Route three, according to some locals in the area of Pewter City, had been bustling with strange activity. Many even calling it UFO highway as Unidentified Flying Objects have appeared in and around the desert toward Mount Moon by eyewitnesses.

Some think it is nothing more than paranormal activity within the rocky region. While others believe them to be true events and that the locals refer to them as visitors from outer-Space. Maybe that's why Solress referred to them in that light? I wasn't too sure.

I am skeptical about Aliens visiting our planet due to the vastness of space and the many light years it takes to travel from one destination to the other. Space is like an immeasurable Black Sea. Much like the oceans of our land and their intoxicating grandeur. Stars and planets many scientists claim have habitable worlds like ours. There is a limited percentage of them.

Which was why I found it rather musing that a reputable scientist like Solress would claim such a Farfetch'd hypothesis.

No pun intended.

Then how does Solress explain the current theory going around the scientific community known as the Fermi Paradox?

According to this theory, life would need to establish itself when the stars are old and have completed their cycles of life. Most of the exo-planets outside our solar system are young and have not completed their unique cycles in order to establish a common thread for extra-terrestrial life to exist.

Both me and my friends glanced back at him as we roamed through Route three. Solress was trailing behind us. The rugged mountains and desert terrain were all the scenery we could get. According to the map. We had about thirteen more miles to go before we could reach our destination by evening.

But we were all puzzled by this zany scientist and his current ambitions?

Why can't he find the Moon Stone himself? What does he hope to gain by joining us on this trip?

Thinking too hard on it, made it even more awkward, as we both hadn't held conversation since the renown visit of the famous museum.

Guess we should help the creep find his stone as soon as possible? I relented with a sigh.

Solress impetrated to join with us toward Mount Moon in pursuit of the rare and bizarre evolution stone. We had yet to find it's whereabouts as the quirky scientist claimed the Moon Stones were left behind by the visitors on their ships from the moon.

Why did I decide to bring him along? I glowered.

I was beginning to doubt on whether it was a good idea to bring him on this trip with us. Strangers had a tendency to stick with their travelers for as long as they could. Co-dependents is what I refer to them as. Which means; his personality was kinda cramping our style.

"How do you know Aliens exist." Read Yellow on my thoughts exactly.

"Hmph-hmph!" Chuckled Solress as he pressed his glasses firmly between the rift of his flaring nostrils.

"I've seen their ship!" He squawked.

Raising my pessimistic brow; I asked him this.

"Do you have proof?"

Solress gesticulated maniacally. Pointing exceedingly toward the tall grassy field ahead. We steered our eyes towards a small red barn upon an entrance that lead a path through the winding gravel road.

"In the grass?"

The man shook his head at my dismissive questions.

"My dear, have you not heard of the phenomena of crop circles?" He inquired.

I shook my head from his query.

What is this man getting at? He's already heading into crypto territory?

"Can't say that I have, no." I answered matter of fact.

"Rumors say that when the space ships of these Aliens land. Their craft will leave an obvious track. One of these tracks is right within this field."

"What does it look like?" I asked.

"These space ships are in the shape of a disk. They use a zero point gravitational energy fi—

"A zero what-and-what now?" I countered.

"The point is, when the ships come into contact with the ground below us. Their energy field leaves an circular impression, a footprint." He said.

"Well how do we find a crop circle in a field this vast?" I debated while gesturing towards the farm land.

Solress wagged his finger as he motioned his arm towards a spot only he understood.

"Follow me!" He gestured while sprinting ahead through the grass.

"Hey wait!" I shouted vigorously.

"Be careful Solress, you'll run into wild Pokémon!" Yelped Yellow from behind me.

That idiot! Getting ahead of us! Does he have Pokémon to protect himself or what!? I pondered irritably.

While I darted further in a disparaging attempt to catch up with Yellow and Solress. I turned and stopped in our tracks to glance back at Red who seemed to be feet away from where we were before. Solress continued gaining ground up ahead while Yellow halted alongside me. Red hadn't moved an inch.

"Red, what's wrong, are you coming?"

".........." Stared Red.

I turned to gawp at exactly who Red was observing.

Suddenly, just a few feet ahead. Was a young boy, with a blue baseball cap pulled back to reveal his brown disheveled hair. He had large brown eyes, staring down Red intently with a loud pronounced grin.

The young junior about the same age as us. Wore a white shirt and small blue shorts that seemed to ride all the way above his knees towards his upper thighs.

A Youngster Trainer with shorts? In a high elevated area like this? Isn't he cold up here?

Who was I to judge though? I was wearing my usual dress skirt in the cold climate. With the exception of leggings which was to keep me warm and comfortable on the excursion.

The young fiery Junior aimed his palm toward Red. Gesturing for him to make a move and engage him. Snatching his PokéBall. The boy arched it considerably toward the ground. Releasing a small lavender rat like creature onto the field. The Pokémon sniveled and snarled towards his opponent.

I had seen these Pokémon before. They were very commonly found on Route One after I had left Pallet Town.

A Rattata?

I turned to face Red. He looked to be serious, like he was aching for a fight. Now we had unexpectedly come across a Trainer battle that had interfered with our objective. Which was a bit of an inconvenience as we had just lost Solress as our guide on the path.

These two locked eyes on each other. While an electrifying aura had pulsed with purpose from across their gaze. Red pulled back his ball cap in the same manner as the Junior had worn his.

Swiftly heaving out his PokéBall from his belt pocket. Red tossed it out onto the field. Releasing a Pokémon I had never seen before.

The creature looked to be about seven inches long and had gigantic ears that were about the size of his back. The Pokémon had a pink coat coloration with dark spots about him.

The Pokémon looks absolutely cute! I sparkled with presumption.

"What Pokémon is that?" I asked Yellow.

"Pull out your Pokédex to find out the name." He said.

He was right, the Pokédex could tell me the given name of the encounter if I used the scan.

I swiftly reached into my pocket and pulled out the conveniently compact device and aimed the infrared beam towards Red's little one.

The screen flickered abruptly and showed a smart captured image of the Pokémon in question, it read.

Nidoran...

And it's strange symbol by his name to indicate his gender.

Male?

So Red caught a rare Pokémon outside of the common routes?

I vigorously typed along the directional pad of the computer to scroll through the gps mapping system. The convenient thing about owning a Dex was the environmental feature.

As you encounter Pokémon in the wild. The coordinates of such critters in other areas could appear on common routes which they inhabit. Making it easier for you as a Trainer to find commonly known habitats on mapped Routes nearby.

While glancing through the gps data. I stumbled across the Route where Red had caught this specific one. My eyes widened from surprise as to the rarity of the species. Red had stumbled upon their nest and to my astonishment this particular Pokémon was exceedingly difficult to scout for.

No way!

I quickly looked at the top corner of the town map and noticed he had caught this Pokémon on Route twenty-two. The same route that lead directly from Viridian City toward Victory Road; a hefty mountain region. Much more dangerous of a hike up in comparison to Route three.

Red already happened upon the main entrance of the Pokémon League?

I was genuinely puzzled as to why he had veered off into such a path? When he was clearly not prepared yet to take on the League.

Did he need to meet someone there?

At any rate; he had caught a very valuable Pokémon there. Which would prove useful in his ability to inflict status conditions. This one in particular; had a type set condition known as poison.

Similar to my bug Pokémon Lucy. I'll need to watch very carefully on how Red uses these abilities to his advantage in battle.

The youngster admired his gaze as Red's golden brown eyes sparked with fire. He gestured with a wide grin. Confidently notifying his opponent about his quirkiness; he shouted exuberantly and with poise.

"I like shorts! They're comfy! And easy to wear!"

Wha.. wha-what? What does that even mean?!

Yellow was just as confused from that random jargon as I was. Dropping his mouth ajar from misapprehension.

The strangeness was about to befall us all quite drastically. And it all depended on whether my friend would either forego or complete the battle altogether. Only time would tell.