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Heather's Pokémon Journey
by Sailor Chronos
Chapter Three: The Hunter Becomes Hunted
The next morning after a quick shower and breakfast, she and Pidgey set out for the Viridian Forest. They hadn't gone far when Heather couldn't help but feel that they were being watched. She looked around, but all she saw was a Spearow in a tree next to the road. Out of curiosity, she looked it up in her book.
The entry in this book was much more concise than the other one. "Spearow, type Flying. Common. Attacks: Peck, Growl; gains Leer at level nine, Fury Attack at level fifteen. Evolves into Fearow at level twenty." The picture was of a bird about the same size as Pidgey with a black back and white chest, reddish wings, orange head and tail. The feathers on its neck were standing out, making it look like the bird had a necklace of flames.
She closed the book and looked up at the Spearow in puzzlement. "I swear, that Spearow has been following us since that morning in the hills... No, that's impossible."
Her friend hopped up and down on her shoulder. "Pidgey!"
"Huh? It IS the same Spearow?"
"Pidgey." Her Pokémon nodded.
"Then why didn't you say something? Oh, because I needed to know more about Pokémon first, right? Well, if it has been following us, how about I give it a formal invitation." She pulled a PokéBall out of her pack and held it up. "Spearow," she called to it, "Do you want to come with us?"
The bird cocked its head. "Spearow!" it chirped.
"Pidgey!" her Pidgey responded.
"Spearow." It flew out of the tree and landed in front of them.
Heather shrugged. "Okay." She tossed the ball at the Spearow, and made her first capture!
Holding the ball above her head, she crowed, "All right! If capturing every Pokémon is this easy then I shouldn't have any trouble! Then again," she continued, "thinking back, I believe it followed us because it was impressed by your gust attack. Do you think?"
"Pidgey."
"Oh well. Let's keep going."
The morning was rather uneventful. They reached Viridian Forest and Heather had Pidgey help to capture a second Spearow, then she got to thinking. So far, all her Pokémon were birds. The trainer in Pewter City had said it was best to have variety, but surely not all birds had the same abilities. She looked up Pidgey and compared it to Spearow. While their attacks were radically different, they both had the same advantages and disadvantages against certain other types of Pokémon. There was a duck-like Pokémon called Farfetch'd that had attacks similar to both and had the same disadvantages again.
The next bird entry she found was something called Aerodactyl which was a large dinosaur-like Pokémon that looked like it was made out of rock. Unfortunately, Aerodactyl was extinct.
Then there was Articuno. She took one look at the picture and fell in love with it. It was a beautiful blue bird with a long tail that had ice powers. According to the book, though, it was a legendary Pokémon that was only found in a place called Seafoam Island.
"We have a plan, Pidgey!" she said. "When we're finished here, we'll find the way to Seafoam Island and capture an Articuno. I just have to have one! I'll become a master of bird Pokémon!"
"Pidgey!"
Nightfall saw them deep in the heart of the forest. Heather was tired and a little disappointed that she hadn't captured any other Pokémon. Not that there hadn't been any around, but she just wasn't interested in the Caterpies and Weedles that were frequently seen in the trees.
As she was about ready to stop and set up a camp, Pidgey brought her attention to a glade up ahead. In the glade was a tent, and a fire was burning cheerfully in front of it. "Oh, hi! Are you looking for Pokémon too?" A dark-haired boy of about ten waved at her.
She stepped into the light. "Yes, I am, but I haven't come across any that I really want. My name's Heather."
"I'm Doug. My friends call me Doug the Bug because I have lots of bug Pokémon." He held up two PokéBalls. "Wanna see?"
"Uh... no thanks."
"Tell ya what, after we eat, we'll battle. Then you can stay here until morning."
"Gosh, that's really nice of you." She brought out a packet containing a fish she had caught earlier. "I can share this."
"Great! I have some fruit and edible roots here. We'll have a feast."
After a good meal, Doug stoked up the fire so it brightly illuminated the glade, then picked up two of his PokéBalls. "I'll use these two. If you beat me you can have one of my health potions. If I beat you, you give me one of your empty PokéBalls."
"That sounds fair. Let's do it."
They got up and stood at opposite ends of the glade. Doug went first. "Caterpie, I choose you!" He threw a ball into the centre of the glade, and a large green caterpillar with round eyes appeared.
Heather had read up on Caterpies earlier in the day and knew that she would have no problems. "Pidgey, go!" Her Pidgey flew off its perch on a tree branch and hovered in front of the Caterpie.
"Caterpie, Tackle!" The caterpillar tried to grab Pidgey, but missed since the bird was too quick.
"Pidgey, Gust!" Pidgey blew a gust at the Caterpie and it spun out of control to land near Doug's feet.
"Drat! Caterpie, String Shot!" The Caterpie managed to right itself, then cast a web of sticky silk towards Pidgey.
"Pidgey, Gust!" Heather shouted, and the wind blew the silk back at the Caterpie and entangled it. The Caterpie glowed and vanished, having returned to its PokéBall.
Doug glared at her and tossed his second PokéBall. "Caterpie, I choose you!" A second Caterpie appeared. "String Shot!"
"Dodge!" she called, and Pidgey flew up out of range. Noticing the subtle change in her Pokémon that signified the gaining of a level, she ordered Pidgey's next attack to see if it would work. "Pidgey, Sand Attack!" The bird landed on the ground in front of the Caterpie and used its wings to blow up a large funnel of dust that obscured both the opposing Pokémon and its trainer.
Doug coughed and waved a hand. "All right! I give up! Caterpie, return!" The Caterpie vanished.
Heather called Pidgey back and it obediently returned to her shoulder. When the dust settled, Doug walked up to her with a potion in his hand. "That was a terrific battle," he said a little humbly. "I should have realized that my bugs would be no match for your bird. Here's the potion." Then he perked up. "You know, it would be a great way for your birds to gain levels if you battle them against lower-level wild Pokémon. But I think there are a few other bug trainers in the forest, and they're better than I am, so don't get too confident." He grinned. "There are also other trainers who aren't as friendly. I've heard stories about a team called Rocket who try to steal Pokémon rather than go to the trouble of training their own. For some reason they especially want Pikachus, so if you happen to get one, don't let it out of your sight."
"Wow. Thanks for all the advice, Doug." She yawned, and laughed happily as she picked up her backpack and began to set up her tent.
Accustomed to rising with the sun, she struck camp and headed out long before Doug woke, but she left a note for him promising to return on this road on her way home. The map that she had bought designated it "Route 2", and it ran from Pewter City to Viridian City. From there she could cut cross-country to "Cycling Road" which led to Fuschia City, then take a boat to Seafoam Island. It seemed simple enough.
Along the way she met two other trainers, both with bug Pokémon as Doug had warned her, but Pidgey and Spearow defeated them easily, gaining levels in the process. Neither had any spare potions, so they gave her the cost of a potion in cash.
In the late afternoon she stopped to rest and eat, hoping to walk a few more miles before sunset. This was the seventh day after she had left home. Her family would surely be worried, although both her mother and brother had known what she was getting into and would understand why she left. Papa..? For all she knew he had disowned her. She would love to see the look on his face, though, when she returned with powerful trained Pokémon. Then he would have to admit that he had been wrong.
Pidgey had been dozing on a branch while she ate, but became alert when he heard rustling from a copse just off the road. Heather had heard it too, and crawled on her hands and knees as quietly as she could to peek through a space between bushes.
Inches from her nose was a yellow-furred face with beady eyes.
"Pika?"
"YAAAHHH!" She cried out in surprise and tried to stand up, lost her balance, windmilled her arms for a moment, and fell into a bush.
Pidgey hovered above her, scolding. She caught a glimpse of a small yellow creature as it hopped out of the copse, bounced on her head, and ran off.
She fought to disentangle herself. "After it, Pidgey!" As the bird flew away, she half crawled, half rolled out of the bush and picked twigs out of her hair. "Just great," she grumbled, "I've been made a fool of by a Pokémon." Grabbing a PokéBall she ran in the direction that Pidgey had gone.
There was a crashing in the forest ahead, and voices raised in an argument. She soon came upon two strange characters: a shapely girl with blonde shoulder-length hair and a tall boy with his short hair dyed red. Both wore jeans and white shirts with a large red R on them, and were carrying nets. They had captured Pidgey and the yellow Pokémon!
"Just what are you doing with those Pokémon?" she challenged them.
They stared at her for a moment, then the girl smirked. "Let's just say we're cashing in on some good fortune. If you're a Pokémon trainer, then prepare for trouble!"
"And make it double!" the boy said.
They launched into some sort of spiel, taking turns speaking.
"To protect the world from devastation. / To unite all peoples within our nation. / To denounce the evils of truth and love. / To extend our reach to the stars above. / Christy! / Craig! / Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light! / Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
Heather wasn't impressed. This was the Team Rocket she had been told about?
Craig leered at her. "Hand over your Pokémon and you won't get hurt."
She smiled. "Sure." Tossing up two balls, she shouted, "Spearow, I choose you! Peck Attack!"
The two Spearows immediately set upon Team Rocket, and they dropped their nets while frantically waving their arms in an attempt to drive the birds away. Heather released the two captive Pokémon, and Pidgey joined the Spearows in the aerial assault.
"Help! Stop! Call off your Pokémon!" Craig pleaded.
Christy yelled, "Don't be a wuss! Call out your Beedrill to deal with them! EEEK!" She yelped as the yellow Pokémon hopped in front of her. Heather got a good look at it this time: it was shaped very like a fat rabbit, its fur was yellow with brown stripes on the back and had a long jagged tail.
Smiling, it pointed its tail at the two. "Pi-ka-CHUUU!" It let loose a tremendous jolt of electricity, knocking them into a tree. They fell to the ground, stunned.
Heather wasn't going to stick around until they recovered. Calling back her birds, she made her way back to the road and ran for a considerable distance before stopping. When she was satisfied that Team Rocket hadn't followed her, she sat on a fallen log and leafed through her book.
"Pikachu, type Electric. Common. Attacks: Thundershock, Growl; gains Thunderwave at level nine... whew, it has quite a few moves. Evolves into Raichu with the use of a Thunder Stone. Also known as the electric mouse, Pikachus are curious, very intelligent and independent. Most will refuse to go into a PokéBall."
A cute little face peered at her from behind the book. "Pika!"
"Speak of the devil," she remarked, and put the book down.
"Pi-ka-chu?"
"Looks like I've made myself an enemy in Team Rocket, huh, Pikachu? Now, I don't suppose you're going to let me catch you?" She held out a PokéBall.
"Pi!" It waggled its ears, sniffed the ball, then took it in its paws and threw it at her. "Chu!"
Laughing, she put the ball away. "I didn't think so. Will you be my friend, then? I hope you'll get along with Pidgey."
"Pikachu!" The Pokémon hopped into her lap, and she petted it.
