The humidity of the Kanto interior was starting to settle into my denim jacket like a damp sponge. I pulled my skateboard up into my hand, the wheels spinning with a soft, rhythmic whir that usually calmed my nerves, but today, my mind was a chaotic GPS map of "What-Ifs."
Last night, while the rest of the world was sleeping and Fearow was busy snoring loud enough to rattle the windowpanes of the Pokémon Center, I'd stumbled upon a hidden sub-menu in the System. It wasn't just a map; it was a Chronological Landmark Overlay.
[SYSTEM ALERT: HIDDEN FUNCTION UNLOCKED — CANON CARTOGRAPHY]
"Host, I have successfully synchronized the local geographic data with the 'Anime' narrative nodes. You now have the precise coordinates for historical and future hotspots."
I'd spent three hours staring at the glowing blue icons floating over the path to Vermilion City. There they were—the ghosts of a childhood television screen rendered in high-definition GPS coordinates.
AJ's Gym: The "99 Wins" brutalist training camp.
The Abandoned Rock: The spot where a certain golden-hearted Charmander waited in the rain.
The Squirtle Squad's Hideout: A den of mischievous, sunglass-wearing hooligans.
The Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden: An ecological anomaly that wasn't supposed to exist on any official League map.
The Garden was a detour. A "few days" detour, which in the eyes of a G-Pro recruit, was practically a vacation. But I wasn't going there for the scenery. To challenge the Indigo League, a trainer needed more than just a single power-squad; you needed a rotation. A reserve team of specialists. And in my book, there was no better anchor for a reserve team than a Venusaur.
Back in my past life, when Pokémon X dropped and they offered us the Kanto starters alongside the Kalos ones, I didn't hesitate. While everyone was chasing Charizard Y, I was busy perfecting a Venusaur build. The combo of Venoshock with Toxic—the slow, agonizing drain of health while the "Royal Starter" stats tanked every hit—was a masterpiece of tactical frustration. I wanted that. I needed that "Royal" base stat total. Because let's be real: unless you're dragging a Pseudo-Legendary like Dragonite or Tyranitar around, the Kanto Starters are the literal kings of the regional power scale.
"Nelly, plot the course for the Garden," I'd whispered. "I'm not missing out on a Royal Seed."
The Wall of Vines
The transition from the manicured Route 5 to the deep, untamed foliage of the "off-road" path was immediate. The trees grew taller, their canopies knitting together until the sunlight only reached the forest floor in jagged, golden needles.
Finally, I hit it. A literal wall of vegetation. Massive, thick vines—some as wide as my waist—were woven together in a complex, organic braid that looked less like a forest and more like a fortress.
I reached out, touching the bark-like surface of a vine. I remembered the anime finale. These vines weren't just random growth; they were tied. They were a living seal that only opened during the Mysterious Evolution Festival, triggered by the pheromones and solar energy channeled by the Great Venusaur who led the colony.
Part of my "G-Pro" brain whispered that I should find a way to capture the Great Venusaur itself. A Champion-tier starter? That would be a shortcut to the top of the regional rankings. But I looked at my hands, then at the Pokéball containing Goldie and nugget.
"Nah," I whispered to the silent forest. "There's something called a bond."
First, I wasn't strong enough; that thing was likely a high-tier Champion or even a Master-class entity. Second, pulling the keystone out of an ecosystem like this would cause the whole Garden to collapse.
Third, call me a sentimental idiot, but I didn't want a "captured" god. I wanted to raise one. I'd played through Kanto, Johto, and every other region as a kid, and the "Royal Starters" were always like my own children. I wanted to see that little bulb grow into a forest-shaking titan under my own watch.
I reached for a climbing pick, preparing to scale the thorny mess. "If I can't go through, I go over."
"You always did have more guts than brains, Regina."
The Rival's Entrance
I spun around so fast I nearly took my own eye out with the climbing pick. Standing in a clearing, looking impossibly pristine despite the muddy trek, was Gary Oak.
His hair was perfectly spiked, his purple sweater looked like it had just been ironed, and he had that signature "I'm better than you" smirk plastered across his face.
"Gary?" I blinked, then my filter evaporated. "What the fuck are you doing here? This isn't the road to Vermilion."
"Language, Regina. It's unbecoming of a G-Pro recruit," Gary chuckled, pushing off the tree. He looked around, his eyes scanning the vine wall with a calculated interest. "I could ask you the same thing. I saw you veering off the path two miles back. Being the benevolent, high-achieving rival that I am, I decided to lead you back to the right way. But seeing you stand in front of this... it seems your 'lost' routine was intentional."
I looked behind him, expecting the usual fanfare. "Where's the circus? Did the cheerleaders finally realize they could do better and leave you in a ditch?"
Gary's smirk faltered for a microsecond. "They had a national cheerleading competition. And my car is currently being serviced in Cerulean because the Mt. Moon mountain passes are hell on a custom suspension. We decided to split for a few days and meet in Vermilion. So, it's just me. And you. And this suspiciously hidden wall of vines."
The Deal with the Devil (Oak Edition)
I sighed, realizing I couldn't shake him without a fight, and a fight with Gary Oak right now would draw enough noise to alert every Spearow in a five-mile radius.
"Fine," I said, lowering my voice. "You can't tell anyone. Not your gramps, not your fan club, and definitely not that loudmouth Ash if you run into him."
Gary tilted his head, his curiosity piqued. "Secrets? How scandalous."
"There are rumors, more like myths in the G-Pro archives," I lied (thank you, System, for the cover story). "Rumors of a 'Mysterious Garden' located in this sector. I know what you will say, they are just stories for children, well I found the actual wild settlement a few days ago. It's a sanctuary for the Bulbasaur line. I'm dying for a Venusaur on my roster, Gary. Think about the stats. The base stats of a Royal Starter are the highest in the region, excluding Pseudos and Legendaries. I need that power for my team. And let's face it... most other Kanto grass types? Vileplume and Victreebell are okay, but it's not a tank. I want a King."
Gary actually went pale. He stepped toward the vines, his hand hovering over them. "A wild colony? Outside the roster? That's... that's impossible. My grandfather has records of every Bulbasaur birth in the region for the last thirty years. If there was a natural breeding ground, the sensors would have picked up the pollen signatures."
"The vines, Gary," I said, gesturing to the glowing wall. "They're a localized EM-shield. They aren't just blocking the path; they're blocking the data."
I looked at him, giving him a small, genuine smile. "You won't tell, right? Not even the Professor. Let them have their sanctuary."
Gary stayed silent for a long moment. Then, he looked at me, a new kind of fire in his eyes. "I won't tell. But I'm following you."
"Why?!" I groaned. "This is my secret spot!"
Gary looked at me like I was the idiot. "You really are an idiot, aren't you? You think I'm going to let you stumble into a hidden Royal Sanctuary alone? If there's a Bulbasaur for you, there's a Bulbasaur for the superior trainer like me. I'm going for the League title too, you know. You think you're the only one who appreciates a high base-stat total?"
"Besides..." his voice dropped, becoming uncharacteristically serious. "With your tendency to act before you think, you'll probably get strangled by a Weepinbell within twenty minutes. You'd die out there without someone to keep you grounded."
"Hey! I am a member of G-Pro, Gary! I've been through survival training!"
"Oh, please," Gary scoffed, stepping closer. "Last I heard, you went on some 'heroic' solo mission into the deep caves of Mt. Moon and nearly got vaporized by a Team Rocket Executive. If Lance hadn't dropped from the ceiling like some caped deity, I'd be attending your funeral right now instead of arguing with you."
I flinched. The sting of that truth was worse than a Beedrill's needle. "I... I informed G-Corp! That's how the smuggling chain got busted! I did my job!"
"You almost died doing it," Gary countered, his eyes narrowing. "I talked to Linda. She told me everything."
I shivered. The memory of Linda's "lecture" over the video call after the Mt. Moon incident was still fresh. Most people saw Linda as a bubbly, eccentric researcher with a thing for pink Pokémon, but when she found out I'd engaged an Executive alone? She turned into something... darker. She was scarier than Ariana. She had that "Final Boss" energy that only comes from a woman who knows exactly how many ways a Pokémon can dismantle a human body.
"Fine stop lecturing me. Lets do it together okay. A Bulbasaur for each of us."