A Man's Best Friend
Chapter 1
"Hi there," said a three-year-old boy dressed in a black and yellow striped shirt, with denim jeans and suspenders, " I'm Mikey. How did you get here all by yourself?" he blew the dangling blonde hair, desparately needing a cut, out of his face.
"Vulpix! Pix!" replies the beautiful redish-orange creature, standing tall enough to stare directly into Mikey's eyes. Mikey had wandered into the lush green forest beyond his yard, dwarfed by the smallest of trees. His encounter with Vulpix had, at first, been frightening. However, he had soon realized that she meant no harm. Mikey stroked Vulpix lovingly down her back. She proceeded to coo in enjoyment.
The next day, Mikey came back into the forest. He crossed his fingers hoping that his friend would be waiting there. Sure enough, his wishes had been granted.
"Hi!" he said, bursting with joy, "I knew that you'd come back! I just knew it!"
"Pix!" she cried in reply. Mikey ran and squeezed Vulpix until she gasped for air.
"My Parents told me about you. You're a Pixie, they said. That's what I'm gonna' call you now. Pixie."
Mikey and Vulpix ran through the forest, thoroughly examining every creature there. The two were inseparable, and shared a bond like no other. Mikey came for weeks and weeks, and Vulpix would still be there. However, one day was more special than any of the rest.
After playing in the forest for what had seemed like forever, Mikey pulled a ball out of his pocket, which appeared to be red and white. There was a button in the center, which he proceeded to press. Vulpix watched curiously as the ball expanded like magic.
"My Daddy gave me this, today. He told me to save it for a Pokemon that I loved. I want you to have it. Do you want to come home with me?" She nodded her head, almost as if in agreement. He proceeded to toss the ball to Vulpix. It opened up, and consumed her within. Mikey clicked the button once more, and put Vulpix in his pocket as he walked back through the forest to return to home.
That was seven years ago this day. Michael was standing infront of Pewter City, with Pixie, which was now a tall and majestic Ninetails. Michael found it funny how he and his partner had grown simultaneously, ones' height never surpassing the others. After conquering the Viridian Forest with Ninetails and his newly acquired Squirtle, the trio was worn out, and took refuge in a pokemon center. Michael layed down on a bench, after catering to his Pokemon. He shut his eyes, eagerly awaiting for the next day to arrive.
Michael lay calmly upon the bench, snoring every few seconds. He was dreaming of becoming League Champion when he was violently flipped onto his back, and stripped of his pokemon.
"Kazam!" screamed a Pokemon of some sort, and was gone with a puff of smoke. Michael tripped over his own feet, shuffling around in the darkness to find the culprit, or the light switch, whichever came first. He was successful in finding the switch. He sat down on the bench and let a seldom tear slip from his eye.
"Pixie! Squirtle!" shouted Michael, waiting for the reply that would never come, "Where are you?!"
The next morning, a red haired woman walked through the double doors of the pokemon center, a Chansey bouncing happily at her side. Upon noticing the still weeping Michael, she walks over to investigate.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" she asks him. The distinct tone of her voice tells him that the woman truly wants to help him, "Whatever it is, I'm sure that I can help."
"My…My," Michael sobs, his hands pressed tightly to his face. He knows that the second that he begins to explain himself, the uncontrollable tears will be let loose.
"What is it? You can tell me," She persuades him to spill his guts.
"That thing! It was here last night! It swooped in and took all of my Pokemon!" Michael turns away from the woman, trying to hide his tears. He wipes his face with his elbow then turns back to her, "Who were they? What do they want my pokemon for and where did they go?"
It took a minute for Nurse Joy to gather her thoughts. The words had sent her into a shock, and she couldn't believe her ears. "Oh my goodness," she managed to say,her eyes still wide, " I am so sorry. I am going to file a report right away. Meanwhile, you go into town and get something to eat. You look simply awful."
"Thanks," he replied. Although he didn't appreciate the criticism, the nurse was probably right. He walked, slouching over, to an outdoor café located across the street. After ordering a large breakfast, he looked down the street to find a beautiful girl, about his age, watching him carefully. She had thick blonde hair cut short, and wore a smile enough to warm any heart…except for his. Upon noticing Michael, she darted into the sea of pedestrians. A few moments later, as he was enjoying his eggs and bacon, the mystery girl took a seat directly across from him. She was too perky for this early in the morning. Dressed in neon pink and green, her appearance was enough to make Michael wince.
"Hey, I'm – "
"What do you want?" replied Michael. After the travesty that had just taken place, he was in no mood for chit-chat. However, even a rejection of that degree was no match for the joy emanating from her.
"Listen, I couldn't help but overhear you talking to Nurse Joy, and I can relate to you. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost my little Baby." Still looking down at his meal, Michael has no idea who this "Baby" is. I look up to see a tiny spinarak, which had probably been sitting there the whole time. Just the sight of that little bug made him jump back a few feet. When we were little, I always made Pixie scare off those little buggers. Most people are okay with them, but something about them just skeeves Michael out.
"Put that thing away," he demand, emphasizing the word thing. After saying this, he truly believes that this girl was a robot. She agreed without a comeback, remark, or even breaking her smile! "Who are you, anyway?"
"My name's Emilia," what a beautiful name, thinks Michael, "and I know who took your Pokemon."
And with that, Emilia dashed back into the crowd.
"FREAK!" said Michael upon seeing Emilia dart into the mob of people. He overturned the small table infront of him. Chasing after her, he realized that Emilia was more like a Sneasel. Weaving in and out of people at record speeds, she made it look way too easy. He, on the other hand, had more of a Donphan or Granbull approach, plowing through people, not caring how ignorant that he may seem. Looking ahead, Michael noticed a small boy that reminded him of himself. The boy had a pokeball attatched to his belt, and if he was nearly as smart as Michael, there would be something good within. Knowing that there would be consequences later, Michael snatched the pokeball from him. Any pokemon could help me catch this psycho, thought Michael, even if they send me to jail for it. Michael chucked the pokeball at her.
"Hey what do you think you're doing!" angrily shouted the kid, " That's my magikarp!" Magikarp? Why even have that pokemon?
"Sorry, Kid!" Michael managed to yell back, "I'll get it back to you soon!" Although it wasn't quite the pokemon that Michael had hoped for, it did do a great deal of damage.
The pokeball hit Emilia in the back of the head, causing her to stumble, but only for a fraction of a second. She would have gotten away, if the magikarp hadn't flopped in front of her, sending her tumbling down. Michael tackled her into the grass away from the sidewalk. He was breathing heavily, and had a face to match the magikarp.
Once he managed to regain himself,Emilia began laughing. Laughing! Right in Michaels' face! He couldn't believe it. However, Michael felt the urge to laugh a little, too, realizing how silly that they must've looked. He maintained his cool, and began the interrogation.
"Where are they? Where are my Pokemon?" he shouted into Emilia's face.
After wiping the spit from her cheeks, she managed to reply, "The Rockets took 'em, silly! come with me and we'll get them back."
"Who are the Rockets?" he asked. However, it still sounded pretty much like a demand.
"Raaak!"
"What?" He asked.
"That was my crushed Spinarak, now get off of me!I'll tell you later. But first, let's go get something to eat."
Michael obeyed. The two walked to the same outdoor café that the race started at. Once apologizing to the manager, Emilia explained to Michael all about the Rockets, and their evil pokemon stealing ways. He learned that it was an Alakazam who had swooped in ever so gracefully, and that they were a force to be reckoned with. Of course, he didn't care, and Emilia was always up for a challenge. The two paired, determined to get Pixie and Squirtle back.
"One more thing," Emilia said, "If we're gonna get your pokemon back, you're going to have to be a bit faster."
The two were sitting at the same outdoor café that Michael had destroyed just moments ago. After completing a four course breakfast, Emilia was full and ready to begin her day, but Michael couldn't help but feel guilty for the man standing not five feet away, cleaning up his overturned table.
"You know," Micheal began, " I can't believe you made me chase you down the street like that. I thought that you HAD Pixie and Squirtle. Now, there's a poor guy over there cleaning up my mess, and I didn't even get my Pokemon. Why did you do that?"
"Spinarak! Spin!" shouts the Pokemon as Emilia hands it another piece of toast.
"I want to say deep down that there was some unseen meaning, and that it tested your dedication of a Pokemon trainer, but, " she continued, "there wasn't. I guess you could say that I like pulling your strings." And with that she gave him a friendly punch to the arm, "now let's go catch you some Pokemon!"
"I have some Pokemon. Two of them to be exact. I don't need anymore as of now and I don't plan on getting any." The fury seeped from Michaels words as magma does from a Torkoal's back.
"Oh, I see how it is," Emilia understood, " I guess, if you wanted to, that you could borrow some of mine."Michael examined Emilia closely. There were no other bugs crawling from within her hair, so where could these "other Pokemon" be?
"What are you talking about?" Michael questioned. With that, Emilia flipped back her hair, revealing two customized neon Pokeball earrings , to match not only her outfit, but her personality as well. She gently removed them from her small yet beautiful ears. Michael had never described anything, let alone ears, as beautiful before. Was he falling for this creeper that he had met not ten minutes ago? EW! He gave himself a swift slap to the face and returned to normal.
Emilia threw her multi – purpose earrings into the air, and smiled in delight as her two Pokemon woke from their slumber. Michael watched as Elekid and Phanpy stretched and rubbed their eyes, obviously not ready to be awake. "Which do you want, for now?" asked Emilia.
"Phanpy," Michael said confidently, "I want Phanpy." Phanpy looked behind itself, waiting for Emilia's approval.
"Go ahead," she said with a nod as Phanpy rolled to Michael's side, "Alright, Michael, let's get going. I've got a town map, and it looks like we're heading…East? To Cerulean!"
Michael and Emilia paid for their breakfast, and began their journey through Mount Moon.
As it turns out, Emilia, and Phanpy alike, had more to them than meets the eye. Phanpy was exceedingly strong, and could beat most opponents in Mount Moon. Most of those opponents, unfortunately, were Zubat. Their shreeks sent a chill down Michaels spine, and he stayed close behind Phanpy to ensure that all of his bodily fluid stayed inside of him. Emilia, on the other hand, showed no sign of fear. Even when a swarm of one hundred angry Zubats came flying after her, she wouldn't even break the smile that she wore so well, commanding Elekid to zap them out of the air, one by one. Spinarak, unfortunately, didn't get to see much action. Eventually, the five came to a small clearing in the longest tunnel that Michael had ever traveled through. However, that doesn't exactly mean that Michael has traveled through that many tunnels before.
Just as Michael and Emilia began to see a small ray of light glimmering from a crack in the ceiling of the cave, a small whimper could be heard coming from behind a rock. Emilia, being the always giving person that she is, had to go uncover this mystery. She stuck her head behind the rock to see a very peculiar sight.
"It's yellow? What the heck! I thought Caterpie were green!" Emilia exclaimed. Michael couldn't believe what he was hearing, so he went over to investigate for himself. The Caterpie was, in fact, yellow. How strange? It seemed to be lost, so Michael reached down to pick the poor thing up.
Just then, a mysterious man darted out of the shadows, snatching up the Caterpie before Michael got his chance. Michael was immediately enraged upon seeing the R upon this man's chest. He was a Rocket, and may very well have been the same one that stole Pixie and Squirtle.
"Elekid! Stun him with Thunderwave! Phanpy, then knock him over with Rollout! Finally, tie him up with string shot, Spinarak!" the three Pokemon looked at him with a puzzled expression, but only for a second. They then executed the plan perfectly, leaving the Rocket, and Emilia as well, lost for words. Michael, on the other hand, new exactly what he wanted to say, "Where are they? Where are my Pokemon?!" screamed Michael, holding the Grunt at Elekidpoint.
"You're Pokemon?" he asked, puzzled, " I'll never tell!" With that, Michael gave the signal for Elekid to send an electrical charge through the poor Grunt's body. Emilia watched in shock, obviously not aware of this other side of Michael, "Okay! Okay! I'll tell! And ouch!" whined the Grunt, " Your Pokemon are most likely with my boss, but you'll never figure out where that is!" another zap to the face, " Cinnabar Island! Jeez!" Michael felt the bittersweet relief. His Pokemon were well, and he knew where they were. However, Cinnabar island was so far away! He would have to get a move on if he was ever going to get there.
"Thanks. Have fun getting out of that. Elekid, one more shock, please." Michael left the underground, returning Phanpy and Elekid, and leaving both the Grunt and Emilia with a look of horror upon their faces. He scooped up Caterpie and walked out to Cerulean. Why would Michael do this? If Emilia wanted to stand by Michael, he would have to leave too. Unfortunately, there was no time to help that poor man.
"Wait! Please!" the two heard as they exited the cave, "I'll never get out of this!"
"Michael, don't you think we should –" Emilia began.
Michael briskly turned toward her, "If you want to go and help him, fine. But if you want your Pokemon, you're coming with me," he pulled the two Pokeballs out of his pocket. Emilia had no choice but to comply. She hoped that Michael would cool down, eventually.