Chapter 2: A Viridian Day Out
When last we left our hero, John Russi the Ace Trainer, he had taken his first steps as a adventurer and Pokémon Trainer. He chose his starter Pokémon, Blaze the gentle Charmander, at Professor Oak's lab, and won his first trainer battle against his rival, Flash the Athlete. While traveling through Route 1, John bonded with his starter Pokémon with a bit of training and a quick meal, and encountered a wild Rattata. With the wild Pokémon now captured and under his ownership, John makes his way towards his first destination as the day approaches its end, his injured Charmander in his arms.
John is walking through the streets of Viridian City, the sky just beginning to turn orange above him. The bruises on Blaze's shoulder and ankle have become more noticeable, his orange scales turning darker. John hears the Charmander give out a bit of a whimper in his arms. John looks down at Blaze, his heart breaking for his new buddy as he wishes he was better prepared for something like this.
"Don't worry Blaze, we are almost there. Just gotta find a Pokémon Center." John said softly to the Charmander.
John wanders through the city's streets, trying to find the Pokémon Center on his own. He can't even tell if he is going the right way from reading the street signs. After an hour of searching, John spots an older gentleman down the sidewalk from him. He approaches the man and the woman that he is with.
"Excuse me, but do you know where the Pokémon Center is? My Charmander is badly hurt, and I need him healed quickly." said John, sounding worried and tired himself.
"The Pokémon Center? Yeah, it's a little more towards the city's center on the south side." The man gives John directions towards the building. John listens closely with the man's step by step directions, with his lady friend correcting him a couple of times.
"Thank you very much. Have a good evening!" John said as he bows to the couple before turning to leave. As he walks away, he can hear the woman telling the man "So cute! I want one," with the man replying "B-but we just only started dating!"
Eager to get his little fire lizard fully healed, John steps up his pace. He keeps track of every corner he turns at and every street name until he spots the large red roofed building, with a large red "P" glowing above the entrance. John sprints towards the building, trying to push back his own exhaustion and his now-growling stomach. All he cares about is getting Blaze healed, and their new friend as well. That is, if the purple rat Pokémon even wanted to be friends at this point. By the time John reaches the glass sliding doors, the sun has long set and it is now night time with the moon glowing in the blackened skies.
Inside, John spots a woman behind the main lobby's counter with a chansey beside her. Both human and pokemon are wearing a pink and white nurse's outfit.
John rushes up to the pair. "I need help, please! My Charmander is hurt badly!" he said, as he comes up to the nurse.
"Oh my, what happen to him?" the nurse says as she starts a quick examination on Blaze's shoulder and ankle. She then takes him out of John's hands and lays the Charmander on a stretcher made for Fire-type Pokémon.
"A Rattata got a couple of lucky shots on him. Speaking of which," John says, as he pulls out the Rattata's Pokéball. "Can you heal her up as well, please?"
"Of course I can. This might take around two and half hours, with the injuries your Chamander has sustained. Since it's late, I'll have one of my Chansey show you to a room and get you something from the diner. It's getting late and you should be getting to bed right now", the nurse says as she takes the Pokéball from John.
"But what about my Pokémon? Don't they need to eat as well?" John asks, looking worried.
"I'll make sure that both of your Pokémon are fed properly, and they will be returned to you as soon as you wake up in the morning. Right now, young man, you need to take care of yourself. Go eat something and get some rest." The nurse says as she types away on her desk. "I will need your Charmander's Pokéball, please."
"Oh right!" John said, as he realizes that the only Pokéball she had gotten from him was the one for his Rattata. John unclips Blaze's ball from his Pokéball belt and hands it over to the nurse. She places both Pokéballs on a tray before handing her Chansey a white key card.
"Room 006, Chansey, you know the one. And please show him to the café," the nurse says to her Pokémon. Chansey nods as it gives out a "Chansey-chansey!" The egg-shaped Pokémon waddles around from behind the counter and leads John away, while the nurse places the Pokéball tray on the stretcher next to Blaze before wheeling them into the back rooms.
John is taken to the diner located on the west wing of the building, where he was able to buy himself a cheeseburger and a soda pop before it closed for the night. Once John finishes his meal, the Chansey leads him to the second floor of the Pokémon Center, where free lodgings were made available for Pokémon Trainers only. As the Chansey leads him to his room, she points out a door in the hallway that is marked as a bathroom for Trainers' use only. Once at the door marked "006", Chansey gives John the card key before leaving him to his own devices and thoughts, going back downstairs to rejoin the nurse and resume her duties.
John uses the keycard to open the door and steps inside. His room is small and has a single desk, a chair, a window, a lamp, and a single-size bed. John is lucky to get his own room for his first night at a Pokémon Center and not have to share with another Trainer he'd never met - or even worse, have to share a room with Flash. John closes the door behind him as he enters and places his orange and blue backpack onto his desk. He pulls the chair away from the desk and places it next to the window, before he sits down and removes his shoes.
John gives out a big yawn as he finally feels the fatigue of the day's events hit him. He looks out the window, wondering if there was something he could have done better with his first wild Pokémon encounter as a Trainer. How would his idols, Lance the Dragon Master of Kanto and Johto, Raihan the Galar Drake of social media, or even Steven Stone have handled their first wild Pokémon encounter? John bets Raihan would have most likely had his starter take on five wild Ratatta at the same time and come out unharmed, all the while taking pictures of himself.
But what of his mom? John should call her in the morning to let her know that he made it to Viridian City. Should he tell her the whole story, or keep it short to "I caught a Rattata?" His mother is his only family member back home in Pallet Town. They had lived in Pallet for most of his life, as far back as he can remember. One of his earliest memories was of deciding that Pokémon were really cool, and that he wanted to befriend as many of them as he could. He wanted to go on awesome adventures with them, like in his favorite stories and comic books.
He knew he had a father, but he hadn't spoken to him all that much. All he knows is that his father lives in Unova and is a local police officer in one of the cities there. His parents divorced years ago, mostly due to them wanting different lives rather than some marriage-falling-apart drama. John's mom told him there might have been one or two other smaller things that led to the divorce, but whatever it is it wasn't important enough for him to know - at least by his mother's words.
Though thinking of his dear old dad, how would the policeman feel if he learned that his son let his Charmander bruise his arm and twist his ankle during what should have been an easy fight? How would Mom feel? John was sure that if his mom found out, she would give him a verbal lashing for how he needs to be more responsible for his Pokémon's wellbeing.
The wild Pokémon encounter! His new Rattata would need a name.
He immediately starts wracking his brain. A million name suggestions run through his head as he stares out at the night sky and the orange glow of the city street lights. As he thinks, he lets out a big yawn and feels his eyes grow heavy. He'll sleep on name ideas for now, as the bed is calling his name. He pulls the curtains closed before stripping off his day clothes and slipping into the covers, letting sleep take him.
John has a dreamless night as he sleeps before his internal clock wakes him up at 7:30 in the morning. He grabs a spare Center towel, covering himself before he heads off to the boys' bathroom and gets in a quick shower. The bathroom itself is nothing fancy as it just provides basic needs for traveling Trainers, similar to the room lodgings.
Once showered and dried, John quickly gets dressed and straightens out his blue jeans and his blue T-shirt with a big Pikachu logo on the front. All the while, he uses his own fingers to comb his dark brown hair. With a quick trip back to his room, John slips on his white sneakers and grabs his backpack before racing back downstairs to the main lobby, where the nurse he met last night was waiting for him.
"Ah, there you are. I was wondering if you were awake. Your Pokémon are fully healed and have been waiting for you," the nurse smiles as she greets John. She slides the tray with two Pokéballs on it across the lobby desk towards John.
"Thank you, miss. How much do I owe you for the night?" John asks as he takes the Pokéballs.
"Oh, nothing at all. While you do have to pay for the food at the diner, lodging and healing are free for traveling Pokémon Trainers and you can just call me Nurse Joy," the nurse says.
"Oh, well thank you Nurse Joy!" John says as he bows to her. The nurse gives John a polite smile in return before turning to serve another Trainer.
John walks away from the counter before he calls out Blaze. The Charmander appears before his Trainer in a flash of red light, his injuries gone and fully healed. Blaze gives out a happy "mander!" before running up to John and hugging his right leg.
"Hey Blaze! Nice to see that you're feeling better this morning!" John says as he kneels and pets Blaze's scaly head. The Charmander lets out a pleased cry as he nuzzles against John's hand, enjoying the affection. John gives a little laugh at Blaze's reaction.
"Just to let you know, buddy. I won't let what happened yesterday happen again. I promise!" John says before he pulls his hand away. Blaze gives out a "Char-char-charmander" as he pats John's shin, as if trying to tell his Trainer "It happens, don't worry about it". John smiles at the gesture before he pulls out the other Pokéball.
"I think we should meet our new teammate, don't you?" John asks Blaze. The Charmander nods and lets out a "Char-char!". John holds out the Pokéball and calls out the Normal-type that's inside. The Rattata materializes right in front of John and shakes her head. To her, it feels weird being inside a Pokéball and being called out for the first time. She looks around her surroundings, finding them strange and different. All the while, her nose and whiskers twitch as she take in the new scents.
The Rattata flinches as Blaze walks up to her, greeting her with a happy "Char-charman!" as he holds a claw out to show her that he is not going to hurt her. She gives the Charmander a little sniff, and, seeing that he is just standing there with no signs of aggression, decides that this Fire-type Pokémon that she encountered yesterday is no threat to her now.
"Hi there! I'm John! I'm your new trainer!" John says as he reaches for the Rattata to pet her. The Rattata gives out an alarmed squeak as she flinches and curls up into a scared, shaking ball.
"Hey, it's ok. I'm not going to hurt you." John says as he rotates his hand around, keeping it flat and revealing a empty palm to her to show that he is non-threatening. The Rattata leans her head forward, her nose and whiskers twitching as she sniffs at John's hand. The little purple Pokémon relaxes a bit as she determines that the human boy in front of her is not a threat. John smiles as he reaches forward and pets the Rattata, running his hand along her head to the length of her body. The Normal-type doesn't protest against her new Trainer's touch, seeming to tolerate it.
As John pets the Rattata, he determines that she is a Level 2 Pokémon with a decisive nature and that has the Guts ability, without needing to scan her or her Pokéball with his Pokédex. As John pulls his hand away from the Rattata, he stands up and turns towards Nurse Joy.
"Excuse me, but is there a place where I can go and train my Pokémon?" John askes the nurse.
"Why yes, there's a indoor practice field in the back of the building. Just take that hallway to get to it." Nurse Joy says as she points towards the hallway near the north-eastern corner of the lobby area.
"Oh, thank you!" John happily says before turning back to his Pokémon. "Alright guys, let's get you trained up!" John announces to his two Pokémon. Blaze gives out a cry as he pumps a clawed fist up into the air, as the Rattata just scratches her ear with her hind leg.
"Oh yeah, you need a name. How about Brisby?" John asks the Normal-type Pokémon. The Rattata just looks up at John and tilts her head.
"Well, I can't keep calling you Rattata so I guess Brisby will do for now," John says as he turns towards the hallway. "This way, guys, follow me." Blaze happily keeps pace with John right at his heels, while Brisby the Rattata follows behind to the practice field.
For an hour John trains both Blaze and Brisby with some focused training, all the while working on the Rattata's athletic skills and giving both Pokémon a little experience. After a quick water break, John recalls both Pokémon back into their balls and returns to the Pokémon Center's lobby. As soon as he enters the area, he notices that most Trainers are going up to a computer on the left of the lobby desk and not the one on the right, unless they were transferring a Pokémon with the Pokéball Transporter.
"Excuse me, Nurse Joy. Why are Trainers going to that computer over there?" John asks as he walks over to the nurse.
"Oh, hello there. That's the request board. You see, people will put out requests for Trainers to do for them. Any Trainer can complete them. Just choose the requests that you want to do and then insert your Pokédex into the computer so that those requests are registered to you," Nurse Joy says. John nods, but he notices that the nurse in front of him doesn't recognize him.
"Say you look like the nurse that helped me last night and this morning, but you are not her, are you?" John asks.
"Oh, that was my younger cousin. She has the late and morning shift while I have the day shift. I'm also the head nurse at this Pokémon Center," Nurse Joy says with a smile.
"How many are you and are you all named Joy?" John asks as he cocks an eyebrow.
"Why yes, it's a family name and our family is spread out far and wide. Is there anything else you would like to know?" Nurse Joy asks.
"No thanks, I'm good for now." John says before walking away. He approaches the holo-video phone and takes a seat at one of the booths. After paying a single Poke he dials in the number for home. The phone rings before the screen appears with the text "Voice only" as the voice of his mother comes through.
"Russi residence! Lisa speaking," his mother calls out, as on her end she is taking the video call on the home computer.
"Hi, mom!" John calls out. As soon as he speaks, he hears a joyful squeal and a few random clicks before the screen turns into live video call feed, showing his mom.
"Hey, John! There's my rising Pokémon Trainer! Did you just get into Viridian City?" Lisa beams with a happy smile, glad to see that her son made it to the next town over in one piece.
"No, I got in last night," John answer's back. His mother's smile, however turns into a frown.
"And why haven't you called me as soon as you got into that Pokémon Center?" Lisa scolds John over the video call.
"Well, I forgot, and it was late when I got here," John says as he holds up his hands.
"Well, next time you enter a new city don't forget to check in with me. Even if it's through an email," said Lisa. "So, who's your starter and did you catch any Pokémon yet?"
"My starter is Charmander. I named him Blaze and I caught a Rattata yesterday, too!" John announces.
"Oh good. Well, I hope you get another Pokémon soon, I hear that Pokémon Gyms can be difficult," says Lisa.
"I will. You know what, I think I'll go catch a new Pokémon today!" John says with determination in his voice.
"Good! Oh, I gotta get ready for work. Now remember, John, if you wanna be like your idols and be a great Trainer, remember that a good Trainer is a good Samaritan. Help as many people as you can and never do wrong," said Lisa.
"I will, Mom, and I'll let you know when I get to Pewter City. Have a good day at work," said John, before the video call ends.
John stands up from the holo-phone and proceeds to walk over to the request board computer. John starts typing away on the touch screen and brings up current local unclaimed requests. The are only four requests left available for John to choose from. The first job request that John comes across is from a home gardener within the northern district of the city. Apparently, Bug-type Pokémon keep invading her backyard garden and eating up all her home-grown vegetables and flowers, and it's costing her to keep replanting them. She needs a Trainer to clear them out in one day, in hopes that it will keep them out of her yard for some time.
The second request John finds is a lost Pokémon. The requestor's daughter had her pet male Nidoran go missing while out in the park when a thunderstorm rolled in. It was spooked by a loud clap of thunder and went to run and hide. They were unable to find it before it started downpouring and it hasn't returned since then. The poster is willing to pay a award for any Trainer to find his daughter's missing pet Pokémon.
The third job request is from the local Pokémart. A wild Rattata had somehow gotten its way into the store and the employees had been unsuccessful in removing it. It has been causing trouble for the store as it is making a mess, stealing random objects and hiding them somewhere, and getting into food items. They want a Trainer to come remove the Rattata, or at least faint it so they can relocate it back into one of the surrounding routes.
The last job request appears to have been posted by a young girl. Her grandpa had come home from a beer-filled fishing trip and now he is suffering from the aftereffects of drinking so much. He is acting like a toddler while suffering from his hangover and is laying across the sidewalk next to their house, blocking the path and refusing to move until he gets his morning coffee. The poster claims her house is out of coffee and she can't just leave her grandpa alone, thinking that he might get himself into even more trouble. She requests for someone bring her grandpa some black coffee, and she'll compensate for the cost of the coffee.
John checks all four requests before inserting his Pokédex into the machine. A buffering wheel appears on the screen before a green check mark with the message "All selected requests registered to Trainer: Johnathan Russi" replaces it. As John puts away his Pokedex, he can hear some Trainers behind him talking about something. It almost sounds like Pokémon talk. John steps away from the request board computer and walks over to the two boys and girl.
"Hey, what's the word?" John asks as he steps over to the group.
"There's been reports of a Nidoran swam in Route 22 west of here. A few Trainers have already caught a couple of them," one boy says.
"Oh, they are so cute. I bet they would make great Pokémon Contest partners!" the girl cries out in excitement.
"Oh please, Nidoran are so over-rated! The real rare catch in that route for me has to be Mankey!" the other boy says while pumping his fist.
"Hmm. Nidoran, you say?" John says in thought as he pulls out his Pokédex and gives it a quick lookover. He finds the Pokémon's two different genders listed as two different Pokémon, but this doesn't matter to John as he looks up their typing.
"Well, these Pokémon are Poison-types and I have to deal with Bug-type Pokémon anyway. Sounds like a good opportunity to me," John says as he puts his Pokédex away. John goes to reassure the head nurse that he'll be staying another night at the Pokémon Center, only to be told that he better be back before 11 PM when it's curfew time. John nods before he leaves the building.
John makes his way towards the west and within about a half hour he reaches the outskirts of the town. In John's mind, he hopes this time when he catches a Pokémon that it will be different from when he caught Brisby. After some searching, John finds some tracks of a Nidoran. He closely follows the tracks until he finds a female Nidoran, nibbling away at an Oran Berry that it found. John stays low to the grass as he watches the Poison Point Pokémon enjoy her meal as she holds it in her front paws.
Once she finishes the berry, the Nidoran starts grooming herself, cleaning her face, whiskers and paws of any leftover berry residue. She shakes her head before her nose picks up a scent. She hears the grass moving as she turns her head to see John walking towards her.
"Hey there, little buddy. Are you friendly?" John asks as he lowers himself to one knee to appear non-threating to the Pokémon. The Nidoran tilts her head to the side with one ear up and the other flopped down. She's not sure of what he means, but to her, he looks like he came from one of those strange human forests and that could mean more food. Hoping for an easy snack, the Nidoran hops over to John and sits up on her haunches with her forelegs lifted off the ground, squeaking out a cute "Nido" as she begs for food off the Trainer.
"Aw, well ain't you cute?" John says as he reaches forward and scratches the Nidoran's chin. The Nidoran coos at the touch. This feels nice to her.
"Say, I bet you asking for food from me ain't you?" John asks. At the mention of food the Nidoran's eyes light up.
"Well, I don't have any food on me right now, but if you come with me, I'll make sure that you are fed very well," John says with a smile. At that the Nidoran jumps up and down, her limbs waving with excitement while she is in the air. John smiles as he pulls out a Pokéball and holds it out to her. As soon as the Nidoran sees the ball she reaches forward with her nose and taps the capture button with it. Nidoran is then sucked into the ball in a beam of light. Right away the capture light flashes green as the ball clicks for a successful capture.
John smiles as he releases his new Pokémon. As soon as the Nidoran appears before him, she runs up to him and starts nuzzling his leg. Without scanning her John can tell that his Nidoran has a cuddly nature and is a level 2 Pokémon, but he gets the feeling that her ability is Rivalry and not Poison Point. John reaches down and pets the Nidoran, who in return coos at the affection.
"Since you are so cute, I think I'll call you Holly!" John announces. The Nidoran gives out a happy "Nido-nido!" John takes it as her accepting the name Holly. After giving the Nidoran a few more pets, John returns Holly back into her ball and heads back into the city.
Once in the city, John pulls out his Pokédex and check out the job requests. Deciding the the garden invaders would be the first task, John heads out to the northern district of Viridian City, following the address on the request. John soon arrives at a beautiful house with a large garden behind it. John double checks the address before he walks up and knocks on the door. A woman in her mid-40s answers the door.
"Hello? How may I help you?" the woman asks.
"Hi, I'm John Russi. I'm the Pokémon Trainer that accepted your request." John says as he stands before her in a confident pose.
"Oh, you are here to help keep those bugs out of my garden. You're just in time. It's about this time of the day when they try to make a feast out of my poor plants. This way," the woman says as she steps out and leads John around her house, and to the gate in her fence that leads to her backyard on the right side of her house. John is let in through the gate by the woman, and John sees a 78-square-foot-squared size back yard, with three large garden beds in the middle of the yard, and ten flower beds surrounding the yard's perimeter. As John scans the area, the woman lets out a screech and points.
"There's one of them right there!" she screams. John looks, and right there between the two closest garden beds is a single male Caterpie, casually chewing on a head of homegrown cabbage.
"That's your swarm of invaders? A single little Caterpie?" John turns towards the woman who is hiding behind the fence.
"Normally there's more than one…Caterpie, and Weedle too," the woman says meekly. Hearing this, John falls over to his side anime-style. John quickly recollects himself before he unclips one of his Pokéballs from his belt.
"Alright then, breakfast time is over for this Caterpie! Holly, I choose you!" John says as he throws the Pokéball towards the general direction of the Bug-type Pokémon. The Pokéball lands six meters away from John and Holly the Nidoran appears as she lets out a "Raaaaan!"
"Holly, stop that Caterpie from eating any more plants!" John orders his Pokémon. Holly looks around and then at John as she tilts her head with a confused "Nido?", not noticing the Caterpie at first. She spots some Rawst Berry plants that are blossoming. She runs over to the northeast corner of the garden bed to sniff at the Rawst Berry flowers, only for her to finally see the Caterpie eating away at the vegetables in the middle garden bed. The Caterpie quickly notices Holly as she runs over towards the southern garden bed. Seeing the Nidoran as a threat, it lets out a fearful screech before it runs westward along the middle garden's width, seeing as it can't crawl through the vegetable patch with all the current plants growing in the garden.
"Quick, don't let it get away!" John yells out as he runs toward the Caterpie, only making it five meters before he stops himself from running across the southern Berry garden. John was going to run along the path between the southern garden and the house, but he notices that the Caterpie is heading north and around the garden beds. Right there, John realizes that the Caterpie, and most likely other small Bug-type Pokémon, have a way in and out of the garden through the back northern fence.
"Try to cut it off, Holly. It's trying to escape through the back fence!" John shots out. Holly nods and starts to run northward as well. At this point, the Caterpie has already turned the corner and is making its way up towards the back fence. John runs after Holly, and as he passed the southern garden John unclips another Pokéball and throws it towards the Caterpie.
"Stop that Caterpie, Brisby!" John yells out as his second Pokéball soars over the middle garden, landing about two meters away from the fleeing Caterpie. The Rattata pops out of her Pokéball and quickly realizes what is going on. She closes the distance on the fleeing Caterpie before it passes by her and slams into him with a Tackle attack, dealing max damage to the Bug-type Pokémon and sending him rolling onto his side about two meters away from his attacker. Holly, still having her orders to cut off the Caterpie's path, continues to run towards the back fence, reaching the back of the northern garden as the Caterpie recovers from his attack. The Caterpie shakes his head, hurting pretty badly, but still sees his chance of escaping as he races off and passes the northen garden.
"Good job, girls, but it's still making a break for it!" John calls out as he passes the middle garden. John unclips his last Pokéball and tries to throw it ahead of the Caterpie.
"Block its path, Blaze!" John yells out as the Pokéball soars over the northern garden. The Charmander appears no less than a meter away from the running – or in this case, crawling – Bug-type. Blaze quickly notices the Caterpie's direction and steps right into its path with his arms held out wide to block it.
With the Charmander's appearance, Brisby quickly runs around the northern garden and catches up to the Caterpie's right side. The Rattata was about to tackle the Bug-type, but then she realizes that on the other side of the Caterpie is a bed of flowers that had recently been planted by the homeowner. Getting the sense that Blaze will stop or at least attack the Caterpie, she starts wagging her tail, smacking the Caterpie in the face and the back of his head with a Tail Whip and lowering his defenses.
Holly, on the other hand, rounds the northern garden herself and starts to head directly towards the Caterpie. This is the first time she can see her fellow teammates as they all gather to try to stop the thieving Caterpie. However, the Caterpie runs around Blaze, slipping past him and Holly. As John is catching up to his Pokémon and running past the northern garden, he sees the Caterpie slipping past Blaze and Holly and notices right where the Bug-type is heading.
"Right there! There's a hole in the fence, dead center! Don't let it through!" John says as he points right between the two middle back flower beds. Blaze notices where his Trainer is pointing, and indeed there is a gap for a small-sized Pokémon to squeeze through. Being the fastest of his teammates, he quickly gets in between the Caterpie and his escape route, stopping the Bug-type in his tracks as he Growls at it. The Caterpie jumps a bit from the Charmander blocking his path once more as his attack lowers.
Brisby quickly rushes up on to Caterpie's left flank and Tackles him. As the Rattata sends him flying to his right, Blaze spins on his heel, flicking his tail-flame towards the Caterpie and dealing more damage on top of the damage his Normal-type partner had done. The Bug-type lands in a heap next to middle right flower bed, with swirly eyes as it is now fainted.
"Yeah! We did it!" John cheers as he jumps for joy. All his Pokémon cheer in victory as well. John scoops up the knocked-out Caterpie and relocates it out of the woman's yard.
"Do you think when it recovers it will tell its friends not to come here anymore?" the woman asks.
"I don't know about that, but it would help if you did some steps to prevent more of them from returning." John says as he comes back into the yard and kneels to look at the hole in the fence.
"I think the first step is to close this hole. Do you have anything that can help with that?" John asks as he turns towards the woman as she finally enters her own back yard.
"My husband does. He made some wooden flower boxes for me to put in front of the windows, and he has some left over wood along with his tools."
"Cool. I think I can seal up this hole for you," said John.
"Really? But you don't have to do that for me," the woman said as she clasps her hands together.
"No, it's ok. A great Pokémon Trainer is a reliable Trainer. The sooner that hole is closed off, the better." John says as he stands up.
"Oh, thank you," the woman says as she shows John to her husband's workshop. John grabs three wooden boards and a hammer from the workshop and heads back to the northern section of the yard. With Holly's digging help, John drives the three boards into the ground to crudely cover up the hole, a task that takes him a full hour as the woman gives him some water for his hard work. As John stands up to admire the rough job, he starts to think of other ways that the woman can prevent wild Bug-type Pokémon from invading her yard.
"Now that I think about it, since gardening seems to be your thing, you should invest in some plants that would keep Bug-types out," John says as he looks around the yard.
"Oh, and what kind of plants should I get?" the woman asks.
"Peppermint would be a good plant to get, but all mint kind spreads out unless you find a way to stop that. But since you like flowers, I would suggest in investing in some lavender, marigolds or even petunias," John says with a smile. "It's something I remember when I was reading up on different types of Pokémon online."
"You know, I've been meaning to buy some lavender plants to grow. I didn't know they could keep Bug-type Pokémon away. I gotta look into that. Oh, and thank you once again for your help," the woman said as she pulls out her cell phone and marks her request as completed. She then gives John 480 Poke and a single Pokéball.
"How come you are giving me this Pokéball?" John asks, looking confused.
"Oh, my husband gave it to me. Said I should use it to catch one of those bug Pokémon so I can relocate it myself, but I don't like Bug-type Pokémon, even if they are inside a Pokéball," the woman answers.
"Oh ok, thank you for the money and the Pokéball!" John says as he takes the Poke and the Pokéball. With one final farewell and a snack for his Pokémon, John leaves the house to fulfill the next requested job on his list.
Doubling checking on his Pokédex, he finds the coffee run request to be near him as well. This shall be the next one. He hopes that it is not too late in the day for him to do so. However, as John reads through the request, it fails to tell him where to get said coffee. John had to think quickly to figure out where would be the closest places that sell fresh-brewed coffee. After a few minutes, John was able to find a nearby coffee house and got a black coffee to go. Coffee in hand, he races off towards the address listed on the request, making a quick pace towards the house without spilling a single drop. It was easy for John to spot which house he needed to go to, as there is an old man laying across the sidewalk path with his arms crossed and a very grumpy look on his face.
"I told you kids. I ain't moving. This sidewalk is a part of my property!" The old man grumbles as John walks up to him.
"Umm…actually, I was told that you needed some coffee? I got you this," John said as he holds out the insulated to-go cup.
"Hmm? What's that you say? You got me some coffee? . . . . . Yes, some coffee sounds good right now," the old man says as he brings himself into a sitting position before then standing up. "But why are you bringing me this? And don't talk so loudly."
"Oh, well your granddaughter made a request for anyone to bring you some coffee since you're all out," John answers. The old man then takes the cup from John and takes a small sip from the lid. His eyes go wide as he takes in the taste of the still-hot drink.
"Hot damn! Black as night! Just the way I like it. You're not too bad, kid. Say, did you pay for this?" the old man asks.
"I did, sir," John says as he nods.
"I see. Well, let me pay you back for this, then," the old man says as he pulls out his wallet. John shows him the receipt and the old man gives John the exact amount that he paid. As John puts away his Poke, the old man notices the Pokéballs on John's belt.
"Are you Pokémon Trainer?" the old man asks.
"Why, yes I am. I aim to be a great Ace Trainer and be like Lance!" John says as he pumps a first. The old man laughs at John's enthusiasm.
"I used to be a Capture Specialist myself back in my day," the old man said proudly. He then proceeds to lecture John on how to catch Pokémon. To weaken them, how status conditions such as if the Pokémon is asleep or paralyzed can help to increase the chance of a capture, and how there are different Pokéballs that John can buy. All the while, he drinks his coffee as he explains. By the end of his little lecture, a thought occurs to the old man.
"Heh, listen to me rambling on to a kid about my past, when I myself was acting like a brat over a hangover. I think it's time for me to start sobering up for my fishing trips. Would you mind waiting here for me for bit, young man?" the old man asks.
"Um sure, but why?" John asks.
"You'll see. I got something for ya," The old man says as he heads back to his house. A few minutes later, he comes back with a canteen.
"Here, take this. Now I'm not just gonna go cold turkey, but I won't be needing this anymore. Maybe you can find a better use for this, like keeping water in it. Now don't worry, I already cleaned it out so you and your Pokémon won't be tasting anything that you shouldn't be," the old man said as he holds the canteen out to John.
"Are you sure about this? We barely just met," John asks as he looks between the old man and the item he is giving him.
"I can tell you are a good kid. It's not every day that some old grump like me has a random kid give him coffee. Go ahead and take it," the old man says as he gestures the canteen towards John.
"Th-thank you sir," John says as he takes the canteen.
"Just remember what I told you about catching Pokémon and you should be fine," the old man says as the two bid farewell.
John starts to head towards the PokéMart when his Pokédex beeps, confirming that the coffee run request had been completed. By now it's now midday and the morning chill has faded. After some time, and about two blocks away from the Pokémon Center, John finally comes across the PokéMart with the Rattata problem. As John approaches the sliding doors, he can already hear a ruckus coming from inside. It seems the wild Rattata is causing trouble for the poor shop worker. John walks in and right in front of the door he see the shop worker wearing a PokéMart apron, his hands on his knees as he pants.
"Damn, that little pest got away from me," the shop worker grumbles as he pants.
"Um, hi, I'm here for the Rattata help request. Did I come at a bad time?" John asks, hoping not to make the worker upset.
"No, you came just in time. This Rattata has been a pain in the a-I mean butt. If you can help me get it out of here, I'll give you a little reward," the shop worker says.
"I'll help however I can! Now where is the Rattata?" John asks with a determined look in his eyes.
"Don't know. I just went into the back to restock some bottles of water and found it tearing into a bag of chips. I tried going after it myself and chased it out here, but lost sight of it," the shop worker said as he scans the area, trying to locate the Rattata.
"Don't worry. I'll find it!" John announces as he pumps a fist.
"Thanks. I'll go outside to stay out of your way and let people know that we're closed for a while," the shop worker said before he walks past John. John scans the storefront from the entrance, but doesn't see anything.
"This might take longer than I thought. Maybe another pair of eyes and ears can help?" John asks himself as he unclips one of his Pokéballs from his belt. John takes a few steps further in before he calls out Blaze. The Charmander appears a couple of meters in front of him with a cry, ready to help his Trainer.
"There's a Rattata somewhere in this store causing trouble. I need you to help me find him," John ordered. So far, after the garden request, John is feeling good about working with his Pokémon to solve problems.
"Char-char!" Blaze calls before he runs off towards the back of the store to look for the little purple troublemaker. Blaze sniffs at the air hoping to catch the scent of wild Pokémon, while trying to keep his sight and hearing sharp until he can hear something like scratching.
"Char!" Blaze cries out as he points to the east end of the shop. John turns and looks, noticing the quiet sound.
"Yeah…I can hear it now too," John says as he heads towards the sound.
"I'll go in from the bottom. You go in from the top," John quietly orders the Charmander. Blaze nods. John heads down near the store's front and as soon as he makes the corner around the middle aisle, John spots the Rattata as its tearing into a bag of dried fruit that it somehow manage to knock down from the wall display. Blaze rushes over, up to the other end of the aisle as John commanded him to. Also catching sight of the Rattata, he sandwiches the wild Pokémon between himself and John inside of the aisle. The wild Rattata's ears twitch as he hears both Trainer and Pokémon flanking him. The Normal-type starts to panic. Looking between the two that are trying to corner him in, he sees the Charmander being the least threating due to the human standing taller than both of them, and so he rushes past Blaze and rounds the corner of the middle aisle, heading for the more open area of the storefront.
"It's trying to find a new hiding spot! Don't let it out of our sights!" John yells as he turns after the Rattata, getting between the wild Pokémon and the door. Blaze quickly follows the Rattata, slipping behind it. He raises his right arm and swings it at the Rattata as he uses Scratch, hoping to scare the Rattata out of the store. His attack lands against the Rattata's back, doing a decent amount of damage. The Rattata squeaks in pain and turns to face his attacker. Using his hind legs, he tries to tackle the Charmander, but Blaze is able to bring his arms up to block the Normal-type's attack.
"Yeah! Great job, Blaze! Get him again with another Scratch attack!" John cheers as he stands between the Rattata and the door that leads to the back rooms of the shop, unknowingly cutting the Rattata off from his path. Blazes raises his left claw and with a mighty cry, Scratches the Rattata across the face and leaving a cut on its nose. The Rattata faints, his energy spent.
"Wow, that went better than when caught Brisby," John says, a little shocked that it was as easy as the Caterpie that he fought earlier. At that moment, the store worker walks in to check up on things.
"So, no one has come to shop yet. Is everything ok?" the store worker says before he spots the fainted Rattata. "Is that the little pest that's been costing the PokéMart money?!"
"Yes, sir. It's all taken care of, but…what should I do with him?" John asks as he looks at the wild Pokémon.
"I'll deal with him. I guess I'll take him to the Pokémon Center where they can treat him and release him somewhere. However, I can't thank you enough. Here, my manager says I should give this to any Trainer that comes and takes care of that Pokémon," the store worker says as he walks around the counter. He opens the register and pulls out a plastic card and hands it to John. It has the PokéMart logo on it, along with the words "Kanto".
"Huh? What's this?" John asks as he takes the card.
"That's a discount card. When you shop at a PokéMart it will give you a twenty percent discount on all items, but it only works in Kanto," the store worker says.
"Really?! Wow, thank you!" John says happily.
"No, thank you for helping us out with this Rattata! And don't forget to stop by later for all your shopping needs," the shop worker says. Before leaving, the shop worker gives John a free deli sandwich and a couple of apples for his Pokémon as thanks.
John heads back to his room at the Pokémon Center to take a small break and to rest his feet. He calls out all his Pokémon for a bit of lunch that they have earned for helping at the PokéMart.
"You did a good job today buddy, here," John said as he pets Blaze's head before giving him an apple. Blaze lets out a cute "char!" before he bites into the apple. Holly right away runs up to John and starts nuzzling his shin as she squeaks out a "nido-nido."
"You may have joined the team today, Holly, but you did your best out there with the Caterpie. Heck, you even helped me with those boards so you did a good job too," John says as he pets the Nidoran. "Here you go, just like I said. I promised that I'd feed you." John places the apple down before the Nidoran. Holly's eyes brighten at the sight of the red fruit before she cutely pounces on it and starts nibbling away at her meal. Brisby has jumped on top of the desk and watches John interact with the two Pokémon before her. To her John seems like a friendly human, but still, when they first met, he ordered his Pokémon to attack her first before she noticed them. John notices the Rattata watching him, so he moves to sit at the desk with her, careful as to not step on Blaze or Holly as he does so.
"Crazy morning today, huh, Brisby?" John asks the Rattata. Brisby just stares at him. John has no idea if the little Pokémon understands what he is saying.
"Sorry about yesterday. I always heard that new Trainers test their skills on wild Pokémon on Route 1. Maybe I should have seen if you were aggressive or not. I do hope we can get to be friends as we journey together," John says as he smiles at the Rattata. Brisby just grunts a "tata" at him.
"Well, I hope that was a maybe coming from you," John smiles as he pets Brisby. Brisby accepts the pets as John places the last apple in front of her. The Rattata sniffs at the apple before she starts to nibble at it, making grunting and squeaking noises as she does so. A clear sign that she is enjoying the fruit. John himself takes out the deli sandwich he earned from the PokéMart and starts to eat his own lunch.
Once their lunch is over, John gives each Pokémon some pets and attention before calling them back into their balls. He throws away the apple cores that they left behind before he leaves the Pokémon Center to take care of the last request. By the time John reaches the house addressed in the request it's about mid-afternoon. John interviews the father that made the post to get all the details that he could get. The missing male Nidoran is timid in nature and wears a blue collar. It responds to the name Needle and it loves leaf lettuce and Oran Berries.
John is told which park they were at and is given a Oran Berry as a way to help locate the missing Nidoran. It takes John an hour to find the park before he can start his search for the Nidoran. It's going to be harder than the last three request due to the fact that the Nidoran has been missing for four days. Much like the family he met, John is also hoping that the Nidoran is okay and that nothing bad has happened to it.
John walks around the park, scanning the area for any clues. After a few minutes he starts to find spots where the dirt has been dug up and marks on trees, John recognizes these as signs of a Nidoran from his Pokémon books. Some three-day-old tracks in patches of mud also catch his eye – mud that bears the pawprints of a Nidoran. To John, the dug-up spots are newer than the pawprints and are clear signs of a Nidoran foraging for food. From the looks of it, it has been unsuccessful.
John starts to follow the markings and other signs. Occasionally, John loses the tracks and signs, but he soon finds the markings again. At one point, John even ends up going around in circles. After a couple of hours and as the sun starts to dip down in the early evening sky, John finds a fresh set of Pokémon markings near a bridge that crosses over a pond. John goes over to the bridge and gets near the edge of the water - and lo and behold, he finds the missing Nidoran. Scared, shaking, and a little skinny, as he hasn't been able to find food for a couple of days.
"Needle?" John calls out to the Nidoran. Needle looks up and sees a strange human that he'd never met, peering into his little hideaway from the big scary world, calling out his name. How does this human know his name? Is he friends with his human family? Feeling scared, the Nidoran backs up to where the bridge meets with the ground and curls up into a protective ball.
"Hey, hey, there's no need for that. I'm here to help you. See?" John says as he pulls out the Oran Berry and holds it out to the Nidoran. John makes calm and soothing noises to help coax the Poison-type out. Needle slowly uncurls and looks up at John. He eyes the Trainer for a second before his gaze turns towards the Oran Berry. The poor lost Nidoran's stomach growls loudly before he slowly starts to walk towards John.
As Needle moves closer and closer to John, he gets the sense that John is not going to hurt him and is indeed there to help him. Once close enough, the Nidoran starts to eat the Berry out of John's hand.
"See, I'm not so bad now, am I?" John says as he watches the Nidoran. John waits until Needle finishes the Berry off and cleans his face.
"Wanna go home, little guy?" John asks the male Nidoran. The Nidoran tilts his head to one side as he hears a familiar word. He then sits up on his haunches and waves his forepaws at John while squeaking out a desperate "nido-nidoran-nido!" at him.
"Alright then, let's get you safely home," John says as he scoops up Needle, being careful as to not get scratched by the Nidoran's toxic spikes. John retraces his steps out of the park and back to the house of Needle's family, all the while carrying the Nidoran. By the time he returns the Nidoran to his proper home, the sky is starting to turn orange. John watches as Needle has a tearful reunion with his favorite human, the family's little girl.
"Thank you for finding my daughter's pet," the father beams at John.
"You're welcome. I'm just glad nothing happened to the little guy. If it was my Pokémon that went messing, I would be worried sick too," John says. "Speaking of which, you guys should get him checked out at the Pokémon Center. He looks like he hasn't eaten since he went missing."
"I will, but for now I'm just going to let those two have their moment," the father says. After a few more thank-yous, the father gives John 2,340 Poke as an award for finding the missing pet. As John leaves the family, he feels more fulfilled than completing the other requests. Not because of the money that he just received, but more so that he was able to do a lot of good for that family.
John returns to the PokéMart to buy some supplies for him and his Pokémon. He purchases herbivore Pokéchow that will last his three Pokémon for a week and instant cup ramen for himself, on top of 6 Potions and 4 Antidotes to prepare for the road ahead. It costs him a total of 2,618 Poke with his discount. By the time he gets back to the Pokémon Center, it is now nighttime.
John heads to the diner inside the Center and makes himself a cup of ramen from the coffee machine's hot water tab and prepares his Pokémon a serving of Pokéchow. John makes sure to use salt packets from the diner to give a little extra flavor to Holly's and Brisby's share of food and spent an extra 150 Poke on getting a Rawst Berry for Blaze's food. He chops it up and mixes it into the kibble before he lets out his Pokémon to eat. Both Blaze and Holly eagerly start eating their food, and beam with happiness once they taste the extra flavors added to their bowls. Brisby sniffs at hers at first but takes a nibble. The Rattata looks shocked at the salty taste before she looks up at John who was smiling at her. The Rattata looks back down at her food before she starts eating away.
The Pokémon finish their food before John and they all give out a yawn. John keeps all three Pokémon out of the Pokéballs as he leads them back up to his room. Once there, John finds a basket with a pair of loaner PJ's and a note from the evening shift Nurse Joy.
"Use these for your stay for the night and leave your clothes in the basket. We'll have them cleaned for you by the time you wake up." John reads the note out loud as Brisby once again jumps up onto the desk in the room. John shrugs as he changes his clothes for the night and places his day clothes in the basket. John takes note that Brisby is sitting on the desk and that it looks like she is getting ready to settle there for the night.
"Are you sure you want to sleep there for the night?" John asks the Rattata. Brisby just yawns as Blaze finds himself a nice spot on the floor to curl up on to sleep.
"Well ok, if that's what you want," John says. He figures that with her nature, Brisby probably wants to play look out for the night just to make sure trouble doesn't come bursting into their room. As John slips underneath the blanket of the Pokémon Center's bed, Holly jumps up on top of the bed and curls up against John's leg above the covers.
"Heh heh, trying to keep me company for the night?" John asks as he chuckles. The female Nidoran lets out a cute yawn before she cuddles closer to John's leg.
"Thanks, Holly. Just try to be careful with your back spikes, please," John says as he lets out a yawn. Tomorrow will be a new day as John plans to leave Viridian City and head north towards Pewter City, but first, he must make his way through Route 2's Viridian Forest. Right now, it is time for our hero to catch some rest as the journey continues.
Scene Playlist: A Night in the Pokemon Center - Minecraft Sweden
Morning at the Center - Pokemon Center Theme Zame Composed version.
A Chase through the Garden - Silly Psyduck
RatMart - Wii Shop Theme
Bounding with Pokemon - PMD2 Welcome to The World of Pokermon
Looking for a Needle in a Park - Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Investigation Core
Turning in for the Night – Pokemon Anime Meeting and Parting
So end of chapter notes. Didn't think I needed to end one for the last chapter but decided to add one here.
First thing first to address is that John did indeed start off with some money, about 5,000 in the background in let's just call "chapter 0", he just happen to use Some of it to get some other items behind the scenes. If you all would like his personal invotory list and current money balance in the end chapter notes please be sure to let me know in the comments alone with if you all want current character and Pokemon stats as well.
Yes, John will be doing side quests as away to make money or even earn some items to help him in his travels. A lot of these will be random and base on his current location and will mostly pop up in towns and cities. Alot of these will be random but I'll have some preplan for him story wise for meeting certain characters, be they from the fanchise or OC's.
I will try to add in reference and easter eggs in my chapters, or at least one if not more such as I did in this Chapter. I would like others take a guess at what reference I made and if they are correct I will credit them in these end chapter notes.
And finally I would like the thank and give credit to Perri for Beta-reading and editing this chapter for me. I would also like to thank blindwolf87, Lycris and XD-385 for consulting as well as Perri while I was writing this chapter and notes for the series for future progress.