She led him about twenty yards away towards the cliff bordering the sea that's Pallet Town was near. On a jutting, about fifteen feet down was a man in his late thirties or so in a brown business type suit, with slicked brown hair and a pained look on his face. He was clutching his leg, which was twisted at an odd angle.
Thinking fast, Harry grabbed some vines from the trees, tying them together and to the tree. He then grabbed a longer piece and a couple pieces of flat wood. Strapping his materials to his back, Harry grabbed the vine and started to climb down the side of the cliff. "Stay here Persian."
"I will, just help Gio."
Slowly, Harry rappelled down the rocky face, eventually landing right beside the man. He didn't open his eyes until he felt Harry start to splint his leg. Harry glanced up to see dark brown eyes watching him, the pained glaze slowly leaving.
"Hello, I'm Harry. Your Persian came and got me." The man nodded.
"Thank you Harry, I am Giovanni. I was taking a nice walk when that rock gave way."
The emerald eyed boy finished fixing up Giovanni's leg as best he could, "That should work for now. We just need to get you…back…ah crud. We can't get back up." Harry said sheepishly. "Didn't think that far, there's no way I can get you back up the cliff, and you can't climb yourself." Giovanni moved to lean against the rock and smirked.
"Well. My little rescuer, what do you plan to do?" Harry chewed his lip thoughtfully, and then looked up.
"Persian! We can't get up ourselves, could you go and get some Pokémon to help us?"
"Alright." She replied, running off.
"Well, who knows when she'll be back. So what do you do for a living Mr. Giovanni?" Harry asked, trying to start a conversation.
"I am the head of Team Rocket." Confused, Harry asked him to explain. "You don't know what Team Rocket is?" Giovanni asked surprised.
"Nope, I've never heard of it."
"Team Rocket is a multi-billion-dollar corporation. We deal with everything from clothing to food to technology and everything in between." Harry heard what Giovanni wasn't saying,
"Team Rocket also does criminal work too doesn't it?" He sat there with a smirk. Giovanni smirked back, liking the boy more.
"We do, because we need powerful Pokémon but don't have the time to train them to the capacity they need to be. We steal them from Trainers." The raven haired boy sat back with a thoughtful frown.
"Stealing happy and healthy Pokémon from Trainers that they love is kind of stupid; you'll have a hard time making them listen to you. On the other hand, if you stole unhappy and abused Pokémon from their Trainers, they'll be more likely to obey you and trust you because you saved them. You would have to help through the traumatic experience they went through, but that's a small price to pay." Harry finished with a nod. Giovanni sat shocked for several moments.
"You're absolutely right Harry, why haven't we seen that before?" He watched amused as the child blushed and muttered something incoherently. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, Giovanni going through Harry's ideas, and Harry wondering what Delila was going to say when he got back.
"I'm back!" Persian called. Harry looked up to see her with a couple Bulbasaur and a Machoke, all of whom he recognized from Oak's pasture.
"Can you throw down a vine and help us get up?" Harry called back.
"Sure thing, hold on!" The Bulbasaur called, using vine-whip. Two sets of vines wrapped gently but tightly around the humans on the cliff, securing them in their grip. Carefully, Machoke started to pull them up. After a few close calls, they were up and over.
"Thanks you guys." Harry said gratefully. Persian went to her Trainer and was checking him to make sure he was alright.
"You're welcome Harry, come visit us some time." Machoke said, walking off with the Grass-types.
Harry turned around to check on the Rocket Boss, who was leaning against a tree watching with interest. Persian came over and started licking Harry's face.
"Persian! Come on stop that, it tickles!"
"Thank you, cub, for helping my Trainer." She said, amused, and continued to lick him.
"You're welcome Persian, now please stop licking me. We need to take Giovanni to the hospital." The two moved to either side of the man and let him use them as makeshift crutches. Slowly, they made their way to get Giovanni treatment.
"Thank you Harry, that was brave of you to come and help me. Where did you learn to bandage like that? Not many teens would even know what a splint was."
Harry replied in a monotone voice, "My relatives weren't the nicest of people…let's leave it at that. Though I'll never have to see them again thankfully. I now live with a much nicer person, Ms. Ketchum." His tone lightened at the end. The small group made it to the hospital. "Well Mr. Giovanni, this is where I leave you. Maybe we'll see each other again." Harry said, giving a hug to Persian before he left. While Giovanni was being checked over by the doctors, he mused to Persian,
"What an unusual youth, Persian. Kind, brave, thoughtful, and an intuitive mind you don't normally see. I also believe he's hiding more than he lets on. We'll have to make sure we see him again."
"Sian." Persian agreed, purring at the thought of her new 'cub'.
Even running, it took Harry ten minutes to make it to the house, which had Delila standing outside worriedly.
"Harry! Where have you been, I've been calling you for twenty minutes." She reached out and pulled him into a hug.
"I'm sorry Ms. Ketchum. I ran into this Persian whose Trainer had broken his leg. I helped him get to the hospital and it just took a while." Harry explained, though his voice was muffled.
"Alright, but please be careful. Now come inside, dinner is ready and Mr. Mime really wants to eat." She said with a smile.
A week later
"Harry, Professor Oak just called, he wants you at the lab for something." Delila called. "Go ahead and head on over, I still have some cleaning to do."
"Alright." Harry called, putting on his shoes and heading out. Enjoying the bright day, he walked leisurely to the Pokémon lab, greeting the occasional person he passed. Outside the lab though was something different, a long black limo with flags on it with red 'R's. Shrugging, he walked up the steps and headed inside and was surprised when he was attacked by something with cream-colored fur.
"Cub! How are you?"
"Just fine Persian." Harry grinned and coughed out. "Would love the use of my lungs though…"
"Whoops." Persian said, getting off. She just smirked at Harry before grooming his hair.
"Come on Persian, I just had it the way I liked it!" The boy said, playfully swatting at the Pokémon. "Do you know where Professor Oak is?"
"Yes, he's with Gio, come on. The Professors was excited about something." Persian said, leading the way. Heading towards Oak's office, she walked right in, heading towards her Trainer. The two looked up as Harry walked in, both giving him a smile (though to Harry Giovanni's looked unused, but it still had warmth in it)
"Hello Professor Oak, Mr. Giovanni. Ms. Ketchum said you wanted to see me about something Prof.?"
"Yes Harry." Oak said. "Delila and I got to talking and we believe it would do you a lot of good to see the world, and we figured being a Pokémon Trainer would be a great way to go. We want you to go on your own Pokémon Journey in the same region her son Ash is in, Omnera." Oak said smiling. "So what do you say?" Harry was grinning ear to ear.
"That'd be fantastic sir, and I would love to!"
"Wonderful! Now the reason why you came here today, follow me. Giovanni, you're more than welcome to come too." Oak walked out and down a hallway, the two humans and Pokémon following behind.
"Why are you here Mr. Giovanni?" Harry asked, glancing up. "And how are you healed so fast? I thought your leg was broken."
"It was just a bad sprain, a few days off and it's as good as new. Persian and I came here today to find and thank you for what you did, but since you're going to start your own journey, we'll take you shopping for it. And I won't hear another word otherwise." He finished with a smirk.
Harry sighed, knowing it would be useless to argue with the man. He had the air of someone who believed that if you're stubborn enough you could get a mountain to move.
"Whatever you say." Giovanni smirked wider in victory. Harry just rolled his eyes. Oak finally came to a stop in the back of the lab where he would give the starters to new Trainers.
"Normally, I would give you a Charmander, Squirtle, or a Bulbasaur, but we don't have any. But I believe I can do you one better." He handed Harry a Pokeball. "Open it."
Doing so, Harry was a little shocked at what came out. A small, brown Pokémon with dark brown, almost black eyes started up at him, sort of reminding Harry of a fox. Giving a coo of delight, the Pokémon jumped into Harry's arms and started to cuddle.
"That, Harry, is called an Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon." Oak started to explain. "It evolves through the use of stones. Very loyal to their Trainer and also quite cute."
"Hello there handsome." Harry greeted, tickling his new Pokémon. "I'm Harry, your new Trainer."
"Hi Harry!" Eevee said happily, escaping Harry's fingers and climbing up onto his shoulder.
"You'll also need this, a Pokedex. It has information on every Pokémon in Kanto; you just need to point it and it'll open and tell you what you should know about it." Oak said, handing Harry a small red, rectangle object made of metal. Harry slid it into his pocket. "Now you go on ahead and go with Giovanni to Viridian. I'll tell Delila where you went to."
"Thanks Professor Oak!" Harry said, hugging the man gratefully.
"Come on Harry," Giovanni said chuckling. "We got some shopping to do." He led the excited boy to the limo. "Head to the Viridian store." He said to the driver as he got in, Persian right behind him. Harry climbed in last, talking to Eevee and paying no attention to what was happening around him.
As they drove out of Pallet, the Rocket Head finally noticed that Harry seemed to be talking with his Eevee, and he seemed to be talking back.
"Harry, can you understand Pokémon?" Harry suddenly turned very shy.
"Yes sir, it's an ability I've always had. Professor Oak, Ms. Ketchum and now you are the only humans who know I can."
"Incredible, you must be psychic in some way to be able to do this." Seeing that the topic was a little difficult for Harry, he turned it to the cities in Kanto and the Gym Leaders. Harry listened with rapt attention and the trip passed quickly.
"We're here Harry." Giovanni said, dragging Harry's attention from Persian and Eevee. The three had been in a deep discussion about battling from he could gather. "Let's head inside." Getting out of the limo with Eevee on his shoulder, both gawked at the size of the store.
"This place is huge!" He breathed, his Pokémon agreeing with him. Both Persian and Giovanni chuckled.
"It's actually a bit small, but the right size for Viridian. You go with Persian and pick out clothes and anything she suggests. I'll start getting your supplies to take care of yourself and your Pokémon. Persian," He looked at the feline Pokémon, "Money is of no concern, spoil your cub." He chuckled and walked off.
"Let's go Harry, I'm gonna have fun with this." Persian purred out, walking down isles. She had Harry set a double basket over her back, perfect for many purchases. They went down the clothing isle and Persian began muttering, pacing back and forth. "Jeans and sneakers definitely as you'll be travelling quite a bit. You'll also need short-sleeve shirts, maybe one or two long sleeve…your colors are more jewel tone, we must get a couple shirts to match your beautiful eyes…" Persian trailed off, having Harry pull one clothing article after another and putting it into the basket.
"Persian, I think we got enough." Harry said chuckling. The two baskets were nearly filled. "Remember I also need to carry this stuff too."
"That reminds me, we need to get you a back pack." Persian said, walking down another isle, this one filled with back packs for every type of occasion. The two paced up and down a few times, neither one finding what they wanted.
"What about that one, behind the yellow back pack?" Eevee suggested perched on top of Harry's head. The human moved aside the banana yellow eye sore to see what the Pokémon was talking about. He and Persian gasped at the beautiful artwork on the black back pack. Silver stitching etched out the Legendary Pokémon, tribal style. Pulling it down and opening it up, the three were impressed by the size of it. It looked like it could hold all of Harry's clothes and then some, plus it had pockets all over the place, perfect for the supplies Giovanni was getting. Putting it on, Harry was pleased that it wasn't bulky or towered over his head.
"This is perfect Eevee. We'll get it." Harry complimented, heading off to find the Rocket Head.
"Indeed cub, you have quite the eye." Persian said beside him. The Evolution Pokémon just blushed and hid in Harry's hair.
"There you are; did you find everything you wanted?" Giovanni asked walking around a corner, the basket on his arms piled with different purchases.
"Yes we did, and Eevee picked out this awesome back pack!" Harry said enthusiastically, showing him. The brunette admired their find.
"Very impressive, this will suit you perfectly. Let's get this all paid for and packed into the limo. Then I thought we might enjoy a short walk before heading to Pallet."
The cashier was in shock at the amount of stuff they got, but rang them out quickly. Putting everything in the trunk of the limo, Giovanni told the driver where he could pick them up in half an hour and he walked off with the teen and Pokémon.
"Viridian is really nice, Mr. Giovanni." Harry said, admiring the scenery.
"That is it Harry, and you really don't need to add the 'Mr.'." Giovanni chuckled. "'Giovanni' works just fine."
Harry blushed, "Yes sir, it just feels weird addressing you without it…is there a Gym here? I don't remember you saying if there was or not."
Giovanni nodded, "There is, usually Trainers come here last for their eighth badge. I am the Gym Leader here, the strongest one in Kanto."
The raven's eyes grew wide, "Wow…" Not knowing what to say, he just left it at that, blushing when Giovanni smirked at his speechlessness. The group walked in silence for a little while, Eevee riding Persian, when something nudged at the edge of Harry's mind. "Huh?" He stopped and looked around. They were on the edge of the forest; on the other side of it would be Cerulean.
"What's wrong Harry?" Giovanni asked concerned. Harry frowned, heading into the trees.
"I'm not sure…if feels like something's calling me…" Harry with the other three following him headed a little ways into the forest, eventually stopping at a large tree with a huge gap in its roots. The boy walked nearer to peek into the whole, and gasped at what he saw. A large white, cream, dark and ice blue Egg was sitting in a half made nest. The rest of the area looked disused. Gently, Harry gathered the egg and hugged it, warming it with his body heat.
"I've never seen an Egg that color before." Giovanni observed, and then looked into the hole. "The nest looks like it hasn't been used in ages, most likely abandoned at some point. I would advise you to take the Egg Harry, otherwise it could die."
"I will, I'll take it to Professor Oak tomorrow for him to look at." Harry said, still holding the Egg. Eevee hopped onto his shoulder and started sniffing the Egg, Persian doing so as well.
"The Pokémon inside still lives and is healthy from what I can sense." She told Harry, who nodded gratefully.
The trip back to Pallet was spent by Giovanni explaining more about the Gym Leaders and their styles of battling, even his own, though Harry and Eevee were both nearly asleep when they arrived at Delilah's. Giovanni made sure they got inside, and then drove back to Viridian.
The Next Day
After finishing his chores, Harry gathered the Egg from the mountain of blankets he had kept it in and headed off to the PokeLab, hugging the Egg close.
"Professor Oak! Are you here?" He called when he arrived.
"Harry! What brings you here today?" Oak's voice echoed from somewhere. The old man popped up from behind a desk, a sheepishly look on his face. "Can't find my pen anywhere…what do you need?" Harry showed him the Egg and Oak's eyes grew wide with interest.
"This, I found it after Giovanni and I finished shopping yesterday. We were taking a walk and I felt something…calling me I guess you could call it. I followed it to a tree and under its roots was the Egg, abandoned by what Giovanni could tell. I was hoping you could look it over." Oak took the Egg carefully.
"Of course I will. By the looks of it the baby inside appears just fine, but we'll do some tests just to make sure, as well as find out what Pokémon this is. In all my years I've never seen coloring like this on an Egg." Harry chuckled at the excited Pokémon Expert.
"Alright, well I'll be going then. Have fun Professor!" He called, walking out and back to Delilah's. Parked outside the house he recognized Giovanni's limo. Walking in, he saw the Rocket Head with Persian, talking to Delila, and three new comers. A woman with long magenta red hair sticking out and curving at the bottom, a man with shoulder-length purple hair, and a small cat-like Pokémon, its fur the same color as Persian, with a large gold oval on its head. The man and woman wore the same type of uniform with a red R on their chests, the Pokémon stood on its hind legs.
"Uh...hi, I'm Harry." He said awkwardly, staring at them all. The woman moved first, grabbing Harry in a tight hug.
"Cute! You are just plain adorable! And your eyes are to die for!" She continued to gush like this for a few seconds before Harry managed to get away, hiding behind the purple-haired man.
"Is she always like this?" He asked eyes wide.
"This is new for us too kid. Name's James, you just met Jesse." James said with a grin, ruffling Harry's hair, who tried to flatten the mess unsuccessfully.
"I'm Meowth!" The Pokémon introduced himself, speaking like a human. Harry didn't even bat an eye and shook Meowth's paw with a smile, causing him to grin.
Harry sat down on the end of the table, one hand scratching Persian behind the ear, the other one scratching Meowth's (who had jumped into his lap).
"Why are you here Giovanni?" He asked curiously.
Giovanni smiled ('Getting easier to do' Harry noticed), "Delila is an old friend of mine, and I came to see her because we haven't spoken in ages. My employees showed up with an interesting find. A strangely marked Pokeball they couldn't open. They heard I was in the area and came to show me. We were about to do so when you showed up, but now you can see as well."
Jesse dug into her pocket and pulled out the mentioned Pokeball. It had the same coloring as a regular Pokeball, but it was reversed. "We found it in the mountains in this beaten shack, just sitting there on the floor. We tried everything to open it but nothing worked."
"Interesting," Giovanni murmured, taking the ball. He tried pressing the button, but it was solidly stuck. He passed it to Delila after a minute for her to try, though she didn't have much better luck, and passed it back.
"Strange Pokeball…Harry would you like to try?"
"Sure, nothing to lose." Harry shrugged, taking the Pokeball from the man. The second it touched his hands, the stripes glowed with an eerie light. "Okay…that's weird."
"That may be a sign Harry can open the Pokeball." James noted.
Jesse nodded, "Try to open it kid."
"Not in here, we have no clue what Pokémon it is, if it's too big, it could damage the house." Delila said with a frown.
"Quite right Del, let's head out back." Giovanni said, getting up and walking out the back door, the others following him. "Alright Harry."
Harry pushed the button and threw the Pokeball. Out came a mammal-like Pokémon. Its white body is covered in dark blue fur, with a ruff around its neck and chest, and a tuft on the top of its head adorned with a single white oval. It had a cat-like face, a scythe-like tail and a sickle-shaped growth on the side of its head. Its broad, circular feet are equipped with three claws each, and spikes protrude from the heels of its hind legs and the elbows of its anterior legs. Its head resembled a Yin-Yang. It stared at them all with piercing red eyes.
"Who has awakened me from my slumber, I who have lived since the creation of Pokémon?" She demanded in a powerful but soft voice.
"I did." Harry said as brave as he could. He brought out his new Pokedex while the Pokémon studied him. Absol, the Disaster Pokémon. Absol live in steep mountainous regions, and rarely venture down into areas inhabited by humans, but should an Absol be seen by humans, it is said that catastrophe is soon to follow. This Pokémon will also care for baby Pokémon and human children as their own. When the Pokedex finished, Harry absently thinking that the Absol in front of him had reverse coloring than the one in the picture, Absol's eyes started to glow with an eerie light. Harry felt some sort of presence in his mind, not hurting but felt more like it was looking at something. He finally felt the presence vanish as quickly as it came.
"Your heart is true; your soul is filled with kindness. I accept you as my Trainer." Absol said. Grinning Harry returned her and turned to the others.
"Well, that was interesting. I'm famished, anyone up for dinner?" Giovanni, Persian, Delila and Harry all laughed at the response from Jesse, James, and Meowth, who all scrambled back into the house excitedly.