Disclaimer: Pokemon does not belong to me. Last I checked, Pokemon belonged to Satoshi Tajiri. The only things I claim ownership to are the own characters in this story.
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DUNNE DAYS
Part 6: Viridian
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* * * 10:22 - 7 June 2004 * * *
"Well, this is my house," Yuuki said, coming to a stop before the 24th house on Aqua Drive.
A sign above the door read "Kenji Tsubasa", causing Brown to look at Yuuki cynically.
"Kenji?" Brown asked, causing Yuuki to laugh.
"My dad's name," Yuuki said. "The houses on this street are all jumbled up, so we have to rely on putting our names outside."
Brown chuckled nervously, and started up the thin cobbled path with the Youngster.
The door swung inwards before they could set their feet on the rather long doorstep, a plump man with a black beard and thinning hair standing in a bomber jacket and baggy trousers.
"Hey, dad!" Yuuki greeted with a grin on his face.
"Yuuki, you're late…" the man, Kenji Tsubasa apparently, chastised, but the grin on his face revealed that he wasn't really angry.
Brown shuffled his feet uncertainly, causing Kenji to look at him for the first time. "You brought another stray home?" he asked Yuuki.
The Youngster laughed, replying, "Nah, this is my new friend, Brown. We just battled on Route 1 and he won!"
Kenji held out a hand for Brown, who accepted it gingerly. "Any friend of my son's is a good person for sure!" he chuckled, before ending the handshake. "Good shake, fine man." he noted, nodding.
"Thanks," Brown said uncertainly.
The man jabbed a thick finger at himself, "Kenji Tsubasa, worker at Viridian City Poké Mart."
"Germinator!" Bulbasaur chimed happily, glad to meet a new person.
"Hullo!" Kenji said gruffly, looking down at Brown's Bulbasaur. "Who's this little fellow then?"
"Um… my Bulbasaur," Brown replied.
"Hey, Brown," Yuuki said suddenly, another laugh escaping his lips. "Tell dad Bulbasaur's nickname!"
Kenji looked down at the two boys and the Pokémon as Brown spoke, "Uh… Germinator."
"Germinator?" the man's face was blank for a moment then he hurried back inside without a backwards glance, slamming the door in his son's face. He returned later with what Brown recognised as a DVD, titled "Terminator".
Kenji's face was furious. "How dare you spread bad influences into my child! "Germinator" is far too close a name to "Terminator", an 18 rated film! Yuuki is only 9, not old enough to be watching videos like this! I won't have you hanging around my son anymore." the man ranted and Brown stared, mouth agape, not knowing what he had done wrong.
"Dad! You got me Call of Duty and didn't complain! Why is this different?"
Kenji dismissed this with a wave of his hand. "That's just a video game." without saying another word, his strong arms came down to pick Yuuki up and drag him inside the house.
"Dad!" Yuuki protested, struggling to get down.
The door slammed shut on Brown once more, and he slowly backed away.
"Get out of here, you vagabond!" Kenji yelled through the letterbox, and Brown fled.
* * * 10:30 - 7 June 2004 * * *
Viridian City was a charming little city with many streets crisscrossing in the general direction of the central plaza, where Brown was headed. He had seen signs advertising various places, with only one of the names settling into his head.
Viridian City Gym was in the North part of the city's central plaza, and claimed to be the "toughest Gym in Kanto". Indeed, the Gym Leader had previously been the Indigo League Champion, and so Trainers who beat it were guaranteed a shot at the League, even if they had not collected any other Badges.
The sole problem was the absence of the Gym Leader.
Due to complaints, the Leader had been forced to put signs up informing people that the Gym was closed whenever he went out. To do this he sent out various Pokémon; be they anything from a Spearow to a Rhyperior, from a Magikarp to a Tangrowth.
Brown first noticed these Pokémon as he passed a small blue roofed building just before the entrance to the large square where the Gym was located. He could see a Rhyhorn suddenly pop out of the ground and drill a small piece of paper above the sign informing Brown he was travelling along Viridian Lane.
Brown strode towards the sign, curious to see what the Rhyhorn was doing. It turned and gave Bulbasaur a friendly nod with its head and jumped back into the hole it had made.
""Gym closed for Leader's Training schedule. Sorry for any inconvenience. Temporary Gym Leader will arrive within one week."" Brown read.
The note looked like it had been written in a rush, but the fancy writing was still there. An image of the Gym Badge - the Earth Badge - had been placed on each corner, and the paper was the same colour as the city's name.
"Looks like we're not going to this Gym just yet, Germinator," he noted to Bulbasaur.
He then turned and walked up a side road, towards a building with a blue roof.
* * * 11:09 - 7 June 2004 * * *
Blue hummed to himself as his Rhyhorn returned from the job he had sent it on.
"And that's the last one," he told his Charizard as he returned the Rhyhorn to its Poke Ball.
A girl caught his attention, and he sighed.
"Hello, Ruri…" he muttered.
"BLUE! YOU IDIOT! YOUR DUMB POKEMON STUCK ONE OF YOUR NOTICES ON MY WINDOW!" the raven haired girl yelled, said notice in her hand as she approached.
"Ruri, I'm sorry that my Pokémon attached a notice to your house, but I must let the Trainers know of my absence somehow!" he paused before adding. "And, as you're aware, your house is a major hotspot for older Trainers…"
"There aren't any Trainers in the house though are there!" Ruri retorted.
"No, but one does have a home there, if I'm not mistaken," Blue held back a smile… Ruri didn't like those.
"Dad's too ill to be a Trainer!"
"No, not him."
"Mum's busy!"
"I mean your brother. He came to me seeking approval to set out. He said he had had enough of your father controlling him."
Ruri turned around, a mean look on her face, "In that case! I'm going to go become a Trainer too!"
She walked away, pushing a brown haired boy who was walking up the alleyway with his Bulbasaur.
Blue's Charizard snorted, a flame escaping its snout, and Blue patted it.
"There, there… She'll never beat us," the Leader said, a smirk on his face.
"Excuse me, is this the Poké Mart?"
Blue turned to the questioning boy, the brown haired boy with the Bulbasaur.
"Yeah, that's right," Blue nodded.
"Finally! I knew it had a blue roof but…" the young Trainer shook his head.
"Heh, you probably found the Police Station… or the Trainer House… the Gym?"
"I was going to the Gym but I found a notice… said it was shut."
"Yep, the Leader's got to train too, right?"
The boy nodded. "I suppose…"
"You from around here?" Blue asked, eying the young Trainer.
"Pallet Town," the boy replied simply. "I started my adventure today…"
"You wouldn't happen to know a boy called Blake, would you?"
"Yeah, I know him…" the boy frowned. "Me and my Germinator managed to beat him… he said he wanted to become a coordinator."
"Germinator?" Blue repeated blankly.
"My Bulbasaur."
"Ah," Blue nodded. "What's your name?"
"Brown," the boy replied, suddenly noticing the Charizard. "Whoa!"
"Ha, yeah… he has that effect on people," Blue scratched the Charizard under the chin. "You want my advice, Brown? Evolution. It makes all of your Pokémon stronger… except for the ones that don't evolve, of course."
"Evolution?" Brown repeated.
"Yeah, your Germinator there, it can become a Venusaur in time. Really powerful…"
The Charizard snorted again.
"Ha, well, there's some good Pokémon out there, you just got to evolve 'em."
* * * 11:14 - 7 June 2004 * * *
A man in green confronted Brown as he entered the Poké Mart.
"Hello, you must be Brown, I've been expecting you!"
"Uh, hey," Brown replied.
The man held out a large package wrapped in brown paper. "This is for Professor Oak."
"I'll make sure it gets to him," Brown promised, taking the Parcel.
…
Author's Note: And there you have the introduction of Ruri. She's also a really fun character to write for. Her personality is really based on the modern definition of "tsundere", and you'll see that much later.
As for Kenji's reaction… well that's a story for another time. And no, Brown didn't recognise Blue. He didn't really study up on the League and stuff… unlike some other characters…