15 Poke-Scanner
"I'm Shawn Oak... From Pallet."
As I introduced myself, Charmeleon growled and showcased its fangs in a threatening motion towards Norio.
"Eek! Tell it to stop! please!"
Now that I got a good look at him, Norio seemed to be around my age... He had long, unkempt black hair.
His glasses 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... Is Charmeleon the only Pokemon in your party?"
"Indeed. Why does it matter?"
"No, its nothing... You see, I need help to capture this rare Pokemon I've been eyeing for a while. Could you help me out?"
Hearing his words, I couldn't help but let out a small smile. This guy was taunting me earlier but now wanted my help? Was something wrong in his head or what?
"What makes you think that I'll help you? Go look for someone else, I'm busy. Let's go, Charmeleon."
"Char!"
Bearing his fangs towards Norio one last time, Charmeleon turned around and followed me towards the exit. Before I could walk down the stairs of the entrance, Norio barged out of the door and screamed.
"Wait! Please! If you help me out... I'll show you where you can catch an Exeggcute!"
Hearing his words, I stopped walking. Exeggcute? That was one of the Pokemon I planned to have on my team... If he wasn't lying, this would be a great opportunity.
Turning around, I walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, letting out a satisfied smile.
"You needed help? I guess I'm free right now... Seems like you got lucky!"
"Haha... I guess that's true..."
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After healing our Pokemon, Norio and I headed to a café together.
"I know a website that accepts money for information on rare Pokemon!"
Confident, Norio took out a laptop from his shoulder bag. He then raised it in the air in an exaggerated motion.
Rare Pokemon... Wasn't that a little too convenient? Unconvinced, I shot a doubtful look his way.
"I doubt that there'd be a website like that... If it really works, I refuse to believe that it would be a free service."
With a smirk, Norio pushed up his glasses once more.
"Very observant of you... They're indeed on the expensive side, but I can guarantee that they're trustworthy. I got my Horsea through them after all."
"Do you know who runs it?"
Pushing up his glasses, Norio opened his laptop and navigated to the 'About' section of the website. On the top-left corner of the site, their logo was on full display.
"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 massive intelligence unit that locates Pokemon and reports back. As you can see here, the admins are anonymous."
"Anonymous? Now that's shady..."
Sighing, I thought for a while... If the admins wanted to remain hidden, that probably meant that they were doing some illegal business... Taking a closer look at the available selection of Pokemon, I noticed that they also provided information on protected species, such as Kangaskhan.
The only place where a trainer was allowed to catch a Kangaskhan was in the Safari-Zone. Along with Chansey and some other Pokemon, it was so rare that over-catching might lead to extinction in the wild.
For this website to provide its locations... Unless it was the Safari-Zone, this was undoubtedly illegal.
Interrupting my thoughts, Norio spoke up.
"As I said before, the Pokemon that I'm looking for is Exeggcute... It is so rare that they even have it in the Safari Zone, located towards the coast in Fuchsia..."
"I already paid for the info. There is a hidden area back in the Viridian forest that is usually missed by travelers. Apparently there's a small population of this species is located over there."
I looked at the map, and sure enough, the System compared data making me realize that I had completely missed that area.
Exeggcute was not as rare as Kangaskhan, therefore catching one in the wild would not be a problem. Even so, I had a bad feeling about this website. I might have to look into them in the future, just in case.
"Let's set out as soon as we're done here."
"Thanks."
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An hour later.
Once we arrived at the entrance of the forest, Norio and I walked for a while before we reached the specified location.
A small clearing could be seen through some thick shrubbery... Although one could only see it if they focused.
"Wow... There really was a hidden area after all."
Smiling, Norio pushed his glasses upwards.
"Of course! You go first, I'll be right behind you."
With Charmeleon by my side, I walked through the bushes.
As I was walking, I noticed something was wrong on the ground. Suddenly, the system's voice resounded in my head, alarming me.
[Detected trap! Host is advised to stop walking!]
What?!
Stopping myself, I narrowly avoided the trap. Looking down, I noticed that the ground looked artificial. That was close.
"Who did this...?"
Suddenly, I felt a strong push from my back.
The last thing I saw was Norio's smiling face and his Horsea, carrying a large plant on its head. It dropped some kind of Powder on us, making me feel drowsy.
"Hehehehe... Sorry Shawn, no hard feelings okay? This is all necessary for my plan!"
"You..."
I inevitably blacked out.
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An unknown amount of time later.
Arghh... Where am I?
[Answering Host. The Host is still in Viridian forest.]
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 god, what have I done!? My Partner!
Calm down, me... Calm down. I can fix this.
"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: Nagayama Norio is located at 15 degrees North, twelve kilometers away, in Pewter city. ]
"I'll find you, You scum!"
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.
"Damn it! He's not here! Nidorino, Nidorina, Point your Poison-Stings towards Horsea!"
In a swift motion, I retrieved another two Pokeballs and released my two poison Pokemon.
They then pointed their intimidating purple-glowing horns towards the blue sea-horse.
I don't have time for any pity.
Although Horsea might be innocent, I have to find my partner at all costs.
"Hor... Horseaa..."
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!"
