Almost sixteen years ago…
"NATALIA, Stephen, are you sure you want to do this? You're aware of the restrictions?"
"Yes. I want to finish what I started, and do it right."
"And I'm sick of being a ghost."
"So be it. Go back down to Earth and make us proud."
Chapter 1October 20, 2011
Today's the day! newbie trainer-to-be Natalia thought, withdrawing her only Potion from her PC. I can't wait to get my journey started! The fifteen-year-old certainly looked the part—white straw hat, blue top with matching leg warmers/socks, red skort, tan Bag, and plain white sneakers. The only thing out of place was the chain for her MedAlert dog tag. Oh, well, c'est la vie. She brushed her long brown hair out of her face, popped an insulin pill in her mouth, and went downstairs for lunch.
"Just in time, dear," her mom smiled, placing a plate with steaming hot and tasty-smelling pizza slices on the table. "I made your favorite—three-cheese pizza!"
Natalia could feel her grin spread across her face. "Yummy! Thanks, Mom!" She sat down, grabbed one, and dug in, ignoring the fact that her mouth was being slightly seared.
"Do you have everything you need?" her mom asked. Natalia nodded. "Always have, always will." She reached for another slice. "Plus, I know exactly where I need to go! Not hard in this tiny town." "Don't talk with your mouth full," her mom chided gently.
Three more slices (counting the one she'd just reached for), some water, and a blood sugar test later, Natalia was ready to go. "Bye, Mom! I promise to be careful!" she called, heading out the door. "Good luck, and don't forget to call home!" her mom answered.
Pallet Town was like any other small town, except for Professor Oak's lab, a big yellow-brick structure just across from Gary's house. She popped into the lab long enough to learn that Oak wasn't around, then headed north to Route 1. When she was within a step of the tall grass…
"Natalia, wait! Don't go out!" Professor Oak called. Waa! How'd he get here so fast? she thought, turning to face him. "It's not safe without a Pokémon of your own. Here, come with me." He led her away from the Route to his lab, stopping only when he was right next to a table with three Poké Balls on it (and Gary, too).
"About time, Gramps," Gary said. "I'm sick of waiting!" "Be patient, Gary. Natalia's never seen this before, so I'll talk to her first," the Professor said. Then he turned to Natalia: "See these three Poké Balls? Each of them contains a Pokémon I offer new trainers! Go on, pick one!" "Hey, no fair! I want one too!" Gary complained. "You'll get your turn," Oak assured him. Gary grumbled something noncommittal.
Natalia picked up the one on the left first. "Ah, Bulbasaur," Oak commented. "It's easy to raise, and a Grass-Poison type. Is that your choice?" "I'll look at the others first," she replied, already moving on to the middle one. "That's Squirtle," Oak said. "A bulky Water-type that's well worth raising." Last, she held the one on the right.
"Hm! Charmander, the Fire-type. It's very popular, but requires patience, so not everyone's up to the challenge." Natalia thought it over for a moment, and then put Charmander's Ball inside her bag. "Charmander's my choice, Professor," she said.
"Excellent! While we're at it, do you want to give him a nickname?" "Yep, Flint," she replied. Professor Oak nodded approvingly. Neither of them was overly surprised when Gary picked Squirtle (Juan). He seemed obsessed with beating Natalia at anything and everything.
"Hey, Natalia! Let's see how good they are! Come on out, Juan!" Gary called. He then tossed Juan's Poké Ball into the air. The Squirtle emerged as an oval of white light from which a curly tail and four chubby limbs sprang. "Squirtle squirt!" he cheered, big red eyes shining. The Ball landed back in Gary's hand with an audible "smack."
"OK…Flint, I choose you!" Natalia said, tossing hers at Gary. Her new Pokémon burst from the Ball in a flash of white light. "Char char!"
Professor Oak facepalmed. "Oh, for Pete's sake…Natalia, have you ever been in a battle before?" "No, but I think I'll be OK," she said, somehow catching the returning Ball. "Flint, Scratch!" And the battle was on! Of course, both starters being only level five, it wound up more like a Tackle/Scratch war with the occasional Growl or Leer thrown in. She wound up using her Potion to heal Flint when another Tackle would have defeated him. Eventually, though, Natalia won and Flint leveled up.
"What? This is nuts! I got beat by a beginner!" Gary griped, handing her 80 Poké. "Meh, I'll just battle a lot and get Juan tougher. Smell ya later!" The boy walked self-importantly out of the lab. Shrugging, Natalia and Flint headed to Route 1. They couldn't catch any new Pokémon yet, but neither minded—more experience! On the way up to Viridian City, they talked to a Poké Mart clerk, who graciously gave them a Potion.
Then Natalia got an idea. I want to remember exactly how it felt to start my journey when I'm older, and how better to do that than take photos? She took her camera out of her Bag and snapped a photo of Flint, then of herself. "Char?" Flint asked.
"My camera," Natalia stated. "I'll be taking a lot of pictures as I travel, so get used to the sound."
Viridian City reminded her just a little bit of Pallet Town, what with the clear lake (in which she could see her reflection) and the flowers everywhere. She healed Flint and visited the Viridian Trainer School, which was surprisingly empty—just one student and a teacher. "Um, where's everyone else?" she asked. "Field trip to the Indigo Plateau," the girl said without looking up from her notes. "Our school's pretty small anyway." Without another word, Natalia absorbed the information on the blackboard (status conditions) and in the girl's notes (training for dummies), then left.
The minute she entered the Poké Mart, the clerk called to her: "Hey, you're from Pallet Town?" "How'd you guess?" she replied teasingly, walking to the counter.
"…I'm not gonna answer that. Listen, Prof. Oak's order came in, and I need you to deliver it to him. OK?" "Leave it to me!" she smiled. Interestingly, on the way back to Pallet Town, she didn't find a single wild Pokémon. Partly because she'd avoided as much grass as possible, true, but it was strange nonetheless.
Back in the lab, no sooner had Natalia delivered Oak's parcel (a custom Poké Ball) than Gary showed up. "Almost forgot, Gramps. What'd you call me for?"
"I have a favor to ask of you both. See those red machines on the table behind me?" he asked. "They're two copies of my invention, the Pokédex. It automatically records data on Pokémon you've seen or caught. I want the two of you to take this with you and fill it up with all the data you possibly can! I'd do it myself, but there aren't a lot of places an old man like me can go safely." He handed them each a Pokédex. Natalia flipped it open, and a thin plastic ID card slid down to the ground. "Oh, yes, I put your Trainer Cards in there for safekeeping," Oak added as an afterthought. "Don't lose them!"
"*beep* Thank you for choosing Kanto Pokédex Version 2.0.1, trainer Natalia of Pallet Town," a mechanical voice said. How does it know that? "You have currently seen four Pokémon—Charmander, Squirtle, Pidgey, and Rattata—and currently own one, Charmander. Would you like to customize my appearance?" Natalia hit "No", and slipped her Trainer Card into her wallet.
"Just seeing a Pokémon won't give you all the data," Oak informed them. "You have to capture it, so here are five Poké Balls to help you with that!" Natalia placed the shiny red-and-white capsules in the third pocket of her bag.
"Leave it to me, Gramps!" Gary bragged. "Natalia, I hate to say it, but you won't be needed for this. Smell ya later!" He sauntered out of the lab again.
On a whim, Natalia visited Gary's house. His big sister, Daisy, was perusing a Town Map. "Hi, Daisy," Natalia said. "Professor Oak wants me to—" "I heard all about it from Gary," Daisy interrupted. "Here, I have an extra Town Map. You'll need it." Gratefully, Natalia folded up the map and put it in the Key Items pocket. "Thanks!" She made a quick stop at her house to pick up certain medical supplies (read: insulin), then headed out to Route 1.
She spotted movement in the grass and, without even thinking, threw Flint's Ball at…a level four female Rattata. "…OK," she said (she'd wanted a Pidgey). "Flint, Scratch, but be careful!" Three Scratches later, Rattata looked weak enough to capture.
"Here goes," murmured Natalia, selecting a Poké Ball. "Poké Ball, go!" When the Ball hit Rattata, it opened, covered her in red light, then absorbed it and fell to the ground. Wobble. Wobble. Wobble. Click. Rattata hadn't put up a fight. "Congratulations!" her Pokédex beeped. "Please hold the Poké Ball near the camera so I can record its data." Natalia did so, then snapped a picture of her own.
"*beep* Rattata, the Mouse Pokémon. Its fangs are long and very sharp. They grow constantly, so it gnaws on hard things to whittle them down. Give Rattata a nickname? Yes/No" Selecting "Yes," Natalia was presented with a keyboard. It took only a second for her to type in "Jo." And while I'm at it, I'll call you Dex, she added silently; the machine sounded male, and somehow "Dexter" seemed overdone. She checked Jo's statistics: Modest nature, ability Guts, max HP 17, Speed 10, and everything else 8. She only had one encounter—another Rattata—before reaching Viridian City.
Her team wasn't in perfect shape, so the first thing she did was heal at the Pokémon Center. Then she changed Dex's message frames to a bold, fiery red (from default gray). "And now, for supplies," she said to no one in particular. She wound up spending 1900 Poké for three Potions, as many "Parlyz Heals", and four Antidotes. Heading west from the city, she picked up a stray Potion behind a small bush. She couldn't say why she picked that particular shortcut, other than that it seemed like a good idea.
It didn't take much exploring on Route 22 before she found another Pokémon. This one was a small bird like Pidgey, but more angular and darker colored. "Spear spearow!" it chirped, eyeing her. "You're up, Jo!" Natalia called. "Tackle attack!" This battle went less smoothly, and less happened—Spearow growled a few times, and its Peck almost defeated her. It took a little doing (and some help from Flint), but Spearow was hers eventually.
"Spearow, the Tiny Bird Pokémon," Dex chimed. "It flits about here and there. Even if it's frail, it can be a tough foe that uses Mirror Move. Give Spearow a nickname?" "Lucy," Natalia typed (Spearow was female). She headed back to Viridian, healed, and called it a night.