Chapter 3

“Water-type Pokemon are able to beat Fire-types,” Emerald said. “Which will come in handy since you're a Grass Pokemon. Type coverage is important if we want to survive battles.”

The two of them walked along the bridge leading through the top of the river below them. The river was immensely large as it stretched from Route 104 to the edge of the Rustboro City. Fishermen dotted the wooden structure as they were catching their livelihood straight out of the water. None appeared to want to battle, too busy casting or reeling in Magikarp.

Emerald felt a little more confident after his trip to the Rustboro City PokeMart. He had managed to buy three Pokeballs after having lunch in a cafe there. He asked Leif if he wanted anything but he claimed to not eat human food. After their brief trip to the city, a refreshed Emerald and his new Pokemon left to catch Pokemon.

The only thing he was worried about was if anyone found out Leif killed that trainer, Winston. Both entering and leaving Rustboro he constantly looked around in paranoia in case anyone ever managed to suspect him. Emerald never heard anyone mention it, putting his fear at ease.

However, the guilt still built up in him every time he remembered the boy’s smashed face. The feeling was not overwhelming as he didn’t know Leif would kill him and Emerald did not condone those actions. But what bothered him most was what Leif said about the death of the Zigzagoon. Him confronting Emerald about his greater sympathy for Winston over his Pokemon bothered him.

But Pokemon don’t have feelings, I’ve been told. He thought. It’s what everyone in school is first taught about Pokemon. They don’t have thoughts and emotions like us. Do they? Leif seems pretty human to me.

“I never met many Water-types,” Leif said. “They never traveled that far out into the forest where we lived.”

“Yeah,” Emerald said. “Well...I think you’ll be surprised. Water-types are generally known as being somewhat docile. Or...I think that’s what I heard.”

He walked over to a fisherman who was lying down in the late afternoon of the day. He jostled a little on the wooden bridge before looking up at Emerald as the young man loomed over him. The boy pointed to his fishing rod at his side.

“What are you doing?” Leif asked.

“Asking to borrow his fishing rod,” Emerald stated. “Bridges like these were specifically built for catching Water-type Pokemon. It’s common for traveling trainers to borrow a fishing rod to catch a Pokemon.”

“For the right price that is,” the fishermen wearing red said. “I see you’re probably a new trainer? That's your first Pokemon you have to explain this trainer business too?”

“Yep,” he answered. “So how much?”

“Hmm,” he said. “Well...usually my borrowing price is one hundred dollars but since you’re a newbie I’ll let you have it for fifty. Until you catch your first Pokemon with it, that is. And try not to waste all my bait.”

“Gee, thanks!” Emerald said.

He took the rod from beside the man in the red cap, put some bait on it from the tackle box and walked toward a secluded spot on the bridge. He cast his line out and waited in anticipation while taking one of the Pokeballs he bought at the PokeMart out of his bag. The motion of casting the line felt relaxing to Emerald, the waiting for the Pokemon to take the bait being more easing the tension filled. That was, until Leif started asking questions.

“When did this river get here?” he asked. “I don’t remember it being here. I know the area around Petalburg Woods pretty well and I don’t remember a single stream of water this big.”

“Well…” his trainer said, knowing the answer but not wanting to state it. “I-I’m not sure-”

“You’re lying,” the Treecko said.

“What?!” Emerald shouted.

Suddenly, he felt a tug on the line. He reeled it back to lift the rod into the air to find a Magikarp on the other end of the line. Emerald sighed in disappointment.

Magikarp was literally the only Pokemon he knew of that had no positive qualities. They had neither superhuman level strength, speed or durability, meaning in battle a human was better off fighting Pokemon themselves. The only thing they were good for was being the primary food source for Water-type Pokemon and the majority of what the fishing economy ran on. The Magikarp’s uselessness was so legendary that even a book dumb kid like Emerald knew that.

After reeling the Fish Pokemon in, Emerald placed the Pokeball in his hand down and held the creature down as it flailed wildly before unhooking it. It felt gross to put his hands into the thing’s mouth and wrench the hook free from it but he was just glad to have his hook again. He threw the Water-type back to which it swam away.

After feeling a bit of anger at the sight, Emerald walked over to the resting fisherman. He took some of the white, balled bait and placed it on the hook. Leif followed him before Emerald sat back down at his fishing spot and cast the line out again before Leif continued.

“You’re a very bad liar, Emerald,” the Treecko said. “You don’t hold anxiety down very well. Fear is a sure sign of deceit in my experience.”

“It was-” Emerald said. “It was...I think it was a project Team Aqua made near Rustboro. This river was meant to provide fishing opportunities, clean drinking water and irrigation since most of the water near Rustboro is ocean.”

“But what about the Pokemon that lived in the meadow?” Leif asked. “I know this was a favorite habitat of Taillow and Swellow. I even think Nincada liked this area for its thick grass. What happened to them once this place became flooded?”

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“Well-” Emerald said.

He felt a tug on the line again, hope surging through him before reeling it back in. That hope immediately sunk once Emerald found it was another Magikarp. He gritted his teeth in frustration before once again wrenching the Fish Pokemon free again and tossing it back into the water. He once again walked over to fetch some bait, feeling guilty for the courteous fisherman’s sake.

“But still,” Leif said. “The wild Pokemon that used to inhabit this grassland couldn’t have survived in this area once it was flooded. Either they drowned or were forced to flee.”

Emerald cast the line out again, looking away from Leif so he didn’t have to answer.

“Well?” the Treecko asked.

“Look…” he said. “Pokemon weren’t the only ones to suffer...apparently even humans were displaced when this river was made. There used to be a town here before the river was created. I...I think there’s only one remainder of it...some flower store or-”

“So another habitat was destroyed for human gain,” Leif said. “How many times will this happen before you humans are satisfied?!”

Emerald looked around to make sure that no one heard the Treecko. He looked to see none of the fishermen were looking in his direction, something that caused him to breathe a sigh of relief. He worried that if anyone heard Leif’s rantings they might connect him to the murder of Winston.

“Shh!” Emerald said. “Keep your voice down!”

“Well why did that have to happen?” Leif asked. “Why did you have to destroy the homes of so many just for a source of water?”

“Because!” Emerald said, frustrated at the thought of anyone learning about the Treecko’s opinions. “Because...Rustboro...doesn’t it have the highest growing population in all of Hoenn? Yeah...I think that’s it. It’s been making room for its booming new inhabitants and this is the result. I’m sorry Leif but...even you said that Pokemon have to do what they can to survive in the wild...even if it means killing.”

He could tell that response got to Leif. It shut the Treecko up for a moment, the Grass-type saying nothing. There was an awkward pause as Emerald turned his attention back to the slow moving river in front of him as Leif obviously tried to think of a response.

“I thought you said you didn’t do well in school,” he said. “So how would you know? I thought school was how you humans learned everything.

“I didn’t do well in school,” Emerald said. “But I watched the news a lot. I was trying to watch my dad’s TV coverage. His battles, projects he was involved in. I learned some stuff waiting for them to get to Norman’s exploits.”

“Norman’s your father?” Leif asked.

He groaned before feeling a tug on the line again. Emerald quickly reeled it in to find another disappointment flopping about on the bridge. He glared at the Magikarp at his feet. It was definitely larger than the other two but still just as helpless out of water.

“What is with this place?!” he shouted. “I didn’t ask for a great Pokemon or anything! Just a little bit better than a Magikarp! Is that so hard to ask for?!”

“It may be.”

Emerald turned around to find the fisherman whose rod he was borrowing walking toward him.

“This river only has Magikarp,” the fisherman said. “I noticed you kept coming back to get bait and figured you weren’t getting the Pokemon you wanted so...I came to tell you that.”

“Say what?” Emerald asked.

“When this river was made by Team Aqua they specifically only released Magikarp into it,” he said. “As a result, only that kind of Pokemon inhabits these waters in swarms. That and the occasional Maril.”

Emerald stared at him with disbelief plastered over his face before seething in anger.

“Well,” he said. “That’s fifty dollars I’m not getting back. So...any place that I could catch a decent Water Pokemon?”

“Oh boy,” the fisherman said. “If you really want a good Water Pokemon in these parts...you’ll have to head past Rustboro City to find a Tentacool, Wailmer or even a Wingull on Route 105. Maybe if you can make a trip to Petalburg you can get a Lotad-”

“Okay,” Emerald said. “I’ll-I’ll take that into consideration. Just-just-”

He looked down at the Magikarp pathetically flopping around. Emerald kneeled down to reach his hand into its mouth and grab the hook inside. While he was normally a bit more gentle with his attempts to free the Pokemon, he was too angry to be precise with taking out the hook.

“Um…” Leif said upon watching his fury taken out on the weak Pokemon. “Emerald-”

It was too late. After feeling a little resistance, Emerald finally just yanked out the hook. That was a bad move. While the Magikarp was now free of the hook, a large part of its mouth had been ripped clean from its body.

The rightmost corner of its lips was gone, now replaced with a hole in its face. It was bleeding profusely, causing its already red scales to turn ever redder. The Magikarp was clearly panicking, flopping around even harder on the bridge. The wood beneath it turned crimson, Emerald began shaking his head in panic.

“No-no-no-NO!” he shouted.

“I warned you,” Leif said.

“Wh-what do we do?!” Emerald said before turning to the fisherman. “Throw it back into the water?! Will that help?”

“Afraid not,” he said. “It’ll die of blood loss. Besides, even if its wound somehow does heal before it loses all that blood...a predator will probably get to it.”

“We-we just can’t leave it!” Emerald said. “You happen to have a potion on you?”

“Sure do,” he said. “But I ain’t gonna use it on a Magikarp. I use it on my Pokemon or me after a nasty wild encounter.”

“Then what do we do?!” Emerald shouted. “We-I just can’t leave it here! If only I’d bought some potions...but I wanted to conserve my money…”

“What about a doctor?” Leif asked. “Don’t you humans have them when someone’s sick or injured?”

“Yeah!” Emerald shouted. “But-but the only way to get medical treatment for a Pokemon is to take it to the Pokemon Center. And...and...I don’t know if I want to do that.”

“Why not?” Leif asked.

“Because to take a Pokemon to the Center…” Emerald said, unable to finish the sentence.

“It has to be caught in a Pokeball,” the fisherman stated. “And to newer trainers like you...money is not a luxury you can throw around whenever you want.”

Emerald sighed, looking down at the pitiful Pokemon at his feet. It was slowly beginning to weaken, its flopping around slowing as the energy had clearly been sapped from its body. More and more blood began soaking into the wood below it to indicate it was close to death. Emerald knew it was his fault that the poor creature was in the position and would have been fine had he not tried to capture it. He picked up the Pokeball and dropped it onto the Fish Pokemon, hoping it would be weak enough to not resist being caught.