New players

"Mom! We've arrived!!"

"Hold on, sweetie."

At the airport, many passengers were disembarking from the plane. Among them were a mother and daughter, the daughter with a ponytail eagerly watching her mom check their belongings.

"Hurry up, Mom! I want to see the Pokémon in the Kanto region!"

The mother smiled at her daughter's excitement, then took her hand.

"Let's meet the professor first, okay?"

"The professor? You mean like Professor Juniper, Mom?"

"Yes, he's considered one of the most talented Pokémon Professors in the world. He knows everything!"

"Even more than Professor Juniper, Mom?!"

"Absolutely!"

After showing their documents, they called a taxi.

"Today is your 7th birthday, so I decided to spend the whole day with you!"

"Thank you, Mom!"

"You're such a good girl. Remember to take lots of pictures to show little Rosa."

"Yes!"

"Hehe, that's my Hilda!"

***

On Route 3

"Nidoran! Use Leer!" Nidoran's eyes glowed intensely.

But the next attack from Pidgey was Gust.

Pidgey flapped its wings, creating a small whirlwind directed at Nidoran.

Nidoran took the hit and fainted.

"W-What?! Just one move!"

The Trainer looked at his female Nidoran and sighed.

Pidgey happily flew over to Red, who patted its head.

"How did you train Pidgey like that?" The Trainer approached, curious.

Red smiled and "told" the Trainer.

After the conversation, Red walked over to where Leaf was also battling.

"Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!"

Bulbasaur immediately grew vines and began whipping the Trainer's Geodude.

Geodude tried to hold its ground, but its Rock/Ground type stood no chance against Grass type moves, causing it to faint with one hit.

The Trainer remained calm, seemingly aware of the inevitable outcome.

But before he could recall his Geodude, Leaf walked over and held out her hand.

"Money?"

"???"

Yes, in a Pokémon battle, the winner can claim money from the loser.

It's a rule set by the League, after all. Trainers need to earn money too.

Of course, if both of them don't wants to lose or take money, that's fine too. The League's rule is mainly to encourage more battles (like Red, who rarely takes money).

Unfortunately, Leaf isn't the type to be kind. She wants money, and lots of it.

The Trainer reluctantly handed over half the money he had been saving to buy Great Ball.

Leaf took it, counted it, and looked at the Trainer.

"You're poor. Only 56 Pokédollars?"

"UGH!"

Feeling miserable, he wanted to get angry, but this girl was both beautiful and ruthless, leaving him unable to do anything!

Leaf happily recalled Bulbasaur and noticed Red staring at her.

"What? At least I didn't steal it, right? The rules don't forbid it."

She wasn't wrong, but taking money after every battle was a bit greedy…

"Red! Leaf! The food's ready!"

Hearing Brock's voice, they both turned back.

Leaf approached and saw Misty crying in distress.

"What happened?"

"I caught a Magikarp and plan to cook it, but Misty's against it."

"Really? But Magikarp are super common. Even if you cook one, there will be five more tomorrow!"

"But she loves Water-type Pokémon."

Red watched the Magikarp being prepared as sashimi, feeling a bit sorry for it.

But blame its bad luck after all, Magikarp is pretty tasty...

Pikachu also woke up, drawn by the delicious smell, and slipped out of Red's jacket.

Brock had prepared special meals for the Pokémon, which he made himself, and the quality was, of course, top-notch.

"Everyone, bring out your Pokémon," Brock said to the group.

Leaf immediately released Bulbasaur, Butterfree, and her female Nidoran.

Red curiously observed Leaf's Pokémon.

"These are all Pokémon I caught on Route 1 and in Viridian Forest. Butterfree evolved quickly, so I only needed a bit of training, and as for the female Nidoran, no need to say more," Leaf explained.

Red listened, then looked over at Misty.

Misty was pulling out an inflatable float from her bag, blowing it up. She then called out Starmie to use Water Gun to fill the float.

Once the float was filled with water, she released her other Pokémon: Goldeen and Horsea.

However, she hesitated with the last Poké Ball, staring at it for a moment before putting it away.

Red walked over to Misty and gently touched her shoulder, causing her to jump in surprise.

"W-What is it?!"

"…"

"Oh… don't worry about it, it's just something personal," Misty replied, scratching her head and walking over to the table.

And so, the four of them sat down to eat.

The meal included rice balls and radish soup.

The main course was Magikarp sashimi.

Misty looked miserable, unable to even glance at the unfortunate Magikarp.

But the others, especially Leaf, didn't share her discomfort.

"Yum! This is delicious! What's the sauce made from?" Leaf eagerly dipped the sashimi into the sauce and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Brock explained the recipe while Leaf listened attentively.

Misty nearly had a stomachache watching Leaf eat so carefree. She looked over at Red.

Red was about to reach for the sashimi with his chopsticks, but seeing Misty's expression, he opted for a rice ball instead.

'He's different from the others! I knew I could trust the right person!' Misty thought joyfully to herself.

'Don't look at me like that. I just want to taste the sashimi...' Red suffered silently, munching on the rice ball.

But the rice ball was very tasty, especially the stuffed radish flavor (luckily, no one called it a jelly-filled donut… fuck you 4Kids).

While Pikachu was eating, a mechanical arm suddenly grabbed her.

PIKA?!!

Everyone was startled, looking up to see Pikachu being lifted into a hot air balloon.

Red recognized those people, but... who were they again?

"TEAM ROCKET, YOU BASTARDS! DID YOU FORGET ABOUT US ALREADY?!" Jessie shouted at Red.

"Hey, hey, we haven't even introduced ourselves yet. You're skipping ahead," Meowth said to Jessie.

"Oh, right, get ready!"

"To protect the world-"

"LOOK, EVERYONE!!! IT'S THE ANTAGONISTS, THE POKÉMON THIEVES!!!"

A voice drowned out everything else, forcing everyone to turn their attention to them.

Leading the charge was a red-haired guy with slicked-back hair, looking handsome yet punchable.

He was followed by five newcomers who appeared bewildered by what was happening.

"Cuckmaster, are you saying those people in the hot air balloon are the villains?" Oceanlover asked.

"Can't you see it? They just stole the NPC's Pikachu, so they're obviously the bad guys!"

He had a point...

"Then let's attack right away! And while we're at it, we can catch some new Pokémon. Let's show these NPCs why we players are considered the ultimate war machines!" Birdup raised his hand, and everyone else cheered.

"OHHHHHH!!"

Are they preparing for war or something???

"Who are those brats?" James looked at the players.

"They dared to interrupt our introduction. They must have a death wish!!" Jessie fumed, grabbing her Poké Ball.

"Wait, we're here to get Pikachu, not to battle!" Meowth jumped up to stop Jessie.

"LOOK! THE ENEMY IS DISTRACTED! SUMMON PIDGEY!" Lukas ordered, and all the players except Oceanlover released their Pidgey.

The Pidgey swarmed the hot air balloon, continuously attacking Team Rocket.

"Damn it, these kids are ganging up on us!"

"How cowardly! We haven't even gotten to show off yet!"

"Red, do you know those people?" Leaf, utterly confused, turned to ask Red.

Red didn't respond, pretending not to know them.

Misty did the same, wanting nothing to do with them.

Brock looked at the players and then at Team Rocket.

He recognized Team Rocket; they had been causing problems in Pewter City lately.

As a Gym Leader, he certainly didn't like them.

"Everyone, step back," Brock said, moving forward.

He grabbed a Poké Ball and threw it.

The earth-shaking roar that followed scared every Pokémon in the vicinity.

Steelix!

The players, who were so confident a moment ago, suddenly felt insignificant when they saw the Pokémon summoned by the NPC they were trying to "rescue."

"Steelix, use your tail to attack the balloon."

The players' Pidgey immediately flew away from the balloon.

Steelix's tail struck the balloon, causing it to explode instantly.

Pikachu fell from the sky but landed safely in Red's hands.

"AGHHHHHH"

"I DIDN'T EVEN GET TO DO ANYTHING!"

"I APPEARED IN JUST ONE CHAPTER, AND THE AUTHOR KICKS ME OUT!!"

"WHAT A TERRIBLE FEELING!!"

Brock, satisfied, recalled Steelix.

But everyone else stared at him, mouths agape.

"What? When you go on an adventure, you should bring your most trusted Pokémon, right?" Brock said, tilting his head.

I thought you were a Rock-type Gym Leader?!!