"Grunt Elden, reporting sir!" said a Rocket grunt, putting his fist to his chest as a salute. He was standing in the dark inside of Cerulean Cave, Team Rocket's hideout. Elden stood before his boss, who sat in the shadows as he always did, the only part of the cave illuminated was a small section by his magmar's tail.
"Yes, what is the news from the other regions?" the boss asked.
"Our suspicions have been confirmed." Elden replied. "All groups know and are searching for the pokemon. Aqua and Magma are looking to use it to expand the seas and the land, respectively. Galactic, on the other hand, has turned from conquering the world and has begun working for the good of everyone. They are after the pokemon just so we don't get our hands on it."
"Ok, good." the boss said. "Send half of who's left to Hoenn, the other to Sinnoh. Once there, wait for my further instructions." Elden did the salute again as the boss stood and walked towards the cave's entrance. The magmar and his light followed.
"Where will you be heading, sir?" Elden asked.
"Home." he replied. "I have some things to attend to and I can't ever stay away too long. Now, go. Get on with your duties."
"Yes sir!" Elden said, running out of the cave. The boss walked slowly in the same direction.
"So, Magmar, who do you think will get it first, hm?" he said to his pokemon partner.
"Magmar," Magmar replied. The boss smiled.
"I think it will be us. In a few days, we will have our hands on one of the greatest pokemon of all time." He laughed to himself. "And, once I have the mew, nothing can stop me from getting exactly what I want."
"Are not!"
"Are to!"
"Are not!"
"You so are too!" TJ and Aden were arguing loudly as they walked down Route 2 towards Viridian Forest. The few people traveling as well looked at them strangely as they passed. There was a long path that led to the forest, lined on either side by trees. On the right, a few buildings could be seen through the trees, but there was no way to get to them unless one had a way of cutting the smaller trees away.
"I am not!" Aden yelled. He stopped walking, stomping his foot down. Mags, who was walking beside him, copied his motion.
"Magby!" he said. TJ stopped as well, turning to face Aden. Sasha stood at her feet and faced Mags.
"You so are!" TJ said. "You are the saddest excuse for a fire pokemon trainer that I have ever seen! You've been traveling for, what, over four months now? And you still only have one fire pokemon!"
"There was no way I could have caught anymore without a pokemon and I had to wait for Mags to hatch!" Aden defended.
"He's been out of the egg for months and still nothing!" TJ said, laughing a little. "I just started and I already almost have a full team!"
"I studied fire pokemon for years before I headed out on my own!" Aden told her, leaning in towards her. "I don't have to own them all to be good with fire types!"
"Magby!" Mags said in agreement, leaning towards Sasha.
"Oh yeah?" TJ said. She got in his face. "You wanna prove it?"
"Whichuuu!" Sasha said, getting really close to Mags.
"Fine!" Aden said proudly. "I bet I can beat you, one on one!
"Magby, magby!" Mags said, little flames flicking from his mouth.
"Whicha…" Sasha said with a tone of warning.
"Big talk." TJ said. "You're on!" She jumped back, giving them some space to move. Sasha and Mags remained in the middle as Aden backed up. They were locked in a death stare. It was obvious that they were ready for a battle. "Looks like Sasha wants to be my one. Good thing, too. I have the advantage."
"That's what you think!" Aden told her. "Mags, thunder punch!" Mags wound up and punched Sasha. Sparks flew, but Sasha hardly flinched. The electricity bounced across her rough skin, then dissipated. Aden stood in shocked silence and TJ practically doubled over with laughter.
"You idiot!" she said. "You spent so much time studying fire types that you forgot about all the others! Electric moves won't even touch ground types! I told you, there is no way you can beat Sasha! Sasha, rollout!" Sasha tuned and ran backwards. After a good running start, she jumped up, rolled into a tight ball, and spun quickly back towards Mags.
"Mags, quickly!" Aden called. "Faint attack!" As Sasha rolled towards him, Mags closed his eyes and stood there calmly. Suddenly, Mags disappeared. TJ blinked.
"Sasha, hold it!" she said. Sasha skidded to a stop. She looked around, confused. "Where did he go?" Suddenly, the attack came out of no where. Mags became visible and hit Sasha in the head from behind. Sasha was sent sprawling and couldn't get back up.
"Sasha, return!" TJ said, returning Sasha to her ball. "That was pretty good."
"Faint attack." Aden said. "Just in case his other moves won't work."
"Ok, so you are slightly less useless." TJ said. "You are still a bit of a failure."
"What will it take for you to recognize me as a good trainer?" Aden asked her. TJ thought for a minute.
"When you get a second fire-type pokemon." TJ replied. "Then, I'll consider it."
"Cyndaquil!" someone called. It was a male voice, and he sounded upset. "Baby Cyndaquil, where are you?" TJ and Aden looked ahead of them and saw a man walking towards them. He was looking right and left as he walked. When he finally noticed them, he ran up to them.
"Hello." he said. "You two are trainers, right?" They nodded. "You haven't seen a little, brown cyndaquil, have you?"
"A brown cyndaquil?" Aden asked. He looked at TJ. "Alternate-colored. So, do ya think…?"
"Maybe." TJ replied. She turned back to the man. "My name's TJ and this is Aden, and I think I might know what happened to your cyndaquil."
The man, whose name they later found out was Ethan, lead them back to his home on Route 2. It was a large farmhouse on a big plot of land. In the back was what looked like a barn and a bunch of young cyndaquils. They ran up to the fence as they approached. Aden's eyes went wide when he saw them and he ran to the fence. TJ and Ethan followed. There were about ten cyndaquils in the yard, sleeping, wrestling, and chasing each other.
"Wow!" Aden said. "They are so cute!"
"Thank you." Ethan said. "We breed them, my wife and me."
"Really?" TJ asked.
"Yes." Ethan replied. "It started completely on accident, too. When we got married, our pokemon got close. Really close. They're a little further back." He pointed. Further back in the yard sat two pokemon, watching the babies carefully. One was a large typhlosion; the other was a slightly smaller luxray.
"Those two made these guys?" Aden asked.
"Yep. We were surprised, too." Ethan said. "We didn't know they could be bred, but then one day, out of the blue, Phona, my female typhlosion, was holding an egg. And, my wife Lani's male luxray, Shikku, was the only one around. We have no other pokemon, other than her female drifloon, Fiira. The only explanation was that, when Lani and I got together, they did too."
"That's cute." TJ said. "And, so, the different colored cyndaquil is your pokemon's baby, right?"
"Right, and now he's missing." Ethan said, sounding sad. TJ put a reassuring hand on his arm.
"Don't worry." she said. "Let's go inside and I'll tell you why I think I know where your lost cyndaquil is." Ethan nodded and they went into the house. Ethan's home was large and welcoming. There were family pictures on the wall, cabinets of collectible ceramics and glass, and an elegant stairway leading up to a second floor.
"Lani!" Ethan called. "Get some drinks ready! We have guests!"
"Ok!" a woman called back. They went into the dining room, where a long table was set for eight people. They sat on one end and TJ released Sasha so she could use some potion on her. Lani came in a few minutes later with a pitcher of lemonade and some glasses. Ethan introduced them, and then she sat down next to her husband, across from TJ and Aden.
"So, you two think you know where the baby is?" she asked.
"Yes." TJ replied. "You see, I recently stopped Team Rocket from trying to capture an alternate-colored ponyta. I think that they have taken your cyndaquil, too."
"Team Rocket?" Ethan said. "But they disbanded—"
"About eight years ago." TJ finished. "I know. That's what I said. But, they're back. I'm on my way to Cerulean right now to try and stop what ever they are up to. And, this sounds like them."
"But, if its Team Rocket, then…" Lani said, her voice trailing off. Ethan took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
"He'll be ok." he told her.
"He will be." TJ said. "I promise."
"What do we have to do first?" Ethan asked.
"Find him." TJ said.
"But, how?" Aden asked. They were quiet for a minute. Then, Lani's eyes lit up.
"Fiira." she said.
"What?" TJ asked.
"Fiira." she repeated. "Come on, I'll show you." She stood from the table. The rest followed, TJ returning Sasha to her ball. Lani led the group outside. The cyndaquils were all still playing with each other. Even their father had joined in and was bounding around happily. One cyndaquil strayed away from the others, exploring the area.
"Watch this." Lani said. She whistled. "Fiira!"
"Floon!" Fiira the drifloon came around the barn quickly and went straight for the cyndaquil. She picked him up and brought him back to the group. Then, she came up to Lani and nuzzled her cheek. "Good job!"
"So, you trained Fiira to keep track of all the babies?" Aden asked.
"No, not really." Ethan replied. "She started it all by herself."
"And, she can help find the lost cyndaquil." Lani said. She looked at her drifloon. "Fiira, the little, little baby has been missing for a few days and you are our last hope of finding him. Do you think you can do that?"
"Floon." Fiira said, nodding. "Floon, floon!" She headed off towards the front of the house.
"Hurry, TJ!" Lani said. "Follow that floon! She'll take you to cyndaquil!"
"Right!" TJ said, running after Fiira. Aden followed her.
"Be careful against who ever you run into out there!" Ethan called.
"We will!" Aden yelled back.
They followed Fiira straight into Viridian Forest. The forest was dark; hardly a ray of sun made it through the treetops. And there were chirps and shuffles coming from every bush. They were careful not to disturb the sleeping kakunas that hung from the trees. After they were a few feet inside, Fiira stopped suddenly.
"What is it, Fiira?" TJ asked.
"Floon!" she said.
"Maybe he's near by." Aden said. They looked around the area, but they couldn't see anyone around other than bug pokemon. Then, there was a yell of pain. They ran to see who it was. There was a Rocket grunt standing there, shaking her hand. On the ground was a bag with burn holes in it. And, in the remnants of the bag, was a brown cyndaquil, back flames on full power.
"You stupid pokemon!" the grunt said angrily. She kicked the cyndaquil.
"Cyndaaaaquiiiiilllll!" he cried, flames dying out.
"Floon!" Fiira said, flying towards the grunt.
"What the?" the grunt said, as Fiira whipped up a big gust. The grunt got caught up in it, covering her face as the wind circled around her.
"Fiira, get the baby!" TJ called. Fiira flew over to the baby, wrapped him up in her stringy arms, and carried him over to where the others were standing. The wind calmed, leaving the grunt standing there, her hair disheveled and her face very angry.
"Who the hell are you?" she asked. TJ took a step forward.
"I'm TJ." she replied. "And, that cyndaquil doesn't belong to you. We are taking him back."
"That's what you think!" the grunt laughed. She reached for her pokeball. "Hypno, go!" She threw the ball and a hypno was released.
"Sasha!" TJ said, throwing her pokeball.
"Always Sasha…" Aden said under his breath.
"Shut up, Aden." TJ said. She turned back to the battle. "Sasha, fury swipes!"
"Hypno, confusion!" the grunt commanded.
"Hypno." Hypno said. Sasha ran at Hypno. Hypno stood there, swinging his pendulum. His eyes went wide and Sasha stopped her attack suddenly. She held her head and then looked around as if she was unsure as to what she was just doing. The grunt smiled.
"Hypno, headbutt!" she said. Hypno lowered his head.
"Sasha!" TJ yelled. "Sasha, snap out of it!" Sasha was still looking around. She shook her head, trying to clear it. Hypno hit Sasha hard, sending her flying. She slid across the ground and stopped a few feet away. She was still for a second, and then stood back up.
"Sasha!" TJ said. "Are you ok to go on?"
"Whicha!" Sasha said.
"Stupid creature!" the grunt said. "Hypno, another headbutt!"
"Hypno." Hypno said, lowering his head and charging again.
"Sasha, watch it!" TJ said. Hypno hit Sasha right in the gut, but she didn't budge. There was a bright flash that came from Sasha. She started to change. When the light died, there was a large sandslash standing where the little sandshrew once was. She held on to Hypno's head, and then threw him to the side. TJ laughed and cheered.
"Thata girl, Sasha!" she said.
"What happened?" Aden asked.
"Sasha evolved! Ha ha!" TJ replied. "Come on, Sasha! Let's try out those new claws! Slash attack!"
"Sandslash!" Sasha said, running at the opponent. With a swipe of her sharp claws, Hypno flipped over and landed, no longer moving. He had two large scrapes on his chest.
"Return!" the grunt said. "You got lucky, girl!"
"Why do you want the special pokemon?" TJ demanded. "What is Team Rocket planning to do with them?" The grunt laughed.
"Absolutely nothing." she replied. "The boss just likes collecting things."
"Don't lie to me." TJ said. "I know you guys are up to no good."
"Heh, you don't get it, do you?" the grunt said. "Your puny mind is only seeing the small picture. Yes, the boss is collecting different colored pokemon, but that is only for sport. We've got a bigger fish on the line, and don't think that you two children will be able to stop us!" She ran off into the forest.
"We'll see about that!" Aden called. He turned to Fiira and the baby. He took him from Fiira.
"Cyndaquil!" the baby said happily.
"You look ok." Aden said, looking him over. "Just some little here and there. Nothing a little love from your mother won't fix." He rubbed the baby's head. "And, that flame you had earlier was really strong. You are gonna be a tough little pokemon someday."
"Come on, Aden." TJ said. "Let's get him home."
"Baby!" Lani said as TJ and Aden walked into the backyard. She ran up to them, Ethan and Shikku following behind. She picked up the baby and spun him around happily. She let him down and he immediately began playing with his siblings and father.
"So, was it Team Rocket?" Ethan asked.
"Yes." TJ replied. "But, it seems that they have more in mind than just capturing the alternate-colored pokemon."
"So, what are you two going to do?" Lani asked.
"Go to Cerulean City and find out exactly what they are up to." TJ told her. "We are the only ones that know what is going on and we have to stop it."
"Ok, but be careful." Ethan said. "The Rockets aren't to be underestimated."
"Don't worry, because neither am I." TJ said with a smile.
"Ty." something said from behind them. It was Phona and she was carrying an egg. She handed the egg to Aden, who looked up at the large pokemon in awe. "Ty!"
"Um, thank you." Aden said, bowing his head a little.
"I think that is a thank you for finding her baby." Lani said.
"But, I couldn't…"Aden said, holding the egg out towards her. She put her hand up.
"Nope, it's yours." Lani told him.
"Phona may be my pokemon, but she is also the mother of that egg." Ethan explained. "If she wants to give it to you, she has every right to."
"Ok." Aden said. "Thank you." He looked at TJ, smiling. TJ smirked and rolled her eyes.
"I'm sorry to say it, but it is time for us to go." TJ said. "We need to get to Cerulean as fast as possible."
"Yes, of course." Ethan said. He shook both there hands and Lani gave them each a hug. "Thank you again."
"You're welcome." TJ replied.
"Good luck in your travels and, as soon as you finish of Team Rocket, come back here for a good meal, ok?" Lani said.
"Of course!" Aden said. "Bye!" They waved as they walked out of the backyard and back down Route 2. Once they were down the road a bit, Aden looked at TJ with a proud grin.
"So?" he said. She looked at him.
"So what?" she asked.
"So, I have a second fire pokemon." he said, lifting the egg a little. "That means that you will respect me a fire trainer now." TJ laughed.
"You don't have one, yet."
"No, but when this egg hatches, I am gonna have my very own cyndaquil!" Aden said happily. "And, besides, when we were leaving, you said 'we need to get to Cerulean'. Not 'you', 'we'. What was that, hm?" TJ made a face; she hadn't realized that she had said that.
"That was…a slip up." she said.
"Really, now."
"Let me finish!" TJ said. "But, I think…that it might be helpful if I had another trainer along. This is Team Rocket I'm up against, after all." She paused for a second. "Even if it is you."
"Thank you." Aden said. "Besides, I know so much now that, even if you didn't want me along, I was going to go see what they were up to anyway."
"So…partners?" TJ said, holding out her hand. Aden looked at it as if he was disgusted by it for a second, and then smiled.
"Partners." he said, shaking her hand. After the truce was made, they continued down Route 2, heading straight for Viridian Forest.