Pewter City, in the West

"Get it!"

"Hurry!"

People were running past Red, carrying bug nets and other items.

"There it goes!" Their footsteps faded away as they ran together.

"Huh?" Red asked, noticing a poster on the wall of a building.

WANTED: PIKACHU

Mischevious electric mouse

Reward for capture

-Pewter City Merchants Association

"So that's what all the fuss is about," Red said and smiled to himself. "Guess I'll give 'em a hand!"

The crowd was not hard to miss; their loud chatter cane from nearby- not to mention it was huge.

"We've got you now, you pest!" "That's the last time you'll eat my produce!" The people shouted at a Pikachu who was staring at them all with a confused and amused face.

"Get it!!" Almost as one, everybody charged at the electric mouse, arms outstretched.

Pikachu waited until they were nearly on top of it before it began its escape. The people fell on top of each other. "Hey!"

"Chuuu! Chuuu!" Pikachu sang happily as it bit but into an apple.

Behind it, a man crept closer, his net held securely in his hands.

"Now!" He shouted as he brought his net down.

Pikachu blinked a few times, the net surrounding it on all sides. Its eyes suddenly squinted shut and it released a powerful electric Discharge.

The man cursed something as he fell to the ground, the net now released from his hands.

"Hey, it's getting away again!" A woman from the crowd pointed at Pikachu, now running away from them all. "Get it!!" They ran past Red, who had been watching them this whole time.

"Tsk. I can't watch any more of this." The red-eyed Trainer sighed, smiling, and tossed his Poké Ball into the air.

"Okay..." The Poké Ball landed back in his hand.

"Saur- Go!" He threw the Pokémon towards the chaos, a wide grin on his face.

"Pi?" Pikachu stopped and turned around to face its challenger. Saur stood before it.

"A Pokémon!" The crowd called out, amazed. They began muttering amongst themselves.

Pikachu sneered, thinking how easy this battle would be for it.

It released a strong Thunderbolt down on Bulbasaur.

"Auugh!" Red has been standing beside his Bulbasaur, and he was also feeling some effects of the Thunderbolt.

"Oh... man..." "It's no use..." The crowd's faces drooped down in disappointment.

The dust cleared, revealing a standing Red and Saur.

"Pi?!" Pikachu cried out in disbelief.

"Now it's our turn! Saur, attack!"

Saur nodded at its Trainer and sent out a small seed from its bulb on its back.

It went to Pikachu before opening up above it.

Pikachu narrowed its eyes in frustration, but then its ears fell down and it staggered sideways, exhausted.

"Heh. Perfect." Red grinned. "Start with Sleep Powder... then finish with..." he brought out an empty Poké Ball. "This!" He tossed the Poké Ball at the dazed Pikachu.

"Gotcha!!" He looked down at the Pikachu through its Poké Ball.

"Yaaay!" The crowd cheered.

Red held the Pikachu's Poké Ball above his head, enjoying the praise he was receiving. "And that is how it's done!"

"Young man, you've saved us!" "That pest was ruining our business!"

~~•~~•~~•~~

A huge table of food was spread out in front of Red.

"We wish you had come a long time ago!" "Where are you from?"

"I'm from Pallet Town," Red said, filling his mouth with the food in front of him.

"But what brings you here?" Somebody asked from the crowd surrounding him.

"Wanna know?" Red swallowed a bite of his food. He pulled out his Pokédex. "Then just watch while I... do this!"

- PIKACHU the Mouse Pokémon NO. 25

- TYPE: Electric

- When several of these Pokémon gather, their electricity could build and cause lightning storms. Forest dwellers, they are few in number and are exceptionally rare. The pouches on their heels discharge electricity at their opponents. The PIKACHU are believed to be highly intelligent.

"Hmmm..." Red read the information on his newest Team member. "So this wild Pikachu came from the Viridian Forest to settle in this city..."

"What an awesome device!" A man declared, leaning down to take a closer look at the Pokédex.

"Not yet," Red admitted. "There are more than a hundred kinds of Pokémon in the world. My goal is to get all their data... and create the complete Pokédex!" He grinned.

His Poké Ball shook and sent out tiny shocks of energy. "Huh?" He looked down. "Hey. Cool it." He held the Poké Ball in his hand, seeing a very annoyed-looking Pikachu inside. "What is with this thing?"

He sighed. "Welp... okay then..." An idea came to his head.

~~•~~•~~•~~

Outside the city, Red was sitting in the grass facing an angry Pikachu. The boy reached his hand out to the electric rodent, but quickly pulled away as it created sparks on its cheeks.

"Whoa!!" He held his hand gingerly and looked at the Pokémon nervously. "C'mon. Don't be so stubborn. How 'bout we try to be friends?"

He smiled kindly at it. "Okay, Pikachu~"

Pikachu turned away, ignoring the boy's futile attempts to tame it. It shocked Red with electricity.

"Aaagh!!" Red shouted in pain from the attack. "Geez. You may look cute, but..."

"You're taking it easy, aren't you, Red?" Another voice asked.

"Blue!" Red quickly turned around in embarrassment.

"You'll never get the Pokédex filled playing around like that," Blue said with a smirk. He lowered his head. "I'm embarrassed to have you for a rival in this quest."

Red gritted his teeth angrily. "What was that?!" He demanded, jumping up to face the Trainer.

Both boys faced each other; Red with a glare, and Blue with a smirk.

"But first, my impetuous friend..." Blue closed his eyes and tossed a Poké Ball into the air before catching it again. "Allow me to let you in on something. This town's Gym Leader, Brock, is looking for someone competent to fight him. I intend to do so... and win the Boulder Badge."

"The Boulder Badge?" Red echoed, dumbfounded.

"You don't know?" Blue opened an eye and looked at him. "The Boulder Badge can boost the attack power of your Pokémon. Every Pokémon Trainer knows that." He turned around, his smirk only growing.

"Well, sorry..." Red grumbled, staring at Blue angrily.

"So, this is my challenge..." Blue turned around quickly and pointed a finger at Red. "Let's see which of us can win the Boulder Badge first. Of course, it shouldn't be much of a match, if you can't even train an electric mouse." Blue shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'll take that challenge!" Red shouted at the brown-haired boy. "And you'll regret it!"

"Ha ha ha," Blue laughed. "Oh, and one more thing." He took out a paper from his pocket. "Brock is a Rock Pokémon Trainer. Your little electric mouse there won't do any good against him." He began to walk away.

"Well, good luck." He tossed the paper over his shoulder as he left.

"What a jerk..." Red muttered once Blue left. He glanced down at the paper. "So the next challenge is... tomorrow at noon," he told himself, reading the paper.

"Let's do it!" Red shouted, jumping up. "Blue'll be sorry he ever-" He paused and looked down at his Poké Balls. "Whoops. I almost forgot... The Pokémon I have with me are low on health." He smiled to himself. "First thing in the morning, I need to go to a Pokémon Center... and get these guys healed!"

~~•~~•~~•~~

The next day at the Pokémon Center...

NOTICE

Our Center was damaged yesterday by unknown vandals. We will reopen when our machines are running again. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

"No way..." Red murmured. He slumped his shoulders down in defeat.

"This means... the only one left with full power is this one..." He picked Pikachu's Poké Ball. Inside it, the Pokémon was glaring at him with narrowed eyes.

~ I am so sorry for the lack of updates!! Please forgive me! I am going to try to update more often, but that's not a complete guarantee. Again, I am super sorry!