POKEMON
Chapter Two:
The New Pokémon!
The storm had subsided. The sun would be setting in a few hours. But Danny was determined to get to catch some Pokémon! He stopped as an old man jumped in front of him. He said, "Ah, I've had my coffee now and I feel great! Sure you can go through! I'm sorry I was so rude to you."
"How were you rude to me?" Danny asked the old man. He didn't know him at all.
The old man continued, "I see you're using a Pokédex. I'll show you how to catch Pokémon as my apology." Then a Rattata ran into the scene! The old man got out a Pokéball and tossed it over. But unfortunately, after a few wiggles, the Pokéball opened and disintegrated, and the Rattata ran away! The old man then explained, "That didn't work! I must be losing my touch. I've run out of Pokéballs, too I have to get some at the Mart." He ran off.
A woman standing there said, "Oh, you have a Pikachu?"
"Yeah," Danny said.
"I thought beginners normally chose Bulbasaur or Charmander as their first Pokémon. Pikachu are too hard to handle. You must be some kind of prodigy!"
Danny began, "Well, I, uh…"
"Don't let him fool you!" a voice rang out.
"I know that voice," Danny grumbled, "It's Butt."
"They may be rare around here," Butt began, as he rode in on a bicycle, "but you can find some Pikachu around Pallet Town. And he didn't choose ANYTHING. Gramps just GAVE him the Pokémon."
"Say what you want," Danny said, trying to sound boastful, "but your Eevee can't hold a candle to my Pikachu!"
Pikachu looked offended by that, and sent a quick jolt at Danny.
"Once you tame it, that is," Butt pointed out. "Pokémon trainers are judged by the number of wild Pokémon they catch and raise on their journey," he explained. "No matter how good any Pokémon is, it's still just ONE."
Danny was shocked when he saw Butt's belt. "I can't believe it!" he said. "You already have TWO Pokéballs?"
"And what about YOU, Danny?" Butt asked teasingly. "How many Pokémon have YOU got?"
Danny held up Pikachu, whom was now smiling a bit. "… Just this one."
"Ha-ha-ha-ha!" Butt laughed. "Well then I wish you the BEST of luck!" He cycled off.
"Grr…" Danny growled. "That Butt makes me MAD! We're gonna show him! Right, Pikachu?!"
Pikachu smiled, "Pikachu!"
"Now finally, OFF TO VIRIDIAN FOREST!" He and Pikachu ran off.
…
Danny and Pikachu went through the entrance. He knew that the forest was practically a natural maze. But he was sure he could find his way out. There were two reasons they were to visit Viridian Forest. The first reason was to catch some new Pokémon, and the second reason was because Pewter City was on the other side. Danny began walking through the tall grass, in hopes to find a wild Pokémon other than Pidgey and Rattata. It wasn't long until he came across a little green wormlike Pokémon with big eyes and a pink feeler.
"Wow! It's a Caterpie!" Danny was pleased. "We can catch this! Pikachu, use your Thundershock, but not so strong to knock it out!"
"Pika," Pikachu agreed. Then it powered up and let off a semi-powerful electric charge. The Caterpie was dazed a bit, but looked capable of continuing to battle.
Danny held up one of the Pokéballs he bought. "Now for the moment of truth," he said, and then he threw the ball toward the Pokémon. "Pokéball, GO!" The ball flew over to Caterpie, opened up, and then in a flash of red light, Caterpie was scooped up into the ball. The Pokéball then wiggled a few times, and eventually ceased vibrating. Caterpie was caught!
"I DID IT!" Danny shouted victoriously! "I captured my very first Pokémon! Great job, Pikachu!" But by now, Pikachu was a little weak, though he was still smiling, so Danny knew he had to go back to the Pokémon Center to heal both of his partners.
…
After a quick trip to the Pokémon Center, Danny and his Pokémon were feeling pretty hungry. They found a nice little restaurant not too far from the Center. They ordered some dinner. Danny got two orders of tomato soup, one for him, and one for Pikachu. Caterpie preferred a salad. Pikachu really loved his soup. Danny chuckled and said, "It sure beats eating swiss cheese, doesn't it?"
Pikachu gave Danny an odd look.
Danny said, "You know, I think Professor Oak said that if you catch a Pokémon, the Pokédex already registers data on that creature. Let's see if that is true." Danny opened his Pokédex and pointed it at Caterpie.
The Pokédex said, "Caterpie. The wormlike Pokémon. If you touch the feeler on top of its head, it will release a horrible stink to protect itself. Caterpie loves eating leaves and other foliage. As a result, it is a pest to gardeners."
"Well, I'll keep it away from gardens, then!" Danny laughed. "Let's go look for more Pokémon."
…
Not too far from Viridian City was a small patch of tall grass. This was Route 22. Danny knew that up the road was some high-level Pokémon, as well as the Pokémon League entrance. According to his Pokémon handbook, he knew that he had to defeat eight gym leaders and collect their badges in order to enter the league. So he decided to hunt around for Pokémon in the first patch of tall grass only. After coming across some Nidoran, which he wasn't interested in, a wild Mankey sprung out in front of them!
"Wow! A Mankey! I'm gonna capture THAT! Pikachu, do your stuff!" Danny commanded. Pikachu went out into the battle. After several hits of the Thundershock, Mankey's health was weakened a bit, but not enough to make it faint. This was it. "Mankey, you're MINE!" Danny threw a Pokéball at the Mankey, and watched, as it seemed to capture Mankey. Then the Pokéball wiggled a bit, and then eventually stopped. Danny knew what that meant.
Danny jumped up, shouting, "YEAH! I CAUGHT ANOTHER POKEMON! Welcome to the team, Mankey!" Pikachu was dancing happily.
Danny pulled out the Pokédex once again. "Mankey," Dexter said. "An agile Pokémon that lives in trees. It angers easily and will not hesitate to attack anything."
Danny said, "That's good to know. But I'd like to see most novice trainers top THAT! Now, back to Viridian Forest, and on to Pewter City!"
…
After giving Mankey a potion, the Pokémon was as good as new. They were about to leave, until a siren started blaring on the outdoor loudspeakers in Viridian City. Officer Jenny's voice loudly echoed, "YOUR ATTENTION, PLEASE! Viridian City radar has detected an aircraft belonging to a gang of Pokémon poachers. If you have Pokémon in your possession, exercise extreme caution. Repeat, exercise extreme caution!"
Danny was nervous. "Whoever they are, those poachers will NEVER get my Pokémon!" He ran out of Viridian City as fast as he could. Danny said, "It will soon be late. Good thing Mom packed my sleeping bag. We can camp out in Viridian Forest for the night."
…
Once Danny was in Viridian Forest, he came across a boy wearing a big hat. He stopped Danny, and shouted, "Hey! You have Pokémon! Come on! Let's battle 'em"
"WHAT?" Danny was surprised.
The two trainers got into battle position. The boy (who was a bug catcher) explained, "In a Pokémon trainer battle, you have your Pokémon fight each other. The trainer that can knock out the other's Pokémon wins. So, I CHOOSE CATERPIE!" He tossed out his Pokéball and a Caterpie came out.
"A Caterpie?" Danny was even more surprised. "Well, Pikachu, go!"
It was another bitter struggle, but Danny was able to defeat the bug catcher's two Caterpie. Pikachu was able to lower the first Caterpie's defense with its' tail whip to make it easier to Thundershock it down. Then Danny's own Caterpie was able to take down the second after some effort. Then the bug catcher said, "No! Caterpie can't cut it!"
"Great job, guys!" Danny congratulated his Pokémon, and then said, "Ew, Caterpie, you're shedding your skin!"
This was true. Caterpie molted right out of his old skin, revealing new skin underneath that looked just like the old one. Then the wormlike Pokémon began to eat his old molted skin!
The bug catcher explained, "Caterpies always shed their skins as they grow stronger, and so do Weedles."
After exploring a bit, they came across another Pokémon trainer to battle. "Yo!" the Bug Catcher said, "You can't jam out if you're a Pokémon trainer!" This time, he had a Caterpie and two Metapods. But Danny's Pikachu, as well as his Mankey and Caterpie, helped defeat this bug catcher's Pokémon.
"Huh? I ran out of Pokémon!" the Bug Catcher exclaimed after his Pokémon were all knocked out.
Danny said, "You guys are really good battlers! Huh?" Caterpie was now shooting string on itself and shedding its skin again. "Wow! You must be evolving!" Once Caterpie was completely covered in the silk and its old skin split away, a Metapod was in its place. It opened its eyes and looked at Danny.
"Hey! It evolved into a Metapod!" Danny was impressed. He got out Dexter again, and opened it.
The Pokédex explained, "Metapod. The cocoon Pokémon. Caterpie's next stage. It hardens its shell to protect itself. However, a large impact may cause it to pop out of its shell."
"I'll protect this Metapod carefully!" Danny then picked up the new cocoon Pokémon and said, "Welcome to the team, Metapod."
Suddenly, a loud explosion rocked the forest. Danny saw through the trees where it came from. The Viridian City Pokémon Center was blowing up! "Well," Danny said, "it looks like there's no way to heal my Pokémon without potions and antidotes and stuff like that, until I get to Pewter City."
By now, it was past 10:00 at night. So Danny got out the sleeping bag and he turned in for the night. His Pikachu slept right near him, and Danny let his Metapod and Mankey sleep outside of their Pokéballs, too.
…
The next morning, it was nice and clear out. "Well, it's a nice day," Danny told his Pikachu. He then decided to look for more unusual Pokémon. He battled a couple other trainers and mostly came across wild Pidgey, Caterpie and Metapod. But then, a Pidgeotto flew into his path!
Danny was pleasantly surprised. "Wow, a Pidgeotto! Let's catch that! Pikachu, Thundershock!"
Pikachu shocked the bird Pokémon a couple of times, but it was still up and able to battle a bit. Danny then got out his Pokéball, and tossed it at the Pidgeotto. It sucked in the Pokémon, vibrated a bit and stopped.
"All right! I just started my journey yesterday, and I've already got FOUR Pokémon at the start of day two!" Danny was really happy. "Now to check Dexter again…"
Once again, Danny got out his Pokédex, and it explained, "Pidgeotto. The evolved form of the Pidgey. This Pokémon is full of vitality. It constantly flies around its large territory in search of prey. Please approach and handle Pidgeotto with extreme caution."
Danny then nicknamed it "Pidgo," after its' cry. "Well, guys," Danny told his Pokémon, "it looks like we're almost out of Viridian Forest."
…
They battled a few more trainers along the way out. Now he was battling the last trainer before leaving the forest. His Metapod was up against the Bug Catcher's Caterpie. Metapod was able to harden, raising its defense, as well as use its original Tackle and String Shot attacks. It successfully defeated its opponent. The trainer said, "I give! You're good at this."
"Yeah!" Danny was excited. But then Metapod began to glow. Danny picked it up. "Metapod, what's going on?" Suddenly, there was a bright flash! Butterfree emerged from the old Metapod shell. It had evolved again! Danny gasped in delight.
The Butterfree was stretching its wings out, flapping them a bit.
Danny got his Pokédex out again. It told him, "Butterfree. The evolved form of Metapod. Its wings, covered with poisonous powders, repel water. This allows it to fly in the rain."
"Wow! I got a Butterfree!" Danny was even more excited! "And look! There's the exit to Viridian Forest! Let's blow this place!"
And so they did. Danny had recalled all of his Pokémon to their Pokéballs, except for Pikachu.
…
After leaving Viridian Forest and part of Route 2, Danny found some buildings up ahead! This was Pewter City! Danny entered happily and decided to check things out. First, he went over to the Pokémon Center. Inside…
"Hi! Welcome to our Pokémon Center!" A woman with red hair and braids and a nurse's outfit greeted him at the desk. She also had a Chansey with her.
"Nurse Joy?" Danny was puzzled. "I thought there was one in Viridian City…"
This Nurse Joy explained, "The Joy in Viridian City is my little sister. She said nice things about you. Shall I heal your Pokémon?"
Danny blushed at the comment that the Viridian City Nurse Joy said nice things about him and said, "Yes, miss." While waiting a bit, Danny saw a poster. It had a picture of a hand holding a Pokéball, and little symbols representing the different Pokémon types were around the ball. Above it, a banner read "POKEMON LEAGUE COMPETITION! Today's Winners – Tomorrow's Masters." It also had some information about it. "Wow! The Pokémon League! Just like the handbook mentioned. I think I'll take that Gym Leader challenge thing and enter!"
A chime sounded, and Nurse Joy handed over the tray with Pikachu and Danny's Pokéballs on it. "Well, Danny… no more waiting! Your Pokémon are now fighting fit."
Danny saw a Jigglypuff Pokémon. Danny said hi to it. The Jigglypuff started singing. "Ji… gully-puff… jiggly… ee-ee-puff…"
"Wow. Jigglypuff has a beautiful voice!" Danny was impressed.
A trainer standing next to the Jigglypuff yawned and said, "When Jigglypuff sings, Pokémon get drowsy… me too…" and he fell asleep.
Danny began to walk off to get some more items, but he noticed Pikachu wasn't following him. The mouse Pokémon was still standing next to the Jigglypuff.
"It looks very content asleep," Nurse Joy reported.
Danny then walked over to Pikachu and began gently pushing the sleeping Pokémon. "Cha…" it sighed in its sleep. But then it woke up. "Pi?"
"Pikachu, you can't fall asleep on the job!" Danny laughed. "We need to stock up and prepare for our first gym battle!"
As he left the Pokémon Center, a man told him, "There aren't many serious Pokémon trainers here! They're all like bug catchers, but Pewter City Gym's leader Brock is totally into it!"
"Cool!" Danny smiled.
Later, Danny stocked up on some more supplies at the Pokémon Mart. Along the way to the gym he saw a big building. A sign read, "PEWTER MUSEUM OF SCIENCE." Danny was impressed. "Hey! I remember this science museum! I used to go here all the time as a kid! I wonder if it has changed in years…"
Danny entered the museum. A man at a desk said, "Yes, it's $5.00 for a child's ticket. Would you like to come in?"
"You bet!" Danny smiled.
As Danny paid, the man said, "Right, $5.00! Thank you!"
Danny and Pikachu walked around the exhibits. They saw actual bones and fossils of the extinct Pokémon, including Aerodactyl and Kabutops. An old man standing near them and admiring the Aerodactyl bones said, "That is one magnificent fossil!"
On the second floor, a scientist announced, "We have a space exhibit now."
Up there, Danny saw beautifully colored stones behind a glass case. Danny read the descriptive sign on the case. "Meteorite that fell on Mount Moon." "(Moon Stone?)" someone scribbled underneath.
A boy said, "Moon stone? What's so special about it?"
Danny explained, "I heard they help evolve Nidorina and Nidorino into powerful Pokémon."
"Oh," the boy said. "Once my girl Nidoran becomes a Nidorina, I'll try a moon stone on her."
An old man told the two, "July 20th, 1969! The first lunar landing! I bought a color TV to watch it!"
As Danny walked over to another part of the exhibit, he told Pikachu, "Color TVs were all the rage back in the late 1960s," as if Pikachu could understand him. Danny saw a model of the original Space Shuttle Columbia. Then he saw a little girl and her father. The girl said…
"I want a Pikachu! It's so cute! I asked my Daddy to catch me one!"
The father told Danny, "I'd like to get that Pikachu off you, but it's too attached to you."
"Whew…" Danny said.
…
After visiting the museum, it was off to the Pewter City Gym. Danny was both excited and nervous at the same time. This was going to be his first gym trainer battle!
TO BE CONTINUED