A New Life Through The Eyes Of Kanto: An Autobiography

The Good Old Days

Native Village. I haven't been here in quite a while, I thought, my eyes taking in the familiarity.

The large village was a flattering collision of nature and humankind, working and living together on common ground and peace. The houses were all short, wooden, and very sturdy in their construction. There were only two humble stores in the entire area. Both were large and just enough to supply the entire village with what was needed. Nothing was too fancy here. Things were even more lacking in luxuries than simple old Pallet Town.

At least we had Prof. Oak's enormous mansion. Plus, Pallet Town was much larger than this place and had noticeably more to do and a lot of nearby areas to visit, like the Seafoam Islands.

Native Village had a giant lake to swim in that took up about a third of the size of the town and was easily visible from where I slowly walking through. Home for many, this place offered a pretty secluded way of life in a way.

While walking at an even pace, I contemplated whether I should do it or not. Just keep walking, I told myself. Keep moving forward and get out of here. No need to stop by for anything. You have food, you fed your Pokemon, they're resting in their Poke Balls, so just get out of here and find your way to Celadon, fast. My feet started to pick up the pace.

"GARY??" a voice called out.

My head told me to keep moving and just pretend I didn't hear it, but my feet had stopped already. I froze for a moment before turning around.

"Gary, it is you!!" the woman said excitedly, moving quickly to get to me. "I haven't seen you in such a long time!"

I forced a smile at... whoever she was. I knew her, but I never remembered her name.

She's a friend of my family's and would always gush over me and my sister whenever we and my mom and dad would come here. She was nice, but I never really knew her and I didn't care to stop and chat right now.

I also might be spotted...

She knelt down a bit and held me in a huge hug. She smelled of some kind of perfume that was very sharp to my nose and not too pleasant.

For some reason, as I hugged her back, I inhaled it even deeper despite not liking the scent very much. Something about it made me curious about it, I guess.

She finally let go of me after a bit and smiled. "Where's your mom?" she asked.

"In Pallet Town," I replied, looking away and trying to find a way to get out of this conversation before I was seen by someone else.

"Pallet Town? Well, what are you...? OH, MY!!" She reached down and grabbed one of my Poke Balls from my belt. "Is there a Pokemon in here???" She twirled the Poke Ball around in her hand.

"Um... yes, ma'am," I replied, agitated she was holding my Hoothoot at all.

"I can't believe I forgot you are a Pokemon Trainer!! I can't believe you're ten already!! Gary has grown up from the little boy I once knew. Now you're a real Pokemon Trainer! Traveling the world and battling those cute little creatures. That's so wonderful!" She reached out and pulled me into another hug.

I smelled the scent on her again as I hugged her back. It wasn't horrible smelling, but it was so odd. I willing sniffed her. She pulled away and I gave a quick chuckle. "Well, as a Pokemon Trainer, I have tons to do, taking care of these little things," I said, quickly but gently taking my Poke Ball back from her. "So I was just passing through on my way out of here to Celadon City, which is quite a distance from here, so I'm afraid I have to go."

"Oh, no!" she said sadly. "I'm so sorry you're leaving so soon! Did you see your grandmother?"

I flinched on the inside.