The tall, intimidating skyscrapers of Goldenrod City pierced the cloudless blue sky as Lightning, Hilda, and I slowed to a stop by the great city gates. Humans, walking or riding skinny bicycles, crowded the tangled streets of the thriving metropolis like a swarm of Beedrill. Wow; Goldenrod City is much, much bigger than Violet City, I thought as I tilted my head back to marvel at the enormous buildings.
"Now what do we do, Hilda?" Lightning asked. "I think the humans would be surprised to see three Pokemon wandering around the city streets without their trainers."
"Actually, they'll be totally cool about it," Hilda replied confidently. "Those silly humans are so preoccupied by their own little businesses that they don't ever say a thing whenever I roll around the city streets. Just stay way above the humans and follow me! I know the city like no one else!" With that, she launched into a Rollout and rolled into the city.
"Don't count on getting to the gym soon," Lightning said quietly to me as we flew quickly after her. "She probably doesn't know the city as well as she thinks she does."
"But we don't know the city at all," I said quickly. "I think it would be better to follow her than to try to find the gym by ourselves."
Lightning nodded as he flew higher in the sky. I followed him as Hilda led us around sharp corners, down busy streets, and through narrow alleys. Lightning and I grunted as we made the sharp turns; as Pidgeot, our long wings were more suited for straight, long-distance flying. The clamor in the streets below threatened to divert my attention, and I tried hard to focus on following Hilda, who was nothing but a fast-moving pink-and-black speck amongst the endless throng of humans.
Soon, I found myself panting with exhaustion. The enormous buildings of the city seemed to block out the clear, breathable air of the wide, open countryside. Lightning also seemed to be running out of energy: his movements were less smooth, and he slowly decreased his altitude until he was just a human-height above Hilda. I followed him, my wings aching from the sharp turns I had to make. Hilda, however, showed no signs of getting tired or slowing down. So this is Hilda's famous Rollout! I thought, impressed. I didn't know that it had endurance as well as speed and power.
Finally, Hilda skidded to a surprisingly fast stop in front of a large, domed building. This must be the Goldenrod City gym, I thought as Lightning and I landed lightly in front of the tall gym doors. A piece of paper hung crookedly from a single piece of tape that seemed to be hastily taped to the door handle. Oh, no, please don't say that Whitney isn't here, I pleaded as Lightning hopped forward to read the note.
"The Goldenrod City gym is closed," he read. "I am looking for my lost Miltank. If you know where she is, call my Pokegear at 3-667-6257. Signed, Whitney: Goldenrod City's gym leader."
"Oh, no!" Hilda exclaimed. "That means she could be anywhere! Oh, why did I run away?" She looked at Lightning with a puzzled expression on her face. "And by the way, Lightning, did you just read that note?"
"Yep!" Lightning said proudly. "Falkner's been teaching me how to read ever since I was a Pidgey."
"Lucky," Hilda sighed. "All Whitney does with me now is training and battling." She stared hopelessly at the note. "What do we do now? How are we supposed to find Whitney?"
"Well, let's start by looking around the Goldenrod City gym," I suggested. "If we can't find her around here, then we can split up and search for her around the city."
"Good plan," Lightning said. "Let's go."
I launched into the air, flying close to the gym wall in hopes of hearing sounds that might give away Whitney's presence. Lightning flew behind me, and Hilda prowled slowly on the ground below.
Suddenly, I heard indistinct female voices floating out of an open window of a small annex. The window was large and low enough to look into while standing up. Tensing, I landed silently next to the window and looked inside. Lightning and Hilda followed, not making a sound as they took their places at the window.
The scene that greeted my eyes would have been mundane and dull – two females sitting at a table and drinking tea – if the two females weren't familiar individuals. At one end of the table sat whom I knew had to be Whitney: a pink-haired teenage girl with a white T-shirt and white shorts. And at the other end, disguised with a black leather jacket and black pants, was none other than Nature Hunter K.
"So she was right!" Hilda whispered in horror. "But what is Nature Hunter K doing in that disguise?"
"Shh," I shushed. "Let's see what K is up to."
Lightning, Hilda, and I peered into the window and listened carefully. "Who are you anyways, and what do you want with me?" Whitney asked.
K removed her sunglasses and polished the large, shiny badge on her jacket. "I'm an official Pokemon League Inspector," she said calmly. "My name's Katie, and I need to talk to you about your overpowered Miltank."
Whitney tensed and took a quick sip of her tea. "I lost her yesterday," she said quietly. "Have you found her?"
K shook her head. "That is not the reason why I need to talk to you."
"Then why are you here? I need to go and find my awesome Miltank!"
K pulled a few papers out of the black briefcase that sat next to her. "We've received a great number of complaints about your current role as Gym Leader of Goldenrod City," she explained, holding up one of the papers. "This particular letter was from a thirteen-year-old female trainer who seems to be dissatisfied with your Miltank.
"'I thought I could beat Whitney easily,' it says. 'After all, I started by sending out my Machop. But Whitney started with her Miltank, and it mauled by whole entire team in less than five minutes. It started by immobilizing my Machop with Attract. After that, its overpowered Rollout attack fainted my Machop, my Sentret, and even my Bayleef like they were nothing. And we trained so hard for this battle! If thirteen-year-old girls like me can get beaten by Whitney so easily, what will befall the much stupider ten-year-old boys?'"
Whitney sighed, closed her eyes, and leaned back into her chair. For a long time, she was silent, and I thought we should let Whitney know that we were watching her. However, before I tell Lightning and Hilda what to do, Whitney spoke.
"Maybe you're right," she sighed. "Maybe my Miltank is overpowered. But does that really matter? Even trainers who lose to me get a badge, for trying really hard and fighting well."
"I'm afraid those badges are pity badges," K said sharply. "As you know, the Johto league has a rule: no pity badges are to be given to trainers. Other gym leaders like Falkner and Clair adhere to this rule pretty well, but you don't. I think you should give challengers more of a chance to win, by not using that Miltank of yours."
Whitney slammed her teacup onto the table so hard that the tea splashed onto her white clothes. "Katie, are you serious?" she yelled angrily, ignoring the tea stains. "How can I not use my Miltank! My other Pokemon aren't strong enough!"
"Which means you should train your other Pokemon to be worthy battle opponents," K said calmly. "You only train your Miltank, so it's grown much too powerful for a gym leader's Pokemon. Do you ever give your Miltank any free time? Your Miltank should have a life of its own – which should consist of many things, not just battling. I wouldn't be surprised if your Miltank's run away from you, considering how less freedom you give it."
Whitney gasped. "Oh, no!" she exclaimed. "That must be what happened to my Miltank! I've got to go find her!"
"Whitney, calm down," K said sharply. "I know where your Miltank is – "
"Then why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"Because you don't really need your Miltank."
"What? But she's my star Pokemon!"
K sighed. "Whitney, I found your 'star Pokemon' in a forest. She was sleeping soundly in a sheltered clearing, so I decided not to disturb her." K finished her tea in a few quick sips. "Whitney, here's the deal: I'll show you where your Miltank is if you agree to give her Pokeball to me. I'll send her to a Pokemon Resort for six months, where she can relax and unwind without having to worry about battling."
That was too much for Hilda, who had been growling and bristling the whole time. "No way!" she yelled as she jumped through the open window and into the room. "Whitney, K is not sending me to a Pokemon Resort. She wants to capture me for her own selfish purposes!"
Whitney stood up. "Miltank!" she gasped in surprise. She ran over to Hilda, giving her a hug. Whitney glared at K, as if the truth of the matter suddenly came to her. "Guess what, Katie? Turns out you've been wrong. My Miltank still loves me! You saw her sleeping in the dangerous wild and you didn't return her to me – just because she was 'too powerful'? What kind of a Pokemon League Inspector are you?"
K stared at Hilda, a look of pure anger and shock crossing her face. She hissed, her blue eyes burning with sheer rage. "What?" she growled. "How did she get out?" K whirled around, as if to confront whoever freed the Jolly Miltank she wanted so badly for herself. "Who freed her? I demand that you show yourself!"
In a flurry of wings and feathers, Lightning and I sprang into the room. The bright, artificial lights on the ceiling beat down on me, and I winced as the blinding rays shone into my eyes. Lightning, however, seemed undaunted by the sudden change in brightness. He glared resolutely at K, puffing out his chest and standing tall. "We freed Hilda," he hissed, "and we're not going to let you capture her!"
"Well what do you know!" K exclaimed. "My Adamant Pidgeot and its stupid friend with the tracking device." She whisked on her dark sunglasses, transforming instantly from Pokemon League Inspector Katie to Nature Hunter K. "I guess today's my lucky day – I'm going to get two good-natured Pokemon."
"What?" Whitney screamed. "So you're not a Pokemon League Inspector after all? You just want to capture my Miltank?:
"Precisely," K growled, pulling several metal balls out of her briefcase. Grunting, she began to throw them at Hilda and I.
"Get away!" I screamed. Lightning and I darted away from the open window in opposite directions, and Hilda launched into a speedy Rollout. The room instantly became a scene of chaos: K's metal balls knocked over small pieces of furniture, shattered glass, and dented the ceiling fan as Lightning, Hilda, and I skillfully dodged the capturing devices while Whitney ran to the telephone. Suddenly, I heard a scream. I whirled around, breathing heavily. Then I gasped in horror at the sight I saw: Whitney, her face paler than her clothes, sat trembling in one of K's horrible metal cages.
Hilda skidded to a stop next to me. "But why would she target Whitney?" she whispered. I tried to explain, but before I could reply, K pulled two Pokeballs and two Ultra Balls out of her briefcase.
"Skarmory, Golbat, Gyarados, and Charizard!" she screamed. "Attack those Pokemon!"
She threw the Pokeballs towards us. One by one, the fierce-looking Flying-types appeared in flashes of bright white light. I watched in horror as the Charizard charged at Lightning while the Gyarados lunged at Hilda. But before I could help them, the Skarmory and the Golbat launched into the air and charged right towards me.
What? I thought angrily. Two against one? That's not fair! I knew, however, that I had to fight back. Grunting, I began to flap my wings with all my might, in an attempt to blow away both of the attacking Pokemon with Gust.
"Skarmory and Golbat, Brave Bird!" K screamed. "Gyarados, Waterfall! Charizard, Flamethrower!"
With a screech, the Skarmory launched into a powerful Brave Bird attack, and the Golbat followed. I hissed and flapped my wings even harder, but my Gust didn't seem to affect my opponents at all. Hissing and screeching, they sliced cleanly through the tearing wind. I could almost feel the seething fury in the Skarmory and Golbat's eyes – they seemed ready to fight to the very end.
The impact was devastating.
The two Brave Bird attacks slammed into my chest like a giant wave, only sharper and more painful. I screamed as I fell to the ground, my chest aching with pain. This was horrible – in my whole entire life, I had never experienced an attack this powerful. Trembling, I got up, only to see the Skarmory charging at me, its wings glowing with white light. I squeezed my eyes shut, shielding myself with my wings. My heartbeat faltered as I waited for the impact, my capturing, and the end of my journey.
Suddenly, I heard a metallic clang. Slowly opening my eyes, I gasped at the sight I saw. My wings weren't soft and tawny-colored anymore: they were glowing with a white light and seemed to be made of solid steel. The Skarmory was trying to pierce my shield with its metallic wings, and it hissed angrily as my own silver wings held steady. I had just used a move that I'd never used before: Steel Wing!
A newfound strength flowed through me. Hissing, I launched again into the air, pushing the Skarmory away. The Golbat, emerging from behind the Skarmory, growled as a brown, sticky Sludge Bomb shot out of its gaping mouth. I skillfully dodged it and sent it back with a mighty push of one of my steel wings. It splattered onto the Golbat's face, and it howled angrily as it tried to brush the sticky sludge out of its eyes.
"Clefairy, use Metronome!" Whitney called.
The battle suddenly stopped in mid-action as all eyes fell onto the little pink Pokemon, whom I knew had to be Moonshine. Her arms glowed with a blue light as she waved them, chanting a rhyme: "Eenie, meenie, miney, moe, catch a Growlithe by the toe. If he hollers, let him go, eenie, meenie, miney, moe. Metronome says to pick the very best move and I choose you: R-O-A-R Roar!"
Moonshine closed her eyes as the blue light on her arms faded away. Then she opened her mouth and let out a deafening Roar attack. Everyone in the room covered their ears as the invisible sound waves crashed onto K's Skarmory, Golbat, Gyarados, and Charizard. Screaming and hissing, the four Flying-types glowed with a read light before disappearing and retreating into their Pokeballs.
For a while, K stood there, her blue eyes blazing with rage. Then she hissed angrily, as if she knew that she had lost the battle. She turned and fled, and we watched her disappear down the city streets.
Lightning landed lightly next to me, his feathers charred and burnt from the battle against K's Charizard. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. "That wound on your chest looks pretty bad."
"I don't think I have much energy left," I breathed, trembling and aching from my ordeal. "I'm afraid I might faint at any moment now."
"Should I let Whitney know that you need help?"
"Not right now. I need to tell you something, before I run out of energy?"
"What is it?"
I closed my eyes and sighed. "Nature Hunter K is Falkner's sister," I gasped with the last of my energy. Then I groaned and fell silently to the ground.
To be continued…
