Wolfy and Loca left Fengrove later that day, heading north over some grassy fields and hills, every step they took taking them closer to Naxren town and their first gym battle. Wolfy didn't know whether or not the Naxren gym fought under the multi-battle rules or not but he knew that he and Loca had to prepare just in case. As they walked Gible and Elliot played games of tag, chasing one and other across the field only to run straight back to them. Loca was smiling and sometimes even laughing at the two Pokémon, both were young and playful so they got into a lot of trouble. They had already disturbed a family of Rattata and a swarm of Ledyba as they ran to catch each other.
"Wolfy do you know what type of Pokémon that Naxren gym leader uses?" Loca said as they walked through the long grass of the fields.
"No all I know is that his name is Vinen," he replied remembering what he had heard some trainers discussing as they passed them in the Pokémon centre, "sounds like he'd tough though, his Pokémon are supposed to be super strong."
"Hmm, I guess we should really be training then huh?" she replied looking over at their Pokémon as they tumbled through the grass, "But I just can't bring myself to stop those two."
Wolfy laughed as Gible used Dig to hide from Elliot as they ran, "It'll take us a few days to reach Naxren Town, they can take the afternoon off surely?"
Loca smiled, glad that Wolfy agreed with her assessment of the two Pokémon's moods. They walked on watching the two have fun and occasionally battling the Pokémon they disturbed, the two of them working together meant that the wild Pokémon weren't much of a threat.
The sun started to set to their left, letting the tall grass cast long shadows over the ground and giving everything a red/ pinky tinge. The pink clouds sailed slowly across the sky above them as they made their way through the grass, trying to find a campsite to set up for the night. They soon found a circular area where the grass had been flattened down by previous campers, the long blades of grass lay flat against the ground.
"This will do," Wolfy said turning to Loca who instantly sat on the grass, Elliot quickly jumping into her lap so she could pet him, "I'll get some stew going."
They ate whilst they exchanged stories about their families and what Jhoto was like compared to Lillen, it turned out that not only were there really rare Pokémon in Jhoto but also a lot more trainers.
"I miss Jhoto," Loca said as she set down her empty bowl and went back to stroking Elliot, "The Pokémon there were really amazing, you can find some of the same ones here but loads that cant. I always wanted a cute little Wooper when I was there."
"You can find those here," Wolfy said nodding as he cleared away their bowls, washing them with a bit of water from his cantine. Gible sat on his shoulder watching the plates with a hungry look in his eyes, Wolfy was going to have to teach him the difference between food and what you eat it off of. "They're quite common nearer to the oceans, maybe you could catch one?"
"Maybe," she said looking down at the Pokémon in her lap, fiddling with his scarf, "We'll see, I need to try and catch a Pokémon first. We're going to need more Pokémon if we want to defeat the gym leaders."
Loca instantly jumped up scaring Elliot and Gible, both falling to the floor with a thump. "Well I think I should get started! Come on Elliot!"
"Loca, where are you going?" Wolfy asked picking up Gible as Loca walked off through the grass.
"To catch a Pokémon," she called over her shoulder as Elliot tried his best to keep up with her quick pace, "look after my stuff K?"
"She's definitely enthusiastic," Wolfy said to Gible, staring after her dumbfounded, "Well I guess we should get some rest, nothing to do now but wait."
He sat down on the flat grass and pulled out his Pokégear, he hadn't sent his mother a message the day before, with everything that had happened it just slipped his mind. He loaded up the email program and started writing.
Hi mum,
Sorry I didn't write yesterday, so much crazy stuff was happening I didn't get a chance…
Wolfy awoke the next morning to soft snoring a few feet from him as well as louder ones coming from Gible. Loca must have returned whilst they slept and decided not to wake them, Elliot was sleeping soundly in her arms with only his head poking out of her green sleeping bag. Wolfy quietly tidied away his sleeping bag and got dressed without waking anyone, he pulled a couple of travelling biscuits out of his bag and nibbled on them as he looked around him for something to do. He sat down, leaning on his bag as he pulled out his Pokégear to check whether or not his mum had replied. When it loaded he found he had two new emails, one from his mother and the other from Ray. His mother's email said:
Dear Wolfy
It sounds like you handled yourself admirably, you're so much like your father diving head first into trouble to help someone else. I'm glad you're ok but you could have been hurt so please be careful J
So Professor Yew gave you a Gible? Ray said it's even a shiny one, you better be careful with him in case Team Granite decide they want to try and capture him again. But I'm really glad for you son, Gible sounds like a perfect partner for an aspiring Dragon Tamer.
Call me and your brother when you get to the Pokémon centre in Naxren Town, we'd really like to see you, Gible and Charmander.
Missing you,
Mum
P.S the Gym Leader in Naxren town does three on three single battles so go get another Pokémon J
Wolfy smiled at his mother's message, she had become such a worrier since Drake stopped calling, the old mum wouldn't have kept reminding him to be so careful. He then read his brother's message:
Wolfy,
Since when do you just message mum? Where the love bro?
Anyway she said you caught a Charmander, that's awesome! I've been up all night trying to decide what Pokémon I'm going to capture with the Pokéball you gave me, I was thinking a Rhyperior or a Gengar but they don't turn up much around here do they? There are a group of Togetic flying around in the woods near our house, I wonder if there's a Togepi I could catch?
Anyway give me an update whenever you catch a new Pokémon or when something exciting happens
Don't forget us
Ray
Wolfy couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of Ray with a Rhyperior or being chase by a Gengar but he could see him with a Togepi, it would be a good Pokémon for a young Breeder. Plus it was also said that Togepi and Togetic could make people happy, their mum could probably do with that around. Wolfy quickly replied to Ray suggesting that Togepi would be the best option and a promise to keep him updated on his journey.
"Oh god," Loca grumbled looking at him from her sleeping bag whilst Gible continued to snore, "You're a morning person aren't you?"
"A bit," he said chuckling even more, "I take it you're not then?"
"Of course not," she replied sitting up, still surrounded in sleeping bag, she looked almost like a strange Metapod, "sleep is good, I like sleep."
Wolfy smiled as she tried to escape from her green prison without dropping Elliot, the sight was a lot of entertainment. She made so much noise during her escape that some nearby Pidgey scattered in every direction but still Gible continued to snore, laying on his back with his mouth agape. Wolfy walked over and shook him awake, he looked around for a moment completely dazed before he fell back asleep again.
"So did you catch anything good last night?" Wolfy said picking up his sleeping Gible and his bag as they prepared to leave.
"I caught two," she replied beaming with pride, "it took a few attempts but they're both mine now."
"Looks like our family is getting bigger," Wolfy said smiling too as they started to trek through the grass again, headed for Naxren Town once more, "So what did you catch?"
Loca opened her mouth about to reply but seemed to think better of it and stopped, a suspicious smile crept across her lips before she finally spoke, "Catch another Pokémon today and I'll show you, let's battle!"