A pokedex rang in the halls of the Viridian City gym, resting in an office at the back of the building. It sat on a pristine, freshly carved wooden desk in a room filled with books and other documents. Each one was in its rightful place, without clutter or embarrassment.

The office was the spitting image of professionalism.

The man sitting at the desk was much the same. He might have been perfectly put together without the few threads out of place here or there, the slight bags beneath his eyes, or the empty cup of coffee glued to his hands. The man had broad features and a shaved head of black hair. He'd dare say he was quite handsome if he hadn't pulled another all-nighter.

"Well, if it isn't the great Samuel Oak, to what do I owe the honor?" the man said as he erased all signs of exhaustion and picked up the phone. A Cheshire grin crawled up his face.

"Quit with the pleasantries, Giovanni. We both know they don't suit you." The aged voice responded from the other end.

Giovanni, the gym leader of Viridian, chuckled sheepishly, "Too old for chit-chat, I suppose."

"Too old for a lot of things, Giovanni."

"Fair enough. Well then, why the abrupt call? We both know it doesn't suit you." Giovanni replied as he leaned back, twirling the cord in his fingers as he listened to Oak say something interesting.

"I need a favor."

Something very interesting.

"Please tell me more." Giovanni smiled as he sat up, his attention caught as Oak continued. "Yesterday, my grandson and our neighbor skipped town."

"I wasn't aware you had a grandson."

"Yes, I like to keep it quiet. The less the league knows, the better." Oak said, and Giovanni read between the lines. "Very well, I suppose it wouldn't do to give those bloodsuckers anymore than they require."

"Thank you."

"Save it," Giovanni said as he leaned back in his chair. He tapped on the desk as he readjusted a flower decorative bracelet left on the edge of it. He was glancing over it before setting it aside.

"My silence is free. My cooperation is not."

"I would expect nothing less," Samuel grumbled. "As I said, this is a favor. I will owe you one in return. Whenever you wish to cash it in, call me."

"Those terms are acceptable," Giovanni said, letting his finger still as he confirmed the debt he was now owed. "Now, what is it you would have me do."

"Are you in Viridian City at the moment?"

"Yes," Giovanni said, tipping his hand towards the empty mug off of habit. "Although with all the extra work I've been getting, it's not entirely appealing."

"Ah, the woes of a gym leader. Paperwork."

"Ah, the woes of a grandfather. Grandchildren."

"Touché." Samuel chuckled, "Regardless, I need you to look out for my Grandson. We think he's gone to either Route 1 or Route 21. I'm at Cinnabar, so I plan to look around Route 21 for the next few days."

"I suppose that leaves Route 1 to me," Giovanni said. "Very well then. I'll let you know if I find anything. Keep an eye out for my call."

"About my grandson or the favor?"

"Both, most likely. It's been a pleasure, Samuel."

"Of course it has," Samuel grumbled sarcastically before the line went dead, and Giovanni set the phone down. His head was ringing from lack of sleep as he picked up his mug and walked over to the coffee machine in the corner. He'd been living off it as of late, and he had a feeling he'd need a lot more if he were going to find Samuel's wayward grandson.

Giovanni was almost tempted to ignore the request and go back to sleep. There was nothing in the agreement that he had to start right away, and Giovanni wasn't one to bend over backward for favors. Still, after a moment's consideration, he drank his freshly made brew and left his office. In this particular instance, it was worth it.

Not every day, did someone have the great Samuel Oak in their debt.


In the woods of Route 1, Butterfree fluttered through the treetops. The Kakuna slumbered, and Metapod clung to tree bark. In one tree, marked by green leaves and a slight breeze, a boy sat atop one of the branches, his feet kicking back and forth.

Cyan had run into a bit of a problem in his first pokemon battle.

How should I go about training Andromeda?

He couldn't figure out which moves Andromeda knew, resorting to her quick movements and sharp claws to attack. Using the most basic move known to all, tackle, to get a win over Red's Nidoran. It might've ended differently if Nidoran had been better at utilizing its poison sting.

Cyan might've lost.

Cyan frowned as he sat on a branch overlooking a forest they'd wandered into. They were still a few days from Viridian, and at this point, he wanted to figure out what he needed to train the most. He didn't want to waste these days.

If I had a Pokédex, this would have been so much easier.

A Pokédex would tell him information about his Pokémon that would be good to know, specifically all the moves that a Pidgey is confirmed to be able to learn currently. It was a big database, and knowing the moves and their descriptions would help Cyan teach his Pidgey how to replicate them or at least give him an idea of where to start.

Ok, do what dad says. Bullet point it.

Dad loved bullet points. He saw them as an easy way to organize everything in his mind and on paper. Cyan would take a page from his book and separate his current knowledge into lists.

What moves does Andromeda know?

Tackle. It's hard not to know it. Scratch probably. The talon marks left on the Nidoran were plentiful, even if they weren't too damaging. Peck. She had a beak. She knew Peck. Cyan would go back home and rethink his life choices if he was wrong.

What moves does she need to learn?

Gust was the most pressing move Cyan wanted his pidgey to learn. It would be the easiest way to deal with those poison stings. Plus, she needed a ranged attack. At least until he got Andromeda agile enough to dodge, it would take time, so he had to start soon. He couldn't let her stagnate when Red had already promised to make their spars a daily occurrence.

Although they'd be a lot more careful.

For their Pokémons' sake...

And to not piss Yellow off, but minor details.

Regardless, Cyan needed his pidgey to improve. He would be lying if he said that battling was the most essential thing in the world to him, but he enjoyed it, and he wanted to win. He hated losing, and he definitely didn't want to lose to Red.

I wonder how he's training his Nidoran.

Cyan grinned, his train of thought derailing as a loud "Pidgey!" caught his attention. Cyan glanced back and saw Andromeda flying up to him, gently gliding over the wind beneath its newly healed wings. Cyan smiled, "Hey girl, Yellow finally let you out?"

"Pidgey!" Andromeda nodded, giving Cyan an affectionate nip as Cyan began scratching beneath her chin. She seemed to like that the most. Cyan was starting to lead a lot about his Pokémon. A connection was beginning to form.

Cyan already learned a lot from that growing connection.

Andromeda liked flying and was proud of her appearance. She hated losing and had the potential to be far faster than she currently was. From now on, her agility had to be the focal point of their training.

She wouldn't accept anything less than flying circles around her opponents.

Cyan could only describe her as regal.

"Hey, girl. There's a move I want you to try and learn." Cyan grinned as he scratched beneath her wings. He didn't know how to teach her gust, but if he had to use the process of elimination, then that was fine. They still had a while until they made it to Viridian City.

He'd devote half her training to Gust and the other half to agility training.

"It's called Gust."

Cyan was going to start training his first Pokémon.

"We're gonna use it to get back at Red's Nidoran for singing your pretty feathers."

Andromeda's chirp was just as eager as his.


Red was running into a problem.

I never really expected...

He was at a loss for words, one could say.

For my first Pokémon to catch me.

Red tilted his head in silent thought. The Nidoran from Pallet Town, having followed him the day they left and refusing to leave his side since, tilted its head similarly. Red tilted his head the other way, and the Nidoran followed. Red huffed and smiled slightly as he sat and thought about it.

Does it want to be my Pokémon? I know it battled, but it might have been doing me a favor.

Red tilted his head at the thought, staring at the Nidoran before him. The Nidoran stared back. Red eventually felt that this Nidoran wanted to be his first Pokemon. He couldn't explain it. In the same way, he couldn't explain why the Nidoran had insisted on following him out of Pallet Town in the first place. He could almost summarize it as a feeling: a hunch or even a sixth sense.

It was the same feeling he got every time he looked at a wild Pokemon—a vague connection.

Right now, that connection told Red this Nidoran, his Nidoran, he supposed, was happy. There was a tiny bit of excitement. There was some impatience. There was more than a little petty annoyance that they couldn't beat Cyan's Andromeda, dumb name, by the way, in a battle. It was the same frustration Red felt because he didn't know how to fix it. He'd overlooked this part of being a trainer.

I can't tell him what to do in battle.

He probably should've considered it, since yelling out was the most essential part of being a trainer, and that wasn't an option.

How do I get around that?

Red frowned as he scribbled some ideas in the dirt. His Nidoran crawled onto his shoulder and peered at the words in the sand. To Red's knowledge, the Nidoran didn't understand how to read, but it was always possible. Pokemon always seemed to have a knack for language, plus the action of carving his words into something physical was soothing.

Morse Code?

Disregarding the fact that he'd have to learn Morse code, it was too long. The battle would be over by the time they were halfway through. Then, there was the chance the noise might get lost in the heat of battle. It just wasn't practical.

Writing.

Writing out his orders on a whiteboard was even less so.

Charades?

It already worked to a marginal degree with Nidoran; a head nod could convey a lot. Pokemon were incredible at reading body language, but that came with a caveat. Red had to be in sight. Any Pokemon must constantly look back for advice, away from their opponent. Too risky.

It only took one mistake to lose.

Run around the battle, so I'm always in sight?

His Nidoran crossed that one out.

Turn you into a psychic type, and then train you to read my thoughts?

Red found it offensive that his Nidoran seemed to spend more time considering that option before crossing it out than the previous ones. That was it. Red didn't have any other ideas. He'd been studying Pokemon trainers ever since he could walk, and the thought of being unable to direct them in battle, as every trainer was supposed to do, was... irritating.

Do you have any ideas?

Red looked one to the Nidoran, his head tilted curiously as the Nidoran shrugged. It felt like the Nidoran just wanted to fight. It didn't care about how it did so. Other than making Red realize his first Pokémon was a battle junkie, not much help. Red was still stuck on how to give it orders.

It's not like I could just let it fight by itself.

Red huffed at the thought before blinking. His head tilted slightly at the Nidoran, recalling the battle and, more importantly, his goal. He wanted to see a lot of Pokémon all across Kanto. It was easier to do that if he was a trainer.

In the same way, it was easier for Cyan to explore if he was a trainer.

They both wanted to be trainers.

That meant battling. It meant winning. That's what everyone saw it as, and yeah, Red didn't like losing. He'd rather his Pokémon win if he had the option.

But at the end of the day, his goal wasn't to be the best.

It was to meet more Pokémon.

Maybe that's why he could look at being a trainer differently. He wasn't as attached to the idea of a traditional trainer as most. It wasn't like he would be a normal one anyway; he was lacking the most basic requirement. From the get-go, Red had to be a different breed of trainer.

He couldn't speak.

He couldn't shout orders.

So he wouldn't.

He'd just make sure his Pokémon didn't need them.


Two hours later, the two boys met outside camp and returned to Yellow. They argued animatedly, and Cyan hissed, "Oi, quit laughing, jerk! Andromeda's a great name, and you know it." His ears were red, and Red chuckled silently.

Red gave a shrug that looked like, 'If you say so.'

"I don't know why I'm arguing with you. You didn't even name yours." Cyan grumbled.

"Pidgey!" The Pidgey on his shoulder cried out in agreement. She was tired after their first training day but seemed determined not to show it in front of anyone. Cyan scratched under Andromeda's chin as Red tilted his head. Red shrugged before he turned to the little Pokémon that had attached himself to Red's hip the day they left Pallet.

"Nido." The purple Nidoran yawned. Compared to Andromeda, it had no reservations about showing its exhaustion from training. Its eyes closed lazily as it chipped languidly. Red nodded and crouched before writing in the dirt: "His name is King."

"Little presumptuous, don't you think?"

"I think it shows confidence." Red shrugged, wiping his message away before standing up and scooping his Nidoran. The Nidoran settled atop Red's cap, eyes closed and wagging its pointy little tail happily as they returned to camp. Yellow was already there, silently making herself food over a campfire.

She didn't look happy.

She also didn't kill them, though.

Progress.

"Hey, Yellow. What's up." Cyan greeted hopefully, his smile falling as Yellow refused to look up from her food, "Nothing. Go away, I'm hungry."

"Oh, that's awesome! I'm hungry, too."

"Starve," Yellow said, and Cyan felt a part of him die. The food part. By his stomach. Cyan sulked away to steal some food from the surroundings, pretty sure he saw a berry bush nearby, while Red sat next to Yellow. Red took a bag of trail mix out of his pocket, tossing some to his Nidoran before snacking on the rest and offering some to Yellow.

"No thanks, Red, I don't like nuts."

Red raised an eyebrow, shaking his head as he used his heel to write a message in the dirt. "Weird."

"I feel like you're the weird one."

"No, I like trail mix. You don't. Weird." Red began chewing on his snack, tilting his head towards the Nidoran that had stuffed itself into a food coma. The Pidgey was resting on a branch nearby doing the same. Red couldn't blame them.

They'd had a long day.

"Sorry." Red wrote in the dirt. "We might need to wait here for a couple of hours. They're tired."

"Yeah, I already figured that. That's why I got the fire started." Yellow shrugged. "I don't mind being late if it means they don't overexert themselves."

"Thanks." Red smiled. "I've meant to mention this, but you really like Pokémon, don't you?"

"Of course I do." Yellow said, "Who doesn't?"

"No, that's not what I meant." Red huffed as he tilted his head and tried to think of a way to word his message. "You got mad at us earlier."

"Yeah, what of it? You two were being idiots." Yellow narrowed her eyes. Surprised to see Red continuing to write with a small smile, "Yeah, but you were also being protective, even to Andromeda."

"Don't even mention her." Yellow huffed. "Such a mean bird doesn't deserve such a pretty name."

"See, you don't even like her but still defended her. You like Pokémon. A lot." Red grinned widely, "That's cool. That's what I meant."

Yellow blinked in surprise, her ears turning red as she glanced away hurriedly, "What- I, just... Thanks, I guess." Yellow sputtered, shaking her head as she reset, ignored Red's curious head tilt, and turned to the fire, "But even though I like Pokémon, that isn't why I was defensive of her. I'm a healer, and many of the injured Pokemon in Viridian Forest know to come to me. Most injuries are natural."

Yellow shut her mouth, her eyes glazing over.

"Some aren't."

Red's eyes widened as she shook her head and smiled without letting it reach her eyes, "Viridian Forest is nice, but I don't mind being away from it for a while. Pokémon should rest. They need a lot of rest."

Red nodded, ignoring the uneasy feeling in his gut as he scribbled to keep Yellow's face from staying so dark, "Is Viridian Forest like this one?"

"No, the trees here are lighter," Yellow responded, her eyes brightening as she smiled. "Plus, the Pokémon there are a little stronger."

"Really? How much?"

"Not sure, but I've seen Beedrill before. From a distance, obviously, but they're there." Yellow said. "I heard rumors that a Scyther lives there, but I've never seen it. It might live further in, but I've never ventured too far from my house."

"Even though you already live in Viridian Forest? Why? Is it for safety?"

"For convenience," Yellow shrugged. "My parents' cabin is right next to a river. I can fish for most of my food; if I ever need more supplies, my Godfather brings them to me. He lives in the city, about an hour from my section of the forest."

"You have a Godfather?" Red asked, his head titled as Yellow nodded. Red smiled, "That's cool. Mr. Oak is my Godfather. He's Cyan's dad."

"Really?" Yellow chuckled, now realizing why they were so close. "You guys are basically family then."

"Yeah." Red shrugged. "He's my neighbor, and we grew up together. He'd pretty much my only friend in Pallet Town. Plus, our parents are friends."

"That's nice." Yellow smiled, seemingly relaxed now that her food was done. Red sniffed the cooked fish, licking his lips before returning to his trail mix to satiate his hunger. The two began eating in peaceful silence until Red finished his bag and asked another question: "Does your Godfather know you're here?"

Yellow nearly choked on her food, her eyes wide as she forced down her food and coughed, "No, he was out of town when I... left." Yellow shuffled anxiously. "It's why I want to get back soon. We're not really close, but... I don't want to worry him."

"How long has it been since he saw you?"

"About a month." Yellow winced. "He should've gotten back to Viridian two weeks ago."

"You think he'd look for you?"

"I don't know. I hope he doesn't." Yellow murmured. "He's busy, and I don't want to get in the way. He's offered to let me live with him, but I refused."

"Why?"

"It's complicated, " Yellow said, messing with the brim of her sun hat. "But even if it weren't complicated, I wouldn't live there. I'm not too fond of the city. It's too loud."

"Is that why you left?"

"No... it wasn't," Yellow bit her lip. Her eyes settled as she lowered her head and cradled her knees. Her eyes glazed over, and the words flowed out so quietly and quickly that it was like she was trying to hypnotize herself before Cyan returned.

"I lied before... I didn't leave."

Red barely caught all of what she was whispering.

"I met a lady... strange hair... scary eyes... big red R... said Pokémon... inured... needed help... she was crying."

Red watched, his eyes wide as she mumbled one last thing before Cyan got back and proceeded to munch on hopefully not poisonous berries. Yellow didn't say anything after that. Not a word for the rest of the day, but Red got the message. It was as silent as he was.

"I believed her."

Viridian City wasn't all sunshine and rainbows.


Cyan's Team:

Pidgey (Female) - Andromeda

Red's Team:

Nidoran (Male) - King