"Great weather today, huh, Squirtle?" "Squirtle Squirt!" Brayden and Squirtle were now on Route 22. Brayden had received a Town Map from Blue's (much more polite) older sister, Daisy, just before he left Pallet Town the previous day. The Gym in Viridian City was closed for some reason, meaning that to get his first badge, he'd have to travel further north and through Viridian Forest. Before that, though, our rookie Trainer had decided to check out Route 22, just to catch a glimpse of the path to the Pokémon League, and maybe to catch a new Pokémon on the way.
"Look, there's the gate to Route 22 and Victory Road!" he said, pointing at said gate. Looking past it, he could see another gate in the distance. "But I can't see Indigo Plateau. Can you, Squirtle?" "Squirt." Squirtle shook his head. "I guess that makes sense," Brayden said, with some disappointment in his voice. "And yet…"
He stared at the far away gate. "Even from here, I can feel something. It might be the power and determination of Trainers and Pokémon who have walked through there. Do you get what I mean, Squirtle?"
Instead of a reply, Brayden felt something tug at his pant leg. He looked down at Squirtle, who pointed to Brayden's immediate left. There was a strange little furry creature with a long tail and a round nose. Brayden took out his Pokédex. "Mankey, The Pig Monkey Pokémon. A Fighting type. Light and agile on its feet, and ferocious in temperament. When angered, it flies into an uncontrollable frenzy." The Mankey must have been listening, because it turned to look at Brayden and Squirtle.
"Man?" It seemed confused, and then it began to shake. "Cool!" Brayden exclaimed. "I bet Mankey could sense it, too!" Mankey began to shake even harder. "Squirt…" Squirtle said worriedly. "Fighting types are really strong! Let's catch it, Squirtle!" Brayden shouted excitedly. "SQUIRTLE!" The Tiny Turtle Pokémon cried in fear and ran away. "Squirtle, what are you doing?!" Brayden said angrily. Then Brayden heard it. "MAN-KEY!" The Mankey flew into a rage, just as the Pokédex had warned!
"Uh-oh! AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Brayden screamed in horror and ran after Squirtle. Mankey wasted no time pursuing the two. "MAN, MANKEY!" As Brayden caught up to Squirtle, he scooped the Water type into his arms. Squirtle climbed onto Brayden's shoulder and saw Mankey running after them at a ridiculous speed. "Squirtle Squirt Squirtle!" Squirtle told Brayden. "I hear you, Squirtle!" Brayden shouted back. The only way they were going to get out of this was by fighting the wild Mankey. On Route 1, they had captured their first Pokémon together, but Brayden hadn't used it yet. Now was the time!
Brayden grabbed a Poké Ball from his belt and threw it. "Pidgey, distract Mankey with Sand Attack!" Bursting out of the ball, Pidgey screeched and kicked up some dirt at Mankey as it approached. The sand made contact, but Mankey did not stop running to rub its eyes. In fact, it seemed to get even angrier! "MAN! MANKEY MANKEY!" It screamed with rage, as it trampled Pidgey. "SQUIRTLE SQUIRTLE!" Squirtle cried in panic. "What? It didn't work?!" Brayden yelled in disbelief, right as the Pig Monkey Pokémon finally caught up with them. Mankey leaped into the air and crashed onto Brayden with a Body Slam. "OW! Get off of me!" Brayden yelled at Mankey. The Fighting type ignored him and continued to lash out, scratching Brayden's face with Fury Swipes. But then, it got struck by a Water Gun.
"MANKEY?!" Mankey bellowed as it saw the culprit. Squirtle immediately Tackled the Mankey, knocking the Fighting type off of Brayden. The Tiny Turtle Pokémon had a determined expression on his face. Gone was the fear that had made him run away just seconds ago. He was ready to stand and fight! Squirtle pointed at Mankey, who was scrambling to get back on its feet. "Squirt. Squirtle Squirtle. SQUIRTLE!" He was telling Mankey to leave his Trainer alone, or it would be sorry! Brayden smiled as he stood back up. "I knew I picked my first Pokémon wisely," he said proudly.
Mankey had quieted down a bit. It seemed mesmerized by Brayden and Squirtle's shared burst of courage. But this didn't last. It went back into rage mode just as quickly! "Man-key! MANKEY!"
It lunged at Squirtle, lifting its right paw up, ready to strike with Karate Chop! "Squirtle! Use Withdraw!" Brayden commanded. Squirtle tucked his arms, legs, tail and head into his shell just before Mankey's attack landed. Its paw bounced right off Squirtle's shell, causing Mankey to reel backwards in confusion.
"Now, Water Gun!" Brayden commanded. Squirtle emerged from his shell and immediately blasted Mankey with water. The Pig Monkey Pokémon lost its balance and sat down on the ground, dazed. Now was the time!
Brayden held up an empty Poké Ball. "Here we go! You're ours, Mankey!" He threw the ball straight at it. A red light shot out of the ball and enveloped Mankey, drawing it inside.
Pidgey finally came to and fluttered over to his Trainer as the Poké Ball fell to the ground. Did it work? Brayden, Squirtle and Pidgey watched intently as the ball began to rock. Once…twice…once more… The Poké Ball stopped moving, but the click of the button was not heard. As the Trainer and his Pokémon braced themselves for the Mankey to burst out of the ball, the button finally clicked! They had done it! "Yes!" Brayden ran to the ball, picked it up, and held it up. "We caught you, Mankey!" Brayden exclaimed triumphantly. Squirtle and Pidgey cheered with him. Then, a familiar obnoxious voice rang in Brayden's ears.
"Ha! You're in no position to celebrate. That Mankey schooled you! Now if I had been trying to catch it, I would've caught it before it got angry. You're lucky it didn't break all the bones in your bodies!" Brayden and Squirtle winced. Blue had been watching the whole time.
"Who cares if I got scratched up a little?! What matters is I caught it!" "Squirtle Squirt!" Squirtle nodded. Blue scoffed at them. "Like I said, lucky. What about your Pidgey, huh? What good did it do you if it got knocked out from being trampled? Seems to me like you caught a real weakling! But hey, I guess it suits someone as lame as you!" Blue said mockingly. Pidgey was dumbfounded by this statement and hung his head in shame. Brayden growled in frustration. "You can't insult my Pokémon that way! Let's have a rematch!"
The older boy chuckled. "Letting your emotions get the best of you is just one of the many reasons I beat you, stupid. And besides, your Pokémon are too worn out just from that little scuffle. That challenge isn't worth my time. Smell ya later!" Once again, Blue walked away with that oh so infuriating smirk on his face.
"I can't stand that guy! One of these days we'll beat him so hard that he'll never insult us again!" Brayden vowed. Squirtle said nothing, but the look of indignance on his face said it all. Pidgey, however, was still sulking. Brayden gently patted the Tiny Bird's head. "It's okay, Pidgey. Squirtle and I know how strong you really are. We'll make Blue eat his words!" Pidgey perked up after hearing those words. "Alright then. It's back to the Viridian City Pokémon Center for us. And tomorrow, we head for Pewter City for our first Gym battle!"