The Trail Goes Cold, Chapter 35

Route 38, one of two routes that I'd have to travel to reach Olivine City. According to Morrigan, Silver had gone running in this direction when he escaped the previous day. I was about a day behind him, but I had a feeling he hadn't traveled far. After all, his Pokemon were probably still hurt and tired from fighting me. If he didn't stop at the Pokemon Center in Ecruteak before leaving, he'd have to travel through this route without healthy critters. And of course, Route 38 just so happened to be filled with trainers looking to do battle.

Truth be told, I wasn't in the mood to do any more Pokemon battles for a while. But I had little say in the matter, as you might expect. If I was challenged by someone, I'd have no choice but to answer. And perhaps a little Pokemon battle was just what I needed to get my mind off the events in Ecruteak City. I had hopped on my bike to cruise through the route, zooming past many trainers who were engaged in Pokemon battles of their own. I had been surprisingly lucky, and no one had bothered to stop me for a battle.

Until about half way through Route 38, when I was finally stopped by somone. It was a girl about my age, and she waved at me as I rode down the road. Unlike most of the other routes in Johto, Route 38's road was surprisingly well traveled and free from shrubberies.

"Hi! I'm Dana," she said. I got off my bike and walked up to her.

"I'm Star. You looking for a battle?"

"Yup," she nodded, showing me her two Pokeballs. "I haven't had much luck finding someone to battle today."

"Well, it's your lucky day, then! I'm a pro!" Despite my claim, Dana looked at me most skeptically. Guess I should've seen that coming a mile away. I kept forgetting that first impressions were important, and I was still dressing like a kid in summer. The days had been getting cooler, now that I thought about it.

"Um, your Vulpix looks cute with that scarf," Dana said, trying not to linger on my earlier claim. I looked at my fox friend, the scarf around her neck constantly in danger of being destroyed. Vulpix didn't like using it, but the wind was cold, and I didn't want her catching a cold.

"Thanks! If you don't mind, I won't be using her today. My other Pokemon are probably cooped up in their Pokeballs, so I want them to get a little exercise."

"Okay, whatever you want! No strings battle, just for fun!"

We put some distance between us, and Dana released her first Pokemon. It was a Psyduck, and odd little critter who always seemed to hold its head as if it were in pain. Seeing this as an opportunity to give one of my lesser used critters some experience, I released Spinarak. Dana nearly had a heart attack when she saw the little bug.

"Y-You use bug Pokemon?" Spinarak budged ever so slightly, and she took a full step back. I actually found it pretty funny.

"I use whatever Pokemon I manage to catch in my travels. You don't like bugs?"

"N-No, not at all," she stuttered, not taking her eye off Spinarak.

"Well, don't worry, he won't do anything to you! Come on, let's start!"

The two Pokemon took their positions across from each other. Dana was still a bit on edge, but she took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves.

"Psyduck, start with Water Gun!"

"Use String Shot, Spinarak!"

Spinarak scurried to a side, hoping to avoid the incoming attack. What caught him off guard was the fact that Psyduck didn't seem to follow up with the command. Slightly confused, Spinarak shrugged it off and unleashed his silk string all over the water Pokemon. As it was covered almost entirely, Psyduck finally opened his bill, and blasted Spinarak head on with the water blast.

"Spinarak, finish up with another String Shot!"

"Psyduck, Disable!"

Spinarak shook off most of the moisture, and prepared to finish the job. Psyduck's eyes began to glow a bit, and Spinarak was frozen in place for a second. The small bug looked over in my direction, letting me know that his ability had been locked.

"Use Poison Sting!"

"Psyduck, Water Gun!"

The string around Psyduck seemed to be having the opposite effect, as Psyduck was reacting faster with each new command. Before Spinarak could even move forward, the yellow Pokemon blasted him with another burst of water, knocking him back a ways. Still, Spinarak got up and rushed Psyduck, driving his stinger directly into Psyduck's stationary foot. The yellow Pokemon snapped out of the string in panic, clutching its foot as it ran back towards Dana.

"Psyduck! What are you doing? Get back out there!" Despite her orders, the Pokemon continued to cry out in pain, even going as far as throwing out the next Pokeball himself! A pink sheep emerged, one that looked vaguely familiar, but not quite.

"It's okay, Dana," I yelled back at her. "We're not battling seriously. I can call back Spinarak, if you want?"

"No, no it's okay," she said before looking down at Psyduck. "We'll need to have a talk, later."

I giggled at Dana's scolding of the cute Pokemon, then moved to continue the battle.

"Spinarak, String Shot!"

"Flaaffy, Thundershock!"

The small bug shook its head back at me, as its ability was still locked by Psyduck. It was too late to try and order another attack, so I screamed for Spinarak to move out of the way. He scurried away from the pink sheep, just barely avoiding the electrical attack.

"Spinarak, Leech Life!"

"Flaaffy, Charge!"

The pink sheep stayed still, the wool on its body starting to glow a deep yellow. Spinarak rushed in for the attack, latching onto the Pokemon with its two mandibles. Flaaffy cried out as it was drained of its health, but quickly shook Spinarak off.

"Flaaffy, Discharge!"

"Spinarak, Leech Life again!"

Spinarak leapt right onto Flaaffy again, biting into the sheep Pokemon and this time not letting go. Flaaffy's wool stopped glowing, and she released a wave of electrical energy, that shocked Spinarak thoroughly, especially being so close to her. Spinarak fell off Flaaffy, looking to be knocked out completely. I started to run towards him, but stopped short once I saw Spinarak flash white.

"I don't believe it! Your Spinarak is evolving!" Dana took a step back, knowing it would turn into a much larger bug.

"Into what?" I wanted to reach for my Pokedex, but I was fixated on watching the evolution in progress.

His size more than doubled, and his legs grew out longer. After his body returned to normal, I saw a much larger spider Pokemon, now red instead of green. Despite being hurt, he got up, looking motivated to continue battling.

"It's an Ariados!" Dana called out to me.

"Alright, Ariados, use Leech Life!" I said, not wasting any time.

"Flaaffy, Thundershock!"

Flaaffy charged up her attack, but Ariados was the faster critter, now. He bit into Flaaffy with his now larger fangs. The Pokemon was left paralyzed as Ariados restored his own health. Dana cried out to her Pokemon, which was my cue to end the battle. I recalled Ariados just before he finished the attack, and started running towards Flaaffy.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for him to go so far!"

"Flaaffy, you okay?" Dana cradled the weakened critter in her arms. There was no immediate danger, but Flaaffy would need plenty of rest ASAP. I reached into my bag for a potion, only to find I had none left.

"Darn, I ran out of potions. I'm sorry, Dana," I said, going through my bag a second time just to make sure.

"It's okay, Star. Guess you weren't kidding when you said you were a pro, huh?" Dana forced a giggle, but a single tear escaping her eye betrayed her. Feeling a bit bad about it all, I reached into my purse for some money.

"Here, take this," I said, giving her just enough for a potion. "So you can help Flaaffy out as soon as possible."

"No, I can't," she said, shaking her head. "We said it was a battle for fun. Plus, I lost. If anything, I should be paying you."

"It's okay, take it. Anything to help your Flaaffy out." Reluctant, Dana took the money. She put Flaaffy back in her Pokeball, and Psyduck as well, who had been complaining all this time about the little sting on his foot.

I got back on my bike, and Dana pulled her own out of a pair of bushes just on the side of the road. I thought she'd be riding alongside me towards Olivine, but she instead turned towards Ecruteak.

"You going to Olivine City?" She asked me.

"Yeah, I'm looking for someone along the way." I said, before adding one more thing. "You haven't seen a trainer around here, have you? Red hair, dark clothes?"

"Actually, I did! He saw me asking for a battle, and ran off down Route 39! He looked pretty beat up, actually."

"Thank you, Dana! You have no idea how much of a help that is!"

After thanking her one last time, and saying goodbye, I started pedaling towards Route 39. Like I thought: Silver was struggling to get by. His Pokemon weren't usable, so he'd be powerless to stop me this time!

~o~

I sped along Route 39 as fast as my legs could pedal me. After all, if Silver managed to arrive in Olivine City before me, I'd lose him in the city and probably never see Lapras again. And on my bike, it was no surprise I arrived at the entrance to the city just before sunset. I was certain I hadn't seen him along the way, so to make sure I asked some people wandering around the outskirts of the city.

"Excuse me," I said to the first passerby I saw. "Have you seen a boy with red hair enter the city today?"

"Can't say that I have." The man said with a frown.

"Thank you, and sorry for the trouble."

I repeated the same short conversation a few times to a few other people, and no one remembered seeing a red head walking into the city. Taking it as a surefire sign that he hadn't made it into the city yet, I returned to Route 39 to keep looking. He had to have been camping out, or hiding out, somewhere along the edge of the road. The sun was setting quickly, so I didn't have a lot of time to search.

To make the search easier, I made use of my Pokemon. Yanma and Beedrill took to the skies for an aerial search, while Eevee and Vulpix went out on foot to search the forest along the side of the road. I waited on the main road, since going out to search as well would leave my Pokemon lost if they came looking for me. It was a smart decision on my part, but also a painfully dull one.

So I just walked up and down the side of the road, hoping all the while I wouldn't be challenged by a passing trainer. I told my critters that once it got dark, to come right back so we could return to Olivine City. If I didn't find Silver on the road this evening, I'd wait for him in the Pokemon Center.

While I waited in the twilight, I looked up at a random tree, and saw something grayish blue hanging off a branch. Being as bored as I was, I picked up a rock and threw it at the thing. I knocked it clean off the branch, and it came tumbling down to the road next to me. I walked over to it, only for it to stir and stand upright! I shrieked and backed away, seeing a pair of angry eyes appear on the object. I pulled out my Pokedex and scanned the thing.

"Pineco, the Bagworm Pokemon. It hangs and waits for flying insect prey to come near. It does not move about much on its own."

"Oops, guess I got it a bit angry," I said, scratching the back of my head. The Pineco started hopping towards me, set on hurting me. With my Pokemon selection limited, I grabbed the first Pokeball I could, which ended up being Ariados.

"Ariados, String Shot!"

My large spider Pokemon easily stopped the smaller Pokemon in its tracks with the sticky string. I figured there was no point in fighting it further, since it was my fault it got angry in the first place. I walked over to the Pineco once it was restrained, and kneeled down in front of it.

"I'm sorry," I told the small Pokemon. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

I was pretty sure the Pokemon couldn't understand me, but all the same I felt the apology was necessary. The Pineco tried its hardest to break free of the web, but couldn't. I turned back to Ariados.

"Push him along back against the tree," I ordered.

Ariados nodded, and went to work. This was terribly dull, just sitting here and then not battling a wild Pokemon over a little guilt. That is, until I heard a strange sound coming from behind. I spun around, and saw Ariados backing away from the Pineco. I took a step forward, and saw that the Pokemon was glowing white- it was evolving! I scrambled for my Pokedex again, and scanned the critter just as it finished its evolution.

"Forretress, the Bagworm Pokemon. Its entire body is shielded by a steel-hard shell. What lurks inside the armor is a total mystery."

The larger Pokemon lurched forward, still enraged at us for disturbing it. Now what little guilt I had over battling the Pokemon was gone.

"Ariados, String Shot!"

Ariados tried to cover the Pokemon in the sticky substance, but all Forretress had to do to negate the attack was lurch forward again. I noticed a part of its outer shell crack, and the Pokemon blasted it towards us both. I covered myself as best I could, but at least one of the fragments struck me dead on. I stumbled backwards, a sharp pain on my left forearm. When I opened my eyes, I noticed a large spike lodged in my arm. There was a trickle of blood escaping the wound caused by the attack.

"Ariados, help!" I cried out.

My bug Pokemon moved to cover me, but he only hurt himself as well when he moved from his spot. There were spike all around us both, and any bit of movement would prove difficult. The Forretress moved closer still to us. Ariados turned to the wild Pokemon, and attacked of its own volition. However, the shell on the Pokemon was too hard for it to penetrate, and Forretress just pushed it back onto more spikes.

I called back Ariados after seeing the amount of damage he was taking. I was defenseless against the Forretress now, but it was a risk I had to take. I stood up, my arm hurting with every little bit of movement. All around me, the spikes made it difficult to walk, but I made use of my hopscotch skills to hop around the spikes and to the safety of my bike. Still the wild Pokemon chased after me.

"Vulpix!" I shouted into the forest beyond. "Help me!"

My voiced echoed all around, and I hoped it would reach the ears of my fox friend. Once the Forretress had closed the distance between us a bit more, it prepared for one last attack. Its body began to spin like a top, and it moved in to crush me. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the blow, but it never came. When I opened my eyes again, I saw both Yanma and Beedrill holding back the spinning Pokemon. What's more, Eevee and Vulpix were right behind it, ready to fight back.

"Vulpix, Flamethrower!"

Beedrill and Yanma pushed the Pokemon back, and Vulpix took the chance to blast it with flames. Being both bug and steel types, the attack cut through the Forretress like it was nothing. Within seconds, all that was left of the Pokemon was a charred husk. I breathed easy once the Pokemon had been subdued.

"Thanks, everyone," I said to my four friends. They all gathered around me, trying to make me feel better about the spike still stuck in my arm. I tried to remove the spike, but merely touching it made my whole arm hurt. I cried out in pain, and my Pokemon just panicked further.

"Oh my goodness, are you alright?" A voice called out to me from up the road.

"Who are you?" I asked, my Pokemon on the ready.

"I live up the road, on the farm! I heard someone cry out for help, so I came running as fast as I could!" The voice belonged to a rather stout woman. She approached me in the growing darkness, and noticed the spike in my arm right away.

"My goodness! You're hurt, child!" Without much consideration, she took my arm, and the sudden jerk caused me to cry out again from the pain.

"Ow! It hurts!"

"Of course it does, child! Look at that!" The woman pointed to something else in another direction, which I followed without thinking twice. Suddenly, I felt a whole new level of pain throughout not only my arm, but my entire body. Instinctively, I started bawling in response.

"Don't cry, child. I got the spike out, see?" The woman showed me the spike before tossing it into the forest.

"That hurt!" I yelled at her, tears in my eyes.

"Of course it did, but it would've been worse to leave it in there. Could've been poisonous. Come along, now. We should get that wound treated!" The woman effortlessly hoisted me up in her arms.

"But my Pokemon! My stuff!"

"Don't you worry, they'll be right along," she said, before turning to my four critters. "You all be sure to bring your trainer's things, okay?"

My Pokemon all looked at each other for a moment, before nodding to the large woman. My bike still needed to be folded, and my bag was open and left on the side of the road during the battle. I trusted Vulpix and the rest of my Pokemon, but I couldn't help but worry over my things as the woman carried me in the opposite direction of Olivine City.

~o~

It was a painful couple hours to follow my arrival on Moo Moo Farm. The woman's name was Martha, and she owned the place, which raised Miltanks and sold their milk throughout all Johto. As a matter of fact, I distinctly remembered seeing the symbol plastered all over the farm on the milk cartons Mom bought back home. Guess her product made it all the way to Kanto, too.

Once we got to her house, she treated my arm and bandaged it within minutes. She seemed to be quite good at it, which prompted me to ask her if she used to be a nurse or something.

"Once, long ago," she answered. "Before I got into this life, and the Joy family took over the nursing business."

"You know Nurse Joy?"

"Oh dearie, I know most of the Joy family! Huge family, the lot of them. Runs in the family to become a nurse, I think. But that's a long story."

Martha also had a pair of daughters to which she introduced me. The elder one was Natalie, who was eight, and Kathy the younger one at six.

"Did you get hurt by a Pineco?" Kathy asked me while Martha finished patching me up.

"Actually, it was a Forretress," I told the little girl. She looked at me wide-eyed.

"What's a Forest?" She asked, making the adorable mispronunciation of the Pokemon's name.

"It's the evolved form of Pineco," I explained to her. Still she looked at me with those wide eyes. After rethinking it a bit more, I explained it to her again. "It's a grown-up Pineco."

"Oh! I get it!" She exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with understanding. In a way, she reminded me of myself when I was her age.

"Momma," Natalie cut in, speaking to Martha, "We need another blanket for the boy."

"Oh! Right, I'll get right on that, Natalie dear." Martha finished up with my arm, then went to a nearby closet to gather a few other things.

"The boy?" I asked Kathy next to me. She giggled.

"We found a boy on the side of the road, all beat up like you! His Pokemon were all beat up, too. Mommy is taking care of him, too!"

Could my luck really be that good at times? It was no wonder I had no luck finding Silver on the road; he had been hiding out right here all along. I made sure I could move my arm without hurting myself, then followed Martha and Natalie to the other room. Kathy trailed behind me, asking more questions.

"Do you know the boy we found?"

"I think I do," I answered.

"Is he your boyfriend?" The mere question sent a cold shiver down my spine.

"No!" I barked at Kathy. Afraid she might've taken it the wrong way, I went to apologize, when I saw the huge grin on her face.

"It's okay, I won't tell anyone. Cross my heart!" She scurried along ahead of me. Rather than get worked up over this, I just sighed. Better they think I was Silver's boyfriend than I was out to get him for stealing my Pokemon. Last thing I wanted to do was cause trouble for these people.

In the next room, I saw Martha changing the blanket that covered the red-haired boy resting on the bed. It was Silver, and right next to him on the nightstand were three Pokeballs. One of them was surely my Lapras. I took one step towards the Pokeballs, when Natalie spoke up.

"Do you know this boy?" She asked me. Before I could answer, Kathy cut in.

"Shh!" She whispered, before bringing Natalie in closer. "She doesn't want you to know that's her boyfriend!"

If Kathy was trying to conceal that from anyone in the room, she failed. Still, I didn't care what she said. I wanted my Pokemon back, so I walked over to the nightstand and reached out for one of the Pokeballs.

"What are you doing, dearie?" Martha asked me. My heart raced.

"I know this boy," I explained. "He stole one of my Pokemon from me."

At that moment, Silver stirred in the bed. His eyes opened up, and he saw me looking down at him. At first, I thought he didn't recognize me, since he didn't even blink. A moment later, he started talking. His voice was raspy, but everyone could still make out what he was saying.

"I don't have your Pokemon," he managed to say.

"Why should I believe you?" I said coldly.

"Giovanni..." That was the last thing Silver was able to say. He passed out after that, and for a moment, we thought he might've been dying or something. Martha checked his vitals, and then told us all to relax.

"He's just exhausted, is all. Star dear, a word?"

Martha practically dragged me out of the room. Her daughters didn't follow, so it seems they knew better than to go eavesdropping.

"I know you only mean well for the sake of your Pokemon, but I don't want you speaking to that boy again." For the first time since meeting her, Martha's tone was angry.

"I'm sorry. I just had to try," I mumbled, not looking up at the larger woman.

"That's quite alright. But you heard him: he doesn't have your Pokemon. I don't want to chase you out of here in the middle of the night, so please just do me a favor and keep your distance."

Martha didn't say anything more on the matter. Not that she had to, I knew she wouldn't hesitate to throw me out for the sake of her other patient. What's more, I had a feeling Silver wasn't lying about Lapras. My memory of the event was a bit hazy, but I clearly remembered Giovanni putting a Pokeball in his pocket before the battle. In my haste, I had come running all this way for nothing.

Giovanni was long gone, and with him, Lapras.

~o~

I could hear the Miltanks mooing in the middle of the night. Martha and her daughters had gone to sleep a while ago, but I couldn't sleep. I went outside, taking in the warm summer air while I still could. Autumn was fast approaching, and these nights would be gone soon enough. Vulpix was sitting next to me, yawning every few seconds. She wanted to go to sleep, but I guess she also didn't want to leave me alone out here with all these Miltanks.

"Go back inside, Vulpix. I know you're sleepy." She shook her head, intent on staying by my side.

"I'll be here with her," came another voice from behind us. It was Natalie, dressed in her nightgown. "The Miltanks won't do anything to either of us."

Vulpix didn't need much more convincing. She ran back inside the house, leaving me alone with Natalie.

"Thanks," I told her. "She needs the rest."

"I think you do, too. You're feeling bad about your Pokemon, right?" Natalie was surprisingly perceptive, though it wasn't hard to pick up on that.

"It's been hard for me. Feels like nothing has gone right since I first came to Johto."

"Then why don't you go back home?" Natalie asked. It was a simple enough question, yet I couldn't muster an answer. How many times had I thought about this? How many times had I come to a decision, only for it to be questioned again?

And now came the latest decision: to act strong in front of Natalie, or doubt myself yet again. I held my head up high.

"I can't go back," I finally said to her.

"Why not?"

"Because I want to be here, mistakes and all."

Natalie didn't quite get it, but I just gave her a smile as reassurance. The Miltanks had stopped mooing a while ago, finally ready to sleep themselves. Taking it as a sign, I also went back inside the house with Natalie. Tomorrow, I'd press onward yet again.