Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, Bellsprout, and Weepinbell
The sunshine was perfect, casting golden light over the forests, brightening all the spring colors, and warming the lands back to life. Benny the Bulbasaur was so happy about it that he was sprawled out in the front yard, drooling slightly through his smile as he slept. With spring finally here, he could spend all day soaking up sunshine into the pale green seed on his back. The more energy he absorbed, the sooner the seed would turn into a bud, then a flower. When he had his flower, he would be fully evolved and powerful enough to rule the whole town. And then he would use that rule to sprawl out in the yard and soak up more sunshine.
Aaahhhh…. Life was good.
Hours passed and eventually the sun began to go down. Benny woke up and stretched his short legs. On his back, his seed felt warm and energetic. He felt energetic as well. Once he'd gotten all stretched up, he broke into a run across the yard. He rushed right into the neighbor's yard, then the next neighbor's yard, all the way to the end of the block. When he got there, he tore around in a wide curve and zoomed back to his yard and into the next yard over when he ran into her.
She was much like him, a squat four-legged Pokemon with spotted blue-green skin. While he had a small pale green seed on his back, she had a large dark green bud growing there. His older sister, Eva the Ivysaur, watched quietly as Benny tried to stop, tripped over his front paws, and tumbled several times to land at her side. "Playing superhero again, are we?" she asked dryly.
"Not playing," Benny insisted. "I am a superhero! The Green Flash, rushing off to the rescue! When there's trouble, I'm there on the double."
"Except when it's sunny," Eva pointed out.
"Trouble doesn't come when it's sunny out," he said, scratching behind his ear. When an idea came to him, he stopped to stand up on his hind legs excitedly. "Oh, oh, and I'm going to go off on a rescue soon. I'll be back by nightfall, maybe. If the trouble's bad, I might be late. So don't worry unless I'm still gone tomorrow."
"What kind of rescue are you doing?" Considering the trouble caused by his past capers, she didn't want to be involved, but knew she'd better be. Someone had to keep this young 'hero' from wrecking the neighborhood.
"It's a big one, my biggest yet! I saw it on a news report this morning. You know that tower in town? I heard that there's a Pokemon princess trapped on top of that tower. She's said to be beautiful and graceful, but she's kept in the tower by a Pokemon monster who eats the heroes who come to rescue her by chopping them into little pieces. So I'm off to climb the tower and rescue the princess."
"What about the monster? Won't it chop you up too?"
Benny shook his head, then extended it back along his body. "Nah. I'm a superhero, so I'd be too tough to eat."
"If you say so." She doubted he was telling the truth, but her little brother probably wouldn't recognize it as a lie. He let his imagination run away with the barest of suggestions into wild and crazy adventures. "And this was on the news?"
"Yup, and if it was on TV, then it must be true." He spoke with a foolish certainty.
And that foolishness was sure to cause trouble. "And while you may be a superhero, you're just a kid. How are you going to beat a monster Pokemon that has a habit of eating heroes?"
"Because the Green Flash is the most awesome unbeatable superhero of all! You just watch; I'll come right back with a princess at my side."
Before Benny could rush off, Eva took a step into his path. "Hold on. I think I might go with you, just in case."
He jumped and landed on all fours. "Really? Awesome! Then you'll be my trusty sidekick, the, um… we'll think of a good super name for you. Come on, let's go."
"I'm older than you," she said as she started along the path to Sprout Tower (the only tower in Violet City). "I can't be your sidekick."
"But I'm the superhero," Benny pointed out, skipping alongside her. He wouldn't stoop to walking, not as the hyperactive and energetic Green Flash. "I can't be a sidekick."
"Well then I'll have to be your mentor. I am coming to watch out for you, after all."
The Bulbasaur grinned. "Cool, I have a mentor now! What're you gonna teach me, huh? A hero's honor or how to kick bad guy butt?"
"No. Today, we will learn how to observe and assess a situation."
His grin vanished. "Aw, but that doesn't sound heroic. The Green Flash rushes in and saves the day before the evil one can take root. He doesn't have time to observe."
"Well then he might make a mistake, which could cost lives or make him look bad."
"Oh." He slowed a bit, thinking on that. "But superheroes don't make mistake. That's why they're super. They can do whatever they have to in order to beat the bad guys."
"But who are the bad guys? Have you considered that?"
"Well, they're…" he thought it through. "They're the bad guys. They do bad stuff."
"But if you're always rushing about, how do you know they're bad guys? That is why you must learn to observe."
"I guess," he relented. "But then we can rush in after the bad guys, right?"
"If that's what's needed, then yes."
"Cool. But can we hurry up now so we can get there to observe before night falls?"
"We're at a good pace," the Ivysaur said. "Besides, wait until you have a bud on your back instead of a seed. It weighs more than it looks."
"I'll still be super fast when I evolve," Benny boasted. "And the Green Flash will only grow stronger, never slower!"
During that talk, they had walked through Violet City to arrive at Sprout Tower. It was a large wooden building that was taller than any other in town, even the Flying-type Gym. There were humans in and around the building, but they were respectful to the pair of Pokemon, greeting them kindly. One even got the front door for them when they showed intent on entering.
"Well these people are polite and kind," Eva noted. "They show no intent on harming or stopping us."
Benny gasped. "Oooo, so it's a trap? Bad guys are only nice if they're making a trap for the heroes. We ought to be ready to fight at a moment's notice."
"Maybe. Or maybe they're not bad guys, just nice guys."
"But they have a princess held captive at the top of their tower. Nice guys don't do that."
"We must observe and not jump to conclusions. Or else you would be a false hero, and you don't want that. Right?"
"Right." He was starting to sound bored.
As they came to the staircase to the second floor, they came across a different pair of Grass Pokemon. One was a Bellsprout, with an extreme slender body of bare stems and roots holding onto a large flower head. The other was a Weepinbell, who was almost entirely its flower, with just a few leaves and a stem hook. While the former stood at the bottom of the steps, the latter was hanging by its stem hook from a nail on a post.
"What are you strangers doing here?" the Bellsprout asked, crossing its thin arms over its thin chest.
"We're here to defeat you bad guys!" Benny shouted before rushing at the Bellsprout.
Without looking worried, the Bellsprout bent its whole body to the left, so that Benny kept going and crashed into the stairs. "Excuse me? Bad guys?"
"I'm sorry about him," Eva said. "He's a little enthusiastic and needs to learn to be observant instead of jumping to conclusions." After giving him a sharp look to enforce her words, she went on. "He wants to see the princess of the tower. I'm here to keep the damage to a minimum."
"The princess? That's fine so long as you get to the top of the tower before night falls, when we go to sleep. Go on up, but please don't attack anybody on the way."
Benny hopped back over to his sister's side. "Huh? We can just go up?"
"Sure thing. This tower is open for all to visit."
"What do you do here?" Eva asked before he could protest, probably about them going against his exaggerated dreams of rescue and heroism. Or about them setting up a trap.
"We live here with the monks and teach them about our ways," the Weepinbell said from its hanging post. "To enjoy the sun, to relax when there's no danger, to soak in life. Humans are complicated creatures and we teach them to uncomplicate. Thus it has been for many generations of 'sprouts."
"That's good of you," Eva said. "But we'd better get to climbing so we can get to the top."
"May you have many sunny days," the Bellsprout said as he moved aside.
Benny and Eva climbed up the many floors of Sprout Tower, looking for the Pokemon princess. They met with many Pokemon on the way, mostly Bellsprouts, but a few Weepinbells as well. Like the first two, they greeted the Bulbasaur and Ivysaur warmly, not blocking their progress. Benny's puzzlement over this behavior got him to focus on the monster part of his story. "I'm gonna prove my superhero worth by beating that monster."
"If it requires beating," Eva said.
On the top floor, they found another Bellsprout and another Weepinbell. The Bellsprout was noticeably different than the rest. She was green with a darker stem like the rest, but her skin had an almost magical sheen to it. With her eyes bright, she was one of the most beautiful Grass Pokemon that either of the 'saurs had seen. "Are you the princess Pokemon?" Benny asked, awed.
The Bellsprout nodded. "Yes, of course. I'm Princess, the rising star of the new Johto Contest circuit. Surely, you've heard of me? My latest media report was just this morning on the news."
"Yeah, I heard you were stuck up here guarded by a monster Pokemon," Benny said, still holding onto his fantasy.
She put her stem hands to her face. "Stuck here? Certainly not. I love it up here. When the winds blow gently, the southern deck is a wonderful place to soak up the sun. And the sun makes me even more beautiful. I am guarded by a monster, though."
"Really?" The Bulbasaur perked up to this.
"I'm called Monster," the Weepinbell said. "I'm currently the strongest Pokemon here. The monks say that if they can get a hold of the proper stone, they'll chose me to evolve first, so I can better guard Sprout Tower and all the 'sprouts that live here, not just Princess."
"But do you really chop up heroes to eat them?" Benny asked. "I heard that about you."
"I'm not sure where you heard that, but no," Monster answered. "Not heroes, anyhow. Sometimes we chop up food with our leaves, if it's too big. Our mouths don't have any teeth, you see." He smacked his lips, then opened them up briefly. There were no teeth, as he said.
"Aw man, I thought I could follow my superhero duties by rescuing Princess."
"I wouldn't need rescuing if it came down to it," Princess said. "I can fight too, and if I really got stuck somewhere, I can spit acid at the door. Even if it's made of metal, that'll give me a way to escape."
Seeing that Benny looked disappointed, Monster said, "It seems you have much to learn, young hero. Know who is an enemy and who is not. Keep at your lessons and I'm sure you'll save the day in time to come."
That cheered him some. "Yeah, I'm learning good stuff from my mentor here. Well I'm gonna keep training so that I just don't save the day, I save the world! It's the Green Flash!" He then rushed away, fumbled at the top step, then rolled all the way to the next floor down.
"And there he goes again," Eva said affectionately. "Thanks for playing along with my little brother. He may be a pain from time to time, but he means well."
"I know how it is," Monster the Weepinbell said. "And you're welcome. Come back any day you like. It's nice to have visitors."
"Sure thing. Good night." Eva then turned and walked down the stairs. Benny was upside-down, looking dizzy. "Come on, little hero, let's go home."
...
R/S/E entry: Bulbasaur can be seen napping in bright sunlight. There is a seed on its back. By soaking up the sun's rays, the seed grows progressively larger.
Ivysaur Leaf Green entry: When the bulb on its back grows large, it appears to lose the ability to stand on its hind legs.
Emerald entry: A Bellsprout's thin and flexible body lets it bend and sway to avoid any attack, however strong it may be. From its mouth, it leaks an acid that melts even iron.
Weepinbell Soul Silver entry: If its prey is bigger than its mouth, it slices up the victims with sharp leaves, then eats every last morsel.
*starts fan club for Benny the Green Flash Bulbasaur*