I had not thought this through. I had no map, no idea what direction I was going. I had no food. Did I even have any money? I reached into Daddy's left pocket. Nothing. I reached into Daddy's right pocket, and my heart stopped. Balls. Three of them. I pulled one out. A pokeball. Panicked, I shoved it back in the pocket. This was bad. I was a girl, and I had three pokeballs, three pokeballs stolen from my very own father. Shame washed over me, and my first instinct was to go back, but then I heard a rustling in the weeds.
"Rattata!"
One of the three easiest Pokemon to catch. I didn't necessarily want it. Nobody really wanted it, but everyone caught one when they were starting off, just because they could. I had a pokeball in my hand.
"Rattata!"
I threw the pokeball, and it opened. There was a flash of light, and I thought I had caught it, but another Pokemon materialized from out of the ball.
"Goldeen! Goldeen Goldeen!"
I just stared at it for a while as it flopped there, repeating its name. The shame grew stronger. I hadn't just stolen three of Daddy's pokeballs. I'd stolen three of Daddy's Pokemon.
Tears started to spill out of my eyes. "I'm so sorry, Goldeen," I said. "You must hate me, don't you?"
"Goldeen! Goldeen Goldeen!"
"Rattata!"
"Go away, Rattata!" I cried, tossing a second pokeball at it. With another flash of light, a Staryu materialized. It made a grunt and looked at me. At least, I think it looked at me. Staryu don't really have eyes. "I'm so sorry, Staryu," I said. "You guys can come back if you want. I'll take you back to Daddy."
"Rattata!"
"GO AWAY, RATTATA!" I shouted.
Staryu grunted and moved between me and Rattata. Rattata stepped forward, and Staryu slapped it with one of its arms. My tears paused.
"Rattata!"
"Goldeen Goldeen?"
At home, I had a water Pokemon book that I looked at every night before I went to sleep. The Goldeen page opened in my mind. "Goldeen?" I asked.
"Goldeen! Goldeen Goldeen!"
"Goldeen...ummm...flail?"
"Goldeen Goldeen!" It flung itself off the ground and at the Rattata.
"RattaTA!"
Staryu grunted.
"Staryu...water gun?!" Staryu turned to face the Rattata and shot it with a little jet of water from its jewel. Rattata collapsed onto the ground. Staryu grunted happily. "Wow, thanks!" I said to Goldeen and Staryu, "but I feel like I'm lying to you guys." I took off my hat and coat. "I'm not Daddy."
"Goldeen Goldeen?"
Staryu grunted, and I swear I saw it shrug.
"You're not mad at me?"
"Goldeen Goldeen Goldeen."
Staryu grunted in agreement.
I wondered if Daddy had ever used these Pokemon. They didn't seem like they were very high level. "Do you...," I started, hesitating, "do you want me to train you?"
"Goldeen! Goldeen Goldeen!"
Staryu grunted and nodded.
"Wow," I said in awe. "You don't care that I'm a girl?"
Staryu shuffled next to me and leaned against my leg.
"Goldeen Goldeen Goldeen!"
"Pokemon don't care if you're a girl or a boy," I said. "They just want someone to care about them." I patted Staryu gently on the tip. "Okay! Let's go show the world what you just showed me!" I declared. "Staryu, Goldeen, return!"
I wandered for two days disguised as a boy. I even battled another kid with Staryu and Goldeen, and they had no idea I was a girl. I hadn't opened the third pokeball yet. I told myself I maybe shouldn't overdo it and try to train three Pokemon at once, but I wasn't really sure what was holding me back. Sometimes Gary's words echoed through my brain about women trainers damaging Pokemon. What if it was true? I couldn't possibly put three Pokemon through that.
Even so, I bought a fishing pole and some more pokeballs at a little town on a river. I just needed to know what it felt like to catch one. I found a quiet place, cast out the line, and waited.
Soon, I felt a pull on the line. I stood up to start reeling it in. Man, this thing was heavy and had a lot of fight in it! My heart pounded as I tugged the line. Could there be Gyarados in this river? Tentacruel? I mustered all my strength for one big tug, and my catch leapt out of the water.
It was a stupid boy and a Pikachu. He picked up his fedora, shook the water out of it, and without so much as looking at me, hopped on my bike.
"Excuse me!" I shouted, trying not to sound too girly.
"Sorry!" he said. "I'll bring it back, I promise!" His voice was pretty high, so I assumed he was around my age. He didn't wait for a response but started to ride away while I watched, dumbfounded.
Screeching noises filled the skies, and a flock of Spearow descended on us. I ran to the bushes, but they were after the boy and the Pikachu. Okay, that kid can get a Pokemon license, but I can't? Still, I had nothing better to do, so I followed him. He had my bike after all.
The stupid boy had gone toward Viridian City. I had been avoiding big cities for obvious reasons. My dad knew trainers in every city. I don't think there was a gym in Viridian though. I'd overheard Daddy say once that Viridian had been overrun with outlaws and that respectable people were leaving.
I knew the stupid boy would probably be at a Pokemon Center. I kept my hand on my three pokeballs as I walked the streets of Viridian. There was something off about it. In Cerulean, people were always all over the streets, Pokemon close behind them. Here there were very few people out, and no Pokemon to be seen.
My heart stopped when I arrived at the Pokemon Center. One, my bike was sitting outside, completely ruined. Second, there was a "missing person" poster on the wall with my face on it. I pulled my dad's derby lower over my face, picked up my bike, and carried it into the Pokemon Center.
The stupid boy was chatting to someone on the payphone. I slammed the bike down behind him, causing him to drop the phone.
"Ohhh…hey...," he stammered.
"What happened to my bike?" I demanded.
"Hey, I'm really sorry," he said. "I promise I'll get you a new one."
"You better!" I shouted. "Come on! There's a bike shop around the corner!"
"Well, ummm, the problem with that is, ummm, I have no money."
"You WHAT?!"
"But don't worry! I'm going to win gym badges, and then I'll save up enough money to get you another one, I promise!"
Typical boy trainer with his typical boy ego. "With that Pikachu that couldn't even hold off some Spearow!?"
"Pikachu did fight off the Spearow, but then he got really hurt. That's why I needed to use your bike. I'm sorry. I really am. Pikachu's all better now, though, and it's all thanks to you."
"Yeah, and no thanks to you!" I shot back. And I was the one who was supposed to be a threat to the safety of Pokemon? SERIOUSLY?! But the kid looked so pathetic and clueless that I couldn't stay mad at him. He had big stupid brown eyes and stupid black hair that went all over the place. He wore a white fedora with red ribbon and trim, a navy blue jacket, red suspenders, and a blue shirt and pants. He definitely didn't have a Nanny Joy at home, or he never would have been allowed out of the house in that ensemble. And if he didn't have a Nanny Joy at home, then he couldn't be from a well-off family, which meant he'd have no idea who I was. "Alright," I finally said. "I guess I forgive you."
"Gee, thanks! My name's Ash. I'm from Pallet Town," he said, extending his hand.
I took it. "My name's Arthur. I'm from Saffron." It was the same alias I used every time someone asked my name. Saffron was the only other city besides Cerulean I'd been to, so it was an easy enough lie.
"Wow, Saffron!" he said. I got the impression that this kid was impressed by everything. "Do you have Pokemon?"
"Erm, yeah," I said.
"Ohh, wow! Can I see them?" he asked.
"Erm...okay, I guess," I said. I took out a pokeball and toss it gingerly on the floor. It popped open.
"PSY-YI-YI!" Welp, that's what's in the third pokeball.
"WOAH!" Ash exclaimed. "Who's that Pokemon?!"
"Psy?"
"It's Psyduck," I said.
Ash pulled a field guide out of his jacket and flipped through the pages before landing on what he was looking for. The book was titled Pokedex. "Psyduck, the duck Pokemon. Psyduck constantly has a headache that increases its psychic power. WOW! I've never seen a such a cool Pokemon before!" Ash took out a pen and marked the Psyduck page in his book. I just kinda stared at him in disbelief. "Well hey, Arthur, thanks for showing me your Psyduck! I'm going to take Pikachu and leave now. I'm going to Pewter City to win my first gym badge! And I promise I'll bring you a new bike...erm...sometime...somewhere..."
I sighed. I was going to have to follow this kid, if for no other reason than to keep him from doing more stupid things with his Pokemon. It's what Daddy would have wanted.
Suddenly, two people burst down the door. "PREPARE FOR TROUBLE!"
"AND MAKE IT DOUBLE!"
"TO PROTECT THE WORLD FROM DEVASTATION!"
"TO UNITE ALL PEOPLE WITHIN OUR NATION!"
"TO DENOUNCE THE EVILS OF TRUTH AND LOVE!"
"TO EXTEND OUR REACH TO THE STARS ABOVE!"
"JESSIE!"
"JAMES!"
"TEAM ROCKET BLASTS OFF AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT!"
"SURRENDER NOW OR PREPARE TO FIGHT!"
"MEOWTH! THAT'S RIGHT!"
"A TALKING MEOWTH!?" Ash and I said together.
"That's right, twerps!" said the Meowth in a thick accent. "Now surrender all your Pokemon!"
I picked up Psyduck. "You can't just take other people's Pokemon!" I said.
"Oh, but we can," said the woman. She had stiff fuschia hair that swooped back in one big curl on her head. She wore a skimpy white dress with little tassels hanging off it, black evening gloves and black high heeled shoes. She took a puff of her cigarette from a long black cigarette holder.
"We're collectors," said the man. He had indigo hair slicked back under a white fedora. He wore a white and purple pinstriped suit with a rose tucked into his buttonhole. "We search for rare Pokemon and then turn them for a profit!"
"Well, you can just move along, because there's no rare Pokemon here!" said Ash.
"That's what they all say," said the woman, "but I think we'll just have to take a look around for ourselves, won't we, James?"
"That's right, Jessie!" he said.
"Out of the way, twerps!" said Meowth.
"No!" I declared. I put Psyduck back down on the floor. "If you want these Pokemon, you'll have to get through me first!"
Jessie and James looked at Psyduck and laughed. "You think you're going to beat us with that thing?" said Jessie.
"Psy? Psy-yi?" Psyduck said, looking at me. I'd never battled with this Pokemon before. My gut told me to switch to Staryu, but I stood my ground.
"Very well," said James, pulling a pokeball out of his suit pocket. "Go Koffing!"
Jessie pulled a pokeball from between her boobs. "And go Ekans!"
I stared at her, numb. "You...you have Pokemon?"
She smirked. "Team Rocket doesn't care about society's little rules, twerp. Now are you going to battle us or not?"
"Arthur, are you sure?" Ash whispered.
"What are you still doing here? Can't you see I'm buying you time? Take Pikachu, alert the doctor, and get out of here!" I shot back.
"Oh!" he gasped. "Right!" Freaking moron!
"Okay, Psyduck!" I said. "Use Psybeam!"
"Psy?" asked Psyduck.
Oh, right. That was probably too high level of a move. "Psyduck, Water Pulse!"
"Psy-yi?" asked Psyduck.
Ugh! What could a Psyduck do? Daddy never used one. "Ummm...Psyduck...scratch?!"
"Psy!" Psyduck said happily. Psyduck waddled towards Ekans with his wings raised.
Jessie and James were bent over in laughter. "Jessie, have you ever seen a more pathetic Pokemon?" said James.
"I can't say that I have, James," said Jessie.
"Let's end this! Koffing, use Smog!" said James.
Koffing started emitting a foul smelling gas. Psyduck, who had been slapping Ekans to little effect, tensed up and fainted.
"Psyduck, return!" I said dejectedly. There was definitely a reason why Daddy never used a Psyduck. "Go Staryu!"
"Oh, the twerp is going for a round two," said Jessie. "Ekans, use Bite!"
"Staryu, use Water Gun!" I countered.
There was a flash of light behind me. "PIKACHU!"
Suddenly, Pikachu were pouring out of the next room and gathering in a big pile with Ash's Pikachu as their leader. "Pika-Pikachu! Pika-Pikachu! Pika-Pikachu! Pika-Pikachu!"
"What the...?" I stammered, recalling Staryu.
"I've never seen so many Pikachu!" said James.
"Let's catch them!" said Jessie.
"Not so fast!" said Ash, pushing a stationary bike out of the back room. He placed a weird helmet on Pikachu, hooked it up to his bike, and started pedaling.
"Pi...ka…CHU!"
The flash was blinding. I felt every hair on my body stand on end from the static buildup. Team Rocket was convulsing on the floor from electrocution. "We're blasting off again!" they shouted together, leaving the Pokemon Center. Ash stopped pedaling, and there was a giant electric pop, and the building collapsed.
An officer came to check out the commotion, and we explained what had happened. Unfortunately, the two thugs and their talking Meowth was nowhere in sight.
