The Long and Winding Road
By: BetterButterBuddha
Chapter 1: Just an Ordinary Morning

June 1st, 2000 Viridian City

I don’t really get why Blue let me into his class. There were at least ten people who scored better on the Pokemon Entrance Exam than I did, so why did he choose me? I’m still not entirely sure why, but I’m very glad that he did. I had been trying to become a pokemon trainer for at least two years now. However, until Blue came along, I didn’t think it would happen.

Every gym leader is required to teach the populace about pokemon. Most just hold classes, letting a maximum of thirty people in. Blue is different. I get the feeling that he doesn’t like to teach. In my opinion, he teaches one on one because he hates people who don’t know much about pokemon. But hey, everyone has their flaws.

All things aside, I am very glad he did pick me. In the past six months I learned everything I could about pokemon. I’m now a walking pokedex. Really. Machop learns focus energy at level seven. Cubone learns thrash at level thirty-seven. Magikarp evolves into Gyrados at level twenty. Dragonite and Tyranitar are tied for the highest attack power in the world. See my point?

Today was graduation day. He would give me a pokemon, as well as a pokedex, and several pokeballs. This was going to be the most important day of my childhood life. OK, I’m not really a child, at age 16. But still, my body quivered with nervousness.

“Hello, Vincent. Are you ready for your big day?” said my mom. She is in her mid-thirties. Mom is the most unselfish person I know. She puts up with so much. I would be entirely insane if I had to do what she does.

“I hope so,” I said, grabbing the box of Pikachu Crunchies and pouring myself a bowl as I sat down. “But I have a feeling that Blue will do something different today. He might even not give me a pokemon.”

“Why do you say that?” she said?

“It’s just his personal style. He does something new everyday. He says ‘It keeps you from falling into a routine’”

She was pretty much silent after that. She kept on looking at me while I was eating. Something was bugging her. I know my mom better than I know the back of my hand. She tried to hide it, but I can read her like a book.

“What’s wrong, mom?” I asked.

“Oh, nothing honey. It’s just… you’re my only son. I know you want this, but still, it’s gonna be hard without you. For sixteen years, you’ve been my only family. And now, you’re going out on your own. Who will do your laundry? You will. Who will make your breakfast? You will. I’m sure you’ll do fine, though. I love you, son. I’m so proud of you,” she said, as a tear dripped down her cheek. She looked sad and happy at the same time. What’s the word for that? Bittersweet.

“Mom. I know you’re worried. But I’m sixteen now. I can take care of myself. I’ll call you at every pokemon center I get to. We won’t be totally separate, at least not in heart. And I’ll try to stop in every chance I get. But you already know that. This day comes for everyone. I love you mom,” I said.

She burst into tears. I came over and gave her a hug. She squeezed me so tight that I could hardly breathe.

“It’s time mom,” I said.

“I know. Goodbye, son. And don’t forget to tie your shoes!”

I rolled my eyes as I went out the door.

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The location of Blue’s gym had been burned into my brain from the uncountable mornings I spent getting there. Usually I made my commute with the aid of the Viridian City Subway System, but today was different. There was something in the air; the winds of change blew past me. I just felt…different. So today, I walked.

The sky was a wonderful shade of blue, and there were almost no clouds in the sky. The weather held steady at 73 degrees, and an enjoyable zephyr blew in from the west. The uncountable trees that gave Viridian City its name were in full bloom. I couldn’t have picked a better day to go out training.

Blue’s gym was located just next to the park, so I decided to walk through it. It looked inviting enough, and I didn’t have to be at the gym until 9:30. I couldn’t have made a worse decision if I had tried.

“Viridian City Municipal Park,” the sign read. “No pokeballs allowed” Almost every city has a park in it, and because they are such wonderful places, pokemon quickly colonized them. When these parks had first been established, people frequently went in and captured them. Because they housed so many different species of pokemon, they were very popular hunting grounds. Predictably, they were quickly deprived of the once rich bio-diversity they once had. So the law outlawed pokemon trainers going there.

But that didn’t mean that pokemon battles couldn’t be held. Trainers frequently scheduled battles in the stadium located in the center of the park. Fortunately for me, one was going on right now. I decided against my better judgement to watch.

The battle was between a trainer with a red and white cap who had a pikachu out in battle, and a trainer who had long red hair and a magneton. The kid with the pikachu seemed to be winning.

“Pikachu, use your thundershock!” said the one in the hat. He had a scratchy voice, but he looked incredibly excited about the match.

That was his first mistake. You should never use an electric type attack against an electric type. It’s just not smart. I would have switched to a powerful ground type, but he looked like a novice, so I guessed he didn’t have one. The electric type move did very little damage to magneton.

“Magneton, Screech,” he said. His voice was indistinct, but I could still pick out some emotions in it. Indifference is an emotion, too.

Against a pikachu, which had very low defenses to begin with, screech meant that the next attack would have to be a physical one. If before wasn’t the time to switch to a ground type, now is!

However, the kid didn’t quite get it. “Pikachu, use quick attack!” he said. The electric rat smashed into Magneton, and bounced off just as quickly. Magneton looked unfazed. It should, it was a steel-type.

Here’s the kicker… “Magneton, use hyper beam!” He seemed visibly more excited. This kid with the red hair was downright bloodthirsty. But then again, I would be excited, too.

The magnet pokemon bunched itself together, and started to glow red. Then without warning, it unleashed a huge energy beam. I felt sorry for the pikachu.

Needless to say, the kid with the hat lost. Though I couldn’t hear him, he seemed upset. The other kid just looked at him and said, “I hate the weak.” It really broke my heart. Oh well.

I glanced down at my watch, to notice that it was 9:30. “Damn!” I said, audibly. Blue was gonna kill me. He hates it when I’m late. Last time, I was fifteen minutes late, and he made me clean his pokeballs as punishment. All 357 of them.

I broke out into a sprint. The wind rushed past me, stinging my cheeks. I didn’t mind. The last thing I wanted was to disappoint Blue. Every last ounce of energy rushed into my legs. Everything I saw was a blur. I had never run this fast before.

I must have been going at least twenty miles per hour when I realized that my shoes were untied. My left foot ran, but my right foot stayed still. The resulting change in momentum totally disoriented me, and my legs involuntarily stopped. I kept on rushing. The last thing I heard before I hit the ground was my mother’s voice. “Don’t forget to tie your shoes!”