As the sun started to rise over the buildings of Pewter City and covering them with an orange like color before the breeze starts to lightly pass through the area, every human and Pokemon were waking and getting to start their day as the sounds of vehicles and walking resonated and fill the atmosphere. As the orange ball went higher and twilight started to end, by the exit gate of the city stood Red who was treading to Route 3 as he bid farewell to the city while glancing at the Boulder badge strapped on the inside of his jacket. As he took a final look at Pewter City, he turns around and journeys his way towards his next destination which was Mt. Moon. As he wandered through Route 3, he instantly got entranced by the scenery as he watched the wild Pokemon prancing about, reading the Pokedex as it scanned each one of the creatures.
"Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokemon. Disliking water, it lives in deep burrows in arid areas. It can roll itself instantly into a ball." The device stated as it examined the small yellow, brick patterned rodent as it rolled itself into a ball in fear.
Noticing this, Red laughed nervously while scratching his head before he opted to leave it alone and turning the device to another small creature which got a low beep from it which confused the teen as he looked towards the Pokemon. A white and red rodent made eye contact with the trainer, shaking its ears before running off into the tall grass at an amazing speed.
"That was a Plusle, right?" He thought aloud as he took out a brown book from his bag and flipped through the pages until he reached where he wanted.
"I found it!" He happily celebrated as he quickly read through the pages of the book.
"Plusle, that's the cheering Pokemon. It's a Hoenn Pokemon. So that's why the Pokedex can't scan it, huh?" He concluded as he walked off, still reading the book.
"Says right here it's an Electric type with a physiology similar to Pikachu. And it has a counterpart of some sorts named Minun who is white and blue. It has the Plus ability while Minun has the Minus ability. They're kinda like magnets! That's honestly pretty cool!" He read before he tripped and lost his balance, almost falling only for him to unconscious make a flip and end back on his feet again, frightened by what had transpired in the past couple seconds. He then heard clapping from the other trainers on the route as they crowded him, smothering him with question on how he was able to pull that off.
"How did you do that?"
"Are you an acrobat or something?"
"Can you do a handstand?"
They continued questioning the nervous red capped teen as he tried to escape from them which resulted to be futile. As they started to increase in numbers, Red then started to break in a nervous sweat as he tried again to get out of the congregation only to be met with failure once more. Suddenly, an explosion happened, frightening everyone and changing their attention from the quivering teen and towards the mountain. Using this chance to escape, Red squirmed his way through the crowd as he tries to avoid being stepped on by the unsuspecting individuals. As he got out of the crowd and continued venturing the route, another explosion occurred, causing a group of wild, snake-looking Pokemon to pop out of the grass in front of him, glaring at him with an agitated expression on their faces.
'These Pokemon look very different. They look similar to Ekans yet they aren't.' He thought as he took out his Pokedex and scanned the Pokemon which agitated them more as one of them started to attack him. Noticing as the creature lunged at him, the red capped teen jumped out of the way, gaining some distance from the group of snake-like creatures as the Pokedex made a few beeping noises before a voice started to talk.
"Arbok, the Cobra Pokemon and the evolved form of Ekans. With a very vengeful nature, it won't give up the chase, no matter how far, once it targets its prey."
As the device ended its explanation and turned off, Red put the Pokedex into his bag before he turns his gaze at the group of Arbok, observing their moves as he took out both of his Pokeballs from his belt. As he readied one of the balls, one of the Cobra Pokemon lunged at him, baring its fangs at him as two others followed it on its assault. Red dodged the first Arbok as he dived out of the way as the others followed up behind as he spun out of their direction which caused them to hit the wall. Staggering from the pain, they turn to see the raven haired teen shoot various rocks at them, causing them to slither out of the way before one of them lunged once more at the trainer, unaware of the smirk on his face as he chucked a stone at it which it endured using its head before the object exploded into a ball of smoke. "Bullseye."
Before the Pokemon could do anything, it got hit hard into the stomach by an attack which sent it flying straight into one of the boulders that were around the route. As it came too, its eyes started to notice a small blue and yellow Pokemon on the ground, bursting with electricity as it started growling at them with a menacing glare. The other Poison started to attack the little Electric type as Shinx readied itself for its trainers command.
"Leer." Red silently commanded as the Pokemon obliged, giving the two Poison type a terrifying look which caused them to flinch before they continuing their assault only to be knocked aside into the rocks, surprising Shinx and its adversaries. The Electric-type heard humming in the air, looking up to see Beedrill hovering above it, its stingers raised as it watches its opponents recover from the surprise attack they have been dealt. As they got up, they stared at Red and his Pokemon, not backing down as they made their battle poses. The Poison types pounced onto them, their fangs emitting electricity, fire and ice in their mouths.
'The elemental fangs?! Not good!' The red capped trainer thought as he racked his brain for a plan. He then saw the group of Pokemon getting closer, the one that is using Fire Fang going towards Beedrill while the others are targeting Shinx. He then thought of an idea as he waited impatiently, sweating trickling on his face as he watched the gang of Arbok get closer to the Beedrill and Shinx.
"String Shot now!" Red loudly commanded as Bug-type spew strings of silk on the ground, causing the Pokemon to be ensnared in it, causing their attacks went off as they collided into each other. One of the Arbok started to pant as it slowly started to get up only to be hit into the face by an electrified tackle from Shinx which send the Pokemon into a boulder, breaking it from the impact. Before it could attack, its body suddenly went aflame causing it to succumb to the status ailment as it fell to the floor exhausted. The other Poison type watch their partner in shock before they both lunged towards Beedrill and Shinx, constricting the Electric type and biting the Bug type, much to Red's worry as he started to panic. As he tries to calm himself down, he then accessed the situation before he took out his slingshot and gathered some stones.
"Shinx, now use Charge." The red capped trainer commanded as he readied his weapon and shot a stone at the Arbok that is biting the Beedrill, freeing the Bug-type. "Spin around it with String Shot, Beedrill."
The Bee Pokemon obliged as it spew silk from its stinger, wrapping around the Cobra Pokemon until it turned into a cocoon which made it immobile while Shinx absorbs the electricity around it causing its fur to spark up and slightly release electricity causing damage to its attacker. Feeling the slight shock results of Electric-type's move, Arbok started to constrict it harder which was made futile as the longer the move lasts, the electricity that hurt it. Observing the battle, Red had an idea as he commanded Beedrill to drop its immobile opponent onto the other Poison type until he said one word which caused Shinx to stop charging as its body went back to normal.
"Spark."
As the raven haired teen uttered the word, the Electric type made a cry which was followed by a burst of lightning that envelop the area in an intense yellow light which causes Red and Beedrill had to shield their eyes from it. The two Arbok could only endure as they were brutally electrocuted by the immense amount of electrical energy released from Shinx's body. As the attack continued, they both started to lose consciousness as the one that constricted the Electric-type started to lose its grip as both Pokemon started to descend to the ground. As it the electricity started to subside, Red and Beedrill were able to open their eyes to see the three Arbok on the floor, unconscious. The scarlet eyed teen went up to Shinx, who was extremely exhausted as it was on the floor, panting as it felt the repercussions from the attack it used.
"Nice job, Shinx." Red said as he went over to the Pokemon and picked it up, cradling it as he took out a few Potions and sprayed them on his partners before he continued on the route.
As Red climbed pass a few ledges and jumped down a few cliffs, he then started to see Mt. Moon from the distance, smiling as he decided to take a break by a bunch of rocks which he used one of them as a seat. The raven haired teen then took out some Oran berries that he gave to Beedrill and Shinx which the Pokemon happily accepted as they ate their share along with a bowl of water.
'It's a good thing I stacked up on some stuff and this book I got from the library sale really helps out a lot more for the Pokemon that aren't in my Pokedex.' Red thought as he took out the same brown book, reading through it as he drank some of his lemonade. As a few minutes passed, the red capped teen found himself in a daze as he dozed off with Shinx and Beedrill snuggled beside him as they all lose consciousness and drift away into slumber.
'This place again.'
Red's voice echoed through his mind as he was surrounded by a lush forest, realizing that he was lazing on the ground before he got up.
'Woah! This place is huge. It's way bigger than before. It's gonna take a while before I get anywhere.' He said as he ascended from the grass and looked around. He then started to wander around until he found a pond. Looking at the pond and around the forest, he realized that there is barely any signs of wildlife in the area which caused him to be confused.
'I need some water right now.' He thought as he went to drink the water until he froze in his spot as he watched his reflection in the water. Reflected through the water was a young boy, around the age of 8 that had slightly shaggy black hair and red eyes with a black shirt with a logo of a Pikachu's tail. He then reacted to the reflection, jumping back as he got out of his stupor as a yelp escaped his lips. "What the?"
He then felt his face and looked at his hands, realizing that it was not an illusion but the fact that he was indeed a child again. Puzzled by the development of events that had transpired, Red went to quench his thirst by having some of the water from the river to calm his nerves so that he can think this situation out.
"Ok, I'm a kid. I'm in this forest again which is bigger than before in my other dreams and I don't know where to go. I've been through a lot of places but I would remember a forest like this no matter how much I rack my brain." The raven haired boy thought aloud as he observed the area around him, looking for anything that looks familiar. He then got up as he started to wander aimlessly through the forest, exploring every nook and cranny he can and trying his best to avoid any altercation with wild Pokemon despite there being none that were found. Minutes turn to hours as he wandered through the endless place of greenery, feeling frustrated as he fell face first on the ground, his muffled screams barely resonating through the air. "Man, this place is annoying!"
"Where is this place? Where am I going? Where's the exit?" Red turned to his back as he gazed at the clouds, immediately immersed as his nerves calmed down and he started to daydream. As the boy drifted off into his unconsciousness, he then heard something that knocked him out of his daze.
'Red…'
"H-huh? Who's there?" Red said, getting silence as a response as he just shrugged and relaxed.
'…Red…where are…you…'
"Wha-"
'Where…are you…Red…'
"Who are you?"
'Red… you promised…'
"Wait!"
'…you… promised…'
Red got up, looking around as he got up and searched for the voice, trying to pinpoint the direction of it. 'What was that and where did it come from?'
'…Re…d…' The voice started again, this Red heard the direction of the voice as he sprinted towards the direction, not knowing why he is going or what he's about to witness. The voice spoke again and again, getting fainter as it talked which made the raven haired boy worried as he continued his chase. Feeling exhaustion from his run, Red started to realize he can't stop as his body keeps running towards the voice, tears threatening to come out of his eyes. 'What the- What's going on?'
'…R…ed… co…me… on…'
Before the teen even knows, he started to sprint as fast as his little body could go, the trees around him becoming a blur. For minutes, the boy has been running through the forest until he entered into a clearing within the forestry, immediately feeling a sense of relief as the wind patted him on the face. He then noticed a ball of light in the middle of the clearing, his eyes widened as he stared at it in awe. Red then realized that his legs were moving towards, his hands moving from his side as he went to touch the light until suddenly everything turned as he heard the voice one last time.
'…You promised me…b…ack… Red…'
As the sun started to descend, the young trainer's eyes slowly opened, looking around him before he checked his Pokegear. Seeing the time on the device, he quickly sprang up to his feet as he eyed it with a bewildered expression. He then heard purring sounds on the ground, looking down to see Shinx on the floor, grasping its head in pain.
"Sorry, Shinx." Red apologized as he took up the Pokemon and gently rubbed its head before returning Beedrill, who still wanted to sleep, and continuing along the road. As he travelled along the route, he battled various trainers and encountering countless wild Pokemon along the way, much to Beedrill's annoyance until they reached another opening. Finally reaching the entrance of Mt. Moon, Red was surprised as he saw various caution tapes put up along with various police vehicles and SUVs parked near the mountain's entrance. Along with those were multiple campsites that were also put up around the area as trainers and travelers alike stood and sat impatiently as they all eyed the entrance to the rocky cavern.
'What's going on?' Red thought as he passed through the campsites in the area, making his way to the Pokemon Center. Entering the red building, he came in to see various trainers and Pokemon seated at almost every sections of the room, anxiety filling the air as he saw them waiting in irritation. He then went up to the healing corner to heal his Pokemon as Nurse Joy greeted him. "Welcome to our Pokemon Center. Would you like to heal your Pokemon?"
The red capped trainer nodded as he gave her his Pokemon as she went into a room and healed them. After a few minutes of waiting, the nurse returned back with his Pokemon and handed them to him which he took and put them in his bag. He then pointed at everyone in the area with a confused expression, wondering what is going on.
"Oh! You're wondering why there is so much people here, right?" She asked, earning a quick nod from Red. "Well, what's happening is that there was an accident that took place in Mt. Moon for a while now. A couple days ago but it was said to be longer. Did you hear the explosions that was shaking the place earlier?"
After her question, the red capped teen responds with another nod as he thought. 'So that's what was causing the explosions earlier.
"Yeah, those explosions happened in Mt. Moon. No one knows the reason behind them and that's why the police are outside investigating the issue." She finished explaining to the teen who turn his gaze to the doors, seeing the barricade outside and the campsites. The nurse's smile subsided before she then descended to the counter as she seems to be in her thoughts, shaking herself out of her stupor as she looked at Red. The raven haired teen noticed a tear bubbling in her eye, feeling immediate concern for her. Nurse Joy saw the expression on the teen's face which made her wave her hand in the air.
"Sorry, I just…feel sorry for the Pokemon in the mountain. Their homes…their lives destroyed all because of whoever is the cause of the explosion. Those poor Pokemon…" She said in a sad tone, wiping the tear from her face. Red could understand what she meant, he himself adopting her melancholic mood as he gazed towards the mountain. 'That's sad. I just hope that they're alright.'
"It's gonna take a while until this investigation is finished. In the meantime, you can stay here and rent a room if you'd like." Nurse Joy kindly said as she smiled, getting the red capped teen's attention as he nodded and ordered to rent a room for the night.
As the sun descended underneath horizon, Red found himself on his bed, checking his map as he put his fingers on his chin, contemplating his next step for his journey with Shinx playing with a ball that he bought for it and Beedrill eating a bowl of Oran Berries. 'So right now, Mt. Moon is blocked, can't go through there which makes the only options being on boat through Pallet Town to Cinnabar Island or through Diglett's Cave. I have no access to a boat so the ride to Cinnabar is a no-go so that leaves going through Diglett's Cave to Vermillion City then. There should be Drilbur and Zubat in that cave, which will be interesting. Oh! The map shows it has a gym there. I can train and take on the gym there. Plus, the SS. Anne is there. I would like to see how it looks. Must be cool.'
As the teen finished his thinking to himself, he then looked through his window, seeing the guards outside scouting out and several lights illuminating the entrance of the mountain. As he saw the scene in front of him, his mouth started to project his thoughts. "Who knows how long this investigation will take?"
After he made that statement, he packed up his stuff before he then laid down with Shinx and Beedrill on the bed along with him, making the teen pet them.
"That was an awesome battle today, guys! We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow so we're gonna need all the sleep that we can get." He said, to which the Pokemon nodded before they all drifted off to the world of dreams.
As the sun barely peeked its head above the horizon, Red's eyes fluttered open as one of the sun rays went through and hit him which made him turn away from it as he tried to go back sleep. Coming to a realization that he's unable to return back to his slumber, the teen then yawned as he got out of his bed, making sure to at least make sure that his Pokemon get a good sleep. As he gazed through his window and in the direction of the barricade, he noticed something shiny flashing in the entrance until he saw one of the officers come out with a shady and slightly frightened look on their face.
'What the heck is happening here?' Red thought as he watch the man joining the group of guards on the outside and helping them with the agitated crowd until his eyes widened, noticing a black piece of clothing within his shirt that showed a piece of a red symbol on it which disappeared when the man straightened his clothes and fixed himself. As the scene continued before, the teen had a nauseous feeling in his stomach as he continued to watch the officer, taking in his features before he took out his Pokegear and snapped a picture of him before he went back to his room and getting himself ready.
'This isn't good. This is not good. I don't like this at all. I gotta warn the police.'
As he finished his thought and finished putting on his jacket, he then heard a huge explosion that shook the area which jolted Beedrill and Shinx awake as they panic and frantically looked around for the source of the sound until Red calmed them down. As he went outside of the Pokemon Center and turned his attention to Mt. Moon, the scarlet eyed teen realized that the tapes are ripped apart as the guards are doing their best to calm down the panicking audience as smoke started to emit from the entrance of the mountain. Red then saw as a couple trainers and children sneakily going past the guards and going into the smoky entrance with smirks on their faces. The teen was about to alert the guards until he saw Shinx and Beedrill entering the cave as well, worry came over him as he chased after them and disappeared into the smog emitting from the entrance.
As the teen sprinted through the thickness of the black fog, he found himself within the rocky terrains of the cavern, silence filled the place as the teen noticed that the area is completely empty apart from Shinx and Beedrill looking around in awe.
"Shinx! Beedrill!" Red called after him, reuniting with them as he frantically searched them for any sign of injuries, letting out a sigh of relief when he found no scratches on them.
"You guys can't just ru-" He paused as he saw that they were staring at something, turning to the direction as he saw a horde of Moon Stones on the floor beside a bunch of wheelbarrows. "What the?"
The trio went to the pile as Red picked up a few of the Moon Stones, his eyes sparkles as the three of them marveled at the beauty of the stones. As he put some of the stones in his bag, the teen noticed Shinx struggling as it tries to pull something out of the pile. Red, along with Beedrill, then went over and helped the Electric type as they all yanked out a big stone that has the shape of a spiral shell on it, causing Red's eyes to widen as he recognized the huge rock.
"T-this is a fossil…" He muttered as he inspected the rocks which confirmed his suspicions. He then dug into the horde of stones to find another one, this time with a shape of a shell with two eyes on it which once again surprised the teen.
'This is...the Dome Fossil, and according to Dad and the museum, the one with the spiral shell on it is the Helix fossil... I knew it was stated that some of them had to move near to Cerulean due to climate change but… I never knew they used to reside in here…' The teen finished his thought as he looked at the fossil, putting them in his bag and thinking of the reason for their appearance until something clicked in his mind.
"What on earth is-" He couldn't finish his thought as he heard an explosion in the cave, scaring both Shinx and Beedrill, who both immediately retreated to their Pokeballs in fear. As the rumbling of the cave subsided and the sounds have dwindled, Red then treading further in the cavern, curiosity controlling him until he began to hear the sound of machinery in the background. As he reached the source of the sounds, he then began to witness various men in black, hiking and mining outfits working and excavating the place with one of them controlling a huge drill machine and another have a bucket of explosives. Red also saw the trainers that went into the cave before as they took off their costumes, revealing adults as they captured some of the kids who followed them, putting them in a cage.
"What the?" Red could only mutter before he noticed a ball of pink fluff on the ground near the working site which caught the attention of the men. The scarlet eyed teen watched in horror as one of the men found the Pokemon on the ground that was shaking in fear before the man stepped on it before picking it up and dragging it across the site. As the man stopped, Red could only feel his blood boil and his teeth gritting and clenching tightly as he witnessed the numerous cages holding the resident Pokemon of the mountain.
'I-I was wondering where were the Zubats. N-No way… This is heartless.' As the teen finished his thought, his body acted on adrenaline and pure anger as he ran from rock to rock, quickly taking out his slingshot and shot the man's hand, causing him to yell in pain as he released the Fairy type who scurried away and tried to free its fellow Pokemon.
"Oh no you don't." The man recovered as several of the others joined him before something smacked him in his temple, knocking him out unconscious, much to the men's surprise. Before they could react, several of them fell down from a couple shots to the skull from Red slingshot as the others that noticed got jabbed by Beedrill and electrocuted by Shinx, leaving around five men left. The men readied their Pokeballs before they flung them into the air, which released five Pokemon: an Ekans, a Koffing, two Machops and a Zubat.
Red flinched as he saw the group of Pokemon as they all surrounded them, shrugging it away as he put on a look of determination as he readied his slingshot as his partners stood by and waited for his commands until a voice resonated through the cavern.
"It seems that we have a troublemaker here trying to play hero." Everyone's attention turned towards the owner of the voice, which was a red haired woman dressed in a black dress with a 'R' on the shirt.
"Lady Ariana!" The men said as they saluted her before turning towards Red with evil grins on their faces as they started to snicker, much to the young trainer's confusion.
"Well, I got news for you, kid. You mess with Team Rocket and things are gonna get ugly." She stated in a silent yet threatening tone as she jumped onto the back of a van, making signals with her hands which the men understood before she turned to the others.
"Take out the kids, men! We need no witnesses. I'll be going ahead with the Pokemon." As she said that, the vans drove off before she turned towards the cages, looking at the captured Pokemon with a glint of wickedness in her eyes.
"Yes. You all will make fine guinea pigs," Ariana said with a wicked smile on her face before she started cackling which starts to fade in the distance. Red then looked towards the woman going away with the cages, immediately sprinting towards them which failed as her men blocked the way, surrounding the teen as their Pokemon are ready for battle.
"Don't think it's gonna be easy getting to Lady Ariana."
"You're making it sound like he's gonna get to her at all."
"You're way too young to be picking a fight with Team Rocket." The men stated as they snickered and stepped closer to the teen, causing Red to grit his teeth as he waits for the inevitable showdown.
"This is gonna be harder than I thought."
I apologize for being so late on delivering this chapter. I had to make sure that everything from Pewter to Cerulean was alright and everything was planned out as nice as possible. Hope you like the story so far and the next chapter will be coming soon and I mean soon so keep a lookout for it. Thanks for checking out my story and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Enigma out!
