Rockets in the Moon, Chapter 5
My team of Pokemon had won me a Boulderbadge. Vulpix felt a bit left out of the loop, but I promised her she'd get the chance to win us a different badge. More importantly, there was quite a road ahead to Cerulean City, our next destination. Mt Moon, the largest mountain in the Kanto region, was nestled between Pewter and Cerulean, forcing trainers to trek through the mountain itself. Figuring it'd be a dark road, I picked up a flashlight and plenty of spare batteries before I left Pewter. You won't find me as unprepared as I was when I first left Pallet!
Route 4 to Mt Moon was the first leg of the journey, and it was packed with trainers on their way through as well. At first I feared the worst: endless battles before I could even reach the mountain. Fortunately, since we all had a similar destination in mind, there was a general agreement that we'd keep the challenges on hold until after we were past the mountain. Actually, this was a bit of a mixed blessing, as it meant I couldn't see everyone else's Pokemon. Knowing the enemy is a big part of training, right?
Well, though there were quite a few of us, I counted probably ten or eleven, we split off into smaller groups of three trainers. Organizing this little field trip was a boy I recognized quite well: Gary Oak of Pallet Town. He was the first kid to receive a Pokemon from Professor Oak, naturally, since he was Oak's grandson. I was more surprised by the fact that he had since abandoned his fangirls and ditched the car he set off from Pallet on. Maybe he was going for a more traditional journey? Hard to believe, seeing as how this is Gary Oak we're talking about.
We all grouped off on our own, so I didn't get to say hello to Gary right there. First off in my group was David, a young man dressed rather fanciful for being out in the wild. Perhaps he's dressing for some unseen audience, but who seriously goes out on dirt roads in slacks and a peacoat? The other trainer was a girl, much better dressed for the road than even me! From sneakers that looked like they'd traveled the world and back, to a sharp-looking white hat with a Pokeball patch on the front. She was set for adventure, and her name was Rebecca.
"It's a good thing this Gary kid organized us like this," said Rebecca. "It would've been insane for all of us to go battling our way through the mountain separate."
"Indeed," replied David. "I'll have to give him my sincere gratitude soon as we're through the mountain."
"Actually," I chimed in, raising my voice ever so slightly, "you'd better not. I know him, and he doesn't like attention that isn't praise."
"Acquaintances, are you?" David's eyebrow rose.
"Sort of," I corrected him. "We're both from Pallet Town, but we never really talked to each other much. He is a bit famous there, though."
"If there's one person I'd like to challenge to a battle here, it's him." Rebecca was eyeing Gary the entire time, seemingly fixated on him. I smelled a fangirl being born. Naturally, I didn't mention this.
"Don't think us much of a challenge?" David's question only got a hand gesture from Rebecca, one that meant 'not really'. Her attitude got me wondering just what kinds of Pokemon she had on her team.
Before our conversation could keep moving, Gary called out for all the groups to follow him into the mountain. We were all in together, but the reason we split off into smaller groups was for better coordination in battles. Mt Moon was pretty heavy with wild Pokemon, and not just the annoyance that is Zubat. Rock type Pokemon like Geodude were abundant in the caves, and that spelled trouble, especially for Vulpix. Pretty unfair how ineffective fire types are in the Pokemon world.
Once all the groups were inside, Gary gave the signal to release our primary Pokemon. To avoid ambushes, he suggested having our critters on the ready, and to help stave off Zubat attacks. Everyone seemed to hate Zubats here, though I never got why. I just went along with everyone to not be the odd girl out. David released a Diglett, a Pokemon that was smaller than Weedle was. How such a small Pokemon could hold up in battle was beyond me. Rebecca, on the other hand, showcased her Weepinbell. The entire time, I was hoping for a Zubat attack. I wanted to see their Pokemon in action.
~o~
Strangely enough, once we were inside the caves, there was no need for actual flashlights. The walls were covered in thousands of sparkly crystals, all reflecting light from somewhere deeper inside the mountain. We stayed about a few feet apart from each group, to avoid a giant mess of trainers and Pokemon, all shouting in the cave trying to issue commands. My group was at the end of the line, and I was stuck with the rear. Naturally, this meant I was going to be the first to fall down some trap door or weak floor into a darker part of the cave. And sure enough, my guess was right on the money.
Once the groups started to split up, going down different tunnels, David took the lead as we went through the tunnel assigned to us by Gary. Since Diglett could see in the dark, or underground, it was only natural he led the way. Sadly, Pokemon can't talk, so I wasn't warned by Diglett that there was weak footing along the side of the tunnel. Once I stepped on it, the floor collapsed, and I fell down quite a ways, Vulpix jumping down after me.
Normally, a fall from that height would kill me. I'm no superhero, so there was obviously something else that saved me: the back of someone walking around. Much like you'd see in some cartoon, it was thanks to me landing on his back that I escaped that fall alive. The man who saved me, however, wasn't thrilled at the idea. Once I was off him, he stood up, and his clothes were barely visible in the poor light. The one thing I did see was a large letter R in red.
"Who are you?" He barked at me.
"My name is Star," I answered, brushing the dirt off my dress. "I was just making my way through the cave when I fell down."
From above, I could hear Rebecca and David calling out to me, but before I could answer them, the man grabbed a Pokeball from his belt. He released his Pokemon, a large, hungry-looking Raticate.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave," he said. Behind him, another guy dressed identically popped up. He released a Pokemon of his own, a purple floating ball with a permanent grin: Koffing. I took a step back, not sure why they were threatening me.
"I don't want any trouble, I just want to get through the cave to Cerulean." Vulpix stood in front of me, growling at the two Pokemon and men. They took it as a sign to battle.
"Raticate, Quick Attack!" One called out.
"Koffing, Tackle!" The other ordered.
Before Vulpix could even move, the Raticate appeared behind her, tackling her right into Koffing, which sent her flying back to me with his own attack.
"Vulpix, hang in there! Use Ember!"
Once she had shrugged off the attacks, Vulpix leapt towards the Raticate, spinning around like she usually did, releasing a bunch of small fires. Raticate backed away after feeling the burn, but Koffing was still ready. He came flying in, tackling Vulpix back into my arms again. The battle wasn't going so well. I figured if they were going to play dirty, I'd do the same. I reached for a Pokeball and released Beedrill.
"Beedrill, use Pin Missile!"
Beedrill charged forward, driving his two arms into Koffing. Before Beedrill could recover from the action, Raticate came charging forward, tackling Beedrill to the ground.
"Vulpix, tackle Raticate!"
Vulpix obeyed my order, but right after she did, Koffing came back through the air and tackled Vulpix right back. I was trying my best, but I just couldn't keep up with their combined orders. Vulpix was already having trouble getting up, and Beedrill wouldn't be long in falling either. In a moment of silence, I even considered releasing Mankey next, but it wouldn't help. I couldn't compare to two people throwing orders at the same time.
After another painful attack, Vulpix ended up at my feet, and Beedrill shortly after. I returned Beedrill to his Pokeball, and scooped up Vulpix in my arms. Those men thought they had won, but I wasn't going to give myself up. I started running in the opposite direction, desperate to get away. The passage got darker and darker, and I could hardly see where I running. I ended up tripping on something, and I fell down, Vulpix flying out of my arms and landing nearby.
A tear escaped me, and I looked down at my knee. It was dark, but I could still tell I had hurt myself when I fell. There was blood all over my knee. From there, I looked back a ways, see what it was I tripped on. It was as big as Vulpix, and it was peachy colored. It was a Pokemon! The little thing got up, a bit dazed from running into me. It noticed I was hurt, and walked up to me. I finally could identify it: a Clefairy!
With a waggle of its finger, sparkles flew out, and just like that, the cut on my knee was all healed! Footsteps from behind Clefairy got louder, and those men showed up again, this time with another in their group.
"Look! A Clefairy! Catch it, quick!" Each of the men pulled out a pair of Pokeballs, all intent on being the one to catch the rare Pokemon. However, Clefairy noticed what they were trying to do, and ran behind me, using me as a shield. The men stood there, baffled.
"That's your Pokemon?" One of them asked. There was some rule about not being able to catch Pokemon belonging to another trainer, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to lie to protect Clefairy.
"Y-Yes," I stammered. "It is."
"Then I guess we'll be taking it before we dispose of you." One of the three men said. He raised his arm, Pokeball at the ready.
"Razor Leaf!"
A familiar voice echoed throughout the tunnel, and a storm of leaves cut through the three men. It was Rebecca and David! Their Pokemon ready for action, they continued to bark orders to keep the men's attention away from myself and Clefairy. In the meantime, I scrambled towards Vulpix, taking a potion from my bag and spraying it on her. She still needed some rest, but at least she wouldn't be in pain anymore.
As the battle raged on in the background, the Clefairy remained by my side, choosing not to leave. I asked it why it didn't take the chance and get away, but the Pokemon denied. It didn't want to leave my side.
"You want to be my Pokemon?" I asked it. The Clefairy nodded, as if it really understood the question. I took out a spare Pokeball from my bag, and showed it to her. The Clefairy poked at the ball, causing it to open and suck her inside. She made no effort to break free. Why would a wild Pokemon willingly allow itself to be captured?
The battle between my friends and the three men continued in the distance, with Rebecca and David on the offensive. The third man had released another Raticate of his own, but from what I could tell, it was the last Pokemon standing. What I had done on my own wasn't much, but the first Raticate and Koffing were both tiring out. David's Diglett might've been a tiny Pokemon, but it was blazingly fast and deftly handling both Raticates.
Meanwhile, Rebecca's Weepinbell was constantly blasting leaves in their direction. Rebecca was quite the fierce trainer, never letting up on her commands. Before long, even the newcomer to the battle had to issue a retreat.
"Let's get outta here!" He called out to his identically dressed partners. The other two didn't raise any objections, and they took off down the tunnel. Rebecca started after them.
"Come back here, you cowards!" She screamed, which echoed all around us.
"You might want to check in on our friend, first," mentioned David in a calm demeanor. Rebecca stopped short and turned to him. Her glance shifted to me, then back to the men that had run off. She let out a sigh, then walked over to my side.
"Are you alright, Star?" She asked.
"I'm fine," I told her, keeping up a smile. "I didn't even know who they were. They just attacked me out of nowhere."
"Team Rocket," answered David, "They're a gang that use Pokemon to do all sorts of bad things. I wonder what they were doing here in Mt Moon?"
"Whatever they were doing," Rebecca said, cutting in, "isn't our problem anymore. We should hurry, we wouldn't want to worry Gary and the other trainers."
Though Clefairy had healed the cut on my knee, the pain was still very much there, so I had to lean on David's shoulder as we made our way out of the tunnel. Luckily, we didn't run into anything or anyone else along the way back. Great news for me, I was dead tired.
~o~
Once we were outside the caves, we ran into Gary Oak. All the other trainers had already left for Cerulean, but he had stayed behind to make sure we got out safely.
"What happened back there? You three okay?" From anyone else, it would've sounded like genuine concern. But this was Gary Oak, so it was obligation more than anything. He had organized this whole thing, after all.
"Sorry, Gary," I told him, "I fell down some hole and ran into a bunch of guys from Team Rocket. Thanks to Rebecca and David here, I was saved."
He looked at me closely, wondering where he knew me from. Before I could say anything, he spoke again.
"Well, at least you're all okay." Gary noticed I was leaning on David for support. "If you want, I can carry you to Cerulean City's hospital."
"Uhh, that's okay," I answered, a bit flustered. "I'm sure I can get there on my own."
Gary Oak? Carry me to Cerulean? I swear I felt my heart skip a beat or two.
"Nonsense, how could I let you limp all the way there, especially with your Vulpix injured like that?"
Gary didn't even give me a chance to deny him this time. He walked over to me, scooped me up off my feet, and allowed me to adjust myself before we got moving. I yelled back a goodbye to David and Rebecca, though I had a feeling she didn't like the idea of me leaving in Gary's arms. Once we were out of earshot, Gary asked me again who I was.
"You look familiar, have we met before?"
"Not officially," I answered with a smile. "I'm Star. We're both from Pallet Town."
"I knew there was a reason why you looked so familiar! So, you left that little hick town with one of Gramps' Pokemon as well?"
"Actually, Vulpix here has been mine for a year now. I left to follow my friend Deneb, but I haven't seen him since we met on Route 22."
"You mean you've been traveling all this time, and you don't even have a Pokedex?"
"What's a Pokedex?" I asked.
My question was answered with a long explanation. Basically, a Pokedex was some super fancy gadget encyclopedia with all sorts of information about Pokemon stored on it. Professor Oak handed them out to new trainers as helping aids, and since I left without seeing him, I never got one.
"How long will you be in Cerulean City, Star?"
"Well, there's a gym there, so I'll only be there until I get the badge. If Deneb already got through Mt Moon, he'd probably be on his way out of Cerulean. I'm trying to catch up to him."
"Well, after I drop you off at the hospital, I'll give my Gramps a call. I'll ask him to send over a new Pokedex for you on the double."
"Oh, you don't have to do that!" Helpful a tool as it was, I was already getting a free ride to the city in his arms. I couldn't ask for anything else!
"Nonsense, it won't be a problem! It'll be a lot easier for you than carrying around that thick book." Gary had taken notice of my encyclopedia, which was poking out of my bag as he carried me along. That made me feel a bit bad, since it only made carrying me harder.
Still, I thanked Gary for the thought and gift. Once we were in the city, he dropped me off at the local Pokemon Center first, so I could leave my Pokemon to rest. He then carried me all the way across town to the hospital, checking me in and taking care of all the boring paperwork. Once I was in a room awaiting a doctor, Gary stopped by one last time.
"I just called Gramps, he said he'll have that Pokedex brought here by Pidgeot first thing tomorrow morning!"
"Thanks, Gary, for everything. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you had a crush on me, or something." Much to my shock, he blushed! Gary Oak, the most vocal, cocky Pokemon trainer to ever walk the planet, blushed! I giggled a bit when I saw this, and he immediately took that as a cue to leave.
"Well, it was a pleasure helping you out Star. Now, I have to get back to my own adventure. Maybe we'll see each other again on the road."
After giving me a thumbs up, Gary let himself out of the room. I hugged my leg as I sat on the bed, waiting for the doctor. New Pokemon on my team aside, Gary Oak has not only carried me into town, but also blushed when I teased him! I couldn't help but smile the rest of the day!