Chapter Ten – A Choppy Capture!

Last time…

After winning a thrilling victory at the Pewter Gym, Daniel and his new friends find themselves on their way to Cerulean City, the site of Daniel's second Gym challenge! At the same time, Daniel's father, Ben, is in pursuit of his wayward son. What will happen if their paths cross?

…

"So, what exactly is a Pokémon Breeder?" Daniel asked as he absently kicked a small rock along the road. They had left Pewter City a few hours ago, so any sign of the metropolis was long behind them. Now, the familiar sight of trees and bushes surrounded them.

"Didn't Maddie tell you what a Breeder does?" Chris asked with a raised eyebrow. Maddie poked her tongue out at Chris as Daniel shook his head.

"Nope. Does it have anything to do with, uh, breeding?" He asked, awkwardly. Chris chuckled to himself.

"It's kind of a misleading name, I know. But basically, a Pokémon Breeder focusses on raising a Pokémon as best they can, to ensure they're healthy and strong. Even raising a Pokémon as a pet is sort of like what we do to a lesser extent," the eldest member of the group explained. Daniel slowly nodded.

"So, the people who work at Professor Oak's ranch are breeders then?" he asked. When Chris motioned for him to elaborate, he did. "I mean the people who looked after the Pokémon there. They clean up after them and feed them and stuff like that."

"I guess they could be. I mean, anyone who just takes care of their Pokémon is doing what a breeder does," said Chris. Maddie chose that moment to insert herself into the conversation.

"That means everyone is a breeder!" she added. Daniel nodded in agreement and smiled.

"Yeah, you're right, Maddie," he said. Chris hummed to himself, causing Daniel and Maddie to look over to him.

"Yeah, but we know more than just the average person, Maddie. We didn't go to school for five years for nothing you know," he pointed out.

"At least you guys learned important stuff at school," Daniel said with a shrug. Chris and Maddie chuckled for a bit before allowing the group to fall into a comfortable silence.

The group continued following the dirt road until they came across a stream flowing to the south. It was about twenty meters wide. On both banks, gravel lined the water. Maddie, who was holding the map, described the stream.

"This is Moonstone River," she read from the guidebook. "It flows from the top of Mount Moon and connects up to a larger river to the south." Daniel walked towards the water, the gravel crunching beneath his shoes as he did so, before kneeling and dipping his hand in the water. It was cool to the touch.

"That's a cool name," the youngest member of the group pointed out.

"Ooh, this is interesting. It says when gold miners first tried panning for gold in the 1860s, all they could find were what would later be known as Moon Stones," she read.

"Well, what do you say we take a break here? Maybe we could go for a swim," Chris suggested, which Maddie and Daniel agreed to. Soon, all three trainers were happily splashing around in the river. Squirtle had joined them in the water, while Pidgey, Clefairy and Growlithe were content to play together on the riverbank.

Maddie, Chris and Squirtle were engaged in a water war when something on the opposite bank caught Daniel's eye. There, drinking the river water, was a wild Machop. The Pokémon was roughly human-shaped, about a meter tall, and was coloured grey with three brown protrusions on the top of its head. The Machop didn't seem to be paying any mind to the three humans in the river as it happily drank away.

Not wanting to disturb it, Daniel floated over towards his two older friends and tapped them both on their shoulders, causing them to both peer at him curiously.

"Guys, look over there," he whispered, pointing at the Fighting type. "It's a Machop."

"Do you wanna capture it?" Chris asked. Daniel nodded.

"Yeah. A Fighting type could be really handy," he replied. Chris shrugged nonchalantly and decided to resume his war with Maddie, catching her with a surprise splash. Daniel laughed for a seconds before turning his attention to the Machop, whom was still drinking from the river.

"C'mon, Squirtle," Daniel called as he swam towards it. That got its attention. The Machop watched as Daniel and Squirtle swam towards it.

"Machop, I'm gonna capture you!" he declared, pointing at the wild Pokémon. Machop poked its tongue out at Daniel and Squirtle before turning promptly turning and taking off on the opposite direction. Daniel gaped at it for a seconds, before clawing his way through the water towards the riverbank.

"Quick Squirtle, get after it!" he called as he clambered out of the water and gave chase, Squirtle following close behind. The air was cool on his wet skin, but he paid it no mind as he ran after the fleeing Machop. Fortunately, there weren't many trees or bushes around, so it was easy to keep track of the Fighting Pokémon.

"Squirtle, Water Gun!" Daniel called, hoping to slow down his target. Squirtle obliged and fired the water attack. It hit Machop square in the back, sending it sprawling forwards onto its stomach. Daniel cheered in celebration.

"That's it! Use Water Gun again!" he ordered. Like before, Squirtle fired the familiar attack. But to Daniel's surprise, the Machop rolled to the side, avoiding the attack. The roll left Machop on its back, allowing it to perform a flip-up onto its feet. Then, it charged forward towards Squirtle, its right arm glowing.

Recognising the attack as Karate Chop, Daniel ordered Squirtle to use Withdraw. Squirtle drew his limbs and head into his shell in preparation for the attack. But, when Machop got close, it changed tactics. Instead of bringing its arm down upon Squirtle, it swiped the turtle Pokémon like a hockey puck, sending him flying towards Daniel.

The young Trainer had no time to react as Squirtle came flying towards him at high speed. With a yelp, Daniel flew backwards as his starter collided with his stomach, winding him badly.

"That hurt…," he mumbled from on the ground. For a few moments, all he could do was fill his lungs with air. Squirtle popped out of his shell and looked at him apologetically, causing him to laugh and pat the blue Pokémon on his head.

"That's alright, Squirtle. Wasn't your fault," he said with a small smile before sitting up. Annoyingly, the Machop was nowhere to be found. With a groan, Daniel stood up, still holding Squirtle. Now that the adrenaline pumping through his veins was gone, he shivered as a gust of wind hit him.

"I wish that Machop was on our side of the lake. Then I could've put a shirt on at least," he said to Squirtle. The Pokémon looked up at him, seemingly confused as to what his Trainer was talking about. Daniel laughed again and began to walk slowly back towards the river, holding Squirtle close to his chest in an attempt to stay as warm as possible.

It didn't take long for them to arrive back at Moonstone River. Daniel could see that Chris and Maddie had since gotten out and were dressed back in their normal clothes on the opposite side he and Squirtle were on. Chris spotted him first and called out to him cupping his hands around his mouth as he did so.

"Hey, Daniel! Get back over here would ya?" Daniel waved over to him and jumped back in the lake to swim across to where his friends were. When he got back to their side, he climbed back out as Maddie threw a towel at him. With a grateful smile, he wrapped it around his body.

"I hope you didn't plan on catching that Machop without any Poké Balls," she teased, holding up his belt with a smirk. Daniel's eyes widened before he blushed slapped his forehead, causing both Chris and Maddie to laugh at him.

oOo

Soon after, Daniel had also changed back into his clothes and the group continued onwards towards Cerulean City. Fortunately, there was a road that went around the mountain which allowed them to avoid having to navigate through the dark cave.

After a few hours, they had finally arrived on the eastern side of Mount Moon, putting them halfway to Cerulean City just as the sun begun to dip past the horizon.

"Well, I'm about ready to stop for the day," Maddie said as she dropped her backpack to the ground. The two male members of the group similarly agreed with their friend and unslung their own bags from their shoulders.

"Sounds good to me. This looks like a good spot to set up camp," Chris pointed out, motioning to the flat surface they'd found themselves on. Daniel had to agree with him. The terrain here was mostly grassy plains with a few hills speckled throughout the countryside.

"So, what's for dinner?" Daniel asked as he lay out their large picnic rug.

"Do we have any more of those cookies we got in Pewter City?" Maddie asked.

"Nope, you already ate the last one," Chris replied, folding his arms. Maddie looked offended.

"Me? Daniel ate the last one!" she protested. Daniel frowned at her and shook his head.

"Nope. Those cookies had sultanas in them. I hate sultanas," the youngest member of the group argued.

"Aha! So, if it wasn't Daniel, then it must be you!" Chris exclaimed. The two of them continued to bicker, causing Daniel to tune out their argument. Chris and Maddie argued like a married couple; it was ridiculous. Why bother arguing about some lousy sultana cookies? They tasted horrible anyway.

Suddenly, something moving in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Daniel turned his head to look, he was greeted with the sight of the Machop from before standing on top of a nearby hill. It was staring intently at Daniel, as if challenging him to come after it. Daniel wasn't about to back down from the challenge.

"Guys, shut up! Look, it's the Machop!" he whispered, tapping his older friends on their shoulders. Chris and Maddie stopped bickering and looked at where Daniel was pointing.

"It's come back for a rematch!" he said excitedly. The rookie Trainer ran over to the Machop and checked his waist to make sure he had his Poké Ball belt on this time. Sure enough, it was.

"This time I'll capture you, Machop!" he declared as he threw Squirtle's Poké Ball. With a flash, the turtle Pokémon appeared, ready to go. Machop held its arm out and motioned for come at it. Once more, he was more than happy to oblige.

"Use Water Gun, Squirtle!" he called. With a determined cry, the ever-reliable turtle Pokémon launched his signature attack. The Machop made no attempt to dodge or evade the attack, instead crossing its arms across its face and taking the attack head on.

Nearby, Chris and Maddie were watching the battle. The two breeders were perplexed as to why Machop allowed itself to be hit.

"Do you think that Machop wants to look tough by not dodging Squirtle's attacks?" Maddie asked as the wild Pokémon was hit by another Water Gun. Chris hummed to himself in thought.

"I guess so. A lot of Fighting types like to show off, remember?" he asked, referencing a lesson he and Maddie attended at school once.

Back in the battle, Daniel had also worked out why Machop had not moved an inch.

"It's trying to test how powerful you are, Squirtle! Let's show it a Skull Bash!" Daniel called. Squirtle ran towards Machop with his head lowered, ready to drive it into his opponent. Machop was more than ready to counter, however. When Squirtle got close, it delivered a Karate Chop onto Squirtle's head, knocking the turtle Pokémon onto his underside. But before Daniel could think of a response, the Machop used Low Kick, which sent Squirtle skidding backwards away from it.

"Squirtle, don't give in! Get up and use Bubble Beam!" Daniel ordered. It was a long shot, but Daniel was hoping it would pay off. The three humans held their breaths as Squirtle stood up and attempted to use the so-far elusive move.

Unfortunately, it did not pay off. Squirtle opened his mouth and fired off the much weaker Bubble attack. Machop didn't even bother to shield itself with its arms, choosing to laugh at Squirtle and Daniel instead. Daniel sighed in frustration, but pushed their Bubble Beam block to the back of his mind.

"That's alright Squirtle! Let's swap to Water Gun!" he ordered. Squirtle performed the familiar attack, and Machop took it head on once more. Then, an idea popped into Daniel's head. The Machop obviously wanted to test its power against Squirtle, so it took every attack willingly. But it wasn't tiring out because it had the chance to rest quickly between attacks.

"Squirtle, sustain the Water Gun for as long as you can!" he ordered. Squirtle planted his feet slightly wider apart to help him maintain balance and continued to shoot water from his mouth.

Slowly but surely Machop began to be pushed back. Maddie and Chris began to cheer for Squirtle, who was visibly starting to struggle to keep pumping out water.

"Come on, Squirtle!" Daniel encouraged. Squirtle seemed to shift up a gear, and the stream of water seemed to expand in size. It proved too much for Machop, as the Superpower Pokémon was lifted off the ground and sent flying backwards. With a thud, it landed on the ground and skidded for a few meters, stunned.

Now was the time.

With a grunt, Daniel hurled an empty Poké Ball at the prone Pokémon. With a flash of red light, it was sucked inside. The Poké Ball began to shake and wobble on the ground, the button glowing a deep red. Daniel held his breath as the Poké Ball continued to move around, until finally, it stopped. A sharp ping signified the capture was successful. A grin broke out on Daniel's face and he pumped his fist in celebration.

"We did it Squirtle!" he cried, running over to the tired Water type and picking him up in celebration. Maddie and Chris joined him, smiles on their faces.

"Great battling, Squirtle!" Maddie congratulated. Chris gave Daniel a thumbs up, and the rookie Trainer nodded in appreciation for his friends. Suddenly, a wave of fatigue washed over him, and he let out a satisfied sigh.

So far, his journey had been going great. Three Pokémon, and two friends-slash-travelling companions, and a Badge to top it off. The pieces had all seemed to fall into place. As the sun continued its descent, the young Trainer found himself staring at the orange sky, looking to the future with excited optimism.

oOo

Next Time…

Daniel, Chris and Maddie arrive in Cerulean City, ready to challenge its famous Gym for a Badge! Can Daniel win the highly sought-after Cascade Badge?

►TO BE CONTINUED….

…

Hi all, and thanks for reading! Remember if you've enjoyed the story, or want to leave a suggestion or any criticism, leave a review! Also, check out the DeviantArt link in my profile. I've done a few illustrations on various scenes from the story so far. I'll be doing drawings that show particular parts of the story, so if you have a moment you've liked, be sure to suggest it to me! Until next time, have a great day!