"I"m Shawn Oak. From Pallet."Once I introduced myself, Charmeleon growled and showcased its fangs in a threatening motion towards Norio.
"Eek! Tell it to stop... please!"
Now that I take a good look at him, Norio was a boy around my age. He had long, unkempt black hair.
His gla.s.ses were kind of large, covering a big portion of his face and making his eyes look a little bigger. Your typical otaku-look from back on earth.
Ahh, the memories. All of my friends were otakus. I sure miss them a little bit.
"Shawn. I couldn"t help but notice... Your Charmeleon is the only Pokemon in your party?"
"Indeed. Why does it matter?"
Laughing, Norio took out a laptop from his shoulder bag. He then raised it up in the air in an exaggerated motion.
"I know of a website that accepts money for information on rare Pokemon habitats!"
Really? Oh well, now he caught my interest.
"Alright, you got me at rare Pokemon. What do you need in return?"
With a smirk, Norio pushed up his gla.s.ses once more.
"Straight to the point. I like it. I just need you to come with me... There"s this rare Pokemon I want but I am too weak to capture it."
Well, that was unexpected. Someone this proud asking for help?
Also, I"m not afraid to use money. I"m loaded now either way.
"Okay. I"ll lend you a hand. Now show me the website."
"Let us go to a more private place first. Shall we?"
Sighing, I followed him and we entered a small inn. I made sure to get some treats for Charmeleon.
With a smile, Norio then turned on his computer and started typing as I watched carefully.
A website with a catching-net as their logo showed up on the screen.
"This website is called Poke-Scanner! The company behind it is highly secretive and is said to span both the regions, Kanto and Jhoto in size. They have a ma.s.sive intelligence unit that locates Pokemon and reports back."
Wheew. I couldn"t help but whistle in surprise. This sure could be helpful. After all, The database contained some rare Pokemon habitats, but sadly it wasn"t fully complete.
"The Pokemon that I"m looking for is Exeggcute. It is so rare that they even have a special preservation ground in the Safari Zone located towards the coast in Fuchsia..."
Exeggcute? What a coincidence! Exeggutor, after all, is one of the Pokemon I had my eyes on for the team.
"I already paid for the info. There is a hidden area back in Viridian forest that is usually missed by travelers. There, it is said that a small population of this species is located."
I looked at the map, and sure enough, the System compared data and realized that I had missed the small area completely.
"How nice. Let"s set out as soon as possible. I need to take Charmeleon to the Pokemon Center first though."
"Okay. Let"s meet up at the entrance of Viridian forest in an hour."
------------------------
An hour later.
Charmeleon and I arrived at the entrance of the forest, where Norio was already waiting with his Horsea.
When they saw us, they greeted us with enthusiasm.
"Thanks for coming on time! Let"s get right to it!"
After the greetings, we headed out into the forest and walked for about two hours before we reached the area.
There, a small clearing could be seen through the thick shrubbery. Albeit one could only see it if they focused.
"Wow, so there really was a hidden area."
"Of course! You go first. I"ll be covering your back in case any wild Pokemon attack."
Heh. My Charmeleon is the king of this forest. If any of these bugs dare to attack they"ll just get roasted.
Thinking that, and with Charmeleon by my side, I walked through the bushes.
As I was walking, I noticed something was wrong on the ground. But before I could react, I started falling down a black hole.
[Detected trap! The Host is advised to try and get out!]
Such a useless System!
The last thing I saw was the smiling face of Norio and a blue Pokemon with a large plant on its head. It dropped some kind of Powder on us, making us fall asleep.
"Hehehehe... Sorry Shawn, no hard feelings okay? This is all necessary for my plan to become the very best!"
"You..."
I then blacked out.
------------------------
An unknown amount of time later.
Arghh... Where am I?
[Answering Host. The Host is still in Viridian forest, albeit out of the hole.]
Looking around, I recalled the events that transpired.
"Norio Nagayama... I will remember your face! Charmeleon... Let"s go and teach that guy a lesson!"
...
Silence.
Looking around, there was no sight of Charmeleon. As if it had disappeared.
"No!"
Oh my G.o.d, what have I done!? My Partner!
Calm down, me... Calm down. I can still solve this issue!
"System! Where is Norio!"
[Answering Host.
It is possible to track individual: Norio Nagayama, through laptop signal.
Initiate search?]
"Heck yes!"
[Starting up tracking Process.
Signal Detected. Successfully Connected.
Individual: Norio is located at 15 degrees North, twelve kilometers away in Pewter city. ]
"I"ll find you, You sc.u.m!"
After an hour of running, I finally got to the specified location. It was the small inn from earlier, located near the Pokemon center.
Why would he stay in an inn if he"s a trainer? Whatever. There"s no time.
Barging in, I paid for a room and thus got access to the second floor, where the living quarters were located.
I followed the signal and reached a locked door. I then reached into my spatial Pocket and retrieved my Raticate.
"Raticate, use Hyper fang on the door handle!"
"Rati... Raticate!"
Its front teeth started glowing red and it made quick work of the door. Entering, I noticed a frightened Horsea laying on the bed next to a shoulder bag.
"d.a.m.n it! He"s not here! Nidorino, Nidorina, Point your Poison-Stings towards Horsea!"
In a swift motion, I retrieved another two Pokeb.a.l.l.s and released my two poison Pokemon.
They then pointed their intimidating purple-glowing horns towards the blue sehorse.
I don"t have time for any pity.
Although Horsea might be innocent, I have to find my partner at all costs.
"Hor... Hoseaa..."
Looking scared, Horsea started to tremble.
"Look, I"m not going to hurt you as long as you take me to where your trainer is. Now, lead the way... Unless you want these two to stab you with their horns."
With a helpless look, Horsea nodded and started leading me to Norio.
Not long after, we reached a back alley.
I told Horsea and company to keep quiet, as I did some recon.
What I saw, was what looked like Norio. He was in the midst of a conversation with multiple people...
They were wearing black clothes with a huge red "R" on their chest.
"Team Rocket!"