After spending a night in a sleeping bag under the stars cuddled with Dratini, Poppy awoke to the sun shining through the trees. With a slight yawn, she rubbed her eyes as she came into consciousness. Dratini was just waking up too, but came to consciousness quicker than its trainer. So, it gave Poppy an affectionate nudge to wake her up, and said good morning with a little squeal.
"Good morning, Dratini," Poppy greeted, still half-asleep.
She gave Dratini a small hug, before rolling out of the sleeping bag. Standing up in the clearing that she'd slept in, she threw on her short sleeved navy blue jacket. She brushed through her waist-length, wine-colored hair with her fingers, and then put on her light blue and green baseball cap backwards, as she always did. She kneeled back down on the ground as Dratini slithered out of the sleeping bag, and rolled it up to put back in the bag.
"What d'ya say, want some breakfast?" Poppy inquired. Sort of smiling, Dratini nodded. Poppy then asked, "Would you mind going to get some wood so we can start a fire?"
Dratini squealed again, as if to say yes, and went off into the bushes to find firewood in the woods, leaving Poppy behind in the small clearing. She set some stones into a circular pattern to eventually put the fire in, and then sat, falling back on her bottom so she could sit cross-legged. Reaching for the belt that held her grayish jeans up, she pulled off Chikorita's PokéBall. She'd painted the top of it green, over what was originally red, so she'd know it was Chikorita's. She'd also painted Dratini's PokéBall blue on the top, the same blue that Dratini was, even if it didn't spend too much time in the PokéBall.
"Come out and face the day, Chikorita," Poppy said.
She released her first-caught Pokémon, and watched as it materialized before her eyes. The Pokémon looked somewhat confused, or taken off guard, perhaps. It looked to its new trainer with a kind of apprehension of sorts, though Poppy only smiled at it. She reached out to pet and hold Chikorita, but it jumped back away from her. Confused, she again reached out for the Pokémon, but was only able to brush her fingers against its leg. Immediately, Chikorita yelped in pain and leapt backwards and away from its trainer. Poppy felt a rush of guilt after noticing she'd touched a battle wound that Chikorita still hadn't recovered from, but it was too late. The Grass-type Pokémon had already sprinted off into the woods, crying.
"Chikorita!" Poppy yelled, as she leapt to her feet herself. "Chikorita, come back!"
Just as she readied herself to run after the Pokémon, Dratini turned with some twigs to make a fire with. It dropped the twigs as soon as it noticed how concerned its trainer was, slithered over to her as fast as possible, and let out a questioning and concerned squeal as it looked to Poppy.
"Chikorita ran away," Poppy informed Dratini with a worried edge in her voice. "It's hurt and all alone out in the woods. We've got to go find it!"
Dratini let out an affirmative squeal as it slithered as fast as it could after Poppy, who went sprinting in the direction that Chikorita had run in. She was trying to remain calm, but really, she was in a panic. She'd caught her first Pokémon and lost it the very next day? Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she wasn't meant to be a Pokémon trainer. Maybe she should just go home.
Meanwhile, in the not so distant reaches of the forest, a trio of rather goofy and incompetent Team Rocket members were attempting to hatch a plan to capture more Pokémon for the boss. The trio consisted of a green haired girl named Trixie, a boy with deep crimson hair named Thomas, and a peculiar Rattata that walked upright on two legs like a human. The three of them were huddled around a small fire in the center of the clearing that they'd landed their Rattata-shaped hot air balloon in, as they tried to cook toast over the fire. They were pretty close to the bottom of the Team Rocket heap, meaning that they were pretty broke most of the time. They had to make do, which they did, even if they complained most of the time.
"What are we gonna do, just sit around and eat toast all day?" exclaimed the humanoid Rattata as it leapt off its sitting place on the ground with sudden inspiration. "You guys don't want to be living like this for the rest of your lives, do you? Eating scraps of toast in the woods? No, you don't! I sure as heck don't! And you know what that means?" "
That we're doomed," sighed Thomas overdramatically. He dropped his chin into his palm, looking blatantly defeated. "We're horrible Team Rocket members."
"Don't say that!" Trixie piped up, fast to defend her honor. "We're the absolute best Team Rocket has to offer!"
With an exasperated expression, Thomas then asked, "Then why haven't we caught a Pokémon in months?"
That question clearly left Trixie speechless and frustrated, until she finally fell back on the ground with the same kind of defeated look and let out a heavy sigh. Before she could formulate any kind of response, a rustling in the bushes distracted her and her two team mates. The two turned to the right, to watch in surprise as a little Chikorita with a leg wound stumble out of one of the bushes. Because of its wound, it tripped and fell, making the perfect target for Team Rocket.
"Hey, well, looks like it's our lucky day!" Thomas exclaimed at the sight of the little Grass-type Pokémon.
"It's only a puny Chikorita," Trixie told him. "What would the boss want with a weakling like that?"
Chikorita stood and let out a defensive kind of growl, clearly angry at being called a puny weakling. It sent out a Razor-leaf attack that left cuts across Trixie's face and arms, which angered her, but, also softened her. She looked at the Pokémon with a new light.
"Maybe not," she mused. "That was an impressive Razor Leaf."
"And if that was impressive, imagine how strong it'll be if we evolve it into a Meganium!" Rattata added. "I just know the boss would love waking up to the sweet scent of a Meganium and use it to battle with."
"Wonderful!" Thomas uttered. Within a moment, he'd scooped Chikorita into a net, and tied it over its shoulder. He laughed as the Pokémon struggled, trying to Razor Leaf its way out of the net, to no avail. "It's no use, Chikorita. It's Razor Leaf proof."
"That was easy," Rattata said, as Thomas tossed the bagged Chikorita aside so the three could finish off their lunch. "Maybe we're comin' into good times."
"Well, we've got to start off somewhere," Thomas replied. "And if this was an easy catch, maybe we're getting better at this easy catch thing."
"Mmm," Trixie and Rattata sighed, as they all relaxed into eating the rest of their lunch.
While the trio of Team Rocket members relaxed with the Chikorita they'd bagged, its rightful trainer, Poppy and her Dratini were still frantically searching for the Grass-type Pokémon.
"Chikorita!" Poppy called, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Chikorita, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! Please come back! Chikorita!"
Dratini let out a sudden urgent shriek, as it pointed its tail in a certain direction.
"You see something, Dratini?" Poppy inquired, rushing to her Pokémon's side. When she arrived, she found Dratini at the very edge of a cliff, waving its tail to point at a small clearing that was visible from their altitude. Shockingly, Poppy caught a glance of her Chikorita struggling in a net next to two people and a Rattata, who were all relaxing by a fire and eating.
Immediately, Poppy clenched her fist and jaw in anger, realizing those people must've stolen it.
"We've got to get Chikorita away from those thieves!" Poppy exclaimed. Dratini nodded, seeming just as heated up as its trainer. "Let's go!"
Just as Poppy turned to run and find a way to get to Chikorita, the ground began to crumble beneath them. Scared beyond her wits, Poppy let out a scream as she grabbed Dratini, clutching the Pokémon into her chest to protect it as they started to fall off the cliff. Poppy could only hope for the best as she squeezed her eyes shut and held on to Dratini for dear life.
"Ivysaur, go!" called a male voice from the cliff Poppy and Dratini were falling off of. "Use your Vine Whip to pull that girl and her Dratini up!"
Suddenly, just as suddenly as they'd fallen, Dratini and Poppy were safely wrapped in Ivysaur's Vine Whip and being pulled up to safety.
"Ivysaur!" cried the Pokémon who'd rescued them, happy it pulled the two to safety.
Poppy and Dratini, who were still clutching each other, opened their eyes, in awe that they'd been pulled to safety and weren't harmed. They looked over to Ivysaur, who was smiling it its own way at the two of them, and its trainer, a deep-teal haired boy.
He wore his deep teal hair short and kind of spiked messily. He was a little tanned, and wearing a teal and gray-blue short sleeved hoodie with brown cargo pants and sneakers that matched his sweatshirt, fingerless gloves on his hands. He was smiling like his Pokémon - clearly glad and relieved that Poppy and Dratini were safe.
"Are you and Dratini okay?" he inquired, as Poppy rose to her feet with Dratini still in her arms.
"Yes, we are, thank you so much," Poppy nodded. With a big grin, she kneeled again, grinning as she gave Ivysaur a good scratch on the head, and added, "And thank you too, Ivysaur. You're great and we can't thank you enough."
"Saur," the Pokémon smiled in response.
"I'm Gage, by the way," the boy introduced himself, as he offered his hand to help Poppy up off the ground. "And what's your name?"
"Poppy," she replied, continuing to smile. "I'm sorry, I'm very thankful that you and your Ivysaur saved Dratini and I, but I really need to go. Those people down there stole my Chikorita, and I really have to go get it back! Thanks again!"
She and Dratini had already started running off before Gage could reply. He looked over the cliff and saw the two humans, the Rattata and the Chikorita in the bag, and, along with Ivysaur, raced off after the girl he'd just saved, and her Dratini. Gage and Ivysaur slid down the side of a hill in order to get down to the level of ground where Chikorita was, and continued to sprint after the girl that'd captured his attention and her Dratini.
The four skidded to a halt in the clearing, startling the Team Rocket members.
Team Rocket didn't even have time to process what was happening, before Poppy screamed, "GIVE ME BACK MY CHIKORITA!" Team Rocket huddled together in fear at first, but then Rattata stood to defend them.
"Your Chikorita?" it asked. "We done caught it fair and square."
"A talking Pokémon?!" Gage and Poppy exclaimed at the same time.
Shaking it off, Poppy went back into rage mode as she continued, "Doesn't matter! Just give me back my Chikorita!"
"It's not your Chikorita!" Thomas shouted. "It's ours! It's in our bag!"
"And if you want it back, you're going to have to fight for it! And if you lose, we'll take that Dratini of yours, too!" Trixie exclaimed. Pulling out a PokéBall, she threw it, and called, "Venomoth, get out here!"
"You too, Poliwrath!" Thomas added, throwing out his own PokéBall.
"Alright, Dratini, you ready?" Poppy asked. Her Pokémon nodded, looking extremely ready, as it stepped up to battle.
"You too, Ivysaur," Gage told his Pokémon.
Ivysaur went to take a step forward, but was stopped, just as Gage was, by Poppy's arm.
"I'm grateful, but I have to do this by myself," she told him. "I have to save my Chikorita and make sure they don't get my Dratini."
Understanding, Gage and Ivysaur nodded and took a step back to let Poppy and Dratini rescue Chikorita. Meanwhile, Chikorita looked at Poppy and Dratini with newfound admiration and respect, seeing how they were willing to fight for it.
"Tackle, Venomoth!" Trixie commanded.
"Water Gun, Poliwhirl!" Thomas chimed in.
"Dodge, and use Wrap, Dratini!" Poppy countered.
Skillfully and gracefully, Dratini thrust itself in the air, dodging the tackle and the water gun. Venomoth crashed into a tree and Poliwhirl's water gun also hit a tree, rendering it useless. Taking the chance, Dratini launched a quick Wrap Attack, squeezing both Venomoth and Poliwhirl in its coils.
"Now, thundershock!" Poppy called. Dratini let out a shrill squeal, as it charged Venomoth and Poliwhirl until they were thoroughly fried and totally unable to battle. Team Rocket jumped in fear and surprise that they'd lost the battle, though Poppy was grinning.
"Now, Dratini, use Iron Tail to cut Chikorita out of that net!" Poppy continued.
Flawlessly, Dratini followed orders, rescuing Chikorita from the net Team Rocket had ensnared it in. It let out a happy squeal and nuzzled Dratini to thank it, before the two Pokémon went back to glaring angrily at the Team Rocket members.
"Uh oh," Rattata mumbled, seeing that it and its two partners had been cornered and pretty much defeated.
"Dratini, blow them away by combining your Twister and Thunder Wave!" Poppy commanded to top everything off. Letting out a ferocious roar, Dratini launched the two powerful attacks that combined together into a powerful wind swirling with electricity. Team Rocket clutched each other and their two disabled Pokémon as they quivered in fear. Within a few moments, they were shocked and fried and whipped into the air from Dratini's Twister, blasting off into the horizon with a twinkle. As soon as Team Rocket had been blown away, Poppy raced over to her Dratini and Chikorita. She hugged Dratini and thanked it, and then reached for Chikorita, who now allowed itself to be touched by its trainer.
"Chiko!" the Pokémon exclaimed happily, as it leapt into Poppy's arms. "Chiko, chiko!"
"Chikorita, are you alright?" Poppy asked, though she was happy that it finally seemed to trust her, as it hugged her and nuzzle her cheek. Dratini slithered around the two, hugging them int its own way.
"Chiko," the Grass-type nodded.
"That's good, I was really worried about you," Poppy smiled. She then pulled a spray bottle of Super Potion from her backpack and said,"Here, this is for your sore leg. It'll sting for a minute, but then it'll feel better, I promise."
"Chiko," Chikorita replied. Bravely, it stuck its injured leg out to Poppy, who spritzed it with the Super Potion.
It winced and let out a cry, feeling the sting. However, in a moment, the pain past, and Chikorita felt millions of times better. In appreciation, it nuzzled Poppy again as it smiled, and Poppy and Dratini hugged it back. Poppy had regained her confidence as an able Trainer, and finally had earned Chikorita's trust and respect.
"You were great, Dratini," Poppy said. "And I'm so happy to have you back, Chikorita."
She then rose to her feet, her happy Chikorita still in her arms, and Dratini loyally at her side, and turned to Gage and his Ivysaur, who were still there. They looked impressed by Dratini and Poppy.
"Your Dratini is amazing," Gage said, as he and Ivysaur stepped closer. "And I'm glad you got your Chikorita back."
"Well, thank you," Poppy grinned. "But we wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for you and Ivysaur."
Still holding Chikorita, Poppy extended a hand for Gage to shake, and so they did. Both of the trainers nodded, out of mutual respect. Gage, however, blushed ever so slightly when his hand collided with hers.
"So, I didn't get to ask you what you were doing out here in the woods," Gage continued the conversation.
"Oh," Poppy replied. "I'm just starting out on my Pokémon journey, even though I'm a little old. I'm on my way to Violet City for my first Gym Battle."
"No one's too old to go start their Pokémon journey," Gage told her. "I was fifteen when I started. I just came in the top 8 at the Indigo League, and I just got here to earn my Johto Badges for the Johto League."
"Cool!" Poppy replied. "Maybe we'll battle someday. Anyway, thanks again, but I've got to get going."
Poppy started off down the trail, confident, carrying Chikorita as Dratini slithered along. There was a big smile on her face and on her Pokémon's faces, but she was suddenly interrupted.
"Poppy?" called Gage. She stopped in her tracks, glancing back over her shoulder. "Violet City's in the opposite direction."
"Oh," she sighed, clearly embarrassed as here her Pokémon. "I'm really no good with directions."
"That's okay," Gage smiled. "You can tag along with me, if you want, and I can take you to Violet City. I'm on my way there for my first Johto badge as well."
"Really?" Poppy beamed. "That'd be great!"
So, Poppy, Chikorita and Dratini were off with their new friends, Gage and Ivysaur, and on their way to continue their adventures in the world of Pokémon.