"I am not!"
"You are too!"
"I am not!"
"You are too!"
"I am not!"
"You are too!" exclaimed Orange. "Just admit it, Jimmy, you are in love with Meg."
"I'm not!" insisted Jimmy, who had been blushing the entire time. "The PC Storage System is an absolute necessity for any trainer, and I just wanted to meet the person responsible for it!"
"Uh huh," smirked Orange. "Yeah. That's the entire reason, right?"
"Orange?" said Violet.
"Yes?"
"Shut up."
Orange stopped pestering Jimmy, and for the remainder of the walk, contented himself with grumbling under his breath and shooting the occasional glare at Violet.
True to Jimmy's word, the walk was indeed short. They came upon a relatively small building that seemed to be built entirely out of old computer parts and an assortment of pine cones.
"I think this might be the place," remarked Orange.
"It's the only house up this way," shrugged Red. Jimmy walked up to a cluster of keyboards held together with duct tape which seemed to function as a door, and knocked on it.
"Come in," came a female voice from inside. Jimmy opened up the door and led the way inside.
The interior was somewhat cluttered. A number of notebooks were piled in various areas all over the room. In the back, a pair of large steel cylinders were constructed. A thin metal pipe ran between the two structures, connecting them, and each one had a door on the front. As if to complete the chaotic picture, a .4 was zipping all around the room. As soon as it noticed the group, however, it flew in front of them, still moving constantly. And then, nobody could have expected what happened next.
It spoke to them.
"Oh, hey there, I'm glad someone's here," the .4 seemed to say in the same female voice they had heard earlier. "I need some help."
"I think I need some professional help," muttered Orange. "It sounded like that .4 was talking to us."
"I am," the .4 insisted. "I'm not a Pokémon. I'm Meg Abytte. I was conducting an experiment in teleportation, and I got combined with my .4 by accident. Please, can't one of you help me?"
"Sure, I'll help," Jimmy said, stepping forward. "My name's Jimmy, what do I have to do?" he asked.
"OK, I'm going to enter the chamber on the right," explained the .4. "Once I do that, you go to my computer over there and activate the teleporter. That should do the trick, OK?"
"Got it," nodded Jimmy. The .4 floated over to the door of the steel chamber on the right side of the room, and pushed at it. It didn't budge.
"Um, Miss Abytte, should I-?" began Jimmy.
"No matter," the .4 replied. "I've always wanted to try this anyway. TM28!"
The .4 backed up and let off a minor explosion. It was just enough to force the door open. It then floated into the chamber and pushed the door closed again. Jimmy walked over to a wooden table in front of the left chamber. On the screen, there was a large red button labeled "Activate Teleportation System". Jimmy took the computer mouse and clicked the button. Immediately, a humming noise could be heard from the steel device in the back of the room, as something seemed to be transferred from right to left. Then, the door to the left chamber opened up, and a young woman walked out, sighing in relief. She looked to be about Violet's age, if not a year or two older, and had waist-length wavy brown hair.
"Oh, thank you so much," she said as she walked over to Jimmy, who seemed incapable of forming a coherent response; he was too busy staring at Meg, mouth slightly agape. "Your name is Jimmy, you said, right?"
"Uh... Wha... Oh! Oh, yeah, yes, my name's Jimmy. Jimmy Errorcode," Jimmy replied, seeming to snap out of it, though he was blushing once again. "It's... it's a pleasure to... to meet you, Miss Abytte. Oh, yes, these are my friends, uh... um..."
"I'm Violet Scramble," Violet said, rolling her eyes at Jimmy. "This is Orange McPixel and this is Red Vershunn.
"Uh... hi..." murmured Orange. Violet turned to look at Orange, to discover that he was also staring at Meg, mouth slightly agape. Irritated by this, Violet snapped her fingers in Orange's face. When this failed to yield results, she instead opted to stomp on his foot. That snapped him out of it.
As Orange hopped around, clutching his afflicted foot and holding back what was sure to be a whole host of expletives, Red shook Meg's hand. "Nice to meet you," he said.
"Nice to meet all of you," smiled Meg. "So, I'm guessing you're all Trainers?"
"We are," replied Violet. "I'm afraid I haven't used your storage system yet, though. I only have four Pokémon."
"Nor have I," confessed Red. "Only three Pokémon."
Orange said nothing, clearly not trusting himself to not start cursing over his injured foot, but shook his head and shrugged, as if to say that he hasn't used the PC Storage System either.
"I haven't either," admitted Jimmy. "I only have three. This Weedle on my shoulder, plus a Venonat and a Scyther."
"Oh, a Venonat!" Meg exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "Those are so cute, may I see it?"
"Sure!" Jimmy said as he took out a Poké Ball and tossed it straight up. The ball split open, unleashing Jimmy's Venonat into the room. Meg let out a little squeal of delight, and scooped the Venonat into her arms and hugged it.
"Oh, Venonat are so cuuute," she sighed.
"Veno veno nat," said Venonat, seeming to enjoy the attention.
"Wow," remarked Jimmy. "It's... it's not often I meet a girl who appreciates Bug Pokémon. Most of the ones I've met are creeped out by Bug-types. And not just girls, either, Orange here is downright afraid of them."
"OH, SHUT UP!" roared Orange.
"Oh, I love Bug-types," Meg said as she turned her attention to the Weedle on Jimmy's shoulder and started to stroke its back with her index finger. Immediately, the Weedle gave a contented sigh and relaxed. "Venonat's my favorite, but I love them all."
"You... you like... all... Bug-types..." Jimmy murmured, as if not daring to believe this.
"Oh, yes," Meg said, addressing her guests. "I want to thank you all for helping me out."
"Oh, well, it was really just Jimmy," Violet replied modestly.
"Vi, shut up, we might be getting free stuff," hissed Orange, earning himself a reproving glare from Violet.
"No, don't worry about it," smiled Meg as she produced three strips of cardboard from the pocket of her shorts. "I had won three tickets for the S.S. Nean cruise ship, but I get seasick really easily. The only thing is, I only have the three tickets, and there are four of you..."
"Actually, you can give them to Red, Orange and Violet," said Jimmy. "I, um... Miss Abytte..."
"Please, call me Meg," said Meg.
"...Meg... I was wondering if maybe... I could stay here for a while? Help you with anything you might need help with? I mean, I'm not very knowledgeable about computers, but I'd be... willing to learn..."
"You know, I've been meaning to take on an assistant," said Meg thoughtfully. "And, well, you are really nice, so sure, I'd have no problem with you staying here." She then handed the tickets to Orange, Violet, and Red.
"Thanks," said Red. "Just one question- where does the S.S. Nean dock, anyway?"
"She makes port in Miliovern once a year," replied Meg. "She stays in port for about a week before setting sail again, and during that week, the crew hosts a party for Pokémon Trainers."
"A party?" Orange repeated, his interest piqued. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" He grabbed Violet and Red's arms and practically dragged them out the door, giving them barely two seconds to hastily say good-bye to Meg and Jimmy.
Once they were out the door, Violet wrenched her arm free of Orange's grip. "OK, what the hell was that?" she demanded.
"What? What was what?" asked Orange defensively.
"You know perfectly well what was what," said Violet. "You were staring at her stupidly, mouth agape and everything."
"I was not," scoffed Orange.
"Yes you were."
"No I wasn't."
"Yes you were."
"No I wasn't!"
"Yes you were"
"Was not!"
"Were too!"
"Was not!"
"Were too!"
"Was not!'
"Were not!"
"Was too!"
"Were not!"
"Was too!"
"Were not!"
"Yes, I was!" Orange exclaimed defiantly. "I was staring at Meg like a horny, drooling idiot, and don't you dare tell me otherwise!"
"OK," smirked Violet as she calmly proceeded to walk down a narrow path labeled as a shortcut back to Ruceelna City. Orange and Red followed, the former somewhat confused as to what exactly happened. Then a look of dawning comprehension came over his face.
"Hey, wait a minute!" he exclaimed.
"Sorry, Orange, you already admitted to it," chuckled Violet.
"You tricked me into saying that!"
"Oh, did I?" asked Violet. "I was under the impression I just tricked you into saying you were staring at Meg. From where I stand, that part about being a 'horny, drooling idiot' was all you."
"RRRRRGH!" replied Orange through gritted teeth, which only made Violet laugh in a self-satisfied way. Even Red chuckled a little bit, which fortunately went unnoticed by Orange.
About fifteen minutes and one jump off of an eight-foot ledge later, the trio arrived back in Ruceelna City.
"It's getting late," Violet remarked. Indeed, it was starting to get dark. "I think we should go to the Pokémon Center for dinner, and then turn in for the night."
"I'm all for that," Orange nodded. "Only, I'd like us to go to the Pokémart first, cash in that Nugget we won. Red, you still got it?"
"Right here," Red responded as he pulled the solid gold sphere out of his backpack.
"Oh, come on, Red," sighed Violet. "That can wait until tomorrow."
"Oh, Tauros crap," snapped Orange. "We got plenty of time!"
Red looked back and forth between Violet and Orange, both of whom seemed to be awaiting his decision. Red gulped. He didn't like being put in this position.
"Well..." he began. "I mean... Uh... I mean, does it really matter, either way? Orange, I mean, what would be so bad about waiting until morning?"
"Hmph. Nothing, I guess," Orange grunted, though he looked distinctly disgruntled at Red's decision. "Sure, take her side," he added in an undertone as they headed towards the Pokémon Center.
"I don't want to take sides!" Red whispered indignantly. "No matter what I decided, I'd have gotten one of you pissed at me, and I don't want to do that! You're both my friends, I don't want to have to take sides against either one of you!"
"So why'd you take her side?" demanded Orange.
"I only intended it as an example," replied Red. "Violet's the one who ran with it."
Orange said nothing, though this answer seemed to satisfy him.
Once they reached the Pokémon Center, they entered the cafeteria and ordered dinner. Violet had an even number salad, triggering Orange's usual remarks about her being an evenetarian; Red had a seven burger with eight sauce; Orange had a plate of fried nines, much to Violet's exasperation.
"Fried nines again, Orange?" groaned Violet. "One of these days you're gonna wake up, and you'll have turned into a nine."
"Oh, quit nagging," said Orange. "Nothing wrong with having my favorite food."
"Orange, I swear, if we were married, I would put poison in your coffee." Violet sighed.
"Violet, I swear, if we were married, I'd drink it," Orange retorted.
The meal was pretty quiet after that. Once the center's Chansey had scanned their Pokédexes for identification purposes, the trio asked the nurse for a room, and were able to get the same room they had the previous night. Before going to sleep, Red made sure to take the earplugs Violet had given him and put them in his ears. Sure enough, even though Orange fell asleep first, even though the cacophony his mouth was producing was not unlike that of heavy machinery, Red had no problem getting to sleep, hearing only total silence.
The next morning, Red found himself being awoken, not by Orange's snores as he was starting to get used to, but by Orange yanking the sheets off of him.
"C'mon, Red, get up!" he exclaimed once Red groggily removed his earplugs. "Breakfast! Come on!"
Red got out of his bed and sluggishly got dressed. By the time the trio went for breakfast, he was much more awake and alert, and the fried nines and four juice he had for breakfast helped even more. Once they left the Pokémon Center, Orange spoke up.
"OK, after we hit the Pokémart, where to?" he asked.
"Well, we got in a good amount of training," Violet said. "Maybe we should head for Fansfor City now."
"But wait, what about the S.S. Nean?" asked Red. "Doesn't she set sail at the end of the week? If we're gonna make it to the party, shouldn't that be our first priority?"
"I'd have thought you'd want to get through the region quickly," Violet remarked. "Get to Bincanar Island faster and all that."
Red shrugged. "I do want some answers, but I'm starting to like Tanko. I wouldn't mind making a couple of detours."
"I'm all for that!" declared Orange. "Besides, a ship full of Pokémon Trainers can only mean one thing- battles! No such thing as too much training, am I right?"
"You got a point," conceded Violet. "OK, let's head for Miliovern City first."
"Second," Orange said suddenly. "First, the Pokémart."
"Fine," sighed Violet. With that, Orange led the way down a number of streets until they reached a building constructed entirely out of orange traffic cones, sheet metal, and glue sticks. A wooden sign was attached to the wall, with "Pokémart" painted on it in large red letters.
"I think we've arrived," said Orange.
"Yeah, you think?" said Violet sarcastically as she led the way in through a door made of sheet metal and duct tape.
The inside of the Pokémart was small and cluttered. Entire shelves of Poké Balls and Potions made navigation somewhat difficult. In one corner, a balding man was leaning on a wooden counter.
"Welcome to the Ruceelna City Pokémart," he said in a bored voice that implied he had said this many times before. "Are you buying or selling?"
"Selling," replied Red as he took the Nugget out of his backpack. The man took the golden sphere and eyed it from multiple angles, as if uncertain as to its authenticity. Finally, he took an odd scanning device from behind the counter and pointed i t at the Nugget. It hummed for a second, then made a dinging noise. Seemingly satisfied with this, the man paid Red 6,000 Pokédollars for the Nugget.
"Wow, 6,000!" Red whispered as they exited the Pokémart. They didn't have any of that 6,000 on them anymore- the three had unanimously decided to use the profits to replenish their dwindling Poké Ball supplies. "I don't think Nuggets sell for that much back in Kanto."
"Hey, it bought us more Poké Balls," shrugged Orange. "Can't complain about that. I had no idea I was down to just one! What would I have done if that one had failed? I mean, when a Poké Ball fails to catch a Pokémon-"
"We know, Orange, it explodes," sighed Violet.
"So, which way to Miliovern City?" asked Red.
"Should be south of here," Orange replied. "We'll have to pass through Fansfor to get there, though."
"And we can't just swing by the Gym and challenge the leader while we're passing through because...?" asked Red.
"...Huh," Orange muttered. "I guess we can."
Violet facepalmed.
Half an hour of walking later, the trio had left Ruceelna City, and very quickly found themselves facing a large mass of skyscrapers that seemed to be made up of rocks, pieces of fencing, and tree limbs, complete with leaves. Barring their way into the city was a tall fence made of sheet metal, fives, and nines, and a large building made of wooden planks and soda cans. An open doorway faced the group, and through it they could see that the building would lead them directly into Fansfor City. Orange led the way inside-
"Oh, no, no, no, you do not," came a voice. As one, the trio turned to their left, where they saw a rather pudgy security guard sitting behind a counter. "Sorry, road's closed."
"Why?" asked Orange.
"Because I'm hungry," the guard answered.
"So wait," Red frowned. "You're not letting us into Fansfor City because you're hungry?"
"That about sums it up, yeah," the guard replied.
"Come on!" whined Orange. "We gotta get through Fansfor City to get to Miliovern!"
"Take the bridge," suggested the security guard. "There's a bridge that takes you straight across Fansfor."
Orange stormed out of the gatehouse, grumbling audibly and saying rather unkind things about the security guard's mother. Reluctantly, Violet and Red followed.
Outside the gatehouse, Red now noticed a wooden staircase to his left, which seemed to lead to a metal walkway. Violet led the way up the stairs, but once they got to the top, and were faced with the prospect of crossing the relatively narrow bridge many feet above a large, bustling city, Violet hesitated. The bridge had handrails made out of plastic water bottles, so the risk of falling was minimal.
"Violet, what's wrong?" asked Red.
"N-nothing," Violet said. "It's just... a little high up, isn't it?"
"Just close your eyes," Red suggested. "You're not gonna fall, you know we wouldn't let that happen."
"Yeah... Yeah..." Violet replied. She gulped, then squeezed her eyes shut and began to make her way slowly across the bridge. Orange was not pleased with this slow pace, and made a point of miming the action of checking a nonexistent watch every couple of seconds. Red ignored him, and since Violet kept her eyes shut, she had to ignore him as well.
Ten minutes later, they had crossed the bridge. Violet raced down the staircase, breathing heavily, and once they were all back on the ground, she held onto Red for support.
"I'm guessing you don't like heights too much, Violet?" asked Red.
"N-not really," sighed Violet.
"And you mock me for my fear of bugs," Orange smirked.
"Hey, a fear of heights is a legitimate thing!" snapped Violet. "You're scared of stuff like Caterpie and Metapod and Paras!"
"And Beedrill, and Scyther, and Z4," Orange shot back defensively.
"Oh, please, you're scared of any Bug-type and you know it," said Violet.
"Not any Bug-type!" said Orange. "You don't see me cowering in fear of your Butterfree, do you? Those are OK!"
Violet said nothing more at this. Once she stopped holding onto Red, they continued walking. A swarm of .4 flew overhead, and several Pidgey could be seen pecking at a small patch of grass. Then, they all stopped short, for a large Pokémon was crossing the concrete/water/seven-paved road, and was taking its sweet time doing so. It walked on a pair of skinny legs tipped with bird feet. Its torso was spherical and covered in brown feathers. From the top it sported not one, but two long, black necks, each one tipped with a brown, spherical head. Each head sported a pair of beady, black eyes, and a large, yellow beak.
"Wow, a Doduo!" Red exclaimed, holding out his Pokédex.
"Doduo, the Twin Bird Pokémon," said Red's Pokédex. "Doduo is more skilled at running than flying. It runs at speeds up to 60 miles per hour and leaves giant footprints."
"Pretty cool," remarked Orange. He considered going for a Poké Ball, but Red had beaten him to it.
"Go, Paras!" Red called as he launched a red-and-white sphere, unleashing the Bug/Grass-type. This caught the Doduo's attention, and made both heads turn to face it.
Doduo made the first move, Both heads lowered, and the whole thing charged forward.
"Paras, Stun Spore!" Red ordered.
"Paaaaraaaas!" exclaimed Paras as it unleashed a yellow dust from its mushrooms. Doduo dashed right into the yellow cloud and immediately toppled to the ground, the Stun Spore having successfully stopped the Skull Bash.
"OK, Paras, now use Scratch!" commanded Red.
"Paras par!" Paras replied as it scuttled towards Doduo and took a great swipe at its spherical torso, causing both heads to squawk in pain. Then the heads turned to face Paras and both began to peck at it mercilessly.
"That's Doduo's Fury Attack," stated Violet.
"Paras!" called Red, just as his Pokémon started to glow. Orange slowly backed up and hid behind Violet as the glow faded, revealing Paras to have evolved. What now stood in Paras's place sported one giant mushroom covering its entire back. It was slightly bigger than Paras had been, but other than that and the mushroom, it was relatively unchanged.
"Parasect, the Mushroom Pokémon, and the evolved form of Paras," droned Red's Pokédex. "Parasect spreads a variety of spores from the mushroom on its back. It prefers damp spaces."
"Cool," grinned Red. Then he noticed something as the Pokédex displayed the list of Parasect's attacks. "Hey, guys, what is it with Pokémon learning new moves just after evolving, anyway? It always seems to happen."
Orange and Violet shrugged. "No idea," said Violet. "So Parasect learned something new?"
"Looks like it," grinned Red. "Use Spore!"
"Sect!" hissed Parasect as it unleashed a plume of blue dust from beneath its giant mushroom. Immediately, Doduo slumped to the ground, both heads asleep. Red took the cue at once, and produced an empty Poké Ball from his backpack.
"Poké Ball, go!" Red shouted as he hurled the sphere. Parasect scuttled out of the way as the ball made contact with Doduo, turned it into red energy, and sucked it in. The ball fell to the ground and wobbled back and forth for several tense seconds, before falling still.
"Nice," grinned Orange as Red scooped up the ball.
"Yeah!" Red exclaimed. "I did it, Doduo is mine!"
"Para Parasect!" added Parasect before Red called it back into its Poké Ball.