Red woke up to find the police station empty, aside for him and Ash (who was still sleeping). He found a note on a nearby table, written in a barely legible scrawl, which he read:

I’m off to go round up some stray Mareep at a farm on Route 26. We’ve got plenty of security cameras, so don’t try anything funny while I’m gone.

Janice, Viridian City Police Dpt.

Red stretched a bit, then gathered up his belongings and left the station. He swung by the ruined Pokécenter to see a team of Machoke hefting building materials over to the site, which was taped off. The center was already completely cleared of debris, and reconstruction was well underway. Pokémon made many things faster and more efficient, and Red wasn’t sure how humans could manage without them.

He decided to get breakfast at a local diner, which reeked of oil and was inhabited by more than a few men with nasty hangovers. Still, it was the cheapest place around, and Red wanted to be careful with his money. He promised himself he’d splurge a bit more after he beat Brock, as he bit into a Chansey-egg omelet.

After a brief trip to the local Pokémart, where he restocked on supplies, he found himself in front of the entrance to the infamous Viridian Forest, just north of Viridian City. He looked at the imposing wall of trees ahead of him, and tentatively walked down the dirt path that led into the woods.

The cries of varied pokémon reverberated through the gaps in between the great oak trees, whose leaves formed a dappled pattern of shadows on the forest floor, growing tighter and tighter together as he ventured deeper in. Yet, despite the gloom, the echoing sounds of nature created a serene background that almost made the dark undergrowth feel peaceful.

But Red wasn’t quite satisfied. He still needed a second pokémon to fight Brock with, and he kept coming up short. He took out his Pokédex, guiltily realizing that he’d barely used the device, and turned it on.

Ten years ago, Pokédexes were a relatively new invention, and trainers had access to only the most basic of information; but now, they had become a widespread commodity. Professor Oak, who happened to be the inventor of the earliest model, had struck a deal with Silph Co. to mass-produce them, and now more and more trainers were adding their own data to a network of facts and figures.

The small screen blinked on, and Red navigated to the device’s repository of pokémon habitats. He looked for the section on Kanto, then found a list of sightings in the Viridian Forest, spanning the past three months.

Caterpie, 743. Weedle, 531. Metapod, 271. Kakuna, 298. Butterfree, 131. Beedrill, 362.

“Huh,” Red muttered, “That seems kind of high. Why are there so many Beedrill?”

But he soon dismissed the thought, and moved on.

Pidgey, 102. Pidgeotto, 74. Mankey, 89. Pikachu, 41. Ekans, 124. One shiny discovered.

A 'shiny' was an extremely rare variant of a pokémon with an alternate coloration. It was suspected that the difference was caused by some sort of genetic mutation, but research on the phenomena had not received much funding yet. The fact that two shiny parents did not seem to increase the odds of shininess at all further baffled scientists.

An arrow button appeared at the bottom of the screen, leading to more entries, but Red didn’t bother looking further. There was nothing on the list that really jumped out at him, and as he looked around at the seemingly empty grove he was in, he sighed.

“Excuse me, sir!”

Red jumped, turning around to see a katana pointed right at his throat. He screamed bloody murder, backing away from the sharp object.

The wielder of the weapon was a young boy, around Red’s age. He was clad in makeshift armor, which did little to conceal his slightly tanned skin. He cleared his throat, and said, “I would advise you to calm down! Your screaming might alert the nearby Beedrill, and besides, there’s no need to panic in the first place; I assure you that I have no intention of harming you. My name is Samuel, and I only wish to ask you a question.”

When Red remained silent, unsure of what to think, Samuel continued. “Are you a trainer from the town of Pallet?”

In response to this, Red stammered, “I- uh- well, yes, but—”

He cut him off, declaring, “If that is so, then I challenge you to a battle!” Upon seeing Red’s confused expression, he explained, “You said that you are a pokémon trainer from Pallet Town. I have already battled two of your peers, and have been eagerly awaiting more!”

Red looked warily at his katana, which was still drawn, and said, “I’m not sure what to make of your…” he gestured to the sword and armor, “... everything, really, but a challenge is a challenge!”

“Very well!” Samuel said, as the two walked over to opposite sides of the clearing, “It shall be a 1v1 battle! I have two pokémon, but,” he paused, admitting, “the Caterpie I caught recently won’t do me much good. I would rather fight with only my best!”

Red reached into his backpack for Bulbasaur’s pokéball. The pokémon had learned two new moves yesterday, while he was practicing against the trainers on Route 1, and he was excited to have a chance to see them in action.

“Ready?” Samuel called. Red nodded. “Then… begin!”

Samuel grabbed a pokéball attached to his belt, throwing into the air in one swift motion. The pokémon that emerged was one Red recognized, but knew little about; despite being native to Kanto, it was incredibly rare. The brown-shelled bug type clicked its razor sharp horns together, letting out a cry of “Pinnnnsirrrrr!” In front of such an impressive Pinsir specimen, Red felt quite nervous, sending out Bulbasaur with less confidence than before.

‘Pinsir’s a bug type, but Bulbasaur's half poison, which means that type advantages even out. But judging by how big it is, this will still be an uphill battle. Though it should be winnable if I play my cards right.’

He snapped out of his thoughts as Pinsir slammed into Bulbasaur, grabbing it in its pincers. His mind raced as he tried to formulate a plan. “Quick!” he shouted, “Use Leech Seed while you’re at close range!” The toad-like pokémon’s face scrunched up in concentration, as it launched several small seeds from its bulb. They fell back down, settling upon the opponent, and began slowly sucking away its energy.

Pinsir instinctively let go of Bulbasaur, roaring in frustration as it futilely attempted to brush off the seeds. Samuel grimaced, and yelled, “Pinsir! Focus Energy into Seismic Toss!”

A burst of orange light surrounded Pinsir, which moved to swirl around its arms as it once again picked up Bulbasaur. Before Red could react, it jumped into the air and suplexed Bulbasaur, sending it crashing into the dirt. “Use Tackle!” Red yelled.

Bulbasaur shakily stood up, then charged towards Pinsir. It tried to get out of the way, but was wracked with pain as Leech Seed activated, freezing it in place as it was sapped of its life energy. This allowed Bulbasaur to bash into it, knocking it down.

“Hit it while it’s down!” Red called, “Use Vine Whip to hold it then slam it into the ground!” Using moves in alternate ways like this held a higher chance of things going wrong, but he hoped it would bring a faster end to the battle.

Samuel frowned, and said nothing as two vine-like appendages extended from Bulbasaur’s bulb, wrapping around Pinsir. It struggled to break free, but was already weakened, and wasn’t able to muster the strength to escape. Bulbasaur raised Pinsir into the air, preparing to bash into the ground, when Pinsir suddenly bit down into the vines. Its mouth worked into a frenzy, tearing through Bulbasaur’s vines, causing it to recoil in fear.

‘So it knows Bug Bite?’ Red thought, ‘That’s something to worry about. I need to end this now.’

“Bulbasaur! Use Tackle!” he shouted. Bulbasaur once again ran headfirst into Pinsir, knocking it down to the ground. It began to get back up, pushing off Bulbasaur, when it was once again afflicted by Leech Seed. It buckled over in pain, and Red breathed a sigh of relief when it finally fainted.

Samuel gave Red a short bow, then recalled Pinsir, murmuring words of praise to the beetle-like pokémon, Red following suit. He looked back up at Red, and said, “Thank you. That was a commendable showing. Though I would advise you to keep an eye on your belongings.” He nodded towards Red’s backpack, which he had set on the floor before the battle started. Red turned around in confusion, then groaned. His pack was wide open, its contents strewn across the ground nearby.

‘What? I didn’t leave it like that!’

He ran over to the bag and rummaged through the contents, checking if anything was missing. And wouldn’t you know it- All of his rations, along with his bag of pokémon food, were gone. Which meant, more likely than not, they had been stolen. He thought some rather nasty things, then scanned his surroundings. The battle hadn’t been that long, he reasoned, so whatever- or whoever- took his stuff, couldn’t be far away.

That’s when he saw it- lying on the ground, only a few feet away, was a brown food pellet, covered in dirt and tiny hairs. He walked over to it, and lo and behold, there was another, not too much further. The pellets formed a trail that left the clearing, running deep into the woods. Red gathered up his things, stuffing them into his bag with little care or attention, and looked at Samuel.

“Well? Are you coming or not?” he asked.

Samuel shook his head, saying, “No. I hold no concern for your own possessions; that is for you to worry about.” Red shot a quick glare at him, then began to follow the trail, leaving the clearing in search of whoever had ran off with his food.

The trail was longer than Red thought- A lot longer. So long, in fact, that he had spent well over an hour following it, and was beginning to grow concerned as the pellets gave way to the small scraps and brown dust that lay near the bottom of the packet. But his trek was, thankfully, not in vain, when the trail finally stopped at the base of a tall oak tree.

He looked up, seeing scraps of thick, tan-colored paper hanging off a few of the branches. There was no doubt about it- this was what remained of his bag of pokémon food. The thief had to be somewhere around here.

A sudden movement caught his attention, and as he peered at the tree to see what it was, a glob of brownish-black something fell from above. It took a second too long for Red to realize what it was and jump to the side in disgust, and the poo landed right on his shoulder. He clenched his fists, and yelled, “DO THAT ONE MORE TIME! I DARE YOU!”

The mysterious attacker obliged, and another foul dropping flew right in front of Red’s face, just barely missing the brim of his hat. After another round of him angrily shouting, the pig-like face of a Mankey popped out from behind a branch, looking curiously at Red. It was holding a tupperware container, and scraps of cheese, bread, and mayo were stuck to the fur around its mouth.

Red was fuming mad now, and prepared to climb up the tree, ready and willing to kill the cheeky bastard with his own two hands. This was the pokémon who had ran off with his and Bulbasaur’s food, and thought it could get away with it. Not only that, but it had the nerve to poop on him.

Unfortunately, he was not particularly skilled at climbing trees. He spent a while trying to find some sort of foothold, but eventually gave up, muttering angrily under his breath.

The Mankey watched all this with a bemused expression on its face, which only served to make Red even angrier. He grabbed the nearest rock and threw it at the pokémon, but his aim was abysmal, and the rock merely grazed the branch Mankey was standing on. This did startle it, however, and it jumped back up the tree, disappearing into the foliage.

Red sighed, and sat down on the forest floor. Today was not his day.