Dear mom and dad,

It's been about a week since I wrote you about my arrest, hasn't it? Sorry, I haven't had much time to myself. They keep us quite busy at the detention center here in Viridian City. Teachers from the local schools come in and hold classes and we also have recreation periods where we're released for exercise (under supervision, of course). The food's not bad and the conditions are livable. If there was one thing I would complain about, it's the cold floor we sleep in sleeping bags on.

Anyway, we may be able to see each other in a few days. I'm part of the group that's being taken to Pallet this weekend for community service. I think the officer said something about helping the aides at Professor Oak's lab. We should be there by about nine in the morning on Saturday, so if you want to drop by, I'll be looking for you.

Love,

Matt

Matt yawned and stretched lazily as he looked out the window of the bus taking them to Pallet Town. The terrain was mostly plains dotted with trees here and there. There wasn't much movement except the occasional Rattata scurrying across the grassland. Matt could just make out the peak of the Tohjo mountain range where, just over a week ago, that fateful accident had occurred that led to his meeting with Totodile and eventual arrest.

His thoughts wandered to the jolly water Pokemon. The officer said it had been sent to Professor Oak's lab. He wondered if he would see Totodile today. He freshly remembered the thrill of the battle against Ariados. He wanted to taste that feeling again. He wanted to see Totodile again. But as always, as he sat in that bus gazing lamely at the sky, true freedom felt as far and unreachable as ever from his grasp.

"Yo, Matt, what's up?" The words interrupted his thoughts and he turned to see a tall, moderately muscular boy sit down next to him. He had short black hair, blue eyes, and wore an unzipped black leather jacket with the sleeves rolled up and blue jeans. Despite his rather threatening facial demeanor that left many not wanting to get near him, Matt was none too fazed and thus he took a surprising liking to the ten-year-old.

"Not much, Rocky," Matt replied and faced the window again. "I'm just thinking."

"As always," Rocky said with a hearty laugh. Matt didn't need to explain, Rocky knew what it was about since Matt had told him the reason for his arrest. Today was the first time since the incident that Matt might see that Totodile. He guessed Matt might be feeling a bit insulted to be faced with such an opportunity, as if the officers were taunting him.

It was only a ten minute trip before the bus came rolling into the tiny village of Pallet. Although it lived in the shadow of Viridian City, it was a famous town for sprouting great Pokemon trainers. The obvious reason behind this was the world renowned Pokemon expert Samuel Oak. This professor personally trained those he licensed so they were well experienced by the time they started their adventures. Among these were two of the most successful trainers of all time; Red and Blue.

The familiar households of the small town met Matt's sight on the horizon. Curious eyes turned to the bus from passersby busy with their morning commune about the businesses in the middle of town. A jolt of guilt shot through his body as he looked back into the faces of his many acquaintances. It was, after all, one of those "everybody knows everybody" places. He never thought of this trip as showing up for the first time since the accident in his hometown as a criminal. He felt relieved as the bus carried them farther through town where a large ranch sat on the outskirts.

Professor Oak's lab had always been a precious part of Matt's childhood. Although he didn't know the expert personally, he would hang around outside the fences and watch all the Pokemon the scientists there were training. He looked around and saw a group of Snorlax fast asleep at the foot of a tree on which a Mankey was eating an apple. Nearby, there was a small pond connected to a river leading to the sea that took up most of south western Kanto. A pair of Seadra was keeping watch over a bunch of Horsea splashing around in the water. Farther into the ranch, a hoard of Tauros was grazing while Nidoran of both genders and Doduo ran around and through their legs. Oddish and Tangela were resting in the shade of the tallest tree in the ranch while Sandshrew were lying in the sun.

The bus came to a stop at the entrance to the ranch and the juveniles filed out. The three officers that came along to keep them in order split them into groups each lead by one of Oak's aides to tend to one of the many Pokemon within the fencing. Matt was placed into a group of four along with Rocky to feed the Tangela.

"Dude, where's its mouth?" Rocky asked with a laugh as he held a handful of Pokemon food in front of one. A look of shock burst from his face as a couple vines from the grass Pokemon's body came out and grabbed the food, pulling it into the abyss where only its eyes could be seen. Rocky staggered back a bit.

The aide laughed at his reaction. "Nobody quite knows what the body of a Tangela looks like beneath all those vines," he said.

The morning went by rather quickly and the sun crept up through the clear sky, causing the laboratory to cast its shadow across the path leading from the gates. Matt was just returning with a package he had been sent to pick up from the PokeMart for the professor. A couple groups were heading toward him that were assigned to walk the Growlithe. Some were noticeably having trouble as their Growlithe started chasing and nipping at each other. One was even pulled off his feet and lost his grip on the leach, causing the aide to have to run after the loose dog Pokemon.

Matt pushed open the double doors at the front of the building and walked onto clean white tiling. A table and chairs had been placed in the middle of the room where his group was eating a lunch prepared by a few of the detention center's cooks that came along. After returning the greeting from Rocky, who spoke through a mouthful of ham sandwich, he placed the package on a counter and sat down to eat.

But before he could even grab a sandwich and water bottle, Rocky stood up. "Excuse me, I have to use the bathroom," he said and the aide nodded to let him go. Rocky nudged an elbow into Matt's back before he disappeared around the corner into a hallway, causing Matt to choke on the bread he had just swallowed. Matt waited a couple minutes, finishing his sandwich, and then asked to be excused himself.

"About time," Rocky said, leaning against the wall next to the bathroom door.

"Sorry, if I left right after you, the aide might not have let me go," Matt answered, walking down the hall. "So what's up?"

"That," Rocky answered simply, pointing at a pair of sliding glass doors at the end of the hallway. Matt raised an eyebrow curiously, his look at Rocky asking the question for him. "It's where they keep the Pokemon of trainers. Maybe Totodile's there."

Matt jumped at this. "You can't be serious?" he said, but Rocky nodded. He nervously watched Rocky walk down the hall and gulped before following him. The doors slid open right in front of them. After Rocky poked his head in to see that no one was there, he gestured for Matt to follow him. The walls had shelves of Pokeballs on either side. Slips of paper were attached to the top shelves at regular intervals alphabetically labeling the Pokemon contained there.

They walked down the long room and came to the T section, the Pokeballs glittering in the sunlight that poured in through the windows at the end. Looking closer, Matt noticed each Pokeball was labeled with the name of the Pokemon and its trainer. Several of the Pokeballs contained Totodile. He quickly noticed one labeled "confiscated" in bold lettering and picked it up off the cold steel shelf, his heart beating rapidly.

"Alright, I'll head back," Rocky said, surprising Matt who had almost forgotten he was there too. "You wait a bit. It'll be dangerous to return at the same time." Matt nodded and watched Rocky disappear behind the sliding glass doors. He looked back at the Pokeball in his hands, hardly believing Totodile was in his possession once again. He slipped the ball into his pocket, dreadfully feeling that a hole was ready to swallow it up. But he shook the feeling away and he walked through the doors and down the hall.

And then he stepped into the hole.

What met him as he turned the corner was an elderly face screwed into an upset expression. Professor Oak towered above him with a pair of aides behind him. "Young man, you've landed yourself in a ton of trouble," he said. "You didn't think there weren't security cameras in that room, did you?" He stretched a hand forward. "I'll take that Pokemon back now."

Matt looked around and noticed Rocky and the rest of his group was gone. "Where is everyone?" he asked, looking at the professor with indifferent eyes.

"That's none of your concern. Now, just return that Pokemon you took."

"No," Matt said simply, surprising even himself with this unexplainable temperament. "This Totodile is mine and I won't just hand it over." He pulled the Pokeball out of his pocket and pressed the bottom in the middle to enlarge it, causing the confiscated label on it to tear in half and fall to the floor. "You'll have to defeat me for it."

Oak raised an eyebrow and considered Matt with a gaze of amusement. "Well, if you're sure," he said, scratching his chin. "If I win, you will return Totodile to us and your time at the detention center will be increased for this. We'll battle out back." With that, he started walked toward the exit of the lab.

"If I win," Matt interrupted. "I'll keep Totodile and you'll give me a full pardon."

The professor stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Don't get cocky now," he said as his aides began a laugh. "You should realize a novice like you has no chance against an expert."

"Who said not to get cocky?" Matt replied. The professor silently headed out the door, Matt following in his tracks along with the two aides.

Eyes followed the group from the juveniles around the ranch as they trekked toward the back of the building. The grass had been trimmed to mark boundary lines and look like one of the arenas Matt had seen on TV. Some trees stood around the makeshift arena that provided shade on the battlefield. Matt and Professor Oak took their places in the trainer boxes marked on either side as the aids took to opposite sidelines to judge.

"Alright, Totodile, here we go!" Matt yelled as he threw the Pokeball to the center of the arena. The ball burst open on contact with the meadow and released a flash of white light that took the form of the alligator Pokemon and faded.

The professor pulled a Pokeball of his own out of a pocket on his lab coat and tossed it in front of Totodile. "Against your Pokemon, I choose Nidorina," he declared and a light blue dinosaur-like Pokemon with a back lined with spikes appeared, its large ears flicking as it flexed its fists. The poison Pokemon looked at Totodile through dangerous red eyes as its opponent started jumping. 'The kick jump,' Oak thought and thrust his arm forward. "Nidorina, Tackle it!"

Nidorina nodded and lunged forward. Totodile kicked off the ground but Nidorina was already slamming into it, the force of the attack sending it flying back a few feet and landing on its back in the grass. Before Totodile could get back on its feet, Nidorina was again sending it into the sky with a consecutive Tackle attack.

Matt growled as Nidorina was getting ready for yet another attack while Totodile was still airborne. "Totodile, use Water Gun!" he cried and the water Pokemon opened its jaws to let loose a stream of water toward the ground, holding it up as Nidorina zoomed by, expecting Totodile to have landed at that moment. It skidded to a halt and turned around to see it land gracefully on its feet. Matt ordered another Water Gun attack, this time at Nidorina, but before the attack could hit, Nidorina bound to the side.

"How scary," one of the aides said. "Professor Oak has trained that Nidorina to have particularly strong hind legs. By kicking the ground with both feet, it increases the speed of its movement and even the power of its Tackle. It seems like that kid was going for the same thing, but it's just not strong enough. The professor's not going to let him land even one attack."

Totodile continued sending Water Gun after Water Gun to no avail as Nidorina still dashed around the field. A quarter of an hour had passed with neither Pokemon giving in. It was Professor Oak who finally broke the sequence. "Enough of this," he said. "Nidorina, use your Double Kick!" The poison pin Pokemon ducked down to dodge a Water Gun and lunged forward. It flung Totodile into the air with its head and as the surprised water Pokemon descended, Nidorina struck it with two rapid kicks with its hind legs, sending it flying across the arena.

"And that's it," the other aide said clenching a fist triumphantly. "Nothing can survive such a powerful Double Kick attack, especially with all the damage it had already taken." The area fell silent as everyone's eyes were on the motionless Totodile collapsed on its back.

Oak folded his arms and smiled. "Well, are you ready to surrender?" he said. "You didn't have a chance from the…start?" He gasped as his eyes fell on Totodile, who was slowing sitting up. Without hesitation he commanded another Double Kick. Nidorina obeyed and ran forward.

"Totodile, use Water Gun!" Matt cried, causing everyone to jump. Totodile's eyes burst open as he let loose a mighty stream of water, Nidorina charging right toward it.

Professor Oak laughed. "Did you think Nidorina can't change directions while it's running?" he said. "You're too naïve! Nidorina, show him your kick step!" The running Pokemon quickly kicked the ground with its hind legs, making a quick motion to the side, but it was instantly pulled back as the water surged across its body.

"What's going on?" Oak cried in frustration. But before he could think, Totodile had gotten to its feet and lunged toward Nidorina, slamming into it with a Rage attack. It was then that he noticed his Pokemon's hind legs buried in mud. "So that's it. Those Water Gun attacks weren't meant to hit Nidorina, but to get the ground wet. You planned on Nidorina getting stuck in the mud!"

Matt laughed. "You got that right," he said and turned to the first aide that had spoken with a grin. "Hey, didn't you say I wouldn't even get in one attack?" The aide scowled at this comment.

"It's not over yet!" Oak said and Matt looked at Nidorina to see it had freed its legs from the earth. "I think it's about time I show you my Pokemon's ultimate technique. Use Fissure, Nidorina!" Matt's eyes widened as he watched the poison Pokemon lift its rear end into the air. It sent its hind legs thrusting toward the ground at blinding speed. Totodile flinched, prepared for the force of the attack. After a couple seconds, it lowered its arms to see Nidorina struggling with its legs in the ground again.

Matt breathed a sigh of relief and then looked at Oak with his face beaming in confidence. "The ground is too soft for that, professor," he said. Then Totodile dashed toward Nidorina with its head lowered. It collided with the enemy sending it flying back and skidding to stop on its feet.

Professor Oak smiled. "I'll have to thank you for that," he said. "I'll finish this with a Fissure attack!" Matt watched on, confused. Nidorina leapt into the air and thrust a kick down with one foot into the grass. On contact, the ground began to tremble. It cracked from Nidorina's foot over to Totodile. Land flew into the air along with the water Pokemon, hurtling toward Matt who held his arms out to catch it. Totodile landed in his arms, dazed.

"But, how did it work?" Matt wondered aloud and watched as Nidorina stepped aside. A boulder was lodged into the dirt, the top of it shattered. "So," he said, looking down. "That rock acted as a sort of conductor to send a shockwave below the damp ground to where it was harder. But by being deeper, the attack lost power." He frowned as he looked down at his fainted Pokemon. "Imagine it at full strength."

The two aides started clapping. Matt looked up, confused, as a third pair of hands joined in the applause. Soon Professor Oak was accompanied by everyone in the area who had been watching.

---

The setting sun dyed the room in bright orange. Matt was once again sitting in the lobby of Professor Oak's lab. He looked out the window to see the bus slowly pick up speed as it took the other juveniles back to the detention center in Viridian City.

It had been a set-up all along. After being told of him by his grandson Blue, Professor Oak had one of his aides ambiguously tell Rocky about the Pokemon storage room by talking about it to another aide who, unbeknownst it was intentional, tried to keep him quiet about it. They expected this to lead to Rocky taking Matt there, so they waited for him to show up on their security cameras and then catch him. They had acted as if he was in trouble to get him to battle seriously.

His thoughts were interrupted at the squeak of the door as the professor walked in from one of the lab's computer rooms. Matt noticed a small red, rectangular object glisten in his hand. "It's done," he said, holding it forward. "You've been officially registered to the Pokemon League. This Pokedex contains your license, information on the known species of Pokemon, receives daily news from the League headquarters at Indigo Plateau, and you can use it to keep in contact with me if you ever need anything."

"Thanks, professor," Matt said, accepting the device. He pressed the yellow button that opened the lid up. A small screen was on the top half with speakers on both sided and a miniature keyboard took up the bottom half. He closed it again and pocketed it before looking up to the professor. "There is one thing I was wondering," he said and stood up. "I'd like to train my Totodile to use that kick step you showed us in our match."

Oak smiled and laughed a bit. "Very well," he said. "But it's not something you can teach your Pokemon in an instant. I'll help you get started, though. We'll meet on Route 1 tomorrow morning." He walked over to the window and looked out. Matt did too and saw a familiar black car driving along the road toward the ranch. "Looks like your family's here to pick you up."

"Thanks, professor," Matt said and with a wave, he walked out the door.