Author's Notice: Another mysterious member to the team. You'll probably be able to guess from the chapter title. Keep up the reviews.
Light's Adventures
Chapter 11: Fox
"What do you mean I can't walk on the bridge?" Nick asked.
The lady behind the counter seemed to be expecting the outburst. "I'm sorry sir, but this bridge was built for bikers and vehicles only, no walkers," she said calmly.
Nick angrily ruffled his hair and sat down on a nearby chair. They had reached Celadon quickly, but now they were restricting access to them. Light didn't understand. If they allowed bikes, why did they not allow walking? Then again, if they walked they would mostly have to camp out on the long road.
"I'm not going to be able to afford a bike, guys. I guess we'll have to traverse the river by the east route. Come on, we need to hurry to catch up on time. At this rate we won't get there until the fall," Nick said, getting back up.
Light, Ace, Blaze, and Cream got up from the corner they had settled into and followed him out. Light really didn't mind the wait. The longer route would allow him more time to practice. Nick, though, seemed angered at the delay.
Since it was already getting late, Nick decided to spend the night in the Pokemon Center. Light was sure something was up as they entered. Nurse Joy was somehow also here. She was somehow at every Pokemon Center he had been to so far, which was three.
Nick checked out a room and started down the hallway. They paused as they heard shouting from down the hallway. "I don't care, I don't want a Pokemon," a voice said.
"It won't be yours, it will be mine," a second voice replied.
"You know how I feel about Pokemon being captured, now release the poor Pokemon," the first voice said.
"But . . . but . . . This is a rare Pokemon, and can become really strong. Please let me keep it," the second voice pleaded.
"Fine, but I won't be yours then. I won't be with you if you keep a Pokemon captured," the first voice retorted. The person came into view as it finished the statement. It was a young lady with blonde curls.
The owner of the second voice came into view and it chased her. It was a man a little older than the woman. He was slightly shorter and had a pair of glasses on. He had shaggy brown hair, and wore loose clothing. "Wait, please come back, I'll . . . I'll," he said.
The lady continued, not looking at him. Nick and his group watched her until she left the door into the main area. The man stopped by Nick. He was on the verge of tears and was looking around quickly.
He turned to Nick and thrust a Pokeball into Nick's hand quickly. "There, I don't have it anymore, please come back!" he shouted, running after her.
Nick stood there stunned at what just happened. It took a while for it to process in Nick's head. He looked at the Pokeball and then pinched himself. He flinched and Light almost laughed at him. "What . . . just . . . happened?" Nick asked no one in particular.
You were given a Pokemon. Release it and see what it is, Light said.
Nick returned to his senses and released the Pokemon. A small fox like creature appear. It had six tails. It had a reddish pelt while its paws were brownish. It had a tuft of hair on its head that matched its tails in color. It was a Vulpix.
"Wow, a Vulpix!" Nick exclaimed.
The Vulpix looked around, confused.
Nick crouched down in front of the Vulpix. It backed up a little. "Don't worry; I won't hurt you. You were given to me by a man a few moments ago," Nick said.
The Vulpix looked at him suspiciously. It pulled back its lips and tensed.
Nick immediately backed away, part in fright, part in understanding. "Wait, it's true. The guy gave me you when a girl told him to leave unless he let you go," Nick said, moving his hands in front of his face.
At the sound of footsteps, everyone stopped and looked toward the source. It was the man, hand in hand with the woman. He looked very happy. Vulpix looked at him, but he ignored it and continued past them.
When they were out of sight, Vulpix laid down and hid its face with its paws. It tensed as Nick dared to pet and comfort it, but soon relaxed. It recovered after a while and sat up. It looked around at the others.
"I'm sorry Vulpix, but I hope we can become friends. I am Nick. This is Blaze, Light, Cream, and Ace," Nick said, pointing to them respectively.
"Hello," Ace said.
Cream nodded in greeting, as did Blaze.
"Hi," Light said.
"H-hi, my name is Red," she said. Light translated to Nick.
"Well welcome to the team, Red," Nick said, laughing at Red's startled face. "Light can talk to me through telepathy."
Red nodded, now understanding. Every head turned to Nick has he gave a large yawn. Light, Blaze, and Ace chuckled, remembering the reason for his tiredness.
"Well, let's go on to the room and get some sleep," Nick said.
Red sat down in front of Nick, but he started walking down the hall. "Isn't he going to put us back in the Pokeballs?" she asked.
Blaze shook his head, "No, Nick likes to keep us out where we can be with him."
They headed after Nick and into the room. Blaze and Light called the couch at the same time, and finally decided it was big enough for both of them. Red jumped up into a padded chair, while Cream went to a corner. Ace found a roosting spot on the windowsill. Light fell asleep quickly.
(0)
Light yawned as they walked down the road. They had woken early, as they had for three days now, in order to try and reach Fuchsia City faster. Light would have rather slept in, but Nick insisted, though Light could see bags starting to appear under his eyes.
Today, they would be entering Vermilion City, but they wouldn't even be staying in the Pokemon Center there, as Nick had defeated Lt. Surge already. Light would enjoy a night on a soft cushion.
Light was also itching for a battle. The trainers they had met didn't want to battle Nick, so Light hadn't been able to have an actual battle in a while. Red didn't need any battle training, and actual liked battle, unlike Cream. Unfortunately, no battles meant they couldn't find out how powerful Red was, though she was quick to boast about how strong she was.
As they entered the city, they saw a few people jogging around a patch of bare ground that was fenced off. A few Machop were running after them. Nick laughed and Blaze chuckled. "What's so funny?" Red asked.
Guessing the question, Nick said, "Those people were here four months ago, doing exactly what they're doing now. They say that they're building something, but they still haven't made any progress."
Light chuckled with them. The laughter was contagious and soon everyone was laughing, including Cream.
Soon, they saw the exit of the town. However, a young boy was standing in the exit. He had a twig in his mouth and his cap was pulled slightly over his face. Light thought he may be trying to look cool, but in his opinion, the boy had failed. The boy also appeared to be waiting for someone.
As they were about to pass the boy, he started and stopped them by stepping in front of him. "Hold on. To go any farther, you have to beat me," the boy said, pointing at himself.
The boy's attitude was starting to irritate Light. No one could just push them around. He stepped forward, ready to teach him not to test them, when he heard, "No, Light. I want to test Red's strength. Are you up for it Red?"
Red nodded and scraped the ground, ready for a fight. She stepped forward and took Light's place. The boy threw a Pokeball out and a small brown creature appeared. It sucked a paw and had a mark on its forehead.
Light was wondering what it was when the boy yelled, "Teddiursa, use Slash!"
And the fight began. Red sidestepped the attack and waited for a command. Nick slapped his face. "Uh oh, I forgot to learn Red's moves," he said in a low voice. In a slightly louder voice, he said, "Red, attack!"
Red glanced at him, confused for a second, before attacking. She formed a Flamethrower and shot it at the Teddiursa. It hit and the Teddiursa was scorched in the flame. Before it could recover from the attack, Red disappeared in the ground.
Teddiursa looked around and saw Red gone. Not realizing she had used Dig, it looked around completely confused. Red suddenly appeared under it and hit it. Teddiursa flew back and hit a section of fence. It fainted on contact.
"Teddiursa, return," the boy said. He pulled out another Pokeball and threw it, "Go, Sandslash!" A medium sized Pokemon appeared. It was yellow and brown and had long claws as hands.
Red's tails flew up and six small, blue flames appeared. Soon, the flames went sailing at Sandslash. The Sandslash expertly dodged them, but they changed course and hit it. Instead of doing damage, Light saw they left burn marks where they landed.
"Sandslash, use Fury Swipes!" the boy yelled. Light covered his ears. He had forgotten how loud trainers got when battling. At least Nick was quiet.
The Sandslash lunged at Red. She dodged the first few attacks, but soon started to get hit. She skidded back as the last one hit. Red recovered quickly and jumped above the Sandslash. When she was right over him, she turned downward and started to spin. She then let loose flames down on the Sandslash. Light recognized the move as Fire Spin.
The Sandslash was trapped. The flames enclosed on it and it cried out in pain. When the flames cleared, Sandslash fainted.
Light was sure he heard a curse from the boy has he returned his Pokemon. "Okay, last one, go Mareep!" he shouted. He threw a third Pokeball and a fluffy Pokemon appeared. It had a yellowish coat and a long tail that ended with a ball.
Red started the battle the same as the last, sending out the blue flames. The Mareep dodged them, but as before, the attack changed directions and hit it.
"Mareep, use Thundershock!" he yelled.
The Mareep covered itself in lightning and then directed it at Red. Red tried to jump out of the way, but the attack still hit. Light held his breath, waiting to see if Red had been paralyzed. Luckily, Red seemed to be moving okay after the attack, so he let the breath out.
Red ran around the Mareep until she was behind it. As the Mareep prepared for a back attack, Red used Dig and disappeared underground.
"Watch out Mareep, it went underground," the boy said.
Mareep looked in every direction, looking for where it would appear. Red came up right under it and the Mareep fell to the side, the breath driven from its body. Red jumped back and crouched. She started to use a Flamethrower.
The Mareep started to get up, but didn't notice as Red's attack came at it. The attack landed, scorching its fur. The Mareep tried to get up after the attack, but the effect of the burns started and it fainted.
"Oh, no, Mareep! Return buddy, you need to rest," the boy said, returning his Pokemon.
"So, will you let us pass now?" Nick asked. Light knew if he wouldn't, the boy would get a surprise.
"Yeah, yeah, I guess you can pass," the boy said, walking back into town toward the Pokemon Center.
After he was out of sight, Nick turned to Red and gave her a pat on the head, "Great job there, Red. Sorry about the no command thing. Here, let me check your moves now." Nick pulled out his Pokedex and pointed it at Red. "Hmm, you know Dig, Flamethrower, Fire Spin, and Will-O-Wisp. Well I guess that blue flame thing was Will-O-Wisp."
Red nodded at his praise and sat down, waiting to continue. "Great job," Ace said.
"Yeah, great job," Light congratulated, surprised at how efficiently she had taken down her opponents.
"Good job," Cream said. She didn't seem to be shy around Red anymore. In fact, she seemed to only be nervous around Light now. Once again, he wondered why that was.
Soon, Nick remembered that he wanted to hurry and they set off down the path again.