Hey, guys! New week, new chapter! Ready to get to it?
Last time: Michelle participated in her first ever Contest. Using her Pichu, Michelle managed to make it past the appeals round, along with her newfound rival, Clarisse. Team Rocket's own Jewel, who had disguised herself as a girl named Gemma, failed to make it past the appeals round after ordering Nidoran to use an attack she didn't know. Unfortunately for Michelle, both an appeal and a battle were too much for Pichu's young body, bringing the new coordinator her first ever loss. After Michelle is ousted, Clarisse goes on to win the entire Contest, bringing her ribbon count up to 3. Will Michelle get closer to her new rival anytime soon?
Chapter 11: The House of Flames!
"Alright, Brandon, where's our next stop?"
"By that, you mean where's the next gym," Michelle huffed.
"Basically," Aiden shrugged. He wasn't going to put up a fight when he knew it was completely true.
"Well, according to the map," Brandon was studying his poke gear, "the next gym is in Vermillion City."
"Great, to Vermillion City we go!" Aiden cheered.
"Brandon," Michelle piped up, "by any chance do you know where the next Pokémon Contest happens to be?"
"I could check it out," Brandon pressed a few buttons on the screen of his poke gear. "It seems that the nearest Pokémon Contest to where we are now is in Porta Vista, which is located right between-"
"Vermillion City and Lavender Town," Michelle interrupted, finishing the future breeder's sentence for him.
"How did you know that?" Brandon raised an eyebrow.
"My Grandparents have a vacation home in Porta Vista," Michelle giggled. "I've been going there since I was just a baby! I love Porta Vista. How exciting that there's a Contest there! I bet it's on the beach!"
"And a beach means beautiful girls in bathing suits!" Brandon agreed brightly.
"Oh boy," Aiden muttered, "I hope I never end up like that…"
"Watch out!"
The trio looked up and found a flamethrower attack barreling straight towards them. Gasping, they all jumped down to the concrete in order to avoid being hit by the attack.
"Man, that was a close one!" Aiden's eyes widened.
"Where in the world did that come from?!" Michelle sat up on her knees.
A flash of yellow ran past the group, not showing any signs of slowing down. Pichu twitched her ears at this, but said nothing and made no other movement. Not long after the mysterious yellow flash made its way past the group, a large, burnt orange furred Pokémon and a teenage girl appeared, stopping in front of the three young trainers who remained sitting on the sidewalk.
"I'm terribly sorry about that," the girl apologized quickly, keeping her eyes glancing sideways to watch the yellow flash. Growling quietly, she looked down and ordered, "Camerupt, after it!"
"Cam!" The Pokémon ran in the direction of the flash, further confusing the younger three humans.
"Are you alright?" The girl finally turned her focus onto Aiden, Michelle, and Brandon. She had long, wavy auburn hair that fell down her mid back and amber eyes, with a sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheekbones.
"Just fine!" Brandon jumped up and grabbed the girl's hands. "But thank you for asking. You're a very kind, beautiful person!"
"Oh…thank you…" the girl blinked.
"May I ask what your name is?" Brandon beamed up at her.
"Bridget," the girl answered.
"Bridget, what a beautiful name for a beautiful girl!" Brandon jumped back up to his full height. "Did I mention that you're beautiful?"
"Alright, Brandon, get off," Michelle sighed, yanking the slightly older boy back by his hair. Giggling, she smiled at Bridget and introduced herself, "hi, I'm Michelle! And this is my partner, Pichu."
"Pi!" Pichu greeted.
"And I'm Aiden," the raven haired boy stood up. "Was that Camerupt yours?"
"Yes, it is," Bridget nodded.
"Did it unleash that flamethrower attack?" Aiden seemed very impressed.
"Yep," Bridget once again confirmed Aiden's inquiry. "But I sort of thought no one was on the sidewalk…my bad! Sometimes I don't think things through. I guess I'm a bit of an air head…heh."
"So, who were you blasting the flamethrower at?" Michelle tilted her head.
"My Numel," Bridget sighed.
"Numel?" Michelle took out her poke ball and searched for the Pokémon.
Numel, the numb Pokémon. They are very strong, having been used by humans for many years to carry heavy loads, and are numb to any kind of pain. The hump on its back contains magma that burns at a temperature of 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1,200 degrees Celsius.
"It's so cute!" Michelle giggled.
"Maybe, but that Numel is a big troublemaker," Bridget folded her arms.
"What do you mean?" Aiden blinked.
"Well-"
"Camer! Rupt!"
Bridget, Michelle, and Aiden looked down the sidewalk, where Camerupt was walking back towards them. Trailing behind was Numel, who didn't look upset or angry about being caught. In fact, it looked totally oblivious to anything going on around it.
"Why don't I take you back to my place and explain," Bridget offered. "It's kind of a long story."
XXX
Camerupt, the eruption Pokémon, and the evolved form of Numel. If it becomes angered, the small volcanoes on its back will erupt with hot molten rock. When struck in the face, it will become uncontrollably angry.
"Cool," Aiden chuckled, closing his poke dex after scanning the dual type Pokémon.
The group was now gathered at a table inside of Bridget's home, with Camerupt and Numel eating in the corner of the room.
"That Numel has been a problem ever since it was born," Bridget explained in an exasperated manner. "It has a very naughty nature. We have lots of Numel here on the ranch, but that one is the worst behaved of them all. It's always breaking fences and running off. I just can't understand why."
"Maybe I can help you with that," Brandon offered. "You see, Bridget, I'm training to become the world's best Pokémon breeder, and I'd be more than happy to examine your Numel and figure out why it acts the way it does."
"That would be great, Brandon!" Bridget beamed. "Thank you!"
"Just so you know, that doesn't mean she's going to fall in love with you," Aiden whispered teasingly to his best friend.
"Never hurts to try, man," Brandon patted Aiden's back before standing up to take a look at Numel.
"Bridget, you don't live here all alone, do you?" Michelle was looking around the room, examining the spacious kitchen in which they were sitting.
"Oh, no," Bridget laughed. "I have my parents, and three much younger siblings. But they're all out of town, visiting my Grandparents. Someone needed to stay behind to watch the ranch, so I offered to do it. Usually, my Dad never lets me, but he said I'm getting old enough where he can trust me to do just that."
"That's awesome!" Michelle grinned.
"Except some of the Pokémon are making it difficult," Bridget fretted.
"You have other Pokémon?" Aiden inquired.
"Of course!" Bridget nodded. "They're all in the back. I could show them to you, if you'd like."
"My brother never passes up a chance to look at Pokémon," Michelle smirked. "He's exactly the same as he was when he was five years old."
Leading the three younger trainers outside, Bridget brought them into a large area of grass, bordered by a white farm fence and filled with various Pokémon, all of which shared something in common.
"Hey, these are all fire types!" Brandon noted.
"That's right," Bridget confirmed. "My family and I raise fire type Pokémon!"
"Whoa, check out all the Numel!" Aiden pointed to the far right corner, where a group of 7 or 8 numb Pokémon were gathered and chewing on grass.
"And the Slugma!" Brandon saw the trio of slug Pokémon hanging around nearby.
Michelle's attention, however, was instantly captured by an elegant looking fire type standing alone in the far left corner of the field, looking up at the sky as its fiery mane flowed behind it.
"Wow…" Michelle's eyes shined as she walked towards the almost regal looking creature.
"Michelle, wait!" Bridget called.
The coordinator stopped in her tracks and spun around, shooting Bridget a curious look. "What is it?"
"That Ponyta is very anti social," Bridget explained. "It doesn't get along with any human or Pokémon."
"Ponyta…" Michelle reached for her poke dex and scanned the fire type.
Ponyta, the fire horse Pokémon. Its hooves are ten times harder than diamonds and possess incredibly strong leg muscles that give it great jumping prowess. Its tail and mane are made up of flames, which will burn anyone it doesn't trust.
"It's such a beautiful Pokémon," Michelle breathed. Frowning, she continued, "but why doesn't it like anyone?"
"I've been trying to figure that one out for a long time," Bridget shook her head. "We got that Ponyta when it was just a baby, from my Grandmother. Even then, it was shy and preferred to be off on its own. And every time I tried to get my Ponyta to play with it, it would just run away."
"You have a Ponyta?" Michelle was impressed by this, her eyes sparkling at the thought.
"I did," Bridget giggled. Pulling a poke ball off her belt, she tossed it and called, "come on out, Rapidash!"
A larger horse like Pokémon appeared, the flames emerging from its body much larger, longer, and more extravagant than the ones on Ponyta. In addition to having a larger, more muscular frame and more impressive flames, Rapidash had a horn on its forehead.
"Oh, wow, it's so cool!" Michelle squealed, once again holding out her poke dex.
Rapidash, the fire horse Pokémon, and the evolved form of Ponyta. They are very agile and competitive, chasing anything that moves in the hopes of racing it. The faster Rapidash runs, the longer its flames appear, while at a full out gallop, the mane sparkles.
"I just love it!" Michelle was practically shrieking.
"So, are Camerupt and Rapidash your two Pokémon?" Aiden asked.
"Yep, they're my partners!" Bridget nodded. "I don't battle very often, so they just help me herd and care for the other Pokémon on the ranch."
Rapidash let out a whinny and trotted over to Ponyta, nudging the smaller horse with her muzzle. Ponyta, in turn, let out a huff of air and turned her head away, clearly wanting nothing to do with her evolved form.
"You were right about Ponyta," Brandon noted.
"Rapidash is always trying to get Ponyta out of her shell, but nothing seems to work," Bridget fretted. "Ponyta just seems bent on refraining from contact with anyone else."
Biting the inside of her cheek, Michelle marched towards Ponyta, putting a smile on her face as she held a hand out towards the fire type.
"Hey there, Ponyta!" Michelle greeted sweetly. "My name's Michelle. It's nice to meet you!"
In response, the fire Pokémon neighed and turned her head the other way. Michelle, however, wasn't deterred.
"Come on, it's alright," Michelle beckoned. "I'm not going to hurt you! I just want to be your friend."
"Michelle is such an idiot," Aiden rolled his eyes.
"I really don't think she is, Aiden…" Brandon shook his head.
Michelle reached out further and gently stroked Ponyta's muzzle. While the fire type flinched at first, she soon relaxed underneath Michelle's touch and opened her eyes to glance sideways at the young coordinator.
"Yeah, see?" Michelle murmured. "I'm alright! You're a very good Pokémon, yeah!"
Ponyta neighed blissfully, enjoying the attention from Michelle.
"Wait…Ponyta actually doesn't mind being pet?" Aiden blinked.
"She usually does," Bridget raised an eyebrow. "But that doesn't seem to be the case with Michelle."
"You have such a pretty mane," Michelle complimented the Pokémon, reaching up for its flames.
"Michelle, be careful!" Bridget warned. "Ponyta's flames will burn you if-"
"Oh, you like being pet, don't you?"
Bridget's eyes widened. Ponyta wasn't burning Michelle! She had never seen that before.
"This is strange," Bridget mused. "Ponyta would've run away by now, usually. But she really seems to be enjoying Michelle's attention!"
Neighing softly, Ponyta walked a circle around Michelle, eyeing the girl the entire time. At this, Michelle laughed and kept her eyes on Ponyta, allowing the fire type to check her out. Pichu, meanwhile, was reaching out towards Ponyta with her little paws, squeaking excitedly as the horse eyed her.
"Pi! Pichu!" Pichu squealed.
"So, Bridget, what do you and your family raise these fire types for?" Brandon asked curiously.
"All kinds of things," Bridget replied. "We usually raise the Numel to be work Pokémon, for people who live on farms and need help with heavy lifting. The Slugma we raise are typically taken in by day care owners who use Slugma's body heat to keep Pokémon eggs warm. Sometimes, we'll get in Charmander eggs or babies that we take care of until they're ready to be taken by the Pokémon Center to give to new trainers. We're also responsible for raising young Growlithe to become police Pokémon that work alongside Officer Jenny."
"I don't see any Growlithe around here," Aiden looked around the field.
"That's where my parents went, to pick up some young Growlithe from my Grandparents," Bridget piped up. "You see, we just finished training a trio of Growlithe for the police. There were actually four we were supposed to raise, but one of them wasn't working out. It was too free spirited, and when a Pokémon doesn't want to become something, we can't force it into doing that job. It wouldn't be right, not to mention the job wouldn't be done as efficiently. So, that one was sort of adopted by my younger brother and sister, Tyson and Nina. They named her Emberly and are training her to be a battler, since that's what she seems to enjoy."
"Wow, how old are your siblings?" Aiden blinked.
"Well, Tyson is 8, and Nina is 5," Bridget tapped her chin. "And my brother Phoenix is just a baby. They're all too young to be trainers, but Tyson wants to become a gym trainer more than anything, and my guess is Emberly will become his partner Pokémon. He wants to specialize in fire types, and become a gym leader."
"Like my Mom!" Aiden beamed.
"Or my Dad," Forrest chuckled.
"Wow, you're the children of gym leaders?" Bridget looked between Aiden and Brandon.
"Yep, my Mom is a water type specialist," Aiden nodded before pointing at Brandon, "and his Dad trains rock type Pokémon!"
"Wait…your Mom is a water type gym leader in the Kanto region?" Bridget seemed to be piecing something together in her head.
"Yeah," Aiden moved his head up and down once again.
"She doesn't happen to be married to the Pokémon Master…does she?"
"Yeah, that's my Dad," Aiden chuckled.
Bridget's eyes were so wide that Aiden slightly feared they would pop out of her head. "I can't believe it! I've been talking to the Pokémon Master's children this whole time! And I haven't even acknowledged it!"
"Really, you don't have to," Aiden laughed nervously.
"What do you mean?" Bridget prompted.
"My sister and I are proud of our Dad, because he always wanted to be the Pokémon Master, ever since he was a little kid," Aiden explained. "But he worked hard for that title, and the only reason we get recognized is because we just so happen to be his kids. We want to work hard towards our own goals, too." Looking over his shoulder at Michelle, who was still petting Ponyta, Aiden continued, "I would much rather be recognized for my own accomplishments, and not the fact that I'm related to someone else who's achieved them. I'm sure my sister feels the same way."
"That makes a lot of sense," Bridget smiled. "It's very admirable of you, Aiden."
"Thanks!" Aiden beamed.
XXX
"Look at all of those fire types!"
"They'd make excellent gifts for the boss!"
"Okay, you two," Sneasel sighed, putting his binoculars down. "How are a bunch of fire type Pokémon gonna' help the boss? Care to explain?"
"All of those fire types are trained to do different jobs," Jason explained to the dual type. "So they can assist the boss with all kinds of things!"
"Like…?" Sneasel narrowed his eyes.
"Lifting heavy loads, keeping him warm at night, blah blah blah," Jewel rolled her eyes. "It's good enough! The boss demands that we bring him Pokémon, so why are you questioning it?"
"And we don't want to let the boss down," Jason glumly mentioned.
"Alright, fine," Sneasel sighed. "We'll come up with a way to snatch those fire types and give them to the boss."
"Now you're talking," Jewel smirked deviously at the talking Pokémon.
"Why do I get myself into this mess?" Sneasel muttered.
XXX
"So, Bridget, what do you usually raise Ponyta to become?" Michelle asked, still stroking the Pokémon.
"Racing Pokémon," Bridget smiled. "Ponyta have to be specially bred in order to become racing Pokémon, because then their muscles are stronger and more powerful for their runs."
"Was this Ponyta bred to be a racer?" Michelle looked at Ponyta, who neighed and nuzzled Michelle's cheek as she giggled.
"Yes, but because she's so timid and unwilling to get anywhere near others, we haven't been able to train her," Bridget frowned. "And she's getting to the age where most Ponyta are sent off to racing trainers. If we don't start training her now, she'll never be able to race."
"Well…Ponyta seems to be comfortable with me," a small smile grew on Michelle's face, "so what if I trained her?"
"You'd be willing to do that?" Bridget blinked.
"Of course!" Michelle grinned. "I love helping Pokémon out in any way I can. I don't want Ponyta to be unable to do what she was born to do. So, since she trusts me, I'll teach her everything she needs to know about being a racing Pokémon!"
"Michelle, you don't know the first thing about race Ponyta," Aiden folded his arms. "How are you going to teach Ponyta how to race?"
"I've watched Ponyta races before, thank you very much," Michelle narrowed her eyes.
"What?!" Aiden sounded incredulous. "When did you ever watch a Ponyta race?"
"Dad used to watch them with me when I was little," Michelle smiled at the memory. "He watched it because he liked to see how strong and well trained all the Ponyta were, but he knew I enjoyed watching it with him because I thought all the Ponyta were cute."
"It shouldn't be a problem," Bridget smiled. "I'll just instruct Michelle on what to do. You and Brandon could even help!"
"But won't Ponyta get nervous again?" Brandon furrowed his brow.
"Not as long as we don't try to train her ourselves," Bridget shook her head. "She won't mind if we just set up obstacles or instruct Michelle on what to do."
"Then I think we should give it a shot," Brandon looked at Aiden. "Training Ponyta might even get her out of her shell!"
"Good point," Aiden agreed. "Let's do it!"
XXX
"Okay, Michelle, the first thing you're going to have to do is teach Ponyta how to accelerate."
"Accelerate…okay," Michelle nodded. Raising an eyebrow, she turned to Bridget and asked, "How am I supposed to do that?"
"You're going to want to start by getting on Ponyta's back," Bridget instructed. "She needs to first learn how to do it with someone riding her, because it's added weight. Besides, when she races, it'll involve someone being on her back."
"Uh…okay," Michelle walked over to Ponyta's side, petting the fire horse a few times before climbing up on her back. As she did this, Ponyta neighed in annoyance and flared her fiery mane, giving Michelle's hand a small scorch. "Ouch!"
"Michelle, are you okay?!" Aiden cried as the girl went sliding off the horse.
The girl landed on her feet, gripping her wrist as she studied her palm with a slight look of pain on her face. Sighing, Michelle lowered her scalded hand and replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just wasn't expecting Ponyta to get all defensive like that. I thought she trusted me."
"She does trust you," Brandon refuted. "But she's not used to someone trying to climb on her back. I think she got a little freaked out when you went to do that."
"Brandon's right," Bridget nodded. "Maybe you should ease your way onto Ponyta's back instead of just trying to jump on."
Sighing, Michelle stroked the back of Ponyta's neck, murmuring, "it's okay, I'm not gonna' hurt you! I'm just trying to help you out, Ponyta. Don't you trust me?"
Ponyta looked back at Michelle, her black eyes shining in the sunlight. Michelle smiled encouragingly at the fire horse Pokémon, hoping it would go back to trusting her. Neighing, Ponyta turned her head back around and flicked her tail just once, waiting for Michelle to climb onto her back.
Nodding, Michelle clambered back on, much more slowly this time. Ponyta's mane flared for a short moment, but this time, Michelle made sure to keep her hands away from it. Once she was fully on, Ponyta's mane calmed down and no longer posed a threat to the young girl, bringing her a decent amount of relief.
"First, have her start off with a trot," Bridget continued her instruction. "That will get her used to the quicker movements she'll have to make."
"Okay…" Michelle patted the side of Ponyta's neck. "Let's go, Ponyta!" The horse whinnied and began to walk about, much more slowly than what was considered to be a trot. Sighing, Michelle leaned down and informed Ponyta, "You have to go a little faster than this."
Surprisingly enough, Ponyta listened, but instead of gradually increasing her pace as Michelle had expected, the fire horse took off like a rocket, zooming around the enclosed field.
"Whoa!" Michelle cried, wrapping her arms around Ponyta's neck.
"Man, look at how fast Ponyta is!" Aiden gaped.
"Pichu pi pichupi," Pichu commented from Brandon's arms.
"I agree, good thing you didn't go along with Michelle for the ride!" Brandon chuckled.
"Unbelievable…" Bridget murmured in disbelief, watching the scene unfold in front of her.
"P…Ponyta, you've gotta' stop!" Michelle ordered the Pokémon.
The fire type didn't seem to be listening to the coordinator on her back, however, as she continued to jet around the field. Michelle just held on for dear life, screwing her eyes shut and silently hoping that something would stop Ponyta from running around like crazy.
Michelle's prayers were seemingly answered when Ponyta skidded to a halt, neighing loudly as she stopped running around. Loosening her grip on the horse's neck, Michelle pulled away and looked down at the ground, wondering what had finally gotten Ponyta to stop.
Standing in front of Ponyta was the naughty Numel, casually eating some grass and acting as if it hadn't done a thing in the world. Ponyta, however, was not going to let this go easily. She let out a high pitched whinny, stomping her hooves as a warning to the numb Pokémon. Numel still didn't react, however, and that was seemingly enough to push Ponyta over the edge.
Backing up a bit, she charged forward and tackled Numel, sending it flying back without so much as a cry of pain.
"Wow, that was a take down attack!" Aiden marveled.
"Num!" Numel jumped up, its eyes narrowed. The fire type's body began to glow a faint brown before it jumped into the air and landed back on the ground, creating an earthquake of sorts that nearly caused Ponyta to fall over.
"And that's magnitude!" Bridget gasped. Looking between Ponyta and Numel, she ordered, "cut it out, you two! Right now!"
Ponyta opened her mouth and unleashed an ember attack, which Numel skillfully rolled out of the way of.
"Oh, this is a disaster!" Bridget wailed. "They're going to destroy the whole ranch!"
"Not if I can help it," Brandon pulled a poke ball off of his belt. "Cranidos, let's go!"
The head butt Pokémon appeared before his trainer, shaking his head out before observing the wild scene in front of him.
"Cranidos, use headbutt on low power, just to stop Numel," Brandon ordered.
"Cran!" Cranidos nodded. He ran in front of Numel with his head down, but not at full force. It was just enough to push the numb Pokémon away from Ponyta and keep him from attacking again.
"Good work, Cranidos!" Brandon complimented his partner Pokémon.
"That was a close one," Aiden sighed.
"Agreed," Michelle rested herself on the back of Ponyta's neck, panting out of fear. "Ponyta, that was…so unnecessary."
Ponyta neighed and bent her head down to preen her coat. Cranidos, meanwhile, separated himself from Numel, watching as the fire type looked around in confusion.
"We should put Numel somewhere else while Ponyta is being trained," Aiden suggested. "He's such a troublemaker that he'll probably keep interfering with Ponyta just to entertain himself."
"Not to mention it freaks Ponyta out," Michelle added.
Rubbing his chin, Brandon nodded to himself before speaking up, "I'll watch after Numel while you guys train Ponyta."
"Brandon, are you sure?" Michelle didn't sound so certain.
"Yeah, Numel and I will become buddies," Brandon smirked down at the numb Pokémon. "If I want to become a Pokémon breeder, I have to learn to work with all different kinds of Pokémon, even those who have more difficult personalities than others."
"That's true," Michelle seemed much more alleviated by that. "Good thinking, Brandon!"
"Thanks," Brandon smiled before turning to Numel and Cranidos. "Come along, you two. Let's go hang out somewhere while these three teach Ponyta the ins and outs of being a race Pokémon."
"Crai!" Cranidos nodded, turning to Numel to inform the fire type of what they were going to do. Numel looked just as calm as he always had, but let out a delightful cry before following after Cranidos and his trainer.
"There we go," Bridget sighed before beaming at Michelle. "Back to work!"
XXX
After about an hour, Ponyta began to catch on to what she was being instructed to do. She would accelerate, make sharp turns, and even jump over small hurdles.
"You're doing awesome!" Michelle complimented the fire type, patting its neck.
"Yeah, Ponyta is catching on much faster than I thought she would," Aiden agreed.
"It's amazing," Bridget murmured. "Michelle has really helped Ponyta to come out of her shell, and so quickly! She's the only person that's ever been able to get along with Ponyta so well."
Neighing, Ponyta began to slow down her run to a trot, before stopping completely. Michelle couldn't understand why the fire horse had stopped, until Ponyta lowered her head to begin munching at the grass.
"Oh, I get it," Michelle giggled, "You're hungry!"
"It makes sense, Ponyta's been working really hard!" Aiden smiled.
"I think you deserve a nice, long break," Michelle agreed, sliding off of Ponyta's back and giving her a few pets before walking back over to Aiden and Bridget. "Riding Ponyta has been so much fun! I haven't been on one since I was a little girl, but even then, I didn't get to have it run around like that! The wind going through my hair feels amazing."
Bridget smiled warmly at Michelle. It was good to see her enjoying her time with Ponyta so much. And the fire horse seemed just as content!
"Well, I'm glad to know that you've enjoyed-"
Bridget's response was cut off by the high pitched cries of various Pokémon. Aiden and Michelle both whipped around to see what was creating the commotion, and were shocked to find a majority of the ranch's fire types caught in a net.
"What the heck is going on?" Aiden narrowed his eyes.
A series of evil cackles caught everyone's attention, leading them to look around in confusion. Scanning up the net, Bridget laid eyes on a Sneasel shaped balloon flying high above the field, the net full of kidnapped Pokémon hanging from the bottom of the basket.
"Hey!" Bridget barked. "Just what do you think you're doing?"
"Must we explain this every time?" The girl sighed.
"It is getting tiresome, isn't it?" The boy agreed.
"Oh no, not these three morons again," Michelle muttered.
"You know them?" Bridget raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, unfortunately," Michelle slowly nodded her head, "they're a group of idiots called-"
"EXCUSE me!" Sneasel jumped up in aggravation. "But we'll introduce ourselves, thank you very much!"
"Listen up, and prepare for us!" Jewel announced.
"Give up now, or we'll make a fuss!" Jason added.
"We're here to start trouble!"
"And surely burst your bubble!"
"Truth and love, we will defy!"
"Like shooting stars, we're sure to fly!"
"Jewel!"
"Jason!"
"Team Rocket, here to succeed!"
"Our great history you soon will read!"
"Sneasel, agreed!"
Michelle groaned and smacked her palm against her face. Aiden, however, was skipping the irritation caused by Team Rocket's reappearance and jumping straight to angry retaliation
"You guys can't just float in here in your dumb balloon and steal other people's Pokémon!" Aiden grabbed a poke ball off of his belt.
"Oh, yeah?" Jewel drawled. "And what's the little baby boy going to do about it?"
"I'll show you!" Aiden growled, tossing the poke ball. "Growlithe, use ember!"
The puppy Pokémon appeared, and, before he could even land on the ground, fired off his signature move at the balloon. It caused the flame burning underneath it to overheat, inflating the balloon to mass proportions and causing it to burst.
Team Rocket cried out as their balloon fell to the ground, the net snapping and freeing all of the Pokémon who had been trapped inside.
"Nice job, Aiden!" Michelle commended her brother.
"Thanks, but that was Growlithe's doing!" Aiden grinned, the puppy Pokémon barking in approval.
"Oh, no you don't!" Jewel jumped to her feet. "You're not going to win that easily!" Taking out her own poke ball, she threw it and yelled, "Nidoran, use poison sting on that dumb dog!"
"You too, Nidoran!" Jason chimed in, adding his own poke ball to the fray.
The pink and blue poison types appeared, firing off a series of glowing white spikes at Aiden's fire type.
"I don't think so!" Michelle lobbed a poke ball of her own. "Butterfree, use gust to blow that poison sting away!"
The dual type Pokémon flapped her wings and easily caused the attack of the two Nidoran to fall listlessly to the ground.
"The bratette totally stopped our attacks right in their tracks!" Jason cried in horror.
Snarling, Jewel's face began to grow a fierce shade of red as she snapped, "I've had it up to here with that stupid girl! Nidoran, aim your poison sting at the female brat and get her good!"
The female poison type did just that, alarming everyone on the field, including Jason and Sneasel.
"Jewel, what are you doing?!" Sneasel gasped.
Michelle was too scared to move or call a counter attack. Those glowing, poison darts heading right towards her were much too intimidating. Michelle didn't know what to do…
A loud whinny snapped Michelle out of her stupor, and her eyes grew wide in shock. Ponyta had jumped in front of her and was using her own ember attack to kill the poison sting. It worked like a charm, and with that completed, Ponyta narrowed her black eyes and leaned down on all four legs, the flames on her neck and backside flaring out.
"Check it out," Aiden gawked. "Ponyta is protecting Michelle!"
"And she certainly doesn't seem happy with Team Rocket," Bridget added.
"Ponyta…" Michelle murmured in disbelief.
With a gleam going off in her eyes, Ponyta opened her mouth and unleashed a swirling blast of fire, the attack making direct contact with both Team Rocket and their Pokémon.
"No way, what move was that?!" Aiden's eyes widened.
"That's fire spin!" Bridget gasped. "I didn't know Ponyta knew that attack! Which means…she must have just learned it!"
"It's gotten a little…hot here, hasn't it?" Jason blew out a puff of smoke.
Jewel pulled out a mirror and, upon seeing her charred figure, screamed in both shock and anger. "Those stupid brats! They've ruined my perfectly good looks! Nidoran, use-"
"Nidoran can't use anything at the moment, Jewel," Sneasel warned.
Growling, Jewel looked down at her Pokémon, ready to snap. When she saw the Pokémon covered in still hot patches, however, she gasped and instead turned her anger onto the devious Pokémon standing beside her.
"What happened to my Nidoran?!" Jewel demanded.
"It got burnt by that fire spin attack!" Sneasel answered quickly.
Crying out in pure frustration, Jewel grabbed Jason by the collar and shook him, ordering, "Get your Zubat out now! Attack those dumb brats and their dumb Pokémon! Do it now, now, now!"
"Let go!" Jason wailed, flailing his arms like a crazy person in an attempt to free himself.
"Guys!"
Bridget, Aiden, and Michelle all looked behind themselves, finding Brandon to be running towards them with Cranidos and Numel trailing closely behind.
"Brandon, there you are!" Aiden beamed.
"I can't believe these three are back," Brandon groaned.
"Well, you'd better believe it," Aiden sighed.
"They look pretty burnt up," Brandon snickered. "Who was responsible for that?"
"You're not going to believe it, but…Ponyta was!" Aiden motioned towards the fire horse.
"Really?" Brandon was definitely shocked by this.
"Hey, are you forgetting about us?!" Sneasel shouted.
"Yeah, that's completely rude, even for a bunch of brats!" Jewel added, dropping a visibly shaken Jason to the ground.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," Brandon mock apologized with a completely fake smile. "Let me show you the door! Numel, show Team Rocket how your flame burst is done!"
The numb Pokémon, while remaining totally calm and seemingly emotionless, spit out a stream of fire into the air. The fire rolled itself into a ball and continued barreling straight towards Team Rocket, exploding in front of them into multiple streaks of fire. The numerous blasts created an explosion around the evil trio and their injured Pokémon, sending them high up into the air.
"Those brats really burn me up!" Sneasel whined.
"All I'm feeling is burnt out," Jason sighed.
"Oh, next time we see those three, they'll feel my fire!" Jewel seethed. "I'll make sure of it!"
"Team Rocket's blasting off again!"
Bridget once again turned to Brandon, surprise set in her amber eyes. "Brandon, you got Numel in control of his fire blast?"
"Yeah, Cranidos and I did a little training with him," Brandon nodded. "Not only did it help to burn off some of the hidden, but very plentiful, energy Numel has, but it ended up perfecting his fire blast as well! I think Numel has the potential to be a very strong Pokémon."
Bridget nodded quietly, as if she was thinking about something.
"And Ponyta did great, too!" Aiden added. "She stood up to Team Rocket and learned a new move!"
The fire horse turned around to face Michelle, her fiery tail swishing as she neighed softly. The young coordinator just stared at the fire type in awe, her lips trembling slightly.
"Ponyta…" Michelle breathed. "You protected me."
Ponyta nodded and stepped towards the red head, nuzzling her with her nose and letting out short, gentle puffs of air through her noses to tickle Michelle's skin. The girl giggled in delight at this, continuously rubbing Ponyta's neck in a way to thank her.
"Ponyta is very fond of you, Michelle," Bridget informed the younger girl.
"I…suppose so," Michelle smiled sheepishly. "But I know for sure that I'm fond of Ponyta. She's a great Pokémon!" Grinning warmly at the fire horse, Michelle concluded, "I know you'll make a great race Ponyta one day. Whoever gets to be your trainer is very lucky."
Ponyta whinnied quietly, stepping back from Michelle to give her a strange look that Michelle couldn't quite place.
"Michelle…" Bridget walked closer to the aspiring coordinator. "I think Ponyta should go with you on your journey."
"What?!" Michelle whipped around, shocked by Bridget's sudden suggestion.
Laughing gently, Bridget nodded and continued, "Yeah, that's exactly what I think we should do."
"But…you're supposed to raise Ponyta to be a racing Pokémon," Michelle frowned. "I don't want to keep Ponyta from doing what she's supposed to do…or get you in trouble."
"You won't, I promise," Bridget smiled reassuringly at the girl. "I've never seen Ponyta this happy until you showed up. Every day was a challenge with her. She wouldn't listen, or do anything. She'd just stand in a far off corner of the ranch, all by herself. I could tell she wasn't happy, and now I'm convinced she won't be happy with anyone unless it's you. She really trusts you, Michelle."
"Are…you sure?" Michelle's breath caught in her throat.
"Positive," Bridget confirmed.
Beaming, Michelle spun on her toes to face Ponyta, asking, "What do you think? Would you like to come with me and be my Pokémon?"
Without a second of hesitation, Ponyta neighed loudly and happily, nodding her head and lightly charging into Michelle, rubbing her muzzle against the girl's cheek.
"Okay, okay, I get it!" Michelle laughed. Pulling out an empty poke ball, she held it in front of Ponyta and asked, "Are you ready?"
Ponyta nodded once again, and, with a big grin, Michelle tossed the poke ball, accompanying it with a cry of, "let's go, poke ball!"
The sphere sucked Ponyta up in a ray of red light, placing the fire Pokémon inside of the sphere. The red and white ball landed on the grass, shaking for a few seconds before settling on its side and closing with a soft but definitive click.
Still smiling from ear to ear, Michelle picked up the poke ball and held it against her heart, squealing, "Alright! I caught a Ponyta!"
"Pi, pichupi!" Pichu, who was still sitting atop Michelle's shoulder, allowed her ears to twitch in excitement.
"And Brandon," Bridget next spoke to the aspiring breeder, "I think Numel should go with you."
Everyone gasped at this, including the Pokémon. Brandon didn't say anything, just looking down at Numel and watching as the fire type uncaringly lowered his head to eat some grass off of the field.
"You can't just give us all of your Pokémon, Bridget," Brandon frowned at the girl, his tone reflecting a sense of sympathy.
"I'm not giving them away, I'm giving them the chances that they deserve," Bridget smiled at the boy. "Numel is in a similar position to Ponyta. He's got too much personality to just be stuck on a fenced off field all day. Not to mention, I've known since he was young that Numel was pretty powerful. He wasn't meant to be a farm hand, he was meant to be a battler! So, please, Brandon, won't you take Numel and train him to become strong?"
Brandon once again glanced down at the numb Pokémon, who was still busy eating grass and seemingly ignoring everything that the humans had been saying. Chuckling quietly to himself, Brandon knelt down beside Numel and asked, "What do you think, Numel? Do you want to be trained to battle?"
The fire type finally looked up from his food, locking his eyes on Brandon. Flicking his ears, Numel responded with a calm, "num," before returning to his grass.
"I…guess I'll take that as a yes?" Brandon inquired laughingly.
Removing a vacant poke ball from his belt, Brandon held out the poke ball and called, "Numel, you're coming with me!"
A red light emitted from the center of the sphere, lighting up Numel and bringing him into the sphere. Smiling at the ball, Brandon stood up and held it out towards Cranidos, asking his partner, "What do you think, Cranidos? Numel makes a pretty good friend, right?"
"Cran!" Cranidos nodded.
"I'll give you my poke gear number too," Bridget informed Brandon. "I'd love to know how Ponyta and Numel are doing as their training progresses!"
"Sure, no problem!" Brandon took out his blue and black poke gear.
Michelle, however, had tuned out completely after that. She had a new Pokémon, a super cute and powerful Ponyta.
She'd win her next Contest, for sure!
Double capture! I wanted to get one of those in eventually, and I did it pretty early ^^ Brandon needed to do something, don't you guys think? So now he has a Numel, and Michelle has a Ponyta! How exciting :P
What did you guys think? Leave me a review and let me know what you thought of the chapter! It helps alot. Thanks, guys! See you all next week!