Chapter Fifteen: Chris's Challenge

"Oh! Geez, don't scare me like that!!" Gloria scolded after Chris yelled "Boo!"

" Bwa ha, ha, ha! So sorry! Giggle! " Chris snickered, laughing at his own joke. "I see you've beaten Brock. You didn't use Rare Candy did you?"

Gloria shook her head, her ponytail swishing. "What made you think that?"

Chris rolled his eyes. "You won with Bulbasaur alone!!! How else could you've done that without cheating?!?!"

"Easy," Gloria grinned. "I train a whole lot! Don't you?"

"Grrr…" Chris growled. "I don't wanna' talk anymore!! I wanna' fight! One-on-one!!!"

"Whoa! Calm down! Let's go outside. Then we'll fight." Gloria said quickly.

At the pond…

"You FOOL!!!" Janett yelled loudly, "You didn't fire the Electro-Net!"

"But, Janett! I did fire!" Daniel yelled holding out the gun to give it to Janett. "I think it's broken…"

Janett grabbed the gun and pulled the trigger only to have the gun fire back in her face. "Argh, you dork! You put the net in backwards!!!"

Outside the Pokécenter…

"Which Pokémon will you use, Chris?" Gloria asked, holding Bulbasaur in her arms.

"Psh! What else? Charmander!" Chris sneered as Charmander hopped off his shoulder.

"Well, I'll use Bulbasaur!"

"Bad idea. Bulbasaur's a Grass-Type! Charmander's gonna' roast him!!" Chris warned giggling as he did.

"Not if I can help it!"

"If you insist." Chris said darkly. "Let's party! Charmander, use Flamethrower!" Charmander blew out a stream of fire, which ended up missing Bulbasaur!

Gloria snickered. "Gee whiz! That was weak. Bulbasaur, use Solarbeam!!" The flower popped out, absorbing energy.

"Oh-oh. Quick, use Fire Blast!!!" Chris commanded. Charmander then spat out a huge pillar of flame. It hit, causing Bulbasaur to stagger back Then Bulbasaur released his stored energy, the flower vanishing into his bulb. Charmander was really weak now.

"Heh, heh, heh. It ain't over yet! Charmander, Disable!"

Gloria got a sudden idea. "Quick, counter with Disable!!" Gloria said quickly. Just as Charmander fired a bright blue beam at Bulbasaur, he fired one of his own. The two beams collided with each other, casting a blue light all around.

"Increase power, Charmander! Don't let me down!!" Chris roared, obviously furious.

"Char?" said Charmander. Its beam turned a darker shade of blue. Bulbasaur retaliated by strengthening his beam too.

"C'mon you lazy lizard! Full power!! I want that Bulbasaur down! Unconscious! Out cold! Comatose! Spent! Down for the count! Make him faint NOW!!!" Chris bellowed.

"Charrrrr…" Charmander mumbled. It was starting to get dizzy. It made the mistake of looking directly into Bulbasaur's eyes. It saw its reflection and its own beam bounced back empowered by Bulbasaur's own. Charmander fainted at that with a "CHARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!" of pain.

"Grrr…%#$% !!! Why me??? WHY?!?!?!" Chris yelled, grabbing Charmander and running back in the Pokécenter.

"Bravo!" Someone said behind Gloria. She turned around and she saw Julie, Michael, and Joshua standing a ways back.

"Great job, Gloria!" Julie said, clapping her hands. "You're a very good trainer!"

"Actually, Chris is not very good. He raises Charmander with Rare Candy a lot. A Pokémon raised with a lot of Rare Candies rarely believes in itself."

"I can believe it." Julie replied.

Later, at the roadhouse between Pewter City and Route 3…

"What!? Bandits?!?" Joshua asked.

"Ghgh! You think I'd lie to you on a matter like this?!?!" the guard snapped back. "Mark my words, they're everywhere! Stranger yet, they're naught but a bunch of little kids!"

"Hmmm… We'll just be careful then, right?" Julie said.

"Right. Keep your money hidden and your hands on your valuables." Gloria suggested. "Michael! Take your hands out of your pants!!"

"I'm just following orders…" Michael replied with a shrug. Gloria half-suppressed a grin, Joshua made a kind of snort and burst out laughing, and Julie stood confused.

"What? I don't get it…" Julie muttered. Joshua whispered something in Julie's ear and she giggled a bit. "Oh, you animal! Gross joke, but hilarious! Have you considered being a stand-up comedian?"

Michael grinned broadly. "Nothing big, although I was a class-clown in school." He shrugged innocently. "Comes with the territory.

"Kids…" the guard mumbled as he watched the party go out the door. "I'll never understand 'em…"

"Well, we'd best keep our eyes peeled." Michael said. "We never know when they'll-"

"CHARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGE!!!!!" Someone yelled. A bunch of little kids raced out of the tall grass, all between the ages of seven and eleven. Every one of them, save one who lead the others, carried water-balloon slingshots and wore a belt with lots of pre-filled balloons on them.

"Hey, you!" The slingshot-less kid said, "Yeah, you!! This is our territory! Pay up, or feel the wrath of the Dragon Clan!" The other kids pulled their slingshots back as she held out her hand as if expecting a payment.

"What?!" Joshua said surprised, "Since when did you all of a sudden gain power over this area?!? Stand back!"

"Hear that?!" The girl yelled at the others, "They refuse to pay the fee!! FIRE AT WILL!!!!" A barrage of water-balloons flew through the air, some missing their targets, most hitting the team!

"Hey! What's the big idea??"

"Stop that! Ouch, ouch!"

"You ruined my hairdo!"

"Ow, that stings!!!"

"Ready to pay up?" the girl asked.

"I demand to know the reason for this!!!" Gloria declared, shaking her head, making water fly in all directions.

"Reason? Oh boy, we've got a dull one on our hands." The girl turned to her "gang". "Retreat for now! Restock and prepare for Plan A!" a smoke bomb went off from somewhere, and when it cleared they were gone.

"Dragon Clan?!" Julie blared. "Can this be the same 'Dragon Clan' that kidnapped my brother so long ago?!?!"

"I dunno, but we'd best move it along." Gloria said turning into her Illicuno form. "Hop on, everyone! I'll Fly you to Cerulean City!"

A short while later…

"Awk!!! What the-?!" Gloria chirped. A rock flew out and struck her in the right wing. A Fearow rose from below and on it was that bratty girl!

"Heh. Nice try, but not good enough to stop Lucy of the Dragon Clan!!" She yelled as she tossed a net on Gloria. "Your stubbornness will cost you your freedom!"

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWK!!!!!!" Gloria screeched as she vainly tried to squirm free, but the net closed tighter, nearly pinning her wings to her body.

"Hee, hee, hee! Looks like I'll have to 'loosen up'! Ha!" Lucy snickered as she loosened the net.

"Awk?! Chirp, chirp, chirp!!! " Gloria squawked. She didn't dare talk right now.

"What're you trying to do to us?!?!" Julie screamed, pinned down by the net.

"Oh, give it up already! Don't you see that I control your very fate at this moment?"

"Wanna' bet?" Gloria thought, seething with anger. It made her furious to be held by a seven-year old, but she had an idea. It was a little dangerous, but what other way was there, to get caught by a gang of toddlers?! She all of a sudden took off at high speed, zipping right past Lucy.

"Hang on, everyone! I'm gonna' go real fast!" she warned. True to her words, she flew full-speed, the wind causing the net to fly right off her as she did. Within a matter of mere seconds, they had left Lucy far behind.

In the tall grass below…

"That was nuts!" Daniel yelled peering into his binoculars.

"Hmmm… Perhaps we could use those pipsqueaks to our advantage." Janett said. "Get into the disguise, 'cause we're gonna' do some major 'work'!"

Further down Route 3…

"Oi! Gee, that was odd." Julie commented.

"Sigh. No kidding. Look at me! My feathers are all ruffled…" Gloria complained as she tried to straighten out her feathers with her beak.

High above, Mew watched silently. It was clearly impressed at the bird-person's power and intelligence. It knew this bird-lady already showed the power of a Pokémon twice the bird's own. "Maybe," Mew thought as it flew closer, "someday this bird could be strong enough to challenge me." Only time and fate could tell when, where, and if it would ever happen…