"Good morning!" Professor Stone greeted with his eyes focused intently on the freshly-printed analysis report as someone knocked on the door and entered his personal laboratory. One of the two girls was wearing a crimson red tank top and a pair of jeans, while the other girl had a blue sleeveless top and a pale blue mini-skirt. Despite their differences in dressing, it was easy to tell from their similar physical features that they were identical twins. Taking a gulp of steaming hot coffee from his favourite mug, he filed the slip of paper into a brown folder and placed it at the edge of his workdesk. "There must be a reason for two fourteen-year-olds to be here so early on a Monday morning, right?"
"Good guess, Grandpa!" The girl in a red tank top replied casually as she sat down in her grandfather's chair, and gave herself a spin on it. "We were thinking of taking our Pokemons out for some training before the tornament starts next week."
"Didn't I remind you to address me as Professor when you're in my lab, Flame?" Professor Stone sighed as he entered a few commands into the analysis machine. "Well, I guess its expected of you two to grab every single opportunity you've got to do whatever you guys want, since your parents are on an expedition."
"Professor, is this an elemental stone?" The other girl in the blue sleeveless top asked curiously as she peered into the glass. A harmless-looking stone laid obediently while brilliant red light flooded the small chamber. Readings began to appear on the screen and graphs started to change as the analysis was being processed. "It seems to be producing energy on its own although it doesn't look like an elemental stone." She commented after a moment of thought.
"Very sharp, Frost." Professor Stone praised as he punched a button on the machine. "Someone found this stone deep in the dungeons north-west of Cerulean City, somewhere close to Mountain Moon. It appears to posses more energy than that of an elemental stone, but I still can't detect what kind of energy it is yet." He explained as he went up to the shelf beside the analysis machine and retrieved the twins' Pokeballs. "Here you go, girls. Have fun, but be careful. Recently, there are several cases of people being attacked by wild Pokemon around these areas."
The dense forest of Viridian provided the perfect ground for Pokemons to train as the air was fresh and rich in oxygen in the morning. It made Pokemons like the twins' Doduo particularly energetic that Monday morning. It sprinted along the well-worn forest path that quiet morning with its two trainers on its back, occasionally stopping to Peck at wild Catepies and wildberries that grew along the path. Suddenly, Flame spotted a Beedrill appraoching from afar at high speed, its red eyes flashing as it raised its Twin Needles and prepared to attack. "Doduo! Return with Peck!"
Doduo had the advantage with two beaks, and Pecked Beedrill's needles before it could even strike. The needles crumbled as the defeated Pokemon fled before it could take any further damage. "Maybe we didn't have to attack it." Frost mumbled.
"Sorry, sis. I'll try to avoid attacking on first sight next time." Flame apologized. She had tried to change her impulsive ways since young, but as the saying went, "A leopard would never change it spots". Maybe Flame needed a longer time to change her habits, Frost thought as she smiled shook her head. "Something's not quite right, sis." Frost commented as their surroundings became unusually quiet. Nothing else could be heard except for the rustling of leaves and Doduo's footsteps.
"Is that so?" Flame asked, looking around them. Suddenly, she spotted a creature sprinting among the trees to her left. As it ran through the dense forest in the same direction as Doduo, it began to move towards Doduo. "What's a bull-like Pokemon doing in the forest?"
"Bull-like Pokemon? Tauros?" Frost figured as the galloping of hooves got louder. "It can't be."
"But it is, and its heading right for us!" Flame yelled as the Tauros took a leap and landed before Doduo, Rage burning in its eyes. The furious Tauros began to attack Doduo in its Rage in an attempt to throw them off the trail. "Doduo! Peck!" Doduo's left head reached towards Tauros's right foreleg and jabbed its strong beak into its leg, causing it to collaspe in a heap a few metres behind. Recovering quickly, the Pokemon was soon hot on their heels again as they quickly thought of a way to defeat the wild Tauros.
"Watch out!" Frost called out as she saw Tauros inhale sharply. "It looks like a flame attack!"
"No problem! Magnemite!" Flame commanded and opened their second Pokeball, just as Tauros shot out a stream of Flamethrower at them. Magnemite appeared in the nick of time and Protected Doduo and its trainers from the attack. "Counter with Thundershock!"
A bolt of electricity shot towards the bull-like Pokemon, but Tauros ran towards one side and the attack missed its target completely. Tauros flashed a Scary Face at them and to their horror, Doduo began to slow down.
"We can't go on like this, sis. Protect gets less effective if Magnemite uses it consecutively." Frost told Flame as Magnemite blocked another Flamethrower from Tauros. "All the while, its attacks seemed to be directed towards me. Could it be..." Her words trailed off as she reached into her backpack and took out a packet of Pokemon food. Tauros's eyes lit up almost immediately as it fired a third blast of Flamethrower at them.
"Your Pokemon food! So all we have to do is to throw it away to get that bull off our trail!" Flame snapped her fingers.
"And starve for the afternoon?" Frost argued, and Flame fell silent as Magnemite Protected them from a fourth Flamethrower. "I can only think of one way now, but we don't have any empty Pokeballs on us now."
"I do!" A voice ahead yelled. "Go, Tyrogue!"
Doduo screeched to a halt as a Pokeball flew over their heads and opened in mid-air. A Tyrogue appeared with a flash of light in front of Tauros, attacking it with a Hi Jump Kick. Tauros growled as it tried to counter with its Horn Attack, but Tyrogue grabbed its horns and Countered it with a Seismic Toss. Tyrogue held Tauros over its head, turned in a circle to gain momentum, and tossed Tauros towards its trainer. An empty Pokeball sailed through the air and made contact with the wild Tauros, capturing it in mid-air.
"That was a fast capture!" Flame said in awe, jumping off Doduo. Frost got off slowly, looking away to hide the slight blush on her face. "That bull sure is a troublesome one! Anyway, thanks..."
"The name's Sony." The male trainer, who was about the age of sixteen, introduced himself quickly and held out his hand. "I'm a traveling trainer, and I was looking for a good spot to rest for the day when I heard the commotion."
"I'm Flame, and this is Frost." Flame shook his hand. "How about a rest at out house as a way of saying thanks?"
"Well, sure." Sony replied with a friendly smile.
"Your parents are away on an expedition?" Sony repeated as Frost came out of the kitchen with glasses of drinks. "I guess that's why you guys were training out on your own in the Viridian Forest then. They say that Viridian Forest's a natural maze." Night had fell after they took Sony around the city, so they invited him to stay for the night.
"We were training our Pokemons for a tornament next week." Flame replied. Seeing Sony's confused look, she explained further. "This year, the Pokemon Association's going to add three more categories for its Annual Pokemon League: Group Battle, Double Battle and Race Battle. The Group Battle and Double Battle involve more than the usual two trainers on the battlefield, while the Race Battle's sort of like a sporting event. You get your Pokemons and finish the race course within the shortest time with at least two Pokemons remaining to win the race."
"Oh, and you guys are training for it?" Sony asked as he took a gulp of lemonade from his glass.
"Ah, the Pokemon Association had organised a local tornament here to encourage participants to join, so we thought of trying out." Flame said, shooting strange glances at Frost. "Well, the guest room's ready, so you can stay for the night if you don't mind."
"We don't so don't worry! Have a good night!" Flame grinned as she grabbed Frost's hand and pulled her up the stairs to their bedroom.
"Wow, I guess you were taken in by his look. Right, sis?" Flame asked with a laugh as Frost came out of the bathroom in her set of pale blue pajamas. She was already in her pale pink pajamas and was checking their e-mail inbox for new messages. "You haven't said a word ever since we met him this morning."
"Well...he's kinda cute, and he looked strong for a Pokemon trainer." Frost began, but was interrupted by Flame's subsequent question.
"Ah, you thought so too?" Flame asked, surprised that they shared the same view of Sony. "That's why I invited him readily to stay over. I thought we could get a chance to know him or something."
"And I guess we did." Frost added with a weak smile, a faraway look on her face.
"But you hadn't spoken a word to him! If you want to get to know him, the very least you can do is to speak to him!" Flame chuckled as she switched off the computer and climbed onto the large bed. She snapped her fingers in front of Frost's dazed expression and she awoke with a jolt. "Hey, quite daydreaming. It's night now. Good night!" She said, turning off the lights.
"Right...Good night, sis." Frost heaved a sigh and pulled the blanket up her neck.