Chapter 2

After the battle we had dinner. My mom came over from our house with some stuff to cook on the Barbeque. That night, we had Kabobs and enjoyed the company of a person I would one day have to face on the grandest stage of them all. Today, however, he is just Leon, Hop's older brother.

He looks at me, seeing the look of determination in my eyes. I clear my throat after the bite of food, and with as much courage as I can, I declare, "I want to be endorsed for the Pokémon League by you, Leon. I feel like it would be the perfect chance to grow as a person and a trainer."

At first, Leon and Hop both look surprised. Hop laughs before mentioning that he was just about to ask for the same thing, and how I had beat him to the punch. Leon shakes his head slightly, explaining that neither of us were ready, that we hadn't even recieved a pokedex yet. I stand up and brush myself off, "Well, then where do I go to get a pokedex?" I inquire.

Leon points down the road, telling me to go to route two, past Wedgehurst. he continues by telling me about the house just down the road from there, where a woman named Professor Magnolia lives. I quickly pick up my bag, and smirk at Hop, "Race ya there!"

I start to head out, Hop hot on my trail, when we both hear the sound of a crash from the gate blocking the path to the Slumbering Weald. Without thinking about it, I turn and sprint into the Weald to try to find the Wooloo from before. Hop calls out to me, "Wait, we shouldn't go alone!"

The forest is dark and misty, and sight is limited to maybe a few feet ahead. I progress as carefully as possible. I progress into the tall grass, in hopes of finding our lost friend. As I progress, I accidentally step on a tail. The startled cry of a Skwovet comes from the grass as it jumps up to attack. I quickly send out Toasty, and shout for him to use Ember.

the cinders land on the Skwovet, who then responds with a tackle. Toasty seems amused as he barely feels the attack from his opponent. I smile warmly, "Okay buddy, one more time! Use Ember!"

Toasty unleashes the cinders one more time, and his target collapses. I return him to his pokeball before progressing again. As I leave the tall grass, Hop spots me, and gives me a berry to give to Toasty, which I then Immediately feed to him. Hop then runs ahead of me as soon as Toasty finishes the berry.

I cross over a bridge and into some more tall grass. This time I accidentally bump a Rookidee with my foot. it flies up and dives in to attack me. I panic, and send out Toasty, "Quick, Ember!"

Toasty unleashes his ember, but not before the Rookidee pecks him. Without hesitation, I give the command to use Tackle, and Toasty rushes in head first to attack his target. The target falls on it's back, knocked out. I high five my little buddy, before returning him to his pokeball.

I continue through the forested area, occasionally calling out for the Wooloo. I hear some shuffling in the next patch of grass, and proceed carefully. Off in the distance, I hear the sound of a howl, like nothing I had ever heard before. I begin to shake, when I feel Hop's hand on my shoulder. I look back at him, and he smiles a reassuring smile.

I take another step, into the tall grass. I hear a familiar sound. It's just another Skwovet. I sigh in relieve, and pat it on the head, before walking away. As I pass by it, I hear the howl again, from just up ahead. The Skwovet takes off running, as if it knew about the danger up ahead.

Hop runs up ahead of me into thicker mist. With concern, I chase after him to make sure he is safe. A third howl comes from almost directly in front of us. I finally catch up to Hop, and he turns to me with a look of concern, "This is mad, I can't even see my own hand in front of my face!"

As I look down to my hands, I notice that he's right. The fog is so thick I can barely see him, and myself. Another howl, loud enough to be maybe four feet ahead of us. A wolf-looking Pokémon steps out from the fog, causing Hop to panic. I step in front of him, sending out Toasty as the Pokémon howls again. I give the order to use Tackle, but it doesn't seem to even phase the creature. it howls, and the fog thickens. I can't see anything other than the glowing yellow eyes of the Pokémon, but I hear Hop nearby, "Gloria!? I can't see anything, are you okay!?"

I shout for Toasty to use tackle one more time, which he happily does. It once again doesn't phase the creature. It howls once more, and the fog becomes so thick, that I can't even see the glowing eyes anymore. I feel the motion of the air as it runs past, but then everything becomes white.

The next thing I remember, after my vision is restored, is Leon running up to us in a panic. He asks us if we are okay, which I disregard to ask about the Pokémon. Of course, Leon assumes I mean the Wooloo, but when I correct him, he claims he never saw any other Pokémon nearby.

We quickly leave the forest, and head back to our respective houses. We're gonna rest up before heading out to meet Professor Magnolia. Besides, I should probably let my Mom know where I'll be going, and that her daughter is gonna be the next Pokémon Champion!