"So what are you going to catch with your pokeball?" Mike asked as he grabbed a soda from a vending machine. His best friend Ryan leaned against the wall, hands jammed in his pockets.

"Hmm," Ryan thought aloud. "I don't know. What's strong against your pokemon?" He said, grinning.

"Mareep kicks the tar out of anything," Mike stated with a similar grin, "but I do know it can't touch Ground types."

"Whatever I get, it needs to be weak enough to catch with one pokeball…or I gotta start saving all over again."

"Well, give it some thought," Mike said simply. The two friends started walking again. "Hey, see the news? The station in Goldenrod was trashed last night. Just…boom. Blown up."

"Whoa. What happened?"

"No-one really knows. They blame this new group hanging around…real weirdoes dressing all in black and using pokemon to cause trouble."

"Huh," Ryan said, not really listening.

"Hey, check it out," Mike said suddenly. He pointed down the road, off to the side in the leafy undergrowth. There was something moving quickly and erratically, occasionally pausing before moving on.

"What is that?" Ryan asked, half to himself. As if answering him, a small, triangular head popped out of the foliage. It had a white neck and from the top of its head down its back it was lined with sandy-coloured scales. Two large, glossy black eyes stared pointedly at the two boys.

"It must be a pokemon!" Ryan cried excitedly. "I'm gonna catch it!"

"You want Mareep's help?" Mike asked.

"Sure, couldn't hurt," Ryan said.

"Okay, come on out Mareep! Let's see what you can do!" Mike introduced his new pokemon with a flourish. The timid sheep-like pokemon appeared in a flash, shaking its fleecy yellow coat. The wild pokemon recognised the threat and scurried out of the leaves, calling loudly.

"Is it saying…Sandshrew?" Ryan asked.

Mike nodded. "I think so," he said. "Thunder Wave, Mareep!"

Mareep sent a jolt of static towards Sandshrew, enveloping it and shocking its muscles. But with a shake of its dumpy little body, Sandshrew completely ignored the assault.

"What the…? Then it must be a Ground type!" Mike exclaimed.

"Nice! Then I'm definitely catching it!" Ryan pulled out his pokeball and maximised it quickly.

"Wait! We didn't even weaken it, it might escape," Mike cautioned.

Ryan looked carefully at Sandshrew, and it stared right back. There was a few moments silence.

"Pokeball, go!" Ryan commanded. It bounced off the Sandshrew and sucked the pokemon inside. It wobbled once… "Come on…" Ryan muttered."

A second wobble…Mike recalled Mareep silently and watched.

The ball gave a "ping" and was still. Ryan could scarcely believe it.

"Oh…yeah!" He cheered. "I caught it, I caught Sandshrew!"

"That's amazing," Mike admitted. "How did you do that?"

"I don't know," Ryan replied, "I just…trusted my luck, I guess." He was still giddy from the adrenaline rush.

"Well, that's some luck you got there," Mike patted his friend on the shoulder in congratulations. "Hey, now we can start training together!"

"Heh, we better fight other trainers. Mareep wouldn't stand a chance against Sandshrew!"

"Ah, dammit…"

As the days went on, Ryan and Sandshrew became firm friends. Ryan realized his pokemon's potential as an excellent fighter; and Sandshrew trusted in Ryan's attitude and care. In due time, they had fought every trainer in the town, some even volunteering for a rematch and being soundly defeated. Mike even beat Ryan at one point, using Mareep's Tackle to get through Sandshrew's dominant Ground advantage. Two weeks after Ryan had caught Sandshrew, the boys were sitting in Ryan's room, studying pokemon battling books. Sandshrew and Mareep wandered about aimlessly, exploring their surroundings.

"Sandshrew evolves into Sandslash…just look at those claws…"

"I could do some real damage with Thunderpunch…"

"You know Mike, I've been thinking," Ryan said, shutting the book. "I might be leaving soon."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, there's more to pokemon than this little town. I wanna get out there and see what I can learn…with Sandshrew by my side, of course."

"I don't see why not," Mike said. "You've got great skills…you're practically undefeated with just one pokemon. You might even have the potential to get to Pokemon League."

"Seriously?" Ryan said in awe. "I never thought about it like that."

"So, when do we leave?" Mike asked.

"Huh…you're coming too?" Ryan said in surprise.

"Well, yeah. I think you're right. There's so much we can achieve and see out in the big wide world. It'll be a real adventure!"

"This is gonna be great!" Ryan cried. "I'll get my stuff ready tonight, and we can leave tomorrow!"