Working a bit ahead, though out of necessity. Fire is nice and easy to write, though, so it should be fun. As I mentioned before, I was going to do this first bit last time, but oh well. I'm not actually one hundred percent sure how this is going to play out, but I have a few ideas. Hope it works out.
The cottage was warm and cozy. It was well furnished, but littered with books, papers, and other such research materials. The floor was as littered as any surface, but there was a clear path left open out of the foyer. The path continued from there out to the other rooms. It didn't matter that the rooms were all spacious, Red and the others all had to walk single file to get around.
The trio could hear faint complaints in the distance. They ventured deeper into the house to find the source. The path between the books winded deeper and deeper into the cottage. Finally they reached a back room. This room was a bit cleaner than the others, having only a few books and papers around the periphery, though a desk with a computer off to the side was still cluttered to the brim. In the back of the room were to cylindrical chambers connected by some kind of green tube.
The center of the room was the most eye catching. There was a strange Pokémon just standing there fidgeting. It looked kind of like a Clefairy, but there was something off about it. Unfortunately, they couldn't spot who was calling for help. Other than the Pokémon, there was no one in the room.
"Hello?" Green called in the general direction of the rest of the house.
Blue didn't even wait for someone to respond, "Told you there was no one here," he said with a shrug.
"I am too here!" the irritated voice of a young man in his twenties responded. Everyone jumped at the sudden noise. "Down here," the voice said, giving no other indication as to the location of its source. Red was the first to look back down at the strange Pokémon as jumped when he saw it staring up at him and waving. "Hiya! I'm-"
"A Pokémon?" Blue cut off.
"-a Pokémon… …No I'm not! Call me Bill. I'm a true-blue Pokémaniac!" the Pokémon introduced with a smile.
"A Pokémon made the PC Storage System?" Red asked skeptically, still not sure if catching the Pokémon was out of the question.
"Hey," Bill asked, still smiling, "What's with that skepticism? I'm not joshing you."
"But if you're Bill, why do you look like a Pokémon?" Green asked, much more tactful than either of her friends.
"I screwed up an experiment and got combine with a Pokémon," Bill explained a little sheepishly. So much for the idea of catching it… "So how about it? Will you help me out here?"
"What do we get?" Blue asked instantly. Green jabbed him just as quickly. "What?" he grumbled, rubbing his side, "I was just wondering…"
"What do you need me to do?" Red asked after giving Blue a quick eye roll.
"Wait until I get inside the teleporter," Bill explained. "When I do, go to my PC and run the Cell Separation System. Everything's clearly labeled, so it's easier than it sounds." With that the Pokémon waddled over to one of the machines in the back of the room and disappeared behind an automatic door.
When Red looked over the PC, everything was indeed clearly labeled. Red simply clicked the icon labeled "Cell Separation System" and the machine started warming up. Clicking, thudding, and whirring filled the room as a light moved through the tube connecting the two chambers. A bell dinged and a man with shaggy brown hair jumped happily out. Only Red noticed a very unhappy Clefairy sneak out with speed that rivaled his own Pokémon.
"Yeehah! Thanks, friends!" Bill, the real Bill, graciously shook Red, Blue, and Green's hands with glee. "I owe you one!"
"I knew we'd get something for this," Blue grinned confidently.
"You are so tactless!" Green shot back, but Bill only chuckled.
"It's quite alright. You're Oak's grandson, aren't you?" Blue nodded. "I thought so. Oak has been my mentor for years. I know you would have helped out anyway."
"Sure, but it's still nice to get rewarded…"
"And that's still tactless!"
Bill only laughed. "I know the perfect reward for aspiring young Pokémon trainers! I'll show you my collection of rare Pokémon." Everyone looked excited at the prospect of seeing rare Pokémon. Even Red showed it, as much as someone like him could.
Bill led them through his home, apologizing for the clutter along the way. At one end of his house, there was a sliding glass door with what looked like woods outside. "Through here is where all your Pokémon get sent via the storage system. Every trainer who uses my PC storage system has Pokémon here." The four entered as the door slid open on its own. Inside was vast. Looking past the tall trees that spread for some distance, one could see a mountain with a snowy cap. You could also hear the sound of water running, the sound of a flowing river and the lapping of waves on a beach. It was like a giant natural park.
"Amazing…" Red breathed, speaking for his speechless friends.
"When a Pokémon gets transferred, they are teleported here and released into this place," Bill explained, pride clear in his voice. "It was originally going to be an attraction, but when that fell through, my family bought it and I used it for my storage system invention. It's actually built right into the mountain. The sky up there is just a painted ceiling, though the bird Pokémon seem not to mind. I have habitats for every known species of Pokémon, and thanks to some help from automated systems, I can take wonderful care of them all! Oak even comes down to see me and study the Pokémon in their natural habitat."
"I always wondered what Gramps did on his trips to Cerulean City…" Just walking the path along the forest, Red spotted a dozen Pokémon he had yet to see. Most of them were little things, but it was neat to see. Even though none of the Pokémon were technically his, Bill showed the most rare ones off with beaming pride. He also made sure to mention the names of the trainers when he did, though.
They finally saw all of the caves in the artificial mountain and the day was spent. Once they exited the preserve, Bill addressed them. "You're welcome to stay the night. It's a big house and I can clear my mess out of a few rooms."
"That's fine, we can just head back to the Pokémon Center in Cerulean," Green returned politely.
"I insist. And one more thing…" Bill handed each of them some kind of ticket. "That's for a party on the S.S. Anne for Pokémon Trainers. But I'm not really one for fancy do's and my family can't make it."
Red and his friends accepted Bill's kindness and stayed the night. In the morning they were on their way again, but not before promising to pay Bill another visit someday. With such a wonderful experience behind them, they decided to head back to Cerulean City. It was on their way, and even if it wasn't, Red still had some business there…
Not sure about this one. I don't dislike it, but something about it doesn't feel right. Well, I'll see if I get any real reviews. I'll blame League of Legends as it's been distracting me all week. Then again, I would have gotten this done hours ago if I hadn't gone to see Iron Man 3. Oh, well. Worth it.