Toxic

Chapter 2

Daylight broke over the horizon slowly chasing away the shadows Troy and Evan's campground. The previous night, the two friends finally gained the courage to meet their pokemon. After an awkward introduction the duo and their pokemon became fast friends. A night of playing, laughter, sharing food, and sharing stories soon followed. When the night grew long Evan returned Grimer to it's pokeball for a good night's rest while Troy and Mr. Punchy snuggled warmly in his bed. Troy was the first awake quickly followed by Mr. Punchy. The two sat up and stretched out.

"Sleep well, Mr. Punchy?" Troy asked.

"Poli!" Mr. Punchy wagged his tail and nodded his head. Troy looked over to Evan's bed, his longtime friend was still fast asleep. Troy shot a devious look to Mr. Punchy who returned it with glee. "I think it's time we wake our friend. What do you think Mr. Punchy?"

"Polii!" Mr. Punchy leaped onto his feet ready for action.

"Mr. Punchy, use water gun!" Troy yelled. Mr. Punchy tensed up and then shot a strong gush of water at Evan's bed.

"Wha-?! Hey! Knock it off!" Evan flailed about and landed hard on the ground. Troy and Mr. Punchy fell to ground cackling at Evan's misfortune. "You jackass."

"Don't be mad because I got the better pokemon. Isn't that right, Mr. Punchy?" Troy said. Mr. Punchy stood tall in agreement.

"Oh please, the only thing your Poliwag is better at is being annoying." Evan said. Troy quickly placed his hands on the sides on Mr. Punchy's head.

"Don't listen to him, Mr. Punchy. He's just jealous." Troy stuck his tongue out in defiance.

"Why don't you put your money where your mouth is? Let's battle,. Right here, right now." Evan said.

"I would but we have a mission to do, lazy bones." Troy lifted Mr. Punchy into his arms and gave him a squeeze. "Plus Mr. Punchy needs some breakfast. You can't expect us to battle on an empty stomach."

"Yeah sure." Evan placed his pokeball back into his bag and started packing up the campsite.

"Hey, how come you don't let Grimer out of his pokeball?" Troy asked.

"Grimer is a poison type. He's made for the city life. He would be uncomfortable in a camp site." Evan replied. Troy looked at his Poliwag. He never considered if Poliwag would be uncomfortable outside of his pokeball.

After packing up their camp site they headed down Route 7 towards Saffron City. They cut through the large grass battle wild Meowth and Pidgeys to better prepare them for the task they had been given. After a few hours of training the duo headed to the main city gate between Route 7 and Saffron.

"I hope the guard's not a total dick this time." Troy said as he stretched his arms over his head. Mr. Punchy had taken a cozy seat within his backpack.

"Maybe this time try not to insult his mother."

"He had it coming."

"You'll have a slap upside the head if you say anything to the guard." Evan said.

The two entered the front door of the gate. The guard who they had issues with was nowhere in sight. Instead a rather hefty man stood watch behind the front desk. The two approached the desk in hopes of an easy pass through to the city. The guard looked up from his Pokebabes magazine and inspected the two travelers.

"No." The man snorted and went back to his magazine.

"What do you mean 'No'? Why can't we pass?" Troy said. Evan shot an angry look at Troy. He backed away from the desk mumbling insults at the guard.

"Sir, we're not here to cause trouble. We're just trying to get to Vermillion. Can we please pass through?" Evan pleaded.

"No." The guard snorted and shot a snot rocket onto the ground near Evan's feet. He gagged and looked away.

"Why can't we go through?" Evan asked.

"I'm thirsty." The guard said.

"Seriously?" Evan replied.

"Thirsty, eh? This looks like a job for Mr. Punchy." Troy swung his backpack around launching Mr. Punchy into the air. "Mr. Punchy, use water gun!"

"No! Troy, don't!" Evan yelled but it was too late. Mr. Punchy tensed up and shot a burst of water into the face of the guard knocking him out of his chair. The guard fell and smacked his head on the ground knocking him out cold. Evan ran up to the soaking wet guard.

"Did you have to do that?" He asked.

"He said he was thirsty! Right, Mr. Punchy?" Poliwag nodded his head in agreement. Evan scoffed and turned back to the guard when he heard a tapping on the closet behind him. Curious he went up and reached for the handle.

"What are you doing?" Troy asked.

"I think there's someone in here." Evan replied. He twisted the handle and pulled the door. As it opened a small balding man popped out and landed hard on the floor. "Oh my God!"

"Isn't that the old guard?" Troy asked. Evan quickly untied the struggling guard. He stood up, brushed himself off.

"Man, I could use a drink." He said. Evan slapped Troy upside the head before he could respond. "I guess I should thank you two for saving me."

"Saving you from what? What's going on?" Troy asked.

"Well, I was sitting here minding my own business when this bozo came up behind me and knocked me out. Next thing I know I'm stuck in the closet, and Team Rocket is passing through to Saffron City." Troy and Evan shot each other a look.

"You mean this guy-" Evan said.

"-is Team Rocket?" Troy finished the question.

"Yep!" The guard said with a smile on his face. Troy and Evan were speechless. "Good job, fellas! It takes a real tough trainer to beat a Rocket Grunt."

"Yeah, thanks." Evan said.

"Well, I can take it from here. You two can pass on through. I'll let the other guards know to let you through as well. Thanks, again!" The guard turned and walked back to his desk.

"Rocco is not going to be happy about this one." Evan said. Troy nodded his head and helped Mr. Punchy back into his bag. Slowly he fell asleep as the duo went through the gates and into Saffron City.

"You thought I wouldn't find out?" Rocco screamed over the pokenav. He had been going off for about ten minutes and Troy was growing tired of his voice.

"Rocco...ksh...going into tunnel...ksh...can't hear...ksh.." Troy said. Evan facepalmed.

"You idiot! Your pokenav has GPS, I know you're in Saffron City!" Rocco screamed.

"Have to...ksh...bathroom...ksh...bad oran bery...ksh..."

"You soaked my guard, you-" The phone slapped shut and Troy slipped it into his pocket. "I think that went well."

"Rocco's going to kill you." Evan replied.

"Not if we find those files he won't!" Troy smiled and marched forward. The two had been walking the streets of Saffron City for roughly an hour carefully avoiding Silph HQ. Evan had always been mesmerized by the city. Growing up in the hills of Kanto he had gotten used to the farm life. His parent's owned a small Taurus farm just east of Celadon. His parents had enrolled him in boarding school in the city where he met Troy for the first time. After that they had been best friends ever since. He glanced over at Troy. Mr. Punchy was still sitting comfortably in his backpack. Troy looked to Evan.

"Hey, you should let Grimer out. I bet he'd love the city view." He said.

"Maybe." Evan looked down and continued walking.

"Poli?" Mr. Punchy said as he woke up from his nap. He sat up and began sniffing the air. His eyes widened and he became restless. "Poliwag! Poli! Poli!"

"Mr. Punchy, what are you doing? Is something wrong?" Troy pulled the backpack from behind him and sat Mr. Punchy on the ground.

"Poliwag!" Mr. Punchy jumped from the and bolted down the road.

"Mr. Punchy!" Troy took off after Poliwag and Evan was soon behind him. Poliwag sprinted down the road weaving in and out of foot traffic and eventually coming to a stop in front of an eerily quiet house on the corner. Troy caught up to Mr. Punchy and tackled him in the walkway.

"Oh my God, Mr. Punchy. Never run off like that again!" He slowly stood up and looked at the house. Chills ran down his spine. Evan out of breath slowly jogged up to the two.

"What..was that...about...?" He said panting. Troy stayed silent. "Troy?"

Troy began walking toward the house. Evan pulled his arm but was unable to stop him.

"Hey, what are you doing?" He looked into Troy's eyes and noticed they had a zombie like gray hue. "Troy?"

Troy continued down the walkway toward the house. Evan followed closely behind. Poliwag was held snugly in Troy's arms. As they got to the door Troy stopped and turned to Evan.

"He's waiting." Troy said, his eyes focused keenly on his friend.

"Who is?" Evan asked.

"Him." Troy opened the door revealing a long empty dark hallway. Evan looked at Troy and slowly walked past him and into the house. As soon as he cleared the doorway the door slammed behind him. The hallway was bare. No pictures. No windows. No rug. Just a single door cracked open at the end.

"Hello?" Evan said as he approached the door. As he grew closer a feeling of dread overcame him. He reached for the door and slowly pushed inward. He peered inside the room and saw a single chair behind an old wooden desk. The walls were lined with bookshelves stocked with ancient texts. He slowly peeked his head in and scouted the room. It was empty. He entered the room and walked up to the bookshelf. He studied the books, most of which looked hundreds of years old. He reached for a book.

"You are afraid." A voice behind Evan called out startling him and causing him to slam against the bookcase. A thick cloud of dust came tumbling out. When the dust cleared he could make out a figure of an old man on the distant wall.

"What...what did you say?" Evan said. The feeling of dread returned.

"You are afraid, child." The illusory figure stood tall against the wall. His voice deep and matured boomed throughout the room.

"I'll be less afraid when I can see you." Evan reached for the light sitting on the old desk. As he reached out it slowly moved away from him. He froze.

"You do not fear me. You fear your pokemon." The voice said.

"What? I'm not afraid of Grimer."

"You are afraid." The figure slowly disappeared into the wall. Evan rubbed his eyes and looked again. The room was empty. He slowly made his way over to the far way and examined it. Nothing stood out, it was just a blank wall with dusty beige wallpaper. He placed his hand on the wall and slowly rested his head against it.

"What did he mean...?" Evan closed his eyes. A hand touched his shoulder causing him to jump and spin around.

"Whoa, dude! It's just me." Troy stood there with a puzzled look on his face. "Are you okay, man?"

"What? Yeah, no. I'm fine. What do you remember?"

"I remember running after Mr. Punchy and then nothing. I think I passed out on the lawn out front. By the way, where are we?" Troy began examining the books on the shelf.

"I don't know. Let's just get out of here." Evan said. Troy shrugged and the two left the house and continued their journey.