Chapter 3: On To Petalburg
The alarm clock went off at 7:30am in the room Eric and Josh were sharing at the Pokemon Center in Oldale Town. The boys yawned and stretched as they climbed out of bed. Josh claimed the shower first, so Eric killed the time by simply gazing out the window. He thought about the freedom going on this journey was giving him as the trees rustled in the breeze.
'I can finally go wherever I want to now," Eric thought. 'Wherever the wind sees fit to take me... I'll gladly go...' He closed his eyes and lost himself in thought. In the middle of his daydreaming, Josh finished with his shower and was now sneaking up on Eric. He got in front of Eric and got ready to clap his hands. Eric didn't notice Josh in front of him as he had his eyes closed. Josh then clapped and snapped Eric out of his reverie. Eric jumped and fell backwards.
"Whoa! Dude, not cool," he exclaimed as Josh just laughed.
"Oh man, you should have seen yourself," Josh said between periods of laughing. "Your eyes grew to the size of dinner plates!" Eric rolled his eyes as he got up to get in the shower. Josh continued laughing at Eric's reaction, but soon stopped as he was running short of breath.
Once Eric was done in the shower and the boys were prepared to go, they met Katrina in the lobby of the Pokemon Center. After grabbing some breakfast, they hit the road again, this time heading west onto Route 102, which would take them to Petalburg City. Both Eric and Josh had resolved to catch a Pokemon today, so they would often stray from the beaten path to search for a Pokemon. Katrina found herself with plenty of time alone as she waited for Eric and Josh to return. She used these opportunities to train her Mudkip and Wurmple against some of the wild Pokemon.
'If my Pokemon are gonna perform well in contests, they still need to be trained,' she thought. She was engaged in battle with a wild Lotad that had just surfaced from a nearby pond. The wild Lotad shot a Water Gun at her Wurmple. "Wurmple, dodge it!" Wurmple scaled a nearby tree to avoid the blast of water. "Now, Poison Sting!" Wurmple turned around and shot poisonous needles from the spikes on its tail. Lotad was struck by the Poison Sting attack and really felt it, as it was a partial Grass-type Pokemon which were weak to Poison-type moves. The wild Lotad struck back with another Water Gun, but Wurmple kept climbing higher up the tree to avoid it, firing off Poison Sting after Poison Sting on Katrina's orders. Eventually, the Lotad gave in and fainted. Wurmple climbed back down the tree and Katrina picked it up. "Great job, Wurmple!" she praised. Wurmple let out a small cry of happiness. Katrina then returned Wurmple to its Poke Ball and continued on down the road a ways.
Elsewhere on Route 102, Josh was searching for any wild Pokemon that he thought would be a worthy addition to his team. Unfortunately, all he could find were Surskit on the ponds and Poochyena in the grass. He figured he would come by something eventually, though. Sure enough, he eventually encountered a Zigzagoon. Remembering he had wanted to catch one yesterday, he took out his Treecko's Poke Ball.
"Treecko, let's go!" he said as he tossed the ball. It opened and the Wood Gecko Pokemon burst from the light. It turned back to Josh with a look on its face that seemed to say 'What is it?' Treecko let out a small sound as it asked Josh what he wanted it to do. Josh pointed to the wild Zigzagoon and Treecko turned around. "We're gonna try to capture this thing, Treecko," Josh told his Pokemon. Treecko nodded affirmative. "All right, use Pound!" Treecko launched itself at the wild Zigzagoon and slammed it with its thick tail. Zigzagoon was caught by surprise and flinched when it saw Treecko's tail about to slap it in the face. Zigzagoon recovered and charged at Treecko with a basic Tackle attack. "Dodge it, Treecko!" Josh called. Treecko jumped over the charging Zigzagoon and landed behind it. "Ok, now use Magical Leaf!" Treecko scattered leaves and sent them to home in on Zigzagoon. The Tinyraccoon Pokemon attempted to dodge the leaves, but ended up getting sliced by most of them. Zigzagoon was breathing heavily after that assault, so Josh seized the opportunity and threw out an empty Poke Ball. "Alright! Poke Ball, go!" The ball spun as it flew through the air. When it hit Zigzagoon, it engulfed the Tinyraccoon Pokemon in a red light, sucking it into the ball. The ball then began to shake as Zigzagoon struggled to get out. After about twenty seconds of shaking, it intensified ans Zigzagoon burst out of the ball, rendering it useless. "Aw, nuts!" Josh exclaimed. He turned to Treecko to give another order, but Zigzagoon tackled Treecko. Treecko was flung against a tree and took a big hit. "Darn it..." Josh mumbled. He took out his Pokedex to see of his Treecko had learned any new moves.
"This Treecko is Level 7, and has added Absorb to its set of attacks," the voice droned. Josh nodded and turned his attention back to the battle.
"Treecko, use Absorb!" Treecko picked itself up, then formed a small field of energy in its hands. Holding out its hands, it began draining the wild Zigzagoon's HP. Zigzagoon struggled to free itself from the hold of the Absorb attack. In the meantime, Treecko healed itself with the drained HP. Josh then called off the attack as Zigzagoon looked sufficiently weakened. He tossed out another empty Poke Ball. "Alright, I hope this one works. Go, Poke Ball!" The ball hit the weakened Zigzagoon and sucked it in. It began shaking like the one thrown previously. After about thirty seconds, the shaking died down and the center of the ball glowed red, signaling a successful capture. Josh ran over to the Poke Ball and lifted it high in the air. "YES! I caught a Zigzagoon!" Treecko hopped up on his shoulder and struck a victory pose. Josh put the Poke Ball with his newly-caught Zigzagoon away and returned Treecko. "Man, this is awesome! I just caught my first wild Pokemon! Wait until I tell Eric and Katrina this!"
A little further down the road, Eric was also searching for Pokemon. He had found a few interesting ones, but none that he felt would be good for his team. He had obtained Pokedex data on Seedot, Lotad, Surskit, and even the rare Ralts on this route. Torchic was out of its Poke ball to keep Eric company while he searched for Pokemon. It looked around at the clouds as if it were scanning the skies for Pokemon. Unfortunately, it too couldn't find anything, barring a passing flock of Taillow. It ran to catch up to Eric and continued to walk by his side. Eventually, Eric decided to stop and take a break. He found a shaded spot under a tree and sat down in it. Torchic joined him. Eric began to hum to himself as a familiar tune played in his head. Torchic sat quietly and listened to Eric hum. Occasionally, Eric would mumble some of the lyrics to the song as he remembered them.
"Hey all/Welcome to the greatest storm/I know/You have waited much too long" Eric sang to himself. Torchic just continued to listen as Eric sang along with the song in his head. Just then, Torchic picked up the sound of flapping wings. The Chick Pokemon looked in the direction of the noise and saw a bird Pokemon in the trees. It went over to Eric and nudged him to get his attention. Eric looked over to Torchic. "What's up?" he asked his Pokemon. Torchic tried to point over to where it saw the bird Pokemon. Eric got what it was trying to do and looked over, and he too saw the bird Pokemon. It looked unlike anything he had seen before, so he took out the Pokedex to scan the bird. The Pokemon had a body of gray feathers and a mane-like face of white feathers and a single red and white feather protruding upwards from its gray face. The Pokedex finished scanning at that moment.
"Rufflet, the Eaglet Pokemon. Rufflet will crush berries with their talons for food. Rufflet are very brave Pokemon, and will stand up to any challenger no matter how strong the challenger is. They frequently fight, which serves to make then stronger. Rufflet is not native to the Hoenn region, instead coming from the Unova region."
"Ooh, a Unova Pokemon," Eric said. He then turned to Torchic. "You ready to help me catch this thing?" he asked. Torchic replied with a battle cry. The wild Rufflet was alerted to the presence of opposition, so it turned around and narrowed its eyes. It then took off from where it was perched and attempted to peck at Torchic. "Dodge it, Torchic!" Eric called. Torchic leaped to the side to avoid Rufflet's Peck attack. "Ok, now use Flame Burst!" Torchic shot a ball of fire from its mouth and scored a hit of Rufflet. The Eaglet Pokemon quickly recovered, however, and resumed attacking. Torchic prepared to counter with a Scratch attack. Talon met beak as Torchic and Rufflet collided. A stalemate resulted as the two Pokemon pushed harder in an effort to break through. Eric quickly scanned Torchic for moves and learned that it had recently learned Ember. "Torchic, Ember!" he called. Torchic shot small flames from its mouth, knocking Rufflet back. Unperturbed, though, Rufflet continued to attack. Torchic looked like it was going to be forced into a corner. Rufflet dove at Torchic with another Peck attack, and Torchic countered with Scratch. Torchic's timing couldn't have been better, as it scored a hit just as Rufflet was going past it. The hit was visible, as it had etched a scar right beside Rufflet's left eye. The Eaglet Pokemon screeched in pain from the hit. It then dove back down at Torchic, scoring a hit with Peck. "Torchic, Flame Burst!" Eric ordered. Torchic shot a ball of fire at Rufflet. The eaglet Pokemon took the hit squarely in the back and it lost flight. Eric took out an empty Poke Ball and threw it at the falling Rufflet. "Poke Ball, go!" he yelled. The ball spun as it flew at Rufflet. It intercepted Rufflet in midair and engulfed it in a red light, sucking it in. The ball then hit the ground and began shaking. Eric and Torchic kept a close eye on the ball to make sure Rufflet didn't escape. After about a minute, the ball stopped shaking and the center glowed red, signaling that Rufflet had been caught. Eric's hand twitched a little, then he ran over to the ball and lifted it into the air. "All right! I caught a Rufflet!" he shouted. Torchic jumped up and down with excitement. Eric turned to Torchic and held out its Poke Ball, returning the Chick Pokemon. He then set off to find Josh and Katrina and get to Petalburg City.
Back on the main path, Katrina was just walking along after battling a wild Surskit and beating it with Mudkip. It had been a few hours since Eric and Josh had gone off the path to look for Pokemon and Katrina was getting slightly worried.
'They've been gone for hours,' she thought. 'I wonder if they're ok.' She continued down the path a little ways, but then heard some rustling in the trees to her left. She cautiously reached for her Mudkip's Poke Ball and readied herself for whatever was going to pop out of the bush. Just then, Josh popped up and surprised her with a loud noise that sounded like complete gibberish.
"Eek!" Katrina screamed. After jumping three feet in the air, she saw that it was Josh that had surprised her and glared at him. Josh just laughed.
"Haha, you should have seen yourself, Katrina!" he started. "You must have jumped about ten feet in the air from that!" While Josh kept laughing, Katrina walked up to him and slapped him. "Ow! What was that for?"
"For nearly scaring me to death! You can't just sneak up on me like that! Honestly, I thought you were wild Pokemon at first..." Katrina said.
"Alright, alright, I get it," Josh replied.
"Good," Katrina huffed. Just then, Eric emerged from the trees on the right.
"Hey guys, anything cool happen while I was gone?" he said, greeting his traveling companions.
"Not much apart from Josh scaring the living daylights out of me," Katrina grumbled. Josh snickered a bit, but Katrina shot him a death glare and he shut up. Eric sighed and shrugged.
"Well, that's Josh for you," he told Katrina. "He got me this morning." Josh snickered again, but this time, both Katrina and Eric shot him death glares. Josh backed up, intimidated. Eric turned back to Katrina. "So, catch any new Pokemon?" he asked.
"No, I didn't see anything I really liked out here," she replied. "What about you?" Josh ran over at that.
"I'll show you what I caught," he announced, taking out a Poke Ball. He tossed it up and his Zigzagoon came out of it. It let out a small sound as it greeted Eric and Katrina.
"Not bad, Josh, but wait until you see what I caught," Eric said. He too pulled out a Poke ball and tossed it. It opened and his Rufflet came out. Rufflet perched on Eric's shoulder and spread its wings in greeting.
"Whoa, what is that?" Josh asked in awe.
"It's a Rufflet," Eric started. "Rufflet are from the Unova region, according to the Pokedex. If it weren't for Torchic, though, I probably wouldn't have found it 'cuz it was hidden in the trees."
"That's a really cool-looking Pokemon," Katrina said. Rufflet chirped at the compliment. "How did it get that scar along its eye?"
"That was Torchic's fault, hehe," Eric explained while grinning sheepishly. "I don't think Rufflet minds it, though. The Pokedex said it loves to battle." Rufflet squawked as if to say 'You bet I love to battle!'
"Wow, that is a seriously cool Pokemon," Josh said. "Now I gotta find myself a cool-looking bird Pokemon like that!"
"I'm sure you will someday," Eric responded. He returned Rufflet and Josh returned Zigzagoon, then the three trainers headed off towards Petalburg City.
A bit further down the road, the gang started to encounter other trainers along the path. Josh was eager for a challenge, so he ran up to the first trainer he saw and challenged him.
"Hey, dude, you a trainer?" Josh asked the guy.
"Yep, sure am. Name's Calvin. You are?"
"I'm Josh. You want to battle?"
"Sure thing. Two on two cool with you?"
"Yep. Let's do this!" Josh pulled out a Poke Ball and tossed it out. "Go, Zigzagoon!" The ball burst open ans the Tinyraccoon Pokemon emerged. It let out a cry and prepared for battle.
"A Zigzagoon, huh? Two can play that game. Zigzagoon, let's go!" Calvin called. His Poke Ball opened and a Zigzagoon emerged from it.
"Hehe, Zigzagoon vs. Zigzagoon. This'll be cool. Go! Use Tackle, Zigzagoon!" Josh's Zigzagoon charged at Calvin's Zigzagoon.
"Dodge, Zigzagoon!" Calvin called. His Zigzagoon jumped out of the way of Josh's Zigzagoon. "Now, use Tail Whip!" Zigzagoon wagged its tail at Josh's.
"Tail Whip, huh?" Josh mumbled. He checked the Pokedex to see that Tail Whip lowered the target's Defense, so he made a note of that and returned to the battle. "Zigzagoon, use Growl!" he called. His Zigzagoon began growling a bit. The sound waves reached Calvin's Zigzagoon and lowered its Attack.
"Zigzagoon, Tackle!" Calvin ordered. His Zigzagoon charged.
"You too, Zigzagoon! Tackle!" Josh called. His Zigzagoon also charged. They collided and sent each other skidding backwards. Josh pressed the offensive here, not wanting to lose. "Tackle again!" His Zigzagoon recovered and charged again, scoring a hit on Calvin's Zigzagoon. Josh waited as Calvin's Zigzagoon tried to get back up, but it gave one last heavy breath before collapsing, its energy spent.
"Aw, no! Zigzagoon!" Calvin said as he pulled out Zigzagoon's Poke Ball and returned it.
"One down," Josh said. "You ready for another round, Zigzagoon?" Zigzagoon pawed the ground as if to say 'yes'. Calvin then took out his other Poke Ball and threw it.
"Poochyena, go!" The ball opened and a gray and black dog Pokemon emerged. It howled and prepared for battle.
"We can take this. Zigzagoon, use Growl!" Zigzagoon growled and Poochyena's Attack was lowered.
"That's not gonna help you much here," Calvin said. "Poochyena, use Howl!" Poochyena raised its head to the sky and howled like a wolf, boosting its Attack back to the level it was at before Growl had lowered it.
"Ok, so, I guess that didn't work," Josh said. "Tackle it!" Zigzagoon charged at Poochyena.
"Tackle it right back!" Calvin called. Poochyena rushed at the incoming Zigzagoon. Holding a slight height advantage over Zigzagoon, it looked like Poochyena would deliver a hit by overpowering Zigzagoon, but Zigzagoon lowered itself as it closed in and scored a hit by upending Poochyena. Poochyena recovered quickly, though, and used Tackle again. Zigzagoon was unprepared and took the hit. Weakened from the previous bout, Zigzagoon was knocked out.
"Aw, darn it," Josh said as he called Zigzagoon back. "You did well, Zigzagoon. Take a rest." He pulled out his other Poke Ball and tossed it out. "Treecko, you're on!" The ball opened and the Wood Gecko Pokemon emerged. It struck a battle pose and waited for an order.
"Poochyena, Tackle it!" The Bite Pokemon charged at Treecko, but the Wood Gecko Pokemon swiftly dodged it.
"Treecko, Magical Leaf!" Treecko scattered leaves to home in on Poochyena. The Bite Pokemon attempted to dodge them by running away, zigzagging between trees. However, the leaves followed the dog's every move and inched ever closer, eventually catching up. Poochyena gave one last effort to run away, but was sliced by the leaves. It struggled to get up from the blow, but did and turned to face Treecko again, but the Wood Gecko Pokemon was gone.
"Huh? Where did it go?" Calvin wondered. Josh grinned.
"Look out below!" he called. Calvin and Poochyena looked up to see Treecko descending from the trees. "Use Pound!" Treecko swung its tail at Poochyena.
"Dodge it!" Calvin yelled. Poochyena barely got out of the way. "Now, Tackle!" A quick strike from Poochyena sent Treecko skidding backwards a ways.
"Let's finish it, Treecko! Use Absorb!" Treecko's hands glowed and it held them out, creating an energy-absorbing field. Poochyena was caught in the field and began writhing in pain as its energy was drained.
"No, Poochyena!" Calvin called. "You've gotta break free!" Poochyena struggled to move as pain wracked its body. Treecko then dropped the field and Poochyena slumped to the ground.
"Aw nuts!" Calvin exclaimed as he returned Poochyena. He then sighed, disappointed that he lost. "Ah well, there's always the next battle." He then walked up to Josh, who was celebrating with Treecko over his first win. "Hey, great battle. I didn't know you were this good," he said. Josh settled down and Treecko hopped up on his shoulder.
"Thanks, dude. That was actually my first battle against another trainer, so I'm just overjoyed that I won," Josh replied.
"Your first battle? Wow. I feel kinda bad about losing to someone who had never battled before, but at the same time, it's pretty cool that you won your first battle," Calvin responded. He then took some money out of his pocket. "Here, this is the prize money for beating me. Official rules for trainers state that they are to give prize money if they lose." Josh accepted the prize money.
"Well, I suppose I can take it. I guess I won't feel so bad about taking your money knowing that its in the rules," he said. He then returned Treecko. "I gotta go find my traveling companions now. They probably went a ways ahead. See you, Calvin!" He took off towards Petalburg City. Calvin tipped his cap as a farewell.
Further down the road, Eric and Katrina were just walking along, enjoying the scenery. Occasionally, a wild Pokemon would pop out of the tall grass and Eric would generally deal with it unless Katrina said she wanted to battle the Pokemon. They were getting some good training out of this. They eventually decided to take a short break to see if Josh would catch up with them. Sitting in a shaded spot under some trees, they just waited, occasionally talking to break the silence.
"So, Katrina, you never told us where you're from," Eric started. "I mean, you already know Josh and I are from Littleroot Town, so I think it's only fair for you to tell us where you're from." Katrina nodded.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," she said. "I'm from Rustboro City."
"Rustboro, hm?" Eric said. "What's it like there?"
"It's kind of a big city because the Devon Corporation is based there. They make a lot of Pokemon products. Some of the more popular ones are sold in the Poke Mart there, like Timer Balls. There's also the Pokemon Academy. Rustboro's previous Gym Leader, Roxanne, is a teacher there. And as for me, well, my family is full of big names. My father is a lawyer, and my mother used to be a top Pokemon Coordinator. My brother recently contacted us and said he's been accepted into the Elite Four in the Kanto region, and I also have an older sister who's a nurse. It's my goal to live up to the family legacy of making it big, and I'm gonna do that on the big stage of Pokemon Contests. I'm not gonna let anything stop me on my way to making it big." Eric nodded after Katrina finished her monologue.
"Wow, sounds like you've got a lot to live up to," he said.
"Yeah, I kind of do," Katrina replied. "What about you?" Eric took a deep breath before he started.
"Well, I spent my whole life in Littleroot Town, so a big reason I wanted to go on a journey is my desire to get away and go see the world. That's not it, though. I've always been a big fan of battling. I've been watching League tournaments since I was old enough to remember things. I especially loved how well the trainers commanded their Pokemon. One day, I want to be like those trainers, winning my way up League tournaments and gaining the respect of my Pokemon. On a somewhat related note, I've always had a fascination with the wind."
"The wind?" Katrina asked.
"Yeah, the wind," Eric replied. "I don't exactly know why, but I've always regarded the wind as mysterious and ever-changing. Maybe that's why I'm so fascinated by it. My dreams of becoming a great trainer will be carried along by the wind wherever it may lead me." A breeze blew through the trees at that moment, almost like it had heard Eric's little speech and decided to blow through at that moment for dramatic effect.
"That's... deep," Katrina said.
"I don't exactly understand it all yet, but I have no doubt that I'll begin to as the wind carries me along to each and every destination," Eric said. He closed his eyes and felt the breeze. "Who knows what's in store for me. I could become one of the greatest trainers in the world, or I could utterly fail. But right now, it doesn't matter. I'm just beginning my tale. We'll see where the wind takes me from here." While Eric seemingly daydreamed, Katrina sat there quietly as she thought about what Eric had just said.
'He seems so willing to just take everything as it comes,' she mused. 'He must not have a care in the world. I kinda envy him. I have my family legacy to live up to, but he's got nothing to bring pressure to him.' She sighed. 'I wish I could be as free as you, Eric.' Another ten minutes passed before a sound was heard. Eric and Katrina looked around and saw Josh running up the road.
"Hey guys," Josh shouted. "Wait for me!" He caught up after a few seconds.
"Yo, Josh, what's up?" Eric asked him. Josh grinned.
"Dude, I just won my first battle against another trainer!" he exclaimed. "Zigzagoon and Treecko were awesome in that battle."
"Nice job," Katrina said. "Eric and I have just been battling wild Pokemon as they pop out, and we were just taking a break to see if you would catch up."
"Ok, well, I want to get to Petalburg City now; I'm kinda hungry," Josh said. Eric got up just then.
"Well, alright, guess we should get moving again," he said as he stretched. Katrina then got up, brushed some dirt off of her shirt, and followed along as they started towards Petalburg City again. While walking, Eric and Josh seemed to be having a friendly discussion about something related to the Pokemon they caught today. Katrina wasn't paying any attention to it, though, as she was still lost in thought.
'What is it that makes you so relaxed and carefree, Eric?" she thought to herself. 'I've got to find out one way or another. Who knows, maybe it'll help me at some point to know.' She had fallen behind a little, so she caught up and the group continued on to Petalburg.
Elsewhere in the Hoenn region, in a darkened building nobody was aware existed, maniacal laughter echoed through its halls. The laughter belonged to a man that appeared to be in his early forties. He wore a white uniform with a red 'R' on the left chest of his shirt. His short blue-green hair made him look somewhat unnatural, and his narrow black eyes made him look even more intimidating. He continued to laugh maniacally.
"This plan is perfect!" he shouted to nobody in particular. "Once we set this in motion, nobody shall stop us, and we will finally regain our former glory! The master will finally come out of hiding, and he shall lead us to world domination! ALL HAIL TEAM ROCKET!" He laughed even more maniacally as lightning lit up the night sky and thunder boomed.
And that's that for Chapter 3! More journeying is done here as Eric, Josh and Katrina press on to Petalburg City. Eric catches a Rufflet, not native to the Hoenn region, and Josh catches a Zigzagoon. Josh also battles a trainer for the first time and wins. The trainer in question, Calvin, is actually from the games. He had a Lv. 5 Zigzagoon in Ruby and Sapphire, and he had a Lv. 5 Poochyena in Emerald, so I gave him both of those Pokemon. Then, Eric and Katrina talk about their dreams and what drives them to fulfill those dreams. Katrina envies Eric's carefree nature and natural freedom. Then Josh catches up and they head into Petalburg City. And what's up with the ominous man at the end? He's laughing like a madman and he mentions Team Rocket. Could this mean Team Rocket is making a comeback, this time in Hoenn? Well, stay tuned and you'll find out.
Next time, Eric, Josh, and Katrina progress to the Petalburg Woods and try to reach Rustboro City, Katrina's hometown.
Guess-the-song: Eric sings some lyrics to a song in this chapter. Can you guess the song these lyrics are from?
Fun Fact: During the battle between Josh and Calvin, I listened to The Man with the Machine Gun from Final Fantasy VIII. I think I'm going to make that tune Josh's unofficial theme song.
Until next time, MasterFreezeman, signing out.