Chapter Sixteen: The Spinarak's Lair

Later…

"Hey, any of you good trainers?" Asked a blonde-haired boy who met up with the party on the path.

"And just what do you mean by that?" Julie questioned.

"I'm Keith! I'm a good trainer!" He spun a Pokéball on his finger like a basketball. "Who wants ta' party?"

"Show-off." Gloria thought. She then said, "Let's see if your might is as good as your mouth. I'll be happy to fight!"

"Oooh! Cutie wants ta' fight me!" He jeered. "Let's get it on! Better have Revive with you!" Keith said cockily. "Go get 'em, Rapidash!" He grabbed the Pokéball out of mid-air and let loose a horse with a flaming mane and tail.

"Ok. I'll choose… Pikachu!" Gloria yelled.

"Pika-pi!" Squeaked Pikachu.

"Ha! A Pikachu! No match for my Rapidash! Fire spin!" Rapidash spewed a column of flames. This move would've been devastating, had it actually hit!

"Hee, hee, hee! You forgot Pikachus are really fast, huh! Pikachu, Thunder!" Gloria commanded.

Pikachu began to glow as she absorbed electric energy. Dark thunderclouds grew in the sky, giving Pikachu's preparation an ominous look. Then, with a loud "CHUUUUUUUUUUU!!!" battle cry she released her energy. It struck Rapidash with amazing ferocity.

"Argh, you!" fumed Kieth. "Rapidash, Rest!" Keith yelled at the weakened fire-horse. It tossed its head, its flaming mane swirling, then it lay down and went to sleep.

"Good job. I enjoy a worthy opponent." Gloria commented. "Pikachu, show 'im what you've got! Zap Cannon!" Pikachu charged its energies, preparing for its ultimate attack. Then she released it in a spectacular display of raw power, seriously damaging and awakening the Rapidash.

"What the #$%& ?!?!?! Rapidash, don't sit there like a lump on a log! Do something! Anything!!!" Keith wailed, waving his arms as he hopped up and down.

Rapidash staggered to its feet, its rear legs slid down, and Rapidash steadied itself again. Then, eyes red with rage, Rapidash used its own powerful attack: Fire Kick. It hit, causing Pikachu to stumble.

"Hmmm…you taught it that attack already. Fascinating. I never saw a Rapidash that knew that at only level twenty-eight!" Gloria smiled. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!" Pikachu yelled as she let loose a barrage of electricity.

"YIPE!!! I give! Here, take this! Just spare me!!!" Keith yelled afterward, recalling Rapidash. He tossed an item ball by Gloria.

"Hey, you're not half-bad, kid! I suggest not yelling at your Pokémon so much. They will fight their hardest if you show them you care about them, no matter if they win or lose." Joshua added thoughtfully.

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Gloria said picking up the item ball. "Goodbye…Keith! And good luck!" she finished as she left. "Wonder what this is." she speculated as she looked at the item ball in her hand. "Its unusual for a trainer to give an item after battle…" She opened it and found a small bottle with a glittering liquid inside. "I don't believe it! A Full Revive!!!"

Mew watched the battle from high above. The Pokémon-girl showed much skill in training. It floated closer to see the match up-close. When it saw the Pikachu use Zap Cannon, it knew the girl was a great trainer indeed. "Maybe it is possible that this girl can challenge me…" It thought as it drifted even closer.

"Hey, Keith! Wait!!" Gloria called as she ran after the frustrated trainer.

"You again. What now?" He asked. It was obvious that he wasn't in a very good mood.

"Are you sure you meant to give me this?" Gloria replied showing him the ball.

He looked at it and then took the ball. "How embarrassing! I nearly gave away my only Full Revive! I actually meant to give you this." Keith handed Gloria another ball but not before taking a peek to check it. "I think it'll help." He walked off, a little red in the face. Gloria opened the ball and found a Nugget!

"Okay, I'm officially surprised now." She commented.

"My goodness! A Nugget! Those things are worth a lot of money!" Michael said.

"I saw him check the ball, so I'm sure he meant to give me this." Gloria said putting it in her pocket. "We'd better get moving."

As she continued down the path, she heard a meowing sort of noise that sounded something like "Mew?" She turned around but, seeing nothing, resumed her journey.

Mew soared high into the sky. Too close…it had gotten much too close. It was very lucky it hadn't been seen. It wasn't ready to reveal it's true intentions yet.

"What the &%$#$!?" Joshua had gotten his foot stuck in a hole. When he pulled it out the ground collapsed and he fell into a large, formerly hidden hole.

"You okay?!" Julie called as Michael, Gloria, and she ran to the edge of the hole.

"Ow. I'm ok, but you 'ought to see this!" Joshua replied.

Gloria turned into her Illicuno form and flew the others down. She reverted to her human form upon arrival at the bottom of the hole. "What's so-…Whoa!!" The hole apparently had several tunnels running through it. It was almost as if they had fallen into a room in an underground home.

"This can't possibly be the work of Digletts or Dugtrios, can it?" Julie queried as she looked about.

"No way." Michael replied. "Look. The walls are smooth…and there are wooden beams reinforcing these tunnels…"

"I don't think this is natural at all. We might as well explore; who knows what's in there?" Julie asked. She looked anxious to play spelunker.

"That's exactly why I'm a little nervous…" Gloria said, "This is just the kind of place you-know-who would set a trap…"

"Good point. We'll just be extra careful." Joshua replied. As the party entered one of the tunnels, even their Pokémon looked a little worried-Charmander in particular.

Somewhere else…

Daniel adjusted his false mustache. "Heh, heh, heh. You're pretty good with disguises. I hardly recognize myself!"

"Of course!" Janett replied proudly. "I didn't get into Team Rocket for just any benign little talent! Remember the lines?"

"Ummm…after you say 'We're looking for some people,' I say 'They're a bunch of kids, but they pose a threat to our purpose,' right?"

"Good…but do you remember what to do after that?" Janett replied skeptically.

"…Ummm…Er…Uh, what was I supposed to do…?" Daniel said worriedly.

"Grrrrr!!…Okay, okay, more practice!" she ordered.

At the tunnels…

"Geez. This place gives me a good case of the creeps." Julie said.

"I don't know why, but I have a feeling we're about to run into something rather…unexpected." Joshua said nervously.

"What makes you think-?" Gloria questioned but was interrupted by a sticky web falling on her face. "EEEEEEEE!!!! Get it off-GET IT OFF!!!!!" She wailed, fussily trying to brush it off only to have her arms stick to it.

"Ssssssssssk!" A Spinarak dropped off the ceiling.

"What is it?! I hear it but I can't see it-no thanks to this #$%& web!!" Gloria yelled, jumping up and down. She was obviously unhappy with, not only being unable to see, but also with being incapable of using her arms because they were stuck to the web as well.

"This is definitely that 'unexpected event', 'cause it's a Spinarak!!" Joshua said in surprise.

"WHAT?!?!?!" Gloria screamed. "I would be a lot less frightened if I could see the darn spider!!" She bent over in an attempt to gain balance as she tried in vain to tug her arms free.

"Ssssssssssk!!!!" Hissed the Spinarak again, this time rather angrily.

"We better get outta' here! That's a Spinarak's 'warning hiss'!!" Gloria yelled, sill trying to tug-of-war her arms off the web. "But which way…?!"

"Just run in the direction I pull you!" Julie offered, grabbing Gloria by her jacket and racing toward the entrance. Gloria, startled, fell and ended up being pulled on her rear, yelling and screaming all the while.

Meanwhile…

"Okay, you got it straight now?" Janett scolded.

"Ummmm…I think so…" Daniel replied even though he wasn't sure he'd remember them when it came time to use them.

"Good. Now let's move on. We got to try to find that girl that was demanding money. She seems to be the leader of that kindergarten-class."

Back at the tunnels…

"WAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Gloria wailed. Julie was still dragging her.

"Sorry, Gloria! Can't stop-it's right on our tail!!" Julie apologized as she ran faster still.

Gloria winced. "Can't you find a better analogy?!?"

"Oops! Sorry again!!" Julie replied.

Suddenly Michael stopped. "Hold it!!" There was a wall of solid earth in front of him.

"Uh-oh. Dead end…" Joshua gulped, stopping. Julie halted only a mere few feet from the furious Spinarak.

"Guh. More bad analogies…" Growled Gloria.

"Vee, vee! Eevee!" Eevee hopped forward between Gloria and the Spinarak!

"…Hey, idea!" Michael said. "Eevee, Sand Attack!!! C'mon, everyone!! ATTACK!!!"

"Bulbasaur, try Razor Leaf!! Chikorita, go for Vine Whip!! Pikachu, Raichu, use Thunderbolt!!" Gloria commanded, even though she was still blinded by the web.

"Okay, Charmander! Strut your stuff! Use Flamethrower!!" Julie called.

"Alright, Lady Squirt! Use Surf!! Feather-Face, use…Leek Slap!!" Joshua ordered.

The combined efforts of the attacks (which, by the way, happened one-by-one) ended up knocking the Spinarak cold.

"C'mon, let's go, go, GO!!!" Gloria warned scrambling to her feet, strangely enough-for she couldn't use her hands. "I think I can see a little now; the net kinda' loosened up a bit." However, her arms were still stuck.

"Relax, Gloria." Joshua replied. "We did it."

"Relax?!?! How does one relax with their arms stuck to a net and unable to see 'cause of it?!?!" She complained, emphasizing her irked attitude by swinging her head back and forth as if she was trying to shake the web off of her.

"Pika?!" Pikachu squeaked. "Chu!!!" It jumped up and bit the net, only to get stuck to it too!

"Huh? The net feels heavier all of a sudden…" Gloria commented, stopping her shaking.

"That's 'cause Pikachu just bit it!!" Michael laughed followed by Julie and Joshua.

"Ummm…I know you're trying to help and all, but can you let go, Pikachu? You're kind of heavy…"

"Eekaku…ku." It said, unable to talk properly because its mouth was stuck shut. Everyone ended up bursting in laughter over the Pikachu's silly speech.

"Bulbasaur...bulba." Bulbasaur translated.

"Oh, hee, hee. Pikachu says she can't let go and that she feels pretty silly for what she did." Gloria laughed again. "But who can blame her? She didn't know she'd get stuck, not to mention she was only trying to help out."

"That reminds me…" Julie said. "Why does Bulbasaur 'translate' things for you if you understand Pokémon language?"

"It's just that I've been around Bulbasaur for so long, he's just easier to understand and it's the other way around for him right, Bulby Boy?" Gloria replied grinning, even though she couldn't see Bulbasaur.

"Bulb." he replied proudly.