Northwest of Pewter City, beside an unnamed volcano.
After leaving Viridian Forest, Xia You had spent two full days roaming around this enormous volcano.
He had originally planned to challenge the Pewter Gym right away, but after hearing that Charmander had been spotted nearby, he changed his plans and made catching one his top priority.
He was so eager not only because Charmander's final evolution, Charizard, was extremely powerful, but, more importantly, because it looked incredibly cool. Xia You had loved it ever since his previous life.
Unfortunately, aside from a few Diglett, Zubat, Geodude, and Cubone, he had found no trace of any Charmander despite searching more than half the volcano.
As the sky darkened once again and night was about to settle over the land, Xia You put down his backpack and prepared to make camp. Just then, Eevee, who had gone ahead to scout, came hurrying back from the distance.
Eevee ran up to Xia You and gave several urgent cries.
Although Xia You could not understand those cries, he immediately perked up when he remembered the task he had given Eevee.
"You found a Charmander?!"
Eevee nodded, then turned to signal for Xia You to follow.
Without stopping to think, Xia You grabbed his backpack and followed Eevee around a broad stretch of rocky ground. At last, he spotted dozens of lights in a mountain crevice.
The lights stood out especially clearly at this hour. Only when he ran closer did he see that they belonged to a group of Charmander and Charmeleon. When Xia You looked up, he could even make out several Charizard soaring among the clouds.
Those lights were the flames of life that burned constantly on their tails.
After all that trouble, Charmander, I finally found you!
But how can I catch one without alerting the Charmeleon and Charizard?
Charmander had a relatively gentle temperament compared with its evolved forms, while the Charmeleon and Charizard clearly would not let Xia You march in and openly catch one.
Lying low among the thick trees, Xia You looked around. His gaze happened to fall on the backpack beside him, and his eyes lit up as a good idea came to mind.
He opened his backpack and dug out a flashlight, then tore off several short strips of tape and stuck them over its front, leaving only a tiny round opening.
Next, he took out a can of food, opened the lid, and set it behind a boulder large enough to hide behind.
Once everything was ready, he waved his hand and signaled for his Pokémon to hide around the area.
"We're short on time, so forget a proper battle this time. Once I lure a Charmander here, everyone attack together. Try to finish the fight before the Charizard notice us. Understood?"
"Squirtle, Squirtle!"
Seeing his Pokémon nod, Xia You returned alone to the tree where he had been hiding and began observing carefully.
Charmander looked somewhat like a carnivorous dinosaur, with an orange body and a cream-colored belly and underside of its tail. Its most distinctive feature was the flame on its tail.
That flame reflected its health and changes in mood. It burned strongly when Charmander was full of energy and weakly when it lacked motivation, flickered when it was happy, and blazed fiercely when it was angry.
It was said that Charmander's life would end if the flame on its tail went out. However, as long as it was healthy, the flame would burn vigorously even if its entire body was soaking wet.
At the moment, the Charmander were still playing leisurely, unaware of Xia You's arrival. After deliberating for quite some time, he finally fixed his gaze on one rather unusual Charmander.
Although this Charmander was playing and roughhousing with its companions like the others, it seemed a little careless by nature. It sometimes used too much force without knowing to hold back, repeatedly angering its companions and earning furious roars of reprimand.
Seeing that it did not look particularly bright, Xia You made up his mind. Good. I choose you!
Xia You took out the flashlight, switched it on, and aimed it at the Charmander.
A few short flashes of the narrow beam landed on the Charmander's face, but because the light did not spread outward, it drew no attention from the others.
At first, Charmander paid little attention to the dazzling light, merely blinking and turning its head to avoid it. But when the light slowly followed its head and shone on its face again, it finally took notice.
?
A huge question mark seemed to pop up over Charmander's head. It looked around, then walked curiously toward Xia You's hiding place.
Seeing that his target had taken the bait, Xia You slowly retreated and hid behind the boulder.
Charmander followed the flashlight's beam over, only to find that the light had suddenly vanished. In its place, some strange, fragrant food sat in the clearing.
It sniffed hard and had only taken two steps forward when it suddenly heard someone shout, "Now!" Several figures rushed out from all sides at once. Before it could react, it was struck by Water Gun, Confusion, Vine Whip, and a Headbutt in a flash. It collapsed on the spot, its vision went black, and it lost consciousness completely.
"Excellent!"
Seeing Charmander fall, Xia You darted out from the side, quickly pulled out a Poké Ball, and threw it.
With a flash of red light, Charmander was drawn into the ball. It did not even wobble before the capture was complete.
Staring at that Poké Ball, Squirtle went slightly blank as an unpleasant memory surfaced. Somehow, this capture scene felt a little... familiar?
"What are you standing around for?" Xia You tapped Squirtle on the head. Even in the dim night, the smile on his face looked dazzling to Squirtle. "We've caught it. Let's get out of here before the big ones notice!"
Late that night, at the Pokémon Center in Pewter City.
In the otherwise empty dining room, Xia You lounged back in a chair with his legs crossed, sipping vegetable juice and looking utterly relaxed.
Today, he had finally reached a milestone: he had collected all three starter Pokémon from the Kanto region!
Of the five Pokémon beside him, four were eating. Only the newly caught Charmander was looking around the unfamiliar surroundings in bewilderment.
There were gaps in its memory. It felt as though it had gone to sleep, only to wake up and discover that the world had changed.
It did not even know why it was here.
And how had this human suddenly become its trainer?
How had these Pokémon suddenly become its companions?
Seeing Charmander sitting there in a daze, Xia You pushed the food in front of it.
"Eat a little more. What? Your head still feels fuzzy? Don't worry. Once today is over, I'm sure you'll get used to it soon!"
Before you continue