– Chapter 4 –
Blue Fire
Roy sat beneath a tree, having the muffin he’d packed for breakfast as he wrote in his journal. He’d camped out under a group of trees alongside the Route 1 road, connecting Pallet Town and Viridian City. He’d made good progress this last week. If he kept up this pace, he should make it to Viridian before sunset. And by that time, he would likely have caught his first wild Pokémon. Roy had contented himself to simple enjoyment of being out on his own and taking in the scenery, watching Pokémon in a true natural habitat as opposed to a corral. But now it was time to begin what he’d set out to do.
Excited to begin his first full day of training, Roy finished his muffin, stuffed the wrapper in a pocket of his bag he’d reserved for trash, and packed up his sleeping bag. He’d just thrown the pack up on his shoulders when he caught a brief shadow cast by something in the air behind him.
Watching him.
Roy spun around, but whatever it was had dashed behind the tree with a glistening sound. Roy almost thought he heard a giggling laugh. Roy circled around the tree but found nothing hiding there. Picking a stone off the road, he threw it into the branches, hoping to startle whatever it was out of hiding. But nothing happened. Whatever had been watching him was gone.
Roy stepped back, putting his hands on his hips, disappointed. His excitement quickly returned when he heard a different rustle in the tall grass behind him. He whirled, hand moving to the Poké Ball at his side. He waited with quiet anxiousness and a Pidgey popped out of the field. The plump, brown bird hopped along the ground, pecking at the dirt. Had that been what was watching him? But Roy had never heard a Pidgey make a sound like the one earlier. Nevertheless, a Pokémon was a Pokémon. This was it. His first catch.
Roy unclipped the Poké Ball from his side and threw it, releasing Squirtle. From the looks of it, Squirtle had made a full recovery from his fight yesterday. That was to be expected. Pokémon were naturally resilient creatures, seemingly made for battle, capable of withstanding and quickly recovering from attacks that would seriously injure or kill a normal human. Even in the wild, it was common for them to battle one another in territory disputes or contests of strength. Battle was one thing all Pokémon seemed to enjoy. And battle was exactly what this Pidgey was about to get. Capturing a wild Pokémon went beyond simply throwing a Poké Ball at it. They had to be weakened first. Poké Balls, while useful capturing tools, were far from foolproof. A strong, healthy Pokémon could easily break out.
Roy pointed at the Pidgey. “Squirtle! Water Gun!” Crying out his name, Squirtle spewed a stream of water from his mouth. The attack connected, sending the Flying Pokémon tumbling backward.
“Now Rapid Sp–” But Squirtle had already charged forward to Tackle the downed Pidgey. “No, Squirtle! Don’t just rush in!”
Before Squirtle could reach his target, the Pidgey was back on its feet. It flapped its wings, kicking off into the air. Squirtle’s charged passed underneath, missing entirely. Squirtle looked around confused, wondering where his opponent had gone.
“Behind you!”
Squirtle turned and was met with a fierce Peck in the forehead. Squirtle cried out and stumbled back, holding his forehead. The Pidgey pressed its attack, continuously jabbing down at Squirtle in a rapid series of Peck attacks.
“Get back, Squirtle!” Squirtle withdrew inside his shell instead. “Damn it.” Frustration built in Roy as the Pidgey continued pecking at the shell, trying to force Squirtle out. They were in this situation again. Well then, they’d get out of this situation again. “Water Gun, Squirtle!”
Water shot out of the shell’s openings as it spun around, spraying water every which way and warding the Pidgey off.
“Now come out and use Water Gun! Shoot it out of the sky!”
Squirtle popped out of his shell. Before he could launch his attack, however, the Pidgey flew close to the ground and gave its wings a strong flap, kicking up the dirt on the ground and sending it spraying. The Sand Attack struck Squirtle in the face, blinding him.
“Squirtle!” Roy cried, raising an arm to cover his own eyes from flying sand. When the dirt settled, Roy lowered his arm to find Squirtle fussily trying to get the dust out of his eyes. By the time he had and turned his attention back to the battle, the Pidgey was gone. Roy spotted it flying into the distance.
“Don’t let it get away! Shoot it down with Water Gun!”
Water shot from Squirtle’s mouth into the air, falling back down in an arc, missing. The Pidgey was much too far out of range. Roy sighed. He approached Squirtle, who was now trying to get the last bit of sand out of his face. Roy took a knee and turned Squirtle toward him to get a better look at his condition. His eyes looked fine but a bit of blood trickled down his forehead.
Roy set down his pack and rummaged through it. Pulling out his first aid kit, he tended to the wound. “You need to learn to listen to me more.” Squirtle hung his head in shame. Roy just smiled and rubbed his head. “Don’t worry. We’ll get better at this.”
***
They didn’t get better at it.
As Roy continued along the road to Viridian, he came across seven more wild Pokémon, including four more Pidgey, a couple of Rattata, and even a Spearow. They failed to catch each one. Roy had tried throwing a couple of Poké Balls at the Pidgey, one at a Rattata, and one at the Spearow, but they broke out of each one.
One of the biggest faults in the Poké Ball’s design was that when a Pokémon broke out of the ball, they broke out of the ball, splitting it into two pieces. That’s why it was important to make sure a Pokémon was weak enough before trying to catch it, lest a Poké Ball be nothing more than a waste of money. Minus the Master Ball, Roy had one left of the Poké Balls the professor gave him to start with, then he’d have to purchase more when he got to Viridian. One more chance to catch a Pokémon before reaching the city.
Trying to catch that Spearow had ended up being a mistake. Roy knew they had an aggressive reputation, but even so, he was surprised. The Spearow trounced Squirtle harder than any of the previous wild Pokémon, but unlike the others that all fled at the first opportunity, the Spearow pursued with its attack and Roy and Squirtle had to be the ones to flee.
They now sat along the bank of a creek. Squirtle happily swam in the water, recovering his energy. Roy looked over his shoulder. Looked like they’d finally lost that Spearow and could catch their breath.
Roy watched Squirtle play in the creek, taking this time to draw a sketch of his Starter in the journal, noting some of his personality traits. He seemed young and had an awkwardness for following directions. The water helped accelerate his recovery. Suddenly, Roy realized he’d never actually registered Squirtle in his Pokédex either. Maybe that could give them some tips on working together better.
He pulled the Pokédex from his pocket and opened it, the words NO DATA appearing before him. He held up the Pokédex, pointing the small camera lens at Squirtle. The words on the screen changed from NO DATA to ANALYZING. The Pokédex made a series of quite beeps as it scanned the Pokémon. A few seconds passed, then Squirtle’s image appeared onscreen and a computer-generated voice spoke to him.
Squirtle, the male voice said. Turtle Pokémon. Type: Water. Their shell, which is soft at birth, quickly hardens, becoming resistant enough to repel nearly all attacks upon it. The shell’s grooved, rounded shape helps reduce water resistance while swimming. When threatened, Squirtle will retreat into their shell for protection. They shoots a powerful stream of water from their mouth. Squirtle are most often spotted around small ponds and lakes. They are commonly given to new Trainers as the Water Pokémon of choice in Kanto.
The voice silenced. That’s it? That didn’t feel like much of an entry. He’d already learned all of that working at the professor’s. Then again, all of this information and more was available online. The Pokédex was more of a fill-in-the-blank scavenger hunt list than anything. A fun, yet challenging, goal for aspiring Trainers to complete.
He put the Pokédex away and Squirtle came running back up the bank toward him. Squirtle seemed refreshed from his swim, so Roy returned him to his ball and headed out.
***
Roy reached the top of a hill and saw Viridian City below, perhaps a two kilometer walk away. The sun hung low and night would shadow them within the next hour. Roy sighed. He’d made it to Viridian City without catching a single Pokémon. Most new Trainers caught at least one or two, with the average being around three. Roy wondered how many Brayden had caught today. No doubt that bastard already had a full team. Did Genny catch anything? She was never one to take interest in Pokémon battles, but with her personality, she could probably just befriend wild Pokémon into joining her team.
Roy started down the hill, hoping he’d have better luck tomorrow, when a rustle in a nearby thicket of trees stopped him. His head snapped in that direction. A Pokémon? Perhaps he’d have one more chance before the day ended.
He watched the rustling bushes, hand on Squirtle’s Poké Ball. He’d thought it was probably another Rattata at first, but judging by the shaking of the foliage, this was something bigger.
The mystery Pokémon revealed itself. It stepped out of the thicket and Roy’s jaw dropped. He resisted the urge to slap himself in the face, thinking he must have fallen asleep back by the creek and was dreaming.
“Mother of Mew,” Roy exclaimed to himself in a whisper.
The Pokémon before him was Ponyta. An equine Pokémon with a mane and tail of fire, standing about a meter tall. Ponyta were rare around these parts and seeing one was certainly a treat, but it wasn’t the fact that it was a Ponyta that had Roy in disbelief. No, it was something even rarer than that.
The Ponyta had cream-colored fur, which was typical. But it’s mane and tail were anything but. Instead of bright flames of orange and yellow, this Ponyta had flames of a cool blue.
Roy’s heart raced into overdrive. What stood before him was something many Trainers searched their whole lives for and never found. Something that people had come to refer to as a Shiny Pokémon.
Roy stood mesmerized by the beautiful flames of the Shiny Ponyta before him. It didn’t seem to have noticed him yet. Still gripping Squirtle’s Poké Ball, Roy’s hand trembled, and he wasn’t sure if it was from excitement or stress. Just seeing a Shiny Pokémon was one heck of a story for the journal, but here, Roy had a chance to capture one, and that made him sweat with anxiety. He couldn’t mess this up. He wouldn’t mess this up. This was the chance of a lifetime. He’d failed at the previous seven catches, but this time he had a much stronger motivation to succeed and he refused to fail.
And then he remembered. The Master Ball. It would catch any Pokémon without fail. He wouldn’t even have to battle the Ponyta first. No one would disagree a Shiny was worth a Master Ball. It was in his bag. He could do it right now, just throw it before the Pokémon noticed him. This Ponyta was as good as his.
Roy reached for his bag, then his stubborn nature kicked in. This would be his first catch. Did he really want to “cheat” on it? Was that really what he wanted to write in the journal? No. Some might call him foolish for not taking advantage of this golden opportunity, but Roy was determined to earn his first catch. Even if it was a Shiny.
He pulled his hand away from the bag and again reached for Squirtle’s Poké Ball. The Ponyta had its head down, grazing on the grass. It still didn’t appear to notice him. Roy threw his Poké Ball, sending out Squirtle.
“Ponyta! I challenge you!”
“Squirtle!” the turtle shouted in agreement, equally determined.
They’d both cried out at the top of their lungs, but the Ponyta didn’t seem to hear either of them. Was it deaf? After ten seconds of delay, it finally looked up at them with a mouthful of grass. The Ponyta stared at them with a bored expression as it munched lazily, then went right back to grazing, ignoring them completely. Roy almost felt insulted but supposed he should see this as a good thing. If it wasn’t paying attention, it would allow Squirtle to get a good first hit in. He should hit it with a Water Gun, but no. He wanted to get its attention before using any super effective moves. Seemed only fair.
“Squirtle! Tackle it!”
Ponyta glanced up lazily at the charging Squirtle and gave a disrespectful spit of fire. Though it seemed to put minimal effort into the attack, the Ember was strong enough to knock Squirtle over. Lying helpless on the back of his shell, Squirtle flailed around trying to get back up but couldn’t.
Ponyta went back to grazing. And ignoring them.
Roy buried his face in his hands, humiliated. He walked out to Squirtle, picked him up, and set him back on his feet. Roy shot a glare of irritation at the Ponyta, but it was too busy nibbling away to notice. Roy stood and stepped back. That did it. No more messing around.
“Ok,” Roy mumbled. “Let’s see how you like this. Water Gun, Squirtle!”
Ponyta’s eyes moved toward them as Squirtle launched the attack. Now forced to move, Ponyta leapt back, dodging the attack. It landed on all fours and turned its body to face them, taking a fighting stance. Finally, Roy had its attention.
“Tackle attack!” Squirtle charged. Just before he reached his target, Ponyta raised a hoof and placed it on Squirtle’s head, stopping him in his tracks. Squirtle fought to get within Ponyta’s range, but the opponent held him out of reach like a bully picking on a smaller student. Again, blood rushed to Roy’s face in a wave of embarrassment.
“Water Gun!”
Squirtle strained his neck up to get an angle and opened his mouth. Before Squirtle could attack, however, Ponyta stomped down, delivering a stunning blow to Squirtle’s forehead. It kicked again, sending the turtle tumbling away.
“Squirtle!”
The Ponyta gave a whinny of glee that sounded a lot like it was laughing at them.
“Squirtle, are you all right?” Squirtle struggled to push himself to his feet. He looked dizzy from the previous blow. Ponyta took a deep breath in clear preparation of a powerful attack.
“Look out!”
Too late. Ponyta shot fire from its mouth. The flame struck the ground below Squirtle and exploded upward in a spiraling cyclone of blue fire, Squirtle caught in the middle of it. Roy cried out for his partner as the flames dissipated and Squirtle plummeted to the ground. Roy ran out and slid to his knees, picking up Squirtle in his arms.
“Squirtle. Hey, Squirtle.”
The Pokémon struggled to open his eyes. “Squir… tle…” he said weakly. Burns and singe marks covered his body. These weren’t battle wounds Squirtle would heal from on his own. At least not soon. Roy would need to take him to a Pokémon Center.
Roy returned Squirtle to his Poké Ball and looked back at the Ponyta, anger rising. The Ponyta turned its back on him and trotted away. No. He couldn’t let it escape! Roy pushed himself up and grabbed his last Poké Ball. It was unlikely he would catch such a strong wild Pokémon at full health, but this was a Shiny. He had to try!
Roy threw the Poké Ball. Ponyta glanced over its shoulder and kicked. Roy had to duck as the ball flew back at him. He covered his head and felt it whiz over him. When he looked back up, he saw the Ponyta galloping away. He’d failed. He’d probably never get a chance at another Shiny again. Maybe he should’ve just used the Master Ball, but it was too late now.
Forgetting his frustration, his mind drifted back to Squirtle. He was in bad shape. Roy needed to hurry to Viridian City and find the Pokémon Center. He turned and ran down the hill toward the city, humiliated tears forming in his eyes, feeling more like a failure than he ever had in his life.
To be continued...