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By: Des O
Taran had just parted ways with Ash and his crew. She was taking
her first few steps into a whole new life, without her mother berating
her and her rival trying to out do her. She had no rivals anymore, because
no one knew who she was.
It certainly was different, for the former Leader of Kalinda
Gym to be back in training. This time, however, it was not Elemental...
It was Pokemon training.
She sighed and sat down on a nearby rock. She was in the middle
of Viridian Forest, with a Squirtle that hated her guts.
Might as well try to make friends now, before I'll have to depend
on him.
She pulled Squirtle's Pokeball off of her belt.
"Squirtle, come out!" In a flash of red energy, Squirtle appeared
before Taran. As it saw her, its eyes narrowed, so she did not approach
it.
"Look, Squirtle, I know we got off to a bad start, so can we
begin again... please?"
Squirtle sighed. "Squirt, squirtle-squirt? Squirt squiiirtle..."
(Okay, but can I stay out of the Pokeball? I like being in there less than
I like you right now...)
Taran only managed to grasp the idea of a hatred of Pokeballs,
and that Squirtle was willing to start over. It would be a while before
she could understand him fully, but this would have to do for now.
"Okay, you can stay out of your ball, if you like." She laughed.
"I wouldn't like to be cooped up in one, either. Come on, we've got to
get through this forest, now." They walked side-by-side through the forest
for a while.
Suddenly, a loud flapping noise distracted the both of them.
They turned to see a Pidgey swooping in to get a few worms from the nearby
grass.
"Wow, a Pidgey!" She pulled Marina out of her pocket and pointed
it at the Pidgey.
{{Pidgey. A common Pokemon in forests and woods. It flaps its
wings at ground level to kick up blinding sand.}}
"Okay, come on, Squirtle. Will you help me catch it?" Taran turned
to her Pokemon.
"Squirt." (No.) It turned away from her and sat on a log.
"Well, with or without your help, I'm gonna catch this Pidgey!"
She turned to it, and the Pidgey was still worm-hunting. She gave it a
mild shock to see how it would react.
"Pidge! Pidgeaww!" It whirled to face her, worms forgotten.
Squirtle heard a "Bzzzt" and turned to see Taran shocking the
Pidgey. He watched the proceedings interestedly. He had never seen a human
use electric attacks before!
The Pidgey rose into the air and flapped its wings violently.
A whirlwind barely missed Taran! She retaliated with a much larger shock,
which grounded the Pidgey.
"Pokeball, go!" She threw one at the bird, and a beam of red
drew it inside the ball. The button on the middle of it glowed red, and
the ball began to shake... once... twice... thrice...
And then it stopped. The button returned to its normal white
color. Taran retrieved it from where it lay, and started jumping around.
"Yay! I got a Pidgey!" She ran to Squirtle and knelt beside it..
"Lookit! We got a Pidgey!" She handed it the ball, and got over the excitement
of her first Pokemon capture. "Whaddaya think?"
"Squirt, squirt-squirtle squirtle? Squirtle squirtle!" (Taran,
how did you do that? I've never seen anything like it!)
All she knew was that he was confused about her powers. "I'm
not from around here, Squirtle. Where I come from, everyone has these powers,
much like Pokemon do."
She stood. "Pidgey, come out!" As the ball hit the ground, the
beam of light placed Pidgey on the ground before her.
"Pidgeaww!"
"I'm sorry I interrupted your meal, Pidgey. Go on and finish
it before all the worms run away," she told it.
"Pidge!" It fluttered to the patch of grass she saw it at earlier,
and resumed eating.
Squirtle and Taran each ended up telling the other their life's
story while they waited for Pidgey. Taran found out that poor Squirtle
had been given to a boy originally, but he had mistreated it badly to the
point where one of the nurses at the Pokemon Center took it from him and
handed the boy over to the authorities. Squirtle had never gotten over
it, and the experience spawned his nasty attitude.
Taran decided to change the subject. "Pidgey, you done?"
It flew back to Taran and perched on her shoulder.
"Good. Into the Pokeball, now, Pidgey." She held it up before
Pidgey, and it pushed the button on its own. When it had been transported
inside, she clipped the ball to her belt. "C'mon, Squirtle." They resumed
their journey towards Pewter City.
****
Nights in this forest sure are pretty...
Taran sighed and stopped in a clearing. It was as good a place
as any to set up camp. She set Squirtle on a nearby stump so she could
roll out her sleeping bag and a blanket for Squirtle to sleep on. He had
been sleeping in her arms for about an hour, though, so he probably wouldn't
notice. They had stopped earlier to eat, but Taran wanted to continue walking.
She had ended up carrying him because he still did not want to stay in
his Pokeball, even for sleep.
She finished and placed Squirtle gently on his blanket. She crawled
into her sleeping bag and was out like a light.
****
Taran awoke slowly. She was still a bit groggy as she sat up and
took in her surroundings.
What? Where am... Oh, I remember.
She turned to look at Squirtle, and gasped.
Squirtle was gone! His blanket was still there, but rumpled.
Where could he have gone?
She inspected where he had been... there were footprints!
Or boot prints, to be more precise.
****
"Squirtle!" Taran yelled. "Squirtle! Where are you?"
She had been following the strange footprints for about half
an hour, and found nothing. They seemed to be leading to a clearing up
ahead. She heard a strange noise, and listened carefully.
Voices! Taran ran toward them.
****
"Ha! I've missed you, Squirtle. I rather enjoyed taking my stress
out on you," a strange voice was saying. Then a THUD, and a soft moan.
It sounded like Squirtle! Taran ran faster. She reached the clearing,
but hid behind a tree to take see what was going on.
Two people in white outfits were standing over her Squirtle!
He was just lying there, and looked unconscious.
No, Squirtle...
They both were facing away from her, but she could still see
that one was a boy and the other a girl. They were laughing at her Pokemon,
and congratulating each other on its capture.
Taran saw her chance, and entered the clearing as silently as
she could. She was doing alright, until she stepped on a twig.
Both people turned around. They each had a large red "R" on the
front of their shirt.
The boy sneered. "Hey, look, it's the owner."
"Give me back my Squirtle." Taran's eyes flashed with electricity.
She was ready for a fight.
The two didn't notice. "Your Squirtle?" the boy asked innocently.
"I believe you're mistaken. Shall we introduce ourselves?"
The girl struck a pose. "Prepare for trouble!"
The boy struck a pose as well. "Make that double!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
The girl struck a more extravagant pose. "Sara!"
So did the boy. "Steve!"
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
Taran was watching all this with interest. She had never encountered
Team Rocket before.
"Now, we want the rest of your Pokemon!" Steve said. "Ekans,
go!"
"Hand 'em over!" Sara said. "Koffing, go!"
"Hey!" Taran shouted. "Two against one isn't fair!"
"Since when do the bad guys follow the rules?" Sara asked coldly.
Damn. "Pidgey, go!" she threw the ball that contained Pidgey
onto the grass, and it released the bird. "Pidgeaww!"
"A Pidgey? I'm so scared. Ekans, bite it!" Steve shouted.
"Ekanssss!" It lunged for Pidgey.
"Pidgey, look out!" Pidgey rose into the air just as Ekans reached
it. Ekans hit the ground hard.
"You'll pay for that," Sara said. "Koffing, give it some poison
gas!"
"Koffing!" it rumbled as it released a thick cloud of gas.
"Pidgey, gust! Blow it away!"
"Pidge pidge pidge pidge..." It flapped hard to raise a gust
strong enough to blow the gas away. It all blew back towards Team Rocket.
They had to put handkerchiefs to their noses to breathe.
"Koffing, sludge attack!" It sent a glob of dark black sludge
flying towards Pidgey, but it dodged it.
"Pidgey, sand-attack!" It sent sand and dirt flying into the
enemy's eyes. They couldn't see properly to attack!
Sara still would not give up, though. "Koffing, tackle it!" But
Pidgey easily dodged every attack they threw at it, now that their Pokemon
were blinded.
"Pidgey, blow them all away! Whirlwind, now!"
"Pidge pidgey pidge pidgey..." It flapped its hardest, and with
Taran's encouragement, it actually blew Team Rocket and both their pokemon
into the sky!
"Look's like Team Rocket's blasting off! But we'll be back!"
Sara and Steve shouted as they flew away.
****
"Good riddance. Pidgey, over here!" Taran let Pidgey perch on
her arm. "You did great today. I'm very proud of you!" She patted it on
the head. "Now, for Squirtle..." she turned to where he still lay. He had
not moved during the whole battle.
"Pidgey, back into the Pokeball, please." She aimed at it, and
the beam claimed Pidgey. Taran walked over to Squirtle and picked him up.
"Are you okay?" She shook him a bit, but Squirtle still didn't
respond. She gave him a mild shock, however, and he awakened quickly. He
was groggy, though, so she set him down to collect his bearings.
"Squirtle..." (Oh, my head...) She looked to the side of his
face, and a large bruise was revealed.
"Oh, no... well, at least I brought a few Potions from home."
She set Squirtle back down and rummaged through her bookbag. She retrieved
a small squirt-bottle that contained a light blue liquid. "Now hold still...
this might sting a little..." He held still until she squirted some of
the liquid onto the bruise, when he yelled.
"SQUIRT! Squirtle!" (OW! Taran!)
"I warned you, Squirtle. Please hold still. It will help this
bruise heal quickly." He grumbled through the entire process but was much
happier in the end. The bruise was mostly gone, and he even hugged her
for saving him from his former trainer's wrath.
"No sweat. Pidgey an' I kicked their butts. We can do it again,
especially with help from you this time." She laughed along with Squirtle,
and they set off again through the forest.
****
That night went without any trouble whatsoever, Team Rocket or
oherwise. Both well-rested, their trek continued.
A Weedle was the next Pokemon to cross their paths.
"Marina, what is it?"
{{Weedle. A caterpillar Pokemon. Often found to be eating leaves,
the sharp stinger on its head is very poisonous. Approach with caution.}}
"Okay. You'll help me this time, right Squirtle?"
"Squirtle!" (You bet!)
"Great! Tackle it!" The Weedle wasn't sure what hit it. It got
back up, though, and prepred to attack.
"Watch out for its poison sting, Squirtle!" He dodged it just
in time. "Tail whip it!" The Weedle was a little stunned, but recovering.
"Pokeball, go!" Taran threw one at the Weedle, and the beam sucked
it right inside. The button glowed, and it shook... once... twice... three
times...
The button turned white again, and it stopped shaking. Squirtle
retrieved the ball for a very happy Taran.
"Yes! We got a Weedle!" she exclaimed.
"Squirt squirtle!" he agreed.
She let Weedle out of the ball. "Hey, Weedle!" she said to her
new Pokemon. "I'm Taran, and this is Squirtle."
"Squirtle-squirt." (Don't worry, she's nice.)
Weedle looked from Pokmon to person, and back again.
"Here. You can ride around on my head for the time being, Weedle."
She picked it up gently and placed it on her head. Weedle cooed. Taran
laughed. She and Squirtle resumed walking.
****
"Hey! You!" a strange voice called. "Come here!"
Taran and Squirtle stopped and turned to see a boy run up to
them. From the looks of him, he was a bug catcher, what with his net and
bee suit on.
He reached them and said, "I will not allow you to pass until
you have beaten me in a Pokemon match."
Taran put Weedle back into its Pokeball so it wouldn't get hurt.
"Sounds fair enough. What's your name?"
"Kevin. Yours?"
"Taran. Let's go." She pointed at the grass in front of her.
"Squirtle, I choose you!"
"Squirt!" (All right!) He took his place on the field.
Kevin threw a Pokeball. "Kakuna, go!" It deposited a strange
cocoon-like Pokemon onto the field.
"Huh?" Taran said as she pulled Marina out.
{{Kakuna. A cocoon Pokemon. Almost incapable of moving, this
Pokemon can only harden its shell to protect itself from predators.}}
"We can crack that cocoon! Squirtle, tackle it!" He did, and
Kakuna was almost squished flat by the impact. Its eyes got swirly, signaling
the fact that it had fainted.
"Is that all?" Taran asked.
"Grr... of course not! Kakuna, return!" The beam snapped the
unconscious Pokemon up. "Beedrill, go!"
"Beedrill!" it buzzed. Taran pointed Marina at this Pokemon as
well.
{{Beedrill. This giant bee flies at high speeds and attacks using
the large venonous stingers on its forelegs and tail.}}
"Great," she said sarcastically. "Squirtle, water gun!" He drenched
the Beedrill, grounding it for a second.
"Beedrill, are you okay?" Kevin asked anxiously. It shook off
the water with an angry buzz. "Twineedle attack, now!" The Beedrill aimed
for Squirtle and buzzed off to sting it.
"Squirtle, watch out!" Taran yelled. He moved just in time, and
Beedrill was going too fast to stop. It buzzed away into the forest.
"Beedrill, wherever you are, poison sting that squirtle!" Kevin
shouted into the forest.
"Squirtle..." (Uh-oh...) was all Squirtle said as it warily watched
the trees.
Beedrill seemed to come out of nowhere as it swooped in and stung
Squirtle.
"Great! Now tackle it!" Kevin shouted. Squirtle was still reeling
from the sting, and couldn't dodge the tackle. He now lay there.
"Squirtle, are you okay?" Taran asked. He looked ill...
"Squirt, squirtle! Squirrr..." (Lemme at 'im! Oww...) He rubbed
where Beedrill had stung him, and winced as the poison took effect.
"Okay, he's yours Squirtle, but tell me when you feel too sick
to go on," Taran advised as Squirtle righted himself and prepared for an
attack. "Now, tackle it!"
Squirtle was only too happy to tackle that Beedrill.
"Water gun it again!"
Beedrill's wings were crushed, and it was soaked. Its eyes got
swirly, as the Kakuna's had. It had fainted.
"Aww... I have to catch stronger bugs!" Kevin said. "Good match,
Taran."
They shook hands. "Good match, Kevin." He ran off and left Squirtle
and Taran alone.
"Squirt...le..." (Oh... man...) He collapsed at her feet, unable
to go on. The poison was taking its toll.
"Squirtle!" She picked him up, and by now he was almost pure
white in color. "I'll have to get you to a Pokemon Center, fast!" She ran
towards Pewter City as fast as her legs would carry her.
****
This story is (copyright) Des O 1998. Taran is MY character and may not be used without express written permission from the author (me).
If you would like to re post my story on your page, please E-mail
me at "TaranGryph@aol.com" with your URL. Title the mail "FanFic Posting"
so I know what it is. Thank you.
{{ Ash, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, etc. are all the property of Nintendo,
Creatures, and Game Freak. I'm just... ah... borrowing them for the time
being.}}