This is KNN, Kanto's most trusted news source.
The Fuji hostage crisis continues—and Fuchsia City residents have become the latest victims. All land routes to Fuchsia are now blocked by rampaging Snorlax. Although wild Snorlax often descend from the mountains, Lavender Town's famous scientist-turned-philanthropist has long been relied upon to tame them. With Mr. Fuji held hostage, Fuchsia City may be inaccessible for some time.
Team Rocket is holding Mr. Fuji inside Lavender Town's Pokémon Tower. Authorities have attempted to raid the tower, but were unable to reach Mr. Fuji due to the interference of "spectral" entities. It is unknown how Team Rocket slipped past these entities. However, authorities believe that Silph Co. technology may have aided the criminal organization. According to anonymous sources, a device called the "Silph Scope" is being kept within Team Rocket's secret headquarters.
This could connect to Team Rocket's seizure of Silph Co.'s Saffron City headquarters. To ensure their continued domination of Silph Co., Team Rocket has effectively taken control of Saffron City. The city's borders are now officially closed, by order of the Elite Four.
The whereabouts of Giovanni, Team Rocket's elusive leader, remain unknown…
~·~
Start Time: 3d 17h 2m
~·~
Abby K. stared down the Gambler's Growlithe, her mouth curling into a grin. "My turn," she said. "Now I'm in the front spot. Which means I get sent out first. Which means—"
Pidgeotto flew forth, forcing Abby to retreat. With several mighty Gusts, Pidgeotto made quick work of Growlithe and Vulpix, the Gambler's only two Pokémon.
"BIRD GOD STRIKES AGAIN!" said Red. "PIDGEOTTO SOLO RUN!"
"What gives?" Abby said, annoyed. "You got plenty of action in the Rock Tunnel. Leave some for the rest of us."
"I'm sorry, Abby," said Pidgeotto. "I want nothing more than to see you hone your skills, but—you know how difficult it is to control ourselves in battle. I felt Red calling out to me, and I had little choice but to obey."
"Well, Red responds to our urges, right? So urge him not to call for you."
"Indeed. I will try."
Red wandered down Route 8—a winding road surrounded by green, well-kept fields. Soon, a Lass challenged him. She sent out a Clefairy. Red sent out Abby. Abby prepared to fight… and then Pidgeotto flew forth, replacing her. The Lass's two Clefairy quickly went down.
"SUPER BIRD IS UNSTOPPABLE!" said Red. "MEGA ULTRA CHICKEN IS A GIFT FROM HELIX!"
"Abby, I apologize," said Pidgeotto. "I did try, but…"
"It's fine," Abby interrupted, all spunk drained from her voice. "Forget I said anything."
Pidgeotto kept opening his beak as if to talk, then closing it again. Dux, Jay, and I glanced at each other.
"Abby…" Pidgeotto began. He paused. "No matter how strong I grow, no matter how many times Red calls me, I would never fear replacing you in his heart. Because you are his Starter. You were there for him from the very beginning, molding his journey; and you're destined to push him all the way, to keep him on the path you and he laid out together. You have a special bond with Red that none of us can aspire to."
Abby met Pidgeotto's eyes. I tried to sense her emotions, but they were too complex—too muddled. She grinned. Then, to my surprise, she laughed. "You're always so serious," she chuckled. "You think I didn't know all that? Thanks, though. It was nice of you to say it."
Pidgeotto smiled. "I will try to lighten up."
"And don't think it means anything that you're stronger now," Abby said, pointing. I felt a fire rising within her. "Once I grow my wings, that won't mean squat. And I bet Red'll let me evolve before you do. In fact, how about a real bet? Whoever evolves first gets dibs on Erika. Deal?"
"Usually, I don't like to compete with team members," said Pidgeotto. "However, competition seems to motivate you. I accept your challenge."
~·~
Pidgeotto's Gust tore away at Grimer, defeating our opponent's final Pokémon.
[What? PIDGEOTTO is evolving!]
Pidgeotto glowed white. Once again, we all shouted at Red, trying to distract him. But Abby shouted more passionately—more enthusiastically—than ever before. Red turned to her.
"Boop," Red said, tapping Abby on the nose. "Boop. Boop."
Pidgeotto gained over a foot in height. Before, he'd been Abby's height—reaching Red's chest. Now he grew taller than Red by several inches. His crest grew, nearly reaching the ground.
"Holy crap—it's working!" said Dux.
"Boooooop."
The white glow faded, and a new bird was born. His eyes fiercer. His body sleeker. His face more mature.
[PIDGEOTTO evolved into PIDGEOT!]
We all cheered—but could barely hear each other over Red's celebration. "YES FINALLY! PRAISE HELIX! BIRD JESUS HAS ASCENDED!"
"Bird Jesus?" Jay repeated, chuckling. "That's funny."
"Red can never stick with one nickname," said Pidgeot, amused. "I'm sure he'll forget he ever said it."
~·~
With a Cut from Abby's claw, Pikachu went down.
[ABBBBBBK( grew to level 34!]
"Yes!" Abby cheered. She pointed at Pidgeot. "You won this round, but in just two levels, Dragon Jesus will wreck your shit!"
"I am sure she will," Pidgeot said, smiling.
Abby rolled her eyes. "You're always so supportive. You need to learn the fine art of shit-talking, my friend."
"If that is what motivates you," said Pidgeot, "then…" He cleared his throat. "Train all you like. Compared to my might, you will never be more than a pet lizard with wings."
"Hey, that was pretty good for your first diss. I give it a B-."
"C'mon, guys" said Dux, "enough banter." He pointed his leek west. "Celadonward!"
~·~
"There it is!" Abby cheered. "Celadon City!"
From Route 8, we'd taken the Underground Path—a long hallway beneath Saffron City. That brought us to Route 7, a small meadow between Saffron and Celadon. Buildings peaked above the trees. Soon enough, the trees parted, and Kanto's greenest city came into view.
Celadon was a pleasant city, full of fields, trees, and gardens. Even the tallest buildings had vegetation growing on every balcony and roof. Flowers of every color bloomed in the City of Rainbow Dreams.
But the city had its ugly side.
As soon as we entered Celadon, a gruff-looking man confronted Red. He wore a black outfit with a red "R" on the shirt.
"Stay out of Team Rocket's way," the man said, danger in his eyes.
"RAISE YOUR DONGERS!" Red replied, running away with his arms up. The man watched, his face full of fury.
"Interesting," I said. "I've heard a lot about Team Rocket, but I've never seen it before."
"I have," said Abby. "Those guys were all over Mt. Moon."
"Abby and I fought them valiantly," said Pidgeot.
As we walked, I noticed several others wearing Team Rocket's uniform. "Lurking in a cave is one thing," I said. "But these people are displaying their allegiance to a criminal organization in the middle of a major city."
Abby snorted. "You're surprised? Celadon is where Team Rocket makes the big bucks." She pointed at a pair of buildings. "There's the Rocket Game Corner, where gamers can win stolen Pokémon as prizes."
I was shocked. I'd heard of the Rocket Game Corner, but I'd assumed it was a clandestine operation. Yet there it was, out in the open. There were signs everywhere, advertising exactly what this place was and who ran it. How did they get away with this?
Then again, who would stop them? The Elite Four? No—Team Rocket was too powerful at this point. It would take more than a few top trainers to bring them to justice. It would take a mass uprising. And for that, Kanto citizens would have to deviate from their daily routines. That wasn't going to happen. To a Kantoan, life had two categories: your business, and not your business. Giovanni was no fool. He stayed out of most people's business, and in return, they didn't raise a finger against him—even as he gradually took over their country.
"Hey, look," said Jay, pointing at a flier. "It's Free Eevee Day at Celadon Mansion. Should we go get one?"
"No," said Pidgeot. "Lapras is our destiny. We must save our final spot until then."
We reached a long line of trees. Among them, blocking the path to Erika's gym, was a single trainer-tree. "TIME TO CUT ERIKA'S BUSH!" Red announced, running toward it.
"Sounds like a job for the Dux!" said Dux, gliding over to the trainer-tree. He slapped it repeatedly with his leek. Red ran left—past the tree.
"We'll see about that," said Abby, approaching the trainer-tree. She repeatedly slashed her claws against it. Red turned around and ran—past the tree.
Dux slapped. Abby slashed. Red ran past the tree, turned around, ran past the tree, turned around…
Thirty minutes passed.
"This is bad," I said.
"Yeah," said Jay, "but it's not like we haven't cut trees before. We'll get there."
"No," I said, "this is different. Both in Vermilion and Route 9, the trees we cut were located in a small alcove, which limited Red's movement. This tree is part of a long wall of trees surrounded by open space. There's nowhere for Red to lodge himself into position."
Red ran past the tree. Again. And again. And again.
"CELADON TREE IS THE FINAL BOSS!" Red yelled. Then he ran away from the tree.
~·~
Yes, Red ate and drank, like anyone else. Surprisingly, it was never that hard for him. His most basic instincts seemed to operate on a different level, unaffected by the Twitch.
Red sat in the diner, scarfing down his food. The rest of us sat nearby, eating our pokéchow. It was a welcome break from the uncuttable tree.
A few people dined at other tables. They took little notice of Red; he was, after all, not their business. But one old man, dining alone, kept glancing at him. The man seemed troubled—as if, just by looking at Red, he was doing something he oughtn't do. Eventually, the man stood up, approached Red, and leaned close to the boy's ear.
"Psst!" the man said. He looked around, nervous. Then he whispered: "Giovanni has the Silph Scope under the Game Corner. There's a secret switch behind a poster." Then he leaned closer, and whispered almost silently: "Praise Helix."
He walked back to his table and took his seat.
Red kept eating as if nothing had happened. The five of us looked at each other.
"What the hell?" said Dux.
~·~
Red's Internet fame had not faded, it seemed.
This gave me something to think about for the next couple hours, which were fairly uneventful. Abby and Dux tried, again and again, to cut the tree; Red ran back and forth, unable to properly position himself. You know—the usual.
But now, I paid closer attention to the people who walked by. They stopped, sometimes, to watch. They must have recognized Red; he was Internet famous, after all. But why? He wasn't their business. And he was quite boring to watch—spending hours on a task that ought to take seconds. What about him fascinated people? And not just any people, but Kantoans, who were so famously unmovable?
Perhaps that was the reason. In a land of set paths, Red had no path set out for him—yet he tried to create his own path, no matter what obstacles stood before him. People watched Red, and they saw hope—hope that there might be another way.
Well, not everyone saw it like that.
A few Rockets stopped to watch Red, too. Sheer loathing filled their eyes. Red, they knew, was the one person they could never control. Because no one could control Red. He couldn't even control himself.
~·~
Red ran into the house. He ran out.
In. Out.
"HOUSE STRATEGY LET'S GO!" he shouted.
"Interesting," I said. "The trainer-tree is directly across the street from this house. He's trying to start from here so that he doesn't get side-tracked."
"Will that work?" Jay asked.
Red ran straight to the trainer-tree. Dux and Abby attacked.
[ABBBBBBK( hacked away with CUT!]
"Yes!" said Abby. "Finally!"
"Great work, Abby," said Pidgeot.
"Man, I was this close to cutting it," said Dux. But he wasn't really upset. We'd waited too long, and were too eager to continue.
Red ran past, shouting: "TIME TO BEAT ERIKA!"
~·~
[RED blacked out!]
~·~
"Well, that was embarrassing," I said.
We'd never made it to Erika. Her gym trainers had bested us. Now the tree had regrown, and once again, Abby and Dux tried to cut it down.
For hours.
The sun set; streetlamps lit up; day turned to night. Red ran back and forth, making no progress. You'd think it'd be frustrating, but none of us really minded. Abby and Dux were fully focused on the task at hand. Jay mostly napped. Pidgeot—well, he was Pidgeot. It took more than a tree to faze him.
As for me, I appreciated having time to just think.
The "house strategy" had worked. So why wasn't Red using it? Because it required patience. Red had none left. His Twitch was too strong; it had grown much stronger since Abby cut the tree. It was growing stronger now, even as nothing interesting happened. Red was too intent on moving forward; going into the house meant, even briefly, moving backwards.
"Down, down, down," Red muttered. "Down, down, down, down, down…"
I thought about Erika's gym trainers. Truly, those women were paragons of Kantoan values. The very models of primness and propriety. The flowers of Kanto's cultural garden, clinging gratefully to their allotted soil.
And yet.
And yet they'd been trying hard—and often failing—to treat Red normally, as if he weren't a living anomaly. By comparison, the Vermilion Gym trainers had mostly ignored Red, prior to his battle with Lt. Surge. Something had changed. Was this related to Red's Twitch growing stronger?
"Chaos theory," I said, thinking out loud.
"Hm?" said Jay, waking up.
"Kanto was a predictable system—everything ran smoothly, changing little from day to day. Red, however, brings chaos. He is too complex—containing too many factors—to predict. Small changes within him can lead to larger changes later on. And because he is so unpredictable, Kanto cannot adjust to his disruption. The stronger Red's Twitch, the more complex Kanto itself becomes."
"Is Drowzee being wordy again?" Dux asked, looking away from the tree. "I swear—"
[ABBBBBBK( hacked away with CUT!]
"Yes!" Abby cheered; the rest of us—minus Dux—cheered with her.
"Hey, no fair!" said Dux. "I was distracted!"
"Sorry, Dux," said Abby, grinning fiercely. "No Cuts, no buts, no Feraligatr guts."
"I should be the one telling you that!" Dux was clearly upset—more so than last time. This was the third consecutive tree he'd failed to cut.
But the rest of us were elated. "WE CUT ERIKA'S BUSH!" Red shouted, running past the stump. "UPVOTE PARTY IN HERE!"
Once again, we followed the grassy road to Celadon Gym. The gym itself was atop a small hill. An old man stood outside, pressing his face to a window. "This gym is great," he said, drooling. "It's full of women!"
"RAISE YOUR DONGERS!" Red shouted as he ran past.
"Way ahead of you, kid."
Celadon Gym was a greenhouse. A well-kept, orderly garden, filled with flowers and shrubbery. A ring of trees surrounded the gym's center; Erika awaited within. Last time, we defeated the trainers outside this ring; now we just needed to get inside. And to do that, we needed to cut down a trainer-tree. Luckily, one trainer-tree was in an alcove; Red lodged himself beside it. Dux and Abby got to work.
[DUX hacked away with CUT!]
"Yes!" Dux cheered. He pointed his leek at Abby. "Suck it, Abby! That's seven trees for Dux, three for you!" (Dux had cut the Vermilion tree and Route 9 tree three times each.)
"Five of those are from before I learned Cut," Abby retorted. "Starting then, I'm ahead three to two."
"I am not sure it is wise to keep score," said Pidgeot.
"Relax, big bird," Abby said, rolling her eyes. "It's all in good fun. Besides, it keeps us motivated."
"I understand that. Nonetheless, I hope you two are careful not to confuse score with value. Our value to Red cannot be quantitatively compared, for we all have our own, unique roles to fill."
As Pidgeot spoke, Red engaged with a Cooltrainer, who sent out Weepinbell.
"You're right, Pidgeot," said Dux, fluttering into battle. "We all have our roles. And Dux's role is to kick the most ass!"
Two minutes later, Dux fainted.
"Uh, bad example."
"Sorry, Dux," Abby said, stepping forth. "Now, let me show you how a real pro battles!"
Two minutes later, Abby fainted.
"Uh, bad example."
Pidgeot looked down at them, shaking his head. Meanwhile, Jay hopped into battle. "I guess it's my turn."
Two minutes later, Jay… was still fighting. Weepinbell could barely get a hit on him. Jay tackled her over and over, draining her health. He was winning. I laughed maniacally.
"Helix dammit," said Dux, "is that rat seriously going to show us up?"
Unfortunately, no. Before Weepinbell could faint, the Cooltrainer switched her out for Gloom. "Aw, man," said Jay. "I almost won that one."
I felt the Twitch tugging at me. "I'll handle this one," I said.
Two minutes later, I fainted.
"Now my time has arrived," said Pidgeot.
With two Gusts, Pidgeot destroyed Gloom.
[PIDGEOT grew to level 41!]
[JLVWNNOOOO grew to level 13!]
"Hooray!" said Jay. "Just 29 levels until I surpass all of you and become Rat Jesus!"
With a barrage of Gusts, Pidgeot finished off the Cooltrainer's team. Next, Red battled a Beauty, who used a single Exeggcute; Pidgeot easily took it down.
Soon, Red stood before Erika—the black-haired, kimono-clad leader of Celadon Gym. She was under a tree, sitting gracefully on a wooden chair, her eyes closed. Then her eyes opened—and she looked at Red, smiling gently. Had he disturbed her nap? Was this a bad time?
No. I sensed that Erika was going through the motions—that this was all routine. She probably had the same words, and the same smile, for every trainer who challenged her.
"Hello," Erika said, standing up. "Lovely weather, isn't it? It's so pleasant."
"THIS IS THE RUN!" said Red, raising his arms.
Erika yawned. "…Oh dear… I must have dozed off. Welcome."
"RAISE YOUR DONGERS!"
"My name is Erika," Erika continued, as if she were talking to a normal person. "I am the leader of Celadon Gym. I teach the art of flower arranging. My Pokémon are of the grass-type."
"ERIKA IS A STONER!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I had no idea that you wished to challenge me. Very well, but I shall not lose."
Red sent out Pidgeot; Erika sent out Victreebel. "Don't worry, Pidgeot," said Jay. "You still have me for backup!"
"I will keep that in mind," Pidgeot said, smiling slightly. He flapped his wings, creating a strong Gust that tore at Victreebel's leaves. Victreebel wrapped her long, thorny vine around Pidgeot, squeezing him. But Pidgeot broke free; with another Gust, Victreebel went down.
"A, a, a," Red muttered. "A, a, a, a, a…"
Erika sent out Tangela. Pidgeot used Gust. Tangela stretched her vines toward Pidgeot, binding his feet, constricting his movement. Pidgeot broke free, flew away, and used Gust.
"PIDGEOT SWEEP!" Red cheered. "BASED GOD OF WIND!"
Soon, Tangela fainted. Erika sent out her final Pokémon, Vileplume.
"DO IT PIDGEOT! THE POWER OF HELIX COMPELS YOU!"
Pidgeot flapped his wings; his Gust tore up Vileplume's large, red flower.
[Critical hit!]
"Holy crap, this is amazing!" said Dux.
But Vileplume wasn't done. She pointed her flowerlike head at Pidgeot and released a puff of dust. The Sleep Powder covered Pidgeot; within moments, his eyes closed, and he stood motionless. Roots grasped his feet, draining his energy, transferring it to Vileplume.
"Nap later, you dumb bird!" Abby yelled. "We got a badge to win!"
Pidgeot woke up.
He took to the air. He flapped his wings.
With one final Gust, Vileplume fainted.
"PRAISE BIRD JESUS!" Red yelled as we celebrated. "BIRD JESUS IS A GIFT FROM HELIX!"
Erika chuckled. "Oh, I lost." She looked at Red—and for a moment, she broke character. For a moment, she wasn't just seeing another challenger; she was seeing Red, the boy with fifty thousand souls.
Erika gave Red the Rainbow Badge. She also gave him TM21, the TM for Mega Drain, which Red would later toss. Meanwhile, we embraced Pidgeot, showering him in praise.
"Thank you all," said Pidgeot. "Your encouragement means more than you can know."
"BIRD JESUS SAVES!" Red yelled, running in circles.
"Sounds like your new nickname is here to stay," Abby said, smirking.
"I like it," said Dux. "It's about time us birds got ourselves a Jesus."
"I do too," Jay said, chuckling. "It's hilarious."
"It is a name that carries great promise," said Pidgeot. "I will do my best to live up to it."
~·~
[ABBBBBBK( hacked away with CUT!]
"Dammit!" said Dux.
"Ha!" Abby said, pointing at him. "That's five trees for me, two for you."
Abby had cut the regrown trainer-tree inside the gym. Now she had once again cut the tree outside, clearing the way to downtown Celadon. We stepped onto the pavement, leaving the grassy road behind us.
"Yeah, fine, whatever," Dux grumbled. "Slay all the trees in Kanto, why don't you. Not like you need me anymore."
"Dux…" Pidgeot began.
"C'mon, don't be salty just because you've fallen behind," said Abby. "I mean, I've fallen way behind Pidgeot—"
"Abby…"
"…And I'm not letting that stop me." She pointed at Pidgeot. "Because when I grow my wings and become a Charizard, I'll fly higher and farther than you ever will!"
"I look forward to it," Pidgeot said, smiling.
Abby rolled her eyes. "Shit-talking, remember?"
"Ah, right." Pidgeot cleared his throat. "Your pathetic, unsightly appendages will shrivel away at the very sight of my divine wingspan—for no fake can survive in the presence of the authentic article."
"Actually, never mind," said Abby. "You're sort of too good at this."
We all laughed. We kept on joking and laughing as we strolled through the lamp-lit streets of Celadon. That night, we were unstoppable. We had four of Kanto's eight badges. We'd bested every ledge, every cave, every tree. The world was our Cloyster. It was a magical feeling. Nothing seemed impossible.
We had no idea what was coming.
~·~
End Time: 4d 1h 20m
~·~
Current team:
PIDGEOT, lv.42
• Pidgeot (Normal/Flying)
• Gust, Sand-Attack, Quick Attack, Whirlwind
···
DROWZEE, lv.17
• Drowzee (Psychic)
• Pound, Hypnosis, Disable, Confusion
···
DUX, lv.17
• Farfetch'd (Normal/Flying)
• Cut, Sand-Attack, Leer, Fury Attack
···
JLVWNNOOOO, lv.13
• Rattata (Normal)
• Tackle, Tail Whip, Quick Attack, BubbleBeam
···
ABBBBBBK(, lv.34
• Charmeleon (Fire)
• Cut, Bide, Growl, Leer
~·~·~·~·~
END OF PART ONE