Chapter Three:

Escape Artist

The clock read ten after ten as I sat at my desk in my bedroom. I had heard my parents footsteps echo down the hallway nearly an hour before and they had both called out 'goodnights' to me. I wanted to give them time to fall asleep and as I turned in my chair, I glanced out the window next to my bed. The streetlights were on, illuminating the path to Route 1.

I stood up off the chair, walked to my bed, and knelt on the ground. I pulled my satchel and camera bag out from under my bed and settled both over my head as I sat up. I repositioned the straps over my chest before standing and straightening the black pencil skirt I wore. I scooped Lady Bird from my bed and pushed her onto my shoulders, she was wide awake and seemingly ready to go.

I felt her needle-like claws extend through the sleeves of my t-shirt and into my shoulder as I walked out of my room and into the front room. I shrugged to myself as glanced down at my hip and opened satchel. I did a quick once over, checking that everything was still within the bag. I smiled as Bird mewled softly, but when I glanced up I immediately felt myself panic slightly.

My dad sat on the sofa, one leg crossed over the other with his ankle resting on his knee. He was staring at me as though he had been expecting me.

"Dad," I whispered. "Why are you awake?"

"Probably the same reason you are," he shrugged.

I stared at him. "I doubt it."

"You're going to leave, right?" He spoke, his voice also quiet. "For your own Pokémon travels."

"I think if I answer that I incriminate myself," I replied sheepishly.

"Fair enough," he said, nodding knowingly. "You don't have to answer, it's pretty obvious what your plans are."

"I'll go back to bed," I muttered, turning around to head back to my room, feeling defeated and humiliated.

"Piper." I stopped when he called my name. When I glanced back at him, he was no longer seated and was standing much closer to me. He was holding something out to me. I turned back around to get a better look at it. It was an envelope. "You're going to need this."

I closed the remaining distance between us and took the envelope. I stared at him as I fumbled to open it. Once I managed to separate the edges, I glanced down. My jaw dropped at the amount of money in it. "Dad."

"Also," he said, interrupting my shock and reaching into a pocket of his pajama pants. "Here." He held his hand out to me again.

I extended a free hand, grasping the money envelope tightly in my other, and my dad dropped a pokéball. I stared at it, confused for a moment. "Gia's?" I asked.

He nodded. "I keep it in my nightstand, you never would have gotten it. She's in there, I want you to take her with you."

"But she's yours."

"She's ours," my dad corrected me gently and with a smile. "Bird is a great pet," he continued, reaching out and stroking my cat sitting on my shoulder, "and a great companion, but she won't fair well against wild Pokémon."

"You're not wrong," I agreed.

"So, you'll bring Gia," he said. "If you are certain you want to go through with this."

I was already nodding before he finished his sentence. "I do Dad, I really do."

"Well, I am going to walk with you to Route One." He walked around me and to the front door, I followed him. He opened the door for us and shut it behind me. As we walked quietly from our house and towards the exit of Pallet at the north end of town I noticed he had a bag thrown over his shoulder, I wondered if he was going with me. "I have another request, Pipe."

"What's that?" I asked him, staring down at my feet. I looked at the bag slung across his shoulders again.

"I understand you'll be busy and it will be hard to check in with me," he started to say and I interrupted him.

"I can call every you in every city," I hurriedly offered, anything to make him feel more comfortable with my decision and to convince him he didn't need to come with me.

He laughed at me. "No, you don't have to do that. You're an adult, Pipe, and I trust you, way more than your brother."

I laughed too. "Then what would you like me to do?"

"If you need help, if you need money, if you're just stressed and you need to talk to someone, call me immediately," he said. We had stopped near the edge of town and were facing each out. He had reached out and grabbed both my hands in his. "Promise?"

I felt a huge smile break across my face. "I promise I will."

"Good." He abruptly nodded his head. "You be careful out there and get some damn good photos."

I patted my camera bag. "I plan to."

"About that," he said, finally taking the bag around his shoulders off and handing it out to me. "I was going to give this to you for your birthday, but I think I should give it to you now."

My brow furrowed as I dropped Gia's ball and the envelope I was still holding into my satchel and took the bag from him. I unzipped it and gasped, finding a brand new, top of the line, gorgeous digital camera in the bag. "Dad," I murmured, reaching up and gently touching the equipment. "Holy Tauros."

"There are several of those little cards in there that store digital photos and extra batteries that are already charged. The battery charger should be in there too," he explained, holding up his fingers to display the size of the SD cards he was describing. I stared at him, feeling tears well in my eyes. "And the guy who sold it to me say you can upload the photographs or print them directly off the cards."

I zipped the bag and tucked it into the crook of my arm before throwing myself into my dad's chest. I felt Bird's claws sink deeper into my shoulders from my abrupt movement. "Thank you so much," I quietly said into his chest. His chest rumbled as he laughed and I separated myself from him.

"You are going to be awesome, Pipe," he told me, his hands still grasping my shoulders. "Go prove me right, okay?"

"Okay," I said, nodding and reaching up to wipe tears from my cheeks.

He too stroked a tear from my cheek and then pressed a tender kiss to my forehead. "I love you, free-spirited daughter of mine. Go conquer the world."

I smiled and nodded before turning and taking a deep breath. I stared at the path ahead of me for just a moment. "Here we go," I whispered. I stepped officially out of Pallet Town and onto Route One. I felt a feeling of sureness come over me and I couldn't fight the smile that burst across my face. I looked over my shoulder, my dad was heading back toward ours house, but in that moment he too looked back. I was sure he smiled as he waved. I returned the gesture, turned away from him, and made my way down a swift curve in the road. On my way to find what lie ahead.

An idea came over me suddenly. I hurried reached into my satchel and grabbed Gia's pokéball, releasing her from it before returning the empty sphere to my bag. Gia materialized next to me, looking around her surroundings curiously.

She finally turned toward me and squeaked. I smiled at her as I grabbed my antique camera from its bag. "We are going on an adventure," I told her and she squealed loudly and happily. I waved her over to me and she sidled up close to me.

I sat down in the middle of Route One. "We need to document the beginning of our journey before we get too far!" I said and Gia chortled cheerily again. She flopped to the ground next to me and licked me across the side of the face.

"Gross," I muttered as I wiped the slobber from my cheek. Bird chortled as she straightened up on my shoulder. "Come closer," I waved Gia in. She dragged herself across the ground and rested her head on my shoulder. I held my camera out in front of me and smiled brightly before snapping a picture, the flash in the darkness nearly blinded me.

I blinked several times, trying to get the white spots from my vision as the photograph slowly printed from the bottom of the camera. I grabbed the square piece of paper and waited for the image to develop. I laughed as I realized what the picture had captured.

Gia had been moving to lick my cheek again, her tongue already was sticking out of her mouth. Bird, either jealous or terrified that the slobbery form of affection was for her, had her paw raised up in the air, ready to slap Gia across the head. And then there was me, my long, almost white-blonde hair pulled up into an untidy ponytail, my green eyes bright with promising hope, and my smile, big as day and full of excitement.

I grinned as I pulled out my journal and tucked the photograph safely in the pages. "Alright ladies," I said, pushing myself to my feet. "Let's get to Viridian!"

I held my hand up in front of my eyes as I glanced towards the east. The sun was coming up and I could feel exhaustion taking over my body. I let out a deep breath, my shoulders sagged and Bird fell forward. She let out a panicked mewl before I safely caught her in my arms. I muttered a soft apology to her before cradling her closer to my chest.

"I guess exciting Pokémon don't come out at night," I murmured to myself. "I only saw Rattata, and I already have plenty of pictures of those." I reached into my pouch and pulled a small stack of photos that I had pulled from my bedroom wall. "I don't need more pictures of Rattata."

I heard a loud whinny sound from the road just ahead of me. I looked up quickly but couldn't see around a bend in the road. "Did you hear that?" I asked, looking down at Gia. She stared up at me, her eyes huge. Another whinny sounded and Gia and I both looked up now. "Let's go check it out!" I shouted, shoving Bird back onto my shoulders.

I sprinted up the road, Gia was running beside me. We rounded the road and I immediately came to a dead stop. Ahead of me there was a large field, encircled by a white, picket fence. I could see several Pokémon wandering about, many that I recognized as the species Tauros. "What is this place?" I wondered to myself.

I remembered that I was out to capture wonderful Pokémon in pictures and hurriedly grabbed my brand-new, digital camera. I held it in front of me as I stepped closer to the fence. I held it up, adjusted the zoom, and lined up perfect shot on a herd of large, hooved animals. They had three long tails that whipped violently back and forth, even though they were merely grazing. These Pokémon had large horns protruding from either side of their heads and as I snapped the picture of them, they looked up as a group.

I froze, realizing that it may have been a bad idea to startle them. One of the hooved Pokémon snorted and went back to grazing. Soon, the rest of the herd followed suit. I let my breath out and down at the display screen on the back of the camera, pleased with the outcome. I turned the camera off and started to follow the fence toward a long, fence-lined path. That path eventually led up to a large, rustic, red barn.

I could see someone walking towards me up the road and I stopped, hoping that the person would stop as well. As the person got closer, I realized it was a young male. He had dark brown hair with a baseball cap pulled over his head. The t-shirt that he wore was a bright green color and he wore khaki shorts with tennis shoes. He glanced at me as he walked by, but otherwise did nothing else.

"Hello!" I turned and shouted after him. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"

The boy stopped in the road and slowly turned to glance over his shoulder at me. I grinned brightly at the boy, but he did not return the gesture.

I cleared my throat and stepped closer to him. His hand immediately flew to his waist and he snatched a pokéball from his belt. He whipped around and held it out in front of me, I froze in the middle of the road.

"Uh," I murmured, pointing to my chest, balancing my camera carefully in one hand. "I am Piper Stryfe, from Pallet Town. I'm not a Pokémon trainer, just a, uh, Pokémon photographer."

"Pokémon photographer?" The boy repeated, his eyebrow arching onto his forehead. I quickly nodded. "That's not a real thing," he said.

"It's what I am!" I calmly replied with a gentle shrug of my shoulders.

"I know almost everything there is to know about Pokémon, there is no such thing as a professional Pokémon photographer, just people who pretend to be because they're bad Pokémon trainers," he spat.

I furrowed my brow, trying not to be offended by the comment. "While you're entitled to your opinion, don't you think that's a little rude?"

"'Pokémon Photographer'," the boy scoffed, using his fingers as quotations as he uttered the phrase. I was definitely offended. "It just sounds like the punch line of a joke."

"I am not undermining you as a Pokémon trainer, why are you doing it to me?" I asked him now, hoping to reason with him. I just wanted to walk away from him, but he was blocking my path.

"If you were a real trainer, I wouldn't have to make fun of you," he said with a shrug. He then pointed at Gia, standing beside me. "You have a Girafarig, let's have a quick one on one battle. See who is better."

I glanced at Gia, then back at the boy. "No."

"You haven't even seen my Pokémon yet and you're scared," he snickered. "You may be a joke, but at least you're a smart joke."

"I'm not a Pokémon trainer," I hissed. "I don't battle and neither does Gia," I said, and waved at Girafarig. She squealed happily.

"How about you try?" He snickered. "I can always use one more win before heading to Sinnoh!" He boasted before he reeled back and tossed the pokéball in his hand out in front him. "Come on out, Blastoise!"

A red beam materialized in front of him and soon a Pokémon formed. I had started to formulate a retort to his snark, but I grew silent as I stared at the magnificent Pokémon in front of me. The large, tortoise-like Pokémon regarded me with a calm stare, clearly completely different than his spirited trainer.

"Oh my goodness! He is amazing!" I breathed, taking in the impressive cannons protruding from his equally massive shell. His face and limbs were a bright, azure color, glinting handsomely in the sunlight. "What did you call him? A Blastoise? Could I please take a picture of him, I have never seen one in person before."

The boy's face instantly changed to one of surprise as he stared at me. "What?" He asked, seeming otherwise nearly speechless.

"How long have you been training him? Do you feed him a special diet? He looks absolutely fantastic! You have to have other Pokémon, could I see them too?" I squealed happily. I lifted my digital camera, turning it on as I did so, and stared expectantly at the Pokémon trainer. He still looked shocked. I waited patiently for a moment before I spoke again. "Did you say I could take a picture of him?"

The trainer continued to stare at me quietly before he silently nodded. I smiled brightly and lifted my camera, snapping several quick photographs of the Blastoise. The Pokémon maintained the same controlled and confidence expression as he watched me move around him. "You're actually out here just to photograph Pokémon, aren't you?" The trainer asked me after a few seconds.

I lowered my camera and arched my eyebrow at him. "Yes," I replied.

Well, I have others, if you want to see them." He reached up and removed his ball cap off his head, scratching the back of his head as he laughed softly. He replaced his hat and reached to a belt at his waist. "They're all very well trained and exceedingly strong. No one can beat them in all of Johto, Kanto, or Hoenn."

"I would love to see them!" I agreed, my tone cheery. "Tell me about yourself, I would love to know where you started and where you've been." I was already formulating a continuing series that I would maintain in my journal about trainers and their Pokémon I met on my travels.

"I'm originally from Fuchsia City. I left four years again with just a Squirtle. Between him and me, and all the Pokémon I've caught since then, my team and I are unstoppable. Four years later and I am finally heading to Sinnoh!"

"Would you mind if I get a photo of you with your whole team?" I asked excitedly, replacing my digital camera with my older camera. "I would love to start a 'Pokémon Trainers and their Pokémon' photo collection."

"Sure! I guarantee I'll be the best trainer you'll find!" The boy replied and gave me a quick wink before he pulled out the rest of his pokéballs and released the Pokémon within them. I was immediately captivated as I watched the different Pokémon form in front of me. "Come on guys, let's get our picture taken!" The trainer shouted, and his Pokémon immediately responded to his command, gathering tightly around him.

"That's perfect!" I told him enthusiastically before taking a step back and lining up my shot. All of his Pokémon stared in my direction and the trainer smiled. I snapped the photo and eagerly waited for it to develop. "Tell me what all of your Pokémon are?" I asked, wanting to make sure I got the information correct. I had studied Pokémon at school, but I rarely got to actually see the ones I studied.

"Well, you already met Blastoise," the trainer said, waving to the large turtle-like Pokémon. He returned Blastoise to his pokéball. "And then that is Raichu," he pointed to a small, yellow rodent Pokémon. The Pokémon waved at me before being returned to his pokéball. "Loudred, a Hoenn Pokémon," he explained, returning his third Pokémon. "And then Gardevoir, another Hoenn Pokémon, a Heracross, and a Bellossom," as he called each Pokémon, he returned them to their designated pokéball.

"They're impressive," I assured him, though I knew my opinion meant little to him. I glanced down at the photo in my hand, the image had developed. "Oh here, here's the picture I took."

I held the picture out towards the trainer and he immediately smiled as he looked at it. "That really captures the greatness of my team."

"Could I know your name so that I remember exactly who you are," I said, walking towards the fence and pulling a pen from my pouch.

"Cameron Todd, from Fuchsia City," he said. "Best Pokémon Trainer in all of Johto, Kanto, and Hoenn. And about to add Sinnoh to that list."

I hurriedly scribbled his information on the picture and then wrote down the names of the Pokémon he had told me. "Thanks, so much Cameron!"

"Sure! Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta get to Pallet so I can continue on to the Sinnoh region!"

"Good luck!" I told him.

He chuckled. "I don't need luck, I have my Pokémon."

I smiled at him as he turned and headed back in the direction I had just come from. I glanced in front of me, remembering the enclosed field. "Oh, Cameron! Do you know what this place is?"

He stopped and turned around. He looked at me, then at the field. "Yea," he said. "It's the Ungulate Farm!" He answered before turning around and walking away from me again.

"A farm," I nodded, then furrowed my brow. "The what farm?" I shouted, but Cameron Todd was gone.

I frowned, then shrugged. "I guess I'll find out for myself, come on Gia!" I called as I headed around the fence and up the road that led toward the barn. I reached up and rubbed against Bird's cheek, she purred contentedly.

As I walked along, following the fence, I watched as a Pokémon galloped across the field. I slowed and then quickly grabbed my camera as I realized it was running towards me. I quickly held my camera up to my face, positioned the shot and waited for the Pokémon to get closer. It came up to the white picket fence and in one solid leap, jumped clean over the high fence. I quickly snapped the picture.

The photo emerged from the bottom of the camera and I impatiently waited for the image to appear. Soon, the shot of a beautiful horse, with a mane and tail of fire in midair formed. I grinned as I glanced up, deciding once again to swap to my digital camera so I could take more photos of the majestic animal.

"Ponyta!" I heard a voice scream. "Get back here!"

Suddenly, a young woman was running down the road towards me, chasing after the horse Pokémon that had just leapt over the fence in front of me. "Growlithe! Go get her!"

"Growl!" A small, red striped Pokémon shot out from behind the young woman and bolted down the path after the horse. I stared after it, cursing myself for not being quick enough about swapping out cameras.

"Hello."

I glanced in front of me and found the woman standing close to me. "Oh, hi," I said.

"Is there something I can do for you?" Her voice was calm, but not very welcoming.

"Someone told me this was a farm, and I was just hoping to get a closer look at it and the Pokémon here," I answered honestly. "He told me the name, but I am not sure I understood what it was."

"This is the Ungulate Farm," she answered, her expression serious.

"That's what I thought he said," I murmured, my eyes narrowing slightly. "I just don't know what it means."

The woman laughed finally. "Ungulate basically means hooved Pokémon. Like that Girafarig you have there, she's an ungulate."

"Oh."

"Are you a Pokémon trainer? Because we always have lots of trainers come through and try and take our Pokémon. These Pokémon have been brought here because they are not fit for battling," the woman explained to me quickly.

"Oh, no," I shook my head. "I am not a trainer, just a photographer." I lifted my digital camera that I had finally retrieved from its bag. "Your Pokémon were so beautiful, I couldn't help but to stop and take their pictures. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all! That is the point of this farm, to recognize the real beauty of all ungulate Pokémon," she replied, a bright smile on her face.

I smiled in return, but I had no response. There was something about that word, ungulate, that just didn't make it seem so majestic anymore. And there was something about the woman that just seemed…strange.

"Growlithe!" The woman's Pokémon returned and she looked over at it, as did I. Next to the small Pokémon stood the horse Pokémon, the one she had called Ponyta. It looked perturbed as it released a low whinny.

"Good work, Growlithe! I don't know why this Ponyta insists on trying to escape," the woman sighed, then she looked to me. "All the other Ponyta and Rapidash love this place."

She sighed heavily again, staring at the Ponyta in front of her. Suddenly, she seemed to remember that I was standing there and she looked back at me. "Did you want to come inside?" She asked me, waving behind her at the large barn. As I looked again in the direction of the barn, I finally noticed a small ranch house slightly beyond the barn. "You can meet my family, all of us love the ungulate Pokémon. We would love to discuss them with you since you clearly are a fan of the ungulates as well." She waved to Gia again.

I glanced to my Pokémon and she looked just as confused as I felt as she regarded the young woman. I looked to the woman again, thinking that I wasn't sure how many more times I could hear that word used, much less sit with a group of people who were all using it. "That is really very kind of you!" I finally said. In my panicked state, my voice grew louder to where I was nearly shouting at the woman. "And I appreciate the invitation, but I have a group of friends waiting for me in Viridian so we all can go into the forest and take photos!" I lied.

"That sounds exciting!" She said. "I definitely don't want to keep you. Have fun!"

"Thanks," I said, releasing my breath. "It was great to meet you and your amazing Pokémon."

"Don't hesitate to stop in some time!" She said to me as she waved for her Growlithe to follow her. The Growlithe immediately started to herd the escaped Ponyta in the same direction. I watched a moment before I turned to continue up Route One towards Viridian City. I glanced over my shoulder and caught the Ponyta looking longingly after me.

I made it only a short distance down the roadway before I heard shouts emanating from behind me. I glanced in the direction they were coming from, stopping when I saw a woman running after me. She had one arm in the air, waving wildly, and held a rope in her other hand. Trotting behind her was the Ponyta that had escaped the farm only moments before.

I froze in the middle of the path and twisted to fully face the woman running in my direction. Gia snorted and darted off the road and into the brush even though the woman had all but stopped shouting.

As she neared, I realized she wasn't the same woman I had been speaking to before. However, based on the fact that she looked similar to the other, I had to assume she was related and therefore a member of the ungulate fan club.

"You were just at my family's farm, weren't you?" She asked me, coming to a stop in front of me and taking a ragged breath.

"I was," I agreed.

"May I ask a huge favor of you?"

"Of me? What could I possibly do for you?"

The Ponyta came up beside her, staring at me from over her shoulder. She had a fire in her eyes that recognized. Excitement. The woman reached up and rubbed the Ponyta's snout. "Would you take this Pokémon for me?"

I hurriedly shook my head. "Oh, I am so sorry, but I am not a trainer."

"My sister said that she had just spoken to a Pokémon photographer who was traveling with an ungulate," as the woman spoke, Gia stuck her head out of the bushes on the side of the road. She slowly made her way back over to me. The woman sighed and shook her head. "My sister is a wonderful person, but she sees Pokémon the way she wants to see them, not always the way they need to be seen."

"I am afraid I don't understand," I muttered.

"A photographer captures the true essence of that which she is photographing. My sister said you snapped a picture of this Pokémon as she was escaping," she explained and the Ponyta happily neighed. "And that is the essence of this Pokémon, she's an escape artist."

I chewed on my lip a moment. "I don't want to lose her."

"You won't, she may not be made for battling, but she doesn't want to be cooped up on a farm for the rest of her life either. She needs someone who is on an adventure, someone who is looking for the true beauty and meaning of life. Someone like you."

I stared at the Ponyta, who was waiting me apprehensively, as if waiting for my response. "I don't know," I warily said. "I don't feel right just taking a Pokémon from its home."

"Trust me, she wants to go with you."

Bird chortled in my ear and Gia nudged my elbow. It seemed as though both of them wanted me to take it. I pursed my lips, knowing that my dad would probably feel better about me being on my own too if he knew I had more than one Pokémon.

I glanced from the Ponyta and up to the woman's face. She was smiling so hopefully at me. "Please," she added.

Finally, I nodded. "Of course she can come with me."

"Oh, excellent!" The woman's smile turned into an enormous grin. "I, uh," she reached into the pocket of her pants and produced a pokéball. "I have an extra you can use so that she has a ball."

"Thank you."

The woman faced the Ponyta. "You willing to get in here so I can give you to this young lady?" The Ponyta happily nickered as her head bobbed up and down. The woman called the Pokémon into the sphere and it immediately clicked. She smiled and extended it to me. "Thank you so much."

"No, thank you," I told her.

She reached up and gave Lady Bird a gentle pat on my shoulder and then stroked the top of Gia's head. She looked at the pokéball I was holding and nodded. "She's a wonderful Pokémon and I am sure that she will be exceedingly loyal to you."

Then she turned away from me and headed back in the direction of the Ungulate Farm. I looked from the pokéball in my hand, to Gia standing next to me. She squealed happily. "I have a Ponyta," I told her, even though she had been present during the entire interaction with the farmer. She released another loud squeak, jumping up and down. I chuckled and patted her head as I tucked the pokéball into my satchel. "Let's get to Viridian City."

A/N:

When I first began writing this story YEARS ago, I requested all of the people who enjoyed reading my writings to send me Original Characters of their own that they would like featured in my story. In this chapter I have one of those original characters, Cameron Todd, created by: RisingPhoenix. Thank you to them, if they are still around, and if you would like me to try to work one of yours in, please feel free to message me. I will do my best to try and have a small cameo of every OC submitted to me.