In an apartment in Viridian City, Eddie sat on the sofa, watching the news on TV.
This was Yellow's home. Originally, Eddie had wanted to take Yellow out for a nice meal.
However, Yellow had insisted against it, saying she didn't want Eddie to spend his money on her. She'd stated plainly that she knew how to cook and invited Eddie to her home for dinner instead.
Looking at Yellow's small frame, Eddie found himself wondering how such a young girl had learned to cook. At the same time, he was curious about visiting Yellow's home and trying whatever food this cute child could prepare.
With this thought in mind, Eddie accepted Yellow's invitation and, following her directions, arrived at her house.
However, after Eddie arrived at her home, he didn't find her parents there. Instead, he met her uncle.
According to Yellow, her parents were working away from home and rarely returned, so they'd left Yellow in her uncle's care.
But Yellow's uncle's hometown was in the Johto region, so even though he was Yellow's guardian, he sometimes had to return to Johto for various matters. During those times, Yellow truly lived alone.
"So under these circumstances, I suppose it makes sense for Yellow to learn how to cook for herself."
"Still, I'm not sure if people in this world just mature early, or if Yellow's parents and uncle are simply too careless. They're actually letting a young girl like Yellow live independently?"
Eddie's eye twitched, unsure how to evaluate Yellow's guardians.
However, seeing that Yellow seemed to be doing well so far, he decided not to interfere in her family affairs.
Eddie's timing was fortunate this visit, as Yellow's uncle had returned from the Johto region some time ago, allowing him to meet Yellow's other guardian.
He was a slightly portly man who would travel back to Johto whenever necessary. According to him, he was a fishing expert, and he'd taught Yellow all of her fishing techniques.
When he first met Eddie, the uncle had thought Eddie might be some kind of predator targeting young girls and had been quite wary. However, Eddie had become quite famous recently, especially after the battle in Saffron City against Team Rocket. He'd been regarded as a hero of the Kanto region. The media had been praising Eddie constantly, and the benefit was that the uncle now believed he wasn't a threat.
Though, truthfully, the uncle hadn't been wrong to warn Eddie.
Because while Eddie wasn't attracted to children and would never harm a young girl, when he'd seen Yellow again earlier, he had experienced some fleeting inappropriate thoughts.
Of course, he'd immediately dismissed such thoughts, though he briefly wondered if maybe he could develop something in the future when she was older...
Ahem, in any case, since Eddie was the 'hero' of the Kanto region, he'd gained the uncle's trust.
Eddie understood the media's excessive praise. The League wanted to push him into the spotlight and use his "positive image" to cover up the negative impact of the incident, preventing the people of the Kanto region from focusing too much on the casualties from the Saffron City incident.
Although it had only been a regional conflict in the Kanto region, the winner had been decided on the first day. The following days had been like "garbage time in a basketball game," simply searching for Team Rocket members who were still hiding in Saffron City, and then the conflict had ended.
But even though it had concluded in just a few days, there had been considerable casualties between the trainers and Team Rocket members, and some innocent people had been caught in the crossfire. This could be said to be the most serious incident in the seventy years since the League's establishment.
Of course, the ones who suffered the most losses here were naturally the group of players with the largest numbers but the weakest strength.
Many players had been killed by Team Rocket, along with their Pokémon, but when those players respawned back in Pallet Town, they discovered they had to start completely over. They couldn't help but become furious, and many went to forums to complain and criticize the game for being unreasonable.
Eddie had seen these unfortunate players on the forums these past few days, but for these people who lacked strength and had courted death, Eddie just laughed dismissively and ignored them.
"Big brother, it's time to eat!"
The young girl in an apron came over carrying a dish. Seeing how hard she'd worked, Eddie felt somewhat touched, but also a bit embarrassed. It seemed rather shameful for a grown man to let a young girl cook and serve him.
However, although Eddie regretted letting Yellow cook for him, he was also curious about what dishes she'd prepared.
"Oh, it's fish. That's good. At least it's quite nutritious."
Looking at the fish that had been served, Eddie praised it.
By the way, Yellow probably couldn't be growing so quickly just because she ate fish every day, could she?
After all, fish was a nutritionally comprehensive food that promoted growth and development. So perhaps the fact that Yellow was growing so fast and so well was partly due to eating fish regularly.
"Hehe, because I've been practicing fishing, I eat fish every day. But don't worry, big brother Eddie, I can cook fish really well now!"
Yellow scratched her head shyly, speaking with some embarrassment.
Eddie looked at her bashful expression and suddenly remembered how Yellow had looked out of breath after chasing Rattata for just a short distance.
Then an idea occurred to him, and he took out a Poké Ball and tossed it to Yellow.
"Catch!"
"Huh?"
Yellow hurriedly caught the Poké Ball that Eddie had thrown and looked at it in surprise.
"Is this a Poké Ball? Big brother Eddie, what's this for?"
"You looked completely winded after chasing that Rattata earlier. Perhaps you need a Pokémon that can carry you while flying. This Aerodactyl was born not long ago. Although it's very powerful for certain reasons, you don't need to train it for battle. It can fly you around and protect you at the same time."
Eddie didn't particularly value this Aerodactyl and had been considering giving it to someone else. Now, seeing Yellow's situation, it seemed appropriate to give it to her.
Just as Eddie said, the Aerodactyl could carry Yellow through the air, and its considerable strength could also protect her.
This Pokémon world was actually quite dangerous. If you ventured out into the wild, you might be attacked by wild Pokémon at any time.
Yellow didn't seem interested in training Pokémon for battle yet, which was evident from the fact that the Rattata Eddie had given her hadn't evolved.
So Eddie thought it would be appropriate to simply give Yellow a powerful Pokémon to protect her.
"This... such a powerful Pokémon, big brother Eddie should train it yourself. I... I don't need it."
Yellow frantically tried to return the Aerodactyl to Eddie.
"Take it. I don't have the energy to train this Aerodactyl properly. Rather than having it follow me around, it's better to let it stay with you. As long as you can take good care of it, that's all that matters."
Eddie gently patted the young girl's head.
"But..."
"No 'buts' about it, just take it. Oh, and consider it payment for this meal."
Eddie pointed at the fish Yellow had cooked with a smile, then picked up his chopsticks and began eating.
Yellow looked at Eddie's expression, feeling both amused and helpless, but she also made a decision in her heart.
"Then... thank you, big brother. I'll... take good care of it."
She happily held the Poké Ball in both hands, and through the translucent sphere, she gazed at the curious Aerodactyl inside.
"I believe that you, with your ability to sense Pokémon's emotions, will be able to take excellent care of it."
Unlike Eddie, who felt he'd obtained the Power of Viridian through unconventional means, Yellow's Power of Viridian had been truly bestowed by Viridian Forest itself. Her affinity for Pokémon was much higher than Eddie's. Even Pokémon with aggressive temperaments would likely show friendly emotions toward her upon meeting.
"Yellow, I won't be staying in Viridian City for very long. I'll be leaving tomorrow at the latest."
"Big brother, are you really that busy?"
"The Indigo League Conference is about to begin, and I need to complete my final training and adjust my condition."
Yellow's expression showed some disappointment, but she soon smiled again.
"Even though I can't go to the venue to cheer for you in person, big brother, I'll be cheering for you in front of the TV!"
"Haha, thank you very much, little one."
Eddie laughed heartily. He told the young girl stories about his travels, accepted her admiring looks, and continued eating.
As for Yellow's uncle, he seemed to have been forgotten by the two of them. He now sat to the side quietly eating his meal, apparently enjoying the pleasure of being ignored.