Chapter 10

As we continue, we hide as we notice Ariel having Umbreon out while Silver has Croconaw. Silver says, "Tell me, sis. Is it true that Team Rocket has returned?"

"I already defeated the grunts at Azalea Town." Ariel says. "I assume you have encounters with some Team Rocket grunts while training?"

Silver grunts, "I hate the weak. Pokémon, Trainers. It doesn't matter who or what. I hate to see them hanging around. That goes for Team Rocket, too. They think they are big and tough as long as they are in a group. But get them alone, and they're weak. I hate them all."

Then he walks away, as Ariel sighs, "Still as stubborn as ever..." And then she also walks away.

When we come out of hiding, Ethan asks, "So you're telling me that Ariel is related to Silver?"

"Looks like it." Reisa says. "But they really show a great hate against Team Rocket..."

"We can ignore that for now. Let's head to Ilex Forest." I say.

In Ilex Forest, the forest is already surrounded by fog. Kris says, "This place sure is foggy..."

"I know what you mean..." Kris says. "I don't think I can see anything around here..."

We find a scientist and he says, "Oh, man...My boss is going to be angry...The Farfetch'd that cut trees for charcoal took off in the forest. Can you catch them for me? Farfetch'd have sensitive ears. If you step on a branch, they will face you. That's your chance. Sneak up from behind and catch them...Do you think you can do that?"

"Sure." We decide to help the man out, and we eventually find two of them and bring them back to the scientist.

"Wow, you got me both of them. Thank you so much! My boss' Pokemon won't obey me, because I don't have a Badge. Phew. You saved me." The scientist says.

And then a man comes and he says, "Ah, my Far and Fetch'd! You found them for us, kid? Without them, we wouldn't be able to cut trees for charcoal. Now, how can I thank you...? I know! How about the HM01 for Cut?"

Then he gives the HM to Ethan since I already have it. Ethan says, "Thank you so much. This is going to be great."

As we continue forward, we arrive at a town. We see a young Trainer instructing his Wobbuffet to stand up straight. The boy introduces himself as Benny.

"I'm taking it to the Pokemon Swap Meet. I'm going to make it as good as it looks so that it can get a good trade. I like this Wobbuffet, but I like to train a different Pokemon."

As we continue moving, we notice a herd of Tauros running past us. "What's happening?" East asks.

"It's an event called 'Running of the Tauros' If a trainer manages to touch a Tauros' horn, they can win a trophy from the mayor." A bystander says.

Then we decided to watch as all the Tauros ran into the stadium. I say, "Well, I definitely want to get into the battle."

I contacted my father and got a Tauros with me. Lillie says, "You're using one of the 30 Tauros?"

"Hold on... you have 30 Tauros?" Kris gasps.

"Yeah, don't ask me why." I sigh.

When we get to the stadium, I am battling a guy named Fernando who would have almost been crowned the winner if I didn't come. The two Tauros exchange Take Down attacks and the pair appear to be evenly matched. Fernando's Tauros begins to push my Tauros, but after another Take Down, I'm declared the winner.

After that's done, we decide to look around and just then, a lot of people come to me and ask to trade for the Tauros. I say, "Sorry, but I'm not going to trade my Pokemon."

And then we notice Benny and he hasn't traded his Wobbuffet. We decide to help him and find a trainer with a Stantler, we promise to give him a warranty when he receives Wobbuffet. However, before the trade can be done, the trainer finds a Hoothoot and decides to abandon the trade.

Just then, Team Rocket appears with a fake trade machine and they also try to steal the Pokemon. They also try to use Vacuum machines to suck the rest of the Pokeballs. I say, "Everyone! Release your Tauros!"

We all release the Tauros and they use Take Down to take down Team Rocket, the force causes Team Rocket to burst their own balloon and blast off, leaving the sack behind. A Trainer uses his Scyther to free everyone. Then, the Trainers open the sack, only to find more empty Poké Balls.

"Damn it, they trick us!" I gasp in anger. We locate Team Rocket and we battle. But just when Jessie is sending a Lickitung, much to our surprise is Benny's Wobbuffet.

"Uh oh..." I say. "This is not going to be good."

Ethan asks, "What do you mean?"

"Wobbuffet can use Counter and Mirror Coat. We have to play it smart." I say.

But when Bayleef attacks, the Razor Leaf is Countered, and Pikachu's Thunderbolt is Mirror Coated. But thanks to Togepi's Metronome, which turns out to be Hyper Beam, it finally sends Team Rocket flying.

After returning the Pokeballs, we find Benny glad to have a Lickitung as his new partner, then they bid farewell to us as we continue to go back into Ilex Forest.

While we're in the Ilex Forest, Lillie decides to capture an Oddish, because we have a Vileplume but not a Bellossom. I respect her choice and we capture the Pokemon. We also meet up with the Vermillion City Officer Jenny, who is leading the Squirtle Squad for the Fire and Rescue Grand Prix. I decided to lend her Blastoise so that they could win the grand prix. Then Reisa also gets another Squirtle who wants to join her team.

Now we're taking a lunch break before we continue to navigate our way through Ilex Forest. Lillie and I manage to find some water, but just as we get back, we find my backpack is gone. We are in a panic until we find some footprints on the ground.

"Those footprints here might be the Pokemon who stole your bag." Kris says.

"We have to get it back." I say.

We follow our footsteps until we reach another small village, we find Nurse Joy in the back of the center, looking at a bag with the ham. "Are you having some kind of problem?" East asks.

"Yeah, I put my grocery bag down and look away one second, then the ham is gone." Nurse Joy says.

"My backpack is also gone, do you think Team Rocket did this?" Lillie asks.

"No... because we found the footprints." I say as we notice the same footprints. We chase after the footprints until it is gone, so we decide to lure the Pokemon by placing food in the middle of our hiding spot.

While we wait for the night, we notice shaking and a shadow just grabs the food and leaves. "That was so fast..."

"Good thing we put the fake food there, if it notices it, it will come back." Ethan says.

And then we hear growling, and then a lot of Houndour appear in front of us. "A Houndour... A Dark and Fire Type Pokemon..." Kris says.

"Look up there!" East yells as we see what might be the leader of the pack. But it looks slightly bigger and it seems to be an alpha. The Houndour are trying to attack us, Reisa says, "Fire Pokemon are weak to Water and Rock."

She sends out Squirtle and Totodile, while I use Wooper and Seadra. All of them managed to battle the Houndour, but I was impressed by their teamwork. After defeating the four of them, the leader shows up and is growling.

"Hey, you... why don't we settle this with a one-on-one." That Houndour says.

"If you want a one-on-one, I accept your challenge." I say and send out Pikachu. The two Pokémon have a Leer stare down until Houndour uses its fire and Pikachu darts around it with Quick Attack. Pikachu's first approach fails, and he is forced to dodge a Flamethrower. Houndour narrowly evades Pikachu's Thunder attack but is left clearly exhausted.

The Houndour overhears some distant cries and they use Smog to escape. We shield our eyes and mouths from the fumes before chasing after the pack. When we arrive, we spot the same Houndour pack trying to save a Houndour that is injured by a Golem.

"Look! There's your backpack!" Reisa says.

"You're right. The reason why they're stealing stuff is because they want to help their sick friend." East says.

Looking at how the Houndour is struggling, I quickly rush towards the Houndour and bring him out of Golem's attack.

"Let me handle this." I say while using Chilling Water, hitting the Golem, causing it to run away.

"We have to check out the Houndour." I decide to check the Pokemon, but it starts to show signs of affection. The other Houndour is growling at me, but I don't care as I spray some Potions on it.

"It's burning with fever." I say while turning to the alpha. "We will bring her safe. So you should trust me."

The Alpha then stops the pack from attacking us and is about to let us go... until Team Rocket appears once more. Jessie and James send out all of their Pokémon, but the pack proves too intimidating and they run off.

After dealing with them, we arrive at the Pokemon Center. But we are surprised to see someone in front of us.

"Daisy! What are you doing here?" I gasped, and Professor Oak's Granddaughter noticed me.

"Ash! What a surprise." She says. "I'm here because one of my badges is missing."

"Badge? What do you mean by that?" Lillie asks.

Then we also realize Ethan and Kris don't know Daisy, so we introduce her to them. East says that in the things where Houndour stole, he found a badge that looks like an eclipse.

"Thank you so much." Daisy says. Ethan asks, "That is not an official Johto Gym Badge, isn't it?"

"No, I made the badge all by myself. I made badges for Titan and Alpha finding." Daisy says while noticing the Houndour. "Oh my! That must be the Alpha Houndour!"

"We met a pack and one of them was injured by a Golem. Right now it is treated with fever." I say.

"I see... but this one is good enough for me to do a report. The Eclipse Badge, why don't you take it?"

I say, "Thanks... I guess I'm going to get 18 badges again..."

"18 badges? But the League only needs 8..." Kris says.

"You're right about that, the other 10 are just for fun. And I have my first one." I turn to Daisy and asks, "So how many Titans are you finding?"

"There are going to be 5 of them, with one down, there are four more." Daisy says.

After bidding Daisy farewell, Nurse Joy comes and informs us that they're fine. However, Team Rocket appears once more in their balloon and net most of the Houndour. The alpha Houndour team up with us as I command him.

"Houndour! Use your Flamethrower to cut that rope!" Then the Houndour uses the attack to destroy the net, and then Pikachu finishes off with the Thunderbolt, sending them flying. The Houndour are grateful and overwhelm me with their continuous licking.

The next day, we are glad to see the injured Houndour feeling better, I also gave him a sausage to eat. But much to our surprise, the alph Houndour decides to make the injured one the new alpha and comes with me. I'm happy to have another Pokemon in the team.

Houndour: The Dark Pokemon: Dark and Fire Type. Around dawn, its ominous howl echoes through the area to announce that this is its territory.

Here is a new chapter, and the adventures in Ilex Forest are not finished yet. Daisy also reappears with the Titan badges like I did in Kanto. However, for the remaining 5 badges, I already have something planned for that.

Ash + Lillie's Pokemon:

Charizard x2 (In training), Butterfree x2 (One Pink), Pikachu, Lapras, Bayleef, Quilava, Furret, Hoothoot (Shiny), Ledyba, Golbat, Togepi, Flaaffy, Oddish, Hoppip, Aipom, Slowking, Pineco, Wooper, Steelix (Crystal), Scizor, Heracross, Seadra, Porygon, Blissey

Reisa's Pokemon:

Squirtle, Totodile, Marill, Quagsire, Slowking

East's Pokemon:

Hoothoot, Ledyba, Mantine

Ethan's Pokemon:

Quilava, Poliwhirl, Egg, Aipom, Sunflora

Kris' Pokemon:

Bayleef, Cubone