"Hello everyone, and welcome to my lab!"
The five would-be trainers standing in the lab greeted back impatiently. The Professor didn't let that bother him, carrying on with what he was saying.
"For most of you, today might be the most important day of your life. The day you leave home and begin your journey into the great unknown. The day where you receive the Pokemon which will stand by you through your trials and tribulations…" he went on.
Zane had to stop himself from groaning out loud. He loved Professor Oak, but he really loved giving his speeches. Usually he would love sitting through one of them, with the professor giving them vital bits of information while talking.
But today, the speech was as unwelcome as the professor's grandson was to him.
He glanced to his left. Gary was slowly growing more and more irritated. Good. He would interrupt soon, and it could go either of two ways; his grandfather dressing him down or the professor giving them their starter pokemon.
To his right, Sierra Hopkins, also known by her moniker "Leaf", was doing a great job of hiding just how impatient she was. But Zane knew his childhood friend. She was just as eager to get her starter as he was.
"But I can see you all have no interest in hearing this old man speak, so let's get started," the professor chuckled. Zane let out a sigh, before the group moved to the table situated in the middle of the room.
On this table were placed five Pokeballs. From the stickers on them Zane knew what Pokemon the middle three contained. Charmander, Bulbasaur, Squirtle. The designated starter Pokemon of Kanto.
"Zane, Sierra, Gary, since you secured the top three positions in the examination, you will be the ones to receive one of the Starter Pokemon. Beatrice, Tyler, you two will get the other two Pokemon I've picked out."
They all nodded.
"Well then, Sierra, since you got the highest, please step forward."
Leaf went up to the table. Zane knew which one she would take. Everyone did, it was all she ever talked about before this day.
She grabbed it, then pressed the button on her Pokeball. It released a shower of white light, out of which a small, green Pokemon appeared standing on all fours.
It looked around curiously, before its eyes settled on Leaf. She knelt down so she could talk to it better.
"Hey Bulbasaur, I'm Sierra, but I prefer to be called Leaf," she began, while Gary snorted.
Leaf glared at him, before continuing. She hated Gary, almost as much as Zane did. No one in the town liked the arrogant prick except his family, but he still had followers because of his family's influence.
Thankfully Leaf was not one of them, but the other two trainers present here were.
'Weak minded idiots. What has Gary ever done except have the world's foremost expert on Pokemon be his grandfather?'
"-you to be my partner," he heard Leaf say and his thoughts stopped abruptly.
"A journey in which we'll grow stronger than anyone else, catch new teammates, and win a bunch of battles. Will you be my partner for this?" She asked.
Bulbasaur was initially silent, then it let out a small rumble. Leaf smiled, offering out a hand to it, which it nuzzled. She got up and moved to the side, the Bulbasaur following her.
"Zane, your turn," the professor said while smiling. Just like Leaf, Zane knew exactly which one he would choose. He went up to the table, stopping just as he reached it. He took a deep breath, before grabbing the pokeball in the middle.
He went off to the side, pressing the button on his pokeball. The light emerging nearly blinded him as it coalesced into a small, bipedal pokemon. Zane could feel the air around him growing hotter just from being close to it. Something he would get used to soon enough.
He knelt down like Leaf had done a few minutes ago.
"Hey Charmander," he said, and the pokemon snapped to attention. The Charmander was looking at him curiously, as if it was studying him. The small fire type sported a shining orange fur and a cream underside, with two fangs poking through its mouth.
'I think they're above average size for a Charmander. I'll check that later on.'
"I'm Zane, and I'm your new trainer. Ever since I was a kid I wanted to reach the pinnacle of the trainer world, go where no one else has gone, and beat everyone standing in my way. But for that I need someone to stand by me. Someone to be my cornerstone, the leader of the team I form."
The Charmander stared at him, enraptured. From behind Zane, Professor Oak was looking at the pair too, a bit curious.
"If you agree to join me, you'll go where no Charizard has ever gone. You'll be the most powerful one to exist, and there will be nothing in this world who could beat you.
Nothing! So I ask, will you walk this path of greatness with me?"
The Charmander cheered, accidentally letting out an ember. It nearly hit Zane, instead striking the roof. Charmander stopped cheering, adopting a fearful expression.
Zane snorted. "I guess we'll have to make sure that never happens again."
He got up and finally looked behind him. Gary clearly didn't wait for Zane to be done before claiming his starter. His new Squirtle stood beside him, having the same arrogant expression his trainer did.
The professor was standing with Beatrice and Tyler, probably talking to them about their starters. They were childhood friends, doing everything together. Even planning to travel together, according to what Zane knew.
New trainers grouping together was common. There were some threats a newbie really couldn't deal with, so having a numbers advantage helped.
That was what Zane, Gary and Leaf had planned in their childhood. Travelling together, training and going strong together. Everything planned out. But then it all fell apart…
'No use thinking about that now. Me and Charmander are enough.'
Zane felt a pair of eyes on him. He turned and saw Gary staring at him, one hand on his Squirtle's pokeball. Zane narrowed his eyes. He had one thing to do before setting out on his journey.
"Uhh, grandpa, can we hurry this along? I have a battle to fight with Red here," Gary said, uncaring of how Zane growled at the usage of that nickname.
To Zane, Gary had lost the right to call him Red the moment he turned away from their friendship. As if Gary cared much.
Professor Oak shot him a look.
"Be patient Gary, you have all the time in the world to battle.
He turned back to Tyler and Beatrice.
"I'd recommend you release your starters outside a bit later. The Nidoran line is a bit skittish at this stage, so you'd do well to introduce yourselves alone."
"Now, the final thing. I have for each of you the latest model of the Pokedex. Sara, bring them here."
Zane's mother entered the room, carrying the Pokedexes in her hand. She gave no indication of knowing her son, not even pretending to care about his big day. Zane felt his anger build up, but settled for snatching one of the Pokedexes out of her hand when she tried to hand it over.
"Just enter your Trainer ID number and it will automatically register you as the owner, and will register your team. It can also act as a form of identification if your Trainer ID ever gets lost, so take care of it," Professor Oak told them.
Zane had his ID memorised, so he quickly entered it. The device whirred to life.
Greetings Zane Walker. I am Dexter, your very own Pokedex. I act as your Trainer ID, keep track of your pokemon and as an encyclopedia of all known Pokemon knowledge.
New Pokemon registered. Charmander, the Lizard Pokemon. The fire on the tip of its tail is a measure of its life. If healthy, its tail burns intensely.
This Charmander is Male and has the ability Blaze.
Known Moves: Scratch, Growl, Ember, Dragon Breath
He let out a gasp at Dragon Breath. That was a powerful move most Charmander's wouldn't know. He looked around in his vicinity. Beatrice and Tyler had left to introduce themselves to their new pokemon.
'The Professor said they were Nidoran, maybe. Who knows which one got which. Who even cares.'
Leaf had just finished scanning her Bulbasaur, and was obviously happy with the results. She looked at him and smiled, causing him to smile back at her.
"Hey, Red, come on out already," He heard Gary call. He ignored him, instead preferring to scroll through all that the Pokedex said about Charmander.
Moves he can learn, hmm. Definitely looking through all that later.
"Are you really that scared of losing to me? Fu-freakin loser," Gary amended after realising his grandfather was right there. Professor Oak glared at his grandson, who all but ran outside. Professor Oak was a kindly old man, but no one wanted to invoke his wrath.
Charmander let out a growl, while Zane scoffed. As if he would ever lose to Gary Oak.
"Okay Charmander, let's win this," Zane said, and they both went out. They spotted Gary immediately, standing right in front of the entrance. The teenager was standing alongside his new Squirtle.
"Hurry up, Red. Squirtle can't wait to put your overgrown lizard into the dirt," Gary yelled. Zane grit his teeth upon hearing his old nickname, moving to the opposite end of Gary. That name used to sound different when they were Red and Blue, the two best friends doing everything together.
But now…the image of a broken pokeball flashed to the forefront of his mind. Broken pokeballs and broken promises, that was all it took for their friendship to turn into poisonous hatred.
"Okay, let's start," Gary said, snapping Zane out of his thoughts. He tensed, staring down Gary.
"Ember," he ordered. Charmander let loose a small flame, which flew towards the Squirtle.
"Sidestep, and hit it with a Water Gun."
A small jet of water came from its mouth, headed towards Charmander dangerously fast.
Charmander jumped to the side, as Zane ordered another Ember. Another small flame headed towards the Squirtle, but this time it wasn't fast enough to dodge it.
It reeled. The attack wasn't very effective, but Charmander was powerful for his level of experience and an attack like that did pack a punch.
"Fuck. Squirtle, keep using Water Gun, don't let up," Gary said, clearly panicking.
Squirtle let loose another stream of water, which passed just by Charmander's head. The fire type ran sideways in a zigzag motion, trying to avoid the constant attacks.
Zane thought over his options for a second. In a ranged battle Charmander didn't have the effectiveness to beat a Squirtle. His Ember couldn't do much and he had no way of telling how effective Dragon Breath would be from a distance.
But in a close ranged battle…
"GET CLOSER TO IT."
Gary looked at him upon hearing that order, his face betraying his concern. He had evidently worked out Zane's plan.
"DON'T LET IT COME CLOSER. KEEP UP THE PRESSURE."
Charmander kept running, jumping, ducking and rolling over to avoid the attacks. He tried, in vain, to close the distance, but Squirtle was determined not to let that happen. But now Zane knew what he had to do.
"Ember on the Water Gun!"
Charmander released a small stream of flames, which clashed with the spray of water, creating a small cloud of steam. Perfect.
Charmander used the cover to sneak up on Squirtle, letting loose another Ember from it's side. This time Squirtle could not dodge. It cried in pain as the attack struck its arm, doing some damage despite its innate resistance to fire type attacks.
Zane smiled viciously. 'Its done. No way he's getting back into the battle now.'
"SCRATCH, KEEP ATTACKING."
Charmander growled as it lunged at Squirtle, savaging the turtle. It first tried to counterattack, raising up its arm, but it was clear that it could not do much. Drops of blood fell onto the ground as Squirtle panicked and retreated into its shell.
"Ember. Into the shell," Zane ordered.
"SQUIRTLE RUN!" The water type tried to emerge from the shell but it was too late as the Ember struck Squirtle. It screamed, rolling away from Charmander. As it emerged from its shell Zane could see blisters forming on its neck.
'Burned. Nice.'
Charmander moved once again, capitalising on Squirtle's state of near helplessness as Gary stood in shock. Clearly he had been thinking his type advantage would make this an easy battle.
"TACKLE," Gary was clearly panicking even as he snapped out of his shock, his expression one of pure fear, fear that he would lose this battle. The Squirtle lunged at Charmander but he easily dodged, before returning to attack. But that was then Gary revealed a huge surprise.
"AQUA JET."
Oh FUCK.
Squirtle's body was covered in water and it lunged at Charmander, knocking it to the ground before he could react. He lay down, dazed as the Squirtle returned with a nasty grin on its face, before shuddering as the pain from its burn hit it.
"You really thought you would win? You, beat me? You're nothing. Your own mother sent you away to Unova because she doesn't want you around. There's no way a dumbass like you could ever beat me," Gary said, smiling as Zane clenched his fists.
"Now," Gary said, his smile never dropping. "Finish it, Squirtle."
Squirtle stepped closer, preparing a point blank Water Gun. But it made a fatal mistake. It got too close.
"DRAGON BREATH."
Charmander let out a stream of purple flames, hitting Squirtle point blank. The water-type was knocked back several inches and fell to the ground, unconscious. It was over.
Gary stood there, frozen, unable to comprehend his loss. Zane walked over to him. Right now there was nothing more he wanted then to punch Gary in the face. But he decided against that course of action.
'He won't get over this for a long time. Losing his first battle to me. Ha!'
"Losing a battle to me? I thought the great Gary Oak was far above the likes of Zane Walker," he spat out, taking pleasure in how Gary's expression suddenly turned thunderous.
Zane then smiled sadistically. "Have fun in knowing you'll never be half the trainer your father or your grandfather were, Blue."
He recalled Charmander and walked away, leaving his former friend crushed.
Zane came to a stop in front of his house. It was a small white painted building, with the red front door surrounded by flowers on both sides. His mother's prized garden, something she loved even more than her own son.
Zane let out a sigh. 'No use remembering her today. She won't be here anyways. Time to say goodbye.'
He released Charmander, with the fire type looking around curiously upon release.
"Sorry for recalling you that quickly, but interacting with Gary always leaves me angry." The fire type snorted. Apparently he had not taken well to Gary either.
"You were amazing, y'know," he told him, while smiling. Charmander let out a small yip, before looking at the house questioningly.
"This is my home, the place where I lived my entire life. Right now we're here to get my stuff and say goodbye, before we go off," Zane explained, opening the door to the house.
'Hmm, where's Mimey? I know Claudia is off with mom, but Mimey should be here.'
Zane had zero expectations that his mother would come see him off. He was right. The house was empty. He climbed up the stairs in the hallway, wanting to get his bag from his room.
He opened his room and was surprised by a figure sitting on the bed, holding its head in its hands. He smiled sadly upon recognising the pink bodied pokemon.
Zane went forward and Mimey grabbed him in an embrace. He felt his shoulder wetten as Mimey began crying.
"Mimey," he sighed. "We'll see each other again soon. It's not like I'm going away forever."
'Friend. Red. Leaving. Bye. Sadness.'
Mimey's broken telepathy entered his mind. His psychic abilities weren't very strong, so this was the best he could do. A lot of psychic types needed intense training to be able to access the more intensive areas of their power. Battling helped, but specialised training helped more.
His mother had never been a battler, and while she was definitely a talented researcher, she lacked the ability to train Mimey in that specific field.
Claudia the Gardevoir however, belonged to a species which was naturally telepathic, hence she had no trouble with full conversations. Each psychic type species had an area of specialisation outside of their same basic psychic abilities.
For Mr Mime, they tended to specialise more in barriers. Claudia and other Gardevoir's talents lay in the mind arts. Teleportation also came to them naturally. Training a psychic type outside their field of specialisation was possible, but difficult.
Another sniffle from Mimey caused him to snap out of his thoughts.
"I'll be back before you know it, Mimey," he said to the psychic type. "Why would I not come visit?"
"Mom can go to hell for all I care, but you and Claudia? Why would I abandon you?"
Mimey shook his head. 'Sarah. Intentions. Good. Grieving.'
Zane felt his anger flare up. Beside him Charmander also tensed, sensing his trainer's mood.
"She's had years to grieve Mimey, and she's shown she doesn't give a shit about me. Ever since dad died…" He stopped, noticing Mimey's distress, and took a deep breath.
"I'm gonna be leaving now. I'll miss you a lot. But now it's time to leave," he said.
Mimey looked up at him, his eyes welling up.
"Goodbye Mimey. I'll see you soon."
Mimey let out a sad gurgle, before vanishing. Zane sighed. He hated having to leave Mimey and Claudia behind but it was necessary if he wanted to achieve his goals.
"Well, let's see if I have everything," Zane muttered to himself, opening his backpack
He first pulled out his PokeNav. It was one of the newer models, which could catch a signal nearly everywhere.
'Thank God I thought of getting this. It's gonna be really helpful in the wilderness.'
He put that on his bed, before checking everything else.
"Pokeballs, potions, antidotes, paralysed heals, rope, badge case, I think I have everything. So let's go."
Charmander let out an excited yip, and followed behind him as he descended down the staircase. Zane walked out the front door and turned around to take one last look at his house, as all the memories came rushing back to him. Him, his mother and father, the embodiment of a happy family.
'And then dad died, and mom decided she didn't give a shit about me, and sent me to Unova.'
He sighed once more, before turning away from the house.
'I'll show her. I'll show everyone, especially that miserable prick Gary. I'll be the greatest of them all.'
He found another familiar face standing at the northern exit to Pallet.
Leaf and her Bulbasaur had been standing there for a while, given how she seemed to have nearly dozed off. But as soon as she spotted him coming she brightened up and ran towards him, Bulbasaur right behind her.
"Hey," she said, smiling at him. "You're going, I take it?"
"Yeah, there isn't anything left here so I might as well set off."
Leaf's smile dropped. Zane and his mother's lack of a relationship was infamous in Pallet Town.
"Oh, okay. I'm setting out tomorrow, my mother ordered me a TM which won't arrive till tomorrow, so I'm waiting on that."
"A TM?" Zane asked, a bit jealous. "Which move?"
Leaf giggled. "Now that would be telling. You'll find out when Larry beats your overgrown lizard into the dirt."
Beside them, their starters were having a staring contest. Charmander growled, with Larry the Bulbasaur also rumbling.
Zane raised a brow.
'Larry, really?'
Leaf really did not have much of an imagination for names. Which reminded him, he really should have asked Charmander if he wanted a nickname.
"Funny, that was the exact same thing Gary said before Charmander kicked his Squirtles' ass."
"WAIT WHAT? You beat Gary?" She all but screamed, causing Zane to cringe at the change in volume.
"Yeah, didn't you see us in the lab? He challenged me and as soon as we left we had a battle. Charmander is an incredible battler," Zane praised, with the fire type puffing out his chest.
"Someone had to humble him. Too bad it wasn't me. I'll settle for doing that to you," Leaf said, grinning.
"Sure you will. Also, Larry? Really?"
Leaf blushed. "It's a great name! It fits him!"
"Larry the Bulbasaur, really has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" Charmander snorted.
"Still better than whatever you've named Charmander. Probably." Leaf said.
Him and Charmander exchanged a look. "We've kinda been busy, haven't gotten around to that yet."
"Exactly! Something is better than nothing," Leaf exclaimed. Larry whined, clearly not taking the insult to his taste in names well.
"Larry is a good name," Leaf hurried to reassure him, despite Charmander sending an incredulous look at Zane. She shot a dirty look at them.
"Let them make fun. They won't be laughing when we beat them," she told him.
"Sure you will."
Then the conversation descended into their usual banter. Zane loved it. Leaf had been his best friend ever since Gary turned into a jerk. He really was going to miss this.
Time passed by too quickly. Soon the sun was hanging directly above them in the sky. Noon.
'I really should be setting off now.'
He told Leaf that, and she sighed. "Yeah, it is about time. Guess this will be the last time we meet for a while."
"Yeah, I guess so," Zane said, his chest constricting. It really was hard to say goodbye to someone you cared for.
They both stood rooted in their spots, before Leaf moved and wrapped her arms around him. Zane was taken by surprise, but the hug lasted for a few seconds before she let go, blushing.
"Goodbye. Take care. Hopefully we'll meet on the road as well."
"Bye Leaf, I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too, Red," she said as Zane turned around, finally ready to set off into Route One. He let out a smile.
"Do you want to walk with me or should I recall you?" He asked Charmander. Charmander shook his head, indicating he wanted to walk.
"Okay then, let's go."
Zane took his first step into Route One. His journey had finally started.
It had been three hours since he had left Pallet, according to his PokeNav. Him and Charmander had battled several wild pokemon who had thought them easy marks, beating each and every one of them.
Now the grassy route was peaceful, filled with the chirping of Pidgeys, the sound of leaves rustling, and the occasional scarpering of the Rattata. All of them knew better than to mess with them.
Route One was relatively peaceful compared to other routes, all thanks to Professor Oak. He made sure to clear the route of any dangerous Pokemon who decided to make their home there.
Of course, accidents still occurred. Like that Gyarados which had evolved and proceeded to attack two nearby trainers. One of them was killed, the other barely survived because of his Electabuzz.
After that the Professor's Dragonite went hunting. The Gyarados was killed and its head brought to Viridian to mollify the grieving family.
Charmander suddenly stopped walking, eying a nearby bush with a tense expression.
"What happened?" Zane whispered to him. Charmander pointed to the bush, indicating something moved.
Zane stood still as Charmander moved closer and closer to the bush. But before he could part it to reveal what was hiding, it jumped out at him.
Charmander jumped aside, releasing an Ember at his attacker. It struck, with the mysterious Pokemon letting out a squeal. Zane recognised the species, but used this moment to test out his new PokeDex.
'Rufflet, the Eaglet Pokemon. They crush berries with their talons. They bravely stand up to any opponent, no matter how strong it is.'
'What is a Unovan pokemon doing here? Not complaining. Rufflet would be a great first capture.'
Zane grabbed a Pokeball off his belt, but before he could do anything, the Rufflet flew off. Charmander growled disappointedly, angry that his opponent had fled before the battle properly started.
"Well, there goes that idea. Come on, let's go." They both once again began to walk, determined to make as much ground as possible before it got dark.
"Well, I think this is a good spot to camp for tonight." Charmander let out a noise to let him know he agreed.
Zane pulled out his tent from his bag, grateful that Professor Oak had taught them all how to set up a tent. After a while he was done, so he moved back, admiring how he had done that.
"Hey Charmander, we need to collect some wood for the fire now," he called out. The fire-type let out a sigh.
"No, we really don't need to go too far. There's a lot of branches fallen from the trees around the route because of the winds we had. Plus it hasn't rained in a while. It'll take like 15 minutes at most."
It did not take fifteen minutes at most. They needed half an hour to collect the wood, then fifteen more minutes to lay it all out so that Charmander could set it on fire. By the end of it both were dead on their feet.
They both sat around it, letting it warm them up. Zane opened up his back, fishing out some food for both him and Charmander.
Standard Pokemon food for Charmander, and some sandwiches Mimey had packed for Zane. They both dug in, relishing the first meal they had had since the morning.
"Hmm, I forgot to ask you this before, but do you want a name?"
Charmander cocked his head.
"Oh a name, I'll use it for calling you, like how I call you Charmander, but instead it's a unique name only you'll have, like Zane for me."
Charmander seemed to like the idea of having his own unique identity. So Zane began listing out names.
"Pyro?" Charmander shook his head.
"Blaze?" Another no.
"Vulcan?" Once again a rejection. This went on for five minutes more until Charmander finally found a name he liked.
"Methus? Short for Prometheus, a trickster who tricked the legends into giving fire to humanity. I think it fits perfectly for you."
Charmander nodded, and it was settled. The newly christened Methus lied down near the fire, tired already.
"You get some sleep, Methus, I'll take the first watch. I'll wake you if anything happens," Zane said. Methus was a bit wary of leaving his trainer alone. But his eyes started drooping and he fell asleep where he lay.
Zane opened up his PokeNav, using it to access the internet. The forums were going crazy since the season had officially started today. New trainers making post after post. He searched "Charmander" on one of the forums and several threads came up.
"Charmander: The Do's and Don'ts."
He smiled as he opened it. He was going to remember every bit of information he could.
"Hmm, you know our first gym battle is against a rock type gym leader?" Zane said to Methus. Methus tilted his head, and Zane facepalmed as he remembered he had never told Methus about gyms. Or gym battles. Or anything about the League.
"Okay, so basically there is this thing called the League Season. It runs for about nine months. During that season trainers collect badges from gyms, run by gym leaders. You following this?" He asked. Methus nodding.
"So basically you have to battle each gym leader to get a badge from them. There are a lot of gyms in Kanto, 13 or 14 I think. About the same in Johto as far as I know. Each gym is dedicated to one type. Like the Pewter City gym, the one we're targeting, is a rock type gym led by Brock Harrison."
"Once you collect 8 badges, you can enter the Indigo Conference. It consists of the best trainers in both Kanto and Johto," he said.
Methus gained a competitive look in his eye. Zane chuckled.
"Yes, that's what we want, to win this thing. But that's not where we're gonna stop, not at all." Methus looked at him questioningly.
"The winner of the Conference gets to challenge the Elite 4 and Champion. The five strongest trainers in Indigo."
"If you beat them all, you are proclaimed the new Champion of Indigo, meaning you're the strongest trainer in Indigo. But that's only if you beat all five of them."
"Beat a few of them and lose to one, you'll still be known as a very strong trainer. But that's not what I want. What I want is the pinnacle. And for that, even the role of Champion isn't enough."
Methus looked at him with a confused look in his eyes, letting out a questioning rumble.
"What could be the top if not the role of Champion? Well, every ten years there is this tournament held, called the World Coronation Series. Trainers from all around the world drop everything to battle for three months. The more you win the more you move up in rank. There are different classes according to how strong you are."
"The Champions and other strong trainers fight at the very top, the Master Class. And that, my dear friend, determines the very pinnacle of the world's trainers. Right now the current World Champion is Cynthia Shirona, the Champion of Sinnoh. The tournament was held six years ago, meaning it's due to be held in four years. And in those four years, we'll be ready."
Methus grinned savagely, letting out a roar. Zane smiled.
"We're gonna aim for the top, and no one will know what hit them. But first, we need to train. For the rock type gym, there's this move you can learn called Metal Claw. Master that and we'll power past Brock like he's nothing."
Charmander shot to his feet, motivated by their talk. Zane followed. Brock won't be easy to beat. But they would train, and keep training until they earned their first badge.
It had been three days since they had left Pallet Town, and now they were walking along the river. Zane suspected they would be at Viridian by the time it turned dark. Methus had been recalled for now, since Zane wanted to let him rest for a while.
They had made an incredible amount of progress with Metal Claw. At first when Methus scratched rocks nothing happened. But soon he got the hang of channeling steel type energy. And now? Well, all the deep gouges in the rocks showed their progress.
But now he rested. Zane kept an eye out for Pokemon. He really needed another teammate if he wanted to take on Brock. Preferably something which had a type advantage against rock types, like a grass or water type.
Sadly, nothing appealed to him. This area was populated by Poliwags and Magikarps, with the occasional Oddish wandering about. But none of them appealed to him, since none possessed what he wanted. Spirit.
He wanted his captures to be strong, and have fight in them. The fighting spirit and motivation which would assure him they would go far.
But on this route there was nothing like that. He had hoped the Rufflet would be a bit like it but it had retreated, which was disappointing. He did not care though, he would be patient with his captures. Unlike Gary who apparently had planned to capture every Pokemon he could see.
He did not see that ending well for him.
"HEY YOU!" he heard someone call out. He turned around.
The girl shouting walked towards him. She was dressed in a tank top and shorts, accompanied by a Staryu.
As she got closer, Zane was struck by the vivid blue shade of her eyes. Her red hair was tied back in a ponytail as she confidently walked in his direction.
'Damn, she's pretty.'
She stopped right in front of him and Zane suddenly realised he should say something instead of staring.
"Yes?" Zane asked.
"We're battling now, okay?"
Zane blinked. "Uhh, sure. One on one, since I only have one Pokemon," Zane said.
"Fine by me," she told him, moving some distance from him.
Zane released Methus, who looked around the route.
"We're battling her," Zane said while nodding at the girl. Methus straightened, taking the measure of his opponent, who seemed to be the Staryu.
"A fire type? This should be easy," the girl said. Methus let out a growl. Zane frowned at that remark.
'Let her underestimate us. She won't win against Methus with that Staryu.'
"Crush her," he whispered, then raised his voice. "Okay let's start now. You can have the first move."
The girl grinned. "Water Gun."
"Dodge, then Ember. Keep it up, it's not as strong as Gary's Squirtle."
Methus sidestepped the jet of water, spitting out Embers at the Staryu. It let out another jet of water, both attacks meeting and causing steam to emerge over the battlefield.
"Go through the steam, get closer."
Methus pounced, raining Embers on the Staryu. With the girl screaming to dodge, it rolled to the side to avoid the first few. The next few found their mark.
"Staryu, PSYBEAM."
"DODGE, DON'T LET IT HIT YOU." But it was too late, Methus was too close and it struck him point blank, sending him flying back.
"NOW, ANOTHER WATER GUN, FINISH IT."
'FUCK if that hits Methus is going down. Need to stop that somehow.'.
"EMBER AT THE WATER GUN."
Methus shook off his dizziness, releasing more flames. They once again met and produced a cover of steam, which he used to his advantage.
"Staryu, be careful. Psybeam. Draw it out from wherever it's hiding."
Staryu, unlike its evolved form, was not a psychic type, so it could not sense where Methus was. Nor was Misty familiar with how Methus fought. All that led to Methus getting close enough to unleash his most devastating attack.
"DRAGON BREATH," and there it was, the burst of draconic energy striking Staryu point blank. It lost its effectiveness over longer ranges due to Methus not having properly mastered it. But from close range it was still a killer.
Staryu fell back, and that was all Methus needed. The Charmander rushed forward, his claws extending with the familiar sheen of Metal Claw, savaging the Staryu. The girl quickly recalled it, scowling.
Methus cheered in victory, running back to Zane.
"You're amazing," Zane told him, before recalling him.
The girl walked up to him, still scowling.
"How the fuck is it so strong? How long have you been training?" She asked incredulously.
"Three days," Zane shrugged. "We train a lot."
Her jaw dropped. "I've been a trainer for three months and you just swept me aside like I'm nothing. Damn."
Zane stayed silent, not wanting to insult her.
"Anyways, here you go," she handed a wad of cash worth 500 Poken to him. It was a custom in the Pokemon world to give up 10 percent of your cash - or the required amount if a wager was set - to the victor of a battle. This helped keep trainers motivated.
"Anyways, my name's Misty, I'm from Cerulean. Just came here because I heard some foreign water types sometimes wander in from the ocean. Wanted to try my luck."
"I'm Zane. And yeah it does happen occasionally. Like that one time someone found a Crabrawler here. But don't count on it happening. I haven't seen anything yet myself."
"Damn," she whistled. "You're going to Viridian right? It's pretty close, about one more hour of travel I'd say."
"Thanks, and yeah. I'm ready to sleep in an actual bed."
She laughed. "Yeah that tends to happen."
After that they exchanged goodbyes and Zane continued walking. He really needed to reach Viridian before dark.
There it was. Viridian City stood before him. It was one of the smaller cities in Kanto, only having about thirty thousand inhabitants. Compared to central Kanto, it was not well developed either. But what it did boast was the strongest gym leader in Kanto, perhaps even all of Indigo.
Giovanni was a ground type trainer with over twenty years of experience. He was once considered for the Elite Four but the move didn't end up happening for some reason.
To challenge him you needed a minimum of seven gym badges. Which is why Zane would skip his gym for now. He fully intended for Giovanni to be his eighth gym badge.
After asking around for directions, he finally found the Pokecenter. He opened the glass doors. It was lightly decorated, with white walls, some seating, and a desk in the centre manned by a Nurse Joy and her partner Chansey.
Zane walked over to her.
"Hey, could you check my Charmander please? Oh and also I need a room."
"Sure thing, give me your Charmander's Pokeball. We have multiple rooms available, so here you go. Just hand me your ID and I'll make the arrangements."
Zane gave her his Pokedex. She raised her eyebrows at the rare device before scanning it. She handed it back to him with a key, taking Methus' Pokeball, placing it on a machine.
"Hmm, seems to be fine aside from exhaustion and some bruises. He'll be right as rain in a minute."
Zane waited until she was done, taking Methus' Pokeball from her. He went up the stairs to where the rooms were. Finding his room was easy and once he had unlocked and entered it, he released Methus.
The fire type looked around the room curiously.
"We're in Viridian now. Rest up today. I'll just take a shower and change, and we'll head out to train tomorrow. We'll be here for about a week."
Methus nodded before jumping onto the bed. Zane meanwhile put his bag down. They had about a week to stay here before moving on.
'Hmm, I think I can explore Route 22 a bit, maybe catch a new Pokemon as well? Nothing I find in Viridian Forest will help much against Brock.'
He shook his head to clear his thoughts. All that was for later, for now he'll rest and shower. Today was to rest, tomorrow would be a new day.