Chapter 12-Poliwags, Seriis, and Rockets, Oh My!
After waking up, I noticed someone there-Serii.
"Serii!" I yelled to him. "What's up?"
"Oh, Grinder." Serii said. "I've come here to learn about legendary Pokemon from Bill. As well, I'm joining the police of an investigation. In Cerulean, a family got their house broken into, and the police are trying to find the Team Rocket members that committed the robbery."
"I see…" I said. "Well, allow me to help."
"With pleasure; I'm sure you'll be able to help." he said. "After being discovered, the Rocket members headed northeast, so when I heard about this from one of the Officer Jennies in the area, I offered my assistance. She was glad to have me on board."
"All right, so…when do you think the members will come around?" I asked.
"They just left Cerulean about two hours ago." he replied. "I think he should be around in about two more hours."
"Well," I said, "until then, I want to train."
"I'd accept a challenge, Grinder, but I don't want to drain my Pokemon before we encounter them." he said. "Sorry."
"No problem." I said. "I'll just see if any of the wild Pokemon are up for a battle."
I headed south, to a small pond. I saw a few wild Pokemon there, from Goldeen to Psyduck to Poliwag. Looking at this, I got a firm sense of appreciation for nature's true beauty. I missed these moments, as most of my moments around water involved mountains or dungeons. And they certainly didn't involve water Pokemon that didn't have some sort of dragon-like attribute. It was…marvelous.
As I sat there, I decided to let Drake have a swim while Nidoran could socialize with the other Pokemon. They didn't seem too hostile, so I thought it'd be safe to let them expand. They actually had a lot of fun doing some neat tricks in the water with Drake, while Nidoran seemed to take a liking to the Poliwag.
I sat there, watching the Pokemon for about an hour before the tranquility was interrupted. I was watching Drake swim when out of the blue, I noticed a figure on the other side. It was a Team Rocket member, and he had a net gun with him. He fired it at Drake, and managed to catch it inside of it.
"Drake!" I yelled. "Nidoran, get him!"
Nidoran charged at the Rocket member as he retracted his net. As Nidoran charged at him, the wild Pokemon joined him. However, more Rocket members came out, sending out a couple of Poison-Types that held off the wild Pokemon. I whipped out my Poke Gear.
"Serii! Come to the pond south of the Center, quickly! I've found the Rocket members! They've caught Drake in a net and the wild Pokemon and Nidoran can't hold them off!"
"Gotcha!" he said. "I'm on my way with Officer Jenny now!"
The Rocket member who'd netted Drake had almost taken him out of the pond, but one of the wild Goldeen had managed to use its horn to tear a hole in the net, freeing Drake.
"Drake!" I yelled. "Wrap the net, then pull the Rocket member into the water!"
Drake wrapped its tail around the net, and pulled the Rocket member in. However, he replied by letting go of the net gun. Drake got smart and whipped it around, smacking the Rocket member with it. He fell over, and brought a couple of his fellow members with him. Their Pokemon got lost without their orders, and fell to the wild Pokemon.
"Good, now, get out of the water and shock their Pokemon with Thunder Wave!"
"Ugh!" one of the Rockets grunted. "Get up, you three!" He then gestured to his Zubat. "Zubat, confuse the Dratini with Supersonic!"
Zubat sent out sonic waves that caused Drake to hit one of the trees with his Thunder Wave. The tree began to crack, and eventually began to fall over. Two of the Rocket members, an Ekans, and a wild Poliwag were in the crash zone. The Rockets dodged, as did the Ekans, but the Poliwag was paralyzed in fear. However, Nidoran used its horn to tackle it out of the way.
"Nidoran!" I yelled.
"Use Night Shade!"
A Gastly dashed by me as it used its ghostly wave to keep the tree afloat. Serii and Officer Jenny had joined us.
"Go, Drake!" I yelled. "Use Twister to blow it out of harm's way!"
Drake got around the tree to the other side and used its twister attack to blow the tree in the other direction. It crashed to the ground. As it did, however, the same Ekans had reared up, ready to strike Drake. However, the Poliwag's Water Gun had blown it back.
"!!" One of the Rockets noticed they were outnumbered. "Retreat! We'll catch that Dratini later." They ran off.
"Curses." Serii said. "We couldn't catch them."
We ran over to inspect and treat the wild Pokemon. However, Drake and Nidoran were tending to the wild Poliwag that had helped him earlier. I walked up to them.
"Good job, Drake." I said. "You and Nidoran both saved this poor thing."
I then petted the Poliwag. It smiled, stepping in between Drake and Nidoran as it looked at me.
"Hmm?" I asked, confused. "What is it, little one?"
It slowly walked up to me, bowing.
"Huh? You want to…join me with Drake and Nidoran?"
The Poliwag nodded.
"Hey, why not?" I said. I drew out a Poke Ball, opening it as I smiled. The Poliwag jumped inside.
"How about that." I said. "Welcome to the team, Poliwag."
Drake and Nidoran smiled. I reached for my other two Poke Balls, returning them to them.
"Thank you for your assistance, Trainer." Jenny said to me. "Though we weren't able to catch them, those criminals have nowhere to run but Cerulean, where our team will be able to catch them. Thank you."
"I was happy to help." I said. "Besides, I have my own bone to pick with those Rocket members." I mused. I had to remember my vow to Nidoran, to get his sister back.
"Great job out there, bro." Serii said. "Seems your little trip to the pond was a good thing for finding those Rockets. And you got a Poliwag out of it, too, not bad."
"I'm glad." I said, holding Poliwag's Poke Ball. "Another Pokemon to raise and care for."
"Well, Grinder, I'm going to go back to the Pokemon Center and work with Jenny to catch the Rocket members." he said.
"I'm going to head off to Vermillion." I said. "I want to head there to get my third badge."
"Understandable." he said. "Good luck in your training, Grinder."
"Thank you." I said. "Good luck in putting those Rockets behind bars." I then followed the two of them back to the Center, healed my Pokemon, and headed off back towards Cerulean.
