Episode #3: The Kid With The Rare Pichu!

Inside the Vermilion Pokemon Center, Flow began to pack his things while looking back at something. He frowned for a bit before hearing a knock on the door. He went over to it and opened it to see Jason from behind. He smiled as he gave Flow a high five.

“Hey, pal,” Jason said. “What's up?”

“Not much,” Flow said. “Got my first badge!”

He showed him the Thunder Badge, leaving Jason to feel proud that he won his first Kanto League Badge. He noticed something behind Flow in the corner.

“What's up with him?” Jason asked.

He saw Typhlosion facing the corner, sitting down with his head lowered. He wasn't feeling too well, emotionally

“He's been down after losing to Magneton within the first few minutes of their battle,” Flow said.

“You don't say,” Jason replied. “How long has he been like this?”

“Well, I just let him out, so not too long.”

Flow went over to Typhlosion and pat him on the back.

“Hey, don't feel too bad,” Flow said to his partner. “I know you lost, and a little bit humiliating at that, but it was just luck that's all. I promise, the next time you'll battle, you'll win!”

Typhlosion looked at him and felt a bit of trust in his words. He smiled and nudged against him.

“There we go!” Flow said. “That's the Typhlosion I know!”

Jason felt proud that he could get to Typhlosion easily. Flow looked back and smiled at him.

“So where are you going off to now?” Jason asked.

“I've been thinking about going to Saffron City in the north.”

“I can tell you a bit about the Gym Leader there.”

“Okay, what?”

“Sabrina, the Gym Leader there, trains Psychic Pokemon. If you have a Dark Pokemon handy, you'll be fine.”

Flow goes through his team in his head. Typhlosion, Furret, Lanturn, Scizor, Hitmontop and Gligar were the only ones he had. None of them are Dark Pokemon.

“I don’t have any Dark Types though,” Flow said, pausing for a brief moment. “Do I? What’s Gligar?”

“Ground and Flying.”

“Well, that’s fun,” Flow said, sarcastically.

“Hey, relax, you still have Scizor. He's strong against Psychic Pokemon. He has a lot of resistance against Psychic attacks. Fighting Pokemon, however...”

“So, Hitmontop is out of the question then. Okay, Typhlosion, Scizor and Furret are my choices!”

Typhlosion cheered in response. Flow hoped to do well against Sabrina of the Saffron Gym and win his second badge. After a bit of rest, he decided to head off to the north gate to Saffron City. He took his team and prepared to deal with Sabrina's Psychic Types.

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As he traveled through Route 6, north to Saffron City, Flow looked at his PokéGear map to see how long it would take for him to get there. It would take him at least a half hour on foot to arrive at Saffron City. He hoped to get there before sunset, even if he would stay at the Pokemon Center until tomorrow.

“Well, it shouldn't take much longer now,” Flow said.

He suddenly heard someone letting out a loud “Chuuuuuuuuuu!” from somewhere. He looked ahead to see a pure yellow Pichu hanging from a tree branch, struggling to get up. Flow rushed to his aid and tried to catch him before he fell.

“Hang on, I'm coming!” Flow called out.

The Pichu fell, leaving Flow to leap forward and grab him from below, sliding across. Flow opened his eyes after the dust cleared and saw that he successfully saved the Pichu. Flow noticed something odd about the Pichu. Instead of bright yellow fur and pink cheeks, he had a similar color scheme to a Pikachu, yellow fur and red cheeks. Flow found it unusual.

“Are you okay?” Flow asked.

“Pichu!” he replied.

Flow sat with his legs crossed as he made Pichu face him.

“You scared the daylights out of me!” Flow said. “What were you doing up there anyway?”

“Kevin!” someone called out.

Flow turned around to see a young boy about Flow's age wearing a gray jacket tied around his waist while wearing a blue shirt with a white Poké Ball  pattern on it and black pants. He also appeared to have a necklace with a gray stone attached to it.

“Kevin, you're okay!” the boy said.

“Pichu!” he replied, jumping to him.

The two hugged happily as they laughed joyfully. Flow wondered if he was his trainer, and he seemed to be just that.

“Thank you for saving my Pichu,” the boy said.

“No problem,” Flow said. “How'd he get up there?”

“No clue. Well, he's safe now, and that's all that matters. Come on, let's head to Saffron City!”

“Pichu pichu!” Pichu said happily.

“You're headed there as well?” Flow asked.

“Of course. I want to face Sabrina and get a Marsh Badge!”

“That's the same thing I'm doing too.”

“Hey, since we're both heading there, how about I show you. I know the perfect way there! I'm Tobias, by the way.”

“I'm Flow. Flow Higurashi.”

They boy reacted in shock after hearing his name. He was watching the Johto League conference, which was what inspired him to go after Gym Badges.

“I saw you on TV! You're the reason why I wanted to go on a journey!”

“Is that right?” Flow asked. “Guess I'm slowly getting fans.”

“Follow me, I can get you there in half the time!”

He headed off, leaving Flow to follow him. He looked at the different-colored Pichu and wondered how he managed to get one of a different color. The last time he had seen one was when he encountered the Red Gyarados at the Lake of Rage.

“Hey, how did you get a Pichu of that color?” Flow asked.

“Oh,” Tobias said, “I got Kevin from an adoption center. He takes care of Pokemon that have been abused and or abandoned. The owner said he was made for me, but I didn't understand what he meant by that. It wasn't easy getting this guy, that's for sure. I had to pass his 'test' before I could get him. Now that I have him, he's been a strong asset to my team.”

“What kind of test?”

“Finding another Pichu, with a spiky ear..”

“Why did he want that?”

“She was his friend. But Kevin is the best companion I’ve ever had. Right, Kevin?”

“Piiiii-chu!” he replied.

Flow wondered why he had to find a spiky-eared Pichu of all Pokémon. He could understand if it was another Pokemon who resided in a set location, like Articuno and Entei, but an ordinary Pichu?

“We're almost there!” Tobias said running forward.

They finally arrived at Saffron City, the home of the Psychics. This was where Vanguard, ex-leader of Team Rocket before Giovanni stepped down, was born and raised. Flow wondered where the Gym was, and so did Tobias.

“If it's alright with you, I'm going to stop at the Pokemon Center,” Flow said.

“Fine with me,” Tobias replied. “I'm going straight to the Gym!”

“Pi Pichu!” Kevin replied.

They both headed off elsewhere, since Tobias wasn't following him to the Gym. Flow wandered around town, looking for the Pokemon Center in the city. He heard that it was close to Silph Co., a legendary area where numerous products, such as Poké Balls, were made. He suddenly saw a crowd gathered nearby watching a battle. Flow went over to it to see what it was. He peeked over the crowd and saw two people.

He was a young teenage boy with a black hat, a yellow shirt and black shorts with two black bracelets on his arms. His hair was completely hidden under his hat, and had blue eyes, showing nervousness. He was using a Ninetales, who was battling an older woman with blueish-black semi-long hair flowing to the left and right and red eyes wearing a dark pink tank top stopping above her bellybutton and white pants with pink heels. She also had large, black bracelets on each of her wrists with light green marking, almost alien-like. She appeared to have an Alakazam on her. Alakazam was barely exhausted, while Ninetales was almost done for.

“Stay strong, Ninetales!” the boy said.

The crowd began to spread murmurs about her abilities. One of them mentioned Sabrina, which Flow wondered if the older woman is the Saffron Gym Leader

“Alakazam, use Skill Swap!” Sabrina said.

Alakazam and Ninetales began to glow a bright pink as numerous orbs began to circle around them. Flow wondered what that was. Soon it stopped as Sabrina smiled in response.

“Fire Punch!” Sabrina ordered.

Alakazam made a fist as it became engulfed in flames. He hit Ninetales hard, knocking it out easily.

“Ninetales, no!” the boy said.

“That's what you get for being cocky,” Sabrina said. “Maybe next time, kid!”

The boy called his Ninetales back to its Poké Ball as Sabrina called Alakazam back to her Pokeball. She began to head off, leaving Flow to wonder what just happened. Ninetales were normally immune to Fire attacks, but how did it damage that Pokemon?

“Hey, wait!” Flow said.

Flow went after Sabrina, leaving her to look back and wonder what he wanted.

“I can't help but notice your battle,” Flow said.

“Oh, you saw that?” she replied. “Well, the kid had it coming. I don't care much for boys who think they can beat me on brute force alone.”

“I was just wondering how you were able to hit a Ninetales with a Fire Type attack. I mean, they have Flash Fire, right?”

“Not anymore, she didn't.”

Sabrina looked at Flow, who wondered what she meant by that.

“I used Skill Swap. An attack that swaps abilities with the user and their opponent. I gave Ninetales Alakazam's Inner Focus Ability, which proved to be useless for her. Your name is...”

“Flow Higurashi. I'm from Johto.”

“From...Johto?”

Flow noticed a bit of disbelief in her voice. He wondered what it could mean.

“Forgive me,” Sabrina said. “I got a premonition that a young boy from Johto would come to take me on. The boy I saw...was you.”

“You sure about that?” Flow asked.

“I'm the strongest Psychic in my village. I can lift even the heaviest objects with my mind. I know what I saw. You lost to me, and my mind has never lied to me. Now, you want a Gym Battle, no?”

“How did you know---oh, right, the vision.”

“I have things to do. I also sense another trainer waiting. I'll deal with him shortly.”

She teleported off, leaving Flow to freak out. He wondered if her abilities really were as she said they were.

“Some power!” Flow said.

Flow decided to head off to the Pokemon Center to heal his team. He also hoped that Tobias would win his Gym Battle. He also hoped that he won his, since he knew that most Psychic trainers were strong.

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At the Pokemon Center, late at night, Flow looked out at the city and saw all the lights and neon signs out there. He wondered how Tobias' battle went. It should have ended if it was this late. He decided to go out to the main lobby to see if he arrived at all. As he walked out, he saw none other than Tobias himself running down the hall. He didn't have his Pichu by his side, leaving Flow to assume that he had him under care.

“Hey,” Flow said.

“Hey, Flow!” Tobias replied. “I lost my battle.”

“You did, huh? I saw her battling a while ago, so I would be surprised if someone like you beat her. Not saying that you're weak, of course, but...”

“It's okay. I actually had doubts myself. The moment she froze Kevin with her Psychic attack, I knew I couldn't win. Maybe I'm not ready for Gym Battles yet.”

Flow could relate to his loss. After all, he had trouble with Falkner, the Gym Leader of Violet City in Johto, on his first adventure. He wondered if he was able to bring a little light into him.

“Hey, listen,” Flow said. “When I was your age, I lost to Falkner, the Violet City Gym Leader. I thought it was the end, but I pushed onward and became a strong Trainer. All you have to do is push yourself if you truly believe in your goals.”

“Thanks, Flow. You're right. Still, I think I should wait before taking on another Gym.”

“I think that's a wise choice. After all, you're just starting out, right?”

“I was watching the league and asked my mother if I could get a Pokemon. He can't battle right.”

“Well, all you have to do is train him. Come on, I'll give you some tips.”

They both went downstairs to check on their Pokemon to see if they were ready yet. The Gym Battle wouldn't come until tomorrow, so Flow had time to show Tobias his skills as a trainer, especially mentioning that he beat Lt. Surge, considered to be a strong trainer himself. Hopefully the two would become best friends and battle partners.


To Be Continued!