"All right…" Julia said as she examined her Pokedex. "Pokedex says that Viridian City is just twenty minutes away."
Harry nodded as he checked the time. It was late morning, nearly nine o'clock. "It's weird," Harry commented. "We've been walking for about twenty minutes now, but there haven't seen any wild Pokemon. Isn't Route 1 supposed to be filled with them?"
Julia nodded. "I found that strange too," she said. "Maybe we should be actively looking for them?"
"Maybe not," Harry said as he saw the rustling of several nearby bushes. Out of the brush stepped a small brown and beige bird with black markings around its eyes.
"Pid?" it cocked its head at the two trainers curiously.
"It's a Pidgey!" Julia exclaimed. Harry examined it with his Pokedex.
Ping!
Pidgey – the Tiny Bird Pokemon. Pidgey is a Flying Pokemon. Among all the Flying-types, it is the gentlest and easiest to capture. A perfect target for the beginning Trainer to test his or her Pokemon's skills.
"I guess we have to capture it for more information," Harry said as the screen of his Pokedex remained blank besides a photo of the Tiny Bird Pokemon and its typing.
"This is perfect," Julia said. "Bulbasaur, come on out!"
In a flash, the Seed Pokemon appeared and stared at its new opponent curiously.
"Bulbasaur, use Tackle!" The small dinosaur charged forward and slammed into Pidgey, sending the bird reeling. The Tiny Bird Pokemon quickly righted itself and glared at Bulbasaur. With a caw, it began flapping its wings.
"That looks like a Gust attack!" Harry warned.
"Bulbasaur!" Julia exclaimed worriedly as the super-effective attack struck Bulbasaur. "Use Leech Seed!"
Julia's Pokemon shot a seed out of its bulb, but the strong winds simply blew it back into the bushes.
"Eevee, Bulbasaur could use a hand!" Harry exclaimed as he threw the Poke Ball between the two battling Pokemon.
"An Eevee?" Julia exclaimed in surprise.
"Vee!" the Normal-type cried eagerly.
"Eevee, use Return!" Eevee let out a cry as it charged forward while being enveloped in a pink glow. Pidgey cried out in pain as the Evolution Pokemon crashed into it. "Use Wish, then Helping Hand!"
"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!"
Eevee hummed as she made a wish, causing her to glow silver. Bulbasaur sent its vines forth and began lashing out at Pidgey with the aid of Eevee's Helping Hand.
"Julia, go for it!" Harry urged.
"All right," Julia said as she enlarged an empty ball. "Poke Ball, go!"
Julia hurled the Poke Ball at the weakened bird, enveloping it in a red light as soon as the ball made contact. In a flash, the Pidgey was sucked into the device and landed on the ground. The Poke Ball shook several times, with the party watching anxiously. Finally, after several more shakes, the ball clicked, signifying capture.
Julia let out a cheer as she rushed forward to pick up her newly capture Pokemon. Harry patted Eevee on the head as she trotted over to him, a satisfied smile on her face.
"Great job, Eevee," Harry said fondly. "Return."
Bulbasaur began glowing silver as Eevee's Wish came true. The Seed Pokemon hummed in contentment as it was healed.
Julia released Pidgey in a flash of white light. The small Pokemon stared up at her warily before cooing. Julia knelt down to its level with a smile. "Hi, Pidgey, I'm Julia."
Pidgey cooed at her once again. Harry walked over with Bulbasaur. "How's Pidgey doing?"
"She should be fine," Julia smiled as she sprayed a Potion over Pidgey's injuries. Harry took this chance to scan her with his Pokedex.
Gender: Female
Type: Normal/Flying
Ability: Tangled Feet
Known moves: Tackle, Sand Attack, Gust, Roost
"Nice, Roost will be useful," Harry commented. "Her father must have known it."
"That's what I figured," Julia nodded. She returned Pidgey and stood up to face Harry. "Now where'd you get that Eevee?"
"Professor Oak gave her to me," Harry explained. "She was the very first Pokemon I had contact with and I'm pretty attached to her, so the Professor let me take her with me."
Julia smiled. "I see, I've got a similar story," she admitted as she took out a Poke Ball. With a tap, she revealed her other Pokemon to a surprised Harry.
"Poli!" as small Pokemon exclaimed. It resembled a blue, spherical tadpole. It had large eyes, a pink mouth and long mostly transparent tail. Its most defining feature was a swirl on its stomach.
Harry wasted no time in scanning it for information.
Ping!
Poliwag – the Tadpole Pokemon. It prefers swimming to walking on land, as its tail is very powerful, making for a strong swimmer. The swirl on its stomach is different on each Poliwag.
Gender: Male
Type: Water
Ability: Water Absorb
Known moves: Hypnosis, Water Gun, Rain Dance, Protect
"He was bred from my father's Poliwrath," Julia told him as she returned her Pokemon. "He was my playmate when I was growing up." She smiled, seeming to be getting lost in a memory. "He would always use Water Gun on me whenever I was having a temper tantrum and Hypnosis whenever I had trouble sleeping at night."
"Well it looks like you're all set for the first gym," Harry said dryly. "A Grass and a Water-type? Meanwhile, Charmander, Eevee and I are sure to have a great time with all those Rock-types…"
Julia giggled at his (almost) pout. "If it makes you feel any better, it will really impress me if you manage to win," she said with a wink.
Harry blushed slightly. "L-Let's get moving. Viridian City's not too far…"
And so Harry began making his way towards Viridian with a giggling Julia trailing behind him. After roughly twenty more minutes of walking, the duo had finally reached Viridian City.
The city was huge, and beautiful. The trees lining the streets gave the impression of being painted in green. Luckily for them, the Pokemon Center was on the outskirts of the city, and according to Harry's GPS; the Gym, school and Poke Mart resided in the downtown area.
As they entered the center, Harry took a glance around. The floors were made of an elegant green marble and were polished to a near perfect sheen. The walls were painted pink and along it, various PCs sat ready for use.
Julia immediately approached the counter, where a kind-looking woman with pink hair and a nurse's cap stood.
"Welcome to the Viridian City Pokemon Center," the woman said sweetly. "I'm Nurse Joy. I haven't seen you two around here before."
"We're new trainers," Harry supplied. "This is my first time in Viridian as well."
"Then let me be the first to welcome you to the Evergreen City," Joy said with a smile. "If you'd like, I can heal your Pokemon for you."
"That'd be great," Julia said gratefully. "That'll give us time to head downtown for some supplies before we head back out."
Harry and Julia handed the nurse their Pokemon and exited the Center discussing their next course of action.
"We need to stock up on supplies for the trip through the forest," Harry said as he went over the GPS. "The Pokedex says that it's take us at least a day and a half to get through the Viridian Forest."
Julia nodded. "There's bound to be a lot of Bug and Poison-types there," she commented. "We'll need lots of Antidotes and Potions."
After about fifteen minutes of searching the streets, the duo finally found the Poke Mart. Its front shelves were lined with Potions, Antidotes and Paralyze Heals.
While Julia began gathering a supply of recovery items, Harry went to the back of the store, where the more mundane things such as cooking sets and backpacks were located. He quickly assessed that they would need at least one pot and one pan. He decided on a small set and got a larger backpack to accommodate them.
After gathering what he wanted to buy, Harry made his way to the counter, where he paid for them with the credit card that Professor Oak gave him to fund his 'research'.
He found Julia waiting for him outside and the two made their way back to the Pokemon Center.
"Welcome back," Nurse Joy greeted them. "Your Pokemon have been fully healed."
"Thanks, Nurse Joy," Julia nodded as they retook their Pokemon.
"You're welcome," the Pokemon Nurse replied. "We nurses will always be here if you need us, but do try and be careful with your Pokemon."
"We will," Harry promised her. With a wave the two left the center and began making their way towards the gateway to the Viridian Forest… or at least tried to.
"Hey, losers!" a familiar, cocky voice called out to them. Harry and Julia turned in surprise to see Gary smirking at them, his hands in his pockets.
"Gary?" Harry asked in surprise.
"It's about time you got here!" the spiky haired boy taunted them. Harry blinked before remembering. Not five minutes after they had started on the road to Viridian, Gary and his band of cheerleaders had passed them on a sleek red convertible. Gary had, of course, taken the opportunity to yell 'Later, losers!'
"Ugh, what do you want, Gary?" Julia asked distastefully.
Gary glared at her. "Well!" he exclaimed, appearing ruffled. "I was just saying 'hi' but it looks like you don't want to make small talk."
"She's just being impatient," Harry tried to diffuse the growing animosity between the two of them. "She wanted to hurry and get to Pewter City."
"You? Go to Pewter? Ha!" Gary scoffed at them. "You two losers would be lucky to survive a day in the forest with those weak Pokemon of yours."
"If I recall correctly," Julia said coolly. "Our Pokemon beat yours in our last battle."
Gary glared at her once more. "That was before, but this is now." He said challengingly. "Let's have a battle. Two on two this time!"
"Fine," Harry sighed. He unclipped a Poke Ball from his belt as the other two trainers did the same. Gary smirked at them as he threw his Poke Balls into the air. In a flash of light, Squirtle and a Pidgey appeared. Julia and Harry wasted no time in following his move.
"Charmander, it's on you!"
"Bulbasaur, help me out!"
"Squirtle, use Water Gun on Bulbasaur!" Gary ordered. "Pidgey, use Gust!"
"Charmander, use Belly Drum!"
"Bulbasaur, take the hits!"
"What?" Harry and Gary exclaimed. Bulbasaur braced itself as the Water and Flying-type attacks connected. As the stream of water subsided, the Seed Pokemon stood panting and glaring at his opponents.
Suddenly he began glowing green. "What is that?" Harry asked in confusion. He lifted his Pokedex at Bulbasaur.
Overgrow – Bulbasaur's special ability drastically increases the power of its Grass-type moves after being severely weakened.
"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip to grab Pidgey!" Julia ordered. Bulbasaur let out a fierce cry as its vines lashed forward and wrapped around the Tiny Bird Pokemon. "Now slam it into Squirtle!" The two Pokemon let out a cry of pain as Bulbasaur used Pidgey as a bludgeoning tool against the Tiny Turtle Pokemon.
"Charmander, use Metal Claw on Pidgey!"
Charmander surged forward and leapt, using Squirtle's head as a stepping stool and launched upward into the air. With its claws glowing silver, the Lizard Pokemon slashed through an already weakened Pidgey and dropped it to the ground. "Pidgey!" Gary shouted worriedly. "Return!" He quickly turned back to his remaining Pokemon. "Squirtle, Water Gun on Charmander!"
"Charmander, use Metal Claw to deflect it!"
A burst of water shot out from Squirtle's mouth towards the orange lizard. Charmander quickly raised a glowing claw in front of it and shielding it from the brunt of the assault.
"Use Ember on Squirtle!"
"Squirtle, dodge it and use Bubble!"
Charmander shot another flame at the Tiny Turtle Pokemon, but the small blue Pokemon leapt out of the way and sent a wave of bubbles towards Charmander.
"Use Ember to get rid of them!"
As Charmander used Ember to clear the field of bubbles, Julia was ordering Bulbasaur. "Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip to grab Squirtle!" The Seed Pokemon's vines surged forward and wrapped around the surprised turtle. "Now send it towards Charmander!"
"BULBA!" the Seed Pokemon shouted as it flung the Tiny Turtle Pokemon towards the orange lizard.
"Charmander, get ready!" Harry ordered as the turtle was sent flying towards his Pokemon. "Now use Ember!"
The Lizard Pokemon let out a stream of fire at the turtle. Squirtle cried out in pain at the point blank attack. As the flames subsided, Squirtle was revealed to have fainted, its eyes replaced by swirls.
"Squirtle!" Gary exclaimed as he rushed to his fallen Pokemon. "Are you all right?" The turtle slowly blinked up at him and nodded weakly.
"Squirt…" it muttered sadly.
"Hey, it's okay," he said softly. "You did great. Take a good rest." With that said, he recalled his Pokemon.
"Great job, Charmander!" Harry exclaimed as Charmander beamed proudly. Harry quickly sprayed several Potions on the orange lizard. "You deserve a rest, return!"
After recalling Charmander he turned to see Julia doing the same with Bulbasaur. Afterwards, she stood and gave him a smile. "Great job," she winked.
"You're really good, Julia," Harry said in amazement. "You knew those attacks would activate Overgrow, didn't you?"
"I learned it from watching my father battle," Julia explained to him. "You could say he's a pretty powerful trainer."
"It sounds like your father has inspired you a lot," Harry said, somewhat downtrodden. Julia picked up on it immediately.
"You okay?"
Harry sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine," he quickly put on a smile. "I think I'd like to meet your father some day."
Julia smiled. "Maybe you will," she said with a playful wink. "But only if you become a powerful trainer, got it?"
"Hey, losers!" Gary barked, bringing their attention back to him. "You won this time, but you won't win the next time we battle. I'll train hard and beat you!" He gave them a mock salute and walked off with a "Smell ya later!"
"I really don't like that guy," Harry said dryly as Gary ran off in the direction of the forest.
"According to our Professor Oak, Gary and I have been rivals since we were babies," Julia supplied. "So he's always been trying to outdo me. My mom said that it's completely natural, considering whom our fathers are."
"Your fathers must have been big rivals then," Harry said offhandedly.
Julia smiled mysteriously. "You have no idea," she muttered. She tugged on Harry's arm. "Come on, we have to get to Pewter! We can't let Gary get ahead of us!"
"You're right," Harry nodded as he adjusted his jacket. "Let's go!"
Current Party
Harry
Charmander – Male
Eevee – Female
Julia
Bulbasaur – Male
Poliwag – Male
Pidgey - Female
