Hello and welcome to Chapter 9 of Pokémon Journey: Hoenn!

Last chapter saw Nicola get lost in Petalburg Woods, where she befriended and caught a wild shroomish (who she nicknamed 'Mushy') before being found by Richard and Chena and guided back to the camp the boys had set up in her absence.

Upload Date: 30th April 2017


Chapter 9: The Missing Guidebook

Petalburg Woods, Hoenn

9:36am, 11th April 2006

Richard blearily opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times. He laid still for a few long seconds, contemplating, or rather, psyching himself up to haul himself out of his sleeping bag. Even though he was still in the tent, it was still bright. It must be a really sunny day outside if it was strong enough to penetrate through the canopy of Petalburg Woods.

He forced himself to unzip his sleeping bag and half-heartedly rolled himself out, coming to rest in James' empty space. Of course, he was already up, being the busybody that he was. In fact, Richard thought he could smell something cooking. A part of him envied James' capacity for early mornings, even as his sleeping bag called for his return.

Will, on the other hand, was still firmly tucked up in his sleeping bag, emitting the occasional snore as he peacefully dozed, dead to the world. There was no point disturbing his rest yet – James would do that once he'd finished preparing breakfast.

Richard reached for the zip to open the entrance to the boys' side of the tent. He stuck his head out and twitched his nose. Yep, James was definitely cooking something. A part of him wondered if he should offer to help – it was James who did this sort of thing most of the time, after all. But then again, it was a small stove and he didn't want to complicate things.

He was distracted by the moving of the zip on the other side of the communal area. Shortly, Nicola's face appeared, her eyes half-asleep, her hair dishevelled.

"Ah!" She uttered a brief cry as she spotted him.

Before Richard could say a word, she vanished back into her room, the zip whipping shut behind her.

"What was that about?" Richard mumbled to himself in confusion, shaking his head. He retreated back himself and zipped the room closed. He quickly got dressed. He contemplated brushing his hair, but decided to shake it up a bit with his hand and leave it at that. Only a few short minutes later, he was out in the communal area, pulling his shoes on.

"Oh, you're up?" James grinned at him as he stepped out of the tent. "Any sign of life from the others?"

"Nicola's up. I think she's getting dressed," Richard replied. "Will's still asleep."

"Could've guessed that!" James laughed. He prodded one of the pieces of bacon on the frying pan with a fork. "Breakfast will be soon; I'd better wake him up."

Richard pulled up a chair and sat by the stove to watch the cooking. He rubbed his eyes. The clearing they'd set up camp in looked completely different in the morning. It was strange how different a place seemed once he'd gotten used to it. It was like the clearing they'd first walked into yesterday was somewhere else entirely.

James returned from his mission, evidently disappointed by the level of effort required to rouse his sleeping brother. He took his place by the stove once again and continued cooking.

A short while afterwards, Nicola appeared. Dressed in her usual attire, her eyes were more alert now and her hair had been arranged into her normal style. As she stepped out of the tent, James excused himself and disappeared back inside again to have another go at waking Will.

"What was that about earlier?" Richard asked as he remembered.

"Nothing…" Nicola muttered. She walked over to the bushes, clutching a toothbrush in one hand and a tube of toothpaste in the other.

"You brush your teeth before you have breakfast?" Richard asked.

"You don't?" Nicola turned back to look at him, stunned.

"Well, since I'm about to eat, I might as well wait until after that," Richard explained. "Isn't it a bit pointless to clean your teeth and then immediately eat something?"

"I heard that it's best to clean your teeth before breakfast to get rid of any bacteria that gather while you're asleep," Nicola replied, turning away and squeezing some toothpaste onto her brush.

"Ehh, I guess it works either way." Richard shrugged.

James reappeared, this time with a reluctant Will in tow. "Breakfast will be ready soon," he said as he sat back down.

Nicola, her toothbrush in her mouth, nodded to show she understood.

"Smells good." Richard nodded with approval.

Once breakfast had finished cooking, they all gathered around and tucked in. Their pokémon were all released from their poké balls so that they could eat as well. There was little conversation as they focused on eating. Once all the food was gone, and Turkey and Will were finished fighting over the contents of the latter's plate, they quickly turned their attention to the plans for that day.

"I reckon that we should find the main path if we backtrack along that path," said James, pointing to one of the paths leading out of the clearing.

"Are you sure?" Richard asked, a puzzled look on his face. "Didn't we first arrive here from that direction?"

"I thought that was when we came back to the clearing after a quick scout around," Will said. He frowned. "It sounds like getting through Petalburg Woods isn't going to be as simple as we thought."

"Can Nulin and Turkey work out where the main path is from the air?" Nicola asked, glancing at the two flying types as they raced around the edge of the clearing, each trying to overtake the other.

"That'll be tricky," James replied. "The canopy makes it difficult to see where the minor paths are from above."

"Or Chena could try and trace our steps using his sense of smell," Richard suggested. The poochyena was currently tangling with Kipa and Kacha. Having eaten all their food, Charka and Naro were flaked out nearby, while the newest addition, Mushy was lazing nearby, happily soaking up the sun's rays as they streamed into the clearing.

"That could work… in theory," James said hesitantly. "But our scent from before might have already been lost overnight."

"Maybe Charka could burn the forest down," said Will, his tone half-joking. "That way it'd be easy to get through!"

"As a last resort!" James grinned at him. "Anyway, we'll work this out in a bit. Let's focus on taking the tent down and getting ready to move."

"Got it!" The others nodded.


Route 104 (Rustboro Side), Hoenn

7:15pm, 11th April 2006

As it turned out, finding the way back to the main path had been anything but simple. After a long day of wandering through the undergrowth and dark glades of Petalburg Woods, the group had failed completely to locate the main path. Fortunately, they'd managed to cross the forest anyway and, as evening approached, they'd finally emerged on the eastern side of the woods.

It was getting late and it didn't seem like there was going to be much of an opportunity to continue on the road to Rustboro City. Instead, they'd agreed to start searching for somewhere to stay that night, either a pokémon centre or something similar, of even just a good, safe place where they could pitch their tent.

Fortunately, they'd found a nice-looking inn which had space available while exploring the first village they came to. After booking out two rooms, the four of them had gathered in the boys' room so that they could discuss the plan for the following day.

"It should be an easy run straight to Rustboro from here," said James, pointing out the main road up Route 104. "The tricky bit was always going to be getting out of Petalburg Woods."

"Do you think we can get there by tomorrow?" Richard asked.

"Hmm." James pondered for a second. "Possibly, if we can keep up a good pace."

"Is there anything between here and Rustboro City?" Nicola asked.

"Well, there's a number of smaller towns in the area," James replied. "If you're worried about having to camp out again, I think we can avoid that."

"What's the terrain looking like?" Will peered over James' shoulder.

"Mostly flat," James replied. "The guidebook says that there are some rivers and lakes along our path, and it can get a bit marshy in places, but as long as we stick to the main path this time, we shouldn't have any problems."

"So, that's the route for tomorrow sorted then!" Richard lay back on his bed and stretched out.

"Everyone happy?" James looked around at the others.

"No problems here," said Will.

"Same." Nicola nodded.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Richard asked as everyone stood up.

"It's getting late," said Will. "Should we have something to eat?"

"You read my mind!" Nicola grinned. A frown suddenly crossed her face. "But this inn doesn't serve food, does it?"

"Only breakfast," Richard replied sadly. He looked over at James. "Does the guidebook recommend any good restaurants around here?"

"There are a couple that seem pretty good," James replied. "There's one that serves local specialities and one that serves more general food. Any preferences?"

"I'm all for the local specialities!" Richard declared.

"So am I," Will added.

"It's nice to try something new every once in a while." Nicola nodded.

"That's settled then." James snapped the guidebook shut and returned it to his bag. "Let's get moving – I'm starving!"

"It's a handy little guidebook, isn't it?" Nicola marvelled as they headed for the door.

"Given how cheap it was, I'm surprised by how useful it's been." James nodded. "We've got Will's map as a backup, but it's nice having additional information about everywhere we're going."

"I think that guidebook is deliberately aimed at trainers arriving from other regions," said Richard. "I haven't seen it being sold anywhere other than Littleroot Town."

"That just makes it all the more worthwhile holding onto it!" James grinned.

The four of them left the inn and set off into the village in search of the restaurant.


1:36pm, 12th April 2006

The sky had clouded over by the morning, when the group had set off from the inn to continue on their journey up to Rustboro City. Though the absence of the sun had left the air cooler than yesterday, it wasn't so cold as to be uncomfortable.

"Is this it?" Nicola asked as she walked up to the large road bridge ahead of them.

"I think so," said James.

"So, this is the Onga river?" Richard looked over the wide expanse of water that lay ahead. It was the largest they'd seen in Hoenn so far. It was far too wide for them to be able to cross it by wading or swimming, even if they'd been willing to consider it. Fortunately, the roads leading up from Petalburg Woods towards Rustboro City also needed to cross it. That meant that there were many bridges like the one ahead of them which led to the other side of the river.

"What are we waiting for?" Will started walking in the direction of the bridge. "Let's get moving."

"Right behind you," Richard replied with a grin. As he moved to join Will and Nicola, however, he noticed that James was rummaging through his backpack with an increasing urgency. "What's up, James?"

"I, uh, can't find the guidebook." James looked around, giving them an apologetic look.

"Did you lose it somewhere?" Nicola asked.

"I guess I must have done," James sighed in disappointment.

"You didn't leave it at the inn, did you?" Will walked back over towards them.

"No, you were definitely reading it at lunchtime." Richard shook his head.

"We haven't come that far since we had lunch," said Nicola. "We could head back quickly and look for it."

"Are you sure?" James asked, a troubled look on his face. "We can just use Will's map, you know."

"Your guidebook is better," Nicola replied.

"Hey!" Will cried, apparently taking offence at the suggestion.

"And you can only get them in Littleroot Town," Richard added. "We can't replace it easily."

"We're making good time anyway, so it's not a problem!" Nicola grinned.

"Thanks, guys," James replied. He stood up and shouldered his backpack. "I definitely remember taking the guidebook out at lunchtime, but I can't remember whether I put it back in my bag."

"It should be easy to find where we had lunch – it was next to that pretty pond, wasn't it?" Nicola asked.

"Yeah." Richard nodded. "If we retrace our steps from here, then we should be able to find it."

"Let's get moving then," said Will. "We won't find it if we just stand around here."

"Right! Let's go!" James nodded.


2:16pm, 12th April 2006

Backtracking all the way to the pond they'd eaten lunch next to, there was still no sign of the guidebook.

"I don't see anything around here," Nicola said as she scoured where they'd sat and had lunch for any sign of it.

"Have you checked the bushes?" Will called.

"Why would it be there?"

"It's worth a try!"

As he watched the other two search around, Richard turned to James. "You're sure that this was the last time you took it out, right?"

"Hmm." James frowned. "Did I take it out after that?"

"Ah!" Richard suddenly remembered. "Don't you remember? After we set off, we stopped on that bridge and you looked in the guidebook to make sure we were heading in the right direction."

"You're right!" James exclaimed. His face fell again. "But that means that the guidebook probably fell into the pond. If it's been there for over an hour, then it's probably already ruined."

"It's still worth looking," Richard replied encouragingly. "We can get Kipa or Toya to search underwater for us."

"You're right." James nodded. "Nicola, Will!"

As the others came over, James and Richard quickly explained the situation.

"Kipa's used to that kind of water – he'll have no trouble finding it!" Nicola nodded firmly.

"Let's go over and have a look," said Will.

The four trainers wandered over to the bridge over one end of the pond. Obviously, there was no sign of the guidebook on the bridge itself, so they started looking over the side and down at the murky water below. The thought of trying to find the guidebook in all that was a demoralising one.

"Go, Kipa!" Nicola called out Kipa. As the mudkip materialised on the bridge in front of her, she bent down to explain what she needed him to do.

"I think I remember now," said James, screwing his eyes shut as he concentrated on recalling all the details. "After we'd finished checking the guidebook, I decided to have a quick drink from my water bottle. I think I put the guidebook on the railing and must have forgotten about it when I put my water bottle back."

"So, it is in there," Nicola sighed. "You ready, Kipa?"

The mudkip nodded. He leapt from the bridge and landed with a splash in the water. A second later, his head reappeared above the surface as he spun around to look up at Nicola.

"Just keep looking around until you find something!" Nicola called. "It can't have gone far!"

Kipa nodded again and dove back beneath the surface.

"So, what can the rest of us do?" Nicola asked, turning back to look at the others.

"Well, unless you want to wade in there and help Kipa, there's not much we can do," Will replied.

"Is Toya not helping out with this search?" Richard asked.

"I guess he can." Will pulled out a poké ball and sent out Toya. "Help out Kipa," he said. "Try searching for the guidebook this side of the bridge."

Toya grinned confidently back and dove off the side of the bridge, landing in the water with a splash.

"The rest of us should split up and search around the edge of the pond," said James. "It might have been carried away by the wind or something."

"Like a lily pad?" Richard asked.

"Well, I guess?" James replied. "Where did that come from though?"

"Well…" Richard pointed. Out in the middle of the pond, a green lily pad was floating on the surface. Lying on top of it was something which looked suspiciously like a book.

"Did the guidebook fall off the bridge and land on that lily pad?" Nicola asked, stunned.

"I guess we'll see." James pulled out a poké ball. "Nulin, go and retrieve that book!"

Nulin let out a cry as he burst out of the ball. He immediately flew across the pond and dove towards the lily pad, slowing down as he approached.

However, just as he was about to reach it, the lily pad tipped slightly and a small, blue face popped up from beneath the water's surface. With an indignant cry, it fired a small jet of water up at Nulin, surprising him.

"It's a pokémon?!" Richard cried, pulling out his Pokédex as Nulin retreated to a safe distance.

"Lotad, the water weed pokémon. Lotad are said to have dwelled on land before. However, these pokémon are thought to have returned to water because the leaves on their heads grew large and heavy. They now live by floating atop the water. If they do not drink water for too long, the leaves on their heads wilt."

While Nulin was distracted, the lotad was quickly swimming to the far side of the pond at a surprising speed. Before James and Nulin could react, it had already disappeared into the mass of reeds at the water's edge, the book still lying on its back.

"What are we going to do now?" James asked, watching as Nulin circled above the pond in an attempt to locate the lotad again.

"I'll head round and try to track it down on foot," Richard replied.

"Sounds like a plan." James nodded. "Will, can you head around the other way to try and cut it off?"

"Sure, I guess," Will replied with a shrug.

"Nicola and Kipa can patrol the water in case it comes back in." James continued. "I'll have Nulin keep an eye on things from above."

"Don't worry! I'll find it!" Richard grinned as he ran over to the far side of the bridge.


2:28pm, 12th April 2006

After a run along the bank of the pond, Richard had sent out Chena to help track down the lotad. Based on its Pokédex entry, he was expecting it to either remain in the water, among the reeds, or to risk travelling overland, where it would be slower and easier to catch.

While Chena was sniffing at the edge of the reeds, Richard watched out for any sign of movement across the grassy field surrounding the pond. Overhead, Nulin was soaring over the pond, looking out for the lotad as well. The occasional splash from the other side of the reeds momentarily excited him before he realised that it was probably coming from Kipa, hence why the wingull had reacted to it.

A part of him had some respect for the lotad though – the guidebook wasn't the lightest thing in the world, yet it had still managed to support it on its back despite the apparent weight of its leaf as well.

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden cry from Nulin. He started circling an area not too far from where he was standing. He and Chena rushed up to the spot he was circling. As they approached, Chena started barking and splashed through the shallows into the reeds. Sure enough, the lotad was plodding along in the shallows, moving back towards the open water.

Chena halted his pursuit as a jet of water blasted the reeds from the outside – a warning shot from Kipa, no doubt. The lotad, clearly realising it was trapped, turned again and started charging for Chena, launching an unexpected strike that caught him completely off-guard. As the poochyena stumbled back, the lotad started waddling out onto the land.

Waiting for the best opportunity, Richard suddenly darted in and grabbed the book from atop the lotad's leaf. Sure enough, it was the guidebook that James had lost. Despite the obvious relief at not carrying that additional weight, the lotad turned and fired a beam of green energy towards Richard as he stepped back.

Quick as a flash, Chena had darted between them, taking the attack to spare his trainer.

"Chena! Are you okay?" Richard called.

Chena gave himself a shake and nodded.

"Thanks for the save!" Richard grinned. "Now use Tackle!"

Chena quickly surged forwards, knocking the lotad back before it had a chance to launch another attack.

"And now use Sand Attack!" Richard called.

Chena quickly kicked up a cloud of sand, which the lotad, much to their surprise, was able to nimbly avoid with a quick rush to the side. It let out a low clicking noise, apparently trying to intimidate Chena.

"Use Tackle again!" Richard called.

Chena immediately charged forwards, scoring another direct hit and sending his opponent flying back. Despite the weight of the blow and the obviousness of Chena's superior strength, the lotad still resolutely pulled itself up. It fired another beam of green energy towards Chena, hitting him and draining his energy. In another instant, it launched another surprise attack, causing Chena to suddenly yelp and start backing off, even if it hadn't done much damage.

It was a sharp reminder for Richard that poochyena weren't natural fighters. Now that the lotad seemed to have the initiative, Chena was starting to waver – his attempts to break the lotad's spirit had failed.

"Chena, return!" Richard quickly recalled him to his poké ball and whipped out Naro's instead.

The lotad remained resolute as Naro's hulking form appeared, even if it was visibly alarmed by its new opponent.

"Use Horn Attack!" Richard called.

With a roar, Naro stormed forwards. He slammed into the lotad with his horn and sent it flying back. As it landed with a crash, Richard pulled out an empty poké ball and threw it at the wild pokémon. Striking the lotad directly, it sucked it inside and closed with a click before dropping to the ground. After rolling around for a couple of seconds, there was a click and a small burst of sparks from the release button.

"Yes!" Richard grinned, pumping his fist.

Naro gave him a confused look as he walked over and picked up the fallen poké ball.

"You saw how determined it was," Richard said, guessing what the nidoking was thinking. "How could I not try to catch it."

Naro grunted and shrugged. Apparently, he'd been hoping for a longer workout than just a single move.

Richard quickly scanned the poké ball with his Pokédex to pick up the lotad's individual data. "Oh? My first female pokémon," he muttered. "And what does 'Rain Dish' do? Heals if raining? Sounds pretty good to me." He put his Pokédex away and released the lotad from her poké ball. "From now on, your name is 'Dish', after your ability!" He grinned at her. "Welcome to the team, Dish!"

Naro grinned enthusiastically at her as well.

Dish seemed a little stunned with what was happening, but she quickly warmed up to Richard as he offered her some pokémon food and used a potion to heal her wounds.

With everything sorted and the guidebook tucked safely under his arm, Richard recalled both Naro and Dish and started walking back around the pond, following Nulin back towards the others.

"Hey, Richard!" He heard Nicola shouting to him as he drew close to the bridge again. "Did you manage to get the guidebook?"

"Yeah! It's right here!" Richard called back, waving the guidebook above his head.

"Great work!" James yelled. "I owe you one!"

"Nah, I got something out of it too," Richard replied. He handed the guidebook to James and pulled out Dish's poké ball. "I've got a new team member now!"

"Ooh! You caught that lotad?" Nicola asked, peering into the poké ball.

"That's right!" Richard nodded. "Her name's 'Dish'. I bet she's going to be really handy in the future!"

"Why 'Dish'?" Will asked.

As Richard explained his choice of name to Will, James returned his guidebook to his bag and ensured that it was tightly secured. "Anyway…" He interrupted them. "Now that we've got the guidebook back, shall we get back on the road to Rustboro City?"

"Yeah, let's get moving again." Nicola nodded. "We've already lost enough time."

"Right behind you," Richard replied with a grin.

"Do you think we can make it to Rustboro today?" Will asked as they started walking again.

"No." James shook his head. "I think we should aim to reach the next major town along the route – Rinshin Town – before the end of the day. We can definitely manage that."

"Let's get moving then!" Richard grinned, leading the way as they started walking back towards the Onga river."


So, another pokémon for Richard and the recovery of the guidebook for James. A part of me thought about having a taillow or something swoop down at the end and snatch the guidebook out of Richard's hand when he was waving it above his head, but I figured it was kinder to leave the matter resolved this chapter instead!

As ever, feel free to give me any feedback you have on this chapter, and thanks for reading!

Until next time!


Team Listings:

James Burton:

Active:

Charka (Charmeleon): male, naïve, often scatters things, likes sweet food, fire type, Blaze ability, knows Fire Spin, Smokescreen, Flamethrower and Metal Claw.

Kacha (Pikachu): male, modest, sturdy body, likes dry food, electric type, Static ability, knows Thunderbolt, Agility, Slam and Thunder Wave.

Nulin (Wingull): male, impish, highly persistent, likes sour food, water-flying type, Keen Eye ability, knows Growl, Water Gun, Supersonic and Wing Attack.

Richard Winter:

Active:

Naro (Nidoking): male, mild, sturdy body, likes dry food, poison-ground type, Poison Point ability, knows Horn Attack, Megahorn, Poison Sting and Double Kick.

Chena (Poochyena): male, docile, capable of taking hits, eats anything, dark type, Run Away ability, knows Tackle, Howl and Sand Attack.

Dish (Lotad): female, gentle, capable of taking hits, likes bitter food, water-grass type, Rain Dish ability, knows Astonish, Growl and Absorb.

Nicola Hewitt:

Active:

Kipa (Mudkip): male, quiet, somewhat vain, likes dry food, water type, Torrent ability, knows Tackle, Growl, Mud Slap and Water Gun.

Mushy (Shroomish): female, calm, likes to relax, likes bitter food, grass type, Effect Spore ability, knows Absorb, Tackle, Stun Spore and Leech Seed.

Will Burton:

Active:

Toya (Squirtle): male, modest, very finicky, likes dry food, water type, Torrent ability, knows Tackle, Tail Whip, Bubble and Withdraw.

Turkey (Taillow): male, mild, alert to sounds, likes dry food, normal-flying type, Guts ability, knows Peck, Growl, Focus Energy and Quick Attack.