Link to BeginningLink to Pt. VIA cool breeze picked up in the late afternoon air, blowing my hair across my face. I didn’t mind though, it felt nice feeling fresh air after spending most of my day in a cave. I followed my nose to a patch of flowers giving off a vivid smell. It reminded me of home. I wondered how my mum was doing, maybe I’ll call home when I’ve reached a Pokémon Centre. I pulled a flower out of the ground and took another whiff of its scent before putting it in my bag.
“Isn’t that flower pretty?” a young voice said behind me.
I turned my head to see a small girl crouched next to me, looking intently at the flowers. She was wearing a pink floral dress, sporting a similar flower to the ones were were looking patterned on it.
“They are,” I replied to her. “They remind me of home.”
“Home?” Her eyes widened upon saying this.
“Yes, I’m a travelling Pokémon trainer. I came from a small town far away.”
“Wow, that’s so cool!” She beamed at me. “I wonder if theres a Pokémon with flowers on it!”
“Carol, we have to get going!” A voice called from a short distance.
“Coming mum,” the girl shouted back.
The girl ran off down the small incline, briefly turning around to wave at me. I smiled to myself as I watched her leave, meeting up two people that were probably her parents. I watched them for a few more moments, before standing up and heading down the hill myself.
I kept to the sandy road on the way to the city. There was a fence on the side, so as to prevent anyone falling into the small stream. The mountains rose high on the other side, with steep cliffs along the whole bank. A small strip of land skirted the sheer drop. I could see some men standing by an opening in the side of one of the cliff faces. As I got closer I could see their features better, although couldn’t make out what they were saying. One of them spotted me watching them, and I saw him nod to the other, and then walk off. I wondered what they had been talking about, but I didn’t want to get sidetracked from getting Amber to a Pokémon Centre. Maybe I’d go back there tomorrow and take a look at where they were.
***
The Pokémon Centre wasn’t too crowded. Then again, it was quite late, the sun having completely set by the time I entered the building. I walked up to the front counter to hand my Pokémon to the nurse.
“Here,” I said.
“Thank you,” the nurse replied. “They’ll be energetic and health by tomorrow morning!”
“Thanks,” I said back, and walked over to the desk to check into a room.
I descended the stairs into the lower basement where the dormitory was situated, and walked to my room. It was much more spacious than at Mt. Moon’s was, but I was reminded how the locations of the two centres differed. Putting the thought aside, I went took a hot shower, before settling in bed to get some rest finally.
***
I walked out of the Pokémon Centre and into the morning breeze. The grass outside was still wet with early morning dew.
“I’ll take a look around before heading to the gym,” I said to myself as I started walking.
I passed a few houses, and found myself at a Poké Mart, which I entered. I figured I should stock up on some supplies.
The jangle of the bell attracted the attention of the shop keeper, who greeted me with a smile.
“How may I help you,” he asked from behind the counter.
“I’m just looking,” I said, rather unenthusiastically.
“Okay, just ask if you need assistance.”
I nodded, and gave a small smile, and looked through the aisles of shelves. There were lots of Pokémon books, some were stories, some were travel books, and some looked like they dealt with battle strategies. I took a look in the cabinets lining the walls, which were filled with all sorts of healing sprays for Pokémon. Prices were high, but I couldn’t deny the fact I may need these on the road. I grabbed a couple of Potions off the shelves, and went to the counter to ask where the Poké Balls were.
“Oh, we keep them here at the counter,” the shop keeper said upon my inquiry. He tapped on the glass counter, and I saw brand new Poké Balls lined up. How I hadn’t seen them earlier, I did not know.
“I’ll get six of these too.” I pointed to the red balls.
“Gotcha, and those 3 potions too, miss?”
“Oh, yes.” I set them down on the counter, and he swiftly scanned and packaged the products.
“That comes to $2100.”
I handed over the money, and put the items in my bag, before thanking the man. I walked out the door and, leaving the jangle of the bell behind me, continued my walk around the city. A sign caught my eye, and soon enough, I found myself outside another shop, although this one remarkably different.
“Miracle Cycles,” I read to myself. “The Bike Shop of Cerulean City.”
A bike may not be such a bad mode of transport, I thought to myself as I entered the open door. A quick look and I could see I was nowhere near able to afford a bike. I don’t think I’d be able to carry this much money with me even if I had it. I promptly left the store. As I turned a corner, I realised I’d come back to my starting point, but this time there was a police officer outside the Pokémon Centre. I think I’ll go a different way, and so I headed north past a few houses, and out of sight of the city authority.
***
“Yo!” A voice with a familiar sound shouted.
I looked around but couldn’t see where the voice had originated, until I heard the sound of footsteps running in my direction.
“You’re still struggling here? I passed by ages ago! I even got some cool new Pokémon!”
How did he get a head of me? He must’ve travelled quite fast. Perhaps those myths about red being a fast colour were true after all…
“Hey, let me show you what I caught! Go Pidgeotto!”
He threw his Poké Ball and a large bird emerged in a flash of red. Guess I have no choice now.
“Go Amber!”
I let Amber into the battle.
“Oh? You’re still using that thing?” he smirked. “Okay, lets do this, we know how to defeat it now! Use Wing Attack!”
“Amber, Flamethrower!”
The bird swooped down at Amber, but Amber managed to jump out of the way just in time, and released a jet of flame towards the now ascending bird.
“Keep at it, Amber.”
Amber’s face had a look of concentration as it tried to catch Pidgeotto in his flame. This is getting nowhere, I thought.
“Amber, stop for now. Wait for it to get in close and attack then.”
Crimson didn’t hear over his own shout, “Another Wing Attack, this time don’t miss!”
I watched as Pidgeotto closed in on Amber, before calling out, “Amber now!”
Amber’s claws flashed as the bird crash landed into Amber. Both Pokémon seemed a bit hurt, but it looked like Amber was the luckier of the two.
“Pidgeotto, return! Okay, your turn Abra!”
Crimson threw another ball into the air, and this time and large yellow creature appeared. It just sat on the ground, eyes closed, not appearing to do anything.
“Okay Amber, get in close and claw it.”
Amber approached cautiously, but as soon as he raised his claw, the Pokémon disappeared.
I could tell Amber and I were as confused as each other.
“This is Abra,” Crimson said smugly. “It can teleport, so you wont be able to hurt it at all.”
“Amber, up there,” I said.
Amber looked where I was pointing, and saw the Abra sitting on one of the house’s roofs.
“Amber, come back, we’ll need Swift to get up there.”
Amber nodded as I returned him, and sent out Swift.
“Swift, attack that Pokémon on the roof!”
“Oh? A new Pokémon?” Crimson’s voice was harsh. “I already caught one of those, and I evolved it.”
The emphasis he used was not to my likening, but I had a good comeback.
“Can’t have been very good then if it was defeated so easily.”
I could see the rage building up in Crimson after that remark. Having rendered him speechless, I was able to concentrate on the battle at hand again.
“Swift, get in close and tackle it.”
As Swift neared Abra, it just disappeared again, similar to when Amber was battling it.
“Try again.”
Again, the Abra moved to another location instantaneously. This will never work, I need some solution to win this battle.
“Hey, you two! What are you doing?” A new voice interrupted my train of thought. To my horror, I saw a police officer running towards us. “Stop the battle now!”
The officer threw a Poké Ball out and a red dog emerged head butting Swift, knocking him to the ground. It barked at me before charging at Crimson’s Abra. The Abra teleported out of the way, re-appearing next to Crimson.
“Don’t make another move!” the officer shouted out towards Crimson. Crimson looked back with a smirk, before disappearing out of sight.
“Damn rogue trainers,” the officer muttered under her breath, but just loud enough I could hear her.
“Um, sorry, officer,” I said to her, trying to sound remorseful. “I was trying to end the battle fast.”
The officer glared at me before heaving a sigh, softening her expression.
“You’re not from around here are you?”
I nodded in reply. Her expression hardened up again.
“There’s been a few rogue trainers around here lately. They’ve been causing mischief around the city and the route to the north. I’ve been monitoring the area but haven’t been able to catch anyone. Kids have gotten quite smart lately. They know when an adult is coming and disperse faster than a Quick Attack. If you go north, be careful. Now don’t go causing any more trouble, okay?”
With that, the officer turned around, retrieving her red dog Pokémon and walked back the direction she’d been running from.
I guess its back to the Pokémon Centre, I thought, retrieving Swift. I’ll take a look at the gym after.
***
I stood in front of the glass doors of the gym, and found myself staring at a sign.
“I am currently away, but will be back in the afternoon - Misty, Cerulean City Gym Leader”
I suppose I’ll take a look at the other places I haven’t looked at yet…
I headed to the northern area of the city, passing a few houses. I could see a bridge up ahead. Might as well take a look, a scenic walk might be fun. I could see a group of kids huddled in the centre, and as I got closer, the occasional murmur escaped, too soft to hear though. One of the noticed me, and jumped back from the group.
“Stop,” he declared. “We won’t allow you to continue without fighting us!”
I look at the other kids. They all looked like young trainers.
“No one has managed to defeat us yet. And neither will you!”
The kid looked defiant, and I couldn’t go back, they’d surrounded me.
The kid threw out a Poké Ball.
“Go Caterpie!”
This kid doesn’t stand a chance, I thought.
“Amber lets fight,” I said as I released Amber. “You know what to do.”
Before the kid could command his Caterpie, Amber sent out a jet of flame, engulfing the little bug. Its shadow could be seen at the centre. The kid just stared at it, a scared look overcoming his face. I walked over to Amber, and put my hand on his shoulder. Amber stopped his flamethrower, and in the centre of a charred patch of the bridge’s golden build, was a smouldering Caterpie. The boy ran over to it. The other kids scattered and ran back to the city.
“B-Bug C-Catcher Cale has b-been d-d-defeated,” I heard the boy say between sobs, as I walked passed.
I didn’t look back. Instead, I fixated my gaze on a figure at the end of the bridge, waving in my direction. He came to greet me as I stepped off the last step.
“Splendid work back there,” he said. “Now I can finally head south and continue my job. Here, take this as a token of appreciation.”
He rummaged in a backpack and pulled out a rough golden rock. He shoved it into my hands before I had a change to do anything and started running off. I was left dumbfounded, what do I do with this thing now? I guess I’ll bring it with me, someone back in town might know what it is. I shoved it into my bag and continued on my way through the route. I followed the land as it curved with the shape of a mountain. A sand path brought me to a maze of shrubs and saplings. No one else could be seen. I continued walking, the heat of the sun making me sweat. A bit past the bushes, I could see a pond laying in front of a house. I could do with a cool off. I rushed past the bushes and ran to the pond. As I reached it I dipped my hands in and splashed my face. The cool water was refreshing, and I let out my Pokémon to have a cool off too.
A small reddish brown mushroom crab appeared. Right, I caught this thing back in Mt Moon, but I never gave it a name. What better chance to than now. I thought hard for a bit as I watched it crawl into the shade cast by Amber’s shadow. Its a mushroom, and its small… I opened my bag to fetch my Pokédex. Inside I saw my Boulder Badge that I had won from Brock the other day. Badges are small, but not something I’d name a Pokémon. Other things that are small… Then it hit me. I stood up and walked over to Amber and crouched down next to the little Pokémon huddled in his shadow.
“I will name you Button,” i said to it. “Small, and the mushrooms reminded me of button mushrooms. Welcome to the party, Button.”
I checked my Pokédex to see Button was actually a Paras, the mushroom Pokémon.
“Perfect,” I muttered to myself.
I glanced at the clock on the Pokédex’s time display. It was already afternoon, meaning the gym should be open now. I stood up and recalled all my Pokémon, feeling obliged to retrieve the fish splashing about in the pond. All my Pokémon except for Pierce. Where was he?
“Pierce?” I called out.
He came rushing over to me, squeaked, and then ran off again. I ran after to follow and wound up on the doorstep of the house I’d seen earlier. Pierce was scratching at the door; was he trying to get in?
“Pierce, stop that, you’re scratching the door!”
He kept going though. I returned him and decided to check if anyone was home. I could at least apologise for the scratches on the door.
I knocked on the door, and pressed my ear to it, listening for a reply. I couldn’t hear anything.
“Hello?” I called out. “Is anyone home?”
This time I heard a muffled squeak. I pressed my ear harder to the door, and accidentally leant into the door handle, which gave way. I tumbled into the house, and was greeted by a round, pink Pokémon. The small pink Pokémon squeaked again, then tapped me on the head and ran over into another room. I got up and followed it, and saw an odd metal contraption with lights and switches. The Pokémon beckoned to a table, jumping up and down and squeaking, trying to get my attention. I looked where it appeared to be pointing, and saw diagrams sketched onto large pieces of paper. It pointed to a button on the table, then ran into one side of the machine. Does it want me to push the button? I looked to where the Pokémon was standing in the machine. It was clearly making an up-down motion with its arm. So I do push the button. I pushed the button and a door slid closed in front of the Pokémon. The machine lit up and a few moments later, a door on the other side slid open and a man fell out. I was utterly confused.
“Thank you!” said the man, as he rolled over, looking somewhat exhausted and relieved. “I was doing some maintenance on my Cell Separation System here, when it suddenly activated and I was transformed into a Pokémon. I’ve been stuck in that form all day, so I’m very grateful you arrived!”
He walked over to the table and picked up some papers.
“My name is Bill. I’m a Pokémon researcher, and I built the current digital Pokémon storage network.”
“Um,” I said, not quite understanding.
“Lately I’ve been researching evolution, but I’m still not sure how it works. This machine was meant to help solve some of the mysteries, but its still being programmed. Oh, come and look at this. These are some rare Pokémon that evolve into multiple Pokémon.”
He beckoned me over to a computer and brought up 4 images. I followed, not really sure what was happening.
“This is Eevee,” he said, pointing to the top left image. “It evolves into these three Pokémon under certain circumstances, but nobody understands why this happens yet.”
Bill pointed to the other three images, all looking similar to each other and the first image, but each a different colour.
“Each colour pertains to a different type. We wonder if there are other types of Pokémon like this that haven’t been discovered yet. Its so interesting, and gets me very excited thinking about it.”
He had a stupid grin on his face now. He talked for another ten minutes or so, I wasn’t really paying attention.
“I should be going now,” I said to him. “I have to battle the gym leader.” I tried to be nice and forced a smile.
“Good luck with your battle then!”
I was led to the door. Looking down I saw a few scratches in the corner.
“Oh, sorry about the scratches, one of my Pokémon did it…”
“Don’t worry, you got in and changed me back to my regular self! Actually, take this.”
He handed me a slip of paper.
“Its a ticket to ride the S.S. Anne in Vermilion City. I won’t be able to go there now because I have to fix this machine, but have it as a thank you for saving me!”
I took the ticket and smiled back. The sun was less intense now. Back to the city I go, I thought. I walked around the pond, and glimpsed another path. It looked like it went back to the city and would avoid that ridiculous bush maze from earlier. I followed the trail, eagerly awaiting battle with the Cerulean City gym leader.
Link to Pt. VIII
