Route 1, connecting Pallet Town and Viridian City, was among the safest paths outside the borders of civilization. For a good two hours of fast-paced walking beyond the town limits, the roadside was lined with massive farms protected by electric fencing, high-tech security, and armed guards. These were industrial-scale ranches for Tauros and Miltank, raised for meat, milk, and hide. Yet, the entire operation functioned surprisingly humanely. The Pokémon weren't crammed into tight cages; instead, they grazed freely across vast meadows. They were used to humans and lived with them in a fairly symbiotic manner. Though both Tauros and Miltank are inherently powerful creatures, they had no inkling that slaughter awaited them—even that, however, was carried out in strict accordance with "organic" standards.

  At first, it was quite boring. After two hours, though, I finally reached the edge of the forest. Every now and then, a Rattata would flash through the grass, Pidgey perched in the trees, and once I even caught a glimpse of a Sentret. But I had no reason to hunt them. A Rattata would sell for two hundred dollars, while a single Poké Ball cost a hundred. If I tried to catch it and failed, I’d automatically be at a loss. A Pidgey was slightly more valuable, but I had no way of bringing it down. Haunter didn't have a single effective move against it, perhaps with the exception of a paralyzing Lick, but even then, the chance of success was minimal.

  I had originally considered buying a bow, but back at school in the voluntary archery club, I practically hit the wall behind me. So, you can imagine how miserable I was at it—I posed a greater threat to myself than to the target.

  By walking at a normal pace, the journey to Viridian City took up to two days, accounting for regular breaks for food and rest. It was a relatively slow tempo. I could have been there sooner if I’d broken into a jog occasionally, which would have also benefited my fitness, or if I’d pushed through the night without stopping. But this was my first real solo expedition, and I didn’t want to underestimate anything.

  At school, we used to have regular annual "survival" drills in the wilderness, right here on Route 1, but back then we were there as a whole class under a teacher’s supervision. It wasn't the same. I needed to properly practice pitching a tent, gathering wood, building a fire, and preparing meals. I had to become more coordinated in these tasks so that they wouldn't take up too much time in higher-risk areas, where I’d need to be constantly on guard and moving fast. Around four in the afternoon, however, I realized a small mistake—I had bought exclusively food that required cooking or lengthy preparation. Even the semi-finished goods or the food from Lindsay needed at least a reheat. I immediately made a mental note: Next time, I need to prepare some quick sandwiches, too.

  The ideal plan was clear: a warm breakfast in the morning, something simple for lunch that requires no prep, and a warm, cooked dinner again. Lunches are simply made for traveling. Fortunately, Lindsay had packed an apple pie, which tasted great even cold. Honestly? In my opinion, most pies were best when they were cooled down and fresh.

  We walked through the forest along a well-trodden path. There was no one around; the silence was broken only by the chirping of insect Pokémon, an occasional squeak from the bushes, and the screeching of birds high in the canopy. These were the common sounds of the wild. It was starting to get a bit dull, so I decided to talk to Haunter for a bit.

  "Haunter," I called out to him. I waited until he drifted out of my shadow and then asked, "Do you understand every word I say to you?"

  "Haunter!" he nodded proudly and affirmatively.

  "Is that common, or are you special?"

  "Haunter... Haaaunter Haunter," he muttered thoughtfully.

  "Hmm, so it's common?" I tried a different angle.

  "Haunter Haunt!" First he nodded, but immediately followed with a shake of his head.

  "Is it common among older ghosts?" I deduced.

  "Haunter!" he nodded this time without hesitation.

  "Do you feel the cold?" I continued with the questions. I had no idea how he actually perceived temperature.

  "Haunter, haunter!" He shook his head in disagreement.

  "And heat?"

  "Haunter!" he nodded.

  "Is it pleasant or unpleasant for you? When we were in the seaside town, you looked content."

  "Haunter!" He nodded, but then, without looking, he raised a hand toward the sun. Right after, he shook his head and pointed to his eyes.

  "So, if I understand correctly, the way the sun warmed you felt nice..." I paused for a moment before finishing with a question: "But the light itself bothers your eyes?"

  "Haunter!" he nodded and used his claws to make a heart gesture along with a wide, toothy grin.

  It made me laugh. I have no idea where he learned that, but he certainly didn't get it from me. After a moment, he joined me joyfully, and our laughter echoed through the woods. Thus, side by side, we continued walking along the beaten path.

  As it began to grow dark, I decided we would make camp. I needed to pitch the tent, prepare a fire, and get something to eat. After a short walk, we found a small clearing on the right side, just off the path, protected by four trees. An ideal spot for a camp.

  I wondered if Haunter could help me with the wood. Since he could manifest physically and supposedly could even influence his own weight, could he carry something?

  "Haunter, while I set up the tent, could you please bring some wood for the fire?" I asked him. It didn't hurt to try. He simply nodded and vanished into the darkness between the trees.

  I set to work on the tent. The poles fought me for a while—the structure collapsed before I could secure it, so I had to start over. It held on the second attempt. The stakes went into the ground surprisingly easily, and the canvas stretched without resistance. I threw my sleeping bag inside and stepped back out.

  "Haunter!" I called.

  He was just returning, and at the sight of him, I couldn't help but smile in amusement. A pile of wood so large was levitating between his claws that he couldn't even see where he was flying. It was more than we needed, but I didn't mind—better to have a supply than to have to crawl out of the sleeping bag in the middle of the night.

  "Great job, Haunter!" I thanked him and immediately directed him: "Put it down here, please."

  I chose a spot about five meters from the tent. I had to be sure that no spark would land on the canvas because of the wind; otherwise, I could lose the roof over my head. To be safe, I paced it out properly so I wouldn't accidentally burn up in the night. Haunter dropped the load with a dull thud.

  It was then I realized that despite thorough preparation, I had forgotten something important after all. I was missing a shovel to quickly dig a fire pit. Starting a fire directly on the grass or dry leaves was an unacceptable risk. There was nothing for it. I pulled the dagger from the sheath on my belt, knelt down, and spent the next fifteen minutes laboriously digging a hole large enough for that pile of wood. When the pit was ready, I picked out the smallest pieces for the base and leaned them against each other. I set the electric lighter to the strongest flame, and after a minute of patient igniting, the wood finally caught.

  Within five minutes, a nice little fire was burning. But I soon discovered that, like a total amateur, I had forgotten another vital thing: a tripod to rest the pan on. I felt like an idiot, but hunger was stronger than pride. I had to hold the pan over the flames by hand the entire time until Lindsay’s food was heated. Haunter mocked me silently from the background until he finally vanished into the forest. Fortunately, it didn't take long, and soon I was happily eating a Miltank steak with roasted potatoes and Bulba-stalks. Lindsay had gone all out and certainly hadn't held back—Miltank meat was expensive, but it was my favorite food.

  I was just finishing up when I noticed Haunter returning from the forest. Something small and green was levitating in his hands. Only as he came closer did I see it was a sleeping Caterpie. Apparently, the sight of my pan had made Haunter hungry too. But I gained another important observation: my Pokémon knows Hypnosis. That will help us significantly in the future—as a psychic move, it’s currently our only chance to effectively cripple Normal-type Pokémon.

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  Haunter flew a few meters above the ground and dropped the Caterpie. For the constitution of even such a weak Pokémon, it was nothing serious; it landed with a soft thump and immediately began looking around in terror. My partner was enjoying this. Its fear was his dinner. As soon as it calmed down a bit, he moved right behind it and gave a chilling laugh.

  The Caterpie just blinked, confused and frightened—first-stage bug Pokémon weren't exactly the smartest. Haunter escalated his dreadfulness. He slowly materialized right in front of it and opened his mouth wide to show his predatory teeth. The Caterpie immediately tried to flee, but it was as slow as a snail. He caught it instantly and threw it back. This continued for a good twenty minutes—he terrified it to whip up its emotions and feed properly on its fear.

  Honestly? It felt natural to me. The Pokémon world was just like that—you’re either the hunter or the prey. However, the memories of the older Patrik were a bit more sensitive. He had a strong bond with animals, donated to shelters, and hated animal cruelty. I had to overcome that within myself. That’s also why I made a vow to never train a Pokémon that serves as food. I couldn't have a Pidgeot and use it to hunt wild Pidgey at the same time. Even though it was normal in this world—if they didn't belong to the same pack, the same species would consume each other without a second thought. In my old world, that would be cannibalism; here, no one cared.

  When Haunter was finally full, he looked at me questioningly. I immediately understood what he was asking: whether the Caterpie would be food for me too, or if he should let it go.

  "If its fear was enough for you and you don't need its life energy, let it be," I decided.

  "Haunter!" he nodded, picked it up, and levitated back somewhere into the forest with it.

  He returned after a few minutes, which was exactly the time for our evening training. We hadn't trained all day, so we needed to properly exhaust ourselves before sleep.

  "Haunter, continue with Shadow Ball training. But please, be careful not to knock a tree down on us. Focus on quality," I commanded.

  "Haunter!" he nodded and drifted to the very edge of the clearing.

  He immediately began forming a sphere of shadows. In the night darkness, it was visible only in flashes when the fire from the pit illuminated it for a moment. Every few seconds, he fired a small, weak ball the size of a tennis ball into a tree trunk, which began to show dents under the impacts. He made sure the shape of the ball was firm and consistent, which also allowed it to gain speed. He fired one after another, every second.

  Once I was sure he had everything under control, I started my own training. Physical fitness was key. After stretching, loosening my joints, and doing several sets of sit-ups, squats, and push-ups, I finally pulled out the sword. I didn't know how to fence, I had never learned, but the memories of the other Patrik helped me here. The foundation was the stance—maintaining balance and not accidentally stabbing myself. I put my left foot forward, my right angled behind it, roughly shoulder-width apart. And the training began.

  I slashed at imaginary enemies, blocked their strikes, and dodged, keeping my center of gravity in check. I’ll admit, I was partly inspired by the movie Kingdom of Heaven. The epic war for Jerusalem replayed some movements in my head. After two hours of training, I was completely drenched in sweat. A shower wasn't an option in the woods, so I had no choice but to call Haunter again.

  "That’s enough for me for today, Haunter. I’m going to sleep. Could you please keep watch so nothing surprises us?"

  "Haunter!" he nodded resolutely.

  "If anything happens, wake me up immediately. And you can toss some wood on the fire occasionally; we have plenty," I added the final instruction and crawled into the tent. With a pleasant fatigue throughout my body, I fell asleep almost instantly.

  I woke up feeling pleasantly rested. The sleeping bag was almost as comfortable as the bed back at the home—it really was a good investment. In specific technologies, the Pokémon world was quite far ahead. I lay there for a while, but eventually, I stepped out of the tent. The fire was still smoldering, and dawn was just breaking. As soon as Haunter heard me, he immediately flew over to greet me.

  "Haunter!"

  "Good morning," I replied. I was about to ask if he’d slept well, but since ghosts don't sleep at night, it would have been a stupid question. "Was there any trouble while I was asleep?" I asked and began pulling out the pan to prepare breakfast.

  "Haunter, haunter!" He shook his head. That was a good sign—nothing had threatened us.

  However, the sight of a nearby tree surprised me. It was full of holes. Originally, he’d only been making slight dents; had he been training all night while I slept?

  "Did you train all night?"

  "Haunter!" he nodded proudly with a wide grin.

  That could be a problem. I had no idea if a ghost Pokémon could overtrain, but he could certainly deplete his energy. If something attacked us and he wasn't at full strength, it could end badly. I immediately decided to set clear boundaries.

  "Haunter, I'm glad you're so determined to get stronger," I began praisefully. "But you can't train all night when we're outside the safety of the city. If something attacked us and you were completely exhausted, it could be fatal for us. Especially now, when there are only two of us."

  "Haunter haunt Haunter! Haunter!" He shook his head dismissively.

  From his tone, I understood he was reassuring me that he had it under control. Just to be safe, I’ll keep a closer eye on him next time. We should arrive in Viridian City by this evening.

  After breakfast, I packed up quickly and we set off. I wanted to be sure I’d be in the city by evening, so we decided to break into a jog occasionally. It was also meant to be our joint cardio training. If Haunter couldn't keep up, he was to speed himself up energetically. And so we continued—I ran for a while, then slowed down to catch my breath, and after a moment, pushed forward again. I felt that with this approach, my fitness would improve rapidly.

  We didn't stop until two in the afternoon. According to the PokéDex, we were making good time, but I was completely famished from the running. I decided to have a proper meal. I immediately asked Haunter for wood while I prepared the fire pit with my dagger, staying alert. When it was finished after a few minutes, I cleaned the blade and waited for his return. But I needed to relieve myself, so I walked over to the nearest tree.

  Peacefully, with my eyes closed, I began to urinate when suddenly a warning hiss sounded. I snapped my eyes open and just managed to raise my arm in front of my face. At that moment, an Ekans bit into my forearm through my sleeve. I immediately grabbed it by the jaw and, using maximum pressure on its mouth, forced it to release its fangs. I saw greenish fluid dripping from its teeth, and blood mixed with venom began to pour from my arm.

  I had left my dagger by the fire pit, Haunter was still in the forest, and I had a fucking problem. The Ekans writhed in my hands, hissing aggressively. When it began to glow with white energy, I threw it away violently and quickly. I immediately drew my sword and prepared for a bloody fight. As soon as it hit the ground, it lunged toward me with a furious hiss. It was still glowing with white energy. I quickly held the sword out in front of me—if it hit me, it would impale itself. But in its blinded aggression, it clearly didn't care; it launched itself, propelled by an infusion of energy, flying straight at me. At that moment, however, a ball of black energy blasted it out of the air. Shadow Ball.

  Fortunately, Haunter managed to return just in time. He dropped the wood near the tree and intervened immediately. The Ekans lay a few meters away. Such a powerful Shadow Ball was too much for it—I saw blood leaking from its mouth; it was definitely not in good shape.

  I immediately threw a Poké Ball at it. It shook once and went dark. Successfully caught. However, I certainly didn't plan on keeping it; it didn't have much potential for my team, and besides, it had injured me. Its selling price, however, could be decent. They taught us in school that the venom of this species is used to make antidotes, so they might pay me well for it. At worst, I’ll just roast it over the fire.

  I went straight back to my backpack, pulled out an antidote and bandages. It didn't take long to treat the wound. It seemed that Ekans was still young and its venom wasn't that toxic, as I only started feeling its effects just before administering the antidote. An adult Arbok could have killed me within minutes.

  My second day out and a deadly confrontation with a wild Pokémon in the forest, just a few hours from Viridian City. And I thought there weren't such dangerous creatures here... Clearly, it will only get worse in the future.

  I quickly lit the fire, prepared the food, and ate. All the while, Haunter watched me carefully, to the point where it was starting to get uncomfortable.

  "Haunter," I said. I had to wait a moment until he looked me straight in the eyes, but then I continued: "Thank you, you saved me. It's not your fault that it bit me. We just need more members in the team... and it will be even more dangerous in the future. We’ll both improve."

  It didn't look like that calmed him down, so I tried a different approach.

  "You know, I was stupid. I went to relieve myself by a tree with my eyes closed. Even though I knew full well that Ekans live in this forest and love to coil around trunks. If I hadn't closed my eyes, I would have noticed it and managed to dodge."

  That worked. Haunter laughed in amusement.

  "Haunter! Haunter!" Spiteful joy, the best kind of joy.

  "We’ll learn from this," I concluded. The crisis was averted, and we could move on. I quickly extinguished the fire and packed my things.

  For the rest of the journey, I only walked; I was afraid my body might be weakened by the venom after all. Haunter vigilantly watched every tree and every suspicious shadow. He scared away every Pidgey we encountered, just so they wouldn't accidentally try to attack. He took my safety extremely seriously after that attack. It was sweet of him.

  Along the way, I thought intensely about the next team member. We needed more Pokémon—for safety, but also for personal power and conquering gyms. What species would actually suit us? Here, in the first section of the wilderness, I hadn't encountered anything exceptional. Just Pidgeys, Starlys, Caterpies, and Sentrets... and I’d already caught the Ekans. I definitely didn't want to train these species. Although a Staraptor looked like a real predator, a Starly still represented food in my eyes.

  I decided that I would check the selection of Pokémon for sale in the city. I’ll see how much money I have after selling the Ekans and act accordingly.

  In the evening, we finally arrived at the gates of Viridian City. Spread out before us was a massive, light-filled city of eighty-five thousand residents. Guards stood at the entrance with their Growlithes, vigilantly watching the surrounding wilderness. After a quick ID check and registration, I headed to the northernmost Pokémon Center. Every major city had more than four such centers, staffed by the Nurse Joys. I chose the one in the north so that after handling all my business, I’d have a clear path forward. I knew I wouldn't stay here long—the local leader, Giovanni, didn't accept challenges from anyone with fewer than seven badges.

  Author’s note:

  Welcome to Route 1! In this chapter, I wanted to show that even the "safest" paths in the Pokémon world aren't just a walk in the park. This story is a more grounded, realistic take on the journey—where survival skills matter as much as battle stats, and even a bathroom break can become a life-or-death situation.

  Step into the Restricted Section

  The shadows are shifting... If you can't wait to see where the darkness leads, there is a place where the story is already much further ahead.

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  All the secret scrolls and links are kept there.

  Upcoming Chapters – Already written:

  7. Steelix Finish and Dirty Dealers

  8. Steel and Stingers

  9. A War of Wings and Blades

  10. Red "R" and Crimson Steel

  11. Gastly: From the Void