It had been 3 days since Izaya and Argos had set off on their adventure. Izaya walked down the path of the Viridian Forest, a smile on his face. Argos wasn't too far away, running in the grass and pouncing on anything that moved. Some wild Pidgey flew out of a tree, causing Argos to bark towards them, as if he was driving them away. Izaya chuckled, readjusting his backpack as he walked.
Suddenly, Argos stopped.
"What's wrong, boy?" Izaya asked, stopping and looking at Argos, who seemed to be sniffing the air.
Argos shook his head and began growling.
"What is it?" Izaya looked back in front of him surveying the scene. And that's when he saw it. A man on a bicycle was quickly approaching them. Though, it wasn't just any man. It was a police officer.
"Just follow my lead," Izaya said, remembering that Argos was an escaped police canine. Argos seemed to understand because he began walking beside Izaya.
Izaya turned his head to the ground as the man drew closer and closer. Argos did the same.
Once the officer had passed them, Izaya let out a sigh of relief.
"Well, that was lucky," He said. But he had spoken too soon.
"Growlie?" A voice came from behind Izaya. Izaya turned around to see the officer getting off of his bike and walking towards the duo.
Argos whimpered, but kept turned away from the officer.
"It is you, Isn't it?" The officer smirked, continuing to walk forward, "That's the last time you escape, Growlie."
"His name is Argos," Izaya said under his breath. The officer didn't seem to hear him.
The officer grabbed Argos by a tuft of hair to which Argos responded with a yelp and some whimpers.
"Come on, Growlie," The officer said, "I'm gonna teach you a lesson."
"His name is Argos!" Izaya yelled at the officer, stepping forward and pushing him off of Argos.
As soon as Argos was freed, the Growlithe turned and fled.
"Argos! Wait!" Izaya yelled, turning to run. But it was too late. Within seconds the officer was on top of Izaya, pinning him to the ground.
"You rotten kid! You're interfering with official police matters!" Rather than doing the professional thing, the officer raised a fist and brought it down onto Izaya's face, getting revenge from when Izaya shoved him.
Izaya let out a cry of pain. "Argos!" He yelled, hoping that Growlithe would come back.
What happened next was a complete blur to Izaya. He rememebered hearing a growling sound and then a blur of orange. Then there was nothing but the screams of the officer. Izaya quickly got to his feet and began running.
"Argos! Come on!" He yelled, running as fast as he could. He could hear the panting of Argos right next to him, assuring him that the canine had made it away safely.
-.-
It was night time now. Izaya and Argos had managed to find a hiding spot in the Viridian Forest, which wasn't too hard, given that it was a forest. They rested underneath a tree.
"Thank you, Argos," Izaya said, looking towards Growlithe, "You saved me."
Argos was laying on the ground next to Izaya. He looked up at Izaya, showing understanding.
"Was that your previous owner?" Izaya asked, though he knew the answer.
Argos whimpered some more, showing that he didn't want to talk about it.
"Well, you have me now," Izaya said, "And I promise I won't let anyone hurt you."
Argos raised a paw, resting it on Izaya's lap, almost as if promising the same thing.
-.-
The sun had began rising in the Viridian Forest. Izaya and Argos had stayed the night underneath the tree. Argos opened his eyes, giving out a light yawn. A bush rustled next to him and he turned his head. Immediately he was on guard, stepping in front on the sleeping Izaya and growling towards the sound. Of course, the growling woke Izaya up.
"W- What is it, boy," Izaya stood, hoping the police officer wasn't back again.
Out from the bushes stepped a man in all black. He had a large red "R" on the front of his shirt. He looked at Izaya and Argos smiling.
"You're the kid who took on that Police Officer, right?" He asked, genuinely interested.
Izaya was hesitant of answering him. He had heard of these people. Team Rocket. Criminals.
"Y- Yeah," He said, keeping a steady eye on the crook. Argos continued growling at the man.
"You know, he's dead, right?" The thug smiled as he said this.
"W- What?" Izaya said, surprised at this.
"Yeah. Bled out. That Growlithe gives a vicious bite," He said, taking a step forward, "You know, Team Rocket is always looking for new recruits. You're already a criminal for killing a police officer. They're gonna be looking for you. We can help you. We can keep you safe."
Izaya couldn't believe this. He was actually being offered to join a criminal organization. However, his instincts told him not to trust this guy.
"Uhm," Izaya began, "I- I can't. I won't. I'm not going to join you guys."
The man let out a grunt, "Well then, I guess I'll just have to take that Growlithe off of your hands." He reached for his belt, taking out a poke ball.
"Go, Ekans!" He threw the poke ball, a small snake coming out of the poke ball.
As soon as the Pokemon was released, Argos jumped towards it, catching the snake in it's teeth. The Ekans struggled between the jaws of Argos, letting out cries for help. Argos eyed the Team Rocket Grunt, threatening to kill the snake pokemon if he didn't retreat.
"E- Ekans!" The man yelled, "Come back!" And just like that, the battle was over.
"We- We'll be back for you!" The man yelled, "And we'll get your Growlithe."
Argos barked, taking a step forward, scaring the thug. The man took a step back.
"You'll regret not joining Team Rocket!" He yelled, turning and running to get help for his injured Ekans.
Izaya took a step towards Argos. "T- Thanks again, boy," he said, "That's the second time in the past 24 hours." Izaya smiled.
"Bravo!" Another voice came from the shadows, "That was quite a battle!"
Argos turned, growling at the voice, not sure if it was another Team Rocket cohort.
"Are you a Pokemon trainer?" The voice stepped out from the shadows, revealing a tall, slender man in his mid 20's. He wore jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. A large Arcanine walked beside him.
"N- No..." Izaya said, still questioning this person's intent, "Why do you ask?"
"Well," The man began, "Your Growlithe took out that Ekans like it was nothing. And I think you have what it takes to become a great Pokemon trainer."
"You think so?" Izaya asked. He had never considered becoming a Pokemon trainer.
He looked over to see Argos sniffing the Arcanine, admiring it's superior. Izaya smiled, realizing that this guy was not a threat.
"I know potential when I see it," He said, sticking out his hand, "The name's Lance. I'm the leader of the Pokemon League."
Izaya shook his hand, "R- Really?" He couldn't believe he was shaking the leader of the Pokemon League's hand. "M- My name's Izaya. Izaya Elkins."
"Listen, about that officer back there," Lance began, "He was crooked. And I have connections. You won't have to worry about any trouble from the police."
"Thank you," Izaya said, "Thank you so much." He honestly couldn't believe that this was happening. At one moment he was a fugitive and the next he was free to go.
"Just promise me that you'll do your best to be the best," Lance said.
"I promise," Izaya said, "I'll work hard, sir." The more Izaya thought about it, the more becoming a Pokemon trainer made sense. He didn't have anywhere to live in the first place, so becoming a Pokemon trainer would allow him to travel and make some money in the process.
"I look forward to challenging you later on," Lance said, "But for now you have to work on beating the 8 gyms before the League. The first gym is up ahead in Pewter City. His name's Brock and he uses Rock type Pokemon. I have faith that you can handle it."
"Thank you, sir," Izaya said, smiling. He was really going to do this. He was gonna become a Pokemon trainer.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get going," Lance pulled out a pokeball, releasing a Pidgeot from the ball. He then withdrew another ball, withdrawing the Arcanine. He mounted the Pidgeot and nodded towards Izaya, "Don't let me down." And with that, he was gone.
"Did you hear that Argos?" Izaya looked at Argos, "I'm gonna be a Pokemon trainer!"
Argos yelped in excitement.
"Now come on!" Izaya said, "Let's go get out first badge!"