Another untimely update, but the Orange Box is just awesome on a disc. Seriously, go buy it. Anyway, here is another update. Please enjoy!

APS 109: A Sound of Thunder

The sun was rising in the east, as Jimmy walked over a hill, and got a clear view of a large city.

"Cerulean City... I'm finally there." he said to himself, and began to stroll downhill. As he was about to enter the city, Jimmy saw a large group of people running at him. The trainer raised an eyebrow.

"The welcoming comity? That's nice." he thought to himself. As the group approached, Jimmy saw that they the people were not looking festive, but angry. They were chasing something. A small yellow Pokémon was running ahead of the group. It ran towards Jimmy, and made a leap, landing in the trainer's arms. The boy was startled, and made a step back. The Pokémon in his arms looked terrified. "Don't worry, I'll protect you." Jimmy said, and looked up. The group, which was more like a mob, was standing about ten meters away. A tall, muscular built man stepped forward. He was bald, but spotted a broad black moustache. He wore a sleeveless navy coloured shirt, with matching pants and heavy hiking boots.

"Is that rat yours, boy?" the man demanded.

"Who wants to know?" Jimmy said back.

"Ronaldo Valm, ex-soldier and four time straight champion of the Saffron Wrestling Tournament." he replied with some bravado. "Who are you?"

"Jimmy Silverwing, Pokémon trainer and Saviour of Professor Oak!" Jimmy sneered back. The last part may have been made up a bit, but it was not a lie. The crowd behind the man stirred a bit. "And no, this Pokémon isn't mine. Why did you chase him, anyway?"

"Because that rodent is responsible for shorting out the majority of our city, that's why!" Ronaldo said. "We'll show him that you don't mess with Cerulean City!" the mob behind him agreed.

"What proof do you have to those ridiculous clams?" Jimmy asked angered.

"Yesterday, we lost power to a large section of the city. A few of us went to the power plant to check what was going on, but there was a technician with his two employees working on the problem. When I went to look again yesterday, I saw that there was electricity sparkling inside. When I entered the building, I saw that Pikachu running out. The same technician said that the little rodent shorted his apparatus out, and that it took a while to restore power. It would be easier if we could catch that little rodent and use its electricity to power his tools, and we've almost done that." Ronaldo said, and glared at the Pikachu. "Are you going to hand it over, or do we have to take it from you?"

Jimmy pulled two his two Pokéballs from his belt, and called out Pidgey and Butterfree. The two readied themselves to fight for their trainer. "I feel sorry for your city to lose power so suddenly, but I'm not going to let you harm a Pokémon to repair the damage, even if it was his fault." he said, ready to fight if necessary. The ex-soldier laughed.

"You really think that you can defeat me? I've been a trainer for over twenty-five years now, boy!" he called out a Pokémon of his own, a rather large yellow Pokémon with leaves on both sides of its body. Jimmy flipped out his Pokédex.

"Victreebel, the Flycatcher Pokémon. Lures prey with the sweet aroma of honey. Swallowed whole, the prey is melted in a day, bones and all."

"A grass type? Bad choice. Pidgey, Butterfree, prepare to fight!" Jimmy said.

"Then you don't know my Pokémon, boy. Razor Leaf!" Ronaldo ordered, and a stream of leaves was launched at Jimmy's Pokémon. Both were surprised by the sudden force, and were knocked out of the air.

"No! Guys, recover!" both pulled up before they hit the ground, not allowing themselves to be surprised again.

"Razor Leaf again!" the ex-soldier ordered, and Victreebel attacked again. Jimmy got an idea.

"Butterfree, stop the leaves with Confusion!" the leaves began to glow with a soft blue light, and the leaves stopped moving, and hung motionless in the air. "Good, now fire them back at Victreebel!" the leaves moved back at their source with great speed, knocking the grass type down.

"Victreebel, get back up and use Vine Whip!" the Pokémon obeyed, and two green vines whipped up, hitting Pidgey head-on. The bird let out a cry.

"Pidgey!" Jimmy cringed as his friend hit the ground. The bird restored in its fall, pulling up before it hit the ground.

"Let's end this. Victreebel, use Razor leaf on Butterfree!" another stream of leaves was shot out at the butterfly.

"Flamethrower!"

A cone of fire, shot from behind Jimmy, enveloped the leaves, burning them. The crowd and the two trainers looked at the source of the flame. A white horse-like Pokémon, with flames sprouting from the back of its head to its tail, ran up to the group, and stopped next to Jimmy. On its back sat a girl, about his own age by Jimmy's best guess. She wore a red sleeveless jacket, which hung to about halfway her thighs, and had black pants underneath them. Her long black hair was tied behind her head in a low ponytail.

"I am not going to let you harm that Pikachu." she said to Ronaldo.

"Celia! What's the meaning of this!" he asked, which seemed like he knew the girl.

"Simple. I am not going to let you hurt an injured Pokémon." Celia replied.

Ronaldo got angry with the mounted girl. "Celia, I'm your father, and you have to listen to me! Step aside!"

The girl shook her head at her father. "I'm sorry, dad, but I won't listen to you right now. I know something's wrong, and I'm going to find out, and I won't let you stop me."

"All right, if you want to play it that way; Victreebel, use Sleep Powder!" a bright powder was released from Victreebel's mouth at the girl and her Pokémon.

"I don't think so! Both of you; use Gust!" Jimmy interfered, and his two Pokémon began to flap their wings. The cloud blew back onto the Pokémon, his trainer and the mob behind him. The people began to cough and wave their arms around to blow the powder away, but it was too late. One by one, they fell to the ground, asleep. Celia's father was the last to succumb to the effects of the powder.

"Your mother… will hear… of this." he said, before passing out.

"That was some quite effective fighting. Quick, hop on, before anyone finds us." she said to Jimmy. He nodded, and handed her the scared Pikachu. He then looked at the fire on the back of the Pokémon in front of him.

"Don't worry, Ponyta won't burn you, and she's able to carry us both." Celia said to him. Jimmy, against what his common sense told him, laid his hand on Ponyta's back. The touch was warm, but not hot enough to burn.

"Hey, this isn't too… gah!" the flames suddenly flared up, and Jimmy quickly retracted his hand.

"Ponyta! That's not funny!" Celia scorned her Pokémon. The horse had an expression similar to a smile on its face. "I'm sorry, but she sometimes reacts like this on boys. Did she burn you?"

"No, I'm okay." Jimmy replied. He carefully laid his hand on the back of the Pokémon again, this time the flames did not burn up. The trainer swung his leg over the horse, mounting it behind the girl. Celia handed him the Pikachu, which did not look too scared anymore. Ponyta suddenly began to move, causing Jimmy to lose his balance. Holding the mouse with one arm, he quickly wrapped his other arm around the first thing he could grab, which happened to be Celia's waist. When he realised what he was holding, he let go immediately. "I'm sorry, I…" he tried to excuse himself.

"Don't worry about it." Celia replied.

Pidgey and Butterfree, who followed their trainer from the air, snickered.


Somewhat east of Cerulean City, Celia told her Ponyta to stop, and dismounted. Jimmy followed her example, and tried to walk the numbness in his legs off.

"Never been on a Ponyta before, have you?" Celia asked.

"Actually, I have. Last year, when a circus was performing in Pallet Town. You could ride Ponyta there, but unfortunately, the one that I was riding suddenly panicked, so I don't know a lot about how to ride one." Jimmy explained.

"At least you're man enough to admit the truth." She laughed. "Anyway, how's the Pikachu?"

Jimmy looked at the Pokémon he was holding. It looked tired, but it was not scared anymore.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jimmy asked. The Pikachu nodded. "Can you tell me what happened?" the mouse jumped from his arms.

"Pika pika pi, pika pi chu pi chu pika!" it said.

"Pidge pidge gey pidgey?" Pidgey replied.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed.

"Free free?" Butterfree asked.

"Pika pi…" it said, with its head bow down.

"So, what's going on?" Jimmy asked.

"Pidge pidgey gey pid gey pidge." Pidgey explained to his trainer.

"There was something wrong in the power plant, and Pikachu went to check it out. Next thing he knew was that he was under attack by six Pokémon, and was thrown out. When he was outside, he saw your father enter the building, and leave again a few minutes later. He called out his Victreebel, which found Pikachu, and began to chase it. About twenty minutes later, they ran into me." Jimmy told Celia.

"You can understand what Pokémon say?" she asked.

"No, but I roughly know what Pidgey means." he said.

"Right… then I'll be heading for the power plant." Celia said, and gestured to Ponyta.

"What are you planning to do there?" Jimmy asked.

"I'm going to confront that technician there with his plan, and make sure he won't hurt innocent Pokémon ever again." she replied.

"On your own? He has about six Pokémon, and who knows what else. I think it's best if I came with you." the trainer said.

"I guess you're right, eh…" she said, not knowing the trainer's name.

"Jimmy. Jimmy Silverwing." he said.

"Right, my name is, as you might have guessed, Celia Valm." she began to walk. "The power plant is this way." Celia said. Her name got Jimmy to think.

"Celia? Do you happen to know girls named Misty and Bianca?" he asked.

"Well, yes. How do you know?" she asked surprised.

"Misty fished me out of a river north of Pallet Town, and I met Bianca in Mount Moon." Jimmy explained.

"You've met Bianca?! How's she doing?" Celia asked pleasantly surprised.

"Quite good, I think. She has a Raticate, a Meowth, a Jigglypuff and a Clefairy." the trainer said.

"Raticate was her first Pokémon, and Meowth was more or less a pet to her family. So the Jigglypuff and the Clefairy must have been recent captures." the girl thought aloud.

"Kind of. She caught Jigglypuff about a week before I met her, and the mischief that she caused resulted in me saving her from a deadly fall, us stopping a Team Rocket operative from robbing the Clefairy, and a Clefairy joining Bianca after that." Jimmy told.

"You saved her live?!" Celia shouted.

"Actually, Butterfree did, with his Confusion." he replied with a smile. "By the way, does she stumble often?"

"Eh, only when there's a boy around that she thinks is cute. Why?" she asked.

"No reason." Jimmy answered. Pidgey and Butterfree were barely able to hold back their laughter.


Although the sun was ascending, the building that was the power plant was ill illuminated from the inside. Jimmy and Celia walked in, with Ponyta and Pikachu walking in front of them. Their footsteps echoed through the empty hallways.

"Where is everybody?" Celia asked.

"I don't know, and how should I?" Jimmy replied.

"That was a rhetorical question." the girl said back.

What Jimmy also did not knew, was that three men were watching them enter the building.

"Adam, isn't this the place where…" Cleef asked.

"Yes, that's why I'm not sure if we should help the boy here." the older man answered.

"We might get in trouble with the boss if we do help him, but we also might if we don't. You'll better call the boss about it." Lee said.

"Agreed." he took out his phone, and dialled a number. The phone rang once before the call was answered.

"Adam. What is your mission status?" the man on the other side of the line asked.

"We are following our target, but we've encountered a difficulty. We are currently at the Cerulean City power plant, which is the location for another mission." Adam said.

"Cerulean?" some typing was heard on the other side of the line. "I see what you mean. Assist the boy if necessary, but remain unseen to both him and the other agents. Remember: your mission has the highest priority, and you hereby have the permission to terminate other missions to reach your goal. Do not forget: the boy's safety is your top priority." the boss ordered.

"Yes sir." Adam said, and ended the connection.

"And?" Cleef asked.

"We have to keep him safe no matter what, may end other missions for our success, but have to remain unseen for other agents." the older man said.

"Then that's where I come in." Lee said, and called out a Pokémon. It looked up at its trainer. "Hide underground, and help where and when you think its necessary." the Pokémon nodded, and disappeared.


The dark halls seemed endless, with corridor after corridor engulfed in darkness. The light of Ponyta's fire illuminated the hallways, until they saw light in the distance. They ran towards it, and entered a large room. Huge turbines stood unmoving in the room. The silence that had trademarked the power plant was disturbed by a sound of clashing metal. In the back of the room, a figure dressed in a white lab coat hammering some metal below a terminal. As he heard them approach, the man stood up.

"Ah, so you're back. Did you see anything…" he turned around, and his eyes met Jimmy's.

"You!" the man shouted.

"You!" Jimmy shouted back.

"Us?" Celia asked.

"No, him!" the man yelled back.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Professor Abraham Bel, my dear. With whom do I have the pleasure?"

"That's not important. Are you the technician around here?" Celia asked.

"No, I am just a humble scientist who does what he can for the good of all of us." Bel answered.

"Don't listen to him; he's a criminal and a Pokémon abuser!" Jimmy sneered.

"I am not! My Pokémon are all in perfect shape!" he defended himself.

"Try explaining that to those Pokémon in Viridian Forest you scared away, not to mention Hector's and my own Pokémon!" Jimmy yelled at him.

"They didn't get hurt… your Medapod has even evolved into a Butterfree!" Bel said.

"Boss, is everything okay? We've heard shouting and…" two people, a man with short, navy-coloured hair, and a woman with long crimson hair, both wearing white-and-black uniforms with a big red R on them, ran up to the two trainers, followed by a Meowth.

"You!" the three shouted.

"Him?" Celia asked, looking at Jimmy.

"You!" the trainer shouted back at them.

"Yes, it's us, and you'll better prepare for trouble!" the woman said.

"Now you, too, have made it double!" the man added.

"To protect the world from devastation!" she said.

"To unite all people within our nation!" the man replied.

"Blah blah, I've heard that before. Now what are you doing here?" Jimmy interrupted.

"Well, after our last fight, I figured out that to achieve the needed frequency, I'd need more power. Where else could you find more power then at a power plant?" Bel said.

"Hey! What about our motto?" the talking Meowth asked.

"Sorry guys, better luck next time." the professor smiled.

"But why do you need Pikachu's power? This power plan can literally supply enough electricity to power a city. I do not think that a single Pikachu can make much of a difference." Celia looked at the Pikachu. "No offence, by the way." Pikachu shrugged.

"Both cute and smart? You've found yourself a good girlfriend, boy." Bel complimented Jimmy.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Celia sneered. Jimmy turned red, which was noticed by the Rocket trio.

"Aw, he's blushing!" Meowth grinned.

"Look at those cute lovebirds!" Jessie said, and James began to make smooching sounds. A jolt of lightning was hurled at their feet, and the trio jumped back. Pikachu's cheeks cracked with electricity, and he was looking angry.

"I think Pikachu wants an answer." Jimmy said.

"Ah, yes. It seems like that to enable the true power of this machine; an organic source for the electricity is needed. That Pikachu there is the perfect source. Now, are you going to hand it over, or do we have to beat you for it?" he reached for the Pokéballs on his belt.

"I think you already know the answer to that question. Pidgey, Butterfree, prepare for trouble!" Jimmy said, and called out his two Pokémon.

"You want trouble? You can get that on the double! Golbat, Muk, Arbok, Weezing, prepare to fight!" the scientist called out the Golbat and Muk Jimmy had seen before, and two he had not. One was a long, purple cobra, with intimidating patterns on its belly, and the other was a floating, gloomy looking purple blob.

"They totally ripped off our motto." James said.

"Hey, I'm not paying you to goof around! Bring out your Pokémon!"

"He's paying us?" Meowth asked.

"I guess." Jessie said, and the two Team Rocket members called out their Pokémon, Ekans and Koffing. Jimmy did a quick scan on the new Pokémon.

Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon. It keeps its tail raised to monitor its surroundings. If you yank its tail, it will try to bite you.

Ponyta, the Fire Horse Pokémon. Capable of jumping incredibly high. Its hooves and sturdy legs absorb the impact of a hard landing.

Arbok, the Cobra Pokémon. The frightening patterns on its belly have been studied. Six variations have been confirmed.

Weezing, the Poison Gas Pokémon. It lives and grows by absorbing dust, germs, and poison gases that are contained in toxic waste and garbage.

Ekans, the Snake Pokémon. The older it gets, the longer it grows. At night, it wraps its long body around tree branches to rest.

Koffing, the Poison Gas Pokémon. In hot places, its internal gases could expand and explode without any warning. Be very careful!

"Jimmy, I'll keep these two off your back if you take him out." Celia said, as Ponyta braced for a battle.

"Okay, I'll keep those four away from you." Jimmy replied.

"How chivalrous of you, boy." Bel mocked.

"I've trained, Bel. I'm a lot tougher then when we first fought." the trainer said.

"You found some other third-range trainers which you beat? What a training." the professor replied.

"For your information, they included the Pewter Gym Leader, and another Team Rocket member named Setne." the boy replied.

"You fought Setne?" the man asked, his question being a combination of surprise and hope.

"That's exactly how she replied. You happen to know her?" Jimmy asked.

The scientist got back to his senses. "That's not important. Golbat, Wing Attack." Bel said, and Golbat lunged at Pidgey and Butterfree with one of its wings. Both dodged the attack, and braced to attack themselves.

"Pidgey, Quick Attack on Golbat, Butterfree, use Confusion on Muk!" a blue energy lifted Muk from the ground, and threw him into a wall. Pidgey tackled Golbat, who retaliated with a Wing Attack.

"Arbok, use Poison Sting on Butterfree! Weezing, use Sludge!" Arbok shot a hail of white spikes at Butterfree, and Weezing spat brown goo at him.

"Butterfree, catch the attacks with Confusion, and launch them at Muk!" Jimmy called.

"Defence Curl!" Bel ordered. Muk curled himself up and hardened, deflecting the attacks. Meanwhile, Celia was fending off the other two Pokémon.

"Ekans, use Poison Sting! Jessie's Ekans let out a spray of needles at Ponyta.

"Stop them with Ember!" Ponyta countered with a hail of cinders, stopping the Poison Sting.

"Koffing, use Sludge!" the Poison type spat brown blubber at the fire horse.

"Flamethrower!" Celia called, and a hot flame from Ponyta vaporised the goo, and hit Koffing straight in the face. Still smiling, the Pokémon hit the ground.

"Ekans, use Bite!" the snake opened its mouth, and leapt at Ponyta.

"Stomp!" Celia said. Ekans was hit on the head with one of Ponyta's hoofs, being knocked out.

"Neither can fight anymore. Is that Meowth going to fight, or do you give up?" Celia asked the trio.

"No, no. You win." Meowth said.

"Celia, can you help me here?" Jimmy asked. She turned around, and saw that Muk had grabbed Pikachu, who failed at shocking his way out, that Golbat was holding Pidgey in his mouth, and that Weezing and Arbok were preventing Butterfree from focussing his attacks.

"Ponyta, use Flamethrower on Muk!" a cone of fire hit the sludge head on, who let go of Pikachu. The power of the blow, combined with Pikachu's electricity, was enough to knock Muk out. Bel withdrew his Pokémon.

"Nice shot! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on Arbok and Weezing!" Jimmy said. Two jolts of lightning were hurled at the two Pokémon, who were knocked down by the force of the blow. "Good! Butterfree, free Pidgey with Confusion!" Golbat began to glow with a blue light, and let go of Pidgey.

"Okay! Ponyta, use… HEY!" Jimmy looked at Celia, and saw that the three Team Rocket members had grabbed her.

"Surrender, and we won't harm the girl." James said. Bel looked pleased.

"Finally you're doing something good. Arbok, use Wrap on Ponyta!" the large cobra wrapped itself around Ponyta, making it unable to move. "Now, use Bite! Weezing, Tackle!" the two attacked the defenceless Pokémon, and her trainer cringed.

"Pidgey, use…" Jimmy began, but was interrupted.

"Wait. You don't want us to hurt your girlfriend, do you?" Meowth asked.

"For the last time, she's not my girlfriend!" Jimmy said.

"Uh huh." Jessie said, with a tone that showed her disbelief.

"Uh huh this! Butterfree, Confusion!" Jessie, James and Meowth began to glow. They let go of Celia, and were levitated into the air, and thrown against the wall next to Bel.

"Ponyta, are you okay?" Celia asked. Ponyta was still constricted by Arbok, and unable to reply.

"Pidgey, use Quick Attack!" Jimmy said. The attack hit Arbok with great force, forcing it to let go of Ponyta, who collapsed.

"No, Ponyta!" Celia cringed.

"She's unable to battle, you'd better return Ponyta to her Pokéball." Jimmy said. Celia did, and Bel withdrew his Arbok.

"Weezing, use Sludge on Pikachu!" Bel ordered.

"Stop the attack with Thunderbolt! Pidgey, use Quick Attack!" a bolt of electricity vaporised the blubber, and Pidgey knocked Weezing out of the air, and the battle. The professor withdrew his third Pokémon.

"Surrender, Bel, you're losing this battle!" Jimmy said.

"Surrender? Why should I? I still have one Pokémon left." Bel said. Jimmy saw Golbat sitting on top of the machine Bel had built.

"Pikachu, let's finish this. Thunderbolt!" the trainer called, and the mouse hurled a bolt of lightning at Golbat.

"Now!" Bel ordered, and Golbat jumped off. The bolt of lightning hit the machine, who began to hum.

"Bad news…" Jimmy said. Lights on the display flicked on, and Bel laughed.

"Instead of stopping me, you helped me on getting this thing working. Thank you, Jimmy."

"No!" the trainer shouted. "Pidgey, Butterfree, Pikachu, use…"

"Too late!" Bel returned Golbat with one hand, and slammed a button with the other. The machine began to rumble, and let out a blast of energy.

"Free!"

Butterfree made a barrier using Confusion, protecting Jimmy, his Pokémon and Celia from the wave. Bel stood next to his machine, looking curious at what the Pokémon was doing.

"So you're blocking the energy with Confusion… I am wondering how long you can keep that up." he said. The shield slowly grew dim, as the energy blasted it relentlessly.

"Butterfree, please keep up!" Jimmy whispered. The Team Rocket trio were looking at the machine, too.

"Guys, I think it's best to leave now, before something bad happens." Jessie said.

"I hear you." James said, and the three began to sneak away. Meowth suddenly stopped.

"Hey guys… did you feel something tremble?" he asked.

The machine, together with the ground, began to tremble. "Hey, what's going on?" Bel asked nobody in particular. Then, the ground below the machine disappeared, dropping it down. With a mighty crash, the machine was torn apart, stopping the wave. At the same moment, Butterfree dropped the barrier, and fell to the ground unconscious.

"No!" Bel grabbed his head in shock, and Jimmy caught Butterfree from mid-air.

"My beautiful machine! You kids haven't seen the last of me!" Bel ran away, and opened an emergency exit, leaving the building with the Rocket trio behind him.

"Butterfree, are you okay?" Jimmy asked. His Pokémon did not respond.

"We have to get to a Pokémon Center immediately. Ponyta's badly hurt, too." Celia said.

"Agreed. Let's get out of here." Jimmy returned his two Pokémon, and the two trainers left the building. Outside, the Pokémon that was responsible for the collapse watched as they left. It was a brown Pokémon, consisting of three heads, with blue noses.

"Trio." with that, it dug underground.


As the door closed behind the trainers, they heard a cry.

"Zaaaa!"

Jimmy turned to look at the source of the sound, the roof of the power plant. On the roof sat a large, yellow bird-like Pokémon. The trainer reached for his Pokédex, and aimed it at the Pokémon.

"Zapdos, the Electric Pokémon. This legendary bird Pokémon is said to appear when the sky turns dark and lightning showers down."

Clouds began to gather above it, and a bolt of lightning hit the legendary Pokémon. The light in the power plant went on, and the turbines were activated again. Zapdos spread his wings and flew from the roof, disappearing from sight.

"Did you hear something, apart from Zapdos being struck by lightning?" he asked.

"No, why?" she replied.

"I thought I heard someone talking to me." Jimmy said.

"What did you hear?" Celia inquired.

"Thank you."


Alright, another chapter done. I can already assure you: the next two chapters will be set in Cerulean City, before moving on to more. I have already made plans up to Celadon City, so stay tuned for more Pokémon goodness!

Important Events:

Story: Jimmy arrives at Cerulean City, where he saves a Pikachu, meets a girl named Celia, defeats the Rocket trio and Professor Bel again, and sees Zapdos.

Pokémon: Jimmy saves a Pikachu, but does not capture it.

Battles: Jimmy's Pidgey and Butterfree, together with Celia's Ponyta, defeat Ronaldo's Victreebel, Celia's Ponyta defeats Team Rocket's Ekans and Koffing, and Bel's Muk, but loses to Bel's Arbok and Weezing. Jimmy's Pidgey defeats Bel's Arbok and Weezing.

Please review, and good catchings to all! See you next time!