Chapter Two

New Friends and Foe

I walked between each of the enclosures, thinking about each Pokemon’s strengths and weaknesses. In Dictoy, the best choice would probably be a Fighting type, but there weren’t any fighting types. Anyway, I don’t much like fighting types.

The second best would be a fire type. That would be Torchic, who still had the hiccups. I shuddered. I didn’t really want to be barbequed.

And the third best would be a water type. The [i] ONLY[/i] water type was the Mudkip who seemed to like me so much.

I sighed, and then prayed to Mew that I was picking the right one.

I strode forward to Mudkip’s enclosure. It had stopped struggling to get out and was now watching me intently. I bent over the enclosure sides, and then picked Mudkip up. It squirmed happily in my arms.

“You had better behave.” I told it. Mudkip beamed at me, and then jumped out of my arms to walk ahead of me. I rolled my eyes as I walked behind it to the stage. It was strutting, acting like it was the world’s top celebrity.

As I climbed up on the stage, I wonder what gender my Mudkip was. And what its nature was like. I hope it wasn’t ANYWHERE as temperamental as Ash Ketchum’s Pikachu was.

Professor Rowan stood in front of me, grinning and holding out a bag. It was a nice, sapphire blue colour. [i]At least I can get ONE good thing out of choosing Mudkip. [/i] I thought to myself. After I had a hold of my new bag, I accepted Mudkip’s Pokeball. It too, was a sapphire colour.

“Thanks.” I murmured to Professor Rowan. “I hope my Mudkip is as nice as yours.” Professor Rowan had also chosen a Mudkip when he had started out on his journey. After he had quit his journey to take up research, he had let his Mudkip, Trita, out permanently. She was a friendly Mudkip, always eager for a pat and a scratch beneath the chin.

Mudkip seemed eager to disprove this point by dousing my face with water again. I wiped the water out of my eyes as a round of laughter went around the room. I glared at Mudkip who wasn’t fazed at all.

“I’ll get you back for that at some point.” I told it. It stared up at me, and then sprayed me again.

I grimaced, and then wiped the water out of my eyes again. I glared at Mudkip, and then froze it in place with my psychic powers.

As I walked back to my seat, carrying Mudkip, my bag and Mudkip’s pokeball, I thought about the life I was about to embark on.

Boiling hot and freezing cold temperatures, ages without having showers, not much civilization and no comfort were the cons.

But the pros more than made up for them. Lots of new friends, new pokemon, fun, perfect days and a large chance to touch up on cooking skills and lots of exercise.

And if I got too starved for contact from civilization, I could always e-mail home with my Poke-Nav.

Professor Rowan’s voice suddenly broke through my day-dreams.

“And in sixth place, from the Janera region, Hope Joye!” Professor Rowan said with a huge flourish.

I glanced up to see this ‘Hope Joye’ and froze. It was the girl who had tried to bully me.

She walked up to the third enclosure with a menacing grin. I had a feeling the pokemon she would be choosing would not be happy with its new trainer.

Sure enough, Hekark eyed Hope evilly, and then sprayed tons of Leech Seeds into her hair.

“Why you little-!” Hope snarled angrily trailing off and into a high scream. The seeds burst and thin green vines erupted, coiling around her arms and sinking in pale yellow creeper claws. They glowed with hungry vibrance as her life energy was bled away with each throb of light. Everyone stood rooted to the spot in horror. None of has had ever dreamed of having our beginning Pokemon attack us! I wasn’t frozen; I was hiding a small, irrepressible smile beneath my hand.

Professor Willow ran up to the enclosure with a look of worry on her face.

“Hekark let her be!” She yelled at Hekark. She had to yell in order to be heard above Hope’s screams.

I looked at Professor Rowan and Professor Elder, they too, were smiling.

Hekark glared up at Professor Willow, and then released its leeching hold on Hope. She collapsed to her knees, drained.

As Professor Willow rushed over to see if she was alright, Hope climbed to her feet.

“Good luck getting rid of it.” She snarled at Willow. Willow looked shocked, and then anger set in.

“Well, obviously Hekark didn’t like you and your attitude on Pokemon. Otherwise it wouldn’t have done that!” Professor Willow retorted. “And if that happens again, you’ll be forfeiting your place to another person!”

Hope gave a glare that was almost a match of Hekark’s glare.

“Fine.” She said, and then stomped off to Yoryu’s enclosure. “I choose it!”

She tried to pick it up, but it was too heavy for her. With a sigh, I glanced at Professor Rowan. He nodded.

I shook my head. I fixed my powers on Yoryu, then lifted him into the air and made him fly over to the stage.

I glanced at Hope; she narrowed her eyes at me. “I was able to pick him up. So next time, LEAVE IT ALONE!”

I jumped back shock, accidentally releasing my hold on Mudkip. Mudkip twitched its orange whiskers, and then jumped to the ground.

With a small ‘Kiiiiip!” It sent out a torrent of water at Hope.

I grinned then picked Mudkip back up as Hope came marching up to me.

“I’ll get you later. And your stupid little fish too!” She hissed. As she marched up to the stage, I grinned at Mudkip.

“Good job!” I whispered.

“Kip!” He agreed. With a yawn, he settled in for a nap.

I resumed my chair. I actually couldn’t remember when I had gotten up.

To cut a long story short, here’s how the rest went:

Nick came seventh, he chose Pichu.

A girl called Amy came Eighth. She chose Qizret.

A boy called Kai came Ninth. He chose Treecko.

And a boy that looked like Kai’s twin came last. He chose the belching Torchic.

Finally, Professor Elder stood up at the podium. “Please note that within the left-hand pocket of your backpack is a Poke-Nav. If you already have one, please hand it back to Professor Willow. There are also Poke-Nav chips in a packet beside it. These will give you a map of Dictioy, the Pokedex for this region and a Radio card. Also note that your Trainer Cards will activate in five minutes, so don’t start any battles until then, because they won’t be counted. I hope to hear that at least one of you has reached the Diamond League Headquarters with eight badges. Thank you for attending.”

He rattled that off in a monotone, which told me he probably had that memorized.

I reached in too my back-pack and withdrew the Poke-Nav. It was also a blue-colour. I drew my Poke-Nav out, and then decided between the two.

I shrugged, and then put them both in my bag. Having two couldn’t hurt. I’d have one for Pokemon Training, and one for leisure.

I stood up, and then nudged Mudkip. “Come on, time to wake up. We’re leaving.” I told him. All he did was turn over in his sleep.

I shook my head again, and then walked for the door.

As I was about to walk out onto the street, I hand on my shoulder stopped me. I turned around to find Professor Rowan.

“Good. I’m glad I got to you before you left. Sam, as a way of repaying you for your help with my research for the past three years, I’ve given you some money. It’ll be on your Trainer Card.” He said.

“What? You didn’t have to do that. I did that willingly, I don’t want to be paid!” I told him, my eyes widening.

Secretly, I was pleased. At least I would have more than $3000, which the International Pokemon League supplied.

They gave you that, hoping you would spend it on Training stuff.

“I know, but I did it anyway. You earned it.” He said with a smile.

“What? For cleaning out cages, washing Pokemon, observing them and feeding them?” I cried.

“That isn’t very much really.” [i]Except for that bloody Growlithe.[/i] I thought to myself.

The Growlithe refused to have a bath, then, when I had gone to get another Pokemon to wash, it had jumped in and splashed to its hearts’ content. Meaning I’d come back and find no water in the bathtub and the Growlithe rolling in a nearby mud-puddle.

“Yes. They’re a lot more work than you know. I had $7000 transferred to your account. So you’ll have $10000 to spend!”

I gave him a strange look.

“How long’s it been since you’ve slept?” I asked him. When he hadn’t slept for a while, Professor Rowan got strange ideas.

The last time he hadn’t slept for four days and then he tried teaching a Persian and her litter of Meowths to swim.

“Last night. So there! Now go!” He pushed me out of the building, and then closed the door.

I gave the building one last look, and then headed for the nearest Poke-Mart.

< Pokemart>

As I walked into the Poke-Mart, I listed the things I needed.

A tent or a sleeping bag was one.

Some new clothes.

LOTS of food and Poke-Food.

And I’d heard about the latest technology from Silph Co. Translators that translated Pokenese, the language that Pokemon spoke.

So, I headed to the technology section first. I was curious about the translators and I wanted to know what Mudkip was saying.

As I walked down the corridor, I looked to my left and to my right. Collars to which you could strap translators. The actual translators, and for some reason jewelry and glasses.

I stopped, and then took down a pair of contact lenses. Want to learn what Pokemon say with their body movements? With these, you can! Then lots of stuff of which I didn’t bother reading.

I looked at the contact lenses for a moment, and then added them to the basket which I had picked up on my way in.

“I way as well use the money Professor Rowan gave me for something useful.” I muttered.

I looked along the say aisle. Rings, nose rings, earrings and bracelets leapt out at me.

I stopped. Maybe I should buy a stud for my right ear. I could get my ear pierced later. I was also supposed to be the latest fashion with guys right now.

I shrugged, and then added a blue stud to the basket. I didn’t often do something crazy. This would use up my craziness for the next two months. Anyway, my ears were usually hidden by my hair.

I also added a magnetic necklace to the basket. If I had any prize pokemon apart from Mudkip, I’d store it on the necklace.

I walked to the nearest staircase, and then walked up to the food area. I picked out some instant food, then added fruit, some vegetables and other stuff to the basket.

Then for my pokemon, I bought a Bottle of Rare Candies, some Pokemon Treats, Pokemon meals, stuff like that.

Once my basket was starting to feel slightly heavy, I trudged back down the stairs. As I left the stairway, a stand caught my eye. On it were badge cases. I walked over and inspected them.

Each one was a different colour. But each colour hade their own set of songs. When you opened the case, it played the song you chose. I picked up the blue one (Did anyone guess I would pick that one?) and looked at the back. It could play the Johto National Song, and some others.

Dreams, With All Your Heart, It was You, Catch Me If You Can, If Only Tears Could Bring You Back, You and Me and Pokemon and Together Forever

I put it down and looked at the others. Some of them had my favorites, but the one with most of my favorites was blue. Why was it always blue? I’m not complaining, but, it is interesting.

I added it to the stack of items in my basket, and then headed down the next set of stairs.

Here was the Poke-Aids section. Pokeballs, Vitamins and Stat Ups were here.

I headed down the Pokeball area, and saw very strange items. Custard Balls.

I pulled it off the shelf and read it.

[i]Custard Balls! The latest treat from Devon Co! Throw one of these to a Wild Pokemon and get it to like you, before you capture it! They taste so good; it’s hard to stop the trainer eating them![/i]

I gave the packet a skeptical look. I added it to the basket. Mudkip or Wild Pokemon would like them. Not me, I hated custard with a passion.

Finally, after adding 5 more pokeballs to the basket, I walked downstairs to the clothes section. I picked out a hooded top, and then added another two like it to the basket. I then got some jeans and shorts. I had other clothes in my bag that would keep me warm.

I finally walked to the checkout on the bottom floor after adding more stuff (Like a sleeping bag and Tent to the basket. By now, I was levitating it in front of me.)

As I went down the stairs, I saw a special stand in front of me.

[i]They just put those where everyone can see them, don’t they?[/i] I asked myself.

I went over, and saw it was a Telepathic Wave Translator. It could clip onto necklaces and earrings. It would enhance your psychic powers and actually give you some if you don’t have any!

[i]Not telekinetic? Can’t control the Kadabra that you just caught? No problem! Just clip this on, and you’ll get psychic powers or your powers will be enhanced![/i]

I shook my head yet again, and then added it.

I walked over to the nearest checkout, and then dropped all of the stuff onto the table.

The woman behind the desk gave me a strange look.

“I hope you can pay for all of these.” She told me in a warning tone.

“I should be able to. Don’t worry about that.” I told her. I leaned against the table as she scanned everything. I was slightly dizzy from levitating things, but that was soon over.

“Ok, that’ll be $9500!” She told me with a superior look on her face.

Wearily, I scanned my Trainer Card in the slot next to the Cash-Register. The woman gave me another irritating grin, and then she jumped as the receipt started printing.

I gave her a grin that matched her own. She glared at me, and then started packing things into bags.

“Do you have a Medical Condition to need contact lenses, or do you just want them to translate Pokemon Movements?”

She asked me, irritation visible on her face. I smiled at her again, and then pulled out the medical ticket from my pocket. I had had contact lenses since I was eleven.

“Here.” I showed the ticket to her.” I’m short sighted in this eye, and long sighted in this one.” I pointed to each eye as I talked.

I seemed to inherit everything from my mother’s side of the family. Including my eyesight. I got that from my Grandmother.

I got my hair from my mother, looks from my Uncle, etc.

When I finally got out of the building, I was weighed down with bags. I sat down on a nearby bench, and then rummaged through the bags until I found the Telepathic Wave Translator. As Mudkip jumped up onto the bench next to me, I clipped it onto the necklace I had also picked out. I put the necklace around my neck, and then jumped as the Telepathic Wave Translator started to work. I suddenly felt my powers enhancing. When they finally stopped growing, I was grinning and feeling refreshed.

“Much better.” I told Mudkip. “How do I look?”

Mudkip looked at me, and then nodded. He was slightly irritated because he had to stay outside. Pokemon weren’t allowed in Poke-Marts for some reason.

“Now, where’s an ear-piercing salon?” I muttered to myself. Mudkip jumped off the bench and started walking towards a shop that has some people going into it. ‘The Jinx Piercing Parlor’. I read.

Then I shrugged again. “Just wait Mudkip; I need to pack this stuff away.” I yelled after him.

Mudkip turned and walked back, as if to say that he was just stretching his legs.

I smiled. “Can you make sure no-one tries to take anything while I’m packing? I asked him.

Mudkip nodded, and then lay down, keeping one eye half open.

As I began to pack I heard a faint snoring noise coming from Mudkip. Is that real or not? I thought.

I continued packing. I was suddenly disturbed as Mudkip shot a jet of water at a nearby pokemon. I looked and saw a very miserable, very wet Eevee. I frowned, and then stood up. The Eevee squeaked as it saw me. It had been standing near the Poke-Food bag, but now it tried to run. I stared at its tail as it whipped around a corner. I shook my head, and then took after it.

[i][b]Mudkip! Take care of the bags![/i][/b] I told him telepathically. While my attention was on sending a message to Mudkip, I didn’t see the garbage can in my way.

BAM!!!! Suddenly I found myself staring at the ground. “Ow.” I muttered, not really wanting to attract attention by yelling.

I winced, and then leapt up. I winced again. I had hurt my ankle when I tripped.

I tried to run, but my ankle faltered and I fell to the ground again. I saw the Eevee running away, still in a straight line. I frowned, and then froze it.

As I stumbled my way towards the Eevee, I sent another message to Mudkip.

[i][b]Hey Mudkip, I don’t suppose you can get a round, circular ball out of one of the bags and water gun it up the street?[/i][b/] I knew he couldn’t answer, so I cut off the link to him.

When I heard water splashing behind me, I turned. And got a faceful of custard for my troubles.

[i][b]I didn’t mean THAT kind of ball. Can you get a hard, metal one?[/i][/b]

From up the alley, I heard a loud “Kiip!” in agreement. I hope, anyway.

I continued to hobble up the alleyway, keeping Eevee frozen in place. When I finally got to it, I crouched, wincing as my ankle protested.

I inspected it, noting some bruises, scabbed over injuries and…

“What the?” I asked myself. I looked closer. The Eevee had a broken paw, one with bone poking out of it. That wasn’t the worst news. There was a purple sludge around the paw. The sort of sludge you would get from a poison type’s ‘Toxic’ attack.

The sound of another jet of water made me turn again. In time to receive a faceful of water, a hard hit on the forehead and pressure enough on my ankle to make it give way. It also released my fixation on Eevee to keep it frozen.

The sound of it running off made me turn my head again and receive a faceful of gutter water.

I got up, stumbled, and then sighed. I lifted my sore foot slightly with my powers, and then ran again. I lifted my hand behind me and summoned the, ULTRABALL?!?!?

I put down a mental note to teach Mudkip the difference between Pokeballs.

“Why did I become a trainer?” I asked myself. “Oh, now I remember. I was inspired by other people’s stories of friendship and courage. They don’t mention having a Hydromaniac for a Pokemon, having Pokemon run away from you and splattering you with sludge. Oh they don’t mention getting injured OR having Pokemon that don’t know what a Pokeball is, even though it’s been in one most of its life!” I continued rambling like that.

As I ran, I scared several street Pokemon out of their hiding spots. Some Nymbis, cloud-like pokemon dodged out of the way, and then followed me, lightning bolts flickering from them.

Rattata jumped from garbage cans they had been looking though. They hissed at me, and then ran off into the shadows.

I even saw a Shahman. I seriously considered stopping to catch it, but Eevee was my main concern.

I was starting to catch up to Eevee when it suddenly wheeled. It jumped up on its tail, and then started sweeping dust at me.

For a moment I was blinded by the Sand Attack, but the dust soon cleared.

When I could see again, Eevee was on its side, panting and looking at me. I walked over to it, and then crouched. I stared at Eevee’s sore paw. It amazed me how it could have run so far with such a bad break to its bone.

“It’s ok.” I said in what I hope was a soothing voice. It was hard to sound soothing when you were having a bad day and you were out of breath. “I won’t hurt you. I want to help you.”

I picked her up, and then started walking back towards Mudkip. While I was walking, I suddenly remembered the Ultraball Mudkip had given me.

I held it up, and then grimaced when Eevee winced. “Sorry, but it will be easier to carry you when your in one.” When Eevee turned its head, I tapped it lightly with the Ultraball. I stood, waiting for Eevee to be sucked in. Nothing happened.

I frowned and tapped Eevee again. Nothing. I let the Ultraball drop slightly so it rested on Eevee. Still nothing.

Eevee looked up at me. “You were abandoned?” I asked her, she nodded, and then looked away again.

I suddenly felt cold. Abandoning your Pokemon wasn’t just immoral, it was illegal!

Pokemon were like children, they depended on you for food and safety.

If you were caught abandoning your Pokemon, there were severe consequences. All of your pokemon were sent instantly to the nearest Pokemon Training Academy. Your Trainer Record was stricken from the International League’s Record and you weren’t allowed to trainer pokemon ever again. That had only happen to 79 people this century, which is a lot in four years, when you think of it.

“Don’t be ashamed, your trainer should be doing that.” I said to her. “I’ll get you to the Pokemon Centre, they’ll fix you up.”

A sudden rustle attracted my attention. I looked up to see the one of the Nymbis I had angered earlier. “Uh oh.”

The Nymbis felt the opposite, due to the large grin that sprouted on what appeared to be a face.

I looked around helplessly. I looked down, hoping to see something on the ground. I saw nothing, and then my eyes were drawn closer to my body. What I saw was the Ultraball I had put on my belt when I found out I couldn’t catch Eevee.

I pulled it off my belt quickly; it enlarged until it was it’s usual size.

Then I did the Pokeball pose I had practiced for three years.

I threw the Ultraball into the air, caught it, spun once, threw it up again then I hit the Ultraball right at the Nymbis.

The Nymbis’s eyes widened. It tried to dodge, but it was too slow. With a small ping, it got sucked into the Ultraball.

The Ultraball hit the ground, and then rolled slightly. It shook once, twice, three times. I held my breath. PING! The red light on the release button faded, letting the button return to its original grey.

I started shaking. I exhaled and then walked up to the yellow, black and grey sphere on the ground. As excitement built up inside me, I picked it up.

“YESSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” I yelled, finally unable to control my excitement. I stared at the ball in my hand. I had caught my first Pokemon!

I executed my throwing pose again, except this time, I got the Ultraball the second time I caught it and held it out. “I caught a Nymbis!”

That earned a strange look from Eevee. She was still nestled in my arms. “What?” I asked her.

She shook her head. “Eev.”

I attached Nymbis’s Pokeball to my belt, shrinking it down to it’s storage size. With a satisfied grin, I set off to where Mudkip was.

When I finally reached Mudkip, there were puddles of water surrounding the bags in an almost complete circle.

I raised my eyebrow. “Lots of people trying to take our stuff?” It was a stupid question, but I asked it anyway.

Mudkip nodded, looking proud of itself. As if to demonstrate his squirting power, he sent a stream of water at a innocent Pidgey which was twenty feet away.

I shook my head. I placed Eevee next to Mudkip, and then started packing again. By the time I was finished, it was twelve.

“Ok, let’s get you to a Pokemon centre.” I knew I couldn’t move Eevee that much; otherwise the bone would come out further.

That was why I hadn’t gone to the Pokemon Centre right away.

I levitated Eevee slowly, stood up, and then gently put my arms around her. Once she was safely in my arms, I started walking to the Pokemon Centre. I looked around as I walked. Comed Town was really nice, not too big, and not too small. Pokemon everywhere, lots of trees and the occasional pond.

When I finally got to the Pokemon Centre, I sighed with relief. I walked in. Nurse Joy was sitting just behind the desk. She looked up as I walked up.

“Yes? How can I help you?” She said, clicking on another window of the computer she was working on.

“Hi. It’s this Eevee. She’s got a broken paw. Look!” I held Eevee up, to show Nurse Joy where the bone was coming out. It was beyond me how she had missed it anyway.

Far, FAR beyond me. Intergalactic beyond.

She looked at Eevee’s paw. “Oh my goodness!” She yelled. “Quickly, give it here. Healtia, get me a stretcher for a canine Pokemon, normal type!” She turned to me. “Why did you let it battle until it was in this condition? Be sure that I’ll report you to the International league! Now, swipe your Trainer Card through the slot there. That way only you can pick Eevee up. Your lucky that we have a Healtia here.” She said as the Healtia came up with a small stretcher. Healtia was the evolved form of Blissey. Blissey evolve when they have enough love in their hearts to love every living thing. That’s what Professor Elm said anyway.

Healtia was bigger than Blissey, but it still had the trademark egg. It still had curls at the side of it’s head, but they were longer. It also had smaller feet than Blissey and Chansey. A cap with a cross perched atop it’s head. The cross was an Aqua colour.

When I hesitated, Nurse Joy frowned. This Eevee DOES belong to you, doesn’t it? Because if you’ve stolen it, I’ll certainly be telling Officer Jenny” She said, putting on the lecture voice my mother sometimes put on when she was telling off someone.

“Oh, no. I didn’t steal her, she was abandoned. I had to chase her through several alleyways before I could catch her. She got me good with a Sand Attack though. “I grinned. I think I was setting a record for smiling today. It was definitely the most I had ever smiled before.

“Did she?” Nurse Joy said absently. She was now typing on the computer. She scanned Eevee, then took her and placed her on the stretcher. “Her old trainer’s data is on the computer. You can look at it if you want to.”

“Oh, I will, I definitely will.” I muttered. I turned the computer around. On it was a picture of her trainer and his information.

[i][b]Name[/i][/b]: Eric Tacyr

[i][b]Age[/i][/b]: 19

[i][b]Hometown[/i][/b]: New Bark Town

[i][b]Poke-Nav[/i][/b]: 06-7492-6642

I dialed in his number to my Poke-Nav, and then wandered off to a private place. I didn’t want anyone looking at me oddly while I was yelling. It was bad enough that some people had been staring at me when I caught Nymbis.

< Two Hours Later >

I was sitting down in the Phone Room of the Pokemon Centre, I was trying to teach Mudkip Paper, Scissors and Rock. It wasn’t going very well.

When I finally gave up, I looked towards the door and saw Nurse Joy walk through.

As she walked up to me, I saw a very familiar, very tall person walk in the room.

“Eevee will be fine. She’ll need to stay the night, that way we can get out all the Poison. In the morning, she can have a drink made from one of Healtia’s eggs. Having one of them can almost cure the dead. She can’t have one now because she’s sleeping. Do you want me to book you a room?” She said, talking as though I was the one hurt, not Eevee.

“Yes. Thanks. Do you think you could check my Nymbis? I just caught it off the street, so I don’t know how healthy it is.” I said slowly. I unclipped Nymbis’s Pokeball and handed it to Joy.

“I don’t know about Mudkip. Do you want a check-up?” I asked him. He shook his head. “Ok then.”

“Ok. I’ll book you room 23. The curfew for the Centre is 11:00pm, ok?” Joy said. She walked out of the room, muttering to herself. As Joy’s pink hair disappeared around the corner, another familiar person entered the room. Katrina entered the room and headed for a Video-Phone, her Frezint still perched on her head.

I wondered vaguely if that Frezint was ever going to leave the top of her head. I wandered out of the room. Mudkip followed me as I left the Pokemon Centre. I stopped, suddenly realizing that I had left my backpack in the Centre. I shook my head, then went back to get it.

As I left the Centre for the second time, I thought back to that Shahman I had seen. I really wanted one. They were hard to find, but they were worth it if you did get one.

Unconsciously, I followed the path back to the shopping plaza I had found Eevee in. Cars, trees and a pond past unnoticed.

The Plaza was still the same. People rushing around aimlessly, a couple of Pidgey’s flying from people’s feet. I kept walking. I eventually walked into the Jinx Piercing Parlor. When I walked out, I walked out with an aching ear and a small, foolish grin. The woman in there had told me I could wear the Translator right away, due to the fact that it was small enough to be called a stud.

When Mudkip saw me, he raised his eyebrows. “[i]A human male wearing an ear decoration? That’s new.[/i]” He said. His voice sounded just like it did when he said his name. Slightly high pitched and loud.

I gave him a strange look. “You obviously haven’t been around guys that much then. If you had you, you-. What?” Mudkip was staring at me like I had grown two more heads. With the way my day was going, I wouldn’t have been surprised if that had happened.

“[i]You can understand me? FINALLY! Now we can discuss nick-names. Calling me Mudkip is like me calling you human, human[/i].” Mudkip said, looking superior. I had never really thought about nicknames that way before.

“Ok. Sorry. My name’s Sam. And as for you, how about, um, Tidal? Tsunami? Rift? Poseidon? Apollo? Artemis?” I was running out of names. With each name, Mudkip had shaken his head. But at the last one, he gazed at me thoughtfully. I could almost see the gears of his brain working.

“[i]Artemis? Artemis. Hmm, sounds good. Ok then, Artemis! Just wondering, who was Artemis? You would have to know who that was; otherwise you wouldn’t have said that name[/i].” Mudkip said, looking puzzled. He twitched his orange whiskers as he thought.

Looking puzzled was a feat for him. Mudkip don’t have many facial features.

I struggled to hide another grin. “Artemis was one of the ancient gods of the Metone Area. Artemis was in charge of the wilderness and was the best hunter in the world. Artemis was generally worshipped by most of the ancient Metonians.” I explained.

[i]I’m just not going to tell him that Artemis was female. If I do, it’ll take longer for him to agree to a nickname.[/i]

“[i]Really? Cool! Artemis it is! Hi Sam, I’m Artemis! I am Artemis, God of the Wilderness! Every Pokemon should fear and obey me![/i] “Exclaimed Artemis, as he jumped onto a nearby bench and striking a fighting pose. To accent the pose, he shot a stream of water straight into the air. Of course it came down again, right on top of him.

“[i]Artemis, God of the Wilderness? More like Artemis, God of the Stupid[/i]!” Catcalled a nearby Skitty. She was sitting next to her owner, a large, rich looking woman. She looked rich because of her Ninetails fur coat. I frowned at the Skitty. She frowned back.

Then I frowned at the fur coat of the woman. Why kill a Pokemon for the use of fashion?

“Come on, let’s go.” I told Artemis. I set off for the Pokemon Centre again. Now I was thinking about a nickname for Nymbis and maybe Eevee. I had already gotten a nickname for the baby in Anticairon’s egg. The baby would either be a Polienix or a Magnetix, depending on the gender. If it was a girl, it would be a Polienix, a male and it would be Magnetix.

When I had gotten the egg, I had decided to either name the baby Hera or Zeus. Zeus didn’t seem like such a good idea now. It was more like a good nickname for Nymbis. So I’d name him Zeus.

And Eevee, what would I name her? Diana? Ceres? Demeter? Out of those three, I’ll choose, Diana. Diana the Eevee.

So, my part was: Artemis the Mudkip, Zeus the Nymbis, Hera or Hephaestus the Polienix/ Magnetix and Diana the Eevee.

Four Pokemon already and I hadn’t even started on my journey yet!

I started wondering if any of the others had gotten any more pokemon yet.

I was so pre-occupied, that I didn’t see the small form in my way until I ran into it. I was fine, I simply stopped, but Katrina was knocked to the ground. I stared at her, and then offered a hand down to her. “Sorry, I didn’t see you.”

She grabbed my hand, and then suddenly I was on the ground, looking at the sky. I blinked, and then slowly got up.

“Ow.” I said. By the time I had gotten to my feet, Katrina was on hers and staring daggers at me.

“What?” I asked her. “I mean it, I didn’t see you.” Suddenly I turned red. “Not that I mean anything on your size or-“

WHAM! I saw stars and then I saw the sky again. [i]Oh great. I’ve found the new Karate Master for this generation[/i]. I thought to myself as my vision cleared.

I knew some self-defense which I had learnt off my Dad’s Machamp, but my knowledge was limited.

Once I had staggered to my feet again, I looked at Katrina again. She had her hands balled into fists and was about to throw another punch at my face. I quickly stopped her by freezing her fist.

“Can I simply get to my feet without getting hurt?” I asked her.

Her reply was to punch me with the other fist. Yet again I saw stars. And yet again, I saw the sky. Then darkness.

I was awoken by the torrent of water from my ever faithful Mudkip. The same Mudkip that had let his trainer get hit to the ground three times in a row. [i]Bloody thing is trained with both fists, not just one.[/i] I thought.

By now, my weekly amount of patience had worn thin. I froze her in place. With my eyes half crossed, I staggered to my feet.

“Can’t I simply talk without being hit?” I asked her, rubbing my jaw.

“No. I don’t like being teased for my size.” Katrina said, obviously struggling to move her petrified body. This was the first time I could get a good look at her.

She was wearing black clothes. Total black, with a black beanie. Chains completed the costume. A total rebel, if you only judged her by her clothes. It was her hair that made her unusual. It was a brownie-blond, but had a purple streak on either side of her head. It was the purple of an Espeon’s fur. It wasn’t the unnatural purple of dye. This purple looked completely natural. Her eyes were a deep, ocean blue.

“Let me go! My Uncle is Lance of the Elite Four! If I call him, he’ll get all the Elite onto you!” She threatened, saying that like she really meant it. I rolled my eyes. Of course, having the world’s Dragon Master as your Uncle would definitely influence your starter pokemon choice. That was probably the reason why she had chosen Frezint

“Oh no, I am so scared.” I replied. “What else will you do? Get Sabrina onto me as well?”

The most powerful psychic trainer in the world was Sabrina, no question. With her mind alone, she could lift up the Pokemon Coliseum in the Oore region. The second most powerful trainer in the world could only lift up the Pokemon Stadium in White City.

“Don’t think I can’t do that!” Katrina threatened. I sighed, and then released her. She pitched onto her face, unprepared to be on her feet. I rolled my eyes, then levitated her again and set her gently on her feet. “Thank you.” She said in a gruff voice.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten those insults about my size.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” I said a smile play over my lips. I was prepared when she suddenly rushed at me. I jumped in the air, aided by my powers and jumped up on a broad branch of a nearby tree. That was a mistake. I landed on a Caterpie’s tail. The Caterpie, in turn, squealed, spun around and sprayed me with a String Shot.

I covered my eyes, and then froze as I felt my arms being bound to my chest. When I was completely covered in white, sticky string, except for my head, the Caterpie, satisfied, sprayed string upwards, then lowered itself down into a bush, then wriggled off.

I looked at Katrina. “A little help? Please?” I knew I sounded pathetic after what I had said before. She goggled at me, then started laughing her head off. Frezint and Artemis joined her. I glared at Artemis. “Traitor.” I muttered.

He continued to laugh at me. I didn’t use my powers to get revenge on him. If I used anymore, I would probably faint soon.

After wiping tears out of her eyes, Katrina turned to Frezint. “Drogan, can you fly up there and see if you can lift him?”

Drogan nodded. With a flap of his wings, he lifted into the air. When he was just on the level of my head, he flew forward and attached his claws to my hair.

I winced as he started pulling on my hair. After a while, he gave up. He flew back down to Katrina and landed on her head.

“[i]You need to lose some weight human.[/i] “ He told me, smirking because he thought I couldn’t understand me.

“I need to lose some weight? You’ll pay for that. Artemis, squirt him.” I ordered Artemis. He shook his head. He and Drogan must have made friends while Katrina and I were fighting.

I sighed again. “As a matter of fact, I’m light for my age.” I told Drogan. He gave me a strange look when I said that.

“So, the kid’s gotten stuck in a tree.” A voice drawled behind me. I shut me eyes slowly. [i]Please, not him.[/i] I thought to myself.

Nick walked into sight. His hair stuck up in several tufts, testimony to his Pichu.

“How’re we going to get you down then. Your Frezint any use here Kat?” He asked Katrina.

Katrina shook her head. [i]Of course, they’d know each other wouldn’t they? He’s the son of Bruno and she’s the niece of Lance.

The must have met each other at a party for the Elite Four or something.[/i] I silently told myself.

“You know, if your Pichu shocked the string, it might fall apart.“ I suggested. Some sticky things lost they’re clinging ability if they were shocked.

A look of unease crossed Nick’s face, then it disappeared as he grinned. “It might work. Of course, Sparx might not be able to shock you. He lets out electricity every so often. Scare him and he might shock you. I hope you don’t mind being barbequed.”

Nick said, his grin growing wider and wider as he spoke.

“Whatever. The sooner I’m out of here, the sooner I can get back to Diana.” I said, then winced. They wouldn’t know that Diana was an Eevee, not a human.

They obviously thought that Diana was the latter, because they both started laughing and making kissing noises. I glared at them, then lifted Sparx into the air with my mind. He froze, then-. “CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!”

I was the one grinning now. They were both on the ground, small bolts flickering over them. I gently brought Sparx up to rest on the branch next to me. Now that he saw what he had done to his trainer and Katrina, he started giggling, clapping and wriggling his feet. I stared at him, then yelled “BOO!”

He jumped, not noticing I was there. He let loose some lightning. I shook, not preparing for the pain.

The cord fell from around me, I fell forward. A stream of water kept me upright. When I had somehow managed to sit down, the water let off. Artemis had kept me up. “Thanks.” I muttered hoarsely.

Artemis grinned, then bounded up the tree, jumping from branch to branch. I watched him bemusedly.

“[i]Come on Sam, time to get down[/i].” Artemis said, throwing me an encouraging smile. I tried smiling back. I slid from the tree and landed on the ground. I looked up in time to see Mudkip land in my lap.

I sudden voice from behind me made me turn.

“Oh, a nerd, a dwarf and a giant. What an odd group.” Nick, Katrina and I turned. What I saw was an unwelcome sight. Hope sauntered up, her Yoryu in it’s Pokeball.

She had a Poke-Translator in her ear too. Apart from that, nothing else had changed in her appearance.

“Don’t you have someone else to annoy? Someone else to irritate. I know someone you could irritate. How about a Caterpie? It should be in that bush there.” I said, pointing to the bush Caterpie had crawled into.

Hopefully she would take the bait.

“No, thanks anyway. I’ve been looking for you. Let’s battle. You’ve had me annoyed ever since you hurt me and then helped me.” She said, staring daggers at me. I quickly checked her belt. Two Pokeballs rested there. She had caught a Pokemon.

Hopefully not a strong one. If it was, I would be dead.

I quickly whipped out my Pokedex and pressed a small white button on it. Instantly, Zeus’s Pokeball was transported to it.

I snatched it up, then stood up.

“You’re on.” I said, hopefully sounding confident.

“Fine. GO YORYU!” She yelled, throwing the red and white sphere toward me. Yoryu came out, blinking it’s eyes sleepily.

When it saw Mudkip, it got into a charging position. It charged, it’s head down, making it so that it couldn’t see anything at all.

It had a natural ability for direction, because it aimed right at Artemis.

“Artemis, use Water Gun on the ground beneath you!” I called out to him. Artemis looked down and released a Water Gun.

As he sped up straight in the air, Yoryu came underneath him and instantly got pressured to the ground. Now it was pinned, I got Artemis to use his next move.

“Use your Tackle from the air Artemis!” I yelled. Artemis sped down and landed right in the center of Yoryu’s back.

I winced, that must have been painful. Artemis landed in front of Yoryu and staggered a bit.

“Use Mud Slap!” I shouted. Artemis stamped his front legs and a wave of mud came out of nowhere. It traveled along the ground towards Yoryu. It finally hit, hurting Yoryu and putting mud in his eyes.

Yoryu roared in pain, then ran towards Artemis. Artemis, unprepared for a quick retaliation froze. Yoryu hit him with a devastating Skull Bash. Artemis flew towards the tree I had gotten stuck in and hit the trunk. When he slid down, he collapsed to the ground.

Yoryu ran towards the sound of Artemis and hit Artemis with a Headbutt. Artemis flew back into the trunk and fell to the ground, knocked out.

I bit my lip. “Artemis, return!” I called. I held out Artemis’s Pokeball. He got sucked in with a red beam of light. I looked at it.

“Great job Artemis.” I told it.

I put Artemis’s ball on my belt, and then drew out Zeus’s pokeball. “Go Zeus!” I threw the Pokeball. When it bounced on the ground, it let Zeus out. It then flew back to my outstretched hand.

Zeus appeared with a flash of golden light. He looked around, and then spotted Yoryu. When he turned to see his trainer, an evil grin crossed his face. I resisted the urge to step back. I stood up slightly taller and pointed my hand at Yoryu.

“Use your Thundershock Zeus!” I said, hoping he would do it.

He used it alright. On the wrong thing. I experience my second electrical shock in one day. As I steamed, Zeus laughed at me. He didn’t see Yoryu coming up behind him, using its Skull Bash along with Agility.

I ducked in time to miss having a collision with Zeus. He regained himself, and then flew at Yoryu, sparks flying from his body.

I quickly flicked through all the attacks I knew. I finally settled on one. “Zeus, use Rain of Lightning!”

Zeus paused, the started to glow. A mass of rainclouds started to build up above him. After the clouds had grown to huge sizes, they started swirling around in the air above Zeus. They started swirling faster and faster. After reaching impossible speeds, they emitted a huge amount of wind. I was blown to the ground, as was Nick, Katrina and Hope. Finally, the clouds released Zeus’s attack. Huge streams of lightning hit the ground, then started spinning along with the clouds. The clouds had still been swirling around Zeus, but now they moved to hover above Yoryu. Zeus seemed to have been unaffected by the lightning as I passed through him. Now the lightning was narrowing in, getting closer to Yoryu. Finally, they struck. The combination of all the bolts of lightning caused a giant flash of light that blinded me. It took a while for me to see, but, when my vision cleared I saw Yoryu on the ground, knocked out.

I wiped at my eyes, they were still watering from the flash of light. I stared at Yoryu, so did Hope. She returned Yoryu quickly, saying. “I hate having Pokemon this weak. You cheated. You and Rowan. He showed you the strongest Pokemon in the group.”

With that, she grabbed the remaining Pokeball from her belt and threw it. I was dreading this moment. What if she had caught that Shaman? Or an even stronger Pokemon?

As the Pokeball bounced on the ground, I started hoping it wasn’t too strong. I got my wish. Out of the Pokeball came a Spearow. I heard a shout of laughter from behind me. [i]That guy laughs WAY too much[/i]! I thought irritably.

I raised my hand. “Zeus, use Thundershock!”

Zeus did it quickly. Two minutes later, it was on the ground. Hope returned it to its Pokeball, and then ran off.

I quickly drew out my Trainer Card. Before my eyes, the amount of money I had changed from $500 to $1500. She had done some shopping, maybe, but not much. She had spent $1000. Whenever a trainer lost, half of their money went to the opponent.

In this case, that was me.

Zeus floated over to me, looking happy. I quickly pulled a packet of Poke-Treats from my pocket and offered him one. He grabbed it in his mouth and floated up to the nearby tree. He sat, or floated, there, chewing on the treat happily. I dusted off my hands, then turned as I felt a hand clamp onto my shoulder.

“Great job kid.” Nick drawled the grin on his face again. “I really liked that Rain of Lightning attack. Very flashy.”

“In more ways than one.” Katrina stepped up next to Nick. “I’ve never seen that attack before. And I’ve gone to every Pokemon League game since I was four!” She looked up at Zeus, who was still munching away on the treat. He flashed a few sparks at her, and then continued eating.

“That’s nice. But I gotta go! Mudkip needs to be treated, remember?” I told them. I started looking for Zeus’s Pokeball. I finally found it, at the back of my belt.

I held it out as the red beam shot out of the ball and hit Zeus. He transformed into the red energy, and then went into the ball. I placed him on my belt, and then took off. When I looked back, I saw Katrina and Nick looking quizzically after me.

(The Pokemon Centre)

“Can you please heal Artemis and Zeus?’ I asked Nurse Joy. She took their pokeballs off me with a frown.

I quietly wondered what was wrong. From the way that Nurse Joy glared at me, I must have done something very wrong.

Hopefully I didn’t do anything illegal.

“Why did you take your Nymbis while I was checking on him? By taking him, you interrupted a very delicate computer program upstairs. Bill is livid and he wants to see you. Immediately!” Nurse Joy scolded. She pointed to the staircase which led up to the computer room.

“Bill’s here? THE Bill? The Bill that made the computer storage system? The Eevee-fanatic Bill? Bill the Pokemaniac?” I gushed out. Bill was famous in his attempts at making a computer program that you could store Pokemon on. There were three computer programs like that in the world. Bill’s program, Lanette, a woman from Hoenn, and Kyle, a man from the Poligem region.

“Yes. He isn’t the only one angry. I’m angry too. Lanette and Bill have banded together to create a better computer storage program and they were testing it in this Pokecentre, but you ruined the attempt by getting your Nymbis.” Nurse Joy told me. “Now, are you going or not?”

I paled slightly. Bill and Lanette hated each other, so they rarely did anything together. When they did, it was usually something that brought technology to a new level. “I’m going. I’m going, but if I die, I’m blaming you.” I replied. I trudged slowly up the stairs. I was most likely going to die a very slow, very painful and very imaginative death.

When I got to the computer lab, I heard yelling.

“Who did that? Whoever they are, they’ll pay. I’m gonna rip their guts out, cut their head off and drag their entrails to the top of Sky Pillar.”

Sky Pillar was a HUGE tower temple dedicated to Rayquaza, the legendary dragon Pokemon that lives in the atmosphere.

Last time somebody counted, the tower was two miles high.

Someone else joined in the shout. “You realize that this is your fault, don’t you? If you hadn’t made the program so flimsy, it would be up and running. But no, you insisted it had to be delicate!” This voice was female, and I presume, Lanette’s.

The other voice had been male, so it must have been Bill’s.

I stopped, wondering if I should go on. I hesitated again, and then stepped into the room. A man in about his twenties wheeled to see me. He stalked over, reminding me of an insulted Persian. A woman in her late teens also headed towards me.

I blinked, and then tried to pretend I was invisible. [i]I am invisible. If I back out slowly, they won’t see me. [/i] Fat chance. I took one step back and was instantly grabbed by Bill and Lanette.

“Were you the one that took a Pokemon while it was being healed with my new machine?” Demanded Lanette. “You wrecked a project that we’ve been doing for a year! Don’t you know you HAVE to go to a Pokemon Centre to pick up a Pokemon safely? It could have just as easily gone to another trainer!”

“Wait. Are you the one you DID take the pokemon?” Asked Bill. When I nodded, he joined in on the lecture.

“Or worse! Your Pokemon could have gone to Team Rocket, Team Fauna or Team Flora!”

Team Rocket, Team Flora and Team Fauna were the three active teams for this region. While everywhere else, Team Rocket had collapsed when Ash Ketchum defeated their leader, Giovanni; it was still going strongly here.

I nodded, wide eyed. They continued to lecture me in that fashion, until I got sick of their hold on me. I teleported behind them.

When they saw me, they frowned.

“Are you finished?” I asked them. The lunged forward again. I stepped backwards and then they were on the floor, staring up at me.

“Lanette, Bill, stop this now!” Said a voice that sounded amused. I looked, and then jumped back again.

Professor Oak, the world’s leading authority on Pokemon stood there. So did Professor Elm, the leading researcher of Pokemon Evolution. When I looked around the room, my heart practically stopped. There stood the five leading Professor’s of the world. Professors Oak, Elm, Rowan, Birch and Elder!