I made my way to the Cycling Road only to find a sleeping Snorlax blocking my path. Snorlax are Pokemon who generally tend to inhabit the mountainous areas, but make their way down to areas more populated by humans when they need to satisfy their seemingly never ending hunger. It was no problem. I played a melody from the flute that I got from old man Fuji and that Snorlax woke up and made his way back to the mountains. I then made my way through the Cycling Road, eradicating the pathway of the hooligans and ruffians who loitered about, and made my way to Fuchsia City.
In Fuchsia City, I met back up with Koga, the best Ninja Assassin that ever served. His policy was to speak (and move) softly (and silently) and carry a big blowgun. He specialized in poisons and used his skill and knowledge to lethal effect. He was instrumental in ensuring our victory as he assassinated key generals of the enemy forces. It was good to be in his stoic presence once more. I was especially surprised, however, to find out that he had a little girl; Janine. Koga always made a point of legacy. With that in mind, it was no surprise that he was training his daughter in the mysterious arts of ninjutsu. In any case, I informed Koga of my purpose and we got straight to the point of it. I cleared his Gym of poison experts and eventually took him down with my Growlithe.
Afterwards, Koga told me of the rare and endangered species of Pokemon being preserved at the Safari Zone. Of course, this would be beneficial to Oak’s Pokedex mission so I explored every inch of that place. Eventually, I found a pair of gold dentures which apparently belonged to the Safari Zone Warden and I stumbled on to a lodge hidden in the depths of the park. There, I was awarded the HM for Surf.
After my Safari Zone adventure, I made my way back to Lavender Town; clearing a myriad of trainers and another Snorlax along the way. There, I heard rumblings of the chaos that was ensuing in Saffron City. Apparently, Giovanni and Team Rocket took control of the City and occupied the Silph Co. building where they held the company’s president as a hostage. Silph Co. were the creators of my Silph Scope and the company was well known for the creation, manufacture, and distribution of Pokeballs. They were also known for being on the cutting edge of technology and medicine, creating everything that a Pokemon Trainer would need for his Pokemon partners and himself on his journey (from pokeballs, to HP and Status healing medicines, to Stat inducing items). Rumor has it that SIlph Co. was on the verge of creating a Pokeball that would be capable of capturing any Pokemon without fail; a Master Pokeball. If I had to guess, I would say that Team Rocket and Giovanni were after that Masterball. Surely it would make their jobs in capturing rare and powerful Pokemon a whole lot easier.
I hastily made my way to Saffron City. I used my military training to avoid any Team Rocket Grunts and snuck into Silph Co. HQ. I searched every floor of the building, defeating team Rocket Grunts as I went, until I was able to locate a Card Key. After that, I was able to clear every floor of the building as thoroughly as I could. I was just one transport panel away from coming face to face with Giovanni, when who else but that punk Gary Oak stood in my way. His ever presence in any place that Team Rocket was up to no good made me think for a split second that maybe that brat took up that Rocket’s offer at the Nugget Bridge in Cerulean City to join up with that band of miscreants. Those fears, however, were alleviated when the kid told me that he only sought the fame and glory in single handedly destroying Team Rocket. I was relieved for the elder Oak, and felt sorry for him at the same time. Relieved that his grandson was wasn’t a bad egg, but felt sorry because the man who would carry on the Oak family name is a foolish and arrogant brat who was way in over his head. In any case, I dispatched the younger Oak and made my way to the top floor where the leader of Team Rocket awaited. Giovanni was just like his mother. They saw Pokemon as nothing more that tools to exploit and abuse for their own personal benefit and enrichment. That type of thinking grinds my gears and I made sure to channel my anger into beating that man. My Pokemon felt that same as I and they fought to ensure his defeat. Giovanni, however, made it clear that even though we won the battle, the war was still ongoing.
I healed up, paid a visit to the Fighting Dojo and did some additional training, and then made my way to Sabrina’s Gym. Sabrina was a kid with a special, terrible ability. She had psychic powers. She was kept as a weapon for the Government to use. They would use her telepathy to obtain enemy secrets and the level of her telekinesis was so destructive that it could decimate entire regions at a time. I couldn’t abide what they were doing to this girl and fought tooth and nail to ensure that she was granted her freedom after the war. The most I could have done for her was to get her some measured freedom whereby she would still be monitored because of her power. It was a small consolation, but she was grateful nonetheless.
I cleared her Gym and finally went face to face with her. Before I did, I used a Fire Stone on my Growlithe who recently learned Flamethrower. My Arcanine and his Bite made short work of Sabrina. Afterwards, we said our goodbyes and I knew my next destination had to be Cinnabar Island.
I flew to Pallet Town and set off towards Cinnabar Island. I trained my Dragonair on the sea routes between Pallet Town and Cinnabar Island and between Cinnabar Island and the Seafoam Islands. I immediately returned to Cinnabar Island upon completion of my training. I found that the Gym was closed. On the door, I saw a note. The note was from Old Blaine. Blaine was the best code breaker I knew. He always fancied riddles, trivia and puzzles. True to form, the note was a direction to look for the key to the Gym (the “Secret Key”) in the old burnt down Cinnabar Mansion. I took on the challenge and quickly found the key (beating trainers along the way). I made my way to the Gym. I had the option to take a quiz and skip the battles but that’s not how I work. I fought every trainer until I made my way up to Blaine and my Arcanine and Dragonair made short work of his fire types.
Upon exiting the Cinnabar Gym, I met up with Bill the Pokemon expert. He was on his way to the first three isles of the Sevii Islands. He offered to take me with him to One Island. I knew that was near where the Legendary Moltres resides. We arrived at One Island. Bill met up with his friend, Celio. Celio gave me a mission to deliver a meteorite to the Game Corner gentleman on Two Island. Before that, however, I made my way to Mt. Ember (beating the trainers along the way) and I swiftly bested Moltres in a duel. Afterwards, I went to Two Island to visit the Game Corner gentleman. There, I found out that the gentleman’s daughter, Lostelle, had gone missing and that she would likely be in Three Island where Kanto’s most notorious motorcycle gang was running roughshod over the locals. I went to Three Island, quickly dispatched the motorcycle gang, and made my way to an isolated forest at the very end of the island. At the very edge of the forest, I found Lostelle being terrorized by a rogue Hypno. I beat the Hypno and escorted Lostelle back to her father on Two Island. There I delivered up the meteorite, went back to One Island, and Bill and I made our way back to Cinnabar Island.
My original intent was to go back to Viridian City; however, the Gym Leader for the Viridian City Gym was still MIA. From there, I decided that I had to test the power of the other two Legendary Birds. I journeyed to the Kanto Power Plant because I heard that Zapdos resided close to there. Sure enough, I encountered this mighty beast and bested him in battle. From there, I flew to Fuchsia City and made my way to the Seafoam Islands from there. I explored the depths of the Islands until I crossed paths with Articuno. Skarmory made short work of the Legend.
Word immediately came to me that the Viridian City Gym Leader had returned. I flew there at once. I fought my way through every trainer in the Gym until I came face to face with the Gym Leader. To my utter amazement, it was Giovanni, the Leader of Team Rocket. It all made sense now. How Team Rocket was always one step ahead of the law. Their Boss was privy to the inner workings of the Government as an appointed Gym Leader. Of course he would know how to use that inside information to work and manipulate the system. I had to put an end to it. We fought one hell of a battle. Eventually, I had to call on my Dragonair to bail me out of a tough spot. We ultimately prevailed and as a reward for our hard work, Dragonair evolved into Dragonite. Giovanni reflected on how he was thwarted at every avenue by the efforts of me and my Pokemon partners. The intensity of our encounters, as well as the moral stance I took reminded Giovanni of how he was as a young trainer. He revealed to me that he cherished his Pokemon and genuinely wanted to walk the straight and narrow path as a Pokemon Master. However, he reminded me of the cold and demanding nature of his mother. All she cared about was the family legacy and she bullied and terrorized Giovanni until he conformed to her vision of who he should be. Giovanni confessed to me his regret at who he’d become and was remorseful for all of his actions. Right there and then, he set everything in motion to disband Team Rocket. Despite his catharsis, however, he still needed to face judgment for all of the crimes that he and Team Rocket committed. Before I could apprehend him, however, he disappeared. I did my part in dismantling Team Rocket. The Authorities should be able to track down Giovanni and I trust that they would round up whatever remnants of the organization linger about.
I acquired all eight badges from the Gym Challenge. Logically, the next step of my journey should be to take on the Pokemon League Elite Four Challenge. I healed up at the Pokemon Centre and set forward for Victory Road. En route, however, I once again encountered that brat Gary Oak. We battled and once again, he was no match for me. I made my way up to Victory Road and through the said cave. As we do, my Pokemon partners and I rose to the occasion and beat every trainer that came our way. After we spent some considerable time training up, I finally decided that it was time to take on the Pokemon League Challenge.
First up was Lorelei. The young lady was a child prodigy from the Sevii Islands. She specialized in Ice type Pokemon and proved to be a tough cookie to break down. My Skarmory and Arcanine, however, got the job done and took care of the Ice Queen. Second was Bruno. Bruno was the region’s most famous martial arts master. His meditation methods and focus on endurance and the toughness of both body and mind is reflected in his Fighting type specialty. Skarmory had an answer for all of his Pokemon though. Thirdly was Agatha. She was one of the most experienced elders in Kanto. I knew her because Professor Oak was once her lover. She was left spurned when Oak decided to retire from his career as a Pokemon trainer to become a Pokemon Researcher. She’s a feisty old bat who readily unleashes her Ghost type Pokemon on all those who have the guts to challenge her abilities. Arcanine tore through her team. Fourthly, I came face to face with the recognized Champion of the Pokemon League; Lance, the Dragon Master. Lance hailed from Blackthorne City in the neighboring region of Johto. He is the type of white knight that children read about in story books. Brave, chivalrous, and one of the toughest trainers around. My Dragonite was more than a match for Lance and his Dragons and I bested the toughest trainer the League had to offer. To my frustration, however, Lance revealed to me that Gary Oak had faced the Elite Four mere moments before I had. He was the new Champion. He was the final challenge I had to face. Nevertheless, I persevered and my team one more rose to the occasion. My three partners bested Gary Oak through the strong bond that we shared. This is what Professor Oak explained to his distraught grandson after our match. I was inducted into the Hall of Fame as the New Champion.
There wasn’t much to do after my Hall of Fame debut. I worked on Oak’s Pokedex. After a while, Celio called me to One Island with a mission. I helped him establish a communications link with his associate in the Hoenn Region by travelling across all of the Sevii Islands to help him recover two stones; the Ruby and Sapphire. Along the way, I destroyed the remnants of Team Rocket. Upon completion of this task, I heard that a supernatural entity based in Cerulean Cave was causing considerable trouble for the citizens of Cerulean. I had to go and check it out. I explored the depths of the cave and came across a strange creature. It resonated some unusually strong psychic power. My mind immediately went to some records I came across whilst exploring the Pokemon Mansion on Cinnabar Island. Those records spoke of a clone of the Legendary Pokemon Mew. A Clone that was twice as powerful and twice as dangerous. It was awesome and uncontrollable. Neither my Arcanine, nor my Skarmory could contain it. It took the might of my Dragonite to finally pacify this creature.
After this, I would make my way back to Celadon City to spend the rest of my days watching over my daughter.
My Hall of Fame Team: