Many annoying battles later…
"Finally!" Natalia griped, making her way to a house on the end of Route 25, AKA Cerulean Cape. The trainer battles' only redeeming quality was that Julian could and did curbstomp the myriad Special-Defense-impaired/Poison Pokémon with his Confusion. "Sea Cottage. Bill lives here!" a sign on the mailbox informed her. Intrigued, she went inside.
The cottage was a mess of lab notes, cardboard boxes, and general flotsam. Two big booths connected by a green wire occupied the back wall, and a Clefairy faced the right booth. "Hi there, little one," Natalia managed after a few seconds of silently flipping out. "What're you doing so far away from Mt. Moon, all by yourself?" The Clefairy faced her and said, "Um, I live here, maybe? My name's Bill, and I'm a true Poké-maniac."
Natalia fell over in complete shock. Whether it was from the concept of a talking Clefairy or the idea that Bill was actually a Pokémon, she couldn't tell, but she was struck dumb. "Oh, ha-ha, sorry. Gary reacted like that, too. The machine on the back wall is a beta version of my Teleporter. I was testing it and the stupid thing basically telefragged me and my Clefairy. Can you help me/us out?" Natalia stood up and nodded. "OK, great. We're going to get inside the booth on your right. Once the door closes, head to my PC and press F6." Bill/Clefairy waddled into the Teleporter. She saw him jump to push something else, and the booth's red door clanged shut. Natalia walked to the PC and pushed the button.
"Initiating Cell Separation System. Stay exactly where you are," the computer chimed pleasantly. The light on the top of the right Teleporter began pulsing from red to orange to yellow and back again. This went on for a bit, and then a white light shot across the green wire to the left Teleporter, which also pulsed in the same sequence for the same amount of time. The doors opened in unison, and big as life, Bill and his Clefairy walked out of them. Bill looked a little like Professor Oak and a little like Gary…
"Phew! I gotta say, when Gary walked out on me, I thought I was gonna be stuck in a Clefairy body forever," Bill grinned awkwardly. "Besides the rare Pokémon in my PC, take this as my thanks." He handed her a ticket with a picture of a boat on it. "I got invited to the S.S. Anne's party in Vermilion City, but I can't go while I'm working out bugs in the Teleporter. So, you go instead and have fun! I hear there are plenty of trainers on board." Natalia grinned broadly, placing the ticket in the Key Items pocket. Something else fell out of her hand and hit the floor with a thump. "Huh?" she thought aloud.
She bent down to get a closer look. The mysterious object was about the same size and shape as a Game Pak, slate gray in color. "Bill, what's this other thing you gave me?" she asked. She closed her left hand around it and straightened.
"Oh, that? I have no idea how I picked that up along with the ticket, but it's a Pokédex 'data pack'," Bill said. "See, my dad and I are thinking of starting an electronics company, sort of like competition for Silph Co. The prototype in your hand holds all the data for…" He paused, as if hearing a drumroll inaudible to everyone else. "A Pokémon translator! Wanna test it out for me?"
"Since I'm already holding it, I suppose I don't have a choice," she remarked. "How do I…?"
"Just like a Game Pak," Bill interrupted. "The slot's on the bottom of the Pokédex, complete with a DS Lite-style cover." Smiling, Natalia removed the cover and stuck the pack in.
"*beep* Data pack detected. Install program driver software?" Dex asked. Natalia selected "YES." "Please wait…" That minute felt (and looked) remarkably like installing something on her PC. "Software installed. Would you like to run the program?"
Natalia shivered a bit as she pressed the button. She and Bill were preparing to break a great language barrier. Once the technology was market-ready, everyone, even non-trainers, could be connected to this crazy world on a deeper level than before.
"So what do you see?" a slightly nasal voice asked from near her left knee. Ethan stood up on his tiptoes, for all the good that did. "Is it like those little colored bars that go up and down on a stereo?"
"No, frankly," Bill replied. "But on a completely different note, OH MY GOD IT WORKS WE'RE GONNA BE FAMOUS!" He began dancing around like someone her own age. "This'll get Dad out of his professorial rut and Silph Co out of theirs, and Leaf might actually decide to visit me, and, and…!" Words failed the programmer, and he squeaked in delight.
Clefairy chuckled. "He does this every time. By the way, did you know you can sync your Pokédex with the PC? That's how Spiky-head got the Evolution Crew's data." Natalia stifled a small gasp and double-clicked on a cheesy Pokédex-and-computer-monitor icon.
Ethan tilted his head to one side exactly like a cartoon character. "Gary got whose data now?"
"The Evolution Crew," Clefairy repeated. "That'd be Bill's Jolteon, her son who's part Persian, a former Gym Leader's Vaporeon—"
"Really? Who's his real owner?" Natalia inquired. She didn't want to sit by awkwardly while two Pokémon talked. And besides, the syncing process was taking a while.
"Don't interrupt me," Clefairy retorted. Her left eye twitched for just a second. "Anyway, the Vaporeon properly belongs to Misty's marine biologist mother, and there's a Flareon from God knows where. They're all varying levels of impossible except for Eevee, which is why Bill keeps them in the PC. Of course, the time Jolteon got her paw stuck underneath the dresser and spilled coffee all over—"
"I thought we agreed never to speak of that again," Bill interrupted. An awkward silence; there really was no way to follow up such a definitive statement.
"Sync complete," Dex beeped. "Eevee, Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon are now recorded as 'seen'." Natalia thanked Bill, hugged Clefairy (who squeaked like a Growlithe toy), and headed back to Cerulean.
Three trainer battles later (Jenna and Julian absolutely destroyed a hiker's team, Flint almost died but defeated a second one's Onix, and a camper on Route 24 was a nuisance)…
"If you plan on going inside, disturb nothing," the police officer in front of a house behind the Gym said shortly. "Team Rocket vandalized this place, and I don't want to accidentally lump you in with the convict."
"Speaking of Team Rocket, there's a grunt in disguise at the end of Nugget Bridge," Natalia informed him. "He tried to recruit me, if you can believe that!" The officer's eyebrows shot up, but he said nothing else. He politely opened the door for her.
Inside, the house was a hot mess. The table was broken, Pokémon footprints were tracked everywhere, books were on the floor, the works. But most notably, there was a jagged hole in the back wall that left only about a foot of wall below the ceiling. "Look at this! This is what Team Rocket did to my house!" a hiker griped. "They also stole my ridiculously expensive TM for teaching Pokémon how to dig holes!"
"How to dig holes, you say?" Ethan remarked. "Didn't think you needed a machine for that. Anyway, Natalia and I'll kick some butt and get it back."
The hiker blinked. "Did…did your Pikachu just talk?" he asked Natalia.
"My Pokédex can translate his speech," she explained. She shivered—it didn't feel quite right, saying that. "Every word he said's true, sir."
He beamed. "You two make an old man proud. The dirtbag's out back. Go get him!" Natalia offered a hundred-watt smile of her own and exited the house.
"Beat it, shrimp! It's not your yard!" a black-clad stranger shouted at her. "And the guy who trashed the house and stole a TM has more of a right to be here?" Natalia asked.
"How do you…look, that's…I…shut up and fight me!" he sputtered. "Machop, go!"
"And I thought that bug catcher on Route 3 was pathetic," Ethan remarked. He let loose a Thundershock that hit Machop's left shoulder. "Ordinarily, I'd have aimed for your head, but I've never fought a Fighting-type before. Let's see how you do!"
To his credit, the grunt didn't react nearly as embarrassingly to a talking Pokémon. "…I'm going to pretend I know how I understood your rodent," he remarked. "Machop, use Low Kick!" Just a touch winded, Machop crouched and basically tripped him.
Ethan smiled smugly; sparks of electricity Natalia knew to be Static jumped from his body to Machop's. "That's what you get for probably calling me fat," he stated. "So is this!"
He seemed to run only for a few seconds before colliding with what had to have been Machop's solar plex. "I would never insult a worthy opponent," Machop corrected once he'd caught his breath. Focused on Machop's words, Ethan didn't see him reach out with the other leg until it had hit him in the belly. "I fight as Master commands or as I see fit."
"Aren't Fighting-types…supposed to be honorable…?" Ethan gasped. "Natalia, I'm done."
Natalia smiled gently, motioning him behind her. "Go, Julian!"
"Seriously?" he chittered. Red eyes flashed Psychic-purple, and Machop collapsed. "That didn't even take five seconds."
"Fair enough for an inferior Psychic," a different, throaty voice commented. The grunt had sent out an unusual yellow-and-brown Pokémon with fat legs, no neck, and a very small trunk. "Drowzee," Dex beeped. "A Psychic-type found mostly on Route 11. It's notorious for its hypnotic and dream-eating abilities. However, it cannot use the latter in battle without TM82, Dream Eater."
Drowzee bowed what was probably its head. "Sad but true, folks. Anyway…" He leaped and smacked Julian's head with one stubby arm.
"Julian, get back. Zach, Gust for all you're worth!" Natalia called. Drowzee closed its eyes without comment, and shone a soft purple. The light flickered with each gust, and soon it was panting for breath. "That all you got, fatty?" Zach chirped.
The grunt smirked. "Drowzee, Hypnosis," he ordered. His Pokémon's eyes—now a creepy fluorescent blue—snapped open. It raised both arms and moved its six fingers rhythmically. Glowing rings steadily emerged from them and floated across the yard to Zach. When they reached him, they harmlessly dissolved into his face.
Zach yawned hugely. "So sleepy…" He landed, tucked his head under his wing, and slept calmly.
"Alright, you can return," Natalia conceded. "Lucy, finish him off!"
"Don't have to tell me twice," Lucy chirruped. She speedily flew in and Pecked at Drowzee's torso with much more force than strictly necessary. "Critical hit!" Dex beeped.
The grunt's newly built-up composure dissolved with his Drowzee. "OK, OK, I know when I'm beat!" he cried out. He frantically handed her a shining tan disk labeled "TM28, Silph Co." and a fair bit of money before racing down a path to parts unknown. Natalia let out a quiet giggle at the sight.
"Hey, kid, I changed my mind," the hiker called from inside. "I'm gonna let you keep that TM as your reward and teach Diglett how to dig without using it! Thanks for your help!"
And in the Gym…
"I'm first up! Let's do this!" the swimmer cheered. "Horsea, go!" The most adorable blue seahorse ever emerged on the walkway (so the trainers wouldn't get electrocuted too, she presumed). "Horsea!" it cheeped.
Natalia couldn't hide a snicker or two. With Ethan and Jenna in her team, Cerulean Gym would be a cakewalk. "Ethan, Thundershock!"
"Way ahead of you," Ethan replied. Natalia blinked, and Ethan stood triumphant over a twitching Horsea and some sort of bivalve Pokémon. "Shellder," Dex beeped. "Water-type found only in Vermilion City with a certain kind of fishing rod."
"Always happens," the swimmer grumbled, handing her a mere 64 Poké.
The picnicker (what a perfectly random type of trainer) was just as easy, especially because she only had one Pokémon—a Goldeen. Its Horn Attack, as impressive as the move sounded, didn't even come close to killing Ethan. Natalia was feeling a bit cautious, so she stocked up and healed before heading back towards the Gym…
A high-pitched scream came from an open window, and Natalia ran all the way to Route 5's grass without looking back once (getting there through the robbed house). "Hey, keep it down, will you?!" someone meowed when she paused for breath. "You interrupted my nap!"
Natalia looked down to find a tan cat Pokémon glaring at her while rubbing the sleep from his eyes. If she'd been an observer, it would have been a lot more hilarious than it was. "Bad enough the Pidgey around here just can't shut the heck up, now some human?"
"She has a name, you know," Ethan advised. A thin wave-like jolt leaped from his body to the cat's. "It's Natalia, and she also knows what we're saying through her Pokédex."
The cat blinked, as though he just now noticed the red machine on Natalia's bag. "Shiny red thing! MINE!" he meowed joyfully, leaping over Ethan and towards her.
"Oh no you don't!" Ethan shouted. Though the cat was already starting to fall (paralysis), Ethan Quick Attacked him into the dirt. "I'd catch this guy now if I were you, Natalia." To the other Pokémon's credit, he knew to quit while he was ahead. Ethan picked up the Great Ball the second it stopped shaking and held it up to the lens.
"Meowth, the Scratch Cat Pokémon," Dex beeped. "It mostly sleeps during the daytime, and patrols its territory at night with its eyes aglow. Give Meowth a nickname?" If the Meowth had been a girl, she would've typed in "Krystal" without a moment's hesitation, but he was a guy, so she settled for the somewhat random "Michael."
The last part of the fenced-in area where all the grass was had a house in it. But it wasn't built like the houses in Cerulean—she could tell that much from its orange roof. When she went inside, she saw that it was furnished for either small children or Pokémon. A slide, a swing set, a low table set with all kinds of food—you name it, it was there.
"Hello there, young lady!" a sharp-dressed older man greeted her. "I run the Pokémon Day-Care service, and you're my first visitor! Would you like me to raise one of your Pokémon?"
"Not right now, sir. Thanks for the offer," Natalia smiled. She used the PC in the corner to get her Pokédex rated and check on her boxed Pokémon.
The following day, she was back on Routes 24 and 25, training the rest of her team. She knew that Ethan and Jenna needed a few levels if they wanted to stand a chance, but it didn't seem fair to everyone else. And besides, Zach was ridiculously close to leveling up.
[ERROR: Grinding sequence not found. Skipping to nearest restore point.]
"If I never fight another Oddish ever again, it'll be too soon," Zach declared. "I thought they were supposed to be uncommon!"
"We are, in this area," Jenna remarked cryptically. "But commonality is relative. Somewhere, Oddish may be a rare sight indeed." She twitched her leaves in a self-satisfied way. "Where to now, Natalia?"
She hummed thoughtfully. "On the one hand, we got great results here—everybody level sixteen," she said. "It's also familiar, so we're in a bit less danger.
"But on the other hand, I've got this ticket to the S.S. Anne's docking party over in Vermilion City from Bill. He said the ship was full of trainers…All in favor?"
"AYE!" all six Pokémon cheered. "We have more than enough supplies," Julian added.
Natalia beamed. "That settles it! And to mark this mini-adventure, Julian gets to follow me until I say otherwise!"