Pokemon Red

SonicFanPS2 wrote:Ah, so many sweet, sweet game references you're making here, Freedom! Your writing is still awesome! I'm liking where the plot is going, as well as the foreshadowing.

But these references always leave me with a few questions about the games...

First, why do people allow their children to go out in the world, running miles and miles about in a gigantic country?

Second, how is it that young children can defeat high-class criminal organizations???

We may never know.

Thank you! :D

1. Because they follow the same legends as Hyrule does. Only without the green clothes.
2. Simple really. If you can master these monsters, you can beat anyone. Potentially, the champion can even beat back the government, if they have strong and numerous Pokemon.

And so the first stone of war is thrown.
---
People say that Clefairy, the residents of Mt. Moon, came from the moon some time after Moon Stones fell on Mt. Moon. I can’t say I believe that; really, Pokémon from space? Although I guess there are crazier things in this world.

Still, exploring Mt. Moon was not an experience I was looking forward to, despite the possible aliens inside. So when I got woke up early by an annoying bald guy, you can tell I wasn’t looking forward to the day.

“Hello there, laddie! Have I got a deal just for you! I’ll let you have a swell Magikarp for just 500! What do you say?” I should have said get out of my face, I’m trying to sleep, but my kind nature prevented me from lashing out. Instead, I tried to object, but he was relentless. “I’ll let you have a secret Pokémon – a Magikarp – for just 1000!”

“Didn’t you say 500 before?”

“Uh, yes, of course, slip of the tongue, laddie!” Right. “So, you’ll buy it, am I right?”

“No thanks, sir,” I said, trying to get comfortable again.

“No? You say no? I’m only doing this as a favor to you!” Oh gosh, why me?

I looked at my Trainer Card, and I had enough money to burn, so I decided to make him a deal. “Look, if I buy the thing, will you leave me alone so I can sleep?”

“Of course, of course!” Sheesh. I had to sigh to show my disdain, but I bought the dumb fish. I lay back down and was about to sleep, but the man had one more phrase to add as he walked away. “Well, I don’t give refunds!” So yeah, my day is failing right as it began.

Honestly, I was worried Mt. Moon would be covered in shadows, but I was surprised: there were many shiny rocks in the ceiling, providing enough light to make it through without it ever getting dark.

There were a lot of trainers inside, but some of them were spooked by “suspicious men.” Of course, anyone who pays attention to the news (which isn’t usually me, but that’s beside the point) could guess it was Team Rocket. Still, if Blue got through the cave, and hopefully he did, then so must I!

In any case, my travels through the cave gave me a Zubat named Batty, a Geodude named Ninety, and a Paras. Named Paras. Creative, I know.

Everything was going well, so I was really beginning to cheer up. Until he came along. A Team Rocket Grunt. “We, Team Rocket, are Pokémon gangsters!” This is bad, isn’t it?

The grunt didn’t waste a second, throwing down his first Pokémon, a Sandshrew. He may be a gangster, but this is just another challenge. No matter how big and scary he was, I knew that my Pokémon, if they won, would be much scarier. So then winning is the only option.

The first Rocket fired soars into the sky, piercing the stratosphere.
---
“Go! Nidoran♂! He was still tired from the fight with Geodude, but he’d be a good start. Until Sandshrew Scratched it. Still, vengeance is a good motivator, and losing your lover can definitely cause vengeance. “Go! Nidoran♀!” Unfortunately, vengeance and love can blind loyalty, and it led to Nidoran♀ Growling in anger instead of attacking.

Still, I regained control, and the two Pokémon dashed at each other with an onslaught of Scratches. It took everything she had, but a last minute Sand Attack blinded her, allowing Sandshrew to take down a second Pokémon. “Hahahaha!” the Rocket laughed. “You know, I was going to steal your Pokémon, but if they’re gonna die so easily, why should I bother?! After all, we strike fear with our strength!”

That smirk drove me into a rage I couldn’t comprehend. Was it the insult to me? To my Pokémon? Or the threat? Whatever it was, I had no sentiments left for the scumbag. “The enemy’s weak! Get’m! Charmander!” I didn’t care if he was weak to Ground types, I just wanted to shut this jerk up. “Ember!”

Overkill is what I like to call it when I use more power than necessary. Usually it’s by accident, like a critical hit striking when you don’t need it, but this was personal now, so I was willing to let my policy against overkill slide. So I pounded his Rattata and Zubat with Ember, over and over, until they fainted. The Rocket’s eye got bigger and bigger as each Ember landed. The fear I felt for this man was traded with his aggression. And when that Zubat fainted, when it was all over, the Rocket fell to his knees and screamed out “I blew it!”

And then it happened. Charmander was enveloped in a white light, he grew over a half a meter taller, a horn, and more muscular too. The light cleared, and he had become Charmeleon!

Needless to say, the Rocket was upset. “Darn it all! My associates won’t stand for this!”

“Oh, believe me, if I run into them, they won’t be standing much longer either.” The man had nothing more to say, and just went in a corner, no hope for him unless his associates came. And you can bet they won’t, not while I’m here.

The Rockets continue to rampage.
---
Sure enough, the grunt wasn’t lying. My travels through the cave, with most of my team fainting in the process, led me to another Rocket Grunt. “We’re pulling a big job here! Get lost, kid!” Sorry, no chance. He could tell I wasn’t going to leave, so he whipped out a Poké Ball and threw it to the ground, releasing a Zubat.

Now, my Beedrill is really tired, but I know he can still lead me to victory. “Beedrill, attack with Fury Attack!” It may sound redundant, but in a way, that’s where Fury Attack gets its strength.

At first I thought I was going to be fine, but then his Zubat did something totally new to me: Supersonic. Somehow it confused Beedrill, and worse, it hurt himself in its confusion! I finally had to admit, this cave had pushed me and my Pokémon to the edge, and now this Rocket attempted to push us off!

Luckily, Beedrill seemed to snap out of his confusion, so I had him attack with Fury Attack again, but Zubat had done more damage than I could count on. And to make it worse, the Rocket sent another Supersonic my way. I wouldn’t risk my Beedrill any longer, so I sent out Charmeleon.

“Supersonic!” the grunt yelled with malice and joy in his voice. Shoot! Thankfully the confusion didn’t last long, but the damage was done, and Charmeleon was clearly ready to rest. Zubat died easy after that, but with only two Pokémon, my journey was looking really rough now.

But my powerhouse still had a few tricks left. As an Ekans slithered before use, I worried about what it could do, but led off with Ember, and something amazing happened: the enemy Ekans was burned! From my days with Oak’s class, we learned that burns were just like being poisoned, only harder to pull off. Well thankfully I did, so here’s hoping it’ll help!

The grunt was fuming, so he sent Ekans to use Wrap, leaving my Pokémon in a tight spot. No pun intended. Okay, maybe a little, but I need to unload my tension from the last Rocket somehow. Beating another grunt is also perfect therapy, I’ll tell you that.

“So, you are good.” I had to smirk at this. And, as modest as I can be, I have to agree. “If you find a fossil, give it to me and scram!” Seriously? I just turned and left, leaving him to dig at a wall in a desperate attempt to find a dead Pokémon.

Items, how do they work? *fail punjoke is fail*
---
The mysterious Escape Rope. A device created by Silph Co., I think. As the slogan goes, “When you’re in a bind, unbind an Escape Rope!” Man, we kids really are easily impressionable. I had hoped to go as long as possible without it, but I knew there were more trainers and Rockets, and I knew it was a bad idea to trudge onward without healing, so I gave in and used the rope. So much for my record.

Reentering Mt. Moon wasn’t fun either. I really don’t want to deal with this cave anymore, not when it’s hurt my Pokémon and my pride. I suppose all the rumors were true, Mt. Moon really does wear you down. Still, I knew I’d get through it, no matter how hard it would be. Unfortunately, Rattata and the Nidorans weren’t so lucky.

As I climbed down another ladder, I had a feeling I was close. There were two Rockets digging ahead, one of which I already beat. This cave is so confusing sometimes.

I have to admit, I don’t really see what’s wrong with taking fossils. Pewter City certainly wasn’t going for them, just Brock and some old friend of his.

Either way, I was going to take him on. He saw me coming and walked over toward me, trying to be as menacing as possible. “Little kids should leave grown-ups alone!” Apparently the Rockets were able to communicate, and now this guy knew I was a threat.

Unfortunately, so was he. The Raticate he sent out truly looked burly, and with just one Tackle from it, I knew Pidgey was outclassed. “Pidgey come back!” Beedrill would hopefully have better luck, being evolved.

The good news was my attempt to poison the beast worked; the bad news was even Beedrill got beat down. I saved him in time, but now it was just Charmeleon to take on this giant rodent. “Ember!”

“Hyper Fang!” Hyper what? The Raticate lunged at Charmeleon, but his newly found speed boost helped him dodge the attack and follow through with Ember. And the poison did the rest. “I’m steamed!” Good, that’s what I like to hear!

He sat on the ground and looked to me, as if he wanted to justify himself. “Pokémon lived here long before people came.”

“So?”

“So it’s our mission to find them and capture them!” I rolled my eyes. “Team Rocket wants three things: money, power, and glory!” Whatever, I have a cave to get through.

The king of games.
---
Another battle had begun. “We, Team Rocket will find the fossils! Reviving Pokémon from them will earn us huge riches!” Good luck finding them when you’re defenseless with fainted Pokémon.

I gave Pidgey one more chance to prove himself, but the grunt’s Rattata was too fast and overwhelmed my Pidgey. I considered risking Beedrill, but he was weakened too, so I went with Charmeleon.

Needless to say, my pal beset the Rattata and Zubat. When the Rocket’s Zubat got burned, it was priceless; I nearly laughed out loud. But that burn is what won me the battle. “Urgh! Now I’m mad!” With the sound of that urgh, you sound sick. Still, I turned to leave, but the Rocket really wanted to drill me, “You made me mad! Team Rocket will blacklist you!”

“Yeah, I’m really worried about that,” I said confidently. But inside, I did have to admit, I was a little worried. What did that mean?

Nevertheless, I focused on what was in front of me, and standing before me was a Super Nerd. Well, I guess one more trainer battle won’t hurt too much.

“Hey, stop!” he yelled at me, even though I was about a foot away. “I found these fossils! They’re both mine!”

Wait, so this guy thinks I’m a Rocket? “Dude, look, I’m not-”

“I summon you, Grimer, in attack mode!” Uh…okay, fine, we’ll fight. Beedrill managed to hit the enemy five times with Fury Attack, but he truly proved himself in this fight. With just one HP left, he managed to dodge all over Grimer’s attacks and beat the pile of goo.

“Grr, I’m not done yet!” he said as we returned our Pokémon. “I summon my Poké Ball, in defense mode!” Wait, what? And then the weirdest thing happened; his Poké Ball released a giant Poké Ball. I’m going to be spending a lot of thought on how that makes sense.

“Charmeleon! Just…Ember the thing!” Clearly he was confused too, but he obeyed and shot fire at the ball. The Pokémon (I guess that’s what it is) was poorly trained, because it couldn’t get off a single Screech as ordered.

“RAWR! My poor Voltorb!” Okay, now I’m scared. Seriously, this guy worries me more than all the Rockets so far. “That’s it; I summon you, Koffing, in attack mode!” Yeah, this is it, alright. As I expected, Charmeleon pulverized the competition, and that was another victory to be proud of. “Okay! I’ll share! We’ll each take one! No being greedy!”

“Look dude, I’m not part of Team Rocket, I just want to get to Cerulean City.”

He stared for a few seconds, letting his foolishness sink in. “Oh. Oops.” Indeed. “Okay, well, I’m sorry. Still, I did beat your Pokémon really hard.” Uh, other way around? “So go ahead, you can have one, there’s a lot more around here anyway.” No sense saying no to a gift.

About time we got out of that cave. Crazy Clefairys...
---
To think I’d have such trouble choosing over a rock. In the end, I chose the Dome Fossil; looked cooler to me. “All right,” said the man known as Miguel. “Then this fossil is mine!”

I asked him what I should do with it, and thankfully he had an answer. “Far away, on Cinnabar Island, there’s a Pokémon Lab. They do research on regenerating fossils.” Well, if I ever head that way, I’ll definitely take a look into that.

“Thank you, and good luck with your excavation,” he nodded and went back to digging. As for me, my own joy soon hit me in the face. I rounded a corner and felt a breeze hit my face. That must mean… “It’s the exit!” I shouted with joy.

I ran to a ladder, and felt the breeze getting stronger. I climbed to the top, and saw yet another ladder, and a hole leading outside! Yes! I’m free! There were stars shining already, so I decided to give Mom a quick call while I took Route 4 to Cerulean City. I told her everything, even the stuff with Team Rocket. After all, someone had to get the Pewter City Police involved. You know, other than putting up a notice on the edge of town.

But she was glad I was safe, and I told her I’d call again soon. I could tell she was worried, but she was that sort of proud-worried. She’s a good mom either way. Thankfully, Route 4 was very quiet, no trainers, just two guys arguing over whether punches or kicks were better. But aside from that, nothing could distract me. Because now, I finally arrived in Cerulean City.

Believe me, never tell someone you slept on the floor. You will be laughed at, and possibly called a bum. >_>
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Chapter Four: Cerulean City

It was obvious this city was much bigger, and dare I say, better than Pewter. Of course, the first stop was the Pokémon Center. As my Pokémon got all their injuries healed, a man beside me asked me, “Have you heard about Bill?”

“No, who’s he?”

“Everyone calls him a Poké Maniac!” Now, the class system of Kanto had an odd way to function. Most people grabbed onto a title that described themselves, almost like being a part of a club. Being a Poké Maniac, well, usually only the crazies entered that group. “I think people are just jealous of Bill, though. Who wouldn’t want to boast about their Pokémon?”

True, I thought to myself as I left the center, but really, there was more to being a Poké Maniac than egos and lots of Pokémon. Hopefully this mysterious Bill wasn’t another stereotype.

Either way, Cerulean had a lot of nice people: someone who was amused by my Pokédex journey (although he may just be a jerk), a Police Officer protecting a robbed house (apparently this is what Team Rocket was up to), a girl who wanted to get a red bike just so she could keep it at home (so it doesn’t get dirty, of course), and the bike shop, owned by Miracle Cycle.

“Hi! Welcome to our Bike Shop,” the man with sunglasses said the man behind the counter. “Have we got just the bike for you!” I always wanted a bike, but Mom always said it was too expensive. Well, now that I have some money to burn, a bike could be really helpful.

“Sure, whatcha got?”

“Well, my boy,” the man said complacently. “What we’ve got here is the collapsible bicycle! It can fold up in a snap, and it lets you carry it anywhere, being lightweight and all!” He could tell I was hooked, so he pulled one out from right out of the counter. “It’s a cool bike! Do you want it?”

“Yeah! How much?”

“ 1,000,000!” You know, even the average salesman would be a little uncomfortable to say a price like that. But not this guy; he was practically proud of the price tag.

“Um…I’ve got 4,671, isn’t that good enough?” And that was a huge rip-off, by the way.

“Sorry! You can’t afford it! Come back again some time!” Seriously? Dude, how in the world are you gonna sell that thing? Whatever, I’m going to sleep. Unfortunately, the Pokémon Center was packed again, so I had to sleep on the floor once more.

Red versus Blue!...not the web series.
---
Winning Trainers: Blue. Shoot. I was right, Blue got ahead. Knowing him, he’s probably on Route 5 or something. Hopefully Jim can cheer me up, however he beat me here.

“Yo! Champ in making!” I waved to him, and he nodded back at me. “Here’s my advice!” Apparently he wanted to cut right to the chase. Good, so do I. “The leader, Misty, is a pro who uses Water Pokémon! You can drain all their water with plant Pokémon! Or, zap them with electricity!”

Shoot! Once again I’m at a disadvantage. And even worse, Charmeleon’s going to have no chance of victory. Still, I’ll just play smart, like I did with Brock. I went to the first Gym Trainer, knowing he’d be an indication of what I’d be up against.

“Splash!’ Did he seriously just say ‘Splash?’ “I’m first up! Let’s do it!” Unfortunately, smart was not going to help me as much as I thought. Fighting that first Gym Trainer showed me that I’m vastly under-leveled, and if I want to beat Misty, I’d need more training.

I left the gym, afraid to look in Jim in the face, but I think he understood, and the look he gave me was almost encouraging. For now, I have to focus on the task at hand: training. Along the way, I ran into an Ekans. I decided to name it Snake. No pun can escape my wrath!

Still, I needed a break from Spearows and Ekanses, so I decided to head north and see what was up there. Bad idea.

“Yo! Red!” Should have known I’d see Blue again sooner or later. “You’re still struggling along back here?” As insulting as it was, he was sadly right. I couldn’t look him in the eyes. “I’m doing great! I caught a bunch of strong and smart Pokémon!” Show-off, I have strong and smart ones too! I was about to say so, but Blue wasn’t one to let someone speak up. “Here let me see what you caught, Red!”

Yet another challenge? Fine, I’ve won so far, after all, and my buddies need the experience! “I choose you, Pidgeotto!” Oh shoot.

“Go! Beedrill!” He started laughing, and if I didn’t know better (and maybe I don’t), so did Pidgeotto. “Grr, Beedrill, Fury Attack!”

“Quick Attack!” Wait, oh no! Beedrill landed the Fury Attack, but Pidgeotto was really fast, and that was going to be a problem. Beedrill was amazingly faster, but that didn’t mean Pidgeotto was a threat. I could have switched out, but I wanted to prove that my bug was a match for his bird.

“Fury Attack!” I shouted again. There was one chance of victory, and it all counted on those big spikes. He sent a Sand Attack in response, blinding his eyes, but Beedrill was persistent. “You can win, Beedrill!”

“Don’t lose to that bug!” You’re too slow! With one last stab, Beedrill sent Pidgeotto flying into the ground, and there was no getting up from that. “Dang! Don’t celebrate yet, Red! I’ve got more up my sleeve! Deal with my almighty Abra!”

Abra? What in the world is that? Whatever it is, I should let my others have fun anyway. “Beedrill enough! Come back!” Beedrill zoomed back inside his Poké Ball. “Go! Rattata!”

Blue took a look at my mouse and looked to his Pokégear. I figured he was thinking up a strategy, but his face fell, as though he wasn’t prepared or something. Sorry Blue, but I won’t give you the chance! “Hyper Fang!”

“Teleport,” he said in disappoint. Abra vanished for a moment, only to return a few meters away. Sure, I may have had a look of confusion, but so did Abra. He looked to Blue, as if expecting him to do something. Rattata however didn’t care and ran in for the bite.

“He didn’t last long,” I said with a smirk.

“Unfortunately,” he began to answer, “As powerful as Abra is, all he can do is Teleport right now. And since I have to be holding him to go to a Pokémon Center, he can’t go anywhere far.” Blue could tell I was very satisfied. “Don’t get cocky! I still have Rattata!”

He reached for his ball, so I decided to let our rats fight it out. Mine was stronger, but would that be enough? “Hyper Fang!” we both shouted. Both took a ton of damage, but mine was still standing strong, while Blue’s was ready to collapse. I figured a Tackle would be enough to win, but his Pokémon dodged and used a Tail Whip. Blue didn’t look too hopeful, so I decided to just end it with another Tackle.

“That’s it! You want my best? Well so be it! I choose you, Squirtle!” Maybe it was the level-grinding getting to me, or the sun, or just our life-long rivalry, but I decided to give Charmeleon a shot. Blue was stunned at my choice, but didn’t mock me for it. He was getting serious now.

It was my Scratch versus his Water Gun. Even though I landed a critical hit, Charmeleon wouldn’t last against Squirtle’s Water attacks. But then Blue tried something different. He wanted a one-hit (or two-hit in this case) knock out, so he began using Tail Whip.

Huge mistake. “Charmeleon, Scratch as much as you can!” Squirtle didn’t stand a chance. Blue realized his mistake and order a Water Gun, but Charmeleon secured victory first! Once again, I defeated Blue!

“Hey! Take it easy! You won already!” He returned his Squirtle, ashamed that he was being outclassed in battle.

In desperation, he changed the subject. “Hey, guess what? I went to Bill’s and got him to show me his rare Pokémon! That added a lot of pages to my Pokédex!” Bill has rare Pokémon? Maybe I could use those to expand my Pokédex too! “After all, Bill’s world famous as a Pokémaniac!” Well, if Blue could stand him, maybe he wouldn’t fit the stereotype.

Blue was being very chatty, which made it harder for all my thoughts on the matter sink in. “He invented the Pokémon Storage System on PC! Since you’re using his system, go thank him!” So he’s the one who has been getting my extra Pokémon. I may not always like Blue, but if he was nice enough to thank Bill, then I definitely had to too. “Well, I better get rolling! Smell ya later!” Okay, not that nice.

“Oh, yeah, right,” he added as we parted ways. “I feel sorry for you.” Oh, please, just go away. “No, really. You’re always plodding behind me.” Interesting word choice, but I figured that out already. “So here, I’ll give you a little present as a favor.”

I obtained the Fame Checker? “Um, thank you? What is it?”

He shrugged; undoubtedly, he was just throwing his trash away onto me. “A chatty gossip like you…That thing’s perfect. I don’t need it because I don’t give a hoot about others.” Well, that’s definitely true. “All right, this time I really am gone. Smell ya!”

Whatever, let’s just get back to training. Route 24 was yet another path off the beaten trail, but I figured it would be a good place to train. Standing before me was the Nugget Bridge. It really wasn’t much of a bridge, only if the land under it got flooded, but still, at least it looked shiny.

I saw some trainers up ahead, so I decided to take them on. “This is Nugget Bridge! Beat us five trainers and win a fabulous prize! Think you got what it takes?”

“You bet, let’s do this.” And…it wasn’t much of a fight. The Bug Catcher sent his Pokémon, and my Beedrill took care of them all easily.

“Whoo! Good stuff! I did my best, I have no regrets!” Well that’s good I guess, but hopefully the next girl is more challenging.

“I’m second! Now it’s serious!” Awesome, that’s what I want to hear! This time, Nidoran♂ will take her on. And, well, she lost too, but not so quickly.

“How could I lose?” I was about to answer her, console her, but she just said, “I did my best, I have no regrets!” Um…okay, I’m just gonna move on now.

“Here’s number three! I won’t be easy!” He was easy. He also had no regrets, since he did his best.

“I’m number four!” the next girl shouted. “Getting tired?” More like bored. Besides, you’re supposed ask my Pokémon that, not me. But after another quick battle, she merely said, “I did my best, so I’ve no regrets!” Can’t even get the line right? This isn’t a very official contest, is it?

“Okay! I’m number five! I’ll stomp you!” Not with Charmeleon taking his turn for experience, a smirk lighting up my face. I’ll admit, when his Mankey gave me a critical hit, I worried. But Charmeleon pulled it off like the true blue…red, Pokémon he is. “Whoa! Too much!” Obviously he was amazed. “I did my best, I have no regrets!” Right…let’s just claim our prize.

Like always, Freedom, sweet, sweet, writing(and the jokes are nice; Blue's meeting up north, the Nugget Bridge, and how that guy always gets to the gym before you...I call DeLorean). References are written well and appears constantly, which is always fun to read. The only problem would be that the battle between Red and Blue seemed a bit on the weak side. Again, though, nice job, man!

I'm also getting excited for this next part...Team Rocket!

Yeah, I put the blame on Abra being weak. :P But yeah, I would have liked if Abra had more attacks and Squirtle was Wartortle. Yet they weren't, so I did the best I could. The battle on S.S. Anne should be more thrilling though.
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I walked up to the man ahead of us, and he seemed overly happy to see me as the victor. “Congratulations! You beat our five contest trainers! You just earned a fabulous prize!” I received a nugget! Talk about valuable, a rock of pure gold that fit right in my hand.

“Thanks, sir!” Definitely worth the effort. I prepared to turn away, but then he said one of the worst things he could have said to me.

“By the way,” he said, causing me to turn to face him again. “Would you like to join Team Rocket?”

I was so speechless, so all I could respond with was “What?” He mistook my remark as curiosity rather than absolute shock.

“We’re a group dedicated to evil using Pokémon! Want to join?”

“Are you serious? Not a chance!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

“Come on, join us!”

“No!”

The evil in eyes burned with anger. “I’m telling you to join!”

But my passion and rage against Team Rocket still was strong. “Never!”

And then, as fast as his anger appeared, it disappeared. He got happy all of a sudden and said, “Okay, you need convincing! I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse!”

All of a sudden, he tore away his shirt and pants to reveal a Rocket uniform underneath it all. He grabbed his hat from in a bush and put it on, completing the picture. “You’re ours, kid. Whether you want to be or not.” Before I could say a word, he threw down his Poké Ball, revealing an Ekans.

I smiled, because I knew that the snake wouldn’t stand a chance. “Go! Charmeleon!” The reptiles stared each other down before we finally ordered our moves. “Ember!”

“Poison Sting!” Numerous purple needles fired from Ekans’ mouth and slammed into a charging Charmeleon. As painful as it was, Chamerleon opened its mouth directly in front of Ekans! Ember was superior to the weak Poison Sting, and I could tell Charmeleon could beat this grunt all by himself.

“Ember again!” Ekans attempted to dodge, but fainted before he could receive another order. The grunt growled in anger as he unsnapped his second Poké Ball from his waist belt.

“Zubat, finish him!” He almost looked confident, and once he sent off a Supersonic, I was afraid he had good reason to be.

“Come on buddy, one more hit! You can do it!” Despite the confusion, my plea was enough to break through and convince Charmeleon to attack Zubat.

If the bat had eyes, they’d be wide in fear. After all, the grunt’s eyes were. Zubat fell to the ground, defeated. “Arrgh! You are good! With your ability, you could become a top leader in Team Rocket! Come on, think of the opportunity! Don’t let this chance go to waste.”

“No thank you,” I responded. “I’m done with you, and I am done with your gang. I stressed out over you all long enough. I’m done.” I couldn’t tell if the Rocket responded with a clever comeback or a worthless threat; none of his words reached my ears. I walked on, looking to finish my training.

The sun was beginning to set, and the way the light landed on the mountainside in front of me was quite nice to see. The calm and serenity was very nice, but as the saying goes, a bad day always goes worse.

Okay, maybe it’s not a saying, but hearing what sounded almost like a gunshot rang out. At first I thought it was the Rocket coming for revenge, but I soon saw the cause. Near the corner of the mountainside stood three sights: a Charmander, its trainer, and a whip. Of course, the foolish hero that I am, I ran in trying to save the day, shouting to grab the trainer’s attention, saving the poor Pokémon from another pelting in the process.

I finally came up panting. “Dude, what are you doing?!” He looked at me with surprise. He had to be about 13, and it looked like he only had one Pokémon.

“Training my Pokémon. Duh. Who are you, kid?”

Normally I wasn’t one to flash my name around, but I figured I’d sound more impressive, and since I needed to show this jerk up, I might as well fight fire with fire. “I’m Red from Pallet Town. Who are you?”

The kid had a cocky smirk and answered, “I’m Damian, and I’m training to become Champion of the Pokémon League!”

“By torturing your Pokémon?! What on Earth made you think that was a good idea?!”

“Pfft, you kids and your level-grinding. If you had any brains, you’d look at the real pros: Team Rocket!” Oh gosh no… “Think about it, kid. They keep the police on the ropes, they commit tons of crimes, and they treat their Pokémon like crap! I’m just playing smart.”

“No, you’re playing like a jerk!” I probably looked like a little idiot to this punk, but I would stand up for this poor Charmander, just like any Pokémon being abused.

“Look brat, what makes you think you’re so great? The power of friendship. Forget it. Pokémon and people are separate things. We’re not meant to be friends.”

“You’re wrong, and if you paid attention to the real trainers, like the Gym Leaders, you’d know.”

He seemed to sit there for a moment, taking all I said in. “Hmm…kid, you ever face a Gym Leader?”

“Um, yeah. I beat Brock a few days back.” I was unsure where he was going with this, but he smiled when he heard of my success story.

“Tell you what. Let’s battle. One on one fight. You beat my Charmander, I’ll listen your crappy advice,” I wasn’t sure what else I could do, but maybe a battle would convince him torture was wrong. “But, if I win, you give your badge.”

“What? But,” I tried to say in reaction, but I realized, why am I worried? All I need to worry about is if I hurt that poor Pokémon too much. “Fine, let’s do this.” I saw the Charmander cower a little, and sadly, Damian saw too.

“No fear!” he shouted, and before I could stop him, he whipped Charmander again, causing it to cry out in pain. I wanted to close my eyes. I’m only 10; I’m too young to be seeing this. But I had to be respectful to Charmander, and I had to protect it from further harm.

“Enough! Let’s just fight already,” I said to the monster. Charmander came over, and after taking a deep breath, tried to intimidate me, just like his master. “Don’t you worry, Charmander, this will be over soon.” I swear, I was sure I saw Charmander flashed a hopeful smile for a second before returning to its menacing stare.

“Go! Charmeleon!”

“What?! You have a Charmeleon?!”

“It pays to treat your Pokémon with respect and kindness,” I retaliated. He was incredibly angry, and looked like he wanted to hit his Pokémon for its weakness, but I think he was smart enough to know that was a bad idea when you need every HP you can get.

“Alright, you dumb lizard, attack with Ember!” Worried about the Pokémon, I decided to play it safer.

“Dodge and Growl!” Again and again this went on, weakening his attack more and more. Not every Growl worked, but every single Ember missed, something I didn’t think possible.

Unfortunately, Damian soon realized I was only protecting the Charmander from harm, so he decided he’d cause it for me. “Don’t you dare hold back from me!” he yelled as the whip sliced the back of Charmander.

It was so painful to watch; I could tell how badly Charmeleon felt for one of his brethren. “Fine! I’m sorry, but we need to end this, before he can cause anymore harm.” And what better way to show that my Charmeleon was superior, that friendship was better than pain, and that even the weak could be strong, than to use my newest attack, something I had been waiting the right moment for.

“Charmeleon! Metal Claw!” Damian’s eyes nearly popped out as he saw my Pokémon’s hand glow with a silver light. “Damian, do you see this? This is what happens when you treat your Pokémon with love and respect. They trust in you, and you trust in them. They fight with you, they win with you. We’re not two separate beings, but one united force! Now go, show him how powerful we truly are!”

Charmeleon nodded, inspired by my improvised speech, and charged, claws flowing behind him, and slid toward Charmander, swinging with his left claw. “YOU IDIOT! DODGE!” Charmander was terrified, but managed to duck under the first claw, but Charmeleon still had one left. With his ducked head, he saw as Charmeleon’s right claw connected and sent Charmander soaring several meters into the air.

As soon as gravity took hold of the little salamander, Charmeleon went and caught the little guy, saving him from further harm. Damian sunk to his knees in defeat. “Do you see, Damian? Your methods failed, and now you become a shame to all trainers everywhere.” He wouldn’t say a word. For some reason, his silence only enraged me. I walked up to him and forced him to look me in the eyes. “You failed. You don’t deserve this Pokémon.”

He stood up, his face sullen and lifeless. “You’re right.” He’s actually agreeing with me? “My friends always wondered why my Charmander hated me. I told them it was just a mean-spirited Pokémon. I’ve failed, and now, when I head home empty-handed, they’ll all know I failed.”

“Empty-handed?” It took me a moment to process what he meant, but as soon as I did, I had to set things straight. “No, I won’t take Charmander as my own.”

“But why? Look at what I’ve done! I don’t deserve to own Charmander. For crying out loud, I’ve had him for months now, and getting him to level 10 was a lengthy development. I don’t deserve him, and I can’t take on a Pokémon if it takes all this work to make it a success.”

Part of me wanted to be nice, to be sincere and ease the truth onto him. But that wouldn’t be fitting, that wouldn’t teach him a lesson. “You’re right, you don’t deserve Charmander. But someone else does. I don’t know who, but he needs a home with someone who can love him. Maybe someday you can redeem yourself as a good person. But for now, if you want to prove you really are as great as you hope to be, you’ll do the right thing.”

Minutes seemed to pass as he thought it over. Charmeleon did what he could to make Charmander feel comfortable. “Call the Cerulean Police. Tell them to confiscate my Pokémon then.” My message seemed to fall flat, but I understood: he had no one else to give his Pokémon away to. Sadly, Charmander really didn’t have a home.

I watched Damian trudge away with the Cerulean Police as night fell. The Rocket Grunt, the doofus that he was, stuck around and, what’s worse, tried to scam the police. Damian wouldn’t be arrested, but Charmander would be taken away if he couldn’t find a new home for it within a few days.

I decided to stay on Route 24 and make camp for once. I was too tired from all the stress to walk back and I needed to practice spending time in the wild. I let all six of my Pokémon out, and we all relaxed by an Ember-made fire. Charmeleon and Beedrill, being my top Pokémon, really got along well, and the Nidorans acted like little kids in love. It really was cute to see. Rattata, my little girl, laid by my feet, and Pidgey just watched the fire burn.

It truly was a calm night, and despite being outdoors, I felt so comfortable and free. Back during my lessons with Oak, the textbooks he gave Blue, Yellow, Green, and I always said to let Pokémon rest in their balls for best results. But I decided I wanted them by my side. And as each one of them got close to me for the night, I could tell they all agreed.

You know that feeling you get when the blinds open and light smacks your closed eyes? Strangely, I didn’t feel it when the sun rose that morning. It was a beautiful morning, and I got up to enjoy the sight of it. Little did I know Rattata was sleeping on my chest, so she was flung off when I leaned up. She wasn’t happy about that.

Still, the others all gave me a pleasant look of approval. Except Pidgey. “Where’s Pidgey?” I asked, a bit of worry in my voice. The other five looked around, worried as I was, but Beedrill, who took to the sky, found him immediately and pointed him out to me. The dumb bird was eating berries off a tree. “Pidgey!” I yelled in an annoyed tone. He heard me and flew back.

“Look, I understand, you’re hungry, but don’t do that, you crazy bird.” He nodded, so I breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay everyone, enough fretting for the day, okay? Let’s go train; I want to beat Misty today!” They all nodded in approval. Did they know who Misty was or what?

Either way, I returned them all, began to check out Route 24, and really explore Route 25. Route 24 was a lot shorter than I hoped. I saw water, but sadly I never learned how to swim. Mom didn’t know either, so I never really had anyone teach me. I managed to catch an Oddish, but that was about it.

But Route 25, boy oh boy, did I see some great results there. Aside from lots of experience gaining, Pidgey and Nidoran♂ evolved at the same time! Not only do I have two great fighters, but I got them at once! I’ve decided that I want to go for three evolutions at once someday, a nice bragging point. And aside from my winning streak, I don’t have much.

The trainers of Route 25 provided a good challenge, especially the Hikers. It seems that as long as I lack Water or Grass types, I’m going to be stuck at a disadvantage. I may need to use that Oddish I caught. She won’t be much, but I’ll put my faith in the little dudette.

Nevertheless, after a lot of level-grinding, I made it to a house just off the shore of Cerulean Cape. This must be Bill’s place. Hopefully he won’t mind if I barge in (most people don’t, but still, common courtesy and all that).

Whoever Bill is, he sure has a strange home: two giant machines connected by a pipe, a computer with a strange program on it, and a Clefairy, but no one else. I was about to leave, when the craziest thing I’ve seen in a long, long time happens.

“Hiya!” said the Clefairy. I turned around, trying to see if someone was there, and as if sensing my confusion, the Clefairy responded “I’m a Pokémon” in a depressed tone, only to add “No I’m not!”

I’m willing to believe a lot. This is Kanto, after all. But I’d sooner believe in invisible people over talking Pokémon. “Call me Bill!” No way. “I’m a true blue Pokémaniac!” No kidding…

So, my mind is now blown. I mean, wow. I’m talking to a Pokémon. Maybe this is just a huge joke by Blue. “Hey! What’s with that skeptical look?”

“Um,” I began to say. “Look, maybe on Mt. Moon talking Pokémon are normal, but I find it hard to believe you’re able to actually speak a human language.”

He saw my disbelief, and reacted accordingly. “I’m not joshing you, I screwed up an experiment and got combined with a Pokémon!”

“That’s, um, that’s even less believable.”

He then proceeded to tell me a long list of details about Pokémon teleportation and storage systems and the effects on people. Yeah, incredibly confusing, and I thought Oak’s lessons were difficult. At last, once his speech was over, he asked, “So, how about it? Help me out here!” I almost considered saying no; after all, this was nuts, I just got lectured by a Clefairy.

But I said I’d help, and he looked so happy, at least as much as a Clefairy could be. “When I’m in the Teleporter, go to my PC and run the Cell Separation System!” Bill the Clefairy walked into the right machine and closed the door.

Well, I guess I have nothing to lose, let’s try this thing out. The program was pretty simple to run, thankfully, so it only took a few clicks. Once I initiated the Teleporter’s Cell Separator, the machines started to make strange noises, and suddenly a light shined through the pipe. A noise that sounded, well, victorious, played, and out stepped a human from the left machine!

“Yeehah! Thanks, bud! I owe you one!” Well, I’m not one to take in a favor so soon, but Bill clearly saw what I was thinking and brought my question up right away. “So, did you come to see my Pokémon collection?”

“Oh, most definitely, I need to increase my Pokédex, after all.”

“Ah, so you’re one of the receivers, eh?” he asked with an inquisitive look.

Of course, I responded with my own question. “One of? I thought only Blue and I got a Pokédex?”

He smiled, probably because he thought I was silly to think I was so special, and yet the smile didn’t seem standoffish. “Well, the Pokédex is fairly new and difficult to make. Only about eight are currently made, and only the top Pokémon Professors in Japan got to own them.”

That would explain how some people knew. It would be a big deal if Pokémon Professors were getting stuff like this. “So, can you show me now?” I said, trying to hide my zeal.

Bill’s smile told me I failed. “Hehe, sure. Unfortunately, I leave all of them at home, save for my old Abra I recently traded and my new Clefairy.”

Fearing another lecture into teleportation and Pokémon/data transfers, I walked over to his computer. “So, what do I do?”

“What? You should see them on there. You didn’t?” He came in front and I let him sit down and work. “Uh oh.” Oh good, it must be working great. “That’s a bummer. Apparently when we did the Cell Separation System, we crashed the computer. My connection to my PC Storage System will take awhile to repair. I’m sorry.”

“Well,” I sighed with some dejection. “That’s fine, I guess.” But Bill saw my glumness and did a bit more digging. His face suddenly lit up. “Look, bud, just check out some of my rare Pokémon on my PC!” Within a few moments, Bill pulled his favorite Pokémon list, and I had the Pokédex record the four Pokémon: Eevee, Flareon, Jolteon, and Vaporeon! I do like that Eevee, maybe if I ever find one, I’ll use it for my team.

“Luckily, I managed to save a list of my top four favorites. It’s just pictures, but hey, better than nothing right?” I nodded in jubilation. Blue may be ahead, but at least I’ve got some rare ones now!

“Still,” he said with his finger tapping in thought, “I’ve got to thank you.” Frankly, getting those four was payment enough, but he had more to give. “Oh here, maybe this’ll do.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a strange ticket. Judging by the text, I received an S.S. Ticket.

“That cruise ship, S.S. Anne, is in Vermilion City. Its passengers are all trainers! They invited me to their party, but I can’t stand fancy do’s. Why don’t you go instead of me?”

I wasn’t a fan of them either, but then again, I’ve never been to one either, so it’ll be a good experience. And I can earn a lot of experience too! “Thank you Bill, you’ve been too kind.”

“You kidding? If it wasn’t for you, I’d be trapped in my Pokémon for who knows how long! I owe you so much. I promise, if you ever hit up Goldenrod City, I’ll show you all sorts of Pokémon firsthand.”

“I’d like that,” I said with a smile. “Thanks again!” With a wave, we parted ways: him to his computer; me to my gym battle.

The Pokémon League employs the best trainers around to represent them and their gyms. These trainers are so great; they’ll practically be the mayor of the city, or at least an influential advisor. So seeing Cerulean City with the youngest Gym Leader in the history of Kanto, you wonder two things: either the League was dumb enough to hire a child to fight for them, or this child is exceptionally strong.

I can’t be sure of the former, but the latter seems most likely.

“Hi, you’re a new face!” said the girl wearing her bathing suit and tennis shoes for some reason. “Trainers who want to turn pro have to have a policy about Pokémon!” What’s a policy? She saw my confusion, and with slight irritation, dumbed her sentence down. “What is your approach when you catch Pokémon?”

“Oh, well, um,” I said. Do I even have a policy? She gave me a sort of look that just said, ‘You’re stupid.’ Getting insulted by a Gym Leader without even using words; I should be mad, and yet I feel honored?

“My policy is an all-out offensive with Water type Pokémon!” She pulled out her Poké Ball from…somewhere I’d rather not say, and the challenge was on!

Now, if Misty leads out with an offensive front, then I’ll need to match that with my own. And thanks to the Gym Trainer Diana, I knew just who to start with. “Go! Nidorina!”

With her Staryu already on the field, I knew it would be a tough fight. But I was ready. I sent my newly evolved Pokémon on a rampage of Poison Stings, each jab landing successfully, but only because Misty ordered a Tackle to get Staryu in close. At first I didn’t understand the point, until Staryu managed a critical hit.

“Haha, you realize you won’t win at this rate, right?” Don’t count me out, little girl, we’re just getting started!

“Nidorina, keep trying for Poison!” I shouted with confidence, knowing she would be happy to hear me so certain.

“Not so fast!” Misty yelled back. “Staryu, come here!” Staryu floated over, and Misty took some strange device out of…we’ll just say thin air. “Do you know what this is, trainer?” I shook my head, so she answered for me. “This is an X Defend! And when I use it on Staryu, its defense rises!” Oh shoot! Not what I needed today. Since when can Gym Leaders use items?

Nidorina didn’t care however and ran up to the starfish, tackling it with its small horn. While Staryu barely took damage, we got exactly what we wanted. “Ha! Your Staryu was poisoned!”

Misty was mad, but she shook it off and regained her cool. “Maybe so, but your Nidorina will never win!” There was only one way to find out, and leading off with Scratches, I was sure I would soon enough.

Staryu’s critical hits kept coming, but with one last Scratch, Staryu fainted to the floor. “One down, Misty!” I was feeling far too confident, I know, but this was too good to ignore.

“Bad mistake, little boy,” she responded. “Now, deal with Starmie!”

With five more Pokémon in the ranks, I was sure to win. I returned Nidorina and let Nidorino finish the fight. The fight was going well, Horn Attack versus Tackle, and I knew I’d take the lead soon. But Misty got livid. “BubbleBeam!” Bubblewhat?! Before I knew it, tons of Bubbles, more than Squirtle had ever spit out, flew at Nidorino. The speed was so intense; neither I nor Nidorino could react in time.

“One down!” Misty mocked. I had no words left, for my boasting led to a big hurt. Instead, I’d let Beedrill do the talking for me.

“Beedrill! Attack with Fury Attack!” But Starmie was faster, and laid a powerful Water Gun on my bug, weakening it considerably. Strangely, Misty seemed distracted, which should have made the fight easier, but with Fury Attack doing barely any damage, I knew to not get confident yet.

Misty turned her eyes back on the battle, perhaps reluctantly, and pulled out another X Defend. “You won’t win!” was all she managed to say as she poked Starmie with it and turned back around.

With such high defense, this was going to be a painful challenge. But I know I can still win! “Beedrill, keep at it! More Fury Attacks!” It nearly worked, until Misty ordered another BubbleBeam.

“Nice try, Beedrill,” I said to the fainted Pokémon. I knew I couldn’t prolong the misery, so I regained my composure. “Do it! Rattata!”

Even Rattata, one of my fastest, and with a Hyper Fang, could barely do enough damage, whereas Water Gun proved nearly fatal. But my little girl stood strong. “Quick Attack!” The attack hit, but Rattata was wide open for another Water Gun.

“Well, well, well,” Misty said. “It’s almost over. Three Pokémon left, one ready to faint, and yet my Starmie continues to clean house. Just give up if you can’t handle the big leagues!”

That was it. “I can and I will! I still have one more strategy left, just you wait! Go! Charmeleon!”

I never saw someone laugh so hard. I was worried she was about to slip and fall in. “Are you serious?!” she finally managed to say.

“Oh, I am, your health is low enough for a devastating loss!”

“But, are you faster?” Oops. “BubbleBeam!”

“Metal Claw!” Charmeleon dashed through every single bubble, determined to drill through and pierce Starmie’s jewel, but fainted, just decimeters away from landing his claw.

“Look, kid,” Misty said as I returned my fire lizard. “I admire your guts, but come on; you can’t expect to win just because you’ve trained well. Yes, stats and strategy are important, but you need to think about types too. That’s a big part of strategy too.”

I couldn’t help it; the smirk I gave seemed wicked, but was worth it to see her face. “Oh, I know. I may not be the best, but I know I can beat you.” Her expression was something between stunned and skeptical. “Don’t believe me? Let me show you.”

I grabbed my last Pokémon, and sent the ball flying at the planks below us. “Get’m! Oddish!” It was the ultimate standoff, and yet Oddish looked so out of place for something this grand. But the little girl wanted recognition, praise, and glory. And I’d give it to her. “Oddish! Absorb!”

“Tackle!” was all Misty shouted, determined that she’d succeed in beating my little weed.

But she was wrong. Despite a critical hit and a low level, Oddish lived! “Do it, buddy.” I said with appreciation, and she nodded in delight. Strange balls of light left the starfish, and although it didn’t give a lot of health, it did more than enough damage.

“Wow! You’re too much!” She wasn’t mad, or sad, or anything bad; just shocked, and happy? “All right! You can have the Cascade Badge to show you beat me!” Awesome! I happily took the badge, not caring where she pulled it from, as she said, “The Cascade Badge makes all Pokémon up to Level 30 obey! That includes even outsiders you got in trades.” Cool, I’ll be happy to have obedient Pokémon, although they always are.

“There’s more, you can now use Cut any time, even outside of battle.” Cut? “You can cut down small trees to open new paths!” I’ll make sure to keep that in mind. “You can also have my favorite TM!” She handed me a TM11, making sure to add “TM11 teaches BubbleBeam! Use it on an aquatic Pokémon!”

Sorry for being out for so long, Freedom. It involved eggrolls.

Now that I've finally caught up to your plot, it's really good! I'm really enjoying the way you tell your own version of Pokemon, as well as how you incorporated an episode from the anime into the story. It had a radical ending than the original, too! The battles are written pretty well, and overall, it's fantastic.

Also, I realize that I'm typing this months later, so sorry, again.

Ah, well that's okay, I'm just glad to see the king of eggrolls again! (or should I say just eggroll, if you get what I mean ;))

Why thank you! I'm trying my best and doing what I can. With that said, I think I'll post the next part!

So, in an attempt to use my new TM, I went straight to Magikarp; surely he needs more than just Splash. I headed back to the Pokémon Center to experiment, with obvious results. Blasted fish is just useless. The words of that salesman keep ringing in my ears: “Well, I don’t give refunds!”

At least they weren’t the only words dancing in my head. After all, Jim’s encouragement still rang in my head too. “You beat Misty! What’d I tell ya? You and me kid, we make a pretty darn good team!”

I had to agree there; Jim’s advice to drain Water Pokémon really did work, even if it was a close call. Still, it was time to leave town, so I went around looking for a way out. Unfortunately, the way I found was behind some tree, but it looked poisonous to touch, so I was stuck. My last option was to ask the cop standing outside the robbed house. Surely they’d know a solution.

I grabbed the officer’s attention, so he turned toward me. “The people here were robbed. It’s obvious that Team Rocket is behind this most heinous crime! Even our Police force has trouble with the Rockets!”

“Yeah, they’re vile gangsters,” I answered back. “Still, I don’t mean to seem heartless, but do you know of a way out of here? I need to get to the next gym.”

He thought himself for a moment before answering. “Well, you could use Cut, but I’m guessing that’s out of your price range. And I’m guessing you can’t climb fences or trees, right?” I had to cast a discomfited look away. That’s what I get for not being outdoorsy.

“Well, I’d take you out of town myself, but I’m busy keeping watch until the chief arrives, so, the only way out, well, is in this house.” He seemed so reluctant to say it. “Sorry kid, I mean, go ahead and try if you want, but if they say no, you’re stuck for now. I don’t know why he had such trouble saying it, but I couldn’t fall any farther behind Blue.

“Thank you sir, I’ll talk with the people inside.” He nodded in approval and motioned that I could pass.

Stepping inside, I immediately saw why he was so hesitant to let me through. The room was totally trashed. Things were a mess, paw prints everywhere, and worst of all: there stood a giant hole in the back wall. Judging by how the cop acted, this was the only way out of Cerulean City.

And so begins the quest for the next badge(I think)! Very well told again, Freedom! I also found certain bits to be really spectacular, too - the whole magikarp business(I think he gets better at level 20 when he learns flail, at least), as well as how you couldn't climb fences or trees(so nostalgic and in keeping with the games)!

Awesome job as always!

Thanks! Yes, he's on his way to Vermillion! But it won't be that easy!

It really is a strange thing to see a crime scene with your own eyes. I’ve seen so many shows, played so many games, and yet when you see the scene first-hand, you almost get a chill. And at the same time, you’re just glad it’s not your home.

The husband and wife obviously noticed me entered, but seemed to settle down once they saw I was a kid. I spoke to the wife first, trying to clean up the prints on the floor. She sighed dejectedly to herself as she said, “Team Rocket must be trying to Dig their way into no good!” Her depressed tone rose to anger, and it was actually scary to see someone so mad; reminded me of Mom.

Hopefully the husband guarding the hole would be more conversational. “Those miserable Rockets!” Maybe not… “Look what they did here!”

“I see,” I answered carefully. “But why, sir?”

“They stole a TM for teaching Pokémon how to dig holes!” All this damage for a TM? “That cost me a bundle, it did!”

“Sir,” I began to say, “I know how the Rockets are. Believe it or not, I fought them all in Mt. Moon. At least you can be thankful you and your wife are safe.”

He nodded in agreement, only to ask, “So kid, why are you here? You hoping to silence some grunts or what?”

I felt really bad asking what I was about to say, but I had to say it. “Well, you see, I’m trying to leave Cerulean, and, well,” I had to take a breathe before I said, “You have the only way out.”

The man gazed at me with just neutral eyes. No anger, sadness, joy, nothing even close to an emotion. Instead, it was the wife who called back, “Go ahead, kid.” I turned back to her and she was smiling a little. “You look like a trainer, so we know you have no ill will; you just have a job to do. So go on.” That smile was contagious, because both the husband and I smiled back.

“Thank you, both of you,” I said as I walked for the hole. Stepping outside, I didn’t expect to see much except Cerulean Bay and Nugget Bridge. Unfortunately, I saw one other thing: a Rocket Grunt heading my way.