404 Error 2; File Not Found

[Missingno. Master]

Rated PG for mild swearing.

For those of you new to the series, I highly recommend first reading the prequel to this; 404 Error. Without having first read that, much of this story will very likely make little to no sense to you.

PM list:
UltimatePokemonExpert ; President People ; Shymain ; Deadly.Braviary ; PurplePoliwag
Volcer ; 3D992 ; AmethystLucario ; SneaselFTW

Spoiler: Table of contents

Chapter 1: Crisis In Tanko
Chapter 2: Shades Of Grey
Chapter 3: Maggie Vs. Grey
Chapter 4: When Rattata Attack
Chapter 5: Done And Dunsparce
Chapter 6: Fight And Flight
Chapter 7: The Top Percentage Of Rattata
Chapter 8: Who Gets To Keep Togepi?
Chapter 9: Trouble In Noinu Cave
Chapter 10: The Bugs, The Baby, And The Battles
Chapter 11: Team ED In 7g Well
Chapter 12: Ethan Vs. Grey
Chapter 13: Out Of The Forest And Into The Fire
Chapter 14: Park Balls Of Fire

Chapter 1: Crisis In Tanko
~~~~~~~~​

In a relatively small yet spacious laboratory in Talpel Town, a middle-aged, pudgy, balding man was pacing around nervously. Occasionally, he idly kicked aside some clutter, such as crumpled up papers or empty Poké Balls.

"Come on," he muttered. "Where is she..."

Just then, he heard the door open, and looked up to see a teenager with fiery orange hair walk in. She was wearing a yellow tank-top and blazing red shorts, all of which gave her a distinctly fiery appearance, though the look on her face was one of worry and concern.

"You wanted to see me, Professor Redwood?" asked the teenager.

The professor nodded. "That I did, Maggie," he replied. "As you may or may not know, I suggested to Red that he go and visit an old colleague of mine, one who might be able to tell him more about that strange egg he found."

Maggie nodded, having indeed known this.

"Well, that was two weeks ago. Red left almost immediately for the Hojot region in the west, and not long afterward I got a call from Professor Conifer confirming that he arrived, but he seems to have vanished after that. Nobody knows where he went after he left the lab. All Professor Conifer knows is that he went out the door after Red to give him something he had left behind, and Red was nowhere to be seen."

"That's horrible!" Maggie gasped. "What can we do, Professor?"

"I'm getting to that," Redwood answered. "I'd like you to travel to the Hojot region and search for Red. I would've asked Orange and Violet to go, except Orange is busy handling the Ivadirin Gym in Red's absence, and Violet seems somewhat reluctant to travel without him."

"I'll do it," nodded Maggie. "Which way do I go?"

"When you hit Route -23, there's a winding mountain trail you can take," explained Professor Redwood. "Just head south instead of north. Follow the path and you'll end up in Krab Wen Town. You should locate Professor Conifer's laboratory, and start from there."

Maggie nodded her understanding of this. Once she left the laboratory, she removed a small sphere from her belt. This sphere was half red and half white, the two halves separated by a thin black line, on which there was a single white button- a Poké Ball. Maggie pressed the button, and the ball doubled in size, growing to roughly the size of a baseball in her hand. Once this happened, she tossed the ball up, and it split open along the black line. A mass of glowing yellow energy flowed forth from the ball, forming itself into an equine shape on the ground. At that point, the glowing faded, and it was revealed that the creature that the ball had contained was a cream-colored horse-like Pokémon. Its head, tail, and parts of its legs all seemed to be on fire. Unperturbed by these flames, Maggie climbed up onto the back of this creature.

"OK, Rapidash," she stated. "Let's ride!"

Rapidash neighed in response before taking off, galloping across the strange landscape, which seemed to consist of rocks, grass, pools of water, and (oddly enough) numbers in equal measure. They headed north first, speeding across Route -1. Many times, the wild Rattata had to scatter to avoid being trampled.

Finally, Maggie and Rapidash arrived in Ivadirin City. On Maggie's request, the Fire Horse Pokémon slowed down to a walk as they approached a massive structure which looked to be made chiefly out of roofing tiles. The sign attached to the building claimed it to be the Ivadirin City Pokémon Gym. Outside the doors, there stood a pair of people who looked rather happy to see Maggie. One of them was a boy with messy orange hair the same color as Maggie's, and the other was a girl with long black hair and a purple shirt.

"Hi, Orange," smiled Maggie. "Hi, Violet."

"Hey, Maggie," grinned Orange, the boy. "Good to see you again."

"Any news about Red?" asked Violet.

"No," sighed Maggie. "Look, Professor Redwood sent me to the Hojot region to search for him. Violet, I'd like you to take over Bincanar Gym in my absence, OK?"

Violet nodded. "Of course. Just make sure you find him, OK?"

"Will do," promised Maggie.

"Yeah, you better find him, Maggie," said Orange, who attempted a brave smile despite his unusually grim voice. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Maggie replied. "OK, Rapidash," she added. "Let's move."

Rapidash gave a small neigh in response before taking off once more. Maggie waved goodbye to Violet and Orange before focusing on where Rapidash was going.

They came to Route -22, which ordinarily would take nearly half an entire day for a human to traverse. However, on Rapidashback, going at high speeds, it took a mere forty-five minutes. Remembering what Professor Redwood had said, Maggie ordered Rapidash to turn left instead of right when they reached the end of the route, and they immediately found themselves on a narrow, twisting, rocky path.

Rapidash was forced to slow down as they traveled this harrowing path. It overlooked tall cliffs for the most part, and at times they were forced to go down steep slopes, and then up other steep slopes. At various points on the terrain (which consisted of numbers and grass, but primarily rocks), there were posted wooden signs, all of which indicated that Maggie was on the right path.

Before long, Route -26 turned to Route -27, or so the signs claimed. The trail got less mountainous and more grassy (though still with rocks and numbers thrown in here and there), and they found themselves going along the coast of the sea.

"OK, I think we should be nearly there, Rapidash," Maggie stated as they passed the entrance to a cave, from which the echoing roaring of a waterfall could be heard. "Just past Kojot Falls, if memory serves- Rapidash, stop!" she exclaimed suddenly, as a young boy could be seen stumbling out of a nearby stone arch. He was wearing a yellow and black baseball cap backwards- the hat gave off the impression of an Ultra Ball, and some of his black hair could be seen protruding from beneath it. He was also wearing a red and white sweatshirt, along with a pair of yellow and black shorts. A silver-colored backpack was on his back.

Rapidash screeched to a halt as the youth cried out in fear. Once the Fire Horse came to a stop, however, he looked decidedly less frightened. "Hey, what the-" he stated as he looked around. "Where am I?" he asked.

"Well, you're on Route -27," Maggie stated. "Not far from the Hojot region."

"Route what, not far from the who what now?" responded the youth. "I don't get it! I just started as a trainer in Johto, I try to take a little trip to Kanto, I go through this weird stone arch, and suddenly I'm here." As he said this, he removed a small red device from his pocket- a Pokédex- and pointed it at Maggie's ride.

"Rapidash, the Fire Horse Pokémon, and the evolved form of Ponyta," the machine droned. "At full gallop, its four hooves barely touch the ground because it moves so incredibly fast."

"You mean you've never heard of the Tanko or Hojot regions?" asked Maggie. As the boy shook his head, the Gym Leader looked a little confused. "Huh. I guess the portals don't really exist in Johto and Hojot..." At this, she proceeded to explain to the boy all about Tanko and Kanto, and how they seemed to be alternate dimensions between which it recently became possible to freely travel.

"...Whoa," the boy said once Maggie finished her story. "That's a lot to take in... but I guess there's no other way to explain it, is there?"

"I highly doubt it," smiled Maggie. "My name's Maggie McPixel. What's yours?"

"Ethan. Ethan Golde," replied the boy. "I was gonna compete in the Johto league, but I had wanted first to go and visit Professor Oak, get me some advice, you know? I mean, nothing against Professor Elm, but he himself told me that Professor Oak knew way more than he did."

"Well, as long as you're in this dimension, I hear the Hojot region has its own Pokémon League," Maggie suggested. "I'm headed to Hojot myself to look for a missing person, maybe we could travel together. I'll likely be going all over the place to look for him anyway, and I like the idea of helping out a new trainer."

"Hey, now you're talking!" grinned Ethan. "I like that idea! As long as there's Gym Leaders to battle, badges to collect, and a Pokémon League competition to enter, I'm in! I may never have heard of this place before, but there's no way a real Trainer would let something like that stand in my way!"

Maggie giggled. "You remind me of my boyfriend," she said, though there was a look of definite sadness in her eyes as she thought of Red, wondering where he was.

"Well, if Hojot is laid out like Johto is, I think I know how to get there," stated Ethan. With that, he ran off in the direction in which Maggie had been heading in any case. With a quick order to Rapidash, Maggie went off after him.

The scenery changed. No longer was the landscape strewn with random chunks of grass, rock, and numbers, but now, there was nothing but a grassy plain. Green for the most part, though some patches of grass were white, and others were bright pink. The trees also stopped sporting numbers and roofing tiles, and instead seemed to grow leaves exclusively, though many parts of the trees were a lovely shade of blue. Odd colors aside, it reminded Maggie of the Kanto region, where she had visited once with Red.

Eventually, they saw buildings. Several houses, plus one larger structure. To Maggie's mild surprise, these houses were not lined with chunks of rock, or numbers, or anything like that, but instead aluminum siding of multiple colors.

"Whoa," Ethan remarked as they arrived. He examined a nearby sign, which served to welcome them to Krab Wen Town. "It's like New Bark Town, but... the colors are weird, you know?"

"I think so," Maggie replied.

"Hey," Ethan said suddenly upon noticing the sign. "'Krab Wen Town'? Krab Wen- that's New Bark spelled backwards!"

"Wow," said Maggie. "What are the odds of that?" At that point, she climbed off of Rapidash's back. "Thanks, Rapidash," she added as she held out the Poké Ball she had sent it out of. "Take a nice, long rest," she said. At these words, a beam of transparent red energy flew forward from the button. As it struck Rapidash, it converted the Fire Horse Pokémon into that same transparent red energy and sucked it back into the ball. "Anyway," she stated, "I was told to go and find Professor Conifer's lab, so if you're still up for traveling with me, we should probably get going."

"I guess so," nodded Ethan. "I got a hunch I know where the lab might be, anyway, given that this place looks very similar to New Bark Town thus far. Follow me." With that, Ethan ran off in one direction. Maggie ran after him, dearly hoping that this Professor Conifer would help her to find Red.

~~~~~~~~
End of Chapter 1.​

 

[UltimatePokemonExpert]

This looks like the beggining of a beautiful saga. To be honest, I didn't know that there was any remarkable glitches in Johto games, at least compared to the Kanto games. I'm interested to see how this plays out... I just hope it's not a carbon copy of 404 Error. I look forward to reading more so put me on the PM list!

 

[Missingno. Master]

This looks like the beggining of a beautiful saga. To be honest, I didn't know that there was any remarkable glitches in Johto games, at least compared to the Kanto games. I'm interested to see how this plays out... I just hope it's not a carbon copy of 404 Error. I look forward to reading more so put me on the PM list!

Johto games don't have quite as much to offer in the way of glitches as Generation I does, but there's still some stuff to work with. I'm definitely going to make this different from 404 Error in a number of ways, though there will be several recurring elements.

And consider yourself added to the PM list! In fact, you should expect your first PM in a couple of hours or so, because I've been working all day on the next chapter, and it's not far from being ready. Maybe even sooner than that, depends on a number of things.

 

[Missingno. Master]

And here it is!

Chapter 2: Shades Of Grey
~~~~~~~~​

With Maggie following him, Ethan was running across Krab Wen Town. Sure enough, he grinned as the largest building they've seen in town thus far came into view. Like the other buildings, it was covered with aluminum siding, albeit of a multicolored nature. Mostly blue and pink, though with some white and green thrown in as well.

"This is it!" Ethan grinned as he turned his head back to look at Maggie. "I had a feeling it was somewhere around here- OOF!"

For at that moment, due to momentarily not looking where he was going, Ethan had collided rather painfully with someone else. As he shakily climbed to his feet, he turned to offer his hand to the other person, who he could now see was a girl around his age, with black hair that went down past her shoulders, dressed in a dark grey t-shirt and matching shorts. A small red backpack was slung over one of her shoulders, and she stood up on her own instead of taking Ethan's hand.

"Sorry about that," Ethan said sheepishly.

The girl scowled. "Yeah, right," she said, rolling her eyes. "You know those little round things poking out of your head? They're called eyes. Use 'em."

"Hey, that was uncalled for," Maggie frowned as she caught up to them.

"Yeah," nodded Ethan. "You could've been watching where you were going too, you know. And I said I was sorry."

"I heard you the first time, and it'll do you as much good now as it did then," snapped the girl. "Where the hell were you going in such a hurry, anyway?"

"That's Professor Conifer's lab up ahead, isn't it?" asked Ethan.

"Well, duh!" said the girl. "Of course that's Professor Conifer's lab! What did you think it was, a dentist's office?"

"Hey, give me a break, I'm new around here!" Ethan exclaimed. "Excuse me for not knowing my way around town!"

"Oh, don't tell me you're headed there too," sighed the girl. "That's all I need, is some stupid moron hanging around while I pick my first Pokémon."

"Oh, you're starting your journey today?" asked Maggie, sounding rather interested.

"Yeah, and what's it to you?" the girl replied.

"Well, I've just started my journey myself," Ethan replied. "I'm gonna be traveling the Hojot region and winning Gym badges."

"Pffft," snorted the girl. "You? A Trainer? You don't look like you got the brains to tell a Graveler from a Grimer, let alone train either of them."

"Yeah, well, I don't think I can see any Pokémon warming up to you," Ethan shot back. "Who do you think you are, anyway, coming up to me and throwing insults in my face?"

"The name's Grey. Grey Spearow," said the girl. "Remember it now, because I won't be telling you again."

"Whatever," said Ethan. "I'm Ethan. Ethan Golde. This is Maggie McPixel."

"And I couldn't give a flying-"

"OK, stop it!" exclaimed Maggie suddenly. This caught both Grey and Ethan's attention, and they turned to look at her. "It's obvious we're all headed for the same location right now, so could we please try to be civil to each other?"

Ethan and Grey said nothing at this. They merely glared at each other once more before the trio continued on. Within minutes, they found themselves outside the building Ethan had been running towards. True to his suspicions, a pale yellow sign outside the door read "Conifer Pokémon Research Lab" in black lettering.

Ethan knocked on the green and pink door, and almost immediately, a voice sounded from inside. "Come in!" Obligingly, Ethan made to open the door, though Grey shoved past him and went in first. Scowling at this, Ethan followed her in, followed by Maggie.

The interior looked primarily like Professor Redwood's lab, only slightly smaller and a lot more cluttered. Grey led the way to the back of the room, carelessly kicking aside any clutter in her way as she went. At the back of the room, there stood a relatively young man- older than any of them, though he couldn't have been much older than thirty, Maggie was guessing. He had short brown hair, and looked rather fit- she could just barely notice some definite muscle through his lab coat.

"Hello!" the man greeted them. "Allow me to introduce myself- I am Professor Conifer. You, I'm guessing, must be Maggie, correct?" he said, addressing Maggie, who nodded. "Yes. Yes. Professor Redwood called me earlier to tell me you would be on your way-"

"Hey," interrupted Grey. "Now that that's out of the way, how about a Pokémon here?"

"Now, it's not polite to interrupt," Professor Conifer frowned as he turned his attention to Grey. "Having said that, I have been expecting you, so we may as well do this. Maggie, would it be OK if I help Grey here choose her first Pokémon?"

"Sure," smiled Maggie.

"Damn straight, it's OK," grinned Grey. Ignoring this, Professor Conifer escorted the trio over to a nearby table, on which rested three Poké Balls.

"All right," the professor stated as he took a Poké Ball. "First off, the Grass-type starter... Exeggcute!" He threw the ball up as he said the last word, and in a flash of light, a cluster of a half-dozen eggs materialized. Each egg sported a face, and one of them was cracked, with a yellow yolk-like substance showing through.

"Exeggcute," said all six eggs simultaneously.

"Pfft," scoffed Grey. "Next."

"Very well," sighed Professor Conifer as he threw another one of the Poké Balls. "Now for the Fire-type starter... Magby!"

In a flash of light, a small red bipedal Pokémon materialized. It sported small, silver claws on its hands and feet, and a thin wisp of smoke rose from its mouth. "Magby!" it exclaimed.

"Eeeeeeeee!" squealed Maggie, unable to contain herself. "It's so cuuuuuute!" she breathed as she knelt down to get a closer look at the Magby, who looked rather pleased with the attention.

"Next," yawned Grey.

"Well, here's the last one," replied Professor Conifer as he threw the final Poké Ball. "The Water-type starter... Tentacool!" he exclaimed as the ball burst open, unleashing a blue and red aquatic creature. It stood on a pair of brown tentacles, using them as makeshift legs.

"Tentacoool," said the Water/Poison-type in a somewhat nasally tone.

"Say," Grey said, regarding the Tentacool with interest. "Now that's more like it," she stated as she picked up the Jellyfish Pokémon and held it in her hands, examining it. "Yeah," she said, nodding. "Yeah, I think my choice is pretty clear here. I'll take Tentacool."

"Cool! Tentacool!" cheered Tentacool as Professor Conifer handed Tentacool's Poké Ball to Grey.

"You know, in Johto, I was given a choice between Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile-" began Ethan.

"Hey, Ethan, hold up a sec," Grey interrupted, shushing him. "You hear that?" Ethan heard nothing, so he shook his head. "You know what that is?" asked Grey. "That's the sound of me not caring."

"And here are some empty Poké Balls, and your Pokédex," stated Professor Conifer as he handed five more Poké Balls to Grey, plus a small red box, not unlike the one Ethan had. "Now then," he added as he turned to face Ethan, who stopped scowling at Grey, "What about you, young man? Are you here for a Pokémon?"

"Actually, I already have one," Ethan replied as he held up a Poké Ball. "I got this Cyndaquil from Professor Elm in the Johto-"

"The Johto region?" interrupted Professor Conifer with great interest. "Oh, please excuse me," he added as he realized that he had interrupted. "Well, at the very least, I ought to give you a new Pokédex," he stated as he produced another Pokédex from a nearby shelf and handed it to Ethan. "Now then, Maggie," he said. "As I told Professor Redwood, I have no clue as to Red's whereabouts. He seems to have simply vanished when he left my lab two weeks ago. He could be more or less anywhere, so you would do well to search the Hojot region in its entirety. Also, he seemed to have accidentally left this behind," he added as he reached over to another shelf, from which he carefully extracted a round, white object with triangular red and blue markings- an Egg.

"Yeah, that's the Egg he found!" Maggie exclaimed.

"Well, I would like you to take it with you when you look for him," said Professor Conifer as he placed it in Maggie's arms. "My research indicates that it is the Egg of a Pokémon. Exactly what species it contains isn't certain at the moment, but lately, we've been discovering all manner of new Pokémon left and right lately. Anyway, I believe that the Egg will only hatch if it is kept with other Pokémon and cared for by a Trainer. Unfortunately, my work keeps me far too busy to give that kind of attention to the Egg, but I'm hoping you'll be up to the task?"

"I don't see why not," smiled Maggie as she gently cradled the Egg in her arms.

Meanwhile, once Ethan and Grey were done getting a feel for their new Pokédexes, Grey walked over to Ethan. "Alright, loser," she said. "You. Me. Battle. Now."

For once, Ethan found himself unperturbed by Grey's rudeness- he wasn't one to turn down a battle challenge. "You're on!" he replied.

"Uh- please, not in here!" Professor Conifer exclaimed hastily. "Could you maybe take it outside?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," grumbled Grey as she rolled her eyes. "Whatever.
~~~~~~~~
"OK, this will be a one-on-one Pokémon battle between Ethan Golde of New Bark Town, and Grey Spearow of Krab Wen Town," announced Maggie once they were outside, where there was plenty of room. A large patch of brown, white, and pink dirt served as the battlefield. Ethan and Grey stood at either end of the arena while Maggie stood on the sides to act as the referee, having placed the Egg in her backpack beforehand. Watching from the doorway of his laboratory was Professor Conifer. "Begin!" she said.

"Cyndaquil! Let's go!" Ethan exclaimed as he threw a Poké Ball. In a flash of light, there appeared a small rodent-like Pokémon. Half its fur was cream-colored, the other half was a dark green-blue.

"Quiiiiiil!" exclaimed the Pokémon. As it cried out, its back ignited, a roaring fire now burning from several red spots on its back. As Maggie tried to keep herself from squealing how cute she thought Cyndaquil was, Grey held out her Pokédex.

"Cyndaquil, the Mouse Pokémon," droned the device. "A timid Pokémon that curls itself up into a ball. It shoots flames from its back for protection."

"All right, let's destroy that thing!" yelled Grey as she threw a Poké Ball. "Tentacool! Go!"

In a flash of light, Grey's Tentacool materialized, standing somewhat unsteadily on its two tentacles. "Tentacool," it said. Now it was Ethan's turn to hold out his new Pokédex.

"Tentacool, the Jellyfish Pokémon," it said. "It drifts aimlessly in waves. Very difficult to see in water, it may not be noticed until it stings."

Ethan made the first move. "Cyndaquil! Tackle it!" he ordered.

"Tentacool, Poison Sting!" commanded Grey.

"Cooool!" exclaimed Tentacool as numerous glowing purple needles were fired from its body. Cyndaquil charged forward, grunting as it took the Poison move head on, but didn't stop. It slammed into Tentacool, sending the Water/Poison-type crashing to the ground. Tentacool, however, got back up with relative ease.

"Don't take that lying down!" scowled Grey. "Use Supersonic!"

"Leer attack!" ordered Ethan.

"Cynda!" exclaimed Cyndaquil as it suddenly glared at Tentacool, its slit-like eyes starting to glow. Tentacool started shaking in response to this, and did not fire the Supersonic as ordered.

"Cyndaquil! Tackle attack!" grinned Ethan.

"Tentacool, Constrict attack-" began Grey, but before she could even finish speaking, Cyndaquil had rammed into Tentacool once more, and this time, the Jellyfish Pokémon made no effort to move.

"Tentacool is unable to battle!" declared Maggie. "Ethan and Cyndaquil are the winners!"

"Damn it!" exclaimed Grey as she returned Tentacool to its Poké Ball. "You got lucky, you know that, right?" she snapped at Ethan. "If Tentacool had any Water moves to work with yet, you'd have lost!"

Ethan was about to respond to this, when a cry of "Magby mag!" sounded from behind Maggie. She turned around in surprise to see the same Magby from before standing there, looking up at her.

"Heh," chuckled Professor Conifer as he witnessed this. "Well, well, Maggie. It seems Magby here's taken a liking to you."

"Ooh, it certainly looks that way," smiled Maggie as she scooped up the Magby in her arms. "And you're a cute little fella, too, aren't you?" she cooed, much to the Magby's delight.

"Well, it's clear to me that Magby's chosen its trainer," Professor Conifer smiled as he held a Poké Ball out to Maggie. "Why don't you take this Magby? It's obvious it'll be much happier traveling with you than being cooped up in the lab all the time."

"Really?" Maggie asked, a smile on her face. "Oh, yes, I'd love to! Magby, what do you think? You wanna come with me?"

"Mag-BY!" replied Magby, nodding emphatically.

"I'm thinking that's a yes," grinned Ethan.

"Gee, you think?" said Grey sarcastically.

"Well, that settles it," Maggie said. "Welcome to the team, Magby."

Once Magby, Tentacool, and Cyndaquil had been returned to their Poké Balls, Ethan and Maggie headed out in the direction in which Professor Conifer pointed them- west, towards the entrance to Route -29. As they saw a wooden sign welcoming them to Route -29, they heard footsteps behind them.

"What, you thought you'd be rid of me that easily?" demanded Grey. "Get real."

"What are you doing here?" asked Ethan disdainfully. "Haven't you inflicted your presence on us long enough?"

"Hardly," snapped Grey, with the faintest trace of a sneer. "It's obvious the two of you are total noobs when it comes to the Hojot region. Clearly, you both need someone who knows her way around Hojot. Someone who actually knows all the names of the cities and towns Hojot has to offer. Someone stunningly beautiful, like me."

"Like you," repeated Ethan skeptically. "Yeah, thanks, but no thanks. The day I accept help from you will be the day my Cyndaquil shoots icicles out of its back."

"If I might add something," added Maggie, "No offense, but... you're not all that nice, Grey. I'm not so sure I'd be comfortable with this."

"Oh? Just what the hell is that supposed to mean, huh?" demanded Grey as she wheeled around. "Am I not pleasant? Am I not a wonderful person to be around?? Does my very presence not FILL YOUR FREAKING HEART WITH JOY?!?!"

Maggie did not look particularly bothered by this outburst, but declined to answer all the same. Ethan, on the other hand, though he also declined to answer, still eyed Grey warily before hastening to follow Maggie.

Route -29 was beautiful. Huge fields of grass, with large trees dotting the landscape every so often. It would have been a beautiful view of greenery, except the green was mostly obscured by other colors. A lot of the grass was pink and white, and only some of the trees' bark was brown- for the most part, it was yellow, pink, and blue. Even the trees' leaves looked colorful, though Ethan was fairly certain that even on the most beautiful autumn day, he had never seen leaves that were bright pink, light blue, or a sickly shade of lime green. Above the lovely, albeit oddly colored landscape, several Pidgey could be seen flying.

"Well," Maggie said after they had spent some time walking through the fields of multicolored foliage, "maybe we ought to go together anyway."

"Uh, Maggie?" murmured Ethan. "You seem like a nice person, so don't take this the wrong way, but, um... have you completely lost your mind?!"

"Well, Grey, you're going for Hojot's Gym badges too, right?" Maggie asked Grey, who had been stubbornly walking alongside them.

"That's what I said," Grey responded.

"Well, Ethan's doing that as well, so you're bound to cross paths more than once in any case. Besides, I think it'd be more fun to have more people traveling with us than if we were each going by ourselves. I mean, I know, Ethan, we're both finding it a little hard to get along with Grey, but who knows? Things can change. Maybe the two of you could even become friends."

At this, Ethan and Grey both gave funny looks at Maggie. "You really haven't got any brains at all, have you?" Grey asked, shaking her head slowly.

~~~~~~~~
End of Chapter 2.​

 

[President People]

Though I haven't finished 404 Error, I'd like to be notified of any new chapters for the second installment. Thanks.

 

[Shymain]

Please put me on the PM list!

This is interesting... I'm glad that you didn't have the main character called Gold. That would be unoriginal. Are you planning to have the names backwards instead of scrambled now? It makes sense that Johto wouldn't know about Hojot... I guess...

To be honest, I think this plot is a bit exhausted and your writing just didn't seem as good as usual in the first two chapters. Hopefully it will improve, but it feels like you feel obligated to write this and aren't as passionate about it as AoA or 404 Error... Which seems to lower the standard of writing. The plot isn't funny yet, and I just hope it gets better.

Also, the scenario where the main character already got a starter is a bit repetitive. I expected something different...

Keep Writing!

Shymain

 

[Deadly.Braviary]

Spoiler: random

"The name's Grey. Grey Spearow,"

AoA reference? Because iirc Jack's last name was Spearow as well. They have similar personality traits as well - narcissistic, bad-tempered and a tendency to piss off people.

This is looking fun so far. I'm actually liking this far more than the opening chapters of its prequel. I wonder if this is a crossover ...?
Either way, I will follow this with interest. Put me on the PM list, please.

~Deadly

 

[PurplePoliwag]

Enjoyed reading aoa, and 404 error pt1, but never imagined you'd make a pt 2!
Add me to pm list please

 

[Missingno. Master]

Though I haven't finished 404 Error, I'd like to be notified of any new chapters for the second installment. Thanks.

Will do!

Please put me on the PM list!

Consider yourself added.

This is interesting... I'm glad that you didn't have the main character called Gold. That would be unoriginal. Are you planning to have the names backwards instead of scrambled now? It makes sense that Johto wouldn't know about Hojot... I guess...

Yeah, the names will be backwards in Hojot, as opposed to the anagrams used in Tanko.

To be honest, I think this plot is a bit exhausted and your writing just didn't seem as good as usual in the first two chapters. Hopefully it will improve, but it feels like you feel obligated to write this and aren't as passionate about it as AoA or 404 Error... Which seems to lower the standard of writing. The plot isn't funny yet, and I just hope it gets better.

Also, the scenario where the main character already got a starter is a bit repetitive. I expected something different...

Keep Writing!

Shymain

I'm definitely gonna try and improve in future chapters. The plot will start to have some humor in it soon enough. Ethan has yet to see his first Glitch Pokémon, for starters...

Spoiler: random

AoA reference? Because iirc Jack's last name was Spearow as well. They have similar personality traits as well - narcissistic, bad-tempered and a tendency to piss off people.

[SPOIL]Good catch- it is indeed an AoA reference![/SPOIL]

This is looking fun so far. I'm actually liking this far more than the opening chapters of its prequel. I wonder if this is a crossover ...?
Either way, I will follow this with interest. Put me on the PM list, please.

~Deadly

You are added to the PM list!

Enjoyed reading aoa, and 404 error pt1, but never imagined you'd make a pt 2!
Add me to pm list please

Added!

I've started work on the next chapter. No telling when it'll be out at the moment.

 

[Volcer]

The PM list. Add me to it.

This is looking really interesting. Red disappearing. Maggie going to Hojot. Ethan and Grey will be like Orange and Violet, me thinks.

I'm assumin they aren't anagrams or backwards? Because Kojot isn't either of those.

 

[Missingno. Master]

The PM list. Add me to it.

This is looking really interesting. Red disappearing. Maggie going to Hojot. Ethan and Grey will be like Orange and Violet, me thinks.

I'm assumin they aren't anagrams or backwards? Because Kojot isn't either of those.

Added!

It's a possibility, though you could always tell that Orange and Violet liked each other. Ethan and Grey, right now, they hate each other.

Kojot Falls is the Tanko/Hojot equivalent of Tojoh falls. It's an amalgamation of Tanko and Hojot, just like Tojoh is a combination of Kanto and Johto.

 

[3D992]

Well, I certainly didn't see a sequal coming so soon. Please add me to the pm list! Also, just wanna note that what Shymain said hit the nail on the head. Don't write out of obligation, write when and what you want. That will make this a good read and almost as funny as AoA. Because let's face it, nothing will ever be as funny as AoA.

 

[UltimatePokemonExpert]

Hmmm, a good second chapter for sure. There are just two things I'm thinking at this point. 1) It's so freaking obvious Grey has a thing for Ethan...it just is. 2) M.M., have you played Fire Emblem Awakening for the 3DS? If you have, I just want to say, I picture Maggie as Sully from that game. Anyways, good chapter, keep up the good work.

 

[Missingno. Master]

Well, I certainly didn't see a sequal coming so soon. Please add me to the pm list! Also, just wanna note that what Shymain said hit the nail on the head. Don't write out of obligation, write when and what you want. That will make this a good read and almost as funny as AoA. Because let's face it, nothing will ever be as funny as AoA.

Consider yourself added. And thanks!

Hmmm, a good second chapter for sure. There are just two things I'm thinking at this point. 1) It's so freaking obvious Grey has a thing for Ethan...it just is. 2) M.M., have you played Fire Emblem Awakening for the 3DS? If you have, I just want to say, I picture Maggie as Sully from that game. Anyways, good chapter, keep up the good work.

1: IF what you're saying is true, then don't expect anything to happen with it for a while. That's IF it's true. IF. If. If.

2: No, I have not.

And thanks!


I haven't been getting much work done on the next chapter lately, but it has been started. As for when it'll be ready and posted... sometime this week wouldn't be an unreasonable assumption. No guarantees, but it's still a strong possibility.

 

[SneaselFTW]

Since inevitably I shall be dead soon, please PM me the next chapter and no more. So I know where to start


Very nicely done, managed to finish the orginal.

~Sneasel

 

[Missingno. Master]

Since inevitably I shall be dead soon, please PM me the next chapter and no more. So I know where to start


Very nicely done, managed to finish the orginal.

~Sneasel

Dead soon? Wha? Glad you like it so far, though!

Also, just to reassure you all, I have not forgotten about this. I've been working on the next chapter, it's just been very, very slow going. I'm gonna try to see if I can't pick things up, though. Hopefully the next chapter will be ready by the end of this weekend, but no promises.

 

[Shymain]

Ah, so you were on a four (effectively five, now) month hiatus from the story? Like the famous uber-long hiatus in the AoA?

Then this is gonna turn out a damn lot better than I expected!

No, seriously – it's always good that the author has some time to back away from the story and relax, and since you just finished 404 Error, you really did deserve that break.

I'm still annoyed about the wait, though.

Keep Writing!

-Shymain

 

[Missingno. Master]

Sorry for the wait! Hopefully that won't happen again (though I'm starting classes in less than a week, so no promises). Anyway, Chapter 3 is here!

Chapter 3: Maggie Vs. Grey
~~~~~~~~​

Despite the beautiful scenery, the trek across Route -29 was anything but peaceful. Maggie tried to take in the gorgeous view, the strange, multicolored foliage, but found the mood spoiled somewhat by the obvious mutual hatred between Ethan and Grey.

Before long, however, they spotted something before them that even managed to distract Ethan and Grey- a Pokémon. It was a small, bipedal creature with light brown fur, and a very large, striped tail. It was standing up on this tail, making itself appear taller, and was looking around.

"Oh, cool!" Ethan grinned as he held out his Pokédex. "A Sentret!"

"Sentret, the Scout Pokémon," droned the Pokédex. "Wary and cautious, Sentret stands on its tail to get a better view of its surroundings. When it spots intruders, Sentret yells loudly to alert the rest of its kind."

"I hope you don't think you're actually gonna have a shot at catching that Sentret," scoffed Grey.

"Oh? And why shouldn't I?" demanded Ethan.

At this, Grey sneered at Ethan. "Because I'm going to," she said as she threw a Poké Ball. "Tentacool!" she shouted, ignoring Ethan's protests as the Jellyfish Pokémon appeared in a flash of light.

Sentret wheeled around to face Grey and Tentacool, and went to make the first move. It got off of its tail, and charged forward, slamming into Tentacool.

"That was Sentret's Tackle attack," observed Ethan.

"Oh, gee, thanks, I would never have figured that out for myself!" Grey snapped. "Tentacool, Supersonic!"

"Tentacool, Tentacool," chanted Tentacool as a volley of soundwaves emanated from the large ruby-colored circles on its head. Sentret instantly started to move about erratically, the attack having disoriented and confused it.

"Now use your Poison Sting!" commanded Grey.

"Tentacool!" exclaimed Tentacool. A barrage of glowing purple needles were then launched off of Tentacool's body. Despite Sentret's disoriented state, it still managed to curl its body up into a perfect sphere. The spikes bounced off, for the most part, but when Sentret unfurled itself, now it was starting to look a little ill.

"Yeah," grinned Grey. "Fat lot of good that Defense Curl did, Sentret's still poisoned!" Then, she reached into her backpack and pulled out a Poké Ball. "Time to make this Sentret mine!" she declared. "Poké Ball! Go!" she shouted, throwing the sphere at the Sentret. As the sphere struck the Scout Pokémon, it opened up, converted the Sentret into a shapeless mass of transparent red energy, then sucked it all inside. Once this was done, the ball snapped shut and fell to the ground. It wobbled violently... Once... Twice...

The ball exploded, suddenly and without warning. Ethan exclaimed and ducked as a shard of Poké Ball flew over him, right where his head had been seconds ago. As the shrapnel flew in every direction, a glowing mass of bright light formed itself back into the shape of Sentret where the ball had been sitting. The glow faded, and Sentret was standing there before them again. Only this time, it looked decidedly pissed.

"Damn it!" exclaimed Grey. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!!" Then, to Ethan and Maggie's surprise, she turned to Ethan and pointed at him accusingly. "You!" she exclaimed. "This is your fault!"

"My fault?!" said Ethan, firing up at once. "What are you talking about? You're the one who didn't weaken Sentret enough!"

"And why didn't it occur to you to point this out at any time?"

"Because since when do you listen to me?!"

"Hey!" Maggie interrupted. "Can't you two please stop?"

"No," said Grey.

"Not really," added Ethan, speaking more or less at the same time as Grey.

"Well, I wish you would," Maggie stated, folding her arms. "If we're gonna travel together, the least you two could do is try to get along."

"I'd rather drink pureed Grimer crap," spat Grey.

"I'd rather have a staring contest with a Primeape," Ethan shot back.

Maggie sighed. Then, she noticed something. Or to be more accurate, she noticed something that was not there to be noticed. "Hey, uh, Grey?" she said.

"What?" demanded Grey. "This had better be something directly relevant to my life if you want me to even pretend to give a Raticate's-"

"The Sentret fled," interrupted Maggie. Grey wheeled around to look- sure enough, the Sentret she had been attempting to catch was long gone.

Ethan and Maggie recoiled in somewhat mild surprise as Grey proceeded to storm around, roaring a selection of obscenities and swearwords that could induce fainting in sailors and truck drivers.

"Geez, Grey," Ethan said once she had finished her profanity-laden tirade. "Could you maybe tone it down a bit?"

"I just missed out on catching that Mewdamn Sentret," snapped Grey. "I will tone it down if and when I'm good and ready! Idiot." With that, she stormed off down Route -29. "Follow me!" she barked. "Evor Gyrrehc City isn't much farther!"

Ethan shot a glare at Maggie. "This was your idea," he hissed at her.
~~~~~~~~
Not long after this, Grey stopped short and wheeled around to face her semi-reluctant companions. "Hey," she said to them. "You know what? Tentacool ain't gonna learn any Water moves if he doesn't battle. So let's battle. I'll take both of you on right now."

"Sure," smirked Ethan. "You have no idea how satisfying it'll be to take you down again."

"Actually, Ethan," Maggie spoke up, "Maybe I could battle Grey first? I'd like to see what Magby can do in battle."

"Hah!" laughed Grey as she readied her Poké Ball. "Bring it, redhead! Tentacool, stand by for battle!" she added, throwing the ball, unleashing her Tentacool onto the grass.

Maggie replied by taking out her own Poké Ball, kissing it, and throwing it. "OK, Magby, I choose you!" she exclaimed.

In a flash of light, Magby materialized. "Magby!!!" exclaimed the small, red Fire-type. Ethan took out his Pokédex and held it out towards Magby.

"Magby, the Live Coal Pokémon," droned the device. "Magby is found in volcanic craters. It dribbles hot embers with every breath."

"Go, Tentacool! Poison Sting now!" ordered Grey.

"Ember attack!" called Maggie.

"MagBYYYYY!" bellowed Magby as it fired off a number of small yet undeniably hot flames from its mouth. Tentacool responded to this by unleashing a barrage of poisonous needles, all of them glowing purple. The attacks collided in midair, each Ember burning up a Poison Sting, and the attacks cancelled each other out.

"Now use your Constrict attack!" yelled Grey.

"Magby, use Mega Punch!" ordered Maggie.

Tentacool and Magby lunged towards each other. Though Magby managed to slam its fist into the Water/Poison-type, Tentacool still managed to bind its foe with its tentacles. Magby fell to the ground, Tentacool's tentacles pinning its arms to its sides.

"Don't give in, Magby!" said Maggie. "Use Ember attack!"

"Mag! MagBYYYY!" replied Magby, once again firing a barrage of flames from its mouth.

"Tentacool!" exclaimed Tentacool as the flames struck it. Though the attack wasn't very effective, it hurt nonetheless. It loosened its grip on Magby, only a little bit, but that was all the Live Coal Pokémon needed- Magby broke free from the tentacles.

"Yeah! Way to go, Magby!" cheered Maggie. "Now let's finish this!"

"I don't think so!" snarled Grey. "Tentacool! Supersonic!"

"Magby, Karate Chop!" called Maggie.

Tentacool unleashed soundwaves from the smallest of the ruby-like protrusions on its head, though Magby jumped high into the air, evading them. It then raised its right arm, and brought its hand down hard on Tentacool's head, at which point the Jellyfish Pokémon slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Tentacool is unable to ba-" began Ethan.

"If you finish that sentence, it will be the last thing you ever say in this life!" snapped Grey as she withdrew Tentacool. "Now follow me!" she barked as she stormed down the path once again. Ethan rolled his eyes and followed her, though glanced over at Maggie. Maggie was walking next to him, though she was carrying Magby in her arms, still congratulating it on its victory.

"You were great out there, Magby," said Maggie.

"Magby Magby Magby," replied the Magby, who sounded exceptionally pleased by its trainer's words.

"Wow," Ethan remarked to Maggie. "You didn't have Magby for very long, and already it's warmed up to you."

"Well, I've always had a way with Fire-types," smiled Maggie. "When I was a little girl, my mom got this pet Vulpix, and I was the only one who could get close enough to pet it. Everyone else just got an Ember attack to the face."

"Ooh," said Ethan. "Sounds like my mom's pet Meowth. Except I can't even get near him, either," he chuckled. "He- eh, what's this?" he said suddenly, for he had taken notice of a small pink Pokémon drifting past them on the wind. At Ethan's words, Grey wheeled around, but as she saw the creature, she snorted.

"Nothing worth my time, that's for damn sure," she stated. As she spoke, Ethan took out his Pokédex and aimed it at the pink being.

"Hoppip, the Cottonweed Pokémon,"droned the device. "Hoppip's body is so light that the slightest breeze can carry it away. To avoid being carried away against its will, it tightly grips the ground with its feet."

"I kinda like it," grinned Ethan as he prepared a Poké Ball and threw it. "Cyndaquil! Go!" he shouted.

In a flash of light, the dark blue and cream-colored Mouse Pokémon materialized. With a sharp cry of "Cynda!", the flame on its back ignited.

"Hah!" snorted Grey. "You're going to catch a Hoppip? Oh, this is too funny."

"What's so funny about it?" frowned Ethan.

"I'm thinking it has to do with the fact that you so moronically think that that lightweight weakling is worth anything in battle," smirked Grey. "I mean, just look at it. That's it attacking right there."

Ethan turned to face Hoppip, and could see Grey's point; Hoppip had drifted to the ground and was hopping up and down uselessly.

"So, Hoppip can use the Splash attack," said Maggie.

"Well, so can Magikarp, and look what that turns into," Ethan stated. "Cyndaquil! Use Ember!"

"Quiiiiiiil!" squealed Cyndaquil as it fired off a number of tiny flames from its mouth. However, Hoppip was actually able to evade most of these due to the erratic nature of its jumping. Still, a few embers managed to hit it, knocking it down to the ground. As the Grass/Flying-type got back to its feet, it responded to this attack by wheeling around and wagging its stumpy little tail.

"Oooh, a Tail Whip attack," Grey chuckled mockingly. "Intimidating."

"Careful, Cyndaquil," Ethan warned his Pokémon. "The entire point of Tail Whip is to make the opponent let its guard down, making them more open to attack. Use Tackle attack."

"Cynda!" nodded Cyndaquil, as it charged forward, slamming into Hoppip. As the Cottonweed Pokémon recovered from this move, it was looking noticeably battered. Ethan reached for the zipper to his backpack, when suddenly Hoppip's leaves started glowing with a vivid green light. A bright aura came over Hoppip's body for a moment, and when it faded, it seemed to have healed up most of its injuries.

"OK, now that one's new on me," Maggie remarked, a tone of surprise to her voice.

"Looks like Hoppip can use Synthesis," said Ethan, sounding somewhat impressed. "It can heal itself in the middle of a battle. Oh, yeah, definitely catching this one. Cyndaquil, Ember now!"

"Quiiiiiiiil!" Cyndaquil squealed once more, firing off more flames from its mouth. Hoppip frantically tried to start up another Splash to evade them, but this came too late, and each and every ember struck its pink body.

"Hoppip, Hoppip, Hoppip!" Hoppip squeaked in discomfort as it fell on its back and struggled to get back to its feet. As this happened, Ethan saw his chance and seized it immediately; he plunged his hand into his backpack and took out an empty Poké Ball, already enlarged to full size.

"Poké Ball! Go!" Ethan yelled as he flung the sphere at the struggling Hoppip. The ball struck Hoppip and bounced upwards, at which point it split open along the black line which divided the red half from the white half. At the same time, Hoppip's struggling form was converted into a shapeless mass of transparent red energy, which the ball then sucked inside before slamming shut. Then, the Poké Ball fell to the ground and started to wobble back and forth, a red light blinking on and off on the button. Ethan and Maggie watched the ball with interest (Grey watched as well, only not with so much interest), until finally, it stopped shaking, the light stayed off, and the ball emitted a single low-pitched ping.

"Way to go, Ethan!" said Maggie.

"Yes! Ha, ha!" exclaimed Ethan as he raced over to the ball and picked it up. "We did it, Cyndaquil! I caught Hoppip!"

"Cyndaquil!" replied Cyndaquil happily.

"Yeah, yeah, you caught the thing," yawned Grey. "If we're done with amateur hour here, I'd like to reach Evor Gyrrehc City sometime this year."

"Lighten up, Grey," smiled Ethan- not even Grey's unpleasant disposition could dampen his mood right now, he was too happy about having caught his first Pokémon. "You know, you could always try to catch another Pokémon."

"Without weakening it?" scoffed Grey. "Did Tentacool look to be in any kind of shape to weaken wild Pokémon after that battle? Idiot." With that, she wheeled around and continued walking.

"You know, Ethan," Maggie remarked, "Grey may have had a point there."

"I will give you ten thousand Pokédollars to never say that to me again," said Ethan.

~~~~~~~~
End of Chapter 3.​

 

[Shymain]

Yes! After a long wait, he posts the next chapter!

This is a lot funnier than the other chapters, and it seems that a lot more work went into this one.

I can't see any spelling mistakes, so that's all good!

Keep Writing!

-Shymain

 

[3D992]

Hm, thought I was on the PM list. Anyways, add me please! I'll read this chapter when I get a chance!