“So that's the gatehouse there...and over here...”
Jen had turned her Pokémon over to Nurse Joy once she and the others had returned to the Centre after her win over Misty. She, James and Hunter were sitting in the Centre's canteen once again, looking over Jen's map of Kanto. James had taken off his PokéGear and displayed the map function there too, so they could compare the two; although Jen didn't think it mattered, the Map Card that Darrell had given his brother could well be outdated. The main point of interest was the two paths that led from Cerulean. One continued east towards the sea, with the Rock Tunnel and Lavender Town on the way, and the other led south towards Saffron City, Kanto's massive commercial hub, and ultimately Vermilion City, the port of call for the SS Anne. The ship would be well into another cruise this time of year; even if it was almost impossible for most trainers to snag an invite to one of the parties that took place on the infamous luxury liner, Jen reasoned that it would be cool to catch a glimpse of the ship, at least.
“I think the best option would be to go straight through Saffron,” Jen said as she traced the path with her finger. “We can check which...why are there two gym buildings marked here?”
“Where?” James asked, distracted. Hunter leaned over to check the map.
“Two gyms marked, but only one badge,” he said, indicating the small yellow circle near the two markings. “Maybe they rotate year to year. You know, give each other a break?”
“I doubt it,” James murmured, looking over the map himself. “Most likely they competed for Saffron's slot as the Indigo Conference representative, and one gym beat the other.”
“Could be,” Hunter replied, gulping some water. He looked at the map again, and sighed. “I'll have to find out a lot later than you guys, though.”
“Why?” Jen asked. “Aren't you taking the same route as us?” Hunter shook his head.
“No. I'm going to chance the Rock Tunnel.”
“What?” James looked up in surprise as Jen stared. “Why? Isn't it easier to use Saffron as a central point?”
“I want to train against the Pokémon in there,” Hunter said with a shrug. “I know it's supposed to be pitch dark in there, but I'll find a way through.” He paused. “Lavender Town is past the other end of the tunnel, so I'll just loop through there and dive through Saffron when I need to.” James shrugged.
“It's your decision,” he said quietly. “I don't think we're equipped to go through that tunnel, so we'll keep heading south. Maybe we'll cross paths again, eventually.”
“That'd be cool,” Hunter replied. “We'll have to have a battle when we do see each other again. Now that Electabuzz is evolved, I'm hoping to take him on in a proper fight.”
“You got it,” James answered. “I'll develop my team further and be ready.”
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The next morning, all three youngsters headed for the eastern edge of Cerulean City, preparing to go their separate ways. None of them said much, and Typhlosion stayed close to his trainer's leg, watching the city go by. James scowled as they passed Marine Stadium, and Jen laughed a little when she saw him. She wasn't much of a baseball fan, but it was funny to see how seriously her best friend took the game. Sometimes, when he wasn't training his team, and even occasionally when he was, Jen had seen James balancing on his left leg and holding his right knee in the air, as if he was getting ready to throw a pitch. It was important, he'd said, for him to have good balance so he wouldn't get hurt too easily, since pitchers tended to have a lot of odd injuries. It made sense to Jen, but it was still strange.
As the group approached the outskirts of Cerulean, a signpost indicated the split path they would embark on. Further east lay Route 9, which would eventually lead to the Rock Tunnel. To the south was Route 5, a mildly hilly thoroughfare that would take a traveler to Saffron City. Hunter walked towards the signpost, then turned to face James and Jen.
“Well, I'll see you guys at some point,” he said, grinning. “You definitely picked an easier route than I did.”
“We've still got six badges left to earn each,” James reminded him. “It's never easy, no matter which way you travel.”
“I guess.” Hunter shook hands with both James and Jen, gave Typhlosion a scratch behind the ears, then turned and headed towards the rocky eastward route. The two Violet youngsters looked at one another.
“Let's go.”
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Route 5 was fairly straightforward, like the previous routes they'd traveled. The main highway was bordered mostly by open fields, with the odd building here and there. There were a lot of trees close to the road, which suited Jen just fine. Her Weedle was now devouring leaves faster than she could pull them off the trees, and his String Shot wrapping was becoming thicker, indicating that he might be preparing to evolve soon. He was at least ten times bigger than he had been when Jen had caught him in Viridian Forest.
The days spent travelling the route passed quickly, and they passed a moderately sized house with a sweeping backyard. The sign in front of it read Pokémon Day Care, but it was difficult to tell because of a red sticker that obscured the name. The sticker read Closed Until Further Notice.
“Why is that, d'you think?” Jen asked, as James tested the locked door. “I would've liked to visit.”
“I guess they didn't do enough business,” James said, abandoning the door. “It's weird, though. It's not exactly difficult to get here, and there's got to be enough traffic to hold up a place like this.”
“Who knows?” Jen said as they moved on. “Maybe there's another one in Kanto, we just have to find it.”
From the Day Care building, they approached another small complex with two low-slung buildings. One of them was the gatehouse leading to Saffron City, and they headed there first. An attendant met them in the foyer with a frown on her face.
“Are you guys trying to get to Saffron?” Jen nodded.
“Yes. Why, is there a problem?” The attendant nodded back.
“I'm afraid we've had to cordon off this particular entrance to the city.” When both youngsters looked confused, she continued. “The police department are currently responding to an emergency in the northern part of the city. We have been asked to restrict access to the city until the situation is resolved.”
“So where does that leave us?” James asked. “We need to go through Saffron to get to Vermilion City.”
“In that case, you should take the Underground Path,” the attendant said. She pointed to the window of the gatehouse to indicate the other building in the complex. “It was built as a footpath so travelers could cross Saffron without traveling through the city itself, which is quite dense, and the Saffron Metropolitan Rail Company developed the train as part of the city's broader subway system. It was quite useful to travelers and civilians back when Team Rocket was causing trouble here years ago.”
“Team Rocket?” James asked. “Do they have anything to do with Team Triassic?” Jen rolled her eyes, and the attendant looked confused.
“Who?”
“Never mind,” James said quickly. “So, this Underground Path will take us towards Vermilion?”
“Yes. There are two of them, actually. One goes north to south, the other east to west, from outside Lavender Town and Celadon City. There are two ways to traverse them. You can take the subway, or use the footbridge above the rail line. The train will get you across Saffron in an hour or so; needless to say, walking will take a significantly longer time. Either path will take you to Route 6, and that in turn will get you to Vermilion.” The attendant looked from one youngster to the other. “Understood?”
“Yes, ma'am,” Jen said, as James nodded. Typhlosion gave a small growl of assent too. “Thanks for your help. I hope the police can handle the disturbance.”
“The SCPD is quite capable,” the attendant replied. “They should have the situation well in hand. Good luck on the rest of your travels.” With that, James and Jen turned back to the gatehouse doors, and made their way towards the Underground Path.
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Jen turned to James as they approached the underground terminal.
“So...train or footbridge?” James considered.
“I say train. As much as I like the walking, being underground doesn't really appeal to me.”
“Because it's one big cave.” Jen knew full well what was behind her friend's hesitancy. “D'you have the time?” James tapped his PokéGear screen, and the display showed 14:38. “Okay, so the next train leaves soon. We won't have to wait long.”
The underground station was bigger than either James or Jen thought. Bright lights illuminated the cavernous area above the platform, and the aforementioned footbridge spanned above them, supported by strong beams along the way. Typhlosion balked when he saw a sign near the entrance, and James read it with a frown. The sign showed a silhouetted Pikachu under some bolded text.
Stolen story; please report.
“Any Pokémon larger than...of course,” he groaned. “Sorry, buddy, but you're gonna have to put up with being confined for a bit. I want to keep moving as quick as possible.” Typhlosion gave him an annoyed look, but James shook his head. “C'mon, work with me here. It's only an hour or two.” The Fire-type sighed, but nodded, and James recalled him with his own sigh. “I'll make it up to him when we hit Route 6. We'll go after some wild Pokémon in training or something.”
They bought tickets at a machine near the tracks; two lines ran side by side, so a train could run in either direction. As they joined the small queue to wait for the next train to depart, James was struck by a sudden thought.
“Wait, she said the path runs in two directions. I get that that works on the bridge,”—he pointed to the footpath overhead—“but what about the rail lines? It's not like the tracks can just crisscross, right?” A nearby guard overheard him, and grinned.
“You're not the first person to wonder that,” he said. “The truth is, this north to south line is actually one level above the east to west line.”
“How does that work?” Jen asked. “You're saying the east to west line is below us?”
“Yes. This particular Underground Path was built first, and the other was built below it. Not sure why, but it certainly made it simpler when SaffRail set up the rail lines. If the paths had intersected, they'd have to use a turntable, which could cause trouble if it malfunctioned, and be extremely careful about timing the trains. They're very strictly timed anyway, but if the lines crossed, even a small delay could cause a problem.”
“That makes sense,” James said, looking at the still-vacant rail line. “So the trains leave every hour?”
“On the hour,” the guard said, checking his watch. “If you're going east to west, they leave on the half hour.” He looked up as a horn sounded. “Here it comes, look.” The approaching train consisted of four rectangular cars; their top halves were painted blue, and the bottom white. Sparks flew intermittently from the rails as the train slid smoothly up to the platform. The doors opened, and the guard grinned. “Gotta shepherd some passengers. It was a good talk, guys.” As he dashed away, an announcement sounded over the crowd noise.
“This is the 3PM departure from Saffron North to Saffron South. Please keep personal belongings with you at all times. When boarding, please mind the gap.” James and Jen walked with the crowd of passengers onto the train, and found seats near the back of the first car. As James leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, the doors slid shut, and as the clock hit the hour, the train shot out of the terminal and started towards the southern end of the line.
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Before they knew it, James and Jen were emerging from the Underground Path's southern terminal and onto Route 6. The route was a little less straighforward than Route 5. A large lake forced travelers to work their way around, and large patches of tall grass lined the road. James let Typhlosion back out, and the Fire-type amused himself by chasing some Oddish—small bluish creatures with green fronds on their heads—around the area.
A few days into their trip down Route 6, Jen spotted a young boy looking downcast. He had a large net on a pole in his hand, and his straw hat was askew. He looked over at the pair of them.
“Hey, be careful going down the route,” he said, fiddling with the net in his hand. “There's a crazy Doduo running around, scaring the bugs away.”
“Doduo?” Jen asked, looking over at James. James stopped egging Typhlosion on and shrugged. The boy shook his head.
“Doduo. Big bird, two heads, running wild in the grass. I haven't found any bugs for three days.” James and Jen looked at each other, and Jen checked her Pokédex.
“This doesn't make sense,” she said. “Doduo don't usually live in this area. How did it get out here?”
“Maybe it was abandoned by its trainer? Or just migrated here by accident? I don't know much about them.” James looked to the boy. “You said it's a bird of some kind?”
“Yeah, which is why the bugs are skittish. They can hide from Pidgey and Spearow just fine, but something that big? They won't even come out of their homes.” The boy shook his head sadly and walked away, while James turned to Jen.
“We'd better keep our eyes open. That Doduo doesn't sound friendly.” He released Electabuzz, who grinned mischievously as he eyed his trainer. “Easy. We need you to be on the ball here. There's a rogue Doduo roaming around here, so you've got to be ready to blast it if it attacks.” Electabuzz nodded, and Typhlosion growled his own affirmative. “Yeah, you be ready too. We need all the firepower we can get.”
While Typhlosion and Electabuzz ranged a little ahead of the two youngsters, James and Jen kept watch for the rogue Doduo. Twice, Jen thought she saw something in the long grass, but it just turned out to be the wind rustling the grass, or else a smaller Pokémon running here and there. As they moved towards a thicker patch of grass than usual, Typhlosion stopped short, his ears perking up.
“What is it?” Jen asked, as Electabuzz looked around as well. Typhlosion growled for her to be quiet, and tilted his head to the left, as if that was where he heard something.
“What do you...” James cut himself off as he and Jen heard the sound: a high-pitched ha-ha noise, like mocking laughter, but played on a slowed-down record. Jen looked in the direction Typhlosion was listening, and gulped.
“Um, guys?” she said, starting to move behind Electabuzz. “I think we found the crazy Doduo.” The next moment, the lot of them scattered as a round-bodied bird with two heads came charging through. Its beige legs left huge, four-toed prints in the ground, and both its heads bobbed on black necks. The heads and body were covered in a fine, brown, downy coat. Every ten yards or so, both heads ducked and pecked at the ground with long beaks, leaving holes in the dirt. It barely took any notice of any of the group, and various small Pokémon fled from the intruder.
“So that's a Doduo,” James said as he took out his own Pokédex to scan it.
“Doduo, the Twin Bird Pokémon,” the Pokédex announced. “Despite its Flying subtype, Doduo's short wings make flying difficult. It makes up for this by running at speeds of up to sixty miles per hour.”
“What do you think we should do?” Jen asked, as she watched Doduo run haphazardly across the route. James thought for a moment, then signaled Typhlosion and Electabuzz.
“Get ready, guys,” he said, taking out another Pokéball. “We're gonna catch that bird. Jen, can you send out Weedle?” Jen whipped around and stared.
“Are you nuts? You're gonna use him as bait?”
“Only until it gets in range. You can recall him once the shooting starts.” Jen glared at him.
“I don't think any of our Pokémon can comfortably handle that thing. Even Electabuzz will struggle when it charges.”
“That's why we'll keep it at arm's length,” James replied. “Typhlosion and Electabuzz's ranged attacks should do enough damage without taking it out completely.” Jen shook her head.
“You are nuts...” As she reluctantly let Weedle out, James grinned and called out to Electabuzz.
“Get its attention with a ThunderShock.” Electabuzz aimed at the oblivious Doduo, then fired a small jolt of electricity at it. The attack hit, and both of Doduo's head swung up and focused on the Electric-type. “Oh, boy, here we go.” Both sets of Doduo's eyes narrowed, and it started sprinting hard at Electabuzz. “Brace yourself!” As the Flying-type charged, both its beaks began rotating like drills. Electabuzz grinned as he waited for impact. Jen looked from one Pokémon to the other in horror.
“James, this is ridiculous! Blast it and let's keep moving!”
“No way! Typhlosion, get it with Flamethrower!” Off to the bird's left, Typhlosion loosed a stream of fire that barely missed, but scorched and blackened the surrounding grass. Doduo lowered its heads as it aimed at Electabuzz's chest. “Quick, Protect!” The shimmering barrier deflected Doduo's attack, and it sprinted several yards past its target. “Okay, hammer it! Thunderbolt!” But as Electabuzz's horns began to spark, Doduo recovered and leaped into the air.
“I thought it couldn't fly!” Jen cried as she looked for cover. “James, you have to get everybody clear! That thing could flatten us!”
“We've got this! Electabuzz, hit it!” Electabuzz fired the electric blast towards the still-airborne Doduo, but like Typhlosion, missed by inches. Doduo plummeted towards the ground, this time hammering hard into Electabuzz. The Electric-type flew back and landed hard on the ground, and Doduo's momentum caused it to trample over him. Electabuzz was very slow to get up after the impact.
“James, enough already!” Jen shouted as Doduo forced itself to stop. She opened her mouth to speak again, but her voice died away as Doduo heard her and stared her down. Its eyes glinted as it spotted Weedle in front of her. “Oh, no...” She fumbled for Elekid's Pokéball as the Twin Bird got ready to charge again. James saw what was happening, realized his error, and his eyes narrowed.
“Hey, ugly! Leave her alone!” Doduo turned his attention to him, and he picked up a rock. “C'mon, I dare you!” He whipped the rock at Doduo as it began another charge, and quickly grabbed for his other two Pokéballs. “Nidoran and Blue, help us out!” The Poison-type siblings emerged and immedately fanned out as Doduo thundered towards them. James ran out of the way as well, and Doduo ran straight past him.
“Those two can't put Doduo away!” Jen called as Doduo skidded to another halt. As if they'd heard her, the two Poison-types squared up to the bird. James watched as they both vocalized at Doduo, daring it to attack again.
“Hold your ground!” he shouted, as he signalled Typhlosion. “While it's focused on them, blast it.” Doduo charged once more, and Typhlosion readied a Flamethrower. Before he could fire, though, Blue had leaned away from Doduo and bitten down hard on its trailing left leg. Doduo cried out in pain as Blue's jaws gripped hard, but to everyone's astonishment, her body began to glow.
“No way!” Jen said as she and Weedle watched. The small blue Poison-type's body grew, and her front legs extended while her hind legs and tail widened, causing her to stand more upright. The barbs on her back now resembled spikes. “Blue evolved! I didn't see that coming!” James grinned.
“Let's finish this job, then. Blue, slam it!” Blue jerked her head, and Doduo fell onto its side. As James readied an empty Pokéball and threw it at Doduo. Just as the ball struck, Jen's Weedle shot a glowing violet spike at the bird. “Hey, watch where you're shooting!”
“Sorry!” Jen shouted as she shooed Weedle aside. “C'mon, don't do that. They've already got it handled.” Weedle responded by forming a String Shot and twisting himself so the thick fibrous substance covered his body. “Alright, keep doing that. We'll find you some leaves soon.”
Meanwhile, the Pokéball continued to shake. Typhlosion watched carefully, ready to attack if the bird broke out. The ball shook a few more times, then the light on the front of the ball winked out, accompanied by the capture tone. James reached down and picked up the ball, then brushed his hand over his forehead.
“I didn't expect it to be that intense,” he said as he tossed the ball up and down. He looked over at Electabuzz, who was bent double with his hands on his knees. “Easy, there. You took a big hit there.” Typhlosion, Nidoran and the now-evolved Blue moved over to their winded teammate. Jen let out Magmar and ordered her to watch Weedle, then walked over to James.
“I don't know whether to congratulate you, or punch you in the face,” she grumbled. “We had no business going after that Doduo.” James' face fell.
“We caught it, didn't we? Now the route will be a bit safer...”
“That's not the point!” Jen shouted, and James took a step back. “You're lucky it worked out, or we'd have bigger things to worry about than a crazy two-headed bird. Vermilion City is still a long way away, and I'd rather not have to backtrack. We...” Jen's voice trailed away as Magmar vocalized towards her, pointing to Weedle. “What now?” As she looked over to her Pokémon, she gasped.
The Hairy Bug's String Shot had hardened and turned a polished yellow. His head was now rounded, and his eyes were black and narrow with small white pupils. His body came to a point at the bottom, and thin dark lines seemed to imitate interlocking plates. Jen took her Pokédex back out and scanned her newly evolved partner.
“Kakuna, the Cocoon Pokémon. Kakuna is almost immobile as it prepares for further evolution, but it can extend poisonous barbs if it needs to defend itself.” Jen stowed the device and looked down at Kakuna.
“So, you're one step closer to evolving, huh? All those leafless trees along the way must've paid off.” She looked back at James. “Let's find a place to camp. I need a rest after all that.” She didn't wait for an answer before recalling Magmar and Kakuna, and started looking for a good spot to set up.