Embarked from Pallet Town with a specially-hardened breed of plant. Supposedly it's half-plant... half-warm-blooded-lizard? Whichever. I'm not a biology expert - Professor Oak is.
{Subject X the Bulbasaur: Lucky Survivor}
Viridian looks terrible - the trees are dead, and I think most people have burrowed underground. The colonists at the exploratory base on the surface gave me a package for the Professor and some animal-capturing equipment. I returned it, got tasked with further investigation, and set out. May gave me a map of what Kanto... used to look like. Hopefully it's still got some use.
Scouting the areas around Viridian, I discovered a lone overgrown rat wandering to the west - it might have been someone's pet, once. I took it with me.
{Watson the Rattata: Lone Wanderer}
Had the luck to stumble across another one to the north. I wonder if it was just vermin, or whether Viridian had a pet rat craze, back in the day...
{Ratslin the Rattata: Lucky Survivor}
Far north of Viridian, there used to be a scenic laboratory for research into trees and insects. Nowadays, it's just crazed mutant insects. I ran through as fast as I could. The plant leeched energy from cocoons we encountered along the way to heal. You have to do what you have to in these times.
{No valid catch is possible in Viridian Forest.}
It's been a while since I updated this log. Got caught by Pewter slavers. Had to fight my way out. Fortunately, this plant proved very useful against those rock-brutes they like to employ.
Took shelter with the survivors of the Mt. Moon facility. While there, I was asked to take care of a sickly pigeon; just call me Tesla, I guess.
{Parker the Pidgey: Sickly Survivor; Sand-Attack chosen}
With the slavers between me and home, I elected to enter the mountain in search of further supplies. Before departing, I contacted Professor Oak via their radio transmitter and informed him of my location and the survival of the Mt. Moon facility; he was pleased to hear that there had been survivors, and was interested to hear that my plant had grown in size and strength.
Even so, my plant fared poorly against the local rabid bats, but the pigeon helped. Strange glowing rocks embedded in the cavern ceiling and walls lit my way, but only two that I found were large enough to be worth carrying. When I took one to the researchers, they described it as a "Moon Stone" - an object of apparent extraterrestrial origin that had mutagenic effects on certain species of wildlife.
I encountered several human scavengers within the cave, who were almost all extremely glad to hear of fellow survivors and gratefully accepted guidance towards the entrance. The exceptions all seemed to be part of a group called the 'Rockets' - apparently a rival faction to the League's successors. They were all too eager to mug others for supplies, regardless of whether or not it would be fatal, and I was all too glad to return their violence in kind.
The pigeon seemed to take to the exercise (and dining on local mushrooms) well, and grew into a plumper and sturdier form... though it still shows signs of sickness. Nothing of importance happened after defeating the Rockets on my way through Mt. Moon - I was attacked by a crazed paleontologist, but he became docile after I subdued him, and even offered to share his finds. I declined, telling him he would be better off reporting on the fossils to the Mt. Moon facility, and left him to dash off.
To my surprise, in the depths of the mountain, I came across the legendary 'fairy of the mountain' - a plump little thing, which I found crouched in a corner, badly wounded. I patched it up as best I could and took it with me. I suspect the Rockets might have been responsible for its injuries. Rotten thugs...
{Myth the Clefairy: Sickly Survivor; Growl chosen}
{Note: there is exactly one Pokemon which is a valid catch in Mt. Moon, namely Clefairy.
Furthermore, the Fossil was irrelevant, as I don't get to revive it under Blizzard rules.}
Cerulean, to my surprise, seemed to have a few survivors. The inhabitants of the Gym district told me they had been cut off from the oceanside research facility; the once-sprawling city lacked connections even between its own districts, much less others.
I found a fearful, frozen sparrow outside the city boundaries; it seemed traumatized and unfit for current conditions. I vowed to give it to a good home if I found a settlement in better shape than Cerulean.
{Sam the Spearow: Fearful Survivor; will be traded for Farfetch'd}
When I visited the Gym, which had been converted into a shelter, I found the settlement was led by the highest-ranking survivor - Misty, a former junior officer. After testing my skills in battle, she tasked me with breaking the Rocket blockade of the bridge.
On my way there, I was attacked by a mysterious stranger; once I had subdued him, I found him to be Professor Oak's grandson! He told me that he had sneaked through the blockade and found the rest of the city populated by roving, starving mobs, with one survivor at the research facility: Bill, famed inventor of the PC matter-to-data storage systems. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to spend much time there before being driven off by attacking Rockets - and, in his paranoia, he had mistaken even a fellow child of Pallet for a marauder.
Something off his story seemed off, but I let him go. He was May's brother, after all. With strange aloofness, he soon headed off without me... Or without helping break the blockade. I wasn't very impressed. I always thought the Professor spoiled the boy, and he indeed seemed to have a marked lack of character when push came to shove...
Anyway, I joined the battle efforts and helped break the Rocket defenses. The commander made a direct offer to me, saying someone of my skills was wasted on "rag-ridden savages", but I refused with extreme violence. I wondered why he seemed so confident I would take his offer...
I rescued two fearful pigeons north of Cerulean; they don't appear battle-ready, but may help repopulate the area whenever... things recover.
{Terry the Pidgey: Fearful Survivor
Clarice the Pidgey: Fearful Survivor}
Making my way through the Rocket-ravaged north, we were able to pacify the survivors and reunite them with the rest of the city. Preoccupied with search-and-rescue of civilians, the Gym members sent me off to check on Bill.
When I stepped into the facility, I found the heating systems had been long inoperable, and almost all the scientists had frozen to death years ago; Bill was indeed alive, but the Professor's grandson neglected to tell me he had survived by fusing himself with some sort of cold-resistant animal. Once I told him rescuers were on the way, he consented to be separated, and pressed a faded ticket into my hand as I led him and the hapless creature to reunite with the rest of Cerulean. I hadn't the heart to tell him that ships had ceased to be relevant to the world years ago.
Two bitter weeks later, the united Cerulean had beaten back the Rockets. With my way now clear, I departed in an expedition to attempt to restore communications with Vermillion, Saffron, Celadon, and Lavender. Of the cities, all but Vermillion had been reporting Rocket infiltration before contact ceased.
On my way out, I was attacked by a Rocket, who bargained for his life with a stolen technical machine on digging procedures once I defeated him. Disgusted, I allowed him to live; he swore he would resign his membership in the Rockets and took off. I have no idea whether he lied or not, but recovering the TM was more important than one Rocket's freedom.
Saffron was barricaded by Rocket guards, and roads elsewhere were blocked by landslides and dead trees. However, as I retreated from the Rocket barricade, I was accosted by survivors who had been living in the underground passage from Cerulean to Vermillion. In gratitude for informing them of Cerulean's survival and the breaking of the Rocket raiding gangs that had cut them off from civilization, they permitted me to use their tunnel.
I also rescued a lucky feral cat, for all that it appeared initially hostile to capture. A tin of salvaged tuna did wonders for its mood.
{Lana the Meowth: Lucky Survivor}
North of Vermillion, I ran into Vermillion's... security forces. I had to fight off several before I had time to scream that I was in no way affiliated with the Rockets, and had come from Cerulean. A few hours of search, questioning, and examination of my Cascade Badge and Pallet equipment, they finally released me into Vermillion, and agreed to renew contact with Cerulean.
Vermillion was a strange place: it appeared to be in good shape, but run by the self-proclaimed "Lieutenant" Surge, a crazed war veteran who had locked himself in a barbed-wire-surrounded compound with his most faithful underlings. He claimed his reign defended Vermillion not just from the Rockets, but by "those no-good Reds", a strange and secretive people who lived out of the rusted-red S.S. Anne, a luxury cruise liner that had been frozen in port at the start of the Cold Times.
Funnily enough, Bill's ticket had been for the S.S. Anne. I wondered...
Meanwhile, in Vermillion, I came across a straggling pigeon, and was able to give my sparrow to a good home in exchange for a duck. Unfortunately, it was equally fearful. I supposed it could stay with the other fearful birds I had adopted.
{Mira the Pidgey: Lone Wanderer}
{DUX the Farfetch'd: Fearful Survivor. I initially rolled 2, but I can't get any other Vermillion encounters! Rolled repeatedly until I got my first non-2, a 3.}
The former chair of the Pokemon fanclub, a very popular man due to both his genial personality and his fiery stallion, promised me that he would see about taking leadership of the colony if I could resolve the situation with the "Reds". I told him I would see what I could do.
As I approached the S.S. Anne and glimpsed a frost-covered ticket machine, I told myself it couldn't possibly work...
It did. The machine worked just well enough to accept that last, faded ticket.
I was dumbfounded.
Once I entered the S.S. Anne, I was attacked by the former passengers; fortunately, Misty had helped teach my fairy how to shoot jets of water, which helped subdue them without harming them. They became hopeful upon learning that I was not one of Surge's goons. When questioned, they admitted to coming into conflict with Vermillion on their expeditions from and to the ship, but claimed the fights had mainly been over resources. I managed to negotiate a peace, if they were willing, but I was requested to do two things: find and defeat the "stowaway" who had recently been raiding the ship's supplies, and fetch medicine for the ship's "captain", who had fallen deathly ill.
I was much less surprised than I should have been to learn the "stowaway" was none other than Professor Oak's grandson. He insisted he was here on Lt. Surge's orders, and was trying to help the settlement. I told him I didn't care, and harming survivors helped no one. He was thrown off, and the former chair retrieved medicine for the captain. The man soon made a complete recovery, and the passengers agreed to share valuable tree-cutting equipment (which had somehow been in the cargo hold) with the settlement as a sign of goodwill. As an interesting bonus, the equipment went right through the barbed wire.
I really don't want to record the raid on Surge's compound; suffice to say it involved a lot of sorting through garbage cans. Paranoid wretch. He was relieved of command, Vermillion renewed contact with Cerulean, and all was well.
Well, except that the area east of Vermillion was blocked by wreckage, landslides, and general extremely poor environmental conditions, so that they remained cut off from Lavender; there were even rumors of some kind of monstrosity that roamed the ruins and attacked those who tried to make it through the wreckage. (I found a traumatized sparrow nearby, but I suspect environmental conditions had more to do with it than any "monster".) As the veterans forbid anyone to even attempt the journey at this point, even under the new leadership, I went back to Cerulean to discuss what course of action to pursue next.
I was hailed as a "hero" and granted use of a "Dreamcycle" snowmobile from Cerulean's stocks. However, when I spoke to Misty, she had no solution to Vermillion's eastern issues; Cerulean was stretched thin enough protecting its own borders and the route to Vermillion to assist in wreckage-removal efforts. However, Cerulean could use the tree-cutting equipment, since the route east of Cerulean had been long choked off by thickly-packed dead trees and a landslide - could I arrange for some of that equipment to reach Cerulean?
Vermillion was willing to trade Dreamcycles for tree-cutters, so the road to Rock Tunnel reopened. A small group of survivors, the remainder of those trapped by the landslide, was hostile at first, but opened free passage with Cerulean once they confirmed no Rocket involvement. They warned me, however, that Lavender was now a hive of Rocket activity.
I left the mated pair of sparrows I found outside Rock Tunnel in the care of the geological facility outside the entrance, and took the mated pair of humanoid creatures I found within Rock Tunnel with me. It must be something in the water.
{Steve & Stephanie the Spearows: Survivor Couple}
{James & Jessie the Machops: Survivor Couple}
Lavender Town was atrocious. The reports had been correct: Rockets entirely dominated what remained of the settlement, and the survivors labored away as their slaves. Nothing had been left sacred or untouched. Even the local humanitarian, Mr. Fuji, had been kidnapped and held as a "dissenter". I skirted the edge of the settlement and set off west, seeing what could be done.
The routes between cities had degenerated into sites of open civil war between Rockets and civilians. I helped pick off Rockets where I could (and rescued an abandoned cat), and in return was allowed use of the underground tunnel.
{Jack the Meowth: Lone Wanderer}
They told me Celadon was worse.
Even the wildlife fled in Celadon, which was saying something. Though it had retained its facilities so well that plants still grew inside the Gym, the "contested areas" were a warzone, with Rockets and League loyalists brawling in the snow-swamped streets. The League loyalists held the south side, and the Rockets the north; though the League had better fortifications, the Rockets had the supplies, and they had been long locked in a stalemate.
Which was where I came in, of course...
Skirting the edges of Celadon and heading west, I managed to rescue a girl who had been cut off from her family by a Rocket raid; in gratitude, she gave me an advanced technical machine on the topic of flight. She vouched for me when I came to the League side, and Erika tested me as Misty had. Satisfied with my performance and accepting my testimony and Badges as proof of my anti-Rocket aims, she told me the location of Rocket headquarters: beneath an abandoned casino towards the middle of town. At the same time that League loyalists launched a cross-town offensive, I would sneak in and attack headquarters. It was not a new idea, but both League and Rocket numbers had depleted, and with someone young and fresh like me, it might work now.
A few days later, I thus found myself in Rocket HQ.
Their headquarters was crawling with Rockets, but not so much as it might otherwise be. I swiftly mowed through ranks of the weaker Rockets, the stronger ones being out fighting, and obtained access to their elevator system. Downstairs, I assailed the personal guard of their chief and personally fought the man; while he might have been my superior, the sounds of League loyalists storming his weakened base caused him to suddenly find a pressing need to be elsewhere.
With their headquarters captured, the Rocket presence fell apart. Within the month, they had lost their hold on the northern sector, and Celadon Gym's people gleefully broadcasted the news that the Rockets had been defeated in their stronghold. The brutes still held Saffron and Lavender, but they had gone from terrorizing four cities to two, and Saffron was surrounded on four sides. Erika told me, and Misty confirmed over the radio, that, if Lavender could be liberated, the free cities would launch a coordinated offensive against Saffron.
Speaking of liberation, the Rockets' captives in the north, both animal and human, had been freed. The cause of the Rockets' activities in Mt. Moon was now obvious: they had quite the supply of the mythical "fairies", so much so that I wondered if the one I had found had been the last one actually left in its natural environment. Though the League took the majority for treatment and shelter in Gym facilties, I was gifted with a seemingly-inseparable pair: one of the fairies, and some fox-like creature that, according to Erika's scientists, had a markedly unstable genetic code. They were not sure whether it was a natural creature or a Rocket experiment, but nonetheless, I gladly took it.
{Hunter the Eevee and Aria the Clefairy: Survivor Couple
Got lucky there; hoped for it, didn't expect to get it.}
I received good news from home as well: vermillion had taken advantage of the tree-cutting machines to open the way to an abandoned underground tunnel which, as it turned out, led back to Pewter. They had re-established contact with Viridian and Pallet, providing them with desperately-needed supplies, and driven out the slavemasters of Pewter. Professor Oak congratulated me on my good works and listened attentively to the reports of my creatures' maturing, including the large, dinosaur-like adult form of my plant, the massive, crested appearance of my pigeon, and the strange new form of my sickly fairy, which had gulped down one of the Moon Stones when I had carelessly neglected my bag, and then... changed. I heard from both my mother and May, and ended the communications with a warm heart.
The journey had been long and hard, but the outlook for this ice-choked world was, at last, beginning to look a little warmer.
