Saturday, September 20, 1992 - Morning
Satoshi barely slept. His excitement from the previous day still buzzed through his body like a jolt of electricity. After spending the afternoon exploring the Kanto region in Pokemon Red, he found himself completely and utterly hooked. It was more than a game to him now; it was a mirror of his passion. The moment he chose Charmander as his starter, something inside him clicked. The thrill of capturing, raising, and battling these unique creatures perfectly aligned with his lifelong love of animals. His dream of documenting all creatures in the world had been reborn inside the tiny screen of his ZAGE Game Boy.
Skipping breakfast entirely, Satoshi fired up his ZGB again, the screen lighting up in his hands like a digital sunrise. The title screen blared that nostalgic theme again, and he dove back in, right where he left off—just outside Viridian Forest.
Kazanmaru, his trusty Charmander, was now level 10. The little fire lizard had learned Ember the day before, and Satoshi had spent a long time grinding against flocks of wild Pidgeys, jittery Rattatas, and slow-moving Caterpies. He'd built up a solid team in the process: Karage the Pidgey (Lv 7), Nezuchan the Rattata (Lv 6), and NomNom the Caterpie (Lv 5).
He stepped into Viridian Forest with wide eyes and a half-cocked grin. The music changed to a soft, eerie theme that hinted at mystery and danger. Bug Catcher trainers roamed the grassy paths, and Satoshi battled them all, learning the importance of type matchups and strategic switching. He grinned when he spotted another Pikachu. The electric mouse had eluded him yesterday, but not today.
"Oh man, you are mine now, electric mouse!" he declared, eyes locked on the screen.
After three failed Pokeballs and some careful HP whittling, he caught it. He named it Biri-Biri, mimicking the Japanese sound for an electric shock.
While grinding in the forest, Satoshi encountered an Ekans, a purple snake-like Pokemon. He caught it and named it Murahebi. He was on fire.
The real surprise came during a battle with another Bug Catcher. Mid-fight, NomNom the Caterpie glowed and began to evolve!
"Whoa! My first evolution! Wait... don't tell me... Metapod becomes some kind of butterfly? I need to keep it!" he said excitedly.
Sure enough, when Metapod reached level 10, it evolved again—this time into a majestic Butterfree.
"Whoa! Cool butterfly!" he grinned. Butterfree came with the move Confusion, a Psychic-type attack that gave his team a serious boost.
After navigating the forest maze and collecting every hidden item, Satoshi stepped into Pewter City. The sense of accomplishment was real. He healed his team at the Pokemon Center and headed straight for the Pewter Gym, filled with anticipation.
The gym was filled with rock formations and gravel. Brock, the Rock-type Gym Leader, stood confidently at the far end. Satoshi approached with excitement and a tinge of nervousness.
"Kazanmaru, this is your big test," he whispered.
The gym battle started. Brock sent out Geodude first. Satoshi responded with Karage the Pidgey to test the waters. Unfortunately, Geodude tanked Gust like a champ and hit back with Rock Throw, knocking Karage out in one hit.
Satoshi quickly rotated his team. Nezuchan fell next. Even Biri-Biri's Thunder Wave couldn't save him. NomNom managed to land a Confusion or two, but it wasn't enough.
Kazanmaru stepped up. He did his best, and his Ember chipped away at Geodude's health. But when Onix came out at level 18, it was game over.
"Damn, my level's too low!" Satoshi shouted.
Unfazed, he did what he always did: grind. He marched back outside the city and began training. Kazanmaru battled everything he saw—Rattatas, Pidgeys, even a Spearow or two. For an hour, he grinded, using Potions and switching tactics.
When Kazanmaru hit level 16, it happened.
Kazanmaru began to glow.
"No way... YES!" Satoshi cheered.
Kazanmaru evolved into Charmeleon, taller and fiercer, his tail flame burning brighter. The sprite change looked incredible.
"Yeah, my boy evolved! Time to wreck Brock!"
Satoshi returned to Pewter Gym with newfound confidence. This time, he opened with NomNom the Butterfree to inflict confusion on Geodude. Then he swapped to Kazanmaru, who made quick work with Ember. Geodude fainted.
Onix was next.
Kazanmaru held his ground. Onix's Rock Throw missed twice, and Kazanmaru used Ember, then Scratch. A Potion mid-battle kept Kazanmaru alive, and eventually Onix went down.
"Player defeated Brock!"
The screen lit up with his first badge: the Boulder Badge. He received TM34 (Bide) as a reward.
"Let's goooo!" Satoshi shouted.
He saved his game and set the ZGB down, finally taking a breath. The day had barely started, but his journey was already epic.
He stood up and stretched. There was still so much more to see and dozens of Pokemon yet to catch.
With Kazanmaru now a Charmeleon and a solid squad behind him, he felt ready for anything.
He then sat down again and ready to play for more!
After defeating Brock and earning his Boulder Badge, Satoshi felt more confident than ever. With Kazanmaru now a powerful Charmeleon and his team steadily leveling up, he marched east from Pewter City, eyes locked on the next chapter of his journey.
The route was filled with trainers, but none gave him too much trouble. To strengthen his party, Satoshi trained tirelessly in the grass patches between routes and revisited Mt. Moon for additional grinding. He focused on strategic type matchups and made sure to rotate his team for balanced experience gain.
After countless wild battles and a few close calls, his team saw serious improvement:
Kazanmaru the Charmeleon – Lv. 21Biri-Biri the Pikachu – Lv. 20NomNom the Butterfree – Lv. 19Digsby the Diglett – Lv. 18Punchy the Mankey – Lv. 17Puffy-chan the Jigglypuff – Lv. 15
Along the way, he also caught:
Spearow (Peckster)Zubat (Batzy)Sandshrew (Shrewster)Clefairy (named Lulu after a tough catch in Mt. Moon)
He focused on grinding his Butterfree's Confusion ability, Pikachu's Thunder Shock, and Mankey's Karate Chop. Charmeleon's Ember was now consistently dishing out heavy damage, and Diglett's Dig was proving invaluable against poison-types.
As he passed through Mt. Moon again just for fun, he found some new areas he had missed before. While exploring a side cave behind a suspicious-looking rock, he noticed something strange: a lone NPC standing in the shadows. Unlike the usual trainers, this one had a black outfit with a gray helmet—very Zabo-man-like.
"Huh? This isn't a normal trainer," Satoshi muttered, eyes narrowing.
He walked up and pressed the A button. The screen flashed, and a custom message popped up:
"You found me. Let's see if you're ready."
The battle music kicked in, but it wasn't the normal one. It was a remixed, more intense version of the standard trainer theme. The screen read:
"Mysterious Trainer Zabo-man wants to battle!"
Satoshi grinned. "So it's you, Zabo-man!"
Zabo-man sent out Arbok!
The Arbok, a sleek purple serpent with piercing yellow eyes, was level 22 and immediately proved to be no pushover. It opened the battle with Glare, paralyzing NomNom the Butterfree instantly. Then it followed with Acid, which shredded through Butterfree's defense over time. NomNom landed a weak Confusion but was soon recalled.
Satoshi swapped in Digsby. Knowing Arbok was vulnerable to Ground-type moves, he played it safe. Digsby burrowed underground with Dig just in time to avoid a powerful Bite. When he surfaced, he landed a critical hit that nearly knocked out Arbok. But Zabo-man's Arbok wasn't done. It retaliated with Wrap, slowly draining Digsby's HP while preventing movement. It took one more Dig attack to bring it down. The snake let out a final hiss before fainting.
Then Zabo-man sent out Pidgeotto.
"Pidgeotto already!? and lvl 23 at that! This guy is no joke." Satoshi then swap his Digsby with Biri-biri.
Level 23, Pidgeotto was fast—blindingly fast. It opened with Gust, which struck Biri-Biri the Pikachu hard. Satoshi retaliated with Thunder Wave to paralyze it, slowing it down. But Pidgeotto responded with Sand Attack, lowering Pikachu's accuracy, followed by a brutal Quick Attack that nearly finished it.
This Pidgeottois really good!. Zabo-man's training had clearly paid off.
Satoshi used a Potion quickly and gambled on one final Thunder Shock. It hit—barely. The spark lit up Pidgeotto , and it finally fell.
Victory!
The screen displayed:
"You defeated Zabo-man!"
The dialogue box popped up:
"You're very cool."
Then Zabo-man disappeared into the shadows, no trace left behind.
Satoshi blinked in surprise, then grinned wide. "Heh... Zabo-man's a hidden trainer too? That's actually so awesome! And His Arbok and Pidgeotto are really something else!, Man, this game just keeps getting better!"
He checked his Trainer Card, and now it showed a tiny Z-icon in the corner.
"A Z-badge? Must be for beating Zabo-man. Awesome."
Buzzing with excitement, Satoshi saved the game, took a quick break for snacks, and wrote a note in his own journal:
"Pokemon is an incredibly well-made game, and I've completely fallen in love with the creatures. The thrill of discovery, training, and evolution makes every encounter exciting. I genuinely hope I can catch them all in this two games. Also, I found Zabo-man! But in this ZGB version, there isn't a Z-card like in ZEPS games to give cryptict hint—it was a total surprise encounter!
He couldn't wait to tell his classmates on Monday. And in his heart, he felt more sure than ever:
He was born to catch them all.
To be continued...
AN: Honestly, I didn't change ZGB Pokémon too much from the Fire Red and leaf green on GBA and i don't really want to focus heavily on its gameplay in this novel. There are many reasons for that, but what I really want to focus on is how people react to Pokémon and its impact. This is a new style I plan to write in—if the game is already popular and I didn't change it much, I'll only include a little bit of gameplay like this!. And Fun fact! : Zaboru's story regarding how he can`t get Gameboy as a kid in his previous life it's my own experience!. I really feel like I missed out back then and it even makes me hate Pokemon because I can't play like all of my friends back then lol.
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