((Quick Recap: Malik challenged Wattson to a gym battle but lost))
After my defeat, I got my team to the Pokemon Center. We made sure everyone was okay and turned in for the night. The whole night was spent in silence
"Malik?" Taylor asked
I just lied there in my bed. I was upset about my lose and I didn't want the others to see me so down. By morning Tyler had woken up and noticed Mawile and I had disappeared
"Oh no..." Tyler mumbled
"They left a little while ago..." Taylor whispered
Tyler hopped off the top bunk and looked at his sister who was motionless and lying down, facing the wall. She explained that I just walked out at the break of dawn without a word
"Should we go after him?" Taylor asked
"It's his first lose. Let him deal with it his own way" Tyler said
I had left Mauville City and had somehow made my way onto Route 111 without realizing it. Sand blew in face but I didn't care. Mawile didn't seem bothered by it being a Steel type and all. I just wanted some time to clear my head. Ever since I set out on my journey, Mawile and I always came out on top. I wasn't too upset though. Maybe a lose every now and then is just something everyone needs so they're reminded they're not invincible
"Wile..." Mawile whimpered when she saw me looking down
"I'm sorry Mawile" I said
I let Slakoth and Nuzleaf out of their Pokeballs and apologized for letting them down. They seemed to be okay with our loss
"Come on, let's do some training" I smiled getting out of my funk
We quickly took off into the desert like area where multiple Pokemon tried to attack us. We battled our way through Gible, Sandile, Cacnea, and a few other Pokemon. After a little while of intense training we decided to head back. Half way back I stopped
"Guys... Thanks" I smiled
Mawile grinned and punched me in the leg "Mawile"
I started laughing but stopped when the ground started shaking "Huh?"
A heard of Dwebble popped up from the ground right under my feet. The Dwebble took off back into the desert taking me with them but I didn't think they noticed
"Hey!" I yelled trying to get away but fell down and disappeared into a sandstorm with the Dwebble
My Pokemon tried to follow but lost sight of me very quickly. The heard ended up going up a large sand dune causing me to fall off roll onto the ground
"Ow..." I groaned and looked up "Okay, where am I?"
I couldn't see very far ahead of myself but I was pretty sure which direction I came from so I started walking. I must've been walking for at least an hour but I was almost certain I was going around in circles
"Mawile! Slakoth! Nuzleaf!" I yelled hoping my team would hear me
The only sound I could hear was the raging sandstorm
"Oh man..." I sighed and started to walk "I never gonna- Ah!"
After taking a couple steps I tripped into a huge sandpit. I panicked and started running before I hit the bottom. I heard something at the bottom of the pit so I took a look a saw an orange creature snapping it's jaws
"Oh crud!" I gasped and ran faster "Come on, come on, come on!"
It took everything in me but was able to get out of the trap. I was exhausted but I managed to pull myself off the ground and pull out my Pokedex
"Trapinch, the Ant Pit Pokemon. It makes an inescapable conical pit and lies in wait at the bottom for prey to come tumbling down" the Dex explained
"Inescapable huh?" I smirked "Someone should really update this thing"
I looked back into the pit and saw Trapinch had vanished. It came back up a couple yards away. It looked upset. I got a closer look at it and remembered what the Pokedex said
"Uh... Are you hungry?" I asked "I have a couple berries on me if you'd like"
Trapinch got excited by my offer and quickly ran offer. Trapinch was very well behaved
"You're not a bad Pokemon, you were just hungry. I get frustrated when I'm hungry too" I laughed feeding the little Ground type
Trapinch seemed happy at first but got startled by something burrowed away
"Trapinch? Where'd you go?" I wondered
I felt some type of presense and turned to a sand dune. There was a figure standing motionless at the top. I was certain that wasn't there before
"Hello?" I asked and got a little closer
There was no response or movement. As I got closer I got a better look at the figure. I was finally able to get close and realize it was a tall green Pokemon standing there so I took out my Pokedex
"Cacturne, the Scarecrow Pokemon. Packs of them follow travelers through the desert until the travelers can no longer move"
"Well that's not disturbing at all..." I gulped
Cacturne didn't move an inch so I assumed it wasn't concerned with me. I gave it a second to comfirm that and walked off. I kept turning back to make sure Cacturne was following me, which it wasn't until the last time I looked back and it had vanished into thin air
"It's okay... Calm down Malik... Just because it's gone doesn't mean it has anything to do with you- Whoa!" I gasped and leaned back when Cacturne aimed a Needle Arm at my head
Cacturne had somehow gotten around me in a heartbeat. Luckily my reflexes saved me from, literally, losing my head. I fell back and remembered how Trapinch looked before taking off. Cacturne must've been some kind of, Boss of the Desert. Cacturne stood over me and raised it's arm
"Wait! Hold on!" I pleaded
When Cacturne dropped it's arm, something grabbed my shorts and quickly dragged me away before I got hit
"Ahh!" I yelled while being kidnapped for the second time today
I looked down and realized it was Trapinch who was dragging me away. It came back through the ground and saved me from Cacturne by sticking it's head out of the ground and using the strength of any Ground type to borrow threw the ground. That must've been it's way of thanking me for my kindness earlier
"Thanks Trapinch" I smiled at my new friend
We finally came to a stop and dusted myself off. Trapinch was happy to see I was okay
"Hey Trapinch, now that we're friends, could you help me find my team?" I asked
"Tra" Trapinch nodded
I followed Trapinch around looking for Mawile and the others. We managed to get back to the spot where I was taken by the Dwebble but there was no sight of my Pokemon
"Now what are we gonna do?" I asked
Trapinch tilted it's head "Tra?"
I looked around for any clue to where they went but instead I noticed multiple glowing projectiles flying towards us
"Pin Missile?!" I gasped grabbing Trapinch and jumping out of the way
Cacturne walked into view showing us it was the culprit of the sudden Pin Missile
"What is your deal?!" I growled
"Cacturne!" the scarecrow yelled angrily
"Looks like someone wants a fight" I said looking at my suddenly empty arms "Trapinch?"
Trapinch had gotten out of my arms and used Dig to get away
"Hey!" I yelled
Cacturne rushed at me but Trapinch flew from the ground and sent it flying. Cacturne stuck the landing and proceeded to nail the little ant with a powerful Needle Arm
I dove to the ground to catch my friend "Are you okay?"
"Tra..."
Cacturne was about to deliver another Needle Arm but a sudden gust of wind put a stop to that
I recognized the attack "That's..."
Mawile ran up and knocked Cacturne away
"What took you so long, partner?" I smirked
"Wile" Mawile grinned
Slakoth and Nuzleaf came up right behind Mawile ready for the fight Cacturne was offering. Mawile and Nuzleaf rushed ahead to fight the bully. The scarecrow wasn't just strong, it was fast. Slakoth saw the duo getting hurt and used Feint Attack to go ahead and take the Sucker Punch that was meant for Nuzleaf. Slakoth was knocked into the others and causing them to fly back
"Guys!" I gasped
Cacturne used Sandstorm and engulfed my Pokemon in a twister of sand
I put Trapinch down and was about to run into the Sandstorm when I was stopped by bright light. The light looked familiar to me, then I recalled what happened yesterday
"Evolution" I mumbled
The energy blew apart the Sandstorm and a new Pokemon was standing in between Mawile and Nuzleaf. It had white fur, long arms, and a red puff ball in the middle of it's eyes. I immediately took out my Pokedex
"Vigoroth, the Wild Monkey Pokemon. It's heartbeat is fast and it's blood so agitated that it can't sit still for one second"
"ROTH!" my new Pokemon yelled
"Slakoth evolved. And learned a new move" I smiled "Mawile, Nuzleaf, hang back"
"Mawile..." my partner pouted
"Let's do this, Vigoroth!" I grinned
"Vigoroth!"
"Vigoroth, Feint Attack!" I called out
The monkey took off and vanished just to come back and knock Cacturne away. Cacturne used Pin Missile but Vigoroth used his new speed and agility to evade all of them
"Now to test out that new move. Vigoroth, Reversal!" I instructed
Vigoroth drove into the scarecrow with his sharp claws. Since Vigoroth took that Sucker Punch before, Reversal did a lot of damage. Trapinch watched as I lead my Pokemon to take care of the bully. That last attack sent Cacturne flying. The scarecrow decided it had enough and took off into desert
"Alright!" I cheered
Vigoroth jumped into my arms "Roth!"
"Good job buddy" I smiled
"Mawile" "Nuz" the others nodded
Trapinch came over and I checked everyone to make sure they were okay. After a quick check, Trapinch led us towards the entrance of Route 111. Before we got there I realized where we were and thanked Trapinch for it's help
"We can take it form here Trapinch, thanks" I smiled
"Tra?" Trapinch seemed sad at my comment
My team and I were about to head back to Mauville City when Trapinch cut us off
"What is it?" I asked
Trapinch walked up and rubbed against my leg "Tra"
"Trapinch, do you want to come with us?" I asked the little ant
The Ground type quickly stood front and center
"I'll take that as a yes" I smiled and took out a Pokeball "Alright, go Pokeball!"
I threw the ball and Trapinch got sucked inside. The ball shook for a second before clicking letting me know the capture was a success
"Awesome!" I cheered and let Trapinch out "Welcome to the family"
At the entrance of Route 111, the twins were about to make their way onto the path
"Malik's been gone for too long" Taylor whimpered
"What makes you think he's here?" Tyler asked
"We already checked Routes 110, 117, and 118. He has to be here" Taylor replied
As if on cue, I walked out of Route 111 with my Pokemon "Hey guys"
"Malik!" Taylor smiled "Thank goodness. Alright, new rule! For now on, I don't care how upset you are if you're planning to be gone all day you have to tell one of us. Actually... scratch that, just tell me. Effective immediately!"
"Ouch..." Tyler said
Taylor noticed my team had some new additions. I explained what we went through, like Slakoth's evolution and Trapinch joining the crew
"Wow..." the twins said in unison
"With all that I bet you're feeling a lot better" Tyler pointed out
"Totally. I wanna get in a little more training before the day is over but first thing tomorrow, I'm challenging Wattson to a rematch!" I grinned
"Mawile!" "Nuzleaf!" "Roth!" "Tra" my Pokemon agreed
My friends were happy to see me not upset anymore. I was looking forward to battling Wattson again. I won't be defeated again
((Time for a rematch! Questions, comments, and concerns are expected and accepted. Thanks for reading!))