Chapter Three: Double Trouble

"Well, this was odd, indeed." Said Gloria, who still was trying to unbury herself. (She was still in the mountain of Pokéballs.) "C'mon. Help me out of here."

Soon in a matter of minutes, she was out. "Whew. Feels good to be out of there."

"Hey, isn't that the Pikachu you caught earlier?" asked Julie.

"Oh no! Get over here!" Gloria recalled her Persian, Bulbasquirt and Charchu. She ran after the Pikachu. It was walking down the hall as if it were hypnotized.

"What is it doing?" asked Joshua.

"That's a good question." Said Nurse Joy. "How it got out of its Pokéball in the first place still puzzles me…"

"Hey! Huff come puff back here!" panted Gloria, chasing her runaway Pikachu. The Pikachu stopped at the end of the hallway and turned around.

"What's wrong with you, little guy?" Gloria picked up the surprised Pokémon.

"PIKAPIIIII!!!"

"Hey, chill out. It's okay." Gloria petted its head. "Calm down."

She knew she shouldn't be speaking Pokémon in public, but she couldn't care less at the time. Being half-Pokémon herself gave hea an empathy toward them.

"Pikachu. Pi?" it said smiling.

"Ha, ha, ha. Don't like being in a Pokéball, do ya?" Gloria continued down the hall, gently calming Pikachu with her calm voice.

"Pika!" said the delighted mouse.

"Okay guys!" Gloria said holding her Pikachu in her arms. "I've got it."

"What's wrong with it?" asked Joshua.

"I don't think it likes being in a Pokéball." Said Gloria.

"Pi, pikachu!" the Pikachu leapt out of Gloria's arms.

"Man, I'm tired. I'm gonna' hit the sack early tonight." Julie yawned.

"Good idea." Gloria replied following Julie to the girl's dormitory.

As the girls went to bed, Julie said to Gloria "You never did tell me how you and Joshua met…"

"Later, Julie, later." Was Gloria's reply.

Gloria couldn't sleep for the life of her. She was silently debating whether or not to finally reveal the ultimate danger she posed just by being nearby. With a sigh of indecision, she rose from the bed and gazed solemnly out the window, letting the cool breeze kiss her face. She knew if she told, she'd be in danger, but if she didn't, they were in danger.

As if anything nowadays was easy…

The next morning…

"Where are you Joshua?" asked an annoyed Julie.

"Okay, okay! I'm here, I'm here!" yelled back Joshua, still half-asleep.

"Good. Let's get on with it." Gloria sighed. She then fell over when the door opened. (Because she had been leaning on it of course!)

"Ouch!" she said shaking her head. She got up, turned around and saw a boy standing in the door!

His short, dark brown hair was very well combed to one side of his head. He wore a dark blue cap. His deep brown eyes were serious looking. He wore a blue T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. Also he wore a pair of old sneakers with white socks. He wore a backpack on his back as well as a black leather jacket. On his shoulder a Charmander was perched.

"Gloria?" he asked.

"Chris!?" Gloria asked at the same time. "What are you doing here!?"

"That's my question!!!" he replied straightening his cap.

"Did we miss something?" asked Joshua.

"He's my brother/rival Christopher." Gloria said. "He's always-Mrrrrrrrrrrrf!"

Chris clapped his hand on his sister's mouth. "Don't even try saying it!"

"What, that your always a grou-? Ummph!"

"Scared to challenge you!? Not now. Gotta' heal my Pokémon ya' know!" Chris pushed Gloria aside.

"What a grouch." Julie grumbled.

"He's always like that." Gloria said with a snort of disgust. "Let's go while there's some daylight left."

The trio made their way out of the Pokécenter ready to go to the local Gym; they never saw the mysterious Pokémon following them…

Just in front of the Gym…

"What's going on here!?" asked Joshua. An enormous crowd of trainers stood around the entrance to the Gym, each one demanding a match.

"I'm sorry!" a voice from inside yelled. "Brock cannot fight if his Pokémon are stolen!"

"Team Rocket!" Julie growled. "They've done it again!"

"What kind of evil scheme have they concocted now?" Gloria asked.

Meanwhile…

"Oh man, this is too easy!" said Daniel, a sack full of Pokéballs over his shoulder. "Lure those brats into our trap, then steal their Pokémon, this is too good!"

"But we still need the 'bait'." Janett countered. "Something to get them in. Hence, my plan…"

Back at the Gym…

"Now what?" asked Joshua. "We, can't fight, we can't go all the way back to Viridian City, what do we do now?"

"Well," Gloria suggested, "let's go to the Forest. There's bound to be some new Pokémon there."

The trio walked back into the forest, not noticing the two Team Rocket members slapping each other high-fives in the shadows…

Back in the Viridian Forest…

"Oh my… Gee this thing is huge!" Gloria said staring at the enormous canyon below her. (The trio had taken a different route.) In the canyon a raging river flowed, which, according to rumor, was full of Seaking who loved to attack anyone/anything that entered its waters. Hence the name, Seaking River.

"You're telling me!" said Julie "That bridge there looks weak too…"

They knew however, that the bridge was the only way across the canyon.

"Let's go…" said a nervous Joshua as he started his way across the bridge…