//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 - Twilight's First // Story: Pokémon Red and Purple // by Universal Librarian //------------------------------// Twilight couldn't help but look around warily after the creepy voice's warning. Every alleyway seemed to hold hidden dangers and every person or Pokémon that wandered past felt like a potential threat. "Hey, how's it going?" Twilight and Sunset both jumped out of their skins as Elaine called out to them. "Whoa, what's gotten into you two?" "I-it's nothing," Twilight replied. "What are we doing now?" Elaine looked at them curiously, but shrugged and let it slide. "I'd kinda like to go and see Victory Road. Why don't we go and fetch your chalk, first, then we can head over to Victory Road and get some food on the way back?" "I… guess that's a plan?" Twilight replied unsurely. "What's Victory Road?" "It's a path to a place called the Indigo Plateau." Elaine pointed down the road. "Trainers make their way there once they've beaten every gym in the Kanto League, to challenge the Elite Four and become a Pokémon Champion. It's been my dream to go there since I was a kid." Twilight looked at her curiously. "Professor Oak mentioned the Kanto League earlier, what is it?" Elaine smiled and gestured for Twilight to follow. "Come on, I'll tell you as we walk." "Okay." Twilight stood and held her arms out to Sunset. "Do you want another lift?" "Shimmy!" Sunset shook her head and hopped to the ground.  "Fair enough." Twilight tried to put the phone call to the back of her mind as she and Sunset fell into step alongside Elaine and Pikachu. "So… the Kanto League?" Elaine pulled a Pokéball out of her pocket and held it up. You know how Pokémon trainers catch and train Pokémon? Well, the Pokémon Leagues is a way for trainers and their Pokémon to battle each other to see who is the strongest. Whoever can beat all of the gyms and the Elite Four is officially recognised as a Pokémon Master." Twilight stared at her in appalled surprise. "You make your Pokémon fight each other?" "We don't make them do anything," Elaine countered. "Well, good trainers don't, anyway. You do get the odd scumbag who forces Pokémon to do things they don't want to," she admitted. "Thankfully, there's laws against that sort of thing, and it's usually pretty easy to tell if a Pokémon is being mistreated. They don't really tend to hide their feelings much." "You mean there's Pokémon that want to fight like that?" Twilight asked. "Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed. Elaine shook her head. "It's not just about fighting, though for some people it is, it's about testing your strength and the strength of the bond between Pokémon and Trainer. That, and some Pokémon tend to be hyperactive or aggressive little twerps, and regulated battles are a safe and legal outlet for their energy." "Right… safe…" Twilight somehow doubted that that was entirely true, but there wasn't much she could say to refute it at the moment. She'd have to wait and see with her own eyes. Sunset frowned, considering Elaine's words as she walked. No matter what the wannabe Trainer said, having Pokémon fight for entertainment or as some sort of bizarre job didn't sound ethical in the slightest. "Why the long face?"  Sunset glanced sideways to see Pikachu scampering along beside her. "How long have you been waiting to use that joke?" "Pretty much since I met you," Pikachu replied shamelessly. Sunset rolled her eyes. "I'm just having trouble believing that these Pokémon fights are as safe and ethical as she says they are." "I can't say one way or another," Pikachu replied. "I've only been with Elaine for like a day, so I guess we'll have to find out together. I think it's pretty cool, though. I'm looking forward to testing my strength against other trained Pokémon." "That makes one of us," Sunset muttered. "Hey, if you don't want to fight, then you don't have to. It's pretty simple," Pikachu said flatly. Sunset certainly hoped that that was the case. While the phone call had basically told her that violence was an inevitable occurrence in this world, she'd rather avoid it as much as she could. "Okay, we should be able to get some chalk just in here," Elaine said suddenly, pointing to a small art supply store. A few minutes later, the group left the supply store with several thick sticks of chalk stores in a tin inside Twilight's backpack. There was no way that Sunset would be able to write with them normally, but it would be easy enough to simply cover a hoof in chalk and write on a sidewalk like that. With the chalk acquired, Elaine took the lead again as they made their way through the streets of Viridian City. Now that she was paying more attention to the people around them, Sunset noticed that an awful lot of them seemed to be looking her way. She hoped it was just because she was, apparently, a Pokémon that none of them had ever seen before. Eventually, the group reached the edge of Viridian City. Paved sidewalks and tarmacked roads gave way to a dusty path that meandered through an area of open woodland. "This is the way to Victory Road," Elaine said cheerfully. "I've never been here before, but I hear that there's a whole bunch of Nidorans around here. Let's see if we can catch some!" Twilight shrugged uneasily, a sentiment that Sunset shared, but before anyone could reply Elaine gasped and stopped abruptly. "I almost forgot!" She dug around in her pocket and pulled out a Pokéball. "Alright, it's time to get to know each other, Bellsprout!" The Pokéball burst open and Bellsprout appeared in a flash of red light. The little Pokémon glanced around curiously before looking up at Elaine, who crouched to see it better. "Hey there, little guy," Elaine said softly. The Bellsprout ruffled its leaves and bobbed its head. "'Sup." "Do you want to walk around with us so we can get to know each other a little better?" Elaine asked. The Bellsprout nodded. "Sure." "Okay!" Elaine clapped and straightened up, then set off along the path, Bellsprout and Pikachu following in her wake. Sunset and Twilight shared a surprised look before setting off after them. Sunset subtly watched the Bellsprout as she walked. It waddled along on its roots, seemingly perfectly happy with its new life. "Hey, I'm Pikachu!" Pikachu said brightly.  "Bellsprout," came the flat reply. Pikachu giggled and turned to Sunset. "Don't worry about him. Bellsprouts never talk much. Still, it'll be nice to have another Pokémon friend to travel with." "Yep," Bellsprout agreed.  Sunset tilted her head curiously. "Are you really fine with being a Trainer's Pokémon?" "Yep, 's why I stopped," Bellsprout replied. "I told you," Pikachu smirked. "Lot's of Pokémon prefer joining a Trainer than surviving in the wild." Sunset nodded in surprise. She wasn't a hundred percent convinced, but so far she hadn't seen any evidence of a Pokémon not being happy with a Trainer. "Hey, I was right! There's some Nidorans!" Elaine called out. Looking ahead, Sunset saw several rabbit-like Pokémon chewing on grass: some purple and small, others pale blue-grey and bulky. They all chattered amongst themselves as they ate. "Aww, they're so cute!" Twilight cooed. One of the Nidorans looked up at that moment and spotted the small group approaching. "Heads up, Trainer people!" Most of the Nidorans scattered instantly, leaving behind only a single pair: one purple and one blue-grey. "A male and a female, perfect!" Elaine whipped a Pokéball out of her pocket and readied it. "Are you sure about this?" The blue one, Sunset suspected it was the female, asked. "Yep!" The purple Nidoran pawed the ground and grinned. "Let's see if these trained turds and their keepers are good enough to serve me!" Elaine held a hand out in front of the group protectively. "Stay back, Bellsprout, Shimmy, looks like we have a feisty one." The male Nidoran snorted. "Like I'd pick a fight with weaklings, now show me what you've got!" He made to charge, then tripped as a Pokéball smacked him in the forehead. "Huh?" There was a flash of red, and the Nidoran was sucked into the Pokéball. The ball rolled around on the floor, its light flashing wildly, then finally it fell still. "Alright, I caught him!" Elaine shouted ecstatically. The female Nidoran, surprisingly, just rolled its eyes. "I told that idiot he was going to bite off more than he can chew?" She shook her head, then looked up at Elaine. "Well? Are you taking me too, or what?" "Oh, do you want to come as well?" Elaine tilted her head to the side, thinking, then glanced at Twilight. "Hey, why don't you try catching this one? That way we'll have one each!" "Me?!" Twilight yelped. "I can't catch a Pokémon, I don't know the first thing about being a Pokémon Trainer!" Elaine raised an eyebrow and gestured to Sunset. "Uh, you already have a Pokémon. Besides, it'll be easy. I'll teach you anything you don't know." "I'm fine with it," the female Nidoran said in a bored tone. "It'll be more interesting than going back to the clutch alone, anyway." "Are you sure?" Sunset asked. The Nidoran nodded. "Sure. I haven't seen a Pokémon like you in this area before, so I'm guessing I'll at least be able to travel to new and interesting places with you guys. Just don't expect me to throw myself at your Trainer's feet in worship every time she gives me food." "Wouldn't dream of it, so long as you don't think for an instant that I actually belong to her. I'm my own person." Sunset scribbled in the dirt that the Nidoran was happy to be caught. Twilight read the words several times, as if hoping that they would suddenly gather a different meaning if she just looked hard enough, but finally sighed heavily. "Okay." She pulled a Pokéball out of her pocket and frowned at it. "First I press this bu-wah!" The ball nearly slipped out of Twilight's grip as it grew in size. "Wow, you really are new at this," Elaine muttered. "Now remember, when you throw it, you have to try and hit the Pokémon with the little button, otherwise it won't work." "O...kay…" Twilight hummed and squinted at the Nidoran, reaching back with her arm as she took aim. A memory of her dismal performance in the physical aspects of the Friendship Games suddenly had Sunset fearing that the Nidoran was about to receive a concussion, but before she could say anything Twilight hurled the ball with a grunt of effort. It landed about three feet short, and two feet off to the right. Sunset slapped a hoof to her forehead.  The Nidoran stared at the ball in blank shock. "Uh, what?" She looked up at Twilight. "Are you for real?" "Wow. You suck," Elaine said flatly. "It was my first try!" Twilight said defensively. She retrieved the ball, got back into her starting position, and tried again. The second attempt was even worse. "No wonder she's never caught a Pokémon before," Pikachu said quietly. "Seriously, how bad at aiming is she? At this rate I wouldn't be surprised if she managed to miss the hole when taking a sh-" "Hey! She's not that bad!" Sunset snapped. "Her talents just lie in other areas." The Nidoran shook her head. "This is just sad. Hold on." She picked up the ball and walked over to Twilight, dropping it at her feet. "Look, just do it from here and get this over with, before I feel even more sorry for you." "A Pokémon having to help a Trainer capture it, now that's something you don't see every day," Pikachu mumbled. "Heh, 's funny," Bellsprout added. Twilight picked the ball up, blushing furiously, and touched the button to the Nidoran's nose. There was a flash of light, and the Pokémon was stored safely in the ball. "Yay, I caught a Pokémon," she said dully. "Hey, don't worry. I'm sure the next one will be easier," Elaine said bracingly. "Anyway, now that I think about it, I should really be registering these Pokémon in the Pokédex." Twilight looked up curiously as Elaine pulled a little red object out of her pocket. "The what?"