In this chapter, our protagonists are going to arrive in Azalea Town. However, before they battle the Gym Leader, there's a problem that they need to contend to. Fortunately, there's a man in Azalea Town whose willing to help them. His name is Kurt, of course, and he makes Pokeballs out of Apricorns. Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea for our heroes to pick some off of trees so that they can give them to Kurt. On the other hand, it takes him a whole day to make him a single Pokeball even though you can get Pokeballs in bulk at the Poke Mart...why is Kurt so slow?
Chapter 13: All's Well That Ends Well
"So, let me get this straight...you're using a well that's full of Slowpoke for the purpose of collecting their tails?" questioned Sarah.
"Yes. Of course, some of my men have stolen some of the Slowpoke belonging to the residents there...I don't really see why they would do that considering that there are plenty of wild Slowpoke inside the well...I just hope that we don't attract unwanted attention..." answered Sarah's boss.
"OK. So what do you want me to do?" asked the girl.
"Go get some Slowpoke tails." answered her employer.
Sarah nodded and went to go get some Slowpoke tails.
Sure enough, there were several Team Shadow Grunts collecting Slowpoke tails.
"These are going to make us rich!" exclaimed the Grunts.
Supervising these grunts was a Team Shadow Executive...known as Larry. Larry had a green mohawk and was rather skinny. He was wearing the Team Shadow uniform. However, he was also carrying a badge bearing a S on it to indicate his high rank.
He was clearly enjoying giving orders to the various grunts. He also lost his temper whenever a Team Shadow Grunt did something he didn't like...and he took it out on them.
One of the Team Shadow Grunts dropped some Slowpoke tails on the floor.
"You idiot! Watch where you're going!" exclaimed Larry.
Sarah noted that she should watch her step so that she didn't disappoint Larry. She already knew how clumsy she was.
"Togepi..." murmured Sarah's Togepi. This man was frightening her. Why was Sarah working under him again?
"Um, are you the supervisor?" asked Sarah.
"Of course I am! Now hurry up and start selling some Slowpoke tails!" exclaimed Larry.
"You got it!" shouted the girl.
Immediately, she went looking for customers.
As she did so, she noticed that there was a Slowpoke right outside. According to the Pokedex, he was male.
Strangely, his tail had not been taken from him. Apparently, he had not been spotted by the Team Shadow Grunts yet.
Now that she thought of it, that Slowpoke looked rather cute. Perhaps she could keep it for herself instead of giving it to the Team Shadow Grunts. That way he wouldn't have to have his tail get cut off and sold for money. She had no luck selling those Slowpoke tails anyway, so she might as well try to capture one and use it as a Pokemon instead.
Having made her decision, she tossed a Pokeball at it.
"Pokeball, go!" exclaimed Sarah.
It hit the Slowpoke squarely on the head before opening. Since Slowpoke was a slacker, he did not put up much resistance. Some Pokemon were naturally easy to catch like that, unlike legendary Pokemon which could resist even the strongest of Pokeballs...except for the Master Ball. That was their weakness. Of course, Master Balls were extremely rare Pokeballs since people didn't want anyone to abuse their power, so...
"Well, that was easy...and he didn't even make a fuss...I guess that won't get any attention from my teammates. They'll probably be wondering why I'm keeping a Slowpoke for myself." thought Sarah.
"Team Shadow Grunt Sarah, where are you?! You're not slacking off, are you? I hate that from my grunts!" bellowed Larry.
"What, no? Of course not!" exclaimed Sarah.
For a moment Sarah considered going back to the well and giving Larry a status report...but she was worried that Larry would find out that she had taken a Slowpoke for herself instead of giving it to the Team Shadow Grunts so that they could start the nasty procedure of cutting off an innocent Slowpoke's tail.
There had to be something that she could do that would divert Larry's attention.
Fortunately, she had an idea.
"Maybe I should go to Azalea Town and advertise the Slowpoketails...that way I won't actually have to do that dirty job myself..." thought the girl.
That might work out for her.
"Are you coming or not? Just for the record, I hate deserters!" exclaimed Larry.
"Yikes, he's not really patient, is he?" questioned Sarah.
"Totodile!" shouted Sarah's Totodile. It would probably be best not to keep him waiting. He was not a nice man at all.
"I think maybe we should try advertising the Slowpoketails...we'll sell more of them that way." noted the girl.
"Why didn't I think of that? Go on ahead." questioned Larry.
Immediately, Sarah went to go tell people about the Slowpoketails and how valuable they were.
Near the town...
"We made it to Azalea Town!" exclaimed Lucy.
"We sure did. But who are those guys hanging outside that well?" asked Jake.
For some strange reason, they were dressed like Sarah was. Just who were they?
Suddenly, one of these shady fellows noticed him.
They pushed Lucy onto the ground, forcing her to sit down. They clearly didn't want them anywhere near the well...lucky for them, Lucy and Jake wanted to face the Gym Leader instead of going down what appeared to be a rather gloomy well.
"Get lost, kids! We're busy here!" exclaimed a Team Shadow Grunt.
"Alright, sheesh!" shouted Lucy as she helped herself to her feet.
"Clefairy!" exclaimed Lucy's Clefairy. Why were they so rude? And why were they hanging out near the well, anyway? Did someone fall in there? If so, they could probably just get a flying Pokemon and have them lift the poor fellow out. That seemed like the best solution.
On the other hand, there seemed to be a ladder leading directly into the well. They probably wouldn't need a flying Pokemon for that. Perhaps the well was rather expansive.
Meanwhile...
"Well, it didn't take us long to get through that cave." noted Chris.
"I know..." nodded Ned. There were a few Pokemon trainers here and there, but not much else.
Immediately, they went to Azalea Town.
"I can't wait to challenge the Gym Leader!" exclaimed the teenage girl.
"That's a problem." answered Ned.
"Huh?" asked Chris.
As it turned out, there were Sarah, who was standing right in front of the entrance.
How were they going to get inside now?
"Hello! We're selling Slowpoketails! If we make enough money, we'll be selling them throughout Johto!" exclaimed Sarah.
"I didn't come here to buy tails you got from a Pokemon!" bellowed Chris.
"You...might not want to make her mad." suggested Ned.
"You sure you don't want to buy just one?" asked the teenage girl.
"Get out of the way of the gym!" bellowed Chris.
"Don't you want to buy some Slowpoketails first?" inquired Sarah.
Chris grabbed Sarah by the shirt.
"Listen here, you obnoxious advertiser! I came here to battle the Gym Leader, not buy Slowpoketails! Now stand aside so that I can get my second Gym Badge!" exclaimed Chris.
As soon as Chris acted aggressively towards Sarah, her Togepi began to cry.
"Togepi!" cried out Togepi. As a baby Pokemon, she tended to get scared rather easily. Naturally, she didn't like it when someone threatened her trainer as well.
At this point, Chris realized what she had done.
She let out a sigh.
"Alright, fine. You can advertise Slowpoketails. But I'd really like to battle the Gym Leader sooner or later." compromised Chris.
"Togepi!" cheered Sarah's Togepi. It seems that she could cry to get whatever she wanted...though she wondered if people were going to compare her to a leaky faucet if she cried too much.
Since her trainer's starter Pokemon was a Totodile maybe he could teach her how to cry on demand whether that only crying when she was upset. That might be useful.
Chris and Ned decided to leave Sarah be. She was bound to stop standing right outside the gym sooner or later.
At that very moment, Lucy and Jake showed up.
"Hi, Chris!" exclaimed Lucy.
"Hi, Ned." said Jake.
"Hey, Lucy...don't get your hopes up. Sarah's standing right in front of the Pokemon gym and I don't think that she'll let us in anytime soon..." spoke Chris.
"I guess we'll just have to find something else to do then..." noted the girl. Perhaps there were somebody that could do something useful for them?
Curious, Jake noticed that there was a sign pointing directly to a man named Kurt's house. Apparently, he made Pokeballs using Apricorns, which were grown on trees.
"So that's where Pokeballs come from..." noted Jake. Up until now he hadn't really thought where they were coming from. Apparently, though most Pokeballs nowadays were made using a machine (since there were many who wished to be Pokemon trainers regardless of age), there was nothing stopping people from making it by hand. Perhaps he could get a job doing that.
They decided to pay Kurt a visit.
Lucy knocked on the door.
"Hello?" asked Lucy. She decided to knock on the door since for some strange reason there were Pokemon trainers that just barged in houses without knocking on the doors first. On the other hand, nobody seemed to mind that. It was weird.
Still, she figured that she would be polite so that people wouldn't mistake her for a burglar. When you were rich as she was, her parents had to take many precautions to ensure that nobody would break inside their mansion.
"You can come in..." said Kurt. He appeared to be depressed about something, judging from the tone of his voice.
Jake and Lucy stepped right in.
"You're probably wanting me to make Pokeballs, aren't you?" inquired the old man.
"We sure are!" exclaimed Lucy.
"What Pokeballs do you make?" asked Jake. Pokeballs came in many flavors.
"Well, I'm afraid that I won't be able to do that for you right now. As of late, we're facing a crisis..." informed Kurt sadly.
"A crisis? What's the matter?" inquired the girl.
"Team Shadow have invaded our town." explained the old man.
"Team Shadow?" questioned Lucy.
"Hmm, you're not from these parts, are you? Where are you from?" inquired Kurt.
"We're from Kanto." answered Jake.
"I see. Well then, you've probably heard of Team Rocket, have you not?" asked the old man.
Lucy nodded. In fact, they had fought against Team Rocket and they had won.
"Well, just as Team Rocket have been causing trouble throughout Kanto, up until their disbandment after their leader had been arrested, of course, Team Shadow has been wreaking havoc throughout Johto. Take a look at these newspapers for me, will you?" asked Kurt.
Lucy and Jake decided to read through the newspapers.
Apparently, Team Shadow had robbed a bank, had stolen several Pokemon during a Pokemon tournament, and they had also broken into a museum and stolen many relics dedicated to Pokemon history.
"That's horrible." noted Lucy.
"Wait, isn't Sarah working for them?" inquired Jake.
"If that's the case, I don't think that she has been listening to her mother." answered Kurt.
"Judging from what Sarah told me about her mother, I don't think she's been advising her against anything." stated the boy.
"Anyway, we assumed that they were interested in robbing cities instead of a small town like ours, so we thought that we were safe. But unfortunately we were wrong. Team Shadow has been making money off of cutting Slowpoke tails and selling them to whoever is willing to buy them. Personally I consider it to be a barbaric practice, but apparently they don't see it that way. They just see it as a way to make money." remarked Kurt.
"How cruel!" exclaimed Lucy. She would never do something so awful to those poor Pokemon.
"Clefairy!" shouted Lucy's Clefairy. She had stolen many things, but she would never steal tails from a Pokemon.
"Mm-hmm. Unfortunately, they found out about our fair town and the well where many Slowpoke are living. They came into our town one night and started abducting our innocent Slowpoke. They then went to the well and started capturing the wild Slowpoke living there as well. At this rate, they're going to be millionaires." remarked Kurt.
"Those poor Slowpokes...they'll never be able to use their tails as fishing rods again..." noted Lucy. How would they even evolve without their tails? Don't they need a Shellder to bite into their tail for that?
"Actually, a Slowpoke is capable of regenerating their tail over time. That way they'll always be able to evolve and they won't have to worry as much if they encounter an aggressive water Pokemon while fishing. Unfortunately, this also means that the Team Shadow Grunts aren't going to be interested in letting them go. "The more Slowpoketails, the merrier", they would say." said Kurt.
"We've got to do something about this!" exclaimed Lucy.
"I appreciate your enthusiasm. I was getting ready to do that myself. Just keep in mind that you're going to be dealing with the forces of evil...personally I would not recommend children to try being heroes since being a hero can be very dangerous...but I suppose it's your choice, not mine." answered the old man.
Immediately, he left his house in order to stop Team Shadow.
"You think we should help?" asked Jake.
"Absolutely! I can't just stand by and watch those poor Slowpoke get their tails cut off!" exclaimed Lucy.
"Clefairy!" shouted Lucy's Clefairy. She had enough of this Pokemon cruelty...especially since she in fact had experienced it first hand when Team Rocket tried to sell her to corrupt clients for money.
Immediately, Lucy and Jake scrambled out the door to stop Team Shadow as well.
A few minutes later...
"Hahahahahaha!" laughed a Team Shadow Grunt outside the well. "I can't believe how easy this is! The shelves of the Pokemarts will be full of Slowpoketails in no time!"
At that very moment, another Team Shadow Grunt came in carrying a Slowpoke.
"Slowpoke!" exclaimed the wild Slowpoke. It was bad enough that his friends had fallen victim to these greedy maniacs, but now he was going to fall victim to them as well. At least his tail would grow back.
Immediately, the Team Shadow Grunt pulled out a meat cleaver.
"At least you'll live to tell the "tale"." remarked the Team Shadow Grunt.
"Slowpoke..." murmured the Slowpoke. That was not a funny joke.
"Hold it right there!" exclaimed Kurt.
"Slowpoke?" asked the water Pokemon. Had someone come to save the day? That was certainly something that he and his friends had been daydreaming about...those they weren't quite sure whether it would become a reality.
"Oh great! Some old man thinks that he can stop us...you and what Pokemon?" asked the Team Shadow Grunt.
"This one!" shouted the old man.
Immediately, he threw a Pokeball, sending out an Electrode.
"Electrode!" exclaimed Kurt's Electrode.
"He's got an Electrode! Run for it!" shouted the Team Shadow Grunts.
Immediately, the Team Shadow Grunts ran away.
Kurt recalled his Electrode shortly afterward.
"Why did I know that they were cowards?" questioned Kurt. Still, there was likely a person in charge of this particular operation that was braver than these cowardly grunts. He would probably need to be careful.
But unfortunately, he was not.
"Let's see now...hey, there's a ladder that I can use to get to the b-"
Suddenly, he lost his footing and fell directly down the well.
"Ahhhhh!" screamed Kurt. He really needed to watch where he was going.
Back at Azalea Town...
"Huh. All of a sudden I got a strange sense of deja vu..." noted Sarah.
"Totodiel!" exclaimed Sarah's Totodile. He wondered why that would be the case.
Back at the Slowpoke Well...
"Ow...my back..." murmured Kurt.
He tried to get up, but he could not. It looked like the curse of his lumbago had struck again.
"Where's Nurse Joy when you need her?" asked the man. He could really use her help right about now.
Oh wait, that was right, she was mourning the loss of her Slowpoke, which had been stolen from her while she was healing some Pokemon like always. Ironically, they had ignored her Chanseys entirely.
Unfortunately, it looked like he wasn't going to be stopping Team Shadow anytime soon. And did anyone even know that he had fallen into the well? Looking back maybe he should have told somebody where he was going.
Hopefully things would be alright...
"How I wish I were young again..." remarked the man. At least his granddaughter Maizie was still young.
Well, it looks like our heroes are about to...well, do something heroic. Kurt managed to scare off the grunts in front of the well...but unfortunately, he can't face the forces of evil now. He didn't watch where he was going and now his back is probably broken. But at least our far younger heroes can still fight the Team Shadow Grunts, right?
In the next chapter, Lucy and Jake are going to fight against Team Shadow. They've been very bad and they must be stopped! But since Sarah is a member of Team Shadow she'll stand in their way...and if they want to free the Slowpoke, they'll have to defeat Larry, the man whose in charge of this operation. Can they handle it?