"Professor Oak! Is everything all right in here?" Red asked as he ran into the dark laboratory. Professor Oak turned on the light and responded. He looked like a nervous wreck, with sweat getting in his bloodshot eyes.
"Yes, I'll be all right. I wonder what was with that giant tremor. Something must have crashed into the earth at a fantastic speed. I only hope everyone up in Viridian City is all right..." Professor Oak said. He looked around, surveying the clutter that the tremor created. The floor was covered with science books, whether it was old ones, new ones, or even pages from books. They were splattered all over the floor. Not a speck of the tiled floor could be seen through the books. The machines seemed unharmed, the Pokeballs undamaged, and the tables unmoved. Red calmed down at the sight and helped Professor Oak re-stack all the books on the shelf and put the Pokeballs back in their rightful places.
"Hey, Gramps! Are you all right!?" Green shouted from outside as he pounded his fist on the door of the laboratory. Professor Oak quickly opened the door as his grandson ran inside.
"Yes, nothing's hurt. You, Green?"
"A few minor scrapes. They're from falling off the bed during the tremors. I wouldn't worry," Green said, reassuringly. "The whole town's gathered up there. They're all up there to survey the damage, if any."
"Aren't Blue and Sapphire up there too?" Red asked Green. Green hesitated, but then replied:
"Yes. I think they're training up there. Or at least that's what Blue told me. I honestly don't know why she would go up there to train." Red nodded and continued to stack books. It was a slow process, in what seemed like hours was only a few minutes. Their progress was satisfactory, for now they could walk about the laboratory without stepping on books or slipping on a Pokeball. As about half an hour passed, Red went outside to help the citizens of Pallet Town look for any damage.
After Red returned, the books were still not completely stacked, and Pokeballs still remained on the tiled floors. Red came inside the lab and told Green and Professor Oak of what he had learned.
"There doesn't seem to be damage anywhere, that I know of. Sure, the dark makes it so the damage is hard to see, but we've felt around, and there doesn't seem to be any damage or anything requiring our immediate concern," Red told the two. Professor Oak smiled.
"I'm glad. With a tremor that large, you would have thought that something would be damaged," Professor Oak said. He bent down and began to pick up the last of the books.
"I also heard that there's a fire going up in the Viridian Forest. I only heard this from one person, so I can't honestly be sure that there really is. But if there is, I hope Yellow's –" Red said with worry.
"And Blue too..." whispered Green with even more anxiety. He began to pick up the last of the Pokeballs, but Red could tell that he was definitely worried about Blue's safety. But what about Sapphire? Was anybody anxious about her safety? Red decided not to bring it up. Now wasn't the time for embarrassing questions.
Especially when she came through the door.
"Red! The Viridian Forest – it's on fire!" Yellow screamed with fright. Red, startled, jerked his head over to the exit. Yellow, on her knees and panting, tried again to get her message to Red.
"Red...gasp...the rumors you heard...gasp...they're true...gasp...the Viridian Forest...gasp...is on fire!" Yellow said before collapsing. Red gasped and picked up Yellow. Before Red even noticed, Green had darted out of the laboratory and was headed for the Viridian Forest.
"Green! No! You...ugh, I hate how hasty he acts..." Professor Oak spoke softly.
"Yellow! Can you hear me? Speak to me!" Red shouted anxiously. Yellow opened her eyes slowly, got her bearings, and looked back at Red.
"Sorry Red, for worrying you. It seems that the smoke has taken a toll on me. But there's more important things. Blue and Sapphire...they're in there! You know, they were training. I hope they're fine..." Yellow whispered. "I didn't know who else to turn to, and I figured you and Green would be here. Come on, Red, we've got to get Blue and Sapphire out of there before the whole forest is incinerated!"
"Yeah, I figured that there was a fire. Let's hurry and catch up to Green."
Red and Yellow ran out the door, as Professor Oak was left to clean up the rest of the laboratory by himself. As they ran up the road to Viridian City, they saw the smoke from the forest fire slowly creep up from the illuminated horizon. Within a few minutes, they had managed to get back to Viridian City, where it seemed that Wilton managed to restore order within the townspeople. People were still breathing heavily out of fear and the lack of oxygen that this fire was creating.
"Yellow! You're back! You got Red?" Wilton asked Yellow hurriedly.
"Yup! We're all ready to go in," Yellow replied.
"Good. Red, keep a good eye out for her and make sure that she doesn't get lost. Please."
"No problem, I will," Red said. "By the way, have you seen Green pass by here, by any chance?"
"The kid with the black shirt and orange-brown hair? Yes, I've seen him. Went into the forest, he did. I tried to stop him, but he pushed me away and ran straight in there."
"What!?" Red shouted, his jaw dropping. "Why!? He knows very well that he can't do this by himself! I can't believe he did this!" Red tried to calm himself down. He turned to Yellow and said, "Yellow, we have to save three people now. You ready?"
"All set, Red! Let's go in there," Yellow replied with an encouraging enthusiasm. And they ran into the blazing Viridian Forest, as the frightened townspeople watched their silhouettes fade in the orange glow of the fire.