Episode Eight

Amanda's journey has had an interesting beginning. For those who have missed what's happened so far, here's a quick recap of the events. In the first episode, we started off by meeting Amanda, who had spent the first several years of her life being raised by a Kangaskhan in the Safari Zone. But when she turned ten, she was invited by Professor Oak to begin her very own journey, an invitation that she gladly accepted. Amanda chose Squirtle, and the two have become very good friends. Next, Amanda met our other main character Michelle in the Viridian Forest. The two met by battling each other, with Amanda's Pikachu versus Michelle's Eevee. Although Pikachu lost the fight, it did start forming a friendship with Eevee, who Michelle has had since she was seven. Next, in Pewter City, Amanda won a Boulder Badge, putting her officially on the road to becoming a champion. In Mint Moon, the pair got lost, and also fell victim to a trap that had been set by team Rocket. But the two pulled through and headed onward to Cerulean City from there. While in Cerulean, Amanda battled Misty's sisters at the gym and won a Cascade Badge. However, they had to stop another Team Rocket attack. And then, in our previous episode, the two girls competed in a special tournament for electric type Pokemon, which Amanda won. However, there was more Team Rocket interference, as Conrad and Sally tried to steal the tournament's grand prize, a Thunder Stone. But as usual, our two young heroes were able to stop them. Now, the two of them are on their way toward their next destination, Vermilion City. (Note: The recap I chose to start out with actually helps correct a mistake I had made in a previous chapter. During the part in that chapter where Amanda had asked Michelle how long she had been owning her Eevee, the answer Michelle had given was that it had been given to her as a gift the previous year despite the fact that earlier in the same chapter, she had mentioned that she had owned the Eevee for at least a couple of years. My apologies for the error, but what Michelle had said originally is the correct statement regarding her Eevee)

The sun was shining as the girls walked along down the route that would take them to where they wanted to go next. Two weeks have passed since the tournament they had taken part in, and they had been traveling pretty much non stop since then. As always, though, they were both in a very good mood.

"When do you think you're going to use that Thunder Stone you won?" asked Amanda.

"I'll be honest, I don't know if I even want to use it." Said Michelle. "Eevee's a great Pokemon and all, but I don't want to make it evolve if it doesn't want to."

"That seems fair." Said Amanda. "I haven't really asked Pikachu if he wants to evolve yet, and I'm also not sure if it's a good idea."

"I have a suggestion I can give you." Said Michelle. "You have two badges right now, right?"

"That's right." Said Amanda.

"Well then, maybe you should wait until you get more badges before you start considering that." Said Michelle.

"I think I will." Said Amanda, and they continued walking. A little further onward, they spotted a pair of Nidoran.

"Oh, look at how cute they are." Said Michelle. "I'd love to have a Pokemon like this."

"You know what, so would I." said Amanda. She took out her Pokedex to get more information.

"Nidoran Male, the poison pin Pokemon. It uses its large ears to listen for the sound of approaching enemies. Nidoran Female, the poison pin Pokemon. It can use its whiskers to check for wind while searching for or avoiding predators."

"I don't see any predators out here." Said Amanda. "Just us, Eevee and Pikachu." She knelt down to introduce herself.

"Hi there." She said in a calming voice. "I'm Amanda. It's nice to meet you." Nirodan looked closely at Amanda, and then looked at Michelle.

"Hello." Michelle said with a smile.

"I don't know what you guys are doing out here, but I hope you don't mind me battling you so I can catch you." Said Amanda. "Pikachu, take your position." Pikachu readied itself to fight.

"Okay Pikachu, start with Quick Attack." Pikachu ran toward both of the Nidoran, but Michelle held her hand up, causing Pikachu to stop in its' tracks.

"I don't think attacking it is a good idea." Said Michelle.

"Pika?" asked Pikachu, which meant 'What's wrong?'

"What's the matter, Michelle?" Amanda wondered.

"Look at all these damage marks on both of them." Said Michelle. "Neither of these Pokemon are in any shape to battle."

"But I thought all wild Pokemon were supposed to be battle ready at any time." Said Amanda.

"That's not the case with these two." Said Michelle. "Also, I have a feeling that these Nidoran aren't wild."

"What gives you that idea?" wondered Amanda.

"Take a look at their collars." Said Michelle. Amanda looked at the collars closely and saw the name of their trainer on them.

"I think I see now." Said Amanda. Both of the Nidoran whimpered.

"I also see that neither of them are very happy." Said Amanda. "Pikachu, try talking to them. Maybe that'll help us figure out why these Nidoran are in this condition." Pikachu slowly approached the Nidoran and asked its questions in its own language. Both of the Nidoran, while severely weak, answered the best they could. Pikachu thanked them and reported his information back to Amanda.

"Thanks, Pikachu." Said Amanda. "Pikachu says that according to the Nidoran, they both kept losing fights that their trainer felt they should've won."

"But that's no reason to beat up a Pokemon like that." Said Michelle.

"Exactly." Said Amanda. "We have to help these guys somehow, and I think I know how we can try to do it. Get a Poke Ball out, Michelle."

"Why do you want me to do that?" Michelle wondered.

"Since these two Pokemon are already very weak, capturing them in Poke Balls should be easy. Then we can take them to the nearest Pokemon Center so that Nurse Joy can have a look at them." Amanda reasoned.

"That's not a bad plan at all." Said Michelle. Both got ready to throw their balls, Michelle's at the female Nidoran and Amanda's at the male.

"Poke Ball, go!" they both shouted in unison. However, despite both Pokemon being as weak as they were, they had just enough strength to kick the balls back to the girls with their feet.

"I don't understand why that didn't work." Said Amanda. She picked the ball back up and was about to try again when Michelle stopped her.

"Hold on." She said. "I don't think either of these Nidoran want to go into Poke Balls right now."

"Then what do we do with them?" asked Amanda. "We can't just leave them here!"

"You're right, we certainly can't do that." Said Michelle. "We still have to help them out in any way we can, though." The girls tried to pick the Nidoran up, only for the two Pokemon to hiss at them, causing them to jump back a bit.

"I guess they don't want our help." Said Michelle.

"Let me try to reason with them." Said Amanda, and she got down beside the male Nidoran.

"I know you probably don't want to hear me, but I need you to listen because you're only going to hear what I'm about to say once." Said Amanda. The Nidoran gave Amanda their full attention. "I know you two probably think that we're bad people, but that's actually the opposite. We're both good people, but in the condition you two are in, you both need help and we want to be able to give you that help if you'll allow us. So please, Nidoran, please let us help you." The two Nidoran absorbed Amanda's words carefully, as it was obvious to them now that the two girls had no intention of doing any harm to them. They looked at each other, and then back at the girls.

"What do you say, Nidoran?" Michelle asked. The Nidoran both reluctantly nodded.

"Thanks, guys." Said Amanda. The girls quickly scooped up the Nidoran off the ground, Amanda holding the male and Michelle holding the female.

"Let's go." Said Amanda. The girls quickly ran off down the path in search of a Pokemon Center. Pikachu and Eevee ran alongside their trainers.

"Pikachu pika?" Pikachu asked Eevee, which meant 'Do you think the Nidoran will be all right, Eevee?' Eevee let out a concerned squeal, which meant 'I really hope so, Pikachu.' The male Nidoran simply whimpered in Amanda's arms.

"Don't worry guys, we're going to get you there as fast as we can." Said Amanda.

"Once Nurse Joy gives you the proper treatment, you'll be all better." Said Michelle. The girls and their Pokemon kept running as fast as they could, and twenty minutes later, they found a Pokemon Center.

"There is it." Said Amanda. They burst inside the center and up to the desk.

"Nurse Joy!" they both cried at once and placed the Nidoran on the counter.

"Oh my." Said Nurse Joy. "What have we here?" Both girls started talking at once, but that made it hard for her to understand them and cut them off.

"One at a time, please." She said. Amanda spoke first.

"We found these Nidoran outside in the grass, and they're both in really bad shape." Said Amanda.

"You've got to help them out, Nurse Joy." Said Amanda. Joy looked at both Nidoran carefully and saw the damage marks that the girls had first noticed. She gasped in shock, and then looked at both girls sternly.

"You both should know better than to let a Pokemon get into this type of condition before bringing it here." She said.

"But these Nidoran don't even belong to us." Said Amanda.

"They already have a trainer." Said Michelle. Joy looked at the collars and saw what the girls were talking about.

"Oh, I see what you mean." She said. "Well, whoever did this to them obviously isn't a good trainer at all. Nonetheless, I'll do what I can to help them." Chansey brought out a stretcher for Joy to place the Nidoran on and she took them into the back room to begin operating on them.

"I guess all we can do now is wait and hope that the Nidoran pull through." Said Michelle. They both sat down in the waiting area, with their thoughts and concerns focused on the two Pokemon. After an hour, Amanda's stomach growled.

"I'm going to get us something from the center's cafeteria." She said.

"Good idea." Said Michelle. "I'm actually pretty hungry." Amanda grabbed a couple of peanut butter sandwiches, some cookies, and some milk. She also made sure to get Pokemon food for Pikachu and Eevee. When she returned, she set the food on the table they were sitting at.

"Pika pi!" cried Pikachu, which meant 'Don't forget about us.' Amanda smiled at him.

"Don't worry, I didn't." she said. She put the Pokemon food into the bowls she had gotten and put them in front of Pikachu and Eevee.

"How do you suppose the operations on the Nidoran are going?" Michelle asked.

"I don't know." Said Amanda. "I think Joy is still working on them, but I can't see what's going on since we're not allowed to go back there. I'm sure she'll give some news once she's done."

"Then we'll just have to keep waiting." Said Michelle. They ate their lunch, but they were still worried about the two Nidoran. After another forty minutes went by, Amanda got up and walked over to the phone area.

"I need to tell Professor Oak about this." She said and dialed his number. Professor Oak was in the middle of his own lunch when his phone rang. He got up from the table he was eating at and answered the call.

"Hello there, Amanda." He said.

"I hope I'm not calling you at a bad time." Said Amanda.

"Nonsense, my girl, you know you're always welcome to call at any time. Except when I'm sleeping of course." Said Oak. "Anyway, what's on your mind?"

"Well, Professor, there's a bit of a problem." Said Amanda. "You see, Michelle and I found a pair of Nidoran in the grass on our way down here."

"That doesn't seem like a problem to me." Said Oak.

"The next part of what I'm about to tell you is the actual problem, though." Said Amanda. "We did find the Nidoran like I said, but when we found them, they were hurt very badly."

"Oh dear, that does sound like a problem." Said Oak. "Do you know who would've done something like that?"

"Well, we did find the name of their trainer on their collars." Said Amanda.

"That's a start at the very least." Said Oak.

"Except that we don't know who their trainer is because we've never seen him or her." Said Amanda.

"Where are the Nidoran now?" said Oak. "I hope you didn't just leave them where they were in the condition they were in."

"We brought them to Nurse Joy, and she's treating them right now." Said Amanda.

"At least they're being taken care of." Said Oak. "You girls did the right thing by taking those Pokemon to Joy so she could look after them."

"Thanks, Professor Oak." Said Amanda.

"No problem." Said Oak. "I have to get back to my lunch but call me later to let me know how everything goes." He hung up the call, and Amanda went back to Michelle.

"What did Oak say?" Michelle asked.

"He said we did good by bringing the Nidoran here, but I'm still worried about them." Said Amanda. Then, a scary thought entered her head. "What if that horrible trainer of theirs comes back?"

"Don't worry about a thing, Amanda." Said Michelle. "Joy's taking care of them. They'll be just fine. If their trainer does show up, though, then we might have an issue."

"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that." Said Amanda, and they continued to sit at the table.

"Please, Nidoran, please pull through." Amanda thought. A couple of hours later, the red light went off to signal that the procedure was complete. Nurse Joy and Chansey walked up to the girls and smiled.

"Are the Nidoran going to be okay, Nurse Joy?" Michelle asked.

"The Nidoran are going to be just fine." Joy said happily.

"That's a relief." Said Amanda.

"They're both recovering right now, but you can see them later on if you'd like." Said Joy.

"Yes please." Both girls said. Joy smiled and went back to her work.

"I'm glad the Nidoran are all right." Said Amanda.

"So am I, Amanda." Said Michelle. Then, she let out a yawn. "I don't know about you, but I feel like taking a nap."

"So do I." said Amanda. Pikachu and Eevee both yawned too.

"You guys can take a nap with us." Said Michelle. Pikachu ran over to Amanda and curled up beside her. Likewise, Eevee did the same thing with Michelle. Both trainers and their partners closed their eyes and fell fast asleep. A pair of eyes were watching them from outside.

"Are they asleep, Sally?" Conrad asked. Sally took another peek through the window just to make sure.

"Oh yes, they're asleep all right, Conrad." Said Sally.

"Then, we must do our duty as Team Rocket members." Said Conrad. "We must steal their Pikachu and Eevee." They moved away from the window and slowly opened the door of the center. They had to be careful to make sure their movements didn't wake the girls up. The two criminals tiptoed past the front entrance and slowly approached the two sleeping Pokémon. They were about to grab them when Nurse Joy appeared behind them unexpectedly. She cleared her throat, and the two crooks sheepishly smiled at her.

"I have no idea what you two are up to, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Said Joy.

"And what if we don't?" asked Sally.

"Then there's going to be trouble." Said Joy.

"I'm afraid you're the one who's going to be in for trouble." Said Sally.

"And while you're at it, you can make it a double." Said Conrad.

"If you two are going to have a motto, then you need to come up with something original." Said Joy. "Those two lines you just said belong to another Team Rocket duo's motto. If they were to find out you're stealing that from them, they'd be mad. I'll also get even more mad if you don't leave this center right now."

"But….." Conrad stammered.

"No buts!" Joy exclaimed and she pointed to the door. Not wanting to cause any further problems, Conrad and Sally both did as ordered and left the center.

"Okay genius, what's the plan now?" asked Sally.

"We'll camp out somewhere and wait until the morning to steal their Pokemon." Said Conrad.

"That doesn't sound like much of a plan." Said Sally.

"A plan doesn't have to be big to be effective." Said Conrad.

"I suppose you're right." Said Sally, and they went to hide somewhere. Meanwhile, Amanda and Michelle remained fast asleep, as did Pikachu and Eevee. The Nidoran were also sleeping peacefully in the recovery room. Everything was very quiet, but about two hours later, a loud group of people entered the Pokemon Center. Their leader was a tall guy aged sixteen, and his attire resembled somebody who looked tough. He wore a black jacket on top of a plain white shirt, faded blue jeans and black boots. The jacket was unzipped and he had a crew haircut.

"That was quite a battle you had this morning, Ace." Said one of his crew members.

"It may have been exciting, but I still should've won." Said Ace. "I, of all people, should never lose a battle.

"You can always try again next time." Said another crew member.

"If I don't start winning battles again sometime soon, there might not even be a next time." Said Ace, his voice getting louder now. His crew members kept saying a whole bunch of things to him, but he refused to listen. His voice also got progressively louder each time he spoke. Nurse Joy heard the commotion and came running out into the lobby.

"Please keep it down." She said, and pointed over to where Michelle and Amanda were. "Those two trainers over there are trying to sleep."

"I don't care, nurse lady." Said Ace.

"You should care." Said Joy. "If you're going to stay here, then I don't have a problem with that. But you have to respect the other guests." She went back to her work, and Ace and his group sat down at another table.

"Your Pokemon are all really good with their battling." Said a female crew member, who appeared to be Ace's girlfriend.

"Correction. Most of them are really good." Said Ace. "I had a pair of Nidoran, but I beat them up really good and left them to fend for themselves after they lost one battle too many." The loud ruckus that Ace's group was making caused the girls to wake up from their nap.

"What's all of that commotion, Amanda?" Michelle asked in a groggy voice.

"I don't know." Said Amanda. "But unless my hearing is deceiving me, I could've sworn that he just said something bad about those Nidoran that we helped. I'm not going to stand for that." Said Amanda, and she stormed over to Ace's table. Ace was still gloating about what he had done, but Amanda promptly grabbed him by his shirt collar and gave him an angry look.

"Okay, what's your problem?" she asked angrily.

"Excuse me?" Ace said, looking very confused.

"Beating up innocent little Pokemon just because they lost a few battles. You should be ashamed of yourself!" Amanda exclaimed.

"Hey, those two were weak. I needed a reason to get rid of them." Said Ace.

"Weak? Weak?!" Amanda cried. "No Pokemon is ever weak. My friend and I think that those Nidoran are fine Pokemon, and with proper training, they can get even stronger. Those two have a lot of potential, potential that they won't get to see the way you're treating them. You don't deserve to be a trainer at all. And who knows which other Pokemon you may have done something like that to."

"Well, uh…." Ace stammered.

"You've done this to other Pokemon too, haven't you?" Amanda asked. "I want answers, and I want them now!"

"I might have done something like that to some Vulpix last year." Said Ace. "I guess you could call it my style."

"Well, I don't think it's a very good style." Said Amanda, and she grabbed a Poke Ball from her waist. "Let's have a battle right here, right now, and then you'll see for yourself the right way to treat Pokemon."

"You're on!" cried Ace. He grabbed a ball himself, but before they could even start, Nurse Joy intervened.

"No fighting allowed inside the center." She said. "If you're going to battle, you take it outside." Ace just blew a raspberry at her.

"Whatever." Said Ace. Amanda decided it wasn't worth it for now and went back to Michelle.

"Oh, so she's chickening out now, huh?" Ace and his crew laughed. "Come on guys, let's blow this joint for now." They started to leave, but as Ace was about to go through the door, he found himself stopped by Joy.

"Not so fast." She said. "I heard everything that was being said between the two of you, and I have to say, I'm extremely disappointed. Pokemon don't win all the battles they're in, and that's okay. What's not okay, though, is how you decide to handle losses. Especially with how you treated the Nidoran those two young kids brought in earlier today. And according to what else I heard, it's not the first time you've done something like this either. Amanda's right, you ought to be ashamed of yourself with how you treat Pokemon."

"Do you think I could see the Nidoran and apologize to them?" asked Ace.

"No." Joy said firmly. "For one thing, they're both sleeping right now after having to undergo a procedure earlier to get rid of all of their injuries, injuries that you caused. Two, I highly doubt that they'll want anything to do with you after how you treated them. If you know what's good for you, you're going to stay as far away from those Nidoran as possible." Ace wanted to speak, but nothing he could possibly say was likely to change Joy's mind, so he started to leave.

"I won't be the only one you're going to hear from about this!" Joy called after him. She sighed and went over to where the girls were.

"I just can't understand why some people would choose to treat Pokemon the way that kid treated those Nidoran." She said.

"One of life's mysteries, I guess." Said Michelle. Joy returned to her work, leaving the girls alone. Later that night, as everyone was sleeping, the two Nidoran perked their eyes up and started talking to each other.

"Nidoran." The male said, which meant 'Those kids are much better trainers than that mean boy'.

"Nidoran." The female agreed, which meant 'They also know how to treat Pokemon well too.' They kept talking with each other in their own language for a couple of hours before falling asleep again. The next morning, Joy went to check on the Nidoran and found their bed empty. She gasped and ran out to the lobby, where the girls had been sleeping.

"The Nidoran are gone!" she exclaimed. The girls woke up and rubbed their eyes.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked, which meant 'What's going on?'

"What do you mean they're gone, Nurse Joy?" Michelle asked.

"They somehow managed to leave the recovery area on their own." Joy answered.

"Well then, we've got to find them." Said Amanda. "Come on, Pikachu."

"You too, Eevee." Said Michelle. Both girls and their Pokémon ran out of the center and started searching the area.

"Do you think they made it very far on their own?" Amanda asked.

"I hope not." Said Michelle. "And if they did, let's just hope that Ace didn't see them. Who knows what else he could possibly do to them?" They ran down the grass a little bit, and fortunately for them, they found the Nidoran sharing some berries together for breakfast.

"Aw, that's so sweet." Said Amanda.

"We have to take them back to the Pokemon Center, though." Said Michelle. "They're still healing up from yesterday, which means they shouldn't be outside yet." The two girls approached the Nidoran gently, and Amanda spoke to them.

"Breakfast time is over." She said. "You two are coming back with us right now." The Nidoran dropped their food and ran over to the girls. But just as they were starting to head back, two pairs of hands grabbed both Pikachu and Eevee from behind, causing both Pokémon to scream. The girls quickly turned themselves around.

"Pikachu!" cried Amanda.

"Eevee!" cried Michelle.

"Who's there?" Amanda called out. Laughter was then heard from behind a nearby tree, and out popped Conrad and Sally.

"It's these two again." Amanda grumbled. "Sally."

"And Donrad too." Said Michelle. Conrad was insulted over his name being said incorrectly.

"It's Conrad!" he shouted. "Weren't you ever taught to say people's names right?!"

"Forget about that." Said Amanda. "Where's our Pikachu and Eevee?"

"Your Pokemon are a little tied up right now." Said Sally. She stepped aside, and the girls were able to see them tied tightly right next to the tree with rope. Amanda and Michelle gasped.

"Don't worry guys, we'll save you!" cried Michelle. She ran over to the tree and tried to untie them, but to no avail.

"It's no use, this rope is too tight." She said.

"That's because the material we use is far stronger than those two blundering idiots Jessie and James." Said Sally. "Come on Conrad, let's take these two Pokémon and get out of here." They picked up Pikachu and Eevee, who were still tied up, and started walking away. The girls growled angrily, and Pikachu and Eevee both whimpered. However, the pair hadn't gotten too far away when the Nidoran ran up to them and yelled at them angrily.

"What do you two want?" Sally asked in a completely disinterested voice. The Nidoran kept hissing at them, and Conrad managed to put two and two together.

"I think they're saying for us to give Pikachu and Eevee back to those kids right now." He said.

"Buzz off, you little furballs, we don't have time to deal with you right now." Said Sally. The two Nidoran were even more angry now and charged hard at the Team Rocket duo, causing them to drop the two partner Pokémon. They then used their horns to send them into the air.

"Even when we think we're bright, those two cuties have to make us look like fools." Sally complained.

"That's not the only thing they did, though." Said Conrad. "They sent us blasting off again!" they screamed together. DING! The male Nidoran used its horn to destroy the ropes Pikachu and Eevee were tied to, thus freeing both of them.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed happily, which meant 'That feels so much better.' Eevee let out a happy squeal, and the Nidoran took them both back to the girls.

"Pikachu! I'm so glad you and Eevee are okay." Said Amanda.

"Thanks for saving them, Nidoran." Said Michelle. "You two are such terrific Pokémon."

"Come on, let's get you back to the Pokemon Center." Said Amanda. As they started heading back, however, they were stopped by Ace.

"And just where do you think you're going with those two worthless Pokemon?" he asked. The Nidoran didn't take too kindly to being called worthless and hissed at him.

"They're going back to the Pokemon Center so they can continue their recovery." Said Michelle. The girls tried to move, but Ace kept barring their way.

"I'm not moving from this spot until you give those two Pokemon back to me." He said.

"Not a chance!" both girls exclaimed.

"Well then, I guess we'll have to let a battle decide what happens to them." Said Ace. "If you win, you can keep them. But if I win, they come back to me."

"I don't know about this." Said Michelle. But Amanda didn't hesitate one bit.

"You're on!" she cried. Both her and Ace grabbed a ball and stared each other down.

"One on one fight to the finish, no substitutions and no time limit." He said.

"Fine with me." Amanda said. Ace threw his Poke Ball first.

"Rhyhorn, I choose you!" he called. A rhinoceros-esque Pokemon covered in gray, rocky plates appeared on the field. Amanda glanced at it for a second and pulled out her Pokedex.

"Rhyhorn, the spikes Pokemon. Rhyhorn's brain is very small, giving it a one track mind. Its massive bones are one thousand times harder than human bones and can easily send other trainers flying. It can also destroy tall buildings."

"Looks like that Pokemon can pack quite the punch." Amanda said, and she threw her ball. "Squirtle, go!" The small blue turtle appeared in a blaze of light.

"Rhyhorn, use your Horn Attack!" Ace commanded. Rhyhorn charged at Squirtle and pointed its horn at it.

"Dodge it, Squirtle!" Amanda yelled. Squirtle jumped out of the way and over to the side just before the attack could hit, angering Rhyhorn. Then, Squirtle stuck its tongue out at it, which made Rhyhorn even more angry.

"That turtle's going to pay for mocking us like that." Said Ace. "Rhyhorn, Take Down. Rhyhorn ran full speed at Squirtle, and with it moving so quickly, Squirtle didn't have a chance to dodge and got knocked down.

"Come on Squirtle, get up!" Amanda called. The tough turtle Pokemon promptly picked himself up and stared down Rhyhorn.

"Water Gun!" Amanda ordered. Squirtle fired a line of water at Rhyhorn, hitting the heavy Pokemon's body. Rhyhorn cried out in pain, but the attack wasn't enough to knock it out.

"Go for Stomp." Ace called. Rhyhorn ran right up to Squirtle, but immediately withdrew into his shell at Amanda's command to avoid taking too much further damage. Squirtle then came back out of his shell again, ready for whatever would be thrown at him.

"Body Slam!" Ace called. Rhyhorn jumped onto Squirtle and slammed his body down hard on Squirtle, causing the small turtle to yell out in pain.

"Squirtle!" Amanda cried. Rhyhorn then backed off, and although its attack had done good damage, Squirtle wasn't paralyzed at all. It got right back up and readied himself again.

"Yes!" cried Amanda. "Water Gun again." Squirtle fired more water at Rhyhorn, sending it backwards and weakening it badly.

"Time to finish this off." Said Amanda. "Skull Bash, now!" Squirtle ran head first at Rhyhorn and hit the rock type's body with heavy force, sending it back even more, and when Rhyhorn landed, it was fully knocked out. Ace was furious.

"Well done, Squirtle!" cried Amanda. The Nidoran were happy that Amanda had won and squealed with delight. Amanda recalled Squirtle and smirked in triumph. Ace recalled Rhyhorn and ran after the Nidoran.

"Come here, you two!" he yelled. Naturally, the Nidoran ran as far away from Ace as possible, but Ace refused to give up and kept chasing them. The girls chased after him too.

"I don't care that she won, you two are coming back to me anyway." He said to the two poison types.

"You can't do that!" Amanda protested.

"Yeah, that's cheating." Said Michelle.

"I don't care!" Ace boomed. "I refuse to leave without those two if it's the last thing I do." Then, he got an idea that made everyone stop in their tracks.

"Oh little Nidoran." He said in a soothing sounding voice. "I'm in a bit of a hurry, so I'll make you a deal. You come back to me, and I won't hurt you two anymore." The two Nidoran were very unsure about the proposal.

"Don't listen to him, Nidoran." Said Amanda. "He's already beaten you up once. He'll probably just do it again."

"Who are you going to believe?" Ace asked. "Me, or those two good for nothings over there?"

"You take that back right now!" Michelle exclaimed.

"No way." Ace said. "Well, you two, what'll it be? Them or me?" The Nidoran looked at both girls, who were smiling at them, as well as Ace, who had that tough guy look to him. The Nidoran were both freaked out a bit, but reluctantly, they went over to Ace. The girls couldn't believe it.

"I knew you two would see it my way." Said Ace. "Come Nidoran, we have training to do." He started walking off but had only taken two steps when he found himself surrounded by Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny. Neither of them were particularly happy with him.

"You're not going anywhere with those Pokemon, young man." Said Joy.

"Why not?" Ace asked. "They're both my Pokemon, so I'm entitled to take them wherever I want!"

"They're not your Pokemon anymore." Said Jenny, who was even more angry than Joy. "Joy called me and told me about the way you were treating those two, as well as several other Pokemon. She also told me about the great job that two young kids did by getting them out of a really bad situation." Jenny, of course, was referring to Amanda and Michelle.

"What Pokemon?" Ace asked, pretending to be dumb. "I don't remember being mean to any Pokemon."

"Don't try to deny it, mister. You're in serious trouble as it is." Said Joy.

"She's absolutely right." Said Jenny. "Pokemon abuse is against the law and I won't have any of that."

"You know how much I care about what you have to say, officer?" Ace fired back. "Not at all."

"Well maybe you should care about this." Said Jenny, pointing to a pair of handcuffs that she had taken out. He put Ace's hands behind his back and placed the handcuffs on them. "You're under arrest for mistreatment of Pokemon. Let's go." Jenny led him away, leaving Joy, the girls and the two Nidoran.

"I guess they won't need these tags anymore." Said Joy, and she removed the tags.

"Nurse Joy, what's going to happen to these Nidoran now?" asked Amanda.

"Seeing how Ace is probably never going to be allowed near any Pokemon again, and since you two did a great job helping them, I think it's only fair for you two to take them." Said Joy. "I know that they'll be in good hands with you taking care of them."

"Which one of them do you want, Amanda?" Michelle asked.

"I'll take the male one." Said Amanda.

"Then I'll take the female." Said Michelle. Joy smiled at them and returned to the center.

"Well, we both have a new Pokemon, as well as a new friend." Said Michelle.

"Welcome to the group, guys." Said Amanda. They both held out empty Poke Balls, and the Nidoran happily jumped into them, making their captures official. With both Pokemon now safe from further harm, and Ace firmly behind bars, the girls could now continue onward safely, anxious to see what else awaits them in the world of Pokemon.

TO BE CONTINUED

Amanda's Current Party:

Pikachu (Thunderbolt, Agility, Quick Attack, Double Kick, Mega Punch)

Pidgeotto (Peak, Gust, Sand Attack, Quick Attack, Wing Attack)

Squirtle (Water Gun, Withdraw, Bubble, Bite, Skull Bash)

Dratini (Leer, Wrap, Body Slam, Thunder Wave)

Clefairy (Metronome, Mega Punch, Sing, Pound, Double Slap)

Nidoran Male (Horn Attack, Poison Sting, Double Kick, Fury Attack)

At Lab:

Rattata (Bite, Tackle, Tail Whip, Quick Attack)

Spearow (Peck, Fury Attack)

Magikarp (Splash, Tackle)

Butterfree (Sleep Powder, Wing Attack, Stun Spore, Confusion)

Zubat (Supersonic, Wing Attack)

Abra (Teleport)

Bellsprout (Stun Spore, Razor Leaf, Vine Whip)

Michelle's Current Party:

Eevee (Quick Attack, Swift, Tackle)

Electabuzz (Thunderbolt, Swift, Mega Punch, Seismic Toss, Body Slam)

Doduo (Tri Attack, Take Down, Double Edge)

Poliwag (Water Gun, Hypnosis, Bubble)

Ponyta (Ember, Stomp, Take Down, Fire Spin)

Nidoran Female (Tackle, Poison Sting, Bite, Fursy Swipes)

Note: Bellsprout being swapped out for Nidoran on Amanda's party happens off "screen" at the end of the chapter.