Ultimate Pokemon: Red Vol 1:

The Adventure Begins

Part 3:

Gym Badge

Chapter 1:

5/29 Begin Again

Xanadu Nursery

The four young trainers looked much better than when they had arrived three days ago. For one, Red wasn't bleeding out and fading from consciousness. The rest of them were well rested and fed and it showed on their faces. Florinda had found them a small storage room to the side of the nursery, four cots had been laid out.

Blue had impatiently waited for Red to recover by pacing the room and a strict training regimen for his Pokemon. Green had enjoyed herself visiting with the people she considered to be her real family. Yellow had fussed over Red and stayed by his side, constantly offering food and water. Red was in great pain the first couple of days, he had been helped by some sort of elixir that distilled from stun spore, it numbed the pain and relaxed his muscles. Florinda had provided him with some extra to take on the journey, he would need it.

Blue was packing rapidly, obviously glad that Florinda had finally cleared Red for the journey. "Aren't you all ready to get out of here?"

"I'm gonna miss this place," Green told them absently.

"It is really nice, but I'm looking forward to getting to Viridian City," Yellow added in her two cents.

"We are way off course," Blue reminded them bitterly.

"Hey, Green," Florinda appeared in the doorway. "Do you have a second? Could we talk in private?"

"Sure."

Green followed Florinda out into the nursery and through the outer walkway to a section surrounded by trees and completely out of view of anyone else. What was going on? Green wasn't used to Florinda being this secretive.

"Green, I'm sorry to drag you all the way out here but I wanted to talk to you without any prying ears. I just wanted to tell you that I am so proud of you. You have become quite a young woman. I love you as if you were my own daughter but I've always known you weren't destined for something as quiet as the nursery. This group you're with, they're mostly good and worth giving a chance."

"Thank you," Green said simply. She was caught completely off-guard by Florinda's emotional confession. She was stunned. What was she supposed to say? She swallowed loudly and grasped for words.

"Don't worry, Green, I know how you feel," Florinda smiled gently and grasped her into a tight hug. "I know that you have a hard time trusting people, especially those who might be your friends, but Green promise me you'll give these other young people a chance. Let them be your friends, don't push them away."

Green still didn't know what to say.

"Promise me."

"Sure," Green tried to shrug nonchalantly but Florinda's words and stirred up all sorts of emotions she hadn't even been aware she had.

"That's my girl," Florinda let her go and smiled down at her again. "Now, you better go finish packing."

Green nodded and took off back to their temporary room.

Not ten minutes later the four teens were headed toward the nursery exit with bags on their backs and Pokeballs on their belts. Florinda and even Potter came out to see them off, waving, Florinda fighting back tears.

Green saw a single teardrop trickle its way down Florinda's smiling cheek and gulped. Now she had to fight back tears of her own. Florinda and Potter were more family to her than anyone she was related to. Now she wouldn't see them for a long time to come, not if she was going to become a trainer. A trainer they could be proud of.

"How come I never knew you were close with the owners of Xanadu?" Blue asked once they were out of earshot.

"That would be a super weird thing to brag about," Green answered but winced when her voice broke with barely contained emotion.

"Are you crying?" Blue asked incredulously.

"Wow, she is human," Red teased.

"Would you two knock it off already?" Yellow shot them both dirty looks. Blue shrugged it off but Red immediately felt guilty.

"We were just joking with her," Red defended.

"Yes, I can hear all the laughter," Yellow rolled her eyes and turned her back to them, marching on ahead.

"No need to be so upset," Blue shrugged. That just made Red feel worse, if Blue was on his side then he was on the wrong side.

Red jogged a little bit to get to Green's side. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean anything by it, I swear."

"It's fine," Green mumbled and shrugged.

"You're so brave and in control all the time I didn't think you would care," Red admitted to her.

"I said it's fine!" Green grouched at him, but her shoulders were no longer slumped and she was staring ahead instead of at her feet. That satisfied Red. Yellow shot a grateful look back at him, she had heard.

It was a couple of hours later when the trees slowly started to thin and they saw looming over them a large rocky singular peak.

"Is that Mount Hideaway?" Red asked. "We really are off course."

"No duh, genius," Blue snarked.

"We could try to use this to our advantage," Green said something for the first time in hours. "It's rumored that there are some rare and strong Pokemon on Mount Hideaway that you wouldn't find anywhere else near Pallet."

"Green is right," Yellow backed her up. "That rumor has been around since my dad was a kid."

"Well, let's see what we can find," Blue grinned. If he already had a rare Pokemon by the time he reached Viridian City his grandpa would have to recognize he was even better than Gary. It had taken Gary until Mount Moon to find a rare Pokemon. His three companions followed after him as he made his way toward Mount Hideaway. Of course they were, he was a natural leader, like most of his family.

Mount Hideaway was further than it looked and it took several hours to get to its foothills. It was around noon so they stopped and Red and Yellow fed their Pokemon that had been walking alongside them. Yellow fed Pikachu a homemade Pokemon food that she made herself. It was made with sesame seeds, rice, some seaweed, and Magikarp meat. She hated to buy any kind of Pokemon meat but Pikachu was omnivorous and needed the proteins and oils that they could only get from meat.

Red, on the other hand, was feeding Charmander whatever it was he had on hand for himself, some rice cakes, sushi that had been made by Florinda, and some Tauros jerky. Red was a little more practical about buying Pokemon meat. Charmander, of course, liked the jerky best. He shot a flame happily whenever Red tossed him a piece. Deep from Charmander's throat came a thrumming sound not unlike a cat purring but deeper and more pronounced. Red rubbed Charmander's head behind his ear hole.

"See, that's why you'll never become a real contender," Blue suddenly interrupted the trainer and Pokemon.

"What are you blabbing on about?" Red asked, annoyed.

"You want to treat your Pokemon like a pet, not a champion. I would never waste time with petting my Squirtle."

"The poor thing."

"It doesn't care about affection as much as it does about pleasing me, and I will teach it how to make me happy, how to be a champion." Red rolled his eyes at Blue's impassioned tirade.

"Some of us see Pokemon as more than tools," Yellow chimed in as she rubbed Pikachu's head.

"Your loss."

"No," Yellow told him. "It's YOUR loss, we will get to see a side to our Pokemon that you will never see. We will have loyalty from our Pokemon that you could never have no matter how hard you train because our Pokemon will love us. Yours will just be afraid of you, or afraid of disappointing you, there's not much difference."

Blue rolled his eyes at her but caught a beaming look exchanged between her and Red. So the two losers had banded together against him. So what? He didn't need their approval or their friendship, he was going to be a Master. He glanced about. He spotted Green sitting alone in silence, her gaze far away. She had been distracted ever since they had left the Xanadu Nursery. Maybe he should help her refocus. He walked toward her. Before he could reach her she suddenly got up and walked away without so much as a glance his way. Blue could barely believe his eyes. She had completely ignored him.

Green had seen Blue from the corner of her eye but she had little care what he had to say to her. Florinda's words of love and support were still bouncing around inside her head. She had to become a trainer Florinda could still be proud of. She couldn't do that very well with nothing more than three Pokemon. Let the others take their lunch and play with their Pokemon, she had some capturing to do.

She didn't realize that Blue was following her. Out of sheer curiosity, Yellow and Red weren't far behind him. Green was trying to listen for even the smallest of sounds that might lead her to another Pokemon. She reflexively grabbed her Bulbasaur's Pokeball from her slim belt.

She stalked along a hillside a rocky hillside to her right and a hilly forest to her left, her companions following behind her as silently as possible. Her heart pounded mercilessly in her chest, she could swear the sound of it was chasing away any nearby Pokemon. As she listened with her ears and searched with her eyes she could feel sweat pop up all over her skin, the pressure of expectations and judgment weighed on her. What if she wasn't good enough? What if she turned out to be a disappointment?

A rustling sound came from above and Green froze. She glanced slowly up, a small cloud of dust came floating downward. Something was on the hillside. Hoping it wouldn't startle whatever it was up there she opened her Pokeball.

Bulbasaur appeared and before it could say anything she pressed a finger to her lips sternly. Bulbasaur understood and kept itself quiet. She pointed at the steep rocky hillside then shrugged. It was the best she could do without talking. Bulbasaur must have understood as he lashed his vines out and wrapped them quietly around some rocks and began to pull himself up without much noise.

Another rustling sound.

Everyone froze. Blue was just a foot behind Green now, he might be a jerk but he didn't mess with someone else's Pokemon hunt. Red and Yellow weren't far behind, watching with rapt attention. Bulbasaur pulled himself up slowly to the ledge where the rustling sound had come from, with a quick flick of his vines he launched himself up onto the ledge, out of sight. There was a flurry of noise, Green desperately tried to crawl up the steep slope. She needn't have bothered.

With a furious flapping of wings and long shrill cry, Bulbasaur fell to the ground below, one of his vines wrapped tightly around a Pidgey's leg. The bird Pokemon squawked furiously at all of the trainers as they surrounded the combatants. A couple of quick pecks from Pidgey and Bulbasaur withdrew its oozing vines. Pidgey shrieked and hopped angrily toward the recovering Bulbasaur, the tumble had done more damage to the heavier Pokemon. Bulbasaur scrambled to his feet to avoid the advancing Pidgey.

"Give him some direction!" Blue hissed at Green who was so absorbed in watching the battle she forgot she was supposed to be controlling it.

"Bulbasaur, jump back then aim for the Pidgey's head with vine whip!" Green commanded.

The Bulbasaur surprisingly seemed to understand her complex directions despite their short time together. The plant-type Pokemon jumped backward then shot a vine at the Pidgey's head. The bird dodged the attack but Bulbasaur persisted in his attack.

"Now get his feet!" Green shouted.

Bulbasaur shot his second vine forward and snaked it around one of the Pidgey's legs. The bird turned to peck at the vine around its leg but that was the opening that Bulbasaur needed. Once twice and even a third time Bulbasaur's vine smacked the Pidgey about the head, stunning the bird-like Pokemon.

He looked back at Green who nodded wordlessly at her Pokemon. The Bulbasaur dropped the dazed Pidgey. Green threw a Pokeball and with a flash Pidgey was inside of it. It was so stunned it didn't even struggle against the Pokeball.

"Yes!" Green ran forward and grabbed her now full Pokeball. "That's four, I've got at least double the number of Pokemon any of you have!"

"That's not saying much," Blue groused. "Don't get too excited over it, Green, it's just a Pidgey."

"None of the rest of you have a Nidoran!" Green pointed out. Behind her Yellow rolled her eyes comedically and Red giggled.

Green spun, "You're all just jealous."

"What was that?" Blue asked, putting a hand to his ear.

"Nice try."

"No, listen. I think I just heard another Pokemon."

"You think a Pokemon stuck around while we stood here shouting at each other?" Yellow was incredulous.

"I don't know all I can say is I think I heard one."

"What did it sound like?" Red, ever eager to catch more Pokemon, inquired.

"It had to be some kind of bird-type the way it sounded, but it wasn't a Pidgey. It sounded bigger."

The other three looked at each other disbelievingly. Blue didn't even notice, he was too busy trying to spot the Pokemon he had heard. He wouldn't have cared anyway, their opinion meant nothing to him. He had thought Green might have been someone to watch but after seeing the way she had wasted time at Xanadu he doubted she would ever amount to much, too sentimental. Then they heard it too.

"You're right," Yellow declared with surprise. "That is no Pidgey. I know exactly what that is, that's a Spearow."

Blue grinned. "It's mine!"

Now that they heard it again the Pokemon wasn't that hard to find. It was hopping angrily along a branch watching them with glaring eyes. Unlike most Pokemon when they noticed it didn't flee. In fact, if Blue didn't know any better he'd say that the Pokemon was challenging them.

"Alright," Blue grinned even wider. "I like the Pokemon with some fight in them. Squirtle, go!"

His turtle-like Pokemon shook its head as if it were just awaking then spotted the Spearow on the branch above them. Without a need for a command, Squirtle shot a strong thin stream of water at the Spearow. It took wing just in time to avoid his shot. Instead of flying away it dove for the Squirtle, talons extended.

Not the fastest Pokemon, Squirtle dove aside barely in time to avoid the attack. Squirtle regained its feet and scanned for the Spearow. It was climbing high into the air. Squirtle shot another stream of water at her opponent but it didn't reach. Spearow wheeled in mid-air and dove straight for them. If it got up enough speed it could be deadly for Blue's little turtle Pokemon.

"Get in your shell!" Blue shouted at his frozen Pokemon. Responding quickly the Pokemon's head limbs and tail disappeared. With a furious flapping of its wings, Spearow slowed its descent just in time claw at Squirtle's shell before rocketing away. Immediately Squirtle popped back out of her shell and blasted the fleeing Spearow with a massive stream of high-pressure water.

With a shocked cry, Spearow tumbled from the air. With an undignified plop, Spearow landed on the ground in a tangle of feathers and talons. Spearow righted itself and began to flap away but Squirtle blasted it with more water. Furious, the Spearow turned a baleful eye on its opponent and rushed Squirtle while flapping its wet wings.

"One more time, Squirtle!" Blue shouted triumphantly. Another jet of water smacked Spearow full in the face. Before it could recover Blue threw a Pokeball. Accurate, as always, the Pokeball flashed and Spearow disappeared within. The front button flashed rapidly, then, to everyone's surprise, the Pokeball burst open and Spearow reappeared with a triumphant cry of its own.

"What the hell?" Blue couldn't believe it. "Squirtle, headbutt."

The water-logged Spearow tried to take wing but it was simply too wet. Squirtle slammed into Spearow's belly, driving the wind from its lungs. Determined, Blue threw another Pokeball. Spearow disappeared again.

The Pokeball's button flashed rapidly again. "Come on!" Blue shouted impatiently. The button kept flashing. Blue rolled his eyes. It was still flashing. Blue growled and went to grab it anyway. At the last second, it stopped and the button went green.

"Finally!" Blue groused. Red smirked and Green giggled. "What are you smiling about, Red? All you've got is a Pidgey. Spearow would wipe the floor with it."

"The day is just getting started," Red said. "By the end of the day, I'll have another Pokemon."

"You wanna bet on that?"

Yellow rolled her eyes. "Let's get moving."

Deciding that she was right Blue recalled his Squirtle and shouldered his backpack, shooting Red an annoyed look. Red always had to turn everything into an argument, it wasn't Blue's fault that Red couldn't accept the truth. Blue had been seeing Red his whole life, or near enough, since they were both six grandpa had been obsessed with Red and Blue had no idea why. There was nothing special about Red.

Blue waited as Green walked over to where she had left her own pack. Then they left together. Blue couldn't wait until he was strong enough to leave these bozos behind. So far he knew his three Pokemon couldn't cut it. If he ran into a wild Onix, for example, he would just get crushed along with his Pokemon.

Almost as if on queue, there was a shout and a loud roar above them. They all looked up the steep rocky slope above them. A shirtless man with long wild dark hair and a karate gi, or at least the bottom half of it, was using a Sandslash to try and catch a massive Onix just coming out of a cave.

They all paused and watched in awe as the man shouted instructions to his Pokemon and the three-foot Sandslash leaped at the massive Onix. The Sandslash moved with a speed that belied his squat shape and short limbs.

"That has to be some kind of Master up there," Red breathed in awe. Blue rolled his eyes but went right back to watching the battle with his companions. The Onix had fully exited the cave now and it revealed itself to be much longer than the average twenty-eight feet and looked to be almost forty feet in length.

This didn't seem to daunt the man's Sandslash who launched itself at the huge rock creature. It slashed at the large creature, but it didn't seem too effective. The Onix's roar echoed down to them. It turned to bite at the Sandslash but stopped short, on the ledge Onix's maneuverability was limited. Whoever that was up there knew exactly what they were doing. The overly large Onix was even more limited than a normal one would have been. That was when Sandslash pulled out its power moves. It attacked the midsection of the Onix with Iron Tail. Dust and pebbles came sliding down from the fight.

Yellow stepped back, her heart in her throat. "Get away from there!" she warned her friends. Red turned, clearly, he had heard the panic in her voice.

"What's the matter?"

"Get away from there!" Pikachu cried loudly with her. Green and Blue looked back at her with annoyance in their eyes then turned back to watch the battle above them. Yellow's eyes were filling with tears, her heart was pounding so it felt as if it would explode. Pikachu rubbed a cheek soothingly against hers.

Red thankfully didn't ignore her. He turned from the battle and walked toward her. "Yellow, what's going on?"

"We need to get away from here! I've seen this happen before and . . . and we could get killed!" Her voice was hysterical, she was screeching. This was not like the Yellow that Red had gotten to know over the past week.

More dust and small rocks fell when Sandslash landed a Focus Blast, evoking another earth-shaking roar from the giant Onix. Red glanced as Yellow's eyes grew impossibly wider at the sight of the falling pebbles. Pikachu let out a shrill cry.

"Hey guys, maybe you should just take a few steps back, just in case," Red advised Blue and Green.

"Shut up, Red."

Red sneered, Blue was such a jerk. Yellow grabbed his arm with a grip that was tighter than a vice. "We have to go!" Pikachu seemed to agree with her, it glanced in fear at the tumbling small rocks.

"Yeah, okay," Red agreed. If nothing else he had to get Yellow away from the battle just to get her to calm down and explain what was going on with her. "Let's go."

The two turned and followed the trail away into the forested area that surrounded Mount Hideaway, Charmander following them reluctantly. It had enjoyed watching the battle, it might learn something from it. Soon the trees muffled the sound of the battle and the other two in their group were also out of view. Red turned to Yellow, her eyes were still wide and her breathing was close to hyperventilating. Pikachu was squeaking comfortingly while rubbing against Yellow's face.

"It's okay, we're away from the battle now, Yellow. Breathe, we're out of danger. I listened to you and we got away."

"I'm not sure we're far enough," Yellow gasped. Pikachu made a sound almost like purring and touched his nose to her cheek. Yellow didn't even seem to notice. Red took her off the trail into the woods, further away from the rocky peak.

"Just tell me what happened, what you saw before," Red kept his voice even and low to hopefully help calm his friend.

Yellow burst into tears.

Red hugged her to his side and rubbed her shoulder. "Don't cry, it's okay, we are safe, thanks to you."

Red was so busy consoling Yellow that he failed to notice that they had wandered right into a pack of napping Nidoran. Yellow's crying startled them all awake. The startled Nidoran scattered. Two, a male and female, stayed behind to by their pack members time to escape these loud humans.

Spotting the danger Pikachu leaped from Yellow's shoulder down to stand between Yellow and the advancing Nidoran, the hairs on Pikachu's back stood on end. Charmander hurried on his hind legs to join the electric mouse.

With an angry cry, the male Nidoran charged toward, kicking up dirt and dead leaves from the forest floor. Pikachu leaped up and sent a brilliant yellow shockwave toward the young Nidoran male. The shockwave struck and knocked the defending Pokemon onto the ground but the female simply leaped over her fallen compatriot and resumed the charge that he had started.

Pikachu needed a second to recharge. Somehow understanding this Charmander stepped in front of the yellow rodent Pokemon and breathed a burst of red-hot flames from his mouth. The female Nidoran cried and fell back, but by then the male had regained his feet and advanced slowly toward them once more.

Pikachu wasn't one to be left out. Having recharged enough for another attack he leaped onto Charmander's head and both Pokemon let loose a blast at both the Nidoran. When the fire blast and electric attack met there was a small explosion. Yellow had become so entranced in the impromptu battle that she had forgotten all about her moment of panic mere seconds ago. She covered her eyes just in time to avoid the dirt and pebbles that went flying past her face. Red wasn't quite so lucky. He snarled as dirt and grit entered his eyes and nostrils painfully. Yellow was too interested in the battle to notice.

It was over.

Both Nidorans lay unconscious on the forest floor. "Whoa!" the two heard from behind them.

Blue stood looking on in awe. Yellow and Blue grinned at each other, good thing Blue had no idea either of them had said a word during the entire battle. He would discount their win as 'luck'. Both of them threw Pokeballs at the two Nidoran, Yellow aimed for the female while Red favored the more spiky male. There was a flash and by the time they approached their respective Pokeballs, the two Nidoran were caught.

The two gave each other a high-five. "Great job!" they cried in unison and reached out to hug their Pokemon. Red held Charmander tight, despite his flaming tail. Yellow and Pikachu cuddled and Yellow finally smiled.

"What was that all about earlier?" Blue interrupted their momentary joy.

"I've seen people die watching a battle above them on a mountainside, it caused a rockslide," Yellow said, suddenly somber, able to say it without freaking out now that everyone was out of danger.

"How oddly specific," Green noted.

"Okay, you two have caught Pokemon, let's get going," Blue looked regretfully over his shoulder where the still raging battle was hiding from view.

Seven Hours Later . . .

Once more their tents were facing inward toward the campfire in a circle. The woods were far from silent around them but thank goodness there had been no explosions. The four sat half in and half out of their tents. All of them were exhausted from hiking up and down mountainous trails, clambering over rocks and fallen trees.

"Hey, Green, I think I hear a Nidoran, do you wanna go get it? It might be a male for your female to enjoy. You wanna go capture it?

"Grow up!" Green rolled her eyes and tossed a thing little twig at him. Blue caught it and smiled. She was camped to Blue's right and next to Red with Yellow between him and Blue. Green was fighting heavy eyelids.

"Do you think something might attack our camp in the night?" Yellow asked nervously. She knew she was going to sleep deep tonight and in the forest that could be very dangerous indeed.

"Not likely," Blue intoned. "The only Pokemon attracted to flames are fire Pokemon and there aren't any near here."

"Well, then I am going to bed," Green pronounced and scooted backward until she was fully encased in her tent then zipped it up.

"Me too," Blue yawned and pulled the same maneuver.

Yellow watched as Red sat in silence, pensively staring into the flames. She wondered what he was thinking about so deeply about. His Charmander was curled up at his side, cuddled up against Red and snoozing away.

"Red," Yellow began, not sure how to proceed.

"Hm?" Red asked without taking his eyes from the dancing flames.

"It was my family that died from the landslide," Yellow blurted out.

Red turned toward her, his face surprised. "That's how you lost your parents?"

"Yes, there was a beautiful battle above us. Some trainers with some really powerful Pokemon, you could see their energy from miles away. We stopped and stared, just for a moment, and suddenly a landslide hit us, it took us completely by surprise. I was lucky to have survived."

"I lost my dad to a landslide too," Red told her in a quiet voice.

"What?" Yellow asked after a second. "Red, everyone knows your father was killed by Team Rocket."

"What?" Red turned to her, his face filled with disbelief.

"Didn't you know? Everybody knows that your father died saving Professor Oak and his assistants, I figured that was why he gave you a license, I thought."

"My mom told me he died in a landslide."

"Red, I'm so sorry," Yellow didn't know what else to say.

"She raised me with a lie my entire life!" Red stated in shock. He stared back into the flames, his face still slack with disbelief.

After a while of awkward silence, Yellow slinked back into her tent and cuddled up with Pikachu. Red sat and stared at the fire for a long time, his mind racing. Why would his mother lie about his father's death? What exactly had happened to his father? Why had Team Rocket killed him? Thoughts swirled in his head as ethereal and destructive as the fire he stared into. He picked up a stick and broke it angrily then tossed it into the fire to watch it burn. When that wasn't enough to assuage his anger picked up a small stone and hurled it as hard as he could into the shadows of the forest.

The commotion woke Charmander he whined at him, curious. "I'm sorry Charmander, I shouldn't have woken you. Let's get to bed."

Charmander happily curled up in front of Red's tent, both of them worried that his tail flame would catch the tent on fire in his sleep. Red lay with his head poking out of the tent and touching Charmander's warm body. He stared up at the stars and breathed out a long sight. Charmander stirred. Red patted him then fell still, though he didn't sleep for some time.

Xanadu Nursery - Earlier

Florinda stared at her captors in fright but determination. They were in their early to mid-twenties dressed in matching dark suits embossed with a large red "R" one was a girl with long red hair and the other a guy with purple hair. Florinda wasn't ignorant, she knew exactly what the outfits meant, they worked for Team Rocket.

The girl's Ekans had wrapped in its constricting coils and held Florinda still as the two interrogated her. The guy's Koffing floated behind them, waiting to do something. A Meowth stood in the doorway, keeping a lookout. It was too bad Potter was out collecting samples and shouldn't be back for some time.

"Listen, lady, if you just answer our questions we'll be out of here and you will be free," the young woman snarled.

The purple haired young man nodded, but he looked like he was going to be sick. Florinda couldn't help but notice he kept himself safely tucked away behind his more vocal companion.

"What do you want?"

"Yesterday you had four new trainers staying with you here at the Nursery," Jessie held up four fingers as if Florinda needed help counting. "We are trying to find them, so just tell us where they went and Ekans won't eat you."

"I never asked them but most trainers from Pallet Town head to Viridian City first, it's the closest Gym."

"Which route did they take?" Jessie asked as she leaned in closer to Florinda, glaring at her eye to eye. Florinda gulped, the fire in this young woman's eyes terrified her. She hadn't felt intimidated before but getting a close look of the redhead's eyes told her that she was just crazy enough to follow through on her threat. Her temper was barely held below the surface, ready to explode at the wrong words. Now Florinda was scared.

"I really don't know, they were headed North," Florinda tried.

Jessie gave Ekans a look and the snake Pokemon tightened its grip around her ribcage. Florinda gasped involuntarily. She could feel her face already starting to change red from the pressure and low oxygen intake.

"We know . . ." Jessie held her hand to her forehead and glared at the floor before returning her baleful gaze to Florinda. "We know that if they were heading to Viridian City than they would be headed North. There are several minor routes leading North from this area and Kanto National Route 1, which of them did the children take?"

Florinda shook her head with desperate wide eyes, she couldn't catch her breath enough to form words. She was starting to see stars.

"You are trying to tell me that these trainers stayed with you for three days and they never once happened to tell you which route they were going to take? Let her breathe for a second, Ekans."

Ekans loosened just enough to let her breathe, she gulped down air like water. Just as everything was beginning to return to normal Ekans squeezed again. Thankfully, not as tight as before.

"No, they wouldn't stop arguing, I don't think they had a plan," Florinda volunteered honestly.

Jessie's eyes narrowed dangerously but then relaxed. "Lucky for you, you old bag, I believe you."
"Old?" Florinda knew it was a funny thing to focus on at the moment but there couldn't have been more than a couple of years difference between her and the red-head. Why had she called her an old bag? Was she insecure?

"Ekans, toss her," Jessie said dismissively. "James."

"Huh?" the young man came out of a daze.

Ekans squeezed the last vestiges of air remaining in Florinda's lungs then flung her away with a whip of its powerful tail. She went tumbling end over end, unable to draw in a breath until finally stopped as she rolled into a bush. She gasped for breath again. Stars flew through her vision, everything else was dim.

Jessie elbowed James rudely. "Oh yeah! Koffing, cover our escape!" The levitating purple ball spewed thick black smoke from its gaping mouth, filling the entry in seconds. Florinda coughed harder, the smoke was making it nearly impossible to get enough oxygen. By the time she had recovered her breath and vision, the two young criminals were long gone.

A Pidgey suddenly flew into view from the main garden area. She had taken care of when it had flown straight into their glass dome and then had decided to stay with them in the Nursery. The Pidgey cried loudly. A Squirtle came running from the garden and forced the front door open with its shell. Pidgey began flapping with such ferocity that the Koffing's smoke was soon clearing out of the dome. Florinda caught her breath and a Bulbasaur helped her sit up. She was going to be alright, but she was worried about Green and her friends. Why was Team Rocket after four novice trainers?