This chapter was brought to you by Kakarot Son and Soullegend60.

...

"We're gonna make a great team, right Sandshrew? Yeah that's right!"

Tyler had done it. His childhood dream had finally been realised. Years ago at the tender age of ten his dreams had been crushed when he was unable to obtain his first Pokemon. Now, after all these years, his dreams had been reborn with more vigour behind them. This was it.

Viridian City came into view just as Tyler and his new Pokemon got to the top of a hill. "See that Sandshrew? That's Viridian City. I've only been there once, y'know. Yep, I'm a real hick..."

Sandshrew's only response was to gnaw on an acorn and give his trainer an inquisitive look.

Tyler smiled.

"I like you, Sandshrew. You get me."

…

Tyler and his timid little ground type walked into the Viridian Pokemon Centre. Cheesy elevator music was playing and a few trainers were spread around the lobby, standing on top of the centre's off white tiles. He looked at the well-worn sofas that were scattered around, tattered and torn at the edges, before shrugging and figuring that it beat sleeping without a roof over his head.

Tyler remembered from the last time he was preparing to go out on a journey that every Pokemon Centre followed the same layout. The bottom floor was the front desk and lobby area while the dormitories, communal showers and kitchen were on the second floor.

"I don't even think I've even been to one of these before... it's kinda intimidating, don't ya think?" asked Tyler.

Sandshrew moaned in agreement before hiding behind Tyler's legs. Tyler laughed at his partner's antics before picking it up and heading towards the main desk.

"Hi! Welcome to the Viridian City Pokemon Centre. I'm Nurse Joy!" exclaimed the woman behind the desk. Tyler couldn't help but stare at her bubblegum-pink hair. "May I heal your Pokemon for you?"

"Yep!" Tyler replied, "Sandshrew here's my only Pokemon so..."

Tyler awkwardly struggled to lift Sandshrew onto the counter. "Damn, little guy's a lot heavier than he looks."

Nurse Joy giggled. "I'll be needing its Pokeball in order to heal him with the machine, silly."

Tyler did a double take. "P-Pokeball? I haven't um... caught my Sandshrew yet, so to speak."

Nurse Joy's eyes briefly lit up before she turned to a computer next to her. "You must be a new trainer, right?"

Tyler nodded. He sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, I am."

The nurse called for the assistance of one of the nearby Chanseys waiting on hand. She gave the pink blob-like Pokemon a few instructions before it nodded its head in understanding and took Sandshrew through a door behind the counter that presumably led to some kind of infirmary.

"Full name please?"

Tyler turned his attention back to Nurse Joy who was looking at him expectantly with large, blue eyes. "Oh, it's uh Tyler Morgan."

"And age?" she asked after typing a few words on her keyboard.

"17."

"Look into this camera for me please," she instructed before reaching behind her and positioning the camera correctly.

Tyler smiled and looked at the lens until it flashed. The nurse hummed in approval when the photo appeared on her computer screen before proceeding to ask a few more rudimentary questions. Finally, she smiled at him.

"We're almost done," she said sympathetically.

Something began to print and a few seconds later, she had a cheap, rectangular piece of plastic between her fingers. She turned it around so that he have a look; he could see the photo of him smiling awkwardly that Nurse Joy had taken just moments ago and some kind of holographic seal overlain across the entire image.

"This is your Trainer ID. It's what legally permits you to take on the Pokemon League challenge, so don't lose it," she advised in a manner that told him a replacement wouldn't be cheap. "We're tending to your Sandshrew and it should be fixed up within the hour, so please feel free to make yourself at home here until he's healed."

"Thanks but no thanks." Tyler nodded appreciatively. "I think I might use this as an opportunity to look around the city for a bit."

...

It was noon when Tyler returned to the Pokemon centre to collect Sandshrew. He had paid a visit to the Pokemon Gym - with no Pokemon, embarrassingly - before visiting the PokeMart and stocking up on a few basic necessities.

"We hope to see you again!" Nurse Joy said as they left the building. Tyler thought it was a little dodgy that a nurse was hoping his Pokemon would need to return to her for care but he brushed it off and headed west of Viridian.

Just as the paved road transformed into one made of dirt, he stopped suddenly and addressed his partner. "Hey Sandshrew? Can I... can I catch you? I promise we'll make a great team."

Sandshrew just stared at him.

"You know what? I'll take that as a yes."

Tyler reached into his pocket and pulled out a Pokeball that he had purchased on his recent shopping trip. He pressed a button, causing the sphere to grow in radius by an inch or two before throwing it at his new friend.

Moments before the ball hit the ground-type, the top half of the ball opened and emitted a transparent red light which enveloped Sandshrew. It absorbed the Pokemon back into the empty ball which closed a few moments later.

Tyler waited with bated breath as the ball rocked from side to side no less than three times before glowing red, signalling that Sandshrew had been caught.

It might have not meant that much but it was their first official step to greatness.

...

Route 22. Nothing but the wilderness.

Tyler and Sandshrew had come a fair way from the city in hopes of practising against wild Pokemon to make sure they would be able to hold their own in an official battle. Tyler might've been a rookie but even he knew that he had a long way to go before he could think about winning any real battles.

They walked until they reached an area where the grass was longer and the trees were a little more overgrown. Tyler was keen to test his mettle against some kind of adversary, be it a terrifying Dragonair or a hardened Pidgeotto.

"Here we go, Sandshrew. I hope you're ready to fight…"

As if on cue, the scrawniest Rattata that the novice trainer had ever seen came scurrying from a bush. He sighed, figuring that they needed to start somewhere, before moving to block its path by stepping in between it and the grass. " Attack it Sandshrew!"

Sandshrew didn't move. Not even a little.

The wild purple rat dashed between his legs and scurried off somewhere into the bushes. Tyler didn't even watch it go.

"Why didn't you do anything?" he asked with a groan. "Don't you know how to fight? That was probably the one Rattata you could have beaten!"

Sandshrew rolled into a ball.

Tyler didn't even know how to respond to that.

...

Tyler wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. He had spent the past few hours trying to catch a new Pokemon. Ever since the Rattata affair, he had been trying to obtain a new addition to his team, realising that Sandshrew perhaps wasn't as battle-ready as he had first thought. All of his attempts had been in vain however, as he was a complete rookie and the wild Pokemon were more elusive than they looked.

A total of three Pokeballs had been used. No successful captures.

Tyler huffed in defeat. He sat down under the shade of an oak tree, now safe from the heat of the afternoon sun. Sandshrew rolled up next to him, and nuzzled its head against his lap. He didn't even care that he had used up the majority of his Pokeballs. He could always buy more.

The novice trainer patted his Pokemon, "I can't be mad with you, Sandshrew. It's not your fault. I guess you just don't know how to fight." Tyler could still see faint scars on its arms and underside from whatever had happened to it before he met it.

Tyler's stomach rumbled just as he realised that he hadn't eaten since he left Pallet Town. He looked inside his old backpack. It had certainly seen better days. He opened his pack and rummaged through his feeble belongings. Since he didn't really have all that much, it was easy to find what he was looking for. The teen fished out a small plastic bag filled with ripe red berries.

"The Cherri berries back home are the best in all of Kanto. They're a great pick me up," Tyler exclaimed before nuding Sandshrew off his lap. "Here ya go Sandshrew."

Tyler divided six of the berries equally between himself and Sandshrew. His new Pokemon instantly perked up and started munching on its snack.

"Oh, now you'll listen to me," huffed Tyler.

Sandshrew had the decency to bow its head apologetically as it looked at him before the two broke out into laughter.

...

Somewhere in the long grass, a small creature pricked its ears and sniffed about.

"Nii?"

...

Laughter filled the air. Trainer and Pokemon couldn't be happier, gorging on a small amount of berries. It felt like the first time in the short time they had known each other that Sandshrew had reciprocated his feelings. Although there wasn't anything particular special about the moment, it felt good to share a genuine moment with someone without the weight of being the disappointing eldest son on his shoulders.

The bushes rustled. Small footsteps pitter-pattered towards the two partners as a blue rodent, no more than two feet tall, emerged from the bushes.

"Niii!" The Pokemon burst onto Tyler's lap and snagged a berry for itself. It jumped onto the ground with the berry in its mouth and began to eat the treat Tyler had packed for himself.

Tyler was nothing short of astounded. "H-hey there little fella."

The Nidoran gave him a strange look and he stared back at it, confused. It dropped its stolen berry onto the floor and turned to face him, growling before baring its teeth aggressively.

Tyler scratched his head before his mistake dawned on him. "Wait a sec... if you're blue… then that must mean that you're a… girl?"

"Ni, Ni!" She purred happily before resuming her progress on the Cherri berry.

"That's cool, I guess," said Tyler. He had never even considered that Pokemon would care about social constructs like genders. "How'd you like another berry?"

"Nii!" She exclaimed as she nodded with just as much enthusiasm.

"Here ya go. I can tell we're gonna be good friends, right, Nidoran?"

Tyler sat around for awhile, enjoying the company of his two new friends. Eventually the warmth of the sun got to him and he fell asleep right there in the midst of the peaceful wilderness.

...

Hours later, Tyler awoke.

He sat up and got to his feet. He surveyed the area around him. Nightfall was imminent since the sun was beginning to set and there was no sign of the temperamental Nidoran that had made off with a few of his berries.

'I guess Pokemon aren't too big on repaying kindness,' he thought before turning towards his Sandshrew who was snoring loudly in a heap on the grass. "Hey Sandshrew, it's time we got going."

Sandshrew got up at its trainers command, and they trotted off. Tyler hummed as they walked, and Sandshrew even got in a fight with a little bug type pokemon that he ended up feeding on. Tyler was beginning to think that maybe there was hope yet for Sandshrew's battling career.

When they were right on the outskirts of Viridian City, Tyler sighed in relief. They had come a long way in such a short time. It hadn't been even a day and Tyler already felt like a real trainer. Finally.

Out of nowhere, a Rattata jumped onto Sandshrew and bit down hard on the back of its injured arm.

"Sandshrew!" exclaimed Tyler, powerless to prevent the scene in front of him developing further. He didn't have a knife or anything that counted as a weapon, and he knew he couldn't help without also hurting his own Pokemon.

Thinking fast, Tyler dug into his pockets and grabbed Sandshrew's Pokeball. He desperately tried to recall his only Pokemon but it didn't work; he couldn't keep the beam of red light focussed on Sandshrew because the Rattata kept on getting in the way and disrupting it.

"Hold on, I'm coming!" he exclaimed, trying to encourage his Pokemon as it squirmed under the weight of the wild Rattata. Tyler threw down his backpack and picked up a rock, but before he could charge towards the pair of Pokemon a turquoise blur collided with the large Rattata.

It was the Nidoran. Continuing her assault, she stabbed her oozing poison horn repeatedly into the Rattata. It hissed and let his Sandshrew go so that it could stare down Nidoran. After a few moments, it wilted under the blue rodent's gaze and fled.

"Nidoran! Sandshrew!" Tyler picked them both up, taking care to avoid the fomer's poisonous horn. "Nidoran... you followed us? Does that mean want to join us?"

"Nii!" Nidoran squealed with delight.

Tyler tapped her with a Pokeball, and quickly released her after she was captured.

"Welcome to the team Nidoran!" he exclaimed, reaching out to scratch her chin affectionately.

The trio walked to Tyler's backpack. He scooped it up off the floor but hesitated just as he was about to head back to Viridian City. Tyler walked over to the Rattata. It was the biggest one he had ever seen, but that was probably because it was easier to find food living near the city.

"I feel bad for this guy. I know he tried to hurt you, Sandshrew, but it doesn't seem like he's that bad," said Tyler as he looked as his two Pokemon. Sandshrew, in what was quickly becoming a habit, shrugged while Nidoran looked on disapprovingly.

"I think I'm gonna catch him," said Tyler, not voicing his suspicions that the rat was probably more battle ready than his starter. Without waiting for further approval, he dropped another Pokeball onto the Rattata's twitching body. After a few seconds, it dinged signalling that the capture was a success.

…

When Tyler got back to the Pokemon Center, it was dark outside. Tyler headed to the main desk, noticing there were now more trainers than earlier. He assumed that had something to do with the fact that there were cheap rooms for league certified trainers.

All of Tyler's pokemon were now in their Pokeballs, his new companions having been too tired to make it back on foot. They were tough little creatures but they could only exert themselves so much, after all.

"Hey Nurse Joy, it's me again," he said, attracting her attention. "Can you heal my Pokemon?"

"Of course we can," said the nurse as she regarded him carefully. "Oh my, you look exhausted. Have you given any thought to where you'll spend the night?"

"Not really. I was going to ask you about that in the morning but I forgot," he said with a blush to his cheek. She could probably smell the rookie off of him.

"Well, we offer accommodation and hot showers in the morning. It's inexpensive but not completely free because that and subsidies from the Pokemon League are how we keep our lights on," explained Nurse Joy. "Since it's probably a little late to go and pitch a tent outside, I'd recommend it."

"Well… when you put it that way," said Tyler with a chuckle as he handed her his three Pokeballs. She put them on the machine behind her.

"Please wait a moment while we heal your Pokemon," she said with a smile. "It's good to see that you were able to catch some!"

As they waited Tyler paid for his room. Although it was cheap, it cost over half his savings. Two summers spent working all gone like that. It didn't bother Tyler too much though; growing up in Pallet Town meant that there wasn't much interesting to spend his money on.

He just took his Pokemon and his room key and headed upstairs to the lodgings.

With his Pokemon healed and his accommodation sorted he headed off to his room and slept.

...

Drake fell to the ground with a sigh. Thankful for the fact that he hadn't yet again landed on a Geodude, he slid his backpack off his shoulders. Bringing it around to his front, he fished around within it for a while before grabbing his water bottle.

He looked around the rocky place as he took a few sips. Things weren't as bad as the nurses had made them out to be: either Mankey was coping a lot better than they had expected or they had severely overestimated the strength of the wild Pokemon in the mountain. His companion, for that matter, was dancing around like the energetic little thing he was.

The several Geodude he had run into hadn't been a problem for him as opposed to the Raticate just past Nugget Bridge the other day. It was as though the Pokemon were just... weaker in the cave.

"Mankey!" the Pokemon yelled suddenly, drawing Drake's eye. He raised a fist in the air and motioned to Drake's left.

"What is it Mankey?" asked Drake, unsure of what the problem was.

Mankey walked away and Drake had no choice but to get up and follow his Pokemon. They walked for a few solid minutes until they came to an open clearing within the cave.

"Huh, you're not that bad a navigator for a monkey," said Drake as he admired the clearing. He could barely see ten metres in front of him but there were several different openings and spots in the distance that were illuminated by natural light. "Good work."

"Hey you!" A voice exclaimed. Drake span around only to see no-one. "Up here, idiot."

Drake looked up. On a ledge, there was a man in his early twenties playing with a pokeball in his hands.

"Who're you?" Drake asked.

"Uh-uh, that's none of your business." He wagged a finger condescendingly. "If you want to dig, go somewhere else. This whole area is my turf."

"What are you on about you you weirdo?" questioned Drake. He didn't have time to waste by sitting around and talking to strange men on ledges.

"WAH! Weirdo? I'll have you know-"

"Can it!" he exclaimed. He was starving and he had spent the better part of the past seven hours stumbling around a dark cave so he figured it was okay to be a little snarky. "I don't care what you have to say. I just wanna get to Pewter already."

"That's it! No one disrespects me," said the strange man. He seemed to have taken Drake's impatience personally. "My team of fossil pokemon will bury you!"

Drake groaned and shook his head. "I can't believe what you just said… ugh."

"Go Grimer!" he exclaimed before tossing his Pokeball in the air.

"I thought you said you had a team of fossil pokemon? A Grimer is not a fossil, stupid." Drake deadpanned. He motioned for Mankey to attack. "You know what to do."

"Mankey!" His Pokemon said as he kicked Grimer right in the face. Instead of the kick sending the poison type flying, all it managed to do was trap Mankey's foot inside the Grimer's body.

"What the hell?" asked Drake in surprise. This was something that he had not encountered before, having only fought a small handful of Pokemon in battle. He turned to his opponent. "Hey, what gives!"

My Grimer's body is made of slime!" the seedy man laughed. "Your dirty monkey is trapped, and now I have the upper hand."

Grimer made fists with both hands and pounded away at the fighting type. Mankey cried out in pain as Grimer repeatedly beat on it.

Drake watched on as his Mankey continued to flail under the Grimer's assault. He waited for several moments, hoping that an opening would present itself for Mankey to exploit but there was nothing of the sort. Eventually, he decided he had to take matters into his own hands.

The Super Nerd was still laughing when a little grey projectile hit him in the side of the head. "OW! Did you just hit me with a pebble?" the creepy guy cried out. Drake's only response was to throw a larger one at him this time. "F-Fuck you, man. Grimer kill it!"

The Grimer was beginning to completely envelop the monkey Pokemon now, and as a result was suffocating the poor creature. Drake hurled two big chunks of rock at the Pokemon. Although it managed to absorb the stones into its body of purple ooze, it grunted in pain because of the impact and receded which allowed Mankey to wriggle free of its nasty trap. Drake's arms became blurs as he threw every rock he laid eyes on at the poison Pokemon, hurting it dearly. Mirroring its trainers actions, Mankey threw pebbles at double Drake's speed because of its muscles. The Grimer gave in to the stone assault and slunk down, defeated.

Drake dusted his hands off and glared at the bewildered trainer for good measure. "Creepy loser," he muttered.

The man's face exploded in rage. "Why you little brat! I'll show you the meaning of pain!" he promised before throwing his second Pokemon onto their impromptu battlefield. "Go Omanyte!"

A blue sea snail like Pokemon appeared onto the cavern floor. It was some form of ancient squid pokemon. "Lord Helix! Devour my enemies with all of your divine might! Slay these nonbelievers with your mighty tentacles!"

"Just when I think this guy can't get any weirder, he does," Drake said in a bored voice. Mankey nodded in agreement. "Anyway, beat the crap out of that thing, Mankey." The fighting type appeared directly next to the overgrown vertebrae, then picked it up and slammed it into a stalagmite repeatedly.

"Use scratch, then low kick!"

Mankey scratched the creature right in the eyes and then proceeded to unleash a barrage of powerful kicks upon it. After a minute of solid beating, Mankey was done with its attack. "Are we done here yet? Just give up already."

"Gah! You worthless piece of shit! I knew I shouldn't have placed my faith in you!" In his rage, the Super Nerd threw Omanyte's Pokeball at Drake.

It hit Drake in the face before rebounding onto the cavern floor and rolling towards his feet. Drake bent over with a contemplative look and picked it up before eyeing the unconscious Omanyte a few metres away from him. He recalled the blue sea snail. "Hey weirdo, I'm keeping this thing. It actually seems kinda cool."

"As if I'd ever let you have my invaluable fossil Pokemon!" the man yelled furiously, regret etched upon his face. "Give me back that Pokeball right now!"

Drake blew a raspberry.

"..."

The nerd threw out one more ball. "This… This is my final pokemon. I promise you that this will hurt."

A Voltorb hit the field. It was a red and white Pokemon that looked like an upscaled version of the Pokeball it had come out of. Drake couldn't help but feel that the inventor of the Poke ball had borrowed some inspiration for his design.

"Wow, ominous much," muttered Drake. "I'm bored of this so I'm just going to take your money and leave. Mankey, use low kick at full power!"

"..."

The Super Nerd made no moves to attack. He just stood still, glaring scornfully at Drake and clenching his fist.

"I've had enough crazy for one day, do it Mankey!"

Drake's partner pokemon was upon the Voltorb in the blink of an eye, drawing its short leg back for one final, decisive strike. The fighting type monkey kicked the orb shaped pokemon, hoping to end things once and for all.

The moment the blow connected, the Super Nerd uttered one word. "Explosion."

Kaboom.

A blinding white light was the last thing Drake saw.

...

"Maaankeey?"

Drake opened his eyes to the sight of Mankey standing over him as it shook him conscious. "Hey… are you alright Mankey?" Drake dug deep and sat up, looking around. The debris was everywhere. Blood was splattered all over the cave floor and ceiling. Drake looked up to the ledge the man from before had stood on. Nothing.

He inspected his own body next. Thankfully, he was still in one piece aside from a myriad of cuts, bruises and other such sore spots. Somehow, he hadn't lost any of his belongings in the explosion either.

Mankey fell to the floor just as Drake stood up, completely and utterly exhausted. Drake couldn't help but admire it's willpower in managing to stay conscious until he woke up: its thin fur was soaked in blood due to injuries sustained from the point blank explosion. Drake recalled him to his Pokeball and thanked him for his efforts before continuing on his path, however just as he was about to leave the cavern he stopped.

Something brown was lying on the floor, Drake walked towards it.

A tattered brown wallet, and scraps of a plain white shirt, the very same that the nerd had been wearing. Along with this was a Pokeball belt, with three empty Pokeballs attached. Drake put it around his waist and clipped his two Pokeballs to it. He turned his attention to the wallet. After looking through the wallet, Drake pocketed it with a smirk on his face.

"Nice, I've always wanted a leather wallet."

…

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