Ask to Join Welcome to the World of Pokémon!: Kanto

[ThanosCar_The_Inevitable]

Walt grinned at Drac and said: “I nailed that intro, right?”
Drac gave an exasperated sigh. His trainer was an absolute nutcase sometimes.

Walt’s phone beeped, alerting him of a new message.
The message said: Change of plans. Take over Viridian Gym.
Walt quickly put away the device, praying that nobody saw the message. He started to worry, as he heard that the Viridian City Gym Leader, Blue, was the strongest of all the leaders. There were even rumors floating around that implied Blue was a former champion.

In a fake cheery voice, he said to the new trainer, Alex: “Hey Alex, you should try taking on the Viridian City Gym! Viridian City is not far from here, and I bet you and Tux could easily win the badge!”

Walt didn’t receive a reply because right at that moment, an plump man dressed in a Kanto Police Force uniform walked up to them, donut in one meaty hand, baton in the other. He pointed the baton at the trainers at said in a gruff voice:
“Have you lads seen anyone suspicious lately? The criminal responsible for the Pokémon theft at the lab was seen to be about 5 foot 7, dressed in all black, with short, dark hair, a stolen Pokéball containing a Squirtle, and a Deino by his side. You fellas seen anyone like that around?”

 

[Vaporeonn]

A theft? "That's horrible!" Winnie exclaimed upon hearing the news from Alex. Those poor Pokemon - the Dragonite, and the stolen starter... How saddening it was to Winnie. She couldn't imagine how anyone could think of creating such havoc, to disrupt the peace of people and Pokemon alike mere hours before the festival. Yes, she though it was absolutely horrible. But, before falling victim to the bad mood, she was able to suppress the negativity that appeared to her, as she always did. There were witnesses, so the Kanto Police Force will be able to find the culprit quickly! Winnie let out a sigh of relief. She shouldn't lose hope! Once the thief has been found, the stolen Pokemon will be brought back to safe hands! And the Dragonite must have been taken care of, as well. She just had to trust everything to get better. Pessimism never helped anyone, or so she liked to believe.

Winnie tagged along behind Brian and Alex as the two boys went outside. "Come on, Beetle!" she chirped, as the Heracross slagged behind her. She turned around and narrowed her eyes at him. "Well, don't be so slow! We're gonna lose them," she scolded. Luckily, although she was a bit behind, Winnie caught up to the boys; But, sadly, she missed the introduction of another young man.

"... I bet you and Tux could easily win the badge!" were the first words Winnie heard when she approached the group. She tilted her head to the side. Was Alex taking on the League challenge? How exciting! Winnie wasn't great at battling, so she wasn't sure how she'd fare against Gym Leaders, but Alex seemed capable enough to stand his ground. "Good luck if you choose to challenge the Gym Leader, Alex!" she cheered, then turned to the new arrival to introduce herself. However, before she was able to say a word, a police officer appeared before them, giving them the appearance of the thief. Winnie knew she had nothing to worry about! They already knew what he looked like, so it was only a matter of time before they catch him.

Winnie tapped her index against her lips, trying to remember if she had seen anyone who matched the description. "I can't be of any help right now," she said. "But we'll make sure to keep our eyes peeled for any suspicious individuals!" she promised.
Finally, Winnie was able to give the stranger boy a better look. Nothing struck her as odd, apart from the Deino - but that must have been a coincidence! If he had been the culprit, surely the police officer would have arrested him. There's nothing to worry about, Winnie repeated to herself.

 

[Jakoboi]

Scouting route 1 for some trainers to battle, Jakob noticed a quartet of individuals, one of which was a police officer. This actually made Jakob feel more secure as he was sure that with a police officer present, there's no way that the alleged theif would be nearby.
As he approached the group he eyed several pokemon travelling besides these trainers such as a Herracross, Deino, and Piplup. While not being socially anxious, Jakobi isn't exactly a social person and as such just chose to go for a blunt and straight-to-the-point introduction.
"Hey! You guys have some pretty cool pokemon, you think me and my chikorita could try out a battle with one of you?" He inquired as his pokemon grinned with an eager expression of getting to try to battle for the first time.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

"Battling? Now? I don't think that's a good idea."

A few steps from Jacob's right, a trainer morphed into view. It was as if he had been present the whole time, but like the movement noticed only out of the corner of one's eye, only now breached the plane of awareness. He fixed his gaze on Jakob, seeming to zone the other trainers out. Both of his hands clutched a bright red pokedex, newly gained from Oak Laboratories.

"With that robber on the loose, the last thing we need right now is to weaken our pokemon in combat and make them easier targets," he elaborated seriously, opening his pokedex. "In fact, I was hoping I could grab a buddy to travel with for safety, at least until we hit Viridian City, uh . . ." He glanced from his open pokedex, then back up at the young man he spoke to. "Jakob- eee? Am I pronouncing that right?"

He lifted his pokedex with a small grin. "I found a feature on this thing that identifies any other pokedex holder who went through registration. It's still updating live, but that's how I knew your name. Hey, hey, try yours on me!"


*(This is Type Specialist Carter.)

 

[Jakoboi]

Jakobi took note of the trainer's logic. "Yeah I do believe you have a point there, bud. The last thing I would ever want is to be the cause of someone's Pokemon getting stolen, but trust me when I say as long as Chia here is around, no pokemon is gonna be weak. See I'm not a trainer, but rather a breeder, this Chikorita has a special inherited move that can heal others, and I have plenty of moo-moo milk in my bag to heal too!"
Jakobi then noticed the red device the other trainer was holding and was about to explain that he never received one from Oak but he then recalled that his family must have stuck their Pokedex they use to register their pokemon for selling into Jakobi's bag. Pulling it out, Jakobi instantly became confused on how to opperate with it as he has basically no experience with technology.
"I....er.....um. Actually don't know how to use this Pokedex. Frankly to be honest, I didn't even know I had a Pokedex. Y'think you could just tell me who you are instead?"

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

"Oh, uh . . . yeah, sure thing. I'm Cater."

Carter smiled and wiggled the pokedex in his hand. "If you know how to point the the top end of this thing at stuff, you've already mastered the basics. It's pretty user-friendly."

To demonstrate, he aimed the small red machine at Jakob's pet, Chia. It pinged, and a mechanical voice issued from the speaker. "Chikorita: the Leaf pokemon. A sweet aroma gently wafts from the leaf on its head. It is docile and loves to soak up sun rays."

"See? Like that." Carter waved his wrist in a beckoning motion. "If you don't mind, can we walk and talk? If Team Rocket's still lingering in the area, I'd rather put as much distance between myself and them as possible."

He turned and began heading through the tall grass to the north, pausing only to glance quizzically at Jakob. "You're a Breeder, you say? I'm not familiar with that trainer class. Do you guys still take the Gym Challenge?"

 

[Jakoboi]

Jakobi began to back track with Carter to Viridian City while Chia happily skipped while taking the lead in front of the two. Jakobi leaned his new Pokedex towards Carter's and, surely enough, found his registered trainer ID. Jakobi became slightly embarrassed that he didn't know how to operate it in the first place, but his fascination took over and he shrugged it off.
In response to Carter's question, Jakobi thought deeply about what he was trying to accomplish. He had a general idea of how the gym challenge worked but he knew many others were more passionate about it than he was. "Y'know. My main goal is to raise all my favorite pokemon out there in the world. And to be able to do that, I need to become experienced in battling. But even besides that, I don't see any reason why I shouldn't do the gym challenge, it sounds fun! I consider myself an open minded individual, down for anything. That's actually why I'm here in Kanto, to try new things!" Jakobi explained enthusiastically.

 

[Wapiti]

"Oh, uh, the Gym Challenge? Yeah, maybe," Alex replied, becoming visibly tense. He tried to appear calm, but his tone was defensive. "I don't know about that, Tux and I still have a lot of training to do. To be honest, I'm not actually sure I'm going to do exactly. I was planning on sticking around Pallet for a few more hours so I can catch the festival."

As if to break the tension, a police officer, who Alex recognized from inside the lab, approached the group and relayed the description of the thief who had allegedly stolen Professor Oak's Squirtle.

"I'm sorry, I haven't seen anyone like that," Alex said. "I'll keep an eye out." Although he liked to think he was rather perceptive, Alex was completely oblivious when it came to judging the intentions of others. He paid no mind to the fact that Warren was also traveling with a Deino.

A new arrival appeared, entering from Route 1 and followed by a Chikorita, and gave his introduction. Before Alex could reply, the boy engaged with a stranger behind him who seemingly materialized from thin air.

"So," Alex said, turning back to the group. "I don't know what everyone's plans are, but I'm going to be traveling around Kanto. I think it would be a lot more fun with a group, if any of you wanted to join."

"Pip!" Tux chirped in agreement.

 

[Jakoboi]

Nearing the end of the route Jakobi looked back and could faintly see the silhouettes of the trainers from earlier. Looking back at it, it was rather unfortunate that he never got to talk to them and rather strange that Carter seemingly came from out of thin air. Jakobi, curious as always, was interested to see what types of trainers were huddled far behind. Thus, he turned to Carter in an effort to convince them to wait for the others to catch up.
"Hey, man. Don't you think we should take a break and wait for the others to catch up? I mean, we've already made a lot of distance from Pallet and wouldn't we be safer in a larger group anyway?"
Jakobi asked in a polite and logical tone. He began to remember how each trainer had a Pokemon beside them and noticed that he had not seen Carter's. "Y'know, Carter. I don't believe I've seen your pokemon yet, could you show them to me?" Jakobi inquired trying to mask his eager curiosity.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

"Safety in numbers is rational, sure," Carter responded, sneaking a peek back at the cluster of other trainers further back in the grassland of Route 1. He leaned closer to Jakob and raised a hand to his mouth, in a conspiratorial whisper. "(But that guy with the Deino rubs me the wrong way. I didn't want to say anything before, while he was within hearing range.)"

He backed away a little bit, aware that he had intruded slightly into Jakob's personal bubble. "I'll admit, I'm a little prejudiced," he said sheepishly, not quite looking Jakob in the eye. "You're a Breeder-class trainer, but I'm a Type Specialist. Ghost-type, specifically. I hope you can understand how Dark-types like Deino freak me out."

Carter pointed the scanner side of his pokedex at himself, angling it toward the pokeball belt on his waist. After a moment, it dinged again. "Gastly: the Gas pokemon. A being that exists as a thin gas. It can topple an Indian elephant by enveloping the prey in two seconds."

"Dark-types and other ghosts," Carter said, beaming proudly. "Those are the only Ghost-type weaknesses. You can see why I chose to specialize- these pokemon are crazy powerful." His grin turned wicked. "You heard the dex. Two seconds to down an elephant. Two. I'm gonna keep this fella tucked inside the pokeball for now, until I get him a bit more training to control that gas."

He shrugged. "I can see Viridian City's pokecenter from here, so we're probably no more than another five minutes' walk away. If you still want to go back and fraternize with those other trainers, I guess it'd be all right now, but it's all you can look forward to around here. Unless you like the Pidgeys and Rattatas."

Carter took a second look at the other trainers, who still seemed engaged with each other. He shuddered. "Boy, imagine if one of them was an undercover Rocket. Or all of them! It's hard to know who to trust these days."

 

[ThanosCar_The_Inevitable]

Walt was surprised at how many trainers had showed up. It was only supposed to be one target. He thought: “Oh well, I guess it can’t be helped” Walt wanted to put as much distance between himself and Pallet Town and himself. He couldn’t risk being found out by people like that fat excuse for an officer, so it came as a huge relief when the kid with a Gastly suggested they travel together to Viridian City. Walt put on a fake half-smile and replied: “That’s an excellent idea, pal! But first, we should stop Route 1 to catch some new Pokémon.”

Walt thought that people were sure to be suspicious if they saw that his only Pokémon were a Deino and a Squirtle, so he decided that he would need to catch a third Pokémon.

 

[Jakoboi]

Jakobi looked back at Walt and the others and realized that he basically had no idea how to catch pokemon. He figured watching other trainers do it would help him learn how to achieve it himself. "You can go on ahead, Carter. I'll catch up with you later, I'm going to try my hand at catching pokemon." Jakobi blurted over his shoulder while lightly jogging his way back to the mass of trainers. Jakobi knew that the key to raising pokemon with unique talents is to have good compatible pokemon to breed together. Once he arrived back at the group, Jakobi spoke in an exhausted, breathless manner, "Hey....again. I couldn't help but overhear you guys were catching pokemon. If you don't mind, I'd like to watch so I can learn how to do it myself!" Jakobi explained while shifting his gaze towards Walt. He didn't really see why Carter was so prejudiced against him as Jakobi's somewhat clueless and naive nature didn't allow him to see anything suspicious about him.

 

[Red Gallade]

Brian nodded at Alex's request. "I'd love to journey with someone. Might as well get my Pokedex first." he said as he noticed there wasn;t as many people, despite the tension, he went to go and get his Pokedex from Professor Oak. "Stay safe out there." The professor said. "I will, thank you, Professor." Brian said with a smile and a tip of his hat, he put his Pokedex away and returned to the group with his Ralts on his shoulder. "I'm ready to go if anyone else is." He said with a light smile as his hot pink eyes looked between Alex and Winnie.

 

[Vaporeonn]

Winnie skipped in excitement. She had planned on exploring Kanto before, but knowing she'd be able to do it alongside more people filled her with childish joy. "Well, as for me, I'm researching Bug-types that are native to Kanto. I'd be happy to join you in your little adventure and have company," she said.

The group agreed to move along and go to Viridian City. The new guy (Walt, if Winnie overheard correctly) proposed to catch another Pokemon on Route 1, which reminded Winnie of what brought her to Pallet in the first place. Oh, no, she thought to herself, realising she had forgotten all about the Net Balls. She opened up her bag to see how many she had left. Seven... Winnie didn't want to have everyone wait for her, so she decided it was enough for now. That's what happens when you're forgetful, she scolded herself.

On Route 1, another boy approached them. He made it clear that he wasn't familiar with catching Pokemon, so Winnie stepped in to help. Helping others lifted her mood, and after the horrible happenings of today, she needed just that. "No worries!" she said, getting closer to the boy. "I'm a Pokemon Researcher myself, so I can try to explain the basics to you. Beetle!" she called out to her Heracross. Winnie scanned the area around her to find a decent catch. Her eyes landed on a lonely Poliwag, and she sparked up immediately. "There!" she exclaimed, walking quietly toward the Pokemon.
"Now, what you want to do is weaken the wild Pokemon, so you have better chances of catching it," she explained to the boy. "No one's stopping you from throwing the ball immediately, but I'd advise you not to."

"Beetle," Winnie called out. The Heracross was soon in front of her. "Alright, because we don't want to knock it out, we're gonna try a weaker attack. Beetle, try using Brick Break on the Poliwag!" she commanded, and the Heracross did as told. Beetle ran towards the unsuspecting Poliwag, his right arm glowing, and just as the smaller Pokemon realised it was in danger - Beetle smacked it down. The Poliwag became dizzy from the hit, staggering backwards. It quickly regained its balance though, and, frightened, started running away.

"Beetle, don't let it go away!" Winnie shouted. "I think another Brick Break will do the trick... Try cutting it off, and then use Brick Break again!"

Winnie hoped that Beetle was faster than the Poliwag - she knew they were nimble and fast, but Beetle wasn't slow himself. Luckily for her, her predictions were right. Soon enough, the Heracross was in front of the Poliwag, and hit it so it flew backwards, towards Winnie and the boy. "That should do it. Now's the time to use the Pokeball." Winnie smiled, taking out a Net Ball from her bag. The Poliwag was barely holding on, and Winnie concluded that it was probably young and inexperienced. She threw the Net Ball at it, while it was still dizzy, and watched as it rolled on the ground. Once... Twice...

"Three times!" Winnie jumped up when she landed the catch. "That's how you know you caught it for sure. It's gotta roll three times, and then you'll hear the ping sound. Easy as that!" she explained. "You can even use status conditions to make it easier. I see you've got a Chikorita with you. They're great at that. Hope I was of help!"

Winnie picked up the Net Ball. "I've gotta come up with a name for you," she quietly said, thinking out loud.

 

[Jakoboi]

Jakobi watched in amazement as Winnie battled and caught the Poliwag. "That was so cool!" He exclaimed before turning back towards her and her new partner.
"Usually I obtain all my pokemon by just hatching them from eggs. But I never knew that you could battle pokemon while simultaneously catching them!?" Jakobi felt as if he could ramble on about his astonishment for days but decided to have mercy upon the trainer and changed the subject.
"Congratulations on the catch! But isn't your Poliwag still hurt?" Jakobi looked at his Chikorita, "Y'know, I could heal your Poliwag with Chia. I've never seen her use her heal pulse before and I want to see what it's like!"

 

[Vaporeonn]

Winnie nodded. "You're right! I usually use Potions, but I'm sure Poliwag will appreciate the natural way more," she said. She sent out the tired Poliwag, kneeling down next to it. "Hey little fella." Winnie's voice was soft. "Sorry for giving you such a hard time. But you'll feel better in no time, trust me!" The Poliwag looked at her skeptically. Winnie only smiled cheekily in return.

"By the way," she turned to the boy. "I don't think I caught your name."

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

An audible *ding!* sounded from just behind Brian's shoulder, and the next moment, there was the noise of an artificial voice, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Ralts: the Feeling pokemon. A Ralts has the power to sense the emotions of people and pokemon with the horns on its head. It takes cover if it senses any hostility. "

Carter lowered his pokedex and took a pace back, for it seemed to him as if the creature on Brian's shoulder was shrinking away from him, despite being rooted to its place. He cleared his throat, hoping an introduction would disarm any ill preconceptions from its owner.

"Hi," he said, walking around Brian's side while maintaining his distance. "I'm Carter. You're Brian, right? Just curious- did Professor Oak give you that Ralts as your starter, or did you catch it yourself?"

 

[Jakoboi]

Chia closed her eyes until a pink radiation began to illuminate from her body. This light shimmered with more vigor until the Chikorita realeased this energy towards Poliwag. A steady beam of light began to encapsulate Poliwag as their wounds became covered with light only to be vanished as soon as the light faded.
"Oh, the name's Jakobi!" He responded happily. "I don't believe I've quite caught your name, either."

 

[ThanosCar_The_Inevitable]

While those other trainers were finishing up introductions, Walt went deeper into the route, with intentions of catching a Pokémon. He looked around for Pokémon, but the route seemed completely devoid of life. Suddenly, a loud screech sounded out from above him. He looked up to see a Fletchinder soaring high above him. Walt drew a Pokéball and sent out Squirtle, which he had named Shell. “Shell! Use water gun!”
Shell opened his little mouth and shot out a powerful stream of water, knocking down the Fletchinder. Fletchinder charged angrily at Shell with an aerial ace attack. “Now Drac, you use bite!”
Drac leaped in the way of the aerial ace attack and chomped down hard on Fletchinder. Walt took out an empty Pokéball and tossed it at the struggling Fletchinder.
It shot out a red beam of light and encapsulated the Pokémon.
1 shake
2 shakes
3 shakes
*click*
Walt picked up the Pokéball triumphantly and started the long walk back to the other trainers

 

[Wapiti]

Impressed by Winnie's demonstration, Alex couldn't help but to smile. She was clearly very capable when it came to catching Pokémon, something he had yet to do by himself. He had received five Poké Balls from Professor Oak, but wasn't quite sure what he wanted for his team.

"That was awesome, Winnie!" he exclaimed, clapping playfully. "Where did you learn to do that?"

Hearing Jakobi introduce himself, he turned and extended a hand to shake. "Hey there, Jakobi, I'm Alex! And this is Tux!" He motioned with his head to the Piplup on his shoulder. "I've seen a few Chikorita back in Johto, but I've never seen one do that before."

The celebrations were cut short by a loud noise thumping in the distance. The bursting sparks of fireworks shimmered above the treetops, illuminating the late afternoon Pallet Town sky in a vivid rainbow of colors. The rumble of percussion instruments could also be heard.

"Looks like the festival is starting," Alex observed. He began to backtrack towards Pallet Town. "I have to see this!"

 

[Vaporeonn]

Poliwag was sitting on the soft grass, beaten down and grumpy. She recoiled when the Chikorita approached her, but knew she couldn't run away or fight back. To Poliwag's surprise, the Chikorira had no intention of fighting; Instead, it started to glow pink, until the light began to cover Poliwag as well. But it didn't hurt. On the contrary - Poliwag was feeling better by the second. By the end of it, Poliwag wasn't nearly as grumpy as before.

"I'm Winnie," the girl told Jakobi. With how many people had she not exchanged names with, she wondered. It didn't matter - she felt as if she was done with introducing herself for the day. Although meeting new people was fun, it was exhausting at the same time. She worried about mixing up the names of her companions as well! How embarrassing that would be.
"Where did you learn to do that?" Winnie heard Alex from behind her. He seemed just as impressed as Jakobi, so she assumed he hadn't caught any Pokemon before, either. "I think it was in Ilex forest... Bugsy and I were given two Pokeballs from Kurt that morning, so we had a competition on who would catch a Pokemon first- Of course we had to make it a competition," she giggled at the memory. Her and Bugsy were the best of friends, but their rivalry might've caused someone in the past to think there were no friendly intentions between them. "It was a Pineco - come to think of it, that might've been a dangerous idea, given their tendency to blow up when threatened. Still, I caught it first try. I climbed the tree and just tapped the Pineco with my Pokeball." Winnie rolled her eyes at her younger self. "I obviously wasn't familiar with catching Pokemon, so I didn't trust myself with the throw. And, to no surprise, I came out victorious," she grinned playfully.

Alex mentioned backtracking to Pallet to see the festival. "Oh! I have unfinished business in Pallet," Winnie said, catching up with her friend. "Come on, Beetle and..." she halted for a second, trying to come up with Poliwag's nickname. "Toadie! That's your name now. Now, come on you guys!"

 

[Jakoboi]

Jakobi obeyed his go-with-the-flow mentality and followed the majority towards Pallet with a beaming grin on his face. "Winnie...." He thought to himself "Unconventional name, but cool at the same time. Fitting too, as she is pretty cool for teaching me how to catch." Wrapped in his own thoughts, Jakobi was unaware of his surroundings and tripped over the overextended roots of a large tree and tumbled to the ground.
Laying on his back, Jakobi noticed a natu staring at him, safely perched on a significantly elevated branch. Jakobi viewed the pokemon's blank stare as if it were taunting and challenging him, which made Jakobi feel obligated to try and catch it. Because of the bird's position on the tree, Jakobi thought that insinuating a battle would cause it to fly away so he decided to bait the natu on the ground by spreading some Pokemon food he bought earlier near the base of the tree. Jakobi grinned menacingly as he witnessed the bird jumping down to peck at the food before he yelled "Chia! Leech seed!" Chia instantly ran towards natu and lobbed a triad of seeds from her neck towards natu. Natu's first instinct was to run away but one of the seeds managed to land onto it before emerging into vines that wrapped itself around natu's wings. The bird's flight instincts turned into fight as it let out a wave of ghost-like energy that damaged and pushed Chia back. Chia still had a determined look to finish the battle and awaited Jakobi's next order, "Alright! Finish it off with an ancient power!" Chia nodded and her eyes began to glow an Amber shade of yellow while rocks began to emerge from the earth below and gravitate in the air. She released the onslaught of rocks towards the natu for super effective damage, "I think this might be it!" Jakobi said as he hurled his pokeball towards Natu. The pokeball began to encapsulate the creature before shaking: *1*2 then a slight pause followed after, filling Jakobi with suspense. *3, *click* Jakobi couldn't believe it, he caught his very first Pokemon by himself! He instantly threw the Natu back out of the ball and ordered Chia to heal it. While she was doing so, Jakobi took out his Pokedex and pointed it at his new partner: "Natu, the Tiny Bird Pokemon. Because it's wings aren't yet fully grown, it has to hop to get around. It is always staring at something."
"Huh." Jakobi said followed with a chuckle "I guess I didn't need to worry about you flying away after all! I'll call you Skipper!" Skipper let out a soft "noot" before hopping and perching onto Jakobi's head, still maintaining a blank stare, but this time directed at Chia, which supposedly is an expression for gratitude, Jakobi figured

 

[Red Gallade]

Brian smiled as he followed everyone to route one and was instantly taken back by the beautiful green scenery before him, he was always a big fan of nature along with the little Pokemon that ran through the grass. Speaking if which, he smiled and clapped a few times when Winnie caught a Poliwag. "Nice one." He said before he looked at the newcomer who called himself Jakobi. "Hey there, call me Brian." he said with a light smile, as he continued to look around for anything interesting, he looked back at Alex who said something about a festival. "Festival huh? Wait for me, will ya?" He asked with a smile as he doubled back and followed everyone back to Pallet town.

 

[ThanosCar_The_Inevitable]

Wait personally did not wish to partake in a festival, especially one that took place in the same place as that pesky redhead lab assistant and that old geezer Oak. His orders clearly stated though, to manipulate young starting trainers, and so he decided that he needed to stick with Alex and the others to have more success, so the festival was a risk that he was willing to take.

But first, Walt needed to heal up that Fletchinder that he had just caught. Seeing as how one of the trainers’ Chikorita could use a healing move, he walked up to Jakobi and said: “Sorry to bother you, but I just caught a Pokémon, but I think I went a little overboard while battling it. Could your Chikorita please help me out by healing it?”
Walt sent out the weak Fletchinder. It glared menacingly at him, still remembering the battle with Shell and Drac.

 

[Wapiti]

As Alex arrived downtown from the outskirts of Pallet Town, he was immediately moonstruck for the garish display by the citizens. A parade marched in a not-so-synchronized matter, a messy blob of people clad in colorful costumes depicting different Pokémon weaving through the streets between the neat rows of red-roofed homes. Children cheered from the balconies, throwing bits of confetti that rained down on the heads of the lively spectators. Fireworks continued to burst overhead, becoming more radiant as dusk approached.

Alex was awestruck as a long, flexible Gyarados figure, controlled by men using poles positioned along its body, flailed past. The smells of the food of the carts that lined the streets enticed him, and he thought that he could definitely go for another bite to eat.

"Isn't this awesome, Tux?" he said to his Piplup, who seemed to be equally as filled with delight.

- - -

A lean, dark-haired man dressed in a distinguished black pea coat that looked far too warm for Kanto's spring climate pushed his way heatedly through the parade's crowd. One gloved hand hovered over the messenger bag slung over his shoulder, as if to ensure that it stayed fastened at all costs. His back stayed hunched and he frantically scanned the backs of the onlookers in front of him, slinking hastily about.

In a scuffle of black leather boots on the pavement, the man stumbled and fell. The sea of people around him parted as the flap of his messenger bag flew open and dozens of Poké Balls rolled out in every discernible direction.

"Damn it," the man cursed under his breath as he scrambled to retrieve his cargo. A bystander attempted to help him by handing him one of the lost Poké Balls. "Leave it!" he snapped, keeping his head down. "I'll get them myself."

 

[Jakoboi]

" Woah!" Jakobi exclaimed in amazement upon seeing Fletchinder, "I've never seen this Pokemon before!" He pointed his Pokedex at the Fletchinder: "Fletchinder, the Emeber Pokemon. Its speed right after take off already puts it in the top speed class of all bird pokemon."
"Chia you know what to do." Jakobi said with a grin. Chia felt proud of herself for supporting all the other Pokemon around her. She felt as though if she was some sort of celebrity in the Pokemon world for having such unique powers, so she galdly healed Walt's Fletchinder.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

A single lavender claw winked into existence, just long enough to snatch one of the scattered pokeballs of the "pea coat" man. It was gone the next instant.

Not too far off, Tracer stood in a sea of trainers, nonchalantly observing his prospects among all the new hopefuls, a Yankees cap drawn down over his eyes. There was a sudden drop of temperature to his right, and though he could see nothing, he felt something spherical slip into his hand. He frowned, and spoke in a soft voice that might easily be mistaken for talking on a Bluetooth.

"Friggin' hell, Haunter, I told you not to touch anything. Security's all over the place, and we are only here to observe, and wait on Gastly's report."

"You called?" came a familiar, disembodied voice. Tracer resisted the urge to sigh. Gastly had always had a flair for the theatrical, and he had doubtlessly been waiting for his cue. "Don't leave me hanging," Tracer said humorlessly. "Tell me what you've learned. Which trainers broke from the crowd?"

"Four outstanding," Gastly replied. "By name and primary pokemon . . .

"Alex with a Piplup. He is easily impressed, and star-stricken by relatively mundane trainer activities like wild captures. However, he appears self-aware of his weakness, and expressed desire to travel with a group. It will take some effort to get him alone.

"Jakobi with a Chikorita. He demonstrates a more intermediate knowledge of pokemon, and is of the Breeder class. His grasp on technology is mediocre, but his eavesdropping ability is impressive. Suggest planting false information for him to overhear when he is near.

"Brian with a Ralts. Unlike Jakobi, he shows the lowest level of awareness. However, his Ralts makes up for the difference with its field of empathic sensory. He had no alliances formed when I left him.

"Winnie with a Heracross. She has a sociable nature that has drawn the others, and shows confidence in her endeavors. Not surprising, since she's got the strongest pokemon of anyone. Attacking her successfully would incite either fear or rage in the others. I suggest avoiding her for now."

Tracer considered Gastly's initial assessments, and nodded. "Alright. Let's get away from this crowd. Lead me to this 'Brian' fellow, and we'll take that Ralts off his hands. After all, it's your natural enemy."


*Objective updated: steal Brian's Ralts*

 

[ThanosCar_The_Inevitable]

Walt looked at Jakobi and nodded: “Thanks, that was amazing.”

Walt’s phone suddenly beeped. It showed another message from HQ. Walt quickly ducked away from the others and read: “Isolate Trainer Brian for Pokémon Capture”.

Walt approached Brian and said in a friendly voice: “Hey there! Brian, right? I want to see how I fare in a battle. Could you and Ralts spar with me and Drac for a sec before the festival?”

 

[Cryronn the Mudkip]

Grant yawned as he woke up from his rest sleeping against a tree. “Good morning... Aqua?” He looked around and then looked down, seeing his favorite little Kip’ was on his lap.
“How long was I out... and where the heck is everyone?” He was slightly mad that he missed the rush, so he picked up the still sleeping Aqua and ran in a random direction.
(Where are y’all right now?)

 

[Red Gallade]

Brian looked at Walt with a raised eyebrow, but soon smiled. "I suppose I can do that; haven't battled in a while so why not." He said as his Ralts cheered confidently at the opportunity to battle and get stronger, the fact he was a Fairy type against Dark and Dragon type meant an easy victory, but both Brian and Ralts knew to never underestimate someone with a type disadvantage as they're were plenty of ways to make up for it.

 

[Lillipup07]

Olliver stepped off the boat, carrying Pablo in his arms. " Ok Pablo! We just need to catch a Rattata, trade it home to the professor, and then Link will be back! "Oliver came to Kanto to be a good trainer, and to get a Rattata for Professor Kukui. He had to leave Link with the prof. though so he could trade it to him. " Po-Po-Lo..... " ( " ok.... if you say so.... " ) Pablo told him, he missed Link, but it didn't matter. He ran into Pallet Town, dropping Pablo so he could explore. Pablo saw a Ralts, and a new potential trainer to befriend, so he waddled right over. " Po-Lo? Po-Lio, Popplio-Pop-Pop! " ( hey there! I'm Pablo, Pablo the Popplio! Who are you, what kind of Pokemon are you anyway? " ) Pablo asked, never seeing a Ralts before. He didn't care he was near other trainers. He was technically wild anyway, since Olliver never technically caught him. So, he never saw other trainers before, and it amazed him.

 

[Vaporeonn]

The slight disorganization of the festival was charming, the colorful crowds of people were mesmerizing, and the whole atmosphere felt perfect - and the group wasn't even in Pallet yet! But, Winnie wouldn't give into it just yet - she got a second chance, and she was definitely going through with her plan this time. Buy the Net Balls, and then you can have fun, she ordered herself.
Brian and Walt seemed to have been planning a battle. "Oh... I'd love to stay and cheer for you, but I must leave you for now," Winnie told them, slight sadness in her voice. Seeing trainers battling sparked up a certain passion in her, and Winnie wasn't glad to miss it out. "But have fun, you two!"

Now, the shop. Where was it, where was it... A turn to the left, then the second to the right... There were way more people than before, taking up Winnie's view of the streets and making her walking difficult, so her orientation wasn't as good as usual. Beetle and Toadie were both in their Pokeballs, to ease the walking. She felt bad - they wouldn't get to see the festival. But, as soon as possible, she'd let them out.

She was fairly certain that the shop was around that corner, and then to the left, and... Yes!, she had memorized it correctly. Her pace quickened as she approached the store. Crossing her fingers, she hoped the store was still open.

It wasn't. Disappointment washed over her as she stared at the locked doors. Of course, why would it be open during the festival? It was silly of her to hope... On the bright side, she'd get to watch the battke between Brian and Walt! Winnie still wasn't beaten down! She had six Net balls left, anyway, and there are plenty of cities in Kanto. She was bound to find another shop like that in one of them. Maybe Celadon...

On her way back, Winnie got herself in the middle of an even bigger crowd, slowing her down significantly. She didn't mind though - she got to enjoy the parade and festival! But a few steps later, part of the crowd stopped and parted. Someone had fallen down. Oh no,!, Winnie recoiled at the sight of the man on the floor. Her first instinct was to help him out, of course. Two Pokeballs rolled to her feet. She kneeled down to pick them up - they were surely his. As she was lifting herself up, she noticed the man standing in front of her. Her small frame looked even smaller compared to the man's. "These are yours, no?" Winnie asked, her lips curled in a cutesy smile.

 

[Wapiti]

"Yes, give them here," the man replied to Winnie, hurriedly grabbing the Poké Balls out of her hand, but not so swiftly as to seem overly aggressive. He looked the girl up and down and, deciding she was not a threat being that she did not seem to be suspicious of him, he turned his back. He kneeled to pick up the rest of his haul.

A few feet in front of him, the disembodied hand of a Haunter appeared and snatched one of the Poké Balls.

"No!" the man exclaimed, thrusting himself forward from his position on his knees in an attempt to grab the Ghost type. Unsuccessful, he broke his miniature fall by landing on his shoulder and quickly scrambled to his feet. He reached into one of the vertical pockets of his wool coat and pulled out another Poké Ball.

"Noctowl, come out," the man called, tossing the Ball high into the air.

In a flash of light, the owl Pokémon was released, and it stretched its wide wings, revealing a unusual, purple, cloud-like shroud that enveloped nearly it's entire body. Noctowl let out a shrill, ear-piercing screech as it soared above the heads of the crowd.

"Use Foresight! Find Haunter," the man commanded, dipping into the mass of people as to draw attention away from himself.

Obliging, the strange Noctowl released narrow red beams from its crimson-colored eyes, which scanned the ground like a spotlight. The outline of Haunter is quickly identified in the Flying type's sight and it dove towards its target, wind whistling through its brown plumage.

- - -

"What is going on?" Alex cried, covering his ears to defend against the Noctowl's deafening screech. "Tux, what do you see?"

The Piplup, who had been perched on his Trainer's head to get a better view of the parade, pointed towards the nosediving Noctowl with a flipper. "Pip, lup!"

Alex took off in the direction Tux was pointing, clumsily navigating the crowd with the occasional "Sorry!" as he bumped into spectators.

 

[Cryronn the Mudkip]

In his confusion, he bumped into Winnie. “Ah Crap baskets- Wait, the heck is going on?” He was quite shocked, but was coming to his senses. He brushed aside his brown hair and looked down at Aqua, who wasn’t just waking up. “Mud... Kip?” It made a small noise. “Er, everything is fine. Go back to bed.” He pat him on the head and he began to sleep again. “Errr... Sorry.” He said to Winnie.

 

[ThanosCar_The_Inevitable]

Walt looked at his opponent, then at Drac. “You ready?”
To be completely honest, Drac could not be any less ready. His last encounter with a fairy was quite the disaster. Still, he had to trust in Walt that he had a plan.

Walt yelled out “Drac, use a barrage of dragon rage attacks!”
Drac still obeyed the command, despite knowing perfectly well that it would have absolutely no effect on Ralts.
Ralts gracefully avoided all the blue flames nonetheless. Walt said to Drac: “Keep the fireballs in place”
Drac intently focused on the dragon rage attacks and they slowed to a halt, floating ominously in the air.”
Walt thought about a show he used to love as a kid (Poké Ball Z), and said to himself: “Sorry Piccolo, but I’m stealing your move”

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

Tracer's practiced years of stealth had developed in him a sixth sense for noticing presences, living or otherwise. Even so, he did not sense Noctowl's approach until the silent predator was right on top of his location. All at once, his pulse skyrocketed, and he dove to the ground by instinct as the owl pokemon dove in his direction. However, it had not been aiming for him. With a feral cry of bewilderment, Haunter was knocked right out of the air, as though his incorporeal form were suddenly solid.

We've been burned! Tracer thought, even as his head flooded with a dizzying wave of adrenaline. We'll have to split up. This one's on you, Haunter- you should have followed orders!

For the briefest of moments, Tracer and Haunter locked eyes, and Tracer put a subtle finger to his own neck. This was the signal to scatter, for it forced any pursuers to choose a target while the other fled. This Noctowl obviously knew what Haunter had done, as did its trainer, in all likelihood. It did not necessarily know that Tracer was tied to it. He would hold fast to that plausible deniability.

"Oh, god!" he shrieked, in a voice several octaves higher than his own. "A ghost!"

With that, he ran for all he was worth, making sure to stumble and nearly fall for added effect. It was an undignified retreat before the witness of a crowd, but they would all see a jittery little coward who'd gotten spooked by a Haunter. Who would suspect that it was actually a thief fleeing a crime scene before the authorities could identify him? As for Haunter, he knew to flee a fight that he couldn't win, and escape was one thing Ghost-types did better than any other. Merely phasing through the ground would do, but at the worst, what could pursuers hope to do? Knock him out? It would be no less than he deserved for compromising the mission needlessly.

Tracer clucked his teeth in annoyance. Now he only had Gastly with him to secure Brian's Ralts. It would be far less convenient. Such were his thoughts- until he noticed who was standing up ahead, already engaged with his target.

Agent Ruscit! Well, well. Perhaps my luck is about to change.

 

[Wapiti]

The man in the coat made his way through the crowd, gently touching the shoulders of those he needed to pass before slipping behind them. The onlookers were largely unperturbed by the scene unfolding in front them, many assuming that the commencing battle and the strange appearance of the Noctowl were simply spectacles that were a part of the celebration.

"Oh, god! A ghost!"

A young man staggered past him, clearly horrified at the sight of the Haunter, but he was paid no mind.

"Noctowl, Shadow Hold," the man said, approaching his Pokémon that lingered in the air above its prey.

The dark emanation surrounding Noctowl's body flared to life and grew, billowing like a storm cloud. Haunter suddenly became surrounded by the same smoke-like substance, swelling out of thin air. The man in the coat readied a Poké Ball.

"You shouldn't take things that don't belong you," he said with an apathetic tone, lobbing the Ball towards the Ghost Pokémon.

 

[Jakoboi]

Upon getting a better glance at Pallet, Jakobi felt the world around him fade away as he maintained an awed focus towards the vibrant colors and lively sounds coming from the festival. Once he regained his senses, he began to notice that the group was splitting apart. Jakobi found this to be reassuring that it was acceptable for him to move on his own as well, which gave him full freedom to enjoy the festival independently, he figured that he would still manage to catch up to his newfound friends eventually. He and Chia began to start bolting into the crowded streets of pallet, once again Jakobi has encountered something he has never experienced before. "Hmm what to do first?" He thought. "Fire crackers or food? Fire crackers. Food. Ah screw it, Let's do both!" He said to Chia in a lively manner before giving her some money which she carefully held in her mouth before skipping over to a street food cart selling Alolan style malasadas.
While Chia was busy getting the two of them food, Jakobi went right across the street and walked a few feet towards the corner where people of all ages were immersed n various small sized firecrackers such as sparklers, torches, and Roman Candles. He walked up to the elderly woman who sold them and bought a sparkler to enjoy now, and a rocket which he would save for sometime later.
Jakobi and Chia, trotting while carrying a bag of two sweet malasadas, both rendezvoused at a bench near the coast of Pallet so they could enjoy the glimmering sunset on the sea and the appealing charm of the parade at the same time. Jakobi sported a smile reaching to both of his ears, a fizzing sparkler in one hand and a delicious malasada in the other, "This is truly what life's about, am I right guys?!"
Chia cried out in cheerful glee and took a bite out of her own while Skipper chirped and pecked at all the crumbs the two dropped on the floor.
Jakobi's temporal paradise was cut short when a woman he had never met ran towards him with an anxious look on her face, "Sir, I don't think you should let your pokemon out of their pokeballs right now! A ghost pokemon just now was stealing from a man right around here!" She explained worriedly while pointing to a crowded mass of people. "I advise you return them to their balls and run away from here!" Before Jakobi could even respond to the woman, she took off running in the opposite direction of the crowd. "Another stolen pokemon case!? Man, what is it with this town?" Jakobi looked at the crowd and saw somewhat of a commotion, some bird pokemon is flying around in the air, he couldn't make out the exact image. Jakobi felt a slight inclination to go and help but figured that with a festival as grand as this, there were bound to be authorities nearby and it wasn't worth risking losing his pokemon and eggs. "I guess it's time to head back to route 1, guys!" Jakobi said with a sigh as he returned the two into their balls and packed everything into his backpack before fast-walking back towards Viridian, once again.

 

[Pokemon Fanfiction Novels]

Haunter bleated a mingled cry of rage and fear as the Pea Coat Man's pokeball snapped open and dragged at his essence with its relentless pull. His species was one of imagination, and so he was smarter than the average pokemon. He knew, by experience and instinct, that this situation should not be possible. Pokemon attached to pokeballs could not be captured by other pokeballs without the original being destroyed or disabled first. It was why Tracer preferred stealing pokemon who were in their balls, rather than ones who were out, since it forced him to carry them awkwardly to the nearest Rocket stronghold. Had Haunter known better, he would have realized that this mysterious Pea Coat Man carried a secret technology, the envy of criminal organizations everywhere, long-coveted for its rule-breaking power. The singularity. The Snag Machine.

There was nothing he could have done. Creatures like Noctowl were built to flush his type out, and this particular one knew some black arts that held him in place. Even if he broke loose, the Pea Coat Man would have him in another ball or three. That was the thing about the Snag Machine: as long as there were balls to throw, it was the device itself that gave them Snag power.

The ball rocked once. Twice. Three times. Then, the blinking red button on the front of the ball went out, and it stilled. Tracer's Haunter was his no longer.

***

Tracer felt nothing different, in the moment that Haunter was taken from him. He had no metaphysical connection, spiritual or psychic, to any of his pokemon. Nevertheless, he was well-aware that those who held psychic pokemon often did possess psychic power, and so his mind was carefully blank when he approached Brian. This was not his first time stealing psychic pokemon, and he knew how to coordinate with Gastly below the surface of a situation. They had long since formulated a plan, complete with contingencies, and now was the moment of truth.

I am a poison dart frog.

Terrible thoughts erupted in his mind. Some were the morbid fantasies of what he would do to some of these happy greenhorn trainers if he could. Some were of horrible sights he had seen in his life, which he had never been able to unsee. Some took no form at all, but streamed about him like a murder of crows, based in the catalyst of his rage. It was not for nothing that he had ended up in Team Rocket.

At the same time, Gastly drifted into position, invisible as wind in the night, his quintessence perfectly tuned to Tracer's black mind. Only his ever-present ghostly cold gave any indication that he was near, and Tracer counted on the poison gas to end things quickly- gas that could down even an elephant in two seconds.

"Yeah! Knock him out!" Tracer cheered, as if rooting for Walt's Deino as it fired blast after blast at Brian's Ralts.

That was the signal. All at once, Gastly engulfed Brian's head in noxious gas, fully intent on suffocating him to unconsciousness. It was dirty, unethical, and completely illegal. It was a Team Rocket method through and through.

 

[Red Gallade]

Brain focused on the battle and his Ralts enough that he was caught off guard when Gastly attempted to engulf his head, he struggled and tried to get him off whilst Ralts looked back and attempted to fire a Disarming Voice attack to help out. Afterward, he charged aggressively toward the Gastly whilst Brian eventually fell unconscious, his white fedora fell off his head. Ralts ran up to him and lightly shook his head in an attempt to wake him up, but to no avail. Before anything else could happen, he quickly decided to fire a Disarming Voice into the sky in hopes someone would come to it.