Selfishness (A PokeSpecial Fic RGB saga) - PG 14 for infrequent swearing.

[Stryder]

Eight years ago... I was a selfish, arrogant... I'm different now. I just need a chance to prove it. So, when I got a letter asking for help from an old friend how could I refuse? Even if it meant traveling into a region governed by thugs. I'm in way over my head. Apparently.
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This is a fanfic based on the Manga. It follows the RGB arc from another perspective. Willow is a boy who travels to Pallet, here he hopes to obtain a Pokedex. However, things don’t work out the way he wants. His Journey mingles with those of Red, Green and Blue.

(Note: This is sort a retelling of the manga, with some changes, though the overall plot remains unchanged.)

Chapters
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6


This chappie takes place after Red has received his Pokedex.

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‘What do you hope to achieve? They're dead and you can’t bring them back.’

VS. Riolu


I find myself on a boat bound for Kanto. I had heard rumours of devices being developed by a professor, capable of displaying vital statistics and acting as an encyclopaedia on the road. Such a tool would be necessary to obtain. I wanted one, and when I want something, I will do whatever is necessary to obtain it. Strong words from a ten year old, I agree. But when you’ve gone through hell and back as I have, you’ll learn what reality is, and believe me, it’s a b****.

I take a deep breath of the ocean air and gather my thoughts. I turn my attention to the beautiful blue sky, the warm of the sun and the chirps of Pidgey as they fly overhead. We must be near land if Pidgey are in the sky; they live off people’s garbage. I gazed at my reflection in the water.

A brief synopsis of my crappy life;

I was born in the far off Sinnoh region. My parents died in a fire. I survived, mainly by luck; I was mentally traumatized by the incident and have an unhealthy fear of fire, a minor setback for me as a trainer. I mean how many folk use fire types? ... I'm screwed.

It was no accident, I discovered later. Several shattered bottles indicated that the use of Molotovs started it. Records of my parent’s lives are scarce, only giving me more to find.

After the fire the Veilstone gym took me in. I’m not particularly athletic or skilled in hand-to-hand combat but rather the opposite, a punching bag for Maylene, the Sensei’s favorite pupil. Nonetheless I do have some physical fitness, mainly from running away... from her.

I spent much of my time in the Veilstone Gym researching tracking techniques. Both in the field and through technological means, anything that would help me in locating information I sought. Whenever I wasn't getting beaten to a pulp that is.

In the time I spent in Veilstone I formulated a simple plan that would help me through life, a relatively simple principle: "An eye for an eye."

Everything flows on to next; get a ‘Pokedex’, become a skilled trainer, track down those who burned down my home and get even. Simple huh?

‘Keep telling yourself that son…’ My Sensei said when I revealed my plans. He had no faith in me to do anything. He never did.


My name is Willow Alexander. I’m ten years old and I’m in way over my head. Apparently.

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I blinked. Reality.

‘Willow. Willow. Willow. Willow. Willow.’ A voice echoed through my head, rhythmically and childlike. Needless to say it is unbearably irritating.

“What?!” I yelled, getting curious looks from other passengers.

My Riolu, Rylte and I share a telepathic link. Rylte is my starter Pokemon. His egg was damaged when the floor gave way during the fire. As a result his right sensor is a bit deformed, perhaps his brain too.

'Dude ... double rainbow ...' he said dreamily, turning his head to the right and gazing starboard.

“Yes two full rainbows… Unbelievable,” I muttered sarcastically

'It's so beautiful ...' A loud sniff resounded in my head, making me flinch. 'Oh, man ...'

I gave him a questioning look. He did stuff like this all the time, but I never got used to it.

“Rylte, shut up.”

‘Double rainbow…’ he said again feigning awe.

I groaned and ran my hands over the guardrail and began to tap it impatiently.


-----In a matter of time...-------

A cheerful female voice rang out over the speakers. “We will be entering Pallet docks shortly, please gather your belongings for departure.”

I whipped out my water bottle and drank the remaining liquid, carelessly throwing it into the ocean after finishing it

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The moment we pulled into the docks I rushed off the boat, Rylte at my heels. I wanted to get a clear view of Pallet; It was a calm sleepy little town. By appearance; the buildings looked identical save one, which I took to be Oak’s Pokemon lab.

I noticed people were giving me dirty looks as I walked down the pier.

‘What’s up with these folk?' I thought

Then I noticed the sign at the foot of the pier. It read: Pallet town; a place where people do not pollute and do not litter.


‘Yeahhh… the water bottle…’ Rylte muttered through our telepathic link.

'Thank you for stating the obvious you little rat...' I thought, forgetting that he could probably hear it.

'I'm not a rat! Im a Jackal, dog, rabbit... thing.'

"Lets just find Oak." I muttered impatiently, stomping off towards the lab.

I may make it sound straightforward, but I had been searching for Oak’s whereabouts for 2 months now. The man covered his tracks well.

I wandered obliviously through the identical buildings of Pallet, eyes focused on my target. The lab. It was essentially a big cuboid with windows.

I had started to wonder; 'why build a lab here, surely there had to be better sites in Kanto?'

--------------

I stood in front of the lab door, feeling unusually awkward, and reached for the door handle.

‘Hmm what should I say?’ I thought

‘Make me a sandwich Biatch?’ Rylte responded unhelpfully.

‘Forget it. I’ll just wing it.’ I turned the handle and entered.

The place was a mess; files where scattered everywhere, torn pieces of paper littered the floor and there was feathers all over the place.

“Hello?” I called out.

I glanced around, the place looked like a hurricane had past through it.

“Hey!” I a friendly, but stern voice called out.

I saw a man emerge from a backroom, wearing a labcoat, his hair was grey and his age I estimated around 60. He placed a bundle folders onto one of his desks and approached me.

“Your another one of those kids…” He muttered thoughtfully

‘No s*** Sherlock’ I thought, rolling my eyes and placing my hands into my pockets.

"Who can't use a doorbell..." He finished.

"Oh uh, sorry." I sheepishly replied, glancing behind me.

“So why are you here?” He asked his tone changing into a curious one.

“Professor Oak, I take it? I’ve heard about you developing devices called pokedexes, I’m here to ask you for one.” I stated bluntly.

“I see... I’m surprised you managed to find me.”

“It wasn’t easy.”

“Hmm, and might I ask why you want one?” He said, narrowing his eyes, almost to try reading my mind.

“I require it to… tie up loose ends.” (It was true.) “I imagine your Pokedex would be invaluable in my journey.”

He sighed and turned away from me “I’m afraid that I cannot provide you with one.”

I felt my heart lurch, all that traveling and he didn’t have one to give.

“How so?”

He kept his back to me. “ I created the Pokedex to better understand Pokemon, not help people fulfill their personal motives.”

Was he accusing me of something? “In all due respect, It’s not for MY personal gain-“

The Professor snapped around and faced me, he spoke calmly, “Don’t lie to me, your out for revenge, I can see it in your eyes. I did not design the Pokedex to be used for such a cause. As long as you set out to satisfy your own selfish desires you shall never be worthy of possessing a Pokedex.”

I felt something snap.

“You know nothing about me! Nor do you have the right to judge people!” I snapped

He continued to speak calmly “I choose dexholders who possess certain qualities. You do not possess those qualities, being ignorant and selfish. You are unworthy.”

‘You are unworthy.’ It struck a cord and I felt… ashamed. My entire life was based on proving people wrong; I had to prove myself time after time. Now I knew I had to do it again.

I hardened my expression and glared at the old professor.

“I’ll show you.” I seethed. “I will travel the region and become the most powerful trainer, the champion. Maybe then you’ll regret calling me ‘unworthy’".

“Perhaps a journey would be good for you, maybe it will open your eyes to your ignorance.” The Professor replied.

I turned and made for the door. “Whatever you say… old man.”

I found Rylte sitting outside; apparently I had closed the door on him. Normally I would be telling him to shut up as he whined about it, but what the professor had said repeated itself over and over in my mind, blocking out all other thoughts. ‘You are unworthy’.

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More action next time… VS. Kangaskahn
[FONT=&quot]Willow meets Green, together they start to track down a rare Pokemon, but is everything as it seems?

So Review please so I can suck less at writing, thanks!
[/FONT]

 

[Breezy]

‘What do you hope to achieve? Their dead and you can’t bring them back.’

"Their" should be "they're."

Such a tool would be useful to me in my affairs. I wanted one, and when I want something, I will do whatever is necessary to obtain it. Strong words from a 10-year old, I agree. But when you’ve gone through hell and back as I have, you’ll learn what reality is, and believe me, it’s a b****.

I do understand that your character may be more mature than your average ten year old, but I'd like to point out the vocabulary. Your character appears to be one that leans toward the "slang" side of language (at least with his colorful language), so having phrases like "useful to me in my affairs" or even something like "necessary to obtain" seems a little unnatural. Why even bother with the "affairs" part? And wouldn't "and when I want something, I do whatever it takes to get it" seem more natural a thought?

Ramble aside, try to remember that since you are writing in first person, the narrative should match your character since it is your character speaking/thinking. You might not use the same set of vocabulary that you use in public when thinking in your head.

I take a deep breath of the ocean air and gather my thoughts. I turn my attention to the beautiful blue sky, the warm of the sun and the chirps of Pidgey as they fly overhead. We must be near land if Pidgey are in the sky; they live off people’s garbage.

I was born in the far off Sinnoh region, my parents died in a fire. I survived, mainly by luck; naturally I was mentally traumatized by the incident and have an unhealthy fear of fire.

The comma in red should be a period. Keeping the comma creates a sentence fragment called a comma splice. I think your use of "naturally" and "unhealthy" is a bit of a contrast, too.

More to the point, the bit of history of your character's past you inserted after his observation of the scenery is a bit jarring. While the structure of the history is simple (which I do like, don't get me wrong), I'm not sure why you decided to insert this information here.

It was no accident, I discovered later. Several shattered bottles indicated that the use of Molotovs, started it. Also records of my parent’s lives are scarce, only giving me more to find.

No need for the comma in red. I would suggest deleting the "also" since is seems unnecessary (I don't think it relates to the sentence before it).

After the fire the Veilstone gym took me in. I’m not particularly athletic or skilled in hand-to-hand combat, rather the opposite, a punching bag for Maylene, the Sensei’s favorite pupil.

This bit could use some clean-up. There should be a comma between "fire" and "the" in the first sentence. You might also want to consider inserting a "but" between "combat" and "rather" (while deleting the comma).

After the fire, the Veilstone gym took me in. I’m not particularly athletic or skilled in hand-to-hand combat but rather the opposite, a punching bag for Maylene, the Sensei’s favorite pupil.​

My name is Willow Alexander, I’m 10 years old and I’m in way over my head. Apparently.

I think this would read better if the comma here were a period to keep the choppy, straight-to-the-point structure you have going on here. Write out your numbers as well ("10" = "ten").

‘Dude… double rainbow…’ He said dreamily gazing starboard (Right).

I would suggest deleting the parenthesis here since the direction doesn't seem to matter that much. That or insert "right" into the text rather than separating the two:

'Dude ... double rainbow ...' he said dreamily, turning his head to the right and gazing starboard.​

(Admittedly, that may be repetitive if someone already knows that starboard = right)

You may have also noticed that the "he said" after the dialogue/telepathy is lower-cased. This is because "he said" is connected the dialogue before it (as in he said what is before/after it). "He said dreamily ..." isn't a complete sentence either.

“Yes two full rainbows… Unbelievable.” I muttered sarcastically

‘It’s so beautiful…’ *sniff* ‘Oh man…’

The period in red should be a comma. You also need to insert a comma after "sarcastically."

I don't recommend using asterisks to describe action, mostly because it's cheap and doesn't tell the reader much. It doesn't take that much work to type up something like:

'It's so beautiful ...' A loud sniff resounded in my head, making me flinch. 'Oh, man ...'​

I whipped out my water bottle and drank the remaining liquid. Carelessly throwing it into the ocean after finishing it.

I get what you're trying to do here with the sentence fragment (since it ties into something later), but I don't think it's necessary to make short, choppy sentences here, unlike the introduction of your character. It would probably be better to make it one complete sentence ("I whipped out my water bottle and drank the remaining liquid, carelessly throwing it into the ocean after finishing it") to make it less of a big deal.

Kay, well, a lot of your errors are starting to repeat themselves (comma splices, lack of periods, etc.), so I won't bother pointing them all out for now. I recommend either getting a beta/proofreader to re-read your work if you're unsure about commas and the works or remember to proofread yourself. A lot of errors could have been caught yourself, like adding in periods at the end of sentences.

I do think this has charm. I like the relationship between Willow and Rylte; I think they'll be good opposites to each other, with Rylte being quirky and loopy and Willow a bit of a tough guy. I think it was a creative choice to not go the route of handing Willow the pokedex and instead giving him a reason to prove that he deserves ones. According to Professor Oak, Willow is a selfish character with traits that would make a character unlikeable, but I never really disliked Willow to begin with. I think it takes a good writer to portray a character with a set of negative characteristics in a light that doesn't make the readers annoyed with that character. In a way, I guess I'm more sympathetic toward him, even if he does seem a bit haughty. This might be because of the back and forth conversation with the lighter Rylte and his goofy comments. I think it's interesting that Professor Oak was able to read into Willow's character without turning around to look at him, but I suppose Professor Oak works in mysterious ways. =P

I think you could have added more description interaction; the bulk of your chapter was dialogue. You added some "fidgety" action, like Willow tapping his fingers against the guardrail, which made your character a little more lifelike. It also wouldn't hurt to add a little more detail about the setting around your character (perhaps in the same interaction description).

Overall, it is a bit sloppy when it comes to grammar, but it does have strong characters and an intriguing plot to go along with the Pokespecial manga.

 

[Stryder]

Appreciate the criticism Breezy, I'll set about dealing with what you pointed out. I intend to use 3rd person narrative in later chapters, the intro just trying to give some insight into Willow's character.

Also I'm loving your story 'Lull'. =]

 

[Stryder]

I have posted a created a picture of Willow and Rylte on my profile. (It ain’t great, but It saves me having to describe him XD).
Also I relied heavily on manga dialog here. What the characters say will change gradually, as Willow affects the plot.

Okay now for the confusing plot thingy!

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VS. Kangaskahn!
The Viridian Forest
Willow and Rylte
Attempting to reach Pewter city… and failing.
I trudged though the dense woodland, the trees reached over each other and blocked out the sun. I silently cursed the old Professor.


"Unworthy… hah!" I snorted, "Old fool."


'Seriously dude… let it go…' Rylte moaned as he followed me.


I glanced over my shoulder at the bored Riolu. "And prove the senile fool right? I don't think so."


I cursed as I wandered into some thick patches of grass. I had to take large steps to get through them. Rylte agilely jumped tree-to-tree, leaping from a tree overhead and gracefully landing in front of me.


"Show-off." I grunted in frustration. This forest seemed endless; no roads, no paths, just endless identical trees and patches off grass. I let out a tired sigh and slumped onto a nearby tree, "I'm lost."


'I'm not lost.' Rylte giggled, leaping up onto a branch.


"How?"


'Because, I was wandering around and this weird Parrot thing attacked me and I was like; 'Your going down you duck!' and he was like 'I'm not a duck, I'm a Parrot.' And I was like 'no man… just no'. So I fought and I killed the evil dragon and was transformed into a mermaid.'


I stared at him in absolute shock. "Rylte you never cease to amaze me." I said sarcastically.


'And that is the story of how I got my new shoes.' Rylte concluded.


"Do you even think before you say something?" I groaned, why did my starter have to be insane.


'I was saying something?'

I facepalmed "Never mind…"


I glanced over my shoulder deeper into the forest. "Lets keep moving."


-In a matter of time…


A Weedle sprang out from the brush, again.


"Rylte." I commanded calmly.


Rylte sighed, sprang up and smashed the caterpillar back into the bushes with a speedy punch.


'Why do they keep leaping out like that… It didn't work the first time, or the second, the third hit the ground… and don't get me started about the Dr Graveler…'

I ignored his comment and pointed to a large purple moth that had emerged from the brush. "Rylte another one."


'Got it.'

Rylte started for the huge bug, but the strangest thing happened… It exploded in a burst of flame.


'Oh ma gawd! No more Dr Graveler...' Rylte shrieked, landing next to the unconscious moth.


I ran up and came face to face with a boy with spiky brown hair.
"Who are you?" He asked calmly.


I shrugged. "Some lost dude and his insane Pokemon."


The boy ignored me and proceeded to take out a small red device and scanned the moth. "I've already caught one." He muttered analyzing the screen.


I recognized the device almost immediately. "A Pokedex!"


He turned away from me and folded his arms as if he was in thought. Rylte wandered in front of me and greeted a small red lizard that stood by the boy's side. He did so in pokespeak so I didn't understand what he said. The lizard ignored his attempts at small talk.


The boy stared curiously at Rylte. "What Pokemon is this?" He asked, not even turning to face me.


I huffed in frustration "A Riolu. Do you know the way to Pewter city?"


"Find your own way. I'm busy." He said, walking off into the bushes.


I glanced at Rylte.


"What an *******." 'What an *******.'

I sighed, "He'll have to leave eventually… lets tail him."


I followed the boy and his lizard quietly into a clearing. Suddenly he snapped around to face me.


"What do you want?" He asked calmly, with a hostile glare.


"Directions?" I replied returning the glare, but with a cheeky smile on my face.


Suddenly, there was some noise in the bushes.


"Charmander." The boy commanded.


The lizard sprang forward and exhaled a stream of fire at the source of the noise.


A round blue Pokemon sprang out of the bushes, only to be consumed by the flame. The smoke cleared leaving an unconscious, smoking Poliwhirl.


I winced slightly at the sight of fire. "Was that necessary?" I asked glancing at the boy.


An excited voice rang out. "Did you catch it? Did you-"


A capped boy sprang out from the bushes, the second he laid eyes on his Pokemon he screamed.


"WHAT?" The capped boy dashed the Poliwhirl's side. "Poliwhirl!"


The spiky haired boy laughed. "So the Poliwhirl has an owner…"


The capped boy snapped around to face us, face contorted with rage.


"We thought it was a wild Pokemon when we attacked." He continued.


I frantically waved my hands at the spiky haired boy. "Don't bring me into this."


The spiky haired boy glanced at me. "Are you still here? I was talking about my Charmander."


I clenched my fists "Why you… Just give me some bloody directions!"


He adverted his gaze back to the capped trainer. "Don't take it personally." He sneered.


The capped boy snarled rising to his feet. "YOU did this to my Poliwhirl?"


Being smart, I distanced myself from the spiky haired boy and indicated to the capped boy 'he's all yours'.


The capped boy charged at the spiky haired boy throwing a clumsy punch at him. "YOU'LL PAY!"


The spiky haired boy simply caught the blow. "Nonsense!"


He held the capped boy's fist moving it to an angle where he couldn't throw another punch. "We're both in this forest to capture Pokemon…"


"Hello? I'm right here?" I threw my arms dramatically in the air. Both boys acknowledged my presence for a moment, before turning back to face each other.


The spiky haired boy continued to talk to the capped one. "…So we're bound to cross paths sometime aren't we?"


The capped boy studied the Spiky haired boy for a moment. "Hey… You're…"


"Eh?"


"You're that guy!" The capped boy broke free and clenched his fists. "Why do you keep…-"


BOOOOOM


I looked around. "What was that?!"


BOOOM


The spiky haired boy seemed to know. "Ahhh… So it's come, at last."


BOOM


I turned to face him. "What is coming!"


A huge brown Pokemon emerged from the brush, stomping through the thick bushes with ease.


I was closest to it. I raised my gaze slowly up to its head. "You have got to be kidding me…"


The capped boy held his head in his hands and screamed. I backed away from the huge Pokemon and glanced at Rylte, who was perched on a nearby tree branch.


"Rylte…?" I asked uneasily.


Rylte looked at the huge being and shrugged. 'Your on your own man.'

The spiky haired boy stared up at it and grinned. "I've been waiting for you, Kangaskahn!"


I dashed up to the boy. "You can't be serious in taking that thing on?"


"Oh, of course I'm serious." He chuckled.


I glanced at the Kangaskahn once more, then back at him and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Good luck with that."


The spiky haired boy stared down the Kangaskahn. "I heard that you were here somewhere… But you did test my patience!" His Charmander leaped in front of him. "Charmander attack!"


The fire lizard released stream of fire at the Kangaskahn.
"Once I win, I'll be able to put its data in…" The spiky haired boy withdrew his Pokedex once more.


The capped boy cut in taking out his own device. "Hey! Th-That's…"


"A POKEDEX!" They exclaimed simultaneously.


I glanced at them both, then facepalmed. "You've got to be kidding me!"


The spiky haired boy erupted into another fit of laughter.


"What's so funny?" The capped boy questioned.


"My granddad told me he'd given a Pokedex to someone. So it turns out to be YOU…!"


"Gr-Grandad? You mean… Professor Oak?" The capped boy gasped.


I s******ed "That explains alot…"


The spiky haired boy snorted. "Though why he'd give a Pokedex to the likes of you…" He paused "Well, Never mind! I'll just show you how it's done." He glanced at me. "Both of you."


I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for the acknowledgement… I guess."


His Charmander continued to spray fire at the looming Kangaskahn.
"Charmander! Final blow!"


"GYAAAW!" The creature screamed in agony, it turned it's back to the flame. I hated seeing it, the fire, it reminded me of that night…


The spiky haired boy grinned and pulled a Pokeball out of his bag. "That should do it." He threw the ball at the creature's back. "YOUR MINE!"


The Kangaskahn, despite its burns, turned and beat the ball away.


I burst out laughing. "Catching a Pokemon Amma doin it right?" I teased.


The spiky haired boy snarled at me. "O- Okay then! One more!" He threw another ball at the Kangaskahn. It beat this away too.


I laughed harder, falling to the ground. "Stop please…" I gasped. "You killing me HAHAHA."


"SHUT UP!" He screamed at me.


The capped boy broke his silence. "There's…" The creature screamed as yet another fire attack struck it. "Something wrong…"


I wiped a tear from my eye and stood up. "What do ya mean?"


"It's strong enough to repel the Pokeball… but it isn't attacking…"


I thought about it. The Kangaskahn didn't retaliate… it was strange. "So what is wrong then?" I questioned.


The capped boy jumped up. "Of course that's it…!"


I raised an eyebrow "I'm not following…?"


The capped boy shot past me. "Quick stop the attack!"


The spiky haired boy rounded on him in frustration. "This Pokemon is mine. Don't think you'll steal it."


"You don't understand! It's…"


The spiky haired boy ignored him. "Charmander! Fight on!"


"But…!" The capped boy shook his head and charged forward. "Oh, just getta outta my way! Poliwhirl!" The capped boy pushed the spiky haired boy aside, sending his Poliwhirl forward.


"HEY! What the- what're you doing?"


The Poliwhirl blasted the Charmander with a water gun from behind. It yelped in alarm.


The capped boy rushed up to the badly burned Kangaskahn. "Are you okay?"


The spikey haired one tried to stop him "Where do you think you're going, you-"


"Your baby… Is it all right!" The capped boy shouted, running to inspect the Kangaskahn's pouch.


The spiky haired boy's demeanor changed into one of confusion. "Eh?"


There was some movement in the creature's pouch. A sickly creature raised its head up from its mother's protective pouch.


"It's hurt…" The capped boy muttered. "Did a poison Pokemon get you?" he spoke softly to the mini- Kangaskahn.


'The Mother says it was attacked by an Ekans.' Rylte explained, leaping onto my shoulder.


I nodded in acknowledgment and returned my attention to the capped boy. "Rylte says that the baby was poisoned by an Ekans."


Both boys shot me surprised looks. I shrugged, "Rylte speaks through telepathy." Pointing at the Pokemon sprawled on my shoulder.


The capped boy nodded. "I've got just the thing." He pulled out a general anti-poison antidote from his bag and applied it the baby. The baby quickly seemed to shake off any ill affects of the poison. The spiky haired boy just looked on in shock.


The capped boy turned his attention up to the mother Kangaskahn. "No wonder you were protecting your middle. If the fire had hit it, your baby could've been really hurt."


The mother Kangaskahn grunted in approval and stomped back into the forest.


'Thank you.'
"Thank you." I translated through Rylte.


The spiky haired boy snorted. "Hmph. Thanks a lot!" … "If you hadn't butted in, I could have captured it…"


"Come on. You know it isn't really winning…" The capped boy said cheerfully. "If your opponent's at a disadvantage."


"Save your slogans." The spiky haired boy huffed and walked out of the clearing.


The capped boy followed. "Hey… wait up!"


"Finally! You're going to show me the exit!" I muttered impatiently, stalking after them.


"My name's Red!" The capped boy proclaimed. "What's yours?"


"Huh?"


"Huh-?"


The spiky haired boy ignored Red and continued to walk through the growing-less-dense woodland.


"Well?"


The Spiky haired boy turned around and snapped. "If it will shut you up… My name's Green! Now leave me alone!"


"How charming…" I muttered.


Red turned to face me. "And what's your name?"


I blinked. "So I exist now huh?" I sighed. "Well, the name's Willow…"


"Okay…" Red muttered thoughtfully. "GREEN, WILLOW I'M NOT LOSING TO EITHER OF YOU!"


I clutched my ears protectively. "Dude! I'm right beside you!"


'Freaking psycho…' Rylte cursed, folding his floppy ears over his face.


He seemed to ignore me and continued to yell stupidly. "Y'HEAR ME, GREEN? I'M GONNA WIN!"


I slipped on some headphones I received for my birthday, I wasn't much of a music fan, but it was better than listening to Red's dramatic screams. I let out an exasperated sigh as Green walked out of sight and Red continued to laugh manically to himself. I sneaked away from the cackling moron and continued on my journey to Pewter city.


"Just wait… I will prove myself…" I muttered unconsciously.


'Evil Breadcats everywhere…' Rylte muttered dreamily as I walked.


---



[FONT=&quot]So… Review? (The main story sucks I know but it’s building up to something…)[/FONT]

 

[Stryder]

;447;

VS Pikachu
West Pewter City
Willow, Rylte and Red.
Traveling through Region... after annoying Willow.

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"Hurry!" A large crowd rushed past me.

I shifted my gaze away from the market stalls, to watch them dash down the street.

"Hey Willow?" I prodded my new companion. He had his eyes closed and was nodding his head to some music. His Riolu, that was perched on his shoulder, was leaning in so he could hear too.

I gave him another poke; he removed his headphones and gave me a dull look. "What?"

Another crowd rushed by. "There it goes!" "Hey!" "Look!"

"Are all cities like this?" I asked him. Willow had grown up in a large town, so I assumed he'd be the one to ask.

He shrugged. "The people are a bit more energetic than usual. Then again this is Kanto, so I'm a bit obvious to your culture." He replied in a monotone voice.

"Oh."

Another crowd ran past some armed with nets. "Wait!" "Hurry up!"

Ignoring the groups of crowds running around the street, we continued to wander through the various stalls; some posters on a wall caught my attention. One fell to the ground as another crowd rushed by, I picked it up and examined it.

'WANTED' it read, an image of a yellow mouse Pokemon was underneath.
'PIKACHU: Mischievous electric mouse. Reward for capture.
Pewter City Merchants Association.'

"So that's what all the fuss is about." I muttered.

"Pretty pathetic, the villagers can't deal with a single rodent." Willow sighed; he looked at his Riolu blankly. "Shut up Rylte…"

I looked up from the poster. "What did he say?"

"Something about Breadcats eating thunder mice…" Willow groaned. "I should probably train that Pidgey I caught earlier..."

"Well, I guess I'll give the villagers a hand." I said cheerfully to my companion.

Willow shook his head in disapproval. "Tsk, Red you should only help when it benefits you. It's how things work nowadays."

"It's says there's a reward…"

"Red, what can these people possibly give that would help us?"

"Come on… 'Low." I grabbed his arm and started to drag him towards the commotion. "Life isn't about the reward, it's about the experience! Don't be so selfish."

With his free arm he massaged his temple, "What are you, my shrink?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We arrived just in time to see a villager getting fried by a surge of electricity, when he tried to net the Pikachu; the yellow mouse managed to free itself and ran off.

The crowd ran after the fleeing Pikachu. "Hey, It's getting away again!" "GET IT!"

Willow chuckled, "Maybe I can benefit from watching this."

I sighed and took out Bulbasaur's Pokeball "I can't watch any more of this."

"I can." Willow chuckled; he pulled out some nachos from somewhere and started too much away at them. He gave Rylte another glare, so assume he made another ridiculous comment. Good ole' Rylte.

I let out an exasperated sigh at Willow's display of selfishness. "Bulbasaur! GO!"

"Pi?" The Pikachu turned to face the new challenger.

From the ball came a small four-legged creature with a large Bulb on its back.

The townsfolk circled the scene. "OOOO!" " A Pokemon!" They chanted.

My Bulbasaur stared down the yellow mouse, suddenly the Pikachu leapt into the air and fired a bolt of electricity from its tail. The attack struck Bulbasaur and a cloud of smoke covered us.

"ARGH!"

"On no…" "Bulbasaur!" "Come on!" *Crunch* (Willow carelessly munched into another chip) "Oh… man…" "It's no use…"

The Pikachu sat with a wicked sneer on its face.

The smoked cleared and I leaned confidently against Bulbasaur, he was virtually intact.

"PI! ?" The Pikachu squeaked in alarm.

I grinned. "Now it's OUR turn." I pointed at the Pikachu. "Bulbasaur, attack!"

Bulbasaur fired a plant seed into the air from the bulb on it's back.

All eyes follow the seed as it ascended into the sky.

The crowd tensed up. "Ohh…" "Come on…" *Crunch*

The seed exploded over the Pikachu, releasing a cloud strangely colored powder. The cloud descended over the Pikachu and it inhaled it.

The Pikachu kept its hostile glare for a few moments, and then it started to waver. It sagged to one side and started to fall asleep. "Piiiiii…."

"Heh. Perfect." I took an empty Pokeball from my jacket pocket. "Start with sleep power…" I walked calmly up to the sleeping Pokemon. "…Then finish with…"

"This!" I lightly tossed the ball at the Pikachu and it was absorbed inside. An easy capture.

Willow munched into the last of his nachos, as the crowd applauded my capture. Willow flashed me a thumbs up and followed it up by asking. "What did you do?"


-------------------------------------------------------------------In a matter of time…----------------------------------------------------------------

"Young man, you've saved us!" A tall man thanked me showing me a huge feast. "That pest was ruining our businesses!"

We were invited into a house where several villagers had prepared a large meal for Willow and me. Willow kept to himself and stood in the corner.

"We wish you'd come a long time ago!" A woman said patting me on the back.

A younger member of the townsfolk asked, "Where are you from?"

"I'm from Pallet Town."

"How about you mister?" The same young girl asked Willow.

"Veilstone City" He muttered, almost as if he was ashamed about it.

The crowd returned its attention to me. "But what brought you here?"

I was already munching away when they asked. "Wanna know?"

"Please don't talk while your eating Red… it’s off putting." Willow sighed, slipping his headphones back on.

I ignored him and took out my Pokedex. "Then just watch while I…"

I entered some keys into the Pokedex. "Do this!"

A page appeared on the Pokedex, showing a Picture of Pikachu and information on it.
I read some of the data in the Pokedex. "Hmm… So this wild Pikachu came from the Viridian Forest to settle in this city…" I muttered thoughtfully.

A man leaned into to take a closer look at the Pokedex. "What an awesome Device!"

"Not yet." I replied cheerfully. "There are more than a hundred kinds of Pokemon in the world."

"*Cough* five hundred *cough*" Willow muttered quietly.

"My goal is to get all of their data… And create the complete Pokedex!"

A young girl turned to Willow. "Hey Mister? Do you have one?"

Willow grunted and turned away.

I chuckled. "Willow didn't get one."

'Think of the Breadcats Red! The Breadcats!' A childish voice echoed through my mind. I glanced around. "Who said that?"

The man next to me looked at me oddly. "What?"

Willow spoke up. "That was Rylte… He gets a lock on people's auras after being around them a while. Unfortunately for you…"

Suddenly my pocket started to vibrate. "Huh?"

It was the Pikachu's Pokeball. "Hey. Cool it." I muttered as I pulled it out of my pocket. Through the top of the transparent red side of the Pokeball, was one VERY unhappy Pikachu. I gulped. "Okay then…"

------------------------------------------------------------In a matter of time…------------------------------------------------------------------------

I sat down in an open field. Willow was training Glade, his Pidgey, and Rylte was taking it easy. Having released the Pikachu from his ball; I reached out to pet him.

I quickly pulled away when the Pikachu's body sparked aggressively with electricity. "WHOA!"

The Pikachu turned its back to me. "Chuu!"

"C'mon don't be so stubborn." I tried to reason with it. "How 'bout we try to be friends?"

The Pikachu crossed its arms and huffed.

"Okay Pikachu?" I reached out to touch him, but he shocked me. "AAAAGH!"

"Geez you may LOOK cute but…"

I heard Willow mutter to Rylte "Remind you of something?"

'Yeah… I was Red and you were to Pikachu though…'

Willow rubbed his chin. "Hey Red maybe Rylte can try to reason with the Pikachu?"

"Hey good idea 'Low."

"Please stop calling me that…"

"Sorry."

"You're taking it easy aren't you Red?" A voice came from behind me.

"GREEN!" I shrieked.

"Yo Green," Willow gave a small wave, then quickly resumed his training.

Green acknowledged him with a respectful nod, and then returned his gaze to me. "You'll never get the Pokedex filled playing around like that."

"Uhh…?"

"I'm embarrassed to have you for a rival in this quest."

That was it. I rose to my feet and snarled. "WHAT was that? !"

"A fight it is, then?"

Willow sighed. "Okay numpties, break it up… before you hurt yourselves."

Green turned his glare to Willow. "Don't talk down to me!"

"Pfft, What makes you so special?" Willow huffed.

Green snarled, "This town's Gym leader, Brock, is looking for someone competent to battle him. I intend to do so and win the boulder badge."

I was confused. "The Boulder Badge?"

Green glanced at me. "Don't you know? The Boulder Badge can boost the attack power of your Pokemon." "Every Pokemon trainer knows that." He continued.

"Well sorry…" I sneered.

Willow spoke up. "All badges have some ability or power to them. Collecting badges makes Pokemon respect you more, and thus more obedient as they get stronger."

"So this is my challenge…" Green announced, "The first trainer to get his first Badge amongst the three of us wins the first stage in our rivalry."

"Okay then..." Willow grinned, folding his arms "I win."

He pulled out a shiny brown badge that resembled a tatami mat. "Won this back in Veilstone, took a couple of tries but I won."

Green and I gawked.

Green shook his head. "Fine then the first one of us to win the Boulder Badge wins the first stage in our Rivalry."

I leapt forward and pointed at Green. "I'll take that Challenge!"

"And you'll regret it!" He laughed. "Oh, and one more thing. Brock is a ROCK Pokemon trainer. Your little electric mouse there won't do any good against him."

He started to walk away. "Well, good luck." A dropped a small leaflet which floated over to me.

"What a jerk…" I seethed, and sat back down on the ground. "Huh?"

I picked up and examined the leaflet. 'Calling ALL FIGHTERS'

"So the next challenge is… tomorrow at noon." Willow muttered, glancing over my shoulder.

I leapt back up. "Lets do it! Green'll be sorry he ever-"

I suddenly remembered that my team needed healing. "Whoops almost forgot… The Pokemon I have are low on health."

"Yeah, Glade needs some healing. Rylte's virtually intact." Willow sighed returning the small bird.

"First thing in the morning I need to go to a Pokemon center… and get these guys healed." I muttered to myself.


--------------------------------------------------The Next day at the Pokemon Center…-----------------------------------------------------------------

NOTICE: 'Our center was damaged by unknown vandals. We will reopen when our machines are running again. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.'

"No way…" I muttered as I examined the demolished ruins of the Pokemon center.

"Wow… that's very unlucky Red…" Willow said a little sympathetically.

"This means…" I shuffled through my pocket and withdrew a Pokeball. "The only one with full power is this one…"

Under the transparent upper layer of the Pokeball, the Pikachu thrashed violently.

'I hate to say it Red, but your screwed.' Rylte remarked, somewhat entertained by my discomfort.

I watched nervously as labourers continued to shift rubble. "What do I do now?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter End.
Review... or you shall have breadcats pouring out of your screen. (Or not...)

 

[Stryder]

VS. Onix

Willow, Rylte and Red.
Kanto, Pewter City.
Heading to compete in Pewter City Gym challenge.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Huff… huff… huff…"

"Faster… Red… We're goin… to be… Late… huff"

We sprinted through the streets of Pewter to the gym, where the challenge was taking place. Red was at a massive disadvantage, most of his Pokemon where exhausted from battles earlier on. The Pokemon centre was naturally our first destination. However when we got there… the place was in ruins. Some thugs had attacked the facility and wrecked most of the machinery.

"There…" I pointed to the gym; excited chants could be heard now as we drew closer.

Red overtook me and pushed his way through the doors.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

BAMM


"YAHHHHH!" The audience let loose a huge cheer from the stands. A battle was underway.


We drew even closer to the ring and the cheers grew even more intense.


"FIGHT!" "YAAH!" "COME ON!"

Gazed up onto the arena; a Charmeleon was crouched and spraying fire from his mouth.

I glanced over to Red who's attention was centered elsewhere, following his gaze, my eyes settled on the trainer.


"Green…" I muttered.


Red was a bit more… Red, so he screamed dramatically. "GREEN! !"


Green looked over his shoulder and he gave us a crude grin.


A Voice over the speakerphones rang out. "B-block preliminary rounds will start."

I gave my companion a nudge. "Better get moving Red…"

"Oops, thanks 'Low!" He grinned and ran off to register.

I withdrew a Pokeball from my pocket.

"Rylte." I summoned my Riolu from his Pokeball.

'YAWNN! You know I hate being in Pokeballs… they make me sleepy…' He groaned rubbing his eyes with his paws.

"I'm going to be relying on you heavily in this challenge… Glade's pretty much out of the picture."


Green ordered a final attack and won his match. The crowd let out a deafening roar.


"C-block preliminary rounds will start." The speakers rang out again.
I rushed over to the reception desk. "Willow. Number 21."


The woman behind the counter nodded and directed me to the stage.
As I walked up to the stadium I heard some members of the crowd mutter. "I've seen my share of fights here, but hardly anyone had gotten to Brock."
Another replied. "Figures, with the Pewter City Gym's finest standing in the way."

'Time to make our presence known, I guess…'

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

My opponent was a large bulky man. A Marowak stood in front of us.

"Hah you're my opponent! Your just a kid!" His Marowak grunted and twirled its bone staff.

I shrugged. "Never underestimate your opponent. Rylte, Force Palm!"

My Riolu leapt let loose a pulse of energy into the Bonekeeper Pokémon, knocking it out before it could even attack.

'You just been 'palmed' fool!'


I chuckled and jerked my thumb to the exit. "Cya looser."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

My next opponent had a Graveler, he was a bit more wary of me.
"Graveler! Rock throw!"


The Rock Pokémon's arms broke off into smaller rocks and were thrown at Rylte.

I thought fast. "Rylte! Detect!"

Rylte easily evaded the rocks, sidestepping so fast that his body was only visible as a blue blur.


Rylte, without my orders, then delivered a bone rush. He wielded a glowing blue staff that resembled the shape of a bone, and struck his opponent several times. The Graveler staggered back after every blow, until it fainted.


"Nice work Rylte." I complimented my partner as he returned to my side.

'Breaking boulders with a staff, is a job for Chuck Norris.' He said in a poorly done, sage accent.

"Umm who is…? Never mind."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

My final preliminary was against a Sandshrew.


My opponent this time was a bit unnerved. In all of my battles Rylte hadn't taken a hit. As I approached the stage voices muttered about me.

"Hey, it's that kid with that strange Pokemon…" "He's like, unbeatable."

"Yeah, his Pokemon hasn't even taken a hit yet…"


The Sandshrew was trembling with fear and latched itself to its trainer's leg as if to say; 'Please don't make me fight that thing!'

I sweat dropped and tapped my foot impatiently at the Sandshrew's antics. "Hey we gonna battle anytime soon?"

The owner of the Sandshrew seethed. "GET OUT THERE AND FIGHT!"

With that said he kicked the Pokemon off his leg and directly in front of Rylte. As the Yellow mouse looked up at Rylte, he flashed him a devilish grin. The Sandshrew's eyes rolled upwards into its skull and it fainted.

"Well that was unexpected…" I muttered.

'Aww I wanted to fight…' Rylte pouted.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
After a brief intermission…
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay Folks we have another challenger for the Pewter city Gym leader!" The Speakers rang out.

A tall man with dark spiky hair entered the arena. For some reason he was shirtless. I stared blankly at him.

"So you think you're unbeatable huh?"

"I don't recall ever saying that." I said coldly. "Lets make this quick."

"Very well. Onix reveal yourself!" A huge rock serpent erupted from the ground and slid into the arena. "I am Brock. Gym leader of Pewter city."

My eyes were transfixed on the enormous rock snake.


Rylte had a similar expression to mine. 'Oh my gawd… what are they feeding you?' He stupidly asked the Rock snake.

The Onix didn't seem to realise that Rylte had hinted at it's weight, so his wisecrack instinct kicked in again.

'Is your brain made of rock too, dipstick?' He practically yelled at it (In his weird Pokespeak/telepathy thing). This time it figured out that Rylte had insulted it. The creature let out an enormous roar and lunged at Rylte.


"Detect now!" I screamed, unable suppress a tone of surprise.

Rylte avoided the attack, barely. "Okay now Force Palm!"

'Copy that!'

Rylte leapt up and blasted the stone snake with a blue pulse of aura energy. To my surprise it took the attack.

"You gotta be kidding me? !" I yelled in alarm.

"Onix use rock throw!" Brock ordered.

The Rock snake hurled several rocks at Rylte; he chuckled and created a bone rush staff. Twirling it, he blocked all the rocks.

Brock snarled. "Use Skull bash!"

Rylte made to evade the attack, but his cheeky expression changed to a horrified one as he realized it was heading straight for me. I was frozen in place, overcome with fear. One thought came to mind. 'This is going to hurt…'

I closed my eyes and braced for the hit. Suddenly I felt something hit me in the side and heard a pained squeak as I hit the ground unscathed.

I opened my eyes to discover what happened. "RYLTE!"

The insane, blue bipedal fox had taken a hit for me.

He struggled to his feet after taking a direct hit. 'That all you got ugly…?'
Despite the confusion I had over Rylte's actions, I still had my head in the game. "Rylte use counter!"

Rylte struck back with double the power of the skull bash. An overwhelmingly powerful punch to the face, sent the huge serpent reeling. Its body broke up into individual boulders, the boulder that was its face had twirls in its eyes.

"Winner is Willow! From Veilstone City!"

Brock came up to me and handed me a shiny gray octagonal badge. . "The boulder badge." He stated.

I accepted it from him and stared down at it.

Brock continued to talk. "I must say your Pokémon's dedication to you was outstanding and he was an excellent battler."

I glanced at the blue fox slumped on its back. "Yeah… he is."

Stupid conscience.

'I think you're stupid too,' it countered. Now, there is nothing more annoying than having a disembodied voice that lives in your head badmouth you. (Excluding Rylte that is...[FONT=&quot])
[/FONT]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Later outside…
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

I carried my injured partner in my arms to the Pokemon center; I prayed that they had at least repaired the restoration devices. However something plagued my mind.

Bloody conscience. If it didn't have the ability to cause me unlimited mental torture, I'd have ignored it. (Note to self: find way to kill conscience.)

"Rylte, why did you do that back there?" I asked, not looking at him.


'Huh?'

"You took that attack for me… why?"


'Because, though we may differ in size; me being tall, you being a short obese guy-'

"Be serious please…" I looked down at him.

'I hated seeing my master act like such a coward, cowering in front of that huge rock demon.' He snorted mentally somehow. 'Why can't I get you to cower like that?'

"Rylte." I said in a threatening tone.


'…Because you're my master and I love you, blah blah blah.' He said quickly and groaned. 'So aren't you going to say you love me too?' He batted his eyelashes in a disturbing way.


I smirked. "No chance."

'Damn.'

A familiar capped raven-haired boy in a nearby field caught my attention. He was extending his hand to his Pikachu. I gave a 'small' smile (I'm not becoming sentimental!) at the scene. Suddenly the Pikachu's expression changed into a demonic one and gave my raven-haired friend a large electric shock.

He broke free and started to run away screaming, his Pikachu in hot pursuit.

I broke out laughing. Typical Red…


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next time...

My stomach rumbled loudly.

"Guess you're hungry then," Red said, staring at me and trying to read my face.

"No, my stomach talks to me," I replied, sarcasm coating my words.

We’re heading for Mt. Moon, if all goes well, which it surely will not, then we should be there by tomorrow.

We heard a faint roar from behind some hills.

“And, Red grabs me… N-”

 

[Stryder]

VS. Gyarados

Willow, Rylte and Red.
Close to Mt. Moon
Attempting to reach Cerulean City.

------------------------
My stomach rumbled loudly.

"Guess you're hungry then," Red said, staring at me and trying to read my face.

"No, my stomach talks to me," I replied, sarcasm coating my words.
------------------------


We're heading for Mt. Moon, if all goes well, which it surely will not, then we should be there by tomorrow.

We heard a faint roar from behind some hills.

"And, Red grabs me… N-"

As I was dragged over a hill to the commotion, a series of explosive sounds was heard. What we saw surprised us; A Red headed girl, slightly older than ourselves was locked in a losing battle against an enormous, blue, sea serpent… thing.

It fired a highly pressured stream of water from its gaping mouth, hitting the girl's starfish Pokémon with the full brunt of the attack.

"I get first dibs on her stuff!" I said cheerfully to my companion, hoping to freak him out. But to my dismay he had rushed off to help the girl.

"Pretty big one don't you think?" I heard him ask her. Wow, he can flirt… "Let me help!"

"Stay back kid! This is dangerous! !" She yelled at him as ran up laughing.

"I'm not just any trainer! I'll be okay!" He replied to her, pulling a Pokeball off his belt.

"Yeah! He's a complete noob!" I yelled down from the hill. The girl tensed up at my comment.

Red turned and grinned. "Practice makes perfect!"

"No, practice makes less crap!" I yelled back to him. I sat down on top of the hill with Rylte.

'Come on Red!' He cheered; then leaned in as if he were whispering and sent a thought to me only. 'My money's on the snake thing…'

"Go! Saur!" Red summoned his faithful walking plant bulb.

The huge sea serpent thing raised its head.

"Watch out that's Hydro Pump!" The Girl cried.

Red folded his arms and smirked.

The blast of water hit Saur, dead-on. To my surprise Saur was… smiling?

"What the…?" The girl rubbed her eyes in disbelief.

Red raised his hands and shrugged. "Heh… water attacks don't work that well on grass Pokemon!"

He pointed at the Serpent "Now it's time for our attack!"

Saur fired seed from his back, again… This one however hit the ugly sea monster and vines sprouted rapidly, creating a network of vines over much of its body.

"Leech seed?" The girl asked Red.

He snapped his fingers. "Yup!"

The girl smiled and called out to her starfish thing. "Now's out chance! Staryu Recover!"

The Staryu's wounds vanished as small sparkles shined around its body. The girl took her Pokemon into her arms. "Okay now you're all better!"

The starfish let out weird grunt like noises, which I assumed to be-

'Thank you trainer.' Rylte translated. 'Yeah the starfish thing is stupid… I wonder what they taste like?'

"That's an awesome move!" Red complimented her.

"GYAAAAAAOOO" The ugly sea serpent roared in anger.

Red grinned and licked his lips. "Shall we try a double date?"

"We shall." The girl replied lining up with him.

"Staryu!" "Saur!"

'Rylte!'

Rylte leapt down and smashed the sea serpent in the face with a Force Palm; he did a back flip and landed. He raised his paw into a V sign as he faced the two trainers.

"Hey!" "Hey!" Both trainers yelled at me.

I shrugged. "Rylte, fall back to Saur and the Staryu."

'Aww… I had that rubber band on the run…' He pouted, running to Saur's and Staryu's side.

The sea serpent recovered from Rylte's attack and glared down at the three Pokemon. I slid down the hill to stand by the other two trainers. We shared a smirk and a nod.

"Bubblebeam!" "Vacuum Wave!" "Vine Whip!"

The three attacks pounded the serpent in succession and it swayed around, heavily dazed.

Red jumped in front of us. "And finally…" He threw a Pokeball at the serpent. "The POKEBALL!"

It struck the Gyarados and it was absorbed into the ball.

Red went and picked up the Pokeball. "Gotcha!"

I rolled my eyes.

The girl slumped to her knees. "Phew!"

"My name's Red." Red repeated looking over to the tired girl.

"Thanks a bunch…" She replied.

Red glanced down at the Pokeball containing Gyarados. "I never expected to see a Pokemon that huge… Especially in this area!" He glanced at the girl and me thoughtfully. "Was it wild or…"

She approached Red and examined the Pokeball; she wore a grim look on her face. "Gyarados is a water Pokemon. And it shouldn't have been able to be found here!"

"That's what I thought, so… why?" Red muttered thoughtfully.

"Perhaps to eat gullible idiots like you, who run 'towards' danger, instead of 'away' from it." I groaned.

The girl gave me a dark look. "That Gyarados wasn't wild. It belongs to me."

Red jumped back in shock. "WHAAAAT? !"

I raised an eyebrow. (I've been doing that a lot lately…)

The girl started chatting, again. "I was raising it up until last week."

I yawned loudly, "Cut to the chase."

She shot me another dark look. "When somebody stole it."

This got my interest. "Right… go on."

"When it came back, it wasn't nice anymore." She said sadly.

I glanced around at the destruction caused by our battle.

"No kidding…"

She glared at me. "Cut in one more time…" She threatened.


"I followed its path of destruction, leading me to it… Well now everything's okay, thanks to you." She smiled at 'Red' only.

Red clenched his fists and looked at us with a determined glint in his eye. "NO! It's never okay when a Pokemon goes beserk! The People who stole your Gyarados must have done it!"

He started to walk away from the girl and me. "I'M GONNA KICK THEIR BUTTS!"

"Moron…" I muttered.

"He isn't a Moron," The girl defended him.

"Like I care, that's all he is to me. Him, and his retarded hat," I replied.

Red awkwardly wandered back, rubbing the back of his head. "Those thieves… where are they?"

"Don't you think I'd be there if I knew!" The girl let out a sigh. "Moron…"

"I thought you said he wasn't Moron, so why're you calling him it?" I asked narrowing my eyes with a cheeky grin.

"The name fits," I guess.

Red seemed to have missed the comment, he was deep in thought and rubbing his chin. "Hey! Maybe the Professor knows something…"

"Hmm a Professional opinion would be useful…" I said thoughtfully. I hope it's not Oak.

------------
In a matter of time…
------------

We arrived at a Pokemon centre at the foot of Mt. Moon, Red logged into a Public PC.

He brought up a video chat window. And the face that appeared on the screen was the ONE I really didn't want to see.

"RED! It's been a while!" The Professor yelled happily. I sighed. Not wanting the Professor's attention, I hid behind the girl.

Red started to explain to us both. "That's Professor Oak, The world's leading expert on Pokemon."

"Aw, shucks!" The Professor rubbed the back of his head, slightly embarrassed by Red's comment. "So Red… are you any closer to completing your Pokedex?"

"I sure am! I already got new data this morning!" Red waved his Pokedex in front of the computer screen. I was starting to get irritated by how Red and Green waved their Pokedexes around.

The Professor chuckled leaning towards the screen on his end to examine Red's Pokedex. "A Gyarados…"

The Girl stared curiously at the device in Red's hands. "A Pokedex?"

"Yup. A high tech-"

"Piece of crap." I cut in.

The Professor took notice of me and narrowed his eyes. "Oh… it's you… I suppose you think you're pretty funny, huh?"

"Sure do." I massaged my temple to come up with something. "Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now."

Red and the girl giggled a bit. I continued, "A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it." (That one was Rylte's.)

Oak looked mortified.

Red cut me off before I could say another, and put on a serious face. "By the way, Professor! I needed to ask you something!"

The Professor looked at Red curiously "Ask away…?"

---------------
Red explains the situation…
---------------

"Hmmm… so the Pokemon refuses to listen to the trainer after only a few days…" The Professor rubbed his chin and put on a thoughtful expression. "Sounds to me like Team Rocket!"

"Team Rocket? !" The three of us asked simultaneously.

"Yes. They're a secret crime syndicate that use Pokemon for their own evil purposes!" The Professor elaborated.

'OH NOES!' Rylte screamed dramatically, only Red and myself heard it however…

"Recently, they've been suspected of experimenting on Pokemon."

'…OH NOES!' Rylte screamed again.

The girl looked devastated. "Used as experiments… My Gyarados…?"

'…OH NOES!'

"I know it's very upsetting." The Professor tried to console the girl. "But there is something that you can do to help."

We all leaned towards the computer in anticipation. "On Mount Moon, just to your East, A Moon Stone has said to be found."

'…OH-' I gave him a good kick to shut him up.

"And what's that got to do with the Rockets?" I questioned.

"A Moon stone is said to be able to boost the power of Pokemon immensely! Team Rocket is most likely searching for it…"

We all stood in silence and glanced at each other nervously.

-----------------
Later… outside the Pokemon center
-----------------

Red stormed ahead of us. "That's it! If I complete the Pokedex that's fine! But first I'm gonna find this "Team Rocket or whatever it's called… and I'm gonna kick their…"

The Girl approached Red. "I'm coming with you!"

"Huh? !" We both turned and asked simultaneously.

"Mount Moon is on the way back to my hometown," She explained. "And if I come with you, I'm bound to run into a lot of trainers I know."

She put on a determined look. "And maybe I can also find out more about this 'Team Rocket'!"

Red looked hesitant. I was about to say 'no' for him, but she started to gab again.

She pulled out several Pokeballs. "I'm a water Pokemon trainer! The caves in Mount Moon are filled with Rock types, so I should do just fine!"

She extended her hand to Red. "The name's Misty! I'm from Cerulean City!"

He shook her hand nervously, and then she turned her attention to me. "What's your name?"

"I currently go by the, ever so crap, name of Willow." I answered in a monotone.

She grabbed Red and me and started to drag us to Mt. Moon. "Alright then! Let's go!"

"Hey! I never said I was going to fight!" I yelled, as I struggled to pull free of her grip.

She ignored me. "Full speed ahead."
-----------------------------------------------------------
(Willow's guide to Kanto: There's no need for taxis, just have the natives drag you around... It's great fun!)

 

[Stryder]

-----

A large group of men clothed in black patrol a lightly wooded area.

The leader of the group receives a radio message. “Now entering cave interior coordinates A-5.” “Still no sign of the moon stone.”

The leader remained expressionless, “Understood. Continue your search.” He narrowed his eyes. “And if any fools dare interfere… Meet them with extreme force.”

-----

‘Contact’

Willow, Red, Misty and Rylte.
Just outside the caverns of Mt. Moon.
‘Kick Team Rocket’s butts’

-----

Misty dashed ahead of us. “Right there… right over this hill… Mount. Moon!”

She turned and waited for Red and me to catch up. “Come on! This way!” She waved us over some bushes. Rylte was perched on my shoulder as usual.

“Alright… where’s the cave entrance?” Red asked, slightly tired.

Misty started to explain “Right through these…-” Some movement behind the bushes caught my eye.

“Get down!” I jumped and pulled Red and Misty to the ground, I motioned a finger to my lips to stay quiet and crawled through the bushes to see what was on the other side.

Men in black clothing, lots of them, a bright red ‘R’ printed on the front of each of their shirts, stood in front of the entrance to the caverns.

‘Oh my god…’ Rylte muttered. ‘Mexicans!’

I ignored him and crawled back to Misty and Red. I signalled for them to move up.

When they had lined up with me I muttered. “I had eyes on five, one must’ve gone inside.”

“Zat Team Rocket?” Misty asked narrowing her eyes.

“Think so.” Red replied. “The Jerks are everywhere…”

Red’s eyes opened in disbelief. “Wait a minute… that uniform…”

“Looks retarded?” I cut in.

“No… I’ve seen it before.”

A grunt ran out of the cave entrance. “Quick into the caves. The others need us!”

The other grunts nodded and followed the one that ran out, back inside.

“Well, we’re screwed. They’ve got us outnumbered.” I grunted, “Time to bugger out.”

Red got up and licked his lips. “You think I’m gonna back down now! ?”

“Yes! Yes I do think that!” I snapped at him. “Don’t be stupid Red, we can’t fight them all!”

He pointed towards the cave. “Somewhere in there is a moon stone that can boost a Pokemon’s power.” He turned to face me again. “We can’t let them have it!”

“Your not going to listen to me, are you?”

“Nope.”

I sighed in defeat. “Well, I can’t just let you waltz on in by yourself, you would stand even less of a chance…”

Misty nodded. “Now that you’ve got that settled, lets go!”

We rose up from the bushes and entered the cave in pursuit.

---
Deep in the caverns…
---

“Geez dark…”

“What gave you that idea? Is it the fact you can’t see anything, perhaps?” I snapped in frustration.

“What wrong Willow?” Misty asked, concern evident in her voice.

“This isn’t my fight. Stupid old geezer sent us on a suicide mission…” I seethed, mainly to myself for being stupid enough to go along with it.

“Well, I’ve got a solution for the dark,” Red said cheerfully, pulling a Pokeball of his belt.

“Okay bright eyes, I’m countin’ on you!” Red summoned his Pikachu, it still looked quite unhappy with Red.

“Is that a Pikachu?” Misty asked curiously.

“Ain’t Mickey Mouse!” Red said clicking his fingers.

“Doesn’t exactly look thrilled to be here…” Misty noticed.

“Yeah. Life’s tough.” I muttered.

“But it’s one talented little…” The Pikachu shot him a glare. “Lights on!”

The Pikachu illuminated the cave using Flash. It sat itself on top of Red’s hat and we wandered further inside. Zubats fluttered overhead as we passed by.

Red and Misty started having a conversation about their hometowns; I ignored them and kept to myself. Rylte was having, what sounded like, an interesting conversation with Red’s Pikachu, both bursting into fits of laughter from time to time.

Suddenly, Red collided with something. “OUUCH!”

Misty and I raised our eyes up a bit and gawked.

Red rubbed his head and cursed. “Stupid rock, I oughtta…”

Misty frantically, pointed behind him. “Red… look up…”

“Huh?”

“AAAAARGH! !” A massive creature made of stone roared in rage. A single large horn protruded from is large head. A figure walked out from behind it.

“Well. If it isn’t Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn and Little Becky in the cave.” He laughed crudely.

Next thing I knew Rockets had surrounded us at a 180-degree angle. The three of us took a battle stance, prepared for the imminent attack.

I leaned over to Red. “Don’t say anything stupid.”

He ran in front of us and pointed at the leader of the grunts. “You’re Team Rocket!”

I facepalmed in disbelief.

The lead Rocket smirked. “You know us? We’re flattered.”

His expression hardened and spoke coldly. “Who are you?”

Red was about to do something else stupid, so I cut in. “We’re just a group of confused kids, we’ll be going now… you keep doing your… thing.”

I reached out to grab Red and drag him away for once, but he went on to say AND do something STUPID.

Red aggressively stepped forwards “Well I guess I owe you a proper an answer so…”

He sent his Pikachu into battle. “I CHALLENGE YOU ! !”

“Um Red, I can’t help but notice that; YOU didn’t give him a ‘proper’ answer either.”

While Red was distracted the Rocket issued an order to his walking stone tank.

“Rhyhorn! Rock Throw!” The creature obediently spat a stream of large rocks from its mouth directly at Red’s Pikachu. The poor mouse Pokemon was buried under a pile of rocks.

Pikachu easily broke out of its confines and leapt, up towards the top of the cavern. Twirling its body around, it fired a burst of electricity from its tail. The Rhyhorn, too big to avoid was electrocuted by the powerful electric attack. To my utter disbelief: it fainted!

“Umm not to be negative or anything Red but… HOW THE HELL DID THAT WORK?” I shook my head in confusion. “Unbelievable.”

Red chuckled. “Pikachu is amazing.”

‘Only half as awesome as me…’ Rylte pouted, he suddenly stopped and tapped my shoulder. ‘Oi, ‘low that Mexican is doing something to that tank.’

The lead Rocket approached the unconscious Rhyhorn and withdrew a syringe from his Pocket. “Ah. Takes me back to when I was a boy.”

He waved the syringe in front of us. “Let me give you a little taste… of grown-up reality.” He injected the syringe’s contents into the Rhyhorn’s rocky hide.

“Crush them!”

The Rhyhorn opened its eyes and the pupils sharpened. The Rhyhorn’s entire body started to glow, its large body slowly expanding. It stood up; it’s body now supported by stronger hind legs and a small drill replaced its horn.

On completion of it’s evolution, it let out an enormous roar and took a menacing step forwards.

Red broke the silence by stating the obvious. “He turned Rhyhorn… into Rhydon!”

I stared blankly at Red. “Naw, ya think so? !”

Misty looked horrified, “My Gyarados… did you do that to him? !”

The Rocket leader laughed cruelly. “How should we know? Do you think we remember every little Pokémon we experiment on?”

‘OH NOES!’ Rylte screamed dramatically again.

“You…” Misty seethed. “…Arrogant…”

She summoned her Staryu. “Staryu attack!”

The starfish Pokémon fire a Water gun at the menacing creature; it flinched slightly and put on a pained expression, but regained its composure.

“It’s workin’!” Red cheered.

“Dear me… do you think so?” The lead Rocked sneered.

The Rhydon’s drill started to spin. “Horn Drill.” The Lead Rocket spat.

Misty ordered another Water gun from Staryu; however, when the blast of water struck the Rhydon’s spinning horn… The water was deflected back at us, now turned into a ferocious whirlpool by the spinning of the Rhydon’s drill.

Seeing the inevitable, I grabbed the wall of the cavern to brace for the hit, Rylte clung to me.

‘Reminds me of Butlins!’

Forceful wave of water struck us like… a tidal wave… I desperately clung to the cavern wall, but the sheer power of the whirlpool started to wear away my grip. Thankfully the water died down before I was swept back. I opened my eyes.

“MISTY!” Red screamed. The girl lay sprawled out on the cavern floor. Unconscious.

“We’re gonna make you pay!” Red roared at the Rocket leader. “Come on ‘Low!”

“No. Red.” I muttered as I stood up.

He turned and looked at me in disbelief. “W-what?”

“I’m not helping you, Red. This isn’t my fight.”

“But look what they did to Misty!” He gestured to the injured girl.

“I don’t care.”

Red looked devastated. “F-fine! I don’t need you!”

The Rocket laughed. “Your friend is smart kid. Back down now, and I’ll let you leave.”

“Never!” Red screamed. “PIKACHU, ATTACK!”

Pikachu coated itself with electricity and charged at it’s foe.

The Rhydon simply stomped on the small mouse as he approached.

“It’s over!” The leader cackled. “Now destroy the boy!”

The Rhydon stomped towards Red. “I guess nobody wins every fight… But I’m not gonna lose.”

Pikachu sprang up again and fired a Thundershock into the Rhydon’s back. The huge creature shrugged it off and mercilessly beat the poor mouse into the cavern wall.

“Use Horn Drill.”

The Rhydon, turned its attention back to Red. He just stood there, frozen in fear, waiting for the end. Seeing it stomp towards Red sent a series of thoughts through my mind.

‘You can’t just let them kill him…? Can you…?’ questioned Guilt.

‘I could…’ Said Greed

‘ARGH!’ Anger roared for some reason.

‘Like it or not, the bugger has been a friend to you…’ Reason stated.

‘Your so gonna regret this…’ Stupidity cackled.

“Rylte, Force Palm…” I whispered, Rylte grinned and sprang into action, blasting the living drill in the face.

‘You’ve just been palmed, fool!’ He exclaimed, landing in front of his opponent.

The creature swayed around for a few moments then staggered back, hitting the ground with an enormous thud.

Red blinked and stared at the fallen Pokemon, then to Rylte. He then slowly turned to face me. He opened his mouth to say something, like ‘thank you’ but I stopped him.

“Oh my… Rylte what are you doing! Bad Pokemon!” I said cheekily.

The leader Rocket glared at me. “I thought you were smart. Tell me why do you fight on the losing side?"

"Oh that's a tough one," I smirked, "but I guess it's because you're a complete and utter ****."

A tremor shook the cavern; I stood unfazed, I knew the Rhydon falling would bring about a collapse of the caverns. It would stop the Rockets getting the Moon Stone, give us an opportunity to escape from the Rockets and save the day… Now all we have to do is escape the falling debris and we’re in the clear.

The Lead Rocket glared at me. “This isn’t over.”

A large boulder fell from the top of the cavern, landing directly in front the Rockets and blocking them off from us.

I turned to face Red who was examining something on the ground; I ran up to him and pulled him to his feet as more rocks fell overhead. “On yer feet! WE ARE LEAVING!”

Red ran up to Misty and flung her over his shoulders. Rylte ran ahead to lead us to the exit, occasionally blasting large rocks that came close to us.

---
Later, outside Mt. Moon…
---

We scurried out of the caverns; Red was still carrying Misty, while his Poliwhirl carried her Staryu.

Just as we exited the caves Misty started to come around. “Ohhh… where am I?” she moaned, clutching her head.

She snapped back to life. “What the…? ! I’m covered in dirt!” she screamed. Typical girl…

The exhausted Red carrying her only just realized that she had awakened, received a lovely punch for his troubles. “And who do you think you’re groping? !”

“Whoa! Misty wait a sec! Red was carrying you! You were knocked unconscious during the battle.” I tried to reason with her.

Misty glanced over to Red, “You won?”

"No thanks to that, numbnuts," I chuckled.

Misty’s cheerful expression faded quickly. “But what about the moon stone?”

“I collapsed the caverns. That’ll make life harder for them.”

“Hey guys! I forgot to tell ya!” Red miraculously recovered from Misty’s punch.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a strange stone, it bore a crescent moon symbol. “The cave collapsed… and there the thing was!”

“So that’s what you were looking at…” I grinned, dusting my clothes.

“Now let’s use this thing!” Red cheered, running towards Cerulean.

Misty ran after him, “You da man!”

I stood there by the cave entrance in confusion. “Some gratitude…” I sighed, and followed the idiots. “I have a bone to pick with Oak anyways…”

‘For sending us to fight the Mexicans?’
---
Chapter End.