《Bug Catcher Terry - A Pokemon Fanfiction》


 1. No More Weedles, Please?

    The morning sunrise just barely peaked through the towering oak trees of Ilex Forest as I began my trek. My body was moving quickly across the ground while being crouched low, hands clutching my trusty Catcher¡¯s Net, eyes darting around for dangers in every direction. This was all learned behavior, skills built up over years of hunting my chosen quarry.


    *Snap*


    I heard the breaking of a twig not far from me and came to a sudden stop, whirling around in the direction it came from. Could it already be? I¡¯d only been in the forest for a few minutes.


    ¡°Target spotted.¡± I whispered to myself as I viewed the Pokemon I search for during every trip into the forest, laying just 20 feet away. I felt a smile tug at the corner of my lips and my heart started to beat with anticipation.


    Its body was segmented into ever smaller yellow balls, with equally spherical, red, nub-like feet attached to all but the first. The first and last ball-segment each had a matching stinger, with the first also bearing a round red nose that obscured a tiny mouth, all topped with dark beady eyes. Weedle.


    I quickly discerned that it had not yet taken notice of me and so began to move, as slowly and silently as possible, to circle it so that I could approach from behind. The Weedle was busy chewing on a leaf attached to the twig that it snapped so my approach continued unnoticed. The closer I got the more time seemed to slow, my senses heightened for a brief moment, and I took in every detail that I could.


    ¡®The grass is still quite wet from the morning dew, an incorrect takeoff could make me slip. A Hoothoot is cooing 3 trees to the left, I¡¯m probably stealing it¡¯s prey so I''ll need to flee as soon as possible after making the catch. The stinger is primed for an upward strike and has a slight tilt to the right; a swing from the left is going to be the hardest to counter.¡¯


    Lastly: ¡®That leaf is almost gone, I have to do this now!¡¯


    The sudden need for action broke me out of my thoughts and my hands tightened their grip on my net. I launched into a sprint, careful to keep my traction, and wound back my net to the left side. The Weedle heard my approach and just as its stinger started to turn directions I let my net fly and heard a *Whooosh* as it glided through the air. At the moment of contact I tilted my net upwards into a scooping motion as the Weedle¡¯s eyes went wide and it fell in.


    I kept the opening pointed upwards as I slung my net over my back and continued running but adjusted my direction back towards Azalea Town, confident that the Weedle was ill prepared to make the climb out. I just barely began to hear the nearby Hoothoot¡¯s coos take an angry turn before I was out of there.


    Catcher¡¯s Nets were made from apricorn, the same miracle fruit that made the original pokeball. According to my best friend, Maizie, objects made out of apricorns were larger on the inside than on the outside. Though no one can explain exactly why that was the case, people had been exploiting that fact for years to be able to carry and contain pokemon. The inside of my net was actually about 50 feet deep. I also did not feel any additional weight, though if I had more than a few Weedle in there it started to register, but still not by much.


    I quickly made my way out of Ilex Forest, much earlier than usual, and returned back home.


    x-x


    The calming air of Azalea Town washed over me as I passed the check point separating the town from Ilex Forest, the ashy smell of the Charcoal House instantly identifiable on the wind. Another catch successful and without having to face down an actual threat! I raced past my neighbors, the Gantetsus, and headed toward my home.


    The house I, and my dad, grew up in was of modest size but was placed on a large plot of farm land. It, like many buildings in Johto, was hundreds of years old and was built using some very archaic methods, but home was home. Even with a leaky roof, a hundred floorboards of varying creakiness, and a style that would look better in a black and white film than in living color.


    Grandpa used to grow Oran on our farmland but as Goldenrod refined its shipping routes, bigger companies were able to undercut him. Dad was on a journey to see if he had what it took to make it to the Indigo Conference when Grandpa called it quits and closed the farm. He returned home and with his starter, a Beedrill named Beatrice, converted the farm to a Beedrill farm; Bee¡¯s Honey had now been a local favorite for almost 20 years.


    ¡°Mom, Dad, I¡¯ve got a catch already!¡± I yelled into the house as I opened the door. I heard some confused murmurs and then my dad came barreling down the stairs. His tall and wide frame came into view and he held an embarrassed hand up to his mouth.


    ¡°Terry, its barely been an hour, you mean to tell me that our new resident is already here?¡± He said, false worry in his voice. ¡°I¡¯ve barely had time to clean!¡± He grinned at me, eyes eagerly staring at the net slung over my shoulder.


    ¡°Somehow, I don¡¯t think this one will care much for any mess you might have back there¡± I laughed as I motioned to him hand the net. He backed away holding up his hands.


    ¡°Give me a minute boy, let me get my suit on!¡± he called as he started moving back towards the stairs, then stopped for a moment as if he suddenly remembered something, peeking back at me. ¡°Really though, great job Terry. Starting to think catching Weedles might be too easy for you¡­¡± he trailed off, breaking eye contact.


    ¡°I agree, maybe you should let me try catching something else?¡± I retorted.


    ¡°Why would you need to do that?¡± My mother asked, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, popping her head out from behind Dad who winced at her words. Her tall purple hair was more visible than her face as her short legs left her mostly obscured by his rotund form. ¡°Bee¡¯s Honey Farm is always going to need new Beedrill, you¡¯re an important part of the family business.¡±


    ¡°I know, but Maizie is gonna battle Bugsy next week and if she wins she¡¯s gonna leave!¡± I said, with more emotion than intended leaking in. Dad took this moment to sneak away, feeling a familiar argument coming on, and went back to moving up the stairs. Mom shifted to a sympathetic expression and walked closer to me, her bright violet eyes coming into view.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t go on your journey just because your friend is.¡± She warned.


    ¡°I¡¯m not Mom, I really want this, I¡¯ve been studying bug types for practically my whole life and I love them. I¡¯m fascinated by them, and I want to see them used right.¡± I declared trying to keep my back straight and my matching eyes locked onto hers.


    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t go around town saying that, Bugsy is a well respected Gym Leader.¡± Mom scolded


    ¡°Yes, yes, Bugsy is strong, I hear the visiting trainers every year and do you know what they say? ¡®He is strong, for a bug user.¡¯¡± I counter. ¡°Everyone knows that he¡¯s one of the easier Gym Leaders, even with experience he¡¯s only ever hit a certain level.¡± This was, frankly, just me repeating something I read in a trainer forum, but I agreed with it! Mom, however, immediately scoffed.


    ¡°You have no idea what you¡¯re even talking about, you¡¯ve never trained a Pokemon, you¡¯ve never battled before, and you don¡¯t seem to be mentioning fighting Bugsy with Maizie, just joining her for the journey?¡± she said, her expression shifting from one of annoyance to a more taunting look.


    ¡°I want to fight him last.¡± I murmured.


    ¡°Why would you do that?¡±


    ¡°Because if I can beat him at his strongest, at the end of my journey, then I¡¯ll know I¡¯m the strongest bug user in Johto.¡± I stated, my confidence returning. ¡°And then I¡¯ll use what I¡¯ve learned at the Indigo Conference and show the world the real power of Bug Types.¡±


    Mom chuckled and leaned in to give me a light hug, almost whispering ¡°I know you have dreams, honey, I do. I¡¯m just scared for you. You know Ilex well, but the world is dangerous. The League used to say 10 was old enough to start your journey, now they say 15 is okay, but what if they are wrong? What if you get hurt?¡± Her voice cracked slightly at the end.


    ¡°I won''t mislead you, there¡¯s always going to be some risk, but I know how to mitigate risk in the wild.¡± I started. ¡°Trust me, I¡¯m the last person to stupidly get chased by a flock of Spearow, not again!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the fact that it¡¯s happened at all that scares me, you didn''t even bring your bag this morning!¡± She raised her voice a bit again, pointing to the couch where my bag lay undisturbed since I had packed it the night before. ¡°If you had gotten stung by that Weedle earlier you could have died out there!¡±


    The realization made me shudder before I did a light facepalm. ¡°Okay you¡¯re right, that was dumb, but that¡¯s my point. I¡¯ve made all of my dumb early trainer mistakes here rather than on the road.¡± I continued. ¡°And I promise to never forget my bag again, I was rushing this morning because Maizie taught her Slowpoke a new move. Obviously safety should be more important than that. Lesson learned.


    But I don¡¯t think my experience should be discounted. I¡¯m not some kid fresh out of trainer school being handed a starter and told ¡®Good luck!¡¯ Do you know how many Weedle I¡¯ve caught?¡± I paused, giving her a second, but no answer came. ¡°I do. 167. I know how to approach Pokemon and I know how to not die.¡± I finished, my confidence brimming.


    Her eyes flashed doubt and then pride as I spoke but she stayed quiet for a long moment, eyes closed. When she reopened them, the fire from her days as a trainer returned for a moment. ¡°Fine. Prove that your experience means something. The strength of the Beedrill line should not be doubted, true. However, I want you to catch something undeniably stronger than a Weedle. If you can catch something that impresses me within the next week then I will allow you to join your friend.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I hadn¡¯t expected this turn of events at all, usually this discussion ended with a kurt ''You''re not ready.¡¯ ¡°Thank you Mom! Seriously. I¡¯ll bring home a pokemon so strong, they¡¯ll call it overkill for the first Gym!¡± I cheered.


    It was at this moment that my dad came clambering down in his ''Beedrill Suit'' which was a full suit of plate armor. The only suit that could hope to withstand a Beedrill sting. He reached out a steel-clad hand towards my net.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready for that catch, son, and I look forward to seeing your next one. I have no doubt it¡¯ll be one to remember.¡± His eyes gleamed through the visor as he jostled my black hair. He then turned and walked off stiffly towards the back door. While Dad was busy integrating my latest catch I decided to go hang out with Maizie for a little while to strategize for the coming week.


    I let my parents know I¡¯d be next door for a bit and went over to the Gantetsus¡¯ house. While my home was old theirs was downright ancient, being built when the family came South to Johto from Sinnoh. As I knocked on the rotting wood, a familiar old man answered the door, Maizie¡¯s grandpa Kurt. Kurt was well known throughout Johto for being one of the last of a dying breed of pokeball artisans who still handmade pokeballs. The man wore a simultaneously stern and friendly expression and, as always, a loose fitting martial artist¡¯s gi.


    ¡°Hello Terry.¡± Kurt spoke evenly and gave a light bow, which I returned in kind. ¡°You are quite early today, I hope that my granddaughter has not given you reason to shirk your responsibilities to your family. I know that she can get very excited about her pokemon¡¯s progress.¡± He raised an eyebrow and increased the intensity of his gaze.


    ¡°Of course not sir, I simply completed my responsibilities as soon as possible, so that I could see that progress for myself¡± I answered, sure to not bring Kurt¡¯s ire onto me. Ho-oh knows I didn¡¯t want him to think I was a bad influence on his precious granddaughter. While Kurt had a hard exterior, anyone who had seen him interact with Maizie knew she was the apple of his eye. My response seemed to suffice as Kurt gave a small nod and tilted his neck to motion me into the house.


    Maizie was in her room, whittling away at an apricorn by her work desk when I walked in, her Slowpoke, Sunday, sleeping next to her. Her reddish brown hair was tied into her trademark intricate pig tails that gave the appearance of a bow, seemingly defying gravity to stay out of her face while she leaned down, working. ¡°Maizie pause whatever insane pokeball you invented this week, we have an emergency situation!¡± I cried as I rushed into her room, bursting at the seems to inform her about my mom¡¯s challenge.


    ¡°For your information, the partyball¡¯s strobing effect is a game changer as a dual use capture and distraction device!¡± she declared, the small multicolored apricorn glittering in the light as she turned it. ¡°But what¡¯s got you so revved up?¡± she grinned. ¡°Get a new PB on the size of today¡¯s Weedle?¡±


    ¡°First of all, I challenge anyone to find a Weedle heavier than 14.3lbs, that thing evolved the next day, and was abnormally large to begin with!¡± I reminded her. Dad even thought it might be an Alpha pokemon, but with evolution and a more consistent diet it proved to just be a glutinous specimen. I quickly recounted my morning so far to Maizie.


    ¡°YES!!!¡± Maizie shrieked when I got to Mom¡¯s stipulations. Sunday¡¯s eyes flew open at her outburst, but the ever tired Slowpoke quickly realized there was no danger.


    ¡°Poke.¡± he admonished, and resealed his eyes.


    ¡°Sorry Sunday, I know it''s nap time.¡± She gave a light pat on the head to the bulbous pink creature and turned back to me. ¡°Why are you still here? Get in Ilex and catch a bug big enough to drown your house in Sticky Webs so that she¡¯ll want you gone! You have the perfect chance!¡± She cried, quieter than before and only half joking.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m here actually, I wanted to go over my options with you. I have big dreams and all but she was right, I¡¯ve never trained a pokemon and I¡¯ve definitely never battled with one before. I know you aren¡¯t the most well researched in Bugs but if we look at my options together I might avoid getting something I can¡¯t handle.¡± I explained, as I opened the browser in my phone to see recently spotted species in Ilex and pulled out my field notes from catching excursions. We then spent a few hours going back and forth about every Bug type pokemon seen in Ilex in the last few months.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Heracross?¡± I bring up at some point, hope in my voice.


    ¡°You sure you wanna make the jump from swinging your net at a little Weedle to something as tall as you are?¡± She chided


    ¡°Heracross are usually below five feet, I¡¯ll have you know I¡¯m now five foot three... and a half!¡± I countered, knowing she definitely still had a few inches on me.


    ¡°Terry, Terry, Terry.¡± She shook her head and waved a finger with a grin. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that only people who are insecure about their height say ¡®and a half¡¯?" Maizie teasingly poked me in the ribs while continuing ¡°The point stands, those bastards are big, and I don''t wanna see your remains after you get gored by a Megahorn.¡± The way her blue eyes shimmered at that line made me not entirely sure if I believed her.


    ¡°Okay, okay, point taken, I¡¯ll work up to a Heracross in the future.¡± I concede. ¡°People think one guy saw a Larvesta?¡± I read from a forum post confusedly. ¡°No way one of the rarest bugs in the world was abandoned in Ilex, right?¡± I questioned, letting a bit of hope seep into my voice.


    ¡°That post was 18 days ago Terry, if there ever was a Larvesta in Ilex then it was snatched up by some elite trainer who teleported there within hours of the post going up.¡± She answered, swatting down my hopes. ¡°Actually the more I read, the more I see this is bullshit anyway.¡± Her eyes danced across the post on my phone. ¡°All the poster said was that they saw a strange little bug light a bush on fire and everyone jumped on it with ¡®Larvesta Confirmed!!¡¯ there are other Fire/Bugs, right?¡±


    ¡°Actually there''s only one other line that I know of and though it''s not quite as rare, it is still pretty hard to find and even further away than Unova.¡± I pondered.


    ¡°Moving on, apparently the League is offering a 500 pokedollar bounty to people who catch Pineco in Ilex, to try to curb the population a bit. Could be two birds one stone.¡± Maizie hummed. Now that was a thought. Pineco were usually only dangerous if you disturbed the tree that they called home, often exploding on both pokemon and people who go shaking the wrong branch. Lately I had been noticing them more often in the forest, but thought nothing of it. They weren¡¯t insanely strong but they did gain the Steel type upon evolution, and were definitely a step up in power from Weedle. Plus, extra funds to start my journey definitely wouldn¡¯t hurt.


    ¡°If I can get it to evolve before we hit Goldenrod then it will be great for Whitney, who will be my first gym challenge. I think we have a winner here!¡± I declared, throwing my hands into the air, flush with excitement all over again. The next morning I would go to Ilex Forest to begin my hunt, with Maizie¡¯s gym battle being a week from today that would give me six days to find my catch.


    x-x


    The hunt was not going well. Oh, sure, finding a Pineco was an easy enough task but I clearly underestimated the stories about their penchant for Self-Destruct. Things started easy enough. About an hour after coming to the forest, after narrowly avoiding a cast of Paras, I spotted my first attempt. The Pineco was hanging from a well worn branch, about 10 feet off the ground, and appeared to be asleep. Its body, a pile of thick folded blue scales but for two closed slits laying between the top sets, didn¡¯t stir.


    With my skinny but long arms I was confident I could easily reach it and swipe it up before it even woke up. I gripped my net and put myself in a ready stance. The familiar feeling of the hunt welled up within me, as I took stock of my surroundings.


    ¡®There are no other Pokemon near us. Pineco¡¯s usual tactic is to drop down and Self-Destruct upon reaching the ground, if I can aim the net in its fall zone the attack will be neutralized! The wind is blowing north so I¡¯ll need to aim a little further out than my instincts tell me.¡¯ A plan formulated almost instantly, and I reached a hand for my bag, silently pulling out a small stone.


    ¡®Now just toss the rock at the tree and be ready for when it drops, this is easy, Pineco are no harder than a Weedle¡¯ I tried to convince myself, fear creeping into my first catch in months. ¡®If you miss, that Self-Destruct might kill you.¡¯ My hands began to sweat, the net feeling heavier than before. Before I could break myself out of it, I heard a noise coming from behind me. It was a hiss, somewhere between an Ekans warning an approaching threat and a piece of meat hitting a heated frying pan.


    ¡°SHIT!¡± I loudly whisper, the noise startling me. Immediately I whirl around and let out an amazed gasp as I see the creature that interrupted. It was a red Bug with a small, surprisingly flat body. The creature had a patch of brown of its back and each of the segments that made up its body had a yellow ring on the under side. These rings visibly radiated heat, as did the two whiskers of flame protruding from its tiny mouth.


    ¡°Sizzlipede?! In Ilex?!¡± I shouted, not able to contain my excitement. My thoughts shifted as I met the Sizzlipede¡¯s eyes, each of us challenging the other. This hadn¡¯t been the plan but who was I to ignore good fortune? I reoriented my grip on my net. ¡®Surely the only Sizzlipede in Johto would be impressive?¡¯ I began to try to form a plan off of what little I could remember about them, but my thoughts were interrupted once again by a *Thunk* as something hit the ground behind me.


    ¡®I can¡¯t believe I forgot about the Pineco!¡¯ I broke into a run as I realized what was about to happen. But it was too late. A bright flash of light enveloped me and a burning sensation hit my entire back side. *BOOOM* A moment later I heard an exhausted ¡°Piiiiine¡± in the distance as the pokemon lost consciousness.


    Pain radiated from every limb as I took stock of my current situation. I wasn¡¯t dead, which was great news. I was, however, absolutely covered in burns. Though, upon closer inspection, not too bad of burns, all likely first degree. ¡®A Burn Heal, Potion, some rest and I¡¯ll be all set.¡¯ I thought as I reached into my bag. I heard a skittering in the distance and remembered that Ariados liked to hunt Pineco after they Self-Destruct. With them being completely immobilized, Pineco were easy prey.


    So I gathered myself and ran like hell until I felt I was a safe enough distance to take a break. A half hour later I was sitting in a clearing letting my medicines do their work and eating some pre-packed sandwiches.


    ¡®I have no idea where that Sizzlipede ran off to.¡¯ I realized, now that the rush of everything that had happened was finally wearing off. ¡®Should I search for it or stick with the more reliably easy catch of Pineco?¡¯ I pondered, not sure of what my course of actions should be. I couldn¡¯t waste the whole week searching for one specimen in the entirety of Ilex Forest, the likelihood of finding it again being quite low, but the prize of such a rare bug for this part of the world was too alluring. I resolved to keep looking for the centipede pokemon, but to try to catch any Pineco I found along the way.


    I had already cleared camping out in Ilex for the week with my parents, so I spent the rest of the day investigating the area around my clearing. While I saw quite a few members of the Beedrill and Butterfree lines, I was unable to find any more Pineco and that Sizzlipede seemed to be long gone. I set up camp in my clearing and kept a fire going to ward off any Zubat that might come out at night, falling asleep under the stars.


    The next day, unfortunately, would go much like the first. I found 3 Pineco over the course of the day and failed to catch all of them, you see trainers are not generally supposed to catch unconscious pokemon. Pokemon caught while unconscious could kill their trainers upon release, or go into shock upon gaining consciousness in a pokeball that they did not willingly submit to and could not break out of. This was a problem because it is shockingly easy to make a Pineco make itself unconscious.


    The first saw me coming a mile away and dropped itself into a Self-Destruct much too early, luckily no pain involved there. The second, however, was picked up by a Pidgeotto while I was slowly climbing its tree. ¡°Piiidge.¡± It cooed at me mockingly, seemingly believing it had stolen my prey. But then the telltale flash of light came and for a brief second the Pidgeotto and I made eye contact, my own intense fear reflected back in its eyes and *BOOOM* we were caught in my second (and definitely not last) Pineco explosion of the week.


    After treating my wounds once again, I was back out for the third in the late afternoon. This time, during my approach, a trainer with 2 pokeballs on his belt wandered up and shouted ¡°Look out for that Pineco!¡± pointing up at the tree, causing it to drop and pop once again. Neither of us were close enough to get hurt but it soured me so much that I just walked away huffing without saying anything to him, the remainder of the day a complete wash as the sun was going down soon.


    x-x


    For the entirety of days 3, 4, and 5 it rained. I really tried to make the best of it, but with the ground essentially turning to mud by mid day 3, the reduced visibility, and what I could only assume was an oncoming cold I completely failed to make any headway. One thing I did get better at was estimating the fall of a Pineco. I got hit by 4 more explosions over the course of those days, but I was able to predict the fall point of a Pineco within a few inches by the end.


    On the morning of day 6, my final opportunity to catch a pokemon before Maizie¡¯s Gym match, the sun was bright in the sky, breaking through the trees of Ilex in a surprisingly strong way, though it may have just felt that way after 3 days of rain. It took until the early afternoon to find the only Pineco I would find that day. It was hanging from a high branch, about 25 feet in the air, in a massive Cheri Tree.


    The Pineco was greedily going to town on the berries when I spotted it. ¡®Good, its distracted, the stone drop trick will work here again.¡¯ I readied a small rock in my hand and gathered information on my surroundings. ¡®The ground is still soaked, not having to move to make the catch would be best.¡¯ I slowly put myself into position under the Pineco, trying to figure out exactly where it would fall from its current position without drawing attention to myself.


    The only other pokemon nearby was a Farfetch¡¯d that seemed to be pecking at the ground with its beak, which I promptly ignored. ¡®It¡¯s time. Nothing is going to stop you from getting this Pineco and then you¡¯ll be able to see all of Johto with your best friend. You will not fail here.¡¯ I tried to psych myself up as I decided on the perfect position to stand, my many failures so far weighing on me. ¡®It just needs to fall in.¡¯


    I let the rock fly from my hand, it hit the branch right next to the Pineco causing it to bellow in surprise and immediately start to fall. I saw its armored blue body sail through the air, and I knew it, I had it this time. ¡®It¡¯s over, this Pineco is going to be my starter.¡¯ As the thought crosses my mind I saw the Farfetch¡¯d in the distance lift its head, finally consuming whatever it was pecking on the ground. A flat red body a few feet in length dangled from its beak.


    The Pineco fell into my net, body glowing as it was about to Self-Destruct and I didn¡¯t even think about my next choice. I just acted. Before the required 3 seconds for the net to register a Pokemon as mine passed, I braced myself and threw the head of my net forward towards the Farfetch¡¯d with all of my might. The Pineco flew back out of the net and soared through the air, with a new trajectory. I saw the Farfetch¡¯d¡¯s eyes go wide as an exploding Pineco rushed into its face and *BOOOOOM*.


    ¡°Stay the hell away from that Sizzlipede! He¡¯s mine!¡± I yelled before the smoke had even cleared. My heart was pounding ¡®What did i just do? I had it. The Pineco was in my net.¡¯ But then I could see the fainted Farfetch¡¯d holding an equally fainted Sizzlipede, the whiskers of flame almost completely dead from the days of rain. ¡®It was weakened from days in the rain without shelter, it''s not like this pokemon has others that will protect it, there are no other Sizzlipede in Ilex. It would have faced that storm alone and, after barely surviving that, a bird was the last thing it was prepared for.¡¯


    I scooped the Sizzlipede into my hands, the only warmth I felt coming from the yellow rings on its underside, they reminded me of a stove. I stepped over the other two fallen pokemon, wishing them luck with the Ariados and took off. ¡®I¡¯ll try to talk to it after I heal it up, I know I haven''t officially caught it but maybe we can work something out.¡¯ The journey back to camp was uneventful and once we were in a safe spot I laid the pokemon down and began pulling out some potions.


    Its injuries were luckily not that bad, so it took about 2 potions before the Sizzlipede was mostly healed, but the bug remained unconscious for the moment. I got to work setting up a fire, then prepared some meat for myself and my hopeful ally. By the time I was bringing the seared meat to plates I heard a familiar hiss behind me.


    ¡°Sizzzz.¡± it stares at the meat, mouth agape behind it¡¯s flaming whiskers.


    ¡°Hey there! I¡¯m Terry, do you remember me?¡± I asked the fiery little creature, giving it a small wave while doing so. It finally made eye contact with me and tilted its head low, giving me a small bow likely in thanks for saving it from being eaten. The bug then got up on its spike-like feet and walked closer to both me and the fire.


    ¡°Pede?¡± It¡¯s eyes were back on the plates of meat next to the fire.


    ¡°Oh that? Just some meat, did you want some?¡± I baited the pokemon.


    ¡°Sizz! Sizz!¡± The bug nodded eagerly so I picked up the plate with a smaller portion on it gave it to Sizzlipede. It ate voraciously and for the moment the conversation seemed to be over so I ate too, watching the bug enjoy a meal nearly half of it¡¯s own weight. I had heard that Fire pokemon preferred cooked food and so far it seemed to be working. But soon we were both done and we locked eyes once again.


    ¡°So, Sizzlipede, do you want to stay in Ilex? I know this isn¡¯t your original home but you¡¯ve been here for at least a few weeks.¡± I asked as an opening, trying to see if I could convince it to stick around.


    ¡°Pede...Sizzlipede?¡± it answered in the negative at first but then seemed confused, almost as if it was saying ¡®No, but what else am I supposed to do?¡¯


    ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t want to stay here, I have another option for you, would you like to be my partner?¡± Sizzlipede held its stare, seemingly wanting to hear more. ¡°Together we can see all of Johto and maybe even more beyond, hunting the strongest bugs in the world to join our team. I¡¯m in Ilex Forest right now because I want to catch the strongest Bug pokemon that I can to start my journey, and from what I¡¯ve seen, nothing in this forest has as much potential as you.¡±


    ¡°Sizz?¡± The bug replied flatly, it didn¡¯t believe my assertion, many bugs felt weak because that was how the world treated them. Some trainer may even have abandoned Sizzlipede here, unable to see past that perceived weakness. Bug pokemon were some of the most commonly released pokemon in the world. Many trainers caught them early in their journey only to release them later for ''stronger'' pokemon to get the focus of their efforts.


    ¡°Yes, seriously, for whatever reason you got dumped in a corner of the world that you don¡¯t belong in, but still managed to survive for weeks in that foreign land!¡± I argued. ¡°You survived a 3 day storm as a Fire pokemon, with no shelter! There¡¯s not a single pokemon here that I would rather have and today is my last day to catch a pokemon. It¡¯s decision time, either you join me and we see the world or we are both stuck here.¡±


    ¡°Sizzzzz¡­Sizzzzz¡± the pokemon seemed to be thinking hard about this decision, so I played one more card to sweeten the deal.


    ¡°Oh and of course we would be having meat at least once a week.¡± I promised, pointing back towards the plates.


    ¡°Pede.¡± The Sizzlipede bowed once again, but held it this time, swearing fealty to me in exchange for regular treats of meat. Maybe it wasn''t the most glamorous of reasons for my first pokemon to join me, but this was only the beginning, from here on out who knows what we would find together?


    ¡°One more thing.¡± I said to Sizzlipede as we laid under the stars for my final night in Ilex. ¡°You need a name, you are a boy right?¡±


    ¡°Pede, Pede.¡± the creature nodded twice, giving me an expectant look.


    ¡°From today on, you will be known as Stovetop, the strongest Sizzlipede in Johto!¡± I declared, pointing up to the sky. He seemed to like it as he nodded once more and then coiled himself around my arm to go to sleep, the warmth feeling nice against me as I drifted off.

 2. Tortoise V. Hare

    My eyes lazily peeked into the wilderness as the sunrise began to break through the leaves of the massive trees above me. I dreaded the search for Pineco to begin once again, tired of the many uses of Self-Destruct I had taken to the face, back, extremities¡­just everywhere really. A tiny flash of heat on my right arm broke me from my early daze.


    ¡°Sssiiiizzzz.¡± The pokemon wrapped around my arm quietly hissed at me, checking to see if I had awoken.


    ¡®Oh. Right. I have a pokemon now! I¡¯m actually (kind of) a trainer now!¡¯ my brain had taken a moment to catch up from the previous day, my rhythm for the last week having been set in stone.


    ¡°Morning Stovetop!¡± I shouted with glee as I turned towards my new partner. Stovetop raised his head from my shoulder and I softly stroked the center of his forehead with a single finger. He let out a small, happy, hiss and leaned into my affections, better positioning his head so that I could continue. We laid there for a few minutes just enjoying each other''s company before finally getting up and starting the day.


    ¡°I like to start the day with some tamato and rice, do you eat spicy food?¡± I prompted the fiery insect, to no avail. Stovetop merely stared back at me with a look of confusion, so I pulled a tamato out of my bag. The red berry¡¯s spikes reminded me of Stovetop¡¯s feet as I held it out in front of him. ¡°Do you like these?¡±


    ¡°Sizz!¡± Stovetop''s eyes immediately lit up when they fell upon the apparently familiar red skin and he performed an excited series of nods.


    ¡°Okay then, that''s another to add to the list!¡± I reached into my bag to pull out the small leatherbound journal that I used for field notes and turned to the page I had dedicated entirely to my new friend, adding ¡®Tamato¡¯ below meat in the preferred foods section. This was good news for my wallet, especially once we were on the road.


    ¡®Meat¡¯ would, much to my displeasure, need to be amended with the specific species when I returned home, because the truth was that I actually had no idea what I had fed my Sizzlipede. While recognizing that it wasn''t actually any better, I preferred not to know where my meat came from. So much so that before leaving the market my parents would black out the label, often leaving just ¡®Meat¡¯ on the packaging.


    I began building a fire using what remained of the dry wood that I had stashed away on the rainy days and as my hand went towards my bag to grab some flint, a realization dawned on me. ¡°Hey, Stovetop,¡± I began, turning back towards the bug ¡°do you know Ember?¡±


    At the word Ember he flinched and immediately put on a more serious expression before giving me a quick nod. ¡®That¡¯s a bit odd, most pokemon don¡¯t take the mere mention of a move so seriously¡¯ but I kept my thoughts to myself for now.


    ¡°Okay then, show me what you¡¯ve got, Ember those sticks Stovetop¡± I yelled, pointing at the pile of dried twigs and brush, and feeling a rush at ordering the use of a move for the first time.


    The yellow rings on his underside dulled as Stovetop¡¯s fiery whiskers expanded, becoming a small ball of fire. There was a short delay and then a burst of flame shot out and hit the kindling, instantly becoming a sizable fire. All told, using Ember took about 6 seconds.


    ¡®We¡¯ll definitely need to work on bringing that time down, but his mustache looks so funny when it starts expanding!¡¯ I decided to keep these observations to myself as well. ¡°Great job! That¡¯s way easier than using a flint, you¡¯re already a huge help.¡± I praised as I crouched down to give him a light pat on his back.


    Stovetop let out a happy little hiss and celebrated with me for a moment before I got to work cooking. When I finished placing the covered pan of hot water and rice over the fire I turned to him ¡°Now we just have to wait for the water to get hot and the rice to cook¡± We sat and watched the water for a few minutes, before he looked back up at me with a questioning glance.


    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t ready yet, water takes a little bit to go from being cold to being hot.¡± I informed the impatient pokemon, but he did not seem to agree. A moment later he got up and coiled his body around the pan, laying over the fire as if it was a nice breeze. I saw the yellow rings of his body glow and suddenly the water quickly started to boil.


    ¡°Woah, woah, bring down the heat man!¡± I scolded, as I did not want overcooked rice, and waved him away from the cooking implement.


    The heating coils quickly dulled, though the Sizzlipede let out an annoyed hiss as he wandered back over to the spot he had been waiting. A few minutes later I added some diced tamato and soon we were gorging on breakfast.


    x-x


    An hour later we were making our way to Azalea Town. I wanted to try to fight against some wild pokemon during the trip but all of the bugs seemed to avoid us, likely able to spot Stovetop¡¯s glowing stache and coils from afar. We did see a few birds but after the previous day¡¯s events neither of us were very keen on putting him up against another one quite yet.


    As we passed the checkpoint into Azalea I picked up Stovetop and quickly ran past both me and my neighbor¡¯s homes, instead going straight to the Pokemon Center. The Nurse Joy at the counter was familiar to me, as I had been here many times with Dad whenever the Farm¡¯s Beedrill needed a check up.


    ¡°Terry!¡± The red headed woman behind the counter smiled at me before her eyes trailed down. ¡°Is that a Sizzlipede in your arms?¡± She nearly jumped out of her seat and I gave her a shy nod. ¡°Catching a rare foreign pokemon is a pretty big step up from your usual, is the farm expanding?¡±


    ¡°Oh no Nurse Joy, this wasn¡¯t a family catch. I¡¯m leaving with Mazie after her gym match this afternoon,¡± I held him up on both hands like he was a trophy ¡°and Stovetop here is gonna be my new partner.¡±


    ¡°What an adorable name!¡± Nurse Joy shrieked and reached out her hands. ¡°Just making sure he¡¯s all good or was there something specific you were worried about?¡± she asked as I handed him over.


    ¡°Well, he was out in the rain for a few days, and almost got eaten by a Farfetch¡¯d so I''d like to be sure there¡¯s no lasting damage.¡± I recounted to her.


    ¡°No worries, he¡¯ll be in tip top shape in just a little while¡± Nurse Joy responded, with a disarming smile attached. I sheepishly thanked her and skulked off to the basement floor.


    All Pokemon Centers allowed trainers to stay for free for 14 out of every 60 days, provided there was space available. I had never stayed in one of these rooms, but knew that certain amenities were required to allow people to stay here.


    Within the basement was a collection of washers and dryers that were meant for trainers that were staying here but that I had used many times to hide the worst of my mistakes. Mud, dirt, webs, leaves, blood, and much more had been covered up by these machines and today would be no different, though I did have to throw away one outfit that had been completely destroyed in Pineco-based offensives. What Mom didn¡¯t know, wouldn¡¯t worry her.


    A little over an hour later I returned to Nurse Joy, this time not looking like I had faced an Entei and lived to tell the tale. Her face gained a soothing smile as she saw my approach and informed me, ¡°Your friend is perfectly healthy, with no lasting impacts from either of those worrying events, but there are a few things you should know.¡±


    ¡°Scary things?¡± I asked cautiously, concerned that something was wrong.


    ¡°Oh no, not at all. Stovetop is a near perfect example of his species, he even has the Gigantimax Factor¡± She said, trying to convince me of his health.


    ¡°That Galarian thing that makes Pokemon get all big?¡± I wondered, having heard of the phenomenon but never seen it as I did not keep up with the Galarian battle scene much.


    ¡°Have you been under a rock for the last week?¡± she asked with an eyebrow raised.


    ¡°Uhhh, well, no¡­but I was in Ilex all week, did I miss something?¡± I asked, embarrassed at my apparent lack of knowledge.


    ¡°Well let¡¯s just say it''s not gonna be just a Galarian thing for much longer, but I¡¯m no battle expert, do some research!¡± she chided. ¡°Moving on, you are not Stovetop¡¯s first human. He was reported as a No-Chase Runaway nearly a month ago¡± this she delivered matter of factly.


    ¡° Isn¡¯t No-Chase usually for violent or ill-tempered Pokemon that run away from their trainers but aren''t deemed dangerous to the general population?¡± I asked with a frown, the obvious question left hanging in the air.


    ¡°No-Chase is also a convenient out for trainers who mistreat their pokemon, or don¡¯t want to wait to release them properly. Many Nurse Joys have been advocating for a change in legislation for quite some time¡± she informed. ¡°I¡¯ve detected no hostility from your friend here, so don¡¯t jump to any conclusions about the poor thing!¡± the nurse commanded, her lips pursed.


    Stovetop looked up at me, and I could see a fear of rejection in his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t worry buddy.¡± I picked the Sizzlipede up and put him up on my shoulder, giving the spot on the center of his head some attention. ¡°Anyone dumb enough to leave you behind is a trainer that won¡¯t go far. If we ever come across them you let me know and we¡¯ll beat them up!¡± Stovetop let out another happy sizzling hiss and wrapped his lower half around my right arm, while the top half hovered over my shoulder like an old warlord¡¯s guardian Arbok.


    Nurse Joy got a reprimanding expression but before she could open her mouth I amended ¡°...In a battle, of course!¡± She gave me a light nod and we headed back to my house to show off Stovetop and hopefully get my mother¡¯s blessing to depart.


    A few minutes later I walked into my house with Stovetop still perched on my shoulder. Mom and Dad were at the kitchen table, eating sandwiches for lunch while a few dozen documents pertaining to the honey business were strewn around their plates. Mom looked up first.


    ¡°Welcome back Honey!¡± She shouted, face lighting up beyond the purple hair cascading in every direction. Mom¡¯s hairdo often fell apart when she dealt with work stress. ¡°And I see you made your catch, what is it?¡± She jumped up and leaned in to inspect Stovetop, who leaned away from her in kind but did not hiss.


    Dad, however, wore a more serious expression. ¡°Terry, please tell me you did not blow your entire savings at a Breeder. Sizzlipede cannot normally be found in Johto, and your mother challenged you to catch an impressive bug, not buy one.¡±


    ¡°No way Dad, if I spent that money then I¡¯d be broke for the start of my journey, I didn¡¯t push so hard for this just to die of starvation week one!¡± I countered, understanding of my dad¡¯s trepidation. Dad was an expert on bug types before I was even born, though he specialized further into specifically the Beedrill line as he got older. ¡°I caught Stovetop fair and square.¡± I stated confidently, with a thumbs up.


    Then I winced, in memory. ¡°Actually to be fair I didn¡¯t catch him.¡± I admitted, slowly dropping the thumb down.


    ¡°Terry...-" Mom began but I quickly interrupted her.


    ¡°So, I actually caught a Pineco but while I was doing so I saw this little guy about to get eaten! And I didn¡¯t want to watch that happen so I threw the Pineco out of my net before it could be registered and used it as a bomb to take out that mean little Farfetch¡¯d!¡± I got out the important details as quickly as I could, face reddened by the end of it. Stovetop nodded with a small hiss at each claim, backing me up.


    Both of my parents stared at me for a moment with their mouths agape. Mom¡¯s eyes searched my own and a smile came to her face as she realized that I wasn''t lying, she looked over to Dad. ¡°You think we should count that?¡± She asked with a smirk and a nudge of her elbow.


    ¡°The boy can catch and use a Self-Destructing Pineco as a weapon Castia, send him out into the world or he¡¯ll become The Scourge of Ilex in a month.¡± He replied flatly but, unable to keep a straight face for long followed that up with a booming laugh. He then turned to Mom ¡°That¡¯s 100 pokedollars to you dear, though I was so close!¡± He held up a bill that was immediately snatched away.


    ¡°I know my son.¡± She giggled and stuck out her tongue at him.


    ¡°Uhhh, wanna clue me in to what¡¯s going on here?¡± I asked, slightly annoyed at being left out.


    ¡°We had a 100 pokedollar bet on what you would catch.¡± Her eyes glinted with satisfaction.


    ¡°I bet on a Pineco, they may not start out as powerhouses but they can be incredible defensive walls.¡± Dad said with a nod, confident in his reasoning.


    ¡°And my bet,¡± Mom began. ¡°Was that you would either return with no pokemon or something no one had ever caught in Ilex before.¡±


    ¡°How could you have known that?¡± I asked, dumbfounded. ¡°Dad was right, I went for Pineco. Stovetop was a happy accident!¡± I stroked the center of his head again as I said ¡®accident¡¯ hoping he wouldn''t get the wrong idea.


    Mom just beamed, gave me a wink and said ¡°That¡¯s just the kind of kid you are, Terry.¡± She then jostled the now deeply unkempt mop of black hair on my head. My parents spent a few more minutes gushing over Stovetop before returning to work and I went upstairs to bathe and start packing, Maizie¡¯s gym match was only a few hours away.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    x-x


    Azalea Gym was the largest building in the town. It housed a few dozen gym trainers, a bizarre spinarak based battle maze, and a large arena for Gym challenges. Maizie cleared the maze a few days before I left for Ilex and had then been allowed to schedule her official match.


    Bugsy¡¯s gym was often flooded with challengers in the beginning of the season, as he was considered one of the easier Gym Leaders, and today was no exception. My family and I (joined by Kurt) had to watch a few matches before Maizie went on. Stovetop stayed on my arm the entire time, letting out a hiss of satisfaction whenever one of the combatants landed a big blow. All of the matches were for the first badge and all of them ended in defeat. Bugsy had a reputation for going hard on people who went to him early, thinking that he¡¯d be easy. He preferred the higher leagues of battle, but rarely got to engage in them.


    Nearly every challenger was an Azalea Town native and used a Slowpoke on their team, as Slowpoke Well was the typical spot someone born here would get their first pokemon. Slowpoke were held in very high regard in Azalea, however, this always worked in Bugsy¡¯s favor.


    Slowpoke are part Psychic, which meant that every single pokemon Bugsy used had a type advantage against them. This led to Bugsy crushing many newbie trainers and their starters who wanted to begin at their home gym. Though the first gym match was a 2v3, with the challenger allowed to use one more pokemon than the Gym Leader, many trainers did not have more than their starter when challenging the first gym. Doubly so if they lived in a gym town.


    We watched 5 trainers before Maizie came on. 4 of them had only a Slowpoke, all 4 of those trainers were easily defeated. Only one of them even managed to down one of Bugsy¡¯s pokemon, a Kakuna and they were swiftly defeated by his Yanma.


    A boy about my age, with short, spiky, blond hair and a blue windbreaker was able to put on an impressive show. His Cyndaquil made short work of Bugsy¡¯s Metapod, but, after a drawn out battle, lost against Butterfree. The crowd was, however, nice and worked up for Maizie¡¯s match, and was cheering much louder than they had for the previous challengers by the time the announcer called her name.


    Maizie stepped into the grassy arena and, though I could see some color in her cheeks, she was doing a great job not looking too nervous in front of the crowd. She situated herself near one of the three Ilex Oaks that were scattered through the battlefield and spoke into her Gym provided microphone.


    ¡°I, Maizie Gantetsu, challenge you, Leader Bugsy, for my first Gym Badge!¡± She declared with a point at the man, trying to sound serious and intimidating, but ultimately coming across simply ecstatic to be here. Her bow-like hair flapped in the wind as she struck a pose, holding the point.


    Bugsy, meanwhile, looked serene in his green outdoor garb, his large Cather¡¯s Net held behind his neck with both hands, perpendicular to the ground. The man was in his mid-20¡¯s but retained a youthful and somewhat gangly appearance. He gave Maizie a soft smile and a quiet chuckle before speaking ¡°I admire your enthusiasm Miss Gantetsu, and I welcome you to my gym, it¡¯s always a pleasure to host an Azalea Town native in my Gym.¡± As he spoke Bugsy made a small bow towards her.


    This was, of course, preferential treatment. None of the other challengers had nearly as gracious a greeting but I personally chalked that up to the Gantetsus, Kurt especially, being so well respected. The Gantetsus weren''t a founding family of Azalea like Bugsy¡¯s was, but they had been here so long they might as well be.


    Bugsy calmly spoke again, delivering a series of lines that I was sure he had said thousands of times in his career. ¡°This will be a 2 on 3 match, with the challenger allowed to use up to 3 pokemon. 2 switches are permitted from the challenger. Fighting will continue until all of one side¡¯s pokemon are unable to battle or are withdrawn. Do you have any questions?¡±


    ¡°Nope, me and Sunday are gonna kick your ass, and then our journey can finally begin!¡± She sassed, pokeball in hand. I heard Kurt grumble from a few seats away.


    The ref at the center held up both hands and as she brought them down the crowd erupted and she shouted ¡°Begin!¡± before quickly scurrying off to the side of the arena. The Gym¡¯s Barrier Mimes, situated in 4 equidistant locations at the front of the crowd, put up a protective barrier to prevent anyone in the crowd from getting splash damage. Trainers within the arena were offered no such protection, the threat of wild attacks an element of battle strategy, though targeting the opposite trainer was expressly forbidden.


    Bugsy loosened the yellow scarf around his neck before plucking a pokeball from his waist and delicately opened the ball in his palm. A small green spider with a black pattern that resembled a human face on its back, and a small horn on its head, crawled down his arm and jumped to the ground. Upon landing it lifted two of its tiny legs into the air and let out a defiant ¡°Spiiin!¡±


    With another soft grin Bugsy said ¡°Spinarak, I know you haven¡¯t gotten a good fight yet today, but I¡¯ve got a good feeling about this one, give it your all.¡± The spider gave a resolute nod and entered a ready stance.


    ¡°Go, Sunday!¡± Maizie shouted and tossed her pokeball directly up into the air. Sunday dropped onto the grass of the arena with a surprisingly graceful landing, eyes completely lacking fire.


    The crowd of spectators quieted immediately. For all the respect the Gantetsu name carried in Azalea, they had watched trainer after trainer with a lone Slowpoke get the floor mopped with them, and expectations for a good fight cratered as soon as Sunday¡¯s soft, pink body hit the ground. This was not helped by him sporting the same blank expression as usual.


    Maizie ignored the change in energy as she caught the still flying pokeball and held it up into the air, it was a blue pokeball with a depiction of a red floatation tube on its top.


    ¡°This is a Lazy River Ball!¡± She declared, presenting it for the crowd. ¡°Inside of it is a simulated circular river and tubes that allow your pokemon to lazily float about within their ball. It¡¯s the ultimate luxury for a Slowpoke found only at Gantetsu¡¯s Apricorns for the low, low, price¡­¡± Her mic was suddenly cut off as she delivered her pitch, and she animatedly flailed her arms in response.


    ¡°Sorry Miss Gantetsu, but I¡¯m afraid this League season is sponsored in part by Silph Co, we can¡¯t very well allow a competitor to advertise during a match.¡± Bugsy delivered apologetically while rubbing the back of his head and then followed it up with a graceful bow.


    ¡°Fine, you guys heard the important part anyway.¡± She responded, slightly deflated. But then she perked back up again and pointed outward at Spinarak ¡°Sunday, use Water Gun, make it keep its distance!¡±


    Sunday, still looking entirely oblivious, began to summon water directly in front of his face. Spinarak noticed the incoming attack and started running towards Sunday, hoping to strike before the Water Gun could fire. Bugsy instructed the Spinarak ¡°Don¡¯t go straight in, zigzag towards him and when you get close enough fire a string shot!¡± and the spider immediately moved as told.


    Sunday finished gathering water after a few seconds and launched a burst of liquid but missed due to the Spinarak¡¯s sudden flits in random directions. When the Spinarak got about 10 feet from Sunday it stopped and fired a stream of webbing at the Slowpoke, slowing him down.


    ¡°Ugh.¡± Maizie huffed. ¡°Sunday, keep firing Water Guns for now, rapid fire, forget about causing pain.¡±


    ¡°Poooooke.¡± Sunday whined.


    Maizie rolled her eyes. ¡°Fiiiine. If you can keep it under a second each you get a poffin!¡±


    Sunday¡¯s stance changed and his eyes sharpened, suddenly a lot more serious than before.


    ¡°Poke.¡± He let out a burst that, though smaller, required no charging. ¡°Poke. Poke. Poke.¡± A round of bursts flooded out of Sunday, each accompanied by a vocalization. Shot after shot flew towards the Spinarak who was flitting about the battlefield in an attempt to dodge the sudden barrage.


    ¡®I had no idea Sunday could fire off shots so quickly!¡¯ I thought to myself in amazement, but it made sense. Maizie had been training Slowpoke since we were little kids, he would probably evolve quicker than most starters.


    Finally one of the shots connected and pushed the Spinarak back another 10 feet. I saw Maizie¡¯s thoughts click together as the metaphorical light bulb went off over her head.


    ¡°Sunday, use Curse as much times as you can while it''s far away!¡± She shouted. Sunday¡¯s body pulsed with a sickly lavender glow and his muscles tensed under his skin.


    Bugsy grinned ¡°If she wants to go slow let her, run up and douse that Slowpoke in webs!¡± The Spinarak did as commanded and fired another stream of thick webbing, with Sunday¡¯s body almost completely covered in the adhesive.


    Curse was a move that, when used by a non-Ghost, enhanced the user¡¯s body with Ghost Type Energy, strengthening both their attack and defense physically. However the energy rejected a non-ghostly form and slowed the pokemon¡¯s muscles down. String Shot launched webs that slowed the target down as well. The combination had left Sunday almost completely unable to move.


    ¡°Oh no, Sunday! Are you okay?¡± Maizie said in shock. The Slowpoke¡¯s response could barely be heard within the crowd and Maizie¡¯s expression darkened as she looked down towards the ground.


    ¡°My apologies Miss Gantetsu, but you need to be careful when using moves that can hamper your pokemon. Spinarak has used no damaging moves yet but you are now in a position where your Slowpoke is completely unable to avoid an attack, this fight is basically over.¡± Bugsy looked sad for her, and a little disappointed for himself.


    ¡°So¡­you think I should concede?¡± Maizie nearly wailed, she looked up and made eye contact with Bugsy, tears appearing to form as she kicked at the grass in apparent frustration.


    ¡°Unfortunately, I think you should try your best to not let Sunday get needlessly hurt.¡± Bugsy said with sincere pity, his entire demeanor relaxed now.


    ¡°But¡­but¡­¡± Maizie sputtered in disbelief putting her hands in her face. The crowd was silent, even Kurt who said nothing but maintained a focused expression.


    ¡°But Trick Room should be set up by now.¡± Her hands flew away to reveal a downright evil grin. ¡°Sunday, Tackle it NOW!¡±


    At that moment a box of purple light consumed the arena and Bugsy¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Before he could say anything Sunday moved across the arena, almost imperceptibly fast, his body appearing to struggle against the webs but his speed entirely unhampered. *Crrack!* He rammed his whole body into the Spinarak.


    Spinarak flew across the arena, crashed into the barrier at its edge, and slid to the ground. The spider¡¯s legs twitched for a moment then stopped as it fainted. The crowd erupted.


    All had been pulled in by Maizie¡¯s ploy. All except Kurt, who now wore a smile that matched his granddaughter¡¯s and let out a deep but joyful cheer. Stovetop rocked back and forth in amazement and joy, having long figured out which pokemon my family was cheering for.


    Trick Room was a bizarre move that was often difficult to learn, even for a Psychic Type. It warped reality within an area, making slow actions fast and vice versa, but usually only lasted for about a minute.


    ¡°Spinarak is unable to continue, Leader Bugsy please send in your next pokemon.¡± The ref chimed in. Bugsy was frozen for a second and then the man keeled over, laughing in near tears.


    ¡°Hahaha! Oh it has been a looong time since a rookie was able to play me like that!¡± He wiped back his long green hair from his face as he laughed aloud. ¡°Let me guess, it takes Sunday a while to use Trick Room, right?¡±


    ¡°Our record is 10 seconds!¡± Maizie beamed, her blue eyes glimmering under the lights of the Gym. ¡°But it¡¯s even slower when we¡¯re in the thick of it.¡±


    Bugsy held out another pokeball, and this time threw it up high and released his pokemon in the air. The same Yanma that was used earlier materialized in the air. The dragonfly¡¯s wings, which normally beat hundreds of time per second, looked like they were moving too slow to keep it above ground, the time warping nature of Trick Room taking effect immediately.


    ¡°Congratulations Miss Gantetsu, I¡¯ve decided to take this a bit more seriously¡± Bugsy said with an eerily calm smile before turning his attention to his pokemon. ¡°Yanma, you¡¯re in a Trick Room, stay in the air, its projectiles can be dangerous but if its body touches you, it¡¯s over.¡±


    ¡°Hit it now! It¡¯s only gonna be harder later, Sunday!¡± Maizie yelled out in response. Sunday fired another barrage of Water Guns that connected but seemed to do little damage, the Yanma still a safe distance away, slowly flitting about. ¡°Stronger this time!¡±


    ¡°Struggle Bug, Now!¡± Bugsy commanded, as Sunday readied a stronger shot, and the Yanma glowed with a bright green energy. The energy coalesced and shot out at the Slowpoke in a barrage of tiny, insect shaped beams.


    Sunday avoided some of the beams but unfortunately took the brunt of the blast letting out a ¡°Slow!¡± as they hit, the super effective attack doing a number on him with just a single blow. However, Sunday held his Water Gun, his largest blast of the battle boomed out from in front of him a moment later.


    The attack shot the Yanma out of the sky, Trick Room¡¯s effect making it impossible to move quick enough to dodge. The Yanma was at first slowly drifting to the ground, as even the speed of a fall was effected, but it slowly started to gain speed. The Trick Room was ending.


    ¡°Run to its fall point and Yawn, it¡¯s almost over!¡± Maizie hurriedly commanded, jumping up and down as she did.


    ¡°Struggle Bug again, put everything you can into it!¡± Bugsy shouted, realizing the battle''s final moments had arrived.


    Sunday rushed towards the Yanma as it hit the ground, but about 5 feet out Trick Room ended, leaving the Slowpoke trudging with a Curse hampered body covered in immobilizing webs. He opened his mouth, channeling all of his exhaustion into a cloud, and let out a ¡°Pooooke¡± as he Yawned.


    The Yanma hit the ground and was instantly wrapped in Sunday¡¯s cloud of laziness, but managed to fire off another Struggle Bug as its eyes began to get heavy. The Slowpoke was completely unable to avoid the attack, slow as he was at the moment, and took it head on, causing him to collapse at the same time drowsiness took hold of Yanma.


    The entire arena was silent besides both trainers shouting at their pokemon for one more strike to end it.


    ¡°Get up Sunday, you can do it! It¡¯s right in front of you!¡± Maizie cheered Sunday on, filled with hope.


    ¡°Wake up Yanma! Now is not the time to be sleeping!¡±


    The next few seconds stretched for what felt like minutes. Members of the crowd began chanting for either Sunday or Yanma to get up. Suddenly a rumble from the arena broke the chants and the crowd fell back into silence.


    ¡°Slooooow.¡± Sunday grumbled lowly as he rocked back onto his feet and pushed through the pain of the hits he had taken, the exhaustion wracked upon his body, and the stress of what was undoubtedly the toughest battle of his life thus far.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you HONEY, Yanma, please, don¡¯t let it end like this!¡± Bugsy pleaded with his pokemon, face growing redder by the minute.


    Sunday trudged forward.


    ¡°Wake UP!¡± Bugsy shouted as loud as he could, fear growing in his eyes as he saw the inevitable end arrive.


    Sunday, having arrived at his destination, leapt into the air. ¡°POOOOKE!¡± He screamed as he used what remained of his strength to come crashing down on the Yanma with one last Tackle, belly flopping onto his opponent.


    The Yanma¡¯s eyes shot open only to nearly pop out of its head as the force of the Curse amplified blow sent it right back into unconsciousness.


    ¡°Leader Bugsy is out of useable pokemon, Challenger Maizie is the winner!¡± the referee declared. The crowd burst out in excitement once again as Maizie recalled Sunday to his ball and gave them a deep bow.


    A lifetime of friendship and I had never seen the joy written on Maizie¡¯s face as she came back up from bowing to the crowd, her first Gym badge secured.

 3. Reaching the Starting Line

    ¡°It¡¯s right there, sitting in the case, shining with all of its glory, and I still can¡¯t believe it¡¯s real.¡± Maisie said, without breaking eye contact from the Hive Badge. She spoke so quietly that no one else at the table was quite sure whether she was speaking to them or herself. The proof of her victory had her completely entranced.


    ¡°It¡¯s very impressive Maizie, have you selected a dish yet?¡± Kurt replied flatly while clicking the bottom of his menu on the table.


    Kurt and my parents decided to take us out for lunch before setting out. We were at a small local favorite, Monty¡¯s Grill, which was popular for using Azalea¡¯s famous Charcoal. The five of us sat at a circular table discussing the previous match and our immediate plans for our journey.


    ¡°I already picked out both mine and Terry¡¯s.¡± She stuck out her tongue at her grandfather. ¡°I¡¯m getting the 20oz. Tauros steak, and he¡¯s getting the non-specific seared fish.¡±


    When we were younger our parents would make jokes about ¡®picking food for your boyfriend,¡¯ but they had long adjusted to my idiosyncrasies, knowing that browsing the menu listing a variety of pokemon species to be devoured would leave me entirely unable to order anything.


    ¡°Fine. Stop being rude and make conversation, it¡¯s unbecoming to bask in one¡¯s own greatness.¡± Kurt scolded, trying to save face after clearly not expecting Maisie to have already made a selection.


    ¡®Kurt, you old softy, we all know you just disguised that compliment as admonishment.¡¯ I kept my observation to myself, knowing he had no qualms about tearing me to shreds with his barbs.


    Lunch flew by once Maisie joined the conversation. We had a wonderful time but there was an undercurrent of both excitement and melancholy echoing from our guardians throughout the meal. It was while I shoveled Honey (courtesy of our farm!) Ice Cream into my gourd for dessert that Dad cleared his throat, loud enough to get the entire table¡¯s notice.


    ¡°Well, since it seems we will be wrapping this up soon, I think now would be a good time,¡± he reached under the table and pulled out 2 small gift boxes, a wide grin spreading on his face. Dad was always excited to give out presents. ¡°For us to give you guys these! I know you both have your sites aimed high, so these are basically a requirement.¡±


    We both hollered with glee and began tearing into the boxes, though we both knew there was only one thing they could contain. I threw open the cardboard lid and there, nestled in a lot of bubble wrap, was a small red device with a rectangular black screen: The Pokedex.


    ¡°THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!¡± We both squealed in delight. The Pokedex was an essential tool for any trainer worth their salt. The machine helped identify wild Pokemon, offered deep information on the specific members of its assigned team, functioned as a map with GPS location, and enabled internet access almost anywhere in the world.


    ¡°I expect that you will use that to contact us, calls only work in cities but you can email from almost anywhere.¡± Kurt reminded us, eyes on his granddaughter.


    ¡°That goes double for you mister!¡± Mom pointed at me.


    ¡°Yes, Mom, I¡¯ll try to remember.¡±


    She laughed and wrapped me into a hug. ¡°You won¡¯t get the chance to forget! Email works both ways and I will be checking in on you regularly.¡±


    Dad took the opportunity, as he was wont to do, to turn it into a group hug, rousing even the grumpy Kurt into joining. ¡°We will miss you both so much, but we also know how important this is to you. Your dreams are big, and they may change as you grow, but we all know that you will make us proud.¡±


    After a few more hugs, some tears, and a lot more promises to stay in contact, it was finally time to depart. Me and Maisie double-checked that we had everything we could possibly think of, and set off for the checkpoint into Ilex. When we arrived I took one look back at the town I had grown up in.


    The scent of charcoal in the air. The dense forest that surrounded most of its perimeter. The people relaxing with their Slowpoke. The distant buzz of my family¡¯s Beedrill farm in the background. This was home, and up until now I didn¡¯t truly appreciate it.


    Azalea was beautiful. It was a part of me, and I a part of it. I wondered, as I took it all in one last time, about my return. After a long journey, could it somehow change, be different from how I saw it at this moment? Or could I be too different to ever see it the same way?


    I wasn¡¯t sure which of the two was scarier. The thought sent my stomach crashing into a pit, and my pulse quickened.


    A hand clasped my left shoulder and I felt a tightening on my right.


    ¡°We can do it, Terry.¡± I turned as Maisie spoke confidently and with an encouraging expression, her long hair fluttering in the wind.


    ¡°Pede.¡± Stovetop sounded with an affirmative nod.


    I felt the stress evaporate from my body, and a smile form on my face as I wiped the sweat off of my palms and gripped my net with newfound resolve. Even if we or the world around us changed, I knew I had the support of these two, and that counted for more than I ever could have known.


    x-x


    ¡°He has the Gigantamax factor?!¡± Maisie gasped and backed away, hand held to her mouth in shock at the revelation. We had been walking for a few minutes before we remembered to test out our new Pokedexes by scanning our pokemon. Maisie had peered over my shoulder as I went over the more in depth details about Stovetop.


    ¡°Oh, uh, yeah! Nurse Joy mentioned it.¡± I shrugged, not really knowing much about the phenomenon.


    ¡°You have a Pokemon capable of something comparable to Mega Evolution and you don¡¯t care?¡± Maisie gaped and then gave me a light smack on the shoulder. ¡°I know you haven¡¯t had a battle yet but surely you must be able to see how having access to such an edge is a big deal?¡±


    ¡°I heard that it might not be only in Galar anymore, but is that true? I thought the whole thing was tied to the land or something?¡± I waved it off.


    ¡°Not anymore, you dunce! You need a Keystone and some special kinda silver and you can Gigantamax just like a Mega Evolution!¡± She countered.


    ¡°What kind of silver?¡± I asked, Gigantamax suddenly gaining my attention.


    ¡°No idea, I barely paid any attention to the details because Sunday can¡¯t do that.¡± Maisie admitted sheepishly with a giggle.


    ¡°I¡¯ll look it up later, in the meantime let¡¯s check out these moves!¡± I browsed through Stovetop¡¯s information. He knew only the moves Ember, Smokescreen, and Wrap and had the Flash Fire ability, which allowed him to absorb Fire Type moves and use that energy to power up his own. Overall, a relatively average starting point for a Sizzlipede.


    ¡°You up for testing these moves out for me buddy?¡± I asked the Sizzlepede after browsing his information.


    ¡°Sizz.¡± The flat red bug gave me an affirmative nod and once again adopted a serious stance.


    ¡°Hey, we are just checking stuff out, no need to go all killer mode right now. I just wanna see what you can do.¡± I tried to reassure him, but he glanced away.


    ¡°Pede, Sizz, Sizzlipede.¡± He let out a longer series of vocalizations motioning at the surrounding forest and then himself before staring at me with sadness in his eyes. The realization suddenly clicked in my head. We were in Ilex, the place he had been abandoned.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care how good you are at using them. Whatever your baseline is, I just want to see it so that we can build from there. Ilex is just the first step on what is going to be a long journey together. I promise.¡± I rubbed the spot on the center of Stovetop¡¯s head once again and his mood was lifted, letting out happy little hisses.


    With his spirits up, Stovetop was ready to show off his current capabilities. I had already seen Ember, but for good measure I had him shoot a burst of flame at a small boulder nearby. A small ball of flame, roughly the size of my fist, left smoke spewing off of the boulder, along with a small scorch mark, but did no damage otherwise.


    Next I pointed to a fallen branch a few inches thick, ¡°Stovetop Wrap that branch.¡± The bug obediently coiled his body around the large stick and squeezed, after a few seconds i heard a *Crrrack* as the branch snapped. Stovetop looked down at his destruction and then back up at me with a smile. He followed that up by doing a happy little dance where he would favor one side of his legs and then the other while intermittently hissing.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Great job!¡± I cheered, recognizing Stovetop¡¯s apparent need for consistent encouragement. ¡°Now last thing,¡± I pointed to Maizie and Sunday, who had trailed slightly ahead of us as we practiced, and lowered my voice to a whisper. ¡°Smokescreen on Maizie while I sneak up on her so that we can scare her.¡± Stovetop gave me a mischievous grin and the plan was set.


    I crept off the path, into the thicker brush, and quickly tried to catch up to Maizie on her left while Stovetop hurriedly pushed its many little legs to do so from behind. When I was comfortably creeping at her side from a few feet away I looked back and saw that he was also entering position, so I threw him a thumbs up.


    Stovetop did a deep inhale and *Boosh* a cloud of smoke rushed out of his coils in every direction. I chose that moment to jump out at Maizie with a deep ¡°BOO!¡± and immediately a fist collided with my face. At the same time Sunday, reacting to a perceived attack, fired a small Water Gun in the direction the smoke came from.


    The smoke cleared as the prank ended with our loss, both of us on the ground, cringing from the blows received.


    ¡°What the fuck, Terry!?¡± Maizie shouted, not at all apologetic that she had just cold clocked me. Her blue eyes shifted from a glare to a look of satisfaction as she saw the red mark left on my cheek. ¡°That¡¯s what you get, we are in Ilex Forest, I know you grew up in this but I¡¯m not nearly as comfortable here as you are. We shouldn¡¯t be playing around.¡±


    We continued walking through the woods as I defended my choice of joke. ¡°Ilex isn¡¯t that dangerous, especially with a partner. The pokemon here are pretty docile.¡± I declared with a cross of arms and a sagely nod.


    ¡°Piiiine.¡±


    We looked up to see a Pineco glowering down at us over its blue armor, seemingly debating whether or not it should ruin our day. Maisie shot a glare at me that I swear should have caused physical damage.


    ¡°Okay, those are dangerous. We need to back away slowly and stay quiet.¡± I whispered to her and, though her glare remained unbroken, she followed my lead. Luckily, the Pineco seemed to take our actions as non-threatening as it did not drop on us as we made our exit.


    ¡°Not dangerous my ass.¡± Maizie huffed once we were a decent distance away.


    ¡°Okay, you were right, no more jokes.¡± I promised, simply thankful I hadn''t had to brave another Self-Destruct.


    We continued onwards through Ilex, chatting about our plans for training, pokemon we wanted to catch, and things we wanted to do/buy in Goldenrod, which would be our first destination. The hours passed peacefully.


    Not long before sunset we set up camp in a clearing, we still had a full day¡¯s travel before we would be out of the woods. Prior to dinner we spent an hour with our Pokemon and had them practice their moves. Maizie offered a sparring match between Sunday and Stovetop , but I politely declined. I had seen the Slowpoke in combat and definitely didn¡¯t want our first taste of the battlefield together to be against that thing.


    The next morning we ran into a pair of trainers. They were a set of blond brothers, one our age, the other a few years older. We hadn''t seen any others so far because I used my own routes through Ilex that were faster than the more well-trodden ones. Then I noticed the nets in their hands.


    I looked around for any catch they might be going for and, seeing nothing shouted out to get their attention. ¡°Hey guys, find anything good today?¡± I waved at them with my net. The brothers, recognizing me as one of their ilk, came on over for a chat.


    ¡°Nothing nearly as interesting as that Sizzlipede on your arm.¡± The older brother¡¯s eyes gleamed at Stovetop.


    ¡°Thanks, found the little guy here in Ilex actually, lucky find.¡±


    The younger brother¡¯s eyes went wide at that ¡°Are there more?¡± He asked with baited breath.


    ¡°No, sorry, I¡¯m pretty sure no one''s gonna find a Sizzlipede in this forest again for a long time, he isn¡¯t from here.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± the older brother spoke again, ¡°it¡¯d be a shame not to at least see him in battle, care to go up against my Butterfree?¡±


    ¡°Uhhh, do you have any badges?¡± I asked cautiously.


    ¡°Just one, Goldenrod.¡± He answered casually, though a bit of pride leaked into his voice anyway.


    I had flashbacks to Sunday flying across the arena and smashing into that Spinarak, felling it in a single blow. One badge was one too many for me right now. ¡°I¡¯ve actually never battled before, so I¡¯m not sure it¡¯d be the experience you¡¯re looking for¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh perfect!¡± His face lit up as he turned to his brother. ¡°Hear that Greg, just what you¡¯ve been looking for!¡±


    The younger brother, Greg apparently, eyed Stovetop like a Contest Judge and gave a nod. ¡°I¡¯ve also never had a battle before, would you be willing to battle me and my partner Stinger?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± I responded to his challenge with a grin. This was a perfect opportunity, as Greg was obviously going to use a Bug type. My first battle was going to be against someone who also hadn¡¯t battled before and I¡¯d have a type advantage? Thank you Ho-oh for this blessing.


    We stood a little over a dozen feet apart, with Maizie in the middle; her having elected to be the referee of our battle. Greg¡¯s brother stood behind him, ready to give advice. I motioned Stovetop towards the ground and he slithered down to the ground before trotting towards the center on his spike-like feet.


    Greg pulled a pokeball from his belt and yelled. ¡°Go, Stinger!¡± A red beam expanded into a familiar form, a line of interconnected ball-like segments, a Weedle. Excellent.


    ¡°This will be a one on one battle, with no switches. The first trainer to withdraw their pokemon or if their pokemon is unable to continue, loses. Any questions?¡± Silence filled the air as me and Greg locked eyes and nodded at each other. This was it. ¡°Begin!¡±


    ¡°Poison Sting!¡±


    ¡°Ember!¡±


    We shouted our initial commands at the same time but Stinger was quicker on the draw, firing a poisonous barb at Stovetop before he could launch Ember. The barb connected, sticking into his raised underbelly, and I saw him wince but he kept his move going and shot back a small ball of fire that grazed the Weedle. Immediately after, I saw a small purple pulse under Stovetops wound, he was poisoned.


    ¡°Good job Greg, now he¡¯s on a time limit!¡± The older brother cheered.


    Greg looked back at his brother. ¡°Thanks!¡±


    ¡°Stovetop, charge that Weedle¡± I commanded, while Greg was distracted.


    ¡°Stinger, hit him with your tail spike if he gets close.¡±


    Stovetop rushed towards the small worm and as he started to get within range, my experience with catching Weedles reminded me, ¡°The tail needs to aim in a direction and then strike, keep it out of line with your body and he can¡¯t touch you!¡± I wasn¡¯t sure Stovetop could follow more complex commands but he nodded and continued his charge.


    Every time Stinger tried to make a shot, Stovetop was long gone by the time the tail launched out towards him, circling around the bug until an opportune moment came.


    ¡°Wrap and squeeze it!¡± I commanded when a dodge and a missed strike put Stovetop right behind the wide open Weedle. He dove in and coiled his body around the orange pokemon using all of his muscles to squeeze it as much as he could.


    ¡°Break free Stinger, I know you can do it!¡± Greg cheered his pokemon on and the Weedle, with nowfound resolve, began to bend its body and try to break the hold. I could see Stovetop struggling to hold on, poison making his muscles weaker by the moment, breaths getting ragged.


    ¡°Heat the pan!¡± I shouted, desperate that he would understand my meaning. Luckily, Stovetop was more clever than I gave him credit for and he recognized the instruction instantly. The coils that were currently wrapped around Stinger poured out as much heat as Stovetop could sustain.


    ¡°WEEEEE¡± Stinger shrieked and then disappeared in a beam of red light.


    I won. My first battle had been stacked in my favor, sure, but victory still tasted sweet. From here it would only get harder, and we would need to rise up to match it.


    ¡°I withdraw Stinger.¡± Greg said sadly. But then he looked up at me, ¡°Great battle, you sure know a lot about Weedle.¡±


    ¡°Ahh, yeah, sorry. I¡¯ve caught a few for my family before so I''m quite familiar with them. Thanks for that though, it was fun!¡± I gave Greg a smile and a pat on the arm.


    He smiled back at me and seemed to cheer up a bit. Maisie and I chatted with Greg and his brother for a little while about our Pokemon and what to expect in Goldenrod but we eventually parted ways.


    ¡°See! You and Stovetop have nothing to worry about, you guys ate that Weedle for lunch!¡± Maizie cheered once they were a good distance away.


    ¡°Please, defeating a Bug Catcher with a lone Weedle does not mean we are anywhere near ready for Sunday¡± I replied flatly, knowing her angle immediately.


    ¡°Woah, was that Bug Catcher slander I just heard?¡± She put a cupped hand to her ear and wore a mocking smirk.


    ¡°He kept his Weedle in a pokeball, obviously he hasn¡¯t fully committed to the lifestyle.¡± I responded flippantly.


    ¡°Pokeballs have recall functions to get your team out of danger. As far as I know, you have to scoop them back up in your net.¡±


    ¡°There are trade-offs to every tool.¡±


    ¡°There are no trade-offs to a pokeball, it¡¯s a straight upgrade from a Catcher''s Net, that¡¯s why few Bug Catcher¡¯s use them as anything more than an accessory.¡± Maizie scoffed.


    ¡°I actually catch pokemon, for one.¡± I responded dryly.


    ¡°You actually think everyone who uses a pokeball didn¡¯t catch their pokemon?¡± Maizie said in disbelief. ¡°I know you¡¯ve always been resistant to them, but I honestly just thought you didn¡¯t trust the one¡¯s I made.¡±


    ¡°Well no, I¡¯m not that extreme, but you¡¯ve gotta admit it¡¯s not really the same thing.¡± I prompted her.


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°Well, when a trainer with a pokeball catches a pokemon the ball does all the work, and from afar. You just throw it, maybe you weaken it with your partner first but the whole process just seems so detached. Whereas I need to learn my catch.¡± My heart began racing just relaying the concept to my friend. ¡°I need to learn how it moves, its habits, it¡¯s capabilities. And then I need to conquer it and catch it with my own two hands. The feeling of satisfaction when I out-maneuver a creature that could kill me, and it falls into my net, that can¡¯t be matched by a pokeball.¡± I was staring out now, into the forest beyond her, eager to feel that victory once again.


    She was staring at me, mouth agape, wind blowing at her billowy skirt. ¡°You know Terry, you can be kinda cool sometimes.¡± she grinned. ¡°But recall is still important.¡± Her hand slapped my arm again. ¡°What if, Ho-oh forbid, you drop him off of a cliff or something?¡±


    ¡°Then I guess I¡¯ll have to jump off too and catch him¡± I shrugged and performatively swiped with my net.


    ¡°But then you¡¯re both falling off the cliff!¡± Maizie scolded.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that by then you¡¯ll have a Flying type that can catch us.¡± I grinned at her, only annoying her further.


    ¡°What if I don''t want a Flying type?¡± Maizie grumbled.


    ¡°Then I guess we go splat, huh buddy?¡± I looked to Stovetop, who had returned to his perch on my shoulder and he gave an affirmative hiss in response.


    ¡°You guys suck!¡± Maizie whined as we both burst out laughing, which made his little whiskers of flame hop along to the beat of our enjoyment. And that made me laugh even more.


    Journeying together was going to be a great time.

 4. Views

    ¡°Okay buddy, now, with your coils heated, I want you to try to roll.¡± Stovetop rocked his raised chest forward, trying to initiate a roll, but his face just smacked into the ground. The coils immediately lost their consistent output of heat as he raised his head in frustration, letting out a low, annoyed hiss.


    It was the morning of our third day in Ilex Forest and Stovetop and I were getting in some morning training. First I had him try to avoid net swipes for 30 minutes to build his dexterity. I managed to catch him twice in that half hour, but was exhausted by the end of it, 30 straight minutes of ¡°Hunter Mode¡± being much more exhausting than I had thought; but Stove Top demanded every fraction of my attention. The little bug was more maneuverable than one would assume from his spike-like legs.


    We then moved on to practicing his moves. I had him shoot Embers again and again, but, even with a long charge time, the conjured fire simply could not match the output that Stovetop was able to pump through the heating coils on the underside of his belly. So our focus began to shift.


    First, the move we used to defeat Stinger, a combination of Wrap and Stovetop¡¯s own physiology. This move allowed him to wrap his body around an enemy and press his heated coils into them, squeezing and burning them at the same time. While I had no idea how this wasn¡¯t a registered move already, as it seemed to be how Sizzlipede hunted in the wild, I had taken to calling it Cooking Coils. Stovetop seemed to like the name, and was shocked when I told him that humans hadn¡¯t officially recognized it as a move.


    I then had the idea to try to see if we could kick start learning Flame Wheel by getting him to roll with heated coils, but that wasn¡¯t going well. Turns out he¡¯d need to learn how to roll first, something that apparently did not come naturally to the flat bodied insect.


    ¡°Okay, it''s nearly noon, why don¡¯t we call it here for right now so we can start heading towards the exit?¡± I asked my friend as I leaned down, holding out my arm for him to crawl up.


    ¡°Pede.¡± Stovetop refused, turning away to go back to training, his frustration at his inability to roll plain.


    ¡°Okay, you don''t have to stop training. You can keep trying to roll but you have to keep up with us while we are walking and stay on high alert in case there are any threats.¡± I conceded instantly, I admired his motivation and didn¡¯t want to stamp it out. I also knew that, if he actually wanted to keep up, he wouldn¡¯t be able to wear himself out too much with his attempts.


    ¡°Sizz!¡± he had a thankful look in eyes and confidently trotted away before throwing himself forward into another attempt, instantly face planting into the ground. He huffed, he hissed, and he got back up and did it again. Even as we continued moving through Ilex, Stovetop did not stop his attempts. But, every time we started to gain some distance on him he would catch up in a burst of speed, ever mindful of our deal.


    The day continued this way until mid afternoon, when we ran into a trainer who was around our age. She was a quiet blue haired girl with a Psyduck, and had one badge. Though she seemed eager to get a move on, Maizie convinced her to stay for a quick battle. It started out easily enough, I was acting as referee so I clarified the rules of the match and told them to begin. After I cleared the area, Sunday and the Psyduck began exchanging blows, but their mutual Water Guns seemed to do little damage. It was likely going to be a slow fight.


    Maizie was going easy on the girl, and mostly just screwing around. She did not have Sunday deploy Trick Room and just kept the Psyduck dodging barely effective blasts of water. She had quickly realized that though they both had a badge the girl was woefully unmatched and began running and jumping around her side of the battlefield, throwing a ridiculous flourish on every order just to keep things interesting.


    ¡°Sunday, try to throw him into a tree with Confusion!¡± Maizie yelled and dramatically threw both hands into a small Oran tree to demonstrate. Sunday started to concentrate on the Psyduck, his soft pink body gaining a deep blue glow as he attempted to lift the Psyduck with his mind. All eyes were on him.


    Except mine. 17 times I had heard this particular sound. A sound that preceded danger to such a high degree that my brain had quickly become hard-coded to recognize it among hundreds of others that echo through the forest at any given time. It was the telltale snap of a Pineco dropping.


    Time slowed. Seconds seemed to stretch to minutes. I saw the Pineco, body glowing, begin falling from the thin Oran tree that Maizie had been messing around with. My eyes flicked to Maizie, who hadn¡¯t even noticed the danger she was in. Her eyes were locked on her pokemon giving his all in battle. I knew, even though my view of him was blocked at this angle, that Stovetop was behind Maizie, practicing his rolling. My net appeared in my hand, instinct having completely taken over. I broke into a sprint, my mind screaming that somehow, someway, I had to catch that Pineco.


    At the midway point of the Pineco¡¯s fall Stovetop came into view. We locked eyes. In that moment I poured every ounce of willpower I had into trying to convey, without the time for words, what I needed from him. I broke eye contact for a fraction of a second to look to my net and then the Pineco.


    ¡®Please understand. I''m not fast enough to get there in time. You need to bring it to me.¡¯ I prayed the few motions I could afford would be enough.


    Stovetop launched forward into an imperfect roll, heated coils now billowing flames, and smashed into the still midair Pineco, leaving a trail of burned grass in his wake. It was a rough execution over a short distance, and probably not yet replicable, but a Flame Wheel nonetheless.


    Pineco soared.


    I only had one opportunity. My mind recalled the exact shape and feel as the Pineco I had caught last week fell into my net. ¡®Replicate it. Find the angle. Catch this thing or it¡¯s Self-Destructing on top of you.¡¯


    The blue, armored bug sailed directly towards me. I stopped and braced myself, clutching my net in front of me like a shield. I felt the pokemon collide with me, pushing the air from my lungs on impact. Light washed over my body and I braced for the incoming searing pain.


    But that pain did not come. The light disappeared, as the portion that didn¡¯t hit me fell into the net, the whole body falling into the chasm that laid within my hands.


    I had caught a Pineco.


    x-x


    ¡°I thought I heard something weird but then Stovetop came rushing in, looking like someone set a bicycle tire on fire! And he hit the Pineco like a volleyball and then you effortlessly caught it with your net! Just held it at the perfect angle and Pineco flew in like a fastball! I had no idea you were that coordinated!¡± Maizie was still riding out the adrenaline of both a victory and an apparent near death experience.


    We were in a small clearing not far from where the battle had taken place, healing our pokemon and letting the rush of previous events die down.


    ¡°It was very much a do or die type of situation, I had to catch the Pineco or I was definitely going to the hospital, that kind of motivation can do wonders.¡± I chuckled.


    ¡°Well, I guess your, ¡®I want to conquer them with my own two hands¡¯ thing wasn¡¯t all talk.¡± she chided, sticking her tongue out at me but then softened. ¡°Seriously though, thank you both,¡± Her gaze carried warmth as she offered her gratitude towards us. ¡°I could have gotten really messed up by that Pineco if you guys didn¡¯t save me, that was some quick thinking and skillful teamwork.¡±


    I decided not to mention that my current catch record with Pineco was 2/18, enjoying the compliments while they lasted, as they helped ease the pain of the bruises that were developing on my chest. The full force collision of the Pineco, though mostly blocked by my net, had done a number on me.


    ¡°Anytime! Now you owe me that catch we talked about a few days ago, I save you, you save me.¡± This time it was my turn to stick my tongue out at her.


    ¡°I had been thinking that your idea of catching a Flying type was a good one but, since you keep bringing it up, you can forget it!¡± Maizie crossed her arms in mock annoyance but the smile in her eyes told me everything I needed to know.


    ¡°Time to get acquainted with my newest teammate.¡± I declared before trudging over to my net, my body very tired between the recent incident and the morning¡¯s training.


    I snatched the Ilex Oak carved net from the ground nearby, and flipped the dark, apricorn enriched, netting inside out; sending the fainted Pineco to ground in front of me. It was sleeping peacefully, regaining strength from the Self-Destruct. But I¡¯d rather get this figured out sooner than later, so I pulled out a potion and began applying to speed up the shelled bug¡¯s regeneration.


    After a few minutes I heard the sound of pieces of armor clinking against each other as the pokemon stretched inside of its shell, having regained consciousness. It¡¯s eyes flicked open, revealing a suspicious red glare lying between the plates.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Terry, the guy that caught you.¡± I offered a light swing of my net in demonstration.


    ¡°Piiiiine.¡± The creature bellowed in a threatening tone, not appearing very interested in conversation. I took a few steps back and slowly held my hands up. Dad always told me to show the Beedril my hands and not make any sudden movements when they got angry, and I hoped Pineco operated similarly. Plus, a little distance probably wouldn¡¯t hurt in case the bug decided to take out its frustrations with me.


    I crouched lower to the ground so I could speak closer to eye level with it. ¡°Sorry if you didn¡¯t wanna be caught, I just didn¡¯t want my friend to get hurt.¡±


    ¡°CO!¡± it barked back at me, clearly not accepting blame in the situation.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Okay, I get it, she messed with your tree and that¡¯s how you do things. I had the ability to possibly stop you though, so I had to try. That¡¯s how I do things.¡± I countered.


    ¡°Pine.¡± The bug huffed with a roll of its eyes, seemingly accepting my argument for the moment.


    ¡°Do you like it here in Ilex Forest?¡±


    ¡°Co¡­Pineco.¡± It thought for a moment and then was somehow able to convey a shrug without appendages.


    ¡°Do you want to see more?¡±


    ¡°Piiine.¡± It huffed once again, and fell on its side in display. The armored pokemon attempted to move around by flexing its body inside of its shell. The blue plates slowly dragged through the grass, taking nearly half a minute to cover just a few inches of ground. ¡°Co.¡± It scoffed, considering its efforts as proof that my question was ridiculous. Even climbing back up its tree would have likely been an arduous and hours long affair, aided by the creature¡¯s uncanny ability to stick to surfaces.


    ¡°Well if you can''t walk then I can carry you.¡± I stepped closer and reached out my arms, the Pineco balked at me, but did not move away. I scooped its body up, its rough armor feeling heavy in my hands.


    ¡°Pine!¡± it yelled with indignation and lightly squirmed around in my grip, but made no real attempts to escape.


    ¡°Come join us Pineco.¡± I turned her body to face in the direction of my loyal Sizzlipede, who was currently back to practicing his rolls. ¡°That¡¯s my teammate Stovetop, he¡¯s the one that sent you flying earlier. Him and I are on a journey through Johto to become the world¡¯s strongest Bug team.¡±


    The Pineco stopped squirming and attempted to look back towards me. I turned it back around and saw a question in its eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m asking you to become strong. Your movement is an obstacle, but not something we can¡¯t work around. If you can¡¯t move around the battlefield then we¡¯ll just turn you into something that¡¯s terrifying to approach.¡± I lifted the pokemon into the sky and gave it a little spin. ¡°Be my turret, Pineco.¡±


    Any trace of the glare that Pineco wore at the beginning of this discussion was long gone, replaced by a look of adoration. I had sold the bug on my vision, now I would just need to deliver on my end of the bargain.


    I reached into my pocket and pulled out my Pokedex, giving my new teammate a quick scan. It revealed general information about the pokemon¡¯s biology, things I had mostly already read before seeking one out initially. I scrolled quickly to her moves. Tackle, Protect, Self-destruct, and Bug Bite.


    ¡®Yes, a bug type move! And it¡¯s one that Stovetop can learn! I can use this as a starting point for them working together, hopefully they¡¯ll get along.¡¯


    ¡°This is a nice little set to start with, how¡¯s your Protect?¡± I eyed her with curiosity.


    The Pineco focused for a moment and a white, transparent bubble appeared around her. Her eyes were closed and her face locked into a scowl as she struggled to maintain concentration on the barrier. After a few seconds, the bubble faded.


    ¡°Piiiine.¡± She let out a deep exhale. Even a few seconds of Protect was extremely tiring for her at the moment, so I decided it would be saved as a last resort during battle.


    ¡°Good job, Pineco! Protect is supposed to be really hard to master, so having a foundation with it early on is a huge boon.¡± I patted her jagged shell, and she stretched her body within upwards, a clear request for me to pick her up again. I caved immediately and scooped her up into my arms once again.


    ¡°PINE!¡± She shouted with joy as she rose back into the air. I wasn¡¯t sure whether she wanted to be held or she just liked being high up but I was happy to assist.


    ¡°Hey Pineco, would you like a name?¡± I turned her to face me and saw a look of unbridled joy on her face as she began squirming around in anticipation. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll take that as a yes.¡± I determined with a chuckle.


    ¡°We want you to be big and unbreakable so how about Ironclad?¡± I offered, but the bug leaned back away from me in its blue armor.


    ¡°Co.¡± she responded curtly, a clear rejection.


    ¡°Yeah honestly that was weak, you¡¯re a burly lady so about Bertha?¡± Tossing out another idea casually but the Pineco looked at me angrily and a familiar glow began to emit from her body.


    ¡°WOAH, Okay! Bertha is a no, I get it!¡± I pleaded with her and the light quickly faded away, Self-Destruct having been terminated before it could complete. She still looked incredibly annoyed and jerked her body in the direction of a patch of flowers on the nearby ground.


    ¡°Pine!¡± She looked at the flowers and then back at me.


    ¡°You wanna be named after flowers?¡± I asked with a raised eyebrow, genuinely surprised.


    ¡°Piine¡± she shrugged, flowers weren¡¯t the point.


    ¡®Something pretty.¡¯ I suddenly realized, my image of Pineco was completely different from her own. Many Pineco, as the Pokedex had reminded me, use the glue-like substance that they can produce to stick pieces of bark to their shell to further enhance their defence and camouflage. This Pineco¡¯s shell was a pristine blue, almost completely unmarred by nature.


    Pineco wanted to be beautiful.


    ¡°How about Dahlia? They are these ball shaped flowers that my mom likes, they¡¯re really pretty!¡± I offered with a wince, concerned at what another rejected name may bring.


    ¡°Pine!¡± she cheered.


    ¡®Safe.¡¯


    ¡°Glad you like it! Alright Dahlia, let¡¯s go introduce you to our only other current teammate.¡± I jogged off, with her remaining blissfully in my arms, to go meet my friend.


    x-x


    THE HIVE - DAHLIA


    The feeling of being carried in my trainer¡¯s arms was very different from being in a tree. Trees were towering, unmoving, and cold; but they were also shelter, sustenance, and familiar. From the arms of the boy (Terry, he called himself) the world was ever changing, every step bringing new views to the eye. Warmth coursed through him and into my shell, a comfort I had never known and quickly latched onto.


    He was certainly naive though.


    Every wild pokemon knew to flee from an attacker that was stronger than you, but not the boy. I had prepped my Self-Destruct, keen to teach those who had disturbed my slumber a lesson, the drop itself was perfect. But then the Wheel of Fire threw me off course and towards him.


    I had heard tales from my kin of trainers that wielded nets and focused only on those of The Hive. In ages past they had been the earliest trainers in this land, helping to bring us and humans together for the first time. In the current age however, trainers preferred their Catching Orbs and Wielders of the Net were mostly children who quickly discarded the lifestyle with age. The link between those of The Hive and the Wielders of the Net was not what it once was, but The Hive remembered.


    The boy did not view me as an easy, beginner teammate, no. When he spoke of his plans to journey this land and assemble a team capable of felling the mightiest of foes, his eyes held a hunger for my strength. I could see behind them plans being set in motion to build me into a powerhouse, something I had never really considered before he offered it to me.


    But when those big violet eyes shined at me and he said ¡®be my turret¡¯, it was suddenly all I wanted. Now I just had to find out what exactly a turret was, but that would be saved for later as right now I was being placed in front of my new teammate.


    ¡°Stovetop this is Dahlia. Dahlia, Stovetop.¡± Terry declared giddily as he motioned between us. ¡°You guys are gonna be working together from now on so try to get along, we are all in this together okay?¡± He stopped and looked between them but they both just stared at him. ¡°Well, get to know each other, I''ll be right over there prepping dinner.¡± He walked away with a shrug, not really sure of how to approach making his pokemon be friends.


    The pokemon laying a few feet in front of me was unlike any I had ever seen, a Burning member of The Hive was unheard of. I looked to him warily, remembering the sting of his flames. ¡°Hello, as the boy told you, I am Dahlia. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± I bowed within my pristine shell, hoping to get things off to a good start. I did not understand the creature¡¯s name but it contained ¡®Top¡¯ so I assumed he had some kind of designation as a secondary leader.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Stovetop!¡± the little red creature positively hissed in return, in a much more childlike voice than I had expected from its previously serious expression. This ¡®Stovetop¡¯ couldn¡¯t have been more than a winter or two old, as if I would fall in line behind a child, much less one as flat as a reed.


    ¡®Patience Dahlia, our trainer will see who should really be in charge soon enough. For now just play along.¡¯


    ¡°Well aren¡¯t you a powerful little thing? I still owe you for that strike from earlier but I suppose I''ll forgive you this time in the interest of establishing a good partnership.¡± I tried to keep my voice cheerful, but some annoyance did sneak into my tone. The little punk shifted to a glare.


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky you didn¡¯t hurt Maizie or it would have been a lot worse!¡± the bug snapped back and then stuck out his tiny tongue in my direction, possibly in a threat to eat me.


    ¡°The brat that woke me up from a wonderful dream? She¡¯s the lucky one.¡± I huffed, unable to believe the audacity of this pokemon. ¡°My home was under attack and you begrudge me for defending it?¡±


    ¡°Well...I didn¡¯t think of it that way, and she didn¡¯t get hurt so I guess we are okay. Just don''t do it again!¡± His voice was softer now. ¡°Sunday would have messed you up anyway.¡±


    ¡°The Slowpoke? I have seen many of his ilk in this forest, they aren''t too much of a problem for one who isn¡¯t Burning.¡± I brushed it off.


    ¡°He¡¯s not like the other one¡¯s around here, Maizie made him strong!¡±


    ¡°What do you know of strength?¡± I scoffed at the child, a limited view of the world would leave one ignorant of the true dangers that lie out there. I had seen true strength only once before, five winters earlier. It carried thunderclouds at its feet.


    ¡°It could probably take any one of Terry¡¯s hive back home!¡± Stovetop argued.


    ¡°The boy has a hive at his home?¡± I asked, surprised. My new teammate seemed to know more about our trainer than I did, so getting this information out of him would at least make him useful.


    ¡°Well I think his Dad is the Hivemaster? But there are over 300 members, all Beedrill or their kids.¡± he said offhandedly.


    ¡°Our trainer is progeny to a human who controls a hive 300 strong?¡± I asked, my voice lowered.


    ¡°Uhhh, yes? Is that bad?¡± Stovetop wondered cautiously, skittering from side to side as he asked each question.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not bad at all¡­¡± I trailed off, staring back at the boy who captured me just a few hours earlier. He was thin and unassuming. His black hair hung down just above his violet eyes, and his clothes were, annoyingly, slightly covered in dirt and dust. He looked little different from hundreds of trainers I had seen cross Ilex. So why did he feel different?


    ¡°Do you think Terry is stong?¡± I asked the child after staring at my trainer for a while.


    ¡°Yeah, he saved me! He threw a Pineco that was about to explode at a Bird that was gonna eat me!¡± Stovetop regaled me with a play by play of the events that lead to their union, when he finished I was dumbfounded.


    My trainer was not a naive child who didn¡¯t know the dangers he put himself in. My trainer was an insane human who was willing to dive into danger on a regular basis if it felt ¡®right¡¯. Just what had I gotten myself into?


    My suspicions only worsened when Terry shouted out from the sideline: ¡°Dinner¡¯s ready, eat up! After that we are gonna battle Mazie!¡± He struck out towards the sky with a spatula in his hand at that proclamation and then shifted his focus specifically to me. "Her Slowpoke, Sunday, is crazy strong! But if the three of us work together we might be able to take it!" The carefree way he described our likely defeat seemed completely lost on him.


    The unchanging world of my view from the tree was gone, from here every day would bring new sights.

 5. Buy My Balls

    The trees danced in the suddenly heavy wind of Ilex Forest. I looked up and saw the sky darkening, warning of an incoming storm. I¡¯d have to make this battle quick, as any serious rain would only empower my opponent. I looked out across the field and saw her.


    Mazie¡¯s dirt stained skirt and bowlike hair flitted in the wind, but her eyes remained focused straight at my own like a laser. I had never seen her like this before, the determined expression was nothing new, she had worn it in all of her battles. Having it pointed at me was a wholly different experience. I wouldn¡¯t admit it to her, but she was kind of scary.


    ¡°I hope you won¡¯t take offence when I crush you like a bug.¡± She said with a smirk, holding up Sunday¡¯s pokeball at the ready.


    ¡°I take offence to the saying, but the action will not be happening today.¡± I countered confidently, I didn¡¯t think either of my pokemon could beat Sunday 1 on 1 but in a 2v1 scenario?


    We could do this.


    ¡°Dahlia, you have less experience so I¡¯m gonna have you go first.¡± The blue armored Pineco looked up at me like I had just said something insane, but nodded. I scooped her up with my net and threw her up into a nearby tree yelling ¡°Go Dahlia!¡±


    Dahlia landed onto the branch with a *Thunk* and was instantly glued there as she had been prepared for the toss. I only had a few minutes to go over the barest of plans with my team but this was the start of it. Unlike her usual methods, Dahlia was clinging to the top of the branch, nestled between it and the tree itself.


    Maizie tossed her pokeball a few feet in front of her, releasing Sunday in a burst of red light. ¡°Sunday, they are playing hide and seek.¡± Her eyes narrowed as she pointed at the branch. ¡°Circle around and find an angle you can hit it. You¡¯re fighting the Pineco from earlier. It tried to hurt me, remember?¡±


    Sunday adopted a serious expression and began trudging around the space, keen on correcting my pokemon¡¯s previous behavior. He kept his eyes locked on the branch as he circled around. A moment later Dahlia apparently came into view because he began charging a Water Gun with his head pointed upwards.


    ¡°He vocalizes right before he fires! Protect when you hear it and then drop it immediately!¡± I shouted up to the tree.


    ¡°Damn.¡± Maizie scowled and then looked to her ally. ¡°Any way you can fire silently?¡± Sunday merely shook his head, this particular habit being one that no trainer had yet known to exploit. I could see from Maizie¡¯s expression that this would not be something I could exploit in our next battle.


    ¡°Poke.¡± A large blast of water soared through the air and blasted into a perfectly timed barrier, leaving Dahlia completely unscathed.


    ¡°She probably can¡¯t use it much, rapid fire!¡± Maizie declared and her order was quickly followed by Sunday as he shot a quick barrage towards Dahlia.


    ¡°Fall with the first shot! Towards the base!¡± I heard the telltale *click* of a Pineco¡¯s hardened sap breaking and the armored bug flew off the tree with the first weakened blast. Dahlia fell to the ground with a wince, once again behind the tree from Sunday¡¯s angle.


    ¡°Get it quick!¡± Maizie shouted.


    ¡°Try to circle the tree!¡± I begged Dahlia, knowing that she had little choice but to run in this scenario, Sunday simply had too much range. Sunday ¡®ran¡¯ around the tree but kept a little bit of distance, firing another burst of water as Dahlia came into view, but she just barely inched herself out of the way.


    Sunday, in his frustration didn¡¯t wait for the order and simply ran in closer to prevent the Pineco from getting away. This was an error on his part. As soon as he was close Dahlia¡¯s body began to glow, as she flowed the only real order I had given her before the fight:


    If he gets in range, blow him up.


    Sunday and Maizie¡¯s eyes both went wide. ¡°Get out of there, now!¡± The Slowpoke attempted to make an escape but was nowhere near fast enough to fully get out of the blast range.


    *BOOOM*


    I felt heat at my face for just a moment before a massive cloud of dust obscured both pokemon. The forest around us echoed Dahlia¡¯s final blast back a few times. When it finally cleared, a bruised and battered, but still standing, Sunday was towering over my unconscious Pineco. His eyes daring her to wake up and move again.


    ¡°I withdraw Dahlia.¡± I held up my net. ¡°Stovetop, get in there buddy!¡± My flat red friend readied himself to be launched by my net as Sunday returned to his starting position. I sent him hurtling into the arena, and he fell into a nice roll. We had discovered just a little while ago that this was easier for him than initiating the roll himself. ¡°Start things off with a Flame Wheel!¡±


    ¡°Take it, and then hit him with water, he really doesn¡¯t like it!¡± Her eyes glimmered as she remembered the incoming rain, looking to the sky to confirm that yes, rain would break out any second.


    Stovetop crashed into the Slowpoke with his flaming body, and, though it was a solid hit, Sunday was easily able to shrug it off. ¡°Poke.¡± He sent Stovetop flying back with another Water Gun.


    ¡°Smoke Screen!¡± I shouted, not liking my Fire type exposed at range to the pink menace. The Sizzlipede immediately acquiesced and began obscuring the area around him with smoke that billowed out of his coils.


    ¡°Trick Room, you have some time.¡± She was right, the smoke was only slowly trickling out as raindrops began to fall from the sky.


    ¡®Fire will be weaker now.¡¯ I recognized.


    At nearly the same time a cloud of smoke finally obscured the two pokemon, a purple box shone over the area. ¡°Get around him and Wrap.¡± I commanded. Hopeful that being obscured would make up for the suddenly reversed gap in speed.


    ¡°Curse until you feel him, then break out of it!¡± I could just barely see a dull purple glow through the smoke, as Sunday followed the order. This only made it easier for my teammate to find him, Maizie was betting on having more power.


    ¡°Cooking Coils as soon as you have him, don''t give him the chance!¡±


    Within the smoke and rain I could only make out a red glow from the body of my Sizzlipede. I witnessed the glow shaking around erratically before holding still. Stovetop had finally found his moment, the heat flared.


    ¡°POOOOKE!¡± A pained scream from Sunday, flesh being burnt even within the rain, followed up by a *WHOOSH* as a blast of Psychic energy emanates from the Slowpoke.


    The red glow fades. The smoke clears.


    Stovetop had been pushed a few feet away, heavily bruised from the blast despite his innate resistance to the type. He curls his body to go into another roll but the action comes out sluggish within the Trick Room. Sunday covered the distance in the blink of an eye and crashed into the battered bug, ending the Flame Wheel before it could begin. He didn¡¯t even need an order.


    Sunday stands triumphantly over my unconscious fiery friend, his peachy body was burned and bruised all over, but he basked in the victory.


    ¡°Hell yeah! You did it!¡± Maizie ran over to her Slowpoke and began petting him and heaping praise. Sunday, however, wanted something else.


    ¡°Pooooke.¡± He whined and hit his head against the bag on her side.


    ¡°Okay, okay, poffins incoming.¡± She pulled out a few of the fluffy baked goods and tossed them Sunday¡¯s way. He instantly got a dull grin on his face and went to town on the snacks, basking in the only reward for victory that he actually cared about.


    ¡°Good battle!¡± I shouted her way as I went to work nursing my pokemon back to health. They both did well, I simply underestimated just how much of a monster Sunday truly was.


    ¡°Told you we¡¯d crush you like a bug!¡± she stuck out her tongue at me again.


    ¡°This time, maybe, but definitely not next time. Just you wait until Dahlia has a little bit of range on her and this¡¯ll be a whole different story!¡±


    ¡°Maybe after that you¡¯ll be comfortable with a fair fight.¡± She retorted.


    ¡°Get to catching! Not my fault you have to take over a decade between catches.¡± I teased back, knowing that she was very picky about which pokemon she wanted for her team. Maizie had told me before that she wanted no crossover in typing on her team at all, a far cry from my own methods.


    ¡°Maybe if there was anything cool in Ilex I would have.¡± She replied flatly. Both Stovetop and Dahlia gave her looks, his of sorrow, hers of disdain. ¡°Anything cool that Terry doesn¡¯t already have!¡± She amended and both pokemon went back to getting fawned over by me, paying her no mind.


    After they were both done getting healed, Stovetop was relaxing on the fire (the rain had subsided quickly) while Dahlia was having me buff out every little scratch incurred on her shell. It sucked to lose a fight for the first time, but I knew next time would be better. The loss provided us with a pretty clear path on what we would need to train on in the days between now and my first gym challenge.


    Another day in Ilex and we would finally be through. A few days on Route 34 would be all that was standing between us and Goldenrod City. There I would face Whitney, the Fairy and Normal type specialist. Most Gym Leaders had only one specialization, but Whitney was a special case.


    During the era of Champion Gold¡¯s journey Whitney had been a Normal type Gym Leader, but, in the years since, Fairy type had been discovered. This was a problem because many, though not all, of her pokemon were reclassified into the Fairy type. The League eventually decided, rather than ban her from using teammates that she had trained with for years, to allow her to become Johto¡¯s sole dual-typed Gym Leader.


    Challenging her first would be quite a hurdle, but the options available to her at high Badge Levels would only make her more difficult as time went on.


    Not soon after it was time for bed. Stovetop wrapped himself around my arm once again, while Dahlia huddled in close next to me. I had enjoyed having Stovetop¡¯s warmth by my side the past week but as another pokemon joined in a different feeling welled within me. This was my team, my friends that I would face the world with. Love, joy, pride, and comfort all swirled in my heart as I fell into a restful sleep.


    x-x


    The final day of travel through Ilex was relatively uneventful. Stovetop and I continued evasion and Flame Wheel training. I also tried to get Dahlia started on Rapid Spin, but the constant rotations left her dizzy after a short time. Maybe we needed to change gears?


    ¡°Dahlia, I¡¯ve noticed that you don¡¯t have your ability yet, do you know why that is?¡± I asked her directly, not having much experience with the concept myself. Stovetop had come with his ability pre-learned, and, according to Maizie, so had Sunday. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Coooh.¡± Dahlia shook her body side to side in a clear negative.


    ¡°Well, normally Pineco have the Sturdy ability, which lets you survive a move that should take you out in one hit, once.¡± I informed her, she nodded along but got a suspicious look in her eyes as I continued. ¡°So maybe we can train it by having Sunday shoot massive Water Guns at you?¡±


    She rolled her eyes, seemingly having expected that train of thought, and began to emit a familiar glow.


    ¡°STOP! You can just say no, ya know?!¡± I scolded the Pineco as her glow faded. She gave me a wicked grin, showing she had no intention of vocalizing a strong no any other way for the foreseeable future.


    Dahlia returned to spinning, with newfound vigor.


    After a few hours of training we were back on the road, and by mid-afternoon a familiar large building came into view. Its grey industrial look clashed with the dense foliage surrounding it, the Checkpoint building. Checkpoints were placed at each entrance of Ilex Forest, and most other Routes, and served as a base of operations for the Rangers that patrolled the area nearby.


    ¡°We¡¯re finally done with this forest!¡± Maizie shouted as she saw it too. ¡°Thank Ho-oh, we¡¯re almost back in civilization.¡±


    ¡°Aww, I¡¯ve been having fun, you don¡¯t think Ilex is cool?¡± I wondered, shocked that the place I had spent so much time in as a child seemed to leave so little impact.


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s cool, but me and Grandpa have been here a bunch of times to harvest Apricorns. I didn¡¯t live in it like you but Ilex isn¡¯t new.¡± She emphasised.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m pretty sure we¡¯ve both been to Goldenrod before but from then on it''s all new right?¡± I offered, Maizie nodded as I kept going. ¡°I wanna enjoy the familiar while I still can, once we leave it behind we won¡¯t feel it again for a long time.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re such an old man sometimes.¡± Maizie deadpanned before grinning at me. ¡°But I guess you¡¯re right, even Route 34 and Goldenrod have a lot that I haven¡¯t seen. This is as boring as it¡¯s gonna get, and it¡¯s still been pretty fun.¡±


    We stopped in the checkpoint building for a while grabbing some food and drink from a nice little built-in restaurant. Having a meal cooked by someone else for the first time after coming out of a days long stint in the forest was always a treat. We chatted with a few other trainers but most were too worn out from the forest to want a battle, especially with another couple days on route to Goldenrod.


    But Maizie and I each got one battle. Sunday tore through a young boy¡¯s Sentret and Stovetop had an even skirmish with another¡¯s Pichu. He came out on top in the end, with the battle effectively being over once the yellow mouse was caught in Cooking Coils.


    By the time we set out onto Route 34 the sun was low in the sky, but the wonder of hitting a new area, in addition to the openness of the route in comparison to Ilex, made us want to push forward.


    Route 34 was a large, coastal piece of land that was once a part of Ilex Forest; before humans and pokemon carved it away to provide a path between the settlements of Azalea and Goldenrod. Now it was a long road with the ocean on one side and the forest on the other.


    Finally being able to see the full night sky again was a treat of its own, as we traversed the paved road with the moon shining down on us.


    ¡°It¡¯s sooo pretty.¡± Maizie cooed, staring out at the water.


    ¡°Give it about a month and we¡¯ll be sailing on it.¡± I replied with anticipation, taking a moment to stop and stare out at the ocean with her. The waves looked punishing, and it was a relatively calm night with low wind.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard it''s dangerous, the whirlpools out there can tear boats apart.¡± She looked to me for consolation, as Maizie was not usually interested in entering a body of water much larger than a swimming pool.


    ¡°Well it¡¯s a journey, it¡¯s all dangerous. But that particular danger can be lightened by making sure we don¡¯t cheap out on our choice of transport¡± I argued, Dad had told me stories about ship captains that had been on hundreds of voyage¡¯s through the Whirl Islands. They knew how to weave between the dreaded whirlpools with near superhuman accuracy.


    Maizie¡¯s expression suddenly changed to one more predatory. ¡°That means we need money, right?¡± She awaited my answer with the gleaming eyes of a Meowth that spotted a Rattata.


    ¡°Uhhh¡­Well, I guess we do¡­¡±


    She jumped on it immediately and pretended to have just remembered something. ¡°Oh! And Goldenrod¡¯s famous Department Store has lots of TMs that would be quite helpful to both of us, right? So we need even more money for that?¡± With each question she got a little closer to me, her enthusiasm growing as she laid her trap.


    ¡°TMs would be helpful.¡± I admitted with a huff, already having a feeling for where this was going.


    ¡°Let¡¯s make camp soon.¡± She motioned to the area around us with her arms wide.


    ¡°Already? I thought we were exploring?¡± I whined.


    ¡°We need rest,¡± She turned to me with a devish grin. ¡°Tomorrow we find a hole in the market and fill it.¡±


    x-x


    ¡°We can definitely make money here.¡± Maizie declared as we entered the largest building we had come across since entering the route: a Pokemon Daycare. Trainers were flying directly here and walking from Goldenrod in droves. While the parts of the route closer to Ilex had been sparsely populated, this area was packed. Trainers of every skill level were here, trading, buying, or selling newly bred pokemon, looking to leave theirs here for boarding for a while, and taking classes on pokemon breeding.


    ¡°How?¡± I asked, genuinely curious about her scheme.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know yet, but money is moving around here, that means we just need to figure out how to get a piece of it.¡± She didn¡¯t look at me, her eyes glued to the crowd of trainers.


    ¡°Did Kurt teach you this?¡± I wondered.


    ¡°Ha! Grandpa would never, he hates when I get like this, calls it ¡®dishonorable¡¯. The old coot is lucky I¡¯ve helped keep us in business.¡± She laughed and then adopted a more levelheaded expression. ¡°Let¡¯s go scope things out.¡±


    We wandered the area for a while, listening to the goings-on around us. A few newly bred pokemon that were up for sale caught our attention but between an 80,000 pokedollar Snom and a 70,000 pokedollar Riolu (you know which wanted which) neither of us were even near the ballpark of affording one. It was when we got to the Boarding area that we found our path.


    ¡°Yes, your pokemon created an egg during your time here, young lady. Now, do you have a pokeball?¡± The old man behind the counter asked a girl who was attempting to pick up her pokemon.


    ¡°No, sorry, I wasn¡¯t expecting this, do I need one?¡± The young woman seemed confused. ¡°It¡¯s just an egg, can¡¯t I carry it?¡±


    ¡°Ahh, unfortunately pokemon eggs count as pokemon and League rules stipulate that all claimed pokemon must be registered via a capture device.¡± The old man made a welcoming motion with his hand. ¡°Luckily, we have pokeballs for sale here that you can use, it will just be an additional 500 pokedollar fee on top of their stay here.¡±


    ¡°500 for one pokeball? That¡¯s more than double! What kind of scam are you running here?!¡± She was angry now, forced into a position where she would have to spend an outrageous amount of money on one pokeball. I could practically hear the *Cha-Ching* that had to be playing in Maizie¡¯s head at the moment.


    ¡°I assure you that we are a reputable business, you can feel free to seek a pokeball elsewhere and come back to claim your egg later, if you so desire?¡± The old man replied to her outburst through gritted teeth. The young girl stomped away to try to go find another source of pokeballs but the old man just smiled as she walked away, seeming confident that she would soon return and just pay the fee.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Maizie decided and swiftly turned around to leave.


    ¡°But, that girl, aren¡¯t you gonna sell her a pokeball?¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but I''ll definitely be selling to many people like her. There hasn¡¯t been a single pokeball seller in the whole joint. This is gonna get us our TMs and ship tickets!¡± She carried a confidence that she usually reserved for battle as we walked out of the Daycare.


    Once we were a safe distance away, Maizie crouched down and upturned her bag, leaving dozens of Apricorns to fall out. Her bag, like my own, had an Apricorn lining that allowed for much more storage space than appearances would suggest. She crouched down with a carving knife and got to work, skinning an Apricorn while maintaining it¡¯s ball like shape. She then packed the sliver-thin orb of Apricorn flesh with a layer of sand, both inside and out, acquired from the nearby shoreline.


    ¡°Stovetop, can you cook this for me?¡± Maizie asked, placing the orb delicately on the ground. The bug quickly slid down my body and over to the orb, carefully wrapping himself around it and began to heat it with his coils. After a moment he backed away and the red hot glass orb was revealed. A few minutes of cooling, carving, the placement of a couple strange computer chips within, and a hinge and clasp without later, Maizie held up her prize.


    ¡°The Tempball!¡± She shouted holding it up for me to see. The brown Apricorn skin was visible within the glass orb, but it otherwise looked similar to normal pokeball.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t having a glass pokeball kinda suck? What if you break it?¡± I wondered, not sure this was the valuable business opportunity she believed it to be.


    ¡°I know, I came up with it a couple years ago but could never figure out a use for it, but here is perfect.¡± She spoke as if her victory was assured.


    ¡°What¡¯s so perfect about it?¡± I scratched the back of my head in confusion. I still wasn''t seeing it.


    ¡°I made these when I was trying different methods to make the most pokeballs possible out of a single Apricorn.¡± She held the pokeball closer to me. ¡°I can make 10 of these out of a single Apricorn.¡± I looked at the pile of Apricorns, counting them in my head. 40? 50? We could make hundreds of pokeballs with these.


    ¡°The best part? We get to look like heroes, selling these temporary balls for half the price of a normal pokebal! We¡¯re gonna undercut the Daycare so drastically that it¡¯ll be a no-brainer!¡± She let out a satisfied giggle. ¡°So, if you learn how to carve these up for me you can have 40 percent of the profits, interested?¡±


    I nodded eagerly, TMs calling my name from afar. So I sat down next to her and got to work. The first set took an average of 10 minutes per ball. With teamwork and an efficient process that we would develop over the course of the next few hours we got it down to 8. The problem? Maizie had 46 Apricorns.


    x-x


    A week later we were back in the Daycare once again, freshly showered from a nearby Inn, and ready to sell some Tempballs. Maizie¡¯s plan was this: I was to hang out near the Boarding Area, listening for similar occurrences to what happened last time we were there. Then I would approach the person after they left the counter and tell them that I had heard of a pokeball seller nearby, providing them with directions to where Maizie had set up shop.


    The Tempballs were selling for 100 pokedollars each, and we had made 430 of them, as I had mangled three Apricorns beyond repair during the learning process. After 8000 pokedollars for parts I would be left with 14,000 at the end of it all, a huge windfall for a beginner trainer like me.


    My hands still ached from a week of skinning the rough fruit, they seemed to want to stay in a slightly curved placement, any deviation from that position would cause pain to shoot through them. Luckily the time was useful as during downtime Stovetop finally learned to reliably launch a Flame Wheel on his own, though the Net Launch method was still more effective. Dahlia spent her time learning Rapid Spin, and was now in the beginning stages of learning Spikes but it was slow going.


    Things were going smoothly and we sold through a third of our stock in the first 2 days. But on day 3 the guy at the counter yelled at me for loitering so Maizie and I had to switch spots. I was now the one in charge of sales, while she was recruiting customers. Sales ended up being the easier job, as customers were usually desperate by the time they got to me, having realized that there were no other options around. Maizie had specifically placed our sales table as far as possible from the Boarding Area, so trainers had to walk through the entire facility before they got to us.


    I saw many trainers come and go, most of them with only a few pokemon, but then a girl a few years older than me walked over. She had long dirty-blonde braids that hung past her shoulders, which complemented her honeyed skin tone. Her well worn clothes (a black t-shirt and khaki colored cargo pants, with hiking boots) told my eyes that she was a fellow traveler on the road, but the six pokeballs at her waist said that she was one beyond the likes of me.


    ¡°Hey kid, I hear you have some pokeballs.¡± She approached me at the small lunch table that I had been set up at for the last few hours, her tone was jovial but it felt like there was a threat laced under every word. As she got closer the air began to feel heavy, my lungs feeling like they were being pressed on with stones.


    ¡°Y-Yes miss, did you need one? These Tempballs are breakable and not useful in live catching, b-but I can assure you they work just fine for the transport of freshly hatched babies, only 100 pokedollars each.¡± I choked out my words, the pressure only getting worse.


    She frowned and leaned in closer to me as she took a seat. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit much for a useless pokeball?¡± She eyed me like a Sharpedo, appearing very aware of the effect her presence had on me.


    ¡°I¡­I¡¯m sorry miss, but I''m afraid the price is non-negotiable.¡± I stammered, eager for this interaction to be over.


    ¡°Fine, even if your wares are trash, paying that old man who¡¯s price gouging everyone is something I¡¯m not willing to do.¡± She snatched a Tempball out of my hand with a daring look in her eyes and began to walk away.


    ¡®Is she really gonna steal from me? I should¡¯t let her do that. But what if she can make the pressure even worse?¡¯ I was frozen in fear, my brain firing danger signals, every step she took away was easing the awful presence. Allowing her to walk away would be so easy.


    In a moment of lucidity, I remembered: a Maizie that knew I had cost her money was ever scarier than this girl, weird presence be damned.


    ¡°Miss that¡¯ll be 100 pokedollars please.¡± I somehow delivered with a straight face.


    She stopped walking for just a moment and a spooky grin crossed her face as she turned back to face me. ¡°Ahh, I almost forgot, Misdreavus, pay the kid.¡± A small impish ghost with a necklace flew out of her shadow and placed a bill on the counter. The Misdreavus stared into my eyes for a moment before making a kissy face at me and *Poof*. The pokemon had disappeared. ¡°Always a little flirt, that one. I¡¯m glad you had the balls not to let me walk all over you, little Bug, good job.¡± She winked at me and walked off. As her steps got more distant the pressure she exuded faded completely.


    ¡®What did she just do? Whatever it was, she¡¯s dangerous., and she knows me now. I¡¯ll have to keep an eye out and try to avoid her.¡¯


    A few minutes later, after finishing another sale, I looked at the bag I had placed below the table while I was working, with my net and pokemon inside. Both were completely out of view.


    ¡®Wait, if she couldn¡¯t see my gear or pokemon, why did she call me ¡°Bug¡±?¡¯


    Answers would not come today, as the remainder of my sales went relatively smoothly. Just a few more days and we would work through our entire stock.