Pokemon OceanBlue

[EmilyAnnCoons 7]

Behold! For the first time in my entire story posting "career" on this site...a table of contents! Now you can click links so that you can read each chapter...makes it easier, so you don't have to skip through post after post trying to find the next chapter >>;; If a chapter has no link (other then chapter 1) it means it isn't posted yet. This table of contents is simply what is currently all written out. I will be posting slowly, allowing time for people to comment between chapters. Anyway, here it is!

 

Book 1: The Legendary Mew

Chapter 1: The Chosen Ones

Chapter 2: Catch and Battle

Chapter 3: Team Rocket

Chapter 4: Of Beedrills and Bug Pokemon

Chapter 5: Of Bug Catchers and Dreams

Chapter 6: The Dual Duel of Twins

Chapter 7: Gym Leader Slate

Chapter 8: Magma Trainers and a Revealed Dream of Sorrow

Chapter 9: The Electric-Type Human

 

Chapter 1: The Chosen Ones

 

The Kanto Region, one of many places where Pocket Monsters, or Pokémon, exist. The amount of different Pokémon species is unknown. It could be any number. The Kanto Region, however, is home to 150 different types. They rank from small to large, grass to rock, electric to ghosts themselves.

 

A golden sun rises over the calm waters of Pallet Bay. The morning mist clears, leaving sparkles of dew on the soft, green grass. Today was the day that the boys and girls of Pallet Town had been waiting for; the day they began their journeys as Pokemon trainers. Only three would be selected; the rest would have to wait another year. Kiai didn't even manage to sleep, so he was waiting outside Professor Oak’s lab since long before the Pidgey's began singing. As he gazed upon the peaceful colors on the ocean horizon, for which Pallet Town got its name, the stillness was broken by the sound of approaching footsteps. Only one girl could match Kiai's eagerness.

 

She was a beautiful young woman, no older then 13. Fairly tall for her age, she wore a simple cyan halter top, along with a white mini skirt. She had long brown hair, about waist length. Her eyes were a very beautiful, almost crystal blue color, and she wore a small, golden locket. Her shoes were rather dull in color, being a simple shade of red and nothing more. She had a brown purse strapped across her shoulder, which went from her left shoulder to her right hip. She walked up to where Kiai was standing, her hands clasped together behind her back as she skipped and turned to look at Professor Oak's place. This was Emily.

 

Kiai could hear the determination in the footsteps on the gravel path. He didn't need to turn around to know that his rival was just behind him, but he couldn't turn his deep, brown eyes away from his friend. He turned and smiled at her. He wore a simple white t-shirt and jean shorts, and a worn-out pair of sandals. Across his shoulder was a simple black backpack, and on his belt were six old, empty pokeballs which he had gotten from his brother. He tossed his long black pony tail over his shoulder as he turned around. “Good morning, Emily. What brings you here?” he spoke, with a casual grin.

 

Emily giggled. “You know plain well what I'm doing here, Kiai. I'm going to be one of the three chosen to get my very first pokemon.” She closed her eyes. “It's just going to be so much fun! I can just imagine it.” She pulled her hands up against her cheek and blushed a little. She was obviously fantasizing what she was planning. This, however, was something Kiai dealt with all the time with her.

 

“Well…” said Kiai, and Emily knew what was coming before he even continued. His level-headedness often clashed with her outgoing personality. “…you and I won't be the only candidates. There are a lot of talented people here.” He gave her a very adult look, a strange thing coming from someone only one year older than her. As Emily rolled her eyes and turned away, Kiai gazed back upon the sun, and the tone in his voice slipped a little. “Of course, if only one of us is chosen…”

 

Emily looked down, almost sad at the thought. “If only one of us is chosen...then one would go, leaving the other behind...” While Kiai was her rival, he was also her friend, and Emily had no desire to lose that just because only one of them was chosen. “Maybe...if only one of us is chosen...we can still go together?” she asked, but she didn't look up.

 

Kiai smiled. “If you're chosen, I'm kicking your ass out. If I'm chosen…I'm staying here until you get picked.” He walked over to Emily, and she looked up at him. He smiled at her, and spoke, “It's just going to be so much fun.”

 

Emily smiled. “You’re such a nice person, Kiai.” She turned and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight. The two were nothing more then friends, though the way Emily acted one might think otherwise. Still, it was how Emily acted, and Kiai was somewhat used to it, having her act this way their whole lives that they had known each other. However, sometimes he still got a little nervous when she randomly hugged him, and almost always did when she tried to snuggle against him, as she now seemed to be doing.

 

Kiai never was positive where his relationship with Emily was going, but he knew that they would be together forever. Despite being nervous, he knew what this day could mean for them. He wrapped his arms around his friend, and held her tight. The thought that they could be separated today was something he had, up until that point, managed to ignore. But now, his heart ached.

 

Emily continued to snuggle herself against Kiai. Tears were now forming in her eyes. The thought of being separated from him was something she didn't want. She wanted to stay with him, no matter what. She was, however, only able to snuggle a moment more before the door to Oak's lab opened and his assistant walked out. He had his eyes closed, a happy look on his face.

 

“Hello, everyone,” the assistant spoke. “Professor Oak is waiting inside for the three people who will be picked as Pokemon trainers today.” Emily looked up and quickly broke from the hug. She quickly wiped her eyes and switched to a rather nervous emotion now. Her mind was racing with multiple possibilities, but only one of them was what she hoped would come to pass.

 

Kiai looked around. The sun was shining and the birds were singing, but other than that, it was complete stillness. “Three people?” he spoke, “but there are only two of us. Where's everyone else?”

 

The assistant walked forward, and now actually opened his eyes, as he had been, somehow, walking without his eyes open. He blinked at the sight of only two wanna-be trainers. He had the same question Kiai had. “Where is everyone?” He looked at Kiai and Emily, then sighed. “Well, since you're both here. You two might as well come in. We'll wait a bit to see if anyone else shows up before we announce you two as trainers...but others should have been here by now.” The assistant turned away from them. “Come with me, you two.”

 

Kiai nodded toward Emily. “After you.” he spoke. They followed the assistant up to the lab, where they were led into a large waiting room. There were pokemon shaped cookies and a pitcher of milk on the table, which Emily immediately began helping herself to. Kiai sat down on a large, fluffy chair and closed his eyes, again forgetting how Emily enjoyed taking advantage of him while he meditated.

 

“Hey, Kiai,” Emily spoke, turning around to look at him. One cookie lied in her hand, a glass of milk in her other hand, and a second cookie hung from her mouth. She blinked a little, seeing Kiai was meditating. She grabbed the cookie out of her mouth using her hand that held the other cookie. “Figures...” she spoke to herself in a low voice. She set her cookies and milk down, then walked over to Kiai. She first poked him in the head a couple times, but that did nothing, as it never did. She then sighed and walked next to him. She poked him a couple more times, then thought for a moment, wondering what to do.

 

From somewhere else in the lab, a door opened and the sounds of chatter filled the area. Kiai's eyes darted open, and he stood up so quick Emily fell backwards into a chair, giving an “oof!” Kiai had recognized one of the voices at once. The voice he never wanted to hear again, but knew he would never get away from it. Alex had come. The pretentious prick who had been making life a living hell for almost as long as Kiai and Emily had been together had come to make himself a Pokemon trainer.

 

Emily blinked a little at Kiai. She had only seen Kiai with the look on his face at certain times, and each one involved Alex. She stood to her feet, her face changing to an almost angry look. She heard Alex's voice, and knew he was coming. “Why does HE want to become a trainer?” she asked, stomping her foot, and placing her hands on her hips. “He'd be no good at it. He'd just treat his Pokemon badly...He's nothing but a big bully, and that's all he'll be to his pokemon.” It only took a moment more, though, before Alex entered the lab, looking at Emily. She could now tell he had heard her, but she didn't care.

 

Alex approached Emily, the young boys and girls who followed him (and who had also come to try their luck) had gone silent. “Care to repeat that, little girl?”

 

Kiai pushed Emily back onto the chair and she once again gave an “oof.” Kiai then stood between her and Alex. No sooner had he, though, then the lab assistant came into the room. Emily quickly stood to her feet and straightened out her halter top and miniskirt as to look presentable.

 

“Ah ha! I see we're all here,” the assistant spoke. “Come, Professor Oak will see you now.”

 

The assistant turned, and Kiai spat a whispered “She's right, you know” at Alex, before they all walked out of the room to meet their destiny.

 

Emily walked right up to Kiai, now walking in perfect step with him to stay right next to him. “I hate him,” she whispered to Kiai.

 

Kiai whispered back, “You know those moments where everything falls into place?” Emily gave him a confused look, but he didn't look back. Something in his gut told him that he was getting on the ride of his life. The assistant took them down a long, wide hall, then through a set of swinging double doors. Inside was Professor Oak, standing next to a table, and on it were three pokeballs and three pokedexes.

 

As they crowded into the room, Oak spoke up, “Gather 'round here, children! The moment has finally come! You've all trained and studied hard for this, but only three of you will be chosen. Are you all ready?! Good!” Oaks eyes twinkled as he looked over the small crowd of eager, young faces. “I'm sure you all know how it goes. Inside these pokeballs are either a Squirtle, Charmander, or Bulbasaur. As I call your name, come up and select one, and a pokedex. First...Alex Shibata!” The younger children cheered and whooped, as Alex smugly walked up and snatched the center pokeball, holding it triumphantly over his head.

 

Emily stared. She growled a little. “Of course...he's the most rotten bully around, and he gets first choice...ten bucks he abuses the poor Pokemon...” she grumbled. There were a couple of children she heard shout “Boo!” to their disappointment that he got picked, and she couldn't resist the urge. “Boo!” she shouted as well, then folded her arms. “Rotten kid...” she mumbled. “Guess this is where we find out who goes and who stays, huh?” she looked to Kiai.

 

Kiai looked back at her. “I guess it is.” Memories from last year still haunted him, when he was one of only four candidates, and he knew he was better than the rest, yet he was singled out as being not chosen. He didn't have much time to reminisce, as Professor Oak raised his hands to calm the children, and continued.

 

“Next,” Oak began, “will Emily Yamaki please step forward!” Oak had barely gotten the name out when Alex shouted “Boo!”, but it was drowned out by Kiai screaming “Yes!!” and clapping loudly.

 

Emily blushed. “Me?” she asked. She then turned to Kiai. “I did it!” she shouted and hugged him. “If I can make it, then you can too.” She giggled. “I'll see you when they call your name.” She turned and headed up. She looked the two pokeballs over, examining each closely. She seemed as if she was very particular about which she picked. Finally, after what probably felt like hours to the others, but was actually only a minute or so, she grabbed one, smiling. She then walked up to where Alex was, giving him a scowl. “You abuse that Pokemon, and you're in deep shit.”

 

Professor Oak applauded respectfully, and when the clatter died down, he prepared himself for the final name. Everyone in the room was on pins and needles; some of the younger ones had even stopped breathing. Oak grinned, then shouted out, “Michelle Maybelle!” A high shriek pierced the crowd, and a small blond girl ran forward, excitingly grabbing the remaining pokeball, and knocking the pokedex off the table in the process. She quickly picked it up and ran back to her friends.

 

Everything seemed to go strangely silent in Kiai's ears. By the time he was brought to his senses, a very old-looking Professor Oak was looking down at him, his hand on Kiai's shoulder. Kiai looked around, and saw that they were alone in the room. “Where is everyone?” Kiai asked.

 

Oak replied, “The three have gone for their instructions, and the rest have gone home.”

 

Kiai's eyes fell, and he tried to tell his body to leave, but his legs wouldn't move. “I suppose I should go home too...” he spoke, but he felt Professor Oak's grip tighten on his shoulder. He looked up again, and Oak smiled warmly down at him.

 

“I want you to know why you were not part of the three.” he said. “Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander are chosen so that the three selected trainers will always be stronger than one other, but weaker than one other. Thusly, neither one will be able to boast to the other, until they've learned the hardships of training.”

 

Oak got down on one knee and looked up at Kiai. “You already know those hardships. And you have a greater task than becoming a Pokemon Master. You need a pokemon better suited to your destiny, one that will be loyal to you, and as determined to protect your friends as you are.” Oak reached into his lab coat and pulled out a pokeball, which he placed into Kiai's hands. “Come, the other three are waiting.” He led Kiai down the hall, into another room, where the Assistant was showing Alex, Emily, and Michelle how to use their pokedexes.

 

Emily turned for a moment, her eyes coming in contact with Kiai. At that moment, it was as if the world around her ceased to be, as she no longer cared about what the assistant was saying. She rushed to Kiai and hugged him tight. She didn't want to let go of him. She hadn't noticed the pokeball in his hand, and thought he would still be sad about not being picked twice in a row now. “I'm sorry, Kiai. I'll stay with you until you get picked,” she spoke. “I won't leave you.”

 

Kiai wrapped his arms around her and held her very tight. At first, he was in a dream, knowing now that Oak had been planning this day for some years, but with Emily in his arms, he suddenly realized what it meant. He was finally going to be going on the journey of a lifetime, with a friend of a lifetime. He whispered softly into her ear, “I made it.”

 

Emily’s eyes went wide. “Wait a minute...” she looked at Kiai. “You made it and didn't say anything? I hugged you and was sad for you for nothing?” She bonked him on the head with her fist. It wasn't hard, just enough so that he would know she was upset, but not enough to really hurt him. “You better say something next time.” She then smiled and hugged him. “I'm so happy.”

 

Kiai stared blankly off into nothingness as Emily hugged him. If there was ever a girl who defied his expectations, it was Emily. Professor Oak coughed loudly, and the two parted. Kiai looked at Oak, but his eyes met Alex, who had decided to stage an intervention. “Breaking the rules again, Oak?” said Alex. “You know you're only supposed to pick three.”

 

Oak smiled, “Surely, Alex, you aren't threatened by Kiai being included?”

 

Alex scoffed, “Hah! I could beat him with one hand tied behind my back.”

 

Oak clapped his hands and laughed, “Splendid idea! I just so happen to have some rope right here!” He reached into his lab coat and miraculously pulled out a length of rope. Alex said nothing, simply turning and burying his nose into his pokedex.

 

Emily giggled a little at Oak and Alex, then pulled her pokedex back out. She touched a couple buttons, then put it away, being pleased. “So, what did you get, huh? I want to know so bad! Is it a Pikachu like the Professor gave Ash for his first Pokemon? Oh, that would just be so cute!” She was now babbling on and on...During her non-sensical babbling, however, she had managed to grab her pokeball and toss it in the air. It hit the ceiling, bounced off, hit one of the nearby computers, bounced off and hit the ground, where it proceeded to shake for a moment. There was then a blinding flash of light as the pokeball seemed to “explode”. A small Squirtle appeared from the smoke as the, now broken, pokeball rolled aside, falling into three or four pieces.

 

“Squirtle!” the Squirtle shouted and shook. He seemed unhappy.

 

“Oops,” was all Emily had to say.

 

Alex, suddenly curious as to what he had received, called his pokemon out. A stout, strong-looking Bulbasaur appeared, to which Alex shouted “Hah!” at Emily.

 

Michelle began hopping up and down, repeating “I got Charmander! I got Charmander!”

 

Kiai looked down at the pokeball in his hand. What could Oak have given him that would serve as a loyal companion? He called out the pokemon, and a very, very small Rattata appeared. Michelle’s squeals of delight were easily drowned out by Alex's riotous laughter. “Rattata?! That's not even worth catching, let alone keeping as your primary! What a loser!” Kiai shot Alex a hard glare, then heard a hiss from somewhere below him. Rattata was standing alert, his hair on end, hissing at Alex. Kiai smiled, and knelt down, offering his hand. Rattata hopped on, and scrambled up to Kiai's shoulder, where it sat still and proud, despite being so small.

 

Emily watched the scene unfold before her. After a moment she stepped closer to Kiai and pet the Rattata gently. “I think it's cute, unlike SOMEONE's pokemon.” She seemed to give an odd glare at the Bulbasaur. “You see, I studied how Professor Oak would be giving out the pokemon. Each of the pokeballs has a tiny little symbol on it to tell you what is in it. At first I didn't see the water symbol on mine, but after looking carefully I did. Once I knew Squirtle was around, I took it.” She grinned. “All that to say, my pokemon, Squirtle, is just so cute!” she then began to make, yet more, non-sensical babbling about how she thought Squirtle was cute. This was, however, interrupted when Squirtle shot Emily with his Water Gun. “What was that for?” she shouted.

 

Squirtle folded his arms. “Squirtle squirt,” the Squirtle responded and Emily grumbled.

 

Kiai chuckled, until silenced by a warning glance from Emily. Professor Oak clapped his hands once, loudly, and everyone turned toward him. “Very good. You all have your pokemon and your pokedex,” Professor Oak began. “Now you begin your journeys, hopefully all of you will become Pokemon Masters. You will all take very different paths from this point on, but I am confident that each of you will find what it is you're looking for.” He paused, and looked at the four children looking back at him. “I'm very proud of all of you. Now, say your goodbyes to your families and friends. This afternoon will be the sendoff party, but you're free to leave early if you wish. Good luck, Alex, Michelle, Emily, and Kiai.”

[EmilyAnnCoons 7]

Chapter 2: Catch and Battle

 

Emily had returned to her home now. She was excited. She was rushing around her room, grabbing clothes and stuffing them into a small backpack. She also stuffed other things into it, like a brush for her hair, a couple small cases of makeup in case she needed them, and other random feminine objects. Her Squirtle, which she had nicknamed Shellshocker, was wandering the room, examining things here and there. “Well, I think that's about it...” she reached over to her dresser and took a small pokeball off of it. “I guess it's a good thing those pokeballs were only for show...and that Professor Oak handed all of us six pokeballs.” She turned to Shellshocker. “Shellshocker, return!” she shouted. The beam shot forward, but Shellshocker hopped out of the way.

 

“Eh?” Emily blinked. “Shellshocker, get in your pokeball!” Shellshocker turned his nose up at Emily. “Squirtle squirt,” Shellshocker spoke. “I said get in your pokeball!” This time she tossed it. Shellshocker quickly knocked the pokeball away and turned his nose up once more. “He doesn't like his pokeball?” Emily asked, blinking. “That reminds me of Ash...his Pikachu didn't like his pokeball either...perhaps...I should just let him stay out, like Ash does with his Pikachu?”

 

Kiai waited outside Emily's house, having packed his essentials the previous night. His Rattata was investigating a line of ants, marching along the sidewalk. Oak had told them all to say their goodbyes, but Oak was the only one Kiai had to say goodbye too. Ever since he was abandoned in Pallet Town, he really only had one friend worth saying 'goodbye' to, and she was coming with him. He heard some crashing noises from inside Emily's house, and was decidedly glad that he wasn't inside. He sat down to meditate some more, and unbeknownst to him, Rattata had sat down beside him.

 

It took only a moment more before the door to Emily's house opened. She walked out, Shellshocker at her side. She had her backpack all packed and slung on her back. It was a small, more feminine backpack, in that it had only a single string strap that lead to a small, cloth pouch that made up the backpack. It had two cloth pouches that were sewn carefully onto it, though looked a little out of place, being that Emily had put them there, and had not originally come with the backpack. She smiled as she saw Kiai in front of her and waved. “All right, I'm all ready to go.”

 

“Emily!” a female voice shouted and Emily rolled her eyes. She turned and her mom rushed out, hugging her tight. “Please be careful, sweetie. I don't want you to get hurt out there.”

 

“Mom, I'm thirteen. I'll be fine. I won't be by myself, you know? Kiai is coming with me.”

 

“I know...but I'm still your mother...so I’m allowed to care about you.”

 

“I'll be fine, Mom...” Emily hugged her mom, then turned to Kiai. “Ready to go?” she asked.

 

Kiai stood up and smiled at Emily. “Ready,” he spoke with a grin. As if reading his mind, Rattata ran up Kiai's leg and perched on his shoulder. “They should be starting the going away ceremony soon, but if you're eager to leave, we can get a head start.”

 

Emily smiled. “I'm not a big fan of parties,” she spoke, then looked away. “I usually feel alone and left out...” she muttered under her breath. She began heading off to the north, to where they could begin their journey to Viridian City. “So, then,” Emily began, “now that we're on our journey, what shall we do? There are a lot of options...we could work to catch other pokemon...collect the badges and go to the pokemon league...” she thought for a moment. “Anything else we could think of, I suppose...” she stopped and turned to Kiai. “So, what should we do?”

 

“First things first,” said Kiai, and Emily could hear him getting serious. “We need to consider what sort of team we want to develop, putting particular emphasis on our strengths and weaknesses. We should also immediately analyze the combat potential of our current pokemon. Before we even consider badges, we'll have to put in several days at least of combat training, both for ourselves and our pokemon.” At this point, Emily pretty much drowned Kiai out, though he continued talking.

 

After a few moments Emily sighed. “Well...I know exactly what I want to go for.” She bent down and lifted her Squirtle off the ground, tossing him onto her back. “I'm going to become a water trainer! I love Water Pokemon!”

 

Kiai smiled. They both knew he knew the most about pokemon, but Emily loved them more, without a doubt. “Well I don't know about you,” he said, “but I'm itching for a fight. I can't wait to get this party started.” Rattata squeaked in agreement. “I want to be the very best…like no one ever was!”

 

Emily giggled a little as the two continued to walk. “While I'm not big on fighting, I certainly wouldn't mind an occasional pokemon fight. I'd love to get my pokemon stronger...but you could say I'm more the breeder type then the trainer type...” She shrugged. “Either way, I just love pokemon, and water ones are my absolute favorite!” She stopped and looked around. They were now officially out of Pallet Town. She blinked, then turned around. She suddenly seemed nervous. She stared back at the town behind her, her eyes seemed fix on her home town.

 

Kiai noticed her pause, and he too looked back. Neither of them had gone so far away on their own, and knowing they wouldn't be going home at the end of the day really began to sink in. Kiai put his arm around Emily's shoulder. “It'll be ok…we'll come back, and when we do, they won't even recognize us.”

 

Emily looked at Kiai, then back to Pallet Town. “Yeah, you're right.” She nodded. “I've been waiting for this day for many years, and now I can finally begin my journey.” She then looked back at Kiai. “The thing that makes this the best of all, though, is being with you for it.” She wrapped her arms around Kiai's neck and hugged him. She was happy that they wouldn't be separated now that they were both trainers, and on their journey together.

 

Kiai hugged her back. “You're right...I can't imagine taking this journey with anyone but you.” Suddenly, a very annoyed Squirtle drenched them both with water. Seems they weren't the only two eager to get moving.

 

“Ack!” Emily shouted, then looked at Shellshocker. He did indeed have a very annoyed look on his face. “Right, we should go,” she spoke, rubbing the back of her neck. “So, then, I guess the first place to go is Viridian City to the north. It's going to take a while to get there, though, but we should be able to manage pretty easily.” She looked down at her wrist. She now had a small, watch-like object on her wrist. It was a pokegear, specially designed for radio, phone, maps, and time. “It's also still pretty early, so we've got a good few hours of day left. I wonder how far away Viridian is, though...” She pushed a button on her pokegear, showing the map to Viridian. “Doesn’t look too far...but you ever can tell with maps...”

 

Kiai peeked over her shoulder, as Rattata peeked over his. “Looks like we've got a few inches to go…” he spoke, looking at the small map. “Hey, we should be there in plenty of time.”

 

Emily nodded. “Yeah. And if it's far away, we'll just keep traveling.” She turned off the map, returning the pokegear to watch mode. “It's what being a trainer is all about, right?” Suddenly, a loud noise was heard from nearby. Emily quickly turned her head to look to see what was going on. A small pokemon soon appeared from nearby. It was a small bug pokemon known as a Caterpie. Emily's eyes went wide at first, then her face turned to an almost frightened look, her arms shaking. Her body soon began to shake, then she jumped with a scream, landing into Kiai's arms. “It's a bug pokemon!” she screamed. Kiai was well aware of her fear of bug types, which had been caused by one fateful event involving her and about three Beedrills, one that Kiai had helped her out of.

 

Kiai grinned. “Just what I was looking for. Show ‘em what you can do, Rattata!” Rattata leapt off of Kiai's shoulder with a fierce “RRRATTATA!” He landed just in front of the Caterpie, ready for battle. “Alright Rattata, lets start things off with a Scratch attack!” Rattata leapt at the Caterpie, and scratched at its nose. Instead of seriously hurting it, the Caterpie instead became enraged, and responded by tackling Rattata, a move which tossed him to the ground.

 

“Dammit!” shouted Kiai, “Don't give up Rattata! Give him another Scratch!” Rattata leapt at the Caterpie again, and scratched him in the same place. This time, the Caterpie winced in pain, and Kiai saw his chance. He drew a pokeball from his belt and hurled it at the weakened Caterpie. “You're mine now!” he shouted, as he threw it. It bounced off of the Caterpie’s head, and sucked it in in a brilliant red flash. It wiggled twice, then the red light on the front changed to white. Kiai grinned. “One down.” he spoke, as he scooped up his new pokemon.

 

“Yay!” Emily spoke, smiling. “That means you have two pokemon now.” Her face seemed to change again to the frightened look. “Even if it is a bug pokemon...” she spoke in a low voice. “I still remember that day...those Beedrill...” she shuttered. “Bug pokemon are scary!” she shouted. Too bad for Emily, her shout scared a Caterpie up in a nearby tree, causing it to fall on her head. “Don't...tell me...” she shook heavily, trying not to scream. “Get...it...off...” she spoke, using all her strength not to freak out.

 

Kiai took out his pokedex and began punching buttons, sending the Caterpie to Professor Oak. He hardly looked up at Emily, and simply muttered “I'll get to it when it starts crawling down the back of your- OW!” He looked down, seeing that his Rattata had just bitten his foot. “Geez, it was just a joke…besides, you're injured.” Rattata looked up scornfully at Kiai, then bit him again. “OW!! Ok ok, I get the idea. Let’s try that Bite attack out on him.” Rattata leapt up onto Emily's chest, and scrawled up to her head, where he bit the tail of the Caterpie as it was crawling down the back of her neck. It squealed in pain, and landed on the ground with a hard thump, then ran off back into the woods.

 

Emily gasped, as if she hadn't taken a breath in the last minute. She shivered and hugged Kiai. “Bug pokemon are creepy...” she spoke. “I'm sorry...I know it's kind of dumb...being afraid of bug pokemon...even though it's been several years since that event...” she sighed. Shellshocker seemed to roll his eyes.

 

“Squirtle squirt...” Shellshocker spoke, then blinked. Something caught his attention. He growled a little, and rightfully, too. Alex Shibata was now making his way out of Pallet Town as well. Alex stopped walking near Emily and Kiai. He gave a smirk.

 

Kiai turned to face Alex. “Well well well,” Alex spoke, “if it isn't the love-birds playing with their bugs. I'll have you know I've already captured 5 pokemon, and by the looks of things it wouldn't be worth humiliating you.” Rattata gave a fierce growl. “Oh ho ho! Looks like one of you has some guts, and it's the puny one no doubt.” Alex pulled out a pokeball from his belt. “I suppose showing you how worthless you all are wouldn't be a complete waste of my time. Let’s go, Bulbasaur!” The pokeball opened, and out popped a very irate Bulbasaur. Before Kiai could stop him, Rattata lunged at Bulbasaur, hitting it square in the face with a fierce Tackle, but simply bounced off. Alex could barely contain his laughter.

 

Emily growled. “Leave us alone, Alex!” she shouted. Shellshocker also growled. The Bulbasaur and Shellshocker seemed to look each other in the eyes. “Shellshocker, no,” Emily spoke, noticing the look on Shellshocker's face.

 

“Squirtle!” Shellshocker shouted. He stood to his feet and inhaled. He then breathed out, firing a large blast of water at the Bulbasaur. It hit him, but Bulbasaur mostly just shook it off.

 

Alex laughed. “You're both pathetic.” Emily growled. Shellshocker rushed forward, now striking Bulbasaur with a tackle. Bulbasaur reacted a bit more to this attack, as Squirtle was bigger and tougher then the small Rattata.

 

“Shellshocker, stop it!” Emily shouted, but Shellshocker seemed to be paying no attention to her.

 

Alex smirked, “Bulbasaur, finish this. Vine whip!” Two long vines shot out of Bulbasaurs back and smacked Shellshocker. The powerful Plant attack was too much, and Shellshocker fell down unconscious. “Now,” said Alex, as he pulled out a pokeball, “I'll teach you what it's like to be humiliated.” He threw the pokeball at Shellshocker, but Rattata leapt in front of it, and was drawn in.

 

“No!” shouted Kiai. The pokeball wiggled several times, and Rattata safely leapt out. “Damn you Alex, that's against the rules! You're not allowed to steal other people's pokemon! You can get banned for that!”

 

Alex chuckled, “Geez, it was just a joke. C'mon Bulbasaur, we have badges to win. Return!” Alex held out a pokeball, and Bulbasaur obediently returned. “Well that was fun. Later, chumps!” spoke Alex, as he turned and strolled confidently down the path to Viridian City.

 

Emily growled as she watched Alex walk off. She then turned to Shellshocker and knelt down, picking him up gently. “Shellshocker...you tried your hardest...” She hugged him. “I'm sorry you got hurt so badly.” Her eyes darted towards the way Alex went, giving a cold glare. “That bastard...I hate that jerk...I don't care how many pokemon he has...he'll never be a good trainer...one day, he's going to do something stupid and get himself into some deep shit he can't get out of all because of how he treats his pokemon.”

 

In a nearby bush, a small pokemon watched them. It didn't make its presence known in any way, nor could anyone tell it was there. “Mew,” it spoke, then quickly flew off, making sure it wasn't seen.

 

Emily sighed. “Let's get to Viridian City and heal up our pokemon...” she then looked down at Shellshocker. “It was just too much...”

 

“They would heal inside their pokeballs...” spoke Kiai, looking down at Rattata, who was licking its wounds. He smiled, and continued, “But I don't think either of them would go for that.” He knelt down by his small Rattata, which seemed to have grown a small amount in the past few minutes. He gently scooped it up in his hand and placed it on his shoulder. “Come on,” he spoke, “let’s get on the road to Viridian City!”

 

“Heh...yeah...I know Shellshocker hates his pokeball...” Emily spoke. “I spent five minutes trying to get him to go back into his, but he wouldn't...” She sighed. “Well, I guess the only way to go is north to Viridian, then.” She smiled a little. “Even if Alex is a stupid bastard, I'll be happy when we get to Viridian.” She pulled Shellshocker up against her and looked to Kiai. “Let's go.” She turned her head forward and began walking forward.

 

“It will still take us a day or two to get there…we can hike for a few hours, but then we should set up camp. Hopefully Alex will be too eager, and he'll have gotten a good lead on us.” Kiai looked up at the sun, and after gauging its position, said, “We have about 4 more hours until sundown.”

 

“I know it's still a few days...” Emily spoke, “and our pokemon should heal up by themselves after they rest a bit.” Emily and Kiai walked down the path, until the forest began to clear and opened up to rolling hills and meadows. A few Pidgey and Spearow could be seen, pecking amongst the grass. Emily blinked some, examining the meadow. “Wow!” she shouted, looking at all of the bird pokemon. “There's so many of them.” She pulled out her pokedex and held it up to one of the Pidgeys.

 

“Pidgey, a bird type pokemon,” the pokedex spoke. “Pidgey has an extremely sharp sense of direction. It is capable of unerringly returning home to its nest, however far it may be removed from its familiar surroundings.”

 

“Interesting,” Emily spoke, then looked up at the Pidgeys around her. She then held it up to one of the Spearow.

 

“Spearow, a bird type pokemon,” the pokedex spoke again. “Spearow has a very loud cry that can be heard over half a mile away. If its high, keening cry is heard echoing all around, it is a sign that they are warning each other of danger.”

 

Kiai eyed the Spearow. He wanted a good Flying-type, but had a feeling Rattata wasn't up to the challenge just yet. “Perhaps tomorrow…” he thought to himself. They continued along the path, pointing out to each other some wild pokemon, and what they were doing. Kiai saw several Rattata running around in a circle, which his pokedex said was a technique to ward off aggressive flying-types, since it made them look like a coiled Ekans. Emily pointed out two Pidgeottos singing to each other, which her pokedex said was a sign that they had chosen each other as their mate. Kiai looked at Emily, and blushed a little when he heard. Fortunately for him, she didn't notice.

 

Night grew close and the two stopped, setting up a small camp in the meadow. Shellshocker had awoken and began walking on his own. Emily had managed to keep him out of battles by reminding him of what happened to him only a few hours before when he didn't listen to her. Emily smiled as she pulled out some food from her backpack and handed a little to Shellshocker, eating some herself. She looked up at Kiai, wondering what he had packed to eat. Hers wasn't much, unfortunately, just a small bit of food. While Kiai knew she wasn't a big eater, this seemed like a rather small amount of food, even for her.

 

Kiai wandered around the area, collecting dead branches and dried grass while Rattata rested next to Emily. He drew a length of string from his backpack, and using the bow method, had a small fire going in minutes. He also drew out some hard bread-type substance, and a small bit of meat, which he skewered on a stick and held over the fire. As it cooked, he crumbled up some of the hardtack, which Rattata gratefully ate. When the meat was done cooking, he cut it into four pieces, giving Emily the largest of the four, and divided up some bread. He also pulled out a canteen of water and two cups, having figured that Emily wouldn't have even considered any of this.

 

Emily blinked a little when Kiai handed her some meat. “Thanks...” she spoke, not expecting this. She took the meat and began to eat some, when she was then handed the cup of water. “Thanks, again,” she spoke. Once she was done eating she grabbed her backpack and opened it. She first pulled out a sleeping bag, then pulled out a set of clothes she planned to use for her pajamas. She placed them on the sleeping bag, then stretched a bit.

 

Kiai pulled his own sleeping bag out as well, and unrolled it near the fire. He pulled out a towel as well, and coiled it around the snoozing Rattata. He then looked over at Emily, and asked, “Are you tired?”

 

“A little...it is getting pretty late.” Emily looked up at the sky. It was dark now, the stars were in the sky, but no moon was visible. “That's right! Today was a new moon wasn't it?” she asked. “I actually forgot that.” She stood to her feet, grabbing her pajamas as she did. “I'm going to change, no peeking, got it?” she spoke as she passed Kiai. There was no truly private areas around, save for a tiny group of bushes, but she figured she'd be okay if she just walked away from the camp, especially if she walked in the direction behind Kiai.

 

As tempted as he was to peek, Kiai instead slipped into his sleeping bag and laid back, staring up into the starry sky. The day had been a roller coaster of emotions, and it wouldn't stop. Even now, he was so excited that he was actually becoming a pokemon trainer that he felt as though tonight would be another sleepless one. He heard some rustling in the grass behind him, and began to wonder what Emily was doing. He blushed, and quickly returned his attention to the stars, trying to remember some of the constellations.

 

Emily reached behind her back, untying the top of her halter top, letting her chest out for a moment as she moved her hands down, also untying the bottom strap. She then dropped her skirt and stretched a little. She did wear panties, but she disliked bras, and thus, never wore one. She grabbed the pants she had brought and pulled them on, when she heard a rustling in the bushes behind her. She quickly turned, ready to hit Kiai on the head, as she figured it was him trying to peep. However, her reaction was different when a small Weedle popped out of the bushes. It stared up at her and Emily's face quickly switched to its frightened look. She tried to hold it, but in the end, she screamed.

 

Kiai tore out of his sleeping bag in an instant and dashed into the grass. He could barely see the outline of Emily, but he made for it at top speed. One thing he couldn't see, however, was the Weedle, which he tripped over, and fell into Emily, knocking them both to the ground.

 

Emily blinked a moment as she found herself knocked to the ground. She stared, looking at Kiai on top of her. Kiai had been lucky, as one might say, since he had managed to fall in a rather interesting position. One of his hands rested on the ground, while the other had managed to land upon her breast. She blushed a little, but quickly pushed him off, covering her chest, and turning away from him. The Weedle was no longer in her mind, as she now had something else to think about. She was blushing heavily, and would have spoken had she known what to say.

 

Kiai quickly turned away, blushing profusely, and mumbling, trying to gather his thoughts. “I…er…um…s-sorry…” he managed, after a while. Whatever it was that had frightened her was now forgotten.

 

“I-it's ok...really...” Emily quickly grabbed her shirt, then pulled it on her. “It's more my fault...since I screamed...” she stood to her feet now, her face still deep red. “Maybe we should forget about this...and head to bed?” she asked, turning her head to look at Kiai. In the dark, she couldn't see he was blushing, but she figured he probably was. The Weedle which had scared her just passed through, now being completely ignored. It didn't take long for it to pass and vanish from view.

 

“Yes…” muttered Kiai, “we should get to bed.” He got up and, trying not to look at Emily, made his way back to camp. He intentionally left off the part where he would forget about it. When he got back, he slipped into his backpack and gazed back up at the stars, but couldn't really focus on them. As Emily passed him on the way to her sleeping bag, she noticed that he was, indeed, quite red.

 

Emily just stared at him for a moment as she quietly slipped into her sleeping bag. She rolled over so her back was to him, then blushed a bit more. “It felt kind of nice,” she whispered to herself. “I almost hope it happens again...” she turned her head back to look at Kiai for a single moment, then turned back, closing her eyes and falling asleep. Shellshocker quickly took his place next to Jessica, snuggling up in her arms, as if he was a teddy bear.

 

Kiai stared at the stars a bit longer, then raised his hand to his face. He looked at it, remembering how it felt. He thought to himself, “I sure wish that would happen again…” He turned to look at Emily, and saw that she and Shellshocker were peacefully asleep. Rattata too, was sleeping, curled up in the towel. His eyes began to droop, and finally, he too fell asleep.

 

Emily lied in her sleeping bag as she slept. Shellshocker stirred a little, rolling onto his back. This made Jessica shift a little, but that's only where it began. A moment later, her head rolled, now facing the other way. Her face showed that she was beginning to fall into a nightmare. “No...” she began to mutter in her sleep. “Not...Shellshocker...” she rolled onto her other side now, facing Kiai. Cold sweat was beginning to form on her face as the nightmare grew worse. “No...” she mutter, louder this time. “No!” she spoke, now at normal volume. “No, you can't! No! Don't do it!” she now began to shout. “Leave me alone! No! Don't!” she shouted louder. “No!” she screamed loudly, loud enough to wake up Shellshocker, Rattata, and Kiai, but not herself. She was now rolling back and forth in her sleep, screaming.

 

Shellshocker scrambled out of Emily's arms as Kiai and Rattata ran over to her. The fire had died down to a few glowing embers, so it was hard to see, but Kiai managed to unzip her sleeping bag and pull her into his arms. “Emily! It's ok, it's just a dream! Wake up, Emily!”

 

The sudden movement from her sleeping bag, and into Kiai’s arms, managed to startle her enough to wake her up, but not without a final scream as she quickly sat up, her eyes wide. She breathed heavily and looked around. She first searched for Shellshocker, then up at Kiai. Once she knew her dream was just a dream, she sighed, falling back against Kiai, her eyes closing. “It was just...a dream...thank god...” she wrapped her arms around Kiai, pulling him close. Whether it was on purpose, or subconsciously due to still being mostly asleep, was unknown. To Kiai, all that really mattered was having Emily in his arms, snuggled against him. She rested her head on his chest. “Kiai...” she spoke, sleepily, then her head slid a little, showing she had fallen to sleep again. Shellshocker stared, worried about his master and friend.

 

Kiai could feel her body go limp in his arms, and he knew she was asleep again. He didn't want to let go of her…but he knew he couldn't hold her all night. He laid her gently back down, and nodded to Shellshocker that it was ok to snuggle back up with her. He threw a few more branches on the fire, then dragged his sleeping bag over to Emily's. He laid down right behind her, and draped one arm over her. As Emily and Kiai drifted off to sleep, Rattata made a small squeak, which woke Shellshocker up. He looked at Rattata, then motioned for Rattata to come snuggle up with him, and they too fell back asleep.

 

The rest of the night managed to be pretty uneventful. She only had a single nightmare, which was quickly calmed by Kiai once again. In the morning, Emily awoke, giving a light groan. She sat up and looked at Kiai. She blushed a little, seeing he had slept next to her. “I'm sorry,” she spoke quietly, then carefully slipped out of his grip and stood to her feet. “I better change before he wakes up.” She quickly grabbed the clothes she had worn the day before and rushed to the bushes once more. Once she made sure there were no bug pokemon around, she began to pull her clothes off so she could change.

 

Feeling that she was no longer there, Kiai slowly woke up. When he saw that she was missing, he bolted upright and yelled, “Emily?!” as he looked around frantically and struggled out of his own sleeping bag.

 

Emily blinked as she heard her name. She quickly finished tying her halter top and peeked out of the bushes. “I'm just changing over here! Give me just a moment!” she shouted to him, then ducked under the bushes again, pulling on her skirt to finish dressing herself. She then stood up and walked out from behind the bushes, heading back to Kiai and the rest of the group. As she walked, she checked her outfit over one last time, pulling on it some to make sure the outfit was on just right.

 

When Kiai spotted her, he sat down and sighed heavily. “Don't scare me like that again.” he spoke. As his sleepiness was leaving him, he reached into his backpack and pulled out two candy bars, handing one to Emily as she sat down. He poured them each some more water, and began to eat his, saving a good portion of it for Rattata. He couldn't help glancing up at Emily, noticing how pretty she looked in the morning sunlight.

 

Emily took the bar into her hand. “Sorry, I didn't expect you to wake up so quickly.” She rubbed the back of her neck a little, then took a bite of her candy bar. She turned her head to look at the road ahead of them. “So, today we continue our journey to Viridian. Wonder what today will bring.” She heard a chirp noise and looked up. A couple of wild Pidgeys were sitting on a branch building a nest together. She smiled, then looked back at Kiai. For a split second the memory of the night before returned to her and she blushed a little, quickly looking down.

 

“Today will bring new opportunities,” spoke Kiai, as he held the candy bar down for Rattata to munch on, “and each one we must take.” Emily smiled. She never really understood what he meant when he was speaking so cryptically, but he had done it ever since they were small, and it never failed to amuse her how mature Kiai could act sometimes. “Although…” he started, looking around the grass. Emily looked around too, but couldn't see what he was looking at. “Some opportunities,” he continued, “have to be created.” He reached into his bag and grabbed a small bit of hardtack, which he crumbled up and tossed onto the path. Immediately a few Spearow hopped out of the grass and began pecking at the crumbs.

 

Kiai looked down at Rattata, who looked back up at him expectantly. “You ready?” Kiai asked, and Rattata turned to face the Spearow, growling softly. “Ok Rattata…Tackle the nearest one.” Rattata ran toward the nearest Spearow and leapt toward it, but they all flew off when they spotted him. One, however, turned around in mid-flight and dive-bombed Rattata, just as Kiai had expected. “Wait for it…wait for it… Now, Rattata, Dodge!” Rattata leapt out of the way, and the Spearow couldn't pull up in time. It landed hard, and Kiai took the chance. “Finish it, Rattata, Bite Attack!” Rattata leapt onto the Spearow before it could get back to its feet and bit it hard. It squawked, and just as Rattata leapt away, Kiai threw a pokeball. The Spearow was caught easily.

 

Emily squealed and clapped. “That was awesome.” She smiled. “Your pretty good at this, you know? I just wish there were water pokemon around...but you aren't going to find any without a lake of some kind.” She shrugged. “Oh well...I don't mind.” She hugged Shellshocker. “I have a cute pokemon right here.” Shellshocker just wagged his tail. She looked to the path they were soon going to be taking and sighed. “I wonder how far ahead of us Alex is...I kind of could care less how he's doing...it's more his pokemon I worry about...the last thing he needs is his pokemon disobeying him because he's stupid and abusive to them...though maybe it will make him realize what he is doing to them...” she sighed and looked down. She brushed the crumbs of her candy bar off her skirt, then looked back up. “We should get going soon.”

 

“That we should” said Kiai, as he placed the pokeball with Spearow inside on his belt. He rolled up his sleeping bag and stuffed it into his backpack then stomped out the remaining embers of the fire. “If we're lucky, we might find a stream along the way. You might find a Goldeen in there, if you're lucky.”

 

Emily giggled. “That would be awesome. Goldeen are cute...” she then thought for a moment and shivered. “Though, its evolved form isn't...oh well...” she shrugged. She stood to her feet, rolled up her sleeping bag, and put it in her backpack, along with her pajamas. She then picked it up and slung it over her back. She turned to look at Kiai and smiled. “I'm ready.”

 

“Squirtle!” Shellshocker spoke, showing he was ready as well.

 

“Un-evolved water pokemon…you know, you might want to broaden your horizons a bit. Maybe get some rock or ground types in case you come across an electric type…or at least a normal type to balance- OOF!” Kiai tripped, and fell backwards, where he looked straight up into the face of a rather irate Shellshocker. “Of course, water-types are really swell, and no one could have too much of them!” he hastily added.

 

It was apparently enough, since Shellshocker muttered “Squirtle squirt…” and walked closer to Emily.

 

Emily giggled a little. “You are right. I should broaden my horizons some, but hey...I've heard of water pokemon taking on electric types and winning...granted, it was a rough battle, but they still won. If I can train them well, I might be able to do something like that.” She sighed happily as she began to day dream. “I'd love to be a strong water trainer like that.”

 

“Hey!” a voice suddenly called and Emily turned her head.

 

“Who was that?” she asked. From behind, a man was running towards them. He was fairly tall, taller then either Kiai or Emily, anyway. He stopped next to both of them, a smirk on his face.

 

“You two are beginner trainers, right?” the man asked. “I saw you walking by a moment ago and thought, 'Hey, I wonder if they'd be interested in a battle.' You see, I'm a beginner, too. I actually caught my own first pokemon.”

 

Emily blinked. “Really? That's pretty cool.”

 

“Yeah, want to battle?”

 

Emily looked to Kiai, then back at him. “Sounds fun.” She smiled, then pushed Kiai towards the man. “You can battle him.”

 

Kiai stumbled forward. “Err…ok!” He reached into his belt and pulled out the pokeball that held the Spearow he had just caught earlier. “Let’s start things off. Spearow, I choose you!” He hurled the pokeball to the ground, and Spearow popped out. The Trainer considered his options, then grabbed a pokeball from his belt. “Alright Oddish, show him what you can do!” He threw it to the ground, and a small Oddish popped out.

 

Emily smiled. “Oddish against Spearow. This should be interesting, since Oddish has a type disadvantage against Spearow,” she spoke.

 

“Oddish, Poison Powder!” the trainer shouted. Oddish pulled its leaves back, then waved them around. A purple powder seemed to spread from its leaves, floating towards Spearow. Emily quickly covered her mouth so she was sure that she wouldn't get hit by the attack as well.

 

Kiai grinned. This was definitely interesting. “Spearow, blow it away with your Gust attack!” Spearow flapped its wings, creating a small whirlwind, which traveled along the ground, dispersing the poison powder.

 

“Very clever,” the trainer spoke, grinning. “This could be an interesting battle. Oddish, use absorb!” Oddish seemed to inhale, and he glowed green. Spearow would feel energy being sapped from him as it seemed to shoot off and hit Oddish, making him grow a little stronger. The Trainer chuckled. “Ha, how about that one for, you?”

 

“Fine with me. Spearow, show him how battles are won. Peck Attack!” Kiai shouted out. Spearow ran toward the Oddish, then flapped its wings and took to the air, flying only a few inches above the ground. As it zoomed past Oddish, it struck it hard with its beak.

 

Oddish was knocked back as it was hit by the attack. “Oddish odd!” Oddish spoke, standing back to its feet.

 

“Yeah, let's get him, Oddish!” the trainer spoke. “Oddish, use your absorb again!” Oddish once again seemed to inhale, directing its attack at Spearow once more. However, the attack failed to “lock on” to Spearow, causing Oddish to miss. “Crap...” the trainer spoke. Emily just watched. Shellshocker had now jumped onto Emily's shoulders and was watching the battle from there.

 

“Squirtle squirt squirtle!” he shouted to Spearow, who seemed to flap in happiness. It appeared that Shellshocker was praising Spearow.

 

“One more time ought to do it, grass types just can't match up to flying types. Spearow, give it another Peck Attack!” Spearow dive-bombed the Oddish, pecking it hard again. The Oddish fell, and the Trainer hastily returned it.

 

“Ok, that was good, I'll give you that. But try this one!” He pulled out another pokeball, “This one I caught myself. See if you can handle Beedrill!” He threw the pokeball to the ground, and a larger-than-normal Beedrill appeared, buzzing angrily.

 

Emily's eyes went wide at the sight of the Beedrill. She screamed and quickly fell to her knees, pushing her hands against her chest, shaking, her eyes shut tight. “Squirtle squirt,” Shellshocker quickly spoke. “Squirtle!” It looked at Beedrill with an almost angry look.

 

The trainer blinked for a moment, but soon realized what was wrong. “Oh man...I'm sorry...I didn't realize she was scared of bug pokemon...”

 

“It's ok...she'll have to fight them on her own some day, and she'll lose if she doesn't overcome herself. That's part of what being a trainer is all about. It's not just our pokemon who grow. Although, there's more to it than that...” Kiai carefully considered his options. A weak Beedrill would be easy prey for a Spearow, but one so well-trained as this would prove difficult. Ultimately, he decided to go for broke. “Spearow, Fly into the sky!”

 

The trainer watched as the Spearow flew up high. He growled. “Beedrill, Focus Energy!” he shouted. The Beedrill seemed to shut its eyes as it focused its energy forward into its two large pins. It was getting ready for a good strong attack.

 

Kiai bit his lip. He was hoping the Beedrill would follow Spearow, allowing Spearow to out-fly it. But if the trainer was going to wait for Spearow to come back down, then he would have the advantage. Suddenly he had an idea. “Spearow!” he called out, “With the sun behind you, attack from the east!”

 

The Spearow did as it was commanded. It quickly flew into the sun, causing the Beedrill to raise its pin to see it. The Spearow then shot forward, aimed directly for Beedrill. “Crap! Dodge it!” the trainer shouted, but Beedrill was struck by the attack. The attack knocked the Beedrill to the ground, but it wasn't out yet. Emily opened her eyes now, still shaking, but trying to fight her fears. Beedrill was the one she was scared of the most. “Beedrill, Focus Energy again!” The Beedrill flew into the sky once more and began to focus his energy once more. “Now, unleash your Fury Attack!” Beedrill flew straight for Spearow and, before it could dodge, Beedrill's pins quickly shot forward, striking the Spearow several times in a row, the attack being more powerful then normal. The trainer smirked, watching. “That's it!”

 

Spearow fell to the ground, hurt bad but still able to fight. Kiai decided it was enough, and held out a pokeball. “Enough is enough Spearow, return!” Before Kiai returned the pokeball to his belt, he whispered into it, “You did good.”

 

The trainer laughed, “How do you like me now?! No one can beat my Beedrill!”

 

Kiai grinned, “Then I guess I'm no one. Rattata, lets do this right. Tail Whip!” Rattata waved his tail at the Beedrill, confusing it slightly and forcing it to drop its guard. The Beedrill flew in one spot, watching the Rattata tail. The trainer blinked. Kiai then called out “Quick Attack!” Before the Beedrill could react, the Rattata had vanished, then, from behind, it struck him, knocking him to the ground.

 

“Beedrill!” the trainer shouted. Rattata hopped off the Beedrill, and the trainer could see the swirls in his Pokemon's eyes. “You did good,” he spoke, holding the pokeball out. “Beedrill, return!” he shouted, and the pokemon returned to its pokeball. “Very good. I didn't realize you were such a good trainer. This Beedrill was my first pokemon...caught it just the other day, actually.” He smiled and walked up to Kiai. “Good battle,” he spoke, holding out his hand to shake Kiai's hand. “By the way, my name is Jarod. What's yours?”

 

Kiai smiled and shook his hand. “My name is Kiai, it's a pleasure to meet you, Jarod. I suppose we'll see you around, if you ever make it to the Pokemon League Championship.”

 

Jarod blushed slightly, “I'll never make it there...that's only for people who are really good.”

 

Kiai smiled, “You're good, just do your best. I'm sure you can make it if you try.”

 

Jarod smiled back, encouraged by the compliment, “Thank you, I will try!” With that, he waved, and turned down the path, to follow his own adventure.

 

Kiai walked to Emily and knelt down beside her, putting his arm around her. “It's ok Emily, its gone now. Don't worry.”

 

Emily shook a bit more, then hugged Kiai. “I'm so scared of bug Pokemon...” she buried her face in Kiai's chest and actually began to cry. “Why can't I get over this?” she spoke through her tears. “It's been six years...and I've only grown more and more scared of them...” Shellshocker walked over to Emily and hugged her the best a Squirtle could hug someone.

 

Kiai held her tight. “It's ok,” he spoke, “you'll get over it...I know you will. I'll be right here, right by your side, every step of the way. Don't you worry about a thing.”

[EmilyAnnCoons 7]

Chapter 3: Team Rocket

 

Emily and Kiai had been traveling a little ways now. Emily groaned a little. “Man, I never imagined there was so much walking involved in this! My feet are getting tired!” She soon plopped down, groaning. “I'm tired.” Kiai, however, was stern as ever, and seemed un-phased by the length they had walked so far.

 

Kiai looked down at Emily and raised an eyebrow. “You do realize we'll have traveled, on foot, from coast to coast and beyond before we're done, right?”

 

Emily groaned. “Don't remind me...” she sighed. “I was all excited about this day, but I never realized how much walking would be involved...” she sighed as Shellshocker hopped off her shoulder and looked up at her.

 

“Squirtle squirt,” Shellshocker spoke. Emily sighed.

 

Kiai sighed. “Well, I guess we're taking a break.” He pulled off his backpack and sat down beside Emily. “You know, if you're really that tired, I can carry you. But don't get into the habit...I won't carry you down Victory Road...”

 

Emily shook her head. “No, it's ok...I'll get used to it...If we just take occasional breaks, eventually I will get used to it enough.” Shellshocker, seeing that they had, indeed, decided to take a break, ran over to where Rattata now was sitting and began having a conversation with him. Emily giggled. “Almost wish we knew what they were saying.”

 

“Yeah, me too.” Kiai leaned back and stretched his feet out. “I suppose we'll get to Viridian City by tomorrow, at this rate. Maybe the day after. Hey...” he sat up straight, suddenly deep in thought. “I just realized, Slate is going to be the first Gym leader we come across. You'll probably have an easier time with him then I will!”

 

“That's true, but only if I fight with Shellshocker more. He hasn't been in a Pokémon battle since yesterday...and he lost that one...so odds are he really didn't get any experience from it...” she sighed and looked at Shellshocker. He was still talking with Rattata.

 

Kiai smiled, “It's ok, there's a long road yet to Viridian, and the bug forest after that before we get to Pewter City.”

 

“B-bug F-forest?” Emily asked. She had now begun to shake. Her fear of bug Pokémon came out once more and she shut her eyes, trying to calm herself, but it wasn't working well.

 

Kiai put his arm around her, “Relax,” he whispered, “It's full of trainers. You can't go two steps without being forced into a fight. Plus, you'll be with me. We'll leave Viridian early in the morning and go straight through. It'll be fine.”

 

“Y-yeah...I guess you're right...” Emily spoke, sighing. With Kiai holding her, she felt more secure. “I'm glad your with me.” She put her head against his chest. There was then an odd noise from the bushes nearby. Emily looked towards the bushes, wondering what was going on.

 

The bush opened a little, two eyes that seemed to glow were looking at them. “Psy,” a voice spoke from the bushes. “Duck!” the voice shouted as a Psyduck then fell out of the bush. It looked badly bruised, but there was something else strange about this Psyduck. It was an odd blue color, and its skin almost seemed to shine.

 

“Hey, a Psyduck,” Kiai spoke, not really noticing how the Psyduck was injured, nor that it seemed to shine. “You know, they get some crazy powerful Psychic attacks when they evolve.” As much as he wanted to stand up and catch it, he knew Emily would want to try her luck first. “He's all yours, Emily. Show me your moves!”

 

Emily blinked. “Yeah...but...” she stood up. “It looks hurt...” she quickly ran over to it, kneeling down. “Oh my...” she put her hand on the Psyduck as she looked at it. She bit her lip as she pulled out a pokéball. “I know I'm supposed to weaken it first but...it already looks really weak.” She tossed her pokéball at it, and it opened, absorbing the Psyduck inside of it. It landed on the ground and wobbled for a minute before the red light vanished. Instead of being happy, she was worried as she scooped the ball up into her hands.

 

Kiai walked to her and looked at the ball in her hands. “Do you think it's hurt? If it is...we're still some time away from Viridian...and we can't turn back to Pallet Town...”

 

Emily bit her lip. “There's no Pokémon centers between here and there, is there?” she asked and sighed, looking down at the ball. “It was obviously hurt, because it had been bruised some...I just hope it isn't a Pokémon that ran away from its trainer...because that would just be awful...” There was another sound from behind her in the bushes once more. She turned around, her eyes coming face-to-face with a tall man wearing a black outfit with a red R on it.

 

“Uh oh, I've been spotted,” the man spoke. He quickly reached down and grabbed a pokéball from his belt. “Hey, you, girl, you seen a Psyduck come through here? A blue one?” Emily didn't say anything.

 

Kiai stepped forward. “Yes, we did,” Kiai spoke. “It looked like it was hurt, but when we approached it, it ran away.” He pointed at the bushes across the path. “It went that way. Was it yours?”

 

The man grinned. “Oh really? Well, it's not mine, but soon it will be the property of Team Rocket.” He tossed his pokéball in the air and it opened, unleashing a large, round, rock-like Pokémon. “I know you have that Psyduck, so how about you give it over real nice like?”

 

Emily growled a little. “So you're the one that beat it down so badly?” she looked to Shellshocker. “Get ready,” she spoke and Shellshocker turned, nodding. He rushed to Emily's side and the two looked towards the Team Rocket member in front of them. “I’ll never forgive you for harming this Psyduck.”

 

“Ha! Who needs forgiveness?” the Team Rocket member spoke. “You kids don't know who you're messing with. Team Rocket always obtains what it wants. Graveler, get in there and show this girl who she's meddling with.” The large Pokémon jumped in between the man and Emily, shaking the ground as it did. It looked like a formidable opponent. “That's a nice Squirtle you have, girl. That'll fetch a decent price. After I humiliate you, I'll take it for myself.”

 

Emily growled. “That's what you think.” She looked to Shellshocker who nodded. “Get ready,” she spoke. “Shellshocker, use Water Gun!” Shellshocker inhaled and, like before, shot out a large burst of water from its mouth. It shot forward and struck the Graveler hard, but the Team Rocket member just grinned.

 

“A pathetic Squirtle like that can't hurt my Graveler. Graveler, use Rock Throw!” the Team Rocket Member shouted. Graveler jumped into the air and brought its hands together. It almost seemed to form a large rock in its hands, which he then tossed the rock at Shellshocker.

 

“Dodge it!” Emily shouted. Shellshocker barely managed to jump out of the way. “Quickly, Water Gun!” Squirtle inhaled again, then shot a burst of water straight up into the air, striking the Graveler and sending it flying up, then slamming into the ground. The Graveler slowly rose to its feet, not knocked out yet.

 

Kiai leaned close to Emily and whispered in her ear, “Careful Emily...this might not be the only one he has...save some gusto for later.”

 

The man growled, “Ok girl, you asked for it. Graveler, Dig Attack!” The Graveler began spinning quickly, and burrowed straight down into the dirt. “What's your plan now, girl?”

 

Emily growled. “I know,” she whispered back to Kiai. “Shellshocker, be careful, we don't know where he'll pop up.” Shellshocker's eyes began to dart around as it felt the ground.

 

“Squirtle squirt,” Shellshocker spoke. Suddenly, Graveler jumped out of the ground from directly under him. This sent him flying into the air, and soon landing hard on his back.

 

“Shellshocker!” Emily shouted, and Shellshocker slowly stood back to his feet. He growled now. Emily blinked as Shellshocker rushed forward. Shellshocker jumped up, twirling and striking the Graveler with its tail. It knocked the Graveler back some as it landed on its feet. Emily quickly pulled out her pokédex and held it up.

 

“When angry,” the Pokédex began, “Pokémon can be known to go into a blind rage, which increases their power, but also makes them less likely to dodge attacks.”

 

Kiai instinctively drew a pokéball from his belt. “Tsk tsk tsk,” the Team Rocket Member spoke, “two on one isn't fair. But don't worry boy, you'll get your chance. Graveler, give it another Rock Throw.” Graveler reached into the dirt and drew out a rock, and hurled it at Shellshocker. It bounced off its head, knocking him back but not out. Shellshocker glared at Graveler, and looked like he was going to charge again.

 

Kiai hissed into Emily's ear, “You can't keep letting him do this! He's your Pokémon, he needs your help! Tell him what to do!”

 

Emily bit her lip once more. “Shellshocker! Listen to me! Use your Water Gun!” she shouted. Shellshocker growled a little more, then inhaled once more. Using his rage, Shellshocker pushed the water out of his mouth and at Graveler once again, but this time much harder. The attack hit Graveler hard, and soon knocked it back, and out.

 

“What?!” the Team Rocket member shouted. “This just can't be...” he growled. “Stupid useless Pokémon!” he shouted, kicking the Graveler, then hoping on his foot a little as he felt the pain that would come from hitting a huge rock with your foot. “Graveler, return!” he shouted, holding out his pokéball. The beam shot forward and absorbed Graveler back into it. “You'll pay for messing with Team Rocket, mark my words!” he shouted, then turned and ran off.

 

Emily sighed and Shellshocker walked back over to Emily. She hugged him and smiled. “That was wonderful, Shellshocker, you did great.” She then looked at the pokéball in her hand. The pokéball itself had changed color slightly, becoming a blue color like the Psyduck it held. “Maybe if we run, we can get to Viridian before sundown?” Emily asked, looking at Kiai. “We really need to get him to a Pokémon Center.”

 

Kiai looked around frantically. “Damn, if only we could get a bicycle from someone...wait!” He held the pokéball in his hand out. “Spearow, we need you!” The pokéball opened, and Spearow obediantly popped out onto the ground. Kiai reached into his bag and pulled out a small notebook and pencil, and scribbled a hasty message onto it. He tore off the page, and wrapped it around Spearow's foot, then grabbed the blue pokéball from Emily's hand. He held it out to Spearow, saying “Spearow, take this to the Pokémon Center in Viridian City. Make sure Nurse Joy gets the message! We'll be there as soon as we can.” Spearow trilled, and flew into the air, snatching the pokéball from Kiai's open palm and flying off due north.

 

“That's a good idea,” Emily spoke, nodding. “I hope it'll be okay...” she hugged Kiai. “I'd hate for something bad to happen to it just because of that stupid trainer...” she sighed. “We should still run as fast as we can.”

 

“You're right. Rattata, lets go.” Rattata scrambled up onto Kiai’s shoulder. He hoisted his backpack up, and darted down the path, turning around just long enough to yell to Emily, “Keep up!”

 

“Of course,” Emily spoke, grabbing Shellshocker and tossing him on her back. She gripped her backpack tight and began running after Kiai. It took them until sundown, but after a few hours of running, they managed to make it in time.

 

The two burst into the Pokémon center, heaving and panting, sweat pouring down their faces. The sun was setting; they had been running nearly non-stop all day. Kiai helped Emily, who was nearly completely spent, over to a chair in the waiting area, then ran up to the front counter, behind which stood a very proper-looking Chansey. “Um, excuse me, we sent a Spearow here earlier...er...” Kiai was somewhat at a loss, not knowing exactly how to hold a conversation with a Pokémon.

 

Chansey seemed to understand however, as it squeaked “Chansey chansey!” and ran off through the double doors leading to the medical area. Shortly after, Nurse Joy emerged, looking disheveled but smiling.

 

“I see,” Nurse Joy spoke sweetly, “you were the ones who sent the Spearow. We received it earlier today, it was quite worn, I hope you haven't been mistreating it. The Psyduck, however, is certainly a unique case...”

 

“Is it okay?” Emily asked. “I know it was pretty beat up from that Team Rocket guy...”

 

“Team Rocket?” Nurse Joy asked. “I see...” she thought for a moment. “Perhaps that's it, then.”

 

“What do you mean?” Emily asked.

 

Nurse Joy sighed. “Team Rocket has been developing a virus known as the Pokémon Virus, or Pokérus. It makes Pokémon shine, and makes them stronger as well. Some cases have seen Pokémon gain strange abilities they could otherwise never gain...” Nurse Joy sighed. “I fear this Psyduck may be infested with the Pokérus.”

 

“A virus that makes Pokémon stronger...I don't like that one bit,” sighed Kiai. “Is there anything you can do about it, Nurse Joy?”

 

“No, there is no way to counter the Pokérus,” Nurse Joy spoke, shaking her head and sighing. “However, if you were the ones who caught him, then that Psyduck is officially registered to you. So, I plan to nurse it back to health, then give it back to you, as long as you promise not to abuse it.”

 

Emily shook her head. “Of course we won't, Nurse Joy. I love Pokémon.” She looked to Shellshocker, who looked at her and smiled. “Especially water types.”

 

“Then when I finish healing it, I'll give it back to you. Be careful, though, Team Rocket is experimenting all over the place, so you may run into more Pokémon like these. The best thing you could do is probably catch them, so that Team Rocket can't.”

 

“We'll be sure to keep an eye out for them, Nurse Joy. And we'll spread the word to every trainer we meet. In the meantime...” he looked at Emily, and she looked as tired as he felt. “...I think we need to rest for the night. But first...is Spearow ok?”

 

Nurse Joy smiled, “Of course it is. You can retrieve it at any time.”

 

“Thank you,” said Kiai, bowing to Nurse Joy. She led them into the medical area, down the hall a short way and into a small room, where Spearow was standing on a small bed, pecking at a loaf of bread. Kiai walked over to it, beaming. He reached up and stroked Spearow’s feathers, whispering to it, “You did good. Thank you.” Spearow trilled happily, and Kiai returned it to its pokéball.

 

“And now,” said Nurse Joy, “to bed. I'll show you two to our guest wing.” She led them out of the medical area, and down another hall that looked like a dormitory. She opened a door to a room, empty except for two beds, a lamp, and a phone on a small bureau. “You two can sleep here for the night, I'll wake you up tomorrow morning.” Kiai and Emily both thanked Nurse Joy as she left, and the two fell into their beds. Rattata curled up on Kiai's pillow, and Shellshocker curled up with Emily

 

Emily snuggled into her bed with Shellshocker. She had, naturally, changed into her pajamas before heading to bed, though she had begun to notice Kiai never did, and began to wonder if he even had any other clothes with him. She shrugged it off and fell asleep. She hoped the night would be uneventful, unlike the night before, but it wasn't. Once again the nightmare began to grip her. She began to roll around in her bed, beginning to breathe heavily as she groaned. “No, you can't...” she spoke. “No, don't come any closer...you can't...” She screamed as she found herself waking up this time. Shellshocker jumped at the scream and looked at Emily, a very worried look on its face.

 

Kiai was up too, and Emily soon saw him looking over Shellshocker. “Not again, Emily...” he spoke, with a very worried look on his face.

 

Emily sighed as she closed her eyes. “Every night...” she spoke. She shut her eyes tighter. Finally, she tossed the covers from her bed and ran to Kiai's bed. She hopped onto it and hugged him. Her grip seemed to say that she didn't want to let him go.

 

Kiai sighed to himself. He wished he could get into the head of his friend and help her, but he knew he couldn't. He pulled the blankets over them, wrapped his arms around Emily, and held her close. “It's ok,” he whispered softly, “I'm here.”

 

Emily sniffled as tears rolled down her cheeks. “C-can I...sleep here tonight...?” she asked through her sniffles. She didn't want to be away from Kiai at this time.

 

Kiai paused, but eventually said, “Yes, of course you can.” He held her tighter, not wanting to let her go either.

 

“Thank you,” Emily spoke, holding Kiai as close to her as she could. She soon managed to drift back off to sleep. Once she was asleep, Kiai also allowed himself to drift into sleep. The night was mostly uneventful from there on. As day came, Nurse Joy opened the door to their room. She awoke them and Emily stretched a bit. As she rolled onto her side, Kiai shifted a little, their lips touching, and his hand gently resting upon her breast, which was covered only by her shirt. Kiai, however, hadn't awoken yet, and she blushed.

 

Kiai shifted slightly in his sleep, pushing his hand into Emily’s breast and his lips into hers. Emily blushed even more. She was actually enjoying it a little, but this wasn't really how she had imagined her first kiss. After a moment, however, she pushed him off the bed, making him fall with a fairly loud “Thud!” This awoke and dazed him. Emily looked down a bit, her face turning a little redder.

 

Kiai slowly opened his eyes, staring straight up at Emily. He let out a long, drawn-out, painful “...Oooooowwwwwwwwww...”

 

Emily giggled a little. “Well, that's what you get for groping me in your sleep.” She turned, trying to pretend like she was upset. Once she had her face turned away from him, though, she blushed a bit more. She was trying to get the thought out of her mind, but the more she tried, the more she thought of it.

 

“Groping you...?” Kiai laid on the floor, staring up at the ceiling, a look of utter confusion plastered on his face.

 

“Yeah, grabbing my breasts, like you did the night before last, too,” Emily spoke, turning to look at him and sticking her tongue out at him. “Anyway...I'm going to change...” She stood to her feet, grabbed her backpack, and headed off to the bathroom.

 

Kiai’s face turned red as it sunk in what he did, though he didn't really feel it was worth knocking him to the ground. He got up, and pulled a change of clothes out of his backpack, and proceeded to undress. He pulled out a non-descript white t-shirt and a pair of shorts, identical to what he was already wearing, save for a little less dirt. He pulled them on, decided he was still tired, and crawled back into the bed, pulling the blanket over his head.

 

Emily entered the bathroom and walked in, setting her backpack down next to her. She shut the door, locked it, and proceeded to pull off her shirt. She dropped her pants, then walked to the nearby mirror and looked into it. After a moment, she turned and walked back to her backpack, now pulling out a different outfit, consisting of a blue mini skirt that had little cyan colored polka dots, along with a brown halter top, which she first tied at the bottom, then pulled up and tied around her neck. Once she was done, she pulled on her outfit a little, then frowned. “Either this outfit shrank, or I grew a bit since I last wore it...cause it's tighter then I remember...”

 

Emily then proceeded to put her clothes back in her backpack. She then left the bathroom and opened the door to their room. She blinked when she saw the big lump in Kiai's bed. She sighed. “Kiai, come on, wake up.” She walked over and pulled the sheets off his bed.

 

Kiai sat up, grabbed the sheets from Emily's hands, and laid back down, mumbling something about “five more minutes.”

 

Emily sighed, then, once again, pushed Kiai off the bed. “Get up you lazy bum.”

 

Kiai's hand reached out of the tangle of blankets that he fell off the bed with, grabbed the pillow, and pulled it down to the floor. Emily sighed. She looked to Shellshocker and nodded. Shellshocker rushed over to him and, once Emily had removed any covers that covered him, Shellshocker inhaled, blasting Kiai with his Water Gun attack. “Wake up, you lazy bum.” She then pulled the pillow away and hit him on the head with it.

 

Kiai sat up, his head dripping wet. He stood up to face Emily, then shook his head violently, splashing her with droplets of water. Emily held her hands up to try and block the water. Once he was done, she giggled. “Serves you right,” she spoke. “Next time you should wake up when I tell you to.”

 

Kiai glared at her for a few seconds, then smiled. “Yes Ma'am,” he spoke and snapped his hand up in a mock salute, clicking his heels together.

 

Emily gave him a half glare, then turned. “Anyway, let's grab some food and go see how that Psyduck is doing.”

 

“Good call,” Kiai said, grabbing his backpack as Rattata leapt onto his shoulder. They strolled out of the Pokémon Center into the bright morning sun. It was a picturesque day, and so early in the morning, nearly no one was out yet. They spotted a cafe just down the street, where they had their breakfast. Emily tried out a few desserts, while Kiai scrolled through his Pokédex for information the Pokérus, and Squirtle blew bubbles for Rattata to chase.

 

While she ate happily, Emily couldn't help but think about the Psyduck that was still at the Pokémon Center. After she had finished, she pulled out her pokedex. “Psyduck...hmm...”

 

“Psyduck, the duck Pokémon,” the Pokédex spoke, “when its headache intensifies, it starts using strange powers. However, it has no recollection of its powers, so it always looks befuddled and bewildered.”

 

“Hmm...so it uses its powers best when it has a headache?” she pushed a button, which moved to the next Pokémon in the list.

 

“Golduck, the duck Pokémon, he is the evolved form of Psyduck. The webbed flippers on its forelegs and hind legs and the streamlined body of Golduck give it frightening speed. This Pokémon is definitely much faster than even the most athletic swimmer.”

 

“So it evolves into Golduck, huh? Interesting.” Emily smiled. “Golduck looks so awesome!”

 

“Mmm...” nodded Kiai, without looking up from his own pokédex, “Golduck is critical for water-type trainers, as it's hands-down the strongest Water-type with Psychic powers. Sure you have Slowbro and Polywrath, but they're both far too difficult to deal with.” Once again, Kiai seemed to be a walking, talking pokédex. At length, he closed his pokédex and stood up. “Come on, I know you're eager to see how Psyduck is doing.”

 

Emily blinked and closed her pokédex as well. “Yeah, that Psyduck was pretty badly injured yesterday, so I really do hope it is okay now.” Emily stood to her feet and followed Kiai back to the Pokémon Center. There, Nurse Joy greeted them.

 

“Welcome back,” Nurse Joy spoke.

 

“Thank you, how is that Psyduck doing? Is he okay?” Emily asked.

 

Nurse Joy smiled. “He's perfectly fine, today,” her face changed to showing sadness as she finished, “but he still has the Pokérus. So please, keep watch on him, won't you?”

 

“I will,” Emily spoke, nodding. Nurse Joy handed the still blue pokéball to Emily.

 

“What about the pokéball?” Emily asked.

 

“It's a result of the Pokérus. The pokéball becomes shiny as well...”

 

Emily looked at it. “Interesting...well, as long as Psyduck is okay.” She tossed the pokéball to the ground, and the blue Psyduck popped out.

 

“Psy...duck...” the Psyduck spoke as it tilted its head.

 

“I'll nickname you...” she thought for a moment. “Goldy.”

 

“Psy...duck...” the Psyduck spoke as it tilted its head.

 

Kiai raised an eyebrow. “I...guess that means he approves?”

 

“Psy...duck...” the Psyduck once again spoke as it once again tilted its head.

 

“...Sure, why not,” Kiai spoke. “Anyway, Nurse Joy, is the Pokérus contagious?”

 

Nurse Joy shook her head. “No, we can get it to the point where contaminated Pokémon won't spread it to others.”

 

“Well, that's good, I suppose...I'd hate for all of our other Pokémon to catch it...although...” she thought for a moment, envisioning what Shellshocker would look like shiny. She shook her head and shrugged it off. “While I don't agree with it, it does make the Pokémon look pretty cool.” She held up the blue pokéball. “Goldy, return!” the beam shot out and absorbed the blue Psyduck into the ball. She turned to look at Kiai. “I'm a little surprised you didn't ask why I named it Goldy, as it isn't a Golduck, or gold colored.”

 

Kiai shrugged. “I remember when we were young and you used to call me Ponyta. Ever since then, I never really questioned your decisions in naming things...I knew it would just be asking for trouble.” Kiai was sadly unable to dodge the smack that Emily aimed for the back of his head.

 

Emily cleared her throat, then turned away from Kiai. “Well, anyway, if we're going to go for badges, we should start making our way to Pewter City, right?”

 

Kiai was about to answer that question when a loud “Stop thief!” was heard outside. Emily quickly darted forward to find out what was going on. Outside the Pokémon Center stood a scared woman. “That man stole my son's Pokémon!” she told Emily, and Emily turned, seeing a man running off. He was a bit far to see clearly, but he didn't wear a Team Rocket outfit, or so it appeared.

 

Kiai ran outside just after Emily, as Officer Jenny ran past them, blowing her whistle. Kiai quickly grabbed a pokéball on his belt. “Spearow, Peck Attack!” Spearow popped out of the pokéball in mid-flight, and flew swiftly toward the thief. It passed Jenny and caught up to the thief, pecking madly at his head, stalling him just long enough for Jenny, Kiai, and Emily to catch up.

 

“Get off me, you dumb bird!” the man shouted.

 

“Stop right there,” Jenny spoke, grabbing the man by the arm. “Who are you, and what are you up to?”

 

The man growled, then looked to see Emily and Kiai approaching him as well. The man grinned. “Awesome, the bosses plan worked,” he spoke, pulling his arm from Officer Jenny. “Listen, Officer, I'm just doing a job my boss told me to do. You see, he said if I steal a Pokémon sometime around this time, he was certain that you two,” he said the last part as he turned to look at Kiai and Emily, “would appear.” He tossed the pokéball up and down in his hand. “So, here, you can have your ball back, now that I've gotten your attention.” He tossed the pokéball away and Jenny caught it quickly. “I challenge you to a two-on-two match. You both bring out a Pokémon, and I'll bring out two of mine.” The man grinned. “Winner takes the loser’s Pokémon.”

 

“We decline.” spoke Kiai simply.

 

“Aww, what's wrong, you scared?” the man asked, laughing. Officer Jenny once again grabbed the guy. “I told you, you can have your ball back, now go away.” He managed to break free of Officer Jenny, then hit her in the side with his arm, knocking her down. He smirked as he looked back at Kiai and Emily. “Now, then, as I was saying. You and I are going to duel, two-on-two, or do you need some convincing?” He pulled out a pokéball and tossed it into the air.

 

A snake like Pokémon appeared and hissed. “Ekans, let's convince them to duel. Use your wrap attack...on Officer Jenny!” The Ekans obeyed, wrapping itself around Officer Jenny and squeezing her tight. Jenny tried to break free, but couldn't. “Now, for every time you decline, my Ekans will squeeze her harder.” He pulled out two more pokéballs. “Go, Sandslash and Charmeleon!” he shouted. He tossed the two pokéballs into the air and a brown, mole like Pokémon popped out of one, the other was more like an orange dragon without wings with a fire at the end of its tail.

 

Kiai stared at the man for a while, debating his position. Finally, he decided. “Spearow, Rattata, Shellshocker...attack the Ekans.” Kiai himself lunged at the man, his fist balled up, hitting him square in the nose. The man didn't have time to react before Kiai hit him again in the gut, doubling him over. Before Kiai could do anymore, he felt a surge of pain on his back, and warm blood drip down; Sandslash was defending its master, while the Charmeleon didn’t seem to care.

 

Kiai turned, but couldn't do much more than back away, until a large red glove punched the Sandslash hard in the side of the face, sending it skidding across the ground. “Good work, Hitmochan!” shouted Jenny, as Spearow, Rattata, and Shellshocker wrestled with the out-matched Ekans. The man looked up, a bead of blood flowing from his nose.

 

“Dammit!” he spoke, and holding out a pokeball, “Sandslash, ret-” at that point, a pair of handcuffs fell over his wrist. “You're under arrest for Pokémon theft and association with known criminal element Team Rocket, as well as assaulting an officer of the law.” Jenny picked the man up by the collar, and began dragging him away. As she did, he looked back and scowled at Kiai and Emily.

 

“Team Rocket won't give up!” the man shouted.

 

Emily sighed and shook her head. “Some people...” she sighed and shrugged. “I guess it's good to know none of his Pokémon have the Pokérus, though...so Team Rocket isn't infecting all of their Pokémon with it.” She sighed again. “Anyway, we should get going...I sure hope that's the last we see of Team Rocket...at least for now.”

 

“They won't try anything with Jenny on the watch, but as soon we leave the city limits all bets are off.” Kiai sighed. He was expecting action and adventure, but he wasn't expecting his safety to be at risk. He looked down at Rattata, who was looking proudly back up at him. He smiled. Somewhere inside him, he knew they would make it through ok. He pointed a pokéball at Spearow and called out, “Good job Spearow, Return!” Spearow zapped back into its pokéball, and Kiai knelt down and lifted Rattata up.

 

Kiai gazed into Rattata’s eyes, and it seemed to stare back. Rattata seemed just as determined as Kiai did. “Right.” he said, placing Rattata on his shoulder and turning toward Emily. “Should we be off? If Team Rocket won't relent, neither will I. I'll see this through to the end, no matter what.”

 

Emily nodded. “Yeah, let's go...I doubt that Team Rocket will try much of anything once we get into...” she paused and shuddered. “Viridian Forest...” She shuddered again and wrapped her arms around Kiai. “You'll be there to help me, right?”

 

“No, I'm going to leave you at the first Kakuna cluster.” Kiai spoke, sounding very indifferent.

 

“You better be joking about that,” Emily spoke, pushing against him a little.

 

“Joking about what? Dropping a Caterpie down the back of your shirt?” Kiai spoke, still sounding indifferent, and somewhat cold.

 

Emily pouted. “You wouldn't really do that, would you?”

 

Kiai leaned down and put his face close to hers, a very stern look in his eyes. He paused, staring hard at her. “No.” he said simply, and broke into a grin as he playfully tapped her nose.

 

Emily let go of him and put her hands on her hips, her face showing a somewhat annoyed look. “That wasn't very funny, you know?”

 

“Listen kiddo...” Kiai began, his voice softening. “If I can beat off three Beedrills with a stick for you, I can be there to see you claim first prize at the Pokémon Tournament Championship.” He smiled, and began walking down the road...before he paused, turned around, and sheepishly said, “If I let you win, that is,” before breaking into a run.

 

“If you let me win?” Emily growled a little, but playfully. She then dashed off towards him, quickly snatching Shellshocker off the ground as she did. The two then began to run off towards Viridian Forest and the next great part of their adventure.

[EmilyAnnCoons 7]

Chapter 4: Of Beedrills and Bug Pokémon

 

It didn't take much time at all before they found themselves at the entrance to Viridian Forest. The meadow had stopped, returning to trees once more as Viridian Forest now stood before them. Kiai and Emily stopped at the entrance and Emily stood behind Kiai, wrapping her arms around him as she began to shake. “Okay, Emily...they're just bug Pokémon...you can handle this...” she spoke, then bit her lip. “I hope I can do this...”

 

Kiai and Emily walked down the main path of the forest, and Kiai spotted several different varieties of Pokémon, mostly Caterpie and Metapod, with a few Butterfree’s flying amongst the treetops. Weedles, being a bit shyer, were harder to find. "See?" spoke Kiai, gently nudging Emily, "there's nothing to be afraid of. You're perfectly safe."

 

One Caterpie crawled up to Emily and she looked down at it. Her face turned to fear, but she tried her hardest not to move. It began to move closer, and she continued to fight, but the closer it got, the less she could. Finally, she lost it when it grabbed onto her leg and began crawling up. At that pointed she jumped back, falling onto her butt. "Get it off, get it off, get it off!" she spoke frantically as she waved her leg around, finally tossing the bug Pokémon off her leg. "It's creepy and gross!" she spoke loudly.

 

Kiai shrugged. Experience was experience. He pointed at the Caterpie, and shouted, "Rattata, Quick Attack!" Rattata dashed toward the Caterpie, head butting it and sending it flying into the forest.

 

Emily sighed and stood up. "I hope I can get rid of this fear eventually...or at least turn it into bug Pokémon just being gross...instead of scary AND gross..." she looked at her leg. "Honestly, though, it is really creepy to feel a Caterpie walking up your bare leg like that...not to mention just gross..."

 

Kiai hung his head. "You know, Emily, we're going to be going up against a tried-and-tested Gym leader in only a few days. Shellshocker barely has any fighting experience, and you have about the same. This is pretty much your last chance to become comfortable with Pokémon battles. I'm sorry that it's against Bug-types, but think of it this way; you can overcome your fear at the same time.”

 

Emily sighed. "I know..." she hung her head as well. "I really haven't been worrying about experience much..." she looked up at the bug Pokémon around her. "All right...let's give this a try I guess...Shellshocker, tackle that one over there." Emily pointed to a nearby Caterpie and Shellshocker rushed forward. The Caterpie turned to look at Shellshocker, only to get struck in the head by a Tackle. The Caterpie bounced back a little, then shook its head.

 

The Caterpie rushed forward, Tackling Shellshocker now. Shellshocker took the hit and bounced back a little. "Shellshocker, Water Gun!" Emily shouted. Shellshocker inhaled a bit, then shot a burst of water from his mouth once more, which struck the Caterpie and pushed it back. It then fell backwards, swirls appearing in its eyes. "Yes!" Emily shouted. "I guess that wasn't too bad..." She turned, her eyes going wide, her face turning to fear, as she found herself now staring at four Caterpies, all facing her. "Shellshocker!" she shouted. Shellshocker quickly rushed to her side. "Hit them with Water Gun!" Shellshocker inhaled, then shot water out of his mouth at each one, knocking each one back. They turned and ran off and Emily sighed.

 

Kiai approached her, clapping his hands. She turned to say something smart, thinking he was doing it sarcastically, until she saw the sincerity on his face. He wrapped his arms around her and embraced her. "I'm very proud of you, Emily." he spoke.

 

Emily blushed. "Thanks...that was a lot harder then it probably looked, though..." she shuddered. "Bug Pokémon..." she sighed. "Icky and scary..."

 

"I know it was harder than it looked, that's why I'm so proud of you." He hugged her extra-tight, then stepped back, still smiling. "I'm somewhat surprised at you. I know you don't like Bug Pokémon, but Butterfree's are really pretty, and not icky at all."

 

"Well, Butterfree's are pretty...but in general, most bug Pokémon are icky...and they are only scary because of that Beedrill incident..." she sighed. "I think I'll be okay as long as no Beedrill appear, though...if they do...I'll scream..." No sooner had she spoken, then a Beedrill flew over her head.

 

Emily felt the light gust of wind and heard the Beedrill shout "Beedrill!" as it flew by. Emily held in her fear for a moment, but luckily it had only passed by, meaning as quickly as she tensed up, she also relaxed.

 

"Well, no point in sitting around and waiting for the Metapods to hatch. Let’s go." Kiai offered his hand to Emily, who still seemed somewhat shaken just to be standing in the middle of the forest. She smiled, and reached out to take it. Together, hand in hand, they walked down the path of the forest.

 

Emily smiled as she looked at Kiai. Even though she was shaking from fear, she was at least happy that Kiai was here next to her. Another Beedrill flew by her head, and she once again tensed up, but soon quickly relaxed once more. She pulled out her blue pokeball and looked at it as they continued to walk. "I wonder just how powerful Goldy is...since he has the Pokérus."

 

Kiai looked at it, he too was rather curious. "If it was anything else, it might be easy to tell...but Psyducks are so...weird. You can never tell how intense their headache is, so it would be hard to find a baseline in terms of strength. But I'm sure we could find a bug somewhere to test out on." As if reading his mind, a Venonat hopped out of a bush on the side of the path and bumbled along into the forest.

 

"Eep!" Emily spoke, but then pushed herself to fight her fear. She tossed the blue pokeball forward. "Go, Goldy!" The ball hit the ground and opened, releasing the Psyduck within. He sparkled as he appeared, then gave a blank stare at the Venonat.

 

"Psy..." Goldy began and he brought his hands up and set them on his head, holding his head, "...duck..." he finished. Emily pulled out her pokedex to check on Psyduck's attacks.

 

"Scratch...ok..." Emily spoke, then looked back up at Goldy. "Goldy, use Scratch attack!" Goldy waddled forward, brought his hand around, and scratched the Venonat in front of him. The Venonat barely felt the attack, however, and turned to look at Goldy. It stepped back, then rushed forward, hitting Goldy with a fierce Tackle. Venonant just seemed to bounce off, however, as Goldy gave almost no response to the attack.

 

"Interesting..." said Kiai. "Here, lets try something. Oi, Goldy!" Goldy turned to look at him.

 

"...Psy...?" Goldy responded. Kiai began making strange faces and saying all sorts of conflicting gibberish. "...Pssyyyy...?"

 

"Quick, Goldy, derive Bernoulli's Formula using Newton’s Laws. And while you're at it, write a thesis paper on string theory."

 

Goldy grabbed its head, crossed its eyes and began wobbling back and forth, muttering "Psy-y-y-y…"

 

Kiai, grinned, and whispered to Emily, "There, now try!"

 

"All right...Goldy...use Psychic!" Goldy looked at Emily, giving a confused look. He wobble around a little bit, then, when he faced Venonat, the bug Pokémon charged for another Tackle. It hit Goldy right in the head, and Goldy's eyes began to glow.

 

"Psyduck!" Goldy shouted. It suddenly seemed to be acting as if it was intelligent. The Venonat soon found itself lifted off the ground and floated into the air. The Venonat then shot off, flying towards a nearby tree, slamming hard into it.

 

"Good, now use Confusion!" Goldy's eyes continued to glow. Electric-like bolts of purple light shot off towards Venonat, which hit it and made it react in pain. A moment later, the Venonat's eyes swirled as it walked around. "Yes! Now, Goldy, hit it with a Psybeam!"

 

"Psy...duck..." Goldy spoke and it's eyes stopped glowing and it tilted its head. It was back to its normal self.

 

"Damn it! Goldy, return!" she shouted, and held out the blue pokeball, allowing the Psyduck to be zapped back inside. "Go! Shellshocker!" Emily shouted and Shellshocker rushed forward. "Hit it with Tackle!" Shellshocker rushed forward, striking the Venonat with a good, hard Tackle attack. The Venonat fell to its back, its eyes swirling. "I don't want it, but you can have it," Emily spoke as she looked to Kiai.

 

Kiai smiled. "You're a Pokémon trainer, Emily. You don't catch the ones you like, you don't catch a fair amount, you don't even catch the vast majority. You got to catch them all, even if you don't use it. Now finish this off right."

 

"Aww, all right..." Emily pouted, then shrugged. "But I'll trade it to you later if you get a water Pokémon." She pulled out a pokeball and tossed it forward. It struck the knocked out Venonat and absorbed it into it. The ball landed and shook for a moment, then the light faded. "All right...I caught a...bug Pokémon..." she spoke, not really all that thrilled. "I'll send it to Professor Oak once we get to Pewter City."

 

"He'll probably be surprised that you caught it." Suddenly he had a thought. "You know something? We should ask Professor Oak about the Pokérus; maybe even send him Goldy for a quick checkup!"

 

"That's a pretty good idea," Emily spoke, nodding. "He might know something..." She walked over and picked up the pokeball and looked at it. She then placed it on her belt, then looked at Kiai. "You got to admit, that was pretty interesting...using Goldy...I wonder what it will be like when it evolves..."

 

"As powerful as Psyduck, but without needing a headache to get there." Kiai spoke. They began walking down the path again, when Kiai wondered out loud, "I wonder why there are no spider-like Pokémon..." As he said this, he tickled Emily's lower back, quickly working his fingertips up her spine.

 

Emily froze. "Spider-like Pokémon?" she felt Kiai's hand moving on her back. She closed her eyes tight. "Are you sure there's none? Cause there's something on my back..." she was trying to keep from screaming, and had no idea it was Kiai playing a joke on her.

 

"Yes, there is...it's a TICKLEMON!" Kiai swung his other arm around and tickled Emily.

 

"Eee!" Emily squeeled and giggled. Once he stopped, she smacked him on the back of his head. "You know, you really had me scared for a moment that a bug really was crawling up my-"

 

Emily’s sentence was cut off by a sudden "Beedrill!" from behind. Her body tensed up, and she turned her head, her eyes coming in contact with a fairly large Beedrill. It seemed to float there, not moving, and Emily quickly spun around, so her full body was facing it, and began to step back. "Don't hurt me..." she spoke, the Beedrill flying up in her face now. "Shellshocker..." she spoke, terrified. "W-water Gun!" Shellshocker inhaled and shot a blast of water out at the Beedrill's side. It knocked him away for a single moment, and Emily's body seemed to react by fainting.

 

The Beedrill was coming back now, though, aiming its pins at Shellshocker. Shellshocker quickly inhaled once more and shot another blast of water at the Beedrill, knocking it back and onto the ground this time. Shellshocker quickly ran to Emily, then looked to Kiai, almost giving him a look of "take care of that thing!"

 

"Rattata, get in there and Bite it!" Rattata leapt toward the Beedrill, which narrowly missed the speedy Rattata with its spikes. The two fought, but Beedrill was losing badly, being unable to attack a small target so close. The two fell to the ground, and Rattata leapt away. Kiai glared at it. "You're mine now." He threw a pokeball, easily catching the weakened Beedrill. After collecting it, he returned to Emily, gently lifting her up into his arms. "Emily?" he whispered, "are you ok?"

 

Emily groaned. "Huh? What?" she looked to Kiai. "Oh, thank heavens." She hugged Kiai. "That's the closest I've ever been to a Beedrill since that day...I was so scared...once I told Shellshocker what to do...I couldn't hold it anymore...my body just lost it..." she began to cry. "It was so scary..."

 

* * *

 

It was six years ago. Emily was much younger, and it occurred in the summer time. Emily smiled as a small Caterpie crawled towards her. At this time, she, her father, and Kiai, were all out near the Viridian Forest due to some business that Emily's father had. Kiai was there because he had a weird feeling before, and didn't want to leave Emily alone. "Look, Kiai!" Emily spoke, tugging on his shirt. "It's a Caterpie! It's a little icky...but it becomes a beautiful Butterfree!"

 

Kiai smiled, and reached down to the Caterpie. It lazily crawled up his arm and across his back, which tickled him and made him giggle. "Eww! You let it crawl on you!"

 

Emily looked up and blinked, seeing her father had walked off. She now remembered that her father had said "Take care of her, Kiai, I'll be back in a minute."

 

Emily shrugged and turned, now looking up at the forest. "Viridian Forest looks kind of spooky. Dad says there's nothing scary in there...just a lot of bug Pokémon..."

 

"Bug Pokémon aren't scary." spoke Kiai, as the Caterpie crawled down his other arm and away on business of its own. He was trying to sound brave, even though he was a little scared being in the forest alone.

 

"They are a little...they're really icky, too," Emily nodded. She looked around for a moment, then something got her eye. A lone tree, sitting separate from the others was nearby, and on it were a small cluster of Kakuna. "Look at that!" she shouted and rushed over. She got close, but not too close. "All of those Kakuna! Amazing!"

 

Kiai, intrigued, followed close behind her. "Wow...that's really cool..." Suddenly, a sliver of white light shown through a crack down the back of one of them. "Look!" whispered Kiai, pointing, "It's evolving!" The two watched as not one, but three Kakuna began to crack open, and three fully-evolved Beedrill emerged.

 

"Wow!" Emily spoke. "Amazing! Bug Pokémon are really cool when they evolve." The Beedrills spread their wings and flew up a little. However, the voices of children startled them, and they began looking around. It took only a moment for one to spot Kiai and Emily.

 

"Beedrill bee!" one of the Beedrill shouted, and the other two responded

 

Emily's eyes went wide. "What's going on, Kiai?"

 

"...Run. Just run, Emily!" Kiai turned and ran, and Emily followed. Not a moment too soon, as the Beedrills were already hot on their trail. They dashed through the woods, making for the entrance to the path, when suddenly Kiai heard a shriek and a thud. He stopped short and turned around to see the three Beedrill swarming around Emily, who had tripped over an exposed root. Kiai screamed fiercely, grabbed a stick, and ran head-long into the Beedrill. He bashed one on the head, and swatted at the other two until they gave up and flew off. He looked down at Emily, who had been stung a few times, and was drifting in and out of consciousness. He summoned all his strength to hoist her up onto his shoulders, and he carried her out of the forest to the Pokémon Center.

 

"Kiai..." Emily spoke. She groaned. As Kiai entered the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy rushed to help out. The next few minutes were a jumbled mess, seemingly to be an almost infinitely long time period to Kiai. Finally, after a few minutes, things settled down and Nurse Joy walked over to Kiai and smiled.

 

"She'll be ok," the nurse spoke. "She was just stung a couple times. Luckily you got her here just in time."

 

At that moment, Emily's father burst through the door. "Where's my daughter? Is she okay?" he asked Nurse Joy and she nodded. Kiai and the nurse both helped explain what happened, and Emily's father smiled in the end. "I have to thank you, Kiai. You're a wonderful friend to Emily, and just now, you saved her life." He hugged Kiai. "I just know something good will happen between you two." Emily's dad stood up and looked to the Nurse, who now looked sad.

 

"Given the trauma involved in this..." Nurse Joy began, "...Emily may never be able to be around bug Pokémon again...I fear that something this traumatic usually causes a phobia...and really bad one at that..." she looked down. "I don't know for sure, you'll have to find out yourself, but I fear that she may be afraid of any bug Pokémon after this...and it will be a fear that she will probably never get over..."

 

Emily's father nodded. "I understand, Nurse Joy, even so, at least she is alive."

 

* * *

 

Emily continued to hug Kiai, sniffling a little. "It's all because I was stupid...I wanted to see the Kakuna..." she sniffled a little more. "I shouldn't have ran that far from the entrance..."

 

"It's ok, Emily. It's in the past. I'm not as weak as I once was, and you have Shellshocker as well. We'll never let anything like that happen to you again." Rattata squeaked in annoyance, and Kiai corrected himself. "Of course, you have Rattata too."

 

Emily sniffled and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right..." She sniffled again, then raised her head to look at Kiai. Kiai rose his hand and wiped the tears from her eyes and she smiled a little. Emily slid herself off of Kiai, moving into an actual sitting position, her legs swung around at her side, and her arm resting on her leg. She looked to Kiai. "Can you help me up?" she asked.

 

Kiai smiled, bent down, and wrapped his arms around her. He stood up straight, hoisting her up, but kept his arms around her for a little while. Emily smiled as she hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder for a moment. "I never would have made it this far without you. I'm so glad Professor Oak let you have that fourth Pokémon."

 

"I'm glad too," spoke Kiai, "I'd be terribly lonely without you, and you'd be completely hopeless without me." He unfortunately failed to avoid another smack to the back of his head, but didn't mind.

 

Emily then smiled and turned to walk, but her legs wobbled, and she fall back into Kiai's arms. "Maybe...I'll walk with you a little while?" Kiai pulled one of Emily's arms around his neck, and he held onto her waist, supporting her as they made their way down the path, further away from Viridian City, and ever closer to their first step down Victory Road.

[xstaticalpha 0]

:angry:

 

YOU SUCK

THIS SUCKS

CANT BELIEVE I WASTED 4MINS OF MY LIFE SKIMMING THIS

[Polraudio 122]

:angry:

 

YOU SUCK

THIS SUCKS

CANT BELIEVE I WASTED 4MINS OF MY LIFE SKIMMING THIS

I think it was a nice story to read.

If you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all.