Pokemon: Rise of the Young Adventurers

by Lily Nadesico

Sidestory to EmperorDraco7's Rise of Heroes. Join Jonathan and Abelia as, starting from their native land of Oblivia, they set out to become master trainers, learning many valuable lessons along the way. T for safety, might go up.

6. Clearing The Pinchers

Pokemon: Rise of the Young Adventurers

Hello, everyone! As you can see, this fanfiction is on the road again! I had hit a serious snag in the writing, but now I am ready and willing to continue it and tell you more about the adventures of the perky Water-type enthusiast Jonathan, and his reclusive best friend Abelia while they try to carve their own place in the history of Oblivia... and now, our friends have taken a trip to an island very close to Cocona Village, in order to pay a small visit to the Pokemon Pinchers, and give them the what-for for messing around with the village's Rainbow Cerimony. It won't be as easy as it might seem though: an important member of the organization, one Green Eyes, is waiting for them, and you can be sure that he won't spare any attempt to take down our bold kids, and their newfound ally Arley. Not to be confused with May's flamboyant rival from the Hoenn saga of the anime...

Which means that there will be a battle very soon! The newformed team has just arrived in Dolce Island, and they are now making their way to the Pokemon Pinchers' hideout, with some of their Pokemon by their side. Will they manage to defeat the Pinchers and save Cocona Village's traditional celebration? Well, in order to know the answer, all you have to do is read the chapter, right?

Please, read and review! I'll try and make sure you won't have to wait that long for my next update, even though real life sometimes gets in the way of many of my projects.

See you guys soon!

oooooooooo

Chapter 6 - Clearing the Pinchers

"We've been walking around for a while now, and still no trace of the Pokemon Pinchers." Abelia said nonchalantly as she looked here and there to see if there were any possible threats around. Dolce Island, however, seemed to be completely deserted at the moment... only the shrill chirping of the Kricketots, and the occasional call of a Wingull, a Zubat, or another nocturnal Pokemon showed that the island was still inhabited... and the sky was already darkening, showing that nighttime was fast approaching. "I think we're wasting our time here. If we really need to find those idiots, we probably need to look somewhere else. Maybe in the interior of the island?"

"Well... I think Abelia is right. We've been looking around, and found no trace of those guys." Jonathan answered as the small team walked along a narrow road slithering among huge bushes and tropical plants. "Maybe, if we were to change approach, we'd be a little luckier."

"I'm just itching for a chance to double-slap those guys silly!" Jonathan's Poliwag commented cheekily. However, Arley and his Timburr seemed to reccomend to be more prudent, and proceeded to caution the younger trainers about the dangers of running ahead.

"Hold on, kids, and just be patient." Arley said. "Those guys are probably trying to buy time and observe us... and I wouldn't be surprised if they already knew some of our strengths and weaknesses. It would be best if we were careful and watched our backs..."

Abelia's Venipede suddenly raised his antennae, and widened his eyes, emitting a short, surprised screech. Immediately, the whole team stopped and began looking around, understanding that the armored bug was trying to warn them against some sort of danger. "Venipede? What's up?" Abelia asked as she tensed up. Jonathan and his Poliwag looked up, towards a rather tall cliff close to them, and both Arley and his Timburr took a guarding stance, with the Fighting-type Pokemon holding his club tightly in his right hand.

"You have traspassed into our territory." a clear male voice said, coming from the closest cliff, and belonging to a mean-looking person dressed in a way that was oddly familiar to Jonathan and Abelia: he looked like an explorer, dressed in neutral green-and-brown clothes, and holding a Pokeball in his hand. Several other people stood close to him, wearing similar clothing. "You are therefore asked to turn away and not come back again here. Refuse to do so, and we will resort to more extreme measures."

"Those uniforms... they're the same of those two guys we fought in Rasp Cavern!" Jonathan noted, while his Poliwag aggressively swept the ground behind himself with his paddle-like tail. "They must be the Pokemon Pinchers... how come did they take so long to show up?"

"Don't know, don't care." Abelia said with a shrug. "All I care about is that they're here. We kick their butts, we have them confess where their hideout is, and we take back the kidnapped Pokemon. Easy as pie."

"You heard the answer, jerks!" Venipede yelled to the Pokemon Pinchers grunts. "We have come here to rescue the Pokemon you kidnapped, and to teach you a lesson you will never forget! So, move it or we'll make you move!"

Arley smirked, already admiring the sheer guts of the Bug / Poison-type. But sadly, the Pokemon Pinchers didn't seem to be impressed, and decided to switch to more aggressive measures.

"Suit yourselves." the man said, before motioning for his men to attack. Several of them threw their Pokeballs, and Pokemon of all kinds popped out of them and took formation in front of the three trainers in a threatening gesture. With a quick glance, Jonathan was able to see that there were quite a few different types in the enemy squad: Geodude, Bellsprout, Rattata, Patrat... and even a particularly large and wily-looking Purrloin, who seemed to be leading the charge. "Take out those fools, everyone."

"Hmm... I can see you're not going to play by the rules." Timburr said, jauntily throwing his club in the air and catching it with just one hand on the way down. "Not problem for me, I can take you all!"

"You are not about to hog all the fun to yourself, are you?" Abelia's Venipede stated, scuttling at Timburr's side with deceptive speed. "We are here to help too!"

Jonathan's Poliwag was ready to fight as well. "That's right! So, bring it on, you clown, I'll be ready for everything you might possibly do!"

The enemy Pokemon were now close to them, and leapt to attack! Venipede found himself under attack from a fierce-looking Patrat, who tried to use a Bite attack on him... but the rodent's fangs bounced harmlessly on the bug's armored hide, leaving Venipede unarmed. A second later, a sharp stinger hidden between two plates in Venipede's armor stung Patrat in the shoulder, and the Normal-type staggered backwards, and fell to the ground, looking drunk.

"Idiot. He didn't even think about my Venipede's Poison Point." Abelia murmured, shaking her head. "Hey, Venipede, you alright? That Patrat did bite you pretty hard."

"Nothing my armor can't handle." the venomous bug answered, before turning to the stunned Patrat. "Hey, wise guy... next time you face a Venipede like me, think twice about striking head-on. A direct attack might leave you poisoned, just like now."

"Uuuugh... I'll try and remember that..." the prairie dog-like Pokemon murmured in a daze.

Jonathan and his Poliwag, for their part, were facing a Geodude and a Sentret - respectively, a Pokemon that looked like a small boulder with arms and a face, and an egg-shaped rodent that stood up on its tail. The tadpole-like Pokemon was holding his own rather well, and Geodude quickly went down under a well-placed Water Gun attack... but Sentret proved to be a much tougher opponent than Jonathan anticipated, mostly because of its Quick Attack, that was able to outspeed Poliwag and hit him before he could defend himself. With a sudden lunge, the rodent struck Poliwag with his claws, scratching him and causing him to stagger backwards... and Jonathan, fearing for his Pokemon's safety, decided it was a wiser choice to recall him and send out another Pokemon to fight.

"Man, this isn't good... Poliwag, return!" the young boy exclaimed, recalling Poliwag in his empty Pokeball. The tadpole Pokemon scoffed a little at the idea, but complied, while Jonathan quickly produced a new Pokeball and tossed in the air. "Your turn now, Omanyte! Show 'em what you're made of!"

"Churning waters and solid rock, of course!" the prehistoric mollusk joked, appearing in front of Jonathan in a flash of light, and then motioning for Sentret to come at her with one of her prehensile tentacles. "So, what's the matter with you guys? Aren't you going to face me? I'll have you know, I am pretty imaginative when it comes to working with my tentacles!"

"Gah! Did you really have to say that, Omanyte?" Jonathan lamented. "I think I'll have to take some brain bleach to clear that image off my head..."

With a sudden blast of speed, Sentret dashed towards Omanyte and tried hitting her with a Scratch attack, but his claws screeched harmlessly on the shellfish Pokemon's rock-hard shell, causing Sentret to bounce backwards in annoyance... and fall victim to a well-placed Water Gun from Omanyte herself, that knocked the squirrel-like Pokemon on his back and left him stunned.

"Meh. I may be an old-timer, but I still know my stuff!" Omanyte stated, before turning to face more Pokemon that were coming her way. "What, still up for more? Geez, youngsters these days..."

"What are you talking about, Omanyte? You were born only a few years ago yourself!" Jonathan exclaimed in exasperation. He wished his first Pokemon was a little more serious about such things... but considering Omanyte was already doing a good job clearing up the Pokemon Pinchers' troops, he guessed he couldn't really complain too much.

However, it was Arley's Timburr the one who was doing the better job of it. The small but powerful Fighting-type seemed unstoppable, whirling his wooden beam around like a club and knocking out several Pokemon who dared approach him. A mean-looking Raticate dashed at him, trying to bite him with his sharp incisors, but Timburr managed to intercept the huge rat and hit him with a Rock Smash attack, knocking him backwards!

"Alright, big boy, come and get me!" Timburr exclaimed, twirling his wooden beam around like a baseball bat. "There's more where that came from, if you still want to eat dust!"

"Don't worry, I'm not hungry!" Raticate growled angrily, before Timburr dashed at him. In a flash, Raticate disappeared right under the Fighting-type's eyes, catching him off guard, and a split second later, Timburr flinched as he was hit by a couple of powerful blows from a seemingly invisible assailant, knocking him down! Soon after, Raticate reappeared in the position he had been standing on, and smirked at the Fighting-type. "So... how do you like my Sucker Punch attack? It allows me to anticipate any attacking move and strike back before I can even be hit!"

Timburr quickly picked himself up, grabbed his wooden club again, and cracked his neck, while Arley did not seem to be bothered in the least by the attack that had just struck his Pokemon. "Well, that was rather impressive... but as a Dark-type attack, Sucker Punch isn't exactly very effective on Fighting-type Pokemon! Come on, Timburr, show him you're tougher than this!"

"Of course I will!" Timburr exclaimed, while Raticate lunged at him again in an attempt to use a Crunch attack. With surprising speed and agility for a Pokemon like him, Timburr turned around and sidestepped the Crunch attack, causing the huge rat-like Pokemon to close his incisors a few inches away from his arm. Then, using his free hand, Timburr delivered a devastating Brick Break attack on Raticate's back, and there was a loud snapping sound as the chopping motion hit the huge mouse on its back, causing his eyes to snap open and crumble to the ground powerlessly. "Hm. Not that much to write home about, after all. Guess the others have already done their share, right?"

"I'd say so, Timburr." Arley commented as he looked around. Jonathan and Abelia were doing a good job clearing up the Pokemon Pinchers on their side, alternating attacks from each other's Pokemon, and punching holes in the enemies' ranks. Omanyte and Venipede were now facing a Woobat and a Buizel respectively, with the prehistoric mollusk executing a flawless Rollout attack by retreating into her shell and barreling over Woobat at high speed! Venipede, for his part, used a Protect move to dodge a powerful Aqua Jet attack from the orange otter-like Pokemon, before striking back with a powerful Bug Bite attack which left him sprawled powerlessly on the cold, hard ground!

"Good job, Venipede... but let me help you out a little!" Abelia exclaimed, taking out another Pokeball from her bag. "Let 'em have it, Beedrill!"

"Good! I was just getting restless, Abelia!" the gigantic hornet buzzed, her wings droning noisily as soon as she took flight in front of his trainer. A Mothim, a Bug-type Pokemon looking like a strange butterfly with a black and red body, red eyes with small black pupils, and yellow-orange wings, fluttered in front of her, its whole body glowing eerily in the twilight. "Ouch... not a Confusion attack already!"

"Dodge that with Double Team, Beedrill!" Abelia exclaimed just in time. The hornet-like Pokemon seemed to split in two, and managed to dodge the attack just in time before it hit. The discharge of glowing blue psychic energy went past Beedrill and dissipated harmlessly in the distance, while Beedrill swept down on the butterfly-like Pokemon. "And now, Beedrill, strike back with Fury Attack!"

"Already on it, Abelia!" Beedrill buzzed, before unleashing a flurry of stabbing attacks on the opponent, hitting him with all of his power. Mothim flinched and retreated in an attempt to defend himself from the relentless onslaught, and his trainer managed to sneak an order in.

"Mothim, don't get careless!" the Pokemon Pincher exclaimed. "You can take that oversized gnat down! Use Protect yourself!"

As Beedrill tried to close the distance and usea Poison Sting attack on Mothim, the huge butterfly Pokemon created an energy barrier in front of himself and deflected Beedrill's stingers, before launching himself at the huge bee and striking her with a Tackle attack. Unfortunately for him, Beedrill wasn't harmed all that much, and managed to stop Mothim by encircling his body with his spear-armed forelegs, before taking altitude and dragging Mothim along with himself!

"What?" Mothim exclaimed, furiously beating his wings in an attempt to escape the lethal embrace. "Let me go, you stupid oversized yellowjacket!"

"What are you waiting for, Beedrill? Just do what he asks, right?" Abelia said nonchalantly as the huge butterfly still tried to get free. "I think an Aerial Ace would do, don't you think so?"

"Oh, sure! No problem about it!" Beedrill answered. With the greatest of ease and the grace of a garner, the huge yellowjacket soared up, and then dropped down, releasing her hold on Mothim and then slashing him with his twin stingers on the way down. The butterfly yelped in ain and was tossed on the ground, stunned by the stinger blow, augmented by the velocity of the Aerial Ace attack... and one second later, the butterfly-like Pokemon fainted and remained on the ground, his compound eyes turned into spirals.

"This is how you do it! Learn from the best!" Beedrill boasted, turning her glance to Abelia, who smiled faintly and gave Beedrill a thumbs-up.

"Fine then... Omanyte, I'm sending help your way!" Jonathan exclaimed with a small smirk. "Oshawott, come out! We need your help too!"

The cute otter-like Pokemon popped up in front of Jonathan and grabbed his trusty scalchop, twirling it in his tiny hands with unsuspectable skill. A Roggenrola, a strange Pokemon that looked quite like a spherical dull grey stone with tiny legs, a crest on its top, and an eye-like formation in its center, tried to blindside Oshawott and hit him with a powerful Headbutt attack... but the otter managed to dodge in the nick of time and struck back, trying to hit the weak point in Roggenrola's body. "Hey! We're kinda impatient to get our butts kicked, aren't we? There you go! Razor Shell!"

The brave Water-type Pokemon slashed with his scalchop, and managed to hit Roggenrola, causing the Rock-type Pokemon to stagger for a short while... but soon after, it recovered and fired a volley of rocks at Oshawott, who widened his eyes in surprise and swerved away at the last moment, barely managing to avoid the blow. "Gah! You sure don't do things by halves, huh, rocks for brains?"

"Oshawott, you don't use a physical attack on a Pokemon like a Roggenrola!" Jonathan exclaimed at the top of his voice. "His hide is just too thick to be pierced... you need to use a special attack to really damage him!"

"I'm not going to let you do that!" Roggenrola's trainer exclaimed. "Roggenrola, attack that critter with Smack Down!"

"Sure!" Roggenrola answered in a gravelly voice that sounded like stones scraping on each other. "There you go!"

The stony Pokemon fired a round pellet of stone from its mouth, and struck Oshawott on the head, stunning him for a moment and sending him sprawling on the ground, before trying to close the distance and hit him with an Headbutt as he was trying to get up... but the otter-like Pokemon rolled away just in time and used his scalchop to deflect the blow, executing another Razor Shell attack that, while not doing much damage to the stony monster, still managed to throw it off long enough for Oshawott to recover and use a new attack.

"Well done, Oshawott!" Jonathan cheered. "Now... seal the deal with Water Gun!"

Oshawott smirked and shot a powerful blast of water towards Roggenrola, managing to hit the Rock-type head-on! This time, Roggenrola's incredibly tough hide proved useless against a Water-type special attack, and the stony Pokemon was sprayed by a powerful blast of water and dropped on its back, remaining on the ground with what could have passed for a stunned expression on its "face".

"That will teach you, rocks for brains!" Oshawott said cockily, tossing his scalchop in the air and grabbing it on the way down. Around them, the Pokemon Pinchers had seen that the battle was lost, and were now recalling their Pokemon and beating an orderly, but still hasty, retreat.

"Let's pull out, everyone! We've done enough for now!" the same grunt who had been leading the charge exclaimed. "We have weakened them enough... the boss will take care of the rest for us!"

"Hold on a second, there!" Jonathan exclaimed. "The boss? Who are you talking about? He's the guy who ordered you to screw up Kokona Village's festival, isn't he?"

"Why don't you go see him and verify by yourself, little kid?" a grunt taunted him as he recalled his own Pokemon, a mean-looking Snubbull, in his Pokeball. Soon after, before Jonathan and his companions could do anything to stop them, the Pokemon Pinchers had already run away, leaving the two upstart trainers and their temporary companion alone in the clearing, catching their breath.

"Phew... that was rather intense!" Arley commented. "Those younglings sure are no fools... and they said we will have to deal with their boss, huh? Kinda makes me want to go there and punch that guy in the face!"

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy..." Timburr commented, checking himself to see whether everything was alright. "Hey, kids... are you alright? You were doing a good job fighting off those goons there!"

"We're okay..." Abelia answered, as her Venipede climbed on her shoulder and remained there, his myriad legs clinging to his trainer. Beedrill lowered himself to Abelia's side and stood there, sharpening his stingers on each other.

"It was a little harder than we thought, but we got them... for now, at least." Jonathan commented, giving both Omanyte and Oshawott a pat on the back. "You guys alright? It was quite a fight you put up, that's for sure!"

"Oh, they were a bunch of young and impressionable beginners! We didn't feel the need to go all-out on them!" Omanyte joked, using one of her tentacles to exchange an high-five with Oshawott.

Jonathan smirked confidently. "That was an excellent job, guys!" he stated. "Now all we have to do is find their boss and kick his ass! So, where could that guy be hiding?"

"Sigh... please, Jonathan, don't go around being a fool, okay?" Abelia said with a sigh. "It will be enough of a problem to find where this guy is hiding, without you giving away our position to the whole Dolce Island!"

"I don't think there will be a problem, Abelia!" Beedrill exclaimed, taking some altitude once again. "I can follow those guys we just fought from a safe distance, and they'll guide us to their hideout, and to all the Pokemon and the tools they stole!"

"Good thinking, Beedrill!" Jonathan said, giving a victory sign to the giant yellowjacket. "We'll have those guys give away their own position, and take us to their boss... and then we'll kick his butt!"

"I'd advise you to be careful about that, though... you are enthusiastic, young man, but you are not taking into account that you are dealing with a bunch of criminals here." Arley warned him. "It wouldn't be strange if they were actually allowing you to follow them to their base... where they have a trap or an ambush set up and ready. Do not go there without making sure you are ready for everything."

"Is that so?" Oshawott said with a frown, as Jonathan and Abelia looked at each other in wonder, reflecting on the older man's words. Now that they thought about that, they had to admit that Arley had a very good point. "Well... Jonathan, Abelia... I think Arley is right, we might want to be careful about that. Beedrill, you go try to find out where the enemies are hiding. We'll be waiting for you here and work up a plan in order to catch those guys off guard. We definitely don't wanna walk into a trap."

"Right..." Abelia said, gently stroking one of Beedrill's arms with her dainty hand. "Beedrill, be careful... try to keep a safe distance, and try to come back as soon as you can!"

The gigantic wasp did a salute with one of her drill-arms. "Will do, Abelia! Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!" she buzzed, before taking to the air and starting to follow the Pokemon Pinchers. Venipede nodded as he watched Beedrill soar in the distance, then turned to Abelia and rubbed Abelia's shoulder with one of his legs, reassuring her.

"Don't worry, Abelia... Beedrill knows what she's doing! She will certainly be back safely!" he stated, with the silver-haired girl nodding in assent, and Jonathan placing a hand on her shoulder, his eyes affixed to the point where Beedrill had disappeared to.

oooooooooo

"Hmm... I see... so, it seems those two trainers are nothing to sneeze at." Green Eyes, the leader of the Pokemon Pinchers HQ on Dolce Island, said to himself after taking a good look at the images flashing on the screens in front of him, showing how Jonathan, Abelia and Arley were taking down his minions. There was something almost admirable in the way those children were giving it their all, happily meddling in grown-ups' business without a care in the world... that, and the fact that very few people in Oblivia ever became Pokemon trainers made him think those two were worthy of respect.

Of course, not that this was going to stop him from trying to defeat them and getting them away from interfering with his organization's plans. They had gone quite far already, and he was not about to let the plan fall apart because of a couple of young upstarts. "Fine then... I'll try and take care of those kids myself. They'd better not expect to have as easy a time as they had with my minions... I have already gotten an idea of how to work around their strong points."

Snapping his fingers, Green Eyes called a Pokemon Pincher grunt at his side, and as the grunt bowed respectfully, he gave his orders. "Have the evacuation ready in case the battle does not go well for me, and make sure all the artifacts we gathered are on our main ship." he stated calmly. "We need to make sure our work does not go to waste."

"Of course, sir." the grunt answered. "What are we to do with the Pokemon we captured?"

Green Eyes thought about it a little. "They could be useful for our plans, that much I can agree with... but to be fair, at this point, they will probably end up being an hindrance if this base were to fall. Plus, we can easily catch other Pokemon to substitute them - it's not like we can't find Pokemon who are equal to them or even better. Well then, just let them go. We have bigger things to worry about, and I'm sure Kokona Villagegot the message that they should not mess with us."

"Understood, sir." the grunt saluted and went back to his job, as Green Eyes took a Pokeball out of his belt and stepped towards the door. A glint of maliciousness flashes through his uncovered eye as he adjusted his green trenchcoat, spinning a Pokeball in the palm of one hand.

"As for me, I'll see whether those kids are really that strong... or if they only got a lucky fluke." he stated criptically.

oooooooooo

Sitting down on some bare rocks in the clearing where they had fought the Pinchers, Jonathan and Abelia were still waiting for the girl's Beedrill to return from her recon flight, and Abelia was now absent-mindedly moving the leaves lying on the ground with the tip of one of her feet, silently hoping that her first evolved Pokemon was going to return safe and sound. Arley and his Timburr, for their part, stood in silence, standing guard for anything the Pokemn Pinchers might have tried to do.

For several minutes, the small team stayed like this, waiting for good news to arrive... and finally, they did arrive in the form of a loud buzzing sound that had Abelia spring to her feet and look upwards, followed soon after by her Venipede, who shook his antennae and his tails in excitement, recognizing that buzz despite the fact that only a short time had passed ever since he had heard it for the first time. "There she is! Beedrill is here!" the armored bug exclaimed.

Abelia smiled in relief and Jonathan gave a thumbs upwhen the buzzing sound got louder and the huge wasp gently lowered herself towards the ground, greeting the team with a wave of her drill-arm. "Here I am, everyone! I took a good look at where those guys were hiding... and I can take you there in a snap!" she buzzed happily.

"Awesome! Good work, Beedrill!" Abelia exclaimed, in a rare moment when she showed actual, genuine happiness. However, she soon turned back to her serious, aloof self and nodded to herself, kneeling slightly so that Venipede could easily skitter from her shoulder to the ground. "Well then... let's work up a plan to catch those guys by surprise. If we are lucky, we will be able to clear them up and recover what was stolen from Cocona Village!"

Arley seemed to think about it for a moment, then turned to Abelia's Beedrill. "Okay, Beedrill... can you give me a rough idea of what the entrance to their HQ is like? That way, we can think up a better plan."

"Sure, no problem about that." Beedrill answered. "From what I was able to see, the entrance to their place is nothing more than a large tunnel dug inside the rock of a tall cliff, hidden behind a series of large tropical bushes. Which would be a good place for an ambush."

"Yeah... we need to think of a way to approach that place without being seen..." Jonathan murmured to himself. "Does any of you have an idea on how to do it?"

"Actually, I think I already have some." Arley answered with a sagely nod. "It will takesome skill and subtlety, but I think we can take them."

oooooooooo

Some time later, the trio had managed to reach the place Beedrill had seen the Pokemon Pinchers disappear into, unimpeded by anyone. Which, in Arley's book, was already a sign that their enemies had laid a trap for them - it was just too good to be true. Right now, the team was hiding in the thick bushes close to the cliff Beedrill had flown to earlier, and Abelia's Venonat was carefully peeking out of their hideout, seeing a rather large opening in the tall cliff. There were no guards around, and there didn't seem to be traps around anywhere... but now that the upstart Pokemon trainers had gotten Arley's warning, they knew it was not necessarily a good thing.

"There seems to be no one around... it's like they're purposefully letting us through." the furry Bug / Poison type commented, waving his short antennae around in order to ascertain whether what he was seeing was what they were getting. "Still, I have this uneasy feeling... I can feel the presence of several people around here, and I don't think they're around here to sightsee."

"Your Venonat's right, kiddo." Arley said. "Remember, Dolce Island was never a place where humans went that often, and Pokemon always considered this place as a safe haven for themselves only. If there are so many humans around, that can only mean those Pinchers are still around and are preparing a nasty surprise for us."

"Still, we have to go forward and face them, if we are to help Cocona Village." Jonathan answered. "Mr. Arley, do you have any idea what we should do in case there's a trap waiting for us beyond that opening?"

The older man thought about it for a while, with his Timburr staring at him in the hopes he could come up with an idea to allow them to get inside the Pokemon Pinchers' HQ without undue risk... and soon after, Arley smirked slightly to himself and nodded, having just had what could be a good idea. "Listen, kids... I'm willing to bet my shoestrings those guys have left a trap right beyond the entrance to catch you all off guard. Therefore... well, let's not disappoint them, right?"

That had the team puzzled, and Jonathan's Oshawott scratched his forehead in a clueless manner. "Huh? I'm afraid I don't get it. How are we supposed to do this? Are you suggesting we actually fall into that trap?" he asked. "And if we do that... how are we supposed to get out of this place alive?"

"Patience, young 'uns, patience. I wasn't done explaining my idea." Arley answered, before taking a look at Abelia's Venonat. "Hey, girlie... your Venonat can use some Psychic-type attacks, right? I know this kind of Pokemon learn Confusion pretty early."

Abelia and Venonat looked at each other for a moment, trying to guess what the man was hinting at. "Well... I do know the Confusion attack, and with time, I'll get to learn even powerful attacks such as Psybeam or Psychic. But how are they going to be useful here... oh, wait! I think I have half an idea!"

"What?" Abelia asked. "What do you mean? How are your Psychic-type attack going to save us from... whatever trap those scoundrels have set up?"

"Remember, Abelia... my eyes can see much better than a normal human's." Venonat explained. "If I go forward in that tunnel, I stand a better chance of seeing the traps before you do, and if I can see where they are, I can use my psychic powers to activate the switches... without us being in the danger zone!"

"Why, that's actually a pretty clever idea!" Jonathan exclaimed, slamming a fist in the palm of his other hand. "Alright then, we can go with that. Thanks for helping us out, mister!"

"Heh. Just be glad I've got a bit of a soft spot for youngsters like ya." Arley answered gruffly. "You struck oil this time, kiddos, and I was itchin' to give some payback to those Pokemon Pinchers scoundrels... but remember, you ain't always goin' to have someone else ya can count on. I know you two wanna become Pokemon trainers, which is somethin' you don't see every day in this place... so let me give ya an advice, and try to become as skilled as you can, as quickly as possible. The world of Pokemon hides a lot of dangers... and many trainers start their journey without really understanding what is it they're getting into. Make sure not to fall victims to your own naivete."

"We... we will make sure of that, Mr. Arley." Abelia answered. "I guess... we hadn't really thought much about that, when we set forth."

"Hey, we can still remedy that, right?" Jonathan asked. "As soon as we take out these Pokemon Pinchers, we'll take our time training our team and making sure we strengthen our teams... and perhaps we'll catch a few more Pokemon as well."

"That's a good idea, kids. But remember that it's not just the number of Pokemon you've got or how strong they are that counts." Arley answered with a nod. "The most important thing is, how deep the bond between you and your Pokemon is. Remember, Pokemon aren't weapons to be used against your enemies. They are living, breathing, thinking creatures who have much to offer to us humans, and they are our companions, not our slaves. This is the most basic thing a Pokemon trainer should remember... and anyone else who lives along with Pokemon, for that matter."

"We know that... and we will do our best to make sure other people know this as well." Jonathan said gently, scratching his Oshawott behind hie ear. Abelia, for her part, was affectionately stroking Venonat's fur, causing the Bug / Poison type to move his antennae from one side to the other in satisfaction. Satisfied that everything was under control, the young boy nodded to the silver-haired girl, and they both stood up. "Okay then... we get in there, take out the traps, and find their boss. Then we kick his ass. Sounds simple enough... so, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Way ahead of you, Jonathan." Abelia said, taking the first step out of their hiding place as they got to the opening in the cliff. The girl let her Venonat go forward, and the hairy gnat quickly skittered forward and took a peek inside the natural tunnel... only to motion for the rest of the team to follow him inside as he was sure that there was no menace in sight.

"There seems to be nobody here as well, guys... we'll press forward and see if there are any traps around." Venonat stated with a short sigh. "If you're all here, we can go!"

"Everybody ready, Venonat!" Oshawott said. Venonat nodded and began advancing in the tunnel, his compound eyes scanning every single place in order to spot anything that might have been suspicious. Taking extreme care, the team went forward still, until the light of the entrance was gone in the distance, and their path was only illuminated by a few lamps hanging to the walls. The silence was eerie and disquieting, only interrupted by their steps on the levigated stone floor... and nobody dared to speak, for fear of distracting Venonat and causing him to miss a small, vital clue.

Finally, after what looked like an eternity, the furry gnat halted in the middle of the path and waved his antennae, signalling for the rest of the team to stop... and as soon as they did so, Venonat pointed to what looked like a completely empty section of corridor directly in front of them. The Bug / Poison Pokemon emitted a Supersonic attack, sending a series of inaudible waves at the corridor, frowning slightly when his acute hearing perceived something off in the echo. He then carefully approached the place he suspected, and concentrated briefly, sending a Confusion attack at the floor.

"Well, looks like he did find a trap of sorts..." Timburr stated, carefully watching the hairy bug at work. Under the pressure of Venonat's psychic powers, the floor actually seemed to recede, revealing a pressure panel rigged to go down as soon as something heavy enough stepped upon it! Immediately after, a mechanism activated, and another panel slid open in the ceiling, dropping a large, yet incredibly tight, net upon anyone who might have been under the place! Which, luckily, meant nobody at that particular moment. Venonat jumped away in order to avoid getting caught, but he was already far enough that the net posed no threat to him. The net quickly clung to the ground via a series of small hooks lining its sides... but all members of the small team were far away, and quite safe!

"Phew! We would probably have fallen for that trap, had we simply gone forward..." Jonathan commented with a relieved sigh. He approached the net and examined it by touching it with his fingertips, which revealed to him that it was made in iron-hard fibers! "Wow, and this net is pretty resistant too! We would have been in a bit of a pinch if we had been caught by that! I sure am glad we had Venonat to help us out... thanks, little guy, I owe you one!"

"Oh, don't mention it..." Venonat waved it off modestly. "Rather, we need to be careful still. That might not have been the only trap around..."

"He's right. We have no way of knowing what lies ahead." Arley answered. "Keep doing what we've done until now, though, and I'm sure all will be okay."

"I guess so..." Abelia murmured as the trio of trainers, along with their respective Pokemon, continued on their way, sidestepping the net before walking through the corridor and getting deeper and deeper inside the cave. Venonat was still monitoring the place with a combination of his keen eyes and his Supersonic attack... but this time, there didn't seem to be any more traps, at least until the corridor finally exited in what looked like a large reception, decorated with lavish furniture and an elegant carpeting, whose walls in white marble tiles seemed to almost gleam under the artificial lights hanging from the ceiling. Shielding their eyes from the intense light, Jonathan and Abelia entered the room with extreme care... only to find themselves in front of a tall, fierce-looking man wearing an elegant dark green trenchcoat and heavy boots, stending in front of them with two Pokemon at his sides - one of them was some sort of a strange plant with a yellow bell-shaped body and a wide gaping mouth with pink lips, no arms nor legs, and green, razor sharp leaf-like appendages acting as limbs; the other, a white mushroom-like Pokemon whose cap greatly resembled a Pokeball, and whose white stem-like body sported stubby, digit-less arms, a large pink mouth, and pinprick-like dark eyes. A little farther away stood four grunts, two male and two female, all of them dressed in the adventurer-like neutral clothing the upstart trainers had seen on the other members of the organization!

"Oops... guess this is the welcome commitee..." Jonathan murmured. "And... those two Pokemon would be?"

He and Abelia took out their Pokedexes and pointed them at the Pokemon standing near the leader, and the electronic devices quickly began talking in their electronic voices. "Weepinbell. The Flycatcher Pokemon. Armed with razor-sharp leaves, it uses toxic pollen to immobilize its prey, after attracting it with a sweet-smelling acid. Its neutralizing fluid prevents Weepinbell from falling prey to its own acid." Jonathan's Pokedex said.

"Foongus, the Mushroom Pokemon." Abelia's Pokedex went on. "It lures people in with its Pokeball pattern, then releases poisonous spores. The reason why it resembles a Pokeball is unknown."

"Well, well... I can see you're quite well-equipped." the man in the trenchcoat said, passing a hand through his messy green hair that made his head look almost like a bush. "And you managed to avoid the trap I set for you, quite ingenious on your part. I can see you've got potential, so... allow me to introduce myself. My name is Green Eyes, and I'm an Admin for the Pokemon Pinchers. I have been waiting for two skilled upstart trainers like you two."

"Green Eyes?" Abelia fired back annoyedly. "Yeah, sure, pleased to meet you. Should we be honored you set up such a welcome party for us?"

"Ouch!" Oshawott lamented, shaking visibly at the sight of the two Grass-types close to the Pokemon Pincher Admin. "Careful, Abi, you don't wanna piss off the guy who has two Grass-types at his back and call."

Green Eyes, however, did not seem to take offense at Abelia's sarcasm. "You've got fire in yourself, young girl... I like that in a potential minion! You two have definitely got the skills necessary to aspire to greatness within our organization, and it would be a crying shame to waste such great prospects as you... therefore, I thought you would appreciate if I gave you a chance to surrender to us, and join our ranks!"

"What?" Jonathan exclaimed in outrage. "What are you on, you weirdo? Why should we join you?"

"It's all pretty simple, actually..." the green-haired Admit went on. "We, the Pokemon Pinchers, are one of the elite secret organizations in the world of Pokemon trading and collecting... and if you joined us, you two would have the chance to acquire a lot more Pokemon... rare and powerful ones at that! You would soon number among the greatest Pokemon trainers ever to live... and that's not even talking about the real goal our organization has... something so huge you wouldn't even imagine it! If you want to realize your potential as trainers, and climb to the top of the world... the Pokemon Pinchers are really your only logical choice! So, what do you say?"

Arley was about to step forward and yell at the kids not to fall for the man's flattery... but when Jonathan tightened his fists and shouted at Green Eyes, he was glad to see that there was no reason to be alarmed. "You think this is a funny joke, huh? You guys say you have a good goal and all, and yet you steal Pokemon and mess up Cocona's traditions with your criminal acts! How stupid do you think I would have to be to fall for your tricks!"

"Yeah, the same goes for me!" Abelia answered curtly, nodding to her Venonat, who simply smiled at her. "I will become the best Bug-type trainer in the world, and I don't need you to hold my hand about that!"

"Well said, kids..." Arley answered.

Green Eyes shook his head in mock sorrow. "Is that so? Such a shame... I thought you were smarter than that, kids... oh, well, guess I'll find someone else who is as capable as you are. You two... aren't indespensable to us. Therefore... everyone, take these rugrats down and get their Pokemon!" he said, motioning for his men to attack as Venonat got on the defensive again, and Oshawott grit his teeth in nervousness while Grenn Eyes' Foongus slowly started crawling towards him...

oooooooooo

TO BE CONTINUED...