Whew. Sorry I'm late. I would've updated this sooner, but my file got corrupted somehow. And now I have to rewrite this and chapter 10 all over again. With that in mind, I'm wondering if I should update the fic as soon as the chapter is finished. But really, I'm trying as hard as I can. Please understand that.

Chapter 9 - Ekans' Hunger

About 20 minutes later…

David and Faith were once again on the road. David was a little miffed that he had to get his picture taken twice, since he sneezed during the first take.

"I still liked the first one better," Faith said.

"Well I guess you would." David asked before setting his eyes forward. "Whoa…"

Route 502 certainly had more trees and tall grass than 501. And just as Kimberly said, a river about 10 feet in width flowed right through the middle of it all. And right over that river was a wooden bridge that looked very old. And though they couldn't be seen, the voices of various wild Pokémon could be heard all around the two. But while David paused to take in the sight, Faith immediately ran ahead.

"Faith, where are you…?"

"We'll cover more ground if we split up," Faith said. "Let me know if you see any Marill!"

David sweatdropped as she ran ahead. Well, I'm glad she's all psyched. David then put a hand to his chin as he walked towards the bridge. Now, let's review what I know already. What is Marill? It's blue. It's chubby. It has big ears. And its tail works like a float. Now, I know what it looks like. How do I find it? Ooh! I know! David fished around in his duffel bag and took out a Poké ball. "Cyndaquil, come on out!"

Cyndaquil emerged from the white light and looked up at his trainer.

"Hey Cyndaquil," David said, "think you can help me sniff out some Marill?"

Cyndaquil nodded once and started to sniff the ground to pick up a scent. It then started to toddle across the wooden bridge with David close behind, still thinking hard.

That sniffer of Cyndaquil's will be a big help, David thought. But still, I can't help but wonder if Cyndaquil knows what a Marill smells like. Or even if he does, it won't help if Marill is in the water. However… David stopped when he heard something rustling behind him. "Wait, Cyndaquil."

David ran back to the edge of the bridge to see one of the chubby mouse Pokémon emerge from the shrubs nearby the river. It glanced around warily before staring up at David as he and Cyndaquil drew steadily closer.

There it is! David thought. But what is it looking for?

"Marill – the Aqua Mouse Pokémon. Using its tail as a float, it dives underwater. It likes eating plants that grow on river bottoms."

What the…? David thought suddenly. That wasn't my Pokédex. He looked to his left to see Faith right next to him. Her eyes were sparkling like diamonds and her Pokédex shook in her hand.

"Uh oh."

"There it is," Faith said. "It's even cuter up close! I'm gonna catch it!" Faith immediately ran forward and fished for a Poké ball from her handbag. But her moxy was quickly cooled off by Marill's well-aimed Water Gun to the face. She stood completely still, dripping wet once again.

"That was uncalled for," Faith said, grumpily.

"Actually, it was just being cautious," David said. "I noticed earlier that this Marill was on the lookout for something. It was like…I dunno…guard duty or something."

"But what's this one guarding?"

"Beats me."

Suddenly, a hissing sound was heard. David froze completely as an Ekans slithered between his ankles and raised its head upon meeting the Marill, who held up its arms in an attempt to block it. Ekans hissed angrily, forcing Marill to quiver in fear.

"What is that Ekans doing?!" Faith asked.

"I d-d-don't know," David stuttered, "b-but it's freaking me out!"

Ekans lunged forward and sank its fangs into Marill's right ear, causing it to cry out in pain.

"Oh no!" Faith shouted. "Don't you hurt that Marill! Wildleaf, come out and use Razor Leaf!"

"No, wait!"

It was too late. Wildleaf had already emerged from the white light and face down Ekans. It turned to Wildleaf, who swung its big leaf and launched a volley of sharp-edged leaves at the Ekans. However, Ekans didn't flinch from the attack.

"Wha…what happened?!" Faith shouted, stunned.

"I was trying to say," David said, "Grass-attacks don't work well against poison-types!"

"You could've told me that sooner!"

Amidst the argument, Chikorita had fallen on its side after getting struck by several poison needles launched from Ekans' mouth.

"Oh…" Faith looked shocked as Ekans opened its jaws wide. "What do I do now?!"

"I've got this!" David said. "Cyndaquil, protect Wildleaf! Use Ember fast!"

Cyndaquil's back immediately flared up before it shot a flurry of sparks from its mouth. Ekans nearly fell over from the attack, and judging by a certain smoking spot on its body, it must've gotten burned in the process. Ekans then proceeded to slither into the river in order to cool off its burn.

"That takes care of that," David said, wiping his brow. Thank God it's gone.

"Oh, Wildleaf…" Faith bent down next to her Chikorita and scooped her up in her arms. "I'm so sorry…"

"Chi…" Wildleaf said, weakly.

A little later…

Faith continued to look at Wildleaf in concern as she and David followed the Marill behind the bushes. David already gave Wildleaf some Antidote that he bought at the Mart in Lazuli Town, but despite that, Faith was still worried.

"Some trainer I am," Faith said, gloomily, "I can't even watch my own Pokémon's back during battle."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," David said. "It's not all your fault. I should've told you that Poison attacks are stronger against Grass-type Pokémon." I could've done more if I didn't freeze up. Crap. I hate being afraid!

In a short while, the Marill led them out to a clearer area in the tall grass. In that area, a slightly smaller Marill was seen guarding three blue oval shaped objects.

"They're…eggs!" Faith said cheerfully. "That smaller Marill must be the mother."

"So does this mean you're the father?" David asked the bigger Marill, who nodded in response. "I think I'm starting to get the picture here. I've read that Ekans like to eat Pokémon eggs. That one must've found out about this nest somehow."

The two Marill looked at their eggs, then at each other in concern. Then, Faith crouched down next to them and smiled.

"Don't worry, you two," Faith said. "We'll help protect these eggs."

David raised an eyebrow at her. "We will? I mean, don't you have a Contest to get to?"

"Well, it's not like the Contest Hall is going anywhere," Faith said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Besides that, we have to help those Marill protect the eggs, at least until they hatch. Honestly, stop using your brain and start using your heart!"

David looked shocked for a second, then scratched his head. "All right. I'll help too. At least until the eggs hatch." But who knows how long that'll take?!

At that instant, David heard more hissing noises and spun around. "Sounds like that Ekans is finished licking its wounds."

"All right," Faith said, all gung-ho-like. "This time, I'll-"

"I'll face Ekans this time."

Faith's eyes widened. "But…David…?"

"You saw what happened with Wildleaf last time," David said. "Cyndaquil and Spearow have a better shot at this. We can handle it."

"That's not it," Faith said, looking down. "Your legs are shaking like crazy."

David did indeed feel his knees knocking together and also felt a bead of sweat roll down his head. "Uh…yeah. If you could just give me a push…"

Faith smacked herself in the head. Boys…

---- (-o-) ----

Once again, Faith and David were in front of the bushes. David was sweating quite a bit because he was facing not one, but two Ekans this time. He recognized the first one right off the bat, but the second one looked a little bigger and even more intimidating.

I'm okay, David thought to himself. I'm perfectly fine. I'm not afraid…

The larger Ekans hissed angrily, causing David to flinch. I WANT MY MOMMY!

His eyes widened, however, when he felt a small hand on his shoulder. "Faith? What are you…?"

"I know you're afriad of being poisoned again," Faith said. "If it happened to me too, I'm sure I'd understand how you're feeling. But this is different from back then. Now you have your Pokémon, your friends to help you out. You also have-HERE IT COMES!"

The larger Ekans was ready to sink its fangs into David's leg, but it was stopped cold by a well-aimed Water Gun to the face. A vein popped in Ekans' head as it leered at the offender: that very same Marill with the bite marks still in its ear, with a mean-looking scowl. The big Ekans hissed angrily once again before lunging at the Marill.

"Oh no you don't!" David shouted, tossing out a Poké ball. "Quick, Cyndaquil! Use Ember fast!"

Cyndaquil emerged from the ball and shot a flurry of sparks at the big Ekans, causing it to turn his way instead.

"Now use Tackle!"

Both Cyndaquil and Marill both charged down the Ekans, sending it careening into the river.

"Yay! We won!" Faith cheered, hugging her Chikorita tightly.

"Not yet," David reminded her. "There's still one more." David looked around and saw that the first Ekans had already slithered into the tall grass. "Oh crap! Cyndaquil! Marill! After it!"

Cyndaquil and Marill both charged into the grass after the Ekans which, by this point, had already approached the nest. The mother Marill had raised her arms to protect the eggs, but Ekans merely bared its fangs. However, before it could get any closer, it cried out in pain after both Cyndaquil and the father Marill had jumped on Ekans' tail. Ekans tried desperately to squirm away and attack the mother Marill, but it stopped when the eggs started to glow.

David and Faith ran back into the tall grass to see what was happening and everyone had to cover their eyes as the eggs glowed brighter and started to crack. Faith, however, was the only one who would venture closer. When the light dimmed out, everyone else opened their eyes and saw three tiny Azurill fast asleep. The one in the middle was the first to wake up, and the first thing it saw was…

"They're…adorable!"

That, of course, was Faith. Azurill looked up at Faith and smiled as she scooped it up in her arms and hugged it happily.

David blinked for a second and said, "Uh…Faith? Don't you think you should leave parenting to…I dunno…the parents?"

Faith suddenly stopped and looked down at the two Marill, who simply stared back up at her.

"Sorry," Faith said. "I got carried away again." She then put down the little Azurill, who hopped over to its parents. By this time, the other two Azurill had awoken and decided to play with the first one. While Faith was entranced by this scene, David noticed Ekans slithering away into the tall grass behind them.

"I guess it wasn't interested anymore," David said, wiping his brow, "now that the eggs have hatched. So what do you wanna do now, Faith?"

Faith wasn't listening. She was still watching the Azurill, who were now playing with the Marill parents.

"Faith!"

"Yah?"

"I asked you what you want to do," David said, folding his arms. "You said you wanted to catch a Marill, right?"

The two parents immediately widened their eyes at Faith. She didn't even bother to turn around, though. She just lowered her head.

"Don't be so tactless, David," Faith said. There was no ounce of cheerfulness in her voice that time. "I do want to catch one, but I'd feel bad about splitting up the family. No one deserves to do such a thing. Am I wrong, David?"

David's eyes widened. Not only did she say something incredibly deep, but he could've sworn he saw her shiver for a second. "No, that's true."

"Besides," Faith said, standing up. "I'm sure there are plenty of other Marill around here. I'll just catch one of them instead."

"Well, if you say so," David said, pushing up his glasses.

Faith walked over to join David, but stopped when she noticed one of the Azurill hopping tearfully over to hear and wrapping its tail around her leg. She recognized it immediately as the one she played with first.

"What's wrong?" Faith asked as she picked it up. "Why are you crying?"

Azurill stared up at Faith with tearful eyes. "Azuuuuu…"

"I think I know." David put a hand on Faith's shoulder. "Looks like Azurill wants you to be its parent now."

"Really??" Faith said with a blush. "I mean, I'd love to, but you're so young and…what do your parents think?"

She looked down at the two Marill parents, who looked at each other for a second and nodded at Faith. David smiled as Faith happily hugged her new Azurill.

"So…what do you think I should name it?"


Update:

Faith Treeborne's Party
- Chikorita
- Azurill

I like how this one turned out. Faith catches an Azurill, but what was she so sad about just earlier? We'll find out later. In the next chapter, Faith and David are getting closer and closer to Peridot City, but not before getting challenged to a battle. Who is this "gatekeeper" of Peridot City? Prepare to be surprised.