"Don't tell me we're lost again!" I complained, throwing my hands up in the air. "I thought you were following the map!"
"I was but there seems to be a problem with it!" Brock answered, pulling it back from his face to show us. "I think Psyduck got to it again." We all look to see a large slobbery mess over the spot where we were supposed to be and it was near impossible to read it. Oh great.
"You guys don't need to worry about a thing." Ash said proudly. "Who needs a map when all we need to do is cut through the woods until we run into the road!"
"And how many times has this plan worked before?" I asked him. "Need I go through all the times you got us lost because you didn't want to follow the map?" Ash jumped and gave a guilty laugh, unable to answer because I was right. Oh well, looks like we'll just have to follow my compass, that should at least help us head in the right direction to Azalea Town. Suddenly we were rudely interrupted by someone shouting out to us.
"Hey! You!" A guy with dark purple hair and a mean attitude walked out, peering at us sceptically. "Have you kids seen any Cyndaquil around here?" He asked and instantly Ash was frantic.
"What Cyndaquil?! Where? Where? Where?!" He began looking around, darting from bush to bush. "I don't see 'em!"
"Beats me, I heard there were supposed to be wild ones all over the place." I arched an eyebrow then looked at Ash as he fell into a bush.
"Come on out Cyndaquil! Woah!" I quickly grabbed the back of his jacket and lifted him upright before he could cut himself on a twig.
"Listen here kid! You better stay away from the Cyndaquil if you know what's good for you!" He tried to threaten but Ash was totally oblivious, racing about the place and calling out for Cyndaquil. "I said to stay away! Runt!" Okay, that's the final straw. What is this guy's problem?
"Look, what makes you think you have the right to tell him what he can and can't do?" Brock demanded and I was infinitely glad that he was older than the rest of us.
"Whoever finds the Cyndaquil first has the right to catch it fair and square." Misty said and the three of us glared at the guy as he growled.
"Says who? Just stay out of my way and stay away from the Cyndaquil!"
"Well maybe they got scared off by your bad attitude." I answered simply, placing my hands on my hips. "Cyndaquil are naturally shy and if you come in here stomping your massive clodhoppers then you can bet they'd run for the hills."
"Who asked you shrimp?" That struck a nerve. A very big one.
"How dare you?! That's it, I challenge you to a Pokémon battle you little punk! I'll show you shrimp and after I win, you can clear off and leave all the Cyndaquil here alone!" I yelled, making to pelt at him but Misty and Brock smartly held me back by the arms though I kicked out with my feet. "Let me at him! Let me at that little loser!" He laughed with amusement, which only made my eyes glow red with rage.
"You'd better keep that one under control. Get a leash for it or something. I've got better things to do with my time." With that he turned around and head off into the bushes. Only was he gone did Misty and Brock let me go.
"Ugh! I'll get him next time." I growled then turned around. "He's a jerk if I ever did see one. He makes Gary look like a cute little puppy. Right Ash? Ash?" I looked around only to find he was gone. "Oh great. Now we have to go find him."
"It's okay, he's got Pikachu and his Pokémon with him so he shouldn't be in any danger." Brock said as we began to track our Ash down.
"It's not Ash I'm worried about, it's the forest. He's more likely to plough into a tree and knock it over rather than go around it when he has his mind set on something, and right now he wants a Cyndaquil." I answered and Misty giggled.
"You got that right!" But after ten minutes of fruitless searching and looking, there was still no Ash and still no Pikachu. "Ash should know better than to run off like that."
"Yeah, but we all know he becomes a different person when he's after a Pokémon." Brock answered and Togepi trilled happily in Misty's arms.
"Alright Pidgeotto, come on out!" I called, smiling up as I let Pidgeotto out of her Pokéball. "Hey there, Ash has run off so do you think you could maybe check for him from the sky?"
"Pidgeo!" Pidgeotto nodded her head then rose up, soaring into the air then began to follow the path we were taking to keep an eye out for Ash.
"How far away did he get?" Misty sighed as we continued our walk. Suddenly there was a rustle and we stopped, blinking as turned to see if it was Ash coming back for food after a long and tiresome hunt.
"Lost in the woods? Prepare for trouble!" Oh no, not them again! Haven't they had enough of being blasted away by us?
"Hand over the goods or we'll make it double!" Why'd they always show up when it's totally not convenient? Ash and Pikachu aren't even here!
"It's Team Rocket!" Brock said and a massive robot Meowth thing dropped down with a crash, making the earth shake and I instantly clung onto Misty and Brock to help support one another, crying out as the trembling made us stumble until it finally stopped.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie…"
"James…." The amulet peeled back with a mechanical whir and the Team Rocket trio rose up from within the ugly robot.
"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight."
"Meowth, that's right!" Meowth finished, popping up cheerfully before looking down at us. "But this ain't!"
"Uh! Where are Pikachu and the twerp?" Jessie demanded so Misty shouted back up to them.
"Neither of them are here right now!"
"Whoops." Jessie said before smirking. "In that case we take all that back. Let's go."
"Roger." James saluted and they disappeared back down, started up their engines then sprang away back into the forest, leaping through the trees in search of Ash and Pikachu as they left us in a bitter tasting dust cloud.
"We can't let them get away and we can't let them get to Ash!" I said, recovering first. "Pidgeotto! Follow after them! Lead the way!" I called and Pidgeotto swooped down.
"Pidgeo!" She nodded then flew off to the west, showing us the path Team Rocket had forged for us. We raced as fast as we could, not breaking pace as we leaped over any debris and followed Pidgeotto as she glided through the trees, easily weaving through them.
"This isn't working, we're just losing them!" Brock said before turning to me. "Ruby, you're way faster than us, you go on ahead and we'll get there as soon as we can. Ash might need your help."
"Right." I nodded my head then began to increase my speed. "Pidgeotto let's go!" I yelled and the trees began to blur past, flashes of green and brown before they were left far behind me. "Get ready Pidgeotto!" I called up to her and instantly she lowered her altitude, registering my meaning and when I jumped, she gripped my hands in her talons and she lifted me up, carrying me over a large mound of rocks to then glide through the forest, following after Team Rocket and their Meowth machine.
Pidgeotto called out, spotting the machine before I did and she began to spiral down with me. It seemed Ash had taken care of everything because the robot was already beginning to blow apart, shooting Team Rocket up into the air and out of sight.
"Alright!" I cheered, smiling as Pidgeotto let me go and I dropped down to the ground. "Ash! Ash are you okay?" I called, running over to him and Pikachu as they stood up.
"Yeah we're fine. But where's Cyndaquil?"
"Cyndaquil? What do you mean?" I asked then looked around to see a Pokéball on the ground. "You mean you caught it?" I asked, going over and picking up the Pokéball to hand it Ash.
"You bet I did! I was afraid it would get hurt by the blast so I caught it to make sure it was safe." Ash said before turning. "Go! Cyndaquil!" The cute little mouse Pokémon appeared with a flash of light, whereby it then looked around in confusion.
"Quil? Cynda, Cyndaquil!"
"Oh! We were worried Cyndaquil, are you okay?" Ash asked as he rushed over to it. Cyndaquil nodded its head with a little squeak, making me smile.
"Aw, that's just adorable." I smiled, kneeling down with a smile. "Hey there, I'm Ruby." I said and it smiled to me.
"Cyndaquil!" Ash laughed and knelt down, glad to see his new Pokémon was okay.
"That's good. Pikachu and I were wondering if you used that Flamethrower attack back there to help us get away from Team Rocket." In answer Cyndaquil lifted its head and gave a long, drawn out squeal which made Ash smile. "I could tell you were more than just a powerful Pokémon but an extra nice one too!" I chuckled then sat down on the ground.
"How about I just take a look at you, huh? Make sure you didn't get hurt from that blast." I suggested then looked at Pikachu. "You too buddy, hop on." I said and Pikachu beamed up at me.
"Pi Pikachu!" He jumped into my lap and I began to gently massage his arms, shoulders and body to make sure he was okay, listening for any signs of pain but Pikachu simply enjoyed the relaxing sensations. "Chuuuu…!"
"Okay, you're all good." I smiled down at him. "Healthy as ever. You're next Cyndaquil, don't be shy." I held out a hand to the Pokémon who drew back slightly. "It doesn't hurt one bit. I just want to make sure you're not injured."
"Yeah Cyndaquil, Ruby's one of the best at this. Give it a try." Ash encouraged so Cyndaquil nervously stepped forwards. I carefully lifted him up then turned him around, beginning my work and Cyndaquil instantly relaxed, giving a soft squeal and clapped his hands together as I gently worked my fingers into his tiny little shoulders.
Once I was done and found nothing wrong, I gave the thumbs up to Ash. "We're all good." I told him and he sighed with relief.
"That's good to hear. Come on, let's go find Misty and Brock." He said, standing up but then a voice shouted from above us.
"Not so fast!" I looked up to see that rude and mean guy standing above us with his Sandslash. "That Cyndaquil is mine! So step away and keep out of this." Ash instantly stepped in front of Cyndaquil and spread his arms wide to shield him.
"This Cyndaquil is mine, I already caught it!" He shouted back up and shock crashed onto the strange guy's features. "So you can just go away and leave us alone!" I looked down to see Cyndaquil starting to take a hike so I picked him up and held him to me gently.
"He didn't mean you Cyndaquil, he's talking about that big meanie up there." I explained as said meanie jumped down to the ground.
"What? That's not fair!" He whined. "I challenge you to a battle, the winner gets to keep Cyndaquil!" I frowned.
"Why would Ash do that? Cyndaquil is his Pokémon and even if you won and Ash handed Cyndaquil over, it would still be Ash's Pokémon and it wouldn't listen to a thing you said." I told him, taking a step backwards. "Besides, I'm the one holding Cyndaquil and I have no problem just running away with it if you're going to be such a jerk about it."
"It's none of your business you little brat! This is between me and him." He pointed to Ash who instantly glared.
"Don't talk to Ruby that way! It's not very nice!" Having had enough of looking at that stupid kid I was about to call for Pidgeotto but she was already diving down.
"Pidgeo!" She began to Peck at the stranger's head, making him yell and run around the clearing trying to shake her off.
"Get off! Get off! Get it off of me!" She shrieked in an octave not even I could reach. I stared as Pidgeotto gave him what for until I broke out in a grin.
"Oh yeah, that's my old friend Pidgeotto. I guess she didn't like the way you spoke to me either." I informed him simply as the Sandslash ran after its trainer, trying to swipe at Pidgeotto but she was too quick to be hit. "Pidgeotto? How about you show this good gentleman the way out of here?" I suggested and Pidgeotto nodded her head.
"Pidgeo!" She grabbed the guy by the fabric at his shoulders and lifted him off the ground, swinging him around and around as he yelled. His Sandslash jumped up and hugged his legs, gripping on tightly as Pidgeotto picked up the speed, whipping a small whirlwind before she let go and both trainer and Pokémon flew through the air in the same fashion as Team Rocket.
"Mommy!" I heard the distant echo of his last cry and giggled.
"Well, that settles that. Good job Pidgeotto." I beamed at her as she landed on a rock.
"Cyndaquil!" Cyndaquil agreed, lifting its little paws in celebration so I handed him back over to Ash. Well, now that that's all over, let's go get some lunch! Oh wait…we'd better find Brock and Misty first.
