Chapter 39 – The Lost Growlithe
As May and I continued ahead, we saw 2 other people off in the distance, riding on Pokemon. We could clearly see that one was a Rapidash and one was an Arcanine. May asked me, "Is that who I think it is?" I replied, "I think they're both who we think they are! Let's go say hi and see what they're doing!" I told Tauros to gallop us in their direction, and May told Fierymane the same. Sure enough, it was Trevor on his Rapidash and Martin on his Arcanine. We ran up behind them, until we were riding alongside them and I shouted, "What's up, guys?" Trevor and Martin both looked surprised to see us, and ordered their Pokemon to stop. May said, "I'm really surprised to see you out here, Martin! What are you doing racing around the countryside?" He said, "I was on my way to see the Elite 4. I sure wouldn't be out here otherwise. There are too many Pokemon trainers around here! But I met up with your friend, Trevor, and he challenged me to race him. So I decided it would be a good way to avoid all those junior trainers." Trevor then asked us, "Say, why don't you guys join us?" I looked to May and said, "Sounds like fun!" May said, "We've been training so hard for the League Finals, we could use a break!" We all lined up, Trevor on Rapidash, Martin on Arcanine, May on Fierymane, me on Tauros, and Flamefox decided to ride on his brother's back, while Amber decided to ride on my Jolteon's back. Trevor said, "Okay, we'll race from here, to the woods at the end of route 27! On your marks… get set… go!" We were all off! Trevor, of course, immediately took the early lead, followed by Martin, myself, and May. Our Pokemon gallopped us ahead at a steady pace. Flamefox and Amber were making good time, as well, riding on Firestorm and Jolteon, and were ahead of May and I. We watched the landscape zip by as we quickly proceeded ahead. Our Pokemon jumped us over logs, rocks, and other obstacles. Martin's Arcanine was gaining on Trevor's Rapidash, and soon, they were running side by side. Tauros was quickly gaining on them, and May's Ponyta was catching up with us. I figured Trevor would win for sure! But near the end of Route 27, Martin took the lead, and when we all reached the end, Martin won, by just a few feet!
Afterwards, the four of us sat under a large tree to rest. Rapidash, Fierymane, and Tauros were grazing in the grass and eating apples off the ground that had fallen from the tree. Flamefox, Firestorm, Amber, and Jolteon were playing in the grass, and we released the rest of our Pokemon to join them. Vaporeon and Blastoise played in the water nearby. Raichu and Golem played, while Fearow and Scyther took to the top of the tree to rest. Martin had also brought along Feraligatr, Persian, and Golbat, who he let out to play, along with his Sneasels, Kat and Slash. As Trevor watched the newly discovered ice Pokemon, I asked him, "Aren't they cool?" He answered, "I must admit, I was a little surprised when Martin first showed them to me when we first met. Even Rapidash reared up, afraid of them! But they are very cool little creatures. Congratulations again on their discovery, Martin! I'm sure they'll be very popular with trainers everywhere someday!" Martin said, "Thanks!" May said, "I'm surprised he showed them to you see freely." Martin said, "I only showed them to him because he told me how well he knows you guys. I don't show them off to just anyone." Just then, Flamefox and Amber ran over to us, yelling, "Vulpix! Vulpix!" We asked, "What is it, guys?" They wanted us to follow them! May and I ran after them, along with Martin, Trevor, Firestorm, and Arcanine. Our Vulpixes stood over something orange, white, and black. It was a Growlithe! He just lay there in the grass, cowering. I picked him up and said, "It's okay, little guy." He looked at me, so scared that he was shaking. May said, "Let me take him." She held him, and he calmed right down! "There, there" she said to him. Arcanine came up to him so they were nose to nose. I could see his name tag now – It said "Redfur". May brought him back to the tree and took some potion out of her backpack. "Here, drink this, Redfur" she said. Pretty soon, he was looking better, and we fed him with the fire foxes. They all got along together just fine. "So, what should we do with him?" Martin asked. "One of us should keep him!" I exclaimed. Trevor said, "Well, I'd sure like to have him. I only have one Pokemon, so it would be nice to have another." Martin said, "I'd like to have him, too. And these kids already have six Pokemon, so they can't take him." Trevor said, "You already have an Arcanine!" I interjected, "It was our Vulpixes that found him! And I'd like to keep him, too!" May then said, "Not to burst your bubbles, but none of us can keep him! He's got a name tag, which means he belongs to someone! Until we find out who, I will keep him!" I said, "But you have six Pokemon already!" She answered, "So? I just won't put him in a pokeball!" Trevor, Martin, and I all reluctantly agreed. Redfur seemed fine with the fire foxes, but as soon as Fierymane approached he jumped back! "Don't be afraid" May told him. She picked him up and let him sniff Fierymane. He was nervous, but her Ponyta gave him a gentle nuzzle and showed him he had nothing to fear. May said, "As soon as we start ahead again, we'll see if we can find his owner."
Martin and Trevor decided to accompany us for a little while, and we were soon under way once again, riding our Pokemon towards the Indigo Plateau. Since it was such an open area, we left all of our Pokemon out to walk, or fly, with us. Redfur walked with Flamefox, Amber, and Firestorm. They all got along just great together! But Redfur's favorite person was still May. Up ahead, there was a big billboard sign. It read "Pokemon Carnival Ahead". May said, "Cool, a Pokemon Carnival! Let's go, you guys!" I said, "Okay! That'll be fun!" Trevor said, "I'll come along, too!" But Martin said, "If it's all the same to you guys, I don't really want to go. I'll catch up with you later." May said, "Oh, come on, Martin! You have to drop this unsocial bit! It's just a minor social activity and it's fun!" He said, "I can't help it! I was the smartest kid in my class and also the most picked on kid because of it. I've found that I'm more comfortable avoiding social activity all together." Then May said, "Oh, come with us, Martin! I'll buy you an ice cream cone!" He looked at her and asked, "Chocolate, with all the works?" Trevor and I looked at each other, then back at him, in disbelief that a 20 year old man was being coaxed, with ice cream, by a 10 year old girl! May replied, "Anything you want!" He finally agreed to come with us, but he recalled Kat and Slash to their pokeballs. "Why did you do that?" May asked. He answered, "Are you kidding? I can't leave them out in plain sight! Can you imagine the pandemonium that would cause? Aside from a handful of people, including the four of us, no one's seen a Sneasel before!" I said, "Good point! In fact, it would probably be wise if only a few of our Pokemon were out, just to be safe." So, I recalled all of my Pokemon except Flamefox and Firestorm, May recalled all of her's except Amber, Fierymane, and Redfur, and Martin only left out Arcanine, recalling his Persian, Golbat and Feraligatr. Rapidash being his only Pokemon, Trevor left him out to walk along with all of us. We then all walked ahead to the carnival on foot. It was reasonably crowded, since it was so near the Indigo Plateau, this close to the Johto League Finals. As we neared the entry gate, I noticed a man wearing a Growlithe wig and ears, and a woman wearing a Vulpix wig and ears, both walking out of the gate. I said, "May, they look like fire Pokemon fanatics! Let's ask them if this Growlithe is theirs!" She said, "Good idea!" But then I had a thought and said, "Wait a minute! Just ask them if they're missing a Growlithe! If they say yes, then ask them to tell you his name! That way, we'll know that they're telling the truth!" She replied, "Good thinking, Joe!" So May ran up to them, along with Amber, and she carried Redfur. She asked them, "Excuse me. Did either of you lose a Growlithe?" The man answered, "No. I'm sorry." I said, "Those are neat costumes. You must be real fire Pokemon fanatics!" The lady said, "Thank you! Actually, we were the fire act for the circus here." The man said, "Yeah, but we quit the show! The ringmaster is a no good dictator!" The lady said, "We've taken all we're gonna take from him! He can go find another fire act for his show!" I said, "I'm sorry to hear that. Good luck!" The man said, "Thanks! If I were you, I'd steer clear of the circus, but enjoy the rest of the carnival!" With that, they walked away. "Well, no luck there!" May said. I replied, "We'll ask around at the carnival. But remember, don't tell anyone his name! They have to know it!" Trevor, Rapidash, Martin and Arcanine walked up to us and Trevor asked, "You ready, guys?" We replied, "All set!" and we entered the gate to the carnival, along with our Pokemon. Martin still did not look thrilled to be there.
While we walked in the midway, we saw a man dressed like a circus ringleader, but he didn't look too friendly. He had two Mr. Mimes with him. May said, "I know those people warned us off this guy, but since he's in charge of the circus, maybe he's heard if someone lost a Growlithe. I'm going to ask him." I said, "Okay, but I'm coming with you!" She walked up to him, with Redfur, Amber, and Fierymane, and said, "Excuse me, sir." He angrily asked, "What do you want? I'm busy! I just lost my fire act!" She said, "I'm sorry to bother you, but we found this lost Growlithe and wondered if anyone has reported him missing." He looked at Redfur and had a look in his eyes I didn't trust. Then he said, "Why, that's my Growlithe! Thank you for returning him to me!" I yelled, "Not so fast! If he's yours, then what's his name?" He answered, "Er… Growly! Come here, Growly!" Redfur just growled at him. He said, "See? I call him that because he growls at me! But he's really a nice Growlithe!" With that, he put his hand up to Redfur, and Redfur nipped at him. I said, "His name is Redfur! It's on his name tag!" He replied, "Oh, I meant Redfur! Yeah, the last Growlithe I had was named Growly! He ran away, too! I'm always mixing up their names!" I angrily replied, "I don't think so! Thanks a lot for your honesty! Let's go, May!" We walked away, but the ringmaster eyed all of our fire Pokemon, including the Vulpixes, Firestorm, Arcanine and the fire horses. I didn't like it! I said to everyone, "Let's get away from him! There's something about him I don't trust!" May replied, "You mean besides the fact that he just lied to us to try to get Redfur?" Trevor said, "He really does come across as a jerk!" So, we walked on and found an ice cream stand. We all sat at a table. I shared an ice cream cone with Flamefox and Firestorm, and May shared one with Amber and Redfur. I commented to May, "Remember when we first met, and you saw me sharing an ice cream cone with Flamefox and Firestorm? You said, and I quote, 'That's disgusting!'" She answered, "That was a long time ago!" Trevor just kind of laughed, and petted Rapidash. Martin came over, with Arcanine, and a huge chocolate sundae, which he began to devour in front of us! We all watched him, as sweat drops formed on the sides of our heads, and then May said, "It's not your last meal, Martin!" Then Martin released Kat and Slash under the table. "What are you doing?" I asked him. He said, "I can't not let Kat and Slash have some!" and he spooned some ice cream under the table! May said, "Just be careful! People are starting to stare!"
When we were finished eating, Martin recalled his Sneasels, and we walked around the carnival, along with our fire Pokemon. We played some games, and I won a plush Vulpix for May! We headed for the rides next, and May and I decided to take Flamefox and Amber on the ferris wheel with us. Fierymane, Firestorm, and Redfur stayed with Martin, Trevor, and their Pokemon. Afterwards, Trevor asked us, "Are you two enjoying your date?" May turned red, and exclaimed, "It's not a date!" Trevor and Martin both laughed. I, too, turned red! As we walked down the midway, I was bumped into and knocked down! "Hey!" I shouted. It was one of the Mr. Mimes! He looked back at me, stuck his nose in the air, and ran away! "Are you okay, Joe?" May asked me as she helped me up. "I'm fine" I replied. "That was one rude Pokemon!" Martin observed. "Yeah, just like his trainer!" Trevor said, referring to the ringleader. Something didn't feel right to me! I felt like we were being watched. I said, "This place is starting to give me the creeps! Let's leave soon and set up camp far from here!" May said, "I agree. There's something strange in the air!"
After we left the carnival, we rode as many miles on our Pokemon as we could before it got too dark. We set up camp, and went to sleep after our long day of fun. I slept with Flamefox and Firestorm curled up with me, as always. May slept by Fierymane, Amber, and Redfur. Trevor covered his eyes with his hat and slept against Rapidash. Martin fell asleep by Arcanine. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, our Pokemon all awakened us with their individual cries! "Growlithe!" "Vulpix!" "Ninetales!" and the whinnying of Fierymane and Rapidash, as well as Arcanine's barking, all filled the night air! "What's the matter, everyone?" I asked them. I stood up to look around, as did May, Trevor, and Martin. Suddenly, none of us could move! "It feels like… a disable attack!" Martin shouted. Then, several bubbles of psychic energy approached, floating in! "What the…" I began to ask. One of them engulfed Redfur, another engulfed Fierymane, and another engulfed Rapidash! Four more were coming! "Flamefox, Firestorm, use flamethrower!" I shouted. They tried, but their fiery attacks were merely absorbed by the psychic energy! "Run for it! Use you agility!" I shouted. They tried, but it was no good! Soon, both of them were taken into psychic bubbles. Soon Amber was caught, and finally, Arcanine! May, Trevor, and Martin all ordered their Pokemon to use fire attacks, as well, but the psychic energy bubbles were impervious to their fire attacks! We all watched helplessly as our Pokemon floated away in the psychic energy bubbles. "Flamefox, Firestorm!" I shouted. "Amber, Fierymane, Redfur!" May shouted. "Rapidash!" Trevor shouted. "Arcanine!" Martin shouted. Then there was a flash of bright light!
The next thing I remembered, it was the following morning. Everyone else was awake. "I see you finally came out of it, too, Joe!" Martin said. "What happened?" I asked. "Some kind of psychic trance! Whoever did it didn't want us to follow where those psychic bubbles took our Pokemon!" Trevor said, angrily. May was very upset, sitting on the ground, crying. "What happened to our Pokemon?" she asked. I walked over to her and put my arms around her. Then I said, "I think I have a sneaking suspicion what happened to them!" Martin said, "Yeah, that ringmaster and his Mr. Mimes! I'll bet he's behind this!" Trevor said, "His fire act quit, so he stole our fire Pokemon to start his own fire act!" I said, "Well, I'm not standing for it! I'm going to get our Pokemon back!" May said, "That goes for me, too!" Martin said, "You're not leaving me out of this!" and Trevor said, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
We walked all the way back to the carnival. I could have rode Tauros, but I didn't feel that was fair to everyone else. We were in luck! The carnival hadn't opened for the day yet! The four of us snuck into the fairgrounds. We tried to look around, but were afraid of being spotted. Then I said, "Martin, release Kat and Slash! They're small and quick, and could cover more ground faster than we can!" He replied, "Sure thing!" and released his Sneasels. They darted about, quickly and stealthily, while we hid and watched! Pretty soon, they ran back over to us. "Sneas, sneasel!" Slash said to Martin. "You found them?" he asked them. "Sneasel!" Kat replied, nodding. The four of us followed the Sneasels to the big top, right smack dab in the center of the grounds! We could hear the ringmaster inside, and listened from the back of the large tent-like structure. He was yelling at our Pokemon! Then we heard a whip! "No!" May quietly said. I found a small hole in the fabric and peeked through. The ringmaster had Fierymane and Rapidash muzzled, and was trying to force them to jump through hoops of water! The rest of our Pokemon remained trapped in bubbles of psychic energy, guarded by the 2 Mr. Mimes! I turned to everyone and said, "He's trying to force Fierymane and Rapidash to jump through hoops of water! He has them muzzled so they can't do fire attacks on him! The other Pokemon are still trapped in psychic bubbles!" Trevor angrily said, "Okay, now I'm mad! No one treats my Rapidash that way!" May added, "Or my Fierymane!" I said, "Right! Let's go save them!" I released Tauros and Scyther. "Okay, guys, rip through the tent and attack!" I ordered. Scyther ripped through the fabric with his scythes, and Tauros charged at the tent and tore through it with his horns! The ringmaster shouted, "Mr. Mimes, use barrier!" They began their mime motions, putting their hands in front of them, as if they were behind an imaginary wall. "Tauros, take down! Scyther, fury cutter!" I shouted. They both charged at the ringmaster and his Mr. Mimes, but slammed into the psychic barrier, and were knocked back! However, while the Mr. Mimes were distracted with Tauros and Scyther, they left the psychic bubbles containing our Pokemon unattended! Martin released Kat and Slash! "What… are those?" the ringmaster asked. "You're worst nightmare!" Martin answered. Then he commanded, "Kat, Slash, use shadow ball!" The 2 Sneasels launched balls of dark energy at the psychic bubbles containing our Pokemon, and the bubbles were destroyed by the attack! Flamefox and Firestorm ran back over to me and I gave them a big hug. Amber and Redfur ran back over to May, and Arcanine ran to Martin. The ringmaster then shouted, "Use flash!" There was a blinding flash of light, and it knocked Kat and Slash backwards, totally screwing up their accuracy! "Oh no! Kat, Slash, return!" Martin yelled, and recalled them to their pokeballs. Tauros and Scyther continued attacking the psychic barrier, but to no avail! May released Golem to help. He used rollout, but it was no good against the psychic wall! "Use psychic!" the ringmaster shouted! There was a powerful blast of psychic energy generated from the wall, and it knocked out Tauros, Scyther, and Golem! I recalled Tauros and Scyther, and May recalled Golem. "I don't think any of our Pokemon can penetrate that wall!" May exclaimed. Then I had an idea! "I think I know a way! Flamefox, Firestorm, use dig!" I ordered. May smiled and said, "Yeah, you too, Amber!" Our fire foxes all burrowed underground, and shot up in a fury of dirt, underneath the Mr. Mimes! The attack disrupted their concentration, and the barrier disappeared! Martin released Feraligatr. He shouted, "Use bite!" Feraligatr attacked a Mr. Mime and gripped him with his teeth, severely weakening him! May shouted, "Redfur, bite the other one!" Her Growlithe attacked the other distracted Mr. Mime, and would not let go. He was also severley weakened by the attack! May released Raichu and Blastoise, and I released Jolteon and Vaporeon. "Vaporeon, use water gun!" I ordered. "You, too, Blastoise!" May commanded. They each struck a Mr. Mime, and knocked them to the floor! Then we ordered Jolteon and Raichu, "Use thunderbolt!" They hit the wet Mr. Mimes with the strong electric attack, and they were both defeated! The ringmaster stood by the muzzled fire horses. "It's over!" I shouted. He yelled, "Ha! You think it's over, do you?" Then he took out a pokeball and tossed it, and an Alakazam materialized! "You've got to be kidding me!" I shouted. "Feraligatr, use bite!" Martin shouted. "Teleport!" the ringmaster ordered. Feraligatr ran at Alakazam to bite him, but he teleported out of the way, and rematerialized behind him. "Psychic!" the ringleader shouted. Feraligatr took the hit from behind, and was defeated. Martin recalled him to his pokeball. "Arcanine, use fire blast!" he ordered next. Arcanine launched the t-shape of flames at Alakazam, but he teleported again. Meanwhile, May ran over to Ponyta, with Amber, undid the muzzle, and hugged her Ponyta. As she did the, Alakazam did a psychic attack in their direction! Redfur ran at them, and tackled them, knocking them out of the way just in time! "Thank you, Redfur!" May exclaimed. "Growlithe!" he replied. Arcanine tried to hit Alakazam, but he teleported out of the way again! I had a thought! "Flamefox, remember the target range back when we raced against Trevor the first time? You anticipated the targets as they came up unexpectedly! This is the same thing! Next time Alakazam teleports, anticipate where he'll appear!" Flamefox nodded! Arcanine tried another fire blast, and Alakazam teleported once again. Flamefox stood ready! When Alakazam reappeared, he let go a powerful ember attack! It knocked Alakazam sideways, and made him lose his concentration! "Everyone, now! Flamethrower!" Flamefox, Firestorm, Amber, Arcanine, Redfur, and Fierymane all hit Alakazam simultaneously with a flamethrower! When the attacks ceased, he wobbled, and fell over, charred and defeated! The ringmaster shouted, "No! It can't be!" May and I ordered our electric Pokemon, "Use thunderwave!" They did so, paralyzing the ringmaster where he stood! As he stood there, unable to move, Trevor walked up to Rapidash and undid his muzzle. Then he casually walked up to the ringmaster and said, "No one ever does anything bad to me or my friends' Pokemon!" With that, he decked him! The ringmaster fell to the ground, unconscious!
Officer Jenny was soon on the scene to place the ringmaster under arrest and to confiscate his Pokemon. It turned out he was a former Team Rocket agent! He may not have been with Team Rocket anymore, but he was still a very unpleasant individual! Anyway, we all took our Pokemon to the Pokemon Center to be treated. Afterwards, Trevor said, "Hey, we all did it again! Took the law into our own hands, just like in Mahogany Town!" May said, "This is getting to be too much of a habit!" I said, "Wow, Redfur really came through! He's a great addition to your team, May!" She said, "Yeah. Too bad I didn't have longer to train him or I could use him at the League Finals. Oh well, I'll train him after the finals, unless we find his owner." I turned to Martin and Trevor and asked, "Speaking of that, are you guys gonna watch us battle in the League Finals?" Martin replied, "Why not? I'm in the neighborhood, anyway. I could give you guys some pointers!" Trevor said, "I'd be honored to watch you guys battle!" So, with all of our Pokemon fully healed up, the 4 of us continued en route to the Indigo Plateau!