Chapter One: Optimism/Ambition/Freedom
Red remembered, a time long ago, when he and Blue used to be friends... Then the boy in question became a complete and utter douche. They stopped being friends after that.
Nevertheless, it had been because of Blue that Red had become so interested in Pokémon!
So he was conflicted.
It all started when Red arrived at Viridian City. It seemed like it would be a great day, so he decided to head over to the local Pokémon Center and ask one of the employees for information regarding the league. However, that's when things had gone downhill. While he did get his answers from the employees, he discovered that the Viridian City Gym was closed.
Afterwards, he found out that the Indigo Plateau wasn't too far from where he was and decided to check it out. While he knew they probably wouldn't let him in, he still wanted to get as close as he could!
Then the bastard appeared!
Apparently Blue had the same idea as him and had gone to check out the league, but he had been asked to turn back. However, Blue did manage to get plenty of information and promised to share some if Red was able to defeat him in a Pokémon battle.
Predictably, Red lost.
However, Blue had still given him the information he had "acquired."
To save him the trouble of walking, he'd said.
He'd need to have 8 gym badges (something he already knew), but even then he needed to pass through the "gates".
As it turned out, gym badges functioned like keys that allowed trainers to pass through eight "gates" that blocked the entrance to the Pokémon League, and that wasn't even the hardest part!
Apparently, the last task was navigating through an enormous cave system known as Victory Road!
It was a lot to take in, and Red returned to town in a sour mood. He hadn't been able to visit the gym, got defeated by his "rival", and just found out how difficult the Pokémon league really was!
Maybe he was in over his head, perhaps he should reach Indigo Plateau as a spectator and try again next year?
Coward.
Thankfully, someone sensed Red's negative mood and decided to help him, by biting him.
"Ouch! Railgun what's your problem?!" Red cried, as he tried to get his Pikachu to stop biting him.
Railgun cried out in anger and Red stared at the small electric type before replying
"You're right I can't let something like this take me down!"
Railgun raised its hand in agreement
"So what if I'm inexperienced!"
"Pika!"
"So what if you're my only Pokémon!"
"Pika!"
"So what if I tried to catch another person's Pokémon in my first battle!"
"Pi?"
"So what if I'm out of money and have no idea where I should go next!"
"Pika?!"
"All that matters is that I give it my all, even if I don't know what I'm giving my all too!"
"Chu…" the Pokémon muttered, now it was worried.
However, Red looked like a boy in a candy store. He was motivated, and ready to overcome any challenge!
"You there!" a voice called out, catching Red's attention.
"Me?" he asked pointing at himself.
"I couldn't help but notice that you seemed to be a rookie trainer."
"How'd you guess, I literally just started about a week ago."
"Well, you were yelling it out... But that doesn't matter!" the old man said, handing Red a strange looking box.
"What's this?"
"That's a Teachy TV!" the old man explained "it's a television, but smaller!"
"That's… AWESOME!" Red said, completely and utterly impressed with the technology.
Red latter found out that the Teachy TV was in fact NOT awesome. It only had one "channel" and it was EDUCATIONAL! That old man played him for a fool! (Railgun had long sense returned to his Pokéball, leaving Red alone to deal with his "dilemma" because he was tired.)
However, the TV was providing him with some useful info.
So he decided to just shut up and watch.
[Hey, all you Trainers out there!]
[HELLO, Trainers!]
[…]
[…]
[…]
[Come on, let me hear you!]
[HELLO, Trainers! It's me, the Poké Dude!]
[Today, the Poké Dude's here to tell you about how you can battle Pokémon, among other things!]
[First, let's say you're out for a stroll when, suddenly, a wild Pokémon appears! It's up to you to use your Pokémon and their moves to defeat the opponent, and claim victory! I'll show you how to do that in person and for sure!]
A wild Pidgey appears and the Poké Dude sends out his Rattata, suddenly the Poké Dude has it use tackle.
["HP" is a term we use to refer to a Pokémon's "Hit Points", It's basically there to show how a Pokémon is fairing. However, they are mostly estimations. Once a Pokémon's "HP" hits zero it becomes unable to battle, and often faints.]
[My Rattata reduced the foe's HP to zero, so it wins! Remember, Pokémon gain experience through battling and get stronger, so if you want a powerful Pokémon you should try winning as many battles as possible!]
[Well, did you get that? Even if your own Pokémon's "HP" falls to zero, and it becomes unable to battle, not to worry! Just take it to any Pokémon Center and heal it! Either that or you can let it rest and recover on its own.]
[However, certain injuries should be treated by a certified Pokémon nurse.]
[The next subject is on status problems!]
[Status problems include poisoning, paralysis, sleep, burn, confusion… Well there are a lot. Get any one, and your Pokémon may become useless in battle.]
[Poisoning reduces Hp and tends to get worse as time passes, Burns lower the Pokémon's attack and also reduce Hp as time passes, Paralysis cuts a Pokémon's speed and may leave it unable to move, while sleep, you guessed it, puts a Pokémon to sleep!]
[Confusion is dumb, and anyone who uses it should feel dumb. It typically causes the afflicted Pokémon to hurt itself]
[You know, it hurts the Poké Dude to see a Pokémon suffer… So, what should you do if your Pokémon gets a status condition? Well, you've got me to show you!]
A Beedrill suddenly and jammed it's needle into Rattata, infecting it with poison!
[Uh-oh… My Rattata has been poisoned… If a Pokémon is poisoned, it loses HP steadily. If a Pokémon develops a status problem, heal it right away!]
Poké Dude used a Full restore to heal the suffering Rattata, it seemed like he was one of those people.
The Beedrill attempted a tackle, but the Rattata dodged and used Hyper Fang.
The Beedrill collapsed. It looked staged.
[Yay! We managed to win!]
[Status Conditions don't just go away after a battle. If a Pokémon is poisoned, it loses "HP" even while you're walking, so you should heal Pokémon of these kinds of problems right away.]
[Use an item, or try to get to a Pokémon Center for healing.]
[Next we'll talk about type match-ups!]
[Does everyone know about type matchups?]
[Pokémon and their moves all belong to certain types. For example, there are types such as Grass and Water. You need to consider the type of the move used to attack, and the type of the Pokémon that is hit by that attack. Depending on how those two types match up, the damage can change. You see, it depends on whether the type matchup is good or bad. If you don't know how matchups work, battles will be tough. So, let me demonstrate exactly what I mean]
A Poliwag uses Bubble on the Oddish, landing a clean hit!
[The move Bubble is a Water-type attack. The targeted Oddish is a Grass/Poison-type Pokémon. The Water-type attack is absorbed by the Grass-type Pokémon… As a result, the move isn't very effective, and inflicts only half the usual damage]
The Oddish smirks and uses its Absorb attack
[Uh-oh, this is not good! The Absorb attack you just saw is a Grass-type move. Poliwag is a Water-type Pokémon. So, Absorb is super effective, doubling the damage. It's not going to be easy to win with this matchup, so we should try shifting Pokémon!]
The Poké Dude recalls his Poliwag and sends out a Butterfree.
[Shifting a Pokémon in and out of battle leaves it vulnerable! However, Butterfree is a Bug/Flying-type Pokémon. Against this Pokémon, a Grass-type attack inflicts only half the usual damage. Therefore, Butterfree, being a Bug/Flying Pokémon, only takes one quarter of the usual damage!]
[However, Oddish is a Grass/Poison Pokémon. A Flying- or Psychic-type attack is super effective against it. One of those types of attacks will inflict double the usual damage. Okay, here we go!]
The Butterfree uses a powerful flying type move, an experienced trainer would easily be able to identify it as whirlwind, and sends the Oddish flying off screen. There are some crashing sounds and yells, but the show continues.
[Yeah! We won!]
[Is it possible to launch an attack that will inflict heavy damage? Does the opposing Pokémon pose a threat to your Pokémon? Is there any chance that it may have disastrously tough moves? Watch the type match-ups to gain the upper hand!]
[All righty, now that that's out of the way we should move on to the next lesson!]
[Which is how to catch a Pokémon!]
[Just imagine… A groovy Pokémon suddenly appearing in the wild! Oh, you want it, and you just can't help it!]
[Oh, you have to catch it! You gotta have it! Let me show you how you can make it happen!]
[When you're trying to catch a Pokémon, don't throw any Poké Balls right away. First, you need to weaken it, by reducing its Hp.]
The Poké Dude's Butterfree attacks the familiar looking "wild" Rattata, and causes it to fly back a small ways.
[Okay, that should be good enough. But, if it's possible, it would be best if the target has a status problem. For instance, it would be easier to catch if it were asleep or paralyzed. This will make the Pokémon a lot easier to catch! Oh, yes. If you paralyze a Pokémon, you can't make it fall asleep on top of paralysis. In other words, you can't double up status problems, okay? I'm telling you that a paralyzed Pokémon can't be poisoned, put to sleep, or burned! Do you understand me? So if you're stuck in a house fire, be sure to poison yourself. That way, you only have to worry about the smoke!]
[What's that? Stop getting off topic? Alright, alright, let's get back to showing you how to catch a Pokémon]
[Let me throw my Poké Ball! Before you throw a Poké Ball, consider the condition and the type of Pokémon, and if possible pick the kind of Ball that would work best.]
The Poké Dude pulls out a Nest Ball, catching the Rattata without fail.
Honestly, it looked more like the Rattata was recalled.
How strange.
[If your first Poké Ball fails to catch the Pokémon, don't give up! Keep throwing Poké Balls… It's bound to work sometime!]
[But remember, a trainer can only carry a total of six Pokémon. Some are able to store more via the Pokémon storage system but those trainers are either sponsored, wealthy, or working under a Pokémon professor.]
[Finally we arrive at our final lesson!]
[Do you all have TMs? What about the temporary variant? A TM, or Technical Machine, is an amazingly great item! It teaches Pokémon a move that it may not learn when leveling up! Isn't that just great? What a convenient world we live in! Open the TM Case and check out the TMs you have. You can check them out in detail, too."
[Normal, Water, Grass… TMs also come in types. Check the type and teach it to a Pokémon that matches up well. For example, Water Pulse is suitable for Water-type Pokémon. Bullet Seed is a move that most Grass-type Pokémon can learn. There's one other thing! Don't just look at the type, read the description, too. It will contain hints about what Pokémon might learn the move. For example, take a move like Focus Punch. It doesn't sound like anything a bird or fish Pokémon can learn. So, try using it on Pokémon with arms that can throw punches!]
[Careful though, because some Pokémon, like Duraludon, can't learn moves that they should.]
[*cough*Iron Tail*cough*]
[Wow, I talked a lot today!]
[But hopefully you've all learned how to be better trainers!]
[And remember, Trainers, a good deed a day brings happiness to stay…or something stupid like that, I don't write this stuff.]
[So have a nice day!]
The program ends, but Red remains seated. Looking at the TV screen which had begun to rewind the "show".
("That was actually pretty helpful…") the boy thought. ("but what do I do with this thing now that I no longer need it?")
The boy sighed. It might come in handy later so he'd just keep it around.
("I guess I can figure out where to go tomorrow") Red thought, recalling his earlier dilemma on where to travel to next. He placed the television inside a "travel" ball.
Travel balls were apparently developed shortly after Pokéballs were mass produced by a certain company. They made it easier to store things, so theoretically one could fit an entire bicycle inside their backpack with one! They weren't even that uncommon, and could be purchased for about the same price as a regular Pokéball.
They made life that much simpler!
After tossing the ball inside his bag, Red made his way to the rooms the Center provided. He was fully intent on deciding what he would do with his life…
Tomorrow, after he got some rest.
Blue had been reading over a specific entry in his Pokédex since yesterday.
It all started when he ran into Red. After practically curb-stomping his "rival" in a "battle" he had made his way over to Pewter City.
Apparently, the Viridian City Gym Leader didn't waste his time accepting challenger's that didn't already have seven gym badges. Fine by him, he'd trounce that old timer on his way to the league.
Getting past the Viridian Forest was easy, only an idiot would get lost in that place.
After arriving he let his Pokémon rest up at the local Pokémon Center. He had decided it would be nice to take a stroll while he waited. Then he saw it, a shining blur in the night sky.
It had surprised him, but after getting over his own surprise he checked his Pokédex, and sure enough it was a Pokémon.
Moltres, the Flame Pokémon.
A powerful bird that, according to legend, only one man had been able to tame.
Blue decided that, after becoming champion, he would go after the majestic creature and claim it as his own. After all, if the founder of the Pokémon league could do it why couldn't he?
He just needed to get stronger, that's all.
So, Blue put his Pokédex away and decided to go ahead and challenge the Pewter City Gym as soon as possible. After all, if he wanted to capture Moltres he needed to get stronger fast.
He now had an ambition, besides being "the best," and that was to be the very best.
...
God that was cringey.
Did idiots actually go around saying that out loud?
God, now he wanted to crawl into a hole out of sheer embarrassment.
Enough. He had a long day tomorrow. It was time to head back and take a nap.
Green didn't choose the thug life; the thug life chose her.
It had been liberating!
Here she was, on a Pokémon adventure! No rules, no expectations, no nothing! Just her, the wild, and her Pokémon!
This was what freedom tasted like!
Green wanted to go back in time and slap past Green in the face.
The thug life was hard!
She didn't want to walk anymore! She was tired and hungry!
Stupid forest, how did people navigate these things?!
Maybe she should jus-! No! She wouldn't go back, not until she accomplished what she set out to do!
Green would become a wonderful Pokémon Master!
She just had to find her way out of this forest first.
Green slept on the forest floor that night.