In the last chapter, Romeo had been given his first Pokemon, an Elekid, along with former lab-assistant Tony, and worst enemy, Seth. Now Romeo had left Pallet Town, and begun his journey to become the Indigo League Master. Since we last heard from Romeo, he'd been traveling all night long on the way to Viridian City, and he had camped out near a bushy ledge, and the journey goes on …
… It was a really bright morning as Romeo woke up. The sun was shining, and the Starly's were singing along with the Pidgey's and the Taillow's. It was almost harmony.
Romeo looked around him. Then he remembered that he had camped here last night. The lushness of the grass was luring him back to sleep again, but he resisted. Instead, Romeo thought he could do with some company.
"Go, Elekid," he cried as he threw a pokeball from his belt. After an electric entrance, Romeo's Elekid finally came out of its pokeball.
"Kid, El-El Kid," it said in a cheerful way. After a short look at one another, Romeo broke the silence.
"So, good morning, Elekid," he said softly. Elekid nodded at Romeo.
"Kid, Elekid," it replied.
Suddenly, the two heard a stir in the bushes. Quite noisily, a little orange Pokemon popped out, and to Elekid's delight, it chirped at them. Romeo's Pokedex automatically opened.
"Abra," it said, "A psychic type Pokemon. As an Abra, it is not very strong at this stage, but by the time it evolves, it will be. It only knows two attacks at this stage. Teleport, which helps you escape from your current situation, bad or good. Its other move is Psychic. Not much is know about this move, except it can be very unpredictable. All in all, Abra is a good Pokemon to catch for a beginner."
That was enough information for Romeo. There were quite a few positive quotes in there. The final sentence did it. Romeo had set his heart on catching this Abra.
"Abra, Abraaa," the Abra said as it looked at Elekid in a scared way.
"Elekid, we're going to catch Abra, so go for a hard-hitting Thundershock," Romeo instructed from the sideline.
Abra looked terrified as Elekid opened his mouth so a big ball of electricity was pumping up. Then, in one huge blow, Elekid released the ball and it aimed straight at Abra. After a catastrophic show of lights, Abra had disappeared and Romeo was confused.
"Abraaa," came a voice from behind him. It was Abra. Somehow, it had re-appeared behind Elekid. Romeo knew how.
"This one's a clever one, Elekid. It must have used Teleport. Use Thunder Wave so it can't move, " Romeo shouted.
Elekid nodded obediently and produced the same electric ball from its cheeks and aimed at Abra. This time it hit, and Abra was left unable to Teleport. It was paralyzed.
"Now we can catch it!" Romeo exclaimed. He searched his pocket for a precious pokeball to use, but then realized he didn't have one.
"POKEBALL, GO!" came a scream from somewhere, and a red pokeball came flying from over the bushy ledge, hitting the wild Abra on the head. It turned into dust, and entered the pokeball. One roll, two rolls, and three rolls.
The Abra was caught, but not by Romeo. Suddenly, a young adult jumped over the ledge and went to pick up the pokeball.
He looked around eighteen-years-old; he had black greasy hair, and a round nose that looked extremely small. Romeo was angry and scared at the same time, but let his anger get the better of him for now.
"Hey, I was going to catch that Abra," he told the man. Romeo then pointed at his Elekid to show he might use it if the man wasn't careful. To his surprise, the man actually smiled.
"Without a pokeball?" he said. "I caught the Abra for you. Here, take it." He then threw the pokeball with the Abra in it into Romeo's hands, who happily caught it. Elekid, however, was still puzzled.
"Kid, kid?" it asked. The man looked at it, and chuckled.
"Oh, sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Isaac. I work at the Pokemon Mart at Viridian City," he said, smiling. Romeo took a few steps away from him.
"Why are you giving me the Pokemon that you caught with your Pokemon?" he asked, cautiously. Isaac just laughed.
"It's not mine," he answered, "It's the Mart's pokeball. I realized you were about the catch that Abra," he said, pointing to the pokeball in Romeo's hands, "and I also realized you didn't have a pokeball, so I used this one to catch it for you."
Romeo looked at him, unconvinced.
"But why would you do that for me? You don't even know me," Romeo questioned. Isaac pointed in the direction of Viridian City.
"The Mart at Viridian City told me to give a free pokeball to all new trainers that pass from Pallet Town. You can call it a free sample for commercial purposes. I've already given one to a trainer who passed by yesterday evening. Steff was his name, or something. Do you know him?" Isaac asked.
Romeo frowned, thinking of Seth's remarks as he left Professor Oak's lab.
"His name's Seth, and I wish I didn't know him," Romeo grumbled. Isaac frowned too.
"Me too. I tried giving him a pokeball, but he just snatched it from me and threw it at a wild baby Magby," he told Romeo.
"What's a Magby?" Romeo asked his Pokedex inquisitively.
"Magby, a baby fire Pokemon. Similar to Elekid, a Magby's evolutions are really tough, but as a baby, it only knows Smokescreen, and the fire move Ember," the Pokedex said.
"Seth's got a Magby!" Romeo exclaimed to Elekid.
"El, Kid-Kid," Elekid replied, with a look of competitiveness on his yellow face.
"He sure does," Isaac commented, "and it looked like a tough one. You might need to start training your Elekid and Abra if you want to beat him."
"You're right," Romeo said, and then sighed. "But I've got no-one to battle with."
Isaac grinned cunningly, and pulled a pokeball from his Pokemon Mart waistcoat.
"You have now," he said, throwing the ball high up into the air. Out popped a Pokemon that looked much like a beaver crossed with a rabbit. Once again, Romeo's trusty Pokedex flashed.
"Bidoof, a beaver Pokemon. In most regions, a Bidoof is very rare to find, but in Sinnoh, they run freely everywhere. Bidoof has big teeth, making it the perfect user of the moves Cut, Bite, and Chomp. If trained well, a Bidoof is a powerful foe."
Romeo looked surprised at Isaac.
"You've been to Sinnoh?" he asked. Isaac shook his head.
"No, my granddad gave old Bidoof to me. He said I'd make a great Pokemon trainer one day, but I guess he was wrong," Isaac replied, sadly.
Romeo nodded sympathetically, and then cheered up as he pulled a pokeball from his belt.
"Abra, go!" he shouted, as an orangey-purple explosion was followed by the Abra looking around curiously to see who it was battling.
Finally, Abra and Bidoof both stood opposite each other, ready for instructions.
"Bidoof, use tackle," Isaac called.
Bidoof went to charge at Abra's small body, but without any instruction Abra disappeared and reappeared behind Bidoof. Romeo was annoyed that Abra had reacted without being told, but pleased that no harm had come to it.
"Try again, Bidoof," Isaac called again.
Bidoof tried once more, but once again Abra moved out of the way. Isaac called for Chomp and Bite too, but all Abra would do is Teleport out of the way. Romeo was extremely annoyed now.
"Abra, this is your last chance to do what I say. Use Psychic!" he shouted.
Abra suddenly stopped Teleporting and looked at Romeo seriously.
"Abraaa," it screeched, and out of nowhere came a great blue see-through wave that crashed straight at Bidoof.
Both Romeo's Pokemon and the two trainers were startled at what had just happened. One minute Bidoof was lively and aggressive, and the next it was tired, exhausted, and couldn't move anymore. Abra had earned its first victory!
"Yes! Go Abra," Romeo shouted, before returning Abra and Elekid into their pokeballs.
Isaac attended to the injured Bidoof, and after also returning his Pokemon into its pokeball; he looked up at Romeo and put his hand out.
Romeo shook his hand, and they smiled at each other. Obviously, Romeo was not bad at making friends.
"I've got to go back to the Mart now," Isaac told Romeo. "My sample shift is over." Romeo waved as Isaac jumped over the ledge and waved back. It looked like Romeo would have to carry on with his journey alone for now. At least he had a new Pokemon. Abra!
Suddenly, before Romeo could carry on walking, another Pokemon appeared. The Pokedex sprung into action.
"Kricketot, a bug-type Pokemon. It's not a very powerful Pokemon, and neither is its evolution. However, against poison Pokemon, it is incredibly strong. Not really one for the long-term, but Kricketot is rare, and should be caught for the Pokedex anyway."
Romeo took the Pokedex's advice, and flung the pokeball at Kricketot without any weakening. After three rolls, the ball stopped and made a satisfying dead sound. Romeo had caught his third Pokemon.
All of a sudden, the ball opened by itself and out came Kricketot, smiling at Romeo. The Kricketot went bright, and became bigger. After a shower of light, the Kricketot had transformed. It had evolved, and Romeo was amazed.
"Kricketune, the evolved form of Kricketot. It is still not much more powerful, but can learn some grass-type moves such as Vine Whip. Still not so effective in the long-run, but is the best Pokemon you can use against poison-types."
Romeo stood there with Kricketune's pokeball in his hand. He was stricken by the light, and happy that he had gotten three Pokemon in one day, and one the day before. He returned Kricketune, with the plan that he would send the Pokemon to Professor Oak when he got to Viridian City, which was not that far away.
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5 Questions to ask before reading the next chapter …
Whom will Romeo meet in Viridian City?
Will Romeo's new Kricketune still be sent to Professor Oak?
Will Romeo catch any new Pokemon?
Now that Seth has caught a Magby, what can Romeo catch to equalize?
Will Romeo ever meet the lab-assistant, Tony, again?