Pokémon: Generation By Generation

CHAPTER 9: [That's the Sound of Money Jiggling~]

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After grabbing one of the fossils—I didn't really care which one I took as they were horrible Pokémon—from the ground, I moved my avatar to climb the ladder at the end of the road as it led to an opening in Route 4.

The route was just a short path that connected the Mountain to Cerulean City; there wasn't much to note other than the NPC Move Tutors, NPCs that grant unique moves to a Pokémon that taught the moves Mega Punch and Mega Kick, and some new Pokémon encounters.

They were quite powerful moves, but they could only be taught to a single Pokémon. It's not really worth it for now, as I had planned for Zardon to learn Mega Punch since his move set was a little lacking. That was until he learned Dragon Rage, which is a better alternative.

I did a quick check to see if anyone in the team needed levels before I tackled the next challenge in Cerulean and decided to switch the slots of Bolt and King, bringing the purple future powerhouse to the front of the team so that he could gain some levels.

---------------- 1st POKEMON SLOT ----------------

[Nickname: King]

[Species: Nidoran ♂]

[Level: 11 (87%)]

[Nature: Naive]

[Ability: Poison Point (1/3 chance of applying Poison status on opponent when damaged with a physical attack.)]

[Moves: Leer, Peek, Focus Energy]

[Held Item: None]

---------------- 2nd POKEMON SLOT ----------------

[Nickname: Zardon]

[Species: Charmeleon (♂)]

[Level: 20 (93%)]

[Nature: Lonely]

[Ability: Blaze (Boosts the power of Fire-Type moves when HP is below 1/3rds)]

[Moves: Scratch, Growl, Ember, Metal Claw, Smokescreen, Dragon Rage]

[Held Item: None]

---------------- 3rd POKEMON SLOT ----------------

[Nickname: Monkey]

[Species: Mankey (♂)]

[Level: 17 (1%)]

[Nature: Quirky]

[Ability: Vital Spirit (Prevents the Pokémon from entering Sleep status.)]

[Moves: Leer, Scratch, Low Kick, Karate Chop, Fury Swipes]

[Held Item: None]

---------------- 4th POKEMON SLOT ---------------- 

[Nickname: Bolt]

[Species: Pikachu (♀)]

[Level: 21 (38%)]

[Nature: Timid]

[Ability: Static (1/3 chance of applying Paralysis status on opponent when damaged with a physical attack.)]

[Moves: Thundershock, Growl, Tail Whip, Quick Attack, Thunder Wave, Double Team, Body Slam]

[Held Item: None]

---------------- Current Team Summary ----------------

He was only level 11, with his next evolution being at level 16, if I recall correctly. Before I did anything though, I brought the new member of the team out along with Bolt into the real world.

In a flash of white, Bolt and King appeared on the ground, the former immediately moving to my side to snuggle at my size as the latter looked around his new environment, sparkle and awe in his eyes.

"Hi!"

I crouched down to try and reach eye level with the purple little Pokémon, giving a warm smile. The Nidoran ♂ had pinkish purple skin with slight areas where spots of darker purple were present, his body small with three lines of large spines on his back.

"My name's Joseph; nice to formally meet you, King."

"... Nido! [(￣▽￣)]"

He gave a very innocent cry before jumping to my chest, with me catching the little guy with caution into my hands. I made sure to not touch the sharp spikes on his body, since his Pokémon ability is literal spikes of poison.

And wow, this guy is quick to trust me, as he started to cry cutely while enjoying the head pats that I gave him. Must be due to his Naive nature? That made sense, I guess.

"Pika, pika-pi! [(o ^ ▽ ^ o )]"

She moved to my side and gave her fellow teammate a hello, who responded back with his own greeting of a cute cry.

"Ni, nido! [(￣▽￣)]"

This is so cute; it's giving me some diabetes, man. Grabbing my phone, I took a quick selfie of us together before noticing that it was almost hitting 11 o'clock. Tomorrow was a school day as well, so I had to go to sleep early as class starts just after dawn.

I took some time to talk to my new Pokémon, explaining to him about my world, telling him about my goals for Fire Red, understanding him as a whole, etc., before I decided to end the day. Sending them back into the game for some good rest, I turned the Arc off and headed to bed after brushing my teeth and setting my alarm for tomorrow.

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A/N

Fun fact, I am following my own playthrough of Fire Red to write the Pokémon sections of the chapters! I do have Zardon, Bolt, King, and Monkey, though I only soft-resetted for their natures, not their IVs.

I'm not that crazy.

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A new day means more grinding for yours truly! Today was important, I had to get everyone to a higher level of 22, especially King, and clear the Nugget Bridge for the Nugget and get the SS. Anne ticket from Bill.

What I'd kill for the V.S. Seeker for the experience points right now...

Oh well, I'll just keep at it until I get it in Vermillion City, then I can grind for money and experience much easier.

For now though, it's mindless grinding time.

Walking to the section of tall grass just before Cerulean City, I started to grind levels for King while I brought out a notebook and pen.

The grind was simple yet time-consuming due to the increased limit of experience points.

1. Bring in King at the start.

2. Swap out for either Pokémon in the team, preferably Bolt or Zardon.

3. Defeat the random wild-encounter Pokémon

4. Profit from the experience-sharing mechanic.

5. Head back to Cerulean's Pokémon Center once all my Pokémon ran out of PP for their moves.

The problem was how time-consuming each step takes due to not being able to fast forward the game. Each rotation of steps would take about a minute, and the experience gain from a single encounter was so little that it'll take almost 10 minutes of encounters to level him up once.

So I decided to just plan out my future to-do list while grinding. Uncapping my pen, I started to write with my phone next to me for reference.

---------------- To-Do List MASTERPLAN ----------------

Current Pokédollar Amount: 6,464

Deadlines:

International Pokémon Academy Admission [EARLY AUGUST]

International Pokémon Academy First Semester [EARLY JANUARY]

→ Requires Pokémon License for 3 Months

Costs:

Admission Test → 10,000 Pokédollars

First Semester → 15,000 Pokédollars

Pokémon License → 5,000 + (500 x 3) = 6,500 Pokédollars

Hostel → (1,250 x 12) = 15,000

Food → ??? Depends on how many Pokémon I'm bringing

Equipment → ??? Depends

Current Total Cost Estimated: 46,500++

---------------- To-Do List MASTERPLAN ----------------

Just looking at the amount that I'm going to have to require was giving me a headache.

Almost 50,000, which was a slight miscalculation on my part... At least I have enough for the Pokémon License, so that's relieving. I'll put the 6,500 Pokédollars into my other empty bank account to not be tempted to use the funds for stupid stuff.

It's currently a few days before June, so I had at least two months to save up 10,000 for the admission test, and then another three to four months to prep for the first semester fees—Oh, King just leveled up and learned Double Kick. Nice.

Yeah, money is tight, but five months should be enough to handle and clear the whole game... Oh, who was I kidding? This game's difficulty is already pretty high, and I'm bound to lose some battles to the later stages of the game.

But I can confidently say that I'll reach Erika's Grass-Type Gym in about two months time and clear the gym in a few days after since I had Zardon by my side.

... This leveling is taking quite some time. I'll watch YouTube while I grind. I think there's some interesting stuff on the platform now that Pokémon is the fad now.

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Five days. It took FIVE DAYS to get everybody up to a level that I think was good enough for the Nugget Bridge. 

---------------- 1st POKEMON SLOT ----------------

[Nickname: King]

[Species: Nidorino (♂)]

[Level: 23 (29%)]

[Nature: Naive]

[Ability: Poison Point (1/3 chance of applying Poison status on opponent when damaged with a physical attack.)]

[Moves: Leer, Peek, Focus Energy, Double Kick, Poison Sting, Horn Attack]

[Held Item: None]

---------------- 2nd POKEMON SLOT ----------------

[Nickname: Zardon]

[Species: Charmeleon (♂)]

[Level: 24 (18%)]

[Nature: Lonely]

[Ability: Blaze (Boosts the power of Fire-Type moves when HP is below 1/3rds)]

[Moves: Scratch, Growl, Ember, Metal Claw, Smokescreen, Dragon Rage, Scary Face]

[Held Item: None]

---------------- 3rd POKEMON SLOT ----------------

[Nickname: Bolt]

[Species: Pikachu (♀)]

[Level: 25 (3%)]

[Nature: Timid]

[Ability: Static (1/3 chance of applying Paralysis status on opponent when damaged with a physical attack.)]

[Moves: Thundershock, Growl, Tail Whip, Quick Attack, Thunder Wave, Double Team, Body Slam]

[Held Item: None]

---------------- 4th POKEMON SLOT ---------------- 

[Nickname: Monkey]

[Species: Mankey (♂)]

[Level: 23 (1%)]

[Nature: Quirky]

[Ability: Vital Spirit (Prevents the Pokémon from entering Sleep status.)]

[Moves: Leer, Scratch, Low Kick, Karate Chop, Fury Swipes]

[Held Item: None]

---------------- Current Team Summary ----------------

Hours upon hours of grinding, I think I've killed off generations worth of Ekans and Spearows in the past week. I-I can hear their cries as they faint in my sleep.

Anyway, today was the day Nugget Bridge would crumble before my Pokémons might, and that shiny Nugget worth five thousand Pokédollars in-game will be mine.

Double-checking to ensure that their HP and PP for their moves were replenished to full, I immediately navigated my avatar to sprint to the north.

I paused in surprise when Blue suddenly walked up to me as I was about to walk onto the bridge, only to remember that there was a rival fight that was set to occur. Huh, I totally forgot about this guy.

Feeling the familiar pull into the simulated universe, I soon found myself back with a different scenery; this time instead of being in a cave, I was outdoors with houses at my sides and back with the Nugget Bridge just a distance in front of me.

And there he stood, Blue with his usual cocky grin as he waved at me.

"Yo, Joseph! Still as slow as ever. Well, I'm not! Caught some cool new Pokémon, cleared the Gym with ease, and I just met Bill!"

"Uh... good for you?"

Before I could even respond, Blue brandished a Pokéball from his belt and tossed it high into the air. A flash of white later, a Pidgeotto soared into the sky before returning to the ground, fluttering its wings as it gave a sharp cry.

"Pidgeottoooo!"

[Rival BLUE has challenged you to a POKÉMON BATTLE!]

[Rival BLUE sent out PIDGEOTTO!]

---------------- Opponent Battle Information ----------------

[Species: Pidgeotto]

[Level: 22]

---------------- Opponent Battle Information ----------------

... Holy cow, that thing is strong. My hand went to my belt before grabbing onto the 3rd Pokéball to the left. Gripping it, I reeled back my arm and tossed it forward.

"Alright, Bolt, time to put on a show!"

[Pokémon Trainer JOSEPH sends out Pikachu!]

"Pika—pika!"

A burst of white light erupted from the Pokéball before Bolt landed on the ground, crouched low in an agile stance as sparks flickered from the red patches on her cheeks.

"A Pikachu? That's smart, but how fast is it? Pidgeotto, Quick Attack!"

"Pidgeyo!"

Flying into the sky, it returned a second later covered in white energy as it streaked through the air like a missile, aiming to slam into Bolt with its speed.

---------------- Team Battle Information ----------------

[Nickname: Bolt]

[Species: Pikachu]

[Level: 25]

[EXP: 3%]

---------------- Team Battle Information ----------------

But too bad that it was dealing with a max IV speed stat Pikachu that was three levels higher.

Without any instructions, Bolt instinctively sidestepped the incoming Quick Attack, narrowly dodging as Pidgeotto shot past her in a blur.

"Quick Attack, punch it!"

I called out with a grin as my own Pikachu enveloped itself in a blur of white energy, zooming forward with Quick Attack as her small frame collided head-on with Pidgeotto's chest. The impact sent the bird Pokémon skidding backward in the air, its wings flapping wildly to stabilize itself.

[A Critical Hit!]

Pidgeotto managed to regain its balance, but its strained breathing showed that the attack had done significant damage. Blue clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed as he continued to trash talk.

"Hmph. You got lucky with that one. Pidgeotto, fly high and Gust!"

Pidgeotto immediately flapped its wings fiercely, propelling itself high into the air to prepare its Flying-Type move. The moment it stabilized, the Pokémon let out a sharp cry as its wings started glowing, signaling the preparation of Gust.

But I had already read it the moment Blue gave his command, seeing as it was the only thing he could have done at this point.

"Quick Attack into the air and Thundershock!"

Bolt’s body blurred as she shot forward at an incredible speed before she kicked off the ground, launching herself into the air like a bolt of lightning.

Blue’s eyes widened.

"What the—?! Pidgeotto, dodge!"

Before Pidgeotto could release Gust, Bolt slammed into its side mid-air, stopping the attack before it could even be executed. The force of the impact caused Pidgeotto to break its concentration; the glow on its wings dimmed as the Bird Pokémon struggled to regain its balance.

That meant that it was wide open!

"PikaCHUUUUU!"

Yellow lightning sparked from the red patches on her cheeks before she unleashed a surge of electricity straight toward the Pidgeotto.

A loud BZZZT filled the battlefield as Pidgeotto convulsed in mid-air, its entire frame locking up from the shockwave of electricity surging through its body.

[It’s Super Effective!]

It let out a strangled screech, its wings spasming uncontrollably before giving out completely as it fell to the ground. A small dust cloud kicked up where it crashed, leaving the bird Pokémon twitching weakly on the ground.

It tried to get up, its head lifting from the ground... Before dropping back down with swirly eyes.

[Opponent PIDGEOTTO has fainted!]

I pumped my fist as Bolt landed on the ground gracefully before running to my side.

"Nice work, Bolt!"

"Pikaaa!"

One down, three to go.