Zack ran through the thick, green forest, sweating profusely and gasping for breath. He wasn't sure he was even heading the right way, and nearly ran into several trees when he turned his head to look behind him. Gastly flew beside him, a look of fear on his face matching that of his Trainer's. Finally however, he saw a ray of hope: Sunlight coming in through a gap in the lush trees.
"There's *huff* a way out! *Gasp!* We're almost *wheeze* free, Gastly!" Zack managed to reassure his Pokémon. Gastly responded with a labored "Gast!"
In a last moment of desperation, Zack grabbed his ghostly partner and dove the remaining few feet out of the wooded area, landing in a patch of grass on his back with a loud thud. As he released Gastly, and sat up to catch his breath while his eyes adjusted to the new brightness, he heard from the forest:
"Ahhh! The light! So bright!" The cries of anguish were accompanied by grunts and hisses. After a few moments though, the sounds ended, and Zack and Gastly both sighed in relief. Still catching their breath, they looked at each other and chuckled lightly.
"Damn, what happened to you two?" Came a surprised voice from behind them. They turned to see a man who seemed only a couple of years older than Chad, short and thin, with straight dark hair and goatee and glasses, wearing a grey hoodie bearing the logo of the Pokémon League on the left breast area.
"Well," said Zack. "It started yesterday afternoon…"
Zack began his trek through the densely wooded Viridian Forest, looking down in doubt at the Potion in his hand, the Potion that Chad had given him. The Potion that Chad had given him, as he had put it, out of "generosity."
"'Generosity' my ass," he said to Gastly. "I know those two have lots of items that are a lot better than this! Oh well, I guess he's just trying to make sure things aren't too easy. There has to be some challenge, after all." Gastly nodded in agreement, until both turned toward a rustling bush. Out popped a small, hairy yellow worm, with a large, round pink nose and white stinger on its head.
"Ooo! Another chance to use the Pokédex! Let's see…" Zack fished his Pokédex out from his pocket and pointed it at the small creature. An image of the Pokémon appeared on the screen, and the electronic voice announced:
"Weedle – the Hairy Bug Pokémon. It eats its weight in leaves every day. It fends off attacks with the needle on its head."
Zack read over the other displayed information, most notably the area that read: "Type – Bug/Poison." "Well," he said. "I already have two Poison-types, so I don't see much of a point in catching one. But…always a good chance to train up! Bulbasaur won't be very good against a Bug-type, though, so you're up, Gastly!"
The Gas Pokémon rushed forward excitedly, crying out its name as it went. Together, the Trainer and Pokémon quickly found an effective strategy: putting their opponents to sleep with Gastly's Hypnosis, and then taking the opportunity to take down said opponents, even switching out for Bulbasaur once the forced slumber was in effect; unfortunately it didn't work well enough for Zack's recently obtained Pidgey, who fainted after a sleeping Pikachu woke up. However, it was even effective against other Trainers that they encountered, who were all of the Bug Catcher class. They also earned quite a bit of money in the process.
After a good deal of walking and battling, however, Zack noticed that it was getting later into the evening. "Hmm, better set up camp. It'll be dark soon."
"You could come stay in my cottage," came a soft, eerie voice that startled Zack and Gastly both. They turned and saw a man crouched next to a tree lining the path. He looked to be in his early thirties, and very thin and lanky. His clothing looked very old and worn, however, with holes in his sleeveless shirt and shorts; his sandals and straw hat looked like they had been received amateur repair several times. Under that hat, though, were two objects that sent a chill down Zack's spine: Two dark, beady eyes that never seemed to blink.
"Oh," Zack replied. He scratched the back of his head and exchanged an uneasy look with Gastly. "That's, uh…really nice of you. Umm, what's your name?"
"Rick!" the man nearly shouted, jumping to his feet and running over to Zack. He seemed to have developed somewhat of a hunchback, which only added to the unease of the moment. He thrust his hand forward. "My name is Rick! Nice to meet you…?"
"Ah, my name's Zack…" he said, shaking Rick's hand. It was cold and bony, and nearly made Zack shudder a second time. He tried to pull his hand back, but Rick wrapped his other hand around it.
"Very nice to meet you, Zack," he said. A smile formed on his face as he started to lead Zack and Gastly off the beaten path. "My cottage is over here! We'll have a great time! We'll make good food, sing songs, talk about our Pokémon! Oh boy, a new friend!"
"Yeah, man, that's awesome," was all that Zack could manage to say. While he felt awkward about the whole situation, he also felt bad for Rick, since it seemed like he was nice, but had no friends.
After a few minutes of walking, and quite a bit of the sun setting, they came to an old hut in a clearing, which seemed as out of sorts as Rick's clothing. Still, there was a fire pit with a fire already burning in it, and three small logs set around it as seats. Rick rushed inside, and just as quickly rushed back out carrying a pot and several items of food.
"I'm so glad we're friends now," he said. "All of my other friends tried to leave me. They weren't very good friends…" Zack again felt another pang of sympathy, and shrugged at Gastly, who shrugged back (or at least what constituted as a shrug for a Gastly).
"That really sucks, dude," he said. Rick just nodded vigorously, continuing to prepare the pot of food, which seemed to be some kind of stew.
"It's okay, though," the nearly skeletal man said. "I still keep them around. They don't leave me anymore. They're good friends now; good company." This confused Zack and his Pokémon, but they were feeling brave and decided to ask their next question.
"Umm…what do you mean, "keep them around?" Rick turned his head toward the two quickly, a very disturbing grin on his face. Zack gulped in the beginnings of fear.
"Oh, come on," Rick said. "I'll show you! You can see my collection!" His boney hand grabbed Zack by the wrist again, and dragged him behind the hut. Neither Trainer nor Pokémon knew what to expect. Not even in their wildest dreams (or nightmares) could they have predicted what Rick's "collection" was. "Here it is!"
Zack's face paled, and both he and Gastly failed to get gasps out of their mouths. Like an insect collector pinning various insects to the pages of a scrapbook, there was a line of trees with several corpses impaled onto them: several Caterpie, Weedle, Kakuna and Metapod, a Pikachu, two boys, a girl, a man, a woman, and even a human skeleton. Rick looked over at Zack and Gastly, smiling and crossing his arms proudly when he saw their faces.
"Impressed, huh?" he said. "I don't like to brag, but it is a pretty nice collection. But enough of me showing off these old things; it's time to eat!" The two poor, horrified friends allowed themselves to be led back around the hut, and sat on the logs, mechanically eating the stew served to them, their eyes wide and pupils small in terror. Rick rambled on some stories about his life, but they fell on deaf ears, as Zack and his Pokémon wondered if their lives would end in the next few days.
After several more tales of what was surely horror to them, but high adventure to Rick, the deranged Bug Catcher announced it was bedtime. Zack robotically laid his sleeping bag out on the floor inside the hut, and curled up in a fetal position with Gastly next to him. They both shivered as Rick got into his creaking bed, blew out the lantern that was, aside from the moon, the only source of light, and whispered, "Goodniiiiiight!"
After what seemed to be hours, Zack heard Rick start to snore. He looked over to Gastly, glad to see that he was still awake. "Gastly," he whispered. "We have to get out of here! Let's make our way quietly to and out the door, okay?" Gastly nodded and seemed a bit more confident, seeing as he could float soundlessly and not risk waking up Rick personally. It only took them about ten seconds to reach the door, which practically fell off of its hinges, but it felt like an eternity.
"Okay," Zack whispered once they were outside. "Now, let's…RUN LIKE HELL!" And he was off, running at speeds that would put a Rapidash to shame, Gastly flying right next to him. He probably shouldn't have yelled like he did, but in his fear he couldn't help himself. Still, it apparently awoke Rick, as they heard a strangled, guttural cry come from the hut.
"COME BACK!" they heard from behind them. They turned to look, and saw Rick running after them, foaming at the mouth and wildly swinging around an old bug-catching net. The sight spurred on Zack and Gastly, and despite the limitations of their bodies, they somehow managed to run (and fly) even faster.
"Not on your life, you psycho!" Zack called and he bolted through the forest, Gastly sobbing in fear. They ran from the mentally disturbed Bug Catcher all night, every so often finding a place to hide and rest, nearly being caught twice.
"And that's what got us here," Zack said to the man.
"Damn bitch, you serious?" he said, an astounded look on his face. "That is all kinds of crazy! What kind of freak would do something like… Hey, you look familiar. You related to a guy named Chad?" Zack and Gastly both looked even more hopeful than before, hearing that this stranger not only seemed friendly, but knew his older brother!
"Yeah," he said. "My brother's name is Chad! Long black hair, trench coat, collar?" The stranger nodded at it all.
"Yeah, that's him!" he confirmed. "I remember you now! Zack, right? He showed me a picture of you before! I'm EJ!" Zack and Gastly both burst into tears and dove toward EJ, Zack hugging his legs and Gastly rubbing up against them. "Whoa! Take it easy, dude! It's all over now."
"You're right," Zack said. He and Gastly released EJ and stood up. "It's too much of a coincidence that you're here, though. Did you know we were in the forest." EJ nodded in response.
"Yeah, Chad and Lindsay said you were takin' too long to get to Pewter City. They knew I was around the forest and asked me to come get ya' moving." He laughed heartily as he said it all, and turned toward the road, which was only a short distance away. "So what do ya' say? Let's get going?"
The two eagerly replied "yes" and "Gas!" They followed EJ along the road, with Pewter City on the horizon. Once they were back in civilization, Zack though, they would be safe and the world sane once again. Oh, how wrong they were.
Zack's Pokémon so far!
Gastly
"Gas Pokémon"
#092
Type: Ghost/Poison
Gender: Male
Level: 12
Nature: Quirky
Ability: Levitate
Held Item: None
Known Moves: Hypnosis
Lick
Mean Look
Curse
Bulbasaur
"Seed Pokémon"
#001
Type: Grass/Poison
Gender: Male
Level: 11
Nature: Hardy
Ability: Overgrow
Held Item: None
Known Moves: Tackle
Growl
Leech Seed
Vine Whip
Pidgey
"Tiny Bird Pokémon"
#016
Type: Normal/Flying
Gender: Male
Level: 3
Nature: Hasty
Ability: Keen Eye
Held Item: None
Known Moves: Tackle
