AUTHOR'S NOTE: Greetings, readers! Here is chapter 41 of the continuing adventures of Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu as they continue their journey through the Johto region. This chapter is based off the experience with getting a bicycle on the Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal version games as well as hatching an egg on Crystal. Taz also makes an appearance in this chapter. Please feel free to read and leave responsible reviews when you feel like reading.

TEASER: Tristan, Hillary, Evan, and Braden are tasked to attract customers at Ryder's Bike Shop in Goldenrod City by riding bikes around. But Taz is out to ruin Ryder's business...and them!

Chapter 41: THE BIKE SHOP PROBLEM

(Music Cue: Opening Title 1999-2001 (as heard at the beginning of "The Chikorita Rescue"))

Today, our heroes are about to leave Goldenrod City for their next destination, Ecruteak City, but before they do, they decide to hang out with their brothers Evan and Braden before they go back to Kanto to continue their own adventure.

"So you're saying you've met Morty before, right, Tristan?" asked Braden as he, Evan, Tristan, Hillary, Pikachu, Togepi explored Goldenrod City.

"That's right," answered Tristan. "After Hillary and I got back to Johto, Grandma and Grandpa took us to meet Morty in Ecruteak City before spending a few days on the beach."

"He told us about the legend of Ho-Oh," added Hillary, "and that it gave life to Raikou, Entei, and Suicune."

"That's incredible," said Evan. "Do you think we could meet them someday?"

"Who knows?" replied Hillary. "But one thing's for sure: there's always a lot to learn about Pokémon."

Pikachu and Togepi agreed.

"Hey, look over there!" said Braden as he looked at a building full of bicycles.

"That looks like a bike shop!" said Tristan.

Presently, they heard a man sighing sadly.

"That sure doesn't sound like a happy sigh to me," said Hillary. "We'd better check it out." And she led the others in the direction of the man.

At the building, a man was hanging his head very low as Tristan, Hillary, Evan, and Braden approached.

"What's the matter?" asked Hillary.

"I just can't sell anything here," replied the man.

"Why not?" asked Tristan.

"That's why not," said the man. "Look."

Sure enough, no one was in sight.

"I used to run a bike shop in Cerulean City," explained the man. "I'm sure you've all been there."

Tristan and the others nodded.

"Ever since I moved here to Goldenrod City, I've been psyched to sell my bicycles by storm," continued the man. "But so far, I haven't even drizzled, as I've made no profits.

Tristan and the others felt sad.

"I'm afraid I'll just have to close up shop before it opens," said the man sadly.

"You can't do that!" protested Braden. "Think of all the business you'd lose if you did!"

"Braden's right," added Hillary. "Please don't give up so fast."

"Maybe we can ride some of your bicycles," suggested Tristan. "Would it be all right?"

"Tristan, that's a bad idea," whispered Evan. "We can't just go around riding someone else's bikes without..."

"All right?" interrupted the man. "That'd be great! Thanks so much!"

Evan was surprised. He wasn't expecting the man to think of this as a great idea.

"I'm Ryder the manager of the bike shop," said the man. "What are your names?"

"Hi, I'm Tristan," said Tristan.

Pikachu and Togepi greeted Ryder warmly.

"Hi, I'm Hillary," added Hillary.

"I'm Braden," put in Braden.

"And my name's Evan," finished Evan.

"It's really nice to meet you all," smiled Ryder. "I'll tell you what. I'll get the four of you bikes and loan them to you so that you can help advertise and get people to visit my shop." And he went inside. A moment later, he got four bikes: green, blue, pink, and red.

All four of them had heavy-duty baskets with helmets.

Tristan chose the green bike, Hillary chose the pink bike, Evan chose the red bike, and Braden chose the blue bike.

(Music Cue: Bicycle 1999-2001)

"I'll just have you pedal all over Goldenrod City," said Ryder. "Hopefully, that will attract customers to my shop.

"Great! Come on, everybody, let's go!" said Tristan as he and his siblings put on their helmets and pedaled off.

"Good luck, kids!" called Ryder. "Be safe out there!"

Tristan, Hillary, Evan, and Braden pedaled along the streets of Goldenrod City.

Tristan and Hillary, both carrying eggs in their bicycle baskets, made sure that they stayed safe.

The sky was clear, the breeze was warm, and the city was teeming with life.

"This sure is a great day to ride," remarked Hillary.

Togepi chirped in agreement.

"You said it, Hillary," replied Evan. "With any luck, we'll be able to get people to Ryder's shop."

"Let's hope so," said Braden. "Ryder's counting on us."

Tristan and Pikachu nodded in agreement.

"And we won't let him down," added Tristan. "Let's put the pedal to the metal."

"Good one, Tristan," chuckled Hillary.

I can't wait to see what kind of Pokémon hatches from the eggs Hillary and I have, thought Tristan. Whatever they are, I just hope they're happy and healthy.

The four siblings continued pedaling along on their bikes.

Some kids watched them go by.

"Hey, look! I'd love to try riding one of those!" said one.

"Me, too!" said another.

"Why don't we see what Ryder has in his brand new bike shop?" suggested a third.

"I'll race you there!" said the fourth as he ran as fast as he could to Ryder's bike shop.

"Wait for us!" called the other three kids. "We'd need bicycles to catch up to you!" And they raced after him.

Meanwhile, Tristan, Hillary, Braden, and Evan continued on their way.

One man was struggling to carry a big sack of newspapers as he saw them go by on their bikes. "Unh!" he grunted. "I'd sure love to ride one of those things. That'd make my paper route go a lot quicker, and I don't have to deal with an aching back every day."

A woman came out of the Goldenrod Galleria and went to him. "I heard there's a bike shop in Goldenrod City. Ryder's a great bicycle specialist."

"Well, I'm there!" said the man as he struggled to carry his newspapers.

"Hey, do you think we can pedal straight to Ecruteak City, Tristan?" asked Hillary.

"I don't think so, sis," answered Tristan. "Remember, these bikes are rentals, and besides, Evan and Braden need to get back to Kanto."

"Aw, don't worry, Tristan," Braden assured him. "We've got some time to kill. We've been wanting to see some more of Goldenrod City, anyway."

"That's right," agreed Evan. "Think of it as an adventure, really."

"I guess you're right," said Tristan.

Presently, Hillary's yellow egg flashed.

Hillary gasped in shock.

"What's up Hillary?" asked Braden.

"I thought I saw my egg light up for a second," replied Hillary.

"That means it's almost ready to hatch," said Tristan. "Let's keep going, and when the egg's almost ready to hatch, we'll stop and see it."

"Good idea, Tristan, let's go," agreed Hillary.

And they started pedaling again.

A short distance away, a familiar-looking man with a beard watched as Tristan and the others pedaled along on their bikes. It was Taz. "Aw, what a great day for kids to ride. Too bad they won't enjoy it for long, though." And he crept out of sight.

In another part of the city, Tristan and his siblings were still pedaling along when suddenly, behind them, they heard...

"Hey, my wheel's stuck!"

"Did you hear that, guys?" asked Tristan.

"I sure did," replied Hillary.

"Come on, we'd better check it out," suggested Braden.

And they all turned around and pedaled toward another cyclist. It was a kid, who was the same age as Tristan.

"What happened?" asked Evan.

"This piece of sticky string stuck to my wheels, and now I can't turn them!" replied the cyclist. "What's worse is that I fell off of my brand new bike!"

Braden carefully felt the string, which was very, very sticky. "This is definitely from a Pokémon's String Shot?"

"How come, Braden?" asked Tristan.

"Only Pokémon can produce natural sticky string like this," answered Braden.

The cyclist grew very angry. "I think Ryder put this string on my wheels on purpose!"

Tristan and the others gasped in shock.

"That can't be true, can it?" asked Hillary.

"I'm gonna demand a refund!" fumed the cyclist, and he picked up his bike and carried it away.

"This is not good at all," said Evan. "If those people get caught up in that stringy mess and demand refunds, Ryder's gonna run out of business."

"And he'll have to close the shop down for good!" added Braden.

"We can't let it happen," said Tristan. "We've gotta get to the bottom of this, and fast."

And they started pedaling off in a hurry.

Presently, Hillary's egg flashed more and more frequently.

"The egg!" gasped Hillary. "It's lighting up again!"

"Looks like it wants to hatch," replied Tristan. "We'd better find the culprit soon, and hope that the egg stays safe until it does."

"And we don't have much time," added Braden.

Suddenly, Evan felt his wheels lock up. Almost immediately afterward, his bicycle tipped over, causing him to fall to the ground.

Tristan and the others quickly rushed to him. "Evan, are you okay?"

"I think so," Evan answered. But as he started to get up, he felt pain in his knee and sat back down.

"What's wrong?" asked Hillary.

Braden checked Evan over. "It looked like he scraped his knee."

Wasting no time, Tristan dug out his first aid kit from his backpack, cleaned up Evan's scrape, and put a bandage on it.

"Thanks, Tristan," said Evan. "I feel a lot better now."

"Good thing you come prepared, Tristan," commended Braden. "But what happened?"

Tristan looked over Evan's bike wheel. Sure enough, it was covered in string just like the other cyclists' wheels. "Yup, that's String Shot all right," he said. "Someone's definitely doing this."

"You don't think this was intentional, do you?" asked Hillary.

"I have a feeling that it is," replied Braden.

"You guys might as well ride on without me," said Evan. "The way I see it, I'm stuck."

"Nonsense," said Hillary. "We have something that'll free that wheel right up. Ready, Tristan?"

"Ready!" replied Tristan as he took out his Fast Ball and Hillary took out her Poké Ball.

Both threw their balls at the same instant.

Tristan and Hillary's Cyndaquil awaited their Trainers' instructions.

"Cyndaquil, Flamethrower!" commanded Tristan and Hillary together.

Both Cyndaquil shot powerful streams of fire from their mouths and melted the sticky String Shot away.

Evan was impressed. "Thanks, guys. My wheel's free now. Now I can continue along with you guys."

"There's no time to celebrate now," reminded Tristan. "We have to find out who's doing this before it's too late."

"Hey, look there, guys!" said Braden as he pointed to something.

Sure enough, there were sticky spots all over the street.

"It's a String Shot trail!" said Hillary.

"If we follow this trail, it'll lead us to whoever is doing it!" added Braden.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" said Tristan excitedly as he and his siblings, along with Pikachu and Togepi, pedaled toward the source of the string, making sure that they didn't roll over any of it.

Meanwhile, Taz watched his Ariados use String Shot on the streets of Goldenrod City, and as it did, more and more cyclists had their wheels lock up as they got stuck in place.

"Nice work, Ariados," smiled Taz. "Now the bike shop will run out of business."

"Okay, hold it!"

Taz turned to see that voice belonged to Tristan as he and his siblings approached. "Oh, rats! Those kids again!"

"It's Taz!" said Hillary disdainfully. "And he's got his Ariados with him!"

"We should've know it was you!" added Tristan.

"Who's Taz?" asked Braden.

"He's a poacher who steals Pokémon and does other bad things," explained Tristan.

"So he's the one who made me fall off my bike and caused the cyclists' wheels to get stuck," put in Evan.

"Do you realize that Evan could've had a serious accident because of you?!" fumed Hillary.

"Ha!" laughed Taz. "I don't care. Besides, I'm gonna rake in the money from the bike shop's lost sales."

That made Evan very angry. "All right, that does it!"

"Quick, Evan, Hillary, use your Cyndaquil!" said Tristan. "Fire attacks are strong against Bug-types like Ariados!"

(Music Cue: Kanto Trainer Battle (as heard in "Tunnel Vision"))

"Okay!" agreed Evan and Hillary as they each took out their Poké Balls and threw them.

Tristan took out his Fast Ball and threw it as well. "Go!" he shouted.

All three Cyndaquil emerged from the white lights that shot out of it.

"So you wanna battle, huh?" said Taz. "Go, Ariados!"

Ariados charged towards Evan's Cyndaquil.

"Cyndaquil, use Ember!" commanded Evan.

Evan's Cyndaquil shot powerful balls of fire from its mouth as the flame on its back kicked up.

"Ariados, pin it in place with your String Shot attack!" instructed Taz.

Ariados shot sticky string from its mouth at Cyndaquil; it not only stopped Ember, but it also caused it it to get stuck.

"Cyndaquil, no!" cried Evan.

"Poison Sting attack!" ordered Taz.

Ariados shot poisonous needles from its mouth, scoring a clean hit on Cyndaquil.

"Evan's Cyndaquil's in big trouble!" exclaimed Braden. "There's no way it can defend itself from Ariados' attacks, let alone dodge them!"

"Then allow my Cyndaquil to help!" said Hillary. "Cyndaquil, use your Flame Wheel attack on Ariados!"

Hillary's Cyndaquil rolled into a ball and spun as flames surrounded it.

"Dodge it, Ariados!" commanded Taz.

Ariados nimbly jumped out of the way of Cyndaquil's Flame Wheel.

"Ariados, Spider Web!" ordered Taz.

Ariados shot strings from its mouth and combined them to make a web much stickier than its String Shot attacks.

"Cyndaquil, watch out!" shouted Hillary.

Unfortunately, Hillary's Cyndaquil was rolling so fast that it couldn't switch direction, so it found itself stuck to Ariados' Spider Web attack.

"Cyndaquil!" cried Hillary.

"Looks like Cyndaquil has become Ariados' number one prey!" smirked Taz.

Sure enough, both Cyndaquil were hopelessly tied up.

"Looks like it's up to you, Tristan," said Hillary.

"Cyndaquil, Flamethrower!" shouted Tristan.

Tristan's Cyndaquil ignited the flame on its back and shot a powerful stream of fire from its mouth at Ariados.

"Ariados, your best String Shot!" ordered Taz.

Taz shot sticky string from its mouth in an attempt to block Tristan's Cyndaquil's Flamethrower from reaching it.

"Come on, Ariados, show that runt who's in charge!" commanded Taz.

Ariados pushed Tristan's Cyndaquil's flames back further.

"Cyndaquil, just a little bit more, let's go!" shouted Tristan.

Tristan's Cyndaquil increased the power of its Flamethrower to try and push Ariados' String Shot back.

"I've had enough of this stalemate!" fumed Taz. "Ariados, use your Night Shade!"

Ariados' eyes glowed in a crimson aura, then it shot a dark crimson beam of energy, scoring a direct hit on Tristan's Cyndaquil.

"Cyndaquil, no!" cried Tristan.

Tristan's Cyndaquil landed on the ground right in front of him with a hard thud.

"Cyndaquil, are you okay?" asked Tristan as he quickly rushed to it.

"This is bad," said Braden. "Even with a type advantage, three Cyndaquil couldn't defeat one Ariados."

"And now, I have the distinct honor of tying all four of you up," smirked Taz as he and Ariados got closer to them. "All right, Ariados, let's wrap this up nice and quick."

Tristan's Cyndaquil desperately struggled to get back on its feet as Ariados began to unleash its String Shot attack.

"Cyndaquil," whispered Tristan. He couldn't believe that his Cyndaquil still wanted to battle after taking damage from Night Shade and tiring itself out, trying to defeat Ariados.

Evan and Hillary struggled in vain to free their Cyndaquil from their own sticky situations.

But as Ariados' String Shot moved closer, Tristan's Cyndaquil got back on its feet and jumped in the way to save Tristan and his siblings.

"Cyndaquil!" cried Tristan.

"Guess that's it," smirked Taz.

But suddenly, Tristan's Cyndaquil was bathed in a bright white light.

(Music Cue: Gym (version 2) 1997-1998 (as heard in "Why? Wynaut!"))

Everyone was surprised, especially Tristan.

"What's going on?!" gasped Taz in complete shock.

As the light intensified, Tristan's Cyndaquil was freed from Ariados' String Shot, and it grew from two feet long to three feet long. It then sprouted triangular ears.

When the light dissipated, the newly evolved Pokémon opened its eyes and ignited the flames on its back as well as its forehead.

"Tristan, your Cyndaquil has evolved into a Quilava!" said Braden excitedly.

"Let's check it out," said Tristan as he scanned it with his Pokédex

"Quilava, the Volcano Pokémon. Quilava is the evolved form of Cyndaquil and capable of incredible attacks using the flames on its back and forehead."

"That's awesome!" said Tristan. "All right, Quilava, let's show Taz and Ariados what we're made of."

"You'll do no such thing!" replied Taz. "All right, Ariados, tie it up with Spider Web now!"

Ariados shot multiple pieces of sticky string from its mouth at Quilava.

But Quilava's flames were so strong and so hot that it melted the sticky string on Evan's and Hillary's Cyndaquil, thus freeing them from their confinements.

"All right!" said Evan. "Let's help Tristan and Quilava out."

"Right, Evan," agreed Hillary. "Cyndaquil, Flamethrower!"

"Cyndaquil, Ember attack!" ordered Evan.

Evan's Cyndaquil's Ember and Hillary's Cyndaquil's Flamethrower combined into one hot attack, stopping Ariados' Spider Web attack in its tracks.

"Okay, Quilava, it's our turn now," said Tristan. "Use your Flamethrower at full power now!"

Quilava shot a powerful blast of fire from its mouth, much stronger than it was when it was a Cyndaquil, and scored a huge direct hit on Ariados, sending it flying into Taz, causing them both to get burned. But it wasn't finished yet, for its Flamethrower attack was so strong that it caused an explosion that sent Taz and Ariados skyward.

"I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE, KIIIIIIIIIIIID!" screamed Taz as he and Ariados disappeared in the sky.

DING!

"That was great, Quilava," commended Tristan as he attempted to stroke its forehead. However, Quilava's flames were still ignited, so when he touched them, Tristan danced wildly as he yelled out in pain. "HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT!"

Quilava noticed Tristan dancing and yelling out and put out its flames.

Tristan then gave a good chuckle. "You're really something." And he stroked Quilava.

"And so are you, Tristan," added Braden. "You and that Quilava are a force to be reckoned with. Keep that up and you'll be a great contender in the Johto League."

"I will," replied Tristan. "Now, let's get those cyclists back on track."

Meanwhile at the bike shop, a mob of angry cyclists were demanding refunds because of their wheels getting strung up.

"Okay, everyone, calm down," said Ryder.

"Calm down?!" exclaimed one cyclist. "How can I calm down with my bike looking like this?!"

"Hold on!" shouted Tristan as he and his siblings arrived on the scene.

Ryder was relieved to see them.

"All right, guys, let's help these people out," said Tristan.

Braden, Evan, and Hillary agreed as Evan and Hillary's Cyndaquil and Tristan's Quilava all burned the sticky string that tied the cyclists' wheels.

In no time at all, all the string had melted away, and the cyclists could pedal their bikes again.

"Thank you so much," said the cyclists. And they all pedaled away with no problem.

"How can I thank you all for helping me out today?" said Ryder. "As thanks, you can keep the bicycles free of charge."

"You mean that?" asked Tristan.

"That's what he said," said Hillary.

But just as they were saying their thank-yous, they noticed a group of four kids.

"Our old bikes got trashed," said one. "The paint's rusted on mine."

"And my wheels popped," said another.

"My chains snapped," put in a third.

"Mine fell apart," finished a fourth.

Tristan and his siblings put their heads together. Then they said, "Why don't you have ours?"

The kids were surprised. Even Ryder.

"We get our exercise by walking, anyway," added Tristan.

"Thank you so much!" said the kids as they got on the four bikes and pedaled away.

(Music Cue: Route 26)

"Well, thanks to you, four kids have brand new bikes," smiled Ryder. "And my new shop is now in business."

"We're just glad we could help, Ryder," replied Braden.

Presently, Hillary's egg began to light up, but this time, the light was a steady glow. "The egg...it's glowing again!"

Doesn't that mean...?" asked Evan.

"Yes, it's time," answered Braden.

Hillary carefully removed the protective glass from the case.

Seconds later, the egg began to hatch and out came a Pokémon with pale, yellow fur, black angular ears, collar, and tail, and pink sacs on its cheeks.

"Aw, it's so cute!" said Tristan.

"Hillary, see what your Pokédex says," suggested Tristan.

And she did.

"Pichu, the Tiny Mouse Pokémon. The pre-evolved form of Pikachu. Despite their size, Pichu release bursts of electricity that can shock even humans. However, Pichu are unskilled at controlling their electricity, and sometimes release it by accident when surprised, or when laughing, and shock themselves."

"So, it's a Pichu!" said Hillary as she gently held it. "Pichu, it's nice to meet you. My name is Hill..."

(music stop)

But the rest of Hillary's introduction was interrupted when Pichu unleashed electricity from its cheeks on her, causing her to scream out.

"Oh, that smarts," she said.

It sure did, for both her and Pichu, for Pichu had a dazed expression on its face thanks to its own electricity, and Hillary's hair was all over the place, showing signs of static electricity.

Everyone gave a good laugh for that little mishap.

(Music Cue: To Be Continued)

"Thanks for walking us to the train station, guys," said Braden as he and Evan prepared to say goodbye to Tristan and Hillary.

"We hope that you had a good time with us," added Evan.

"We sure did," replied Tristan. "I know that you'll do well in Kanto, and I'm sure that Evan will get stronger as a Trainer, too."

"I have to admit that Quilava of yours was pretty impressive today," remarked Braden. "Keep up the training and soon, you'll be well on your way to victory in the Johto League."

"I will," said Tristan.

"And Hillary," added Braden, "try not to let that Pichu mess up your hair too much."

Tristan, Braden, Evan, and Pikachu snickered at that remark.

"Do you mind?!" exclaimed Hillary.

Evan cleared his throat and said, "I hope your egg hatches safely, Tristan."

"Thanks, Evan," replied Tristan. "I'll do my best."

A few moments later, Evan and Braden got on the Magnet Train.

The doors closed, and soon, the Magnet Train departed from the station as Tristan, Hillary, Pikachu, and Togepi waved goodbye to them.

After a long day of riding bicycles, Hillary's egg hatches into a shockingly powerful Pichu, and Tristan's Cyndaquil evolves into a very hot Quilava. Now it's on to Ecruteak City for Tristan's fourth Gym battle, but before that is the Water Pokémon Tournament. I have a feeling that this tournament and the remainder of their adventure will be a splash!

► TO BE CONTINUED