[System Text]

"Spoken Word"

(Pokémon Talk)

Chapter Two: Getting Started

After Cyndaquil recovered he and I had a talk. (Who are you?)

"According to my trainer card my name is Kong, and I am the one who saved you from that gang of Zubat that had swarmed you in the forest and I brought you here for treatment." I explained to the flaming Pokémon before me as we were watched by the nurse.

I watched as the little guy processed what I told him. (Fine then since you saved me. You will be my trainer…) He started his demand strong then trailed off after his declaration.

I could not help but smile as he trailed off in his words about how he was going to be prideful about everything he did. "Very well then and to distinguish you from any other Cyndaquil we will need to give you a nickname."

(I want a name that will strike fear into the hearts of my enemies so no one will ever try to attack me again.) The little fire mouse Pokémon said as he tried to show a strong face before the nurses that were watching us interact.

I smiled down at him before I came to a decision. "You will be called Blaze as you may grow into a raging inferno that can overtake the world."

After a moment of pondering, I watched as he tilted his head from side to side before responding. (I like it!) He called out as he jumped up onto my chest knocking my over and proceeded to nuzzle into my chest.

I reached into my burlap sack and pulled out a pair of sunglasses that were my Hypervisor and worked as a HUD displaying Blaze's status and allowing me to confirm that he was in fact level 5 and showed me his current health and moves that he knew. After that we went to see the head nurse that was of course named Joy. "Hello there, miss I was wondering how much I owed you for healing Blaze here." I asked indicating the Pokémon that had taken to sitting on top of my head which was going to need to stop as he weighed a good fifteen pounds already.

The pink haired woman smiled at me before she answered my inquiry. "You don't owe anything as the medical services are always free for registered trainers. We also allow you to stay if treatment is needed for your Pokémon which is rarely longer than a night and here in Johto as well as in most regions we function as a hostel for trainers as they travel through the area. Most Pokémon Centers will let you stay if they have room for you and your team. Most Pokémon prefer to sleep in their pokeballs though. I have taken the time to register Cyndaquil there as your starter Pokémon and even his name of Blaze as the other nurse heard you call him. This is his new pokeball." She explained before handing me a pokeball. "Your trainer account has also been updated with a starting fund of three thousand dollars. As a new trainer you should note that although Pokémon in the wild are truly aggressive and may be killed without worry as they breed rapidly in the wild it is forbidden in battle between fellow trainers. As it has been noted by the others that you have the ability to understand Blaze, he can tell you about what he prefers to eat."

"Thank you for that Nurse Joy." I expressed my gratitude before petting Blaze on the head. "I will probably be back tonight depending on how the day goes as me and Blaze will be training before I try to find a friend for him and expand my team." With that said I walked out of the Pokémon Center and went to where I had stashed my new motorcycle last night and started to get ready for a day of training on Route 29.

Around noon it was clear to me how Pokémon quickly leveled up I was not surprised to see Blaze reach level 10 at which time we headed over to Route 46 in search of another partner. After a good hour of battling off Spearow I found a female Geodude that was level 3 and after a quick ember followed by a tackle from Blaze, I caught her. After that, a swarm of Zubat came and attacked us. They were all only level 1 or 2 but quite annoying. We eventually overcame them and with the training for today done I traveled back to Cherrygrove city and stashed my bike in the garage attached to the Pokémon center for those using the hostile accommodations there. I gave the Geodude over to the Pokémon center staff before bedding down for the night with Blaze at my side.

After a good night's rest, I went and picked up my new Geodude that I had registered under the Roxie before heading north onto Route 31 and slowly making my up with a gentle ride as both Blaze and Roxie were secured in their pokeballs. Each wild Pokémon that attacked were easily handled by Roxie as she quickly leveled up and none of the opponents stood a chance against her strong defense. I eventually ran into a youngster named Joey that challenged me to battle. After Roxie took out his Rattata he gave me his phone number to keep me informed of any swarms that he saw.

Once I got him up to level 10, I ventured out to Route 46 and caught a level 3 female Geodude that I named Roxie before having to fight off the persistent swarm of Zubat that would just not leave me alone. I found that by using my pokedex I was able to determine the nature of my Pokémon. Blaze had the blaze ability as was obvious and Roxie had Rock Head. After another stop in Cherrygrove city to allow Roxie to recover at the Pokémon center I made my way up to Route 30 where I started to train Roxie as none of the Pokémon there could do much to her. As the sun started to set, I found another swarm of Zubat coming my way and let Roxie manage them with her newly learned rock throw to quickly handle the mass of bats. She had made it up to level 11 by this time. I left her out as I freed Blaze from his pokeball and set up my Yurt attachment of my bag before letting Blaze start the campfire in the middle of the area covered by the design where there was a hole for the smoke to escape. I noticed a Bellsprout coming towards us and had Blaze tackle it before catching it and naming it Weed.

In the morning after resting up I packed the Yurt as Roxie delt with another swarm of Zubat before mounting my motorcycle and riding over towards the mountain that I could see just to the north and passed as I finished making my way there, I saw a sign indicating that this was the Dark Cave. I went in and found a Bronzor that I had Blaze try to burn. To my surprise I saw the Bronzor survive the ember and retaliate with a tackle. I quickly had Blaze tackle the gear like Pokémon to help weaken it before I caught it in one of my pokeballs. After that I left the cave and made my way along Route 31 towards Violet city. As I traveled, I had another notable trainer battle with a bug catcher named Wade who offered me his number. I accepted his offer so he could call me if he wanted to.

After making it to Violet city I was attacked by another swarm of Zubat that I let my new Bronzor named Liberty take out with a blast of confusion. I went to the Pokémon Center to heal up my team and check for and notices on the local listings. I found one for an Onix for trade to anyone willing to give up a Bellsprout. After a night of healing, I went and traded Weed away for Rocky the Onix. With that taken care of I went back out to Route 31 to catch another Bellsprout that I named Venus for the fly trap she would eventually become although knowing how Bellsprout leveled up I would be releasing her before too long as she would not be especially useful later.

After that I used switch training to level up my entire team to around level 10 before making my way back to Violet city. After another swarm attack I was able to make it to the garage of the Pokémon center and allow them to look over my current team for the night. In the morning I made my way to the Bellsprout Tower on foot and ascended it allowing Liberty and Blaze to take out all of the monks' Bellsprout as I climbed the tower. I eventually got to the top floor and watched as Tsubaki monologed to himself before he used an escape rope to leave the tower. I made myself known to the head monk before he started to lecture me on the need to treat my Pokémon with respect.

I bowed to show my respect for the old man before I asked if he was ready to face me in a battle to show the resolve of my team. He chuckled at my clear check but accepted my challenge. He lead off with a level 11 Bellsprout that I met with Liberty who was now Level 12 after battling up the tower. I had Liberty use confusion before he used growth which did not prevent a second confusion from knocking out the first Bellsprout. I kept Liberty out as he sent out another Bellsprout. This time after my first confusion his Bellsprout used vine whip which had almost no affect before falling to a second confusion. I switched out for Rocky after seeing his Hoothoot hit the field. With Rocky out there I called for a rock throw and used that to lower his Pokémon's health rapidly. It took two shots to finish his team off and he smiled as he saw the dedication I showed to my team.

After that fight I slowly made my way out of the tower and was swarmed by another flock of Zubat that I let Roxie handle before I made my way back to the Pokémon Center to allow my team to rest for the night before I would have a talk with them about challenging Falkner for my first badge.

Author's Endnote: I would like your opinion on which style you would prefer the summary style that I used in the second half of this chapter or the conversation detailed style that I started out with.

Current Team

Blaze: Cyndaquil

Level: 12

Moves: Tackle, Leer, Smokescreen, Ember

Roxie: Geodude

Level: 11

Moves: Tackle, Defense Curl, Rock Throw, Rock Polish

Liberty: Bronzor

Level: 13

Moves: Tackle, Confusion, Hypnosis, Imprison

Rocky: Onix

Level: 11

Moves: Rock Throw, Tackle, Harden, Bind

Venus: Bellsprout

Level: 10

Moves: Vine Whip, Growth