With the sun high in the sky, Danny and Richard walked through Route 3. Some trees were lightly waving in the wind as the two boys walked over the soft path forward. All around them, grass rustled.

All their Pokémon were happily walking with them as well, taking in the sunlight. Well, almost all of them.

"I can't believe Abra is still asleep!", Danny shouted in disbelieve.

"Well, it is known to sleep a lot. That's why Marcel kicked him off the team", Richard said. Charmander nodded heavily in agreement.

"I know but come on. He slept all night, why does he still feel the need to sleep?"

Above them, Beedrill was flying circles in the air. He hadn't had the chance to fully test out his new form yet. His new wings were easily the best part. Yeah, he had come a long way since his Weedle days.

The discussion the two trainers were having was abruptly stopped when they both heard a noise coming from behind a few bushes nearby, with which the route was filled. Behind them was a large tree, possibly the place the sound was really coming from.

"If that's another Beedrill I'm gonna scream", Richard announced, which helped him to a glare from Beedrill.

"We'll never know if we don't find out", Danny responded with a wide grin. "Charmander, Beedrill, and Bellsprout, follow me!"

The three happily followed their trainer. It hadn't been an interesting day so far and all three were longing for some action.

Danny had found that, in the days they had been together, the team was really getting along well. Sure, there were some squabbles between team members, but they were solved quite quickly.

Although, there was one rivalry that Danny found troubling, to say the least. Since Bellsprout had beaten Onix, he had become cocky. Charmander and Abra didn't care much, but Beedrill got annoyed by it.

Today that was the case once again.

Beedrill had the attack plan in mind. Charmander, as the leader of the group, would go into the bushes first. Beedrill was going to go in second, but Bellsprout had decided to go in right after Charmander as well.

This was enough to escalate the situation quite quickly. Bellsprout prepared for a Wine Whip while Beedrill was getting ready for Twineedle.

Danny sighed. "Guys, please stop."

Charmander turned around and sighed as well, seeing two of his friends at each others throats again. He grabbed both Beedrill and Bellsprout and pulled them into the bushes, towards the noise.

"Luckily, Charmander seems to be in control", Richard laughed.

"I wouldn't know what I would do without him", Danny agreed.

It reminded him of a time, not that long ago, in which he counted on Charmander as well. But instead of a real life Charmander, it was a bunch of pixels in a Gameboy Lite game. Every day that passed made the memory to his other life, the other world, blurrier. Almost as if it was a dream, and this was real life.

'I might be going crazy', Danny thought to himself. This dream is taking too long, no dream lasts this long. So it must be real.

"Danny." Richard snapped with his fingers. "You wandered off again. You do that a lot lately, what are you thinking about?"

'Should I tell him?' The question shot through Danny's mind. But he decided not to, he didn't want to risk losing whatever it was, that he was enjoying right now.

"Nothing, I'm fine. Strange how they aren't back yet", Danny quickly said. Richard nodded slowly, but realised, not for the first time, that Danny wasn't telling him everything.

"Hold it right there!"

A young boy, probably younger than Salvadore was, hurried towards Danny and Richard. His yellow t-shirt had a Pikachu on it and his hat, which was also yellow, was way too big for him. With every step he took, it looked like it might fall off his head.

"That Pikachu is mine for the capture!"

Danny and Richard looked confused.

"Pikachu? We thought it was a group of Beedrill."

The boy started to laugh. "Of course not, they don't live here. Everyone knows that. You probably aren't from around here. I'm Bobby and I'm the biggest Pikachu fan there is."

"Then you don't have to worry about me. I'm not that big of a Pikachu fan", Danny said.

"How could you not be? It's super cute. It shoots Electric bolts. I mean, what's not to love?"

Danny and Richard laughed a bit, while Bobby kept rambling on about the great creature that was Pikachu. While he did this, they noticed a small, yellow creature running through the buses and away at the speed of light.

Bobby noticed it too and sighed.

"Not again! This is the fifth time Pikachu has fled"

Danny turned towards the bushes, where his team came walking out. Bellsprout seemed to be more timid than usual, while Beedrill was mocking.

"Something tells me Bellsprout caused Pikachu to flee", Danny thought out loud.

Bellsprout looked at his trainer and heavily shook his head, indicating he didn't.

Beedrill, on the other hand, nodded his head in approval, which provoked Bellsprout and before anyone knew it, the two were ready to fight again. Charmander once again saved the day.

"Are they always like this?", Bobby asked with a confused look.

Richard nodded. "Ever since Bellsprout was captured."

"Should've captured a Pikachu…", Bobby mumbled, but Danny heard him alright.

"Aren't you a little young to be a Pokémon trainer?", Danny asked.

Bobby smiled. "Yeah, I am, but my older brother is a trainer. He told me that if I could catch myself a Pokémon with the Pokéball he gave me, I could have it."

"He sounds like an amazing brother", Richard said.

"He is very nice! We do everything for each other."

"I think I might have an idea how to deal with our problem", Danny said, a little out of the blue. "Beedrill, go fly up and try to find Pikachu."

Beedrill nodded and flew up high.

Bobby was getting excited. "Now we'll find Pikachu in no time!"

Danny nodded and added (with a smirk). "Besides, this way Bellsprout and Beedrill will stop fighting."

Charmander started laughing. Danny smiled and petted his little friend on his head.

They decided they should each go a different direction to have the biggest chance of finding the Electric-type. Beedrill had gone south, Danny went north, Richard west and Billy east.

"Keep your ears peeled guys", Danny said. Charmander and Bellsprout nodded.

Within seconds, Bellsprout thought he'd heard something. With a lot of noise, he jumped into the bushes, only to see a fleeing Pidgey fly off seconds later.

Danny laughed. "I think it will work best if we'd stay as quiet as possible."

Bellsprout nodded but didn't back down. A few minutes later, he once again jumped into the bushes, but this time extremely quiet. Once again it was a Pidgey, who didn't take too kindly to something disturbing it.

"Run!", Danny screamed, as the three ran away from the approaching Pokémon. Then Danny realised the Pidgey was outnumbered, so they had a fighting chance. And that it was bizarre to run from a Pidgey to begin with.

"Charmander, Ember!"

Charmander opened his beak and released small embers, that hit the Tiny Bird on its face.

Pidgey shook them off, causing its brown feathers to get all messed up. Angered, the bird charged at Charmander, coming in faster and faster.

The young trainer had to think quick, but Bellsprout was faster. The Flower Pokémon jumped into the air and smacked Pidgey away with his vines. The latter didn't appreciate that and got back up, but was now facing two opponents.

Granted, Bellsprout was weak to the Flying-type, but Danny wasn't going to tell Bellsprout and it didn't seem the Grass-type would care.

The wild Pokémon looked from Charmander to Bellsprout and back and realised it had no chance at victory. Instead of taking the fight it took flight and left the trainer behind.

Charmander nodded towards Bellsprout as a thank you, but the latter missed it as he was being too proud.

Before they could continue, they heard a buzzing sound, coming from above.

"That's Beedrill!", Danny recognised the size of the incoming bug was his Pokémon. He realised the last time he had seen both his Beedrill and a group of wild ones that his Beedrill was larger than average.

"Beedrill, have you found the Pikachu?", Danny asked loudly, to which Beedrill responded with a cheerful nod.

The Bug-type gestured to follow him and flew back from where he came from, but this time he flew lower, underneath the sea of branches and leaves up top, so his trainer could keep track.

"Bellsprout, can you try and find Bobby? He's the one who needs to make the catch after all."

Bellsprout saluted and ran off.

It took Beedrill a few minutes to get back to the place where he had found the Electric mouse. He pointed with one of his drills towards a small open field, right behind the bushes they had just stopped behind.

Pikachu had found a berry and was silently enjoying it.

As quiet as he could, Danny gestured Beedrill to take position in one of the trees. Pikachu did hear Beedrill flying, as the Electric-type's ears started to wiggle and it looked up, but since there were more creatures in this forest, it wasn't too alarmed.

"Now we need to sit quietly Charmander", Danny whispered. Perhaps a bit unnecessary, since Charmander was already doing his best to not move a muscle. A job easier said than done.

While Charmander was just sitting on the grass, which was luckily dry, Danny had crouched. A bad decision, because he already started feeling a few cramps creeping up.

If that Bobby kid doesn't hurry up, I'm gonna catch that Pikachu, Danny thought to himself, annoyed. He considered sitting down, but he was too afraid the sound might scare away Pikachu.

Minutes went by like hours as Danny felt more and more uncomfortable. Charmander looked up at his trainer and felt pity.

To avoid thinking about the pain in his legs, Danny focussed on the sounds around him. Birds chittering in the sky, branches waving in the wind, Pikachu chewing.

It was because of this focus he could hear a change in sound. He heard vague footsteps and realised Bellsprout and Bobby were coming his way.

He slowly turned his head towards the place the sound came from, and saw Bobby running towards them. Danny froze when he saw Bobby was inhaling to start shouting. All that pain and all the waiting would have been for nothing, had Bobby not seen Danny, with a very anxious look on his face, behind the bushes.

He quickly closed his mouth before any sound could escape and softly walked towards Danny, who now pointed behind the bush.

Bobby wasn't crouching and could see Pikachu, who hadn't noted the newcomer yet.

He took the Pokéball his brother gave him and looked at Danny, who nodded.

"Good luck", he whispered.

Bobby smiled and jumped to action.

"Pikachu, you are mine!"

The Pikachu looked up at the incoming threat and jumped to action. Bobby threw the Pokéball towards the Electric-type with a fierce determination, but the latter was prepared. Instead of being absorbed into the device, Pikachu smashed it away with its tail. It quickly ran away.

Just when Pikachu disappeared, Richard arrived at the scene. He had heard Bobby shout, but he found the boy in despair.

"How… how could it not work?", Bobby sobbed.

Danny, who just got up and was trying to get the blood to run through the veins in his legs again, sat down next to Bobby.

"Most Pokémon are not easily captured. That's why trainers have their Pokémon battle them. I'm sorry for not thinking about that first, most of my captures so far were easier."

Danny felt bad for the boy. "You can try to battle it with one of my Pokémon if you'd like?"

"Thanks, but I have more experience with the Pokémon of my brother. I'm sure he'll let me borrow one. Let's go to our house!"

Bobby jumped up and started running, causing Danny, Richard, and their teams to trail behind.

It took them a few minutes of running southeast to reach a small house. Smokes was coming through the chimney, and an even better smell came towards them.

"Ah, seems like my mom is baking pie again", Bobby said happy.

Danny looked at Richard, and both had to smile about the carefree nature of the boy.

Bobby's house was a simple building. It had two stories and was mostly made of wood. There was a small porch, with a chair on the side. In a tree nearby was a treehouse.

Outside, a boy, maybe a little older than Danny, was training with what looked like a Spearow. The boy had very light skin, just as Bobby did. He wore his hat backwards and was wearing a black t-shirt and blue trousers.

"Cyril, Cyril!"

The boy with the Spearow turned around. The Flying-type noticed the newcomers and seemed to recognize Bobby, as it made a welcoming sound.

Cyril ran forward. "What's wrong, Bobby?" He looked at the two trainers with suspicion, worried they had harmed his younger brother.

Bobby made his way towards Cyril, but first resting and panting before he could speak.

"Can…I…borrow...one...of your...Pokémon?"

Cyril looked from the two trainers to his younger brother.

"Are you still on the Pikachu hunt?"

Bobby nodded enthusiastically.

"Well, if that's the case you can use my Diglett. Ground works the best against Electric-types, like Pikachu."

Bobby clapped his hands in joy. "Thanks so much!"

Cyril was smiling too, but one mystery wasn't solved yet.

"Who are the two guys?"

"Oh, they are Danny and Richard. They tried to help me capture Pikachu."

The two trainers came closer, seeing how Cyril's distrust faded away.

"Ah, well nice to meet you. I'm Cyril, Bobby's older brother."

He also noticed their teams.

"Well I think you are definitely better of with Diglett. I don't think any of those Pokémon would be fit to take on a Pikachu," he whispered to Bobby, but loud enough for Danny to hear, who seemed to explode.

"What!?"

Richard stepped aside, mostly because he didn't want to be pushed away by an angry Danny.

"We help your brother looking for that Pikachu and all you have to say is your Diglett is stronger than our teams? We just beat Brock, how many Gym Leaders did you beat?"

Cyril looked surprised. "I bet that was lucky. Everyone knows Brock goes easy on new trainers. If he had gone all out, you would still be in Pewter City Pokémon Center."

Danny's face grew red.

"Well I bet my team can beat your team with our eyes closed."

Now Cyril got pissed too.

"You're saying my team's weak?"

"Only if you imply that my team is weak."

Bobby stood in between the two quarrellers and sighed deeply.

"Ehh, can we maybe try to capture Pikachu first?", he slyly asked.

"Sure, I'll come with so I can show this guy how a trainer captures a Pokémon."

Danny was ready to snap, but Richard pulled him back.

"Think about Bobby and that Pikachu, fighting Cyril can wait till later."

Danny grunted. "Fine, but that arrogant prick is going down."

"And I won't stop you, but first the Pikachu."

Danny sighed, but agreed.

"Spearow, fly up and try to find that Pikachu", Cyril ordered.

"You too Beedrill."

Cyril smirked.

"I don't think we're going to need your bug for this. Let the expert handle this."

Danny felt himself getting angry again, but before saying something stupid he thought of something witty.

"Well by the time Spearow arrives, Bobby will have that Pikachu on his shoulder."

Cyril looked angry at Danny, before walking back towards the trees. While the two flyers were scanning the area, the four boys on the ground searched every bush.

Within five minutes, the two flyers had returned, both at the same time. Apparently, they found Pikachu at the same time and both wanted to be the first to report it. As a result, the two started fighting with each other.

Richard was the first to notice. "You have got to be kidding me!"

The other guys followed his gaze and saw the two squabbling Pokémon.

"Their Pokémon are just as bad as the trainers", Bobby laughed.

"Beedrill, did you find anything?", Danny shouted, but he received no reaction.

"Of course not, Spearow found it", Cyril countered.

Beedrill noticed that Danny was waving and made his way down, while Spearow was still busy fighting and fell behind.

Once down, Beedrill nodded to Danny's question, seconds before Spearow came down and did the same with Cyril.

"They both found it? Well let's follow them", Richard said, before any of the boys could argue anymore.

With Beedrill and Spearow leading the way, the four guys made their way towards the place Pikachu had decided to continue eating its berry. It was sitting underneath a large tree, with strokes of sunlight shining through the leaves.

"Now let me do my magic", Cyril said, which made Danny grinch.

The trainer let Diglett out of its Pokéball. Pikachu noticed the red flash and got ready to run but was stopped by Beedrill and Spearow.

Out of options, Pikachu turned around to face its new opponent.

"Use Astonish!"

Diglett disappeared underground and Pikachu was visibly worried. Purple plumes rose from the ground around it, making the Electric Mouse Pokémon cough.

Then, all of a sudden, Diglett showed up and bashed itself into the Pikachu.

"Now use Mud-Slap!"

Before Pikachu had time to react, Diglett dug back underground, and a large amount of sand and mud came out of the hole it left, hitting Pikachu so hard it flew into the tree it just sat underneath.

"Now try capturing it, Bobby", Cyril said.

The younger brother nodded and took the Pokéball. He inhaled and threw it. This time, Pikachu had no chance to escape and was absorbed by the human-made device.

The familiar 'click' sound could be heard before the Pokéball hit the ground.

"Yes, I did it!", Bobby shouted in extasy.

The three trainers applauded, while Cyril also petted him on his shoulder.

"Well done, little bro. Let's go home so you can show Pikachu to mom and dad."

Bobby nodded heavily and ran away, leaving the three trainers to follow, as they made their way back towards the wooden cabin.

"Mom, dad, I captured a Pikachu!", Bobby shouted while storming into the house.

Cyril stopped before entering and turned around.

"Now that's taken care of, I believe we have some unfinished business."

Danny nodded. "That's one thing you're right about. Let's have a battle, right here, right now."

"I agree", Cyril walked towards a small grassy field nearby his house.

"This will be the battlefield, your friend can act as referee, as long as he won't be biased."

Richard shook his head. "Don't worry about that."

"Just so you know", Cyril started as he walked towards the other end of the field. "I battle with a lot of people who just came from Pewter."

"Yeah well, I just beat Brock and there's no way you are stronger than he is."

That caused Cyril to laugh. "Most people that pass here have beaten Brock, you aren't that special."

Danny realised he should've seen that coming.

"Let's just get this battle underway, shall we?"

Cyril nodded, glad to have won the verbal battle. Now the actual one.

"Spearow, you can go first!"

The Flying-type hadn't returned to its Pokéball yet and was ready for battle.

Without having to ask, Beedrill flew forward to face its newfound rival.

"Well I guess I choose you then", Danny mumbled.

"Both sides ready?", Richard asked, to which both trainers nodded.

"Good, then let's get started."

"Spearow, start off with a Fury Attack!", Cyril ordered.

The Bird Pokémon flew right towards Beedrill, an angry look steering in its eyes.

"Beedrill, fly down and than hit it from below with Poison Sting!"

Beedrill made his way towards the ground, causing Spearow's Fury Attack to miss. The Bird Pokémon was not amused and turned around in the air to attack Beedrill again. Coincidentally, this caused Beedrill's Poison Sting to miss as well.

Cyril was angered by the useless cause of events.

"Spearow, put more speed into it! Use Peck!"

"Beedrill, block it with Twineedle", Danny ordered, just after checking what moves Beedrill had registered.

Spearow flew forward fast, ready to hit a super effective hit onto the Bug-type, but Beedrill's drill collided with Spearow's beak, while Beedrill used his second drill to hit Spearow in the belly.

Injured, but not done by a long shot, Spearow flew back to where it was safe, before it flew forward again, towards Beedrill without even receiving an order. Beedrill, who had flown back a bit as well, was caught off guard and was hit by a Peck attack.

Now angered, it slammed the bird Pokémon out of the air with one of his drills.

"Beedrill, use Poison Sting."

"Spearow, use Peck."

Neither of the two cared if they were hit or not. Both flew forward and hit each other in the middle of the battlefield. Beedrill's horn hit Spearow in the head, but not before Spearow's beak hit Beedrill.

Exhausted and injured, the two couldn't keep up the flying and landed on the ground.

"I think that's enough for the first round", Richard said, but was met with angry noises from both battling Pokémon.

In the meantime, Bobby came running outside, his Pikachu now sitting comfortably on his shoulder.

"Who's winning?", he asked Richard.

"No-one yet, neither of these hothead Pokémon want to call it a day."

Both Danny and Cyril realised their Pokémon wouldn't stop until they would faint. Knowing Beedrill would never forgive him if he returned him, Danny chose to let him make his last move.

"Beedrill, use Twineedle."

"Finish it with Fury Attack, Spearow!"

The two made their way to each other once more, but barely had the strength left to hit each other. One drill onto Spearow's head was enough for Spearow to faint, while the bird Pokémon's beak hit Beedrill in the belly, causing the Bug type to fall down as well.

"Well, it's time for my main powerhouse. Diglett, your turn", Cyril said after returning the exhausted Spearow to its Pokéball.

Danny went over his options. His powerhouse was Charmander, but if he remembered correctly, it was weak to Diglett's Ground-type. Bellsprout would be the better option. But no, he wanted to beat Cyril with his starter. That would really show the kid.

"It's up to you Charmander."

Charmander happily jumped into the battlefield, while Richard was seemingly confused.

"Are you insane? Charmander against a Ground-type, that's practically suicide."

Danny laughed. "Don't worry, I know he can handle it."

Richard threw his hands in the air in frustration.

"Let's get this on the way", Cyril said. "Diglett, start with Astonish."

"Charmander, you use Scratch."

Charmander ran forward but noticed Diglett going underground. A little confused, he turned around to look at Danny.

"Crap, I forgot it did that", was all the trainer mumbled underneath his breath.

"Keep moving Charmander, don't let it catch up to you!", Danny ended up ordering, after considering his options for a few seconds.

With a clear order in mind, Charmander started running around like a crazy Pokémon.

Underground, Diglett was even more confused, as it could never quite determine where Charmander was. Eventually, the Ground-type just came above ground to check things out.

Danny noticed it first. "Charmander, use Ember to your right."

They could have had a first great hit, if Charmander wasn't as terrible at 'left and right' as he was. Instead of hitting the Diglett, Charmander fired flaming embers into nothing, lighting up some grass.

"Hah, Diglett, use Dig!"

Danny, as well as Charmander, were slightly confused by what just happened, but Danny snapped out of it the quickest.

"Start running around again Charmander!"

Cyril got annoyed by the way his opponent found a way to make it difficult for his Diglett.

"Diglett, come closer to the surface so you won't miss Charmander!"

"Jump up Charmander!"

Bobby had to laugh from what he saw. Charmander was jumping around, his tail swinging around like never before. He also realized this would make it even harder for Diglett to find the Fire-type.

Nothing seemed further away from the truth.

Every time Charmander jumped, a vibration was sent into the ground, which allowed Diglett to pick it up. Diglett knew exactly where Charmander was and slowly figured out the pattern at hand. Charmander had a tendency to jump in a large square.

When Diglett figured that out, it knew where Charmander would be next, and struck.

Struck and hit. Diglett came above the ground fast and hit Charmander hard enough to make it fly back.

"That's more like it!", Cyril cheered.

Charmander got back up and shook his head, a bit dizzy from the hit. Not for the first time, Danny realized that he, to an extent, felt the things that happened to his Pokémon. Like right now, he was a bit light in his head as well.

"Charmander, use Ember, quickly!"

Before Diglett or Cyril could react, Charmander fired of a few embers, which hit Diglett in its face. It was visibly hurt, but not nearly ready to give up. The taste of victory it had felt seconds before were gone though.

"Use another Dig!"

And Diglett disappeared again, to Danny's horror.

While trying to gather his thoughts, he came to an idea.

"Charmander, use Ember on the ground, heat it up!"

Even though he didn't understand where his trainer was going with this, Charmander obeyed and started heating up the ground. The only thing this did was ruin the grass field. There was no sign of Diglett.

Danny started worrying again, what now?

Luckily for the young trainer, he received a starter with a strategic brain: Charmander walked towards the hole Diglett appeared in and started shooting Embers in there.

Danny was pleasantly surprised and almost jumped from excitement.

"That's brilliant, Charmander!"

As the ground became too hot, Diglett moved up to hit Charmander with Astonish, who wasn't prepared to be attacked.

The Dig attack had done a lot of damage and this Astonish might be enough to win Diglett the game, but Charmander wasn't done. With his final strength he hit Diglett with a Scratch, which was one more Scratch than Diglett could take.

Both fainted together, ending the battle in a tie.

Danny ran onto the battlefield.

"Charmander, are you okay?"

Charmander nodded weakly.

"You did amazing", Danny said while hugging his Fire-type.

Cyril returned his Diglett to its Pokémon.

"You did an amazing job", he mumbled, stunned by the tie.

"Danny sure is close with his Charmander", Bobby stated. "I hope I'll be as close with Pikachu some day, right Pikachu?"

Pikachu nodded enthusiastically. It didn't seem to be bothered that it was captured at all.

"That was a good battle, I guess we are equally strong", Cyril said. He had less trouble confessing it than he thought beforehand.

"I guess so", Danny responded.

The two guys walked across the battlefield, that definitely needed some patching up after Charmander heated it, and shook hands.

"I hope we battle again someday", Danny said, to which Cyril nodded in agreement.

When both trainers turned around, Danny quickly looked up Diglett in his Pokédex:

Diglett. The movement of these GroundPokémon can be easily detected by their tracks of upturned earth.

Cyril had to smile and wanted to say something smart, but decided to keep it to himself.

Sometime later

"Bye and thank you for everything!", Bobby shouted as he and his brother waved goodbye to Danny and Richard, who continued on their journey.

The duo waved back happily. Pikachu had, once again, claimed Bobby's shoulder.

"I have a feeling those two will be inseparable very soon", Richard said with smile.

Danny, however, was thinking about something else.

"I was the strongest, right?", he asked out of the blue.

Richard looked at him strangely. "It was a tie, remember?"

"Yeah, but Beedrill and Charmander both went up against a type disadvantage. To come out in a tie, that's a bit like winning right?"

Richard shook his head and chuckled. "If you want to believe that."

"I do, so I'm the strongest", Danny laughed. "Race you to Cerulean!"

The trainer started running. His team quickly hurried after him, with Abra resting quietly in his Pokéball.

"All the way to Cerulean, do you know how far that is?", Richard complained, but decided to follow anyway. On the way to Cerulean City.