Of Flame and Ash
Chapter 2: The Catch of the Day
Something in the sky sparkled and caught the attention of a Meowth. It looked up at the growing spot. Too late, it realized that something was falling. It got up and started to run away, but two people landed on it.
After a moment, a female voice spoke. "That was painful."
Another person spoke after that, this one male. "You can say that again."
A third voice suddenly came out, slightly muffled. "Hey, what's da' big idea?" The Meowth crawled out from beneath them and said, "What'd ya' fall on me for?"
The humans' mouths dropped open. Meowth looked at them and asked, "What's da' matta'? Ain't ya' ever seen a talkin' Meowth before?"
"A talking Meowth." they said in unison. The woman turned to her partner and said, "Do you have any idea how much it would be worth?"
The man thoughtfully responded, "It would make us rich! Hmmm, I wonder how many bottle caps I could get with that money."
Meowth growled and shouted, "Ya' ain't sellin' me ta' no one!" He jumped up and scratched each of them across the face. "Ya' got that?" He calmed down and said, "Maybe we can work out an agreement."
The Rockets turned away and huddled together, whispering quietly to each other. After a moment they turned back around. The woman asked, "How would you like to be a part of Team Rocket?"
Meowth shrugged and said, "What's dat?"
"It's an organization all about stealing Pokemon and various other crimes for the benefit of evil."
Meowth shrugged again and said, "I don't see a reason why not."
The man jumped up and shook Meowth's hand. "Welcome to the group then. I'm James and this is, um, uh."
His partner scoffed and said, "Jessie. Don't go thinking about great big prizes yet, though." She looked over at James. "We still have a personal score to settle with a couple kids."
-|*~*|-
"So how come your Growlithe doesn't stay in it's Poke Ball?" Ash asked Blaine as they walked out of the forest.
"Are you sure that's any of your business?"
"Uh, er, um." Ash stuttered as Blaine's grin grew wider.
Blaine waved his hand at him. "Ah, I was just kidding. I haven't had anyone to talk to except Growlithe, and he doesn't make very good conversation." Growlithe made a growling sound that seemed like laughing as Blaine continued. "I'm an orphan. When I found Growlithe, I didn't have the money to get a Poke Ball. Even though I have the money now, it just wouldn't feel right."
Ash felt it best not to pry into why he was an orphan, so instead he asked, "Don't you want to know the same about Pikachu?"
Blaine shrugged. "I already have an idea." He looked at Ash. "Pikachu are known as stubborn Pokemon. If they don't like something, then they won't have anything to do with it. Whether it be a Poke Ball or food, they are very picky."
Ash's mouth dropped. "How do you know all that?"
"I don't have any other place to go, so I hang out at the library a lot and research Pokemon. Although it's usually fire-types in the book."
"Why fire-types?"
"Me and Growlithe made a vow." Blaine looked down at Growlithe. "I pledged to become the greatest fire master ever and Growlithe promised to help me achieve that goal, no matter what."
He looked back at Ash to find him crying. "That was so beautiful!" Blaine rolled his eyes as Ash dried his.
"So what are you going to do?"
Ash looked up and asked, "Me? I want to be the world's greatest Pokemon master!"
"Woo, that's original." Blaine said while wiggling his fingers.
"Hey! I didn't make fun of you!" Ash snapped.
Blaine held his hands out in front of him and said, "Woah, calm down! I only meant that you have a lot of competition. Whereas I probably only have a few other people and the Cinnabar Island Gym Leader."
Ash blinked. "What's so special about Cinnabar Island?"
I wonder if he just woke up one morning and said, "I think I'll train Pokemon," Blaine thought. Aloud, he said, "The Cinnabar Island Gym is a fire-type Gym. My first goal is to become the Leader there."
"How do you do that?" Ash questioned.
"If you can beat the present Leader in a 6 on 6 battle using only the type that is trained there, you take control of the Gym," Blaine explained. "You also have to have at least five other badges to prove that you're worthy of leading a Gym."
As they walked into the city, Ash looked around and said, "We're here already? It seemed longer last time." An affirmative sound was heard from Pikachu. "Anyway, I'm going to heal Pikachu and then go to the Gym. Do you want to come?"
Blaine raised an eyebrow. "Is that Pikachu your only Pokemon?"
"Yeah, why?" Ash responded.
Blaine frowned and said, "Because you'll get creamed if you go in there." When Ash opened his mouth to speak, Blaine continued. "The Gym Leader there trains rock-type Pokemon. You'll need another Pokemon if you even want a chance at winning." He paused and looked to his side. "And I think I know just the place to get one."
Pikachu was furious, and Ash was too. "Me and Pikachu can take on anything! Even if it is a rock Pokemon!" With that he stormed off in the direction of the Gym.
Blaine sighed and looked at Growlithe. "He'll learn. He'll have to, if he ever wants to win."
-|*~*|-
Ash opened the doors of the Gym and walked in slowly. "Hello? Helloooo? Is anyone here? I want to have a Gym battle."
"If you're looking for a battle, then you've found one." In the back of the Gym, a young man stood up. "My name is Brock and I'm the leader of the Pewter City Gym."
"I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and I've come to earn a Boulderbadge!"
Brock smiled and said, "Well, not to disappoint you, but you won't be getting one today. Is a 2 on 2 battle okay with you?"
Ash sweatdropped. "Ah, well, you see, I only have one Pokemon."
Brock nodded. "Fine then. A 1 on 1." He clapped his hands once and the whole room shook. The regular floor parted and a rocky field rose in it's place.
An announcer said over a microphone, "This is a 1 on 1 battle with no time limit for the Boulderbadge. The challenger is Ash Ketchum. Let the battle begin!"
Brock immediately threw a Poke Ball onto the field. "Go, Onix!" A large stone snake erupted from the ball, covering half of the field.
Ash had a blank look on his face as he pulled out his Pokedex. "What's that?"
Dexter gave the info in a very monotone voice. "Onix. The rock snake Pokemon. As it grows, the stone portions of its body harden to become similar to a diamond, but colored black."
Ash thought about that for a second. "Hard as a diamond, that's not good. I choose you, Pikachu! Give it your strongest Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu let loose a mighty electric shock. It hit the snake, but didn't even faze it. Brock yelled out to Ash, "You should know that only powerful electric attacks can hit a ground-type Pokemon. Now, Onix, use Rock Smash!"
"Pikachu, Agility!"
As Onix launched itself at Pikachu, the mouse suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Onix. Onix anticipated this, however, and whipped his tail, smacking Pikachu across the Gym.
Brock folded his arms and said, "Onix, use your Dig attack!" The rock-type jumped up and burrowed into the Gym floor. After a few seconds, Brock said, "It's all over. Onix, emerge with a Headbutt!" There was a rumbling sound, and then Onix burst from the ground, hitting Pikachu on its way out. The rodent flew into the air and landed on the floor with a thud.
A shout rang out in the Gym. "Pikachu!" Ash was already by Pikachu's side, picking him up. "Pikachu, are you okay?" Pikachu moaned slightly and then fainted.
-|*~*|-
Ash ran into the Pokemon center and straight to the counter. "Please, Nurse Joy, you have to help my Pikachu!"
Nurse Joy smiled and calmly said, "It's all right. Your Pikachu is only unconscious. Come back in about 5 minutes and it will be fine."
Ash bowed slightly. "Thank you." He turned around to grab a seat and spotted Blaine. He walked over to him and muttered, "Don't even say it."
Blaine sighed. "I wasn't going to."
Ash looked up after a minute. "Where did you want to take me?"
Blaine unfolded his arms and said, "There's a cave just outside of the town that leads to Vermilion City. It's full of Diglett and a few Dugtrio. I recommend that you go there and catch one. Rock-types are weak against ground-types, so you'd have a type advantage too."
-|*~*|-
"It's dark in here." Ash commented as he, Blaine, Pikachu, and Growlithe walked down the path.
"That's why I have this." Blaine reached into his vest and pulled out a small lantern. It had a tiny flame in it, but was very bright.
Ash looked at the cause of the sudden brightness and asked, "What is that and where did you get it?"
"This is a flame of Moltres. The Pokemon League had a contest with this as the prize, so I sent in about a million postcards to get it."
"Really?" Ash said, wide-eyed. "I did the same thing to get this hat!"
Blaine's expression turned thoughtful. "Maybe this was fate, and the two of us were destined to meet." They looked at each other before saying, at the same time, "Nah."
After they had a good laugh, Blaine suddenly raised his hand. "Shhh." A faint scratching sound could be heard up ahead. He motioned for Ash and their Pokemon to follow, their footsteps making no sound.
They turned a corner and saw a Diglett rubbing up against the wall. Ash sighed. "I was hoping it would be a Dugtrio."
Blaine turned to him. "A Pokemon caught at a lower level will be easier to train and will be stronger. You should try to catch this one. It looks pretty strong."
Ash raised an eyebrow. "How would you know? I thought you only train fire- types."
"Where do you think I train? There's no challenge in burning bugs, so I come here."
The Diglett suddenly turned to them and let out a shrill cry. Blaine put his head in his hands. "Great. It spotted us. You'd better do something before it leaves." He swallowed hard. "Or worse: reinforcements arrive."
Ash once again pulled out his Pokedex. "Diglett. The mole Pokemon. It prefers dark places, so it spends most of its time underground, though it may pop up in caves."
"All right. Pikachu, go!" Pikachu leapt forward, awaiting his first command. Ash got into a thinking position. "Let's see, what moves does Pikachu know that would affect him? I know! Pikachu, Quick Attack!" He looked around, but to his amazement, Diglett was nowhere to be found. "What? Where'd it go?"
"Hey Ash!" Blaine shouted. "What goes up must come down, right? What's the opposite of that?"
"What goes up must come down, what goes down," he suddenly gasped and looked at Pikachu, "must come up! Pikachu, jump!" Pikachu leapt into the air right as Diglett came up underneath him with a ferocious Headbutt. As he landed, Diglett came after him again, a few small rocks sticking on his side and moving upwards. Before Pikachu could get away, Diglett was on him. After a second, it got off, leaving three small red lines on Pikachu's face.
"So that's how they use their Scratch attack," Blaine murmured as he motioned to the small rocks lying at the feet of Ash's Pokemon.
"Come on Pikachu! Let's show that Diglett our Agility!" Pikachu became a blur as it ran around the tunnel, leaving a cloud of sand wherever it went.
"No Ash! Using Agility will only give it time to." Blaine was cut off as a scratching sound was heard. ".go underground again." Pikachu stopped running and looked at the hole left by the mole.
Ash frowned. "This is my only chance. Pikachu, follow Diglett into its hole!" Blaine looked at Ash like he was crazy, but Ash just shook his head. "I know what I'm doing. You'll see."
The sounds of a scuffle could be heard under the cave. A small tremor was felt, and a hole opened up. Diglett popped out. Everyone was still for a minute, until a small yellow paw reached up and bopped Diglett on the head. It drooped and Pikachu jumped out from behind it and said, "Pika!"
It was the only invitation Ash needed. He pulled out a Poke Ball and enlarged it. "Poke Ball, go!" he shouted as he threw the ball. It hit the tired ground-type and sucked it inside. The ball closed and landed on the ground softly. It shook once. It shook a second time. It shook a third time and the small light in the center went off.
Ash leapt into the air and cheered. He grabbed the Poke Ball and held it out in front of him. "I caught a Diglett!" He then proceeded to jump up and down yelling.
His enthusiasm didn't last long, however. A large tremor was felt as five Diglett popped out of the ground in front of him. A large hole opened up behind them as three Diglett popped out together.
Once more, Ash grabbed his Pokedex. "Dugtrio. The mole Pokemon. This evolved form of Diglett burrows underground, triggering earthquakes."
The cave started to shake as Blaine shouted, "That's Dugtrio's Earthquake attack! We have to get out of here, NOW!" Ash picked up Pikachu and ran as fast as he could as Blaine and Growlithe ran behind them. Blaine turned around, stopped, and yelled, "Keep going! I'll stall them!" Growlithe then shot small flames at the charging Diglett. They stopped and fled in the opposite direction. The Dugtrio was not as easily startled.
"Trio!" it cried in a shrill voice. Blaine pulled out a Poke Ball.
"Time to make our getaway." He threw the ball and a small horse with flames on its head and back came out. "All right Ponyta, we need to get out of here," Blaine said as he jumped on the pony. Growlithe jumped onto Blaine's back as Ponyta ran off. A few seconds later, they passed a stunned Ash and Pikachu and left the cave. Blaine climbed down and stood there praising Ponyta. "Good job. You're getting faster already."
Ash came out of the cave, and out of breath too. He put Pikachu down and leaned up against a tree until he could talk again. "What is that?"
Blaine smiled and said, "Her? She's my Ponyta. I caught her when you went to the Gym."
For the fourth time that day, Dexter's monotone voice sounded. "Ponyta. The fire horse Pokemon. With hooves that are ten times harder than diamonds, it can trample almost anything flat in little time."
Blaine looked lovingly back at his new Pokemon and said, "Ponyta are some of the fastest land Pokemon around. That would explain how it got here, considering they don't normally live around here." He paused and sighed wistfully. "It's with that same speed that I'm going to run circles around Brock with."
~~~~~
AN: Forgot the disclaimer. I don't own Pokemon or any part of it. My stepbrother and I do own the rights to this story however (I think. If I'm wrong, please let me know). Please read & review. All constructive criticism will be gratefully accepted, and all flames will be given to Growlithe. Chapter 3 and a Gym battle will be coming soon.
Chapter 2: The Catch of the Day
Something in the sky sparkled and caught the attention of a Meowth. It looked up at the growing spot. Too late, it realized that something was falling. It got up and started to run away, but two people landed on it.
After a moment, a female voice spoke. "That was painful."
Another person spoke after that, this one male. "You can say that again."
A third voice suddenly came out, slightly muffled. "Hey, what's da' big idea?" The Meowth crawled out from beneath them and said, "What'd ya' fall on me for?"
The humans' mouths dropped open. Meowth looked at them and asked, "What's da' matta'? Ain't ya' ever seen a talkin' Meowth before?"
"A talking Meowth." they said in unison. The woman turned to her partner and said, "Do you have any idea how much it would be worth?"
The man thoughtfully responded, "It would make us rich! Hmmm, I wonder how many bottle caps I could get with that money."
Meowth growled and shouted, "Ya' ain't sellin' me ta' no one!" He jumped up and scratched each of them across the face. "Ya' got that?" He calmed down and said, "Maybe we can work out an agreement."
The Rockets turned away and huddled together, whispering quietly to each other. After a moment they turned back around. The woman asked, "How would you like to be a part of Team Rocket?"
Meowth shrugged and said, "What's dat?"
"It's an organization all about stealing Pokemon and various other crimes for the benefit of evil."
Meowth shrugged again and said, "I don't see a reason why not."
The man jumped up and shook Meowth's hand. "Welcome to the group then. I'm James and this is, um, uh."
His partner scoffed and said, "Jessie. Don't go thinking about great big prizes yet, though." She looked over at James. "We still have a personal score to settle with a couple kids."
-|*~*|-
"So how come your Growlithe doesn't stay in it's Poke Ball?" Ash asked Blaine as they walked out of the forest.
"Are you sure that's any of your business?"
"Uh, er, um." Ash stuttered as Blaine's grin grew wider.
Blaine waved his hand at him. "Ah, I was just kidding. I haven't had anyone to talk to except Growlithe, and he doesn't make very good conversation." Growlithe made a growling sound that seemed like laughing as Blaine continued. "I'm an orphan. When I found Growlithe, I didn't have the money to get a Poke Ball. Even though I have the money now, it just wouldn't feel right."
Ash felt it best not to pry into why he was an orphan, so instead he asked, "Don't you want to know the same about Pikachu?"
Blaine shrugged. "I already have an idea." He looked at Ash. "Pikachu are known as stubborn Pokemon. If they don't like something, then they won't have anything to do with it. Whether it be a Poke Ball or food, they are very picky."
Ash's mouth dropped. "How do you know all that?"
"I don't have any other place to go, so I hang out at the library a lot and research Pokemon. Although it's usually fire-types in the book."
"Why fire-types?"
"Me and Growlithe made a vow." Blaine looked down at Growlithe. "I pledged to become the greatest fire master ever and Growlithe promised to help me achieve that goal, no matter what."
He looked back at Ash to find him crying. "That was so beautiful!" Blaine rolled his eyes as Ash dried his.
"So what are you going to do?"
Ash looked up and asked, "Me? I want to be the world's greatest Pokemon master!"
"Woo, that's original." Blaine said while wiggling his fingers.
"Hey! I didn't make fun of you!" Ash snapped.
Blaine held his hands out in front of him and said, "Woah, calm down! I only meant that you have a lot of competition. Whereas I probably only have a few other people and the Cinnabar Island Gym Leader."
Ash blinked. "What's so special about Cinnabar Island?"
I wonder if he just woke up one morning and said, "I think I'll train Pokemon," Blaine thought. Aloud, he said, "The Cinnabar Island Gym is a fire-type Gym. My first goal is to become the Leader there."
"How do you do that?" Ash questioned.
"If you can beat the present Leader in a 6 on 6 battle using only the type that is trained there, you take control of the Gym," Blaine explained. "You also have to have at least five other badges to prove that you're worthy of leading a Gym."
As they walked into the city, Ash looked around and said, "We're here already? It seemed longer last time." An affirmative sound was heard from Pikachu. "Anyway, I'm going to heal Pikachu and then go to the Gym. Do you want to come?"
Blaine raised an eyebrow. "Is that Pikachu your only Pokemon?"
"Yeah, why?" Ash responded.
Blaine frowned and said, "Because you'll get creamed if you go in there." When Ash opened his mouth to speak, Blaine continued. "The Gym Leader there trains rock-type Pokemon. You'll need another Pokemon if you even want a chance at winning." He paused and looked to his side. "And I think I know just the place to get one."
Pikachu was furious, and Ash was too. "Me and Pikachu can take on anything! Even if it is a rock Pokemon!" With that he stormed off in the direction of the Gym.
Blaine sighed and looked at Growlithe. "He'll learn. He'll have to, if he ever wants to win."
-|*~*|-
Ash opened the doors of the Gym and walked in slowly. "Hello? Helloooo? Is anyone here? I want to have a Gym battle."
"If you're looking for a battle, then you've found one." In the back of the Gym, a young man stood up. "My name is Brock and I'm the leader of the Pewter City Gym."
"I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and I've come to earn a Boulderbadge!"
Brock smiled and said, "Well, not to disappoint you, but you won't be getting one today. Is a 2 on 2 battle okay with you?"
Ash sweatdropped. "Ah, well, you see, I only have one Pokemon."
Brock nodded. "Fine then. A 1 on 1." He clapped his hands once and the whole room shook. The regular floor parted and a rocky field rose in it's place.
An announcer said over a microphone, "This is a 1 on 1 battle with no time limit for the Boulderbadge. The challenger is Ash Ketchum. Let the battle begin!"
Brock immediately threw a Poke Ball onto the field. "Go, Onix!" A large stone snake erupted from the ball, covering half of the field.
Ash had a blank look on his face as he pulled out his Pokedex. "What's that?"
Dexter gave the info in a very monotone voice. "Onix. The rock snake Pokemon. As it grows, the stone portions of its body harden to become similar to a diamond, but colored black."
Ash thought about that for a second. "Hard as a diamond, that's not good. I choose you, Pikachu! Give it your strongest Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu let loose a mighty electric shock. It hit the snake, but didn't even faze it. Brock yelled out to Ash, "You should know that only powerful electric attacks can hit a ground-type Pokemon. Now, Onix, use Rock Smash!"
"Pikachu, Agility!"
As Onix launched itself at Pikachu, the mouse suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Onix. Onix anticipated this, however, and whipped his tail, smacking Pikachu across the Gym.
Brock folded his arms and said, "Onix, use your Dig attack!" The rock-type jumped up and burrowed into the Gym floor. After a few seconds, Brock said, "It's all over. Onix, emerge with a Headbutt!" There was a rumbling sound, and then Onix burst from the ground, hitting Pikachu on its way out. The rodent flew into the air and landed on the floor with a thud.
A shout rang out in the Gym. "Pikachu!" Ash was already by Pikachu's side, picking him up. "Pikachu, are you okay?" Pikachu moaned slightly and then fainted.
-|*~*|-
Ash ran into the Pokemon center and straight to the counter. "Please, Nurse Joy, you have to help my Pikachu!"
Nurse Joy smiled and calmly said, "It's all right. Your Pikachu is only unconscious. Come back in about 5 minutes and it will be fine."
Ash bowed slightly. "Thank you." He turned around to grab a seat and spotted Blaine. He walked over to him and muttered, "Don't even say it."
Blaine sighed. "I wasn't going to."
Ash looked up after a minute. "Where did you want to take me?"
Blaine unfolded his arms and said, "There's a cave just outside of the town that leads to Vermilion City. It's full of Diglett and a few Dugtrio. I recommend that you go there and catch one. Rock-types are weak against ground-types, so you'd have a type advantage too."
-|*~*|-
"It's dark in here." Ash commented as he, Blaine, Pikachu, and Growlithe walked down the path.
"That's why I have this." Blaine reached into his vest and pulled out a small lantern. It had a tiny flame in it, but was very bright.
Ash looked at the cause of the sudden brightness and asked, "What is that and where did you get it?"
"This is a flame of Moltres. The Pokemon League had a contest with this as the prize, so I sent in about a million postcards to get it."
"Really?" Ash said, wide-eyed. "I did the same thing to get this hat!"
Blaine's expression turned thoughtful. "Maybe this was fate, and the two of us were destined to meet." They looked at each other before saying, at the same time, "Nah."
After they had a good laugh, Blaine suddenly raised his hand. "Shhh." A faint scratching sound could be heard up ahead. He motioned for Ash and their Pokemon to follow, their footsteps making no sound.
They turned a corner and saw a Diglett rubbing up against the wall. Ash sighed. "I was hoping it would be a Dugtrio."
Blaine turned to him. "A Pokemon caught at a lower level will be easier to train and will be stronger. You should try to catch this one. It looks pretty strong."
Ash raised an eyebrow. "How would you know? I thought you only train fire- types."
"Where do you think I train? There's no challenge in burning bugs, so I come here."
The Diglett suddenly turned to them and let out a shrill cry. Blaine put his head in his hands. "Great. It spotted us. You'd better do something before it leaves." He swallowed hard. "Or worse: reinforcements arrive."
Ash once again pulled out his Pokedex. "Diglett. The mole Pokemon. It prefers dark places, so it spends most of its time underground, though it may pop up in caves."
"All right. Pikachu, go!" Pikachu leapt forward, awaiting his first command. Ash got into a thinking position. "Let's see, what moves does Pikachu know that would affect him? I know! Pikachu, Quick Attack!" He looked around, but to his amazement, Diglett was nowhere to be found. "What? Where'd it go?"
"Hey Ash!" Blaine shouted. "What goes up must come down, right? What's the opposite of that?"
"What goes up must come down, what goes down," he suddenly gasped and looked at Pikachu, "must come up! Pikachu, jump!" Pikachu leapt into the air right as Diglett came up underneath him with a ferocious Headbutt. As he landed, Diglett came after him again, a few small rocks sticking on his side and moving upwards. Before Pikachu could get away, Diglett was on him. After a second, it got off, leaving three small red lines on Pikachu's face.
"So that's how they use their Scratch attack," Blaine murmured as he motioned to the small rocks lying at the feet of Ash's Pokemon.
"Come on Pikachu! Let's show that Diglett our Agility!" Pikachu became a blur as it ran around the tunnel, leaving a cloud of sand wherever it went.
"No Ash! Using Agility will only give it time to." Blaine was cut off as a scratching sound was heard. ".go underground again." Pikachu stopped running and looked at the hole left by the mole.
Ash frowned. "This is my only chance. Pikachu, follow Diglett into its hole!" Blaine looked at Ash like he was crazy, but Ash just shook his head. "I know what I'm doing. You'll see."
The sounds of a scuffle could be heard under the cave. A small tremor was felt, and a hole opened up. Diglett popped out. Everyone was still for a minute, until a small yellow paw reached up and bopped Diglett on the head. It drooped and Pikachu jumped out from behind it and said, "Pika!"
It was the only invitation Ash needed. He pulled out a Poke Ball and enlarged it. "Poke Ball, go!" he shouted as he threw the ball. It hit the tired ground-type and sucked it inside. The ball closed and landed on the ground softly. It shook once. It shook a second time. It shook a third time and the small light in the center went off.
Ash leapt into the air and cheered. He grabbed the Poke Ball and held it out in front of him. "I caught a Diglett!" He then proceeded to jump up and down yelling.
His enthusiasm didn't last long, however. A large tremor was felt as five Diglett popped out of the ground in front of him. A large hole opened up behind them as three Diglett popped out together.
Once more, Ash grabbed his Pokedex. "Dugtrio. The mole Pokemon. This evolved form of Diglett burrows underground, triggering earthquakes."
The cave started to shake as Blaine shouted, "That's Dugtrio's Earthquake attack! We have to get out of here, NOW!" Ash picked up Pikachu and ran as fast as he could as Blaine and Growlithe ran behind them. Blaine turned around, stopped, and yelled, "Keep going! I'll stall them!" Growlithe then shot small flames at the charging Diglett. They stopped and fled in the opposite direction. The Dugtrio was not as easily startled.
"Trio!" it cried in a shrill voice. Blaine pulled out a Poke Ball.
"Time to make our getaway." He threw the ball and a small horse with flames on its head and back came out. "All right Ponyta, we need to get out of here," Blaine said as he jumped on the pony. Growlithe jumped onto Blaine's back as Ponyta ran off. A few seconds later, they passed a stunned Ash and Pikachu and left the cave. Blaine climbed down and stood there praising Ponyta. "Good job. You're getting faster already."
Ash came out of the cave, and out of breath too. He put Pikachu down and leaned up against a tree until he could talk again. "What is that?"
Blaine smiled and said, "Her? She's my Ponyta. I caught her when you went to the Gym."
For the fourth time that day, Dexter's monotone voice sounded. "Ponyta. The fire horse Pokemon. With hooves that are ten times harder than diamonds, it can trample almost anything flat in little time."
Blaine looked lovingly back at his new Pokemon and said, "Ponyta are some of the fastest land Pokemon around. That would explain how it got here, considering they don't normally live around here." He paused and sighed wistfully. "It's with that same speed that I'm going to run circles around Brock with."
~~~~~
AN: Forgot the disclaimer. I don't own Pokemon or any part of it. My stepbrother and I do own the rights to this story however (I think. If I'm wrong, please let me know). Please read & review. All constructive criticism will be gratefully accepted, and all flames will be given to Growlithe. Chapter 3 and a Gym battle will be coming soon.