A/N: Hey guys, here's your Christmas update. The next one probably won't be till next year (January). Merry Christmas!

Cody's Pokémon Adventure

Chapter 10

Route 4 was empty and quiet. There were no Pokémon around and no people either. There were few trees and little to look at. But it did have one thing going for it: it wasn't inside of a mountain. And that was something the four people walking along it were grateful for.

Cody, Sky, Dave and Ezekiel were all relieved to have found their way out of Mt. Moon, and in one piece. Their legs ached as they walked the two miles through route 4, but no one complained. They were all rather quiet, almost somber as they hiked to the next town.

Ezekiel was the only one to say anything. "Guys…what'd you think happened to Team Rocket?"

"What do you mean?" Dave asked. "They didn't follow after us. Obviously they're still in Mt. Moon."

"But why are they there?"

"They must've been looking for something." Sky mused. "I know they want rare Pokémon, but I think they might've been after something else."

"Well did they find it? And what are they going to do with it?"

"I don't know Ezekiel." Sky answered coldly.

"Okay…" the boy stared at the ground as he walked. "I just hope they don't steal anyone else's Pokémon eh."

The walk through Route 4 was uneventful, and before too long Cerulean City came into view. The sight of the city relieved the weary travelers and gave them enough strength to keep walking. They trudged on quietly until they reached the city gates.

It was still morning as they walked into town but late enough that the streets were filled with people. Shops and stands were open along the road and the smell of cooking food drove the four hungry. Their stomachs growled angrily at being empty.

"Let's get some breakfast," Dave suggested.

"Great idea." Sky nodded. "I'm starving."

"I-I shouldn't," Cody stepped away from the others. "I have to go check on Harold. I'll see you guys later."

"Don't go," Sky grabbed Cody by the arm to stop him. The brunette turned around toward her feeling slightly embarrassed. "Come on Cody, I know your just as hungry as the rest of us. We'll all go see Harold, but only after we've had something to eat."

"But I think I should really-

"The hospital isn't going anywhere." Sky interrupted. "Harold will be fine, I promise."

Cody sighed. "I guess you're right. Okay, let's get some breakfast."

With the matter settled all four teens headed into a nearby restaurant. It was small, but there weren't too many other people eating so there was no wait. They sat down at a table and ordered immediately. Cody was still worried about Harold, but was able to put some of that aside when his plate of chocolate chip pancakes arrived. As he began to eat heartily, Dave confronted Sky (who was sitting right beside him).

"Why did you tell him we'd go see Harold?" he whispered. "You agreed we'd go our separate ways when we got to Cerulean City, and if you haven't noticed…we're here!"

"Would you relax?" she whispered back. "Maybe you forgot but I said I wanted to check on Harold first. Once we see him then we can leave and you can stop freaking out all the time okay?"

"What are you guys whispering about eh?" Ezekiel asked over his half eaten plate of waffles.

"Nothing!" Sky answered hurriedly. She looked anxious after seeing Cody look up from his almost-empty plate of pancakes. "Dave just didn't have enough napkins. Just take them all Dave, it's fine." She says shoving the full napkin holder into Dave's arms. He attempted to sputter a reply but Sky had already begun to dig into her eggs and bacon. The other two boys went back to eating.

Once they were finished eating and had paid they left the restaurant feeling full and content. Some of their strength was restored and they could think more clearly now. "Well, I'm full." Cody said contently. "Now which way to the hospital?"

"I'm not sure, but I bet we can ask somebody." Sky looked around for a stranger to grab.

"Umm…guys?" Ezekiel spoke up. "It's been real swell hanging out with ya, and I want to thank you again for your help, but I should get going. I need to head on home."

"Leaving so soon Zeke?" Cody asked.

The farm boy scratched his head awkwardly. "Yeah I gotta get home eh. My folks must be worried about me. But thanks for all your help." He then went around and shook everyone's hand. "I'll never forget you three!"

Cody, Dave and Sky all said goodbye and wished him well. Ezekiel started to walk away but then turned back and called out. "I should be traveling round Kanto again real soon so maybe I'll see you guys around eh!" He waved one last time before running off.

The three teens watched him go before turning around. "He was nice," Cody commented.

"If he had to get home so soon why didn't he leave when we got into town?" Sky asked.

"I'm pretty sure he just wanted a free meal." Dave said bitterly. "He didn't pitch in to pay for breakfast…"

Half an hour later the three weary travelers had learned the location of the hospital and had walked over there. With Cody in the lead they entered the busy medical center where nurses and doctors were seen hurrying left and right. The three approached the front desk and rung the bell.

A middle aged woman in a nurse's uniform answered them. "How can I help you?"

"Hi, we're looking for our friend," Cody spoke. "His name is Harold and we believe he was flown into this hospital a couple of nights ago."

The woman's eyes scanned a piece of paper she had in front of her. "Yes, he's here." She said. "Harold should be on the fourth floor in room 411. Next!"

Cody, Dave and Sky stepped away from the desk to let the next person go. They navigated their way through a crowd of sick people and got on the elevator. Taking it to the fourth floor they searched for the room that the woman had said was Harold's. "This is the one," Dave said after they passed room 410.

Cody grabbed the handle, and after taking a deep breath, opened the door. It wasn't a very large room; there was only one bed. But laying upright on that bed was their friend Harold. He was sitting comfortably watching TV wearing a hospital gown. Physically he looked fine with the exception of a large white cast over his leg.

"Harold!" Cody walked in the room followed by Dave and Sky.

The redhead looked over to his guests. "Whoa! Hey guys! You found me."

"Hey Harold, it's great to see you." Cody smiled.

"You're…uhh…looking good." Dave said after glancing around the room.

"Cody was really worried about you," Sky told Harold. "We rushed to get to Cerulean as fast as we could, but he was freaking out the whole time."

"Hey! I wasn't that bad." Cody looked embarrassed.

"Yeah you were…" Dave muttered quietly.

"Really? Thanks Cody." Harold also looked embarrassed. "When I woke up in a hospital in Cerulean City I didn't know what I was going to do or how I was going to find you. I'm relieved that you found me first."

"So what's the deal with your leg?" Cody finally asked.

Suddenly all the enthusiasm on Harold's face disappeared and he looked downcast. "Well that's the bad news. The doctors told me my leg is broken. I'm going to be stuck in this cast for a while and I'll have to stay in the hospital for now." He sighed, "I'm sorry Cody, but I can't come with you on your journey. Not for a while at least, not while I'm stuck here."

Cody's smile faltered. He hadn't been thinking about how Harold's injured leg would hold him back. He had been too relieved to think about it before now. "….I see."

Sky could sense Cody's disappointment. "That's…too bad."

"…I'm sorry," Harold sighed. "If only that stupid rock hadn't crushed my leg. Gosh!"

Cody put his hand on the redhead's shoulder. "It's not your fault Harold. I know you didn't want this to happen. I guess you'll just have to stay here and get better until you can travel with me again."

Harold nodded glumly. Sky quietly poked Dave on the shoulder. When he looked over she whispered in his ear. "Let's give them a minute okay?" He nodded and both teens left the room.

A little while later Cody found them waiting outside. They didn't say much about what had just happened with Harold. Instead they decided to head over to the Pokémon Center. All three trainers needed their Pokémon healed or they wouldn't be able to battle.

They found the building with the recognizable red roof and went inside. There were only a few trainers inside and no wait to see Nurse Joy. The pink-haired woman gladly took their weakened Pokémon and promised to have them all healed up before too long. They were just finishing up when they heard a voice coming from behind them.

"Oh my gosh, Cody? Is that you?"

Cody turned around and was shocked at what he saw. His eyes widened in surprise to see his childhood friend Bridgette was standing in front of him. She looked just like he remembered with the only difference being the pokeballs around her waist. Like him, she looked both happy and surprised. "Bridgette? No way!"

"It is you!" She ran forward and pulled Cody into a big hug. Dave and Sky both moved back a step and Sky raised an eyebrow at the sight. "I can't believe it's really you!" Bridgette said after letting Cody go. "I missed you so much! And Noah too, of course, but I've seen him around."

"Noah?" Cody repeated. "Is he here too?"

"Oh no, I think he's already gone on to Vermillion City." Bridgette exclaimed. "But anyway it's great to see you. Are those your friends?" She glanced toward Sky and Dave. "Why don't you guys come sit with us?"

"Okay!" Cody smiles as he follows Bridgette further into the Pokémon Center. Dave and Sky shrug, but then follow after. The blonde girl led them to a comfortable couch next to a coffee table where two teenage girls were sitting. Cody knew right away that he had never seen either of these girls before. They were both pretty distinct looking and he couldn't imagine forgetting them.

Cody sat down next to Bridgette and Sky and Dave next to him. "Hey girls, you're never going to believe who I found! This is my old friend Cody, from Pallet Town!" The blonde then turned back to the brunette boy. "Cody, these are my traveling companions and friends."

"What's up short stuff?" The girl nearest to Bridgette gave a small wave. "It's nice to meet'cha. The name's Leshawna." The girl now identified as Leshawna was rather big. Different, Cody noticed, than the Team Rocket girl Sugar who appeared to be fat from overeating. Leshawna simply appeared to have a slightly different body structure; in other words she was big-boned. She also had dark skin and her ebony hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her outfit consisted of a beige shirt with mangos on it, blue jeans, brown sandals and ridiculously big hoop earrings.

The other girl appeared to be drawing on a sketch pad and only looked up briefly in what barely passed for a greeting. "Yeah…hi. I'm Gwen." She then returned to looking at her sketch. Gwen was vastly different both from Leshawna and Bridgette. Gwen had very pale white skin and her hair was dyed black and teal. Her entire outfit identified her as a Goth with black, blue and some green colors. It consisted of a blouse, skirt, leggings and combat boots.

Unsurprisingly, Cody found both girls to be rather attractive. "Hey, it's nice to meet you both," he said. "Bridgette these are my friends Sky and Dave."

"Hello!" Sky greeted them politely.

"Hey," Dave said with much less enthusiasm.

"It's great to meet you both." Bridgette said.

"Yeah, super exciting…" Gwen said without looking up.

This caused Leshawna to start laughing loudly. "Oh don't listen to her! Gwen's just an unfriendly sourpuss aren't you hun?" The large girl put her arm around the Goth. Gwen shrugged. "But it's cool to meet you all."

Bridgette leaned closer to Cody to change the conversation. "So Cody, how many badges do you have?"

"Well just one so far," he answered. "The one I got from Brock. We just got to Cerulean today."

The blonde smiled. "Well it looks like I'm beating you because I've got two. The girls and I already beat Misty earlier today. We're just waiting around for our Pokémon to heal up so we can get going."

"I thought we were going to check out routes twenty-four and twenty-five first." Gwen said.

"Oh that's right." Bridgette nodded. "In all the excitement I almost forgot. Hey Cody, we should have a battle!"

"A battle?" Cody said surprised. "Like, now?"

"No, silly! Tomorrow. I hear there's a small cottage at the end of route twenty five. Meet us there tomorrow and we'll have our battle okay?"

Cody hesitated. He looked over at Sky and she nodded at him. "Okay Bridgette, I'll accept your challenge. We'll be there."

"That's great," she said. "Now tell me about your journey. We need to catch up!"

The six teenagers spent the rest of the day relaxing. Cody and Bridgette spent a lot of time telling each other what had happened since they separated in Viridian City. Her journey had been a bit smoother than his and she was sympathetic when she heard about Lindsay and Harold. "You're welcome to journey with me and the girls," she told him. Cody appreciated the offer, but couldn't give her an answer right then.

He also got better acquainted with Leshawna and Gwen. Leshawna was very friendly, and though she wasn't quite what he was used to he still liked her a lot. Gwen on the other hand was very aloof and it was hard to get close to her. She didn't seem very interested in making friends with him, but Cody liked her anyway. He could tell that she did care a lot about Bridgette and Leshawna. Plus, he thought she was really hot.

The next day when Cody woke up he saw that he had slept in. This didn't bother him too much considering how little sleep he had gotten the night before, until he realized Bridgette and her friends had gone on ahead.

"They left? Already?" He said open-mouthed as Sky told him the news.

"Yes, I think they really wanted to get a head start for some reason," she said. "But don't worry, we can still make it."

"I should get cleaned up." And with that Cody ran off to the bathroom.

Sky turned around to see Dave had his arms crossed and looked unhappy. She sighed, "What is it now Dave?"

"I thought you said after we visited Harold we'd go our separate ways with Cody."

"I did," she recalled. "But there's only one Pokémon Center in Cerulean City so this is kind of unavoidable."

Dave rolled his eyes. "Yes, but that doesn't mean you have to hang out with him and those girls."

"You're not jealous of those girls now are you?" Sky was running low on patience. "Because I think I've made it perfectly clear that I'm not a-

"I never said you were! And no, I'm not jealous of anyone! I just thought you'd keep your promise that's all." He huffed.

"I need to get some training in before I face the Cerulean Gym leader," she explained. "That's why I'm going. Why don't you stay here for the day? I think that would be best."

Without waiting for his reply Sky stood up and walked off.

It was mid-morning when Sky and Cody set out. They both had their Pokémon back fully healed. "So where is route twenty-four anyway?" Sky asked. Her mood had not yet fully recovered from her argument with Dave and it was evident in her tone.

"Bridgette told me it's north of the city." Cody answered. "It shouldn't be too hard to find."

"Great." She grunted. "Let's get a move on." Sky started to walk faster.

Cody increased his speed until he was in line with her. "Sky is everything okay? You seem…agitated."

"It's just…Dave." She clenched her fists as she walked. "He's my friend, but sometimes he frustrates me to no end!"

Cody stepped lightly. "Do you…want to talk about it?"

"I…shouldn't," she sighed. "Let's just say Dave can get jealous way too easily. He overreacts and he doesn't seem to like anyone but me and he likes me too much."

"So you two…" Cody searched for the right words. "you're not…you know…"

"Dating?" She guessed what he meant. "No. We're just friends."

"Well that's good." Cody said without thinking. As soon as he realized what he said Cody covered his mouth with both hands. "I didn't mean that! I'm sorry I didn't mean for it to come out like that."

Sky stopped walked. She looked over at her companion in curiosity. "What did you mean?"

"I…just meant…" Cody gulped. "That he doesn't really seem to make you happy and if you were dating it would be even harder. That's all."

Sky stared at him for a while before finally turning away. "…I guess so. You know, it's funny. Dave 's been really worried that you like me or something…" She couldn't help but smile slightly as she looked wistfully up at the sky.

Cody gave out a forced chuckle. "Ha ha yeah, that is funny. Funny Dave…" Feeling embarrassed the boy stared at the ground so Sky couldn't see the red tinge on his face.

Not long after they arrived at the start of route 24. It appeared to be nothing more than a very long wooden bridge only big enough for two people to walk side by side across it. Cody and Sky started to walk across when they passed by a normal looking guy.

This man wasn't doing anything except leaning on the side of the bridge. It wasn't until Cody and Sky passed right by him that he stopped them. "Hey you two!" He walked in front of them. "This is nugget bridge! Beat us five trainers and win a fabulous prize. Think you got what it takes?"

"If we say no, will you let us pass?" Cody asked.

"NO!"

"Fine," he rolled his eyes. "Then I accept. Go Geodude!" Cody sent out his newest Pokémon. He'd been itching to give it a try since he captured the rock Pokémon."

"Fool!" The man yelled out loudly. "Prepare for your ultimate destruction! Go…Caterpie!"

Cody and Sky both looked surprised to see a tiny little Caterpie. "Okay then, Geodude use tackle!"

The rock Pokémon rushed forward and slammed into Caterpie. The bug Pokémon hit the ground with a squeak and lost consciousness. "I think you won." Sky said.

"What? You just got lucky!" The man seethed. He returned his Caterpie to its pokeball before sending out his next Pokémon. "This time for sure! Go Weedle!"

Cody rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, this isn't funny! Geodude use tackle again!" The rock Pokémon obeyed and a few seconds later the Weedle had been knocked out.

"Impossible!" The man shrieked. He continued to scream and throw a fit, but Cody and Sky were no longer listening. They had walked past him and continued walking along the bridge.

"You can take the next guy," the brunette told the dark-haired girl.

"I just hope he's stronger than that guy."

It took the two less than an hour to defeat all five trainers on the nugget bridge and make it to the end. Every trainer they fought was stronger than the previous one, but none of them were very good. Even the last one was only slightly difficult. Both Cody and Sky were torn between finding it annoying and thinking it was a good way to relieve stress.

"I thought we were supposed to get a prize." Cody muttered as the end of the bridge got closer and closer. "That last guy just ran off after I beat him."

Sky noticed someone up ahead. "Maybe you should ask that guy? He might be part of this silly game."

Cody agreed and they approached the man at the end of the bridge. He was between 25 and 30 with well conditioned black hair wearing a black trench coat. He greeted them with enthusiasm. "Congratulations! You beat all five contest trainers! You just earned a fabulous prize! Here you go."

He shoved a large golden nugget into Cody's hands. "Umm…thanks?"

"By the way, would you like to join Team Rocket?" The man asked suddenly. "We're a group dedicated to evil using Pokémon! Want to join?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Come on, join us!"

"No thanks."

"I'm telling you to join!" The man was getting angry. "Okay, you two need convincing. I'll make you an offer you can't refuse!" And with that he took off his trench coat revealing his Team Rocket outfit. He then pulled out a pokeball and prepared for battle.

Five minutes later…

"Wow your really good." The man said as his second (and last) Pokémon was defeated. "Now I wish you'd join us even more!"

Sky recalled her Pokémon back to its ball. "We're not interested."

The two walked past the man and came across a green field. There they could spot other trainers as well as wild Pokémon. Both trainers thought it looked beautiful. "Maybe this would be a good time to split up." Sky suggested. When Cody gave her a confused look she continued. "You go battle Bridgette. I'll stay here and train. Sound good?"

Cody shrugged. "Sure. I guess I'll see you later."

"Good luck against Bridgette!" Sky then did something that surprised Cody. She ran up and gave him a quick hug. A few seconds later she let go and ran off to go train. Cody meanwhile headed in the opposite direction. He made his way east past numerous trainers all seeking battle.

After having walked for over an hour Cody came across a stone path. He followed it and soon could make out the sight of a small cottage in the distance. The brunette wasn't at all surprised to see three teenage girls standing outside. He picked up the pace and jogged the rest of the way over.

"Hey Bridgette!" He waved at the blonde. She waved back until he stopped right in front of the three girls. "Sorry I'm late, but I'm ready for the battle!"

"Huh?" Bridgette seemed distracted. "Oh right, the battle. Sorry Cody, but I forgot about it. We've had a little problem you see."

"What's the matter?"

"Well we came here to see Bill…"

"Who's Bill?" Cody asked.

"Bill the Pokemaniac of course!" Leshawna answered quickly. "White boy, don't you know anything? Bill is famous!"

"He's a Pokémon researcher," Gwen explained. "And he has a large collection of common and rare Pokémon. He lives here and he has a reputation for letting anyone who comes by see his collection."

"Then what's the problem?"

"He's not here." Bridgette said. "Or at least-we don't think so."

"Maybe he just went to the store to buy groceries." Cody suggested.

"That's what I said." Leshawna spoke up. "He's probably just not home. It's bad luck, that's all."

"Well I don't think so," Gwen crossed her arms. "His house is unlocked and it's a mess. Something must've happened to him."

"We don't know that."

"No, but there's enough evidence that we can't just leave." Gwen argued. "We should go look for him."

"…and that's where I come in." Bridgette said. "I agree with Gwen mostly, but I think we should get the police. It was bad enough that we went in his house without permission. We can't just go snooping through his stuff! What if he comes back and finds us?" she sighed. "What do you think we should do Cody?"

Now all three girls were watching Cody. He suddenly found himself as the deciding factor. "I…don't know," he shrugged. "I want to go inside and see for myself before I make a decision."

Cody headed into the cottage with all three girls behind him. Right away he could tell that the room was pretty messy despite the lights being off. It had the appearance of a small laboratory rather than a home for Pokémon. This surprised the young trainer and he decided to go in and take a look around.

"We shouldn't be doing this." Bridgette said looking around nervously. No one answered her.

In the back of the room were two large identical machines. Wondering what they were Cody cautiously approached the right one. It was then that he heard a sound. Turning around quickly he thought he saw something in the corner of the room. He couldn't tell what it was but it appeared to be hiding in the shadows. "H-Hello?"

"Why hello there."

It came out of the shadows. It appeared to be nothing more than an Eevee. However hearing the Eevee talk freaked out Cody and the girls. Pokémon didn't talk-ever! Not even Meowths! "Who…what are you?"

"Hiya! I'm a Pokémon…no I'm not!" It shook its head. "Call me Bill! I'm a true blue Pokemaniac!"

"That Eevee is Bill?" Gwen asked.

"Girl, I thought you said Bill was a guy. You didn't say nothing about him being a Pokémon!"

"Hey! What's with that skeptical look?" The Pokémon claiming to be Bill asked. "I'm not joshing you, I screwed up an experiment and got combined with a Pokémon! So how about it? Do you think you could help me out?"

"W-What do I have to do?" Cody stuttered. He wasn't sure what to believe anymore. This whole thing sounded crazy, but at the same time Bill's explanation made more sense than a Pokémon randomly knowing how to speak English.

"Nothing hard. When I'm in the teleporter, go to my PC and run the cell separation system." Bill explained. He then hopped over to one of the big machines at the big of the room and went inside.

"That doesn't sound too hard." Cody walked over to the nearby PC sitting on a desk. He turned it on and searched for the program.

"I think it's this one," Bridgette pointed at the screen. Cody double clicked it and began the cell separation system program. Suddenly both machines closed and a loud whirling sound could be heard coming from them. Then a minute later the process ended and a wave of steam was released. Both doors opened.

An Eevee came out of one machine. A fully grown man with brown hair wearing a purple shirt came out of the other. "Oh thank you!" The man sighed in relief. He walked over and shook all of the teens' hands. "Thanks guys! I owe you one! My experiment went wrong and I ended up trapped in my own Eevee's body. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't shown up."

"See Leshawna?" Gwen nudged the bigger girl. "I was right."

"Yeah yeah, don't make a big deal out of it girl."

"We're really glad we could help." Cody told Bill.

"So did you come to see my Pokémon collection?" The Pokemaniac asked.

"Actually, yes. We did." Bridgette nodded.

"Well please, go take a look." He said. "You've certainly earned it." The three girls ran over to look at the Pokémon collection, but Cody stayed. "What about you?" But Cody shook his head. "You didn't? That's a bummer. I've got to thank you somehow…"

It was then that Bill spotted something among the clutter of papers on his desk. "Oh here, maybe this'll do." He picked up some tickets off the desk and handed them to Cody. "Have you ever heard of the cruise ship the S.S. Anne? Well it's going to be in port in Vermillion City in a few days and guess what? It's passengers are all trainers! They invited me to their party, but I can't stand fancy do's. Why don't you go instead of me?"

"Wow really?" Cody looked the tickets over. They seemed genuine and were for exactly what Bill described. "These are great! Thanks Bill!"

"No problem Buddy," Bill patted the younger trainer on the shoulder. "Now we're even. That is, unless you want to do me another quick favor. Then I'd owe you one again."

"What's that?" Cody asked.

"You could tell me that girl's name." Bill pointed his finger over toward the girls. Cody realized he was pointing right at Leshawna. "If you introduce me to that cutie, I'll owe you big time!"

Cody just rolled his eyes.

A/N: Reviews are appreciated.