With a few steps into one of the patches of grass that she'd encountered before Prof. Oak stopped her, Tootie exited Pallet Town. She now knew that there would be wild Pokemon waiting for her to find them, but as long as she had Bulbasaur by her side, she felt more prepared.
As they were walking through the grass in Route 1, Tootie saw a light brown Pokemon that looked like a small bird. It was walking through the grass, looking for food. Tootie's eyes lit up.
"Ooh, what's that?" Tootie asked. She pulled out her Pokedex and opened it, revealing an image of the Pokemon she'd just seen.
"Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokemon," said the Pokedex. "This very docile Pokemon will flap its wings to stir up sand rather than protect itself."
"Hmm, it looks like it could be useful," Tootie said to herself. She pulled out the Poke Ball that contained her Bulbasaur, pressed the button and threw it at the ground. "Go, Bulbasaur!"
The Poke Ball opened, revealing Tootie's Bulbasaur. He looked at the Pidgey and emitted his battle cry.
"Bulbasaur!"
"Bulbasaur, use Tackle!" Tootie commanded.
Bulbasaur charged toward the Pidgey, then jumped and tackled it, the impact weakening it slightly. Pidgey lay on the ground for a moment, then got back up and shook its feathers out to recover from the hit. It then flew a few inches upward, the winds from its beating wings stirring up a large amount of dust from the ground. The winds blew the dust toward Tootie and Bulbasaur, temporarily blinding them. Bulbasaur winced and shut his eyes, trying to keep any of the dirt from getting into his eyes, while Tootie coughed several times as the dust bothered her throat. With both trainer and Pokemon incapacitated, the Pidgey flew off.
"Aaah... Haaah-chew!" Tootie gave a single sneeze to expel the dust that had gotten up her nose. By this point, the dust had cleared, but it revealed that the Pidgey had fled. With a disappointed look on her face, Tootie rubbed her nose with her forefinger and sighed to herself. "Aw, darn it..."
Bulbasaur opened his eyes, regaining his vision, but then coughed a few times from inhaling a bit of the dust. Tootie pulled her forefinger away from her nose, then reached down and petted Bulbasaur to console him.
"Don't worry, boy, we were pretty close," said Tootie. "There's gotta be more than one Pidgey around here, right?"
Bulbasaur nodded, feeling a bit better. No longer under the effects of Pidgey's attack, Tootie returned Bulbasaur to his Poke Ball and continued going through the patches of grass. The next Pokemon she saw, however, looked like a purple mouse. It was sniffing around, looking for food.
"Hmm, what's that Pokemon?" Tootie pulled out her Pokedex, which displayed a picture of the Pokemon.
"Rattata, the Mouse Pokemon," the Pokedex said. "This Pokemon will make its home anywhere. If you find one, there are likely many more in the same area."
"I bet that one could be useful, too," Tootie said as she put her Pokedex away. She pulled Bulbasaur's Poke Ball back out and threw it at the ground. "Go, Bulbasaur!"
Bulbasaur emerged from the Poke Ball once again, eyeing the Rattata.
"Bulbasaur!"
"Bulbasaur, use Tackle!" Tootie commanded.
Bulbasaur ran towards the Rattata and lunged at it, tackling it to the ground. Rattata was stunned from the hit, and then Bulbasaur returned to Tootie. She pulled out an empty Poke Ball and pressed the button, causing it to grow to its normal size. Then she threw it at the Rattata.
"Go, Poke Ball!"
The Poke Ball hit Rattata right on the nose, then opened with a flash of light. The flash surrounded Rattata and brought it into the Poke Ball, which then fell to the ground. As the button turned red, the ball shook a couple of times, but then stopped. The button turned back to its normal color.
Rattata had been caught.
"All right!" Tootie said in delight. She ran over to the Poke Ball, picked it up and held it up high. "I caught a Rattata!"
"Bulbaaa!" Bulbasaur cheered as he jumped with joy.
"Great job, Bulbasaur," Tootie said. She walked back over to him and bent down to pet his cheeks. The Bulbasaur seemed to enjoy it. When Tootie stood back up, she looked down at her Poke Ball that contained her Rattata. Deciding it was time to bring it out, she pressed the button and threw the Poke Ball onto the ground. "Come out, Rattata!"
With a flash of light, Rattata came out of the Poke Ball.
"Ratta!"
"I wonder how useful this Pokemon can be in battle..." Tootie said to herself.
Just then, she heard some chewing sounds from below her. When she looked down, Rattata was trying to gnaw on one of her shoes, to her surprise and embarrassment.
"Hey!" Tootie pulled her foot away from Rattata. "Why'd you do that?"
She pulled out her Pokedex and opened it again, hoping for some more info.
"Rattata's front teeth grow constantly throughout their lives. It will chew on whatever it finds, however hard it may be."
"Oh..." Tootie lowered the Pokedex, feeling a bit silly. "I guess I didn't think they can do that..."
She looked down at her Rattata with a forgiving smile. She picked up a nearby stick and handed it to the Rattata, which proceeded to chew on that instead.
"Well, if I'm gonna have you as one of my Pokemon, we'll have to make sure you don't chew up my things," Tootie said to her Rattata. "But maybe I can still rely on you..."
Rattata briefly stopped chewing his stick to nod his head in agreement. Not long afterward, another Pidgey that had been flying in the air landed in the same area as Tootie and her Pokemon.
"Oh, look, another Pidgey!" Tootie said. Rattata looked over at it, dropped his stick and looked into the Pidgey's eyes. Tootie noticed this and decided this was his chance to shine. "Rattata, use your Bite attack!"
The Rattata jumped at the Pidgey, and then bit down hard onto its wing, causing it to cry out in pain. When the Rattata let go afterwards, the Pidgey fell backward, dazed from the pain. Tootie was smiling proudly and in excitement.
"That oughta do it!" She pulled out another one of her empty Poke Balls, pressed the button and threw it at the Pidgey. "Go, Poke Ball!"
The Poke Ball hit the Pidgey on the beak, then opened with a flash of light that surrounded Pidgey. It then sent it into the ball, which closed and fell to the ground. The button turned red as it shook a couple of times, then stopped. The button turned to its normal color.
Pidgey had been caught.
"Yes! I got a Pidgey!" Tootie said as she ran over to the Poke Ball and picked it up. She then went back over to Rattata and petted the top of his head proudly. "Way to go, Rattata, I knew I could count on you!"
The Rattata seemed to enjoy the attention he was receiving. Finally Tootie placed her Pidgey's Poke Ball into her pocket, then recalled Rattata and Bulbasaur into their respective Poke Balls. She placed these in her pockets as well and finally made it out of the route, into Viridian City.
The first place she stopped in this city was the Pokemon Center. Tootie hadn't been to one before, but she had heard that it was where injured or ill Pokemon would go to recover had something happened to them. At least it would be a lot less expensive than having to bring them to a hospital or doctor's office, Tootie thought. She went up to the woman at the front of the desk - a magenta-haired woman in a white nurse uniform.
"Hello, I'm Nurse Joy," the woman greeted her politely. "Welcome to the Pokemon Center, where we heal your Pokemon to perfect health."
"I'd like to let my Pokemon rest, please," Tootie said. She handed all three of her Pokemon - still in their Poke Balls - to Nurse Joy.
"Certainly, madam," Nurse Joy replied. "It may take a few minutes, so please wait."
Tootie nodded in understanding. Nurse Joy turned to the computer behind her, placed the Poke Balls inside and pressed a few buttons. As the computer did its work, Tootie stood where she was, looking around at the various Pokemon posters that dotted the walls, as well as the Pokemon magazines that were sitting on the coffee tables and waiting to be read.
Finally, Nurse Joy removed the Poke Balls and turned back to Tootie, giving her Pokemon back.
"Thank you for waiting. Your Pokemon are back on their feet and ready to fight," Nurse Joy stated.
"Already? That was fast!" Tootie commented. "Thank you, Nurse!"
"Feel free to come back if something happens to your Pokemon. Be careful out there, now!"
Tootie smiled as she placed her Poke Balls in her pocket and walked out of the Pokemon Center. She pulled out Bulbasaur's Poke Ball, pressed the button so that it became its normal size, and then threw it at the ground. Bulbasaur emerged from the ball as it opened, and then shook his head and looked up at Tootie affectionately.
Tootie kneeled down and petted the top of Bulbasaur's head, causing him to give a few quiet, contented squeaks.
"Even if we do have some extra Pokemon by our sides, I'd still like you to be the one I'm with the most," Tootie mentioned. "But I have a feeling there's some really cute Pokemon out there as well..."
"Not that I'd stop being with you just to play with them." Tootie giggled a little, and Bulbasaur blushed slightly. "But for now, let's focus on making you stronger."
The Bulbasaur nodded in agreement. After a few more minutes of petting him, Tootie stood back up, pulled out Bulbasaur's Poke Ball and recalled her Grass-type starter. She then closed the Poke Ball, put it back in her pocket, and finally started to head toward Route 2. What new Pokemon would she come across next?