Episode Thirteen

In our last episode, our heroes decided to go for an explore through Diglett's cave. However, they found the area completely vacant save for one small Diglett and a Dugtrio. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the Diglett group had been captured by, you guessed it, Team Rocket. But Mark sent them blasting off and ended up with a brand new Diglett for his team. Now, our heroes continue on in search of new adventures, and new Pokemon.

Today, we find our trio taking a break from their adventure for some fun in the sun.

"Ah, this is a great day for going to the beach." Said Mark.

"Plenty of sunshine, clear skies, it's going to be a great day." Said Amanda. Pikachu and Eevee were both in agreement. As they approached the beach, the group saw a hot dog stand being set up. This got the attention of both Pokemon.

"Pika chu?" Pikachu asked as he pointed to the stand, which meant 'Can we get a hot dog, Amanda?'

"Eevee." Eevee squealed, which meant 'Pretty please, Michelle?'

"Not right now." Said Michelle. "It's a little early in the day for hot dogs, but maybe we can get some for lunch." Pikachu and Eevee smiled at the thought of that. A short while later, the group arrived at the beach, but found that it was already fairly crowded.

"Just look at all these people." Said Mark. Eevee was a bit intimidated by the big crowd and gave a scared squeal, which meant 'I don't like the size of all these big groups.' Michelle just smiled at her partner.

"Don't worry, we'll try to find a spot away from all the people." She said reassuringly. That got Eevee to smile. With how crowded the beach was, it took a bit of time to find a spot. Luckily, they were able to find an open area in the middle of the beach.

"I hope nobody bothers us here." Said Mark. "Especially those two Team Rocket clowns."

"I think this spot should be okay." Said Amanda. They set up their umbrella so that they'd have plenty of shade to shield themselves from the bright sun.

"Wait until you see the swimsuit I picked up from one of the stores yesterday." Said Michelle. Mark couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"No, Michelle, not here!" he exclaimed. "You can't change on the beach!" However, Michelle wasn't the least bit concerned.

"Don't worry, I had this under my clothes the whole time." She said. Her swimsuit was a light brown just like Eevee's fur, and it also had a white stripe in the middle. "Pretty nice swimsuit, don't you think so?"

"It does look pretty good on you." Said Amanda.

"What do you think, Eevee?" Michelle asked. Eevee squealed with delight, which meant 'I like it too.'

"Pika pi." Said Pikachu, which meant 'That goes for me as well.'

"Same with me." Said Mark.

"I'm glad you guys like it." Said Michelle. "I thought it looked cute when I saw this in the store, and it didn't even cost very much either."

"A perfect outfit for a perfect day at the beach in my opinion." Said Amanda.

"Hey, I have an idea." Said Mark. "How about letting our Pokemon enjoy the sun too."

"Great idea." Said Amanda. "They could use a relaxation day too." Amanda grabbed her balls and let her Pokemon out.

"Nidoran, Clefairy, Dratini, Squirtle, Pidgeotto, all of you come on out!" she cried. Her entire party appeared in a blaze of light and let out happy cries. Michelle grabbed her own Poke Balls and threw them.

"Electabuzz, Poliwag, Doduo, Nidoran, Ponyta, it's chill day so come on out." All of her Pokemon also appeared instantly. Mark grabbed his own Poke Balls and let them fly.

"Bulbasaur, Charmander, Diglett, let's go!" he cried. All of his Pokemon appeared.

"Okay, all of you are free to have fun, but don't go wandering off too far." Said Amanda.

"Stay close where we can see all of you." Said Michelle. Pikachu, Eevee and the rest of the Pokemon headed toward the water, with the exception of two. Ponyta and Charmander stayed back since they both hated water.

"Charmander!" Charmander cried, which meant 'I don't want to get my tail wet.'

"That's okay, Charmander." Said Mark. "You can stay with us if you want to." Charmander smiled and watched the other Pokemon have fun. Pikachu and Squirtle played with each other in a game of tag.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said to Squirtle, which meant 'You're it!' Squirtle chased Pikachu around in a circle, trying to tag Pikachu back, but the little mouse was going just a bit faster. Squirtle did manage to catch up, and he tagged Pikachu back.

"Squirtle squirt!" it cried, which meant 'Now you're it again!' While that was going on, Eevee was building a sand castle.

"Eevee." She squealed, which meant 'How do you like my little creation, Diglett?' Diglett looked at Eevee's progress and nodded.

"Diglett." It said, which meant 'Looking good there, Eevee.'

"Eevee." Eevee squealed again, which meant 'Thanks, Diglett.' Both of the Nidoran were having a playful battle with one another, with neither Pokemon being too aggressive as they didn't want to get hurt. Pidgeotto went for a ride on Doduo. They would've had some flying competition, but Doduo couldn't fly, so they settled for the next best thing. Amanda, mark and Michelle were glad to see everyone having fun. Charmander and Ponyta both wished they could've joined in the fun.

"Charmander." Charmander said in a bit of a disappointing voice, which meant 'I wish I could be having that kind of fun.'

"I know, but you're a fire type, so I can't risk having you get too close to the water." Said Mark. Charmander sighed but understood. Meanwhile, the rest of the Pokemon were having fun and enjoying playing when a little girl who was maybe five years old came through the area.

"Hey look, Mommy, there's a Pikachu!" the girl cried. "Pikachu's my absolute favorite Pokemon ever. Can I keep this one?"

"As long as it doesn't have a trainer, then I suppose." Said the girl's mother.

"Hurray!" the girl exclaimed. "Hey Pikachu, my name's Emily. I want to be a trainer when I get older, but for now, you can be my pet."

"Pikachu?" Pikachu asked confusingly, which meant 'Do I even know you?'

"You may not know me yet, but we'll be best friends forever." Said Emily. "Come on, let's go back to my house. It's not too far from here." She grabbed Pikachu's hand and tried to walk away, but Pikachu wouldn't move.

"Mommy, I don't think he wants to come." Said Emily.

"That's very odd." Said her mother. "Here, try putting him in a Poke Ball." Emily tried throwing the ball at Pikachu to capture it, but the little mouse swatted the ball away with its tail and sent it back to the little girl.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed, which meant 'I hate those things, you know.'

"Well then, how else are you supposed to come with me?" Emily asked.

"He isn't." said Amanda, who had rushed over to the child upon hearing the commotion. Pikachu was happy to see Amanda and ran right over to her.

"I hate to break it to you, kid, but this Pikachu belongs to me." Amanda said.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Said Emily.

"I have to apologize as well." Said Emily's mother. "We both thought it was a wild Pokemon."

"I can see why you'd think that, but no, he's mine." Said Amanda. "Is Pikachu your favorite Pokemon?" Emily nodded.

"Do you know where I can get one?" she asked.

"No, but I know there aren't any Pikachu in this area." Said Amanda. "Just keep looking somewhere else and I'm sure you'll find one."

"We'll do that." Said Emily's mother. "Say thank you to the nice young lady here."

"Thank you, miss…." Said Emily.

"Amanda." Amanda said.

"Amanda, is Pikachu the only Pokemon you have?" Emily asked.

"Nope, I have others, but Pikachu and I have been partners for a good while, haven't we, buddy?" Amanda said. Pikachu nodded and shook the little girl's hand.

"Well, it looks like my Pikachu wants to be friends with you." Said Amanda.

"That's so nice." Said Emily's mother.

"Listen Pikachu, I'm sorry I tried to take you away from your trainer." Said Emily.

"Pikachu." Pikachu said, which meant 'That's okay.'

"Well, dear, I think we should move along." Said Emily's mother.

"Bye, Amanda, it was nice meeting you." Said Emily.

"It was nice meeting you too." Said Amanda. She waved goodbye to her new friend, and then she and Pikachu ran back to Michelle and Mark.

"Did something happen over there?" Michelle asked.

"Almost." Said Amanda. "Some young kid tried to take Pikachu with her because she thought it was wild."

"Well, it could've been worse." Said Mark. "At least it wasn't Team Rocket."

"Pikachu?" Pikachu asked, which meant 'May I go back to the others?'

"Yes you may." Amanda said. Pikachu ran back down to where the other Pokémon were.

"Squirtle squirt?" Squirtle asked, which meant 'What happened?'

"Pikachu." Pikachu answered, which meant 'A five year old tried to take me away.' He even made body motions to Squirtle to describe exactly what had happened.

"Poliwag poli?" Poliwag wondered, which meant 'Are you all right, though?'

"Pikachu Pika." Pikachu answered, which meant 'I'm just fine.'

"Eevee." Eevee squealed, which meant 'That's a relief.'

"Pika Pikachu?" Pikachu asked, which meant 'Do you guys want to play another game?'

"Nidoran!" both Nidoran cried, which meant 'Yes please.' The rest of the Pokemon also wanted to play.

"Pikachu Pika pi." Said Pikachu which meant 'The game is Pikachu Says.'

"Clefairy?" Clefairy wondered, which meant 'How do you play?'

"Pikachu Pika pi Pikachu." Pikachu answered, which meant 'I'll tell you all to do something, and then you do it.'

"Squirtle squirt." Squirtle said, which meant 'That seems easy enough.' Pikachu shook his head and went on.

"Pi Pika Pikachu." He said, which meant 'There's a catch, though. You only perform the action if I say Pikachu Says. If I don't say it, and you do it anyway, you're out. Last Pokemon standing is the winner.'

"Bulbasaur bulba." Bulbasaur Said, which meant 'Understood.'

"Pikachu Pika." Pikachu said, which meant 'Pikachu says to shake your whole body.' Everyone obeyed and Pikachu continued.

"Pikachu." He said, which meant 'Pikachu says to puff up your cheeks.' Everyone obeyed, although Poliwag found the pose a bit uncomfortable.

"Pikachu pi." Pikachu said, which meant 'Pikachu says that you can unpuff your cheeks.' Everyone obeyed, and Poliwag breathed a sigh of relief.

"Pikachu." Pikachu said, which meant 'Everyone use one of your attacks.' However, nobody moved.

"Pikachu pi." Pikachu said, which meant 'Pikachu says to use one of your attacks, but gently.' Bulbasaur unleashed its vines for Vine Whip, Eevee used its speed for practicing Agility, and everyone else also used their moves gently. The game went on for a good while until it was just Bulbasaur and Diglett left.

"Pikachu." Pikachu said, which meant 'Burrow yourself underground.' Seeing as Bulbasaur couldn't use Dig, he just stood where he was. However, Diglett went under the ground for a few seconds before popping back up.

"Pikachu." Pikachu said as he shook his head, which meant 'I didn't say Pikachu Says.' That meant Diglett was out and Bulbasaur was the winner.

"Bulbasaur!" it shouted excitedly, which meant 'I win!'

"Pikachu." Pikachu said, which meant 'Don't get too cocky.' Meanwhile, Michelle, Mark and Amanda were all lying comfortably under the umbrella.

"I'm glad we decided to come here for a rest day." Said Mark.

"Me too." said Michelle. "Our Pokemon seem to be enjoying themselves and having a good time." A few minutes later, a young boy and his dad came up to their area.

"Wow, that's a cool Charmander you have there." Said the boy.

"Thanks." Mark said.

"Do you think I could pet him?" the boy asked.

"Sure, as long as you're gentle." Mark said. The boy gave Charmander some smooth pats on the head.

"You know, Charmander is my favorite Pokémon." The boy said.

"Funny you say that because I had an encounter with a little girl earlier who said Pikachu was her favorite." Said Amanda.

"Do you think I could find a Charmander just like this one?" the boy asked.

"I'm not sure." Said Mark. "Charmander are hard to come across in the wild, so you have to hope that you get lucky."

"Come along, son." Said the boy's father. "We have to meet up with your mother soon and we can't be late." The boy said bye to Mark and went on his way.

"Well, at least he didn't try to take you." Said Mark. As for the gang's Pokemon, they were still enjoying themselves. Squirtle was trying to show off a cool trick.

"Squirtle squirt!" he cried, which meant 'Look what I can do!' He pretended that he was riding a wave.

"Pi Pika." Pikachu Said, which meant 'Be careful, Squirtle.'

"Squirtle." Squirtle replied, which meant 'I'll be fine.' He kept doing his trick, but not too long after, he lost his balance and fell into the water. Thankfully, he was able to swim back to where Pikachu and the others were.

"Pikachu pi?" Pikachu asked, which meant 'Are you all right?'

"Squirtle." Squirtle answered, which meant 'Never better.' Pikachu wagged a finger at him.

"Pikachu Pika!" he scolded, which meant 'That's what you get for showing off.' Squirtle just shrugged his shoulders.

"Eevee." Eevee squealed, which meant 'Don't worry about it, Squirtle.' As for Mark, Amanda and Michelle, they had started a discussion.

"Where should we go next after we're done here?" Michelle asked.

"We could check out Saffron City." Said Mark.

"That's not a bad idea." Said Amanda. "I can even get my next badge there, too." As they continued to talk, they made sure to keep an eye on their Pokémon. A few hours later, their stomachs growled.

"I guess that sound means it's time for lunch." Said Amanda. She called out to her partner. "Hey Pikachu, the three of us are going to get some lunch from that hot dog stand we passed earlier. You're in charge of everyone until we get back, okay?"

"Pikachu." Said Pikachu, which meant 'Affirmative.' Mark, Michelle and Amanda went to get their hot dogs. Amanda had one with ketchup and mustard, Michelle had one with relish and mayo, and Mark had one topped with bacon pieces. They took their food back to their spot and started eating.

"These hot dogs are good." Said Mark.

"A perfect treat for a summer day at the beach." Said Michelle. "Hey Eevee, Pikachu, we got some for you too!" Pikachu and Eevee ran over to their trainers and both Pokemon were given plain hot dogs. After they had eaten, everyone let out a yawn.

"I think it's time we had a bit of a nap." Said Amanda. Clefairy ran over and used its Sing attack to put everyone to sleep. Soon enough, Mark, Amanda, Mark and all the Pokemon were snoozing away. Meanwhile, waves started forming in the ocean. They were calm waves at first, but after a little while, they slowly got bigger and bigger. Then, after forty minutes, the waves got very big, and it made everyone wonder what was happening. And then, out of nowhere, a large Pokemon with a light blue body, two red orbs on one side each and a smaller orb in the middle appeared out of the ocean. Everyone started screaming.

"Tentacruel attack!" a lady yelled. She and everyone else on the beach started running in fear, and the commotion woke up Mark, Michelle and Amanda as well as their Pokemon.

"What's going on?" Amanda asked sleepily. She then turned around and saw the Tentacruel right in front of her.

"Ah!" she screamed.

"That's a scary Pokemon." Michelle said in a worried tone.

"It looks mad." Said Mark. Amanda quickly got her Pokedex out to scan it.

"Tentacruel, the jellyfish Pokemon. The tentacles of this Pokemon can readily extend during hunts to trap its prey before immobilizing it with poison."

"Poison?" Michelle asked.

"But what does the Pokedex mean by prey?" Mark wondered.

"My guess is that Tentracruel probably thinks that we're its dinner." Said Amanda.

"We're not food, though." Said Michelle.

"I know that, but Tentacruel doesn't." said Amanda. Suddenly, Tentacruel wrapped one of its tentacles around Eevee and lifted it into the air.

"Eevee!" Eevee squealed, which meant 'Help!'

"Don't worry, Eevee, we'll save you!" Amanda called. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Pikachu unleashed its attack, but the Tentacruel was too enraged to be affected by it.

"No good, it's really mad." Said Amanda. Eevee tried to squeeze out of Tentracruel's grip, but the large jellyfish kept binding it.

"I think that's Tentacruel's Wrap attack." Said Mark.

"Squirtle, try calming it down." Said Amanda. Squirtle nodded and approached the Tentacruel gently.

"Squirtle squirt Squirtle." He said, which meant 'That Eevee you're holding is our friend. It's not food. Give her back to us.' Tentacruel shook its head. It was still under the impression that Eevee was Pokemon food.

"Squirtle squirt!" he yelled, which meant 'Look buddy, don't make me battle you.' The Tentacruel just stared at Squirtle and refused to move. This got Squirtle very angry.

"Squirtle!" he yelled, which meant 'Okay, you asked for it!' He fired a Water Gun right at Tentacruel, but it was absorbed like it was nothing. Then, Tentacruel picked Squirtle up with another one of its tentacles and lifted it into the air right beside Eevee.

"Squirtle!" Squirtle yelled, which meant 'Let me go, you big bully!'

"Pika pi!" Pikachu yelled, which meant 'Bulbasaur, try to help them out.' Bulbasaur nodded and used Vine Whip to try and free both Pokemon. However, Tentacruel just sent the vines right back. Bulbasaur shook its head feeling disappointed. Electabuzz tried using Swift, but the attack did very minimal damage. Understandably, Charmander and Ponyta didn't want to get anywhere near the huge water type.

"Pikachu." Pikachu said sadly, which meant 'It's hopeless.'

"Clefairy." Said Clefairy, which meant 'No it's not. Watch this.' It opened its mouth wide and used Sing to attempt to put Tentacruel to sleep. The attack worked as Tentacruel released both Eevee and Squirtle from its grip and fell right to sleep. Both Eevee and Squirtle ran right over to their trainers.

"It looks like you two are okay." Said Amanda.

"How did Tentracruel's attack stop?" asked Mark.

"Pikachu pi." Pikachu answered, which meant 'Clefairy used Sing to put it to sleep.'

"Good job, Clefairy." Said Amanda. "Now that it's asleep, it should be easy to catch. She got a Poke Ball out and threw it at the now sleeping Tentacruel.

"Poke Ball, go!" she cried. The ball hit Tentacruel on one of the tentacles and got sucked in. The ball then dropped onto the sand, and three shakes later, the sound went off to mark a successful catch.

"We just got ourselves a Tentacruel!" Amanda cried.

"Great job, Amanda." Said Michelle.

"Thanks." Said Amanda. "Well, I think it's time we headed back to the Pokemon Center." The three of them recalled their Pokemon and headed back to the center. Later that evening, Amanda was on the phone talking to Professor Oak about their day at the beach.

"It seems like you all had a good day." Said Oak.

"By the way, Professor, did my new Tentacruel get to the lab safely?" Amanda asked.

"It sure did." Said Oak. "I must say, though, that's quite the catch. Tentacruel are definitely not easy to catch. You should be proud of yourself for that."

"I am, Professor." Said Amanda. "I'll see you later." They hung up, and Amanda went over to Michelle and Mark.

"So, off to Saffron tomorrow?" Michelle asked.

"That's the plan." Said Mark. Well, today was one day at the beach that our trio will remember for a long time. And Tentacruel will definitely remember it for a long time too.

TO BE CONTINUED

Amanda's Party: Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Squirtle, Dratini, Clefairy, Nidoran Male

Michelle's Party: Eevee, Electabuzz, Doduo, Poliwag, Ponyta, Nidoran Female

Mark's Party: Bulbasaur, Charmander, Diglett

Amanda's Spare Pokemon at Oak's Lab: Rattata, Spearow, Magikarp, Butterfree, Zubat, Abra, Tentacruel