DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon! Pokémon and all its associated trademarks belong to Gamefreak and Nintendo. Cover isn't mine either, rights belong to its author.
Last time on The Crimson Legend…
Our hero, Red, prepared to go out there and begin exploring the Kanto region. But one thing led to another, and he ended up going to the outskirts of Pallet, where he encountered Professor Oak and accompanied him to his lab to get a starter Pokémon. However, while waiting for Leaf, Blue and Professor Oak got into an arm wrestling competition which ended with Blue getting his arse handed to him, a tremendously messy lab and an indifferent Red watching battle videos and new strategies on Poketube. A bewildered Leaf arrived soon after, but just when you thought things are going smoothly, Red got into his "flaming" mode and started to post incoherent things in the comments section of Poketube, which resulted in him having to need a Burn Heal after some others just plainly destroyed him there. Eventually, things started to go smoothly and Red picked Charmander as his starter Pokémon, just like Leaf picked Bulbasaur and Blue chose Squirtle. However, just as Red was getting to the lab's door, ready to go into new adventures…
"Red! I challenge you to a Pokémon Battle!"
Our hero heard Blue's voice calling out to him, demanding a challenge. Eager and curious to experience his first battle, he tilted his cap downwards, accepting the challenge. He quickly released Charmander from its Pokeball.
"Alright then! Let's go Squirtle!" said Blue, who was also eager to see how well his starter fared in battle.
"Squirt! Squirtle!" happily exclaimed the tiny turtle, nodding to its trainer.
"Char…" said Red's starter, looking crestfallen.
While Squirtle looked ready to go, Charmander was the opposite. It quite possibly didn't feel that much comfortable with his new trainer or with battles. Red noticed this and approached the fire lizard, crouching. Charmander looked at its trainer's eyes curiously.
"It will be okay. I trust in you." Red said to his starter Pokemon, smiling at it.
Even though the boy seemed somewhat cold at first, the fire lizard now noticed the passion the boy had. A look of confidence. Almost instantly, Charmander knew that this wasn't any normal kid. It was an odd yet comforting feeling. Having its confidence boosted, it turned to face Squirtle. But just as it was going to start…
"FOR ARCEUS'S SAKE BLUE! So pushy as always! I went to the bathroom just for 2 minutes and I couldn't even finish my own business when I heard you challenging Red to a battle! Can't you even stay quiet for a minute!?"
Professor Oak was so furious that he steamed smoke from his ears. But, he couldn't really blame the boy, as he was also like that when he was his age.
"No can do Gramps! I'll beat Red and prove to you just how strong and determined I am to become the strongest trainer in the world!" stated Blue, very enthusiastically. Professor Oak sighed.
"… Just don't break anything or make the lab an even bigger mess than it is already. That goes for you too Red, even though I know that you aren't like him." Professor Oak replied, giving up to Blue's request. Both boys nodded at him in response.
Meanwhile, Leaf was looking at the scene expectantly, cheering for both sides.
"Hey Bulbasaur, let's check out this battle and see if we can learn something new by watching them!"
Bulbasaur replied with a simple but happy "Bulba!"
"Okay, I don't want any low kicks, high kicks, chairs to the head, spiting, swearing and/or outside help, OK?" An aide, who was refereeing the battle, stated. Professor Oak, Leaf and Red sweatdropped, while Blue and the other aides rolled their eyes. "Hey! It was a joke you know, a joke? Hahaha! Ha… Well, whatever. Battle Begin!"
"Let's go Red!" said Blue, now ready to go after dealing with the professor. All people in the lab turned to watch the oncoming battle. "Squirtle, use Hydro Pump! Finish this quickly."
"… Squirt."
Squirtle could only look at its trainer in shame as if he were a complete idiot. Red only rolled his eyes while Leaf sweatdropped. Professor Oak facepalmed, then exploded.
"BLUE! You IDIOT! Squirtle is too young and inexperienced to learn that move! How could you just forget that! And after all those lessons I taught you about Pokémon moves and all there is to know about them! How could you just forget!?" yelled Professor Oak, now furious with Blue.
"Sheesh Gramps calm down! It's not too much of a big deal isn't it?" Blue retorted. Unfortunately that was the last straw needed, as Professor Oak totally lost control at his efforts going to waste. Red, Leaf and the aides slowly moved away from the scene.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL BLUE OAK! I COULD HAVE GONE TO HOENN OR KALOS FOR A VACATION FOR ARCEUS'S SAKE BUT INSTEAD I STAYED HERE AND TAUGHT YOU ALL OF THE THINGS YOU COULD LEARN YET YOU FORGET!?" again yelled Professor Oak at the top of his lungs, scaring everyone in the lab.
After 5 more minutes of yelling and lecturing, Professor Oak managed to calm down.
"S-so w-what moves does S-Squirtle have G-gramps? Asked Blue, terrified of his grandfather and of the consequences that could happen if he were to anger him even more.
"Tackle… and Tail Whip…" stated Professor Oak panting, tired of yelling at his grandson.
"O-okay then. Squirtle, use Tackle!"
"Dodge, then Scratch."
The Tiny Turtle Pokémon lunged at Charmander, but the fire lizard dodged the attack at just the last moment and scratched Squirtle in its shell. The Tiny Turtle didn't seem to have been damaged a lot by that.
"Inflicting damage on the foe is the key to any battle." said the Professor, as a matter of fact.
"You don't say, Gramps!?" chirped Blue, earning himself a glare from his grandfather. Blue gulped in fear and instead focused in the battle at hand.
"Scratch." commanded Red again, only to be interrupted by Blue.
"Squirtle, dodge, then use Tackle!"
This time Squirtle could land a hit on Charmander, and the fire lizard was flung to the wall due to the attack's strength. Charmander quickly got up and glared at Squirtle. Blue's starter just grinned at it. Like trainer, like Pokemon.
"Squirtle, use Tackle again!"
Just as Squirtle was nearing its target, Red used the opportunity to use a different attack.
"Growl."
Just as Squirtle was nearing Charmander once more, the fire lizard Pokémon shot a tremendous growl from its mouth, somehow distorting the air. Even some of the aides and Leaf had to put their hands on their ears, as the screeching sound was painful for them.
"Lowering the foe's stats will put you at an advantage." affirmed Professor Oak.
"Arrghh! Squirtle, use Tackle again!" yelled Blue, whose ears also hurt from Charmander's Growl. Squirtle could not concentrate that much due to Growl and didn't hit the fire lizard, instead hitting the wall. However, an spontaneous idea brewed in Blue's mind due to this. It was sure to make quite an impact...
"Squirtle, while using Tackle, rotate around the lab and use your legs to propel yourself with the walls!"
Squirtle did as commanded, and its Tackle attack was gaining more speed and power with each time it used the walls as propellers, much like a ball in a pinball game.
"Now, strike Charmander!" commanded Blue again, this time hitting the fire lizard Pokémon at full force and sending it towards the wall again dealing double the damage a normal Tackle would have done, although the effects from Growl still lingered. Professor Oak was surprised that his grandson could manage to think of such a risky but powerful move, while Leaf and the aides looked in awe. However, neither Red nor Charmander were going down without a fight, and the fire lizard slowly got up once more.
"Heh! One more hit of my genius new move and that Charmander of yours is going down Red!" gloated Blue, which was followed by a proud "Squirt, Squirtle!" on Squirtle's part. Both of them were confident that they would win the match.
Red pondered for a bit, and suddenly a light bulb appeared on his head, literally. Red knew exactly how he was going to counter Blue's new strategy.
"Well, if you aren't going to make any move, then we'll go first and finish this! Squirtle, use Tackle in the same way as before!"
Squirtle consistently gained speed and power, lunging itself at Charmander. But just when it was going to land the hit…
"Growl, then after it stops use Scratch as much as you can."
Charmander launched another Growl, this time stronger than before and successfully managed to stop Squirtle on its tracks. The fire lizard scratched at the tiny turtle many times, finishing the attack with a swing of its tail. This made Squirtle bounce back to where one of the computers were, smashing it. And that computer just happened to be the professor's one...
Blue just shrugged after seeing what had happened, while Red and Leaf widened their eyes. Luckily for Blue and Red, the Professor was so into the battle that he didn't realize what had happened.
"Alright, Red. Let's finish this!" Blue exclaimed determinedly. Red nodded at him in response.
"Use Tackle!/Scratch." Both trainers ordered at the same time.
Each Pokémon lunged at the other, resulting in a stalemate. They were evenly matched. After some time, Charmander somehow managed to overcome Squirtle in strength and once again started using Scratch repeatedly. The tiny turtle was flung towards the wall with another swing of Charmander's tail. Squirtle slowly got up, breathing heavily. It looked at Charmander, nodding to the fire lizard before falling to the ground, swirls on its eyes.
"Squirtle is unable to battle! That means the winner is Red!" enthusiastically yelled the aide who was refereeing the battle.
"WHAT? HOW COULD I LOSE!? UNBELIVABLE!" yelled Blue, both angered and surprised that he had lost his first battle. On the other side, Red sighed and smiled to Charmander. He approached the fire lizard and patted its head, thanking it for the good job. Both trainer and Pokemon were feeling at the top of the world right now, right after winning their first battle ever. The lizard Pokémon's fears had now been put to rest, as another close bond had begun that day. Aside from Pikachu, of course, Charizard was the other Pokémon whom with Red had an extremely close friendship, and had always been loyally by his side. Back to the scene we were, however…
"See that Blue? If you just used Tail Whip then Charmander's defenses would have lowered even further and Growl wouldn't have had any effect. But you only focused on brute strength, and thanks to that, you lost." Affirmed the Professor, much to Blue's annoyance as he hated to be lectured, especially by his grandfather. "But, I was impressed by your spontaneous strategy of using the walls to make Squirtle gain more speed. Not bad at all. You just have to train your Pokémon harder, treat them with love and victory shall always be in your grasp." Blue's grandfather continued. The boy himself only nodded, taking the advice half-heartedly.
Meanwhile, the aides congratulated both of the combatants. Leaf did the same, holding both Red and Blue's hands telling them that they were both great. This made Red blush a little, though neither of his friends noticed it. The three went to Professor Oak's side again to bid their farewells. But just as they were all going to go…
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS, BLUE?!" Asked an extremely furious Professor Oak, seeing his computer in a thousand pieces. Red, Leaf and the aides backed away in fear, while Blue only gulped.
"FIRST YOU COERCED RED TO BATTLE YOU, THEN YOU BREAK MY ONE AND ONLY COMPUTER WHERE ALL OF MY CURRENT RESEARCH IS IN! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF!?" Blue's grandfather asked, in an extremely angry tone.
"Well, I have 7 words for you old man: Gotta go fast and Smell ya later!"
And with that, Blue recalled Squirtle to its Pokeball, racing for the door. Needless to say, this made his grandfather even madder than he was before. An echoing "BLUEEEE OAAKKKKKK" could be heard in Pallet Town.
"Just what does that boy think he is!? Always making life even harder than it already is for me! And what with those things he says? What does smell ya later even mean!? What, does he want to smell me or something!?" ranted the famous researcher to nobody in specific. Red chuckled and rolled his eyes while Leaf tried to interrupt and defend Blue, only to slightly blush at the smell ya later part, imagining Blue smelling her and telling the girl that her perfume was good.
"Whatever. I'll chase after him and show him what discipline is the hard way."
Professor Oak ran after Blue and went to the first place he thought of: His own house.
Meanwhile in the lab, Red waved his hand at Leaf, who was still thinking of Blue and the things that the professor said.
"Uh hey Red! What is it?" Asked Leaf, realizing that she was spacing out.
"You okay?" Red asked in a slightly worried tone.
"Yeah, its err just the heat! Don't worry! Let's go Red!" replied Leaf blushing a bit, grabbing Red's arm, which in turn made him blush a bit too. After walking a bit, they were at the outskirts of Pallet Town.
"So, you got anything more to do or can we go now?" Leaf asked, curiously looking at her friend.
"Gotta find Pikachu. Maybe he wants to go with me..." Red replied to her, pointing to where some trees were. Leaf nodded at him in response.
Leaf knew about the yellow mouse too, as they were also very friendly with each other. When Pikachu didn't find Red, and was in the town, he always went to Leaf's house. Following them were Bulbasaur and Charmander, who were merrily walking and talking along each other, a bit curious about Pikachu. Eventually they reached the electrical mouse's home. A large tree stood in front of them. Red shook it and in a while came out a groaning and semi asleep Pikachu, who was ready to attack anything that disturbed his sleep. However the attitude it had instantly changed when he saw who the perpetrator was.
"Hey." Red said, looking at Pikachu.
"Pika! Pikachu!" said the electrical mouse, jumping into the boy's hands and giving him a short hug.
"Hey Pikachu, I'm over here too you know?" Leaf asked a bit annoyed, wanting some attention too. Quickly, Pikachu jumped off Red's arms and went to Leaf, who had a death grip on the little Pokémon and pressed it to her chest. Aware of the situation the yellow mouse smirked evilly at Red, and winked at him, making him blush. This earned the yellow mouse one of Red's "death glares".
"Red, are you okay?" asked Leaf, worried about him after seeing his face become increasingly red. He quickly shook his head, making a frown with his face. "Awww you're such a cutie pie Pikachu! Not like the depressed guy over there." Leaf joked, pointing to Red, who only rolled his eyes. Having enough for now, the mischievous Pokémon got off Leaf's arms and instead went to the ground. It noticed Charmander and Bulbasaur.
"Pika?" the yellow mouse asked, pointing to Charmander and Bulbasaur.
"Oh! We forgot to introduce them to you, Pikachu. Those are Bulbasaur, my starter Pokémon and Charmander, which is Red's. Pikachu happily greeted the two, who did the same. After a bit of talking between the three, Leaf made a sound as if she was clearing her throat.
"Err-Hem! Now to the main point. Red!" Leaf said, interrupting the chitchat between the Pokemon.
"Would you like to come with me on my journey?" asked Red to the yellow mouse. After pondering for a bit, the electrical mouse happily agreed and jumped to Red's shoulder. Now with a new team member, the group of five continued their journey to Viridian City, which was their nearest destination. However before they departed, something clicked on Leaf's mind.
"Red…" she called to the black haired boy, who turned to face her. "You know, you really aren't Pikachu's trainer right now" she stated, sweatdropping. "You don't have any pokeballs with you except for Charmander of course, so if a random person throws a Pokeball to Pikachu, he is as good as theirs."
Now realizing that Leaf was right, his eyes widened for a bit.
"I forgot..." Red said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Leaf sighed.
"Well come on, what are you waiting for!? Let's go to Viridian City's Pokemart!"
And so, our two heroes hurried to their destination. On their way they had some battles with wild Pokémon, Bulbasaur learning Vine Whip and Charmander learning Ember. They also found a kind man who worked at the Pokemart and gave them a free sample Potion plus the directions to the Pokemart. After 10 minutes of walking and occasionally talking between both trainers and Pokémon (more like nodding in Red's case) they arrived at Viridian City.
"Viridian City, the eternally green paradise." Leaf read aloud, to no one in particular. Red replied to her by nodding. "Well, they are right you know? There is a LOT of vegetation here. Never have I seen so many trees around houses. I don't even remember the last time I was here..." stated Leaf to Red, who nodded again.
Due to Pallet Town's limitations, some people traveled to Viridian City occasionally to buy or sell whatever they needed to. The trip was not that long, but because of the wild Pokémon out there (LEVEL 3 RATATTA AND PIDGEY! BEWARE!) children were not allowed to go out if they didn't have any Pokémon, or for that matter, a trainer's license.
Back to the scene we were however, both our young trainers had committed a mistake. Right now, they were discussing about which way the Pokemart was.
"Red! I just know it's west of the academy, it's not east of it."
"No. It's east. That's what he said."
"No, it's west."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes!"
"No."
"YES!"
"NO."
"YES!"
"NO!"
They continued like that for some time, much to their Pokémon's dismay. Red finally gave in to Leaf's request and they went to the west direction of the Pokémon Academy. But in their way to "the Pokemart" they found themselves quite a precarious situation.
"YOU WILL NOT PASS THEE! I ABSOLUTELY FORBID YOU FROM PASSING! ONLY THE CHOSEN ARE WORTHY!" said an old man to both Leaf and Red, who sweatdropped at the old man's antics.
"Hey mister… Could you please let us pass?" kindly asked Leaf. However, a dirty smile appeared on the old man's face.
"Of course my beautiful flower… How have I longed to see you again…" said the old man trying to reach Leaf's face and put his hand on it.
"I-I d-don't know w-what you're t-talking about m-mister…" said Leaf, blushing at the old man's advances. Suddenly, a dark red aura enveloped both Red and the Pokémon, who were ready to strike the man if Leaf ordered so.
"Everyone, j-just calm down. I think this is a m-misunderstanding." Leaf said, still blushing a little bit.
"Oh Jessica… But I'll show you something that isn't going to calm down baby…" affirmed the old man, reaching for his pants and beginning to undress of them. But just as he was going to begin...
"R-Red… HELP ME! KYAAAAAAA!" Leaf screamed, furiously blushing and putting her hands on her eyes. That was the last straw needed. Red commanded all of the Pokémon to attack the old man. Shocked, whipped and burned, he fell to the ground. Suddenly, they heard a voice.
"OH MY ARCEUS! WHAT HAPPENED!?" asked a woman who looked no older than 25.
"Well... this man is a FREAKING PEDOPHILE, that's what happened!" exclaimed Leaf, who looked extremely agitated and furious.
"Oh Arceus… I'm really really sorry!" The woman said, bowing repeatedly many times. "My grandpa is just plain drunk from yesterday and hasn't had his coffee yet. He may have had confused you with grandma. Some random spiky haired kid just came running fast, took his favorite coffee jar and smashed it to the ground! And to top it off, he just told him: "Oops. Suck it old man! Gotta go fast!" and then he continued running. When I was going to see what had happened, I saw the renowned Professor Oak running after the kid! And to top it off, Grandpa just stood there, whining and rambling about. Again, I'm really really sorry!" apologized the old man's granddaughter.
"Hey, hey it's okay! No worries! You just gotta be more careful with him." Leaf said, while the woman nodded again.
"Can I make it up to you?" asked the old man's granddaughter, with a worried face.
"Do you know where the Pokemart is?" Leaf quickly asked.
The woman nodded to the girl. "Yeah. It's just east of the Pokémon academy."
In response, Red looked at his best friend with a smug "I told you" face. She shook her head, sighing.
"Okay, thanks miss!" Leaf said, bowing to the old man's granddaughter. Red followed suit.
"You're welcome." replied the woman smiling, taking the poor old man with her to the house.
"Well, let's go to the Pokemart. This did not just happen." Leaf said, glaring at Red to make her point clear. He wasn't going to take any of that, however...
"Serves you right." Red stated, chuckling.
"WHAT WAS THAT!?" Leaf asked. Red slowly backed up in fear. Both trainers then continued their way to the Pokemart, with the three Pokémon following closely behind them. After some minutes of walking, they arrived. When they entered, they were greeted almost instantly by a clerk.
"Hey there! Do you come from Pallet Town?" asked the clerk, who looked as if he was new in the job. Red only nodded in response. "Do you know Professor Oak? His order came in. Could you please give it to him?"
Red nodded in response and took the package with him, putting it on his bag.
"Great! Count on us! So… How much for a Pokeball?" asked Leaf, nonchalantly.
"Well… how to break this to you…? We don't have any remaining Pokeballs. Hehe..." The clerk said sweatdropping. Red and Leaf widened their eyes, looking at each other.
"What do you mean you don't have any Pokeballs!?" Leaf asked, annoyed. It seems that today was
"Well, that's that. We have sold out. Our current stock is Zero. None. Nada. Rien. Niente. Now, if you don't have any other questions, you could just leave and wait until we have Pokeballs again."
"And just when is that going to be?" Leaf asked, even more annoyed now.
"Come here both of you, and let me tell you a little secret." the clerk said, motioning for Red and Leaf to come forward.
They did as they were told and approached the clerk. He whispers in their ears.
"I don't know."
He looks at them expectantly. Red and Leaf only sweatdropped at the clerk's antics.
"Sigh… Let's just get out of here and take the package to the Professor…" Leaf said, with a blank face. Red once again, nodded at her
And, that's it for now! I originally planned to make this chapter longer but thanks to the cliffhanger on the first chapter, I couldn't wait any more. This was my first time writing a battle scene, and I think I did it well. (Right?)
See you next time and take care!
