Red had been up for an hour by the time his alarm finally went off. He grabbed his things and took the steps two at a time, before stopping halfway down to run back up. He'd never grabbed the potion he ordered on Monday! He stuffed it in his bag and ran back down to the living room as his mom laughed.

"I know all boys leave home someday, but that isn't happening until after breakfast, ok young man?"

Red nodded and dropped his bag next to his seat, already halfway to the kitchen to help cook when he noticed the plates sat on the counter.

"I figured you'd be up early." His mom said with a wink as he grabbed them and went back to the table. "I'm surprised you didn't smell it upstairs." He hadn't. If he did Red probably would've come down sooner. The two ate in silence for a few minutes before his mom started talking.

"Samuel said you could stop by some time after 8, right?" Red nodded, glancing at the clock. It was only 7, but gramps was probably already in his lab by now. He probably wouldn't mind if Red was just a little early. "You sure you have everything? Spare clothes? A water cleaning kit? Your tent?" Red nodded along. He'd already checked his bag for everything twice this morning alone. "I know you'll be fine. I just can't help but worry. You and Blue are only 10. Just promise me you'll stay safe all right? No going off the standard routes." Red nodded, finishing the last of his food before grabbing his plate. He looked over and realized his mom had barely taken a bite. "I'll take care of it honey." She glanced at the clock, "I don't think you could stand staying another half hour could you? Go ahead. Maybe one of his assistants will let you help out while you wait. Red nodded, before grabbing his bag and giving his mom a big hug.

He ran to the door, and just before he ran out, he stopped and looked back. "I love you mom."

"I love you too Red. Good luck."

Red nodded, before shutting the door and running through the streets of Pallet towards the lab. He stopped just out front, panting heavily, before opening the door and heading in.

"Red?" Mr. Nishida said, glancing over at the boy as soon as he came in. "The professor said you weren't going to be here for another half hour." Red looked down at that, and Mr. Nishida just laughed, "I told him you woke up earlier than Blue. He left about fifteen minutes ago. Maybe you can go track him down." Red nodded, before turning and heading back outside. Where would Gramps have gone? Red started heading north, looking around for the old man. He didn't see him anywhere. Did Gramps... Red glanced up towards route 1. He did like to take walks up to Viridian sometimes. Maybe he'd just gone part of the way? Red edged closer, glancing around for the professor.

"Hey! Wait!" Red jumped spinning around to see Professor Oak running towards him as fast as he could, "You know it's not safe up there Red! What were you doing?"

"Looking for you." He said quietly.

Professor Oak sighed, "I was just grabbing something I left at home. Come on let's go head to the lab." Red nodded, following behind as they walked back through Pallet Town. Red nodded at Mr. Nishida and the other assistants as they walked through the lab, towards where Blue was impatiently tapping his foot, right next to a table with three pokeballs sat on it.

"Come on Gramps! I'm ready to get my pokemon!"

Professor Oak laughed, shaking his head at the two of them, "Did you two ever decide who would pick their starter first?"

"We said whoever got a higher score on the last trainer's test, didn't we Red?" Red nodded, "Then I guess it's gonna be me." Blue said, "There's no way you topped a 97." Red just smiled, before pulling a piece of paper from his pocket and handing it to the professor.

Professor Oak unfolded it, before looking down at Blue, "Looks like you're going second."

"What? No way!" Blue grabbed the results sheet and stared at it for a moment, before glaring at Red, "How'd you get a 98?!' Red shrugged, walking over to the table and looking down at them. He already knew which one he was going to pick. Red reached for the pokeball with a little red sticker on it, before turning to the professor and smiling.

"So you want Charmander?" Red nodded, taking the pokeball and throwing it up. In a flash of light, the fire type lizard appeared, landing in Red's arms and beaming up at him.

"Cha!"

"And I'm taking this one." Blue said, walking over and plucking a pokeball off the table.

"Squirtle!" Blue looked at the pokemon he released onto the table, before smirking over at Red.

"Heh. Mine looks stronger, doesn't he?" Red rolled his eyes, setting charmander down so that he could return it.

"Let's go transfer ownership of these two over.." Professor Oak said, but before he even started to move Blue yelled.

"Wait! Red! Let's check out our pokémon! Come on, I'll take you on!"

"Blue we need to-" Professor Oak looked at the two of them, before sighing, "Oh all right. You can use one of the fields out back. Blue returned his squirtle, and the two followed Professor Oak out the back door into the yard. Red and Blue walked over to the closet 'Arena' (really it was just a chalk outline) and took their positions.

Professor Oak stood to the side and cleared his throat "This will be a one on one battle between Red Kiro in the Red corner and Blue Oak in the Blue corner! The battle will continue until one pokemon is defeated! Blue trainer, are you ready?"

"Of course." Blue said, holding up his pokeball."

"Red trainer ready?" Red adjusted his hat, before looking across the field and meeting his Rivals eyes. He lifted his pokeball and nodded.

"Let the battle begin!"

Red and Blue threw their pokeballs at the same time, and for a moment, neither moved. Charmander and Squirtle locked eyes, slowly circling each other as they waited for their trainers first ever commands.

"Tackle!" Blue shouted.

"Right and scratch as it passes." Red said. Charmander jumped to the right, but he wasn't quite fast enough to hit the turtle as it went past. "Follow it."

"Hide in your shell!" Squirtle skidded to a stop, and that moment's delay was long enough for Charmander to get a hit in.

"Fall back." Charmander took a few steps backwards, growling at squirtle.

"Tsk, of course you wouldn't fall for that huh Red? Squirtle! Pop out and make some distance!" Squirtle's head popped out of his shell, and he seemed almost glad to get away from the still growling Charmander. "Squirtle, shoot it with water!"

"Get away Charmander." Charmander turned and sprinted back towards Red as Squirtle took a breath.

"Squir-TLE!" And all that came out was a small little stream that barely went anywhere.

"Looks like we'll have to work on that then." Blue said with an awkward laugh, "Start getting closer!"

"You too Charmander."

"Back in your shell! Let him come to us!"

"Get behind it." Charmander slowly circled Squirtle, growling all the while, before reaching forward to scratch at it.

"Now!" And was rewarded with a swift tackle to the chin.

"Charmander be careful."

The battle stalled. Every now and then Charmander would step forward, only to bounce off Squirtle's shell and sometimes get a tackle for the trouble. Red watched them repeat that pattern a few times, "Charmander, get over here." Red's voice lowered as his pokemon approached, "I want you to pretend to scratch it ok? And when he tries to hit you grab his tail and don't let it go. Can you do that?"

"Cha!"

"What are you planning, Red?" Red just shook his head. "Well, it doesn't matter! There's nothing you can do to get past Squirtle's defense!"

"Scratch." Charmander ran forward, and predictably, Squirtle lunged out to punish it.

"Squir?!" This time, he found his tail in the firm grip of Charmander instead.

"Fire." Red said. Charmander took a breath, and breathed what was more akin to hot air than anything else on Squirtle's tail.

"Break free!" The two rolled around, Charmander hardly ever slipping, and when he did grabbing on again before Squirtle could hide his tail.

"Squirtle is unable to battle!"

"What do you mean gramps! He's still going!"

"And what would be the point Blue? He can't shake Charmander. If this keeps going all you're going to do is delay your journey a day while he rests."

"Fine fine." Blue said, returning his pokemon, "Next time, we won't lose will we Squirtle?"

Red returned Charmander as well, looking down at the ball. "Thank you."

"Now that you two have that out of your system, can we properly register your pokemon?" Red nodded and Blue shrugged, and both followed the professor back inside. He brought them upstairs to his office. The room was fairly big, and it needed to be considering the giant red dog curled up inside. Arcanine peaked its head up as the three entered, before laying back down.

"Now, since you won your battle Red, come here." Red stopped long enough to reach over and scratch Arcanine's head, before sitting down in front of the professor's desk. Professor Oak sat at his computer for a minute, before turning to Red, "I need your Trainer I.D." Red reached into his pocket and handed the card over. After typing for a second, Professor Oak said, "And now for Charmander's pokeball." Professor Oak set the pokeball down onto a scanner. After waiting for it to load he punched in a code and slid the keyboard over to Red. "And now for your Secret ID." Red punched in the code, and after a moment, the professor handed him back his things. "And with that, Charmander is officially yours." He said with a smile. "While I register Blue's Squirtle, why don't you head down and heal Charmander up?" Red nodded, and headed downstairs. He put Charmander's pokeball in the healing machine and set it to start.

"Charmander?" Red looked up to see Mr. Nishida standing in front of him. "It was always my favorite too." Red smiled at him as the machine beeped, and he grabbed his pokemon and put in the little holder on his side. "Good luck on your journey Red. We're going to miss having you around the lab."

Red paused for a moment, before softly saying, "I'll miss you guys."

Mr. Nishida smiled. "Have fun out there kid. Stay safe." Red nodded.

"Hey Red!" Red turned to see Blue walk over, putting Squirtle's pokeball in the machine and turning it on, "Gramps has one more thing to say to us before we head out." He rolled his eyes, "Like we haven't heard it a hundred times already." Red laughed.

"And is it really the same if you're just eavesdropping?" The professor in question called as he walked down the stairs, his hands behind his back.

"No, but I wanna hurry up and get to Viridian! If we're lucky we'll have time to find some sparring partners before the gym closes for the day!"

"Then I guess I'll keep it short." Professor Oak said with a laugh, before clearing his throat. "Welcome to the world of pokemon! As of today, the two of you are officially trainers! As Advanced Start Trainers, Oak Labs will provide the funding necessary to feed 6 pokemon each until you complete your first gym battle. Here." Professor Oak offered both his hands, one to each boy. In them, were 5 shrunken pokeballs, and a bright red device, "You are both being asked to take a Pokedex. It will gather data on any pokemon you encounter for me, and in exchange it will share what it knows with you. Keep it safe, and use it well." The professor flung his arms out to either side, "Your very own Pokémon legend is about to unfold! A world of dreams and adventures with Pokémon awaits!"

Professor Oak smiled at the two, "And as family, I wish you both the best of luck on your journey's. Stay safe, and call if you need anything, even if it's just to help with homesickness. I'll always be here for you two, ok?"

"You got it gramps." Blue said with a smile, "Have fun here at the lab, got it." Blue stretched, "It's time for me to head out. Smell ya later Gramps, Red." With that, Blue turned and ran out the door.

"Don't forget Red. We may not be related, but you're still family. I'll always be here for you."

Red looked down, adjusting his hat to cover his eyes. He stayed still for a moment, before nodding. Then, he turned and started out on his own journey.


Red waited until he'd made it out of Pallet before he sent out Charmander again.

"Cha!" The little fire type said, looking up at Red.

"Hey there little guy." Red said, kneeling down, "I'm Red, and I'm gonna be your trainer. I'm glad to finally meet you." Red and Blue weren't allowed to interact with the starter pokemon at the lab; they bonded too easily, so only Gramps and a couple of his head assistants were allowed to even see them.

"Cha! Cha- Ard!" Charmander cried, its tail flame wavering as it spoke. That meant they were happy. Red smiled. "Now, let's see what's special about you, ok bud?" Charmander nodded, and Red took out his brand new pokedex.

Charmander, the Lizard Pokemon. The flame on its tail can be used to gauge how healthy a Charmander is, and how it is feeling. Red already knew that. Let's see... Specific scan.

Estimated level: 5

Moves: Scratch, Growl

Abilities: Blaze

Gender: Male

"So you're a boy huh?" Red said, and Charmander nodded. "Got it." Red put the pokedex away and stood up, "We're going to be heading up towards Viridian City. Do you want to walk with me?"

"Cha!"

Red nodded, "While we're walking, let's work on getting that ember attack going, ok?" Charmander threw a fist in the air. "Glad you're excited too. Ok Charmander, fire!" Charmander took a deep breath, and shot it out with a cry. Red could faintly see the air rippling, but nothing more than that. Charmander looked down at it and frowned. "It's all right Charmander. We've got plenty of time to figure that out. Why don't we try it again, ok?" Once more, Charmander took a breath, and tried to produce so much as a spark. Again, nothing. Charmander sighed, but with a little more encouragement from Red, kept on practicing as the two walked.

Red meanwhile, couldn't stop himself from looking around. He'd been out on route 1 before, but always either in a car on the main path or with a trainer. Now HE was the trainer. Just the thought made him smile. Everything about the place just felt different. The air clearer, the colors brighter, even the sounds of wild pokemon seemed louder. Was that just because he'd never paid them any attention?

"Tatata!" Red's eyes locked on the little purple pokemon that dashed in front of them. Before he could even tell Charmander to do anything, it lunged forward, slamming into Charmander and sending him rolling to the ground.

"Charmander!" Charmander rolled back to his feet and growled at the rodent. "Fine, if it want's a fight how about we give it one. Charmander scratch it!" Charmander rushed forward, but the rattata jumped back. "Try to burn it!" Charmander took a breath and fired, but all that happened was a puff of hot air that the rattata ran right through to hit him again. Red grit his teeth. "Ok, when I say now, scratch it. Until then, growl, ok?"

"Cha!" Charmander growled, and the rattata paused halfway through its next lunge. It tried to circle around Charmander towards Red, but Red circled with it, keeping his pokemon between the two. Finally, after an eternity, it committed to an attack.

Wait for it...

Wait for it...

"Now!" Just before the rattata could hit him, Charmander's claw flung up and hit it in the belly, knocking it back and away. "Hurry, run up and ember!" Charmander only got a few steps in, before the Rattata turned and ran back into the thick grass. Charmander turned back to him, and Red beamed at the pokemon, "You did great Charmander!"

"Cha!" It said, taking a few steps towards Red, before reaching down to its stomach, where a bruise was already forming from the Rattata's hit.

"Hey, take it easy bud." Red reached into his bag and took out his potion. He sprayed it on Charmander, who sighed as it numbed the pain. "Why don't you wait in your pokeball, ok Charmander? So you can rest up." Charmander nodded, and Red pulled out his pokeball and returned him.


"Your charmander is in perfect health." Nurse Joy smiled at Red, and he nodded as he took the pokeball back. "Thank you for coming, we hope you have a great day." Red smiled back and nodded, before turning and leaving. Ok, Charmander was fine and the sun was still up. Hopefully he had enough time to visit the gym before it closed for the day. Red walked quickly through town, passing by an old man getting carried away by a much younger girl, who was saying her apologies to the small crowd he seemed to have been attracting. Red just shrugged and walked past, heading up to the big building in the north of the city. He waited outside for a moment, before opening the door. Immediately, the sounds of pokemon attacks and trainers yelling slammed into Red so much he almost flinched. After the initial shock however, he nodded and headed inside.

"Sorry kid, the intro to training class is only on Tuesdays. Its at 3 anyway, so youda missed it anyway." Red turned to see a man who was probably in his early twenties leaned against a wall, watching the chaos of trainers. Red shook his head and showed Charmander's pokeball. "Oh you're one of them early starters are ya? Well the Boss's still not here. Somethin went wrong up in Victory Road and he had to go deal with it. Won't be here for a few days at least." Red shook his head. "Ain't here for a challenge? Then what are ya here for?" Red took a breath.

"Advice. I'm on my way to Pewter."

"Pewter? What, you trying to do the Kanto Circuit?" Red nodded, "Whatever you say kid. Lemme just tell you that most don't make it through that." Red knew that. "So is this your first visit to a gym." Nod. "Well I guess it's up to me to tell you how it works. Come on kid." The man kicked off the wall and started walking forward. "You can battle as much as you want, often as ya want. Only rule is you can't go bullying people and if we see you pushing your pokemon too far, we'll step in to stop ya, got it?" Red nodded. "Money matches are allowed, and so's just battling for fun. You make the rules. 'Fore you can battle the gym leader, you've gotta fight some of the gym trainers. Every gym's different, so if you wanted to fight the Boss, you'd have to fight 4 of us. Then we'll give you a time to come do the challenge. Pass and you go right into the leader fight. Make sense?" Nod. "Us gym trainers are here to help, so if you need any flag us down. We tend ta focus on the gym type, but especially us veterans know about others too, so don't worry. We've all got the badge somewhere on our clothes. usually our back." He pointed to a few random people, all with a green feather emblazoned somewhere on their clothes. "There's seminars and event's an stuff, so if you're sticking around near a gym look at what's coming up, got it?" Red nodded. "You don't talk much do ya kid?" Red bowed his head and shook it, but the man just shrugged. "Well, there's still another hour or so before I shut us down for the night. Do you want to go lookin' for someone you can train with, or do you want me to give you some advice?"

"Advice." Red muttered. He took out Charmander's pokeball and released the pokemon. "We, we just started. I know care, not so much training."

"Charmander eh? Anything specific you wanna learn?"

Red thought for a moment. If they fought, he could learn how to call shots, how to predict things, they could get closer. The thing he was the most lost about was probably... "Move tutoring."

The man let out a low whistle. "That's a tricky one all right. Most moves're different. For now, I can help get ya started on one, and show you the general. That work." Red nodded. "First off, you gotta be patient. Even regular moves like- does 'e know ember yet?" Red shook his head. "Like ember take some time. It's instinctual for 'em, but that don't make it easy. Hey Charmander, how far you got so far?"

Charmander looked to Red, who nodded. It took a breath, and- hot aired... "Ain't surprising." The man said. "Now, with ember here you've gotta learn how to use fire at all. You've got a fire type so that'll be easier, but it's still got to learn how to call it out. Charmander, close your eyes and try to feel that fire in you. Get a real good feel for it, k? When you do, push it to your mouth and just hold it. Let it build a bit." Charmander closed his eyes. The three stood in silence for a while, Red saw a bit of smoke start leaking out of Charmander's mouth. Before he could do anything, Charmander's eyes flew open, smoke pouring out of his mouth as he coughed and hacked like Gary after he tried that enigma berry sauce.

"Charmander!?" Red knelt down next to his starter, but didn't know what to do. After what felt like an eternity, Charmander took a breath and gave him a weak smile.

"Cha..."

"Even fire types can feel the burn kid. Don't worry, Charmander'll get used to it with practice. Once he can hold it in his mouth you can try ta figure out shooting the ember. From there its practice 'till the whole thing's effortless." Red nodded. "I'd recommend getting some Rawst berries if you can. Soothes it apparently."

"Is... there anywhere around here I can get some?"

"Best place in the region's Celadon if you wanna walk, but the store in town should have some. Just won't be as fresh."

Red nodded. "Thank you." He said softly.

"No prob kid. Now, if there's nothin else you need I'm gonna go back to watching the place. The Boss'll kill me if I let it get wrecked while he's gone. Good luck kid. Hopefully I'll see you back here for your eighth badge." He would. Red shook his head at the offer of more help, and waved the man off. Then, he let out a breath. That went about as well as it could've.

"Hey Charmander. Do you want to keep trying with Ember, or should we look for someone to battle?" In response, Charmander closed his eyes and took a breath.

It didn't take quite as long to get smoke and another coughing fit, and after getting a drink of water, Charmander was ready to go another round.

Red honestly had no clue how much time had passed before he heard the man from before call out over the loudspeakers, "Finish up your battles! If you're still here in 15 minutes I'm sicking the Boss's retired mons on ya. Doesn't even use em for LLTs anymore cause they're too strong and too cranky!" Red laughed, and looked down at Charmander. His face was stained black from smoke, but he had a grin on his face as he held the smoke for the entire announcement, before letting it go and falling into one last coughing fit.

"You're doing great Charmander. We'll get this in no time."

"Ch-cha!" Charmander coughed the rest of the smoke out, before Red held up his pokeball. The fire type gratefully allowed himself to be returned.

"Those of you wanting some late night food better hurry! Grocery store's closing in a half hour and pokemon center food sucks!" There was a collective laugh at that, along with a few 'here here's.' Red just nodded, making eye contact with the man and smiling, before he turned and headed out of the gym.

There was a grocery store on the way to the pokemon center, luckily enough, so Red was able to get some Rawst berries and dinner for him and Charmander. Nurse Joy checked him into a room for the night, and he went up. Red washed Charmander's face with a damp cloth before the two ate, and Charmander looked positively blissful as he ate a few Rawst Berries for dessert. After that, Red returned the fire type, got ready for bed, and fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.


"Are you heading into Viridian Forest? It's a natural maze in there, so make sure you don't get lost, ok?" Red adjusted his hat and nodded at the nice lady who'd stopped him on the way out of the city. Red had prepared before heading over here. Potions, Antidotes, Food for him and Charmander, even some extra rawst berries so they could practice on ember while they were out here. He had everything he needed.

After stepping into the forest proper, Red grabbed the pokeball at his side. "Charmander, come on out."

"Cha!" Red smiled down at the little fire type, before nodding.

"Let's go bud." Red turned and started walking deeper into the forest. Should he catch anything while he was here? He was allowed a full team after all. No, he should focus on Charmander for now. Maybe in a week or two he could come back if he wanted to catch anything else, but for now, just Charmander.

"Hey you! You have a pokemon!" Red jumped and jerked his head to the right, where a boy probably his age was running up, a net trailing behind him. "Let's battle 'em!"

Red looked down at Charmander, who nodded and stepped forward.

"Great! Weedle! I choose you!" The boy threw a pokeball, which bounced once (Red winced) before a weedle appeared, looking around in confusion, before shaking its head. "Weedle, use poison sting!" The bug just turned and looked at him. Freshly caught?

"Charmander, use scratch." Charmander ran forward and scratched at the bug, who cried out, before turning and jabbing its horn into Charmander.

"Great job Weedle! Do it again!" The weedle instead elected to use string shot, sticking Charmander's legs to the floor. "That works too!"

"Use your tail to burn it away." The weedle started coming closer, horn lowered. "Smack it away quick!" Slam! The weedle flew to the side, its side slightly burned by Charmander's tail.

"Ah man. Weedle, you did great!" The boy returned the injured bug and took out another pokeball, "Let's go another round!" Red shrugged. Charmander looked fine. "Great! Go caterpie!" Caterpie looked less excited about this than weedle did, since it turned and hid in the grass behind Red. Red looked at the boy and raised an eyebrow. "Eheheh. I kinda just caught them. I just wanted to have a quick battle before my teache-"

"Frederick Shinichi what on EARTH are you doing?!"

"Oops..." the boy winced, turning to see a woman about his mom's age hurrying over, a fierce glare on her face and a small crowd of kids behind her.

"You return that poor pokemon this instant! I look away for one second and you run off and accost some poor trainer with pokemon you were told to CATCH ONLY!" She held out her hand, "Pokeballs. Now." The boy bowed his head and handed over a half dozen or so pokeballs, and the lady stuffed them in her bag before looking at Red. "I'm sorry about him. I brought out my class today to practice catching and to collect a few pokemon to use as examples. A beedrill showed up, and by the time I had handled it some of them had run off. Where is everyone else?" She turned her glare back to the boy.

"They ran off deeper! I don't know where they went!"

"Mew give me patience." The teacher sighed, "I'm sorry to bother you, but if you see any more of them can you tell the Ms. Evergreen is looking for them?" Red nodded. "Thank you dear. Here, for the trouble." The woman took a wallet out of her bag, and Red shook his head. "Oh I insist. It's the least I can do, even if this is the only boy you manage to find." She held out a small stack of bills, and Red awkwardly accepted it. "Have a good day dear. Stay safe." Red just nodded as the teacher dragged her student back to the rest of the class.

"That was..." Red didn't know what to say. He was going to have to keep an eye out for more kids apparently...

"Let's go Charmander."

"Cha!"

Honestly, there was no way Red would actually find another one of those students. Viridian Forest was a big place, and even if he stuck to the established paths there were so many branches and detours the odds of picking the same one as someone else on accident had to be one in a million or something. Red and Charmander happily walked along, battling an aggressive spearow, but mostly just making their way down the path. Red checked the Viridian Forest page on his map. There was a rest spot at about the halfway point. They weren't running through the forest nearly fast enough to do this whole trip in a day (honestly, Red didn't even know if he could move that fast.) so that would be a good spot to aim for. They had plenty of time to get there.

"Mander man." Red looked down at where Charmander was tugging at his sleeve, before following a pointed claw to the trees up ahead. Another spearow? Hopefully not. They were known to flock, and Red didn't want to try and deal with a fearow, much less its twenty friends.

"I see you up there! Come on, get in the pokeball!" Red tensed just a little bit and fiddled with his hat. He walked a little farther up the path and, just barely inside the treeline, there was another kid looking up at a tree, throwing a pokeball up. It came down and he failed to catch it, and instead caught a blob of web in the face for his troubles. He fought to rip it off, and when he managed, he sank to the floor and caught his breath. That's when he saw Red, by this point just a few feet away.

"Heya! My name's Dion. Do you want to battle?" Red shook his head. "Oh come on! You can't jam out if you want to be a trainer!" But he could tell this kid to go back to his group before something happened. Red just pointed back the way he'd come. "What's back there?"

Red took a quick breath, "Ms. Evergreen's looking for you.

The kid paled. "I'm in so much trouble! I've gotta go!" The kid turned and took off behind Red. As he left, a green, spider like pokemon descended from the tree and hissed. Red lifted his hands and backed away from it. No use upsetting it any more than that kid had. Seriously, why would you make a pokemon mad when you didn't even have one to defend yourself with?

Although, Red could understand why a class would come into Viridian Forest to catch pokemon. Most of the pokemon here were bug types, or at the very least fairly docile and easy to catch. And it was so full of life! It felt like he couldn't go ten steps without seeing something new; caterpie climbing up the sides of trees, a horde of beedrill guarding kakunas that Red had to take a detour to avoid. At one point Red saw an injured pidgey on the ground and he stopped to help heal its wing. It sat on top of his hat as he walked for probably an hour before it found its flock and a pidgeotto flew down to take it and carry it away. Charmander even managed to startle an oddish by walking directly on top of it while it was buried and asleep! Charmander had stumbled back and fallen off his feet while the oddish ran off to go find a new hiding spot.

"You ok Charmander?"

"Cha!" Charmander seemed indignant at the suggestion, and proved his point by running ahead a few feet before turning back to look at his trainer. See? Just fine!

Red was the only one who saw the grass next to him rustle. "Look out!"

"Der?" Charmander tilted his head to the side, oblivious as a weedle launched itself out of the grass, and slammed into his back and hard enough to send him tumbling forward.

"Charmander!" Red took a step closer, but stopped as the weedle cried out, aiming his horn at Red.

"man..." Charmander staggered to his feet and looked back at the weedle and taking its attention back off of the much less hardy trainer.

"Scratch it quick!" Charmander moved forward sluggishly, slow enough for the weedle to dodge his first couple swings and get another hit of its own. Finally, Charmander got a clean hit, and the weedle went flying back, before disappearing into the grass.

"Charmander! Come here bud I've got you." Charmander staggered back to Red, his tail dimmer than normal and a purple tinge to his face. Poisoned. "It's all right bud. I got an antidote." Red started digging through his bag.

Food, no.

Clothes, no.

Tent, no.

Potion- Red tossed that towards Charmander, who caught it dumbly as he watched Red. Where was it- There! Red grabbed the little yellow container and swore he'd organize his bag properly as he pulled Charmander closer. The hit wasn't even that bad. Charmander certainly took worse than that on the way here, but the weedle had managed to get between some of his scales and break skin. Red sprayed the antidote on the little hole, and Charmander let out a startled yelp that got cut off as one last wave of poison wracked his little body.

"Sorry buddy. I know it stings but you'll feel better in a minute I promise." Red didn't need to use nearly as much as he had, but so what? He didn't stop until Charmander relaxed and the purple tint faded from his cheeks. "I'm gonna use some potion on it too ok? Can you hand me that?" Charmander turned a little and offered the potion, and just shivered slightly as the potion coated his injury. When Red stopped, he relaxed. Charmander was fine. He was just tired.

"You get a good rest, ok Charmander? I'll let you out at dinner, ok?" Charmander nodded, and Red tapped his head with his pokeball and returned him.

Now he was alone. Red shuddered at an absent wind, and glanced around him. Red wasn't that far from the rest spot. Maybe an hour at the pace he was going, half that if he moved quick. Red put the medicine back in his bag and got up. He had time before it got dark, he'd be fine.

"DRILL!"

"FREE!"

As long as he stopped jumping at every little thing that was. Ok, stay calm. Red pulled out his atlas. Viridian Forest wasn't too bad if you followed the main paths. All he had to do was stay on this path until it ended. Take a left, and he'd be fine. The rest spot was right there and he probably wouldn't even be the only person camping out there. Red checked his compass even though he knew he had just checked it five minutes before Charmander got attacked, adjusted his bag, and kept walking. It would probably only take a half hour. He had plenty of time.

Half an hour was also plenty of time to see some of the other pokemon Viridian Forest was home to. There were a few more of those spider things Red couldn't remember the name of, and Red knew he heard hoothoots and noctowl. He thought about using a repel to be safe, but he'd only bought enough for tonight. That was a mistake he was never making again. Still, it wouldn't be too long before he made it to the rest spot. He turned when the path split and watched as a pair of pichu scurry up a tree and dive into a little hollow for the night. Red looked ahead, and sighed in relief when he saw the rest site in the distance.

As it turns out though, Red was the only person here tonight. Of course he was. Its fine. Viridian Forest was pretty safe. The worst thing here was supposed to be the occasional beedrill or pidgeot. Red took a breath, and set his bag down. "Hey Charmander, come on out." Red tossed the pokeball up, and when Charmander appeared, he was sat down, slumped slightly but alert.

"Cha..."

"How are you feeling buddy?" Charmander waved his tail. It was stronger than it had been earlier. Still not as bright as normal, but stronger. "I should have been paying more attention." Red muttered, "Do you want to stay in your pokeball? Or do you mind standing guard while I set up camp?" Charmander adjusted himself, before looking out into the forest around them. "Thanks bud."

The rest site wasn't that big. Spots for four tents or so circling a brick barrier that had ash from the last fire still inside. Red went to the tree line and started collecting fallen branches, twigs, anything that looked like it would be good for a fire. He wouldn't light it until it got dark in a half hour or so, but he wanted everything ready while he could see. He had water, food, there was a spot already set up for a bathroom over there... All he really needed to do was set up his tent and repel the area. Red pulled his tent out of his bag and released the capsule. All the parts were lined up ready for him, so Red spent the next 10 minutes silently pitching his tent before putting his bag inside and releasing his sleeping bag inside too. Then he went around the edges of the camp with the repel and watched as a few pokemon already scurried away from it. He used the whole can, and tossed it by his bag.

"That's everything Charmander."

"Cha." Charmander smiled at him.

"Come here. I want to use a little more potion on you." It wouldn't do much, but just in case there was anything he missed Red wanted to be safe. Charmander walked over slowly, but steady enough that it eased his worry a bit. Charmander just looked tired. Tired was fine. Tired was safe. Still. Red applied another round of potion, before he gave Charmander a much appreciated scratch under the chin. "Are you hungry bud?" Charmander nodded. "Ok, let's get the fire going and eat ok?"

"Mander." Red walked over to the middle of the campsite and looked down at the firewood he had.

"Is it ok if I borrow your tail Charmander?" In response, Charmander walked over and spun, putting his tail halfway in the fire put for Red to use to light his kindling. Soon, he had a fire going, and a can of soup for him and a can of pokemon food for charmander warming up. He sat down to watch over it, and Charmander curled up, his tail resting on top of the bricks across from Red.

"Um, excuse me?" Red turned to see another kid his age, covered in dirt and shaking slightly. One of them was still out here? And this deep in the woods? "Do you have something to eat? I got lost, and I don't know where my class is." Back home where they were supposed to be. Red nodded and pointed to the can of soup on the fire. He wasn't that hungry, he could wait for another one to heat up.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Red just nodded as he grabbed another can and peeled off the label, before setting it on the bricks. The fire was too small to put it on before he took the others off.

"Charmander, can you grab it out of the fire." Red said softly.

"Char!" Charmander pulled the two cans out, completely ignoring the fire and set them down on the bricks. Red handed the boy a spoon and put his own soup on the fire. The boy immediately sat down in front of his can and shoved a spoonful in his mouth.

"HOT HOT HOT!" And immediately burned himself. A fire type just took it off the fire, what did he expect? The boy blew on it to cool it down, before properly taking a bite. "Thank you again. My name's Charlie."

Red cleared his throat. "Red."

"Charmander!"

"So you're a trainer already?" Red nodded. "That's so cool! I can't wait until I'm old enough. Hey, did you know some pokemon evolve?" Of... course he did? "Well bug types are the best because they evolve really fast! If you train a bug type they get really strong really fast! I actually saw a caterpie evolve earlier! Caught it too!" Red just nodded along as Charlie continued to ramble. Charlie occasionally asked him a question, and Red responded with his usual short answers while he gave a little more fuel to the fire and stirred his can of soup.

His food was ready and he'd almost finished it when Charmander looked up, before letting out a startled cry and falling back. Red and Charlie did the same a moment later when a pidgeot landed a few feet away, a man in orange and black hopped off. Oh, he was a ranger.

"Hey, is either of you Charlie Manabu?"

"That's me." The ranger looked relieved as he reached for his walkie.

"I found the last one. I'll send him back in a minute."

"Copy that."

The ranger lowered his hand to his side and sighed, "You had everyone worried kid. You can't go running off like that."

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok. What matters is that you're safe." he turned to Red. "Thanks for looking after him. You're a trainer right?" Red reached into his pocket and took out his ID. "Red Kiro huh?" Red nodded, "Anything I can do to thank you?"

Red looked at Charmander. He looked a lot better but... "Do you… have any pecha berries?"

The ranger chuckled. "Weedle got you?" Red nodded. "I always carry some when I go near Viridian. Here you go." Red nodded his thanks, and the ranger turned to Charlie. "You ready to head home?"

"Yes sir." The ranger took a pokeball off his waist and sent out a kadabra.

"Can you bring Charlie here back to Viridian?"

"Dabra!" Kadabra lifted its spoon and pressed it to Charlie's back, before, in a flash of light, both disappeared.

"Have a good night. Make sure you put that fire out when you leave, ok?" Red nodded, and watched as the ranger flew off. Red sat in silence for a minute, before turning to Charmander.

"Well it looks like you get dessert tonight." Charmander laughed as Red reached into the pouch the ranger gave him and tossed Charmander a couple berries.

~~~Author's Notes~~~

I really hope you all enjoy this story! I know Red's journey isn't exactly the most original topic to cover, but I hope I can make it interesting. I haven't read the manga, and I've only watched parts of the show, so anything in those canons is likely going to be contradicted, but if they have anything interesting to say please let me know! I will be following the story of the games, but there are going to be changes to hopefully make it more interesting as a read and to explain some things about how I perceive the pokemon /

If you read this story I want to ask you something. Please comment and tell me that you're actually there. Even if its just a '3' or a 'good chapter' or pointing out a fun fact, it'll help keep me motivated to write. I want to get better at writing too, so constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. /

I know most authors don't like it, but I'm actually asking you to badger me. I want to post something weekly, and if I miss one without explanation, I want my email flooded with people calling me out for it. For now, I will be posting Monday nights, and since I am in a late timezone, you will probably be seeing chapters when you wake up on Tuesday.

Also, I'm posting this both here and on A03, so if you prefer to read over there for any reason, just search it. Everything should be identical to here.