It was a long, tiring trip through the winding mountain pass for Arden and Gimpy, and it seemed to the former that they were stopped about every twenty feet by a trainer who wanted to battle. For most of these fights, Arden used Gimpy and won—however, there were a few occasions when he attempted to use Brain Damage and either had to switch his squirtle in, or else lose. On the occasions he lost, he felt a strange compulsion to pass out, and later awoke outside the Pokemon Centre, wondering just what had happened.
And so an already long path was made longer by the fact he had to keep starting at the beginning again.
"Squirt-le," said an exasperated Gimpy, the sixth time this happened.
"You're tellin' me," said Arden as he entered the canyon-like pass. He climbed along the inclines and declines of the trail, passing trainers he'd already beaten, and trying to avoid eye-contact with those he hadn't. In manner, he made his way to an area closed in by sheer cliffs on three sides, and a series of ledges along the other side which led up to a lonely Pokemon Centre.
"Who puts a Pokemon Centre out in the middle of nowhere?" asked Arden.
"Squirtle," said Gimpy, raising his little hands in a gesture similar to a shrug.
Arden started up the path to the Pokemon Centre, biting his lip. "You know what? This is exactly the sort of place you'd see in a horror movie," he said. "A little Pokemon Centre, all alone in the mountains, and it'd be night and there'd be a serial killer chasing promiscuous teens around and they'd try to hide in the Pokemon Centre, but the killer would already be in there."
Gimpy looked at his trainer doubtfully.
"It's true, Gimp. Hell, the only reason there aren't gruesome murders occurring now is that it isn't night. Come to think of it, it's never night here. ...Johto used to have night all the time. Er, well, at least every dozen hours, or so..."
He reached the Pokemon Centre and the automatic glass doors opened before them. Breathing heavy and sweaty from the hike up, Arden entered the building, rejoicing in the cool air within. He went to the counter, and the woman behind it smiled widely at him. "Hello, and welcome to the Pokemon Centre. May I heal your Pokemon for you?" she asked.
"Yeah," said Arden as he set Gimpy down on the counter. The nurse took him while Arden pulled the others' pokeballs from his belt and then—as an afterthought—he pulled Gimpy's pokeball off, as well and handed it to her with the rest.
"Thank you very much," said the nurse chipperly. "This will take a few minutes. Please have a seat—I'll call you when your pokemon are in fighting condition."
"Right, thanks," said Arden, turning toward the comfortable-looking chairs in one corner of the room. As he started toward them, a man grabbed his shoulder to stop him. Arden looked up at the man wearily.
"Is that all the pokemon you have?" asked the man. "I mean, I don't mean to be nosey, or nothin' like that, but I couldn't help but notice you only got three."
"Yeah, I've only got three," said Arden. Feeling somewhat defensive about it, he added, "What's it matter to you?"
"Well, I got a proposition that I thought you might like," said the man, reaching into one pocket. He pulled out a pokeball. "See, it seems to me that you've got some room on your team, and a smart young lad like yourself wouldn't pass up the chance to add a truly powerful pokemon to his team, now, right?"
"A powerful pokemon?" repeated Arden, starting at the pokeball in the man's hand.
"Yup."
"That?"
"Sure!'
Arden narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "If it's a powerful pokemon, how come you're giving it away?"
"Giving?" The man laughed at the idea and patted Arden on the head, much to the boy's annoyance. "Oh, no, lad, I'm not giving this rare and precious pokemon away. I'm selling it."
"How much?"
"Five hundred," said the man.
Arden frowned. "That sounds sort of cheap for a rare pokemon," he said. "Though, I guess I don't really know the going price of pokemon..."
"Exactly. You don't know," said the man, wagging a finger at him. "I, on the other hand, do know. I make a living at selling rare pokemon. Don't you think I know how much a rare pokemon is worth? It's my livelihood, lad!"
Arden tilted his head to one side. "That's a very good point."
"I really need to get going," said the man. He wiggled the pokeball in front of Arden's nose. "What's it going to be, lad? Are you going to let opportunity just walk away because of your infantile doubts? Pokemon trainers need strong pokemon and no pokemon is stronger than this pokemon."
"I don't know..."
"Well, that's rough," said the man, frowning and slowly bringing the pokeball back toward his pocket. "I guess that I'll have to go find somebody that wants to be a powerful trainer. It's a shame, though... Well, I'll see you 'round, lad."
The man started for the door, but Arden caught him by the sleeve with a yelp of, "No, wait!"
The man turned slowly back around, smiling. "Yes?" he asked.
"I—I will take that pokemon," said Arden, reaching into his pack and pulling out the money. "I want to be a powerful trainer! I want to be a very powerful trainer with powerful pokemon and a powerful life and powerful everything!"
The man grinned broadly as he took the money and counted it. Handing the pokeball to Arden, he said, "That's a good decision, lad, a very good decision. I can see you've got the head of a Pokemon League Champion on your shoulders." He slipped the money into his pocket and bowed with a flourish toward Arden. "Now, I bid you adieu, and I hope you don't forget me when you're a big, famous pokemon trainer."
Then, with the quick steps of one hoping to get far away before some fact is uncovered, the man left the Pokemon Centre. Arden turned the pokeball in his hands over. "I wonder what sort of pokemon it is?" he muttered aloud.
He pointed the pokeball at an empty path before him and was about to release the pokemon, when the nurse called to him, "Excuse me, little boy! Your pokemon are fighting fit!"
"Oh," said Arden, putting the pokeball he'd just received on his belt. He approached the counter and took the three pokeballs from the nurse. "Thanks. Say, do you know if I'm going the right way to get to Cerulean City?"
"Sure are," said the woman with a smile. Arden wondered to himself why these women always smiled. He sure wouldn't smile if this was his job. "Just go on through Mt. Moon and you'll be practically on top of it! Though, I would mind you be careful in Mt. Moon..."
"Why's that?" Arden asked, leaning against the counter. "Are there dangerous pokemon there?"
"Oh, no—it's nothing like that," she responded. "No, I'm afraid there are dangerous people there. A group called Team Rocket."
"Team Rocket? With that sort of name... I'm just not sure why I should be afraid of them," said Arden.
"Well, they wear all black, if that helps."
"Oh," said Arden. "Well, yes, it kind of does. Thanks, I'll be sure to steer clear of them."
"Good boy," said the nurse. "Have a nice day. We hope to see you again soon."