Chapter 7: Save The Slowpoke!
"There it is!" Perrine pointed to some log cabins further down the path. The two girls could make out the distinct red roof of a Pokemon Center. They ran past an old well, and they weren't sure how long they had been running, but after getting through the cave, they had finally reached Azalea Town.
"Finally!" Julia fell to her knees, putting all her pokemon back in their PokeBalls.
Azalea Town was bigger than Violet City, but it had a more outdoorsy feel and look to it. Many of the houses resembled cabins, made out of logs, wood, stone, other things one would find in a forest. Other houses looked like regular houses, some made of brick, some more modern in design with painted walls of varying colors. Some houses had huge piles of wood, logs, or charcoal sitting next to them. Black clouds of smoke billowed out from some chimneys nearby.
"So...do you wanna go in the Pokemon Center?" Julia asked.
"Sure," Perrine replied with a smile. Julia averted her eyes, but she couldn't help but find that Perrine had a great smile, showing her pearly white teeth and everything. "My pokemon definitely need some TLC."
They went in the Pokemon Center together and handed their pokemon to Nurse Joy, who took them in the back room without another word. Perrine and Julia sat at some comfy leather couches nearby, stretching their limbs or just kicking back. Perrine pulled off her shoes, stretching her feet out, even though they were covered by white stockings. Julia could see some faded brown marks at the tip of the stockings where her toes were, probably dirt from being used so much.
"So you said you were from New Bark Town, right?" Perrine asked as she put one of her shoes back on. "It's really nice. Much smaller than Goldenrod."
"It is," Julia replied.
"Have you ever been to Goldenrod City?"
"Only a few times. It's pretty nice, and big, too."
"You should totally come by sometime," Perrine pulled a comb out of her purple backpack and brushed it through her wavy orange hair. "There's a huge department store where you can get just about anything. PokeBalls, dolls, figurines, books, clothes, pokemon food, all that good stuff," Julia smiled. She liked big stores where she could find anything she wanted. She made a mental note to check it out if she ever went to Goldenrod City. "I've seen the gym leader Whitney in there a few times, too. She really likes dolls. I hear her house is just full of pokemon plushies. Oh!" She put her brush away. "Guess what? The Goldenrod Radio Tower is right across from my house!"
"Radio...Tower?" Julia tilted her head to one side. The radio tower was strong in her memory. A large, tall, black tower that stood tall amidst the sea of buildings, reaching toward the sky with that long antenna.
"Yeah!" Perrine pulled out her PokeGear. "Our PokeGears have radio cards in them that allow them to pick up on towers and play whatever's being broadcasted. Music channels, talk shows, radio dramas, weather forecasts, all that stuff!"
"Wow. That sounds pretty cool."
"Do you listen to your radio?"
"No," Julia held her hands up, her palms facing Perrine. "I mostly use my PokeGear for calling my parents. But sometimes whenever my parents and I go on long drives, we turn on the classical music channel. It's very soothing, especially after a bad day," Julia scratched her hair with one hand.
"I love listening to the radio dramas they broadcast on the Variety Channel," Perrine clasped her hands together, staring up at the ceiling, her blue eyes glimmering. "My all-time favorite is The Bond Between Shooting Stars! It's based on a novel that came out two years ago, and it's about this group of best friends who are all autistic but love stars, cartoons, books, and lots of other things, and they have to deal with personal problems in their lives such as fitting in, betrayal, family problems, all that stuff!"
Autistic friends. Dealing with problems. A book. Her original disinterest suddenly morphed into full blown blazing curiosity. Already, her mind was racing with questions. Where was this book? Where could she get it? At the PokeMart, maybe? Or at a local book store? There just had to be a copy somewhere she could read. Before she could stop herself, she suddenly blurted out, "I'm autistic, too!"
Perrine stopped talking for a moment, letting the new information sink in. As soon as she realized she said it, Julia's face turned red with embarrassment, and she hid her face in her hands. 'Oh no! I just told someone I don't even know that I'm...what if she hates me or thinks I'm retarded?!' Julia thought. All sorts of scenarios were running through her mind, all of them horrible. For all she knew, Perrine might get mad, leave, and say she doesn't want to hang out with someone like her. Maybe she might bully her or trick her into doing something that'll get her in trouble. What if-
"That's fine."
What? Julia found herself pulling her hands back to her sides. She could have sworn her ears were playing tricks on her. Perrine did not just say that was fine. "You're...not mad?"
"No," Perrine tilted her head to one side, raising an eyebrow. "Why would I be mad?"
"People often tell my parents I'm a bad kid because of it. Or say that I only do stuff like scream a lot or say it's just an excuse to do bad stuff-"
"That's stupid," Perrine smoothed out one of her shirt sleeves. "I may have only known you for a day, but I think you're pretty cool. You did help me and my pokemon back in the cave, after all."
Never before had she heard anything so angelic, so heavenly, so...wonderful. Julia told Perrine she was autistic, and Perrine was okay with it. She didn't get mad, yell, cast her away, abandon her, make up untrue lies about her, tell her she was lying, or anything like that. She just said it was fine and moved on. Her eyesight blurred for a moment, and she could feel something warm trickling down her cheeks.
"Whoa! Are you okay?" Perrine was the first to see the tears. "Did I say something bad? I'm sorry!"
"No! No no no!" Julia was quick to wipe the tears away. "It's just...I haven't had many friends my age...kids used to pick on me...and call me names like weirdo or stupid...teachers were no better."
All Perrine did was cross her arms. "You're not stupid or a weirdo. Everyone has baggage. Even I do," She said cooly, her initial shock vanishing. "Hey. Want to have a practice battle after this? We can do some training before we battle the Azalea gym. How's that?"
Julia nodded. "I'd love to."
Once their pokemon were healed, the two girls marched off to a nearby field and had their pokemon engage in practice battles. Julia mostly used Aqua and Neji since she felt they were in need of some battling experience. Perrine used Baloo and Florian. The two girls weren't sure how long they had been practicing, but by the time they finished, the sky had morphed into a beautiful mixture of orange, blue, and pink hues.
"Neji! Use Fury Swipes!"
"Florian! Block it with Reflect!"
"Chikori!" Florian generated a glass wall in front of him. Neji's long claws collided with the glass wall. Once they made contact, the racoon-like pokemon's claws bounced off, and he used his tail to land on the ground without getting hurt. Neji used one of his big arms to wipe some sweat off of his forehead.
"I think that's enough for today," Julia advised, walking over to Neji. "You okay, Neji?"
Neji flashed a thumb's up. "Sentret!"
Perrine put Florian back in his PokeBall. Her stomach growled with a mighty roar, begging for food. "Sounds like you're pretty hungry," Julia said.
"Want to go grab some dinner?"
"Sure."
Much to Julia's surprise, she was enjoying herself. Perrine turned out to be a fun, talkative, friendly person. As soon as they sat down for dinner, the two of them found themselves talking about many things, such as pokemon, their interests, etc. Julia started by telling Perrine about how she met Hikaru. Perrine kept eating her chicken dumplings, listening to Julia's tale intently.
"Wow. So that's what happened," Perrine said before swallowing a chicken dumpling. She gave a piece to Kitsune so she could have something to eat herself. "You must have been really scared."
"I sure was!" Julia scrunched up her arms, shivering at the memory of those killer beedrill. "Especially since I'm scared of poison type pokemon!" She thanked her lucky stars that her mother had come in the nick of time, otherwise she and Hikaru would have died from being stung by their drills.
"It's funny you say Hikaru's your starter pokemon," Perrine stroke Kitsune's tuft of hair with one hand. The vulpix smiled, basking in her trainer's affection. "Even though Florian's considered my starter pokemon, Kitsune here is the first pokemon I became friends with."
"Really? How did you two meet?"
Perrine's eyes narrowed, staring down at Kitsune. "I...I had an argument with my dad and I ran away. Farther than I wanted to," An image of herself curled in a ball crying flashed through her mind. She looked as though she were hiding among wooden boxes. "I was upset but...then she just sorta came up to me and snuggled with me."
"Vuuul!" Kitsune barked, empathizing Perrine's statement.
"We became inseparable after that. But I had to keep her a secret from Mom and Dad."
"Your parents don't like pokemon?" Julia asked before taking a bite of spaghetti. Hikaru helped herself to some breadsticks, taking care to rip them into bite sized pieces so she doesn't choke.
The orange haired girl ate a gob of brown rice before continuing. "My dad doesn't want me becoming a Pokemon trainer," She told her with a grunt. "He wants me to be a 'proper lady,' as he says. Piano lessons, dance lessons, flower arranging, sewing, putting on makeup, those boring tea ceremonies…" She took a sip of some water. "I'm just not good at any of that!"
In a way, Julia could tell she seemed like the freedom loving type. She had never seen a proper lady wear a vest over a white blouse or a long brown skirt that exposed her ankles. She wasn't wearing high heels, nor did she have her nails done either. Julia could relate. She was sure she herself wouldn't be good at any of those things either. There was one time when she caked on her mother's lipstick and eyeshadow while she was at work one day, but immediately after she put it on, she tried to wipe it off. The lipstick felt like bitter bubblegum sticking to her lips, making them feel sticky, like she could barely open her mouth. The heavy eyeshadow was exactly that: heavy. Her eyes felt as though they were going to be permanently closed, and seeing herself in the mirror, for a moment she had thought she had become an ugly horror movie monster.
Perrine balled one of her hands into a fist. "Becoming a pokemon trainer has been my dream! But I plan on going farther! I'm gonna win all the badges, get into the Pokemon League, and become the new champion of Johto!"
"Champion…?" Julia took one of the bread stick pieces and threw it in her mouth.
"Of course!" Perrine exclaimed. Kitsune used her teeth to pull a piece of salad out of a bowl. "The champion is the strongest trainer in all the land! The current champion is Lance Cipris. He specializes in dragon types," Perrine's blue eyes glimmered. "He's super cool!"
"I'll bet."
"So why are you on your journey?"
"Hm?" Julia's mouth was full, so she made sure to chew and swallow before talking, as she knew talking with your mouth full was rude. With that, she told Perrine about Amara, the things she did, and the events that led to Julia starting on her travels.
"No way!" Perrine's blue eyes slammed wide open, and her mouth fell agape. "Your sister's the one who stole a pokemon from Elm's lab?"
Julia looked down at her food and nodded grimly. "Sadly, yes. I'm on a mission to find her and bring her to justice."
The orange haired girl tilted her head to one side, raising an eyebrow. "That's it? The police can easily do that. Don't you wanna get into the Pokemon League?" She asked. Kitsune sniffed Perrine's sleeve, her nose crinkling up and down with every sniff.
"I have no interest in battling," Julia answered, finishing the rest of her dinner. "I don't want to be a battler, or even the best trainer in the world. All I want to do is meet lots of pokemon and make friends, and find Amara, too. I love her, really. I just don't like what she's doing or what she's become."
The two girls were silent for a while. Hikaru and Kitsune hopped off the chairs and sat on the floor, happily chatting amongst themselves. Perrine smiled. "Alright then. We all have different reasons for being away from home. Nothing wrong with that. I'm gonna take a shower."
"I'll be in our room."
The two girls took their showers before getting ready for bed. When it came time for them to sleep, Perrine couldn't help but notice that all of Julia's pokemon were out of their PokeBalls, ready for sleeping. Perrine had put all of her pokemon in their PokeBalls. There was nothing wrong with keeping them out, but she couldn't resist the urge to ask. "How come you don't keep your pokemon in their PokeBalls a lot of the time?"
Julia turned off the lamp on the nightstand next to her bed. "I like spending time with them. I mean, sure, PokeBalls allow for easy traveling and are more convenient, but I like to see their faces, play with them, help them out, and let them do their own thing," Julia explained. Neji snuggled right up to Julia's cheek, rubbing himself against her face with a smile full of contentment. The girl stroke Neji's fur gently, returning the affectionate gesture. "I'll bet it must stink to be all cooped up in a ball all the time. They deserve some fresh air and wide open space, right? Plus, I just love being with them!"
"Sentret!" Neji chirped, agreeing with her.
Perrine smiled. That explained it. She pulled her pink night gown sleeve forward to straighten it out a bit. "That's nice. Just be careful when you're going into places like hotels, restaurants, real posh places, that kinda stuff. Okay?"
"Okay!" Julia had to admit, she wondered if traveling with Perrine would make the experience better. As much as she liked having pokemon for companions, she had been dying to make real human friends for a long time. Perrine was nice and friendly enough, and didn't make a big deal about her autism, nor did she hate her right off. That was the one thing she kept expecting from people all the time. Where had Perrine been all her life? Before long, her eyes felt heavy, and she drifted off to sleep.
Milky morning light illuminated the room, pulling Perrine out of her beauty sleep. Her orange hair came out scraggly, with some of her bangs curling upward to a point where they were facing the ceiling. When she turned around to face Julia's bed, Julia herself was gone. The bed was neat and readily made, and the pillows didn't have any wrinkles on them. She stretched her arms out, getting the kinks out of her arms and legs. She changed out of her pink nightgown and into some new clothes this time. Today, she decided to wear a sleeveless brown shirt, a long black skirt that went past her knees, grey stockings, her brown shoes, and the black ribbon she put on the back of her head.
Once she splashed her face with water, she heard the sound of two pokemon battling outside her window. She looked outside to find Aqua and Neji engaging in a training battle amongst each other, with Hikaru, Ladybug, and Tsubasa watching as Julia gave them commands. The white egg sat right next to Hikaru, sitting in the glass container, untouched and dormant. Julia was already dressed. Perrine looked at the clock on the wall. It read 6:17 AM. She couldn't believe how early it was, but more than that, Julia must have gotten up a lot earlier. She got her stuff together and headed out to the battlefield in the back. Aqua fired a barrage of bubbles at Neji, who used his long, glowing claws to slice them all into nothing.
"Good job, you two!" Julia said, clapping her hands twice. Neji and Aqua ran over to their trainer, nuzzling against her legs as she stroke their heads gently. "You're getting better every day," The proud look on Julia's face was unmistakable.
"Pichu!" Hikaru raised her little hand upward. Julia turned to find Perrine on the battlefield.
"Oh! Morning, Perrine. Sorry! Did I wake you?"
"No. I got up on my own," Perrine walked over to them and glanced at the pokemon. "Are you doing some training?"
"Yeah," Julia scratched her head with one hand, giving her an embarrassed chuckle. "I know I said I'm not interested in the Pokemon League, but...I am going to battle the gym leaders."
"How come?" Perrine asked. This was the first time she had ever met a trainer who was battling the gyms, but said she wasn't interested in battling or the Pokemon League.
"Well...I used to really really hate pokemon battles," Julia began. "But the Violet City gym leader and the sages at Sprout Tower taught me that battling isn't about hurting pokemon. I want to see how others see battling and experience them for myself so...I can be a better trainer."
Perrine twirled a lock of her orange hair around one finger as she listened, bobbing her head approvingly. "I see. You do look like a pretty gentle and kind person. You should do whatever you want to do. There's nothing wrong with that," She told her in a kind voice. Then an idea hatched in her head. "Hey! Here's an idea! Do you want to have a battle with me?"
The brown haired girl opened her mouth to answer, but Tsubasa fluttered in front of the girl with a big smile, flapping her wings vigorously as she cooed. "Coo coo coo coo!"
"Hey, Tsubasa! It's rude to interrupt someone's conversation!" Julia scolded, grabbing the pidgey with two hands. She pulled her head back up to face Perrine. "Sorry! Tsubasa loves to battle, but she can be a handful."
"Coo coo coooo!" Tsubasa chirped, giving Julia an angry glare.
"Anyway...sure! I'd love to-WAAAHH!" Before she could answer, she felt something slide up her foot. Something slimy and wet. She didn't look down to find out what it was, she just shook it off her leg and hid behind Perrine. "What the heck was that?!" She cried, shivering like she had been exposed to the cold.
Perrine looked down to find a pokemon staring at them. It was a large, pink creature with curly ears, a cream colored mouth, and wide eyes that looked completely vacant. The creature had four legs, all ending with single white claws, and a long, tapering tail, with the tip being a creamy white color. It didn't look dangerous at all. "Sloooooow…"
"It's a slowpoke," Perrine told her.
"Huh?" Julia stopped shivering and opened her eyes to look upon the creature. She was right. It was a slowpoke. Hikaru and Neji had already approached it with their arms out, all smiles, hoping to befriend it. But the slowpoke didn't say a word. Hikaru's ears drooped downward sadly. Neji just scratched his head. She pulled out her PokeDex.
"Slowpoke, the dopey pokemon. Slowpoke uses its tail to catch prey by dipping it in water at the side of a river, and said tail lets out a sweet, sappy substance that easily lures pokemon to its tail. However, this Pokémon often forgets what it's doing and often spends entire days just loafing at water's edge," A blue male sign appeared on the PokeDex after it finished reciting slowpoke's information.
"Ohhhh. So that's what clung to my leg!" Julia popped out from behind Perrine and kneeled before the slowpoke. "Sorry I got scared! You surprised me there."
"Slooooow…" The slowpoke said in a deep, low pitched voice.
Perrine put a hand underneath her chin, lost in thought. "I know Azalea Town really likes slowpoke, but I haven't seen any when we first came."
All of a sudden, Julia stood up. "Perrine! This slowpoke says it needs our help!" She scooped the slowpoke into her arms. "Tell us everything!"
"Wait wait wait. Back up," Perrine said. "What do you mean it says it needs our help?"
"Slooooow…" Her friend didn't answer right away, but she kept nodding in response to the slowpoke.
"Got it!"
The orange haired girl found herself stumped. 'What the heck is going on?' She thought. None of Julia's other pokemon seemed to notice, and if they did, they weren't caring.
"Perrine! This slowpoke says Team Rocket's here! They've been stealing its friends!" Julia shouted.
"How do you know that?"
"He just told me!"
"But you can't understand pokemon speech!"
A light bulb went off in Julia's head. She never told Perrine about that. Now wasn't the time for hesitating. "I can understand what they're saying!" Perrine could hear the desperation in her voice. But everything she said didn't make any sense.
"Come on! You're pulling my leg, right?" The orange haired girl crossed her arms. None of this made any sense to her. Julia looked down at the slowpoke in her arms. In a way, she had expected this kind of response. It was inevitable, as Julia knew full well that there was no human being in the world who could understand pokemon speech. Of course Perrine would think she was pulling her leg. Everyone else thought that as well. She was used to it.
It didn't make it hurt any less. Just hearing it so often made her feel as though she were an alien that had been thrown on Earth from another planet to fend for herself, with no one she could relate to. A freak of nature, even. Her cheeks burned as she silently chastised herself for expecting Perrine to believe her right off. All the time, she tried to push away the doubt, but it was too strong, and it never budged an inch.
A high pitched scream pulled everyone out of their thoughts. The girls whipped their heads up to find a man in black holding two slowpoke underneath his arms, sprinting as though the cops were chasing him. A little black haired girl of about six or seven was sitting on the ground, crying.
"Noooo! Slowpoooooke!"
"Come back here, you thief!" An old man managed to lunge at the man in black, pushing him right to the ground with a thud. As soon as he fell right on his face, the two slowpoke underneath his arms crawled out at their own pace.
Perrine's eyes slammed open. Julia was right. Team Rocket was stealing the Slowpoke. They hadn't talked to anyone else since they got to Azalea Town, so there was no possible way they could have heard about Team Rocket's machinations unless they heard others talking about it. But the only thing they heard about them from was a slowpoke, and Julia claimed it said that Team Rocket was stealing them. Was Julia telling the truth about being able to understand pokemon speech?
"Get back!" The man in black pulled out a silver gun. The old man grabbed the slowpoke and dashed away, with a little girl following him from behind. BANG! BANG! BANG! Bullets flew all over the place. Some of them almost hit the pair's feet, had they not managed to evade them. Julia's hands flew to her ears, and she found herself falling to her knees. The loud bang of the gunshots tore at her eardrums, like someone was setting a bomb off in them.
"Kitsune, go!" Perrine threw a PokeBall, and Kitsune came flying right out. "Use Extrasensory!"
"Vuuuul!" The vulpix's eyes glowed in a purple light. As the Team Rocket grunt tried to shoot once more, the trigger refused to budge. The entire gun was surrounded by purple light, and it levitated out of the man's hand. The man let out a scream before landing on his rear, scrambling on the dirt. CRASH! The gun shattered into pieces, with the fragments falling to the ground, bullet casings included. The man found himself shivering in horror, his precious gun crushed to pieces.
The orange haired girl stared down at him with an austere expression, her arms crossed like she meant business. "Next time we won't be as merciful," She hissed. The man found himself scrambling to his feet, running away from the scene in a frenzy, wailing at the top of his lungs. After that, Perrine let out a sigh of relief, right as Kitsune walked over to her leg and rubbed herself against it with a content smile. Perrine kneeled down to stroke her beloved vulpix's head. "Good job, Kitsune."
"Vul vul!"
Julia kneeled before the two slowpoke, examining their bodies for any injuries. There were no visible bumps, bruises, scratches, or lacerations on their pink skin, so it was safe to say that they were just fine. The little girl ran over to Julia with a wide smile. Julia noted that she was wearing a tiny orange dress with tall white socks, red shoes, and pink ribbons held up her black pigtails.
"Wow! You two were awesome!" The little girl chirruped as she picked up one of the slowpoke. The pink creature was just as big as she was, so Julia couldn't help but wonder if she would topple over from picking it up or whether it was heavy. The little girl didn't seem to mind. "Your pokemon were cool, too! Thanks for saving our slowpoke!"
"You're...welcome…" Julia stammered.
It was here that the girls got a better look at the old man, who kneeled down to pick up the other slowpoke. The man had moderately long, grey hair reaching down to his chin, with his bangs pushed back, mingling with the rest of it. Wrinkles marked his face like a map, with thick, black eyebrows hovering over his stern, grey eyes. He was wearing a white shirt underneath a teal kimono, matching pants, a white belt wrapped around his waist, and grey sandals.
"That sure was dangerous, girls," The old man told them, holding the slowpoke in his arms like it was a newborn baby. The slowpoke didn't mind at all, and rested in his arms with a content expression. "You could have gotten hurt or killed. But I will admit, you did save the slowpoke, so we owe you one."
"It was nothing! Really!" Perrine exclaimed, waving her hand back and forth modestly. Julia took the opportunity to hide behind her. "We're just glad we got to help, that's all," Despite attempting to look calm and modest, Perrine's insides were doing backflips, not just from almost getting shot, but the fact that Julia was right when she said that Team Rocket was stealing the slowpoke. Her mind was in disarray, scrambling to keep everything together.
"You're so cool!" The little girl jumped up once, her pigtails bouncing up and down with each movement. "I'm Maisy! That's my grandpa!" She chirruped in a sweet voice.
"The name's Kurt."
"Kurt?" Julia murmured. "Are you the famous PokeBall maker? I've seen you on TV."
Kurt nodded. "Yes I am. But I'm not making PokeBalls at the moment, so if you want some made, you're gonna have to wait."
"It's because of Team Rocket, right?" Julia piped in. "What are they doing here?"
Little Maisy held her head down, staring at her red shoes. Kitsune walked up to her with a smile, putting a paw on her foot. Maisy kneeled down and stroke the fox's tuft of fur. Kurt clutched the slowpoke in his arms. "Those scoundrels. Slowpoke are the pride and joy of Azalea Town," He began. "That's why that well out there is called the Slowpoke Well. They live there, and that's where we get our water."
The girls remembered passing by an old, circular brick well with a ladder right before they came to Azalea Town. It was the only well they saw, so they assumed that was what he was talking about. Kurt balled one of his hands into a fist. "But we heard reports saying that were kidnappin' slowpoke, cuttin' off their tails, and sellin' 'em for easy cash!"
Julia's eyes widened with horror. "People do that?!" Already, the image of a bad person cutting off a crying slowpoke's tail with a cleaver entered her mind, blood and all. The girl squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head left and right, hoping to force that horrible image out of her mind. It didn't work. "I had no idea people would do such a thing!"
"I didn't want to believe it at first either, but I saw them doin' their thing just yesterday," Kurt said. Right then and there, some police cars raced by, their sirens wailing and flashing for all to see and hear.
Perrine kicked a nearby pebble and watched as it bounced off of some rocks. "Why would they do that? That's so cruel."
"'Cause they think they can make easy cash off 'em, that's all there is to it," Kurt repeated. "I'm goin' to the well."
"What?!" Everyone whipped their heads up with wide eyes, even Maisy. "Grandpa! You can't! It's dangerous!" She ran to his pant leg and held onto a chunk of it with one hand.
"I'm not gonna sit here and let those idiots sully our city!" Kurt pushed up one of his sleeves with one hand.
The girls weren't sure about this. Although they were happy that he cares so much about the slowpoke, they were dubious about whether he could handle it. He looked to be in his late sixties or early seventies at the very least, and his skinny legs and arms didn't exactly exude strength. Not only that, Team Rocket had guns or pokemon that might know lethal attacks. Should Kurt get hurt or killed, Maisy will lose a beloved grandfather.
In their minds, no child deserved that. Perrine balled her fist. "Can I come with you, sir?"
Julia's mouth fell agape. "Huh?"
"Vul?"
"You sure, miss?" Kurt asked, scratching his head doubtfully.
"I'm sure. For all we know they could be dangerous," Perrine told him. Julia fell silent. She seemed to exude a courageous, almost authoritative air about her when she made that statement. Somehow, it felt reassuring to her. "I can help you out if you want."
Kurt flashed a smile. "I appreciate it, miss. You can come with me."
"I don't want you to go!" Maisy cried, clutching her grandfather's pant leg once more.
"Ummm…" Julia shyly put her hand out. "If you want, I can stay with Maisy so she...doesn't get lonely."
"Awww. You dun need to do that…" Kurt's face turned red from the kind, generous offer. But she did make a good point. Maisy deserved someone to keep her safe, and a pokemon trainer seemed like the best bet.
"You don't want to come?" Perrine asked.
"Nah. I'll sit this one out. Just be careful. Okay?"
Perrine nodded. With that, the two ran off to the Slowpoke Well, leaving Julia alone with Maisy and her slowpoke. Maisy gently wrapped her hand around Julia's, gripping it like she didn't want to let go. Her tiny, cold hand made a shiver run up Julia's spine. She never did like other people's hands touching her own unless she wanted it, but she endured it for Maisy's sake. The slowpoke and Julia's pokemon followed from behind as they walked to a log house that was just six blocks away.
The house was a log cabin like all the others, with a mahogany door and square windows made of glass. Piles of firewood wrapped with white ropes were scattered around the property, probably for later use. A stone chimney stood up from the ugly yellow roof, and no smoke was coming out of it. Julia opened the door and Maisy rushed right in. "Are you really a pokemon trainer?"
"Yes," Julia closed the door behind her right as the pokemon came inside. "I just started last week."
Picture frames and custom PokeBalls decorated the rooms, giving it a warm, homely atmosphere perfect for a family. On the far right of the room was a big, dark, wooden desk with lots of carving tools on it, most of which were sharp, with the silver worn from use. Some tools had pieces of silver chipped off, leaving only brown spots and rust, accompanying what appeared to be large, colored acorns the size of Julia's whole fist. Some were pink, green, yellow, and blue. One was opened in half, with the insides having been yanked out, leaving it empty. Hikaru and Neji hopped on the desk to sniff the acorn-like items.
"Those are called apricorns," Maisy piped in. "Be careful. That's where Grandpa makes the PokeBalls," She advised. Julia gently put Hikaru and Neji down on the floor so they wouldn't knock anything over.
Julia also noticed a picture frame on Kurt's desk. A dark frame enclosed a picture of Kurt, Maisy, and a young couple, both of whom had Maisy's hair color, only the woman's hair was long and curly, trailing down to her lower back, whereas the younger man's hair was cropped and pushed back. The younger man had a small beard, and the two were dressed in casual summer clothes. "Are these your parents, Maisy?"
"Yep!" She chimed in.
"Where are they now? Do they not live with you?" Julia asked innocently.
Little Maisy's smile morphed into a frown. "No. They're in Ecruteak. They're always yelling at each other and being angry," She stroke a slowpoke's head gently with her tiny hand. "I like slowpoke. They just sit around and be happy with anything and everything," She said in a low, forlorn voice.
Images flashed through Maisy's mind. Two blurry silhouettes of grown adults waving their arms around, bending over, wagging their fingers at each other, screaming with contorted faces. Little Maisy hiding in another room, curled up in the fetal position, with her fists covering her eyes. "Sloooooow…" The slowpoke let out a long, drawn out yawn.
"Your slowpoke says he doesn't like it when you're sad," Julia chimed in. "Pichu!" "Sen sentret!" Hikaru and Neji agreed.
"Huh?"
The older trainer sat down next to Maisy, with Hikaru and Neji following suit, all smiles. "You say they just sit around and be happy about everything, but your slowpoke says that's not true," She pointed to the slowpoke resting in Maisy's tiny arms. "He says it hurts really bad when people cut off their tails, and that he hates seeing you cry."
"How do you know?" Maisy tilted her head to one side, lifting an eyebrow, confused.
Julia looked down at the slowpoke. This was the second time someone asked about her ability to understand pokemon. She didn't like telling people about it. Every time she did, people would always either get confused, not believe her, or think she was lying, like Perrine did just earlier. People just didn't understand. She wanted so badly for someone to believe her and to not think she was a little liar. But alas, none of those prayers were ever answered. Every time someone told her she was a liar was like a knife was being jabbed into her heart, and then twisted so the blood would pour out of her arteries faster. She squeezed her green eyes shut, agonizing over telling the little girl about it.
Oddly enough, harsh knocks on the door spared her the chance to do so. However, Julia found herself wrapping her arms around both Maisy and the slowpoke. "Open up!" A man's voice howled from the other side. Julia held Maisy close, almost squeezing the poor, hapless slowpoke. "You better open up or else we'll break this door down!"
She turned to her right. One of the windows was open. "Neji," She whispered. Neji's sensitive ears caught Julia's low voice and he ran up to her. "Listen. Go outside that window and see who's out there. Don't make any noise. If it's Team Rocket, those guys dressed in black clothes with red R's on them, come back inside as fast as you can. If they're dressed in blue, its the police. Got it?"
Neji nodded silently before darting out the window. Since they were on the first floor, Neji had no problem sneaking out the window and crawling down to the ground. Very slowly. the little sentret crawled to the front of the house, taking care to make sure his feet and tail made no sound as he walked. The hair on his body stood up, and his ears curled upward, awaiting any kind of noise or danger. He managed to reach the front of the house, but hid behind the other side to watch from a distance. Standing before the door were two men dressed in black Team Rocket uniforms, complete with red R's emblazoned on their chests.
Behind one TR man was a large, purple cobra that stood taller than the two men. Its sharp eyes stared at the door with predatorial lust, complete with its thin, pink tongue wiggling about. Its long tail curled at the bottom, supporting it as it stood up, and on its body were black markings, along with two red and orange teardrop shaped marks covering sixty percent of its chest. If one were especially curious, it almost resembled a face if viewed from a distance. Neji found himself shivering at the sight of the ferocious looking snake and made a quick dash back inside the house.
"Sentret!" He rolled on the wooden floor, losing his balance right as he came back inside, right before telling them what he saw.
"Team Rocket. I knew it," Julia's grip on Maisy tightened. "Be on your guard, you two."
Purple spikes suddenly shot through the door, leaving a large hole behind. Hikaru was quick to unleash some thundershocks to electrocute them. Neji, despite his fear, was quick to use his long claws to slice the purple spikes into fragments. The two men burst through the door, with the giant cobra right in front of them. A shiver ran right up Julia's spine. Her green eyes grew so wide they looked like tiny saucers, and she clung to little Maisy like she was a security blanket, unable to stop herself from trembling. Hikaru and Neji stood before the two girls, adopting courageous expressions and battle stances.
"Pichu!"
"Sentret!"
The purple cobra opened its large maw and howled at them. "Chaaaa-baka!"
"Hmph! Just a bunch of kids!" A red haired man exclaimed, crossing his arms.
"And a bunch of useless pokemon, too," A blue haired man agreed, until he got a closer look at Hikaru. "Whoa! This pichu's a shiny pokemon!"
Shiny? The red haired man leaned closer. Hikaru was quick to let off some electricity, making them scramble a few feet back. "Hey! This one's a keeper! Let's take the slowpoke and this thing, too! We can make millions!"
Julia's fear suddenly morphed into rage. They wanted to take Hikaru and sell her for easy cash? All because of her unusual fur color? Kurt was right. Team Rocket was definitely bad. She was not going to let them take her friend away. Not if she had anything to say about it. She stood up faster than Maisy could get down. It must be confessed that her legs trembled at the sight of the large cobra, but she couldn't let fear consume her. Maisy was counting on her. If she saw that Julia was scared, she would get scared, too.
"Hikaru! Use Thundershock, and Neji, use Fury Swipes!"
"Arbok! Use Poison Sting!" The red haired man yelled.
"Chaaaak!" Purple spikes shot out of the arbok's mouth. With new zeal in his heart, Neji's short claws grew in length, growing in a white light as he slashed the spikes into pieces. A bolt of thunder shot right out of Hikaru, hitting the arbok. But it wasn't enough to defeat it.
"You puny trainers are no match for us!" The blue haired man hissed, twisting his hat. "Now hand over your pokemon, the slowpoke included!"
Julia stood before Maisy, with one arm out. "Over my dead body! Neji! Use Quick Attack!"
"Tret!" Neji raced toward the arbok, shining in a white light before ramming into its body head first. This time, the blow was strong enough to send the arbok out the door. All of a sudden, the slowpoke Maisy held onto wiggled out of her grasp and walked over to the arbok.
"No! Slowpoke! Get back!" Maisy tried to grab the slowpoke and take him back inside, but the pink pokemon wasn't having any of it.
"Sloooooow…" Its eyes glowed in a blue light. Before long, the arbok's body was completely trapped in a blue light. No matter what it did, it couldn't break free. But this didn't stop it from firing another Poison Sting attack.
The spikes flew right at a frozen Julia, who clutched Maisy for dear life. She squeezed her eyes shut, awaiting her eventual end. "Piiiii!" A shrill cry made her eyes slam wide open. There was Hikaru, lying on the ground, with a spike right next to her. The little mouse's face was blue and contorted.
"Oh no! Hikaru!"
That did it for Neji and the slowpoke. The light surrounding the arbok faded, slamming right on the ground. What the arbok didn't know was that it was dropped right on top of the two Team Rocket goons. Not only that, Neji swiped his claws all over the arbok's face, leaving red marks on it. Julia ran over to Hikaru and pulled out a pecha berry. She was glad Mr. Pokemon gave her those berries back at his house. She held the berry up to Hikaru's nose so she could smell it. The little mouse's nose crinkled twice before noting the berry's sweet scent. She grabbed the berry and scarfed it down whole. Within seconds, the burning sensation in her tiny body disappeared.
Two police cars rolled onto the scene, and police officers stormed around the Team Rocket goons, slamming handcuffs on them faster than they could react. "You're under arrest!" The policewomen exclaimed, shoving the Team Rocket gang into the police car.
"Sentret!" "Pichuuuu!" Neji and Hikaru cheered and squealed with their arms outstretched, happy that they saved Julia and Maisy. The little girl let go of Julia and looked up at her with sparkling eyes.
"Your pokemon are so great! Thanks for staying with me!" Maisy chirruped.
"No...problem…" Julia was still shivering, wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to calm herself down for her sake.
All of a sudden, Neji's body became enveloped in a white light. Julia, Maisy, Hikaru, and the slowpoke watched as Neji grew bigger, longer, and changed shape. Within a few seconds, the light dissipated, and out came a different creature. Neji was now a fluffy, cream and brown colored creature with a very long, straight body, with the lower half of it covered with brown stripes. His arms were small, with his hands being the same color as the stripes on his tail, but his feet were the same cream color. Small blue eyes exuded curiosity, and two brown stripes went across both cheeks, resembling whiskers. The tips of his sharp ears were cream colored, contrasting with the brown markings on his head.
"Fuuuuurret!" Neji purred.
"Wow! Your sentret evolved!" Maisy exclaimed.
"I know! This is great!" Julia pulled out her PokeDex as Neji scratched his head. Hikaru couldn't resist jumping on Neji's back and riding on him, delighted by the massive size difference.
"Furret, the long body pokemon. Furret has a very slim build. When under attack, it can slickly squirm through narrow spaces and get away. In spite of its short limbs, this Pokémon is very nimble and fleet."
"Fuuuur!" Neji crawled over to Julia to allow her to wrap her arms around him. His brown and cream fur was warm and soft, like Julia's hair. "Neji! You evolved! You were awesome out there!" Hikaru nuzzled Julia's cheek as well. "You too, Hikaru!"
Not even Perrine and Kurt were safe from Team Rocket as they descended down the Slowpoke Well ladder. They were ambushed by Team Rocket grunts from all sides. Perrine called forth Kitsune, Florian, and Chirin to hold off their pokemon, whereas Kurt managed to give them some punches and kicks, saving slowpoke left and right, carrying them up and down the ladder. It helped that he would also bring some goons up the well for the police to arrest.
Finally, after barreling through hordes of Team Rocket grunts, they made it to the end of the well. A silhouette appeared from the darkness. It was a Team Rocket member, but he didn't look like any of the others. He had teal green hair hidden underneath a black hat, matching eyes, and his Team Rocket uniform had some yellow streaks on his pants pockets and the collar on his shirt. He was also wearing grey gloves and boots like the others, but his had single red stripes circling around them. Kitsune growled at him.
"So you're the one behind this whole fiasco!" Kurt roared, balling a fist.
The green haired man turned around, glancing at them with evil in his eyes. "Hmph. I suppose it was inevitable that I have been found out," The man mused out loud in a deep voice.
"You stop sellin' our slowpoke right this instant!"
A chuckle escaped the man's mouth. "That's no way to talk to Proton, a Team Rocket executive," He waved his index finger back and forth. Before Kurt could do anything, a fist suddenly pushed into his abdomen, rendering him unable to breathe. Kurt fell to his knees.
"Kurt!" Perrine was quick to grab onto him. Florian and Chirin let out battle cries. "How could you?! You're terrible!"
All Proton did was shrug and smirk. "I am the cruelest guy in TR as they say, so all you're doing is adding to my reputation," He pulled out two PokeBalls and threw them out. Out from the PokeBalls came a purple ball of gas and a blue bat with no eyes. "Koffing! Zubat! Do away with this pathetic girl!"
"Koffiiiiing!"
"Zu zu zu!"
"Thundershock, Chirin!" Electricity shot out from Chirin's wool, hitting zubat and koffing head on. Florian used Razor Leaf to distract them so Kitsune could use Extrasensory to do some damage. But koffing and zubat were persistent and kept on tackling her pokemon. At one point, the koffing let out some noxious purple gas. Florian wound up inhaling some, and the poison rendered him too weak to battle. As a result, he was called back to his PokeBall. Perrine silently chastised herself for putting him up against poison types, one of a grass type's many weaknesses.
"Give it up, girlie," Proton hissed, putting his hands in his pocket, the smile on his face unchanging. "I suggest you leave Team Rocket alone and go play with your dolls."
"Why? So you can hurt pokemon and people?!" Perrine wiped some dirt out of her hair. "Fat chance! Kitsune, use Flamethrower!" A stream of fire poured out from Kitsune's mouth, the red flames giving off intense heat. Zubat and koffing dodged it since they could float in the air.
"A stupid girl like you can't understand our ambitions," Proton mused. "Oh well. There's always going to be people who don't agree with us."
Before long, both sides were unable to battle. Without a word, Proton called zubat and koffing back to their PokeBalls. "You lost! Now leave the slowpoke alone!" Kurt roared, having regained his strength.
"Fine. I already have what I needed," Proton passed right by them before giving Perrine a deathly glare. "A small obstacle like you won't be much of a problem for our mission. I strongly urge you not to interfere with our business," With one index finger, he traced it across his neck, like a knife slitting one's throat horizontally. Perrine had seen enough crime procedurals to know what that gesture symbolized.
He meant business, and if she crossed him, she would pay dearly for it.
Yeah...I had more planned, but I'm moving it to another chapter, which will be called chapter 7.5 instead of eight, since they're both connected to Azalea Town. I don't want to drag it out. I swear, this'll be the last time this happens, I promise!
Julia: Pichu (Female, Jolly Nature, Thundershock, Disarming Voice, Sweet Kiss, Thunder Wave), Marill (Female, Mild Nature, Bubble, Tail Whip, Water Gun), Furret (Male, Bashful Nature, Scratch, Defense Curl, Quick Attack, Fury Swipes), Pidgey (Female, Naughty Nature, Gust, Sand Attack, Tackle, Wing Attack), and Ledyba (Female, Timid Nature, Comet Punch, Tackle, Flash, Safeguard)
Pokemon At The Ranch: Butterfree (Female, Calm Nature, Confusion, Sleep Powder, Tackle, Stun Spore)
Perrine: Vulpix (Female, Quiet Nature, Flamethrower, Confuse Ray, Faint Attack, and Extrasensory), Chikorita (Male, Gentle Nature, Razor Leaf, Tackle, Growl, Poison Powder), Jigglypuff (Female, Docile Nature, Sing, Doubleslap, Disarming Voice, Wake Up Slap), Hoothoot (Male, Sassy Nature, Confusion, Peck, Hypnosis, and Echoed Voice), Chirin (Male, Adamant Nature, Thundershock, Tackle, Cotton Spore, Charge), and Hoppip (Female, Relaxed Nature, Tackle, Fairy Wind, Bullet Seed, and Sleep Powder)