Jakey and I didn't actually make it to Cherrygrove like we'd hoped. A freak rainstorm kicked up straight outta nowhere and ruined our travel plans for the afternoon. Jakey was so upset about the rainstorm that he didn't pretend to forget about banning me from dinner and I spent the night hungry, cold, and really just a bit mopey.

Oh well! Four A.M.; time to get up get dressed. Cherrygrove is an hour's walk and I can postpone my morning cleansing until I can get to a passerby's house and take a genuine shower. Alright! Clothes, let's get'em on. My favorite color is green, but with my red-hair, I know I'll take shit from people calling me a leprechaun, so I've got a long pink shirt on my top-half and my sleeveless lavender windbreaker to go over that because nights in Johto actually get pretty cold. I don't do the hat thing that is so popular among main character types, but I've got a red bandanna that I keep over my bonce so that I don't look so terribly out of place. Pants? I've got those. Denim; jeans: comfortable, serviceable, durable, and a few other -ables that escape me for the moment.

Looking over at Jakey, still in his sleeping bag and down to a blue T-shirt underneath, he doesn't do the hat thing either. He's got a hood on his jacket for when he needs to protect the curly black fluff on his head, but we just don't do hats. We just ain't hat people.

"What are you making noise about hats for so early in the morning?" Jakey complains, slowly rising from his slumber.

"Hey there, Jakey-poo! Did you see me in your dreams as you slept?" I tease, natch.

Even the half-awake Jakey in unfazed at this point. "No, but I see you in my living nightmares now that I'm awake..."

He's really quick for comebacks, isn't he?

Jakey leaves his sleeping bag before picking it up to throw at my face. "Which Pokémon is it that brings the rain? And don't say any Pokémon that can use Rain Dance can bring it. That doesn't tell me anything."

Jakey quickly locates his shorts and hoodie and dresses himself.

"Do you want to try and catch a Pokémon today, Jakey? You've still only got Tooth on you to battle with."

"There's nothing around here worth catching. If it didn't rain last night, I could've caught a Spinarak, but I'm not about to stall on getting to Violet City just because of a wimpy bug-type." Says Jakey.

"You're being just a bit too utilitarian about all this, ain't'cha, Jakey?"

Jakey dismisses me with a rolling aside glance. "Let's move. We're behind schedule now. C'mon."

"Jakey..." His aloofness worries me. "Can we at least try and see what's around here?"

"If you really want to spend that much time beating back Rattata and Pidgey, that's all you." Jakey said, pulling his hoodie down over his head and swinging his bag over his shoulder. "So are we going or what?"

Jakey was deadset on being a stick in the mud it would seem. He's really not budging on this, so I really don't have much other choice but to keep along with him.

…

Naturally, I just picked him over my shoulder and carried him off with me to find something.

"Let me go, lummox! This is pointless!" Jakey wailed as I carried him over my shoulder, his knees kept knocking at my chest.

"Now, Jakey, I understand the desire to assemble the optimal party of six, but it's not like my family's charging you for any extras you send over. It's just safer to keep to hand a few extra Pokés while you're still starting out." So quit kicking me and let's fill up those five empty party slots! Wha-hoo!

"Don't just bring me along for your stupid side-questing!" Jakey pounds at my back with his fists.

"And here we are, Kiddo!" I dropped Jakey on his bottom now that we were far enough away from the beaten path. He's not about to make a run for it if he doesn't know exactly where we are. "In the middle of nowhere!"

Jakey punched me at the waist. "Take me back now!"

"C'mon, Jakey. Lighten up a little! We're here to catch Pokémon, aren't we?"

"All you seem to be here to do is irritate me! I can't believe I let you talk me into walking the region with you!" Jakey shouted, and shouted.

"Golly, Jakey, I didn't think you'd get so mad just from me picking you up..."

"That's. Not. It. At. ALL!" Jakey's high pitched shotaro boy voice struck my eardrums loud and high. "You've always been like this! You make it sound like you're trying to be my friend, but all you do is make me furious! I want you to leave me alone! Just leave me alone!"

Boom. Boom. Boom. Like crackling thunder, Jakey thundered on and on about how he hated my guts for the way I treated him. Boom. Boom. Boom. BOOM! Just like that, only higher and cracking. All I could do was display my palms in hopes that calm down at the sight of my calloused farm boy hands. Eventually, his little voice began to fail him, cracking over and over as he unleashed his rage upon me, and through the cracks in his voice, could hear a faint tone threatening to reach our ears.

I stilled his furious, flapping lips with my palm. "Jakey, do you hear that?"

Smacking my hand away, he said, "Don't touch me while I'm yelling at you! You know I hate that. What is it now?"

"Listen..."

I nodded in the direction from where I thought the sound was coming from. Jakey opened an ear and listened for it as well.

"Jii~ Jiggly~ Jigglypuff~"

"Oh crap..." Jakey recognized the sudden lullaby for what it was right away.

"Cover your ears, Jakey!" I said, slapping my own ears deaf and motioning for Jakey to do the same.

Jakey shielded himself from the soft, mysterious tones with his hands cupping his ears.

We waited out the song. I feigned collapsing and looked to Jakey for him to follow my lead. He looked at me, trying to determine what the hell I was doing. After a long wait, Jakey followed me to the dirt, hands still on his ears. The lullaby ended shortly after Jakey fell, and what came after were the light, scurrying steps of tiny little creatures coming at us from beyond the cover of the foliage around.

Sentrets, Rattatas, and at least two Geodudes gathered all around our bodies. I could sense Jakey's intent to capture one of the Geodudes from here, in spite of his earlier protests. Even with all the little Pokés around us, none of these sounded like the creature that sang the lullaby.

"Jiggly~!" Then came floating in what sounded like a match. I could just barely see it through my slitted eyes. Fully inflated, a little round ball with stubby arms and feet, two triangular ears, two huge green eyes, and a little swirly tuff of pink at its forehead. "Jigglypuff!" The little Jigglymon seemed proud in it's accomplishment, standing atop Jakey's possum-playing form.

The other Pokés gathered around us, celebrating and dancing. The Jigglypuff looks to be the ringleader of this affair, crying loudly atop Jakey as the others shouted. When the applause finally died down, Boss Jigglypuff pointed to its followers first and then to our bodies. A Geodude flipped me to my back and a Rattata climbed atop my chest to nuzzle at my breast pockets. Jakey was getting much the same treatment by another Geodude and a Sentret as Boss Jigglypuff watched from somewhere out of my sight.

They were probably looking for food on us or something, but nothing on me seemed to interest them. As for Jakey, he was moving. His hand squirmed slowly. It wasn't enough to startle the Pokémon around him, but it was enough to pique the interest of one Geodude who poked his moving hand.

"Geo?" The Geodude kept nudging at Jakey's hand.

"..." Jakey lay quietly on his back. Waiting, but baiting. Patient until..., "I've got you!" Said Jakey, grabbing hold of the Geodude, startling all the Pokémon around, and me along with them.

"Jakey, you're being awfully proactive, aren't you?" I shot up, surprised that Jakey was finally getting into the monster catching game.

"I'm only doing this to—urgh!" The Geodue offers some resistance, but seemed more focused on escaping Jakey's hold than attacking him. "You could help me, couldn't you?"

I'm still a bit taken aback here. Jakey's not usually the leading man. At least, not around me. I rather like it. "Hold on, little buddy, I've got you covered!"

I get up off the ground and hold back the Geodude's arms as Jakey stepped back to gather his bearings and Tooth's Poké Ball. The rest of the Pokémon that ambushed us all fled, and we were alone with Jakey's target Geodude... When we do it this way it kind looks like we're bullying the poor thing.

"You can let him go if you feel uncomfortable. Tooth and me will handle it!" Jake throws out his Poké Ball. "Tooth, let's get to it!"

The Poké Ball opened in the air and Jakey's Tooth materialized, chomping at the bit and scuttling in the air. "Totodie! Totodie!"

I let go of the Geodude so that Jakey could battle with no risk of harm to me.

"You thought that we'd just lay on our backs and let you steal from us? Well think again!" Jakey declares, his dedication to justice to rival any transforming hero. "I'm going to make you mine now! Tooth, use Water Gun!"

Tooth's stomach swells, collecting water for the attack. He's about to fire a stream of water at the Geodude when a tiny pink arm digs into Tooth's swollen stomach, stunning us all—Jakey, me, Tooth, and even the Geodude, and forcibly causing Tooth to throw up all the water in his stomach in a single wet heave.

The Boss Jigglypuff stood, indignant and with a tiny pink fist embedded into Tooth's stomach. It pouted, glowering and fully inflated. The fury in Boss Jigglypuff's eyes said it all, and they said, "I am your enemy." Waving off its Geodude companion, Boss Jigglypuff was left Jakey's only remaining opposition.

"Great..." Jakey sighed, already done before their battle. "I guess I can't just run at this point can I?"

Boss Jigglypuff shook its head.

"You're not the one I want!" Irritated, Jakey just shouted at Boss Jigglypuff for interrupting his capture. "Fine! Scratch him, Tooth!"

"Totodie~!" Tooth complied, charging maw first at Boss Jigglypuff, swinging his mitts around in circles as the distance closed between them.

Boss Jigglypuff proved quicker, pounding Tooth square in his long jaw.

"Bite it, Tooth!"

Recovering, Tooth lunged at Boss Jigglypuff mouth first. "Totodie~!" Tooth roared as best as a little blue crocodile could before snapping it's jaws around the chewy little puffball.

Boss Jigglypuff's whole face now stared down Tooth's throat. *BAM!* Jigglypuff pounded again and again at Tooth's sides. Those tiny little arms had a surprising range of movement for how stubby they were.

"Drown it with Water Gun!" Jakey gave Tooth a really rather Worrying command.

"Jakey," I start, "you don't actually intend to kill the poor thing, do you?"

"Of course not!" Jakey dismissed me.

With Boss Jigglypuff still in his jaws, Tooth fired a pointblank Water Gun. His mouth obstructed, thin jets of water spurted out whatever cracks there were to find between Tooth's teeth and Boss Jigglypuff's body. Boss Jigglypuff's arms and legs flailed around as it drowned on dry land.

"Just keep on until it stops moving, Tooth!" Jakey yells.

Tooth follows Jakey's word, firing one Water Gun after another, pouring it on until Boss Jigglypuff's limbs finally stopped moving.

"I think that's enough, Jakey..." I murmured, a bit worried both for the sake of Boss Jigglypuff and also for Jakey.

"Cut it out, Tooth. We won this." Jakey readies an empty Poké Ball for capture.

Waiting first for Tooth to release Boss Jigglypuff from his jaws. Falling from the hold of Tooth's teeth, Boss Jigglypuff fell to the ground like a balloon full of water..., which it technically is right now.

"You're mine!" Jakey threw his Poké Ball at the downed and drowned Jigglypuff.

The ball opened upon contact with Boss Jigglypuff, stopping in the air to bathe the Boss in a red light. Jigglypuff dematerialized, its glowing red form. The ball swallowed the Boss whole and closed shut. The ball needed to roll only once before letting out a reassuring click. Boss Jigglypuff was locked in. Jakey has just captured his first wild Pokémon.

"Ee! Congrats, Jakey!" I applauded him. "You caught your first Pokémon! Now, let him out so I can perform PokéCPR."

Jakey tossed the Big Boss's ball to me. "Knock yourself out." Tired, Jakey let himself fall to his back. Staring at the heavens above, Jakey slapped his face with both hands like a soccer player after wasting the most important goal chance of his career.

"You were rather vicious just then, Jakey. It's refreshing."

"I'm still kicking myself for agreeing to go on this adventure with you." He says that with nothing in his voice to make me think he's exaggerating. "I'd never forgive myself if I let myself get worked over by a Jigglypuff of all things..."

Don't try to spare my feelings now, Kiddo...

…

With that mess sorted, Jakey and I returned to our camp, hoping that no wild Pokémon came through while we were off and destroyed our stuff. Luckily enough, our tent and all our other amenities were untouched by all save for the wind billowing up the edges of the tent. We waited an hour before finally deciding to pack up. Neither of us were particularly tired, but after all that happened, the call of the road to loaf about before setting off to the big city was too much to resist.

"Did you see my sleeping bag?" Jakey asked. Notice how he doesn't refer to me by name. "I thought I left it at the mouth of the tent."

"Did you maybe leave it at the far side of the tent, and not the mouth?"

With out replying, Jakey searched around the opposite end of our tent. There he'll find his sleeping bag. I know because I put it there while he wasn't looking. I tampered with his things, but hopefully he won't mind it so much. I waited for him to step back out of our tent. When he finally came back out, he had in his hands his open sleeping bag, and a disc and note that I left for him. The note read, "TM04, Rollout. The Violet City Gym is known for it's Flying-types. It'll help if Big Boss knows a move to take down a bird."

I looked at him with a smile. "What'cha got there, Kiddo?" I asked.

Jakey looked at me, and he said, "So when exactly did you pick this up?" He asked me.

"I planned to give it to you once we got to Violet City, but I didn't want you to stay mad at me." I scratched at the niggling discomfort at the back of my skull.

"..." Jake looked down at the little disk in his hand, starring silently into the eyes of his reflection. "So how exactly are these things used? Do we have to excavate a CD player and put my little Jigglypuff on headphones? What?"

"Give it here, Kiddo. I'll show you how to work it."

And thus closes another day. It was basically pleasant.

"Wait... I have to do what with it?"

"Don't worry about it, Jakey."

Writer Here,

That's the end of another chapter. Thanks again to whoever reads this, and if you liked it, go ahead and leave a review. We can kinda chat that way. Bye bye!