A/N: Sorry
…
Barry walked on a dirt road. He was quite confused on what to do, afterall, he had just taken another one of the usual archaeology classes. He wondered whether the Professor did really had it in mind to allow them retire from Pokémon trainers.
Based on what Professor Oak was doing, Barry thought that before they participate in the Indigo League the Professor will turn them into real archaeologists… or explorers? The classes tended to shift from usual talk about ancient Pokémon to much more complicated topics on exploration.
He was afraid that the professor would send them on an expedition to an unknown Island. The fact that he knows the map of the Kanto Region was in the very least assuring, it was so empty Kanto seemed like a little blip on the radar.
"I don't want to be part of an archaeology team, what about you Nidoran?" He asked his Pokémon as he walked through the park with it.
"Nido." The Pokémon said.
'I guess that is to be expected, since it really wants to evolve into a Nidoking.' Barry mused.
The Pokémon replied to him in the neutral. It didn't really care what happened as long as it evolved into a Nidoking.
One of the benefits of getting a baby Pokémon was the advantage of strengthening the bond between them early. Getting an adult Primeape as a starter would just mean that he would have a mountain of headaches most of the year.
As such, he was able to communicate with his baby Pokémon. It was just a month past the day it was born according to Professor Oak, though, they weren't allowed to do any active training so he just took his Pokémon for a jog every morning.
Dawn's advice on how to train his Pokémon had to be delayed because the Pokémon were much younger than she had taught. Barry refrained from even asking his Pokémon from doing a poison sting from fear of getting a two hours lecture from Professor Oak.
He had seen the Professor's Charizard many times, along with Blastoise and Venusaur, yet he hadn't seen Alakazam. He could've swore that Professor Oak had an active Alakazam, the aides told him the two of them were at each other's neck.
Alakazam and Professor Oak that is, the aides didn't tell him the exact details but he knew that the two of them were suppressing their powers. He always felt a tinge of chaotic energy whenever he entered the lab, it wasn't to the point where someone who didn't have sharpened senses would notice.
"Hey Red." Barry said to the person who happened to be walking in the park.
It was pure coincidence that the both of them happened to see each other. Mainly because Barry wanted to see the kind of lies Red would construct when they battled each other.
Professor Oak emphasized the need for a strong Pokémon team foundation. But, Red was a monster by himself.
His series only had 4 episodes, but, throughout those 4 episodes Red was highlighted as an adaptor. One could see the different teams he used to battle, whether it was against Brock, Giovanni or the elite four and even Blue.
The variation in the team was shocking to the point that it seemed like Red was a battle maniac. He trained all his Pokémon equally to the point where they never lacked in strength, one of the reasons why Barry wanted to socialize with him.
People like Blue and Red wanted to become the Pokémon Champions of not only the Kanto region, but, they wanted to become honored members of other regions of the elite four.
People like Ash and Gary wanted to win the Indigo League and battle against the elite four.
Leaf wanted to become one of Kanto's best Pokémon breeders.
To a pair of normal individuals they dreamt more than Joseph! And Joseph was quite the dreamer after all.
Becoming a member of the elite four was more than their dreams. Winning the Indigo League on your first try was being too optimistic, and becoming the best breeder would take more than half a decade of experience and learning.
So they seemed like really stupid individuals in the public eye.
"Oh, hey Barry." Red said.
"I wanted to ask you about something, I just need your advice on something, but if you don't want to answer that would be okay."
"Okay, shoot."
"What kind of Pokémon team would you recommend?" Barry asked.
Red took no time in thinking about the answer. "I think that's a dumb question."
"Why so?"
"Because, you could train a well-balanced team and you still wouldn't have a chance of even getting past the top 16 in the Indigo League." He explained.
"How come?" Barry questioned even further.
"Well, I don't know how to explain this… think of it like this." The youth said. "Imagine being battling someone who has only one type, fire. Now, even if you might have a more balanced team than his, lets say he has an Arcanine, Charizard, Magmar, Rapidash, Flareon and finally a Ninetales. Tell me what you notice?"
"Isn't it that all of these are fire types?" Barry answered. He was unsure of the correct answer.
"You are missing the point that would be too obvious. Even if your opponent is only allowed to use 3 of these, he would be able to beat you. If you were using a Golem, Blastoise and a Dugtrio you would still lose." Red informed the trainer.
"How?" Barry questioned, his mind seemed to be in another place.
'Just how many possibilities is this guy thinking of?'
"You would send out Golem and he might bring out Rapidash, Arcanine or Chairzard. The fact that it would be a handicapped match would allow him pick his choices carefully while you won't be able to.
Let's say you send out Golem first, He could choose Charizard and that would allow him to dominate the sky. Attacks like Rock tomb and Rock throw would have a hard time actually hitting the Pokémon while it glided in the air and even if it took a long time the battle would finish with Charizard as the winner.
Rapidash and Arcanine are extremely fast on their legs so it would be almost impossible for a Blastoise and Dugtrio to lose. But there is always the possibility."
Red stressed the possibility more than Barry appreciated and he realized that the boy in Red was getting far too much the topic.
"So what is your opinion?" Barry enquired again.
"I would suggest having a team ready for any situation because you don't know when any situation is about to happen… If you were to battle the gyms I would recommend getting Pokémon that land super-effective attacks, Pokémon that are neutral to the gym types attack, Pokémon that do normal damage. I don't want to say the last one so that when you try it you don't kill me."
"Sure, I'll think about it." Barry said as they reached the end of the park.
The sign that showed "Welcome To Pallet Town Park." Stood proudly as both of them passed. Out of the mini-forest and back to more urban centers.
"Are you planning to complete the Pokédex?" Barry asked Red as they prepared to part ways.
"Sure, why wouldn't I?!" Red questioned.
"There are about 149 Pokémon known to reside in the Kanto Region!" Barry informed Red.
The likes of Magmortar, Electivire and the others hadn't been discovered.
"If you are looking for a sub-quest to get stronger you should try to complete the Pokédex. Not only will you encounter strong Pokémon, but you will also be forced to train your Pokémon to rise to the challenge!" Red said as he walked to the opposite street.
"See you tomorrow." Red told Barry as he walked away.
In the midst of their conversation Barry suddenly remembered that he forgot to check up on his Nidoran.
He looked downwards and saw the Pokémon was walking alongside him.
"Sorry, it seems like I made you go through much exercise today, rest up buddy." He told his starter Pokémon as it was sucked into the Pokéball.
"I guess that is much more experience that I bargained for." He said to himself.
The Pokémon made a sound that seemed to agree with him.
The amount of strategies Red had made for every situation was shocking. He prepared for everything at every time.
'It comes as a shock why he couldn't beat Giovanni.' Barry told himself.
There were some mysteries that Pokémon created that would never be uncovered, not in this world… or the next.
A/N: Red is very smart, the exact opposite of Ash who in Pokémon Journeys just went along with the flow…