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By: Des O
****
"All right! Cerulean City!" Rick exclaimed. Normally he tried
to be calm and laid back like Taran, but his excitement was too great.
"I'm gonna get a Cascadebadge!" He started to run toward the easily-seen
Gym, but Taran grabbed him by the collar. She nearly choked him in the
process. Abra chuckled softly.
"Uh-uh. first we BOTH need to get some more Potions and stuff,
then check our Pokemon into the Center for healing, and get some rest ourselves.
Besides, I'm hungry. Wouldn't you like to eat first?"
"Squirtle!" (I would!)
::C'mon, Rick, I'm tired.::
"Uh... you're all right. Might as well. Let's go," he mumbled,
rubbing his neck.
They checked their Pokemon into the Center. Not surprisingly,
the nurse there was named Joi, and she was a dead ringer for the rest of
the nurses. Taran and Rick got some items to prepare for the upcoming battle,
and refreshed themselves before retrieving their Pokemon.
"Good luck!" Joi called after them as they left the Center.
****
As they were going to the Gym, Rick stopped, turned to Taran,
and an unholy gleam appeared in his eye. He picked up his Abra.
"Last one there watches the winner battle!" Rick exclaimed, and
the bolted in the direction of the Gym.
"You cheater!" Taran yelled. She snatched up Squirtle and chased
after her young friend.
****
"I win!" Rick panted. He stopped to catch his breath at the entrance,
while placing Abra on the ground. "Ha ha, Slowpoke!"
Taran reached him, and put Squirtle down. "Only because you got
a head start." She shook her head. "Oh, well. Let's see who you'll have
to battle...." she trailed off as she read the sign on the side of the
building. It read: Cerulean City Gym. Leaders: The Sensational Sisters.
"Sisters?" Rick asked, stressing the plural. "There's more than
one leader?"
"I guess. Have fun, Rick," Taran laughed. "You did win the race,
you know..." She laughed even harder, because he had even cheated to get
to fight first.
He got a worried look on his face. "What if I lose, though..."
He picked Abra up and hugged her.
Taran softened her tone of voice. "Don't worry. Everyone loses
sometimes, and it's nothing to be afraid of or ashamed of. Just do your
best, and you'll have no one but yourself to answer to. Come on." She picked
up Squirtle and carried him into the Gym. Rick followed.
****
They lucked out; the Sensational Sisters weren't performing that
day. They were practicing their swimming routines with a Seel, a few Goldeen,
a Horsea, and a Shellder. As Taran and Rick walked in with their Pokemon,
one of the Sisters turned to them.
Rick spotted her first. Taran was looking at a nearby mural with
Squirtle.
The blue-haired goddess swung her hair easily across her back,
and two dark eyes looked directly at Rick. His own eyes widened, his mouth
dropped open, and he exhaled loudly.
As she exited the water, he fell in love, and onto the ground
as well. Taran turned to see Abra looking quite confused, and Squirtle
checking to see if the boy was still conscious.
She recognized the symptoms. "Get up, you idiot, she's looking
at you..." she said as she kicked him gently. He jumped up hurriedly and
his face got all red.
The other two girls went to the side of the pool to watch the
third. "Is your friend okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, he's fine," Taran muttered.
"Don't worry, I-I-I'm okay!" Rick stuttered, merely adding to
his embarrassment. He hid behind Taran and groaned. She sighed.
The girl was unimpressed. "If you want an autograph, like, come
back and see one of our shows tomorrow. We're having an autograph session
afterwards," she said disinterestedly. "Our manager said it would be good
for our image."
"We're not here for autographs. We both want to fight for Cascadebadges,"
Taran said hurriedly. She didn't want Rick to make a fool of himself yet
again..
"Oh. Okay!" she brightened. "Daisy, Pearl? Help me out over here!"
The other Sisters exited the pool and went to the the third sister.
"What is is, Selena?" the blonde-headed Sister asked. She wore
a red bathing suit that really brought out the highlights in her hair.
"You guys want to battle us?" The pink-haired Sister approached
them.
"Yeah, they do. I'll take the boy."
Rick's jaw dropped. Taran snickered. "Close your mouth before
some fly makes a home in it," she whispered. He did, embarrassed.
"You wanna fight the girl, Daisy?" Selena asked.
"Okay, whatever," Daisy said. She was the blonde-haired Sister.
"You go first."
"Fine. Pearl, you go get our Badges, kay?"
"Kay." Pearl turned and left the group, pink hair swinging slightly.
"Okay! You ready? I'm not going to make this easy, you know,"
Selena warned Rick. She went to a nearby rack of Pokeballs, and chose two.
He gulped and looked at Taran, who rolled her eyes. He glared
at her. "Don't worry, I'm ready," he said.
****
Taran and Daisy stood on opposite sides of the pool-arena to watch
the battle. Selena stood on a red raft at one end of the pool, while Rick
stood on a blue raft at the other end. Pearl sat in a chair at the edge
of the pool, Badges in hand.
"All right!" Daisy began in her Valley accent. "I choose... Seel!"
She threw the Pokeball, and the manatee-like Pokemon materialized on the
raft before her.
Rick nodded. "Drowzee, let's go!" He tossed a Pokeball onto the
raft before him, and Drowzee exited it in a flash of light. The ball flew
back into Rick's hand as the tapir-like Pokemon looked its opponent over.
"Drowzee, confusion!" Rick got in the first hit, and Seel was
slammed against the ceiling of the Gym a few times. It began to moan and
chase its tail in the water when Drowzee released it.
"Oh, Seel, Rest!" The Seel stopped, and fell asleep. Its wounds
healed rapidly, but it didn't wake up immediately.
"Cool! Get it while it's still asleep, Drowzee! Pound!" Drowzee
growled as it jumped into the air and landed directly on the defenseless
Seel. It then jumped from Seel's back and onto another raft. Seel stirred
and its eyes popped open, ready for action.
"That's it, Seel! Growl!" Selena cried. Seel growled menacingly
at Drowzee, causing it to lose its nerve. It hesitated.
"Now, Seel, head-butt!" It knocked Drowzee back, but it recovered
and readied itself for its own attack. Seel, however, wasn't about to let
Drowzee get in another attack. It head-butted Drowzee flat onto its back,
and it stayed down.
"Oh! Drowzee, return!" Drowzee was pulled back into its Pokeball,
and Rick stashed the ball away quickly before picking another one. "Butterfree,
go!" The butterfly Pokemon screeched as it exited the ball and faced Seel.
"Seel, Aurora Beam!" It aimed carefully at Butterfree, but Butterfree
was able to dodge the attack.
"Butterfree! Tackle!" It thwomped Seel but good, and Seel went
down. Selena recalled it and grabbed another Pokeball from where she had
gotten Seel's.
"Horsea, go!" A seahorse-looking Pokemon appeared in the water,
and it sprayed a little ink into its surroundings.
"Butterfree! Confusion!" It picked Horsea right out of the water
and it was thrown about the room. When the attack ended, Horsea merely
ended up hurting itself, and was finished off with another tackle by Butterfree.
The battle was over. Rick had won. And was he ever happy about
it.
"I got a Cascadebadge! Yeah!" he cried, jumping up and down on
the raft. Abra glowed, happy for Rick. The glow seemed to be a psychic
smile.
Rick's jumping, however, caused the raft to tilt, and they both
fell into the water.
Taran laughed as Abra teleported to a spot beside her and Squirtle.
Abra shook herself off, and got Taran wet, however. "Ugh," she said, "Abra..."
::Sorry...::
"Squirtle, go help Rick get out," she said as she tried in vain
to wring out her shirt.
"Squirtle," (Okay) he said, laughing in his Squirtleish way.
A thoroughly soaked Rick was brought to the edge of the pool. He climbed
out quickly and went to claim his badge.
"Nice match, little guy," Pearl said as she stood and handed
it to him.
"Thanks, Pearl." He turned to Selena and said shyly, "Selena,
your Pokemon fought well."
She shrugged at him. "Yeah, but I need to practice some more.
You did good."
Rick smiled goofily and pinned the Badge to the collar of his
shirt, right beside his Boulderbadge. He went and pulled up two chairs,
and Selena sat down beside him as Taran and Daisy prepared for their own
battle.
****
Daisy chose a Pokeball from the rack to the side of the pool.
The Sisters kept their Pokeballs there when not in use.
"Daisy chooses... Starmie!" She threw the ball and a many-pointed
star-shaped Pokemon appeared on the raft before her. It grunted, even though
it had no mouth. A reddish jewel in its core glowed.
"Okay, Chansey, go!" Taran's ball deposited the pink egg-carrying
Pokemon onto the raft before her. It rubbed its egg, and sighed happily.
"Starmie!" Daisy cried. "Tackle!" It spun through the air toward
Chansey. It snapped out of it and dodged the attack just in the nick of
time. Starmie, however, curved in the air and went for Chansey again.
"Chansey! Behind you!" Taran cried. Starmie struck it in the
back, and knocked it into the water.
"That's okay, Chansey, you're doing all right! Pound it back!"
Chansey climbed out of the water and launched itself at Starmie. The attack
connected, and Starmie fell backwards onto a raft, damaging one of its
points. Chansey landed on a different raft, and shook all the water off
of itself.
"Oh, Starmie!" Daisy cried. "Never mind. Water-gun!" Starmie
jumped into the water and swam toward Chansey's raft. As Chansey looked
for Starmie, it appeared behind it and soaked Chansey again. Chansey shook
itself off again, and grew angry.
"Chansey! Doubleslap!" Chansey turned around and slapped Starmie
across the jewel, and it staggered back. Chansey slapped it again, and
it plopped backwards into the water, unmoving.
"Starmie! Return!" Daisy commanded. The red light claimed the
star-shaped Pokemon. "I choose... Shellder!"
A clam-like Pokemon appeared on the raft in front of Daisy. It
wagged its tongue at Chansey, playfully.
"Huh?" Taran asked as she pointed Marina at it.
{{Shellder. A bivalve Pokemon. Its hard shell repels any kind
of attack. It is vulnerable only when its shell is open.}}
"Shellder, supersonic!" All the play was gone from Shellder as
it emitted a high-pitched squeal that made Taran and Chansey both cover
their ears. Chansey blundered around the raft until it fell off, and found
that it could not swim straight. It thrashed around helplessly. "Chan!
Sey!" (Help! Taran!)
"Chansey, return!" She recalled the half-drowned Pokemon, and
pulled a different ball from her belt. "Pikachu, go!" The electric mouse
appeared on the raft in front of its trainer.
"Shellder, Tackle!" Daisy yelled. It dove for Pikachu.
"Pikachu, thunderbolt, now!" Taran cried.
"PikaaaCHUUUU!" it yelled as it released a bolt of electricity
in Shellder's direction. Shellder fell from the air into the water.
"Shellder, clamp!" Shellder burst from the water beside Pikachu
and tried to get a grip on it, but it couldn't quite hold on to Pikachu.
"Pikachu, thundershock!" Pikachu shocked it again, and it fell,
twitching, onto the raft.
"Finish it off! Quick attack!" Pikachu ran at the Shellder and
knocked it clean into the wall behind Daisy. It groaned.
"Chu!" (Yay!) Pikachu cried, happily.
"Oh, Shellder! Return!" Daisy recalled it. "You both got lucky
today," she muttered. She watched as Taran picked up Pikachu, jumped off
her raft, and walked to Pearl. She handed her the Cascadebadge, and congratulated
her as she had done Rick. Pikachu jumped onto Taran's head as she pinned
the badge to her jacket.
"Okay, you got your badge. Now, we have to practice, so the exit
is over there. Please consider using it." Daisy stalked off, dragging Selena
with her. Pearl turned to Rick and Taran.
"Ignore her. You both did great today with your Pokemon." She
laughed. "It was fun to watch someone finally defeat Daisy after all this
time! But, seriously, can we ask you a favor?"
"Anything!" Rick exclaimed before Taran could say a thing. He
got a goofy look on his face, and both girls had to stifle a giggle.
Pearl handed him the Pokeballs that had been used that day. "Can
you bring these to Nurse Joi and tell her they're ours? She'll understand.
Thank you so much, and good luck on your journeys!" she said as she left
them to go to her sisters.
****
"Well... that was interesting..." Taran said. She followed Rick
to the Pokemon Center to drop off the Pokeballs. Abra was tired of walking,
and Rick carried her atop his head for the time being.
"Wow... weren't the Sensational Sisters great today?" he asked
for about the tenth time since they had left. "I'd give anything to go
out with one of them!"
Squirtle rolled his eyes, and Abra chuckled at its trainer. "Squirtle,
squirtle squirtle squirt squirt." (Rick, they probably won't even remember
who you are in an hour.)
Taran translated, and the comment sent Rick plummeting back to
Earth. He got angry, and wouldn't speak to Squirtle.
"Aw, come on, Rick," Taran said. "He was only speaking truth...
Right Abra?"
Rick stopped and looked up at his Pokemon as it was nodding at
Taran. "Traitor," he mumbled. "Oh well, you're probably right. Let's drop
the subject." He resumed leading them to the Center in silence.
****
They put their own Pokemon in for healing first.
"Hey, Joi? These are Pokemon from the Sensational Sisters. They
were practicing, and asked us to bring you their Pokemon for them," Rick
said. He handed the nurse the four Pokeballs, and sat beside Taran.
"Where to next?" he asked. She was checking out her map, trying
to find out where to go.
"I dunno... I guess Vermilion City is as good a place as any...
but the path is pretty wierd. It looks like we go over this bridge..."
She broke off, mumbling.
"All right, then let's hit the Pokemon Mart in town. We don't
know how long it'll take to get to the next Mart, now do we?"
She nodded. "Okay. Good idea."
****
They bought Twinkies for their Pokemon (who knew that Pokemon
would like Twinkies so much?) and some crackers and other stuff for themselves.
They picked up their Pokemon from the Center and set out for Vermilion
City.
It wasn't far until they hit the bridge that was on the map.
They started across, but it also wasn't long until they met up with another
trainer. He blocked them from continuing.
"Hey, c'mon, let us pass," Rick said.
"No. You'll have to beat me and four of my friends first!" The
boy whipped out a Pokeball. "Let's battle!"
"Okay!" Rick said. Taran leaned against the guard-rail of the
bridge to watch.
****
"I choose Staryu!" Rick let out the star-shaped Pokemon from its
Pokeball.
"Beedrill, go!" The boy released the bug Pokemon, and it looked
a lot like Taran's own.
"Staryu, tackle!" The bejeweled Pokemon let out a war cry as
it smacked its opponent upside the head.
"Beedrill, poison sting!" The Beedrill tried to penetrate Staryu's
jewel with one of its enormous stingers, but the shot merely glanced off.
A water-gun finished the bug Pokemon off, and its trainer recalled it.
"Got any more?" Rick asked.
"No. But, I tried my best, so I have no regrets." The boy shook
Rick's hand and let the pair pass.
"That was weird. He said there'd be four more to fight, though..."
Taran looked around for anyone else to appear.
"Squirtle!" (Up there!) He pointed further along the bridge to
a girl blocking the way. Taran and Rick tried in vain to get past her.
"You'll have to fight me first," she said. "And I'm gonna trash
you, kid!"
Rick started to defend himself when Taran butted in. "Who you
callin' 'kid'? Let's go."
"Abra, I choose you!" The Pokemon appeared in front of the two
trainers.
"Squirtle, you're on." Squirtle ran out in front of the Abra.
"Tackle!" He knocked the rat-like Pokemon to the ground, as it had been
standing.
"Abra, confusion." Squirtle found himself being tossed into the
guard-rails of the bridge rapidly. When the Abra let go, he walked around
dizzily.
"Squirtle, water-gun it!" Squirtle shook his head and shot a
large stream of water in the Abra's direction. Fortunately for him, the
Abra was knocked into the railing, throwing it off its guard. "Tackle it!"
Squirtle ran, but fell flat on his face, hurting only himself.
"Oh, Squirtle, try again!" Squirtle launched itself at the Abra,
who was still dazed. Its trainer tried to warn it, but failed, and Abra
was knocked over the guard-rail and into the water. The girl recalled it.
"Diglett, go!" A small mole-type Pokemon appeared from her pokeball.
"Dig!" It rapidly burrowed into the ground. Squirtle looked around for
it, confused no more.
"Squirt?" (What?) He scratched his head until the ground under
it shook. He jumped back, only to have Diglett appear and hit him. Squirtle
was unfazed.
"Water-gun!" Squirtle blasted the ground-type Pokemon with water,
and it fainted.
"You won. Congrats," the girl said. "I tried my best, and I have
no regrets."
"That's exactly what the other guy said," Taran commented. "Can
we go on, please?"
"Sure. You did beat me." She stood aside while Taran, Rick, Abra,
and Squirtle continued across the bridge.
****
They ended up beating all five trainers together, and a young
man approached them at the end of the bridge. He was dressed as a skater,
with wide-legged jeans and a long-sleeved shirt with stripes on the sleeves.
The pants were too big to get a close look at his shoes.
"You two were great! Hi, I'm Ben. Here, I'll give you each a
prize for getting across the bridge together!" He handed each of them a
small gold rock.
"What is it?" Rick asked.
"It's a gold nugget. You can sell it and get lots of money for
it, kid. What are your names?"
They introduced themselves and their Pokemon, and the strange
man shook their hands.
"You two fought so well, I have a proposition for you," he said
slyly. "How's about you come and work with me?"
"Where do you work?" Taran asked suspiciously.
"For Team Rocket! You'd be joining me in the active stealing
section, where we battle and steal other trainers' Pokemon. Whaddaya say?"
Taran scowled at Ben, if that even was his real name. "I got
two words for you: heck no," she said. "I've already encountered some of
your operatives, and they almost killed me and my Pokemon!"
"They did?" Rick asked quietly. Abra confirmed it by reading
Taran's mind, as she had been confused herself. He gulped.
"Yeah, they did," Taran answered Rick. "But we beat 'em," she
said grimly.
"Squirtle." (Barely.)
"Yeah. Sara and Steve. What a couple of screw-ups!" He laughed,
and then went on. "They haven't brought in a Pokemon for the Boss in at
least a month!" He stopped laughing. "Well, are you sure you won't join?"
he asked smiling.
"We're sure," Rick said forcefully.
"Positive? With you guys' talent, you'd make it big in Team Rocket..."
"We're sure, already!" Taran and Rick shouted.
He sighed. "Then you leave me no choice." He shed his costume
of normal clothes to reveal a white set of overalls with a big red "R"
on the front. A black shirt was worn under them, and a white headband completed
the ensemble. He pulled a Pokeball from his pocket. "Primeape, go!"
A large pig-monkey appeared before Ben. "Prime ape, primeape!"
it cried ferociously.
"I'll handle this. Psychic Pokemon are super effective against
Fighting Pokemon!" Rick said. He pulled a Pokeball from his belt. "Drowzee,
go!" It growled at the Primeape.
"Primeape, Karate Chop!" It ran at Drowzee, ready to hit it.
"Drowzee, confusion!" The attack left Primeape dazed and confused,
but it got up and ran at Drowzee again.
"Confuse it some more!" Drowzee ended up flinging it into Ben,
and in its confusion, Primeape beat him up. Ben finally got it back into
its Pokeball, and he was furious.
"Ooh! That's it, kid!" He pulled a different Pokeball out of
his pocket. "Arcanine, go!" A large dog-type pokemon exited its ball with
a mighty roar.
"Uh-oh..." Rick said, eyes wide.
"Marina?" Taran said as she pointed the Pokedex at the Pokemon.
{{Arcanine, a legendary Pokemon. This Pokemon has been admired
since the past for its beauty. It runs agilely as if on wings.}}
"Drowzee, pound!" Rick cried. Drowzee landed on Arcanine's head,
and it winced... a little...
"Hah! Arcanine, Flamethrower!" It let fly with a blast of flame
that sent poor Drowzee reeling. Rick was forced to recall it.
"Is that all?" Ben asked tauntingly. Rick growled, and was about
to jump at the man when Taran grabbed his collar, stopping him.
"No, it's not. Squirtle, it's your turn!" Squirtle lept into
battle. "Water-gun!" It doused Arcanine thoroughly, and it fell down, weakened.
"Arcanine, get up! Roar!" It stood shakily and let out a fearsome
roar. Squirtle instinctively drew his extremities into his shell. When
the roar ended, Squirtle came back out, ready for action.
"Tackle it!" Squirtle tackled the humongous fire-dog, and it
fell, fainted.
"Arcanine! No!" Ben yelled. "It's time for a real challenge,"
he muttered. "Gyarados, go!" The dragon Pokemon towered over the trainers,
and roared louder than the Arcanine had! Squirtle shook in his shell.
"Squirt... squirtle squirt?" (Taran, do I have to fight that?)
She thought for a moment. "No, it's too strong for you, I think.
I'll try something that's more effective, elementally... I hope..." She
grabbed for a Pokeball. "Pikachu, go!" It appeared before Taran, charged
up and ready to go.
"Gyarados! Dragon rage!" The Gyarados began to circle Pikachu,
and it spewed fire at intervals. Pikachu dodged as best it could, but it
still got singed in the process.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" It let a large lightning bolt loose from
its cheeks, and Gyarados fell over backwards. It got back up, and went
to tackle Pikachu.
"Look out!" Pikachu ran to avoid the attack, and fought back
with a Thundershock. Gyarados only got madder, though, and tried harder
to strike the elusive Pikachu. Pikachu was able to escape most of Gyarados'
attacks, however.
"Gyarados! Enough! Show them your Hyper Beam attack!" Gyarados
stopped where it towered and concentrated. Pikachu stopped as well, wondering
what was happening. The characteristic question mark was almost visible...
Gyarados reared back and they could even see the energy of light
being absorbed by it. Taran tried shocking it herself, but it was of no
avail. Her electric attack was only absorbed into the water-dragon.
Vague forms could barely be made out in the dim light surrounding
them all now, but even the light was being sucked up into Gyarados. It
fairly glowed in the dark now, shuddering, and a terrible shriek was heard
as Gyarados turned all the energy it had absorbed loose in Pikachu's direction.
It had concentrated it to the point where Pikachu could never survive even
one blast!
The trainers saw the beam hit something in the darkness, and
then a rumble as even the surrounding ground was shot up into the air.
The attack was that strong.
Ben cackled evilly. "Goodbye, Pikachu!"
"Pikachu!" Taran screeched. The light rapidly returned to reveal
an empty field, a completely decimated bush, and a lot of dirt clouds along
the ground. Gyarados was revealed, and a small yellow lump on its back
was shaking.
Wait... a yellow lump?
"What!" Ben cried angrily. "Gyarados, you stupid dragon, you
missed!"
"Pikachu! Get up!" It looked up from cowering and stood shakily
on the water dragon's back. Luckily for Pikachu, Gyarados wasn't paying
any attention to it or its trainer. "Thunderbolt!" She unleashed an attack
of her own, which combined with the large bolt of electricity its cheeks
emmitted. It caught Gyarados off guard, as it had been recharging. It roared
and fell to the ground, paralyzed. Pikachu was able to finish it off with
another Thunderbolt.
Ben was astounded. "That... little... thing? And... what kind
of freak... huh?" He quickly recalled Gyarados. "You'll pay for this humiliation,
twerps!" He turned and ran.
****
Taran gave Squirtle, Pikachu, and Drowzee a snack, and they all
sat along the water's edge.
"Squirtle squirt squirt squirtle." (I hope we don't see him again.)
"You said it." Taran laid back to take a short nap in the sunshine.
Squirtle and Pikachu each fell asleep as well.
Rick stripped to his boxers and got in the water. Drowzee fell
asleep among Rick's stuff.
As he splashed around, he unwittingly disturbed a fisherman from
a little farther down the bank. The fisherman scowled and trudged over
to Rick, who was oblivious.
"Please stop, young man. You're scaring all the fish away!"
Rick stopped splashing, startled. "I'm sorry, I was just bored,"
he apologized. He exited the water and began putting on his dry clothes.
"If you're bored, then here." He handed Rick an old fishing pole.
"Take this and fish, young one! I'm gonna go and try to get some fish from
off the bridge." The man went away, leaving Rick alone to try out his new
Rod... after putting his clothes back on...
****
"I got one! I got one!"
Taran awoke to hear a loud flopping sound by her ear. She opened
her eyes...
And looked into the face of a large, ugly fish. She screamed
and reflexively shocked it into submission. It stopped flopping, because
it had fainted. She sat up quickly and sighed as she saw it was only a
fish Pokemon.
"Thanks, Taran. I was about to get Drowzee back out and weaken
it myself." Rick grabbed a Pokeball. "Pokeball, go!" It's light claimed
the fish. The ball didn't even shake. It was definitely Rick's.
"I didn't do it for you, and the next time I get woke up like
that I'm gonna shock you instead." She shook her head. "What was that thing,
anyways?"
"A Magikarp. I thought I'd try and catch another Pokemon to finish
my belt."
Taran noticed the old rod. "Where'd you get that?"
"This man came up to me and gave it to me so I'd stop scaring
all the Pokemon away by splashing around in the water." He strapped the
Rod to his pack for easy carrying, and put it on. "Now that you're awake,
let's get a move-on."
Taran grabbed her own belongings and recalled Pikachu. After
waking Squirtle, they set out for Vermilion.
****
They ended up in the forest. It wasn't so bad, but they were confronted
with trainers around almost every bend. All their Pokemon were tired, as
were Taran and Rick. A quick trip to the Center in Cerulean fixed that,
though, and they were back on the road to another badge.
"Hey, look up there!" Rick cried. He ran on ahead, through a
bunch of bushes. Abra hung back with Taran and Squirtle.
::He's found a beach.:: Abra rolled her eyes. She followed Taran
and Squirtle onto the sand to see Rick already fishing. Taran rolled her
own eyes, and Squirtle headed out into the water.
"I'm gonna catch a Shellder! Or a Seel!" he cried.
Taran looked up into the sky. It was getting late. A brilliant
sunset set the sea aflame with color. But, eventually, dusk settled on
the beach, and they had to get a fire started pretty quick. Rick provided
the wood, and Taran the sparks. They set blankets out onto the sand, as
it was a nice night to be outside.
Sleep came quickly to the weary travelers.
****
Taran woke to the sound of splashing, and something snapping.
she sat up quickly, only to see Rick sitting on his butt, holding a snapped
Rod. Beside him was a serpentine Pokemon about his size. It thrashed wildly
on the sand to right itself.
"Dratini dra dratini!" it cried as it flopped around. A half-eaten
Magikarp was near it.
Huh. He must have hooked that Pokemon's breakfast. Oh well...
"Hey, it looks pretty cool!" Taran said. "You gonna catch it?"
"N... no... you can if you want to." He was looking over his
broken Rod still.
"Yes! Pikachu, go!" The mouse appeared before her and looked
at the Dratini. "Thundershock!" Its cheeks sparked, and an impressive bolt
of energy flew from it to the Dratini. The serpent took the shock in stride,
and sent out an impressive blast of its own. Flames engulfed poor Pikachu,
who was sent reeling.
"Pikachu, you can do it! Thunder Wave!" Pikachu was successful
in paralyzing the Pokemon. "Now, thunderbolt!" It shocked Dratini again,
but the pokemon stayed up and fighting-fit.
"Oh... Pikachu, return!" Taran recalled it. "Caterpie, come on
out!" The caterpillar approached Dratini with caution. "Tackle!" It actually
was able to throw it backwards. It flinched. "String-shot!" The Dratini
was encased in a cocoon-like substance, and seriously slowed down.
"Good job, Caterpie! Return!" Taran recalled it. "Beedrill, go!"
The large bee hovered above her. "Poison sting!" It poisoned the dragon
pokemon. The paralysis took hold of it as it tried to fight, and it was
unable to move. "Twin needle attack!" Beedrill was able to hit Dratini
twice, and it finally went down.
"All right! Pokeball, go!" Taran chucked a Pokeball at the serpent.
It was sucked inside, and the ball fell to the ground. The ball shook once...
twice... thrice...
And stopped. the button turned white, and Dratini was Taran's.
"Wow! that was cool!" She picked up the Pokeball, but it disappeared
in her hand.
"Oh man... hold on." She pulled out her pokedex. "Marina, how
do I retrieve a Pokemon from the computer again?" As the Pokedex explained,
Rick turned to the sea in disgust. He threw his broken Rod in, and went
to Taran.
"Congrats." He was mad that the Dratini had broken his beloved
rod, even though all he had ever caught with it was Magikarp. Taran stated
the fact, and he snapped out of his funk.
She finally was able to trade out her Caterpie for the Dratini
from the computer. In a few seconds, she was able to make it appear before
her from what used to be Caterpie's pokeball.
"Hey Dratini. Sorry, genius here must have hooked a Magikarp
you were eating. It's over there if you want to finish it." Dratini nodded
an affirmative, and went to finish off the Magikarp.
"Thanks for breaking my Rod..." Rick muttered. Dratini looked
up from the decimated fish, and apologized.
"Dratini, dra tini tinidra dratini-dratini dra dra tini." (Sorry,
but you would've done the same if I had just stolen your meal.) It slithered
to Taran's side, as Abra translated for Rick. He conceded the point, and
forgave the Dratini.
"Are we ready to go?" she asked the group as a whole.
"Squirt." (Yeah.)
"Uh-huh."
"Dra." (Yes.)
::Yes::
They left the beach on a better note.
****
The day actually passed quickly. Neither trainer caught a glimpse
of civilization anywhere in the forest. The path, although worn, looked
the same from every angle.
"I think we're going in circles," Rick complained. "I'm tired,
we're lost, and I wanna rest!"
"Oh stop whining. We're not lost, see?" She held out the map
for him to look at. She pointed at a spot along a red line at the top of
the map. "This is where we are now." She pointed at a large dot at the
bottom of the map. "This is Vermilion city! It'll only take a week to get
there, too!" She grinned.
Rick fell to the ground, legs twitching. "A... week..."
"Yeah, what about it?"
He jumped up. "There's gotta be a faster way!"
"Yeah? like how?" Taran folded her arms.
"I, Rick, possesed of a superior brain than yours, will think
of a way!" Taran scowled. Rick faltered. "Uh... lemme think, here..." Rick
stood in thought... and stood... and stood...
"Well?"
"Oh, let's just go," he muttered. Dratini, Squirtle, and Abra
giggled.
****
Night fell. The forest was everywhere.
"Hmm... I guess we'd better stop here." Rick said. "It is getting
dark."
"Yeah." Taran sighed. "I wish we had some faster means of transportation
to Vermilion... Hey, did you hear that?"
Something shook a nearby bush. Rick dropped the wood he had been
carrying for their fire and approached it.
"What are you? Show yourself!" he commanded.
The bush rustled sharply, and he jumped back. Taran stepped forward
to see for herself.
The whole bush lifted itself from the ground to reveal a dark
root, and a small face. The root spoke in a high-pitched voice, "Oddish!"
"Oddish?" Taran pulled out her Pokedex and pointed it at the
obviously plant Pokemon.
{{Oddish. A weed Pokemon. During the day, it keeps its face buried
in the ground. At night, it wanders around, sowing its seeds.}}
"That's probably why we haven't seen any all day. You want to
catch it, Rick?"
"Yeah, because you got that Dratini this morning." He pulled
a Pokeball from his belt. "Drowzee, go!"
As Drowzee materialized before it, the Oddish just stood there
stupidly.
"Drowzee, pound that Oddish!" Drowzee almost flattened the poor
thing. It retaliated with a blast of powder of some sort. Drowzee did not
go unaffected, and it turned a bit green. It faltered. The Oddish started
to run.
"Drowzee, confusion!" It banged the plant Pokemon against a few
trrees, and hurled it back into a bush. Rick followed it in, and found
the Oddish to be sufficiently weakened.
"Pokeball, go!" It snatched the Oddish with the red beam of light.
The ball rocked once... twice... thrice...
And then the button turned white. Oddish was Rick's.
"Yes!" he cried. He was so happy. Taran nodded and began to build
the fire.
He danced with Drowzee for a bit after the Pokeball disappeared,
but he stopped, as Drowzee became greener-looking. It sat down abruptly.
"Drow... zee-zee..." (I... don't feel good...)
"Uh-oh. I think you were poisoned by Oddish. Hold on a sec."
Rick rummaged in his pack for a bottle of antidote, which he found
buried under a bunch of other junk. He gave it to Drowzee, and it returned
to normal.
"Drowzee, return!" Drowzee was recalled into its Pokeball. Then
Rick traded the Magikarp into the computer for the Oddish. "Oddish, come
out!"
Oddish appeared before him, a bit wobbly on its feet. It crooned
helplessly as Rick gave it a potion and recalled it into the Pokeball so
it could heal.
"Nice job. Now let's get some sleep. This is gonna be a long
week," Taran said. She spread out her blanket and lay back, eyes closed.
Squirtle was on a nearby log, and had already been asleep for a while.
Dratini had long since been recalled, as it had gotten tired. Abra was
asleep beside Squirtle.
"G'night," Rick said as he surveyed the campsite. He spread out
his own blanket beside the fire and went to sleep.
****
This story is (copyright) Des O 1998. Taran is MY character and may not be used without express written permission from the author (me).
{{ 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.}}