"Fierce… What is that guy's problem?" Free asked Heather, carrying his badly injured Pokémon.
"I don't know… Do you think he was the redheaded kid Professor Elm was talking about?" She replied, pulling out her PokéGear. "I should call him, shouldn't I?"
Free nodded and looked down at his injured Chikorita. "Chika…" she said softly.
"Don't worry, Chikorita. We'll get to a Pokémon Center soon," he whispered.
"Hello, Professor Elm?" She said once he had picked up.
"Hello, Heather. Have you seen anything yet?" He replied.
"Yes, we think so. We just ran into a redheaded kid. He had a Pokémon with him. I think it was a Chimchar. We battled him, but he ran off," she replied quickly.
"Oh, goodness! That was the Pokémon that was stolen! Is either of you two hurt? How are your Pokémon?" He asked, concern filling his voice.
"Totodile and I are fine. Free's okay too, but his Chikorita got pretty beaten up," she said. Crunch. Her foot stepped on something plastic that was on the ground. "Could you hold on for just a second, Professor Elm?" She asked as she bent down to see what it was.
Picking it up, she saw it was the redheaded boy's trainer card. Spade Deno, it read under "NAME."
"Hey, I just found the boy's Trainer Card lying on the ground. He must've dropped it," she said to Professor Elm. "His name is Spade. Spade Deno."
"Well, you two watch out for him, and if you find anything else out, don't hesitate to call me," he replied, just before he hung up.
"That was the boy who stole the Pokémon, wasn't it?" Free asked, referring to the redhead the two had battled.
Heather nodded. "Should we keep the trainer card?"
"Yes, then we'll have a reason to face him again!" Free answered, pulling his Chikorita closer, still angry that Spade had hurt his Pokémon so badly. "Hey look, there's Cherrygrove right over there!"
Free and Heather started to run to Free's hometown, excited to finally be there.
"Do you mind if we stop at my dad's house before we head on?" Free asked once they had stepped into the small town.
"Not at all," Heather replied as the two began to run in a new direction to Free's house. When they finally got there, Free pushed open the front door to see two men sitting at a table. The younger man was big around the middle with black, shot hair and a short beard. The older man was also big around the middle, with a shiny head and big glasses.
"Oh Free! …and Heather, right? I remembered! What are you two doing today?" Free's dad asked as they walked in.
"I told you, dad. I'm leaving on my journey today. It's Heather's birthday. We're heading out now," Free responded.
"Not like that you're not!" His dad motioned towards Free's hurt Pokémon.
"You should give her some rest," Free's grandfather said, taking his Chikorita and spraying a potion on her.
"So, Heather. It is your birthday today, huh? I thought something special was happening today, but I couldn't remember," Free's father said as Chikorita began to feel much better.
"Yep! I'm so excited to finally leave home!" Heather replied smiling.
"You should be! I remember when I first started my Pokémon journey I left off with a Totodile. What did you pick, Heather?"
Heather grasped the Poké Ball on her necklace and smiled bigger. "I got a Totodile, too!"
"Good choice! He will be very loyal to you and Totodile's are totally strong. Hm… I have some gifts for you two since you are starting your journey," Free's dad said, pulling out two small boxes and handing them to the pair, who opened them immediately.
"Dad… It's a Luxury Ball! That means the Pokémon we catch in these will become more friendly!" Free shouted happily. The two put their gifts in their bags while Free's grandpa stood up and walked to Heather.
"Oh, and here is a gift for the birthday girl," he said, puling something out of his pocket. "It is a map chip for your PokéGear!"
Heather reached out for it. "Thank you! I'll put it in right now!"
Heather inserted the map chip into her PokéGear, grunting when it wouldn't quite go in the slot. When she succeeded, she threw her hands into the air in triumph.
Just then, Chikorita got up and began to run around Free's feet.
"Chika!" She yelled excitedly, obviously feeling much better.
"Well, Chikorita is ready. We're ready too, so… let's go!" Free said as Chikorita, Heather, and him ran out the door eager to start their adventure.