Labto Journeys

Chapter Eleven

AN: Team Rocket (Rita and Richard) appear again in this chapter. Heh heh.

Key: See Previous chapter.

It's been four days since I've left Azurite City and "caught" Spirit, my Chiri. Everything was peaceful, and Chris, Adam, and I were having a nice conversation. Jade was taking a nap in her Pokéball. When suddenly, I heard a yell.

" Come back here, you thieves!" We glanced at each other, then ran ahead toward the voice. It didn't take long to see where it had come from. A girl was chasing two figures on one of those two-person bike thingies. They were a blonde girl and black-haired boy. They looked awfully familiar…. I saw in the basket, there was a Machop holding a light blue egg with little swirls of white on it. I know who they are! Rita and Richard! I ran up to the girl, keeping pace with her.

" What happened!?" I asked her whilst running.

" Never mind that! Oh, this is no use! Go, Dragonite!" A huge Dragonite appeared.

" Dragon?" it asked.

" Go get those three!" Dragonite nodded, and then flew after them. The bike screeched to a halt, then Rita pulled a big grenade-launcher- looking gun from nowhere.

" Take this, hot stuff!" She shot a ball of ice at Dragonite. It brought it down, frozen. Rita chuckled, and hopped on the bike again. " Pedal for your life, Richard!" she ordered.

" Yes, Ma'am!" They rode the bike out of sight. The girl started to cry as she returned her Dragonite. I had a chance to scan her features; she had light blue hair and green eyes. She was wearing jeans and tennis shoes like me, but was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt.

" Hey, um…." The girl started to snap at me.

" Look, the stole my Dragonite's pride and joy, okay?" She paused. " Sorry. I'm just really sad that I couldn't get them. They stole her kid!"

" You mean it was a Dratini egg?" I asked her.

" Yes. No wonder they stole it; Dratini are very rare, and I heard that Team Rocket loves to steal rare and valuable Pokémon." Chris and Adam finally caught up with us.

" What happened?" Adam demanded.

" It's Rita and Richard. They stole this girl's Dratini egg." I explained.

" Hello," the girl greeted them morbidly.

" I don't think this is any time for niceties. Rachel, you should release Storm and Prospero. I'll release my Natu. Chris, you release Mithrandir."

" Why?" Chris asked. I shrugged and called them out, along with Jade.

" They're Team Rocket! We have to find them and get back the egg!" The girl stared at us.

" It's MY egg, I'll help too, you know. And my name is Skye. Now then, go, Gyarados, Dodrio!" The great water serpent and a three-headed bird appeared. " I'm very grateful to you for helping me, by the way."

Could someone please tell me what happened? Jade asked.

" Rita and Richard stole Skye's Dratini egg, and we're gonna find them." I looked over at Chris; he had released Mithrandir. Adam had let out Natu, too. I called all of our Pokémon together. " Guys, we want you to find a blonde woman, a black-haired woman, and a Machop with a blue egg that has white swirls on it. Okay?" Prospero and Storm nodded. Mithrandir and Natu looked at their owners; Adam and Chris nodded confirmation, and then Mithrandir and Natu took flight, along with Prospero and Storm. Skye jumped up on her Dodrio, then told her Gyarados the same thing I had told Prospero, Storm, Mithrandir, and Natu.

" I'm going to search on-land for them. What are your names?"

" I'm Rachel."

" My name is Adam," Adam said, not looking at her.

" Name's Chris." Chris said, sounding friendly.

" Okay. Thanks for helping me look." With that, she dashed off with her Dodrio and Gyrados. I looked up at our Pokémon.

" Do you think we should have them go in different directions?" I asked.

" Yeah. Natu, go north and remember what Rachel told you!" The tiny green bird nodded, and flew out of sight.

" Mithrandir, you go west!" Mithrandir soared in the direction of the sun. I looked at Prospero and Storm.

" Prospero, you go south, and Storm, you go east, okay?"

Right! They said together. They flew away. Then, I pulled out Tsunami and Spirit.

Hiya, Rachel!

Hi, Rachel.

" Guys? We're gonna search through these woods to find a blonde girl, a black-haired guy, and a Machop with an egg."

Hey, I'd be good at searching! Spirit said happily.

" But they aren't our friends, so we have to be stealthy. You guys stay together, and head toward the river over to the east, alright?"

Okay! Tsunami said. She waddled in an easterly direction, Spirit flying above her.

" Great idea, Rachel. Fireball, go!" Chris's Vulpix appeared. " We'll go northwest toward these woods, okay?"

" Okay!" I said. " Adam, you gonna get out your Eevee?"

" Alright." Adam released Eevee. " Eevee, come with me, tell me if you see anyone, including a Machop or an egg." Eevee nodded with a " Vee!"

He pointed southwest. " We'll go search that part of the woods, okay?"

He headed off, Eevee at his heels. I turned to Jade. " We'll investigate the direction where they went, then. But they could have changed direction, so don't get disappointed if we don't find them, okay?"

Alright. We headed off, for an hour of two of searching. I wanted to go back, to tell them I hadn't found anything, when I heard a laugh.

" They'll never find us now!" Rita said.

" We've gotten too far away!" Richard replied.

" Looks like that Rocket Training Camp the Boss put us in was worthwhile!" continued Rita. They seemed to be to my right, so I headed that way. They were sitting underneath a tree, with Machop playing around in the branches. Then, he looked at where I was hiding in the bushes.

" MACHOP! MACHOP! MACHOP CHOP!" he screeched. Rita and Richard were ready in an instant.

" That little brat!"

" She won't beat us this time!" They know I'm here! I stepped out of the bushes, grinning, so as to fool them.

" Hi there, brat. Where's the Petana? Did she abandon you because you were so weak?" Rita threateningly said, fingering her Pokéball that held her Skorpi.

No, the Petana is right here! Jade said, coming out of the bushes beneath my feet so they could see her.

" She's evolved," Rita muttered to Richard.

" We'd better get away, just to be on the safe side." They nodded, and Machop grabbed the egg up again.

" We'd love to chat, but we just don't have the time, brat!" Richard said, fleeing. Those cowards! I chased them for a quarter of an hour, until they came to a wooden shack-like building, only bigger. They ran in, and from a click that I heard, locked the door. I ran to the door, banging on it, then stopped. At least they can't get away! But what do I do? If I send Jade to go get the others, they'll beat me to a pulp with Skorpi, Paglus, and Machop! What to do, what to do…. The door is wooden! Ha ha!

" Jade, use your Razor Leaf on this door," I whispered to her. She nodded, and flung her tail. Four razor-sharp leaves hurled themselves at the door, cutting it off of its hinges. When the door fell down, Rita and Richard were ready. Skorpi and Paglus jumped on the felled door. I looked at Jade. " Jade, you'll have to take them on your own," I sadly said.

No problem! she replied.

~~!~~

" Alright, let them make the first move, Jade!" I nodded.

" Poison Sting, Skorpi!"

" Sludge attack, Paglus!" The stings and sludge flew at me; I jumped out of the way, and they hit the door. I hope whoever owns this building won't get too mad at our battling in it!

" Razor Leaf, Jade!" I whipped my tail, sending sharp leaves at Skorpi and Paglus. Two of them scratched Skorpi's face, and the other two scratched Paglus. " Double Team, then Fury Swipes!" Rachel ordered. I made false copies of myself, then angrily scratched Skorpi and Paglus with all my might. The two had made a mistake; never stay together in a team battle except in special circumstances. They fell down, weary and in pain. I won!

~~!~~

" Go—" But suddenly, there was a rumble, and Rita stopped talking. " Let's get outta here!" In her efforts to get out, she shoved me inside, along with Jade. Richard and Machop scurried out too, and they forgot the egg! Perfect! I prepared to pick up the egg, then I noticed a small chip of wood fall from the ceiling. I looked up, and noticed more chips falling, and the ceiling was bending. Uh oh… The big kahuna of the collapse came, and I got into a crawling position over the egg, protecting it with my body, so it wouldn't get broken. I have no idea what happened to Jade; right now, I was concerned about myself. The weight on my back grew intense, and I carefully, quickly got into that position where you bring your knees up to your chest, (I think its called the fedal position) but instead of hugging them, I hugged the egg, which was on my knees. I think the collapse is over now; I never knew that the roof was so thick! There's no room in here; I can hardly breathe!

Rachel! Rachel! If you can hear me, please answer! yelled Jade's voice, pleading and muffled.

" I'm here! I'm okay! Get me outta here!"

I can't! The wood is too heavy! I have to get the others! I'll be back soon, stay the way you are! Don't shift your body or anything! I guess Jade left, because when I called out later, there was no answer. After what seemed like an eternity later, I heard Adam calling, " RACHEL! RACHEL! Are you alright!?"

" I'm stuck beneath a pile of wood! Do you THINK I'm alright!?" I yelled back.

" Don't worry, I'll get it off!" He spoke to Jade. " Jade, let out your vines. You, me, and Eevee should be able to get some of that wood off." I guess they did so, because the weight on my back lessened, until finally, I raised my hand, and it popped out of the wood. But doing that caused wood near my legs to fall down, and I felt a sharp pain in my leg. I reached my other hand to my jeans, and felt a liquid. And I hadn't peed myself or anything, so there was just one other answer. Not only is my leg hurt, but now I'm gonna have to get blood outta my jeans next time I do laundry, too! I felt something grab my hand and pull me out of the rubble. It was Adam! Once he saw my face, he hugged me so tight I could hardly breathe.

" Okay! Adam! You're glad I'm okay! Lemme go!" I said, exasperated. He nodded, and stepped back. He helped me out of the rubble, then I lifted the egg out. That baby Dratini had better be real grateful to me when it hatches and goes with its mother and Skye! I sighed, reached into my backpack, and lifted out some bandages. I rolled my jeans up, and wiped the blood off of my leg. It wasn't as bad as it looked.

" I didn't know you were hurt!" Adam said, looking worried.

" It's nothing," I said, wrapping my leg up. Those first-aid lessons Dad taught me have finally proved my worth! I stood up, and gingerly put my weight on it. OW!!!! I sat down again.

" But I don't think I can walk on it just yet." Jade finally walked around the edge of the rubble, and saw me. She jumped into my lap and hugged me, and I hugged her back.

I'm so glad you're okay!

" Why is everybody saying that? The only injury I have is my leg, its not like its something to be hospitalized!" Suddenly, the egg on the ground started to violently shake. Oh no, not now! Not here! Baby Pokémon imprint! Despite my wishes, the egg began to crack. Finally, a tiny, blue head with two fluttery ears popped out. All my previous complaints were forgotten when I saw it; it was the cutest thing I had ever seen! The baby Dratini looked at me, only me, not Adam or Eevee or Jade, then slithered out of its egg onto my lap.

Mama! She—I'm pretty sure it was a she—cried. Aw, man….

AN: Hee hee…. Okay, I'm bad… I injured her… and forced her to be a foster mother… Oh well.

Disclaimer: Pokémon and all related insignia, except for the insignia I created, belong to their respective owners.

Claimer: Labto, all original characters, and all related insignia belong to me. All rights reserved, unless you have my permission.