"I cannot believe your Grandmother took my bike," Blue huffed as they waded their way through tall grass on their way towards Viridian City. In front of them, the trio's Pokémon were making steady work of the wild Pokémon on route.
"You could've said no," Green said pointedly before turning to his Bulbasaur. "Bulbasaur, vine whip!"
From his bulb, Bulbasaur's vines shot like rockets, attacking the wild Pidgey.
"Yeah, so quit whining," Red said, turning to his Squirtle with a groan. "No Squirtle! Don't use water gun on that Caterpie! I said tackle! Tackle!"
Red ran to Squirtle's side to explain his battle strategy, only to have the water-type spit a stream of liquid in his face before doubling over in hysterics.
Blue rolled her eyes as her Charmander made quick work of another Rattata.
"Char char!" Charmander cheered as Blue ran to his side for a hug. "Charmander!"
"Way to go, Charmander!" Blue smiled and turned to see that Green had caught the Pidgey he was battling. "Woah, look at Mr. Hot Shot over here with his new catch!"
Green turned scarlet, quickly looking down at his Poké Ball to avoid eye contact.
"Um...I figured it would be good to have a flying-type," he explained. "Especially as we venture deeper into the woods."
"Makes sense," Blue nodded, motioning to Red who was still struggling with the Caterpie his Squirtle was attempting to "fight". "Looks like Red could use a flying-type right about now."
Green nodded, calling his newly caught Pidgey to action.
"Pidgey, use gust!"
Feeling the wind, Red grabbed Squirtle as the gust of wind and dirt carried away the Caterpie deep within the forest. As the dust settled, he stood angrily.
"What's the big idea?" Red called, Squirtle climbing from his arms to his shoulder with a frown. "You could've sent us flying!"
"Sorry Red, I was just testing Pidgey's strength," Green explained, petting the tiny bird's soft feathers. "I didn't know how powerful this little guy was."
Red mumbled something under his breath before stomping out of the tall grass.
"Guess he's not a flying-type fan," Green shrugged, returning Pidgey to its ball.
Still peeved, Red ventured further through the route, Blue and Green behind him. Squirtle tapped his shoulder before pointing to a sign in front of them.
"Huh," Red said looking at the sign before turning to his friends. "We're at Viridian City already."
Blue threw her fist in the air with a victorious cheer and pulled out her Pokégear.
"Oh, it looks like there's a Pokémon Center and Mart not too far off," she explained as they ventured into the city. "There's also a Gym, but it's for the Earth Badge."
"That's annoying to have the final badge so close to Pallet," Red said stuffing his hands in his pockets. "It means we're going to have to come all the way back here when we're done."
"At least it gives you an excuse to see your Grandma again incase you run out of clean underwear," Blue teased sneakily.
"Hopefully it's during your time of the month so we'll both be covered," Red shot back, causing the girl to turn red with fury.
"Can you guys at least try to get along?" Green frowned, stepping between the two teens. "You seriously need-"
Green's lecture was interrupted by a loud explosion.
"What the hell?" Red exclaimed before the three teens were covered by a heavy gust of dirt and debris. He held Squirtle tightly against his chest, protectively.
"Char! Char!" Charmander called from its trainer's shoulder.
"I got you, Charmander," Blue called, reaching out her hands. "Red? Green? Where are you guys?"
"Right here," Red called, taking her hand, briefly surprised by its warmth and softness. The thought was quickly shot from his brain when he noticed a missing party member.
"Green?" he called, suddenly coughing from the dust.
Reaching for his waist, he pulled out Squirtle's ball, returning his starter. Blue mimicked his actions before pulling the taller teen along, hoping to escape the dust vortex. Eventually the cloud faded, leaving them soot covered and on a random street in the city.
Green was nowhere to be found, but Red noticed something else missing. Letting go of Blue, he reaching over his shoulder and he felt that his backpack was missing. Frantically, he looked around to spot his bag...making its way down the street.
"H-hey!" Red yelled, running after the seemingly haunted backpack.
"Red?" Blue called, confused and not wanting to lose another friend in the city. "Red, get back here! We don't know what's going on!"
Red ignored her, quickening his pace as he chased his mobile bag out of the city and onto Route 22. He heard Blue's footsteps behind them, huffing and puffing as her lungs tried to expel the debris. The bag led them to a field of tall grass, but by the time Red and Blue arrived the bag was deep within the grass.
"Red, what's going-"
"Shh!" Red hushed her, his eyes narrowing as he glared along the grass. "Something stole my bag...I think it's a Pokémon."
"A Pokémon?" Blue blinked looking around the grass for herself. "Route 22 leads to the Indigo League, Red. This could be a really powerful Pokémon we're dealing with."
"There's only one way to find out."
From on the corner of his eye, Red noticed the scarlet strap of his backpack within the grass. Slowly, he made his way towards it, virtually silent as he crouched down into the grass. Like a cat, Red pounced, grabbing the backpack and revealing the tiny, blue Pokémon beneath.
"Riolu!" it hissed, jumping up from the grass. "Riolu ri!"
"Riolu?" Blue tilted her head, pulling out her Pokédex towards the tiny dog-like creature.
"Riolu, the Emanation Pokémon," the Pokédex recalled. "It has the peculiar power of being able to see emotions such as joy and rage in the form of waves."
"Ha!" Red laughed, puffing his chest as he threw his bag over his shoulder. "You thought you were pretty sneaky taking my bag! But nah-uh, small fry!"
The Riolu bristled.
"Its body is little yet powerful," Blue's Pokédex continued. "It can crest three mountains and cross two canyons in one night."
"Uh...Red…" Blue warned, "Maybe you should stop teasing it."
"Oh relax, I'm not teasing it," Red smirked, crouching down to eye-level with the Riolu. "Alright tiny, hopefully this will teach you to not take things that aren't yours, eh? Especially when they're a good meter taller than you!"
Red extended his hand, causing the Riolu to bare its teeth.
"Riolu!" it growled, taking Red's hand and sending him soaring into a cluster of trees.
"Red!" Blue screamed, running to her friend's side. "Red, are you okay?"
Taking advantage of the commotion, Riolu took hold of the backpack and fled into the forest.
Raising himself up slowly, Red cursed under his breath before taking hold of Blue by the arm and chasing after the tiny Pokémon.
"R-Red!" Blue called as the tall teen dragged her around bushes and trees. "Red! I think you're going about this the wrong way!"
Red ignored her, and continued his hunt for the Riolu. After a few moments, they neared a hollowed log where at one end the tiny Riolu was trying to push the overstuffed backpack through the tiny opening. Blue pulled her arm away and Red turned to see she had stopped, a finger pressed against her lips, signaling him to keep quiet.
"Riolus are really sensitive to auras," she explained in a low voice. "You need to calm down or else he'll sense us here."
Red frowned before turning away from the girl, squatting down behind a tree stump and breathing deeply in an effort to calm himself. He didn't feel like he was doing much, but considering the Riolu hadn't noticed them, it must've done something. He felt his heart quicken (probably due to excitement, or whatever) when Blue rested her hand on his shoulder. He looked over his shoulder to see that she had kneeled next to him, watching the Riolu still struggling.
"It must need your bag for something," she whispered, unaware of how hot Red's face was getting due to her insistence on being so close to him. "And I bet you it's beyond that log...we should help it."
"Yeah sure," he rolled his eyes, gently shrugging off Blue's hand from his shoulder. "Let's help the thieving Pokémon, I'm sure that will go over well."
Blue shot him a look but was distracted by the Riolu's cry of glee as it pushed the backpack through the open end of the log, jumping inside after it.
"Quick," she said, jumping to her feet. "Let's trail it quietly."
Crawling beyond the now expanded log end, the two trainers uncovered a small clearing beyond the bushes. There they saw the Riolu digging through Red's bag in search of something, while a tiny yellow Pokémon writhed in pain.
"Oh no!" Blue gasped, "Is that a Pikachu?"
"No," Red said, shaking his head, "It's a Pichu."
Wanting a better look, Blue took a few steps forward. However, their position was discovered quickly as she cracked a twig beneath her sneakers. Red shot her a look as the Riolu jolted to attention. Sighing in defeat, Red slowly made his way out of the bushes, his hands raised in a sign of surrender.
"Relax," he said walking slowly with Blue trailing behind him. "We come in peace."
The Riolu stand quickly changed to hostile and Red kneeled to be eye-level with the Pokémon.
"Listen, all I want is my bag back," Red explained thumbing the backpack. "But I see why you took it...it's to help your friend, right?"
With his teeth barred, the Riolu's eyes quickly glanced at the hurt Pichu before meeting Red's.
"You just want to help your friend, right?" Red continued. "We'll help you, I promise. I know a few things about little guys like him, but you need to trust us, okay?"
The Riolu didn't budge.
"Riolu," Blue said, breaking the silence and instantly gaining the Pokémon's attention. "You can check our auras. We aren't going to hurt you, I promise."
Blue's soothing voice seemed to relax the Riolu, and his eyes grew cloudy as his senses scanned Red and Blue. After a moment, it appeared their auras were good as Riolu took a few steps towards Blue, leaving Red space to help the injured Pichu.
"Red," Blue said worriedly. "Do you know what you're doing?"
He shushed her, taking the tiny Pokémon in his hands and examining it. After running a finger across the Pichu's red cheeks, Red knew the cause of its illness. Gently he placed the small creature onto the grass and turned to Blue.
"Hey, hand me my backpack."
The girl nodded, handing him the overstuffed bag. Red's head seemed to disappear as he dug inside, eventually pulling out his Pokégear charger cradle. Nervously, Riolu shook as Blue gathered him up in her arms. The blue Pokémon didn't protest, but rather clung to her shirt anxiously.
"Hang in there little guy," Red said softly as he gently lifted the wheezing electric-type onto the cradle. He glanced up at Blue as he gently massaged the Pichu's red cheeks. "Since they hold so much power, sometimes electric-types short circuit themselves"
"So it needs to discharge?" Blue asked, tilting her head to the side. Red nodded and quickly smiled as Pichu's cheeks began to spark. Within moments the tiny yellow mouse's eyes opened as it released a surge of energy into the charger.
"The charger is acting like a circuit," Red explained. "Once he gets some bolts out he should be fine."
Blue watched in awe as Pichu released waves of electricity from its tiny body. When he was through Riolu jumped from her arms, landing on the ground next to its friend.
"Riolu?"
"Chu?" Pichu asked warily before noticing its surroundings. Excitedly it turned to its friend. "Pichu! Chu pi chu chu!"
After putting away the charger, Red rose to his feet.
"Nice to see you doing better," he grinned as he tossed his backpack over his shoulder. "Your buddy here was nervous about you."
Pichu turned to Red before looking back at Riolu.
"Now we need to find our friend," Blue smiled warmly at the two tiny Pokémon. She reached into the pocket of her skirt, pulling out a few Oran Berries. "Here, take these to heal up."
Taking the berries into his paws, the tiny Riolu made a face but Red couldn't quite put his finger on the emotion it showed. It was almost as if the tiny thing was disappointed.
Red was ripped from his thoughts as Blue took him by the arm.
"C'mon," she said curtly. "We gotta find Green."
Red nodded, looking over his shoulder to send one last wave to their small friends.