but do desire... that I don?t have, but do desire.?

?How far do we still have to go,? Bethany thought. ?It feels like we?ve been climbing these stairs for ages.?

?You?re almost at the top,? the voice told Yellow. She figured that the two other voices had told her friends the same since they both looked up.

The barking got less periodic, but the voice kept going on: ?You, with the capabilities that I don?t have, but do desire. You, with the friends that I don?t have, but do desire. You have reached the top.? And the voice stopped.

Ira, walking in front of the other girls, was the first to see the room with the source of the voice in it. Yellow and Bethany heard her gasp.

?You won?t believe this,? Ira stated.

?We won?t if you don?t let us through,? Bethany noted. Ira walked up the last few steps and let her friends look over the edge. They had reached the Lightroom, but there was no light source, just a man and a weird creature. The three girls all thought that it looked like a Growlithe, but then with the colors of an Eevee.

?Could that be the ?dog? they were talking about?? Bethany wondered.

?Of course it?s a dog,? the man replied. ?What are you? Idiots??

The first thing Ira noticed about the man?s voice, was that it was the same that had been complaining all the time. The second thing was that it sounded as loud as it did the whole time. She looked aside and saw Yellow reach into her bag, which wasn?t there.

?Where are our bags?? Bethany realized. She looked around and saw a big stone in the middle of the room. On the big stone lied another, smaller stone, a blue one.

?Ira, Yellow, the sapphire.?

?Ohoh,? the man laughed. ?You?re them, the Three Weatherly Feathers. That explains why you didn?t know what a dog was. Well, in that case, let me tell you the riddle.

The altering Sapphire belongs to those who don?t wish what they don?t possess.
The protector, the sign of its contrary, will give the three their guess.

He has only one thing that can release him from his sin,
name it to get back to where you?ve been.

However, name something he doesn?t have but does desire,
and his companion will bring you higher.

In the top of the lighthouse, you will live forever,
if you misuse your endeavor.

Good luck.?




?It?s already evening again,? Brown noted. ?And those three still haven?t returned.?

?Where have they gone?? Red wondered.

?And we can?t even go outside to search them because of the weather,? Zane complained, a strong storm had been active all day long. Lightning stroke about every twenty seconds and the rain wouldn?t stop either.

?We should ask other Trainers to help us tomorrow,? Blue suggested. Brown agreed, ?the more people searching, the bigger the chance we have of finding them.? Red and Zane also agreed, so the four went around the TRC to ask people for assistance.

In the end, they managed to get together a group of thirty people, including themselves, who were willing to help. By that time, it was already late in the evening, so the most Trainers went to their rooms to sleep.

?We?ll see how it ends,? Red told Zane when the two were also back in their room.

?You?re right,? Zane replied. ?Good night.?

?Sleep well.?




?What?s that supposed to mean?? Yellow wondered, but the man didn?t reply.

?I guess we?ll have to figure this out ourselves,? Ira noted.

?Girls, I have a plan,? Bethany stated, she stood behind the stone on which the Sapphire lied. She turned her head towards the man.

?You should be happy that you can never get ill because of your immortality.?

?You don?t understand. You, with the blessing you feel when you get cured, which I don?t have, but do desire.?

?Bethany!? Ira yelled.

?Why?d you do that?? Yellow added.

?You?ve wasted our only guess!? Ira continued.

?I haven?t,? Bethany replied. ?Look what it says here,? she pointed at the back of the big rock. Ira and Yellow ran toward her and looked at what was carved into the stone:

The dog equals the exploding Electric Type.

?In the riddle, it says that the protector is the sign of the contrary of those who don?t wish what they don?t possess,? Bethany explained. ?Have you ever heard of the seven deadly sins??

?I think I have heard you talking about them once,? Ira admitted. ?But I don?t exactly remember what they are about.?

?Well, there are seven sins,? Bethany explained. ?Misjudgment, gluttony, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, and pride. My theory is that this man represents envy, or rather, the dog represents it.?

?I get that you think it?s envy,? replied Yellow. ?But why the dog??

?It says here that the dog equals the ?exploding Electric Type,? which is definitely Electrode. Adding to that that Electrode is our sign for envy, the dog must be the sign that is talked about in the riddle.?

?And we have to tell the dog what it is that releases the man from his envy,? Ira figured.

?Exactly!? Bethany exclaimed. ?Now what could it be that that man appreciates.?

?Let me try,? Ira suggested. She turned to the man, ?You should be thankful for your experience.?

?You don?t understand. You, with the life to apply your experiences, which I don?t have, but do desire.?

?I have the feeling that this could take a while,? Bethany stated.

Yellow also gave it a try, ?You should be grateful for your companion. He stands by your side all the time.?

?You don?t understand. You, with the freedom from the constant barking, which I don?t have, but do desire.?




?Okay everyone,? Nancy announced. ?We?re going to search through the whole city for our friends. If any of you sees anyone that looks like one of the three girls, ask that person about it. We?ll meet again in the evening, right here. Group one will search in Drogg?s Mines. Group two in the Pewter Caves and on the Onyx Highlands. Three in the surroundings of the city. Four in the northern part of the city, and group five in the southern section. Good luck!?

Nancy had been chosen by the four friends to do the talking since they were only kids. They had told the older woman everything she needed to know to make the announcement she just made.

The five groups went into their own directions. Luckily, this day brought nothing but sunlight and a few clouds, nothing like the day before, so the search could be carried through.

Zane, Red, Blue, Brown, and Nancy were all in group five, the team for the southern part of the city, the other woman in this group of six was Agnes, a good friend of Nancy. It was still morning, so they had the whole day to search. They started their search by the PMC and went eastwards from there. They looked past every building and around every corner.

When they walked past the flower park, Zane and Red told that they would search through there so that the other four could continue searching through the rest of their section. The flower park had lots of trees in it, so not the entire park could be seen in one glance.

?Bulbasaur, Spearow, Mankey, help us out here!? Zane shouted when he threw his three Pok? Balls. Red sent out Charmander as well so that all four Pok?mon could help find the three girls.

The six divided the park into six parts, each of them would take one of the lanes. Zane took the second-southernmost lane, while Red took the northernmost. It was Spearow who took the southernmost one. To the south of Red was Bulbasaur, then Charmander, who was in the lane above Mankey. While Zane was walking through his part, he started thinking.

?Why are we doing this. They are probably not even in the city, let alone in this flower park.? He had almost finished his lane when he heard his Spearow screech.

?No way,? he thought, while he ran toward the southern path. He saw his own Pok?mon first, then the other Pok?mon, Yellow?s Pikachu.

?Electra!? He shouted. ?Do you know where Yellow is??

The other three Pok?mon and Red had now also arrived at the southern section. Electra ran into the forest south of the park, and Zane followed her.




?Oh, yikes, this is bad,? said Blue. He looked at the three bodies that Zane had found after he had followed Electra into the forest.

?They are still breathing,? Red announced. ?But there?s no reaction to anything we do.?

?So what do we do?? Brown asked.

?We?re going to wait,? Agnes suggested.

?I suppose so. There?s nothing else we can do,? Nancy agreed.

?I?m afraid they?re right,? Red admitted.

?But what if they?re not coming back?? Zane asked. ?How are we going to tell Gray that his sister is gone??

?Calm down, Zane,? Brown tried, but it didn?t work.

?How am I supposed to calm down?! We?ve just lost a good friend and two girls that could?ve very well become friends as well!?

?Zane, we haven?t lost them,? Blue said.

?I think it?s better if you get out of this room and get some more fresh air,? Red suggested. Blue and Brown agreed.

?I?ll go with you,? the Viridiane boy stated. Zane admitted to his friends? orders and went outside with Brown.

?You know,? the darker-skinned boy said, ?this was probably the first and last time that Red and Blue agreed.?

Zane laughed.

?See, you can still smile. Now don?t worry and do something to distract yourself.?




?So what is it that he feels appreciation for?? Ira wondered. She was walking up and down the room, thinking of a solution. Bethany and Yellow sat down in thought, but none of the three had any idea. This went on like that for hours, but every time one of the three tried, the man replied with the now familiar sentence:

?Which I don?t have, but do desire.?

Suddenly, Yellow had thought, she was sure of it. She turned to the dog.

?Yellow, what are you doing?? Ira asked.

?Don?t do this,? Bethany warned, but Yellow ignored them both.

She talked directly to the dog, ?He is grateful for the fact that we saved him from this tower.? The dog seemed to listen, and he barked again as soon as Yellow had finished her sentence. He walked away from Yellow, backward, and began pulsing. Its colors faded and he started shrinking.

?You did it!? The man shouted. ?You freed me! I can live!? Yellow kept looking at the dog, it was disappearing.

?That was weird,? Ira noted. Yellow turned around to her friends and saw that both had a perplexed look on their face. The man thanked the three girls for their efforts.

?I now have abilities which I didn?t have, but do now. I now have potentials which I didn?t have, but do now. I now have ...?

?We get the idea,? Ira interrupted him.

The man apologized, ?I?m still used to my old speech pattern. Anyway, take the Altering Sapphire and leave this lighthouse, I?ll be fine now that Anvi is gone.?

?Anvi?? Bethany asked.

?The dog,? the man explained. ?By the way, my name is Rick Burks, nice to actually meet you.?

?Nice to meet you, too,? Yellow replied.

?And immediately followed by a goodbye, you?ll need to go.?

?You?re right. See you again, maybe,? Bethany responded.

?Probably,? the man put up a mysterious smile, but Bethany was the only one to see it.

?Ciao!? Yellow concluded as she took the blue gem off the big rock. As soon as the Sapphire left the rock, the three floating orbs above the three girls broke through the roof, and there was a flash of light when the blue, yellow, and red orbs touched Bethany, Yellow, and Ira respectively.

Everything went black again.




?Ow, my head, it hurts.?

?Are you alright?? Ira asked.

?Yeah, just a little headache,? Yellow answered.

?Same for Bethany and me,? Ira replied.

?I?m just thinking,? Bethany started, ?if that dog represented a deadly sin, and there are seven sins and seven of those gems, could the other gems be guarded by the other sins??

?I think you might be right, actually,? Ira responded.

?Well, I?m curious about wrath, then,? Yellow joked, the other two laughed.

?We should go on this adventure together,? Bethany stated. ?If we are the ?Three Weatherly Feathers? we?ll definitely encounter more of these.?

?You?re right,? Ira reacted. ?We?re going to collect the seven gems and see what happens.?

?Talking of which,? said Bethany, ?Yellow, show us that Sapphire.? Yellow reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled the Sapphire out of it.

?What?s that?? Ira wondered, pointing at a figure drawn on top of the gem.

?It looks like ... a Ditto!? Bethany exclaimed. ?The Altering Sapphire! Altering! Ditto!?

?You?re right,? Yellow reacted. The girls talked about the blue gem some more until Ira realized something, ?Our Pok?mon! Where are our Pok?mon??

?And our bags as well?? Bethany added.

?I?d say we go to the TRC to see if someone knows anything about this,? Yellow suggested.

?It looks like we haven?t been away for too long,? Bethany stated. ?It?s still in the middle of the afternoon.?




?Let?s check on the girls,? Red suggested to Zane. The two had just woken up since they had been up until long past midnight to stay by the three girls' bodies.

?Good idea,? Zane replied. They got dressed and walked out of their room to the sick bay. There, they were encountered by one of the doctors.

?Bad news,? she started. ?The three have disappeared.?

?What?? Zane exclaimed. ?How can they be just gone??

?We don?t know, I looked away for one second, and they were...? The woman?s wide-opened eyes revealed her big surprise.

?What?s the problem?? A girl asked. Red and Zane turned around, both with big eyes of amazement.

?You look like you?re seeing ghosts,? Ira noted. She and Bethany stood behind Yellow.

?I believe we are,? Red reacted.

?Where have you been?? Zane asked.

?We were just hanging out in the flower park,? Bethany replied.

?Hanging out?? Blue asked. Brown and he had also been listening from behind the doctor.

?Hanging out for three days, unconscious??

?Oh,? said Yellow. ?Yeah, that wasn?t exactly what we thought had happened.?

?We need to talk,? Brown concluded.

The three girls told the whole story to the four boys, who then explained what happened while they were in the Corul Forest and The Viminal Tower. Yellow showed the Sapphire when the boys asked for it, and Ira tried to give a description of the dog and the flying creatures of the forest. After everyone had completed their stories, the three girls asked for their Pok?mon and bags, which a doctor then went to get for them. After this, the seven went to their rooms, for it was already evening, and everyone had had their dinner.




In the following week, Brown continued his training with Yolanda. Red and Blue had some more arguments which Zane tried to solve, all during their training, and the three girls went to Drogg?s Mines and visited the Pewter Museum of Science.

Exactly one week after the three girls had returned, Zane and Blue left for Mt. Moon, leaving Brown and Red to train. The three girls had by then also decided to start training for their Gym Battles.

?Do you think Gray and Blake have reached Cerulean City yet?? Zane asked Blue.

?I hope so for them,? the professor?s grandson replied. ?It?s been ten days since they left, I don?t think it?d take them that long to get through there.?

?Are you that confident about ourselves as well?? Zane asked.

?No,? Blue answered. ?I have more confidence in ourselves.?

Zane laughed, and the two boys talked some more until they reached the imposing Mt. Moon.




?I am here to challenge Lt. Surge to a Gym Battle!? A boy shouted to the back of the Vermilion Gym.

?When it comes to Electric Types, I?m number one. You've got guts to challenge me,? The giant man shouted back.

?But still I?m going to,? the blond-haired boy responded.

?Ooh, I like you,? Lt. Surge replied, ?tell me, how many Badges and Pok?mon do you have??

?I have already got five badges,? the sixteen-years-old boy replied. ?And my Pok?mon are Magmar, Electabuzz, Sneasel, Hitmonlee, Slowbro, and Dragonair.?

?Interesting,? the Gym Leader replied. ?Then I?ll use Magnemite, Pikachu, Magneton, Electabuzz, Jolteon, and Raichu. Jerome, hit it!?

The judge next to the battlefield nodded, ?The Gym Battle between the challenger, Nick Patterson from Pallet Town, and the Gym Leader, Lt. Surge from Vermilion City, will now get underway.?

15. Mt. Moon (Pt. I)

"It's even bigger than I expected," Zane noted.

"I thought that too," Blue replied.

The two friends walked toward the building that was in front of Mt. Moon, it was the entrance to the mountain separating the two northern cities of the Kanto region. Inside the building, the two both got a map of the mountain that showed all discovered caves, the Pokémon that were known to roam them, and the fastest route from one the side to the other. On the backside of the building was the exit, straight into the mountain.

"One last bit of advice," the clerk told Blue and Zane, "stay on that given path. You're still young, so you won't get out the deeper caves as easily as more experienced Trainers would. No matter how big the urge, stay on the path!" The two boys nodded and turned to the exit of the building, finally into the largest mountain of Kanto, Mt. Moon.

"So we need to go to the right here," said Blue, looking at his map.

"Yup," Zane confirmed, "and then we'll probably find a horde of Zubat, so we'll need our Pokémon."

"You're right. Squirtle, Nidoran, come out!"

"Bulbasaur, Spearow, Mankey, you as well!" The seven walked a bit further, and there was indeed a swarm of Zubat just flying through that part of the cave. The two boys started attacking the wild Poison Types, Blue and Zane ordered Squirtle and Spearow to attack with Water Gun and Fury Attack.

"Bulbasaur! Help them with Cut!" Zane added. Spearow hit some Zubat multiple times in a row, Squirtle hit them with the beam of water, and Bulbasaur used his claws to try to beat them. The Zubat, however, fought back with Supersonic and Absorb, so the two boys told their last two Pokémon, Nidoran and Mankey, to use Peck and Covet respectively. The five attacks were enough to defeat most of the Zubat, but Mankey and Bulbasaur were defeated by the stronger ones that already knew Flying Attacks. It seemed that Squirtle knew they were in trouble, so he attacked the wild Pokémon that were hitting Nidoran by forming bubbles in his mouth, instead of using Water Gun.

"Amazing!" Zane heard Blue shout. "Squirtle knows Bubble now instead of Water Gun! That attack can slow the target down!"

And it did, the remaining Zubat were now a lot slower than the boys' three Pokémon. Blue's Nidoran, however had been confused by a Supersonic, so he got beaten by himself. The Zubat, on the other side, were no match for the two other Pokémon, so they fled, but Spearow chased them and beat them anyway. Zane felt his Pokédex buzzing again and opened it to see what his Pokémon had learned.

Spearow has learned a new move, called Pursuit, a physical Dark-type Attack with an accuracy of 100%. If the target is substituted or flees, the power of this attack doubles. Spearow already knew four moves, so he forgot the move Leer.

"Spearow, come back!" Zane shouted. "You can stop using Pursuit, those Zubat are gone!" By the time Spearow returned, Zane and Blue had already healed their other Pokémon. After Zane had done the same to his Flying Pokémon, the two continued their path toward the exit of the mountain.




"I say we go to the deeper parts of the Pewter Caves to train our Pokémon," Ira suggested.

Yellow agreed, and Bethany nodded as well, so the girls went westward to the caves that connected the untroubled City with most of the surrounding mountains. It had only just been 8 o'clock, so the three had a whole day to spend inside the Pewter Caves. During their training, Bethany's Vulpix learned the attack Baby-Doll Eyes, and Ira's female Nidoran forgot Growl for the Poison-type attack Poison Sting. At a certain point, the three girls found themselves surrounded by Onix and Geodude.

"Vulpix, use Ember!" Bethany shouted.

"Ponyta, you as well!" Ira added.

"Rattata, Quick Attack!" Bethany commanded, and Yellow told the same to Momus.

"Nidoran, attack with Double Kick!" Ira continued.

"Electra, attack the Geodude!" Yellow finished, after which she immediately remembered that her Pikachu could only attack with Thunder Shock, so she couldn't do any damage to the Ground Types. Pikachu attacked anyway, and Yellow felt her Pokédex buzzing.

'What's this?' She wondered as she took her Pokédex out of her bag.

Pikachu has learned a new move, called Mud-Slap, a special Ground-type Attack with an accuracy of 100%. This Attack lowers the target's accuracy.

"Electra!" Yellow now shouted. "Keep using Mud-Slap!" But the Onix were too strong, they defeated Bethany's and Ira's Fire Types and Yellow's Pikachu, so the three girls now had to beat five Onix with only two Rattata and a female Nidoran.

"What are we going to do now?" Yellow fearfully asked her friends.

"I have an idea," Bethany replied. Yellow turned to her and saw that the Viridiane girl had a Great Ball in her hand, ready to be thrown at one of the Onix.

"Momus, attack that Onix with Quick Attack!"

"Rattata, you as well!" Bethany added.

"Nidoran, try to poison her with Poison Sting!" Ira's Pokémon was able to inflict the Onix with the status condition, so Bethany got ready to throw her Great Ball.

"Now's your chance!" Yellow shouted, and the girl threw the Ball. The button hit the Onix, and the Great Ball opened while the Onix was turned into her energy state, which was enclosed in the capturing device. The Ball fell onto the rocky ground and started shaking. Once, twice, thrice, and no more, Onix was caught.

"Okay, Onix!" Bethany shouted while sending her out again. "Attack the wild Pokémon!"

Ira grabbed an antidote and some Potions out of her bag, and Yellow checked her Pokédex to see what moves Bethany's new Pokémon knew. While the girls' other three Pokémon were busy defeating the remaining four Onix, and Bethany called back her Rock Type to let it be healed by Ira, Yellow explained which moves the new Pokémon knew.

"Let's see, she can use Bind, Harden, Rock Throw, and Tackle. Harden raises her own defense, and the other three attacks have no special effects."

"Okay then," Bethany reacted. "Ira, are you done?" The Pewterian nodded.

"Then it's time for my Onix' first battle, use Rock Throw!" The three girls looked back at the battle and saw that not only two of the Onix had been defeated, but both Rattata as well.




"We're almost there," said Blue.

"See?" Zane replied. "That wasn't difficult at all."

"You're right," Blue responded.

"So Gray and Blake might've even already defeated Misty," Zane continued.

Suddenly, Blue hushed Zane, "I think I can hear someone talk." Zane listened and heard what Blue had already noticed, two voices complaining about something.

"We've even caught that Pokémon for them," the male voice said.

"Well," the female voice replied, "I wouldn't say that we've actually caught it, it was more like stealing."

"Judy! Don't say that so loud, there might be other people who can hear us talk."

"Sorry," the woman replied, "hadn't thought about that."

"That wouldn't be the first time."

'I know those voices,' Zane thought.

"Well," the woman continued, "at least we've received stronger Pokémon."

"And we now have all four of the Rocket Brothers to help us." The man added. "If we encounter those two brats again, we can easily defeat them."

Judy laughed, "you're right. Those kids with their Charmander and Bulbasaur."

"And don't forget the Spearow and Mankey," the man added. "We need to run," Zane whispered. "Now." Blue didn't ask why but followed his friend.

"Look there!" Judy shouted. "It's that boy with the Bulbasaur!"

"And another one of those brats!" The man added. "Guys, over here!"

"Run faster," Zane exclaimed. Blue was surprised by the sudden determination in Zane's voice, but he followed him anyway.




'I think it's finally time,' Gray thought while he walked up to the Cerulean Gym. 'Dratini is a lot stronger now, this shouldn't be too difficult. Let's go.'

He opened the doors of the Gym and looked around. This Gym was completely different from the Pewter Gym, the battlefield was one big pool for the Water Types, and there were two straight bridges over it for the Pokémon that can't swim. There were also some people swimming in the pool with their Pokémon.

"I, Gray Hudson from Pallet Town, am here to challenge Misty Wells for a Gym Battle!" Everyone who was swimming stopped doing that and went to the changing rooms. Everyone, except for one girl.

"Are you the Gym Leader?" Blue asked.

"Your challenge is accepted," the girl replied, after which she climbed up the bridge and walked to the opposite side of the pool. "Which Pokémon and Badges do you have?"

"My Pokémon is Dratini and, so far, I've only earned the Boulder Badge."

"Alright, let's see," Misty reacted. "Then I will use just my Starmie. Could a judge come to the field?" Someone walked out of the changing rooms and stepped on the starting platform next to the pool.

He announced the battle rules, "The Gym Battle between the challenger, Gray Hudson from Pallet Town, and the Gym Leader, Misty Wells from Cerulean City, will now get underway. Both Trainers may only use the Pokémon they named earlier. Let the Gym battle begin!"




"Ira, do you still have some Revives left?" Yellow asked.

"Yes, exactly five."

"And what about Potions?" Bethany continued.

"About fifteen."

"Then could you heal our Pokémon? I think we might need them."

The three girls were looking at the cave entrance that had just appeared between the two remaining Onix. While Ira was healing their Pokémon, the other two kept watching the big crack in the wall, where they saw a silhouette moving.

It had about the same shape as Electra, but not fully the same. The tail was thinner, the ears had a weird curl, and everything about the silhouette made it seem bigger and stronger than Pikachu, which it was. Once the Pokémon stepped into the light, and its colors were revealed, the three girls saw its thick orange fur and the yellow cheeks. The dark patches of fur on the ends of both hands and feet were also visible now, just like the white belly. It was Bethany who said the obvious, it was a Raichu. Something was off though, the eyes were much smaller than they should've been. Suddenly, the two Onix stuck their heads in the ground and dug their way out of the cave where the Raichu's cheeks were now intimidatingly giving off sparks.

"Why would they flee from an Electric Type?" Ira wondered. "It can't do anything against two Ground Pokémon." The answer came soon, as the Raichu's form started changing, its entire skin turned purple. When the mass transformed into another shape, the color was mainly still there, but there were also other colors on the Weezing that was now floating in the place where Raichu was just standing.

"What was that?" Yellow exclaimed. "It just changed its fo..." But she interrupted herself. "Oh, I get it!"

"What do you get?" Ira asked.

"She doesn't get what you get," Bethany joked, but the other two were not in the mood to laugh.

"I found it funny," the big girl mumbled.

"It's a Ditto," Yellow continued.

"Just like the one on the Sapphire," Bethany noted.

"Does that have anything to do with this?" Ira asked.

"I don't know," Yellow admitted.

"Where is the Sapphire?" Bethany added.

"I put it in my bag when we got back to our room in the TRC."

"Then show it to that Weezing," Bethany insisted.

"Ditto," Ira corrected.

"Doesn't matter," Yellow reacted, while she swung her bag from her back to get the Sapphire. When she did that, however, the Ditto transformed into a speedy Jolteon and sprinted toward Yellow to take the bag out of her hands with its sharp fangs.




"We shouldn't go off the main path!" Blue shouted at Zane.

"We have no choice," Zane replied. "Those two people are from Team Rocket. They are the ones who Red and I battled in the Viridian Forest."

"But where are we going to go now?"

"I don't know," Zane admitted. "But we're not turning around." Blue gave up trying to convince his friend and followed him.

"Go Arbok!" The two boys heard the female Team Rocket grunt yell, but she was still far behind them.

"We'll never be able to stay ahead of an Arbok!" Zane noted.

"So we need to battle?" Blue asked.

"Not yet," Zane answered. "I can see the exit!"

"What?" Blue exclaimed. "How can we be at the exit? We were running away from it!"

"I know," Zane responded. "But that doesn't matter." Blue agreed and followed his friend out of the mountain, but it didn't go exactly as planned.

"It's a dead end," Blue noted.

"And it's already nighttime," Zane added. The two boys looked around and only then noticed the man leaning against the mountain with his arms crossed, right next to the entrance Blue and Zane had just come out of. The man had brown hair, covered by a dark blue fedora. The same dark blue was his jacket, which the brown-eyed man wore over his light blue blouse.

He smiled at the two boys, "I guess you're here for the Clefairy Dance as well?"

"The what?" Blue asked. The man shook his head.

"The Clefairy Dance. Every full moon, the Clefairy gather here for a dance. It's beautiful, but also not very well-known. As far as I know, I'm the only one who knows about it. I'm Bill, by the way, Bill Shaw."

"And I'm Zane Patterson, this is Blue Oak," Zane answered. "We need to get out of here, we're being chased by Team Rocket."

"Team Rocket!" Bill exclaimed. "Why do they always have to screw things up."

"You know them?" Blue asked.

"Yes. More and more people are starting to know and hate them," Bill replied. "Why are they after you?"

"Well," Zane started, "I was in the forest with Red Newman, a friend of ours..."

"Never mind," Bill interrupted. "It's a long story, I get it." Suddenly, a wild Pokémon jumped at Blue and hit him with Double Slap.

She was pink with small dark pink ovals underneath her eyes. Her tail had a curl, just like the fur on her forehead. The big, sharp ears had brown tips, and the shape of the Pokémon resembled a star.

"Blue!" Zane shouted. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, I am definitely," Blue bitterly replied. "But that Clefairy is going to pay for this. Nidoran, attack!" Blue threw a Poké Ball to send out his Poison Type.

"Use Focus Energy and then strike!"

"I can see that you're still kids," Bill noted. "Otherwise, you'd be aware of the fact that you could use that Clefairy against those Rocket grunts."

"I don't need a Clefairy for that," Blue noted, "she's too weak. Nidoran, strike now!" Nidoran jumped at the Clefairy and hit her with his horn, poisoning her with it.

"So that was Poison Sting," said Blue while reading from his Pokédex. "Nidoran has just learned that attack."

"And now for that Clefairy," Bill continued. "If one of you would like to capture it, now's your chance."

"No way," Blue repeated. "Nidoran, use..."

"Stop it, Blue," Zane interrupted, with a Poké Ball in his hand.

"I'm going to capture that Clefairy."




"Electra, use Mud-Slap on that Ditto! Momus, Quick Attack!" Yellow commanded. "We need to get my bag back."

"Rattata, help them with Quick Attack. Onix with Rock Throw, and Vulpix with Ember," Bethany added. Ira's Pokémon supported the other five, her Nidoran and Ponyta used Poison Sting and Ember respectively.

The Ditto, however, transformed into a Haunter to let the attacks of the two Rattata miss because of the immunity and Electra's with its Levitate Ability. The other four attacks managed to damage it quite a lot, though. The Haunter-Ditto used Payback to defeat Bethany's Onix and Ira's Ponyta.

"Electra," Yellow continued, "use Thunder Shock! Momus, stay back for a moment." Bethany, realizing Yellow's plan, told her Rattata to stay back as well, while Vulpix was told to use Ember and Nidoran used Poison Sting. The Ditto transformed into Dugtrio to resist all incoming attacks, while both Rattata were focusing on it. Yellow felt her Pokédex buzzing, but she decided to look at it later.

At the exact moment Ditto had transformed, Momus and Rattata hit it with Quick Attack, both critical hits. Ditto, not realizing that a Dugtrio can't keep hold of something, dropped Yellow's bag on the ground. By the time it realized how clumsy his transformation was, Ditto transformed into a Machoke, but it was too late, Yellow had already picked up her bag. She took the Altering Sapphire out of it and noticed that it was glowing.

Machoke-Ditto jumped at the Sapphire and grabbed it out of the girl's hand, after which everything went dark. Neither of the three girls nor their Pokémon could see anything.




"Okay then," said Bill, "I will heal your Pokémon. Then. We'll have a battle against those thugs. What Pokémon do you have aside from Clefairy and Nidoran?"

"I have a Squirtle," Blue answered.

"My other Pokémon are Bulbasaur, Spearow, and Mankey."

"Okay, not bad," Bill mumbled. "Those thirteen combined might be enough for two Rocket Grunts."

"By the way," Zane noted, "let's see which attacks Clefairy knows." He opened his Pokédex and scanned his Clefairy with it.

"Sing, Disarming Voice, Double Slap, and Growl."

"You have a Pokédex as well?" Bill wondered.

"We both have," Blue answered.

"Great, I have one too. Made it myself."

"We both got it from my grandfather," Blue replied.

"And your grandfather is?"

"Samuel Oak."

"Oh, that changes things a bit."

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind," Bill responded. "Zane, I want you to let your Clefairy put the first Pokémon that comes out of that cave to sleep with Sing, my Clefairy will do the same to the next one. My Eevee will lower their accuracy with Sand Attack. By the way, you're gonna love that one, look at this."

Bill threw one of his Poké Balls in the air, and out of it came a light yellow-gray Pokémon with gray fur around his neck and on the end of his tail. He walked on four legs, his eyes had a dark-umber color, and he had long pointy ears.

"What kind of Eevee is that?" Blue wondered.

Bill smiled, "Have you ever heard of Shiny Pokémon?"

16. Meanwhile... (Pt. I)

4th of April, 3258. Pallet Town. 11:13 AM.

"He did what?" Petra exclaimed.

"Calm down, mom," Kiara reacted. Orion had just told his wife and daughter about what had happened to Zane in Viridian City one day earlier. Petra didn't particularly like the thought of her son falling to the ground from a 400 feet tall building.

"You should've taken him back home right then," Petra yelled. "I knew it would be a bad idea to send him on his adventure already."

"Honey," Orion tried, but Petra refused to give it.

"Nick also had to wait until his fifteenth birthday before he could leave, why did we let Zane go before he even turned eleven?!"

"Because of his friends!" Orion shouted back.

"Please talk a bit quieter," Kiara interrupted, "my ears are starting to hurt."

"I'm sorry, Kiara," her mother apologized. "Why don't you go to your room?"

"She's right," Orion added. "Go upstairs."




16th of April, 3258. Pallet Town. 3:34 PM.

"Green?" Professor Oak shouted. A few seconds later, the girl with calm green eyes walked into her room, followed by her Venonat. The Bug Type was looking around curiously, as she hadn't been in Oak's room in the lab yet.

"What's the problem?" Green asked. Samuel told her that he had to be on Cinnabar Island in the coming week and that he had to leave immediately. He wanted his granddaughter to tell her parents to look after the lab while he was gone. The eight-years-old girl nodded and walked out of the room to run home.

"Mom, dad! Grandfather is going to Cinnabar! He wants you two to care of the lab!"

"No problem!" Dwayne replied. The tall man with the blond stubble walked into the living room. "When is he going to leave?"

He looked for his daughter with his blue eyes, but she was already gone again.

'Let's just hope he agrees,' he thought while he pushed his glasses back on top of his nose.




16th of April, 3258. Route 22. 1:12 PM.

"Hello there," the Victory Road Guard welcomed. "Could you show me your Badges?"

"Yes, of course," the green-haired girl replied.

"Here you go." She gave her Badge Case to the guard.

"Let's see... Marsh, Cascade, Boulder, Earth, Volcano, Soul, Rainbow, and Thunder. Seems good to me. Can I have your name?"

"It's Kelly Houston, from Fuchsia City," the girl answered.

"Okay, that's settled then," The guard continued. "Good luck to you and Nidoking, off you go."

"Thanks," Kelly replied, and she walked through the west door of the small building near Viridian City to climb the Victory Road.




16th of April, 3258. Vermilion City. 5:38 PM.

"So the forest guides have disappeared," one of the two men started, "great. Do we know why?"

"Not yet," the man with the brown coat replied. "There are currently three teams doing research as to why they've left their house. The main problem is now that the house seems to have disappeared as well."

"How's that possible, a gigantic house can't just vanish. It must be somewhere," the first stated.

"If you want to go search for it with them, go ahead. I won't stop you," his accomplice replied, while his dark brown eyes looked at the brown-skinned man with a red beard without a mustache. Most notable was the black eye patch over his left red eye. He had been in a fight with a wild Persian when he was about 20 years old, some 15 years ago. The Persian had been angered by one of the man's friends and started attacking everyone near herself, scratching out the eye of one of the men. A scar could still be seen from above the man's eye patch to lower on his face.

"Are you kidding?" He exclaimed. "There are much bigger problems we should think about."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who's thinking that," the man with the dark brown coat replied.

"Those powerful Pokémon and Team Rocket are way more urgent problems," the scarred man stated. "Do you have any news on that?"

"Yes," the other answered. "Blake has made some new friends, five boys who I had also met a few days earlier. They were at that time being attacked by a Golem, one of the wild Pokémon. When I met one of them again, Oak's grandson, he told me about an incident with a Poliwrath in Viridian City, presumably also one of the wild Pokémon."

The orange-haired man nodded, he was writing down everything his companion was telling. "Go on, go on."

"Yes," the man with dark brown eyes continued. "About one and a half week ago, when I was talking with Blake, those five boys had gone to the Onyx Highlands together with Brock, and they encountered a Machamp there. Blake and I managed to save them, after which I gave each of the five a 100 KR Emergency Device."

"Do you still call them that?"

"Of course," the man with the dark brown coat and eyes replied. "Why would I change its name? It is exactly what its name says it is. Could it be more perfect?"

"Well," the scarred man replied.

100 KR interrupted him, "Shut up."




17th of April, 3258. Cinnabar Island. 7:21 AM.

"Green! Wake up!" The Professor was knocking on the door of Green's cabin. "The ship has arrived!"

After the Palletan girl had told her parents to look after the lab, she ran to the port of Pallet Town to see her grandfather buying a ticket for the next ship to go to Cinnabar Island. She shouted at him, and when she asked him if she could come with him, the Professor showed her two tickets.

"Who's going with you then?" Green had asked.

"You," her grandfather replied. Surprised by this, the girl followed Samuel onto the boat, and so, the two went to Cinnabar Island together.

Back to the cabin.

Green got out of her bed, "I'm coming." She shouted back. After she had got dressed, she opened the door to look her grandfather in his dark blue eyes.

"Ready for your first field examination?" He asked.

"Definitely," the eight-year old replied. After the Professor had thanked the captain of the ship, the two walked over the plank from the ship to the land.

"Samuel, long time not seen!" A man shouted. He was bald, but there was still a big, gray mustache under his nose. He wore small sunglasses to cover his reddish brown eyes, and his red blouse and purple-dotted tie were covered by his white lab coat. He walked using a wooden cane.

"Blaine," the Professor shouted back. "How good to be here!"

"The pleasure's all mine," the other man replied.

"How have you been?" Oak asked. "Your hair hasn't done particularly well, has it?" He laughed, and the bald man laughed with him.

"Neither have my legs," he added, nodding at his cane. "How about you?"

"Not bad, I've become the grandfather of a girl and a boy, and my research is going well."

"Congratulations," Blaine replied. "And have you heard anything about the other three?"

"Well, I know that Vito lives in Lavender, but I have no idea how he's doing. Agatha's in Viridian City, and I know that she has started her own school."

"Agatha?" Blaine exclaimed.

"She's nothing like that battle-loving woman she used to be," Oak admitted. "But I heard that she does something else as well, but nobody knows what."

"I suppose it's got something to do with Pokémon Battles," Blaine reacted. "Would be typical for her. What about Tristan? Nothing new, I presume."

"Nothing new indeed," the Professor confirmed. "Anyways, you had some kind of problem with Eevee, I understood from your letter. I brought someone with me to help."

"And who might it be?"

"Green, my granddaughter," Oak answered, pointing at the girl standing behind him.

"Welcome to Cinnabar Island," Blaine said to Green. "I'm its Gym Leader and Mayor, so you can ask me anything you want to."

"Why are you wearing sunglasses? It's not even sunny," Oak's grandson asked, to which the bald man laughed.

"I always wear those," he explained. "Except for when I'm thinking of new riddles or questions. That's what my Gym is all about, after all."

"So, tell me," Samuel continued. "What might the problem be?"




4th of April, 3258. Pallet Town. 11:18 AM.

"Believe me, this doesn't happen every day," Orion tried.

"How can you know?" Petra shouted back. "Can you look into the future?"

"Of course I can't, but I think it's pretty obvious that this was something quite unusual," Orion stayed calm.

"But more of those somethings could happen pretty soon," Petra countered.

"Don't act so fatalistic," Orion replied.

"I'm not fatalistic," Petra returned. "I'm careful. I don't want to lose our son."

"He's with his friends," Orion continued. "They'll protect him when needed, and the other way around. That's where friends are for."

"You of all people shouldn't say that," Petra shouted.

"Don't start about that imbecile!" Orion warned.

Petra looked scared now, "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry," the blond-haired man had calmed down again. "And by the way, Kirk will look after Zane if it's necessary."




19th of April, 3258. Indigo Plateau. 12:23 PM.

'Finally, we've done it,' Kelly Houston thought, while she looked at the exit of the Victory Road. Walking next to her were her six Pokémon. Nidoking, which she got from her mother when he was still a small Nidoran. Seadra, who she caught with her fishing rod, south of Fuchsia City, her home city. Together with her Horsea and male Nidoran, she managed to beat Koga, the Fuchsian Gym Leader. During her journey through Kanto, she got a Porygon from Bill when she helped him with his experiment on Pokémon teleportation. Furthermore, she caught a Mankey near Viridian City, a Doduo on Cinnabar Island, and a Snorlax near Lavender Town. Her six Pokémon were now all fully evolved and ready for the Pokémon League Competition, for which they still had to wait more than a year. As soon as the seven went out of the mountain, they saw the big mansion on top of it.

"Welcome, Miss Houston," someone greeted. "If you could return your Pokémon and follow me, then I'll guide you to your room."




The room was big, maybe even bigger than her whole house. While she took some items out of her bag and put them into one of the closets, she thought about what she was going to do in the time before the announcement of the League Battles.

'I'm probably going to train a lot,' she figured. After she had taken a shower, she decided to go to the battlefields she could see through the windows of her room. There were two other Trainers battling each other there, they introduced themselves as Dana Brady and Darnell Rhodes, the only two who had already reached the Indigo Plateau.

"Well, not anymore, obviously," Dana noted, she was a 23-years-old girl from Cinnabar Island. Her starter Pokémon was an Eevee, which she chose to evolve into a Vaporeon with the Water Stone she had bought in Saffron City. Her hair was blond, she wore a dark red blouse, and she had two silver earrings.

The boy, Darnell, was 19 years old, and he had a yellowish skin tone. His hair was dark purple, and he had a dark red t-shirt to fit with the color of his eyes. He started his journey with an Eevee as well, but he chose to evolve him into a Jolteon. His first Badge was the Marsh Badge, which he won from Sabrina in his home city, Saffron City.

"Let's all battle against each other!" Dana proposed. "We'll all send out one Pokémon and let all three of them battle against the others. Just to see what happens."

"I agree," Darnell replied, and Kelly nodded to confirm her approval.

"Okay then, let's go Sandslash!" Dana shouted.

"I choose you, Persian!" Darnell added.

Kelly sent out the Pokémon she got from the PokéManiac, "Come out Porygon!"




21st of April, 3258. Cinnabar Island. 1:34 PM.

"Thanks for your help," said Blaine. "And I hope I'll see you again in the years to come."

"That won't be a problem," Oak responded. He and Green had helped the Cinnaban Gym Leader get rid of a plague of Eevee stealing the evolutionary stones on the island. Blaine was afraid of defeating the Pokémon if he sent out his Fire Types, but capturing them was impossible for him since Eevee are rather quick, and the Gym Leader wasn't.

Samuel came up with the idea of placing some of the evolutionary stones on a boat to Fuchsia City. Most of the Eevee, except for one, went onto the ship, as it was unguarded. By doing so, they trapped themselves onto the boat. When it arrived at its destination, the Gym Leader of Fuchsia City and his daughter made sure that the Eevee were lead to the Safari Zone safely.

The one Eevee that stayed on Cinnabar Island, the shrewdest of them all, managed to get into the Cinnabar Laboratory, causing a lot of trouble. To make him calm down, Green captured him and decided to keep him as her Pokémon, which Venonat more than definitely liked.

Before the two went back to Pallet Town, Oak thought to go to the Poké Mart to get a present for Zane's father, as it was Orion's birthday the next day.

After waving the two goodbye, Blaine turned around to go back to the Gym to think about new riddles.

'Maybe something about names...'




16th of April, 3258. Mt. Moon. 11:57 PM.

"Yes, boss, that boy managed to capture the Mankey. He used him to battle against Jeff and Judy in the Viridian Forest. He fought against Jeff's Pokémon together with another boy to protect the Forest Guides."

"But did you get the Pokémon?"

"Yes, we have it. I've sent Proton and Archer to bring it to our Saffron City Base."

"Good. What about the boys, who were they?"

"Jeff heard that the one boy is Red Newman, and the one with Mankey is Zane Patterson."

"Patterson?! Why is it always the Pattersons causing trouble to my plans."

"I don't know boss."

"That was a rhetorical question, Lucy! What about that mission from the police? Any news?"

"The Poliwrath managed to do some serious damage to Viridian City. The Golem and Machamp, however, only briefly appeared near Route 1 and the Onyx Highlands respectively before being defeated by the man we know as 100 KR."

"Then get rid of that man, and give me more details about Poliwrath."

"He caused some massive damage in the north of the City, but he was defeated by Professor Oak and his Mega Kangaskhan. One positive thing is that Machamp managed to beat all of Brock's Pokémon, even his Mega Aerodactyl."

"It has no use if there's one positive thing. I need only positive things. Otherwise, your project will be canceled, and we'll go for Caleb's plan."

"I'll make sure that it works."

"You better do."

"Happy birthday, by the way."

"What?!" "It's been midnight, it's your birthday now."

"Oh, shut up. Unless you have something useful to tell me, you can go."

"Well, there is something."

"Then tell me!"

"Jeff just shouted that two boys have just been seen, one of which is the Patterson boy."

"Then get them!"




18th of April, 3258. Cerulean Cave. 12:01 AM.

In the dark caves northwest of Cerulean City, there hadn't been any sound for ages. The cave was sealed around the same time as the establishment of the barrier, 3258 years ago. Nothing could enter or exit the cave. Nothing except for the two that were now walking down the small river flowing through the mythical cave. One Pokémon and one human. The man was wearing a dark green cloak covering his whole body so nothing could be seen of him, only his voice could be heard.

His companion, however, could fully be seen. It was a gray Pokémon with a long purple tail and two short, blunt horns on top of its head. There was also some kind of small tube from its head to the breastplate over its shoulders. Its six fingers and six toes all ended in rounded tips, and its glowing eyes had a cold golden color. Everyone would've been scared at the sight of this Pokémon, but the cloaked man wasn't, he was the Pokémon's friend.

"So the Weatherly Feathers have been reunited," the man started.

"They indeed have," the Pokémon responded by sending a message into the man's brain.

"So the barriers will be lifted fairly soon. And I heard that your friend has been captured by that Team Missile, or what was it?"

"Team Rocket."

"That was it."

"He has been captured, yes. I do, however, believe that those five boys from Pallet Town will be able to rescue him. Together with that Celadonian boy and the Weatherly Feathers, of course."

"And don't forget about the Fuchsian girl."

"You're right, the Fuchsian girl."

"By the way," the man continued. "I'm thinking about paying a visit to the Professor."

"Don't," the Pokémon warned. "He'd be shocked by the way you still look."

"You're right," the man admitted. "Let's see how it's going with those boys. They were in Mt. Moon yesterday, right?"

"Correct, let's see what exactly happened over there."

17. Mt. Moon (Pt. II)

"Clefairy, use Sing!" Zane and Bill shouted at the same time.

The first two Pokémon to come out of the cave, both Arbok, were put to sleep by the Fairy Types. The next four, however, were two Zubat and two Koffing. Since the two floating Pokémon knew Sludge, both Clefairy were poisoned. Both Zubat knew Confuse Ray, so they managed to confuse Zane's Mankey, as well as Blue's Squirtle. Team Rocket's next Pokémon were a Machop, a Cubone, and a Drowzee. The last of those three used Psybeam on Blue's Nidoran, while Zane's Bulbasaur hit the Cubone with Vine Whip, and Machop got struck by Bill's Clefairy using Disarming Voice. The Fighting Type countered by using Vital Throw on Bill's Eevee. The dark-blue-coated man decided to send out his other Pokémon.

"Porygon! Use Conversion and the Psybeam to attack one of the Koffing! Dratini, Dragon Rage on the other! Voltorb and Magneton, Spark on the Zubat!"

"Nidoran," Blue added, "attack Machop with Peck!"

One of the Arbok had already woken up again, so he slithered towards Blue's Squirtle to use Thunder Fang. The Electric Attack would've defeated the confused Pokémon, if it wasn't for Bulbasaur to intervene. The Grass Type had a resistance to Electric Attacks, so the Arbok didn't do much damage. Zane's Pokémon replied to the attack with Cut, followed by Squirtle's Bubble. Meanwhile, two other Drowzee and a Rattata had also come out of the mountain to help Team Rocket's other Pokémon. The Drowzee both used Confusion, one on Blue's Nidoran, the other on Zane's Mankey. Zane's Fighting Type had just recovered from his confusion, but the Drowzee's attack didn't seem to bring the status condition back. The two Clefairy, meanwhile, had beaten the Machop by both simultaneously using Disarming Voice, so they went to fight against the next Machop that had just come out of the cave together with a Kadabra and another Cubone. The first Cubone had already been defeated by Blue's Squirtle using Bubble, while the female Arbok had now also woken up. Both Zubat had been defeated as well by Bill's Magneton and Voltorb. The latter then got defeated by Team Rocket's Cubone, who used Bone Club.

"Ponyta! Flame Charge on that Bulbasaur!" A female voice shouted, and Zane immediately recognized that voice. The voice had asked him for help about two weeks ago, on Red's birthday.




'Next up is Saffron City,' the 14-years-old boy thought. 'Which means I'm already half through my journey, unbelievable.'

The kid with blond hair had beaten Cerulean City's Gym Leader, Misty Wells, about a week ago. He then decided to wait until his 2 years younger friends had managed the same. However, after a serious argument between the two, the older one figured that it was time for himself to leave.

He was now making his way through Route 5 toward the biggest city in the Kanto region. The city where all major companies had their headquarters. The Silph Company, the Sakaki Company, the Kantonian Police, the Poké Mart, and many other corporations had chosen this city as the most important one. This wasn't very weird, considering that Saffron City was exactly in the middle of the Kanto Region, with routes connecting Vermilion City in the south, Cerulean City in the north, Celadon City westwards, and Lavender Town to the east. The center of the city was full of the towers of the various companies, one even higher than the other. The further to the borders of the city, the lower the buildings got. The Saffron City Gym was located in the northeast of the city, right next to the Fighting Dojo under the ownership of a man called Bruno Garwig.

When the brown-eyed boy walked into the city, he saw a park to his left. In the park were a few children from about nine years old, irritating some Kakuna that were hanging in the trees of the park. The boy, frustrated by those children, ran toward the park to help the Bug Types. He sent out his Kadabra and Voltorb to let them use Protect. The attack prevented the stones which the children were throwing from hitting the wild Pokémon.

While the kids were swearing at the boy, the oldest of them, a 9-year-old girl, stepped toward the protector of the Kakuna. She sent out her Slowpoke and Murkrow to attack him. However, he sent out his Tangela and shouted for his Voltorb's help.

"Kadabra, keep your Protect up to keep those Kakuna safe," he started. "Tangela, Vine Whip on Slowpoke. Voltorb, Spark should be enough to beat the Murkrow." His Pokémon did as they were told to, and the girl's Pokémon were, indeed, defeated by one strike on each.

Right when the children left, the Kakuna started glowing, they were evolving into Beedrill. The boy watched them with admiration in his eyes, as they reminded him of one of his friends, who was still in Pewter City at that moment.

The biggest of the Beedrill flew to their protector, he wanted to travel and had figured out that the Trainer in front of him was doing exactly that. The blond-haired boy agreed and took a Poké Ball out of his bag for the Beedrill to be captured in. After the Poké Ball had closed, the boy in his brown jacket sent out his new Pokémon to let him say goodbye to his congeners.

'Well then,' the boy thought while he looked at the swarm of Beedrill flying away, 'let's find the TRC.'




"You think you're ready?" Yolanda asked.

"Definitely," Brown confirmed. He had planned out a strategy to finally beat the Pewterian Gym Leader. He was sure that this was the way he was going to beat Brock, it couldn't go wrong, he thought.

"Then let's go to the Gym," Brock's sister suggested. She turned around and ran to her brother's Gym. Brown followed her wavering dark red hair while they were returning to Brock. When he entered the building, he saw that Yolanda went to sit on the chair in a dark corner of the gym, that's why he hadn't noticed her when he battled Brock the last few times.

"I hope that you're planning to beat me today!" Brock shouted. "It's about time, you know!"

"Of course," the Viridiane boy shouted back, "but it's actually going to happen this time!"

"I hope so for you! Go Onix!"

"Beedrill, let's start with Poison Sting!"




'Next up, Vermilion City,' Gray thought, while he walked through the gate out of Cerulean City. He had decided on going through the Underground Tunnel of Saffron City to avoid bumping into Blake. He and the Celadonian boy argued after Gray had lost to Misty. Blake made a joke about it, not knowing that the tall Palletan boy was a sore loser. He took the joke much too serious, which caused Blake to get angered, who then made Gray even angrier, which led to the situation escalating rather quickly. Blake had then decided to leave before Gray managed to defeat the Ceruleane Gym Leader.

Now that Gray did obtain his second Badge, he went south as well. Having figured that the older boy had probably gone to Saffron City, he wanted to go beyond that place without even going through it. This meant that he had to choose for the Saffron Underground Tunnel from Route 5 to Route 6, onto Vermilion City.

'Lieutenant Surge is good with Electric Types,' Gray thought, 'so Dratini will have a resistance there. However, a Ground Type won't hurt, it could also help me against Blaine and Koga.' His Dratini would also resist the former's Pokémon, as well as Erika's, but Gray knew that it was time for him to add more Pokémon to his team. He was sure of Growlithe but had no idea what other Pokémon.

'Near Vermilion, there's the Diglett's Cave,' he remembered. 'A Diglett or Dugtrio would certainly help. But then Sabrina's left, and Psychic's weak to Bug, Dark, and Ghost. Maybe a Scyther. I'd like a Murkrow as well.' By the time he got to the entrance of the tunnel, he had decided that he also wanted a Grass Type in his team.

The Underground Passage was almost empty, as it was just Gray who was there. This was most probably due to the fact of the state of this tunnel: not particularly clean. It was highly possible that the janitors had given up doing anything to the two tunnels, as there were almost never any people walking down there. Most of the ones who did were not the kind of people you'd want to meet in a poorly lighted passage like this. Gray decided to walk through it as quickly as possible to avoid finding anyone else here. He tried to think about his Pokémon some more, but the moldy smell and the echoes of his every step made him think of quite different things. He was glad to find the other side of the tunnel before anyone entered it, and even more when he found out that the exit was not even 200 feet apart from the gate to Vermilion City. It was getting dark already, so he went straight for the TRC. The one in Vermilion City was right next to the city's northern entrance, so Gray didn't have to go to the PMC first to ask for directions.

The tall boy did notice something about this particular Trainer Center, though. This was the first one he'd ever seen where the battlefields were to the right of the main building, all the other ones he had already been to had them to the left. The building itself was smaller than the ones in Viridian and Pewter, but a lot bigger than Cerulean's, which was the second smallest with the smallest being Cinnabar Island's.

The last battle of the day was just in its final stages when Gray went to the battlefields, it was a double battle between two identical twin sisters on one side and a girl with her older brother on the other. The twins, someone told the Palletan boy, were Lola and Tanya Clayton, from Lavender Town. As for the boy and his sister, Gray didn't need any clarification, they were the two he and Blue had battled in Pewter City after they had both obtained their Boulder Badge. Gray recognized their lime colored hair and light orange eyes. He recalled seeing Kevin's pointed chin and Tara's round head, Kevin's small nose, and Tara's rather big one.

Both Pokémon Kevin had used in the match against the twins had already fainted, while Tara's Poliwag was still fighting. Her first Pokémon, the Venonat she had also sent out in the battle against the two Palletans, had fainted after Lola's Ponyta hit her with Flame Wheel. The twins' current Pokémon were that Ponyta and Tanya's Pikachu. Tara's Poliwag did beat the Ponyta with one Water Pulse, but she, in her turn, was defeated by Pikachu's Electro Ball, thus ending the battle. The twins and the Pewterian girl returned their Pokémon and went back to the canteen while the owner of the TRC wished everyone a good night. When the four sat at a table to eat their dinners, someone else joined them. Kevin recognized the tall boy with white hair and silvery eyes. His smile reminded him of the match in the Pewterian Trainer Center, right before he and his sister left for Mt. Moon.

After Gray had told everything that happened since the two siblings left for Mt. Moon, Tara and Kevin told their story as well, but, according to the latter, "it isn't even half as interesting as yours."

Following to this was Gray's introduction to the twins and vice versa. The two light green haired girls lived in Lavender Town, and they had already beaten the Gyms in cities directly connected to Saffron: Cerulean, Celadon, and Tanya already in Vermilion City as well. Their orange eye color wasn't a particularly usual one, but everyone in their family had them, including their little brother. The only differences Gray could spot between the two were their haircuts and their clothes. Lola's straight hair was swept to the right, whereas Tany's curly hair was left-swept. Both had a brown shirt, but Lola's had short brown sleeves, while Tanya's were white and reached to the elbows.

"By the way," Tara noted, looking at Gray. "I've never asked how old you actually are."

"Then I'll let you guess," Gray replied.

"Okay, I'll start," Tanya stated, to which Lola rolled her eyes. "I think about thirteen years."

"My guess as well," Lola added. the look on her face made clear that she didn't feel like doing this at all, but Gray was apparently the only one who noticed it.

"Judging by your height," Kevin continued. "I'd say fourteen years old."

"And I'm thinking fourteen too," Tara concluded.

"And you're all wrong," Gray laughed. "I'm twelve."

"What?" Tanya exclaimed. The Pewterian siblings looked perplexed as well, but Lola did nothing more than raise her eyebrows.

"That means you're taller than me, even though you're two years younger," Kevin noted.

"So just as old as me," Tara added.

"And one year older than the two of us," Tanya concluded.

"Yep, yep, and yep," Gray answered.

"What a shock," Lola mumbled, but it was again only Gray who seemed to notice it.

The five kids chatted some more about their Pokémon, their journeys, their families, and other things. Well, four of them, as Lola didn't really take part in the conversation, she wasn't interested in it at all. Tara explained that, since she had last seen Gray, she had added a Spearow to her team of Venonat and Poliwag, while Kevin captured a Houndour to give some company to his Tentacool and Machop.

Tanya's team, meanwhile, was already pretty full. During her journey, which she started with the Goldeen she got from her parents, she had captured the Pikachu she used to battle earlier that evening, a Lickitung between Saffron City and Lavender Town, and a female Nidoran near Cerulean City. She had obtained a Koffing as well as a gift from a trainer in Celadon City. She also told that her twin sister got a Ponyta from their parents. Her only new Pokémon since that was the Ekans she had won in the Celadon Game Corner.

"However, during our visit there," Tanya told, "we felt like something was not right over there. We both didn't know what it was, but I'm not sure if we wanted to."




"There's light again!" Bethany shouted.

"Finally!" Ira exclaimed. The three girls had been sitting still next to each other for a few minutes after the Ditto had touched the Sapphire. Thinking of that one, Yellow looked around for it.

'There it is,' she saw it lying a few feet away. It looked like something on the stone was glowing. Yellow tapped on her friends' shoulders to make them aware of that. The Palletan girl walked toward the stone when a voice stopped her.

"The Three Weatherly Feathers, together at last," the man laughed. "Such a shame that their quest won't be completed."

"And why would that be?" Ira asked.

"For I am here, Ira Newton," the voice replied. "Surprised by the fact that I know her name, are you not, Bethany Adkins and Yellow Hudson?" The three girls looked at the mysterious man with suspicion.

"And who are you?" Bethany asked.

"It looks like we don't need to introduce ourselves anyway," Yellow added.

"My name is of no importance," the man answered. "All that is is that I will stop you, and there's no way you can prevent that."

"And what was your plan for doing so?" Ira asked.

"Well, how about this room," the man laughed, after which he disappeared. Bethany was the first of the three to be released from her surprise of the man vanishing into thin air. She looked around and saw what the man meant with his last sentence. The cave had no exits, it was one lone room without any way to get out.

"Girls," the blue-haired child said with shaking voice. "We might have a little problem." Her two friends now watched through the cave to see the wall surrounding them, the wall without even one crack in it. While they were thinking about a solution, something rather interesting happened.

In the middle of the room, a small blue tornado started growing. It wasn't really a tornado, as it didn't give off any wind, but it was swirling around and had roughly the same shape. It grew bigger and bigger, but it stopped when it was half the height of the cave. Something on top of the tornado started to get more clear, it was a face. The colors of the face and everything around it all had a certain blue glow to them, but the girls could see that the man looked more lively than before they defeated his companion. The wrinkles around his eyes had disappeared, and the tired look changed to a much happier one.

"Isn't that..." Yellow started.

"See, Bethany," Rick Burks stated. "I told you I'd see you again. Now, before my time is up, let me say something of high urgency."

The three girls looked at the face full of disbelief, but they listened to what the guard of the Altering Sapphire had to say.

"The Sapphire is a stone of wisdom and learning. Its blue rays bring order to the mind, lending the ability to see underneath surface appearance to underlying truths. You, with the good luck I wish to you." The tornado started losing its power, and the face faded with it. A few seconds later, it looked like nothing had happened at all.

"Look at the wall!" Yellow suddenly shouted. Ira and Bethany tried to see what their friend saw, but neither had any success.

"What about it?" Ira asked.

"Don't you see?" Yellow replied. "There's an exit over there!" Bethany and Ira looked where Yellow was pointing at, but none of the two saw any opening in the wall.

"Maybe you should walk through it," Bethany stated.

"And we'll follow you," Ira added.

"Might work," Yellow admitted, as she walked to the exit of the cave with her friends following her.




"Onix, counter with Rock Tomb to defeat his Beedrill in one hit!" After Brown's Bug Type had used Poison Sting, he got lucky, as it managed to poison Brock's signature Pokémon. That Pokémon's answer, however, was enough to beat Brown's first Pokémon immediately.

"Okay, Beedrill, thank you," said Brown while he returned his Pokémon to his Poké Ball. "Geodude, we'll finally finish this! Use Magnitude!" The Rock Type caused a tremor as soon as he hit the ground.

'That was a magnitude 6, probably. Not so good,' Brown thought.

Magnitude is an attack that does various amounts of damage. Its rank reaches from four, the weakest, to ten, the strongest. This one did a less than average amount of damage, so Brown wasn't exactly pleased.

"Onix, Rock Tomb to slow him down!" The Gym Leader countered, but Brown got lucky again. The attack of Brock's Pokémon had an accuracy of 95%, but it was that 5% that did its job right now, the attack missed.

"Amazing!" Brown shouted. "Geodude, use Magnitude again!" This time, the attack did a considerable amount of damage.

'Magnitude 9, good,' Brown figured.

Onix, surprised by this trainer finally giving him a challenge, got ready for more Magnitudes by using Harden to raise his defense. At first, it seemed to help, as Magnitude didn't do any noticeable damage.

'Magnitude 4,' Brown thought. Another sentence followed in his thoughts, but those were rather indecorous words.

Brock, refilled with confidence, told his Pokémon to use Rock Tomb again. The attack did hit this time, slowing Geodude down a lot. Brown's Rock Type, however, used Magnitude for the fourth time, it was a Magnitude 8.

"Onix, Harden again!" Brock now shouted, seeing his mistake too late. He was so sure that Geodude's last attack didn't do much damage because of Harden, that he didn't realize that it could've been a lower Magnitude. Now that it was a higher one again, Brock saw that he was wrong about that, the attack almost defeated his Onix this time.

"Use Harden and keep using it until Magnitude doesn't do any damage at all!"

But it was too late, the next Magnitude was one in the highest possible rank.

"No way," Brown sighed as Onix fell onto the floor, fainted.

"Congratulations!" Brock shouted. "You have actually beaten me!" Brown still couldn't believe it. After all those attempts, he finally managed to win from the Pewterian Gym Leader.

"Eight," Yolanda told Brown after they had left the Gym. "Eight battles it took you to earn that Badge." Both were looking at the small gray octagon in Brown's hand, the Boulder Badge. After the Viridiane boy had put it in his russet-metallic Badge Case, Yolanda continued talking.

"So I guess you're going to Mt. Moon tomorrow?"

"I'm going now, and then to Cerulean City to defeat Misty."

"Wouldn't it be difficult to go through those caves all on your own?" Yolanda asked.

"I think it would be," Brown laughed, he knew what Yolanda was implying.

"So would you want someone to accompany you?"

"Definitely."

"Would you like it if that someone was me?"

"Can't see why not," the wheatish boy responded with a smile still on his face.




'How is she a member of Team Rocket?' Zane wondered while the first member of the evil organization walked out of the cave. She was the woman who had asked Zane to calm down the Mankey that the Palletan boy later decided to capture, she was the zookeeper of the Viridian Zoo. Because of his surprise, Zane didn't pay any attention to the Ponyta that succeeded in hitting his Bulbasaur with Flame Charge.

"Koffing," the woman continued, "Sludge on that Dratini!" Bill's Dragon Type, who had just attacked the Koffing again with Dragon Rage, now got poisoned by that same Pokémon.

The other Koffing, however, got defeated by Bill's Porygon using Psybeam. The Kadabra and Rattata attacked Zane's Mankey and Spearow respectively, while the two Arbok were fighting Zane's Bulbasaur and Blue's Squirtle, whose confusion had now faded. Zane's last Pokémon, Clefairy, managed to beat the second Machop together with Bill's, and the three Drowzee got rid of Blue's Nidoran by all using Confusion or Psybeam. The last attack was also used by Kadabra to attack Zane's Mankey, but that Pokémon avoided the attack.

Other people now walked out of the cave. Two of them were the two Red and Zane had battled in the Viridian Forest, Jeff and Judy. The other four, however, were unfamiliar to Bill and the Palletan boys. Two of them, the zookeeper called them Hugo and Lloyd, returned all four of their Pokémon, as those had already fainted.

After Bulbasaur had avoided Ponyta's second attack, Mankey hit the Fire Type to rescue his friend. Zane felt his Pokédex buzzing, so he knew that this was a new move. As it did quite a lot of damage, Zane decided to let his Pokémon keep using it. Meanwhile, both Clefairy had fainted due to their poisoning, whereas one of the Drowzee was defeated by Zane's Spearow using Pursuit. Jeff's Rattata managed to strike on Blue's Squirtle but was afterward defeated by the combined power of Bill's Eevee, Dratini, and Magneton. The former went on to fight Judy's Arbok together with Zane's Spearow, while the other two were attacked by the other Arbok and the Cubone that was still around. Bill's remaining Pokémon was Porygon, who was now fighting against the Koffing and two Drowzee together with Blue's Squirtle. Zane realized that this was the time to check his Pokédex and see what Mankey's new attack was.

Mankey has learned a new move, called Karate Chop, a physical Fighting-type Attack with an accuracy of 100%. This attack has a high chance of being a critical hit. Mankey already knew four moves, so he forgot the move Covet.

Zane nodded, "Mankey, use Karate Chop on that Ponyta! Bulbasaur, Growl!"

"So the Mankey has joined you," the zookeeper shouted. "As you can see, I'm with Team Rocket. I'm one of their three Chiefs, to be correct." She took the two remaining Ultra Balls from her belt.

"The name's Lucy Riggs, and I'd like to introduce you to my two main Pokémon as well." She threw the two Ultra Balls in the air to send out the Pokémon inside.

The first one was a small purple Bug and Flying Type with light blue legs and nose. On top of her head were two black antennae and her large eyes were completely red. Both wings, used to blow several powders to opponents, existed of a big upper and a small lower part. The upper ones had one black line each, while the lower had two entire black sections on them. The powders that the Bug Type was scattering around were three different attacks: Stun Spore, to paralyze Zane's Spearow, Poison Powder, to poison Bill's Eevee, and Sleep Powder, to put Bill's Porygon to sleep. The last attack missed, luckily, but both Spearow and Eevee got inflicted.

Lucy's second Pokémon was mostly yellow, to resemble his Electric Type. The human-like Pokémon was covered in black stripes, with the one on the front shaped like a lightning bolt. His tail was quite long, and there was fur sticking out on the outside of his elbows. Instead of ears, he had short antennae with bulbs at the end. Sparks were forming around his fists, as he got ready to use Thunder Punch.




"I, Red Newman from Pallet Town, am here to challenge Brock Rokes to a Gym Battle!"

"Finally, Oak's fifth student, the last of them. The challenge is accepted!" As a reply to this, a judge walked onto the field.

"What Pokémon will you use?" Brock asked the small boy.

"I'll use my, uh, Charmander, my only Pokémon."

It was difficult for Brock to hold back a laugh, "You're going to battle the Gym Leader of Rock Types using a Fire Type? I wish you good luck! I'm gonna use just Geodude."

The judge nodded, "The Gym Battle between the challenger, Red Newman from Pallet Town, and the Gym Leader, Brock Rokes from Pewter City, will now get underway. Both Trainers may only use the Pokémon they named earlier. Let the Gym battle begin!"

Both Pokémon were sent out, and Geodude started with Rock Polish to make himself faster than Charmander. Red, however, played it smart and used Smokescreen to make the Rock Type's attacks less likely to hit.

"Geodude, Rollout!" The Gym Leader commanded.

"Charmander, stick to our strategy! Two more Smokescreens!"

Both Pokémon did as they were told to, and the accuracy-lowering attack caused the second Rollout to miss. Rollout's power doubles with each time it strikes in succession, so after the second one missed, the streak had to be restarted.

"Okay, Charmander," Red continued, "use Ember to burn Geodude!" The orange-red Pokémon used the Fire Attack and managed to cause a burn on the opponent, who then missed another Rollout.

'This won't work,' Brock figured.

"Geodude, try to use Magnitude instead of Rollout!"

Magnitude, the attack Brown's Geodude had also used on this battlefield, had a higher accuracy than Rollout, thus raising the chance of the Gym Leader's Pokémon striking. The status condition Brock's Pokémon had been afflicted with, however, lowered his physical power, so Magnitude did less damage than it normally would.

"Charmander, now keep using Ember to do even more damage!" Geodude tried to hit the Fire Type, but missed again, three times in a row. In the meantime, Ember hit every single time. When Magnitude finally struck Charmander, it was a Magnitude 5, one of the lowest ranks the attack could have. Brock raised his eyebrows when he saw the next Ember going towards its target.

'Did he just...' the Gym Leader started thinking. The attack hit the Rock Type and caused him to faint.

"Geodude is unable to continue, meaning that Red Newman, from Pallet Town, has won the battle, thereby officially earning the Boulder Badge."

"I've been a Gym Leader for over five years now," Brock stated. "And never have I seen someone beat me with just a Fire Type."

"Well, there's a first time for everything," the judge noted.

"He's right about that," Red added. "So could I, uh, have my Badge now, please?"

Brock and the judge both laughed.

"Here you go," Brock replied, placing the Boulder Badge in Red's hand after the short boy had walked to the Leader's side of the battlefield. He opened his scarlet Badge Case and placed his first Badge in the upper-left slot of the light gray velvet.




"You've beaten a Geodude with your Charmander?" Ira exclaimed with eyes full of amazement.

After Yellow had walked through the wall of the cave where the three girls were trapped, her two friends followed her. Walking through the wall was relatively easy to do, and Yellow seemed to be the only one to not be surprised by it, as she saw the exit of the cave the other two didn't. When they turned around to look at the outside of that cave, they saw that it had disappeared. Ira had then recognized the cave they were in now, it was the cave where the three girls' Pokémon had fought the wild Onix earlier that day. The other two recognized it too, so Bethany urged her friends to get out of the Pewter Caves as fast as they could.

When they got back to Pewter City, they went straight for the PMC to heal their Pokémon and then to the TRC to continue training there. When they arrived at the Trainer Center, they saw Red just returning from his Gym Battle and asked him how it went.

"So you're also leaving?" Bethany asked. "I don't think so," Red replied. "I'm staying to, um, train for by battle in Cerulean City. Misty specializes in Water Pokémon, so I'll have to train Charmander some more."

"Good idea," Bethany agreed.

"And maybe we'll be able to travel through Mt. Moon together," Ira added.

"That's right," Red replied. "Let's do that."




"Squirtle, look out!" Blue shouted, but it was too late. Lucy's Electabuzz used Thunder Punch to defeat the Water Type in one hit, leaving the orange-haired boy without any Pokémon to battle.

Bill's four Pokémon, however, all managed to beat one of Team Rocket's Pokémon. Porygon used Psybeam to defeat Lucy's Koffing, whereas Judy's Arbok was beaten by Eevee's Take Down combined with Spearow's Fury Attack. His two other Pokémon, Dratini and Magneton, struck Jeff's Arbok with Twister and Spark respectively, but Melvin's Cubone used Bone Club to defeat Magneton as a response.

Melvin was another one of the four unfamiliar men. Apparently, those four were brothers, known as the Rocket Brothers. Their names were Jake, Hugo, Melvin, and Lloyd Blum.

It was Jake's Drowzee that was defeated next, by Porygon using Signal Beam after changing his own type to Bug with Conversion. The other Drowzee, Judy's, got help from Lucy's Electabuzz. The Electric Type used Thundershock, but it wasn't enough to cause the Type-changing Pokémon to faint. Following this, Porygon used Signal Beam again to beat the other Drowzee as well, while Lucy's Ponyta managed to defeat Zane's Bulbasaur by hitting him with Flame Wheel. On the positive side, Bill's Shiny Eevee bit Jeff's Kadabra to beat it, at the same time Butterfree got struck by Spearow's Peck, a critical hit. The two poisoned Pokémon, Dratini and Eevee, were now attacking Melvin's Cubone together. Zane's Spearow tried to use Peck on Lucy's Butterfree again but got struck by his paralyzation. The Bug Type replied with Psybeam, confusing Spearow to make the Pokémon even more vulnerable. Mankey, meanwhile, managed to defeat Ponyta with Karate Chop, after which he went to help Bill's Porygon against Electabuzz. Dratini and Eevee hit the Cubone with their two final attacks, after which both fainted due to the poisoning.

At the start of the battle, there were about thirty Pokémon, ready to fight. Now, only five were left, four of which were completely exhausted. Spearow used one last Peck to defeat Butterfree, after which Electabuzz beat the Flying Type with Thunder Shock. Porygon continued with Signal Beam, and Mankey used Low Kick. Electabuzz countered by paralyzing Porygon after striking Bill's Pokémon with Thunder Punch. Then, Zane's Fighting Type continued attacking with Karate Chop, which was a critical hit this time. Porygon's last attack was Signal Beam before the Electric Type defeated it with Thunder Punch. After this, Electabuzz immediately used Thunder Shock again to hit Mankey, who returned with another Low Kick. Both Pokémon had taken a lot of damage by now, but neither wanted to give up yet. Mankey prepared for Karate Chop, and his opponent did the same for Thunder Punch. Sparks formed again around Electabuzz' clenched fist while Mankey hardened his hand to do more damage. The two Pokémon jumped at each other, and their hands came together. Electabuzz tried to hit his opponent directly, but Mankey saw that coming. He avoided the attack and hit the Electric Type just next to the elbow and then again on the head, as Zane's Pokémon had prepared both of his hands for the attack. After the double Karate Chop, Lucy's Electabuzz couldn't hold it any longer, he fainted.

"Dang it!' Lucy exclaimed. "How could this have happened?"

She looked at her grunts, "What are you looking at? Get out of here!" After she had retreated her Electabuzz, she looked at Zane once more.

"You're going to get into big trouble, Patterson. The boss doesn't like that last name of yours." She followed her companions back into the mountain.

"Bit of a temper, don't you think," Bill stated, the boys nodded.

After Zane had retreated his Mankey as well, the three went back into the caves of Mt. Moon as well. They followed the path to the eastern exit of the mountain, the exit on the side of Cerulean City. The road between the mountain and city, Route 4, was just a short one, without any wild Pokémon attacking the three.

Cerulean City was somewhere between Viridian and Pewter when looking at how busy and big it was. There were quite some tall buildings, but definitely not as high as the ones in Viridian City. There were quiet parks and some side streets, and, just like in the last two cities, Cerulean had two main streets. One from Mt. Moon in the east to the Rock Tunnel in the west, and the other from Saffron City in the south to Route 24, Route 25, and, apparently, Bill's home.

The three decided to stay in the city's TRC, as it was already one hour past midnight. Later that day, around 2 o'clock in the afternoon, Bill went to his home while the two boys stayed in Cerulean to train. On that same day, Bethany managed to defeat Brock, and Blake lost his first battle against Sabrina in Saffron City.

The next day, Blue decided to challenge Misty, but he failed in beating her. It was during this battle that Zane decided he was going to pay a visit to Bill's home. He couldn't have known that he would return to the city with one more Pokémon than when he left it.

18. An Underground Capture

"So, a Diglett you say?" Kevin asked.

"That was my plan," Gray confirmed.

"I think there would be plenty of those in Diglett's Cave," Tanya replied.

"You don't say," Lola mumbled to that.

Out of Gray's four friends, only Tanya had already defeated the Vermiliane Gym Leader, so the other three were staying in Vermilion City anyway. All four decided to go with the tall boy into the cave to search for a Diglett. Lola had her doubts on going with them but was convinced by Tara, "We might even be able to find a Dugtrio."

The five kids went out of the TRC and eastwards out of the city. Diglett's Cave existed of one straight tunnel connecting Vermilion City to Pewter City in the northwest. The five obviously used the entrance next to Vermilion City to get into the cave, after which they started their search for the Ground Type. For over twenty minutes, not any of the five had seen even one Diglett, let alone a Dugtrio. Lola had already started complaining about her boredom, and Tara agreed with her.

"Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all," the Pewterian girl noted. "We should go back."

"Then you two can go back," Kevin returned.

"I want to stay and help too," Tanya agreed.

"Then do so," Lola impatiently replied. "And we'll go."

Tara nodded, and the two girls went back to the entrance of the tunnel, while the others stayed to help the Palletan boy.

"And you'll see, now we're going to find a Diglett within two minutes," Tanya laughed, and the other two laughed with her. In those two minutes, something did happen, and it wasn't the three friends finding a Pokémon. It was the other two running back, shouting for the others to send out their Pokémon and prepare them for battle.

"What's the matter?" Gray asked.

"We were going back to Vermilion, but then they attacked!" Tara responded, pointing behind her. A lot of Pokémon were crawling their ways to the five kids. They were all rather simplistic brown Pokémon with black eyes and large pink noses. The smaller ones in front were doing the work of clearing the path for the bigger ones in the back. While the five children sent out all of their Pokémon, Gray noticed that the bigger Diglett in the back weren't actually Diglett. They were basically three Diglett combined into one Pokémon, a Dugtrio. Roughly estimated, there were thirty Diglett and five Dugtrio against the fourteen Pokémon the children owned.

"There's your Diglett," Kevin told Gray. "You can even choose which one you want."

Gray looked at his friend with a smile on his face but saw that none of the others listened to the joke. The one thing Gray noticed was the look on Tanya's face.

'This is the first time I see her actually being excited about something,' Gray thought. 'That's probably good.'

His thoughts were interrupted by Tara, "Poliwag, use Bubble on the Dugtrio first!"

"Dratini!" Gray added. "Dragon Rage to help him!"

He was followed by Tanya, "Goldeen, Water Pulse," Kevin, "Tentacool, you as well," and Lola, "Ekans, Bite the Diglett!"




'That man was pretty strong,' Kelvin thought while he went back to Cerulean City. He had just battled a man called Lance Draken in the lighthouse on the Northern Cape at the end of Route 25. The brown eyes, grayish brown, not reddish, mostly took away of the cloud of mystery surrounding that man, as it isn't a particularly rare eye color, and it didn't match with the red of his prickly dark hair and lighter-colored leather jacket. Lance had only used his Charmeleon and Horsea to defeat Kelvin's four Pokémon.

'He's the first one to ever beat me,' Kelvin figured. 'And I'll make him the last one.'

He went around the corner onto Route 24, and that's when he noticed the five people in black suits. Two women and three men. Two of them seemed to be superiors of the others, but Kelvin recognized none of them.

The man of the two had emerald green hair and same-colored eyes. He was a short man, but something told Kelvin that it didn't take away from the high honor the three lower-ranked grunts held for him.

The woman, on the other hand, was quite tall and had long curly red hair. She, just like the man, had eyes in the same color as her hair, and she seemed to be a bossy person by the way she walked around and watched everything.

Even though Kelvin didn't recognize the five by their faces, he did recall seeing those big red Rs on their black shirts during his travel through Mt. Moon. They had been pestering the people in the eastern entrance of the mountain, especially the youngers. They stole their Pokémon and sent the children into the caves without them. Kelvin came across one of them, and after they told him what had happened, he went to defeat the Team Rocket grunts. When the Pewterian boy arrived at the gate, however, the black-suited people had already beaten the other people's Pokémon. They would have done the same to Kelvin's if it weren't for someone else to intervene. This someone was the man Kelvin later battled on the Northern Cape, Lance Draken. It seemed to the brown-haired boy that the man was rather obsessed with Dragon-Type Pokémon. Lance's Pokémon were two Dragonite and a Charmeleon. The latter isn't a Dragon Type, but Kelvin figured that the mysterious man would evolve him into a Charizard to then be able to Mega evolve him into Mega Charizard X, who does have the Dragon Type. He also noted that the man wore the same leather jacket as him, only in a different color. Lance's red one matched the color of his hair, whereas Kelvin's had the same midnight blue color as his eyes.

The boy and the man managed to beat Team Rocket's Pokémon together, after which the other people started a search for the kids that had been sent into the mountain by the grunts. Lance had then invited Kelvin to his home by the lighthouse on the Northern Cape. But this was all two weeks ago, and Kelvin had already left for Cerulean City again. Before his leaving, he decided to challenge Lance to a battle he had lost miserably.

'Team Rocket,' Kelvin thought. 'Why are they here.' He decided to surprise them by sending out his Pokémon, except for Magikarp, while the grunts didn't expect it. When he sent out his Bellsprout, Seel, and Doduo, the Team Rocket members were indeed taken by surprise, just as the Pewterian boy wanted them to. The two grunts, Kelvin had figured that they were in a higher rank than the other three, ordered their companions to battle the boy while they would wait for their target. The three sent out two Pokémon each. One of the two Zubat was defeated by Seel's Icy Wind as soon as he was sent out, but the other managed to hit Bellsprout with Wing Attack. The grunts' third Pokémon was a Machop, who used Karate Chop on Seel before being struck by a critical hit in the form of Peck by Doduo. Each of the three Team Rocket members had now sent out one Pokémon, one of which had already fainted. The grunt who's Zubat had been defeated sent out his second Pokémon, a Sneasel, to attack both Bellsprout and Doduo, while Kelvin's Water Type used Icy Wind to beat the other Zubat as well. The other two grunts sent out the last two Pokémon, Misdreavus and Murkrow. The latter helped Sneasel against Bellsprout, and the Ghost Type attacked Seel.

"There he is!" The woman shouted. "The Patterson boy is here!"

"Time for revenge," the man added. "He'll pay for humiliating Chief Riggs."

'Patterson,' Kelvin thought, 'where have I heard that before.'

"Proton," the woman started. "Start by sending out Koffing to beat his Clefairy. And use Rhyhorn's Rapid Spin whenever his Bulbasaur uses Leech Seed."

"I know how battling works, Ariana," Proton interrupted. "Focus on your own Pokémon, and I'll make sure to hurt his Pokémon as badly possible."

Ariana nodded, and the two sent out their Pokémon to battle their target.




Back in Pewter City, Yellow had just challenged Brock, but the Gym Leader managed to beat her with his Omanyte and Kabuto. Yellow then returned to the Pewter City TRC, after which Red came up with the idea of a battle. Bethany then asked who would fight, but Ira had a better idea.

"How about a double battle?" the green-eyed girl suggested. The others agreed, so they went to the battlefields. Luckily, it wasn't too busy there, so the fight between the four could almost immediately be started.

"The double battle between Red Newman and Ira Newton on the one side and Bethany Adkins and Yellow Hudson on the other will now get underway. All Trainers may use two Pokémon. Furthermore, all of the Trainers are allowed to substitute their Pokémon. Let the battle begin!" Charmander and the female Nidoran were the Pokémon sent out on one side, while the other side decided to use Pikachu and Onix.

"Nidoran!" Ira shouted. "Double Kick to get rid of Onix!"

"Charmander," Red added, "Ember on Pikachu!"

To counter, Electra used Mud-Slap to lower Nidoran's accuracy, followed by Onix' Rock Tomb slowing down Charmander. The Fire Type used Ember again to almost beat Yellow's Pikachu, after which Onix used Harden to not faint due to another Double Kick from Ira's Nidoran. Electra used Thundershock on Charmander, damaging Red's Pokémon a lot.

"A critical hit!" Yellow shouted. "This is going to be easy."

'I wouldn't be so sure of that,' Red thought. He remembered Zane's explanation of Charmander's Ability, Blaze, which causes his Pokémon Fire Type Attacks to do more damage if he is near to fainting.

"Charmander!" the Palletan boy shouted. "Ember on Electra one last time!" Yellow, still happy about the critical hit her Pokémon landed, was too late to react to that, her Pikachu fainted. The Palletan girl's only option was now to send out her Rattata and hope for the best.

"Momus!" She shouted. "Use Focus Energy for more critical hits!"

Ira's Nidoran then attacked with Double Kick on Bethany's Onix for the third time, finally defeating the Rock Type. Momus, however, managed to hit the Poison Type with Bite, a critical hit because of Focus Energy, and beat her.

"Pikachu, Onix, and Nidoran have fainted, leaving Charmander and Ponyta to battle against the two Rattata," the judge announced. Ponyta and the second Rattata were the Pokémon sent out by Ira and Bethany respectively. The former commanded her Pokémon to use Flame Wheel to burn the latter's Normal Type. Neither, however, knew about Rattata's Ability, Guts, which raises his physical attacks' power if he's inflicted with a status condition.




"Machop!" Kevin shouted. "Low Sweep on the Diglett!"

"Ponyta!" Lola added. "Growl on the Diglett as well!"

Kevin's other Pokémon, Houndour, used Leer to lower the Diglett's defenses. The Dark Type, however, got defeated by a single Dugtrio using Mud Bomb. Tanya's Koffing and Pikachu were told to attack with Smokescreen Growl, while her Nidoran and Lickitung started fighting the Diglett, and Tara's Venonat and Spearow used Psybeam and Aerial Ace respectively. The Ground Types managed to beat Tanya's Pikachu and Lola's Ekans, but many of the wild Pokémon got defeated by the combined power of the other eleven Pokémon. As the battle went on, more and more of the Diglett and Dugtrio fainted, but the Trainers' Pokémon held on. However, at a certain point, two of the Pokémon started acting weird. Tara's Poliwag was running around, while the swirl on his front started twisting, causing dark rain clouds to form around the Water Type. At the same time, Tanya's Nidoran was jumping all over the place, from behind the wild Pokémon to attack them, to her Trainer's side to see how the other Pokémon were doing, all while she started glowing in a bright white light.

The former was learning a new attack, Rain Dance, to make the Water Type Attacks more powerful and raise Tanya's Goldeen's speed due to that one's Swift Swim Ability.

The latter was now literally shining, and her shape started altering. The toxic spikes on her back grew bigger, while her ears became larger and got spikier. She went to stand on her back feet only, which had now grown thicker, and the one big teeth in the middle of her mouth got replaced by two sharp ones at the edges of her upper jaw. The whiskers disappeared, while a tail grew together with one new spike on her back. She growled with her claws ready to scratch when the white light faded away, and all the Trainers looked at the Nidorina with amazement. Especially Tanya, for she was the one whose Pokémon had just evolved.

However, she was so happy about it, that she didn't notice two Diglett jumping out of the ground toward her to Scratch her with their small claws. Tanya's four Pokémon were too far away to stop the Ground Type, and so were the others'. Just when the Diglett was close enough to hit the Lavendar girl, he was turned into his energy state and sucked into a Dusk Ball. Tanya saw it shaking only twice before capturing the Ground Type for the tall boy who threw it, Gray. She looked at the Palletan boy, who nodded at her as a sign of 'no problem.' Tanya nodded back and looked at the others to see how they were doing.

Tara's Poliwag had, during Nidoran's evolution, learned a new attack, Rain Dance, which causes clouds to appear in whatever area the move was used. In this case, it was the Diglett's Cave, so the rain clouds were floating just below the ceiling of the underground tunnel. The rain caused all Water Type Attacks to do more damage, so Kevin's Tentacool, Tara's Poliwag, and Tanya's Goldeen managed to defeat almost two-third of the remaining Diglett and Dugtrio. On top of this, Goldeen's Swift Swim Ability doubles the Pokémon's speed so that Tanya's Water Type could evade most of the Wild Pokémon's Attacks.

The Ground Types, however, noticed that one of them had been captured, so they started fighting more fiercely than before and defeated Tara's Venonat and Tanya's Koffing. The Diglett mostly used Ground Attacks and Scratch, but the stronger few of the Dugtrio already knew the move Sucker Punch, which they used to defeat Koffing and were now attacking Tara's Spearow with. Gray, meanwhile, had found out which attacks his Diglett knew and told him to use Mud Slap to lower his congeners' accuracies. His Dratini kept on beating the Ground Types with Dragon Rage and Twister, while Tanya's Lickitung went from fighting the Diglett to defending himself against the Dugtrio, just like Lola's Ponyta, who was the next Pokémon to faint, leaving the girl without any Pokémon to battle. Her twin sister noticed and told her Goldeen to listen to Lola for the rest of this fight. The Water Type agreed and attacked only the Dugtrio now, just like Lola told her to.

Meanwhile, Tara's Spearow and Kevin's Tentacool got defeated by the Dugtrio, but the last remaining Diglett fainted due to Tara's Poliwag's Bubble, leaving only the eleven Dugtrio to be beaten. The first three were easy to defeat with Tanya's Goldeen and Tara's Poliwag, and another one was taken care of by Gray's Dratini. Kevin's Machop and Tanya's Nidorina managed to beat the fifth together with Gray's Diglett, while Tanya's Lickitung fainted due to four of the last six Dugtrio attacking him simultaneously. Gray's Dragon Type got taken out as well, leaving every of the five Trainer with control over one Pokémon to beat the six wild Pokémon. Tanya ordered her Nidorina to use Scratch on one of the Ground Types at the same time that another of the Dugtrio just missed her Sucker Punch on Gray's Diglett because of that one's Sand Attack. The wild Pokémon that got hit by Nidorina got struck again, but now by Tara's Poliwag using Bubble again to defeat him.

"Six down, five to go," Kevin shouted. "We can do this! Machop, use Low Sweep!" The Dugtrio took the attack but fainted as well when Tanya's Goldeen continued with Water Pulse. The four other Dugtrio now all focused on one Pokémon, Tara's Poliwag, as he was the one creating the rain clouds that powered up all Water Type Attacks. They all hit him with Scratch or Sucker Punch, defeating Tara's last Pokémon. It only now occurred to her that this was her first time seeing a Dugtrio out of the ground, and they looked less weird than she had expected.

There was, basically, a circular stone from which the three heads extended, and the arms and legs were attached to the side and bottom of this stone. While she thought about this, she retreated her Water Type and saw how Tanya's two Pokémon, one under control on her twin sister, managed to beat another Dugtrio. Kevin's Machop, on the other hand, got defeated by two other Dugtrio, while the third got confused by Goldeen's Water Pulse. That particular one went attacking his congeners, thinking that they were his opponents. The other two decided it would be better to defeat their companion and went on doing the same to Tanya's Nidorina.

"Goldeen!" The girl shouted. "Listen to me again!" Her Goldeen did so, leaving her Trainer's twin sister and the siblings from Pewter City with nothing to do. The two Dugtrio towered over Gray's Diglett, whereas Goldeen could no longer profit from the last few raindrops of Poliwag's Rain Dance.

'This would've been so much easier with Blue's Squirtle or Zane's Bulbasaur,' Gray thought. 'I wonder how they're doing right now.'




'What's happening over there?' Zane wondered while he walked over the Nugget Bridge, north of Cerulean City. As he got closer to the people and their battling Pokémon, he recognized the face of the lone Trainer. However, as soon as he noticed the black suits of the other Trainers, he heard a Pokémon charging at him from behind him. He turned around and saw the Rhyhorn and the man and woman standing behind them. Before he could take a look at the couple, he had to take care of their Pokémon.

"Bulbasaur!" He started. "Vine Whip on that Rhyhorn."

"Growlithe," the woman countered. "Flame Wheel." Because of the Rock Type's extreme weakness to the Grass Type Attack, she fainted after one hit. But Bulbasaur got damaged quite a lot by the Fire Type.

"Clefairy, Mankey, Spearow!" The Palletan boy shouted. "Attack that Growlithe!" Unfortunately for Zane, the Team Rocket Admins were prepared. The man ordered his Koffing and Staryu to attack Clefairy and Mankey respectively, whereas the woman's sent out her Diglett and Gloom to attack Spearow.

The man shouted at Zane, "You stand no chance! Just surrender already!"

"You might've been able to defeat one of our Chiefs, but you were with three then," the woman added. "Now you're alone against the two of us, and we know everything about your Pokémon because of your first two fights against Team Rocket."

'Why, by Articuno's frozen feathers, is that idiot their target,' Kelvin thought. He defeated the grunt's Machop with Doduo, after which his own Bellsprout fainted from Murkrow's Wing Attack.

"Why would your boss send five members to chase that fool? He couldn't even defeat two of my Pokémon, let alone those twelve you have with you."

"Thanks for reminding me," Zane mumbled, inaudible for Kelvin. He had recognized the face right before the two Admins attacked him, but he couldn't remember from where. He figured it out as soon as the boy started about their battle in the Pewterian TRC.

"He defeated one of our three Chiefs," one of the grunts replied.

"Say no more!" Ariana shouted at him. "I'll do the talking, you're just doing the fighting!"

"How did that bonehead manage to beat your Chief?" Kelvin continued.

"Because I was with him!" A new voice replied. Before anyone could look where the sound came from, Proton's Koffing got hit and defeated by Psybeam. Zane turned around and saw the Porygon that had used the attack, then the man standing next to it. The man with brown eyes wasn't wearing his dark blue jacket and fedora now, but Zane saw that he was still dressed in a light blue blouse.

"Look at the battle, not at me," Bill advised. "I'll take care of Diglett and Growlithe, you should try to defeat Staryu and Growlithe!" Zane nodded and turned around to return his Clefairy and Mankey. The former had been beaten by Proton's Koffing, while his Staryu used Psywave to defeat Zane's Fighting Type.

Kelvin, meanwhile, focused on his battle against the grunts again, and his Seel managed to hit Murkrow with Icy Wind to defeat her. Sneasel, however, used the same attack to beat Kelvin's Doduo, leaving him with only his Water Type.

"Seel!" The Pewterian boy started. "Headbutt on Sneasel and dodge the Misdreavus for now!"




It was the day after Team Rocket's fight against Zane, Bill, and Kelvin, the day after Gray captured a Diglett, and the day after the battle of Red and the three girls. This was when Blake Moran went to the Fighting Dojo in Saffron City. After he had caught a Beedrill two days earlier, he had trained in the TRC, but he had decided that it was time for a bigger challenge.

The Fighting Dojo was once the Saffron Gym until it was challenged for that title by Sabrina Chuchip, five years ago. Sabrina, being a user of the Psychic Type, had no trouble defeating the Gym Leader at all, so the title of Saffron Gym went to the building next to the Fighting Dojo, Sabrina's Gym. Kiyo, the Gym Leader at the time, was still running the ex-Gym as it's master.

When Blake entered the building, he saw the dozens of Fighting-Type users in there, all training. Many Black Belts and their Pokémon were training. The Black Belts had karate fights, some with others, some with Pokémon. There were, of course, also battles between two Pokémon and Black Belts or Pokémon training on their own. A Hitmonchan was hitting a punching bag, several Mankey were climbing in the beams of the roof, and three Black Belts were lifting weights.

While Blake was looking at them all, someone tapped on his shoulder. The man had messy black hair and a bit of hair on his chin. His white robes were held together by his black belt.

"I suppose that you have come here for Pokémon Battles," the man stated. "So what might your name be?"

"Blake Moran, sir."

"Good, then I'll lead you to our battlefield." While the two walked to the back of the dojo, Blake noticed some of the Trainers looking at him to estimate him. Some of them nodded their approval, but others looked away while shaking their heads. The man who walked with him said nothing and looked straight at the door on the other side of the building. When he walked through that door, Blake saw that the Trainers who had nodded stood up and walked toward the other two doors on that side of the building. Those doors were in the corners, only to be used by the Black Belts who wanted to challenge the Trainers that enter the Fighting Dojo. On the other side of the door was the only battlefield of the dojo, and the man finally said something.

"Blake Moran, my name is Kiyo. I am the master of the Fighting Dojo."

Short silence.

"You wish to battle against some of the Black Belts here, so that is what you will do. Eight of them wish to battle you, so eight is the amount you will battle."

Blake nodded.

"Then walk to your side of the field and wait for your first challenger." Kiyo pointed at the right side, so Blake went there.

The master walked onto the small stage next to the battlefield, so Blake figured that he would be the judge of his battles. The first Black Belt was one called Koichi, and he used two Mankey to fight Blake. The Celadonian boy sent out his Kadabra, of course, to let him use Confusion and defeat both Mankey with one hit.

The next six Trainers were also easily beaten by Kadabra, who learned Psybeam during the seventh battle. The Black Belts used Machop, Mankey, and some used even Machoke, Primeape, Hitmonlee, and Hitmonchan. The latter two were not defeated as easily as the others, so they managed to damage Kadabra before they fainted.

"Primeape has fainted," Kiyo announced after the seventh battle had ended. "Which means Blake Moran won this fight as well."

Blake's opponent, Hideki, returned his Pokémon and joined the others back in the main hall of the Fighting Dojo.

"Your eighth and last challenger is our most skilled Trainer," Kiyo announced, "Bruno Garwig."

Blake looked at the massive man who now walked onto the battlefield. He was the most muscular man Blake had ever seen, and he wore only his white trousers, held up by his black belt, to show off his muscles. He had heavy black wristbands, and his dark blue hair was tied in a thick ponytail that reached down to his shoulder blades. He had big eyebrows above his black eyes and longish thick sideburns.

"Blond with hazel eyes," Bruno mumbled. "Dang it."

A smile appeared on Kiyo's face, "Both Trainers may send out their Pokémon now, and the battle starts!"




One day earlier, in Pewter City, the battle of Ira and Red against Bethany and Yellow was also still going on. Red's Charmander had been damaged quite a lot, which caused his Blaze Ability to power up the Pokémon Fire Type Attacks. Bethany's Rattata, on the other side, had her Ability, Guts, activated as well. Guts raised the Normal Type's physical attacking power when he was inflicted with a status condition. In this situation, that was a burn from Ira's Ponyta, who had used Flame Wheel.

Yellow's Rattata was the first to strike again with a Bite on Ira's Fire Type, while Charmander attacked the other Rattata with Ember. Bethany countered by telling her Pokémon to hit Charmander with Quick Attack, causing Red's Pokémon to faint. Ponyta, however, continued by defeating Bethany's Rattata with another Flame Wheel.

The double battle had now come to its last stages with both sides having only one Pokémon left: Ira's Ponyta versus Yellow's Momus. The latter was the first to move, hitting the Fire Type with Quick Attack. The cream-colored Pokémon replied by increasing her flames to create another Flame Wheel. She ran at Momus, stamping her harder-than-diamond hooves on the ground, moving her long legs faster than visible, and landed a critical hit onto the Normal Type, defeating Yellow's last Pokémon.

"Rattata has fainted," the judge announced. "Meaning Ira Newton and Red Newman have won this battle."

Later that day, Ira also tried to beat Pewter City's Gym Leader, but, like Yellow, she lost from Brock's Rock Types.




"Goldeen! Water Pulse to take out one of the Dugtrio!" This attack from Tanya's Pokémon would usually always hit, but, due to the Dugtrio's Sand Attacks, it missed, giving the Ground Types a chance to attack the Pokémon of the girl with orange eyes and the boy with white hair. They focused on Goldeen first, as she had an advantage over them. They both created an orb of mud and sent them toward the helpless Water Type. Gray's Diglett jumped between Goldeen and the attack, which only caused himself to faint as well.

"Okay," Kevin started. "We've messed up."

"You don't say," Lola mumbled. The five kids looked at the Dugtrio, who had put up their evil-laugh-looks, only then without the laugh, since Dugtrio, just like Diglett, don't have mouths. Right when the two jumped out of the ground to attack the Trainers directly, they were taken down by a long blue tail, one that looked a bit like Dratini's. The blue on the tail was darker, and two crystal orbs were at the end.

As soon as the five could see more of the Pokémon, they noticed that a similar orb was also under the Pokémon's chin. He had violet-colored eyes, and his ears were two small wings.

'Dragonair,' Gray thought, 'could he be here?'

Before Gray could see if his thoughts were correct, the Dragon Type used Aqua Tail to defeat both Dugtrio.

"Well done, Dragonair," someone shouted. "Now, return."

The Trainer of the Pokémon that saved the five children now stepped into the light of the torches, and Gray's thoughts were confirmed.

Not only had the Palletan boy recognized the blond boy's voice, but he now also saw his turquoise eyes, his pointy ears, and his round head. The boy was even taller than Gray, which was justified by the boy with silver eyes being four years younger.

"What a coincidence that I find you here, Gray," the boy noted.

"Do you know each other?" Kevin asked.

"Definitely," Gray replied. "He's the older brother of one of my best friends."

"That's right," the boy added. "Nice to meet you, the name's Nick Patterson."