Episode 4: Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charmander

There was only one thing that concerned me about taking all three starters: would they obey me?

I knew that they belonged to Professor Oak from his "Pokemon trainer days," but the starter Pokemon were all supposed to be level 5, which I expected to also represent their youth. That means they haven't spent a lot of time with the Prof to grow an unyielding sense of loyalty, right? Would they all accept me for their Pokemon trainer?

I wanted and needed to find out, but I also wasn't about to run into a wild Pokemon encounter before I found out.

It was therefore not straight towards Route 1 I headed, but to a secluded open area with a few trees, just East of the Route 1 entrance, on the North edge of Pallet Town. Here, I could assess the situation without fearing being seen from the main road. With great anxiety but also excitement, I took out the three Pokeballs and held them in my open palms.

They had shrunk down to the small size, just like in the animated series. This detail of Pokeball technology was never discussed in any depth in the original game, but it appears that whatever Pokegod that created this world allowed some things to slip over, just like this wider expanse of Pallet Town, compared to the games.

I grabbed one of the small Pokeballs between my thumb and index finger. It was about the size of the average chicken egg, but spherical. I held it up in one open palm and the weight felt nice. I knew what to do. I pressed the button in the middle, where the red and white metal met. The ball expanded into the size of a baseball.

"Here goes," I said, and threw the ball in the ground about four feet from me.

With that signature "pop" sound, a bright light came zapping out of the Pokeball and began "phasing into shape" (this is the best I could describe it) in front of me. And as this was being done, not unlike how Captain America's shield comes returning to his hand after he throws it fighting the baddies in the MCU movies, the Pokeball returned to the hand with which I threw it.

When I looked back to where I had thrown the Pokeball, the now fully phased-in Bulbasaur looked up at me with gentle curiosity. I stared at it, frozen in place with awe. It wasn't cute like you would think the cartoony Bulbasaur to be; it had reptilian skin and bulgy eyes with a red tint, and the BULB, my goodness! It was really a bulb, like that of a giant plant, somehow biologically attached to the back of this little beast. And yet, it was… cute! It looked into my eyes, part in caution, part in curiosity, waiting to see what I would do.

I slowly took a knee to come closer to eye-level with the little beast. It followed my eyes down, but didn't flinch or grow nervous. That was a good sign.

"Hi, Bulbasaur," I said with the softest, non-threatening voice. It wasn't hard to do in a ten year-old's body.

"I'm… Ash," I said. "Is it okay if we become friends?" I held out my hand, How to Train Your Dragon style.

I'll be honest… I half expected him to say "Bulba, Bulbasaur!" but he just let out a small purring sound, like a cat. He took a shy first step, then after smelling my hand, came even closer. I gently pet him on the head, and he closed his eyes in pleasure. And let me tell you, it was the coolest thing I've experienced, previous life included.

Then I became curious.

"Hey Bulbasaur, do you understand what I'm saying?" I asked, standing up.

He looked up at me, and rubbed his face against my leg. I guess that's a… maybe?

"Can you go over there?" I pointed at a spot about 10 yards away.

He looked up at me and tilted his head, and I was about to repeat myself when he ran towards where I pointed, stopped, then turned around to face me. He waited for more instructions. I was awe-struck.

"That's so awesome," I muttered under my breath.

But I didn't let myself pause for too long.

"Bulbasaur, come here, please," I waved him over and had him sit by my feet.

I reached for the other two Pokeballs, turned them "on," so to speak, then threw both out at the same time, some distance in front of me.

As the two Pokeballs snapped back in my hands at a satisfying velocity (imagine catching a really fast baseball throw in your hands, minus the pain), I saw Squirtle and Charmander phase into reality.

They both looked around and saw each other, and then seemed to inspect their surroundings, but then quickly looked at me with the same curiosity and caution as Bulbasaur.

"Hi Squirtle, hi Charmander," I said. "I'm Ash, and this is Bulbasaur. Is it okay if we all become friends?"

Squirtle was the first to come. He took two steps forward and then jumped into my arms, giving me a hug like a toddler. He actually was like a big blue turtle, but his skin was not slimy or wet. Difficult to explain, and you'll have to forgive me for my shortcomings in the Pokemon physiology. I'm not a zoologist. Or… Pokemonologist.

Charmander, on the other hand, did take a few steps forward, but stopped right in front of me, looking up into my eyes. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, exposing his small but sharp teeth, and I guessed it was some sort of a communicative behaviour, like telling me he didn't completely trust me. But then I saw him visibly relax his body and blink his eyes a few times, slowly. As if to tell me "Alright, I'll give you a chance."

So, yeah. That's how I ended up with all three starter Pokemon. Yes, I can confirm that they do not say their names. I'm guessing that was something that the producers of the game and the anime put in to make Pokemon more likeable to children. It would be creepy, if you think about it, if these creatures could utter clear syllables like people.

They did, however, seem to understand me fine. I think they interpreted what I was saying more through my tone and body language, at least. I guess it was not much unlike learning how to "hear" a new language when a person moves to another country to live there. You usually learn how to understand what people are saying, even when you don't know exactly what is being said.

Despite clear differences to what they were in the games or the anime, Pokemon turned out to be very intelligent animals. Then I remembered Meowth from Team Rocket and wondered if he was here… hmm… But that's for another time.

I explained to the trio that we were going on a journey, and it would be fun! I also told them that there might be times when they'd have to fight and protect themselves. I'm hoping that they got the gist of what I was trying to say 'cause they seemed to be listening.

I also practiced some movements together, but more on that later.

After a while, I put them back into their Pokeballs (you press the button and then you point the stream of laser-looking white light thingy at the corresponding Pokemon). I shrunk the Pokeballs and put them in my jacket pocket, zipping it shut.

They were my most precious balls. Wait. That came out wrong. You know what I mean.

Having made friends with all three starter Pokemon the best I could, I now felt confident enough to really begin my journey.

It was time for Route 1 to Viridian City.

The coast was clear when I got to the entrance of Route 1, leading out of Pallet Town. There was a signpost that stated: "Route 1: to Viridian City." I briefly reflected on the bias of naming the path as "Route 1." And it wasn't even fully paved! Wasn't even all dirt roads, even! It looked like a dirt road that's been long neglected and had allowed the forest to slowly creep in. Some parts of it were thick with trees and tall shrubbery I couldn't pass through, and some parts were tall grass. Did people even pass by here? Jeez.

There was no one in sight, and so I started heading into Route 1. It wasn't long before I heard someone calling after me.

"Wait!" It was Professor Oak. "It's too dangerous to go!"

Where the heck did he come from? I swear he wasn't behind me a second ago.

I was thinking about letting him know I had Pokemon protection with me, when I noticed Gary running up behind him.

Hmm… this didn't happen in the game. Perhaps my actions had a butterfly effect on the script already.

It was then I heard a loud, aggressive squeaking noise behind me, and I turned around to see the biggest rat I'd ever seen in my entire life.

And it was running straight at me.