Chapter 3: Mission Almost Accomplished

"Derek Aareno, I challenge you to a Pokémon Battle!"

Derek blinked in surprise, staring at the girl who stood in his way and was pointing at him. Shuffling his feet, he scratched his jaw, trying to think of the best way to phrase his response. "Uh…no, I don't think so."

Sara seemed to deflate slightly at Derek's response. Her shoulders drooped and she blinked a few times as if she didn't believe what she had just heard. "…What?" she finally managed to breathe out.

"You heard me," Derek said, slowly making his way around the girl blocking his escape route. "I don't want to battle you." And even if I was dumb enough to want to battle you in some freaky, alternate universe where everything is all topsy-turvy, I have no clue how to make that stupid mouse do anything, he added silently.

"But…that's not how you're supposed to react at all!" Sara said, flailing her arms. "I thought Trainers were supposed to accept any challenge that they were issued."

"Well, I'm not some stupid Trainer, so I guess I don't have to follow that rule," Derek replied, glancing around in front of him. He could see an escape path clearly now. Only a few more feet, and he'd be free. He just had to make sure that she didn't notice what he was planning…

Meanwhile, Sara was frowning up at the sky, obviously mulling over the boy's denial to battle. Then, her eyebrows shot up as an idea popped into her head, and she smiled a sweet smile at Derek. "Ah, I see now. You're just a beginner, aren't you?"

"Uh, yeah, sure. I guess you could say that," Derek said, mainly to just keep the girl talking so he could make a break for it. Only a few more inches to the right, and he would have a straight shot.

Sara nodded, a smug grin on her face. "Well then, in that case, I guess we'll have to easy on you since you're still just a beginner. Eevee, Tackle!"

"Vee!" the fox exclaimed, shooting forward to follow her Trainer's command without hesitation.

"Wait, wha—" Derek never finished his sentence, as Eevee's tiny head rammed into his stomach, winding him.

"W-What was that for?" Derek said when he'd stopped coughing, glaring at the brown-haired girl.

Sara grinned at him. "I'm teaching you how to be a Pokémon Trainer. Now hurry up and send out that Cyndaquil you tried to use earlier today so we can go ahead and start this battle!"

Derek grumbled something inaudible as he glared at the Eevee sitting a few feet away from him. The fox smiled back at him, lazily scratching behind one of her large ears with her back paws. Snorting, he turned his gaze back to the brown haired girl and crossed his arms in front of his chest stubbornly. "No way. I told you, I'm not going to get into some stupid, pointless battle. So why don't you just take your little fox thing and—"

"Use another Tackle!"

In a flash, Eevee dutifully leapt to her feet and jumped at Derek. Surprised, Derek stumbled back from the blow, flailing his arms as he tried to keep his balance. It was to no avail, though, as he ended up sprawled out on the ground, Eevee sitting on his chest and nonchalantly licking one of her paws.

"Ready to battle yet?" Derek heard Sara ask cheerfully.

Derek groaned. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"Because I challenged you to a battle," Sara replied slowly, her tone of voice similar to that a schoolteacher might use when explaining something simple to a pupil who just wasn't grasping the concept. "Now then, are you going to send out your Pokémon or am I going to have to resort to another round of Sand-Attacks?" She said the last part merrily, as if she was just joking, but the threat was clear.

Derek's face blanched at the thought of having to go through another one of those horrible sand plumes. "Alright, alright!" he shouted, startling the Eevee sitting on him. "You win! I'll fight you or whatever, okay? Just don't hit me with another one of those sand things!"

"I thought you might say that." Sara grinned. "Eevee, come back over here." Giggling, Eevee bounced off of Derek's chest and, taking care to kick a bit of sand in Derek's face as she did so, happily trotted back over to stand in front of her Trainer.

Stupid little fox, Derek grumbled in his head as he slowly got to his feet. Pausing long enough to wipe the grime off of his face, Derek began rummaging through his bag, looking for the tiny red and white ball Professor Elm had given him a few hours ago. After a few seconds of searching, he felt his fingers brush across a smooth, round object, and he slowly brought it out, the sunlight glinting off of its polished surface. Gazing down at the Poké Ball, Derek couldn't help but feel a wave of disgust roll over him. He shouldn't even have it in the first place! He was no Trainer; that much was obvious. He didn't belong out here in the woods being harassed into making two little creatures try to beat the snot out of each other. He belonged at home, with his accident-prone mom, going to boring old school and living a nice, tranquil, event-free life. Instead, he was stuck out here, scrounging in the dirt to retrieve stolen items and having to fight every person he dared to even glance at.

"Hey!" Sara shouted, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You gonna send out your Pokémon today, or am I going to have to sick Eevee on you again?"

"Fine." Derek sighed. Gripping the tiny ball in his hands, he tossed the Poké Ball in front of him. Much to his surprise, the ball simply fell to the ground with a dull thump, doing nothing more than bouncing a few times and prompting Sara to slap her face in embarrassment for Derek.

"Arceus, do you know nothing?" she asked, staring disbelievingly at the boy before her. "You're supposed to press the middle button on the Poké Ball to change it out of transport mode before you throw it! If you don't do that, the ball does absolutely squat."

"Thanks for the update, Captain Obvious," Derek muttered to himself, walking over to retrieve the ball. Rolling it around in his right hand, he quickly located the button Sara was talking about and pressed it with his thumb. Instantly, the ball expanded to about ten times its compact size, snugly fitting into the palm of Derek's hand.

Or at least, it would have, if Derek had not given a cry of surprise and dropped the Poké Ball as soon as it had begun to grow. There was a blinding flash of light, followed by a loud yawn as the same mouse Derek had released earlier that day against the black-clad men appeared on the ground in front of him.

"Finally!" Sara cheered, seeing the Cyndaquil materialize on the field. Wasting no time, she quickly shouted, "Eevee, Sand-Attack!"

Derek gave a cry of alarm as Eevee bounded towards him and Cyndaquil, a mischievous glint in her eyes. Not wanting to be caught in another sand cloud, Derek immediately turned tail and ran, leaving behind one very confused and bewildered Cyndaquil.

"Quil?" the little mouse cried in shock, tilting his head at the Eevee approaching him. Thinking that the Evolution Pokémon might be able to tell him what was going on, he eagerly ran forward to meet the fox, waving a tiny paw in greeting. In response, Eevee dug her tail into the ground and spun, showering Cyndaquil with sand and dirt.

"I thought you said you weren't going to do that!" Derek shouted from the tree line, not concerned at the slightest that his Pokémon was now squealing in pain and rolling around on the ground as he tried to rub the sand out of his eyes with his tiny paws.

Sara wagged a finger. "I never said that," she said cheekily, winking at him. "Now then, Eevee, Tackle!"

In one quick burst of speed, Eevee rammed headfirst into the flailing Cyndaquil, sending the mouse rolling away in a trail of dust. As the momentum of his spin began to slow after a few yards, the Fire Mouse Pokémon spun to his feet, crying out indignantly at being tricked in such a manner.

"Feel free to issue an order any time," Sara said, still smirking. However, Derek simply stared at the battlefield with an air of disinterest.

"Whatever," Derek said, rolling his eyes. "Um, hey! Mouse…thing. Go beat up that fox or whatever it is you're supposed to be doing." With that, he waved his hand at Cyndaquil, motioning for him to get going.

Cyndaquil frowned. He had never heard of an attack such as the one the boy—who he assumed to be his new master—had commanded him to perform. Still, not wanting to displease, he charged forward fearlessly, ready to repay the Eevee with a Tackle of his own.

This is so stupid, Derek thought, barely registering Sara shout another command at her Pokémon. I mean, what's the point of having these…creatures try to kill each other? It just seems like a huge waste of time. Who cares if some kind of giant lizard or something can beat up a puff ball? Even a three-year-old could tell you who the winner would be if they tried to fight each other. It shouldn't even matter what can beat up what. And yet people worship these Trainers as if they were miniature gods or something.

Derek's musings were briefly interrupted by a squeal of pain. Glancing at the field, he could see that the mouse had somehow been knocked on his back again, and the fox seemed to be smacking the living daylights out of him with her tail. Derek snorted at the sight.

I can't wait until I'm done with all this nonsense and I can just go home. This week can't end fast enough. As long as I survive to see the end of it, that is. Still, I guess I have a bit of work to do. After all, I still have to get rid of that mouse thing somewhere where he can't or won't be able to follow me back home and send me all the way back out here. Hey, wait a second…

Derek's eyes widened as an idea suddenly popped into his head. It was a crazy, cunning, and downright ingenious plan, and one that seemed like it had hardly any possible chance of failing. He would just need to be a bit sneaky, but if everything went the way he wanted it to go, there was a chance—and a good one at that—that he could be rid of virtually all of his worries before the day was up.

There was no chance he was going to pass this opportunity up.

"Alright Eevee, one last Tackle attack should do it!" Sara cheered, going for the knockout. Eevee nodded in turn, and charged headfirst into the Cyndaquil once again. The bruised and battered mouse gave one last squeak before crumpling to the ground. Taking a few steps towards the fallen creature, Sara's mouth split into a grin as she saw the swirls in the Fire Mouse Pokémon's eyes, signaling he was out cold.

"Alright!" she cheered, punching the air with a whoop! "Sorry, Derek, it looks like Eevee and I were just too much for you to handle. Although you really need to learn how to command your Pokémon properly. I mean, you barely even uttered a word through the entire match! It was almost like you weren't even…here…"

Sara slowly trailed off, her brow furrowing in confusion as she gazed at the tree line where she had last seen her opponent.

But Derek was nowhere to be seen.

Derek gasped for air, one hand leaning against a tree and the other clutching a stitch in his side from running. Still, he couldn't help but grin jubilantly at his accomplishment. After all, in one fell swoop, he had just managed to get rid of his Pokémon and that annoying Sara girl.

And to think all I had to do was run away! he thought, chuckling at his own brilliance. It was so simple! I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner. Now all I have to worry about is finding my way out of these woods and back to civilization. That shouldn't be too hard, right?

After a few minutes of catching his breath, Derek decided now might be a good time to try to get a better idea of his bearings. It wasn't like he was just going to wander aimlessly around in the woods for a week, hoping to defy the odds and somehow make it out alive! No, he was going to use his most advanced and only survival tool that he knew how to use out here in the middle of nowhere: the sun. He could get his direction from that, and from there he could make his way in the general direction of New Bark Town.

Even if I overshoot my mark, it's not really that big a deal, either, Derek reminded himself. After all, if I just head east, I'm bound to run into the ocean, and from there finding my way back to New Bark Town should be a piece of cake. Man, Derek, you're just on fire with the ideas today. He chuckled, then caught himself as he realized what he was doing. Great, and now I'm talking to myself in my head. How anyone manages to go on one of these stupid journeys without going completely insane is beyond me.

Upon further observation, however, Derek realized his plan had a tiny flaw in it. From his current position in this section of forest, most of the sunlight coming in was blocked out by the overhanging branches, and while the shade was nice and cool, it was really hard to tell just which direction the sun was in. The realization didn't bother Derek much, though, as he simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Guess I'll just have to look for a place where the trees are a bit thinner," he mumbled to himself, a hint of merriment still lingering in his voice from the high of his successful escape. Adjusting his pack, he set off, the leaf litter under his feet crunching with every step he took.

It didn't take long for his good mood to sour, as the trees around him continued to block out the sun with their long branches, not thinning out in the slightest. Grumbling to himself, he quickly turned to his right, stomping off to see if he could see clearer in that direction. When that proved to be futile, he turned left, and stomped that way. Soon, he was even more mixed up than before, unable to tell where he had already looked or which direction he had gone in.

"Maybe this won't be so easy," he mumbled to himself, debating which way to try next.

Don't forget, a little voice in the back of his head whispered, even if you do manage to find where the sun is, do you even remember which direction it's supposed to be in now? East or west, north or south? Pick the wrong one and you're as good as dead.

"Shut up!" he cried, rubbing his eyes with his palms as if he could wipe the thoughts away.

And even if you somehow manage to pick the right direction, the voice continued despite Derek's efforts, you're still not guaranteed to get out. How are you supposed to follow the direction you choose based on the sun when it is covered up by branches again? It would be so easy to get turned around ever so slightly, and end up going completely in the wrong direction. You'll end up lost in these woods forever, walking in circles until you finally—

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" Derek shouted, banging his head against a tree trunk. The flash of pain from the coarse bark digging into his forehead helped to distract him from his thoughts, at least temporarily. He stayed that way for a while, taking deep breaths in an attempt to drive away the sudden wave of unease that had overtaken him.

Deep breaths, Derek, deep breaths, he told himself. You'll find a way out of this. People do it all the time. I mean, I can't be the first person to get lost out here. All I have to do is keep going, and hopefully I'll run into someone or something that will tell me where to go. Yeah, that's good. Even if I end up in Cherrygrove or something, at least I'll know where I am and I can make my way back from there. Yeah, there's nothing to be worried about. Nothing at all.

What about more of those rats? the voice challenged. Or something even bigger, like a bear? You can't outrun a hungry animal out here. Or what if—

Nope, not going to happen. No chance. Not at all. Everything's going to be fine. I just have to stay positive. Yeah, that's right. Positive. Just don't think about that stuff. You're going to be fine, Derek. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts…

…Oh God, I really am going crazy.

Derek took another shaky breath. Yes, he was going to be fine. He was just being delusional, that's all. It wasn't like—

A rustle. Derek froze. Something was behind him. Something moving towards him, closer and closer. Something that Derek prayed wasn't hungry at the moment.

Told you so, the voice said mockingly in his head, but Derek barely registered it.

His muscles tense and ready to spring at any time, he slowly turned on the spot. The blood was pounding in his ears, deafening him. His throat had gone dry. And he suddenly needed to use the bathroom. Still, he turned, his eyes scanning the forest as he searched for the origin of the noise.

There! The rustling was coming from a bush situated between two trees. It was fairly obvious, really; the bush was literally shaking. Then, as if it had been waiting just for Derek to spot its hiding place, the beast emerged from the quaking brush. It was…It was…

It was…a bug. A large, green and yellow caterpillar with a set of red feelers on its forehead, to be precise.

Derek practically collapsed in relief. As it was, he gave a loud sigh of relief and slumped against the tree behind him. "It's a worm," he mumbled, the hint of a chuckle in his voice. "It was just a worm."

"Caa?" the caterpillar chirped as he noticed Derek. It slowly crawled towards the boy, although to Derek he seemed more interested in the leaves at its feet than him.

Derek knelt down to the caterpillar. "You know, you almost gave me a heart attack there," he said. "I thought that you were…I dunno, something that was going to eat my face."

At this, the caterpillar turned to look at him, its big, black eyes staring straight at Derek. It titled its head. "Pii?"

"But you're just a little bug," Derek continued. "Heh, I knew there was nothing to be worried about. You're just a stupid, wimpy little bug! You can't hurt—"

The caterpillar spat at him, literally rearing up and projecting strings of goo from its mouth. And the crazy thing was, it didn't even look like it had a mouth at all; just something like a big green button where a mouth should go if it had one.

Derek cried out in surprise and stumbled back. He managed to avoid most of the spit, but his hands were covered in the stringy substance. And it was sticky. He could hardly even move his fingers or close either hand. And when he tried to tear it off, all he managed to do was stick both of his hands together like he had put some sort of fast-drying superglue on them.

"What the heck?" he cried as the bug advanced. Its glittering black eyes transfixed on Derek, it slowly crawled forward, going an amazing two or so feet a minute.

Derek did the only sensible thing when one was confronted with a bug who seemed to think it was part garden hose, part glue bottle: he turned and ran.

Or at least, he tried to. He hadn't even gone a few feet before he felt something wet hit the backs of his legs, and he went sprawling onto the forest floor, his legs now immobile from the oppressive substance.

"Wh-What do you want?" he half-cried, half-sobbed as he began to crawl away, long-dead leaves and who knows what else sticking to him from the forest floor.

"Well, well, well, look what the Caterpie dragged in."

Derek froze. He knew that voice. In fact, he had run into that same voice in other similar manners of being attacked twice today alone.

"Good job, Caterpie," Sara said, patting the caterpillar's head affectionately.

"Caater," the caterpillar replied, waving his tail back and forth much like a dog would when getting attention. In a flash of red light, he was gone, having been called back in to his ball.

"Sara?" Derek asked, incredulous.

"Derek," she replied, crossing her arms and staring down at him.

"What the heck are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. "What are you doing? You just took off in the middle of our battle and left your Cyndaquil behind! What were you thinking?"

I was thinking that I would finally be rid of you and that mouse once and for all, he thought. Of course, voicing that thought out loud would have only made Sara madder, and being in the position that he was, he figured that might not be the best idea. Instead, he shrugged. "Hey, I told you I didn't want to battle you, and you just wouldn't listen."

"So you abandoned your partner in the middle of the woods with no idea where he was just because you didn't have to get into a battle?" she asked, exasperated.

"Hey, I never wanted the thing in the first place!"

Sara's eyes narrowed to slits. "You know, Derek, there are a few kinds of people I don't like. Snobs, for example, are one of such kind of person. People who don't even care about anything except themselves are another. But above all, I really, really don't like people who treat Pokémon badly. I just never figured you to be one of them when I first met you. Now come on."

"W-Wait!" Derek cried as Sara stomped towards him. "Wh-What did I do that was so bad? I mean, I left the mouse thing out in the wild where it belongs! And if you wanted to make sure it was okay or whatever, you could have just taken it along with you instead of going through the trouble of tracking me down!"

"You really don't get it, do you?" she grumbled. "First off, that Cyndaquil is your Pokémon. He's your responsibility. Not mine, not anyone else's, yours. And even if I wanted to catch him, I can't, because he's still your Pokémon. You never released him officially from his Poké Ball, so that means no one else can catch him.

"And second of all, that Cyndaquil wouldn't last a day out in these woods. For one thing, this forest is not a place where Cyndaquil live. There's too many plants that could easily be burned down. Plus, I can tell that he wasn't a wild Pokémon before. It's pretty obvious, really. He doesn't know how to live out in the wild. He'd get eaten, starve to death, or get sick within a couple of days!"

Derek sighed. "So what do you want me to do about it? I don't see what—Ack!" He was cut off by Sara grabbing him by the back of his shirt and yanking on it. Hard. The front of his shirt squeezed against his neck, making it very uncomfortable to breathe, let alone talk.

"You're going to come with me to get your Cyndaquil back," Sara growled as she began to drag Derek along. "I left him in that clearing with some Oran Berries and told him not to go anywhere. Then you and I are going to have a little talk about you and your Pokémon."

She's stronger than she looks, Derek thought as he was hauled along almost effortlessly by the brown haired girl. Unable to use his hands or move his legs thanks to the sticky web or whatever it was, Derek simply let himself be dragged along, dreading whatever it was Sara had in mind.

Sara was panting by the time she and Derek reached the clearing. What should have been about a ten minute jog by herself had taken her over half an hour, thanks to having to drag Derek along like the sack of dead weight he was.

"Alright…we're here," she grumbled, dragging Derek to his feet. There was a sound like that of snapping twigs, and the dried-on String Shot that was attached to Derek's legs cracked, allowing him to walk once again, albeit a bit awkwardly from the dried string still stuck to him. Seeing what happened with his legs, he pulled at the string around his hands, and sure enough, it too cracked and released him from his bonds.

"About time I got out of that stuff," he grumbled, running his hands over his legs to try to get more of the string off.

"Hurry up and recall your Cyndaquil," Sara said irritably.

Derek sighed, and wordlessly grabbed the Poké Ball from his bag. Making sure he enlarged it this time, he looked around, searching for the stupid mouse that he would only have to get rid of again later on.

"Um, Sara?" Derek said, his eyes widening as a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"What is it?" she snapped.

"That mouse isn't here."

"What?"

Spinning around, Sara began to frantically look for the little mouse. As the seconds passed, she felt a sinking feeling in her chest as she failed to spot the Cyndaquil. Finally, she admitted out loud what both of them were thinking.

"Cyndaquil's not here…" Sara muttered.

"Nope," Derek agreed, nodding his head. "See, that mouse thing can handle itself in the wild. It doesn't need me to take care of it at least, which is a good thing. It saves me the trouble of having to find someone else to ditch the stupid thing…"

Derek trailed off, his eyes widening as he realized what he had just said. Beside him, Sara stiffened. Slowly, she rotated in place to stare at Derek, a plethora of emotions flashing across her face. Confusion, anger, and shock seemed to be the most prominent, along with maybe a little bewilderment and…pity?

Oh, great, I'm in for it now, Derek thought, flinching in anticipation of a blow that never came.

"I don't…" she mumbled, before shaking her head. That seemed to clear her head a little, as when she looked at Derek again, her eyes were hard, set, and determined. "Come on."

Derek blinked stupidly, a bit shocked still over Sara's reaction, or lack thereof. "Um, what? Are we going somewhere?"

"Yeah," Sara replied, releasing her Eevee in a flash of white light. Looking Derek in the eye, she said, "We're going to go find your Cyndaquil, whether you want to or not."

Apologies for the slightly late update. Both my beta and myself had some things come up, which slightly delayed the posting of this chapter. But that's life for you.

So yeah, short chapter is short. But it's important though for characterization and all that stuff. And that was the best place to cut this chapter off with what's coming up. Don't worry, plot stuff will start popping up soon, as in the next chapter soon. So be sure to look out for that.

Well, that's about it. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and hopefully the next one will be out fairly soon.