Hidden Journey
Part Seven

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Bold and Fearless

"Hello my friend, we meet again
It's been awhile, where should we begin?"
"My Sacrifice" by Creed

Yah, I know it's definitely been a while. I hope you don't mind the wait, but there have been some technical difficulties for me. Um, on with the show!

***

~Blackthorn, Johto Region~

The shrubs had parted before me to reveal Claire tied up and relieved of her Pokeballs. She looked incredibly pissed off. Jessie, James, and Meowth looked triumphant as they leapt into the Meowth-shaped hot-air balloon.

"Some Gym Leader you are!" Jessie chortled, "You couldn't even save your Pokemon!"

Claire's eyes narrowed.

James laughed. "And coming from people like us, is a..."

"It's a disgrace, that's what!" Meowth smirked, hoisting the net-bag that contained Claire's Pokeballs onto his shoulder.

"What's that supposed to mean?" James pouted.

"Nothin' Jimmy," Meowth said calmly, "You just make sure everything's where it's supposed to be."

From behind me, I heard Lia and Brock gasp in surprise. I sighed and looked around. Ropes tied Claire to a tree at the edge of the right side of the clearing. The Team Rocket trio was in the balloon in the left side of the clearing. I glanced up at Brock, but he was in the process of looking determinedly at the situation. I shrugged and walked off; I had a plan in mind.

***

~Somewhere near Viridian City (I think), Kanto Region~

"Uuurrrsaaa...."

Vulpix gulped and stepped back. What was she supposed to do? Fight off a fully-grown Ursaring all by herself in a powerless body? Gary Oak was right, she was a liability! And to think she'd have gone off to Blackthorne to try to save Brock...

Tears blurred her vision at the thought of her beloved trainer and she wiped hastily at her eyes. It was still raining, but that wouldn't save her. Ursaring didn't have a vulnerability to water like she'd have in her natural state.

What to do, what to do...The Ursaring solved that for her. With a roar that sent shivers of fear through her bones, the giant creature lumbered towards her, razor sharp claws swiping at the air.

Vulpix did something she never had done in her life. She shrieked, turned away, and ran for her life. Bushes and tree branches swiped at her, she was not on any path, but she was making one of her own.

"Urrsaa!" Was the only warning she got before a powerful beam of energy blasted past her, causing her to lunge to the side. The hyper beam tore a wide path through the greenery, the smell of singed wood lingered in her nose. With a yip of fear, she got to her feet and darted away, down the freshly cleared path. Unfortunately, it was easier for the Ursaring to run, too.

***

~Still somewhere near Viridian City, Kanto Region~

"So..tell..me..again.." Matt huffed, running after Gary, "Just...what...did...Cirrus...do?"

Gary, who was in much better shape, managed to say, "She's trying to save the world."

"But that...doesn't make any..sense," Matt said, sounding irritated, "Why would she...do that?"

"Because she feels it's up to her, I guess," Gary said. He stopped suddenly at the edge of a large grassy meadow, and Matt wheeled to a halt. "Did you hear that?"

Matt frowned, "No, nothing but my own heart in my ears."

Gary held up a hand for silence, "It sounded like.." A crashing sound came from their left, very close by, "Like that! Let's go!"

Matt followed Gary, watching as the gym leader expanded a Pokeball. With a practiced toss, the ball popped open, and a flash of light reformed into a very large furball.

The tiger-striped firedog howled in welcome, and Matt watched in disbelief as it sat and wagged its tail. "What is that?"

"It's my Arcanine." Gary said, scratching it under its massive jaw. "Innit? Who's my widdle Arcy, huh? Who's my good widdle boy..."

"Enough!" Matt shouted, torn between laughing and thrashing, "We have to find my sister, er, whoever."

Gary smirked, "Don't get you shirt in a bind, we'll find her." And with that he sent the Arcanine ahead of them. The large dog bounded off through the tall grass of the meadow, stopping suddenly as a large white beam of energy shot over the dog's head.

Matt yelped in surprise, instinctively ducking as the beam flew over the boys' heads. "What was that?!"

"Looks like a hyper beam to me," Gary said, frowning, "Which can only mean one thing. And that's one mean thing."

"Which is...?"

Gary fixed Matt with a tense look, "Ursaring."

"Ursa-what?"

"Imagine for a moment, if you will, the largest bear you can. Imagine it with long, razor sharp claws, a mean attitude, and enough power to bring down a mountain." Gary turned back to look over the meadow, squinting into the direction the hyper beam had come from. "That is what we're dealing with."

"Great, let's go." Matt said, walking off after the Arcanine. "Unless you're chicken."

"I am not!" Gary glowered, running after Matt. "You are."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Not!"

"TOO!

"URSAAAA!!!!"

"Um, Gary is that what you were talking about?" Matt pointed behind Gary.

Gary spun around, nearly face-to-face with an angry Ursaring. "Yup!" he squeaked out. There was a momentary pause, then Gary spun back around and began to run, shouting out, "Arcanine!!! Fire Blast!!"

The Arcanine leapt around, blasting out the fiery command. The attack hit the Ursaring dead on, k.o.'ing the bear-like Pokemon. Then the Arcanine turned and ran after Gary and Matt.

With a well-practiced move, Gary leapt onto the large firedog's back, motioned for Matt to join him. After a split-second's decision, Matt joined Gary, and the trio started to run towards a stand of trees ahead.

A sudden shrill scream from their right had them plotting a new direction.

"Vulpix!" Gary said that at the same time Matt said, "Cirrus!"

"Arcanine, follow that scream!" Gary said, gripping at the thick fur for support, "We have one more person to pick up!"

***

~Blackthorn, Johto Region~

The shrubs parted before me to reveal the tree and Claire. I sneaked out and made my way to the ropes. Hoping my borrowed set of choppers would be strong enough, I started to bite at them. Claire made a little gasp and looked back, but the Team Rocket trio didn't notice.

"What are you doing?" She sounded a bit confused and I thought I smelled something sweet in the air around her. "Oh, good! Keep it up!"

The ropes were really nasty, like um, the worst kind of macaroni or something. I stood back, looking at my handiwork. Though a little frayed, it was nowhere near close to setting the Blackthorne gym leader free. I thought about a fire attack to burn through the ropes, when I heard a familiar voice shouting.

"Hold on, Team Rocket!" It was Brock! What was he thinking! Was he thinking?! "You aren't going to steal her Pokemon! We won't let you!"

"That's right!" Lia exclaimed, holding out a Pokeball. "Go, Neuron!"

Peeking around the tree, I saw the white light fade, revealing a Porygon. I had always wanted one of those.

"Neuron, Tackle Meowth!" Lia yelled out. The small Pokemon floated into the air and tackled Meowth.

Jessie ducked into the basket, pulling James in with her. Meowth had just gotten to the basket when the Porygon hit him, knocking him to the ground. Claire's Pokeballs scattered on the ground, freed from the net Meowth had used to contain them.

James peeked over the basket, saw the spilled Pokéballs, and shrieked, "Meowth! Get those Pokeballs!"

But the little cat Pokemon just sat against the basket, apparently knocked out. With a growl, Jessie plucked the small cat up and tossed him into the basket. "James, get those Pokeballs!"

"Not a chance!" Lia looked incredibly confident. "Zap Cannon!"

"Shows what she knows!" Jessie smirked. "Porygon can't learn Zap Cannon! That's an electrical attack, and Porygon is Normal."

"Actually, Porygon can learn Zap Cannon," Brock said, nodding. "After it reaches Level 44, it can learn it."

The little mechanical Pokemon began to power up, little sparks of electricity danced around it.

Grinning, I sat back. This Porygon would take care of everything. And it did. About three seconds later, Team Rocket was once again blasting off, arcing across the sky like a shooting star.

Brock ran over to Claire, and seemed surprised to see me. "What are you doing over here, Vulpix?"

"This is your Pokemon?" Claire asked. "It had been trying to chew through the ropes. I'm not sure what good it would have done, but I'm grateful that it tried."

"Me too, but Vulpix you shouldn't run off like that!" Brock said as he untied Claire. "You could've gotten hurt!"

Yes Mom, I thought sourly. Sorry I tried to save the day.

"Such an Ash Complex!" Brock smiled. He helped Claire up, steadying the tall gym leader when she faultered.

"Thank you," She said, straightening. "You're Brock right? From Pewter?"

"Yes," Brock smiled, "I haven't been to any of the cross-region meetings. It's nice to meet you."

"Despite the circumstances!" Claire grinned, "Oh, my Pokemon!"

Lia walked over, Porygon hovering near her. "These are yours. They don't look like they've been damaged."

"Thank you," Claire said, taking the pokeballs. "I'll take them to Nurse Joy right away."

The older woman began to walk away, then turned back. "Why don't the two of you stop by my gym? I'd like to thank you properly."

"Thank you," Lia said, "We will!"

Claire walked off, and Lia stared at Brock. "You know what this means?"

"Uh, no." Brock said. "What?"

"Shopping, of course! I've got nothing to wear to a gym leaders gym!" She grabbed Brock by the arm. "Let's go!"

I watched the two go and sighed. Then I grimaced and spat out a mouthful of rope fibers. Gross. I thought. The things I do for love.

***

~Viridian City, Kanto Region~

Dishes rattled in the Blaine kitchen as Gary Oak looked for a plate. Staring at him expectantly was Vulpix, currently in his girlfriend Cirrus' body. She was sitting at the center island, and waiting for a snack. A snack he was expected to make.

The trio had escaped all Ursaring threat quite easily with Gary's Arcanine. They had to k.o. the Ursaring that was tailing Vulpix, and once they got back, Matt called Officer Jenny. The policewoman promised to send over a small squad to take the bear Pokemon into custody, and relocate them.

Matt then decided to go to the grocery store to buy more food, and had left Gary alone with Vulpix. Matt knew a bit more than he should have, but didn't know the full story. And that was how Gary wanted it to be. The fewer people that knew the full story, the more of a chance Cirrus would stay under cover.

"Are you gonna be much longer?" Vulpix complained, "I'm hungry!"

"It's almost done," Gary said, staring down at the roiling noodles. "The cheese is ready, and the noodles are just about done." The timer went off then, and Gary strained the large pot of curved noodles. He placed the pot back on the stove, and turned off the flame. He left the cheese on a low flame, and stirred it. It smelled heavenly!

"Hungry!"

"I'm coming!" Gary glared at the noodles, and then piled some on a plate, and slathered some cheese on top. He walked over to the island, and set the plate in front of Vulpix.

She took one look at it, and said, "More macaroni!"

Gary shrugged, took the plate back, and piled on more noodles. Then he took the plate back.

Vulpix pushed the noodles around, "More cheese!"

Gary sighed, but took it back, slathered on more cheese, and placed it back on the island.

"Less macaroni!"

Gary's eye twitched, but he did as asked, and placed the plate back.

"Less cheese!"

The twitch grew stronger.

"More macaroni and cheese!"

Gary growled, but placed equal amounts of macaroni and cheese on the plate, and set it in front of Vulpix.

With a sniff of disdain, Vulpix sent the plate flying. "I hate macaroni and cheese."

***

Boy that Vulpix is a trip! Now that Claire is safe, what's going to go on? After that macaroni and cheese fiasco, will Vulpix be safe? All this and more, next!