The sun was hardly at its peak in the sky, but all ready the temperature was starting to rise despite the shaded cover from trees. James wasn't sure how big of a distance he had walked since he left the balloon those hours ago, but he knew it was time for him to take a rest. So far his mission was a failure, as he saw not one Pokemon about. Of course not, they had enough sense to stay out of the heat! He thought to himself while brushing leaves off a fallen tree so he could sit and relax for a little while.

Besides being bored he was also reasonably lonely. Jessie hadn't been absent from his side for years and in a way he sort of felt lost without her. Still, he couldn't let that distract him from what it was he needed to do. Finding Jessie a Pikachu was going to be tough as it was, but he knew that leaving her and Team Rocket was going to be worse, but it just was something he felt he had to do.

Looking about at his surroundings James observed that there were quite a few clumps of bushes scattered among the towering trees and these were ideal spots for any wild Pokemon to be hiding. Digging around in his black bag he pulled out one of the apples he brought. He held the red fruit in his gloved hand wondering if he should eat it himself or break it up and leave it someplace in hopes of attracting a Pikachu as he knew they couldn't resist apples.

With a heavy sigh James decided to just begin eating it and perhaps use the core as bait instead. He was terribly hungry since only one doughnut ended up being his breakfast. Still, the apple should hold him over for a few hours. Polishing it on the front of his white uniform James glanced at a movement he saw to his right and casually took a large bite out of the fruit. The bushes close by shivered again this time catching his full attention.

He turned towards them and stopped chewing as a large Caterpie inched its way out towards him. James' eyes widened at the bug and he scooted back slightly. He wasn't afraid of the creature, just not in the mood to deal with that kind of Pokemon at this time. They had a weak attack, but James didn't want to yank any sticky fibers from his being in case it got him with the attack String Shot. "Shoo!" he cried and kicked at it making it stop and tilt its head curiously at him. "I have nothing for you so go away!"

If the bug heard him or not it didn't make a difference for it continued to inch closer to James, interested in what it was he was eating and maybe making a new friend. James wanted no part of it and now the pent up frustration in him came out and he stomped his foot hard on the ground hoping to scare it. Still, the Caterpie inched closer and, not caring about end results, James quickly stood and booted the green Pokemon hard back into the bushes.

"I said don't bug me!" he snarled, shaking his fist in the direction the creature landed. Now that his solitude was disturbed, James didn't wish to be in this location any longer. He bent down and grabbed his bag and stomped off away from the bush and the poor Caterpie. "The nerve," he muttered to himself between chewing a mouthful of apple. "Can't a guy get any peace and quiet anymore?"

After walking for a few minutes he found another place to sit and finish his pathetic meal. No sooner than he sat down two Rattatas emerged from behind a tree and squeaked at him. "What is this, a Pokemon convention?" James whined and squeezed his eyes shut in annoyance hoping that when he opened them the Pokemon would be gone.

However, when he cracked open one to see the situation he was shocked to see that one was boldly sitting on his knee while the other was sniffing around his bag no doubt eager for the remaining apple he had for a Pikachu.

"Tat Rattata?" the purple rat-like creature on his kneed asked.

"No! I have nothing for you either! Please, just go away!" James jumped to his feet knocking the Rattata off him and frightening the other which was halfway inside the bag. "Please, just go away and leave me alone!" he moaned reaching for his possessions so he could leave this area as well.

"Here, will it make you happy if I gave you this?" James sighed and tossed the remainder of his apple at the two Pokemon who just stared at him with their beady eyes. They weren't sure what to make of this very flustered human, but he didn't seem to be too much of a threat plus he also offered them food so he couldn't be so bad. The Rattata let out a thankful squeak and together they pounced on the fruit that was tossed to them.

Seeing that the Rattata were happy with the apple and were going to leave him alone, James silently slipped away from them hoping that they wouldn't follow and insist that he give them the other fruit as well. "Why is it that now that I'm not looking for any Pokemon every single one on the planet decides to show up?" he moaned.

No sooner than those words left his lips a Weedle dropped from a branch above and landed neatly onto his shoulder. This time instead of freaking out like he normally would do, James froze in his place. He knew this bug wasn't one to mess with for its evolved self was a Beedrill and those were very spiteful poison stinging bugs which were protective of their larval forms.

Gingerly he reached his free hand up and tenderly petted the bug on the head. "N-nice W-w-weedle. Good b-bug. Now would you like me to place you on the ground and continue your journey? Yes, I thought you would!" Ever so carefully James lifted the creature off his shoulder and softly placed it on the ground and gave it an affectionate pat on the head one more time. "There y-you go. Run along now and be careful of any Pidgeottos that might be in the area. That's a nice bug. Bye-bye!"

Taking huge steps away James made a good distance between him and the insect before he bolted away hoping that the entire incident didn't attract the attention of any Beedrills and he could leave the area unmolested.

However, James wasn't exactly known for his street smarts and he got careless in what he was doing and ended up running smack in the middle of a gathering of burrowing Digletts while Bulbasaurs grazed peacefully in the distance. In fact he didn't even notice where he was until his foot plunged into a hole making him fall flat on his face.

"Diglee di?" a Diglett questioned as it popped up from the ground just about touching James' nose with its own. The boy froze and just stared at it while it stared back at him blinking its black eyes. James knew Digletts were basically harmless, but he still wasn't too thrilled about being this close to one let alone being surrounded by them.

"Why me" he moaned and pounded his fist on the ground in frustration which in turn frightened the Diglett making it burrow back down where it came from. He couldn't believe his luck and in some trainers eyes it was very fortunate to find this many Pokemon all at once, but since he wasn't searching for these breeds it just annoyed him greatly and more so since he and Jessie never could find this many in a week let alone on one occasion.

With a heavy sigh James turned over and freed his trapped foot from the Diglett hole, but didn't stand right away. He rubbed his ankle and ran his hand up to his knee and then flinched seeing he tore his pants there. Luckily he wasn't cut, but he did have the beginnings of a bruise and to make things worse his uniform was covered in dust and grass stains.

"Great," he grumbled and shook his head. He was now starting to have second thoughts about this entire hunt of his and he almost felt like returning back to where he and Jessie had camp, but that was out of the question. James figured that by now Jessie was awake and she and Meowth were either looking for him or thankful he was gone. Either way he knew he couldn't go back to camp just yet.

With an agitated grunt James pushed himself to his feet, but his hurt knee gave out causing him to almost fall again. Fortunately he caught himself, but also attracted the attention of a few more Diglett as well as the Bulbasaurs who were watching him curiously and probably sympathetically.

"Diglee di dig?" A small Diglett questioned him no doubt out of concern, but James was still in no mood for anything especially compassion from a Pokemon.

"You're digging for trouble! Now scram!" and with that he whacked the creature hard in the head with his bag making it squeal and retreat back underground.

However the Diglett who were above ground saw what James did to their friend and a resounding growling echoed across the field. All around Diglett heads started popping up out of holes letting the male member of Team Rocket see he was in a very bad predicament. James gulped knowing he was in for it now and he did the only thing a person in his position would do. He ran as fast as he possibly could straight out of the field yelling loudly.

Hole traps were rapidly opening up dug by the Digletts directly in his path of flight and quite often he had to jump or twist out of the way or else he would be swallowed up by the expanding earth and into a Diglett tunnel that would lead him elsewhere. James was almost at the edge of the field when a very large hole opened up in front of him no doubt created by a Dugtrio since a little Diglett wouldn't have been able to create such a huge gap in so quick of a time. Mustering up all his strength James leaped as hard as he could and just made it to the other side of the hole and into safety leaving a group of very angry and frustrated Diglett behind him.

He turned to look at them grumbling and he shook his fist at them. "That'll show you to mess with a member of Team Rocket!" he panted before turning away to continue his quest and to get as far away from the Diglett as he could. As he stormed away he brushed off his Team Rocket uniform while muttering under his breath that the first Pikachu he manages to find was going to be in some serious trouble.

Not learning his lesson from before, James stopped paying attention to where he was going and tripped over a Bulbasaur that no doubt followed him from the field of Digletts. The stumble just about caused him to fall off the side of cliff he apparently didn't realize he was even on. James sharply gasped as he felt his foot slip off the edge and his arms fiercely pinwheeled as he tried to keep his balance. Luck was finally on his side and he managed to escape what looked like it would be a short but painful fall fifteen feet below.

James pushed his mussed up blue hair out of his face and cursed slightly under his breath while glaring at the Bulbasaur. "Stupid no good..." but he stopped talking as a clump of grass off to his right began to shake and twitch as if alive. His green eyes widened in fear thinking it was going to be some large, dangerous Pokemon like a Nidoqueen or something else less large but still could bite like a Vulpix.

Instead a small creature called Oddish was responsible for the rustling. This Pokemon had bushy leaves on its head and James could understand now why he didn't notice it at first and he breathed a sigh of relief since this creature was generally harmless. Still, James was not entirely in the right frame of mind and as the creature approached him, James suddenly began to fret and stomped his foot at it.

"What do you want? Just leave me alone!" he cried and swung the black bag towards Oddish in hopes of scaring it off. The bluish creature just blinked its small black eyes at him and made a sad little sound. "I don't want to hear it! Just leave me alone, I'm on a very important mission and since I suddenly am surrounded by Pokemon in a Pokemon Paradise I can't get anything done."

He then grabbed a few pebbles that were lying close by and tossed them at the Oddish and the lingering Bulbasaur for good measure. The Bulbasaur grunted out his displeasure in this human first tripping on him now tossing things and he turned around to leave. However, James didn't stop with the rock throwing and ended up hitting the Oddish squarly on the head making it squeak with pain.

The leaves on Oddish's head wilted in sadness and turned around to leave in puzzled defeat. James finding it a bit difficult to stay angry took pity on it and was about to step forward to call back out to it and apologize, but instead he found himself loosing his balance and he tottered dangerously on the edge of the drop he was standing on. He tried in vain to keep his foothold, but the ground gave way and dropped him straight down leaving the Oddish to blink in confusion as to where the blue haired man had vanished.

"This is worse than a cartoon show all ready!" James whined as he clung to his perch of a branch that was protruding from the side of the wall thus breaking what would have been a painful fall. He had dropped his bag, but it really didn't have far to go and was resting patiently for him on the ground below. James studied his predicament and figured he could leap from where he was hanging without getting too hurt.

As he was preparing himself mentally for such a drop James began to hear a faint sound almost like a squeaking and chirping. He furrowed his brow and looked around since the sound seemed to be coming from above him someplace. His green eyes widened as he noticed a large hole above him, but also in front of him where the branch was extending. The branch was no doubt a root from a tree that just grew down and out through this small cave and there was something coming up fast from inside.

James didn't even have time to brace his body when he suddenly found himself surrounded by a torrent of Zubats flying out in a slight panic from their roosting area having been disturbed by a man hanging from a branch that led into their home. They flew in all sorts of directions, but mostly in James' face making him shriek shrilly until his voice went hoarse. He kicked at them and tried to cover his face in his arms, but still the Zubats continued pouring out of the hole.

Feeling his grip loosening on the branch, James knew it was time to not worry about slamming into the ground below and ruining his uniform more. He had to get away from the flying annoyances and fast before they got stuck in his shoulder length hair or, worse yet, scratch up his face. Taking a deep breath James mentally prepared for the fall and slowly he released his grasp on the branch and allowed himself to drop down from the swarming Zubats.

James hit the ground below with a hard thud and for a while he laid perfectly still, his green eyes shut tightly in pain. Moments later he slowly opened his eyes and stared up to where he just fell. It wasn't that high of a drop and for that he was fortunate, but the landing hurt just the same. With a muffled groan he moved his arms and legs gingerly, testing to see if anything was broken.

Satisfied that things weren't damaged worse than how they felt, James gingerly turned over onto his stomach. His legs hurt badly, but not as much as the pain he was feeling in his head. The shock of impact no doubt jarred him and he was now feeling small stabs of pain going up his back and in the joints of his elbows as well. He could only hope he could get up and get back to where he came from or he knew he was a goner.

There would be no way for him to get help, but his mind then remembered he brought his Weezing with him. All he would have to do is release the Pokemon from its Pokeball and ask it to go and find Jessie and bring help. He hated to give up and admit defeat, but it was better than staying wounded in the woods alone.

However, as he opened his eyes to look for his dropped bag where he stashed his Pokemon he found himself coming nose to nose with a blurry yellow object. James blinked to clear his vision and then gasped slightly as he realized it was none other than a young Pikachu that was staring at him, concern registered on its face.

"Pi, pika?"

Hurriedly, James scrambled to his feet and snatched up his black bag, ignoring the shooting pains in his body. James reached inside the bag feeling around for his Pokeball because he knew that the only true way to capture a Pikachu was to battle it for the creatures weren't that fond of being simply trapped in one of the balls.

"Weezing, go!" he cried and flung the round object at the electric mouse. The red ball flew forward and with a soft thonk hit the Pokemon squarely on the head and landed on the ground in front of it.

"Chuuuu!" the Pikachu whimpered and rubbed its head while James gaped at what he had done. Instead of tossing a Pokeball he flung the remaining apple at the Pikachu instead.

He smacked himself in the forehead and grit his teeth as he fumbled around the bag to find the correct item this time. Meanwhile, the Pikachu noticed the object that hit its head was edible and it happy took it between its paws and began to nibble at it.

James smirked seeing it was distracted knowing this would be an easy match for him to win. As quickly as his fingers closed upon the correct Pokeball, James flung it out and called for his Weezing to appear. The Pokeball hit the ground and with a flash of light the poison gas Pokemon appeared making James giddily laugh.

"Sludge attack now!" he commanded the Weezing who obeyed instantly. It opened its mouths and a steady stream of sticky black gunk poured from it directly hitting the Pikachu directly in the face.

"Chuuuuuuuuuu pika pika!" it cried, dropping the apple and frantically pawed at its face trying to remove the smothering black ooze sticking to its fur.

James stood in shock at what he did, he actually beat the thing and didn't even get shocked from it like he always did trying to get the twerp's little rat. "Wow, I did it," he breathed, stunned at the easy outcome. He then turned to his Weezing and bounded over to it, giving it a tight hug. "You did it Weezing! We finally caught a Pikachu!"

His Pokemon grinned knowing it pleased his trainer and breathed a soft sigh of relief as well since it too didn't get shocked for the first time against a Pikachu. "Good job, Weezing," James said, patting his Pokemon one last time before reaching for the Pokeball to send it back in for a rest.

As he bent to retrieve the ball, James' green eyes fell on the Pikachu still struggling and gasping trying to get the sludge off its face. James wasn't without heart and he stooped near the little Pokemon, putting his hand on its back. The creature flinched and small sparks of electricity began jumping off its red cheeks. James jerked his hand away not wanting to get shocked and softly spoke. "Let me help you with that, won't you?"

The Pikachu stopped with the sparking and slumped on the ground, softly whimpering in fear and probably some pain. Ever so gently James began to pull the thick slime off its face and he spoke in soothing words of comfort to it every time he yanked the creature's fur by mistake. After a few moments the Pikachu was as clean from the sludge as best as James could manage.

"There you go. You'll be just fine now," the boy kindly remarked giving the Pikachu a gentle smile and scratch between the ears.

It looked up at him, blinking its beady eyes in wonderment when a grin replaced the frown and it just about jumped into James' arms and nuzzling against his neck. "Pi pikachu pi pika pikachu!"

James laughed and held the small creature to him. "I wish I could keep you for myself, but I wanted to get you for a good friend of mine. She's always wanted a Pikachu and I hope you won't mind being with her instead. She'll take good care of you, I promise."

The Pikachu's ears lowered and it made a sad sound. James just snickered and scratched the creature under the chin. "Don't worry, you'll be very happy with her. When I leave her and Team Rocket you'll no doubt take my..." but he stopped mid-sentence seeing the Pikachu's eyes widened and it was staring off behind James' back. Something was approaching and scaring the small creature.

James slowly turned around almost half-expecting to see Jessie there, but instead what he saw made him cry out in fear and he clutched the little Pikachu closer as if protecting it or making it protect him. Behind him a small gathering of Oddish and Bulbasaurs were present and they didn't look very happy and in fact some were even growling.

James gulped knowing they no doubt were after him for what he had done to their comrades earlier. He was thankful it wasn't a swarm of Beedril, but this was still quite unnerving. James knew he couldn't exactly send the little Pikachu out to defend him in this for the creature was quite young and probably inexperienced with battling.

Fortunately he hadn't had the chance to send Weezing back into the Pokeball, but before James could even open his mouth to give a command he was hit in the chest from a few vine whip attacks from two of the leading Bulbasaurs. James struggled to get to his feet and tried to call out to Weezing again when this time he was hit with leech seeds, which entwined themselves around his tall lanky body and shocked him as an end result.

"Pika pika!" the little electic mouse cried out in protest of the fight, demanding they stop attacking its new found friend, but they weren't willing to listen and one of the Bulbasaurs firmly, but gently pushed it aside with a brush of its vine before continuing to smack James.

Weezing finally got his senses and realized what was going on and readied for its own attack. As he opened his mouth to do smoke screen, he noticed James wasn't moving all that much now and looked rather groggy. Surely, a few vine whips and leech seeds couldn't have defeated James when he's been fully shocked by the twerp's high level Pikachu could he?

The answer soon came to the toxic Pokemon as it saw a few Oddish have surrounded James and were pelting him with sleep powder. "F-find Jessie!" James pleaded to his Weezing just before the sleep overtook him and he collapsed to the ground. Weezing hated to leave its master and not help fight off these irate Pokemon, but knew it was for the best and he turned around and quickly floated away out of the area in hopes to find the female member of the team.

However, the battle was far from over even though James was knocked out and defenseless. The angry Bulbasaurs continued to twack him with their vine whips and it seemed no matter how much the young Pikachu protested the more they hit him.

"Pika!" it warned, sparks of electricity forming on its red cheecks. One of the Oddish just glared at it then trotted in its direction no doubt willing to douse it with sleep powder just like poor James. However, the Pikachu wasn't going to give it that chance.

"Pikachuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" the little electric mouse cried and a huge yellow arch of lightning jumped off its body and engulfed all of the offending Bulbasaurs and Oddish in the area, stunning them severely. When the lightning finally subsided all the Pokemon that were hit by the blast lay still on the ground while the little Pikachu panted in exhaustion from the strong attack.

It then ran to the fallen James and leapt upon his back, nuzzling him to see if he was ok. James groaned slightly, a small smile appearing on his face as he whispered a thank you to the Pikachu before passing out once more from the lingering results of sleep powder.

"Chu," the Pikachu said softly as it nuzzled James' cheek, sorrow filling its tiny body, but it was at least thankful that it stopped the attack even though it wished it could have done something sooner. Being small and inexperienced was the main factor, but also Pokemon try to avoid true fights whenever possible because fighting never solves anything.

With another soft sound of "Pika," the little electric mouse jumped onto James' back and curled up to not only protect him, but to give him any sort of comfort. It watched with mild amusement as the shocked Pokemon slowly began to unsteadily rise and stagger away from the area without so much as a glance behind them.

"Pika pi!" the Pikachu called after them, warning if they were to return and try again another thunder shock would be happy to greet them. It then gave a triumphant little "Chu!" and lay back down, content to protect its new friend and hoped that Weezing would soon return with help.

To be continued...