Thank you, Im a Brandybuck and mronimusha, for reviewing! Sorry this has taken so long, I thought I'd uploaded it. Oops. Anyway, here it is.

Chapter 2

"So what have you called yours?" asked Sjuutje. The two girls were now trekking out of the village onto the road towards all of the larger towns. Rani had insisted on not keeping her Squirtle in the ball, in order for them to 'bond', as she put it, so it was sitting on top of her backpack.

"Affy," answered Rani happily.

"Huh? Why?"

"Cos the name's cute, and so is she," said Rani. Suddenly they heard a large cheer from behind them. She turned back to see nearly the whole town assembled and watching them go.

"WE'RE NOT OUT OF EARSHOT YET!!!" she shouted. The townspeople shrugged.

"We weren't that bad, were we?" asked Sjuutje, looking back and seeing the townspeople waving a massive sign saying 'GOOD LUCK! But don't come back for a while!'

"I think you know the answer to that," said Rani, "What's your Vulpix called?"

"Ember."

"Oooh, neat."

"So where do you want to go first?"

"Ummm. Um. Don't mind. What about you?"

"I guess Pewter City's a good place to start. But I wouldn't mind checking out Viridian City. You know, that's got an actual Poké Mart?"

Suddenly in the grass up ahead they heard a rustling. Both Rani and Sjuutje froze. Out of the grass came-

"A Pidgey!" squealed Sjuutje excitedly.

"I can hear a voice somewhere..." said Rani confusedly, looking around.

"I think it's your Pokédex, Rani." Rani still looked confused. "In your backpack?"

"Oh!" Rani put her backpack on the ground and fished it out. "I'd forgotten about that!"

'...flaps its wings extra hard to kick up sand...' the Pokédex was saying.

"Uh, can you repeat that?"

'Pidgey,' repeated the Pokédex. Rani thought she could detect a note of annoyance this time. 'Flying Pokémon. Very common in forests and woods. It is also the gentlest and easiest bird to capture.'

Sjuutje was hardly listening. "Ember! Go!" she said excitedly, throwing her Poké ball forward. Ember burst out of it in a flash of light and turned to look at Sjuutje. "Uh... um..."

"Ember?" suggested Rani.

"Good idea! Ember, ember!" said Sjuutje. Ember looked slightly confused, but sent little sparks of fire towards the Pidgey, which screeched in annoyance and flew into the air to avoid it. "Dang! Uhh... I know! Look cute!"

"Look cute? Is that an official attack?" said Rani, raising an eyebrow.

"Sh!" Ember however was obeying, and sitting still looking innocent. The Pidgey watched it with narrowed eyes, but Ember didn't move. Eventually, the Pidgey fluttered back down to the ground again. Sjuutje waited until it took its eyes off her Vulpix. "Now! Quick Attack!"

Before the Pidgey could move, Ember hurled forwards and sent the Pidgey flying. It landed on the ground a couple of metres away with a small THUD.

"Wheeee! Throw the Poké ball throw the Poké ball!" said Rani excitedly. Sjuutje hardly needed much encouraging; she grabbed a Poké ball from her waist and threw it at the Pidgey.

Suddenly another Poké ball came flying out of nowhere, knocking Sjuutje's Poké ball out of the way. "What the- hey!" said Sjuutje angrily as the Pidgey vanished into the other Poké ball with a flash of light. Rani and Sjuutje turned to see a girl and a boy their age emerging from the bushes at the other side of the road. The Poké ball closed and flew back to the girl's hand.

Rani noticed something. Emblazoned on the girl's and boy's shirts were large red 'R's. "Eep," she squeaked and hastily returned her Squirtle to its Poké ball, and shoved it into her backpack.

"That was MY Pidgey!" said Sjuutje angrily, stepping forward, "You can't do that!"

"Who's going to stop her? You?" said the boy, also stepping forward.

"Sjuuuutje, they're-" said Rani nervously, tugging on her arm.

"Not just me! Rani too!" Sjuutje turned to Rani. "Right, Rani?"

"What? Oh, of course, but-"

"RAARGH!" shouted Sjuutje, leaping at the girl who had taken her Pidgey. The girl, taken by surprise, was knocked to the ground.

"Nicole! Scratch!" said the boy. Nicole complied, trying to scratch Sjuutje's arms.

"Sjuutje! Double kick!" said Rani. Sjuutje started kicking the girl. Rani blinked. "Am I alone in noticing the irony of this situation?" she asked.

"No, I'd noticed it," said the boy.

"Give – me – back – my – Pidgey!!" said Sjuutje angrily, "You're not allowed to take it!"

"Duh! Do I care?"

"You should!"

"Sjuutje, they're TEAM ROCKET!" shouted Rani in exasperation. Sjuutje stopped fighting Nicole immediately and backed off.

"You're Team Rocket?" she said in amazement.

"Was that not clear?" said the boy.

"I TOLD you that we should always do the chant, Az..." said Nicole, hitting his arm.

"But it's siiillyyy," moaned Az.

"I don't care! It's what we DO!"

"Fine..." sighed Az. Both him and Nicole took dramatic poses.

"Prepaaare for trouble!" shouted Nicole.

"And make it double," said Az, slightly less enthusiastically.

"To protect the world from devas-"

"Give back my Pidgey!" demanded Sjuutje.

"Don't interrupt me!" snapped Nicole, "Now, where was I? Oh yes – To protect the world from devastation!!" she finished theatrically. Az didn't say anything. Nicole hit him.

"Oh. Right. To unite all people within our nation," muttered Az in a monotone.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!!!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"NICOLE!"

"Az."

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to battle."

"Fight, you idiot!"

"Sorry."

"You don't seem too good at this..." said Sjuutje, looking at each of them.

Rani gasped. "You're rookies, aren't you? You're new! Just like us!"

"No – well – if we are, it is none of your concern!" said Nicole angrily, "Now, give us your Pokemon!"

"No! You give ME back my Pidgey!" demanded Sjuutje.

"Please?" added Rani hopefully.

"No! So nya!" said Nicole.

"Fine! We battle then!" said Sjuutje angrily, grabbing her Vulpix's Poké ball from her belt.

"Or not," said Az, "You see, we're kind of unfair like that."

"Are you kidding? We have to battle them!" said Nicole, looking shocked.

"Why? We've already got the Pidgey. And isn't that how those agents Jessie and James kept getting defeated?" whispered Az, "They were always challenging that little boy to battles-"

"Come ON!" said Nicole, grabbing a Poké ball from her own belt. She threw it between them, shouting, "Umbreon! I choose you!"

"Ember, go!" shouted Sjuutje, throwing her own Poké ball forward. Vulpix appeared with a flash of light.

"Haunter, I choose you!" said Az, throwing his Poké ball forward.

"One moment..." said Rani hurriedly, scrabbling around inside her backpack, "Ah-HA!" she said brightly, holding Squirtle's Poké ball aloft triumphantly, "Found it! Affy, go!"

Squirtle appeared next to Ember, trying to look as threatening as a little blue turtle can. Which, to Rani's surprise, was pretty threatening.

Sjuutje opened her mouth to shout a command to Ember, but then stopped and squinted at Nicole. "Hey! Do I know you?"

"Um... no," said Nicole, looking slightly nervous, "No, you don't."

"Yes I do – Elise! Elise, is that you?"

"No, it's not!" hissed Nicole, "I'm Nicole, did you not hear the chant??"

"Hey, Elise! How have you been? I haven't seen you since my 7th birthday, when you ate all the cake and were sick, remember?"

Nicole reddened deeply. "Take your damn Pidgey!" she said finally, throwing the Poké ball at her and running off into the bushes. Az watched her, turned to Rani and Sjuutje, shrugged, and ran after her, Haunter returning to his Poké ball as he went.

"That was an anticlimax," said Rani, picking Squirtle up off the ground.

"I'll say," said Sjuutje, "Idiots! Stealing Pokémon! How mean can you get? She used to be nice as well..."

"The guy was pretty hot, though," said Rani thoughtfully. Sjuutje blinked and stared at her in disbelief. It took Rani a couple of seconds to notice. "Oh... did I say that out loud?"

"You really must stop doing that, Rani."

Rani and Sjuutje set off down the road again, Squirtle sitting happily on Rani's pack, Vulpix trotting along by Sjuutje's side, striding into the animé sunset. And then the annoying narrator's voice started.

SO SJUUTJE CAUGHT HER SECOND POKEMON, AND THEY BOTH FACED TEAM ROCKET FOR THE FIRST TIME, AND CAME AWAY VICTORIOUS, HAVING EMBARRASSED ONE OF THEM INTO SUBMISSION! AND THEY CONTINUE ON THEIR JOURNEY TO VIRIDIAN CITY, WHERE THERE WILL SURELY BE SOME OTHER PLOT DEVELOPMENT! TILL THEN, GO BUY LOTS OF POKEMON CARDS!

"Is that voice going to follow us the whole way?" moaned Sjuutje.