Chapter 4 - Taillow Food
Sam and Brooke trailed the Taillow for several hundred metres before it finally settled in an old, giant oak tree in the middle of a huge clearing.
"So how do we get it down?" puffed Brooke as she finally caught up to Sam.
"Just wait, you'll see" replied Sam, with the same sly grin appearing on his face as he pulled an apple out of his backpack.
"I don't get it…" muttered Brooke.
As she finished saying it a loud ear-piercing cry came from the oak tree.
"Right on time," chuckled Sam, "if you check your pokedex again Brooke, you'll notice that Taillow have a huge appetite and cry loudly when they become hungry."
"Oh yeah… so that's what the apple is for?" said Brooke as she gazed up into the tree.
"It's not for Taillow… I get hungry too you know" laughed Sam as Brooke fell over from shock.
Taking a monstrous bite out of his apple, Sam explained his plan through a full mouth of juicy apple.
"Well, your pokedex also says that Taillow feed on Wurmple…" said Sam, taking another bite out of his apple.
"I'm still not following…" replied Brooke, becoming more and more confused.
"Well it just so happens we have a Wurmple with us at the moment," sighed Sam as he motioned to the pokeball on Brooke's belt.
"But we…" it finally clicked for Brooke, "oh no way! You are not using my Wurmple as bait for that stupid bird!"
"Come on Brooke, I can guarantee it'll be safe, you can watch the whole thing to make sure" explained Sam.
"I dunno, I mean… It is my Wurmple that's at risk" replied Brooke.
"Just release your Wurmple, Brooke, I've got it all planned out, just watch… and besides, you can recall Wurmple whenever you want" said Sam calmly.
"Good point…" muttered Brooke as she retrieved Wurmple's pokeball from her belt.
"Look, Mudkip and I can handle it, right Mudkip?" said Sam, stroking Mudkip's head.
"Kip kip" smiled Mudkip, the determination spreading over its face as it got ready for the battle.
"Fine, Wurmple come on out!" called Brooke as she released Wurmple into the clearing.
"Worm worm!" cried Wurmple, stretching itself as it was released from the pokeball.
Sam grabbed Brooke's hand and quickly led her out of the clearing and into the bush.
"What the hell are you doing?!" cried Brooke, a little too loudly for Sam's liking.
"Just keep it down, we need to stay out of Taillow's eyesight so that it will come out" said Sam, covering Brooke's mouth in the process.
"Mmmm ermmm mmmm" mumbled Brooke as she tried to talk with Sam's hand over her mouth.
Suddenly, Brooke could feel her face become red as she realised that Sam was holding her. Why am I feeling like this? She thought to herself, I still don't even know his name…
Sam was watching Wurmple intently, waiting for Taillow to jump on its suspecting prey, whilst Brooke was lost in thought. What is that girl thinking? Thought Sam, She can't be that scared for Wurmple…
Wurmple continued on its business, snacking on leaves throughout the clearing. Long minutes went by and Sam eventually removed his hand when Brooke stopped struggling.
Suddenly, another ear-splitting cry erupted from the tree, causing both Sam and Brooke to cover their ears. A blue blur abruptly shot out from the tree towards Wurmple who was stunned with fear.
"Mudkip! Use water gun!" called Sam jumping up from the bush as a blue swirl of water flew directly into the path of the unsuspecting Taillow.
Direct hit. Taillow was thrown off-course and was knocked straight into a tree.
"Nice shot Mudkip," smiled Sam to the small blue Pokemon, "but it isn't over yet" he continued as he noticed Taillow rearing up for an attack on Mudkip.
"Oh Brooke…" he said without turning to face the stunned teenage girl whose face was still rather flushed, "you can recall your Wurmple now."
"What? Oh, okay… Wurmple… return…" stammered Brooke as she returned the worm Pokemon to its pokeball.
"Thanks agai- Mudkip, dodge!" Sam was interrupted as Taillow shot across the clearing with a quick attack.
Mudkip jumped to its left to avoid the attack, but wasn't quick enough getting scraped by the angry bird Pokemon as it shot past, leaving some scratches on Mudkip's leg.
"Looks like we have a quick one…" said Sam to no-one in particular, "Mudkip, use bide!"
As Sam said the attack Mudkip braced itself and began glowing red. Taillow struck another two times with a quick attack.
"Perfect…" said Sam without taking his eyes off the battle.
"What are you talking about?" cried Brooke, finally having registered what was happening in front of her, "Mudkip is getting creamed!"
"Believe what you want, but if I were you, I'd watch what happens next…" said Sam calmly as Taillow began its charge for another attack, "wait for it… nearly there… Now! Mudkip, unleash your energy!"
Just as the Taillow got into striking range Mudkip let out a cry and the red energy was shot towards the ignorant Taillow, hitting it directly and throwing it back across the clearing.
"Good job Mudkip! Pokeball, go!" said Sam as he tossed a pokeball at the injured Taillow.
Just as the ball was about to hit Taillow, the courageous bird Pokemon flicked up its wing and deflected the ball back to Sam.
"Still not done eh, looks like the pokedex is completely true… Mudkip, use tackle!" said Sam, catching the deflected pokeball as it made its way back to him.
Mudkip charged across the clearing and slammed its body into the Taillow, sending the blue bird sprawling into a tree.
"Now use mud-slap to finish it off!" commanded Sam raising the pokeball, ready to throw again.
Mudkip turned away from Taillow and dug its back legs into the ground. It then kicked up the mud from the ground and sent it directly at Taillow who was unable to avoid the attack.
"That should do it," said Sam, apparently talking to himself again, "Gotchya now, pokeball go!"
The pokeball flew throw the air towards the bird Pokemon who was now stuck in a huge pile of mud. This time, the pokeball hit the small Pokemon, opened and caught Taillow inside.
Hmm… thought Sam, I wonder if that was enough, this Taillow is tougher than any I've encountered before.
The pokeball wobbled on the ground for a short while and eventually signified the completed capture with a resounding ping sound.
"We did it Mudkip" smiled Sam as he stroked to small Pokemon's head
"Mud, mud kip!" exclaimed the excited Pokemon.
"Th-that was amazing!" cried Brooke, running up to Sam and giving him an ungraceful hug that nearly sent both trainers sprawling, "but I didn't think that ground attacks worked on flying types…" she said as she straightened herself up, still not believing what she just did.
"To be honest, I wasn't using mud-slap to damage Taillow at all…" calmly explained Sam, regaining his composure and picking up the pokeball that lay on top of the pile of mud, "if you were watching, the first time I tried to capture Taillow it just used its wing to deflect my pokeball, however, but trapping it in the mud, I stopped Taillow from repeating the same trick…"
"Ingenious…" thought Brooke out loud, "you are a very skilful trainer; this Mudkip isn't your first Pokemon is it?"
"I can tell you right now that Mudkip isn't my first Pokemon, but I couldn't be happier with him" said Sam, examining his new Pokemon's pokeball.
"Well what do you know…? You're actually telling me something about yourself," giggled Brooke, "I suppose we should be heading to Ordale town now?"
"You're right, we should head off… But I'm just wondering…" said Sam thoughtfully, "what's a Taillow doing out here?"
"What do you mean?" said an obviously confused Brooke.
"Taillow aren't normally found in these parts… check your pokedex" replied Sam, still studying the pokeball.
Brooke pulled her pokedex out of her backpack and looked up where Taillow are found.
"You're right, this is strange…" said Brooke, who was now up to speed with what Sam was thinking about.
"Even though this Taillow is young, it's at a very high level for its age… quick attack is a more advanced move for this age group… This little guy must have been separated from its flock sometime ago and has had to fend for itself for a while…" explained Sam, adding to Brooke's confusion.
"So I guess that explains why it was so hungry…" guessed Brooke, trying to keep up with Sam's thought pattern.
"Yeah it does," replied Sam, giving Brooke a nod of approval for her deductive work, causing her face to go red again, "so we should feed this little one now… Too bad I don't have any apples left."
The last statement caused Brooke to fall over again.
"I'm sure we can find something…" she said as she regained her composure.
"Why don't you get your Treeko to help?" said Sam as Mudkip jumped back onto his shoulder.
"How will that help?" asked Brooke, as confused with Sam as ever.
"Well Treeko is a natural tree dweller, it'll be easy for it to find some food for Taillow," explained Sam.
"Why are you always right?" tutted Brooke as she released Treeko from its pokeball, "Treeko, can you help us find some apples?"
"Tree-koo!" nodded Treeko.
Treeko began looking around and suddenly caught on to something.
"ko ko tree!" it exclaimed, bounding out of the clearing and into the forest area.
"Wait up!" cried Brooke as she and Sam began chasing after the excited Treeko.
I know I should probably be waiting longer between chapters, but I wrote this last night and I just couldn't wait to get it up =)
Anyways, the next chapter will introduce Sam's main rival, OC courtesy of Spartan20 and we delve a little into Sam's past =)
As always, feedback is very much appreciated and OC's are always welcome =)