As I make my way back through Route 29, the sun begins to
set. I'm soon accosted by a Pokémon I've never seen before: a Hoothoot. Armed
with my Poké Balls, I decide to make an attempt to catch it. "Go, Firebrand!"
I say, unleashing my companion.
Firebrand swiftly weakens the Hoothoot with two hard
Tackles, and though the Hoothoot replies with a Tackle of its own, Firebrand
shrugs it off like it's nothing. With the Hoothoot weakened, I quickly take a
Poké Ball out of my backpack and throw it. It neatly encapsulates the Pokémon,
shakes thrice, and is still. I have caught my first Pokémon, and in honour of
having caught her at night, I decide to name her Dusk.
My new catch does not seem to like me at first, but after
I feed her an Oran Berry to get her strength back up, she perks up a little and
hoots with content. "Don't worry," I reassure her. "I'll take
care of you. I promise." Before I can return Dusk to her Poké Ball, we're
suddenly confronted by another Hoothoot. I quickly recall Dusk and send out
Firebrand, who dispatches it with ease. Dusk will be weak, since she had little
battle experience, so I'll want to try and avoid getting her into any serious
fights just yet.
With Firebrand now at my side, we are not attacked again,
and I reach Cherrygrove without further incident. Having received some allowance
from my mother, I immediately head for the Pokémon Mart the old man had mentioned
on my previous visit; some supplies will definitely come in handy for my
journey. I buy some more Potions, and some medicine to cure my Pokémon if they
ever get poisoned or paralyzed. These medicines could well save my Pokémon's
lives, if I use them properly.
With much of my money now gone, I head out into Route 30.
Once again I recall the old man's words to me: trainers will be battling their Pokémon
out here. I beat Silva back at Cherrygrove, but somehow I'm still not entirely
confident about my abilities. I grasp Firebrand's Poké Ball tightly in my hand.
I guess I'm about to find out either way.
No sooner have I set foot in the tall grass than I am set
upon by a Zubat. I see this as another potential catch, and send Firebrand back
out to battle it. As the Zubat swoops down to strike, Firebrand dodges it and
instead Tackles it, injuring one of its wings and forcing it to crash into the
ground. I toss a Poké Ball at the wounded Zubat, expecting it to be caught like
Dusk, but instead the Poké Ball smashes into pieces as the Pokémon breaks free.
The Zubat's struggling is in vain, however, for as it
tries to swoop at Firebrand once more, Firebrand Tackles it again and this time
pins it to the ground with a front paw. As the Zubat tries to break free,
gnashing its jaws and screeching fruitlessly, I throw another Poké Ball and
this time I am successful: the Pokémon is caught. It's a female like Dusk, and
after a moment's thinking, I decide to call it Banshee, on account of its gender
and shrill screeching. My party now numbers three.
Before I get a chance to heal Banshee, another Hoothoot
attacks me and Firebrand is called into action once more. Once again Hoothoot
fells it with little effort, but I start to worry that the constant fights will
wear Firebrand down by the time I reach the trainers up ahead. He's the only Pokémon
I really have that's fit for battle, and should he fall, I'll be all but
helpless. I quickly feed Banshee and Firebrand some Berries to alleviate my
concerns, then press on.
I'm not sure what to expect from the trainers on the
route, but I probably wasn't expecting my first opponent to be a young
schoolboy who looks about eight. As I pass by a tall patch of grass to my
right, he ambushes me from my left. "Hey!" he says enthusiastically.
"You look like a weak trainer! Come on, let's battle!"
Ordinarily, I'd be reluctant to battle a kid of this age,
who might cry if I beat him too heavily. But the remark about me looking weak
stings me. I decide to teach him a lesson. "Alright," I say.
"Bring it on."
"Prepare yourself!" says the kid, grabbing what
appears to be his only Poké Ball. "Go, Rattata!" The kid sends out
his Rattata, which gnashes its teeth in a show of intimidation.
"Go, Firebrand!" Firebrand emerges from his Poké
Ball and is almost immediately Tackled by the Rattata. Firebrand holds his own,
responding with a Tackle of his own that seems to weaken the Pokémon considerably.
The Rattata puts up a brave fight, but two more hits later and it's down.
The kid, who did indeed only have the one Pokémon, looks
pretty upset about losing. "Darn it!" he exclaims. "I lost
again! I knew I should have caught some more Pokémon before battling
again!"
Feeling a little sorry for the kid, I decide to give him
some advice. "It couldn't hurt to train your Rattata a little as
well," I tell him. "Sometimes it's better to have one strong Pokémon than
six weak ones."
The kid thinks this over for a moment. "Hey, yeah,
you're right!" he says. "Maybe I don't need any other Pokémon in
order to battle better! Maybe if I just stick with my Rattata, the two of us
can get stronger together! Yeah, that's what I'll do! I'll stick with Rattata
right to the end! Thanks for the advice, mister!"
That wasn't quite what I meant, but if it makes him feel
better, then so be it. "Don't mention it," I say.
The kid thinks for another moment, then asks, "Say,
can I get your phone number? Maybe we can train together sometime, and you can
give me some more advice. Since we're both rookies, it'd be a good motivator.
What do you say?"
I shrug. "Sure, why not?" I say.
"Thanks!" says the kid. We swap Pokégear numbers,
and in the process I learn that the kid's name is Joey. "I'll ring you
whenever I get the urge to battle!" he says.
"Go ahead," I say. "Alright, see you
later, Joey."
The rest of the battles on the route turn out to be the
same: schoolkids like Joey, with no real idea about how to train or battle
their Pokémon. I brush them all aside, along with a wild Spinarak that ambushes
me; as I progress, I start sending out Dusk against some of the weaker
opponents, gradually building up her battle strength. I can't rely on Firebrand
forever.
Before I know it, I'm on Route 31, and only a short
distance away from Violet City. To the north I spot a cave entrance, but it
looks pitch-black inside, and I decide not to enter for fear of getting
ambushed or losing my way. Instead I make my way west, soon encountering
another young trainer who battles me with four weak Bug Pokémon. Using Dusk and
Firebrand, I defeat him with ease.
"Hey, you're good!" says the kid, after he's
been defeated. "I like you! How about I share some of the Berries I find
with you? If you give me your phone number, I can call you whenever I find some
good Berries. Sound like a fair deal?"
"Yeah, sure," I say. It can't hurt to have more
Berries, surely. I exchange phone numbers with the kid, whose name I learn is
Wade, and continue on my way.
Not too far from where I battled Wade, I find a stray Poké
Ball lying on the ground. I pick it up, but before I can put it away, I'm
accosted by a wild Poliwag. Praising my luck, but wary of the type advantage it
holds over Firebrand, I send out Dusk to battle it, intending to capture it.
The Poliwag defends itself with a flurry of bubbles, but Dusk shrugs off the
attacks and soon the Poliwag is weak enough for me to throw the Poké Ball I
just picked up at it. It works, and I now have my fourth companion: I name him
Dizzy, after his waddling gait and the spiral on his stomach.
Soon after catching Dizzy, I arrive in Violet City. It's
now nightfall, and the streets around me are illuminated by bright lamps. It's
too late to challenge the Gym Leader today, and in any case, I'm not sure whether
my Pokémon are ready yet. I decide to first locate the city's Pokémon Center,
to rest my weary Pokémon, then find a hotel and rest my weary self. Tomorrow,
I'll prepare to take on the first Gym Leader: Falkner.
NEW COMPANION: DUSK THE HOOTHOOT (LVL.3, ROUTE 29)
NEW COMPANION: BANSHEE THE ZUBAT (LVL.3, ROUTE 30)
NEW COMPANION: DIZZY THE POLIWAG (LVL.4, ROUTE 31)
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