Chapter 1

The Long Way Around

Cerulean City-

Red awoke in Cerulean City.  They had to go north from Vermillion after a sleeping Snorlax happened to completely block the only bridge over a river of rapids so that he and Blue could make it to Lavender Town.  So far, the journey was looking bright, and making friends with Misty, the Cerulean Gym leader had its benefits.  Instead of spending the night in a Pokémon Center, Red and Blue stayed with Misty in her apartment at the Cerulean Gym. 

            Blue was already up and was holding a Map of Kanto. 

            “Finally!” she said.  She rushed over to Red, fully dressed ready to go.  “You need to hurry up and get ready! I’ve already mapped out the whole day.” She pointed to Cerulean City at the north of the map.  “We’re here, and if we travel east all day we can end up here,” her finger moved towards a small dot on the eastern shoreline of Kanto.  “This is a Pokémon Center we can spend the night at, then the next day we have to navigate Rock Tunnel…”

            “Yeah, yeah,” Red yawned.  “I’m gonna check on the Pokémon then I’ll get ready.”  Red walked out of the apartment and made his way around the hall to the stadium entrance in the Gym.  He and Blue had let their Pokémon play and sleep with Misty’s in the giant aquarium that she conducted her Gym battles in. 

            He noticed a small blue Pokémon with a spiral on its belly walking along the bottom close to the glass wall, it was Blue’s Poliwag.  It swam around to Red with a smile and then swam wagging its tadpole like tail through the giant pool.  Seconds later, a shadow darted right up next to the wall and stopped with a thud as it banged on the glass, Poliwag not far behind. 

            “Hey boy! What’s up?” Red asked Wartortle.  The three-foot fuzzy tail and eared blue turtle was grinning its sharp little fangs glinted in the light.  Wartortle began doing backflips and agile maneuvers in the water in delight to see its trainer again.  Wartortle was Red’s first and strongest Pokémon, given to him by Professor Oak when it was a Squirtle. 

            Red walked up the stairs and sat on the diving board and looked out at the floating rafts where the other Pokémon were playing.  Wartortle popped out of the water and gave Red a big hug, but the heavy turtle Pokémon knocked the tired Pokémon trainer into the water.  He felt a tug on his pajamas and looked up as Pidgeotto, struggled and beat its wings frantically to pull him onto a raft. 

            “Thanks bud!” he said.  Pidgeotto was the first Pokémon that Red had captured on his own.  Through a little training (including potty), the tan bird Pokémon with a red feather crest on his head had evolved into a formidable foe. 

            A yellow dart hopped from raft to raft and then sat on Red’s lap, eagerly wanting Red’s attention.  It was his Pikachu, the electric mouse with red cheeks who had bailed its trainer out of many tough battles and situations.  Red loved his three Pokémon, and they loved him too.

            “Come on guys! Let’s get ready to go!”

            Red’s Pokémon helped to gather Blue’s Pokémon to take them back to get ready to leave.  Among Blue’s Pokémon was the small aquatic Poliwag, the fluttering bug Pokémon Butterfree who was flying about the rafters in the Gym, Bulbasaur, the plant-type Pokémon that Blue had received from Professor Oak sleeping on a raft of its own, and Nidorina, Blue’s pet from birth who had been through thick and thin with her trainer. 

            After saying good-bye to Misty, the duo recalled their Pokémon into their Pokeballs and headed off.

            “I wonder if there will be many trainers on this road!” said Red, eager to battle.

            “Yeah it’s been a couple days since they’ve had a little exercise,” agreed Blue.  “Even if we wanted to we couldn’t battle each other because our Pokémon are too good of friends!” she added, laughing. 

            After walking for a while, they came across a female trainer eating lunch on a blanket.  “Oh good!” she said.  “I’ve been waiting for someone to come along and entertain me!”  She pulled a Pokeball out of her Pocket.

            “Already ahead of you!” shouted Red excitedly as he flashed a Pokeball of his own. 

            “Go, Meowth!” said the girl.  Out of her Pokeball came a skinny cat like Pokémon with a gold coin on its head.

            “Time for fun, Wartortle!”  The fluffy-eared turtle appeared from its Pokeball with a victorious pose.  The picknicker ordered a scratch attack from her Meowth, but Wartortle had had too much experience, and withdrew into its shell right before Meowth could make contact and swipe at nothing.

            Red’s Pokedex beeped as it signified Wartortle had discovered how to use a new technique, and Red decided to take advantage. “Use Bite, boy!” Like a snapping turtle, Wartortle shot its head out of its shell and bit down hard on Meowth's tail.  The little cat screeched in pain as Wartortle threw it into the air.

            “Now hit it with Water gun!” commanded Red.  Wartortle pointed its finger at the falling Meowth as if it was a gun, closed one eye, and shot a high-pressure spray of water out of its mouth at its target.  Meowth, being a cat, had no interest at battling anymore. 

            Red recalled his Pokémon and they were on their way again.   Afternoon turned into evening as the road towards the Rock Tunnel became more mountainous and rugged.  Suddenly, the Trainers found themselves overlooking a rocky cliff at the seashore. They were on the east edge of Kanto, and saw the road take a turn towards the south.  In the distance, a small mountain towered above the surrounding hills, and they could make out the dark speck of a Pokémon Center nestled next to it.  Further still was the outline of an old, ruined Power Plant. 

            “They say that Power Plant provided free electricity to all of Kanto,” said Blue.

            “Wow,” said Red.  “What happened to it? Why doesn’t it work anymore?”

            “Well,” continued Blue, “They say it produced so much electricity, it attracted something…big…really big and really strong so the workers and their Pokémon abandoned it.”

            “I wanna meet a Pokémon like that one day,” said Red.  “And then I’m gonna capture it!”

            Blue rolled her eyes and they walked another 30 minutes or so before they came upon another traveler, a hiker, who challenged the trainers to a battle, according to the agreement Red and Blue created in the last book, it was Blue’s turn to battle. 

            The hiker called forth from its Pokeball a Graveler, a large boulder of a Pokémon around three feet tall with rough skin and four rocky arms.  Blue checked the Pokedex only to find out that Graveler is the evolved form of Geodude, and decided to use a type-advantage.

            Blue chose Bulbasaur, who is always ready to battle for its master.  The hiker ordered a Rollout attack from Graveler that nearly steamrolled Bulbasaur into the dirt, but the plant Pokémon jumped and settled for getting knocked backwards.  Graveler turned while still rolling and moved in for another attack when Blue ordered a Vine Whip attack, and the vines emerged from Bulbasaur’s bulb and slashed at the rolling rock.  The grass type attack took extra advantage of Graveler’s rock typing and soon the large rock fainted.

            Night fell and the long day of walking came to an end as Red and Blue healed their Pokémon, and rented a room at the Pokémon center. 

            “Oh yeah I forgot to mention one thing,” said Blue as she crawled into her bed.

            “What’s that?” asked Red, he was falling asleep concocting new strategies he would use against the five remaining Gym Leaders. 

            “When the power plant was abandoned, all electric lighting in the Rock Tunnel went out.  We’re going to have to navigate it in the dark.”

            Red didn’t care, he fell asleep.

Celadon City-

            Lance received Lorelei’s call and flew into Celadon as fast as he could on his Dragonite.  It was night when he landed at the Gym to be greeted by Lorelei and Erika.

            “Koga’s with Team Rocket,” said Lorelei, not wasting any time.  Lance wiped his face.

            “I’m calling the others,” he said.  Lance pulled out a video phone and dialed Bruno and Agatha’s numbers.  The old woman’s face appeared first of four screens.  “We’ve lost Fuchsia City to Team Rocket!  Koga’s corrupt!” Lance had a desperate tone to his voice, Lorelei had never seen him act like this. 

            Agatha gazed at her own video phone.  “It looks like Bruno won’t be joining our conversation tonight, he’s probably with his girlfriend…”

            “How can you be talking about girlfriends at a time like this?” Lance’s voice was stern.  “We’ve lost Fuchsia City! It could take decades to get them to peacefully work with the rest of Kanto! Koga is corrupt!  Out of all the leaders this was the worst that could happen!”

            “Calm down, you fool!” said Agatha, her voice becoming stronger.  Though Lance was the leader and Champion of the Elite Four, Agatha was the longest tenured and was unofficially “co-leader.”  “Koga can never be corrupted.  He is in control of himself, I’ve known him since he was a boy.  I believe that he has been misled however. And I disagree, I don’t think Fuchsia is our most pressing issue.”

            Lance was getting frustrated.  “Well?”

            “I haven’t seen dear Bruno in such a long time, I’m thinking about having a talk with this girlfriend of his: the Gym Leader of Saffron City, Sabrina.”