Chad had looked for Pokémon that he wanted to catch after he'd parted from Kurishimi but hadn't found any that interested him. Since Ponyta was winded from the race he'd let it travel at a brisk trot across the plains. Soon they came upon a small creek where he dismounted Ponyta for a brief rest. Ponyta gladly drank from the water while Chad sat down on the bank. On the other side of the water they saw a Mankey fighting with a Raticate who seemed to have stolen its fruit lunch. The Raticate was faster than Mankey and appeared to be playing with it by staying just out of reach of the smaller Pokémon. Chad watched them until they got farther away then shifted his gaze down to look in the creek.
He watched different kinds of Pokémon travel down stream from Magikarp to the tadpole Pokémon Poliwag. He thought about catching some, but since he didn't know how to control water type Pokémon he decided against it. He was about to stand up to go when he saw a new Pokémon in the creek wiggling through the mud face first. He waited a little longer and watched the little blue creature out of curiosity. It had a round head, quite larger than its body which was much thinner and had very thin black stripes across its belly. Its feet were connected to its body without any legs and appeared to have a tail similar to Poliwag's fin, but thicker. When the little creature was done wiggling under the ground in the water it swam to the bank and climbed up onto land then shook the water off of its body. It took three steps up the bank before noticing Chad was sitting nearby. When it saw him the creature let out a small scream and tumbled backwards down the bank into the water again. Chad laughed at the clumsiness of the little blue Pokémon and watched it poke its head out of the water to stare at him with a mix of curiosity and nervousness.
Chad closed his eyes halfway and stuck his head forward with a goofy smile on his face. "Boo," he said and the Pokémon ducked its head back under the water. He laughed and it slowly came up again. "I see you down there," he told it. The creature ducked under the water again and swam to a part of the bank where there were some cattails to shield it. Chad pretended that he hadn't noticed and continued to watch the spot of the water where it had gone under. The Pokémon peeked around the cattails and slowly waddled around behind Chad. Then it looked up and saw Ponyta staring down at it which caused it to scream again and start running back toward the water for safety. When it turned around though it lost balance, tripped over its own feet, and fell down clumsily which caused Chad as well as Ponyta to laugh. It got up again and backed up toward the cattails cautiously, eventually turning to run into the foliage for safety.
Chad saw its eyes looking out at him, but decided to leave it alone for the moment and stood up to leave again. He mounted Ponyta again as the water Pokémon popped its head out again; apparently very curious as to why Chad was sitting on the back of a Pokémon. "Good to meet you little one," Chad told it before he turned Ponyta around to leave, then stopped short when he saw a man dressed in black with a red 'R' on his shirt running towards him. He felt nervous, but waited to see what would happen.
"Tell me," the man in black said to Chad after catching his breath, "aren't you traveling with a trainer who fights with an Infernape?"
"I've never heard of that Pokémon," Chad replied. "I only know about Pokémon surrounding Cerulean City with some exceptions. You'll have to be more specific."
"The person I'm looking for was seen riding a Dodrio away from two other trainers earlier today. I believe that one of those trainers was you."
"Yeah, I know him. Why do you want to find him?"
"He's got something I need to have back immediately and I want to pick it up as soon as possible."
Chad tried to think of something Akuma would have that would interest someone else but couldn't come up with anything. "What's he got that you need? He wasn't carrying anything noticeable that I saw."
"It's a Pokémon that I'm supposed to pick up from him. He might have more than one, but I need to get as many as he might have."
"Oh, so it's a business deal?"
"Yes, of sorts. In any case, can you tell me where to find him?"
"He's somewhere on this route, but I'm supposed to meet up with him in a few minutes at the northern Saffron gate. I'm on my way there now so I can take you there to see him."
"Thank you young man. You've helped me a great deal, but I'm afraid I cannot meet him with you."
"Why's that?" Chad asked with a very confused expression.
"Because with your Pokémon you might prevent me from completing my job; which is to take back the Pokémon we stole that he confiscated from us." With those words the man snapped his wrist forward and a pokéball was tossed onto the ground. It opened up to release a large blue bat with purple wings whose body seemed to be a huge gaping mouth. Chad hadn't seen the Pokémon around Cerulean before, but it resembled a Pokémon in Mt. Moon called Zubat that was smaller and built more agile than the larger Pokémon that hovered in the air before him.
Chad was about to protest, but realized that negotiating didn't seem to be an option with this man. On top of that, he wasn't in a position to negotiate. While still on Ponyta he threw out a pokéball and his Rattata, a small purple rat, appeared. He was unsure how to fight the unusual Pokémon, but he decided that he would treat it as a Zubat since that was the closest comparison he knew of. Rattata seemed to be outclassed, but he couldn't outrun his opponent on Ponyta and the best option seemed to be to defend himself.
Before Chad could give Rattata a command, the man in black called for a wing attack. The bat swooped down and struck Rattata with one of its big wings causing Rattata to go flying. It bounced once before landing in front of Chad. His opponent swooped around coming back to strike with another wing attack, but its time its trainer called it by name as Golbat. Chad pleaded for Rattata to get up quickly before the Golbat could strike again. Rattata regained its footing just as the larger Pokémon came swooping down again, but this time Rattata dove forward under the arc of its attacker. Chad thought quickly about how to counter the larger Pokémon and commanded a quick attack. Rattata took the offensive as it ran after Golbat before it could take to the air again. It caught up and tackled the larger Pokémon in the back, but Golbat spun around immediately and after a command from its trainer it fired a supersonic scream at Rattata from its mouth. The small mouse cringed at the loud sound, seemingly paralyzed. Chad wasn't faring as well either as he was also covering his own ears. Ponyta as well was trying not to move or it would throw its trainer from its back. When Golbat ceased the supersonic attack Rattata was still reeling from the aftereffects of the attack. Chad recognized the effect as confusion, which was dangerous to the affected Pokémon since damage could result from failed attacks and thus give the opponent an opening for a more damaging and well aimed blow. Without any other choice, Chad recalled Rattata to its pokéball and ordered Ponyta to attack.
The fire horse's mane flared up as sparks of fire flew from the mane straight for Golbat as an ember attack. The attack was spread out enough that Golbat's body was struck by multiple flames, but even Ponyta's fire attacks weren't strong enough to sufficiently damage the stronger Pokémon as Golbat dove straight for Ponyta with an open mouth to strike with a vicious bite. Ponyta scored more hits with its ember attack before Golbat clamped down on its neck, but didn't let go. Golbat instead began draining blood in a leech life attack that would replenish its own health while sapping the energy from its opponent. Chad tried to push Golbat off of Ponyta's neck, but couldn't reach. Instead of attempting again he recalled Ponyta into its pokéball safely, but didn't consider the fact that after Ponyta was inside its pokéball he wouldn't be sitting on it anymore. Both Chad and Golbat fell to the ground and Chad opened another pokéball before Golbat could get into the air again. Because he was rattled though he'd grabbed the first pokéball he felt and didn't know what Pokémon would appear. Still, anything would be better than him being such an easy target.
After the flash from the Pokémon appearing Chad saw that he'd released a small mouse with brown and tough skin. "Sandshrew, attack that Golbat before it gets in the air again!" he commanded. The mouse ran over to Golbat who was making its way back up into the air and delivered multiple scratches in the form of a fury swipes attack. Golbat was brought down again and Sandshrew, despite the type disadvantage, was clawing itself a surprising victory against the more experienced Rocket trained Pokémon. Before Golbat could pass out the Rocket recalled his Pokémon and sent out a dog Pokémon with red and white fur. Chad had seen the Pokémon before, but didn't know what it was called. It didn't look like a normal type Pokémon, but he couldn't guess as to what type it was either.
"Sandshrew, throw up a sand attack," he called. Sandshrew started digging around in the sand and dust flew everywhere. Some flew towards the Rocket's dog Pokémon and got in its eyes which partially blinded it. The dog wiped its face with its paws, but was unsuccessful in removing the sand.
"Growlithe," the Rocket commanded, "attack that mouse with your take down attack." The dog stopped rubbing its eyes and ran towards the center of the dust cloud Sandshrew was throwing around. The dust storm was an effective shield it seemed since Growlithe's attacks missed Sandshrew and it reappeared on the other side of the storm.
"Scratch attack quickly," Chad called again. He was trying to stay calm, but in truth he was panicking and trying to think of attacks that he could use effectively against a faster opponent. Sandshrew ran out from the sand storm cloud and scratched the back of Growlithe with a direct hit. Sadly the attack was ineffective at doing sufficient damage because of Sandshrew's lack of battle experience, and Growlithe turned to attack with embers in the same way Ponyta had earlier. Chad decided that Growlithe must have been a fire type which would give him a minor advantage with Sandshrew, but since his opponent was at a much higher battling level than he was the type difference didn't matter. Sandshrew was knocked down quickly and Growlithe finished it off with a bite attack before Chad had a chance to recall it. Sandshrew was knocked unconscious.
Chad called Sandshrew back into its pokéball and thought about using Nidoran, but Growlithe was obviously too dangerous for even Nidoran to face. Chad caught himself reevaluating his formerly weak Pokémon as one of his strongest after watching the way Akuma had battled with it the day before. "Maybe I should fight fire with fire," he said to himself, and sent Ponyta back onto the field. Growlithe charged Ponyta for a head on attack before Ponyta was completely out on the field, but Ponyta reared back on its hind legs before Growlithe had closed the distance and slammed its front hooves into Growlithe's face. The dog Pokémon bounced backward and quickly got up again. The Rocket commanded another ember attack from Growlithe which spread not only over Ponyta, but also in a small radius around it which kept Ponyta from escaping. Chad gritted his teeth and rushed through his Pokémon capable of battling a higher level opponent, but couldn't find a solution to the problem. Growlithe and its trainer were fighting on a much higher level than he was at so there was no end in sight. Even if he managed to knock out Growlithe there was still Golbat to face again as well as other Pokémon that the Rocket member might have ready to fight with. Growlithe was the immediate threat however. To defeat it though, he would need some water Pokémon at the very least. Then he got an idea.
Chad recalled Ponyta and released a small brown bird Pokémon named Pidgey. He commanded Pidgey to use a continuous sand attack for cover while he got to work. Pidgey flapped its wings and a gust of wind whipped up the sand that Sandshrew had been rooting in earlier. The cloud of dirt nearly engulfed the Rocket as well as Growlithe. The man couldn't give any commands without his mouth filling up with sand, so Chad turned back to the stream where the Pokémon he had spotted earlier was hiding at. He saw that the Pokémon had come out from cover entirely to watch the battle.
"I'm sorry to force this on you," Chad told the small creature, "but I need your help to win this battle so I can get away." Chad opened his final pokéball and the Elekid he had acquired from Bill appeared in front of him. "Elekid, I know you're still young but I need your help right now. Can you help me weaken that Pokémon so I can capture it?" Elekid gave a single nod before getting into a combative stance facing the water Pokémon. The wild Pokémon changed from its formerly cowardly demeanor and leaned forward in a threatening pose ready to battle which both surprised and impressed Chad.
Chad, using the strategic suggestion Akuma had given him the day before, ordered a leer from Elekid, followed by a quick attack. Elekid glared at the wild Pokémon before sprinting forward and slamming into it. The wild Pokémon fell back, but quickly regained balance. It retaliated by firing a stream of water from its mouth at Elekid, a water gun attack. It was Elekid's turn to be pushed back now, but Chad ordered another quick attack as soon as the water gun ceased. Elekid tackled once more and before the wild Pokémon could fight back Chad threw an empty pokéball at it. The pokéball connected and opened up to suck the creature inside. After landing on the ground the release button of the pokéball began to glow a deep red. The ball shook back and forth as the Pokémon inside tried to fight its way out from the capture device. After a few seconds the ball stopped shaking and the glow faded away indicating a successful capture.
Chad recalled Elekid and commanded Pidgey to use its gust attack. Pidgey adjusted the pattern it flapped its wings to a harder form which caused a small tornado to appear in the dust cloud, blowing it away. The gust attack also did damage to Growlithe and threw more of the dirt in its eyes which would further lower the accuracy of all attacks it made. Chad ordered Pidgey to use a quick attack on Growlithe while it was stunned. Pidgey dive bombed Growlithe at top speed doing damage equal to the tornado attack from before. After a couple more quick attacks it seemed like Growlithe was beginning to regain its eyesight so Chad called Pidgey back into its pokéball and released the water Pokémon he just captured.
"Okay, I don't know what you are or what you do," he told the blue Pokémon, "but I'm counting on you to beat Growlithe." It was common knowledge for trainers that a newly caught Pokémon was difficult to control in battle if the trainer and the Pokémon had no practice in working together, but there was no way Chad could win against a superior opponent unless he had a Pokémon with at least a type advantage. "Use your water gun from before!" he commanded. His Pokémon responded with a successful water gun attack, spraying Growlithe from a distance. The fire dog was drenched completely in the front. Chad took the chance when it paused to order another water gun attack. Once again the spray hit Growlithe in the face, but this time when the spray was stopped Growlithe collapsed. The Rocket returned Growlithe to its pokéball and sent out Golbat again just as Chad was afraid might happen.
"Aw man, not you again!" Chad complained. "Do something original!"
Before the Rocket could respond a brown blur flashed past Golbat, knocking it out of its hovering position. Chad tried to follow the blur, but it came back around in a wide arc and slammed into Golbat again. As Golbat fell the blur stopped to reveal Akuma riding on Dodrio. "Recall your Pokémon immediately," he said to Chad. Chad did so and as soon as it disappeared Akuma picked up Chad by the shoulder and Dodrio ran off towards the south leaving the Rocket behind. After they had ran for a mile Akuma told him, "Send out Ponyta," and then stopped Dodrio to let Chad go. When Ponyta appeared Akuma tossed a blue berry into its mouth that he produced from the pouch on his waist. "Get on Ponyta and race it straight to Saffron's gate. You should be able to see it from here, but just run directly south if you don't." He tossed a Pokeball to Chad after the boy had mounted Ponyta. "We're going there at full speed. If you run into any more trouble that pokéball is your ticket out. Now go!" Dodrio sprinted off leaving Chad with numerous questions. Not wasting another moment, Chad spurred Ponyta onward toward the southern gate and looked at the pokéball Akuma had tossed him. It was that of a normal pokéball design, but there was a number eight carved into the front of the red half as well. It also seemed as if the number had been carved over a design that was originally painted on. The only part Chad could make out was a curved orange line moving upward.
After ten minutes of riding, Chad arrived at the building marking the entrance to the northern part of Saffron City. The city was surrounded by a short wall marking the city borders and buildings had been placed at the north, south, east, and west walls to allow travelers through. The wall wasn't intimidating and most Pokémon of higher levels could break the wall down, so it was mostly just for show. Nobody even remembered the reason it was built in the first place.
Chad dismounted and recalled Ponyta and joined Kurishimi and Akuma who were standing at the building's entrance. Both had their backs turned to him and were talking about something he couldn't hear. When he got closer Kurishimi turned out to greet him, but Akuma kept his back turned.
"Are you ready to go into Saffron City, Chad?" Kurishimi asked him.
"Oh yes. I've only been here once a long time ago so I don't remember what the city's like inside. What are we going to do here?"
"Well the usual plan after we come to a new city is to find the nearest Pokémon center," Kurishimi explained. "After we find it we don't need to search for it after night falls and we're all tired."
"There are a number of them within the city walls," Akuma continued. "Saffron is so big that there are more Pokémon trainers than just one could handle so more were built to help accommodate the traffic. Saffron is in the middle of the Kanto region and is a crossroad to many different cities. Because of this there are more people, Pokémon, and businesses here than any other city. It is also a good place to get into for almost any reason you can think of. And just so you know Akashi, this city is even large enough that two Pokémon gyms exist here; although one gym no longer gives out gym badges."
Kurishimi's eyes widened as she heard the extra challenge she was given. Chad saw her excitement visibly as she could barely contain herself and rushed forward to the building entrance ahead of them. Akuma sighed at her enthusiasm then looked back to motion Chad forward.
As Chad and Akuma approached the doors Akuma told him, "Get your trainer's license ready if you want to pass customs."
Chad tossed Akuma back the pokéball he'd borrowed earlier. "My what?" Chad asked in confusion.
"Your Pokémon trainer's license. They won't let you pass if you don't have one."
"What is that?"
Akuma stopped walking. "Do you not have a trainer's license?"
"No, I've never heard of them before," Chad shook his head still confused.
"This isn't good. If you're carrying Pokémon and you don't have a license on you they won't let you through the gates into Saffron."
"Where do I get a trainer's license?"
"Normally you would get one when you receive your first Pokémon. Didn't an instructor give you anything like that?"
"My brother sent me Ponyta and some pokéballs for my birthday and told me to start working on becoming a trainer quickly. He didn't say anything about a trainer's license."
"Alright, I need to think for a minute. It won't be easy to get you through the gates otherwise."
"Can you take my Pokémon for me until we get through the gate so I can just go as a regular kid?"
"No, the gate guard checks all Pokémon of every trainer to make sure nobody is carrying stolen Pokémon. If they check your Pokémon's identification signatures and see that they don't match my ID we'll be under arrest immediately. We'll need to find a way to smuggle them or you in without getting inspected."
"Hey guys!" Kurishimi called from the doors. "Aren't you coming? We've got to hurry up or I'll never get to either gym!"
Akuma looked at Kurishimi and then back at Chad. Then something very odd happened, the corner of Akuma's mouth twisted up giving the impression of a grin. "I have a plan," he said with a tone of mischief in his voice.