Jase was soon on the main road leaving Pallet town, Pumper walking at his side. Behind the town was an ocean that lead to Cinnabar Island, which the two couldn't cross yet, so instead they were heading over to Viridian city. There were some rumors around about the Viridian Gym leader, but Jase wasn't sure who it was or the type of Pokémon they used.

"Squirtle!" Pumper cried suddenly. He took a stance and faced a bush.

"Huh? What is it?" Jase asked. He looked closer at the bush, and suddenly a Rattata popped out. "Wow! It's at level, 8!" Jase said after a glance at his watch. "Alright, try a tackle!"

Squirtle quickly obeyed by launching forward. The purple mouse did a flip, landed on Pumper's head, then bounced off. It landed smoothly and took a bite out of his opponent's leg.

"Squirt!" The turtle cried. It shook off the mouse, then kicked it. Rattata fell to the ground, dazed.

"Right on!" Jase shouted. He tossed a Pokéball, and captured it almost instantly. "Yes!" Jase quickly released the creature again to formally greet it this time. "Hey there! I'm Jase, your new trainer!" The Rattata looked curiously, then licked his new owner's hand. "Ha ha, ow!" Jase jumped up after getting his hand bitten. Maybe he had been a bit too easy-going to start off with, but he decided that it was time to get serious. He returned Rattata and Squirtle to their Pokéballs. "I'll call you Fang." Jase told the ball. He stuck them both back on his belt, then continued on.

It had taken around half of an hour to reach his neighboring town, but Jase had finally made it. He had met some other Pokémon earlier, but used them for training his Squirtle and Rattata. Pumper had rasied his strength up to level 14 attacks now, and Fang could perform at level 11.

"Hey guys! We made it!" Jase told his pals. He had been walking with them for a while, but decided to carry them over to the Pokécenter. When they arrived, he handed his Pokéballs to a nurse and sat on a couch.

"Are you a trainer?"

Jase turned and saw a girl just around his age. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"So, you want to face the gym leader, right?"

"Yeah. I figured it'd be cool to check him out."

"Too bad. He already left."

"What?" Jase looked at the girl. She had black hair tied into a ponytail, khaki pants and a red shirt. "Where'd he go?"

"Who knows?" The girl shrugged. "He could be gone for weeks."

"Darn," Jase sighed.

"You wouldn't match him, anyway. You look like an amateur."

"What was that?" Jase stood up. At the same moment, the nurse came back with his Pokémon.

"How about I test your skills right now?

"Hm, why not?" Jase smirked, gathering his Pokéballs.

After checking to confirm that the gym leader truly was gone, Jase and the girl were out in an open field.

"By the way, my name's Leilany. Layla for short."

"I'm Jase. You ready?"

"Come out, Minny!" Layla tossed a Pokéball and released a Meowth. It purred slightly, then took a stance.

"Let's go, Pumper!" Jase tossed out his beloved companion.

"Quick attack!" Layla called. The meowth leapt up and rushed at its opponent. The Squirtle managed to instinctively recoil in its shell, but was still knocked back.

"C'mon, Pump! Scratch it!" Pumper just as quickly pooped out of his shell, then swiped at the feline. Minny countered with its claws, ultimately over powering the tiny turtle. "Uhn! Water gun!" Jase shouted, trying to counter. Pumper regained itself and then blasted out a gush of water, nailing the Meowth directly.

"Minny!" Leilany cried. The meowth managed to stand, but it looked tired. "You can do it! Furry swipes!" Minny growled and begun swiping its claws rapidly. Pumper tried dodging, but was too slow and took most of the hits. "Yes! Now finish it with pay day!"

"Use tackle!" Jase shouted, instantly. Pumper quickly rocketed into Meowth, sending it back. "Now use skull bash!"

"Squirtle!" The turtle nodded. It lowered its head, then rammed into the cat at full force.

"Come back Minnie," Layla returned an unconscious Meowth. "All right, one more time!" She tossed out another Pokéball, revealing an Oddish.

"Good job, Pumper!" Jase returned his pal. "Now, let's show them, Fang!"

The small Rattata came out and bared its fangs. "Rat! Rat!"

"Razor leaf, Oddy!" Layla commanded. The plant-like Pokémon obeyed by tossing out several leaves.

"Agility!" Jase decided. Fang ran forward and dodged each leaf. "Now, tail whip!" Fang leapt up and did a flip while striking its tail on Oddish. "Finish with hyper fang!"

"Dodge!" said Layla. The Oddish was able to barely move out of the way. "Hurry! Vine whip!" Oddish sprouted two vines and sent them at the purple rat. It took the hits and flew into a tree.

"What? Fang!" Jase called. The Rattata had already fainted. Jase sighed and returned his Pokémon. "My Squirtle is probably too tired to battle again."

"That was pretty good!" Layla commented. She had already returned her Oddish. "Let's call it a draw."

"But… all right."

"So, where are you off to now?"

Jase thought about it for a second. "I guess I'm going to the Pewter gym. It's pretty close, and my Squirtle should have an advantage."

"Will you be passing Vermilion City?"

"Yeah, eventually."

"Then how about I join you?"

"What?"

"I'll just stick around until we get to Vermillion City. I need to drop something off there."

"Um, well…"

"Great! Then let's head over to Pewter!" Leilany said, leading Jase towards the city's exit.

"…Okay," Jase was unsure of how he'd just gotten a companion, but it could have been a good idea. He couldn't really stop her from following anyway.

"Let's go!"

"Right!" Jase ran to catch up, then, with a laugh, decided to lead, causing them both to start running.