<em>ORDER UP!!</em><br/><br/>The voice boomed across the tiny little restaurant.  Nestled between the decrepit remains of the Gym and the bustling hive of attention that was the pokemon center, Bugs n Burgers received quite a few customers.<em>Easy, Dad.  You don't have to yell, I'm right here...</em>John gave his dad a look that screamed "I am not amused".  He turned around and grabbed the various plates and cups and dishes.<em>Scyther!  C'mere, got more customers!</em>Scyther came buzzing out from the back and hovered over the counter.  Holding his bladed arms out, he turned them 90 degrees until they were platforms.  Carefully distributing the weight, John stacked all of the food onto Scyther's arms and they marched around delivering food around the shop.  This handy trick had proven incredibly useful around the shop whenever they got busy.  Who would have thought it would have come about by accident, thought John.<br/><br/>As John's mind began to wander, he thought back to how he first met his best friend.  It had been years ago, during a rain spell, and it was common for it to rain 10-12 inches a day.  During one of the few breaks between showers, John had gone out to get the mail from the mailbox and to chat with his childhood crush across the street.  Today, though, something wasn't quite right.  He glanced down the road and almost did a double take.  There, sitting in the middle of the street, was a mass of green skin and wings.<br/><br/>Running towards it, John had to slow down and the green blob raised it's head and glared at him.  John could do nothing but inch closer towards the poor creature.  Ten yards, 5 yards, one yard, one foot.  He reached his hand out and made contact.  The Scyther, having retreated behind it's massive blade-like arms, was not expecting such sudden contact.  Despite John's gentle touch and demeanor, Scyther jumped back a few feet, flinched, and fell to its knees; supporting itself with one blade.  John had given one final look before hearing the thunder, which usually signaled fresh rain.<br/><br/>Without a second thought, he turned on his heels and sprinted to the Pokemon Center.  Inside, he frantically beckoned for Nurse Joy to follow him out into the street.  By the time they got back, Scyther was up on his feet again and swinging at anyone who got close to him.  The townsfolk went back inside.  The combination of being threatened and the oncoming rain was enough to send them back into their houses.  John, however, just couldn't bring himself to abandon the poor Scyther.  He locked eyes with the stubborn creature and started his approach.  He got within three feet of the massive bug before it swung at him.  Much farther than anyone else had gotten, but not far enough by a long shot.  Digging deep, he continued his approach.  This time, Scyther didn't swing at him.  Instead, he glared at John and pointed his blade straight out, as if to say, "Not a step further."<br/><br/>John returned the glare with a look of sympathy, before placing one finger on top of the bladed arm and lowering it.  He took another step, and another.  He was inches from the creature now.  He reached his hand out and waited.  Slowly, painfully slowly, the Scyther touched his head to his hand.  Wasting now time, John got closer and looked him straight in the eyes.  In hindsight, it was probably the stupidest thing he could have done, but he was only thinking about helping the poor creature in front of him.  He helped Scyther onto a stretcher and they rushed to the PokeCenter.  They got there just in time because as soon as they were at the door, a massive roar of thunder shook the ground and rain fell in torrents.<br/><br/>They got inside and Nurse Joy took Scyther away so she could help him.  Scyther started to struggle until John offered to come with.  The three of them went back and Nurse Joy put Scyther under sedation so he wouldn't exert himself and put himself in a worse place.  John went back outside to the waiting room and sat down.  And waited<br/>And waited.<br/>And waited.<br/>John wasn't sure how fast time was traveling.  Minutes could have passed, or hours, or days.  Time seemed to stand still as he awaited the fate of his new..."friend".  John was tentative throwing that word around.  After all, he had just met the thing.  After an indeterminate amount of time, John saw Nurse Joy peek her head around the corner and she beckoned him to come into the back room.  There, in the corner, lay Scyther, bandaged, bruised, but alive.<br/><br/>It had been a slow night, so Scyther was all alone, save for a Sandshrew in the corner and a Jigglypuff in the bed a few rows down.  John slowly approached the wounded beast, walking as carefully and quietly as he could.  As he pulled closer, he looked over Scythers wounds.  He looked at them more clearly and under greater scrutiny than he had before, not due to any fault of his, to be honest.  Giant teeth marks scattered around his body, and what appeared to be claw marks on his frail wings.  There wasn't anything that Nurse Joy couldn't fix, but it would take some time before he would be able to battle again.  Luckily, he was in town now, and wild Pokemon rarely came into town.<br/><br/>Over the course of the next few weeks, Scyther, who John had nicknamed Blade, for obvious reasons, began to look and feel a lot better.  He was flying around again and keeping up with whatever physically straining tests Nurse Joy threw at him.  After the first month, he was a gleaming image of health.  He was allowed to leave the Pokemon Center and John accompanied him back to the forest to release him.  However, Scyther decided to stay with John and followed him back to his house.  Upon realizing that he had been followed, and, realizing that he couldn't change the mind of a 100 pound bug, AND, realizing that he didn't want to, he decided to allow Scyther into his home.<br/><br/>Blade became famous around the shop and, soon, business was booming.  Even though our shop was a bug-themed restaurant, a bug as large and powerful as Blade hadn't been seen in a long time.  One day, during a lunch rush busier than usual, Blade was in the front of the store when someone who wasn't paying attention, backed up into Blade's arms.  That poor bastard still has the scar to this day, but the important thing is, we learned a very valuable lesson that day.  Don't let Blade hold his arms in the direction of the customers.  So, we had him walk with his blades facing inwards.  A few weeks after the incident, I tripped and dropped a bowl of soup.  Wouldn't you know it, Blade caught it right on his arm without even flinching.  Being the brilliant guy John was, he saw a great opportunity.<br/><br/><em>Hey, watch it!</em><br/><br/>John's daydreaming had gotten him again.  He had just run headfirst into the customer.<strong>I'm so sorry, sir.  Let me just run back and get you a complimentary bowl of soup.  Yes.  Of course.  Yes, your meal is on the house.  I'm very sorry, sir.</strong>Sometimes John hated his job.  After the lunch rush, he went back onto his bed and collapsed.  He looked out his window at the decrepit old gym standing in ruin.  A strange tingling sensation warmed his body, and he felt the urge to go outside.<br/><br/>It was a particularly windy day, and he and Blade had been exercising for only half an hour, when John decided to check the radio.<strong>"Ya know, Blade, there's usually nothing on this piece of junk anyway! No good music, no good radio...I don't know why I keep this thing aro-"</strong><br/><br/><em>"Hello, are you there? Hello...can you hear me? Ok, good. This is Prof. Elm. We have a bit of a situation at the Power Plant on Kanto Route 10.The refurbished and updated Power Plant is already facing a problem. The Elekids and Magnemite have been siphoning energy from the Power Plant and consuming it. The Magnemite acquire a negative electrical charge and shock the Power Plant employees. Several employees had to be rushed to the infirmary after a Magnemite attack. <br/><br/>Voltorb swarms have been clustering around circuit boards and cables and altering the flow of energy throughout Kanto. Daily black-outs have been interrupting the life and power supply of Kanto citizens. The power Saffron City has been down for 3 hours and the economy may get screwed up if someone doesn't do something. Team Rocket via the Silph Corporation are stationed in Saffron. Could they be responsible?..."</em><br/><br/>John had heard enough.  He snapped shut his PokeGear and ran into the house.<strong>"Dad! Dad! Where's that old pokeball you gave me for my birthday?"</strong>John's dad could hardly believe his ears.  It had been years since he had bought that thing.<strong>"I don't know, son.  What's with the interest in it all of a sudden?"</strong>It was true.  John hadn't really payed much attention to the pokeball when he had first received it as a gift.  He knew the historical significance of it, and he knew that it was old and rare, but he didn't see the use of it.  It wasn't like anyone was going to go off exploring.  Or so he had thought.<strong>"Dad, I'm going to talk to Professor Oak in Pallet Town.  They need help with the power plant, and I've been reading <span class="bbc_u">Uses of Electric-Type Pokemon as Energy</span> by Professor Elm, and I really think I could be of more help there than I am here."</strong>That last part wasn't supposed to come out, and John felt slightly ashamed that his father now knew how he truly felt about his lot in life.  Still, that didn't change how he felt about it.<br/><br/>Rushing upstairs, he dug through his dressers and his closets until he finally found it.  Still nestled in the glass case that his father had presented it to him in.  It was still as shiny and red as the day he had brought it home.  The underside was still flawless, clearly an unused one, and not the cheap recycled kind that were sold at discount markets now.  Pulling it out of it's case, he ran back outside to show Blade.<strong>"Hey buddy, you wanna come with me on an adventure?  I could seriously use your help against any Rattata I find."</strong>At the sound of that Pokemon's name, Blade's ears shot up and he turned on the spot.  John grinned, but was sad on the inside.  After they had taken Blade home, all those years ago, they had determined that the scratches and bite marks were made by a Rattata.  And not just a single one.  They were all different lengths and widths.  He was attacked and mauled nearly to death by a swarm of Rattata.  Ever since they had brought him home, any rat that was unfortunate to wander into our restaurant never left with it's life.  John knew he had Blade hooked.<strong>"There's only one catch, buddy.  You can't be seen by any poachers or thieves.  You'll have to stay in <em>this</em> for most of the trip..."</strong>He lifted up the Pokeball so that Blade could see it.  He didn't know if Blade would subject to that kind of humiliation.  Blade was a Scyther, and Scyther were proud beasts.  However, Blade's curiosity and loyalty to his friend won out and he showed the flats of his blades to John, a sign they had developed for whenever Blade had no objections to something.  Activating the Pokeball, the red beam of light shot out of the end of it and enveloped the confused Scyther.  In a flash, he was in the Pokeball.  To confirm that fact, the ball weighed a bit more, and felt warmer, although that could have been his mind playing tricks on him or the Pokeball cooling down.<br/><br/>Having secured his Pokemon, he strapped his equipment and his backpack to his bike and set out for Pallet Town.  He had already left his note on his front door, and there was nothing else holding him to this slum of a town, except<em>her</em>.  Willing her from his mind, he pedaled forward until he had reached the remains of what used to be a biking highway.  Taking a deep breath to fortify himself, he continued to pedal onward towards Route 17.