Link to BeginningLink to Pt. VIt was quite late when I woke up. I got dressed quickly, and headed upstairs to the main lobby of the centre. I heard a commotion over by the counter, what looked like two men arguing over something. I walked over to the counter, keeping an ear out for what the men were arguing over.
“This is a rip off!” The man, tall and thin, spoke in an angry tone to the shorter, rounder man, who had his back to the wall. A potted tree obscured my view of him, so I couldn’t discern his features.
“P-please understand, this is a very rare specimen, one that has never been seen in these parts before.” The shorter man lacked any form of resolve in his voice.
“You’ll never find anyone to buy that thing!” With that, the tall man spun around, and stormed out of the building.
“Excuse me, miss?”
I turned to face the nurse, who I’d apparently been ignoring for the past minute as I listened to the quarrelling men.
“S-sorry,” I said, and took my Poké Balls from the nurse, who replied with a cheery smile.
“One of your Pokémon looked like it had a bad fall, but we fixed him up good.”
“Thanks,” I replied, wondering which of my Pokémon had fallen. Swift perhaps? He did have a big fight with that trainer’s Goldfree. The image of the fight came back into my mind, and I grimaced. I tried to forget about that, and decided to see what that man from earlier had been arguing over.
I attached the balls to the inside of my jacket, using the special holsters it had and walked up to the short man behind the tree.
“Hello,” I said to him.
“Hi,” he squeaked, making him seem more awkward than earlier.
“What were you arguing about with that man earlier?” I beckoned to the door in which he had walked out of just earlier.
“I-I have this rare Pokémon that I want to s-sell. W-would you be interested in b-buying it f-from me? I will sell it for $1000”
My eyes almost jumped out of their sockets. $1000 I thought, for a Pokémon too. They aren’t meant to be sold like items. They’re living creatures too. And even so, wouldn’t it be violating Professor Blackthorn’s suggestion?
“Sorry,” I said to the man. “I have to do something.”
I walked back to my dorm room, and sat down on the bed. Maybe I’ll ask Amber. He can help me decide. He yawned as I let him out, waking up from a slumber that could’ve replenished the energies of even the most lax Pokémon.
“So what do you think, Amber?”
“Char.”
“Ok…” I said to myself. Maybe I’ll just go and see what this man has to offer, at least then I can make a justifiable choice. Professor Blackthorn did say it only applied to Pokémon I caught.
I returned Amber to his ball, and went out into the lobby again. The man was still standing by the tree, looking around frantically. He spotted me as I started walking to me, and averted his gaze.
“Hello again,” I said in a stern voice. “Do you still have that Pokémon for sale?”
“Y-yes,” he stuttered.
“Can I see it?”
“N-not here.” His voice was full of concern. “Lets go over t-there.”
He motioned to a corner of the centre, empty of people, not that there were many people in here already. He let the Pokémon out of its Poké Ball, and I saw a golden sheen that rivalled Amber’s own colouring. It looked so pretty, but the colour distracted from what I was actually looking at. When I finally realised my face dropped.
“This isn’t worth $1000” I said, somewhat disgusted. Now I could tell why that man had stormed off probably.
“I c-can assure you it is,” he replied, trying to muster all the confidence he could. “This is a particularly rare specimen.”
“No way.” As pretty as it looked, it was far too expensive. “That isn’t worth $1000.”
“Then, $800?”
“No,” I said defiantly.
“$600?” The man was beginning to sound desperate.
“Still too expensive,” I said. “Goodbye.”
“No, $500. My final offer…” His voice trailed off.
“$500?” A voice said behind me as I turned around. “This is worth much more than that.”
I looked up to see a tall man standing over us, his head obscuring one of the ceiling lights, casting an eerie shadow across his face. He continued talking.
“That certainly looks like a very rare specimen. I would gladly buy it fo-“ I cut him off.
“I’ll buy it.”
I retrieved my money pouch from the inside of my jacket, and handed the short man $500.
“Now the Pokémon please.” I spoke in a somewhat demanding tone. Eager to keep whatever this Pokémon was away from the tall shady man.
The stout man retrieved the Pokémon, and handed me the Poké Ball. His eyes lit up, and gave me an acknowledging nod. I mumbled a thanks, and turned around, avoiding the tall man who made me feel uneasy. I headed back to my dormitory, to gather my belongings so I could continue my journey. I put the newly acquired Poké Ball with the other four in my jacket.
Four? I thought. Last I remember, I only had three Pokémon. The events of the previous night came back to me, and I shuddered. I still don’t know what Pokémon I accidentally caught. I’ll check when I get back to my room I guess.
Back in my room, I took out my Pokédex, and let out the mystery Pokémon.
“Nido,” came a sound from the purple spiky creature on the floor.
“Nidoran Male, the poison pin Pokémon,” my Pokédex recited, in its mechanical voice. “Its large ears are flapped like wings when it is listening to distant sounds. It extends toxic barbs when angered.”
Explains why it heard me, I though to myself, as I observed its large ears. The purple colouration was very pretty, and I suddenly felt a connection to this newly acquired Pokémon, despite having never seen one before.
“You need a name,” I said to it, leaning in towards it, careful not to make contact with it lest one of its spines would prick me.
The Nidoran looked up at me cautiously, but seemed to relax after I confirmed I wouldn’t hurt it.
“Spike,” I said. “I will name you Spike.”
Spike’s ears pricked up at the sound, and we looked into each other’s eyes as if we had known each other forever.
I let out the rest of the team, so everyone could meet each other.
“Okay everyone,” I said to the team of 5, trying to ignore the flailing gold mass I had acquired a few minutes prior. “This is Spike, everyone introduce yourselves.”
There was a short outburst of Pokémon cries, as they all introduced themselves. Everyone seemed to get along, which made me happy.
Amber walked up to me, and tugged at my jacket sleeve while pointing at the flailing gold mass.
I sighed. This ‘thing’ also needs a name.
“I bought this Pokémon from a man in the lobby earlier,” I explained to Amber, and now the rest of the gang, now that their attention had been arrested. “Any ideas for a name?”
The Pokémon all started chattering amongst themselves.
This wont work, I thought. I’ll need to come up with a name quickly.
“Fin,” I said, over the top of all the chatter, but I went unheard. I repeated myself a little louder, but I went unheard still. I was about to shout it out, when there was a knock at the door. I opened the door, and a nurse appeared behind it.
“Could you quieten down in here please,” she said. “We can hear you all the way to the stairs.”
“Sorry…” I trailed off at the end.
“Oh my!”
I looked at her, a puzzled expression overcoming my face.
“That Pokémon needs water if its going to be outside a Poké Ball!” She beckoned to the now still, golden Pokémon.
Without thinking, I retrieved it.
“Sorry…” I trailed off yet again, and blushed, turning away.
“Please come with me, I need to check that Pokémon is alright.”
I gathered up my belongings, and followed the nurse out of the dormitories, and into the main lobby. We approached the counter, and I handed her the Poké Ball, and she strode through the staff door, into the back area of the centre.
I still hadn’t checked what Pokémon that was, so as I waited, I sat down on a chair and took out my Pokédex. I scanned through all the entries, until I saw what I was looking for. It was right at the end of the list.
“Magikarp, the fish Pokémon. It is virtually worthless in terms of both power and speed. It is the most weak and pathetic Pokémon in the world.”
I let out a long sigh. The scammer was nowhere in sight either, he must’ve left after making the deal. I cursed my stupidity over the whole ordeal. If ever I found that man, I’d get my money back. I checked my money pouch, just to make sure I had enough money left to make it to the next city. $800, not much, but probably enough. I’d have to find a way to get more though. I put my pouch away, and looked up. The nurse called me over.
“Your Pokémon was fine,” she said. “Make sure its only released in water, okay?”
I nodded, and took my Pokémon. Maybe I could rid myself of it at the next city. Making sure I had everything, I walked out of the centre, and into the hot afternoon sun.
***
The dirt track was short, but surrounded by sharp cliffs on either side. The Pokémon Centre must’ve been a pit stop for travellers needing to go between cities. I turned a bend, and before me was a hole in the side of the cliff, a sign next to it reading Mt. Moon.
In I go, I thought, and entered the cave.
***
The cave was dark. I’ll need Amber’s light in here, I thought.
“Out you come,” I said as I let Amber out to help guide the way.
We found a sign post, reading “Beware the Zubat.”
Zubat? I thought, it must be a Pokémon that lives in caves. Only then did it occur to me how quiet it was in the cave. Over in the distance, I could hear the faint trickling of water. No other sounds to be heard.
“Lets go,” I said softly to Amber. “The sooner we’re out of here the better.”
We continued walking, not seeing anything that looked out of place, but not seeing anything we expected either. It was as if all the Pokémon were hiding.
We rounded a bend, and I bumped into a man.
“S-sorry,” he said, in a voice I found all too familiar.
So this is where that scammer had gotten to. Now I can probably get my money back.
“You scammed me,” I said to him, trying to put as much conviction into my voice as possible.
“N-no. N-never.” His eyes widened as he appeared to recognise me. He tried to run, but I grabbed his arm.
“I want my money back,” I said again, my tone unwavering.
“I didn’t s-scam.” He looked a little frightened now, perhaps intimidated by my confrontation.
“Do I have to force it from you?” I didn’t actually want to force it from him, but I hoped he would take my threat seriously.
His expression changed as I said that.
“You will,” he sneered. “Go Oddish!”
Odd it was indeed, it looked more like a plant than a Pokémon, with leaves growing out of its head. Or was that its body? I couldn’t tell, it was all one part.
“C’mon Amber, lets do this. Show them your flamethrower!”
Amber snarled at his opponent, before releasing a huge jet of flame. The opposing trainer didn’t have a chance to say anything before the Oddish was engulfed by the fire, lighting up the whole section of cave. When the assault stopped, the oddish was blackened, charred body, no longer the deep purple I had noted it as when it was sent out. The leaves on its head were still burning, at least what was left of them. Their shadows bounced around on the cavern’s walls, juxtaposing with the still Oddish.
The man looked at the body, then at me, and threw a Pokéball out.
“Bellsprout, Vine Whip!”
Amber was able to jump out of the way just in time, however one of the vines contacted with his tail, passing through the flame as it returned to its owner. All of us watched the fire creep up the vine. It was a very strange looking Pokémon too, more like a mobile plant than anything. Regardless of its efforts, it couldn’t stop the progression of the of the fire, and soon the whole Pokémon was engulfed.
The man gave me a menacing look, and threw another Poké Ball.
“Geodude, Stone Barrage.”
“Watch out Amber!”
The Geodude started throwing rock after rock at Amber, Amber trying his best to dodge them all.
“Amber, you have to get in close, and get it with Metal Claw.”
No matter how much Amber tried to get in, rocks got in the way, and no progress could be made. I looked over at the man, who was smirking.
“Amber,” I shouted out to him. “Distract it with a flamethrower. so you can get in!”
Amber showered the Geodude in fire, flames casting shadows that danced eerily around the surrounding walls. The Geodude sat in the centre, apparently unaffected by the heat of the battle. It continued its attack, although slower, probably due to the flame obscuring its vision and hindering movement. Amber circled, keeping a constant stream of flame aimed at the opponent, all the time slowly closing in.
“Amber, Metal Claw!” I shouted over the sound of the roaring flame. Any Zubat nearby would be too scared to show itself, I thought to myself.
Amber rushed in and with a blinding light brighter than the flame, Amber struck the Geodude square in the head with his claw. Or body, I couldn’t really tell which. There was a sickening crunch as Geodude’s head/body had a huge chunk ripped out of it. The Geodude made a gravelly growling sound, but was silenced as Amber struck again, much to the horror of the opposing trainer.
A few moments passed. The last of the embers on Oddish burnt out, leaving only Amber’s tail flame as a source of light. The man fell to his knees, burying his face in his hands. I walked up to him, Amber by my side. I paused for a moment to pat Amber on his head and congratulate him on the victory.
“My money,” I demanded sternly.
The man didn’t move. Do I really have to force it from him? Pokémon battles are brutal enough, I don’t want humans to get hurt.
“My money,” I said again.
He looked up at me, what looked like tears in his eyes. He took his backpack off, and reached inside, pulling out a wallet. He tossed it at me.
“T-take it,” he muttered in between sobs.
I opened the wallet, and counted the money, $16000 in all. This should be plenty for the road ahead, I thought.
“…to sell rare Pokémon,” I heard the man whimpering. “Now I have nothing, no money, no Pokémon, no dream. Its all finished for me.”
How pathetic, I thought. Scamming trainers to make a living. I couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for him. I turned to continue through the cave, leaving the man behind. His cries slowly faded out, and turned to silence when we turned another bend.
***
Whoever dug out this cave didn’t have much idea what they were doing, I thought. Just as I was thinking about how bad the design was, Amber called out. The sound broke me out of my train of thought, but that was good. Another step and I’d have fallen into a pit. Terrible design. We continued around the pit, and around a few more bends, until we were in a large cavern. The path stopped here, but there was a hole in he ground with a ladder. I descended the ladder, helping Amber down with me. We continued through cave, now shaped more like a tunnel than a series of interconnected caverns.
The sound of trickling water was louder than it had been on the higher level. Perhaps there was an underground stream in the cave. My hypothesis was confirmed as we ventured further along the tunnel. It wasn’t much of a stream though, but there was a small waterfall coming out of the side of the wall, creating a pool of water on the side of the path. What must have been years of erosion had given the pool what seemed like considerable depth.
“May as well stop here for a bit,” I said to Amber. “Fin may as well get some time out of the Poké Ball too.”
I let everyone out of their balls, making sure Fin ended up in the water. He at least seemed like less of a failure in water. I sat down, with my back against the wall, and rested my legs. Walking was tiring after all. I hadn’t eaten either, and was feeling quite hungry. The water in the pool didn’t look the cleanest either, so my thirst went un quenched. I’m going to need a water flask, I thought. I searched through my bag, but didn’t find anything that I could eat or drink. I took out the man’s wallet and looked at the contents. Aside from the $16000, there was a gift card for a Poké Mart, and some other card I couldn’t identify. I was about to pull it out and get a better view, but my stomach grumbled with a sound that could have been caused by an earthquake.
“Maybe we should get going,” I said to everyone. “We can all rest at the next town, and stock up on refreshments.”
I called everyone back to their Poké Balls, except Amber whom I needed to help guide the way. I started walking, but a clicking sound behind me stopped me in my tracks. I turned around to see a mushroom moving towards the pool of water. I rubbed my eyes, but that didn’t change the sight of a mushroom making its way across the ground.
“Amber, look at this” I whispered out of the corner of my mouth.
Amber had already turned around, and was watching the mushroom intently. As it got closer, I saw it wasn’t just a mushroom, but a Pokémon as well. Dim light doesn’t help discern objects at distance, I thought. Perfect conditions for eye trickery!
The clicking sound was heard again, and this time I could tell what it was. The mushroom Pokémon was making the sound. I watched it approach the pool of water, then watched it change direction. It was now approaching us.
“Amber?”
I looked over at Amber, who looked ready to fight, despite being in a battle earlier. Maybe I can catch this thing I thought. If it has mushrooms, maybe it can give us mushrooms to eat. I savoured the thought, and concentrated on the matter at hand.
“Okay Amber, hit it with a Metal Claw.”
Amber dashed ahead, claws ready to strike. The mushroom Pokémon didn’t get a chance to react, Amber having disabled it in one hit.
“Good work Amber,” I said, and threw a Poké Ball at the Pokémon. I watched the ball shake, now familiar with the intensity of the wait. The ball stopped moving, and clicked, confirming capture. I put the ball with the others. I’ll take it to the Pokémon Centre and fix it up, I thought.
“Lets go Amber.”
***
We trudged along the rest of the tunnel, which ended in another dead end, complete with hole and ladder to a lower level. I climbed down the ladder, helping Amber again.We continued on, navigating around another one of these pits. I began to wonder where these could have come from. The path was long, but wider than the previous one, but a lot longer too. After another two bends, I heard more trickling water. I could also hear some voices off in the distance. As I got closer, I could make out what they were saying.
“Hand it over, or I will take it by force,” the first voice said viciously.
“Never! I have to perform research on this back at the lab.” The other voice concernedly spoke.
By then I had appeared, and both people looked at me. One of them was crouched on the ground, clutching a pile of rocks. His white coat was stained with mud and dirt. Close by were some tools. The other man was tall, dressed in a black costume with a black cap. There was a big red letter R across the front of the shirt. R for what? I thought.
“Who dares intrude upon Team Rocket’s activities?” The costumed man spoke harsh.
Team Rocket? That was the group that the researcher yesterday had mentioned.
“Leave her alone,” the coated man said. “She has nothing to do with our affairs.”
“What happened?” I inquired.
“I was digging for more fossils,” the coated man replied, beckoning to the tools I noticed earlier. He continued, “…but we were attacked aga-”
“I’ll tell you what really happened,” interjected the costumed man. “This scientist here was digging up fossils for me, but refused to hand them over. Now I’ll have to force them from him.”
The scientist stood up, the rocks still held firmly in his hands.
“I wont let you get away like your partner did!” The Team Rocket man screamed at the scientist, who fell over. He walked up to him, and ripped the rocks right out of his hands.
“No…” the scientist whimpered.
“I’ll be going now,” said the man triumphantly.
He tried to walk passed me but I stopped him
“I said I’ll be going now,” he said defiantly.
This time Amber got in the way.
“Oh? You want to fight?” He looked at Amber, then at me, then put the rocks down. He took out a Poké Ball, and sent out his first Pokémon.
“Go Sandshrew!”
Out came a small Pokémon, yellow in colour.
“Use Swift!” its trainer commanded.
A stream of yellow stars appeared and made their way straight for Amber
“Amber, dodge them,” I called out, but it was too late. The stars struck Amber’s body, opening small gashes in them.
“Are you okay,” I asked.
Amber replied by growling. He seemed fine, I thought. Now what should Amber do, I wonder.
“Sandshrew, use Fury Swipes.”
Sandshrew charged at Amber, baring claws made to scratch.
“Amber, watch out!”
Amber jumped out of the way, only just in time.
“Use Flamethrower!”
Amber shot forth his familiar flame.
“Defence Curl!” The opponent shouted out.
The Sandshrew stopped and curled up into a ball. Its skin must be quite tough, I thought. How to win this, I had the perfect strategy.
“Amber, like with that Geodude, keep at it and claw it when you get in close!”
Amber approached the curled Sandshrew, and for the second time today, struck a Pokémon with his claws. The flame stopped as the now familiar white light appeared. There was a squeal and I could see a gash in the back of the Sandshrew. It turned around to face Amber, but he struck it again, this time in the face. There was an earsplitting scream as the Sandshrew keeled over, clutching its face. Amber stopped the assault, apparently satisfied it had won.
“Amber, don’t stop,” I said. “This battle wont be over until the opponent can’t make any move whatsoever.”
Hearing this, Amber continued clawing away, until the screams stopped. He stepped back, now satisfied the Sandshrew wouldn’t get back up. I would’ve been surprised had it gotten back up too. Its face was indistinguishable from before Amber’s attack. I wouldn’t really call it a face anymore, more like a mangled mess of flesh and bone. Amber looked at me and smiled. I tried to smile back, but it wasn’t easy when you could see still fresh blood on your Pokémon.
“Oh my…” I heard the scientist say. I had forgotten he was still here, watching the battle unfold. A look of horror and curiosity covered his face.
The Team Rocket man grunted. He only appeared annoyed.
“Zubat, you’re my last, make sure you defeat this trainer!”
Zubat. That’s the Pokémon the sign near the entrance to this cave warned me about. I’d better be careful.
The Zubat let out a high pitched cry. It reverberated off the walls, amplifying the sound to the point I had to cover my ears. Amber seemed unaffected.
“Use Supersonic!”
Hearing his trainer’s command, Zubat let out the most earsplitting cry I’d ever heard, even after covering my ears. Even Amber had to cover his ears. I couldn’t think, the sound was too loud. Amber wouldn’t be able to hear me over this din either. Now I could see Amber covering his ears, and looking around in confusion. The opponent’s mouth was moving, but I heard nothing. I felt something fall on my head, and instinctually looked up. Some of the ceiling had broken off into a fine powder and sprinkled itself on my head. I stepped out of the way, and a few moment later, it fell silent. A rock had dislodged itself from the ceiling, landing on the Zubat and crushing it.
The Team Rocket man, not sensing his defeat, ran towards the rocks, and picked them up before trying to run away.
“Stop!” I called out to him.
Amber got to him and slashed at his arm, cutting a deep gash into it. He dropped the rocks and fell over. I walked up to him and picked up the rocks.
“You wont get away this time,” I said to him.
He rolled over and clutched the wound on his arm. I could see it bleeding through his hand.
“I’ll report this to my boss,” he said. He stood up and started walking away, but didn’t get far before he fell over again, passed out this time.
They are a crime syndicate, I thought. I walked over to the scientist, who was inspecting the gross mess on the ground that used to be a Sandshrew.
“Here,” I said, as I handed him the rocks.
His eyes widened as I gave them to him.
“Thank you!” He said, delighted. “Actually, I’ll give you one of these. Inside it should be a fossil of an extinct Pokémon. We are still creating the technology to resurrect them, but when we have it, these will become extremely rare Pokémon! Here, take this one.”
He handed me one of the rocks, which I took with some scepticism, although still put inside my bag. I couldn’t really see why a scientist would lie about something like this, especially to someone that stopped them from being thieved upon. I thanked him for the rock.
“Stop by Pewter Museum some day, hopefully by then we will have the technology ready. I hope to see you in the future. What is your name, so that I may remember?”
“Lavender,” I replied.
“I shall remember that name, and I look forward to seeing you bring this fossil to life.”
He motioned to my bag where the fossil was stored. I nodded in appreciation.
“Goodbye,” I said. I retrieved Amber, thinking it best he stay in his ball for the rest of the journey.
The scientist began gathering his equipment, humming a tune to himself. I turned and continued my path through the cave.
***
After navigating around yet another pit, I encountered a ladder. I climbed it, and found myself in a narrow tunnel. This one was short, but there was a small pool off to the side with crystal clear water. I stopped to take a breather, and a small drink. The water was very refreshing, but I only stayed there a few moments before moving on. I didn’t want to spend any longer in this cave. I ascended the ladder at the end, and found myself in another near identical tunnel, but time I could see a light off in the distant. I ran over to the light, knowing my adventure through this cave was almost at an end.
I burst through the exit of the cave and jumped onto the grass. Sunlight filled my vision, and it took a few moments for my eyes to correct themselves. I could feel the warmth spreading over my body, and a new energy took over me. I closed my eyes and smelled the scent of nearby flowers. I lay on the ground like this for a few minutes before opening my eyes and sitting up. I pulled the map out of my my bag, and checked my position. Cerulean City wasn’t far now. I folded the map back up and put it in my bag. Standing up, I set my sights in the direction my shadow was pointing, and started walking to my next destination.
Link To Pt. VII (Not Yet Done)
