knew that Erik was going to do what was asked of him, to find that girl, so she knew he

wasn’t emotionless. He was serious, but not emotionless.

"Oddish." She said.

Erik sighed, now understanding, only on instinct. "Yeah, I guess so."

Oddball jumped down, waiting at Erik’s foot. Kneeling, Erik removed his pack

and started going through it. Organizing items together, he came out with a impressive

collection. Seven more of the balls like the one Bulby was in, one of which Oddball

opened and entered. Erik quickly attached it to his belt. The other six were all empty.

There were also three bottles, two looking like a strange spray-bottle, bearing the name,

"Super Potion," which Erik had no idea what it could mean. The other was a simple

water bottle. There were several books, most of them classics, but one caught Erik’s eye.

It was entitled, "A guide to Pokémon Training." Erik wasn’t sure, but the name

"Pokémon" sounded just as unfamiliar as "Bulbasaur" once had.

Replacing the other items, Erik walked into the woods beside the road. After a

few minutes, he came to a stream. Leaning his pack against a tree, he sat down next to it.

He opened the book and started to read.

"A guide to Pokémon Training is a booklet written by Professor Oak, in order to

help beginning Pokémon Trainers learn the best ways to train. For most people, you

already know what a Pokémon is. But if you don’t, perhaps these pages will help.

A Pokémon, such as this Bulbasaur, is a creature that has special powers, called

elemental powers." It showed a picture of Bulby.

Erik tossed out Bulby’s ball, and he emerged.

"So you’re a Pokémon, aren’t you?" Erik asked.

"Bulbasaur!" he said with a nod.

"Well, come on back." Erik tossed the ball, brought Bulby inside, and continued

reading.

"These elemental powers have been divided by scientists into fifteen types. The

type of a Pokémon identifies what elemental powers it can learn. The fifteen powers are

listed on page 127. Pokémon can learn different attacks, such as Bulbasaur’s Razor Leaf

attack, where it emits a swirling mass of leaves—"

Erik looked up. "So that thing Bulby did is called Razor Leaf." He said to

himself. He read some more info about Pokémon, until he came to a section about

catching a Pokémon.

"To catch a Pokémon, trainers usually use a Pokéball. This object, half red, half

white, is quite handy for storing a Pokémon and catching one. Maximizing and

Minimizing these balls have earned Pokémon the name of Pocket Monsters, which

evolved into Pokémon over time.

After a Pokémon has been caught, it can be sent out again by throwing its

Pokéball into an open space. When recalling it, a verbal command, "Return" is enough to

send a finder beam from the Pokéball. If this finder beam hits the Pokémon, that

Pokémon will be recalled."

Erik read a lot, looking up Bulby’s moves. So far, he knew Bulby had Razor

Leaf, the leaves he had used to free Oddball, and Vine Whip, the vines he had extended

when fishing. Soon, it was too dark to continue. Erik looked at his wrist watch, and saw

that it was nine thirty, already far past when he should have been in the city.

Erik grabbed his pack and ran towards the path. He jogged briskly for a moment,

and recalled some of the basic stuff he had read. He owned two Pokémon, a Bulbasaur,

Bulby, and an Oddish, Oddball. He knew he needed a license to train too. If his

Pokémon were tired, or hurt, he should take them to a Pokémon Center, a kind of hospital

for Pokémon. There was one in almost every major city ahead. A Super Potion, of

which he had two, healed a Pokémon’s health a bit more than a normal Potion.

Already at the city, Erik quickly found the Pokémon Center, or PokéCenter for

short. It was a large building, with a Pokéball shape on the front. He ran in and caught

his breath, bending over from the long run.

"Excuse me, may I help you?" a voice asked him.

Erik looked up and saw a red haired nurse, hands folded across her lap, looking at

him. From his booklet, he figured out that she was Nurse Joy. Or, a Nurse Joy, because

all the Pokécenters were run by a relative of a Nurse Joy—all were identical and were

named Joy.

"Uh, yeah. Could you heal my Pokémon?"

She smiled. "Of course! Come this way." She showed him to a desk, where he

deposited his two Pokéballs containing Bulby and Oddball.

Putting them in a special container, Nurse Joy turned to her computer.

"Oh my! You have quite a strong Bulbasaur there young man! Why, he’s at level

83!"

Suddenly recalling that a Pokémon’s power was rated by it’s level, the top being

100, Erik was pleased to hear that.

"Thank you." He got his Pokémon back in a moment, and was about to leave.

"Wait just a minute young man! You can’t go out there! You’ll spend half the

night setting up camp and besides, you’ll never reach Pewter City by tomorrow!"

"Yes ma’am" Erik said, trusting that she knew more than he did.

<><><>

Lying on the Pokécenter’s couch, Erik read his manual, trying to figure out who

Professor Oak was. He was obviously a very important figure. Just as he was about to

give up, Erik noticed a small address printed inside the cover.

"Professor Oak.

128 Tophill Drive

Pallet Town, Indigo Islands"

Sitting up, Erik put his book in his pack and walked up to Nurse Joy. He was

alone in the Pokécenter.

"Uh…Excuse me, but do you know how I can get to Pallet Town?"

Nurse Joy smiled at him. "It’s normally three days travel on the road south of

here. But if you walk briskly, you might be able to make it in a day."

"Thank you." Erik said, smiling and walking off. As soon as he hit the couch, he

was asleep, glad to have a soft bed after being in the wild.

<><><>

After Erik woke up, he grabbed his pack and left. It was early, but he had to

make an early start. Sneaking out, Nurse Joy, even the early riser she was, didn’t catch

him.

Walking briskly, even for him, Erik was halfway to Pallet by noon, and he didn’t

stop for lunch. He kept walking, and set the record time for distance traveling, reaching

Pallet late in the day. It wasn’t a record to be broken until several years later, when Ash

Ketchum would make the trip in half a day, being chased by Spearow.

Erik saw Professor Oak’s house, the town being very small, and walked to it.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked.