"He whaaaaat!?" I screamed in disbelief.
"He left on a journey. You just missed him" the Professor repeated.
"Th-that little,...Professor, you have to let me go after him!" I begged. There's no way Red could survive on his own! That's just crazy talk!
"I understand your concern, but Red is a big boy now. He can take care of-"
"Don't give me that!" I cut him off. "He. Just. Took. Off. He didn't tell us anything about this! He just took off on his own, unprepared, and Mom is cleaning out all the ice cream right now" I made sure to emphasized the circumstances, just in case I wasn't getting through to him. I mean, Red was always kind of dismissive when it came to parental permission and supervision and all, but this is just nuts!
"This doesn't make sense. Red has had his pokémon license for about a year now. Didn't your mother give her permission?" he asked, flashing some papers. Upon closer inspection, we concluded that Red had forged her signature.
"That's so Red" I sighed in exasperation.
Seeing my point, the Professor sighed. "Alright, but before you go, take this" Oak handed me a pokeball. "There are a lot of wild pokémon that may attack you. You're going to need some protection" he added. Looking at the red and white capsule, I felt both a sense of awe and determination. We briefly had to fill out a few papers, granting me a temporary permit. An assistant also handed me some food for the little guy.
"Thank you sir" I said simply before walking out.
Having properly packed my bags and properly said goodbye to Mom, I took off onto Route 1.
My name is Leaf. I'm from Pallet Town. My brother's name is Red, and we have a mutual frenemy in this guy we call Blue. A little more enemy than friend in my book.
I can't believe the nerve he has. I'd be willing to bet poke that Red is cold and starving right now since he probably didn't prepare properly. Or he's lost. Or maybe he tripped and broke something. Or pecked/shocked/mauled/burned to death by wild pokémon. Maybe even his own. Heck, some pokémon are actually carnivorous. And then there's the poisonous ones. He could get possessed by ghost pokémon. He's vulnerable to any sort of creep that's probably prowling around. I've heard rumors about some criminal activity going on lately. He could lose all his poke in a battle, or die in an explosion. Get struck by lightning. Drown in quicksand. Get hit by a meteor. Spontaneous combustion...
Ok, maybe my paranoia is getting the best of me. But I don't really care. It's kind of dangerous for clumsy ol' Red to handle being on his own. All the more reason why I need to find him asap.
About a half hour had passed. I've encountered some wild pokémon; just as the professor warned. The bulbasaur that Oak gave me has been very helpful. I decided to call him Stitch. He looks like a Stitch. Stitch's main strategy in combat seems to be just randomly ramming into the opponent. Sometimes he seems to growl at them. Whatever the case, it's apparently enough to get us by.
I'm really glad that I made sure to bring a map. I've heard stories of one trainer who was lost 'cause he didn't have one. It took him 10 days to get from Pallet to Viridian. I hope Red remembered to pick up a map. I made a pit stop by the Pokémon Center in Viridian City. While Stitch was resting, I asked around about Red. Apparently he had already been there! But he left as soon as his pokémon were all rested up; something about the Pokémon League.
I sat at the table staring at my map, tapping my foot impatiently as if it would speed up Stitch's recovery. If Red plans on challenging the Elite Four, then he's probably on his way to the nearest gym already. Pewter City is just up north, so he would just have to get through...oh no. "Leaf! Your bulbasaur is all healthy now!"
"Kthnxbai!" I snatched up my pokémon and bolted out the door. There's no way he'd be stupid enough to go through the Viridian Forest at this time, right!? He couldn't have just used his brain and stayed at the Pokemon center!? I mean, they offer free bed and breakfast for trainers!
I rushed over to the forest, blatantly ignoring any trainers who tried to stop me.
Entering the forest, the sky just seemed even darker than before. If you listened close enough, you could hear wild pokémon scurrying around. Trying to shake off any fear, I squeezed Stitch's pokeball and walked forward.
No turning back until I've found Red. Guaranteeing my brother's safety is the only important thing to me right now.
For the record, this forest is very, very easy to get lost in. Like, really easy. I try to stay on the main trail to the best of my ability. The cries of awakening noctowl are just one of the signs of the incoming night. So were the shadowy shapes of metapods and kakunas huddling by the trees. The xylophone-like sounds of kricketot. Sometimes I think I can hear the squeaks of wild pikachu. Dread crawled into my stomach just as darkness seeped into the forest. Sometimes twigs and leaves would brush up against my bare arms and legs. Hearing my own footsteps against the grass, I couldn't be more aware of how vulnerable I felt. Alone. By myself. In the middle of a forest. At night. Where anything could happen.
I'd occasionally find a trainer camping out. Several reported having battled a trainer in a red hat. That's probably my brother they're referring to. I also briefly encountered two trainers in the middle of what is probably the most boring battle I've ever seen. Metapod vs Metapod...good luck with that.
I think it's been a few hours since I arrived in this forest. I've encountered some wild pokémon here and there. Mostly hoothoot. Eventually I figured out that most pokémon will let you run away and skip the battle altogether. How convenient. I can feel the temperature dropping, goosebumps prickling down my bare arms. Just as I contemplated fishing out a sweater from my bag, a flicker of light caught my eye. Pausing to look, I could see a small flame in the near distance. Was it another campfire? No, campfires don't move around like that. Maybe it's a pokémon? I don't think there are many fire types native to this forest. Perhaps it belongs to a trainer. Red did always say that he wanted to choose a charmander as his starter.
Feeling a sense of glee at the possibility, I ran blindly towards the light. It's gotta be Red! It just has too! Rounding a corner, I had my eyes glued to that light. I should be close by now. And then everything was halted. Instead of excitement I felt pain. Lots of it. I,..I think I just slammed into a tree.
With one hand I clutched my throbbing head. With the other I reached out for my fallen hat. Shortly after I felt the familiar fabric, something rested onto my fingers. It was very light, but I could still feel it's hard crustaceous texture. With a squeak I pulled away, feeling some of it's hairs brush up against my skin. It was hard to see it properly in the dark, but a bright green bug pokémon with spikes and jaws had just landed on my hat. Amongst the green, I could see a face. Fear settling into the depths of my stomach, I screamed. The pokémon also let out it's own ear splitting screech, the face turning into a sneer. Terror prickling down my spine, I tried to force my muscles into movement. By the time it shot a poisonous dart at me, I called out to Stitch to help me out.
A battle shortly began. It was difficult to hit this pokémon due to its advantage of night vision, but we still managed. After a few minutes, things began to slow down. Stitch was moving a little sluggishly, as evident by the strings it shot at him. The bug pokémon seemed tired. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins, heart hammering in my chest. Before anyone could do anything more, the pokémon seemed to disappear into a red light.
...what?
I could hear footsteps crunching into the grass, closing in on me. Turning around, I nearly gasped at the familiar face.
"Red!"
Illuminated in a soft orange glow was the same ol' face, the same hair, the same stupid hat, yup! It's him. Right beside him was a charmander, it's tail flame providing the light. Swiftly putting my hat back on, I ran over to him.
WHO'S THAT POKÉMON!?
Next time we'll be witnessing some sibling interactions, and learn a bit about Red himself. Until then, I hope you enjoyed my portrayal of Leaf being a helicopter mom disguised as a sister. Writing her as this sarcastic, neurotic little sh*t with good intentions was a lot of fun for me.
And before anyone comments, I know that the pokémon distribution doesn't line up exactly like in Red and Blue and their remakes. This is done on purpose. I'm actually basing the Viridian Forest wildlife off of HeartGold and SoulSilver. I find the diverse selection to be more interesting to write about than just infinite caterpie and weedle.
Anyways, stay tuned for chapter 2
