The Hoenn Chronicles, Chapter 4
"Come on, Torchic!" Kyle called out to the tiny bird pokémon. "Use ember again!"
Torchic took a long and fierce exhale, and small flames flew out, landing on Jimmy's Poochyena, Poochy. The small dog pokémon attempted to dodge the flames, but the embers spread quickly, and turned into a fire, so Poochy couldn't escape.
"Good job, Torchic!" Kyle called. "Now, a tackle!"
Being resistant to flames, Torchic easily crossed through the fire that Poochy was trapped in, and struck Poochy in the side.
"YEEEEEEE!!!" Poochy yelped as it tumbled into the fire.
"Hang in there, Poochy!" Jimmy called. "Take down attack!"
Poochy growled, stood up for a few seconds, and then fainted.
"No!!!" Jimmy cried. "Wow, you beat me again!"
"Hahah!" Kyle said triumphantly.
"Shit. I don't have any money. I'll pay you when we get back to my place. This is all I got." Jimmy showed Kyle seven coins, equaling up to seventeen pokédollars. "I'll pay you the rest later. Come on, let's go meet May at Graveler's Breakfast Kitchen. I'm starving for some bacon."
"Will do. Come on, I'll race you there." Kyle bolted out the doors of the breeding center, followed closely by Jimmy. Just across the street was Graveler's restaurant. Kyle quickly looked both ways before crossing, and, seeing that the road was clear, he sprinted across the street. Jimmy was huffing and puffing behind Kyle by the time Kyle made it to the restaurant.
"Haha. Pay up, Jim." Kyle said.
"What?!" Jimmy shrieked. "You never said anything about that!"
"Man, can't you take a joke?" Kyle laughed. "Come on, let's go inside."
Rocket Admin Richard Walters relaxed in his leather chair in his spacious office. Around him were several computer monitors, keeping track of security among other things; and several toys on his desk, like a Pikachu bobble head, an Aggron-shaped desk lamp, and a Poliwhirl alarm clock. "Ahh..." Walters said. "Finally I can get some relaxation..."
Just then, an image flashed up on one of the security screens on the wall. It was Rocket Captain Herbert Willis, leading the operation to take over Dewford Town. "Um, sir, we're ready to begin the invasion."
"Good, don't make too much of a scene, just lay low. Wait until I give you the order to seize the city."
"Yes sir." The screen went blank, and Walters looked out the window to see his armada of helicopters taking off from an enclosed hangar.
"Let the invasion begin." Walters said to himself as the last helicopter took to the skies.
"Torchic!!" The tiny orange bird pokémon chirped happily as it flapped its little wings to stay aloft.
"Ahh... good breakfast." Kyle said as they walked out of the restaurant. "We should be ready to head on to Petalburg now."
"Isn't that where Norman the gym leader lives?" Jimmy asked.
"Yeah. He's my dad." Kyle said.
"What? Kyle, you never told me that." May said with enthusiasm. "That's so cool, having a dad who's one of the league's top trainers. What's it like for you?"
"It's kind of irritating." Kyle sighed. "Ever since my dad earned eight badges from the Turquoise and Johto Leagues, once I tell people who I am, they always ask me questions like 'Could I get your dad's autograph' or stuff like that. I just want people to accept me for me, not my dad. That's why I'm starting my pokémon journey. So I can get all the badges so people will walk up to me asking for my autograph instead of my dad's."
"I see what you mean." Jimmy thought for a moment. "But I'd still like to have a dad who was really famous."
"Believe me, you don't." Kyle said. "If your dad ever becomes famous, you'll regret having said that. Anyways, we have to go off to Petalburg."
"Can I go with you?" Jimmy said. "My parents say that I'm ready to take the Pokémon League Challenge."
"Do you have a trainer card?" Kyle said, holding up his trainer I.D.
"You know what?" Jimmy said matter-of-factly as he flashed his card in the air.
"Great! That means you're ready. Have you told your parents?"
"I better go say good-by to them." Jimmy said.
"Great." Sara said as she, Kyle, and Jimmy walked to Jimmy's house. "That means you can come with us."
"Really? All right!" Jimmy jumped in the air. "You guys rock!"
"Now, let's go see your parents. Right here, right?" Kyle said as they finished crossing Spearow Street. Jimmy's parents, along with his grandfather, were in the living room of his home, watching a cop show on television. During the commercial break, Jimmy told them about his plan to take the Pokémon Challenge.
"Good luck, sonny." Jimmy's grandfather said as he gave him a hug.
"I'll miss you." Jimmy's mom gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Give us a call sometime. Don't forget to write us with Pidgey."
Jimmy's dad walked over to Jimmy. "I hope you accomplish your goals on this mission, son. That's what life is about. Follow your dreams." A tear came to his eye as they hugged. Kyle and Sara couldn't help but shed tears themselves. "Now, go."
"Bye, dad." Jimmy was sobbing. "I'll see you soon."
"Ready to go, Jim?" Kyle asked.
"Hold on. Let me get my stuff." Jimmy ran to his room, and returned moments later with his backpack. "All right, let's go." Jimmy and friends walked out of the building. "Come on!" Kyle said. "Let's go."
The three pals walked towards route 102, only to find that the gatehouse was blocked by a group of people dressed in black. (a/n: remember this isn't completely accurate to Ru/Sa) "Hey, it costs ten thousand pokédollars to pass. Cough up the dough."
"Hmm...maybe we should go to Route 103. Kyle said, looking at a directory near the gatehouse. The three walked through the town, carefully crossing streets, and came up to the gatehouse to Route 104, where several people were taking a break. The three walked out of the gatehouse to find that it didn't lead to Petalburg as they expected. It was a large open forest with several other trainers hanging around.
"You know, Sara, don't you think this would be a good time to battle?" Kyle turned to his friend. "That way we can test our skills."
"All right, but don't bet on your Torchic to win." Sara said. "Besides, I just caught a Zigzagoon so I can round out my team."
"It doesn't matter. I've got some good strategies." Kyle unclipped a poké ball from his belt. "Taillow, go!" He threw the ball into the air, and in a red flash of light, Taillow popped out. "Tail! Tail-low!"
"Mudkip, go!" Sara called as she threw her poké ball into the air.
"MUD! Mud-kip!" The blue frog pokémon said.
"Okay, Taillow, peck!" Kyle commanded. Taillow chirped as she flew into the air and did a dive back down, striking Mudkip in the chest and pecking at it with vigor.
"Mudkip, tail whip!" Sara yelled, and immediately, Mudkip jumped up and lashed Taillow with its tail. The tiny bird screeched as it flew through the air. "Don't give up, Taillow!" Kyle said. "Sand-attack!" Taillow regained control and landed, flapping her wings furiously to kick sand into the air. Mudkip was blinded by the attack, and couldn't see the gigantic tornado Taillow had created using gust. Mudkip was hurled into the air and receive a lot of damage. When the tornado subsided, Mudkip was unable to battle anymore. "Mudkip!" Sara called. "No! Mudkip, return." Sara called Mudkip back to its poké ball. "Zigzagoon, go!" Sara tossed another poké ball into the air. It opened, and a Zigzagoon came out. "What's that?" Kyle said, consulting his pokédex. "Zigzagoon, the tiny raccoon pokémon. Zigzagoon is a very timid pokémon that only fights when another pokémon has entered its territory." "Ha!" I can win against that!" Kyle said. "Taillow, wing attack!" Taillow flew like a missile into the air, and made a beeline for Zigzagoon. "Zigzagoon, headbutt!" Sara called, and Zigzagoon, jumped into the air and bashed Taillow with its head. Taillow went spinning, and landed in the grass, unable to battle." "Cheap shot." Kyle said. "Taillow, return!" Kyle called Taillow back to its poké ball, and sent out Torchic. "Torchic, GO!" Torchic, already out of its poké ball, hopped off Kyle's shoulder. "Tor! Tor!" Torchic chirped happily. "Torchic, ember!" Kyle commanded. "Zigzagoon, evade attack!" Zigzagoon, attempting to escape the rapid fire that Torchic's embers were causing, scampered up a tree, which was rapidly being consumed by the flames Torchic's ember had caused. "Zigzagoon, tackle!" Sara called up to the tree. "Zig! Zigzag!" Zigzagoon shook its head, consumed with fear. Kyle consulted his pokédex. "Zigzagoon is a timid pokémon with a fear of any type of fire." The pokédex said. "Ha!" Kyle said triumphantly. "Torchic, peck!" Torchic, immune to the flames, followed Zigzagoon up the tree and cornered him at the edge of a branch. Torchic began pecking at Zigzagoon. Zigzagoon screeched, and fell off the branch. This blow caused him to faint. The flames went out as the battle ended. "Victory is mine!" Kyle said jokingly. Jimmy clapped as he watched the victory. "Great battle!" Sara said as she gave Kyle two hundred pokédollars. "You too. You almost beat me!" Kyle said. "You know, there might be some rare pokémon around this place." Jimmy said, taking a good look around. Suddenly there was a rustling near the seashore, which the three had just noticed. "What was that?" Sara said in an alarmed voice. "Probably just a Pidgey or Sentret or something. There are plenty of them around here." "SQUIRTLE!" A tiny turtle pokémon popped out from a bush near the seashore. "What the—Kyle checked his pokédex." "Squirtle. The tiny turtle pokémon. Squirtle is a tough pokémon that usually lives near oceans." The tiny pokémon had a light-brown turtle shell on its back, and aqua blue skin. "Squirtle squirt!" It said. "All right!" Kyle said. "Torchic, go!" Torchic hopped down from Kyle's shoulder. "Torchic, tackle. Don't hit Squirtle too hard." Torchic obeyed and struck Squirtle in the head, where it didn't have as much protection. Squirtle took heavy damage. "Perfect. Poké ball, go!" Kyle threw an empty poké ball into the air. It opened up, and a red beam of light engulfed Squirtle. Squirtle and the red beam of light disappeared into the poké ball. The ball beeped five times, and finally clicked. "All right, I finally caught Squirtle!" Kyle held the poké ball up to the sunlight. "My third pokémon." As Kyle and Sara healed their pokémon with super potion, Jimmy talked to his parents on his cellphone. "All right, ready to go?" Kyle said to Jimmy as he hung up. "Yeah." Jimmy said. "Hopefully those goons in front of the gatehouse at route 102 are gone." "Probably." Kyle said as he started towards Oldale. "Come on, Jimmy!" Sara called. "Coming." Jimmy hurried to catch up with Kyle and Sara. The three walked through the gatehouse and entered Oldale to find that the route 102 gatehouse was no longer blocked, but a police officer was standing nearby, along with several other officers who were handcuffing one of the goons who had been blocking the gatehouse before. "What's going on, officer Jenny?" Jimmy asked the blue-haired woman who was standing by the gatehouse. "This gatehouse was the victim of a scam by Team Rocket. They tried to charge people to get past the gate. Fortunately somebody tipped us off that this was going on."
"I should've known..." Kyle thought. "At least now we can get past. Come on guys."
Jimmy and Sara followed Kyle into the gatehouse and into route 102, which was a lovely beach with some tall grasslands. Several tourists were playing along the beach.
"I can see why Team Rocket had interest in this particular spot." Kyle mumbled.
"Oh, it's beautiful!" Sara said.
"Hey, what's that?" Jimmy looked up. A silhouette of a large bird pokémon was slowly getting bigger.
"FEEEEEAROW!" A loud screech went through the air. Moments later, the pokémon lifted Jimmy up off the ground.
"AAHH!! HELP ME!!" Jimmy screamed as he was carried off on Fearow.
"Jimmy!!" Sara cried.
"What's this?" Kyle picked up a leaflet off the ground. It read, "IF YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR FRIEND AGAIN, MEET US IN THE PETALBURG WOODS."
TO BE CONTINUED
"Come on, Torchic!" Kyle called out to the tiny bird pokémon. "Use ember again!"
Torchic took a long and fierce exhale, and small flames flew out, landing on Jimmy's Poochyena, Poochy. The small dog pokémon attempted to dodge the flames, but the embers spread quickly, and turned into a fire, so Poochy couldn't escape.
"Good job, Torchic!" Kyle called. "Now, a tackle!"
Being resistant to flames, Torchic easily crossed through the fire that Poochy was trapped in, and struck Poochy in the side.
"YEEEEEEE!!!" Poochy yelped as it tumbled into the fire.
"Hang in there, Poochy!" Jimmy called. "Take down attack!"
Poochy growled, stood up for a few seconds, and then fainted.
"No!!!" Jimmy cried. "Wow, you beat me again!"
"Hahah!" Kyle said triumphantly.
"Shit. I don't have any money. I'll pay you when we get back to my place. This is all I got." Jimmy showed Kyle seven coins, equaling up to seventeen pokédollars. "I'll pay you the rest later. Come on, let's go meet May at Graveler's Breakfast Kitchen. I'm starving for some bacon."
"Will do. Come on, I'll race you there." Kyle bolted out the doors of the breeding center, followed closely by Jimmy. Just across the street was Graveler's restaurant. Kyle quickly looked both ways before crossing, and, seeing that the road was clear, he sprinted across the street. Jimmy was huffing and puffing behind Kyle by the time Kyle made it to the restaurant.
"Haha. Pay up, Jim." Kyle said.
"What?!" Jimmy shrieked. "You never said anything about that!"
"Man, can't you take a joke?" Kyle laughed. "Come on, let's go inside."
Rocket Admin Richard Walters relaxed in his leather chair in his spacious office. Around him were several computer monitors, keeping track of security among other things; and several toys on his desk, like a Pikachu bobble head, an Aggron-shaped desk lamp, and a Poliwhirl alarm clock. "Ahh..." Walters said. "Finally I can get some relaxation..."
Just then, an image flashed up on one of the security screens on the wall. It was Rocket Captain Herbert Willis, leading the operation to take over Dewford Town. "Um, sir, we're ready to begin the invasion."
"Good, don't make too much of a scene, just lay low. Wait until I give you the order to seize the city."
"Yes sir." The screen went blank, and Walters looked out the window to see his armada of helicopters taking off from an enclosed hangar.
"Let the invasion begin." Walters said to himself as the last helicopter took to the skies.
"Torchic!!" The tiny orange bird pokémon chirped happily as it flapped its little wings to stay aloft.
"Ahh... good breakfast." Kyle said as they walked out of the restaurant. "We should be ready to head on to Petalburg now."
"Isn't that where Norman the gym leader lives?" Jimmy asked.
"Yeah. He's my dad." Kyle said.
"What? Kyle, you never told me that." May said with enthusiasm. "That's so cool, having a dad who's one of the league's top trainers. What's it like for you?"
"It's kind of irritating." Kyle sighed. "Ever since my dad earned eight badges from the Turquoise and Johto Leagues, once I tell people who I am, they always ask me questions like 'Could I get your dad's autograph' or stuff like that. I just want people to accept me for me, not my dad. That's why I'm starting my pokémon journey. So I can get all the badges so people will walk up to me asking for my autograph instead of my dad's."
"I see what you mean." Jimmy thought for a moment. "But I'd still like to have a dad who was really famous."
"Believe me, you don't." Kyle said. "If your dad ever becomes famous, you'll regret having said that. Anyways, we have to go off to Petalburg."
"Can I go with you?" Jimmy said. "My parents say that I'm ready to take the Pokémon League Challenge."
"Do you have a trainer card?" Kyle said, holding up his trainer I.D.
"You know what?" Jimmy said matter-of-factly as he flashed his card in the air.
"Great! That means you're ready. Have you told your parents?"
"I better go say good-by to them." Jimmy said.
"Great." Sara said as she, Kyle, and Jimmy walked to Jimmy's house. "That means you can come with us."
"Really? All right!" Jimmy jumped in the air. "You guys rock!"
"Now, let's go see your parents. Right here, right?" Kyle said as they finished crossing Spearow Street. Jimmy's parents, along with his grandfather, were in the living room of his home, watching a cop show on television. During the commercial break, Jimmy told them about his plan to take the Pokémon Challenge.
"Good luck, sonny." Jimmy's grandfather said as he gave him a hug.
"I'll miss you." Jimmy's mom gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Give us a call sometime. Don't forget to write us with Pidgey."
Jimmy's dad walked over to Jimmy. "I hope you accomplish your goals on this mission, son. That's what life is about. Follow your dreams." A tear came to his eye as they hugged. Kyle and Sara couldn't help but shed tears themselves. "Now, go."
"Bye, dad." Jimmy was sobbing. "I'll see you soon."
"Ready to go, Jim?" Kyle asked.
"Hold on. Let me get my stuff." Jimmy ran to his room, and returned moments later with his backpack. "All right, let's go." Jimmy and friends walked out of the building. "Come on!" Kyle said. "Let's go."
The three pals walked towards route 102, only to find that the gatehouse was blocked by a group of people dressed in black. (a/n: remember this isn't completely accurate to Ru/Sa) "Hey, it costs ten thousand pokédollars to pass. Cough up the dough."
"Hmm...maybe we should go to Route 103. Kyle said, looking at a directory near the gatehouse. The three walked through the town, carefully crossing streets, and came up to the gatehouse to Route 104, where several people were taking a break. The three walked out of the gatehouse to find that it didn't lead to Petalburg as they expected. It was a large open forest with several other trainers hanging around.
"You know, Sara, don't you think this would be a good time to battle?" Kyle turned to his friend. "That way we can test our skills."
"All right, but don't bet on your Torchic to win." Sara said. "Besides, I just caught a Zigzagoon so I can round out my team."
"It doesn't matter. I've got some good strategies." Kyle unclipped a poké ball from his belt. "Taillow, go!" He threw the ball into the air, and in a red flash of light, Taillow popped out. "Tail! Tail-low!"
"Mudkip, go!" Sara called as she threw her poké ball into the air.
"MUD! Mud-kip!" The blue frog pokémon said.
"Okay, Taillow, peck!" Kyle commanded. Taillow chirped as she flew into the air and did a dive back down, striking Mudkip in the chest and pecking at it with vigor.
"Mudkip, tail whip!" Sara yelled, and immediately, Mudkip jumped up and lashed Taillow with its tail. The tiny bird screeched as it flew through the air. "Don't give up, Taillow!" Kyle said. "Sand-attack!" Taillow regained control and landed, flapping her wings furiously to kick sand into the air. Mudkip was blinded by the attack, and couldn't see the gigantic tornado Taillow had created using gust. Mudkip was hurled into the air and receive a lot of damage. When the tornado subsided, Mudkip was unable to battle anymore. "Mudkip!" Sara called. "No! Mudkip, return." Sara called Mudkip back to its poké ball. "Zigzagoon, go!" Sara tossed another poké ball into the air. It opened, and a Zigzagoon came out. "What's that?" Kyle said, consulting his pokédex. "Zigzagoon, the tiny raccoon pokémon. Zigzagoon is a very timid pokémon that only fights when another pokémon has entered its territory." "Ha!" I can win against that!" Kyle said. "Taillow, wing attack!" Taillow flew like a missile into the air, and made a beeline for Zigzagoon. "Zigzagoon, headbutt!" Sara called, and Zigzagoon, jumped into the air and bashed Taillow with its head. Taillow went spinning, and landed in the grass, unable to battle." "Cheap shot." Kyle said. "Taillow, return!" Kyle called Taillow back to its poké ball, and sent out Torchic. "Torchic, GO!" Torchic, already out of its poké ball, hopped off Kyle's shoulder. "Tor! Tor!" Torchic chirped happily. "Torchic, ember!" Kyle commanded. "Zigzagoon, evade attack!" Zigzagoon, attempting to escape the rapid fire that Torchic's embers were causing, scampered up a tree, which was rapidly being consumed by the flames Torchic's ember had caused. "Zigzagoon, tackle!" Sara called up to the tree. "Zig! Zigzag!" Zigzagoon shook its head, consumed with fear. Kyle consulted his pokédex. "Zigzagoon is a timid pokémon with a fear of any type of fire." The pokédex said. "Ha!" Kyle said triumphantly. "Torchic, peck!" Torchic, immune to the flames, followed Zigzagoon up the tree and cornered him at the edge of a branch. Torchic began pecking at Zigzagoon. Zigzagoon screeched, and fell off the branch. This blow caused him to faint. The flames went out as the battle ended. "Victory is mine!" Kyle said jokingly. Jimmy clapped as he watched the victory. "Great battle!" Sara said as she gave Kyle two hundred pokédollars. "You too. You almost beat me!" Kyle said. "You know, there might be some rare pokémon around this place." Jimmy said, taking a good look around. Suddenly there was a rustling near the seashore, which the three had just noticed. "What was that?" Sara said in an alarmed voice. "Probably just a Pidgey or Sentret or something. There are plenty of them around here." "SQUIRTLE!" A tiny turtle pokémon popped out from a bush near the seashore. "What the—Kyle checked his pokédex." "Squirtle. The tiny turtle pokémon. Squirtle is a tough pokémon that usually lives near oceans." The tiny pokémon had a light-brown turtle shell on its back, and aqua blue skin. "Squirtle squirt!" It said. "All right!" Kyle said. "Torchic, go!" Torchic hopped down from Kyle's shoulder. "Torchic, tackle. Don't hit Squirtle too hard." Torchic obeyed and struck Squirtle in the head, where it didn't have as much protection. Squirtle took heavy damage. "Perfect. Poké ball, go!" Kyle threw an empty poké ball into the air. It opened up, and a red beam of light engulfed Squirtle. Squirtle and the red beam of light disappeared into the poké ball. The ball beeped five times, and finally clicked. "All right, I finally caught Squirtle!" Kyle held the poké ball up to the sunlight. "My third pokémon." As Kyle and Sara healed their pokémon with super potion, Jimmy talked to his parents on his cellphone. "All right, ready to go?" Kyle said to Jimmy as he hung up. "Yeah." Jimmy said. "Hopefully those goons in front of the gatehouse at route 102 are gone." "Probably." Kyle said as he started towards Oldale. "Come on, Jimmy!" Sara called. "Coming." Jimmy hurried to catch up with Kyle and Sara. The three walked through the gatehouse and entered Oldale to find that the route 102 gatehouse was no longer blocked, but a police officer was standing nearby, along with several other officers who were handcuffing one of the goons who had been blocking the gatehouse before. "What's going on, officer Jenny?" Jimmy asked the blue-haired woman who was standing by the gatehouse. "This gatehouse was the victim of a scam by Team Rocket. They tried to charge people to get past the gate. Fortunately somebody tipped us off that this was going on."
"I should've known..." Kyle thought. "At least now we can get past. Come on guys."
Jimmy and Sara followed Kyle into the gatehouse and into route 102, which was a lovely beach with some tall grasslands. Several tourists were playing along the beach.
"I can see why Team Rocket had interest in this particular spot." Kyle mumbled.
"Oh, it's beautiful!" Sara said.
"Hey, what's that?" Jimmy looked up. A silhouette of a large bird pokémon was slowly getting bigger.
"FEEEEEAROW!" A loud screech went through the air. Moments later, the pokémon lifted Jimmy up off the ground.
"AAHH!! HELP ME!!" Jimmy screamed as he was carried off on Fearow.
"Jimmy!!" Sara cried.
"What's this?" Kyle picked up a leaflet off the ground. It read, "IF YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR FRIEND AGAIN, MEET US IN THE PETALBURG WOODS."
TO BE CONTINUED