Xiao Yan was at the Pewter City market picking up practical Berries and feed for Pokémon when suddenly... a Pikachu with a Berry clamped in its mouth sprinted past his back, chased by a large crowd of people.
"Stop right there, you damned thief!" One of them caught up to Pikachu and netted him with the net in his hand.
"Heh heh, we've got you now. Let's see where you run off to."
"Excuse me, what's going on here?" Xiao Yan curiously approached and asked the person holding the net.
"Huh?"
Seeing this, Pikachu took advantage of the opening to break free from the net and escape.
"Hey! Don't run." Everyone gave chase again, and Xiao Yan closely followed behind.
Finally, Pikachu was cornered, still biting down on the Berry and nervously eyeing the group of people before him who meant him harm.
"Looks like this Pikachu is a wild Pokémon." Xiao Yan picked up a Poké Ball and walked up to Pikachu.
"Everyone, leave this Pikachu to me." Seeing that the boy in front of them was a Pokémon Trainer, the crowd retreated to the sides, clearing a spot for them to battle.
"Charmeleon, use Ember."
Charmeleon immediately spat a ball of fire at Pikachu. Pikachu calmly dodged it, then charged at Charmeleon with a speed the naked eye couldn't follow. That's right, this was Quick Attack. Charmeleon was pushed back a few steps by the tremendous force.
"This Pikachu is pretty strong. Charmeleon, use Scary Face."
Charmeleon first used Scary Face to forcefully lower Pikachu's speed by one stage. Seeing that Pikachu hadn't reacted yet, Charmeleon directly slashed at Pikachu with its sharp claws. Pikachu tried to dodge, but because its speed was lowered, it was hit by Charmeleon's Slash.
Pikachu immediately climbed up from the ground and used Thunderbolt on Charmeleon. At that moment, Charmeleon fell into a paralysis status.
"Charmeleon, use Dragon Rage."
Xiao Yan nervously watched Charmeleon, fearing it wouldn't be able to execute the move due to paralysis. The air froze for a few seconds, and then Charmeleon successfully launched an attack on Pikachu for a fixed 40 points of damage. Pikachu, already exhausted, took damage again and let go of its mouth. The Berry dropped to the ground, and Pikachu also lost its ability to battle, collapsing onto the ground. Xiao Yan immediately threw the Poké Ball, and the Pokémon ball wobbled a few times before stopping.
"Return, Charmeleon."
Xiao Yan happily cradled the Poké Ball containing his new partner, and the crowd dispersed afterwards.
Xiao Yan called out Pikachu, and just as he was about to touch him, Pikachu viciously bit Xiao Yan's hand.
"What a stubborn guy. Let's be friends, alright, Pikachu?" Xiao Yan quickly pulled his hand back, and there were already very obvious little tooth marks on it. Pikachu turned its head to the other side, ignoring Xiao Yan's attempts to talk.
"Right! Seeing that you refused to let go of the Berry in your mouth until the very end, you must have been hungry, right? I happen to have a large bag of freshly bought Berries here, let you eat your fill!" Xiao Yan took out a paper bag filled with Berries and placed it in front of Pikachu. Pikachu turned its head back, immediately bit into one, and ran not far away to wolf it down.
"Looks like you caught a new Pokémon too." Gary walked over with an extra Poké Ball by his waist.
"What are you doing here?"
"To catch something. How about it, want to have a battle?"
Faced with Gary's request, Xiao Yan naturally agreed, by the way using his new partner to get used to actual combat.
"Go! Pikachu."
Pikachu looked at Xiao Yan with a very resentful gaze, then helplessly ran onto the field.
"Go! Kangaskhan." Standing on the battlefield now was a Pokémon that was extremely rare in both the games and the anime. Professor Oak had mentioned before that one seemed to live deep in Viridian Forest, and he hadn't expected one to actually exist and be caught by Gary.
"So you caught a Kangaskhan."
"This is the result of me working hard and waiting all night in Viridian Forest."
Gary smiled foolishly at Kangaskhan.
"You make the first move."
This time, defying convention, Xiao Yan did not use protagonist privilege and let the other person go first, his purpose being to observe just how strong that Kangaskhan's strength was.
"Kangaskhan, use Earthquake."
"Pikachu, hurry and dodge."
Pikachu jumped into the air to avoid Kangaskhan's attack.
"Kangaskhan, Mud-Slap."
Kangaskhan's mud struck Pikachu's face, and at that moment Pikachu's vision was completely covered by mud.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt straight ahead."
Pikachu delayed and failed to launch the attack as Xiao Yan instructed.
"Do you still hate me?"
"Kangaskhan, Earthquake."
Kangaskhan forcefully stomped the ground, and the earth shook continuously as a result. Because its vision was obscured, Pikachu stayed right in place, completely failing to dodge, and directly took the Ground-type move. Due to the type disadvantage, double damage struck Pikachu, sending it flying.
"Pikachu!" Xiao Yan threw caution to the wind and rushed forward to catch the knocked-away Pikachu.
"Trust me this time, I'll be your eyes." Xiao Yan said firmly to the Pikachu in his arms.
"Pika..."
Afterwards, Pikachu stood on the field once again.
"You two can't trust each other at all. Maybe I can win against you this time. Kangaskhan, use Stomp." Kangaskhan rapidly sprinted toward Pikachu, preparing to execute the move.
"Pikachu, dodge and use Thunderbolt to the northwest."
This time Pikachu finally listened to Xiao Yan's words. After dodging Kangaskhan's attack, it used Thunderbolt, hitting Kangaskhan.
"Pikachu, Quick Attack."
Seeing that Kangaskhan's stamina had dropped significantly, this fellow Xiao Yan immediately followed up with a Quick Attack slash.
"Fine, I lose this time. You're really strong, Xiao Yan. But I'm going to get stronger still. Let's meet at the Indigo League."
Gary recalled his Pokémon, then drove off in his sports car carrying a bunch of girlfriends.
"Pikachu, thanks for just now." After wiping the mud off Pikachu's face, Xiao Yan flashed a friendly smile at Pikachu.
"Pikachu~~" Pikachu also responded to Xiao Yan, jumping directly onto his shoulder, indicating that he didn't want to go into the Poké Ball and would tag along with Xiao Yan directly.
"Let's go, heading to Cerulean City to get the second Badge."
Xiao Yan led his new friend toward their next destination.
Before you continue