"Fireball!" Antoshi exclaimed, "use Rollout, again!" Fireball stared down Blaire's Arcanine, both Pokémon covered in dust and scratches. Arcanine was panting, seemingly on its last legs, while Fireball called upon the strength of his indomitable spirit for one final Rollout attack. Fireball shouted as he rolled his body into a giant ball and spun himself at Arcanine with incredible speed, kicking up small rocks and pebbles along the way. Blaire grit her teeth as she watched Fireball approach.
"Ohhh, Arcanine, dodge it!" she loudly commanded. Arcanine groaned weakly, ducking down for a moment before leaping into the air, but it was simply too late. Fireball hit the chest and underside of Arcanine, sending it flying helplessly several meters away, where it collapsed from exhaustion.
"Arcanine, no!" Blaire exclaimed in disbelief, her mouth hanging open at the sight of her prized Pokémon defeated.
"Awesome work, Fireball!" Antoshi cheered his partner, who hopped out of his ball form, standing in a heroic pose with his fists on his hips. Blaire sighed in defeat as she recalled Arcanine back into its Pokéball.
"I have no more Pokémon," she grudgingly admitted. "You win... ugh." Antoshi cheered loudly as he eagerly dashed over to her, with his hands open. She sighed in frustration, looking away as she dropped a Volcano Badge into his hands.
"Yes!" Antoshi cheered, tossing the shiny badge into the air and catching it on the way down. "We got a Volcano Badge, Fire!" Antoshi glanced over at his friend who was still in his silly pose. Antoshi blinked with an incredulous look on his face.
"Right," Fire said, walking over to his friend. "Let's scram." As the two of them made their way to the exit of the gym, Antoshi turned back to the young Gym Leader.
"Thanks for the battle!" he cheerfully said. "I'm sure you'll be as good as your great-grandfather someday!" Blaire smirked, folding her arms across her chest in the vein of Blaine.
"Maybe I will," she said to herself, enthused. Antoshi and Fireball left the gym, realizing the sun was already starting to set.
"Wow, we were in there for a long time," Antoshi remarked. Fireball yawned loudly, causing the boy to smile sympathetically. "Let's get some rest, Fire."
"Yeah, yeah," Fire concurred with exhaustion as the duo made their way to the nearby Pokémon Center.
That night, Antoshi and Fireball had their own beds, sound asleep after their long day of traveling and battling. Fireball snored loudly, the small, human-sized cot was nearly folding in on itself as it struggled to maintain his weight. In addition to his above-average height, Fireball was quite heavier as well. Antoshi had gotten used to Fire's snoring, to the point where it didn't faze him at all. The boy twitched a bit as he dreamt. He'd always had dreams every night due to his overwhelming imagination and insatiable curiosity. But that night's dream was different. It wasn't carefree and innocent like his dreams usually were. It was bleak and frightening. He found himself standing in a black void, small fires flickering on the ground around him. A figure cloaked in the darkness stared him down with cold, dark eyes. Antoshi was intimidated by its presence. The eyes were unnatural, an eerie red on black. He could see a toothy grin being flashed at him, as though this figure was amused by his presence. Just then, the figure was surrounded by some kind of dark aura that flickered around its frame like a fire. He could see a human-like hand from the figure being raised, palm open to face him. Antoshi panted nervously as the figure chuckled cruelly, a ball of dark energy forming within its hand. Antoshi nervously tried to step backward, but his feet were stuck to the floor. He panicked, his brown eyes as wide as they could possibly go when the ball of energy was suddenly fired at him, engulfing his entire body and leaving nothing behind.
Antoshi heard a loud crash, shocking him awake, realizing he was shaking and in a cold sweat. He glanced over at his Typhlosion friend, finding the metal frame of the cot had gave way under Fireball's weight. That didn't seem to phase the large Pokémon at all, as he quietly muttered something to himself, turning onto his side and going back to sleep. Antoshi sat at the side of his bed in his white undershirt and boxer shorts. He didn't understand what his dream meant, but it seemed far too real, more so than any dream he'd ever had. He glanced down at his hand, realizing he was still shaking, and decided to get up for a moment, walking out of one of the several guest rooms in the Pokémon Center made for traveling trainers. It was very dark. He was barely able to see in front of him, eventually bumping into a wall with an audible thump.
"Ow," he whispered, rubbing his forehead. With his arms stretched far out in front of him, he was able to blindly find a nearby water cooler, taking one of the paper cups and pouring some water into it. He sighed and carefully walked back to his room, drinking the water along the way. He sat in bed, glancing at the clock by his bed that read '2:03.' He slipped back under the covers, worried about having another nightmare. Eventually, his fears were put to rest when his heavy eyelids closed and fell back asleep.
The next morning, Antoshi was awoken by some nudging.
"Hey, bud'," a familiar voice greeted him to wake him up, opening his eyes to see the big head of his companion. "You're not sleeping in, are you?" Antoshi looked over at the clock, '8:54.' He couldn't believe how late he slept.
"Whoops," he muttered as he quickly got to his feet, putting his blue shirt and shorts on which, at that point, had started to get a bit small for him to wear. He didn't even need the belt he once wore to keep his shorts from falling. It was safely tucked away in his backpack, which he slung over his shoulders.
"Let's hit the road!" Antoshi proclaimed, much to the excitement of his friend. They left the room and passed by the front desk, where just one bag of an already-prepared lunch for the trainers who spent the night was waiting for him, making him realize he was the last to leave. He took the bag and quickly made for the exit.
"Thanks, Nurse Joy!" he exclaimed on the way out.
"No problem!" she replied. "Come back any time!" Antoshi hustled out the door. He knew the annual Indigo Tournament was going to start in only three weeks, and he still had one more badge to collect.
"Come on, Fire!" Antoshi called back to his friend as he made his way to the Route 21 port on the northern end of Cinnabar Island. Fireball groaned and held his stomach.
"Can't we eat first?" he asked, eyeing the bag in Antoshi's hand. "We missed breakfast, you know." Antoshi worriedly looked down at the bag.
"But this is supposed to be for lunch."
"Well it's... almost lunch?" Antoshi sighed, realizing neither of them were going to get far without eating.
"All right we'll eat on the ferry!" he happily proclaimed, Fireball shaking his fists with excitement.
"Awesome!" he remarked as the two of them walked up to the port where other trainers were also awaiting the ferry, glancing up at the big sign indicating when the ferry would return from Pallet Town.
"Looks like it'll be fifteen minutes," Antoshi said, looking over the times when the ferry returned.
"Fifteen minutes?!" Fireball asked incredulously. "I'll die of starvation before then!" Antoshi chuckled, holding the bag up to Fire's nose to let him smell the food inside.
"Maybe this will help," Antoshi said. Fire indeed liked what he smelled, and it made him all the more eager for the ferry to arrive. At the same time, the other trainers were not only shocked that the blond-haired boy would keep his monstrous Typhlosion outside of its Pokéball, but that he seemed to be conversing with it. Antoshi had frequently gotten strange looks and had people think he was insane. He, on the other hand, never thought anything of it until he started his journey. He generally assumed that everyone could understand what Pokémon were saying. It wasn't until people started questioning him, and subsequently laughing at him, when he realized it was just him.
"Ferry, ferry," Fireball started to chant behind Antoshi, his eyes affixed to the open sea. At the same time, a young man with short brown hair walked up to Antoshi. He seemed much older than the blond boy, but greeted him with a friendly smile.
"Hey there," the young man greeted him, catching Antoshi's attention.
"Oh, hello," he replied, his face lighting up with a smile as he saw an opportunity to make a new friend.
"My name is Matt," he said, "what's your name?"
"I'm Antoshi," he replied, greeting Matt with a friendly handshake.
"Antoshi, huh?" Matt wondered aloud. "That's an interesting name."
"Blame my parents!" he joked, the two of them sharing a brief laugh. Matt then stood next to Antoshi as the two of them looked to the sea.
"Ferry, come on ferry, ferry..." Fireball continued to chant in the background.
"So what brought you to Cinnabar Island and why are you leaving?" Matt asked, as his hand casually drifted behind Antoshi's back.
"I got my seventh badge," Antoshi replied with enthusiasm. "And I'm on my way to get number eight and go to the Indigo Plateau!"
"You don't say?" Matt casually said, his fingers sneaking inside Antoshi's back pocket, finding his wallet. "Well, I'm sure you'll make it all the way to the top and become Champion!" Antoshi's face lit up with pride as he looked up at Matt, just as his wallet was withdrawn from his pocket. Fireball was standing right behind them, but was too busy keeping watch for the ferry that he didn't even notice the pickpocket.
"You really think so?!" Antoshi asked with intense excitement. Matt smiled warmly at him.
"Absolutely," he replied, slowly placing the younger boy's wallet in his own back pocket. Just then, the horn of the ferry blared as it neared the port.
"Ferry, ferry, ferry," Fireball chanted quickly, feeling excitement rush through him as he knew lunch would soon be served. He couldn't help himself, and rudely barged through the crowd to get to be the first on the ferry. "Ferry!" he shouted, laughing hysterically in a daze. Matt snarled and scowled as he looked at Fireball, having been shoved out of the way. Antoshi noticed his expression, immediately getting an untrustworthy vibe from him. He frowned a bit as he followed the crowd onto the ferry.
Fireball felt like all of his dreams had come true as Antoshi unpacked their lunch from the bag. The ferry blared its horn, slowly beginning to sail off to Pallet Town. Fireball rubbed his hands in anticipation.
"Come on, come on," he eagerly said. "What do we got? What do we got, Ant?"
"Here you are," Antoshi said as he handed Fireball a large plastic bag full of Pokémon food. Fireball eagerly tore it open, emptying the contents into his mouth and swallowing it down quickly.
"What else?" he asked with a toothy grin. He moaned in awe as Antoshi pulled out a big sandwich wrapped in plastic.
"This is my sandwich," Antoshi rebuked with a bit of a smile.
"But that bag of 'treats' wasn't enough!" Fireball whined.
"What do you mean 'not enough'?" Antoshi asked incredulously. At that point, the other trainers sat in stunned silence as Antoshi had a back-and-forth conversation with his Pokémon. Some of them couldn't believe what they were seeing, some turned away from a seemingly awkward scene, while others laughed amongst themselves.
"Look here," Antoshi said as he picked up the empty bag of Pokémon food. "It says there's enough food to feed a Gyarados!"
"Yeah, well..." Fireball trailed off, unable to formulate an excuse. "I don't know how to read?" Antoshi playfully bonked him on the head with a water bottle.
"That's no excuse, you big dummy." Fireball whined again as Antoshi began to unwrap his sandwich.
"Hey," a trainer sitting across from Antoshi spoke up. He looked up at the other boy, who had spiky blue hair and a smirk on his face. "Are you talking to your Pokémon?" Antoshi and Fireball looked at each other, realizing they got carried away without even noticing.
"I, uh..." Antoshi replied, quickly trying to think of a response. He couldn't, and just shrugged. The other trainer laughed.
"You are a creepy dude," he remarked, causing Antoshi to groan despondently.
"Don't worry about that guy," Fireball leaned in, keeping his voice low to quietly reassure him. "I can totally punch his lights out. I mean, I'll do it."
"No, it's okay," Antoshi quietly replied.
"I'll totally do it. I'll give him a good 'pow, pow' and he'll think twice about being a jerk."
"I said it's fine," Antoshi whispered, "we're talking to each other again."
"Oh, right, shoot," Fireball said, quickly turning away from Antoshi, both of them acting casually, but it certainly didn't take away from the amusement the other trainers experienced from watching their antics.
"Pallet Town!" Fireball exclaimed as he and his friend got off the ferry. Antoshi was amazed to be in Pallet Town, as it was the hometown of his childhood idol, when Pokémon journeys were nothing more than a dream for him. Matt walked past Antoshi and flashed him an arrogant smirk.
"See ya, kid," he said, putting some hustle into his step as he got absorbed into the crowd.
"Uh, see ya," Antoshi muttered, wondering what his expression was all about. He shrugged it off, he and his Pokémon friend stepping foot onto the same beaten, dirt path that had been there for a century.
"This is so cool," Fireball remarked as he looked at all the houses, realizing they were exactly the same as in Antoshi's magazines. He was as much a wide-eyed fan as Antoshi was.
"Look, there it is!" Antoshi exclaimed, quickly running up to a large stone statue that towered high over him. He could feel his chest swell with pride, a big smile forming over his lips.
"Wow, it's really him," Fireball said. "The legend himself."
"Ketchum," Antoshi muttered to himself as he looked over the detail of the statue, the tall figure of a grown man with unruly sable hair with a very common-looking Pikachu on his shoulder. Antoshi clasped his hands together, smiling as he closed his eyes for a silent prayer. "You're my greatest hero," he added as he opened his eyes and looked up at the statue once more. "I hope I can follow in your footsteps." Antoshi sighed happily, feeling immensely fulfilled to have visited the statue. He then began to walk over to the famous Oak Laboratory.
"Come on, Fire," he said as he walked away. Fireball smiled at the statue as well, knowing how much it meant to Antoshi, and was happy that he was there to share the moment with him.
"All right," he replied, quickly catching up to the boy. A small crowd was lining up outside the laboratory, as it had become a tourist attraction after its owner had passed on, and became even more popular upon the crowning of Champion Ketchum.
"Ten bucks to get in?" Antoshi wondered aloud as he read the small sign. "Well, I'm sure mom will spot me once we get to Viridian Ci--" Antoshi froze in place when he reached in his back pocket and realized his wallet was gone. He immediately panicked, checking all of his pockets, before quickly taking his backpack off.
"What happened, Antoshi?" Fireball asked with worry.
"I can't find my wallet!" he replied in a panic. He panted fearfully as he dug through his various clothes and supplies and couldn't find it.
"Well... your mom can send you more money, right?" he cautiously asked.
"My wallet had my badges in it!" he tearfully exclaimed. Fireball felt like the wind had been punched out of his chest.
"We--we worked so hard for those badges..." Fireball quietly remarked as he sat next to his friend who was quickly welling up with tears. Antoshi gasped when he suddenly remembered Matt standing next to him before they got on the ferry.
'See ya, kid,' he remembered Matt say, realizing then as to why he had such a cocky smirk on his face. Antoshi quickly became angered, gritting his teeth as he shook the tears out of his eyes.
"We have to find Matt!" Antoshi said as he slung his backpack over his shoulders and began running off.
"Wait, who?!" Fireball called out, unsure of which human he was referring to.
"The guy with the short, brown hair!" he called back. Fireball caught a glimpse of him in his mind, as he saw him smirk at Antoshi when they left the ferry. He punched his palm eagerly as he followed after Antoshi.
"Got it!" he said with a determined look on his face.