FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Red walked slowly down Route 1, lost in thought, the images of what had occurred playing themselves over and over in his head, like a nightmare he couldn't escape.

After the disastrous battle between him and Blue, Professor Oak had come back in a rush. His "errand" that he had left to complete required he do work in the lab, and he was in a hurry. But he made sure to congratulate Red when he heard that he'd won.

"Professor!" Red had shouted as he walked in the lab. "I- You need to understand! I don't know how it happened! I-"

"Oh, I heard you won, Red! Great job! And your first battle too!"

"But the Charmander! It-"

"Oh yes, I'll heal your Pokémon up and you can go on your way," the Professor smiled, and patted Red on the shoulder. "I'm sorry I can't hear a recount of your battle, but I have important work to do."

"Go on my-? But- No! The Charmander! It- Professor, it ate Blue's Squirtle!"

"Oh, did it now? You deserve even more congratulations then I expected. You and Charmander seem to have developed a bond already!"

"But I- Wha- WHAT?! Professor, I don't think-"

"Ah! There you go, Red!" The Professor handed Red back his Poke Ball. "Your Pokémon is fighting fit. As I said, I am truly sorry I can't take the time to talk. Blue, you'll have to stay just a little longer, you understand."

"Yeah, I know, Grandpa . . ." Blue muttered.

Red was completely taken aback. "But- Wait! What is going on here?!"

"Have fun on your adventure," Professor Oak continued, walking him out of the lab. "If you ever need to talk, you can reach me through a PC, which can be found at any Poke Center."

"But where-?"

"Oh, that's right! Start on Route 1 and follow it to Viridian City. It's a straight path, so it shouldn't be too difficult. Especially for someone with your talent!"

"But the Charmander!"

"Yes, I'm sure you two will do fine. Good luck!"

Red was sent away without another word.

Red continued sorting through his thoughts. As he walked, he became more and more repulsed by the creature in his pocket. He would catch a new Pokémon, he decided. He could get something small, like a Caterpie, something that wouldn't eat other Pokémon. Maybe even other people. Oh no, what if his Pokémon decided to treat itself to the trainer it had just beaten in battle?

Red couldn't have that.

He wasn't scared of bugs like Daisy was, and if he caught something small, like a Caterpie, or a Rattata, he was sure it would be too weak to eat anything other than the occasional wild berry or plant. But there was the key word. Weak.

Red continued to walk down Route 1.

He could raise the Pokémon to its fullest. It would be a lot harder to become a Pokémon Master with only a bug or a rat, but he was determined to try. After all, a true Pokémon master could make do with any Pokémon. That was why he was called a Master.

Right?

Red heard a rustle in the grass. Eyes alit, he went to inspect it. He was startled when a Pidgey flew out. A Pidgey! That was perfect! A tough bird would surely work much better than a little caterpillar.

He sent out the Charmander after a moment's hesitation, because he knew he had to weaken the bird before catching it. Just this once, he thought. He would be sure to keep a close watch on the Charmander this time, and to call it back at the first sign of danger.

As the Charmander appeared from its ball, Red was guarded, but there seemed to be something different about it. It was very reserved and quiet, showing none of its prior energy.

Red looked at the Pokémon with disgust. It must be tired from digesting its meal. He sighed. This wasn't going to be fun.

"Charmander," he ordered, "use Scratch."

Obediently, his Pokémon did as it was told, still sullen and into the battle. The bird took the hit, and then flapped its wings hard toward the Charmander, creating a forceful wind which knocked it over and damaged it.

Gust, Red recalled. That was the name of this move.

He ordered another attack. The Charmander again obeyed. But when the Pidgey launched a Peck from the sky, it didn't even bother trying to get out of the way.

What was wrong?

He told the Charmander to use Scratch again, intending for this to be the last hit. He would try to catch the Pidgey afterwards, before it fainted. But the Charmander's claws suddenly glowed and when it drove its paw into the Pidgey's wing, it was knocked out instantly.

Red was stunned, but only for a moment. He realized his Charmander had landed a critical hit. "Charmander, return!" he called quickly, returning it to its ball before it could doing anything more. "It's okay," he said soothingly to the Pidgey. He reached out to pet it but it ruffled its wings and pecked at him angrily.

"Fine!" Red said, annoyed. "I'll just leave you here. What do I care? You're just a Pokémon. Birds are dumb, anyway."

The Pidgey let out a squawk and batted Red's head with its wing before flying away.

"Ouch!" Red yelled. "What was that for?! You can't understand me, anyway!"

Red stood up and rubbed his head, now in a sour mood. Was it the tone of his voice that had made the bird attack him? Or the fact that he had approached it?

He continued walking.

It was now a few hours later, and Red hadn't encountered another Pokémon. And so, he was startled when he heard a noise. But it wasn't a Pokémon. It was a man on the side of the road, calling him over.

He had neat, black hair and blue eyes. He seemed like he wanted something from Red. He was wearing a blue uniform with a Poke Ball split in two as its main logo. "I want to give you this!" he said, handing Red a bottle.

"What is this?" Red asked suspiciously. He had always been told not to accept things from strangers, and this was the first time such an event had happened. But this man seemed different. More professional-like.

"It's a potion!" explained the man. "My name is Bob, and it seems to me like you're a new trainer. Trainers need items for their Pokémon. If they get weak in battle or if you just want to strengthen them, items are always helpful. You can get many of these items at the Pokémon Mart!"

"The Pokémon Mart?"

"Yes! There is one in every city ahead, and it is important to make good use of them. I work at the one in Viridian City! I'm here looking for new trainers, so I can direct them there. You can find things like status healers and Poke Balls, among other things!"

Poke Balls! Of course! He didn't have any Poke Balls. How had he expected to catch the Pidgey?

"Where is Viridian City?" asked Red.

"In that direction," Bob said, pointing north. "It's about a day's walk from here, but the path is fairly straight, so you can't miss it."

Red looked in the direction the man pointed. He was only a day away? That was great! "Thank you," he said graciously. You've been a lot of help."

"Glad to be at your assistance, Sir! I hope you can put that potion to good use!"

He bade the man farewell and continued on his way, amusing himself over how the man had called him 'Sir.' No one had ever called him that before. He was eager to reach Viridian City now, where he could get the item needed to officially start his adventure.

His adventure . . .

Red slowed as he began to dwell on the lab again. His enthusiasm fell like a stone.

Did he really want to go on this adventure? All his life he had dreamed of becoming a Pokémon Master, of taming Pokémon to their fullest, but he never knew what this would entail. He hadn't imagined he would have to learn to control vicious predators. . . . Was this what they meant by "Master?" Master of the monsters?

And then there was his Charmander.

His Charmander . . .

It had seemed the perfect match when he chose it, and he had no doubt felt the connection between the two. They were supposed to be a great team! But how could he justify that now? And even if he got another Pokémon . . . what would he do then? Didn't Pokémon grow as they got stronger? That meant any Pokémon could grow huge. . . and that would put him right back where he started!

It was getting late, and Red was getting tired, but he didn't notice. Dusk fell over the sky above him and the air grew quiet and peaceful, leaving him to his thoughts.

Did that mean even a Caterpie could become a monstrous mutant bug, bent on destruction? But that was just silly, wasn't it? . . . Of course it was silly.

Maybe there was some sort of secret he didn't know, on how to stop that from happening. Maybe he just needed more control as a Master?

Red had grown up all his life with Pokémon, and he knew them. Or at least he thought he did. Though he had never owned a Pokémon, he lived next door to a Pokémon Professor, and he had seen many Pokémon over the course of his life. None had seemed violent or aggressive, and they all acted well-behaved with their trainers. But then, so had his Charmander, before it decided to have lunch.

He kicked a pebble with his foot.

It had always been his belief that he knew more about Pokémon than the average trainer, but was this true?

A breeze blew through the air and ruffled the leaves on the trees surrounding him.

Red slowly took the Poke Ball out of his pocket and stared at it. Was he worthy of this?

Without thinking, he threw the Ball, and it opened, letting the Charmander out.

He looked at the Pokémon and it looked back at him with doleful eyes. Red sat at the base of a tree and beckoned the Charmander to sit beside him. And he began to talk, more to himself than to the Pokémon.

"What is wrong with me?"

Red picked a leaf off the ground and absentmindedly picked at it while he spoke. "I thought I could do this. I was so prepared to do this! . . . But I didn't know enough, I guess. . . . And you. Why did you have to eat that Pokémon? I know it was my rival's and all, but . . ."

Red chuckled sadly and continued to look down, staring into nowhere. The Charmander shifted beside him.

"I wanted to be friends with you so bad. Why did you betray me? All my life I wanted this, but I'm not even sure anymore. I wanted to be friends with you so bad . . ."

The Charmander cooed and snuggled up next to Red, looking into his eyes with what seemed like concern.

"Heh, I bet you didn't mean to, though, did you? You don't seem like the vicious kind at all. . . . You just wanted to impress me, huh? I bet that's it. . ."

A bug Pokémon chirped in the night.

"It's sad that I'm going to have to replace you. . . ."

All of a sudden a tree snapped overhead, and the Charmander jumped up, growling.

"Charmander! . . . What is it?"

The atmosphere was tense. The leaves overhead seemed to be listening with his Pokémon. The Charmander growled again, this time at the base of the tree, and Red got up to check behind it. Curled up at the base of the trunk was a Caterpie.

The Charmander snarled, louder this time.

"Charmander . . ." started Red.

The Charmander let out a bark and jumped at the Caterpie, who squealed as a scratch was cut into its side. The Caterpie retaliated with a String Shot and tried to crawl away as the Charmander was distracted by the web in its eyes.

This didn't take long, and as soon as it could see clearly, the Charmander launched another attack at the Caterpie.

All the while, Red had a nagging feeling at the back of his head that he couldn't quite place. He dismissed it, and watched the battle intently.

Now the Caterpie stood to fight. It launched another String Shot, and tackled the Charmander while it was slowed. The Charmander fought back with a Scratch, but missed as the Caterpie jumped out of the way. It used Harden and gathered up its defenses.

Oh! That was it. Caterpie didn't make their habitats on Route 1. They were found in Viridian Forest.

Charmander let out a roar and bit into the Caterpie as the latter swung at it with its tiny legs. The Charmander was obviously winning the battle. It better have, seeing as how they had already reached Viridian Forest. The Charmander had had plenty of experience by now.

Viridian Forest?

Charmander glared at the Caterpie before making its loudest growl yet. It grasped the Caterpie and threw it into the middle of the road. Then it ran to it and stomped it into the ground with its paw. It looked down at the Caterpie and bared its teeth, which seemed to have grown to twice their normal length.

"Charmander . . . what are . . .?" Red stepped back. He tripped over a rock and fell on his arm, running a deep gash through it.

Charmander attacked the Caterpie one last time before standing victorious over it, having won the battle. It raised its forepaws up into the air and let out a roar of victory, claws clenched tight.

And then it grew.

Other wild Pokémon began to gather around as the Charmander continued its victory cry, over and over. And then it stopped. It looked down at the Caterpie with malice in its eyes, and there was no mistake about what happened next. A drop of drool fell onto the Caterpie's face.

The Charmander jumped off and looked hungrily at the defeated Pokémon. It picked it up with no apparent effort and licked it along the length of its back. The Charmander obviously liked what it tasted because it promptly lowered its head, grasping the Caterpie's head with its mouth, and slurped noisily, and though it was sucking up a piece of spaghetti.

It swallowed its meal and let out a coo.

But this wasn't its normal coo. It was low, and guttery, and full of danger.

"Oh, no . . ." Red whispered.

Many Pokémon were gathered around the scene now, and more kept coming. They began to let out shrieks and cackles, combining their sounds into an eerie harmony with the Charmander's evil call.

And suddenly it began to grow again. Its claws grew longer, and its head grew more elongated like a raptor's. Its tail grew scythe-like, and the flame turned a dark, blood-red. The Pokémon gathered around chartered even louder, and the scene grew dark.

And still it kept growing.

The Charmander was larger than Red before it finally brought its weapon-like paws back down to its side, and then everything was still. A silence enveloped the night like a blanket, and the Charmander sniffed the air. It turned to face Red, a red glow in its eyes, and it fixed its attention on the gash in Red's arm. A purple muscle stuck out from its mouth and it licked its lips.

Red gasped and tried to cover up the bloody cut, but it was no use. The Charmander strutted towards Red, and as it came closer, Red screamed. This wasn't his Charmander anymore. It was completely different now, and it had an evil air about it. The creature plainly meant to bring him harm.

Red turned and tried to run, but flames erupted from the "Charmander's" maw, engulfing the scene in a bright light, with long shadows, and encircling the two in an inescapable wall. The Pokémon gathered around the scene began to shriek and caw again, but they were outside the wall of flame. Only the flaming demon and its victim were left inside. A Pidgey came from nowhere and began to encircle the fire lizard's head, letting out an oddly familiar squawk that made chills run down Red's back.

"Charmander . . ."

The Pokémon roughly grabbed Red's arm and began to suck on the wound, causing even more damage with its large fangs. Red thrashed in its grasp for a minute, but this was enough for the lizard. It held Red out in front of its face and stared into his eyes. And what Red saw when he looked back confirmed his fears. This was not his Charmander.

"No! I . . .!"

The creature took one last slurp across the human's face before its stomach rumbled loudly, like an avalanche falling from a cliff into nowhere. The trees around them shook and even the ground seemed to rumble. It grabbed the human's arms in its mouth and began to suck him down slowly, enjoying the added flavor from the wound, licking the area forcefully and repeatedly.

The situation was beginning to seem hopeless for Red, which said something about the boy, because it was plainly far beyond the point of hope. "Nooo . . ." he wailed, as his head was next to be sucked into that cavernous maw; his hands were now grasped by the muscles of the throat.

Everything was pitch black, with only the occasional stream of light illuminating his surroundings, which only served to heighten his fear.

"Please . . . you can't do this! . . ." Red cried as he was drawn farther in, and his head was pulled into the throat. Although, he knew he really had no say over what the creature could or couldn't do. He heard a rhythmic pounding coming from all around. It was much faster than the normal heartbeat.

Pa-pa-pound. Pa-pa-pound. Pa-pa-pound.

A moment passed, and Red was pulled further in. His hands pressed against something hard as the beat continued. What was this? Suddenly it opened and admitted him, and his hands were greeted by open space. No! The stomach!

"Stop! Please, no! . . ."

Ba-da-boom. Ba-da-boom. Ba-da-boom.

He felt his legs lift upward and Red knew that the creature was now swallowing in earnest. And his head was coming closer and closer to that stomach. He couldn't let that happen. He began to beat at the stomach wall from the inside, willing them to throw him back out. Boom. Boom. Boom. And his descent stopped for a moment. He had newfound hope. And then . . .

"No! No! Nooo!" His head began to slip in. The bottom of the stomach glowed red, as though engulfed in flames, and Red dreaded what would happen if he came into contact.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

"No!" his nose entered into the open space.

Boom. Boom. No time left, the banging told him.

"Noo--mmph!" his mouth slipped in.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

"Arrgh!! Noo!!" He felt his head enter fully inside and the pounding was muffled somewhat. His outstretched arms grazed the bottom of the glowing muscle.

"Owwwcchh!! Arrrgghhh!!"

Ba-boom! Ba-boom!

"Nooo!!"

Ba-boom! Ba-boom! Ba-boom!

"Let me out!! Let me out!! Let me--!!!"

BOOM!!

Suddenly there was light.

The sun was shining through the trees, and the birds were singing.

There was a light breeze.

Red took a gulp of air and quickly looked around. His Charmander was sleeping peacefully on his lap. He jumped up with a yell, causing the Charmander to fall on and wake unpleasantly.

Red felt himself up and down with panted breath. He was completely dry. He looked at his arm. It was smooth and unflawed. He turned it. No cut.

His labored breathing began to settle, but his heart still beat furiously in his chest. A dream. That's all it had been. It was a dream.

He looked at his Charmander, which gave a small coo, and nudged Red's side with its head. Red looked at it, dumbstruck. He reached down to pet it, after a moment's hesitation, and something flowed between the two, a familiar connection. Charmander closed its eyes and enjoyed the attention it had been starving for.

"Charmander . . ." Red said softly. He sat at the tree again and continued to scratch its neck gently. "I had an awful time last night. . . ." He flinched as he ran a hand down the Charmander's neck.

A bird cawed overhead and two Pokémon ran playfully down a tree across the road. It was a beautiful day, just like yesterday, and it seemed even more vibrant with life, somehow.

"We've got a lot to catch up on . . ."

TO BE CONTINUED