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The Johto League

Chapter 3

Surprises Galore

    As I jumped to the shore of New Bark Town, I felt more excited than I had done in weeks. The grandson of a pokémon professor would help me to find a starter! My dream had never felt closer.

    Gary called his Blastoise back into its pokéball. ‘So, what kind of pokémon live around here?’

    I jumped at the chance to show Gary I knew something about the local pokémon.

    ‘There’s lots of Sentret, and Hoothoot… Pidgey and Rattata, and Raticate, if you’re lucky. You can see Magikarp and Tentacool swimming in the river…’

    ‘Pah! That’s child’s play!’ Gary seemed unimpressed. ‘If I’m going to get you a pokémon it’s going to be a bit more impressive than a Rattata.’ He sounded convinced that Rattata didn’t qualify as a good starting pokémon.

    ‘The new trainers from Cherrygrove seem to get along just fine with them,’ I retorted slyly. Gary didn’t seem to be listening.

    ‘No… we need something better… something more exotic…’ he wondered for a moment, then snapped his fingers. ‘I’ve got it! We’ll go back to Kanto. There’ll be regional pokémon that you might never have seen before… plus I know the best catching areas like the back of my hand,’ he grinned smugly.

    ‘Wow, you… really?’ I could sense the signs that excitement was overpowering my ability to speak coherently.

    ‘Sure, I travelled the whole region just last year. I know exactly where to go.’ Without further ado, Gary brought out a new pokéball and flung it onto the ground. It burst open and a glowing form appeared that took the shape of a bird – a big one. It was brown, with a long crooked neck, and an enormous wingspan. A Fearow.

    ‘Well, hop on.’

    I did a double take. ‘What!?’

    ‘I said, get on,’ he repeated, already jumping on to the bird’s back. I walked over slowly, regarding the bird warily. It gave a soft croak, and I noted that its beak was longer than my own arm. Somehow, I pulled myself up behind Gary and tried to keep my balance.

    ‘We’re going to visit my Grandpa,’ Gary nudged his pokémon. I’m not sure what surprised me more – the prospect of meeting one of the most famous pokémon Professors in the world, or the fact that Fearow flapped its wings and took off at that moment.

    As Fearow climbed in the air, I began to realise that riding a pokémon wasn’t easy. But then, when I saw my own house from high above as it got smaller and smaller, flying started to feel wonderful. I could see for miles, and the view was incredible. We flew over the river, a great expanse of sparkling blue, and I could see a new land mass appear over the horizon.

    Gary pointed to a spot near the coast, obviously feeling more comfortable with the altitude than I was. ‘There it is!’

    Fearow’s flying pattern suddenly changed, and we swooped down towards what appeared to be a small town. I found it hard to keep holding on and had to grab Gary’s back for support. Soon we neared the ground, and Fearow landed in a green field.

    ‘Where are we?’ I asked, mystified, while clambering off Fearow’s back as quickly as I could. This place was hardly deserted. There were dozens of different pokémon species everywhere I looked, and some hadn’t even looked up when we landed. They were definitely tame.

    ‘This whole area is Professor Oak’s research grounds,’ Gary explained, recalling Fearow. Every trainer who leaves Pallet Town has their pokémon sent here when they aren’t using them. In fact…’ he indicated a few distant herds, ‘most of those pokémon are mine.’

    ‘Really?!’ I gasped, starting to realise how successful Gary was. Maybe his snobbish attitude earlier was justified – hundreds of tame pokémon roamed that field, from Ponyta to Magnemite.

    ‘Oh, yes; they’re all his,’ a new voice said. I turned around to find the renowned scientist, Professor Oak, standing next to us. ‘Hello, Gary. I saw you fly down from my window.’

    ‘Hey Gramps,’ Gary greeted casually. ‘I thought I’d pay you a visit and ask you to help with something.’

    ‘I see,’ said the Professor warmly, ‘and who’s your companion?’

    He turned towards me. I felt almost like I should bow.

    ‘Holly Evergreen, sir,’ I inclined my head slightly out of politeness.

    ‘Well, come on then, we can’t stand out here all day. Let’s go inside and talk about this problem of yours. Would you like some tea?’

    We started to walk up the hill to the Professor’s house, which you could easily recognise because of the large windmill next to it. I quickly realised that the building served as Professor Oak’s laboratory, as well as his home, because even from outside you could see complicated, pristine machinery occupying the rooms.

    ‘So, now we’re trying to find a more suitable pokémon for her to start her journey with,’ Gary finished explaining as we walked through the main doors. The first thing I noticed was that the floor had been polished so much that it shined. The Professor obviously liked to keep his house in order. In this situation I would like to have tried some floor-skating, if we hadn’t been in the company of such an important person, discussing serious matters.

    ‘Ah, I see,’ the Professor said in an understanding tone, ‘you thought I might have a spare starter pokémon for our new trainer, is that right Gary?’

    Gary nodded in a questioning sort of way.

    ‘I’d love to help you two,’ Oak sighed, ‘but there are a couple of trainers due to leave Pallet in just a few days. The current starters have to be reserved for them, and no-one else.’

    My hopes for a Pallet Town starter were dashed. I could vaguely recall the kind of pokémon Oak worked with – a fire type, a water type and a grass type, I think. That was all I could remember. I knew next to nothing about them – it would have been perfect.

    ‘Tell you what, though…’ the Professor began with a hint of hopefulness, ‘there’s a pokémon I’ve been studying for a while that might do the trick. It’s something rather special. I wanted to see what might happen if it received some battle experience…yes, this will do…’

    He trailed off, busy listening to his own train of thought, and Gary and I followed him. We made our way down a fancy corridor to a section of his laboratory, where many small pokémon cages stood stacked against the wall.

    ‘I rarely ever use these cages,’ Oak was explaining, ‘only sometimes, when I’m studying a pokémon and it can’t be put into a ball, or I don’t want it outside with the others…’ It didn’t look like the pokémon had much to complain about. Each confine had its own food bowl, water supply and a cushy bed for its occupant, but nearly every cage was empty. Oak undid a safety catch on one door near the bottom, one that had a pokémon inside.

    I realised I was holding my breath in anticipation. Could this be it? Was my future pokémon partner about to walk out of that very cage?

    Something moved, tentatively taking a few steps into the open. Cat-like in appearance, with cream-coloured fur. I remembered the name for it – a Meowth. But something looked odd about the way it moved… I couldn’t place it exactly, but something seemed unnatural…

    I was about to find out why the Professor wanted to study this pokémon. Nothing had prepared me for what I was about to see.

    The Meowth’s annoyed expression looked up at us.

    ‘’Bout time you let me outta there!’