Having defeated his rival Dean in a four-on-four battle last chapter, James, along with Livvi, Richard and Joe, is continuing on his way to Cerulean Cape.
Upload Date: 11th March 2013
Chapter 10: A Small Mishap
Route 24, Kanto
10:47am, 12th April 2005
Having got up bright and early that morning so that they could make it the whole way to Cerulean Cape, James, Livvi and Joe were frustrated by Richard's insistence that he try to catch a wild weedle that had appeared.
"But I need another pokémon if I'm going to take on Misty!" he whined.
"Fine!" Livvi snapped. "Just be quick about it!"
"Go, Naro!" Richard threw out Naro's poké ball.
The nidoran cried out as he materialised.
"Let's make this quick, Naro," Richard called. "Use Peck!"
Naro charged towards the weedle, which jumped up to avoid the Peck attack and fired a String Shot at Naro.
The nidoran cried out as he was hit by the sticky string.
"Try Double Kick!" Richard called.
Naro managed to pull himself free from the String Shot and charged towards the weedle again. However, it fired another String Shot at Naro, stopping him in his tracks again.
"Not again!" Richard groaned.
The weedle now shot forwards and rammed Naro with his stinger.
"That was Poison Sting!" Joe yelled to Richard.
"I think that's all weedle can learn," said James. "Just Poison Sting and String Shot."
"And since Naro is a poison type, Poison Sting has very little effect!" Livvi added.
"Doesn't do me a lot of good if I can't land a hit!" Richard grumbled. "Naro, try pulling yourself free again!"
Naro thrashed around violently, trying to break free from the String Shot. The weedle dived in and landed another Poison Sting on the nidoran as he did so.
"You can do it, Naro!" Richard called, watching the weedle jump back again. "Use Peck!"
Naro tore his way out of the String Shot and dived at the weedle. His horn made contact, but, instead of glowing a bluey-white, it was glowing purple.
"Naro's using Poison Sting!" Joe exclaimed.
"Awesome, Naro!" Richard called. "Now finish it up with Peck!"
Naro jumped back and then flung himself at the weedle again, who cried in pain as it was hit. It crashed into the ground.
"Now it's my turn." Richard mumbled, throwing an empty poké ball at the weedle. The ball hit it on the head and popped open as it bounced. The weedle turned into red energy and was sucked inside the ball, which then dropped to the ground. Richard and the others watched the ball shake once, twice, three times, and then there was a click and a burst of sparks to show that the weedle had been caught.
"Alright!" Richard whooped, running over to pick up the poké ball.
"Nice work, Richard!" James grinned.
"Yeah, good job!" Livvi sighed. "Except that we've lost time!"
"Only a little bit!" Richard laughed. "Okay, I'm going to call him 'Sting'!" He smiled at Sting inside the ball. "We're going to be an awesome team." He turned to Naro. "Say hello to our new friend, Naro!"
Naro grinned at the poké ball.
"Let's not start pushing our luck," James said. "If we set off now, we might still reach Cerulean Cape by sunset."
Richard stood up. "Sorry I made you wait, guys – let's get moving again!"
Route 25, Kanto
4:19pm, 12th April 2005
"Naro, use Poison Sting!" Richard called.
Naro charged forward and stabbed at his opponent, a pidgey, with his toxic horn.
"Are you okay, Pidgey?" its trainer, a girl named Haley, called.
Pidgey got up again and glared at Naro defiantly.
James, Livvi and Joe gazed glumly at the battle.
"Why now?" James grumbled.
"We're so close!" Livvi whined. "I can see Cerulean Cape down there!"
James and Joe followed her gaze. Route 25 was a part open, part wooded path that hugged the side of a mountain. The route itself also sat on a cliff, at the foot of which a river ran down from Mt. Moon. Their current position was elevated enough for them to be able to see the sea in the distance. Cerulean Cape sat just next to the mouth of the river.
"Wing Attack!" Haley ordered.
Pidgey dove towards Naro with its wings spread wide.
"Quick, Naro, dodge it!" Richard called.
Naro jumped up and to the right, but Pidgey changed direction and smashed into him. He cried out as he fell back to the ground.
"Naro, are you okay?" Richard called anxiously.
Naro gave him a weak reply.
"Nidoran is unable to battle, so the winner is Pidgey!" Haley's travelling companion, a young boy named Tyler, announced. He'd insisted on being the referee, but he didn't seem to be biased.
"Naro, return!" Richard held up the poké ball and withdrew Naro.
James wasn't entirely surprised by the result – Naro had successfully beaten Haley's oddish and had taken a lot of damage. He glanced at the pidgey. Looked like it had been poisoned by Poison Point during its last attack.
"Let's go, Sting!" Richard yelled. He threw out Sting's poké ball.
Sting cried out as he emerged.
"A weedle?" Haley laughed. "This is going to be over in a second!"
"I believe in you, Sting!" Richard called.
Sting nodded.
"Pidgey, use Wing Attack!"
"Sting, use String Shot!"
Sting quickly fired the sticky string at Pidgey. It cried out as it was enveloped by the String Shot and fell to the ground in a sticky heap.
"Now Poison Sting!" Richard called.
Sting dove forward to stab at Pidgey while it was still held by the String Shot.
"Are you okay, Pidgey?" Haley called out anxiously as Sting jumped back.
Pidgey shook a little with the pain of Naro's Poison Point.
"You've got to get free from that String Shot!" Haley called desperately. "I believe in you, Pidgey!"
Pidgey pulled itself up and viciously tugged at the String Shot to try and pull free.
"Poison Sting again!" Richard called.
Sting charged forward again and stabbed Pidgey before it could get free. As he jumped back again, Richard gave his next order.
"Now use String Shot again!"
Sting fired another String Shot, but at that moment Pidgey broke free from the first String Shot and dodged it.
"Awesome Pidgey, now use Wing Attack!" Haley cried in delight.
Pidgey swept in and landed a Wing Attack before Sting could react. He cried out as he was thrown back.
"Can you go on, Sting?" Richard asked.
Sting flipped back over onto his front and nodded.
"Okay, then use String Shot!"
Sting fired another String Shot at Pidgey.
"Dodge it and use Wing Attack!" Haley ordered.
Pidgey quickly soared out of reach of Sting's attack and then dived down again. Richard waited until it was almost on top of them.
"String Shot!" he yelled.
Sting shot the sticky string at Pidgey. It struck her in the face, rendering her unable to see, and also constricting her wings. The flying pokémon crashed just in front of Sting.
"Pidgey!" Haley cried.
"Finish it with Poison Sting!" ordered Richard.
Sting jabbed Pidgey with his Poison Sting, who slumped forwards.
"Pidgey is unable to battle so Weedle is the winner. Both of Haley's pokémon are unable to battle, so the winner is Richard," Tyler announced.
"That was great, Sting!" Richard grinned. "Huh? What's wrong, Sting?"
Sting had started shuddering. Suddenly, he was enveloped in a bright light and small light beams started spinning around him.
"Could it be?" James wondered.
Joe nodded. "I know that bug type pokémon generally evolve quicker than most other pokémon, but this is exceptionally quick."
"Yeah," Livvi mused as Sting's shape began to change. "Richard's only had Sting for a few hours."
Sting's shape had now fully changed. The light surrounding him burst into a cloud of sparks. Richard's newly evolved kakuna stood in front of them.
"Alright, Sting!" Richard yelled in glee. He ran forward and hugged his new pokémon. "You did an awesome job, Sting, return!"
"You did really well too, Pidgey." Haley smiled gently as she withdrew her Pidgey.
"That was a really good battle!" Richard grinned, going over to shake Haley's hand.
"Thanks," she said. "I still can't quite believe your weedle was able to beat Pidgey. You must be a really great trainer!"
"Really?" Richard laughed, blushing. "I've only been a trainer for five days!"
"Only five days?" Haley gasped. "And your pokémon are already so strong!"
"I wouldn't say we were strong yet," said Richard. "But we'll try our best to get there!"
"Well I hope we can battle again sometime," Haley said with a smile. "When we've both gotten even stronger!"
"Yeah, same." Richard nodded determinedly. They shook hands again.
"Come on, Haley! We need to hit Cerulean City soon!" Tyler laughed. "Right, Bellsprout?"
The bellsprout stood by his side nodded in agreement.
"Okay. See you then!" Haley smiled at Richard.
"Bye!" Richard returned her smile. He and Joe waved as they walked away.
"Let's go then, guys!" Joe grinned. "If we're quick, then we might make it before nightfall!"
11:07am, 13th April 2005
"We're almost here!" Joe called from the front of the group. They left the cover of the woodland and noticed a cottage on their left. A cliff face towered behind it, but, other than that, the cliff top was completely flat. Well, there was a raised bit faced the sea. That was Cerulean Cape.
"I'm guessing your friend lives in that cottage, right?" Livvi asked Joe.
"Yep." Joe nodded. "We're too late to see his experiment now since he was planning to do it yesterday evening, but he's got some pretty rare pokémon we can see."
"So it's not a wasted trip after all!" James grinned. They approached the cottage. Joe reached up to ring the doorbell.
They waited for a moment.
"At last, someone's shown up!" They heard a voice from the other side of the door. "Come in! The door is unlocked!"
"Bill! It's me, Joe!" Joe called as he went to open the door.
"Joe? Excellent, just the person need!"
James, Richard, Livvi and Joe stepped through the doorway. They looked around for Bill, but couldn't see him.
"Bill? Where are you?" Joe called.
"Ahem. Down here."
They looked down. There was a clefairy stood in the hallway just in front of them. This was no ordinary clefairy though – it had a human face!
Livvi squeaked in fright and hid behind James.
"What happened to you, Bill?" Joe asked, trying to understand what he was seeing.
"Well," Bill began. "I was carrying out that experiment I was telling you about, but there was a small mishap."
"And you got combined with a clefairy?" Joe asked.
"Yep," Bill replied.
"Is there anything we can do?"
"Yes!" Bill grinned. "Follow me!" he led them through into a back room. There was a desk in the centre with a computer on it. At the back of the room, there were two large cylinders.
"So what do we need to do, Bill?" Joe looked around.
"Simple," Bill replied. "I'll go into the transporter on the right. Then I need you to start the separation process on the computer."
"How do we do that?"
"Just click on the 'Start Separation' button – the program's already running. Got it?"
"Yep." Joe nodded.
"Okay. Here goes then." Bill entered the transporter. There was a clang as the door shut. "I'm ready!" They heard him shout out to them.
"Okay! I'm starting the process now!" Joe called. He clicked the 'Start Separation' button. A high-pitched whirring sound started up. After a few seconds, a bright light lit up inside the transporter. James, Richard, Livvi and Joe shielded their eyes.
Then there was a whooshing sound and an equally bright light lit up in the other Transporter. There was a couple of loud cracks, and then silence. The lights died. Then both Transporters opened.
A clefairy stepped out of the one on the right, and a young man with curly brown hair stepped out of the one on the left.
"Whew! Thanks for that, Joe!" The man grinned.
"Not a problem, Bill!" Joe replied, shaking his hand. "These are my friends James, Richard and Livvi."
"Pleased to meet you." Bill shook all of their hands. "I'm Bill – I helped set up the Pokémon Transfer System."
"Pokémon Transfer System?" Livvi asked.
"At pokémon centres, there are these stations where you can transfer your pokémon." James explained. "So I could transfer Kacha back to Pallet Town if I wanted to."
"And if you had more than seven pokémon, then you could send the extra one home." Richard added.
"It basically means you don't have to go all the way back home just to rotate your pokémon around," said Joe. He turned back to Bill. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it for the experiment."
"Don't worry about it!" Bill smiled. "How's that meowth of yours?"
"Meowth's doing great." Joe grinned, pulling out Meowth's poké ball. He clicked the release button and Meowth popped out of the ball.
He purred as he walked over to Bill and let him stroke him.
"Seems like you're getting stronger!" he commented. "How are your other pokémon?"
"I'd love to show you!" Joe laughed. "But I don't want to reveal my hand to my competitor."
"Competitor?"
"Yeah." Joe nodded. "James here is aiming to take part in the Kanto League as well."
"Are you now?" Bill turned to James.
"That's my goal, yes." James grinned.
"How many badges have you got so far?"
"Just two."
"Which ones?"
"Pewter City's Boulder Badge and Cerulean City's Cascade Badge."
Bill nodded. "So you'll be heading south to Vermilion City then?"
"Yep," James replied. "At least, that's where Joe was recommending."
"Well, Saffron City's off limits at the moment, so your only choice really is to head through the Underground Path to Vermilion City. I suppose you could go along Route 9 towards Lavender Town instead if you wanted." Bill said.
"What's happening in Saffron City?" Livvi asked.
"Team Rocket have staged an uprising against the local government and are trying to take control of the city," Bill replied. "They've been battling it out for a week now, and there's no end in sight!"
"Who's Team Rocket?" Richard asked.
"A criminal gang," Joe said dismissively. "They've been involved in pokémon trafficking, smuggling and lots of other stuff."
"They're nothing to worry about anymore." Bill cut in. "Team Rocket's been losing ground for years now – Saffron's the only place they've still got influence. And that won't last much longer thanks to the current crisis."
"So, where's this Underground Path then?" asked James.
"Head south from Cerulean City onto Route 5. After that, you need to keep following signs to Saffron. Eventually you'll start seeing signs to the Underground Path."
"Okay, thanks!" said James gratefully.
"Oh! I meant to ask you – how are Eevee, Vaporeon, Jolteon and Flareon?" Joe asked.
"They're fine." Bill grinned. He walked over to the desk and picked up four poké balls. "Come out guys!" There were four pops as the poké balls opened and their occupants were released.
They were all rather unusual pokémon – well, except for one small, furry brown one. One of the others had thin, blue, streamlined fur and a fish-like tail, while the second had yellow fur that seemed to stick out all over the place. The final one was mostly read and orange. Its fur seemed to emanate warmth.
"Wow!" Livvi gasped, looking at the four pokémon. "That's an eevee, and three of its evolved forms! They're really rare!"
"Rare, huh?" James fished out his Pokédex.
"Eevee, the evolution pokémon. It has the ability to alter the composition of its body to suit its surrounding environment."
"That's incredible!" James exclaimed. "And the others?" He pointed the Pokédex at Vaporeon.
"Vaporeon, the bubble jet pokémon and the evolved form of eevee. Its cell composition is similar to water molecules. As a result, it can melt away into water."
"What about this one, James?" Livvi asked, pointing at Jolteon.
"Jolteon, the lightning pokémon and the evolved form of eevee. It controls 10,000-volt power and can raise all the fur on its body as if it were sharp needles."
"And this one?" Richard was squatting next to Flareon.
"Flareon, the flame pokémon and the evolved form of eevee. It stores some of the air it inhales in its internal flame pouch, which heats it to over 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit."
"They're all so cute!" Livvi giggled.
"I'm glad you like them!" Bill laughed.
"I'd really love to have a jolteon!" Livvi sighed. "Do you know anywhere where I could find an eevee?"
"I'm afraid not." Bill shook his head. "Eevee are almost impossible to find in the wild."
"Oh well, I'll just keep searching and one day I'll find it!" Livvi grinned.
Bill laughed again. "That's the spirit!" he glanced at the clock. "Whoa! Is that the time?" Everyone else looked as well.
12:03!
"Time flies when you're having fun!" Joe laughed.
"Time for some lunch I think!" Bill grinned. "All of you are welcome to stay for something to eat."
"Thanks, Bill!"
5:41pm, 13th April 2005
After lunch, James and Richard had been talking about how much they were looking forward to their next gym battles (Cerulean for Richard and Vermilion for James). Bill had then mentioned that there was a tournament that was due to be held aboard the SS Anne when it arrived in Vermilion City on 20th April. When James and Richard had expressed an interest in it, Bill offered to buy them tickets so they could get onto the liner while they were in Vermilion. While the others did that, Livvi had decided to head out so she could look out from Cerulean Cape. It was evening now and the sunset had coloured the sea a bright orange.
"It's beautiful, isn't it, Barru?" Livvi said, looking at the bulbasaur.
Barru nodded eagerly.
"It's seeing things like this that make me really glad that I decided to become a pokémon trainer," Livvi sighed. "I wouldn't be able to see this if I were still at home."
Barru suddenly called out rather indignantly.
Livvi glanced at Barru. "What is it, Barru?" she asked.
He seemed quite put out by something.
Livvi gave him a smile. "Of course, I'm glad I met you," she said. "That's the other part of the journey that I like. If I'd stayed at home, then I'd never have met you, or James, or Richard, or Joe."
Barru looked up at her curiously.
"Thanks for keeping me company, Barru!" Livvi grinned. She pulled out Barru's poké ball and withdrew him. She heard a noise from back at the cottage. Looking round, she saw that James had come out.
"Hi, Livvi!" he called. "How's the view?"
"It's great!" Livvi shouted back. "You should take the time to admire your surroundings sometime, rather than just focusing on pokémon training!"
"And who's the one who was encouraging me to enter the Kanto League?" James yelled with a grin.
Livvi laughed and turned back to look out to sea. It was then that she noticed that there was something moving further out in the sea. It looked like a pokémon.
"James! Quick, come and look at this!" she called.
James ran up next to her.
"What is it?" he asked.
Livvi pointed.
There was some sort of pokémon swimming with its back just above the surface. It was huge! As James and Livvi watched, it suddenly disappeared and then leapt out of the water. It did a spin as it crashed back into the water. It looked like some sort of whale. Livvi pulled out her Pokédex and pointed it at the pokémon.
"Nothing," she murmured, looking at the screen.
"Must be out of range," James sighed.
"I've never seen a pokémon like that before." Livvi frowned. "I wonder what it is."
"The more we travel, the more likely we are to find out!" James grinned.
Livvi laughed. "And on that subject, shouldn't we be moving along towards Vermilion City soon?"
"Just waiting for Richard and Joe."
"Are they still in there?"
"Yeah."
"What's the big deal with this SS Anne?"
"There's a pokémon tournament aboard it," James explained.
"So?"
"So it's a good opportunity for me and my team to improve our skills!"
"I suppose it is a luxury liner," Livvi said thoughtfully.
James laughed.
"You're always on holiday in your mind aren't you?"
Livvi laughed as well.
"You know, Cerulean Cape is supposed to be a favourite of young couples because it's so romantic!"
James and Livvi spun round. Richard was walking towards them, grinning like he was a spider that had just captured a fly in its web.
"Don't worry – don't let me interrupt this private moment!"
James and Livvi blushed.
"Wh-Wh-What are you talking about!" Livvi cried. "It's nothing like that!"
"Yeah!" James nodded furiously. "We just saw something in the sea down there, that's all!"
Richard laughed and held up three tickets.
"SS Tickets!" he called. "Thanks to Bill, we're going on the SS Anne for the tournament!"
"We should probably start making our way back now!" Joe shouted to the three of them. "Did you want any longer here, Livvi?"
"It's fine," Livvi replied. "I'm just glad that I got to visit here."
"You guys going now?" Bill had appeared.
"I think so," said Joe. "Thanks for everything, Bill!"
"Not a problem." Bill smiled. "Good luck on your journey!"
"Thanks, Bill!" they all called. "Goodbye!"
They waved to Bill until they were out of sight, and then set their sights on the road ahead. The road that would take them back to Cerulean City.
A new pokémon and an evolution for Richard – all in one chapter! Anyway, James and his friends are now on their way back to Cerulean City, where Richard will hopefully battle and defeat Misty. And after that they've got the tournament on the SS Anne to look forward to (and James's Vermilion City gym battle, of course!).
Complaints/reviews can be made in the usual box below.
See you next Monday! :D
James's Team:
Active:
Charka (Charmander): male, naïve, often scatters things, likes sweet food, fire type, Blaze ability, known moves are Scratch, Smokescreen, Ember and Metal Claw.
Kacha (Pikachu): male, modest, sturdy body, likes dry food, electric type, Static ability, known moves are Thundershock, Growl, Quick Attack and Thunder Wave.
Raenok (Mankey): male, impish, loves to eat, likes sour food, fighting type, Anger Point ability, known moves are Scratch, Leer, Low Kick and Karate Chop.
Ayra (Paras): male, lax, loves to relax, likes sour food, bug-grass type, Dry Skin ability, known moves are Scratch, Stun Spore, Bullet Seed and Poison Powder.
Livvi's Team:
Active:
Barru (Bulbasaur): male, timid, highly persistent, likes sweet food, grass-poison type, Overgrow ability, known moves are Tackle; Growl; Vine Whip and Leech Seed.
Richard's Team:
Active:
Naro (Nidoran): male, mild, sturdy body, likes dry food, poison type, Poison Point ability, known moves are Leer, Peck, Poison Sting and Double Kick.
Sting (Kakuna): male, hardy, often dozes off, eats anything, poison-bug type, Shed Skin ability, known moves are Poison Sting, String Shot and Harden.