Update Two: Baby Steps
The first few steps of my journey were...boring, to say the very least. Route 1 could only offer so much, after all. To make the journey a little more fun, I decided to let my new companion out for some company. I took the Poke Ball from off my belt and threw it out in front of me. In a flash of light, the Ball opened and released Bulbasaur. The poor creature looked confused and turned around to look at me.
"Hi there, Bulbasaur," I said, smiling to show that I was not a threat to him.
"Woah," the plant monster breathed in disbelief. "Someone ACTUALLY chose me!"
Now, it was common knowledge that Pokemon did not demonstrate the ability to communicate proficiently with humans. Most of the time, outside of some extremely rare cases, they only had the ability to say their own names, which is probably where most of their species names came from. So, naturally, my reaction to hearing a Bulbasaur talk to me in perfect English was to stare at it blankly and have an existential crisis. "Did you...just talk?"
The Bulbasaur's eyes glistened. "He can understand me, too! Pinch me, I must be dreaming!"
The creature offered up a good solution, so I quickly pinched myself in the leg in an attempt to wake myself up from the dream I was currently having. After a brief pain, I looked around and the setting had not changed. I was still on Route 1, standing in front of a talking Bulbasaur.
"Okay," I sighed, putting my hands on my face in an attempt to gather my thoughts. "So you can talk. How on Earth did you learn how to do that?"
"Oh, I didn't!" the Bulbasaur answered nonchalantly. "You are somehow able to understand me while others aren't, I guess!"
"That doesn't make this more logical!" I yelled, starting to freak out a bit. After a few deep breaths, I calmed myself down. "I guess we'll figure this out later," I conceded. "For now, I guess it would be more fun if I called you something other than Bulbasaur...how about Caesar?"
Caesar's eyes lit up again. "I love it! It sounds powerful, like an emperor going into battle!"
"You also remind me of the salad," I said flatly. The shock on Caesar's face made me laugh. It seemed that Pokemon's personalities came through a lot better when you could understand what they were saying to you. Who would've guessed?
Our first interaction was cut short, however, when a Pidgey flying around in the sky took notice of us and dive-bombed me. Caesar was quick to respond by jumping into the air and tackling it before it was able to hurt me. Pokemon seemed to be much more independent than I was originally led to believe!
I took advantage of the situation and threw one of the Poke Balls in my Bag at the bird. In a flash of light, the Pidgey disappeared into the capsule and after a few seconds of struggling, the capture was complete. I quietly fist pumped and turned over to Caesar. "Nice job," I praised, giving him a pat on the head. It did seem a little weird to be doing that to a creature that seemed intelligent enough to carry on a conversation with me, but he didn't seem to mind. I think he was just happy to finally be getting some recognition. Out of the three choices of starter Pokemon in the Kanto region, Bulbasaur had always seemed to come up short. I decided right then and there that the two of us would prove everybody wrong.
That would come later, though. For now, I picked up the Pidgey's Poke Ball and decided on a name. "I think I'll call him Orwell," I said, not putting a whole lot of thought into the name. I figured whatever was in my heart at that moment would do for a name. Caesar liked his name, even after I told him it was a salad pun. With my decision being final, I threw the ball to summon Orwell.
"Oi, what's that all about?" The bird shouted. He seemed to have a thick accent that I had never heard before. So this one could talk, too. Seemed that this phenomenon wasn't just isolated to Caesar.
"Hi there, Orwell," I said nervously. "You're my first capture!"
"Orwell?" he repeated, unsure of himself. "This bloody wanker, of all the-"
"Do you not like it?" I questioned, unsure of myself.
Orwell seemed shocked. "You can understand me? Bloody hell, guess I'll have to be a little more careful. Nah, the name's great. Just...talking to myself."
I wasn't really convinced, but I didn't want to pry so soon. "I guess we should get going. We've got a long journey ahead of us!" The team nodded and followed along close behind.
***
After a short walk, we finally reached Viridian City. This was the first stop on our journey, and it was time to stock up for the road ahead. After taking the team to the Pokemon Center to give them a little bit of rest, I made a quick stop at the nearby mart to pick up some Potions and Poke Balls. Luckily, Mom had given me a pretty nice chunk of change to get me started. Once I got everything prepared, I brought Caesar and Orwell back out to discuss our plans.
"So," I said, "since we have the advantage of communication, I think it's only fair that I consult with the team before I do anything. Do you guys just want to keep pushing forward? Or should we check out that other path off to the west?"
"Mate, I'm here to follow you!" Orwell assured me. "I'll go where you go."
"There could be a potential teammate to the west," Caesar reminded me. "We won't go too far out of the way, since the map says the Indigo Plateau gate is pretty close by."
"Good plan," I smiled, happy that my Bulbasaur was a smart one. Why did people pass on these Pokemon? The three of us made our way over to Route 22, and prepared for some training.
"Hi there, Bulbasaur," I said, smiling to show that I was not a threat to him.
"Woah," the plant monster breathed in disbelief. "Someone ACTUALLY chose me!"
Now, it was common knowledge that Pokemon did not demonstrate the ability to communicate proficiently with humans. Most of the time, outside of some extremely rare cases, they only had the ability to say their own names, which is probably where most of their species names came from. So, naturally, my reaction to hearing a Bulbasaur talk to me in perfect English was to stare at it blankly and have an existential crisis. "Did you...just talk?"
The Bulbasaur's eyes glistened. "He can understand me, too! Pinch me, I must be dreaming!"
The creature offered up a good solution, so I quickly pinched myself in the leg in an attempt to wake myself up from the dream I was currently having. After a brief pain, I looked around and the setting had not changed. I was still on Route 1, standing in front of a talking Bulbasaur.
"Okay," I sighed, putting my hands on my face in an attempt to gather my thoughts. "So you can talk. How on Earth did you learn how to do that?"
"Oh, I didn't!" the Bulbasaur answered nonchalantly. "You are somehow able to understand me while others aren't, I guess!"
"That doesn't make this more logical!" I yelled, starting to freak out a bit. After a few deep breaths, I calmed myself down. "I guess we'll figure this out later," I conceded. "For now, I guess it would be more fun if I called you something other than Bulbasaur...how about Caesar?"
Caesar's eyes lit up again. "I love it! It sounds powerful, like an emperor going into battle!"
"You also remind me of the salad," I said flatly. The shock on Caesar's face made me laugh. It seemed that Pokemon's personalities came through a lot better when you could understand what they were saying to you. Who would've guessed?
Our first interaction was cut short, however, when a Pidgey flying around in the sky took notice of us and dive-bombed me. Caesar was quick to respond by jumping into the air and tackling it before it was able to hurt me. Pokemon seemed to be much more independent than I was originally led to believe!
I took advantage of the situation and threw one of the Poke Balls in my Bag at the bird. In a flash of light, the Pidgey disappeared into the capsule and after a few seconds of struggling, the capture was complete. I quietly fist pumped and turned over to Caesar. "Nice job," I praised, giving him a pat on the head. It did seem a little weird to be doing that to a creature that seemed intelligent enough to carry on a conversation with me, but he didn't seem to mind. I think he was just happy to finally be getting some recognition. Out of the three choices of starter Pokemon in the Kanto region, Bulbasaur had always seemed to come up short. I decided right then and there that the two of us would prove everybody wrong.
That would come later, though. For now, I picked up the Pidgey's Poke Ball and decided on a name. "I think I'll call him Orwell," I said, not putting a whole lot of thought into the name. I figured whatever was in my heart at that moment would do for a name. Caesar liked his name, even after I told him it was a salad pun. With my decision being final, I threw the ball to summon Orwell.
"Oi, what's that all about?" The bird shouted. He seemed to have a thick accent that I had never heard before. So this one could talk, too. Seemed that this phenomenon wasn't just isolated to Caesar.
"Hi there, Orwell," I said nervously. "You're my first capture!"
"Orwell?" he repeated, unsure of himself. "This bloody wanker, of all the-"
"Do you not like it?" I questioned, unsure of myself.
Orwell seemed shocked. "You can understand me? Bloody hell, guess I'll have to be a little more careful. Nah, the name's great. Just...talking to myself."
I wasn't really convinced, but I didn't want to pry so soon. "I guess we should get going. We've got a long journey ahead of us!" The team nodded and followed along close behind.
***
After a short walk, we finally reached Viridian City. This was the first stop on our journey, and it was time to stock up for the road ahead. After taking the team to the Pokemon Center to give them a little bit of rest, I made a quick stop at the nearby mart to pick up some Potions and Poke Balls. Luckily, Mom had given me a pretty nice chunk of change to get me started. Once I got everything prepared, I brought Caesar and Orwell back out to discuss our plans.
"So," I said, "since we have the advantage of communication, I think it's only fair that I consult with the team before I do anything. Do you guys just want to keep pushing forward? Or should we check out that other path off to the west?"
"Mate, I'm here to follow you!" Orwell assured me. "I'll go where you go."
"There could be a potential teammate to the west," Caesar reminded me. "We won't go too far out of the way, since the map says the Indigo Plateau gate is pretty close by."
"Good plan," I smiled, happy that my Bulbasaur was a smart one. Why did people pass on these Pokemon? The three of us made our way over to Route 22, and prepared for some training.
[close]
