Chapter 3

The sun was well past noon as the town came in to view. Circe and I trotted along next to Kathy while Amber rode, unwillingly, in her pokeball. Kathy had been forced to put her there for fear that I had hurt her and, sense she was unable to get close enough to check Amber, the injury might worsen if she were allowed to walk around.

"Hey Girl! I challenge you to a one on one pokemon battle!" said a boy with blue eyes and dusty brown hair.

"I’m no girl! I’m Kathy and you better remember that name! Go! Cerberus!"

"Totodile, I choose you!" The bigjaw Pokemon leapt out of its Pokeball in a swirl of red energy and I followed suit, gnashing my own set of pearly whites with a dopey grin. "Totodile! Scratch!"

The Totodile lunged, flailing its stumpy little arms with sharp nails on the end. I yipped happily and jumped aside, nipping its tail as I went past. It squawked angrily and rushed at me again.

"Quick Cerberus, Smog!" Again I side stepped the Totodile, but this time I belched out a thick clock of poison gas, causing the pokemon’s blue color to go a little green.

"Totodile! Water Gun!"

"Cerberus, Faint Attack!" In a blaze of speed I vanished, just missed by the deadly blast, and a second later slashed the blue pokemon’s belly. Totodile staggered and fell backwards. The poison had finally taken effect; I could see it in the dile’s stiff movements as it tried to right itself.

"Now finish it with Bite!" I leapt into the air snatching its tail and swung it around and round above my head. Totodile whined and called for the help of its master but none came. With a final whirl, I let go and it flew into the air to come crashing down before its masters feet, not getting up.

"Return," the Trainer murmured dejectedly and fished some paper out of his pockets and handing it to Kathy. With a sharp turn the boy walked off.

When he was out of sight Kathy went nuts.

"We won, Cerberus! We won! We won our first pokemon battle!" She grabbed me by my front paws and began to dance around. Circe darted in-between use with excitement. "Come on let’s get to the pokecenter and have all of you checked up."

Amber, Circe, and I were in another white room. We sat on metal counter with medical supplies and our charts.

"Where are we?" Amber asked.

"A Pokemon Center." Circe said in her usual happy tone, "Haven’t you ever been to one before?"

"No." She said simply.

"Oh there great!" I said, "The nurses are really nice, and they make you feel all healthy, and they give you treats!" I licked my lips at the thought. Maybe some chocolate or some of that nice chewy stuff, or maybe even some shoes!

"Good morning my dear Pokemon!’ In swept a human with flossy pink hair and a white skin. "Who wants to be first?" She smiled enthusiastically at us and then said, "How about you my little Eevee? It says here that your name is Circe! What a pretty name! Now if you just breath out." She put a shiny thing connected to her ear against Circe’s chest and listened. Circe giggled as the Nurse Joy moved the shiny part along her back and up to throat. She then began to feel along her paws and looked in her ears and mouth. When she was done she rubbed her between the ears and held a treat up to her. Circe purred like a Meowth and the Nurse put her back down on the floor where she licked the chocolate.

"Who’s next!"
"Memememe!" I howled leaping onto the table and bounding around. This was fun!

"OK, ok, calm down, Cerburus. My what a clean coat you have. Kathy has been looking after you well! Now just hold still for a minute." She continued to do the same for me as she did for Circe and rubbed my belly when she was done. "Your such a good boy aren’t you?" she smiled, offering a bone shaped candy. I picked it up in my mouth and then jumped down from the table.

"And I guess that leaves little Amber." The nurse cooed. She reached down to the vulpix. Amber leapt agilely into a corner and growled. "Humm…" The Nurse checked her chart, "It says here Kathy got you from a abusive owner." She gently knelt down near Amber, "It’s ok…here have a treat." She carefully extended her hand with another bone shaped treat.

"Amber," I sighed, "she isn’t going to hurt you. She didn’t hurt me or Circe did she? So why do you think she will hurt you?" Amber glanced at me, but didn’t say any thing. She looked back at the nurse, then at the nurse, then at the nurse again. Slowly and carefully she took the treat, and after a moment allowed the nurse to gently check her.

"There now that wasn’t so bad was it?" the nurse said and gave Amber another treat and a pat on the head. "Now let’s go find Kathy and get you cuties back on the rode."

"Nurse Joy are they ready yet?" Kathy was nervously hopping from foot to foot in the waiting room.

"Yes, and they are all as health as can be." Circe and I ran past the Nurse to Kathy’s waiting arms, Amber came too but more slowly and curiously.

"I glad your ok. All of you." She said and for the first time gave her vulpix a loving scratch.