Marble woke up to Meowth jumping up and down on her stomach.
"Meowth, you're all healed up! Yay! Now it's time to go catch a new Pokemon so I can get my first Gym Badge without any problems this time."
Meowth just chased her tail merrily like she didn't have the slightest interest in what she just said.
"I'll bet Zero is already awake."
Marble shook her head as the gruesome event from the night before flashed through her mind. She had no idea how she would
keep traveling with Zero after that… She changed into her clothes and wrapped a white bandeau around her head.
"Come on Meowth, I'm hungry, let's get some breakfast."
As Marble walked through the corridor with her adorable kitten Pokemon in her arms, she bumped straight into Zero. He had an apologetic look in his face.
"Listen, Marble, about last night…."
Marble cut him off before he could finish.
"Save it, Zero! From now on, I'm only talking to you when I absolutely have to! AND I'm going to keep an extra sharp eye on you so one of your little escapes won't happen again."
She stuck her nose up in the air and walked towards the lobby. Zero sighed in defeat and followed her. They sat at the same table during breakfast, not saying a word to each other or even making eye contact.
Finally, Marble sprung up from the table and headed towards the door, making a finger motion for Zero to come along.
The morning sun was beautiful as it shone down on Pewter City. Marble quietly
walked along the path leading to Viridian Forest. Her eyes lit up with excitement when she spotted a sparkling pond in the middle of a lush green patch of grass.
"Perfect! Water Pokemon! Just what I need to get my first Gym Badge!"
She strode to the small body of water with her Meowth following right behind her.
A Poliwag was happily strolling along the side of the pond.
"Wow, isn't it a little convenient that we get here and we didn't even have to search for 2 seconds and there's already a Pokemon? Oh well, I can't help it that I'm so lucky… Meowth, go beat it up so I can catch it!"
"Meowww" Meowth stuck out her sharp claws and prepared for battle.
"Use scratch attack!"
Meowth gave that Poliwag a taste of her sharp claws. Poliwag, on the other hand
Got enraged and shot a pretty harsh bubble beam in response.
Marble smirked "This ones tough, just how I like them, okay Meowth, use slash!"
Meowth wanted to get it over with already, so she summoned all her strength and gave it her best shot. Poliwag was about to be toast.
"All right, great job Meowth, now's the time to catch it, go Pokeball!
Marble's eyes followed the red and white ball anxiously as it opened and sucked Poliwag into it. It wobbled for a while, but then grew still as a rock.
Marble rejoiced "Yay! Pewter City Gym, here I come!" She released her newly caught Pokemon, which was still very weak. "I don't think I will even need to train you before I challenge the Gym, you put up a pretty good fight considering Meowth had to release all her strength on you. Plus Brock is really weak when it comes to water types. Right little guy?…. or girl? Okay, I really don't know what you are. "
Poliwag just stared at her squinting suspiciously as if it were saying, "What has my life just become?"
Meowth tried to comfort Poliwag.
Zero rolled his eyes "Wow… just wow."
Marble rushed back to the Pokemon Center to heal Poliwag for the battle. Zero followed her knowing she was keeping a sharp eye out for him. "I wish she would at least talk to me." He watched as the breeze blew steadily through the trees.
At the Pokemon Center, Nurse Joy examined it carefully.
" My, I must say, your Meowth can cause quite a bit of damage, this little guy will take a few hours to recover."
Marble looked at Poliwag. "So you are a guy."
Poliwag just stared back at her with his odd expression. Nurse Joy brought the hurt Pokemon into the emergency room.
Marble and Zero waited for hours. Marble would not move until her new Pokemon was fully healed. She shifted her eyes towards Zero every once in a while, but she didn't dare speak to him.
Suddenly Zero spoke in a soft tone. "You know, we can't keep this bizarre charade up forever, Marble. Sooner or later you're going to have to start speaking to me again."
Marble let out a sarcastic laugh. "Yeah, lets hear you say that when you try to escape again and cause destruction to this world."
Zero glanced down at the floor and sighed. Nurse Joy poked her head out of the emergency room door. "He's ready!"
Marble jumped up in excitement. "Yes, it's time to go get my Gym Badge!"
Nurse Joy handed her the Pokeball containing her odd Poliwag. Then she glanced at Marble. "You're going to come right back here right after your Gym battle aren't you?"
Marble smirked "Most likely, Poliwag will be beat up again, but not as badly as before."
Nurse Joy and Zero sweat dropped. Poor Poliwag.
"Well, come on Zero, lets go back to the Gym, I'm not getting any younger."
Zero smiled to himself. "She actually talked to me."