Reviews from the readers:
I just found this story and I love it! Read all 11 chapters in one night :).
Eleven chapters in one night? Wow, that's pretty hardcore. Anyway, I'm glad you like it so far. With all these new readers, I'll try to update as much as possible.
That Natu. 'TWAS HILARIOUS!
Glad you think so. I was thinking about making him a reoccurring character, but I can't think of any new material for him to be comic relief, lol.
Again, thanks to MagikarpMaster for editing.
Cody: Bastion(Squirtle), Mars (Diglett), Colossal (Larvitar)
Heather: Somnos (Poliwag), Feathers (Pidgey), Nadine (Nidoran [F]), Oddish.
Jared: Charmeleon, Servine, Croconaw, Nidorino, Fearow, Mightyena
Chapter 12: Of Birds and Beasts
It was a gloomy noon in the middle of September. The sky was cloudy, but a few rays of sun poked through. The three teens were not focused on the sky itself though, but what was sitting on the horizon. Multiple gorgeous mountains littered the background as the field stretched out from the base.
"Wow, they're beautiful," Heather gasped. "None of the mountains we've passed have been this beautiful."
"No kidding," Cody replied as he looked over at Jared, who was also in awe. "Admit it, this is worth it even if I don't catch that Skarmory."
"Oh, you're catching that Skarmory," Jared said as he snapped back to reality. "We traveled too far out of the way to get here, so you better make it worth the trip, buddy."
"Glad to know you're on my side," Cody chuckled. "If things go well, I'll have my catch by nightfall, and we'll get out of here as soon as you want. Let's get going."
The three began to walk towards the mountains, but they soon realized that the cliffs were a lot farther away then they looked. It took the group an hour or so to reach the base of the mounds; so they decided to stop for lunch on a giant stone next to the towering mounds before making the ascent.
"So why do they call these the St. Anthony Mountains?" Heather asked as she sipped on her canteen. Her newest party member, Oddish was busy dancing around at her feet. The weed pokemon was very hyperactive.
"Saint Anthony was a Catholic priest who lived in one of the mountain towns," Jared began. "He was supposedly a really charitable man and what not and-"
"Aren't all Christians supposed to be charitable?" Cody asked as he read one of the pages in his Pokemon Field Guide. He was only half paying attention to what Jared was saying.
"Yes, but he must have done something if they made him a sai-"
"Don't you have to perform a miracle to become a saint?" Cody interrupted again. This time, he was trying to get on Jared's nerves for the fun of it, and he succeeded.
"Yeah, I… shut up Cody, I don't know. I'm a Baptist!" He regained his composure and began to speak again. "Anyway, he's the patron saint of hikers and mountain pokemon."
"They have a saint for those things?" Cody questioned.
"Yeah, Catholicism pretty much has a saint for everything," Heather answered. "Jared, how do you know all this?"
"Yeah," Cody joined in. "For a non-catholic, you sure know a lot about this guy."
"I did some research when we stayed the night in Hettimox Town." He then looked up to see both of the other trainers giving him strange looks. "What? Somebody should be doing research about the places we go."
Crap, he's actually right for once. Cody let out a small, defeated groan and went back to reading the page he was on. It was basic information and tactics of Skarmory. "Get this," he said, getting the attention of his companions, "Skarmory's skin and feathers become tough from exposure to thorns and briars that the mother makes the nest from."
"Oh please Cody," Jared scoffed. "Anybody who knows anything about Skarmory knows tha-"
"Shut it, this gets better," Cody interrupted. "It also says the first winter is the most important in the development of a Skarmory because the cold air and snow not only toughens the skin, but also starts the process of their armor growth. However during this time, some Skarmory chicks are not able to withstand the freezing temperatures, and die, which removes their genes from the gene pool."
"Ugh," Heather exclaimed. "That's awful."
"That's Darwinism," Cody corrected.
"That's just great," Jared groaned. "Cody, what if you catch a Skarmory that can't survive the winter?"
"Don't worry Jared, I'll find one that can withstand the winter," Cody replied coolly. He wasn't worried at all yet.
"How do you know that?" Jared continued. "What makes you so sure you will?"
"What makes you so sure I won't?" Cody questioned smartly in an attempt to get Jared to stop asking questions. It worked, but Cody knew that what he was doing was a huge gamble. Of course, he'd have to win this lottery, or else Jared would never let him live it down that they wasted so much time coming to the mountains.
A loud orchestra of noises came from the field. It sounded as though a bunch of trumpets were on a stampede. The group turned their heads to see a large herd of elephants charging into the field. The herd eventually slowed to a halt and began grazing.
"Wow…look at all the Donphan…" Heather stated in awe. "I've never seen this many in one place."
"Me neither…" Cody agreed. He turned to a stats page and began counting the Donphan and Phanpy that were in the herd. This was good data for when he sent the guide back in to the researchers. He counted twenty-five Donphan and ten Phanpy in the herd. As the teens admired the group of elephants, Cody noticed two Donphan were rolling around the herd at top speed. They had their heads and hindquarters tucked in so they could roll about like wheels.
"Hey Jared, what are those two rolling Donphan doing?" Cody asked curiously.
"Showing off," Jared answered simply as he scanned the herd with his binoculars. "Donphan herds are matriarchal. When male Phanpy evolve into Donphan, they're typically kicked out of the herd for being too rowdy. However, the males will look for female herds and will show off in an attempt to impress the females."
"Okay, that makes sense," Cody replied. He had learned that in school a few years ago, but he couldn't recall it until Jared had reminded him. When he looked back at the herd of pachyderms, he felt the urge to try and capture a Phanpy, but he knew that would be a silly thing to do with all the bigger elephants around. Still, just seeing such a large herd of Donphan was a cool experience that he probably wouldn't have been able to enjoy if he wasn't a trainer.
Suddenly, one trumpeting voice struck out from the murmuring of the herd. The voice sounded as though the elephant that made it was in pain. Jared was the first to find out which individual had made the noise.
"Holy… Heather, come look at this," he said frantically, not putting the binoculars down. "There's a Donphan giving birth!"
"No way, let me see!" Heather shouted as she joined Jared's side. He handed her the binoculars, and her jaw dropped. "Oh my…"
"Let me see this," Cody asked. Heather handed him the binoculars, but he handed them back the moment he saw what was going on. His stomach did a back flip. "Hold on, I'm going to be sick!" He ran over to the side of the big stone they were picnicking on and threw up over the edge into a bush below. Jared and Heather were howling with laughter.
"Cody, don't be such a drama queen," Jared laughed. "That's the miracle of life. It's a beautiful thing."
"Yeah Cody," Heather joined in. "That's how you were born."
"That's how I was born!" Cody shouted back in disgust. "I may not remember my birth, but I can assure you that I didn't come out of an elephant's va-" He stopped talking so he could let another splash of puke fall out of his mouth. "Oh lord, I can't unsee that! This is why I'm a trainer and not a breeder. Just tell me when it's over."
"Relax man, it's already over," Jared chuckled. "Why won't you look at that…" He handed the binoculars back to Heather.
"Awww," she gasped. "It's already walking. Cody, come look at this."
"No thanks, I've had my fill of nature for today," Cody mumbled as he sat down next to Heather. She handed him the binoculars anyway, so holding his breath, he took a look at the mother and child again.
"Wow…" he whispered. This seen was a lot more pleasant to look at. The blue Phanpy calf was already standing and trying to walk, though it wobbled when doing so. The mother Donphan touched her forehead to the baby's body. The two pokemon then touched each other with their trunks. It was a beautiful moment; much more beautiful than the "miracle" that preceded it.
"There's one," Cody whispered. The three trainers and their few "out of ball" pokemon stopped on the mountain trail and looked at a little gray bird that was pecking at the ground in a clearing. It was definitely a Skarmory chick; but it looked nothing like a fully grown Skarmory. The birdling had two tiny wings, but no armor whatsoever over its featherless body, just tough looking gray skin. It also seemed to lack other features that most Skarmory had: it had no red feathers under its wings, and no "horn" on its head.
"Well, go get it!" Heather whispered excitedly. "This is why we're here after all."
"No, don't." Jared pointed up at a ledge above them before Cody could order Bastion to attack. "Look up there." An iron clad Skarmory was watching the chick from above.
"Damn it," Cody muttered. "Let's keep going."
"Jared, is it going to be safe for us to be walking up here?" Heather asked fearfully. "I remember seeing a nature program that said that Skarmory will eat almost anything, including humans."
"I wouldn't worry," Jared replied. "There are three of us and thirteen pokemon between us. Most Skarmory are smart enough not to attack groups of trainers unless their young are threatened. Besides, I have Charmeleon out. Out in the wild, Skarmory instinctually avoid fire and fire pokemon. We're fine as long as long as Cody doesn't screw things up." He turned to his Charmeleon and patted him on the back.
"Good to know you trust me," Cody retorted, rolling his eyes.
"Well, if it weren't for me, you probably wouldn't have seen that Skarmory and you'd be bird chow."
"Hey, I've beat a Skarmory before!"
"Cody, that was a double battle, and it was a young Skarmory," Heather reminded him. "There's no way you coul-"
Her voice stopped when she heard the growing sound of thunder from the ground below the cliff. The three trainers looked over the edge to see a herd of Zebstrika and Blitzle running through the mountain crevice below.
"Whoa, they sound just like thunder," Cody said in amazement.
"They charge like that before a storm," Jared said in a concerned voice. "We better get to a town in a few hours before the rain starts. Do you know where we need to go to get to town, Cody?"
"Of course I do," Cody stated confidently. "I am the map guy after all." He opened the mountain map again and took a look. "We just need to head north-west from here. There's a little mountain town where we can stay, and I doubt the pokemon center is full, given how secluded it is."
"Okay, let's get to it then. You can catch a Skarmory tomorrow," Jared announced. "And Cody, you should return your Squirtle to his pokeball. He doesn't look that well."
Cody looked down to see Bastion hunched over, only being able to stand because he was pulling himself up by Cody's jeans.
"You okay buddy?" Cody asked as he knelt down to his Squirtle's level. Bastion smiled and let out a weak grunt, but he didn't look well. Cody was baffled. The turtle had not even battled that day.
"Maybe he's not used to the mountains?" Heather asked. Cody shook his head.
"I don't think that's it. We were in the mountains near Kindle for a week, and he didn't seem bothered there. I'm going to call him back though. Something's up." He returned the turtle to the pokeball, and the group continued down the trail of cliffs in search of the one that would take them to the town. Jared's Charmeleon walked in front of the pack. Unlike Bastion, the flame lizard seemed to be enjoying himself.
"Your Charmeleon seems to like it up here," Heather commented.
"Well, Charmeleon do live up in the mountains, so I guess he's at home," Jared explained.
"Does the Charmander line live in these mountains?" Cody questioned.
"Eh, I don't think," Jared answered skeptically. "I got my Charmeleon as a Charmander as a birthday present from my mom. But it was from Kanto. I don't think Charmander are common in Skitrex."
"Ah, that's too bad," Cody sighed. He was slightly disappointed. He was in the mountains to catch a Skarmory, but it would have been cool if he could have caught a Charmander while he was at it. Pushing the thoughts from his mind, he looked at Heather's Oddish who was happily dancing around in front of her as they walked. "So, Heather, you ever going to give her a nickname?"
"Hmm…" She pondered for a moment. "I'm going with Bella. It's a pretty name for a girl, and it's fitting for a Bellossom, don't you think?"
"Yeah, I guess," Cody answered. "But what if she becomes a Vileplume?"
Well…" Heather began, not previously thinking about that possibility. "I'll worry about that later." She then turned her head to Jared. "Hey Jared, why don't you give your pokemon nicknames?"
"Why does it matter?" Jared asked defensively. "A lot of people don't nickname their pokemon."
"I'm just curious," Heather admitted.
"Well, I'm bad with names," Jared stated.
"But they're your pokemon."
"Yes, but it's easier just to look at them and see what they are. They don't need an extra label to be special to me."
"I guess that all makes sense," Cody said as he absorbed the explanation. In truth, he thought it was a stupid reason, but he wasn't going to antagonize Jared over it. "Different strokes for different folks, I guess."
"Yeah, besides," Jared continued, "I'm not very creative. When I was given my Charmander, I probably would have named him something dumb, like Flamey or something if I was forced to."
"Haha, yeah, I was kind of on the fence originally about nicknaming my pokemon at first. I just put a bit of time into it before I make the deci-" Cody suddenly froze in both sentence and place. "We got another one," he whispered.
Further up on the mountain trail in an open space in the mountain side was a Skarmory chick pecking at the corpse of a young Karrablast. It looked just like the other one, except slightly bigger.
"Everybody look around for the mom," Jared whispered. "I don't know if a Skarmory chick would be able to kill a gutsy pokemon like a Karrablast by itself or not." All three trainers scanned the surrounding cliffs, but no older Skarmory was in sight.
"I don't see one," Cody whispered. "I'm going in. Keep on the lookout though. If a parent shows up, get Charmeleon to blast it or something." He turned towards his prey and began to approach slowly. But once he was within twenty feet, the armorless bird suddenly stopped eating and turned his head towards Cody. The naked chick let out a loud screech and shifted into a defensive position in front of its meal. It wasn't interested in Cody taking its food. But neither was Cody.
"Okay, let's make this quick before the mom shows up. Let's go Colossal!" The Larvitar burst from the tossed pokeball and immediately ran at the chick to tackle it, but the little bird charged the lizard in retaliation. The two pokemon collided, and even though the chick was just as tall as Larvitar, the bird was slammed backwards into the mountain side.
"Good, now Horn Attack!" Colossal left a perfect mark on the baby Skarmory's wing, but the birdling wouldn't stay down. It ran at the Larvitar and tried to strike him with its wing as if it were using a Steel Wing attack. Colossal wasn't even knocked over by the strike, so it grabbed the wing and threw it into the mountain wall again. The little bird stood up again and flapped its wings in an attempt to fly, but it couldn't get off the ground.
"Man, for a baby, this thing bird is as tough as nails," Cody commented. "Just Body Slam it already!" Without any fear of being harmed, Colossal ran forward and grabbed the bird, ignoring the various pecks, and sandwiched the chick between the ground and his weight. But the Skarmory was still struggling to stand up.
"Okay, catching time," Cody muttered to himself. He threw an empty pokeball at the writhing bird. The chick was sucked into the pokeball.
"Yes," Cody shouted. "I cau-"
The ball exploded and laid on the ground in broken pieces. The Skarmory had escaped. Letting out another screech, it began to charge toward Cody. Cody braced himself for the oncoming attack, but the hit never came. He opened his eyes to see the baby bird on the ground. Colossal had hit it in the skull with a rock.
"Good shot Colossal," Cody praised. He looked down at the chick who was still trying to stand up. "Good try little one," Cody murmured in respect. This time, he pulled out a great ball and gave it a light toss at the pokemon in front of him. After the Skarmory was absorbed a second time, the ball only wiggled a few times before falling still. Colossal wandered forward to inspect the pokeball. He picked it up in both hands and held it up for his trainer.
"Thank you Colossal," Cody said to his pokemon as he knelt down and pat him on the head. He then took the pokeball that contained the Skarmory and held it up to the light. The two weeks of traveling to get to St. Anthony's had paid off. He kissed the pokeball and smiled at it. "You're gonna be my main event."
"Well, are you happy Cody? You caught your damn bird," Jared groaned.
"Yes I am, son," Cody replied ecstatically. "I just caught myself a motherfucking Skarmory. When this little guy gets bigger, there's gonna be no stopping us." All of a sudden, a piercing screech of a grown Skarmory echoed in the mountains. The teens looked around nervously.
"Come on," Heather urged, "let's get out of here before we get minced."
Areos Town was located deep within the mountains among the cliffs. Besides a dirt road that winded through the mountains that allowed sturdy cars to pass into the town, the only means of transportation besides foot was by helicopter. The group had come to that conclusion by noticing the helipad near the pokemon center. Other than that, the town looked like something out of the old world.
The pokemon center was modernized, however. But because it was in the middle of nowhere and not on the way to any gyms, the only other trainers utilizing the facility were the locals.
"So how are they?" Cody asked the nurse. He had noticed that this was the first male nurse he had ever seen at a pokemon center. The young man behind the counter smiled and handed back two of his pokeballs.
"You're Diglett and Larvitar are fine. And you're Skarmory…" He handed Cody a third pokeball, which Cody recognized as Skarmory's because it was blue. "She's fine too."
"She?" Cody asked in almost disbelief.
"Yes, she," the nurse repeated. "She's a real mean one too. You better be careful with her. She's young, so I recommend you wait a month before using her in battle, but even then, make sure it's only against young pokemon. Don't use her in anything too competitive until her armor comes in, understand?"
"Okay," Cody said as he attached the ball to his belt. "Did you figure out what's wrong with my Squirtle?"
"Yes, he's merely suffering from a hydrogen deficiency. Nothing too serious, many young water pokemon will go through it once or twice before they get older."
"Hydrogen deficiency huh? What's that?"
"Well," the nurse began, "when water pokemon drink water, their bodys' strip the hydrogen atoms from the oxygen and store them in their water glands so they can produce gallons of water for attacks by recombining it with the surrounding oxygen."
"Oh okay." Cody had always wondered how water pokemon could produce so much water, and this response made as much sense as any.
"He just doesn't have enough hydrogen in him right now. He should be better by the morning, but we're going to keep him overnight to be sure he's alright."
"Okay, thank you." Cody then walked over to the couches where Jared and Heather were sitting. He noticed Jared's right arm resting around Heather's shoulders, but it didn't bother him. Two weeks of this stuff had made him immune. Somnos sat on Heather's lap, sleeping as usual.
"So, are we going to see this future 'hall of famer,' now that she's yours?" Jared asked sarcastically.
"How did you know she was a female?" Cody asked.
"I heard the nurse," Jared answered. "So are we going to see her already?"
"Well sure, now's a good a time as any I guess," he said. "But first…" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cheap looking lighter.
"Why do you have that?" Heather questioned. "You don't smoke."
"Nope, it's not for that," he corrected. "I just bought this at the general store. As for why…" He took a deep breath. "Well, you'll see." With his free hand, he removed the great ball from his belt and pressed the button to release the monster inside. The Skarmory rematerialized in front of him and immediately stared him in the face. She didn't look happy.
"SKREEEEEEE!" the bird began to screech, drawing the attention of every person and pokemon in the room. She continued this shrill noise until Cody lit the lighter in front of her face. The bird was silenced as she stared at the flame. She was obviously afraid of the fire, but only showed a calm resentment towards it. She refused to show weakness. The only sounds that were present now in the silenced pokemon center was the chirping of Heather's Poliwag, who had been awakened by the screech of the chick.
"Well, that went better than I expected," Cody chuckled, not breaking eye contact with the bird.
"Jesus, Cody, what the hell was that!" Heather exclaimed. "She looked like she was going to rip your face off!"
"She might have, too," Cody agreed. "But I have two of her weaknesses right here." Letting the fire die, he put down the Skarmory's pokeball and picked up a handful of pokechow and held it up for the bird to eat. She gave him an evil looking glare, and then cautiously began to pluck the kibble from his hand. Even though her beak had not fully developed yet, its sharpness broke Cody's skin with every pluck. He didn't flinch though. The document he had read on Skarmory told him to never show fear or pain in front of a freshly caught Skarmory.
After she finished eating the kibble, she stared harshly into Cody's eyes again. He slowly touched her head and let his hand stroke the back of her neck. Her featherless skin felt like a mixture of steel and rubber. But even at his gentle touch, the chick would not loosen her gaze. Cody could see the harsh road that lay before him. With Bastion, Mars, and Colossal, he had to earn their trust to access their friendship. But with this Skarmory, he would have gain her respect as well. A pocket sized flame and a handful of food would not be enough.
"So," Heather murmured quietly, in fear that her voice may anger the bird, "what are you going to name her?"
"I don't know," he sighed. "I usually wait awhile before I name them. I like to consider it first." He stroked the chick's back now. Her expression didn't change. "I was thinking of Antone, being a spin-off of the name Anthony, like the name of these mountains, but since she's a girl-"
"I really hope you're happy," Jared rudely interrupted.
"That's the fifth time you've said that in the past two hours," Cody groaned. "We'll leave tomorrow once the sun rises and you can forget this whole trip, okay?"
"Cody, do you realize you're playing russian roulette with this bird, right? She obviously doesn't like you, and she could easily pluck your eyes out right now if she-"
"But she hasn't, has she?" Cody interjected. "I'll find a way to earn her respect."
"And even if you do, what of the winter? What if she doesn't survive?"
"She's strong enough," Cody affirmed. "She may not have laid a scratch on Colossal, but she refused to qui-"
"That's another thing, what of her battling?" Jared asked. "She's not going to be able to battle in the gyms until the spring."
"I've told you before, this is an investment!" Cody shot back. "She's going to be a tough competitor in the-"
"As far as I'm concerned, you still have three pokemon right now," Jared said sharply. "I still think you wasted our time just to catch one poke-"
"Jared, stop," Heather cut him off.
"No, he's right," Cody said indignantly. "So you think I'm just wasting my time, huh? Well, I'll make you believe it's worth it. I'm going out and catching a fifth pokemon, and I won't come back until I do." He returned the Skarmory to her pokeball and put his things into his backpack. "I'll be back in a few hours, I'm going out."
"No, Cody, please don't do this," Heather said in an attempt to apologize for Jared's words. "It's not a big deal if your Skar-"
"Too late," Cody shouted. "You're boyfriend thinks I wasted all of our time, so I'm going to make him eat his words. I'm going to find another champion for my team." With that, he turned around and exited the pokemon center. "Asshole," he muttered to himself. "One of these days…" Suddenly, a drop of water splashed on his nose. He looked up at the sky to see it blackened with storm clouds. Suddenly, he remembered that the moron had predicted that it would rain.
"What a swell time we're having, eh?" Cody asked Mars and Colossal. The mole and lizard didn't respond. They just sat by his knees as he sat under an old mountain tree to protect himself from the rain. Both of them were getting drowsy.
He knew that hiding under a tree during a thunder storm wasn't a smart idea, but the thunder was far off. The hunt for a fifth team member had been a failure thus far, since most mountain pokemon avoided the rain. It was past midnight now, and the only light that showed was that of the far off lightning strikes. Cody began to curse his pride that kept him from returning to the pokemon center.
"Wake me when it stops raining," he murmured to his pokemon as he drifted off to sleep. But he never quite fell into slumber. He slowly tilted his head leftward so he could look down the trail he had come on. In the corner of his eye, he could still see the large gorge below. If the rain kept up, it would eventually form a shallow river. The lightning strikes were getting closer to him. Eventually, he would have to find a new location to hide out. But even after the sound of thunder, it sounded as though the noise continued to echo in the distance.
BOOM!
He covered his ears to block out the sound. The lightning flashed again. On the path to his left, he saw the figure of what looked to be an old woman. It looked like Madame Stella, but the light only flashed for a second. When the lightning flashed again, there was no one there. "I need to see a psychiatrist," he muttered miserably.
Suddenly, Mars sat up in the ground. He began to squeak frantically. The mole was feeling a movement somewhere. Out in the distant gorge, the lightning was striking, and the sound of neighing penetrated the air. The residual sound of thunder wasn't an echo, but the same stampede of Zebstrika and Blitzle that they saw earlier. The herd gave off a slight glow as the older Zebstrika were absorbing the electricity strikes. The group ran in circles and would switch locations in the gorge depending on where the lightning would strike next.
"I always wanted a horse," Cody muttered to himself. He remembered going trail riding during a family vacation where he got to ride a Ponyta, but a Blitzle would work just as well. "Let's go boys."
He ran down the trail with only a small flashlight to guide him in the darkness and the pouring rain. He let Mars lead the way, since the mole had better "earth sense" than he did in the darkness, and Colossal kept up at his heels. After ten minutes of running in the rain, they reached the gorge. The circling herd of zebras had moved closer now, but the young trainer knew he didn't have time to spare. They could be gone again any minute. Using both hands to plug his ears, he approached the noisy herd, and at fifty feet away, he ordered Mars to activate his Arena Trap ability. The Diglett moved in front of him and began spinning in place in the mud that was forming. As the some of the Zebstrika lead the herd across the gorge to the next place that lightning would strike, two young Blitzle were caught in the mole's spinning trap.
"Now Sand Tomb!" Cody shouted over the thundering hooves of the distant horses. Mars heard him and began spinning into the ground like a screw. The earth coned downward around him as he spun and the two zebras were caught like insects in an ant lion's pit. After realizing that they could not escape, the two Blitzle charged the Diglett with a Spark attack. The mole wasn't injured by the electricity itself, but by the collision of the horses, and lost control of the Sand Tomb. The two Blitzle began running out of the pit, but were knocked over like bowling pins by Colossal's Rock Slide. The bigger Blitzle let out a loud whinny as it found its feet and ran away to rejoin the herd. The slightly smaller Blitzle was trying to find its way out of the pit.
"Mars, Bulldoze!" With a wave of dirt and mud behind him, the Diglett burrow charged the struggling horse and knocked him over with a collision of the wave. The little Blitzle was knocked unconscious by the blow and slid into the bottom of the pit. Its body began to get covered in the sloppy mud.
"Shit, I don't want it to drown down there." Cody threw a pokeball and the limp body of the zebra was snatched up. The ball fell into the soiled water, so he ran down into the slippery mud pit and got a hold of it before the mud got two deep for him to enter. He held the pokeball up in the air and let the falling water wash the dirt off of it. It would take hours to clean his clothes, but in his mind, it was worth it.
Normally, I wouldn't give a trainer two new pokemon in one chapter, but I figured it would be appropriate here.
Review if you feel the urge. If you've been reading but not reviewing, make my day. I'll try to get in one more chapter before I leave on vacation, and hopefully while I'm there, I'll get two more chapters out before my return. Because internet access where I'm going is questionable, it may be some time. Peace.