Adventures in Hoenn
Chapter Two: Wally
*Alex's p.o.v*
I woke up to find Mudkip lying on his back in the same spot he was last night. ''Mudkip,'' I said quietly. ''Mudkip!'' Mudkip groaned.
''What is it, Alex?'' he asked.
''I was checking to see if I can still talk to you,'' I said.
''Yes, we can still talk to each other,'' Mudkip replied turning his back away from me.
''C'mon,'' I said gently shaking him with my fingers. ''Let's go get breakfast!''
''Breakfast?!'' Mudkip asked quickly waking up and startling me. ''Why didn't you say so earlier?! Let's go!'' Mudkip ran to the door hopping up and down excitedly and wagging his tail. He's a cute little guy, I thought laughing. After getting ready, we went downstairs and the smell of waffles slapped us in the face. ''What's that wonderful smell?'' Mudkip asked with his mouth drooling.
''Those are waffles,'' I replied. We entered the dining hall and saw the room filled with people and Pokémon. Due to my newfound ability, I could hear what all the Pokémon are saying in perfect English. It was almost sensory overload! We got a seat and I went back to get my breakfast.
''Get me some of those waffles for me, please,'' Mudkip said.
''Pokémon don't eat waffles,'' I replied. ''Besides, I got you some Pokémon food right here.'' I pulled out a container of pellet food and placed it in a dish for Mudkip. Mudkip smelled it and cringed in disgust.
''I don't like it,'' Mudkip said turning away from it.
''Mudkip, don't be picky,'' I said with hands on my sides. Mudkip then looked up at me with pleading eyes.
''Please Alex,'' he said sniffling. ''Be a pal and get me some waffles.'' He melted my heart.
''Okay,'' I sighed. I walked over to the line and got our breakfast as we went down the line.
''Hey!'' a familiar voice said to me from my right. I looked and saw Brendan with a stupid grin on his face and Treeko on his shoulder. Remembering his ''sexy'' comment, I turned my head away from him. ''What's wrong?'' he asked naively.
''Think about it,'' I said in a mad tone as I walked away.
''C'mon Alex,'' he said following me. ''Don't make me guess.''
''I'll give you a hint,'' I said to him angrily. ''It deals with your lack of respect for women.'' I then made it to my table and set up everything. I cut up Mudkip's waffles and handed them to him. Mudkip quickly dove in eating.
''Oh, these are so good!'' he said. ''I wanna shake the hand of whoever invented these.''
''Don't eat too fast!'' I said. ''Or you'll-'' Mudkip then started to choke. ''Oh my Arceus!'' I screamed. ''Someone help my Mudkip! I don't know how to give CPR to a Pokémon!'' Brendan quickly ran over.
''Don't worry,'' he said reassuringly. ''I took training courses on this.''
''Just save him!'' I said crying. ''Please!'' Using two fingers, Brendan pressed down on Mudkip's chest gently and breathed into his mouth. After doing this three times, Mudkip woke up coughing up a piece of waffle. I squeezed Mudkip while crying tears of joy.
''What happened?!'' he asked.
''Brendan saved you,'' I said calming down. I looked at Brendan. I immediately saw him in a different light. He may be a little lewd, but he has a good heart. ''Thank you,'' I said. ''Thank you so much!''
''Anytime Alex,'' he replied. ''I'm sorry about that comment I made yesterday. It was disrespectful and gross.''
''It's okay, Brendan,'' I responded. ''You're learning how to treat women better.'' He then smiled and walked off. My face suddenly felt hot. Mudkip started to snicker. ''What?'' I asked.
''You like him, don't you?'' Mudkip asked smirking.
''HIM?'' I asked surprised. ''Please!''
''How come you were blushing?'' Mudkip asked again.
''Uh…he is kinda cute,'' I said.
''There it is again!'' Mudkip teased. ''You're blushing again!''
''Oh stop it, Mudkip!'' I said. ''Now hurry up and eat. Breakfast is almost over!'' Everyone was staring at me like I was a weirdo. Starting to wish I couldn't talk to Pokémon already, I thought. After breakfast was over, we went over to Route 102 to do some training. ''Okay Mudkip,'' I said. ''Let's get some training done before we go challenge Norman.'' I looked and saw Mudkip holding his bloated stomach.
''Can't we do it later?'' he asked. ''I'm stuffed!''
''You shouldn't have eaten so much,'' I said annoyed. ''Now we'll never get our training done today!''
''Calm down, Alex,'' Mudkip said. ''It's not the end of the world. We'll train later!''
''Don't tell meto be calm!'' I snapped. I then heard the sound of heavy breathing. I followed the sound and saw a kid crawling on his hands and knees breathing heavily. He had green hair and blue eyes. His shirt was plain white and he wore blue-and-white shoes. He suddenly collapsed on the ground. I ran over to the kid's side. He was very weak. I quickly pulled out my phone and dialed for the hospital. The ambulance came and I rode to the hospital with him in Petalburg City. His family joined us in the hospital room where he was hooked up with breathing equipment.
''Thank you so much for saving Wally,'' his mom said gratefully.
''Yes, thank you,'' his dad added.
''It's no problem,'' I said. ''How come Wally was out by himself?''
''Wally must've snuck off again to try and capture a Pokémon,'' Wally's dad said. ''You see, he wants to be a Pokémon Trainer. But, we're not sure if that's a smart decision because Wally is very weak due to his lung condition. We're afraid that he'll get hurt.''
''It's not really my business to get in the middle of family matters,'' I said, ''but I could teach him how to catch a Pokémon if you like.'' Wally's parents gasped.
''Y-you'd do that?!'' Wally's mom asked.
''Sure!'' I said smiling. ''I'll lend him my Mudkip and we'll go together and catch a strong Pokémon.''
''I don't know,'' Wally's father asked concerned.
''Don't worry,'' I said. ''I'll protect him as if he were my brother!'' Wally's parents whispered amongst themselves for a few minutes.
''Okay,'' they said.
''But, do it tomorrow,'' Wally's mom suggested. ''Wally is very tired.''
''Thank you,'' I said. I then walked off to go see the Petalburg Gym. Brendan and a man that I assumed to be the Gym Leader were outside to greet me.
''Hey Brendan,'' I said.
''Hey Alex,'' Brendan responded. ''This is my dad, Norman.''
''Hello Alex,'' Norman greeted shaking my hand. ''I heard that your mother is a Gym Leader as well.''
''Yes,'' I replied. ''She's really good.''
''I've seen her,'' Norman said. ''She is really good. But anyways, I believe you kids want to challenge me?''
''Yes!'' Brendan and I replied excitedly.
''I don't think you're ready yet,'' Norman replied.
''Huh?!'' we both asked. ''Why?''
''Not that I'm bragging, but my Pokémon are too strong for you two,'' Norman answered. ''Come back when you have your first four Gym Badges and then you can challenge me.''
''Well, okay,'' we both sighed.
''I'm looking forward to challenging you both,'' Norman winked. We smiled and parted ways. I then went into the woods to set up camp for the night.
''Poor Wally,'' I said solemnly to Mudkip. ''He has to deal with his lung condition which prevents him from really getting out and exploring the world.''
''Yeah,'' Mudkip replied. ''It's really nice of you to teach him how to catch Pokémon.''
''Thanks,'' I said back. ''I figured that he needs someone else who can watch out for him.'' We suddenly heard a rustling in the grass. A small white Pokémon with green hair covering its face and a red horn on its forehead came out panting.
''Hey, a Pokémon!'' I said excitedly getting up. The Pokémon jumped back in surprise.
''Don't hurt me!'' he said cowering.
''Hey, I'm not going to hurt you, little guy,'' I said gently.
''What's wrong with you?'' Mudkip asked.
''Some men in red are coming after me,'' the Pokémon replied. ''I need to hide!'' The fin on Mudkip's head then began to twitch.
''I sense someone coming,'' Mudkip said.
''Quickly!'' I said to the white Pokémon. ''Get in my tent! Mudkip, go back to your Pokeball!'' The Pokémon ran into my tent and Mudkip went back into his ball. The red men then came out of the grass looking for the Pokémon. They look like the men from yesterday, I thought.
''Hey, girl!'' a man yelled. ''Have you seen a Ralts anywhere?''
''Nope,'' I said. The man just growled.
''You better not be hiding anything,'' the other man said grabbing my collar.
''I'm not,'' I replied. ''Please let go of me.'' The man just pushed me back and they went on their way. After a few minutes, I let out Ralts and Mudkip. ''Who're those creeps?'' I asked.
''I think they called themselves Team Magma,'' Ralts said. ''They killed my parents and siblings because my parents were defending a group of Zigzagoon from them,'' Ralts said putting his hands on his face and started to sob.
''I'm so sorry,'' I said sympathetically as I hugged Ralts. ''Those monsters. They won't get away with this. Since you don't have anywhere to go, why don't you join us?''
''Me?'' Ralts asked looking up at me with his soft, red eyes. ''Join you?''
''Yes,'' Mudkip said. ''We'll help you get back at those men and we'll make you stronger!'' Ralts' eyes lit up with joy.
''I will!'' he said leaping into my arms. ''Thank you!''
''Welcome to the team, Ralts,'' I said laughing.
*Wally's p.o.v*
I was walking to Route 102 with Alex, Mudkip, and her newly acquired Ralts.
''Sleep well, Wally?'' Alex asked.
''Yeah,'' I replied. ''Thank you for showing me how to catch Pokémon.''
''My pleasure!'' she said smiling. Her smile was beautiful. Seeing it filled me with warmth. Am I blushing? I thought feeling hot. We arrived at the route. ''Okay, now we need to wait for some Pokémon,'' Alex said. We hid behind a rock waiting. Mudkip's fin suddenly twitched.
''Mudkip! Mudkip!'' Mudkip said to Alex pulling on her sleeve. We looked and saw a Zigzagoon leap out of the grass.
''A Zigzagoon!'' I said quietly.
''Okay, now command Mudkip to attack,'' Alex said to me.
''Mudkip, Tackle,'' I said to Mudkip. Mudkip leapt from behind the rock and rammed Zigzagoon. Zigzagoon got up and used Tackled back. ''Mudkip! Water Gun!'' I commanded. Mudkip blasted a stream of water which hit spot on. Zigzagoon attempted to get back up.
''Quickly Wally!'' Alex said. ''Throw a Pokeball before it gets away!'' I took out a Pokeball.
''You're mine, Zigzagoon!'' I cried throwing the ball. Zigzagoon was absorbed into the ball in a flash. The ball wiggled. One, I thought. Two. My heart was racing. Three. It was all or nothing! The ball then clicked shut. ''We did it!'' I cried in triumph. Mudkip and Ralts were jumping up and down happily.
''Congratulations, Wally!'' Alex said.
''Thank you, Alex!'' I said hugging her. ''I've never been so happy in a long time!'' I then realized what I did and let go of Alex blushing.
''L-l-let's take Zigzagoon to a Pokémon Center,'' Alex said shaking off her blush. I heard Mudkip snickering and chatter. ''Who asked you?!'' Alex yelled at Mudkip. At the Pokémon Center, after Zigzagoon was treated, I released him from the ball. Zigzagoon looked around confused. Mudkip and Ralts then started to talk with Zigzagoon.
''I wonder what they're saying,'' I said.
''They're just telling him that he's safe and that you want to be friends,'' Alex said to me.
''You can understand them?'' I asked.
''Oh, uh, I just have a way with Pokémon is all,'' Alex laughed nervously while rubbing her arm.
''Something tells me that you're hiding something,'' I said.
''Okay, I'll tell you,'' she sighed. She leaned in close to my ear. ''I can understand Pokémon,'' she whispered.
''Really?!'' I whispered back. ''What're they saying then?'' I asked in order to test her. Alex looked at the trio sitting on the floor.
''Mudkip says that I'm a boy magnet-wait, what?!'' Alex said blushing. She picked up Mudkip and shook him back and forth in anger.
''I believe you,'' I said.
''You do?'' Alex asked shocked as she stopped shaking Mudkip as his eyes spun around.
''Yeah, I've heard stranger stories that were true,'' I said. ''Like how the beets in our fridge have been there since last year.'' My dad then came up to me.
''You caught a Pokémon, I see,'' he said examining Zigzagoon. ''Well, say good-bye to Alex. We're moving to Verdanturf Town. Thank you Alex for doing this for Wally.''
''Sure,'' she smiled. ''Bye Wally and Zigzagoon.''
''Bye,'' I said quietly. I hope I'll see your smile again, I thought sadly as I walked away with dad and Zigzagoon.