CHAPTER 2

We walked through the tall grass, looking for Pokémon. We kept seeing Rattatas, but that was about all.

Finally, I said, "Come on, it's 6:00, and all we're seeing is Rattatas."

"I agree with Rachel," Lisa said. "You guys might be interested in Rattatas, but I'm not."

Lisa and I turned to go, but then stopped. Because there, trying to hide in a rock out-cropping, was a Pokémon.

We froze.

The Pokémon seemed disappointed, somehow. It hung its head.

"What? Is? That?" Michael asked.

It was about 1 foot tall. It was a pale-pink color. It had two almond-shaped eyes and a kind of bulge for a nose. I couldn't really tell if it had a mouth. Its arms were short and stubby, with sharp claws on the end. Its legs were so short, I could barely see them. But it had very big feet. Very big feet. Its tail was unbelievably long, and it curled up over its head.

"I've never seen anything like that," Boris said.

˂Curses, I was hoping you wouldn't see me,˃ the Pokémon said. Only, it didn't really say it. It was in my head, not aloud.

We all jerked, startled.

˂Don't be afraid,˃ the Pokémon said. ˂I am talking with thought-speak.˃

"You mean like telepathy?" I asked.

˂Yes,˃ the Pokémon said. ˂Yes, it's like telepathy.˃

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a sec," Michael cut in. "How come this Pokémon can talk? I thought Pokémon could only say parts of their names."

"He's not talking, he's thought-speaking," Boris said.

"Oh, well that's alright, then," Michael said sarcastically. "But... but... he's... he's... oh, what's that word? The one that means something can think on its own?"

˂Sentient,˃ the Pokémon said. ˂I am a sentient Pokémon.˃

The Pokémon got up. It had been sitting down. As it got up, I could see a bright red line going straight down its side. The Pokémon winced from pain.

"You're hurt!" I said. I came closer, then crouched down to look less threatening. "What are you?"

˂I am a Mew,˃ the Pokémon said. ˂My name is Skipper-Malf-Kric.˃

"A Mew?" Lisa asked. She seemed confused. "Never heard of them."

˂We are...˃ The Mew suddenly staggered and fell over.

In a flash, Lisa was crouching beside me. Then, more slowly, Boris and Michael were crouching, too.

˂Daddy?˃ It was another 'voice'.

Two more Mews suddenly appeared out of the darkness of the rock out-cropping. They were smaller than Skipper, the first Mew, and one was more white than pale-pink.

˂Are you okay?˃ the larger, pinker one asked.

˂Yes,˃ Skipper said, sitting up. ˂I... I think.˃

The two small Mews ran over to Skipper and helped him up.

˂Meet my sons, Bounce-Sal-Malf and Blitz-Kric-Nam,˃ Skipper said.

˂Hi,˃ Bounce, the bigger and pinker one said, sounding uncomfortable.

"Hi," Lisa said. "I'm Lisa. This is Rachel. That is Michael, and that's Boris." She pointed to each of us in turn.

˂Cool,˃ Blitz, the smaller and whiter Mew said. Then, he laughed for apparently no reason.

˂I must tell you,˃ Skipper said to us, sounding weak. ˂You must know...˃

"Know what?" Boris urged. Boris is often impatient.

˂Mews are not the only sentient Pokémon,˃ Skipper said. ˂There are others.˃

˂Dad?! Why are you telling them?˃ Bounce demanded, looking shocked.

˂Humans must know!˃ Skipper said. He turned back to us. ˂You must know... about the Weederpies.˃

"The what?!" Michael asked.

˂The Weederpies. They... they...˃ Skipper stammered.

˂They plan to start a war!˃ Blitz said.

"What?!" Lisa yelled.

˂They plan to start a war with humans,˃ Skipper said. ˂And they plan to win.˃

Author's Annotation: Man, that last line makes me cringe.

This series takes an enormous amount of cues from Animorphs, including the old "group of normal kids are at the right/wrong place at the right/wrong time" trick to kick off the story. You can probably guess what's going to happen next if you're familiar with Animorphs.