The sight of golden Pokemon filled both James and Growlie with a strange sense of euphoria, an energy they had never known. He and Growlie jogged down the dirt path, several grass Pokemon scurrying away as they passed. James couldn't be sure how much time passed or how far they'd gone when the two of them finally slowed, panting. After a short break, and a drink of water, they resumed their journey adopting a more reasonable walk. Ahead, James could see the Mt. Moon Forest, or as locals called it, the Mysterious Forest.
In his research of the route he would take to Cerulean, he read that during the spring equinox, people had reported hearing strange noises, almost like chanting, followed by rhythmic roars. A couple of attempts had been made to investigate in the past, but those who tried never returned. Some suspected Pokemon were behind it, but without proof, it was all just conjecture.
During the summer though, it was quite safe so long as one stuck to the main path through the forest. Ursaring mating season would be in full swing, so they would have to be careful, but the Ursaring mainly stuck to the forested areas bordering Mt. Moon. Vileplum and Beedrill were far more likely threats, but Growlie's fire attacks should be able to ward them off.
The entire walk to the forest entrance was largely uneventful. They passed by numerous Bellossom and Sunflora, not to mention Rattata, which all avoided him and Growlie. In about an hour or two, they had reached the entrance to the forest, the dirt path continuing into the shade. James stopped at the threshold, suddenly nervous. It had all seemed so simple reading about the forest and making notes in his journal, but being face-to-face with it was different.
Growlie padded over to his side, nuzzling his thigh, sensing his hesitancy. James looked down at Growlie's smiling muzzle and he smiled too.
"You're right Growlie, I've come this far, I can't turn back now!" James said, feeling his confidence return. Growlie barked in answer.
James took a few seconds to take a few deep breaths, then he walked forward into the forest.
As he and Growlie walked into the forest, the treetops cast a shadow over them. Despite it being late morning, it was as if it was back to being early morning. The darker shadows within the forest were long, and James had the feeling that they were hiding things within their depths. Despite that, he kept walking, trusting the path and Growlie to keep any threats at bay.
Growlie however, seemed to be more interested in exploring this brand-new environment than guarding James. He kept dashing off the path, keen on sniffing everything he could shove his muzzle into. He would often find small patches of leaves, and shoved his entire face into the pile, eager to see what secrets they might hide. If they passed a fallen tree he would dash to it eager to explore beneath it, or jump on top of it and survey the forest. On more rare occasions he would run ahead a small ways and start digging, finding buried berries usually.
James had a big smile on his face the entire time, thoroughly entertained and happy for Growlie to explore such a new and unknown environment. Such exploration however didn't come without consequence. Growlie disturbed many an Oddish, Bellsprout, and a rare Shroomish on one occasion. James himself spotted several Caterpie, Weedle, and Spinarak along tree branches. He was keen to give them a wide berth if possible, he didn't want to spook any Pokemon and risk being attacked by a poison sting or string shot. He thought more than once about trying to capture a Pokemon but decided against it. Time was against him, if he took too long then he risked his parents realizing he had run and having every police department in Kanto on the lookout for him.
So, their journey along the forest path was uneventful for a good few hours. It couldn't last forever, though. During the afternoon, he and Growlie were walking along when there was a distant explosion from their right, deeper in the forest. They both stopped and looked in the direction but could see nothing.
"Probably an Ursaring, someone or something must have gotten too close," James said, a hint of nervousness in his voice.
They continued on their way, but James kept a wary eye on the forest to their right. A few minutes later they heard another explosion, closer this time.
"I think we better hurry it up." James said to Growlie and broke into a jog.
As they made their way more quickly through the forest, Growlie stayed consistently ahead of James, clearly on alert for trouble and constantly watching where the noises had come from. A few minutes later, a third explosion was heard, much closer and accompanied by distant angry roars.
There could be no doubt anymore—it was a Ursaring, giving chase to someone or something if James had to guess. He didn't have to think long, as a few moments later, a hyperbeam suddenly appeared ahead and to the left of where he was. Coming from deeper in the forest, it obliterated trees, shrubs, and a portion of the path. It was so startling that he jumped and tripped on a root. He hit the ground hard as he heard Growlie yelp.
He started to get to his feet when he heard someone shout from his right.
"Stay down!" Came the male voice.
James obeyed and was glad he did, as another hyper shot by right overhead obliterating a tree right next to him. James shielded his face as shards of wood, clumps of dirt, and dislodged rocks went everywhere. Then, mere steps ahead of him, a brown-haired man in a trench coat ran across the path, a Croagunk beside him, and a very, very angry Ursaring right on their tail.
As the Ursaring got to the path, however, a shadow from a nearby tree suddenly detached itself, stepping out onto the path and in front of the Ursaring. Before the Ursaring even knew what happened, it lept right in front of its face and let out a sudden screech, and slapped its hands together. The Ursaring flinched, staggering to a halt.
"Zen Headbutt!" came the voice from earlier.
Sableye's forehead glowed pink, then slammed its forehead into Ursaring releasing a burst of psychic energy. The Ursaring staggered back, blinking rapidly, very disoriented. Sableye followed up with a second Zen Headbutt, causing the Ursaring to fall over.
The Ursaring was miraculously still conscious, but rather than fight, it got onto all fours and started running back the way it had come. Several heartbeats passed and James slowly got to his feet watching the Ursaring run away.
"You all right kid?" Came the voice from behind him.
James turned around and saw an older man, in his possible 50s, with bags under his eyes, his cheekbones visible, short greying hair, pointed eyebrows, and red eyes. He wore a brown bomber jacket, a red undershirt, black denim pants, black tennis shoes, and a crystal pendant on his neck.
"Y-yes, thank you for your help." James managed to stammer.
"My sincere apologies!" Said the brown-haired man with the trench coat, rushing up to James and looking distraught.
Slightly taken aback by the man's passion, he gave him an awkward smile.
"I'm fine so no harm done," James said, attempting to reassure the man.
The gray-haired man walked up to the brown-haired man and punched the top of his head.
"Pay more attention in the future you idiot, you nearly got a civilian mauled by a Ursaring." The man said in an irritated voice.
"Apologies sir!" The brown-haired man said, looking ashamed.
The gray-haired man just sighed.
"Ummm... so who are you two?" James asked, looking at the two and their Pokemon.
"Hm? Ah, right, I'm Nanu, and this Looker my subordinate." Nanu said.
"We're with the International Police," Looker said.
"International Police?" James asked, having never heard of them.
"We don't get a lot of press, we mostly work with the Pokemon League and local law enforcement groups rather than take direct action," Nanu explained.
"So... what are you doing in these woods?" James asked, frowning.
"We're investigating a rumor of some Team Rocket activity in these woods, have you seen anyone or heard anything?" Nanu asked.
"Uhhh no I haven't I only just entered the woods a couple of hours ago, but... didn't Team Rockets leader get arrested?" James asked, remembering his parents mentioning it several weeks ago.
"A group like Team Rocket isn't so easily broken up. Even with the arrest of Madame Boss, some groups of them still exist causing trouble." Nanu said, pulling out his wallet.
"Here, take this," Nanu said, handing a card to James, who took it.
It was a simple white card, with a single phone number printed on it.
"If you run into Team Rocket or see them, call that number and tell whoever answers about it. It'll get back to me," Nanu said.
"I will," James said nodding.
"So what brings a young lad like you to these woods?" Looker asked.
"I'm on my way to Cerulean City to take a ship to Hoenn," James explained, deciding not to tell them he was running away from home.
"Hoenn?" Looker asked, surprised. "Aren't the only ships that go to Hoenn from Cerulean, cruise liners? Wouldn't you be better off heading to Vermillion City or Pallet Town?"
"I know a captain of one of the cruise liners," James explained.
During this Growlie wandered over to Nanu, sniffing at his shoes. Nanu reached down and petted and scratched Growlie behind the ear.
"You intend to stop by the K9 Training facility on the way?" Nanu asked, still petting Growlie.
"K9?" James asked, curious.
"It's where all the growlithe used by law enforcement in Kanto are trained. Most regions have one, or some variant. A lot of Growlithe trainers will go to one for some training." Nanu said.
"My growlithe was trained at one," Looker said, pulling out a Pokeball and releasing a Growlithe of his own.
"I got this guy on my team not too long ago, he does fantastic work," Looker said, patting his Growlithe on the head.
James examined the Growlithe and he could instantly see stark differences between Lookers and Growlie. Lookers Growlithe was larger than Growlie, with shorter fur that made the muscles all the more obvious. It had a piercing gaze that constantly observed the area around it, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. Growlie by comparison looked far weaker with its longer, fluffier, and shinier coat. A more innocent-looking face that expressed curiosity and happiness. If James was being honest, Lookers Growlithe was rather intimidating and made him feel a bit inadequate.
"C- Could taking my Growlithe to the K9 place make him stronger?" he asked, unable to look away from Looker's Growlithe.
"Certainly, but your Growlithe looks like it is more fit for the contests of Hoenn than the rough and tumble training of law enforcement," Nanu said, checking his watch.
"We better get going. Stay safe kid." Nanu said, putting his Sableye back into its Pokeball and heading towards the woods.
Looker hastily withdrew his own Pokemon and jogged to catch up with Nanu.
"Have a nice trip!" Looker called back to James.
James waved goodbye and looked down at Growlie.
"Well... I guess we should keep moving." He said to Growlie who merely cocked his head in response.
Over the next hour, James couldn't get the sight of Lookers Growlithe out of his mind. The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. He began to doubt the wisdom of taking Growlie with him. Nanu had been right, Growlie had never been trained to fight and was indeed more suited to contests because of his upbringing. Not that he doubted Growlie's willingness to fight if need be, most Pokemon were after all competitive by nature. James could recall the nightmare that was trying to house-train Growlie when he was very small. He had broken a fair number of things, lit other things on fire, or soiled several carpets or rugs. He had been especially eager to rough house, which had resulted in most of the incidents.
James was sure to run into a wild Pokemon or two during his journey, but now seriously worried about what he might do if he and Growlie had to fight. Could Growlie fight and win? If it were a Weedle or Butterfree he probably would, but what if he ran into something truly dangerous and aggressive like a Beedrill or Arbok? The last thing he wanted was for Growlie to be seriously injured trying to protect him.
He sighed, he just didn't know what to do. Then he remembered what he had been told about the K9 facility. He had forgotten to ask where it was, but based on the conversation he guessed it was somewhere along the way to Cerulean City. Even if Growlie wasn't allowed to train there as he wasn't in law enforcement, perhaps they would be willing to give him advice. He wanted the best for Growlie, if they were traveling off-road like this he wanted to ensure Growlie was strong enough to handle what might come their way.
He nodded to himself his mind made up. He was going to stop by this K9 Training Facility and learn what he could about training Growlie how to battle.
