A/N: Well here we are with another chapter! Last time Steve caught his first Pokemon, but it ran away. :( Now him and Sammy are rushing to Pewter City to save an injured Weedle that he found, as a victim of a vicious Beedrill attack. On the other side of the forest, Phil and John managed to dispatch some Neo-Rocket privates after a long session of training. We join Sammy and Steve now.
Steve POV
We ran along the dirty path through Viridian Forest. I panted along, Arrow keeping a lookout around my neck, and I held the injured Weedle in my arms. Sammy panted along beside me. She held Thumper in her arms as well, with Aria running beside her. The Bulbasaur seemed to be the only one enjoying the run, as she seemed to savor the exercise. We sprinted along the weaving path through the forest, coming again to the same clearing.
"Damn!" yelled Sammy. "That's the 3rd time we've gone in a circle!" In her frustration she laid her head against a tree, bonking it several times. While she was doing this a small yellow Pokemon waddled out from under the bush. Thumper bounced over to it and began to talk to it.
"Zuuuu?" called Azurill. "Zuu Zuuu. Zuu?"
"Pika Pikapi. Pika. Pii?" The yellow Pokemon responded. Thumper responded by bouncing over to me and pointing to the injured Weedle in my arms.
"Piika. PIKAPI!" With that, the Pokemon rushed forth onto the path. Sammy and I ran after it, but it was all we could do to keep up. Soon we were panting, but the helpful Pokemon kept up a relentless pace. Eventually we broke onto a wide path that was strewn with many trainers. They were training their Pokemon in every direction you could look, but there was no time to stop and battle, as our guide was already through the gate. Then we saw the sign. 'Welcome to Pewter City'. We breathed a collective sigh of relief and exhaustion as we struggled into the Pokemon Center, my legs almost needed healing more than the Weedle.
A pink haired lady similar to the one in Viridian City sat at the counter. Sammy walked up to the Nurse Joy and said, "We have an emergency job for you. We found a Weedle being attacked by Beedrill in the Forest. Is there anything you can do?"
I put the Weedle on the counter. Nurse Joy looked at it, "Hmm. I don't know if it will make it. It has severe lacerations up and down its body. It would need some medicinal cream from faraway Cianwood City in Johto. I'll take it back to Dr. Joy and see if she can help it."
"Thank you." I replied. We sat down to wait. Originally it was good to rest, but soon anxiety over the Weedle's health took over. Arrow and Thumper played on some empty seats next to us, and Aria lay down for a nap. I though she deserved it, after running that far.
We rested a while longer and then I noticed the yellow Pokemon sleeping by Sammy's feet. I realized that I had never scanned it with my Pokedex.
Pikachu, the Mouse Pokemon. It occasionally uses an electric shock to recharge a fellow Pikachu that is in a weakened state.
The minutes dragged by. I slowly drifted off into a deep sleep.
I was awoken by the soft voice of a Nurse Joy. "Sir, your Weedle is alive and well. It turns out we had some of the medicinal cream on hand. He is resting now, but you can pick him up in the morning.
"Myweedlewhat?" I said groggily.
"Yes, your Trainer ID is 417394, correct?" I fumbled for my trainer card, and pulling it out of my wallet, I realized that I was indeed 417394. "Well, this is you Weedle." the Nurse Joy said. "During our medical examination, we determined the Weedle was licensed to a trainer, and that that trainer was you.
I started to regain control of my brain, but I was still tired. "What happened to it? I said sleepily.
"Our best guess is that it was involved in some sort of..."
Wesley POV
Well, now I'm not going to let some stupid hospital nurse with pink hair tell my life story, am I. No. The answer is no. I ran away from Steve because well, I don't know. I figured I would be able to do it. I was young and careless. Actually, that was less that 24 hours ago. Scratch that. So anyway, I had distanced myself when the Beedrill that had attacked Sammy and Aria came zooming in. They said something about 'dishonoring the hive', beat the living shit out of me, and then flew away. Now I assume I was found lying there by some trainer, and taken here, where I have a PokeDrip Medical Technologies (PDMT) thing in my abdomen. Whatever. Anyway, I wonder if Steve will be here to get me. He seemed like a better trainer than most.
Sammy POV
When I woke up, Steve looked very, very excited. "Sammy, Sammy! It was Wesley! They found him!"
I was astonished to see the yellow Pokemon hop onto my legs, "Pikapika pi." It seemed to say, "It was all me."
"What do you mean Wesley?" I asked.
"The injured Weedle was Wesley!"
"Oh, cool." I said without interest. "Whats this thing doing here?" I pointed to the yellow mouselike Pokemon.
"That's the Pikachu that brought us here." The Pikachu nuzzled my leg. "I think it likes you." Steve said.
"Well Aria," I addressed my Bulbasaur. "Do you think Pikachu should come with us?" Aria nodded vigorously. I turned to the Pikachu, "Do you want to come with-"
Pikachu swatted the PokeBall out of my hands and jumped into it. The ball barely beeped and the Pikachu was caught. "Oo-kay." I said, "I'll take that as a yes. I'll call you Carla, I think." The newly christened Carla jumped into my arms and snuggled me.
After that, we slept like logs until the morning.
I woke up around 8:00 in one of the Pokemon Center's cots. It seems like they did not want trainers just crashing in the lobby. I could understand that. I mean, if I owned a Pokemon Center, then I don't think that I would want my valuable space being taken up by trainers sleeping. I reached for my belt, and a wave of panic struck me when I didn't feel the red and white balls around my waist. I looked around and was relieved when I saw them sitting on the bedside table next to me.
"Well, Sammy, ready to move out? John and Phil have arrived." said Steve, coming into the room.
"Yup, ready as I'll ever be." Scooping up my Pokeballs, I walked out of the room after Steve. Coming into the lobby, I saw John and Phil sitting down. "When did you guys arrive?" I asked.
"Early this morning." said Phil. John then said, "We have a big day of training ahead of us."
"Aren't you going to come challenge the gym with us?" asked Steve.
"Well, the thing about that is..." John looked down. He seemed that it was hard to say whatever he was going to say next. After hearing what came out of his mouth next, it would have been hard for me, too. John swallowed hard. "I have decided to stay in Viridian Forest with Phil, at least for the time being." No one spoke for a long time. I imagined how hard it must be for Steve, to leave his best friend since first grade like this. Finally he stammered, "Well, if that's what you really want to do, I respect your decision."
We stood outside the Pokemon Center, waving goodbye to John and Phil. After they dissapeared into the dark depths of the forest. Steve stared straight ahead for a long time. I just sat on the bench, waiting for Steve. After a short while, Steve broke his gaze and turned to me. "Well," he said, "do we have a gym to take on?"
A/N: Well, shocker! First Wesley coming back, and then John's sudden departure. Quite an emotional chapter. Frankly, the reason I got rid of John (for the moment anyway) was that it was just too hard to write for 3 different protagonists. He will probably be back, but probably not for a little while. Anyway, please R&R!
Carla: "Review for my unrivaled navigation skills!"
