Pokemon: A New Journey

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The next morning, I woke to the sound of a Pidgey squawking in the distance. I was cooking some bacon, but I couldn't cook any eggs because Togepy protested yet again. Stork was still sleeping with his butt wrapped in bandages from the Eevee attack yesterday. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at me.
"What time is it?" Stork asked me in a drowsy voice.
"Umm," I said as I looked at my watch, "about 8:00."
He suddenly plopped back into his pillow and faced the other way. "Wake me up when we're ready to leave," he said.
"What about breakfast?" I asked him, but it was too late. Stork was already fast asleep.
About an hour later, I had everything back and was filtering some water while Stork washed his face next to me. After pouring the filtered water and separating it into two separate water bottles, I fed all of our pokémon and then cleaned up the dishes, with the aid of Stork.
We finally returned to Route 3 at around 10:30 as we commenced hiking to Mt. Moon. It was only about a mile away, so the hike wouldn't take long. It will be getting through the mountain that poses the problem.
"So," Stork said to me, trying to start some conversation as we hiked, "umm. How are your pokémon?"
"They're ok," I said, pointing to my growing Togepy, who was sitting on my shoulder and eating a piece of lettuce, "Only Togepy here is getting a little too fat off of this lettuce. He eats it nonstop!"
"I know. Maybe you should get some of that pokémon Slim-Fast stuff. My dad said it works great."
"Sure," I replied sarcastically, "I'll spend $6 an ounce for that crap. Plus, Togepy wouldn't eat that unless it was lettuce-flavored."
"Ugh," he said with a disgusted look, "Let's get onto another topic, ok?"
After an hour of hiking through small brush and trees, we finally arrived at the base of the mountain. There was a small visitor's center nearby, so we started walking towards it. Plus, Stork really had to go to the bathroom.
In the small lobby, there were several areas to visit. To our left, there was a tiny pokécenter with a Nurse Joy sitting on a stool. In front of us was a small mart where you could buy pokéballs, potions, and other such things. To our immediate right, a doorway led to the actual information area where you could learn about the history and pokémon that inhabit Mt. Moon. As I walked into there, Stork headed straight to the bathrooms, which were next to the mart.
In the information area, I learned specifically about the pokémon that inhabited this huge mountain. I pressed the button that would signal the computer speaker.
"Mt. Moon is said to be the very origin of pokémon. Scientists assume that all pokémon were carried over on a space ship or a comet. It is said that this comet broke into several pieces as it entered out atmosphere. The remaining piece was broken into several parts last year. This rock is called the moon stone, and will evolve certain pokémon. The guardians of these rocks are the pokémon, Clefairy and Clefable, both of which inhabit this mountain. Other pokémon in this mountain include Zubat and Paras."
During the conversation, Stork had come back from the bathroom and was looking at some stuffed pokémon. I walked over to him and looked at the display. It had a small Paras on the ground planting it's mushrooms, while a Zubat hung from above. There was also a stuffed Clefairy, which was holding a small, glowing rock.
As we worked our way around the room, a young girl about our age stormed into the circular room with two small pokémon running and flapping along behind her.
Despite the fact that I already knew what they were, I still pulled out my pokédex at them:
<PARAS: The mushroom pokémon. Paras are known to plant the mushrooms that grow on their back and plant them in the ground, where they grow. These mushrooms are often used in potions and antidotes>
I then looked at the other:
<ZUBAT: A bat pokémon. Zubat use their special attack, LEECH LIFE, to suck the health away from their opponent. They are often found in caves and small, damp caverns>
"Leave me alone, you stupid pokémon!" the girl screamed at the Zubat and Paras.
Stork then confronted her and started talking to her, "Um. Can I ask why you don't want those two pokémon?"
"Because," she started, "they just followed me out of Mt. Moon. I don't want them, I want a Clefaiy!"
"But those pokémon obviously like you. And why do you want a Clefairy?"
"Because that's what I've always wanted!" she yelled, "My professor never had one, so I got stuck with a Bulbasaur. But I've come all the way from Fuchsia City to Mt. Moon so I could catch one. But instead, these two pokémon found me and started following me. I came out of this cave to get rid of these things, but they won't leave me alone!"
"Oh," Stork said with a sly look on his face, "Would you be willing to trade me your Zubat and Paras for a Clefairy?"
"You mean you have one?! Of course I would!" she screamed happily.
"Well, not exactly Stork said, "But I can catch one for you."
I then cut in as I whispered to Stork, "Are you crazy? Don't make promises you can't keep!"
"Don't worry," he whispered back, "It will be easy as pie. I mean, how hard can a small pokémon be to catch?"
***
"Ok, I admit. I was a little wrong. But there's always tomorrow."
We had entered the cave soon after our confrontation with Sarah (whose name we learn later). Sarah had set up camp outside the mountain because she had some pokémon to heal. After hiking for several hours we concluded that there were no Clefairies in this mountain. Or at least I thought that. But Stork was determined to get one. My Togepy had long since fallen asleep, and I had to have Growlithe to light the way with a small flame.
"Stork, it's been 5 hours! And we haven't seen one pokémon!"
"Yeah, but I know we'll find a Clefairy! I can feel it. Why don't we just find a nice area outside of the cave and campout there?"
"Ok," I replied with a sigh, "We might as well. It's getting late."
We soon found an opening that led to a courtyard of grass. There were a few trees and we even noticed another tent on the other side of the small field.
As I unpacked the tent materials and Stork prepared dinner, the people who were staying in the tent opposite us confronted us. Both were in their twenties, but one was a guy and the other a girl. The man spoke first, "Hey, are those pokéballs on you belt?" he asked.
"Yeah," I replied, "Do you have pokémon to?"
"Yep. Hey, do you kids wanna battle?" the woman then asked.
"Ok," Stork said as he inflated one of his pokéballs, "Let's battle! One pokémon a piece. After we're done, my friend here will battle with the guy."
"Ok," both strangers agreed as the woman stepped up and inflated one of her pokéballs.
"Charmeleon, go!" she screamed as the pokéball flew out of her hands and onto the ground. The red lizard looked mad and I feared that Stork might not come out the winner of this match.
"Char!"
Stork still looked determined, despite the fearless pokémon's attitude, "Metapod, go!"
"Are you crazy?" I screamed out.
"Don't worry," he said, "Metapod's harden move will prevent him from burning!"
"You better know what you're doing," I said cautiously as I stepped out of the way.
"Charmeleon, scratch!" the woman screamed. The Charmeleon then squatted down and fired itself into the air, when it was high enough, it swiped at Metapod.
But as the Charmeleon flew through, Metapod dodged out of the way and allowed the large lizard to hit the rough ground with a "thud."
"Ok, Metapod, Hard-huh?" Stork stopped as the Metapod began to glow. As the green cocoon glowed, a figure emerged from its back.
As all four of us watched in awe, a blue butterfly came out.
"A blue Butterfree," the man said as his mouth gaped open, "I've never seen one this color before. It must be rare."
"Do you think so?" Stork asked the man without moving his eyes away from his newly evolved pokémon.
"Well, yeah, I'm sure you could make big money by selling that pokémon," he then said.
"I wouldn't sell it for anything! I've worked hard raising it from a Caterpie and I wouldn't give it up!" Stork said, now looking down at the man.
"Ok," the man said, now stepping back.
"Charmeleon, ember it while it's not paying attention!"
The Charmeleon suddenly blew a gust of fire that chaffed Butterfree's wing.
"Hey," Stork cried out, "that was a cheap shot. Butterfree, are you ok?"
It made a whining noise, but got up and flapped haphazardly into the air, determined to win.
"Alright, Butterfree! Sleep powder!"
The butterfly began spraying a yellow powder onto the Charmeleon, who quickly hit the ground and fell asleep with a last sigh.
"Charmeleon, return now!" the woman yelled as the bright red light sucked the lizard into the darkness of the pokéball.
"Way to go! Butterfree, return!" Stork also did, cautious of his pokémon's hurt wing.
After Stork and the woman left the battle area, the man and I stepped up to each other.
"Ok, same rules. One pokémon a piece."
"Ok," I said, "then I call out Growlithe!"
"Fine," he said as my puppy popped out with a happy yipe, "And I'm using Geodude!"
The funny rock pokémon with arms appeared. I pointed my pokédex at it:
<GEODUDE: A Rock pokémon. Geodude are often mistaken for boulders in fields and many people trip over them. Like all rock pokémon, Geodude are weak against water pokémon>
"Damn," I said to my self, "but Growlithe will do."
"Geodude, tackle!" the male trainer screamed. The Geodude must of been of a high level, because before I knew it he had Growlithe pinned to the ground.
"Growlithe, fight him off! Use your ember!"
My Growlithe complied as he shot a flame right into the rock pokémon's eyes. The Geodude fell back in pain.
"Ok, Growlithe, use your take down attack!" I yelled, trying to take advantage of the opportunity.
Growlithe began running at the Geodude, ready to tackle it at the last moment.
"Geodude. Use your defense curl to block the dog!" the man screamed frantically.
The Geodude was up off the ground and quickly covered its face, or rather head, with his arms. My Growlithe hit it hard and was knocked unconscious.
"Damn it!" I yelled, "Growlithe, return!"
"Good fight," the man said, extending his hand.
I shook his and thanked him.
"You need to work on you pokémon's defense. I noticed that his offence is great, but he was weak when it came to defending itself."
"Thanks," I said, "I'll try to train him better."
"Oh yeah, my name's Brian. And my fiancée here is Laura."
"Fiancée?" Stork broke in, "Congratulations."
"Thanks," Brian said and then whispered to us, "But she can really be a pain in the butt when it comes to pokémon battling."
"I noticed," Stork said with a small laugh.
That night, the four of us moved are tents closer to each other so we could talk together around a fire.
As Stork roasted a marshmallow over the glowing fire, Brian told us their story. He said that they were travelling from Cinnabar Island, in hopes of finding all of the pokémon before they finally settled down and got married.
***
The next morning, Stork and I awoke to the sound of rustling outside of our tent. We unzipped the cover and stepped outside, only to discover that Brian and Sarah were packing up to leave.
As I started to cut up some apple for breakfast, Stork began to put the tent away. Brian just finished packing his backpack when Sarah looked at us and pulled a gun out of her jacket. She then called out her Charmeleon.
"What are you doing?" Stork cried out.
"Ok, listen kid," Sarah started as Brian also pulled out a gun and pointed it at me, "We're not engaged or anything like that. My real name's Erin and this is Jake. We're members of Team Rocket, and we would really appreciate it if you would just give us your pokémon before we have to make holes in your bodies."
"Are you crazy?" I yelled in horror.
"Well, yeah," Brian said with a shrug, "But we really need to get some pokémon for the boss, so if you wouldn't mind, give us your pokémon."
"No way!" Stork cried out. All of the sudden, the large Charmeleon swung his tail and hit Stork hard on his shoulder, knocking him down to the ground.
Sarah then looked at me and said coolly, "Your pokémon, NOW."
"Damn it," I said as I pulled the five pokéballs off of my belt. Stork started to struggle and get up, but collapsed with a sigh.
"Your friend isn't getting up for awhile," Brian said with a sneer, "Let's hope you don't turn out the same way."
"Screw you," I said without thinking. I was quickly greeted with a swift kick in the gut.
"Ughhh," I mumbled as I rolled to the ground. I waited for the air to return to my lungs as I barely heard them talking.
"Ok," Sarah said, "Grab that other kids pokéballs and-" I blacked out as their blurry images faded into blackness through my eyes.
There was no chance on getting my pokémon back. In my unconsciousness, I began to dream about how I caught each one. How, about a month ago, I watched my egg hatch to reveal Togepy, my first pokémon. And how I battled the lone man in his cabin and won the trust of Growlithe. And then, I began to reminisce about how I first met Stork in the Viridian Forest, and when our journey began as we proudly hiked out of Viridian City. Soon, I found myself remembering the battles I have fought in this short period of time. How I battled Flint in Pewter for my very first badge, the Boulder Badge. And of all the trainers that I've fought, and won with. And then of the ones that I've lost to, Like Brian. Soon enough, I found myself dreaming of the traitors and how they had stolen my only pokémon, and some of my closest friends.
But, light began to fill this dream world of memories as I slowly regained consciousness and a figure began to emerge in my eyes. As I awakened, the figured became more clear and Stork's face appeared, smiling down at me.
"Hey, Austin," he said gently as he put a warm, damp towel on my forehead.
"Where are we?" I asked slowly, still trying to realize I was in the real world now.
"In a hospital. You've been out for about five hours."
That brought my attention to how I got knocked out so I asked him in a dazed voice, "What about Team Rocket? What happened after I fell unconscious?"
"Well, Brian and Sarah were collecting our pokéballs when Brian accidentally let out your Growlithe. Well, you can guess what happened after that. Soon, a fire was accidentally started when your Growlithe was roasting the traitors, and the authorities arrived when they saw the smoke. They found us, and we were both put into this hospital on the other side of the mountain."
"What about my pokémon? Togepy, Growlithe…" I said as I sat up, now more worried about the whereabouts of my pokémon than of my aching head.
"Don't worry," Stork comforted me, "They're in a pokémon center, getting some rest hopefully."
I then laid down with a sigh. As a nurse gave me a glass of water, I continued to question Stork, "What about the Clefairy? Aren't you going to get one for the girl back at the visitors center?"
"She's already got one. You see, that fire brought her attention to the mountain, also, so she quickly hiked up to the spot. Anyway, when she got there, there was a pokémon stuck in the flames. She used her Bulbasaur to pull it out safely, and now she has a brand new Clefairy."
"Cool," I said, "but what about the Zubat and Paras? Didn't you want them?"
"Oh yeah. I forgot to mention that," Stork said as he pulled out two pokéballs, "She gave them to me because she felt sorry for us. She said I would make a better trainer anyway. But I had to send my Kakuna to the professor in Viridian. I think it will do okay there."
"Yeah, let's hope so," I said as I slowly laid my head on the soft pillow and opened my mind to the majestic dreams that would enter my head.

TO BE CONTINUED
Coming Up in PART VIII:
What will happen once the gang leaves Mt. Moon? Find out in the next chapter!