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Chapter 3- Mt. Steel
Samir slowly woke up and found himself inside a wooden hut with a sturdy roof made of tree branches and rope. A small stream flowed through the house, with round, grey stones bridging the sleeping area and the living room area. He looked at his reflection and saw he was a Chikorita once more.
What happened? And where am I?
He crossed the stones and curiously looked around the rest of the hut. A glint coming from his right caught his eye and he walked towards it. As he was about to approach to a picture on a bamboo shelf on the western side, he heard a familiar voice.
"So, you finally woke up."
Samir looked at the entranceway and saw Pikachu staring at him. "You've been knocked out for so long, I thought you died."
Samir nervously laughed. "Thanks for bringing me inside, Pikachu."
The Mouse Pokémon looked around and nodded. "It's been my house ever since I moved here three years ago. Anyway, where've you been since I last saw you?"
"Umm… It's kind of hard to explain…"
The Electric type shrugged. "Fair enough. Anyway, have you thought about my offer?"
Samir scratched his head with his leaf. "About being part of your rescue team? Yeah, I guess so."
"Excellent. We have to get supplies for our next mission," Pikachu declared as he picked up an extra badge on the shelf.
He tossed it to the Chikorita, who caught it with his vine and stared at it.
I don't know why I'm back here, but I need to figure this out for myself…
Samir attached the badge to his neck and followed Pikachu down a stone street. There, he found himself in a town bustling with activity. Although it happened so fast, he was able to meet some of the citizens of the town, which they called Pokémon Square. His favorite Pokémon were the Kecleon Brothers, although he noticed one of them trying to sneak out with some goods behind his brother's back. Pikachu then led Samir past Tiny Woods and to a jutting mountain peak. The sign, "Mt. Steel", explained the natural landmark.
"Now then," Pikachu began, reading a scroll of parchment. "We need to save a Diglett who's been trapped by a Skarmory on top of Mt. Steel."
"Can you tell me what a Skarmory looks like?" Samir nervously asked. "I've never seen one before."
His partner became slightly annoyed. "You'll see when we get there."
As Samir tried to think about what the Pokémon looked like, Pikachu began to head inside the cave entrance. Samir caught up with him, and they wandered through the mountain.
"So, you're still a human in the other world, huh?" Pikachu asked as they climbed together. "Been a while since that happened."
Samir was shocked. "Really? I'm not the first?"
Pikachu hesitated but nodded. "Yeah…it's been three years since that incident. The one that almost caused our world to collapse."
"I see. What happened then?" Samir then noticed his partner didn't respond. "Oh, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine too."
They walked in awkward silence until they saw light at the end of the cave tunnel. As the sun temporarily blinded them when they stepped outside, a loud shriek echoed through the rocks. When Samir's eyes adjusted, he looked around and saw the Diglett being intimidated by a gray bird with metallic wings.
So that's a Skarmory… It's so weird to see a new Pokémon when you're not a human, you just somehow know what they are…
The Armor Bird Pokémon heard footsteps and saw the two intruders. "Halt! Leave my domain!" he cried with a husky voice.
While Samir timidly stood back, Pikachu brushed his tuff and reasoned, "Look Skarmory. We don't want any trouble. Just let the Diglett go and we'll leave."
Skarmory scoffed, "A likely story! This mole was disturbing my peaceful peak with his tunneling! He deserves to be punished!"
The Mole Pokémon shrunk with fear. "P-Please help me…" he whimpered.
Pikachu became upset with the stubborn Steel type. He took off the satchel and placed in on the ground. "How about this? This Chikorita and I challenge you to a battle. The winner gets to decide what to do with the Diglett."
Skarmory scanned us and laughed. "Why not? That Chikorita will hardly do anything!"
I'll show you… Samir growled inwardly.
The Armor Bird Pokémon gave a sharp cry and dove towards the two. Pikachu and Samir dodged in time, and eyed the Steel type cautiously.
"Take this!" Pikachu shouted, releasing a strong burst of electricity.
Skarmory laughed and spun out the Thunderbolt's range. He then charged at Samir with his beak slowly extending.
Samir braced himself. "Vine powers, activate!" He tried to grab onto the bird, but he kept missing his target. Luckily, he was able to put up a Reflect and took less damage from the Peck.
"Vine powers, activate?" the older Pokémon questioned the newbie's choice of words.
The Chikorita rubbed the back of his head. "Well, it was cool when I said it in my head. Anyway, what should we do?"
Pikachu smirked despite the losing battle. "This Skarmory's tough, but I got an idea. You with me, kid?"
Samir was unsure, but he confidently nodded. "Okay, Pikachu. Tell me what to do."
The Electric type explained, "When I give the signal, use Razor Leaf."
After he accepted the plan, Pikachu shouted, "Get ready, Skarmory! " He launched off the mountain with his legs, and his tail glowed silver.
"How useless!" Skarmory mocked. "I'll show you a Steel type move!"
As his wings glowed silver, Pikachu blocked the wings and shouted, "Samir, now!"
"Right!" Samir shook his neck vigorously and shot razor sharp leaves. Pikachu then grabbed his opponent's wings and threw Skarmory into the leaves, and they slowly cut into the bird's armor.
Skarmory shrieked in pain, but he recovered. "Clever! But not enough!" He smashed his left wing into Pikachu's stomach, and he crashed into the rocks.
Samir was shocked, but Pikachu pulled himself out. The Electric type wiped his mouth and laughed. "I haven't had a tough battle in a long time. Follow my lead, kid!"
Pikachu released several weak jolts of electricity, and Skarmory was able to dodge all of them. Samir saw what his partner was doing and sneakily sent out two vines that circled behind their distracted foe. Before Skarmory could react, the vines wrapped around his wings and threw him to the ground.
As Pikachu readied another Thunderbolt, Skarmory screamed, "I give up! I give up!" He then immediately took off, disappearing from view.
"Good riddance." Pikachu then walked over to the slightly scared Diglett. "You okay, Diglett?"
The Mole Pokémon gratefully smiled at his rescuers. "Th-Thank you so much! You guys are the best!"
Pikachu smiled and gave the young Ground type a soft pat. "No problem, Diglett. Just be careful and stay out of trouble, okay?"
"You got it, sir! Thank you both!" The Diglett then tunneled underground, leaving a trail of overturned earth in his wake.
"Well then," Pikachu stated. "Let's return, shall we?" Samir nodded and the two made their way back to Pikachu's house.
Cappy frantically ran back inside the Pokémon Center and into his Trainer's room. After some searching in Samir's bag, he found his friends' Pokéballs and immediately opened them. Banksia and Terry yawned and looked around the dark and empty room.
"What's going on, Cappy?" the Meganium groggily asked.
"I-It's S-Samir!" the Pikachu frantically gasped. "H-He's been kidnapped!"
The fully evolved Pokémon were stunned. Banskia immediately grabbed her owner's satchel and placed the Pokédex and earpiece lying on top of the drawer inside.
"Did you see where the kidnapper went?" the Pidgeot asked.
Cappy thought about it and said, "I think they went into the downtown area, but I lost them when some of the feral Meowth chased me away…"
Banksia stood up tall and told her team, "We should split up and see if we can find him. Let's meet back at the Pokémon Center at sunrise."
The three nodded and made their way out of the building and searched the city in the dark night to find their Trainer, hopefully unharmed.
As Pikachu and Samir were sleeping in the house, a black mass, darker than the night sky, entered and made its way into the Chikorita's ear. Immediately, Samir began to sweat and fidget. His dream became a nightmare, as the black mass became a shadowy figure that chased him endlessly.
"Who are you? Let me alone!" Samir shouted as he tried to outrun it. But it continued to pursue his target until it slowly caught up to the exhausted Chikorita.
Samir screamed and jolted awake, panting hard from the scary event. Once he regained his composure, he looked around the dark room and thought he was back his world. When he stood up, however, he realized he was still on all fours.
Something's wrong… Why am I still in the Pokémon world?!