A/N: Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge at the PFC, Section C prompt 17 - write at least five reincarnations (slightly different) of the same scene (eg. like the same person doing the same thing five times, with some differences). In this one, it's an unnamed little boy trying to catch the same Pidgey five times.
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Catching a Pidgey on Route 1
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He searches through the patches of grass, looking for Pokemon. Any Pokemon will do, he thinks, and on Route 1 there aren't that many choices anyway. Pidgey and Rattata. But so long as he has a Pokemon, it doesn't matter what it is. He'll be friends with it, train it into something nice and strong, and go out and catch many other Pokemon with it.
They'll be the perfect team, and he doesn't need to have a super-rare Dragonite for that.
There's a rustle, and he pounces upon the Pidgey that appears. It glares at him, flapping its white tinted brown wings and scraping its pink feet in the dirt.
It's also perfect, and he runs at it, arms outstretched and ready to grab as soon as he got close. Unfortunately, the Pidgey's also fast, and it scurries away and manages to get away from him – after giving him a few slaps with its wings for his trouble when he got too close for its comfort.
Someone's watching the scene, and they laugh at him. 'That's not how you catch a Pokemon,' they say. 'You need to throw a Poke-ball.'
He decides to find a Poke-ball and then try again.
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He finds a Poke-ball amongst the trash and treasure draw, as he likes to call it. It's a collection of things that some family member or other didn't want to throw away, and others have been adding to it since. Some of them are useful later on: he recognises a whole bunch of hold items in there, and some cool stones. But he'd almost given up finding a Poke-ball when he finally spots a worn out looking one.
He takes it with him and searches through the grass again. It takes a little longer this time, but the grass finally rustles and he pounces towards it – and the Pidgey.
He's not sure if it's the same Pidgey or a different one, but he doesn't really care. If he can catch it, they'll have all the time in the world afterwards to bond.
The Pidgey stares at him. He stares back, then aims the Poke-ball and throws it. It misses, rolling into another patch of grass, and when he tries to reach for it the Pidgey kicks sand into his eyes and disappears.
It takes him quite a bit of time to clean the sand out of his eyes, and out of that Poke-ball. But it's the only Poke-ball he has without finding a way to get to Viridian City without a Pokemon or grovelling at the feet of someone who does have one and being even more embarrassed – because he wants to catch his own Pokemon before he left his secluded little country town. Because that will prove he's big enough to get along in that even bigger world.
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He practises against the wall until he can hit the little "x" he's made on there. It takes a few days, because he'd never realised how bad his aim was before. But he gets there eventually, and when he can hit the "x" ten times in a row he heads back to that patch of grass.
He's sure it's the same Pidgey this time when it appears, because he sees the spark of recognition and challenge in its eyes. 'Are you going to catch me this time?' it seems to ask.
He aims and throws the Poke-ball, crossing his fingers as soon as they're vacant.
It hits the Pidgey on the shoulder and he waits, holding his breath, for it to be sucked in. Except it's not; the Poke-ball just bounces off its head and lands on the ground, and the Pidgey's incensed. It hits out with its wing and breaks the ball as easily as if it were slicing through butter.
Someone's watching the scene, a different someone to the first one and with a Growlithe accompanying them, and this one seems more pitying. 'This Poke-ball looks like it's been long since broken,' they say, examining the pieces. 'Do you have a new one?'
He shakes his head. He doesn't, and without a Pokemon he won't be able to go to Viridian City to buy one either.
The other hands him a ball: new and fresh and shining red and white like new Poke-balls were supposed to look. 'Use this,' they say. 'But first you –'
They're interrupted by their Growlithe growling at something, and the pair of them are gone before he can learn the rest of what the other wanted to say to him.
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He searches through the grass again. Its slower still this time, because he thinks the commotion from earlier has scared most of the Pokemon away, but the Pidgey eventually comes back. It seems a little irritated. He wonders if it wants to be caught by him, but he's just that hopeless.
'I'll catch you this time,' he vows, readying himself.
The Pidgey flicked a wing. 'Give me your best shot,' it seems to say.
He does. He puts all his weight behind the throw and it strikes the Pidgey on the head. This time he does see the glowing red light and Pidgey is sucked into the Poke-ball. But the ball shakes on the grass, and he hopes it won't burst out again –
And then it does, just to spite him, and pecks at his face in annoyance before running off. He grabs after it half-heartedly, but by then the Pidgey is well out of reach, so he has to search for the Poke-ball instead.
It's gotten dirty after all that, so he sits on the grass and polishes it. No other Pokemon shows up, and he wonders if it's worth one showing up anyway, because even a brand new Poke-ball hadn't been enough to catch the Pidgey with.
But what else can he do? Use his mother's weed sprayer? He doesn't like that idea much; he could accidentally poison the Pidgey, and he wouldn't be able to get to Viridian City for some medicine anyway because Pidgey would be too sick.
He was sure Professor Oak would have some antitode – but he didn't want to be the one to tell Professor Oak he'd poisoned his first Pokemon.
He also didn't want to tell Professor Oak he couldn't catch his first Pokemon though. And he sighed, staring at the ball who was back to his new and shiny look. 'How do I catch that Pidgey?' he asked it.
'It seems every time I come to this route, I find a trainer trying to get their first Pokemon,' a voice sighed, and he spun around to see Professor Oak looking down at him.
He jumps to his feet, ashamed. The Professor chuckles. 'It's nothing to be ashamed of,' he says. 'Most Pokemon can't be captured unless you battle them a little first.'
His shoulders droop when he hears that. How is he supposed to battle a Pokemon without one? Punches and kicks? Maybe if it was big and soft and slow.
'Do you really want a Pokemon?' the Professor asks him.
'I did,' the boy replies, hesitantly, 'but now I want that Pidgey specifically. It feels like we've bonded already – but I just can't catch it!'
'Hmm…' The Professor thought a moment. 'Usually, I give trainers their first Pokemon, but not only are you too young for an official licence,' Which was why he hadn't asked in the first place, 'but you've got your heart set on one.' The boy wondered where the Professor was going with this. 'So I'll loan you one instead.'
'Will you really?' The boy's eyes went wide.
'But a loaned Pokemon won't be very obedient,' the Professor warned.'
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The Professor was right. The boy realised that first hand when he tried battling with the Professor's Marill. It was determined to do the opposite of what he said, but he stubbornly continued working with it until he had a system.
Surprisingly, even bribing didn't work, but when he said he'd be out of the other's oily skin once he caught the Pidgey, the Marill was far more docile.
And, this time, he didn't need to search through the grass. The Pidgey had been watching them train from the roof of his house, and it decided he'd had enough and came down and challenged him instead.
It was a tricky battle, because the Marill had no faith in him at all and the Pidgey was putting up a good fight, but when Marill can't get a hit on his own terms he has to listen to the boy, and he finally catches that Pidgey.
And he was right: they had bonded, and that Pidgey had wanted to be caught by him, for whatever reason. And he'd finally managed to win respect as well.
One day, when he was older and the Pidgey was more experienced, they would rise to the top of the world together.