Hey guys, TheDoctor1998 here with another chapter. So, Cinder has made it to Viridian City with her wounded Pikachu, and you all know what's going to happen next. Now, on with the show!
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Cinder was walking as fast as she dared, carrying Pikachu in one arm while using her cane to watch out for any hazards that her Aura might miss. Just when she entered the city limits she heard a voice ejecting from some speakers.
"Attention citizens of Viridian City, attention citizens of Viridian City. We have reports of possible Pokémon thieves in our area. Be on the lookout for suspicious looking strangers, and please report any and all suspicious activity. Repeat, be on the lookout for suspicious looking-Hm?" Then, the transmission cut off.
'Guess Officer Jenny must've gotten some news about it or something.' Cinder thought, recognizing the voice belonged to a member of the world's most well known family of police officers, who also look and sound exactly the same. The heterochromatic girl always wondered what kind of genetics can be so strong that an entire family can be easily mistaken for a clone army.
Suddenly, the blind girl heard the same woman she was just thinking about behind her. "Hold it! Just where are you going with that Pokémon, young lady?"
Cinder turned around, facing the officer. "My Pokémon here is injured, and I've got to get him to a Pokémon Center right away!"
Officer Jenny studied the girl for a moment. She could easily tell that she was in some kind of trouble recently, both because of the bruises and how wet and dirty the girl was in general. Nodding, she determined that the girl was likely telling the truth. "I see. Can you show me some ID to show you're a trainer? We've had reports of Pokémon thieves lately, and it's a bit unusual for someone to carry their Pokémon in their arms and not in a Pokéball."
Cinder handed over her Pokédex. "Would my Pokédex work, ma'am?"
Officer Jenny grinned. "This is perfect, because if you're the real deal…" She then pushed a few buttons, slightly unfamiliar with this particular Pokédex model. She got it to work though, and a voice rang from the device.
"I am Dexter, a Scouter model Pokédex programmed by Professor Oak for Pokémon Trainer Cinder Ketchum of Pallet Town. My function is to provide Cinder with information and advice regarding Pokémon and their training. If lost or stolen I cannot be replaced without assistance of a professor endorsed by a Pokémon League."
The blue haired woman nodded. "Alright, your story checks out. Sorry for the inconvenience, we're on high alert at the moment because of those Pokémon thieves, and I needed to make sure your Pokémon wasn't stolen." She said while glancing at the two wanted posters of the thieves, two members of Team Rocket, a man with blue hair and a woman with pink hair.
Cinder nodded to the officer. "It's alright ma'am, but can you tell me where the Pokémon Center is?"
"I'll do you one better, and bring you there myself!" The officer exclaimed with a wink and went into the garage next to her booth. She then drove out with a motorcycle and stopped right in front of Cinder. "Hop in!"
Cinder tried her best, guessing that the officer was on a motorcycle from her body language, and accidentally kicked the sidecar with her knee. Feeling around a bit, she then sat into the sidecar, making sure to hold on tight to Pikachu.
Once she was seated, the driver said something that worried Cinder. "Sit back, hold on and don't yell!" With that, Officer Jenny started driving like a maniac, causing Cinder to feel like she's having a heart attack.
Unbeknownst to either of them, a certain red-headed girl was carrying a bike that was both waterlogged and broken beyond repair due to a trip in a river, coughing from the exhaust fumes from the motorcycle carrying the girl she was following. 'She isn't getting away from me that easily!'
Nobody seemed to notice a fishing hook drop out of the air, peeling off the wanted posters and dragging them into the sky and up to a hot air balloon shaped like a feline Pokémon with a golden charm on its forehead, a Meowth.
"A wanted poster? How flattering." Said a woman with long pink hair that had a curl at the end. She was wearing a white uniform with a large red R in the middle of the shirt.
"Flattering? This picture makes me look terrible!" Said a blue haired man, who also wore a uniform similar to the one his companion was wearing.
The woman smiled. "Then you should be happy the photographer managed to capture the real you."
The man wasn't insulted, he's known his counterpart long enough to know she was partially joking, and partially playing into their image of being terrible people. "Exactly."
"We'll show these idiots."
The man picked up a rose, narrating. "The people of Viridian City will be sorry they ever saw this face."
A new voice piped up. "We're all sorry to see your face, stay focused!" The voice didn't belong to a human, but a Pokémon. A Meowth that could actually speak English. "We're here to capture rare and unusual Pokémon, don't forget! Meowth!" Despite his unique characteristic, this Meowth did sometimes slip back into Pokéspeach, though it's a rare thing.
The woman replied. "Absolutely"
The man confirmed with a bow. "But of course."
The Meowth leaned over the balloon. "And just remember, I'm the top cat!"
The man smiled. "You got it."
"Meowth!" The feline cried out in joy
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Cinder was hanging on for dear life, while also making sure that Pikachu would be okay while they were riding this deathtrap. "Don't worry Pikachu, we're almost there!"
"There it is!" The police officer suddenly said, without slowing down at all. "This is gonna be bumpy, hold on!" And before Cinder could even guess what was going to happen, the motorcycle suddenly went up some stairs and into the air.
When they landed, the officer still didn't slow down. Cinder was worried that they were going to crash into the building, but then she heard the familiar noise of automatic doors opening up, and felt the shift from outside air to inside air. Once they were inside, Officer Jenny slammed on the breaks, causing the vehicle to screech to a halt just before the desk.
A woman with pink hair was behind said desk, yelling in both fear and indignation. "We have a driveway you know?!"
Cinder recognized the voice as a Nurse Joy, who's family is in the same boat as the Officer Jennys. 'Seriously, what kind of genetics allow for two different kinds of clone armies to just happen?! Even their Auras are identical!'
"We have a medical emergency!" The officer stated. "It's an injured Pikachu!"
Nurse Joy glanced in the direction of the girl in the sidecar, and the Pokémon in her arms. "I'll do what I can." She then went to the computer terminal, calling upon her aid. "I need a stretcher for a small Electric Type Pokémon, STAT!"
A small moment later, a pair of pink, egg-shaped Pokémon carrying a stretcher appeared. Cinder's Pokédex activated just as they were putting Pikachu on the stretcher.
"Chansey, the Egg Pokémon. A Normal Type.
Abilities: Natural Cure and Serene Grace
Hidden Ability: Healer
Entry: This Pokémon is extremely kindhearted, and it's known to share its unfertilized eggs with those that are sick or injured. Medics in various regions often partner up with it."
When the Pokédex ended, Cinder grabbed a Pokéball from her belt and held it out to Nurse Joy. "Nurse Joy, can you check over my Caterpie as well? I don't know if he got hurt or not, but I'd rather not risk it."
Nurse Joy nodded. "I will." She quickly checked over the Pikachu, then she nodded to her Chansey, who quickly took it to the appropriate care unit. "We'll begin the treatment right away." She stated as she was putting on some rubber gloves. "Just leave it to me."
Officer Jenny then saluted her longtime friend. Their families, numerous and widespread as they are, are very close to one another. Like most members of their families, the Jenny and Joy of Viridian City are rather close, both considering the other as a sister. "I know you'll give the Pokémon excellent care."
Nurse Joy smiled. Their sisterhood is rather normal for Jennys and Joys who are stationed in the same area, though not universal. Some are simply friends, others are indifferent to the other, and there are rare cases when the two can't get along. There's even a rumor going on that one pair is even dating, though Nurse Joy never heard which pair that was. "You got it here just in time." She said to the other woman.
"That's my job!" Officer Jenny stated with a wink, before she walked back to the motorcycle she parked inside the building.
"Jenny," Nurse Joy started. "Would you at least use the driveway next time?"
The police officer stumbled a bit in embarrassment. "Eheheh, of course." She sheepishly stated before driving away.
The nurse then looked at the new trainer. "You'll have to stay in the waiting room. I'll tell you as soon as there's an update on your Pokémon's health." She then walked into the back room, the door closing after she went through.
Cinder was left alone with her own thoughts. 'Please be okay guys.' After a moment of sitting around, she finally noticed the filth and grime coating her, and the fact that her clothes were still wet. 'Thank Arceus my backpack's waterproof.' She then decided to take a shower to clean herself up.
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After a bit of wandering to try and find the showers, Cinder managed to clean herself up and put on a fresh set of clothes. When she made her way back to the lobby, she noticed a Chansey standing next to the desk.
"Chansey!" The Pokémon cried out, holding a Luxury Ball, trying to get the girl's attention. Once she came in range, she gave the girl both objects.
"Oh, thanks Chansey." She studied both items for a moment, recognizing the Aura within the Pokéball as her Caterpie. "Is he okay?"
"Chan!" The Egg Pokémon nodded, much to Cinder's relief.
The Pallet Town native smiled as she took her Pokémon back. "Thanks." Cinder then wondered about something. "Hey, Chansey, can I use one of the phones here to call home?"
Chansey nodded, and guided the human towards the public phones put in place for this exact purpose, leaving once Cinder sat down.
Cinder dialed her mom, wanting to talk to her. After a few seconds, the phone was picked up. "Hello, this is the Ketchum residence."
"Hi mom!" Cinder said, just happy to hear her mother's voice.
"Hi sweetie! Is everything okay?" She heard her mother say, before Delia turned the monitor on on her side. Not for any particular reason other than the fact she wanted to see her beautiful daughter's face. "Where are you Cinder?"
Cinder smiled. "The Pokémon Center in Viridian City." She decided not to mention the fact she got attacked by that Spearow flock just yet.
"Already?" Delia was both surprised and impressed. "It took both Blue and your father 4 days to get there when they started their journey."
"Hmm." Cinder's mood soured slightly at the mention of her father, who was never in her life to begin with. And if that note she found back when she could still see was true…
Delia noticed her daughter's mood. "Cinder, please don't get discouraged. I know everything will work out in the end. You can do anything you set your mind to honey."
Cinder smiled a bit. "Thanks mom."
"And are you changing your underwear every day?" Delia asked.
"MOM!" Cinder exclaimed, blushing.
Delia laughed. "Goodnight sweetie, I love you!"
"Love you too mom." And with that, both Ketchums hung up. After another moment of being alone in her thoughts, she remembered her encounter with Ho-Oh, and the feather that fell from it. She was surprised to find it in her jacket, still sensing the faint traces of Aura of the Legendary within the item. 'I wonder what Professor Oak would think of this.'
She was shaken out of her thoughts by the phone on the desk ringing, which Chansey picked up. "Chansey!"
"Ah, hello Chansey. Can you please pass me on to one Cinder Ketchum." A very familiar voice spoke from the speakers.
'Speak of the devil and he shall appear.' "Hey Professor!" Cinder called happily.
Chansey, for her part, simply took that as her que to invite the girl behind the desk, silently waving to come stand behind the monitor.
Once the girl came into view, the elder man spoke. "I just spoke with your mother, and she just told me you've made it to the Pokémon Center in Viridian City, is that correct?"
Cinder smirked, knowing he's likely too busy with something to notice a tiny detail. "Well, if I wasn't here you wouldn't be talking to me right now, would you?"
The Professor was confused for a moment. "I wouldn't be talking to you- Oh, I see!" He gave an embarrassed chuckle. He really should be paying more attention to non-Pokémon related things sometimes. "I am pleasantly surprised you got there so soon, even with how well you and Pichu get along. Gary said that you wouldn't have a single new Pokémon by the time you got to Viridian City, but I bet him a million dollars that he'd be wrong!"
The girl chuckled. "Well, I hope Gary's able to pay you then, as I'd just caught this little guy." She then released her Caterpie. "Ta-da!"
"Pie!" Caterpie waved his little arm, happy to meet a new friend.
Professor Oak laughed, hard. "I admit, I was a bit worried considering you've always been very vocal about catching Pokémon against their will, but I knew you'd find a new friend in that forest."
"Oh, by the way, you won't believe what kind of Pokémon Pikachu and I saw!" Cinder then put a hand in her jacket, grabbing the feather Ho-Oh dropped.
"Wait, Pikachu? Pichu evolved?!" The Professor exclaimed in joy. "I knew it wouldn't take long for him to evolve! That's another million dollars Gary owes me!"
Cinder snickered. "Yea, Pichu evolved. But that's not what I was getting at." She then grabbed her Pokédex, instructing it to display Ho-Oh's entry while showing the feather.
Professor Oak's eyes widened. "Impossible, you couldn't have seen this Pokémon! People have wasted their entire lives trying, and failing, to catch a glimpse of it!"
The blind girl waved the feather in front of her face. "Professor, that Pokémon had an Aura unlike any I'd seen before."
The professor's jaw slacked. "Amazing. I suppose this means that your journey has been blessed, since those that see it are promised with eternal happiness. And finding something like this on your first day must mean you're in for quite the adventure."
Cinder smiled at the elder's words. "I'm looking forward to it already."
Then the Professor's doorbell rang. "Ah, there's my pizza! Coming!" He left the screen for a moment, only to reappear a second before Cinder pushed the off button. "It was very nice talking to you, Cinder, and good luck on your journey." He then left again, forgetting to turn the phone off. "Mmm, anchovies, spinach and pineapple pizza~"
Cinder gagged at the unholy crime against humanity that the professor was about to eat, and quickly decided to turn the phone off before she heard something that would make Arceus weep in fear. She then decided to return Caterpie to his Pokéball, unwilling to break the news to him just yet that Pikachu might be in severe danger.
Then, she heard a familiar voice call out. "Now I've got you!" Cinder turned around, seeing the Aura of the girl that fished her out of the river. "I knew I'd find you here!"
Cinder was a bit flabbergasted at the girl's tone, unable to see the wreck that was once a bike. "Oh, hey."
"Don't you "oh hey" me! You destroyed my bike!" The other girl yelled in rage, holding the broken object in her arms. "You caused it to fall into the river yooouuu!" She then lost her balance, her body tiring from dragging her broken bike all the way here.
Cinder, despite her annoyance, walked over to the girl and held her hand out. "Do you need any help?"
The girl answered by slapping Cinder's hand away. "I don't need your help, and you're going to pay for what you did to my bike!"
Cinder tried to be diplomatic. "Alright, I'm sorry I accidentally destroyed your bike. I'll make up for it, but I need to make sure my Pikachu is okay first."
The girl wasn't having any of it though. "I don't want any of your lame excuses kid, you're getting me a new bike right now!"
The entitlement of the girl, combined with Cinder's worry for her Pokémon, caused some anger to bleed into her voice. "Look, I have better things to worry about right now than a bike. So please, for both our sanities, be patient."
Misty glanced back, seeing that a Pokémon was currently under treatment. While she was still angry at the other girl, her worry for the Pokémon's safety overshadowed the rage. "Is it serious?"
Cinder hugged herself in worry. "I don't know." Her thoughts were interrupted by the door of the back room opening. When she looked, she saw the Auras of Nurse Joy, the two Chansey and Pikachu coming through. "Is Pikachu alright?" Cinder asked, concern clear in her voice as she and the other girl walked to the nurse.
Nurse Joy smiled. "He's resting right now, it's a good thing you got him here so fast. The treatment went well, and everything should be fine."
Cinder gave a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you so much."
The nurse wasn't done though. "Now he needs a good rest in the recovery room. You should go in with him."
"Thanks." Cinder said, before turning to Misty. "Look, I'm really sorry about your bike, but I need some time to make things right."
Misty sighed. "Fine, take care of Pikachu for now. We'll settle this later."
Then, an alarm rang out, and Officer Jenny's voice sounded from the intercom. "Attention everyone, an aircraft belonging to a gang of Pokémon thieves has been detected. Exercise extreme caution, and keep your Pokémon safe!"
The aircraft in question, the same Meowth balloon from before, was hanging over the Pokémon Center when the announcement came. The woman chuckled to herself. "Guess we woke up this sleepy dump."
The man frowned in indignation. "And how dare they act like we're common criminals. Team Rocket is so much more than that."
"Well, we'll teach them to respect that name."
Meowth piped up to his partners. "Meowth! And when we snatch all their Pokémon, those scared little mice will know I'm the top cat!"
The two humans replied in unison, well used to his antics. "We know Meowth, we know." Then, they threw a pair of Pokéballs at the Center below. "Ekans/Koffing, attack!"
Both Pokéballs broke through the skylight, and released their occupants when they hit the floor. The Pokéball thrown by the man released a spherical Pokémon, whose body was littered with crater. From the other device emerged a purple snake Pokémon with a yellow ring on his body.
Cinder's Pokédex lit up at the two new Pokémon.
"Ekans, the Snake Pokémon. A Poison Type.
Abilities: Intimidate and Shed Skin
Hidden Ability: Unnerve
Entry: This Pokémon preys on eggs from bird nests and strikes other prey from behind, and it can detach its jaw to swallow large prey. It wraps itself in tree branches to hide or coil itself up to defend itself in all directions when sleeping.
After scanning Ekans, the Pokédex scanned his partner.
"Koffing, the Poison Gas Pokémon. A Poison Type.
Abilities: Levitate and Neutralizing Gas
Hidden Ability: Stench
Entry: This Pokémon creates light gasses within its body by mixing toxins with garbage, which allow it to hover. These gasses are toxic and can be ignited."
Cinder shivered at the entry, reminded of the incident that cost her her sight. She didn't blame the Koffing species as a whole, of course, nor did she blame the individual Koffing that was ordered to attack her. But it's difficult not to get reminded when there's a koffing nearby, especially in a situation like this.
Koffing wasted no time, and started to follow the plan by releasing a Smokescreen from his craters, creating panic and blinding the people in the room.
Thankfully for Cinder though, only solid matter was able to block her fledgeling Aura vision, allowing her to see the two humans and the feline Pokémon who dropped through the ceiling. "Who are you?!"
The woman spoke first. "Don't be frightened, little girl."
The man spoke next. "Allow us to introduce ourselves."
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all people within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jessie!"
"James."
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth, that's right!" Meowth finished, just as the Smokescreen cleared up.
Cinder's Pokédex immediately started scanning Meowth when his image became clear.
"Meowth, the Scratch Cat Pokémon. A Normal Type.
Abilities: Pickup and Technician
Hidden Ability: Unnerve
Entry: This Pokémon is attracted to round and shiny objects, and is known to wonder about city streets at night to pick up anything that sparkles. It spends most daylight hours asleep."
"Hey!" Meowth was offended, he wasn't one of those lazy lapcats thank you very much!
Cinder, meanwhile, was very much on guard, despite internally squealing at the knowledge that there was a talking Meowth right in front of her. She was still confused about a tiny detail, however. "Was that supposed to mean something?"
Jessie replied. "She just doesn't get it, does she?"
Cinder snarked back. "How should I? That poem of yours made no sense."
James ignored her words. "We're here for the Pokémon."
Cinder instantly put herself between the Team Rocket members and Pikachu, and started snarling at them. "You're not getting Pikachu."
Jessie scoffed. "Pikachu? We're not interested in that electric rat."
James smiled condescendingly. "We seek only rare and valuable Pokémon."
Nurse Joy glared at the criminal gang. "You're wasting your time, there's only weakened and injured Pokémon here!"
Jessie smirked. "Well, that may be so, but I wouldn't be surprised if we find a few gems among the junk."
Cinder frowned, discreetly grabbing Caterpie's Pokéball. "You're bugging me."
"Isn't that cute?"
"The girl's bugged." James agreed.
"Meowth! Then let's squash her!" The feline Pokémon said.
"Koffing, attack!"
"Ekans, go!"
Before Cinder had a chance to release her Caterpie, the two criminal Pokémon attacked. One re-releasing a smokescreen while the other started smashing the computers, stopping the people in the Center from calling for help. The blind girl decided to do the smart thing, as she didn't even have any battling experience with her remaining Pokémon, and started pushing the stretcher as Nurse Joy led the two younger girls away.
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Cinder, Misty and Nurse Joy managed to get the stretcher inside a storage room, and closed the door just before Koffing and Ekans passed by. Cinder could see multiple ball shaped Auras in the room, obviously the storage room for Pokémon resting in their Pokéballs.
Nurse Joy looked at the two girls. "We need to transport the Pokémon to another Center as fast as possible!" That was easier said than done, apparently, as the lights went out.
"Hey, the lights!" Misty exclaimed.
"They must've cut the power. But we've got our own Pika-powersource." And just as the nurse said that, the lights came back on due to the Pikachu powered generator in the room.
The computer next to the generator activated in an instant. "Initiating emergency transport sequence." Then a claw shot out from the ceiling, grabbing the Pokéballs one by one and dropping them in the transporter.
Nurse Joy spoke into the microphone next to it. "This is the Viridian City Pokémon Center, we have an emergency situation!"
An identical voice came from the speakers. "This is the Pewter City Pokémon Center. Out-loader activated, ready to receive!" The machine then started teleporting the Pokéballs to safety.
Cinder decided to help out, grabbing Pokéballs that the machine hadn't yet reached for and dumping them into the device, trying to speed the evacuation along.
They were about a quarter of the way there when the door suddenly blew open, the criminal Pokémon ramming through and destroying the claw. James stepped into the room. "You can't hide from us, little girls."
Misty stepped between Cinder and Team Rocket, just as the former reached out to her Caterpie's ball. "You grab Pikachu and get out of here, I'll take care of these clowns!"
Jessie smirked at her. "Pretty big talk coming from such a little lady."
"At least you're right about the pretty part, thanks for the compliment."
James mocked the girl. "The girl thinks she's pretty."
His partner backed him up. "Well, pretty pathetic at least."
Misty growled. "I'll show you!" And threw her Pokéball, releasing her Goldeen and triggering Cinder's Pokédex.
"Goldeen, the Goldfish Pokémon. A Water Type.
Abilities: Swift Swim and Water Veil
Hidden Ability: Lightning Rod
Entry: This Pokémon has a wild temperament, and will use its horn to smash its way to freedom if it's in an aquarium. It forms schools that swim upriver when the weather warms up."
"Water gun!" Goldeen followed her trainer's command, and fired a jet of water at Ekans. Despite the fact that she had little maneuverability on land, she could still fire attacks.
"Grr, you'll pay for that, brat!" Jessie growled.
Pikachu finally woke up, and noticed the situation. Like his trainer, he got a flashback at the sight of the Koffing next to the Team Rocket grunt. With both the rest he'd already gotten, and the adrenaline rush of the danger, he'd gotten enough energy to partake in the battle. "Pika Pi!" He yelled, getting his partner's attention.
Cinder looked at her partner, and recognized the look in his eyes. "Are you ready for this, buddy?"
"Pi!" He nodded.
"Then shock them with Thunder Shock!"
"Pi Ka Chu!" Pikachu obeyed, firing the Electric Type attack at the Koffing with extreme prejudice.
"Koffing!" James yelled out, surprisingly worried.
"Do I have to do everything myself?" Meowth asked rhetorically. "That Pikachu is cat food, Fury Swipes!" Meowth launched himself at Pikachu, his claws extended.
"Water gun on Meowth!" Misty ordered.
Goldeen complied, firing a powerful jet of water at Meowth, pushing him back to the rest of the gang and drenching all five of them.
Cinder then got an idea. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on all of them!"
Pikachu saw what Cinder was doing, and smiled in glee as he let his Thunderbolt lose, greatly shocking them. Koffing especially cried out in pain, letting his gasses free. And just as the Pokédex said, the gasses ignited from the electricity, creating a large explosion that caused Team Rocket to be launched through the roof.
Officer Jenny, who was driving as fast as she could to the Center, saw the explosion. "Too late for the party, but not for the fireworks." She muttered.
Back inside, Cinder grinned at her partner. "Way to go buddy!" With that, she gave Pikachu a high five, both happy with their victory.
"Oh, thank you two so much!" Nurse Joy exclaimed in, well, joy. "You saved the Pokémon here from those horrible thieves!"
Cinder chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry for the damage though."
The nurse waved her concerns away. "It's fine, we can get everything fixed. It's a price I'm willing to pay to make sure the Pokémon are okay."
Misty watched the exchange between the two. Maybe the heterochromatic girl wasn't so bad after all. "Say, why don't we start over." She asked bluntly.
Cinder was obviously surprised. "Oh, uh, sure, if you want to." She wasn't expecting someone that was mean to her one moment to just start being friendly. "And again, sorry about your bike."
Misty smirked. "Apology accepted, though you still owe me a new bike."
Cinder chuckled. "I'll buy you a new bike when I get the cash, okay?"
Misty nodded. "Guess I can deal with that. In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to come with you!"
Cinder blinked, not having expected this. She planned for this journey to be her, Pikachu and any Pokémon that wanted to travel with them. She didn't plan on having a human travel with them. "Would you mind Pikachu?" She asked her partner.
Pikachu looked at Cinder, knowing her well enough to know what's going through her head, and nodded. If it was fine with Cinder, it would be fine with him.
Nurse Joy then decided to give a little reward to the trainers. "Why don't you two stay the night here? The rooms are empty, and it looks like most of them weren't affected by the attack."
"Thanks Nurse Joy." The two new traveling companions said together, before Cinder's stomach started growling.
"Eheheh, I haven't eaten anything since that storm. Do you know where I can get some food?"
The nurse chuckled, and guided the two girls towards the cafeteria. She didn't know if the place would be wreaked or not, but there should still be more than enough food to go around.
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Team Rocket was in their balloon again, all members very much hurt after being zapped and launched from the Pokémon Center. "Great, a cat losing to a mouse!" Jessie angrily muttered.
"That Pikachu is not normal!" Meowth defended himself.
"It's certainly very rare." James said to himself, then smirked despite his foul mood. "A perfect prize."
"Then we should steal it for ourselves." Jessie said, suddenly remembering how two higher ranking grunts who got arrested when they tried to nab a strong Pichu.
"Perhaps we will." Meowth purred. Then, the balloon made in his image burst, releasing the air within and causing the trio to fly out of control while screaming in terror.
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The next day rolled around, the sun was shining on the damaged Pokémon Center. Cinder and Misty opted to stay in separate rooms, neither girl being at the point to comfortably sleep in the same room as the other. Sure, they made peace and were going to be traveling together, but they only met the day before.
After they'd eaten and said their goodbyes to Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny, who'd gotten there to interview the nurse and the trainers, the duo made their way to Route 2, which went through Viridian Forest. They were simply having some smalltalk, before Misty suddenly screamed.
"AAAHHHHH!"
"What's going on?!" Cinder yelled, holding her cane like a sword as Pikachu sparked his cheeks, both looking for danger.
"Over there!" Misty exclaimed, her voice shaking as she pointed to the offending creature that put the fear of Arceus in her.
Following her companion's gaze, she saw a shape similar to a Caterpie, but with a massive horn on its head. Her Pokédex activated.
"Weedle, the Hairy Bug Pokémon. A Bug/Poison Type.
Ability: Shield Dust
Hidden Ability: Run Away
Entry: This Pokémon can distinguish its favorite kind of leaves using its acute sense of smell, and its daily appetite for leaves matches its weight. It retaliates against attackers and those who step on it with its strong toxin."
Cinder smiled, and crouched down near the Weedle. "Hey there little one. Is that mean human bothering you?"
Weedle looked at the girl, slightly crying herself. She'd always been somewhat of a laughing stock in her old hive, largely because of her shyness and tendency to cry in joy. She came closer to the kinder of the two humans, slowly crawling to the outstretched hand.
"AHHHH!" Misty yelled again. "Don't let that disgusting bug get any closer!"
Weedle flinched and shrinked back, frightened at the tone of the orange haired girl.
Cinder quickly decided to defuse the situation. "Hey hey hey, it's okay. I don't think you're disgusting Weedle." She then grabbed one of her Luxury Balls. "In fact, I've already got a Bug Type of my own, see?" She then released Caterpie in front of Weedle, showing she's got no problem with Bug Types.
Misty on the other hand didn't take it well. "YOU HAD ONE OF THOSE THINGS THE ENTIRE TIME?!"
Both of the Bug Types flinched, prompting Cinder to frown. "Relax guys, I won't let her hurt either of you."
Weedle's eyes widened. She's never experienced this kind of kindness before. Most of the time it's just bullying from other members of her species and their evolved forms, or people and Pokémon running away in fear because of what she is. She asked Caterpie if the girl is usually that kind. "Wee Weedle?"
Caterpie responded with a half-nod. "Pie, Cater." His experiences with Cinder were limited, but from what he saw she's usually like this.
Weedle pondered for a moment, then decided something. She started snuggling on Cinder's leg, trying to convey something.
Cinder seemed to understand. "Do you want to come with me?"
Weedle nodded eagerly. She did not want to part with the only beings who've been kind to her so far.
The blind girl smiled, and grabbed a Luxury Ball, holding it out for Weedle to get into. "I'll be happy to have you."
Weedle practically headbutted the device, and got sucked in without any resistance.
Cinder smiled. "Welcome to the team Weedle!"
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Pokémon Seen: 16
Pokémon Caught: 4
Cinder's Pokémon: Pikachu (M), Caterpie (M), Weedle (F)
XXXXXXXX
Well, that's that episode done. Cinder and Misty are official traveling companions, and Cinder's got a new Pokémon.
I decided that, since Caterpie got caught early, I might as well replace the canon capture with a new addition, a somewhat shy and joyful Weedle.
TheDoctor1998 here, signing out.