Part 3

"I hate bugs! Gross!" Mary cried as locks of her dark, almost blue, hair was entangled in the branches above her as she stepped out of the way of a worm-like Weedle, keeping her shins out of the reach of that unicorn-like horn on the top of its head. With a sharp kick to the side of the animal's head, it soared off to the wayside, out of her reach. When she noticed the poor bug's eyes spiraling around in its skull, she frowned, slightly, before withdrawing an empty ball from her pocket. She had purchased twenty Pokeballs just to be prudent for occasions like this, after all. After tossing an empty ball at the stunned Weedle, capturing it effectively in a flash of light, she returned the Pokeball to her pocket, a smile on her lips.

Her first captured Pokemon.

She was surprised by just how much she had begged for the Pokeballs from the Professor considering she hadn't used any until this point. She had avoided the high grass due to a fear of the rather creepy trainers who were hanging out there, hiding behind the tall grass. Seriously, did those trainers have no life? Why were they there, stalking the Pokemon in the lowlands like that? Couldn't they be doing something more satisfying with their time, anyway? Although she had found herself in a few skirmishes, she was proud to announce that her Squirtle had pulled through effectively each and every time.

As she disentangled her hair from the tree, she noticed the numerous pods resting peacefully on the tree. Green Metapods and beige Kakunas were bound to the bark by numerous strands of opaque string, no doubt organic and created from their very bodies, like excrement. They looked so peaceful, so undisturbed. Mary smiled thinly as she withdrew a Pokeball from her pocket. Surely she could capture one of each of these little bugs and add them to her collection. Those little blockheads, after all, were locked inside of those cacoons. They surely couldn't hear or see a damned thing, and, after all, all she needed to do was just tap them on the back with her pokeballs. No struggle, no nothing.

She didn't bother hiding the sound of her feet sloshing forward as she tapped a Metapod with her Pokeball, smiling jovially as the Pokemon was consumed in a flash of light before being sucked into the Pokeball in her hand. Appreciating the weight of the Pokemon, she placed the Pokeball on her belt, next to her Squirtle and Weedle, before turning to the Kakuna beside it. She noticed that its eyes were narrowed at her, but appeared helpless to do anything to stop her. She withdrew a second Pokeball, and was about to tap the little bug with it when she heard a sharp screech.

Glancing up, she saw a Beedrill flying at her.

She shrieked in horror as she darted off into the forest, the Beedrill in pursuit. How could she be so stupid! Of course a Beedrill would be guarding those poor Kakuna! It was stupid to think that they wouldn't try guarding their vulnerable brethren as they steadily grew stronger and more powerful. They'd need hunting mates, friends, comrades in the future, and if trainers could just capture them just like that, then the hive they belonged to would no doubt suffer. Or at least that's what Mary assumed. She really had no clue about the organization patterns of Pokemon, assuming they were organized. After all, they were just stupid animals.

Mary hastily withdrew Squirtle, and summoned the little lad. Squirtle, after a second of adjusting to the moist atmosphere of the forest, glanced up at the Beedrill, his eyes wide. Mary didn't care if that little animal was scared or not! All she longed for was for it to attack, to beat it down! "Hey! Use Bubble! Hurry up!" On command, Squirtle blew an array of bubbles that, in a disorganized pattern, drifted out of his mouth, almost like floating drool from a baby's mouth. The Beedrill, unable to stop in time, collided head on with the bubbles, staggering in mid flight before catching itself, only mildly injured by the assault.

Squirtle had no time to avoid the enemy's drill-like forearms as Beedrill stabbed each organic weapon at the little turtle, plunging each one into the little critter's underbelly! Squirtle gasped for air as pain enveloped it, a gasp that gave Beedrill time to plan a follow-up assault, a gasp that gave Mary a chance to escape. "Squirtle! Return!" she shrieked, recalling Squirtle back into its ball before withdrawing an empty ball, throwing it at the Beedrill. In a flash of light, the bee disappeared into the ball in a flash of light. For a moment, Mary felt adrenaline pulsate throughout her body, the realization that she had just captured a hostile bug surging through her body, only for, a moment later, the ball to shatter apart like glass as Beedrill broke free of the imprisonment of the ball. Mary's eyes widened in terror as the bug flew at her, stabbing the drill-like appendages into her breasts!

She staggered backward, feeling her body grow numb. She shrieked in pain, falling on her rear as the Beedrill shoved its weight against her, drawing its drill-like appendages backward to finish its target off. Was she going to die? Was she going to be killed by a stupid Beedrill? No, this wasn't fair! This wasn't right! This was an embarrassing way to be beaten! Weren't Pokemon supposed to fight other Pokemon, not trainers? This was absurd and embarrassing! She still had Weedle, though, surely, if she could only reach for that Pokeball!

There was a flash of emerald light. Mary watched as the jet of energy collided into Beedrill's side, blowing it into a nearby tree, through the trunk, and through the next tree. Mary's eyes widened as she realized, in the calm after the energy dissipated, that the enemy Beedrill had been propelled a football field away by the enemy attack! Just what kind of power could do that? She glanced over her shoulder to lock eyes with her savior.

The man standing above her was dressed in a loose fitting dark t-shirt tucked sloppily into his jeans, an emerald jacket thrown lazily over his shirt, unbuttoned and just as shabby. His silver straight locks fell over his back, his bangs almost covering up his emerald eyes as he glanced down at Mary, an amused expression on his face. As he stroked the head of his massive Venasaur, the creature that would one day be in the possession of that fat bitch Yumi, a creature she owed her life to.

"Are you alright?" the white haired man asked Mary in a rather nonchalant tenor voice.

"Uh, yeah, thank you," Mary stammered, in awe.

"Good. Were you poisoned?"

"What?"

"Did the Beedrill poison you with those drills of hers?" the man asked Mary, lazily.

"I don't feel different," Mary replied, rising to her feet, anxiously searching for some sort of difference in her body, any uncharacteristic feeling that would indicate her being poisoned.

"Good," the man replied, a smile on his lips, a lazy one at that, "Guess my work here is finished."

"Wait, can you show me out of the Viridian Forest?" Mary asked, desperately, "I hate to admit it, but I'm sort of lost here, and I would awfully appreciate it if you would, um, help me out." Towards the end of her statement, Mary shifted her position so that she would appear less filthy and sweaty and more, she hoped, angelic and innocent.

The man glanced over at her with a lazy shrug. "Sure, why not?"

"Thanks! And you are who?"

"My name is Rapha."

#

As Yumi ducked under an additional branch, she glanced at the five unused balls on her belt buckle, smiling as she thought of just how she was going to use them. It had been a day since she set off from Viridian City, and setting up camp had been rather difficult with all the boggy mud around. Additionally, a few Weedles had taken to eating the fabric, which was, for all intents and purposes, irritating, especially considering that, at that moment, she had been changing into her pajamas and, exactly at that moment, some random trainer had been passing by and caught a glimpse at her bare midriff. This had resulted in one of the most brutal Pokemon battles of all time, ending in the trainer being lit aflame after a rather brutal explosion created by Yumi's Charmander.

All in all, it had been a relatively satisfying experience.

Regardless, despite the weakened Weedle lying around, scurrying away from the brilliant flames, Yumi never wasted one of her Pokeballs on them. She was saving her balls for a more worthwhile catch, a creature she had seen years ago on one of the trips she had taken to the forest with her brother. A specific rodent which frequented these woods: a Pikachu.

She would never forget the night she laid eyes on that Pikachu. It had been three years earlier, and her brother had returned home for a little while, taking his dear little sister to the Viridian Forest for the weekend to camp. That night, her brother set up a tent that was far superior to that wimpy tent that Yumi had abandoned after it was eaten up by Weedles. It was coated in a secretion that the Weedle and Caterpies that would have normally devoured the fabric found disgusting. As a second precaution, he had ordered his Vulpix to stand guard outside of the tent. Still, as her brother fell asleep, Yumi had continued to stare out at the forest beyond the tent's limits, to the outside, hoping to catch a glimpse of something truly remarkable.

Eventually, something turned up.

A yellow mouse-like creature with long ears emerged from the tall grass, sparks flying from its body as it stared toward little Yumi. She remembered staring back at the little critter, amazed by the way its soft, ball-like body approached the tent, on all fours, racing toward the coated tent. Perhaps he found the scent of the coating pleasurable? Perhaps it was Yumi's shampoo? Regardless, something was attracting the creature, the Pikachu, to their tent, and that electric rodent was coming fast. Had it not been for her brother's Vulpix tackling the Pikachu and torching it with a Fire Spin attack, it would have entered the sanctuary of the tent, and might have electrocuted them.

Regardless, ever since that night, ever since seeing that elusive little animal, Yumi knew she had to have it. It had been so adorable, the way its nose twitched while it ran, the way its lightning bolt shaped tail bobbed with each step, just the way it went on all fours while running despite being perfectly able to walk on its hind legs. She needed it, she wanted it, and from what she read in books, it was stronger than your average Beedrill.

Yumi spent the entire day scanning the high grass, looking for a Pikachu. At first, all she found were just Caterpies and Weedles that she ignored, but eventually she found tracks in the ground that strongly resembled Pikachu tracks. She had read up on Pokemon tracks, and had even been told about many thanks to her older brother. She followed the tracks through the woods, only to be led to a small bush filled with berries. The tracks ended at this shrub, indicating that whatever had made the tracks, clearly a Pikachu, was currently nestled within the leafy branches of the berry bush.

Yumi absentmindedly picked a berry from the bush and plopped it into her mouth as she considered her options. She could always burn the bush down, but that might make the Pikachu angry rather than weakened. She could also lure it out with food, but that might be worthless considering that the Pikachu was in a bush filled with berries. Yumi continued plucking berries from the tree and plopping them into her mouth as she continued to weigh the strategies she could employ to capture Pikachu. By the time she came to the conclusion that she may as well just start battling the critter and force him out rather than lure him out, the berry tree was already stripped of all its fruit, thanks to her!

It was only then that a little head poked itself out of the berry tree, the yellow round face of a Pikachu, her eyes narrowed as she glared up at Yumi, vehement that her berries, the berries she longed to taste, were now inside a human's belly. Yumi backed away as she withdrew the pokeball that contained Charmander. With a quick push of the button, Yumi watched Charmander appear on the ground in a flash of light, ready for combat. Pikachu emerged from the berry tree, just as eager to fight, clearly upset that her food had been stolen from her.

"Ember!" Yumi shouted, only for Charmander to obey. From the scarlet lizard's reptilian jaws exploded several ash-like embers, red hot and fiery, that soared into the Pikachu's face. It staggered back, bolts of electricity exploding from its cheeks as it brushed away the ashes from its eyes. As she fiddled her face, the Pikachu was left defenseless from Yumi's Charmander, who dove behind the Pikachu, and slammed against the back of her head with his tail! The Pikachu was thrown forward, into the ground, as sparks exploded from her body, surging into Charmander! The poor Pokemon collapsed upon contact with the electricity, twitching painfully as the Pikachu struggled to rise, clearly hurt by the combination of attacks.

Yumi reached for an empty ball, and threw it into the Pikachu's face. She was knocked backward before being sucked into the ball, imprisoned within its red and white surface. Yumi clenched her fists, bit her lip, and watched, anxiously, as the Pokeball twitched on the ground, shivering as Pikachu struggled to free herself. After a few seconds, the ball remained silent. A smile broke out on Yumi's lips as she launched herself at the ball, curling her fingers around it, punching the air in triumph. "Yeah! Got her! Good job Charmander!"

"Charman…" Charmander moaned, weakly, as it struggled to rise, despite the minor twitch that still ran throughout her body.

"You did good."

#

"Now, there's more than one way to get to Pewter!" laughed Tony as he pulled his leg over the branch of the nearest tree, staring down at the path it would have taken much longer to reach. After all, despite his Bulbasaur being able to do a lot with his power and all, he couldn't cut down a tree just yet at his level of ability. Oh no, rather, he'd need to wait a little longer to be able to do that. And, of course, he had no problem with waiting. This was, after all, where tree climbing came in handy. As he landed nimbly on the grassy area to the right of Route 02, he smiled to himself, glancing ahead at the cave up ahead.

Tony darted forward, through the grasslands, through the fields, nimbly avoiding the foolish Weedles and weak Caterpies that littered the area around him. After all, he had a Pidgey. What did he need foolish bugs for? He was ready for bigger obsticals, larger goals to overcome, for only the sky was the limit! With Pidgey, even the sky wasn't an obstacle. Once he found the Hidden Machine that contained the power of flight, even soaring up to the level of the clouds, to the level of Gods, was but a simple matter! Oh, he was the greatest, the most powerful, of all the trainers around!

It was only then that the masterful Tony's eyes landed upon a Pokeball lying on the ground. He approached it, curiously, before picking it up in his hand. Sure, he had bought a good six Pokeballs from that store in Viridian, but this ball was different. It was an ordinary Pokeball, but something about it made it different. It felt heavier than an empty ball, so many there was something inside of it? He tossed it up into the air before catching it again. Well, there was no harm in checking to see what was inside of it. He opened the ball up, and, not to his surprise, a flash of light illuminated the area around him. To his astonishment, the light cleared to reveal a rather peculiar creature, one that looked like a clown and mime's lovechild, with long torrents of hair sticking out of either side of its head, large ball-like joints, and gloves over its hands.

"Mr. Mime!" it cooed, a jolly expression on its face.

"Okay, just what the hell are you?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Mr. Mime!"

"I get that, but are you a Pokemon?"

"Mime!"

"I'll take that as a yes. So what do you do?"

"Mime?"

"Like, what sort of powers do you have?"

"Mr.!" The creature smiled as though he understood just what Tony was talking about. The Pokemon, whose name Tony assumed was Mr. Mime only because he wouldn't stop repeating that blasted name, closed his eyes, gently, as he extended his hands out in front of him, as though he were touching an invisible wall. He continued to press his fingers against the imaginary surface, stroking it gently with his fingers, a look of intense concentration filling his face. Tony waited patiently for something to happen, finding boredom settling in as the seconds turned into minutes.

"So what are you doing, exactly?" Tony asked, reaching out to touch the Pokemon's shoulder, only to find his knuckles knocking against the invisible wall that Mr. Mime had created. "Wow, that's pretty cool."

"Mime Mr. Mime!"

"Now, return," Tony replied, a smile on his face as he recalled Mr. Mime to his ball. As he weighed the ball in his hand, he attached it to his coat's buttons, right below his Pidgey. Here was a Psychic Pokemon. He could use this later on against one of his opponents. Perfect! He punched the air in triumph before hearing a man calling out for him.

The man was a rather overweight fellow with greasy black hair, and watching him stride over to him, Tony couldn't deny, was mildly amusing. The man was clearly no athlete, and, as he gasped for air, Tony couldn't help but derive sadistic pleasure from watching his struggle to dash. After reaching Tony, the man took a full ten seconds to catch his breath before asking Tony a question. "Hey, have you seen a Pokeball anywhere?"

"What? Nope."

"Are you sure? It contained a Mr. Mime."

"Nope, never saw one."

"Alright, but, if you find someone, can you ask them if you've found it too? I've lost it and I'm trying to find it. I need to trade it for an Abra."

"Oh, okay. Good luck," Tony replied, ignoring any moral conflict at stealing this boy's Pokemon.

Tony proceeded onward down the road, avoiding the grassy areas in order to not find a reason to summon his Mr. Mime while his former owner was within sight. Rather, Tony reached the building a mile or so down the road, a broad smile on his face. He walked into the building, only to find himself in a rather open center with a good six or seven other trainers, all taking a break from their travels by sitting around the counter, drinking a well deserved bottle of water, soda, or even sake. Tony threw himself down at the counter, seeing a chance to take advantage of the moment, and asked for a sake.

Naturally, he was turned down for being underage, and resigned to having water.

As he refreshed himself, feeling liquid slide down his parched throat, he heard a voice call out for him, a voice to his left. Tony glanced over to his side to see a rather peculiar trainer. He was wearing a business suit, scarlet in hue, a rather presentable individual with slicked back dark hair and a critical glint in his eyes. He folded his hands at the counter as he ordered sake. As his drink was being prepared, he turned to Tony, a rather amused glint in his eyes. "Good child, are you, by any chance, related to the trainer known as Red?" His voice was firm, rather intimidating if Tony didn't say so himself.

"Not at all, sorry," Tony replied, "Although, between you and me, I plan on surpassing him."

"Surpassing Red? That's quite a laugh," the man chuckled, "I apologize for asking out of the blue like that, but it goes without say that there is a slight resemblance."

"Do you think so?" Tony asked, a well of pride swelling up inside his chest at the thought that he was in some way similar to that great trainer.

"Certainly. You both share that glint of passion, the expression that shouts 'Damn reality, damn limitations, I will succeed no matter what.'"

"Well, I suppose you're right about that," Tony replied, a grin on his lips.

"What if I propose a proposition for you?" the man asked, ordering a second sake, a slight grin on his lips as he passed his own drink over to Tony.

Tony accepted the drink, a grin on his lips as well. "Tell me."

"What if I were to say that I know of a way to allow you to reach your dreams of beating Red?"

"I'd say you have a deal, regardless of the way, terms, and whatnot," Tony replied.

"You're rather trusting. How do you know I don't mean you harm, or plan on ripping you off?"

"Because I know people, and I know when people are trustworthy and honorable," Tony replied, pressing his thumb into his breast in pride.

"I see. Well, I suppose you're right. In any event, I want to give you this little machine." The man reached into his pocket, and withdrew a small, box-like instrument labeled HM 05. "This is Hidden Machine 05, as you can clearly see. It's a rather rare instrument created for the intention of teaching Pokemon specific moves, as I'm sure you already know. This particular machine teaches Pokemon Flash."

"Flash? In order to light up caves?" Tony asked, amused.

"Yes, and I am willing to donate this machine as a gift to your cause."

"Any catch?" Tony asked.

"Yes, there is just one. I want you to meet me at Celadon City in one week at the Department Store roof. Be there."

"Alright, and what is your name?"

"Mine is Giovanni, and who are you?"

"I'm Tony, and I'm going to kick everyone's ass in Pokemon battling."

"Will you now. Is that a promise?"

"Of course it is! Just who the hell do you think I am?"