Day 229

[from Pokémon: Shattered Crystal]

The morning after arriving at Violet City, I head back out to Route 31 to get some much-needed training. I can't rely on just Firebrand to win the battle: I'll need Dusk, Banshee and Dizzy to do their best for me as well. I'll have to be careful while training them, though, as they're currently pretty weak, and if I push them too hard, it'll end in disaster.

Over the course of the training session, my Pokémon and I knock out some thirty wild Pokémon¹. Their unconscious bodies start to litter the area, and some even wake up only to be beaten back into submission. I feel kind of sorry for them all, being beaten so ruthlessly, but with no trainers in sight, it's the only way I can make my Pokémon stronger. I at least have the decency not to kill any of them. I don't want to get stronger at the cost of others' lives.

Early in my training, I'm interrupted by a phone call from Joey asking for a rematch. Eager to break up the monotony of training, I agree, and head back to Route 30 to face him. While my team has improved since our last meeting yesterday, his Rattata still seems to be at the same strength, and Dusk dispatches it in two hits without sustaining any damage in reply. With Joey defeated once more, I head off to resume my training.

In the end, the only major incident is when a Spinarak poisons both Dizzy and Dusk, and I'm forced to use up two of my Antidotes on them. Other than that, the training goes without a hitch. I make regular trips back to Violet City to heal my Pokémon at the Pokémon Centre, in order to conserve my Potions for the battle ahead. While this approach helps protect my Pokémon from danger, it also slows down my training somewhat, and it takes me a solid hour of training² before I feel that my entire team is ready to face the first Gym.

After healing my team once more at the Pokémon Centre, I head towards Violet City Gym in pursuit of my first Gym Badge. I'm quietly confident about my chances, but it seems that before I'm allowed to take on the Gym Leader himself, I must defeat two of his pupils. Undaunted, I prepare my strategy and then make my way inside.

The first trainer ambushes me soon after I make my way inside. "Let's see if you're good enough to face Falkner!" he says. "Go, Spearow!" The bird Pokémon bursts out of its Poké Ball, and I can tell at once that it's a more formidable opponent than any I've faced before now. Nonetheless, I send out Dizzy and put my plan into action.

"Dizzy," I call out, "use Hypnosis!" Dizzy promptly uses hypnotic suggestion to put the Spearow to sleep, and I take advantage of my foe's slumber to switch in Firebrand. Just as Firebrand charges in to land his first hit, however, Spearow wakes up and dishes out a hit of its own. This really is going to be a formidable fight.

Firebrand and the Spearow fight hard, matching each other blow-for-blow. Soon both Pokémon are limping, and I'm forced to use one of my precious Potions on Firebrand, just to pull him through. It works, and with one last blow, Firebrand knocks the Spearow out, and my first challenger is defeated. "Pathetic," he sneers. "Losing to a rookie trainer like you… you still don't stand a chance against Falkner!"

"We'll see about that," I retort, before making my way on to the second trainer.

This second trainer has two Pokémon, the first of which is a Pidgey. I put the same tactic into action, sending out Dizzy to send the Pidgey to sleep with Hypnosis before switching in Firebrand to deal the damage. It backfires again, however: Pidgey wakes up before Firebrand can land a blow, and doles out one of its own. Firebrand is still a little wounded from the last fight, and I'm forced to use a second Potion to pull him through. Re-energized, the Pidgey is defeated, and I sense Dizzy and Firebrand both grow stronger from their combat experience.

The second Pokémon turns out to be merely another Pidgey. With my strategy called into question, I keep Firebrand out and opt for all-out attack this time. It works: a powerful strike to Pidgey's weak spot cripples it, and a second blow is all it takes to finish it off. Now Falkner is the only one standing between me and the first Gym Bdge.

The second trainer takes defeat about as well as the first. "Don't get cocky just because you beat me, kid!" he says. "Falkner's skills are for real! He'll show you!" The trainers here really seem to believe in Falkner's skills. I'll just have to believe that my own skills are stronger.

Before facing Falkner, I head back out of the Gym and heal my Pokémon once more at the Pokémon Centre, before heading to the Poké Mart and buying some more supplies with the winnings I got from beating Falkner's students. You can’t be too careful. I can't imagine this Falkner will be as shy about hurting my Pokémon as I was about hurting the wild Pokémon in Route 31.

Heading back into the Violet Gym, I make my way toeards the back, where Falkner waits for me. He is a young man with blue hair that drapes over one eye, hiding it from view. The one visible eye is a steely grey-blue. I can expect no mercy from this man. Swallowing my nerves, I step forward to face him.

"Congratulations on making it this far," Falkner says, as he steps forward to meet my challenge. "I'm Falkner, the Violet City Pokémon Gym Leader. I'm a staunch believer in the power of Flying-type Pokémon. They say you can clip a Flying-type's wings with a jolt of electricity, but I believe they are much stronger than that. I won't allow such an insult to them!" He sweeps an arm dramatically at me. "Prepare yourself, challenger! I will show you the true power of the magnificent bird Pokémon! Go, Pidgey!"

Falkner sends out his first Pokémon, Pidgey, and I send out Dizzy. I don't intend for Dizzy to send it to sleep this time; merely to deal some damage and take a few blows before I send in Firebrand. It's a risky strategy, but what isn't? "Dizzy," I call out, "use Bubble!"

To my surprise and delight, Dizzy is able to hold its own against Pidgey, resisting its blows and dishing out powerful Bubble blasts of its own. In the end, Firebrand is not needed: Dizzy dispatches the Pidgey all on its own, though not without taking some punishment in return. "Nice job, Dizzy," I say. "Come back!"

Falkner isn't happy about one of his Pokémon falling. "Not bad," he says. "I guess I don't have to hold back against you, then." He plucks the second Poké Ball from his belt with a smirk. "Go, Pidgeotto!"

This is not good. Pidgeys I could handle, but I'm now up against Pidgey's evolved form. I've come this far, though: I have to try. "Go, Firebrand!" Firebrand bursts from his Poké Ball and immediately lands a strong hit against Pidgeotto. A mere Pidgey would have been crippled by the strike, but Pidgeotto remains standing. This is so not good.

"Pidgeotto, use Gust!" says Falkner. The wind attack catches Firebrand off-guard, and sends it tumbling backwards. Staggering to its feet, Firebrand defiantly launches another Tackle, but again it seems to just bounce off. Pidgeotto sweeps its wings in another Gust attack, sending Firebrand skidding away. "Not bad at all," remarks Falkner. "But your Cyndaquil's attacks are weak."

"Its defences aren't," I retort. "And neither were my preparations." Firebrand, on cue, proceeds to take out a Berry I'd given it beforehand and happily munch it down, restoring its vitality in a jiffy. It then heartily resumes the struggle against Pidgeotto, and after sustaining another strike to its vitals, the bird Pokémon's resistance finally cracks. It lets out a cry of pain and staggers backwards, clearly on its last legs.

"Firebrand," I command, "finish him off!" With its power now peaking, Firebrand forgoes Tackling the Pidgeotto and instead finishes it off with a blast of flame. The exhausted Pidgeotto collapses to the ground, and Falkner is defeated. Victory is mine.

Falkner is left speechless by the defeat at first. "My bird Pokémon…" he mutters in disbelief. After taking a moment to compose himself, he takes a deep breath and smiles at me for the first time. "All right," he says. "It seems like I underestimated you, youngster. Here. Take this." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small badge in the shape of a pair of wings. "It's the official Pokémon League Zephyr Badge," he explains. "This Badge proves that you've defeated my Gym. It will also raise your Pokémon's attack power."

As the thrill of my victory starts to wear off, I take the badge from Falkner and pin it to my lapel. My first Pokémon League Gym Badge. The first of many, I hope. But Falkner is not done with me yet. "Here," he says. "Take this too." He hands me what appears to be a small CD in a case. "This is a Technical Machine, or TM," he explains, sensing my puzzlement. "It can be used to instantly teach your Pokémon a new move, but think carefully before using it - TMs can only be used once. This one contains Mud-Slap, which reduces the opponent's accuracy while dealing damage. It's useful both defensively and offensively."

"I see," I say, taking the TM disc. "Thank you. I'm sure this will come in handy."

Falkner nods. "I assume you are taking the Gym Challenge?" he asks.

"I am indeed," I tell him, as I put the disc away.

"Good," said Falkner. "You should continue to test your skills. As for me…" He recalls his unconscious Pidgeotto and places its Poké Ball back on his belt. "I'm going to keep training to become the world's greatest bird master!"

"Good luck with that," I tell him. "And… thank you."

"You are welcome, trainer," says Falkner. "Now, go. There are gyms all across Johto that are waiting for you."

I nod, and take my leave. As I step outside, the Violet City air tastes that little bit sweeter. Now that I've defeated one Pokémon Gym, my confidence is sky-high. I know I can take the other seven now. It's just a matter of training.

[FOOTNOTES]

¹Yes, I counted.

²It only took me 45 minutes to beat the Gym itself and write the 1400-word summary of its events. I hate grinding.

Day 228

[from Pokémon xTreme]

By the time the group landed outside the entrance to the Mt. Moon cave system, Emma's erratic flying had made Taylor extremely dizzy and she was close to vomiting. "That settles it," she said, as she staggered off of Charizard's back, trying not to topple over. "Next time we have to go anywhere, I'm taking a taxi."

"I'm sorry," said Emma, as she slid off of Charizard's back. "I didn't realize you had air sickness. I'll be more gentle next time."

"There won't be a next time…" Taylor placed her hands against a nearby tree to steady herself and bent over, holding back a retch.

Brandon shook his head with amusement. "Well, that at least oughta make our travel arrangements easier," he said as he withdrew his Charizard. "Emma and I can fly on Charizard while you take the cab, or whatever."

"Sounds good to me," said Emma, withdrawing Crobat and then latching onto Brandon's arm.

"Alright then," said Brandon. "As soon as Taylor's feeling better, we can get going. You'll be alright, won't you, Taylor?"

Taylor nodded, raising a hand. "Yeah, just… give me a minute…"

As Taylor continued to steady herself, Brandon watched on with mild concern. "Damn," he muttered to himself. "I've never met someone who hated flying so much."

"Don't take it personally, dear," Emma said. "Not everyone enjoys flying as much as you do. Some people just aren't cut out for it."

"Yeah, I guess not," said Brandon. "Don't take that personally either, Taylor."

"No offence taken," said Taylor, finally straightening herself and stepping away from the tree, albeit still a little shakily. "Let's go."

***

The caves within Mt. Moon had been illuminated by bright torches mounted on the walls, and so the trio were able to make their way through without any problem. "There should be other trainers in here," said Brandon. "Let me go ahead, see if I can smoke some of them out for you to battle."

Somehow, Taylor felt uneasy at the idea of being left alone with Emma. Maybe it was just the poor first impression she'd received, courtesy of the wild flight there. "No, that's okay," she said, "we'll find some eventually. Besides, there's plenty of Pokémon here to fight. Any worth catching?"

"Well, like I said earlier, we might be able to find a Paras in here," said Brandon. "Although now that I come to think about it, I don't think Paras learns any useful Grass-type moves for a while, so it wouldn't actually be of any use against Lisa."

"So… I shouldn't bother catching any of these Pokémon?" asked Taylor.

"Oh, you can if you want to," said Brandon. "Remember, the more, the merrier, and some of them might come in handy later on down the line. But yeah, none of them will be useful against Lisa, or the guy who comes after her."

"Why?" asked Taylor. "Who's the guy who comes after?"

Brandon grinned. "Trust me: if I tell you, you'll be shitting bricks from here to Vermillion," said Brandon. "I'll tell you when the time comes, but for now, let's just focus on preparing to face Lisa, alright?"

Before Taylor could answer, the group was suddenly waylaid by a man holding a tape recorder up to Brandon's face - apparently a journalist. "Mr. Wells!" he said. "Jonathan Oakes, Kanto Times. Care to comment on the rumours surrounding your relationship with Emma Williams? Is it true that you got her pregnant?"

Brandon pulled a pained expression and closed his eyes, as though trying to make the journalist actually disappear. "Fucking hell," he muttered under his breath. "Even in a cave, I can’t get rid of them."

Emma took advantage of Brandon's frustration to answer in his stead. "I can confirm that I am currently pregnant with Brandon's child," she said, smiling sweetly.

The barrage of questions was now directed at Emma instead. "Do you know how far along you currently are?" asked Jonathan. "And are you planning to bring the baby to term?"

"We most certainly are," said Emma. "And I'm about six weeks gone."

With her mentor and his girlfriend now occupied by the interview, Taylor sighed and slunk off to train by herself. It didn't take her long to spot a Zubat hovering nearby. She plucked Eevee's Poké Ball from her belt, but before she could send it out, the Zubat was suddenly felled by a bolt of lightning that shot from nowhere.

A familiar-sounding voice then called out. "Nice job, Elekid!" it said. "Come back!"

Taylor soon realized who the voice was. It was Kieran Anderson, the boy she had met and battled when she first got Eevee. Sensing that they would make better company than Brandon and Emma at the moment, not to mention the potential opportunity for a battle, Taylor quickly headed over to them.

Upon seeing Taylor, Seth waved genially to her. "Oh, hey, Taylor!" he said. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised to see you here. I heard you already took down Graham."

"That I did," said Taylor. She pointed to the Venom Badge pinned onto her lapel.

"Well, so did I," said Kieran proudly, showing off his own Venom Badge. "I reckon my Elekid's already strong enough to trash Lisa's Gym, but Seth's making me train already."

"I told you," said Seth. "Type advantages are great, but they ain't everything. A truly great trainer can actually overcome type advantages. Like Brandon does every time he beats me." Taylor couldn't tell whether he was praising Brandon, belittling himself, or simply embittered at having lost to Brandon during their last encounter. "Anyway," he continued, "speaking of Brandon, where is he?"

Taylor's expression soured a little. "Some journalist cornered him and his girlfriend," she said, "they're busy doing an interview."

"Damn, the paps are even following them around in here?" said Seth. "I'm glad I don't have his level of fame, I couldn't put up with that bullshit. So is it true then? That he knocked up Nicole's little sister?"

Taylor nodded. "Apparently," she said.

Seth was unable to suppress a grin. "Oh, man, he is so dead," he said. "Nicole is gonna fucking kill him. She already find out?"

Taylor nodded again. "Yeah," she said. "She wasn't very happy about it."

"Oh man!" Seth was holding back a chuckle at this point. "I bet she wasn't! Did she try to set him on fire?"

"Tried to set us both on fire," said Taylor.

Seth's stifled chuckling abruptly stopped and he winced a little. "Ouch," he said. "Sorry to hear that. But… oh, man, I am so teasing him about this. Actually, I'll be right back. He's right over there, isn't he?" Seth pointed down the way Brandon had come.

"Yeah, he and Emma are over that way," said Taylor. "I dunno if they're still doing that interview, or… oh, no, here they come." Brandon and Emma were indeed on their way over, happily talking to each other. As far as Taylor could tell, they hadn't even noticed she had gone.

"Watch this, watch this," said Seth. With his grin once more firmly plastered across his face, Seth walked towards the lovestruck couple and began to sing "Cat's In The Cradle" at the top of his lungs. [For reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUwjNBjqR-c ]

Brandon facepalmed as he realized what was happening. "Oh, for fuck's sake," he said. "Could you… could you not, please, Seth-"

"Could you not swear in front of the baby, please?" joked Seth. "It shouldn't be hearing that kind of language at its age."

"It's a clump of cells at its age!" protested Brandon. "It can't hear shit!"

Seth did not relent with his jibes. "You're gonna name that clump of cells after me, right?" he asked. "'Seth Wells'… you gotta admit, it's got a ring to it-"

"Dude, just stop, please," said Brandon. "I'm not in the mood for your stupid jokes, alright? I'm still trying to get to grips with all this."

Seth, realizing he had pushed Brandon too far, raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, I'm sorry, man," he said. "It's just… damn! Of all the girls for you to knock up, it had to be Nicole's little sis, didn't it?"

"Tell me about it," said Brandon, shaking his head. "Oh, boy, was she ever pissed."

"I almost wish I coulda been there to see the look on her face," said Seth. "Probably looked something like this." Seth pulled a mock angry face which managed to elicit a laugh from his weary rival.

"Yeah, something like that," said Brandon. "Anyway, sorry about the disturbance there, Taylor," said Brandon, turning back to his protégé. "I tried to shake the guy off as quickly as I could, but Emma hasn't mastered the skill of ignoring journalists yet."

"But I want the world to know about us!" said Emma, looking cutely up at Brandon.

"Well, I don't want the world waiting outside my house at 5am to ask me the same questions a hundred times over," said Brandon. "Anyway, let's get back to what we came here for: training. Taylor, you ready to go?"

"Actually…" Taylor turned to Kieran, who had been staring expectantly at her for most of the time she had been there. "…you fancy a battle, Kieran?"

Kieran's expression immediately turned into an eager smile. "I thought you'd never ask," he said. "I've got a score to settle from last time!"

"We'll see about that," said Taylor. "Go, Eevee!"

Day 222

[from Pokémon: Shattered Crystal]

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)

Day 221

[This is a short story called "Francorchamps", that I originally wrote for my GCSEs in 2010. It depicts the aborted first start of the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix, which took place on 30 August 1998. It it one of the most famous races in Formula One history.]

"Three lights... four lights... five lights..." Jarno could almost hear the unmistakeable voice of Murray Walker in his ear as he watched the lights go on. Or tried to. It was hard enough to see the lights from thirteenth on the grid as it was, but in the torrential rain, with your crash helmet on? It was almost impossible.

But, "GO!!!" ...suddenly the lights were off, and in an instant the twenty-one other cars assembled around him sprang into life with a deafening scream. Time for the fun to begin. The start was just like the twelve others he had contested that year, and the fourteen he'd contested the year before. Swerve to the left, onto the racing line. Flick the paddle behind the steering wheel; up into second gear. Make sure you don't slam straight into Wurz in front of you. Check your mirrors; check Barrichello's still behind you. Now look to the left again; look for the brake markers. There they are. BRAKE!

Round the La Source hairpin. A tricky enough corner in the dry. Thankfully it wasn't far from the start line, so the cars hadn't gotten up to speed yet. A car dived down the inside: Barrichello had gotten the better of him. No matter. He had passed two cars already, and was right on the tail of a third. He stamped hard on the accelerator; back up to second; now up to third; now they were away, down the long straight up to Eau Rouge. The most famous corner in Formula One.

Jarno swerved to the left, cutting off a car behind him; he immediately cut to the right to avoid touching the back of the car in front. It was a Sauber - or was it a Benetton? It was impossible to tell through the heavy spray flying up from the back of the car, and from the cars all around him. One could scarcely see one's own hand in front of their face.

Ahead of him, something briefly registered in Jarno's vision: a flurry of spray, a flash of white paint. Had someone spun? Jarno couldn't tell. It may not even have been a car for all he could see. Through the spray, the flash of paint looked almost fish-shaped, though of course it couldn't have been a fish, even though it was wet enough for one to survive here...

SLAM. What had happened registered immediately: Jarno had suffered a lapse in concentration and hit the car in front of him. With the sudden deceleration, everything seemed to lapse into slow-motion; even the rain seemed to shudder to a temporary crawl. There was an instant of silence, broken sharply by another loud bang and a furious jolt, as another car slammed straight into the back of Jarno's stricken car, having presumably been unsighted by the spray.

As his car slowly slid to a halt, Jarno sat quietly, trying to come to terms with things. His race was likely far from over; since he'd seemingly crashed in the middle of a straight, and on the first lap, the race would probably be red-flagged and restarted, giving him a second chance with the spare car. However, Jarno was still worried about the effect the crash might have on his reputation in the sport. This was his sophomore year in Formula 1, and he'd retired from more than half the races so far, having scored no points. He knew that if he carried on like this, this season could well be his last.

Now for the disheartening, though mercifully short walk back to the pit lane. Jarno unscrewed the steering wheel, and placed it where he knew the car's nose cone would be; he could still barely see it through the driving rain. Then he got out of the car, took one step and felt his leg kick something. He looked down: it appeared to be a tyre. Free from its carbon-fibre master, it had been merrily rolling across the deserted track as tumbleweed does across desert.

But was it deserted? The tyre couldn't possibly have come from his car. Jarno knew that at least two other cars had been involved in the collision, and he started to wonder how many others had been. He pulled off his helmet, increasing his visibility, though only slightly as it was still hard to see through the driving rain. Even so, it was just enough for him to make out the carnage that had unfolded around him.

The tarmac around him was littered with stricken cars. At least a dozen of them, all crowded together, having apparently crashed into one another. The floor was strewn with shards of carbon fibre, winking white and blue and red through the grey gloom, and scores of wheels like the one he had just kicked were barrelling from the scene like escaped cattle broken free from their ranch. It appeared that somebody had run wide and spun onto the racing line - the flash of paint that Jarno had spotted - and everyone behind them had simply ploughed unsighted into the melee, systematically eliminating almost every car behind a certain point on the track. And all around him, the other drivers were getting out of their cars, taking off their helmets, and awakening to the same nightmare.

Jarno clambered his way through the chaos, the stricken cars, and approached a marshal, who to his relief was frantically waving a red flag. "What the hell happened?" he asked the marshal.

"I'm not sure," replied the marshal, in a slight French accent. "I see Coulthard spin, over there somewhere-" he gesticulated wildly at an area a few yards behind Jarno's stricken car "-I think somebody hit him, and then the next thing I know, all the cars are piled up together like this, sliding along the track..." The marshal sighed heavily. "It'll be a miracle if nobody was hurt."

A tap on the shoulder. Jarno turned round to see his team-mate, Olivier Panis, still wearing his helmet but with the visor raised. Even without seeing his face, Jarno could tell from his team-mate's body language that he was a little shaken. "You'll be needing that for the restart," he said, gesturing at Jarno's crash helmet.

Jarno nodded and was about to put it on when he hesitated. "What about you?" he asked.

"I got taken out too," replied Olivier, "and there's only one spare car. You're the lead driver, so..." He shrugged disappointedly. "I'll have to just watch from the garage."

Jarno gave his team-mate a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, man," he said.

"No need to apologize," said Olivier. "This is not your fault. I…" Olivier turned round to take another look at the scene, them muttered something in French that Jarno didn't catch. "Twenty years I've been racing, and I've never seen anything like this before. Do you think everyone's alright?"

"I don't know," said Jarno. "There's an awful lot of debris around. I sure hope so, though."

"Me too," said Olivier. "Good luck in the restart."

As Olivier made his way back to the pits, Jarno surveyed the carnage once more. Not just the Minardis and Tyrrells had been taken out, but a Ferrari and a Benetton as well. World Champions and backmarkers, household names and debutantes, all levelled in a single moment, one wrong turn of the steering wheel. He glanced again at his departing team-mate, gazing regretfully at his wrecked car as he passed it. He looked over at the marshals, now picking up the pieces: clearing away the reams of debris, rolling the severed tyres out of the way, and pushing the cars' shattered remains to one side so they could be recovered. Then he looked behind him, and saw David Coulthard, seemingly the instigator of this whole affair, walking dejectedly back towards the pits to claim his spare car, his helmet still on, the raindrops bouncing off it. Trying to come to terms with it all.

Jarno sighed, then started to meander his way back through the destruction, past the broken pieces of carbon fibre that still carpeted the ground. He passed a marshal wheeling his car towards the barriers, to be picked up by a crane and taken away, and for a moment it seemed to Jarno that he was hauling a battered body across a bomb site, ready to be thrown into an ambulance and driven to the morgue. The destruction around him certainly would not have looked out of place at a bomb site. Then he was back in the pit lane, joining the dozen other drivers marching through the monsoon, some still helmeted, some dragging their crash helmets behind them, as though the storm had washed away their homes and they were now hauling their belongings through the driving rain, soaked through, searching for refuge.

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: After the restart, Jarno Trulli went on to finish 6th, claiming his and Prost's only point of the season. Eddie Irvine and Rubens Barrichello had suffered minor injuries in the crash - Barrichello did not take the restart - but nobody was seriously hurt. The race was won by Damon Hill, the first-ever victory for his Jordan team but the final win of Hill's career.]

Day 218

[from Pokémon xTreme]

The following morning, Brandon arrived at Taylor's house as usual to resume training, but this time he had Emma in tow. "She insisted on coming along with us," said Brandon. "I figured, if we're gonna end up getting married or whatever like Nicole wants us to, I'd better start getting to know her, right? So I hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all," said Taylor. "To be honest, I'm glad you're doing the right thing and supporting her."

"Well, it's not like I have a choice, is it?" said Brandon. "If I don't, Nicole will turn me into smoked Tepig."

"True," admitted Taylor. "So anyway, where are we headed today?"

"Next Gym Leader on the trail is Lisa Rivers," said Brandon. "She's the Cerulean City Gym Leader, and she uses Water-type Pokémon. She's a veteran like Graham, she's been a Gym Leader for years, but she's not as outspoken as he is. She'll prefer to just focus on the battle. You won't have a type advantage this time, unless we're lucky enough to run into a Paras in Mt. Moon, so things might get a little more difficult for you."

"I'm sure I can handle it," said Taylor. "If it comes to it, we can always look for a Grass-type Pokémon somewhere else, right?"

"If it really comes to it, I can just lend you one of mine," said Brandon, "or get Ellen to breed you one. But there'd be no challenge in it if I just gave you Pokémon all the time. I'd rather you tried to get through it with your own skill first. You get what I mean?"

"Yeah, I got it," said Taylor, nodding. "I'd rather get through it with my own skill as well."

"That's good," said Brandon. "Alright then, let's get going. I think Emma's starting to get a little bored."

Emma did indeed look a little bored as Brandon took out the Poké Ball containing Charizard. Perhaps it was Taylor's imagination, but she also seemed a tiny bit jealous as well. It was perhaps understandable: Brandon had ignoring his supposed fiancée up until now, having been talking to his protégé instead the whole time they had been here. But Taylor, somehow, didn't think it was entirely reasonable. They had already established that Brandon had no feelings for her, not to mention she was underage. Then again, Taylor got the feeling that Brandon didn't really love Emma all that much either. If it wasn't for Nicole calling him back to Viridian, he would most likely have forgotten all about her.

As Charizard emerged from its Poké Ball, a thought occurred to Taylor. "Are all three of us gonna fit on there?" she asked.

"Uhh… good point," said Brandon. "No, I don't think we will. You won't be able to fly by yourself, will you, Taylor?"

Taylor shook her head. "Nope," she said. "And I'm still a little rattled from the previous times I've flown with you."

"And I can't fly with you, because that would mean leaving Emma all by herself…" Brandon thought aloud. "Hmm… Emma, do you have any Flying-types?"

"I have a Crobat," said Emma, plucking a Poké Ball from her belt.

"Great," said Brandon. "I'll fly on that, and you can fly Taylor there on Charizard."

"But I wanna fly there with you!" protested Emma, pouting cutely.

"Sorry," said Brandon, "but Taylor can't fly on her own. She needs someone to go with her, and you'd only complain if I went with her." This seemed to confirm Taylor's suspicions: Emma was, to some degree, irrationally jealous of her.

Emma did not refute Brandon's statement, instead merely sighing in resignation. "I guess it can't be helped, then," she said. "I mean, it's not like we're not going to the same place…"

"Yeah, we'll only be apart for, like, twenty minutes, or however long it takes to get to Mt. Moon," said Brandon, gently patting her head. "No biggie."

"Alright then," said Emma. "I guess I'll see you in a bit." She leaned up and gave Brandon a goodbye kiss on the lips, then climbed onto the back of Charizard.

Taylor climbed on behind her, still a little uneasy about flying. "You sure you know what you're doing?" she asked Emma.

"This isn't the first time I've flown," she said. "Just relax, everything will be fine."

"Just… no racing, okay?" said Taylor. "I couldn't take another race."

"Don't worry, Taylor," said Brandon reassuringly, "no races today. We're just gonna fly to Mt. Moon at our own pace. Emma, make sure to take it easy, alright?"

Emma nodded. "Will do," she said.

Brandon took off first, and as he and Crobat lifted off into the sky, Taylor suddenly got the uneasy feeling that Emma was not going to take it easy at all. Sure enough, Charizard suddenly lifted off hard, soaring high into the sky as it raced to catch up to Crobat. Taylor clung tightly onto Emma, grimacing as the uncomfortable sensation of the cold wind whipping at her face returned once more. Even if the flight to Mt. Moon was only twenty minutes as Brandon had said, this was still going to be a long ride.

Day 210

[from Sonic the Hedgehog Returns]

The co-ordinates Liana sent corresponded to a old warehouse in the Oil Ocean Zone, to the north of Emerald Coast. Armed with these co-ordinates, Sonic headed off with Bunnie and Sally to rescue Sgt. Nero. Solstice had insisted on coming along with them, but Sonic had refused. "It's too dangerous," he had said. "The place is probably crawling with SWATbots. You stay here until we get him back." Reluctantly, Solstice agreed, and Sonic set off for Oil Ocean Zone with the others in tow.

Arriving at the industrial complex containing the warehouse, the trio sheltered behind a low wall to avoid detection. Sally peered over the top of the wall with her binoculars, searching for Badniks. "There's a few SWATbots patrolling the area, and two SWATbots guarding the entrance to the warehouse," she said."

"Only two?" sneered Sonic. "It'll take a lot more than that to stop me. C'mon, you two: we're bustin' Nero outta there!" With that, Sonic flipped over the wall and zoomed off into the open. Instead of attacking the SWATbots, however, he merely raced right past them, drawing their attention. "Come on, you tinpots," he yelled, "I'm right here!"

"PRIORITY ONE: HEDGEHOG," droned the SWATbots in unison, turning towards Sonic and opening fire. None of the machines came anywhere close to striking the speedy hedgehog, and while they were all preoccupied with trying to shoot him, Bunnie was able to sneak up on each of them in turn and smash them to pieces with her bionic limbs. Sonic, however, took the liberty of taking out the last one himself, Spin-Dashing straight through it and causing it to explode.

While Sonic and Bunnie took care of the SWATbots, Sally proceeded to the now-unguarded warehouse entrance. Like most of Robotnik's warehouses, the entrance was covered by a heavy steel door, protected by a passcode system. Fortunately, Rotor had developed a device that was able to decipher the codes and bypass the system. Sally slipped the device out of her jacket pocket, placed it on top of the keypad, and waited for it to do its job.

"All clear out here, Sal," said Bunnie, and she and Sonic headed over to join Sally.

"There'll be more SWATbots inside, though," said Sonic. "Maybe Buttnik himself, if we're lucky. Man, wouldn’t that be a treat."

"It certainly would," said Sally, "unless he has one of his robots in there, waiting for us."

"All the better!" said Sonic. "I get to smash Buttnik and his ugly machines! Come on, what are we waiting for?"

At that precise moment, the decipher device beeped as it finished unscrambling the entry codes, and the steel door began to slide upwards. "Nothing," said Sally, retrieving the device. "Let's get in there and rescue that hedgehog."

"You got it, Sal," said Sonic. "Here I come, Nero!" Sonic zoomed inside the half-lit warehouse and quickly came to a stop, confused. "Huh…? There's nothing in here!" he said.

"What?" Sally and Bunnie followed Sonic inside and saw that he was right: the inside of the warehouse, though seemingly pristine, was completely and utterly empty. There were no SWATbots, no Badniks, no machines at all, and certainly no Nero or Robotnik.

"The heck is goin' on here?" asked Bunnie. "Did we get the wrong warehouse?"

Sally double-checked the co-ordinates. "No, this is definitely the right one," she said. "He can't have cleared out already…"

Sonic scowled, an uncomfortable feeling rising in his stomach. "I've got a bad feeling about this," he said.

Sally, confused, activated her radio and called Liana. "Liana, we're at the warehouse," she said. "It's completely empty. Are you sure this is where they're holding Nero?"

"Maybe there's a secret tunnel or somethin'?" Bunnie suggested, though she too was starting to get a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Oh, there's no secret tunnel there," Liana responded, her voice jarringly nonchalant. "There's no Nero there either."

"Liana," said Sally warily, "what's going on here?"

"Well, you see," said Liana, "the thing is… I'm the one who betrayed the Resistance's location to Robotnik." As Sally gasped in shock, dozens of red lights suddenly began to flicker on all around them, indicating the presence of a large number of SWATbots  hidden in the shadows. "Obviously I can't let you find Nero," Liana continued, "and now that you know the truth, I can't let you escape from here either, so…"

One by one, the SWATbots began to emerge from the shadows, closing in on the stunned Freedom Fighters. "Why didn't I see this coming?" asked Sonic.

"Quick!" said Sally. "The warehouse door is still open! We can escape!"

"Oh right, almost forgot about that," said Liana suddenly. "Thanks for leaving your radio on, suckers."

As the warehouse door slowly began to close again, Bunnie snatched the radio from Sally's hand and crushed it in her metallic fist. "Sonic! Get us outta here!" she said.

"That's kinda the plan!" Sonic retorted, grabbing hold of the girls' hands. "Hold on tight, ladies!" As the SWATbots began to open fire, Sonic raced off, sliding underneath the lowering warehouse door a second before it closed behind him, shutting the machines inside. The trio then headed back to Knothole, their betrayal and failure weighing heavily on all of their minds.

Day 205

[from Pokémon: Shattered Crystal]

The man who answers the door is a middle-aged man with grey hair, a bushy grey moustache, and a trilby hat. "Ah, hello!" he says. "You must be Ryan. Professor Elm said you'd be coming over. Please, do come in."

Mr. Pokémon opens the door wide for me, and I follow him inside. The house is rather messy inside, with a few machines scattered around, as well as large bookshelves filled with encyclopaedic volumes about Pokémon. There's another middle-aged man sat at the table, but I pay him no attention for the moment, my mind focused on Elm's errand. "So, what's this big discovery?" I ask Mr. Pokemon.

Mr. Pokémon takes something from off the table and shows it to me. "This!" he proclaims. "This is what I want Professor Elm to examine." Looking at it, it appears to be some kind of egg. It's a creamy white colour, with strange red and blue shapes all over it. I've never seen anything like it before.

"I know a couple who run a Pokémon day-care service out on Route 34," says Mr. Pokémon. "They gave me that egg. Apparently, they don't know where it came from, and they've never seen anything like it. I was intrigued by it, so I sent an e-mail to Professor Elm. After all, he's the leading authority on Pokémon evolution. Even Professor Oak here recognizes that."

Mr. Pokémon gestures at the man sitting at the table, and suddenly I recognize him. Professor Samuel Oak is one of the most famous Pokémon researchers in Kanto and Johto; he even has his own radio show. "Hello, Ryan," he says, waving at me. "I was just here on a visit; Mr. Pokémon's an old friend of mine."

"Hello," I say, smiling warmly at him.

"I hear you're running an errand for Professor Elm," he continues. "Is that the Pokémon he gave you?" He points to Firebrand.

I nod. "This is Firebrand," I tell him."

"That's a good name," says Professor Oak. "That's a pretty rare Pokémon, too. Professor Elm must think you have good potential as a trainer, to give you a Pokémon like that. Hmm…" He leans forward, as though examining Cyndaquil carefully, then straightens up, seemingly pleased. "Yes, I'd say he was right. Like all good Pokémon trainers - and like myself and Professor Elm - you clearly understand that Pokémon are our friends, not just tools. He must have seen that you would treat your Pokémon with love and kindness."

"I certainly do," I say, picking Firebrand up and gently cuddling him. "Firebrand has been a good friend to me so far." He's warm to cuddle, too.

After a moment, Professor Oak seems to have a brainwave. "Ah!" he says. "Since you seem to be dependable, Ryan, how would you like to help me out?" He reaches into his lab coat and pulls out a strange red clamshell device. "Here," he says. "This is the latest version of my Pokédex. It automatically records data on Pokémon you've seen or caught, like a high-tech encyclopaedia. I'd like you to have it. Go and meet as many kinds of Pokémon as you can, and record their data in that Pokédex for me. The information will be invaluable for my research. If you can, try and complete it!"

I take the Pokédex, then hesitate. "Are you sure you want me to have this?" I ask.

Professor Oak nods. "I'm sure. I have faith in you, Ryan. Oh, but I've stayed too long," he adds suddenly, getting up from his seat. "I have to get to Goldenrod for my usual radio show. Ryan, I'm counting on you!" With a parting wave, Professor Oak departs.

"That's a big responsibility you've been given there, Ryan," says Mr. Pokémon. "Professor Oak doesn't just hand out Pokédexes willy-nilly, you know."

"I guessed," I say. "But I'm not sure about this."

"Professor Oak is," said Mr. Pokémon. "And trust me, he knows a good trainer when he sees one. But anyway, back to the topic at hand. If my assumption is correct, Professor Elm will know what this egg is. Could you take it to him?"

My confidence returns a little. "Now that I know I can do." I take off my backpack, open the main compartment, and carefully fit the egg inside. It's nice and snug in there, and hopefully it won't crack.

"While you're here," says Mr. Pokémon, "your Pokémon should have some rest." He indicates a machine in the corner that looks similar to the one at the Pokémon Centre.

"Good idea," I say. I quickly heal Firebrand, then head off on my way.

"Good luck, Ryan!" says Mr. Pokémon as I leave. "I'm depending on you!"

I've only taken about half-a-dozen steps away from the house before my Pokégear rings, signalling an incoming call. The caller ID is Professor Elm. I swiftly answer. "Hey," I say, "I just got back from-"

"Ryan, it's a disaster!" Professor Elm cuts me off, his voice frantic and panicked. "Something terrible has happened at the lab! What should I do… oh God, I… uhh… please! You have to get back here right away! I'll explain more when you get here!"

"Wait!" I say. "Professor, what are you-" But it's too late. Professor Elm hangs up, and I'm left staring at my Pokégear in disbelief. I don't know what could have happened back at Elm's lab, but whatever it is, it's not good. I hurry back down Route 30, dashing through the grass with Firebrand at my side. Mercifully, our only opposition is a lone Pidgey, which Firebrand easily Tackles aside. Soon, we're back in Cherrygrove.

As I approach the entrance to Route 29, however, I spot a familiar face dashing towards me. It's the young man I saw outside Professor Elm's lab earlier that day. Upon seeing me, he cuts me off, staring me down in silence for a few moments. Then, he looks at Firebrand. "So, you got a Pokémon from the lab," he says finally. "What a waste. A wimp like you doesn't deserve a Pokémon like that. I, however…" He plucks a Poké Ball from his belt, and slowly the dots begin to connect in my mind. "I also have a strong Pokémon. Allow me to show you."

With a confident smile bordering on smugness, the man throws his Poké Ball. "Go, Totodile!" he yells. Totodile bursts out of its Poké Ball, its two small fangs gleaming dangerously as it zeroes in on Firebrand. Clearly the man's intent is to battle me, and although I've never battled another trainer before, I seem to have no choice but to comply. Firebrand is at a type disadvantage, but if my theory is correct, then he will also have more battle experience, and therefore be stronger. I guess we'll find out very shortly.

Firebrand swiftly launches into a Tackle, damaging Totodile and dodging its retaliatory strike. Another Tackle, but this time Totodile manages to rake across Firebrand's side with its claws, sending him skidding away. I'm not worried, though, as it seems like I was right: Firebrand is the strongest of the two by far. Two more exchanges of blows later, and Totodile is limping and badly hurt, while Firebrand has little more than scratches.

 Two more Tackles without reply, and Totodile collapses to the ground, unconscious. I could easily have Firebrand finish it off, but I'm not that kind of person, so instead I recall him back to his Poké Ball, confident that I've proven myself to the man.

With a sneer, the man recalls his unconscious Totodile."Hmph. Are you happy you won? Good. Enjoy victory while you can."

I take the opportunity to ask the obvious question. "Who are you?"

The man is once again silent for a moment, staring me down before answering. "My name is Silva," he says finally. "I'm going to the world's strongest Pokémon trainer, and I'm not going to let anyone get in my way, least of all a wimp like you." Angrily shoving me aside, Silva sprints off, presumably to the Pokémon Centre to heal his wounded Pokémon. I'm a little shaken by the whole encounter, but nonetheless, the victory has given me a little more confidence in my own ability as well as that of Firebrand. What's more, I may now have a clue as to what happened back at New Bark Town. I quickly enter Route 29, hurrying to get back to the professor's lab as soon as possible.

Day 199

[from Pokémon: Shattered Crystal]

As I head through New Bark Town towards Route 29, I talk to my Cyndaquil briefly. It tells me that its name is Firebrand. It seems happy to go with me, and we both agree to look forward to having many happy adventures together. The journey to Mr. Pokémon's house can't be far, and the Pokémon inhabiting Route 29 can't be that difficult to fight.

Route 29, like most routes in Johto, is fairly narrow, with thick trees surrounding it on all sides. Ledges restrict one's movement, while patches of tall grass all around hide wild Pokémon within. We watch our step as we progress, for Pokémon could attack at any moment.

It's not long before we reach a spot where the only way forwards is through the tall grass. Without any choice, we set foot inside it and are immediately set upon by a wild Pidgey. I'm not daunted. "Firebrand, use Tackle!" I say. Firebrand Tackles the Pidgey away from me, and it responds with a Growl. Two more Tackles and the Pidgey is down, with Firebrand barely scratched. It seems as though my companion will definitely come in handy on my journey, although I'm sure that won't be the last of them.

A dozen steps later and we're attacked by a Rattata. This time Firebrand takes it down without taking a single hit, and we escape the first patch of grass. Progressing up a nearby ledge, we wind our way along the path and into another patch of grass. This time we pass through without incident, though when we reach a third patch of grass a short distance away, another Rattata appears. This one's refuses to go down without a fight, responding to Firebrand's first Tackle with one of its own, but Firebrand still prevails, and appears to have gotten a little stronger from the encounter.

On a ledge above us to our right, I can see an Oran Berry tree with a ripe Oran Berry hanging down from its branches. Its healing properties might come in handy if Firebrand takes any more damage, so I climb up, pick it, and take it with me. As I climb down, I can see Cherrygrove City in the distance. Firebrand and I press on, and make it there without further incident.

On the outskirts of the city, I'm approached by an old man, who seems to have noticed Firebrand at my side. "You're a rookie trainer, aren't you?" he asks. "I can tell!"

"Oh, I'm not a trainer," I reply. "I'm just carrying out a mission for a friend: this Pokémon is my protection."

The old man doesn't seem to get it. "It's okay," he says. "Everyone is a rookie at some point! If you'd like, I can teach you a few things to help you out on your journey. How about it?"

I figure that it might be worth knowing a few things, just in case there are any complications while I'm on this journey. Besides, he probably won't take no for an answer. "Sure," I say. "Why not?"

"Okay then!" says the old man. "Follow me!" Turning around, he heads off into Cherrygrove itself, and Firebrand and I follow behind him. It's not long before we arrive at a building with a bright red roof and a Poké Ball logo on the front. "This is a Pokémon Centre," the man explains. "They'll heal your Pokémon for you in no time at all, and it's all free, too! You'll be relying on them a lot, so look out for them." I nod. A place like this will definitely come in handy if Firebrand gets seriously hurt.

The old man continues on his way, and a little further down the street we arrive at a building with a bright blue roof. "This is a Poké Mart," says the man. "They sell Poké Balls for catching wild Pokémon, Potions for healing your Pokémon, and a whole host of other useful items." I don't have much money, but if I do get some, then a few Poké Balls and Potions will come in handy. That way I can get a few other Pokémon for extra protection, and I can heal them without having to traipse all the way back to the nearest town.

A little way further on, the man points down a path leading north. "Route 30 is out that way," he says. I take note of it, since this is where I'm headed, but the man continues: "There are a few other trainers out there, battling their prized Pokémon. If you don't want to battle, you'll have to stay clear of them."

As we keep heading west, soon I can smell the salty sea air. I recognize the smell from my hometown, which isn't too far from the coast either. Soon we're walking right beside the coastline. "This is the sea, obviously," says the old man. "Some Pokémon are found only in water, so you might want to try fishing sometime."

We circle back round, heading east again and into the residential area of the city. It doesn't seem like a large city, so I'm not too worried about losing my way and not being able to find the entrance to Route 30 again. Eventually, we arrive at a small terraced cottage. "And this here… is my house!" says the old man. "Thanks for your company. Let me give you a little something to help you on your way."

Reaching into his pocket, the man pulls out what looks like an SD card and hands it to me. "This is a Map Card for your Pokégear," he explains. "You have a Pokégear, right?" I nod. "Then you'll be wanting to get more Cards for it. The more Cards you get, the more useful it is. Here: slide it in that slot, and you'll be able to view a map of the whole region, with your current location marked on it. Isn't that handy?"

I don't have the heart to tell the old man that my Pokégear already has all the Cards installed, including the Map Card, so instead I just smile and nod. "Thank you, sir," I tell him.

"I wish you good luck on your journey," says the old man, before waving goodbye. I wave goodbye back, and the man turns and heads into his house.

With the encounter over, I set about preparing for the next leg of my journey, across Route 30 to Mr. Pokémon's house. I start by heading to the Pokémon Centre to heal Firebrand, and to acquaint myself with the place. If I'm going to be relying on it as much as the old man had suggested, I should know what to expect when I go inside.

Inside the Pokémon Centre, it's fairly warm and inviting, with a pink tiled floor and several comfrtable-looking seats to sit in while you wait. There's a computer in the corner as well, for organizing your Pokémon. At the front desk is a woman in a nurse's outfit, complete with hat, and who smiles broadly at me as I approach. "Good morning," she says. "Welcome to our Pokémon Centre. We can heal your Pokémon back to perfect health. Would you like us to heal your Pokémon?"

"Yes, please," I say, sending Firebrand back into his Poké Ball.

"Okay then," says the woman. I hand over my Poké Ball to her, and watch as she heads over to a healing machine like the one Professor Elm had at his laboratory. "One moment, please…" She places the ball onto the machine and switches it on. There is a gently pulse of light and a mild humming sounds as the machine words, followed a few moments later by a whirr and a beep as it completes its job.

The woman takes the Poké Ball back out of the machine and hands it to me, smiling. "Thank you for waiting," she says. "Your Pokémon is all healed up. Stay safe!"

"I will," I say. "Thank you." With Firebrand healed up, I head out of the Pokémon Centre and back towards the entrance to Route 30. I don't bother entering the Poké Mart, as like I said before, I don't have a lot of money.

Route 30 is much the same as Route 29. Once again, the moment I enter a patch of tall grass, I'm attacked by a Pokémon, this time Poliwag. Its Water-type attacks might give Firebrand trouble, so instead of trying to fight it, I flee the patch of grass and progress onward. The Poliwag, fortunately, does not follow.

As I head north, I spy another Oran Berry tree, and gladly accept its produce. I also find a plastic spray bottle lying near another patch of grass. I pick it up and examine it out of curiosity. It turns out to be an Antidote, used for curing poisons. I put it in my backpack, as it may come in handy if Firebrand is ever poisoned, but in doing so I let my guard down and am accosted by a wild Pidgey. Firebrand comes to my aid as ever, Tackling it away although not without sustaining a couple of hits.

Quickly moving on, I see a sign that indicates I'm heading in the right direction: "Mr. Pokémon's House Dead Ahead!" Sure enough, a few steps later and we can see the house in the distance; however, it lies beyond a rather large patch of grass. Undeterred, we press on, with Firebrand easily taking out the Pokémon that try to ambush us. The continued attacks are starting to weaken him, but I feed him one of the Oran Berries I'd picked and he quickly perks up. Finally, we find ourselves outside Mr. Pokémon's house, and I swiftly knock on the door, eager to see what his revolutionary discovery is.

Day 198

[from Pokémon xTreme]

"You know, considering you said we have to be there as soon as possible, you're not flying very fast," Taylor pointed out, as she and Brandon flew back towards Viridian City.

"I guess there's a part of me that doesn't really wanna face what's waiting for me in Viridian," admitted Brandon. "A big part of me. Like, all of me."

"That bad, huh?" asked Taylor.

"Oh, definitely," said Brandon.

"Should I… head back home while you get things sorted out?" asked Taylor.

"I'm not sure it'll be sorted out that quickly," said Brandon. "And this might end up affecting you too, depending on, umm… how things turn out."

Taylor, feeling ever more confused, could do nothing but hold on tight and wait until they arrived back in Viridian City. When they did, Brandon turned and headed towards the east of the city. "If this might affect me," she said eventually, "shouldn't you tell me what it is before we get there?"

"Like I said, I don't really wanna talk about it," said Brandon. "But you'll probably find out when we get there."

"I'm… kinda starting to worry a bit," Taylor admitted.

"That's okay," said Brandon, "so am I. We're almost there, though."

A few minutes later, and the pair had arrived at a street filled with large detached houses, in one of the more affluent parts of town. The houses' gardens were equally big, and several had swimming pools. Brandon flew to one that did not, and began to circle it, clearly apprehensive about landing. Taylor could see two figures standing in the front yard of the house, and though she couldn't make out anything about them, she guessed that these were the people Brandon had come to see.

Brandon let out a resigned sigh. "I guess I might as well tell you," he said. "There was this girl, and, well… her sister thinks I may have gotten her pregnant."

Taylor opened her mouth, closed it, thought for a moment, then said, "I don't really know how to respond to that."

"Yeah… now you know why I didn't wanna talk about it," said Brandon. "But you were gonna find out one way or the other; I mean, that's her down there, sending out her Talonflame to- OH HOLY SHIT!"

Brandon suddenly banked hard as the Talonflame swopped right at them, causing Taylor to squeal. The Talonflame circled round and prepared to swoop down at them again, and Brandon found himself faced with no choice but to land. Taking Charizard into a steep dive, he descended rapidly to the ground and stopped just short of the two sisters. Taylor staggered off of Charizard's back, a little dizzied after the sudden evasive manoeuvres. "It was all going so well…" she muttered.

With a measure of reluctance, Brandon climbed off of Charizard's back and turned to face the two women. Both had long, flaming red hair, and piercing blue eyes. The younger of the two was named Emma Williams, and she was the one Brandon had supposedly gotten pregnant. She stood a little way behind her older sister, looking a little embarrassed at the scene her sister was causing. The older sister was named Nicole, and she was currently staring daggers at Brandon, Talonflame's Poké Ball clutched tightly in her outstretched hand. As the bird Pokémon swooped back into its ball, Nicole immediately began to advance on Brandon.

Brandon nervously began to step backwards. "Uhh, can I just say that I-" he began, before Nicole punched him dead in the face, knocking him down. "Okay, maybe not," he said.

As Taylor looked on in shock, Nicole seized Brandon by the collar and dragged him back to his feet. She could see now why Brandon had been so apprehensive about coming here: Nicole was clearly very protective of her younger sister, and had quite the temper to boot. "You fucking bastard!" Nicole yelled. "Banging my sister is bad enough, but knocking her up as well?!"

"I-I swear I used a condom!" Brandon stammers. "Honestly, I-"

"Well, obviously not!" barked Nicole. "So the question now is, now that the damage is done, are you gonna man up and do right by Emma? 'Coz I'm not gonna let you just walk away after you've knocked her up. You're gonna learn some goddamn responsibility for once in your life! Got it?"

"What exactly do you want me to do?" asked Brandon.

"You want me to spell it out for ya?" asked Nicole. She angrily jabbed a finger at Emma. "You and Emma are gonna raise that kid together! I'm not letting her become some penniless single mother, struggling to make ends meet, because you couldn't keep it in your Calvin fucking Kleins! That's your kid in there, and you are gonna raise it properly, or so help me, I will scorch that precious face of yours into charcoal! Got it?"

"Uhh…" Brandon was clearly conflicted for a moment between his training commitments, his desire not to get into a serious relationship, and his total, unabated fear of Nicole. Finally, fear won out, and he resigned himself to his fate. "Okay. Whatever you say."

Seemingly pacified, Nicole released Brandon, and he gratefully took a few steps back. "Good," said Nicole. "Make sure you take care of her. I'll be keeping an eye on you both, to make sure." She turned to face her younger sister who, like Taylor, seemed to have spent the whole time looking on in horror. "Emma? You sure you're okay with letting this creep into your life?"

Emma nodded, sweeping a strand of hair aside as she regained her composure a little. "Of course," she said. "I'm carrying his baby." She rubbed her stomach, which Taylor noticed was still rather flat. She had to be in the early stages of her pregnancy.

"Then it's settled," said Nicole. "Who knows: maybe if you clean up your act, you might actually be a half-decent father and husband."

"Wait, husband?" said Brandon. "Who said anything about-"

"Well, what did you think I meant when I said you'd be raising the kid together?" said Nicole indignantly. "Of course you're gonna fucking marry her! That's how this works!"

"Look, could I have some time to… think about all of this?" asked Brandon. "This is a lot to take in at once! Besides, I've got… stuff going on, I can't just… drop everything and get married and-"

"Why?" asked Nicole. "What's so important?"

Brandon gestured in Taylor's direction, and Nicole noticed the teenage girl standing at Charizard's side for the first time. Taylor meekly waved at Nicole. "Uhh… hi," she said.

Nicole, seemingly mistaking Taylor for a love interest, rolled her eyes. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me-"

"N-no, it's not like that," Brandon quickly stammered, "she's my student. That's all. I'm teaching her how to be a Pokémon Master, it's part of my community service. Besides, she's like-" Brandon paused, then turned to Taylor. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen," said Taylor.

"Exactly," said Brandon. "I'd say we're just friends, but… I dunno, are we friends? We've known each other, like, three days."

"I'd like us to be friends," said Taylor, "but nothing more."

"Three days is still longer than you knew Emma for," Nicole scowled. "But alright. I guess I'll trust you on this occasion. You taking her round the Pokémon Gym Challenge?"

Sensing an opportunity for a normal, relaxed conversation, Brandon nodded. "Yep," he said. "We're doing the traditional route, so she'll be facing you last."

"Wait… she's a Gym Leader?" said Taylor.

"I think some proper introductions are in order," said Brandon. "Taylor, this is Nicole Williams, Viridian City's Gym Leader… and my future sister-in-law, apparently. Nicole, this is Taylor Evans, my mentoring student."

"I look forward to seeing you in my Gym," said Nicole. "Brandon might be a total asshole, but I have to admit, he's an excellent trainer."

"Yeah, I kinda got that already," said Taylor.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that…" Gesturing at Emma, Brandon continued, "This is Emma Williams, Nicole's younger sister, one of several one-night-stands, and now apparently the mother of my child."

Emma stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Brandon's, looking up at him adoringly. "And your future wife," she said. "Don't forget that."

"Yeah, I guess that too," said Brandon, who was clearly still overwhelmed by all these sudden developments.

There was a moment of awkward silence, before Taylor asked, "So, uhh… what now?"

"Well, I'd like to go home and… deal with all this stuff," said Brandon. "I need some time to myself for this all to sink in."

Nicole nodded. "You've got a lot to think about," she said, "and a lot to start planning."

"I guess I have," said Brandon. "Taylor, I'll drop you off at your house first, and then we'll pick this up tomorrow, alright?"

"Okay, sure," said Taylor. "Let's get going."