Route 2, Diglett's Cave
Kanto
"Finally!"
Yellow lifts both of her arms in exhaustion and relief while Chuchu squeals in relief on her shoulder. Behind her, Tai and Yuuki watch the duo in slight amusement. Dody lets out an exhausted chirp while standing next to Yuuki.
"You sound so relieved after getting out of Viridian Forest." Tai comments.
"How can I not?" Yellow says while turning around to face Tai, her hands behind her back. "Sure, Viridian Forest is always been my home, and it holds a special place in my heart. But, I constantly see nothing but trees and more trees. My desire to see the world makes those moments feel..."
"Boring?" Tai says with an amused smile.
"...I would use a better choice of words to describe it, but since I have none, I had no choice but to agree." Tai snorts as she tries to come up with an excuse to not sound rude.
"I can't imagine being cooped up in the same place for the rest of my life," Yuuki mutters as Tai looks at him with a raised eyebrow. "I know I sound a hypocrite given my origin before my revival, but it's been what? 150 years or so since I remain in one place."
"I guess that does make sense." Tai shrugs before looking at Dody and gives him a snack. Tai receives a chirp of gratitude in return. "We'll rest once we reach the city. Just hang in there, okay?"
"Dody won't look this exhausted if you didn't go overboard with your training." Yellow grumbles as Chuchu turns a bit pale before shivering in fear.
"No offense, but Dody is completely out of shape. I had no choice but to be a bit harsher on him." Tai defends himself. "Besides, compared to Elliot and Gintama, his training is much lighter."
"...who's Elliot?" Yellow says, tilting her head, which was mimicked by Chuchu.
"That's Dratini's name, and you would know if you didn't gulp all the food like a glutton while I'm discussing with you." Tai deadpans as both Trainer and Starter blush in embarrassment.
"W-well, I can't help it. The food's good..." Yellow mutters with Chuchu squeaking in agreement.
"Flattery won't get you more portions." Tai retorts as the duo slump in defeat. "...you guys think it will work!?"
"I got to test my luck..." Yellow admits Mareepishly. Tai blankly stares at her before facepalming.
"Your shamelessness when it comes to food knows no boundaries..." Tai says.
"I can't help it, you're an amazing cook," Yellow says nervously.
"I still have a looong way to go," Tai says before he, Yuuki, and Dody walk towards the city.
"So...when do you finally decide to catch the Scyther?" This made Tai and Yuuki freeze before looking at Yellow, their face somewhat pale. "Um, something wrong?"
"WE LEFT HIM IN THE FOREST ALONE!!!" They exclaim in unison before Tai jumps on Yuuki's back and rushes back to the forest. Yellow, Chuchu, and Dody blankly stare at the duo before Yellow facepalms as Dody gives her a disapproving stare.
"What?" Yellow notices her Pokemon's look and exclaims in confusion. They wait for a while before a silhouette can be seen rushing out of the forest.
They saw Tai and Yuuki approaching them with panic on their face, Scyther was tied by Yuuki's tail unconscious. At first, Yellow and her Pokemons look confused before a familiar loud buzz can be heard and they turn pale. Tons of Beedrills approached them, raising their stingers in a threatening manner.
"Yuuki, now!" Tai exclaims as Yuuki slides and turns around, placing down Scyther on the ground gently before his eyes glow white, and he swings his twin tail, creating a violent gust of wind and knocking the entire swarm of Beedrills out. Yellow and her Pokemon watch in awe as the Beedrills fall to the ground unconscious.
Tai lets out a huge sigh of relief as he collapses into Yuuki's mane, burying his face into it.
"It's official, Beedrill has become part of my 'most hated Pokemon' list!" Tai exclaims in annoyance as Yellow can't help but snort.
Later
Pewter City Pokemon Center
"Oh, Arceus...I thought it was anime-and-games-exclusive only..." Tai mutters under his breath, his face shows a horrified expression. In front of him is Nurse Joy, an exact copy of her right in front of him, wearing the same uniform, having the same hair, and having the same eye colors.
'Oh, wait, her eyes are gray, and the one in Viridian City is green.' Tai thought before shaking his head. Even with different hair color, it's still confusing as fuck.
"Welcome to the Pokemon Center. How may I help you?" Nurse Joy asks in a gentle tone.
"Ah, yes. May I have my Pokemons heal up?" Yellow pulls out her Pokeballs and places Chuchu on the table.
"Of course," Nurse Joy says with a smile before looking at Tai and freezing to see Yuuki behind Tai, with Scyther behind his back. "Oh, dear, I thought my sister was joking..."
"About what?" Yuuki asks with a raised eyebrow, shocking her.
"...about a young newbie having a Suicune..." Nurse Joy mutters as Tai looks at her with a Mareepish expression.
"Y-yeah," Tai says as he rubs the back of his head. "May I have my Pokemon heal as well?"
"Of course." Nurse Joy says before looking at Yuuki. More specifically the Scyther at his back. "Perhaps you may recall your Scyther as well to make it simpler."
"Umm...Scyther isn't my Pokemon. If you check, he wasn't registered as my Pokemon." Tai says as he silently gulps. Nurse Joy stares at him.
"...may I have your Trainer ID?" Tai nods as he pulls out the Trainer ID and gives it to Nurse Joy. She looks at it before checking on her computer before freezes once more. "...what's with his luck..."
"...I beg your pardon?" Tai asks, blinking Noctowlish.
"Nevermind. It seems that you're right..." Nurse Joy sighs before looking at the Scyther. "So, why do you bring him with you then?"
"Well...the Scyther was abandoned by his trainer. Feeling bad, I let him stay with us as I provided food. I didn't catch him since he still harbors hatred. I still remember him hissing at the idea of capture." Tai says while rubbing his head as Nurse Joy merely nods.
"I see." Nurse Joy says while making a hand gesture. Tai notices Chansey walk out of the counter and approaches Yuuki.
"You want me to come?" Yuuki asks as Chansey nods nervously. "Very well." With that, Yuuki follows Chansey to the recovery room. Tai puts his hand into his pocket before a pair of blue Pokeballs appears in his pocket. He pulls them out and places them on the counter.
"I never seen this kind of Pokeball..." Nurse Joy mutters while curiously holding the Pokeball.
"Well, the only difference is the appearance. It works like a normal Pokeball." Tai shrugs as Nurse Joy nods and grabs the rest of the Pokeballs to place them on the tray.
"Alright, you may wait in the waiting area, or perhaps would you like to go to the cafeteria in the back." Tai nods as Nurse Joy walks to the recovery room. Tai turns towards Yellow.
"So, what do you have in mind?" Tai asks as Yellow shrugs.
"Not sure," Yellow admits. "I was hoping that I may go around the city, but...I feel vulnerable without Chuchu or Dody..." Yellow rubs her arm as Tai nods.
"Yeah, I agree," Tai says as he fidgets his fingers. "I feel like I expose myself without Yuuki beside me." Tai sighs. "So, maybe the cafeteria? I mean, we do only eat light snacks and no lunch."
As he said that, a loud growl came from both Tai's and Yellow's stomachs. Yellow's face immediately turns bright red as pink tints appear on Tai's cheeks.
"I-I take that as a 'yes'." Yellow meekly nods as they walk towards the cafeteria. Upon reaching there, Tai notices a boy with spiky black hair and dark red eyes, wearing a red and back short-sleeved jacket with a black shirt underneath, gray trousers, and a pair of black and red shoes sitting on the table while munching his food quickly. Next to the boy is a Polowhirl and Bulbasaur.
Tai blinks before lightly pinching his hand, causing him to his quiet. His mind runs 100 miles per hour, wondering what kind of luck he has. There he is, having to encounter the protagonist of Pokemon Adventure's first arc. Red of the Pallet Town, the wielder of Pokedex and the one who earned the title "Fighter" from Professor Oak himself.
Speaking of Pokedex and Professor Oak, he can't help but wonder. Is the Pokedex a rare device in this world to the point some trainers are obsessed with getting one like in the manga verse, or is it a common device that everyone could get like in the anime verse? As for Professor Oak, he wonders which iteration is Professor Oak, the chill scientist who forgets his own grandson's name, the one who is obsessed with Pokemon haiku, or the stern but kind Professor who hands Pokedex to a worthy trainer?
"Tai?" Tai snaps out of his thoughts before looking at Yellow. "Something wrong?"
"Ah, sorry. I was deep in thought." Tai says while shaking his head before they approach the cafeteria counter. Tai notes that the food here is free, remembering the information he gathers in his free time. The Pokemon Center not only didn't charge any fees for healing Pokemon, but they didn't charge for food and room to stay as well. Given how each Pokemon Center seems to be funded by the Pokemon Association.
He also remembers the amount of funds received from each Pokemon Center based on their performances reported by the association agents. The agents also make sure to check if there's an illegal activity. They also make sure that the Pokemon Center isn't accident-prone, or else they will receive a penalty if no actions are taken.
Tai can't help but frown at the flaws of the system. If that's truly how the system works, then there will be a problem. Like if a Pokemon caught an unknown disease and visited a Pokemon Center with a bare minimum fund, then it may be untreatable there. This will cause a domino effect where the Pokemon could die in that Pokemon Center, then it was reported and leads the Pokemon Center to shut down.
Tai decides to stop thinking about the issues and looks at the choice of foods on the tray before grimacing. Tai wasn't trying to offend anyone, but the food looked unappetizing. And he isn't a person who judges something by their appearance but being an aspiring chef, he knows that not every customer shares his belief. Yellow's face on the food says it all.
And even with his belief, there are lines that no one shouldn't cross when it comes to foods with unappetizing appearance. The food in front of him crosses so many lines that he can't list them all!
Silently, Tai puts the foods that at least look somewhat distinguishable before walking away, not without noticing a guy with a tired look walks into the kitchen. He assumes that's the chef. He sits down with Yellow as they look at the food.
"...this looks so bad..." Yellow comments bluntly as Tai snorts.
"Don't say it out loud, Yellow." Tai comments before they pick up their food and scoop the food. They gulp before eating it.
...Tai uses every fiber of his being to hold himself from throwing up. Yellow did it without hesitation. Tai places down his spoon before getting up and walking to the front, confusing Yellow. It takes a while before Tai puts on an apron he pulls out of nowhere and speedwalks towards the kitchen. This immediately brightens Yellow up as she knows what is going to happen. Oh, poor Yellow, she was wrong on so many levels.
"YOU FUCKING MUDBRAY!!!!" This immediately causes everyone to flinch out of shock. In the next minute, they would hear tons of curses throwing around like candy as everyone blushes like crazy. Then, for another level, a bunch of chefs with tear stains on their faces walk out of the door and toss away all the abominations they dare to call 'food' into the trash before walking back to the kitchen. Another minute passes and they walk out with trays of freshly cooked food.
The smell was so appetizing that everyone immediately tossed their trays into the trash can and immediately rushed to the counter, grabbing new trays and getting a normal portion of food. Not for Yellow as she immediately grabs a shit tons of them, shocking everyone.
After they take a bite, they now understand why she takes so many portions.
To Be Continued