AUTHOR'S NOTE: Greetings, readers! Here is chapter 10 of the continuing adventures of Tristan, Hillary, and Pikachu, as they continue their way through the Kanto region. Melanie from the Hidden Village makes an appearance in this chapter, and so do Butch and Cassidy. As always, please feel free to read, review, and leave feedback. Questions are welcome, too.
TEASER: Tristan and Hillary meet an injured Bulbasaur, but it doesn't want to have anything to do with humans thanks to two suspicious characters! Who are these two characters, and will Tristan be able to earn Bulbasaur's trust?
Chapter 10: GETTING A NEW BULB
(Music Cue: Opening & Title Screen (as heard in "Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon"))
After celebrating Tristan's latest victory at the Cerulean Gym, he and Hillary continue on their journey while taking a tour of Cerulean City.
"I don't know how you managed to get Pidgeotto to listen to you, but because of that, you were able to get a Gym Badge," remarked Hillary.
"All I did was save Pidgeotto and earn its trust," replied Tristan. "Being a Pokémon Trainer is a big responsibility. When you're a Trainer, you have to put your Pokémon's needs ahead of your own and do whatever you can to help them out."
"Wow, big bro. That sounds hard," said Tristan. "I'm not so sure I'm ready to be a Trainer like you."
"Don't worry about that, sis," said Tristan. "With traveling comes experience. And I'm sure the two of us will learn more as we travel from town to town. And by the time our journey through the Kanto region is over, you will be ready to become a Trainer in no time."
Pikachu agreed with Tristan.
"Speaking of being a Trainer, maybe Grandma knows a thing or two about becoming a Trainer," said Hillary. "Maybe we should give her a call."
"That's a good idea," replied Tristan. He and Hillary dashed over to the Pokémon Center.
(Music Cue: Route 1: The Road to Viridian City M18A)
"Tristan is absolutely right, dear," said Tristan and Hillary's grandmother, Veronica, on the video phone to Hillary. "Being a Trainer is a big responsibility, but it's also a good idea to have fun playing with your Pokémon."
"Come to think of it," said Hillary, "I haven't seen Tristan play with his Pokémon very much."
"Well, it isn't like I haven't been having those battles with Team Rocket at Mount Moon!" protested Tristan.
"Now, now, you two," said Veronica, "just because you've been training your Pokémon, doesn't mean you can't have fun playing with them. Try playing a game of Frisbee with them, or perhaps tag. Your grandfather's been teaching Eevee how to play with crossword puzzles back here in New Bark Town. Of course, Eevee just likes getting as much attention as it can from the both of us, even though it doesn't know about crossword puzzles."
"Is giving attention to your Pokémon the same as playing with them?" asked Tristan.
"Precisely," answered Veronica. "That's all there is to it."
Just then, the doorbell on Veronica's end rang.
"Oh, dear," said Veronica. "It sounds like your grandfather forgot his key again. I'd better let him in and let you two go for now, but remember to always have fun."
"We will, Grandma," said Tristan and Hillary together. "We love you."
"Pika pika!" added Pikachu.
"I love you, too, kids," said Veronica. "Watch out for them, Pikachu."
"Pikachu!" replied Pikachu.
Tristan hung up the phone and the screen turned off.
Suddenly, both he and Hillary noticed a young woman rushing inside the Pokémon Center, panting as she went, with an injured Pokémon in her arms.
(Music Cue: You Have to Earn Respect)
"Please, Nurse Joy, you've got to help me!" she begged.
"What's the matter, miss?" asked Nurse Joy.
"This Bulbasaur has been injured, but I don't think these were natural injuries," replied the woman. "I think somebody hurt this Bulbasaur on purpose; however, I didn't see who did it."
Nurse Joy took a look at the scratches and bruises on Bulbasaur and gasped.
"That's terrible!" she exclaimed. "We'll begin treating it right away."
At that instant, Tristan and Hillary came quickly to the front desk.
"What's going on, Nurse Joy?" asked Tristan.
"Somebody intentionally hurt this Bulbasaur!" replied Nurse Joy.
"That's awful!" gasped Tristan. "Who would do such a thing!?"
"I don't know, but there's no time to answer that now," answered Nurse Joy. She turned to a Chansey, who was standing by. "Chansey, rush this Pokémon to the operating room."
"Chansey!" it replied happily.
Bulbasaur was hoisted onto a stretcher and was wheeled into the emergency care room.
(Music Cue: Pokémon Tower 1997-1998 M61A)
Tristan and Hillary were watching Bulbasaur through a window some time later. They were still puzzled about who would hurt an innocent little Pokémon.
"I feel sorry for that Bulbasaur," said Tristan sadly.
"Me, too," agreed Hillary. "I don't know what it could have done to deserve such pain and misery."
"I wish I knew more about Bulbasaur," said Tristan. "Then, maybe, just maybe, I can help it. I've got to help it somehow."
"Maybe you can, Tris," replied Hillary. "Just check your pocket."
Tristan suddenly remembered. "My Pokédex!" he said. "Great idea, sis! If there's a way I can learn about Bulbasaur, Dexter can tell me all about it!" He took out his Pokédex and scanned Bulbasaur with it.
"Bulbasaur: The Seed Pokémon," it said. "It can go for days without eating a single morsel. It stores energy in the bulb on its back."
"It doesn't look like this Bulbasaur has a lot of energy right now," said Hillary.
"No wonder," replied Tristan, "after the way it was treated like that."
"How's Bulbasaur?" asked a voice.
Tristan and Hillary turned around to see the same woman who brought it in earlier.
"Who are you?" asked Tristan.
"Oh, sorry," said the woman. "My name's Melanie. I live in a place called the Hidden Village."
"I've heard about that place before when I was growing up," said Tristan. "Isn't that the place where you've been nursing weak and injured Pokémon back to health?"
"Yes it is," answered Melanie. "Another Bulbasaur came to the village and was nursed back to health several months ago, but was very protective of other sick Pokémon in the village, and none of the other Pokémon wanted to leave because it was safe, but to me, it was a little too safe. This Bulbasaur was eventually caught by a kind Trainer named Ash quite some time ago. It was just pure luck that another Bulbasaur came to the Hidden Village in such terrible shape."
"If you think that's pure luck, just look at Bulbasaur's eyes," said Hillary. She and the others noticed that Bulbasaur was weakly glaring at all three of them through the window. It seemed to be very angry.
"I hate to say it, but it looks like Bulbasaur isn't very trusting of humans after the experience it just had," said Tristan.
"There has to be something we can do to convince it to trust us," said Hillary.
"What if we promise to give it a little time alone for awhile as soon as it's better?" suggested Melanie.
"But we can't just leave it alone forever," protested Tristan.
"But what can we do about it, Tristan?" asked Hillary. "Since whoever did this to Bulbasaur is still out there, it's going to be tough to gain Bulbasaur's trust."
"If I was able to gain Pidgeotto's trust, I can gain Bulbasaur's trust, also," insisted Tristan. "You will have to trust me on this whether you like it or not."
(Music Cue: The Enigma)
Just then, Nurse Joy came out of the operating room. She had good news and bad news.
"Bulbasaur's going to be just fine," she said, "but I'm afraid it's going to take a little while to lose the mental pain."
"Mental pain?" repeated Hillary.
"It's a way of feeling hurt inside without actually being physically hurt," explained Nurse Joy.
"Nurse Joy, would you mind if I spent a little time with Bulbasaur?" asked Tristan.
"I don't know, Tristan," replied Nurse Joy. "Whoever hurt Bulbasaur in the first place caused it to be full of mistrust towards all humans."
"But I think I can help it trust me," insisted Tristan. "After all, I managed to gain Pidgeotto's trust in my most recent Gym Battle." He paused for a second. "Please understand, Nurse Joy, this isn't just something that I want to do. It's also something I feel that I have to do. I know it won't be easy, and it might be dangerous, but I'll do whatever I have to do to be friends with Bulbasaur. I won't do anything to hurt it. I promise."
When Nurse Joy heard the words "I promise," she didn't need any more convincing.
"Okay, Tristan, you've got yourself a deal," she said. "But be sure to use extreme caution as to how you befriend it." She walked with Tristan toward the operating room.
"Good luck," whispered Hillary.
In the operating room, Tristan walked cautiously toward the bed where Bulbasaur was lying in. Hillary and Melanie watched through the window.
"Hello, Bulbasaur," whispered Tristan. "How are you doing, buddy?"
Bulbasaur just glared at Tristan, as if it was expecting him to hurt it.
"Please don't be afraid, Bulbasaur," whispered Tristan. "I'm not here to hurt you."
But Bulbasaur didn't listen. It leaped out of the bed at that instant.
"Wait, Bulbasaur!" said Tristan. "You haven't gotten all of your strength back yet! You need to rest!"
Bulbasaur suddenly charged and rammed into Tristan, who was taken by surprise. He was sent flying backward into the wall, much to Nurse Joy's shock.
"Tristan, no!" cried Nurse Joy.
Hillary and Melanie were worried, too, and so was Pikachu. Nobody was expecting Bulbasaur to have the strength to muster a Tackle attack with so much force, even after getting seriously hurt.
Tristan winced in pain, but suddenly smiled.
"That was great, Bulbasaur," said Tristan as he struggled to his feet. "I've never seen a Tackle attack this strong before."
(Music Cue: The Moon Stone)
Bulbasaur then extended two vines from its bulb and began to whip Tristan with them, hurting him all the while. It was using its Vine Whip attack to protect itself. Nurse Joy found this to be a dangerous situation.
"It's no use, Tristan!" said Nurse Joy. "Get back now!"
"No way!" grunted Tristan, who was filled with determination, even though he was getting hit repeatedly with Bulbasaur's Vine Whip. "I've never backed down from a challenge, and I won't start now. I made it this far, and I won't stop until I finally get through to Bulbasaur!"
There was no stopping Tristan now. Once his mind was set on something, there was no way to change it otherwise. Even though he kept getting whipped by Bulbasaur's Vine Whip, he continued on anyway.
"Those vines look (ow!) powerful, too (ow!)," grunted Tristan. He slowly went forward towards Bulbasaur, despite the fact that it was still using Vine Whip on him, and hurting him.
"I just want you to know that I understand your feeling of humans and why you don't like them," he continued. "But I also want you to know that you're not alone. There are some people out there like the ones who hurt you, and I've dealt with them before, but I'm not like them at all. I just want to be your friend. I also have friends who want to be your friends, too. We don't want to hurt you, we just want to help you. Okay?"
As Tristan got closer to Bulbasaur, and as he talked things out with it, he noticed its Vine Whip getting weaker and weaker. The weaker it got, the less pain he felt.
"That's it, Bulbasaur," said Tristan as he got even closer. "Just take it easy, and I promise to treat you like family."
When Bulbasaur heard the word "family," it slackened the pace of its Vine Whip and eventually stopped.
Everyone else sighed with relief.
"One more thing, Bulbasaur," added Tristan. "If you ever find yourself in trouble, I promise to do everything I can to help you."
He gently patted Bulbasaur on the forehead.
Bulbasaur was still shaking when he touched it, but noticed that it wasn't being hurt at all. Then, Bulbasaur collapsed due to being exhausted from continually attacking Tristan.
"Bulbasaur!" gasped Tristan. "Are you okay?"
"I'm sure it's just exhausted, but let's get it back in bed so it can rest," Nurse Joy advised.
She and Tristan put Bulbasaur back into the hospital bed and gently tucked it in. Then, they put some Pokémon food on a table next to the bed in case it got hungry.
Nurse Joy was impressed. "You were very brave to talk to Bulbasaur like that," she said. "I'll let you keep an eye on Bulbasaur for a little while. Would you like that?"
"Yes, please, Nurse Joy," answered Tristan.
Nurse Joy left the room, leaving Tristan and Bulbasaur alone. He kept a close eye on it the entire time.
(Music Cue: A Future Hope)
Nighttime came. Tristan emerged from the operating room several hours later after giving Bulbasaur the Pokémon food while helping it fall fast asleep. Hillary and Malanie were waiting for him.
"Is Bulbasaur doing well?" asked Melanie.
"Bulbasaur's doing much better," answered Tristan, "but it needs to rest in order to get itself back up to speed."
"That's good news," said Hillary. She noticed the whip marks on Tristan's arm. She seemed surprised. "What happened in there? It looks like Bulbasaur didn't cooperate with you at first."
"Oh, Bulbasaur was just being protective," explained Tristan. "But we talked things out and now everything should be fine."
"I guess Bulbasaur did a good job of "whipping" you into shape, didn't it?" giggled Melanie.
"It's a good thing you weren't too tired or "whipped" to deal with Bulbasaur," added Hillary, who was also giggling.
"Ha-ha, very funny," said Tristan, sarcastically. Then, he got back to being serious. "Anyway, I think it's best that we leave Bulbasaur alone for the night. It's been stressed out enough having to deal with whoever hurt it and then me." Then, he yawned and said, "Besides, we could all use some shuteye. Don't you think so?"
"I agree," answered Hillary. She turned to Melanie. "Why don't you stay with us at the Pokémon Center tonight?"
"Thanks for the offer, but I live just next door to the Pokémon Center," replied Melanie. "I'll come back tomorrow to see how Bulbasaur's doing."
"Okay, then," said Tristan.
He and Hillary bid Melanie goodnight as she walked out of the Pokémon Center. Then they both went to bed themselves and fell fast asleep with Pikachu not far behind.
Tristan was the first one up the next morning. He wanted to see how Bulbasaur was doing, but when he got to the window to check on it, it was gone, and he didn't know where. He gasped in horror and frantically searched the entire center, but to no avail. He dashed back inside the bedroom where Hillary was sleeping.
"Hillary, wake up! We have an emergency!" panted Tristan as he shook Hillary out of a sound sleep.
"Must you always wake me up for the smallest reason?" said Hillary grumpily. She didn't like to be awakened by anyone.
"Bulbasaur's disappeared!" shouted Tristan.
Hillary burst wide awake at once. "Are you sure?" she asked.
"I've looked everywhere for Bulbasaur, but I can't find it anywhere!" said Tristan. He was still breathing heavily.
"Come on, Tristan. We've got to search the entire city!" suggested Hillary.
"Pidgeotto can help us with that," replied Tristan as he opened a window and released Pidgeotto from its Pokéball. It was awaiting his orders.
"We need your help, Pidgeotto," said Tristan. "Go look for Bulbasaur."
Without hesitation, Pidgeotto squawked and flew off.
"Let's get dressed and start looking as well," suggested Hillary. "We need to alert Melanie of the situation."
Tristan agreed with her. He and Hillary got dressed and ran to Melanie's house as fast as they could. They alerted her to Bulbasaur's disappearance and she quickly joined them in the search.
Meanwhile, Bulbasaur was taking a nice walk around Cerulean City. It was feeling much better and was thinking about its previous experiences from the night before, particularly with Tristan. It was awestruck at how far Tristan was willing to go in order to comfort it, even through its Vine Whip. It was wondering if Tristan would be the one it would trust enough to travel around with.
Pidgeotto was still flying around the city, hoping to see Bulbasaur from the sky. Suddenly, its keen eyes spotted Bulbasaur below. Pidgeotto made a 180-degree turn and started looking for Tristan to alert him of Bulbasaur's whereabouts.
Suddenly, a mechanical arm shot out and grabbed Bulbasaur from behind. It was placed inside a metal cage, much to the amusement of two people.
(Music Cue: The Rockets Unveiled)
One person, who was a woman, had long blonde hair and pink pointy earrings. The other, who was a man, had short turquoise hair. They were both wearing black uniforms with a red letter R on their fronts.
"You didn't really think that you'd get away from us that easily, did you?" said the woman.
"You're coming with us, pal, whether you like it or not!" said the man.
Bulbasaur glared at the two people. It was very angry, indeed.
Meanwhile, Tristan, Pikachu, Hillary, and Melanie managed to find Officer Jenny and alerted her of Bulbasaur's disappearance from the Pokémon Center. She didn't seem very surprised by the story.
"Come to think of it," said Officer Jenny, "there have been reports of two people in Cerulean City stealing rare and powerful Pokémon for their own selfish purposes lately. It's possible that these two may have been the ones who wanted Bulbasaur in the first place. Bulbasaur are very hard to come by, especially in the wild."
"Who would want Bulbasaur?" asked Tristan.
"Well, we're not sure about that just yet, but whoever it is must be stopped," answered Officer Jenny.
Just then, Pidgeotto flew to the scene and saw Tristan and the others.
"Did you find Bulbasaur, Pidgeotto?" asked Tristan.
Pidgeotto squawked with enthusiasm and pointed toward the direction where it first found Bulbasaur.
"Let's go, everyone," said Tristan, as he and the others followed Pidgeotto to Bulbasaur's location.
Meanwhile, Bulbasaur was still glaring at the two people who trapped it inside the cage. Bulbasaur tried to touch it, but discovered that it was full of electricity and got zapped. The two people laughed hysterically.
"You know, this is like taking candy from a baby!" said the woman.
"You said it," replied the man. "As soon as we get Bulbasaur back to headquarters, we're going to be very rich!"
"Hold it!" said a voice. The man and woman turned to see the voice belonged to Tristan. Hillary, Melanie, and Officer Jenny were with him.
"You two are under arrest for stealing that Bulbasaur!" declared Officer Jenny as she took out a pair of handcuffs.
(Music Cue: Team Rocket's Motto 1997-1998 (M20B (as heard in "The Fortune Hunters")))
"Oh, really?" said the woman. "Well, then, prepare for trouble!"
"And make it double!" said the man. Then they recited a motto, but this one sounded meaner than the one that Tristan and Hillary heard on Mount Moon.
"To infect the world with devastation."
"To blight all peoples in every nation."
"To denounce the goodness of truth and love."
"To extend our wrath to the stars above."
"Cassidy!"
"And Butch!"
"We're Team Rocket circling Earth all day and night!"
"Surrender to us now, or you'll surely lose the fight!"
"Raticate!" said another Pokémon as it stood in front of Butch and Cassidy. It looked like a rat with huge teeth, long whiskers, and a long, thin tail.
"Team Rocket!" exclaimed Tristan angrily.
Officer Jenny was surprised. "You know them?" she asked.
"Actually, I have never seen these two before, but I know these crooks are always up to no good," said Tristan.
"We've battled other Team Rocket members on Mount Moon, including Jessie, James, and Meowth." added Hillary. "They were trying to steal Pokémon fossils at the time."
"And all this time, it sounds like Bulbasaur was being mistreated by Cassidy and Botch!" finished Melanie.
Butch was clearly annoyed that he was called by the wrong name. "Arrrrgh! The name is Butch!" he exclaimed.
"Let go of Bulbasaur right now!" demanded Tristan.
"Sorry, but this Bulbasaur belongs to us, so get used to it," replied Cassidy. "After our latest plan on Mandarin Island failed, we had devised a plan to return to Kanto and find some rare Pokémon. And as luck would have it, we managed to find this rare beauty." She turned to Raticate, who was standing by. "Raticate, Tackle attack!"
(Music Cue: Gym 1997-1998 (as heard in "The Rivalry Revival"))
Raticate went into a full-body charge attack toward Tristan and the others, but he was ready for it.
"Pidgeotto, Quick Attack!" ordered Tristan.
Pidgeotto squawked and charged toward Raticate with a white line trailing behind it. It rammed into Raticate and sent it flying toward Cassidy, causing them both to knock each other out and drop Bulbasaur's cage, thus allowing Bulbasaur to escape from it.
Bulbasaur ran to Tristan with an excited look on its face. It was obviously happy to see him.
"Are you all right, Bulbasaur?" asked Tristan.
Bulbasaur nodded at Tristan, and then turned around and glared at Butch and Cassidy.
"I think it's mad," quivered Butch.
"Let's get out of here!" trembled Cassidy.
They both started making a run for it.
"Come back here!" demanded Officer Jenny.
Tristan had an idea. "Bulbasaur, Vine Whip attack now!" commanded Tristan.
At that instant, Bulbasaur shot two green vines from the bulb on its back and extended them long enough to grab hold of the fleeing Butch and Cassidy. It then wrapped the vines around the two crooks, tying them up. It was a very firm grip. They weren't going anywhere…except to jail in another officer's paddy wagon, which sped off with the two criminals inside.
Officer Jenny then turned her attention to Tristan, Hillary, and Melanie. "I'd like to thank you all for putting Cerulean City's crime spree to an end," she said. "If it wasn't for you, these two criminals would have continued their devious ways."
"Don't thank us, Officer Jenny," said Hillary.
"Yeah, Bulbasaur's the one who did most of the work," put in Tristan.
"And it knew just what to do to whip these two," finished Melanie.
"I guess that's true," replied Officer Jenny. She turned to Bulbasaur. "Thank you so much, Bulbasaur. On behalf of the Cerulean City Police Department, I salute you." She raised her right hand, keeping it straight, and pointed it down toward the ground with her fingers together.
Bulbasaur replied happily.
(Music Cue: Meeting and Parting)
Back at Melanie's house, Tristan and Hillary watched Melanie evaluate Bulbasaur and Pikachu. They both seemed to like Tristan very much, especially after all that they've been through so far.
"You should be very proud of yourself, Bulbasaur," said Melanie. "You've found a very special friend in Tristan, and I think the both of you will get along very well together." She turned to Tristan. "As for you Tristan," she continued, "I was very impressed with the way you've been taking care of your Pikachu. I would like for you to take this Bulbasaur with you on your journey."
Tristan was surprised. "You mean that?" he asked.
"Of course," replied Melanie. "You were the only one who was able to get through to Bulbasaur and earn its gratitude for helping it out. After being so afraid of humans, it just needed someone with love and compassion to show it that there are people like you out there. Please take Bulbasaur with you and keep showing it all the wonderful things this world has to offer."
"I'd be happy to, Melanie," said Tristan. He turned to Bulbasaur. "Do you want to come with us on our journey?"
Bulbasaur nodded and leaped into Tristan's arms, and was one happy Pokémon.
Tristan took a pose and proudly proclaimed, "I've got a Bulbasaur!"
"Pi-Pikachu!" added Pikachu.
"Bulbasaur!" finished Bulbasaur.
"That's awesome, Tristan," said Hillary.
With Bulbasaur added to the family, Tristan and Hillary continue on their journey and more exciting adventures!
Meanwhile, in another building far away, a man was watching the news and was quite intrigued. It was Giovanni himself.
"Hmmm…" he said. "So, Butch and Cassidy have been arrested yet again. I'll just have to bail them out again when I get to the jail."
(Music Cue: A Devious Plot)
Then, Giovanni noticed Tristan and his new Bulbasaur, who were also on the news. He began to smile.
"That boy I 'helped' some time ago seems to have grown up a lot, and now he's managed to become a Trainer," he said. "This makes things a lot more interesting. Mufufufufufufu."
► TO BE CONTINUED
