003 – The Carrier Pidgey

"Charmander! Scratch attack!"

Rattata rushed at Charmander, who raised his claws in the air in response to Landon's command –

– And covered his eyes.

"Charmander!" Landon cried in dismay. He suddenly realized that his Pokémon was shaking in fear. It was too late, and Rattata slammed into Charmander with a powerful Tackle attack. Charmander let out a cry and sprawled before Landon.

Landon knelt before his Pokémon. "Charmander, I'm sorry. Return." Charmander vanished back into his PokéBall.

Landon looked at the Rattata. Whether or not it had been an option, there was certainly no going back now. Rattata was angry and looked intent on battling, one way or the other. Somehow I thought this would be easier, thought Landon ruefully. Charmander may have been too fearful to fight, but Landon knew he had at least one Pokémon in his party who would be as ready to battle as this Rattata. Landon reached for another of his PokéBalls.

"Bulbasaur! I choose you!"

Landon threw the ball from his belt and in a flash, his Pokémon was standing before him.

"Wait . . . Squirtle?"

Indeed, the Pokémon that appeared was not his aggressive grass type, but his rather more relaxed water type. "Must've grabbed the wrong one," muttered Landon. It was a rookie mistake, but there was no time to fret now.

Rattata was already on the move, coming in with another Tackle attack. "Squirtle!" Landon cried. "Use Tackle!"

Squirtle let out a startled cry to see the angry rat rushing right at him. Rattata leapt into the air, careening bodily toward Squirtle, who teetered out of the way just in time for Rattata to sail past.

Landon gaped momentarily, not sure what to say. "Um . . . good dodge, Squirtle. But you really should use Tackle. Now's your chance."

Squirtle didn't seem too excited to jump in and throw himself at Rattata, who had by now regained footing from an unsuccessful assault and was preparing to strike once more. Rattata lunged forward – and Squirtle turned and ran. Landon watched in silence, equal parts horror and embarrassment, as Rattata chased Squirtle in circles, Squirtle crying out in fearful irritation, and Rattata growling on his heels. After a moment, Landon decided he'd seen enough.

"Squirtle, return! And Bulbasaur, come on out! . . . For real this time!"

As he spoke, Landon returned the ball now once more containing Squirtle to his belt and snagged the final PokéBall that hung there, tossing it before him. He had a brief moment of terror when he considered that he may have accidentally sent out Charmander again, but was rewarded with the sight of his grass type Pokémon, looking like he was ready to brawl.

Rattata barely missed a step, leaving the chase for Squirtle and sprinting towards Landon, before whom now stood Bulbasaur.

Landon knelt down behind his Pokémon. "Bulbasaur, I'm begging you: Please, use Tackle."

"Saur!" Bulbasaur grinned at Landon, before rushing headlong at the oncoming Rattata.

There was a dull crack as the two Pokémon literally met head on, their foreheads smacking against one another with such force that Landon nearly felt it himself. Their faces pressed against each other, the two Pokémon glared at one another, struggling to push the other back and desperate not to concede any ground.

Bulbasaur gave a mighty shove and sent Rattata back a few steps, but in the blink of an eye, Rattata had recovered and slammed back into Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur hadn't had time to brace himself, and was knocked to the ground with a cry.

Landon moved to go to his Pokémon, but Bulbasaur gave him a look before turning to face Rattata again. Bulbasaur rushed forward once more to Tackle the rat, but Rattata dodged left at the last second and landed yet another Tackle attack in Bulbasaur's side.

Bulbasaur landed on the ground with a thud. He was clearly hurt, shaking as he tried again to get back to his feet. Landon watched in dismay as Rattata prepared for another attack.

This was certainly not the way Landon had envisioned his journey starting. After nearly an hour of boredom and slowly growing exhaustion, he'd now found himself thrust into a fight against a Rattata that seemed more and more determined to get him. He'd figured that his three rare and powerful Pokémon could protect him from any threat, but he could've kicked himself for forgetting how young and inexperienced they were. Well, now he was in this situation, and he needed to find a way out – fast.

Rattata lunged forward, speeding toward Bulbasaur to land another ferocious Tackle attack. Bulbasaur, still struggling to get up, tried to prepare itself for impact.

Suddenly, something flew by Landon's face so fast that all he saw was a brown blur. He cried out, startled, but before he could see what it was that had flown past, a cloud of dust appeared, as if a bomb had gone off.

Landon coughed and covered his eyes from the stinging sand, and nearly jumped out of his skin as a hand grabbed his wrist.

"Come on!"

Landon had no idea who had grabbed him, but he was now being dragged through the cloud of sand.

"Wait!" Landon cried, coming to his senses. "My Bulbasaur. We have to get him."

But there was no reply, and the mystery hand just kept pulling. Landon tried to pull back, but then whoever it was gave a mighty yank and Landon came toppling out of the sand cloud.

He saw a boy with brown hair pushed up in front. The boy was wearing a white t-shirt and khaki shorts, and was looking at Landon with dark eyes.

"Bulbasaur," Landon croaked, coughing from the sand in his mouth.

"It's ok," said the kid, and as if on cue, Bulbasaur came running from the dust, followed by a bird Pokémon. Landon recognized the Pokémon as a Pidgey, and then realized that it must have been this Pidgey which had flown in front of his face.

"Recall your Pokémon," the boy continued, and Landon did as he was told. Bulbasaur vanished in a beam of red light. "Now let's get out of here!"

Landon ran alongside the boy and his Pidgey, wondering exactly who he was and why he'd rescued Landon but thankful for the help nonetheless. They ran until they were panting and sure that Rattata hadn't followed. They finally stopped, breathing hard, and looked to one another. Landon wiped the sweat and dirt from his face, and Pidgey came to rest on the boy's shoulder.

"Who are you?" Landon gulped.

"I'm Petey, and this here's my Pidgey."

Landon tried to slow his beating heart. "I'm Landon. Thanks for saving me back there."

Petey patted his Pidgey on the head. "You can thank Pidgey. What were you doing, messing around with that Rattata?"

"I don't know," Landon shrugged. "I was just resting on a rock and it jumped out and attacked me. I decided to battle it with my Pokémon, but it was too strong."

"No kidding," Petey laughed. "Most Pokémon in this area are pretty low level, but that Rattata was a lot stronger."

Landon scratched his head. "Why was it attacking me? It seemed really angry."

"That was a mother. I think you were sitting too close to its babies and it wanted you away."

Landon was a little frustrated that all of that had been caused by, essentially, a misunderstanding of Landon's intent, but he was just happy to have gotten away relatively unscathed.

"It looks like your Bulbasaur got pretty banged up," continued Petey.

Landon grimaced. "Yeah."

"Here you go." Petey knelt down and pulled something out of a pouch he had round his waist. It was a small, single-use spray bottle, purple on the bottom and white on the top. "Take this Potion. That should help Bulbasaur feel a lot better."

"Thanks," Landon said, surprised by the generosity of the young boy.

He released Bulbasaur from his PokéBall and sprayed the Potion gently on the cuts and bruises Bulbasaur had sustained. Bulbasaur seemed instantly to feel better, and lay down looking content.

Landon turned to his savior. "What were you doing out here?"

Petey shrugged. "I was hanging out with Pidgey here. We were training and then we heard a commotion and found you fighting that Rattata."

Landon perked up. "You were training? You must be a Pokémon trainer! Me too!"

Petey chuckled to himself. "I won't be a Pokémon trainer for a few years – I'm only eight. Petey is my Pokémon, that's true, but I won't be able to register as a trainer for two more years."

"How'd you get your Pidgey?" asked Landon.

"My family. We've always trained Pidgey."

"Is Pidgey your favorite Pokémon?"

"Absolutely!" Petey proudly declared, and Pidgey on his shoulder gave a chirp of approval. "My family has trained Pidgey for years. We're one of the last great providers of carrier Pidgey."

Landon gave him a confused look. "What's a carrier Pidgey?"

Petey gaped back at him, and Pidgey chirped indignantly. "What do you mean, what's a carrier Pidgey? It's a Pidgey that delivers mail and small packages all over the world!"

Landon scratched his head in confusion. "That seems like it would sound more familiar than it does. Are you sure that's a real thing?"

"OF COURSE I'M SURE!" Petey shouted, causing Landon and Bulbasaur to jump in surprise. "Carrier Pidgeys are perhaps the world's oldest form of mail. Pidgey is known to be a very smart Pokémon, and people realized they could tell it how to get somewhere and then have it return home. They started attaching messages or small, lightweight packages and carrier Pidgeys were born!"

Landon was still unsure. "Yeah, but what about today? I mean, most mail is delivered some other way, and most packages would be too big and heavy for a Pidgey to carry. Really, most people send mail online and make calls instead of writing, anyway."

Petey suddenly looked downcast. "I know. It's all true. The carrier Pidgey trade isn't what it used to be. But it's still an important service used by people. It's way more fun to get a letter when it's brought to you by an adorable Pidgey."

Landon had to concede that this idea was far more attractive than walking to the mailbox. "So, you want to train your Pidgey to be a carrier?"

"That's right!" Petey grinned. "That way, Pidgey can see the world!"

"I wanna see the world, too," Landon replied. "That's one of the reasons why I decided to become a Pokémon trainer. If you became a trainer too, you could see the world with Pidgey once you turn ten."

Petey seemed at a loss for a moment. "I guess that's true . . . but I'm not ready to give up on my dreams of training a great carrier Pidgey just yet."

"No way!" Landon agreed. "You should definitely follow your dreams. Whatever is best for you and Pidgey, I'm sure you'll be happy."

Petey and Pidgey exchanged a look. "All we've got to do is make sure Pidgey here is strong enough. It's tough, flying all over the world carrying people's words. Pidgey needs to be strong so he can withstand the winds and rain, so he can endure long flights and deliver the mail quickly."

"So you come out here and train to get stronger," Landon finished. "That's great." Suddenly, Landon felt inspiration creeping over him. "If you need to toughen up your Pidgey, we should have a battle!"

Petey smiled. "That would be cool – but your Bulbasaur looks pretty tired."

"Don't worry about that," Landon said, reaching for another PokéBall. "Come on out, Charmander!"

Petey looked surprised. "Wow, you've got a Bulbasaur and a Charmander?"

"Yeah," Landon replied proudly. "Professor Oak gave them to me as a gift for my birthday yesterday."

"That's a pretty sweet present," Petey muttered, unable to hide the hint of envy that crept into his voice. He got to his feet. "All right. If Pidgey here wants to battle, we'll do it!" He looked to Pidgey, who chirped excitedly.

"All right, Charmander, Scratch attack!" Landon cried.

"Pidgey, use Tackle!" Petey called.

Pidgey began flying right at Charmander, who let out a fearful cry and ducked, just as Pidgey swooped overhead.

"Good dodge, Charmander," Landon laughed nervously, trying to stay positive. "Now you can go on the offensive."

But Charmander was shivering in the dirt, and Pidgey was wheeling round in the sky, coming back for another attack.

Landon looked at his cowering companion compassionately. If he didn't do something, Charmander would lie there and take a hit, and Landon couldn't imagine that would be very helpful in raising his Pokémon's self-confidence.

"Charmander! You can do it! I believe in you!"

Charmander opened an eye and cast a fear-ridden gaze at Landon. Landon stared back, mustering what he hoped was a look of encouragement and confidence. Slowly, Charmander stood up on shaky legs and turned to face Pidgey, who was now ready to attack again.

Pidgey swooped forward, ready to Tackle once more. Charmander looked like he might flee, but then he glanced again at Landon and turned to face the quickly approaching foe. As Pidgey drew near, Landon could see Charmander readying his claws. Just before Pidgey contacted with Charmander, Charmander dodged to the side and raked his claws across Pidgey's underbelly. Pidgey let out a caw of surprise and pain as it shot past.

"Pidgey!" Petey cried out.

Landon jumped in the air joyously. "Great job, Charmander!" Charmander smiled and jumped too.

"This isn't over yet," Petey yelled. "Pidgey, use Sand Attack!"

Pidgey flapped its wings furiously, and another burst of sand appeared, obscuring Landon's view. So this is how he'd saved them earlier today. Landon peered into the sand, hoping to see Charmander, but he couldn't. He heard Petey instruct Pidgey to use another Tackle attack, and Landon spent a panicked second wondering what to do.

"Charmander!" he called desperately. "Close your eyes and listen! When you hear Pidgey coming, use your Scratch attack!"

Landon peered into the sand, watching as it dissipated. He could just barely make out the light emanating from Charmander's tail – a disadvantage in situations like this – when he heard Charmander cry out. His breath caught in his throat as the sand began to disperse in the light breeze, fearfully waiting to see his defeated Pokémon.

When the sand cleared, he saw Charmander lying on the ground, rubbing its head – and Pidgey lying on the ground nearby, looking exhausted and beaten. Landon and Petey ran to their respective partners and snatched them up. It looked like both attacks had landed simultaneously – a draw.

"Way to go, Pidgey," Petey cooed.

Landon hugged Charmander tightly. "Good job, buddy. I'm proud of you." Charmander nuzzled close to Landon in response.

Petey produced another pair of Potions to revitalize Charmander and Pidgey, and then Landon announced that he'd best be on his way to Viridian City.

"I think I'll stay here and train a little more today," Petey replied. "But you're in luck. You should see Viridian City really soon if you just keep heading that way."

"Awesome," Landon smiled. "Thanks for your help, Petey, and for the Pokémon battle."

Petey laughed. "No, thank you. Pidgey's looking stronger than ever. He's gonna be ready to work as a carrier Pidgey in no time!"

The boys shook hands, and Landon continued on his way, smiling to himself at how well today had turned out. He walked for some time, but it wasn't terribly long before Landon could see buildings in the distance. Feeling renewed at the sight, Landon broke into a run. He found himself on a ridge looking down at his first real stop on his journey – Viridian City.

Viridian City was somewhat quaint and residential. It wasn't massive like some of the cities he'd heard of, but it was much larger than Pallet Town. Landon saw the red and blue roofs indicative of the Pokémon Center and PokéMart. He even thought he caught a glimpse of a building with an Indigo League symbol, and remembered that there was indeed a Pokémon Gym in Viridian City. Perhaps in the morning he would be challenging the gym leader for his very first badge.

Landon thought back on the adventure of the day. It had turned out so differently than expected, going from lonely to dangerous, but in the end it had all worked out, and Landon had even managed to make a friend along the way. He smiled to himself, thinking that this journey might just turn out to be the dream come true he'd hoped it would be after all.

And then he started walking the rest of the way to Viridian City.

Who's That Pokémon?

#016 Pidgey

Normal/Flying Type

Tiny Bird Pokémon

1'00", 4.0lbs

Pokédex: It is docile and prefers to avoid conflict. If disturbed, however, it can ferociously strike back.