AUTHOR'S NOTE: Greetings, readers! Here is chapter 4 of the Adventures of Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu in Johto. This chapter is based on my first battle against my rival in the Gold, Silver, and Crystal version games. I remember when I picked my first Johto starter, and my sister picked hers. It has a few differences, but I hope you'll enjoy this chapter just the same. Please feel free to read and review.
TEASER: Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu are about to set off on their new journey through the Johto region, but a new person has made an appearance, and he almost immediately causes trouble in Professor Elm's lab!
Chapter 4. A NEW RIVAL APPEARS
(Music Cue: Title Screen 1999-2001 (as heard the first time at the beginning of "The Chikorita Rescue"))
After a hair-raising vacation in the Whirl Islands, our heroes wake up with the sun at home in New Bark Town, and are feeling well-rested in their brand-new clothes.
Tristan looked in the mirror in his bedroom as the sun rose the next morning. He had on a new light-green t-shirt and light-blue shorts. The base of his new hat was gold while the rest was silver. He had new fingerless gloves that were silver at the base and gold at the wrists. "Well, Pikachu, what do you think?" he asked.
Pikachu admired the new look.
Tristan smiled. "I'm glad you like it, Pikachu. Grandma was certainly kind enough to make new clothes for Hillary and me. I wonder what Hillary's clothes are like. I can't wait to see."
Presently, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," said Tristan.
(Music Cue: Golden Silver)
The door opened and in stepped Hillary in her brand-new clothes. She had on a new light-pink t-shirt and light-blue shorts. She had new pink fingerless gloves and pink tennis shoes. "Well, how do I look?"
"You look great, sis," smiled Tristan.
Pikachu liked Hillary's new look, too.
"I am a little surprised to see that you have mostly pink on," said Tristan.
"What did you expect? Pink is my favorite color," replied Hillary. "Besides, today's the day we start our brand-new journey together."
"Oh, yeah," said Tristan. "I was so carried away by yesterday's crazy events that I had completely forgotten about it."
"Well, what do you say we have some breakfast?" suggested Hillary. "I'll race you to the table."
"You're on," replied Tristan.
A moment later, Tristan and Pikachu came downstairs from his bedroom to the dining room table. His grandparents, Veronica and Eric, and Hillary were already there, eating.
"I beat ya," said Hillary.
"I know you did," smiled Tristan.
"Good morning, Tristan," said Veronica. "You're looking great."
"Thanks, Grandma," replied Tristan. "These clothes are wonderful. Even Pikachu likes my new look. Right, pal?"
Pikachu nodded.
Veronica's Eevee agreed, too, as it ate its food next to Veronica's feet.
Tristan and Pikachu fixed themselves some toast and juice and sat down with the others to eat their breakfast.
When everyone had finished eating, Eric brought Tristan and Hillary's PokéGears to them. "Here you are, kids," he said. "Your PokéGears are as good as new."
Tristan and Hillary were very pleased. "Thanks so much, Grandpa."
"You're very welcome," replied Eric.
Veronica came into the room. "Hillary, Professor Elm wants to give you something."
"He does?" asked Hillary. "How come?"
"He's heard of how you became the youngest Pokémon Trainer," explained Veronica. "That's quite an achievement. And he said you can choose from one of three Pokémon at his lab."
"I can? Yahoo!" Hillary quickly ran from the table and raced out the front door at once. "I'm there! Professor Elm, here I come!"
"Wait, Hillary!" called Veronica. She turned to Tristan and handed him two new backpacks. "Here's your new backpack, dear. You take Hillary's, too."
Tristan agreed and he and Pikachu quickly raced after her. "Wait up, sis!"
Veronica felt a little sad. "But I never had the chance to say goodbye to them."
"Don't worry, they'll be back," Eric assured her.
A few moments later, Tristan, Hillary, and PIkachu stood at the entrance to a three-story building.
"I guess this is it," said Tristan.
"It has to be," replied Hillary. "It reminds me of Professor Oak's laboratory. Let's go in." And she led the way inside.
Inside, a man with short brown hair and gray eyes was lining three Pokémon up on the table. He had a pair of glasses on. He was wearing a light-blue collared shirt with a white lab coat over it. "Good morning," he said. "One of you must be Hillary, right?"
"Yes, sir, I am," answered Hillary. "This is my older brother, Tristan, and his Pokémon, Pikachu."
"Hi there," said Tristan.
Pikachu greeted the man warmly.
"I'm Professor Elm," said the man. "It's nice to meet you all. Your grandmother has told me a lot about you two. And Hillary, how's your Pokémon training going?"
"It's going well, Professor," answered Hillary. "I caught a Ledyba and an Eevee. And I can't forget about Squirtle."
"That's wonderful," smiled Professor Elm. "I want to give you one of these three Pokémon you see here." And he showed her the three Pokémon.
The first Pokémon was a small, four-legged pale green Pokémon with a darker necklace of buds. It also had a leaf attached to its head.
(Music Cue: Pikachu Appears!)
"This Pokémon is a Chikorita," explained Professor Elm. "It's a Grass-type Pokémon that can use all sorts of attacks. Plus, its aroma is very sweet."
The second Pokémon resembled a small, blue bipedal crocodile with spikes on its back and tail. It had a V-shaped pattern across its chest, and its face mostly composed of its snout and strong jaws.
"This Pokémon is a Totodile, which is a Water-type Pokémon," said Professor Elm. "It's got very strong teeth, and can chomp down on everything. And believe me, when I say 'everything,' I mean everything."
Totodile opened its mouth with a yawn, and sure enough, there were many strong and sharp teeth.
"That's pretty cool," said Tristan.
The third Pokémon had bluish fur on top of its body while the color of its lower body was milky. It had a long, thin snout, four red holes on its back, and its eyes were closed.
"And this Pokémon is a Cyndaquil," said Professor Elm. "This Fire-type Pokémon has an incredible way of igniting the flame on its back, especially when it's battling."
"I remember seeing a Cyndaquil," said Tristan. "My younger brother Evan has one with him."
"Ah, so he's your brother, right?" said Professor Elm.
"Yeah, we recently got together with Evan and Braden in Kanto, and we helped foil a Team Rocket scheme together," replied Hillary.
"That's so great that all four of you were able to get together," smiled Professor Elm.
Presently, Cyndaquil hopped off the table and rubbed itself against Hillary's leg to show its affection.
"Well, this one sure seems friendly," remarked Hillary.
"Well, it looks like your choice is pretty clear to me," smiled Professor Elm.
Hillary gently picked up Cyndaquil and put it at eye level. "Do you want to come with me, Cyndaquil?"
"Cyndaquil!" nodded Cyndaquil.
"That's great, Hillary," said Tristan. "You have another new Pokémon."
"Thanks, Tristan," replied Hillary.
Professor Elm handed Cyndaquil's Pokéball to Hillary. Then he handed Tristan and Hillary two red high-tech devices. "These are your new Pokédexes. They'll help you learn about all the Pokémon you encounter in the Johto region."
"Thank you so much, Professor Elm," said Tristan and Hillary together.
Tristan and Hillary had just gotten back outside when they noticed someone with red hair staring inside one of the lab windows. He was lurking about, thinking about doing something.
"He doesn't look too friendly," whispered Tristan.
"I agree, Tristan, let's see what he's up to," replied Hillary. And she and Tristan quietly made their way over to him.
"So this is the famous laboratory owned by Professor Elm," he said. He then turned to see Tristan and Hillary looking directly at him. "What do you want?"
"We want to know what you're doing here at Professor Elm's laboratory," said Hillary as she approached him.
"That's none of your business," he said sternly. And he rudely pushed Hillary backward onto the ground.
Tristan quickly rushed over to her. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," replied Hillary. "What a creep."
Creep was right, for he was creeping away from them and out of sight.
"I ought to teach him a lesson or two," grumbled Hillary.
"Never mind him," replied Tristan. "Let's go back home and show Grandma and Grandpa your new Cyndaquil."
"Yeah," agreed Hillary. "That creep will never know about friendship and trust like we do." And she, Tristan, and Pikachu raced home.
Back inside, Professor Elm was getting ready to give Chikorita and Totodile their morning snack. He had set their Pokéballs down and was just getting inside the kitchen when he heard a noise on one of the windows. He quickly came to investigate.
(Music Cue: Rival's Theme (as heard in "Good 'Quil Hunting"))
Professor Elm saw the red-haired person repeatedly attempting to smash a rock against a window. "What does that kid think he's doing?" he asked in alarm.
Just as he said that, the red-hair person smashed his rock through the window, breaking the glass into pieces, and made his appearance inside the laboratory.
"Who are you? What do you want?" demanded Professor Elm.
"I came to for some Pokémon to take along with me on my journey," answered the boy.
"But you can't do that because you're not a Trainer," protested Professor Elm.
"Oh, I'm not, am I?" said the red-haired person. "Well, what do you call this?" And he snatched Totodile and Chikorita's PokéBalls and aimed the buttons at them. "You're both mine!" And Totodile was returned to its Pokéball before it knew what was happening.
But before Chikorita could be captured, it scurried out of sight under the table, as it was so terrified by Totodile's capture.
The boy put down Chikorita's PokéBall and dashed out of the laboratory as fast as he could.
"No! Come back!" cried Professor Elm. Then he yelled, "TOTODILE!" His yell was so loud it could be heard for miles around.
Meanwhile, back at home, Hillary was showing her grandparents her new Cyndaquil.
"That Cyndaquil is just so cute," said Veronica.
"I bet it's tickled to be with you," said Eric. "Cootchie-cootchie coo!" And he tickled Cyndaquil on the tummy.
Cyndaquil laughed. It liked the way that it was being tickled.
"Tickled is right," chuckled Tristan.
"I can't wait to start training it," said Hillary.
But just as Hillary said that, Tristan's PokéGear rang inside his new backpack.
"Now who could that be?" asked Tristan as he pushed the button on his PokéGear. "Hello, this is Tristan."
"H-Hello? Tristan? Is that you? We have a disaster here!"
(Music Cue: Desperate Situation 1997-1998 (as heard in "Two Hits and a Miss"))
It was Professor Elm, and his voice was all panicky.
"What's going on, Professor Elm?" asked Tristan.
"Uh, um, it's just terrible!" cried Professor Elm. "W-what should I do?"
The voice of a Chikorita could also be heard, and it was trembling with fright.
"Professor Elm, can you hear me?" asked Tristan. "What's going on? Is everything okay in there?"
"Something's not right," said Hillary. "It sounds like trouble has struck Professor Elm like a chord."
Sure enough, inside the lab, Chikorita, feeling really scared, was nervously backing away from Professor Elm as he tried to approach it.
"Oh, no," said Professor Elm. "It'll be okay, Chikorita. Tristan, p-please get back here now! And b-bring Hillary with you! Please hurry!" And he hung up, and the PokéGear's screen turned off.
"Well, that sure doesn't sound good," said Eric.
"What's going on, dear?" asked Veronica.
"Professor Elm's in trouble, and he needs help," replied Tristan. "We have to get back to his lab right now."
"We'll take you there ourselves," said Veronica. "Quick, get in the car."
(Music Cue: Let's Run! (as heard in "Volcanic Panic"))
Everyone quickly got outside the house and into the car.
Veronica started up the engine and with the tires squealing, the car sped off as fast as it could go.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," said Tristan to himself.
As they got close to the lab, the red-haired person suddenly shot out in front of the car!
"Grandma, watch out!" cried Tristan and Hillary.
Veronica put both feet on the brakes, and the car screeched to a halt.
Veronica rolled her window down. "What do you think you're doing, young man?" she asked sternly. "You ought to know better than to play in the middle of the road like that! Do you want to hurt yourself?"
"Relax, lady, I just wanted to show everybody the sweet prize I won at the lab," the boy smirked. He took out a Pokéball.
The Pokéball opened, and a Totodile emerged from the white light that shot out of it. Thanks to the boy's ownership, it was as mean as he was.
Tristan and Hillary gasped in shock.
"That's the Totodile from Professor Elm's lab!" said Tristan.
"So he's the one who caused the commotion there," added Hillary. She got out of the car and faced the boy. "Who do you think you are showing off a Pokémon like that, much less Professor Elm's Pokémon?"
"It's my Pokémon," said the boy.
"Not for long, it's not," said Hillary. "I challenge you to a battle, and if I win, you will return Totodile to Professor Elm!"
Tristan was taken aback by Hillary's sudden action. Whoa, I sure hope she knows what she's doing, he thought. There's no telling how strong that Totodile is, especially with those teeth.
"Fine then, but if I win, the Totodile stays with me," replied the boy. "Now choose your Pokémon and let's fight one-on one."
"I choose Cyndaquil!" shouted Hillary as she threw a Pokéball.
Cyndaquil emerged from the white light that shot out of it.
"So, you got a Pokémon at the lab, too, huh?" smirked the boy. "What a waste. A wimp like you."
"We'll see who's a wimp when this is over," said Hillary.
(Music Cue: Johto Wild Pokémon Battle (as heard in "Mild 'n Woolly"))
"Let's begin now," said the boy. "Totodile, charge in and use Scratch attack!"
Totodile charged forward and proceeded to scratch Cyndaquil with its short, but sharp claws.
"Quick, Cyndaquil, get out of the way!" shouted Hillary.
Cyndaquil jumped back and dodged Totodile's Scratch attack.
"Don't back down, Totodile, do it again!" commanded the boy.
Totodile charged at Cyndaquil once again. But every time, Cyndaquil managed to dodge all of Totodile's Scratch attacks.
"Cyndaquil, use Tackle attack!" ordered Hillary.
Cyndaquil charged at Totodile full-body style and hit it head on.
"Not bad for a beginner," smirked the boy. "But let's see how you like this next move: Totodile, use Leer!"
Totodile's eyes glowed red and it glared at Cyndaquil.
Cyndaquil shook with fear.
"Cyndaquil, what's wrong?" asked Hillary.
"Quite intimidating, isn't it?" smirked the boy. "Totodile, give it a taste of your Bite attack!"
Totodile quickly ran toward Cyndaquil and used its sharp teeth to bite it hard.
Cyndaquil cried out in pain.
"Cyndaquil!" cried Hillary.
"Not good," said Veronica with concern. "Using a Leer attack followed by Bite really shows what that Totodile is capable of."
"Come on, Cyndaquil, you can do it!" encouraged Tristan.
"Pika Pika!" added Pikachu.
"There has to be some way to stop that Totodile," said Hillary. "Cyndaquil, use Smokescreen!"
Cyndaquil shot a thick, gray cloud of smoke from its mouth.
Totodile, unable to see anything, released Cyndaquil from its jaws.
Cyndaqil jumped back and awaited Hillary's next order.
"All right, now give it a Quick Attack!" commanded Hillary.
Cyndaquil shot forward with a white line trailing behind it and rammed into Totodile.
The boy was starting to lose patience. "Come on, Totodile, use Bite attack!"
Totodile lunged forward and proceeded to attack with its strong teeth.
"Use all the firepower you've got, Cyndaquil!" shouted Hillary.
A large flame ignited and shot out from Cyndaquil's four holes on its back. Then, to everyone's shock, using all the firepower it had, it shot a powerful red-orange stream of fire at Totodile, scoring a direct hit on it.
"That's a powerful Flamethrower!" remarked Veronica.
Sure enough, Flamethrower caused Totodile to have many scorch marks on its body, and it collapsed in a heap. It had been knocked out.
"Cyndaquil did it!" said Tristan excitedly.
"That Cyndaquil's quite strong for a little Pokémon," remarked Eric.
The red-haired boy returned Totodile to its Pokéball. "Hmph. Are you happy you won?"
"Now give back the Totodile like you promised," demanded Hillary.
(Music Cue: Imminent Danger)
The boy took one look at Hillary and said, "No."
"We had a deal!" insisted Hillary. "Who are you, anyway?"
The boy smirked at Hillary, then he said, "My name is Silver. I'm going to be the world's greatest Pokémon Trainer." And he darted off.
"Hey, you get back here!" yelled Hillary.
"Forget about him, Hillary," said Tristan. "We have more important things to do."
"Yes," agreed Veronica. "Let's get to that laboratory." And she led everyone inside the car, started up the engine, stepped on the gas, and it sped away.
When everyone got to the lab, they wasted no time in entering.
"Professor Elm!" said Tristan as he and the others rushed in. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, Tristan, thank goodness you and Hillary showed up," said Professor Elm. "A red-haired boy came in here and stole Totodile."
"We saw him, all right," replied Tristan. "His name was Silver."
"And I battled him," added Hillary.
"What?!" gasped Professor Elm. "You saw him?"
"I tried to get Totodile back for you, but I failed," said Hillary. "I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about that," replied Professor Elm. "I can always get another one. But I have bigger problems. What's worse is that this burglary scared Chikorita half out of its wits!"
Sure enough, Chikorita was seen hiding under the table. It was trembling with fright.
"I can't even get it to come out of hiding," added Professor Elm.
"What caused this to happen, Professor?" asked Tristan.
"I think this has to do with how Totodile was stolen," replied Professor Elm. "Silver just grabbed the PokéBalls, returned Totodile in one of them, and almost captured Chikorita. Then he ran away before I could stop him."
Veronica felt sad. "Poor thing. No wonder it's feeling so scared."
"Maybe I can talk to it," said Hillary. She crawled under the table to try and talk to Chikorita. "Hello, Chikorita. We want to be your friends."
But Chikorita only glared at her.
"I don't think it wants to be friends with me," said Hillary as she crawled out from under the table.
"Tristan, Why don't you give it a try?" suggested Veronica.
"Okay," replied Tristan. He then got on his hands and knees and crawled under the table and tried to extend his right hand towards it. "Please come on out, Chikorita. We won't hurt you."
But Chikorita waved the leaf on its head and slapped Tristan's hand with it.
"Ow!" grunted Tristan. "Hey, that really hurt!"
Everyone rushed to Tristan.
"Are you okay, grand-sonny?" asked Eric.
"I'm fine," replied Tristan as he crawled out from under the table. "But I'm afraid that Chikorita may have become aggressive towards all humans because of Silver."
(Music Cue: Movie Title 1998 (The Start of the Counterattack))
Everyone was surprised at Tristan's statement.
"Could it really be true, Tristan?" asked Professor Elm.
"I don't know if it is, but none of us have been able to calm Chikorita down, let alone talk to it," said Tristan. "There has to be a way to get through to Chikorita, and I won't stop until I find it."
A still-trembling Chikorita continued to glare at everyone present, as if it were lying in wait to attack.
Having met a new Trainer named Silver, and after experiencing his bitter personality, our heroes have returned to Professor Elm's lab to discover that Chikorita is now full of hatred and mistrust towards all humans. What will our heroes do to coax it? This part of the journey has only just begun!
► TO BE CONTINUED