Chapter 3: Basic Training
Cody looked into the bathroom mirror as his eye's adjusted to the darkness. It was only 5:50 in the morning, but he was getting up early to leave before his mother could have another mental breakdown. The bathroom was dark because only one light bulb was working and he hadn't gotten around to replacing it. He had just gotten out of the shower, but he left the water running so the baby Squirtle could play while he got ready. He looked at himself in the mirror as he began to put on his clothes. His hair, which had dried now, looked messy, but that was okay. Even in the darkness, it seemed to glow yellow, but that was probably just his imagination. He looked at his body and scowled. A bit too skinny, but he supposed it could have been worse. He just hoped he'd be able to carry the mountain of travel supplies his father had packed for him.
Eventually, he got dressed and brought his Squirtle downstairs to the kitchen where he got a drink of orange juice, and an apple for his pokémon. As he was drinking, he stared at the travel supplies he would be bringing. It was a hiking backpack with a sleeping bag on top. Inside were extra clothes, toiletries, bug spray, sunscreen, numerous pokémon supplies, dried food for himself, a map of Skitrex, and many other items he couldn't recall. The bag looked overstuffed, but he figured he'd get used to carrying it. He just wished he could bring his guitar.
His father had also given him a "belt," the kind that trainers strap pokeballs to. Cody had already put his Squirtle's ball there for safe keeping and put on a few more just in case he had the opportunity to use them.
As he put his empty glass in the sink, Cody heard a grunting snore from the living room. He walked in to see his father sleeping on the couch.
"Dad, wake up!" he whispered as loud as he could to the sleeping man, who slowly rose like a zombie to the sound of his son's voice.
"Cody, what time is it?" he blurted groggily. "It's still dark out."
"Yeah, I know. I'm leaving now because I don't want to see Mom crying again," he whispered in reply. "Why are you sleeping on the couch?"
"Your mother was rather upset," he answered, now with more consciousness in his voice and eyes. "I figured I'd better sleep downstairs."
Cody nodded and began to make his way back to the kitchen to gather his things, and Squirtle, who was still eating the apple. He decided it would probably be best to give his mother one last hug before he left. He figured that would be better than getting a sad and angry phone call from her later. But before he could go upstairs one last time, his father called him back.
"Cody, promise me you'll be careful. Your mother isn't the only one who worries. I had hard times as a trainer, and I know it can be rough out there. Just make sure you make good choices."
"Sure Dad, I won't do anything stupid," Cody said with a grin. However, he was aware that he would probably break that promise somewhere down the line.
Getting a license to be a trainer was actually pretty easy in Skitrex. So long as one had no significant criminal record or other risk factors and was able to pass a basic examination for pokémon care and surviving in the wilderness, it was cake. Most of the examination questions were common sense anyway, and he definitely had experience in the woods. Since he was young, his father had taken him and his older brother camping a few times, knowing that both of them would want to travel when they were older. Though his skills were a little rusty, he knew the basics.
"So, your medical record says you were using Ritalin until a few years ago," the ranger asked him. "Any reason why that stopped?"
"Eh, that's nothing," he replied truthfully. "Doctor says I don't need that anymore. Don't think I needed it to begin with, honestly."
The ranger had been asking him questions like that for several minutes after looking over his medical records and grades. They were sitting in an empty room in the license bureau in the north side of Stone Rise. The Squirtle was in his pokeball, since Cody didn't want to be distracted by his new friend while he was being interviewed.
"Well, everything seems in order," the ranger said, smiling. "Your pokémon looks healthy, you have no criminal record, and you yourself seem perfectly fit to travel. I am a little shocked though. You're one of the few kids in awhile that I've seen registering to be a trainer with higher grades. I'm surprised you're not going to high school."
"What do you mean?" he asked. "My grades aren't even that high." 3.2 was considered pretty average, at least according to his mother.
The ranger shook his head. "About half of the kids that come in here have a GPA of less than 2.8. They come in to get away from education, or in other cases, poverty. Most of these kids learn enough on their own out in the real world that they can eventually get their GEDs, but…" He spoke as if he was reading off of a script, and he didn't look very pleased with it. "Some of them do well as trainers, but a lot of kids out there end up adrift. Not everybody can be a great trainer, you know. Still, you have two, working parents. You at least have a safety net if things don't work out.
Cody was all of a sudden interested in whatever the man was talking about, but he could tell the ranger was not interested in talking about it anymore, so he let it slip from his mind. The ranger went back to asking questions, but he only had a few left to ask.
"Do you want to have a pokedex?" he asked. "They cost $500, but they're a really good investment."
Cody blinked and his mouth fell open. "Five hundred? Are you serious? I thought they were free."
"They were until last year," the ranger said solemnly. "But the company that makes them has lost a lot of government funding, so they had to put a price tag on them."
"Yeah, screw that," Cody replied, suddenly wishing he hadn't said anything like that in the ranger's office. Thankfully, the man didn't seem to care.
"We do have an alternative." He went to a box in the corner and pulled out a paperback book with a strong looking binding. It looked like the book that Laurence often used. "This is The Pokemon Field Guide. We've been selling these like mad. You can't put as much personal data in it as you can a normal pokedex, but it covers a lot of pokémon info, from basic care to biological information. Also, there is a written note section in the back. If you fill it with information on pokémon that you have observed, whether it be battle theories or wild pokémon observation, the government will send you a check worth as much as be;ieve your information is worth. I think they mostly care about tallying which pokémon live where, so that's a good place to start. You won't get much of a check back, but it's something. It costs ten dollars for the book, and five dollars to join the program if you're interested. What do you say?"
"Sign me up, I suppose," Cody said. He was hoping for a pokedex, but a field book was better than nothing. He still had a lot to learn.
The clouds were plentiful in the sky that day, and Cody felt a stroke of luck from that, since there were no trees in the fields to block the sun on the first step of his journey. Stone Rise was on the eastern coast of Skitrex, and it was known for heavy rain and snowfall from Lake Marble and the ocean beyond that. But those clouds didn't look like they were going to rain. They just sat there, looking puffy and white.
The fields he walked through were between the crop farms and Tauros ranges. Those Tauros weren't lean and tough like their wild cousins, but plump, since they were all destined to be steaks. Miltank lived with them, producing much of the milk the city used until they too were sent to the slaughterhouse. The fields continued until Cody and his Squirtle reached the dense forest. That forest would lead into the mountain range, where Cody would have to travel through the woods below. He knew he could have easily taken a bus on the highway to get to whatever to get to Kindle City, the direction he was heading, but there wouldn't be any trainers to battle or pokémon to catch if he didn't walk. And where was the fun in that? It would take a few days by foot, but it was worth it.
His Squirtle walked by his side, but Cody urged him to stay close, just in case a wild pokémon attacked. But that didn't seem to be a big issue. Many of the pokémon in the woods didn't even pay attention to them. Those who did would often give a quick glance, and then go back to what they were doing. They had no interest in attacking a lone child with one pokémon. Cody had considered trying to catch a pokémon, but many that he saw were in groups, and he didn't want to send his Squirtle up against a pack of pokémon if he could help it.
As the time reached 1 PM, Cody sat down near a stream and had a bag of dry nuts that his father had packed. It wasn't much, but he was more thirsty than hungry, so he rationed his water, knowing that he'd have to take time to make a fire if he wanted more. Squirtle was busy catching minnows in the creek, so Cody knew he didn't have to feed him or water him today, which was a sigh of relief in his mind. So far, his first pokémon was very low maintenance and fun to be around. It couldn't always be that easy with new pokémon, could it?
But as Squirtle climbed out of the water, his eyes widened, and he jumped up on the log Cody sat on and looked out into the clearing. He had spotted a Rattata in the field, chewing on a large nut of some sort.
Cody noticed this too, and he quietly looked around. No other Rattata were visible. This one was all alone.
"I should catch it," Cody thought to himself. "It would be a good experience for me and Squirtle. Besides, I need another pokémon." He then turned his head to Squirtle and said, "Go get it."
Squirtle ran on to the grass, grunting at the mouse. The Rattata turned towards his Squirtle and growled at him with fierce looking eyes, its sharp teeth exposed.
Cody git excited as his first battle was starting. He quickly pulled out the filed book and flipped to the Squirtle page, which he had marked. He scanned down the list until he reached battle tactics.
Young Squirtle tend to tackle their opponents to weaken them and will spray bubbles at those who are faster than them in order to hinder their movements. If a foe is too defensive, Squirtle may taunt said foe by wagging its tail. Inexperienced enemies will then be baited into an attack, leaving their guard down. The tail whipping technique may also be used as a damaging attack. Many Squirtle will retreat to their shells if the battle gets too rough. Squirtle will not be able to spray water until their spout tube has fully developed. How long this takes will depend on the individual.
It only took a few seconds to read the passage, but doing so made Cody get nervous. He didn't want to take his eyes off of his pokémon, just in case Rattata acted before he could call out a move. But he had a game plan.
"Okay Squirtle! Tackle him now!" Cody shouted. But his Squirtle just looked at him. Then it hit him: his Squirtle had no idea what he was saying.
The rat tackled Squirtle, biting his arm. Cody could see a small puncture wound appear under the fangs, but Squirtle managed to pull his arm into his shell before anything worse happened. After pulling in his other limbs, the Rattata tried to bite into the shell, but to no avail. Then it saw Cody standing on the log. The rat left the hiding turtle behind, and with a quick jump, he tackled its new target. Cody was amazed that such a small pokémon had that much force in its attack. He fell on his back with a thump. The rat was about to bury its fangs in his arm when a flash of blue knocked it off Cody's stomach. The Squirtle had tackled the rat, causing it to slam into a tree.
"Good job. That was a tackle! Cody yelled out to his partner. Squirtle acknowledged this with a prideful grubr, and on Cody's command, he tackled the rat again. After that, the little Rattata yelped in pain and rushed off into the thicket. The Squirtle cheered with a series of victorious grunts and ran back to his trainer. A large smile was planted on both of their faces.
"Good job little guy," Cody said as he knelt down and patted Squirtle on the head. He was glad that his little pokémon had won, but also upset that he couldn't capture the Rattata, and that he would have to train Squirtle to respond to oral commands. He had always thought pokémon just knew what to do, since most had an innate battle sense. He looked at his Squirtle's arm and noticed that the puncture wound had already closed itself, and only a bruise remained. It didn't look too bad. Pokemon healed faster than humans, he supposed.
"You were great out there," Cody praised. "But you should have used Water Gun or something. You sprayed me yesterday, so I know you can do it today. Use Water Gun."
Squirtle simply looked at him with no understanding of what to do.
"Like this," Cody said, and he spat at the ground. He felt ridiculous doing this, but he knew he had to break through somehow or another. "That's what a Water Gun is like. You try."
His Squirtle released water this time, but only a small ball of it. He was imitating Cody's spitting, but not an actual move.
Cody sighed and took a gulp of his canteen water and spit out a small stream from his lips, and the turned to Squirtle and said, "Like that. Now you use it. Water Gun!" Squirtle then looked at his master, and suddenly, Cody felt a cold spray of water hit his face. the naughty, little Squirtle had done it again.
"Very funny Squirtle, but I'm glad you got the point," Cody laughed, wiping the water off of his face while the Squirtle doubled over with laughter. "If Laurence were here, he would have…"
His voice trailed off. Then he remembered. "Oh shit, I was supposed to see him off today! SHIT!" He also remembered Paul and Angie. They didn't know he was leaving either. He quickly whipped out his cell phone, but it got no bars out in the woods.
"Oh well, it can't be helped. Come on Squirtle, let's go." And with his pokémon, he continued down the wooded trail. He'd call them back as soon as he had reliable service, but in the woods, that could be awhile.
It was 6 PM. Over the past five hours or so, Cody and his Squirtle had been walking, fighting every wild pokémon that didn't look too strong for them. Some pokémon ran away as soon as the battle began, but others would fight until they eventually retreated in exhaustion. The only pokémon Cody almost caught was a Spearow, but it broke out of the pokeball and flew off.
"Don't worry buddy, we'll find you a friend soon," he said confidently. He was in a great mood, not contemplating much on the future, but moreover how to spend the present. He just wanted to enjoy his time away from home with his pokémon, as he felt so free and unrestrained in the wilderness.
As he continued walking, he heard shouts somewhere down the trail. They weren't shouts of pain, but ever curious, Cody frantically ran forward to see what they were about. He arrived at another clearing where he saw a young boy and his pokémon battling a Wurmple. The boy looked like he was nine or ten, and he wore a large sun hat and carried a huge butterfly net. His pokémon was a little green worm with a red, rubbery antenna. The Caterpie looked cute, but it wore an aggressive gaze.
"Caterpie, tackle it!" the boy shouted as he held his net in a position to catch something. The green worm charged the red one and knocked it over. The boy then ran forward and tried to catch the Wurmple in his net, but the bug avoided it and wiggled its way into the forest. The younger trainer looked upset, but he went up and patted his Caterpie, whose eyes were suddenly calm. "We'll catch one next time," he said soothingly.
"You know, you could have just used a pokeball or something," Cody said as he entered the space. The boy jumped, not expecting a visitor, but he quickly composed himself when he realized it was just another trainer.
"I would have, but I don't have any more right now. Still wanted to catch that one anyway," the boy said, wiping the sweat from his brow. He lgave Cody a toothy grin. "My name is Justin. And this is my good friend, Caterpie," he said as his pokémon crawled up to his shoulder. "We're out camping with some of my friends and their pokémon. We're out looking for bug-types, and I just caught mine three days ago."
"That sounds cool," Cody replied. "My name is Cody, and I just got my Squirtle yesterday," he said as Squirtle perked up at the sound of his trainer mentioning him. "We're headed to Kindle City."
"What's in Kindle City worth seeing?" Justin asked, with a confused look on his face. "There's nothing to do there or anything. Not for trainers, at least."
Cody had to think about that one for a second. "You know… I don't know. I'm just going there because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Maybe I'll find something to do down there." That really was not a sufficient answer.
"Whatever you say," Justin replied, unconvinced. But he perked up again. "Since you're new to training too, how about a battle? It's boring only battling my friends and I'd like to battle some pokémon that aren't bugs for a change."
Without thinking, Cody nodded. He wanted his Squirtle to get better, and battling was the best way to do that. The two of them agreed on betting $10 on the match. It wasn't very high as far as bets went, but it seemed reasonable since they were both new. As the two of them walked to alternate sides of the clearing, Cody flipped to Caterpie's page.
Wild Caterpie tend to avoid battles since they would much rather eat. If forced into a fight, Caterpie will shoot sticky fluids at their opponents to lower their dexterity and then they will tackle their weakened foes until they regard them as harmless. Older Caterpie with developed mouth strength will often try to bite their enemies. Some Caterpie carry mild toxins as well, depending on the plants in their environment.
The passage bothered Cody. Not because he was worried about worm spit, but because of the phrase "forced into a fight." Was that the situation with Justin's Caterpie? Would it rather not fight? But as he contemplated this, Justin's Caterpie jumped onto the field, and its eyes glowed with readiness. Maybe trained pokémon viewed battles differently? They must have, or the whole thing would be illegal.
"Let's go Squirtle! Tackle it," Cody commanded. But as Squirtle charged the worm, Justin was one step ahead.
"String Shot!" he yelled, and the Caterpie shot gooey looking string at the turtle.
"Try to dodge it," Cody yelled out to his new friend, and Squirtle jumped over the string, but his foot got caught, allowing Caterpie to land a tackle on his Squirtle before he could get up. The turtle struggled to his feet, only to get hit by more string. Cody ordered his pokémon to try and shake the string. His book said that if a Squirtle could rapidly spin in his shell, it could release him from predicaments like String Shot. But his Squirtle was still too young do that without proper training.
"Squirtle, try to wet the string with bubbles!" The little Pokemon opened his mouth, and a stream of bubbles flew out, some of which hit Caterpie, knocking it back, while others wet the string, weakening it. He released himself from the string, he turned his back towards the Caterpie and wagged his tail. The caterpillar suddenly left his spot and tried to tackle the turtle, but Cody told Squirtle to tackle his foe before it reached him. The Caterpie had been baited into being reckless and the Squirtle managed to take advantage.
As the fight continued, one thing that Cody began to notice was that battling the trained Caterpie was a lot harder than fighting the wild ones he saw earlier. It seemed more focused on the fight, rather than the wild ones who cared more about food. It also seemed a lot smarter too, despite its lapse at Squirtle's taunting. His Squirtle seemed to be getting smarter too. Earlier that day, he couldn't even understand what his trainer was saying, but in that battle, he seemed to be more in touch with Cody's mind. At one point in the battle, Cody told his Squirtle to roll out of the way from the Caterpie's assault after being attacked once already. He had never taught Squirtle how to simply roll, but it seemed to get the idea perfectly well. They were becoming closer, both on and off the battlefield.
At Justin's command, the Caterpie tried to shoot string again, but it didn't work. The caterpillar had run out of fluid. It looked tired, but it charged the field with the last of its effort.
"Okay Squirtle, spray it down with a Water Gun to finish it off!" But seconds after yelling that, Cody felt a splash of cool water strike him in the face. As he rubbed his eyes, he saw his Squirtle dodge the oncoming Caterpie. "No! Him! Not me!" Squirtle refocused at Cody's call and shot a spray of water at the worm. This spray looked a lot stronger than the ones he used to hit Cody with, and the Caterpie slammed into a tree from the impact. Its body lay limp on the ground.
"Yes! Way to go Squirtle!" Cody shouted as he hugged the tiny turtle, who seemed happy with the win as well. He looked over at Justin, who called his pokémon back to the ball after helping it back to its feet. "I gotta say, kid, that was fun," Cody said.
"Thanks," he said smiling weakly as he handed over the prize money. "But I thought I had a chance when Caterpie's String Shot hit."
"Yeah, I'm still kinda shocked that he got himself loose from that string," Cody admitted as he put the money in his wallet. He took the time to look at his phone, only to find that there were still no bars.
"Hey, if you wanna come with me, you can camp with us for the night," Justin said, his voice lightening some. "It can get pretty dangerous out here at night. And you can battle the other guys if you want."
Cody felt some relief from this. He wanted to be out in the world on his own, but camping by himself at night when the Houndour came out didn't seem like a smart idea.
The other guys at the camp were around Justin's age. The oldest one, Izzy, was 13, and he had been a trainer for over a year. Like the others at the camp, he collected bugs and had a Venonat, a Wormadam, and a Yanma with him, among others he didn't have in his active party. After dinner, Cody battled with all of the younger trainers, managing to pull out wins against all of them. His luck didn't hold out against Izzy though, whose Venonat was much tougher than it appeared. But the match was fun, and Cody figured that even losses were useful in terms of learning.
As night set in, some of the younger boys were getting ready to sleep since everybody had to take a shift of night watch. But Cody stayed up for a bit and talked with Izzy, since Izzy had been out on his own for awhile. Cody himself was keeping occupied by looking at his records. Part of the field guide had a list for pokémon that trainers saw on a route, and how many you saw in total. It was just statistics for whoever looked the book over when it was mailed in. He also read up on some of the monsters he saw during the day. During the moments of peace, his Squirtle was sleeping inside his shell, rocking back and forth on Cody's lap.
"Yeah, I could be out here by myself," he said in their conversation. "I usually come out on my own, but I've been getting nervous lately," Izzy said nodding his head. It wasn't too late, but he was obviously tired from the day's hike. "I keep hearing rumors about weirdos in helmets running around down south near the abandoned salt mines."
"Weirdos in helmets, huh? That could be just a rumor you know," Cody replied. "I mean, who would possibly run around out here wearing helmets. The Cipher? And what would they want with an old mines?"
"I don't know, rocks?" Izzy guessed, shrugging.
"There's no way," Cody continued. "They got broke up twice by some dude in Orre."If they were back, they wouldn't be down here looking for anything. There's nothing down here… Is there?"
"No, not that I know off," Izzy said in a quiet voice so he wouldn't wake the boys. The other boy decided to change the subject. "So, you're from Stone Rise huh? That's a cool place, right?"
"I guess," Cody replied as he now began to examine Squirtle's shell. He took a rag from his pack and started to polish it, cleaning out the dirt in the crevices. "The crime rate is low, and the buildings look nice. I live in the suburbs, but I have spent a lot of time in the city itself, even though it's built on hills. Really stupid. But it's still a cool place, but not much of a trainers' town. You?"
"Oh, we're all from Sapling Town down southwest from here. Really small place; population of less than a thousand. But it's cool. I left last year on the gym challenge, but I only stayed out six months and only got two badges. All of the guys here wanted to come with me since they're stuck in such a small place. So, they're all coming with me to learn the ropes of being trainers. What about you? Ever consider taking the gym challenge?"
"I know my friend is," Cody said, a pang of guilt beating at his gut in remembering Laurence and how he missed seeing him off. "My brother did too. But I dunno. I've thought about it, but twelve badges seem like way too much work. Besides, gym leaders are hard from what I've heard. I just wanted to come out here for fun for a little bit and see where being a trainer would lead me."
"Battling gyms IS fun," Izzy said in a matter-of-fact voice. "And they aren't too hard if you know what you're doing. All that's required to challenge a Gym is at least three pokémon for the first gym, four for the second, five for the third, and six for the rest. And Gym Leaders are supposed to raise multiple sets of pokémon for each tier you battle on."
"Tiers of battle?" Cody asked. "I know what that is, but the details-"
"Yeah," Izzy continued. "If you challenge for your first badge, you battle at the first tier, and if you battle with for your twelfth, you battle at the twelfth tier, and so on. I heard most talented trainers can sweep the gyms in three years, and then you get to go to Diamond Beach for the tournament. I so wanna go there someday. Imagine it."
"Yeah, that would be awesome," Cody said in a daze of daydream. He could picture himself standing on the stadium field with a pokeball in hand. The fantasy stopped there, mainly because he didn't know what pokémon would be in the ball in question. Definitely Squirtle or his evolved forms, but who else? Too many questions. "That tournament is on right now too. They're doing pre-tourney battles for a week or so. I gotta get to Kindle in a week or so if I wanna watch the real stuff."
"Meh, I'm not as excited this year after Proyn won last year. I mean, he was awesome."
"Yeah, he was pretty cool, but if I wanted to go to a gym, which one is closest?"
Izzy didn't need much time to answer that question. "Past Kindle City and Lahonburg and other little places along the way, you would want to head northwest to get to Tempest Valley where they have a flying-type Gym. The guy who runs it is named Eagle, and he's a really cool guy He gave me a lot of pointers on raising pokémon and where to search for new ones. I think it would only take your average trainer about a month of training to beat his first tier, though it took me longer since I use bugs. But you should do fine. You were pretty good already, and you gave my Venonat a hard time for being a beginner."
"Hmm. I guess I try it out," Cody said as motivation began to set in. He felt the urge to outdo Laurence, which he might have a chance at since Laurence only had one pokémon and he still needed to catch and train two others. They were almost on even footing, as far as he was concerned. "What's good against flying again? Rock, electric-"
"And ice," added Izzy. "I know where you can get a rock pokémon, though. If you go down to the old salt mines, you can probably find a Geodude or a Rhyhorn or something."
"Awesome, thanks." He noticed Izz was drifting off again. "Hey, you look tired. I'll take first watch if you want."
"Sure, you can do that if you want, wake me in two hours then."
The final words between them weren't much, and as Izzy drifted off to sleep, Cody kept himself awake near the fire, while Squirtle continued to sleep. For the first time that day, he felt lonely, which would probably happen a lot when he was on the road. He began to think of his family, mainly his mother. She was probably still crying about his leaving, so he'd have to call her as soon as he could. He thought about Laurence too, wondering if he'd see him on this route. Probably not. There were a million different trails to take to Tempest Valley. Laurence was probably on a different one. When would he see his best friend again?"
But one thing that wouldn't leave Cody's mind was Angie. He could remember her red, wavy hair and her cute face. It was kind of strange because he never thought of her like that in a while. He remembered the day they split. He lost his temper, but he could barely remember what that was all about. He was pushed over the edge by something. But it was his fault. He knew and accepted that.
"I really fucked that up," he thought to himself, solemnly. But it was time to move on put all that behind him. He decided that he was ready to try the gym challenge since that was an adventure in itself. That was what he wanted all along when he left home.
"We can do it," he whispered to his Squirtle. "I know we can." He looked up into the star-covered sky. He wanted to see them all. Or something just as great.
"There's one," he whispered to his Squirtle as he fumbled with his book. The two had left the group after breakfast and they spent five hours walking to the abandoned mines. The pokémon he was watching was licking a large chunk of salt that it had carried out of the mine. "Oh, here it is."
Wild Rhyhorn fight in a very brutish manner. The basic Rhyhorn tactic is to charge straight the opponent. Because of this, Rhyhorn in the wild are easily caught. However, a strike by its horn can severely injure its opponents. Additionally, it should be noted that while easily caught, Rhyhorn are dangerous to raise. Beginner trainers ought to consult an expert on the species if they choose to raise one.
Cody marked down the Rhyhorn sighting in his book and looked down at his Squirtle. "Spray it," he said simply, and the tiny turtle jumped up and spayed a powerful water jet at the rhino. The Rhyhorn was pushed some, and it cringed in pain. But rage appeared in its eyes, and it charged Squirtle just like the book said it would.
"Dodge!" Cody called out, but his Squirtle was already doing so. The Rhyhorn didn't turn and ran straight off the cliff. Brutish indeed.
Cody just stared at where the Rhyhorn ran off, dumbfounded that it would do such a thing. Squirtle looked around for his foe and started grunting in frustration.
"Well, that was a bust," Cody muttered in shock, and he went to look over the cliff to see where the rhinoceros has landed. The Rhyhorn seemed okay, following its thirty-foot drop, being a tough pokémon and all, but as it walked away, several dozen Diglett frantically popped in and out of the ground below, shocked that a heavy pokémon had landed on their territory. The little moles with big, red noses squeaked in panic, but as they started to calm down, they swarmed the Rhyhorn and chased it away.
Suddenly Cody was knocked off of his feet. A Diglett had popped up under his foot, causing him to topple. It looked angry. Did it know that Cody was the cause of its problems? Or was it just pissed off in general? His Squirtle immediately pounced the mole, but the Diglett countered by slashing at it with a little paw that emerged from the earth for a split second. It then bolted underground right after, but came up again under Squirtle, knocking him into the air. Cody picked up his book, which he had dropped, and flipped to Diglett'a page.
Diglett prefer to chew on roots and not battle, but the more ambitious ones if the species rely on quick and evasive tactics. They like to confuse their opponents by continually digging underground and popping under or behind them. They rarely come completely above the ground, however. They are known for filling in the ground perfectly when digging, or moving straight through the earth at the surface. It is believed that evolution contributed to this survival tactic to prevent enemies from following them underground.
Cody looked back at the Diglett, who was juggling his Squirtle repeatedly. It seemed to know exactly where the turtle would land every time. Cody watched nervously for a minute but put together a quick plan to counter the mole's strategy.
"Use Bubble now!" he called out. The bubbles burst out at the oncoming Diglett, who squeaked in pain upon contact. Blinded by the water, it tried to scratch the Squirtle, but failed. Cody's Squirtle easily dodged these swipes and then head-butted the pokémon who was even smaller than himself.
The mole regained its sight and began to dig again. But Cody's pokémon was on guard this time and when the Diglett reemerged, he grabbed it and wouldn't let it go. The struggle between the two lasted about a minute, but finally with one sweeping movement, the Squirtle heaved the little pokemon above his head. The mole's anatomy was somewhat amusing. It had a rodent-like body with four limbs and no tail. But the mole's little body was the size of its head. Still, the most prominent feature was its nose, which made weird movements as it squeaked in panic.
"Good job buddy, now throw it in the air and use Water Gun."
Like an archer, the Squirtle shot down his target with a stream of water after he made the toss. The mole fell to the earth with a thud. It then occurred to Cody that he had successfully knocked out a wild pokemon without it retreating, and by pure instinct, he pulled out a pokeball and threw it at the fainted Diglett. A burst of light surrounded the Diglett, and then it was pulled inside. The ball clinked as it hit the ground and then wiggled a few times before settling.
His Squirtle looked confused once more like he was when the Rhyhorn had run off the cliff. He couldn't figure out where the opponent had gone. But Cody knew. He picked up the pokeball and held it in the sunlight, letting the beams reflect onto various objects. A grin rested on his face as he looked down at his Squirtle.
"I told you we'd find you a friend."
This chapter was edited on 1/7/18. There may still be continuity or grammatical errors. If you notice any, please alert me in a review or a private message.
