The sky was growing dark. Across Viridian City, lights flickered on in every window.
On the road leading into town, Officer Jenny sat inside her guard booth, broadcasting the evening's daily announcement to the residents.
"Attention, all residents of Viridian City! Thank you for your hard work today! Dinnertime should be over by now. There have been frequent incidents of pickpockets and thieves kidnapping Pokemon recently, so please stay vigilant! Try to avoid going out at night!"
The moment she finished, she spotted a shadowy figure approaching from the far end of the road through the guard booth window.
"Hm? Another Trainer coming in?"
Officer Jenny quickly stepped outside and held up her hand to stop them for a routine check.
But when she got a clear look, her eyes went wide.
"That Pokemon is...! Hey, hold on a moment!"
Fuyuki and Entei stopped and looked at the woman calling out to them.
She wore a blue police uniform with a cap and a utility belt at her waist.
Officer Jenny?
Fuyuki blinked.
Officer Jenny's gaze was still fixed on Entei.
Its dignified, striking appearance drew her closer for a better look.
"What a magnificent Pokemon! It looks even more impressive than the Arcanine at the station! What kind of Pokemon is this?" she couldn't help asking.
Fuyuki answered with a smile. "Its name is Entei."
"What?!" Officer Jenny clapped a hand over her mouth. "You mean the Legendary Pokemon Entei from the legends of the Johto region?!"
"That's right."
Her eyes went even wider, but then something clicked.
Anyone who could tame a Pokemon like this had to be an incredibly powerful Trainer. How amazing, to have a Legendary this powerful and rare!
Officer Jenny looked up at Fuyuki sitting on Entei's back. She didn't underestimate him because of his age.
After all, this world had no shortage of prodigies. Some Trainers had won championships in just a single year, becoming Elite Four members or even regional Champions.
This boy might well be one of them, she thought.
She gave him a salute. "Hello, Trainer. I'm Officer Jenny of Viridian City. We've been dealing with a lot of thieves and pickpockets lately, so I need to verify every visitor's identity. Could you please show me your ID?"
Fuyuki nodded. He recalled that in the anime, Ash had been stopped here and questioned as a suspicious person too.
He pulled out the Pokedex Professor Oak had given him and handed it over.
Officer Jenny took it and pressed a few buttons. Professor Oak's voice played from the device.
"This Pokedex is entrusted to Fuyuki. Good luck out there, Pokemon Trainer! Also, this Pokedex cannot be reissued if lost, so please take good care of it! This is a message from Professor Oak of Pallet Town."
"Another Trainer from Pallet Town?" Officer Jenny said. "You're the fifth one today. Though I have to say, you're much more put-together than the last one."
"The last one?" Fuyuki asked, surprised.
"That's right. His name was Ash. He didn't even know his Pokedex was his ID! And he and his Pikachu were pretty badly hurt. They should be at the Pokemon Center right now getting treatment. If you head over there, you might run into them!" Officer Jenny said.
Fuyuki: "..."
"All right, your identity checks out. You're free to enter. Welcome to Viridian City, Trainer!" Officer Jenny handed the Pokedex back.
Fuyuki had never been to Viridian City before. The place was completely unfamiliar to him. Professor Oak had given him an address, but he had no idea where it actually was.
Viridian City was enormous. Even across all of Kanto, it ranked in the top five in size.
He looked at Officer Jenny and decided to ask for help.
"By the way, Officer Jenny, do you know where this is?" He handed over the address Professor Oak had given him.
"326 Butterfree Street..." Officer Jenny read it aloud, then looked puzzled. "Why would you want to go there?"
"That place has been abandoned for ages. It's practically a haunted house now. The neighbors say they hear strange things coming from inside all the time!"
"There's something I need to take care of there," Fuyuki said.
"I see..." A smile crossed Officer Jenny's face. "All right then, I'll take you there myself!"
"Huh? Wouldn't that be too much trouble?" Fuyuki blinked.
"Serving the public is our duty as Viridian City officers!"
Officer Jenny drove up on her police motorcycle and patted the seat behind her. "Hop on! Just return your Pokemon to its Poke Ball!"
Fuyuki glanced at Entei, then shook his head. "That's all right, we'll follow behind."
"Suit yourself! Just keep up!"
Officer Jenny revved the engine and sped down the wide road. Entei and Fuyuki followed at an easy distance, passing through the city streets until they reached their destination.
They stopped in front of a lifeless, run-down mansion.
The building had clearly been neglected for years. Weeds had overtaken the yard, and the roof tiles were cracked and falling apart.
"Here we are!" Officer Jenny said, then paused as if remembering something. "It really is a sad story, actually."
"I heard that a happy family of three used to live here. They went on a trip one day, but the husband and wife were killed. Their only child disappeared. Though, given the circumstances, a baby not even a year old wouldn't have survived out there on its own..."
"After that, they never came home. The only one left in the house was a Pokemon."
"The neighbors tried to adopt it, but it refused to leave. It stayed in the house, waiting for its owners to come back. At first, people brought it food."
"But after it learned that its owners had died, it stopped eating. Then one day, it was just gone. Nobody ever saw it again."
"Some say it went out looking for its owners."
"Others say it died."
Officer Jenny let out a sigh. Back then, she had been a rookie officer fresh on the job. Everyone at the station had felt sorry for them when the case came in.
Fuyuki: "..."
"Thank you, Officer Jenny."
"The neighbors say the house is haunted! It might be Ghost-type Pokemon up to mischief, so be careful!"
She was about to say more when her radio crackled to life. Her expression turned serious at once.
"Understood, I'm on my way!"
"Trainer, a group of criminals that steal other people's Pokemon has broken into the Viridian City Pokemon Center. Watch yourself. I need to go apprehend them!" Officer Jenny said urgently.
With that, she jumped on her motorcycle and sped off.
Fuyuki: "..."
He looked up at the crumbling house before him, emotions churning in his chest.
A haunted house, huh?
Beside him, Entei stood in silent vigil. Its voice, steady and sure, rose in his mind through telepathy.
"Fuyuki, don't worry. No matter what happens, I'll be right here with you."