Percy swiftly walked along Route 1, his determined steps making him seem faster.
Truth be told, he wasn't really all that motivated to go to Viridian City. Sure, the small city was where Route 1 would take him; but it wasn't the real goal.
No, the real goal was finding and teaching those punk Ratatta's a few things about himself. Those little rats had been on his shit list the second they had attacked him. It didn't really matter that their attack had been what had really made him get his starter, no. Percy needed revenge. And he would damn well would get it.
He searched the entire road from top to bottom, battling the occasional Pidgey and random other Rattata with Fergus, who was more than eager to battle. He would know who they were from their beady little eyes. Even if it took the whole damn population of Ratatta's to do so.
The Squirtle seemed to grow wonderfully. He seemed a little bit stronger, a little bit faster with every battle. He listened to Percy's commands intently but was able to think quickly on his feet. The Pidgeys gave him more trouble than Rattata's. With their flying abilities, the bird Pokémon would fly away most of the time. The more battle-hungry ones were great practice for Fergus. Fergus' accuracy was tested with every bird Pokémon he fought.
The Rattata's were a speedy bunch. They would evade his Squirtle's attacks most of the time and attack with little bursts of power. It wouldn't hurt Fergus much but every damage done made him just a little bit more tired. Percy cursed himself for not getting any Potions for his journey. He had read about it in the legend's library but had never asked if he could have some. Now he was regretting it.
He didn't actually want to go back to Pallet Town. They had ventured too far to go back. He bit his lip in thought and scratched the back of his head. The movement made his elbow collide with the back of Fergus' head. The turtle Pokémon yelped angrily and bit him lightly on his arm. Percy retreated his arm back immediately. He carefully scratched Fergus' favourite spot in apology. Fergus allowed it with a little huff.
There was another thing he had learned about Fergus. The water type was fierce in and out of battles. He was quick to challenge any passing Pokémon no matter how injured he was. He also wasn't afraid to give Percy a piece of his mind. The Pokémon was bold as anything and Percy liked him all the more for it.
Just then, he stumbled on something and almost fell down onto the hard, unforgiving ground. Fergus squawked from behind him and almost rolled over out of his backpack. Thankfully, the turtle caught himself at the very last minute and almost gracefully launched himself from his backpack.
Percy turned to see what he had stumbled upon with Fergus at his side. What he saw made his eyes gleam in vicious delight.
Two Rattata's were standing on the road. Their appearance wasn't all that different from any other Ratatta. The thing that made Percy identify them was what the two rats were looking at. Normal Pokémon would choose to focus on Fergus first, their instincts making them prioritize the strong Squirtle over the weird ape. These two however only had eyes for Percy. Their red eyes widened in fear and rage. They definitely remembered him, all right.
Percy grinned wickedly. It wasn't all five of the Ratatta's but it would have to make due. Fergus, seeing his trainer's intentions, confidently strode to face the two Pokémon. Their two opponents warily looked around for something presumably the dragon Pokémon that had scared them senseless before snarling in bloodlust. It seemed they were up for a fight as much as Percy was. Good.
"Fergus, this is going to be tricky." Percy started. The Squirtle gave him an unimpressed look, Percy imagined him saying no shit Sherlock, if he could speak. "Keep your eye on both of them at all times. Don't let them get the best of you." He said.
"Now use Bubble!" He shouted. Fergus tried to spray his foes with seafoam. Unfortunately, the Ratattas were fast and easily evaded Fergus' bubbles. One of them suddenly began to zig-zag. Percy recognized the move but couldn't warn his partner. The Quick Attack slammed into Fergus.
His Pokémon got pushed with a little grunt. The Ratatta bounced off of Fergus gracefully and returned its place next to the other one. Percy frowned. "Use Withdraw and then Bubble." He said, hoping the strategy he used against Red's Charmander would work again. Fergus disappeared into his shell. Percy patiently waited.
He had discovered that the Ratatta line was quite impatient. Their fast lifestyle was what made them faster than a lot of other Pokémon but it also gave them the urge to do everything quickly. He knew the purple rat would attack before long.
Percy grinned as he was proven right. The one on the left, he was going to call it Lefty, quickly grew bored and attacked his Squirtle. Lefty did the same zig-zagging motion as the other one, Righty, because Percy was creative like that, and slammed into Fergus.
Fergus instantly launched his head out of his shell. The burst from his mouth made Lefty go flying for a solid second. The rat Pokémon landed on the ground with a rough sound. Despite himself not experiencing it, Percy winced. Righty seemed enraged by the damage done to its fellow ally. It snarled at Fergus before attacking. The attack was stronger than Quick Attack but it was also less speedy. An ordinary Tackle.
Fergus dodged the move and retaliated with his own Tackle. He fired off Bubbles after Righty for good measure. It landed on its four legs but seemed tired. Lefty chose that moment to make itself known by attacking. Both Percy and Fergus were surprised by this development. Lefty Tackled Fergus with vigor. Fergus went down.
Percy watched anxiously as Fergus slowly got up again. "Alright, bud. You are fine. We can do this." Percy coached gently. Fergus at least seemed to take some strength from his words. A strategy formed in Percy's mind.
Would Tail Whip lower both of their defenses? If so, could we catch them off guard with one last Bubble? Percy wondered. He felt the strange clench that usually happened when he used his Poseidon powers. He flinched in surprise at the feeling, almost not noticing Fergus.
Fergus seemed to have been on the same train of thought. The Squirtle wagged his tail again and watched with sharp eyes as the Ratattas became angered. Lefty and Righty rushed at him at the same time but Fergus retaliated with Bubble. The attack hit Righty first but it managed to last long enough to hit Lefty too. The foam hit them both with deadly accuracy. Lefty and Righty collapsed.
Fergus growled loudly in victory before almost collapsing himself. Percy quickly went over to his Pokémon and checked on him. Fergus seemed pleased to have won but also exhausted. "Do you want to return your Pokéball?" Percy asked worriedly. Fergus gave a small whine and pointed one of his hands in the direction of Viridian City.
Percy looked at the sky and realized it was darkening, fast. He estimated he would be at the Pokécenter if he continued at this speed. He debated over if he should rest or not before looking at Fergus. "Do you want to rest here for the night? We can go to Viridian City in the morning." Percy said. Fergus whined again and stubbornly pointed in the direction of Viridian City. Percy sighed but didn't protest. He wanted his friend healed quickly.
Thankfully, after that, the Pokémon activity seemed to have died down. He encountered only two Pidgeys and they both flew away rather than fight. He also made a reservation for the night on his Pokédex. Finally, he and Fergus stumbled into the Pokémon Center as the moon took prominence. He recalled Fergus and watched as his Pokémon was enveloped in scarlet energy.
He tiredly approached Nurse Joy. "Welcome to the Pokémon Center, where we will heal your Pokémon back to full health. Would you like me to take your Pokémon?" The Nurse said. The same greeting was a bit weird to Percy but he choose to ignore it.
Percy nodded yes and the Nurse took away his single Pokéball to be healed. He looked around the Pokémon Center curiously as he waited.
There was a big map of the Kanto region next to the Nurse's station. It displayed its Routes and Cities of it, along with their respective gyms. He quickly found Viridian City and inspected where he could go. It seemed he would have to go back to the forest he had been deposited at. He hoped he would be able to see John again but he doubted it. The man had mentioned multiple times that he didn't have any regular business in the forest.
Another thing caught his eye and he focused on it. It seemed the road to the Elite Four and the Indigo Conference was through Viridian City. If he headed to his left, he would find the official buildings of the Pokémon League. He decided to go there in the morning.
He lounged on the comfy couches of the healing center before growing bored of it too. He inspected the Pokémon Center a bit more and found a wooden door on the other side of the room. Curious, he went over to open it.
Inside was a small library filled with different books. At the center of the room was a big white computer. It was easily the biggest one Percy had ever seen. It looked like one of the machines he would usually expect to see in history books. Percy sometimes forgot this world's technology was way worse than his original world's one. He grimaced and turned his attention to it.
He tried to open the machine but it wouldn't allow him to. It needed a Pokédex to work. Percy shrugged and carefully inserted his red Pokédex. The computer whirred to life at once. It pushed out his Pokédex and Percy took it.
He tinkered with the machine a bit. He found he could deposit, withdraw and move his captured Pokémon in it. Percy didn't really understand how Pokéballs worked, so he didn't bother understanding it. All he managed to decipher was that he had a large area inside the computer for arranging his team.
He quickly grew bored with it too and decided to focus more on his Pokédex. He searched up Squirtle's section and began to read upon it. He also got himself a cup of water from the corner of the Pokémon Center. He sipped it as he read.
After going through its contents for quite a while, Percy realised he was bored. He impatiently glanced at the healing section but nothing happened.
Sighing, he slumped onto his seat. He mentally went over the list of things he had. Clothes, food, Pokédex and… some Pokéballs…
With a jump, he realized he had never actually learned how to use the technology. He quickly went over to his backpack and searched inside for his desired item. Finally, after several seconds of shifting through the mess, he found what he was looking for. A simple Pokéball.
He turned the little ball in his hand curiously. It looked exactly the same as Fergus' Pokéball. The top of it was a bright red color and the bottom of it was a pasty white. Right at the middle was a big white button.
Percy touched the button curiously. The device opened with an empty hiss, showing a black interior and nothing more. Percy was a bit disappointed, to be honest. He couldn't help but wonder how such a device was capable of capturing living beings.
He shrugged it off, if he really wanted he could probably learn some things at Pokémarts. If his curiosity persisted until then, he would go check it out.
He got back on track when he remembered the reason he was holding the device. Tentatively, he gave a little push to the opened Pokéball and it closed with a satisfying thud.
Just then, an old man approached with a slow walk. Percy was instantly on guard.
The old man's wrinkled face was smiling. "Kiddo, I noticed you having some problems with the Pokéball you are holding." The man grinned slyly. "From over there!" He pointed.
Percy looked at where the guy was pointing and couldn't help but be embarrassed when he noticed just how far the distance was. Was he really that obvious?
The aged man chuckled. "It's always nice to see some new trainers. Though I have to admit, none I had ever encountered looked at the Pokéballs as you did. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought you were looking at a ghost!" The man laughed.
Percy rolled his eyes at the joking man and debated over whether or not he should leave.
The old man noticed. "Relax, boy, I was just fooling." The old man chuckled one last time before becoming serious. "Now, since you obviously do not have any idea what you are doing, I will help you. Come." Without another word, the man left.
Percy looked at the direction where his starter was longingly but reluctantly got up from his comfy seat. He scratched his back and set to work.
The old man took him to the left side of the town where he had initially planned to go tomorrow. Percy picked up pace and easily caught up with the weathered man, shuffling in place as he did. The man was whistling a merry tune as he walked.
"Um, why are we going here, exactly?" He asked in confusion. The old man stopped his rhythm for a second to answer.
"Why, we are going to catch some Pokémon! What did ya think I was going to do out, boy. Do I look young and spree to you?" The man said. "We are going to catch some Pokémon!" Percy stared. "...well, one Pokémon." The man amended.
"I needed to buy a starter for my niece, anyway. She is such an impatient girl, you wouldn't believe it. I know just the Pokémon. Not a big strong fire type, but good enough for sure." The man said and continued his cheery tune. Percy raised an eyebrow at the man's mention of a fire type.
"What does fire types have to do wit–" Percy started but found himself cut off.
"We are here now!" The man said cheerfully. He made a beeline for the wild areas with surprising agility. Percy was quick to follow, all thoughts of fire types gone.
"Now, my fellow trainer, we wait." The man said. He fell completely silent and Percy did as well. They both squinted around with slow, even movement; careful to not give away their position. A while later they finally found their prey.
A small, round monkey came barreling out of the field, shuffling grass as it went. Its tail dragged as it didn't bother masking its movements. It sleepily chewed on a piece of fruit as it moved, unaware of the two humans watching it.
"Watch me carefully now. I will explain later." The old man hissed. The man practically tiptoed his way in to the area, not letting his eyes off the monkey once. When close enough, he extended his arm far back, and with a careful aim, took shot.
The Pokeball hit the surprised animal square in the back, barely allowing the creature to yelp as it got sucked in. The ball wobbled once, twice and shakily wobbled thrice. It burst into violent crimson light in a second. The monkey roared angrily as it got released.
"Damn it." The old man swore and took a Pokéball from his belt. A lazy toss later, a Pokémon materialized.
The released creature was a small Pokémon, roughly the same size as the monkey. It was bipedal and had a little tail poking out from its form. It also had sharp claws on both of its hands and an almost flower pattern at the top of its head. It was coloured a pinkish-red hue and had a patch of mellow yellow fur pattern on its belly. It vaguely reminded Percy of Red's Charmander.
It blew a dark smoke from its beak-like mouth and stood ready. The old man grinned. "Magby." He almost hissed and snapped his fingers, once.
The Magby seemed to know what to do. It fired off a small ball of fire at the monkey, making the creature shriek as its skin lit aflame. The monkey started to yowl, enraged. It lit up in red wisps of energy as it did something.
The old man snapped his fingers, again and again. Two more flames shot from the Magby's mouth. One of them missed and went over behind the monkey while the other managed to hit dead-center. The monkey shrieked again before stopping its move. Whatever it had done made it glow faintly with the same red energy.
It leapt at the Magby with fast speed, one foot angled in front of it. The old man clicked his tongue and the area became enveloped in smoke.
The monkey must have missed as it landed on the ground with a normal thud. It coughed harshly as it inhaled the smoke around it.
The man clicked his finger for the last time as a pained yowl came from the inside. The smog cleared a bit as the creature frantically moved around to dispel it. Smirking, the man quickly threw another Pokéball. Percy hadn't even noticed him taking on another ball.
The Pokéball sailed through the air before hitting true. The monkey got sucked in once again. The red ball plopped to the ground and shook. Once, twice and three times. Percy waited with bated breath as it shook worryingly. However, at the end, it stopped with a singular chime. The Magby picked it up with sharp claws before eagerly presenting it to its aged trainer.
The man took the Pokéball and smirked. "Good job, Magby." He said before recalling his Pokémon. He then turned to a slack jawed Percy next to him. "Close your mouth, kid, otherwise a Caterpie is going to crawl into it."
Percy numbly did as the man commanded but continued to be amazed. The battle hadn't even lasted five minutes! It was probably the fastest fight he had gotten into.
The man's smirk widened. "I know, I am amazing." He joked. He cleared his throat. "Kid, I will give you three questions. Nothing more, nothing less. Don't waste them." He said, leaning against a nearby tree.
Percy didn't even think. "Who are you?" He asked in bewilderment. The man yawned. "Someone you probably knew." The man said vaguely. Percy looked at him, offended. The man raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, I didn't promise anything. I will answer however I like to." He looked at his watch, bored. "Two more questions now."
Percy paused and thought for a second more. He shrugged. "Did you train your Pokémon to react nonverbally?" He asked.
The man grinned. "Now you are asking the right questions!" He cleared his throat. His tone took an oddly fitting professional note. "I did indeed train Magby since hatching. At first, it wasn't really training since he was just too young. I just gave him the basics, you know, nothing more. His parents did most of the job." He said.
"He finally reached training age a couple of days ago. He learned the basic moveset first, not counting the Egg Moves he had inherited from his parents. I then trained him in nonverbal communication." He twirled the captured monkey's Pokéball idly. "He can't really differentiate between human speech that well. That's mainly the reason we are sticking to sounds now. Which I personally wouldn't recommend." The man said professionally. "We will definitely switch to speaking in codes. We are just waiting for him to evolve and gain a maturer mindset."
"As for you, figure out your own way kid. Find what works the best for you and your team. I don't get to tell you what goes around here. Figuring it all out is half the fun of journeying."
Percy listened raptly. The old guy seemed to remember his presence. "Last question, kid." The man warned.
"Can only Magby learn nonverbal communication?" He asked lastly. To his surprise the man laughed for real, a somewhat honking sound. It was pretty infectious.
"Oh, nah, nah, nah. You got it all wrong, kid." The man giggled. "In fact, I would say Magby is one of the hardest to train. Since they are baby Pokémon and all." He giggled again. "His mother being Amborus doesn't help. At all."
He finished his fit. "Anyways, the answer is no. Any Pokémon can learn it with the right training. As long as they weren't hit too hard." He said. He dusted his clothes off.
"Well, it's been really fun, kid. But I gotta go. Business never waits, after all." He said before walking away. Percy watched as he went into the bushes with little mind. He soon caught himself and ran after the man to check on him, worried about the chances of an old man in the wilderness.
To his surprise, there was nothing there. He cursed. He really needed to know how these people disappeared. He headed back to the Pokémon Center after looking around a little more. There really was nothing.
After a short walk back, he found himself in front of the same couch. With a sigh, he opened his Pokédex once again and began studying anew.
He learned that he could only have a team of six as a beginner trainer. He would have to register his current Pokémon team on Pokémon Centres and only have access to those. A newly added seventh Pokémon's Pokéball would not open if he decided to use it.
However, he could have more members if he defeated eight gyms in Kanto. Any and everyone could create gyms if their city didn't have a current gym leader. However, some gyms were more revered and stronger than others, receiving more funding from the Pokémon League than others. Viridian, Cerulean, Pewter; to name a few.
The gym leaders were there to gauge a trainers abilities. For this reason, they had quite a few advantages. Firstly, the challenging trainers had to release their Pokémon first. This was done because the gym leaders needed to send out Pokémon similar to a trainers levels.
Secondly, they had the ability to dictate how many Pokémon would be used at the start of battles. They would say two-on-two, there-on-three and etcetera at the beginning.
Lastly, they could ban special items from being used. Items like Charcoal, Leftovers, Quick Claw and similar items could be banned and it was entirely up to the gym leaders to enforce this rule. The trainers always had permission to use Medical items like Potions and the like, though.
The only reason the rule was in place was because at before times, unsavory trainers would be able to defeat most other trainers with their shitton of Pokémon. Percy supposed quantity before quality was efficient sometimes.
He also learned about Technical Machines, or TM's for short. These things were inventions made to have a Pokémon learn moves that they usually couldn't learn in the wild. This was done by transferring the move onto the Pokémon's Pokéball virtually. It was actually quite fascinating.
The only downside was that they were really, really expensive. They were able to be sold in two options, one-use onlys and repeatable TM's. The repeatable TM's were almost double the price, too!
Percy checked his wallet and almost whined at the low amount. He promised himself that he would battle a whole lot more.
A while later, a pinging sound came from inside; signaling the end of his learning session. He stretched his back and felt a few pops on his back. It had definitely been a while since the old man. Satisfied, he headed inside to retrieve Fergus' Pokéball.
After thanking the Nurse, he released Fergus once again. The water Pokémon seemed much happier. Despite it being night, Fergus wanted to battle again. Percy grinned. The capturing of the monkey had initially made him pumped up. Reading all day had slightly curbed that urge but seeing his Squirtle rearing up for a battle made him remember it again. His starter was infectious that way.
It was still night, though.
"You sure Fergus? It is pretty late y'know." Percy said, questioning.
Fergus nodded determinedly. The Squirtle was itching for a chance to get stronger ever since being released out of his Pokéball for the first time. Percy liked his enthusiasm. He didn't want a lazy partner.
Percy smiled and got off the comfy couch once again. He headed to Nurse Joy once again with an energetic Squirtle at his side. "Hello again. I was wondering if there was a training faculty around here?" Percy said. While he couldn't battle much, he could train for the first time.
The Nurse hummed in thought. "...You wouldn't find one in any Pokémon Centers. " The Nurse replied. Percy deflated. "However, there usually is an area for training in most gyms." The Nurse hastily reassured him.
"The gym leader here, Giovanni, won't appear much at his gym. You should be able to train there safely. The training grounds are generally open 24/7 but they may be full at times." The Nurse said. "Giovanni's gym is also one of the hardest gyms. While other gym leaders would pull their punches according to their badges, Giovanni would never hold back. Don't you dare challenge him with the Squirtle you have over there," The Nurse warned him. Percy nodded seriously. He didn't want to injure Fergus. He just needed to train for a while.
The Nurse smiled warmly. "Anything else?" She asked. Percy shook his head no and thanked her for her help. He then left the Pokémon Center in favor of the gym.
But before that, he knew he needed some medicine. Fergus had almost been unable to continue today and he didn't want the same thing to happen.
He headed to the blue Pokémart building. Inside, there was only the employee. Percy guesses they didn't get many customers at night. He was willing to bet that it changed in the mornings, though.
He walked around the shelves carefully, he knew he didn't have much money. He would have to choose wisely for the time being.
He waltzed past the Pokéball's station, not even sparing a glance at the balls. He already had 15 Pokéballs gifted to him by the Professor.
He also walked past the Minerals section. Maybe when they were stronger, Percy would have a more specialized feeding regime for his Pokémon but for now it just wasn't worth it.
He stared at the TM's section with stars in his eyes and damn well forced himself to walk past it. Otherwise, he was sure he was going to end up in crippling debt.
He stopped in front of the Medicine. He examined the Potions, Super Potions, and Hyper Potions with a critical eye. He decided to buy a few Potions rather than the others. Super Potions and Hyper Potions were wasteful at his current stage.
A glance back made him remember something. Right next to the Medicines section was Foods. He headed that way.
At the shelves, different brands of Pokéfood greeted him. Berry added, Mineral contained, for different Types and more choices begged him to consider them. Percy hissed through his teeth and began to sort through the mountain.
He determined the special ones were way too expensive for his current budget. He reluctantly decided to research and buy them later. For now, a less extraordinary brand would have to make due.
Finally, he narrowed his choices into two different bags. A generic brand for all Pokémon and one specific for Water types. The Water type would not aid Fergus as much as other bags but was essentially the cheapest of them all. The generic bag on the other hand had a big mascot Pokémon sketched across it. A very happy looking Pikachu gazed dopily from its place, looking mighty happy to eat the food. After sitting in front of the two bags and staring into them blankly, he decided to go for the generic one. Munchmon.
Percy was stuck at another segment too. He looked at the Antidotes, Ice Heals, Paralysis Heals, and Burn Heals, and decided he didn't know which one he actually needed. The cashier noticed this time, thankfully. Percy was a bit pissed off that the guy hadn't come to help him at the Foods section but managed to shrug it off.
It was also the same guy who had informed him about the fences.
"Hey kid, if you are stuck over the options, we also have some Full Heals at the back. They had arrived today so we didn't really bother to stock them up yet but I can get some for you." The cashier kindly said. He at least didn't seem to recognize him. Percy was way too lazy to inform him.
Percy thankfully knew what a Full Heal was so he didn't embarrass himself. He could have slapped his forehead, he had forgotten about Full Heals! They were much more expensive than the more specialized medicines but they worked on all status effects. He nodded to the cashier and watched as the man left for a second.
The guy quickly returned with a few Full Heals in his hands. He placed them on the counter and Percy added the Potions and Munchmons to his purchases. He remembered he needed some water and went to get it too. He bought as much as he dared.
He paid for the stuff, trying to ignore his crying wallet as he did. The guy nodded cheerfully as he left. He was essentially broke on his first day. Hooray.
He stuffed everything into his miraculous bag and went on his way again.
-o-
Trainer 30546, Percy Jackson.
Team:
Fergus, Squirtle.
-o-
Hello again everyone.
Sorry for not uploading last week. I had a lot of exams that week so uploading completely slipped from my mind. I have Geography and Maths this week too but at least they are the last of them all.
This chapter was originally supposed to be a lot longer. Like 10k words longer. I decided to cut it in half because of that. Stay tuned for the next chapter.
Big thanks to my Beta Theseus-Theo for editing. I hate editing my stories so much. Couldn't have done it without him.
Peace.
