In this chapter, our heroes are going to go after Team Shadow so that they can save the poor Slowpoke...and while they're at it they can hopefully put an end to Team Shadow's immoral business. Sarah's got a point. Slowpokes are rather cute, though admittedly they're also lazy. Maybe they should be more like Lucy's Clefairy..she's always building things that are rather impressive...on the other hand, she also steals. Meh.
Little do they know that this is all just a sign of what's to come.
Chapter 14: Meddling Kids
Lucy and Jake raced to the Slowpoke Well. Fortunately, the grunts that were in front of the well earlier were gone.
"Did they flee once Kurt showed up?" asked Lucy.
"Apparently, I don't think things are that simple. I think there are still grunts inside the well..." answered Jake.
"What's going on? Why aren't you guarding the well? Do you want people to find out about this?!" exclaimed Larry.
"This old man came in and scared the heck out of us...we were forced to retreat..." explained a Team Shadow Grunt.
"An old man scared you down here? You have got to be kidding me..." remarked the man.
"I think we might have found who's behind this." stated Jake.
"Wait...do you think he's the one in charge of this team of criminals or do you think he's working for someone else?" asked Lucy.
"I don't know...but either way, I think that if we manage to take him down, the Slowpokes are going to get to go home..." noted Jake.
"That's good enough for me. Let's go stop this Pokemon cruelty and be heroes!" exclaimed the girl.
Jake nodded.
Together, the two of them climbed down the well.
"Let's go stop Team Shadow!" shouted Lucy.
However, as they went to stop Larry from cutting off more Slowpoke tails, they forgot about someone.
"Ugh...my back...someone help..." murmured Kurt.
Meanwhile...
"I'm sick of waiting! When is Sarah going to stop advertising those stupid Slowpoke tails?" asked Chris.
"I don't know..." answered Ned.
Suddenly, they noticed a Farfetch'd flying away.
"Wait, was that a Farfetch'd?" questioned the girl.
"That's odd, I thought Farfetch'd were in danger of becoming extinct." remarked the boy.
Shortly afterwards, a rather young boy exited a building and chased after him. He was wearing a red T-shirt and had brown hair.
"Come back, Farfetch'd!" exclaimed the boy.
"Farfetch'd!" shouted the bird. Unfortunately, it appeared that the bird Pokemon had no interest in obeying him.
"What's going on?" asked Ned.
"Oh man! My dad isn't going to be happy with me..." noted the young man.
"Huh?" inquired Chris.
Curious, she noticed the building that the boy had run out of had a sign saying "Charcoal Maker's House."
"I guess you must be his apprentice..." noted the teenage girl.
"I need to get that Farfetch'd back! If only I had wings too..." said the apprentice. Of course, in order to have wings, he would have to be a Pokemon.
"I suppose we might as well help him...we don't really have anything better to do." remarked Chris.
"I agree with you, Chris..besides, you don't get to see a Farfetch'd every day..." answered Ned. That was why they called them Farfetch'd. Well, that and they could be used to fetch sticks on account of them always holding a leek and all.
"Yeah...why are people using them for food again?" asked the teenage girl. She would never eat a Pokemon...though apparently her Fearow would. Now she knew why his name began with "Fear".
Immediately, Ned and Chris ran into the forest so that they could chase after the Farfetch'd.
However, they weren't quite sure where the Fafetch'd was. He could be anywhere in the forest.
Suddenly, Ned spotted something interesting.
As it turned out, there was a pile of eggs lying in a nest.
"You don't think that the Farfetch'd laid eggs, did you?" asked Ned.
"If so, good. There needs to be more Farfetch'd in the world." remarked Chris.
Ned decided to examine one of the eggs.
"I always wondered what Farfetch'd eggs looked like..." noted Ned. It looked like he would finally get to find out...
"Exeggcute!" exclaimed the wild Pokemon.
...but as it turned out, they weren't actually eggs, more like plant seeds.
"Aah!" screamed Ned.
"Still screaming like a little girl, I see." teased Chris.
Unsurprisingly, Ned ended up dropping the Exeggcute. Fortunately, unlike the eggs that you would find in the market, this did not make a mess on the floor.
"Exeggcute?" questioned the egg Pokemon. Was it too much to ask to go back to the nest along with the other Exeggcute? Exeggcutes were supposed to be in groups of six. Its evolution strangely only came in threes...perhaps it was easier for them to stick together that way.
Ned decided to let the Exeggcute reunite with the group.
He then scanned Exeggcute with his Pokedex.
"Exeggcute, the Egg Pokemon. Psychically linked together in groups of six, their shells are rather durable and will not spill their contents." read Ned's Pokedex.
These Exeggcute were male. And yes, for some strange reason all six of them were male. Perhaps their psychic link only allowed Exeggcute of the same gender to stick together. Or maybe it was just a coincidence.
"That's rather convenient for you, wouldn't you say?" asked Ned. That explained why the Exeggcute he picked up didn't get hurt when he dropped him.
Exeggcute nodded. How would they fight in Pokemon battles otherwise? In fact, they had a rather high defense.
"We're looking for a Farfetch'd. Have you seen him?" asked Ned.
The six Exeggcute nodded once again. Having six pairs of eyes could be very useful.
Currently, the Farfetch'd was napping on a tree.
At that very moment, the charcoal maker's apprentice showed up.
"There you are! Get down here and get back to my dad's business!" exclaimed the apprentice.
Farfetch'd shook his head.
"Darn it! Why won't he come back?" asked the boy.
"Isn't it obvious? You're planning to have him for your dinner..." remarked Chris.
"Have him for dinner? What are you talking about? I need him to cut wood so that we can make charcoal..." answered the confused charcoal maker.
"So, this isn't what this is about?" asked Ned.
"No. We don't eat Farfetch'd in Johto...we use them to make charcoal so that we can warm up our houses at night...it's particular important for us Azalea Town residents since it tends to rain rather frequently around here..." noted the apprentice.
Speaking of which, it suddenly started to rain.
"Exeggcute." remarked the egg Pokemon. It looks like the apprentice jynxed it.
Ned then remembered the Exeggcute.
"Do you need shelter?" asked Ned.
Exeggcute nodded.
"Alright then..." said the boy.
Immediately, he threw a Pokeball at the Exeggcute.
Exeggcute was caught.
"Why don't you want to come back, Farfetch'd? Surely you want to be indoors during a rain storm..." asked the apprentice.
"Farfetch'd..." murmured Farfetch'd. Considering that Team Shadow was in Azalea Town and were making money off of Slowpoke that had been taken from their trainers, it seemed like only a matter of time before a Pokemon such as Farfetch'd was next. What if they tried selling their leeks?
"What's that? Team Shadow is kidnapping Pokemon? Knowing Lucy she's probably stopping them as we speak..." noted Ned.
"Farfetch'd?" asked the bird Pokemon. In that case...
Farfetch'd returned to the apprentice.
"Thanks for the help." remarked the Charcoal Maker's son.
Immediately, they returned back to the charcoal maker's shop.
"I guess we should head back to Azalea Town too..." noted Ned.
Chris nodded. It was nice that Ned had successfully managed to capture a new Pokemon, though she got the feeling that it would be a horrible choice against the Gym Leader.
Still, maybe it would come in handy.
Meanwhile...
"What's this? Hmm...it looks like some of the kids of Azalea Town want their Slowpoke back...too bad! You can't have them!" exclaimed a Team Shadow Grunt.
"We're here to send the Slowpokes you stole back to Azalea Town, actually..." answered Jake.
"Your days of cutting off Slowpoke tails are over!" shouted Lucy.
"Oh yeah? You'll have to fight us first!" bellowed one of the Team Shadow Grunts.
"We'll send your Pokemon back to the Pokemon Center!" exclaimed another Team Shadow Grunt.
Immediately, one of the Team Shadow Grunts sent out a Zubat.
"Zubat!" exclaimed the bat Pokemon.
Another Team Shadow Grunt sent out a Geodude.
Jake sent out his Sentret while Lucy sent out her Chikorita.
"Sentret!" exclaimed Sentret.
"Chikorita!" shouted Chikorita.
Immediately, Sentret rushed towards the Zubat while Chikorita attacked the Geodude.
"Geodude!" exclaimed Geodude. Immediately, he swung his fists back and forth. He'd make a good fighting type if the Pokemon developers allowed it. But maybe he could simply settle for being a rock and a ground type, even if grass and water Pokemon were a nightmare to him.
However, Chikorita grabbed Geodude's arms with her vines.
"Geodude!" shouted the rock Pokemon. Unfortunately, Chikorita knew how to restrain him effectively.
Chikorita then fired some leaves at Geodude.
"Geodude!" exclaimed the Geodude. Those really hurt.
Unfortunately, Geodude managed to free his arms.
He proceeded to toss rocks at Chikorita, who was forced to hide behind a boulder.
"Geodude?" asked the Team Shadow Grunt's Geodude. Where did she go?
Suddenly, Chikorita hit Geodude with Vine Whip.
Geodude fainted.
"Geodude..." murmured Geodude.
"Dang it!" exclaimed the frustrated Team Shadow Grunt.
Meanwhile, Sentret was fighting against Zubat.
Immediately, Zubat sank his teeth into Sentret.
"Sentret!" exclaimed Jake's Sentret.
"Yes! That's my boy!" shouted the Team Shadow Grunt.
"Hang in there, Sentret!" demanded Jake.
In retaliation, Sentret scratched Zubat in the face.
"Zubat!" bellowed the bat Pokemon. He let go of Sentret.
Sentret then grabbed Zubat by the legs, preventing him from flying away.
"Zubat!" shouted the poison and flying Pokemon. Sentret was too heavy.
Sentret then flew Zubat at a nearby boulder.
Zubat fainted.
"Zubat..." murmured the bat Pokemon.
"Awww..." said the unfortunate Team Shadow Grunt.
Immediately, the two retreated and told Larry the bad news.
"We're under attack! Two children are here to rescue the Slowpokes!" exclaimed the unfortunate Team Shadow Grunts.
"Two brats are after our Slowpoke? Well, judging from the panicked expressions from your faces, you lost to them, didn't you? Your incompetence baffles me." remarked Larry.
The two Shadow Grunts drooped their heads sadly.
"Well then, let's see if they can defeat every single grunt inside this well! I'll be making sure that none of the Slowpoke will be heading back to Azalea Town anytime soon..." said Larry.
Immediately, the Team Shadow Grunts took the Slowpoke and placed them inside some cages.
"Slowpoke..." murmured the depressed Slowpokes.
"They're not getting the Slowpoke without this key!" remarked Larry.
Quickly, he pulled out a key to demonstrate to the Team Shadow Grunts.
"So...if they want to rescue the Slowpoke, they'll have to defeat you?" asked one of the grunts.
"Exactly." answered Larry.
"Wait, wasn't there a girl who went to advertise the Slowpoke tails?" inquired another Grunt.
"I'll go call her..." answered the man.
Immediately, he gave Sarah a phone call.
Meanwhile...
"So...how are you feeling?" asked Sarah.
"Togepi!" exclaimed Sarah's Togepi. She was feeling absolutely ecstatic.
Still, Azalea Town seemed to be vacant of a particular type of Pokemon...she wasn't quite sure which one.
Where exactly were they?
At that very moment, Sarah received a phone call from Larry.
"Hello?" asked Sarah.
"Where are you! We need you over at the Slowpoke Well, pronto! There are two kids who actually know how to be effective Pokemon trainers...unlike my grunts." answered Larry.
"So, you need reinforcements?" asked Sarah.
"I'm not ending this operation simply because two kids think it's wrong for me to harvest Slowpoketails!" exclaimed Larry.
"You got it!" shouted the girl. For some strange reason she got the feeling that she had met those two kids before...where exactly had she done that?
Immediately, she went to the Slowpoke Well so that she could assist the man in charge of harvesting Slowpoketails. Her employers would appreciate her help...even if she didn't approve of cutting off Slowpoke tails herself, especially now that she had a Slowpoke of her very own.
Carefully, she climbed down the ladder.
Surprisingly, she didn't end up falling down the well.
"Well, that's a relief. I was worried that I was going to take a tumble and hurt myself. I guess today's my lucky day." remarked Sarah.
"You can say that again." answered Kurt.
"Totodile?" asked the crocodile. Who said that.
"Huh?" inquired Sarah.
Curious, she noticed that there was an old man lying on his back nearby.
"Ugh...I'm too old to be going out on Pokemon adventures..." noted Kurt.
"What happened?" asked Sarah.
"I fell on my back and now I can't get up..." answered the old man.
"Reminds me of a Squirtle..." noted the Team Shadow Grunt.
"I bet if the Team Shadow Grunts saw me like this, they'd probably be laughing at me..." remarked Kurt.
"Funny you should mention that..." said Sarah.
"Wait, you're a Team Shadow Grunt, aren't you? Why aren't you cutting off Slowpoke tails?" asked the old man.
"I'm not really into that...' answered the girl. She wasn't willing to admit it to the other Team Shadow Grunts though. It made her feel left out.
"Togepi!" exclaimed Sarah's Togepi. She felt that she should give him a helping hand.
"Huh? You want me to help? Um, sure..." nodded Sarah.
Immediately, Togepi moved her hands back and forth. They began to glow.
"What are you doing?" asked the girl.
Shortly afterward, Kurt's back began to feel better.
Pretty soon, he was able to get back up again.
"Thanks. For a Team Shadow Grunt you're not so bad...do you know where the Slowpokes are being held?" asked Kurt.
"Somewhere deeper inside the well, I believe. Wait, what am I saying?" inquired Sarah.
"Thanks." answered Kurt as he went to rescue the Slowpoke.
"We...might not have thought things through." stated Sarah.
"Togepi?" asked Sarah's Togepi. She figured that the citizens of Azalea Town would be grateful to have their Slowpoke back.
Meanwhile...
Two more Shadow Grunts attempted to block Lucy and Jake's path. These ones were female.
"Not so fast, twerps!" exclaimed one of the female Team Shadow Grunts.
"You're not getting past us!" answered another one of the grunts.
One of the Team Shadow Grunts sent out an Ekans while another sent out a Oddish.
"Ekans!" exclaimed the snake Pokemon.
"Oddish!" shouted the odd Pokemon.
"This looks like a job for Cyndaquil." noted Jake.
"I think I'll use Mareep." answered Lucy. She had a feeling that this would be a good Pokemon to use.
"Cyndaquil!" exclaimed the quill Pokemon.
"Mareep!" shouted the sheep Pokemon.
Immediately, Ekans attempted to wrap herself around Mareep.
This backfired spectacularly.
"Ekans!" exclaimed the snake Pokemon.
"I figured that wool of yours would come in handy..." noted Lucy.
"Mareep!" shouted the electric Pokemon.
This left Ekans paralyzed.
"Mareep, Thundershock!" exclaimed Lucy.
"Mareep!" shouted the sheep Pokemon.
Immediately, Ekans ended up being zapped.
"Ekans!" exclaimed the snake Pokemon.
Ekans fainted. Her scales were not a good insulator for electricity, unfortunately.
Likewise, Oddish went up against Cyndaquil.
"Oddish!" exclaimed the odd Pokemon.
Unfortunately, she had a type advantage. This was a grass Pokemon going up against a fire Pokemon. Apparently the trainer did not think things through.
Immediately, she used Absorb on Cyndaquil, draining him of energy.
However, this was not very harmful.
"Cyndaquil?" asked the fire Pokemon. He hardly felt that.
In retaliation, he used Ember on Oddish.
Oddish fainted.
"Anyone else want to join the fray?" asked Larry.
Two Team Shadow Grunts volunteered.
"Let's get 'em!" exclaimed one of the grunts.
"Yeah! We'll use the Pokemon that we got from that salesman!" shouted the other Team Shadow Grunts.
Immediately, they sent out their Magikarp.
"Magikarp!" exclaimed the fish Pokemon.
"Um, how are they supposed to fight?" asked Lucy.
The Magikarps splashed about.
"Oh well. Mareep, use Thundershock again!" exclaimed the girl.
Mareep used Thundershock, and both of the Magikarp went down.
"Magikarp..." murmured the water Pokemon. Why did the Magikarp Salesman keep selling them to Pokemon trainers when they weren't useful for combat? If only they could evolve into Gyarados someday.
"I think we got scammed..." remarked one of the unfortunate Grunts.
"You fools! Now I'm going to have to deal with these kids myself!" yelled Larry. He was rather angry at his grunt's incompetence.
At that very moment, Sarah showed up.
"Or not. How convenient for me. You there! Take care of the boy! I'll take on the girl..." stated Larry.
"You got it!" exclaimed Sarah.
Immediately, she sent out her Sandshrew.
"Sandshrew, go!" shouted the girl.
"Sandshrew!" exclaimed the sandy Pokemon.
"I already managed to take out the other grunts..." pointed out Jake.
"Sandshrew?" questioned the shrew Pokemon. If that was the case, he wasn't liking his odds.
"Go, Sentret!" exclaimed Jake.
"Sentret!" shouted the sentry Pokemon.
Immediately, he lunged towards Sandshrew with his claws.
However, Sandshrew was able to roll up into a ball to defend himself.
He then began using Rollout on Sentret.
"Sentret!" exclaimed the normal Pokemon as he fell over.
"Now that's more like it!" exclaimed Larry. Why couldn't his grunts be as competent as Sarah was?
Since Sentret had fallen over, Sandshrew seized his opportunity by using Fury Swipes.
"Sandshrew!" exclaimed the shrew Pokemon.
"Come on, you can do it!" shouted Sarah.
Sandshrew nodded, and used his Fury Swipes to make Sentret faint.
"Sentret..." murmured Jake's unfortunate Pokemon.
"Hahaha! It looks like we finally have the upper hand! Makes me wish I could enter the fray myself..." remarked Larry.
"Well then..." answered Lucy as she pulled out a Pokeball.
"A little girl wants to take me on? This will be a cakewalk!" taunted the executive.
"We'll just see about that..." remarked the girl.
"Zubat, take care of these brats!" exclaimed Larry. If he was lucky he would be able to send the little girl back home to her mother.
"Zubat!" shouted the bat Pokemon.
"Mareep, I choose you!" spoke Lucy.
"Mareep!" shouted Mareep as she was sent out from her Pokeball.
"Zubat..." murmured the flying Pokemon. He got matched up with an electric type...
"You may have a type advantage...but I'll beat you!" exclaimed Larry.
"Mareep?" questioned the sheep Pokemon. Was Larry going to win?
"Zubat, use Bite!" ordered Larry.
Zubat nodded and went flying straight towards Mareep.
However, this backfired on Zubat.
"You went for the wool, didn't you?" questioned Larry.
"Zubat..." murmured the bat Pokemon. Maybe he should have gone for the face.
Mareep then proceeded to attack Zubat with lightning, which he just barely managed to avoid.
"Zubat!" exclaimed the cavern-dwelling Pokemon. He was dealing with some heavy firepower...or electric power in this case.
"I'll teach you a lesson about meddling in our business!" bellowed Larry.
In the next chapter, we're going to see how these battles turns out. Of course, considering that our heroes are going to be trying to get their second Johto badge in the next chapter, you can take a good guess.
Still, this is only a sign of things to come. Team Shadow will be showing up again.