Chapter 2
"They ARE right Red. Knowing your own Pokemon's abilities and limits, and when battles are lost, is a key to becoming a good trainer. Bulbasaur could have been seriously hurt in that battle, if it wasn't for you." Oak explained to Red.
"Heh. Yeah I know. I don't really mind losing. Its just the fact that he gloats so much about it." Red replied.
"Well anyway" Oak continued, "I have to give you your Pokedex so that you can update it for m-"
"Um…about that…." Red interrupted. " I really don't want to take hundreds of pokemon out of the wild, when I can only give enough care and attention to so many. I plan to only catch a few Pokemon who I really like, or who impress me. I'm sorry, but I really can't accept this task. It's too much. Plus, I don't really think I need to know everything about every pokemon. It's the mystery that I like about it. Sorry Professor."
"Oh…well…I suppose it really IS your choice. This has happened to me before. If you are one of these people who's goal is to become the best trainer you can, you should really take the Gym Leader challenge. It will test your abilities as a trainer more than anything. Also, at least that way you will be doing something for Pallet Town. Imagine: a champion of the Pokemon League, from Pallet Town. It would put our name on the map. As well as mine for giving you your first pokemon." Oak said in a dreamy tone of voice.
"Yeah! That's more like it! That's exactly the kind of thing I would want to do. To prove myself." Red replied.
"Well then its settled. Red, I'm going to sign you up for the Gym Leader challenge. Congratulations." Oak told the young boy.
"YES! Thank you so much Professor! I think I'm gonna head home now to let Bulbasaur rest and try to get to know it a bit better. Ill set out tomorrow. Ill probably get to Viridian city pretty soon, if I don't get held up. There's a gym there right?" Red asked.
"I'm pretty sure there is Red, yes. Anyway, Ill talk to you on the phone when you get to the viridian city Poke Centre. And here. Take the Pokedex anyway. It may come in handy. It has data on most of the common Pokemon and could give you vital information." He said, while handing Red the small, red, digital book. "Good luck."
"Thanks" he replied, and ran out of the lab.
Whilst making his way back home, Red released his Bulbasaur. At first it was quite timid and nervous around Red. It remembered everything he had done for it in the battle, but was still a tiny bit afraid of humans, because he was so young. Red occasionally stopped and tried to talk to the small plant-like creature, or pet it on the head, or wait fir it to walk over to him in curiosity. This failed miserably, since every time he stopped, the Bulbasaur would run into some grass and cower. Red started to realise that it was acting much differently than it did in battle. Maybe Red forfeited too late, and it had already terrified the young creature. Whatever was wrong with it, Red decided it would be better off in its Poke Ball, where it would be able to calm down a bit.
When he got home about half an hour later, Red's mother welcomed him. He went over and talked to her. She asked him where his Pokemon was, and was desperate to see it. Red told her that it was a bit shy and scared to be round humans, but let it out of its ball anyway. As soon as its feet touched the floor, it ran to the corner of the room, and lay down with its feet covering its face.
"Its not that its scared Red, its exhausted. A Pokemon that has had a hard battle becomes very tired, and when it does it becomes more aware of its surroundings. And injured or tired Pokemon can be very dangerous to approach, because they are more ready to defend themselves." Red's mother told him. "I know what we should do. Ill make a bed for it with some old clothes, and leave it in peace for the night. It should be fine in the morning."
"Yeah, ok" Red replied. He was starting to get tired himself, and needed all his energy for tomorrow. He slowly approached Bulbasaur and picked it up. It started to flail about, but Red ignored it. He carried it to his room, and made a small pile of his old, worn out clothes. He put Bulbasaur down on the floor, and let it examine the room first. Red then went to his bed, and let Bulbasaur discover its own bed alone.
In the morning, Red woke up and saw his bedroom door open. He went through to the kitchen, and on the floor his Bulbasaur was eating Pokemon dry food out of a small dish. Red noticed straight away it was much more comfortable with him, and its surroundings. Red put down some water for it, and made his own breakfast. His mother must have already made her way to Professor Oak's lab. Where the whole town was going to watch the trainers leave. Once both he and his Bulbasaur had finished eating, Red got ready, and headed for the lab. Bulbasaur was skipping and jumping now, energetic in its youth, smelling the flowers and trees, all the while absorbing the sunlight into the bud on its back. Red was still trying to think of a name for his little buddy, when it hit him. Bud. Red was kind of embarrassed that he had been able to make a decent name out of a stupid pun, but it worked well.
"Bulbasaur!" he cried out. Bulbasaur came running out from the grass and sat down in front of him, tipping his head to the side in curiosity. "From now on, I think I'm gonna call you Bud. Like it?"
"Bulbasaur! Bulba bulba saur!" Bud replied.
"Great. I bet we're getting along much better than Green and his Charmander. I doubt he even let it rest after the battle. Not that it needed it of course…" Red said sarcastically.
"Hey!" Bulbasaur replied, but Red could only hear, "Saur, bulba saur saur!"
When he finally got to the lab, Red saw the huge crowd of people. Oak called him over, and he pushed his way through the crowd. They all wanted to look at and pet Bud, and it was quite happy to oblige. Now that it was healthy again, it loved the attention it was getting. Red walked up to Oak and asked sarcastically, "Where's Green? Shouldn't they all be waiting for him and saying how amazing he is?"
"Oh no" Oak replied. "Green left as soon as the battle ended. He didn't want to waste time in starting his journey.
"What an idiot. His Charmander must have been exhausted. Despite winning, we gave it some decent hits during that match." Red said.
"Well anyway, you're the only reason people came out here, we might as well start." Oak told him
"Heh. Looks like Bud's more popular with the crowd though" Red said jokingly.
"Ah yes. I see your Bulbasaur is looking much better. You decided to give it a name the? Bud? That's a fairly decent name for a pun." Oak said.
"Damn it! I thought people wouldn't realise. Oh well. Its still a nice name." Red replied, starting to laugh.
"Well, go get Bud, and Ill gather everyone round." Oak told him.
As Oak calmed the crowd down, Red walked over and told Bud that they were heading out now. Bulbasaur jumped up in excitement, and faithfully followed its trainer over to Professor Oak.
"Ok people! We all know why we came out here today." Oak announced. "Red is about to head to Route 1, the road out of Pallet Town on his first step to become a Pokemon trainer. You all know that he did in fact lose his first battle, but he did so in the best interests of his Pokemon, Bulbasaur, who he has decided to name Bud."
"WE LOVE YOU BUD!" someone from the crowd shouted.
Red was starting to realise they were giving much more attention to Bud than they were to him.
Oak continued, "Now, we will all wish Red good luck on his journey, and hope that he puts our small town's name on the map. His first destination is Viridian city, which I'm sure most have you have visited to go to the Mart there. There, Red hopes to battle the first Gym leader. Now Red, with all that said, I think it's time you should be heading off."
"Ok Professor. I'll see ya round everyone!" Red shouted.
"Goodbye…Bud!" the crowd shouted.
"Dammit!" Red replied, and ran off, Bud behind him to Route 1.
