Chapter 7:
The Striped Thief
The large bluish Pidgey glared at Phillip as he let out a deep cry. Phillip shouted in disbelief.
"That Pidgey is almost twice the size of a normal Pidgey!"
On the tips of its wings there were blue feathers unlike any other Pidgey he had ever seen. Tyrogue readied himself to engage the Pidgey. It let out another deep growl knocking Tyrogue slightly off balance. The Pidgey charged at Tyrogue.
"Maneuver around the attack!"
Tyrogue spun to his left creating a circle on the ground as it prepared for the Pidgey's next move. In a glimpse Pidgey dashed at Tyrogue unleashing a quick attack.
"Now! Fake Out attack!"
Pidgey slammed into a shadow of Tyrogue. Tyrogue appeared behind Pidgey with a chop. The Pidgey slid across the ground. It bounced right up and flew into the sky.
"Agility Tyrogue!"
Striking a pose Tyrogue readied himself. Pidgey unleashed a gust attack. Tyrogue braced himself for the move. It was a very strong wind. Tyrogue's feet began to slip.
"Hang on just a little bit longer Tyrogue!"
Pidgey's wind began to lose steam. Pidgey was growing tired.
"Now Tyrogue! Let's try this!"
Tyrogue barrel rolled out of the way onto his feet.
"Mach kick!"
Tyrogue shot into the sky. Bounced off of a tree. A super powered speed kick echoed in the air as Tyrogue broke the wind in front of him. Tyrogue's foot smashed into Pidgey's back sending him careening off the ground. As soon as Pidgey hit the ground Phillip threw a Pokeball. Phillip clinched his fists as the Pokeball rolled around. Pidgey stayed in the Pokeball. Phillip caught his rare Pidgey.
Phillip ran at Tyrogue and tackled him with joy. The two laughed together as they rolled on the ground.
"We did it!" The Mach kick worked! You're awesome Tyrogue!"
"TYY-ROOOGUE!"
Phillip called Tyrogue back into his Pokeball to rest. For the next several hours Phillip carefully climbed down the mountainside so he could meet Kathy and Nathan back at the Pokemon center. The sun began to set as he entered the facility.
Nathan and Kathy looked like they had been waiting a long time for his arrival. He came bearing food knowing they would be annoyed with him. He noticed Nathan's badge and gave him a high five congratulating him. Kathy looked at Phillip with concern on her face.
"Are you okay Phillip?"
He looked up, face drenched in sweat and dirt, with his hands developing callouses on them and smiled.
"Never better."
He looked over to Nathan.
"Let me see that badge!"
Nathan was shaking with excitement. He opened up his jacket to reveal his Zephyr Badge.
"What about you Phillip? What were you doing?"
Phillip laughed.
"It's a long story. Why don't you tell me all about your battle and then I'll tell you all about my trip?"
The two companions exchanged stories about their adventures. Over an hour later they finished their conversation.
"So you saw a legendary Pokemon?" Kathy asked.
"I'm not sure, but the Pokedex didn't know what it was. Maybe I'll find out about it one day. It would be a dream to see it again."
"I can't wait to beat you in the tournament Phillip! I'll show you who the master is!"
"Well… let's try to get the eight badges first and then we can focus on that."
The three of them laughed together for a few more minutes before passing out.
They were on the road first thing in the morning. After a few hours had passed they ran in to a teenage boy wearing baggy black pants, black sneakers, and a loose-fitting gray t-shirt. The boy made eye contact with Phillip. His head dropped and he ran his hand over his face.
"Oh brother. Not you."
"What up loser! They finally ran you outta town eh Phil?"
"Keep it moving Griffin. I got nothing to say to you."
Nathan flexed and got in Griffin's face.
"This pipsqueak is babysitting you Phil? Man, you really are the bottom of the barrel."
Griffin stuck his hands on his hips and stuck his nose in the air.
"I have caught ten strong Pokemon since we last met. I even got rid of a weak little Wooper, kicked him to the side of the road so I could keep his much stronger Quagsire brother."
Phillip clenched his fists and grit his teeth.
"You did what!?"
"Relax Saint Phil… I didn't actually kick him. I let him swim in the water, and then ran away. He'll be fine."
"If only…"
"If only what Phil?"
Griffin threw out a Pokeball containing an oversized Machop.
"You wanna do this? I've waited a long time."
Phillip stood up straight and closed his eyes breathing in and out.
"Just keep moving Griffin. We have stuff to do."
"Coward."
The two teenagers stared at each other for several seconds. Griffin called Machop back and shoved Phillip to the side.
"I'll see you later loser."
A few more minutes passed.
"Why wouldn't you just battle him Phillip? I know you would beat him. I bet that would shut him up."
"He's not worth it Nathan. There was a time when we would get excited about Pokemon together, but ever since we both got our first Pokemon he's only been a power-hungry bully. Maybe we'll battle one day. Until then, I'm better off moving on."
They continued on Route 32 when their stomachs began to grumble. As they sat down, they released all of their Pokemon. The group met Pidgey for the first time, amazed at the coloration and size of him. Phillip went to work making his special food for the Pokemon. As they began to eat Cyndaquil began to get jumpy. Every time the wind would blow, he would look around.
As the group reached for more food, they found that half of it was gone. They all looked around and questioned one another about their portions. Cyndaquil began to sniff around. The team followed Cyndaquil as he seemed to be on a trail to find where the food went. They trailed him for almost thirty minutes when they finally ran into a hole that seemed to be the end of the trail.
Cyndaquil tried to go into the hole with no success. Several of the Pokemon dug around the hole as Phillip and Kathy looked for an exit hole. Still no success. Cyndaquil grew frustrated at the inability to get into the hole. In a moment of anger Cyndaquil shot fire into the hole. Two beady little eyes stared at Cyndaquil from the darkness of the hole. In an instant a long and slim-bodied Pokémon with brown and cream-colored fur blasted out of the hole at Cyndaquil.
Nathan took his Pokedex out: "FURRET HAS A VERY SLIM BUILD. WHEN UNDER ATTACK, IT CAN SLICKLY SQUIRM THROUGH NARROW SPACES AND GET AWAY. IN SPITE OF IT'S SHORT LIMBS, THIS POKEMON IS VERY NIMBLE AND FLEET. IT MAKES VERY NARROW NESTS THAT ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO GET INTO."
In a flash Furret did a quick attack knocking Cyndaquil back. It began to curl up as Nathan began to bark orders.
"Get ready for an attack Cyndaquil!"
"Be careful Nathan, I think it's doing foresight." Phillip yelled.
"Tackle attack!"
The Furret moved out of the way and coiled around Cyndaquil. Cyndaquil turned its flames up. Burning the Furret and causing it to fly back. The Furret launched itself at Cyndaquil swiping its claws at it.
"Ember attack!"
Cyndaquil jumped up and covered the Furret in flames. It was already weakened from Cyndaquil's first attack and began to breathe heavily. It charged at Cyndaquil once more.
"Defense curl!"
Cyndaquil's curl repelled Furret's attack. Cyndaquil did a rapid-fire ember attack that sent Furret rolling into a tree. Nathan threw a Pokeball. In a few seconds the Furret was caught. Nathan jumped up and down cheering and screaming.
As the team made their way back to where they were having lunch the sun began to set. Nathan kept talking about how great of a trainer he was. The team decided to camp out for the rest of the night. Phillip took Tyrogue, Wooper and Pidgey to practice and train in the distance. Kathy sat with her knees up and her arms crossed over her legs wondering if she was ever going to get a chance to catch a Pokemon that she wanted.
To be continued...