In this chapter, our protagonists are going through the Union Cave. And yes, I said protagonists, not heroes. Technically, Sarah is working for the bad guys so she's not a hero per se...I suppose she's not too malicious though.
Chapter 12: United We Stand
Lucy and Jake entered the cavern, examining the cavern to see where to go next.
Something told Jake that Ned and Chris were already ahead of them. He wasn't quite sure why.
"So, this is the Union Cave? I can see why they would call it that since trainers use it to get from Violet City to Azalea Town..." noted Lucy.
"Yeah...it doesn't seem like a long path though." said Jake.
Fortunately for them, the cavern didn't seem to be a big one...at least, not a first glance. However, there was probably more to it than what they could see, judging from the bodies of water in the cavern.
Perhaps if they had a swimming Pokemon.
Speaking of swimming Pokemon...
At that very moment, a wild Poliwag emerged from the water.
"Poli poli!" exclaimed the wild Poliwag.
Lucy scanned the Poliwag with her Pokedex. Apparently, this Poliwag was female.
"Hmm, according to the Pokedex, Poliwag is the favorite Pokemon of Satoshi Tajiri. I've never heard of him, have you?" asked Lucy.
"No, I haven't. Apparently he loves Poliwags though. Maybe this Poliwag would be interested in meeting him..." suggested Jake.
Lucy decided to toss a Pokeball at the Poliwag. She thought that it was rather cute. Technically, she could have caught one of these back when she was in Kanto...but of course she would probably need a fishing rod for that, and fishing wasn't really her thing.
Besides, it seemed like she was catching enough Pokemon as it was back she was in Kanto.
However, she missed, and the Pokeball ended up falling into the water with a splash.
"Whoops!" exclaimed Lucy.
The Pokeball floated in the water, not catching any Pokemon whatsoever.
"You might want to consider working on your aim, Lucy." suggested Jake.
"Yeah, maybe I should." nodded Lucy.
The wild Poliwag took an interest in the Pokeball.
Immediately, she began to play with it, bouncing up and down.
However, she ended up setting off the capturing mechanism.
"On second thought, maybe you don't need to work on your aim after all." suggested Jake.
Fortunately for Lucy, the Poliwag didn't put in much of a struggle. It wasn't an aggressive Pokemon at all.
Eventually, there was a ding.
"Alright! I did it!" exclaimed Lucy.
Lucy's Clefairy smiled.
"Good job! But...how are you going to get the Pokeball?" inquired Jake.
"Hmm...I didn't think of that." noted Lucy. It probably wasn't a good idea to simply leave the Pokeball there. That Poliwag probably couldn't get out of the Pokeball on her own.
Fortunately, Lucy's Clefairy had a solution.
Immediately, she pulled out a fishing rod.
She then used it to grab onto the Pokeball and send it to her trainer.
"Great job! Wait, where did you get that fishing rod?" asked Lucy.
"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy.
"You stole it? What were you thinking?" questioned the girl.
"Clefairy..." explained the fairy Pokemon.
"Wait, you took this from a con artist?" asked Lucy.
Clefairy nodded. He was using it to catch Magikarp so he could sell them to gullible Pokemon trainers.
Since she didn't want it to be in the wrong hands, she decided to take it from him and maybe use it for herself. Maybe she could use it if she ever lost something and it drifted off to sea.
Meanwhile...
The Magikarp Salesman was sitting in a boat, ready to catch some more Pokemon to sell to unsuspecting Pokemon trainers.
"These are going to be real money makers, I can feel it!" exclaimed the salesman.
However, when he attempted to use the fishing rod, he discovered he no longer has one.
"What the-" exclaimed the Magikarp Salesman.
Apparently, someone had made off with his fishing rod. He had no idea who it was. Of course, he HAD seen a Clefairy taking a look at his backpack, but he assumed that the Clefairy was innocent as it looked.
Unfortunately, it looked like it was just going to have to go back and get a new fishing rod.
However, as he attempted to row his beat back to shore, he suddenly encountered a wild Gyarados.
Unfortunately for him, she was unhappy that he was selling her children to potentially irresponsible Pokemon trainers.
The Gyarados let out a roar.
"I want my mommy!" screamed the Magikarp Salesman.
Elsewhere, Ned suddenly felt like someone was getting what he deserved.
Back at Union Cave...
"Gee, I sure hope that he's alright." remarked Lucy.
"Maybe..." nodded Jake.
At that very moment, Sarah showed up. Apparently, she wasn't selling Slowpoke tails anymore.
"Hey Sarah! Did you give up on selling Slowpoke tails?" asked Lucy.
"Sort of...a group of thugs dressed in white came and robbed me..." answered Sarah.
"Team Rocket? I thought we disbanded them..." suggested Jake.
"Wait, isn't that them over there?" inquired the girl.
Sure enough, the trio seemed to be searching for Jake. Of course, if he had learned anything about Pokemon trainers, it was that he could avoid a fight if he could avoid being spotted.
Jake's eyes widened in surprise. Apparently Sarah wasn't kidding when she said that she had encountered Team Rocket.
Currently, Sarah's Totodile was playing with a ball that he had discovered lying on the floor. It did seem peculiar that someone would leave it there.
Not only that, but it didn't deflate regardless of how much he nibbled on it. However, he found it to be a pleasant surprise.
His curiosity only increased when the ball suddenly began to move around on its own.
"Totodile?" inquired Sarah's Totodile. He was starting to wonder if this was something he should be playing with.
As it turned out, it was a wild Sandshrew the whole time. And he was a male Sandshrew as indicated by Sarah's Pokedex...so she wasn't paying attention to her Pokedex right now.
"Sandshrew!" exclaimed Sarah's Sandshrew. Why did he feel like he had been slobbered?
At that very moment, the wild Sandshrew noticed the Totodile.
Immediately, he pulled out his claws.
"Totodile!" exclaimed Sarah's Totodile.
In retaliation, he started snapping his teeth.
Sarah raised an eyebrow.
"Totodile, are you picking fights with wild Pokemon again?" asked Sarah.
"Totodile!" exclaimed Sarah's Totodile. It was good exercise.
"Well, at least you're fighting an opponent that you have an advantage against...wait, why is this Sandshrew in a cave full of water?" asked Sarah.
"Sandshrew!" exclaimed the wild Sandshrew. He figured it was a better idea to face your fears instead of running away from them..like the Totodile he was facing that had rather strong jaws.
Speaking of those jaws...
Suddenly, the wild Sandshrew grabbed onto Totodile's jaws, preventing him from opening them. He was a very smart Sandshrew, apparently.
"Totodile!" exclaimed Totodile. It looked like he had discovered his weakness..just like Totodile knew his. Now he couldn't open his mouth and shoot water at the wild Pokemon.
"Do you need help?" asked Sarah.
Totodile nodded.
Sarah tossed a Pokeball at Sandshrew, thus releasing Totodile's jaws.
Shortly afterward, there was a ding. Apparently Sandshrew liked it inside the Pokeball.
Unfortunately, Team Rocket had heard the commotion.
"What's going on out there?" asked Meowth.
At that very moment, they spotted Jake.
"Oh it's you! Because of you our leader is stuck in a jail cell!" bellowed James.
"Team Rocket is ruined because of you! We want revenge!" exclaimed Jessie.
"Hand over your money or prepare to fight!" shouted Meowth.
"I guess we're going to have to fight..." noted Jake.
"Well, they do owe me new Slowpoketails...they cost one million dollars each..." remarked Sarah.
"One million dollars per tail?! Maybe we could start a new Team Rocket!" yelled out the cat Pokemon.
"Wait, did that Meowth just talk?" asked the girl. For some strange reason she hadn't noticed it earlier.
"He's not like most Pokemon..." noted Jake.
"Would you be interested in learning how to talk?" inquired Sarah.
"Totodile..." answered Sarah's Totodile. He thought that actions spoke a lot louder than words.
"Go, Arbok!" exclaimed Jessie.
"Go, Weezing!" bellowed James.
Immediately, they sent out Arbok and Weezing.
"Arbok!" shouted the snake Pokemon.
"Weezing!" exclaimed the gas Pokemon.
"Funny, I have a Pokemon that looks a bit like that..." questioned Sarah.
"Huh?" asked Jessie.
Immediately, she sent out her Ekans.
"Ekans!" exclaimed Ekans.
"Thst was what my Arbok looked like...before it evolved." answered Jessie.
"Oh...this makes so much sense now." nodded Sarah.
Unfortunately for Sarah, it seemed that Ekans was frightened of her evolution.
"Ekans! Ekans!" exclaimed Sarah's Ekans.
"Hmm. I think you're right. We should probably come up with a better matchup..." suggested Sarah.
Sarah withdrew her Ekans.
"Hmm, if Arbok is a poison type, then I might know what to do." remarked the girl.
She sent out her Sandshrew.
"Sandshrew!" exclaimed Sandshrew. He had only been a trained Pokemon for a few minutes, and yet he was already being sent out for a Pokemon battle.
Well, he already knew how to defend himself.
Jake decided to send out his Wooper.
"Whoopee!" exclaimed Wooper.
"Did you just say Whoopee?" asked Jake.
"Whoopee!" shouted the water Pokemon.
"Any other human words you've picked up?" inquired the boy.
Wooper shook his head. Not yet.
"OK..." answered the boy.
Immediately, Arbok used Poison Sting to attack the duo.
However, Sandshrew rolled up into a ball and shielded himself. They bounced harmlessly off of his armored yellow hide.
In Wooper's case, since it essentially covered itself with poison whenever it stepped out of the water, this didn't hurt him at all.
Speaking of water, he would like to go for a swim in this cavern. It sounded like fun.
"Darn it! This isn't working!" exclaimed Jessie.
"Let me try! Weezing, use Smokescreen!" ordered James.
Weezing released smoke from his mouth, hoping that he would gain the advantage if Sandshrew and Wooper couldn't see.
"Sandshrew?" asked Sandshrew. Did someone light a fire and forget to put it out?
Fortunately, Wooper was willing to get rid of the smoke with his water gun.
"Hey, Lucy! Are you going to give us a hand?" asked Jake.
"I am...Clefairy's locked into a battle with Meowth..." answered Lucy.
"That's MY coin! Get your own, punk!" exclaimed Meowth.
"Clefairy!" shouted Lucy's Clefairy. Being the kleptomaniac she was, she was trying to take Meowth's coin because of how valuable it looked.
"Carry on then." said Jake.
Noticing that Weezing was shaped like a balloon, Sandshrew decided to try hitting Weezing with his claws.
This caused Weezing to self-destruct.
Fortunately for Sandshrew, he knew at some level what would happen and he rolled up into a ball to shield himself from the blast.
Weezing fainted.
"Oh no! Weezing! Time for me to send out my Victreebel!" exclaimed James.
"Victreebel!" shouted James's Victreebel as she materialized from her Pokeball.
Immediately, she started hugging James tightly.
"Aah! Let go of me!" bellowed James.
"That's one affectionate Victreebel." remarked Sarah.
"Totodile!" exclaimed Sarah's Totodile. Of course, he was a rather affectionate Pokemon too. That's why he decided to partner up with Sarah since she was rather affectionate as well. Apparently, starter Pokemon reflected their trainers.
Immediately, Wooper began to feel rather scared.
"What's the matter?" asked Jake.
"Wooper..." murmured the water Pokemon.
"Oh, that's right. You're a water and a ground type...I think it would probably be best for you to stay off the field when there's a grass Pokemon around..." remarked the boy. Those would not a hard time fighting Wooper at all.
Jake recalled Wooper so that he could send out another Pokemon.
He thought that Cyndaquil would be just perfect.
"Go, Cyndaquil!" exclaimed Jake.
"Cyndaquil!" shouted Jake's Cyndaquil.
"Arbok, use Wrap!" ordered Jessie.
Arbok wrapped itself around Cyndaquil.
This was not a good idea at all.
Suddenly, Cyndaquil lit his back on fire.
"Arbok!" exclaimed Arbok.
Arbok suffered burns and fainted.
"What was I thinking?" asked Jessie.
"Apparently, you weren't thinking." remarked Jake.
Jessie withdrew her Arbok and sent out her Lickitung.
"Licky licky!" exclaimed Jessie's Lickitung.
Meanwhile, Sarah realized that she should send out a different Pokemon to combat Victreebel. Sandshrew wasn't looking forward to getting hit by those vines.
She recalled her Sandshrew and sent out her Ekans.
"Ekans?" asked Ekans. Was the Arbok gone?
"Yes, the Arbok is gone. You should be safe now." answered Sarah.
"Ekans!" exclaimed the snake Pokemon. She felt so much better now.
Immediately, she bit into Victreebel.
"Victreebel!" exclaimed the pitcher Pokemon. At least she wasn't being bitten by Totodile. Just look at all the teeth that he had.
Nearby, Lickitung attempted to lick Cyndaquil...but he only succeeded in burning his tongue.
"Lickitung!" exclaimed the long-tongued Pokemon.
This gave Cyndaquil the opportunity to hit Lickitung with Ember.
Lickitung fainted.
Cyndaquil then turned his attention to Victreebel, which he knew that he had a type advantage against.
He hit Victreebel with Ember as well.
Victreebel fainted too.
"Darn it! We lost!" exclaimed James.
"I guess our luck isn't getting any better..." remarked Jessie.
At that very moment, Meowth managed to break Clefairy's hold over his coin.
"Let's scram!" exclaimed Meowth.
Together, the trio retreated.
"It's a shame I didn't get my Slowpoke tails back..." remarked Sarah. That was what she was hoping for.
"Totodile..." murmured Sarah's Totodile. They weren't selling well anyway.
"Well, if you need me I'll be at Azalea Town!" exclaimed the girl.
Immediately, Sarah and Totodile left the Union Cave.
"I guess we better get going." noted Lucy.
"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy.
Jake nodded. It was time to head out to Azalea Town.
Meanwhile...
Sarah made it to Azalea Town, happy to make it to the Slowpoke Well.
However, she had yet to discover any Team Shadow Grunts.
Suddenly, she heard a cracking noise.
"Huh?" asked the girl.
She decided to check out the egg that she was holding.
"Totodile, did you damage the egg?" inquired Sarah.
"Totodile?" asked Totodile. He had not bitten into the egg at all.
More cracks rapidly began to appear on the egg.
"I think we might have company..." noted the girl.
At that very moment, a Pokemon hatched from the egg.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Sarah.
"Togepi!" shouted the newborn Pokemon.
Sarah scanned the baby Pokemon with her Pokedex. She did not know that Pokemon hatched from eggs. Of course, she wouldn't be surprised if Totodile hatched from one. He was a reptile...though he didn't seem to mind cool environments.
"Togepi, the Spike Ball Pokemon. It is considered to be a good luck charm, as it is filled with happiness. Unlike other Pokemon, it does not discard its eggshell!" explained Sarah's Pokedex.
This Togepi was a girl.
Curious, Togepi picked up the Pokedex and began to examine it. She was curious why there was an image of herself on the screen.
"Aww! You're so adorable! Would you like to be my Pokemon?" asked Sarah. She did look like after her while she was in her egg.
"Togepi!" exclaimed Togepi. It looked like the answer was yes.
Sarah happily accepted her new Pokemon.
She probably wouldn't be able to use it for battle..but that would just be fine.
"I wonder if I'm going to catch more baby Pokemon like this..." thought Sarah.
It looks like Sarah has caught a baby Pokemon. Hooray. Also, Sarah and Lucy have caught a new Pokemon in Union Cave. No doubt that they will be useful for Pokemon battling.
In the next chapter, Team Shadow is going to be causing trouble...it's time for our protagonists to be heroes...except for maybe Sarah.