5

A small crowd starts to form around us, and I feel a little dizzy from the attention. I have just started training today and fought basically no one except for other amateurs. The kids in Viridian Forest didn't really challenge me because my starter Evolutionary line was too strong. Is that why Oak gave the ones he gave to the three of us? He knew how powerful they are. I technically fought with Green already, too; however, I had a type advantage to her two skills, and she was new to training anyway. The guy in front of me is different. A Gym Leader himself though he seems to have adopted some skills that make him as weak as beginners. How does that work exactly? I can't think about this now. It's time to fight!

I run forward and Scratch him hard on the face, but he barely flinches. I notice Brock squeeze himself with his arms like he's giving himself a hug, and his skin glows slightly. I Scratch him again and again, and he keeps squeezing himself. It's like I'm attacking a wall of granite. Time to change tactics!

I open my mouth to spew Embers on him. I can tell that has a different impact as he finally loosens up and steps back. I get ready to spew several more flames on him when he gets low and rushes for a Tackle.

Boom!

I fall hard on the rocky floor, and every time I try to get back up, he pushes me back down. I feel myself getting more and more fatigued. I can't seem to beat him. It hurts my pride and my body, but I can't do anything. I cough up some Embers again, but then I see him coming for another solid Tackle.

Booooom!

I fall back and for a moment everything goes black. When I wake up, I'm in a bed at the end of the room. It looks very similar to the one Green used at the Focus. My ES must have broken. I only had one, and I lost my first important match.

"GREAT JOB, GREEN!" I hear someone say.

I shake my head and look around to see a small group of people gather around Blue and Green. Green is holding a Grey Belt in the air for all to see. Man, how long was I out? Are you telling me that Green beat Brock when I lost so easily? Ouch! My body feels completely restored, but I feel embarrassed. I want to go home and hide in my bed. Maybe this is all a bad dream, and I just need to wake up.

I see Brock wave his arms, and the crowd disbands as he makes his way towards me.

"Blue, you can relax. We record battles in live time for special programs, yes," Brock says to a very frantic looking Blue. "But the regular cable program will air matches every night around 5pm. You'll have your moment of fame!"

"Awesome! I just want Gramps to quit giving me such a hard time already."

"Wow, so my victory will be on TV!?" Green says.

"Sure will. I bet your parents will be proud!" Brock replies. I see Green force a smile and nod though she doesn't seem happy to me.

"Wait, that means...My loss will be..."

"All matches in Monster Training Gyms are aired on TV, Red. Don't sweat it! Most people fail their first match with a Gym Leader. Your friends here just happened to be an exception to the rule."

But I don't feel better when he says this. It's really happening. Victory Ship has sailed with Blue and Green on it, and I missed the boat.

"Yeah, Red! Don't worry about feeling like a loser or anything. Just go catch another ES and train and maybe you'll catch up with me sometime this year." Blue chirps and walks off. I see Green roll her eyes.

"Don't listen to him. Believe it or not, he really respects you," she reassures me. "And I know I wouldn't have been able to face Brock today if I hadn't fought with you first. I really owe you one. You and the ES skills I have."

"Thanks!" I say feeling a little reassured now. "Maybe I can turn things around with more training. I need to actually come up with a plan instead of just winging it. I still don't feel great, but you're right."

"I'm always right!" she winks. "And cheer up! If it makes you feel any better, your biggest challenge was type advantage. Fire and Normal moves don't work well against Rock. Bug doesn't either by the way. My Caterpie ES lasted like three seconds!" she laughs. I laugh a little, too.

"Grass and Water beat Rock, but otherwise we probably would have been too weak to take on Brock," she adds. I notice Blue looking bored at the ceiling as if this doesn't concern him. "Brock uses Rock Element Skills which have high Defense scores and when he did Defense Curl with you, you had no chance of doing any damage on him."

I look at Brock and he nods. It sure felt the whole "no chance" part.

"OK...I'm going to go back and find another Pokémon to get a skill from and come back. Want to come?"

"Actually…" Green says looking concerned, "Blue asked me to come with him to Cerulean City. I don't know for sure, but I think he likes me!" She says to me in a whisper. I notice he is twiddling with his thumbs. "You understand right? Can we meet up later in the next town?" she says practically glowing.

"Uh...yeah. No, I understand. You guys go ahead, and I'll catch up with you soon."

Green thanks me and runs off to catch up with Blue. I look up and see Brock still watching me intently.

"Hurry on and get back here, Red. I have a feeling our next match will be very different," Brock says giving me a wink and then disappears in the gym.

Bzzt! Bzzt!

I check my phone and see several texts from Mom.

"Hey!"

"Professor Oak has satellite channels and told me you just lost the first match. How are you doing?"

"I heard that Blue and Green won. Tell them congrats from me!"

"Did you eat lunch? Don't forget to brush your teeth!"

I sigh and close my phone then open it back up. I respond with simple responses to each question instead of elaborating and tell Mom I'll talk to her later then turn my phone off. I'm glad that Oak can give everyone in Pallet Town instant updates on my training success or lack thereof. Not! How embarrassing!

Jumping down from the recovery bed and passing some people on the way to the door, I try to say the least amount possible. When I get outside I notice the sun is setting. I will have to spend the rest of the night looking for a Pokémon in the dark. Great! How far behind Blue and Green is this going to get me? Before long I can see the Viridian Forest. At the entrance, I can see a few trainers waiting to battle. I try my best to walk past them.

"Hey man, what gives?"

"Are you a trainer?"

"Let's battle!"

"Please I need to find something before daylight goes. Maybe later," I say.

I keep walking and make my way into the woods. I pass several trainers and bug Pokémon before I recognize that I've gotten off the trail. I look back and forth, but I can't find it. I'm lost! I try to retrace my steps back to where I came in, but I feel more and more turned around with each minute.

ZAP!

A bolt of lightning hits the ground in front of me, and I fall forward hitting my elbows on the ground. In a tree I see a yellow rodent staring intently at me. That creature might have just the Element Skill I need to beat Brock! I have to try.

I rush the animal, a Pikachu I think, and try to hit it with a Pokecrystal. The little guy keeps jumping from tree to tree like it's his job. I stop to collect my breath, and he gets away. I have never seen a wild Pokémon so fast!

ZAP! ZAP!

I turn to my right and see the Pikachu once more. I don't know what he's doing, but I'm going to catch him. Running at a sprint, Pikachu starts tree jumping once more until it has no more low branches to run to and stops looking around in a panic. I jump at the branch holding Pikachu and try to hit him with the crystal, but he uses his claws to run around the branch upside down and in every possible direction to evade me. Finally the Pikachu runs to the trunk and climbs straight up to a higher branch and stops.

"OK, if that's what you want!" I yell.

I jump on the tree and begin climbing form the bottom. I'll climb all the way to the top of this thing if I have to. It looks like it could be 5 stories high, but I don't care. I'm going to get this power and beat Brock today! But just as my confidence gets me up another rung of branches, I realize my mistake.

ZAAAAAAAP!

A current comes down the tree like a lightning rod and enters my body. At first all I notice is the bright light and a ringing sound in my ears. I feel a punch in my chest and knuckles before the vertigo comes over me. For a second I feel like I'm flying then I'm back on the ground looking up into the tree tops. My body feels sore, and I can't seem to breathe. I don't even see Pikachu anymore. Laying on the ground, I feel very heavy and tired. I feel myself nodding off and despite my best efforts, I know I'm falling asleep. I close my eyes and sit still for a few minutes before hearing something.

"Hey! Hey! Dude, you awake?"

Opening my eyes, I see a young man standing over me with a quizzical look on his face. It's dark, and I get a sense I may have been here for a while but not sure how long. I don't know who this guy is. He smiles at me like a friend, but I don't recognize him.

"Who are...you?" I say as I force myself to sit up. My body hurts basically everywhere.

"Oh yeah, my name is Yellow!" he says. "Big fan of yours. What you doing there? Taking a nap or something?"

"What? Yellow? I...no. There was a Pikachu and...Ah forget it. He got away."

"Oh! Well OK, then. Hey, if you want to catch a new ES, I can give you one of mine if you'd like. I saw the match with you and Brock on TV. I figured you wanted maybe a Water type ES or Grass one instead."

"What? I mean yes, but no thanks. I have to find one on my own," I say dusting off my pants and getting up to leave.

"A man of principle, I like it! Hey I bet you could use this though," he says and hands me a yellow bottle.

I take it and see on the bottle the words "Paralyze Heal." He nods for me to use it so I open it and drink the contents. The taste is a mix of minty and something I don't recognize, but almost immediately I can tell a difference. The soreness in my body vanishes and is replaced by a warm tingling.

"Whoa! Thanks! Yellow, right? Do I know you?"

"Oh, no, but I work sometimes for Professor Oak, and he tells me all about you and Blue. I'm stoked that you're doing the Monster Training Championship. Super cool. Hey, you know this probably but all of the Pokémon in this forest are basically Bug Pokémon. There are Pikachu, too, but Electric can't hurt Ground trainers which technically Brock is Rock/Ground."

"Great! The only thing on Route 1 is Rattata. Oh I guess, Pidgey, too."

"Oh well, did you know that you can go to Route 22? Its west of Viridian City. You could probably find something different over there. If you're lucky, you'll find something with a type advantage to Rock while you're at it!"

"Hey, thanks for the tip!"

"No probs! Oh," he says checking his cell phone. "I hate to run, but got to be somewhere like 5 minutes ago. Nice to finally meet you, Red! Bye!" he says. I watch as he jumps into the sky and flies off like a jet!

"Uh...bye?"

What in the world just happened!? That guy just flew in the air like a superhero! And he knew me somehow. Oak told him about me? What does he mean? I'm not really that big of a deal at training right now. If anything I totally dropped the ball on live television. Whatever!

I flip my cell phone's flashlight on and look around. When I see the trail on the ground in front of me, I clap with excitement. I run towards it and follow it without struggle back to Viridian City.

The city is dark, but some people are still walking around. I look to my right and see the sign for Route 22. I run to it and head down another trail laden with tall grass.

After training my eyes for a few minutes, I can finally see things moving in the dark. All I seem to find though is Rattata and Pidgey. I put my phone away and try to avoid them for the most part. I use Embers on the ones that get too close. I'm noticing that as I defeat wild Pokémon, if even with a quick strike, I feel slightly stronger. It's like I get boost from every run in. After a while though, I start to feel bored with this search. There simply isn't anything new here.

Swish!

I hear something rustle in the tall grass and see several Pidgey take flight. What is it? I run towards the rustling and see something purple. A male Nidoran stops in its tracks and stares at me. When it realizes I'm looking at, the little guy tries to Tackle me, and I have to jump out of the way.

The Nidoran's eyes flicker as he gives me a Leering look. I feel my nerves go shot for a second. This time the beast hits me in the legs, and I fall hard. I dig in my bag for a Pokecrystal and hold it tightly in my fist as I get to one knee. Nidoran and I rush towards each other, and once he is in range, I dive forward and hit the Nidoran with the crystal.

The crystal glows and turns purple like Nidoran just as it turns to run away. Nidoran stops once and looks me in the eye before disappearing into the tall grass for good.

I remove my hat and crack the crystal over my head. A new energy courses through my body and a foul taste comes into my mouth. I can tell that I'm transitioning to the new Element Skill. The Nidoran power feels weaker than my Charmander one. I don't feel as fast or strong now as I did just a moment ago.

Looking up from the tall grass, I notice a sign in the distance. I walk up to it and read "Route 23." Another sign behind says "To Victory Road." Victory Road? I try to take a step forward and trip over something and fall and scrape my right hand.

"Owww!"

I look at my foot and notice I missed a rock right in front of me. It's getting late and way too dark to explore a new area. I should check into the Focus in Viridian City and maybe get some dinner.

I march back to the Focus with my phone light turned back on and make it after several minutes. This day has been long and tiring. I've walked more today than probably ever in my life. I see the green sphere with the double helix and feel my face relax a little. When I get inside, I see that a different lady is running the front desk, probably a different shift working now. That is maybe for the best after Green freaked out earlier today. I'm expecting some lengthy process to happen at the counter, but when the lady sees my Skillfinder, she motions for me to follow her down a hallway.

I follow her and discover there are several trainers here all getting into what looks like a stackable laundry machine only the utility line doesn't just have two units but instead several dozens. "Pod 8" is where we stop. A lot of the pods glow red, and I can vaguely see a person behind the "washer door" reading or sleeping. My pod has a green light on inside and requires me to climb the ladder next to it to get in.

I turn around to ask the staff lady about my pod, but she has already started walking back to the front.

"I guess this is free?" I say to no one in particular.

"Yeah man. You must be new!"

I turn to see a middle aged man in a button up shirt to my right holding a newspaper and glass of something brown.

"You could say that! Ha. Just started today actually."

"Well no worries then. Name's George Velo."

"Red, nice to meet you."

"Red, huh? Well hey, just so you know, all of the Focus functions are documented by staff and then submitted to the government for reimbursement. Not everyone likes politics, but we've been fortunate enough that our country can provide some services to the public like this."

"Yeah, no kidding."

"It's all because of the Monster Champion. Sure people will disagree about this, but weird as Mahshmo Cohen may look on TV, he has done a lot of good for Kanto. He helped us to end the war and..."

"HEY! AREN'T YOU RED!?"

"DUDE, IT'S TOTALLY HIM!"

A few rowdy guys interrupt our conversation and start hollering to one another.

"MAN, YOU ATE IT EARLIER!"

"ARE YOU GOING TO GO HOME?"

"GOING TO RUN HOME TO MOMMY!"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

I roll my eyes and wave good bye to Mr. Velo. I hear him say "sorry" and nod as I get on the ladder. I can't talk any more. I'm going to get in my little cave and crawl up and go to bed or die trying. Ugh!

As I climb into the tube and shot the door, the noise magically goes away. What a relief! In the pod is a cot, pillow, and blanket. I take my shoes, hat and outer garments off and check my phone.

There are some new messages from Mom I didn't answer earlier, but that's all. I turn the phone off and cover myself up in the warm blanket. A few minutes later, I fall right to sleep without even eating dinner.

6

I wake up early the next morning and feel kind of nauseas. My stomach growls and I know I just need to eat something. I put on my pants, shirt, and shoes and climb out of the pod. Few people seem to be up and about right now, either left or still asleep in their beds.

I make my way to the front of the Focus and notice a counter by the door I passed earlier. A man is handing out bowls with eggs and potatoes in them, and it smells wonderful. I walk up and get one and scarf it down. The chef just laughs and hands me another which I eat a little slower than the first. I thank him and head outside and no one asks me to sign anything or pay for anything.

Before I know it, I found myself back at the entrance to the Viridian Forest again only this time something or someone is in the way. A group of boys has formed around what looks like an injured man. He has blood on his face and leg. I wait for a second to see what's going on. Some kids are pointing and laughing at him while men pass by him trying to look the other way.

When I get closer to the scene, it's clear from his red face and the smell of booze that the man is drunk. I also think I know him from somewhere. Who is this guy? Oh, my gosh! It's Mr. Hayashi, Green's father!

"HA HA! What a loser!" They say.

I push through the crowd and ignore some scowls before squatting to the ground next to the poor man. He has a cut and blood on his leg and forehead.

"Excuse me sir. Aren't you Mr. Hayashi? Green's father."

He doesn't respond but stares blankly at the ground. The boys stop laughing and stare as I look through my bag. I have one Potion left. Ah man, OK. He needs it more than I do. I shake the can and spray it on his leg and rub it in my hands before massaging the sores on his forehead. The cuts seal up instantly and he looks me in the eye with a confused expression.

"Who are...you?"

"Hi, my name is Red. You got hurt. I just patched you up."

"Thanks...look I don't have any money..."

"Not asking for any sir. What happened to you?"

"I fell here…earlier. It's no big deal. Ask anyone...I'm no big deal. Just a bum."

"Not everyone! Your daughter thinks you are a hero. She became a trainer just to honor your service..."

"Kyomi!" he shouts using Green's birth name. "You know Kyomi? Is she safe? Is she OK?" I see panic come over his face.

"She's OK. I just saw her yesterday. She's a strong woman. She wants to be a Monster Trainer and be like you."

"Me? She doesn't want to be like me. I can't even live with myself. I can't do anything...just a loser."

"She told me you can't work anymore. I can't imagine how hard that must be. You may have lost some things in life. Lost your way even, but you don't have to be a loser! Don't listen to these guys. Your daughter needs you. Your family needs you. You fought alongside my Dad. Don't forget who you really are."

"You...your Satoshi's kid! You're a trainer now like he was."

"I wish. I blew it yesterday. I'm nothing like my Dad. I don't know if I can become a decent trainer without him here."

Mr. Hayashi smiles and stands up then pats me on the back.

"Satoshi…I mean Red, right? You keep going son. YOU remember who your Dad is. I can see him in you. You and he are one. You remember him and he will be with you always. Thanks for helping me kid. I better get on home to my wife. You watch my Green for me. You know I'm going to stop and get some coffee for this head ache. I need to quit drinking."

"Good luck! See you Mr. Hayashi!" I say as he walks off. I notice the others around me start to look confused and walk away one by one. They have nothing they can say to a man like Hayashi. No one is perfect or without sin.

As I turn to head into the forest, I chew on Hayashi's words. He can see my father in me? My father is with me? I feel water come to my eyes and a warmth in my heart. The tension in my spirit leaves, and I feel power to climb mountains. I feel like I could do anything right now. I need to change my attitude, too.

I look back and see a young boy run to Mr. Hayashi with a cup of coffee and offer it to him. The boy must have watched us talking and thought to bring it him. He gives me a nervous smile and I return his smile and give a thumbs up. I turn back to the woods and pass by the others with saying a word.

In the forest, I run into a mass of trainers, both bug catching boys and young girls. I recognize them from yesterday. They stand in a circle with their arms crossed and scowls on their faces.

"Hey, I apologize about yesterday. I was in a bad mood and rude to you guys."

Some of them start to whisper to each other and one of them walks towards me.

"Cool man, you're Red, right?"

"Yes, and I have to train or I'll never beat the first gym leader. If you'll accept me, I'll challenge you all this time."

"All of us? You think you're that good?" he asks.

"I know I'm not strong enough to beat Brock, and if I ever to want to get strong enough to help Kanto, I've got to do everything I can to toughen up."

"Let him try man! I want to see," says another. The others all start to nod and seem excited now.

"OK then!" the leader of the group says. "Let's fight!"

The trainers at first take turns tying to Tackle me, but despite my little experience, I'm just too strong or fast for them. I can feel the Nidoran ES in me growing stronger every time I Tackle back. Sometimes I use my Leer and a trainer will fall in their tracks. Other times I just Tackle them and they go down easy.

Once the first three or four fail to even harm me, the other eight or so try to strike me all at once. I visualize myself switching my abilities to Charmander in my mind and feel my body go numb for a second. Just as the group is about to crush me, I feel my strength return, and the heat form in mouth. I spew some Embers at my foes and knock them all down at once. In the course of a couple hours, I hear several cracks and know that I have won.

"You win!" says one of the girls. She holds out a bag of money and smiles as she bows. I bow and take the money. This is what being a trainer is supposed to look like.

"Thank you all!"

"Go beat Brock, Red!" The group cheers. "Keep training for us!"

"If you see any Trainers from here on out, FIGTH THEM AND WIN!"

"OK! OK!" I say.

I wave at them and move on. In the forest, I run into more bugs, this time more Weedle than before and try to alternate ES so I can get both of them stronger. I see a few more trainers and agree to battle them, winning just as before. A few more hours pass, and I feel stronger and have a nice collection of earnings. A traveling merchant walks by with a metal cart, and I buy some sandwiches off of him and sit down for a nice lunch. After a nice break, I keep walking through the forest.

Before I know it, I'm back in Pewter City and eyeing up the gym. I cut across town and hear some people talking.

"Look it's that 'Red' kid!"

"Here for more punishment?" they jeer.

I force a smile and wave as if they said something friendly then keep walking. I pass through the doors and stop to look around. A man walks up to me.

"Can I help you, sir?"

"Yes, sir. I'd like to train here until I'm ready to beat Brock. I lost to him yesterday."

He nods and takes me to a mat in the back. A few boys join me.

"You want to beat Brock huh? Well if you can beat us you should be ready to face Brock. We all use Element Skills from Geodude." This is the Element Skill he used on me yesterday.

I nod, and we begin the matches. There are three boys, and each one is stronger than the last. With the first two, I use my Nidoran ES to get it stronger then switch back to my Charmander ES for the last fight. Just like Brock yesterday, they are hard to hurt, but I get stronger with each strike. By the end of the three battles, I feel like a new man!

"All right man! Take this!" says one of the boys who gives me a bottled water. I drink it down and feel completely refreshed.

"You stay here, and I will get Brock," he says and walks off. Next thing I know, Brock is coming my way.

"You're back! Glad to see you," he says, and the boys all take a step back as he walks up to the mat. "What do you say we rock' n 'roll!"

He steps onto the mat with me once more, and I feel my heart begin to race. I happen to look to my right and see a screen come up with my face and some numbers by it including a green line and two dots. How did I miss this last time? Brock's face appears next to me with a green line and two dots as well. Some people in the gym stop training and crowd around to watch.

I bring my attention back to Brock. Just as before, he crosses his arms and prepares to use Defense Curl. I smile and flash my eyes at him making the tactic fail. He tries two more times and when that doesn't work, squats and prepares to Tackle me.

I mimic him, and we dash towards one another. We both feel pain from the impact and get stuck in a grapple in the middle of the mat. The surface feels hard against my body but Brock doesn't seem to be bothered at all. I feel Brock gaining the upper hand and try to think of what to do. He looks me in the eye and I know. My Leer causes Brock to lose his grip. I knock him backward and off the mat. He gets back into the mat and runs at me once more, but this time I'm ready to counter with my own attack.

BAAAAAAAAAAAM!

Brock falls to his knees, and I hear a crack.

"WHOA! A critical attack!" yells a boy.

I lucked up I think, but I can tell that strike really did a number on Brock. He stretches open his mouth and grabs his head as if the crack hurt his ears. I see his hands clinch and his arms start to swell then all of his muscles grow a little as well. Brock is a bigger, more muscular guy than me. It's hard to imagine me beating him at anything related to sports, but I think the Skills he is using as well as strategy is key. If he had skills of any higher level, I would probably not beat him, but right now I just might be able to.

"Great job! That was my Geodude skill, but can you take on my Rock hard Onix power?"

Brock comes at me faster, and I'm not able to avoid the attack. This time he lunges at me and wraps his arms and legs around causing me to fall to the ground again. I try to squirm out of the Bind, but he is too strong.

"AAAAAHH!"

With each second it feels like the hold is getting tighter and tighter. I can't seem to defend myself at all. He is going to crush my bones! Using Leer I finally throw Brock off of me but soon after I feel a sharp pain.

Crack!

A dizziness comes over me as the Nidoran ES breaks, and I transition to Charmander. Both down to one Skill, I see a crazy look in Brock's eyes and will myself to act. This is it! Fight or fail!

Brock rushes me for another Tackle as I let out a barrage of Embers. He stumbles before making contact, but I don't let up. He lands some hits and I return attack for attack. Suddenly Brock yells and topples over. I hold in an Ember and lower my hands. I check the monitor from earlier and see that both dots have disappeared. The words "Winner" flash across the screen.

A small cheer rises from the crowd and some people even step up to me and give me a high five. I say my thanks and notice Brock has stumbled off to the recovery bed where I went yesterday. He climbs in and lays down. I watch the familiar healing process happen, and wait as he walks back to me looking 100%.

"That was great work, Red. I can tell that you worked hard to turn things back around. You didn't have the type advantage like your friends had yesterday. You have earned this through and through," he says as the man that brought me here earlier walks up holding out a Boulder Belt.

I take it gently from him and look it over in the light. The familiar emblem glistens in the light.

"I won't keep you long. Your friends were headed for Cerulean City, and I know you want to catch up with them. You'll need to pass the through the caves of Mount Moon to get there from here."

"Any tips?" I ask.

"Yes, check your ES levels."

I look at my Skillfinder and flip through the numbers until I see LVL. There are two numbers: 13 next to Nidoran and 15 next Charmander.

"Now I'm no Pokémon expert or anything, I'm at best a fan of Rock Pokémon that became a Gym Leader after getting bored with geology studies. I'd be fine to hike and collect minerals or fossils in Mount Moon. That being said, I think the two ES you have change evolutionary lines soon. You will benefit each time they evolve as the process boosts your stats for each one. Also, since your body and Element Skills are linked training your Skills will make your body stronger just as physical training will build up your overall stats. Don't neglect your self-care or Monster Training. Both are critical if you want to get better. The next gym will also have a type advantage over your Charmander, so train hard if you want to win."

"Another type advantage!?"

"Yeah, I was going to say that you could get a Geodude ES in Mt. Moon like me is you wanted, but the next Gym Leader uses Water Type so that's no good. It's tricky you know! You can only have 6 ES's in your body at a time and trying to switch them is a mess but don't hesitate to look for different ones. You don't want to train one skill too much without working other ones or you'll get unbalanced as a trainer. And don't try to get belts so fast that you don't train in between. Make sure to stop and explore Kanto. People that do Monster Training should appreciate a healthy lifestyle and not become too obsessed with winning matches or getting stronger all the time."

"OK!"

"What inspires you to train, Red?"

"My father taught me that everyone can do something to make a difference in the world. He was a carpenter and then a soldier in the war. He gave his life to save the people of Kanto. I may not be my Dad. To be honest, I don't even really know what I can do to help, I was just a fan of Monster Training growing up. I just have this feeling that I need to travel over Kanto and get stronger and maybe one day I can do something that will make my Dad proud."

"I'm sure he already is!" Brock says and pats me on the back. "Red when you head through Mt. Moon remember to…"

"HELP!"

"BROCK! HELP!"

A man in a lab coat bursts into the gym shouting and looking very startled. He makes his was across the gym and stops in front of us to bend over and gasp for air.

"Ned!? What's going on?"

"Brock…These men…Team Rocket…"

"Team Rocket!? What are they doing here?"

"Came in museum and stole fossils. They were in disguise…but they were acting strange and… I chased on into Mt. Moon. They stole fossils you just found!"

"HEY GUYS!" Brock says to the others in the gym. "You heard the man. We got Team Rocket in Pewter City. Pause your training and kick some real butt!"

"YEAH!" They cheer. I see Brock motion for a man to come over. Brock takes off his Skillfinder and replaces it with another one. His first one looked similar to mine, a sort of black watch, but this new on is a bright silver color. Did he just trade up to a stronger Skillfinder? I notice for a brief second his eyes roll and think he is going to pass out then he takes a deep breath. Brock motions for everyone to follow him outside.

Like prisoners in a shooting gallery, we step out in front of a small army of men in all black clothing. They form a barrier to the rest of the city. In the distance, I notice two members of Team Rocket running into a cave, Mount Moon.

"Red, you ready to put that speech into action?" Brock asks.

"Yeah, why?"

"Those guys that just ran into the cave there, I want you to pursue them. Be careful and stop them from getting away. I'm counting on you!"

"OK. I can do that!"

"RUSH THEM!" says a Rocket member and they run straight at us.

Brock and the gym members sprint towards the enemy. I dart to the left and Scratch a lone Rocket before passing through the crowd. Once I'm through the line, I don't look back, I just run for the entrance ahead of me.

"OK, Red! Here goes nothing!"