A/N - Chapter 7 is out. It's quite a bit longer than the previous ones! Red is on his way now. The earlier chapters were all part of the set up. Here's where the action begins. As always, a big thank you to my fiancé.

Come on readers, please review! It'll really help me as a writer!

Chapter 7 - First Battle

Red and Charmander walked along the paved walkway that was called Route 1. Their feet beat a pattern on the ground. It had been a week since they had walked out of Pallet together and they were nearing the closest city, Viridian. Trainer and Pokémon got along fabulously, as expected. They formed a terrific team, and no wild Pokémon could stand up to them. Red barely had to give orders to Charmander; it was as if the Pokémon could read his mind. The words would barely escape his lips before Charmander would do exactly as ordered. Route 1 consisted of mainly Pidgey and Rattata with the occasional Spearow, none of which even challenged Charmander's Ember attack. The couple of Pokémon that managed to land a surprise attack on Charmander found that the Fire Type could shrug it off with ease and decimate them subsequently. Most Pokémon that Charmander defeated would be simply knocked out. An unlucky few would be killed in order to provide the duo with their next meal. Red was not a wasteful person. Living in near poverty had taught him to appreciate whatever came his way. All in all, the trip was eventless. Well, almost.

On the fourth evening, Charmander and he had found a nice spot under a tree on the banks of a stream to make camp. They ate their fill of roast Spearow that Charmander had defeated earlier that day. In the morning, Red discovered that he had been sleeping right under a Pidgey nest and his sleeping bag was covered in Pidgey droppings. Yuck, what shitty luck, pardon the pun. When he looked up at the nest, he saw the biggest Pidgey he had ever seen before. It was half again the size of largest Pidgey he had seen before and it was sitting on the nest. I have to catch this one! It's huge!

Red had never intended to catch a Pidgey. Of course, he would have to in order to complete the Pokédex, but that was a later goal, one that he had not decided if he would work towards or not. His current target was to train Charmander and perhaps catch a Grass or Water Type, and hence he was just frying all the Normal Type Pokémon he came across. But this Pidgey was massive! With training it would evolve into a fearsome Pidgeot. If nothing else, he could trade it for another Pokémon that he wanted.

"Charmander, Ember."

The Fire Type had woken up along with Red and had been busy heating their breakfast (leftovers from last night). As soon as Red spoke, it let out a small flame at its opponent who couldn't lift off in time. It was hit by the attack and knocked out of its nest. While falling, the Pidgey managed to right itself up and flap its wings. It hovered a foot above the ground for a few seconds to orient itself and then dashed towards the Fire Pokémon. This was the first Pidgey to endure one of Charmander's Ember attacks. Man, this Pidgey is stronger than any other. What luck finding it!

The bird Pokémon flew at Charmander, but the latter dodged it at the last second, showing speed it hadn't had the need to show so far. Charmander shot another Ember at Pidgey's back, hitting the Flying Type while it was turning to make another go. This time the bird fell out of the air and onto the ground, where it feebly tried to flap its wings to take off again. Before it could muster enough strength, Charmander rushed to where it fell and attacked it with Scratch. This was too much for the Pidgey and it collapsed, unmoving. Red threw a Poké Ball at the bird, which was sucked inside as a mass of red energy. The Ball shook once, twice, three times before coming to a rest with a 'ping'.

Since then, Red had been training both Charmander and Pidgey. They would fight wild Pokémon in the day, and come evening after setting up camp, they would spar against each other. The Pidgey was resilient. Charmander's attacks were exceptionally strong, but Pidgey could take a few hits before getting exhausted. On the other hand, Charmander could withstand anything that Pidgey threw at it. To say that Red was impressed was an understatement. I knew I was getting a good deal, but this is beyond all expectations! No wonder these Pokémon aren't given out normally.

Red tripped on a rock and his mind was brought back to the present. After training for a couple of days, Red's Pidgey had grown slightly in strength. It could take a couple more of Charmander's hits and could attack Charmander for longer than it could when Red had just caught it. This is why Trained Pokémon are stronger than wild Pokémon. Regular training builds stamina and strength. This is what Oak was talking about.

Currently Pidgey was flying a few metres ahead of Red at about double of his height, while Charmander plodding along beside him. Red preferred to keep his Pokémon outside of their Poké Balls when they were in the wild, as he felt it fostered cooperation and created stronger bonds between all parties.

As they turned past a copse of evergreens, they found themselves facing a sprawling spread of buildings and houses. Pidgey coo'ed and landed on Red's head. Red and Charmander looked at each other and could see the relief in each other's eyes. Their days of sleeping on the ground were over, even if it was for only a little while. And the food! Charmander would roast whatever Pokémon they had killed for the day, but it could not compare to a real meal prepared by somebody who actually knew what they were doing. Red resolved to pick up a book or two on how to cook food in the wilderness. But first… Pokémon Centre!

The formation of the League had introduced the concept of Pokémon Centres. These buildings were scattered around the world; every major city had one and some of the larger ones had two or three even! There were also Centres in the middle of some of the longer Routes between cities. A Pokémon Centre was a boon for Trainers. The receptionist nurse would heal Pokémon for free, while Trainers looking for a cheap bed and meal could find those, too. It was better than sleeping on the ground, and cheaper than staying in a hotel, which made it extremely popular with transient Trainers. But during peak season times, such as the League Championships, it was almost impossible to get a room at any Centre due to the influx of Trainers who wanted to watch the televised shows. However, since most Trainers were nomadic, most of the time it was easy to get a room. Having many Trainers staying under the same roof was a recipe for impromptu battles, and so Pokémon Centres also maintained an area just to the side of the building for Trainers to battle each other.

A half hour saw the trio entering the Pokémon Centre, which was almost at the edge of city limits on the side of Pallet Town. While Charmander was powerful and unbeaten, it had taken a few hits. Red had also trained Pidgey a little, battling it against some of the weaker Pokémon that the little group encountered. Both Pokémon had some injuries that would need to be healed. As they entered, Red took look around.

As the Centre was primarily a place for medical practice, the walls reflected that with a light green colour. Directly in front of the door was the reception desk, headed as always by a nurse. The machine used to heal Pokémon was sitting behind her, along with a large, egg shaped Pokémon. A Chansey! They aren't ever used to battle due to their affinities towards healing and helping others. They would be quite useless on the battlefield. But their healing abilities are beyond measure. It was said that one bite of a Chansey's egg would heal almost any infliction.

Red took his eyes off the egg shaped Pokémon and started walking towards the counter. There were doors that led to hallways on either side of the room. A sign above the left hallway pointed out that the door led to the cafeteria, while the right side hallway led to the rooms that Trainers could rent for a night. Red produced his Trainer Card as he reached the counter, it being mandatory to avail of any of the services at the Centre, and handed it over along with his Poké Balls.

The nurse on duty took the two Poké Balls and his Trainer Card from Red with a smile. She pressed the button on both balls to recall the Pokémon, and placed both in the healing machine. She pressed a switch on the machine to start the process. In a few moments, Red had his Poké Balls attached to his belt, his Trainer Card in his pocket and his Pokémon by his side. He nodded thanks to the receptionist and made his way to the cafeteria.

As he entered, he stopped at the doorway to look around. The place was almost empty. There were about a dozen tables in the room, of which only two were occupied. A table in the row nearest the door was off to the side against a large window that looked out into the concrete Viridian jungle. A group of three Trainers sat at the table, slurping their ramen noisily and generally making small talk. Two were female and one was male. Red gave them a cursory glance before focusing on the only other occupant of the room.

It was a girl about his age who had taken a table at the very back of the room. She was wearing a blue tank top due to which Red could see that her arms were slim yet strong. A white hat was lying on the table next to her tray of food, which she seemed to have mostly ignored. Wow she's really pretty. I wonder what her name is? Should I go talk—Yikes she's looking at me! He jerked away from her gaze, touches of red shading his cheeks and feeling foolish for ogling, he walked towards the counter to get some food, his Pokémon trailing a step behind.

Wow, this place is really empty. Looks like the Gym Leader isn't taking challenges right now.

He made his way to a table as far away as possible from the two occupied ones, one that was in the centre of the room. As he placed his tray on the table, he glanced at the girl sitting by herself and noticed once again that she was looking at him. This time he also managed to see that she was wearing a red skirt, which showed off her slender legs. Feeling a blush coming on, he decided to sit facing away from her. He placed some Pokémon food in front of Charmander and Pidgey. He made sure that there was enough for the both of them to eat their fill but not completely stuff themselves.

While eating his lunch, a sandwich, he thought about some battle strategies that he could use in the future. Charmander can get over its weakness to Rock and Ground with pure power and moves such as Metal Claw, but Water is a huge problem. The best strategy would be to not use Charmander against a Water type, but every situation is not ideal. Once it evolves into Charizard I can use Flying type attacks, but until then I need a solution.

His concentration was on his thoughts while he absentmindedly ate his lunch. So deep was he in his contemplation that he didn't notice when the noise level in the cafeteria suddenly died down. He didn't even realise it when footsteps sounded towards him. He was, however, shaken out of his reverie when a shadow fell across his table. He looked up to see one of the three Trainers from the first table standing there. It was one of the girls. She was wearing a school uniform, white shirt and a tie over a red plaid skirt. On her feet were black shoes with stockings up to her knees. She had a strange look on her face, like she was angry or upset. Her friends were standing some distance away, amused smirks plastered on their faces and whispering to each other. What does she want?

"Um, hey, I was just, um, thinking." she started. Red didn't miss the fact that her voice was shaking as she spoke. "I was, uh, sitting there and, um, and I thought…"

"I thought, um, wudjubintrestedinnabal?" Is this girl crazy? What did she say? Red looked at her as if she had grown an extra head.

"Eep! Sorry!" her exclamation was punctuated by the growing blush on her cheeks. "I meant, um, would you, if you don't mind, um, you know, battle against me? You don't have to say yes, you know, only if you want to!" She turned around and gave her friends a nervous smile.

My first Trainer battle! Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow! I just have to win this!

Heart thudding in his chest, Red nodded. His plate was almost empty, and though he had been through tough times as a child and had learned the hard way not to waste food, he was too nervous and excited to finish what was left. His heart was pounding so hard, it felt like it was going break his ribs. Yet, the ever stoic Red did not show any emotion. He looked over at his Pokémon and saw that they were done eating too.

He stood up, and his Pokémon straightened up as well. Pidgey took to the air, while Charmander stood there gazing up at him. Red's mouth curled ever so slightly into a half smirk, and he grabbed the rim of his hat and turned it backwards.

"Yay! I wasn't sure that you would agree! I'm so excited! Your Charmander looks pretty strong. And it's so serious too!" She really talks a lot. I hope her battle skills are as formidable as her mouth.

Red followed the girl outside, with her babbling the entire way. Her two friends followed a few steps behind. Once outside, they walked to the centre of the area cleared just for Pokémon battles. One of her friends, the male, stood between the two acting as referee, while the girl stood at one end of the area, outside the field lines.

"This battle is between Alice of Saffron City and… what's your name dude?"

"Red. Red from Pallet Town."

"This battle is between Alice of Saffron City and Red of Pallet Town. Each Trainer may use only one Pokémon. Whoever knocks out the other's Pokémon first is the winner and will receive 200 Pokédollars from the loser." 200 Pokédollars? All I can get with that is a potion. Oh well, it's just my first battle. There are lot's more Trainers out there to defeat. I wonder what Pokémon she will use.

The two Trainers took out their Trainer Cards and placed them back to back. The scanner on each was scanning the other card to register the battle. Once that was done, they walked to opposite ends of the field and faced each other. Red stood with legs slightly apart, knees bent as if he was about to jump. Pidgey and Charmander stood on either side of him.

The girl, Alice, plucked out a Poké Ball from three that were attached to her belt. All three were in their miniature forms, for easy storage. When she pressed the button in the front, it enlarged in her hand to the normal size for ease of use. She threw the ball towards Red and shouted "Go Pidgey!"

Her Pidgey appeared out of the Poké Ball. The small brown bird flapped its wings and flew around the field before landing facing Red.

A Pidgey! Should I use my own or should I go for the kill? Charmander can easily take it down. But Pidgey needs to be trained. But I also don't want to lose my first battle ever!

"Pidgey is my strongest fighter! I got it from my older sister. There's no way you'll be able to defeat it with your Pidgey. Use Charmander and give me a real battle!"

That settled it for Red. Grr, now I don't have a choice!

"Go, Pidgey" Red said. His own Pidgey flew up and landed facing Alice and her Pidgey. Red noticed that his Pokémon was much larger, and the brown was a little deeper, so he could easily tell the two apart.

"Oh yay! I was really hoping you wouldn't use Charmander. It looks very strong. Pidgey, use Tackle!" Alice's Pidgey dove towards Red's.

"Sand Attack, then Gust" said Red.

Red's Pidgey flapped its wings at the ground sending a spray of dirt and sand at its opponent's eyes. The smaller bird was rendered blind and veered away from Red's Pidgey before crashing to the ground. Red's Pidgey flapped its wings again, sending a powerful burst of wind at the fallen bird just as it was rising. It got hit by the sudden wind and flew back a few feet to crash into the ground again.

"No! Pidgey! Get up and use your own Gust!"

"Quick Attack!"

Alice's Pidgey stood up looking quite tired. It flapped its wings once to get airborne, and tried flapping them again to send a Gust attack. Before it could muster enough wind power to send a Gust, Red's Pidgey flash disappeared and reappeared in a collision with the other Pidgey. It then flew back to Red's side of the field and landed facing Alice. Alice's Pidgey, on the other hand, had tumbled to the ground yet again, and this time was out for the count.

Alice's face fell, and she quickly recalled her Pokémon into its PokéBall. Charmander and Red ran up to Pidgey, congratulating it for a job well done. It looks like Pidgey is pretty strong too. I wasn't sure it would win, let alone attain a flawless victory. The training with Charmander must have paid off, not to mention how abnormally huge it is!

Red looked up after recalling Pidgey into its Poké Ball and saw Alice being comforted by her friends. She still looked dejected. Red walked up to her and held out his hand.

A look of realisation came over Alice. "Sorry, I forgot, I owe you 200" she said as she searched around her pocket for her Trainer Card.

Red impatiently shook his arm. Alice gaped at him, holding her Card in her hand. She looked at his outstretched hand, and then up at his face before a wide smile crept onto her own. She grabbed his hand with her own and shook it. Red nodded once at her.

"You don't talk much, do you? Here, I owe you this anyway," she said pressing her Card into his. He didn't say anything as the Cards initiated the transfer of funds. Who was he to turn down his winnings? After the transfer was completed, he turned and walked away. What he didn't see was that the girl from the cafeteria had been watching the whole thing from the window, a sly smile on her face, plans already whirring through her head.

A/N - Can you guys guess who this mystery girl is? And what her plans are? Let me know in your reviews!