POKEMON: A New Journey

By Garrett Miller

Part X

"That'll be one hundred and fifty bucks."

"What, are you crazy?" I screamed at the gruff motel manager. I was checking out of the motel I had been staying at in Cerulean.

"Seventy-five dollars a night; two nights; one hundred and fifty dollars!"

"Gosh darn prices these days. Stupid motel managers with their outrageous prices," I continued to mutter as I fished in my wallet for my trainer's credit card. It was an account in which all of the money I spend on my journey is sent as a bill to my parents every month. Boy, they were going to be furious when they see the upcoming bill.

After paying the scandalous bill, I went to a local diner to eat breakfast.

Togepi sat on the table laughing hysterically as I tickled him playfully. Soon, a waitress approached our booth.

"What'll it be, honey?" asked a middle-aged woman working at the diner.

"Um…I'll have some flapjacks and some bacon. Oh and some eggs-" I was broken off by a stern look from Togepi. "Actually," I said, trying to comfort my pokemon, "forget the eggs. I think my pokemon here objects to them."

"Whatever," said the waitress as she began to walk off. But before she was gone, I felt a slight tugging on my shirt.

"Breeeee!" Togepi whined with a desperate look.

"Oh, waitress!" I motioned as she turned around, "Do you know if you could give my pokemon, er…me, some lettuce?"

"This early in the morning?" she seemed surprised.

"Uh, yeah," I said nervously. I didn't want her to get the impression that she was serving a pokemon.

"Whatever you say," she sighed as she headed into the kitchen.

After a short period of time, she returned with my breakfast and Togepi's lettuce. He immediately grabbed it and waddled over to the other side of the table, protecting it in case we felt the need to take it from him. As he munched happily on the green vegetable, the waitress sighed again and asked herself quietly as she walked away, "Can my life get any stranger?"

I laughed at her remark as I began to chomp down my pancakes. Togepi was done with his lettuce so he came over to my plate, snatched a small pancake, and then quickly waddled back to his previous spot on the other side of the table. I laughed at him, and continued to eat. I had to get some energy for the long hike I would have to take today.

***

I sat on a bench near the outskirts of Cerulean in a park, reading a map. Togepi was sleeping in his pokeball, and all of my other pokemon were resting up also.

As I read the map, I quietly murmured to myself. "Let's see. If I go south towards Saffron, then I might cross that small town right there and…"

I continued talking to myself until I knew where I was going. Because Saffron City was too far for me to hike in one day, I would have to stop and rest about halfway there. I found a town on the map called "Tourneytown." I took out my travelling guide and looked up the town in the index. When I found it, the description read:

"TOURNEYTOWN: A medium-sized town with a population of 10,000, Tourneytown is known for its annual Pokemon tournament, held on the first weekend of June every year. Note to trainers: This is not an official Pokemon League tournament, therefor it does not award any badges."

I was so excited when I read this, and I knew that I could make it by then. The tournament was a week form now, leaving me plenty of time to practice when I arrive there. I decided I should start out soon, because I wanted to make it to Tourneytown before daybreak. I again looked at the map, and saw a green trail leading straight to the city. The key indicated that the green line means it's a scenic route, and I knew that was a perfect place to catch pokemon in the wild. I gathered up my things, and headed to the trailhead, which was only a few blocks away.

Upon arriving on the trail, I read a sheet of paper that was stapled to a tree. It read:

"WARNING: To all pokemon trainers: there have been reports of pokemon theft in this area, especially on this trail. Please be cautious on your journey through the woods. -Officer Jenny, Cerulean City Police Department"

"Oh, great," I muttered to myself, "Something to worry about."

I started on the trail and, despite the fact that there were pokemon poachers in the area, I enjoyed the warm summer air. Soon, I heard a whining coming from one of the pokeballs on my belt. I took out the pokeball, and found out that it was Growlithe, wanting to get out. I released him and he immediately took off in a sprint, leaving me in the dust. I chased after him, but I couldn't find him anywhere.

After searching for about an hour, I realized that I was far up on the trail, and I was in some dense woods. I continued to search, and soon found my puppy in a creek nearby, splashing around in the water happily.

"Oh man, Growlithe! Now you'll smell bad with all of that water on you!" I said in an annoyed voice, and then finally with a sigh, "C'mon, let's go."

He obeyed when he saw the expression on my face and continued to follow me with his tail between his legs.

I noticed his puppy dog eyes glaring up at me, with his tail still between his legs, "Growlithe, don't give me that look!"

He continued to give me the look until I began petting him and laughing. He then continued by my side, always glaring at interesting objects that caught his attention, and always on alert. Soon, he began sniffing trees and shrubs, and I realized that he wanted to "do his thing". When he found a suitable tree, he began to mark his territory as I turned around and waited for him to finish. After a few seconds, I heard a high-pitched giggling, and looked around for the source of the sound. I didn't find any kids, and I knew something was up.

When I turned to see if Growlithe had done his business, I found him growling at the tree. "What's the matter boy?" I asked jokingly, "Did that tree insult you?"

He turned to me and gave me the "Evil Eye", glanced back at the tree, and then started walking up the path ahead of me. Not long after, I heard a sneeze coming from behind us, I quickly turned around to see who was following us. All I saw were trees, so I turned back and began walking again. Before long, I heard a rustling behind us again, so I turned around to find no one, just like before. But what really caught my eye was a tree. The tree looked just like the one that Growlithe had urinated on, so I approached it and began to look for any suspicious signs. Suddenly, the tree shook as it sneezed! I jumped back quickly, and was suddenly very scared.

"Umm, Growlithe, did you just see that tree sneeze?" I asked nervously.

He replied by growling as he went up to sniff the tree. Once he had taken a quick whiff, his growling grew stronger, and I knew that this tree was no ordinary tree.

Without warning, the tree began to glow a bright white, and it's silhouette changed and grew smaller. Before long, it was a Rattata! "Ok," I said to myslef, "Now this is not right."

The tree/Rattata growled, "Rattata! Rat! Grr…"

"OK, so you want to fight?" I said, preparing a command, "Go Growlithe!"

My dog jumped in front of me, ready for battle, "GrowlITHE!"

"Give it a flame thrower, Growlithe!" I yelled, now completely prepared for battle.

It opened its mouth and bright, glowing flames emerged and surrounded the unsuspecting enemy, leaving it badly burned.

The creature then began to glow again, and it formed the shape of a Pidgey.

"What kind of pokemon ARE you?" I then said, completely condfused.

"Pidgey!" It squawked as it flew high into the air, and then dive-bombed Growlithe, rendering him unconscious.

I began muttering profanities as I reached for another pokeball.

"Whatever you are," I said, still searching for a pokemon, "I'm gonna catch you."

I finally picked a pokemon, and released it, "Poliwag, go!"

The tadpole pokemon eagerly jumped out of its pokeball, waiting for my command. Our morphing opponent saw this opportunity to attack, and it did, flying dangerously close to us and blowing up sand. I couldn't see anything, and when the dust finally cleared, the pokemon was gone.

"That was weird," I said to myself, returning Poliwag to its pokeball and then releasing Growlithe for healing.

After giving Growlithe some medicine, I continued down the path, enjoying the beautiful weather and the lush woods. But I still couldn't get my mind off of the mysterious pokemon that was constantly morphing in front of us. It was so strange, and I yearned to own it so much. But I had lost it, and I had to deal with it.

After walking for another hour, the constant whining of my pokemon inside of their pokeballs signaled lunchtime, so I released them all in a nearby meadow, and then set up a small picnic. They all greatly enjoyed their temporary freedom, and I watched them run around, chasing each other and playing their own little game of "tag". I made myself a sandwich, and soon looked up to see Togepi waddling towards me, eagerly awaiting his lunch. I pulled out a couple pieces of lettuce and gave them to him, allowing him to snatch it from my hands and run off.

I soon fed all of my pokemon their meals, and then settled down for my own lunch. As I ate, I remembered how Stork and I had watched our pokemon play together on the beach, and I slowly fought back a tear that was forming in my eye. I quickly rubbed my eye, and stood up to start cleaning up the picnic area.

After packing up the area, I walked over to my pokemon to find them all cuddled together, sleeping. They were so peaceful and calm as I stared at them, and yet, they were so dangerous when they battled. I quickly returned them to their pokeballs and attached them back to my belt. I would travel on a little further before breaking camp for the night.

But before I was completely out of the field, I felt a strange chill go down my back and I felt like I was being watched. I slowly turned around, trying to stay calm. And what I saw both surprised me and made me furious.

"You!" I screamed to the tree. The tree was the exact same one that had morphed into the other pokemon to attack me.

Like before, it began to glow, but this time as it shrunk, a silhouette of Growlithe appeared.

"Growlithe!" it barked.

"Huh?" I asked myself in amazement. But I didn't hesitate to pull out a pokeball. "Go, Butterfree!"

My blue Butterfree appeared with a loud, "Breeee!"

"Butterfree, tackle it!" I yelled. My pokemon obeyed, quickly flapping towards the strange pokemon. But right when it was about to attack, the Growlithe jumped out of the way and shot a burst of flames. They engulfed Butterfree, and when they ceased, my pokemon had a very angry glare in its eyes. Butterfree soared high into the air, and then released a glowing powder, which slowly floated down to the Growlithe. The small dog couldn't dodge the powder, and it slowly fell into a deep sleep. But while it was falling asleep, something really strange happened. It began to glow again, but this time formed the shape of a small blob, and when it finally finished morphing, it was a shiny, pink pokemon. I pulled out my pokedex and pointed it at the sleeping pokemon:

<DITTO: A transforming pokemon. Ditto are able to morph into any pokemon or object that they have seen, usually deceiving trainers by morphing into common pokemon, like Pidgies and Rattatas. They only learn one move, TRANSFORM.>

"So, that's it," I said to myself, shutting the pokedex, and then realizing that I was still in battle I yelled to my pokemon, "Butterfree, give it a tackle!"

My pokemon obeyed, and this time the Ditto couldn't dodge. It was hit hard, and it flew back a few feet, but it didn't wake up.

"Ok," I yelled, pulling out a pokeball and enlarging it, "Pokeball, go!"

The red and white ball flew through the air, glimmering in the sunlight. Finally, it hit it's target, and the red beam shot out, swallowing the Ditto with its fluorescent glow. The pokeball shook a few times, but I released a huge sigh when I heard the familiar "Ding!" and saw the red indicator turn off.

"Yes!" I yelled, holding out Buterfree's pokeball, "Butterfree, great job! Return!" I then walked over to my new pokemon's pokeball, and picked it up, decreasing its size. I considered letting Ditto out to heal it, but I decided against it, hearing the faint snoring coming from the pokeball. Sleep was probably the best thing for him right now.

After attaching the pokeball to my belt, I continued on my way through the woods, eager to get to Tourneytown. I soon found the trail again, and started South towards the small town. As I walked, I thought I heard rustling, but I assumed it was just my imagination, and it probably wasn't that important to check out. But my suspicion grew more when I thought I heard whispering behind me. I increased my stride, and soon broke into a run down the path. My fear had taken the most of me and my adrenaline was rushing as I flew past the trees. It seemed like the whole world had gone quiet except for my rushing footsteps. The whispering grew louder, and it soon was in front of me. I continued running, running away from something or someone that I didn't know. And then, I tripped. I hit a tree root and slammed into the ground, opening a cut in my forehead as I hit the ground. I was dizzy, and confused. As I lay there, I heard faint voices above me, and I rolled over on my back to look upward at the source of the talking. Suddenly, a shotgun butt came flying down at me, and the last thing I saw before I fell unconscious was the blurry, red "R".

To be continued…