After making short work of the first two trainers they encountered, the rest of Viridian Forest was a breeze for Carmine and Perry. Charmander and Spearow proved to be more than enough to defeat even the most experienced bug catchers and Perry's Weedle evolved into a Kakuna when they were ambushed by a wild one. Expecting to get lost, the boys easily found their way out of the forest and back onto Route 02 before the day grew too late. As they approached Pewter City, they agreed that they would hit the gym before nightfall and get it out of the way.

"Hi!" A friendly red-haired nurse said as the boys entered the Pewter City Pokémon Center. "My name is Nurse Joy, is there anything I can help you with?"

"We need our Pokémon healed, please." Perry said calmly and handed Nurse Joy his three Poké Balls. She turned to Carmine and took his as well, "It'll just be a few moments, feel free to make yourself comfortable in the lounge." And motioned to the area next to her, where some couches were, as well as a TV, some tables and chairs, and a long table lined with various types of food.

"If I knew there'd be food here, I wouldn't have bought those sandwiches." Carmine said with a frown.

"If you didn't buy those sandwiches, you wouldn't have made it halfway through the forest." Perry replied, laughing and reminding Carmine that he had eaten all the sandwiches on the way.

About ten minutes later, Nurse Joy returned to find the boys full and content, sitting on the couches. She happily handed over their Pokémon, "Have a wonderful day! If you have time, I heard the Pewter Museum of Science just opened. I'm sure you two would find it interesting!" She smiled and headed back to perform more nurse-related duties.

"She sure seems happy, doesn't she?" Carmine remarked, releasing Charmander and stuffing his other Poké Balls into his pockets.

Perry nodded, "You wanna go to the museum?" And then quickly added, when he saw Carmine's face, "I'm sure they have pictures of ancient legendary Pokémon…or something…"

That was all Carmine needed.

Pewter City was a pretty dull place; Carmine thought as they headed in the direction the nurse had said to go. There weren't very many people and most of them seemed content to stare aimlessly at the sky, or pace outside their homes. He wondered why this place wasn't livelier; shouldn't there be tons of trainers around, waiting to get a crack at the gym leader? He thought about posing the question to Perry, but recalled he had never been outside of Viridian and probably wouldn't know either.

The Pewter Museum of Science was a large building on Pewter City's northern city limits. Inside was different from Pewter itself however, as it was filled with people and conversation, colored dashed over every wall, paintings hung here and there, and huge sculptures dominating over everyone. Carmine whispered in amazement as they walked under a sculpture ten times his size, arcing over the entire room; its nameplate informed him it was modeled after a legendary Pokémon called 'Rayquaza'.

After exploring the main room thoroughly, they headed downstairs, which was suspiciously devoid of exhibits and people; save for one sad looking man, sitting on a stool in front of a table. They approached him and he looked up quickly and fell backwards off his chair, backing up quickly until he hit the wall. "Please! Please! I don't have any more fossils!" And he covered his face.

After exchanging confused glances, Perry approached the man, "Don't worry, we're just here to see the exhibits."

The man slowly lowered his arms, "Really? You aren't with…them?"

Perry shook his head, "Who?"

The man took a deep breath and stepped closer to Perry, whispering, "Team Rocket."

"Team Rocket?" Carmine asked loudly, despite the man's frantic motions for him to be quiet. "They've been defunct for years. The guys who have been harassing people are just thugs abusing the Rocket name."

The man scratched his head, "Really? I…I've been so busy with my research…wait, what's the date?"

Perry pulled out his Pokédex, "May 2nd."

The man looked shocked, "It's May!? Last…last time I checked, it was June!"

Carmine chuckled and shook his head, but Perry nodded, "My father gets like that sometimes, not that he cares what day it is." He shrugged. "Anyway, what happened? Did somebody steal something?"

The man frowned, "A man came here, dressed normally, but wearing a jacket. Of course, I thought it was weird, seeing as it's pretty hot outside…" He took a breath. "He unzipped it and was wearing a black shirt with a bright 'R' in the center. He claimed to be from Team Rocket and demanded I give him anything of value I had; when I refused, he…called out his Pokémon. So…I gave him the fossil I just received…"

He was visibly shaken, so Perry held up his hand, "It's okay, you can stop." The man nodded, shaking slightly. "Didn't you call the police?"

The man nodded again, "I did, but not until an hour after he got away…he could be at Mt. Moon by now."

"Don't you have any Pokémon?" Perry asked.

"Yes, but they're in the back…I always lose track of time and forget to spend some of it with them." He sighed.

"Well, that could be a start for you. Get out, get some fresh air and spend some time with your Pokémon; I'm sure you'll feel much better." Perry smiled.

"Okay…that's a good idea, thank-you for speaking with me." The man took a breath and stood up, "If you'll excuse me, I think I need to go spend some time with my Pokémon."

"You've got a way with people Perry." Carmine stated, nudging Perry.

He smiled back, "I just like helping people I guess."

"Well," Carmine began with a grin, leading the way out, "Why don't you help me go get my first badge?"