Chapter 73 – Stone Theft
With our adventures in the Safari Zone behind us, May and I continued through the vast woods, still on our riding Pokemon, Tauros and Fierymane. As always, Flamefox rode with me, and Amber rode with May, while Firestorm, Inferno, Redfur, Fiona, and Arcanine ran with us. We had decided to switch out for some of our other Pokemon while we were at a Pokemon center in a nearby town, so I retrieved Jolteon and May retrieved Raichu. As we reached the edge of the woods, we could see another town in the distance up ahead, at the foot of a mountain. May said, "That's Evolution Mountain. The town just below is Stone Town." I replied, "Stone Town? That's where those Eevee brothers live who hosted that stone convention in Goldenrod City Park a couple years ago. That's where I evolved Firestorm and Vaporeon." May said, "Stone Town is famous for their elemental stones. You can find almost any stone you're looking for." I said, "Well, right now, I'm not looking. But I would like to visit the town just the same. Maybe we'll run into the Eevee brothers again. On the other hand, I don't want to risk another confrontation with that Flareon brother." May asked, "What do you mean?" I answered, "These guys have a strong inclination that the only way to win is to evolve your Pokemon. I got into an argument with him over it, and he challenged me to a battle, in which Firestorm almost got severely injured. He was quite a jerk." May said, "Well, don't worry about him. Firestorm has had much more experience since then, plus you also have Arcanine now." I said, "That's true." So, we continued, on our riding Pokemon, towards Stone Town. As the ground from the woods gave way to paved streets, we could hear the sound of Tauros' and Fierymanes' hooves against the pavement. Down the third street, we reached house number 13, a huge mansion with gates and a very beautifully landscaped lawn, complete with a fountain. There was a garden party going on. May and I dismounted from our riding Pokemon and recalled them, and we walked with our fire foxes and fire dogs. There were lots of people mingling, and they all had Pokemon evolved with stones, such as Exeggutor, Vileplume, Raichu, Ninetales, Cloyster, and Poliwrath, just to name a few. There were also tables full of elemental stones, each in a box listing it's type. I said, "Wow! What an impressive display of stones." May said, "Yeah, they're all very good quality. Gosh, everyone's showing off their Pokemon that were evolved using an elemental stone. I'm letting mine out, too" and she released Raichu. I said, "That's a good idea. Firestorm, Inferno and Arcanine are already out, so I'll let out Vaporeon and Jolteon, too!" and I opened their pokeballs. I felt so lucky to have a complete set of Eevee's evolutions – of course, this was before Umbreon and Espeon were known of. "Impressive!" I heard a voice say. I turned around to see that it was the Vaporeon brother. "Thank you" I replied, standing next to my Arcanine, Ninetales, and Vulpix. He said, "It's been a long time. Your Vaporeon looks great! I can't believe you got a Jolteon and a Flareon since we last met. You're doing pretty good for yourself." I said, "Thanks again. I owe you. Vaporeon has been much happier since she evolved." My Vaporeon walked up to his, and the pair went swimming in the fountain, with a Cloyster and a Poliwrath. He then said, "We've never formally introduced ourselves. My name's Rainer." I replied, "I'm Joe. So, how are your brothers?" He answered, "They're doing good. I think they'll be anxious to meet all your evolved Pokemon." I asked, "How about the Flareon guy? He and I didn't exactly hit it off." Rainer said, "Oh, Pyro - he's a little hot tempered – matches his Flareon perfectly. But I heard about what happened between his Flareon and your Ninetales 2 years ago, and I can assure you, he regretted underestimating you." I asked, "Really? Well, that's interesting. Thanks." He nodded, and May and I walked on. Soon, we saw Pyro. I said, "Let's walk the other way, May." She said, "Too late. He's already seen you." At that, I noticed him walking towards us. He said, "Hi." I just shot him a glaring glance as I said, "Hi" in response. He continued, "Listen, I just want to apologize about the incident 2 years ago. I said some insulting things to you, and was way out of line. As much as I believe evolution is the only way to win, sometimes I get carried away forcing my opinion on others." I replied, "Well, we all make mistakes. Don't worry about it." He said, "Your Ninetales is looking really great. And your Arcanine and Flareon are quite impressive, too." I said, "Thanks. Your Flareon is also looking good." Pyro's Flareon approached Inferno and attempted to swoon her, and she blasted him with a flamethrower! He ran behind Pyro as fast as he could and hid. Inferno then cuddled Firestorm. Pyro said, "Wow, she's quite the little dominatrix." I replied, "You have no idea." Then he said, "Come on. I'm sure Sparky would like to see your Jolteon, and you can also meet our little brother, Mikey." We followed Pyro and his Flareon, who stuck very close to his trainer, keeping his distance from Inferno, as we followed. Pyro said, "I see your Vulpix is still unevolved, though." I answered, "That's right, and as long as Flamefox doesn't want to evolve, I won't force him to." Pyro didn't say another word until we reached his brothers and he said, "Sparky, look who's back." I immediately recognized the Jolteon brother, who stood with his Jolteon. He said, "Oh yeah, you're the trainer who evolved your Ninetales and Vaporeon at our stone convention back in Goldenrod City, and then kicked Pyro's butt." Pyro said, "Thank you, Sparky, that's enough." Then he said, "And this little squirt is our youngest brother, Mikey." There was a little brown haired boy holding an Eevee. May said, "Hello, Mikey." He said, "Hello." Pyro said, "Mikey just got his first Eevee a few months ago. Of course, right now it's too inexperienced to be evolved into any form, but hopefully by next year, Mikey will decide which Eevee form he wants." Mikey said, "Yeah" and kind of looked down. Just then, Rainer shouted, "Pyro, Sparky, come here a second." Pyro told us, "I'll be right back." After the 2 of them and their Pokemon walked over to Rainer, I said to Mikey, "That's a cute Eevee. I used to have one. Then I evolved her into Vaporeon." Mikey said, "Really? That's cool. How come you decided on Vaporeon?" I answered, "Well, Eevee chose, actually. She just loved the water so much, even as an Eevee, that I knew she was destined to be a Vaporeon." Just then, my Vaporeon rubbed against my legs, and I said, "As you can see, she's much happier now." Mikey said, "My brothers keep saying all this stuff about how they want me to evolve my Eevee, but I don't really want to evolve it." He put Eevee down on the ground, and it started to play with Flamefox and Amber. May said, "That's okay, too. Joe had 2 Vulpixes last year, but only one wanted to evolve. So, Firestorm evolved into Ninetales, but Flamefox stayed as a Vulpix, and he's still a strong Pokemon in battle. I know your brothers will tell you otherwise, but evolution isn't always the key to winning." Mikey said, "Thanks. I just wish my brothers could see it that way." All 3 of his brothers soon returned and Pyro said, "Be careful. A few of our guests told us that their elemental stones have turned up missing. I have a feeling someone might be pocketing them." May said, "That's so petty. I mean, you guys give your stones freely. I can't believe someone would stoop that low." Sparky said, "Well, whoever it is won't get far. We're setting our Pokemon on guard duty near the table." I said, "That's a good idea. I'll put Tauros and Arcanine on guard duty, as well" and I released Tauros from his pokeball. Pyro said, "Thanks." I replied, "No problem." I then told Tauros and Arcanine, "Keep an eye out for anyone suspicious by the stones, okay guys?" They both nodded. Mikey said, "Your Tauros is mean looking. I'll bet he'll hurt anyone trying to steal my brothers' stones with those big horns!" I said, "Yeah, he can be very protective. But he's also really gentle and docile around people he likes." Then Pyro said, "Come on. Everyone's supposed to be having a good time. We'll find out who the thief is, and we'll take care of him!" So, May and I, along with the Eevee brothers and all of our Pokemon continued to mingle with other trainers, and enjoyed refreshments while comparing Pokemon with everyone. Flamefox sat up on my shoulders while I stood talking with Rainer. May had sat down and was talking with Mikey, while Amber, Redfur, Fiona, and Clefairy played with Eevee. May always seemed to like kids. Anyway, in the middle of my conversation, I felt Flamefox tapping my shoulder with his paw, as he said, "Vul vulpix!" I asked, "What is it, boy?" He was pointing with his front paw, and I turned to see – there was a shady looking guy reaching his hand into a lady's handbag that she had around her shoulder. I quietly exclaimed, "Rainer, look!" He looked and saw, then ordered, "Vaporeon, use water gun!" His Vaporeon shot a powerful surge of water at the guy, which knocked him to the ground, as the lady screamed. Out of his hand dropped a box containing a thunderstone! "He's the thief!" Rainer shouted. Pyro stood with Flareon, Rainer stood with Vaporeon, and Sparky stood with Jolteon, and I stood with Flamefox, Firestorm, my Vaporeon, my Jolteon, and Inferno. May got up from the bench she was sitting on with Mikey and said, "You better stay here, Mikey." He said, "Okay." May joined us, standing with Amber, Redfur, Fiona, Clefairy, and Raichu. Pyro shouted to the other guests, "Everyone stay back – we'll handle this crook!" The drenched man stood up and laughed. He said, "All of you are no match for me!" and he took out a pokeball, which he then threw into the air, and ordered, "Weezing, smokescreen!" The double headed floating orb materialized from the pokeball and released a cloud of black smoke! I heard various people say, "I can't see." When the smoke cleared, the man was standing up on the table which had all the stones, and had them all wrapped up in the table cloth, which he put over his shoulder! I shouted, "Hey, you can't take those! Who do you think you are?" He replied, "I'm part of an organization some of you might have heard of. We're called Team Rocket – and this little prize will get me in good with the boss! I was just going to settle for stealing a few stones from some of you oblivious trainers, but why settle for such a small take when I can get the entire lot?" Pyro shouted, "Well, you're not getting far!" He replied, "Oh, I beg to differ!" and released 3 more Pokemon, a Shellder, an Electrabuzz, and a Golbat. He then took out a water stone and said, "Thank you, by the way. Now I can finally evolve my Shellder!" and we watched as he evolved his Shellder into a Cloyster! He set his gaze on Mikey and said, "You know, that Eevee would be a great bonus! Weezing, go get it!" Weezing flew at Mikey and Eevee very quickly, as Mikey clutched Eevee tightly in his arms. "Mikey!" Pyro shouted. It looked like Weezing would tackle both Mikey and Eevee, when Tauros leapt in front of them, and Weezing crashed into Tauros' horns! Tauros then tossed Weezing into the air with his horns, and jumped up to headbutt it! It sailed across the yard, crashing right back into the Team Rocket member. He angrily shouted at Weezing, "Don't tackle me! Now go back and use poison gas!" as he tossed the Weezing back at Mikey and Eevee. Tauros still stood in front of them to protect them. Weezing began to release the poison gas, when Arcanine jumped in, and released a flamethrower! The flames ignited the poison gas, and Weezing exploded, fainting to the ground! Mikey and Eevee walked up to Tauros and Arcanine and said, "Thanks, you two! You saved us!" He hugged Tauros and Arcanine, and petted them both. Pyro said, "Thanks, Joe! Your Pokemon protected Mikey and Eevee just perfectly!" At that, the Rocket agent shouted, "Go Cloyster, Golbat, and Electrabuzz!" My Jolteon and Sparky's Jolteon teamed up on the Cloyster, hitting it with thunderbolts, but it closed up inside itself, using withdraw. Then it retaliated with an aurora beam, which knocked the 2 Jolteons down, but they stood back up and continued electric attacks on the Cloyster. Meanwhile, the Golbat attempted to confuse Flamefox, Firestorm, and Amber using it's supersonic, but Inferno and Pyro's Flareon joined the battle, along with Redfur and Fiona. Between all of them, they took out the Golbat very quickly. Raichu joined in the battle with Cloyster, and along with the 2 Jolteons, finally knocked it out! The Electrabuzz, meanwhile, tried to thunderbolt the 2 Vaporeons, but they kept hitting it back with water gun, knocking it back. Several of the fire Pokemon launched fire spin, and Electrabuzz was caught up in a large tornado of fire! When the flames dispersed, it fell over, fainted. The Rocket agent was attempting to sneak away with his loot, when Tauros charged at him! He tried to outrun Tauros, but Tauros caught up to him in no time and picked him up from the back of his shirt, using his horns. He dropped his make shift bag of elemental stones, and Pyro stood in front of him and said, "It's over!" Officer Jenny was called to the scene, and took away the Rocket agent. Afterwards, the party recommenced, and Pyro said, "This party is now a celebration in honor of our new friends, Joe and May, who helped us stop the stone thief, and whose Pokemon selflessly protected our little brother, Mikey! Thanks, guys!" I said, "It was no big deal." May said, "It was fun to put that guy in his place!" Mikey walked up to me, with Eevee, and said, "Thanks, Joe! Your Tauros and Arcanine were awesome!" I replied, "Thanks! They are great friends!" All of our Pokemon got to eat some really expensive pokechow. May and I, along with all the other guests, enjoyed the remainder of the day, now that the stone thief had been put behind bars.
It got so late, that May and I decided we should head to a Pokemon center for a good night's sleep, but Pyro and his brothers insisted we spend the night at the mansion. There were lots of extra rooms! So, we did and stayed for breakfast the following morning, as well. We decided to get going after that. Pyro asked, "So where are you guys heading next?" I answered, "We're looking for the next Pokemon gym." He said, "You should go to Cinnibar Island. If you head not too far south of here, you'll find a harbor where a cruise ship will take you right there. It's a short trip, and once there, you can battle Blaine." I replied, "That's right! I almost forgot about Cinnibar Island. You were there, right May?" She answered, "Yeah, but I flew on Pidgeot. Still, a boat ride sounds like fun. Speaking of that, we still have to take that cruise on the S.S. Anne that Bill gave us tickets for." I said, "We will. As soon as I complete my 8th Kanto gym battle, I promise! But I've been looking forward to meeting Blaine. He's kind of an idol of mine, since he specializes in fire types. I'd love for him to rate mine!" Pyro remarked, "Fire types – something we both have in common!" Mikey said, "Well, good luck! I hope you win a badge, Joe!" I said, "Thanks, Mikey!" Pyro said, "Same goes for us! We all hope you do well in your last few gym battles!" Rainer and Sparky agreed. I said, "Thanks guys! It's been a great time." May said, "Thanks for your hospitality, too!" Pyro said, "It was no problem. Be sure to come and see us again!" With that, May and Amber mounted on Fierymane, and Flamefox and I mounted on Tauros, and they galloped us off, as Firestorm, Inferno, and the fire dogs ran with us. Our next destination was the harbor that Pyro had told us about. I was greatly looking forward to meeting Blaine!