Chapter Two: The Journey Beckons

I rose to consciousness slowly, like a Wailord surfacing after a dive. Where was I? Did I fall asleep while playing Pokémon again?

Then the events of the past day caught up with me and I opened my eyes, expecting to see waving fronds of tall grass, too long to see over.

Instead, I was greeted with the sight of a white ceiling, white walls, and machines everywhere. It looked like a little kid's nightmare (a.k.a a doctor's room).

I heard voices outside the door and rapidly approaching footsteps. I quickly shut my eyes and pretended to be asleep. The door opened, and someone came in, muttering to himself. I opened my left eye by a crack and looked around, spotting the intruder. He was a white-haired old man wearing a lab coat. Now where had I seen that before. Oh yeah, now I remember.

I waited until his back was turned and sat up silently. Then I said in a deliberately loud and cheerful voice:"Hello Prof, can you tell me what I'm doing here and where my Pokémon are? Thanks!"

Professor Oak tripped and almost crashed into the wall, barely managing to save himself with an outstretched hand. Oops. I hope I didn't give him a heart attack. He still has to send a few more million ten year olds on dangerous journeys (not that I'm complaining, of course)

"Ah, yes. So you are awake" he said, turning around and giving me a brief, shaky smile. "You are in the Pallet Town Labs and your Pokémon are being looked after. You have been unconscious for a day, Aster."

I gave him a really weird look. "How'd you know my name?" I said suspiciously.

The ol' Prof busied himself with tidying up the equipment he knocked over. "Your name is registered on your Pokédex." he said in a much calmer tone. "Would you like some breakfast? It has been a day since you've eaten"

Now, kids. When an old guy in a lab coat offers you food you would generally run away screaming and call the police on them. But I was hungry and I knew this guy (sort of) so I accepted.

I swung my legs off the bed and noticed several tubes connected to a machine. I tracked the tubes with my eyes...

It was then I realized there was a needle in my arm.

Room service. Isn't that great? I got to sit in bed and shovel pancakes into my mouth while Prof did his stuff (I think he was writing an essay on the computer. The horror!), while multitasking by explaining what happened as a nurse fussed over me. He probably didn't want me to freak out like I did over the needle (laugh away. I have needle-phobia), so didn't risk bringing me outside.

"My grandson found you in the tall grass when he wandered in after he heard someone call his name. And then my Alakazam found him when a Raticate attacked him."

Which grandson? Probably Blue because I was yelling his name pretty loudly. What?! I didn't actually expect him to be in the vicinity. I felt a bit guilty for luring a ten-year-old into possible danger.

Just then, an ear shattering roar sounded outside, followed by a furious Dragonite poking its head through the window. Throwing a distasteful look at me, it retracted its head and threw a gold something through the window and disappeared. Charmander uncurled himself and hopped back onto the window ledge, shaking his tiny fist and growling something that was probably a swear word in Pokémon out the window.

"Your Charmander has been quite troublesome" the Professor said, seemingly oblivious to what had just happened. The nurse, a tough woman in her forties, was likewise untroubled. "He challenges Dragonite at every chance he gets. The Pichu we couldn't let out of its Pokéball at all, as it seems to delight in destroying lab equipment"

I'm starting to like the Pichu more and more already. It's not like I have anything against Professor Oak, of course. I just seem to gravitate towards trouble. I scooped up the still-cursing Charmander and stuffed a piece of pancake into his mouth to keep him quiet. He swallowed the mouthful without complaint and silently begged with big puppy eyes for another.

Dragonite chose that moment to pop its head back back through the window, huffing something at Prof. "Again?" Prof Oak groaned. He turned his computer off and turned to the nurse. "Millie, there's a kid wandering in the tall grass. Again. I have to fish him out before the Beedrill get to him. Show the girl around, will you?" with that, he hurried out the door.

So that's how Professor Oak found Red in the tall grass! I'd always thought he had a spy camera superglued to a tree on Route One or something (I don't think I was very far off. After all, he could have just strapped cameras on his Pokémon and got them to stalk all the little kids).

After I got all my stuff back, I did a bit of wandering around. I didn't dare let my newly-captured Pokémon out just in case it decided to short out all the electronic devices in the lab, or start zapping me again. Charmander, as usual, was out of his Pokéball, basking in the stares of amazement and curiosity at the sight of his golden scales.

This place was huge! It was like a giant mansion, not how the game depicted it at all. I wandered around and found a particularly large room with lots of scientists in it and stopped.

Loitering at the back was a boy with spiky brown hair.

He was pacing back and forth in front of a table with three Pokéballs on it, muttering something to himself with an impatient expression on his face.

I mentally debated the pros and cons of going in there and saying hi, but decided against it. Judging by the fact his hair was brown instead of ginger I assumed I was in the Mangaverse, in which Blue was pretty awesome. I felt like a fangirl in the presence of my idol, which was totally not true because I didn't idolize Blue (seriously, stop laughing!).

"Aster! I was wondering where you were!" I spun around and jumped five feet into the air. Professor Oak was hurrying down the corridor with a sullen looking raven-haired boy trailing after him. I gave a slight start as he looked up from the ground and stared at me with crimson eyes.

"Aster, this is Red. I'm just about to give him and my grandson their starter Pókemon. You can come and watch if you like."

Okay, I don't think this is the Mangaverse. Red definitely didn't get Bulbasaur this way. But judging by what Red and Blue look like, this wasn't the Gameverse either. Maybe a weird mixture of both and neither?

Anyway, I followed them into the room out of curiosity. I just had to know what starter they picked (I know I'm biased, but I hoped Red and Blue would go with Charmander and Squirtle like in Pokémon Origins).

"Gramps! What took you so long?!" Blue shouted from the back of the room as we approached.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Blue. I had to get Red out of hazard zone. He seems to be more impatient than you are." he then turned to me. "Aster, this is Blue, my grandson. He was the one who found you in the tall grass"

Up close, I could see Blue had electric blue eyes. Huh. I always thought he had brown eyes. Guess the blue matches his name better.

"Is she related to the mute?" Blue asked, ignoring me completely like I wasn't there at all. His eyes strayed momentarily to Charmander, who was still sitting on my shoulder.

"Blue! Don't call Red that!" Professor Oak said in a shocked voice. But judging by the look on his face, this happened a lot. Red's face simply remained blank as if he hadn't heard the conversation. "And besides, she isn't from here" he paused. "Where are you actually from, Aster?"

"I'm from Viridian" I lied. I don't know how they'd react if I said I was from an alternate universe. I certainly didn't want to be kept in a lab as a test subject.

The professor nodded and turned back to the two boys. He pressed a button and a screen came up, showing all the information about the Pokémon in the three Pókeballs on the table.

"Which one of you wants to choose first?" Professor Oak asked.

Blue snorted and nodded in Red's general direction. "He can choose first. I haven't actually decided on which Pokémon to pick yet"

Taking that as his cue, Red stepped up to the table and studied the Pokéballs, seemingly thinking hard. He reached out for a Pokéball and I held my breath. His hand hovered over Charmander's Pokéball uncertainly, then moved over to Bulbasaur's. Blue's eyes tracked his hand nervously and I realized something. Blue did have a starter in mind, but he was letting Red choose first! How very nice of him.

After what seemed like an eternity, Red picked up a Pokéball and tossed it into the air. A flash of fire erupted from the sphere, and a second later a little orange lizard was held in Red's arms, looking around with an air of bafflement before understanding dawned on its reptilian face. My own Charmander huffed a greeting, which the other repeated politely.

Scarcely after Red released his Charmander, Blue swept forwards and claimed Squirtle's Pokéball for his own. Likewise, he threw the ball upwards and caught the Pokémon in his arms. There was a look of relief on his face, though he tried hard to cover it up.

The professor clapped. "Wonderful! I see you two already know how a Pokéball works. I assume you have packed for your journeys?"

Both boys nodded. They pulled out Pokéballs and tapped on the buttons. Bright beams shot out and formed into backpacks. Wait... you can do that?

Professor Oak nodded in approval. "Wait here a moment, there's one more thing I want to give you two" he went to a box and pulled out two shiny devices. "These are Pokédexes. They record information on all the Pokémon you see or capture. It's basically an electronic Pokémon encyclopedia" he looked at me for a moment. "Though it seems Aster already has one, albeit more technologically advanced"

How do I explain this?

Before I could open my mouth and embarrass myself, Professor Oak started speaking again. "I have a task for both of you" he said solemnly. "I need you to capture all 149 Pokémon in Kanto to complete the Pokédex. This has been a lifelong dream of mine, but sadly I am now too old for such adventures" Really? The guy with a Dragonite and an Alakazam? Come on, you're never too old for adventures!

"You can count on me, Gramps" Blue said seriously. Red simply nodded.

"Thank you, boys. Best of luck on your journeys! You too, Aster" the professor smiled as he waved us goodbye.

I sat just off the road of Route One. Unlike how the game pictures it, Pallet Town isn't that small and is actually separated from Viridian by a thicket. There were a lot of trees and boulders, one of which I was just sitting on.

I plucked Pichu's Pokéball off my Pokéball belt and enlarged it. I took a deep breath, and Charmander stood on the ground in front of me in case it tried anything funny.

I tossed the red and white sphere to the ground, remembering the unpleasant jolt I felt when I opened Charmander's Pokéball for the first time. The ball bounced back towards me, releasing a globe of yellow electricity. I caught the Pokéball just as the electricity dispersed, revealing a glaring Pichu. Charmander tensed, claws flashing with white energy.

Pichu ignored him and walked over to me on four legs. It came close and stalked around me in a circle, sniffing. I stiffened a bit when it went around my back, and relaxed slightly when it came back into view. I flinched a bit when electricity sparked on its cheeks, but held my ground. After a while, Pichu sat back and gave me a curt nod, as if saying it found me acceptable.

I relaxed, and took out my Pokédex, aiming the camera at the small mouse. It sat there patiently, watching with its gleaming black eyes.

I skipped the introduction and went straight to the more important info.

This Pichu is male.

Level: 13

Ability1: Static. Ability2: Lightningrod. Ability3: Volt Absorb.

Current Moveset: Volt Tackle, Quick Attack, Thundershock, Tail Whip, Sweet Kiss, Nasty Plot.

Egg Move: Wish

Well, I guess it was no surprise Charmander got his butt handed to him. This little mouse was twice his level.

Also, I'm pretty sure Lightningrod is the Hidden Ability for Pichu. Static was no surprise, but I know for a fact Pichu aren't meant to have Volt Absorb as an ability. What's next, a Rattata with Poison Point?

I scanned Charmander for his level. Level 7 now. Not bad.

"Alright, I want to do some training now before we go to Viridian. Once we go past there, we're going to get hit hard by trainers challenging us from all sides. I'm aiming for a record of zero defeats by other trainers"

I started by having Charmander spit fire from his mouth, holding the flames in his throat longer and allowing the fire to build up before releasing it in a longer stream, hoping to learn Flamethrower. I got Pichu to use Tail Whip on the various things I threw at him in the hopes he'd master Iron Tail.

After around an hour, I got bored and decided to move on. By this time, Charmander had learnt Flame Burst but was still pretty far away from an actual Flamethrower. Pichu had gradually gotten his tail to start glowing, but again, wasn't anywhere near to achieving the desired move.

I packed up my stuff and put my backpack in a Pokéball like Red and Blue did. Then as I stood up, my Pokémon hopped up onto my shoulders. Charmander on the left, Pichu on the right. I probably looked like a miniature traveling circus.

Just before I got to Viridian City, a trainer jumped out in front of me. "I challenge you to a battle!" he shouted loudly. I winced from the extreme loudness of his voice as Charmander jumped from my shoulder and took up a fighting stance. The boy's eyes widened as he saw my Charmander's colouring.

"What about a deal?" he grinned cockily. "If you beat me, I'll give you something special I got from a Pokémon merchant. If I beat you, you hand over that gold Charmander of yours"

"No deal." I scowled. "I'm not giving Charmander away" Charmander growled in agreement.

The boy ignored me, still grinning, and sent out a Nidoran male. "Poison Sting!" he ordered. The Pokémon duly sent out a barrage of needle like missiles. Charmander dodged them with ease (I've always found it pointless when Ash orders his Pokémon to dodge an attack. No living being in their right minds would sit there and let themselves get hurt).

"Growl" I said to Charmander. He immediately did so, sending out soundwaves that made me feel a bit weak at the knees, even though it wasn't aimed at me.

"Peck!" the other trainer shouted. Nidoran charged, a drill made out of white light forming in front of him.

"Charmander, Flame Burst in the Nidoran's face and dodge to the side in case he's still going" Charmander unleashed a burst of orange flames from his mouth and immediately leapt to the side. The Nidoran slowed, but kept going though he missed Charmander completely. The poor brainless probably got blinded by the flames. Charmander took the opportunity to power up with a Dragon Dance while the opponent was distracted.

"No! Nidoran, get back!" but it was too late. Another Flame Burst later, we had a fainted Nidoran. Charmander did the Dragon Dance again while the boy fumbled for another Pokéball.

See, that's what I like about my Pokémon. They can fight for themselves without me having to order them around the whole time. I'm mainly there to provide suggestions during battles, not to basically control their every move. And I like it that way.

The boy threw another Pokéball onto the makeshift battlefield and a Rattata appeared from the flash of light. "Use Tackle!" the boy snapped. Charmander ran back so he was braced against a rock, and held his palms out. The Rattata crashed into Charmander's outstretched paws. Charmander's arms shook but didn't buckle, only taking minimum damage. His claws latched onto the Rattata as it tried to pull away unsuccessfully. He fired a Flame Burst at point-blank range. A Scratch barrage later, the rat was down for the count.

The boy cursed as he reached for another Pokéball, Charmander using yet another Dragon Dance. By now, there was a fiery orange aura surrounding Charmander from the energy of the Dragon Dances.

A Pidgey burst onto the battlefield. "Quick Attack!" the trainer ordered. Charmander, caught in the last stages of Dragon Dance, was unable to dodge in time. He went flying backwards with a growl. He fired Embers and Flame Bursts into the air but Pidgey was too fast. It performed another Quick Attack at its trainer's order, and again Charmander was unable to dodge in time. The other trainer laughed. "I think that Charmander is mine". I growled angrily, still trying to come up with a plan. "I said, no deal" besides, I still had Pichu.

Suddenly I had an idea. Perhaps it was caused by the guy's utter annoyingness. "Charmander!" I shouted. "Back up against the rock like you did before!" Charmander did as he was told, but had to hold onto the rock tightly as the Pidgey used Gust.

The next time the Pidgey came in for an attack I timed it just so it wouldn't have time to pull out. "Grab it" I said. The other trainer's eyes widened. " Pidgey stop!" he yelled desperately.

Too late. The Pidgey flew into Charmander and he made a little sound of pain from the impact and Pidgey's sharp beak but held on tight. The Pidgey thrashed around, trying to get free, scratching Charmander with its sharp talons in the process.

"Bash it against the rock" I winced as I heard the little bird cry out in pain. "Now Ember" it wasn't as strong as Flame Burst, but it did its job.

The boy sighed grumpily as he recalled his fainted Pokémon. He chucked something on the ground and walked off. I picked Charmander up and set him on my shoulder, careful to avoid his injuries.

After he went out of sight, I went over and had a look at the object. It was a small orb around the size of my fist, golden light shining from the inside.

Light Ball.

Pichu squealed in delight. He hopped down from my shoulder and went over to the orb, eyes as wide as saucers.

I picked it up and stowed it away. Pichu looked disappointed. "Chuuu" he squeaked.

"I'll give it back to you when you're a Pikachu" I promised. Pichu seemed satisfied.

I headed off to the Viridian Pokémon Center to get my Charmander healed before I set out for Pewter. And since it was late in the afternoon, maybe I'd spend the night there too.