Waking up can be really painful. I remember once my mom tried to wake me up for school, and of course I mumbled and grumbled in bed. So she opened my blinds. My poor eyes were not happy that day. If you've ever had that feeling, or been in that situation, then you know how it feels to leave Viridian Forest. Bright lights pounded upon my eyes as I walked toward the next city in front of me.
The next town was called Pewter City, and it was a vast looking place, at least for someone as young as myself. I had heard there were bigger places in Kanto, but to me this town was large enough. Still, as much as I wanted to go sightseeing, I had to make my first stop: the Pokémon Center. The lady happily took my Pokémon, and while waiting I decided to take a look around. That's when I saw a Pokémon in the corner! The guy next to it must have had a special license to let it out. I decided I'd have to ask him about that as soon as the nurse healed my Pokémon.
The moment I got my Poké Balls back, I practically jogged over to the guy and his Pokémon. Unfortunately, he was asleep, but I figured I could at least use my Pokédex on it. But before I could pull it out, the Pokémon started singing! And almost immediately, I fell asleep.
According to the nurse, I woke up hours later, practically missing the entire night. Two thoughts hit my mind as I shook the last bits of sleep from my mind. First, what in the world happened? And second, shoot, I didn't get to call Mom!
It took a few rings and a lot of worried comments, but I finally got through to Mom, and she settled down. She was happy I got rest at least, even if I never planned it that way. After a long conversation, we hung up and she finally went to bed. I turned towards the man, ready to burst with anger, and asked him just what happened.
"Yawn!" the man rudely replied. "When Jigglypuff sings, Pokémon get drowsy." The man hung on the word, and I could see his eyes close right there before me. "Me too," he added, complete with a snore to close it all out.
I decided it was not worth wasting anymore time, and I went outside, just minutes before sunrise. There were still a lot of things I didn't know about the world, and even with all the lectures Professor Oak gave us, it seems they weren't enough to avoid the lulling affects of a singing Pokémon. I decided I'd start to be more careful. Singing Pokémon were going to be the least of my problems. I let out a yawn and decided to search town for the one answer I really needed: is there a gym here?
My journey through town didn't yield many results. Aside from a gardener who loved repels and a notice warning about Pokémon fossil thieves at Mt. Moon, the town didn't have much to offer yet. But I still had the northwest to check out, so I began my approach. I saw a Poké Mart, and I figured that would a good place to stock up in case a gym fight was coming, but then a man outside the store called out to me. "Did you check out the museum?"
There's a museum? "Um…no," I said, slightly curious but feeling distracted. "Why?"
"Really? You absolutely have to go!" I wanted to ask why, but he practically dragged me along. I gave in and followed him. After all, I might as well enjoy the sights; Blue's probably way ahead anyway.
"It's right here!" The Pewter Museum of Science was pretty big, at least considering my experiences. I haven't had much experience outside Pallet Town though, so everything looked big to me. "You have to pay to get in, but it's worth it!" I wasn't too convinced despite his eagerness, but I was still curious to see inside curious, so I went in to pay. "See you around!"
The clerk inside confirmed I'd have to pay 50 Pokédollars for a child's ticket. For a kid, especially a young new trainer, it feels like a rip-off; I don't know how Mom makes all that money. I'll have to ask her someday.
In the meantime, the museum at least proved to have awesome sights: strange skeletons of an Aerodactyl and Kabutops, meteorites, and a giant model of a space shuttle. It was a strange assortment of items, filled with many things I didn't understand; but I guess they're all cool to see, especially the skeletons of primitive Pokémon. But I had enough fun looking at the sights, and it was time to answer my question: where's that gym?
I went outside and gazed around. From my angle, nothing seemed to resemble the gym. Suddenly, I felt the urge that I was being very...foolhardy. I looked at a giant building standing before me, and began walking around it. The words on the building's front finally gave me my answer, and I realized I never once looked at it throughout the entire adventure through town. Well, you can guess how hard I facepalmed when I got to the front door.
I immediately walked in, and the sight before me was strangely breathtaking. The simple look to the battlefield was hardly beautiful. It wasn't even that cool looking. But what stole my breath wasn't looks, but the experience of seeing the inside of gym. After all, this really was my first gym, and the memory of its layout would stay in my mind for a long time. The gym was mostly brown and covered in dirt, there were rocks and only a few people in the gym, but it was an area to remember.
Unsure of where to begin, I talked to the first guy I saw. "Hiya!" he said optimistically. "I can tell you have what it takes to become a Pokémon champ!" Hearing this man's positive made me realize that he was probably nicest guy I've met since Mom…and Mom is pretty hard to compete with in that regard. I felt like getting new allies was going to be important if I wanted to become the champ, so I wanted to make a good first impression with the guy.
"I'm no trainer, but I can tell you how to win!" I was too stunned to believe it, but being a kid, I hung to every word. "Let me take you to the top!"
"Sure! I'll gladly take any help!"
"All right! Let's get happening!" Um, don't pretend to be gangster please. "The first Pokémon out in a match is at the top of the Pokémon list! By changing the order of Pokémon, matches could be made easier!"
I stood there for a few second before I asked, "Um…I already knew that. Don't you have any better advice?"
"Uh," he whispered. Clearly he wasn't as good as he made himself sound. "It's a free service!" His response didn't give me any confidence. "Look, I just got here, okay? I'm a gym caretaker, and I want to do whatever it takes to help new trainers along. I already had one jerk tear me a new one yesterday, I don't need more stress."
"Blue," was all I could say.
"Yes, him." Evidently he had issues with Blue too. "Look, I promise I'll do whatever I can to help you for the rest of your journey, I promise."
"Alright, I've got nothing to lose I guess," I said with a sigh. "Partners?"
"Partners," he said back. "I'm Jim Gai, by the way."
"Red." With a tip of my hat, that was that. I had a gym to beat, after all.
I saw one boy inside, and he looked about my age. Perhaps he's another challenger? I walked in front of him to get his attention, but he surprised me completely; he was an obstacle to overcome, a test before the leader, a Gym Trainer.
"Stop right there, kid!" Kid? I may be a kid, but I'm sure I'm older than you. "You're still light years from facing Brock!"
There were two possibilities going through my mind as I fought Camper Liam's Diglett: either he hasn't learned light years measure distance, not time; or, I really would need that space shuttle in the museum to fight Brock. Whichever it was, this junior trainer obviously liked the museum's space section more than me. But his Diglett and Sandshrew were no match for me. Well, maybe a little.
"Darn! Light years isn't time! It measures distance!" Um…and you forgot? "You're pretty hot," Uh… "But not as hot as Brock!" Okay, this kid was weirding me out. I hurried out of there and went to go heal my Pokémon.
I also decided to do some training south of the city, and caught a Pidgey while I was there. Honestly, I was kind of avoiding it, since I didn't want to resemble Blue at all, but I figured I may need the firepower for Brock. Besides, I needed Pidgey if I wanted to get full Pokédex completion and all that good stuff that would come with completing it. Assuming there is a reward for finishing it...
And then, as I wandered through Viridian Forest for training, something strange happened. I found a Caterpie (and named it Handlebar), and managed to catch it with ease, but then the ball disappeared with a flash of light! I was so shocked that I barely heard the Pokédex trying to talk to me. I pulled it out, and the Pokédex said something about the Pokémon getting transported to someone's PC. I didn't really understand what it meant, so now I was worried I just got robbed, or maybe even my Pokémon disintegrated!
Unsure of what to do, I grabbed my phone and called Professor Oak. Unfortunately, he wasn't answering; of all the times to not be available... I took a deep breath and relaxed myself. I figured if the Pokédex was being casual about it, Handlebar wouldn't be in any real danger, so I decided I needed to calm down for the time being. I decided that I'd ask Professor Oak about it later; he created the Pokédex after all, so he must know something. In the meantime, I figured I should check to see if the east had anything good to fight against to pass that time, when I ran into some guy.
"You're a trainer right?" I nodded. "Brock's looking for new challengers!"
"Um, I know, that's why I'm going east to tr-"
"Follow me!" With no choice, he dragged me across the town. I tried to tell him to stop, but he was too peppy and lead me back to the other side of town. What's with people dragging you across this town? I figured since he was bringing me back to the gym again, I might as well just beat Brock now; I was pretty sure my team was ready anyway.
Once we arrived, he turned back toward me and said, "If you have the right stuff, go take on Brock!" And if you don't have the right stuff and want to train, forget it, you're fighting Brock anyway.
He left thankfully, so I went back in the gym to finish what I started. I walked to the back of the arena, where Brock was standing tall. I had seen him back there several times, but I didn't want to go back there until I was ready. It was time, at last, to meet Brock.
"I'm Brock! I'm Pewter's Gym Leader!" he proudly boasted. "I believe in rock hard defense and determination! That's why my Pokémon are all the Rock type!" Wait, what? Oh no…
"Do you still want to challenge me?" I should have said no. I should have looked for more Pokémon, like Water types. None of my team had an advantage over Brock, and if I wasn't careful I'd be pulverized. Yet, there was a part of me, burning with passion, and desiring to prove myself. Instead of backing away, I just nodded and prayed that I wasn't making a mistake. "Fine then! Show me your best!"
With all my Pokémon in danger of so much pain from the hard hitting Rock types, I knew this was going to be a risky battle. But I had to do it. I had to win.
"Go! Geodude!" And with a mere toss, I gazed upon my first Rock type. A floating rock with arms and a face...I'm not sure if I want to see more Rock types.
I took a deep breathe and with all the bravery I could muster, sent out Rattata. "Go! Rattata!" Yeah, broken record, I know, but I needed to psych myself up somehow. This was a Gym Leader, after all, and my first real challenge.
It didn't help that Brock had that smug look on his face as he gazed at my mouse. "That won't do much damage, you realize?"
"Oh, just you wait and see, Brock!" I said with as much confidence as I could muster. Something tells me he wasn't convinced. "Rattata, Quick Attack!"
With unbelievable speed, she dashed and swiped at the rock, but a move like that...it's not very effective... That's when I realized this was going to be a long fight.
Brock still had to call his attack too. "Tackle!" That attack really hurt Rattata, a lot more than I had expected! My typical strategy of attack until victorious wasn't going to work. Unfortunately, it was time to get desperate; desperate times call for desperate measures, they say.
"Tail Whip!" My only hope now was to lower his Geodude's defense as much as possible so someone else could beat it. A barrage of Tackles from Geodude, however, made sure that my strategy wouldn't work for too long. Still, for every Tackle Geodude did, Rattata did Tail Whip, so I was at least weakening the floating rock in some way.
And then he did Defense Curl. Geodude restoring defense, even if only a little bit, did not help me...at all. Rattata managed one last Tail Whip before Geodude Tackled my pal into defeat, leaving me in a really tight spot. I gazed at my team, and tried to think of some strategy, some way to get an advantage on Brock. I then remembered one of my newest team members.
Pidgey erupted onto the scene. I decided to take a chance with Pidgey and his Sand Attack, but Brock ordered another Defense Curl to undo all of Rattata's efforts. This kept going on and on, Geodude boosting his defense as I had Pidgey blind the giant rock. But my Sand Attacks paid off, and when Brock called for a Tackle, Geodude flew off in a totally random direction!
Pidgey's other attacks weren't going to be any help now, so I needed someone that could fight back. It was time for NidoranF to take her turn! "Come on, girl, beat this rock to pebbles!" That was lame…
At least the Sand Attack barrage Pidgey unleashed was really paying off, but so were those Defense Curls Geodude had been doing. NidoranF went on the offense, and the blindness kept Geodude from doing any real damage. It took a lot of work, but finally we were toe to toe! At least, until Geodude landed a Tackle and beat NidoranF... Man, even with near blindness, I wasn't doing well enough. Still, Geodude's health points were low; a good attack could finish it off.
So I sent Pidgey out again, and at first I saw Brock give that smug smirk again, but only long enough to watch it fade and finally die as I said "Pidgey! Gust!" and watched as the floating rock fell to the floor in defeat!
"Yes!" I shouted, so happy to finally beat the annoying rock. It was an incredible risk, but with Geodude left blind and Pidgey having higher speed, I felt it was worth it.
"Don't celebrate yet," Brock warned. "Geodude was the warm-up, and Onix will be the closer." Onix, that was a name that sounded familiar.
Brock picked up a ball and threw it to the ground. As the ball cracked open and released a giant rock snake, I immediately remembered what an Onix was. "Oh, you have one of those. Shoot..." I had read about Onix before, and seeing one up close was almost terrifying.
I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself; I had to think carefully. Pidgey's Sand Attack is going to be necessary, but one hit from that beast and my bird is done for. So if I was going to have any hope of winning, I needed to be faster.
"Pidgey! Enough! Come back!" The little bird was enveloped in light and zoomed back to the ball. "Go! Kakuna!" Brock looked for a moment before he began to laugh.
"You really aren't ready for this challenge, are you?" He responded. He could tell my face was getting angry, and rightfully so. "Don't take this as an insult, take it as advice. You're fighting an uphill battle, and I admire your efforts. The boy here last just spammed Bubble, but you, you are using strategy. While very smart, unless you have something up your sleeve, do you really think you can win?"
It made me mad to think about, but I had to realize Brock was helping me. "Okay." I took another deep breath before continuing. "Thank you Brock, I know you're trying to help. But believe me, you will lose, right here, right now!"
He smiled confidently, but only had one word to say. "Screech!" Onix opened its mouth and released the most annoying sound I've ever heard. Kakuna clearly felt the same way as it cringed.
"Kakuna!" I shouted over the ringing in my ears, "String Shot!" Kakuna shook itself, which I guess helped it out, and sprayed silk from…wherever its mouth would be I guess, and tied up Onix. The silk was too annoying for Onix to deal with, so it was forced to slow down as it inanely tried to untie itself.
"Forget that!" Brock shouted. "Use Bide!" What in the world was Bide? Well, whatever it is, I need to hold to my strategy.
"String Shot!" Brock was getting mad. I'm guessing Bide was supposed to be something good, but my use of String Shot must have kept it from working!
At last, Onix was buried in silk, so I switched to Pidgey. Now for the accuracy! Onix attempted a Screech, and so Pidgey shared in the pain, but with a barrage of Sand Attacks, Screech wouldn't matter much.
Now, one last stat to take down! "Go! NidoranM! Leer!" Right as he got out, he heard my order, and stared at the Onix with menace in his eyes. No matter how hard Brock could try, he'd never win this fight now!
Weak defense, weak accuracy, weak speed, and only one more Pokémon left who needed to see some action. "Go! Charmander!" I bellowed as soon as NidoranM returned. Brock was seething with anger.
Charmander took every chance to attack, until he used Bide. Since Bide seemed to fail when I used a non-offensive move, I switched to Growl, and my clever thinking clearly paid off! This was a sure-fire win! Now with weak attack, Brock realized he had been beat, so took no surprise when I landed the final Scratch!
Onix fell to the floor with a huge thud, and with that, I was the winner! "I took you for granted." Brock merely said as Onix zapped back into the Poké Ball. "As proof of your victory, here's the Boulder Badge!"
I took it in my hand, my eyes glazed over with joy. "That's an official Pokémon League Badge! Its bearer's Pokémon become more powerful! The technique Flash can now be used any time!" The what?
Before I could say a word, Brock added, "Wait! Take this with you!" It was a strange device, something called a TM. "A TM contains a technique that can be taught to Pokémon! A TM is good only once! So when you use one to teach a new technique, pick the Pokémon carefully!" I nodded, hanging on every word.
"TM34 contains Bide! Your Pokémon will absorb damage in battle then pay it back double!" So that's why it didn't work when Brock used it! "There are all kinds of trainers in the world! You appear to be very gifted as a Pokémon trainer! Go to the gym in Cerulean and test your abilities!"
I nodded with a big smile on my face and thanked him with a handshake. I turned around and decided to brag a bit to Jim. I figured we were partners, after all. Jim just got up from marking the statue next to him and beamed at me. "Just as I thought! You're Pokémon champ material!"
"What's with the statue?" I asked.
"Oh," he responded. "Well, whenever someone beats Brock, their name is marked there. A lot of trainers have come through, so there's quite a few winners. As caretaker, I write them down. And fix up the gyms too," he added with a disgruntled sigh.
Sure enough, the statue had lots of names on it, under the title "Winning Trainers:", but only the last two caught my eye: Blue and Red. Blue did win, and he must have been way ahead too.
Victory had given me renewed vigor. I had to defeat Blue now, and I couldn't let him stay ahead! There was no sense in staying here. "Thanks Mr. Gai, I'll be heading to the next gym now."
"Awesome! Don't you worry, I'll see you there!" Hmm, okay. With a wave, I was gone. It was back to the journey! As soon as I healed my amazing team members, of course...
As soon as I got my Pokémon back from the Pokémon Center nurse, I turned to leave, but I overheard someone shouting. "What?!" the man in the corner said.
I walked over, part of me wondering if he was an Oak. "Team Rocket is at Mt. Moon?" Team Rocket? That sounds familiar. "Huh?" he said, finally noticing me staring. "I'm on the phone! Scram!"
Well, he may not be an Oak, but he's a jerk; and a loud one too. I'm sensing a correlation. Still, as I left Pewter City, his words had a haunting feeling. Team Rocket, if I remember right, was the biggest criminal organization in Kanto; possibly all of Japan. And according to the Town Map, they'll be right in my path. That was great, just great; I knew I had better be careful then.
On the outskirts of Pewter, where the dragger once stood, now stood a scientist. "Oh, Red!" He hollered to me. He recognized me right away, and it took me a moment to realize he was one of Professor Oak's aides. "I'm glad I caught up to you. I'm Professor Oak's aide." That's a little uncouth, isn't it? He does have more than one; you're not the only one. "I've been asked to deliver this, so here you go."
Strangely he didn't have much enthusiasm as he handed me box, containing shoes. But he clearly wanted me to put them on, so I did. I was about to ask him what the deal was with them, but he said, "Well, I must be going back to the lab. Bye-bye!" Apparently being a delivery boy was not his favorite job.
I was about to throw the box away when I noticed that there was a letter attached. "Dear Red, Here is a pair of Running Shoes for my beloved challenger. Remember, I'll always cheer for you! Don't ever give up! From Mom." Aww, Mom rocks!
According to the commercials, Running Shoes were the best shoes available, withstanding almost anything and having a lot of cushion and comfort. These were going to make running through Kanto a whole lot easier!
With some new shoes, I threw my old pair into the box and into my digitizing backpack for storage. I went onward to Route 3, at last, ready to take on some new challenges!
What to say about Route 3? Well, on the bright side, Kakuna evolved into Beedrill! I'm not a fan of bugs, but if Beedrill proves his worth, then I'll be a fan of him. On the odd side, we ran into Bug Catcher Colton, someone we met from Viridian Forest apparently. And on the less exciting side, we went and fought everyone on Route 3. Nothing left to report on the trainers there aside from a Youngster chewing me out for not wearing shorts. And on the informative side, I met a Youngster named Ben, and he finally told me what happened to Handlebar.
Apparently the League initiated a box system to prevent trainers from overloading their teams with Pokémon, so Handlebar was sent away to a digital storage system. It was a disappointment to not be able to raise the Caterpie right now, but at least now I had less reason to worry about my little Pokémon. I vowed that as soon as I got to the next Pokémon Center, I'd check up on her in the PC.
However, I nearly didn't make it there. As I was walking by, a girl yells at me, thinking I touched her when I was no where near her! Thinking of me as some pervert, she sent her Pokémon to fight! And it was a Jigglypuff! Thankfully I covered my ears in time, but Beedrill wasn't so lucky. Still, we eventually managed to beat down her puffball.
As if all these encounters with the balloon Pokémon weren't enough, my trek to the end of the route led me to find and catch a Spearow...and a Jigglypuff. After the trouble I keep getting with that pink Pokémon, you can bet I left that thing in the digital storage box. Nevertheless, night came sooner than I expected, so I figured I better rest for the night before I trek into Mt. Moon.
"We hope to see you again!" the third nurse I've met responded. It must be a motto of Pokémon Centers or something. I asked for a place to sleep, but the nurse sadly pointed out that the only place I could go was on the floor. Well, I knew I was going to be roughing it eventually; at least for now I was indoors.
I decided my last action for the night was to use the free Personal Computer provided by the Pokémon Center. This sounds kind of weird when you use abbreviations. As I looked over my three computer buddies, Handlebar the Caterpie, Kirby the Jigglypuff, and Spearow, I overheard a man reading a newspaper say, "Team Rocket attacks Cerulean citizens." He sighed before he said to himself, "Team Rocket is always in the news!" There was good news and bad news to this. The bad news was obvious, the good news was selfish: if Team Rocket was in Cerulean, chances were likely they left Mt. Moon. Right?
People say that Clefairy, the residents of Mt. Moon, came from the moon some time after Moon Stones fell on Mt. Moon. I can't say I believe that; really, Pokémon from space? Although I guess there are crazier things in this world. Still, exploring Mt. Moon was not an experience I was looking forward to, despite the possible aliens inside. So when I got woke up early by an annoying bald guy, you can tell I wasn't looking forward to the day.
"Hello there, laddie! Have I got a deal just for you! I'll let you have a swell Magikarp for just 500 Pokédollars! What do you say?" I should have shooed him away, said that I was trying to sleep, but my kind nature prevented me from lashing out. Nevertheless, I tried to object to his loud comments, but he was relentless. "I'll let you have a secret Pokémon – a Magikarp – for just 1000 of your Pokédollars!"
"Didn't you say 500 before?"
"Uh, yes, of course, slip of the tongue, laddie!" Right... "So, you'll buy it, am I right?"
"No thanks, sir," I said, trying to get comfortable again.
"No? You say no? I'm only doing this as a favor to you!" Oh gosh, why me?
I looked at my Trainer Card, and I had enough money to burn, so I decided to make him a deal. "Look, if I buy the thing, will you leave me alone so I can sleep?"
"Of course, of course!" Sheesh. I had to sigh to show my disdain, but he didn't seem to notice. Either way, I bought the fish he so desperately wanted me to buy. I laid back down and was about to fall asleep, but the man had one more phrase to add as he walked away. "Well, I don't give refunds!" My day was failing right as it began.
Frustrated and grumpy, I went outside and looked at the rock wall before me. It was like a natural fortress, and yet it was not so intimidating with all these people walking around. If anything it was the inside I had reservations about. I was worried Mt. Moon's inside would be covered in shadows, ominous and dingy like a dark cave would normally be. However, I was surprised: there were many shiny rocks in the ceiling, providing enough light to make it through without it ever getting too dark.
There were a lot of trainers inside, but some of them were spooked by "suspicious men." Of course, anyone who pays attention to the news (which isn't usually me, but that's beside the point) could guess it was Team Rocket. Still, if Blue got through the cave, and hopefully he did, then so must I! In any case, my travels through the cave gave me a Zubat named Batty, a Geodude named Ninety, and a Paras. Named Paras. Creative, I know.
Everything was going well, so I was really beginning to cheer up. Until I met a suspicious man. "We, Team Rocket, are Pokémon gangsters!" This is bad, isn't it?
The grunt didn't waste a second, throwing down his first Pokémon, a Sandshrew. I was really freaked out. I was face to face with a criminal, and I didn't know what he'd be capable of! Still, I had to relax. He may be a gangster, but this is just another challenge. No matter how big and scary he was, I knew that my Pokémon, if they won, would be much scarier. So then winning is the only option.
"Go! NidoranM! He was still tired from the fight with my Geodude Ninety, but he would be a good start. Until Sandshrew Scratched it. He may have fainted easily, but vengeance can be a good motivator, and losing your lover can definitely cause vengeance. "Go! NidoranF!" Unfortunately, vengeance and love can blind loyalty, and it led to NidoranF growling in anger instead of attacking.
Still, I regained control, and the two Pokémon dashed at each other with an onslaught of Scratches. It took everything she had, but a last minute Sand Attack blinded her, allowing Sandshrew to take down a second Pokémon. "Hahahaha!" the Rocket laughed. "You know, I was going to steal your Pokémon, but if they're gonna die so easily, why should I bother?! After all, we strike fear with our strength!"
That smirk drove me into a rage I couldn't comprehend. Was it the insult to me? To my Pokémon? Or the threat? Whatever it was, I had no sentiments left for the scumbag. "The enemy's weak! Get'm! Charmander!" I didn't care if he was weak to Ground types, I just wanted to shut this jerk up. "Ember!"
Overkill is what I like to call it when my Pokémon use more power than necessary. Usually it's by accident, like a critical hit striking when you don't need it, but this was personal now, so I was willing to let my policy against overkill slide. So I had Charmander pound his Rattata and Zubat with Ember, over and over, until they fainted. The Rocket's eye got bigger and bigger as each Ember landed. The fear I felt for this man was traded with his aggression. And when that Zubat fainted, when it was all over, the Rocket fell to his knees and screamed out "I blew it!"
And then it happened. Charmander was enveloped in a white light! He grew over a half a meter taller, a horn, and more muscular too. The light cleared, and he had become Charmeleon!
Needless to say, the Rocket was upset. "Darn it all! My associates won't stand for this!"
"Oh, believe me, if I run into them, they won't be standing much longer either." The man had nothing more to say, and just went in a corner, no hope for him unless his associates came. And you can bet they won't, not while I'm here.
I didn't know what was going on. I had calmed down, but my mind was set on finding every Rocket Grunt and taking them down. Part of me tried to talk me down, if just to protect myself. But there was something in me that wanted to find them all. They were a danger to everyone here, and I didn't want them to be harmed like my Nidorans.
Sure enough, the grunt wasn't lying. My travels through the cave, with most of my team fainting in the process, led me to another Rocket Grunt. "We're pulling a big job here! Get lost, kid!" Sorry, no chance. He could tell I wasn't going to leave, so he whipped out a Poké Ball and threw it to the ground, releasing a Zubat.
Now, my Beedrill was really tired, but I knew he could still lead me to victory. "Beedrill, attack with Fury Attack!" It may sound redundant, but in a way, that's where Fury Attack gets its strength: repeated blows to the opponent. And repeat the jabs he did!
At first I thought I was going to be fine, but then his Zubat did something totally new to me: Supersonic! Somehow it confused Beedrill, and worse, it hurt himself in its confusion! I finally had to admit, this cave had pushed me and my Pokémon to the edge, and now this Rocket attempted to push us off!
Luckily, Beedrill seemed to snap out of his confusion, so I had him attack with Fury Attack again, but Zubat had done more damage than I could count on. And to make it worse, the Rocket sent another Supersonic my way! I wouldn't risk my Beedrill any longer, so I sent out Charmeleon.
"Supersonic!" the grunt yelled with malice and joy in his voice. Shoot, it hit! Thankfully the confusion didn't last long, but the damage was done, and Charmeleon was clearly ready to rest. Charmeleon snapped out of it and Zubat was taken down easily after that, but with only two Pokémon, my journey through the rest of the cave was going to be really rough now.
The fight wasn't over yet, but my powerhouse still had a few tricks left! As an Ekans slithered before use, I worried about what it could do, but I had Charmeleon led off with Ember, and something amazing happened: the enemy Ekans was burned! From my days with Professor Oak's class, we learned that burns were just like being poisoned, only harder to pull off. Well thankfully I did!
The grunt was fuming, so he sent Ekans to use Wrap, leaving my Pokémon in a tight spot. No pun intended. Okay, maybe a little, but I need to unload my tension from the last Rocket somehow. Beating another grunt is also perfect therapy, I'll tell you that. Charmeleon ended Ekans pretty easily, and left the Rocket humiliated in defeat.
"So, you are good." I had to smirk at this. And, as modest as I can be, I have to agree. "If you find a fossil, give it to me and scram!" Seriously? I just turned and left, leaving him to dig at a wall in a desperate attempt to find a dead Pokémon.
As I walked away, I looked at my team, I could tell I needed to get them healed. But since it was very unlikely I'd find a healer inside the cave, I decided I needed to look in my bag for a solution: the mysterious Escape Rope. A device created by Silph Co., as I recall. As the slogan goes, "When you're in a bind, unbind an Escape Rope!" Man, we kids really can be easily impressionable. I had hoped to go as long as possible without it, but I knew there were more trainers and Rockets, and I knew it was a bad idea to trudge onward without healing, so I gave in and used the rope.
The rope suddenly launched forward, and in some sort of whirling motion, I felt myself being pulled away! I couldn't tell if I was being teleported, or if I was just getting dragged, but I ended up in front of the Pokémon Center, dizzy and confused. I went inside and healed up my team. I was unsure what to do, so I asked the nurse what she knew about the Rockets, and if the police were coming. Sadly, she had no idea, and recommended I avoid them at all cost. I had a feeling that wasn't going to be possible.
Reentering Mt. Moon after healing wasn't fun either. I really dixn't want to deal with this cave anymore, not when it has hurt my Pokémon, and my pride. I suppose all the rumors were true, and Mt. Moon really does wear you down. Still, I knew I'd get through it, no matter how hard it would be. Unfortunately, Rattata and the Nidorans weren't so lucky, as more wild Pokémon managed to take them down and faint them. It felt like no matter what I did, my team was going to be running low on strength.
As I climbed down another ladder, I had a feeling I was getting close to the end of this cave. I wasn't sure what gave me such a good vibe, but it was good to have hope. There were two Rockets digging ahead, one of which I already beat. This cave is so confusing sometimes.
It was also confusing why the Rockets were so obsessed with digging up fossils. I have to admit, I don't really see what's wrong with taking fossils, but I couldn't understand why the Rockets wanted them. Pewter City certainly wasn't going for them, just Brock and some old friend of his. Chances are the grunts wanted to use the fossils for something sinister, or for proceeds, or something they didn't deserve to have.
Either way, I was going to take the Rocket Grunt on. He saw me coming and walked over toward me, trying to be as menacing as possible. "Little kids should leave grown-ups alone!" Apparently the Rockets were able to communicate, and now this guy knew I was a threat.
Unfortunately, so was he. The Raticate he sent out truly looked burly, and with just one Tackle from it, I knew Pidgey was outclassed. "Pidgey come back!" Beedrill would hopefully have better luck, being an evolved Pokémon.
The good news was my attempt to poison the beast worked; the bad news was even Beedrill got beat down! I saved him in time, but now it was just Charmeleon to take on this giant rodent. "Ember!"
"Hyper Fang!" Hyper what?! The Raticate lunged at Charmeleon, but his newly found speed boost helped him dodge the attack and follow through with Ember. And the poison did the rest. "I'm steamed!" Good, that's what I like to hear! He sat on the ground and looked to me, as if he wanted to justify himself. "Pokémon lived here long before people came."
"So?"
"So it's our mission to find them and capture them!" I rolled my eyes. "Team Rocket wants three things: money, power, and glory!" Whatever, I have a cave to get through. I continued through the cave, and found another Rocket Grunt.
Another battle had begun. "We, Team Rocket will find the fossils! Reviving Pokémon from them will earn us huge riches!" Good luck finding them when you're defenseless with fainted Pokémon.
I gave Pidgey another chance to prove himself, but the grunt's Rattata was too fast and overwhelmed my Pidgey. I considered risking Beedrill in another battle, but he was weakened too, so I went with Charmeleon.
Needless to say, my pal beset the Grunt's Rattata and Zubat. When the Rocket's Zubat got burned, it was priceless; I nearly laughed out loud. But that burn is what won me the battle. "Urgh! Now I'm mad!" With the sound of that 'urgh,' you sound sick. Still, I turned to leave, but the Rocket really wanted to drill me, "You made me mad! Team Rocket will blacklist you!"
"Yeah, I'm really worried about that," I said confidently. But inside, I did have to admit, I was a little worried. What did that mean?
Nevertheless, I focused on what was in front of me, and as I walked through the cave some more, standing before me was a Super Nerd. Well, I guess one more trainer battle won't hurt too much.
"Hey, stop!" he yelled at me, even though I was about a foot away from him. "I found these fossils! They're both mine!"
Wait, so this guy thinks I'm a Rocket? "Dude, look, I'm not-"
"I summon you, Grimer, in attack mode!" Uh…okay, fine, we'll fight. Beedrill managed to hit the enemy five times with Fury Attack, but he truly proved himself in this fight. With just one HP left, he managed to dodge all over Grimer's attacks and beat the pile of purple goo.
"Grr, I'm not done yet!" he said as we returned our Pokémon. "I summon my Poké Ball, in defense mode!" Wait, what? And then the weirdest thing happened; his Poké Ball released a giant Poké Ball! I'm going to be spending a lot of thought on how that makes sense. A huge smirk emerged on his face; he knew he had me confused, and he didn't even need Supersonic!
"Charmeleon! Just…Ember the thing!" Clearly Charmeleon was confused too, but he obeyed and shot fire at the ball. The Pokémon (I guess that's what it is) was poorly trained, because it couldn't get off a single Screech as ordered.
"RAWR! My poor Voltorb!" Okay, now I'm scared. Seriously, this guy worries me more than all the Rockets so far. "That's it; I summon you, Koffing, in attack mode!" Yeah, this is it, alright. As I expected, Charmeleon pulverized the competition, and that was another victory to be proud of. The man, defeated, jumped onto his knees and began begging. "Okay! I'll share! We'll each take one! No being greedy!"
"Look dude, I'm not part of Team Rocket, I just want to get to Cerulean City."
He stared for a few seconds, letting his foolishness sink in. "Oh. Oops." Indeed. He stood up and faced me like a normal person. "Okay, well, I'm sorry. Still, I did beat your Pokémon really hard." Um...no you didn't? "So go ahead, you can have one, there's a lot more around here anyway." Well, no sense saying no to a gift!
There was two fossils sitting before me, and he would let me choose one. But without knowing what did what, it was a tough choice. To think I'd have such trouble choosing over a rock. In the end, I chose the Dome Fossil; it looked cooler to me. "All right," said the man known as Miguel. "Then this fossil is mine!"
I asked him what I should do with it, and thankfully he had an answer. "Far away, on Cinnabar Island, there's a Pokémon Lab. They do research on regenerating fossils." Well, if I ever head that way, I'll definitely take a look into that!
"Thank you, and good luck with your excavation," he nodded and went back to digging. As for me, my own joy soon hit me in the face. I rounded a corner and felt a breeze stroke my face. That must mean… "It's the exit!" I shouted with joy.
I ran to a ladder, and felt the breeze getting stronger. I climbed to the top, and saw yet another ladder, and a hole leading outside! Yes! I'm free! There were stars shining already, so I decided to give Mom a quick call while I took Route 4 to Cerulean City. I told her everything, even the stuff with Team Rocket. After all, someone had to get the Pewter City Police involved. You know, other than putting up a notice on the edge of town.
But she was glad I was safe, and I told her I'd call again soon. I could tell she was worried, but she was that sort of proud-worried. She's a good mom either way. Thankfully, Route 4 was very quiet, no trainers, just two guys arguing over whether punches or kicks were better. But aside from that, nothing could distract me. Because now, I finally arrived in Cerulean City.