Chapter 1

Katana’s First Pok‚mon

Lavender Town isn’t the most exciting place to grow up. The most exciting thing around here is the Pokemon Tower, which is famous for being the final resting place for pokemon. There’s also the fact that it’s full of ghost-type pokemon. I never liked ghost-types, though that’s mostly because of the fact that most ghost-types are also natural poison-types, of which I am highly allergic. So, I always avoided the Pokemon Tower for that very reason.

This doesn’t mean that I don’t like pokemon in general. As a matter of fact, I love pokemon. As a young girl, I would often visit the Pokemon Center, so I could see all the pokemon they were taking care of.

I also liked to visit the Volunteer Pokemon Center, run by a nice old man named Mr. Fuji. He and his family helped take care of wild pokemon that were sick or injured. Whenever I went to visit Mr. Fuji, he’d let me help take care of the pokemon. He has the most to do when the Pokemon Center is closed, which doesn’t happen very often.

One day, sometime after I’d turned six, I’d decided that I wanted to become a pokemon trainer. I wanted to be with pokemon, but I didn’t want to stay in Lavender Town, so being a pokemon trainer seemed to be the best option.

I woke up that morning with a goal in mind, to try and find a pokemon and make it my own. I wanted to get this done today, because I wanted so badly to have my own pokemon. So I quickly took a shower, got dressed, and went to the kitchen to have my breakfast.

As I was stuffing half the plate in my mouth, my mother came running into the room, seemingly in a hurry to go somewhere. Then she suddenly stopped and raised her eyebrow at me. She apparently noticed how I was hastily scarfing down my breakfast.

“What’s your hurry?” She asked.

“I gotta (chew) hurry and finish (chew) sho I can go get (chew) my own pokemon,” I muffled with my mouth full. “What’s your’s?”

“Your father and I have another dig in that desert on Route One-Eleven.”

“Route One-Eleven?” I wondered out loud.

“It’s in the Hoenn Region.”

“You mean the desert doesn’t have a name?” I asked after swallowing my food.

“No it doesn’t,” She answered as she started searching the cabinets, “But it’s said that there’s some ancient ruins buried there, and I think we’re getting close to finding them.”

My parents were archeologists. They traveled the world digging up fossils and old ruins of ancient civilizations. Sometimes they would even find stuff related to ancient and legendary pokemon. Since they were almost always away from home, I didn’t get to see them very often. I guess they figured the field would be too dangerous for a child. This also made it so our relationship was more informal than anything else. My mom and I were more like good friends than mother and daughter.

“Isn’t there a huge sandstorm there that takes up the whole area and never stops?”

“Yes, that’s why I’m here. To pick up proper supplies.”

“So where’s Dad?”

“He’s already in the Hoenn region, next to the border of the desert.”

“Isn’t the Hoenn Region across the ocean?”

“That’s right. Have you been watching the Interesting Places To Visit Network again?”

“Yes.”

“Good girl,” she said while shuffling through the shelves.

“Your desert gear is in the big shelf next to the TV, Mom,” I pointed out. Since I lived in the house more than they did, I knew where almost everything was.

“Oh ya, thanks,” she said as she ran over to the shelf and grabbed her desert equipment.

“When will you be back this time?”

“It depends on when and if we find the ruins.”

“Well, be careful. Sandstorms can be really dangerous, so be sure not to forget your Go-Goggles.”

“Don’t worry, we’re more than prepared. And you should be careful in your search for a pokemon. Wild pokemon can be pretty vicious if you’re careless.”

“Ok, I’ll remember that,” I said as I took another bite of my breakfast.

After a long moment of scuffling and grunting, Mom finally took a couple of steps from the shelf. She grabbed a few things and got them in order in her giant backpack.

“Ok, I think that’ll do it,” she said as she grabbed the backpack and walked to the door. “Bye, Honey, good luck finding a pokemon.”

“Bye, Mom,” I called as she went out the door, “Good luck on your arco-logical dig with Dad.”

“Thanks, Sweety,” She started to close the door.

“You’ll have your phone with you, right?” I asked, because the phone was the only was we communicated while they were on a dig.

“Of course we will. You can call us any time. Bye.” She shut the door and left.

After that, I quickly finished off my breakfast, put the dishes in the sink, and ran out the door.

I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to go find a pokemon. But first I had to find someone who knew where to find one. I was young, and I’d never left town before, so I had no idea where I could find a pokemon that wasn’t a ghost-type. The Pokemon Center was closed that day, so I couldn’t go ask Nurse Joy. And Mr. Fuji was doing something in the Pokemon Tower, so I couldn’t ask him. So the next best thing was to ask a passing pokemon trainer.

I was mostly made fun of for my lack of knowledge. The passing trainers I asked just laughed at me and moved on, saying things like “Everybody should know where to get a pokemon,” and “Why should I tell a little squirt like you?” And others still were rude enough to say, “There’s a tower full of pokemon right in front of you!”

The only problem with that was that I didn’t even want to go near the tower, for the obvious reason that I was allergic to the pokemon inside. But of course these strangers didn’t know that, so I just went on to the next trainer that would pass by.

After several hours of this, I was beginning to wonder if there were any nice trainers around. By the time it was late afternoon, I couldn’t help but think that there weren’t any nice trainers in the world.

I sat down on a rock next to the Pokemon Center, slouched down, staring at my feet, and trying to figure out why all the trainers were so mean. Thinking about all the mean things the trainers said to me made tears well up in my eyes.

When I noticed that my vision was blurring from the tears, I quickly wiped them away and tried to stop them from coming back. It was a failed attempt, because they came back anyway.

“Why won’t anyone help me?” I sobbed.

After a moment of crying, I noticed a tall shadow appear on the ground in front of me. Startled, I looked up away from my feet to see where the shadow was coming from.

I saw a young boy with spiky, red hair. He also wore a cape on his shoulders and a backpack slung on his back. I looked up at him and he looked down at me.

“Why are you crying?” the boy said softly.

“I wanna find a pokemon so I can have one of my very own,” I explained, “But nobody will tell me where I can find a pokemon. And they were all saying mean things to me.”

“Well, that’s not right,” he sat down next to me. “A nice-looking little girl like you shouldn’t have to cry. I’ll help you.”

“Are you a pokemon trainer?” I asked with a final sniff.

“I sure am,” he answered, “I just turned ten and got my pokemon trainer’s license a few weeks ago, and I already have a few gym badges. Not to mention a healthy number of pokemon. But my real goal is to get me a Dragonite.”

“A Dragonite?” I said in wonder, “That’s one of those dragon-type pokemon, isn’t it?”

“Yea, they’re really powerful pokemon, and very rare. I’m thinking I’m gonna have to try and find a Dratini so I can raise it up into a Dragonite.”

“That sounds really neat.”

“Yea, but right now I want to help you with your goal.”

“You’ll really help me?” I asked in excitement.

“Sure, I don’t see why not.”

“So, can you tell me where I can find a pokemon?”

“Have you tried the Pokemon Tower?”

“There’s ghost pokemon in there, and I’m allergic to them.”

“Allergic? Like itching and sneezing allergic?”

“Not that kind of allergic. I get really sick, like my tummy starts hurting and I can’t stand up, if I get too close to a pokemon made of poison.”

“I see. It seems to me like you’ve never been outside of this town before.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because if you have been outside of town, you’d know that there are pokemon in the tall grass just beyond the edge of town.” He said pointing out to the west side of town.

“You mean I can find a pokemon without even going very far from home?”

“That’s right,” he smiled as I quickly got up off the rock.

I started to run off, but then I stopped and looked back at the nice young trainer.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“My name’s Lance,” he answered.

“Well, thank you, Lance. My name’s Katana.”

“Nice name,” he replied. “Go get yourself a pokemon. And just remember that most wild pokemon live in the tall grass.”

“Thank you again, Bye,” I turned around and rushed off to the western edge of town.

I stopped right at the edge and looked out to the road.

“Tall grass...” I mumbled to myself, looking around the road, “I don’t see any tall grass.”

So I decided to keep walking further away from town. The path curved around a big hill, but I decided to climb the hill to get a better look around.

When I got to the top, it was like I could see the whole world. I even went so far as to look for my dad in the Hoenn Region. But all I could really see was the city over to the west, all of Lavender Town to the east, and more hills to the north and south. It also got me a really good view of the road.

After just a few moments of looking over the road, I noticed a large patch of green just a few yards from the hill I was on.

“That must be where the tall grass is!” I thought out loud as I started running down the hill.

As I ran, I noticed a wall looming up around the patch of grass. A wall made of rocks. The only opening I could see was covered in vines.

As I got closer, I could see that there were vines all over the wall. I looked at the opening, and I noticed that the vines looked tough enough to stand up to just about anything, so I decided to climb it. I wasn’t about to give up on finding my own pokemon now that I knew where they were. So I stepped aside from the opening and started climbing the vines on the wall.

As I got to the top, someone came up to the opening of the wall. He looked like an older kid, like in his mid teens. He looked the wall up and down and then pulled out a small red and white ball.

“A pokeball?” I wondered in thought, “He must be a pokemon trainer, too.”

“Ivysaur, use Cut attack!” He yelled as he threw the ball at the opening.

A small green pokemon, with a budding flower on its back, popped out of the ball.

“Ivysaur!” the pokemon called back as it cut through the vines like a hot knife through butter.

I just stared, still hanging onto the top of the wall, as the trainer called back his pokemon and stepped inside. I hadn’t gotten over the top yet, so I dropped down and followed the trainer inside.

It was like a jungle inside, except without any trees. I was small enough that the tall grass was quite a bit taller than I was. As I shuffled through the grass, I noticed the trainer turned around and was looking in my direction.

“Who’s there?” He asked as he pulled out the pokeball again.

“Me,” I answered.

He then gave a confused look. “Wait... Where are you?”

“I’m in here,” I answered, jumping and waving my arms up in the air.

“Huh? A kid?” The trainer mumbled in confusion, “Hey, what’s a little squirt like you doing in a place like this? Don’t you know this place is dangerous? There’s wild pokemon all over this area. You could get seriously hurt if you don’t have a pokemon WITH you.”

“That’s why I came here,” I answered, bringing my arms back down, “To get my very own pokemon.”

“Do you at least have a pokeball?”

“Uh... no,” I answered uneasily, “Do I need one?”

“If you wanna catch a pokemon, you gotta catch it in a pokeball.”

“Oh,” I stood silent for a moment.

“Here,” He said, reaching into his backpack, “Take this.”

He then tossed a small red and white object at me. I jumped up and caught it.

“Wow! A pokeball!” I jumped in excitement, “Thank you, Sir.”

“No problem, kid,” he answered, “But be sure not to stick around here too long, though.”

“Why not?” I wondered out loud.

“The vines that cover the entrance grow really fast. It only takes like an hour or two to cover it up again. If you stay too long, you’ll be stuck here until the next trainer shows up to cut through the vines.”

“Oh, ok,” I answered as he started to walk away, “Thanks again.”

“No problem,” he waved back at me as he disappeared from my sight.

“Ivysaur, Cut!” I heard him command in the distance.

“Ivysaur!” The pokemon said as it cut through the vines in the opening on the other side of the grass.

I put the pokeball in my pocket and started wandering through the grass.

After walking around for several minutes, I started wondering if I was ever going to find a pokemon. That’s when something red darted across the grass and stopped in font of me.

“Oh, pretty!” I admired the small red pokemon. It was a brownish red color. It looked like a little fox cub with soft, curly hair on its head and six flowing tails, each ending in a curl.

“Hey, I’ve seen this before,” I thought, recognizing the pokemon’s species, “I think Mr. Fuji said it was a vulpix.”

I then pulled the pokeball out of my pocket, but before I could think of throwing it, it ran off into the grass.

“Hey! Wait up!” I called to it as I ran after it.

I was mostly following the movements in the grass, since grass was all I could see. I came out of the grass into a small clearing. The pokemon was backed up against the wall.

“Alright. Now’s my chance,” I thought to myself, getting ready to throw the pokeball.

“Vullllpix...” It growled at me.

“Pokeball go!” I yelled as I threw the ball at the pokemon.

“Vulpix! Vull!!!” It yelled as it did blew a fire attack out of its mouth, stopping the pokeball in midair and charring it to a crisp.

“Oh no!” I gasped. “My pokeball!”

The pokemon then started edging sideways, as if to try and escape. I caught this and moved sideways as well.

“I don’t have a pokeball anymore, but that’s not gonna stop me from catching you, Vulpix.”

“Vulpix,” It answered, as if accepting the challenge. It then did a fire attack into my face.

“OW-OW-OW!!!” I yelped, brushing my charred face with my hands. Then I saw the Vulpix as it ran into the grass again.

“Hey! Where are you going?” I called, running after it again.

This time, it was doing zigzags in the grass. It was a lot harder to keep track of it. One moment it swerved to the left, the next to the right, and then it was behind me, and then in front again. It was like it was playing with me. I stopped running to try and figure things out.

I felt helpless. I couldn’t tell where it was going or what it was going to do next. All I could do was stand there as it ran circles around me.

“It’s too fast,” I realized, darting my eyes around to try and see where it was. “This is not fair.”

“Pix!” It grunted as it stopped moving around.

I was trying to figure out where it was when I heard something else.

“Meoowwwth,” It said angrily.

“Vulpix!” It yelped and started running again.

Before I could follow it, it looked like all the grass was moving after it.

“Meow! Meow-eow-owth! Meowth!” Cried the voices of what sounded like dozens of other pokemon as they were in hot pursuit of the vulpix I was after. I started running in the same direction, hoping to get ahead and reach it.

I ended up at the same clearing as before, and it was again back up against the wall. This time, it was also surrounded by several cat-looking pokemon.

They were a yellowish white in color, and they had brown triangular ears, brown patches on the hind feet and tail, six whiskers on their faces going in all directions, and a gold charm on their foreheads that look a lot like money.

“Those are Meowth!” I realized in thought.

“Meowth!” Each of them said in their own tone. They were all really angry.

“Vulllll!” The vulpix growled, trying to back up more, even though its back was squished against the wall.

I was about to reach over and grab it when the Meowth all jumped in at once and started clawing and scratching. There was also money flying everywhere. I raised my arms to keep my face from being hit.

“Oh no!” I shouted, as I tried to see through the crowd of Meowth. “Don’t worry, little Vulpix! I’m coming!”

I leapt over the Meowth and landed right in the middle of the brawl. I picked up any Meowth that stood in my way and tossed it aside, trying to find the Vulpix. Of course, as soon as I stepped in I was being battered with money and scratched up. It hurt a lot, but I was determined to get the Vulpix out of this mess.

After digging through all of the center Meowth, I finally found the Vulpix. It was badly scratched and bruised, and it wasn’t moving. I immediately picked it up and started running towards the opening. I immediately heard the sound of dozens of snarling Meowth running behind me.

“Vulpix?” It said in a weak voice, looking up at me.

“Everything’s gonna be ok now,” I assured it. “I’m getting you out of here.”

“Vul...” It looked at me for a moment as I ran closer and closer to the edge of the grass where the opening was. Then it looked back down and pressed itself against me.

As I got closer to the opening, I noticed that the vines had mostly grown back. All that was left was a small crawl space.

“Ah!” I yelped as I skidded to a stop in front of the mostly vine-covered opening.

I looked down at what was left of the crawl space, noting that the vines were filling up the hole quickly. The Meowth were closing in behind us, so I knew I had to work quickly.

I took the Vulpix in my hands and gently placed it through the hole and put her down on the ground on the other side. Then I started to crawl through.

The wines were growing quickly, making the hole smaller and smaller, and thus harder to crawl through. When I started crawling through it, it was just big enough for me to crawl through on my elbows. When I got my upper half through, the hole became too small. I couldn’t move.

“Ug, I’m stuck!” I yelped as I struggled to try and pull myself free.

The vines’ grip was just too tight on me. I simply couldn’t pull myself any further.

“At least the Vulpix won’t be hurt anymore,” I thought. “But now I can’t get it back home to help it get better.”

“Meow-wowth!!!” yowled the Meowth behind me.

Then I felt an excruciating sting go through the lower half of my body, the half still on the other side of the wall.

“AAH!!!” I yelped in pain as the Meowth clawed at my legs and waist. “Somebody help me!!!”

“Vulpix! Vulllllll!”

Then I felt something hot around my waist. I looked down and found the Vulpix using its fire attack to burn the vines around me. It looked like it was struggling to stand up, but it also looked determined to burn the vines.

I wiggled a bit and finally got free. The Vulpix then stopped its attack and collapsed. I looked back at the hole and saw several Meowth fighting over who got to go through the hole first. While that was happening, the hole got smaller and smaller until it was too small for even the smallest Meowth.

I looked back down at the Vulpix, who was lying unconscious on the ground.

“I have to get help for it,” I thought as I quickly picked it up in my arms and got up to my feet.

My legs were severely scratched up, and stung with each step I took, but I ran through the path as fast as I could. When I got to town, I didn’t see anyone around, which seemed strange for the middle of the day. I ran over to the Pokemon Center (in which the lights were all turned off) and started banging on the door labeled “closed”.

“NURSE JOY! NURSE JOY! OPEN THE DOOR! PLEASE!” I called inside as I banged, but there was no answer.

I then ran over to Mr. Fuji’s house and banged on his door.

“MR. FUJI!!!” I yelled.

The door flew open.

“What?! Huh?! What happened?! Is it Team Rocket again?!” Mr. Fuji screamed after opening the door. Then he looked down at me and noticed the pokemon in my arms.

“Goodness, child! What happened to it?!” then he noticed my scratched-up legs and my burnt-up face, “And for that matter, what happened to YOU? You look like you went through an exploding paper shredder.”

“It got attacked by a bunch of Meowth, Mr. Fuji!” I answered. “And I tried to save it, but the Pokemon Center’s closed, and Nurse Joy’s not home, and you’re the only one left who can help me! Please, Mr. Fuji! You gotta help this Vulpix!”

“Hang on a moment,” He held up his hand, “Bring it inside and I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you, Mr. Fuji!” I ran inside before he could move aside, shoving him as I went.

I placed the Vulpix on the table where Mr. Fuji usually checked out the pokemon.

“Let’s see how bad a beating we’re dealing with here,” he looked at the Vulpix, turning it so it was lying on its stomach.

“It’s in pretty bad shape, Katana,” Mr. Fuji said finally, “The best I can do for it is give it a hyper potion, but I don’t think that’ll be much good in the condition it’s in.”

“What? Why not? What can we do?”

“It’s fainted,” he explained, “All the hyper potion will do is heal the scratches and bruises. When a pokemon faints in battle, the best thing for it is Nurse Joy’s TLC.”

“But the Pokemon Center’s closed!”

“Maybe right now it is,” he said as he rushed over to the other side of the room and picked up the videophone. He dialed a number and it started ringing. After a few rings an image came on the screen. It looked like Nurse Joy, but she was wearing a nightgown, had curlers in her hair, and a blindfold ontop of her head.

“Nurse Joy?” I wondered out loud.

“Yes, Mr. Fuji?” Nurse Joy yawned, “What’s the problem?”

“We have an emergency, Nurse Joy,” Mr. Fuji explained, stepping aside to show the Vulpix on the table. “This little Vulpix needs some help and fast.”

“Oh! Well, why didn’t you say so?” She rushed off screen for a moment and came back a second later looking like she usually did, with her hair neat and tidy and her nurse’s uniform on. “Bring it in! The doors are unlocked!”

“Alright!” Mr. Fuji answered, and then looking back at me, “I believe you know what to do next.”

“Right,” I quickly picked the Vulpix back up and rushed out the door. “Thanks again, Mr. Fuji!”

I ran as fast as I could back to the Pokemon Center, where Nurse Joy was ready, holding the door open. This time, all the lights were on.

“Is that the Vulpix?” she asked as I ran up.

“Yes, it’s badly hurt, Nurse Joy!” I answered as I stopped in front of the door.

“Well, bring it in. We’ve got no time to lose,” She turned her head behind her, “Chansey! The stretcher! ”

A large, pink, egg-shaped pokemon came running pushing along what looked like a bed on wheels.

“Chansey!” It said as it stopped in front of us.

“Here,” Nurse Joy said as she picked up the Vulpix from my arms, “To the ER, Chaney!”

“Chansey!” It nodded and scooted the Vulpix into a room in the back.

“Will the Vulpix be alright now, Nurse Joy?” I asked.

“Maybe. We’ll have to keep it overnight to be sure,” Then she looked down and saw my legs and face. “Oh dear! It looks like you need some help as well. Please come inside and we’ll get those legs bandaged up.”

“Thank you, Nurse Joy!” I said as I stepped inside. “But I thought this was a place for pokemon to get healed, not people.”

“Some of the supplies here can be used for both people and pokemon. That includes the bandages and disinfectants.”

“Oh...” I replied, “Well, heal the Vulpix first, ok? It needs it more than me right now.”

“You’re right. It should be ready for examination and treatment by now,” She then pointed at the cafeteria. “You can wait there until we’re finished. And I can have one of the Chansey bring you a snack while you wait.”

“Ok,” I answered as I walked over into the cafeteria and sat at one of the several tables. Then a Chansey came with a rolling cart full of snacks for me to eat. There was everything from cakes and cookies to french fries and potato chips.

“Chansey!” It said, urging me to pick a snack.

“That’s really nice of you, but I had a really big breakfast this morning. So I’m not very hungry.”

“Chansey?” It answered, and then it crouched over and dug into the cart and pulled out a cup of carrot sticks. “Chansey?”

“No thanks,” I answered again.

“Chansey...” Then it pulled out an empty glass and a bottle of Moo Moo Milk. “Chansey!”

“Moo Moo Milk?”

“Chansey Chansey. Chansey?” It nodded and lifted the bottle to me, as if asking if I’d rather have a drink.

“Ok,” I answered.

“Chansey!” It said as it happily poured me a glass of Moo Moo Milk and then handed it to me. “Chansey?”

“Thank you,” I accepted and started drinking the milk.

It was so sweet and smooth. I felt like I was swept into a dream. It almost tasted like it was too good to be true. Then I looked at the label on the bottle.

“100% Oth... oth-th....oth-en... tick Miltank Milk,” I read out loud. “I wonder what oth...en...tick means? Hmm, I’ll ask Nurse Joy later. Hmm?”

Then I noticed that the Chansey had gotten another cart, except this one was full of medical supplies, and the Chansey was bandaging my legs.

“Wow, that was fast,” I pointed out. “When did you bring that here?”

“Chansey Chansey,” It answered, pointing at my glass of Moo Moo Milk.

“Oh, you brought it while I was drinking my milk,” I realized.

“Chansey,” It nodded as it finished bandaging. “Chansey Chansey?”

“It feels better now, thank you,” I answered.

It then reached for a warm damp cloth and started rubbing it on my face.

“Bwahh! It’s hot!” I yelped. I actually expected it to hurt a lot more, but my face didn’t hurt at all anymore. It only felt dirty from the chars.

“What? Why doesn’t it hurt?” I wondered out loud.

“Chansey Chansey,” Chansey answered, pointing at my glass od Moo Moo Milk again.

“The Milk healed my face?” I asked.

“Chansey,” It nodded and continued wiping my face until it was clean.

When it finished it backed up and pushed the medical cart away. After a while, the Chansey came back and decided to just stand beside me as I just sat there.

I looked over to the Emergency Room door, which had a red light turned on over it, which meant that there was an emergency going on inside. I couldn’t help but wonder how the Vulpix was doing.

“I’m worried,” I sighed. “What if I brought it here too late?”

“Chanseyyy,” Chansey shook its head and patted my shoulder, “Chansey Chansey.”

“Maybe you’re right,” I replied. “But I’m still worried.”

Then the red light turned off and a chime filled the room, indicating that the treatment was completed. Nurse Joy stepped out of the room, looking at me. I got up off the table and ran over to her, though it was difficult on bandaged legs.

“Oh, I see Chansey already took care of bandaging your legs.”

“Yes, and it didn’t even hurt. Though it still hurts a little when I walk.”

“Well, that’s normal. You just need to give it time to heal.”

Then I went back to my main concern, “What about the Vulpix? Is it gonna be alright?”

“Your Vulpix will be just fine, Katana,” Nurse Joy announced with a smile. “All she needs is a full night of rest.”

“She?”

“Yes, the Vulpix you brought in is a female.”

“It’s a girl Vulpix. Cool! So she’s gonna be alright?”

“Like I said, all she needs is rest now.”

“Oh thank you, Nurse Joy! Thank you so much!” Then I leapt over and gave her a big hug. She hugged me back and giggled.

“You need to get some rest as well. Why don’t you sit down in here and tell me how you both got into this mess?”

“Um, ok.” I stepped into the ER with Nurse Joy, followed by the Chansey that was treating me.

The building was certainly much larger on the inside than what it appeared to be on the outside. The room was large enough to fit at least a dozen Snorlax. There were operating tables and equipment all over the place, many of which had pokemon laying in them, peacefully resting. I could immediately point out where the Vulpix was.

“There she is!” I said as I ran over to her stretcher. There were bandages on three of her legs, around her waist and chest area, and around her head. She almost looked like a mummy. But she looked like she was just sleeping, as opposed to unconscious.

“See? She’s going to be ok,” Nurse Joy assured me as she came walking up. “You can sit down next to her if you like.”

“Oh yes, thank you,” I said as I climbed up onto the stretcher and sat on it.

“Now,” Nurse Joy began as she sat down on a chair next to the stretcher. “Would you mind telling me how all this happened?”

I took a really deep breath and decided to start telling my story from the beginning... very quickly, and making gestures as I went to show what I meant.

“Well, it all started when I went to the tall grass outside of town so I could get a pokemon of my very own. A nice pokemon trainer came along and cut the vines at the entrance to it so that I could go inside to look for one, and then he gave me a pokeball, and I said ‘thank you, sir’ and he went away. And then I found the Vulpix, and I thought she was really beautiful, so I went after her. Then when I had her next to the wall, I threw the pokeball at her, but the pokeball didn’t work. She did a fire attack and broke it. So I decided to just try and catch her myself. Then she did a fire attack in my face, which is why I have these burns. And then she ran away, so I went after her, but she was too fast. And then this huge gang of Meowth came and chased. There must’ve been a dozen of ‘em. And they had her cornered at the same wall I chased her to before, and she tried to get away, but then they all jumped on her and started scratching and throwing money. So then I jumped in to save her, but then they started scratching me too, so I picked her up and ran. And I ran and I ran and I ran until I finally got back to the entrance, but the vines were almost done growing back, so I had to be quick. I put her on the other side before I started crawling through, and then I got stuck in the vines. And then the Meowth were clawing at my legs and it hurt a lot. And then the Vulpix used her last energy to do a fire attack on the vines and get me free, and we got away. So then I tried to get her here before, but you wouldn’t open the door, so I went to Mr. Fuji’s house. And then he called you, and you already know the rest of the story.”

Nurse Joy just sat there and stared at me for a moment, blinking.

“So, she did Ember in your face, the Meowth did Scratch and Payday at the both of you, and then they scratched up your legs.”

“Yes. That’s how it happened.”

“Well, you certainly had quite an adventure today, didn’t you?”

I had to think about that for a moment.

“Yea,” I answered in realization, “It was kind of an adventure, wasn’t it? And it was a lot of fun to talk about, too.”

“Perhaps after you become an official pokemon trainer, you’ll have more adventures like that.”

“Maybe,” I replied, “I sure hope so.”

“Well, now that I know what has happened,” Nurse Joy said as she got up off the chair. “Is there anything you’d like to know?”

“Yes, Nurse Joy,” I answered, “Why were you in your bedtime clothes when Mr. Fuji called? It’s afternoon now.”

“Oh, heeheehee, I always sleep in on my days off,” she answered with a blush, “I don’t get very many, so when I do, I take advantage of the extra time and catch up on all the rest I’d been missing.”

“Oh,” I understood, “And when is she gonna be all better?”

“She’ll be ready to leave by tomorrow morning at the latest.”

“Thank you, Nurse Joy!”

“It’s my pleasure, Katana,” she answered, “Well, now that this is settled, I believe you should go home and rest. You’ve had a busy day.”

“Ok,” I replied as I jumped off the stretcher and onto the floor. Nurse Joy then escorted me to the front door.

“Oh, and there’s one more thing, Nurse Joy.”

“What is it?”

“What’s oth...en...tick mean?”

“Oth-en-tick? Oh! Authentic! Something that is authentic is something that’s real and not made up or fake.”

“So Moo Moo Milk is made of 100% REAL Miltank Milk?”

“That’s right.”

“I learned a new word! Yay!”

That made Nurse Joy giggle, “Yes, yes you did. Well, you should go home and rest now.”

“Ok, bye Nurse Joy!” I called as I started walking home, “And thanks again!”

“Bye Katana,” She called back, “Be sure to come back for your Vulpix.”

“I will. Bye!”

So I went back home, which was just a five-minute walk away from the Pokemon Center on my small six-year-old legs. When I got there, I immediately went up to my room and flopped onto my bed.

**** **** ****

(That night)

“...So then Mr. Fuji called Nurse Joy, but she was sleeping, so she had to get dressed really quickly so she could open the Pokemon Center. And then I went there and she took care of the Vulpix while the Chansey took care of me. They even gave me Moo Moo Milk! And then Nurse Joy said she was gonna be fine, and then I found out that she was a girl and I learned the word ‘authentic’. And then Nurse Joy said I had to go home and rest, so I did. And so now I’m all rested up and I’m not sleepy, because I slept all afternoon. So I didn’t know what else to do so I decided to call you and tell you about it.”

“Wow! You certainly had an exciting day today,” My mom replied from the other side of the line. I was speaking with my parents on our videophone.

“Yes, I did. So now I’m waiting for the Pokemon Center to be opened again so I can go see how the Vulpix is feeling.”

“I’m sure she’s feeling alright now,” My dad answered. “That was really brave of you to save that Vulpix from those Meowth.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“But next time you want to try and catch a pokemon, you should try and get a trainer to help you catch it instead of doing it by yourself.”

“Or you could wait until you turn ten,” My dad added, “And Professor Oak would gladly give you one when you get your trainer’s license.”

“But I wanna have my very own pokemon now, and I want to’ve caught it myself,” I explained, “And besides, Professor Oak’s all the way in Pallet Town on the other side of the map.”

“Map?” They both asked curiously.

“Yea, you know. Our map hanging on the wall of the Kanto Region.”

“Oh ya!” My mom remembered, “I’d completely forgotten about the Town Map.”

“Ya, it’s still hanging in the living room.”

“Well, we have to go back to our dig, honey,” said Dad. “So we’ll be seeing you later.”

“Ok, bye Mom, bye Dad.”

“Bye sweetie,” Mom replied. “Be sure to tell us how things work out with that Vulpix.”

“Ok, Bye!” And thus we hung up, and the picture went black.

After sleeping the entire afternoon, I had more energy than I knew what to do with all night, as well as an appetite. After having a full meal, calling my parents seemed to be the most logical way to kill time. Since I knew that it was daytime in the Hoenn Region while it was nighttime here, I figured they’d just be digging. After the call, I still had a couple of hours to burn before the sun went up.

I spent much of the time watching TV. There wasn’t much to watch though, except for news that they’d shown earlier that day. Much of it was about a small gang of thieves called Team Rocket, which was a fairly new crime team at the time, and fairly small, so the authorities didn’t really pay much attention to them. When I got bored with the news I switched to the Interesting Places to Visit Network, and even they weren’t showing anything interesting.

After a while, I got bored and turned the TV off. I began to wonder how the Vulpix was doing, wondering if she was feeling better yet. And I also wondered what would happen if I asked her to stay with me.

“The sun’s almost up,” I noticed as I looked out the window. “That means it’s almost time for the Pokemon Center to be officially opened.”

The Pokemon Center usually opened at seven in the morning, which was an hour after sunrise. I didn’t want to wait another minute. I got up off the couch, stretched, and started walking out of the house and towards the Pokemon Center.

When I got there, it was like Nurse Joy was expecting me, because the door swung open as soon as I got there.

“Hi Nurse Joy,” I greeted.

“Katana, I see you’re feeling better,” She greeted back.

“Ya, I had a whole afternoon’s rest,” I answered, “So how’s the Vulpix feeling?”

“She just woke up, as a matter of fact. And I was just about to go get you. Please come in.”

“Ok,” So I did. When I got inside the Center, I immediately saw the Vulpix leap into the air and into my arms.

“Hey! How are you feeling?” I asked.

“Vulpix! Vul Vul Vulpix!” She answered, rubbing her head on me, making me giggle.

“Does this mean we’re friends now?” I asked, holding her out in front of me.

“Vulpix!” She suddenly jumped out of my hands and landed on my shoulder. Then she walked across my back to the other shoulder and then into my arms again.

“I believe that’s a yes,” Nurse Joy confirmed, “Which would also mean that she’s your pokemon.”

“Really? My very own pokemon?”

“Vulpix!” The Vulpix answered and began licking my face.

“Hee hee hee! That tickles!” I replied.

“Well, you will need a pokeball to keep her in,” Nurse Joy said holding a pokeball in her hand. “Here you go.”

“This is so great!” I said as I took the ball from her hand. “My very own pokemon.”

“Do you want to give her a nickname?” Nurse Joy asked.

“A nickname?” I repeated.

“Yes, a name to distinguish her from other Vulpix.”

“Oh, ya. Um,” I stayed for a moment in thought, “She’s a fox pokemon, and she’s a fire type. So I guess I’ll call her Foxfire.”

“Sounds like a good name to me,” Nurse Joy replied, “Now to make it official, you must point the pokeball at Foxfire, say her name, and then ‘Return’.”

“Ok,” I said, pointing the ball at Foxfire, “Foxfire, return.”

Then she glowed red, turned into energy, and went inside the pokeball.

“Wow! That was so magical!”

“And now she’s officially yours. You’ll probably be good friends for the rest of your lives.”

“We’ll be friends forever!” I replied, cuddling the pokeball. “I can’t wait to tell mom and dad. And I can’t wait until I turn ten so I can be a real pokemon trainer!”

“Well, you can start practicing now.”

“You’re right. I know exactly where to do that.”

“Well, you have fun,” she said with a smile, “Train hard.”

“I will, bye Nurse Joy,” I said as I ran off towards the western edge of town.

I ran all the way back to the patch of grass where I first met Foxfire.

When I got to the entrance, it was again covered in vines.

“Foxfire, come on out.” I threw the pokeball and out she came in front of me. My pokeball automatically flew back into my hand afterwards.

“Vulpix?” Foxfire wondered, recognizing the area, and then she chuckled, realizing the reason we came here, “Vu-huh-hulpix.”

She burnt through the vines with her Ember attack and we went inside, ready to kick some Meowth butt.