Well, here I am again. I'd like to thank everyone one who read the story.
There's action in this one, so I hope you enjoy it!
I don't own Pokemon.
Let's go!
…..
Chapter 2: Bird Problems
Stephen and Charmander had been walking along the road to Viridian city for about an hour when Stephen decided they should take a quick rest. As the blonde teen began to pull out a snack and his canteen from his pack, Charmander lay back against a tree, placing his hands behind his head. The fire Pokemon grinned as he closed his eyes and felt the sun shine gently on him. Stephen smiled at his new friend as he began munching on an energy bar.
"You hungry, buddy?" Charmander opened one eye as he replied.
"Char." Smiling, Stephen tossed his flaming friend an energy bar, and the pair ate quietly for a little bit. When Stephen finished, he placed the wrapper in his pocket, stood up, and stretched.
"We'll have to buy you some Pokemon food in Viridian City, Charmander." The orange lizard nodded and finished the last of his energy bar, handing the wrapper to Stephen when he was done. The teen placed the trash into his pocket with the other wrapper and then shouldered his pack. Shrugging into the pack to get it situated, Stephen looked down at his orange companion.
"You ready to go, man?" Charmander grinned and flashed a thumbs up. Stephen smiled and began walking.
"Then let's go!"
…..
About fifteen minutes later, Stephen noticed some movement out of the corner of his eye. When he turned to see what it was, he let out a gasp.
A lone Pokemon with gray skin was being attacked by a bunch of birds. Stephen easily identified the red-feathered birds as Spearow, but didn't recognize the gray one. It was about the size of a small child, with gray skin and what resembled yellow cornrows on the top of its head. Suddenly remembering his Pokedex, Stephen reached into his pocket and pulled the red electronic device, flipped it open, and pointed it at the Pokemon in question. A few seconds of whirring was followed by the mechanical voice.
"Machop, the Superpower Pokemon. Its whole body is composed of muscles. Even though it's the size of a human child, it can hurl 100 grown-ups." Stephen closed the Pokedex and placed it back in his pocket, watching the battle unfold. Stephen ran the situation through his head.
Machop's a fighting type, so he's at a disadvantage here. While he could probably take one or two Spearows no problem, this many is probably too much. Charmander and I'll help out. Stephen looked down at his flaming friend, catching his eye. The look Charmander gave him let the teen know they were thinking the same thing.
"Let's go give him a hand, Charmander." The orange lizard nodded.
"Mander!" The pair rushed over towards the Machop, hoping they would get there in time. Stephen watched as the Superpower Pokemon ducked underneath one Spearow's attack and then let loose with an open hand punch to the bird's midsection. As the Spearow flew off to rejoin the group, clearly regretting its attack, two more dove towards the Machop. The gray skinned Pokemon neatly caught the birds by their beaks and slammed their heads together, receiving a satisfying thunk for his efforts. However, Machop hadn't noticed a third Spearow coming in from behind him until the bird let loose a perfect Peck attack on Machop's unprotected back.
"Chop!" The gray skinned Pokemon fell to one knee, the damage of the Peck attacked magnified by Machop's type weakness. Not ready to give up yet, the muscular Pokemon let loose a severe back hand strike across the Spearow's face, sending it crashing to the ground. However, the damage was done. The flock of Spearow circling above Machop saw their quarry weakened, and went in for the kill. The bird Pokemon let loose on Machop, pecking him into submission. Smiling to himself, the biggest of the Spearow flew into the air, spun around, and began a dive bomb towards Machop. The gray skinned Pokemon closed his eyes, waiting for the pain.
"Charmander, go!" There was a dull thud, and as Machop opened its eyes, it gasped. Standing now between him and the Spearow were a teenaged human boy and a Charmander. The Spearow that had attempted to dive bomb Machop laid a few feet away, a bruise forming where Charmander's tail had evidently whacked it. The flaming Pokemon smirked and wagged its finger at the enraged Spearow.
"Char char char." The bird Pokemon let out a squawk and took back into the air, joining back up with his comrades. Without ever taking his eyes off the circling birds, the blonde teen asked:
"Are you ok, Machop? Can you stand?" The Superpower Pokemon tried mightily, but was too weak from the pummeling it had taken to get to its feet. The boy knelt down and picked up Machop, lifting him up piggy-back style. Machop watched as a Spearow that was braver than the rest shot out of the sky towards them. The boy's face became serious as he spoke to Charmander.
"Alright, buddy, here we go. Duck under it and hit its belly with Scratch." Charmander flashed a thumbs up.
"Char!" The orange lizard rushed towards the oncoming Spearow, his hands stretched out behind him. Just as it appeared the two Pokemon were going to collide, Charmander slid under the speeding Spearow and raked its belly with his sharp claws. The wounded bird let out a pained squawk and flew back up to the circling flock. Two other Spearows decided to give the fire lizard a go, zooming at him in a tight formation.
This isn't good, Stephen thought. Charmander won't be able to get all of them. We'll have to scare them away, somehow. Suddenly, and idea popped into the blonde's head.
"Charmander," he called, "use Ember to scare them away!" Charmander smirked and nodded, turning back to the oncoming Spearow. The flame on the lizard's tail began to grow bigger as he took a deep breath.
"Char-" just when it looked like the reptile couldn't take in anymore breath, he opened his mouth and let out a small but powerful wave of flame. "-mander!"
The charging Spearow couldn't veer out of the way in time, and they both took the force of the flame head-on. When the bright flash of light cleared after the impact, the two birds were sprawled on the ground, down for the count. The flaming reptile smirked.
"Charmander." Looking back up at the now un-nerved birds, Charmander made a come-and-get-some gesture. In response, four of the Spearows landed next to their wounded comrades and picked them up. Then, the flock of bullies flew away, squawking back at the two strangers who had ruined their fun. As soon as the Spearow were out of sight, Charmander dropped to the ground, finally letting its exhaustion show. Stephen smiled as he walked over to his body.
"Great job, Charmander. You showed those guys what happens to bullies." Charmander grinned up at his master, taking deep breaths to slow his heart rate. The blonde haired teen reached into his pack and pulled out Charmander's poke ball. "You look like you could use a rest, buddy."
"Char char!" Charmander struggled to his feet, shaking his head. "Mander char Charmander!" Stephen smiled and put away the poke ball.
"Fine, have it your way." As Stephen stood up, he looked over his shoulder at the Machop he was carrying. He smiled comfortingly. "What do you say we get our new friend here to a Pokemon Center? Viridian City is only fifteen minutes down the road." Charmander grinned and gave Stephen a thumbs up, and then the trio set off, albeit at a slower pace than before.
…..
The group had only been walking for five minutes when Stephen heard it. It was the sound of wings, flying really fast, towards them. "Uh oh." Stephen turned around and was greeted by the sight of two large birds soaring towards them. Charmander turned around as well, letting out a low growl as he did so.
"Char!" Stephen reached into his pack and pulled out his Pokedex. He pointed at the two large brown birds.
"Fearow, the Beak Pokemon. With its huge and magnificent wings, it can keep aloft without ever having to land for rest." Stephen gulped as he closed the Pokedex.
"If I'm not mistaken, Charmander, Fearow is the evolved form of Spearow. What are you willing to bet that those are the two leaders of that pack of bullies we sent packing?" Charmander growled.
"Charchar!" Stephen looked at his partner.
"I'm with you, buddy. Let's move!" The pair took off at a run, desperately trying to escape the oncoming birds. However, it was a vain effort. Charmander was tired from his battle, and carrying Machop was no help for Stephen. The pair was soon doubled over, trying to catch their breath. And that's when the pair of Fearow struck.
"Mander!" The orange lizard dove out of the way in the nick of time, barely dodging the diving Fearow. Charmander came to his feet sloppily, breathing hard from the physical exertion. However, the tired lizard received no respite, as the second Fearow followed right behind the first one. This time when Charmander dodged to the side it couldn't help being grazed by the Fearow's beak. Charmander grunted in pain as he slid back a couple feet, clutching his side. Stephen looked at his orange friend, concern for him clouding his better judgment.
"Hang on, buddy! I'm coming!" Stephen rushed over to Charmander while at the same time sliding Machop off of his back. When the blonde teen arrived at his orange friend he covered him and Machop with his body, acting as a human shield. The blonde teen didn't know what he was going to do. All he knew was that he wasn't going to let any harm come to Charmander and Machop. The Fearows, however, didn't seem to care who they hit, just as long as they hit something. And hit something they did. They ripped at Stephen's sweatshirt with their talons, beat him with their large wings, and pecked him mercilessly. Stephen cried out in pain, but maintained his defensive position above the two Pokemon.
Quickly growing bored with the pathetic quarry, the two Fearows took to the air with the intention on ending the fight with one decisive strike. As the two birds completed their ascent, they promptly turned around and shot down at Stephen, spinning furiously. The blonde teen, as beaten as he was, easily recognized the twin Drill Peck attack. He looked down at the two Pokemon he was protecting, forcing a pained smile.
"It's been nice knowing you two." As Stephen closed his eyes and waited for the pain, he felt a rush of movement on his left and right side.
"Charmander!"
"Machop!" Stephen felt an intense heat wash over his back, heard a sickening thwack, and smelt what seemed to be cooked feathers. Slowly, the blonde youth opened his eyes and turned around. The scene that lay before him made the breath catch in his throat.
Charmander lay sprawled on his hands and knees breathing heavily, and the flame on his tail was dangerously low. Machop was down on one knee, holding one hand gingerly and taking gasping breaths. But what really made Stephen's breathing halt was the state of the Fearows. One of the giant birds had a beak that was bent at an awkward angle, and the other one looked as if it had been charbroiled. It didn't take long for Stephen to realize what had happened.
Charmander must have taken that charred Fearow down with the biggest Ember of his life. And I'm guessing Machop intercepted the other Fearow with his injured hand. Wow, that's some power those two have. Stephen managed to get to his feet, and then wobbly made his way over to the two Pokemon. The two Fearow were down for the count, no question about it. They'd make it, though. And maybe they'd be a bit nicer after this. The blonde teen then made his way to Machop and Charmander, who both smiled weakly at him.
"Char mander mander?" Stephen smiled and rubbed the orange lizards head.
"Yeah, buddy, I'm ok. Thanks." Stephen then looked over at Machop, who was just now weakly getting to his feet.
"And thanks to you too, Machop. How's your hand?" The gray skinned Pokemon put on a pained smile and tried to move the hand and question. He was rewarded with a jolt of pain.
"Chop!" Stephen's expression turned grim at the sight of the pained Pokemon.
"We need to get you two to a hospital. Now." Charmander's face took on a worried expression as he spoke to his trainer.
"Charchar mander charmander char?" Stephen waved the protest aside, but immediately regretted the action, as it aggravated a bruise the Fearows had given him.
"I can carry both of you guys, don't worry." Charmander still looked skeptical, but trusted his friend's judgment. The orange lizard managed to make his way over to his master, and then collapsed into his arms. Picking up his flaming friend, Stephen then let Machop get on his back piggyback style once again. When everybody was situated, the teen struck off for Viridian City once more, hoping his weakened body was up to the journey.
…..
He barely made it. As Stephen crested the hill and gazed at the beautiful green that was Viridian City, he felt his strength fading.
Start strong-, he heard his dad's words in his mind.
"Finish strong." Stephen completed the family motto, pushing his spent body to put one foot in front of the other. It took only a minute to reach the Pokemon Center, but it felt like an hour. But somehow, against all odds, the blonde teen managed to make it.
There was a faint chime sound as Stephen staggered into the Pokemon Center. A woman with dark pink hair who was wearing a nurse's uniform stood behind the counter. As she turned to greet the new comer, the friendly greeting died in her throat.
"Oh my goodness, what happened?" The woman rushed over to the exhausted teen, taking the Charmander from his arms. The boy somehow managed to stay on his feet as he removed the Machop from his back.
"We were…attacked…Fearows…" The boy fell to one knee, still trying to carry the gray skinned Pokemon. "Take care…of Charmander…and…Machop." The nurse called out, and a few moments later a roughly egg-shaped Pokemon with a nurse's hat walked over.
"Chansey! Chansey chansey!" Stephen handed Machop to Chansey, and promptly passed out. The nurse, who's name was Joy, gasped.
"Oh my! These three have been through a lot!" She turned to her assistant Pokemon. "Come on, Chansey. We have work to do." The egg-shaped Chansey nodded, and together she and Nurse Joy carried Charmander and Machop into the back. While Nurse Joy took care of them, Chansey moved Stephen to a medical bed, bandaged his wounds, and took his clothes to be washed.
All that remained was to wait for him to wake up.
…..
Well, there's chapter 2. How's the story doing so far?
If you have any suggestion, praise, flames, or questions, shoot me a review. Any and all are welcome.
I may or may not introduce a new character next chapter. What do my readers want?
Anyways, enjoy and see you next time!