-part 4-
Zack and Karen's visit to the Pokemon Center, located in downtown Viridian City, was uneventful. They healed their Pokemon there, left the city limits, and were just now approaching the outskirts of the Viridian Forest. They were anxious, nervous, and excited at the same time. They were dying for adventures with their Pokemon, but unsure as to how much danger an attack from Team Rocket would actually pose. Still, as Zack had said earlier, they're sure to deal with a lot of danger and problems on their journey, so if they couldn't get past this, they would have no chance of making it the rest of the way.
So they marched on, backpacks strapped on both shoulders and caps pulled low to avoid the sun, which was right in front of them. Karen had taken her purple sunglasses down off her cap and put them on, and Zack was kicking himself for not thinking to buy any sunglasses of his own while they were still in the city. His cap would have to make do for now. Suddenly, Karen stopped in her tracks and put out an arm to stop Zack. "Do you hear something?" she asked her twin brother.
Zack stopped, and both stood stock-still as they listened. "Yeah, it kind of sounds like a rumbling...like..."
With her sunglasses on, Karen had a better view of the road ahead. "Like an Onix charging right this way? Cause that's what it is!" Sure enough, the giant Rock Snake Pokemon known as Onix was charging up the path, straight for them, getting closer by the second and moving surprisingly fast. Zack and Karen were on a fairly narrow section of the path leading deeper into the forest, with a thick grove of trees on each side. The way ahead was somewhat clearer, with a fairly wide grassy area on each side, surrounded by more trees. The twins didn't have time to run ahead there and get off the path, so they only had one choice. "Into the trees!" Karen shouted. The twins dove into the trees, getting a few scratches on their arms and faces in the process. Turns out they were just in time, as the Onix lumbered past with seconds to spare.
Zack took a deep breath. "Wow, what was that all about?" he asked nobody in particular as he climbed out of the trees to watch the Onix continue on. Since he was looking in the other direction now, the sun was no longer in his eyes, so he could clearly see the remnants of a net dangling off the back of Onix's tail. "Hey, Karen, look! I think that Onix just escaped being captured by Team Rocket!" Zack had heard about how Team Rocket used unorthodox, even cruel, methods sometimes to catch Pokemon, instead of the standard and legal method of weakening them first and tossing Pokeballs.
"That's not all, Zack..." added Karen, a little scared. "Have you noticed how it hasn't stopped? It must be terrified, and it's heading right for the city!" Sure enough, the giant Rock-type continued on a straight path as if it was fleeing, not caring what or who got in its way. A wild Weedle and Rattata were barely able to escape its path in time. "We've gotta stop it before it hurts someone!"
"C'mon, let's go!" agreed Zack. There was no time to get the police or anyone. There were only minutes to spare. Zack and Karen had to do this alone. Zack had another reason for wanting to help, as well. He wanted to make sure nobody was hurt just as much as Karen or anyone else did, but Rock Pokemon were his favorite type. If one was scared, he was determined to do everything he could to help it. He could tell that this one was practically crying for help, and considering the situation, the best way to help it might end up being to battle it and capture it. Then he could make sure nobody would ever steal it again. All those thoughts were going through his mind as he and Karen raced back along the path, retracing their steps towards Viridian City.
But they weren't closing the gap. They were both trained athletes and were members of their school's baseball team all the years they had been in school, but they could gain no ground on this Onix. "We'll have to distract it, Karen!" Zack said as he ran, yanking the lone Pokeball on his belt off the Velcro strip. A few moments more, and the Onix would reach city limits.
"Right," said Karen, producing Bulbasaur's Pokeball from her pocket. Ordinarily, they wouldn't pit both their Pokemon against a wild one by itself, but this was an emergency situation. "Go, Bulbasaur!"
"Go, Squirtle! C'mon out and use Water Gun at full power!"
"Bulbasaur, strike at it with Vine Whip!"
Almost simultaneously, the two starter Pokemon emerged from their balls and began their attacks. Squirtle took a deep breath and shot a thick stream of water at the back of Onix's head. Bulbasaur whipped out its vines and used them to lash at Onix's midsection. Onix roared in pain mixed with anger and turned around to face its attackers. It whipped its tail around at all four of them, both Pokemon and humans. Zack, Karen, and Bulbasaur managed to dive out of the way just in time, but the top of one of the rocks on Onix's tail clipped Squirtle's feet as it leapt, sending the turtle Pokemon spinning in midair. It withdrew into its shell and landed, emerging again dazed but apparently ok. Onix looked very near collapse from its escape and the supereffective attacks, but it was still enraged.
"Onix, stop this!" Zack yelled from his position, sprawled on the ground. He now had a few more scrapes to add to the ones he had gotten from his little swan dive into the trees back on the path. "I know those people treated you badly, but I want to help! We had to have both of our Pokemon attack you at once to keep you out of the city! If you kept that up, who knows how many Pokemon or people would be caught in your path? I want to help you!" The giant rock snake paused, and stood in front of them with tail raised, as if deciding whether or not to attack again. After a few tense moments, it slowly lowered its tail to the ground. The twins climbed to their feet, still a little nervous. "That's the way," Zack encouraged the Pokemon. "Would you like to come along with me on my journey, Onix? I promise you, nobody will ever capture you while I'm around." Onix grunted. "D-does that mean yes?" Zack asked, a little uncertainly. He pulled an empty Pokeball from his backpack. "Well, here goes nothing." Enlarging it and tossing it, he called, "Pokeball, go!" The red-and-white ball sailed through the air, and opened to reveal its red transparent beam. The beam shot out and enveloped the Rock-Ground type, withdrawing it back inside the ball, leaving the net fragment that was dangling from its tail lying on the ground. The ball closed and dropped to the ground, shook once, twice, three times...then lay still.
Zack excitedly ran up and snatched it. "I caught an Onix!" he cried happily.
"Great job, Zack. I was a little nervous there for a while. You seemed to get through to it somehow," said Karen, coming up behind her brother and putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah...I was pretty nervous too. I thought for sure it was going to attack again. But hey, we had Bulbasaur AND Squirtle, we would've been fine." Zack grinned.
"Hey, we should probably take it back to the Pokemon Center," said Karen. "It looked exhausted."
"True," said Zack, picking up the piece of net, "and maybe while we're there it might be wise to ask Nurse Joy if she has heard anything about Team Rocket being in the area. We should've done it before, but I guess we were too excited about getting into the Forest ourselves and heading for adventure."
Karen laughed, a little embarrassed. "Yeah, probably," she agreed. Up until now, she had been the more talkative one as to what might happen in the Forest, while Zack had kept his thoughts to himself for the most part. Karen thought it may have been partially her fault for distracting Zack with her excitement, and not letting him think of the possibility of something serious happening. Still, the twins were determined to continue on their own, so they headed back to the Pokemon Center to see if they could find out anything useful.
"Karen..." Zack said slowly as they walked quickly back towards the city. "Do you think Kyle and Melissa could be mixed up in this somehow?"
Karen sighed. "I hope not...but let's face it, we pretty much know they're in Team Rocket now, so there's a good chance that they are mixed up in this, or at least know about it."
"Yeah," Zack sighed, "that's what I was thinking, too." Both were saddened at the possibility of their cousins being involved in such a thing as illegally capturing Pokemon, possibly harming them unnecessarily in the process to force them to obey. "I have to wonder...are Kyle and Melissa in this of their own free will?"
"So far, we really have no way of knowing," Karen admitted.
Zack and Karen's visit to the Pokemon Center, located in downtown Viridian City, was uneventful. They healed their Pokemon there, left the city limits, and were just now approaching the outskirts of the Viridian Forest. They were anxious, nervous, and excited at the same time. They were dying for adventures with their Pokemon, but unsure as to how much danger an attack from Team Rocket would actually pose. Still, as Zack had said earlier, they're sure to deal with a lot of danger and problems on their journey, so if they couldn't get past this, they would have no chance of making it the rest of the way.
So they marched on, backpacks strapped on both shoulders and caps pulled low to avoid the sun, which was right in front of them. Karen had taken her purple sunglasses down off her cap and put them on, and Zack was kicking himself for not thinking to buy any sunglasses of his own while they were still in the city. His cap would have to make do for now. Suddenly, Karen stopped in her tracks and put out an arm to stop Zack. "Do you hear something?" she asked her twin brother.
Zack stopped, and both stood stock-still as they listened. "Yeah, it kind of sounds like a rumbling...like..."
With her sunglasses on, Karen had a better view of the road ahead. "Like an Onix charging right this way? Cause that's what it is!" Sure enough, the giant Rock Snake Pokemon known as Onix was charging up the path, straight for them, getting closer by the second and moving surprisingly fast. Zack and Karen were on a fairly narrow section of the path leading deeper into the forest, with a thick grove of trees on each side. The way ahead was somewhat clearer, with a fairly wide grassy area on each side, surrounded by more trees. The twins didn't have time to run ahead there and get off the path, so they only had one choice. "Into the trees!" Karen shouted. The twins dove into the trees, getting a few scratches on their arms and faces in the process. Turns out they were just in time, as the Onix lumbered past with seconds to spare.
Zack took a deep breath. "Wow, what was that all about?" he asked nobody in particular as he climbed out of the trees to watch the Onix continue on. Since he was looking in the other direction now, the sun was no longer in his eyes, so he could clearly see the remnants of a net dangling off the back of Onix's tail. "Hey, Karen, look! I think that Onix just escaped being captured by Team Rocket!" Zack had heard about how Team Rocket used unorthodox, even cruel, methods sometimes to catch Pokemon, instead of the standard and legal method of weakening them first and tossing Pokeballs.
"That's not all, Zack..." added Karen, a little scared. "Have you noticed how it hasn't stopped? It must be terrified, and it's heading right for the city!" Sure enough, the giant Rock-type continued on a straight path as if it was fleeing, not caring what or who got in its way. A wild Weedle and Rattata were barely able to escape its path in time. "We've gotta stop it before it hurts someone!"
"C'mon, let's go!" agreed Zack. There was no time to get the police or anyone. There were only minutes to spare. Zack and Karen had to do this alone. Zack had another reason for wanting to help, as well. He wanted to make sure nobody was hurt just as much as Karen or anyone else did, but Rock Pokemon were his favorite type. If one was scared, he was determined to do everything he could to help it. He could tell that this one was practically crying for help, and considering the situation, the best way to help it might end up being to battle it and capture it. Then he could make sure nobody would ever steal it again. All those thoughts were going through his mind as he and Karen raced back along the path, retracing their steps towards Viridian City.
But they weren't closing the gap. They were both trained athletes and were members of their school's baseball team all the years they had been in school, but they could gain no ground on this Onix. "We'll have to distract it, Karen!" Zack said as he ran, yanking the lone Pokeball on his belt off the Velcro strip. A few moments more, and the Onix would reach city limits.
"Right," said Karen, producing Bulbasaur's Pokeball from her pocket. Ordinarily, they wouldn't pit both their Pokemon against a wild one by itself, but this was an emergency situation. "Go, Bulbasaur!"
"Go, Squirtle! C'mon out and use Water Gun at full power!"
"Bulbasaur, strike at it with Vine Whip!"
Almost simultaneously, the two starter Pokemon emerged from their balls and began their attacks. Squirtle took a deep breath and shot a thick stream of water at the back of Onix's head. Bulbasaur whipped out its vines and used them to lash at Onix's midsection. Onix roared in pain mixed with anger and turned around to face its attackers. It whipped its tail around at all four of them, both Pokemon and humans. Zack, Karen, and Bulbasaur managed to dive out of the way just in time, but the top of one of the rocks on Onix's tail clipped Squirtle's feet as it leapt, sending the turtle Pokemon spinning in midair. It withdrew into its shell and landed, emerging again dazed but apparently ok. Onix looked very near collapse from its escape and the supereffective attacks, but it was still enraged.
"Onix, stop this!" Zack yelled from his position, sprawled on the ground. He now had a few more scrapes to add to the ones he had gotten from his little swan dive into the trees back on the path. "I know those people treated you badly, but I want to help! We had to have both of our Pokemon attack you at once to keep you out of the city! If you kept that up, who knows how many Pokemon or people would be caught in your path? I want to help you!" The giant rock snake paused, and stood in front of them with tail raised, as if deciding whether or not to attack again. After a few tense moments, it slowly lowered its tail to the ground. The twins climbed to their feet, still a little nervous. "That's the way," Zack encouraged the Pokemon. "Would you like to come along with me on my journey, Onix? I promise you, nobody will ever capture you while I'm around." Onix grunted. "D-does that mean yes?" Zack asked, a little uncertainly. He pulled an empty Pokeball from his backpack. "Well, here goes nothing." Enlarging it and tossing it, he called, "Pokeball, go!" The red-and-white ball sailed through the air, and opened to reveal its red transparent beam. The beam shot out and enveloped the Rock-Ground type, withdrawing it back inside the ball, leaving the net fragment that was dangling from its tail lying on the ground. The ball closed and dropped to the ground, shook once, twice, three times...then lay still.
Zack excitedly ran up and snatched it. "I caught an Onix!" he cried happily.
"Great job, Zack. I was a little nervous there for a while. You seemed to get through to it somehow," said Karen, coming up behind her brother and putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah...I was pretty nervous too. I thought for sure it was going to attack again. But hey, we had Bulbasaur AND Squirtle, we would've been fine." Zack grinned.
"Hey, we should probably take it back to the Pokemon Center," said Karen. "It looked exhausted."
"True," said Zack, picking up the piece of net, "and maybe while we're there it might be wise to ask Nurse Joy if she has heard anything about Team Rocket being in the area. We should've done it before, but I guess we were too excited about getting into the Forest ourselves and heading for adventure."
Karen laughed, a little embarrassed. "Yeah, probably," she agreed. Up until now, she had been the more talkative one as to what might happen in the Forest, while Zack had kept his thoughts to himself for the most part. Karen thought it may have been partially her fault for distracting Zack with her excitement, and not letting him think of the possibility of something serious happening. Still, the twins were determined to continue on their own, so they headed back to the Pokemon Center to see if they could find out anything useful.
"Karen..." Zack said slowly as they walked quickly back towards the city. "Do you think Kyle and Melissa could be mixed up in this somehow?"
Karen sighed. "I hope not...but let's face it, we pretty much know they're in Team Rocket now, so there's a good chance that they are mixed up in this, or at least know about it."
"Yeah," Zack sighed, "that's what I was thinking, too." Both were saddened at the possibility of their cousins being involved in such a thing as illegally capturing Pokemon, possibly harming them unnecessarily in the process to force them to obey. "I have to wonder...are Kyle and Melissa in this of their own free will?"
"So far, we really have no way of knowing," Karen admitted.