OoO( 2 )OoO

The sun was high in the sky, leading pokemon and humans alike out of their nests to do a days hard work. Felix stared down at the new device on his wrist. It showed that he was halfway to Cherrygrove City. He stopped with Growlithe following him, and sat down next to a tree.

"I think we should take a break now." he said. The puppy sat as well before laying down. He sighed and reached into the pocket of his bag, pulling out the shining new pokedex that was given to him by the good professor. Flipping the cover open again, he stared at the blank screen. "It's too bad...I would have liked to try this thing out before handing it over." he said. Looking on the other side, there was a small keypad with all the letters and numbers of the language. A button larger than the rest sat above the others, near where his thumb was. "This must be the power." he said as he moved his finger over it and pressed it.

Suddenly, he was startled into standing as the machine came to life. The screen flashed on and writing began to scroll across the screen.

[Enter Trainer Name:]

Felix stared at it surprisedly. Pressing the buttons down on the keypad, he entered his name. His heart sped up as the machine spoke to him with a female voice.

[Greetings Felix. I am PokeDex 2.3 edition. I will now register your name into the pokemon trainer database. Please wait one moment...]

"What in the...there's nothing wrong with this battery. It's working just fine!" he said as the screen showed a small loading bar. When the bar was complete, it spoke again.

[Congratulations Felix, you are now a registered pokemon trainer. As mentioned, I am PokeDex 2.3 and I will be a guide to all pokemon you run into in your quest to become the master of all pokemon. If you ever have any questions about a pokemon, please point the eye of this machine towards the pokemon and I will supply you with all data on said pokemon.]

He smiled. "Is that right?" he asked. Looking around, he spotted his Growlithe sleeping on the ground. Aiming the eye at the pokemon, the screen flashed.

[#058 - Growlithe: This puppy pokemon is extremely loyal and is known to bark at any opponent in order to protect its family or owner from harm. With a loud roar, it is a pokemon that is not trifled with even by larger enemies, despite its small size.]

Felix smiled. "Here that Shepard? They think you are loyal." he said, getting a sleepy glare from the pup. Growlithe merely rolled onto his back in the sunlight and ignored the trainer. Felix's smile faded as the puppy rolled over, showing the collar it was wearing with the red jewel in the center.

He turned his attention to a loud noise coming from down the road. There was someone running down the road, fleeing from some unseen force. His eyes went wide however, when a swarm of Beedrill flew out from the trees and began to chase the figure. "Uh...Shepard..." he said uneasily. "We have trouble..."

The Growlithe opened its eyes and got to its paws, looking down the street at the person running. By now, Felix could tell it was a girl. She wore a straw hat and what looked like clothes someone would wear to a picnic. "Help me please!" she shouted as she approached them. Felix clenched his fist.

"Ready pal?" he asked and growlithe crouched low, ready to attack. When she made it past the trainer, he yelled, "Shepard! Ember attack!" The dog-like pokemon reacted and shot flames into the air that scattered like leaves. The beedrill flew into the cloud and instantly began to panic. The heat from the flames made the swarm stop in its tracks.

Felix smiled and said, "Now, scare them off." Shepard ran forward and let out a loud roar, nearly shaking the airwaves with its primal call. The bee pokemon instantly flew away from the scene. Quickly, the boy whipped out the machine and aimed it at the swarm as it fled.

[#15 Beedrill: This poison bee pokemon has three poison barbs. The barb on its tail secretes the most poison and is known to be powerful enough to bring down a pokemon the size of a Kangaskahn.]

He stared at the screen amazed. "Wow...it's a good thing we were able to stop them." he said, then looked at the fire pokemon. "Good work Shepard." he said as he knelt down and scratched the furry pokemon behind its ears. When he turned to the girl, he saw her on her knees. "Hey...are you alright?" he asked.

She looked up at him and smiled. "Yes, I should be fine. Thank you." she said as he sat next to her. The growlithe walked back over to the others and sat down again. The girl saw him and smiled widely. "How cute! A growlithe!" she said, then began to shower the puppy with attention. "What's his name?" she asked.

"His name is Shepard." said Felix, smiling as the pokemon rolled over so she could scratch his stomach. She smiled and scratched the fur on his belly.

"How adorable. Thank you Shepard. And thank you..." she said looking at him questioningly.

"Felix." he said. She nodded.

"Thank you Felix." she said, still stroking the puppy. Suddenly, her hand came across the collar. Looking down, she held the collars jewel in her hand. "This is pretty. Did you make it?" she asked.

"No. It came with Shepard." he said scratching the growlithes ear.

"Oh...so Shepard wasn't caught in the wild?" she asked.

"No. My brother sent him to me with the collar already on him. No pokeball or anything." he said.

"Wow. So your brother was a trainer?" she asked.

"Yes. His favorite pokemon was Arcanine. I'm assuming Shepard was his Arcanine's puppy." he said looking down at the pokemon. Looking back up at the girl, his face turned to concern as he noticed that she looked strange. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes...I'm fine. I just..." she said, then fell over. As she fell forward, he noticed under her blonde hair that there was blood coming from her shoulder. Moving her blonde hair, he saw plainly where one of the Beedrill had stung her.

"Oh no..." he said, then grabbed her and picked her up. "Cummon Shepard. We have to get her to Cherrygrove!" he shouted, then began to run down the road, quickly followed by the pokemon.

OoOoO

Darkness was beginning to fall over the region as the boy reached the small city. He looked around and saw a few houses with lights on. Walking forward, he sat next to the closest building and rested. Sighing to himself, he leaned against the wall and pulled a sandwich out of his bag.

Taking a bite, he began to think. He had travelled here from Ecruteak City, and so far he had proved himself right. "There are no pokemon that can be any use to me." Taking another bite, he almost choked when he heard a loud noise from inside the building he was sitting next to. Clearing his airway, he stood up and looked through one of the windows on the side of the building. Brushing his long red hair aside, he stared into the lab.

Professor Elm stood next to a small blue pokemon writing on his clipboard. The young monster stood about two feet tall and had large teeth jutting from its scaley muzzle. "Alright Totodile, try again." said the man. The pokemon nodded and ran forward, slamming itself full speed into a machine. The impact caused the windows to shake and the boys eyes to widen. "Amazing. It seems you are indeed the strongest of the three." said the man as he set the clipboard down and walked over to his computer. The pokemon began to dance oddly as it chanted its victory in its own language.

The boy backed away from the window and scratched his chin. "Hmmm...that pokemon could be the one." he said. Still looking through the window, he noticed the professor get up and walk out through a door in the back. Smiling, he walked around to the entrance of the lab and got onto his knees. Digging into his pack, he pulled out a small pouch, then pulled out a few strips of thin metal from inside. Sliding them into the lock on the door, he began to move the tools until he heard a small click inside the handle. Smiling to himself, he put the tools away and stood up, opening the door.

Walking inside the small building, he noticed a pokeball on the table, as well as two others sitting inside a padded suitcase on another table. As he walked in, the small pokemon noticed him and looked at him. Looking back at the totodile, he smiled. "Lets see how powerful you really are." he said, then ran at the pokemon. He swung at it with a kick, however his senses almost immediately left him. The totodile stopped his foot with its jaws, then swung him in circles before smashing him through the table. He shook the stars from his head and got onto his knees, smiling through his daze. "It's perfect." he said.

Totodile growled at him menacingly. The boy smiled and pulled the half eaten sandwich from his bag again, then held it up to the pokemon. Slowly, the croc pokemon trundled forward and grabbed the food, throwing it up and chomping on it greedily. When it finished, it stood again in a victory pose. The boy laughed for the first time in a long time and stroked the pokemons scaley head. "You are going to be my new friend. My name is Zack." he said smiling down at the pokemon.

Suddenly, the door to the back opened again and in walked the professor. "Totodile...I heard a noise from the back. Is something..." he said, then spotted the young man. "Who...Who are you?" he asked surprisedly. Zack looked at the professor with his green eyes, then grabbed the pokeball that had fallen from the broken table. Aiming it at Totodile, a red laser shot out and hit the pokemon, pulling it back inside the small capsule. "What are you doing?" he asked. The ball shrunk once the pokemon was inside, then the boy ran. Making a huge jump, he smashed through the window of the lab and took off into the darkness.

"Come back here you thief!" shouted the professor as he ran to the window. But it was too late, the boy was gone. The professor glared and clenched his fist. "How could I have let this happen?" he asked. He didn't know however, about the two sets of eyes watching him from the forest surrounding the town.

One of the pair, a male with shoulder length black hair, held goggles to his eyes and watched the scene as it unfolded. Smirking to the girl next to him, he said, "It seems we have found a suitable recruit."

She looked at him. "Are you sure?" she asked. "All he did was break in and take the pokemon." said the red haired girl.

"No, he lockpicked his way into a pokemon lab, stole the strongest pokemon they had, and fled without being caught. There is no way that professor would be able to catch him now, especially in this darkness." he said as he pulled the night vision device from his face. "He is definitely suitable to be in Team Rocket."

The girl shrugged. "I guess if you say he is." she said. "Lets report back to the commander." she said as she stood and stretched. He nodded. Packing their things up, the two left the scene.

OoOoO

Zack stopped in the forest at least a mile and a half away from the scene. He was a very good runner, and he was only slightly out of breath when he stopped. Looking at the pokeball in his hand, he pressed the button in the center and enlarged the ball. Opening it, the pokemon materialized out of the red laser and looked up at Zack again.

Kneeling down to the creature, he held out his hand. "Will you be my new friend?" he asked. The scaley pokemon looked at his hand and walked forward, then licked his hand with a large tongue. Smiling, the boy pet the pokemon. "I'll call you Rex." he said. "Lets get out of this forest." he said, then headed in the direction of the previous town he had come from, Cherrygrove City...