Dom had a sinking feeling as he and Rilee took one last look at Rustboro
City. He felt horrible about leaving Cara by herself, but it seemed like it
was what she wanted..
"Rilee, I'm assuming that you know where we're going?" asked Dominic as they crossed a small bridge leading over a swamp.
"Oh, yeah. I mapped out the whole thing before I even left," she said. She took out a pair of sunglasses from her pocket and flipped them on.
"So..?"
"Oh - right.. Well, I started in Oldale Town, came down from route 103, you know.. came through Petalburg Woods up into Rustboro.. where we just were.." said Rilee.
Dominic pulled out his pokegear and looked over the route she had taken.
"And now, we're heading back down through the woods to route 104. From there we can sail down to Dewford." She shrugged, looking at Dominic. "It sounds complicated, but it's really not."
Dom finished looking over their travel route and nodded. "So.." he said, putting away his pokegear, "What pokemon do you have, anyway?"
She reached into her pocket and held out three shiny red pokeballs.
"I beat Roxanne with my poochyena. Caught him on my first travels with Aqua.." she pointed to one of the balls. "And I have a ponyta who I caught when the team went on up to Kanto. Boy, that was not a good idea. Team Rocket's territory, you know.."
"Team Rocket?" asked Dom.
"Oh, yeah, just like Team Aqua. They claim Kanto AND Johto as their region.. which doesn't seem fair.. but yeah.."
Dominic recalled hearing about Team Rocket before, but never knew where they were stationed..
"And I had a pikachu who got a little too old for battle - turns out it met another one and had a baby pichu.. that's who I got here. Named him Snap." She pointed to the final ball.
Dominic nodded again.
"Sooo.. are these woods bad?" he asked.
They stood at a sort of threshold that was growing thick with underbrush.
"Not bad, just a lot of wurmple. You should catch one, you know. They are damn strange, those things.."
Dominic drowned Rilee out as they entered the woods. The trees grew so tall that the sunlight was slowly filtered out and it got very cold.
It was like nothing Dom had ever seen. Trainers - mostly younger - were everywhere, some catching pokemon, some battling, some looking very lost. As he stood at the entrance staring he started to hear Rilee again.
"So I said 'Hell no!', and that was the end of that. Take a look around wouldja?"
"Wow.. I wouldn't a thought it be this crowded.." said Dominic. He took a few steps in and tried as hard as he could to see where the forest broke open again, but was unsuccessful. It must have gone on forever..
"Oh, yeah, it's the haven for beginning trainers. Most of 'em get started at the lab in Littleroot.. then come down here to catch some pokemon," said Riley, taking off her sunglasses.
"I see.. well do you think they want to battle? I want to raise up my pokemon.."
"Believe me, they're itching for battle.. I built up my poochyena here." Rilee straightened her tanktop. "Hey, Dom, I'll meet you at the exit. I'm gonna brush through here.. my pokemon are leveled pretty high already, I'll rent us a boat and see you at the docks. You take your time.. there's plenty of experience waiting for you around here."
"Ok - er - see you." Dom ran his fingers through his spikey hair.
Rilee jumped off a small hill in front of him and ran off into the distance, leaving Dom alone to think about what was going on. Rilee was nice, sure, but not the same as Cara. Something about Rilee made him, well, uncomfortable. She seemed to know every single thing about pokemon and Hoenn.. which Dom didn't like. He liked learning from his pokedex and pokegear, exploring.. but with Rilee it was just straightforward. No fun. It was probably because of the years she spent with Team Aqua..
"Hey, you in the sleeveless shirt!" a voice came from his left side. A boy of about 12 was running toward Dominic. "Wanna battle?"
"Um - er - sure!" said Dom. Rilee HAD been right - he had only been here for five minutes and he was already offered a battle.
"Go, wurmple!" yelled the boy.
"Go, Zappy!" said Dom, deciding that electrike hadn't been used in awhile. When the two pokemon appeared it was clear who had the advantage - the small red worm was feeble in comparison to Dom's medium size dog.
"String shot, wurmple!"
"Thundershock electrike!"
Wurmple barely had time to open it's mouth before it was smashed in the face by the bolt of lightning that was electrike. The small bug fell backward, fried. That was way too easy.. The young trainer looked unhappy, threw Dom some change, and ran off. Dom picked up the change and dropped it into his backpack.
According to his pokedex, electrike was at level 16. It had gained a lot of experience after the battle with Pierre, and this battle had lifted him one level. While he had it out, Dom looked up what level his other two pokemon were at - spoink at 16, also, and gulpin at 14. Things were going okay..
* * * * * * * * * *
After four more battles, Dominic was exhausted. All had been against youngsters with freshly caught pokemon, which Dom figured was the cause for their weakness. Electrike had grown another level, as had gulpin.
Dom found it amazing how such a helpless looking pokemon was so powerful. It emitted poisonous gas, could trap an opponent to the ground with sticky ooze, and, of course, had it's yawn attack. It wouldn't be long before gulpin evolved..
Wandering awhile longer, Dom found an area where the trees thinned out and sunlight shone through. Obviously this was the exit of Petalburg Woods.
Dom had decided that he was tired and had gotten good experience, so he started walking out of the woods to the southern docks. Although he hadn't captured any other pokemon, he felt confident in his own pokemon's strengths.
Just as Dominic was taking one last look at the large forest swarming with trainers, he heard voices come from the treetops.
"Prepare for a very difficult battle.."
"Our pokemon will make your bones rattle.."
"Oh, shit.." Dominic started running as fast as he could from the woods, looking around.
"Hey! You little bastard! Get back here! We haven't finished our.. our thing!"
Dominic decided not to listen and continued to run until the sunlight hit his face and he could see the beach in front of him.
* * * * * * * * *
"You won't believe what happened.." said Dominic to Rilee. They were sitting on the railing of a boat that was bound for Dewford Island.
"In the forest?"
"Yeah.. I was just leaving and then Team Aqua, like, tried to jump me."
"Say what?" she said, putting on her sunglasses again.
"Yeah! I just ran away though. They're pretty weak.."
"Dominic why didn't you come tell me? I would've gone over there and pounded them into the -"
"Um, I'd rather not watch that," said Dom, and they both laughed quietly. Looking around, Dom spotted a pack of red and blue pokemon swimming quickly underwater. He whipped out his pokedex and pointed it at the pack.
(Carvanha. Piranha pokemon. These vicious fish will attack anything in the water that is smaller than it. At level 30 carvanha evolves into the shark like sharpedo.)
"Awesome.. I want one.." said Dom, reaching in his pocket for a pokeball.
"Dominic Jenkins! Do you know ANYTHING about pokemon?" said Rilee, who had obviously been watching him this whole time.
"Um, I guess not.."
She sighed. "Catching pokemon while on a boat is impossible. Once engaged in battle, the pokemon you try to catch will stop moving. You'll leave it behind while you speed ahead. Unless you have a fishing line, you won't get one."
Dominic stared at her. She was just too damn smart! She must be in a bitchy mood or something.. either that or Dom just didn't understand girls..
"Okay.. whatever."
"I'm just saying, Dom.. jeez."
Dom faked a smile, stood up, and walked to the front of the boat, leaving Rilee by herself. Dom looked around and noticed they were passing many microscopic islands, and in the far distance he could see the outline of Dewford. Remembering what Cara had said about his pokegear, he opened it and typed in 'Dewford Town'. It buzzed and then began speaking.
(Dewford Town. Hoenn. The town is set on the island of Dewford and is home to the level two gym. Leader: Brawly. Specialty: Fighting pokemon. Leading tourist attraction: beaches. Granite Cave lies on the western half of the island.)
Fighting.. Dom had never seen a fighting pokemon before. Obviously they were tough.. he would have to work up all his strength if he wanted to beat Brawly.
A flock of wingull flew past the boat, cawing along the way. Dom wanted to catch one, but he remembered what Rilee had said and crossed his arms. She was so annoying..
He spied her across the boat, flicking her hair back in the wind. With those sunglasses on.. ugh! Dom had a bad feeling about her.. it didn't even seem like she liked her pokemon. Not once had she let them out of their pokeballs since her and Dom met.
Yeah, Rilee was shady. Dom didn't know how much longer he could stand to travel with her. And as the boat sped along the western ocean Dom thought of all the ways he could ditch her.
"Rilee, I'm assuming that you know where we're going?" asked Dominic as they crossed a small bridge leading over a swamp.
"Oh, yeah. I mapped out the whole thing before I even left," she said. She took out a pair of sunglasses from her pocket and flipped them on.
"So..?"
"Oh - right.. Well, I started in Oldale Town, came down from route 103, you know.. came through Petalburg Woods up into Rustboro.. where we just were.." said Rilee.
Dominic pulled out his pokegear and looked over the route she had taken.
"And now, we're heading back down through the woods to route 104. From there we can sail down to Dewford." She shrugged, looking at Dominic. "It sounds complicated, but it's really not."
Dom finished looking over their travel route and nodded. "So.." he said, putting away his pokegear, "What pokemon do you have, anyway?"
She reached into her pocket and held out three shiny red pokeballs.
"I beat Roxanne with my poochyena. Caught him on my first travels with Aqua.." she pointed to one of the balls. "And I have a ponyta who I caught when the team went on up to Kanto. Boy, that was not a good idea. Team Rocket's territory, you know.."
"Team Rocket?" asked Dom.
"Oh, yeah, just like Team Aqua. They claim Kanto AND Johto as their region.. which doesn't seem fair.. but yeah.."
Dominic recalled hearing about Team Rocket before, but never knew where they were stationed..
"And I had a pikachu who got a little too old for battle - turns out it met another one and had a baby pichu.. that's who I got here. Named him Snap." She pointed to the final ball.
Dominic nodded again.
"Sooo.. are these woods bad?" he asked.
They stood at a sort of threshold that was growing thick with underbrush.
"Not bad, just a lot of wurmple. You should catch one, you know. They are damn strange, those things.."
Dominic drowned Rilee out as they entered the woods. The trees grew so tall that the sunlight was slowly filtered out and it got very cold.
It was like nothing Dom had ever seen. Trainers - mostly younger - were everywhere, some catching pokemon, some battling, some looking very lost. As he stood at the entrance staring he started to hear Rilee again.
"So I said 'Hell no!', and that was the end of that. Take a look around wouldja?"
"Wow.. I wouldn't a thought it be this crowded.." said Dominic. He took a few steps in and tried as hard as he could to see where the forest broke open again, but was unsuccessful. It must have gone on forever..
"Oh, yeah, it's the haven for beginning trainers. Most of 'em get started at the lab in Littleroot.. then come down here to catch some pokemon," said Riley, taking off her sunglasses.
"I see.. well do you think they want to battle? I want to raise up my pokemon.."
"Believe me, they're itching for battle.. I built up my poochyena here." Rilee straightened her tanktop. "Hey, Dom, I'll meet you at the exit. I'm gonna brush through here.. my pokemon are leveled pretty high already, I'll rent us a boat and see you at the docks. You take your time.. there's plenty of experience waiting for you around here."
"Ok - er - see you." Dom ran his fingers through his spikey hair.
Rilee jumped off a small hill in front of him and ran off into the distance, leaving Dom alone to think about what was going on. Rilee was nice, sure, but not the same as Cara. Something about Rilee made him, well, uncomfortable. She seemed to know every single thing about pokemon and Hoenn.. which Dom didn't like. He liked learning from his pokedex and pokegear, exploring.. but with Rilee it was just straightforward. No fun. It was probably because of the years she spent with Team Aqua..
"Hey, you in the sleeveless shirt!" a voice came from his left side. A boy of about 12 was running toward Dominic. "Wanna battle?"
"Um - er - sure!" said Dom. Rilee HAD been right - he had only been here for five minutes and he was already offered a battle.
"Go, wurmple!" yelled the boy.
"Go, Zappy!" said Dom, deciding that electrike hadn't been used in awhile. When the two pokemon appeared it was clear who had the advantage - the small red worm was feeble in comparison to Dom's medium size dog.
"String shot, wurmple!"
"Thundershock electrike!"
Wurmple barely had time to open it's mouth before it was smashed in the face by the bolt of lightning that was electrike. The small bug fell backward, fried. That was way too easy.. The young trainer looked unhappy, threw Dom some change, and ran off. Dom picked up the change and dropped it into his backpack.
According to his pokedex, electrike was at level 16. It had gained a lot of experience after the battle with Pierre, and this battle had lifted him one level. While he had it out, Dom looked up what level his other two pokemon were at - spoink at 16, also, and gulpin at 14. Things were going okay..
* * * * * * * * * *
After four more battles, Dominic was exhausted. All had been against youngsters with freshly caught pokemon, which Dom figured was the cause for their weakness. Electrike had grown another level, as had gulpin.
Dom found it amazing how such a helpless looking pokemon was so powerful. It emitted poisonous gas, could trap an opponent to the ground with sticky ooze, and, of course, had it's yawn attack. It wouldn't be long before gulpin evolved..
Wandering awhile longer, Dom found an area where the trees thinned out and sunlight shone through. Obviously this was the exit of Petalburg Woods.
Dom had decided that he was tired and had gotten good experience, so he started walking out of the woods to the southern docks. Although he hadn't captured any other pokemon, he felt confident in his own pokemon's strengths.
Just as Dominic was taking one last look at the large forest swarming with trainers, he heard voices come from the treetops.
"Prepare for a very difficult battle.."
"Our pokemon will make your bones rattle.."
"Oh, shit.." Dominic started running as fast as he could from the woods, looking around.
"Hey! You little bastard! Get back here! We haven't finished our.. our thing!"
Dominic decided not to listen and continued to run until the sunlight hit his face and he could see the beach in front of him.
* * * * * * * * *
"You won't believe what happened.." said Dominic to Rilee. They were sitting on the railing of a boat that was bound for Dewford Island.
"In the forest?"
"Yeah.. I was just leaving and then Team Aqua, like, tried to jump me."
"Say what?" she said, putting on her sunglasses again.
"Yeah! I just ran away though. They're pretty weak.."
"Dominic why didn't you come tell me? I would've gone over there and pounded them into the -"
"Um, I'd rather not watch that," said Dom, and they both laughed quietly. Looking around, Dom spotted a pack of red and blue pokemon swimming quickly underwater. He whipped out his pokedex and pointed it at the pack.
(Carvanha. Piranha pokemon. These vicious fish will attack anything in the water that is smaller than it. At level 30 carvanha evolves into the shark like sharpedo.)
"Awesome.. I want one.." said Dom, reaching in his pocket for a pokeball.
"Dominic Jenkins! Do you know ANYTHING about pokemon?" said Rilee, who had obviously been watching him this whole time.
"Um, I guess not.."
She sighed. "Catching pokemon while on a boat is impossible. Once engaged in battle, the pokemon you try to catch will stop moving. You'll leave it behind while you speed ahead. Unless you have a fishing line, you won't get one."
Dominic stared at her. She was just too damn smart! She must be in a bitchy mood or something.. either that or Dom just didn't understand girls..
"Okay.. whatever."
"I'm just saying, Dom.. jeez."
Dom faked a smile, stood up, and walked to the front of the boat, leaving Rilee by herself. Dom looked around and noticed they were passing many microscopic islands, and in the far distance he could see the outline of Dewford. Remembering what Cara had said about his pokegear, he opened it and typed in 'Dewford Town'. It buzzed and then began speaking.
(Dewford Town. Hoenn. The town is set on the island of Dewford and is home to the level two gym. Leader: Brawly. Specialty: Fighting pokemon. Leading tourist attraction: beaches. Granite Cave lies on the western half of the island.)
Fighting.. Dom had never seen a fighting pokemon before. Obviously they were tough.. he would have to work up all his strength if he wanted to beat Brawly.
A flock of wingull flew past the boat, cawing along the way. Dom wanted to catch one, but he remembered what Rilee had said and crossed his arms. She was so annoying..
He spied her across the boat, flicking her hair back in the wind. With those sunglasses on.. ugh! Dom had a bad feeling about her.. it didn't even seem like she liked her pokemon. Not once had she let them out of their pokeballs since her and Dom met.
Yeah, Rilee was shady. Dom didn't know how much longer he could stand to travel with her. And as the boat sped along the western ocean Dom thought of all the ways he could ditch her.
