Northeast of Cerulean City, a small cape touched the sea. On that cape was the humble, isolated Sea Cottage. A famous scientist had taken residence there, and converted it into a laboratory. On the back wall, there were two large, cylindrical chambers, connected by a long tube that reached the ceiling. A series of wires connected the chamber to a simple computer on a desk. In the middle of the room was a round, pink Clefairy. It was pacing, panicked.
Red entered the cottage. The Clefairy looked at him.
"Oh, thank goodness," said the Clefairy. "You have to help me. I know what this looks like—but I'm not actually a Pokémon! I'm Bill! You know—the PokéManiac? Maybe you've heard of me? It doesn't matter. Listen—I'm in a jam, here. I was experimenting with digital consciousness, and… well, long story short, I'm sort of, um, in the wrong body right now. But you can fix it! When I'm in the Teleporter, just go to my PC and click the button that says 'Run Cell Separation System.' That's it! That's all you have to do!"
Bill walked over to one of the cylindrical chambers. It opened. He stepped into it. He turned around, and gave Red a thumbs-up. "I'm counting on you, pal."
The chamber closed.
Red ran outside.
~·~
Start Time: 1d 21h 28m
~·~
"KILL BILL!" Red shouted as he entered the cottage.
"Seriously?" said the Clefairy. "You left? Seriously? I was waiting in there for, like, two minutes. I was talking to you! And you just left. Seriously."
"FURRY!" Red said, pointing at Bill. "FURSUIT CLEFAIRY! CLEFAIRY FURSONA!"
"I…" Bill started. Then he turned away, and sighed. "Of all people," he muttered. "Of all people, of all times. He had to come now." He faced Red. "Listen," he said. "This situation is pretty embarrassing for me, but the technology that made it possible is incredibly… you're not even listening, are you?"
Red was rolling the Nugget up and down Abby's face.
"That's a lovely Nugget, but I don't see how it… okay, now you're putting it away. And now you're… taking out a TM?"
Red rubbed TM11 on Abby's head.
"Is that the TM for BubbleBeam? Are you trying to teach it to a Charmeleon? That's, uh… that's not gonna work."
Red rubbed TM11 on Pidgeotto's head.
"Okay, well, that's not gonna work, either," said Bill. "If you want to teach BubbleBeam, you gotta get yourself a water-type."
Red rubbed TM11 on Jay Leno's head.
"That's, uh… that's a Rattata," said Bill. "Again: not gonna work. You gotta—"
[JLVWNNOOOO learned BUBBLEBEAM!]
"…Huh."
"BASED JAY LENO!" said Red. "JAY LENO WILL BUBBLE BATH TO VICTORY!"
"Okay," said Bill, "I'll admit: I had no idea that Rattata could use BubbleBeam. Learn something new every day, I guess."
Red held Jay Leno up high, and spun him around in circles, cheering.
"Kind of a waste of a TM, though," Bill muttered.
Red stomped around the room, whooping victoriously. "BUBBLE BEAM! BUBBLE BATH! BUBBLE TROUBLE! Bubble bubble bubble bubble…"
"Well," said Bill, "uh, I'm just gonna go in the Teleporter and, uh, hope that you fix me. Because, to be honest, I'm pretty desperate right now."
Bill walked into the rightmost chamber. It closed behind him.
After stomping around for a minute, Red went to the computer and started mashing random keys.
A young, brown-haired man emerged from the leftmost chamber.
"You actually did it," he said, relieved. "Thank you. I owe you one." He walked over to Red, holding out a piece of paper. "This is a ticket to board the S.S. Anne. Since you're a trainer, you'll probably want to meet the captain. He can give you the HM for Cut. You'll need it if you want to challenge Vermilion Gym."
Red grabbed the S.S. Ticket.
"Now, I know what you're thinking: how did I transfer my consciousness to a Clefairy?"
Red nibbled the S.S. Ticket.
"…Okay, maybe that's not what you're thinking," said Bill. "But… I'll explain anyway. It all has to do with Digital Physics Theory. Which is a theory that the universe is, fundamentally, digital. That means anything can be digitized. Even consciousness. Imagine the implications. If we could really crack the code—if we discovered the full digital sequence of the physical universe—we'd become gods. We could achieve absolute power over…" He smiled slightly. "Well, I'm rambling now."
"Start, start, b," Red mumbled, brushing Pidgeotto's crest with the S.S. Ticket. "Up, b, down… WE GOT A TICKET TO RIDE… start, b, b…"
"Anyway," Bill said, as if Red were listening, "my study of digital physics is what led me to invent the Pokémon Storage System. Of course, the concept of Pokédata has been known for a long time—because Pokémon become pure Pokédata during evolution. Poké Balls and TMs utilize a similar process. My storage system, though, goes even further. It allows Pokémon to be physically transferred through an online network. You can deposit and withdraw Pokémon at any terminal—anywhere, anytime. My goal, by expanding the digital realm, is to expand our options. That's why Eevee is my favorite Pokémon—you get to choose what it evolves into."
"Right, start, down… that's the ticket… down, start, start…"
Bill's smile widened. "You should try using my storage system," he said. "Someone like you—I think you'll need it. A lot. There's a terminal in every Pokémon Center. It's perfectly safe, I promise. You can deposit items, too, at those same PCs." His smile widened further. "I'd keep that ticket with you, though. It's probably good luck."
~·~
"…Down, down, down…" Red muttered. He stumbled southward, on a grassy path beside the Nugget Bridge. To his left, behind the metal fence, was a wide river, calm and blue.
"I don't like that Bill fellow," said Pidgeotto.
"And yet you call him a fellow," said Abby.
"Something about him… unsettles me."
"Hurry up, you guys!" said Jay. "We need to beat Misty!"
Abby and Pidgeotto laughed.
"Seriously, though—what's our destination?"
"Next up is Vermilion City," said Abby. "It's south of Cerulean—past Route 5, then through the Underground Path, then past Route 6."
"There may be trainers on Route 6," said Pidgeotto. "Should Red lock eyes with one, they are bound by League rules to engage in battle."
"That could be a problem," said Jay.
"Nah," said Abby. "Red can handle it."
~·~
[RED blacked out!]
"Well, crap," said Abby.
The Abra appeared.
"Come on," Jay pleaded. "Vermilion City is right there. I can see the Pokémon Center. We're so close!"
"Sorry, pal," said the Abra. "Rules are rules."
~·~
Red stumbled around outside the Cerulean City Pokémon Center. "Down, left, right… gotta catch more Pokémon… b, up, a…"
"Red raises a good point," said Pidgeotto.
"Yeah," said Jay. "If there were more than three of us, we wouldn't have blacked out."
Abby grinned. "It's about time this team expanded."
~·~
End Time: 1d 22h 35m
~·~
Current team:
PIDGEOTTO, lv.25
• Pidgeotto (Normal/Flying)
• Gust, Sand-Attack, Quick Attack, Whirlwind
···
JLVWNNOOOO, lv.11
• Rattata (Normal)
• Tackle, Tail Whip, Quick Attack, BubbleBeam
···
ABBBBBBK(, lv.28
• Charmeleon (Fire)
• Scratch, Bide, Growl, Leer