When I returned to the Pokémon centre again, Jolene was sitting upright on the bed. I hurried over, but my legs stopped moving when I was only a few feet away; there I remained, watching it quietly for a little while. It had not noticed me, because its back was turned and it was staring at a television set. Nothing was on.*
The nurse, however, laid eyes on me after a few seconds. "Why, hello there," she said. "Your Charmander is healthy and fresh now!"
From the metaphorical corner I now felt myself backed into, I squabbled a meagre "Um... Thanks, miss..." and felt my leg start twirling again. I tossed a very quick glance at my Pokémon.
It turned, and smiled innocently at me when it found me.
Once more, I had to shake myself, both mentally and in a very real sense. Then I stepped forward, and put my hand on its head.
"You all right?" I asked weakly; the realisations and new information from before had taken its toll and I felt rather wobbly.
"Jusssst fine," said the nurse. At least, that was what I figured, but I could not recall her having a hiss before. I blinked at her.
"Have a nice day!" she said.
Five minutes later, I was outside, and Jolene was standing right beside me, drawing fresh air. It was nearing evening by now, and dusk was slowly creeping up, but the whole of the sun was visible and would probably still be in half an hour.
And it struck me that I was on a journey. Two hundred metres away from home, granted, but still travelling.
Scratching my head, I glanced down. "Um, less go, then..."
We set off slowly. I was lost entirely in thought, and ambled far more than I walked - and I was thinking of what to do, and what the professor had said to me.
When he told me that I could have my license, whatever that was, revoked, I had thought that I hadn't wanted to capture too many Pokémon but at least get a few of them to travel with. Also that I was convinced by his words to not catch as many.
Now I realised that this was the wrong way around. Originally, I didn't want to catch a single one - and much as I disliked to admit it right now, that included Jolene - and, somehow, what the professor said somehow made me want to find more of the creatures. It made no sense at all. But perhaps it explained, to some extent, why I had bought Poké Balls. I wanted to capture Pokémon... But I still wasn't going to break Oak's guideline.
I let my eyes fall down and saw that Jolene was staring right at me, puzzled.
"Um..." I tried, hesitating. "How'd you like to, um... catch another Pokémon?"
This was, of course, a stupid thing to ask. There was nothing that said it would understand what I was talking about, but at least it made me feel better.
To my startlement, it responded with a comprehending nod. It was as though it knew perfectly well what I had asked.
"You don't, um... Unnerstand me, do you? Um..."
Another nod, although there was a hint of uncertainty to it. That, at the very least, was relieving.
Without saying another word, I headed down further, clearing one of the terrifying, horrifying ledges and entered a patch of grass. A tuft was rustling a little bit away. Was it a Rattata? They were cute... I hoped it was a Rattata.
A rush of green and purple happened, and then the rodent was standing a matter of mere feet away, watching us warily.
It was tiny, not much larger than my foot and perhaps a bit smaller than Mum's; most of its height was from its curled-up tail, which was standing almost straight up from its back. Its large teeth gleamed in the sunlight, but it cowered slightly.
It inched back as Jolene took a step forward, but I held out a hand to the Charmander.
Then, cautiously, I approached the purple Pokémon.
"Um... Hi," I said, hunching down in front of it. " 'm... Kim... I live down there... Who're you?"
It stared, completely perplexed. I had often before talked to the Rattata up here, and they had been a sort of company. However, then as now, they seemed not to get a word I was saying, which was very soothing. Stretching out an arm, I patted it gently on the head.
Quickly, I whipped a Poké Ball out of my pocket and held it to the Rattata, who nudged it curiously with its nose.
A brief flare of red later, and I had another Pokémon. Jolene came up to me, and gazed at the sphere.
"Um, hey..." I said, but quietly, " 't's jus' a Rattata... They're harmless..."
It did not break off the stare, so I bent down and patted its head, too. "Don' worry... Less go back to th' Pokémon centre, okay?"
After an unresponsive silence, I picked the ball up and turned towards Viridian, and heard the shuffle of feet behind me as Jolene came around and trailed me.
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* That is, the set was turned off. Generally speaking, this is a more entertaining alternative to watching the nothing that is on television when the power is on.