Chapter 1: The Beginning of an Adventure

The sound of galloping hooves and the smell of smoke could be sensed from Zero's room on the second floor of the Cinnabar Island Gym, his father's Gym. Zero could always tell when Rapidash, his father's ace Pokémon, was being used. He smiled and snuck downstairs to watch the battle, which had been going on for almost half an hour now. He sat on the bleachers next to the air conditioner, watching the judge's every move.

Zero saw his father, the Gym Leader Blaine, look up at the bleachers for a moment and smile. He grinned back. Blaine then yelled, "Why don't ya come down closer to the battlefield, sonny? You'll get a better view from there! An' say hello to yer old friend, Lt. Surge." Across the field from Blaine was a middle-aged man, in his mid-forties, with jagged blonde hair and a camouflage army outfit. The man waved, as did his Raichu. Zero went down a few steps and sat near the middle, still in range of the air vent.

Blaine nodded. "I get it. You just wanted some cool air."

"And I wanted to watch," Zero claimed, laughing. He climbed down the rest of the stairs and walked over to Lt. Surge. "Nice to see you again, Surge. Welcome back to Cinnabar."

Surge shook Zero's hand firmly. "It's always a pleasure to visit you and your old man. You sure have grown since I last saw you!"

Zero nodded shyly. "Dad said I might be able to get a Pokémon soon, as well."

"You're definitely old enough." He looked at Blaine, a bit confused. "Isn't he fifteen, Blaine? He should've been out of your hair four years ago!"

Blaine's cheerful demeanor faded. "He had gotten almost fatally ill three years before, when he was eight. I didn't wanna take any chances so I waited a few extra years. He's about ready now, though. He's been sick, but not as badly."

Surge seemed to understand. "After our little sparring match here, you should talk to Zero about potentially giving him a Pokémon."

Zero's eyes lit up as he looked at his father for approval. Blaine sighed. "Alright, Zero, if you think you can handle a Pokémon, I guess I have no choice but to give you one. And while you're out and about, I might as well have you retrieve my Ditto from the Daycare on Route 5. I'll be right back, sonny."

"See, kid? Your dad isn't too hard to persuade," Surge said, clapping Zero on the shoulder.

Blaine returned to the battlefield with a Poké Ball in his hand. He gave it to Zero, who took it gratefully. The teenager then pointed the ball to the ground and opened it. Out popped a little orange lizard with a flame on its tail—a Charmander. Zero's face lit up as bright as the little Pokémon's tail, and he embraced his father tightly. "Thank you so much, Dad! This means so much to me..."

"We'll say our true goodbyes once I finish this battle with ol' Surge, sonny. Ya still wanna watch?" Blaine said.

"Of course I do!" Zero replied, and he walked back over to the bleachers with his brand new friend. Rapidash and Raichu faced each other once again, and the judge signaled for the battle to continue.

"Rapidash! Use Fire Blast!" Blaine roared. The fiery horse whinnied and galloped up to Raichu, then let loose a giant star of fire. The blast knocked Raichu back, and the mouse winced, clearly in pain. The fire had burned it, lowering its attack power.

Surge grit his teeth. "Raichu! Thunder!" Sparks formed in the mouse's cheeks, and a large flux of electricity ran across the battlefield, hitting Rapidash right in the face. The fiery horse whinnied, but the attack did not seem to do much.

"Crap," Surge hissed through his teeth; a mere whisper, but it was loud enough for Zero to hear. Blaine then ordered Rapidash to use Megahorn, but Raichu dodged the attack, and Rapidash stumbled forward, his horn sticking into the ground.

Surge was confident once again. "Raichu! Thunder Punch!" he yelled, and Raichu obeyed instantly. His fist glowed bright with lightning, and he punched Rapidash hard in the flank. The Pokémon responded aggressively, kicking Raichu with his strong hind legs. Raichu cried out and flew backwards, hitting the wall behind Blaine. Rapidash then wiggled out of the ground and dizzily faced his opponent again. Raichu had plodded back to the battlefield, but he promptly collapsed to the ground, having fainted.

The judge held up a flag on Blaine's side of the field and said, "And the winner is Blaine of Cinnabar Island!" Both Trainers returned their Pokémon to their respective Poké Balls.

"Good battle, boy," Blaine commended, shaking his opponent's hand. "That'll be one for the books, for sure. Thanks for stopping by."

"Thanks for having me, sir," Surge said. He grinned and beckoned Zero over. The boy got up, and his little Charmander followed close behind. As the battle's course had gone on, he had decided to name his Charmander Braze.

Blaine looked at his son. "Are you sure you're really ready for an adventure, sonny?"

"I promise, I'll be careful if I go out. I'll take my medicine with me, and my inhaler. And Braze will help keep me warm. And I'll get an Ice type too, just in case!" Zero replied eagerly.

"Alright boy, slow down," Blaine said, chuckling. "You can head back to Vermillion with Surge, and then you're on your own. Alright with that?"

"Y-yeah, I'll be alright," Zero stammered. Spots were forming before his eyes, and he shook them away. "Are you ready, Surge?"

"Sure thing, Zero," he replied. "See you around, Blaine."

"Thanks for agreeing to take 'im, Surge. Make sure he's okay, will ya?"

"Of course."

"Bye, Dad! I'll come back to visit!" Zero exclaimed. He then went up to his room and packed his raggedy backpack, and left the Gym with Surge. The double doors slammed shut, leaving Blaine alone.

"I just hope that boy doesn't get 'imself hurt," Blaine said, then walked off.

The only sound reverberating around the room was the faint echo of the Gym Leader's final words.

.

"This is where we part," Surge said, stopping in front of the Vermillion City Gym. "Sorry, bud, but you've gotta continue on your own. I recommend heading down to Pallet Town, so you can meet Professor Oak. He'll give you a PokéDex so you can obtain info on all of Kanto's Pokémon. From there, you can choose where you wanna go."

"Hey wait, if I should go to Pallet Town, then why couldn't we just take the ferry to there instead of to Vermillion?" Zero asked.

"Unfortunately, the water route to Pallet Town was closed today. There's said to be a swarm of Gyarados blocking the way, so they had to close it down so some Ace Trainers and the Cerulean City Gym Leader could take it down. Sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Surge said sheepishly.

"It's fine," Zero said. "It'll be nice to get some fresh air."

"I bet," Surge replied. "Say, do you plan on taking the Gym Challenge?"

"Not really… B-but don't tell my dad!" Zero said hastily, blushing. "I don't want him knowing, especially because I'm supposed to take over the Gym someday…"

"I getcha, buddy. I won't tell a soul."

"Thanks… I'll see you soon! Thanks for taking me here."

"Of course. Safe travels!" Surge said.

Zero walked through the maze of a city, amazed. He had not been to such a large space before, and he was quite overwhelmed. Sweet-smelling bakeries, bustling shops and hundreds of people filled the lovely Vermillion City. He was almost tempted to stay longer, but he was determined to follow Surge's advice and meet the Pokémon professor.

A cave soon caught the boy's eye: "Diglett Cave!" said the sign next to it. "A shortcut to Pewter City is ahead! Be careful, and don't step on a Diglett by accident!" He looked at his map, then back at the cave. Pewter was pretty close to Pallet Town. Zero shrugged and beckoned Braze to follow him through the tunnel. The Charmander squeaked, and his tail glowed bright, simulating a flashlight. The two newfound friends cautiously took a few steps in, careful not to tread on any unsuspecting Pokémon.

The cave was dark and smelled strongly of mold. Zero wrinkled his nose at the dry, pungent odor and continued walking. Braze trotted along cheerfully behind his Trainer, chirping and squeaking happily. But soon, silence came, and the two stopped in their tracks. Ahead was a strange shadow, formless and pitch-black in the dark cavern.

"Who's that Pokémon?" Zero whispered to himself. Braze clutched Zero's pant leg and growled at the figure in front of them.

Then, the shape attacked. Zero lept back, and Braze charged at the shadow with a Scratch attack. It did not seem to do much. The creature then used Sucker Punch as Braze was readying an Ember attack, as it had read the Charmander's movements. Braze then launched a tiny ball of flame at the creature, and for a split second, Zero saw the brown skin and pink nose of a Diglett. Upon closer inspection with Braze's tail, however, the Trainer realized, with horror, that it was a Dugtrio, Diglett's evolved form!

"Be careful, Braze. This thing's evolved, and it probably has a super effective move," Zero warned. The Charmander nodded and braced himself for another attack. The Dugtrio uttered a low grumble and hit Braze with an Earthquake. The cave floor rumbled under Zero's feet, and rocks fell from the ceiling. Braze yelped in pain as he was hit mercilessly. The Charmander then recovered and raked the Dugtrio's face with his claws.

This was their chance. Dugtrio was recovering from the attack, and the cave exit was ahead. Determined to make it out alive, and filled with adrenaline, Zero grabbed Braze and made an escape for the light at the end of the tunnel. The Dugtrio attempted to chase after them, but it failed, gave up and burrowed back into the ground.

Zero and Braze ran as fast as the could, and after what felt like hours the two exited the cave and were officially in Pewter City. Zero's chest heaved, shooting pain coming with every inhale. He wasn't used to running for so long. He fished his inhaler out of his backpack and took a long draw of the medicine then walked toward the Pokémon Center with his partner. As he exhaled, he looked up at the sky and noticed the sun was setting. It had been a long day.

"Welcome to the Pokémon Center!" said the nurse as the automatic doors opened. "What can I do for you, young man?"

"Could you please heal my Pokémon?" Zero asked, showing Braze to the nurse.

She nodded. "Of course. Would you like to stay overnight? It's getting late."

"That would be nice. Thanks," Zero replied. "Um… do you…"

"No, no payment," the nurse said as Zero fished some money out of his pocket. "Pokémon Trainers are always welcome to stay the night for free. May I see your Trainer's License?"

"Heh… I actually don't have one yet. I'm going to Professor Oak so I can register to be an official Trainer and get a PokéDex," Zero said sheepishly.

The nurse looked shocked, but she nodded in understanding. "Okay, then. In that case, it will only cost you ten Poké for one night here."

Zero took a ten-Poké note and handed it to the nurse. The machine Braze was in for healing then beeped, and the nurse handed him back to Zero. "Have a good rest," she said, smiling. "By the way, my name is Nurse Joy. I can't believe I forgot to introduce myself!" Joy blushed, embarrassed.

"I'm Zero. Pleasure to meet you."

"Anyways, I have some work to do. Here's your room key, Room 15."

"Thank you, ma'am," Zero said as he and Braze went upstairs to their room.

Joy put a hand to her face subconsciously as the boy disappeared. "Ma'am? Am I really that old?"

.

Zero checked out of the Pokémon Center and left the next morning. Viridian City was ahead, and beyond that, his destination. He felt a bit sluggish, but continued on nonetheless.

The journey to Viridian was uneventful. On their way, they had passed through Viridian Forest, which was south of Pewter. It was full of bug Pokémon that Braze picked off easily whenever Zero ran into one. As the day dragged on, the two friends approached Viridian City slowly. They entered the big metropolis just as the sun was setting. The next morning, Pallet Town was finally within their sights.

"We're finally here," Zero said, but no sound came out of his mouth—only a faint whisper. He coughed, clearing his airways of phlegm, and proceeded to find Professor Oak's lab.

"Good morning," said an old man as the double doors to the lab opened. "How may I help you, young man?"

"Are you the professor, by any chance?" Zero asked. Braze was squirming in Zero's arms and trying to reach his Poké Ball. Zero couldn't blame him; it had been a long trip. Zero returned the tiny lizard to his ball and turned back to face the man.

"I am. You must be Zero, Blaine's boy. He told me all about you, and I've been expecting you." Zero noticed Professor Oak had a warm, kind smile. Zero grinned back.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, professor. I'm Zero." Zero stretched his hand out, and Oak grasped it firmly and shook it.

"You already have the Pokémon your father gave you, I would assume, or else the journey from Cinnabar would have been much more difficult. But my grandson just delivered this package to me, with two special devices called PokéDexes. A PokéDex will allow you to easily access all sorts of information on Pokémon you have recently met. Here is one for you, with Charmander already registered for you. I did it manually."

Oak handed Zero a little red pad, with a screen and a few buttons, that flipped open and closed easily. WIth the 'Dex was a card, with Zero's name and a recent photo that he recognized was one taken on his fifteenth birthday.

"Thanks," Zero said cheerfully. The professor also handed him ten Poké Balls so he could go out and catch more teammates for Braze.

As Zero was about to leave, the door slammed open and a boy about Zero's age walked into the laboratory. He was short in stature, slightly overweight and had curly black hair. He walked slowly to the table that held the three starter Pokémon and pointed, almost rudely. "Can I have a Pokémon?"

Zero, dumbfounded, attempted to inch along the wall and escape out the door unnoticed, but the boy glared at him. Zero fished Braze's Poké Ball out of his pocket and put his hands up. His thumb pressed the white button in the center, and Braze the Charmander came out. The boy, surprised at this sudden movement, reached for the first Poké Ball on the table. Braze knocked the sphere out of his hand, and he stepped back, wincing in pain, as he had been burned. The orb landed on its white button, and a tiny Bulbasaur emerged from it. The Bulbasaur quaked in fear as the overweight boy reached out to touch her.

As the boy grazed the little Bulbasaur with the back of his hand, she reached out blindly with her vines and started whipping Braze in the face. The Charmander squeaked and started scratching Bulbasaur. Eventually, they began swinging wildly at each other, with no specific target in mind. The professor soon took matters into his own hands; he picked up the two Pokémon and set them far away from each other.

"That was the most pathetic excuse for a Pokémon battle I've seen in all my days. Even a Magikarp is able to strike an opponent fast and true," Oak scolded. The boys looked at their feet in shame. "Now take your Pokémon and begin again." The young men looked up, surprised. "Yes, I want you to battle. You'll only get better if you do. Go on, now. Get to it."

"I guess I'll go first," the overweight boy called out, placing the shy Bulbasaur in front of him. "Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!"

Bulbasaur teetered up to Braze on her tiny, stubby legs and slapped Braze in the head with her vines. Braze took the hits nonchalantly and braced himself to attack.

"Braze! Ember!" The Charmander nodded and ignited the poor Bulbasaur's vines. She cried out in pain as the burn spread across her body. She soon started yelping in pain and running around in panic. Distressed and terrified, Zero's opponent fished a Burn Heal out of his bag and spritzed a bit of the medicine onto Bulbasaur. She began to calm down, and then faced her foe once again. Zero noticed her chest heaving and was about to call off the battle, but then the boy spoke.

"Tackle, Bulbasaur!" he said, pointing at Braze.

Bulbasaur hesitated, but obliged and began to charge toward Braze at her top speed, which wasn't very fast, considering how weak she had become after that burn. Braze easily dodged and fought back with a hefty Scratch attack. Bulbasaur grunted in pain and flopped pathetically on the ground.

"That's it then," Oak said. He walked over to Zero and abruptly thrust his arm into the air. "Zero is the winner!"

The other boy had a look on his face that seemed to be a mixture of sadness and anger. His eyes welled up with tears, and his face became a beet-red color. He collected the fainted Bulbasaur in his arms, then walked up to Zero. He pointed right at his nose, causing Zero to look cross-eyed down at the chubby finger in his face. "Listen up, kid. I dunno how you beat me, but I'm an experienced Trainer. You may have had the type advantage, and the old man's Bulbasaur may not have been all that strong, but I still should've won. I can tell you've never battled before. How old are you?"

"F-fifteen," Zero managed, his voice hoarse. He needed something to drink—badly. Keeping hydrated was important, especially in his condition.

The other boy laughed so hard he snorted. "Fifteen? You've gotta be kidding me! You should've been outta here four years ago! I've been a Trainer for four years now! I'm your age, bud." He paused. "Meaning I should've won."

Zero glared at him, now angry. "My dad's a Gym Leader. I've been his apprentice for a while, and I think I have battle experience as well."

The other boy backed down for a moment, a bit flustered. "Sorry, I guess," he muttered. He took a step back, allowing Zero's eyes to refocus, and stuck out his right hand. "The name's Mark. I'm from Littleroot Town in the Hoenn region."

"Zero," Zero replied, shaking Mark's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Professor Oak chuckled and smiled at the young men. "See, that wasn't so hard! A good Pokémon battle can make rivals or friends in a heartbeat. Mark, I'm going to entrust you with that Bulbasaur, if you want her. You seemed like you had a good grip on battling with her."

"Thanks, Professor!" Mark exclaimed, excited. "How do you like the name Tulip?" he asked his new partner. She grunted and smiled shyly.

"Enjoy your adventures, boys. I have some research to do. My grandson just sent me some Muk to examine. And one of them is a rare color, too!" Oak laughed, waved goodbye to Mark and Zero, and disappeared into the back room of his laboratory.

.

Route 1 was just north of the tiny Pallet Town, and Mark and Zero were about to go their separate ways. They had just met, and they had already sworn to battle when they met again.

"You sure you'll be okay?" Zero asked. "You've never been to Kanto, and you don't seem to have a map on you."

"I have my wits and my National 'Dex. I'm sure I'll be fine," Mark replied, swelling with confidence.

"Here's a map anyways," the adamant Zero retorted, shoving a map into his rival's face.

"Jeez, dude, you sound like my old lady," Mark groaned, peeling the large piece of paper off of his face. "Anyways, I'll see you around." Mark waved goodbye, then ran off into the wilderness.

Zero looked at Braze, who had been kept out of his Poké Ball even after his battle with Mark's Bulbasaur, and grinned. "You ready, buddy? It's time to travel this region and fill the PokéDex together."

The two friends then walked into Route 1's tall grass, where a new adventure was just beginning.